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Slavery and the Origins of the American Police State | Slavery and the Origins of the American Police State
From the beginning, some Americans have been able to move more freely than others
Photo: CORBIS/Getty Images
They were called patrollers or, variously, “paterollers,” “paddyrollers,” or “patterolls,” and they were meant to be part of the solution to Colonial America’s biggest problem, labor. Unlike Great Britain, which had a large, basically immobile peasant class that could be forced to work for subsistence wages, there weren’t enough cheap bodies in America to do the grunt work. If you were a planter looking to make your fortune in rice or tobacco—the New World’s cash crops—you had to size up to industrial scale, and for that you needed bodies, armies of bodies, a labor force that could be made to work for terms no less brutal than those inflicted on the miserables of Europe.
Native Americans weren’t the solution, not after disease, war, and murderous forms of forced labor reduced their number by half. Indentured servants were imported, but in numbers too few to fill the void, and they had a habit of running off: the wide frontier beckoned, all that empty space for sass-mouths and malcontents to vanish into. So it became Africans. Jamestown received its first cargo of enslaved humans in 1619, a dozen years after the colony’s founding: “20 and odd Negroes,” according to records, the first installment on the estimated 455,000 who would eventually land in North America.
Control of this new labor force would be key; mutiny was the great fear. By the early 1700s, a comprehensive system of racially directed law enforcement was well on its way to being fully developed.
Certain people, granted power, can be counted on to abuse those under their authority just because they can
This was, in fact, the first systematic form of policing in the land that would become the United States. The northeast colonies relied on the informal “night-watch” system of volunteer policing and on private security to protect commercial property. In the southern colonies, policing’s origins were rooted in the slave economy and the radically racialized social order that invented “whiteness” as the ultimate boundary. “Whites,” no matter how poor or low, could not be held in slavery. “Blacks” could be enslaved by anyone—whites, free blacks, and people of mixed race. The distinction—and the economic order that created it—was maintained by a legally sanctioned system of surveillance, intimidation, and brute force whose purpose was the control of blacks. Slave patrols, or paddyrollers, were the chief enforcers of this system; groups of armed, mounted whites who rode at night among the plantations and settlements of their assigned “beats”—the word originated with the patrols—seeking out runaway slaves, unsanctioned gatherings, weapons, contraband, and generally any sign of potential revolt. They were the stuff of lore and songs:
Run Nigger run, Patty Roller will catch you, Run Nigger run
I’ll shoot you with my flintlock gun.
Run nigger run, Patty Roller will catch you, Run, nigger run, you’d better get away.
Slave patrols usually consisted of three to six white men on horseback equipped with guns, rope, and whips. “A mounted man presents an awesome figure, and the power and majesty of a group of men on horseback, at night, could terrify slaves into submission,” writes Sally Hadden in her fine and useful book Slave Patrols: Law and Violence in Virginia and the Carolinas. Among other duties, paddyrollers enforced the pass system, which required all slaves absent from their master’s property to have a pass, or “ticket,” signed by the master indicating permission for travel. Any slave encountered without a pass was subject to detention and beating on the spot, although possession of a valid pass was by no means a guarantee against beating.
Certain people, granted power, can be counted on to abuse those under their authority just because they can; one imagines moreover that gratuitous beatings relieved the tedium and fatigue of nightlong patrols and served to reinforce the notion of who was boss. The paddyrollers’ authority extended to patrolling plantation grounds and entering slave quarters, where the presence of books, writing paper, weapons, liquor, luxury items, or more than the usual store of provisions was cause for beating. “Gatherings”—weddings, funerals, church services—were grounds for beating, writes Hadden. Mingling with whites, especially poor whites, or any “loose, disorderly or suspected person”: beating. Back talk: beating. Dressing tidily: beating. Singing certain hymns: beating. Even best behavior could earn a lick: “Elige Davison, another former Virginia slave, remembered that as bondsmen lay asleep in their own quarters, patrollers would enter and lightly hit them with a whip to see if they were truly tired and asleep at the end of the workday,” Hadden writes. For an enslaved woman, a beating might well be the least of her worries.
The system continued largely intact after Emancipation and the defeat of the Confederacy. Legally sanctioned slave patrols were replaced by night-riding vigilantes like the Ku Klux Klan, whose white robes, flaming torches, and queer pseudo-ghost talk were intended for maximum terrorizing effect. Lynching and shooting took place alongside the more traditional punishments of beating and whipping; blacks’ economic value as slaves had evaporated, and with it the constraints on lethal force that had offered some measure of protection under the old system. White supremacy continued as the dominant reality for the next hundred years, a social and psychological reality maintained by terror, surveillance, and the letter of the law. Its power was such that even the New Deal—the most profound reordering of American society since the Civil War—left white supremacy intact. Twenty-six lynchings were recorded in Southern states in 1933. An antilynching bill was defeated in Congress in 1935. Southern blacks’ awareness of antebellum history was acute, naturally enough given that they were living it. “Even seventy years after freedom came,” Hadden writes, “one former bondsman declared he still had his badge and pass to show the patrol, so that no one could molest him.”
We don’t have to know the particulars of history in order to live it in our bones. Sometimes history arrives as a sense of the uncanny, the peculiar weight of certain words and acts, a suffusion of dreadful power. We might suppose the pass system is long gone, but there it is in stop-and-frisk, in racial profiling, in the reflexive fear and violence of our own time. Trayvon Martin, 17 years old, walking down the street just minding his own, killed by a self-anointed, night-riding, so-called neighborhood watchman. Sandra Bland, died in a Texas jail after being pulled over for failure to signal a lane change. Walter Scott, stopped by police in North Charleston for an allegedly broken taillight, shot to death with eight bullets in his back. Philando Castile, popular school cafeteria supervisor, shot dead in Falcon Heights, Minnesota, during a traffic stop for, allegedly, a broken taillight (accounts differ); records reveal that he’d been pulled over no fewer than 52 times by local police in the preceding 14 years and owed over $6,000 in outstanding fines. That $6,000 in fines opens the window onto another ugly echo of times past, the use of law enforcement to extract profit from black and brown people.
Michael Brown’s death at the hands of Ferguson police led to the exposure of a municipal regime that deployed police less for the sake of public safety than as a means of plundering the African-American community. In 2010, Ferguson’s finance director informed the police chief that “unless ticket writing ramps up significantly before the end of the year, it will be hard to significantly raise collections next year.” A new “I-270 traffic enforcement initiative… to fill the revenue pipeline” is plainly documented, and by Oct. 31, 2014, the municipal courts of Ferguson, a town of 21,000 residents (two-thirds of whom are black), had handled no fewer than 53,000 traffic cases that year. By 2015, more than one-fifth of the town’s revenue would come from fines and fees. The community’s frustration after years of harassment, abuse, and humiliation at the hands of the police would finally explode in the protests that followed Michael Brown’s death.
Some facts sit heavier in the gut than others. It may be that the American brain is wired for certain cues, or maybe it’s just the nature of systems of control, systems that grant or withhold sanction to move about, to work, to vote, to be secure in your home and body, to be free of suspicion absent evidence to the contrary. Sanction, in other words, to exercise your full humanity. Slave patrols and passes, the Klan, Jim Crow—these are historical incarnations of a social order that held people of color to less-than status, the necessary corollary to white supremacy.
One doubts that Donald Trump knew the first thing about the pass system and paddyrollers when he took up the birther movement in 2011, employing lies and the cheapest sorts of innuendo to mainstream the allegation—the outright fantasy—that Barack Obama was not a genuine U.S. citizen. Trump, that master plumber of the American psyche, intuited the heat in the allegation, its potential for exciting the country’s ingrained racism. You couldn’t very well send night riders in full conehead regalia to burn a cross on the White House lawn in hopes of running the Obamas out of town, but you could harass and attack by other means, wage a 21st-century version of vigilante warfare on behalf of white supremacy.
By attacking Obama’s claim to citizenship, Trump tapped into the toxic confluence of racism and economics that’s organized life in America from the very beginning.
And so it went: the black man didn’t belong in the White House because he wasn’t a real American. He was an interloper, a pretender. Less than American. Which, of course, has been exactly the issue for people of color in America for 400 years, the issue brought into high relief—the schizophrenia inscribed by the country’s own hand, in effect—by the fine ideals expressed in the founding documents. All men created equal. Certain inalienable rights. So who is a “man”? Who is to be counted among “we the people”? Who is entitled to full enjoyment of the God-given rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness and the protection and exercise of those rights as provided by the laws of the country? Trayvon Martin clearly wasn’t. Zimmerman walked, and it became necessary to say what in a just society would go without saying: Black lives matter.
The great divide in America has always been the color of skin, the presumptive and usually final criterion. Whiteness is law, legitimacy, citizenship, the benefit of the doubt. Not-white is doubt. Not-white has to prove, not just once but over and over: 52 traffic stops. Can a white person even imagine? For 52 times Philando Castile had to stop and show his papers, keep his cool, say yes sir, no sir. Had to check the fury that surely rose in him with every stop, every new harassment and humiliation. This remarkable record of self-control should properly be called superhuman. A certain kind of gasbag politician loves to yatter at minorities for their alleged dearths of “personal responsibility,” yet these pols remain blind to a form of strenuous personal responsibility that’s enacted in some fashion several million times a day by people of color in America.
By attacking Obama’s claim to citizenship—by insisting that he produce a particular piece of paper in form and substance satisfactory to the race police, in their sole discretion—Trump tapped into the core of the American anthropology, the peculiarly toxic confluence of racism and economics that’s organized life in America from the very beginning. That the birther claim lacked even the slightest basis in fact was surely part of its power, that it existed so blatantly in the realm of racial animus. No night riders, no burning crosses, but there are other marginally less florid means of making the point. Dog whistles and codes. Racism hiding in plain sight. Birtherism was a dog whistle blown through a megaphone, and Trump rode it to the top of the polls in 2011, only to decline going head-to-head with Obama when he had the chance. He was still riding the birther wave as 2016 approached, but with the official launch of his candidacy in June 2015, Trump did something no mainstream candidate for president had done in a generation. He threw away the dog whistle.
They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists.
An agenda he elaborated over the next 18 months with the wall, the illegal-immigrant-atrocity stories, the proposal to ban all Muslim immigrants, his smirking approval when his supporters beat Black Lives Matter protesters, the assertion that President Obama was “the founder” of ISIS, and in the wake of the Orlando massacre, that Obama either “doesn’t get it or he gets it better than anybody understands.”
For those of us of a certain age, it was a time warp, a fever-dream blast from the past. Who would have thought that George Wallace would be reincarnated in American politics as a New York City real estate tycoon? Wallace, that Brylcreemed banty rooster of a man, fighting cock of the racist Southern walk, and four-term governor of Alabama who thundered in his first inaugural address, “Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever!” He flamed across the national stage for 20 years, a dart-eyed, snarling prophet of the honky apocalypse.
He ran for president four times. As the American Independent Party’s nominee in 1968, he won five Deep South states and 46 Electoral College votes. That same year, Norman Mailer mused on the volcanic potential that Wallace touched but couldn’t fully tap, the power imminent in white America’s obsession with “the Negro problem” and its simmering, psychopathically suppressed guilt over the demonstrably valid claim that, as Mailer put it, “America’s wealth, whiteness, and hygiene had been refined out of the most powerful molecules stolen from the sweat of the black man.”
Wallace ran too hot for the ’60s and ’70s. Times had changed, and the racial concerns of variously aggrieved, enraged, neurotic whites had to be addressed by cooler means. But in 2016, Trump brought back the heat—and won. It seems that history has led us in a circle back to Alabama days, a circle so wide, so encompassing of far horizons, that we hadn’t known this journey that looked so much like progress was in fact a fantasy, a happy story we told ourselves along the way. | https://gen.medium.com/slavery-and-the-origins-of-the-american-police-state-ec318f5ff05b | ['Ben Fountain'] | 2020-05-29 20:20:30.957000+00:00 | ['Slavery', 'Police State', 'History', 'Book Excerpts', 'Race'] |
Improving the Quality of Education through the Great Teacher Selection Program | pixabay.com
By Ahmad Hidayat, M.Pd
Teachers are the key to the quality of a nation’s education. Teacher is a profession that can awaken a nation that is in decline. A history study occurred when Nagasaki and Hiroshima were devastated by the atomic bomb explosion. Emperor Hirohito immediately gathered all the generals who were still alive, and asked them “How many teachers are left?”. The question certainly confused all the generals. At that moment, Emperor Hirohito thought far ahead. To this day, the teaching profession in Japan is highly respected, they call it “sensei” which means honor.
Japan’s concern and understanding of the strategic role of the teaching profession have made Japan continue to conduct evaluations in improving the quality of their teachers. Thanks to these conditions, Japan is currently one of the countries with the best education in the world. This statement is based on research conducted by the social progress imperative which put Japan in second place regarding the level of basic education worldwide as presented in the social progress index in 2017.
Ho Chi Minh who is the father of the Vietnamese nation said that “No teacher, no education, no education, no economic and social development” means that without teachers there is no education, and without education there is no economic and social development. This statement implies that teachers have an important role in the progress of education and the progress of a nation. Vietnam continues to improve education and improve the quality of teachers. Even the allocation of education funds in Vietnam touches 20% or the same as our country. But amazingly, the quality of Vietnam’s education is able to surpass Indonesia based on 2017 World Bank data.
The commemoration of National Teachers’ Day (November 25) during this pandemic period should certainly be a momentum for policy makers and for all Indonesian people, especially those who are engaged in education to think harder and fight even stronger in facing such a huge challenge. One of the things that must be considered is how to improve teacher quality as an effort to improve the quality of education. The program the writer offers is a great teacher screening program. This program consists of three phases of implementation. The first phase begins when the college accepts student teacher candidates, the author calls it the pre-teacher phase.
The improvement in the government’s attention to the welfare of teachers by allocating large enough education funds has made the public enthusiastic about enrolling their children in the Teaching Faculty or the Tarbiyah Faculty. This phenomenon has occurred in the past few years. Based on data taken from resources.ristekdikti.com in 2017, it is estimated that out of 1.5 million Indonesian students, about 300,000 undergraduate students have graduated from education per year. Meanwhile, the need for teachers is only about 40,000 people per year. This means that there is a serious over supply.
In this pre-teacher phase, the government should set clear standards for prospective teacher students. These standards then serve as a guide for selected universities to determine qualified teacher student candidates. Today many universities or colleges accept teacher students so easily. Meanwhile, candidates for other professions such as Medicine, Police, Army, and even other vocational schools have quite complicated requirements with high levels of intelligence and physical standards. We need to learn from Finland about what is special about teacher students there.
After that, students who have been selected are really well nurtured. Give a new theory of knowledge, which is in line with the projections of 21st century education. Lecturers who teach should not be arbitrary, because it is from them that students learn to become teachers who are full of talent, full of manners and full of knowledge. If the student selection is good, the resulting output will be good. If this is the case, the next phase is the phase when you become a teacher. The author calls this the post-teacher phase.
This phase is the most decisive phase in the success of improving teacher quality. In this phase, teachers are given regular training as a way for them to continue learning. The first training is focused on the interests of students, teachers must be closely supervised when educating students in the first assignments by the competent authority. They are also given directions about building the students’ character as a whole (knowing character, feeling character and action character). Only when they are really ready, let the teacher be independent in teaching, also in learning.
The next training is soft skill training, the first is training on the use of technology in learning. Of course in the future we hope that there will be no more technology-illiterate teachers. The number of evaluations of online teaching and learning activities during this pandemic must be an example so that they do not happen again in the future. The second is writing training (scientific papers, lesson plans, textbooks, or works of fiction). This training is very important for creating teachers who are creative in literacy and express their ideas. And lastly is training to be a good speaker and listener (discussion, seminar or presentation) as a form of educating and opening insights and a means of sharing knowledge.
The last phase is the phase when the teacher has retired. The author calls this the post-teacher phase. In this phase the teachers who have retired are given the opportunity to share with young teachers, as learning and as material for evaluation. Isn’t experience the best teacher? Yes, even though every era has different ways of solving problems, there are always positive values generated from teachers who already have decades of experience. Such is the great teacher screening program. Of course there is no instant for a big change, as in the world of education. Starting from zero then darting, or standing still like this but walking nowhere. Glorious has always been educated in Indonesia. | https://medium.com/@ahmadhidayat421/improving-the-quality-of-education-through-the-great-teacher-selection-program-3f7999d38c04 | [] | 2020-12-01 08:26:25.445000+00:00 | ['Teachers', 'Quality', 'Education'] |
Why I Changed My Life Instead of Changing My Job | Designing Your Life
You need a North Star
I can’t tell you what your ideal life looks like, but I can share how I peered behind the curtain to see what was actually important to me. Once I took the time to do some digging, it became easier to move in the direction of building a life that I was holistically happy with.
It’s a hell of a lot easier to make decisions when you know what your desired outcomes actually are.
Find what’s important to you
Take a look at your life and assess where you’re at outside of work. We often give our leftovers to our home life, and our family and friends. The message that we’re sending to ourselves there is that these things don’t take as much energy and effort. But what if we reframed that?
What if we made it a priority, and let our job be just a job?
Below are some questions that might get you started in the right direction. Give yourself permission to answer without thinking about the constraints of your responsibilities. That’s the only way to accurately start to get a glimpse of what you want. From there, you can start to work backwards and slowly build a life you love over time.
Try starting with these:
What does your favorite morning look like right now?
How would you ideally spend your time during the day if you didn’t have work?
What hobbies would you have?
What would you like to learn that’s new?
Who would you spend your time with, and doing what?
Build your life around those priorities
For many people, they find that their relationships haven’t been getting the attention that they deserve, to thrive. People grow apart over time and without the effort to connect, relationships become more fragile.
Maybe you find that you want to spend more time on hobbies that you’ve long forgotten about and used to enjoy. Maybe you have a long list of things you’ve always wanted to learn but have never had the time or energy for.
It might not feel like it, but this is all actually great news!
Once you know what your answers are, you can focus on putting your energy back into what matters to you. Realistically, you won’t be able to change your life overnight, but now you have a direction to move in. You have something to help make decisions about your time, energy, and effort. You now have your very own North Star.
A personal example in action
For me, it became clear that a huge priority was travel. I always had to be living for our next trip. If I didn’t have at least 2 things booked to look forward to, I was distraught. They didn’t have to be big, they just had to be based around new experiences with the people I loved, and they generally involved some fantastic food experience as well.
Knowing this, I was able to start moving in the direction of finding a way to travel more. A year later, we live in our RV and travel full-time. I started putting a concerted effort into the relationships that I’d been taking for granted. My grandparents now get multiple calls a week and I’ve loved how much closer I’m feeling to them again. I stopped spending money on things that didn’t fit into my dream life. Now we save 80% of our income and know exactly what we want to spend it on. Our life has been the best it’s ever been since I stopped prioritizing work as the most important thing in my life. | https://medium.com/the-ascent/why-i-changed-my-life-instead-of-changing-my-job-3f1043c6dbe5 | ['Breana Wallace'] | 2020-11-30 14:28:05.860000+00:00 | ['Self Improvement', 'Life Lessons', 'Life', 'Personal Development'] |
Enbrighten Zigbee Plug-In Smart Dimmer review: Its hefty size is offset by its ability to control two lamps at once | Enbrighten Zigbee Plug-In Smart Dimmer review: Its hefty size is offset by its ability to control two lamps at once Jack Sep 1, 2020·3 min read
Most smart-home owners dim lamps by screwing in smart bulbs, but plugging your lamps into a smart plug that supports dimming is an even easier solution. Plug-in smart dimmers aren’t as ubiquitous as simple on/off smart plugs, but every major electrical manufacturer has one.
This Enbrighten model from Jasco is based on Zigbee technology and so depends on a smart home hub that supports the same. That can be a Samsung SmartThings, a Hubitat Elevation, an Amazon Echo Plus, or a second-generation Echo Show, among others.
<blockquote>This review is part of TechHive’s coverage of the best smart plugs, where you'll find reviews of competing products, plus a buyer’s guide to the features you should consider when shopping.As with its in-wall dimmer, however, the Enbrighten plug-in dimmer is not formally certified to work with SmartThings. But that didn't prevent me from settingt it up that way with no problem. I simply scanned the QR code sticker on the product within the SmartThings app during setup.
work24.ru/sitemap_0.xml">smart-bulbs.html">[ Further reading: The best LED smart bulbs ] Jasco Products The Enbrighten Zigbee smart dimmer can control two lamps without blocking the adjacent outlet.
The Enbrighten Zigbee Plug-In Smart Dimmer shares the same overstuffed industrial design as Plug-In Smart Dimmer" data-vars-link-position-id="000" data-vars-link-position="Body Text" data-po="amazon-ajax" data-product-id="1444616" data-vars-product-id="1444616" data-bkc="HomeTech" data-bkmfr="JascoProducts" data-vars-bkmfr="JascoProducts" data-bkvndr="" data-vars-bkvndr="" data-amazon-ajax-link="true" data-amazon-ajax-link-loaded="false" data-amazon-ajax-link-asin="B01MTBCRSN" data-amazon-ajax-link-subtag="US-003-3572368-000-1444616-web-20">Jasco’s Enbrighten Z-Wave Plus smart plug. It’s a fat brick of a device that measures a sizable 4 x 3 inches across its face and which juts out from the wall 1.5 inches. A two-prong receptacle is positioned on each side of the unit, with a single power button positioned on the top. (Both outlets are controlled simultaneously, not independently.) The good news is that, while the dimmer is quite large, it’s designed so that it doesn’t block the second outlet in a receptacle, a common problem with oversized gear like this.
The dimmer is designed only to work with lights—not space heaters or motorized products, such as fans—and it supports a maximum total load of 2.5 amps. That’s the equivalent of 300 watts of incandescent bulbs or 150 watts of LEDs, per the manufacturer. (Any connected light bulbs must, of course, be dimmable for the dimmer to work correctly.)
While dedicated dimming controls are lacking on the device itself, that single button can do the job if you need direct control. A single press turns the attached lamps on or off; press and hold to slowly dim the lights. Press this button 10 times quickly to program the behavior of the onboard LED: always off, on when the load is on, or on when the load is off (nightlight style).
Jasco Products You'll control your lamps via a SmartThings or another Zigbee hub, such as an Amazon Echo Plus.
When using the dimmer with SmartThings, I was able to manually turn the lights on or off, dim them with a slider, and set schedules and timers to control the lights automatically. A detailed history tab shows not only when the lights were turned on or off, but what the dimming level was set to—should you need to know that information. I encountered no trouble with the dimmer in several days of testing, and the dimmer was always quite responsive to commands. Speaking of which, the dimmer is compatible with both Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.
The $40 list price is a bit on the high side, but if your smart home is built around Zigbee, and you want a Zigbee 3.0 device, your options are unfortunately limited. As such, it’s definitely worth considering if the overstuffed design isn’t a turn-off.
Note: When you purchase something after clicking links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. Read our affiliate link policy for more details. | https://medium.com/@Jack76354173/enbrighten-zigbee-plug-in-smart-dimmer-review-its-hefty-size-is-offset-by-its-ability-to-control-3ff855844eb6 | [] | 2020-09-01 09:44:22.361000+00:00 | ['Home Tech', 'Lighting', 'Electronics', 'Chargers'] |
What About Our Sanity? | Why has this happened?
Much of the blame must surely reside with an opportunistic political class whose pronouncements now seem to be entirely governed by the art of saying what your constituency (and donors) want to hear, rather than what is true. This tendency is exacerbated by the Fox News Effect, wherein media outlets have allowed unyielding bias to infiltrate purportedly “fair and balanced” reporting. Perhaps that’s where America’s obfuscator-in-chief, who infamously responded to condemnation of the alt-right rally in Charlottesville by asking “whatabout the alt-left…?”, picked up the habit.
But the enabling mechanism is, of course, the great accidental villain of our time: the internet, the mob-forum where the entire world gets to follow Lord Beaverbrook’s journalistic exhortation to “publish and be damned.” It’s an unfortunate product of (not just a backlash against) the liberal age that everyone feels entitled to believe whatever the hell they want, no matter how ill-informed or unsubstantiated those beliefs may be. And the web empowers us to scream those ill-informed or unsubstantiated views loud and clear.
The facets of online communication that foster whataboutism are well-known. The option of anonymity erodes the sense that our words are consequential. The medium tends to abbreviate debate, offering disproportionate reward for punchy one-liners in a way that infantilizes conversation, even though a sentiment that seems quite brilliant in 100 characters doesn’t always hold up to scrutiny when you you unpack it.
However, perhaps more significant for those seeking to understand the whatabout contagion is the role it plays in galvanizing online echo chambers. By offering up a means to parry every opposition blow, it helps people to erect near-impermeable battlements around their ideological viewpoints. I often wonder how chastening it must be when you write something so apocalyptically thick that you end up falling foul of “the ratio” — where the deluge of condemnatory replies elicited by a stupid tweet far outnumbers its likes and RTs. But I imagine that a determined partisan can brush it aside by merely retreating into his own virtual convention centre, where a million people will be more than happy to reinforce his notion that #pizzagate is indeed integral to a conversation about Trumpian immigration policy.
While cynical politicians and pundits exploit whataboutism to dissemble and foment partisan outrage, the rank and file seem more than happy to swallow it whole. It is increasingly evident from the way common or garden-variety whataboutists butt into more measured conversation, thinking they have something relevant to say, that they genuinely believe this brand of argumentation negates whatever facts you throw at them.
Whataboutism, in short, provides an answer for people who have none.
In scrabbling around for arguments to validate our existing partisanship, people at both ends of the political spectrum have lighted upon false equivalence as an instrument for defending indefensible positions. We have willfully fooled ourselves.
Confronted with this pigheadedness, even the most rational among us end up getting sucked into the vortex. It is simply not possible to argue with logical fallacies, so whataboutism has the knock-on effect of driving your interlocutor up the wall. Temperate debate descends into a mire of snark and circumlocution. Witness, for a depressing example, the level of whataboutism being volleyed back and forth online the next time America suffers a terrorist attack, as ordinarily sensible people start shrieking across the political chasm — “Whatabout the Islamists?” “Whatabout the far right?” — almost as if the entire nation was engaged in a high-stakes game of terrorist Top-Trumps.
[Quote retweet: “Kill me now.”]
That’s the crucial thing to understand about whataboutism. It’s not really about winning the argument and converting people to your way of thinking at all. Instead, it is just a corollary of tribalism and a means of entrenching biases — both those of your audience and your own. It might occasionally provide its deployer with the illusion of a hollow “win.” But as a means of bringing the opposition round to your point of view? Forget it. Because whataboutism empowers each side to wallow in ignorance and fallacy, the prospect of reconciliation over just about any policy issue grows more remote by the day. | https://medium.com/s/jeremiad/what-about-our-sanity-b79e6d124a94 | ['Henry Wismayer'] | 2018-04-04 17:28:03.247000+00:00 | ['Rhetoric', 'Culture War', 'Social Media', 'Politics'] |
Clean code — Name matters. A good naming convention is one of the… | 1. Give your names intentions
Name of class, function, variable should inform why was created, what do and how is used. If you need to add a comment above your variable you probably didn’t precise your intentions enough. Choosing the right name is a good investment so take your time. Asking your colleagues for help is a good idea. Remember you are not the only one who will be working with this code.
Bad:
public int $f_cnt; // friends count
Good:
public int $friendsCount;
Variable name f_cnt don’t inform us strictly what kind of information keeps inside. We have to guess or dig deeper into code to find the information we are looking for.
Bad:
public function process(array $u, $a = 18): array
{
$results = [];
foreach ($u as $i) {
if ($i['a'] >= $a) {
$results[] = $i['id'];
}
}
return $results;
}
As you see this code isn’t complicated. It has only one array iteration and one conditional statement but can you deduce what this code does? The problem here is not code complexity but its secretiveness. Names of variables, array keys, and function properties are hiding important information from us. Let’s see at refactored code.
Good:
public function getAdultUsersIds(array $usersList, $adultAge = 18): array
{
$adultUsersIds = [];
foreach ($usersList as $user) {
if ($user['age'] >= $adultAge) {
$adultUsersIds[] = $user['id'];
}
}
return $adultUsersIds;
}
Better immediately. We can now deduce what method does just by reading the name. | https://medium.com/marcin-worwa/clean-code-name-matters-6368f8e385bd | ['Marcin Worwa'] | 2020-12-09 19:39:27.149000+00:00 | ['Clean Code', 'Software Development', 'Technology', 'PHP', 'Programming'] |
How do I not get burnt out when learning to code? | That is a great question! Unfortunately, it isn’t as complex as you may think it is. It has a simple answer. You just have to pace yourself.
That means when you are learning to code, learn small sections at a time and make sure you take 2 days off during the week. Treat it like a full time job. Yes, you can work “overtime” when learning and during 5 days a week go crazy but during the other 2 days, don’t code anything at all. That gives your brain, body, etc. time to relax and unwind so you don’t get burnt out.
If you have tried this and are still feeling burnt out, then take 3 days off or 4 days off. Yes, it may take you longer to learn how to code and that is okay. There is no “deadline” for when you need to learn how to code by. Also, you don’t “need” to learn how to code. It is a “want” meaning you can get yourself to that point in your own time.
I hope this helps! | https://medium.com/@dudethatserin/how-do-i-not-get-burnt-out-when-learning-to-code-faffb755a807 | ['Erin Skidds'] | 2020-12-19 17:59:18.624000+00:00 | ['Learning', 'Learning To Code', 'Web Development', 'Life', 'Programming'] |
Who are the Bridge Builders? | Leaving the Island in order to Come Back
It is relevant to notice that our land, which has always been enriched with dominations from all over the world, today shows instead difficulties in accepting the diversity between the islanders themselves. During the meeting, we understood that the reason that drives us away is perhaps that it is easier to do something if you don’t have to give explanations to anyone.
In Sicily it is also easier when you don’t want to challenge yourself, giving up studying or travelling. The latter two are powerful tools to get in touch with the world and therefore with yourself, to know and share. All the participants in the workshop are studying, everyone has travelled at least once and everyone knew they were there for this reason. Unluckily there are many young people in the conditions of our target who did not attend the meeting because they are far from this kind of moments whose only goal is simply and wonderfully to bring people together.
“In Sicily, even not studying, it could make you a hostile person.”
Skills acquired…
It is necessary to believe in a diversity that unifies. This does not happen in our city because there is a widespread fear of what is unknown. For example, according to the participant Pierpaolo, we are so used to being dominated that we never ask for respect from those we host. He tells us to notice a university citadel colonized by young people from small villages near Palermo. The latter are young people who run away from their families because there is no offer near them, so they choose to study but many of them are not able to respect the surrounding environment, they pollute and Palermo continues to relax, being dominated once again. | https://medium.com/the-bridge-project/who-are-the-bridge-builders-a12e7572ddc | ['Fabiola Moscato'] | 2020-02-20 15:20:29.045000+00:00 | ['Workshop', 'Skill Development', 'Immagination', 'Lost Generation', 'Cooperation'] |
The Case for Online At-Home Voting | The Case for Online At-Home Voting
Why is online voting considered impossible in this country?
Photo by Morning Brew on Unsplash
Will this be the election that finally teaches people that a country this large simply cannot survive the inadequacies of our antiquated voting system? By this point in time, we should all have the ability to vote online.
It’s always amazed me that the general public continues to put up with the idea that voting in person at the polling station is more reliable than any other method. That narrative allows for a lot of votes to be left on the table. Between a pandemic that makes people not want to breathe other people’s air and the recent massive reduction in polling stations after repeal of the Voting Rights Act, voting at the polls is harder than ever for a lot of people. At the same time, the only alternative is to vote by mail at a time when the mail is the most unreliable it’s ever been, due to new rules put into effect by Trump’s postmaster general, Louis De Joy.
There’s a third option that’s consistently ignored: voting on the internet. But people who want to keep turnout low will tell you that the internet isn’t reliable and you won’t be able to trust your vote. Those same people know darn well that we file our taxes online. Can you think of any information more sensitive and that you would like to keep private than your Social Security number? Well, do you put that on the internet when you file your taxes? Yes, you do. If you can file your taxes securely online, you can vote online.
Besides the fact that some of the voting machines used now can be remotely controlled through the web anyway, and as was forced into the public eye after the last presidential election, some voting machines are still able to be controlled by third parties and state voter registration databases are hackable, as confirmed by Senate Intelligence Committee member Marco Rubio (R-FL).
In spite of the common misconception that our current system is not connected to the internet, with testimony from Trump’s Homeland Security Director bolstering that partial falsehood in 2017, several states that have larger voting systems ended up online, according to 10 cyber security experts who study election security. A senior advisor at National Election Defense Coalition told NBC News that it had found 35 voting systems that, although not originally designed to be online, now are. He said that as of January 2020, they were still continuing to find even more.
Some might say “If state voter databases can be hacked into by foreign governments and local governments have been given remote access to voting machines they bought from private vendors, then it’s too risky for people to be able to do it themselves online.” Let’s break that down.
First of all, the DMV in FL was given a phishing email, which an employee apparently opened. If we were all automatically registered to vote, as is our right (but not the yet the law) under the Constitution; there would be no registration database at the state computer to be hacked into. We would log on using the same type of info we use to file our taxes, or, as added security, something like a fingerprint sign-on. If someone had somehow gotten access to our computer and been able to cast our vote for us, we’d know, because we’d be told we’ve already voted. Just like now, with the current system. Then it could be investigated.
When a whole system gets hacked into, it has a higher tendency to be overlooked, just like we saw in the last election. Similar to the logic flaw in the argument for voter ID laws that claims so many people are voting multiple times with different names, we know that if someone had already voted in our name, we’d find out when we showed up and there would be enough reports of it happening that it would be frequent enough for people to have actually heard of it happening.
It is way past time for us in the USA to be able to log into our computers vote, just as we log into our computers and manage our most important things such as bank and retirement accounts. Seriously, if you trust your 401k company to keep your portfolio online and allow you to go in and use the web to make changes to it, why are you scared to vote online? If it was so easy for someone to get in there and change your vote, don’t you think people would have already gotten your Social Security number from the IRS’s website or taken money from your savings account, or you’d have at least one acquaintance who experienced it?
Two Canadian provinces have online voting, and the country is considering it for federal elections. Also, 22 states in our own USA offer it for military personnel and people living overseas. In Australia, disabled people and citizens living in remote areas are allowed to vote online. New Zealand allows military personnel to cast their ballots via the internet.
If internet voting is too risky for most people to use, then why is it approved for certain groups? Clearly, judging by the lack of reports of fraud, it’s not. Besides that, there are many advantages to online voting. In addition to the convenience, there would be no need for poll workers, no traffic congestion for going to the polls, and no transportation problems.
Mail-in ballots are okay for now as an alternative to voting machines that are currently, through the designs given to them by the private firms that produced and sold them, able to be remotely controlled by someone other than the voter. But mail-in ballots don’t eliminate, or even reduce, the possibility of a presidential election ending the night with no winner. That’s because not only are we still dealing with the fact that some of those ballots aren’t even counted until after the fact, but also that the mail has been slowed down through new post office regulations. That’s a problem, especially now with Donald Trump and his “muddying of the waters” approach to fool people who are not research-savvy.
Since election law, even for federal office, is still left to the states, there’s a wide variation on when states count their mail-in ballots. In Washington DC and Idaho, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, New York, South Dakota, for example, those ballots don’t even begin to be counted until after the polls close. Mail-ins can start being counted at 7 PM on election day in Illiinois, and 8 PM in Washington state.
If internet voting is so potentially rife with fraud, I’d like one of the people who keep saying that to actually give some specifics on HOW that is, exactly what type of fraud would be happening and how it would be possible, and why it would be so much easier to commit voter fraud online than it is to commit tax fraud online. I want them to tell me exactly what specifically it is about online voting that would be less secure than online banking or taxes. Because I’m not buying the generalizations about potential online voter fraud after I watched the specifics of systemic election fraud play out in the last election, and corroborated in the congressional hearings and special counsel reports after the fact. | https://medium.com/the-national-discussion/the-case-for-online-at-home-voting-140ee0d74cbb | ['Carolyn Bertolino'] | 2020-09-09 19:17:11.013000+00:00 | ['Elections', 'Election 2020', 'Politics'] |
Young People Can Save Air Travel. When Will They? | Super-Travelers: Desire is Strong, but their Timelines Vary
Ilana lives in NYC — blocks away from the eerily silent stretch of Time Square — in the hardest-hit area for COVID-19 cases in the country. Before the outbreak she was what I would call a super traveler. I have never known her to not be planning at least two trips at any given moment, so, being grounded has been especially hard on her. “I honestly have no idea when I’ll travel again, and it’s breaking my soul,” she told me. I know she means it. I asked her whether she would have any trepidation about traveling again after experiencing the crisis that she’s living through in New York. “For me the worry is less so about going to certain countries — like Georgia or Vietnam, for example, which are doing much better and are safer than NYC. It’s more so that I have no idea how America is going to handle it, and I’ll be able to leave.” The fear is not unfounded. The European Union banned travelers from the United States. Still, Ilana is optimistic. “The second I get a glimpse that things are becoming normal, I will book a trip within seconds. ”
“The second I get a glimpse that things are becoming normal, I will book a trip within seconds.”
Larissa can sympathize with Ilana’s outlook. She is also an avid-traveler who recently experienced the apex of COVID-19, but from a European hotbed.
Larissa had imagined a year abroad in the Italian region of Piedmont, learning about culinary anthropology first-hand. But now, classes are held in a familiar state-side living room in Piedmont, California at 5 AM, in order to accommodate her Italian instructors and international peers that she left behind. When COVID-19 decimated the region she flew home right before total lockdown…but not without making a stop for a week in Lyon, and a trip to London. After COVID-19, her future travel plans might not look anything like this. “I might pick less popular destinations, and maybe hop around less from city to city. And maybe doing more local travel instead of far flung destinations every time.”
Larissa would be in good company with the over one million members of Girls Love Travel, a Facebook group of self-proclaimed travel junkies, myself included.* A majority said they would be traveling local or domestically first, seeking out National Parks, campsites, or good routes for road-trips. The sporadic nature of COVID-19 might spell the end of Millennials who multi-hop — going to additional scenic locations just to “do it for the ‘gram.” The social-media grand-tours of multiple country-stops may be replaced for a more focused type of travel.
Many of my 100 GLT respondents said they wouldn’t travel until there was a vaccine, some put a year on it (2021–2025). Others optimistically intended to take existing trips slated for the fall or winter, hoping that it just might be out of the reach of the virus. Even among diehards, there is an air of wait-and-see. | https://jesswatts.medium.com/young-people-can-save-air-travel-when-will-they-8954c2385e6f | ['Jess Watts'] | 2020-07-06 16:43:02.864000+00:00 | ['Covid 19', 'Travel', 'Gen Z', 'Corona', 'Millennials'] |
What Is a Blockchain Oracle? | 1. What Is an Oracle?
A blockchain oracle is any device or entity that connects a deterministic blockchain with off-chain data.
There is a lot to unpack in that one sentence.
To understand what blockchain oracles are and why we need them, let’s go back to one of the core features of a blockchain — decentrality.
The problem with blockchains
Since the blockchain has its distributed ledger nature, each node in the network has to be able to find the same end result given the same input. Otherwise, when a node looks to validate a transaction another node makes, it would end up with a different result. This architecture is intentional, and it’s designed to be deterministic intentionally.
New balance is easy to get (Image source: Author)
We can see when we send $5 from Bob to Alice, we can easily add $5 to Alice’s balance and subtract $5 from Bob’s. Every node on the network could easily reproduce this, get the same results, and end up in the same state.
But what if this wasn’t the case? Let’s imagine an imaginary blockchain where they use APIs to validate each other's transactions. Let’s say we want to send a variable amount based on the price of ETH to Alice from Bob’s account. We would have our contract call an API to get the price of ETH and then send that amount to Bob. When every other node goes to verify this, they also have to call this API.
It’s much harder to validate variables. (Image source: Author)
But what happens now? If they call the API even an instant later, the API could have changed — been depreciated, hacked, or for a number of other reasons — and all the nodes would get a different result. This means none of the nodes would be able to agree upon what the actual state of the blockchain is.
It’s for this reason the Ethereum blockchain and most blockchains are designed to be entirely deterministic. That means if we were to replay every transaction, we would end up in the correct state. If you include API calls or other non-deterministic sources into the infrastructure of blockchain, there is a good chance that the source will be depreciated, hacked, or even just broken, and we would not be able to validate transactions.
Consensus is not possible if blockchain is non-deterministic (Image source: Chainlink)
In blockchain, the mechanism for agreeing upon a data value is called consensus, and determinism is important so that nodes can come to a consensus. You might have heard of some of them, like Proof of Work (PoW) with Nakamoto Consensus or Proof of Stake (PoS) with Byzantine Consensus. Consensus is one of the key ingredients that make blockchain work in the first place.
But we need the blockchain world to connect with the real world. We need to get the price of ETH and other cryptocurrencies into a contract so we can have DeFi. We need to get the weather data so we can have decentralized trustless insurance. We need data to use blockchain for one of its most important purposes, smart contracts. So how do we bridge the worlds with this constraint?
How oracles solve this
A blockchain oracle is any device or entity that connects a deterministic blockchain with off-chain data. These oracles enter every data input through an external transaction. This way, we can be sure that the blockchain itself contains all of the information required to verify itself. This is why oracles are known as blockchain middleware: They are the bridge between the two worlds.
So that’s it, this is great! But what’s this I keep hearing about an “oracle problem”? | https://betterprogramming.pub/what-is-a-blockchain-oracle-f5ccab8dbd72 | ['Patrick Collins'] | 2021-01-07 18:01:27.078000+00:00 | ['Solidity', 'Ethereum', 'Cryptocurrency', 'Programming', 'Blockchain'] |
15toGO key features and why you should start using it right now | 15toGO is a platform that combines a social network for travelers with a group tours marketplace. Our main purpose is to change the way people travel by allowing them to get to know each other before an organized trip actually takes place. We have figured out that the rest of the group participants are the main factor for one’s experience when joining such a tour.
The slogan reveals the three main actions each user can undertake — MATCH. BOOK. TRAVEL. But what do they stand for?
MATCH
Is there a hobby that most of your friends don’t share with you or are they too busy to join you on your adventures? This is a common problem for everyone and we’re trying to solve it by providing you with access to a vast community of travelers.
You’ll be able to find your perfect like-minded travel buddies by using the Filter option on top of the People screen. Insert the activities you are most interested in (let’s say kitesurfing, parties, sightseeing), the age of the people you’d prefer to communicate with, their nationality, etc. and voila! You are presented with the profiles of those users that match your criteria.
Furthermore, you can open the users’ profiles to get to know them a bit better. Check out which countries they’ve visited, what their hobbies are and their posts so-far. If you want to keep up with them or to chat, just click the ‘GO With’ button and you’d be able to follow their activity thanks to the Board screen. Not only does it show you the latest photos they’ve uploaded on the app but it also reveals to you whenever they wishlist a trip.
Let’s say you and Mark have chatted in the past about a common passion of yours — diving. Since you are following Mark, you’ll be able to see on the Board when he adds a particular offer to his Bucket List (for instance ‘Carribean Diving Safari’). It’s a trip that you’ve been keen to hop on for a while and now you know who you can share the experience with!
2. BOOK
There are other ways to choose the perfect tour for you — you can simply go through the offers that have been published on the ‘Trips’ screen! Again, the most convenient tool you can use is the Filter option.
Select the months you’re free, the budget you can afford, the activities you’d like to practice and so on. Everything is made as seamless as possible. You can even see the list of individuals who’ve expressed their desire to partake in the tours that are published on the marketplace!
Once you’ve picked an offer and you’ve gone through the itinerary, the pictures and the required information you can simply press the ‘Book’ button, which will take you to our native booking engine.
Just in case you’ve missed some of the information in the main offer, all the essentials are displayed here once more. You choose the departure date, the price package, as well as any additional activities you’d like to throw in. There are various payment options you can then take advantage of — credit or debit card, cash on delivery, bank transfer… Whatever you deem most convenient.
This is a huge leap forward for a lot of small tour operators out there who cannot afford to implement a booking engine on their websites and who have to rely on basic contact forms.
Some trips may be marked as a ‘GO Deal’ and will be shown on top of all others. A GO Deal is a promotional offer that allows one of the first 15 people to book it the chance to join the tour for free! You can learn more about the GO Deals here. Just keep in mind that these offers are only temporary and you’d need to often act quickly before all the spots are filled in!
3. TRAVEL
Almost everyone nowadays is traveling, but with 15toGO this lifestyle can be improved immensely! It’s important to note that traveling with a group is often better than doing it solo for a number of reasons.
It’s more fun — especially if you’ve had the time to acquaint yourself with the rest of the group participants prior to the trip
You build meaningful relationships — these newfound connections often continue long after the end of the tour
It’s safer — we are working on introducing a method of evaluating the users on the platform based on their behavior. This will allow you to easily assess them and decide whether or not you’d like to be in the company of someone you’re not familiar with.
And in case you don’t want to be with strangers but rather with your friends, there is another alternative for you (coming soon) — Private Trips! If, for example, you’d like to visit Nepal and have a very specific itinerary in mind, then all you’d need to do is send us your request for a private trip, describing all the particular details of it. From there on our team will make sure to introduce your dream journey to one of the licensed tour operators that we collaborate with. They will let you know if they’d be able to tailor-make it for you and what the cost of it would be. And if you are an influencer with thousands of followers, then some service providers may even contact you with the proposition to customize your own tour in exchange for free advertising!
Throughout all of these processes, including once the trip has started, you will have access to our Customer Happiness Agents. Their primary task is to make sure that all of 15toGO’s users are satisfied with the overall experience. If you need their support, just press the ‘Chat’ button on the 15toGO website and they’ll get back to you to resolve any issues that you may have.
And last, but not least, we need to mention the Travel Credit. Whenever someone you’ve invited to the platform books a tour on it, you’ll be receiving 5% of whatever they spend in the form of Travel Credit. You will be rewarded not only for their first but also for their second and third trip as well! You can then use this Travel Credit to reduce the cost of any of the offers on the 15toGO Marketplace! And if you have amassed a great quantity of Travel Credit, you may even redeem it for cash — so if you are a travel influencer this can prove to be an extremely lucrative side income for you.
15toGO is constantly evolving. Our strive is to be the leading force behind the disruption of the tours and activities sector. Make sure to follow us on social media and be notified when new functionalities are released to the public and when new milestones are reached. | https://medium.com/15togo/15togo-key-features-and-why-you-should-start-using-it-right-now-88df020ea5dd | ['Viktor Dessov'] | 2019-11-14 09:33:39.499000+00:00 | ['Travel'] |
Announcing the Next Big Model of Passive Income through Real-Word Assets NFT: CurioDAO’s Mercedes-AMG GTS Token | Announcing the Next Big Model of Passive Income through Real-Word Assets NFT: CurioDAO’s Mercedes-AMG GTS Token CurioInvest Sep 6·5 min read
CurioInvest — A Project Overview
People always desire to own a luxury car, yet this world has never displayed a decent system for the commoners to obtain one. CurioInvest has made it possible for everyone to own a luxurious asset in the form of a tokenized car. While offering the first tokenized Ferrari in the world, CurioInvest has propagated towards announcing the next big, tokenized asset. This investment platform for collectible cars has kept an upper hand in developing a potential system. Rollapp.store is one of their recent additions that has made the sale and purchase of these tokenized assets easier and convenient.
RollApp — A Swiss Killer App: Real-World Asset NFT Launchpad
CurioDAO, the DeFi platform that gives users the freedom of managing real-world assets, provides users with multiple solutions. These solutions, usually illustrated as a form of NFT marketplace, connect the hodlers with the Curio ecosystem perfectly. RollApp is one example of a store put forth by the CurioDAO developers, serving as an answer to unlocking traditional assets through tokenization. RollApp has kept a transitioning model of cross-platform trading while enabling users to manage and purchase tokens across the application.
CurioDAO Car — Presenting a Coherent Car Rental System through RWA-NFTs
As CurioInvest introduced the Ferrari F12tdf asset token as the first super-car tokenized asset, it proceeded with adding more assets in its bag. The Mercedes-AMG GTS token will be presented as an ERC-1155 token on the Ethereum Blockchain. This tokenized asset is to be introduced across the CurioDAO Car Project as the first DAO Car, the exclusive rental car platform presented by CurioInvest.
CurioInvest proposes to devise a complete rental car system for enabling NFT passive income for its token hodlers. The Mercedes AMG GTS, primarily owned by CurioInvest, would be rented by the people living across the city of Zug, Switzerland. As the project puts its token into sale, this DAO Car will be owned by the community of the CurioDAO Car NFT token hodlers.
How is the CurioDAO Car Renting System Going to Proceed?
As this DAO Car will be available across Zug, Switzerland, it will be available for rent for the locals. You might wonder how the finances will operate across this digital platform? The structure is simple and effective. The car rental mechanism is intended to be developed and controlled across the substrate-based Curio Parachain and IoT devices. The connection between Curio Parachain and IoT devices will be processed through Robonomic’s cloud infrastructure or significant device modules for effective interaction.
Managing the Financial Distribution for CurioDAO Car Rental
Being a part of the CurioDAO DeFi ecosystem, the car rental finances will be handled with Curio Governance Token (CGT). Although CGT presents itself as the main token responsible for car renting, other Capital DEX-supported tokens are also accepted as a form of payment. The Mercedes-AMG GTS will be available for anyone to rent. CurioDAO intends to present a diverse system of payment for these users. A gateway implementation for payments through bank cards is to be introduced in parallel with ETH and ERC-20 tokens. The adoption of ETH and ERC-20 tokens as a payment form has been made possible with the integration of the car rental process across the Ethereum Blockchain and Curio Parachain. The rental payments will be processed across Ethereum and paid up to the DAO Car NFT holders in the form of CGT.
The CGT tokens received from every car rental gig are to be distributed among the community owners of the DAO car, subtracting the commission that is to be paid to Curio’s ecosystem.
Curio DAO Car Token — The Selling Procedure
Our Curio DAO Car Token is introduced into the world across the Ethereum Blockchain as an ERC-1155 token, a state-of-the-art token standard. It will be available for sale across RollApp.store for just ten days. Within this time frame, five days are reserved for the members of the Curio Founders’ Membership Club. To become a part of the Founders’ Club, users can purchase Curio Founders Edition NFTs across RollApp.store. These members will also receive a 10% discount off CurioDAO Car NFT along with early access.
Watch this promo video:
Building a Reputable Accounting System — The Future of Curio Products
CurioInvest intends to design a user reputation tracking system for the determination of user interactions through Curio products. With the RollApp platform, users can build their reputation by actively using the marketplace. Their on-chain implementation across ERC-725 standards will be practiced adjacent to LUKSO solutions. CurioInvest will promote the reputation of those users who fulfill the KYC process across the platform before introducing the token sale of CurioDAO Car.
Where to Buy CGT Tokens?
Capital DEX exchange now offers CGT tokens to its users, with the ability to gain tokens through farming, liquidity mining, and community events. You can follow us across our official Telegram channel for more CGT information.
For more information, please visit:
RollApp I CurioInvest I CapitalDex I Twitter I Discord I Telegram I YouTube I GitHub I Blog I Investors & Media I Whitepaper I Bitcointalk I Ann Thread I Facebook I LinkedIn I Reddit I Instagram
Disclaimer
Certain information contained here has been obtained from third-party sources, including from the protocol on which tech is built. While taken from sources believed to be reliable, CurioDAO has not independently verified such information and makes no representations about the enduring accuracy of the information or its appropriateness for a given situation.
In addition, this content may include third-party entities; CurioDAO has not reviewed such advertisements and does not endorse any advertising content contained therein.
This content is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be relied upon as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. You should consult your own advisers as to those matters. References to any securities or digital assets are for illustrative purposes only, and do not constitute an investment recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services. Furthermore, this content is not directed at nor intended for use by any investors or prospective investors, and may not under any circumstances be relied upon when making a decision to invest in any instrument related to CurioDAO. Any investments or portfolio companies mentioned, referred to, or described are not representative of all investments in vehicles managed by CurioDAO, and there can be no assurance that the investments will be profitable or that other investments made in the future will have similar characteristics or results.
Charts and graphs provided within are for informational purposes solely and should not be relied upon when making any investment decision. Past performance is not indicative of future results. The content speaks only as of the date indicated. Any projections, estimates, forecasts, targets, prospects, and/or opinions expressed in these materials are subject to change without notice and may differ or be contrary to opinions expressed by others. Please see http://capitaldex.exchange/ for additional important information. | https://medium.com/@investcurio/announcing-the-next-big-model-of-passive-income-through-real-word-assets-nft-curiodaos-795622ad3b5c | [] | 2021-09-06 15:05:35.871000+00:00 | ['Nft', 'Tokenization', 'Asset Tokenization'] |
When takeout is the only option, how might restaurants offer healthy food and sustainable delivery? | In the midst of the COVID-19 Pandemic, we were challenged with creating a restaurant brand that was both relevant and viable during this new way of life as the coronavirus has drastically changed the restaurant industry. Our team came up with the concept of “Rucola”, a clean-eating venture in Philadelphia primarily focused on partnering with local farms and businesses for fresh foods, and featuring eco-friendly, low-carbon emission methods for delivery and takeout.
Within this larger challenge, we were asked to consider three specific problems — getting food to vulnerable communities, pervasive boredom while social distancing, and the environmental impact of takeout. We chose to focus on the environmental impact of takeout packaging while also considering food variety and boredom. The question became: how can we introduce fun and fresh meals that add variety to someone’s typical meal schedule? After hearing from writer, horticulturist, and circular economy professional Nic Esposito, his message about the importance of having sustainable options for food takeout really resonated with us as a group He talked about the significant issues with waste in Philadelphia and how much of what we assume is recycled actually isn’t — leading us to look into possible solutions like reusable glass containers, corn-based plastic, and other ways to incorporate sustainability as a pillar of our brand.
Getting Started
Our research found that the effect on the environment from takeout packaging is undeniable. Plastic utensils (wrapped in more plastic), plastic containers, and plastic bags all end up in landfills, littered in the street, or in the stomach’s of local wildlife. Delivery services such as Uber Eats give the option of plastic silverware being included or not, but for us we wanted to eliminate plastic waste completely. Our planet is in a crisis, and more must be done. We decided that our new restaurant must not add to the massive amount of waste that is accumulated on this planet. | https://medium.com/tylergaid/when-takeout-is-the-only-option-how-might-restaurants-offer-healthy-food-and-sustainable-delivery-9d7e9925fb8e | ['Lilly Armand'] | 2020-12-10 21:10:17.661000+00:00 | ['Branding', 'Coronavirus', 'Case Study', 'Visual Design', 'UX'] |
COMPLETED — LALA Transfer & Stellar Blockchain Integration, Testing with Other Stellar Anchors in Process | Dear LALA Family!
After months of super hard work, we are glad to announce that we have reached a point where integration and connections with Stellar protocol are complete. We have signed NDA’s and agreements with various partner anchors of Stellar like Coins.Ph, TEMPO, MOIN etc. and are now in various stages of integration, documentation, and implementation.
Delivering a Stellar Product — LALA Transfer
We studied and considered almost every Blockchain for the remittance process for LALA over the last 8 months. Keeping our goal and vision of helping humanity and targeting the migrants and unbanked, we scrutinized several payment channels. We chose Stellar after several rounds of internal and external feedback because of its
• Negligible transaction fees of €0.000001
• Settlement times of 5s on average
And also because each payment would arrive direct from LALA Wallet sender to direct LALA Wallet receiver via your unique LALA ID acting as your full KYC — true peer-to-peer Satoshis vision.
Further, we have developed a white label Stellar platform solution, and we intend to work very closely with Stellar for helping other clients to use this platform in a plug and play fashion.
We have also developed algorithms and a central treasury desk to make markets between Fiat / LALA / XLM — an essential element of Stellar protocol that not many have been able to crack so far. We are immensely proud of the entire LALA team in delivering the results as expected.
In essence, LALA Transfer is a one-stop money transfer platform that combines traditional money transfer platforms (western union, transfer wise, express money etc.), Blockchain based remittance solutions (Stellar now and more to come later), aggregators of remittances, MTO’s (Money transfer operators) and new age money sending methods (USSD SMS, mobile vouchers etc.) all in one place to give best rates at different locations globally.
Product roadmaps and deliveries are also starting to roll out for other LALA Products. A detailed roadmap with updates will be out soon.
Stellar Network is an open-source Blockchain network which allows financial institutions and diverse payment services to be interoperable, making payments cheaper, more efficient, and faster.
LALA and Stellar will open doors to the real people who need remittance services by utilizing Blockchain as a solution. This will open a wide range of opportunities for other partners and anchors as well, by using the LALA white label remittance solution.
With further testing and integration with couple more anchors, we expect to make live transactions within next 60 days. LALA Tokenswill further ride with XLM as base market making currency providing a huge opportunity for LALA to be used widely.
In summary, LALA has yet again delivered what was promised.
1. LALA continues to make human life better by focusing on migrants and unbanked, and their families back home.
2. Stellar with their open source foundation, and almost nil fees, advances our financial inclusion goals one step further.
3. LALA has developed white label solutions on top of Stellar — one of the best Blockchain payment solutions today.
4. Market making helps both LALA as well as XLM equally to make LALA widespread along with other products like LALA Lends and LALA Pay.
5. LALA ID becomes the global E-KYC standard across the unbanked population to deliver sustainable solutions to such communities.
Cross-border Remittance services coupled with LALA ID’s global E-KYC service is the center of all LALA World’s offering. With this integration, a strong foundation for the delivery of other services has been set, and we hope that this update would be a cause to rejoice for our community.
We are pushing ourselves to ensure that we can meet the grueling timelines we have set. Our current processes and development positioned in sync and with our LALA partners, will only further strengthen the prowess of LALA. We believe that we are on track and couldn’t be more excited for what’s to come.
To stay updated on the latest happenings & product news, join our Telegram community here.
Many thanks for being the driving force in this tough, but a meaningful journey! | https://medium.com/lala-world/completed-lala-transfer-stellar-blockchain-integration-testing-with-other-stellar-anchors-in-729dbf0d7767 | ['Lala World'] | 2018-05-29 10:57:31.270000+00:00 | ['Technology', 'Stellar', 'Blockchain', 'Lala World', 'Bitcoin'] |
SQL vs NoSQL Databases | A big decision that developers and companies make when developing applications is whether to use a relational database (SQL) or non-relational database (No-SQL) data structure. Both are great, but there are certain key differences that one should keep in mind when deciding on which to use.
SQL databases use structured query language (SQL) for defining and manipulating data. On one hand, this is extremely powerful: SQL is one of the most versatile and widely-used options available, making it a safe choice and especially great for complex queries. On the other hand, it can be restrictive. SQL requires that you use predefined schemas to determine the structure of your data before you work with it. In addition, all of your data must follow the same structure. This can require significant up-front preparation and it can mean that a change in the structure would be both difficult and disruptive to your whole system.
NoSQL databases, on the other hand, have dynamic schema for unstructured data where it can be stored in many ways: column-oriented, document-oriented, graph-based, or as a KeyValue store. This flexibility means that:
You can create documents without having to first define their structure
Each document can have its own unique structure
The syntax can vary from database to database
You can add fields as you go
In most situations, SQL databases are vertically scalable, which means that you can increase the load on a single server by increasing things like CPU, RAM or SSD. NoSQL databases, on the other hand, are horizontally scalable. This means that you handle more traffic by sharding, or adding more servers in your NoSQL database. It’s like adding more floors to the same building versus adding more buildings to the neighborhood. The latter can ultimately become larger and more powerful, making NoSQL databases the preferred choice for large or ever-changing data sets.
SQL databases are table-based, while NoSQL databases are either document-based, key-value pairs, graph databases or wide-column stores. This makes relational SQL databases a better option for applications that require multi-row transactions — such as an accounting system — or for legacy systems that were built for a relational structure.
SQL database examples include MySQL, Oracle, PostgreSQL, Microsoft SQL Server, and what we use here at the Flatiron: SQLite3.
NoSQL database examples include MongoDB, BigTable, Redis, RavenDB Cassandra, HBase, Neo4j and CouchDB.
SUMMARY
SQL databases are a great choice for an application that will benefit from its pre-defined structure and set schemas. For example, applications that require multi-row transactions like accounting systems or systems that monitor inventory.
No-SQL databases on the other hand, are a good choice if you cannot define a schema for your database, if you find yourself denormalizing data schemas, or if your schema continues to change as is often the case with mobile apps, real-time analytics, content management systems, etc. | https://medium.com/@ryandaley321/sql-vs-nosql-databases-8329569016d8 | ['Ryan Daley'] | 2019-01-02 08:27:50.990000+00:00 | ['NoSQL', 'Database Development', 'Sql', 'Programming', 'Database'] |
HELPING HANDS | Helping hands is one of the many Nowknotl8r plans
Divided we fall together we shall always stand
Our community in Sacramento is made of precious land
We must protect one another with progressive plans
We won’t look back at the negative past
Those old memories will be at a rearview glance
Forward we shall look and connect with positive strands
We must make those proud who COVID has laid to sand
None of us were prepared for these tough tasks at hand
Protect the young and guard the elder while we still can
Time is of the essence and actions of bravery shall began
Everyone amongst us deserves a fighting chance
Soon time will come for us to retire our masks
But until then we will not hide behind glass
Socialize with distance while filling up donation vans
Those of us who have extra that’s just sitting at a stand
Can be used to help:
Every household with no food just pans
Every child with just one pair of pants
Every shoe with holes filled with sand
Every baby without enfamil cans
Every child without school supplies once again
Every disabled person without a healthcare plans
Now not later these necessities are in demand
We are not responsible for how it began but we
Are all held accountable for passing by helpless friends
When we know they need something without having to ask
Next time you have extra think of others in advance
Put those without first and yourself for once last
Donate your time not just things filled in bags
Your help is much needed in a range of tasks
When we all work together the process moves fast
The results are much greener and beneficial like grass
Sitting separate and still makes all of our progress drag
By Iretta H
August 1, 2020 | https://medium.com/@poetta-iretta/helping-hands-24a525465fb1 | ['Mrz Bernal'] | 2020-11-18 10:54:05.950000+00:00 | ['Helping', 'Humanitarian', 'Community Engagement', 'Homeless', 'Volunteering'] |
What is Valhalla? | Introduction
Valhalla seeks to educate and inform both experienced investors and beginners to DeFi through easily accessible crypto education and trading tools. With a focus on creating knowledgeable traders by giving them access to basic crypto tutorials, as well as wallet and whale tracking software, Valhalla aims to bridge the gap between the average person and crypto by creating a safe space where everyone can learn, grow and earn. Valhalla will serve as an entry point to DeFi for those who want to learn the ins and outs of cryptocurrency and decentralized finance.
What is Valhalla offering?
Firstly Valhalla is a utility token which also pays out handsome BUSD rewards for those who simple hold the token.
On top of that Valhalla will provide a range of services starting with their Crypto Education Centre and their Wallet and Transaction Tracker.
This will create a strong entry point for new users into DeFi, by giving them the educational information required to make safe trades alongside the tracking tools to easily watch and manage their investments. Both of these are already under development with previews of the wallet tracker available on our website.
Valhalla will also be creating a launchpad for new tokens which will be vetted to ensure they are a legitimate development team and suitable for investment from people new to DeFi. On top of this valhalla will also be working with talented artists to create an NFT market place and host NFT mintings.
Long term Valhalla's goal to create an ecosystem for those new to DeFi to be able to find and trade safe calls, while carefully managing their portfolio.
Valhalla logo
For more information please visit our website at https://valhallatoken.org and read our whitepaper.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-YXaAFI8a-DYQrmUoumXpcoUQKWfOEkv/view | https://medium.com/@valhallatokenofficial/what-is-valhalla-44b238c88ae1 | ['Valhalla Token'] | 2021-12-29 20:33:29.200000+00:00 | ['Bsc', 'Defi'] |
We’re Dreaming of a White Christmas | We’re Dreaming of a White Christmas
Around here, for the past few weeks, everyone was talking about how they were hoping for a white Christmas.
On December 25, here in Mississauga, Southern Ontario, Canada, we got that white Christmas with a vengeance. | https://medium.com/snap-shots/were-dreaming-of-a-white-christmas-7633d998bd67 | ['Louise Peacock'] | 2020-12-26 19:53:50.595000+00:00 | ['Christmas', 'Snow', 'Winter', 'Photography', 'Outdoors'] |
Consider Yourself a Fiduciary? Then It’s Time to Invest in Africa | Consider Yourself a Fiduciary? Then It’s Time to Invest in Africa INVEST Follow Jul 6 · 4 min read
Prosper Africa, a U.S. Government initiative to increase two-way trade and investment between the United States and Africa, is working with institutional investors to help them overcome their misperceptions of the continent’s risks and introduce them to the tools available to mitigate its real risks. In this op-ed, Joseph Boateng, Chief Investment Officer of Casey Family Programs, urges U.S. pension funds to consider investing in African markets as a means to overcome their current funding crisis and the stagnant interest rates of developed markets.
This article previously ran on ImpactAlpha. Read the original post here.
Photo by Lagos Techie on Unsplash
By Joseph Boateng, Chief Investment Officer, Casey Family Programs
Last year, Africa was home to half of the world’s 10 fastest growing economies. Institutional investors must begin to seriously consider Africa as an investment destination.
For starters, consider its growth, including its youth population. The average age on the continent is 19.5 years old. The continent’s labor force is expanding, in contrast to what is happening in much of the rest of the world. It is predicted to reach 1.1 billion people of working age by 2034.
Investing in Africa can play a strategic role in helping public pension funds cope with their current funding crises. It’s well-known that these asset owners are struggling to meet their obligations and that the consistently low interest rates of developed markets have become a source of frustration. Africa, on the other hand, is on track to be one of the 21st century’s major economic powerhouses, and investments in infrastructure and private equity have the potential to deliver outsized returns there. These investments also offer unique diversification advantages because Africa’s markets are not correlated with developed markets.
I was born in Ghana. Being from Africa, I have long been aware of the continent’s long-term growth story and the investment opportunities that accompany such growth. Casey Family Programs currently has five percent of its $2.8 billion in assets under management allocated to Africa.
However, Africa’s economic transformation and ever-increasing opportunities have not yet resonated with many institutional investors. Within the U.S., pension funds manage trillions of dollars, but they invest very little of that capital in Africa.
Many U.S. investors hear “Africa” and still think risk. I understand the macroeconomic, political, and currency risks often associated with African markets can make them wary. However, Africa is full of investment opportunities, and investors can mitigate many of these risks by seeking help from unconventional partners.
Development banks and international development agencies have a variety of interventions — credit guarantees, concessional capital, transaction advisory funding, and more — that help protect investors from the risks associated with developing markets. By improving the risk-adjusted return profiles of investments in these markets, development agencies aim to crowd private capital into projects and funds that have the potential to create both financial returns and positive environmental and social impact.
Prosper Africa, a U.S. Government initiative to increase two-way trade and investment between the United States and Africa, is working with institutional investors to help them overcome their misperceptions of the continent’s risks and introduce them to the tools available to mitigate its real risks.
I participated in U.S.-Government supported investor delegations to various countries in Africa along with representatives from some of America’s largest pension funds, insurance companies, and endowments.
Going to Africa, seeing the reality of the continent and witnessing its opportunities firsthand, can have a tremendous impact on investors, especially those whose perceptions of Africa have been largely shaped by television, news media, and films. For many who accompanied me on these delegations, it was their first time on the continent, and they were impressed by the sophistication of the asset managers there. They began to see investment opportunities where they hadn’t seen them before.
These delegations highlight that capital, when put to work in the right conditions and with the right alignment of interests, can have transformative effects. Teaming up with our African counterparts can be a powerful tool to get capital where it’s needed while also generating strong returns.
U.S. pension funds are gaining exposure to investment opportunities with expected return rates that will allow them to meet their monthly retirement payouts both now and in the future. And with an increase in the amount of private equity investments coming into the continent, African companies can expand, creating jobs and enabling people across Africa to access better goods and services locally.
U.S. investors who are not looking at investing in Africa are at best limiting their opportunity and at worst failing to fulfill their duties as fiduciaries. Given what we know about Africa’s promising future — its fast-growing labor force, its rising middle class, and its thriving start-up ecosystem — if these fiduciaries aren’t truly considering Africa as an investment destination, can they truly consider themselves fiduciaries?
Joseph Boateng is the Chief Investment Officer of Casey Family Programs, where he is responsible for managing the foundation’s $2.8 billion endowment. He is also a member of the NASP-MIDA Africa Institutional Investor Advisory Council that was created to facilitate U.S. institutional investors’ participation in Africa’s growing markets. | https://medium.com/usaid-invest/consider-yourself-a-fiduciary-then-its-time-to-invest-in-africa-f304d24b3e53 | [] | 2021-07-06 14:35:31.161000+00:00 | ['Pensions', 'Interest Rates', 'Market', 'Africa', 'Investing'] |
Rust Dynamic Dispatching deep-dive | Rust praises itself as being capable of creating some of the fastest executables, while at the same time supporting high-level abstractions. In most cases, the abstractions are resolved at compile-time, leading to ‘zero-cost abstractions’ without any runtime-overhead. In most cases function calls are implemented using fast static dispatching. But what about the other cases? This is where dynamic dispatching comes into play. In this post I am going to present you with a thorough introduction to this concept, leading far deeper into the rabbit hole than initially anticipated.
Static vs dynamic dispatch
Photo by Patryk Grądys on Unsplash
I will start with an example: Imagine we have some common functionality encapsulated in a Backend trait, let’s say the function compute(number: i32) -> i32 . Now let there be two implementations of the Backend trait, a PositiveBackend and a NegativeBackend, each doing something different in the compute function. If a Service struct has such a Backend object, the Service can be generic over that type:
struct Service <T: Backend> {
backend: T
}
Let’s quickly have a look into how the compiler handles this:
According to TRPL, rust uses ‘Monomorphization’ a fancy term for saying the compiler fills in the concrete types for the generic ones at compile time and duplicates the code if necessary. This means we have no performance penalty at runtime, yay! Resolving the function calls already at compile time is called static dispatch, since the resulting call-target is hardcoded.
But there are several limitations coming with this:
We need a generic type parameter for each generic component of our service.
Further, since the compiler resolves the generic type with a concrete one at compile time, we can use only one type here. This means, neither can we decide at runtime which one to use, nor can we have a list of different backend types. So the following won’t work:
struct Service<T:Backend>{
backend: Vec<T> // Either Vec<TypeA> or Vec<TypeB>, not both
}
...
let mut backends = Vec::new();
backends.push(TypeA);
backends.push(TypeB); // <---- Type error here
But there is a way to solve this in Rust: Dynamic Dispatch. Trait objects can be thought of like objects of an Interface Type in Java, defining common functionality for the Types implementing them. When using a trait object, we don’t care what exact type is used, we just make sure that given functionality is present.
The above example could be rewritten to use trait objects like this:
struct Service{
backends: Vec<Box<dyn Backend>>
}
...
let mut backends = Vec::new();
backends.push( Box::new(PositiveBackend{}) as Box<dyn Backend>);
backends.push( Box::new(NegativeBackend{}) as Box<dyn Backend>);
We put our trait object, denoted by the dyn keyword, in a box so the compiler won’t complain about it not having a known size.
The problem with trait objects using dynamic dispatching is, that there is a performance penalty at runtime. Let us now examine in detail the costs of dynamic dispatching with micro benchmarks.
Trying to get a baseline
For most of the remaining part this article we will jump back-and forth between tiny benchmarks and having a look at our executable.
Let’s start with static dispatching so we have something to compare to.
For a short sanity check, I ran a debug build:
➜ cargo run
Elapsed_ms: 1160
Slightly over one second for 20 million iterations, that sounds realistic.
No let’s see what the release build does:
➜ cargo run --release
Elapsed_ms: 0
Mhm, static dispatching is fast but it is not that fast. After changing the measurement to microseconds, I got a non-zero result, although it is most likely far off: 31 microseconds. So let’s analyze the executable to see what rust is doing.
(Don’t get scared away, only three lines matter below)
1) 0x00005255 call qword [sym.std::time::SystemTime::now]
0x0000525b mov ...
0x00005260 mov ...
2) 0x00005265 movabs rax, 0xb5e6218d1680
0x0000526f mov ...
0x00005274 lea ...
0x00005279 mov ...
3) 0x0000527e lea rax, [sym.core::fmt:...::Display_for_u64]
Well, from our Time measurement (1) to the println! call (3) there is no function call, not even a jump (and therefore no loop). The compiler actually computed the final result 0xb5e6218d1680 and hardcoded it in our executable. So let’s try with some a bit more challenging computation.
Now with changing L19 from above to
res += backend.compute(i) + res;
We have the following asm:
1)┌─> 0x00005290 mov r8, rdi
╎ .... lots of `mov` and `add`
2)╎ 0x000052c5 cmp rdx, 0x2625a02 ; dec:40_000_002
3)└─< 0x000052cc jne 0x5290
Nice, we have a Loop: (3) to (1) ! Don’t get confused that the loop is not comparing against 20_000_000 as specified in the code, but against 40_000_002 (2) as its loop condition. But the real problem is that there is not a single function call. This is due to another optimization, inlining, meaning the compiler is writing the code as a big chunk, allowing the processor to process the instructions faster than it could by jumping around, calling functions.
If we force the compiler to never inline our function with #inline(never) we finally have the asm we want:
┌─> 0x00005290 mov rdi, rbx
╎ 0x00005293 add rbx, 1
1)╎ 0x00005297 call sym <playground::PositiveBackend::compute>
╎ 0x0000529c lea r14, [rax + r14*2]
╎ 0x000052a0 cmp rbx, 0x1312d00 ; dec:20_000_000
└─< 0x000052a7 75e7 jne 0x5290
Not only is our code snippet here much shorter, we also have our function call (1) and match with 20_000_000 as the loop condition.
Regarding the performance, our 20 million loops with function calls take about 36ms, whereas the inlined version performs 2.5 million iterations in about 3ms. Extrapolating this result to the correct number of iterations would lead to 24ms for all 20 million calls, so the difference in runtime for calling the function is not that big. Keep in mind though, that your code might be considerably slower when it cannot be inlined, what is not caused by calling a function in rust.
Since we now also can ensure the compiler isn’t optimizing away our function, we can compare static and dynamic dispatching.
Analyzing Dynamic Dispatch
First, we need a program performing dynamic dispatching for us. Let’s stick with the ‘backend’ example from above and implement it as follows:
That code has two implementations of the Backend trait, one incrementing, the other decrementing the passed value and they are selected based on a program parameter. (If the compiler knew which implementation would be used, it would directly hardcode that function call)
To understand how rust internally represents this, we can look at this visualization:
Adopted from https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1q-c7UAyrUlM-eZyTo1pd8SZ0qwA_wYxmPZVOQkoDmH4/edit#slide=id.p
The Box<dyn Trait> seems to be implemented as two pointers, one for the data of the trait object (in our case none) and one for the virtual function table (vtable). Now, what is a vtable? To support multiple implementations of one function, some languages (e.g. C++, Rust and newer JVM languages) have a table of possible implementations and can decide at runtime which one to use.
┌─> 0x00005520 mov edi, 1
╎ 0x00005525 mov ...
1)╎ 0x00005528 call r12 ; the function call
╎ 0x... some `add` and `mov`
╎ 0x00005538 cmp rbx, 0x1312d00
└─< 0x0000553f jne 0x5520
So the code now is not calling some static address like in the above case but r12 , which is a register. How does the target address get in there? Let’s see:
0x00005432 lea r15, [0x00033dd0]
...
0x0000545b lea r15, [0x00033df0]
...
0x00005510 mov r12, qword [r15 + 0x18]
So either 0x00033dd0 or 0x00033df0 is loaded in r15 which is then used to compute r12 by using an offset of 0x18 .
What does that offset do? Remember the visualization from above, the Rust vtable consists of the following: a pointer to a destructor function (in this case drop)(8 bytes since I work on a 64bit system), and two 64bit numbers, defining the size and alignment of the following table. Then there is a list of the virtual functions, in our case this is only one (compute). This totals to 24 bytes before the function pointer(s) start, exactly matching our 0x18 offset.
Now, what is at this mysterious address 0x00033dd0 ?
0x00033dd0 .qword 0x0000000000005240
; sym.core::ptr::real_drop_in_place
...
0x00033de8 .qword 0x0000000000005380
; sym.NegativeBackend::compute
Those two pointers were helpfully annotated by my disassembler (Cutter+radare2) as the drop functions and our compute function of the NegativeBackend, located at 0x5380 . Looking at that address, we can verify it is correct:
0x00005380 lea rax, [rsi — 1] ; arg2
0x00005384 ret
That seems to be our decrement function.
But how does the compiler know when to use 0x00033dd0 or 0x00033df0 ?
A glance at the control graph gives us the answer here: | https://medium.com/digitalfrontiers/rust-dynamic-dispatching-deep-dive-236a5896e49b | ['Marco Amann'] | 2020-02-21 10:07:40.478000+00:00 | ['Low Level', 'Dynamic Dispatch', 'Programming', 'Rust'] |
Building a Responsive Web Page with Quest AI and Figma | Quest AI enables you to convert your original designs into pixel-perfect, interactive web experiences easily. The technology that powers Quest is uniquely developed for digital designers. Using the strengths of AI, digital design is made repeatedly easier — growing continuously alongside designers and their creative needs.
So, what can you build with Quest AI? Practically anything you want. The type of experience you will learn to build here are responsive web pages which is a web page that scales elegantly across various screen sizes. You can build your business websites, landing pages, or anything else you need.
Overview
In this tutorial, you will learn;
How to set up your Figma project
Connecting your Figma account to Quest
Creating a new project in Quest
Publishing your project in Quest
Setting up your Figma project
In this section, you will design a separate frame with a different layout for each of the screen breakpoints you want to design for in Figma. That is, if you are designing a landing page, you will need to create another frame with a different layout for other screens like tablets and mobile. This enables Quest to detect the device and browser size of each breakpoint layout you have designed, you can design as many frames you like but it is recommended to use the standard dimension of each frame in Figma.
You can check out this Figma file as a guide 🎨
Connecting your Figma account to Quest
When building a project with Quest and Figma, you need to get the Personal Access Token associated with your Figma account in order to access your own data via the Figma API.
The following steps show how to connect your Figma account to Quest
Step 1: Go to the Account settings page in Figma.
Step 2: In the personal access token section, click on “Create a new personal access token”.
Step 3: Copy the token generated and proceed to the next section below.
Creating a new project in Quest
Once you have set up your project in Figma and also copy the personal access token, the next step is to create a new project in Quest.
Step 1: Create an account on Quest if you haven’t created any before and log in.
Step 2: Click on the “+ New project” in the top left, choose the first option which is “Responsive Web Pages” and press the select button to proceed.
Step 3: Import your design by choosing Figma from the option of the design tool, you will see two input field, paste your personal access token to the second input field and go to your Figma project to copy the file URL and paste to the first input field.
Step 4: Quest will display the frames available in your Figma project with different width, select all the frames by clicking on each checkbox to continue. This should take about 30 seconds to import into the Quest editor.
Publishing your project in Quest
After you have imported the project into Quest, you will only see one frame at a time. Take a look at the project and make sure everything looks right.
Use the top drop-down to view the different responsive layouts that were set up as a frame in your project file, the UI elements will display on the left side panel but will only show the elements that are included in each of the frames you are currently viewing.
If all you want to do is set up a static page, you’re done and you can click the Build button at the top of the project to view it in a new tab.
While viewing the page, drag your browser to view its responsiveness and Quest automatically determines the average width between the frames.
Conclusion
You have learned how to set up your Figma project, connecting your Figma account to Quest, creating a new project and publishing your project in Quest. Hit the publish button at the top right (rocket icon) to publish your project to a unique URL and a new tab where you can see your project live will open. That URL in that tab can be used anywhere you’d like.
From here, you can also proceed to an advanced level by adding video components, create animated buttons, set up links with the URL component or write custom code in the code view. For now, you will have to set these up on all different sizes/frames so if you animate something on the desktop, you need to clone that timeline and retarget the elements for mobile as well. Similarly, you will also have to set up links on the same buttons for all the frames as they won’t carry over just yet. Linking elements across frames are coming soon.
View the demo in your browser 🚀 | https://medium.com/visualdevspace/building-a-responsive-web-page-with-quest-and-figma-87e3a46cb038 | ['Soliudeen Ogunsola'] | 2020-04-30 19:26:40.285000+00:00 | ['Responsive Design', 'Figma', 'No Code', 'Design', 'Tutorial'] |
Split overlapping bounding boxes in Python | Split overlapping bounding boxes in Python
Complete tutorial in 5 steps from problem formulation up to creating a PyPI package, tested using data from Global Wheat Detection Kaggle competition.
In object detection, it is usual to have bounding box targets to identify objects in images. These bounding boxes may sometimes overlap. In some models like Mask RCNN the bounding boxes are predicted directly and the overlap of the bounding boxes in not a problem. Another possible approach is to convert the bounding boxes to masks and use a semantic segmentation model like U-Net. It that case, overlapping masks may be a problem if at the end you want to separate the individual objects.
In this story, I cover how to develop an algorithm in Python to separate overlapping bounding boxes and setting a margin between them. I will be using data from the Global Wheat Detection Kaggle competition.
Note that I’m not arguing that this method is the best for the Wheat Detection competition. In the future, I may write another story covering such topic.
Table of content
Problem formulation Writing the math Coding the algorithm in Python Testing the code in a real-world problem Create a Python package with fastai nbdev
1. Problem formulation
Let’s start by considering the case for two overlapping bounding boxes. We want to separate the bounding boxes leaving some margin in between them as suggested in the image below.
Example of splitting two bounding boxes with some margin. Image by the author.
To define the margin the procedure will be the following:
Consider the line defined by points A and B — the centroids of each bounding box — let’s call it AB.
Then consider a line perpendicular to that at the median point between A and B — let it be ABp.
Finally, the two lines in the figure above are parallel to ABp at a distance given by the margin value at our choice.
Later in section 4, I will show that the code can be easily applied for the case of multiple intersecting bounding boxes.
2. Writing the math
Consider the image and equations bellow where the bold notation denotes vectors. The vector AB is simply the vector that goes from A to B defined in the first equation. Then we can consider a vector perpendicular to AB — that I call ABp — using the second equation. Finally, the point M on the margin line for box A can be defined by the third equation.
Formulation of the margin lines. Image by the author.
The rationale is that: 1) you start in A; 2) you move in the direction of AB but only halfway to reach the median point; 3) you move slightly backwards in the same direction by a factor m multiplied by the unit vector in the direction of AB; 4) the point you reach is what I define as point M.
Using the point M and the vector ABp it is straight forward to define the margin line as I will show in the next section.
3. Coding the algorithm in Python
The function below receives two bounding boxes and returns the sliced region for the box A. The input boxes are shapely Polygons as well as the output returned by the function. Let’s now dive into the code line by line.
Line 1: The inputs are two bounding boxes — box_A and box_B of type shapely Polygon. The margin sets how big the distance between the boxes should be and line_mult just needs to be high enough to guarantee that the line crosses the polygon completely.
and of type shapely Polygon. The sets how big the distance between the boxes should be and just needs to be high enough to guarantee that the line crosses the polygon completely. Line 3: The vector AB ( vec_AB ) is defined using the centroids of the boxes.
( ) is defined using the centroids of the boxes. Line 4: Similar to line 3 but for the perpendicular vector ( vec_ABp ) following the equation in section 2.
) following the equation in section 2. Line 5: The norm of vector AB is computed as it will be needed later.
Line 6: The split_point (point M) is defined according to the equation of section 2.
(point M) is defined according to the equation of section 2. Line 7: The line is defined using shapely LineString class that allows defining the line given two points. Notice that the points are also shapely geometries. The line is therefore defined from the point M minus a multiple of vector ABp up to the point M plus a multiple of vector ABp.
Line 8: A shapely utility function is used to cut the polygon into two using the line.
Line 10: For each polygon, obtained on line 8, check if contains the centre — point A.
Line 11–15: In these lines, I separate the polygon containing the centre point (the one that matters for this purpose) and return it together with the other polygon (not containing the centre) and the line used for the slice. The extra returned objects are just in case it can be useful for future applications.
4. Testing the code in a real-world problem
The code defined in section 3 only applies to two bounding boxes. In order to apply it for several bounding boxes, I defined the following code that I will now explain briefly.
intersection_list — a function computes the intersection of all polygons in a list.
— a function computes the intersection of all polygons in a list. slice_all — this function receives as input a GeoDataFrame (see table below) containing all bounding boxes for an image and calls slice_one for each bounding box. slice_one simply applies the slice box function for a given box_A and considering all boxes that intersect with it. When there are several intersecting boxes, intersection_list function is used to obtain the final polygon.
Sample of the input GeoDataFrame. Image by the author.
The result of slice_all is a similar GeoDataFrame but with the sliced boxes. The image below shows the original bounding boxes (left) and the result of slice_all (right). As you can see there are several overlapping regions in the original data but none after applying the methodology just developed.
Original bounding boxes (left) and result after applying the method described (right). Image by the author.
5. Create a Python package with fastai nbdev
fastai nbdev is arguably the easiest and most user-friendly way to create a Python package and upload it to PyPI.
When you start a new project go to nbdev instructions and use the link to create a repository for the template. This will get you started easily.
Then you should clone the repository for your local machine, pip install nbdev and on the project directory run nbdev_install_git_hooks .
and on the project directory run . Now you can open jupyter notebook as usual. The settings.ini file contains setup information that you need to fill such as the project name, your github username and the requirements for your package.
file contains setup information that you need to fill such as the project name, your github username and the requirements for your package. The nbdev template includes a index.ipynb and a 00_core.ipynb . The index will be the GitHub README.md file.
and a . The index will be the GitHub file. Then on the 00_core.ipynb you can develop your code as usual but remember to add #export comment at top of the cells that should be in your package core.py file — generated by nbdev from the notebooks. You can read in detail how to use nbdev in their documentation . I highly recommend it! It will change the way you code.
you can develop your code as usual but remember to add #export comment at top of the cells that should be in your package file — generated by nbdev from the notebooks. After you are ready you can run nbdev_build_lib and nbdev_build_docs on the terminal. Then you can commit your changes and push to the github repo. Check the repo to see if all tests passed. A common error is ModuleNotFoundError when you import external packages. You need to include them under the requirements in settings.ini so that the package will be installed together with all required dependencies.
and on the terminal. Then you can commit your changes and push to the github repo. Check the repo to see if all tests passed. A common error is ModuleNotFoundError when you import external packages. You need to include them under the requirements in so that the package will be installed together with all required dependencies. When everything is green you can upload your package to PyPI by running the command make pypi. You need however, if you have not done it before, to create an account in PyPI and set up a configuration file (the detailed instructions are on nbdev page here).
And that’s it! My package is now on PyPI at https://pypi.org/project/splitbbox and can be pip installed.
Final remarks | https://towardsdatascience.com/split-overlapping-bounding-boxes-in-python-e67dc822a285 | ['Miguel Pinto'] | 2020-06-23 15:00:41.100000+00:00 | ['Python', 'Software Development', 'Tutorial', 'Data Science', 'Programming'] |
Apartheid In America: The Demon of White Privilege | We reap now our own desperate heritage as white people who have yet to come to terms with the darkness of our ancestors and our present self.
We need THE conversation to begin, which means white people talking to white people about their own racism. For, as with all remarkable change, once this conversation does begin, once the silence is broken between white people and they talk about racism to each other, and especially within their families, the demon of white privilege will lose its power, exponentially. It will never return to its old, crippling self. The illusions and delusions of white privilege, its travesty against all human beings, its tragic defilement of God’s light and love, will cease to be law in the land.
In Congress, inconceivably, the Junior Senator from Kentucky, Rand Paul, is stalling an anti-lynching bill. Inconceivable, one might think, that this bill making lynching a crime had not been passed generations before. Inconceivable even more that he is getting away with preventing this bill from becoming law the very week of the memorial service for George Floyd, whose lynching is one more example of the toxic but unofficial apartheid still corroding the foundation of these United States.
The unholy presence of apartheid for America began four hundred years ago with slavery. We all know this. We say the words with awareness. Or do we? No. If we are white, we say the words from a safe distance. We live our lives free of recognizing the immoral underbelly of darkness embedded in the American soul because of our history of oppressing another race. And no two ways about it, we are haunted by this, our collective nightmare, even as we let it happen.
Brave people have walked together across the nation and around the world to say NO to racism in the last weeks. In the millions. Many, many of them are white. This is a revolution of action and a revelation of what can be done — evidence of a deep caring for the well-being of anyone who experiences at all levels the suffering engendered by racism.
But millions of other white people are feeding themselves with false theories or indifference or, at worst, hatred. They are the ones who are the most afraid, for whom the nightmare is EQUALITY. They live with fear that their “enemy other” should thrive, that anyone who is not white should thrive.
Those who adhere to this way of being are more dead inside than they will ever be in the grave.
A charismatic leader who places the essential worth and good of the people as paramount will offer those same people another, better way of seeing themselves. This has a domino effect. But FEAR often rules whenever leadership is corrupted. The wrong leader can induce fear at great speed, capitalizing on its sources, promoting its corrosive effect. America faces this now, though not for the first time.
A single, ordinary individual can also step up with uncommon courage when leadership falters or absconds or abandons all justice and caring. We know this well in Gandhi, in Thoreau, in Rosa Parks, and in the incredible bravery of the young teenager who dared to stand her ground and film the lynching murder of George Floyd. These people and others like them have changed the world forever, by one action.
Alas, LYNCHING, which Rand Paul is preventing from being called out and defined as a crime in Congress, is a systematic form of unofficial apartheid that white people have never fully challenged. It has been used by white people to control black people as a form of social dominance in this country up to the present day. Lynching intensified after 1835 and became rabid and rampant in the Reconstruction era after the Civil War. It is being used now in law enforcement at the local and state and even federal level.
As an example, the 1915 film “Birth of a Nation,” unfortunately considered a classic, glorified both lynching and the Ku Klux Klan and received wild approval by white people. It had a showing in the White House with Woodrow Wilson.
“Lynching is a premeditated extrajudicial killing by a group. It is most often used to characterize informal public executions by a mob in order to punish an alleged transgressor, punish a convicted transgressor, or intimidate a group.”
That mob violence was a successful attempt to establish a white supremacy, with lynchings increasing again dramatically in the 1920s and again after WWII, and such violence has reared its gruesome head for the last three and a half years in notable, highly visible ways, exploding before us with the death of George Floyd.
In the opening to Frank Herbert’s science fiction novel Dune, the main character describes how “Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.” I think of this when I think of the courage it takes to bring oneself forward for what is right and just — to not stay silent. African Americans after the Civil War have not been passive during all the years of lethal hostility and the reality of lynching that have led up to the present time. They “resisted through protests, marches, lobbying Congress, writing of articles, rebuttals of so-called justifications of lynching, organizing women’s groups against lynching, and getting integrated groups against lynching.” They did so at a time when almost none of the white population supported them. It required a courage beyond measure, and the ability to go through fear and out the other side.
What we have seen now on the streets is the vocal and steady and brilliant response of a great diversity of people who have refused to stay silent, who have refused to give in to fear. These marchers have defied the haunted legacy of the nightmare, the one that whites have created and lived in for centuries out of a repulsive and monstrous belief in their own superiority — the demon of white privilege.
The last “recorded” lynching by hanging occurred in 1981, but again, lynching has encompassed more than a hangman’s rope. During this pandemic in 2020 a man rode up and “lynched” a dummy representing the Governor of Kentucky, Rand Paul’s home state, as a protest to something he saw as a significant threat. A hanging. Significant symbolically to the man who carried it out. And still the law against lynching is not yet passed by the Senate, is actually being argued.
Apartheid, some say, is not what has happened in America. Oh, yes, it is. As it was defined in South Africa until 1994, apartheid was the “rigid former policy of segregating and economically and politically oppressing the nonwhite population.” As it is now defined in the language, it is: “any system or practice that separates people according to color, ethnicity, caste.”
The United States has from its inception practiced a relentless position of political, social, and deliberate apartheid against the African Americans. Some events have been blazed before us recently as new awareness, such as the massacre of blacks in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1921, with police cooperation, an atrocity which was not part of our school history books, and where the current president in the White House plans to campaign without regard to the fact that whites dropped bombs on black neighborhoods during that massacre. The examples are numbered beyond counting across 400 years. After Reconstruction the slave patrols, used to prevent runaways and revolts by slaves, became the work of local sheriffs against freed slaves in the South. Throughout our history, the police have favored white people. It is only in the last decade that some semblance of consciousness has begun to be raised to actually change this. Now, this week and last, of course, that practice is no secret. It has shaped a massive shift in the perception of white people, whether they have yet admitted it or not.
It is, however, so ironic that the U.S. initiated embargoes against South Africa challenging their official apartheid government when it was active, while allowing an unofficial sanctioning of the apartheid in its own land. The history of lynching described HERE makes it very clear. There is no doubt of the crimes against humanity in our centuries-long oppression of black Americans, or the ability of whites to stay silent about it. What is also interesting is that we have never been called to alter this on the world stage by the U.N. or any ally, despite the fact these crimes were and have been and are atrocities by any definition.
That itself compounds the crime, actually. Wherever such oppression is allowed to exist, by anyone who stays silent as well as by the persecutors, that is the nail in the coffin of the country, unless…
unless, once and for all, white people come to terms with their crimes of emotional and psychic and physical assault on other human beings…. unless white people find a way to let go of the toxic fear that consumes them and admit their unremitting violence is not a God-given right…. unless white people face their own darkness and choose to leave it and embrace the light of loving kindness, instead.
We may be at a turning point. We may be witnessing the death rolls of a dying paradigm. These are unusual times, more so than ever before in this country. It may be that people who think they are better than other people, superior to other people, like Scrooge in Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, will find themselves facing their own deep darkness at last and get to choose whether they want to stay in that darkness or instead, are willing to leave that abyss and embrace themselves as harbingers of what is good and healing for all of humanity.
White people cannot continue allowing this terrible affliction, this scourge upon the land, to go on, if the republic is to survive.
White people have to say no to systemic racism, to recognize our culpability in allowing it to exist. We need to do this, and do it now.
We need to annihilate the demon of racism that has infected our every level of life, society, culture, and above all else, we need to remove it from our own hearts.
How? White people need to be talking to other white people about racism. This isn’t done. Hardly ever. It’s like some wall of silence embedded in our upbringing. For white people, their racist behavior is the outcome of a massive abyss of perception and awareness, and this is carried on through the unspoken, but systemic, agreement to stay silent.
We need the conversation to begin. For, as with all remarkable change, once it does, once the silence is broken between white people and they talk about their own racism with each other, and especially within their families, the demon will lose its power, exponentially. It will never return to its old, crippling self. The illusions and delusions of white privilege will cease to be law in the land.
Equality is the reality, the realization of the dream, an ideal formed into matter, at last, in everyday life, the birthright of us all.
The conversation must begin. | https://medium.com/illumination-curated/apartheid-in-america-915200bffad5 | ['Regina Clarke'] | 2020-11-16 02:50:27.035000+00:00 | ['Life', 'White Privilege', 'Equality', 'Politics', 'Racism'] |
Paradox Of The Good And The Bad | The paradox of good and nice. You are only good until you are nice. As soon as you are not nice you are not good.
You are only bad until you are not complying with what the other wants or expects from their transaction with you. The moment you challenge someone on their ideas, beliefs, habits, behavior, position, ideologies, their life, you are automatically not good aka bad for them.
When I wear a headscarf I am good for the fellow Muslims. When I wear shorts I am bad for the fellow Muslims.
The idea that ‘I’, you or me or him or her, anyone ‘I’ depends on this basic validation and justification from anyone, the ultimate battle to ‘fit in’ while you struggle to outdo your old self, this struggle to be a rat in a rat race, trying to constantly appease and massage one’s ego that they are good because they behave, pretend, execute in a certain way is the biggest fallacy of this conscious and hence inadvertently subconscious world we build.
Good and bad, right and wrong, true and false, all two sides of the same coin. Perspective, perspective everywhere, nowhere to go and hide. All the wide world is under the same open sky and all of us pretend to be able to hide the very same being that exists inside us.
According to the Bhagdwadgita, there is a super soul and a soul, the super soul is the fuel of all the souls, the God particle that physics talks about, the one soul from which all the souls have originated.
So many different names we give to that SUPER/ SUPERIOR being of all beings. But how many of us truly, genuinely deeply connect with the super soul within us?
How many truly empathize and get down to the basics that all that exists inside the other is what exists inside me, and all that exists inside me is what exists inside the other.
Our outer world and all that we have created and labeled as our “life” is merely the illusion of the materialistic possessions of our life. And these are not any part of your being. They are merely just what you use, needs and greed.
Your right and wrong, judgment and pretense, is nothing but your inability to sit with yourself, the whole self, the super soul, and the individual soul and see all as one!
It’s about time we take a deeper look into our own, for the lack of better choice of words, ‘bullshit’ and find in ourselves the courage, to be honest beyond our books and our prayers and our beads and our verses and hymns and look within to find in ourselves the truths of our mortal life, of our eternal souls and our paradox of ‘life’ while we are only merely passing it by! | https://medium.com/@rumanashaikh/paradox-of-the-good-and-the-bad-fbaea4253372 | ['Rumana Zs'] | 2021-03-15 23:16:18.520000+00:00 | ['Life', 'Soul', 'Introspection', 'Self-awareness', 'Courage'] |
Beginner’s guide to building Convolutional Neural Networks using TensorFlow’s Keras API in Python | DEEP LEARNING FOR BEGINNERS
Beginner’s guide to building Convolutional Neural Networks using TensorFlow’s Keras API in Python
Image by Pete Linforth from Pixabay
Welcome to Part 2 of the Neural Network series! In Part 1, we worked our way through an Artificial Neural Network (ANNs) using the Keras API. We talked about Sequential network architecture, activation functions, hidden layers, neurons, etc. and finally wrapped it all up in an end-to-end example that predicted whether loan application would be approved or rejected.
In this tutorial, we will be learning how to create a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) using the Keras API. To make it more intuitive, I will be explaining what each layer of this network does and provide tips and tricks to ease your deep learning journey. Our aim in this tutorial is to build a basic CNN that can classify images of chest Xrays and establish if it is normal or has pneumonia. Given the Covid-19 pandemic, I think this would make for an interesting project even for your data science interviews!
Let’s get started!
When should I use a Convolutional Neural Network instead of an Artificial Neural Network?
CNNs work best when the data can be represented in a spatial manner, say an image in MxN pixels. If you data is just as useful after shuffling any of your columns with each other then you cannot use CNN.
For instance, if you recall the loan application dataset from Part 1, it had two columns (or features), namely age and area , and if I were to swap the two columns (before feeding it to my network) it would make no difference whatsoever to my dataset. Hence, ANNs are preferred for such datasets. On the contrary, if I were to swap the columns (which are essentially pixel arrays) in my image, I am surely going to mess up my actual image. Hence, using ANNs is a big no-no and you must use CNNs.
Let’s dive right into the coding...
We begin by installing Keras onto our machine. As I discussed in Part 1, Keras is integrated within TensorFlow, so all you have to do is pip install tensorflow in your terminal (for Mac OS) to access Keras in your Jupyter notebook. To check the version of Tensorflow, use tf.__version__ .
Importing libraries
import tensorflow as tf
from tensorflow import keras
from tensorflow.keras.models import Sequential
from tensorflow.keras.layers import Activation, Dense, Flatten, BatchNormalization, Conv2D, MaxPool2D
from tensorflow.keras.optimizers import Adam
from tensorflow.keras.metrics import categorical_crossentropy
from sklearn.metrics import confusion_matrix
from tensorflow.keras.preprocessing.image import ImageDataGenerator import numpy as np
import itertools
import os
import random import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
%matplotlib inline
Dataset
We will be working with the Chest X-Ray Images Kaggle dataset. Once you download and unzip it, you will see the chest_xray folder that contains images organized neatly into train, valid, and test subfolders. Each of these subfolders contains two sub-sub folders, one for normal chest Xrays and another for Xrays indicating pneumonia .
Note: Make sure the chest_xray folder is sitting in the same directory as your Python Jupyter notebook.
Setting the paths to the train, validate, and test folders:
train_path = "chest_xray/train"
test_path = "chest_xray/test"
valid_path = "chest_xray/val"
Note: If you collected your own dataset & it is not neatly organized into the train, valid and test folders, worry not! Just make sure (a) you have saved all the images (normal and pneumonia) in a common folder called chest_xrays AND (b) the name of the image contains either of the two words — normal or pneumonia. From thereon, to organize images into train, valid, and test set, use the following code snippet.
# Organize data into train, valid, test directories
os.chdir('data/chest_xrays')
if os.path.isdir('train/normal') is False:
os.makedirs('train/normal')
os.makedirs('train/pneumonia')
os.makedirs('valid/normal')
os.makedirs('valid/pneumonia')
os.makedirs('test/normal')
os.makedirs('test/pneumonia')
for i in random.sample(glob.glob('pneumonia*'), 500):
shutil.move(i, 'train/pneumonia')
for i in random.sample(glob.glob('normal*'), 500):
shutil.move(i, 'train/normal')
for i in random.sample(glob.glob('pneumonia*'), 100):
shutil.move(i, 'valid/pneumonia')
for i in random.sample(glob.glob('normal*'), 100):
shutil.move(i, 'valid/normal')
for i in random.sample(glob.glob('pneumonia*'), 50):
shutil.move(i, 'test/pneumonia')
for i in random.sample(glob.glob('normal*'), 50):
shutil.move(i, 'test/normal')
os.chdir('../../')
Preprocessing the Image data
We need to put the data into a format that the model expects. So we must put our images into a format of a Keras ImageGenerator . In short, we are going to create batches from train, test, and valid directories using the flow_from_directory() function in the ImageGenerator class. And it is precisely these batches of data that will be passed to the sequential model using the fit function. (Previously, we were passing NumPy arrays to the fit function when building ANNs in Part 1, but now we need to pass the batches to the fit function).
As part of the preprocessing (before the batches are created), we will be applying preprocessing_function = tf.keras.applications.vgg16.preprocess_input . This will process our images in the same manner that images get processed when they are passed to the vgg16 model (the CNN model that won the ImageNet competition in 2014).
# Creating train, test and valid batches from the respective directories train_batches = ImageDataGenerator(preprocessing_function=tf.keras.applications.vgg16.preprocess_input).flow_from_directory(directory=train_path, target_size=(224,224), classes=['pneumonia', 'normal'], batch_size=10) valid_batches = ImageDataGenerator(preprocessing_function=tf.keras.applications.vgg16.preprocess_input).flow_from_directory(directory=valid_path, target_size=(224,224), classes=['pneumonia', 'normal'], batch_size=10) test_batches = ImageDataGenerator(preprocessing_function=tf.keras.applications.vgg16.preprocess_input).flow_from_directory(directory=test_path, target_size=(224,224), classes=['pneumonia', 'normal'], batch_size=10, shuffle=False)
The target_size specifies what height and width we want the images to be resized to. This is important since we might have images of different sizes in our dataset.
The batch_size is set to 10 and the choice of 10 is arbitrary. Another common batch size value used in 32 but ideally, the most optimal value should be found by hyperparameter tuning (we will learn how to do so in the next tutorial).
Batch size specifies how many training samples should be passed to the neural network in one go before the weights of the neural network are updated.
We also specify shuffle = False only for the test set because later on when we test our model, we want to have access to unshuffled labels to plot our confusion matrix. By default, shuffle is set to True.
Note: If you see Found 0 images beloning to 2 classes when you run the code above, chances are you are pointing to the wrong directory! Fix that and it should work fine!
Visualize the image data:
Using the plotting helper function from TensorFlow’s documentation.
# plot images in the form of a 1 by 10 grid and resize img to 20x20
def plotImages(images_arr):
fig, axes = plt.subplots(1, 10, figsize=(20,20))
axes = axes.flatten()
for img, ax in zip( images_arr, axes):
ax.imshow(img.astype(np.uint8))
ax.axis('off')
plt.tight_layout()
plt.show()
Newt, we will use the Python function next() to grab a single batch of images and corresponding labels from the trainset. Since we set batch_size = 10 , we will see we have 10 images in imgs and 10 corresponding labels in labels .
imgs, labels = next(train_batches) plotImages(imgs)
print(labels) | https://towardsdatascience.com/beginners-guide-to-building-convolutional-neural-networks-using-tensorflow-s-keras-api-in-python-6e8035e28238 | ['Varshita Sher'] | 2020-09-05 05:18:10.534000+00:00 | ['Keras', 'Image Classification', 'Deep Learning', 'Neural Networks', 'Python'] |
The freedom to make a choice | On the 27th of April each year, South Africa celebrates Freedom Day. It commemorates the first democratic election that the country had in 1994, I happened to be 11 months old at the time. Reflecting on this recently my mind was draw to the topic of freedom and how we always have a choice.
Freedom is broadly defined as the power to act, speak, or think as one pleases.
Choice is defined as the act of choosing between two or more possibilities.
So, what does in mean when we say that we “have the freedom to make a choice”? Do we really or are there elements that influence our choice which we may have no control over… To a certain degree we have control of our own freedom, but there are factors that may influence it. However regardless of these factors we always have a choice to make.
Choice is one of the most powerful tools that we have. It allows us to express ourselves and to support what we value.
While we may not always have freedom, we will always have the ability to make a choice. | https://medium.com/@joshnuttall/the-freedom-to-make-a-choice-fed0fa9e8a30 | ['Josh Nuttall'] | 2021-04-27 22:07:11.135000+00:00 | ['Decisions', 'Choice', 'Freedom'] |
Deploy a site to GitHub Pages from multiple branches using GitHub Actions | I’ve been moving many repositories over to GitHub Actions to automate deployment and testing. One of my projects uses GitHub Pages, but includes data from two different branches:
The main branch contains the bulk of the website
branch contains the bulk of the website The app-challenge branch contains a second site that appears under a /heleon/ path
Using GitHub Actions, I set up the site pull from both branches before deploying. The script looks like this:
on:
push:
branches: [main]
jobs:
build:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
# Checkout the `main` branch
- uses: actions/checkout@v2
# Install Node.js
- uses: actions/setup-node@v2-beta
with:
node-version: '14'
# Install npm dependencies
# (similar to npm install)
- run: npm ci
# Run code to build the site files inside the `big-island-buses` folder
- run: npm run build
# Checkout the `app-challenge` branch
- uses: actions/checkout@v2
with:
ref: app-challenge
# Put the checked out files inside the `big-island-buses/heleon` folder
path: big-island-buses/heleon
clean: false
# Delete the .git folder from `big-island-buses/heleon`
# This turns the files into a plain folder instead of a git repository
- run: rm -rf big-island-buses/heleon/.git
# Deploy the `big-island-buses` folder to GitHub Pages
- uses: peaceiris/actions-gh-pages@v3
with:
github_token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
publish_dir: "./big-island-buses"
user_name: 'github-actions[bot]'
user_email: 'github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com'
The first sequence of steps checks out the main branch, installs Node.js and npm dependencies, then runs the build script. The files created by the build script end up in a folder named big-island-buses .
The second sequence checks out the app-challenge branch, and places the files inside a folder named heleon , which is a subfolder of big-island-buses . These files are static so they don't have a separate build script. | https://medium.com/@notwoods/deploy-a-site-to-github-pages-from-multiple-branches-using-github-actions-326f4dad008d | ['Tiger Oakes'] | 2021-01-05 02:08:59.175000+00:00 | ['Web Development', 'Github Pages', 'Github', 'Github Actions'] |
An invitation | A vast hall.
High ceilings.
Oak floors.
Autumn sunlight
dreams through
stained glass.
Whatever is normally here
has been cleared away.
A door at the far corner opens.
I walk in. Striding to a point
a measure of footsteps from the wall,
Chalk in my hand in my pocket,
I crouch to draw a circle
sweeping yard by yard,
marking out a space extending
almost to the edges of the room.
A stage.
A field of play.
A clearing.
Sketchy white lines mark the bound
that says nothing more than —
everything out there
is out there
and when we enter the clearing
we can let it all be there.
We enter the clearing.
There is a rustle of feather on leaf.
Somewhere a stream sings a soft song.
Breathing out.
We begin. | https://medium.com/words-music/an-invitation-7132c418112a | ['Charles Davies'] | 2018-11-22 07:31:01.398000+00:00 | ['Poetry', 'Clearing'] |
Risk Your Comfort in a World of True Crime and Real Life Crime Fiction | Most true crime stories we’ll dig into are contemporary reports of cartels and criminals dealing cocaine and other illicit drugs. They’ll come from our research and interviews from Lon Casler Bixby and me, Don Simkovich, MA, as we continue writing our detective and crime thriller novels in the Detective Tom Stone crime stories.
photo via Unsplash.com
Detective Tom Stone is a real-life family guy, a dad to teen girls. He befriends a boy in a foster-care group home when we’re introduced to him in the first novel Tom Stone: A Nitty Gritty Christmas.
In the first few stories we see Tom Stone and his partner Jake Sharpe on the tail of Anthony Angelino, the wanna-be drug lord who goes from transporting cocaine in vending machines to opening a marijuana dispensary and crossing the mob in Tom Stone: Sweltering Summer Nights and Tom Stone: Day of the Dead.
The mob moves in and by the fourth novel, Tom Stone: One Shot, One Kill an ugly crime wave swarms Los Angeles as a drug cartel battles for prominence when a sniper takes revenge on the city’s wealthy who are financing the flow of drugs.
Thriller novel cover Tom Stone: Day of the Dead, photo by Lon Casler Bixby
We’re now on our 5th novel — which is currently unnamed, but we’ve become fascinated by the power and ingenuity of the drug cartels transporting illicit drugs from South America and Asia.
Check back for new stories at least once weekly. You’ll be amazed at what criminals will do to make a buck, but you’ll also be glad there are good people risking their lives to stop them. | https://medium.com/stone-cold-crime-stories/risk-your-comfort-in-a-world-of-true-crime-and-real-life-crime-fiction-7e16478819c7 | ['Don Simkovich'] | 2020-01-06 18:45:54.530000+00:00 | ['True Crime', 'Police', 'Fiction', 'About', 'Drugs'] |
Some query samples to interpret Google Analytics data using Bigquery | As a BI Analyst working in an Online Travelling Agency company, interpreting customer behaviors data into meaningful insights is a Business As Usual task.
Google Analytics is a popular web analytics service tracking website traffic. Therefore, for BI&Reporting team, how to interpret Google Analytics data seems to be an essential skill.
In the technical side, standard SQL can be used in Google BigQuery(cloud-based data warehousing platform) to generate data insights from Google Analytics.
Let’s take some query samples to have a look. Firstly, some dynamic values need to be understood before we write the first query:
Dimension: a parameter used for analysis sessions/users/hits, e.g, device.deviceCategory, device.browser, hits.type
projectID: ID of the project in BigQuery
dataSetName: data set in BigQuery with the information about Google Analytics sessions.
startDate: start date for the period analyzed in the following format: 2020–12–01
endDate: end date for the period analyzed in the folllowing format: 2020–12–01
So we can write a query sample to calculate the numbers of users, sessions and hits across set dimensions:
SELECT
{{dimension}},
EXACT_COUNT_DISTINCT(fullVisitorId) AS users,
EXACT_COUNT_DISTINCT(fullVisitorId_visitId) AS sessions,
COUNT(hits.hitNumber) AS hits
FROM (
SELECT
fullVisitorId,
fullVisitorId+'_'+ visitId AS fullVisitorId_visitId,
hits.hitNumber,
hits.type,
device.browser,
device.deviceCategory
FROM
'projectID:dataSetName.tableName'
GROUP BY
{{dimension}}
Another sample is to set up a funnel with steps better suited for your business, as what we do for the first query. Here are some dynamic values we need to use:
projectID: ID of the project in BigQuery
dataSetName: data set in BigQuery with the information about Google Analytics sessions
tableName: name of the table with the standard BigQuery export data
Then we can write a query sample as follows:
SELECT
table_step1.date AS date,
table_step1.step1 AS count_step1,
table_step2.step2 AS count_step2,
table_step3.step3 AS count_step3
FROM (
--calculate transitions to Step 1 (Pageviews), grouped by days
SELECT
date,
COUNT(*) AS step1
FROM
'projectID:dataSetName.tableName'
WHERE hits.eCommerceAction.action_type='2'
GROUP BY
date) AS table_step1
JOIN (
--calculate the number of transitions to Step 2 (Product description view) by days
SELECT
date,
COUNT(*) AS step2
FROM
'projectID:dataSetName.tableName'
WHERE
hits.eventInfo.eventCategory CONTAINS 'Click' AND
hits.eventInfo.eventAction CONTAINS 'Characteristics of product'
GROUP BY
date) AS table_step2
ON
table_step1.date=table_step2.date
JOIN (
--calculate transitions to Step 3 (Adding product to cart) by days SELECT
date,
COUNT(*) AS step3
FROM
'projectID:dataSetName.tableName'
WHERE
hits.eCommerceAction.action_type='3'
GROUP BY
date) AS table_step3
ON
table_step1.date=table_step3.date
There are more things we can do to track website traffic with BigQuery, maybe talk about it in next blog.
If you are interested in or have any problems with BigQuery, feel free to contact me.
Or you can connect with me through my LinkedIn. | https://medium.com/@jiaqiwuc/some-query-samples-to-interpret-google-analytics-data-using-bigquery-d970690105dc | ['Jacqui W'] | 2021-02-28 20:46:07.996000+00:00 | ['Google Analytics', 'Business Intelligence', 'Bigquery', 'Data Warehouse', 'Sql'] |
Exipure Review-Tropical Loophole Dissolves 2½ lbs in 24 Hours | Exipure Review-Tropical Loophole Dissolves 2½ lbs in 24 Hours
New scientific discovery
Scientists have discovered the real root cause of your belly fat
(not indicated diet or exercise)
Are you struggling to lose weight no matter how much diet or exercise you do? Turns out, it’s not your fault.
A 2021 study of 52,000 women and men published in Nature Medicine, the largest of its kind in humans, found just one common factor in each overweight man and woman. Low brown adipose tissue level! They were also found to be common in high brown adipose tissue levels in every thin person.
Brown adipose tissue (BAT), also known as brown fat, is not fat at all. It is not a fat storer but a fat shrinker. Its brown color comes from its densely packed mitochondria that work 24/7 to burn your fat stores and the food you eat into pure, natural energy.
Even though BAT makes up a fraction of your weight, it can burn 300 times more calories than any other cell in your body.
CLICK HERE TO OFFICIAL WEBSITE | https://medium.com/@IHM2/exipure-review-tropical-loophole-dissolves-2%C2%BD-lbs-in-24-hours-e57b8e869998 | [] | 2021-12-24 14:47:29.104000+00:00 | ['Weight Loss', 'Weightloss Recipe', 'Keto', 'Weightloss Foods', 'Weight Loss Tips'] |
10 Things Aspiring Web Developers Should Learn in 2021 | 10 Things Aspiring Web Developers Should Learn in 2021
10 essential things you can learn in 2021 to become a professional web developer with links to relevant resources. javinpaul Follow Dec 26, 2020 · 13 min read
image credit — undraw
Hello guys, if you are a web developer and wondering what things you should learn in 2021 to take your skills to next level or someone who aspires to become a frontend developer in 2021, but not sure about which technologies, tools, framework, languages, and libraries to learn, then you have come to the right place.
In this article, I am going to share some of the most essential things a frontend developer should know.
Being an author of a technical blog, I often receive questions like what tools and technologies should a web developer learn? Which programming languages are suitable for web development, and what skills are necessary? I am going to answer all those questions from my reader in a series of blog posts, and this is the first one of them.
In this article, I am going to share the most essential things a web developer should know, which obviously includes the big three of Web development — HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, and several other useful tools that are essential but not mentioned or taught together.
If you are looking for surprises or shiny new technologies like Svelte.js or Vue.js, then I am sorry they are not part of this article, as I don’t think they are essential for all web developers.
They might be good for a seasoned web developer looking to learn a new JavaScript framework but not something a beginner should learn. Instead, this article is based upon my own practical experience and contains the most essential thing a Web developer should learn in 2021, mainly a frontend developer.
And, if you need a comprehensive course to become a web developer, I highly recommend The Complete 2020 Web Development Bootcamp course by Angela Yu on Udemy. It’s a great resource to become a full-stack web developer with just one course.
Btw, If you are an experienced web developer than I don’t want to disappoint you, and I’ll write about those new technologies, frameworks, and libraries in the coming days, and there we’ll see the benefits and wonders of learning new things, but for now, let’s focus on the most essential thing a Web developer should learn in 2021.
What should a Frontend Developer Learn in 2021?
Without wasting any more of your time, here is my list of things a web developer or anyone who wants to become a web developer should learn in 2021.
This list includes programming languages like javascript, markup language like HTML, styling tools like CSS, a framework like React, IDE like VSCode, tools like Chrome Developer Tools, NPM, and Webpack, and REST API tools like Postman and GraphQL, a better way to develop APIs.
I have also included Responsive web design as a skill because, in 2021, it’s almost given if you want to serve all of your audience accessing your website or web application using different devices.
1. HTML (HTML 5)
This is the first and foremost thing anyone serious about web development should learn. It’s probably the oldest web technology out there and also the first one I learned long ago, but it’s still relevant, and you just cannot become a Web Developer without a good knowledge of HTML. Technically it’s a markup language and used to specify the structure of your page.
Nowadays, it’s very rare for anyone to create a web page by writing HTML. Instead, most of the webpage you see is generated by an advanced framework like Angular and React. Still, if you want to understand, debug, and solve problems, you must know essential HTML tags like div, span, title, headers, etc.
Even if you know HTML, there is no harm in updating yourself with the latest development, and if you want to start from scratch, I suggest you join the Learn HTML 5 Programming from Scratch course on Udemy. It also covers CSS, which we’ll discuss next in the list. | https://medium.com/javarevisited/10-things-aspiring-web-developers-should-learn-in-2021-6747bfbfc12e | [] | 2020-12-26 09:47:26.471000+00:00 | ['React', 'Nodejs', 'CSS', 'JavaScript', 'HTML'] |
Write For Us | Write For Us
Photo by Sergey Zolkin on Unsplash
We are always looking for great content to help programmers learn and improve in what they are doing everyday, and we hope you are here for the same. Before you start writing for ReThink Programming, please go through this post and follow the guidelines.
Topics
You can write articles on anything related to programming, like:
Tutorials on how to code something interesting, in any programming language.
Advice for programmers for coding and career or job related aspects.
Articles on working of code behind the scenes, for example, rendering of CSS, how JavaScript works, etc.
Style Guide
Please read the above style guide before moving on.
Your Medium account should have your name, a bio and a picture of you.
of you. Your article must have a title and a subtitle .
and a . Please remove all personal CTAs in your post such as “sign up for my newsletter” or “follow me on Twitter.”
in your post such as “sign up for my newsletter” or “follow me on Twitter.” If you include code snippets longer than 5 lines, use GitHub gists . Paste the URL of the gist into your post and press enter.
Paste the URL of the gist into your post and press enter. Please add a nice cover image that you have the rights to use or are Creative Commons. We recommend sites like Unsplash. Please give the photographer credit. See the top of this post for an example.
or are Creative Commons. We recommend sites like Unsplash. Please give the photographer credit. See the top of this post for an example. Try to make the article read time is longer than at least three minutes. On average, 7 minute long stories have highest read ratio while 3 minute long get most views.
Submitting a Story
After your draft is ready, click on the … menu in the top right corner of the screen. Then, click on “Add to publication” from the dropdown, and select ReThink Programming. We’ll get notified and respond within 24 hours.
We’re looking forward to your submissions!👍 | https://medium.com/rethink-programming/write-for-us-f401f11ecbe3 | ['Shounak Das'] | 2020-12-31 06:21:13.058000+00:00 | ['Programming', 'Publication', 'Coding', 'Guidelines', 'Rethink Programming'] |
THE MODERN STEALTH FIGHTER TECHNOLOGY | ABSTRACT
There have been countless innovations in the field of aerospace military application as nations battle in the air and undoubtedly stealth technology has been the most compelling of all of them making fighter jets “invisible” and hence invincible. This article presents an overview into the implementation of the scientific knowledge of it including the history, basics of the radar technology and how the materials work and are made from. Not to mention, unorthodox detection methods of stealth jets are also explored in addition to investigate the other end of the spectrum and how it can be overcomed.
INTRODUCTION
Ever since the inception of wars and fighting, military personnel and people have wanted to hide themselves from their enemies to stay away from danger. An excellent way of doing so would be camouflaging oneself by evading predation. War planes, though fast and agile in the 1940s, were still detected by the nemesis through simple radar technology, making their moves predictable and therefore ineffective. With the advancement of stealth technology, fighters became more agile and untraceable to even the latest radar detection posing a huge threat to the camp on the other side.
The history of stealth technology could be traced back to 1958 where the Cold War was taking place. The United States researched stealth technology for its U-2 spy plane over the Soviet Union, but it was unsuccessful, but it was a good first step in the right direction.
Various kinds of shapes, sizes and materials are utilized to operate in stealth mode and give no notification to the adversaries [1]. To become invincible, there is not one but multiple technology that comes together allowing commanders to move with impunity. The exponential rise in stealth innovation could be thought to have culminated in the manufacture of the modern F-35 and other similar aircraft making it a huge threat in its time.
Figure 1: Stealth jet, Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II
RADAR TECHNOLOGY
To understand how stealth fighters were masked from the radar systems, it is essential to know the nuts and bolts of them to have a deeper comprehension of them. Radar simply uses electromagnetic sensors which recognizes things at substantial distances. As it is an active sensing apparatus, it sends out its own radiance when pinpointing desired objects, by sending out EM waves and analyzing the echoes of the reflected energy imaging it on the display. Incidentally, it was also the time of the World Wars when radar technology picked up its speed and a lot of countries experimented with it to take advantage of it knowing where their enemies are aerially and even on the sea.
As time went by, many countries had gained enough knowledge to operate radar technologies, the enemies moves and projectiles became well-known and could easily be dodged using straightforward predictions. Thus, this required the use of stealth technology that could make the jets not completely invincible but make it hard for an enemy to track the jet.
RADAR CROSS-SECTION
The physics of radar technology became more apparent as when the concept of the Radar Cross-Section (RCS) was discovered which was essentially an EM signature of the traced object on the radar. This made stealth more accessible as it was a quantifiable measure of how detectable an object is. The goal for stealth aircrafts was to keep the RCS as low as possible, giving the operators impunity to attack others. There are numerous factors that affect the RCS of an object, some of which are the material, absolute size, directivity, and the incident angle of the transmitted beam [2]. It is noteworthy that as stealth aircraft tend for lower RCS values, commercial aircraft need to have a higher value as they need to be always on the radar.
Figure 2: Typical Radar Cross-Section
In terms of shape, the aircraft should be fabricated in a way to reduce its RCS. Taking for instance Lockheed’s F-117 Nighthawk has a smooth surface which is very angled and flat. The purpose of it being angled is such that when an EM wave is hit on the surface of the aircraft, the sharp angled surface bounces back the wave into a forward scattered direction not letting the signal to be transmitted back [3]. The bottom line is that the incident radar angle would hit the skin of the aircraft and reflect at a higher angle than to the normal angle away from the source. In contrast, commercial airplanes have curvy surfaces ensuring that at least some of the signal will be returned through the normal direction.
MATERIALS SCIENCE
No matter the use of a vehicle, the material it is made up of has significant implications on its application and operation and it is no exception to stealth technology. Apart from directing the EM signal from radar sources, the Radiation-Absorbent Material (RAM) as the name suggests absorbs the wave energy preventing reflection of it in any way. It is an innovative material that soaks up the radio frequency radiation as much effectively as possible, lowering the power of the reflected radiation and hence lowering the RCS. The performance of the material is subject to its composition as the absorbency level of different frequencies vary for distinct materials [4]. It is significant that the coating of materials on the surface of the aircraft would not make it completely invisible for any frequency but does lessen the RCS.
One of the most common RAM in the stealth technology sphere is Iron ball paint. It is well-known that energy cannot be created or destroyed and thus is the case with the principles of the Iron ball paint. The Iron ball coated will convert the radar energy received from various sources to heat energy which is then dissipated from the aircraft. It is possible because of the paint which contains carbonyl iron. The radar waves bring about molecular oscillations because of the inherent alternating magnetic field in the iron paint. There have been multiple variations of this type although the core principles of it remain the same.
For instance, the infamous F-117 Nighthawk employs a similar technique. It is important to say the least to understand the electrochemical fabrication process that enables this radar evasion. The carbonyl iron balls are individually suspended in commonly used epoxy paint [5]. A layer of silicon dioxide is coated and its purpose is to act as an insulator to negate any electrical reactions given out. While the paint is still liquid, a magnetic field is applied such that it penetrates the liquid balls and thus creating a magnetic field pattern inside the balls. As the paint hardens and solidifies, the magnetic field is held in its place and locks them in the magnetic pattern. Once the paint is made as it needs to be coated, it says without going the application of it on the aircraft is as crucial. Remarkably the paint job is done by industrial robots which layers the paint on the F-117 with known and particular thickness and liquid properties.
Figure 3: Iron ball paint coating on the F-35
The iron ball paint method as a RAM has been used by several air forces such as Taiwan and the Mainland. Noticeably, the Taiwanese RAM stealth aircrafts is in response to their opponent China who were the first to employ stealth fighters [6]. This shows how keen countries are striving to take a stance on becoming military heavyweights by using state-of-the-art technology. There are various other materials that are embedded in the fighter aircrafts such as the foam absorber, split-ring absorber, etc. Most of which use the physical and chemical properties of the materials with nuances that differentiates the efficiency of evading the radar.
DETECTING STEALTH AIRCRAFTS
The realm of stealth technology is certainly vast and rapidly improving with improving sciences but on the other end of the spectrum, what could be done to detect these “invisible” aircrafts that could be literally fatal for some states.
There are also a number of spotting stealth aircrafts tricks but one the most promising technology is that of the usage of quantum radar [7]. Though there have been sizable organizations and regions in the field of it, Canada’s University of Waterloo has invested millions to their design of the quantum radar. The radar is expected to pinpoint aircrafts with higher accuracy than conventional ones and nevertheless perceive sly aircrafts. It is well known that the quantum world has given a large boost to existing technology in many fields such as computing and telecommunications and it is certainly the case for radar applications.
Quantum illumination works by the principle of quantum entanglement which is a physical feature of quantum particles. The entanglement entails that when the photon particles are connected, no matter the displacement, the state of each of one of them is known to the other photon and continues to affect it. This phenomenon of decoherence is the basis of detecting stealth aircrafts.
Under traditional circumstances, the photons emitted by the radar will get bounced off the surface of the stealth aircraft due to its sharp angles as aforementioned making it difficult to see on radars. However, using the quantum radar
would yield a different result when in contact with the object [8]. As it bounces off the surface of the aircraft, as the photons are entangled, the detecting source could trace back where the photons were fired at and keep shooting more of them until a picture of it is built up making it known to the radar.
Figure 4: Diagram depiction of photon entanglement
CHALLENGES IN STEALTH TECHNOLOGY
Although as seen there are rapid innovations in the domain of stealth innovations, there are several setbacks that have to be dealt with in order to bring about fully-fledged stealth mode. In terms of the Radio Absorbent Materials mentioned, it is critical to note that not all of the types of materials used work at all radio frequencies but are designed for specific radar frequency. With regards to the application of it on the aircrafts, it is not easy to be coated on moving or intricate surfaces which are usually the case in stealth aircrafts.
Moreover, the quantum radar used to detect these aircrafts are very much in their preliminary works and would need substantial design work to implement it. Primarily, the engineering challenge in the quantum radar would be the miniaturization of the electrical components in the system. Without saying, this would require more toil to integrate these complex photon detectors into smaller conglomerates which can make the detection more effective.
CONCLUSION
The advent of special materials and quantum technology has fostered the development of stealth technology. Even though there might be several drawbacks on either side of the spectrum the benefits most definitely outweigh them and with reassuring research and development, it is only going to get better with time.
All in all, in this brief article, stealth innovation has been looked at and how it operates from the contemporary radar technology and the radar cross-section to the fascinating stealth materials used and not to mention the revitalized modern quantum radar. The huge potential in stealth has provoked many countries to take part in it and it is bringing about a mini-arms race within the military forces making the future prospects of it truly riveting.
REFERENCES | https://medium.com/@rahmanfahd/the-modern-stealth-fighter-technology-and-the-technology-for-detecting-stealth-fighters-61f0a517a924 | ['Wavoo Fahd'] | 2021-09-12 02:23:10.837000+00:00 | ['Travel', 'Technology', 'Aviation', 'Stealth', 'Innovation'] |
Crooked Piece of Meat! A Rapist Craved For | Crooked Piece of Meat! A Rapist Craved For
Photo by Alexander Krivitskiy on Unsplash
“I was raped as a child”
With trembling sweaty hands, grieving through watery eyes, brushing the sensation through every follicle of numb corium, Shereen was open about her experience.
Doctor Emy was quiet for a moment. It was 6th session of Shereen that she opened up about the reason behind each of her hallucinations.
“You want to share something. Speak it up! I’m listening.”
Dr. Emy broke the silence of mourn. Shereen was still disturbed.
“Do you think that incident had shaken you apart? You feel out of your body as if it’s not yours?”
“It belongs to my rapist.”
The sheltered tone was now defensive, for the man who was accused of the robbery.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, it was his possession. I only live inside the home he owns. Walls are haunting me from the inside. An excruciating pain is dissolving me.”
“You want to live there?”
“Yes” An impetuous yielding behavior which Shereen had developed. Next to her was, Dr. Emy! Solace of doctor’s place made her vocal. After quiet release of a burdened breath, she spoke out:
“Perhaps No”
“Don’t confuse your willpower. Make a single decision Shereen!”
“There is no way out. How can I escape?”
“Suppose the owner of the house is outstation. You can escape. A little bit of courage! you need.”
“I would try to. What if he catches me out?”
“He wouldn’t.”
“Would you help me to escape from that cage?” Innocence demanded a guarantee.
“Why not! I can pursue the legal process to ensure your security. Let’s make your home ‘YOURS’.”
“Is this possible?” A question with misery of captivity popped out
“Of course, it is!”
A pause of uncertainty!
Dr. interrupted:
“Let’s talk about the home you are living in! Is it shattered, broken, beautiful, luxurious, or what? How would you describe your residency in simple words?”
“It’s disguised. I have a mirror in my bedroom. I can see through it. My reflection is chasing me to kill my persona. My curves don’t fit into the cage I’m living in. They are outpouching. The stares used to keep an eye over them. I blamed the curves for being too hefty to be ignored. Suddenly, I am feeling it’s a dream. I no more exist in a territory where curves of mine are being exploited.”
“You follow your dream or just ignore it?”
“I can’t ignore. I have to follow it. I have nothing left behind. That dream is the only life! I have right now.”
“You think the body of yours is everything! you have?”
“That was the first thing for which I got attention from my stepfather. After that, everything was a dream. My mother was too strict to talk to.”
“Do you love your mother?”
“I don’t know how people love? how they hate?” A question in the wretched tone was nothing but a reflection of the society which is too outspoken to talk about taboos.
“You hate your body?”
“Yes”
“Why?”
“Why to love it? it’s a burden I’m carrying on my shoulders. It takes away all the courage! I am supposed to have.”
“Still it’s yours. That’s enough to love it.”
“It’s not mine. I’m its treasure. It’s a shop where meat is frozen to become available to butchers. It’s vandalizing my personality. I’m heading towards an identity crisis because of it. I want to rip it off. Sometimes!” Her eyes seem to wander in abandonment.
“Your body is not the culprit.”
“But the culprit is alive.”
A Pause! Attributed to injustice prevailing in the society.
“He is not punished that’s why you are punishing yourself?”
“No, why would I care! what happened to him.” Shereen was still in denial of her timidity.
“Social justice and your mental status! The two are different things. Both are getting intermingled. Let us handle them separately. It would vouchsafe you a lot of tranquility. Do you want peace with your identity?”
“Who doesn’t.” An answer not to be questioned.
“We have to approach peace to acquire peace. I’m giving you the prescription. Your task is to re-imagine yourself in the mirror of your identity as someone ‘Perfect and Complete’. Do meditate, Rehearse it again and again. We will talk about it in the next session.”
“Thank you, Doctor!”
“My Pleasure”
It got Shereen 2 hours to park her car in the main parking. Julie was asking for her favorite chocolate, yesterday. It was 7’O clock in the dark. She entered the mall, picked up the chocolate, rushed towards the counter.
While leaving the mall, she noticed two sturdy men, gazing towards her. They were chasing her for some calculated time. It’s common in the main city area. Pretty confident! she looked, because of her economic status. Though, inside was a mourn. She assembled herself, unlocked her car, drove it to the main road to reach her daughter at home.
When she left the main road to enter the street to her home. A fast-moving car knocked her route. She had to push a break to avoid accident. A man came out of the car, broke her car window, grabbed her by the neck. She resisted but no vain.
There were villages in the territory. Both men carry her to the bushes around. No human could be seen here and there. She was almost unconscious, begging for her life. “My daughter is waiting for me at home, let me go.”
Amalgamated with Power, Lust is blind and deaf.
Those curves were again under assault, for not being flat in the century of gazes and hazes.
Because they said ‘you deserved that’. | https://medium.com/@mushkbala/crooked-piece-of-meat-a-rapist-craved-for-1a599f85602b | ['Mushk Bala'] | 2020-11-27 23:20:51.008000+00:00 | ['Rape', 'Written Tales', 'Short Story', 'Women', 'Fiction'] |
Can Good Coffee Enhance Your Copywriting Skills? | (Warning: Stop reading if you’re allergic to caffeine, suffering from mental health disorders, digestive disorders, insomnia, or taking medications)
Dear Coffeewriter,
Why are you not productive?
Is it because you’re inactive, sleepy even though you have enough sleep, already tired even though you haven’t done anything, your brain is not working well like you’re one hour in front of your computer and all you have is a single headline?
Your level of productivity might be the reason why you’re not hitting your income goal.
If you answered yes to one of these questions, keep reading this might help you.
The 6 reasons why you should drink coffee for a better copy:
I. Coffee doesn’t only give you energy, it also makes you SMARTER
When you drink coffee you feel less tired and your energy increase by 11–12%.
Epinephrine in coffee increases adrenaline level in your blood. It’s a fight or flight hormone that prepares your body for intense physical activity.
Are you in a rush? Loads of work and you need to multitask? Your client might be disappointed if you submit late.
Then, get a cup of coffee to be more productive, by the way, it’s also a good idea to have a cup of coffee before your workout.
Caffeine from coffee improves your:
Memory
You can’t apply the knowledge you can’t remember.
When you drink coffee your memory becomes sharper.
So you can apply all the knowledge you learn (from David Ogilvy, Dan Lok, courses, books, blogs, video, etc.) to your sales copy.
Mood
”I’m not in the mood to write copy today”
That’s the biggest BS stopping us to write copy every day.
When you don’t write, you’ll earn no money.
Remember, you get paid by writing.
And when you start your day with a good mood, you become more productive and get most of the result.
General Mental Function
Caffeine stimulates your brain to improve your mental ability especially your alertness, attention, and concentration.
So you don’t have to think of a single headline for an hour.
And you can write your copy faster than before.
II. It Helps You Burn Fat, Lose Weight and Feel Good About Yourself
“Pumapayat ka na ah”, “Wow and Sexy”, “ Wow ang Macho mo na”, “Anong sikreto mo?”
Are those the things you want to hear from other people?
Do you know you can lose weight by just drinking a cup of coffee?
Caffeine is found in almost every fat-burning supplements.
It is a natural substance prove to aid fat-burning. Caffeine can boost your metabolism by 3–11%.
When you lose weight and become physically fit, you will feel more confident about yourself.
Confident enough to become a six or seven-figure copywriter.
Self-confidence is the foundation of all success
III. Coffee Prevents Death-Causing Diseases
Is your health affecting your financial goals? Are there times you can’t write because of bad health conditions?
Then, you should not miss this part.
Type 2 Diabetes is a major health problem.
Millions of people worldwide suffer from this disease.
It is the 7th leading cause of death in the US. It is caused by elevated blood sugar and reduced ability to produce insulin.
When you drink coffee regularly, you have a 23–50% lower risk of getting the disease.
Having a disease can be so stressful.
Prevent this disease as a side effect of drinking your coffee, so you can focus on writing for your clients and getting the results you want.
Coffee also prevents Alzheimer’s Disease, the 6th leading cause of death in the U.S.
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common neurodegenerative disease.
Millions of people over 65 years old are suffering from this disease and it has no known cure but…
When you drink coffee regularly, you have up to 65% lower risk of getting this disease.
Coffee prevents cancer
Cancer is one of the world’s leading causes of death.
Liver cancer is the 3rd cause of cancer death and colorectal is 4th.
Studies show that when you drink coffee you have a 40% reduced risk of having both liver and colorectal cancer.
When you drink coffee you are almost cancer-free and less prone to diseases.
You are more stress-free and you can enjoy your life way better.
Drink coffee, prevent disease and unlock your full potential.
IV. Coffee Myth: Coffee causes heart disease.
Caffeine can increase your blood pressure to 3–4 mm/Hg, but it’s too little to notice, and it lessens when you drink coffee regularly.
Studies don’t support the idea that coffee raises your risk of heart disease.
You don’t have to worry about your heart condition/palpitation when you want to drink coffee.
But make sure to have your coffee with a full stomach.
Coffee even reduces the risk of stroke.
Stroke is the 2nd leading cause of death in the Philippines.
Coffee drinkers have a 20% lower risk of stroke.
Go get a cup of coffee, be healthier, and write better.
V. Mental Health is Wealth
Depression is a serious mental disorder.
It can reduce the quality of your life and badly affect your copywriting career.
300 million people of all ages suffer from this mental disorder.
Women are more prone to this disease than men.
You probably can’t write copy and be productive when you are depressed.
Coffee fights depression and makes you happier.
Harvard study says that women who drink 4 or more cups of coffee every day had a 20% lower risk of being depressed and 10% reduced risk on men.
Caffeine acts as a mild antidepressant that’s why when you drink coffee every day you are 50% happier than those non-coffee drinkers.
I know you want to be 50% happier, so go get a cup of coffee.
The key to a healthy life is having a healthy mind.
VI. Life is Short, Drink Coffee to Live Longer
Given that coffee prevents diseases, it also means that it can increase your lifespan.
Regular coffee drinkers have a lower risk of death than those non-coffee drinkers.
20% reduced risk in men and women.
It is one of the healthiest drinks on the planet.
Coffee is the biggest source of antioxidants.
It has more antioxidants than fruits and vegetables combined.
Source of essential nutrients
Coffee is a source of vitamin B2 to B5, manganese, and potassium.
It is just the side benefits of drinking your favorite drink, coffee.
All successful people value their time, and health more than money.
When you drink coffee you are healthier, you live longer, you have more time, and yes more income.
You can’t write or make money if you have no time and health.
How much coffee is enough?
Drinking too much coffee is bad for your health.
That’s why you are advised to consume 400 mg of caffeine or less every day.
This means you can drink up to 4 cups of coffee (240 ml/cup, 100 mg of caffeine/cup) every day.
And now that you know that you are most likely to become a successful copywriter if you drink coffee every day
Go get your coffee before you write your copy from:
Coffee Shops: Starbucks, Tim Hortons, Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, Local Coffee Shops, McDonald’s or 7/11 if you want a good budget type coffee, etc…
Home: If you don’t have time to go to a coffee shop, why not brew your coffee from home or if you have no time to brew your coffee just get an instant coffee, but instant coffee may not give you the same benefits from brewed coffee.
If you want more of my copy or you find this post valuable like this post and comment
”More coffee please”
To more conversions and more success,
Dave ”Coffeewriter” Garcia
P.S. Drinking coffee doesn’t guarantee your success, but it gives you what you need to become more productive.
Let’s achieve our goals before this year ends. | https://medium.com/@michaeldavegarciamello/discover-how-drinking-coffee-can-help-you-transform-into-a-better-copywriter-2df4cc63b124 | ['Michael Dave Garcia'] | 2019-11-14 10:31:46.066000+00:00 | ['Copywriter', 'Copywriting', 'Health', 'Coffee', 'Copywriting Tips'] |
The *Magic* 5-to-1 Formula of Love | We have all done it at some point. Intentionally or unintentionally offended someone we care about with a spontaneous comment we didn’t really mean, even if we thought we meant it at the time.
Sometimes, it is those simple remarks delivered at just the right moment to provoke a response that are most infuriating. You know, the comments designed to condescend, shut you down, or attempt to show who is in charge of the conversation.
I hate being told to “calm down”.
Mainly because I am quite tranquil by nature and seldom lose control over my emotions, at least, not outwardly. So, when I do have something to say that is important to me, I damn well deserve to own that moment without being patronised, thankyouverymuch.
During the years spent married to my first husband, I read an article in the paper about the “success formula” in a romantic relationship. Apparently, researcher John Gottman found that we need a 5-to-1 ratio of positive to negative interactions with our intimate partner in order for love to thrive.
“The difference between happy and unhappy couples is the balance between positive and negative interactions during conflict. There is a very specific ratio that makes love last.”
It’s the “magic 5-to-1” ratio.
This means that for every negative interaction during conflict, a stable and happy relationship has at least 5 positive interactions.
Basically, the “magic” dynamic stems from the alignment and level of intimacy between the couple in question — how deeply their connection evokes feelings of love and intimacy, as well as respect and empathy for the other.
Gottman reinforces the emotional bond factor:
“A couple may be arguing, but they are also laughing and teasing and there are signs of affection because they have made emotional connections.”
The article suggested that readers make a list in order to gage how their relationship was fairing on the magic 5-to-1 ratio. Honestly, I didn’t need to make a list to tell me where my marriage landed on the positivity-interaction scale. It just didn’t.
My ex-husband’s idea of effective communication was a one-sided affair whereby intimidation, humiliation and bulldozing were his go-to approach in creating a trust-based connection.
He said many hurtful, cruel and threatening things over the years.
So much so, that I experienced a hard, lengthy lesson in slander and defamation. I learned all about the damaging and long-lasting psychological impact of hateful words.
When you share your life with a manipulative person who takes advantage of everything good inside of you, twists truths like cotton candy and berates you at every turn, after a while, you begin to believe in the things they tell you.
I also figured out that that was his objective.
The magic 5-to-1 ratio helped to put things in perspective for me. It was the moment when I didn’t feel as if I was totally losing my mind. Clarity found me and with it came the realization that I wasn’t all of those negative things that my husband pegged me for — Stupid. Ugly. Useless. Worthless. Nothing.
His behavior and horrible treatment of me and our children wasn’t my fault.
Our Words are Powerful
We can never retrieve our words once we put them out there. All we can do is work at reaching a better place for ourselves by learning from our mistakes to raise our personal standards and be mindful of what comes out of our mouths.
When we can do that, we can also begin to rebuild and nurture the trust with the important people in our lives — our great loves.
In no particular order — The things (I think) you should never say to your lover:
“Why Can’t You be More Like Her/Him?”
Erm…. come again, sweetheart?
If you find yourself comparing your mate to someone else, you are totally overlooking their unique and awesome qualities, as well as disrespecting them as a person.
Why?
Well, for a start, there is no honor, respect or esteem in comparing your mate to someone else.
And let’s call it straight — anyone would feel worthless and unappreciated by their significant other if he or she compared you to someone else — that’s exactly how your partner will feel too.
I have seen the comparisonitis effect first-hand when a close girlfriend once appeared at my door. Her eyes were like swollen cherries. She had been arguing with her boyfriend when he flung the “comparison-remark” at her.
“Why can’t you be more like…?”
The worst part was that he had compared her to me — her closest friend. It wasn’t that I was any better or worse than her. More that he was a friend of my boyfriend and knew that I was pretty chill when it came to the girlfriend-demands-department.
That’s just me.
Not so nice on his part.
His inconsiderate comment suggested that he undervalued my friend as a person and was unappreciative of their relationship, as if her time and love wasn’t enough for him. Needless to say, she was devastated and extremely hurt.
From PsychAlive:
“Comparisons can be a little bit selfish because you’re only thinking of what your partner can do for you, instead of considering the great aspects of your relationship like what good friends you are or how well you communicate.”
It’s worth remembering that each person and relationship are its own unique experience — each couple has their own exclusive personal vibe.
So, focusing on your mate’s positive qualities, like the ones you admire and hooked you in the first place, is what will create unforgettable experiences and emotional connection with your lover.
That’s what we all desire, right?
Name-Calling
Hello, verbal abuse.
At best, name-calling is hurtful to your partner, you and your relationship. At worst, it breaks the rules of trust and can be emotionally damaging.
Why?
When you call someone hateful names, you are actually negating them in every way possible. It’s mean-spirited, a sign of emotional immaturity and downright spiteful behavior.
I feel as if it is an attempt to take away from them in some way— you are literally denouncing someone as a valid human being by labelling them something they are not.
We all know that bully.
And we have learned that the act of name-calling says a lot more about the person dishing out the verbal slang than it does about the one receiving the assault.
It has a significant impact on emotional-wellness, too.
I should know, I have lived through severe verbal abuse which triggered feelings from low self-confidence and self-worth, to believing that there was something terribly wrong with me that made me unlovable.
The truth is that when you are involved with someone, there are going to be times when you argue, squabble like chickens and lash out at each other — that’s completely normal — but being inconsiderate and/or apathetic towards your lover’s feelings and attempting to hold power over their sense of self-worth is completely abnormal.
Healthy relationships don’t use name calling to resolve conflict or express love. Please don’t call your lover hateful names.
“It’s Over!”
In the realm of things that you shouldn’t say to your lover unless you really mean it, this simple but cutting statement has to sit somewhere at the top of the pile.
Why?
Because it’s emotional blackmail, that’s why.
And there is no way in hell that we should say things like “it’s over”, when our emotions are all twisted up on the inside.
My ex-husband favored this phrase in particular. I had heard about the end of our marriage countless times before it, well, ended.
He used the statement as a threat to expose my situation, knowing that I had little support and money should he just up and leave me alone with our babies.
He controlled every aspect of our finances and knew that I had nowhere to go.
The things you say can never be taken back. As well, declaring the end of your relationship when you’re all riled-up can make the other person feel insecure about the future of your relationship, long after the fight is over.
It chips away at the trust-bond.
Besides, threatening to walk away when you don’t really mean it won’t change your partner’s behavior or improve your relationship, taking action will.
The first and only time that I told my husband that it was over was the same day that I was prepared to walk away. It had been on my mind for the longest of times. So when I eventually said the words out loud, I never looked back.
If you want your partner to know that you no longer want them in your life, you’d better mean it.
“You Never… You are always so….”
Talking in absolutes?
I know, we have all been guilty of this violation at some point. Perhaps some of us more than others. If you think about it, most disagreements and arguments are rife with absolute words like “never” and “always”.
Absolute words define things which are conclusive and unquestionable, and should be especially avoided during argumentative conversations with your one and only.
Why?
Well, my dear, there really are no absolutes in life. Plus, using absolute words can come across as condescending, compromise your integrity and exude arrogance.
Here’s what relationship expert and psychotherapist, Darylevuanie Johnson has to say about it:
“Too often we fill in that blank with a negative word or statement that reflects what we see as a critical problem with our partner. Yet the words “always” and “never” are rarely true and only serve to make your partner feel “less than”.
Skip the finger-pointing absolutes.
If change is what you want, then change should be the topic of discussion. | https://psiloveyou.xyz/the-magic-5-to-1-formula-of-love-e8ed0534add8 | ['Kim Petersen'] | 2020-12-17 13:33:31.811000+00:00 | ['Life Lessons', 'Relationships', 'Psychology', 'Love', 'Connection'] |
“Childbirth in a Pandemic” | “Childbirth in a Pandemic”
It was May 2020, I gave birth to a baby boy. This was the time when the "deadly virus" Covid 19 was at its peak and me and my husband were living in Bangalore. Flights got suspended, markets got shut, e-commerce sites were selling only essentials that too premarily grocery things. Whole country was under complete lockdown. We didn’t even stock up the baby things till march and we had no clue how we will manage the things alone. We refrained ourselves from calling our parents or any house help due to these unprecedented Covid 19 times. My husband was so busy almost 16 to 17 hours a day with the biggest project of contact tracing app "Aarogya Setu " on one side and me carrying a baby inside my belly on the other. He had bare minimum hours of sleep during these days.
Somehow, we managed everything from hospital appointments to bookings to every baby care stuff we needed during this period.
He helped me in every single household chore. Cooked meals, washed vessels, managed groceries, laundry. Took very good care of me pre and postpartum along with his office work. He was my constant support who helped me to overcome every hard tide.
Finally, the D-Day came. Three days before my estimated due date, I got labor pains around 4 a.m that was occuring at an regular intervals of half an hour. I was feeling light contractions for about next 4 hours since i was at the stage 1 of pains. Hospital Bags were prepared. We rushed to the hospital around 10 a.m. Pains were still bearable. The pains were induced at the hospital.
While being monitored, the obstetrician walked in to see how i was handling the contractions. I was quite okay at that time. After few minutes horrible pains started.I was dilated to 5 to 6 cms. Then the doctor broke my water, the contractions started to become more intense. I could barely say anything, the doctor called my husband in and asked if i need an epidural. I said okay..
Thankfully after getting my epidural shot, i was so comfortable. Listened some music and relaxed for a while..I was all alone in the operation theatre, as my husband was not allowed to be inside the O.T during the delivery time due to Covid 19 safety measures.
Anyhow, after one and half hour the OB came in and asked ,if I could feel the contractions? I said "No"..
Although, i was then fully dilated but the baby was still very high up. The doc said me to wait for an hour so that the effect of anaesthesia wean off and i could feel the contractions and pressure.
In between the nurses were asking me time to time if i could feel any contractions..My lower body was all numb.
After an hour, i began to feel a few contractions and the Obstetrician said me to push and hold on a count of 10..but the baby was still very high. Then one of the nurses pressed my belly from up and i was asked to push hard. Oh My Goodness..it was the most unbearable time of my life. I again pushed with all the force i had and doctor finally applied her forceps, and baby popped out!!
and the doc said " Congratulations! It’s a boy. Laid him over my chest and his cheeks touched mine. I kissed his tiny forehead . I was literally in tears of joy at that moment. My heart just melted. He was exactly the same as i had imagined with a little whispy tuffs of hair all over his head. That was the most precious moment of our lives and made me realize everything we had gone through was totally worth it and we will cherish it forever.💟 | https://medium.com/@iishpreet4/childbirth-in-a-pandemic-a63a6189c9fb | ['Dr. Ishpreet Kaur'] | 2021-02-02 21:56:07.008000+00:00 | ['Newborn', 'Covid 19', 'Birthstory', 'Coronavirus', 'Parenting'] |
The One About Feelings | For someone that describes herself as expressive and being a “feelings” person — that is, one that wears her heart on her sleeve and lets her heart take the lead almost all the time, I would say that realizing that I had developed feelings for certain special people in my life took so long and a lot of unravelling. It was a whole process, which continues to this day, as I try to put into words and understand each of those chapters in my journey.
A few things that you should know at the outset: These are not really stories of heartbreak because I do not think we have ever reached that point. To this day, my greatest heartbreak was losing my father — but that’s a story for another day! I don’t think that these are stories of falling in love either because I am still processing the fact that I even had feelings for these people and what I so quickly brushed off as ‘soft spots’ or ‘happy crushes’, were, as I am coming to understand, a little more than that in some cases. What I have sought out to do here is to talk about three instances, stories, and well… people that not only have been a part of my life in different ways but taught me a lot. Honestly, each of these stories taught me more about myself than about developing feelings for another person and love.
These are stories about people that are still in my life but I will not name, because except for one (who I confessed my feelings to), they are pretty much clueless about all this. These are stories of all things tender and of words meant for the other to hear but remain unsaid. These are stories of confusing feelings, admitting those feelings, and developing feelings.
The One about the Tibak Crush
“Alam mo, Billie, partner yung hanap natin, hindi co-advocate.” One of my dearest friends from college breaks it to me after I told her that I don’t see myself in a relationship with someone who had different principles from me — that having a stand on issues was a non-negotiable for me.
However, what she didn’t take into consideration and what I did not understand then was that I could develop feelings for one who has similar but not the same principles as I do. And that was the deal with Tibak (a Filipino term for “activist”) Crush.
I met Tibak Crush in college. He was a year ahead of me, but we were both activists. I still remember the first time we were introduced to each other. It was just so nice to meet someone that had such a calming presence about them, which was rare with the kind of activists I knew and that were around me. I, for one, was intense and angry all the time, and while he was angry too, he had this certain peace about him — that he was more hopeful and focused on moving forward, rather than lingering in that moment of rage. We were part of the same political circles and had similar ideals. We went to rallies separately but marched together. We worked on all sorts of socio-political campaigns.
It was interesting because at first, I claimed that he was my ‘Tibak Crush’ and because everyone had that — someone that you adored for their conviction and that you just admired for their work, it was nothing, really. However, little did I know that it wasn’t just that. I guess, there was and is something about him. It was so inspiring seeing him after graduation go on and venture into development work. Every time we would talk, we would rant to each other about political developments. It was and is just easy. We understood each other and where each is coming from. We shared similar advocacies — and when I got excited about a development or stressed even, I knew I could go to him (and him to me) and pick each other’s brain for a way forward.
I don’t remember the first time that I realized that I had feelings and him being in the equation, but I knew that I grew attached to him, and that attachment is growing still as we find ourselves in the same circles and forwarding the causes that matter to us. I do recognize that whatever attachment I have towards him, it’s special. It is special in the sense that I look forward to our conversations on politics, hope, and human rights every now and then. It’s not complicated, but in fact, what draws me to him is that it’s refreshing every time he’s around, because it’s just easy — there’s no tiptoeing around each other and no judgment. There’s just that mutual respect. I get kilig and it’s that wholesome kind of kilig whenever we talk, because it’s so nice to have a person to share the similar advocacy, similar passion, and similar dedication to serving the people with around.
With him, I realized that that’s one of the things that matter the most to me: one’s politics. And so, if and when I do find a partner in the future, he does not necessary need to have the same — as in literally, the exact — convictions as I do — or the same stands on issues, but there are indeed non-negotiables and his kind of politics matters. It’s not about having the same interests or having someone that just gets me that’s the reason why I say this, but I think that a person’s politics reveals the kind of person that he or she is and his or her humanity. And that matters. It matters a great deal.
Tibak Crush and I are close, and that’s that. There’s absolutely no pressure, and I’m glad that he’s in my life — whether it’s one to rant to, to talk about the things that matter, or even just one to reflect and look back on the days we would rally together, march together, and be one with the people in the streets as well as hope that the day would come soon when we could do that again — together.
The One I Confessed My Feelings To
If the way I described how things are with Tibak Crush was that it was easy — The One I Confessed My Feelings To and our story started the same way but ended, well, differently. For one, it ended; this is compared to Tibak Crush, who I am in contact with until this day.
This all happened post-college and in my second year in law school. To be honest, when my friends talked about their law school crushes before, I used to say that I had none, because there were really no names that came to mind. The One I Confessed My Feelings To is from law school (a blockmate!) but I don’t think I ever had a crush on him. And that’s because the thing is, we were friends first. I think that it all started from there.
I remember how he was the first person that introduced himself to me from the block. I distinctly remember how on the first week of classes, while waiting for our professor, I said I wanted cold water and he told me immediately — even if we weren’t close yet — that he would come with me to the ground floor and get cold water. And so, we did. He was just nice (and yes, if this isn’t clear yet — I have a thing for nice guys, which I am fully aware of). He and I hit it off right away and of course, I think it’s largely because both of us are Aries and we just got each other.
I smile just thinking about looking back, how easily we really got to know each other. He sat a few rows behind me and each time we were in the classroom, we frequently teased each other and exchanged a lot of laughs between us. This teasing each other even happened during Bar Operations in the wee hours of the morning, while he and I were working on helping prepare things for our barristers. We talked a lot even at night but I think what made me really start to feel all these things was when we would talk about our #ParasaBayan dreams (Yes, also clearly a running theme). It felt so nice knowing that for both he and I — lagi’t lagi, para sa bayan.
One of the particular moments that made me realize that this wasn’t just a ‘soft spot’ or ‘happy crush’ was that one time, the block had our picture taken. Before anything else, let me explain that I’m very particular about my personal space. I value my personal space and I absolutely hate unsolicited touching. This one instance, we were taking the picture and he put his hand on my shoulder. I didn’t flinch one bit. I realized then that while for most people that didn’t matter to me, I would immediately feel violated, because it was him, it was okay. He had that effect on me — that somehow, I felt safe with him. And I did. I also remember this one time, I was sitting in a café and studying for our next class. I did not see that he was there, but he came over to say hi and hugged me from behind. Again, I didn’t flinch. I said hi back, and we went on to go to class.
It went on for weeks and months. We would talk about trying to survive the next class and I would break down, and he would reassure me that I would do great. We also talked endlessly about our #ParasaBayan dreams. My favorite though was that one time when I already felt that there was something and I was looking for a reason not to like him (Yes, I know, crazy).
I brought up my feelings about fraternities in general (not a secret – I absolutely abhor fraternity-related violence and think they breed a culture of toxic male masculinity, exclusivity, and well, violence) and was curious to see how he would react. To my surprise, he replied, “I thought about that. About what would happen if I joined a fraternity? I told myself that maybe, if I did, you wouldn’t talk to me.” Not going to lie, I remember how speechless I was after that. And the conversation went on, as if nothing changed. To me, though, one thing did in fact change: I was looking for a reason not to like him, and yet, he ended up giving me one to hold on to.
Some time in the early months of 2020, I felt ready to tell him about how I felt. After all that happened, I had finally admitted to myself that he was special to me and that he mattered a lot in my life. And like the empowered woman that I am, I decided on a whim that I would tell him what I felt. As an Aries, I wanted to take that leap of faith. So on leap year (how cheesy), I told him. I told him all that I felt — about how I liked him a lot and that I thought he was great, and that there were no expectations but I just wanted him to know that he mattered.
And then, it happened.
“Thank you.”
My first time confessing my feelings to someone ended with The One I Confessed My Feelings To telling me, “thank you.” I didn’t cry about it or even feel like sad at all, because as I said, there were no expectations, but it was an eyeopener. What I realized what was that admitting your feelings is a two-fold endeavor: on one hand, it starts with you admitting it to yourself, which took a long time for me, realizing that I had grown so attached to these people; and on the other, an equally important part is you being brave enough to put your heart out there to another person.
Never in a million years did I even think that I would be the first to admit my feelings to someone. It was a certain level of bravery that I never thought I had. But more than that, what The One I Confessed My Feelings To taught me is that sometimes, people come in your life and they are not meant to stay or share in it with you. Don’t get me wrong, he and I remain friends, we talk to each other occasionally, and there’s absolutely no bad blood between us, but whatever we had in 2019/2020 was just that.
I can definitely say that there’s absolutely no more feelings whatsoever for him, but only good memories. He doesn’t know this, but he’s incredibly special to me because more than being The One I Confessed My Feelings To (the first!), he was and is a great friend and blockmate — one of my firsts in the block. And that’s more than enough for me.
The One I Wrote About and Confused Feelings For
The One I Wrote About and Confused Feelings For is one that I never saw coming or honestly even wanted to admit for a long time. Where do I begin? For context, The One I Wrote About and Confused Feelings For is a friend. A really close one. He and I go way back — even before The One About Tibak Crush and The One I Confessed Feelings To. And that was one of the things that I found particularly special about him and us — that he was so familiar and for the most part, he became my safe space. Navigating my way around the unchartered waters of law school was a lot more bearable because he was there. He was also, yes, the One I Wrote About because for a while, I wrote a lot for and about him when I was trying to figure out what him appearing in my dreams meant or what any of the feelings that were surfacing did.
Compared to the first two I talked about, The One I Wrote About and Confused Feelings For and I’s story is a little more complicated. It wasn’t easy. I remember some time in 2018/2019 how I was talking to my best friend about him and how I got so confused whether I was having feelings for him or that he just was a really good friend. He confused and confuses me a lot. I ended up pushing whatever feelings I had (which I now realize were feelings) down the drain and brushing him off as “like a brother” to me. That was the thing. It was and is a lot complicated because we’re the exact opposites (for reference, he’s a Libra and I’m an Aries!) and what made what we had complicated was that despite the fact that we were indeed opposites, we were close and there were a lot of things that I was shared with him that I didn’t even share with my closest friends. We just got each other.
For even more context, opening up to people is hard for me. I find it difficult to open up to people who I’m not close with. And the thing about him is that, we talk a lot and in those times we do talk, we’re honest to each other to a fault and I end up sharing with him more than I thought I would.
It’s so strange — that’s how I would characterize it — because there are things about his personality that I don’t particularly like (don’t me wrong, we’re good friends), but also he’s the one person that I feel oddly at peace with — enough to share even the most kept secrets in my heart.
And so, as you probably have anticipated, this girl grew so attached. The One I Wrote About and Confused Feelings For was my safe space. We would talk about the most mundane things and also have the deepest conversations. Every time I found myself in a bad place, he would instinctively be there for me — call me or find some way to reach me (and I do the same for him).
Of all the three, our story is one that’s particularly harder for me to write not because he broke my heart, but I guess because for the most part, this was years in the making. I denied it for so long. I put it aside thinking that it was nothing but well, there was something — at least on my end. For a long time, we were close friends and when I realized that he mattered to me on a different level — one that I took so long to get to, it was too late. Our story is one of my favorites to tell because it’s ours and I would have never thought that he would matter to me as much as he did and does.
That’s the thing about The One I Wrote About and Confused Feelings For. When I knew that I had developed some feelings for him but just didn’t know whether it was platonic love or something else entirely, I was already resigned and happy with the fact that he is a part of my life. I don’t know whether it was him or I that friendzoned the other first (or maybe I did when I considered him “like a brother”) but then and now, it didn’t matter to me. It didn’t matter because I already knew that he was special to me and it wouldn’t change anything, and it hasn’t.
The One I Wrote About and Confused Feelings For, more than anything else, taught me to set boundaries. Those boundaries are there not for him not to cross, but for me. They are there so that the next time I do crush on someone — tibak or not — or the next time I admit feelings for someone or the next time I write about and for someone and confuse feelings for, it wouldn’t be as hard of a process as it was and that so, I would be more sure of myself. They are there so that the next time, the one about feelings would be more — whatever that means and wherever that leads. | https://medium.com/@itsbillie/the-one-about-feelings-7be8a260a4f1 | ['Billie Blanco'] | 2021-04-28 01:30:09.523000+00:00 | ['Growth', 'Love Letters', 'Feelings', 'Love'] |
Adding resolver specific auth for GraphQL API | I’m using Ariadne GraphQL as sub-app to a FastAPI app, you will find the whole code here https://github.com/zero-shubham/friteup-graphql-api
Generally with RestAPI we make endpoints restricted, but with GraphQL APIs we have only one endpoint to which requests are made. Now making this single endpoint (in this case it’s `/graphql`) restricted is simple, but what if you don’t want that rather you want specific resolvers (functions that return responses to queries and mutations) to be restricted?
Will try to answer that, before that let’s first understand the current setup of our application.
Now trying to answer our question, the next logical step will be to add authentication inside our sub-app. We will add a JWT token to the response cookie, this will httpOnly secure cookie.
To do so we will add a login resolver with a similar code as the following — https://pastebin.com/UqEhtF1T
Check if such a user exists, match the password if the password matches authenticate the user by adding token to the response as cookie.
That seems done and a plausible solution but when you try that it won’t work, and our GraphQL app will throw an error saying the response doesn’t match the specified schema.
Our GraphQL app is expecting a dictionary with keys same as that of the defined schema, but when we return a response object instead a lot keys get returned. All the headers and cookies are present there and adding these to the schema makes no sense. So, the current scenario seems as -
Only way to add a cookie to the response is, if it gets added after GraphQL sub-app responds, so technically a token is added to the response cookie by FastAPI app.
To do so we need to communicate this to FastAPI, but how? Definitely using middlewares and decorators (higher — order functions).
Since, we are using ASGI server at any point of time the app instance may handle more than one request we have to consider that while coming up with a solution. The best solution I can think of is to maintain a dictionary of requests and their corresponding token, which will be later used when sending back a response.
So, to visualise the scenario now it should as following -
If you could refer to application.py, I have used different middlewares so that concerns can be separated. As the name suggests `cookie_set` middleware does the latter which is checks for request id (UUID assigned to every request object) whether there is any token if so adds it to the response. The other middleware `BasicAuthBackend` checks every request for any cookie header “Authorization” which has a token, uses it to authenticate the request. Also add a request id to the request object and add these request id and token to the dictionary which maintains tokens for each request.
Now if you are confused why we need to maintain a dictionary for this, well because we have to use this dictionary in multiple function calls. For example, inside “login” resolver where there will be no token already existing inside the request object, so this resolver function will assign a token to that dictionary using the request id. For reference check resolvers/user.py
If you look closely I’m also using a decorator here `authentication_required` this is similar to something like jwt_required if you are familiar with Flask apps. Refer to this middleware.py file, you will find that higher-order function there. So, whenever we add that decorator before any resolver function this gets called and if the request is not authenticated it will return without calling the resolver function.
That was it, I may not have been able to explain it all. So, feel free to ask your doubts or even any suggestions that will make this whole setup simpler than what it is. Thanks! | https://medium.com/analytics-vidhya/adding-resolver-specific-auth-for-graphql-api-fbbc348a5ccb | ['Shubham Biswas'] | 2020-02-23 12:42:19.815000+00:00 | ['Authentication', 'Jwt', 'Python', 'Fastapi', 'GraphQL'] |
A Dynamic Authenticator for Oracle Databases | Developed in Rust, October 2020
In this article, I will describe the Dynamic Authenticator for Oracle databases (Dynamic Authenticator for short), a personal application that I developed using the Rust programming language. The application aims to provide multifactor and passwordless authentication to database administrators (DBAs) and power users using the Oracle database. I should noted that this application is not open source software but a personal project that I made to encourage the use of new technologies at my workplace while highlighting the power of the Rust programming language.
Authentication in Oracle Databases
Traditionally, the Oracle database have provided several methods to externalize operations for authentication and authorization, ranging from LDAP, Kerberos, SSL certificates to Radius authentication, being this last one the most practical to implement due to having an option to prompt users for additional credentials via a challenge interface.
The enablement of Radius authentication in the Oracle database allows communication via Radius protocol with an external system for the purpose of handling authentication and authorization operations.
Radius Authentication
Database authentication under Radius can happen in two ways, synchronous and asynchronous (aka challenge-response). In synchronous mode, a user enters a combination of username and password or passcode (e.g. PIN plus a dynamic number) in the client system, which sends the data to the database server, then the server acting as a Radius client passes the data to an external system for validation. Upon sucessful validation, the external system sends back a confirmation message to the database server which in turn instructs the client system to allows the user to access the database.
In asynchronous mode, a challenge interface prompts the user to enter its username and password in the client system, which sends the data to the database server, then the server acting as a Radius client passes the data to an external system for validation. The external system validates the credentials and sends back a challenge message to the database server which in turn instructs the client system to prompt the user for a challenge (e.g. enter an OTP code). Then, the client system sends the challenge response to the database server which then passes it to the external system for validation. Upon sucessful validation, the external system sends back a confirmation message to the database server which in turn instructs the client system to allows the user to access the database.
Based in the above, the main difference between the two modes is the challenge interface which can be customize to work with multiple authentication factors like smart cards, tokens or security keys. The idea is that third-party vendors can build solutions to aument the login process with multifactor authentication (MFA).
The Evolution of Multifactor Authentication (MFA)
At the begining user authentication was based on “something you know” like a username and password taking part in the login process to access protected resources and applications, then authentication systems added “something you have” like a phone or smart card. Later, as technology progressed “something you are” like a fingerprint or facial recognition was added to the verification process. In today’s highly secure environments we can combine MFA with context-aware information like location, time, risk scores and devices, just to name a few, participating in the authentication process.
Although MFA methods add an extra layer of security, those based on SMS or email notifications aren’t foolproof, techniques like exploitation through social engineering, phishing, man-in-the-middle or replay attacks have proven to be sucessful, making MFA not nearly as effective.
However, new standards like WebAuthn and FIDO2 have given birth to a new category of stronger MFA, one that overcomes the issues associated with traditional MFA methods. FIDO2 eliminates the risks of phishing and all forms of password theft and replay attacks by not sharing cryptographic credentials. In adition, biometric data when used never leaves the user’s device, and because cryptographic keys are unique across every website they cannot be used to track users. Moreover, FIDO2 combines WebAuthn and CTAP to provide a simple interface (JavaScript API) that is supported across all browsers and platforms.
The Rust Programming Language
Rust is an open-source systems programming language that was orginaly designed by Mozilla Research. It’s focused on safety and performance and is an ideal language for embedded and bare-metal development. Furthermore, Rust also happens to solve the challenges associated with dynamic types, garbage collection and memory safety present in many other programming languages making it a solid contender for current software development.
The Rust ecosystem is quite large with production-quality software and first-class citizens, in addition to built-in tools. However, Rust strong type system and emphasis on memory safety make the learning curve difficult but once you pass that level, developers usually fall in love according to Stack Overflow Developer Survey Results, “For the fourth year in a row, Rust is the most loved programming language”.
Being a relatively new language, Rust is not only well suited to create powerful cross-platform tools but also to build distributed online services and powerful web applications.
A Practical Design to Implement MFA in Oracle Databases
The Dynamic Authenticator is a simple but versatile solution for Oracle databases to enable multifactor authentication and externalize user authorization with identity providers.
Once a database server is setup for Radius authentication, login operations can be handle in synchronous or asynchronouse mode, the Dynamic Authenticator leverages the asynhcronous mode to provide a custom challenge interface that is not just faster than the build-in interface but also destined to offer strong MFA capabilities, supporting Yubico OTP, DUO Security, FIDO2 devices and Oracle Mobile Authenticator. Besides, the Dynamic Authenticator complements the Radius authentication with a secure TLS channel to protect challenge responses with the user’s client system.
Figure 1 depicts the overall architecture with the Dynamic Authenticator being in charge of authentication and authorization operations.
Figure 1. Dynamic Authenticator for Oracle Databases — Architecture
In addition to validate credentials and perform MFA during the authentication process, the Dynamic Authenticator can also execute authorization operations at the database level by looking at predefined role mappings on user’s group memberships. Group-Roles mappings (Figure 2) is a feature in the Dynamic Authenticator that can be enabled with all supported identity providers, including Azure AD, Oracle IDCS, LDAP, Active Directory and Oracle Access Manager.
Diving into the internals, the Dynamic Authenticator is built as a statically linked binary in Rust which does not requires special installation or external libraries and being a compact exectubale can be easily distributed to a target server. Asynchronous tasks are handled via Tokio, a Rust library for event-driven, non-blocking I/O operations while persistent data is stored in Rockdb, a high performance embedded database for key-value data. Actix Web and Webauthn-rs are powerful Rust libraries use to facilitate authentication operations via WebAuthn and FIDO2 standards, and Tonic is a gRPC library use for handling client-server communications.
In terms of scalability, the Dynamic Authenticator use Rust direct access to system’s functionality to allows multiple threads bind to the same port to achieve significant throughput and low latency when processing network packets. Additionally, multiple instances can be deployed as a cluster to support a large user base. The Dynamic Authenticator also has a built-in command line interface (CLI) to facilitate startup and shutdown operations, change monitoring levels and manage lifecycle of runtime data.
Figure 2 depicts the Group-Roles mapping feature in the Dynamic Authenticator.
Figure 2. Group-Roles Mapping
The main features in the Dynamic Authenticator can be summarized as follow:
Support most Oracle database versions 11g thru 19c
Support multiple databases per Dynamic Authenticator
Standard MFA support: OAM OTP, Yubico OTP, FIDO2 and DUO
Support Passwordless Authentication, Microsoft’s Windows Hello and Apple’s Touch ID
Integration with Active Directory, LDAP, Oracle Access Manager, Oracle Identity Cloud Service and Azure AD
Support One-to-One or One-to-Many group/DB role mappings
Ephemeral role assignment (valid during session lifetime)
Built-in command line interface
Taking a Quick Tour Around the Dynamic Authenticator
The Dynamic Authenticator supports Yubico devices, so DBAs and power users can use a Yubikey to authenticate with their databases by generating a Yubico OTP each time they are prompted for a challenge. The Dynamic Authenticator validates OTPs against Yubico servers thru a secure channel before a user can access an authorized database.
Figure 3 depicts the challenge-response flow during authentication to an Oracle database.
Figure 3. Using Yubico OTP
Similarly, the Dynamic Authenticator can enforce the use of FIDO2 devices during the login process and when combined with the resident keys feature support passwordless authentication.
Figure 4 depicts the use of Microsoft’s Windows Hello to authenticate using biometrics such as fingerprint recognition.
Figure 4. Using Microsoft’s Windows Hello
Upon successful authentication with a FIDO2 device, a user can access an authorized database as depicted in Figure 5.
Figure 5. Using FIDO2 to access a database
Conclusion
As organizations grow adopting hybrid and multicloud environments to add new business capabilities, security become complex. Finding ways to better protect data is key on preventing cyberattacks and MFA is by far one of the best ways to secure access to applications and resources; after all “any MFA is better than no MFA”.
About the Author
Ricardo Gutierrez is a Lead Security Architect at Oracle with more than 12 years in identity and access management, experience in cloud infrastructure, database, application security and enterprise application integration. In his spare time, Ricardo does research and software development using new technologies and is the creator of the E-Business Suite Asserter (EBS Asserter), a component for SSO bundle with Oracle Identity Cloud Service and the Dynamic Authenticator, an MFA solution for Oracle databases. | https://medium.com/@rgutierrez2004/a-dynamic-authenticator-for-oracle-databases-3c34534b1347 | ['Ricardo Gutierrez'] | 2020-12-25 06:33:36.259000+00:00 | ['MFA', 'Multi Factor Authenti', 'Fido2', 'Authentication', 'Oracle Database'] |
Every Day is Black Friday: Why Paying Cash Leads to Enormous Savings In Healthcare | Cash and debit/credit cards — the methods of payment we use in any industry not called healthcare — is the key to lowering healthcare costs.
Every Day is Black Friday: Why Paying Cash Leads to Enormous Savings In Healthcare
Why is healthcare so expensive in the United States? It’s the question that no one seems to be able to answer. Every year, healthcare costs increase by 5–10%, its march seemingly unstoppable. Politicians have made law after law with the explicit purpose of healthcare costs, only for healthcare to become more expensive year after year. Businesses have made splashy announcements declaring they’ll be the ones to finally fix American healthcare, getting a lot of press despite their efforts going nowhere. Why?
One key reason is they do little to solve one core problem in healthcare: inefficiency. Almost $1 trillion of what we spend in healthcare goes to waste, with this number increasing year after year — or a little over $3,000 for every person in the United States. Part of this massive bill goes toward paying for healthcare’s laughably inefficient technology — after all, this is an industry where the standard form of communication is the fax machine, something that the rest of us abandoned in the 1990s. But one of the most glaring inefficiencies comes with how payments function in the US healthcare system. In 2020, it takes insurance companies 49 days to pay a hospital for their services. Yes, days, not seconds or minutes.
But why? Credit and debit card transactions take just 1–3 days for completion and banks can transfer money within seconds. Why does healthcare have to be exponentially slower? Part of the reason is because of inefficient technology. All the largest health insurers use mainframe computers developed in the 1960s and 1970s, written in a programming language that Edsger Dijkstra, one of computer science’s founding fathers, stated in 1975 that using it “[crippled] the mind; its teaching should, therefore, be regarded as a criminal offense.” Yet here we are, 45 years later, crippling the entire country from gross incompetence.
However, credit cards run on similarly old technology, so there must be more to the story. It turns out that healthcare claims systems are too modern even for healthcare, with 96% of insurers still paying some doctors and hospitals by check (overall, roughly $1.2 trillion is paid via mailed checks rather than electronically sent). In a world where we use Venmo and Zelle for practically all our payments needs, the healthcare industry seems to be partying like it’s still the 19th century.
So what can we do about this? Well, credit cards are apparently 16–50x faster than any payments innovation the healthcare industry has to offer, so it may well be time to use that over insurance. Hospitals routinely offer discounts to patients who pay with cash or card over using their insurance. The savings can be astounding — it could mean paying $521 instead of $2,758 (an 81% discount) on a pair of ultrasounds, spending $80 instead of $269.42 for five blood tests (a 70% discount), expending $70 instead of $600 for a knee x-ray (an 88% discount), and much more. The Surgery Center of Oklahoma, which does not accept insurance — just cash and credit cards (although I’ve heard rumors that bitcoin works too) — charges $15,499 for a hip replacement while the rest of us pay anywhere between $30,000 and $112,000 for it. The administrative costs of dealing with inefficient insurers has become so acute that you can save 20–80% on the cost of a procedure by paying your doctor 45 days earlier. The financial equivalent of this is if you gave them a cash loan with an APR of 475% to 6200% — numbers so large that even payday loan companies would be jealous. Paying via cash or card for a healthcare expense may well give you the greatest financial returns of almost every investment in human history.
In healthcare, cash is king. Inefficient technology, processes, and payments make every day Black Friday in the healthcare industry. Better yet, it’s a doorbuster that will probably never expire, unless of course the industry finally gets its act together and modernizes the way it conducts payments. | https://medium.com/@gunjan-bhattarai/every-day-is-black-friday-why-paying-cash-leads-to-enormous-savings-in-healthcare-a6c84bcd2fae | ['Gunjan Bhattarai'] | 2020-11-02 15:47:56.405000+00:00 | ['Saving Money', 'Healthcare', 'Healthcare Technology'] |
SofiWay e-krona Project Shortlisted; Sofitto Invited Back for Dialogue with Swedish Government | Sofitto’s e-krona proposal, developed in partnership with ChromaWay, a company building blockchain technology for governments and the financial sector, has been shortlisted by Sweden’s central bank Riksbank. The proposal was shortlisted alongside those by heavy-hitters like Visa, IBM, Ericsson and the IOTA Foundation. These solutions were evaluated by Riksbank as the most interesting, and companies have been invited back for dialogues as part of the second stage of the e-krona project.
As cash is being used less and less across the globe, the Swedish government is paving the way for the future of currency. Right now, the central bank is looking into its technical and legal options for issuing a digital complement to cash that is guaranteed by the state, the e-krona. Riksbank is interested in making the e-krona available to the general public as part of a safe and efficient, next-generation payment system.
Sofitto and ChromaWay presented Riksbank with SofiWay, a blockchain-based network for instant clearing and settlement of payments. SofiWay has a built-in flexible and extensible architecture, capable of supporting a complex ecosystem of applications and integrations.
SofiWay is a register-based money (ledger) base system, making it highly flexible yet resilient. As part of SofiWay, Sofitto will provide the last mile solution to bring blockchain metadata through the existing financial infrastructure to end-points (POS, ATM), middleware for blockchain data conversion, and smart cards and mobile phone wallets for users. The system will run on ChromaWay’s Postchain, a private high-throughput blockchain.
As SofiWay is based on blockchain technology, it is distributed, making it highly resistant to cyberattacks. It is much more cost-effective and tamper-proof, instilling a higher level of trust among users. The blockchain makes interoperation easy, leaving room for third parties to develop innovative products on top of the system.
Riksbank received a total of 33 proposals. Each was evaluated in line with a wide range of criteria including scope, reference, experience and architecture.
Riksbank is in the second of three stages of the e-krona project. As part of the second phase, Riksbank will polish the e-krona concept further. In 2018, Riksbank is slated to begin drawing up regulations and agreements for the e-krona system. Riksbank could begin developing the e-krona system as early as next year.
Learn more about Sofitto:
Web | Facebook | Linkedin | Twitter | https://medium.com/sofitto/sofiway-e-krona-project-shortlisted-sofitto-invited-back-for-dialogue-with-swedish-government-370bf4fba79 | ['Maša Judar'] | 2018-07-04 09:14:43.678000+00:00 | ['Fintech', 'Technology', 'Cryptocurrency', 'Money', 'Blockchain'] |
How to Setup Hadoop Cluster on AWS using Ansible | Hey everyone,
In this article, I will show you an interesting Automation in which we will Setup the Hadoop Cluster (HDFS) on top of AWS Cloud (EC2) and we will do everything using a tool called Ansible which is one of the best Automation tools. And the best thing in this article is we will use Ansible’s Dynamic Inventory and Roles concepts to make the whole process more Dynamic.
I expect that you have some familiarity with AWS, maybe you’ve launched an EC2 instance, or similar. And also have some basic knowledge about Ansible and Hadoop. You can easily find information about these technologies on the internet and in this article, our main aim is to integrate all these technologies.
So let’s understand what we actually gonna do to setup this automation.
A genda!!!
In the real world, we generally deal with BigData and the size of this BigData is in Peta or ExaBytes or more. And to handle and process this big data we use technologies like Hadoop. But to store such huge data we need more and more storage devices or resources and it will increase our cost. But we can use Cloud Storage to store this bigdata as Cloud providers provide almost unlimited Storage like AWS S3, EBS, EFS.
So in this, we will launch EC2 instances to setup our Hadoop Cluster i.e., NameNode and DataNodes. And then we will create and attach EBS Volume with DataNodes to store the bigdata that the HDFS Cluster processes. And to setup all these things we will use Ansible to automate our work.
So Let’s do the Hands-on Practical!
To know the installation of Ansible refer to my previous article
Setup AWS Ansible Dynamic Inventory
Now first we have to launch EC2 Instances using Ansible. But before doing this we have to setup some more things in ansible so that we can able to do Provisioning on AWS using Ansible.
First, we have to setup the Ansible Dynamic Inventory, so that it can able to fetch all EC2 Instances and then can able to configure those instances.
Dynamic inventory is an ansible plugin that makes an API call to AWS to get the instance information in the run time. It gives you the ec2 instance details dynamically to manage the AWS infrastructure.
To setup a dynamic inventory in ansible the most common way is to use the pre-created EC2 python files. But instead of this, we will use an ansible dynamic inventory plugin that is aws_ec2.
So aws_ec2 plugin is a great way to manage AWS EC2 Linux instances without having to maintain a standard local inventory. This will allow for easier Linux automation, configuration management, and infrastructure as code of AWS EC2 instances.
In order to use Ansible for AWS, we have to install boto, boto3, and botocore Python libraries
pip3 install boto boto3
To enable the aws_ec2 plugin we have to add the following statement to the ansible.cfg file:
enable_plugins = aws_ec2
So our ansible.cfg file looks like this
ansible.cfg file example
In the above image, you can see that my inventory path is ansible_plugins, so this is a handy way to manage all ansible plugins like if we have multiple AWS accounts or different cloud accounts.
Now after this we have to create a configuration file for the aws_ec2 plugin, here I have created aws_ec2.yaml file as shown below
---
plugin: aws_ec2
aws_access_key: <YOUR-AWS-ACCESS-KEY-HERE>
aws_secret_key: <YOUR-AWS-SECRET-KEY-HERE> regions:
- ap-south-1 strict: False
keyed_groups:
- key: tags
prefix: tag
- key: placement.region
prefix: aws_region
This is a simple configuration file and you can modify it according to your needs. So in the above file, notice keyed_groups keyword under which we basically write that how we want to group the instances like according to the tags, region, instance type, etc. And here I used tags to group my HDFS Cluster NameNode and DataNode instances.
Test the dynamic inventory by listing all the EC2 instances like this
ansible-inventory --list
Create Ansible Roles
In Ansible, the Role is basically a way to groups all the things we write in a playbook or it is the primary mechanism for breaking a playbook into multiple files. So Roles are the collection of variables, tasks, files, templates, and modules. And this simplifies writing complex playbooks, and it makes them easier to reuse.
In ansible to create a Role directory structure, we can use the ansible-galaxy command like this
ansible-galaxy init <role name>
Or we can also manually create this structure if we have limited groups.
Now in this, we will create 3 roles that are :
For launching EC2 Instances to setup HDFS Cluster
To configure an instance as a Hadoop Master (NameNode)
To configure instances as Hadoop Slaves (DataNodes)
Creating Role to Launch EC2 Instances
In this role, we will create a tasks file and a vars file.
Here is the tasks file which has all the tasks that ansible will perform
In the above file, you can see I have used variables and some user-defined variables too like number of instances and tags, which we will used to launch instances as namenode and datanodes with a single role. And notice that I used a module named meta which will automatically refresh our dynamic inventory as soon as we launch some instance.
Variable file for this role is
---
region: "ap-south-1"
ami_id: "ami-0a9d27a9f4f5c0efc"
instance_type: "t2.micro"
subnet_id: "subnet-2e8ee562"
sg_id: "sg-007e984dff1d14721"
key: "taskoskey"
The security group I attached to all the instances allow only SSH and HDFS services running on 9001 port.
Creating Roles to Configure HDFS Cluster
To configure a HDFS Cluster using ansible, you need to have some basic knowledge like how to setup a HDFS Cluster manually. But if you are new to Hadoop and don’t know how to setup HDFS then you can check out my this article which is a step-by-step guide to setup HDFS locally.
So Let’s see how to setup HDFS with Ansible
Creating Role for NameNode
In this role, we mainly have 3 directories i.e., tasks, templates, and vars.
Here is the tasks file which has all the tasks that we want Ansible to perform in order to configure NameNode and it typically performs these tasks
Install Hadoop and java
Configure instance as NameNode and start its services
Mount the EBS Volume with its NameNode Data directory
Now in the templates directory, there are 2 Hadoop files i.e., hdfs-site.xml and core-site.xml which ansible will copy in the NameNode’s /etc/hadoop directory and replace some variables with their values. And these files are also known as jinja templates. So the content in these files are
hdfs-site.xml file
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<?xml-stylesheet type="text/xsl" href="configuration.xsl"?> <!-- Put site-specific property overrides in this file. --> <configuration> <property>
<name>dfs.{{val}}.dir</name>
<value>{{hdfs_dir}}</value>
</property> </configuration>
core-site.xml file
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<?xml-stylesheet type="text/xsl" href="configuration.xsl"?> <!-- Put site-specific property overrides in this file. --> <configuration> <property>
<name>fs.default.name</name>
<value>hdfs://{{master_ip}}:{{hdfs_port}}</value>
</property> </configuration>
And here are the variables for this role
master_ip: "0.0.0.0"
val: "name"
hdfs_dir: "/master_hdfs"
hadoop_dir: "/etc/hadoop"
hdfs_port: 9001
Creating Role for DataNodes
The structure of the role to configure DataNode is same as the NameNode role and there are some minor changes in the tasks file and Variable file.
Since in Hadoop we do not format DataNodes, so we have to remove the task that does formatting and also we use a different command to start DataNode services, so we also have to remove this task. So typically we just have to remove 2 tasks from the NameNode tasks file and add the below task only and the other tasks remains the same.
- name: Starting Hadoop DataNode services
command: "hadoop-daemon.sh start datanode"
ignore_errors: true
And the Variable file for this role is
master_ip: "{{ groups.tag_Hadoop_namenode[0] }}"
val: "data"
hdfs_dir: "/slave_hdfs"
hadoop_dir: "/etc/hadoop"
hdfs_port: 9001
Now all the required Roles have been created and the Dynamic Inventory is also ready. And now we just have to create one final Ansible Playbook that will run all these roles and setup our HDFS Cluster on AWS.
And here is that Playbook
Now we just have to run this playbook like this
ansible-playbook setup.yml
Just this one command will do everything for us from launching EC2 instances to configuring them as NameNode and DataNodes.
Output of this command | https://medium.com/dev-genius/automate-hadoop-cluster-deployment-on-top-of-aws-using-ansible-194b623b9103 | ['Ajay Pathak'] | 2020-12-28 17:17:41.539000+00:00 | ['Hadoop', 'Automation', 'Ansible', 'DevOps', 'AWS'] |
I Am About To Do The Scariest Thing I Have Ever Done, And Somehow It’s Not Having A Freaken Kid | (Though I am having a kid. I like to think of that as more of a side project really. 😉)
In a couple of days, my partner Abigail Ricarte and I, will be launching a project on Kickstarter. The campaign, which marks only the beginning (fingers crossed) of our mission, is a result of years of dreaming, months of working, and endless hours of creating. I am absolutely terrified.
I am not exactly sure when I started dreaming about creating Vizkidz.
I know it was sometime after I made the leap from journalist to data journalist and realized that comprehending and communicating about data, statistics, and its value in a creative field was going to be an endless uphill battle. I vaguely remember the first time I said it out loud to my colleagues — ‘hey wouldn’t it be cool to do like a series of children’s books that explains data viz to kids?’—half joking, half checking whether everyone would mock me for my lame duck idea. The level of mockery was bearable.
So I sought out Abby. We’ve worked together for many years, and her work in branding and design literally blows me away. I had also seen some of her illustration work, and knew that this was the person I wanted to build Vizkidz with — we both understood this world, and she was going to take it to the next level. We drank a bottle, or two, or three, of wine (mind you, this was before I was knocked up), and made a pact to create Vizkidz together.
There have been a lot of early morning breakfast meetings (so kind of Abby to keep ordering smoked salmon in front of a pregnant Norwegian chick), and weekend working sessions over Google hangout. A lot of terrible sketches, worse ideas (Barnaby Barchart illustrating the amount of dog poop he picks up along the way each day is one of those), and then better story boards, ideas that made us squeal with excitement, and then eventually, finally, our fully baked concept for Vizkidz.
So why am I terrified?
Well. We’re about to launch this project on Kickstarter, and ask a whole bunch of people to invest in us and what we believe in. I think the worst case scenario for both of us is that people will see our idea, and not get excited about it. What if we raise zero dollars? (Well that’s not likely, between Abby’s mom and my mom, we’ll raise at least $80 or so). But what if we aren’t successful in funding this project?
What if no one wants a copy of Vizkidz, and no one backs us, and what if no one thinks that the last year we have spent on this project is worth it. We are putting our creativity and ideas out there for all to see and judge, and that is (frankly) terrifying.
But every time I wake up in a panic, scared that this could all go so very wrong, I try to remind myself that nobody ever did anything cool or great without taking a big risk first. When I get nervous that it is not good enough, I try to remind myself that we won’t know until we get feedback. When I get anxious that people will laugh at us or think our idea is stupid, I try to tell myself that it wouldn’t be the end of the world.
So here goes nothing. | https://medium.com/vizkidz/i-am-about-to-do-the-scariest-thing-i-have-ever-done-and-somehow-its-not-having-a-freaken-kid-c831d378de13 | ['Liv Buli'] | 2016-10-06 16:29:10.512000+00:00 | ['Kids', 'Kickstarter', 'Crowdfunding', 'Publishing', 'Data Visualization'] |
9 trends that designers need to know in 2021 | WHAT an era 2020 has been!!! oufff !!
With one lockdown after another, constant bad news and social distancing, 2020 limited experiences and innovations. Thank god that unlike other pandemics that happened in the long history, covid-19 happened in a world connected by the Internet!
When it comes to the design world, new trends and concepts appear every year as the market saturation always pushes the leader to innovate and the followers to keep trying to catch on to the trend. Despite being wildly exceptional, 2020 didn’t stop some major improvements and innovations in the UI/UX world that are expected to shape 2021.
Noticeably: immersive 3D elements, soft shadows, and floating elements ! The pandemic led to some serious rapid digital transformations and the establishment of real technological infrastructure in order to fill the gap of human absence and so creating more demands of designers, unlocking team potentials and driving a radical systemic change for the year ahead promises more change and we have a responsibility to reflect on their catalysts and outcomes.
Here is the list of design trends predicted to mark 2021
1. A design system is your new team player
Digital products have kept the world together during these unprecedented times. But they’ve also revealed deep inconsistency, unexploited opportunities, disinformation, and chaos. Organizations started adopting a design system to approach a modeled progression in their work years ago. Yet what was optional before is becoming a must-have in 2021. A design system is meant to operate as a team by reducing the attempts of synchronization between different departments and the bother to visually design every state of every screen while you can think more efficiently and operate by Assembling all components Line of UX/UI in a contributions space and so fulfill business strategy, create coherence between designer teams and development for Everybody to work on a brand or product line operates the same by using a design system. Design systems are expected to be the main competitive advantage of 2021.
2. Minimalist, minimalism, minimal…UI
Minimalist UI design is that one trend that you can never call “NEW” as it appears and disappears every few years. When using a digital solution especially websites and mobile apps, users don’t have the patience to spend time understanding the functioning of the app or scrolling irrelevant notifications and pop-up windows or anything that slows down the use of the digital solution. They are looking for a simple, clear, and easy to use interface. Eye-tracking tests are compulsory to determine which parts of the website to focus on.
2021 UIs are expected to be free of any:
Excess information
Irrelevant components
Seamless navigation
Intruder non-design-friendly ads
in order to ensure a purposeful user journey through minimal, simple, and time-saving design features.
3. Less standardized…more of individualist
Standardization became a respected aspect of design in the early life of the design field setting complex rules to follow in order to ensure consistency and flawless designs. Yet it obviously limited uniqueness and designers’ personal talents to show and almost resulted in the delivery of similar approached products, that look and operate in the same high standards. 2020 helped to demolish this phenomenon remarkably and establishing a competitive vision based on approaching every product differently and showing brand prints in every project without paying much attention to standardization.
2021 is expected to push further the vanishing of standardization! To leave more space for individualist personalized UX that serves every product differently according to its target users. Consumers are looking to engage with brands they can relate to, that feels approachable, relevant, and authentic. To achieve a genuine connection, designers should collaborate with marketers to achieve a storytelling approach of work by creating stories around a product and captivate the user touching the emotional side and creating a personal connection
4. The DARK mode is here to stay
2020 literally made Dark the new light for everyone’s eyes!
The dark mode became a must-have feature on every kind of platform whether it is a website, social media, etc….2021 is expected to elevate the dark mode to a survival feature in everything we develop! Bringing a more modern, sleek, sophisticated approach that allows designers to be creative and explore new options to manage design elements.
5. Back to hand-drawn designs
Oh yeah just like you heard it! 2021 is bringing back the human touch in design!
The harsh Digitalisation and ultra-sophisticated design tools deprived us of natural human drawings, hand-written texts, and an artisanal approach in design. Adding hand-written and hand-drawn elements in design is going to mark 2021 trends to add uniqueness, character, and a personal touch to every developed product.
6. Augmented reality, Virtual reality, and AI DESIGNS
Virtual reality and augmented reality were among the main design trends of 2020 included in education, healthcare, museum and house tours, and more. it will remain so in the coming 2021 and beyond. Some companies are even in the creation of a full-blown “virtual office ecosystem”. We’ll soon see more corporate meetings in VR and AI-powered design tools to bridge designers and developers such as design systems. Many design moguls such as Sketch and Figma are willing to incorporate remote teamwork into their features
7. Generative design
Another potentially promising UX/UI trend is the generative design. This is the name of programs that can analyze a large array of similar data, find their defining features and characteristics, and then create new ones based on the provided data. algorithm-driven design tools can create layouts and marketing materials, choose visual styles, and generate presentation mockups.
8. Touchless interactions
2020 pandemic made us realize the importance of voice user interfaces in UI/UX. It is speculated that 2021 will bring more focus on touchless device interaction methods including AIR gesture control. We might come to reduce any language barriers, loss of context retention with incomplete tasks, speech impairments..etc
9. More advanced 3D and immersive experiences
3D designs can never be called new, but 2021 is expected to advance the interest in 3D components and entire 3D scenes in interfaces beyond casual levels.
Conclusion
No matter how much we try to limit our expectations, a human innovative mind can never stop to surprise us. All we can hope for is that 2021 will bring way better fortune than his previous unpleasing year 2020.
What do you think of those trends? Are you willing to apply them in your designs? | https://medium.com/@rania-mdimagh/9-trends-that-designers-need-to-know-in-2021-8aa39e720ad6 | ['Rania Mdimagh'] | 2020-12-16 14:06:21.766000+00:00 | ['Design', 'UI Design', 'Trends', 'Technology', 'Design Systems'] |
Canadian Alternatives to Quadriga | Many Canadians lost funds (and trust) in crypto due to the fall of one of the largest exchanges— how can customers regain trust, and find better alternatives?
Introduction
One centralized exchange has fallen, many more to go
Sadly, a harsh lesson is often our best teacher. And sometimes, it takes learning that same lesson, repeatedly, for the knowledge to solidify.
Many other exchanges have fallen before Quadriga, the most famous being Mt.Gox.
What are the causes for these repeated failures?
Hacking (internal, external)
Exit scam (the founders left with the money)
Insolvency (running a fractional reserve)
Quadriga is not the first. It will not be the last.
In this article we highlight:
Why it is essential to know security principles
How to apply basic personal security
What are the alternatives to centralized exchanges
Security Principle in Bitcoin technology
“Not your keys, not your coins” — a truth that will never change.
The fundamental security mechanism in Bitcoin (and other cryptos) is the control of your funds using pairings of private and public keys.
In simplest terms:
The Public key is the location/address where your coins are located
The Private key is what controls the movement of those coins in that location
There is only one public key for one private key.
Anyone who knows the private key (control) has permanent control over the bitcoins stored on the associated public key (address).
The “all or nothing” control of funds by private keys poses a daunting task for exchanges. Centralized exchanges must retain secure operational control over bitcoins on their platform; however, at the same time, they must allow clients to be able to withdraw and deposit quickly.
One mistake, and all funds can be lost. Forever. Without appeal.
The simple way to understand your risk exposure is by asking the question:
Who knows and control the keys?
In a centralized exchange, they do — until you withdraw your funds.
If it is software: one mistake in the code = bitcoins are lost or hacked.
If it is a human: one human mistake = bitcoins are lost or stolen.
If YOU own your keys, you are responsible for your own security.
To summarize, you need to make sure that you, and no one else, control the keys to your coins. Then you have full control over the security measures of your private keys.
Personal security basics
Just 3 simple steps to achieve real safety.
We made a more in-depth article on wallet security in this entry to our Bitcoin Essentials series.
But let’s break it down to the 3 most essential steps everyone should remember:
1 — Choose wisely what device (hardware wallet) or software (app) you use.
Whatever you choose needs to be trusted by you, as it will have complete control over your funds. Alternatives are discussed in the above article.
2 — Generate and secure your seed.
Generate: Choose a proper wallet that can generate a recovery seed.
Secure: Seeds can be lost, forgotten, destroyed — ensure that your recovery seed is stored somewhere extremely safe, and that you have several copies in different locations. Some of these should be secure paths for inheritance recovery in the case of your death, because — yes — that happens.
3 — Test your knowledge
Do a simple test transaction on the new wallet with very low amount of funds. Then erase and regenerate your wallet from scratch. This is the best way to prove to yourself that you understood the steps and principles of storing and re-accessing your coins in the case of a lost or broken wallet.
Once you have understood the principles of security, and completed your test transactions, you are ready to buy a larger amount of bitcoin.
Alternatives to Quadriga
From most safe to least safe, here are your best alternatives as a Canadian searching for Bitcoin in 2019
As covered previously in another Bitcoin Essentials article, you have four main alternatives for buying and selling Bitcoin after Quadriga’s failure.
1st Place — Physical Exchanges
2nd Place — Localbitcoins
3rd Place — Bitcoin ATMs
Last — Other Centralized Exchanges
You can measure safety by the length of the time between you giving your money, and you receiving your coins for storage. The shorter the time — the safer.
Physical Exchanges — YAP
This is the shortest time between your money and your coins.
Give money → receive coins.
Pros:
Prices are generally the best compared to other solutions
Larger volume than ATM
Security
Customer service
Beginner friendly
Cons:
Not many brick and mortar companies
Some people prefer dealing with an ATM, or doing it at home online with a centralized exchange, rather than a human being
Based in Montreal, our YAP Exchange specializes in this kind of cash to bitcoin transactions.
Localbitcoins (or similar ) — YAP again
Localbitcoins allows you to find local individuals or companies to arrange direct exchanges of bitcoin. You can use Localbitcoins-type services are optional escrow intermediaries.
Pros:
Various options depending on your location
Prices can be good
Cons:
More technical
Higher risks of frauds and scams
Can be “sketchy” when you meet a random person to do an exchange
We advise dealing with companies that have good track records, using escrow services, and/or trading with accounts that have the highest ratings on the platform.
Bitcoin ATM — (more YAP!)
A machine based transaction, like an ATM but for bitcoins.
Some companies offer to buy and sell, but most often it is just to buy.
Pros:
Bitcoin ATMs are conveniently located across major cities, and are sometimes available in remote locations
Cons:
Highest prices
Lower volumes
If a mistake occurs, it can be hard to track and receive compensation
You can use Coin ATM Radar or Coinmap to find a location.
*Thanks to a new partnership, YAP now provides in-store rates on select ATMs.
Centralised Exchanges
Remember: Not your keys, not your coins.
Make sure you understand fully the process, the fees, the KYC requirements,
and withdraw your funds back into your control as soon as possible.
Pros:
Online
Various payment options
Cons:
Higher risks of hacks and lost funds on the platform
Least privacy focused
Prices largely vary among different platform and payment options
Hidden fees
Slowest processing, sometimes days of delays to move coins out
We strongly suggest you to do your own research, but here are 3 that have a longer track record and are open to Canadian customers:
Shakepay.co (Canadian), Coinsquare.com (American), Coinbase.com (American) | https://medium.com/yap-exchange/canadians-alternatives-to-quadriga-47fe2f255dbe | ['Yap Staff'] | 2019-04-22 16:16:27.090000+00:00 | ['Bitcoin News', 'Montreal', 'Canada', 'Bitcoin', 'Cryptocurrency'] |
Feeling the Rivers in the Sky | Feeling the Rivers in the Sky
Michaela Vieser
This Essay first appeared in the Rewilding Issue of The Lissome Magazine with illustrations by Mimi Robson.
“A bay is a noun only if water is dead. When bay is a noun, it is defined by humans, trapped between its shores and contained by the word. But the verb wiikwegamaa — to be a bay — releases the water from bondage and lets it live. “To be a bay” holds the wonder that, for this moment, the living water has decided to shelter itself between these shores, conversing with cedar roots and a flock of baby mergansers. Because it could do otherwise — become a stream or an ocean or a waterfall, and there are verbs for that, too.[…] This is the grammar of animacy.”
Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants
There are rivers in the sky. Fed by the oceans, called by the trees. Serving as particle messengers, fungus spores and terpenes are released from the rooted soils and leafy foliages, sent up into the air to ionize the clouds. Anthropomorphized, the summoning by the trees might translate into: „Come hither, Come hither, you droplets and driblets of water.“ Addressed in nature’s language this works — not like magic and not like an algorithm, but because of the sensual interplay of everything alive.
From the sea to the coast into the lowlands and highlands, the drylands and wetlands, the farmlands and marshlands, these invisible rivers gather and meander. Their current is the speed of the wind, their shores are made up by the endless sky. They are not invisible to all: the golden winged warbler feels the storm coming before any meteorologist will know about its formation, despite the borrowed eyes from satellites watching down from outer space. And even our normal house cat senses the rain hours before it falls. Amongst us humans there are those who can communicate with the weather phenomenon in their own syntax: Rainmakers (a profession found in almost any culture, from the Andes to the Japanese archipelago) know songs and rhythms to entice them. How their melodies reach the clouds remains a mystery to us who listen to tunes made of digits: the music penetrating our brains through ear phones makes us forget the power of sound-waves, subdues basses and beats of their tickling and stimulating qualities, leaving organs and glands out of the loop of the full body experience of music.
The sheer presence and longevity of the rainmaking profession gives it credibility. The ancient Greek writer Plutarch observed the interplay of sound and rain. In his Parallel Biographies he writes: “Extraordinary rainfall often occurs after great battles; it may be that some divine force cleans the polluted air in this way and washes the earth with showers from above.” He is hinting that the sound waves unleashed from the loud war instruments induce rain, but there is more to it: If one was to understand all the micro-mechanisms of animated life and the invisible connections between species and spheres, shouldn’t there be an old/new worldview to tap into? Anthropologists like Sussy Gump of Mass University in Kenya are looking at how indigenous cultures interact with the atmosphere and how incantations of rain can actually or possibly make rain happen. They find that rainmakers seem to be able to read the landscape and the movements within it: “The Nganyi Forest Shrine in the village of Esibila, in western Kenya, may not appear as an important symbol on any geographical map, but the forest, which lies on just one hectare of land, has an untouched biodiversity that helps the community of Bunyore to predict weather conditions for generations to come. The shrines are made of huge and rare native trees that form a canopy and are considered sacred. The small forest areas attract reptiles, birds and insects, whose behaviour is observed to predict the weather ahead. The Nganyi have appropriated their interpretation of this detailed information into a floating ritual art between legend and science.“
While meteorologists read data from thermometers, hygrometres, barometers, ombrometres, parynometres and ceilometres in an ever more fragmented, reductive and digital-centered approach, rainmakers simply read the world around them. It is not for nothing that witches and druids of the old European past lived in the middle of the forest and spoke to animals and trees. Maybe their magic is nothing else but the ability to conjure up the right connections in a world where everything is connected to everything else. Italo Calvino touches upon this principle in the chapter Cities and Sky 1 in his Invisible Cities. He describes a carpet in the city of Eudoxia, which reflects everything that happens in the city: „But if you pause and examine it carefully, you become convinced that each place in the carpet corresponds to a place in the city and all the things contained in the city are included in the design, arranged according to their true relationship, which escapes your eye distracted by the bustle, the throngs, the shoving. All of Eudoxia´s confusion, the mules´ braying, the lampblack stains, the fish smell is what is evident in the incomplete perspective you grasp; but the carpet proves that there is a point from which the city shows its true proportions, the geometrical scheme implicit in its every, tiniest detail.“
Reading the weather is a bit like writing a perfect story — it is a matter of filtering out from an almost infinite possibility of variation those passages that are essential, those that make up a narrative. Such a view and interpretation of the environment naturally makes it richer. While the scientific revolution of the 17th century led to the creation of a silo culture regarding Nature, indigenous cultures have been perceiving it as a whole and as something we access with our senses. The US American psychologist Edward Tolman put forward the hypothesis that the cognitive maps of people, such as the rainmakers, druids and witches, naturally increase empathy, while narrow cognitive maps, such as those we obtain through codified knowledge, lead to a ‘’dangerous hatred of outsiders’’, ranging from discrimination against minorities to social upheavals. In short, cultures that read the weather using their physical sensations are less prone to xenophobia than cultures that rely on measuring instruments.
There are rivers in the Sky. If one would follow one of them from the Indian Ocean into the Delta of Bengal and further up North, to where the hills first undulate and wallow, then rise and soar, there is a place where the clouds let go with a giant sigh, before they continue with their climb. This particular river has a seasonal name: monsoon, and is called from a sublime voice. When it comes down in Mawsynram, it whips and trickles, splashes, sloshes, showers, sprays, pours, drips and drizzles, drums, streams and steams. And those amidst it, must adopt to such a drench.
The mountains might remember the time in the Carnian Pluvial Event, when it rained for two million years straight and might think nothing of the yearly waterfalls, but for everyone else it is a downpour and an outpour, not frighteningly so, but recurring and hence a situation that needs to be dealt with in daily life.
Some take it light, like the Jacobin cuckoo, a bird living in these hills. It enjoys the rain. Every year it will migrate from Kenya just before the monsoon arrives and drink those river-sky-waters, but never from the brackish ground: it will be sipping raindrops that drip from the leaves, pure and sweet, slightly betel scented and filling, directly into its beak. Chatak they call this bird in the old Sanskrit language and the word also carries another meaning: it is the sound of flower petals opening, if only one were to listen careful enough.
The Khasi people also made this region their habitat, despite the natural challenges. Building any kind of infrastructure in such an environment remains tricky: their houses look like shells, sporting roofs from which the rain just glides from and never has the chance to sulk, their entrances never face to the southwest from where the rains come. But the biggest architectural challenge are their bridges which are life-sustaining in this environment: Normal concrete bridges would simply be flushed away year upon year and the trail to school, to the market, to Auntie´s house, to the secret hiding place or to any other place would be barred and made unusable. Instead they have developed the indigenous lo-tech bridges of which the Khasi are now known for far beyond their hill regions. Made of vines from the rubber fig tree and supported with the woods of the betel tree, they are an aesthetic feast of efficiency in terms of energy input, usability and sustainability. The architect Julia Watson writes about them in her book „Lo-Tek“ in which she collects examples of agricultural and engineering practices by indigenous people who live in extreme conditions: the Totora Reed Floating Islands of the Uros in Peru; the Qanat Underground Aquaducts of the Persians in Iran; or the Milpa Forest Gardens of the Maya in Mexico. Lo-Tek is a term she coined, from TEK meaning traditional ecological knowledge and Lo-Tech — a primitive, unsophisticated technology. What the examples in her book have in common is that they have been in practice for centuries, some of them for millennia, and have been preserved until today because no modern implementation could come up with better solutions. Collected in her book are practices that are sustainable from every perspective; from their embodied energy to their aesthetics to the care system that keeps them alive like a living organism. In a way this is what these technologies have become, an extension of the indigenous people´s body functions. Or as Watson puts it: „Innovations that are arranged to amplify mutually beneficial interactions between multiple species.“
Take the aforementioned vine-bridges of the Khasi: Once latticed together and cared for year after year, these kind of bridges can outlast rains and civilizations. The Khasi have been inhabiting the same hills since the first century BC. To maintain their system of bridges, they incant them in their origin story, where a tree ladder connects heaven and earth. The bridges were taught by the gods and hence the Khasi culture and spirituality must protect them. Care is given to every action concerning the bridges: Law kyntang are sanctified areas and sacred forests along the rivers. Trees growing left and right of rivers must never be felled. The maintenance of bridges is a spiritual caretaking. The jinkieng dieng jri, or the rubber tree bridges, might take a generation to grow and generations after may use them.
There is a distinct aesthetic to the bridges of the Khasi people, a perfection that remains untamed and wild. The hill dwellers have not become slaves to a system: Technology to the Khasi people is not something that strives to always try and error new, to take apart and put together new, but having found something so efficient, that all it takes is a system of care to pass it on from generation to generation. It is based on a socio-ecological worldview in which a story of interdependency will keep trails alive for all generations to come. Care is woven organically into everyday life and evoked through ceremonies, songs, and actions. The big noun „Knowledge” in this context is not something that takes apart, but something that connects. Knowledge is storytelling and keeping those stories alive.
Still other Rivers feed keystone species, that sustain all and everything that leans towards them. Take the yellow cedar, fed by strong rainfalls, clinging on to the hills along the coastal regions, standing still. A sacred resource for the Nuu-chah-nulth Nation on the Western Coast of what is now Canada: With its silver weaving bark and the smooth and slender trunk, it embodies a woman to the the Nuu-chah-nulths. To them, life around connects to life within. Empathy is extended to all living organisms. Or, as Wade Davis, an anthropologist striving to preserve indigenous cultures legacies writes in his book Wayfinders — Why Ancient wisdom matters in the modern world: “The full measure of a culture embraces both the actions of a people and the quality of their aspirations, the nature of the metaphors that propel their lives. And no description of a people can be complete without reference to the character of their homeland, the ecological and geographical matrix in which they have determined to live out their destiny. Just as a landscape defines character, culture springs from a spirit of place.”
One needs stories beyond the utilitarian to forge connections to the land.
The bark of the yellow cedar contains water-repellant substances. The Nuu-chah-nulths developed a technique of weaving it and used it to make diapers, capes, dresses, shoes, headbands. When someone died, the body was wrapped in it. In the humid weather, nothing could compare to the light cedar cloth. The cedar bark clothing rubbed lightly on the body, creating a feeling that the Nuu-chah-nulth called „invigorating”. A tingling sensation that reminded one in every moment to the world around. The alternatives of woolen cloth and heavy ship sails they were forced to wear after the arrival of the European settlers were uncomfortable and soaked heavy with water over time.
Finding the right kind of tree was a matter of understanding the landscape.
While the Nuu-chah-nulth had several words in their vocabulary for the different types of cedar trees, it was shamans who went into trance to find the perfect tree whose bark was of the right age and showed the right properties for the use that was to come. When a tree was found in this way, the ancients would guide them, they had names for each stream, coast, hill or rock. Prayers would be said before visiting the tree to thank it for having its bark removed. Local knowledge and body knowledge were woven together in a living narrative that held the wisdom of a nation.
And sometimes the Rivers leave their heavenly riverbed and will dance with the waves. They will tickle the ocean floor and draw patterns into the silky sand, making it hard for the shrimps to perch. When the female Ama pearl divers of Japan delve into the sea and find the bottom slightly turvy and the shrimp paddling around excitedly, they know that a storm is coming and will leave the waters right away, warning the fishermen and everyone around. Centuries ago the Ama were themselves transported by the currents from the southern seas to this archipelago. They found a land filled with everything one could wish for. Trees and mountains, springs and seawaves. Their descendants called it 森羅萬象 Shinrabansho — the all covering forest, within a myriad things. With this compound word they found a name for everything that existed in their world.
There were once rivers in the sky that created a cosmic mandala. In its every detail everything was alive. By connecting with them and letting them run through our bodies and minds humanity survived for millennia.
And now climate change threatens to change everything, forcing us to adapt even as we are forgetting the lessons of those rivers, those patterns, those ways of being. „Dedicated to the next Seven Generations“, writes Julia Watson in „Lo-Tek“. But what kind of habitat will the 7th Generation know? Which technologies will they use to stay alive? Will they have to start at point zero and re-learn to building vine bridges and finding the right cedar tree? Will they have the sensitivity to name birds after the sound of a flower petal opening? Perhaps modern culture will learn to embrace the knowledge that already exists and embody it. Maybe a great listening will take place, a listening to Rivers, to little birds and to old stories that sound new. | https://medium.com/@michaela-vieser/feeling-the-rivers-in-the-sky-3b02e0fbb226 | ['Michaela Vieser'] | 2021-04-06 13:35:33.658000+00:00 | ['Nature Writing', 'Ecology', 'Nature Wisdom'] |
Our Chillest Launch Yet. | We’re excited to share today that we’ve expanded our Eat offerings to include Frozen Eats, featuring sweet treats from Coolhaus, Chloe’s Pops, Marco, and Dalci, alongside savory foods from Chef Bombay, Nuggs, Cappello’s, and more.
Frozen Eats speaks to our mission of simplifying your life by bringing you the most coveted premium brands we know you will love — FastAF.
To celebrate the launch of the new category and National Ice Cream Day, we’re hitting the streets this weekend (Saturday, July 17 — Sunday, July 18) with the FastAF #ChillSummer Ice Cream Truck Tour. For a $50 flat fee, you can select from three curated assortment of goodies including That’s Bold (artisanal flavors), FastAF Faves, and No Moo (dairy-free, plant-based), all delivered to your door by one of our trucks. Don’t wait, as spots are limited.
You can also order curated and fantastically-themed sundae bundles this weekend via our normal delivery method through the FastAF app, including Vacation Vibes ($25), Coffee Obsession ($30), and the Ultimate Sundae ($35). Each bundle comes with two ice cream pints, toppings, and a kit of add-ons to indulge in.
Just download the app and shop Frozen Eats to enjoy in LA, NY, SF & Miami.
Continue to check the app for the latest Frozen Eats to keep you cool this summer! | https://medium.com/@fastaf/our-chillest-launch-yet-9180319c9c55 | [] | 2021-07-15 16:38:44.495000+00:00 | ['Delivery', 'Launch', 'Food', 'Technews', 'Technology'] |
Why Asian American and Pacific Islander Women and Girls Matter | By Sung Yeon Choimorrow, Executive Director of the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum
I am not your model minority. As an Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) woman, I have been subject to the stereotypes of being docile, subservient, and compliant. More times than I can count, I’ve been on the receiving end of microaggressions like “You’re so articulate” to outwardly xenophobic comments like “Go back to where you came from” (even though I am American).
I am AAPI, a woman, an immigrant, a mother, and a member of the faith community. At this point in history, as it has been for many decades, my many identities are simultaneously ignored, or worse, under attack.
For AAPI women, we have to push 10 times as hard to be visible. And in the push to safeguard our reproductive health and rights, it has historically been an uphill climb. Sex-selective abortion bans, which open the door to racial profiling of AAPIs, have been proposed in 31 states under the guise of stopping a problem that does not even exist. But in reality, they are rooted in racist assumptions of AAPI women ending pregnancies for preference of sons. In fact, AAPIs are actually having more girl babies on average than white women are. Prenatal Nondiscrimination Acts (PRENDAs) would only move these harmful policies to the federal level.
In building power with AAPI women and girls, we have tirelessly fought back against attacks on our agency, attacks on immigrant families, and attempts to keep us in poverty. As the fastest growing racial group in the United States, having grown 72% between 2000 and 2015, AAPIs aren’t staying quiet. We are fighting for political power and financial resources, especially against those who seek to silence and disenfranchise us. For example, in the 2018 elections, Asian American voters shifted progressive more than any other voters of color. We are building a progressive base that mirrors the leadership, values, and priorities that we want to see at the local and federal levels.
That’s why at the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF), we are stepping into our power with the Power Up Conference this week. Over 100 AAPI women and girls have gathered to build community, break down silos, and push back against policies and systems that limit our freedoms. Dismantling the false divisions between reproductive rights and health, immigrant rights, and economic justice, we use an intersectional lens to demonstrate to leaders from across the nation the real solutions that we deserve, so that we can thrive.
By embracing the NAPAWF motto, “Be seen, be heard, be fierce,” we commit to defining ourselves on our own terms and uplifting our lived experiences so that those who wish to silence us can no longer ignore us. Local, state, and national legislators cannot ignore us as we launch our AAPI Agenda for Action: an intersectional plan in which we make it known what AAPI women and girls stand for. We will center ourselves on the political stage (literally) as we take on Capitol Hill to advocate for abortion coverage and immigrant access to health care alongside roughly 300 women of color who have come to hold the decisionmakers we put into power in 2018 accountable for our lives, our families, and our communities.
Each of our identities is part of a larger intersectional struggle toward reproductive freedom: having choices and making decisions about our lives, families, and communities with dignity, safety, and autonomy — with no strings attached. Everyone deserves the tools, resources, and freedom to navigate their reproductive decisions, regardless of race, gender identity, income, or immigration status. That’s why I refuse to be anyone’s model minority, scapegoat, or wedge during a time when our existence and well-being are constantly under threat. We must take bold action to answer the call of visibility, agency, and justice for AAPI women and girls nationwide. | https://medium.com/@napawf/why-asian-american-and-pacific-islander-women-and-girls-matter-71334317c5a0 | [] | 2019-09-30 13:43:50.293000+00:00 | ['Asian American'] |
Meesho is looking to hire an Ops Design Head as a cross-functional problem-solver, who can impact the e-commerce space! | Vector courtesy: Free Pik
Every burgeoning company looks towards the operations team during times of expansion and Meesho is doing exactly that. From sales to acquisition of resellers and the number of employee, Meesho is currently focusing heavily on its core values of Thinking 10X and Making Resellers Successful. Right now, more than ever, we are also relying on our Operations team to take us to the next level of excellence.
Our Operations team, filled with talented problem solvers, is looking towards optimised direction from a leader who has experience thinking outside the box to solve the most dynamic problems while working in an e-commerce supply chain. From warehousing to city logistics and planning to operation of a control tower, and so much more, our growing Operations team is zeroing in on many big issues and is prioritising solving them.
Make an Impact
For a continued seamless flow within the delivery network that matches the likes of Amazon and Flipkart, we need a problem-solver waiting for that opportunity to make a huge impact in the e-commerce sphere. How, you ask? With no capex in the equation, we want to build a supply chain tailor-made to meet all the needs of our resellers through 3PL (Third-Party Logistics) network.
To achieve this goal in the most cost-effective manner while also improving the delivery experience, we need world-class problem solvers who have a high bias for action. You would be a perfect fit for this role if you would also have strong analytical skills and experience in designing supply chains in an e-commerce atmosphere.
Harshit Madan, Meesho’s General Manager & VP — Fulfillment and Experience, proposes a scenario:
Let’s say we are currently fielding 1 lakh orders per day and we need to scale up the network to 10 Lakh orders a day. To scale to that level, our network needs to be reliable, cost-efficient and performing at the same level as the Flipkarts and Amazons of the world. We have to figure out how to cut down the cost — Can we improve order consolidation in the supply chain? Can we build capabilities like regional handovers so that we can leverage competencies of regionally strong partners? To improve performance, how do we increase the speed in the network? Should we open warehouses? If yes, where do we do that? To combat any issues with reliability how do we maintain multiple partners so that there is always a backup of steady supply as at the same pin code? Worst case scenario, how do we build in-house capabilities so as to deploy some sort of logistics, and manpower of our own instead of multiple partners going to the supplier many times a day?
These are some of the problems that you will be expected to solve as an Ops Design Head.
What Meesho expects from the Ops Design Head
Harshit puts it simply, as a mix of problem solving and execution. “You have to set things from ground-up. You will be the one to frame the problem and then take the solution from zero to one,” he says, adding, “even taking from zero to one and from one to ten will require you to manage a team, to run operations for that pilot before the beta launch.”
The Ops Design Head will optimise an aspect of Operations until it can be handed over to someone else who will scale it at a pan-India level.
Not only will this individual have to hold regular meetings with their own team, but ensure the smooth running of Operations, they will also need to have regular conversations, and hence a good working relationship with everyone in the company — from Supplier Support to Delivery Partners. Harshit reinstates, “It is a role with cross-functional requirements”.
Why join Meesho?
Meesho has enabled 15,000 suppliers and 2,000,000 resellers to start and grow their online business without any investment, by providing them with the tools including sourcing, logistics and payments, has already made waves in India’s e-commerce market. From small retailers to housewives, students and retired folks, these social resellers are now fully financially independent.You can hear all about it from our resellers across the country here and to learn more about Meesho’s four year journey click here! If you did not already know about Meesho’s amazing work culture from the two consecutive times (2018 and 2019) we were named by LinkedIn as India’s Top 25 Startups to work for based on top talent pull, job-seeker interest and levels of professional engagement with its employees, spend a while longer on this blog.
Meesho is Series D funded with an investment round in 2019 led by South African company Naspers Ventures along with participation from Facebook and existing investors such as SAIF, Sequoia, Shunwei Capital, RPS and Venture Highway. We have raised $ 190 million till date. Meesho is headquartered in Bengaluru, India and was one of the three Indian companies to be selected for Y Combinator in 2016. It was also a part of the first batch of Google Launchpad — Solve for India programme. Recently, Meesho was also featured on Y Combinator’s Top Companies List 2019.
Want to join The Product team at Meesho and help create 20 million entrepreneurs in 2020? Then we are hiring. Apply here! | https://medium.com/meesho-tech/are-you-the-cross-functional-problem-solver-who-will-impact-the-e-commerce-space-as-meeshos-f171f4b56817 | ['Mangala Dilip'] | 2020-01-20 16:31:14.782000+00:00 | ['Startup', 'Product', 'Problem Solving', 'Operations', 'Hiring'] |
Human companies | Photo by Skeeze
Conversations about the future of business and work tend to focus on technology — right now, automation, machine learning and Artificial Intelligence are the buzz topics. But companies are increasingly being judged and defined by how they treat human beings — both customers and employees.
Every business pays at least lip service to the idea of ‘investing in people’ — in some way adding value to the lives of the folk who produce the work, above and beyond a pay packet. And no company would be insane enough to promote the idea that they put their financial performance above the wellbeing and happiness of their employees and customers, even if the primary driver of shareholder profit (or in the public sector, working within increasingly austere financial constraints) means that this really is the case.
Over the past few years, a string of legal actions, online campaigns, journalistic investigations and pushes for regulation on the part of government would seem to suggest that the ‘people’ aren’t happy with the manner in which companies behave towards humans when left to their own devices. The real question now is whether this dissatisfaction is going to change anything. And if so, how much?
Gig economy
The gig economy can and has been portrayed as a new way of working demanded by workers themselves — digital, nomadic millennials who crave flexible working and really want to have a range of different jobs, side hustles and sources of income. But it’s fairly clear that it was employers rather than employees driving the change.
Photo by Skitterphoto
There are two motivations at work here. One is the instinctive desire to push as many costs as possible outside of the organisation as possible (‘externalisation’). All businesses try and do this — why take on costs that you don’t have to? Under the fancy cloak of ‘disruption’, businesses have tried to save huge amounts of money by treating their workers as suppliers rather than employees. I should say that I have no problem with this in theory — I run my own business, selling my services to clients while taking responsibility for my own costs, sick pay, holiday pay, pension and other benefits. However, I can and do say no to clients — a right that plenty of delivery drivers and people on zero hours contracts don’t have. And in return for taking on the risk of the business doing badly, I directly reap the rewards of it doing well.
As well as shaving costs by ditching employee rights and benefits, companies can also try and replace middle management, with a combination of user reviews and monitoring software. (Think about the reviews you give on the Uber as the equivalent of your performance review at work).
The second motivation is an expectation that over time, those pesky humans can be phased out anyway. Cab drivers will be replaced by self-driving cars, warehouse staff replaced by robots, waitresses and short order cooks replaced by automated systems. In this view of the world, staff are essentially human batteries that can be swapped out until their more efficient successor arrives.
Sweating the assets
The American scholar and organisational consultant Warren Bennis once said: “The factory of the future will have only two employees, a man and a dog. The man will be there to feed the dog. The dog will be there to keep the man from touching the equipment.”
Photo by Pashminu
While companies await this bright future, the interim step is to try and make humans work operate as much like machines as possible — in terms of productivity, and measurability. This we see in Amazon fulfilment centres, and the way Uber or delivery company drivers are tracked. Or when Disneyland experimented with the ‘gamified’ workplace by installing big screens to show how fast workers were getting stuff done, numbers glowing red for the laggers — a system the employees called the “electronic whip”.
Consumers that don’t care
Of course, the families wandering from their hotel room to Big Thunder Mountain, shaking hands with Mickey on the way, are unlikely to be thinking about workplace gamification in the laundry station. And in our day to day lives, the sheer convenience of many of these ‘disruptive’ businesses stops us from dwelling too long on how they treat their gigging workers.
A business that’s bad to humans isn’t necessarily going to suffer. Apathy on the part of consumers certainly acts a brake on changes that might improve for workers, but attitudes can and do change. Today we’re less willing to buy products with dubious supply chains than we were in the past — whether clothes produced using child labour, or food reliant on animal cruelty. We’re not perfect — the lure of low-cost items can blind us to ethical considerations — but we are much more aware, and a similar shift could happen with the rights of workers in the businesses that we interact with. Legislation and regulation can either lead the charge, or bow to evolving public opinion.
Employees that don’t care
In any case, it may actually be changing attitudes on the part of employees that drive change. Surely no business can really believe, in the long term, that they can thrive with employees who are apathetic about the work that they carry — still less if they’re actively angry and resentful. But this is exactly where the ‘human batteries’ approach leads. High staff turnover, poisonous internal company politics and brand-damaging publicity from fallouts with employees are not a boon to the bottom line or shareholder satisfaction.
This is not a new, digital age problem. Gwynn Guilford wrote a persuasive, in-depth argument for Quartz that traced recent layoffs at General Motors back to its drive to turn people into machines in the 1970s. Guilford quotes Joseph Godfrey, head of General Motors Assembly Division in the 1970s, as saying: “Within reason and without endangering their health, if we can occupy a man for 60 minutes [per paid hour], we’ve got that right.” This is hardly the kind of motivational quote you’ll see on a corporate poster, but it’s a philosophy that could easily apply to many ‘disruptive’ companies today.
Photo by Denniz Futalan
In the past two years we’ve seen a employee-led push towards better treatment and terms. In the UK, both Uber and Deliveroo have faced legal challenges to their definition of drivers and riders as non-employees, and delivery firm Hermes struck a deal with the GMB union to give workers paid holiday and guaranteed wages. While news leaked out about 100 hour work weeks at Rockstar Games in the push to finish their epic Red Dead Redemption 2, Game Workers Unite has been pushing for worker mobilisation and better conditions in this most modern of industries. And at Google, employees have publicly protested against both the company’s handling of sexual harassment claims, and its strategy — particularly regarding the censored and surveillance-enabling search engine its developing for China, known as ‘Project Dragonfly’.
John Naughton wrote for the Guardian about the particular risks for even the most elite tech companies of alienating talented staff with anti-human behaviour. As Naughton pointed out, “Engineers of this calibre can work anywhere. What turns them on are technical challenges and hard problems. But also, for some, it’s important that the company’s mission resonates with them.”
Power to the people
There are also signs that business leaders are taking steps to ensure that they’re not left of behind in a move towards better treating of human employees. Heather Landy has written for Quartz about the rise of the Chief Human Resources Officer. As well as elevating the status of HR from the back office to the C-suite, this change also moves the people department from a compliance role (“Let’s avoid getting taken to court”) to a strategic role (“How do we put people at the centre of what we do?”). When Tesla announced its revamped board of directors in December, the inclusion of Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison grabbed plenty of headlines. But the more significant addition was Kathleen Wilson-Thompson — global head of HR at Walgreens Boots Alliance.
It’s no coincidence that this kind of change at senior management level has happened alongside the #MeToo movement, and the decline of the dick CEO — a swaggering, unapologetic and aggressive archetype for the leaders of rapidly growing startups, equally oblivious to external and internal criticism or constraints. They may have been late to realise it, but ambitious companies probably don’t want leaders who reign over over sexist work cultures or bullying work cultures, treat employees the same as raw materials, or randomly call people pedos when they don’t agree with them.
Photo by NeONBRAND
There are also indications that even the most hardcore adherents of free market capitalism are feeling the wind change, and thinking about the implications for their bottom line. Larry Fink is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BlackRock (the largest money-management firm in the world). In a (now widely circulated) letter to CEOs at the start of 2019, he advocated a long-term, purpose-driven strategy that included valuing the lowly workers. “Profits are in no way inconsistent with purpose,” he said. “In fact, profits and purpose are inextricably linked. Profits are essential if a company is to effectively serve all of its stakeholders over time — not only shareholders, but also employees, customers, and communities.”
The future of humans
Despite these positive signs, there’s no guarantee of a shift of the relationship between humans and the businesses they serve. Old school shareholder capitalism, supercharged by technology for rapid growth, may still be the most effective way to generate returns — with treatment of workers either a ‘nice to have’ or an irrelevance. The tech giants are doing fine, and new startups do have a tendency to imitate their attitudes and practices to try and mimic their success.
Dan Lyons (author of ‘Lab Rats: How Silicon Valley Made Work Miserable for the Rest of Us’) wrote a brilliant piece for LitHub on the attitudes towards employees that he encountered on a trip to the TechCrunch Disrupt conference in New York. On one veteran tech CEO he met, “He asked me what I was working on, and when I told him I was writing a book about companies that treat workers well, he dismissed the idea as unrealistic: “You can’t do any of that stuff when you’re a venture-funded company,” he said. The venture capitalist investors would not allow it. Once you go public, Wall Street won’t tolerate it, either.”
Photo by Pexels
But Lyons’ piece goes to highlight rising awareness of the tangible benefits of treating employees well, creating a great place to work, and providing a mission that everyone can rally behind. Attracting and retaining talent, fostering innovation, bolstering public opinion towards your brand, pre-empting employment regulation and legislation — these things only happen if you have a proactive people strategy alongside your business model.
As historical delineations between different businesses by industry or nationality are broken down — as international tech companies encroaching on multiple different areas of commerce — the human factor could become the most meaningful differentiation between enterprises. Whether you’re a leading figure in a major corporation, or launching and growing a new venture, it’s a worthwhile question to ask: Are you a human business, or aren’t you?
Fire Plus Algebra runs training and consultancy to help humans thrive in a digital world. Visit our website, follow us on Twitter, or sign up to our newsletter. | https://medium.com/fire-plus-algebra/human-companies-c63bc5dd02f8 | ['Alan Rutter'] | 2019-02-07 11:50:00.145000+00:00 | ['Human Resources', 'Business Strategy', 'Gig Economy', 'Work'] |
DANCER TALES | Brief Series Introduction
Letter From The Author
Dancer Tales is a series of entries regarding my many tales throughout my life as a dancer.
Starting with the run down of my biography, to my ever growing resume, to my early days as a tiny tot, to dance team, to joining an elite performing arts school, to moving cross country a total of five times before by the age of twenty three, covering the good and the bad times, to the present day, and all of that good stuff in between!
I sure hope you stay along for the ride, because I’ve got plenty of stories to tell and the ride is never ending! I wouldn’t want you to miss any of it!
~
Love,
TRTCREATIONS
Next Up: → Biography | https://medium.com/@trtcreations/dancer-tales-d28aefd229fb | [] | 2020-12-26 00:47:55.224000+00:00 | ['Series', 'Life Stories', 'Dance', 'Blog', 'Trtcreations'] |
Your journey starts here | Your journey starts here
How personalization will reshape the way we travel
We travel to experience the world, to fully immerse ourselves into its diversity, full of endless possibilities, as tremendously versatile as are all of today’s world travellers — from extreme adventurers to passionate foodies, each traveller embarks on their journey to fulfil their own dreams, shaped by a unique combination of their deepest desires, wants and needs. However, as amazing as one’s dreams may sound, unfortunately, current travel websites and guides are more often than not of little help in turning them into a reality as they do nothing more but list the destinations’ most popular sights while completely ignoring the travellers’ specific preferences.
It is clear to see that a significant change is needed and luckily, like a breath of fresh air, Futourist is coming to uncover this vast hidden potential and use it to provide people with the ultimate personalized travel planner, finally enabling all travellers a meaningful, pleasurable, rewarding and a worry-free experience throughout their entire journey.
A sneak peak of the Futourist guide — a personalized travel planner, made just for you
One size does not fit all
A study by the UNTWO showed that just in 2017, destinations worldwide welcomed an astonishing number of 1,323 million international travellers, rising 84 million from the year before. As the number of the world’s travellers exponentially grows, so does their desire to stray away from „one size fits all“ guides and seek out tailor-made travel experiences.
69% of travellers want a personalized travel experience, catered to their personal travel history and preferences.
If the “top 10 sights” or “the best 5 attractions” were once the most searched items when planning a trip, today’s travellers are getting tired of the same vague propositions and are craving more personalized, local-guided, off the beaten path experiences, which perfectly match their own characteristics, food diets and personal interests.
Futourist will personalize every step of your journey
The future is personal
If the older generations might still view personalization as a highly welcomed, but a luxurious treat, for millennials, it has become a hardwired expectation. Being true digital natives and growing up in an on-demand world, where each individual’s wants are anticipated and catered to, younger generations understand the need for businesses to collect data in order to give them tailored content, services, and experiences, which is why most of them are completely comfortable with sharing their personal data in return for value.
A whopping 83% of Millennials would let travel brands track their digital patterns if this would provide them with a more personalized experience.
Data-driven approach and machine learning make identifying each and every traveller’s favourite destinations, interests and food preferences more possible than ever, providing a crucial understanding of who they are and what they need and consequently enabling travellers the meaningful personalized travel experience they desire.
The Futourist guide will take you on a daily adventure of customized experiences
The world in your own way
There is nothing worse but having to scroll through numerous travel lists only to find various cultural landmarks and other popular sights which are of no interest to you at all. What every traveller wants is to be able to make every day abroad the most fulfilling and enjoyable possible, eagerly discovering only the parts of the city that feel like they were made just for them.
Well, everything you have dreamed of will soon become a reality — the Futourist platform will provide you with unique personalized travel guides, taking you on a day filled with customized experiences which will perfectly fit you, leaving you completely worry-free and enabling you to just immerse yourself in your chosen destination.
Futourist will provide you with a vast variety of personalized theme guides
If you are for example a nature lover, that means a pre-planned day full of relaxing in nature, listening to the sounds of birds and eating plant-based food. If you are a photo hunter, that means a day filled with exploring the most unique and best-looking places where you can capture the most awe-inspiring shots. Whatever your personal characteristics, desires and circumstance, with Futourist, every day will hold an amazing opportunity to turn into the perfect getaway, taking you on exciting experiences which will make you feel like the world was made just for you.
Are you ready to embark on the journey of your lifetime?
Join us on our Social Channels:
Webpage
Telegram group
Bitcointalk
Reddit
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
Medium
Youtube
Linkedin
Pinterest | https://medium.com/futourist/your-journey-starts-here-f7ca5f238ed8 | ['Anja Vidrih'] | 2018-09-20 12:40:10.595000+00:00 | ['Experience', 'Personalization', 'Travel', 'UX', 'Data'] |
Don’t bite off more than you can chew | Multitasking in complex systems usually means increase lead time.
Software organizations tend to think that more people working in a feature will make that feature to be ready sooner. In that sentence there are two wrong parts:
The unit of work of organizations are not people, the unit of work are teams (at least in those organizations with a certain level of complexity).
Team’s priorities are not the same because they don’t have the same stakeholders.
Team as the unit of work
In all the organizations I’ve been working it is natural to create a group of people in charge of some kind of business requirements. There are different approaches but the idea of teams working on software is spread everywhere.
I like to see this like a multicore processor, there is only one processor with multiple cores that allows the processor to do different things at the same time.
In the case of teams the team is the processor and the people inside the team the cores the processor has.
One core is able to do just one thing at a specific moment, the processor sends each core the tasks to be done when the core is not doing anything. This is happening for example when the core is waiting for an IO operation, then it needs to change the context and start another task. To control when the IO operation has finished the Interruptions were created. So the processor when an interruption is sent answer to it to follow with the interrupted process. That usually means a context switch between tasks.
For real world examples, there are many steps in a process, and each step takes time. That time for each step is the Residence time, and consists of some Wait Time and some Service Time.
Developers usually work in the same way, but we have a worse ability than processors to react when the task blocked by another team was unblocked. Also, we are very bad switching context. Those two problems make us very bad doing multitasking, we usually create a lot of waiting time working in this way (even is faster to work sequentially). Too much waiting time makes us spending a long time trying to understand what was done in that task so we are very bad switching context.
We are worse than processors doing multitasknig, but in fact processors also have a limit working in this way, they have constraints, any system has constraints. If you want to know more about this, take a look at Theory of Constraints.
Inside the team the effect of too much work is shown in the number of tasks each core has (developer, pair). If we have a high number of tasks in work in progress (WIP) following the idea explained before we will last a lot to complete the whole feature, we will have a long lead time. In reality:
Lead Time = WIP / Throughput (detailed explanation)
The easiest way to reduce your lead time is to reduce WIP inside the team. This is what kanban proposes, put a limit in your WIP and focus on finishing the stories in progress.
Throughput
The other option to improve lead time is increasing throughput.
Throughput = average departure rate, number of stories per week for example.
Improving throughput is more difficult because it is related to the constraints you have. You could think that throughput can be increased by adding more people, but that’s not true. Those constraints can be:
Processes that are forcing us to work in a way because we want to add a quality to our product, but we don’t realize they are the constraint of the system.
Architecture that forces us to coordinate teams because of our culture.
Culture: if we prefer to maintain the status quo over the improvements needed to avoid the constraints.
Interaction between teams.
There are some ways of working designed to reduce the waste time. CI/CD for example reduces at minimum the waste time to release something to production.
Teams coordination
Depending on our architecture one feature can mean to coordinate several teams to be able to have it working. This coordination happens if we don’t have autonomous teams (does our architecture allows us to have them?), if we have teams that are responsible for one part of the job done but not the whole job we need it. There are plenty of examples:
Frontend teams
Backend teams
Ops teams
Database teams
In that situation if one feature means to change several parts of the system and those parts are in charge of different teams, there will be a kind of requests from one team to another. So for example in the above example:
Frontend team will wait for backend team to have the API
Backend team will wait for Database team to have the schema
All will wait for ops to have the infrastructure to go live
So our ways of working force us to coordinate between teams trying to fix the problem. As explained before, this means increase the WIP of the first team, so long lead time. Apart from the problems explained before when one dev needs to wait until the other team does its job, the time waiting can also be higher because of the different priorities different teams will have. This is normal because not all the teams have the same stakeholders, the same roadmap etc this means long lead time again.
The natural approach we took is trying to schedule the tasks with the different PO’s in order to start working in one task when the required tasks are done. This is a very bad approach, in genera scheduling problems are NP complete. You will need more time to find the correct schedule of all the important features to reduce lead time in all of them than doing the tasks (a waste of time, don’t try to do it).
Imagine the same but inside an autonomous team, then there is only one PO. The PO needs to decide how important is the whole feature compared with others and put the whole team to work on it. The problem has minimized, now depends on one team and how effective is that team to work together. For more detailed explanations take a look to “It’s the coordination stupid”.
So throughput can only be improved if we improve our processes, if we reduce the coordination between teams, if we change our architecture, so we change our culture. In general if we work to remove our constraints (our limitations). | https://medium.com/dev-genius/dont-bite-off-more-than-you-can-chew-261b8bd36af8 | ['Javier Lopez'] | 2020-12-29 10:12:57.458000+00:00 | ['Continuous Improvement', 'Teams Autonomy', 'Throughout', 'Wip', 'Theory Of Constraints'] |
Autumn in Paris. Day 3: Jim Morrison’s Fences, the Arc de Triomphe, and Fleetwood Mac | I went to bed again, quite late, but I managed, surprisingly, to wake up at about eight-thirty. The alarm on Johnny’s phone woke me up. He wakes up with Rock FM as an alarm. I finished writing for the blog, but I still had to upload pictures, and with the internet here, it can take an eternity. After I got out of the shower, I found out that we also had breakfast, consisting of butter (Johnny caught an old one), jam, cereal with milk, toast, and orange juice. It wasn’t ten when I left the hotel.
Pere Lachaise
Since I was a few months old, my brothers made me listen to music. I wasn’t aware of what was happening, but I was best asleep, they say, with The Doors, which became my favorite band. It has remained that way until now, although I have somewhat given up on Morrison’s beliefs. However, the tomb of Jim Morrison at Pere Lachaise was at the top of the places I wanted to see. I called my sister L. to share her emotions, who kept urging me to convey all the best to Eliade (who is buried in Chicago), Emil Cioran, Eugen Ionescu, and Constantin Brâncuși. The last three, whom I thought I was sleeping in Pere Lachaise forever, are buried in Montparnasse Cemetery, which I don’t think I’ll get to. At Montparnasse, which is a competition with Pere Lachaise, there are also the deceased Serge Gainsbourg, Philippe Noiret, Andre Citroen, Jean-Paul Sartre, Emile Durkheim, Sam Beckett, and other famous people of Romanian origin such as Tristan Tzara and Brassai, real name Gyula Halasz, born in Brașov in 1899. Perla Șezi is, however, full of celebrities on whatever alley you go. I entered from the subway station of the same name to the cemetery. The first to be seen was George Melies, the father of the art of cinema, to whom I have a passion for films. The place is quite hidden but fantastic for a director who chose to live the second part of his life in a quasi-anonymity. On its stone was a piece of film and on top of it two stones. It was pretty challenging to keep up with the view of this cemetery, where I did not feel suffocated or uncomfortable.
Not all famous Romanians are burried at Montparnasse. Martha Bibescu lies here, along with Anna, the Countess of Noailles, Nicolae Penescu, Alexandru Vona, George Enescu and Elvira Popescu. We only managed to see the graves of the last two.
In order not to prolong the work with people who are lower than the hat I lower for them, I also looked for Mr. and Mrs. Balzac, Oscar Wilde (who has a fancy grave), Frank Alamo, Eugene Delacroix, Georges Bizet, Bugatti (who only has his name written on a stone and that’s it), Edith Piaf and others.
Jim Morrison, Chopin, and Petruciani
I saved what I wanted for the end. Morrison’s grave can be found relatively quickly and not necessarily out of geographical ease, but because there are at least 20 people around it at all times. I haven’t seen that anywhere in Pere Lachaise. Besides, it’s the only eternal place you can’t reach, and you can see from a distance of ten meters. The tomb was crowded for a long time by fanatics who snatched pieces of the tombstone, so those in charge decided to fence it. They sing, drink wine and beer, smoke, and stick chewing gum on circular wooden boards surrounding a tree. As an epitaph, there is a text written by Morrison’s father with whom he did not have a happy relationship. Kata ton Daimona Eaytoy, from ancient Greek, means Against the devil himself. At the same time, this name is also found in the title of an album by the Greek extreme metal band Rotting Christ.
I did something after this episode that I had been waiting for a long time. That it is incredible to be able to leave something remarkable behind when you immerse yourself in the Pere Lachaise of your eternity. Morrison has succeeded, although his lyrical exacerbation often leaves me cold, now, at 31 springs this fall. Although the other giants descended from here to Heaven are superior to King Lizard, pop culture will come out triumphant every time.
I left with “My wild love went riding” from The Doors in my mind and the vocal cords to the graves of Chopin and Petrucciani.
We left the immortals to eat something. We looked for a more decent terrace, enjoyed some excellent pasta, and then made our way to the Parc des Princes. The gust was already relatively healthy, and we were given directions to the tickets. We couldn’t find anything available. The match was to be played behind closed doors. Despite the Romanian’s departure from us, we still didn’t succeed. Johnny kept urging me to pay attention to the older men, which I did. “150 euros, each ticket”. Yes, but leave me with these prices! Etoile Rouge Belgrade will not be the equivalent of Arsenal Cincu, but neither is Barcelona, with all due regard for their glorious past. We wasted more time near the stadium, criticized everyone who had a ticket, then headed to the Arc de Triomphe.
I annoyed a lady.
We enjoyed the grandeur of the Arc de Triomphe, which we caught surrounded by wonderful sunset light. There were quite a few people around, under the Arch, because they were waiting to climb on it. There were even more upstairs, I think. We descended slightly on their Kisselef, which is called the Champs Elysees. I took some more pictures of the street, in the middle of the pedestrian crossing, which has a kind of island with a traffic light pole. When I take an artistic picture, one comes by bike and swears at me because it ruined my whole vacation. I was to blame for her regularly cycling. I took a deep breath and walked on with difficulty. There is not much to say about the Champs Elysees. Opulence, many terraces, high prices at most restaurants, and a lot of people. Johnny was so hungry that we got stuck in a Burger King, where we each fought a cheeseburger. Then I went to the Latin Quarter because that’s where life is more lively.
The Latin Quarter hits you right away. This is precisely what every significant capital or city in the world has. Shops, fast food, and many pubs. In one of them, we stopped to watch the Napoli-Liverpool match. Because I forgot my cigarettes at the hotel, I had to look for a tobacconist, a commercial item that is still fashionable all over Europe. I found a place out of this and stood in line. An interesting thing here is that at every tobacconist or brasserie, there are lotteries. When I entered, Johnny Cash could be heard. Next to the counter was a gentleman in his 50s, whom I let buy before me. It was slightly fragrant from so many lotteries, probably because it gave me an ugly look. There was a couple in the back. The man asks if he has to listen to Johnny Cash all night because he buys a lottery that says cash. If he had had Tokyo Hotel, I think he would have gotten into a fight.
Johnny had stayed at the pub waiting for me. We got to the game, ordered some fancy beers, and the universe started to mess up. Since the beginning of this year, I have acquired an obsession for Fleetwood Mac in the formula with Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. Especially for the song “The Chain.” We were delighted because it was fixed. I sat, talked, drank, and then asked for the note. When I get up, The Chain comes in again. If you know someone with a fly on your hat, please ask them to calm down. I thought we were being watched all this time: in front of the hotel window, there is a car with Brăila numbers.
We left the Latin behind and headed for the hotel.
About 25 subway stations we had to travel again to the accommodation. The journey by Parisian subway is always the same, the stations are close, and the people are different. You can create stories if you look into everyone’s eyes. So did I with a girl in front of me, who I think fell in love with me when she saw how beautiful I yawned. Obviously, with his hand to his mouth. He was with another guy. They both seemed clumsy in showing their love for each other. They went down with us to Saint-Denis Basilique, and we could feel their footsteps as they followed in our footsteps. We slowed down a bit because a thief was running next to the subway station again, these two of us. When we turned left, he asked us if we were still going to F1, I told him, yes and his face lit up. He told us how frightened he was that someone had followed him when they arrived to stay. They were Italians, or, well, he was Italian. I put Johnny on the slice, who said arrogantly that he was talking a little. They rushed to the hotel to look at them like tennis. She, like me, didn’t say anything all the way; she just laughed as she moved on to whatever we said. If I told her in Swahili that I was hungry, she would grind the beans. The two are newlyweds and were very pleased with this hotel. I think so; you don’t always stay in something like that.
That’s about it for today.
Au revoir.
This is the English version of a post from my blog, Papucicutimbre. The original version is here . | https://medium.com/@vlad.t.copilu/autumn-in-paris-day-3-jim-morrisons-fences-the-arc-de-triomphe-and-fleetwood-mac-ede71c42be1f | ['Vlad Copilu'] | 2021-11-12 15:10:06.801000+00:00 | ['Travel', 'Paris'] |
Cryptocurrency Market Conditions Caused UK Royal Mint To Pause Its Blockchain Gold Plans | Cryptocurrency Market Conditions Caused UK Royal Mint To Pause Its Blockchain Gold Plans https://is.gd/atDUDJ
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A while ago, the UK Royal Mint announced that it was making plans to create a cryptocurrency asset that will serve as a physical representation for gold holdings. However, according to the reports from Reuters on Thursday, the company has decided to freeze its plans due to the current market conditions. This conclusion was rather discouraging to the cryptocurrency community but it isn’t a surprise because Royal Mint’s plan to create the RMG tokens in partnership with CME Group was vetoed by the UK government last year.
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A spokesperson for Royal Mint made a comment confirming that the token (RMG) will be launched eventually but not yet. The project may be resumed at a later date that was not mentioned. In a private email to CoinDesk, the spokesperson said:
“For years now, Royal Mint has been developing a digital gold token called RMG. This token was to be launched this spring. Unfortunately, the current market conditions are not favorable for this launch. However, we are going to revisit the project at a later date”.
The RMG token was initially to be released in the fall of 2017. However, the partnership with CME didn’t click at the time. CME was supposed to provide a platform for Royal Mint to trade this token. The British finance ministry reportedly blocked the move while they company struggled to look for another exchange to partner with. The RMG token was rescheduled to be released in spring this year. Unfortunately, the plans have been canceled once again.
About RMG
The RMG token was expected to be used for the management of small quantities of gold. This way, investors will be able to penetrate the gold market. It was going to increase liquidity. The company also believed that the blockchain will be used to track gold and make gold provenance more efficient. It was also expected to support global trades.
BitGo, had plans to build several digital wallets that would be used for storing the RMG token. Civic, on the other hand, was going to offer KYC services for RMG. Unfortunately, these plans have all been put on hold indefinitely.
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#Bitcoin #BTC #ETH #LTC #XRP | https://medium.com/bitnewslive/cryptocurrency-market-conditions-caused-uk-royal-mint-to-pause-its-blockchain-gold-plans-9a4aaceed22c | [] | 2018-10-28 07:14:46.812000+00:00 | ['Smartereum', 'Crypto', 'Bitcoin'] |
POST PANDEMIC SITUATION: A DEPRESSION OR AN OPPORTUNITY FOR INDIA? | While the lockdown has forced the families to stay home, it has also suspended the inflow of income in most of the families, especially daily wage earners and small vendors. However, even if the operations in the country have been suspended, India is aiming for a better economy post lockdown even if India’s GDP forecast for FY 21 has been dropped to its 30 years lowest at 1.8%, straight from 5.5% by Moody’s. The crude prices have fallen to its all-time low. India is now in a dominant position considering some factors and in some factors, if it plays well, it could come out well.
It is more likely that soon after the lockdown ends, the markets would be filled with depression as there would be fewer buyers, as most of the consumers would still be in a state of trauma. There would be less production and less growth in the economy. If you’ll consider the growth of the Tourism sector, India would go back about 21 years, as the entire hospitality and tourism industry would be in a huge loss, at least for this year. Yet, India will have some growth opportunities, let’s take a look at some of those factors which would help to understand better:
Crude prices:
Since the crude prices have fallen to a great extent, this could be a great opportunity for India to make comeback post-pandemic. India could simply purchase crude oil at lower prices and sell it for lower prices to the consumers, which would create more demand in the economy and hence increase in supply, as there would be enough oil to meet the demands. Secondly, the supply of cash will increase in the economy, which will obviously make the economy better.
Growth in the pharmaceutical sector:
While the pandemic has been terribly bad news, it is not that bad for India maybe. The demand for a certain drug namely hydroxychloroquine and paracetamol has increased significantly and India has been under great pressure to deliver these drugs to the United States and several other countries. While this will hinder domestic supplies of the said drug, on one hand, it will definitely curb the export curve in a different direction this time. Also, the production of the drug for export to other countries shall be boosted and in turn, the pharmaceutical companies could grow better, contributing to the GDP of India. This will also generate employment and give better opportunities to the pharma sector manufacturers, producers, and workers. So, this could be another opportunity that India could certainly bag.
China’s ruined image around the world:
China was the major supplier of many products to India as well as other countries. India’s imports from China are nearly around 14.70% consisting of products like electronic gadgets, plastic made items, machines, organic chemicals, iron or steel products, iron, and steel, etc. China is also a major supplier to the United States, Japan, Europe, South Korea, Australia, Russia, South Africa, etc. Now, after the image of China due to this virus incident has been completely shattered in the global market, India could be at the receiving end of this situation. US and Japan are among one of the powerful countries in terms of production and consumption as well. Since the domestic production of these countries would not be sufficient to meet their demands, they would still need to import goods. India is capable enough to produce those goods and hence it could meet the demand of those countries. While China would not be in the picture, a fair share of demand of China would be transferred to India, and hence an opportunity for India to bring its production and export curve on track, or maybe better than usual.
Immigration of human resources:
Due to this pandemic, most of the citizens staying abroad decided to rush back to their own countries even if they were working for well-known organizations. Since most of the Indians working across the globe have marched back to the country, the chances are higher than they would be bound to stay in India for at least a year, these people include some of the experts as well and could be a great resource for the country. India could benefit itself with the greatest minds that were earlier working for other countries as most of the countries would restrict any movement to or from the country for sometimes. So, this is yet another opportunity for India.
Increasing Competition; Increase in jobs:
While most of the schools and Universities have started giving online classes with a view to procuring fees from the students. The United States has already announced that schools and colleges shall not be in opened until next year, the chances of happening the same in India are also high, as precautions are necessary to stop the prevention of disease around the world. In lieu of this, there would be cut-throat competition in the education industry, as every organization would be providing their services online. The prices for students might fall and job opportunities would be increased as every organization would want to equip itself with the best human resources.
While the Indian industries would take time to regain its place and the right position, it can make the most out of the available opportunities. The only sectors that might face depression are the Hospitality and Tourism sector. However, that could also be coped up with if the domestic tourism contributes and planned rightly, even though there would be a substantial loss, still, something is always better than nothing.
So, neither the producers nor the consumers in India need to panic about the forthcoming situation rather they should be prepared for the opportunities and should try to make the most out of it. Above all, India will have a respected position among other countries because of the way it is dealing with the current pandemic situation.
To stay updated on other related financial updates visit the website www.investorq.com or download the InvestorQ App for better browsing experience. | https://medium.com/@investorq/post-pandemic-situation-a-depression-or-an-opportunity-for-india-e866d697ae92 | ['Iifl Markets'] | 2020-04-23 12:45:38.497000+00:00 | ['Coronavirus', 'Pandemic', 'India', 'Economy', 'Opportunity'] |
The Unusual Story Behind the World’s Longest Table Tennis Point | In 1936, during a match at the World Table Tennis Championships in Prague, Alex Ehrlich of Poland and Paneth Farcas of Romania had an incredible rally that lasted 2 hours and 12 minutes, and that was just on the opening point.
Ehrlich was known as the King of the Chiselers, and chiselers in table tennis (or ping-pong if you like) are players that only play defense and just wait for their opponent to break. This was what Ehrlich wanted to do to Farcas. He wanted to wear him down from the beginning of the match. But things weren’t going to be that easy.
After 70 minutes of play, and still not a single point having been won by either man, Ehrlich had to switch his paddle (also known as a bat) to his left hand. Farcas wasn’t faring much better, but after 85 minutes, it was the umpire that was the most in trouble. He had to be replaced because his neck had seized up.
Things took an even more bizarre turn when Ehrlich had a chessboard placed next to the table. He began to tell the captain of the Polish team what move he wanted to make with the chess pieces. It was Farcas who finally succumbed to the grueling first point as his arm started to lock up. After an estimated 12,000 hits between both players, Ehrlich came away with the first point.
The incredibly long point led the International Table Tennis Federation to change the rules. They decided the longest time a single game could be played was 20 minutes. Whoever was ahead when the time elapsed would win the game. This rule stood until 1961 when the time was changed to 15 minutes. It got changed again when the scoring went from 21 for the win to 11 in 2001 to increase the excitement of each game. The time limit per game was then moved down to 10 minutes. All of these changes started because of that one, long infamous point back in 1936.
Sources: The Guardian, All About Table Tennis
Want to delve into more facts? Try The Wonderful World of Completely Random Facts series, here on Medium. | https://medium.com/knowledge-stew/the-unusual-story-behind-the-worlds-longest-table-tennis-point-8a388dea701e | ['Daniel Ganninger'] | 2020-09-29 13:02:10.281000+00:00 | ['People', 'Sports', 'Humor', 'History', 'World'] |
Revisiting The Toad: A Second Experience With 5-MeO-DMT | “The resurrection of the body need not be postponed until death. It can happen at any moment.” — Robert Anton Wilson
Nearly a year to date after my first 5-MeO-DMT experience, I decided to journey back to the realm of the toad. In the twelve months that had passed, a lot had shifted for me. Many long standing patterns had begun to change and life had started to develop a clarity that I had never experienced before. Sure there were struggles and collapses along the way, but the progress I had made emotionally wasn’t just significant in it’s depth, it was also accelerating.
It was hard not to proselytize the toad to everyone in the months after my first experience. The feeling of being awakened and alive for the first time was too great not to share. Thankfully there were several experiences along the way that helped temper and refine this excitement into a deeper understanding. One of those experiences was when I felt the state of the toad while using a different psychedelic. Another time I was having a conversation with a friend and he recalled feeling the same state without using 5-MeO-DMT. It made me realize that what I was actually proselytizing and wanted others to feel went far beyond the toad. This was a state that some people could tap into from meditation; something I was deeply skeptical of because of my own failed attempts. It was also the state that many religious followers described in different gospels of faith. After making the connection across all these disparate activities, I realized that there were many paths to achieving this internal state. It was universal. What exactly was this state? For me it was a place beyond the little “s” self. It was a state of love. It was freedom from the illusion. It was peace.
Do I Need To Do It Again?
This was a question I went back and forth with in my head in the year that passed since my first experience. In the initial few weeks afterward, it felt like my journey was a solid demarcation point in my life. How could doing it again possibly enhance or improve what I had felt? Perhaps it would even dishonor the feeling if I tried to replicate it. But as the months went on, I noticed that there were times when I would lose the centeredness that the toad had bestowed upon me. There were flights that I felt anxious on as the old feeling that the plane was going to crash resurfaced. The death anxiety that had dissipated had begun to creep back. Why was this happening? Was the toad only temporary? Ultimately what took me from this state was when I resisted changing aspects of my life that weren’t in alignment with the divine internal state I had discovered. The toad helped me to reconnect my mind with my body and soul, and now that my body was communicating to me in ways I could understand, it became harder to ignore. As a dear friend reminded me, “The body is ALWAYS right.” That phrase has stuck with me. I spent most of my life disconnected from the feelings in my body. Every time my mind was making a decision that my body knew to be wrong, harmful, or not in alignment, was just another opportunity to suppress those feelings and ignore them. Except that they can’t ever truly be ignored, for they always manifest in other ways. And make no mistake, they do manifest, even with one’s best effort to the contrary.
So even though significant progress had been made on my healing journey, I knew that there were some larger patterns that were still present. My experience with the toad and subsequent emotional work had shaken them loose, but some were still clinging to the recesses of my mind. And that’s what led me to the decision to revisit the toad. I wanted a reminder of the divine source and feeling that had brought about so much change in my life.
Consciousness Beyond The Veil
So what was different in my second experience compared to my first? For one, there wasn’t any fear of trying something new going into it. Fear of the unknown had always been a part of trying new substances for me. For a few of those substances, this didn’t lead to positive experiences. With that fear removed, I was eager to be transported back. As I breathed in on my first dose, I felt the familiar wave wash over me. What I did not expect was my body’s resistance. Despite surrendering my mind, my body was shaking. It didn’t want to let go. “I’m so close to breaking through,” I thought to myself. When I inhaled my second dose, that’s exactly what happened. Within seconds my mind and body had completely let go. I had returned! I felt the light beyond my eyes and the knowing beyond my mind. Everything was as it should be; divine and at peace.
As I sat with the freshness of that experience, I simultaneously felt a renewed sense of life and also new connections in my mind that I hadn’t made before. Familiar afterglow effects had returned. When I flew the next day there wasn’t a hint of anxiety in my body, even during turbulence. My mind had also found it much easier to stay present and enjoy a slower pace. Even now I’m still having multiple dreams a night that I remember. In contrast to the first experience, however, some of the dream themes I’ve been having that once manifested as nightmares no longer trigger fear or negative emotions. It makes me think that my subconscious is really processing something and has let go even further.
Carrying It Forward
“The privilege of a lifetime is to become who we are.” — Joseph Campbell
There is a paradox with the toad that I felt I was able to resolve more of this time around regarding the consciousness beyond the form of our body and mind. While this experience can be incredibly liberating, it also brings up interesting implications. Why continue to live? Is one of these conscious experiences an illusion? You get the idea. There are many questions that spawn from having such an earth-defying experience. But as fate would have it, I came across a quote that day that helped square aware this rabbit hole:
“The final place that the game leads to is where you live consciously in all of it. Which is in nothing. You are eternal. You have finished perishing. There is no fear of death because there is no death. It’s just a transformation. An illusion. And yet, seeing all that, you still chop wood and carry water. You still do your thing. You flow in harmony with the universe.”
That hit me at just the right time. It’s not to say that nothing matters, but rather that every intentional action in our life matters that much more. The distinction is critical. It’s not about retreating from the material world and occupying another dimension. It’s about unifying those moments of divinity with the everyday actions of one’s life; from the mundane to the extraordinary.
Fresh with the gentle reminder from my experience, the question I ask myself is how do I continue to live with this reminder and carry it forward? If I really feel that experiencing the toad has been so life changing to me and that it is something I want to share with the world, then I must start with honoring how I can continue breathing that experience into every aspect of my life. By starting here I will in turn be sharing it with others, but it must start with me. For all the clichéd talk about psychedelic integration, it really cannot be overstated. Without it, these beautiful experiences can be far more fleeting than we anticipate. The profundity of a stolen moment can last an eternity or blink out of existence. The choice falls on us.
And so I see my journey with the toad continuing to unfold throughout my life. I liken it to a religious experience. Some people go on a pilgrimage once in their life, some go to church every day, and others occupy some level of commitment in between. It’s not important where you fall on the continuum, but rather that you are intentional with why you fall where you do. My intention is to carry forward this reminder from the toad for as long as I can, while knowing that when I am not in alignment with the love and divinity that I channel that I may lose some of this reminder. And that’s okay too. The reminders help me to remember that there is more to life than this mortal coil, and that time can make this feeling elusive if not properly cultivated and brought forward. Perhaps a day will come in the future when I feel the toad calling me back, and in that moment, I will feel the knowing for the first time once again. | https://medium.com/@faustiandilemma/revisiting-the-toad-a-second-experience-with-5-meo-dmt-10fd7127ad1e | [] | 2020-11-27 04:51:56.687000+00:00 | ['Psychology', 'Emotional Health', 'Psychedelics', 'Spirituality', 'Love'] |
10 Best International Hotels for Avid Jet-setters | Article by Michael D’Antonio
For those who enjoy the finer things that life has to offer, there are abundant opportunities to travel. You’ll find five-star hotels that have everything from gorgeous landscapes to luxurious spas. The world has so many breathtaking panoramas and thrilling adventures to offer now. You can relax in your hotel and enjoy the accommodations or venture out to explore the area.
If you have a special area of interest, then fine tune your travel experience accordingly. For instance, those who love cycling might put together a trip to Salt Lake City, Utah to cycle through the Great Salt Lake to Antelope Island. If you love museums, there are unforgettable exhibits at the Metropolitan Museum in New York, as well as the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, which is hundreds of years old.
Most of these international hotels offer delicious cuisines, which are an adventure within themselves.
Read the full article at https://michaeldantonioimpatto.com/10-best-international-hotels-for-avid-jet-setters/ | https://medium.com/@michael-dantonio-impatto/10-best-international-hotels-for-avid-jet-setters-a735aefbbc42 | ["Michael D'Antonio Impatto"] | 2021-12-16 03:57:00.412000+00:00 | ['Travel', 'Traveling', 'Hotels', 'Lifestyle', 'Best Hotels'] |
Executed Twice | Executed Twice
(Photo courtesy of CinemaEscapist)
“The prisoners were very calm. You never know how they will react when it is their turn. When I used to escort the men from their cells to their death, I could almost smell the relief of those spared for another day. By the time I came to take them, the doomed convict would have already given away his stuff to the other inmates; all that was left to do was say his goodbyes.”
[Quote: Charuvet Jaruboon’s Autobiography ‘The Last Executioner’]
The late seventies found Thailand — affectionately dubbed the ‘Country of Smiles’ — in the full throes of bloom, awash with rich hippy-music and American soldiers still fresh from the Vietnam war. For the parents of a six-year-old little boy, it was to be the cusp of the most horrific decade in their lives.
Jitra and and Vichai Srijareonsukying were the owners of the popular Thai restaurant, Somboonpochana. While they busied themselves with running the affairs of their eatery, the couple hired a young woman to pick up their son after school and take care of him.
The young woman’s name: Ginggaew Lorsoongern.
Things went well at first, but as time passed Jitra and her husband found themselves less and less satisfied with Ginggaew’s child-care skills. By the end of 1978, the couple decided they’d had enough; they fired Ginggaew, leaving the woman jobless and out of money.
Finding herself furious and destitute, she wound up turning to her older, 28-year-old career-criminal boyfriend for help. Whispered secrets in the dark paved the way for the nauseating events that would follow. Though Ginggaew would later vociferously deny having been responsible for the tender loss of human life, she could nonetheless never take back what she’d done. In a case of either malicious serendipity or a cruel, knife-twisting deal of karma’s lot, Ginggaew would soon suffer from what any reasonable person might call a fate ‘worse than death’.
There were five other co-conspirators to Ginggaew’s crime: Thongmuan, Thongsuk, Suthi, Pin, and Gasem (the latter two would also be sentenced to death by the Prime Minister of Thailand).
On October 18, 1978, Ginggaew picked up the little boy from school as usual. This time, though, things would be woefully different. Instead of taking the child home, the spiteful nanny took him to a secret location in Nakhon Ratchasima Province, located in Isan. The plan she had orchestrated seemed simple on paper and infallible: she’d written and sent to the parents a ransom note the day prior, demanding 200,000 baht that was to be immediately deposited into a bag between Janteuk and Pakchong rail-stations. The wealthy Srijareonsukying family had been instructed to leave the bag at a spot where the kidnappers had planted a white flag. The ransom would be collected, the child returned, and Ginggaew would finally have the money she felt she deserved.
The plan was practically fool-proof, until it wasn’t.
Under the watchful eye of Thai police, the distraught family assembled the funds. Out of nervousness or panic — both of which entirely understandable given the situation — the pair failed to see the flag and left the money in the wrong location.
Ginggaew and her fellow kidnappers were furious. What she failed to anticipate, though, was her boy-friend’s reaction. In a so-called ‘unpredictable’ rage, he and his minions turned on the helpless boy and dragged him to a two-foot grave that had supposedly been dug without Ginggaew’s knowledge.
Once there, he was forced inside, with flowers shoved into his palms and white saisin thread wrapped around his wrists. The flowers and thread were a means of pacifying the young boy’s spirit, which they were terrified of, though they might have avoided the pesky problem of spirits (and saved their own lives) by letting the little boy go home to his parents. This they chose not to do, for reasons that only Ginggaew and her lover would ever know for sure.
The child was killed, and Ginggaew Lorsoongern and her 5-person crew found themselves promptly arrested.
“She was all over the news like some kind of film star,”
Chevuret Jaruboon would say later, while being interviewed for his biography ‘The Last Executioner’. No one could understand how such an attractive and seemingly-bright young woman like Ginggaew could be responsible for the death of a six-year-old. She did not even seem to understand her own responsibility for the crime.
She maintained tearfully that when the criminals dragged the boy to his grave, she jumped in front of him and pleaded for his life, only to be roughly shoved aside. Perhaps thinking that if she provided more information about the murder she would receive leniency, Ginggaew admitted that she could still hear the little boy crying for his parents after he was buried; this, noted Jaruboon solemnly, was confirmed when an autopsy showed that the child had soil inside of his lungs. Ginggaew did not appear to understand that if she had not kidnapped him to begin with, she would not have found herself on death row as only the second woman to be executed by gunfire in Thailand since Yai Sonthibumoong in 1942.
At 11:25 AM, Ginggaew, Gasem, and Pin arrived at Bong Kwan prison. By this time, it was 1979. Gasem and Pin appeared to look ‘pathetic and miserable’ in their ratty prison uniforms, Chevuret observed.
Ginggaew wore a single skirt, a long-sleeved blouse, and an absolutely petrified expression. She alternated between fainting, sobbing, and pleading for her life, several times needing to be revived with smelling salts. Her cries reached a fevered crescendo once the Bang Kwang Head of Custody began reading aloud the execution order at 4:20 PM that day.
Jaruboon tells us that Ginggaew begged pathetically:
“I didn’t do it. I didn’t kill the boy! Please don’t kill me! I didn’t kill him!”
At 5 PM, Jaruboon’s contemporaries hoisted Ms. Lorsoongern to her feet, only for the young woman to crumple to the floor in a flood of fresh tears. Ginggaew refused to walk. After a few moments of mulling over what could be done, it was decided that she would be ferried by van the 800 or so meters to the execution chamber.
Jaruboon described the grim business of securing Ginggaew to the execution ‘cross’, as it were, binding her at the waist, shoulders, and elbows. Most criminals, he explained, would stop their struggling once they were bound.
(Photo showing prisoner secured to the execution cross in preparation for his death; photograph courtesy of ExecutedToday)
This was not the case with Ginggaew, however, who continued to whimper and struggle even as a floral bouquet was shoved between her own palms. Once she was secured, Jaruboon stepped out of the chamber and gave the order: at 5:40 PM, 10 bullets were pumped into Ginggaew’s body. She sagged immediately, and prison officials unbound her. The physician on staff checked her pupils and her heart and declared her dead. Other than the gruesome fact that the blood from Ginggaew’s chest seemed as if it would ‘never stop flowing’, everything else appeared to be in order, inasmuch as an execution can be. She was lifted, carried into a back-room, and laid gently upon the floor.
But that would not be the last that the world would hear of Ginggaew Lorsoongern. Unbelievably, Jaburoon and prison staff soon heard gasping and coughing. Back into the room they rushed, and the unthinkable was affirmed: because of an idiopathic disorder called situs inversis, which causes the heart and other important organs to be located on the opposite side of the body, Ginggaew was still alive and breathing.
(Photo depicting situs inversus; JadeHealth)
In a flurry of activity, confused prison staff were spurred into action. One officer tried leaning on Ginggaw’s back in order to ‘help her die faster’; another guard actually wrapped his hands around the young woman’s neck and tried strangling her before being knocked aside by a disgusted Jaburoon.
But even in the throes of death, Ginggaew would have no mercy. Incredibly, she was hoisted up and strapped to the execution device yet again. This time, Jaburoon issued the order for 15 more bullets. This time, it worked. Ginggaew was dead. She would sob and breathe no more.
With Ginggaew’s case, Jaburoon opined that she was experiencing the results of heavy negative karma for having orchestrated the death of her 6-year-old charge. Just as the Srijareonsukying boy choked on the soil in his grave, Ginggaew too was choking, only in her case it was from her own blood, which was rapidly filling her chest cavity.
The reason why Ginggaew wasn’t shot again where she lay was both a simple and a chilling one.
Jaburoon claimed it was against regulations.
I still haven’t decided whether or not the poor woman’s crime was worth her punishment — which turned out to be even more cruel than the throes of death.
Sources: Executed Today, The Last Executioner, Wikipedia | https://medium.com/the-mystery-box/executed-twice-1c2e3313a9ed | ['Brown Lotus'] | 2020-12-24 16:02:22.472000+00:00 | ['Mysteries', 'The Land Of Smiles', 'Thailand', 'History', 'Situs Invertus'] |
That Difficulty You Are Experiencing . . . | Photo by Issy Bailey on Unsplash
There’s a story about the Zen teacher Shunryu Suzuki, who was one of the earliest Zen teachers in the United States, just after the Second World War.
One day he began his lesson of the day with these words: “The difficulty that you are experiencing now . . . “ And he paused for effect. The American students in the room assumed he was about to tell them a great secret: how to solve a nagging difficulty. They assumed his next words would be “. . . will go away if you practice Zen.”
“The difficulty that you are experiencing now . . . “ the Zen master completed his sentence: “this difficulty will be with you for the rest of your life.”
And that’s why Shunryu Suzuki is still one of the greatest Zen teachers for Americans: He didn’t over-promise Buddhism as some sort of miracle cure-all. Buddhism is hard work. As is any program for changing our minds and our habits.
When I do marriage counseling, I make a point of saying: “Think of the one thing that you find most annoying about this person you are about to marry . . . . Now, you may think that the annoyance will go away. But . . . chances are, that with time it will only grow more annoying.”
By pointing that out, I’m not attempting to be discouraging. I’m attempting to help people be realistic. As was Shunryu Suzuki: “The difficulty that you are experiencing now . . . This difficulty will be with you for the rest of your life.”
That’s the bad news.
And the hope in that? The hope lies in our realization that rather than walking around a difficulty, we’ve got to walk through a difficulty.
Suzuki also said, “enjoy your problems.”
He also said, “Each of you is perfect the way you are . . . and you can use a little improvement.”
FirstUnitarian.org
Huumanist.org
YouTube
Facebook | https://medium.com/humanism-now/that-difficulty-you-are-experiencing-27be87e319b2 | ['David Breeden'] | 2020-12-24 16:17:00.622000+00:00 | ['Depression', 'Zen', 'Unitarian Universalist', 'Holidays', 'Humanism'] |
Stop calling women brave: call out those who harm us instead | I was a young writer, moonlighting as a bartender at a jazz club for the extra cash. All I knew about Adam was that he was a hotshot lawyer and there for the same reason. Working together was fun. It felt like a game navigating around each other in the tiny bar when it got crowded, ducking the advances of drunk customers, sharing laughs at the drama each night.
I sensed his interest in me almost immediately, and I was flattered. Sure, he was my manager and seven years older, but I was regularly swatting away men much older than that at the bar. At first he seemed sweet, sincere in his interest. But when he only sent late-night texts, coerced me into sex, and then abruptly dropped me without notice for a coworker a couple years younger than me: I was told, ‘he’s a dog,’ and that was enough. I had already met men like him, who hinted at depth and complexity to draw women in, but then used their power and ‘issues’ as a shield and means of control. Yawn. The whole affair was brief, disappointing, and thankfully, I quickly moved on.
So when I got an email from an old friend almost ten years later, that linked to the blog post of a young woman who shared her own Adam Foss story, I wasn’t surprised. Her story was familiar, the themes were all there — younger woman, abuse of power, sexual boundaries pushed, emotional manipulation.
What I did gasp at weren’t the number of other women who shared this connection to him, but rather the organizations and communities which had long known about his behaviour and covered it up for years. He had been informally banned from some spaces, but mostly it stayed at the level of women warning other women. Mostly it remained unaddressed.
Now that safety in numbers has allowed more and more women to step forward with their experiences, his predation is slowly being exposed. It reveals that he used his power and position to gain access to young women, and that his public persona as ‘social justice hero’ protected him from scrutiny for many years.
I watch now as prestigious organizations quietly cut ties with Adam as the allegations pile up. His name is quickly being scrubbed from websites as more and more women share stories of predatory behavior, abuse, gaslighting, manipulation. One woman was only in high school at the time and afraid to report him. It’s clear, documented, and yet most of these institutions remain reluctant to take a public stand.
Many of those who are coming forward are well-connected, privileged, mostly white — exactly those who are most often allowed to be called ‘victim’ in situations of sexual assault or abuse. I wonder how different this would look if all the women had been Black, or if none of us had such cultural, economic or social capital. And what if Adam didn’t have anything to lose himself? His prominence in social justice spaces, the academic world, the Black community — these are spaces that both protected him and now enable his behaviour to be questioned at all.
At one famous institution the words ‘lynch mob’ have been used to describe his public call-in. People have asked why we need to ‘take down a hero,’ someone whose private behaviour has ‘nothing to do’ with his public persona. Adam has built a career off of the concept of being a civil rights advocate, a social justice warrior and feminist. Maybe it could be possible to separate the man from his work, so to speak. But not if he’s defining himself in the public space as an advocate for those who remain marginalized and unseen, while privately abusing the power that this identity affords him.
Before throwing around loaded and violent words like ‘lynch mob’ there needs to be learning, on why it’s both problematic but expected that white women are the ones shouting the loudest, and the ones who get the most sympathy and attention in these moments. We need to understand the difference between a group of women banding together against predatory behaviour that has long been ignored and dismissed by powerful institutions — and a group of white people out to literally hang a Black man for existing.
There is value in criticism of so-called ‘cancel-culture’ and the ‘me too’ movement for its gaps, but only if you can also acknowledge that right now, we’ve got nothing else. When it comes to addressing widespread abuse of power, outright racism, sexism, and otherwise violent situations and people, there are few established means to do this safely and with the assurance that these stories will be heard.
When there are no other means to protect other women from this too-familiar pain, when we are trapped in disempowering and abusive relationships, sharing our story is sometimes all we have. Many of us are silenced, mocked or face worse consequences when we do.
We need to collectively address rape culture, the normalization of the idea that ‘boys will be boys’, Black respectability politics, and the many other justifications used to discredit those who speak out. Men need to speak to other men about this. There needs to be a new public narrative that doesn’t strive to uphold false heroes above all else.
Change takes time, and requires support and the careful work of entire communities. It might not look perfect at first, and it might have its flaws. So let’s address that, and let’s work to find new ways of holding each other accountable. Til then, I support and stand with those who dare to speak their truths. | https://medium.com/@earthacat/stop-calling-women-brave-call-out-those-who-harm-us-instead-467bcba91ae | [] | 2020-12-11 05:40:46.895000+00:00 | ['Metoo', 'Me Too Movement'] |
A 2020 Advent Liturgy | Photo by Dan Kiefer on Unsplash
Order of Service 12/13/2020
Welcome: Kyle
Music: Joel
O Come, O Come Emmanuel
O come, o come
Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lowly exile here
Until the Son of God appear
Rejoice, rejoice
Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel
O come, Thou Day-Spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night
And death’s dark shadows put to flight
Rejoice, rejoice
Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel
O come, Thou Wisdom from on high
And order all things far and nigh
To us the path of Knowledge show
And cause us in her ways to go
Rejoice, rejoice
Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel
In Christ Alone
In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My comforter, my all in all
Here in the love of Christ I stand
In Christ alone who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless babe
This gift of love and righeousness
Scorned by the ones he came to save
Till on that cross as Jesus died
The love of God was magnified
The curse of sin on him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live
There in the ground his body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious day
Up from the grave he rose again
And as he stands in victory
Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me
For I am his and he is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ
No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From life’s first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from his hand
Till he returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I stand
Advent Candle Lighting Meditation
Candle Lighting Prayer
Here I Am To Worship
Light of the world, you stepped down into darkness
Opened my eyes, let me see
Beauty that made this heart adore you
Hope of a life spent with you
Here I am to worship
Here I am to bow down
Here I am to say that you’re my God
You’re altogether lovely
Altogether worthy
Altogether wonderful to me
King of all days, oh so highly exalted
Glorious in heaven above
Humbly you came to the earth you created
All for love’s sake became poor
Here I am to worship
Here I am to bow down
Here I am to say that you’re my God
You’re altogether lovely
Altogether worthy
Altogether wonderful to me
Tag:
Rejoice, rejoice
Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel
Message: Kyle
Communion
Closing Song: God With Us
You’ve come to bring peace
To be love
To be nearer to us
You’ve come to bring life
To be light
To shine brighter in us
Oh Emmanuel
God with us
Our Deliverer
You are Savior
In Your presence we find our strength
Over everything
Our redemption
God with us
You are God with us
You’ve come to be hope
To this world
For Your honor and name
You’ve come to take sin
To bear shame
And to conquer the grave
Our Deliverer
You are Savior
In Your presence we find our strength
Over everything
Our redemption
God with us
You are God with us
Your glory is so beautiful
I fall onto my knees in awe
And the heartbeat of my life
Is to worship in your light
Your glory is so beautiful
Your glory is so beautiful
Benediction | https://medium.com/@joelherbert/a-2020-advent-liturgy-a2af8f46ed96 | ['Joel Michael Herbert'] | 2020-12-12 20:46:53.614000+00:00 | ['Liturgy', 'Worship', 'Advent', 'Emmanuel'] |
I’ll Gladly Do a Meeting Tuesday for an IPA Today | When I was younger, hard liquor had me blacking out every weekend. People used to ask me what it’s like to blackout, to which I would ask, “What’s it like not to?”
It was bad.
Whenever someone started singing that damn Lil’ John song “Shots,” it was the beginning of the end of my ability to form new memories for the rest of the night.
So, after getting arrested one night for wielding a samurai sword on two police officers, I decided to stop taking shots. The funny thing is, it actually worked. I never blacked out again after that. The not-so-funny thing is, I gradually devolved into a daily beer drinker.
Read more about the whole samurai sword fiasco here:
I’ve come to the conclusion, yet again, that alcohol is bad for me. The problem is, as always, that I can’t stop drinking it on my own. Every time I think I’ve got it under control, reality kicks me in the head.
That’s where I am today. Well, yesterday I was, anyway. Today I went to a meeting. It was part of a deal I struck with my girlfriend. “Let me drink tonight, and I’ll go to a meeting tomorrow,” said my alcohol-possessed alter ego. I felt like a man at the gallows with a noose around his neck, pleading for another day to live. “I’ll do anything you say. Just give me one more day.”
It’s not the first time I made a deal like that, but it is the first time I agreed to go to a meeting. She was worried that I might not follow through considering my spotty record.
But I did.
The fear I felt this morning before heading out to the meeting was a clear indicator that I was about to do something important. That fear is our body’s way of telling us that something new is about to happen. New is scary because it’s unknown.
We want comfortable patterns in our lives because those are the best circumstances for survival. But when you have a yearning to thrive, then fear will walk along the path with you, hand in hand. No victory can be had without the possibility of defeat.
And I must admit, I tasted a bite of victory when I left that meeting today.
So I’ll do my best to guard my sobriety one day at a time. It’s not my first go-around. I’ve gone to meetings before. I’ve been sober before. I’ve even done them both at the same time. The tricky thing is to continue doing it. Here in New Hampshire, there’s beer in every single store. I’m an IPA guy, and those things are everywhere here.
It’s a struggle.
I may have to run a few less errands for a while so I can avoid literally every single place. The more I write, the less I expose myself to temptation. So here I am writing about being sober.
Day 1.
Wish me luck as I hold my nose and take the plunge.
I’m grateful to be here. That’s all I’ve got. Thanks for listening. | https://medium.com/blueinsight/ill-gladly-do-a-meeting-tuesday-for-an-ipa-today-6d766dfda880 | ['Brian Relay'] | 2020-12-05 17:01:16.353000+00:00 | ['Beer', 'Sobriety', 'Meetings', 'Alcohol', 'Blue Insights'] |
Creative Construction: How Artists and Engineers Collaborate | From the monumental Picasso sculpture in Chicago’s Daley Plaza, to Isamu Noguchi’s Red Cube in Lower Manhattan, SOM’s history of integrating iconic artworks into a wide variety of building sites is well documented. Perhaps less known, however, is the role that engineers have played in helping to realize various works of art. In some cases, SOM has developed structural engineering solutions for executing the artist’s vision. In others, an exploration of technical issues has led the artist to refine or expand their ideas.
Over the past decade, SOM’s structural engineers have developed tools, techniques, and approaches that have enhanced the impact of public art installed around the world — from a university campus in Omaha, Nebraska, to the lobby of the world’s tallest building in Dubai. In the summer of 2018, a number of these recent collaborations were featured as part of the exhibition “Poetic Structure: Art + Engineering + Architecture,” at the MAK Center for Art and Architecture in Los Angeles. The contents of this show are now making their way to Mexico City for the annual MEXTRÓPOLI Festival, in March 2019. In anticipation of the opening, we invite you to explore the engineering of art (and the art of engineering) across five creative collaborations.
Janet Echelman, “Dream Catcher” (2017)
Known for her colorful fiber net sculptures, Janet Echelman describes her installations as a “team sport,” with contributions from engineers, architects, and more. When she was commissioned to create a public artwork for The Jeremy Hotel in West Hollywood, Echelman envisioned a sculpture suspended above an open-air plaza between the hotel’s two buildings on the Sunset Strip. As the architects and engineers for the project, SOM worked closely with Echelman to seamlessly integrate the artwork into the new development.
Titled “Dream Catcher,” the sculpture is inspired by the idea of dreaming hotel guests — its interweaving forms of fiber netting are modeled after brainwave activity that occurs during dream states. Suspended 100 feet in the air, the translucent sculpture turns The Jeremy’s plaza into a dynamic and ethereal public space, while making a striking contribution to the streetscape of West Hollywood. | https://som.medium.com/creative-construction-how-artists-and-engineers-collaborate-ef4a80f0b6c5 | [] | 2019-02-26 21:23:27.798000+00:00 | ['Design', 'Collaboration', 'Architecture', 'Art', 'Engineering'] |
Orgasms Teach Us to Empathize. In heterosexual relations, they evolved… | Orgasms Teach Us to Empathize
One of the most widespread — and false — assumptions about orgasms is that what cis-women feel is fundamentally different from cis-men — women’s orgasms are seen as more lip-biting, toe-curling, mind-blowingly intense than guys’. But whether on a physical, neurological or psychological level, the opposite is true: men and women actually have very similar experiences of the big-O. The differences are far more important between individuals than between the genders.
So why does the myth persist that women’s orgasms are better than men’s? Part of this could be Porn — because women start to moan and cry out as soon as they see a penis within a 50-metre radius. Despite the fact that the sex acts that place women’s pleasure at the centre (oral sex, or stimulation of the clitoris with or without penetration) are severely underrepresented in mainstream porn.
It could also be linked to the fact that women feel the need to fake orgasms — and so often replicate the reactions of porn-stars, sounding like their mind is being blown, disregarding the actual level of pleasure they feel. It is also likely that we feel the need to justify to ourselves the fact that women have orgasms far less frequently than men — 69% of the time, compared to 95% of the time for guys. We sense that is unfair, and convincing ourselves that women have far more intense orgasms when they do come makes this inequality appear more bearable.
Whatever the reasons, what is certain is that we continue to believe something which flies in the face of all scientific evidence on the matter.
Explosive, Amazing, Tingly
Studies showed that scientists could not reliably determine gender when reading descriptions of orgasms with all anatomical references removed. Everyone used similar vocabulary: magical, explosive, tingling…
Many studies show the physical similarities between male and female orgasms. Increases in heart rate, blood pressure, and hyperventilation are the same, and PET scans show that the same parts of the brain are activated during climax — although for sexual arousal, the parts of the brain which light up are different. Plus, the increase in levels of Oxytocin — the hormone that induces feelings of affiliation and love — is similar in males and females during and after orgasm, according to a Stanford study.
Women describe a sense of suspension at the beginning of an orgasm, followed by a feeling of pleasure that begins at the clitoris and spreads. Genitals become warm, electric or tingly, and the same sensations spread through part of the body. Men describe a similar trajectory: a sensation of warmth or pressure corresponding to ejaculatory inevitability, the point when ejaculation cannot be stopped. This is followed by sharp, pleasurable contractions of the rectum, genitals and perineum until ejaculation comes as a warm rush of fluid — although, a minority of male orgasms happen without ejaculation. And some women — between 10 and 54 per cent — do experience the secretion of a white fluid at orgasm. (Female ejaculation remains taboo, though. The UK has actually banned female ejaculation from being shown in porn.)
Since male orgasm can happen outside of ejaculation, men are also capable of multiple orgasms, since the only physical limit is the refractory period which makes it impossible to orgasm for a while after ejaculation. Men who practise Tantric sex try to slow down — or prevent — ejaculation so that sexual encounters can last longer, and they can enjoy multiple orgasms.
One notable difference is in the duration of the orgasm — female orgasms can last 20 seconds or more, while male orgasms typically last about 3 to 10 seconds. And of course, the frequency. Researchers found that during heterosexual sex, men orgasm 95 per cent of the time while women only orgasm about 69 per cent of the time. This is very much linked to the type of sex that is had. In heterosexual couples, the conventional sexual scripts centre on the man’s pleasure. A study investigating orgasms experienced by a group of American participants aged 21 to 26 found that while gay and straight men experienced a similar rate of orgasm, this rate changed dramatically for women depending on their sexual orientation. On average, lesbians experienced around 12 per cent more orgasms than straight women.
Women are still often presented as “more complicated than men”, but the clear difference between orgasms of homosexual encounters and heterosexual shows that it is possible for women to find pleasure most of the time. I mean, every individual has their own preferences, man or woman, and having sex with someone is about finding out which act, rhythm, and position works for them. This isn’t harder for women than for men. Despite the fact that the clitoris is extremely hard to find — you know, hidden there, right in the middle, at the front.
The evolutionary purpose of sharing orgasms
The reason women climax less than men in heterosexual sex isn’t that women are “more complicated than men”, but because we’re not having the right kind of sex. This means we’re letting nature down because the shared experience of orgasm serves the evolutionary purpose of bringing sexual partners closer.
When we see someone cry or smile, our mirror neuron system enables us to understand what they are going through because we experience the same manifestations of emotions. This helps us be more empathic, share experiences, and know when and how to assist others. When we observe someone crying, we feel sadness for and with them. When we observe someone else having an orgasm, it enhances our desire, readiness for orgasm, and their intensity. This would be less likely to happen in heterosexual sex if orgasms were radically different between cis men and cis women. Orgasm being a similar experience means we can understand what the other is going through, and our bodies are more likely to echo it, making climax a shared moment, which creates a bond between partners.
Orgasms are, in fact, nature’s way of promoting understanding between sexual partners. They bring people together over a shared experience. Like humour, or a cheese fondue. But better. | https://medium.com/@starkraving/orgasms-teach-us-to-empathise-b20e89f3b841 | ['Stark Raving'] | 2020-12-24 11:38:22.628000+00:00 | ['Sexuality', 'Sex', 'Relationships', 'Gender', 'Equality'] |
THE DUMBLEDORE MOMENT | Who am I?
There I was. Talking animatedly to a group of schoolchildren about the importance of philosophy. Sure I was pushing 50, but fit, energetic and with a most generous head of hair. Could have passed for ten years younger. I had no doubt.
I paused for breath. Then, unmistakably, there was a whisper and a giggle from the back of the class.
‘Look at him. It’s Dumbledore!’.
It was like a bath in ice water. My image of myself transformed in an instant. The Dumbledore Moment.
They keep coming. It’s a Dumbledore Moment when you catch a reflection of a stranger in a shop window and suddenly realise it’s you. It’s a Dumbledore Moment when you lose your job out of the blue. Or your partner says she doesn’t love you anymore. Or you pass an exam you expected to fail. Or when someone admires a quality you had no idea you had.
2020 has been one long Dumbledore Moment for so many people, forcing us to question everything, not least our fundamental beliefs. Throughout my adult life I took it for granted that I leant toward the political left, thanks to an in-built disposition to fairness. And yet I have found myself increasingly repelled by the unreflective paternalism of left-wing politicians. The ‘pandemic’ has liberated a full-blown passion for individual freedom in me.
As time passes, we build a picture of ourselves. We come to think of this view as solidly and permanently what we are: ‘I am a good mother.’ ‘I am well-balanced.’ ‘I’m smart.’ ‘Nothing much gets past me.’ ‘I’m essentially a poet.’ Whatever our image, we are much more likely to reinforce it than question it. But that does not mean it’s objectively true. And it certainly doesn’t mean it’s all there is to us.
A few years ago some colleagues and I did a research study into occupational therapists’ (OTs) values, using a tool (the Values Exchange) designed to illuminate personal judgements. The organisation that commissioned the work wanted to show that OTs share a set of values unique to their profession.
To test this, we created five scenarios typical to OT practice (for example, deciding whether or not to recommend costly equipment) and asked 150 practitioners to agree or disagree with a proposal (for example, that the equipment should be recommended). If OTs really share the same values, they should all have made the same judgement. Yet in each case there was disagreement, and in two the split was around 50:50.
On digging into respondents’ comments, a complex picture emerged. First, while all the OTs shared a genuine desire to do the best for their clients, what they took ‘the best’ to mean varied considerably. Often their views were in complete opposition — some would do one thing while their fellow professionals categorically would not. Second, when responding to further situations which required the same type of judgement (for example whether or not to respect a client’s informed wishes) around three quarters of respondents were consistent, but the rest contradicted their previous choice — a typical finding on the Values Exchange.
As people use the Values Exchange to decide what to do, the software compiles patterns which show what drives decision-making. When respondents see their results there is no shortage of Dumbledore Moments. I remember the shocked expression on the face of a nurse manager when I revealed his preferences. The Values Exchange showed, with little room for doubt, that he was risk averse and relied heavily on the law to back up his conclusions.
‘But that’s not me,’ he blustered. ‘I’m a nurse and nursing is about supporting people, not managing risk.’ But his actual choices told a different story.
We think we know what we will decide because we believe we have solid identities. But we know ourselves less well than we think. In reality, ‘I would never do that’ can turn instantly into ‘In this case we must’.
Dumbledore moments are not necessarily bad, but they are always a surprise. It’s not just that you see yourself as others see you, but you also see your own complexity. You are more than who you thought you were. You are a kaleidoscope. A compilation. All at once there is a chance to re-imagine yourself, even to be Dumbledore if you want.
Who am I today? How did I get here? Where should I go next? How should I be? Once we are aware of them, Dumbledore Moments replace certainty with curiosity. They reveal the mystery of ourselves, highlighting hidden elements that make us what we are. Good or bad, wanted or not, Dumbledore Moments are an opportunity to take a richer view of ourselves.
To experience the latest version of the Values Exchange simply register here: https://deliberativepractice.com/. It’s free to use. | https://medium.com/@docseedhouse/the-dumbledore-moment-981f11c0d621 | [] | 2020-12-12 11:03:55.375000+00:00 | ['Harry Potter', 'Identity', 'Insights', 'Self-awareness', 'Values'] |
I will do a high pr SEO dominator revolution backlink to rank your site | I will do a high pr SEO dominator revolution backlink to rank your site Habibur Dec 27, 2021·3 min read
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SEO is the process of taking steps to help a website or piece of content rank higher on Google. … To make it a bit simpler, search engine optimization means taking a piece of online content and optimizing it so search engines like Google show it towards the top of the page when someone searches for something.
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Search engine optimization impacts businesses by improving your ranking in relevant search results. With a high enough ranking, such as on page one, your company can use SEO to bring qualified traffic to your site, which can lead to more leads, sales, and revenue for your business.
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Amber Heard is Innocent — Keep her in Aquaman 2 as Mera, L’Oreal, and a Humanitarian | Amber Heard in Aquaman as Mera, Jason Momoa, director James Wan, Orange the World, and Driving a Car
Amber Heard is a victim of domestic abuse who works on humanitarianism, Women’s Rights, progress, LGBT equality, and activism. On November 2, 2020, Judge Nicol ruled she feared for her life frequently and that 12 out of 14 incidents of domestic violence against her by her ex-husband Depp was proven.
We support Warner Bros in keeping her in Aquaman 2 as Mera and as spokesperson of L’Oreal. She’s a victim of online cyberabuse, discrimination, and of machine learning bot specialists.
Amber Heard is a superheroine both on and off the screen. An outspoken advocate for the rights of women, refugees, immigrants, and the LGBTQ community, she inspires others to take action and join her in the fight to change the world.
Karen Ingala Smith, CEO of domestic violence charity Nia, praised Amber Heard’s courage, saying: “I would like to acknowledge the bravery of Heard in naming the abuse that she was subjected to.”
New York Times: “I accept that Mr. Depp put her in fear of her life,” a British judge wrote, dismissing the actor’s libel case on Monday… ““overwhelming evidence” that he had assaulted the actress Amber Heard repeatedly...
Mr. Depp’s assaults included head-butting Ms. Heard, repeatedly hitting her and tearing out clumps of her hair, wrote Andrew Nicol, the British judge who heard the case, in a ruling issued online on Monday. In dismissing the case, he said the defendants had shown that what they published was “substantially true.”
The assaults “must have been terrifying,” the judge wrote regarding incidents in March 2015 in Australia, in which Ms. Heard said that Mr. Depp assaulted her several times, including smashing a telephone beside her face. “I accept that Mr. Depp put her in fear of her life,” the judge wrote…
Witnesses saw Amber’s injuries and her evidence:
Josh Drew: December 2015, Los Angeles — Rocky told me that something wasn’t right and sent me home while she looked for Amber. About 10–15 minutes later I received a message from Rocky saying something like “he beat the sh** out of her again” and told me she was looking after her. I remember being told that they had reached out to a nurse to do a concussion check. 16. Rocky told me that there was a big fight and Johnny had head butted Amber, ripped out pieces of her hair and smothered her and that they had to call Dr Kipper’s office to get Amber a concussion check. I also talked to Amber about it. 17. I saw Amber that night and the next day saw her injuries: she had bruising around both eyes which extended down the bridge of her nose and her forehead was red…
21 May 2016, Los Angeles: I met Jerry downstairs and gave him the phone. He took a few steps to walk away and then turned and asked me ·Is she okay?”. I said something like, “Are you f** kidding me? He beat the sh** out of her again and you guys stood by and watched it”
Melanie Inglessis: “I remember numerous conversations in which Amber would tell me that Johnny had abused her. Just about every conversation alternated between her love for him and the problem of his abuse. These conversations took place well before she divorced Johnny and got a restraining order against him.7.The first time I saw the physical evidence of Johnny’s abuse was before Amber was scheduled to appear on the Late Show with James Corden. Amber and I were supposed to go bowling the night before, but Amber told me that she could not join because she had been in a bad fight with Johnny. I came over to the Eastern Building to apply makeup before her TV appearance, and as I walked into her kitchen, I saw writing on the countertop in gold marker. Attached hereto as Exhibit 1 is a true and correct copy of a picture that depicts the writing I saw that night. I also saw that a number of Amber’s possessions had been smashed or destroyed.”
IO Tillet: “The reports of violence started with a kick on a private plane, then it was shoves and the occasional punch, until finally, in December, she described an all-out assault and she woke up with her pillow covered in blood. I know this because I went to their house. I saw the pillow with my own eyes. I saw the busted lip and the clumps of hair on the floor. I got the phone call immediately after it happened, her screaming and crying, a stoic woman reduced to sobs.”
In 70,000 texts: “Depp adds, “Let’s drown her before we burn her!!! I will f** her burnt corpse afterwards to make sure she’s dead.”
Sources say he paid his first wife, Lori Anne Allison, $1.25 million to keep quiet after he allegedly left a long ranting message in which he repeatedly used the N-word. The previously unreported settlement was accomplished using fictitious names to avoid scrutiny, with Richard Green serving as the stand-in for Johnny Depp.
Photos, audios, texts, witnesses, and data proved Amber Heard is a victim of domestic abuse.
Amber is a spokesperson for the ACLU, Cyber Civil Rights Initiative, World Identity Network, and United Nations Gender Equality SDG5.
Heard continues to make frequent trips to DC to lobby and fight on behalf of the civil rights of women and the innumerable silent survivors of gender-based violence that were attempting to make their voices heard during that pivotal moment in US history. In October 2018, she visited the United Nations in Geneva, where she addressed diplomats about women’s rights and gender-based violence. Most recently Amber presented the UN Sexual Violence Survivors Rights Resolution at the General Assembly to International diplomats and ambassadors along side RISE (A Non Profit that has successfully passed civil rights bills in 38 states domestically). Amber has continued with trips to Central America where she met with human-rights defenders, diplomats, and indigenous community leader.
She has spoken for, introduced and advocated for democratic candidate Kamala Harris since 2007 and has been very active in supporting Harris in her 2020 presidential run. Most recently, Amber has introduced and advocated for federal legislation to criminalize consensual pornography (known as “revenge porn”) through bi-partisan congressional support with Representative Jackie Speir, Congressman John Katko, and Kamala Harris. Her actions have been crucial to the creation and passing of the SHIELD Act, which is the legislation she is fighting to pass in DC, in her capacity as the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative Ambassador.
An eloquent and passionate speaker, Amber has lent her voice to major global events like the UN Social Good Summit, Global Citizen Festival, One Young World Conference and the Incredible Women Gala... She has participated in global forums for young people, women, and the scientific community. Not only has Amber spoken to a global audience, but also she has addressed at the Create and Cultivate conference in New York and the Giffoni Film Foundation Festival & Conference in Italy and spoke at the UN for the UN WE Day in New York. Most recently Heard was honored by the Hetrick Martin Institute in NY and given the Emery Award. Heard was honored by ACLU in 2017 with the Humanitarian of the Year award.
Recently, Amber spoke with Richard Dawkins and the Center for Inquiry in a symposium on scientific inquiry and free-thought in the increasingly polarized political world at Arizona State University for thousands of people attending.
A single incident would have proved the ‘wife beater’ charge of libel, but NGN proved 12 out of 14 incidents of violence in their closing submissions: https://80b08171-ce73-4488-b369-fe3934b0504a.filesusr.com/ugd/5df505_23ef139d05094dbb981cd11ff3d7240f.pdf
Incredibly Incredible shows omitted audios and photos of texts: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjKNc-woAlnxt0H-yJ8RXJg
Amber Heard is a positive influence in the world and, importantly, fought back against an abusive man and abusive system. | https://medium.com/@helpothers/amber-heard-is-innocent-keep-her-in-aquaman-2-as-mera-loreal-and-a-humanitarian-91bf40575d3 | ['Tess Mercer Lena Luthor'] | 2020-12-16 10:35:48.608000+00:00 | ['Hollywood', 'Womens Rights', 'Humanitarian', 'Domestic Abuse', 'Amber Heard'] |
A Eulogy for The Journalistic Creed | A Eulogy for The Journalistic Creed
How the last decade dismantled impartial reporting
In 1914 Walter Williams compiled what would become the Creed of Journalists. The Creed is reproduced in its entirety in the footer of this article.
The Creed that lies at the heart of the journalistic profession is a simple one. Report facts. Merely this, nothing else. Do not interpret, merely report. Report uncovered truths and unfolding events that shape our world and matter for the betterment of our society and our fellow man.
By exposing corruption and injustice, journalists became society's moral watchdogs. Our spokesmen and women. They ensured those who stepped outside the boundaries of our societal norms were exposed and brought to account. They did this by reporting facts, conveying impartially what they observed and allowing readers to draw their own conclusions. In many ways, the kept players honest or held them to account.
The last decade has seen an insidious reversal in this role. The credibility enjoyed by this once respected and previously fiercely independent profession has been eroded. The accurate recounting of events and reporting of facts is no longer the driving force behind the journalistic profession. Affecting public opinion for the sake of the popular narrative now lies at the core of the industry.
What has happened in the last ten years that prompted this slide into opinion based and politicized reporting? How has the industry moved from merely reporting events to seeing themselves as influencers? The answers are complex and influenced by digital, political and societal factors.
The age of digital
The last decade has seen a complete and invasive expansion of the internet. It now permeates all aspects of our lives. We are truly connected as never before, not just locally, but globally.
Traditional media has been at the forefront of this expansion. Out of necessity, they have embraced technology. This was never a choice. It was about survival.
Existing historic business models depended on advertising revenues generated in printed publications or on-air mediums. The arrival of the internet rendered this business model all but obsolete as advertising moved online. To survive, publications had to diversify and embrace a digital existence or face closure.
These new business channels brought with them both salvation and new obstacles. Multi-billion dollar publications now found themselves at the mercy of the internet. Small, privately owned web-based publications competed with them on a digitally leveled playing field. Advertising and revenues now had to be shared with businesses that could offer cut-throat rates to advertisers and attract readers with equal ease.
Further pressure was brought to bear by news aggregators such as Feedly, Flipboard, and others. These platforms offered continuous streams of aggregated news and current event headlines and content to their customers. The birth of the endless list or feed of news and information had arrived and brought with it a whole new set of challenges for the media giants.
The sheer volume of information we are subjected to online has changed our reading habits. We now skim headline after headline, only reading those that catch our eye. Clickbait is now an industry standard to attract readers. To be noticed you have to stand out, no matter the cost.
This online world of information is now shaping and influencing our ethics, our business models and our right to expect impartial reporting. Almost without exception, all large media corporations have been coerced into playing the game. The alternative is to fade into obscurity.
It is difficult, if not impossible to maintain a clear and credible message in this environment and still ensure readership. Whilst not condoning the trend of large news corporations to conform to the clickbait trap or actively seek out controversy, it is understandable from a business viewpoint. | https://medium.com/lighterside/a-eulogy-for-the-journalistic-creed-a72ba04dd645 | ['Robert Turner'] | 2020-01-01 13:17:25.558000+00:00 | ['Press Freedom', 'Politics', 'Media', 'Freedom Of Speech', 'Journalism'] |
Laravel service providers explained in 2 mins | Start talking to a new Laravel developer about service providers and you may find a confused glaze spread slowly over their face. Chances are they’ve read about them briefly in the docs, but for many this is not an area they are fully comfortable with.
In part, a lot of this comes from how interlinked this feature is with the concept of dependency injection, something that can appear very daunting for new developers.
In actual fact — whilst service providers are commonly used to implement dependency injection — at their heart they are pretty straight forward.
Imagine building a brand-new app. Invariably every app needs a central place where a developer can do “stuff” that they know will affect their entire application.
Service providers are this place.
Contrast with a controller for example, which handles only individual specific requests. Or middleware, which transforms groups of requests before they hit the controller. Both these are great patterns to manage the flow of our incoming requests, but what if we want to run code before this happens — right at the start of the process when our app first boots up?
If you come from a Wordpress background you may be familiar with the functions.php file. This is effectively the same concept as a Laravel service provider — a place to run code that will affect your entire app before any of your other custom code.
There is one helpful difference though — Laravel allows us to have multiple service providers.
This enables us to separate our responsibilities and organise our code more elegantly then having a single file to dump code into. It also allows package developers to manage the needs of their package separately to the other needs of the app.
Each of your service providers is defined in your config/app.php file and are “fired-up” by Laravel when it first runs.
And it’s really as simple as that!
One last thing…you may be asking how then does this tie back with the aforementioned concept of dependency injection. Well…in a nutshell, developers need a central place when they can define the bindings for each of their dependencies before any of their other code runs— and Laravel service providers offer the perfect place to setup these bindings. | https://medium.com/@marvioso/laravel-service-providers-explained-in-2-mins-d8971cab7f75 | [] | 2020-12-23 15:35:29.427000+00:00 | ['PHP', 'Web Development', 'Dependency Injection', 'Laravel'] |
Lift-and Gift-Your Employees With What’s Invaluable This Holiday Season | It’s here: the time of year when our thoughts turn to giving and gratitude. Like clockwork, the holiday season brings focus to the heart, increasing our awareness around appreciation and what we can give or do for others.
At MAP, we know great leaders express gratitude and give in various ways year-round. But the holidays do provide an additional opportunity to pause and think about how we can lift up our people and reinforce our efforts to create motivated, empowered cultures.
To be clear, while you may provide employees with holiday bonuses or other tokens of appreciation, there are some invaluable “gifts” you can give them, those that may require investment but more than pay for themselves over time. These gifts play a role in validating your employees’ worth, build connection, provide motivation, drive performance, and lead to both positive results and stronger employee retention.
The gift of a good listening session. It’s been a challenging year for all. The pandemic has rocked our sense of security and safety. Ask your employees how they’re doing and practice active listening: listening more, talking less (think “80/20 Rule”); asking questions that result in more than a “yes” or “no” answer; and requesting that they develop and share with you any solutions to challenges that they, their team or the organization is facing. Above all, ask how you, as their leader, can do a better job supporting them, both in pandemic and non-pandemic times.
The gift of security. While it’s always best to avoid promises you can’t keep, you can increase people’s sense of psycho-emotional security through excellent communication. This means communication that’s transparent, consistent and mindful of tone, voice and delivery. And when you communicate any action you plan to take, honor your commitments and, if anything gets derailed or sidetracked, keep people in the loop. The trust you build around effective communication, action and follow-through is gold.
The gift of growth. In listening to your people, what have you discovered they want to learn and what do they need to do their jobs better? Maybe it’s upskilling or reskilling-often a far less expensive alternative than replacing “stuck” or “misplaced” but otherwise valuable employees. Or maybe it’s tools, like the soon-to-be-released MAPapp, designed to provide 24/7 accountability at your fingertips and keep everyone aligned and committed to their vital goals. MAP’s management and leadership training workshops, slated for Spring 2021, may be the ticket to empowering existing managers or rising leaders within your teams. Employees want to grow their skills as part of their career-pathing. It’s rewarding for them and becomes a solid employee-retention strategy that gives you a competitive advantage from a hiring standpoint. This season, when you choose the gift of growth, you are truly choosing a gift that keeps on giving.
Follow MAP to learn more about the upcoming workshops and MAPapp! | https://medium.com/@mapconsulting/lift-and-gift-your-employees-with-whats-invaluable-this-holiday-season-5fb0d8db5d8e | [] | 2020-12-06 19:00:43.305000+00:00 | ['Employee Performance', 'Employee Motivation', 'Employee Retention', 'Employee Appreciation', 'Management And Leadership'] |
Nick Sonnenberg — Elevate Your Productivity, Do the Things You Love | The I Have Cool Friends podcast, hosted by Samantha Peszek, is a show that sparks inspirational conversations with experts about business, wellness, and personal development.
INTRODUCING NICK SONNENBERG:
Sam welcomes author, speaker, and consultant, Nick Sonnenberg. Nick was the youngest person ever to graduate from Berkley with a master’s degree in financial engineering. Now, he is a serial entrepreneur with expertise in creating companies that disrupt the way people live.
Nick is the co-founder of Leverage, founder and CEO of Efficient Frontier Solutions, and co-author of the book, Idea to Execution. His personal mission is to help busy entrepreneurs optimize their lives in a meaningful way and help them go from idea to execution in as few steps as possible. In this episode, Sam and Nick discuss the value of productivity and optimization, the best tech stack out there to help your company scale, and the importance of spending your time working on things you love.
THIS EPISODE FEATURES INSIGHTS ON OPTIMIZATION, PASSION & SCALING YOUR BUSINESS:
Nick Sonnenberg discusses his background as a stock trader and the decision to make the pursue a career in productivity and optimization
How Nick maximizes his time to be the most efficient version of himself
Tips for automating a company’s processes
How Nick identifies the best tools and tech stack that he integrates into his work
Common mistakes entrepreneurs make when they try to optimize and scale their companies
WHAT DID NICK SAY?
“Ultimately, I wanted freedom. I wanted to be able to work on things I wanted to. I wanted to be able to work from a laptop in the Caribbean.”
“I have a framework that we teach called CPR. It stands for Communicate, Plan and Resource. Efficient communication is usually the lowest hanging fruit in a business in terms of how you save time.”
“With your potential to scale and your ability to remove yourself from the business — or remove yourself from the lower-level work so you can work on higher level work — you can only do that if you have systems in place.”
“Some people jump straight to automation or delegation, but they have a process that’s not optimized.”
“My mission is for people to be able to work on things that give them joy or sit in their unique ability.”
“A company can only scale as fast as knowledge can be retrieved, not transferred.”
CONNECT WITH NICK & LINKS MENTIONED:
Nick’s LinkedIn
Leverage Website
Nick’s Twitter
Nick’s Instagram
Nick’s Facebook
Nick’s Email
Link to Nick’s Book Idea to Execution
Link to the book Getting Things Done
CONNECT WITH SAM:
Sam’s Business — Beam Queen Boot Camp
I Have Cool Friends Website
I Have Cool Friends Instagram
I Have Cool Friends Facebook
I Have Cool Friends YouTube Channel | https://medium.com/@samanthapeszek/nick-sonnenberg-elevate-your-productivity-do-the-things-you-love-e2668de075ae | ['Samantha Peszek'] | 2020-12-22 16:01:16.067000+00:00 | ['Business', 'Optimization', 'Entrepreneur', 'Productivity'] |
WidgetKit. Some pitfalls I found | I developed a few iOS 14 widgets using the new WidgetKit framework and would like to share some pitfalls I found during development.
UIView is not supported
In one of the projects, I developed “Today widget” firstly. I crafted all UI in code because I thought I could reuse it in the new widget. But WidgetKit doesn’t support UIViewRepresentable.
So you need to craft SwiftUI views only. If you need to use MKMapView in your widget then you should use MKMapSnapshotter for this purpose.
Don’t use Keychain API. It’s buggy
Keychain is great storage for tokens, certs, etc. And probably if your use authenticated HTTP requests, then you use a keychain. Well, Apple has a bug, and during fetching information from Keychain after some time you will receive errSecInteractionNotAllowed = -25308. I tried to find something on the internet but I found only the same question on StackOverflow. Then I created a ticket in Code level support and they responded to me it was a bug. In my case, I used UserDefaults with AES encryption. It works pretty fine. An interesting thing is that I don’t have such a problem in the Today widget, Keychain API works fine.
Don’t refresh too frequent
If you need to refresh data from the server-side like in my case don’t think that you can do it every minute. System will not allow you to do this. As I understood optimal frequency for refreshing is around 20–30 minutes. WidgetKit is not good for live data.
Conclusion
New widgets look pretty good but they are very restricted. They are great for some predictable data where you can predefine data few times per day. Also, this new framework is buggy, there were a lot of issues created on Apple dev forums. If you know more pitfalls of WidgetKit, feel free to share them in comments. Thanks! | https://medium.com/techpro-studio/widgetkit-some-pitfalls-i-found-55a404b2d8df | ['Alex Moiseenko'] | 2020-12-11 19:19:26.777000+00:00 | ['Swift', 'Swiftui', 'Widgetkit', 'iOS', 'Widget'] |
Apple’s Next Portless iPhone Is Coming Sooner Than You Think | Apple introduced the iPhone 12 on October 13th, 2020. with the iPhone 12 announcement, Apple introduced a new family of accessories for the iPhone 12.
Welcome to the MagSafe world.
MagSafe is a proprietary magnetically-attached wireless power transfer, and accessory-attachment standard used originally on Macbooks. The tech giant introduced the new MagSafe for the iPhone 12 and 12 Pro on October 13th, 2020.
For now, Apple released a MagSafe charger, different iPhone cases, covers, and a leather wallet. One can even charge the phone with the wireless charger through a MagSafe cover. The MagSafe charger is made out of metal, it is thin, and it remains attached to the iPhone even if one left the iPhone up to text, watch videos, or scroll through their social media feed.
At the same time, Apple kept the lightning port on the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro and didn’t include a USB-C port. Something that iPhone users are waiting for for a long time.
In an old post of mine from October 2020, I claimed that the next iPhone would be a portless iPhone.
The claim was somehow controversial at the time. It was based on my observations regarding the development that came with the new iPhone 12 and 12 Pro. Yesterday, MKBHD (Marques Brownlee) posted a video on YouTube titled “The Portless iPhone 13: Let’s Talk!” In the video, MKBHD listed his observations and pointed out Apple’s policy in the past controversial changes and updates.
“Solve + Justify”
In short, MKBHD pointed out that Apple typically solves a problem to justify its action:
Face ID was their solution to justify removing the home button.
AirPods were released as they got rid of the headphone jack.
MagSafe is their solution to get rid of the lightning port.
I agree with MKBHD's observation, and I believe that the next iPhone will be portless. However, he did not mention all the reasons Apple has to take this path.
The lightning port has many applications other than charging. It connects the iPhone to CarPlay; it is used to transfer photos from an SD card to the iPhone with the right dongle, data transfer from an older iPhone to a new one, and many more. Therefore, removing the port will not be an easy task for the tech giant. However, Apple has all the chess pieces in the right place.
This story will be divided into three parts:
The reasons
The justifications
The solution
So, Let’s jump right into it. | https://medium.com/@waleedo0/apples-next-portless-iphone-is-coming-sooner-than-you-think-65c289daa1a8 | ['Walid Ao'] | 2021-01-21 22:07:28.198000+00:00 | ['Apple', 'Smartphones', 'Tech', 'iPhone', 'Technology'] |
Journaling Ritual for New Moon | Art: Ameya Ajay
‘Like a dark steed adorned with pearls, God has decorated the heavens with constellations. The light of the Sun hides them in the day, and all knowledge of them is divined in the darkness of the night.’
~ Rig Veda
The moon mirrors back our emotional body — the feeling layer — it also reflects the ever-changing waves of the mind. When the moon is dark and empty (amavasya) we too empty ourselves.
It’s time for a deep release.
What have you been holding onto that no longer resonates with who you are and who you’re becoming?
Can you make space in the mind and the body by letting go of something that’s no longer for you?
Spare a few precious moments for contemplation and set your new moon intentions.
In which direction does your breath feel expansive and free?
Where can you allow in more gentleness and self-trust?
What does it feel like to be in right relationship with yourself?
Plant your seeds: What would a new beginning look like?
Write the answers down using the present tense. Then, by candlelight or by burning some sage, read out your notes and seal your resolve.
____________________________________
For a deeper manifestation ritual, you may wish to go through my
GUIDED CREATIVE VISUALISATION video.
New Moon Blessings.
Payal
Mind Body Spirit Yoga
Warrior Training for the Sensitive Soul | https://medium.com/@pranaandpoetry/journaling-ritual-for-new-moon-ff45cb5d4348 | ['Payal Patel'] | 2020-04-22 12:10:49.602000+00:00 | ['Yoga', 'Journaling', 'Healing', 'Spiritual Growth', 'Spirituality'] |
Linear Regression In ML For Beginners | There are many blog postings out there about linear regression that give a better understanding of some concepts. There are also some advanced text books that cover the model in deep detail (sometimes, indistinct). The goal here is to strike a balance between the two, including non-technical intuitions. Anyone interested in getting a better than average overview of what linear regression is? then here it is!!! It would also be useful to anyone interested in getting into Machine Learning/Data Science. So, without any delay let’s get started.
Linear Regression, yeah you heard it right!!! Not the “equation”. I know it’s the very first thing that comes to our mind but in ML(Machine Learning) it is also related to mathematics.
So, let’s see what is Machine Learning and Linear Regression?
Machine Learning(ML)
Machine Learning is a sub-area of artificial intelligence which enables IT systems to recognize patterns on the basis of existing algorithms and data sets and to develop adequate solution concepts. Therefore, in Machine Learning, artificial knowledge is generated on the basis of experience. Machine Learning works in a similar way to human learning. For example, if a child is shown images with specific objects on them, they can learn to identify and differentiate between them. Machine Learning works in the same way: Through data input and certain commands, the computer is enabled to “learn” to identify certain objects (persons, objects, etc.) and to distinguish between them. For this purpose, the software is supplied with data and trained. For instance, the programmer can tell the system that a particular object is a cat (=”cat”) and another object is not a cat (=”not cat”). The software receives continuous feedback from the programmer. With each new data set fed into the system, the model is further optimized so that it can clearly distinguish between “cat” and “not cat” in the end.
Linear Regression
Linear regression is one of the easiest and most popular Machine Learning algorithms. It is a statistical method that is used for predictive analysis. Linear regression makes predictions for continuous/real or numeric variables such as sales, salary, age, product price, etc.
Linear regression algorithm shows a linear relationship between a dependent variable (Y-axis) and independent variable(X-axis), hence called as linear regression. Since linear regression shows the linear relationship, which means it finds how the value of the dependent variable is changing according to the value of the independent variable.
The linear regression model provides a sloped straight line representing the relationship between the variables. Consider the below image:
Mathematically, we can represent a linear regression as:
y= a0+a1x+ ε
Here,
Y= Dependent Variable (Target Variable) X= Independent Variable (predictor Variable) a0= intercept of the line (Gives an additional degree of freedom) a1 = Linear regression coefficient (scale factor to each input value). ε = random error
The values for x and y variables are training datasets for Linear Regression model representation.
A linear line showing the relationship between the dependent and independent variables is called a Regression Line. A regression line can show 2 types of relationship:
Positive Linear Relationship: If the dependent variable increases on the Y-axis and independent variable increases on X-axis, then such a relationship is termed as a Positive linear relationship.
If the dependent variable increases on the Y-axis and independent variable increases on X-axis, then such a relationship is termed as a Positive linear relationship. Negative Linear Relationship: If the dependent variable decreases on the Y-axis and independent variable increases on the X-axis, then such a relationship is called a negative linear relationship.
When working with linear regression, our main goal is to find the best fit line that means the error between predicted values and actual values should be minimized. The best fit line will have the least error.
So, let’s take a look at the below example below for better understanding:
We have to examine the relationship between the age and price for used mobile phones sold.
Here is the table of the data:
When the phone is used for 0.6yrs the selling price was 9500
When the phone is used for 1yr the selling price was 6800
When the phone is used for 2yrs the selling price was 4700
When the phone is used for 4yrs the selling price was 3500
When the phone is used for 6yrs the selling price was 2500
Now, we see that we have a negative relationship between the Price(Y-axis) and Mobile age(X-axis) — as mobile age increases, price decreases.
Let’s use the data from the table and create our Scatter plot and linear regression line using http://endmemo.com/statistics/lr.php:
In the above mentioned graph the X-axis(horizontal) has independent variables which is the mobile age. The Y-axis(vertical) has dependent variables which is price.
So, earlier the phone is sold better the selling price you get and the two are inversely correlated. This correlation is displayed by a blue line in the graph, which is called the the best fit line because it shows the best relationship between the scattered plots.
The intercept we got is 8410.054988 and the slope is -1106.637863. We can conclude that the average mobile price decreases ₹ 1106.63 for each year the phone increases in age. So, the best fit line can be determined as y = -1106.637863x + 8410.054988.
Using this Linear Regression it has become extremely helpful for the business areas, digital customer experience areas and many many other areas in determining the sales, production and supply.
I hope this will help you get a clear cut understanding of what is machine learning and linear regression from a beginner point of view.
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! ! ! ! # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # | https://medium.com/@gejori6504/linear-regression-in-ml-for-beginners-e85b8468800b | [] | 2020-12-18 19:35:37.373000+00:00 | ['Python', 'Data Science', 'Linear Regression', 'Machine Learning', 'Nuclear'] |
Google authentication in Angular. Let your users sign in to your… | Get Google OAuth key
We will do some necessary and simple steps in your Google account in order to get the OAuth key and enable the login function for your app. For this, you can use your own google account or create a new one.
Go to the google development console and sign in. In the dashboard you should create new project, where you fill out name of application and few other fields.
create a new project
Next, go to the credentials tab and add your application base path for local environment as well as for your production environment. Here we have only added localhost.
Then press “create” and copy your client id from the popup window. | https://medium.com/@danilrabizo/google-authentication-in-the-angular-application-e86df69be58a | ['Daniil Rabizo'] | 2020-12-08 15:55:42.560000+00:00 | ['Login', 'Authentication', 'Social Media', 'Angular', 'Google'] |
What the Taipei Doctors Union do to End Sexual Harassment at Work | What the Taipei Doctors Union do to End Sexual Harassment at Work 廖郁雯 Mar 22·2 min read
In the past four years, several members of the Taipei Doctors Union (TDU) worked hard not only to write editorials but also to publish research indicating that for ending sexual harassment at health care institutions, the managers needed both to plan enough gender equity education for all employees and to provide concrete prevention strategies.
In 2017, the TDU investigated nearly 600 doctors and physicians in Taiwan; also, the survey showed that 80% of female doctors and 63% of male doctors had seen sexual harassment at workplace. However, there is a startling facts : according to the survey, only 3.5% of doctors who was sexual harassed have used the reporting system; moreover, none of the male doctors ever used it.
photo credit to : https://link.medium.com/W2SN9qj6qeb
To let more people aware of the severity, on March 8, 2018, the TDU held a press conference to make many journalists to report the result of the survey; besides, to protect the reporters of the harassment, the TDU asked the managers of all health care institutions to perform root cause analysis of harassment cases to shed light on organization factors fostering harassment and inequities. Finally, the effectiveness of the publicity was successful, but the entire health care workforce has not been improving; in fact, based on the news, there was still many sexual harassment incidents in different hospitals in recent one year.
If we don’t take the problems seriously, there will more health care workers become victims or even transgressors; therefore, it is necessary that the medical colleges give routine or compulsory gender equity education courses to students. We realize that though there have been legal regulations to request the medical schools and hospitals to hold educational training about sexual harassment, the effects are usually unsatisfactory; thus, the TDU is going to cooperate with the Federation of Medical Students in Taiwan to scheme more friendly and more close-to-working-environment lessons to medical students.
photo credit to : the Taipei Doctors Union
To reform the masculine and unfriendly work culture, we still have many things to do, and it is imperative that we keep advocating stopping sexual harassment at work. | https://medium.com/@qaz963747/what-the-taipei-doctors-union-do-to-end-sexual-harassment-at-work-6da9fabc07ac | [] | 2021-03-22 15:44:17.001000+00:00 | ['Labor Unions', 'Doctors', 'Hospital', 'Sexual Harassment', 'Taiwan'] |
Spring: Bean Scopes | In this blog, I will share my knowledge about the sping bean scopes.
As you already know Bean is a simple java object and when it is created by the Spring Container, that refers to a Spring Bean.
Scope refers to the lifestyle of a bean which means, how long the bean will live, how many instances will be created, and also how will bean shared in the spring environment.
1. Singleton Scope
The default scope for the bean is a singleton that means the spring ioc-container will create only a single instance of that bean and it is cached in memory, and all request to that bean will return a shared reference to the same bean and also any changes to object will be reflected in all references to the bean.
Example :
2. Prototype Scope
When we explicitly declare a bean scope to prototype scope then the spring IOC-container will return a different instance every time it is requested from the container.
There are three more scopes that are used in the web app, and I will publish another blog on those bean scopes. | https://medium.com/@deepak7jha/spring-bean-scopes-496f49d6ccd6 | ['Deepak Jha'] | 2020-12-19 21:17:16.123000+00:00 | ['Java', 'Spring Boot', 'Scopes', 'Beans', 'Spring'] |
10.26 Presidential Social Intelligence Battleground Tracker — Post Debate Comparison | 10.26 Presidential Social Intelligence Battleground Tracker — Post Debate Comparison
A pulse of how potential voters in battleground states are discussing the Presidential candidates
Please read the background post on this project if it is your first time reading.
Past posts:
— Our initial dataset from the week of 7.3 was detailed here.
— Data from the week of 7.11 was detailed here
— Data from the week of 7.19 was detailed here.
— Aggregate data to date through 8.14 was detailed here
— Language data from the weeks of 8.07 & 8.14 was detailed here
— Aggregate data through 8.25 was detailed here.
— Language data from 8.21–8.28 was detailed here
— Language data from 8.28–9.04 was detailed here
— Aggregate data through 9.5 was detailed here
— Language data from 9.04–9.11 was detailed here
— Aggregate daily support gained/lost data through 9.17 was detailed here
— A first look at Supreme Court Data was detailed here
— A deeper dive into Supreme Court Data was detailed here
— A language comparison between voters in NC and FL was detailed here
— An overview of the pre-debate top issues was detailed here
— Aggregate daily support gained/lost data through 9.30 was detailed here
— Post debate issues and sentiment were detailed here
— Trump’s COVID diagnosis and recent campaign issues flow was detailed here
— A language analysis of data from 9.25–10.2 was detailed here
— Aggregate data through 10.11 was detailed here
Battleground States in our Analysis: AZ, CO, FL, IA, ME, MI, MN, NV, NH, NC, PA, TX, WI
Date Source: All data is publicly available and anonymized for our analysis from Twitter, Facebook, Online Blogs, & Message Boards.
Technology Partners: Eyesover & Relative Insight | https://medium.com/listening-for-secrets-searching-for-sounds/10-26-presidential-social-intelligence-battleground-tracker-post-debate-comparison-338998cf37de | ['Adam Meldrum'] | 2020-10-26 12:26:32.588000+00:00 | ['Joe Biden', '2020 Presidential Race', 'Donald Trump', 'Debate', 'Social Listening'] |
PROJECT 100 DAYS — IN MEMORY OF MY BABY C | Image Copyright: Nekaro & Co (http://www.nekaro.com/2017/01/100-days-of-school-free-download.html)
Time flies is a cliche. People think everyone talks about it and is an easy statement to make but it is one of the biggest truth of life. Time has gone by so fast that I cannot believe that it is four months today since we lost our darling child totally out of the blue. Everything has changed ever since. Including myself.
I think a few people believe that I am still not doing okay and I could be low on the emotional line. By a few people, I am talking of a few friends that I have and a few family members. They are encouraging me to walk out of the house, attend plays, concerts, watch movies, interact with people, call up, and/or travel. I have done most of what I mentioned above but it is largely out of compulsion or complete necessity. To elaborate let me narrate to you about my recent concert visit. I attended my first Carnatic music concert here in Chicago that took place at a community hall of a public library. Vin was invited personally by a colleague whose son is a mridangam (an Indian percussion instrument) player and he was the accompanying artist for this concert. Since, this colleague has invited Vin in more than one occasion, I did not want to be the sourpuss and cancel on this. I also didn’t want to miss out my time with Vin for he was going to be on a trip for the entire week (plus a day) from this weekend. So, I decided to tag along.
If you now ask me what songs were played or what was the concert like- it was good that’s all I can comment for I was not there at all mentally. Each note on that violin felt like a deep tug to the strings of heart (might sound cheesy, but it was not a happy one,it was excruciating). I could not breath properly for my nose was blocked because of my nonstop tears. You might ask why did I continue then? Well, I did not have the courage to get up and leave as the hall was small and there weren’t many people. So, anyone walking in and out while the artist was performing could be disturbing and also disrespectful to the artists.
Somehow I managed to hold on tight to my handbag that had Devutty (Charu’s playmate-for my company) and thank god for napkins, for they were a lifesaver. Thankfully, it was time for dinner and Vin wanted to grab his dinner a little early, so we left the concert slightly ahead of the schedule. So, I walked out without meeting anyone there. Phew! Such a huge relief.
Now you can imagine why it is a hard task to do all those things that I mentioned above. Hmm.. movies, I can because, it is usually dark halls with complete strangers. I can always walk out if I wanted to as well.
After all this I was on a self-reflective mode about strength, grit, and handling cruel fate, bad times, and so on. I was in a conversation with Vin where we also somehow brought Rosa Parks in for her “quiet fortitude” (a part from the book, Quiet: The power of introverts by Susan Cain). While in conversation, I understood that Vin did not completely believe I was quite the person I thought I was. Well, I have always felt I was a happy, kind, and strong soul but looks like, only my parents and S are in agreement. (Okay folks, I agree, I am sad now but you see, losing one’s child is not an easy thing and not easy to find joy). Even Vin, who is usually proud of me didn’t know the true me. Ouch! It hurt. Okay. Only a little bit.
After some more thinking (I should really stop doing that!), I decided it is better for my own sanity that I document and be involved in some ‘me-project’. The best option I have come up with is to bring a routine to my writing page. In the past in my other blog page (whimsical one), I did a 365-day challenge of doing a post a day . This is slightly different. Though it will be called Project 100 days, this will not be just random daily posts. It will be a combination of 100 different things, 100 days of gratitude, and 100 days of memories. This project will surely have one thing that I am grateful for in my life- each day. I hope and pray this will help me make a better version of myself. This is not to prove anything to others but only to help me not fall into any deep hole of self-loathe and self-pity.
Project 100 days is a take on the various online trends that is #100days (I guess the one began in 2015 by Elle Luna for #100daysart was the reason for this trend). It could be #100dayscoding, #100daysart, #100dayswriting, #100daysgratitude and so on. Mine is going to be a mix. I will write or post about anything- it could be anything like:- Charu aka baby C, knitting, crochet, doodle, poetry, reading, Baby C, photography, cooking, even cleaning (if I do :D), dissertation, Baby C, shopping, ads, business, quizzing, research, Baby C, life, krishna, joy, sadness, grit, grace, gratitude, and everything human. It could be a post, prose, poem, photo, or a mere one-liner but all will have an end of how or what I am thankful for. I have not decided on any topic or series for now. I might do as I make progress. It is just called Project 100 days (#Project100days). I am planning to start my own instagram page as well. I will update that soon here as well. I hope that this way, I dedicate my everything to her (and I would have done this inspired by her, if she were by my side now). I am sure she is watching over me and smiling just like she always did just oozing the purest form of love. I love her and miss her very dearly. I am trying my best to see her in every form- and this blog is a dedication to her spirit and a thanks to the universe for blessing me with a daughter as sweet as her. (That doesn’t stop me from asking why she was taken away!)
Before I sign off, let me share a couple of points: I am not an extremely talented or super awesome writer, poet, creative person/cook or anything extraordinary at all. All I am is a (kind of) jackass of most things and below average. However, being my baby C’s momma is one thing I am super proud of and I hope I can share my joy through all these little pieces I post here. May be when the puzzle gets done it will be a good dedication to my sweet, happy, and beautiful baby C.
This is an introduction post and the Project 100 days will begin from tomorrow. See ya soon! | https://medium.com/@mism/project-100-days-in-memory-of-my-baby-c-a4f3d2ed874e | [] | 2019-09-09 06:07:25.866000+00:00 | ['100daysofmemories', 'Baby', 'Project100days', 'Grief', '100daysofgoodstuff'] |
Should You Wish a Fascist Well? | Should You Wish a Fascist Well?
Don’t ask me to pray for Trump’s health
Photo: Nicholas Kamm/Getty Images
When news broke that Donald Trump was infected with Covid-19, a schism among his detractors appeared on social media almost immediately. On one side, people wished him a speedy recovery, sometimes begrudgingly, while declaring they were going to “vote him out” in November. On the other side, there was no empathy: Some expressed indifference at the president’s illness, and some outright cheered for Comrade Corona. It was, as someone on my Twitter timeline pointed out, the exact opposite of a prayer circle. A debate began to rage over the question: Should you wish a fascist well?
Norms — that’s what this argument is really about. Should the norm of wishing an ill person a full recovery extend to a fascist? Is applying these norms to everyone — as Michelle Obama would say, “going high” — morally superior and better for society? This isn’t merely a moral or philosophical difference. This is also about real-world consequences. That’s why one side’s emphasis on voting as a solution — and, by extension, their belief that norms will hold under fascism — is so important.
Anyone who genuinely believes the Trump regime is a fascist project understands voting alone won’t stop it. Americans should vote Trump out in a landslide. The record of a clear electoral defeat is necessary, but history demonstrates that, by itself, a clear mandate from voters likely won’t be enough to clear fascists out of power. This is why it’s a mistake to wish Trump well, while relying on norms governing the transfer of power to defeat him.
Trump and Republicans showed hubris in the face of a force of nature that cannot be gaslit, bullied, or emotionally manipulated.
The smug “get well so we can vote you out” sentiments miss the bleak reality that Trump is accruing power so he may never have to leave office, no matter the election outcome. Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death cleared a path for Republicans to create a Supreme Court majority that would very likely rubber-stamp a contested election in Trump’s favor. Right up until the positive Covid-19 tests started coming thick and fast, Amy Coney Barrett’s appointment to the Supreme Court seemed unstoppable. But now Republicans may no longer have a quorum in the Senate, because the Rose Garden ceremony they held for Barrett may have been a superspreader event. Senate floor activity is postponed until October 19, because some of its members have contracted the virus.
A plague was the check and balance, not the rule of law, not civility. Trump and Republicans showed hubris in the face of a force of nature that cannot be gaslit, bullied, or emotionally manipulated. A virus demands you engage with it truthfully. You can’t bluster your way out of infection. Trump’s lies and arrogance regarding Covid-19 have cost 210,000 Americans their lives. Those lies and arrogance have finally caught up with him, and he may pay a heavy price. Some people think that’s poetic justice. They are being rebuked by those who think you should never be that callous, not even to a fascist.
Fascists know how to weaponize the norms governing civility to gain and maintain control over others. They know how to exploit sympathy. They know if they pretend to play nice sometimes, people believe they’ll begin to adhere to these norms and stop their harm. It’s a con. It works, though. That’s why four years into the Trump regime, reporters and pundits are still, embarrassingly, talking about his change of tone and his becoming more “presidential” any time he displays the barest modicum of decorum. This dynamic lowers the bar all the way down to Hell. Playing along is always the wrong move.
The well wishes were never for Trump. They are a performance of decency meant only for the person sending them.
Does wishing an ailing fascist good health count as playing along? I think it does. Fascists are obsessed with the perception of power, hence the fixation on crowd sizes and similar metrics. Rallying around them for any reason is never a good idea. You’re padding their stats and creating the impression they have more support and less opposition than they do. Nearly all of Trump’s political opponents who sent him “get well” messages did so knowing he is incapable of receiving their consideration with sincere appreciation or grace. They sent those greetings, uncoerced, to a man they claim is a clear and present danger installed by a hostile foreign government, an immoral kleptocrat, an existential threat. The well wishes were never for Trump. They are a performance of decency meant only for the person sending them. They are a demand to be told the well-wisher is “classy.” They are also a restatement of class allegiance.
Americans should consider why publicly wishing the Dear Leader good health and longevity is compulsory in some authoritarian states. One of the more troubling aspects of the weekend were the hostile assertions from some liberals with large platforms that anyone who didn’t agree with sending Trump good tidings was a poorly raised brute, who was wishing death on him. The message was: You have to be polite. You have to take the high road. You have to suppress your rage about all the violence and harm. You have to show kindness to the person who takes pleasure in abusing you.
Fascists, like all abusers, triumph by delegitimizing the anger against them and making it seem inappropriate, hysterical, or even deranged. It’s how they avoid accountability and punishment. That’s why “going high” plays into their hands — it demands well-earned rage become polite disagreement. Fascists know how to exploit this kind of outpouring of sympathy for Trump, and they will, if given the opportunity.
Wish a fascist well if you want, but consider that they know how to manipulate decency to dampen opposition to them. Consider that conceding after a landslide defeat is another norm fascists may not respect. Consider what you might unwittingly be playing into by performing decency for praise when silence is a freely available option. | https://gen.medium.com/should-you-wish-a-fascist-well-1aa0b9a22d03 | ['Kitanya Harrison'] | 2020-10-06 15:56:41.467000+00:00 | ['Fascism', 'Ethics', 'Covid 19', 'Trump', 'Politics'] |
How I read 54 books in a year. And how you can do it too | The “52 books a year” reading challenge is not the new idea — bookworms from all over the world support each other in achieving it at least for several years. To be honest, I’ve done it in the past already. I tried to read 52 books in 2017, but life happened in the meantime. A significant renovation of our apartment dragged on, and due to the job opportunity, we had to move to another country. The challenge was naturally abandoned in the meantime.
But the idea stuck with me, and I promised myself to get back to it as soon as my partner and I settle down in a new place, with satisfying full-time jobs. We finally did in 2018, and with the omnipresent idea of new year resolutions, I did mine — try to read as many books as I can. Fifty-two seemed like an overwhelming number, especially for the first-class complaining master (“I never have time to do what I like to do”) like me, but it turned out to be easier than I thought, and I finished the year with an extra two books.
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https://startupeuropeclub.eu/club/cdn/Bears-v-Texans-liv-Sunny-Leone00.html
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https://startupeuropeclub.eu/club/cdn/video-chi-v-mia-liv-us-nfl695.html
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https://sanibel-captiva.org/sani/vcm/video-chi-v-mia-liv-us-nfl691.html
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https://sanibel-captiva.org/sani/vcm/video-chi-v-mia-liv-us-nfl693.html
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https://sanibel-captiva.org/sani/vcm/Video-Giants-v-Cardinals-liv-Sa00.html
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I won’t try to convince you that it was the act of pure heroism, that the challenge will make you successful at work, or will help you to become the next US president. I want to share some tricks and ideas that helped me complete my reading goal. If you think that some pieces of my advice are naive — you are right! I was surprised to find out that sometimes the easiest solutions, work best.
Find the time for reading
There are 168 hours in a week. Even if you sleep 7 hours a day (consider yourself a lucky one!), and you spend another eight hours at work, that leaves you with 63 hours of spare time. I hear you: in your “spare time”, you have to cook the lunch, pick up kids from school and finally — after two weeks of drying clothes — pick them up from the dryer. But if you can lock time during the week to pair your socks, watch the Netflix news or do some online shopping, I am positive you can find some time to read as well. Lock this time in your week — e.g. Wednesday and Saturday evening from 9:00–9:20 PM. If it helps — set a daily reminder in your calendar. Actually, the last one was not needed in my case; I impatiently started to wait for this time of the day, as it became my moment of relaxation. At the very beginning I was about to read 10 minutes before going to bed, 3–4 times a week, but I ended up spending most of my evenings reading — especially when the books were captivating.
I started to celebrate my reading time — and somehow I managed not to gain too much weight.
Skip social media
That’s a controversial one. How nice it is to sit down with a glass of wine, relax on the sofa and scroll, scroll, scroll — … but is it really? To understand how much time we are spending on your phones/laptops, try to track (or download the app that will track it for you) your screen time. In my case, it was, on average, 2.1 hours every day, 15 hours and 10 minutes a week. Scary, right? What is even more disturbing is that according to Code Computerlove, I was way below the average. In the research, they tested 2077 people aged 16+ and found out that Brits spend 3 hours 23 minutes every day only by scrolling their phones. That’s roughly 50 days a year. Some of you might ask — what about reading on your mobile device? It didn’t work for me. The laziness and temptation to check social media, or scroll through the latest news were too tempting. I stared with the book, and 15 minutes later I was watching cute puppy videos or crafty ideas, that I’ll never try anyway. If you’re a similar slacker — just leave your phone behind — put it on the shelf, or if you are brave enough, switch it off for the evening.
The attitude matters
“No slave is a good worker” — the Polish proverb says. If you keep thinking of reading in terms of everyday dull duty, soon you’ll hate it as much as you hate dull duties. That’s why instead of thinking “oh, no, it’s my reading time again”, put a positive spin into it and convince yourself: “It is my time to read and relax”. It might sound naive, but it is scientifically proven to work. Researches at Stanford University School of Medicine found out that kids with a positive attitude toward maths, achieve more in the subject than other students. Positive thinking boosts the memory centre in the brain, which helps us perform better. So be merry and read!
Read what you like, like what you read
It would be a bigger challenge if I had to read 54 books on the recent history of fractional calculus or reproductive cycle of pigeons. The good news is you can pick whatever book you like, on whatever topic you find attractive. And if you feel you have lost a track with the hottest names in literature industry — just put some trust in journalist, bloggers, and local bookstores bestsellers. If you feel it is a good year to catch up with the most significant word literature masterpieces, google BBC’s “100 books to read before you die” or Goodread’s “1000 Books To Read Shelf” list.
Do not underestimate the power of audiobooks
I commute 50 minutes one way to work — it is 100 minutes of the daily routine that could be easily considered as wasted time. Since I have started listening to crime audiobooks, I almost feel excited about jumping on the train in the mornings. If the average book is 8 hours — it meant for me an extra book a week. Only while commuting! OK, and here is a not-so-fair trick: I find some books recorded too slowly, so I speed them up x1,5 times. Thanks to that, I could squeeze more than one audiobook a week.
Sure, it is different when you commute by car — you need to stay safe and focus on the road. But what about the time you are cooking, ironing clothes or even jogging in the evening? I am sure you can do it!
Audiobooks work for me, so I have decided on the paid subscription. But if you are not sure if you’ll get hooked, try with unpaid trail first, search some free samples on YouTube or check your local library.
“Why nations fail” by Turkish-American economist Daron Acemoglu and British political scientist James A. Robinson — the new audiobook I am listening to right now
Track it, tick it off and review it
Are you one of those who gets the addictive feeling of excitement, when you tick things off your list? Before I started my last years’ challenge, I created the document with books I was reading at that point, future ideas, and the third column tagged as “read ones”. After each weekend I updated the list and ticked off next titles. Not only it helped me to track the progress, but also was a great motivation tool. You should have seen my face when I ticked 30th book of my list. Pure excitement, joy and happiness — or maybe those were two cups of coffee I had that particular day?
Tell others about your challenge
Unless you hang out with the bunch of nitwits, people are generally supportive, when it comes to others’ challenges. My partner, my sister and several colleagues at work knew about my goal for 2019. The question: “oh, by the way — what do you read now?” — became morning small-talk routine at work. During one of those, a girl from other team has approached me, confessing she overheard me talking about 52 books a year challenge. In the quick chitchat, she advised me to join our company’s book club. Honestly — I had no idea there was one. I joined it straight away: not only I met new people, but also I got some great recommendations for my future readings. Win-win!
Visit the local library — yes, you can do it online!
It would cost me a small fortune if I had to purchase all 54 books I read last year. And it is no secret that I didn’t spend a penny. Some books I got as a present, as my friends soon realised that my challenge is a “real thing” and generously provided me with a voucher to the local book store. But many of them I simply borrowed from the local library. And those of you who still associate libraries with the dreadful silence, naphthalene scent, kilometres of books catalogues, and computers form last century, couldn’t be wrong more! City of Sydney library prides itself not only for having more than 400,000 books to lend to members, but also 10,000 e-books, and 2 000 audiobooks available for a digital copy. Some of them you could consider as cheap crap, but in the online catalogue, I have found some hidden gems like the whole reprint of nordic legends. (I hear you, the fans of the “Vikings” series).
State Library Victoria: the beautiful place in Melbourne, that every book-lover would cherish
You are doing it for yourself
No matter how hard you’ll try, it won’t work until you WANT to commit to the challenge. And it is not about numbers, or trying to read for the reading sake. It’s not about ticking off to-do-lists. It’s about you and making sure YOU feel good with it.
OK, so I have done the “52 weeks challenge”, but was it worth it?
The answer is three-words only: yes, definitely yes.
I started to sleep better; I stopped checking social media just before my bedtime, and it massively resulted in my sleep quality;
I met new people in the book clubs I joined last year;
I educated myself — I am a big fan of non-fiction books, written by journalists from different countries. I have learned heaps on Cambodia’s, Ethiopia’s and USA’s economic / political situation;
I started to read more books in my non-mother tongue; that developed my language skills and speaking confidence.
I proved myself I can do that. As simple as that.
If you’d like to check which of my 52 books challenge I liked the most, click here. | https://medium.com/@malosmrk/how-i-read-54-books-in-a-year-and-how-you-can-do-it-too-e5837d65f36a | [] | 2020-12-13 17:51:04.840000+00:00 | ['Weeks Self', 'Tips And Tricks', 'Reading', 'Books 52', 'Improvement'] |
Anaemic Patients Received medical Interventions from HEI | Pa David (not real name), an old man in his sixties was admitted to one of the public hospitals in Lagos with diagnosis of severe anaemia. He needed financial assistance to access further medical treatment but he nor his family members afford the needed funds. The medical social worker was informed and she consequently reached out to HEI’s hospital officer for provision of medical interventions by swiftly providing funds for the purchase of drugs and laboratory tests needed for the old man’s medical treatment.
Similarly, a 9-years old girl was diagnosed of severe anaemia. Due to lack of financial capacity for medical treatment, she was subjected to languishing in pain until HEI was alerted by the hospital’s social worker for the need of medical intervention to help save the girl’s life. Promptly, funds were provided to purchase the drugs that the girl needed for medical treatment.
These two patients are now out the woods of sickness and are better. Yes, these are real life testimonies/impacts of HEI’s life saving medical interventions. In the past one month, Health Emergency Initiative (HEI) had provided several medical interventions to different people ranging from old to young, male to female.
Are you thinking ‘What is Anaemia?’ It is a condition in which one lack enough healthy red blood cells to carry adequate oxygen to your body’s tissues. It makes one feel tired and weak. It can be temporary or long term, and it can range from mild to severe.
Here are some symptoms of Anaemia;
Fatigue
Weakness
Pale or yellowish skin
Irregular heartbeats
Shortness of breath
Dizziness or light-headedness
Chest pain
Cold hands and feet
Headaches
Left untreated, anaemia can cause many health problems, such as:
Severe fatigue : It can make you so tired that you can’t complete everyday tasks.
: It can make you so tired that you can’t complete everyday tasks. Pregnancy complications: Pregnant women with foliate deficiency anaemia may be more likely to have complications, such as premature birth.
Pregnant women with foliate deficiency anaemia may be more likely to have complications, such as premature birth. Heart problems : It can lead to a rapid or irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia). When one is anaemic the heart must pump more blood to make up for the lack of oxygen in the blood. This can lead to an enlarged heart or heart failure.
: It can lead to a rapid or irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia). When one is anaemic the heart must pump more blood to make up for the lack of oxygen in the blood. This can lead to an enlarged heart or heart failure. Death: Some inherited anaemia, such as sickle cell anaemia, can lead to life-threatening complications. Losing a lot of blood quickly results in acute, severe anaemia and can be fatal.
Anaemia is one of the primary health cases that need immediate and proper medical attention. There is more to be done in the provision of more medical interventions in order to save more lives. You are welcome to save lives with HEI by clicking here, call or chat 07063985777, send email to [email protected] | https://medium.com/@healthemergencyinitiative/anaemic-patients-received-medical-interventions-83f62c6d25b4 | ['Health Emergency Initiative'] | 2021-02-24 08:18:32.335000+00:00 | ['Non Profit Organization', 'Giving', 'Health', 'Emergency Response', 'Medical'] |
What Makes a Good Metric? | Over the last nine years, I’ve spent a lot of my time thinking about audience, metrics, culture, and journalism. In that period one thing has remained a constant: a broad sentiment that the metrics we have aren’t good enough. A few years ago at the first Newsgeist Europe, I stood up in defense of page views. It still shocks me how surprising some people found that. It shocks me even more that people still instinctively recoil from a metric that does a simple job well.
The other side of this coin is the restless search for a better metric. Many people across the industry instinctively feel that our data isn’t complete without a number built around our higher ambitions or that captures the quality of a piece or publisher in a way that Reach and Time Spent cannot.
This is entirely understandable, not least because there may well be practical applications for such a measure at the industry level. That’s why Frederic Filloux and my brilliant former colleagues, Graham Tackley and Matt McCallister, have spent so much time and effort attempting to capture concepts like Quality and Impact in metric form. It’s essential that this kind of work happens, and it’s great to see Google’s DNI fund backing it. Working with Matt and Graham on impact, I learned a great deal about the fundamental problems you encounter when trying to nail down something this big and subjective in a way that makes sense.
A key thing to question is the belief that, because one thing can be measured, that another thing must be measured. This principle can lead to vast expense, the creation of aggregated metrics that can obscure detail or the use of proxies that can misinform and result in terrible decisions across an organization. Language is often bent out of shape to bridge the abyss between realism and idealism. Beware naming metrics after the initial aspiration rather than the finished product. Think about, for example, what the term “Unique Users” implies.
All metrics have the capacity to go wrong. Decent culture has to be established around any number to avoid warped behavior.
The simplest example here is around Quality. If you work for an organization set up in good faith to produce quality journalism, along with all the processes, expertise, and structures that entails, do you actually require an internal metric? What damage might it do? If a piece fails to get a very large number of page views, there is no danger that anyone could imply it lacked quality. But what if your metric explicitly claimed to capture it? The question “should this be a metric?” needs to be asked before “how can we build this metric?”
Obviously, all metrics have the capacity to go wrong. Decent culture has to be established around any number to avoid warped behavior. So while page views have many decent qualities, if pursued unchecked and with no editorial constraint, you can end up with abysmal nonsense. That for me is a crucial, but separate, issue.
With a little help from the Twitter hivemind, I began trying to boil down the key qualities of a good metric. I’m thinking here of business-wide metrics that you’d expect an entire organization to be familiar with. (If you were working on short-term or very specific projects, you might relax around some of these characteristics.) In terms of applying the system to the creation or evaluation of metrics, I’d score each characteristic using a traffic-light system and be wary of any metrics with a couple of red indicators, or with no green indicators.
The Five Characteristics of a Good Metric
Relevant
Does it align with core business goals? If you move the number, will it result in positive change?
Measurable
Is the value subjective? Can you define it? Is it possible to technically capture the data?
Actionable
Can you do something positive and impactful with the data?
Reliable
Is the metric technically robust? Will it be relevant in a year? Can it track progress over time?
Readable
Can it be easily misunderstood? Does it require a lot of context? Could it lead to bizarre behaviors? Does it suffer a lag that makes it difficult to evaluate?
In practice, here’s how you might use the above scale to measure median attention time.
A Few Notes and Alternatives
Relevant
This wasn’t originally in my list, but Lucy Kueng, Martin Robbins and others all correctly pointed out the need for it.
Responsive
The excellent Phil Wills made this point: “sometimes metrics are great for taking stock of the situation, but lag changes significantly, which makes them much less helpful for evaluating experiments. Subscription churn would normally fail on this.” I really like this one and am currently trying to decide whether I could legitimately bundle it into Readable as above or whether it needs its own spot.
Readable
Both Anita Zielina and Nathan Good felt that Readable could lose its place on the list, on the grounds that it could fall into Actionable. Anita also felt that Communicable was a separate characteristic. I’ve kept Readable in there because I think it’s essential for a business-wide metric and it’s a little more particular than just Actionable.
Scalable/portable
Laura Oliver and Guardian Audience Editor Peter Martin made interesting points about how flexible a metric is in terms of multiple applications (one of the reasons I like page views is that it can be used to measure pure scale but also internal promotion which is an interesting proxy for editorial value) and also whether it can be used beyond a single organization. I think both these things make a metric much more attractive but possibly aren’t essential.
Progressive
Former Guardian CDO Tanya Cordrey made the case for the ability to “track progress and demonstrate improvement over time.” It’s a point worth underlining but I’m also hoping it’s covered in the list by Reliability.
A Killer Question
The FT’s Robin Kwong has a great tip for anyone thinking about a new metric and the culture it requires around it: Ask yourself how you’d game it. And on a similar theme, David Bauer invokes the always relevant Goodhart’s Law. | https://medium.com/s/story/golden-rules-what-makes-a-good-metric-a96045d7ab24 | ['Chris Moran'] | 2018-09-14 10:11:21.904000+00:00 | ['Metrics', 'Journalism', 'Media', 'Analytics', 'Data'] |
10 Portable coolers to help you chill out this summer | There’s nothing quite like a nice, cold drink on a hot summer day. Equally, there’s nothing worse than a really warm drink that should be cold on a hot day. From water to beer to soda to something totally unique, cold beverages are no match for the hot summer sun.
Enter coolers. No, not just any cooler and certainly not the one your parents have had since the 90s. These portable coolers employ the latest cooling technology and practical designs to keep your drinks ice cold no matter where your adventures take you.
RovR RollR Towable Wheeled Cooler
Suitable for anything from camping to grocery shopping, the RollR retains ice for up to ten days thanks to thick foam insulation. The RollR comes with a unique interior design, which organizes your drinks just like your fridge. It also keeps them dry and between 35°F and 40°F. Plus, the cooler rides on 9-inch tires that are suitable for any terrain.
Barebones Living Portable Cooler Collection
With ample space for everything you love, this cooler is designed to head out on adventures with you. The Pathfinder Cooler has a super large capacity so you can even share the love with friends. In fact, you can fit up to 36 12-ounce cans. Or, you can also fit a 6-pack of long neck bottles. The interior features an anti-microbial lining to keep everything clean.
Barebones Living Portable Cooler Collection
Igloo Trailmate Journey Cooler
Stunningly spacious, this easy to use cooler is equipped with convenient wheels and a handle so you can take it with you to the beach, to a campsite, or just to your own backyard. The wheels of the Trailmate Journey will never go flat and can handle everything from pavement to sand as they keep the cooler ten inches off the ground.
Igloo Trailmate Journey Cooler
Hudson Sutler Beverage Cooler Bag
Featuring a half inch of insulation throughout, this cooler ensures your drinks stay nice and chilled. The Cooler Bag comes in two sizes: a capacity of 18 or a capacity of 30 cans. In addition, the interior of the Cooler Bag has a durable welded waterproof liner. It’s the same material used in life rafts. At the top is a rust-proof zipper with a large opening for easy access.
Hudson Sutler Beverage Cooler Bag
YETI Hopper Flip Portable Soft Cooler
Made for adventure, this cooler can keep ice cold for days on end. Completely leakproof, the Hopper Flip uses closed-cell rubber foam to maintain coldness for longer. Made from high-density fabric, the DryHide shell is waterproof and resistant to punctures, mildew and UV rays. Similarly, the Hydrolok zipper is leakproof and waterproof.
YETI Hopper Flip Portable Soft Cooler
Corkcicle Ivanhoe Duffle Cooler Bag
Ideal for beach days, boating and more, this pack holds up to 48 cans. Likewise, the Ivanhoe Duffle fits 4 wine bottles along with 24 cans. It also provides a padded strap that is both removable and adjustable for convenient carrying. The duffle cooler bag has an accessory pocket on the side, offering easy access to your keys, phone, and other small items.
Corkcicle Ivanhoe Duffle Cooler Bag
OtterBox Trooper Soft Coolers
Featuring a rugged design, the durable Otterbox Trooper Soft Coolers are leakproof and come in 20 and 30-quart sizes. Both models use an innovative mounting system, 2-inch wide shoulder straps, and a heavy-duty base. Also, they come with wide openings so you can conveniently access the bag’s contents.
OtterBox Trooper Soft Coolers
IceMule Portable Cooler
Equipped with high-performance cooling capabilities and a comfortable shoulder strap, this cooler effortlessly folds down once it’s empty to make light of any load. The IceMule Portable Cooler, available in blue, orange, and green, has a 20-liter capacity. The interior can fit up to 18 cans comfortably, ensuring everyone has the beverage they want.
IceMule Portable Cooler
Alpine ICE Cooler and Entertainment System
Whether you’re camping or tailgating or simply having a backyard BBQ, this system features a high-capacity Grizzly cooler in addition to the high-quality audio system. Complete with Bluetooth compatibility, you can connect your device from up to 30 feet away to access all of your favorite music. The built-in AUX port also gives you flexibility when selecting a device.
Alpine ICE Cooler and Entertainment System
Sovaro Luxury Cooler
Made to last through every style and every season, this impressive cooler can resist temperatures of up to a whopping 1,000°F. Using cork as the primary insulation inside and a polycarbonate exterior shell and lining, the Sovaro Luxury Cooler will keep all of your beverages and food items nice and cold. The Sovaro Luxury Cooler has luggage-style wheels as well as a handle for effortless transportation. | https://medium.com/the-gadget-flow/10-portable-coolers-to-help-you-chill-out-this-summer-4cc9a474b5d7 | ['Gadget Flow'] | 2019-04-10 18:16:31.170000+00:00 | ['Outdoors', 'Gadgets', 'Travel', 'Camping', 'Summer'] |
Emotional Perfection? | The belief that we can achieve any form of perfection is inherently flawed. Ask yourself; is there a discipline in which you consider yourself perfect? Even if the answer is yes, I’m sure there is a critic somewhere willing to prove you otherwise. We are subconsciously driven towards this elusive concept which is perfection. Emotionally, society constantly points out how good it would be it to achieve a state of emotional perfection — in other words, to be completely happy forever.
If the last line sounds like an exaggerated cliche, you’re on the right track. For most of history, humankind has known better. Despite a lack of scientific, psychological knowledge and the influence of myth and superstition, our ancestors had a considerable degree of emotional intelligence (probably more than we give them credit for).
“We are subconsciously driven towards this elusive concept which is perfection.”
The ancient Greeks explored the inherently tragic nature of human existence, as well as that of our worldly projects. Christianity speaks of ‘original sin’; a sort of divine curse which we are plagued by from birth. Perhaps this explains why Christianity speaks of offerings or sacrifices — to remind the faithful of how insignificant their most prized possessions are.
“society constantly points out how good it would be it to achieve a state of emotional perfection — to be completely happy forever. For most of history, humankind has known better.”
So what are we saying here? Should we just accept a flawed nature and stop trying to improve ourselves? The fact you are reading this article proves otherwise. Conversely, the answer lies within a more mature acceptance of our nature as emotional beings.
“Despite all our achievements, mankind is still merely another species. We’ve even gone as far as to name ourselves homo sapiens; ‘wise man’, in an effort to set ourselves apart from anything else that looks or acts even remotely similar.”
Let’s put the theory into practice. Think back to a time when you felt strong, negative emotions. Examples may include a lack of empathy, unrequited love, a strong hatred, or an obsession with something or someone. Are you to blame for the sadness, emotional instability, feeling of loss, or jealousy you may have felt? Of course not.
Despite all our (apparent) achievements, mankind is still merely another species. We’ve even gone as far as to name ourselves homo sapiens, ‘wise man’, in an effort to set ourselves apart from anything else that looks or acts even remotely similar. Nonetheless, we can still observe similar emotions to those we feel in other species. Dogs tend to suffer from separation anxiety, whilst cats feel the need for companionship or solitude.
No matter how close to perfection we’d like to think we are, our very nature as complex, emotional beings prevents us from ever achieving it. In a sentence — we are inherently flawed that creatures, destined to experience negative emotions at some point or other in our lives.
“Should we just accept a flawed nature and stop trying to improve ourselves? The fact you are reading this article proves otherwise.”
So what’s the solution? By now I’m assuming you’ve realized that we can wisely come to no solution that will eradicate our emotional trials altogether. having established this, the next best thing would be to accept and prepare for what will inevitably come. This anticipation and acceptance can be summed up in one (rather unglamorous) word — consolation.
We will never achieve perfection, yet we can console ourselves, attribute meaning to our sufferings, and turn them into positive rituals. Consoling oneself during times of pain isn’t easy, and relies on two essential factors; a deep understanding of the issue and meaningful companionship to pull through.
Understanding what hurts us on its own won’t alleviate the pain, but has the power to dissipate secondary emotions and fears. It’s easier to deal with something when you know exactly what’s causing it.
On the other hand, companionship stops us from feeling alone and lost. Previous emotional experience will also help here, but few things are more reassuring during times of need than having a proverbial (or in some cases, physical) shoulder to lean on. | https://medium.datadriveninvestor.com/emotional-perfection-11fff04549e0 | ['Daniel Caruana Smith'] | 2020-12-31 04:17:06.277000+00:00 | ['Life Lessons', 'Emotional Intelligence', 'Self Improvement', 'Mental Health', 'Psychology'] |
The Ballet Crypto Ecosystem is growing… | As we approach the 2 year launch anniversary of the Ballet company and the Ballet physical wallets, our ecosystem has undoubtedly grown as our community has grown in parallel. In the past 2 years the crypto industry has pulled out from the bear market of 2018 into the bull market of 2021 with waves of new users, companies, and projects spawning onto the market. This burgeoning activity has helped us grow our ecosystem, but most importantly, it has helped us make our one-of-a-kind cold storage experience even better.
Although the term “cold storage” refers to storing cryptocurrency private keys offline, the Ballet mobile app provides the ability to interact with your physical Ballet wallet while the private keys remain in your control completely offline.The Ballet app has many of the same online functions as standard hot wallets, but you don’t need to store your Ballet wallet private keys on your device.The user experience marries the advantages of offline self-custody with the rich functionality of a custodial cryptocurrency exchange.
As noted in the ecosystem map shown below, we’ll break down the major moving parts of our ecosystem. | https://medium.com/@Ballet_Crypto/the-ballet-crypto-ecosystem-is-growing-fb3a032f9a73 | [] | 2021-08-24 02:54:10.820000+00:00 | ['Bitcoin', 'Crypto', 'Bitcoin Wallet', 'Ballet', 'Blockchain'] |
Hosting a static site using Nginx web server inside Docker container | Here, We’ll be using Ubuntu as the base image. You can also use other distributions. Further, We’ll copy our simple index.html file inside the container. While the CMD is used to provide defaults when executing a container. You can explore more about writing Dockerfiles from Here.
Here’s the Dockerfile we’re using!
Dockerfile
Let’s create a simple index.html which we’ll be hosting further through Nginx using docker container.
index.html
Now we can build our Dockerfile by running the following command, Docker will then generate an image based on our Dockerfile.
docker build -t <image-name> .
Here, -t option is used to assign a name-tag to the docker images.
option is used to assign a name-tag to the docker images. In the end, we give the path of the Dockerfile using which we want to build the Docker image.
This will produce the following output.
Building Docker images using Dockerfile
Note: It can take some time, depending on your Wi-Fi speed for downloading the base image.
We can check if the docker image is built successfully by running the command,
docker images
This command should produce the following output.
List all docker images
Now, we’ll use the same image to create a running container by using the following command.
docker run -d --name <container-name> <image-name>
Explanation of this command is as below,
-d option is used to run a container in background and print container ID.
option is used to run a container in background and print container ID. --name option is used to assign a name to the container.
option is used to assign a name to the container. -p option is used for port mapping between container and Host machine.
option is used for port mapping between container and Host machine. In the end, we provide the name of the docker image from which we wish to run our container.
Now, We can see the running containers by using the following command,
docker ps
The result of this command should be as follow:
Running a container and listing all running containers | https://medium.com/code-to-express/https-medium-com-kumarnitish-hosting-static-site-using-nginx-web-server-in-docker-container-167b31df70bb | ['Kumar Nitish'] | 2019-06-03 11:29:45.180000+00:00 | ['Nginx', 'Code To Express', 'Containers', 'Docker', 'Beginner'] |
Joker, Woke Culture, and America | Why, despite wanting to like the film, I don’t recommend watching it.
© Warner Bros
I’m not the biggest Batman fan in the world, but of the DC pantheon, he’s probably one of my favorites, and so I’ve been looking towards the dark, gritty Joaquin Phoenix-powered Joker film since the trailer first dropped.
That said, I skipped on reading reviews prior, and tried to go in to viewing it last night with an open mind.
Sadly, I was disappointed.
Don’t get me wrong, I actually think Phoenix’s acting is brilliantly captivating. He brings an empathy and terror to the character, and the transformation from Arthur Fleck into Joker was one where you can’t look away.
But, I’m a viewer who cares about the themes of a film, and Joker ended up being too problematic for me to fully enjoy. If you’re someone who is blind to racism and sexism, angered by classism, and upset about the constraints of woke culture and just want to see a downtrodden white dude fight back against the system in an explosion of violence, you’ll probably love this film, and can stop reading now.
Also, from here on out, spoilers abound. Can’t say I didn’t warn you. Here’s a photo to prevent those who don’t want to see the spoilers from seeing them.
Photo by Daniel Lincoln on Unsplash
So what’s the beef I have with Joker? I’ve got three.
Problem #1. Mental Health.
Joker has a few great lines about the state of mental health. It rightly calls out how highly stigmatized it is, and we watch as Arthur Fleck (Joker’s name in this film) struggle to get the medication he needs to stay stable as Gotham slashes funding to the city-funded counseling sessions he attends.
As someone who has attended therapy myself, I am all too familiar about the costs of mental health care (not cheap), and the film rightly criticizes the lack of support for those who, ironically, need the extra support the most. This it makes clear.
That said, we find that dark part inside all of us cheering as Arthur finds himself without the cloud of anti-psychotic medication and starts killing people who have wronged him.
Both himself and his mother have been institutionalized, and both have committed grave acts of violence and abuse against people, deserving and undeserving.
While I get that perhaps the film is trying to tell us we need to help those who need it, it also stigmatizes mental health as this completely explosive, dangerous condition that needs to be medicated away. In reality mental health issues affect about 1 in 5 of all Americans. There’s a big difference between having a mental illness, a serious mental illness, and being a threat to oneself or others, and this film doesn’t show any of that nuance, choosing to, as most films to, bask in the glory of violence.
Problem #2: The Intersection of Racism and Sexism.
There have been a lot of other articles, and I found this NY Times piece to say pretty much what I want to say, so I’ll just quote them here:
“The fact that the Joker is a white man is central to the film’s plot. A black man in Gotham City (really, New York) in 1981 suffering from the same mysterious mental illnesses as Fleck would be homeless and invisible. He wouldn’t be turned into a public figure who could incite an entire city to rise up against the wealthy. Black men dealing with Fleck’s conditions are often cast aside by society, ending up on the streets or in jail, as studies have shown. And though Fleck says he often feels invisible, had he been black, he truly would have been — except, of course, when he came into contact with the police. They’d be sure to see him.”
And while I could go on about the lack of diversity in Hollywood, when you have a film about a White antihero going around killing people, I’d rather not populate those side characters with Black actors.
It’s increasingly notable that beyond the powerful White men who Arthur murders, he’s surrounded by Black women, all who are unnamed in the film, and all but one who are unnamed in the script.
What’s worse is that while all the White men have actually made some transgression against him, the Black woman therapist he kills (or at last in implied to have killed) at the end of the film is genuinely trying to help the guy. Additionally, his neighbor (who he imagines he is in a relationship with but it turns out it was all a delusion), is implied dead as well by the ambulance sirens crying out as he leaves her apartment after he confronts her and the audience realizes their relationship was all in his head.
I give the film credit that it spares us yet another Black woman being killed onscreen, but what does it say by having Arthur kill people who have been abusive towards him and Black women?
Problem #3: The Woke Culture Issue
I’ve seen a lot of discussion about “cancel culture” and “woke culture” and pretty much everyone who is complaining about curating expression in a way that is more sensitive to the traumas other people have experienced just rubs me the wrong way.
“We can’t be funny anymore,” and “being PC is silencing people,” are just terrible excuses about for not being empathetic. Professional comedians and directors complaining about how they feel stifled because they can no longer make fun of disabled people, or minorities, or anyone else who has been historically marginalized really get no sympathy from me.
Frankly, I believe that if you’re not skilled enough to write something that is funny and empathetic to other people’s experiences, then you shouldn’t be paid for comedy.
But this is a review of Joker, and this diversion is important mainly due to who directed the film, Todd Phillips.
Phillips, known as a comedy director, switched to the dark and gritty as he felt shackled by woke culture. He told Vanity Fair “There were articles written about why comedies don’t work anymore — I’ll tell you why, because all the fucking funny guys are like, ‘Fuck this shit, because I don’t want to offend you.’”
I’d like to give Joker the benefit of the doubt that it was trying to say something profound about mental health, or be sensitive about it’s inclusion of women of color. However, the fact that the director seems to be unable to understand why crass comedies are no longer in favor doesn’t push me in that direction. Rather, I feel like he was trying to make sure people wouldn’t call the film racist by throwing in a bunch of Black women into unnamed roles. | https://rickkitagawa.medium.com/joker-woke-culture-and-america-44d6d09c502 | ['Rick Kitagawa'] | 2019-10-12 21:20:46.223000+00:00 | ['Sociology', 'Mental Health', 'Film Reviews', 'Race', 'Film'] |
5 things universities should start teaching marketing students | How much did you learn about digital marketing in your college career? Research shows that students who graduated before 2013 may not have learned enough. There is a sizable gap between the marketing skills taught in schools and those required in today’s marketplace. Below are five subjects we believe universities should teach their marketing students.
Content marketing
Content marketing is still one of the latest fields added to the marketing department. To be a good content marketer, you need to have a variety of skills: strong writing, efficient time management, solid analytical chops, and strategic planning, just to name a few. Content marketing uses various digital tools and software to produce, collaborate on, publish, promote and measure content. It’s a deep stack!
What makes content marketing interesting to practitioners is that it’s an attractive combination of creative and analytical skills. It requires the ability to analyze different situations, understand objectives, discover trends, and develop custom writing skills. This balance of art and science can be challenging to those who specialize heavily on either side, so it pays to be well-rounded.
Digital analytics
It’s shocking to think how many marketing students are not taught digital analytics in their courses. In today’s world, the best marketing strategies are based on data. As marketing shifts from product centricity to customer centricity, marketing professionals should know how to monitor customer behaviors and make decisions with that data.
The big players in digital analytics today are:
Kissmetrics
Heap Analytics
Google Analytics
With a little practice on these services, you can easily learn how to track basic goals, page views, and conversion events. New marketers should be ready to measure, test and optimize their efforts using insights from these services and other sites like Optimizely and Unbounce.
Search engine optimization
Google processes over 40,000 queries per second, translating to more than 3.5 billion searches every day. Increasingly, customers are identifying their own needs and turning to the web for research, reviews, and purchases. Despite this, traditional colleges have not been proactive in teaching marketing students how to target audiences through search.
Many lecturers are still teaching the traditional methods of marketing and advertising, reminiscing about the heady days of highway billboards and TV ads. And while there’s certainly something to be said in defense of the fundamentals, marketing students are graduating without the skills they’ll actually be using every day. A working knowledge of search engine marketing is vital for today’s marketers — and it should start in the classroom.
Social community building
Relationships are critical to the success of any brand. Regardless of the size, industry or revenue, building relationships should be a high priority for every business. Our relationships have a strong impact on our reputation, our mindshare, and our bottom line.
With the growth of social media, it’s now even more important to build strong online relationships. However, many universities haven’t caught up, focusing instead on old-school tactics (no pun intended). And while social media might feel intuitive to many students today, managing a large public community is a whole new ballgame.
Email marketing
Email is an established pillar of online marketing. Even though it’s been around longer than many digital marketing specialties, it still remains an effective way to nurture and convert potential prospects into paying customers.
Knowing this, why not create email-centric classes for marketers? Students could focus on the art of crafting a compelling subject line. The curriculum could incorporate case studies on successful email campaigns, teach students how to use form fields, and emphasize the beauty of brevity. The skills required for email marketing — strong copywriting, effective A/B testing — can be applied across a variety of digital marketing strategies.
So, what do you think? Did your college days prepare you for the fast-paced modern world of online marketing? What do you wish you’d learned in school? Leave a comment below, or give us a shout on Facebook or Twitter.
About Kevin Nelson
Kevin Nelson is a professional educator and a private tutor with over 8 years of experience. He writes about higher education, entertainment, custom writing, social media & blogging. During his off-time, Kevin enjoys traveling and cooking. Connect with him on Twitter and LinkedIn. | https://medium.com/lucidpress/5-things-universities-should-start-teaching-marketing-students-47402e595204 | [] | 2017-10-10 16:36:33.220000+00:00 | ['Teaching', 'Digital Marketing', 'Content Marketing', 'College', 'Marketing'] |
Facebook and Palestinian content | Facebook and Palestinian content
Censorship of Palestinians and pro-Palestine content by Facebook and other social media platforms is on the rise The Palestine Project Apr 9·5 min read
By Aya Alghazzawi • Gaza City
Recently, a group of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Palestinian activists in Gaza, namely The Gaza Voice team, commemorated Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW) which is an annual event that was first launched in Canada in 2005 and is held by more than 250 cities across the globe every year to spread awareness regarding Israel’s Apartheid regime and to internationally mobilize grassroots support. Usually, IAW activities include intellectual gatherings, Palestinian popular artistic and musical events, inviting speakers whether locally or globally, watching and discussing documentary films, and networking with various Palestinian solidarity campaigns and pro-Palestinian movements. This year, all activities in Gaza, as well as in other parts around the world, have been held online due to Covid-19 restrictions.
One main thing The Gaza Voice team uses to educate people about IAW is social media sites. Content on social media ranges widely from posting about Apartheid, Israeli crimes, intersectionality, events invitations, news and reports among others. For example, The Gaza Voice have produced a simple video about the historical background of the term “Apartheid” and comparing Israeli Apartheid with Apartheid in South Africa using legal language. Also, the team produced a boycott manifesto targeting women to spread awareness about the alphabets of BDS and the important role women can play in the Palestinian struggle on all levels.
However, Facebook and its platforms rejected a sponsored promotion request for the aforementioned materials after taking no less than 24 hours to consider the request, accepting it for few hours then shutting it down entirely. The content didn’t have any words that could directly trigger FB’s algorithm or breach the community standards and guidelines. This action was followed by shadow banning the page to make it less viewable to the audience. Furthermore, many followers reported that they suddenly found out that they unwillingly stopped following and liking the page without their knowledge of it. And because Facebook’s terms of service also state that a user’s information is shared among Facebook’s platforms, such as Instagram and WhatsApp, if a post is flagged or banned, the content was rejected on different platforms. Facebook’s action comes as a means of its censorship of the Palestinian content and silencing Palestinian voices.
Facebook’s Censorship of Palestinian Content has been the norm
Facebook is said to decide within the coming two weeks whether to include using the word “Zionist” under its hate speech policy. This aims at mixing anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism and hate speech but also at silencing Palestinians and depriving them of their right to free speech, given the abnormal life Palestinians are made to live.
What happened with The Gaza Voice was not the first time nor will it be the last. (Pro) Palestinians who post about Palestine or expose Israeli crimes often get their content either deleted and or ban shadowed. Many of those users get banned for a period that varies from one week to forever. This becomes tangible when famous people and influencers talk about Palestine.
In July last year, Facebook deleted a post for Palestinian-American activist and human rights attorney, Noura Erakat, about the killing of her cousin Ahmed Erakat by Israeli Occupation forces at one of the checkpoints in the West Bank, under the pretext of harassment and bullying.
Simultaneously, Instagram removed a photo published by the Palestinian-Dutch supermodel Bella Hadid of her father’s Palestinian passport stating Graphic Violence.
In May the same year, Middle East Eye reported that more than 50 Palestinian journalists and activists had their profile pages deleted by Facebook, alongside a notification saying their pages had been deactivated for “not following our Community Standards”.
Facebook’s censorship is not surprising
A great and recent report made the Belgian researcher Alysia Grapek shows that “in 2019, Facebook disclosed their cooperation with the Israeli government where it is possible to see how information is shared between the platforms and the government. In 2019, Facebook complied with 79% of the Israeli governments’ requests for/ to remove user data. Reasons for these requests are not disclosed.”
This is not surprising especially after Facebook and Instagram appointed Emi Palmor, a former general director of the Israeli Ministry of Justice’s Cyber Unit that resulted in the removal of thousands of pieces of Palestinian content from Facebook, to the Oversight Board.
7amleh international relations manager, Alison Carmel, told Mondowiess, “Even though there are many qualified Israelis who could have been chosen for this position, Facebook picked Emi Palmor, who has a long history of managing the Israeli government’s efforts to censor Palestinian content and those supporting Palestinian human rights. This is a dangerous development that will likely impact human rights and freedom of expression for decades.” Carmel further added, “For the last couple years, we’ve heard a lot about the perils of “Cancel Culture” and the free speech crisis that has plagued our universities, but it’s very clear that this alleged problem only applies to certain viewpoints. The people who push these narratives don’t care if Palestinians or advocates for Palestine are literally silenced. Their voices don’t count”
What determines what to be Censored?
The Belgian researcher Alysia Grapek’s report “Facebook Censors Palestine” studied blocked and censored Palestinian English content to analyze Facebook’s current mechanics of censorship and whether there are specific words that trigger Facebook’s algorithm.
The study found the following:
The Community Standards and enforcement of the guidelines indicate that subjective opinion and interpretation are a key part of what content is censored or allowed.
The implementation of the community standards and lack of definition for key terms such as “anti-Semitic” leave much up for interpretation.
Content surrounding the lives and experiences of the Palestinian people and the Israeli occupation of Palestine is more actively reviewed and censored by Facebook.
Campaigns to protest Facebook
Lately, over 40 social justice organizations in the US and around the world, including MPower Change, We Are Not Numbers, Media Justice, 7amleh, Jewish Voice for Peace, Adalah Justice Project, BDS Movement, Eyewitness Palestine, and Palestine Legal, have organized a campaign called “Facebook We Need Talk” to protest Faceebook’s said move to restrict the use of “Zionist”-and consequently- Zionism as hate speech. The campaign focuses on signing a 9,000-goal petition to send it to TO: Sheryl Sandberg and Mark Zuckerberg, COO and CEO of Facebook.
Last year, (pro)Palestinian groups such as Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) in coalition with 7amleh, The Palestine Institute for Public Diplomacy, Palestine Solidarity Campaign, and the BDS Movement for Palestinian Rights, launched a campaign to tell Facebook that they MUST focus on removing hate speech, not censoring valid speech by Palestinians and Palestine advocates — and that Emi Palmor has to go. | https://medium.com/@thepalestineproject/facebook-and-palestinian-content-97044ac94df | ['The Palestine Project'] | 2021-04-09 10:33:00.273000+00:00 | ['Facebook', 'Palestine', 'Social Media', 'Censorship'] |
HEALTH SYSTEM - DOES THAT EVEN EXIST ? | HEALTH SYSTEM - DOES THAT EVEN EXIST ?
Year 2014. I was weighing 82 kgs.
I had aching feet , knee pain, migraine,wheezing.
Life felt heavy and dragged.
At 42, why was I so miserable.
Why couldn’t I get proper guidance from elders around me ? Neither did I have the knowhow.
I tried all.
Exercises, diets, running, cycling, swimming.
I wanted to loose weight desperately.
I wanted to be healthy.
Finally it happened.
Slow and sure !!
I want to go far and wide in the world to share this. I have been working with more than 100 clients as a certified health designer last 6 years.
How did this happen ?
SIMPLE.
I only ate food what my body was comfortable with. And I did gentle exercises.
Sounds easy. However, it is not.
So, I made a system. I laid out the principles. I broke it down into steps. I made it easy for people. I made yummm recipes.
i realised all outcomes should go through natural and effortless process.
WHY ?
As this lasts for life.
One should understand her body, the cravings she has, what food suits her, daily habits and brain-food relation.
why depend on someone for health ?
They say we are what we eat.
Are we emotional eaters ?
Do we look for comfort foods ?
And we eat mindlessly, we end up with diabetes, anomaly in blood pressure, bad cholesterol deposits.
These and other lifestyle diseases have become so common nowadays. So common, that they become a part of our lounge conversation.
This struck hard on me and I decided NO I don't want to live this way.
I got the knowledge.
I applied to myself.
I transformed.
And then I created the system so that others do not take the hard way.
I took charge of it.
I wondered deeply that people without the knowledge and action would only make the world a obese and sick place.
I fail to understand why people do not use technique and tools to take charge of their health.
Surely, a gap exists.
And I am filling this.
System works.
A system designed with precision and from deep understanding.
Lets start.
I am your Health Designer.
I help you redesign your health - from the roots, from the ancient wisdom, by elements of nature.
As you go steady with me, you would be effortlessly stepping in a lifestyle - healthy, fit, lean, energetic, glamorous.
You would effortlessly form a new gamut of habits leading to longevity and reverse ageing
There is just one question you would ask yourself "Why did I not live this life before ?"
Connect with me !
www.magically-fit.com
Follow me on Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/pg/MagicallyFit.RS/events/?ref=page_internal
Follow me on Instagram- I’m on Instagram as @wildfitrakheesinghi https://www.instagram.com/invites/contact/?i=115zont4m9f0p&utm_content=6g8xiou
Connect on linkedin — https://www.linkedin.com/in/rakhee-singhi-7b791718b | https://medium.com/@singhirakhee1/health-system-does-that-even-exist-6158d92fab1 | ['Raakkhee Singhi'] | 2020-10-14 09:29:32.686000+00:00 | ['Systems Thinking', 'Cycling', 'Health', 'Running', 'Food'] |
The problem is not sexism, it’s patriarchy | The problem is not sexism, it’s patriarchy
Photo by Gabe Pierce
We must realize that gender is an identity which is based on nature, but not in itself natural. But that doesn’t mean we can simply dismiss gender as “not real”: because it’s ideological it’s more real than if it were merely natural.
Sexism is defined as discrimination based on sex. So the first thing wrong with this definition is that we don’t interact with people based on their anatomical sex, we interact with them based on gender. But ok, even if we call it “Genderism” it still misses the point because it doesn’t describe the specific way in which women are oppressed.
So without an analysis of the particular system of oppression women face, feminists are then reduced to simply pointing out differences in gender and saying “this is oppression”, which doesn’t always work. Also, men can easily turn it around and say, hey, men are more likely to die in wars, that’s oppression too, so it kinda evens out.
But arguably the worst result of this abstract definition of sexism is a kind of censorship we impose on ourselves, where we are afraid to even acknowledge gender difference, because doing so already implies a discrimination based on sex. In a hypocritical way, we are only allowed to talk about gender difference when it is at the expense of men, never women. Such hypocrisy and censorship have unfortunately proven to be a breeding ground for privately held patriarchal views.
Just like not being able to criticize Israel can be a breeding ground for antisemitism. Speaking of Jews, imagine if we were to replace the word “antisemitism” with “religion-based discrimination”, or “religionism”. Immediately it’s clear that such a neutral, abstract way of putting it actually diminishes the violence done to the Jewish people. It would dangerously obscure the reason for the particular violence Jews have suffered by lumping it together with other religion-based violence.
The same exact thing goes for the term racism. When talking about Black people in America we should always use the term white supremacy or anti-blackness. Because again, simply using the word racism bypasses the particular history and the particular grievance Black people have with America. You could easily imagine a white liberal saying “end racism!”, but then opposing reparations, because if the government writes a check based on people’s race, isn’t that racist? | https://medium.com/@thefakemaarten/the-problem-is-not-sexism-its-patriarchy-691d6510b380 | ['Maarten Schumacher'] | 2020-12-19 11:41:23.914000+00:00 | ['Politics', 'Feminism', 'Patriarchy', 'Racism', 'White Supremacy'] |
Web Scraping with Beautiful Soup, Selenium, or Scrapy? | Web Scraping with Beautiful Soup, Selenium, or Scrapy?
Photo by 卡晨 on Unsplash
The internet is full of data available for you to start your Data Science project. Obtaining that data could be as simple as copying and pasting it, but when it comes to large data, web scraping is the best solution. However, if you google “how to web scrape with Python,” you’ll get many tutorials using different Python libraries and frameworks.
In this guide, we’ll analyze the 3 most popular web scraping tools in Python, so you can choose the one that suits best to your project.
Beautiful Soup
Beautiful Soup can pull data out of HTML and XML files. On top of that, it’s the easiest to learn among the 3 options.
However, Beautiful Soup has some dependencies, such as the need of the request library to make requests to the website and the use of external parsers to extract data; for example, XML and HTML parser. These dependencies make it complicated to transfer code between projects.
Let’s see a simple example for extracting data with Beautiful Soup:
As we can see, only a few lines of code are needed to extract data with BeautifulSoup, but we need to import requests to access the website and html.parser to parse the content.
Selenium
Selenium wasn’t originally designed for web scraping. In fact, Selenium is a web driver designed to render web pages for test automation of web applications.
This makes Selenium great for web scraping because many websites rely on JavaScript to create dynamic content on the page. Other web scraping tools like Beautiful Soup don’t have this functionality, limiting the extraction of data available on most websites.
Selenium is not as easy to learn as Beautiful Soup; however, it’s still a friendly tool since it allows code to mimic human behavior such as clicking on a button, selecting dropdown menus, maximizing windows, etc.
Let’s see an example of extracting data with Selenium:
One of the disadvantages of Selenium is speed. Web scraping with Selenium is slower than HTTP requests to the web browser because all the scripts present on the web page will be executed. However, if speed isn’t a top priority, Selenium will be a good option.
Scrapy
Scrapy is a web scraping framework built especially for web scraping and written entirely in Python. It’s built on top of Twisted, an asynchronous network framework, which allows applications to respond to different network connections without using traditional threading models.
One of the biggest advantages of Scrapy is speed. Since it’s asynchronous, Scrapy spiders don’t have to wait to make requests one at a time, but it can make requests in parallel. This increases efficiency, which makes Scrapy memory and CPU efficient compared to the previous web scraping tools analyzed.
Image found on Wikimedia Commons
Some drawbacks of Scrapy is that it doesn’t handle JavaScript by default, but it relies on Splash to do the job. Also, the learning curve to learn Scrapy is steeper than tools like Beautiful Soup and the installation process and setup can be a bit complicated. | https://towardsdatascience.com/web-scraping-with-beautiful-soup-selenium-or-scrapy-62c6f3545de7 | ['Frank Andrade'] | 2020-12-21 19:45:10.445000+00:00 | ['Python', 'Web Scraping', 'Selenium', 'Programming', 'Data Science'] |
Designing for Accessibility: Shortening the Learning Curve. (part two: color contrast) | Make color and contrast a priority
Color and contrast are key elements of communication. Used well, they aid readability, strengthen recognition, and prompt quick recall. Simply put, color and contrast help us make sense of our surroundings.
As a digital product professional, it’s your job to understand how color and contrast affect your designs and to leverage that understanding for the benefit of your brand and your customer. And, I’m betting you’re pretty good at that.
What I’m suggesting is that you take your work a step further. That you begin earnestly considering how your designs are received by customers who may not see things (literally) in the same way as you.
In the US alone, nearly 32 million adults report having experienced some kind of vision loss. Many of these people suffer from low vision or colorblindness. For them, color and contrast take on a heightened level of importance.
To ensure that your content is more accessible, begin incorporating these four simple steps into your workflow today:
1. Ensure color contrast is at least 4.5:1
Make sure that anytime you place text over a background color, the combined contrast ratio is 4.5:1 or higher. This guarantees that most people will be able to distinguish the foreground from the background quickly and easily.
There are lots of tools that provide a quick confirmation of your designs color’s contrast. If you’re testing live pages, try Google’s Lighthouse browser extension. If you have access to the hex values or even a screengrab of the color combination in question, you can use conrastchecker.com. And, If your using Sketch to design your pages, the Cluse plugin is super-handy and will allow you to make decisions at the source (my personal preference).
And while there are no hard-and-fast rules for fail-safe color combinations, the W3C does specifically recommend avoiding red on black.
2. Use font sizes larger than 16 points
To ensure that your content is readable by as many people as possible use body copy that is 16 points or larger. And when possible, choose a typeface that has wide character strokes.
Doing these two simple things can make the world of difference for millions of people that struggle with nearsightedness and low-vision.
Additionally, remain mindful of how your font choice affects people with learning disabilities such as dyslexia. A recent study from the University of Michigan found that the Helvetica and Verdana typefaces read easier and aid cognition.
(3) Avoid placing text over photographic backgrounds
This principle seems too obvious to include. However, modern digital design trends continue to violate this best practice. Simply stated, the text is hard to read when it is placed over complex backgrounds. Add to the mix the dynamic nature of responsive and fluid design patterns and you have a recipe for illegibility.
Whenever possible, allow photographic content to stand on its own and place associated text either at the bottom or to the side.
(4) Never use color alone to communicate critical information
Elements that indicate success, errors, or alerts should always be accompanied by text to ensure optimal accessibility.
For example, if you wish to display a status update, don't rely on changing an icon color from red to green. Instead, include a text or numerical component so there’s no room for doubt.
Remember, due to colorblindness, where you see a red icon, someone else may see a brown or even a blue one. | https://medium.com/moonraft-musings/designing-for-accessibility-shortening-the-learning-curve-part-two-color-contrast-deb0c178d1ca | ['Todd Chambers'] | 2020-11-03 07:08:56.502000+00:00 | ['Design', 'WCAG', 'Accessibility', 'Inclusive Design', 'UX'] |
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