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Thanks To First Responders — To Civil Rights | Rated MA for speaking frankly
Image by Gordon Johnson from Pixabay
It is not meant as a value judgment comparing the abstract with the action-oriented. But with all respect, the latter has had a lot more recognition from a cross-section of society, and I don’t feel duty-bound to repeat others to show my appreciation. Rather, I pride myself on calling attention to areas that have received less.
On the other hand, you might see it as more inclusive if your contributions to this time aren’t as celebrated as those of medical personnel, truckers, or those who keep supplies stocked. Or anyone else whose paraphernalia you see on front yard signs.
What are some other efforts you’ve seen yourself or others make?
Social life or education for your own or neighbors’ children?
Shopping or care for those fearful of the virus?
Reaching out for new sources of income in a changing economy?
Adapting your church or favorite charity to new guidelines?
Or, just maybe:
Revering Paul (pun intended) or driving others crazy questioning information sources?
I wear a mask around others except when I dare to be reckless, like in my own home or outdoors when keeping my distance. I do so out of respect, not belief, just as one might not engage in a full range of gestures in a religious service for a different faith. Whatever sympathy we might muster for those who fear unencumbered life, we can’t trade in our own fears on a dime, even a silver one.
Yes, we’re all in this together, like passengers on an airplane. But like flight passengers to the same metropolitan area, our activities and hosts might be very different.
If we see someone making different masking decisions at a given time and place, we may or may not have judgments about it or wonder if others do.
And that’s another situation we can contribute to:
By the choice we make
Adjusting our attitude to it
Choosing what to say — or not, or to whom
By choosing what, if any, statement our mask makes (yes, that includes pro-Biden ones — or theoretically, pro-Trump ones, but living in California I only know of them from the Internet)
I’m sure that sounds a little obsessive to most of you. But when I asked a New York City resident during the spring what she observed back East, one of her comments was not only that most people wore masks outdoors, but that those who didn’t were “scary or frustrating.”
While I can’t speak for the whole open-air contingent, I know what’s in my mind and heart and those of many others who feel compelled to keep breathing as natural as possible. (The many reports of mask effectiveness are beyond the scope of this article. Perhaps someone more experienced with information tolerances can share a safe way for me to refer to them later without being censored for misinformation.) Maybe others would feel a little better seeing me without a mask outdoors if they noticed how unwarm I dress as the temperature drops. And I adhere to such laws as I understand them, as with clothing.
It would be nice if the censors could explain to me how they determined what contrary opinions constituted misinfomation, but we may be too many generations removed from the (regrettably unintegrated) Founders for truly free speech to resonate with those whose greatest passion is vigilance about data as they see it.
But one contribution I can make is to assure avid mask-wearers that the vast majority — of those who don’t demonstrate solidarity with those whose primary value is hygenic precaution — are simply in the age-old identity trap, like gangs who wouldn’t be caught dead embracing their parents’ values.
I emphasize it’s not that they don’t care about the health of others. But just as the young think they’ll live forever, there’s a limit to the empathy we can feel for those suffering from ailments we haven’t experienced. And I’d suggest that those who have taken modern conveniences for granted are similarly limited when faced with the possibility of unthinkable changes.
Another contribution I can make as a liberty hawk is to make sure I’m not overvaluing “patriotic values” pounded into me out of fear. I’m no stranger to reconciliation, so when hearing stronger pro-Constitutional opinions from those I respect, it’s easy to wonder if I’m being too casual. I’m not sure whether or when I’d want to write about this publicly, but having become more used to writing, essays about such values might be the answer.
And maybe I need to step out from behind my screen when it comes to those I know. The New Yorker I mentioned above: her former boyfriend is from — of all places — Wyoming, but I haven’t asked either of them anything further about their thoughts.
I hope I’ve shown enough community spirit to throw some red meat in the other direction, especially if they’ve sat through all this. After all, I did warn you with MA.
Notwithstanding my sympathy for those more fearful, I don’t want to be like them. Especially those who insist we subject ourselves to standards appropriate to the most vulnerable among us in a one-size-fits-all tyranny or that popularity or viewership determines truth.
Kundalini yoga instructor Terri Harrah likes to interject an observation towards the end of class. She notes that in this information age, the problem is not to gather more, but to know how to select. And that can be a contribution that you can make. Not only is there too much to sift through without joining forces, but we have to join our experiences to know how to evaluate the pieces for different purposes.
Whether you resonate with quaint notions of community or with the utility of blockchain, here good people can come together. And I look forward to being part of that — even I tire of everything else and decide to move to Wyoming myself. | https://medium.com/@herdimmunityfromfear/thanks-to-first-responders-to-civil-rights-9615747b11f4 | ['Chris Dungan'] | 2020-12-14 06:22:45.264000+00:00 | ['Covid Mask', 'Censorship', 'Identity', 'Fake News', 'Civil Rights'] |
Charles Ferguson and CNN Films Cancel Hillary Clinton Documentary | Charles Ferguson and CNN Films Cancel Hillary Clinton Documentary
CNN’s controversial documentary about Hillary Clinton has been canceled. The project, which was commissioned by the news network’s CNN Films division under the direction of Oscar winner Charles Ferguson (No End In Sight; Inside Job), received a good amount of media attention last month after the RNC threatened a boycott on account of an apparent bias on the part of the cable channel [Ed. Note: our sister site, Film School Rejects had two posts about it prior to the launch of Nonfics]. But that’s not exactly why the doc has now been shut down.
Ferguson took to The Huffington Post to personally write his explanation for canceling the production completely, and while certain pressures from the Republicans and also Democrats are relevant to the decision, it’s not necessarily that he gave in to these powers so much as he didn’t see a good movie being made with the resulting lack of access and support. After addressing his interests, intent and progress with the doc, he writes:
when I approached people for interviews, I discovered that nobody, and I mean nobody, was interested in helping me make this film. Not Democrats, not Republicans — and certainly nobody who works with the Clintons, wants access to the Clintons, or dreams of a position in a Hillary Clinton administration. Not even journalists who want access, which can easily be taken away. I even sensed potential difficulty in licensing archival footage from CBN (Pat Robertson) and from Fox. After approaching well over a hundred people, only two persons who had ever dealt with Mrs. Clinton would agree to an on-camera interview, and I suspected that even they would back out.
He says it was a painful decision to make, but he realized he had to cancel because he wouldn’t be able to make a film he’d be proud of. He acknowledges that this turn of events is likely what the RNC and other critics were hoping for, and it’s a win for the Clinton camp as well. The losers in all this, he claims, are the media and the American people.
Well, some lesser documentarian is sure to now jump into the void in order to deliver an unauthorized doc about Hillary that isn’t concerned about access or interviewing the right people and other things Ferguson understands are necessary for a proper film of this sort. And of course we still have the NBC miniseries [oops now that one is kaput, too] and another Hollywood biopic to look forward to. | https://medium.com/nonfics/charles-ferguson-and-cnn-films-cancel-hillary-clinton-documentary-babbb0651320 | ['Christopher Campbell'] | 2016-12-09 03:52:33.465000+00:00 | ['Featured', 'News', 'Hillary Clinton'] |
Relationship banking — Advice from an ex-banker | In challenging business times, your bank literally has the life of your business in its hands.
I used to be a bank executive. Ever since then I have always maintained solid relationships with my banks, the ones I use today. Many people seem to underestimate the importance of the relationships with banks and bankers. I’m here to tell you why that can come back to haunt you. In challenging business times, your bank literally has the life of your business in its hands. You want to have relationship capital to leverage during those times.
My first exposure to a banker or bank officer was the appropriately named, Mr. Banks. You know, Mr. Banks from Walt Disney’s 1964 movie, “Mary Poppins.” Mr. Banks worked at the Dawes Tomes Mousley Grubbs Fidelity Fiduciary Bank in London. When I read that name even today, I subconsciously sing the song, “Fidelity Fiduciary Bank” composed by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman. Mr. Banks wanted his children, Jane and Michael to invest their money in the bank but they wanted to feed the birds which led to a whole chaotic breakdown that caused a run on the bank and Mr. Banks to lose his job. I loved that movie. It was the first movie I ever saw in a real theater in the city. It took my mother and me an hour to drive there. I remember thinking that it was my least favorite part of the movie and how tedious and uptight and rigid bankers were.
Fast forward about twenty years. I had finished my doctoral coursework in economics at Georgetown and started work on my dissertation. I had a two-year contract with the World Bank and… my fiancé wanted to move to Los Angeles to go into the movie business. What? I didn’t want to go. The movie business?! He set up an interview through a friend with First Interstate Bank, then the seventh-largest bank in the country. They were starting an investment banking division and I interviewed with the President of the new division called, First Interstate, Ltd. I didn’t even know how to read a balance sheet. But I could calculate complex mathematical problems like there was no tomorrow. There was a heat wave in L.A. and I didn’t really want the job so instead of wearing a suit, I wore a skimpy white linen dress. He was impressed with my bonafides and asked me what I was making at the World Bank. I gave him an exaggerated salary, and then upon noticing that he didn’t flinch, I added, tax free. Because everyone knew at the time that the World Bank was mostly expats who paid taxes in their home countries. Because there were really very few Americans working there, what most people didn’t know is that Americans had to pay taxes on their salaries. I took a chance. I’m not proud of it now, well maybe a teensy bit, but that more than doubled my salary. He didn’t really have a problem with it. He was from Lehman Brothers and at that time in the 80s, investment banking salaries were pretty obscene. He hired me. I moved to Los Angeles and became a banker. My cubicle mate taught me how to evaluate financial statements and I was off and running. We mostly wrote private placement memorandums and crunched numbers for mergers and acquisitions. I even received bonuses and realized that my salary request wasn’t out of line at all. That helped me feel better.
Although my job at the bank wasn’t even close to being my favorite job, bankers were still pretty tedious and rigid and I’ll add cutthroat to that list, I learned an immense amount of useful information. Not only did I learn about business and financial statements, I also learned how to raise money which has served me well as an entrepreneur. I raised over $1 million in seed capital for my last startup company. Additionally, I became familiar with the ethos of banking and what bankers needed to hear to make a loan decision and the information that resulted in rejecting a loan.
Many years ago, my company’s corporate banker and someone I considered a friend, invited me to lunch every few months. During one of these lunches at the Crab Shack in Glendale, California, he confided to me that he wanted to leave his job as a commercial loan officer with one of the top merchant banks in Los Angeles and start his own bank. I love these kinds of ambitions.
Starting a bank is difficult. For starters, it takes about $20 million. If you’re serious about it, here’s an excellent wikihow giving you the step by step including pictures no less! I told my friend that he had to do it. If it was his dream, he should pursue it and he could achieve it. This guy scrimped and saved for years. He was probably making about $300K a year in salary — no small amount back in the early naughts. He lived in a tiny home and drove a used Honda. Five years later he opened a community bank in a small town outside of Los Angeles. He did it.
Of course, I transferred all our company accounts from his previous employer to his new bank. They only had one branch and it was pretty far away especially in L.A. traffic, but we mail all our deposits and I set up a transactional account at a nearby Wells Fargo. I made it work. All our loans were negotiated through this bank. And, they have saved us with lines of credit during some dark days which can happen in any business. Our relationship has been mutually beneficial for many years.
Based on my experience in banking and because many business owners, especially startups, overlook the importance of a good relationship with their bank, I thought I would make a small list for you to keep in mind. The overriding term is finesse.
The best thing you can do is to develop a relationship with your bank and get to know your loan officer. Take them to lunch regularly. Call just to chit chat every once in a while. Make them more than an acquaintance, perhaps even a friend. I’m not being disingenuous here. I genuinely like my loan officer. I enjoy his company and his observations. This is an easy thing to do. Be scrupulously honest and rigorously communicative. Don’t fudge your numbers. If there’s one thing banks don’t like, it is surprises. If something bad is going to happen, tell them ahead of time. Examples of this are losses, reduced revenues, unexpected expenses, closeouts on inventory and customer order cancellations. Even if you’re not required to give them quarterly updates, do it anyway. That said, whenever you are dealing with a bank, less is always more. Only communicate what you need to. Keeping in mind number 3 above, still wait until you are sure and then talk about it. No need to scare them. Never scare your bank. Always ask for a better deal when negotiating loans or credit lines. What is a better deal? Lower interest rates, lower fees, larger credit lines, to name a few. If you’re dealing with a factor (a finance company that buys your invoices and gives you an advance), ask for an advance against inventory in addition to an advance against receivables. Try to get a higher percentage advance on your receivables — 80% instead of 50% for example. Make sure they are going to insure your receivables and not just collect them. You can also bid out for better rates and terms and let your loan officer know and give them the opportunity to match the best offers. The worst they can say is, “no.” Do your research so you have realistic expectations. If you are losing money and don’t have collateral, don’t expect a line of credit. Remember that banks have a ton of regulatory issues they have to comply with. Be patient. Give them what they need in a timely manner. Never lose your temper with the bank. It is not helpful at all and it can actually be harmful. I had a boss who would scream at the factor because they weren’t approving overdrafts for him. Eventually, they booted him as a client. No one likes to be berated for just doing their job.
Remember that you attract more flies with honey than with vinegar.
In closing, I have an assignment for you. Call your bank and arrange a Zoom lunch with someone — preferably the highest level person that will say yes. Let us know how it goes.
Cynthia Wylie is a published children’s book author with Penguin Random House and has her MA in economics from Georgetown University. She writes about business and economics for Data Driven Investor. When she is not writing, she works on business consulting and turnaround strategies for TheProjectConsultant.com.
Edited by Dennis P. Kamoen, Founder & Editor at Large, The Project Consultant.
Originally published at https://www.datadriveninvestor.com on December 17, 2020. | https://cynthiawylie.medium.com/relationship-banking-advice-from-an-ex-banker-data-driven-investor-342865374444 | ['Cynthia Wylie'] | 2020-12-18 21:31:05.546000+00:00 | ['Investment Banking', 'Raising Capital', 'Banking', 'Relationship Building', 'Managing Money'] |
NBA King David “The Next Big Thing” | Atlanta, GA — Friday, July 2nd, 2021 — NBA King David A.K.A. Dirty Dave, is the owner and co-ceo of Never Broke Again Records-now it’s his turn in the spotlight. He’s been pulling big numbers on YouTube with every recent video uploaded.
The Baton Rouge LA. native is a Hip-hop artist who is considered to be one of today’s best new artists. Not considering his troubled past in which he was shot with guns on several occasions, and he was shot numerous times including getting shot in his face and he lived.
His upcoming debut album, The Next Big Thing, will be a project chronicling a chapter of his life filled with ups and down, taken from experiences in the streets of Baton Rouge Louisiana and Atlanta Georgia.
Originally from Louisiana, NBA King David relocated to Georgia as an adult, to pursue his music career. It’s no surprise he’s considered The Next Big Thing, because his Rugged-N-Raw voice and rap style can not be emulated.
Kicking off his career as a talented Hip-hop artist, NBA King David’s music can be located on most major platforms. Some of the list includes platforms such as Apple Music, Spotify, Google Play/YouTube, iTunes, Amazon, iHeartRadio, Deezer, Napster, and viral music videos on YouTube.
So it’s highly recommended that you subscribe to NBA King David’s YouTube channel:
Also, follow NBA King David on Twitter @kingdavid404, Instagram nba_kingdavid, and feel free to listen to NBA King David’s latest single entitled “Beautiful”
NBA King David — Beautiful
###
ABOUT
NBA King David A.K.A. Dirty Dave, is the owner and co-ceo of Never Broke Again Records-now it’s his turn in the spotlight. He’s been pulling big numbers on YouTube with every recent video uploaded.
The Baton Rouge LA. native is a Hip-hop artist who is considered to be one of today’s best new artists. Not considering his troubled past in which he was shot with guns on several occasions, and he was shot numerous times including getting shot in his face and he lived.
His upcoming debut album, The Next Big Thing, will be a project chronicling a chapter of his life filled with ups and down, taken from experiences in the streets of Baton Rouge Louisiana and Atlanta Georgia.
Originally from Louisiana, NBA King David relocated to Georgia as an adult, to pursue his music career. It’s no surprise he’s considered The Next Big Thing, because his Rugged-N-Raw voice and rap style can not be emulated.
Kicking off his career as a talented Hip-hop artist, NBA King David’s music can be located on most major platforms. Some of the list includes platforms such as Apple Music, Spotify, Google Play/YouTube, iTunes, Amazon, iHeartRadio, Deezer, Napster, and viral music videos on YouTube.
So it’s highly recommended that you subscribe to NBA King David’s YouTube channel:
Also, follow NBA King David on Twitter @kingdavid404, Instagram nba_kingdavid, and feel free to listen to NBA King David’s latest single entitled “Beautiful”
NBA King David — Beautiful
CONTACT
NBA King David
[email protected]
Source: ArtistPR Music Press Release
#Rap, #Albums, #PressRelease | https://medium.com/music-press-release/nba-king-david-the-next-big-thing-42189d2434a9 | [] | 2021-07-02 15:46:05.318000+00:00 | ['Rap'] |
You’re Wrong About Anti-Vaxxers | When I hear the term “anti-vaxxer,” the associated image in my mind is crystal clear — I picture a green juice-drinking, dairy-free, vegan wellness mama absolutely set on only allowing the most natural things to enter her child's body. Personally, I resonate with this woman. I am 100% inoculated and will vaccinate my hypothetical future children, but still, I’m wary. Despite this, I find myself falling on the, “I’m doing this to keep other people safe” side of the aisle. The optimist in me refuses to believe in the conspiratorial smoke-filled room where politicians and doctors meet to formulate Orwellian plotlines. So, when I think about this granola-eating mama as the ultimate anti-vaxxer, I am right, but I’m also neglecting to see the whole picture. Most people in the United States have a similar association with anti-vaxxers, and they too would be wrong.
While many of us might associate anti-vaxxers or vaccine-hesitancy with the 1990s, its origins can be traced back to the 18th century when people began getting inoculated against smallpox. Perhaps one of the first anti-vaxxers in American history was Deborah Read, Benjamin Franklin’s wife. The couple had a fraught 40-year relationship that ultimately resulted in a seventeen-year estrangement that “stemmed from a disagreement over whether or not to inoculate their son, Francis, against smallpox; he died of the disease in 1736 at the age of 4,” never having received the inoculation. While scientific evidence for the efficacy of vaccinations was still underdeveloped at the time, Franklin spoke of his son’s death, saying:
This I mention for the sake of parents who omit that operation, on the supposition that they should never forgive themselves if the child died under it; my example showing that the regret may be the same either way, and that, therefore, the safer should be chosen.
Fast forward to the 21st century, an anti-vaxxer can be loosely defined as a person “who disagrees with the use of vaccines for a variety of reasons; for example, some view vaccines as an infringement on their human rights.” Vaccine skepticism is more prevalent than ever before. The Journal for Pediatric Pharmacology and Therapeutics reports that the reasons parents choose not to vaccinate can be broken down into four main categories: “religious reasons, personal beliefs or philosophical reasons, safety concerns, and a desire for more information from healthcare providers.” One of the primary safety concerns is connected to a British physician by the name of Andrew Wakefield. In 1998, Wakefield wrote an article for the Lancet, associating autism with the measle, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine. He claimed that the vaccine “may predispose to behavioral regression and pervasive developmental disorder in children.” MMR vaccination rates began to drop precipitously and the study was almost immediately refuted by scientists worldwide.
Boston Globe via Getty Images
So, why does any of this matter? Despite the humorous satire of hippie-adjacent anti-vaxxer moms on comedy sketch shows, vaccine hesitancy has taken on a much larger role in our society. After all, we are on the brink of possibly receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, and reluctance to take this vaccine could have wide-spread impacts on one’s community. While it is unlikely that there will be a government mandate for inoculation, two-thirds of the US population needs to get vaccinated in order for herd immunity to be reached, so without a government mandate, some sort of convincing argument and incentive will need to be put in place. According to the Pew Research Center, 60% of Americans now say they would receive the COVID-19 vaccine, up from only 50% in September. Similar to the debate about whether or not to wear a face mask, it seems that the conversation around vaccines often times circles back to a question of individual freedom versus communal good. The singular image of what an anti-vaxxer looks like is not only unhelpful, it can also be harmful. So, let’s paint a fuller picture of who exactly we’re talking about when we discuss anti-vaxxers —
African-Americans
Black communities in the United States have been recalcitrant to receive vaccinations for decades. White adults are far more likely to be vaccinated than Black adults are, “perhaps because the latter have less access to medical care, and decades of maltreatment have eroded their trust in the medical establishment.” This skepticism in African American communities is particularly linked to the mid-70s and the Tuskeegee Study — when 600 sharecroppers, 399 of which had syphilis were used by scientists in unethical medical experiments. The health institution knew that these men were suffering from syphilis, but instead of treating them with readily available penicillin, they decided to withhold the treatment and study the disease instead. This horrific historical event has reinforced nascent vaccine skepticism in the Black community, which continues to permeate public health decision making today. According to recent surveys, “Black people are disproportionately getting sick and daying of the coronavirus, but surveys suggest they’re more hesitant to get a vaccine than other racial and ethnic groups in the U.S.”
Additionally, predominantly white anti-vaxxer groups and organizations have targeted Black communities, especially lower-income groups in order to grow support for their movement. For example, ten years ago in Minnesota, an anti-vaxxer group hosted the discredited researcher Andrew Wakefield, to talk to the state’s Somali immigrant community. Following this effort to promote anti-vaccination sentiment, “vaccination rates among Somalis plummeted, and a few years later, the community suffered a large measles outbreak.”
Crunchy Granola Parents
Ah yes — our token image of the countercultural anti-vaxxer, living off the land and raising naked barefooted babies. These are the parents that believe nothing but the natural goes into their children. While many of these parents are simply naturalists, many of them very much believe Andrew Wakefield’s debunked study that posited a link between inoculations and autism. This particular school of thought is likely linked with a generation being sent the empowering message to take control over their health — to count their steps and calories and to hack their physical health. Unfortunately, many take this up a notch by resisting vaccinations and vehemently opposing government-mandated vaccination requirements for children.
This specific frame of mind requires a distinctly individualistic and bourgeoisie sensibility. If you are against vaccinating your child, you are not only putting your own child at risk, you’re putting other immuno-compromised children at risk. Vaccine hesitancy being linked with class and socioeconomic status is backed up by research that shows a large percentage of anti-vaxxers are “college-educated white woman making decent money.” Or, as the Philadelphia Inquirer explained,
“Anti-vaxxers are often described as middle- and upper-class women who breast-feed their children, shop at Whole Foods, endlessly scour the web for vaccine-related conversations, and believe that their thinking supersedes that of doctors; typically their families earn more than $75,000 a year.”
Fearing Big Pharma
Researchers also suggest that some vaccine-skeptics “suspect that the pharmaceutical industry is in cahoots with doctors and the government, in a dark cycle of profit and secrecy.” While the theory that vaccines provide massive profits to big pharma might seem convincing, it's simply untrue. Pharmaceutical companies actually don’t generally earn a large profit margin from vaccinations. But, as Olga Khazan said in The Atlantic, it is “perhaps understandable in a world where drug companies actually did, through lies and greed, spark an opioid epidemic that has killed nearly half a million people.” At the end of the day, the “opaque and extremely expensive healthcare industry does not inspire confidence” in many Americans.
Texans for Vaccine Choice
If you thought you could pinpoint vaccine hesitation to one side of the aisle, you’d be sorely mistaken. Anti-vaccination sentiment knows no bounds. Take, for example, the Facebook group turned political action community called Texans for Vaccine Choice, who claim to:
Promote the preservation of personal liberties and informed consent by opposing measures to limit vaccine choice rights or discriminate against those who exercise such rights.
This mission statement could so easily be copied and pasted straight onto a women’s right pro-choice page. In an extraordinary twist, this predominantly conservative Republican organization has repurposed the Pro-Choice verbiage for their political movement. In a truly comical twist of political fate, they are more or less saying — “my body, my choice.”
There we have it, anti-vaccination sentiment permeates a multitude of socioeconomic, educational, and political lines. Despite being most prevalent in middle- and upper-class white households, the hesitancy to get inoculated crosses all racial and class lines. In 2020, we have seen first-hand how our fellow Americans view themselves in relation to ourselves. This year has been ripe with conspiracy theories — ranging from dangerous to downright laughable. All politicians have a role to play in encouraging their constituents to trust the science, but especially Republicans, because there is a correlation between being Republican and questioning vaccines. Research has shown that between Republicans and Democrats, Republicans are less likely to receive higher education degrees, and Pew Research Center statistics show that those who are less likely (or able) to pursue higher education are more likely to believe conspiracy theories and those who believe conspiracy theories are more skeptical of vaccinations.
During this year, it is hard to deny that our individual choices have collective consequences. Science, whether we’re talking about climate change or vaccinations, is not political. Yet, “vaccine skepticism spans from Goop-reading Californians to the ultra-Orthodox Jews of New York. In some ways, being anti-vaccine is a deeply American sentiment: It’s the stubborn belief that individuals know better than the government.” During the COVID-19 pandemic, anti-vaxxers have latched onto the virus to bolster their movement. In this bewildering world where everything seems to become a conspiratorial hoax, libertarianism and individualism sometimes seem more revered than the collective good of our nation. It may be about time to reach across the proverbial aisle and have conversations to promote a better understanding of the public health benefits and concerns around vaccinations. | https://medium.com/@tyleranne04/youre-wrong-about-anti-vaxxers-653927f063d5 | ['Tyler A. Donohue'] | 2020-12-14 14:02:54.465000+00:00 | ['Race', 'Public Health', 'Covid 19', 'Healthy Lifestyle', 'Vaccines'] |
Behind the Lens: From Lake Tahoe to Laos | We just returned from our last trip to Asia, flying more than 20,000 miles on a trip that brought us to Lake Tahoe, Honolulu, Midway Atoll, China and Laos.
On our first day, President Obama spoke on climate change at the 20th anniversary of the annual Lake Tahoe Summit and at the Pacific Island Conference of Leaders and World Conservation Congress in Honolulu.
Then it was on to Midway Atoll in the northwest Hawaiian Islands, part of where the President expanded the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, creating the world’s largest protected marine area.
Then it was on to China where the President had a productive and substantive visit. First, he participated in a ceremony with President Xi of China and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, formally entering the Paris Agreement, the most ambitious climate change agreement in history. Then in addition to bilateral meetings with President Xi, the President also joined world leaders in the annual G20 Summit. While there, the President also met individually with several important heads of state.
From China, we traveled to Vientiane, Laos for a historic official state visit: President Obama became the first U.S. president to visit the Southeast Asian nation. There, he participated in the ASEAN and East Asia Summits. In addition, the President visited COPE, the Cooperative Orthotic and Prosthetic Enterprise, to pay tribute to victims of U.S. bombings during the “secret war” in Laos. We also traveled one day to Luang Prabang where the President toured Wat Xieng Thong, a Buddhist temple, made a stop at a neighborhood by the Mekong River, and participated in a YSEALI town hall.
I’ve selected a gallery of photos from each of our stops that will hopefully give people an insight to the President’s activities throughout the trip.
— Pete Souza, Chief White House Photographer | https://medium.com/@ObamaWhiteHouse/behind-the-lens-from-lake-tahoe-to-laos-1362b3e53838 | ['The Obama White House'] | 2016-09-12 16:18:54.256000+00:00 | ['Asia', 'Pacific Trip', 'Photos', 'President Obama', 'White House'] |
Our A/B Testing Formula (The Easiest Way To Improve Performance By 2x Or More) | Why Test?
The majority of ads will fail. So unless you’re expecting a neverending streak of luck, you’ll need a process for separating the losers from the winners.
That’s where A/B testing comes in. It’s simply the process of testing two or more ad variations against each other, analyzing the results, and doing less of what doesn’t work & more of what works.
It’s hard to overstate how important this is. We frequently see ads perform 2x, 5x or even 10x better than others. And the first ads are almost never among the top performers.
So if you’re not running at least one test at any given time, you’re leaving money on the table.
What To Test
First, you’ll need a bunch of copy angles and creatives. This is a huge topic in and of itself, so we won’t get into it here. Let’s just assume you have them.
Great! Where do you start?
You’ll want to go as BIG as possible with the first test. An example would be testing a professionally shot studio photo vs an unedited UGC (User Generated Content) video, or short CTA-focused ad copy vs long-form storytelling copy. The more contrast you add, the easier it will be to analyze the results and hone in one the winning angles.
We like to start things off with a 2 x 2: two creatives and two copy. We find that this strikes a good balance between simplicity and effectiveness.
2 x 2 Is An Easy Way To Get Started
The results from the first test determine what we do next. For instance, let’s say we find that there was a huge difference in performance between the creatives but no real difference between the copy variations. We would then isolate that variable, i.e. test a handful of creatives with the same copy.
If you’ve got a large budget and want to be as hands-off as possible, you can use Facebook’s Dynamic Creative. It does work and we do use it, but most times we prefer to have more control.
When To Test
When it comes to testing, we believe that frequency is more important than volume. It’s better to run multiple tests with a few variations, then a few tests with multiple variations.
That’s why we use a two-day testing cycle. On any given ad account we’re analyzing and implementing new ad copy and creative up to three times per week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday).
Usually, the number of tests you can run is limited by the budget. But even on the accounts where we’re not able to test new variations every two days, we still analyze and monitor performance.
Note: Adding a new ad to an existing ad set will reset the learning phase. It may make sense to use a designated campaign for testing.
How To Test
Analyzing the results is maybe the most challenging part.
There’s a lot that goes into the analysis, but there are a couple of simple tools that can do most of the heavy lifting. Having a simple process is extremely helpful for removing emotion and making informed decisions quickly.
We like to use this decision tree (credit: https://commonthreadco.com) as a guide.
Ad Kill Decision Tree
In order to be able to use the decision tree, you’ll need to have target CPAs for all correlated variables. Here’s a document that will help you with that.
When needed, we also use a Significance Calculator.
A/B Testing Like A Scientist
You simply plug in the numbers and the calculator tells you how confident you can be that any difference in performance is real and not due to random variation.
Since the whole point of Facebook’s targeting is to move away from random sampling, this obviously isn’t a perfect tool. But it’s useful as a reality check.
After The Test
The results from the test are documented and handed over to the creative team. We use a simple scoring scale (Poor, Okay, Good) and qualitative comments.
Scoring the ads can be more art than science, given the many factors involved. That’s why it’s best done by a media buyer who spends a lot of time in the ad account.
In Summary
By the time you’re reading this, we may have made a few (or many) changes to our A/B testing process. Nevertheless, the general principles and concepts apply.
Good luck! | https://medium.com/rho-1/our-a-b-testing-formula-the-easiest-way-to-improve-performance-by-2x-or-more-1d2b222dfdf7 | ['Josua Fagerholm'] | 2020-03-17 23:54:07.163000+00:00 | ['Digital Advertising', 'Advertising', 'Marketing', 'Digital Marketing', 'Facebook Marketing'] |
SEE Covid-19 puts dampener on Christmas reopening of iconic Paris stores | After another month of lockdown, the doors are finally open again at Paris’s flagship department stores. The Christmas lights are on and the festive window displays are in place, but, with tourists noticeably absent, there might not be much for the stores to celebrate this Christmas.
Non-essential shops were finally allowed to reopen across France on November 28. With Christmas fast approaching, these major stores are looking forward to welcoming their old customers back in an attempt to save a disastrous economic year and hopefully look forward to 2021 with some optimism. But the dearth of tourists will have a serious impact on their annual revenue.
On one of Paris’s most famous shopping streets, Boulevard Haussman, the landmark Parisian department stores are already dressed up in their Christmas finery. The annual festive window displays show no traces of the coronavirus scrooge and the giant Christmas tree is in pride of place at the heart of the Galeries Lafayette.
“Reopening four weeks before the Christmas holidays is very good news for our members,” says Yohann Petiot, general manager of Alliance du Commerce, which brings together department stores and clothing and footwear retailers. “Now we’re going to do everything we can to save Christmas”.
“2020 has been very difficult for department stores,” Petiot explains in an interview with FRANCE 24. Over the course of the year, these key Paris shops have had to contend with three full months of shuttered windows.
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The CEO of the Galeries Lafayette group, Nicolas Houzé, estimated the loss to be as much as half of the sales for the entire year in an article in Le Monde. That company did at least benefit from the earlier opening of the BHV DIY department, the Lafayette food shop and the Italian delicatessen Eataly, as they fell into the category of essential shops.
The situation is much gloomier for neighbouring store Printemps, which this week announced a redundancy plan aimed at ensuring its survival. Seven stores will be forced to close in the coming months, threatening 430 jobs out of the 3,000 staff the group currently employs.
This restructuring comes not only as a result of the Covid-19 crisis: the group has been losing momentum for several years and the clothing market has fallen by 15% over the past decade. “Added to these economic challenges, there were the terrorist attacks, the Yellow Vest demonstrations, the transport strikes,” explains a spokesperson for Printemps. “Covid aggravated an already dire situation.”
Tourists contribute 40%-50% of trade
State financial aid — including a partial unemployment grant and help with commercial leases for the month of November, when department stores were forced to close — has helped to absorb some of the losses due to the crisis. “But there is no contingency plan for all the stock we already have, we must somehow sell what we’ve got,” says Petiot.
Petiot hopes that customers will flood back to the big stores “out of solidarity” to help reduce the stockpile. But Paris luxury goods shops will have to rely on a local clientele for the meantime, as international tourists are still not allowed to travel to France. “This represents a huge loss of income. Tourists represent 40% to 50% of the sales,” he says. “The exceptions are the shops BHV and Bon Marché, which are more oriented towards a Parisian clientele”.
Since the 1980s, Paris’s landmark department stores — which have existed for more than a century — have always relied on a high-end foreign clientele, says Sabine Heitz-Spahn, a marketing professor at the University of Lorraine who specialises in city shops. “This clientele is motivated by the pleasure of buying luxury goods at a lower tax rate, certainly, but they also come to discover the majesty of these shops. It’s a key tourist experience.”
These classic department stores are now suffering as a result of this strong dependence on foreign consumers, having failed to invest sufficiently in online retail.
“Management did not realise the importance of digital in recent years. As a result, they have invested little in digital tools,” Heitz-Spahn explains. “This was a huge strategic mistake, even before the arrival of Covid-19.”
>> Read: France unveils €100 billion economy ‘reboot’ rescue plan
Covid accelerated digital transformation
This year’s two lockdowns did have the knock-on effect of forcing flagship stores to quickly immerse themselves in distance selling services: click & collect, e-reservations, online shopping, personal shopper by video.
“The Covid-19 crisis has acted like a foot on the pedal in our digital transformation,” says Petiot.
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After the first lockdown, Galeries Lafayette sales staff also learned to focus on a more local clientele, especially the younger customers, by attracting them via social networks.
“We highlight key products from our collections via Stories on Instagram,” says a ready-to-wear manager, who prefers to remain anonymous. “It’s up to us to recreate a sense of longing.”
The end of this second lockdown is accompanied by at least a real glimmer of hope: the possibility of a vaccine in the coming months.
“For us, this vaccine signals the possibility of an imminent return of our important international business,” says Petiot.
Coronavirus: French lockdown to ease after second peak passes
France will begin to ease its strict coronavirus restrictions this weekend, allowing non-essential shops to reopen, President Emmanuel Macron has said.
People will also be able to share “moments with the family” over the Christmas period, Mr Macron announced.
But he said bars and restaurants would have to remain closed until 20 January.
France has reported more than 2.2 million cases and more than 50,000 confirmed coronavirus-related deaths since the start of the pandemic.
In a televised address on Tuesday evening, Mr Macron said the country had passed the peak of the second wave of virus infections.
He said that the bulk of lockdown restrictions would be eased from 15 December for the festive period, with cinemas reopening and general travel restrictions lifted, as long as new infections were at 5,000 a day or less.
On Monday, France reported 4,452 daily Covid-19 infections — its lowest tally since 28 September.
The latest seven-day rolling average for new infections in France is reported to be 21,918. That figure peaked at 54,440 on 7 November.
Mr Macron said the recent news of successful vaccine trials offered “a glimmer of hope” and that France would aim to begin vaccinations against Covid-19 “at the end of December or at the beginning of January”, starting with the elderly and most vulnerable.
The French president said the situation would be reviewed on 20 January, and if infections remained low, bars and restaurants would then be permitted to reopen. Universities would also be able to accept students again.
However, if the situation had worsened, he said he would look at options to avoid triggering a third wave.
“We must do everything to avoid a third wave, do everything to avoid a third lockdown,” Mr Macron said.
He later tweeted to say that all businesses forced to remain closed during the restrictions, such as restaurants, bars and sports halls, would have the choice of receiving up to €10,000 (£8,900) from a “solidarity fund” or the payment of 20% of their turnover.
He said that France’s ski resorts may have to remain closed until next year because the current risks associated with the virus made it difficult for such sports to resume.
However, he said he would discuss the issue with other European leaders and provide an update in the coming days.
Ski resorts were responsible for numerous outbreaks of Covid-19 cases across Europe in the early days of the pandemic.
Mr Macron said the lockdown would be replaced by a nationwide curfew between 21:00 and 07:00, except on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.
France has been under a second national lockdown since the beginning of November. People have only been permitted to leave home to go to work, buy essential goods, seek medical help or exercise for one hour a day. Anyone going outside must carry a written statement justifying their journey.
While all non-essential shops, restaurants and bars have been shut, schools and crèches have remained open. Social gatherings have been banned.
Measures to deal with coronavirus outbreaks remain in place across Europe, but a reduction in daily reported cases in some areas — coupled with the reported success of a number of vaccines — has led countries to revisit their restrictions. Some of the latest developments include: | https://medium.com/@games-reviws-and-hacks/see-covid-19-puts-dampener-on-christmas-reopening-of-iconic-paris-stores-23ff1804f8b9 | [] | 2020-12-18 00:36:41.132000+00:00 | ['Covid 19', 'Paris', 'Earth'] |
Segregation, Tribalism, Racism in Nigeria | Humanity has a long way to go when it comes to treating our fellow men, Racism has been a constant disease we have battled as humans.
I see no reason why a person would be judged by the color of their skin and not by the content of their heart.
The Bible made us understand that God created everyone in His own Image and Likeness. If we had this registered in our minds, we would not have the cause to racially profile anybody.
According to Britannica, racism (also called Racialism), is the belief that humans may be divided into separate and exclusive biological entities called races. We can trace racism back to the era of slave trade — you can not really separate both incidences.
Systematized racial oppression first arose in the 1600s when European traders discovered that their superior technology gave them a tremendous advantage in Africa, including their sailing ships and firearms. Then they began to plunder Africa’s wealth and take slaves. So many Europeans grew up with the mentality that blacks are inferior to them — a sickening mindset.
Blacks over the years have suffered for just being black. We can look at the case of George Junius Stinney Jr., who was wrongly accused and sentenced to death because he was black.
How do we justify a 14 year old being ‘murdered’ by an all white jury because he was suspected to have killed two girls? He wasn’t even given a fair trial.
How do we explain that a murder trial lasted only 2 hours? A re-examination of the Stinney’s case began in 2004, and several individuals and Northeastern University School of Law sought a judicial review. His conviction was overturned in 2014. This was 70 years after his execution.
A court had ruled that he did not receive a fair trial, a young boy’s life was ended just like that. I can list so many cases of judicial injustice against blacks, not to talk of what goes on outside the judicial system. Do we talk about the killing of blacks like George Floyd?We can go on and on but the fact remains that racism has eaten deep into the fibers of our society.
If you read up the ‘History of Racism’ and see the injustice being meted out to a race, you would ask yourself, who is evil? The oppressor? Or the oppressed — who the oppressor claims to be a threat? Trust me, no article can conveniently accommodate all the atrocities done and still directed at the black race.
Racial discrimination would have been bearable if they just did it only in talks, but blacks over the years have been maimed, killed and marginalized for just being black. We can start looking at instances in history where blacks were treated as animals because of their skin color.
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Chief of which is the slave trade, according to Wikipedia. The Atlantic slave trade, Transatlantic slave trade, or Euro-American slave trade involved the transportation by slave traders of enslaved African people, mainly to the Americans.
The Portuguese were the first set of people to start slave trade in the 16th century. In 1562, they transported the first set of slaves to Brazil. Slave trade was a booming “business” for the whites, and our fathers were subjected to inhumane treatments. The journey to freedom started under the leadership of Thomas Jefferson, and the new state of Virginia in 1778 became the first state and one of the first jurisdictions anywhere to stop the importation of slaves (Wikipedia). Denmark was equally the first country to abolish the slave trade. As it looks, slave trade might have ended but one may ask if we are truly free.
While we as blacks are battling racism in America and Europe, it is still painful to see fellow Africans segregating each other. Xenophobia in South Africa is not something new. Reading through the history of Liberia, you would find out that oppression in Liberia was started by slaves released in Europe who came back to oppress those in Liberia. South Africa has a history of segregation. Apartheid was a big problem in South Africa, when the whites segregated themselves and even made laws to favour themselves in our motherland Africa.
One principal question is; if they hate us that much, why did they come to our land in the first place?
It is quite disheartening to see liberated South Africans kill their fellow African brothers. Brothers that fought with them against apartheid and brought the desired freedom.
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We all say black lives matter, or does it only matter when it is a white man Killing us? There is something I noticed throughout history; humans do not like oppression if they are the ones being oppressed. As long as they are the oppressors, it is acceptable. While Nigerians are battling with racism in America, Xenophobia in South Africa, we still suffer tribalism in our own lands. I rather not delve into Nigerian police brutality here, it would require a separate piece.
The way forward in putting an end to racism and discrimination is re-orientation and stringent punishment for offenders of the racially oppressed. The football world is trying its best to curtail such in sports — we’ve had various incidents of such abuses and punishment meted out to offenders.
For Xenophobia, the Nigerian Government needs to start protecting its citizens home and abroad. Our Government is weak, and other countries are taking advantage of it to subject us to suffering.
End Racism
End Xenophobia
End Tribalism
We are all humans. | https://medium.com/@telenaija/segregation-tribalism-racism-in-nigeria-abf84833177c | [] | 2020-11-02 14:19:39.557000+00:00 | ['Tribalism In Nigeria', 'Racism', 'Nigeria', 'Discrimination', 'Tribalism'] |
How are Raffles Different From Lotteries? | Raffles are similar to lotteries in their schematic mechanism, but draw a distinction based on their list of pre-decided rewards and exclusivity. Furthermore, raffles always involve a fixed number of players with access to the draw. Raffles are commonly regarded to be a more favourable alternative to lotteries and practiced in several different spheres from retail marketing to games such as Tombola, to niche art unions, or even exclusive private raffles. Raffles allow for the dissemination of assets in a pre-decided community and raffles and are compatible to have any system of rules superimposed upon the concept in order to facilitate the distribution of the prizes to the community. A common example of raffles can probably be found at a local mall wherein if a customer has purchased items worth a specific threshold of monetary denotation, the customer would be eligible to enter into a special raffle to draw for a product such as a television or a speaker. However, a less commonly occurring example would be the raffling of a yacht owned by Townsend Duryea in 1858, or the raffling of a fine art portrait by the Montclair Art Museum. While lotteries allude to financial epiphanies for their participants, raffles provide for a grounded method of distribution of assets.
Keep a lookout for this space to know how we are forever changing the raffle system. | https://medium.com/@raffledao/how-are-raffles-different-from-lotteries-d0bfac3ba0a8 | [] | 2021-12-30 11:24:46.166000+00:00 | ['Nftart', 'Nft Collectibles', 'Nft', 'Nft Marketplace'] |
5 Workspace Improvements That Boost Employee Productivity — Mindspace | 5 Workspace Improvements That Boost Employee Productivity — Mindspace
Fresh Report on Office Worker Needs uncovers what you can do to keep your teams satisfied and productive
Traditional office spaces are transitioning through a renaissance movement. This is an era that truly values the employee experience, ensuring the work environment is a place where people to be. The world’s leading companies have taken this philosophy to heart, tackling it as one of their core initiatives. Drawing on employee feedback and proactively experimenting with floor plans, these companies are dedicated to designing smart workspaces-ones that forge the link between the workspace, employee satisfaction, and productivity.
While a “smart workspace” may sound like an intimidating endeavor requiring intricate algorithms, AI, BI, outside consultants and maybe even Sundar Pichai himself, it’s really not that complicated. Here’s the secret: Designing a smart workspace comes down to giving employees more choice. Letting employees decide where they want to work, how they want to work, and in what they can expect from their company to get their work done. Choice demonstrates trust, while encouraging autonomy, growth and creative solutions. From redefining the function of spaces to investing more in employee well-being, you can seamlessly integrate choice in your work environment as a means to empowering employees and maximizing their productivity.
Here are five ways to get started:
Employees want to collaborate with one another, but often lack the space in which to do so effectively. According to our 2018 Workplace Productivity Report, the top requested workplace feature for over a quarter of the employees surveyed (26.4%) was a designated space for collaborative work. Smart workspace design requires flexibility and adaptability in order to meet the needs, work styles and types of tasks that modern employees have to accomplish.
You can design a workspace for increased collaboration. Collaborative spaces satisfy the immediate need for meeting rooms or group work, but they also have lasting long-term benefits. Defining collaborative spaces in your floor plan shows that you value and welcome collaboration among employees. Additionally, it offers employees an alternative location to their desk to complete tasks, creating new opportunities for employees to connect and build relationships with one another. Designated break-out rooms, open lounge spaces, and green space areas are just some of the ways modern workspaces are promoting greater teamwork.
Employees have their own work modes, at which they function at optimal efficiency. Some employees find their flow in noisy common areas, while others need space for quiet-free of all the distractions that come along with a typical 9-to-5. Numerous offices have adopted more open floor plans (per point 1 above), making it increasingly more difficult for employees to work in relative quiet at their desks and avoid the parade of interruptions from random colleagues (which is the #1 work distraction according to the Report).
To counter the noise, employers can add designated “silent work areas” or “quiet zones” to their floor plans — as desired by 25% of respondents surveyed. These quiet zones should be respected and maintained as such, meaning no phone calls, no one-on-ones, no water cooler conversations. Different work and different employees require different levels of focus. The quiet zone is the place to accommodate this-sans noise, sans distraction. Respect the sound of silence.
What are “business ergonomics?” Quite simply, think of the term as the physical work environment, and its impacts on worker experience. Think office furniture, to technology, to the type of lighting and ability to control room temperature. Business ergonomics are a huge contributor to employee well-being. Think about it. If you’re not physically comfortable, how productive can you really be?
According to the Report, the top improvement employees wanted to see in their workspace was comfortable furniture (39.6%). A quarter of respondents said they wanted better lighting. Comfortable office furniture and better lighting are just the tip of the business ergonomics iceberg, the bare minimum for any employer. Those of you who have the budget to go beyond the basics, the same study showed employees wanted more outdoor areas, green spaces, lifestyle perks, as well as tasteful art in the work environment.
To better meet the needs of your specific employees, open the lines of communication with a survey or candid dialogue. While it’s unlikely you’ll be able to use your Series A funding so everyone can reap the rewards of a treadmill desk, there’s probably a lot you could still do to improve the experience. Listen to what your employees have to say and try to strike a balance with their requests and your budget. It’s critical to have a pulse of employee pain points and work towards resolving issues before they pervade your company culture.
The OnePoll survey also asked employees how they would characterize their workspace environment. Nearly a third of respondents (32.8%) described their offices as “boring” or “lacking atmosphere”. Moreover, nearly a quarter of respondents (23.6%) had actually rejected a job offer in the past, because they felt the workspace of a prospective employer had poor design/layout or lacked adequate amenities.
We’re all familiar with the adage, dress for success. Now, this notion is just as applicable to the modern workspace. The moment a candidate walks into your workspace, your company’s values and identity are being evaluated. How you “dress” the walls, common areas etc. are a direct reflection of what you value as a company and shape your overall identity. This is the first impression your company gets to make when recruiting employees. What kind of mental snapshot do you want them to take away when they think about your company?
Employees want flexibility from their employers. OnePoll’s survey found that today’s employees are more mobile than ever before. As an alternative to the office space, they’re working from home, in coworking spaces, and even in coffee shops. Additionally, a third of employees surveyed wanted 24/7 access to their offices, so they could create their own schedules.
This is where choice can be empowering. Giving employees the freedom to choose where to work, and when to work is a major factor contributing to employee satisfaction. Employers need to adopt non-traditional work environments, as well as flexible scheduling to attract new talent and ensure employee retention.
The workplace renaissance is here to stay. While the lion share of the burden may rest on employers, embracing a “smart workplace” design will create happier, more productive employees long term. Like any entrepreneur or innovator will say, you have to iterate, make changes, adapt and evolve. Implementing changes to the work environment is the same. It’s a process. There will be challenges. There will be mistakes. There will be successes. But in the end, it’ll all be worth it.
Click here to gain more actionable insights from our recent Workplace Productivity & Satisfaction Report, conducted with OnePoll. | https://medium.com/mindspace-blog/5-workspace-improvements-that-boost-employee-productivity-mindspace-4d6c71cdb062 | [] | 2019-10-31 09:46:31.631000+00:00 | ['Coworking', 'Startup', 'Productivity', 'Work', 'Improvement'] |
Covid-19 has become the last injustice made to Palestine | By Alaa Tartir. Published 8 September 2020 on GS News.
Dr. Alaa Tartir is a Researcher and Academic Coordinator at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (IHEID) in Geneva, a Global Fellow at The Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) and Program Advisor to Al-Shabaka, the Palestinian Policy Network.
As of 23 July, persons entering Switzerland from the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) are legally mandated to go into quarantine. The OPT is now identified as a country or area with an increased risk of coronavirus infection. This prompted a Swiss friend of mine to send me a text message asking, “Palestine now is on the list of corona quarantine countries of Switzerland. How bad is the situation”? I answered, “It is bad, but it can get worse”.
When my friend asked me about the coronavirus-related situation in Palestine in late June, I told her, “the Covid-19 outbreak has been mild, but a possible second wave may be stronger and more dramatic especially with the weak health infrastructure, the fragile financial situation for the Palestinian Authority (PA), and the political ramifications of the Israeli military occupation — particularly the imminent threat of annexation of major parts of the West Bank”. This was the core message of a Policy Brief “Palestine and COVID-19: Global Standards, Local Constraints” I co-wrote with my colleague Yara Hawari.
As of 19 June, the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and Gaza Strip had 834 confirmed cases and 5 deaths. Until then, 69,730 tests were conducted, and the cumulative number of home quarantine cases totalled 97,078. This means that the rate of infection was 16.6 per 100,000, and the death rate 0.1 per 100,000. These were not worrying figures per se, but what was worrying is that a second stronger wave was inevitable.
Since then, the severity of the outbreak intensified and become more dramatic. As of 6 September, the number of confirmed infected cases increased to 34,012 and the deaths to 203. The number of conducted tests totalled 310,750. Accordingly, this means that the rate of infection is currently 680 per 100,000, and the death rate 4 per 100,000. A continuation of such trends would be disastrous considering all the severe constraints Palestinians have to manoeuvre within.
To put things in perspective, and as a result of decades of Israeli military occupation, Palestinian health care does not meet basic standards. The West Bank and Gaza Strip combined have 375 adult intensive care unit beds in private and government hospitals (255 in the West Bank, 120 in Gaza Strip), and 295 ventilators (175 in the West Bank, 120 in Gaza Strip). There are 82 hospitals in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with 6,440 beds for a population of 5 million. That’s 1.3 bed per 1,000 inhabitants — 5,9 in France; 4,6 in Switzerland.
The Gaza Strip in particular was deemed by a 2018 UN report to be ‘unliveable’, unemployment rate is in the 45–52% range, 53% of the population live in poverty and 68% of households are food insecure. A deeper corona-induced crisis will only exacerbate the ramifications of the existing politically-induced catastrophe.
This bad situation can get worse, because in places like Palestine, inequality is structural, politically-constructed and indeed reflects the overall power imbalances between the colonised and coloniser. Yet, the pandemic offers the international community another opportunity to address the root causes of these structural inequalities, and stop manoeuvring around the problem.
As Professor Michael Lynk, the UN Special Rapporteur for the situation of human rights in the Palestinian Territory occupied since 1967, declared in March, “The legal duty, anchored in Article 56 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, requires that Israel, the occupying power, must ensure that all the necessary preventive means available to it are utilized to ‘combat the spread of contagious diseases and epidemics’.” | https://medium.com/geneva-solutions/covid-19-has-become-the-last-injustice-made-to-palestine-f240e5d9af64 | ['Gs News'] | 2020-10-05 10:58:35.637000+00:00 | ['Alaa Tartir', 'Opinion', 'Covid 19', 'Palestine', 'Healthcare'] |
What Is Responsive Web Design? | What Is Responsive Web Design?
For modern web applications and software, offering customers and users a clean and intuitive mobile option is nearly a universal requirement. With so many people turning to their smartphones for much of their browsing, shopping, finances, and other elements of life, startups and web developers always need to think with mobile in mind when wireframing and designing their site.
For years, developing for mobile was almost an entirely different specialty than PC-based applications, since the operating systems for each medium were so structurally different. However, over the past decade, innovations in popular programming languages like Python and JavaScript have made designing applications to scale for both desktop and mobile browsing easier than ever before.
This revolution in web development has led to the emergence of responsive web design — a philosophical approach to building applications that mirrors some fundamentals of traditional (i.e. building) architecture. With an eye toward creating apps that offer users full functionality and ease-of-use no matter how they engage with your platform, responsive web design is quickly becoming the norm among developer communities.
So how can you become proficient in responsive web design? What do you need to know and learn to use this principle for building your own new app idea? Let’s explore everything you need to know about using responsive web design to create modern, intuitive web apps and software.
So how can you become proficient in responsive web design?
What Does Using Responsive Web Design Entail?
At its essence, responsive web design is an approach that suggests design and development should be responsive to a given user’s behavior and environment — based on screen size, platform and orientation of the device they are using. The practice consists of designing and developing software that incorporates a mix of flexible grids and layouts, images and intelligent use of CSS media queries.
For example, as any user switches from their laptop to iPad while using a particular application, the website should automatically shift to accommodate for resolution, image size and scripting abilities. This also includes accounting for the differing settings on user devices. For example, if a user has a VPN for iOS on their iPad, the website should not block the user’s access to the page. In other words, responsive web design requires that a website includes the technology to automatically respond to a user’s preferences. The benefit of this is to eliminate the need for a different design and development phase as new versions of different tech products are released to market (say, new iPhones or tablets or Android devices).
Similar to responsive architecture when designing buildings or public spaces, responsive web design focuses on using principles that allow your finished product to automatically adjust. It removes the need for a seemingly endless set of custom-made solutions for each new category of users.
To do this effectively, responsive web design requires employing a more abstract way of designing and conceiving of an application.
However, as the idea has grown in popularity, some ideas are already being practiced, such as media queries, fluid layouts, and scripts that can reformat Web pages and mark-up effortlessly or autonomously. But that’s just the top-level view of what responsive web design entails. Here are just a few of the specific methods and techniques that are often considered part of the responsive web design principle.
Adjusting Screen Resolution
With every new device from Apple or Android, there come varying screen resolutions, definitions and orientations. New devices are constantly being rolled out by the major tech players, and each of these devices is often designed to handle variations in size, functionality and even color. For example, some device displays are in landscape, while others may be in portrait or even a perfect square. Additionally, most modern devices offer the ability to switch between landscape and portrait, requiring design that offers solutions for each layout.
Aside from designing for shifting screen views, developers must also take into account the hundreds of different screen sizes. While these can often be grouped into specific categories to limit the amount of programming needed, there’s no way to prepare for future changes in screen sizes (which are often based on shifting customer preferences). Additionally, many users do not maximize their browsers, which itself leaves far too much room for variety among screen sizes.
Before responsive web design became widespread, in the days when flexible layouts were still largely a novelty or special feature, the only things that were flexible in a design were the layout columns (structural elements) and the text. This meant that images could easily break layouts, and even flexible structural elements could crack a layout’s form when pushed enough. Flexible designs were flexible in name only; they could give or take a few hundred pixels, but they often couldn’t adjust from a large computer screen to a netbook or any other major shift.
Responsive web design allows you to make things more flexible. Images can be automatically adjusted, and options exist for design that ensure layouts never break (although they may become squished and unreadable in the process). While the solution is still developing, responsive web design offers developers far more options.
Custom Layout Structure
Another benefit of employing responsive web design is the ability to customize the layout structure, to account for anticipated issues or changes in devices (and the features that change with them). For example, in the case of extreme size changes, developers may choose to change the layout altogether, either through a separate style sheet or even better, through a CSS media query. In the past this was troublesome, but by using responsive design, most of the styles can remain the same. Meanwhile, specific style sheets can inherit custom styles and move elements around with floats, widths, heights and so on. If a style sheet made the layout too narrow, short, wide or tall, developers could then detect that during testing and switch to a new style sheet. This new style sheet can adopt everything from the default style sheet and then just redefine the layout’s structure, saving hours of excess coding that would be needed otherwise.
Methods for Showing and Hiding Content
Another technique used by developers are techniques to shrink different app or software elements proportionally and rearrange elements as necessary, which can help make everything fit if someone switches to a device with a smaller screen. However, it isn’t really possible (or at least, easy) to shrink every single element of a large display to a smaller one. Instead, responsive web designers employ some simple best practices for mobile environments: streamlined navigation, more focused content, or switching content into lists or rows instead of multiple columns. Additionally, developers can use CSS (which has been employed to show or hide content for years) to allow users to easily pick and choose content, which makes navigation throughout a particular app or data set more efficient.
Designing For Devices With Touchscreens Vs. Devices With Cursors
Once upon a time, the cursor was everything. With mouse-based devices like PCs and laptops, most navigation through a particular website was done by using a cursor to click and scroll as needed. However, smartphones and tablets are rapidly making touchscreen technology ubiquitous among modern devices — even many new laptop and desktop models feature touchscreens, since so many users are familiar with and prefer using that method of navigation.
Touchscreens obviously come with different design guidelines than purely cursor-based interaction, and the two have different capabilities as well. Fortunately, making a design work for both has become much simpler, thanks to the ever-evolving power of popular modern programming languages. Remember, touchscreens have no capability to display CSS hovers because the cursor doesn’t exist — the user’s finger serves as the cursor.
There are a number of modern design principles that take this design challenge into account. For example, incorporating sub-navigation on the right side of the page would be more user-friendly for touchscreen users, because most people are right-handed. This lets them avoid bumping or brushing the navigation accidentally if holding the device in their left hand. Since this would make no difference to cursor users, developers might as well follow the touchscreen design guideline in this instance. Many more guidelines of this kind can be drawn from touchscreen-based usability.
How Can I Learn To Use Responsive Web Design?
For beginning and newer programmers, the first step is to master your chosen coding language by taking online classes to learn the principles and play around with live code. Then, it’s a great idea to take a specific responsive web design course — SoloLearn offers one that can speed you through the different principles (like those above and the many others not mentioned here) and give you opportunities to practice with coding challenges and quizzes to actually apply the concepts.
No matter what your coding skill level, knowing responsive web design is a must in the modern programming environment. Whether you want to build a simple web game, or are looking to design a dynamic application for a business idea, a background in responsive web design is the key to wowing users and potential investors alike. | https://medium.com/sololearn/what-is-responsive-web-design-e66f1b298a77 | [] | 2021-05-08 21:10:58.818000+00:00 | ['Responsive Design', 'Website Development', 'Learn To Code', 'Website Design', 'Sololearn'] |
Sex as Currency: Side Effects of Loneliness | In pursuit of wholeness in the age of online dating.
Alive by Chuy G. Gonzalez
I guess you can say I am a late bloomer when it comes to sex, relationships, companionship, intimacy, or any of its derivatives. I have always been the wallflower, the one sitting in the background absorbing the room and studying people. The introvert, too shy to speak, too awkward, and preoccupied to occupy space.
I didn’t start dating or hooking up until my last year in grad school. I was 24 years old and ready to spread my wings. I had been so focused on being the first one in my family to obtain a college education that the thought of dedicating time to other interests was out of the question.
One evening while tending to my research subjects, my tomato plants in the greenhouse and jamming out to Miley Cyrus’ Bangerz album, I decided to download an array of dating apps (e.g., Grindr, Jack'd, etc.). I was so close to finishing my graduate degree, and I finally felt free to focus on other things aside from school. I was ready to loosen up, and give in to the conventional desires of finding the one, or at least, the one for right now. Absurd, I know, but when one is raised on cheesy telenovelas, and romantic comedies, it can easily become a trap filled with unrealistic expectations. And it did not disappoint.
My first encounters were awful, to say the least. My first time, like for many of you, was not special. He was 5' 6'', 22, white, stocky, and way more uncomfortable with the ordeal than I was. Maybe it was his first time also, or perhaps it was his first time with a guy. He cringed the whole way through, I mean at least the whole five minutes, which felt like an eternity.
Wasn’t I the one supposed to be in pain being that I was on the receiving end? Could it be that he was hurting more than I was? Whatever the cause of his discomfort might have been, I couldn't bear the weight of it all. I had to stop the nightmare before we were left scarred for life. I stopped riding him, told him that it was hurting too much, news that appeared to be music to his ears, like a sign from the heavens given his sudden calmness and almost thankful demeanor. As if this wasn’t humiliating enough, I still had to drive him home.
The whole drive over, I wondered why the whole thing was so disastrous and uncomfortable for both of us. I knew that my disappointment was rooted in the pre-imposed notions of how it was all supposed to go, but his discomfort was something I had not anticipated. Our online exchanged had been so steamy. My god was he a good salesperson. I dropped him off and although we both said we would stay in touch I am sure we both proceeded to block one another. I placed my Bangerz album on the CD player and blasted Miley all the way home.
The subsequent affairs were a bit less dramatic and more straightforward. They arrived at my place, we walked to my room, got on the twin college dorm bed, and proceeded to indulge in the lust of it all. Before we continue, no I was not a hoe, at least not back then anyway, I was simply exploring and making up for the lost time. Over time, with every encountered under my belt, things seemed more enjoyable, safer in a sense — I was beginning to understand my body, what felt good and what didn’t.
It had been two weeks since my arrival in Guatemala City. Still fresh to the gay dating scene, I was ready to fully immerse in all of its cold, muddy glory. I finally had my own place and with it came the opportunity to host at all times. Something that in the past had been a huge limiting factor. This opened the floodgates and men began trickling in.
I am unsure if it was the warmer climate, the more constrictive society, or the self-prescribed repressive nature of the men I was with, but my encounters with Central American men were more passionate. As if every minute mattered more. I had never laughed more, cuddled more, or developed a deeper appreciation for my body than during my time in Guatemala. Majority of the men I was with, glorified my skin tone and indulged in the wholeness of my body, concepts so foreign to me that took me months to fully comprehend. I often joke with friends, that I helped cure world hunger, given the number of men that sucked on my breast.
Perhaps my bed and the walls around us gave us permission to be limitless, allowing us to fully embrace our personhood, where even our internalized homophobia couldn't hold us back. Perhaps our bodies colliding and legs intertwined gave them and me, the freedom to let the weight of the world and crippling societal norms slowly roll off our backs.
As time when on, after every affair, my body started to feel numb, more dependent on these fleeting moments for wholeness and validation. Each and every single session of meaningless sex was a desperate attempt to seek refuge in the arms of strangers. I craved company and compassion. Every touch, every kiss made me feel desired, loved, and seen, even if it was for a minute.
Looking back it at now, I realized that I was using sex to remedy my loneliness. I was using my body as currency for affection, devaluing its worth and letting all kinds of men dictate its value and mechanization. Although there are very few things that I would change from this whole experience, I can’t help but wonder if we are left more damaged trying to fill the emptiness with fleeting, superficial, meaningless sex? Is the remedy a more dangerous poison, seeping deep within our bodies, slowly causing deeper wounds? | https://medium.com/illumination/sex-as-currency-side-effects-of-loneliness-eb5ea78f8973 | ['Chuy G. Gonzalez'] | 2020-10-06 17:56:17.254000+00:00 | ['Self Love', 'Gay', 'Online Dating', 'Human Parts', 'Self Worth'] |
How to buy the Best TV Stands in 2021 [Detailed Guide] | A good TV stand is unquestionably an important accessory for your LCD, LED, OLED TVs. It serves multiple purposes- it can accommodate your TV, help you set up a complete entertainment center by connecting different devices, and offers storage for keeping stuff like magazines, Blu-rays in proper order. On top of these, a TV stand can enhance the overall look of your living room or any other space.
With thousands of options available in the market, it can be quite difficult to pick the best TV stand that complements your room and offers all the essential features. To help you spot better options, we’ve come up with our list of the best TV stands that you can buy in 2021. Whether you’re looking for a simple TV stand for your bedroom, a rustic farmhouse-style TV stand, or a commercial TV stand for your store, we’ve covered them all in this article.
Before we jump to our list of the best TV stands, let’s have a look at some of the crucial factors that you must know while buying a good stand for your TV.
How to choose a TV stand?
Here are some important factors that you must consider while buying a TV stand for your living room, bedroom, or stores. These will help you get the bang for the buck.
1. Size of your TV
Firstly, you must know the size of your TV for which you’re planning to buy a stand. The size of a TV is measured diagonally. If you’re planning to buy a new TV, you would definitely know the size. On the other hand, if you’ve got an older TV and are not sure about the size, measure your TV diagonally, from the bottom-left corner to the top-right corner. Now, let’s assume the size of your TV is 55-inches, you would need a TV stand that’s designed to accommodate a 55-inch TV. Otherwise, your TV will always be at risk of falling by accidental touches. Also, make sure to check the load bearing capacity of the TV stand that you’re planning to buy.
2. Use
You must choose a TV stand based on your usage- personal or commercial uses. If you’re looking for a good TV stand for personal use like placing a TV in your home, bedroom, or living room, you can go for an entertainment unit, a corner stand, or a floating stand. If you tend to relocate your TV to different places in your home, go for the TV stand with wheels as it will help in easy relocation.
On the other hand, if you’re looking for a TV stand for commercial purposes like using it as a display in your shop or restaurants, you may need portable TV stands or a stand with wheels/rollers. The portable stands are also great for fairs, trade shows, or other events. The rolling stands are easier to move and relocate. If you need to place two or TVs together, go for the TV stands with dual/multi brackets. Lastly, if you want to mount a TV on a wall or ceiling in your restaurant, workshop or store, you must look for commercial TV wall mounts or ceiling mounts.
3. Available space
Here comes another important yet easily overlooked factor when it comes to buying a good TV stand. You must figure out the height, width, and depth of the room or any other area where you’re planning to place your TV. For example, if you need a TV stand for a small bedroom, check the available space, and make sure that your stand is not too big. You must also take into the equation the right viewing height. The center of the TV must line up with your eyes. Therefore, figure out the height of your bed or sofa, where you would like to relax and watch TV. If you’ve got a low-height bed or couch, you must go for a TV stand that’s low in height. On the flip side, if you want to sit on a sofa (generally they have more height), you would need a stand that has a good height. If your TV does not have a proper viewing height, you could end up putting your neck in some serious trouble. Therefore, make sure to measure a comfortable viewing height and distance.
Also, if you’re looking for a TV stand for your living room or any other large-spaces, make sure that the stand is not too small. Moreover, you must ensure that the position of the TV stand is not blocking any pathways. Otherwise, your TV will always be at a risk. If you need to place your TV in a corner, look for the TV stands that are designed for such purposes.
4. Type of stand
You’ll find TV stands in a lot of styles, including a corner stand, floating stand, console, and entertainment units. Each type has its own advantages. Like a corner TV stand is great for saving space in smaller homes. It fits in beautifully into the corner of any room, allowing you to utilize the wasted space. Floating stands are wall-mounted units that are designed especially to complement your mounted TV. These TV stands are constructed using lightweight materials and have an open-shelving design.
Coming to consoles, they are elongated units with legs, ample surface on the top to place your TV, streaming devices, soundbars, and shelves/cabinets in the center. Talking about entertainment units, they are an excellent option for gaming or home entertainment setups. They have enough storage for speakers, gaming consoles, media streamers, and other useful things. They are larger than other TV stands, and can even span an entire wall. The TV is mounted in the center, with shelves and cabinets/drawers on both sides.
5. The material of the stand
You’ll find TV stands in various materials, including glass, wood, metal, medium-density fiberboard, and particleboard. Each material offers different benefits. For example, wood TV stands are solid and long-lasting. They are available in a wide range of designs and finishes to complement your room’s style. Plus, as wooden TV stands are heavy, they can’t be moved accidentally, if you’ve kids or pets running around in the home. So, they are a stable and sturdy option, and at the same time, they are expensive too. Medium-density fiberboard (MDF) and particleboard are budget-friendly alternatives for wood TV stands. They will give you the look of wooden TV stands but are light, both in terms of weight and price tag.
If you like to keep it modern and stylish, metal TV stands are an excellent option. They are durable, stable, and come in a lot of designs. If you want to go for the metal TV stands, go for the ones that are constructed with iron, aluminum, or steel. Also, make sure that the stand has a rust-resistant finish that will help to prevent corrosion. Coming to the glass TV stands, they add a bright and clean look to your room. These stands feature metal supports for strength. You can place decorative items to enhance the overall look of your room. If you want to go for glass TV stands, make sure you’ve got enough space available in your room. Also, if you’ve children or pets at home, glass TV stands can be troublesome.
6. Storage and organization
If you want to keep magazines, game consoles, or streaming devices, you can find various TV stands with good storage. There are various options available that have shelves or built-in cabinets.
If you’ve got a large setup, including a TV, AV receiver, soundbar, gaming consoles, and a media streamer, you can opt for large entertainment centers as they will help you keep multiple devices in a centralized location. On the other hand, if you want to connect a single device, let’s say a cable/satellite box with your TV, you can go for TV stands that have only a single shelf. It will help you save money and unnecessary space too. Therefore, you can easily choose between closed cabinets, drawers, open shelves, or a combination of these, depending upon your requirements.
7. Usage and wiring
Most TV stands include cutouts for neat cable management, it will keep those messy cables out of sight and keep your equipment safe from any wiring issues. If you want to set up a large entertainment center at your home, that includes multiple devices, look for a TV stand that allows for clean wiring management. Otherwise, you’ll be stuck with messy cable and an untidy setup, and no one wants that. Also, go for the options that have support for adding more consoles and accommodating more wires neatly. It will prevent you from making additional purchases in the future.
8. Choose a style that complements your space
You must go for a TV stand that complements the layout and style of your space. If you want to place a TV in an irregularly shaped room, you can go for a corner stand as it will help you fit a pretty big display in a compact space. If your room is small, you can look for TV wall mounts because it will not block any space, and you can move freely in your room.
You must also consider the interior and style of your room while choosing a TV stand. For example, if you’ve got a contemporary space, you can go for the TV stands with simple geometric lines, minimalist design, and open shelves. It will enhance the overall look of your space. You can go for subtle and pale neutrals as it will make your room brighter and spacious. For traditional spaces, you can go for TV stands featuring stained woods, detailed designing, or thicker frames.
List of the Best TV Stands
1. Walker Edison Modern Farmhouse Grooved Wood TV Stand
Compatible TV Size: Available in different sizes
Maximum supported weight: 250 lbs
If you’re looking for a minimalist, stylish, and durable TV stand, Walker Edison Wood TV Stand is an excellent option. It is constructed using high-grade certified MDF, topped with a multi-grain laminate. The TV stand is available in various sizes, including a 44” corner stand, a 58” TV stand, and a 70” TV stand. Plus, you can also go for the Fireplace TV stand. The 58-inch TV stand can house a television up to 64-inches and supports weight up to 250 lbs. You get to choose from different finishes that best compliments your home, living room, or bedroom.
For easy storage and organization, the TV stand packs both shelves and cabinets. The shelves are adjustable to fit-in your gaming consoles, streaming devices, magazines, books, or decorative pieces. Plus, the stand offers easy cable management features to run cords in the back of the TV stand, and keep your setup clean.
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You can also check out another excellent fireplace TV stand for your living room from Walker Edison TV. This stand is available in different designs, colors, and offers enough storage for keeping other devices.
2. Ameriwood Home Elevation Stand
Compatible TV size: 60 inches
Maximum supported weight: 175 lbs
If you’re looking for a highly useful TV stand for a small room, the Ameriwood home elevation stand is sure to please you with its clean design and versatile black finish that complements almost any decor. This TV stand is constructed using a metal frame and hollow-core shelves. The overall design looks classy, without compromising stability and durability.
The TV stand can accommodate a flat-screen TV that’s up to 60” in size and has a maximum weight of 175lbs. This metal frame stand for TV has three shelves to place your devices like a game console, speaker, media streamers, and others. The snap-on back panel is ideal for keeping the wires out of sight. All in all, the Ameriwood home elevation stand is a must-have TV stand for small spaces.
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3. Convenience Concepts Graystone 60” TV Stand
Compatible TV size: 65 inches
Here comes a perfect wood TV stand for modern homes and stylish spaces. The Convenience Concepts TV Stand is designed using a combination of wood and metal frame. The metal frame has a powder-coating which makes the stand resistant to rust, cracking, peeling and damage due to chemical exposure. It has a clean design with an ample surface that can accommodate a 65” television. There’s a drawer for concealed storage, and there’s a hollow space above the drawer to keep one device (cable box, game console, BluRay player, or streaming device). Therefore, if you need a small TV stand that can hold a TV, a device, and allows you to keep a few things in the drawer, this is a great option.
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4. PERLESMITH TV Stand
Compatible TV size: 37 to 55”
Maximum supported weight: 88 lbs
If you’re looking for a tabletop TV stand for your LCD, or OLED TVs that are between 37 to 55-inches, The PERLESMITH universal TV mounting bracket is a great option. It features non-slip feet and an anti-drop iron plate so you can place this TV stand on any table, desk, entertainment center, or any other surface.
The TV stand comes with an easy to use instruction manual for quick and easy installation, with all the fittings provided in the box. The TV plate has an adjustable height, therefore, you can easily choose a comfortable viewing angle. The stand is protected by a black tempered glass that provides ample stability while adding a touch of style to your space.
In short, it’s a great option if you’ve already got a table or desk, and are looking for a reliable TV stand to place your television.
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5. Corner Floor TV Stand
Compatible TV size: 32–65 inches
Maximum supported weight: 110 lbs
If you’re looking for a Corner TV stand for your LED, OLED, or QLED TVs, get the Rfiver Swivel TV Stand without any second thoughts. This space-saving TV stand has got 4 shelves that offer enough storage to place your cable box, Blu-Ray player, streaming device, gaming console, or an external battery pack. You can easily adjust the height of the stand, and the mount can swivel left and right for 45 degrees for a better viewing angle. Plus, you can easily hide all the messy cables without making holes or going through the wall. The stand has a solid safety lock that securely holds your TV and prevents it from dropping.
It’s worth mentioning that before you buy this corner TV stand, please make sure that your TV mounting hole pattern meets one of the following: 100x100 / 200x100 / 200x200 / 300x200 / 300x300 / 400x200 / 400x300 / 400x400mm.
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6. Tangula TV Stand
Compatible TV size: up to 60 inches
Maximum supported weight: 200 lbs
Here comes a solid, durable, and modern TV stand that offers a large storage space to keep your devices, books, magazines, and other accessories. The Tangula entertainment unit for TV is constructed using MDF Veneer, which makes this stand resistant to corrosion, wear, and deformation. It has a load-bearing capacity of up to 200 lbs, therefore, you can place a 60-inches TV, your devices, other accessories, and set up a complete entertainment center. This TV stand has four shelves that can be easily adjusted up and down to place your devices and other things. You don’t need to worry about cable management as the TV stand has four large threading holes on the back, for clean and efficient cable management.
It’s a minimal yet stylish TV stand that can be placed in a living room, lounge area, or activity room. This stand is available in Walnut and Black finishes that complement the interior and style of almost any space.
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Also read: Best HDMI Cables for 4K, HDR, ARC, and Dolby Vision [Buying Guide]
7. Modway Transmit 70” Modern Entertainment TV Stand
Compatible TV size: up to 78 inches
Looking for a minimalist and eye-catching entertainment TV stand for your living room or activity room? Have a look at the Modway Transmit 70” Modern Entertainment TV Stand. It has an excellent construction featuring a particleboard frame with walnut grain laminate and white lacquered full-extension glide drawers for extra storage. It can perfectly accommodate your game consoles, Blu-ray players, and other electronic devices. It helps you maintain a clean setup with cable management holes, two open storage units, and two closed storage drawers. You can place an LCD, LED, TV that’s up to 78-inches in size.
In short, this retro-style media stand is a perfect pick for your home and lounge areas.
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8. Rolling TV Stand by 1Home
Compatible TV size: up to 65 inches
Maximum supported weight: 110 lbs
Looking for an affordable commercial TV stand for your conference room, shopping centers, or trade shows? Get yourself the 1home Rolling TV Stand. It’s a flexible mount bracket that can easily fit most LCD, LED, and OLED TVs that are up to 65-inches in size. The stand is equipped with four heavy-duty casters, which makes it very easy to transport the TV to different locations.
This TV stand has a sturdy shelf to place your laptop, gaming console, or any other electronic device. Plus, the adjustable-height of the stand makes it very easy to find your right viewing angle for a comfortable experience. The integrated cable management system helps to keep those tangled cables out of sight. It features a high-quality steel frame with a stylish gloss finish, that makes this TV stand both durable and visually pleasing.
Also, if you tend to move your TV to different locations in your home, get yourself this solid TV stand with rollers.
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9. ONKRON TV Stand with wheels
Compatible TV size: up to 65 inches
Maximum supported weight: 100 lbs
Here we’ve got another option for a TV stand with wheels. The ONKRON Mobile TV Stand is a universal stand that fits most models of LCD, LED, OLED, both flat and curved TVs. The stand has an adjustable height from 47.2’’ to 59 inches off the floor.
There are two middle and one top shelf to keep your devices, and you can easily hide the cables in stand poles to keep your setup clean.
Putting it simply, if you’re looking for a reliable and durable TV stand for conference rooms, boardrooms, expos, trade shows, educational and entertainment venues, it’s a must-have universal television stand.
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10. ONKRON Dual TV Stand
Compatible TV size: up to 65-inches
Maximum supported weight: 300 lbs
Want to mount two TVs together? Have a look at the ONKRON Dual TV Stand. It’s a durable TV stand that’s constructed using ultra heavy-duty steel to safely hold two TVs with a total weight of up to 300 lbs. There are lockable caster wheels that securely fix the stand and ensure smooth rolling without scratching the floor. You can give a clutter-free look to your setup by hiding all the cables and wires inside the telescopic column. This dual TV stand has two middle shelves with a load capacity of up to 25 lbs each for placing your PS4, Roku, Cable box, Xbox, or laptop. Plus, there’s a smaller shelf on top, with a 10 lbs weight holding capacity, which is perfect for placing a webcam or gaming motion sensing input devices.
It’s an absolute must-have dual TV stand for trade shows, fairs, restaurants, or electronic stores.
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You can also check out another dual TV stand that has rotatable brackets (Landscape and Portrait), and can hold two screens that are up to 70-inches.
11. AmazonBasics Ceiling TV Mount
Compatible TV size: up to 80 inches
Maximum supported weight: 100 lbs
If you wish to mount your TV on the ceiling of a conference room, restaurant, or shop, you would need a solid television ceiling mount. The AmazonBasics TV Mount is built using commercial-grade heavy-duty steel that makes it a perfect pick of the best durable TV stand for commercial purposes. This TV mount features a sleek and contoured design that offers a stylish and clean look to your space. You’ll get a premium 6.5 foot HDMI cable, mounting hardware, and cord management system for easy installation and organization. All in all, it’s a great option for personal as well as commercial uses.
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12. Walker Edison Wren Classic Cubby TV Stand
Compatible TV Size: Available in different sizes
Maximum supported weight: 200 lbs
If you need a durable, wooden TV stand with open storage for your 70-inch TV, the Walker Edison Wren Classic Cubby TV Stand is a great deal. It’s a good-looking and TV stand that has got a durable laminate finish for a rich and textured surface. There are three adjustable shelves that can withstand up to 30lbs each. This 70” TV stand is designed to support TVs in up to 80-inches. Besides, there are 6 cord management ports to keep your setup clutter-free. It features a traditional design fused with the rustic farmhouse look to deliver a perfect TV stand that goes well with almost any interior. This classic television stand for 70-inch TV is available in an array of unique finishes, including Dark Walnut, Espresso, Traditional Brown, Black, and many more. Walker Edison also offers TV stands with a fireplace. If you need one, make sure to check out their amazing options.
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13. Black Atlus 58” Floating Stand
Compatible TV Size: up to 60-inches
Maximum supported weight: 165 lbs
Here we’ve got a space-saver TV stand that sports an off-the-floor design that eliminates the need for a separate wall-mount TV bracket. The Black Atlus Floating TV Stand can be mounted on a wall at any height with its innovative hanging rail system. It can easily hold any flat-screen TV up to 60-inches and is strong enough to withstand a weight of up to 165 lbs. There are three upper compartments for A/V components and one bottom shelf that can hold up to 137 Blu-ray discs or 93 CDs/DVDs. It’s a well-made TV stand that smartly conceals all your cables and power bars to maintain a clean and modern look. You can pick this floating TV stand in Deep Black, Pure White, Drifted Gray, and Rich Espresso finishes. These minimal TV stands are backed by a 5-year warranty.
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That was all for our roundup for the best TV Stands in 2021. We hope you’ve already selected a good TV stand that best fits your requirements. Make sure to check all the important factors that we’ve mentioned at the starting of the guide as it will help you make better choices. Do share your favorites with us, in the comments section below.
Don’t forget to check our list of the best HDMI cables for 4K, HDR, ARC, and Dolby Vision. Plus, we’ve also rounded off the best HDMI cables for gaming on PC, PS4, and Xbox. | https://medium.com/@neerajbhateja/how-to-buy-the-best-tv-stands-in-2021-detailed-guide-878905b16033 | ['Neeraj Bhateja'] | 2021-03-20 08:09:37.321000+00:00 | ['Home Theater Installation', 'Buying Guide', 'How To', 'TV', 'Home Theater'] |
In ASEAN BRI ventures, the study points to a rising need for sustainability | According to a recent report, an increasing need for a sharper emphasis on sustainability issues is obvious in Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Jointly conducted by the United Overseas Bank and the Institute for Emerging Market Studies of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, the researchers also found that Chinese companies see the value of drawing on the diverse strengths of the ASEAN markets and the need for continued effective collaboration.
Researchers centered on Chinese companies with BRI investments in Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, six main emerging ASEAN markets. The aim of the study is to provide insights into the political, institutional and environmental factors that affect the design and execution of the BRI project, the potential for private investment by the BRI, and opportunities for foreign direct investment (FDI) in ASEAN.
As part of the BRI, large-scale infrastructure and FDI projects have been initiated in the region by several Chinese state-owned and private companies to facilitate greater connectivity between mainland China and ASEAN.
Recognizing the need to give greater priority to promoting green and sustainable BRI projects, the Chinese government called on Chinese businesses to take active measures to ensure that their projects comply with regulations such as environmental standards and labor laws. The action of the government addresses the criticism levelled on projects that have not sufficiently considered social and environmental problems.
The research suggests that they reach out to local consultancies and civil society or community-based organizations to better understand specific dynamics and create a constructive dialogue in order to help Chinese companies tackle environmental, social and governance challenges in ASEAN.
In relation to proposed projects, businesses should also contact potentially impacted groups to work out fair compensation for them. In one such case, a real estate company engaged in land reclamation in Malaysia has stepped up its efforts to address the environmental concerns of the affected community, and is now also supporting local villages and their education programs. | https://medium.com/@tasianaffairs/in-asean-bri-ventures-the-study-points-to-a-rising-need-for-sustainability-4fd5ee8fe152 | ['The Asian Affairs'] | 2020-12-19 17:59:27.356000+00:00 | ['Thailand', 'Asean', 'Singapore', 'Malaysia', 'China'] |
How to Pack for a Day Hike: Packing List and Tips (2020) | In this article, we discuss what to pack for a day hike. You will find the most important items to have in your day hiking packing list as well as our preferences for critical pieces of clothing and gear. This way, you could purchase all the day hike essentials before you go hiking.
For hiking beginners, day hikes are the safest and easiest way to start. Moreover, they are easier to plan (at least they don’t require meticulous planning) and prepare than multi-day hikes and as a result, you’ll spend much less time during the planning stage. Furthermore, your mistakes when packing for a day hike will rarely prove costly unless you repeat them again and again. Once you learn from them, they can actually be helpful to avoid problematic situations in your future hiking trips.
Packing for a day hike is easy — just pick up a comfortable backpack which fits, follow our guide, and start packing. A huge advantage is that you don’t need some fancy travel backpack for a simple walk in the woods because an ordinary day pack will do the job as well.
Footwear
Depending on the surface, weather conditions, the distance of the trail, and your own preferences, you will need appropriate footwear. The most widely used options include comfortable hiking boots, shoes or trail-running shoes. The last two are your best options for three-season hiking. High-quality trail runners are extremely comfortable out of the box and we recommend them for hiking on most types of terrain. Lightweight, flexible, quick-drying, and fairly breathable shoes with grippy soles such as La Sportiva Ultra Raptor and Salomon X Ultra 3 are awesome for day hiking as they can handle rough, rocky or wet terrain equally well.
Hiking sandals and trail runners are perfect for summer hiking trips. Especially efficient in wet and hot weather, they’re (relatively) lightweight, breathable, and fast to dry. If thinking about a pair of hiking sandals, you may wish to check out the Chaco Mega Z Cloud. They are comfy and sturdy sandals with a grippy sole that will keep your foot stable even when hiking on rocky terrain or when walking through rivers and streams. In addition, the wide straps are soft and comfortable making the Chacos perfect for everyday wear.
Stiff soled boots such as the La Sportiva Makalu are built for climbing but are also highly recommended for winter hiking, especially for areas covered with snow. The reason is that they provide more stability and ankle support than other types of footwear. If you decide to put on hiking boots, make sure they are broken in. Keep in mind that some models and designs don’t need a lot of time to be broken in (you can wear some straight out of the box), while others might require a week or even a month.
To break in your hiking boots, start by wearing them inside the house. Then you can gradually increase the distance by walking to the local shop or around town followed by short and easy off-road trips. After this whole process (your boots should feel good at the end of it), you can think of wearing them on longer hiking trips. The duration of the break-in process varies and depends on factors such as the boots’ model, weight, and materials. Keep in mind that the choice of hiking footwear can make or break the entire experience.
To learn more about hiking boots, shoes, and other types of footwear, see our guide to hiking footwear where you will find a ton of information, including detailed features, advantages, and disadvantages as well as proper shoe care.
Hiking clothing and layering
Wear layers of clothes to match the forecast and season. Layering is essential, especially when hiking in the mountains, in changing weather as well as in cold conditions. It is best to rely on a clothing system composed of specialized items that can be easily adjusted and mixed and matched with changes in environmental conditions and your level of exertion.
Base layer
For your hikes, consider synthetic-fabric clothing as well as merino wool. For day hiking in low temperatures, we recommend base layers such as the Helly Hansen’s LIFA Merino because they will keep you dry and cool/warm. For warmer conditions, Helly Hansen LIFA Stripe Crew or another synthetic-fabric base layer is a better choice as it is fairly breathable, dries fast, and will keep you cooler. Avoid cotton (as they say “cotton kills”) at any cost in cool-to-cold and changing weather as it absorbs a lot of moisture and is slow to dry. Nevertheless, cotton is good for hot summer as well as desert hiking exactly because of the aforementioned properties.
Wind and waterproof jacket
Get a windproof jacket if it’s cold or you expect it to become cold. In wet environments, you may wish to get a waterproof breathable garment as well. Most quality rain jackets are windproof so you won’t need two separate garments — one for windy conditions and another for rain. Outdoor Research Interstellar is a top-notch waterproof breathable jacket that can be used as an external layer for added protection from rain and snow. 3-in-1 jackets such as The North Face Clement Triclimate are perfect for very cold conditions and environments as well as for milder climates. If you’re looking for a more budget-friendly option, we recommend you to check out the Marmot PreCip. It offers excellent weather protection at a fraction of the cost of expensive rain jackets.
Mid layer
For colder climates, bring a synthetic/merino mid layer for extra warmth and insulation. We recommend simple polyester fleece designs such as Helly Hansen Daybreaker 1/2 zip. Lightweight, soft, warm, and comfy, this pullover probably gives the best bang for the buck.
Hiking pants
Having a pair of rugged comfortable pants is essential. We prefer the Outdoor Research Ferrosi Pants because they’re versatile, durable, comfortable, and well-made trousers ideal for day and multi-day endeavors in various conditions. Lightweight pants that are flexible and comfortable are best (in most cases) for warm weather day hiking trips. Check out classic trousers like prAna Stretch Zion or Columbia Silver Ridge. Rain or snow pants are what you need for wet weather hikes in milder or colder climates respectively. Outdoor Research Helium are nice, breathable, and lightweight waterproof pants offering great wind and rain protection. Additionally, because of their compactness and excellent packability (you can stuff them into their own pocket), they won’t take too much space in your backpack. Rugged snow pants (check out the Outdoor Research’s Cirque Pants) are what you need for winter hiking. They will keep you warm and dry during your outdoor activities in the snow. A combination with thermal pants underneath is great for extreme cold.
Socks
You will need merino, synthetic or merino blend socks as we highlighted in our article about choosing the right socks for your travels. We strongly recommend socks made by Darn Tough especially the Hiker Micro Crew. There are several reasons for this: these socks are durable, breathable, comfortable, and fit well. Also, thanks to the antimicrobial properties of merino wool, they don’t stink (unlike synthetic-fiber socks) after a couple of hours on the trail.
Gloves and mittens
It is important on cold days to conserve body heat, otherwise, you lose heat through exposed skin such as head, hands, etc. Bear in mind that you lose more body heat than normal in a cold environment. Moreover, factors such as wind speed and relative humidity can exacerbate the situation further. Gloves and/or mittens are necessary when being outside in cold environments. Winter gloves are thicker because of the extra insulation needed for hiking in cold climates. They will keep your hands toasty but are no good for tasks that require fine motor skills. Liner gloves are thinner but allow for increased dexterity and flexibility.
Headwear
Wearing headwear just like gloves depends mainly on the weather and the preferences (to some extent). High temperatures and strong sun mean that you need a sun hat to protect your head from the sun and solar rays. Moreover, they’ll keep rain, snow, and sweat out of your eyes. Wide-brimmed hats (cowboy hats, sombreros, and Tilley hats) are perfect for this. Rain hats such as the Outdoor Research Seattle Sombrero are made with quality waterproof breathable materials that provide excellent protection from the elements. Some models can also be used as sun-protection hats.
Don’t forget that if you have more clothes, you can always take off some of them in case it becomes too hot. However, you can’t put on layers that you didn’t bring along. It’s also important to have the ability to remove or add items easily. For more detailed info about hiking apparel essentials, materials, features, and layering, see our post on hiking clothing.
How to pack for a day hike?
Carrying a heavy backpack should be the last thing you’d like to do when spending your precious spare time out in nature. OK, how to pack a for a day hike? In general, how you pack gear depends on the sort of hiking you’re doing (the environmental and weather conditions are especially important), which items you’re likely to need during the day as well as the type of hiking backpack you have. Here are some basic rules to follow when packing for a day hiking trip:
As a rule, low-bulk items should be packed high and near to your back to keep the load close to your center of gravity and enable you to maintain an upright stance. It’s important that the load is balanced so the pack doesn’t pull to one side.
The items you’ll need the most during the day (such as snacks, water bottles, camera, maps) should be accessible without taking off your pack. For this purpose, you can keep them in the side pockets.
Keep spare clothes near the top of your hiking pack for easy access without taking off your pack. It ain’t fun when having to access a particular item that’s at the bottom of your backpack.
It helps to know where everything is, so try to create and employ a system that allows you to remember where exactly you pack your stuff.
Tips for picking gear and packing efficiently
Here are some recommendations so that you pack as efficiently as you can:
Find a balance between what you really need and what you don’t need.
Avoid excess weight to travel as light as possible.
Buy good and appropriate footwear that fits you well. Don’t forget properly sized synthetic or wool socks.
Get a good day pack or a multi-day hiking backpack. Choose the option that is best for you not for someone else.
A reliable backpack for a day hike should be durable, light, water-repellent, with multiple compartments, has a padded back with air mesh for better ventilation and more comfort. A backpack designed to distribute weight to your hips, maybe hydration compatible too.
Keep items you’ll use often during the day where you can grab them without taking off your pack, like in hipbelt pockets or side pockets.
Keep spare clothes where you can have easy access to them (near the top of your pack) so that you won’t have to unpack other gear.
Make up a small first aid kit to be better prepared to respond to emergencies (in case something goes wrong).
Don’t forget common life stuff you use.
Don’t buy gear just because it’s popular or pricey — high prices and famous brands do not make products more valuable — your purchasing decision should depend on whether you need something or not.
Don’t forget to let someone know where you are going and your route.
Now that you know the basics, here’s our day hike checklist:
Download: Packing for a Day Hike: Cheat Sheet
Complete list of the essential and extra stuff to have for a day hiking trip (in PDF format)
Day hike essentials
Certainly, day hiking trips in different environments and conditions require to bring different items. Hence, some of the extra items (in our list) in certain conditions can become essentials and vice versa. The following day hiking packing list is aimed at giving you some insight about what to purchase before heading out for your next hiking adventure.
#1 Daypack (we recommend the Osprey Talon 22)
Our choice, Osprey Talon 22 is a tried-and-tested multi-sport backpack that can be used as a daypack for hiking, skiing, biking, etc. It’s a lightweight but durable backpack with a stable carrying system. Don’t be mislead by the 22L volume — the pack offers plenty of space for your stuff. There’s virtually enough room for everything you would need for a long day hike. Helmet attachment, stow-on-the-go trekking pole attachment, side and slash pockets, a zippered hipbelt, and external hydration sleeve provide easy access to the day hike essentials.
Note that pretty much every daypack or small hiking backpack is suitable for day hikes. To learn more about the features, materials, and use of different types of backpacks for hiking and backpacking, see our article.
#2 Backpack rain cover and/or dry bags
You need to keep your gear dry and functioning. Both of these are lightweight and do not take a lot of space, however, they can be very useful if the weather turns wet. Dry bags are versatile and can be used for storing food, electronics, extra clothing, etc.
#3 Food (lunch plus snacks)
Since it is a one day hike, choose whatever lunch you’d like to eat. Additionally, get some snacks high in carbohydrates, fat, and sugar like snickers, energy bars, chocolate, almonds or other types of nuts. You can also buy a trail mix or prepare one yourself. A healthy breakfast and regular eating throughout your hike will defend you against exhaustion. When packing food, make sure it isn’t going to leak or spill.
#4 Hydration
You need a good amount of water for proper hydration — 2 to 3 liters, in summer even more — preferably in a water bladder because it’s light and can be easily accommodated in a pack with a water bladder sleeve inside. Our suggestion is to choose between Platypus and Osprey. Their lightweight leakproof water reservoirs allow for easy loading, access, and use on the go. Additionally, you might also carry some water in a plastic or stainless steel water bottle. We recommend Nalgene for all those who like to travel lightweight. They make strong and solid plastic bottles that are easy to clean and use.
#5 Poncho/raincoat/umbrella
Raincoat or an umbrella or a loose-fitting poncho can be good options too depending on the weather forecast and the hiking location. Ponchos are more convenient than raincoats in most cases because they’re lightweight, compact, allow for airflow, and are much cheaper, in general. In addition, they can be used for various things such as backpack rain cover and to keep other gear protected from driving rain.
#6 First aid kit
An outer container made of durable nylon is optimal and protects contents. Among the essentials in your first aid kit, you should include some analgesics/antibiotics/anaphylaxis (Ibuprofen, Acetaminophen or Aspirin, Sting relief pad etc.), bandages, antiseptic towelettes, blister care pads, 2″x2″ and 3″x3″ gauze sponges, safety whistle, and water-purifying tablets.
#7 Repair kit (with multi-tool)
It’s necessary to have a repair kit, especially if planning a long day hike. You can buy a pre-assembled repair kit or build-up your repair kit. We recommend the second option as it gives you an opportunity to customize the contents of your repair kit according to your preferences. You don’t need too many items in your repair kit for a day hiking trip, just some basic ones such as extra shoelaces, fire starter, duct tape, and a multi-purpose tool. Each one of them can be used for many different tasks and repairs. Keep your repair kit handy for easy access on the trail.
#8 Navigation
To orient yourself especially when hiking in an unfamiliar area you need a map and a compass.
#9 Mobile phone (in a shock and waterproof case)
It should be in a shock and waterproof case so that the phone stays safe and secure even when crossing a river or walking up steep terrain.
#10 Toiletries (for good personal hygiene)
Here’s a list with some of the most important items to have in your toiletries packing list:
Toilet paper
Ziplock bag for safe disposal of used toilet paper
Hand sanitizer
Handkerchiefs
Quick-drying towel
#11 Sun protection (is extremely important in the mountains)
Sunglasses, sun hat, sunscreen with UPF are very important because you may get scorched if you underestimate the sun. Sunburn is a problem typical for both summer hiking and high altitude hiking. Remember that you can burn even on a cloudy day in the mountains because clouds do not filter UV radiation effectively.
#12 Flashlight or headlamp (with extra batteries)
You will need it in case it becomes dark outside and you’re still on the trail.
#13 Bear spray
This is what you need for self-defense if you encounter a bear or some other wild animal and it charges you (it is of prime importance to have a can of bear spray when hiking in bear country).
In addition to the basic stuff above, you may wish to carry with you some extra items.
Day hike extras
Trekking poles — for those who need added stability on steeper trails and when crossing streams. Use trekking poles to take the stress off your muscles, joints, and ligaments.
Gaiters can be of good use depending on the terrain and weather conditions. They are very useful for desert hiking as well as when walking down scree slopes. A combo of gaiters and rain pants is highly effective against snow and mud.
Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) provides a powerful safety net for wilderness travelers. Having a PLB is very important in areas of poor phone coverage.
Signal mirror is a simple but effective tool to signal your location in case of emergency. Glass signaling mirrors are better than cheaper plastic ones because of their superior reflectivity. You may never have the need for using your signal mirror but it should definitely be on your day hiking packing list just in case.
Insect repellent is essential for areas with too many buzzy insects.
Camera to capture great images of breathtaking views. Best photos are rarely anticipated in advance so keep the camera easily accessible.
Figure: A workable list with day hiking essentials
Source: www.azutopia.com
Conclusion
Be conservative in planning and packing for your hiking expedition, especially if you are new to hiking. Make detailed lists before packing your backpack and note what you use and what you don’t use so that on future trips you can fine-tune the packing. Choose appropriate hiking shoes and clothes; pick up a comfortable backpack or day pack and pack whatever you’ll need for your day hike. Avoid excess weight to travel as light as possible. Eliminate unnecessary things, however, when deciding what to cut, think twice about eliminating insulation and food.
Remember that you enter into a world in which planning and preparation, self-reliance, and good choices are crucial. How you plan and pack for your day hikes will inevitably reflect on preparation for future multi-day trips. And finally, one good advice from the U.S. National Park Service: | https://medium.com/@camotrek1/how-to-pack-a-backpack-for-a-day-hike-packing-list-and-tips-2020-3bf22fec1953 | ['Valentin Shekerov'] | 2020-03-18 16:17:07.130000+00:00 | ['How To', 'Hiking', 'Packing', 'Day', 'Weekend'] |
Water Crisis in Delhi | The article has been written as part of the Jal Se Jalshay, a community and youth-led campaign by Haiyya to address water crises in Delhi. Following the campaign on twitter @JalSeJalashay.
Accommodating a population close to 20 million and experiencing a perpetual growth in this population, Delhi embodies a huge water demand. However, the geographical positioning and environment of Delhi make it dependent on external sources to meet this water demand and subject it to a particularly acute water crisis. Erratic rainfall patterns supported by inadequate water-conserving infrastructure function as a suboptimal medium to support this rising demand for water. Consequently, there is a high dependence on groundwater resources. Reports suggest that water tables in the city were 40 meters below the ground in 2000. By 2018 the levels drastically dropped to 80 meters below the ground. However, the scope for further exploiting this avenue seems limited, especially when studies reveal that the groundwater levels in the city are already depleting at a rate of 10 cm every year. Such statistics reveal the immediate need for policy intervention and regulatory exercises to combat the problem of depleting groundwater levels in the region.
The problem is that paucity of data of existing water infrastructure, coverage, recharge of ground water levels of the city, often restricts the capacity of researchers and environmentalists to make ingenious policy recommendations. Composite Water Management Index Report (2019) by Niti Aayog suggests that the state of Delhi reports inadequate data-related key water indicators. In the absence of official data updates, policymakers are neither able to evaluate the performance of the on-going interventions nor are they able to suggest the future course of action. This can act as a huge constraint in addressing the problem of depleting water tables despite some potent efforts of the government to combat the crisis. Regular follow-ups and active reporting of water indicators would allow policy-makers and government officials to effectively collaborate and take appropriate steps in the right direction.
While there exists relevant gaps in the existing policy framework, it cannot be denied that the state’s transition to relying on newer and innovative water-conserving exercises have initiated a series of positive outcomes. The transformation of the Rajokri Pond into a decentralised sewage system is the biggest example of such practices. Using active bio digesters and artificial wetlands instead of conventional chemical treatment, the system facilitates treatment of raw sewage and at the same time also enables large scale cost-cutting for the authorities. On average, about 600 kilolitres of sewage is treated in the plant daily. With large availability of treated water, one can expect some degree of augmentation of the groundwater levels.
The Palla project is another such initiative that is targeted to recharge the groundwater levels in the city by building giant reservoirs to hold excessive rainwater collected in Yamuna floodplains during peak monsoon season. Even though the recent inception of the project makes an extensive evaluation difficult, reports suggest that there has been an improvement in the groundwater levels claiming that “spread over 18 acres, the ponds received floodwater from the Yamuna for 12 days.”
Rajkori Pond Transformation
It is apparent that the challenge of depleting groundwater levels can be adequately overcome by active interventions by the state. The current state government is conscious of the gravity of the situation and is incorporating the relevant measures in its action plan. The government plans to initiate the construction of 80 check dams in the Asola Bhati Wildlife Sanctuary to recharge the groundwater levels and control for soil erosion. Further plans to install modular underground rainwater harvesting tanks along road stretches and flyovers are underway in an attempt to replenish groundwater levels. In this light, one can conclude that a targeted investment by the state government accompanied with an effective record keeping, point towards potential improvement in water tables in the future. | https://medium.com/haiyya/water-crisis-in-delhi-1bb9fe6b1162 | [] | 2020-11-16 14:25:08.016000+00:00 | ['India', 'Delhi', 'Climate', 'Water', 'Water Crisis'] |
5 reasons why you should have Bitcoin | Bitcoin is here to stay. The new gold standard, crypto asset, cryptocurrency, no matter what you call it and how you see it. It passed the tipping point—the point from now where mass adoption is the most likely outcome.
These are the 5 reasons why you should have Bitcoin:
Bitcoin is the most secure and resilient IT system ever created
Bitcoin is paving the roads for mass adoption
The new monetary policies (money printer goes brrr)
Investment decisions and portfolio allocation
You can trust the system
The most secure and resilient IT system ever created
The technology has matured over more than ten years since its first inception in January 2009 by Satoshi Nakamoto. Bitcoin has been a roller coaster, but probably the safest roller coaster in the world. Its technological rails make it the most secure IT system globally, offering the best CIA ever possible — Confidentiality, Integrity and Availability — 3 important key points in security.
In this period of time, the public also gained more confidence in Bitcoin as a store of value. The Bitcoin network has been attacked from every angle: attacked by hackers, politicians (left and right), countries, boomers, media and so on. During this period, Bitcoin has gained more and more resiliency, thicker skin and more fans.
Bitcoin cannot be hacked. I don’t wanna go to technical in this article, but the type of cryptography used, ECDSA digital signatures and SHA256 hashing mechanisms, would take billions of years to be cracked by a hacker. So it’s not going to happen during our lifetime.
Paving the roads for mass adoption
Although still far from mass adoption, it’s said that 10% of the US population owns Bitcoin, and new big institutions are big time on Bitcoin.
We can pretty much look at the Amplify Blockchain ETF — BLOK — and see a long list of companies that are part of the ETF: Voyager Digital, Galaxy Digital, MicroStrategy, Hut 8, PayPayl, Riot, Grayscale, Square, Sivergate Capital, and many more. These are all multi-billion companies listed in the stock exchange that are investing in Bitcoin. In addition to this list, other big names like Mastercard, Facebook and Tesla are also exploring how to offer Bitcoin services to their customers or already offering them.
Square Cash App allows to buy and sell Bitcoin
On Paypal, you can also buy/sell Bitcoin
Tesla started to accept payments in Bitcoin
And I could go for hours listing companies that now accept Bitcoin or allow users to buy and sell cryptocurrencies. Whole Foods… Etsy… Starbucks… Newegg… Home Depot… Rakuten, the list goes on.
Small companies also started to accepted Bitcoin payments years ago! https://www.flowerdeliveryhongkong.com/ is one of the biggest online flower shops in Hong Kong, and back in 2017, I was already buying flowers with Bitcoin there! And apparently, now they not only sell flowers, but they also sell hardware wallets: https://www.flowerdeliveryhongkong.com/en/bitcoin
Money Printer goes brrr and the new monetary policy disaster
The growing demand for Bitcoin in 2020 and 2021 is motivated by the new economic policies that governments around the world are adopting. MMT — The Modern Monetary Theory that most countries seem to be adopting say that
“The United States can pay any debt it has because we can always print money to do that. So there is zero probability of default.” — Alan Greenspan
Well, the new MMT policies just say that Central Banks can print infinite amounts of money.
Don’t worry, buy Bitcoin 🤣
The new economic policies trying to soften the effects of the COVID have been focusing on printing more currency — increasing its supply — and keeping the interests rates very low. This results in increased money circulating in the economy, which seems to be good in the short term, but it will harm whoever holds USD in the long term. As a result, inflation and dilution of shareholder value will hit hard, and the only safe place to keep the money is Bitcoin.
For sure, people will argue that Bitcoin’s volatility is a risk. Still, when compared to USD, one could argue that Bitcoin has done better in the last couple of years than USD as the USD supply is very unpredictable and volatile. USD decreases its value by 20% compared to the British Pound in 2020, the money supply increases by 40%, and high inflation is looming. On the other hand, Bitcoin rose 600%. Which one do you prefer?
Investment decisions and portfolio allocation
The new monetary policies are diluting the money that you have in your pocket. Do you prefer to hold to a depreciating asset (USD/fiat) or buy the new gold standard hedge against inflation — Bitcoin?
Additionally, when people look at investments — where to park your savings — the options are not very attractive in 2020 and 2021:
Term deposits and saving accounts pay close to zero interest
Bonds pay historically low interest
Stocks seem to be performing, but we need to take into account that the stock market is denominated in USD (or other fiat currencies), and USD is hugely losing value, and we will face inflation, meaning that the real stock market performance is probably not that good
Gold has been underperforming in 2020 and 2021, although the economy is not doing well
What other asset classes out here do not share these same issues? Well, only Gold (and precious metals) and Bitcoin. We see, however, a big shift from Gold to Bitcoin. In such circumstances, we should see the Gold price rising a lot, but in one year, it rose only 20%, signalling that probably people don’t see it as much as they use to see it as a safe heaver.
Bitcoin may have some volatility (usually no more than tech stocks), but now it’s more and more seen as a safe haven and protection against inflation. It seems it will continue to be like this as long as governments continue to treat their currencies like Monopoly notes.
Trust the system
Bitcoin is also called the “Internet Magic Money”, but there’s actually nothing magic about it. Everything is based on mathematics and immutable algorithms that assure us of the stability of the Bitcoin system. Bitcoin blockchain provides a layer of trust confidence that doesn’t rely on centralized parties. Funny enough, Bitcoin’s white paper was released only a few months after banks starting to collapse after the 2008 subprime crisis. When banks failed behind society’s trust system for money, a new money trust system was created. A trust machine that doesn’t require any banks or centralized parties. There is a trust system with no CEO, no employees, no office, no legal entity, no politics, and no ideology—a trust system that everybody can trust: Bitcoin.
Bitcoin relies on mathematics, cryptography, consensus mechanisms and hashing. It’s the most transparent monetary system that ever existed. The USD (and all the other fiat currencies) rely on governments and Central Banks. It’s most untransparent monetary system that ever existed.
So Bitcoin was the very first blockchain launched in January 2009 by Satoshi Nakamoto. Satoshi Nakamoto is the pseudonym for the person/s that have created Bitcoin, but nobody knows who Satoshi was. He/she/they cover any marks/clues that could lead to the person that has created Bitcoin. I hope that we will never know who Satoshi was. Thousands of people have been investigating and written books, but hopefully, we will never know. Bitcoin is faceless. Bitcoin is a system, a code that gives us the capabilities to treat it as digital gold. In the same way, we don’t know who the gold creator was to trust that gold has value (there’s no gold inventor). We don’t need to know who’s Bitcoin’s creator.
Bitcoin price is close to the price of a 1Kg Gold bar. So which one would you choose?
Bitcoin is based on blockchain technology, and blockchain is nowadays a much broad concept. There are thousands of different blockchains and cryptocurrencies that are changing the way people do business. However, we will be focusing mainly on Bitcoin, the specifics of the Bitcoin technology and Bitcoin use cases.
After 12 years of its creation, Bitcoin starts now hit the mainstream. Although Bitcoin has high latency, i.e. it’s relatively slow and can’t handle more than seven transactions per second. It handles 322 thousand transactions per day at the end of the day, moving billions of dollars every day. More than 100 million Bitcoin wallets were created, proving that Bitcoin is getting more and more accepted by the general public. Bitcoin’s market cap has also passed 2021, the one trillion dollars mark, which is remarkable!
Bitcoin and blockchain, like any other technology, didn’t appear out of anywhere. Blockchain, Bitcoin’s underlying technology, is the sum of a few technologies that already existed before Bitcoin. Technologies such as cryptography and digital signatures, peer-to-peer networks like BitTorrent, double-entry bookkeeping, digital cash technologies previously developed like Hashcash from Adam Back, B Money from Wei Dai and Bit Gold from Nick Szabo and other projects from the cypherpunk community — also helped.
Big names of the cryptopunk community fueled most of the creation of Bitcoin. People like Hal Finney, Nick Szabo, Wei Dan, Adam Back, David Chaum, Dave Kleiman, Len Sassaman, and Craig Wright are among the names that provided important contributions during the creation early stages of Bitcoin.
🚀 Follow me and also check my 🧱 blockchain courses:
🐶 The First-Ever Dogecoin Course
👨🎓 Fintech, Cloud and Cybersecurity Course
📖 The Complete NFTs Course
👨🎓 Unblockchain Course — The Brain-Friendly Blockchain Course
Disclosure: views expressed are purely personal and do not reflect any organisation’s views or thoughts the writer of this article may be affiliated or associated with. This is NOT financial advice, and I’m not recommending anything. This article is only for educational purposes. | https://medium.datadriveninvestor.com/5-reasons-why-you-should-have-bitcoin-8184d57702cf | ['Henrique Centieiro'] | 2021-09-04 06:42:26.997000+00:00 | ['Gold', 'Bitcoin', 'Blockchain', 'Cryptocurrency', 'Crypto'] |
Nerd Romance — The Prequel. May I ask you a question? | Nerd Romance — The Prequel
Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash
“May I ask you a question?”
He resisted his usual response: “You just did.” His father had told him — repeatedly — that “only smartass kids say shit like that, and nobody wants a smartass kid in their college.” So he finished the paragraph in the paperback he was reading over his lunch period, and then looked up at the questioner.
Oh. It was her. This semester he had Chemistry and English classes with her. Most semesters he had at least one class with her; in a high school the size of theirs, that would be unusual, statistically, but with ability groupings the same three dozen or so kids tended to clump together through the class schedules, year after year. This semester she was on the other side of the bench in Chem lab, two rows behind in Chem class, and just in front of him in English.
He raised his eyebrows and looked at her. She looked back at him. She looked down at the empty chair next to him (all the chairs at the table were empty — he liked being able to read quietly at lunch) then back at him. He looked at the chair — still empty, so what was the deal? — and back at her.
“May I sit down?” she asked.
“Was that the question?” he replied. No, that was a smartass kid answer, that was wrong, stupid stupid. “Sure!” he followed up quickly and probably too emphatically. She rotated the chair so that she would be facing him while sitting, and sat. She pulled some papers out of the folder she’d been carrying.
“So, we’re both juniors, we’re both going to college. We’ve talked about that in Chem lab. We are also behind our peer groups, socially. Neither of us has ever been on a date. When we get to college, this will be a big deal, because we’ll be competing with peers who know how to network socially and use people skills to their advantage.” She handed him one of the papers. “What I’m proposing is a plan to get us both up to speed on our social graces. I think this would be mutually beneficial for both of us.”
“If it’s mutually beneficial, it would have to be for both of us. Redundant.” He looked down at the paper.
“Things like that,” she countered. “Making pedantic corrections to someone’s speech. Especially in a case where superficial redundancy may actually be used as a rhetorical device to provide emphasis to an important point. Anyway. I laid out this plan to cover basic events that most high schoolers encounter before graduating. I cross-checked with my sister, who is currently at Stanford, as to which particulars were most pertinent and whether I had missed any significant milestones. What you see here details my original plan incorporating her suggestions. They are presented in order of execution.”
He absorbed the details neatly written on lined paper, in bullet format. “You have very nice handwriting. Easy to read,” he commented absently as he went. He paused on a bullet halfway through. “So you are suggesting we meet each other’s families?” He gave her a concerned look.
“Yes. My sister tells me this is important in any potential or actual relationship. Coming face to face with relatives of a boyfriend/girlfriend, especially parents, has certain established customs that are important to practice. Especially a male meeting the female’s father and the female meeting the male’s mother.”
He grunted. “Fine. I guess. My parents tend to make too much of these things. Meeting my sister’s boyfriends is somehow always a major event. And I doubt you’ll want to meet the Princess Bitch. She’ll probably be on a date or out with friends, so you should be safe.”
She tilted her head quizzically. “‘The Princess Bitch’? This would be…”
“My sister. You’ll figure it out when you meet her.” He finished reading the list, grunted approval, and handed it out to her. “It all makes sense to me.”
“Good. Keep that, it’s your copy. So. Since the first item is a mutual outing to a minor event such as a movie, I thought we should decide on a date, time, and appropriate movie.” She reached and handed him a second paper. “These are the movies I find acceptable in the local area, with dates and times and locations.”
He looked at the list and smiled. “You have Monty Python and the Holy Grail as the first choice.”
She smiled back. “I know.” They had determined through discussions in Chem Lab that they were both Python fans.
“I think Wednesday at 5:50pm would work well. And the Old Orchard Theater is close enough to get to quickly but far enough away that we probably will not encounter anyone we know. May I suggest dinner there? They have an area that serves food outside the theater proper.” He looked at the paper. “Is this also my copy?”
“Yes. Good. So… I think the protocol is that you will pick me up. I will inform my parents that I will be studying at a friend’s house that night. You may pick me up at 5:00. Directions to my house are on the back of the movie page. Acceptable?” She started getting her things together to depart.
“Acceptable.” He reached out to shake her hand. “I will see you tomorrow at 5:00pm.”
“Excellent.” She shook his hand and departed. | https://psiloveyou.xyz/nerd-romance-the-prequel-aadc8160fbac | ['Jack Herlocker'] | 2020-08-07 19:31:02.331000+00:00 | ['Nerd Romance', 'Fiction', 'Fiction Friday', 'High School', 'Planned Spontaneity'] |
What makes technology a companion | I’m anxious. I’ve done this a handful of times before. My first product launch kept me up until 4 a.m. emailing potential customers. I was so worried (and tired) that I slept at the office. We did the launch thing several more times, expanding the Sphero global footprint. With each product addition came higher expectations as more people became interested in our quirky toy robots.
This one is different. Maybe it was anticipation from the several months of planning that went into orchestrating this cross functional symphony. Or maybe the churn in my stomach came from a decreased appetite since landing in Tokyo well over a week ago. Piled on with restless sleep. Whatever is making me anxious, i’m sure it has everything to do with the new Droid companion we’re about to share with the world.
I don’t really know much about BB-8. Only that he is the trusty sidekick of Poe Dameron, an X-Wing commander, and has some role to play in the upcoming Star Wars film.
Along with my colleagues, I became fascinated with the idea that the toys of today would blossom into the companions of tomorrow. I witnessed this firsthand. Our customers would talk to their robot and share aspects of their own identity. But what is a companion? | https://medium.com/maslo/what-makes-technology-a-companion-59d5d1506eba | ['Ross Ingram'] | 2018-03-22 19:40:18.654000+00:00 | ['Technology Companion', 'Star Wars', 'Companions', 'Technology', 'Tech'] |
Ruby on Rails Gems for Web Development | I have been programming on Ruby on Rails for many years and have solved a variety of rather complex tasks using this excellent framework. Based on my experience, I put together a short list of gems which I consider to be the most useful. In this article, I would like to share this list and show you how to find the helpful gems for RoR.
To get in-depth knowledge on Ruby, enroll for live free demo on Ruby On Rails Online Training
Unfortunately, the format of gemís specification does not include defining categories and tags. Thatís why, when searching for gems to do certain tasks, we may only hope that the author of the gem has mentioned some keywords in the description. You can find many gems on rubygems.org or github.com. The searching can be done by description (on GitHub, you also have to select Ruby from the list of languages).
Another thing worth being mentioned is the Ruby Toolbox. It allows searching for gems by categories and popularity. But do not rely only on this source because the author of Ruby Toolbox adds new gems manually.
Foreigner
This gem helps to create foreign keys for tables. It is very easy to use. You may simply put it to Gemfile and it will add two new methods to your migrations: add_foreign_key and remove_foreign_key . Also, you will be able to add/delete keys right from create_table and change_table with foreign_key and remove_foreign_key methods.
Letís imagine that we need to add a key from the comment table to the posts table. We can do it the next way:
class CreateComments < ActiveRecord::Migration def change create_table :comments do |t| # … t.references :post # ... t.foreign_key :posts end # … end end
These methods have some extra options, e.g. name, column, dependent. You can read more about them in documentation.
Someone may say that it is not actual for new versions of Rails, but itís only starting from version 4.2 (where such functionality is already available out of the box). In all other cases, in my opinion, this gem deserves to be in the list of useful ones.
letter_opener
A simple but very helpful gem. In fact, it is a plug for saving emails in files instead of sending them. To activate this gem, you have to set letter_opener as the delivery method in the appís configuration (for example in config/enviroments/development.rb).
config.action_mailer.delivery_method = :letter_opener
Bingo! Now all outgoing messages will be stored in /tmp/letter_opener folder and new emails will be previewed in browser right after sending. It is easy and practical.
Kaminari
This gem allows to easily create paginators of any complexity. Kaminari supports several ORMs (ActiveRecord, Mongoid, MongoMapper) and template engines (ERB, Haml, Slim).
Kaminari does not embed in basic classes: array, hash, Object and ActiveRecord::Base.
To start using Kaminari, it is enough to put it in Gemfile. After that some functions will become available, e.g. page, per and padding. Now you can effortlessly convert your array into a paginatable one with the help of Kaminari.paginate_array method and then lots of useful pagination features will become accessible.
@paginatable_array = Kaminari.paginate_array(my_array_object).page(params[:page]).per(10)
The default configuration can be made in Kaminari.configure initializer. default_per_page , max_per_page, max_pages - this is just a brief list of options which can be set.
Besides, the pagination can be configured individually for each model:
If you need to customize the paginator, you can create templates by running a generator:
% rails g kaminari:views default # -e haml - if you want to use HAML template engine.
The templates will be created in app/views/kaminari/ and now you can easily edit them.
Localization (I18n) and labels, themes and friendly urls, as well as other useful options can be found in the documentation for this gem. For more Additional info at Ruby On Rails Course
CarrierWave
With CarrierWave you are able to upload any files from your RoR application. All you need to do is:
Create an uploader: | https://medium.com/quick-code/ruby-on-rails-gems-for-web-development-15eb37c4d791 | ['Priya Reddy'] | 2020-03-02 17:17:35.001000+00:00 | ['Ruby on Rails', 'Ruby', 'Web Development', 'Framework'] |
Money marketing program that brings in conversions | Money marketing program that brings in conversions
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One of 1st principals that You’ll should uncover while that you are Getting started should be how to find out exactly what the zero in of your corporate will be. Often, very many everybody forget the internet marketing fundamentals while these are Getting started and also attempt how to offer very many items towards once. Prevent it easy for it will drive your life and also your customer’s daily lives easier. Secondly, while that you are ending up with started, it might pay to employ an expert internet famous brand and also a copywriter that might enable you to boat that terrific internet page. Unfortunately, past very many everybody that are typically Getting started within internet marketing lose likelihood consumers clearly due to the fact that their site i has very slow how to load or it could looked unsatisfactory. | https://medium.com/@samplestotryfor/money-marketing-program-that-brings-in-conversions-8e2522ebdb56 | [] | 2020-12-19 14:45:30.337000+00:00 | ['Internet Marketing', 'Make Money', 'Online Business'] |
The Benefit of Constant Contact | The Benefit of Constant Contact
PTs: Here’s how to tap into the power of the reminder
By Mark Spencer (VP Marketing of In Hand Health, LLC)
A little encouragement can go a long way. It’s cliché, sure, but it is also fact according to a recent study published in the Journal of the American Medial Association.
The JAMA study included 700 people with heart disease. Half the group received four text messages per week that were customized to its specific needs such as reminders to take a daily walk, tips to quit smoking, and dietary guidelines that reduced consumption of fried and fatty foods. The other half received normal care for their specific conditions without any text messages or other reminders.
At the end of the experiment, the patients who received the texts had lowered their cholesterol and blood pressure levels more than the other group. They also lost more weight and showed higher compliance rates with exercise programs and quitting smoking than the patients who did not receive the texts.
Can this practice be extended to physical therapy patients? It sure can!
There are various methods for sending quick reminders to patients. Whichever method you choose, be sure all communications are secured by HIPAA-level protections first and foremost.
Another consideration is effectiveness of the message delivery. If possible, send your notifications directly to a patient’s smartphone with as opposed to an email address that a patient might not check everyday.
It would also be ideal for the reminders to be part of a bi-directional conversation (patient to therapist, therapist to patient) and captured in a record that can be reviewed at anytime.
If you’re looking for such a solution, Physical Therapy In Hand includes a messaging center that enables secure text messages to be traded between a therapist’s laptop or tablet directly to the In Hand Health mobile app on a patient’s smartphone.
In addition to simple text messages, voice clips, videos, and photos can also be shared in case communications need to extend beyond simple encouraging messages. In the very near future, Physical Therapy In Hand will also include the ability to send notifications that surface immediately on a patient’s smartphone.
Interested in trying it out? Visit www.inhandhealth.com and sign up to use Physical Therapy In Hand for 30 days free. | https://medium.com/the-in-hand-health-collection/the-benefit-of-constant-contact-c550f1be3c28 | ['In Hand Health'] | 2016-02-24 16:44:15.777000+00:00 | ['Telehealth', 'Healthcare', 'Physical Therapy'] |
The Lever of Death: The crash of Dan-Air flight 0034 | Another diagram of how the lever could slip into a false detent. (AAIB)
With such low overlap between the gate stop strip and the gate plate, it became possible for the lever to force its way down into the channel anywhere along its length, and not just at the locked and unlocked detents. The ease of doing this had been further exacerbated due to wear on the bottom end of the gate stop strip, which made it tapered instead of square. This problem in turn caused a previously unimportant matter to become rather important indeed: the throttle interlock preventing takeoff with the gust locks on would actually disengage when the lever was about half way between the locked and unlocked positions. This had not previously been appreciated because it was not supposed to be possible to stow the lever anywhere other than the locked and unlocked detents, making it effectively a binary system with only two possible conditions. But the poorly manufactured and worn components had resulted in a range of possible positions, some of which were dangerous: if the lever was stowed in a false detent between 25% and 45% short of the actual unlocked detent, it would disengage the throttle interlock without quite moving the elevator locks to the fully unlocked configuration. The locks on the other flight controls would fully disengage in this zone, but the elevator locks had greater play in the system and required that the lever move more than 75% of the way toward the unlocked position before completely disengaging.
As the pilots of Dan-Air flight 0034 taxied toward the runway at Sumburgh Airport, one of them, most likely the first officer, attempted to remove the gust locks but accidentally allowed the lever to drop into a false detent within the “danger zone.” The lever became jammed in the channel, rendering it difficult to notice that it was not in the fully unlocked position. The throttle interlock, aileron locks, and rudder lock all disengaged, but the elevator locks were not quite all the way removed.
Diagram of the gust lock itself under normal conditions. When the lock roller is in the bottom of the cam, the lock is engaged; to disengage, it lifts out into the center of the cam. If the lock is only partially disengaged, moving the elevators down may force the lock roller back into the bottom of the cam, re-locking the elevators. (AAIB)
Before every takeoff the pilots must conduct a series of control checks to ensure that all the control surfaces are moving correctly. It was actually this check that served as the final link in the chain of events. With the lever in the false detent, the mechanical configuration of the elevator locking system was such that it was possible to move the elevators up and down, but the act of doing so would cause the gust locks to re-engage by themselves. So when the pilots conducted the control checks, it appeared that the elevators were moving freely, but as soon as they let go of the controls the gust locks slipped back into place, even though the gust lock lever was not in the locked position.
One final coincidence sealed the fate of Dan-Air flight 0034. The gust locks hold the elevators in the full nose down position as this is the optimal position to prevent wind damage. It also happens to be where the pilots will hold the elevators during the takeoff roll until they’re ready to lift off. As the plane accelerated down the runway, Captain Watson wouldn’t have noticed that the elevators were jammed fully nose down because he was holding them there using his control column anyway.
At a few seconds past 16:00, flight 0034 accelerated through V1, the highest speed at which it was possible to abort the takeoff without overrunning the runway. Although no one on board knew it yet, a crash was inevitable.
Path of Dan-Air flight 0034 during its ill-fated takeoff. (AAIB)
Seconds later, the plane reached VR, or rotation speed. The first officer presumably called out “rotate,” and Captain Watson pulled back on his control column to climb — but to his immense surprise, it wouldn’t budge an inch. What exactly he did in these critical seconds is unknown, but one might imagine that he tried as hard as he could to pull back, maybe asked his first officer to help him, perhaps tried to add elevator trim. None of it would’ve worked; the elevators were locked in the full nose down position and there was no way to get the plane off the ground. Five seconds after passing VR, Captain Watson concluded that they were not going to get airborne, so he cut engine power and slammed on the brakes, but it was already too late to prevent disaster.
Aborting a takeoff after V1 is something that goes against every pilot’s most basic instincts. 999 times out of a thousand it’s the wrong decision. Pilots understand intuitively that beyond this speed aborting will result in a crash, and unless it’s physically impossible to become airborne, taking off is always preferable. Situations that would call for aborting after V1 are extremely rare — but on that day at Sumburgh Airport, it happened.
There was never any hope that flight 0034 would be able to stop on the runway, even with full braking power. Still traveling at high speed, the HS 748 ran out of pavement and rumbled across the grass overrun area, slewing to the left as it did so. A massive impact rocked the cabin as the plane bounced off a 30-centimeter-high eroded step up to the airport perimeter road, causing the nose gear to collapse. The plane skidded across the road, cleared the breakwater, slammed into the surf 20 meters from shore, then plowed a further 30 meters out into the sea before coming to rest upright and mostly intact, except for the left wing, which had been torn off on impact.
Flight 0034 in the water some time after the crash. (Dan-Air Remembered)
Thanks to their seat belts, all 47 people on board survived the crash with minor injuries, but the toughest part still lay ahead. The HS 748 is not watertight, and damage to the fuselage made it even less so; by the time the plane came to a halt, water was already coming into the cabin. At first the evacuation proceeded in an orderly manner, as the passengers undid their seat belts and headed toward the exits under the calm direction of the stewardess. But as soon as the exit doors were opened, water began to flood into the cabin with tremendous speed. Most of the passengers weren’t wearing life jackets, because the seat pitch was so narrow that they couldn’t reach back around far enough to remove them from their pouches on the seat bottoms. Without any means of flotation, passengers forced their way out against the water rushing in through the exits, only to be promptly swept off the wings by the pounding surf. As those who had escaped struggled to swim to shore, the situation inside the cabin became increasingly desperate. Stewardess Elizabeth Cowe bravely shoved one passenger after another through the rear exit before the panicked crush of people forced her out the door and into the sea as well. Those who were still inside watched in horror and disbelief as the depth of the water inside the cabin increased from ankle height to neck height in just 30 seconds. With water accumulating in the front of the cabin, the plane started to pitch steeply downward, raising the tail high out of the water like the Titanic in her death throes. For those still on board, time was running out.
Boats circle the sunken airplane, searching for bodies. (Press and Journal)
As soon as controllers saw the plane go into the water, they sent out a distress call to all emergency services in the area, and people quickly descended on the crash site to help the survivors. Two nearby helicopters arrived on the scene within two minutes, but they weren’t equipped for search and rescue, and all they could do was drop a pair of emergency dinghies into the water below. But the wind and waves blew the dinghies away from the survivors, and attempts to blow them back using the helicopters’ rotor wash were unsuccessful. To make matters worse, that same rotor wash made it much harder for many of the survivors to stay above the water and swim to shore.
Meanwhile, airport fire service personnel rushed to the scene in a Land Rover pulling a Zodiac rescue boat on a trailer. Attempts to launch the Zodiac directly off the end of the runway failed because the wind and waves were too strong, and its crew had to leave to find a sheltered launch point.
In the water, survivors fought in terrible conditions to reach the shore by themselves. The water was freezing cold and polluted with kerosene; passengers struggling against the cold shock and the heady fumes from the aviation fuel found themselves battered by powerful waves roaring in off the North Sea and crashing against the concrete breakwater. Some people made it, clambering out onto the runway, soaked and exhausted. Others slipped beneath the turbulent waters, never to rise again.
Another view of the boats searching for victims. (Dan-Air Remembered)
Soon, even more rescuers arrived, including a number of volunteers from a nearby construction site who tied ropes around their waists and swam out into the water to drag survivors to safety. A number of survivors who had managed to swim to shore did the same, re-entering the frigid waters to save their fellow passengers. A Coast Guard helicopter equipped for search and rescue soon arrived, along with a nearby fishing boat, and each pulled one survivor from the water. But after that, rescuers could only find bodies. The airport Zodiac, having finally launched from a sheltered cove 300 meters away, failed to find anyone who was still alive.
By the time authorities had counted up the survivors and the bodies, 17 people were dead, all of whom had drowned, while 30 survived. Although the stewardess lived, both pilots were not so lucky. The first officer was among seven people who died inside the sinking airplane, while witnesses said that Captain Chris Watson had made it out onto a wing before he disappeared into the water, one of 10 who drowned in the heaving surf after escaping the cabin. Certainly, were it not for 23-year-old Elizabeth Cowe’s remarkably calm efforts to maintain order during the evacuation, the death toll would have been higher. For her public service she was granted membership to the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, and in the accident report investigators wrote, “The stewardess’s behavior in attempting to calm the passengers and subsequently to marshal a number of them out of the rear door was exemplary and almost certainly helped to reduce the number of casualties.”
The wreckage of the plane is towed on shore the day after the accident. (Press and Journal)
Investigators with Britain’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch soon arrived on the scene to uncover the cause of the crash. Although both pilots were dead and the plane did not have a cockpit voice recorder, statements of witnesses made it clear that the plane never lifted off the ground, and that the pilots had attempted to abort the takeoff well beyond the highest speed at which it was possible to do so safely. Investigation of various possible mechanical causes ruled out everything except the elevator gust locks.
Upon recovering the cockpit almost completely intact from the sea floor, investigators messed about with the controls and found that it was possible to drop the gust lock lever into a false detent short of the fully unlocked position. Closer examination showed that this was because the gate plate and the gate stop strip had not been made to specifications, and the interference between them was 0.12 millimeters short of the minimum. Depending on where exactly the lever stopped, the throttle interlock could be removed while the elevator gust locks were still fully engaged. However, if this had occurred, it meant that the pilots didn’t do the mandatory control checks before takeoff — if they had, the locked condition of the elevators would have been easily discovered. That raised a key question that would define outcome of the inquiry: did the pilots conduct the control checks or not?
The front page of the Press and Journal documents the recovery of the wreckage of Dan-Air flight 0034. (Press and Journal)
In the meantime, investigators found a number of previous cases of minor runway overrun accidents involving the HS 748 which occurred after the pilots were unable to lift the plane off the runway upon reaching VR. One of these occurred in Concordia, Argentina in 1967, when an HS 748 failed to become airborne and ran off into sand beyond the end of the runway. Although no damage occurred and no one was injured, Argentine authorities did conduct an investigation, which found that a badly worn “unlocked” detent in the gate plate made it possible to stow the gust lock lever before the elevator locks had fully disengaged. Investigators concluded that the crew must have missed the condition of the elevators because they didn’t conduct the control checks, although the pilots vehemently denied this accusation.
Another incident which occurred in India in 1975 also attracted investigators’ attention. The scenario was similar to that of the incident in Argentina. Indian investigators found that on some HS 748s, it was possible to leave the gust lock lever in an intermediate position that disengaged the throttle interlock but not the elevator gust locks. However, when the investigators alerted the manufacturer to their discovery, Hawker Siddeley denied that this was possible, and instead suggested that the pilots had attempted to take off with the elevator trim in the full nose down position.
Another look at the plane after being partially dragged on shore. (Dan-Air Remembered)
The simplest explanation would have been that the crew didn’t do the control checks. But these were well-trained pilots with no history of such basic negligence, and besides, witness testimony backed them up: one surviving passenger said he saw the ailerons moving up and down before they began the takeoff roll, showing that the pilots almost certainly completed the checks. So if they did the control checks and didn’t encounter any problems, how did the gust locks become engaged?
Using a representative HS 748 with a gate plate modified to look like the one on the accident airplane, investigators ran a series of tests to see how the gust lock system responded to various intermediate lever positions. What they found was surprising: due to the geometry of the locking system, a mostly-disengaged elevator gust lock consistent with a gust lock lever in a false detent 30% short of the unlocked position would allow the elevators to move freely, but upon moving them to the full nose down position during the control check, the locks would sometimes, but not always, re-engage. The exact conditions under which they would re-engage were not repeatable and seemed to be essentially random. But despite being unable to figure out why the results were inconsistent, investigators were able to conclude that it was possible, although not guaranteed, that the elevator gust locks would re-engage during the control checks if the gust lock lever was in a false detent around 30% short of the unlocked position. The fact that the locks could almost totally disengage, only to become re-engaged during a control check, upended the assumption that the locks must have been fully engaged from the start.
Officials examine the tail section. (Press and Journal)
This conclusion came as a surprise to all involved and cast serious doubt on the results of the investigations into the incidents in Argentina and India. The finding showed that the Argentine pilots could very well have been telling the truth when they insisted they did the control checks before they ran off the runway. Furthermore, it disproved Hawker Siddeley’s insistence to the Indian investigators that the plane could not have taken off with the gust lock lever in an intermediate position. Additional testing also showed that it was possible, using a reasonable amount of control column force, to take off with the elevator trim at full nose down — proving that this was not the cause of the Indian accident, nor could it have been the cause of the accident in the Shetland Islands. AAIB investigators expressed frustration that these incidents had not been more thoroughly investigated and their findings disseminated, as increased knowledge about the problems with the gust lock system could have prevented the tragedy at Sumburgh.
As for the origins of the shoddy repairs to the gate plate on the accident airplane, there was little to go on. The AAIB concluded that it probably didn’t happen at Dan-Air, given that the airline’s thorough maintenance records didn’t show any work having been done on the gate plate. Investigators only received incomplete records from the plane’s 15 years in Argentina, which also didn’t show any maintenance to the gate plate, but given the large gaps in the paperwork they concluded it probably happened there, not in the UK. The condition of the gate plate was not discovered because it is normally hidden beneath a rubber covering, and no inspection of this area was required during registration or routine maintenance.
Survivors, carrying trash bags filled with their soaked belongings, board a bus after landing in Aberdeen. (Press and Journal)
The AAIB also examined the question of whether the pilots could have prevented the accident. Although it was unlikely that they would have discovered the problem prior to the failure to rotate after VR, calculations showed that if full braking had been initiated within 2.5 seconds of reaching this speed it would have been possible to stop before reaching the breakwater. However, tests showed that even pilots who were told there would be an unspecified emergency took three seconds on average to react. Investigators also consulted an aviation psychologist, who concluded that the five and a half seconds that passed between reaching VR and rejecting the takeoff were perfectly reasonable. This was not a lot of time to realize that there was a problem, conclude that additional back pressure on the control column would not solve it, and then make the hard decision to break one of the basic rules of flying by aborting after V1.
The flight data also showed that the pilots did not engage reverse thrust on the propellers for unknown reasons, which extended the plane’s run by about 40 meters. Although the plane still would have gone into the water had reverse thrust been used, it would have been closer to shore, and more passengers might have survived. Without a CVR there was no way to determine why the pilots didn’t use this available braking method, but it is possible that they simply overlooked it in the extremely high-stress environment of the rejected takeoff. The AAIB also noted that if the throttle levers were not quite pulled back all the way to the stop it would have been impossible to pull the handle to activate reverse thrust, a problem which can be solved by making sure the throttles are at the stop. However this kind of critical thinking might have been inhibited while hurtling toward an inevitable crash. Finally, the AAIB found that the first officer had unacceptable levels of certain prescription tranquilizers in his blood, rendering him legally unfit to fly, but given the mechanical nature of the problem and the fact that the captain was almost certainly at the controls at the time of the crash, this was probably irrelevant.
One of the plane’s severed wings, seen after being hauled ashore. (Dan-Air Remembered)
As a result of the findings, in August 1979 Hawker Siddeley issued a bulletin requiring all HS 748 operators to inspect the gust lock gate plates for damage, unapproved repairs, and deviations from the official specifications. However, the AAIB noted that many HS 748s flew for small airlines in rugged conditions in third world countries, where mechanics might have considerable difficulty making the extremely precise measurements necessary to comply with the service bulletin. They therefore recommended that the manufacturer redesign the gust lock system entirely to preclude any possibility of a recurrence.
Several changes were also made in the area of passenger survival. The AAIB asked that manufacturers reposition the life jackets to make them easier to reach in an emergency, and that airlines be required to provide safety cards for every passenger. (On the accident airplane there were no safety cards, only a poster depicting how to put on a life jacket mounted on the forward bulkhead, which was difficult to read from the back of the plane.) As a result of the accident and the recommendations, Dan-Air began providing every passenger with a safety card and installed cockpit voice recorders on all its HS 748s. The Civil Aviation Authority later required all similar airplanes to carry them. The British Helicopter Advisory Board disseminated rules for helicopters not equipped for search and rescue to follow when responding to an emergency. The AAIB also recommended that the CAA look into technologies that could stop planes from running off the runway into the sea, and while Sumburgh Airport still lacks such a system, the runway is much longer today than it was in 1979. The site of the crash, once 50 meters from shore, now lies under the threshold of runway 27.
Locals watch the recovery of the plane from a nearby hillside. (Dan-Air Remembered)
Dan-Air flight 0034 remains noteworthy more than forty years later for featuring one of the most banal mechanical problems ever to cause a fatal crash. Because the channel for a cockpit lever was one tenth of a millimeter too wide, 17 people drowned in the frigid waters of the North Sea. The series of design flaws and unreliable systems that caused this tiny imperfection to escalate into a major disaster was rather typical of the notoriously fickle Hawker Siddeley HS 748, which was no stranger to bizarre mechanical problems. For example, in 1981 another Dan-Air HS 748 flying a night mail run lost control and crashed after a door fell off in flight and became wrapped around the horizontal stabilizer. All three crewmembers were killed. The cause of the crash was an extremely finicky door locking mechanism with a long list of flaws and an equally long history of coming open at inconvenient times. Much like the gust lock system, the door consisted of numerous interconnected parts that rarely seemed to move the same way twice. However, the worst of the flaws seem to have been fixed, and the dozen or so HS 748s still flying today, mostly in Canada, appear to be doing just fine.
The lesson of the crash is perhaps that every part even tangentially related to an airplane’s control systems must be treated carefully. The gate plate was such an obscure part that hardly anyone ever looked at it and only a few engineers at Hawker Siddeley knew the first thing about it. Certainly no one would have predicted that it could cause a fatal accident. And yet it did — a reminder that in aviation every component, no matter how small, must be handled with due respect.
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You can also support me on Patreon. | https://medium.com/@admiralcloudberg/the-lever-of-death-the-crash-of-dan-air-flight-0034-60219e090dc5 | [] | 2021-05-02 22:53:47.518000+00:00 | ['United Kingdom', 'Aviation', 'Scotland'] |
Gartner Magic Quadrant for Content Services: Does your evaluation criteria sync with Gartner’s | It’s always interesting to look at the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Content Services Platforms (CSP). Not only find out which vendors were selected as Leaders, Challengers, Visionaries and Niche Players, but also to see what rating criteria the analysts used. They change from year to year, sometimes a little, sometimes a lot. So if you are making a decision as to whose product to buy, take the time first to carefully document your needs before looking at an analyst report or listening to recommendations.
Sure, there’s an old adage “No one ever got blamed for selecting a leader in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant (MQ).” But decision makers who live by that either lack confidence in their own(or their management’s) discernment, or they fail to understand that this year’s leaders or challengers may not even qualify for the same MQ in a year or two. Case and point? Oracle just missed the Leader’s Quadrant in 2017 (they were a Challenger); this year it didn’t qualify for any of the quadrants.
Gartner Magic Quadrant for Content Services. It’s here for comparison sake to 2020.
Not only that, but the criteria change from year to year, but your content services platform, more than likely, will not. So, before we take a careful look at each vendor who qualified for the 2020 MQ one by one, we’re going to look at the “measuring stick” Gartner used this year. There’s one criteria, in particular, that some may find troublesome in the 2020 report; namely social media presence.
In 2020, the analysts who authored the report stated that they looked at social media sources like “Twitter, Facebook (publicly available information only), aggregator websites, blogs, news, mainstream media, forums and videos (comments only), unless and until specified,” when they evaluated vendors. Mind you, this was one of the many criteria.
As most anyone who views and participates in social media knows, individuals, in general, post when they are excited or upset. Moreover, some communities around a vendor, or a popular CEO, tweet or comment more often than others, especially when they are at conferences and meetups or members of vendor-centered Linkedin or Facebook Groups. Moreover; sometimes prizes or charitable donations are made for vendor-specific social activity. There’s no judgement here, it’s just worth understanding what you may be looking at. In its “Cautions” section of this year’s MQ, Gartner wrote, “Gartner’s social media analysis indicated a decline in conversation volumes for IBM’s content services capability since 2018.” Word to IBM, hire a social media evangelist. (Kidding, sort of.)
That said this is how Gartner defined a content services platforms in various years:
2017: “a set of services and microservices, embodied either as an integrated product suite or as separate applications that share common APIs and repositories, to exploit diverse content types and to serve multiple constituencies and numerous use cases across an organization.”
2019: “They (content services platforms) need to combine capabilities including robust content and metadata management, process automation, intelligent classification and information governance. Integration with common business applications via configuration is also key.”
2020: CSPs are a “foundational component in an organization for the management and utilization of content. CSPs provide a way for employees to retrieve and work with content in a modern, seamless way across devices and organizational boundaries. They are integrated into other business applications to support ease of access and provide organizations with a way to consolidate governance and content protection capabilities. CSPs have been most commonly utilized to satisfy operational and business administration requirements. Increasing demands for consolidation means they are also an option to support more collaborative, ad hoc content-centric requirements.”
In 2020 Gartner rated 18 vendors according to the following criteria:
Core Competencies:
Content repository
Content management
Library services
Records management
Process automation
Open APIs
Security and privacy controls
Metadata
Search
Enterprise administration
Reporting
Mobility and Collaboration
Optional Capabilities
Content intelligence
Productivity intelligence
New work nucleus connectors
Business application connectors
Federation
PaaS/SaaS deployment
Critical Capabilities (blend of core and optional)
Records management
Content intelligence-the classification of content
Productivity intelligence-improving employee productivity by surfacing relevant content and proactively based on employee behavior
Process automation
Security intelligence- the automated protection of content in different contexts and scenarios.
Open APIs
Federation
New work nucleus connectors
Business application connectors
The big question for CSP buyers to ask is whether this is the same criteria that you would select when listing your own needs.
Still to come: A look at all 18 vendors. | https://digitizingpolaris.com/gartner-magic-quadrant-for-content-services-does-your-evaluation-criteria-sync-with-gartners-4fcf9cd27758 | ['Virginia Backaitis'] | 2020-12-16 17:37:20.573000+00:00 | ['Information Technology', 'IBM', 'Information Management', 'Content Services Platform', 'Analysis'] |
Fumbling Towards 38 | Fumbling Towards 38
It has been both a privilege and a burden that I continue to ask myself, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” A recent article in Gallup stated that millennials are the “job-hopping generation,” that a majority of millennials aren’t staying with their current jobs and are we’re always looking for new and better career opportunities. Instead of trying to understand this phenomenon, non-millennials enjoy bitching about how “this is why our country’s job market is so unsteady! These little fuckers aren’t grateful for anything!” But as a top-tier millennial/genX cusp, I’ve seen the perks and pitfalls of this job-hopping trend play out in my own life and the lives of my peers. Like a lightly tragic Lifetime TV movie from the 1990s, people of my generation have been pursuing our dream careers at literally all costs. These costs, these sacrifices we’re making to break free from being corporate drones, are heralded as life accomplishments and they carry a lot of cultural value. A few American dogmas that I’ve personally given up in my pursuit for career fulfillment have been financial stability, partnership, parenthood, healthcare, the invisible allowance that men in the workplace have earned to hug me or touch my ass, and, most crucial to my current existence today, I’ve had to sacrifice employment itself. Isn’t that fucking nuts? I am now on month 15 of frictional unemployment so that I can maybe sneak into my dream career.
Let me paint for you the adorable scene that is my current state. I’m in my late 30s, I drive a hand-me-down car from my parents, I live in an apartment with two other roommates and I’ve had to stop paying my student loans this year because I’ve been without full-time employment since August of 2018. One might ask, “Wait. How?” Great question! I ask myself this every morning when I roll out of bed, rub out my stiff jaw muscles and immediately launch into an all-day existential panic. A few things: first, my parents have been helping me. Their financial support these last few months have been so much more than a blow to my stubbornly independent adult ego. My parents are not independently wealthy. They’re retired educators who’ve built their entire lives around caring for and supporting their family. They’re fucking unicorns and I don’t know how else to cope with their generosity other than to say that my ultimate life goal is to make sure that they move into old age floating on cartoon clouds of golden luxury.
My dinners these days.
Secondly, I saved. Before I left the field of public education, — a very stable profession if you call being paid and treated like shit “stable” — knowing that I was going to launch myself into an unpredictable career shift, I saved up about half of a year’s low-wage salary and stretched that out for an entire year. There have been a few consulting gigs here and there and I’ve transformed my beadwork from a creative practice to a tool for survival. But, I have absolutely been living on severed beans sandwiched between two transparent slices of bread like Donald Duck in Mickey and the Beanstalk. And, as Donald exhibits in that very memorable animated scene, poverty has taken a serious toll on my mental and emotional health. I grapple hourly with issues around self-worth, jealousy, social anxiety, lack of motivation and food insecurity. Compound that with an emotional foundation built upon intergenerational trauma that comes with being a Native person and a culture structure reinforced by the notion that my chubby body is abhorred, disgusting and clearly a result of years of laziness and gluttony. The wage gap for fat people is a palpable systemic issue and unemployment for Native populations in this country is a statistic more dismal than I have the capacity to confront. Because we don’t have universal healthcare, I don’t have access to the medical attention I need for my ever-intensifying depression and yet, and yet, I live with so much privilege! I am still living here! In Los Angeles! Could I be making more rational decisions about my life and career? Absolutely. But I can’t turn back now. I am so close.
Lastly, and perhaps the most crucial element that has held me together through all of this, is the circle of incredible women by which I am surrounded. I really cannot emphasize this enough. The people who have pushed me forward, purchased my beadwork, shared my podcast asked me to contribute to their books and who’ve built community with me have all been women — largely women of color. I hate to say that men have done nothing to advance my career but I’ve come to the really honest reality that men have done absolutely nothing to support my career endeavors. And I would say that men don’t owe me — don’t owe us — anything EXCEPT THAT THEY VERY MUCH FUCKING DO. I just… Ya know what? I won’t dwell any further on that in case I drive some of my male friends right back up into their own tight little assholes but I just want to say, as I finally look toward a career that has potential, that I cannot wait until I’m in a position to return the favor to many more of the broads who are living this same impoverished existence that I am. I lock arms with you, fellows. We rise together, bitch. All that.
My dusty 2004 Ford Escape pulls up to one of the gates at Warner Bros. studios and the very kind security guard points to my destination and explains how to get there, which I don’t fully comprehend because I’ve never been here, I’m overly excited and I’m nervous enough that my sweaty hands are having a hard time gripping the steering wheel. As I drive across the lot looking for my designated parking spot, I’m so charmed by the movie sets and street scenes surrounding me that I take out my iPhone, conceal it as much as I can and film some of the sets to send to my family later. I’m going to a general meeting at a production company residing on this lot. This is one of many general meetings that I’ve been scheduled for around Hollywood because in autumn of 2019, thanks to the recommendation from a good friend from the comedy hustle NYC, I signed with a manager at 3Arts, a talent management agency that supports the careers of many of my generation’s comedy greats. I pinch myself about having a manager just about every day because it’s something that — as a woman in comedy…as a Native woman in comedy…as a fat, Native woman in comedy — I truly never believed would happen.
Me being enticed by a career in TV.
That’s the one thing I’ve always been assured of in my pursuit of work in the Entertainment Industry: it’s actually not ever going to happen. It’s really not! Why I’ve persisted in this fool’s errand is beyond my rational mind. I blame my top-tier millennial-ness — my aversion to monotonous grinding — and I also blame The X-Files, Mr. Show, The Wire, Sex and the City — basically all of HBO’s programming *wink*. It is the cable television renaissance I’ve been raised by that has wooed me in like Mickey Mouse when he catches a delicious scent (to reference another Disney cartoon). And that desire to be a part of the telling of a story using this specific medium has driven me into unemployment, poverty and a state of hopelessness that makes Jessica Jones look like Snow fucking White.
The current fruits of my labor: I leave beaming from my general on the WB lot, confident that I really do have the skill and expertise necessary to write for television! That alone will keep me alive for another month at least. I stop on the way home to fill my car with $10 of gas which is…two whole gallons? When I arrive home, I let the lull of depression wrap its heavy arms around me, I wipe off my thick makeup, and at 4:30 pm, I climb right back into bed. I sleep or lay awake for two hours, get up to begin a beadwork project that I’ll hopefully sell and then go back to bed at midnight when I’ll dream of not knowing my lines to a Shakespeare play that I’m in so to carry on, I improvise the entire show.
I am so grateful. I am humbled beyond measure that I have this opportunity to be employed in this industry at some point. Has it been a grind? Yeah, but dating is a grind and raising children is a fucking. grind. My choice has been to opt out of those and focus solely on my career. I’ve worked quite hard for this, perhaps the hardest I’ve ever worked in my life, and that’s saying a lot after teaching in the Bronx for 10 years. But I think I may have earned a bit of selfishness. A career in public service, in education especially, is extraordinarily taxing. As I look around at all of the personal strife I’m encountering in my quest for a fulfilling career, it pales in comparison to the mental and emotional tax I paid trying to enact change in the public school system. Nothing will ever be harder than that work was, and I promise to create a show about it someday. It’ll be an hour-long drama series on HBO about the school to prison pipeline, set in a high school in the South Bronx. And it will not in any way be like Dangerous Minds so just relax, top-tier millennials! | https://medium.com/@janaschmieding/fumbling-towards-38-e16bfe55eac1 | ['Jana Schmieding'] | 2019-11-04 00:47:37.175000+00:00 | ['Unemployment', 'Women', 'Entertainment Industry', 'Television', 'Career Change'] |
How to Decipher Speedtronic Mark VI and Mark VIe Part Numbers | When working with any legacy system it’s important to understand the naming conventions of the part numbers and how those part numbers may have changed through various part runs. AX Control sells many legacy systems, including several of the Speedtronic series like the Mark I-II, Mark IV, the Mark V, and the Mark VI series boards.
IS200AEAAH1CPR1
When we look at GE’s Speedtronic Mark VI and Mark VIe as an example, we can see how naming conventions work. They have designed their part number so it gives the user a significant amount of information — if you know how to break down that information properly. Let’s look at one example.
If we take the IS200AEAAH1CPR1 board (shown here), we can break the part number down so it will tell us something about the board. Break up the number like this: IS/2/00/AEAA/H/1/C/PR1
1. Issuing Organization Code: IS (IS) From GE Power, Salem, VA, USA (DS): From GE Power, Salem, VA, USA 2. Hazardous Substance Code:2 (2) -Not RoHS compliant (4) RoHS Compliant 3. Assembly Level Code:00 (00) PCBA (01) Coated PCBA (05) PCBA that is designed to be soldered into another PCBA (10) PCBA with an added assembly process or manufacturing step (11) A coated PCBA with added assembly process (15) PCBA with additional firmware and/or daughterboard (20) One or more PCBAs within an enclosure (21) One or more coated PCBAs within an enclosure (30) One or more printed wiring assembly on a base (31) One or more coated printed wiring assemblies on a base 4.Board or Module Type: AEAA Four-letter code (typically a mnemonic device) that describes the function of the board. 5. Technology Code:H (G)The board has no surface-mount technology, only lead-through hole components (H) Surface-mount components are present (S) A functional safety system component 6. Assembly Variant:1 Excluding zero, this is one numeric character 7. Backward Compatibility Version:C One alpha character (excludes I, O, and Q) 8. Printed Wiring Assembly Version:PR1 (BR+one numeric character excluding zero) Breadboard (PR+one numeric character excluding zero) Prototype (One alpha character, excluding I, O, or Q) Production Optional Character: (n/a) One alpha character excluding I, O or Q Boards marked for use in hazardous or classified locations: X
While these naming conventions were typically used for GE boards in the Mark VI and Mark VIe series, as with all evolving systems, there will be some exceptions. This information should be taken as a starting point rather than an end in your search for more information about your PCBs.
Mark VI and Mark VIe boards were designed by General Electric for industrial control systems across a full spectrum of applications, including steam and gas turbines, as well as wind and hydro applications.
Read more about the history of GE Speedtronic Turbine Control. And feel free to contact us for any of your MKVI or other Speedtronic needs. | https://medium.com/ax-control/how-to-decipher-speedtronic-mark-vi-and-mark-vie-part-numbers-7081be7144b7 | ['Marla Keene'] | 2020-02-24 17:57:51.277000+00:00 | ['Manufacturing', 'Gas Turbine', 'Gas Turbine Heavy Duty', 'Speedtronic', 'Turbine Control System'] |
Tiny Thoughts That Have No Place to Go | Self-improvement
Tiny Thoughts That Have No Place to Go
selfie of author
Life can be tiring and hard, but I like what this writer/improv actress said once (I’m getting too old to remember names anymore): You just start going with it. Just start moving and the answer will come.
Don’t worry so much about making mistakes. If you worry too much then you will never try anything and when you don’t try anything then you’ll never learn.
So like that movie on Netflix about the octopus and the man becoming friends, how do I learn to befriend this wild thing inside me? To stop running away from it and stop attacking it? How do I make peace with this inner octopus. Develop trust? Remove myself when things get too crazy?
I had a dream that I was looking down at a bracelet on my wrist with only one heart on it. The dream was telling me I had to wait. It wasn’t yet time for my heart to meet another heart.
I remember when I was a little girl, I used to love the feeling of being awake at night when everyone else was asleep. I was in 5th grade and I would get this rush of excitement when I knew I was the only one up. Like I could do anything I wanted and I never really did anything but just knowing I could made me giddy.
I was walking today and I noticed the sun and I realized how much the sun was like the sun I used to see when I was growing up in Canada. This cool, clear green sun. This dark green shady leafy kind of sun where the light glistens brightly on certain leaves and grassy areas and windows but then the shadows are very dark and cool and I remember heading over to our family’s friend’s home where they had a very Brady Bunch home where everyone was perfect and well-groomed and mannered and nobody fought or if they did it was about petty stuff like who forgot to push a chair in at the dining table and there was just this loving camaraderie always and it seemed too perfect compared to our family and they had this big black garbage bag material type swimming pool. It was huge and you could stand in it and it rested on top of the ground on stilts and I loved jumping into that pool the most. And there is no point to this story other than the fact that sometimes even just the slant of sunlight on the side of a house can trigger a memory and thank god my eyes weren’t glued to my phone so I could see it.
I’m sitting in the same coffee shop where I used to play guitar for the old people. The old people are still here. I don’t mean ‘old people’ in a pejorative sense. It’s just a fact. I’m getting old also, just a fact. Part of me always wants to leave. I want to move away. Live in a place with younger people. And then I think…nahhh. I’ve got too many roots here. And then I met this woman the other day at a BLM protest who has lived here most of her life. Like 50 years she’s lived here and she’s a hippie, I could tell. And she was like, ‘I’ve loved and hated this place for years.’ And I realized… that’s who I will be in 10, 15, or 20 years depending. And I just don’t know if I can handle that. I miss too many people who are in too many different places. So this is why I write.
I’m sitting in a cafe, because that’s what I do for social stimulation and change and variety. I’m like a barnacle on the underside of boat ramp dock thingy that just watches as the protozoa and spindly things float by and I filter a few in now and then. The music in here is depressing. If I could change it, I would. It’s that song ‘Nothing compares to you’ by someone whose name I forgot remixed by someone I’ve never heard of. It’s comforting but also sad at the same time. Is that even possible? But I can’t leave because I paid for my coffee and all my stuff is spread out and it’s still more entertaining than looking at the same four walls of my bedroom or kitchen or living room. | https://medium.com/@larastarcevich/tiny-thoughts-that-have-no-place-to-go-d95cce83d67 | ['Lara Starcevich'] | 2020-12-21 03:05:51.357000+00:00 | ['Memoir', 'Self Improvement', 'Journal', 'Writing', 'Psychology'] |
The Modern Foundling Wheel | “At the end of that path, there is a stainless steel hatch with a handle. Pull that hatch open, and there are neatly folded blankets for a baby. The warmth is safe and reassuring. There is a letter, too, telling you who to call if you change your mind.”
The baby box for anonymously dropping off unwanted children has been “making a comeback” in Europe the past few years, and unsurprisingly not everyone agrees about it. | https://medium.com/the-hairpin/the-modern-foundling-wheel-d70aa1803d20 | ['Edith Zimmerman'] | 2016-06-01 23:39:24.663000+00:00 | ['Abortion', 'Politics', 'Babies'] |
Foodonate and The Power of Compassion and Forgiveness | This year, I have learned a lot of things. One of the most important is how to be more human in this society that moves quickly without stopping to think about what is happening, without caring about others. Below, I will share some of the reflections I have made on my Compassion and Forgiveness class thanks to my professor Matthew Davis, and the experience I have gained with my non-profit.
Be grateful, I think this is one of the most important things we should remember every time we feel bad, angry, or sad because you are alive reading this article, you can read, you have a computer that you can use to learn, you have a family, food, health, and I could continue with a large list of things you should be grateful for. Sometimes, we complain about life, but what we don’t realize life gives us a lot of good things. What do we give in exchange?
While working on Foodonate, I have had the pleasure of changing the way of thinking of some people about helping others with fewer opportunities. When we started this project, many people told me why are we helping the homeless, if they decided to be like that, they are drug addicts that don’t want to work, etc. I always explain to them that not everyone has the same opportunities, not everyone makes the best decisions, then they end up living in the streets without believing in themselves, they can’t get a job because they smell bad, and no one wants to hire them. They get kicked out of most of the places they go. They feel hungry, sad, and think they need to use drugs to escape from that. So, not because they couldn’t have or take the opportunities, they deserve the worst. At the end of the day, all of us are human beings, and we all have the same needs: food, shelter, and love.
Sometimes, things don’t happen as you planned, but you have to be prepared for that and know how to deal with your emotions when the time comes. Always knowing that if you did your best, you should be happy because you tried and learned. Love yourself and remember, you can’t control everything. As Kristin Neff says in her book Self-compassion, “Self-compassion is a powerful form of emotional intelligence. It can free us from the emotional reactivity that so often rules our lives..If you are someone who tends to ruminate or who suffers from anxiety and depression, it’s important that you don’t judge yourself for this way of being.”
I really liked this sentence in Martin Luther King’s book, Strength of love, “hate multiplies hate, Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that”. What he means is that if we love others, love will multiply. If you help someone today, that person may help someone else another day. That’s the beauty of giving, hoping that one day, that person can give to another. I have gone through difficult times in my life, in which I thought everything was going wrong, luckily I had help from good people who did not expect anything from me. Thanks to these people, I am here now helping others, grateful for what I have and what I don’t, hoping that whoever we have helped can help another person one day, and thus expand that love for helping the other. According to Frans De Waal on the Age of empathy Humans reflect the power of unconscious synchrony, which means that we copy other’s actions sometimes. The individual who doesn’t stay in tune with what everyone else is doing will lose out. If we have compassion for others and help them, other people will see it and will do the same, but if instead of that, we just don’t care about the ones who need more help, others will see, and won’t help because they think it’s ok. Let’s spread this message and help.
In conclusion to all these reflections and experiences, always be grateful for who you are, what you have, and help the ones with fewer opportunities if you can. It’s going to make you extremely happy and the other person too. Spread love, compassion, and forgiveness against hate and resentment. And just as we work hard to become better professionals every day, we should also focus on our emotional intelligence because emotions are what makes us humans and not robots, if we don’t know how to control our emotions, it’s going to have consequences in our life. | https://medium.com/@sebastian-abarca/foodonate-and-the-power-of-compassion-and-forgiveness-b5f1bcc8f2dc | ['Sebastian Abarca'] | 2020-12-09 00:31:07.247000+00:00 | ['Food Insecurity', 'Compassion', 'Emotional Intelligence', 'Nonprofit', 'Covid 19'] |
Actually, back when men were hunters (and not farmers), which was all of history up until 10,000… | Actually, back when men were hunters (and not farmers), which was all of history up until 10,000 years ago, humans lived in egalitarian societies. There were no husbands and wives. Sexuality was considered a natural and sacred part of everyday existence — not a commodity to be controlled.
Drawing on archaeological evidence and Paleolithic and Neolithic art, Eisler argues that prehistoric societies were relatively free of the domination, exploitation and misogyny that have marked Western societies up to the present. She emphasizes that Christianity’s hostility toward sex and, particularly, women’s sexuality has conditioned men and women to accept coercion and repression. Discussing abusive child-rearing practices, genital mutilation, natural childbirth, abortion, sex education, the men’s movement, AIDS and much else, Eisler outlines a new sexual ethic that aligns pleasure with our capacity to feel and act empathically. Her visionary, passionate scholarship is a revealing psychosexual exploration of love and power relations.
You don’t get to actually just pick a time when that changed. It’s been established by anthropologists as having taken place in the very recent past of human history. Cave men did not have patriarchy; they did not even have wives or marriage as we think of it now. “Men were hunters and protectors, and when those roles decreased they became like overprotective parents to compensate.” That isn’t actually what took place. See my quote in my originl comment as to what scientists say happened.
“but in a situation where the social programming they received is the norm, it’s not really fair to hold it against them, either. We cannot punish the aggressors and then change the social programming. That’s like teaching a student that 2+2=5 and then punishing them when they don’t answer 4.” So what you’ve just said here is that abusers and rapists can’t be held responsible for their crimes because they were raised in a society that subtely taught them that this was OK???? According to the CDC, 1 in 3 women will be the victims of some kind of sexualized violence, but we can’t be upset about that or complain of it because that is “punching down?” You have some odd beliefs, I must say.
Here’s a much better analogy: A bully is beating up and harassing your kid and making his life miserable. The bully comes from a bad home where there isn’t much guidance or love and he is being bullied by someone in his family. You can understand why he might act out and even feel a lot of compassion for him, but that doesn’t excuse him doing that at your child’s expense. Before you start looking for ways to get him some support and help, you are without a doubt going to demand that he stop beating your kid up! Right?
Patriarchy allowed civilization to grow and expand exponentially, but it also came at a deep cost to both men and women because it it a social system based in continual domination of others in order to maintain your social position in the hierarchy.
“As bell hooks says, “Learning to wear a mask (that word already embedded in the term ‘masculinity’) is the first lesson in patriarchal masculinity that a boy learns. He learns that his core feelings cannot be expressed if they do not conform to the acceptable behaviors sexism defines as male. Asked to give up the true self in order to realize the patriarchal ideal, boys learn self-betrayal early and are rewarded for these acts of soul murder.” (bell hooks, The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love) In the end, patriarchy gives only a few men access to power in society, and most men some small access to power in relation to women, robbing all men of core aspects of their humanity. This is a raw deal of monumental proportions. I see this as the core source of violence: the physical, emotional, and spiritual brutalization of boys and men.”
The World Health Organization and the CDC both say that violence against women (and sexual violence in particular) are at epidemic levels. We can still care about creating a better world for everyone, including men, while at the same time demanding that this situation stop.
You are continuing to try to look at societal dynamics through the lens of personal identity and it doesn’t work. Patriarchy is a social system — it’s not the actions of any one man (or woman). It’s a social system that came into being around the globe at about the same time with the advent of agriculture. One of it’s primary features is to restrict social and sexual freedom of women for the purposed of ensuring parentage of heirs (so you could pass on land and animals). Before that, no-one cared much about who the father of a baby was because humans lived in small bands where everyone shared everything; co-raised children, shared food, etc. You don’t need to have a stated desire to oppress women as a feature; but it was a definite by-product — again, as already clearly stated by anthropologists.
No one is trying to change social programming in one direction. The things about patriarchy that hurt women also hurt men but in different ways. Domination hierarchy as a social system is incredibly destructive to all, but because women (and minorities)have historically been on a lower part of the hierarchy, it has effected them in more overtly detrimental ways. Until 50 years ago there were plenty of laws on the books that enshrined many of those detrimental things. The ways that men are harmed is often more subtle. For example, the high rate of depression and suicide amongst men is a direct result of the emotional isolation that is demanded of them as a part of the “man box” — the rules about what constitutes acceptable masculinity.
Whereas domination systems are ultimately held together by fear, force, and the threat of pain, partnership systems are based on mutuality; there are hierarchies, but rather than hierarchies of domination, these are hierarchies of actualization where power is empowering rather than disempowering and accountability, respect, and benefits flow both ways, rather than just from the bottom up.
The goal should be to dismantle the rigid gender rules that patriarchy as a social system demands, and let people be who they are, with what ever blend of traditionally masculine and feminine traits that they actually have. It should be to treat each other with respect and cooperation and not to try to win at others expense so that we can ascend in the social hierarchy. Defending and excusing patriarchy is not the way towards a healthier society. | https://medium.com/@ellesworld/actually-back-when-men-were-hunters-and-not-farmers-which-was-all-of-history-up-until-10-000-2a589f075efc | ['Elle Beau'] | 2019-03-08 17:51:02.260000+00:00 | ['Feminism', 'Gender Equality', 'Patriarchy', 'Anthropology', 'Sociology'] |
An Introvert’s Guide to a Successful Working Style | “That’s him,” I said, and motioned with my chin towards the approaching wave of newly-arrived travelers flowing through the airport’s exit-checkpoint.
“You sure?” The news photographer picked up his bulky camera and hefted it to his shoulder.
The handsome, twenty-something lead singer looked a little different than the picture on his band’s website, but I was sure. “Yeah, that’s him.” I gripped the mic, which was as long as my forearm, to my side and walked down the airport concourse. I put on my sweetest smile, tilted my head, and made eye-contact. “Hi, are you Joseph?”
His eyebrows rose, then furrowed. “Yeah?”
“I’m Alisa, from News Channel 9. I know that what you’ve been through is rough, but I was hoping that you’d answer a few questions for me.” In my peripheral vision, I noticed two other photographers and their reporters follow my lead. I only had a few seconds before the feeding frenzy began.
Joseph didn’t slow his pace, but he didn’t speed up either. He shrugged, then saw the exit to the street and headed in that direction. Two other members from his band appeared behind us, and followed. When we reached the door, to my surprise, Joseph opened it for me. My sympathy for him tripled as the other photographers and reporters descended and encased us, and his fellow band members escaped to get a cab. I lifted my mic and held it just below Joseph’s chin.
The Difference Between an Introvert and a Wallflower
An hour prior to this, as the newsroom buzzed around me, I hunched over my computer keyboard and wrote scripts for the evening newscast. “Hey.” Jeremy, a producer who sat nearby, addressed me without looking up from his computer screen. “You know that nightclub fire on the east coast?”
I winced. The details were haunting. “Yeah.”
“A local band was there that night. They’re supposed to fly back tonight. Can you find them?”
I could find anyone. Researching was my strength. It took me a few moments. “Okay I found them, and their flight number. I’ll send it to-”
“No, I need you to go.” Jeremy scowled and brought his finger down on his keyboard with a loud clack.
“Oh. But I’m not-”
“It’ll be a good experience for you, since you’re new. Plus,” Jeremy sighed and rubbed his eyes beneath his glasses, then squinted at his screen again, “all my reporters are out on other assignments. Just ask one good question that can’t be answered with a yes or a no, okay?”
This was not my cup of tea, to say the least. Though I liked the excitement of being out in the field, I preferred researching and writing at my desk. My training as a reporter consisted of a brief tutoring session in a sound booth, administered by a kind-hearted first-year reporter, and a handful of other awkward instances. I did not aim to break into “the biz”.
As I wondered what it would be like to stand in front of a live camera, I flinched. I had never felt comfortable with that type of attention. Crowds, even a large group of my own family, always made me feel quiet and reserved. In high school, I enjoyed socializing and I daydreamed about being noticed (in a good way) by the popular crowd, but in reality I was content with my few close friends on the fringes of the social scene. At the end of each day, I needed time to recoup my mental and emotional energies — a need that remained true for me throughout college. To me, the word ‘extrovert’ was synonymous with ‘popular’ and ‘introvert’ with ‘brainy’ or ‘wallflower’ — none of which described me.
My Own Top 3 Enabling Strategies for Introverts
Before I wrote this article, I wondered if personality types were real, or if they were just labels that we gained comfort from by categorizing ourselves and others into neat little boxes. There has been a new wave of interest in introversion created by Susan Cain’s book Quiet: The Power of Introverts, and (in my opinion) the rise in popularity of silicon-valley techies who pride themselves on their eccentric personalities. I wondered: How can two personality types typify everyone? When someone said they were an “ambi-vert,” or a mixture of introvert and extrovert, didn’t that just mean that they were normal? Also, I was, and still am, wary of any additional ways that make it easy for us to separate ourselves into differing camps.
That being said, if I am an introvert, I want to be a self-aware introvert, especially at work. I found a helpful article on VeryWellMind.com by Kendra Cherry, author of The Everything Psychology Book. I learned that introversion and extroversion are two ends of a spectrum, and that most people (i.e. ‘ambiverts,’ or 70% of people, per Ms Cherry), land somewhere in the middle. I land close to the spectrum’s introvert-end, according to the telling traits for introverts that Ms Cherry outlines. But, unlike true introverts, I don’t mind small-talk or face-to-face networking. So, if I were to categorize myself, I would label myself as a “skeptical introvert”, or an introvert with a reluctance to be labeled and a tolerance for certain limited extroverted activities.
I wish I had known this about myself years ago, and early in my career. Another article that I found helpful was “Introverts in the Office: How to Work Well in an Extrovert’s World” by Hope Bordeaux. Ms Bordeaux sat down with Susan Cain, author of the aforementioned Quiet, to learn about the strategies which introverts can use to survive and thrive at work. I’m happy to report that Ms Cain’s thoughts resonate with my own top 3 enabling strategies for introverts:
Know thyself, and love thyself. Be curious about your personality. If you suspect that you may be an introvert, find reliable sources of information and confirm your suspicions. Then, introvert or not, embrace your tendencies. However, don’t let the identity completely define you, or isolate you. We are all more alike than we are different. Find time to physically recharge, every day. Exercise, for me, is the ideal way to recharge my energy. Each day, I get outside and walk for half an hour on my lunch break. I also do a combination of strengthening stretches and barre work, almost every day. When I move my body, especially outside and in nature, it reconnects me with my internal rhythm. Write it all out. I am amazed by the restorative power of writing things down. I made it a habit to write a to-do list for the next day before I go to bed, or a list of items I accomplished, or to write in a journal about an issue that otherwise would keep me up all night. Whatever personal or work-related item you can’t stop thinking about — write it all out, in a free, non-self-editing way.
Self-Awareness Leads to Compassion and Poise at Work
When I worked for the news station in my early twenties, I thought that I was destined to be a social misfit — awkward where others were smooth, and reserved when others were outgoing. I had yet to develop self-awareness and enabling strategies. Outside the airport, I wondered what I was doing there, in the middle of a media scrum. I found myself sandwiched between two rival news photographers with my tongue glued to the roof of my mouth. I felt like an unwilling member of a group of vultures, as Joseph answered questions like, Did you try to save anyone? How did you get out? What do you think caused the fire? All I could do was hold the microphone, and catch Joseph’s every word, until Joseph’s band members reappeared on the curb inside a cab and yelled for him to get in.
If I had the chance to do it again, with self-awareness and enabled poise, this would be my question to Joseph:
“Our community wants you to know that we are sorry for what you’ve experienced. What can our viewers do to help you and your band members get through this?”
Now I know that curiosity and self-awareness, paired with activities that strengthen your energy reserves, can lead you to compassion and poise at work. What’s more, you can gain the ability to ask enlightened questions that fuel the compassion in others.
This article is one in a series on lessons I learned during my quirky career path. Topics include job-interview blunders, how easy it is to get fired, and a better mindset for mistakes, to name a few.
Feeling overwhelmed or unfulfilled at work? Or, can’t believe how lucky you are in your career? I’ve been there, and I have lessons to share. I hope you find them helpful. | https://medium.com/swlh/an-introverts-guide-to-a-successful-working-style-535f2e61b98a | ['Alisa Wilson'] | 2019-09-18 19:41:41.629000+00:00 | ['Compassion', 'Career Advice', 'Self-awareness', 'Introvert', 'Extrovert'] |
True stories of a Model 3 in the cold. | Battery Performance in Freezing Temperatures
I made a 250 km trip when the temperature was -18C. I started the trip with 92% range and arrived with 20% remaining. 72% used works out to 350km of range based on the EPA rating. I only travelled 250km which means I got about 70% efficiency. This is with a full car using all the creature comforts. Streaming radio, heated seats, charging up our phones & tablets.
Considering that I rarely travel distances close to the range of my car, the reduced efficiency hasn’t affected me much. When I do need to travel, it typically means a 20 minute supercharger stop midway to the destination. I always use the navigation system because it does a really good job of predicting the actual range that will be used for the trip.
In -30C, with a wind making it feel like -40C, the car also did well as we were out & about town. One stop was for about an hour. When I opened the app to start warming up the car, I was happy to see no range lost and no cold battery warning.
Warming the car back up to 20C did take a couple % points.
The next day we made a pit stop for coffee and I set the climate control to stay on. It used about 1% for every 10 minutes.
-30C outside, +22C inside
Charging with a “regular” 110V plug
My biggest concern with buying an EV was charging at home. My garage is detached, not heated (or insulated) and is only wired for 110V. Maintaining a good battery temperature for charging, especially in the bitter cold, will take some power. I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to keep the battery warm and charge the car on a 110V plug.
Wash me
Throughout the summer I was seeing a charge rate of about 1.5% per hour.
Plugged in, inside my garage, I’ve still been getting 1.5% added every hour until this cold snap came by and its been closer to 1% added per hour.
This may not be the case when parked outside though. One afternoon when it was below -20C the car wasn’t adding range despite being plugged in. Fortunately things changed as soon as I moved the car into the garage.
Rear Wheel Drive & All Season Tires
I live in the city and typically the snowplows or the traffic work the roads into pretty decent conditions. The residential streets may stay snow covered for a while, but the main routes are generally pretty good. But not always! When you get cold snap with snow, even the main roads can become skating rinks.
I’m sure there is a road under here somewhere
But this isn’t anything new to me. I’ve been driving these snowy streets since I got my license. My Model 3 is a rear wheel drive which is a red flag for anyone living in snowy conditions, until you explain that the Model 3 has a very heavy battery pack on the floor that distributes the weight of the car evenly over the axels.
I’ve never owned an all wheel drive vehicle and never bought winter tires, so in my experience, the traction and handling is great compared to my previous FWD vehicles!
I do, absolutely, drive with caution around the city but I can say I’ve never lost control of the vehicle. I’ve skidded and my tail end may spin out for a second but then the traction control kicks in.
Conclusion
Based on my experience of 25+ years of driving in Canadian winters, the Tesla Model 3 has blown me away for winter performance and I continue to LOVE this car!
If you have any questions about the Model 3 in extreme winter conditions, let me know quickly because it’s going to warm up next week! | https://medium.com/@sumiguchi/true-stories-of-a-model-3-in-the-cold-ebe219bf276b | ['Jeremy Smith'] | 2019-02-07 03:50:55.531000+00:00 | ['Tesla', 'Driving', 'Model 3', 'Winter', 'Snow'] |
U.S. Freelancers: The Tax Man Is Coming | U.S. Freelancers: The Tax Man Is Coming
Don’t ignore him. It’s not too late to get ready!
Photo by sheri silver on Unsplash
Let me begin by saying that I am not an accountant, nor do I play one on TV. My number one piece of advice is to talk with an actual accountant who can speak into your exact situation and help you figure out exactly what you need to do right now.
Now. About taxes.
If this is your first year freelancing, you may not have thought about the fact that Uncle Sam still needs his piece of your tasty income-pie. I spent years working in a large company's payroll tax department, and I’ve filed payroll taxes in all fifty states. So, though I’m not an accountant, I have a little bit of knowledge in this area.
When you work for an employer, they withhold taxes from your check. They withhold Social Security, Medicare, state income tax, federal income tax, and possibly local income tax if you live in an area with it (looking at you, Pennsylvania!).
Your employer sends those amounts to the government on your behalf. At the end of the year you do a tax return to figure out if what they sent was the right amount, and you either pay a bit more if they didn’t withhold enough or get a refund if they withheld too much.
If you’re freelancing, there’s no one to withhold or send the money for you.
That doesn’t mean you don’t have to pay! It just means that when you get that check from a client, it’s not nearly as big as it looks.
Social Security
As an employee, everyone pays a tax of 6.2% for Social Security. What you might not know is that your employer matches your contribution. This amount isn’t withheld from your check, but it’s a cost of having employees.
As a self-employed individual, you get the joy of paying both the employer and the employee portion of Social Security. That alone amounts to 12.4% of your income! The good news is that you only have to pay the tax on the first $137,000 you earn, at least in 2020.
Medicare
The Medicare tax rate is 1.45%. And, again, employers match this amount; if you’re self-employed, congratulations on paying both parts of this tax. Take another 2.9% off of your income, dearies!
Federal, state, and local income taxes
These taxes aren’t nearly as straightforward as Social Security and Medicare, but it’s still important to try to estimate what might be due. Again, speak with an accountant. You may need to make quarterly estimated tax payments or regular deposits based on your estimated income for the year.
I’m serious about this: you could be subject to penalties and interest if you do not make your deposits when you’re supposed to. Even if you pay the tax due at the end of the year, you could receive a penalty because you didn’t pay it early enough.
Tax Forms
When you work for an employer, they are required to send you a Form W-2 by January 31. You use this to file your taxes.
When you’re freelancing, companies who have paid you more than $600 are required to send you a Form 1099. You should know that they send a copy to the IRS as well.
The IRS is famously backlogged, so they probably won’t come after you on April 16 if you don’t file your tax return. It might take years for them to catch up with you. But, if you get a 1099, trust that they got it too, and they expect to see a tax return where you have claimed that income and paid your taxes.
Even if you were paid less than $600, it’s your responsibility to keep track of your income and claim it. If you’ve earned over $400 from self-employment, you should claim it on your taxes.
Deductions
You should also keep track of your deductions. Again, speak with an accountant, but this could include things like a computer, fees charged by platforms such as UpWork, classes, office supplies, a home office deduction, etc. It might seem a bit onerous, but you’ll be glad to take the deductions when it’s time to reckon up your taxes due.
Personally, I keep track of all of my income and expenses in a spreadsheet. I am running a very tiny operation right now, but it doesn’t matter because since I’ve earned a few thousand bucks on a single platform, the IRS will definitely know about it. It’s my responsibility to keep track of my deductions and lessen my tax burden.
Resources
First, find an accountant. Seriously. Now is a great time to talk to one. After January 1, they will start getting busier. You still have time this year to fix anything you may have messed up, or implement some changes that might save you money when tax time comes.
Second, the Internet is full of wonderful resources which can help you figure this out. The IRS website has copies of all of the federal forms you need. If you have a question about federal taxes, I can almost guarantee that it has been answered in either the form instructions or a publication on their website.
Third, use other resources on the Internet wisely. Hopefully, you’ve learned by now that you can’t believe all you read on the Internet. Use good judgment, and when in doubt, talk to an accountant! | https://medium.com/the-innovation/u-s-freelancers-the-tax-man-is-coming-25154ed45756 | ['Brynn Mahnke'] | 2020-11-10 13:40:40.392000+00:00 | ['Freelancing', 'Planning', 'Money', 'Personal Finance', 'Taxes'] |
How To Camp Sustainably | Sitting around a campfire, falling asleep under the stars or collecting water from the closest stream — these are just some of the things about camping that make us feel whole and connected to something greater than ourselves. We are all part of the natural world, and that sense of belonging we feel when we connect with it comes with great responsibility. Responsibility to care for the environment and leave it better than we found it. With this in mind, here are five tips to camp more sustainably and respect the natural environment.
Choosing Your Camp Spot
One of the most important aspects of camping is choosing the right spot. The best experiences are the most immersive ones, you want to be surrounded by nature to soak up all the benefits. Choose a site that is close to a resource like firewood (provided you are not in a national park), water such as a river, stream or spring and shelter such as a tree or cave for shade. | https://medium.com/wildark-journal/how-to-camp-sustainably-541399c1abd8 | ['Wild Ark'] | 2018-08-16 03:34:09.916000+00:00 | ['Camping', 'Travel', 'Outdoors', 'Sustainability'] |
How to Noindex a Page in WordPress? | Sometimes we want some pages on our site or the entire site not to be added to the index of search engines. In such cases, we must use the noindex tag. So what is noindex?
What is noindex?
The page where you put this code will not be in the search engines’ indexing directory. Big search engines like Google care about these Meta tags and do not index the page you don’t want.
The Noindex meta code is:
<meta name = ”robots” content = ”noindex”>
What is the Robots Meta Tag?
Robots meta tags are in the Robots.txt file, and their location is the main directory of our site. You can write robots meta tags not only in this file but also in the pages as code. If you want to determine the meta tags of a small number of pages, editing the robots.txt file is not a very meaningful move.
How to Block Search Engine Bots?
Sometimes, some search engines may receive spam traffic, and your site’s traffic may increase due to irrelevant entries. One of the few solutions to be done when it reaches unacceptable levels will be to remove your website from the search engine that sends spam traffic. You can withdraw your site from the search engine of your choice. To do so, make a small change in the meta tag.
Example Code: Thanks to this code, we can remove our site from the Google search engine. You should use it carefully. As a result of this tag, the search engine will not index your site.
If I use the index Tag, My Site Will Not Appear on the Search Engines?
Using noindex is not the definitive solution. When we use these tags, the option to consider these tags is something up to the bots. Major search engines like Google, Yandex, and Bing often take these tags into account. And completely remove your site from its index. Small-scale search engines, however, do not often see these tags and continue to add your website to their indexes.
When did I add Noindex Meta Tag To My Site When It Is Deleted From Directory?
If the tag you added to your site is seen, your website will start to be deleted from the directory. The important thing here is that search engine bots see this tag. There is a chance that the Googlebot that comes to your site once a week will see the tag you added maybe a week later. While this label reacts quickly to current sites, it responds more slowly to outdated sites.
Noindex and Disallow
In addition to the Noindex tag, there is also a command called Disallow. It can be placed in the robots.txt of a website. Even if the two commands are similar, they are not identical. Anyone who uses the noindex tag only prevents a site from being indexed. But not from crawling by the search engine.
Disallow, on the other hand, stops crawling, but not indexing. You can use this for many things. For example, to ensure that the search engine does not come into contact with sensitive content on a website. But the page may still be indexed. Neither does it make sense to use both commands. Because if there is a disallow command, no crawling takes place. So the crawler does not perceive a noindex tag either.
However, if you want a website not to be indexed and the crawler should still follow the links within the page, you must use a combination of the Noindex and Follow tags. These are listed in the source code separated by a comma.
The relevance of the Noindex tag for search engine optimization
Noindex is primarily used to avoid duplicate content, and the tag is perfect for this purpose. Identical content to be indexed twice is not practical. Also, it is also harmful to the website when it comes to search engine ratings.
Conlusion
In this article, we mentioned what Noindex is. We hope that it helps you grow your SEO knowledge. Thanks for reading. If you want to check other SEO-related blog posts of InstaFollowers. If you want to learn more about Noindex, then check this video out by Catalyst Design: | https://medium.com/@insta-followers/how-to-noindex-a-page-in-wordpress-ef0d24c5d82a | [] | 2020-12-25 07:52:24.353000+00:00 | ['Noindex', 'Wordpress Noindex', 'WordPress', 'Wordpress Themes'] |
Stratis’ C# Smart Contracts: the first smart contracts which can be deployed in C# | The value for Stratis, over all other platforms, is in using C# / .NET and being able to leverage the powerful ecosystem that already exists there:
Using Visual Studio to develop, compile and debug the code
Easily decompiling CIL to C# source code
Strong testing frameworks that run natively inside Visual Studio
C# that behaves exactly as it would inside any other .NET application and thus can be audited by countless developers
Entire companies based around the security auditing of C# code which have produced extensive list of software tools that can scan for certain kinds of conditions in the code (essentially, Stratis could have “code scanners” which can be applied or adapted to smart contract code)
Well established best practices and technical tools that have been developed at corporations which can be used easily with Stratis’ contracts, and will actually MEAN something because the code will behave the way developers expect it to
I could keep going. All of these (and many, many more) are only possible when running the CIL / CLR rather than a custom Virtual Machine. So far, no-one else has gone down this road with C# smart contracts. In fact, no-one has gone down this road with any smart contract offering. Not because they don’t want to, but because they can’t. Stratis is the first.
NEO is perhaps the best known platform currently offering coding in C# for smart contracts. It is misleading to say “NEO has C# smart contracts” because NEO compiles the syntax of the language into their custom instruction set to run on their custom Virtual Machine (the NeoVM). The smart contract code that executes on the Virtual Machine is not .NET, it is NEO bytecode.
Here’s a handy guide on whether your code is real C#:
Does the C# code run like it would in other environments such as .NET web, console or mobile applications?
Hence, can C# developers audit the code knowing it’s going to behave EXACTLY as they would expect?
Can developers debug in Visual Studio natively?
Can developers use other parts of the C# ecosystem such as decompilers?
If the answer to any of these questions is no, then you’d be hard-pressed to convince someone your code is truly C#. When the smart contract code that executes on the Virtual Machine is not .NET, it is virtually impossible to guarantee that the C# code will behave in the same way as a real .NET web or console application. This means that very few developers can effectively audit what has been written.
For Stratis, the smart contract code that executes on the VM is the same code that would execute in a web or mobile or any other C# application.
(As an aside, theoretically any language that can be translated into CIL will also be supported for Stratis. This means native C# and F#, VB, and any other language where software has been written to compile to CIL will be supported for Stratis’ contracts.)
Confidence in the security of smart contracts is very important for the adoption of the technology. To this end, Stratis have ensured that auditing and testing of their contracts can be easily done by a larger group of developers than ever before. This is because their contracts can be decompiled back into the C# source code. This is SO BIG for Stratis. For every single contract, nodes can natively display the C# source for auditing, instead of just the bytecode. No-one else has this functionality yet. Even Ethereum’s Solidity compilers like Porosity are very primitive.
Stratis’ smart contracts can be developed, compiled, debugged and unit tested all in Visual Studio without any external tools. It is just .NET code running like any other .NET application: there is no need for compilation down to a different Virtual Machine / instruction set. This means that auditing of the contracts could be done by developers from a community which is quite literally millions strong. | https://medium.com/khilone/stratis-c-smart-contracts-the-first-smart-contracts-which-can-be-deployed-in-c-96448bd8671d | [] | 2018-11-26 13:48:48.847000+00:00 | ['Stratis', 'Smart Contracts', 'Csharp', 'Stratiscommunity', 'Bitcoin'] |
Fossil Men’s Nate Stainless Steel Chronograph Quartz Watch | in The New York Times | https://medium.com/@pmslmarket/fossil-mens-nate-stainless-steel-chronograph-quartz-watch-bf0e05bd1eb4 | ['Wakil Uddin'] | 2020-12-25 03:28:22.539000+00:00 | ['Fashion', 'Watches', 'Mens Watches', 'Fossils', 'Amazon'] |
Will Public Disclosure of Oil, Gas and Mining Contracts Help or Hamper Our Growth? | The terms and conditions of a contract between the State and oil, gas or mining companies can tell a gripping and compelling story. These terms and conditions outline the both parties’ revenue expectations, their obligations in case of an environmental disaster and can help reinforce the State’s policy on local content development or skills training. The details in contracts can provide granular insight into a country’s budgeted revenue projections, its policy on environmental protection, or whether revenue from a particular agreement is spent to improve the living conditions of citizens residing in fenceline communities where these resources are developed. With contracts, the stakes are high. Given the recent Petrotrin oil spill, BP’s decision to build the Angelin platform in Mexico and the thrust for local companies to provide services to Guyana and Suriname, their importance cannot be understated and speaks volumes about this country’s policies and regulatory oversight.
Globally, lifting the veil of secrecy and allowing full or partial disclosure of oil, gas and mineral contracts is quickly becoming an accepted practice. And, in scores of countries, citizens can now answer questions on whether these deals bring the maximum value both financially and environmentally or whether they align with State policy. Your next question probably is; can citizens of Trinidad and Tobago view the contracts which govern our oil, gas or mining projects? Despite the global shift in thinking, the answer is no. Contract transparency is not a standardized practice locally.
This is not to say that there is no information in the public domain related to oil and gas contracts. In fact, due to Trinidad and Tobago’s participation in the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), the public has unrestricted access to data on extractive company payments to Government. A citizen can also access an online beneficial ownership registry which reveals the person who directly or indirectly owns or controls the companies that explore for and produce hydrocarbons or minerals. Even with these important developments in resource revenue transparency, a citizen still cannot view the terms of an actual contract between Government and an extractive company.
In the latest EITI Report, the Government’s highlights its views on contract transparency, citing specific laws. According to section 4.5.3 of the report, “Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries (MEEI) legal opinion regarding the issue of disclosure of contracts and licences is that the E&P licences and PSCs are confidential documents by virtue of section 35 of the Petroleum Act, Chap. 62:01. Further, they are exempt documents under Section 31 (1) (a) of the Freedom of Information Act, Chap. 22:02 and may not be disclosed.” Apart from this legal opinion, some companies operating in this country may have justified reservations for not wishing to disclose details of contracts.
As a county with an integrated energy value chain that is currently coping with declining oil and gas production and lower commodity prices, there will be diverse implications stemming from contract disclosure. Depending on which link of the value chain you sit, this may be an awkward issue. In fact, if we use the National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago (NGC) as an example the complexity of contract transparency comes to the fore.
The NGC, a State-owned Enterprise, whose shareholders are this country’s citizens, currently acts as an aggregator. It buys gas from the upstream producers, transports it via pipeline and then sells this gas to petrochemical and other downstream users. NGC constantly negotiates with both the upstream and downstream operators. If there was disclosure of upstream contracts would it weaken the NGC’s hand in negotiating a gas price with the downstream producers? Would having sight of the terms and conditions of an upstream contract allow downstream operators to get a greater understanding of what the NGC pays for its gas? Will contract disclosure impact future revenue with the NGC poised to renegotiate contracts with upstream and downstream operators over the next decade? These questions are all hypothetical. But they demonstrate the breadth of discussion required on contract transparency among stakeholders in Trinidad and Tobago to reach agreement on the way forward.
Fortunately, the EITI provides a platform for this conversation and gives insight into how other countries are making disclosure a reality. A recent study on contract transparency by the Natural Resource Governance Institute’s Rob Pitman notes that 50 percent of implementing countries have disclosed some of their licenses or contracts while close to two-thirds of these countries have either fully disclosed or passed a law requiring disclosure. The study also highlights how other countries have integrated contract disclosure into their laws and regulations. These legal and regulatory requirements vary by country. For instance, in the Philippines, the country’s constitution requires disclosure while in Ghana and Azerbaijan contracts must be approved by and disclosed in Parliament. In Colombia, the freedom of information laws contain disclosure provisions while in Tanzania and Liberia disclosure provisions are included in specific industry transparency laws. The report recommends contract transparency to be linked to “durable legal instruments” such as the national constitution, sector specific legislation and freedom of information laws rather than decrees, regulations or executive orders.
Interestingly, the study also highlights that companies operating in Trinidad and Tobago such as Shell and BP disclose their contracts with the Governments of the Philippines and Azerbaijan respectively. Anyone with an interest in reviewing these and other contracts can visit the Open Oil or Resource Contract websites and sift through the terms and conditions of thousands of contracts. Using these resources and drawing on the experience of other countries can help smoothen Trinidad and Tobago’s pathway to contract disclosure. But we must appreciate our local context will be different.
Participating in the EITI gives the Government, companies and civil society a clear mandate to discuss these issues. There will be trade-offs on what specific clauses will be disclosed, but through dialogue stakeholders will determine where protecting commercially sensitive information and the public’s right to know converges. By starting this discussion, hopefully, in the future citizens could be assured that the country is getting the best possible deal from our resources and that contracts are coherently linked to national policy and sustainable natural resource management.
EITI Requirements on Contract Disclosure The EITI Standard 2016 states that “implementing countries are encouraged to publicly disclose any contracts and licenses that provide the terms attached to the exploitation of oil, gas and minerals. It is a requirement that the EITI Report documents the government’s policy on disclosure of contracts and licenses that govern the exploration and exploitation of oil, gas and minerals. This should include relevant legal provisions, actual disclosure practices and any reforms that are planned or underway. Where applicable, the EITI Report should provide an overview of the contracts and licenses that are publicly available, and include a reference or link to the location where these are published.”
For more information on the article contact Sherwin Long, Head of the TTEITI Secretariat at 623–6708 ext 2787 and for further information on the T&T EITI Report and Beneficial Ownership Registry please visit www.tteiti.org.tt | https://medium.com/transparency868/will-public-disclosure-of-oil-gas-and-mining-contracts-help-or-hamper-our-growth-30b6bdeb6027 | ['Sherwin Long'] | 2019-07-01 12:53:48.427000+00:00 | ['Oil And Gas', 'Trinidad And Tobago', 'Transparency', 'Corruption', 'Eiti'] |
Trading Competition Is Over! | Dear Community,
We hope everyone is having a very merry Christmas and is enjoying the fabulous holiday season! We are pleased to announce that our second-ever cryptocurrency trading competition has concluded and traders were once again able to utilize the Covesting platform to trade their way to profitability, despite the market’s recent volatility.
As a quick reminder to all of our competitors, we have separated winning traders into two categories: one for highest return on investment (ROI) based on percentage gain, and one based on the highest ROI by currency amount. For more information regarding the parameters and rules of the competition, please consult our Medium post titled “Trading Competition V2: $5,000 Prize Fund”.
For the Relative Profitability section of the competition, we have considered portfolio yields for the period of November 26th until December 24th. These figures may differ from the “Return %” shown in the public traders list, because the latter is calculated for the entire lifetime of the portfolio and might include periods of losses or gains before the November 26th.
As we announced earlier, we have excluded five traders from the rankings for deliberately exploiting illiquid trading pairs in order to inflate their Relative (%) Portfolio Profitability numbers without actually trading.
For Absolute Profitability, we consider both the ‘realized’ and ‘unrealized’ value of assets that are, or have been, in the user’s portfolio in the trading period. You can read more about realized and unrealized profits/losses.
3,2,1, GO! Let’s check the winners’ ranking! | https://medium.com/covesting/trading-competition-is-over-fd7dfbf1b265 | ['Covesting Pr'] | 2018-12-24 17:19:47.358000+00:00 | ['Trading', 'Competition', 'Crypto', 'Cryptocurrency', 'Bitcoin'] |
Rule of Law and the Veto of Poland and Hungary on the European Budget | Photo by Jakob Braun on Unsplash
As is well known, the European Union is a unique political and economic union of States. The construction of a united Europe is based on values and principles to which the Member States are committed. Among these principles, Article 2 includes the rule of law. It permeates many aspects of EU law, from the accession process to — until recently — the European budget. In order to understand the importance of this principle and how it came into the spotlight following the veto of Poland and Hungary on the European budget, it is necessary to provide a definition of rule of law and review the steps that led to this veto. Let’s begin.
Rule of law definition and its fundamental value
The rule of law is the mechanism, process, or norm that supports the equality of all citizens before the law, secure a nonarbitrary form of government, and more generally prevents the arbitrary use of power. At the EU level, the rule of law means that everything the EU does is founded on treaties, voluntarily and democratically agreed by its members. If a country wants to enter the European Union, it must achieve some established goals and it has to fulfill some requirements to become legally part of the EU. These requirements are set out in the Copenhagen Criteria, also known as Accession Criteria. They are a set of conditions and principles to which any country wishing to become an EU member must conform.[1] In order to become an EU member, the State must fulfil essentially three criteria: the political criterion, which means the presence of stable institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights, and the respect and protection for minorities; the economic criterion, which implies the existence of a viable market economy able to copy with forces and competitive pressure within the Union; the acquis communautaire criterion, which is the ability to assume the obligations arising from the accession. For the European Council to decide on the launching of the EU accession negotiation, the political criterion — to which the rule of law belongs — must be fulfilled. This says a lot about the primary importance of the rule of law within the EU. Even more relevant to understand how the rule of law concept is involved in the approval of the European budget, it is important to remember that these criteria must not only be met at the time of accession to the EU; they must be constantly reinforced by the Member States.
What it means reinforcing the rule of law and what the legal systems of Poland and Hungary have to do with the European Union
Reinforcing the rule of law can mean many things, such as promoting a common rule of law culture, preventing rule of law problems, and providing an effective response. In particular, the role of national courts is enhanced. Indeed, if they are adequately protected from other powers in terms of independence, this can effectively represent the first level of monitoring the reinforcing of the rule of law within each Member State. That is why it is important to briefly analyze what happened to the legal systems — particularly the judicial systems — of Poland and Hungary before addressing the reasons which have led to their veto on the EU budget.
The Constitutional principles of organization and functioning of the judiciary in Poland cover the legal and organizational status of court authorities, proceedings before courts, and the legal status of the judge. The judicial system in Poland is composed of the Supreme Court and the common, administrative and military Courts. Common court are divided into regional courts, which are courts of the first instance, and they handle most cases, except cases reserved for other courts; district courts, which function as both first and second instance courts, handling serious cases and appeals; appeal courts, which are the second instance courts, and their jurisdiction covers a territory of at least two regional courts. It is also important to mention the Constitutional Tribunal, which is an organ of the judiciary which remains a separate body from the court system. The Tribunal is competent to decide the conformity of the issued law with the Constitution, disputes concerning competence between the organs of central administration, the conformity of the political parties’ tasks with the Constitution and to hear constitutional complaints filed by citizens. Lastly, the National Council of the Judiciary, which is a constitutional body obliged to uphold the independence of the courts and judges, responsible for appointing judges to the Supreme Court.[2] In Hungary, the functioning of the State is based on the principle of the division of powers. In particular, the Parliament is the supreme legislative body, the Government is the executive branch and the Judiciary is the system of courts. The judicial organization is one of the basic pillars of the Hungarian rule of law, and it is composed of district courts, administrative and labor courts, regional courts, regional courts of appeal, and the Curia. The different court levels are closely interconnected but there is no subordination between the respective levels: the courts situated higher in the hierarchy do not have any right to give instructions. Judges shall be independent and only subordinated to laws, and may not be instructed in relation to their judicial activities.[3]
In the last few years, Poland and Hungary have implemented policies which, in various ways, have undermined the foundations of the EU principles, leading to the activation of the procedure under Article 7 TEU. According to this procedure, the European Union may determine that “there is a clear risk of a serious breach by a Member State of the values referred to in Article 2”.[4] Since 2017 the Polish government has put into effect a series of reforms that have raised the European Union's concern. Among others, the reform in question regards the lowering of the retirement age of the Supreme Court judges, and the attribution to the President of the Republic of the discretionary power to extend the active judicial function of these judges beyond the retirement age newly fixed.[5] These reforms undermine the independence of the judiciary which, as we have seen, constitutes an important part of the rule of law notion. Regarding Hungary, the government has actively engaged in major constitutional reorganization in the country. The results of this process have been manifested, among other things, in a substantial decrease of independence of the judiciary and the deterioration of academic freedom. This triggered the procedure under article 7 TEU, on the basis of the proposal by the European Parliament, which observed the presence of potential violations not only of the rule of law, but also of other EU fundamental values such as the respect and protection of human and social rights, the system of checks and balances, equality and non-discrimination.[6]
What the rule of law has to do with the European budget
Apparently, the rule of law and the European budget has nothing to do with each other. At least until the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union have reached a provisional agreement on the conditionality mechanism for the protection of the budget of the Union on 5 November. According to this mechanism, the EU could stop funding governments for disrespect of fundamental values, such as the rule of law.[7] Given the abovementioned situation in Poland and Hungary, it seems that the decision of the two States to veto the EU budget (Multiannual Financial Framework) was used as a way to express their disagreement with the application of this mechanism. Indeed, since the EU is currently investigating both countries, the clause threatens to cost them a lot of euros in EU funding, should it be applied to them. Therefore, it is possible to imagine that an agreement on the European budget will not be reached until a solution is found on the conditionality mechanism which, according to Poland and Hungary, “applies vague definitions and ambiguous terms without clear criteria on which sanctions can be based, and contains no meaningful procedural guarantees”.[8] To understand the consequences of this veto, it is necessary to refer to the European Union Treaties. According to the procedure of Article 312 TFEU, if unanimity (requested for the approval of the Multiannual Financial Framework) could not be reached within the Council by the end of the current year, a “provisional” management phase would begin with the possibility of very low expenditure precisely because of the temporary basis on which to make decisions. This would entail a delay in the implementation of the Multiannual Financial Framework (which also includes the Next Generation EU recovery plan), with the consequent impossibility for all European States (Poland and Hungary included), but especially for those in difficulty due to the Covid-19, to take advantage of European funds.
[1] Curious fact: these criteria were defined by the European Council of Copenhagen in 1993 and reinforced by the European Council of Madrid in 1995.
[2] Rakowski, Piotr Rakowski, and Robert Rybicki. “UPDATE: An Overview of Polish Law.” GlobaLex, Apr. 2020, www.nyulawglobal.org/globalex/Poland1.html.
[3] Courts of Hungary. “Judicial System.” Courts of Hungary, 2020, birosag.hu/en/judicial-system.
[4] On the basis of a proposal from one-third of the countries of the European Union, or the Commission or the European Parliament, the Council — acting by a majority of four-fifths of its members and after having to obtain the assent of the European Parliament — can establish there is a clear risk of a serious breach of the fundamental principles of the EU. After having determined the risk of a serious breach by a Member State of the values referred to in Article 2, the Council shall first address recommendations to the Member State, if it considers it appropriate. The Member State is then invited to submit observations, and the Council at this point decides unanimously on the existence of the alleged infringement. At this stage, the Council may decide to suspend certain rights deriving from the application of the Treaties, such as the voting rights of the representative of the government of that Member State in the Council.
[5] European Parliament. “Rule of Law in Poland: MEPs Point to ‘Overwhelming Evidence’ of Breaches | News | European Parliament.” Www.Europarl.Europa.Eu, 14 July 2020, www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20200712IPR83209/rule-of-law-in-poland-meps-point-to-overwhelming-evidence-of-breaches. Accessed 1 Dec. 2020.
[6] European Parliament. “Rule of Law in Poland and Hungary Has Worsened | News | European Parliament.” Www.Europarl.Europa.Eu, 16 Jan. 2020, www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20200109IPR69907/rule-of-law-in-poland-and-hungary-has-worsened.
[7] It is worth pointing out that this new mechanism is not intended as a punishment for the citizens of the State affected by the suspension. Indeed a web platform is envisaged in order to collect complaints directly from the citizens and ensure the continuity of the disbursement of funds. The aim of this mechanism is to counter the rise of autocratic and illiberal tendencies, corruption, and disinformation, which the EU is currently struggling to limit only through the Article 7 TEU procedure.
[8] Von Der Burchard, Hans. “Hungary and Poland Escalate Budget Fight over Rule of Law.” POLITICO, 26 Nov. 2020, www.politico.eu/article/poland-hungary-budget-democracy-rule-law-orban-morawiecki-merkel/. | https://medium.com/eu-u/rule-of-law-and-the-veto-of-poland-and-hungary-on-the-european-budget-4f38f063aed4 | ['Francesca Principe'] | 2020-12-05 16:08:49.429000+00:00 | ['European Union', 'Government', 'Politics', 'Law', 'Democracy'] |
6th Arrondissement neighbourhood guide — where to live in Paris | The 6th arrondissement of Paris is one of the most expensive districts to live in, and it’s justified. Not only is it hyper-central, but it also gathers many of the most famous Parisian treasures such as Le Pont des Arts, Notre-Dame and the wonderful Ile-Saint-Louis. It is always full of tourists because it corresponds to the side of Paris that you most see on postcards, which make it the place to live in if you’re willing to get an intense and fancy Parisian experience.
Le Chic Parisien
The 6th arrondissement, located on the Rive Gauche (the luxurious half of Paris), is definitely one of the fanciest of the French capital. Besides all its globally famous monuments, it includes a multitude of luxurious shops and famous cafés, restaurants and pastries. The district’s prestigious reputation is also due to its concentration of world-renowned academic institutions (La Sorbonne, L’Académie Française, L’École des Beaux-Arts, etc.), in addition to being the historical district of the French Intelligentsia, who used to converge in its well-known cultural cafés. The most iconic one is without any doubt Le Flore, where various French intellectual figures such as Jean-Paul Sartre used to gather.
Le 6ème : the most dynamic arrondissement?
If you can afford to rent a flat in the 6th arrondissement, you’d better make sure it has double-glazed windows. This district never sleeps and possesses all the assets of an extremely lively neighbourhood, which makes it very attractive to students. The amazing Jardin du Luxembourg and Le Pont des Arts are two places where you will enjoy chilling with your friends and a bottle of Rosé, unless you prefer to party at night in one of the multiple bars of Saint-Michel.
FACT SHEET : 6ème arrondissement
One place to study : If the weather allows for it, Le Jardin du Luxembourg has some quiet spots with comfortable chairs. If not, you can go to Le Cassette, a cosy restaurant/café where you can have a great French brunch or enjoy original French cuisine
One place to eat : Berthillon, a famous gourmet store on the Ile Saint-Louis that makes the best French ice-creams and sorbets.
One place to chill (extremely useful for students!): Gibert Jeune and Gibert Joseph, a group of great book stores around Saint Michel metro station where they basically sell every book in the world (especially the ones you can’t find anywhere else), and all types of academic tools for every discipline. They also sell second hand versions of most university books, which is a great way to save money during your exchange. | https://blog.uniplaces.com/6th-arrondissement-neighbourhood-guide-where-to-live-in-paris-9749e673fdf0 | ['Uniplaces Team'] | 2021-11-22 15:41:05.309000+00:00 | ['Studying', 'Neighboring', 'Living', 'Paris'] |
Machine Learning — K-Nearest Neighbors(K-NN) | Statistic How To (2019)
Definition
The K-Nearest Neighbors (K-NN) algorithm is one of the most fundamental and simple classification scheme which can be used for both classification and regression problems. However, the algorithm is mostly used for classification predictive problems in industry. ‘Feature similarity’ is used to predict the values of new data points which we wish to classify. The ‘feature similarity’ suggests that the new data point will be assigned a value which depends on the ‘closeness’ of it with the data points in the training set.
2. The Algorithm
Suppose now we have a dataset, we would like to implement K-NN algorithm, we have already known that the algorithm depends on the ‘closeness’ of the test sample and the specified training samples, thus, we should find a way to measure the distance between them. There are several distance metrics could be used to calculate the distance, the most commonly used method is called Euclidean distance. The function is defined as follows:
Other distance measure functions includes the Manhattan and the Minkowski.
After we calculated the distance between the new data point and all other points, we could sort the distance values in ascending order. If we take the first row from the top which is the smallest distance value, that will be 1-Nearest Neighbor, then we will classify the new data point in the same category as its ‘neareast neighbor’.
Instead of taking one value, we can extend the idea to a K-NN rule by taking the first K (K can be any integer) rows from the sorted array. Then, we will classify the new data point based on the majority of the K-NN votes in the list.
The choice of K is somewhat arbitrary, however, K can be adjusted based on the size of the dataset and the accuracy of predicting. Some experimentation of different value of K is needed in order to get the best value of K which could minimize the misclassification rate in the validation data. If the value of K is too small, the new data point which we need to classify will be very sensitive to the classification of the closest. A larger value of K will reduce the variability, however, if the value of K is too large, it will induce bias into the classification decisions. Usually, the value of K we use will be between 1 and 20.
To sum it up, In order to implement K-NN algorithm, we could follow the steps below:
First, we got our dataset, load the train data and test data.
Choose a specified value of K, then for each data point in the test data, we measure the distance between the point and all other data points in train data.
Based on the distance values and the value of K which we chose, we classify the new data point based on the majority of the votes in the list.
Check the predicting accruacy of different values of K, then we pick the K with highest accruacy.
3. Example
Now let us implement the K-NN algorithm on the dataset in Python. The Iris dataset is used in this case.
The Iris dataset could be download here: https://archive.ics.uci.edu/ml/machine-learning-databases/iris/iris.data
We first take a look at the dataset:
The dataset has four features (X) and the column ‘Class’ is our y.
The next step we need to normalize the data, this procedure is important in order to ensure that equal weight are given to each variable. Then we split the data into train set and test set with the help of ‘train_test_split’.
After the preparation is done, we could implement the algorithm, we will make the value of K equal to 4 first to get the model, and we will also calculate the accruacy in this case.
For the value of K equals to 4, the K-NN gives us 91.67% accuracy for the test set. The predicting result is not bad, let us see how the other values of K performs. We would range the value of K from 1 to 9.
As we can see, when the value of K equls to 8, the K-NN gives us the highest accuracy for the test set of 98.33%.
Reference
Evans, J. (2017) Business Analytics. England: Pearson.
Madhu Sanjeevi (2017) ‘Chapter 5 : K-nearest neighbors algorithm with code from scratch.’
Tutorialspoint (2020) ‘KNN Algorithm — Finding Nearest Neighbors’. https://www.tutorialspoint.com/machine_learning_with_python/machine_learning_with_python_knn_algorithm_finding_nearest_neighbors.htm | https://medium.com/@marvinbu/machine-learning-k-nearest-neighbors-k-nn-778f445f5a48 | ['Bu Yifan'] | 2020-11-23 17:09:42.411000+00:00 | ['Knn Algorithm', 'Machine Learning', 'Classification', 'Knn'] |
Robotic Surgery Equipment Market Trends and Forecast | Robotic Surgery Equipment Market is expected to value over USD 7 billion by 2027 end registering a CAGR of 8.4% during the forecast period 2020 to 2027.
FutureWise research has revealed a report that analyzes Robotic Surgery Equipment Market trends that shall have an effect on the market growth. The report includes elaborated data on SWOT analysis, profit, market share, and regional analysis of this market. This report offers competitive landscape insights on the key market players of this market.
As per the analysis done by our analysts, the Robotic Surgery Equipment Market is anticipated to attain substantial growth over the forecast period. The report explains that the market is expected to register a remarkable rate of growth by the forecast period. This report provides data associated with valuation that’s presently held by this market in its business and it additionally lists the market segmentation alongside the growth opportunities present in this business vertical.
The report analyzes market segmentation forecast By Surgery type, By End-User, By Region, and Robotic Surgery Equipment Market. This report provides elaborated insights on the profit of the market, in-depth SWOT analysis of market trends, key players in conjunction with regional analysis of this market.
Request a Sample Report@ https://www.futurewiseresearch.com/request-sample.aspx?id=146&page=requestsample
Regional Analysis
The regional outlook of the Robotic Surgery Equipment Market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East
This report delivers data points regarding the projected rate of growth registered by this market in each region during the forecast period.
Key Market Players:
Some of the key market players of this market are Microbot Medical, Intuitive Surgical, Hansen Medical, Medrobotics, Verb Surgical, TransEnterix International, Inc., Zimmer Biomet, Corindus Vascular Robotics, Stereotaxis, Inc. and Smith & Nephew, plc.
(Note: For acomplete list of key players, please visit the report page)
FutureWise Key Takeaways:
Provides data of growth prospects of the market, SWOT analysis, key market trends, and key information points touching market growth throughout the forecast period
Competitive Landscape:
Tier one players — key market players accounting for a significant market share
Tier two players
Rapidly growing players
New Entrants
Competitive Landscape of this report will cover complete company profile, along with the production graph, merchandise offerings, and revenue accounted for by every key player profiled in this report
It additionally, provides the data points of value trends and the gross margins of each manufacturer, in accompanying the market share held by key players within the forecast period.
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Objectives of the Study:
· To offer report with an entire analysis on the Robotic Surgery Equipment Market By Surgery type, By End-User, and By Region
· To cater comprehensive data and data-points on factors impacting the expansion of the market (drivers, opportunities, and industry-specific restraints)
· To analyze and forecast micro-markets and additionally the scope of the market
· To predict the market forecast, size and share, in key regions — North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East
· To record and evaluate competitive landscape — product launches, mergers and expansions, and technological advancements within the market
Table of Content:
1. Market Introduction and Overview
2. Market Scope, Trends and Competitive Landscape
3. Market Segmentation
4. Regional Analysis
5. Key Market Players
6. Global and Regional Market Share
7. Covid-19 Impact
8. Key Takeaways and Data Points
Some of the key queries addressed in this report are:
1. Key factors influencing the market growth?
2. Anticipated growth-rate of the market throughout the forecast period?
3. Market size value in 2020?
4. What is the expected market size by 2027?
5. Which region holds the biggest market share?
Flexible Delivery Model:
We have a flexible delivery model where you’ll be able to suggest changes within the scope/table of content on the basis of your requirement
Free customization services on the acquisition of any license Type of report.
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Phone: UK: +44 1416289353 | US: +1 3477094931 | https://medium.com/@marketinsight92/robotic-surgery-equipment-market-trends-and-forecast-cae5e3c1bd9b | ['Market Insight'] | 2021-12-31 09:12:38.538000+00:00 | ['Market Analysis', 'Market Research Reports', 'Market Size', 'Market Research', 'Market Share'] |
Create an Amazon EKS Cluster with Managed Node Group using Terraform | Prerequisites
I think this post will be most beneficial to you if you take a hands on approach. To do so, please make sure you have the following:
Overview of Amazon EKS & Cluster Setup
Amazon EKS (Amazon Elastic Container Service for Kubernetes) is a managed service that makes it easy for you to run Kubernetes on AWS without the need to setup, provision or maintain your own control plane. It is Kubernetes compliant and has a managed control plane.
AWS is responsible for provisioning, running, managing and auto-scaling the K8s master and etcd nodes across multiple AWS AZs (Availability Zones) for high availability.
The customer is responsible for adding and managing the EC2 worker nodes.
Amazon EKS cluters run within Amazon VPCs. In order to communicate with the cluster, you have to configure it to either have public endpoint access control, private endpoint access control or both. We’ll look at this in more detail later.
Pricing
Before you run ahead and create an EKS cluster, you should be aware of the pricing that isn’t covered by the one free-tier that AWS offers. At the time of me writing this post, the pricing for an Amazon EKS cluster is $0.10 per hour. Also, you are also responsible for other resource costs like EC2, EBS, etc. Be sure to check this page for the latest pricing of this service.
Push Container Image to ECR
I’m not going to give a detailed walk-through of this step because I’ve already done so in a separate post which you can refer to here under the same sub-heading. It is an important step nonetheless because it details the image that I’m going to pull from my pod in the private subnet node group.
All I’m doing is creating a Docker image for an NodeJS application server with a single route /test that returns a response with the text “Working!”.
If you already have an image in ECR then you can skip this step.
Setting up our VPC Network Configuration
When you create an Amazon EKS cluster, you have to specify the VPC and subnets for your cluster to make use of. Amazon EKS requires subnets in at least two AZs. In this setup, we are going to have both public and private subnets. The public subnet will be used to create public load balancers that will direct traffic to pods running on the worker nodes in the private subnet. A subnet is public or private depending on whether or not traffic within the subnet is routed through an internet gateway. If the subnet’s traffic does not have a default route through an internet gateway, this subnet is considered to be private.
Nodes with public or elastic IP addresses within a subnet configured with an internet gateway allow ingress from outside of the VPC. Your VPC must have DNS hostname and DNS resolution support. Otherwise, your worker nodes cannot register with your cluster.
When creating an Amazon EKS cluster (earlier than version 1.15), Amazon EKS tags the VPC containing the subnets you specify so that Kubernetes can discover it. We’ll be adding this tag in our Terraform code with the following key and value:
Key — The kubernetes.io/<cluster-name> where the cluster-name value matches your Amazon EKS cluster's name.
where the cluster-name value matches your Amazon EKS cluster's name. Value — The shared value allows more than one cluster to use this VPC.
Furthermore, the VPC subnets also have tagging requirements. All subnets (public and private) that your cluster uses for resources should also have the above tag. In addition, the public and private subnets should each have certain tags that tell Kubernetes where to deploy internal (private) and external load balancers (public).
Public Subnet Tag:
Key — kubernetes.io/role/elb
Value — 1
Private Subnet Tag:
Key — kubernetes.io/role/internal-elb
Value — 1
resource "aws_vpc" "custom_vpc" {
cidr_block = var.vpc_cidr_block
# Your VPC must have DNS hostname and DNS resolution support.
# Otherwise, your worker nodes cannot register with your cluster.
enable_dns_support = true
enable_dns_hostnames = true tags = {
Name = "${var.vpc_tag_name}-${var.environment}"
"kubernetes.io/cluster/${var.eks_cluster_name}" = "shared"
}
} ### VPC Network Setup # Create the private subnet
resource "aws_subnet" "private_subnet" {
vpc_id = "${aws_vpc.custom_vpc.id}"
cidr_block = var.private_subnet_cidr_block tags = {
"kubernetes.io/cluster/${var.eks_cluster_name}" = "shared"
"kubernetes.io/role/internal-elb" = 1
}
} # Create the public subnet
resource "aws_subnet" "public_subnet" {
count = length(var.availability_zones)
vpc_id = "${aws_vpc.custom_vpc.id}"
cidr_block = "${element(var.public_subnet_cidr_blocks, count.index)}"
availability_zone = "${element(var.availability_zones, count.index)}" tags = {
"kubernetes.io/cluster/${var.eks_cluster_name}" = "shared"
"kubernetes.io/role/elb" = 1
} map_public_ip_on_launch = true
} # Create IGW for the public subnets
resource "aws_internet_gateway" "igw" {
vpc_id = "${aws_vpc.custom_vpc.id}"
} # Route the public subnet traffic through the IGW
resource "aws_route_table" "main" {
vpc_id = "${aws_vpc.custom_vpc.id}" route {
cidr_block = "0.0.0.0/0"
gateway_id = "${aws_internet_gateway.igw.id}"
} tags = {
Name = "${var.route_table_tag_name}-${var.environment}"
}
} # Route table and subnet associations
resource "aws_route_table_association" "internet_access" {
count = length(var.availability_zones)
subnet_id = "${aws_subnet.public_subnet[count.index].id}"
route_table_id = "${aws_route_table.main.id}"
}
Network Mode Configuration
Another important preliminary step we have to consider before creating our cluster is deciding on the networking mode or the endpoint access control. You can configure the endpoint access control to determine whether your cluster is accessible form the Internet (public access), the VPC (private access) or both (public and private access). The communication between the worker nodes and the managed Kubernetes control plane is determined by the network mode configuration. Read this post for more details on this. In our case, we’re going to be configuring our cluster’s network to have both public and private endpoint access control.
Amazon EKS creates an Amazon Route 53 private hosted zone on your behalf, and then associates that private hosted zone only with your cluster’s VPC. The private hosted zone is managed by Amazon EKS, and the zone doesn’t appear in your account’s Route 53 resources. So this configruation will enable the following:
Kubernetes API requests within the cluster’s VPC (such as worker node to control plane communication) use the private VPC endpoint.
The cluster API server is accessible from the Internet.
VPC Endpoints
Since we opted for the public and private network mode, our worker nodes won’t need outbound internet access for cluster introspection or node registration. Communication occurs through a managed EKS VPC Interface Endpoint. An interface endpoint is an elastic network interface with a private IP address from the IP address range of your subnet that serves as an entry point for traffic destined to a supported service.
VPC endpoints allow communication between instances in your VPC and AWS services without imposing availability risks or bandwidth constraints on your network traffic. Given this setup, the worker nodes running in the private subnet will also need access to other AWS services apart from the managed EKS control plane. We are going to use VPC Endpoints to privately connect our VPC to other AWS services, namely ECR, EC2 and S3.
We’re going to be setting up VPC endpoints for the following services:
AWS PrivateLink endpoint for ECR — This allows instances in your VPC to authenticate and communicate with ECR to download image manifests
Gateway VPC endpoint for Amazon S3 — This allows instances to download the image layers from the underlying private Amazon S3 buckets that host them.
AWS PrivateLink endpoint for EC2
# ECR
resource "aws_vpc_endpoint" "ecr_dkr" {
vpc_id = "${aws_vpc.custom_vpc.id}"
service_name = "com.amazonaws.${var.region}.ecr.dkr"
vpc_endpoint_type = "Interface"
private_dns_enabled = true
subnet_ids = flatten([["${aws_subnet.private_subnet.id}"], aws_subnet.public_subnet.*.id]) security_group_ids = [aws_security_group.endpoint_ecr.id] tags = {
Name = "ECR Docker VPC Endpoint Interface - ${var.environment}"
Environment = var.environment
}
} resource "aws_vpc_endpoint" "ecr_api" {
vpc_id = "${aws_vpc.custom_vpc.id}"
service_name = "com.amazonaws.${var.region}.ecr.api"
vpc_endpoint_type = "Interface"
private_dns_enabled = true
subnet_ids = flatten([["${aws_subnet.private_subnet.id}"], aws_subnet.public_subnet.*.id]) security_group_ids = [aws_security_group.endpoint_ecr.id] tags = {
Name = "ECR API VPC Endpoint Interface - ${var.environment}"
Environment = var.environment
}
} # EC2
resource "aws_vpc_endpoint" "ec2" {
vpc_id = "${aws_vpc.custom_vpc.id}"
service_name = "com.amazonaws.${var.region}.ec2"
vpc_endpoint_type = "Interface"
private_dns_enabled = true
subnet_ids = flatten([["${aws_subnet.private_subnet.id}"], aws_subnet.public_subnet.*.id]) security_group_ids = [aws_security_group.endpoint_ec2.id] tags = {
Name = "EC2 VPC Endpoint Interface - ${var.environment}"
Environment = var.environment
}
} # S3
resource "aws_vpc_endpoint" "s3" {
vpc_id = "${aws_vpc.custom_vpc.id}"
service_name = "com.amazonaws.${var.region}.s3"
vpc_endpoint_type = "Gateway"
route_table_ids = [var.main_pvt_route_table_id] tags = {
Name = "S3 VPC Endpoint Gateway - ${var.environment}"
Environment = var.environment
}
}
VPC Endpoint Security Groups
We also want to create security groups that we’ll attach to our VPC endpoint interface components. We want to allow communication between the VPC endpoint network interfaces and the resources in our VPC that communicate with other AWS services.
# EC2 VPC Endpoint security groups
resource "aws_security_group" "endpoint_ec2" {
name = "endpoint-ec2-sg"
vpc_id = aws_vpc.custom_vpc.id
} resource "aws_security_group_rule" "endpoint_ec2_443" {
security_group_id = aws_security_group.endpoint_ec2.id
type = "ingress"
from_port = 443
to_port = 443
protocol = "tcp"
cidr_blocks = flatten([[var.private_subnet_cidr_block], var.public_subnet_cidr_blocks])
} # ECR VPC Endpoint security groups
resource "aws_security_group" "endpoint_ecr" {
name = "endpoint-ecr-sg"
vpc_id = aws_vpc.custom_vpc.id
} resource "aws_security_group_rule" "endpoint_ecr_443" {
security_group_id = aws_security_group.endpoint_ecr.id
type = "ingress"
from_port = 443
to_port = 443
protocol = "tcp"
cidr_blocks = flatten([[var.private_subnet_cidr_block], var.public_subnet_cidr_blocks])
}
Creating The EKS Cluster
We’re getting to the core stages of what we set out to do. Before creating our cluster, we need to create an IAM role with specific IAM policies because the Kubernetes cluster managed by Amazon EKS makes calls to other AWS services on our behalf to manage the resources that are used with the service. So it will need the right permissions to execute these calls successfully.
After that, once the role has been created we can proceed to create the cluster. After which, we’ll need to create security groups for both the control plane as well as the worker node groups to allow for communication between the cluster’s Kubernetes control plane and the worker node groups.
Amazon EKS managed node groups are automatically configured to use the cluster security group but you can restrict the cluster traffic and limit the open ports between the control plane and the worker nodes which is what we’ll be doing.
So in this section we’ll be creating the following:
EKS Cluster IAM Role
EKS Cluster
EKS Cluster & Worker Node Security Groups
EKS Cluster IAM Role
resource "aws_iam_role" "eks_cluster" {
name = "${var.eks_cluster_name}-cluster-${var.environment}" assume_role_policy = <<POLICY
{
"Version": "2012-10-17",
"Statement": [
{
"Effect": "Allow",
"Principal": {
"Service": "eks.amazonaws.com"
},
"Action": "sts:AssumeRole"
}
]
}
POLICY
} resource "aws_iam_role_policy_attachment" "aws_eks_cluster_policy" {
policy_arn = "arn:aws:iam::aws:policy/AmazonEKSClusterPolicy"
role = "${aws_iam_role.eks_cluster.name}"
} resource "aws_iam_role_policy_attachment" "aws_eks_service_policy" {
policy_arn = "arn:aws:iam::aws:policy/AmazonEKSServicePolicy"
role = "${aws_iam_role.eks_cluster.name}"
}
EKS Cluster
resource "aws_eks_cluster" "main" {
name = var.eks_cluster_name
role_arn = "${aws_iam_role.eks_cluster.arn}" vpc_config {
security_group_ids = [aws_security_group.eks_cluster.id, aws_security_group.eks_nodes.id]
endpoint_private_access = var.endpoint_private_access
endpoint_public_access = var.endpoint_public_access
subnet_ids = var.eks_cluster_subnet_ids
} # Ensure that IAM Role permissions are created before and deleted after EKS Cluster handling.
# Otherwise, EKS will not be able to properly delete EKS managed EC2 infrastructure such as Security Groups.
depends_on = [
"aws_iam_role_policy_attachment.aws_eks_cluster_policy",
"aws_iam_role_policy_attachment.aws_eks_service_policy"
]
}
EKS Cluster Security Group
resource "aws_security_group" "eks_cluster" {
name = var.cluster_sg_name
description = "Cluster communication with worker nodes"
vpc_id = var.vpc_id tags = {
Name = var.cluster_sg_name
}
} resource "aws_security_group_rule" "cluster_inbound" {
description = "Allow worker nodes to communicate with the cluster API Server"
from_port = 443
protocol = "tcp"
security_group_id = aws_security_group.eks_cluster.id
source_security_group_id = aws_security_group.eks_nodes.id
to_port = 443
type = "ingress"
} resource "aws_security_group_rule" "cluster_outbound" {
description = "Allow cluster API Server to communicate with the worker nodes"
from_port = 1024
protocol = "tcp"
security_group_id = aws_security_group.eks_cluster.id
source_security_group_id = aws_security_group.eks_nodes.id
to_port = 65535
type = "egress"
}
EKS Worker Node Group Security Group
resource "aws_security_group" "eks_nodes" {
name = var.nodes_sg_name
description = "Security group for all nodes in the cluster"
vpc_id = var.vpc_id egress {
from_port = 0
to_port = 0
protocol = "-1"
cidr_blocks = ["0.0.0.0/0"]
} tags = {
Name = var.nodes_sg_name
"kubernetes.io/cluster/${var.eks_cluster_name}" = "owned"
}
} resource "aws_security_group_rule" "nodes" {
description = "Allow nodes to communicate with each other"
from_port = 0
protocol = "-1"
security_group_id = aws_security_group.eks_nodes.id
source_security_group_id = aws_security_group.eks_nodes.id
to_port = 65535
type = "ingress"
} resource "aws_security_group_rule" "nodes_inbound" {
description = "Allow worker Kubelets and pods to receive communication from the cluster control plane"
from_port = 1025
protocol = "tcp"
security_group_id = aws_security_group.eks_nodes.id
source_security_group_id = aws_security_group.eks_cluster.id
to_port = 65535
type = "ingress"
}
Creating The Worker Node Groups
Similar to the cluster creation, we first need to create an IAM role for the worker nodes with specific IAM policies attached to it before they can be launched for use. What’s the reason in this particular case? The daemon kubelet on the worker nodes make calls to AWS APIs on our behalf and the nodes need this roles and necessary policies to have the right permissions for these API calls.
In this section we’ll be creating the following:
Worker Node Group IAM Role
Worker Node Groups for Public & Private Subnets
Worker Node Group IAM Role
resource "aws_iam_role" "eks_nodes" {
name = "${var.eks_cluster_name}-worker-${var.environment}" assume_role_policy = data.aws_iam_policy_document.assume_workers.json
} data "aws_iam_policy_document" "assume_workers" {
statement {
effect = "Allow" actions = ["sts:AssumeRole"] principals {
type = "Service"
identifiers = ["ec2.amazonaws.com"]
}
}
} resource "aws_iam_role_policy_attachment" "aws_eks_worker_node_policy" {
policy_arn = "arn:aws:iam::aws:policy/AmazonEKSWorkerNodePolicy"
role = aws_iam_role.eks_nodes.name
} resource "aws_iam_role_policy_attachment" "aws_eks_cni_policy" {
policy_arn = "arn:aws:iam::aws:policy/AmazonEKS_CNI_Policy"
role = aws_iam_role.eks_nodes.name
} resource "aws_iam_role_policy_attachment" "ec2_read_only" {
policy_arn = "arn:aws:iam::aws:policy/AmazonEC2ContainerRegistryReadOnly"
role = aws_iam_role.eks_nodes.name
} resource "aws_iam_role_policy_attachment" "cluster_autoscaler" {
policy_arn = aws_iam_policy.cluster_autoscaler_policy.arn
role = aws_iam_role.eks_nodes.name
} resource "aws_iam_policy" "cluster_autoscaler_policy" {
name = "ClusterAutoScaler"
description = "Give the worker node running the Cluster Autoscaler access to required resources and actions" policy = <<EOF
{
"Version": "2012-10-17",
"Statement": [
{
"Effect": "Allow",
"Action": [
"autoscaling:DescribeAutoScalingGroups",
"autoscaling:DescribeAutoScalingInstances",
"autoscaling:DescribeLaunchConfigurations",
"autoscaling:DescribeTags",
"autoscaling:SetDesiredCapacity",
"autoscaling:TerminateInstanceInAutoScalingGroup"
],
"Resource": "*"
}
]
}
EOF
}
Worker Node Groups for Public & Private Subnets
# Nodes in private subnets
resource "aws_eks_node_group" "main" {
cluster_name = aws_eks_cluster.main.name
node_group_name = var.node_group_name
node_role_arn = aws_iam_role.eks_nodes.arn
subnet_ids = var.private_subnet_ids ami_type = var.ami_type
disk_size = var.disk_size
instance_types = var.instance_types scaling_config {
desired_size = var.pvt_desired_size
max_size = var.pvt_max_size
min_size = var.pvt_min_size
} tags = {
Name = var.node_group_name
} # Ensure that IAM Role permissions are created before and deleted after EKS Node Group handling.
# Otherwise, EKS will not be able to properly delete EC2 Instances and Elastic Network Interfaces.
depends_on = [
aws_iam_role_policy_attachment.aws_eks_worker_node_policy,
aws_iam_role_policy_attachment.aws_eks_cni_policy,
aws_iam_role_policy_attachment.ec2_read_only,
]
} # Nodes in public subnet
resource "aws_eks_node_group" "public" {
cluster_name = aws_eks_cluster.main.name
node_group_name = "${var.node_group_name}-public"
node_role_arn = aws_iam_role.eks_nodes.arn
subnet_ids = var.public_subnet_ids ami_type = var.ami_type
disk_size = var.disk_size
instance_types = var.instance_types scaling_config {
desired_size = var.pblc_desired_size
max_size = var.pblc_max_size
min_size = var.pblc_min_size
} tags = {
Name = "${var.node_group_name}-public"
} # Ensure that IAM Role permissions are created before and deleted after EKS Node Group handling.
# Otherwise, EKS will not be able to properly delete EC2 Instances and Elastic Network Interfaces.
depends_on = [
aws_iam_role_policy_attachment.aws_eks_worker_node_policy,
aws_iam_role_policy_attachment.aws_eks_cni_policy,
aws_iam_role_policy_attachment.ec2_read_only,
]
}
Deploying & Exposing a Pod
Assuming you have run terragrunt apply or terraform apply and your cluster was successfully created and the node groups registered to it, we can now move to the next step which is to test an application on our cluster. To communicate with my cluster I’ll be using kubectl. The first step will be to create a Pod for our container to run in, and then expose (make publicly accessible) the containerised application using a Service.
Pod — the fundamental unit of deployment; it represents a running process of a scheduled unit and is a wrapper for one or more containers grouped together. Each pod is assigned a unique IP address and can expose ports. Labels are used to logically identify pods that match a criterion
Service — A service is an abstraction object on top of a group of pods like a load balancer. They routes traffic to pods in a round robin fashion. There are three types of services:
ClusterIP — Reachable from only within the cluster.
LoadBalancer — Exposes pods to external client traffic. Exposed over an external load balancer.
NodePort — Reachable from a exposed Node port.
Connect To EKS Cluster
Make sure that you’ve got the right version of the AWS CLI installed. You can check by running the following command:
aws --version
Assuming you’ve got both the AWS CLI and kubectl installed, you can ensure that you’ve got the right AWS profile with the necessary permissions configured by running the following command:
aws sts get-caller-identity
To create or update the kubeconfig file for your cluster, run the following command:
aws eks --region region update-kubeconfig --name your-cluster-name
You should be all setup and ready to make calls to your Cluster’s public API endpoint. If you would like to, you can read more about managing cluster authentication here. Run the following command to check for the current running worker nodes:
kubectl get nodes
Label Node
I want to assign my Pod specifically to the node(s) running in the private subnet. A label is simply a key/value pair. To do this, I label the nodes with the following command:
kubectl label nodes <your-node-name> nodeType=privateNode
To ensure that your node was successfully labelled, you can run the following command to check the labels for each of the nodes:
kubectl get nodes --show-labels
Alternatively, you can view the details of the specific node you labelled:
kubectl describe node <your-node-name>
To pods to these nodes, we’ll make use of nodeSelector which is the simplest recommended form of node selection constraint. nodeSelector is a field of PodSpec.
Create Pod & Service
Next up, I’ll be creating a pod with a container built from the image in the ECR repository. Below are the manifest files both for the pod being created, as well as the service that will expose it.
Pod
apiVersion: v1
kind: Pod
metadata:
name: nodejs-express-pod
labels:
app: nodejs-express
spec:
containers:
- name: nodejs-express-container
image: <image>
ports:
- containerPort: 8080
nodeSelector:
nodeType: privateNode # specify the node constraint which the pod should run on
Service
apiVersion: v1
kind: Service
metadata:
name: nodejs-service
spec:
selector:
app: nodejs-express
type: LoadBalancer
ports:
- protocol: TCP
port: 8080
targetPort: 8080
Once you’ve saved your manifest files, you can go ahead and create them one at a time with the following command:
kubectl apply -f <manifest-file-name>.yml
To test that the pod and the service are each running as they should be, you can run the following commands:
kubectl get pods
kubectl get services
Since we created our service to be of type LoadBalancer, a Classic Load Balancer will be created in your AWS account and it will have an external or public IP address and a DNS name that you can use to access your application on the specified service port. In my case, the API request will be sent to the following address: | https://medium.com/dev-genius/create-an-amazon-eks-cluster-with-managed-node-group-using-terraform-a3b50d276b13 | ['Lukonde Mwila'] | 2020-11-02 11:11:19.985000+00:00 | ['Software Development', 'Cloud Native', 'Software Engineering', 'Kubernetes', 'Terraform'] |
A Decade-Long Battle | A Decade-Long Battle
Photo by Wanly Chen
“Beauty, the price I pay, you return with empty compliments.”
It’s fair to say I’m immune to most beauty trends. I wear make-up once or twice a year, never once dyed my hair and have chosen to remain consciously oblivious to fashion trends. While most girls and women chased for the new “in,” I was content with my plain Jane aesthetic.
But there was one that I couldn’t stay away from: the trend of being thin.
In high school, I had a friend who was pursuing a modeling career and her diet usually consisted of just juice and spinach. She was taller and weighed less than me, but still complained she was too fat. It made me begin to think I was the one at fault for being overweight.
In my first year at Buffalo, I started off by slowly removing carbs and meat from my meals. From there, I only took away more. In my final year, I went on an extreme diet with weight loss pills, protein shakes, and fasting through meal times. I fell sick often, but I had taught my mind to see those as freebie days — “free of calories” days.
When I went to study in China, my mentality had to change. I didn’t want to get sick in a foreign country so I allowed myself to eat, but some days it was still barely enough. In comparison to my female classmates, however, I was eating plenty.
In Asia, the desire to be thin was more common than in America. There, many of my female classmates were dissatisfied with their bodies and more often than not, how to lose weight was in our conversations. They would arrive with their version of meal supplements and fasted through lunch and dinner, techniques I was all too familiar with.
We were all young women pursuing a beauty standard that we believed to be viewed universally the same.
But it is not. The standard of thin is only an opinion with no numerical value, and that changes over time and across the world. To my American friend, I was deemed too fat. But to my international classmates, I was the skinny girl they wanted to be.
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash
The U.S. National Organization for Women found nearly 80% of women dislike their own bodies, a number that is devastatingly high and has severe consequences. I grew up in a society where curves on Asian women were not seen as normal and for a decade, I punished my body for being different. In what were supposed to be the best years of my life, I now associate with years of heavy depression and mental instability.
Quarantine has truthfully been a time of sobriety and recovery. I finally sought the professional help I needed and dedicated myself to ending this war. I replaced pills with vitamins, protein shakes with food and created a meal-time and exercise schedule. For me, it was not self-love that was the cure but rather, self-care.
By sharing my story, I hope to raise awareness of a problem too many women face, and to challenge the stigma against mental health illness, especially in the Asian community. For many of us, it is not only difficult to admit suffering but to find the support we need to seek help. It should be in every person’s desire to have a healthier culture around beauty and mental health illness, and I believe, it is in every person’s power to foster such society.
Today marks a full year since I almost lost myself, and it is here where I dedicate this piece to a future me: that if she is ever in trouble again, I want to remind her this year was truly the healthiest and perhaps, the happiest, she has been in a very long time.
If you’ve read this far, thank you.
(Background story for my poem “Beauty.”) | https://medium.com/@thewriterscigarette/a-decade-long-battle-cc3165b92673 | [] | 2021-02-25 15:37:35.459000+00:00 | ['Beauty', 'Body Image', 'Self Care', 'Reflections', 'Mental Health'] |
5 Ways Narcissism Kills Creativity. | Be Best.
Photo by Marcel Strauß on Unsplash
I can’t get over Melania Trump's ‘Be Best’ campaign. It’s an awareness campaign around cyberbullying and she’s married to the biggest cyberbully on the planet, other than that one girl in high school, who wants to be Perez Hilton and is experimenting on her classmates.
Be Best makes me giggle, which hinges it onto my brain like a ravenous crocodile. I know Be Best is old news but I can’t shake it. It’s living in a tiny house inside my head.
Be Best. It makes my nostrils flare. It tickles my throat. When I hear those two words, I imagine someone getting beat up in the playground and Melania is standing over them in her I Don’t Care coat, saying “Be Best.” And the person on the ground is like “WTF lady.”
I like things that stick in my head because otherwise, I think about myself all the time. It’s a terrible habit, made worse by self-help articles that tell me I can even be an even better version of myself. I can Be Bester than this? I think. Say no more.
Narcissism is hard to spell. I am always autocorrected when I write it, like with my lay/lie auntie. I refuse to learn the proper way to spell it as long as autocorrect exists. Also, in my experience, words that are hard to spell make me sound drunk. If you sound drunk, people don’t take you seriously.
So, here are 5 Ways to Stop Narcissism from Killing your Creativity | https://medium.com/the-haven/5-ways-narcissism-kills-creativity-2678fadbf2c6 | ['Amy Culberg'] | 2020-11-27 22:16:37.227000+00:00 | ['Self Improvement', 'Humor', 'Covid-19', 'Narcissism', 'Self-awareness'] |
Alternative Python libraries for Data Science | 1. Dabl(Data Analysis Baseline Library)
Dabl library has been created by Andreas Mueller, one of the core developers and maintainers of the scikit-learn machine learning library. The idea behind dabl is to make supervised machine learning more accessible to beginners and reduce boilerplate for common tasks. Dabl takes inspirations from scikit-learn and auto-sklearn. The library is being developed actively and hence isn’t recommended for production use. Refer to the official website for more info and examples.
Installation
# Installing the library
!pip install dabl
Usage
Dabl can be used for automated preprocessing of the dataset, quick EDA as well as initial model building as part of a typical machine learning pipeline. Let's demo some of the use cases of this library with the help of the titanic dataset. We’ll start by importing both the library as well as the dataset.
#import the basiclibraries
import numpy as np
import pandas as pd
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt #importing dabl
import dabl #import the dataset
titanic_df = pd.read_csv('../input/titanic/train.csv')
titanic.info()
titanic.info() | Image by Author
Detecting Feature Types
As part of the preprocessing, dabl attempts to identify missing values, feature types, and erroneous data. If the detection of semantic types (continuous, categorical, ordinal, text, etc.) fails, the user can provide type_hints also.
titanic_df_clean = dabl.clean(titanic_df, verbose=1)
2. Exploratory Data analysis with dabl
dabl provides a high-level interface that summarizes several common high-level plots. All features are shown for low dimensional datasets; for high dimensional datasets, only the given task's most informative features are shown. Let’s see the process in action.
dabl.plot(titanic_df, target_col="Survived")
Target Distribution | Image by Author
Image by Author
Image by Author
Image by Author
All the above plots have been generated with a single line of code.
3. Initial Model Building with dabl
dabl can also quickly find a baseline model for our data. The SimpleClassifier implements the standard scikit-learn API of fit and prediction.
ec = dabl.SimpleClassifier(random_state=0).fit(titanic_df, target_col="Survived") | https://towardsdatascience.com/alternative-python-libraries-for-data-science-1ae2f0611542 | ['Parul Pandey'] | 2020-10-23 10:36:42.400000+00:00 | ['Python', 'Machine Learning', 'Scikit Learn', 'NLP', 'Eda'] |
How Degree in Environmental Science Can Help You Get a Job | Environmental science is a relatively recent interdisciplinary academic discipline that combines biology, chemistry and physics to address the research of the environment and the solutions of environmental challenges. It emerged from fields such as medical science and natural science during the Industrial Revolution.
Although it has its roots in natural sciences, it does not have a strict discipline like chemistry or physics. Rather, it relies on the application of scientific principles to study a wide variety of environmental issues. A fundamental element of all aspects of environmental science is the study of how the environment interacts with human beings and their environments.
As a result, this branch of science includes the study of global climate change, the behaviour and health of living organisms, and the interactions among the natural environment and man-made pollutants. In addition to these, there are also a number of other areas of interest that relate to environmental science.
An environmental science degree gives students the necessary skills and knowledge for many jobs in fields like sustainability, conservation, and environmental research and teaching. Jobs that directly relate to the degree include environmental horticulturalists. This career is perfect for students who are also interested in learning about nature’s ecosystems.
The first and foremost area of interest in the field of environmental science involves the effects of pollution on ecosystems and the environment. These include:
The first thing you should know as an environmental scientist is that there are many different ways in which you can specialize. If you want to study the relationship between the environment and human health, for example, you can earn a doctorate in public health to study the impact of pollution and health on the world around us.
However, if you are interested in the relationship between pollution and the environment, you may be well suited for a career in environmental science. Environmental scientists may also choose to specialize in a particular aspect of science.
For instance, the geologist may study the earth’s surface and sedimentary deposits to understand why major changes in land use occur. In addition to the study of the environment and the physical sciences, there is also a study of human health and psychology. If you wish to study how the disease affects humans, you could specialize in gerontology or pathology.
Neurobiologist and anthropologist study human behaviour and consciousness in order to understand the psychological aspects of human life. Of course, you cannot get a degree in environmental science without specializing in a specific study.
There are also several courses that are required in this field. The most important ones include:
Some of these subjects are required while others are optional but you should not skip them since they are necessary if you want to succeed in your studies. You should be aware though that some subjects may require additional research. on your part to acquire an understanding of what you are studying. For instance, one course that will not be required but strongly recommended is Introduction to Earth Science.
The Environmental Science major prepares students for a successful career in a career in environmental science. Because environmental science requires the study of the environment, its focus is the study of human life within the environment and its interactions with its surroundings. This field of study helps you to develop a holistic approach to living a healthy and environmentally sound life.
Students who have earned an environmental health science degree can also pursue a career in education or medicine. In education, you may work as a teacher, coach, curriculum developer, or consultant. Your educational background will play a role in your job selection. Your degree program should teach you how to assess and design a learning system that meets the needs of your student.
The program is designed so that students learn about the various components of the environment as well as they learn about the processes that govern the earth’s environment. The core curriculum includes introductory courses in general sciences, earth sciences, physical sciences and microbiology, chemistry, and physics, among others.
An Environmental Science major is particularly beneficial for those with prior studies in physics and mathematics. It is also perfect for students who have an interest in environmental issues. As such, it is also great for working professionals that are already working in the fields of ecology, public health, or the environment because the major allows you to study many aspects of environmental science at the same time.
The same can be said for public health
If you are interested in helping people understand and improve their health, you can go on to work in public health. Many environmental health science programs also offer health care training, which would be extremely useful if you ever decided to work in this field.
For those who want to further their education and careers, research opportunities are very exciting. In fact, a lot of research has been done on the links between environmental conditions and health. If you study this area, you can easily earn a doctorate degree or even a doctorate in environmental health science.
You may choose to get into the field of biology to study plants, animals, and natural resources. However, there are other areas that also interest you and that are more related to environmental health science. For example, environmental health science programs often combine animal health studies with those related to humans. A good program will be able to explain the relationships between humans and animals.
A good health program should also give students the chance to experience various settings and see how things work in a real environment
You should not only be able to see how things work, but you should also be able to talk to others about their experience and opinions. When you are able to talk to those in the same position as you, it is easier for you to learn from them.
After earning your degree in environmental care, you can then move on to work as a health consultant or even in the field of health care itself. This may be a great career option for someone who wants to do something hands-on. and be a hands-on practitioner. Working in an environment that involves people is a great way to see first hand how environmental issues affect other people.
Environmental science degrees are often very popular because they offer a variety of career options. If you have the desire to go back to school and earn a PhD, consider a course in biology, environmental health science, public health, or public health care.
If you choose to go back to school for your bachelor’s degree, there are even many programs that allow students to earn two degrees. So if you are interested in a wide variety of careers, and environmental science degree is just the thing for you!
As you can imagine, graduate studies are very involved. You will have to spend a lot of time away from your family and friends. This can be a little stressful, but if you can manage to do this while still taking care of other aspects of your life, you should be fine. Just make sure that you have a plan and a good support system to help you along the way.
Graduate degrees are available at all levels of the program
In fact, some doctoral degrees can take over five years to finish. You may even be able to earn a master’s degree after you have finished your graduate studies. If you are not interested in getting a doctorate, you may not need to worry about getting a degree in environmental science.
Many of these programs require you to earn a master’s degree before you can apply for jobs in this field. You may not have to have a PhD in any of the areas that you choose to specialize in. If you have an interest in the environment and are interested in becoming a health researcher or teacher, you can get your degree through a bachelor’s degree in environmental science.
Entry requirements for an Environmental Science Degrees
The entry requirements for environmental science degrees vary between different institutions. People applying for an undergraduate (bachelor’s) degree in environmental science can expect to be asked for a diploma of secondary education, these include good grades in at least one of the following related subjects:
At the master’s level of the degree, you will need to have completed a relevant bachelor’s degree, either in environmental sciences or in one of the subjects mentioned above. Some universities may require applicants to attend a face-to-face interview, and/or to sit an entrance exam, often depending on national norms.
Environmental science degrees usually last for 3 or 4 years at the bachelor’s level and one or two years for a master’s qualification. The initial stage of your studies will include compulsory core modules, which aim to give you a general understanding of environmental science and introduce you to some of the main principles. You can discover some of the top Universities offering the environmental sciences courses
This program will not only teach you how to protect the environment, but it will also teach you how to handle health issues that are similar to those that affect the environment. You will be prepared to help others, so if you decide to go back to school or stay in the field, you will be ready for the challenges.
You can get a degree in Environmental Science by completing a Bachelor of Science, Master’s Degree, or PhD. The most popular programs are the Master of Science and PhD. | https://medium.com/@akinpedia/how-degree-in-environmental-science-can-help-you-get-a-job-7efe9a6ae4cc | ['Abiodun Lawrence'] | 2020-12-30 09:02:16.589000+00:00 | ['Planning', 'Career Advice', 'Environmental Issues', 'Urban Planning', 'Urbanism'] |
I think you may have meant to write, “Emotionally _mature_ people”, here. | Emotionally immature people love to listen to your experiences, and they use them to establish an emotional connection with you… | https://medium.com/@1055/i-think-you-may-have-meant-to-write-emotionally-mature-people-here-ee42523e97bd | ['Adam Parichy'] | 2020-12-06 21:27:46.558000+00:00 | ['Editing', 'Proofreading'] |
Unwitnessed Love | Sign up for The Story Box
By Scribe
The Story Box is a lovingly written newsletter featuring delightful stories and all updates from the publication. Every Sunday, just for you. Take a look | https://medium.com/scribe/unwitnessed-love-1f57418cfbb2 | ['Jessica Lee Mcmillan'] | 2020-06-30 16:14:52.703000+00:00 | ['Loneliness', 'Poetry', 'Haiku', 'Love', 'Beauty'] |
How to Financially Get Out of the Recession Rut Quick | Image by John Cameron
According to Google’s 2020 Search Results, by no surprise, ‘pandemic’ and ‘COVID’ are the most searched terms of the year. It infiltrated our lives and every time we step outside, we are reminded wearing our masks that 1 out of every 1 thousandth American we know dies from this deadly virus each day. At this point, we are done hearing how this virus has changed our lives in every shape and form. We prefer to complain because it is easier than being nice and positive, but at this point, we want to take another route, preferably away from this country. We are sick of being mean, stubborn and complaining. All feeling hopeless at this point.
Everyone is struggling in some way. If you are dealing with your finances, unable to pay your bills, emotionally drained due to a loss, or mentality stuck inside all day baking banana bread gaining weight, whatever it may be, remember you are never alone. But saying that isn’t enough. We need to rely on something that motivates us and there is nothing more that gets us going than money.
But where can we get it and why money?
Everyone is searching for more of it and the last place we want to rely on is our handy dandy government or president. They teach the worst lessons. In school, if you don’t do your homework, you fail the class, at home, if you don’t wash the dishes, you get grounded, if the government doesn’t provide the American people stimulus to reboot the economy, um… recess time and resume at the end of January.
No rush means nothing done. I’m not advocating to speed up time because I would rather have something done in a quality fashion than poorly done on time, in most circumstances. But money can destress anyone when used in the right way and can in fact make your life better if you haven’t noticed.
Image by MayoFi
Money Moves
But before we proceed with learning how it can make your life better, it is crucial to understand that it won’t turn your life upside down nor make you a better, happier person. That is all on you to do. The real gifts in life are achievement and appreciation which come from inside. Everything else can be earned from your paycheck or some side hustle that can be put to good use to give you a temporary good life.
In most cases, to make money you should have money but with these sneaky tactics to get you out of your sticky financial situation, that won’t always be the case anymore.
Airbnb + Rental
Let’s say you are one of the 5 Americans that cannot pay their rent on time these days and afraid of eviction. First off, it isn’t completely your fault. Only partially. COVID hit like a bullet and you didn’t expect the worst and not the world to always go in your favor.
Step one, never think like that.
Step two, to be wealthy it’s all about the mindset you possess. Think outside the box a little. An average millionaire has 9 passive income sources and one of them equates to all combined: rental income. Leasing out a property to a tenant could be a full-time job after putting in dozens of manual labor, signed contracts, house hunting, and time+money upfront but also pays you a full-time salary at the end of the year, depending on where the property is located, the demand, size, space, and various other factors but certainly is a nice chunk of change you could keep in your pocket that you won’t just get from drop shipping Ali Express.
Instead of complaining you don’t have space or money, rent out a bedroom or two in your apartment and go sleep with a friend or parent’s house for a while. With interest rates at historic lows, any broke college student would be thrilled to live in your property and pay you, just make sure you have renter’s insurance so they don’t trash the place.
Image by KOBU Agency
Stop Clutching Your Dirty Toilet Seat Infested Phone
On average, our technology usage has gone up by 400% since March. What does 400% even mean?! That is crazy and it is all due to feeling the pressure to work all the time since we seemingly have more time always stuck at home.
Besides setting up a work-life balance because we always hear about this miraculous plan but never gets executed or works, ditch that iPhone for a book or conversation. Trust me. You don’t need 50 likes on that photo and none! I bet you don’t’ even know 50 people. I can’t name more than 10. It will serve you better in the long run mentally for your eyes and brain and for your intellectual future to put that dirty, seducing tech away. We are so fixated on being present that we sometimes neglect how we will feel in the future if we consume this much information, news, social media, and content. I bet you 80% of what you are consuming daily won’t serve you in a day. That is the scary truth about our addiction to our phones. Don’t fall trap to it and you will actually be more present, healthier and 10x wiser but most of us still choose to be dumber and lazier.
Stop Pretending This Won’t Be Over
Planning for the worst, hoping for the best is the smartest slogan you can carry, and those who’ve suffered during this pandemic, hopefully, have learned that hard lesson. Financially, it is impossible for a recession not to end. Looking back in history, from the 2000’s tech bubble, 2008 housing crisis, 2011 gold boom, and 2017 electronic currency fad, and all of the small hiccups and volatility that all got washed out by bull runs, faded after a few months, let alone few weeks/days.
Obviously, the housing crisis was more severe, put millions out of work, and was a black swan event compared to the rest of the three but that doesn’t mean it didn’t end. History does repeat itself. Every 10 years to be exact so don’t expect COVID to last that long. It will be over by the time you grow your 200th mustache and you will find a way out but the hope isn’t going to serve you any good if you don’t apply it.
With your finances, setting up an emergency savings account, contributing money towards a post-tax compounding interest account (ROTH IRA), and saving more than you spend are some of the basic and easiest ways to make sure you are prepared for the next bat to sprinkle a disease. Bad things aren’t unexpected. Never think that way or you will be in trouble. Being optimistic isn’t great because it blindsides you more.
Image by Unsplash
You have to create your own happiness
Regardless of how much money you have, if you are dealing with a disease or depression, money cannot solve those problems and you are stuck. Not on the streets but in your luxury mansion. What a difference. Sure you can get the best medical treatment in the country and visit a $900 therapist every week, but if you don’t take the initiative to change yourself and focus since anything can be curable with the mind-psychedelics, then there is no point in earning more.
This pandemic has tested our patience, agility to change, and how we handle boredom. We all hate boredom becuase we feel useless and quite stupid with no work to do. That is a sign that you are workaholics and that needs to stop before it becomes burnout which takes months to recover from as one myself.
Being bored is a must. It rejuvenates your mind and sparks creativity more than any doing any other activity, even skiing. In fact, I come up with worse ideas and establish writer’s block when I’m constantly doing errands and driving. I cannot concentrate. Whichever way you find your happiness, make sure it comes in pure and simple forms as well like being bored. Don’t expect to be happy only when you get that Porsche or go to the amusement park because that’s unrealistic and won’t happen every second you have nothing to do. Life is enjoyable in the little things. Prioritize them and you will be the happiest and financially healthiest in the land because joy spreads to all areas of life.
Education is the solution to all boredom
I sound like a broken record at this point but I cannot stress the importance of financial literacy. My friends and I and don’t worry, I’m not writing behind their back, they are of course subscribed to BNF on their own will, had our weekly Friday Zoom call yesterday and as much as my pals love talking about fast fashion, boys and spoiling the show, The Crown, I don’t know if I would call myself the adult in the group, but certainly over that teenage girly girl stuff they are always into. They know I’m always focused on helping them out financially and emotionally like a parent. I think that’s the reason we are friends. I’m their free advisor but I like it. More practice = education.
Anyway, the whole time when we were speaking, I was disappointed to hear that they went out of their way to take out loans to buy luxury goods. I wasn’t surprised since they have no financial literacy or education on what debt is. It isn’t completely their fault since their parents or school didn’t teach them, but I was still truly astonished that taking out loans to purchase depreciating invaluable junk to impress people was allowed by the bank and their own minds. I don’t know if I was more shocked at the fact that the bank doesn’t care about its customers’ own financial health or that a bag could cost 60 grand.
With a little Common Core Education and weekly reading of Boiled Not Fried (I hope you’re watching Sam and Hannah in particular, worried about you), would serve them wonders and fewer regrets in their future. The best investment is yourself. Be patient long term and less impatient short term because you won’t see the benefits until you need to use that knowledge at any time.
Image by Oni Obeyeador
If there was a way to get out of any rut, then I wouldn’t be here writing for you all boilers but the truth is, getting a better grasp on how your financial situation is taking a toll on the rest of the areas in your life, is a great indicator for success down the road. I hope you take some time before the New Year to adopt or at least attempt to imagine yourself following one of these tactics that’s gotten me out of depression with cabin fever that will for sure go away, eventually with my forward realistic mindset. | https://medium.com/@miagradelski/how-to-financially-get-out-of-the-recession-rut-quick-88c3a3c2034c | ['Mia Gradelski'] | 2020-12-26 22:49:13.217000+00:00 | ['Life Lessons', '2020', 'Business', 'Covid 19', '2021'] |
2018 Swytch Year in Review | 2019 is almost upon us, which is the perfect time to reflect on a very productive and eventful year. The world of blockchain fundamentally changed as the year evolved. Yet, instead of getting caught up in the fray, the founders of Swytch focused on technology development and our future business model, and the mission of the Token Commons Foundation. This proved to be a wise decision because Swytch is standing tall with an enterprise-ready platform, positioned for greater success in 2019.
While the blockchain industry was riding a rollercoaster of ups and downs, our development team delivered an enterprise-ready and scalable product, and the leadership team worked tirelessly to secure partnerships and pilot programs. During the first half of 2018, we delivered an alpha version of our software that leveraged e2m’s network of renewable power generation across Germany to test our data interpretation and dissemination protocols. This led to an opportunity during the fall to join a consortium of companies working together to deliver a solar solution for a specific school in Puerto Rico, which we will look to pilot in early 2019 and then extend from there. For Swytch, this was our beta, where we rolled out our product to test functionality and end-to-end processing. Confident in the results we achieved, we launched our enterprise-scale product during the 4th quarter. As we continue to refine the user interface for ease of use and additional functionality, we have successfully introduced a number of enterprise-level registrants to the product.
The strategic partnerships we developed and extended during 2018 are now the foundation on which we will deliver enterprise-level success in the year ahead. Our partners have walked the walk with us; and now with them, and those who join us in the future, we will accelerate progress to a sustainable planet.
No reflection on 2018 would be complete without a sincere note of thanks to our South Korean community, without whom the road we traveled would have been considerably more difficult. They have been with us since late 2017, and continue to be some of our most active advocates.
2019 is shaping up to be a bright and busy year for Swytch. We will:
Expand our partnerships
Onboard new registrants
Continue to refine and extend the product
And we will:
Expand our cooperation with environmental advocacy organizations
Increase global awareness of the unique solution Swytch provides
Expand adoption of our platform in the governmental and corporate spheres
Bring individual producers onto the platform
“Closing out 2018, I reflect on a year with incredible challenges and incredible opportunities. What we have built is a testament to our team’s effort to be focused on a core mission and accomplishing something every day to get us one step closer to solving some of the worlds biggest problems. We have come so far in the last year, from building a strong international community of partners and supporters to growing our core team and working with an incredible extended team of world-class thinkers and doers. The year ahead will be filled with many challenges, and opportunities to solve them and we are well positioned to accomplish the goals we have set for ourselves”, said Evan Caron, CEO of Swytch. | https://medium.com/swytch/2018-swytch-year-in-review-67b1992202d0 | ['Dwight Sproull'] | 2018-12-27 14:33:35.525000+00:00 | ['Blockchain', 'Green Energy', 'Sustainability', 'Renewable Energy', 'Environment'] |
New Covid strain leaves UK isolated, with 1,500 trucks stranded at border | France activated the 48-hour border closure on Monday, and by Tuesday morning 1,500 trucks were stuck in Kent, unable to leave the U.K, British Home Secretary Priti Patel said Tuesday.
More than 40 countries have now suspended transport links with the U.K. after a new and more contagious variation of the coronavirus was found to be sweeping the country.
French and British officials are working to lift a ban on freight movement imposed by France amid continent-wide fear over a new coronavirus strain identified in the U.K.
France activated the 48-hour border closure on Monday, and by Tuesday morning 1,500 trucks were stuck in Kent, unable to leave the U.K, British Home Secretary Priti Patel said Tuesday.
U.K. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has been urging drivers to avoid travelling through the affected counties of Kent, Sussex, and Hampshire. Passenger ferry and freight transport was also suspended at the major ports of Dover and Portsmouth, leaving several thousand ferry travelers stuck.
More than 40 countries have now suspended transport links with the U.K. after a variation of the coronavirus — which health officials say could be up to 70% more transmissible — was found to be sweeping the country.
Medical experts say that the new virus strain is not more lethal than the original, and have expressed confidence that the coronavirus vaccines currently being authorized for use and deployed in Europe and the U.S. are sufficient to protect against it.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has effectively cancelled Christmas plans for much of the country and put some 17 million people under strict lockdown rules. The coronavirus has already killed more than 67,000 in the U.K.
Efforts between the U.K. and France “to find a resolution” to the freight disruption are underway, Patel told the BBC on Tuesday morning.
“You’ll hear later on today in terms of developments and updates,” she said, adding that getting truck drivers testing for Covid-19 at ports was part of the deliberations. Any resolution would need to be agreed to by Johnson and French President Emmanuel Macron, and would begin from Wednesday, France’s minister for Europe said.
The European Commission on Tuesday issued a statement recommending a coordinated EU approach to travel measures and urged against transport bans.
“While … all non-essential travel to and from the U.K. should be discouraged, essential travel and transit of passengers should be facilitated,” the Commission’s statement read. “Flight and train bans should be discontinued given the need to ensure essential travel and avoid supply chain disruptions.”
Transport for goods coming into the U.K. from France was still running, a Eurotunnel representative said Monday night, and unaccompanied freight trailers were still able to be shipped to France, Shapps said. The current ban affects only human-accompanied freight.
The news and the Christmas lockdown have induced panic buying, leading to empty supermarket shelves in some parts of the U.K. Shapps said that shops remained well-stocked, but major U.K. chain Sainsbury’s warned that it could see shortages of certain fresh foods within days if the disruption remains.
Prime Minister Johnson sought to allay concerns in a press conference where he stressed that the human-handled freight being suspended only constitutes 20% of all the freight moving between the U.K. and Europe. He said that the “vast majority” of food and medical supplies were still being transported as normal, telling shoppers not to panic about a food shortage despite images and reports of empty store shelves around the country.
The crisis comes just nine days before the U.K. is set to end its transitional period with the European Union, after voting to leave the bloc in 2016. At the time of writing, the two sides had failed to reach a new trade arrangement.
, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | https://medium.com/@fanjiramdan11/new-covid-strain-leaves-uk-isolated-with-1-500-trucks-stranded-at-border-3120be7437ed | [] | 2020-12-23 16:13:09.889000+00:00 | ['France', 'Christianity', 'Politics'] |
Gödel and Human Consciousness | Gödel and Human Consciousness
Is the mind a closed system?
Photo by Ramy Kabalan on Unsplash
The human mind is a strange thing. It is not only capable of thinking, it is capable of thinking about itself thinking. In order to understand ourselves we must become an observer of ourselves; and all of us do this every day. The full range of this self-aware behavior seems to be possible only in humans. To a much lesser degree chimpanzees and orangutans also seem to experience a certain level of self-awareness, but the human is unique. The human will not only self-observe but also innovate based upon research, modify habitual behavior based upon experience, write and speak in order to influence and lie in order to deceive. Only the human mind is capable of all of these astounding things.
Some believe that these astounding things happen as a result of very clever evolved algorithms executed by the brain. Others believe that, due to the revelations of Kurt Gödel, no conceivable collection of algorithms can possibly manifest human self-aware consciousness. In this essay, I discuss these two views and propose a third that may actually explain more than merely the mind.
Before going into some thoughts regarding Gödel’s Incompleteness Theorems, I need to provide an example of the Aharonov-Bohm effect. What Drs. Aharonov and Bohm discovered was that, under the right circumstances, an electrically charged particle traveling through an electromagnetic potential will be diverted even when both the electric and magnetic fields are reduced to zero. After I read about this in Scientific American, I summarized it to my spouse like this: “If something isn’t there; but it may as well have been, that is enough.”
I have used that claim as a quantum mechanical excuse for all manner of tardiness and for taking the last donut more times than I can count. My summary appears to be a satisfactory explanation of the effect only to a layman without a physics background. It misses the far more interesting quantum mechanical implications of the finding which reveal how an electromagnetic potential couples with the complex phase of a charged particle’s wave function. That doesn’t stop me using my summary whenever it serves.
This isn’t the only case where a truly interesting scientific understanding may be easily summarized for the average listener in a way that loses the essential meaning. I shamelessly explained thermodynamics to my infant children as follows:
The first law: “Everything is somewhere.” The second law: “Everything falls apart.” The third law: “When it’s cold enough everything stops.”
While these descriptions are hideously inadequate, my six year old daughter nonetheless disputed her friend’s claim that we would have our Toyota Corolla forever by explaining that we couldn’t have it forever because the second law of thermodynamics would forbid that. Thus, I argue that she understood the essence of the law.
We average humans remember complex principles with simple mnemonics of this sort. In a conversation with a friend at Sun Microsystems regarding the Common Information Model (CIM), we were discussing how the model was becoming fantastically complicated. The goal of the project was to provide a detailed description for all of the parts that made up an informational resource. My friend said that they were modeling not only the magnetic disk storing the data, but the actual voice-coil driving the arm holding the data read/write head. This level of rigor was becoming a problem. “Eventually,” he said, “they’ll be modeling the wires in that voice coil.”
Listening to him, I recalled Russell’s Paradox. I responded with reference to that text. “You know,” I responded, “a closed system may be either complete or consistent. It cannot be both.” This is a piteous approximation of Russell’s understanding, but was actually meaningful in this case. The CIM folks were trying to emulate everything within an information model. It was not a “closed system” in the mathematical sense but it was close enough that the observation was useful. In fact, there was no reason to model all of the little pieces of the information model. More discrimination was needed to assure that only those components that were crucial to understanding the model were needed. The CIM team had become obsessed with modeling everything, even the parts that provided no real value to an outside observer.
Russell’s Paradox
There are highly complex principles which may be explained in fairly simple ways. Russell’s Paradox, described in 1901 in response to Gottlob Frege’s attempts to demonstrate the pure consistency of mathematics, is typically explained using this analogy:
A librarian decided it was necessary to index all of the books in the library. That would mean taking a blank book and entering into it the title and location of every book in the library. Having accomplished that goal, the librarian proudly displayed the index in a place of honor near the librarian’s desk.
Suddenly, the librarian realized that the book, just created, was not recorded in the index of books even though it, itself, was now a book in the library. Now the librarian had a choice: would the index be entered into the index (which made no sense since someone looking in the index already had the index in hand) or would the librarian create a new index: one which contained all the books in the library including the index. If that were the choice, of course, the librarian would then need to create yet another index which contained the books in the library and also the two indexes just created and on and on forever.
Consistent with a general understanding of Russell’s thesis we see that a simple system, like a library, may be cataloged; but, such a catalog may be either complete (the index itself is placed into the index) or consistent (the index is established and then placed into a further index for ever and ever without stopping). Russell shows that apparently straightforward systems may inevitably introduce untidy dilemmas. He indicates that in a number of seemingly well-founded systems of knowledge, you have to make a choice: you may be either complete or consistent.
Russell demonstrated that Frege’s effort to prove that there was a complete and logically consistent explanation of set theory was built upon sand. Mathematics was not fully explained by its own self-contained elements and rules. Russell later tried to solve the problem in a number of ways, eventually teaming up with Alfred North Whitehead in an attempt to use logic to prove the basic rules of mathematics. It was a massive undertaking which left mathematicians impressed by the rigor but disappointed by the result.
In the end the problem was set aside by basically making that kind of operation invalid. This more restrictive axiomatic set theory remains the current standard approach. When considering the original problem, though, it remains possible to create a paradoxical or abnormal set if you want to. The set of all sets which do not contain themselves was Russell’s original example. Such a set cannot be complete and consistent since a set so defined must contain itself, invalidating its predicate.
Gödel’s Paradox and the Self
In 1930, at a meeting in Königsberg, Kurt Gödel presented a new and innovative theorem. In it he proved that there were fundamental limitations to mathematics in that no formal algorithmic system operating upon the set of natural numbers could be used to prove all truths about the set of natural numbers. He took it further to demonstrate that no such system could be used to prove its own consistency. These are what we know as Gödel’s Incompleteness Theorems.
Russell demonstrated that Frege’s grand project to fully define mathematics as a complete and consistent system of procedures, was impossible. His system could be complete or consistent but not both. In much the same way Gödel demonstrated that Hilbert’s grand project to find a complete and consistent set of axioms to fully define mathematics was also impossible. Such a system could be complete only if it was also inconsistent.
Yes, it can be argued that the fiendish predicate described by Russell is different from the mathematical structure described by Gödel. Gödel’s closed mathematical system is not a library and yet, the general principle can be explained in plain terms and seems to hold for a number of common situations. This should not be surprising; mathematical truths often illuminate or emulate observable truths in the real world. Both scientists were followed by others, who demonstrated the basic problems with formal algorithmic systems. Such systems find themselves incapable of fully explaining their own facts. They may actually be understood as complete and consistent things only if they are analyzed by an external system, not limited by the rules of the original system. Certain modern scientists argue that these very theorems prove that human self-aware consciousness cannot be algorithmic.
Sir Roger Penrose, polymath and Nobel laureate, argued this in his book Shadows of the Mind:
But a powerful case can also be made that [Gödel’s] results […] established that human understanding and insight cannot be reduced to any set of computational rules. For what he appears to have shown is that no such system of rules can ever be sufficient to prove even those propositions of arithmetic whose truth is accessible, in principle, to human intuition and insight — whence human intuition and insight cannot be reduced to a set of rules.
Penrose is focused on demonstrating that projects intended to find the algorithms that comprise human consciousness must fall short. He is encouraging approaches to understanding consciousness that he believes will be more successful. Penrose builds on the work of Oxford’s John Lucas and has enlisted the help of Stuart Hameroff and Jack Tuszyński. Together they have advanced a very controversial theory that the mind is influenced by the other-worldly behaviors of quantum mechanics wherein the effects of wave function collapse introduce extraordinary forces into the thought process from which self-awareness may arise.
I do not advocate Penrose’ Orch-OR theory but I do find it intriguing. It is the kind of profound unconventional thinking that has made Penrose an intellectual icon; and, as a useful offshoot, great practical ideas often evolve from sometimes impractical or unproved proposals. This notion that the mind may be a quantum construction is intriguing in other ways. Quantum theory tends to postulate phenomena that violate our conventional understanding of time and space. If the mind is quantum, then is it influenced by the higher dimensions wrapped up inside subatomic particles? Does it benefit from the occasional interception of a particle with a non-local partner that has just changed state? Could this proposed physical phenomenon taking place throughout the brain actually induce something as ineffable as a self-awareness capable of introspection? This is part of what pushes this hypothesis to the very edges of respectable science.
Bland Boring Coincidence
If quantum effects are involved, there is an interesting non-local component. A single quantum system, such as an electron pair may span light-years and yet remain intimately coupled in space-time. The two electrons, though distant and distinct, remain a single system: a change to one instantly changes the other. Such coupled particles permeate the cosmos and represent a dense complex of non-local relationships. When I think about that, I think about coincidence in general.
My son went on a walkabout around the age of twenty. My spouse and I didn’t know where he was or if he was even alive. One of our friends found herself in San Francisco at a human rights conference. While walking through the city, she saw our son in the distance. She greeted him, had a brief conversation with him, and was able to report back that he was alive and well.
I’m telling that story but my reader can easily list a dozen such stories: cases where the likelihood of an event was one in a million, but it happened anyway. Now a clear-headed scientist would respond with, “Hey, a million things happened that day, right? That was one of them.” While that statement is undoubtedly true, it remains unsatisfying.
Yes, the human mind is a pattern-matching machine and so whenever a pattern presents itself, sirens go off in the brain. The thousands of ordinary things give way to that one unusual event which remains in the memory for decades. The unusual event that stopped me stepping into the elevator shaft in that dark building; the time I thought about the friend I hadn’t seen for years and received an email from that friend an hour later; the time I was so depressed that I couldn’t think straight and a friend I hadn’t spoken with for months called saying she was worrying about me. Those are just a few readily remembered cases from my life.
Coincidence is so common that by the age of forty, most of us just assume it will happen on a pretty regular basis. While science argues against any mysterious psychic connections between minds, it is odd how often those one-in-a-million events occur. Is it really true that of the one million things that happen, you just see the odd incomprehensible event and that’s the whole story? Years of experiments into Extrasensory Perception have failed to yield conclusive results and it’s hard to argue with that; but, isn’t coincidence a little too common even when considered rationally? Set aside the regular occasional event that could have been telegraphed through some Internet meme. Ignore those events that could have been predicted from your past behaviors. Consider only those cases where any foreknowledge of the event is unlikely. Are there enough such events that you are getting just a little suspicious? Could it be that this isn’t really extrasensory but interconceptual?
The Algorithm of Consciousness
So here’s an interesting corollary: let’s consider a thinking machine. Let’s imagine it’s a highly complex computer, maybe the Summit supercomputer. Imagine what would happen if this massive algorithmic powerhouse decided to understand itself. It would need to do one important thing. It would need to establish a vantage point outside of itself from which to observe its processes. This isn’t the same thing as a monitor program designed to log error messages or to time-out a failed process. This is much more interesting than that. The decision by Summit has to be a decision by more than Summit. It would have to be made by an outside observer not limited by the thing it observes. That outside observer is what we humans call the self.
This is the confusing part. No matter how you think about yourself, what is doing that thinking? For a computer algorithm, someone outside of the computer has to program that algorithm’s goal. Even Summit requires a human to provide it with goals. You, as a thinking human being, establish your own goals and there’s only one way that can happen: you observed what you were doing and, as if you were an outside observer, you sent instructions to yourself! Computers do not do this. I have written simple algorithms and expert systems. I have programmed neural networks and I have crafted dendritic trees that simulated human responses. From my experience, no algorithm and no neural network that I have devised or analyzed has ever questioned its purpose or developed an unpredictable goal. This is simply not what these algorithmic systems do.
Regarding the ability to make choices, we may consider this little excursion. Free will is magnificently controversial because we don’t really understand how people make choices. Nonetheless, we appear to do just that. Choices are not simply what computers do when evaluating a conditional. A human choice steps outside of programming and writes new software. A human choice doesn’t recognize a preprogrammed assertion and insert new code based upon a template, as is common in languages that permit code rewriting. It is an algorithm that realizes there is a deficiency and then it “writes new code” customized to that person’s history and experience. The complexity lies in the fact that this code is built up not only from data but from feelings and attitudes produced by the very non-algorithmic human limbic system.
The Science of Zeitgeist
The problem of self-awareness is only part of it. Could these problems in human experience be related: this strange case of not just self-aware consciousness but also our shared experience — bland coincidence? How could this best be explained? The problem with Penrose’ hypothesis is that it claims that consciousness is not algorithmic when actually the more interesting possibility is that consciousness actually is algorithmic but the algorithm is executed from another system outside the human brain.
All of this leads to the hypothesis upon which I have been musing for the past few months. Russell, Gödel and others have established their constraints on closed algorithmic systems, meaning that in order to establish a complete and consistent view, one must step outside of the system and use other rules that are not part of that system. Penrose tries to resolve these issues for the human mind by claiming that the system is not algorithmic and is therefore not limited by these constraints. I’m wondering if the mind, as a system, might be algorithmic but not closed. What if it is in fact merely a node in a larger system?
If quantum effects are involved at all, is it possible that the individual mind is merely part of something we might call a consciousness field? Could it be that the radical psychic experimenters of the 1970s were not quite as nutty as we recall; but were simply missing the quantum basis for their ideas? If the mind has any quantum component, could the nature of those interactions connect us all into a larger system wherein our self is a construction within our local system made possible by the external rules of the larger shared field? That field could not comprehend itself (Gödel sees to that) but we, as components, could understand ourselves with relation to the field?
If there is some sort of higher-order coupling, it wouldn’t be a way of directly communicating mind to mind; but it could possibly be a repository of a general state of understanding. It could be a science of zeitgeist, a quantum theory of culture, a mathematics of tendency. It could explain why things often just tend to work out. It could explain why our friend picked that one street in the massive city of San Francisco on that one day. It wasn’t foreknowledge; it was merely that conscious beings seem to be strangely coupled. It may help us understand why subatomic particles tend to be observable in the form that the experimenter expects (wave or particle). It may help us to understand how things like gay marriage suddenly became nearly universally acceptable after centuries of denial and repression. It may help us to understand how ill-conceived mass movements within societies arise mightily and then quickly fizzle out as if the surrounding culture starved it of available energy.
Neoliberals remind us that we are isolated individuals, clawing and scrabbling to satisfy our own selfish interests. We as humans, however, crave community wherein we cooperate to further a better future for all. Could this craving be a simple expression of our coupled minds? Not some fantastic super power like ESP; but just a common shared understanding from which community may be manifested? Is community established only through the highly restrictive local phenomena of body-language and symbols; or, could community be a higher-order shared feeling? Could it be a shared consciousness generated from our brains’ shared participation in a shared cosmos-wide field? Could we benefit from exploiting this; from understanding it; or at least from imagining that it might be so? | https://medium.com/curious/g%C3%B6del-and-human-consciousness-46229c270f06 | ['Julian S. Taylor'] | 2020-12-09 03:28:17.390000+00:00 | ['Quantum Physics', 'Self-awareness', 'Consciousness'] |
Stop using the term ‘racist’ unless you’re sure it is | Stop using the term ‘racist’ unless you’re sure it is
Empty accusations on race can make you lose all credibility
Photo credit: Nicole De Khors/Burst
I sat quietly in the condo association meeting, listening to the goals of our new management company, budget estimates and building repairs. I kept my promise to defend a neighbor whose rental car had been towed twice. Right after I asked about temporary car stickers, that’s when another owner said something that caught my attention: “Someone left a racist sign on our doors.”
My ears perked up immediately. Who would have the audacity to leave racist signs in a condo building like mine — a building with every single race on the Census questionnaire? The audacity! Tell me who right now. I said none of this, but she had my full attention.
She followed up by explaining that someone left signs asking tenants and owners to not let visitors park in their reserved parking spots. I waited for the racism. She pointed out that these were “kids” who parked in the spots. (They were in their early 20s; I disagree with the term “kids.”) I was still waiting on the racism. And then she stopped talking. Finally, I spoke up, “Where is the racism in this?” Her response: “The sign described what they looked like. It said they were Black and Hispanic.” Still, I’m waiting on the racism.
Photo credit: Thought Catalog/Burst
And then it hit me all at once. I was the one who created that sign months ago. These same two people had been parking in all the condo owners’ parking spots. They’d get kicked out of one and park in the next. Two separate times I’d come home to find someone in my parking spot and had to park a block away, run into my unit and go running back out the door to make it to my next destination — even though I’m paying a mortgage that includes my parking spot. After the second time with me having to find a parking spot in a crowded metropolitan neighborhood, I created the sign. I was trying to narrow down who in the building was allowing this duo to keep parking in our spots. Simple description was on the sign: race, age, license plate, make and model of car, and a reminder about people owning their spot. In turn, this lady decided it was “racism.”
I sighed and told her, “I’m a 38-year-old black woman. And the make and model of my car is __________________. Our President is a Hispanic woman. Our Secretary is Asian. I wrote that sign! Me describing the people in this room right now does not make me racist. Don’t accuse me of racism unless you can prove there was actual racism.”
The condo board association grew quiet, looking from me to her. Soon after that debate, and another one she and I had on dog ownership (long story), she stormed out of the meeting. But I was still offended by the accusation that I was accused of racism. | https://medium.com/i-do-see-color/stop-using-the-term-racist-unless-you-re-sure-it-is-1761ed89c756 | ['Shamontiel L. Vaughn'] | 2020-02-28 01:09:28.067000+00:00 | ['Racial Profiling', 'Prejudice', 'Race', 'Racism', 'White Privilege'] |
theory: snapchat launched an app platform | Discover may look like content distribution, but instead of “publisher” think “developer,” and instead of “channel” think “app.” And then go through the list of capabilities they can bring…
Interaction? Check. You may not have all the tools of Swift or Java at your disposal, but the v1 of Discover (especially with publishers taking over the entire screen) points to app-like experiences down the road. The basics of navigation are similar (swipe between stories, swipe down to exit), but note that they gave each of their publishers a lot of leeway in how they are present their content. Vice’s channel looks nothing like The Daily Mail’s. Snapchat-driven discovery & distribution? Check. They can use all sorts of in-product mechanics to promote Discover and the apps on the platform. User-driven discovery & distribution? Check. Obviously this isn’t there yet, but they have the graph, they have the messaging channel, and can light this up at will. App to user communication? Check. Snaps for alerts, stories for marketing, chat & video for support. Identity? Check. There’s no such thing as a logged out Snapchat user. Payments? Check. Even if Snapcash is just an early experiment, it’s a useful one.
So while zero day partners are media companies, it’s pretty easy to imagine the slate of circles growing to include a social games (Trivia Crack or Words With Friends, anyone?). Or motivational diet, health or meditation apps (here’s your calorie counter, here’s your moment of zen). Or even a personal finance app (what did you spend today?).
Apps on Snapchat won’t be exactly like native apps on iOS or Android, for obvious reasons (not least of which might end up being the buried in the terms of service of the App Store). But the “full screen” nature of Snapchat (as opposed to the translated-from-desktop-web stream of Facebook), combined with the all the assets above tells me this isn’t just about media. | https://sippey.medium.com/theory-snapchat-launched-an-app-platform-7f01b42dd73b | ['Michael Sippey'] | 2020-05-02 03:46:16.101000+00:00 | ['Tech'] |
K-Means Clustering and PCA to categorize music by similar audio features | K-Means Clustering and PCA to categorize music by similar audio features
An unsupervised machine learning project to organize my music
A year ago, life was much simpler. It was a bustling Tuesday morning in early October, and I was riding the metro to my Artificial Neural Network class in downtown Copenhagen. I was browsing my Spotify library for a playlist to shuffle for the duration of my commute when I bumped into my friend Liddy. I asked for her input, and she told me something which actually kind of changed my life. She said, “Oh Sejal, I am far too indecisive to pick a playlist based on my mood. I actually create a new playlist and add to it on the first day of each month.”
Why music genres are outdated
With the increased diversity in music that we have seen on streaming platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music, and Soundcloud in the past decade, the lines separating genres have become even more blurred than they were previously.
Genre labels are broad umbrella terms that are used to describe music that vary greatly in their characteristics. If someone asks you what kind of music you like, responding with “Rock” or “Indie” does not really say much without namedropping a few artists.
Genres are always evolving over time. If someone says they are a fan of pop music, how do you know if they are referring to Michael Jackson or Justin Bieber?
They are often socially driven with little to do with the actual characteristics of the music.
Fortunately, there has been a movement towards labeling music solely based on musical characteristics or attributes. However, organizing music based on these audio features is still a complicated task, even for a human.
Motivation for my machine learning project
Ever since Liddy inspired me with the idea to organize my music by time period, I have been hooked. It helps me to embrace the chaos of my diverse and far-ranging music taste while still being able to compartmentalize my music based on certain phases of life.
The issue, though, is that when I clicking “Shuffle” on my 2020 playlist of 449 songs, I end up skipping 9/10 songs because I can never seem to find a song that fits the mood. So I set out to find a solution to my problem using a machine learning technique called k-means clustering and Principal Component Analysis (PCA), a dimensionality reduction technique.
Data Acquisition via Spotify API
The Spotify Developer API allows you to get audio features for a track. These features are described in more detail below:
acousticness : [0–1] Confidence measure of whether the track is acoustic.
: [0–1] Confidence measure of whether the track is acoustic. danceability : [0–1] Describes how suitable a track is for dancing based on musical attributes including tempo, rhythm, stability, beat strength, and overall regularity.
: [0–1] Describes how suitable a track is for dancing based on musical attributes including tempo, rhythm, stability, beat strength, and overall regularity. energy : [0–1] Perceptual measure of intensity and activity. Energetic tracks feel fast, loud, and noisy (e.g. death metal: high energy, Bach prelude: low energy).
: [0–1] Perceptual measure of intensity and activity. Energetic tracks feel fast, loud, and noisy (e.g. death metal: high energy, Bach prelude: low energy). instrumentalness : [0–1] Predicts whether a track contains no vocals (values above 0.5 represent instrumental tracks whereas rap songs would have a score close to 0).
: [0–1] Predicts whether a track contains no vocals (values above 0.5 represent instrumental tracks whereas rap songs would have a score close to 0). liveness : [0–1] Detects the presence of an audience in the recording.
: [0–1] Detects the presence of an audience in the recording. loudness : [-60–0 dB] The average volume across an entire track.
: [-60–0 dB] The average volume across an entire track. speechiness : [0–1] Detects the presence of spoken words in a track (values above 0.66 describe tracks that are probably made entirely of spoken words, 0.33–0.66 describe tracks that may contain both music and speech, and values below 0.33 most likely represent music and other non-speech-like tracks).
: [0–1] Detects the presence of spoken words in a track (values above 0.66 describe tracks that are probably made entirely of spoken words, 0.33–0.66 describe tracks that may contain both music and speech, and values below 0.33 most likely represent music and other non-speech-like tracks). valence : [0–1] Describes the musical positiveness conveyed by a track. Tracks with high valence sound more positive (e.g. happy, cheerful, euphoric), while tracks with low valence sound more negative (e.g. sad, depressed, angry).
: [0–1] Describes the musical positiveness conveyed by a track. Tracks with high valence sound more positive (e.g. happy, cheerful, euphoric), while tracks with low valence sound more negative (e.g. sad, depressed, angry). tempo: [0–300 BPM] The speed or pace of a given piece, as derived from the estimated average beat duration.
I use Spotipy, which is a Python wrapper for Spotify’s Developer API. First, we must create a token with our API credentials.
screenshot of my giant Spotify playlist (the data source for this project)
I then extracted metadata (name, artist name, and URI) for each track in the playlist and acquired the audio feature data described above.
A preview of the raw data
Next, we can form our training data by excluding columns in the DataFrame that are not audio features. We also have to do one more critical step: standardization. Standardization is the process of putting different features on the same scale, with each scaled feature having a mean of 0 and a standard deviation of 1. This is important because the model is not familiar with the context of the data. If we do not standardize our X_train data, the model would place a much larger weight on tempo and loudness, since those variables vary by much more than the variables that are distributed in the range from 0 to 1. Standardization allows for all features to be treated equally by the model. We can accomplish this step by using sklearn’s StandardScaler import.
from sklearn.preprocessing import StandardScaler scaler = StandardScaler()
X_std = scaler.fit_transform(df_X)
Dimensionality Reduction
What is dimensionality reduction? Well, as we can see from the image above, it is a process that involves using linear algebraic operations to transform n-dimensional data to (n-k)-dimensional data. In this example, we are just reducing 3-dimensional data into 2-dimensional data, so n equals 3 and k equals 1. As you might imagine, some information is lost in this transformation, but we still get a fairly decent approximation with the tremendous benefit of being able to visualize the data. Moreover, we can also effectively reduce the complexity of the problem by reducing the number of variables.
Principal Component Analysis (PCA) is a dimensionality reduction approach which attempts to find the best possible subspace that explains most of the variance in the data. It works by deriving components from the original scaled features. From these components, the two most significant ones are typically plotted, depicting the simplified data space.
After fitting a PCA object to the standardized matrix, we can see how much of the variance is explained by each of the nine features.
from sklearn.decomposition import PCA pca = PCA()
pca.fit(X_std)
evr = pca.explained_variance_ratio_
print(evr)
To inform our decision of how many features to use for our k-means clustering algorithm, it is helpful to make a cumulative variance plot using the evr.cumsum() function and matplotlib.
Cumulative Variance Plot after PCA
From this plot, we can observe that each of the principal components explain a pretty considerable amount of variance. However, we do not need to keep all of these components. In general, it is a good rule of thumb to preserve around 80% of the variance. Therefore, in this instance, we can select the 6 most important principal components to incorporate in the k-means algorithm. This can be accomplished by instantiating a new PCA object with the n_components parameter set to 6.
Having finished our PCA, we now have components which explain most of the variance in the data. From this point on, it is going to be very difficult to interpret meaning when analyzing the numeric differences in tracks because the vectorized audio features have been transformed into a new subspace. However, after implementing k-means Clustering, we will be able to inspect the raw data, and we can even visualize our clusters of similar songs on the same 2D-plane.
In order to implement k-means clustering, we must select a number of clusters, k, which distinctly splits the data. Given that we do not have a desired amount of groupings for the huge playlist that we would like to split, and we want this code to be reproducible, we must use an algorithmic approach to determine the optimal value for k. There are actually numerous algorithmic approaches, including but not limited to the elbow method, the silhouette method, and the gap statistic. Let’s take a closer look into the elbow method, which is arguably the most popular technique.
The basic principle of k-means clustering is to define clusters such that the total intra-cluster variation is minimized. The within-cluster sum of squares (WCSS) is a metric which can quantify this partitioning effect. It essentially measures the compactness of the clustering. The optimal number of clusters can be found by executing a simple procedure:
Implement clustering algorithm for varying values of k, ranging from 1 to 20 clusters. For each k, compute the within-cluster sum of squares (WCSS) by storing the inertia value in a list after the model has been fitted. Plot the WCSS curve according to the number of clusters k. Look for a kink or elbow in the WCSS graph. Usually, the part of the graph before the elbow would be steeply declining, while the part after it — much smoother. [NOTE: there are ways to locate the elbow (a.k.a. “knee”) point programmatically, including an open source Python library called kneed or a visualization library called Yellowbrick]
Running the code snippet above yields the following WCSS curve shown below. The KneeLocator method has determined that 7 is the ideal number of clusters or distinct groupings to be used in order to separate the 449 tracks in my absurdly lengthy playlist.
WCSS curve used for selecting the optimal number of clusters
Now, all that is left to do is to implement k-means clustering once and for all. With the help of sklearn, we can obtain the cluster labels for each track in just 3 lines of code.
kmeans_pca = KMeans(n_clusters=n_clusters, init='k-means++', random_state=42)
kmeans_pca.fit(scores_pca)
df['Cluster'] = kmeans_pca.labels_
Cluster labels have been assigned in the rightmost column of the DataFrame
The cluster labels in the rightmost column of the DataFrame screenshot above are the “results” of this ML technique. Okay… this was a bit anticlimactic. What good do these cluster labels do? Well, let’s investigate them further.
Analysis and Visualization
Analyzing the results of PCA and K-Means Clustering
While k-means clustering is not a supervised machine learning technique—meaning we cannot verify whether the results are accurate or not—we can visualize the clusters on a 2D plane to ensure that there is some sensical separation of data based on the sources of signals that are encapsulated by the components. In the figure above, it is clear that Cluster 5 is most similar to Clusters 1 and 3 and that Cluster 4 is quite loosely defined, overlapping with a few other clusters. Despite some noise, there are clear groupings of tracks, as indicated by the concentrated areas of green, red, orange, and blue data points. Additionally, this is only a 2D visualization of a 6-dimensional vector space, so more analysis is needed in order to determine the efficacy of the k-means algorithm.
Since meaning cannot be inferred from the transformed components, let’s take a look at the raw values for the audio features of the tracks after they have been clustered. A radar chart can be really powerful in this type of analysis because it allows us to make some quick observations about each cluster.
In the figure below, the a radar trace has been plotted for the average audio feature values in each cluster, after normalizing the entire dataframe. Acousticness is a Spotify-defined variable between 0 and 1 while tempo can be in the 100s. Normalization is important because it effectively scales all variables to have values between 0 and 1, making the following visualization far more meaningful.
Radar chart comparison of average audio features for each cluster
After a quick glance, it is evident that Cluster 2 is most acoustic-sounding, Cluster 4 consists of live-sounding tracks, Cluster 5 contains the most verbose tracks, and Cluster 6 is characterized by more instrumental tracks. Features like energy, danceability, valence, tempo, and loudness did not contain strong enough sources of signal on which to split the data. That being said, some combination of high danceability, tempo, and energy — may have characterized tracks in Cluster 1. The shapes of these traces are quite telling of which types of tracks we can expect to see in each cluster.
The code above allows us to create new Spotify playlists based on the cluster groupings of tracks after PCA and k-means. As we initially observed, Cluster 5 is characterized by tracks having high levels of “speechiness”. In other words, we can expect to find Rap and R&B tracks in this grouping.
As we can observe above, Burna Boy, blackbear, 6LACK, Playboi Carti, Lil Uzi Vert, Kota the Friend, A Boogie Wit da Hoodie, and Polo G are some the artists included in this subset, which validates the conclusion suggested by the data.
Cluster 2 contains more instrumental music, as suggested by the radar chart. There are some tracks by the xx, Lauv, Henry Green, and other lesser known artists. Many of the tracks in this cluster have a very synth-y feel and not too many words.
Finally, there is one last thing we can do to analyze the findings. We can make some bar charts, plotting a particular feature for each track in a given cluster in order to see if this feature is, indeed, characteristically high with respect to the average feature value in the entire dataset.
Looking at a few select clusters (2, 5, and 6) and features of interest (acousticness, speechiness, and instrumentalness), a trend is observable in the subplots along the diagonal. In the top left subplot, the tracks in Cluster 2 have mostly above average scores for acousticness; in the middle subplot, the tracks in Cluster 5 all have above average speechiness scores; in the bottom right subplot, Cluster 6 is characterized by extremely high instrumentalness scores, relative to the average for the full dataset.
Conclusions
This was a fun and interesting ML project which served a practical purpose for me and potentially others. Hopefully people can use this audio-based clustering methodology and save themselves a few clicks of the “skip” button next time they wish to listen to music of a particular mood or vibe. I believe it can be especially useful for people who curate monthly or yearly playlists which lack a cohesive theme. Additionally, it can be useful for large collaborative playlists which, at times, can feel a bit all over the place.
Thank you very much for reading! All of the source code is accessible here. If you would like to send me any feedback or inspiration, please contact me at [email protected] or through my website. I love connecting with people of similar interests! Also, stay tuned for a potential extension of this work! In the meantime, I will be busy thinking of better names for my new playlists because “cluster1” doesn’t have a great ring to it.
References | https://towardsdatascience.com/k-means-clustering-and-pca-to-categorize-music-by-similar-audio-features-df09c93e8b64 | ['Sejal Dua'] | 2020-12-29 13:15:15.427000+00:00 | ['Music', 'Unsupervised Learning', 'Spotify', 'Machine Learning', 'K Means Clustering'] |
PBS Announces Programming on YouTube | Youtube Photo by NordWood Themes on Unsplash
Based in New York, Seton Melvin serves as the director of Mount Sinai Hospital’s brain donor program, the first center in America dedicated to studying brains that have been affected by clinically documented injuries. Away from her work, Seton Melvin is a financial supporter of programs on TV’s Public Broadcasting Service (PBS).
PBS recently announced that over 100 of its local member stations are now sharing live content via YouTube TV. This live-streamed programming will reach over 75 percent of American households. Additional features include of on-demand offerings, PBS Kids channels, and other programming. More stations are expected to launch such service this year.
To find out what is available from PBS via YouTube, viewers can visit the PBS schedule or the YouTube TV line guide. Some of the most popular PBS shows currently being carried include Antiques Roadshow, Nature, American Experience, and Frontline. Children’s PBS shows available on YouTube include Sesame Street, Odd Squad, Wild Kratts, and Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, to name a few. | https://medium.com/@setonmelvin/pbs-announces-programming-on-youtube-fca4c7b05f02 | ['Seton Melvin'] | 2020-01-11 04:26:01.186000+00:00 | ['Media', 'Broadcasting', 'TV', 'Pbs', 'YouTube'] |
9 Tips For Eliminating Headaches | Natural options that really work
Photo by Thought Catalog on Unsplash
I used to get terrible headaches. They would get so bad I would be physically ill. Sometimes I would go to the hospital to get a shot (I have no idea now what they gave me). I would throw up, pass out for about 3 days, and then wake up and go on with life for about 3–6 months till it started all over again. Along with several other illnesses I had, I finally got sick and tired of being sick and tired.
Since that time, I have learned a lot about headaches and how to help others, to make them go away — hopefully for good.
Dehydration
First off — the most common cause I see for headaches is dehydration. This is a huge problem in this country because people do not drink enough good clean water. Water is so important to our bodies to move toxins out and to replenish the tissues.
The way I think of it is this: if all you have is a dirty washcloth and you want to clean off a dirty countertop, how clean can you get it? It won’t get very clean; it will just move the dirt around. If you drink soda, coffee, or other “dirty” drinks — by dirty, I mean that the water molecules are already filled up with other substances; the liquid is just making your body more toxic. If you drink clean water, it is like cleaning off the counter with a clean washcloth.
You now have water molecules that are “empty” and available to clean toxins out of your body and hydrate the cells properly. How much water, you ask? I have seen all kinds of “rules” about how much water we should drink each day — one that many of my colleagues use is to take your body weight, divide it by half, and this is the maximum amount of water in ounces to consume in half an hour. So, for a 160 lb person, that translates to 80 ounces of water per day. Or 8–10-ounce glasses. If you are exercising or it is hot out, you may need more. Eating fruit can be taken somewhat into consideration as it is loaded with liquid and nutrients. Common sense is to pay attention to what you are drinking or not drinking. It is a good assumption that you need more water.
Drinking too much water, being thirsty all the time, drinking water that is not being utilized properly, and drinking the wrong type of water are also issues that should also be addressed; these issues will have to wait for another time.
Lymph System
The second most frequent issue I see for headaches is toxic lymph systems. Here is an article on the lymph system. As summary, your body has lymph nodes around your neck, under your arms throughout your body. Your body dumps toxins there until you can sweat them out. When you perspire, think about where you sweat, that is where your sweat glands/lymph nodes are. Many people don’t sweat enough, and so the toxins sit there and can build up, putting pressure on the head, neck, and surrounding areas. Often just getting the lymph system flushed and keeping it flushed regularly can help eliminate headaches. Things that flush the lymph system are exercise, massage, sauna, steam rooms, dry brushing (towards your heart), ginger baths (up to 2 Tbsp of powdered ginger in the bath), and drinking water.
Another thing that makes this problem worse is antiperspirants, which prevent your body from flushing toxins properly. We are the only country in the world that uses these. A whole industry has been created from the “fear of being a normal healthy sweaty human.” No wonder breast cancer, lymph cancer, and brain tumors are on the rise in this country. Other countries that don’t use these products don’t have near the problems we do.
Chiropractic
Another cause of headaches is toxins from damaged nerve cells. When your cells are damaged, they release toxins that can cause pain. Good chiropractors can fix this. There are many reasons that your cells can be damaged; simply bumping your head getting out of your car, sleep awkwardly, or if you are stressed, this can cause the vertebrae to slip or cause the spine to go out of alignment, causing subluxations which can cause spasms and pain including headaches. If your body is out of alignment, it can prevent optimal blood flow to the brain. Millions of people with headaches are helped by chiropractors each year. I highly recommend this. If you haven’t been to a chiropractor before, I recommend you call several and find someone you feel comfortable with. There are all kinds of chiropractors; they are NOT all the same.
Cranial Sacral Therapy.
Cranial sacral therapy focuses on the cerebrospinal fluid produced and absorbed by the body on a regular rhythmical basis. Cranial sacral therapy is a technique where a practitioner uses a featherweight touch to test the cranial system’s restrictions. There is a mild cranial rhythm or pulse that can be felt along the cranial sutures. The normal rate is 8–12 beats per minute. When there is tension or stress at certain points in the body, the membranes are being pulled. Therefore, the body may be out of synchronization, causing ill health. Check with your massage therapist or chiropractor to find out if they do this technique or know someone who does.
It is extremely gentle, safe for anyone, and the results are amazing.
Feed your nervous system
Another thing that has helped people with chronic headaches is feeding the nervous system. Many people are just stressed, and being stressed causes all kinds of inflammation and excess toxins in the body, which can cause headaches. You may want to check out antioxidants, B vitamins, or other herbs that help feed the nervous system, such as passionflower, hops, or skullcap. These can often help calm the stress, give your body something to pull from during stressful times, and help prevent the headaches from happening in the first place. Adaptogenic herbs such as Eleuthero also can be beneficial for some.
Herbs for headaches
The most popular herbs for headaches are Feverfew and Butterbur. We have found feverfew is great at flushing toxins out of the lymph system once you feel a headache coming on, or it can be used as a preventative. But once you have a headache, butterbur seems to do a better job. Also, yarrow is helpful for headaches, as is white willow bark. Both of these herbs contain salicylic acid, which is the main ingredient in aspirin.
Colon cleansing
If the rest of your body is toxic, this can result in headaches. If you are not flushing toxins out of your body, you are creating an environment for organisms. If your colon is toxic or you are constipated, this can also result in headaches. Doing a simple colon cleanse or taking more Vitamin C or magnesium, both of which have laxative effects, can help move toxins out.
Perfumes, body products, and cleaners
Pay attention to what you are putting on and around you. Most of the perfumes and body products contain toxic ingredients that can make you too toxic and often cause headaches. Household cleaners and detergents can do the same as well. There are many videos online that discuss how toxic cleaners are and the damage they can cause. I only use hydrogen peroxide, Borax, and other natural cleaning soaps. They are all safe, non-toxic, and they actually work.
Diet
Eating right in the first place is, of course, is where much of it starts. If you are eating foods with steroids, antibiotics, hormones, artificial sweeteners, artificial flavorings, artificial colorings, or other toxic ingredients, it is no wonder you are having issues. Take a few moments and pay attention to what you are eating. Often cutting out dairy, wheat, sugar and eliminating the items mentioned above can eliminate headaches.
Making these changes eliminated my headaches. I hope some of this information helps you eliminate yours as well. Reach out if further assistance is needed at www.truhealth.com. | https://medium.com/illumination/9-tips-for-eliminating-headaches-ad9c5b4cb6ce | ['Truhealth Kasara'] | 2020-12-17 07:00:37.907000+00:00 | ['Illumination', 'Natural Cure', 'Toxins', 'Natural Health', 'Headaches Relief'] |
Bitcoin Cash vs. Bitcoin SV: What Data Tells Us 10 Months After the Hash Wars | November 2018 marked another pivotal moment for the crypto industry with the creation of Bitcoin Satoshi Vision(BSV) which quickly rose to the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market cap. The new crypto-asset was the result of a bitter technical and ideological battle between two factions of the Bitcoin Cash(BCH) community which ended up in one of the most aggressive hard forks in the history of crypto markets. During that time, both groups drew passionate and very vocal followers which certainly helped BSV gain certain prominence. However, ten months after the hard-fork, blockchain datasets reveal some very interesting insights about the health of both BCH and BSV. The IntoTheBlock platform recently added full support for BSV and I thought it would be a good idea to look at the data in comparison to BCH.
The Origins of BSV
BCH came into existence in August 2017 as a result of a debate over the block size of the Bitcoin network. Just over a year into its existence, BCH experienced the same challenges that triggered its creation when the community split in two over some proposed changes to the network. On August 20, 2018, Bitcoin Cash Adjustable Blocksize Cap (Bitcoin Cash ABC, BCH ABC), which at the time was the largest software client for the blockchain, announced a hard fork slated for November 15, 2018. A part of the announcement read:
“A new opcode called OP_CHECKDATASIG that improves the BCH scripting language to permit the validation of messages from outside the blockchain.
The introduction of canonical transaction ordering.
Several minor technical fixes and improvements.”
A faction within the Bitcoin Cash community, led by Craig Wright and Calvin Ayre, disagreed vociferously with these proposed technical updates. Wright was particularly vocal against the need for smart contracts while Ayre didn’t think miners will support canonical transaction ordering. Their group proposed to restore “the original Satoshi protocol” by changing the BCH structure. Specifically, the plan involves entirely overwriting the network scripts of Bitcoin ABC and increasing the block size of BCH from 32MB to a maximum of 128MB to elevate network capacity and scale. The result was a hard fork and the creation of BSV on November 15, 2018.
What followed after the fork was one of the craziest episodes in the history of crypto-markets with both parties racing to create blocks in their respective blockchains. Both groups shifted some of their mining power in the Bitcoin network to their blockchains creating artificial pressure on the price of BTC. While, the BCH ABC was ultimately successful and gained support of major exchanges, BSV was able to survive and was eventually adopted by several crypto markets. For the last ten months, both BCH and BSV have evolved as separate blockchains gaining relevant market positions. How do they compare now?
What Does Blockchain Data Tell Us About BCH vs. BSV
From financials to the composition of the network, there are several dimensions on which we can compare BCH and BSV. Let’s explore some of the most revealing insights that come from analyzing the blockchain datasets of BCH and BSV respectively.
Both Networks are Growing at a Similar Rate
IntoTheBlock’s Address analysis reveals that the growth patterns on both BCH and BSV are relatively similar with BSV growing a tiny bit faster. | https://medium.com/intotheblock/bitcoin-cash-vs-bitcoin-sv-what-data-tells-us-10-months-after-the-hash-wars-c7f7561eb396 | ['Jesus Rodriguez'] | 2019-08-20 13:07:35.871000+00:00 | ['Intotheblock', 'Blockchain', 'Cryptocurrency', 'Data Science', 'Bitcoin'] |
A Realtime Chart with Flutter | A Realtime Chart with Flutter
The RealTime Chart in action
What you will learn:
How to cut out a chart from the mp_chart package example and integrate it into your app.
How to use Dart DevTools to ensure that there is no memory leak.
Since January I’m experimenting with some private Flutter Apps. Especially I’m investigating how Flutter can be used to control bluetooth devices, develop Desktop Apps, Web Apps, and much more.
For a bluetooth project, I needed to visualise two values in realtime, like on an oscilloscope. I checked the packages on pub.dev and chose the mp_chart package. That package has a nice animated realtime chart on the README page.
Flutter makes it easy to develop the separate widgets of an app in isolation and then stick them together. This can be done with all languages, but the ‘everything is a widget’ principle makes it really easy, without fuss.
On the other side, it is easy to cut out interesting parts (widgets) from an app and work on it further. This is my procedure when I begin using a new package. I look whether it has an example app on github and cut out what I need.
The mp_charts package has a showcase of all supported chart types. There are so many different widgets and I had to find the right one:
BarChartBasic
BarChartBasic2
BarChartHorizontal
BarChartMultiple
BarChartNegative
BarChartSine
BarChartStacked
BarChartStacked2
EvenMoreDynamic
EvenMoreHourly
EvenMoreRealtime
LineChartBasic
LineChartColorful
LineChartCubic
LineChartDualAxis
LineChartFilled
LineChartInvertAxis
LineChartMultiple
LineChartPerformance
OtherChartBubble
OtherChartCandlestick
OtherChartCombined
OtherChartRadar
OtherChartScatterPlot
PieChartBasic
PieChartHalfPie
PieChartValueLines
ScrollingChartManyBar
ScrollingChartMultiple
ScrollingChartTallBar
ScrollingChartViewPager
I found the widget EvenMoreRealtime in the source file mp_chart/example/lib/demo/even_more/realtime.dart . But: this widget has several dependencies on the demo app. To make it independent from the showcase frame I had to do the following changes:
My version no longer extends ActionState but just extends a standard State<>. I removed all overridden methods which are defined in the ActionState class. The code in the overridden getBody() method is moved into the standard overridden build() method. No longer needed imports are removed
After these changes and a rename of the widget to RealTimeChart I could use it in a screen called PulsarScreen, which is the body of the Scaffold of my test app. The following code builds the RealTimeChart on the top of a column.
A ConfigurationWidget below the chart contains a range slider to set the upper and lower limit of the generated values and a slider for the frequency of the generated sinus values. These settings are stored in the class RealtimeDataServiceImpl.
The following snippet shows the original code of the demo example:
And here is the corresponding part of my cut out widget, which can run without the demo frame:
I made some more changes to adapt the widget to my requirements:
The _initController method configures all the colors, text styles, limits of the axes, and much more. All in all, there are x properties you can adjust to your requirements.
The demo widget just calls 1000 times _addEntry() periodically in _updateEntry(). I replaced this with a listen on a — maybe endless — _dataStream.
This _dataStream is provided by an instance of RealtimeDataService , which is injected using the locator of the get_it package. The service ist configured by two sliders and it feeds the stream with two sinus waves.
Stream<DataSet> _dataStream = locator<RealtimeDataService>().dataStream;
For this simple test app, this would be overkill, but I use the same architecture in an app, which also will use this RealtimeChart widget.
The original demo example creates a limited number of new entries with each call of _addMultiple() in memory. For a 'real' realtime app, which runs longer, this would be a remarkable memory leak. Searching google for mpandroidchart realtime chart remove I found a solution in stackoverflow. I searched for mpandroidchart because the README of the package states:
flutter charts just like MPAndroidChart
It’s a big advantage of the mp_charts package, that any problems can probably been solved the same way as with MPAndroidChart. This is good to know if any problems occur or any special case is to be configured.
The solution I found is implemented in the method addWithRemove(). It removes entries as soon as they are no longer visible.
The difference can be checked in the memory view of the Dart DevTools. The following screenshot shows the memory if the calls to removeEntry2 are commented out in addWithRemove():
3290 objects and 154 kB memory are consumed in one minute
Note: To get viable results you have to execute the garbage collector with a click on the gc icon. After that a click on Snapshot shows the count of all objects. Special interest is on the object count of class Entry .
And here are the counts if removeEntry2 ist called:
Only 120 objects and 15 kB are consumed, no matter how long the app runs
Conclusion
The mp_chart package is really useful for realtime charts — and many more chart types. There are so many configurable properties. With little effort, other widgets of the mp_charts package can be cut out from the example and used in own apps. I used also the widget OtherChartRadar as in the following animation. The cut out process is quite similar to the above described steps.
The radar chart of the mp_chart package
The full source of my test app is on Github. | https://levelup.gitconnected.com/a-realtime-chart-with-flutter-75d1840b7789 | ['Alfred Schilken'] | 2020-04-22 13:40:21.287000+00:00 | ['Realtime', 'Flutter', 'Charts'] |
Thursday Headaches and More | I’m here writing dreading the editing phase of the work I’m doing, and trouble shooting a little. I feel like I’m all ready to start my next book and I’m tired of saying it’s almost done, it is just I want to add more.
To think it’s already December and twenty twenty, or twenty wierdie, is finally almost over. The holidays are among us and people are gathered with their shelter in place buddies. This is interesting but there are multiple stories saying not to congregate today or at all. I wonder if people are going to follow it but I believe it’s not a joke, people should probably do things online.
I’m wondering what can be done or what the ramifications of prolonged time spent indoors. I see people jogging and that’s comforting, I hope to start running again. I wonder what we are missing from this year that we won’t realize for a while. Because usually there’s always something that we learn was accomplished or happened during this time.
I see a lot of people coming together in essential services and that’s reassuring because we are not arguing as much, and more people voted this year. For as weird as the year has been, it’s good to know that we are still optimistic. | https://medium.com/@alanvillarreal/thursday-headaches-and-more-9c547bcefaae | ['Alan Villarreal'] | 2020-12-04 08:04:16.005000+00:00 | ['Book Writing Service', 'Books And Authors', 'Projects', 'Writing'] |
Artivism: reconstructing the truth | The sun went down at the back of the mountain. The group had a common dinner in the albergue enjoying each other’s presence while having a look at the clock. The time was coming. Everything started in the morning when we were doing a team-building exercise in the “Fábrica de la Luz” (Light’s factory), an old open cabin in a mountain of Spain). In the past century, this place used to be an electric power station run by the water stream. Nowadays it is a forgotten space, only used by tired hikers or encouraged youngsters to spend the time far away from the town.
While the team was doing their exercises in this space, our eyes had a view of how the cabin was altered. People in the past used different art tools, such as graffiti or pocket knives on the walls of rock and wood to write inscriptions attempting the religious, sex and anti-nationalism ideas. Sentences such as “Islam terror” or “maricones fuera” (gay’s out) were all around the place. Also, we could see some symbols coming from the social-nationalism (Nazi) times. As peacebuilders and believers of the common spaces with and for everyone, we brainstorm a solution to create a safe space for all.
Debunking the hate propaganda while transforming it into a Love Speech is difficult, as we do not know what comes across the mind of the actors of these acts (we can presuppose, but we will not have all the reasons or the real-truth without questioning them directly). Besides, we wanted to reclaim the space and change it. Art itself is one of the most powerful tools to reshape minds and actions, confronting ideas and providing a mechanism of action that everyone can be part of. That’s why the group decided to take action and work on it in the upcoming days.
Sometimes you need to do an action that changes plans (the ongoing learning process of the training course in which we were. A group was set up and the next steps set: what, how, when and who. We already had the Where and Why. With the understanding of the next steps we did not only get the action being active but also the group started to learn the skills of management, trust, community and action coordination. Within ten minutes, the tasks were shared, and the idea became tangible.
The sun went down. The group had the common dinner and the clock showed the time. With bags full of various spray paint cans, paper and scissors we went down the road towards the open cabin. In the meantime, the group was divided into smaller groups, and the creativity began. Some decided to create a word template with the papers and scissors while others were testing their art without having a plan beforehand. We were there for thirty minutes, finding the hate speech around and transforming it into love speech.
Hearts, words, symbols… approaches are as open as the imagination. The power of art. At the end of the action, we signed with our initials. “We were here” — we stated. On the coming back, our adrenaline started to go down while the feeling of empowerment raised. Our hope was that this street painting will last in time.
Art itself is not a solution to this political and social dystopia, besides, it is a tool to raise awareness and provoke critical thinking to the casual visitors of the space. One year later, the hate words came back, but nowadays they are confronted with our own designs. How will this affect (having two confronted ideas) the visitor? What is the learning point they will get from here? Does it give alternative thinking to social hate?
This action is one of the multiples that are happening around the world. And we aim to come back and, again, reconstruct the truth while reclaiming the space. It only takes a group and an idea. We will continue to confront ideas and make art the tool to showcase the possibilities of our common path towards a peaceful and inclusive society.
This article was written as part of “Peace Education articles” activity within an Operating Grant of the Youth Peace Ambassadors Network project financed by the European Union’s Erasmus+ Programme.
The content of page represents the views of the author only and is their sole responsibility. The European Commission does not accept any responsibility for use that may be made of the information it contains. | https://medium.com/youthpeaceambassadors/artivism-reconstructing-the-truth-887cb9c9c2fb | ['Youth Peace Ambassadors'] | 2021-02-28 00:20:40.895000+00:00 | ['Activism', 'Artivism', 'Youth', 'Street Art', 'Action'] |
Leetcode SQL | Leetcode SQL
185. Department Top Three Salaries
The Employee table holds all employees. Every employee has an Id, and there is also a column for the department Id.
+----+-------+--------+--------------+
| Id | Name | Salary | DepartmentId |
+----+-------+--------+--------------+
| 1 | Joe | 85000 | 1 |
| 2 | Henry | 80000 | 2 |
| 3 | Sam | 60000 | 2 |
| 4 | Max | 90000 | 1 |
| 5 | Janet | 69000 | 1 |
| 6 | Randy | 85000 | 1 |
| 7 | Will | 70000 | 1 |
+----+-------+--------+--------------+
The Department table holds all departments of the company.
+----+----------+
| Id | Name |
+----+----------+
| 1 | IT |
| 2 | Sales |
+----+----------+
Write a SQL query to find employees who earn the top three salaries in each of the department. For the above tables, your SQL query should return the following rows (order of rows does not matter).
+------------+----------+--------+
| Department | Employee | Salary |
+------------+----------+--------+
| IT | Max | 90000 |
| IT | Randy | 85000 |
| IT | Joe | 85000 |
| IT | Will | 70000 |
| Sales | Henry | 80000 |
| Sales | Sam | 60000 |
+------------+----------+--------+
Explanation:
In IT department, Max earns the highest salary, both Randy and Joe earn the second highest salary, and Will earns the third highest salary. There are only two employees in the Sales department, Henry earns the highest salary while Sam earns the second highest salary.
Solution:
select d.Name as Department,
e.Name as Employee,
Salary
from Employee e
inner join
Department d
on e.DepartmentId = d.Id
where
(
select count(distinct Salary) from Employee t1
where t1.DepartmentId = d.Id
and t1.Salary >= e.Salary
) <= 3;
Link | https://medium.com/jen-li-chen-in-data-science/leetcode-sql-a17e191cb3a8 | ['Jen-Li Chen'] | 2020-12-05 23:52:07.392000+00:00 | ['Leetcode', 'Sql', 'Solutions'] |
5 Shocking Facts You Didn’t Know About This 5th Century University | The work of Narsimha Deva, Nalanda carried the title of the only international university in the world for over 800 years. Students from all over the world would come to gain the rich and holistic knowledge imparted at Nalanda. There were around 10,000 students and 2,700 faculties from countries like Greece, Mongolia, Japan, China, Korea, Indonesia, Greater Iran, Persia, and many more.
2. A huge library divided into 3 buildings
Image by Nalanda
The greatest and prestigious library in the world was at the heart of Nalanda. It was called Dharma Kunj — meaning — Mountain of Truth. The Library was divided into three buildings standing up to nine storeys. These buildings were called Ratnasagara — Sea of Jewels, Ratnajanaka — Delighter of Jewels, and Ratnodadhi — Ocean of Jewels. These buildings owned massive volumes of religious manuscripts and books about Astrology, Economics, Maths, Literature, Geology, Medicine, etc.
3. It was attacked thrice by invaders
Image by Nalanda
A renowned repository of flourishing knowledge is bound to be envied against by the adversaries. In hope of uprooting Buddhism and Buddhist knowledge, Nalanda was attacked thrice. The first attack was by Huns led by Mihirakula, However, the loss was restored with better facilities by the Gupta Dynasty. The second attack was made by Gaudas which again was restored by the Buddhist King Harshavardhana. But during 1993, the utmost destruction was made by the Turkish leader Bakhtiyar Khilji.
4. Massive loss yielded by Khilji’s attack
Images by Wikipedia
Image by Nalanda
Khilji was an illiterate person who was hired for his military and killing skills. With his help, the Turkish army destroyed the roots of knowledge of Buddhism and Ayurveda from the country. They ransacked and looted Nalanda. Countless monks were burned alive and many were beheaded. The world-famous library of Nalanda was also set on fire.
5. The library kept burning for 3 months
The third attack, took along with it, the jewels of Nalanda. When Khilji set the library on fire, all the knowledge collected by mankind went up in flames. The library’s vastness can be understood by the fact that it took 3 months for the books and manuscripts to burn down entirely. Due to the loss of the religious texts, Buddhism — one of the major religions of India faced setbacks for hundreds of years. | https://medium.com/age-of-awareness/5-shocking-facts-you-didnt-know-about-this-5th-century-university-80ced39ef30 | ['Radha Kapadia'] | 2020-12-23 02:42:56.717000+00:00 | ['Teaching', 'History', 'Learning', 'Buddhism', 'Education'] |
What It’s Like to Be Transgender in a Psychiatric Hospital. | Going to a psychiatric hospital can be a scary experience, especially if its your first time. However, if you’re transgender it can go from extremely scary, to an absolute nightmare in the matter of seconds. In this article I will be sharing my experience in a psychiatric facility last week.
It was a Tuesday night, I was having extreme anxiety as well as the early signs of a panic attack. I’ve always had anxiety, but it was never this bad. My regular coping skills weren’t working, I was ready to do anything to make it stop. Once I felt myself progressing to this state, I walked into Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. Upon a full psychological evaluation, they determined that I wasn’t safe. I was cooperative, and agreed to be transferred to a psychiatric hospital for a 5150 (72 hour) hold. Not that I had a choice, I just knew that being cooperative would be helpful for this kind of situation.
Since CHLA doesn’t offer inpatient psychiatric care, they had to transport me to a hospital that did. My stomach dropped to my feet once I found out that they couldn’t treat me there. I asked ER doctor several times if they were going to send me to a place that was transgender friendly. The doctor looked at me in the eyes, and said; “Yes Jaden, that is our top priority.” I trusted him.
Since they didn’t want me running away, they strapped me down very tightly to the hospital bed I was in, then I was moved onto a gurney to be transported to Del Amo Hospital in Torrance, California. The ambulance driver handed over my California ID card, and Medi-Cal health insurance card over to the intake nurse of the Youth Psychiatric Unit. She began filling out my paperwork while asking me 5 million questions about why I was here. Let me remind you, I’m still tightly strapped to the gurney. I wish I could have taken pictures of the marks those straps left on my shoulders, but they were gone by the time I got out.
Then, the awkward skip of pen came when she reached the “sex” question on the intake packet. Looking at my ID and Medi-Cal card (which both said male), then looking at me while biting her lip. She wasn’t positive I was actually male. She just skipped over that question and finished the rest of the packet. I was finally let out of the gurney, at that point my legs started getting sore from being in a locked straight position for so long. I stumbled to the ground as I attempted to walk again. She pulled a male intake nurse from the nurse’s station, and then directed me to a restroom with a new hospital gown.
“We’re conducting a safety check. We’re not sure if you’re male or female, so we need to check to make sure you and the other patients here are safe.” It was 2AM, and I was in no means to argue with anyone, so I just shrugged my shoulders and followed instructions. A big, bold, F was stamped on my intake papers. I put on the hospital gown, and off I was to observation. I was placed in this observation room for three hours, while the nurses wrote down my every move and breath. After the three hours, I was placed into an isolation room at the end of the hallway in the female wing of the youth unit. This room had no windows, just four walls and a toilet attached to the wall. The door closed, and then it was locked.
The nurses checked on the patients every two hours, at least that’s what it felt like. Every time you cried out, you were given more sedatives to sleep. That morning my breakfast was brought to me while everyone else was able to eat together in the common room. Why was I being isolated? All I’ve done was cooperate with everything they were saying. I just assumed that’s what all new patients went though. I lost track of time in that small room. The four off white walls were driving me insane. I was more anxious than I was when I came in, since anxiety was what I came in for anyway.
That afternoon it was my turn to see the doctor. The nurse came over to my room, unlocked it, and then directed me towards the doctors office. She stood in the corner of the room while I had a five minute conversation with the doctor. In that five minutes, he was on his cell phone texting and scrolling through Facebook. He asked me questions, and then interrupted me as I tried to answer. From that five minute conversation, he was able to diagnose me with Borderline Personality Disorder, Depression, and Anxiety. He was able to prescribe me medications that he “knew” would cure my problems. I was directed back to my room. The nurse came over with a small cup full of 5 pills. I asked her what they were, and what the side effects were so I could make an informed decision about whether or not I wanted to take them. Since I do have the legal right to refuse medications in a psychiatric hospital. She refused to tell me what they were, and that if I didn’t take them I would have to stay in the hospital longer. I took them. Now, in this room there is no clock. I don’t recall much of this day, I just remember sleeping A LOT. I have no idea how long I was sleeping, and I still don’t know what kind of medications she gave me.
It was the next morning, I was woken up by a nurse checking my vitals. I asked her what time it was, and what the date was. She gave me an angry look, wrote down the information and left me. I forced myself to stay awake even though the medication was making me sleep, for the 2 hour check up to get more information about my treatment plan here. When I was checked on, I asked when I would be able to attend support groups and interact with other patients. She told me that it was hospital policy for me to be isolated. I asked her why. She then told me that transgender people have a high risk of sexual assault and violence, therefore it was for MY safety to be isolated. At this point I knew my 72 hour hospital stay was turning into an awful nightmare. I asked to use the phone, which is my right by the way. She agreed, and let me make a phone call.
This was when I found out it was still my first full day in the facility. Since this conversation was monitored, I was extremely careful with what I said. The person I was talking to knew something was wrong, but had no idea how to fix it. I assured everyone I was okay for the sake of getting out of there ASAP.
There are lots of myths about testosterone making it unable for you to cry. I’ve been on T for six months, and haven’t had any luck crying since my first shot. However, when I was stuck in isolation I cried about 75% of the time in there, but quickly wiping away the tears when the nurses did their bi-hourly checks. (Yes, anytime you are caught crying they keep you a day longer.)
Now, I didn’t spend these 72 hours alone. They did put me in a room with another transgender male. He didn’t really talk much, but he was compassionate. He did help the time pass, whether was it was secretly holding hands from behind the bed, to a long 5 minute crying hug. To a verbal identity validation every time the nurse misgendered us, or deadnamed him. He was in just as much pain as me, only he was 3 years younger than me. So much respect for that kid.
Soon enough, after 72 hours of not seeing sunlight, being completely isolated from the world around us, I was released. I gave my room mate one last hug, while secretly passing him a piece of paper with my contact information for when he got out. He’s being held on a 5270 (30 day) hold. Ever since my discharge he’s called my cell phone using the hospital phone everyday. There’s only so much I can do from the outside, but I do plan on visiting him; even though going back there is extremely triggering.
Upon discharge I posted about my awful experience on social media, and got a wonderful response. Hundreds of messages from strangers, showing their sympathies. Other trans people who have been mistreated at this hospital also reached out to me to encourage legal action for a violation of patients rights. I did file a complaint with the hospital. A patient advocate called me back dismissing my complaint because I was “hospitalized for a reason.” Seeking help from free LGBT legal aids, I am determined to take this place down for their transphobic policies that go against basic civil rights. After this experience, I now understand why transgender people hate psychiatric hospitals so much. This is how we’re treated when we simply reach out for help. | https://medium.com/psych-ward-experiences/what-its-like-to-be-transgender-in-a-psychiatric-hospital-f0550565e66b | ['Jaden Prendergast'] | 2017-03-29 03:09:23.235000+00:00 | ['Health', 'Psychiatric Disorders', 'Mental Health', 'LGBTQ', 'Transgender'] |
Ascent. In The Allegory of the Cave, Plato… | In The Allegory of the Cave, Plato tells us about the prisoner who saw the light. But what is more interesting, is to think about the type of experience he had. At first, he is blinded by the light. His eyesight is damaged, and as he readjusts his vision and moves forward in the new landscape, he discovers the objects that, previously, he was incapable of seeing. But that is not the end of it. He is blinded by the sun once again. The prisoner repeatedly goes through the painful process of readjusting his vision. Analogous to this experience is how human beings learn new things. It is the same painful and inconvenient experience of redesigning one’s knowledge structures about the world.
The tragic part of the allegory is when this prisoner, with his hard-gained knowledge, returns back to the cave, to share what he has learned to the other prisoners, who remain, with their backs turned to the light, and mistaking the shadows on the wall for truth. The cave is the world of opinion, where each person is entitled to their delusion. But the enlightened prisoner is stumbling and unintelligible, incapable of expressing what he has learned into words, and so, he is ridiculed by the other prisoners. Think about how great teachers of the past such as Socrates and Jesus were persecuted.
We notice how, in life, the same pattern unfolds. The person who has attained new knowledge and desires to enlighten the community is never met without scorn and humiliation. Thus, the allegory captures an important fact about human psychology: we are resistant to knowledge. We prefer clinging on to opinions and delusions. But still, a part of us (the freed prisoner), seeks to go beyond this default state, towards truth, even at a great cost, and even if with great difficulty.
The freed prisoner, before he goes out into the light, is resistant to leaving the cave. He is almost dragged out of the cave. And the remaining prisoners refuse new knowledge. In general, human beings are resistant to change, even if it is good for them, and even if it is freeing. That is the foundation of confirmation bias. It is more comfortable to cling to illusions about the world, than make the painful choice of personal transformation. And on a certain level, such a reservation is not always irrational. Constant transformation is overwhelming and disconcerting. There is such a thing as too much knowledge, too much enlightenment at once. And this brings us to the second facet of human nature, that was then later discovered by Jean Piaget.
The proper way to update our knowledge structures is to do so gradually, by slowly integrating new information with the old, and making our existing knowledge, more complete and powerful. When the introduction of chaos is mediated with a rapid return to order, where new information is slowly and carefully digested, transformation becomes possible. We become capable of transcending our previous limitations. That is why gaining knowledge, after we have overcome personal resistance, is such a rewarding and enriching experience. It is one of the few things we can do that allows us to transcend ourselves, as Nietzsche would have us believe is the ultimate duty of man.
There are three possible attitudes (approximately) one can have regarding knowledge. One, is to become aversive to new knowledge, out of the fear that if too much chaos is introduced, the existing order falls apart. The second is to become addicted to new information, where one spends all their waking hours exposing their minds to novelty in fear of being oppressed by their existing knowledge structures. And the third attitude is one that falls between the two extremes, where the integration of knowledge occurs gradually and properly. It is not only a question of how frequently you expose yourself to new information, but also, how difficult the information you expose yourself to is. This is related to the concept of flow. The goal is to strike the balance between order and chaos, easiness, and difficulty. You are in the right place, when you are neither bored, nor overwhelmed.
Watch yourself as you work. When you notice that you are switching between too many different things, and your focus is too scattered, and there are too many ideas that you are thinking about, it is a sign of overstimulation. That is when you need to eliminate complexity. And when you find yourself, agitated, despondent, and searching for distractions — then what you are doing is too boring. You are not engaged enough. You are either doing the wrong thing, or you are doing something that you have mastered too well.
Procrastination, as I have discussed in In Defense of Idleness, can sometimes be a sign, not of a lack of discipline, but of your body’s physiological desire to do something else.
While The Allegory of the Cave is tangentially related to chaos and order, and the integration of new information, it is also about the dichotomy between knowledge and illusion. The prisoner who did not gain insight with ease, who struggled greatly, both psychologically and socially, was willing to sacrifice the comfort of the cave for a greater ideal. The construction of renewed knowledge structures or “seeing the light” is not done for its own sake. It is a conscious decision to wage war against one’s own delusions. To be able to see any light at all, you must admit to yourself that you are in a state of darkness, at least partially, otherwise, why would you bother going through the painful process of acquiring new knowledge?
What Plato understood was that man was constantly divided against himself. And he understood this, thousands of years before the advent of psychoanalysis. One part of man wants to see the true form of things, beyond the ephemeral sensual realm; another part of man completely identifies with the sensual realm and can see no meaning beyond it. But again, the sensual realm, that exists more in the present moment is necessary. The conflict is not to be viewed as a tragic state of man, but as an important mechanism in the psyche, that makes it possible for the mind to process complex information. There is too much data, and to process any of it, the mind must bring itself to the present moment, so that awareness can be focused on a single piece of data at a time. And yet, the sensual part of the mind that is responsible for present awareness, for the possibility of processing complex information, is at the same time behind all self-deception.
The ascent towards truth, the fight against self-deception, is necessarily an eternal struggle. It cannot end. And yet for Plato, the education that continues to remedy self-deception is natural and essential. It is ignorance that is unnatural. Usually, when people think of knowledge, they think of it as something static, like money. It is deposited into the brain (bank account) by a teacher, and once the learning process is complete, the student can then go home, pleased with what they have learned.
But what Plato teaches us is that learning is a dynamic interactive process, not a static one. Unlike a bank account, it is only possible to learn when you have committed your whole being and spirit to the pursuit of knowledge. In other words, you cannot learn anything passively. You are either all in, or you are not in at all — because to construct new forms knowledge in your mind, you must eliminate old forms of knowledge. It is a process of accepting that a part of your mind will physiologically be destroyed. That is, a physical neural structure will be destroyed, and what this implies, is that you must be very careful about what you choose to learn, because it is going to require you to change your identity. It then becomes obvious, that unless you require to transform your mental structures into unintelligible garbage, avoid feeding your mind garbage. Seek information that will not only be transformative, but transformative towards an ideal that is worth dying for, literally. | https://medium.com/@farahsmaily/ascent-week-43-of-wisdom-unearned-wisdom-dc04773f9a65 | ['Farah Smiley'] | 2020-12-25 13:38:06.781000+00:00 | ['Knowledge', 'Philosophy', 'Plato'] |
Why did the ancient Egyptians mummify millions of sacred birds? | Ancient Egyptians mummified everything from humans to crocodiles to cats. They mummified one thing more than anything else though, birds. Millions of birds. They did not just mummify any bird though. They mummified Threskiornis aethiopicus, or African sacred ibis in the common tongue.
They mummified so many of them that archaeologists have often wondered how they even caught so many of them without causing an ecological disaster. In parts of the catacombs underneath Egypt, there are miles of the creatures stacked from the floor to the ceiling. At Saqqara, there are 500,000 mummified ibises. In the catacombs of Tune el-Gebel, there are four million of them. At one point, they were sacrificing at least 10,000 of the birds a year and mummifying them in Saqqara alone.
This is an ornate Ibis coffin.
Scientists may have discovered the answer by analyzing over a dozen of the sacred birds. Presumably, if the Egyptians were breeding them at a truly massive scale, there would be less genetic diversity than if they were caught from the wild. This is due not only to inbreeding but from having a small population that continually produces a larger population. The sample size is just lower than taking a few birds from the wild.
However, scientists found that the genetic diversity of the mummified ibises were about the same as the wild population. In an interview with Newsweek, the lead author of the study suggested that priests were probably taming wild populations when necessary rather than breeding them.
But why sacrifice so many birds?
Archaeologists believe the Egyptians were sacrificing the birds to the god Thoth mostly surrounding the Roman and Greek period from 665 BC to 250 AD. Thoth is the God with the bird head, the head of an ibis to be precise.
A typical depiction of Thoth.
Thoth is the Egyptian god of wisdom, hieroglyphs, science, magic, judgment, art and the dead. As Egypt moved into the axial age with the rest of the world, Thoth became more and more associated with the Greek god Hermes and with the myth of Hermes Trismegistus and Moses. A cult formed around Thoth with its center being Hermopolis, a temple devoted mostly to Thoth but named Hermopolis by the Greeks because of this connection.
According to Wikipedia:
Thoth was inserted in many tales as the wise counselor and persuader, and his association with learning and measurement led him to be connected with Seshat, the earlier deification of wisdom, who was said to be his daughter, or variably his wife. Thoth’s qualities also led to him being identified by the Greeks with their closest matching god Hermes, with whom Thoth was eventually combined as Hermes Trismegistus, also leading to the Greeks’ naming Thoth’s cult centre as Hermopolis, meaning city of Hermes. Thoth — Wikipedia
Hermes Trismegistus became profoundly influential until the modern period. In fact, most of the work in the Renaissance at reclaiming ancient texts was trying to find the lost works of the legendary figure, thought to know the secrets to magic and alchemy. So influential was Thoth and Hermes Trismegistus on the modern world, that it forms the basis of The Kybalion, a mysterious book written in 1908 claiming to be the thoughts of the legendary figure. That book became the basis of much of the New Age thinking we know today like positive thinking, the law of attraction, personal power, etc. | https://medium.com/swlh/why-did-the-ancient-egyptians-mummify-millions-of-sacred-birds-eb86712c9a1 | ['Darian West'] | 2019-11-15 22:32:30.919000+00:00 | ['Egypt', 'Ancient History', 'Science', 'History', 'Archaeology'] |
Joe Rogan and the Age of Loneliness | There is real value in exploring the societal function of new trends. What is Facebook, to someone, who is as smart as us, but does not have words such as “social media”, “ad revenue”, or “friend list” in their vocabulary?
The least dangerous trend in the technology and media we have seen in the past decade seems to be the medium of podcast. We all know, how Tik Tok is designed to release dopamine into our brains with every swipe down, alternating between videos of underage girls dancing to a catchy pop song and bald 40-somethings telling us a pun about boats, then proceeding to sing a Sea Shanty. Tik Tok, Facebook, Twitter, even E-Mail, seem to be designed to give us that amazing feeling of receiving another Like. Maybe it’s even going to be a Like from someone we fancy.
I still constantly do it. I upload a picture of myself on Instagram and spend the next two days constantly checking who liked my picture. Did I generate more interaction than the last time around? Why or why not? Of course, we know of the addictive quality of these mediums, yet we still fall prey to their more unsavory sides.
In this jungle of apps trying to gain our attention, Podcasts with a capital P seem to be a real fresh breath of air.
90-minute conversations about philosophy, life, sports, politics, fashion, cat pictures, or whatever else tickles one's fancy are generally considered Podcasts. Joe Rogan will talk about the experience of taking some obscure mindblowing drug with a brain surgeon, while you listen in to this perfectly normal conversation between two people. Chapo Trap House will make a funny joke about millennials with bad haircuts and while 3 of them break out into laughter, you listen and grin along. But why do we listen to these people?
Most of the time we aren’t learning something radically new, that we want to implement into our life.
I believe Podcasts are the thing that replaced a world without friendships.
1 in 5 millennials doesn’t have any friends. People are losing their virginities later and later in life. Our ability to interact with people in authentic ways has diminished greatly with SMS, Messaging Apps, Social Media, E-Mail, and many other new digital tools disrupting the way we communicate over and over again.
Granted, new ways of communication aren’t a bad thing per se.
But looking at our good friend Joe Rogan can give us some real insight into how people generally see and use the medium of Podcasts. Joe isn’t super funny. He clearly isn’t the smartest person. He holds a lot of bad political opinions in my opinion.
But he has 1 thing going for him. He is just really friendly. As an archetype, he is maybe the perfect friend, uncle, or father. He is into cool stuff like weed and drugs, he works out, he is successful and he says “Wow, that’s amazing” a lot. He is the perfect friend. Someone we like to listen to. Someone who encourages other people’s ideas with relatively little judgment.
We don’t listen to Joe for his clearly non-brilliant takes. We listen to him because he is the friend we don’t have. Where in the past, our 24 hours of the day were filled with work, chores, sleeping, physical activity, and friends, the latter has now been replaced with Podcasts. In the Age of Loneliness, the Age of Alienation, we humans seek human connection wherever we may get it. And Joe Rogan telling us about hunting moose is the closest we have to human connection right now.
Disclaimer: I am not a native English speaker and any grammar feedbacks are always welcome! | https://medium.com/@maheshlouverture/joe-rogan-and-the-age-of-loneliness-c9012729836a | ['Mahesh Louverture'] | 2021-04-01 22:37:03.635000+00:00 | ['Podcasting', 'Alienation', 'Analysis', 'Joe Rogan', 'Idea'] |
I suffer from A-VD. | I suffer from A-VD.
(Age Verification Disease)
I’ve just had a birthday … it’s no longer a celebratory moment. I’m also the self appointed medical expert of A-VD. It might be upgraded to A-VV – (age verification virus)! By all means contact me if you think you’ve got it too? It eventually leads to death.
Picture courtesy of Pinterest
Whoever coined the phrases: “Your only as old as you feel” – is a dick! ; and “Age is just a number” – a bigger dick! And both are liars. And Psychopaths.
Both those “quote contributors” are buff, “30-somethings” with 6-packs. Ageing is shite! And let me define the word SHITE … There are three basic expressions for shit:
Shit – (obviously) that singular small one off ‘dump’ of lousy!; Shittest – ‘superlative’ - largest amount of lousy; and Shite – of Irish origin and a collective noun for everything shit — sentiments, thoughts or actions containing the very idea or expression of shit. And the Irish should know. They only consume Guinness and potato and live near a bog. SHITE is the worst kind of shit. PS – should not be confused with GOBSHITE!
“I’m closer to 60 than 50 …” (insert age appropriate numbers)!
When someone says something similar, and they’re over 50, they have contracted A-VD disease. FACT!!
I try hard not to state my exact age any more. It’s the disease. The disease hit me just before my 50th … I began stuttering trying to say ffff… ff… ffifty! and it’s escalating as I near sss-ss,sixty! That was when I knew I had caught it. Our minds think we are still 17, its our bodies that do not acclimate. I’m working on a pill for that. Not to fix the body, that would be a bridge too far … my invention is the body equivalent of VIAGRA. Doesn’t do anything for the penis, just gets the entire body erect and able to do things a teenager can do. If only for a few hours. Its called BOD’AGRA. It’s a body “blocker”!
I now refuse to fill in forms requiring age specificity … I’m happy to insert my DOB … but always leave the square asking ‘age at last birthday’, blank. If you wanna know, buy a calculator!
My passport renewal has been held up on the computer for 3 months. The blinking message says “please complete the highlighted section”. Guess what it wants? I may have to capitulate this time. My passport has actually expired.
In those glorious teen years …my mother, RIP, would send me a hand written note … yes, I’m THAT old: “Its your sisters birthday on Sunday. Get her a gift!”
And as a teenager, I hated buying gifts. ALL men are generally ‘pants’ at gifting. And 17 year old ‘men’ are the “crotch of those pants” … at gifting. They’re only thinking of two things – filling the belly and emptying the scrotum! That’s it!
Today … as I approach 60, going to buy a gift is an OUTING! Somewhere between a mosh pit and an orgy … but must have a buffet of moist soft foods!
But when I married, I was expected to remember these dates on my own. Is it not tradition that men are supposed to forget dates? People wrongly assume marriage matures men. It’s a fallacy. I am more childlike today than I was at 20.
I’m so bad at dates – I chose our wedding day as the 13th of February. The day before Valentines … people thought it was romantic! The reason however, was far more simplistic. I knew I’d have enough Valentine retail reminders that I could never forget what the day before was, AND … I could purchase one card for both our anniversary and Valentines.
That’s called: Catching two coelacanths with one hook! That’s right, they weren't extinct when I went fishing as a yob!
Children’s birthdays, grandchildren’s birthdays, parents deaths, wife’s birthday, wife’s family, anniversaries, pets births and deaths … it’s endless, you just accumulate more and more dates to remember as you age. It’s exhausting.
And now more of my children are bringing partners home to meet us. I keep suggesting marriage is not something to be taken lightly or rushed into. They think I’m spouting wisdom … it’s not! I do not need more dates to remember!! Marry when I’m in the ground or an urn of ash on the mantle.
My wife says I should get a large birthday calendar … and write the occasions down, but she forgets I’m a “hunter gatherer” … it’s hard wired, DNA stuff – age cannot dull genetics — she’d never understand. As with directions – we men prefer to find our destination by cunning, deception and intuition …like finding meat, of old, in the wild. Not by sensibly asking a local resident or using a satnav! That’s for the saloon pianist in a Western! … Pussy! (remember westerns? Bet the “dick” that made those quotes above, doesn’t). I’m not scribbling on a BIG (yes I got that knife in the back too) calendar … she just had to say BIG. I’m winging it BABY!
When we go shopping these days, the wife catches me shuffling towards the various greeting card stands mumbling and murmuring incoherently!! She demands to know why I’ve bought 2348 cards of various message types recently. What possible explanation could I give to that question … without admitting “calendar defeat” … I buy every conceivable option because my mind cannot remember the huge number of celebratory family members anymore. But I’m keeping shtum as to the real reason!
But I’ve not succumbed to buying a birthday calendar!! I’m in charge !!
However my lack of a suitable response required a trip to see a specialist … the wife thinks senility has unceremoniously arrived. The doctors prescribed medication to ‘combat my senility’. … “combat” … I’m now at bloody war as well … with myself it seems. I’m nearing 60 and combating stuff!! Waahoo! I’m in the trenches suckers! Me and my ‘homies’ … only our uniforms are gowns and slippers … and with a “buffet” instead of bayonet!
My prescribed weapons of choice are: Omega 3 fatty acids; Vitamin B 9; Vitamin B 12; Curcumin; Ginkgo Biloba; Vitamin D; Huperzine and Ginseng … that’s on top of my gout medication and a daily dose of BOD’AGRA! And a multivitamin supplement.
It’s so many pills and tablets that on the odd occasion, when I’m not in the trenches, and I’m capable of coitus, I rattle now. It doesn’t help my “senility” that I keep stopping on the job to ask the wife … “did you hear a rattle”? I tell you — combat does things to a man!
Pseudo senility is a bitch … trust me. Way worse than the real thing. I may have to go see an African “Sangoma” – have them perform a “miracle” on me – go in senile, come out cured! I can’t keep the pills and pretence up much longer, my medical aid is asking for a bigger co-pay contribution! Bastards! Don’t they know I’m a combat veteran! I fought in the “date wars” of 2020.
What date is my medical contribution due again …? Jeez, I hate dates!! And medical insurance … and life insurance … it’s a sign I tell you! I’ll send a ‘sorry” card! I have a few to choose from. I think I might need a calendar. | https://medium.com/the-haven/i-suffer-from-a-vd-179191302816 | [] | 2020-12-28 17:07:01.923000+00:00 | ['Birthday', 'Short Story', 'Life', 'Fun', 'Humour'] |
To Starla the Car-la! | It’s the end of an era. Today I said goodbye to my 1998 Lexus, Starla the Car-la. Starla was more than a car. She was more than cream colored leather seats marred by rubbed off denim. She was more than the perplexing thumping hum that serenaded you while you drove that left mechanics shrugging. She was my first taste of independence.
Starla was a gift from my Great Aunt Molly who in her old age decided she should no longer drive to temple. Choosing instead to worship G-d by throwing tiles playing rowdy games of Jewish mahjongg. Great Aunt Molly bequeathed me a center console full of klezmer cassette tapes and hard candy so to make her my own I hung a silver disco ball from the rear view mirror.
Finally I could go wherever I wanted, whenever I wanted — especially after I learned how to drive. It took a few years before I was comfortable driving on the highway and I still get nervous driving in the snow and lord knows to this day I can’t parallel park, but Starla gave me wheels, helped me build my confidence, and empowered me to go places on my own. To take long drives with the sun roof open blasting terrible Dave Matthews Band lyrics, to order M&M McFlurries from the drive through instead of having to convince a friend with a car that McFlurries are excellent treats even in bone chilling Pittsburgh winters, and to try and wedge her into too tight parking spots in the South Side so I could go dancing all night and worry about the scuffs later. We sure did have some good times.
Starla the Car-la was a champagne colored class act who purred like a kitten. She was a reliable chariot even when the check engine light blinked (our mechanic assured us it was just broken). And she was royally scratched the fuck up after so many years of, “I thought I could fit”.
But she was mine.
And I will miss her. | https://medium.com/@rkallemwhitman/to-starla-the-car-la-2965b729ebaa | ['Dr. Rachel Kallemwhitman'] | 2020-12-17 19:57:13.761000+00:00 | ['Memories', 'Cars', 'Independence', 'Life Lessons', 'Coming Of Age'] |
The Best Workout Exercises For Weight Loss At Home | In this article, we’d like to provide four exercises that, when done correctly, will help you lose weight and get rid of a sagging and bulging abdomen wtihout gym equipment.
Each person choose whether to workout at home or in a gym. Both solutions have advantages and disadvantages.
If you signed up for group training at a sports club, you must attend to the gym, pay for a membership, and stick to the schedule. It does, however, include all of the required equipment and simulations for efficient weight reduction.
Home exercises have recently become highly popular. You don’t need to go anywhere; just keep to your plan and schedule. To complete the exercises correctly, though, you must have a strong determination and some physical preparation.
Exercises for reducing weight at home and at the gym are not that dissimilar. They must be efficient, intense, and diverse. The press may be worked out at home or in the gym with similar results. You can collaborate with a trainer over a video link.
Circuit training is one of the best option to burn calories.
Circuit training targets the entire body and successfully burns calories. Exercises should be completed progressively, with a minimum rest duration of up to 25 seconds between elements. A cycle or circle can have four to eight activities. Each must be done for a certain amount of time or with the required number of repetitions. Relaxation can be put in the spaces between the circles.
This training plan is appropriate for both beginners and advanced athletes; simply pay attention to your feelings and alter the amount of laps. It is recommended to complete 4–6 rounds every workout, two to three times per week.
Circuit training is frequently referred to as fat burning.
Because exercise involves a large number of joints, ligaments, and muscles, it burns more calories. A general tone will arise within a month if you workout at least three times each week.
It is preferable to measure progress by measuring volume in the waist, chest, and hips: the numbers on the scales may not move, but the improvement will be seen physically. This is crucial for motivating you to keep training.
Measure progress by measuring volume in the waist, chest, and hips.
To keep the workouts interesting, switch exercises and replace them with new ones. When endurance activities are included in circuit training, the calorie expenditure is 30% more than when strength training in the gym.
Begin with short sessions and progressively increase the amount of circles. You can burn out and quit training if you expect a speedy result and quickly tire yourself.
Before you begin training, check with your doctor to see if you have any limits on physical exercise.
Warming Up
A series of exercises at the beginning is aimed at warming up the muscles and ligaments before physical activity. It allows you to train much more efficiently, to avoid injuries and sprains.
In the warm-up, you should include cardio heating: jumping rope, walking with raising your knees or jogging in place. Then you need to do articular gymnastics: rotation with your hands, arms, shoulders, head, etc. Now you can stretch for 2–3 minutes — you need to lock your arms behind your back to stretch the shoulder joints, make bends to the sides.
Finish the warm-up with the same cardio exercises as in the beginning, but at a higher pace. Then you need to restore breathing, alternating deep inhalation and exhalation.
If there is no physical level of preparation at all, the warm-up can be reduced to 5 minutes.
Frontal Lunges
This exercise will help strengthen the inner thighs.
For a frontal lunge to the side, you need to stand up straight and keep your feet shoulder-width apart. Now take a step to the side and squat. We do not transfer the body weight completely to one side, but evenly distribute it between both legs. We make sure that the body does not fall to one side, and the knee does not go beyond the toe of the foot.
Now you need to push off with the leg on which the lunge was performed, take an additional step and take the starting position. We repeat the actions — we perform a lunge in the other direction. Legs should be widely spaced apart. The duration of frontal lunges is 2–3 minutes.
Frontal Lunges. The Plan of Motion.
Push-Ups
If you have physical fitness, you can choose classic push-ups. If it’s too difficult for now, I recommend doing them from your knees.
It is necessary to take the correct starting position: the body forms a single line from the head without bending in the lower back or lifting the pelvis up. We place our palms exactly under the shoulder joints, place the elbows close to the body and do not spread them to the sides.
The body should drop low. It is important to breathe correctly: we bend our arms as we inhale, rise as we exhale. We perform the exercise for 2 minutes.
For push-ups from the knees, the technique is the same: the body forms a straight line. It is necessary to monitor the position of the palms relative to the shoulders.
During the exercise, only the muscles and joints of the arms should work. The rest of the joints should be stable, that is, motionless during training.
Be a “Rock Climber”
This exercise is also called a rock climber. It can be performed in two versions. The first one is for trained athletes, at high speed — with imitation of running or climbing to the top in the bar. At a low pace, beginners can do the exercise.
We stand so that the palms are exactly under the shoulders, we strain the stomach and tighten the pelvis so that the body forms one line, as in push-ups. The press must be tense to maintain the correct position of the body.
First, we pull one leg with the knee to the chest, then we return it to its place, then we pull up the other, imitating a run. We quickly change legs, pulling either the right or the left knee to the chest. The exercise should be done for at least 2 minutes.
Mountain Climber. The Plan of Motion.
Burpees
This powerful exercise uses the muscles of your core, shoulder girdle, arms, legs, and buttocks.
We stand up straight, put our feet shoulder-width apart. We put our hands on the floor and do a deep squat. Without lifting our palms from the floor, we make a jump, straighten our legs and stand in the plank position. It is necessary to ensure that the palms are exactly under the shoulders, and the body forms one straight line.
Now we bend the elbows along the body and touch the floor with the chest. In this case, the body must remain level. We return to the plank position, with a jump we press our knees to the chest, then we sharply jump up with our arms raised. During the execution of burpee, you need to keep your back straight and look in front of you. We do the exercise for 1–2 minutes.
Usually, people see results after a month of performing them, but nevertheless, do not forget about nutrition for achieving better results and stretching after training all muscles.
During stretching, the greatest attention should be paid to Hip Flexors as they are the most important muscles responsible for many details both in training and for physical condition outside of it. For such muscles there is a unique program for their improvement and stretching, which leads to an improvement in physical performance.
For bodyweight exercise to help you lose weight, it must be intense and prolonged. Simply put, if you do 20 squats and then rest for five minutes, you will certainly strengthen your muscles, but you won’t burn a lot of calories.
Therefore, do the exercises at high intensity, or even better, include them in interval training with a certain amount of rest between sets — from 10 seconds to one minute. This will keep your heart rate high throughout your workout and burn more calories.
Also, remember that no workout will help you lose weight unless you review your diet. Combine exercise with diet and you will see the first results very soon. This is your time to become the best version of yourself. Good luck! | https://medium.com/@healthandfitnessproject/the-best-workout-exercises-for-weight-loss-at-home-c476b692e87 | ['Health', 'Fitness Lab. Blog'] | 2022-01-10 19:19:59.481000+00:00 | ['Weight Loss', 'Weight Loss Exercise', 'Fitness Tips', 'Exercise At Home', 'Workout Routines'] |
B.B. Fowler — Spokesman for merchants | Downtown Glens Falls retailer B.B. Fowler was selected to respond to a toast to merchants at the annual Lapham Hose Company ball Dec. 8, 1884 at the Rockwell House Hotel.
The women members of the present ownership group of his historic building demonstrate a change since the late 19th century in perception of women primarily as shoppers, but the need to support local merchants is the same.
“Ladies and gentlemen — pardon me for addressing the ladies, but, you know, it enters a great deal into a merchant’s business — the dressing of ladies,” he quipped. “We stand before you tonight, gentlemen, to plead our cause.”
He was interrupted by applause, according a Dec. 10, 1884 report in The Morning Star of Glens Falls.
“We need your sympathy and your support; we need your money. We are powerless to act or do unless you come to our rescue,” he continued. “But I am digressing. I propose to leave this speech to call upon one or more of our worthy brothers in the profession and let them see if they can do better.”
Shoppers of Glens Falls and the surrounding region did support the business, and in 1886 B.B. Fowler was prepared for an expansion.
“B.B. Fowler, the well known merchant of Glens Falls, has leased the apartments at the rear of his store and is fitting them up for an annex to his already large mercantile establishment, making one of the most commodious in that city,” The Granville Sentinel reported on April 9, 1886.
Click here to read my most recent previous B.B. Fowler post. | https://medium.com/@writermaury/b-b-fowler-spokesman-for-merchants-1425cc053459 | ['Maury Thompson'] | 2020-12-06 17:51:31.503000+00:00 | ['19th Century', 'Glens Falls', 'History', 'Womens Rights', 'Retail'] |
How to use multiple linear regression in R to determine which marketing actions drives sales | We need to prepare our dataset for modeling by turning our character variables into factor type variables which can be done in one line of code for Cart.Notice and Coupon variables. However, Price.Reduction is a numeric variable so we will transform this variable separately.
#Convert all character variables into factor in one line: Make sure tidyverse package is loaded.
grocery <- grocery %>% mutate_if(is.character, as.factor) #Factor Price Reduction variable
grocery$Price.Reduction <- as.factor(grocery$Price.Reduction)
Transformed dataframe
Dummy variable regression
When working with a categorical variable in regression, the variables take on a value that is a label, so it doesn’t have a numerical interpretation. For instance, our coupon variable takes on 2 labels (yes or no). Since it can only take 2 values, to include these in our regression model, we use a technique called a dummy variable regression.
Luckily for us, simply converting our variables to a factor type labels our variables, so when we feed the categorical variables into our function, R will automatically use one of the categories as a reference variable. The number of dummy variables required in a regression is one less than the number of categories in the categorical variable.
Multiple Linear Regression Model
Now we build our multiple regression model using the lm() function. Multiple regression simply means we have two (2) or more independent or explanatory variables in our model. We will model Sales as explained by Coupon, Cart.Notice and Price.Reduction. We do not need the Week column.
# All variables with the exception of Week as an independent variable
grocery_model_lm <- lm(Sales ~ Coupon + Cart.Notice + Price.Reduction, data = grocery)
Model summary output:
Multiple linear regression output
Let’s interpret the output.
Intercept
The intercept is the value of the dependent variable (Sales) when all of the independent variables are zero. We can expect to sell 14.5 cases of tomatoes per week when there is no coupon, no cart notice and no price reduction.
Coefficients
CouponYes
CouponYes coefficient is -1.17 (negative coefficient), but the p-value is not significant; therefore, our estimated coefficient is not statistically different from 0. In other words, we cannot rule out that the true value of the coefficient is zero. This implies that sales of tomatoes are no different when there is or isn’t a coupon promotion.
Cart.NoticeYes
Cart.NoticeYes coefficient is 20.17 (positive coefficient) and the p-value is statistically significant. We can expect to sell 20 more cases of tomatoes when there is a cart notice, while keeping all other variables at the same level.
Price.Reduction1
The Price.Reduction1 coefficient is 5 (positive coefficient), but the p-value is not significant; therefore, our estimated coefficient is not statistically different from 0. This implies that sales are no different when there is a 1 cent price reduction.
Price.Reduction2
Price.Reduction2 coefficient is 12.8 (positive coefficient) and p-value is statistically significant. We can expect to sell 12.8 more cases of tomatoes when there is a price reduction of 2 cents, while keeping all other variables at the same level.
Insignificant variables
We can conclude that coupon and a price reduction of 1 cent is not significant in influencing sales. We will remove the insignificant variables and run our regression model again. First, I simply create a new column to recode all of our 1 cent price reductions to 0 and factor the new variable and then check the results.
#Create new price reduction variable
grocery <- grocery %>%
mutate(Price.Reduction_new =
case_when(
Price.Reduction == 2 ~ 2,
Price.Reduction == 1 ~ 0,
Price.Reduction == 0 ~ 0)) #We need to factor Price.Reduction_new
grocery$Price.Reduction_new <- as.factor(grocery$Price.Reduction_new) #Check levels
levels(grocery$Price.Reduction_new) #Inspect results
str(grocery)
Inspect the results of our new Price.Reduction variable
Final Regression Model
Build model with just the significant variables and check model output.
#Model sales as explained by Cart.Notice and Price.Reduction_new
grocery_model_lm_signifvars <- lm(Sales ~ Cart.Notice + Price.Reduction_new, data = grocery) #Print model output
summary(grocery_model_lm_signifvars)
Final regression summary model output with significant variables only
Removing the insignificant variables definitely has an impact on model fit.
Goodness of fit measures
An R-squared of .855 indicates that this model is able to explain about 86% of the variation in the sales of tomatoes given all the independent variables together. The remaining 14% goes unexplained.
The p-value of the model itself is 0.0001639 which is less than 0.05 which indicates that this model has predictive power.
The residual standard error for the regression model is 5.29 and measures how far off our model is. You have to interpret the standard error in relative to what you are predicting. In effect, the typical difference between observed sales and predicted sales is 5.29 cases. As long as the residuals are normal, then 68% of our predictions should fall within 1 standard error (5.29 cases) and 95% should be accurate within 2 standard errors (10.58 cases). Predictions greater than 2 standard errors would be considered an outlier.
Notably, removing the insignificant variables did not improve R-squared. But if we look at our adjusted R-squared, the second model did improve ever so slightly. More importantly, model 2 did decrease our residual standard errors. Reducing residual standard errors becomes very important in assessing your model if your goal is to build accurate forecasts.
Forecast sales
We will predict sales of canned tomatoes during a week in which you use a shopping cart notice, a coupon and reduce price by 1 cent.
First, create a new data frame to hold the values (out-of-sample data) we want to predict. Since coupon and 1 cent price reduction has no impact on sales as indicated by our first regression model, we will leave out the Coupon variable completely in our new data frame, but we will need to include Price.Reduction, but code it as a zero (0) so that it fits the model.
# Create new data frame and print output
(new_data_02 <- data.frame(Cart.Notice = "Yes", Price.Reduction_new="0"))
Output of new data frame with the values we want to predict
Second, load the broom package because we will use the augment() function to make our predictions. Our regression model is the first argument and the new data frame is the second argument. We will use our regression model that has the significant variables only.
#Using broom package
augment(grocery_model_lm_signifvars, newdata = new_data_02)
The augment function returns a tibble with a new column called .fitted which holds our prediction(s).
Augment function output contains a new column .fitted with our predicted sales
We can expect to sell 36.5 cases of tomatoes. | https://medium.com/mlearning-ai/how-to-use-multiple-linear-regression-in-r-to-determine-which-marketing-actions-drives-sales-cf733eeae28e | ['Anita Owens'] | 2021-09-02 08:43:27.989000+00:00 | ['Forecasting', 'R', 'Marketing Analytics', 'Regression Modeling'] |
Top 4 Enterprise Networking Magazines | Network World
Network World provides deep domain expertise on the modern enterprise data center, including the latest networking, storage, servers, and virtualization technologies. Focused on the decisions faced by data center managers who must build out agile infrastructure and extend their networks to embrace the internet of things, Network World is an invaluable resource in helping enterprises meet strategic business goals.
Enterprise Networking Planet
Enterprise Networking Planet a place for News, trends and advice for network managers and admins. This website provides latest updates in networking world to stay ahead of the competition.
Information Week
Information Week provides a trusted environment for IT decision-makers to learn from experienced journalists, subject matter experts, and their peers to explore new ideas, find answers to their business technology questions, and solve their most pressing problems. If an IT product or platform isn’t tied to delivering on business goals, it’s of little interest to Information Week.
Enterprise Networking Magazine
Enterprise Networking Magazine is a monthly magazine that keeps the readers abreast of the recent trends in the networking space, innovative technology solutions currently being used in the industry and profound insights from the CIOs of leading networking companies on the changing market scenarios.
To bring out the best in a business and boost operational excellence within the organization, the CXOs need to stay connected with the rest of the world to receive updates on the latest news and views in networking arena. | https://medium.com/@chrishtopher-henry-38679/top-4-enterprise-networking-magazines-581755c58bd8 | [] | 2020-12-01 14:21:35.933000+00:00 | ['Organization', 'Business', 'Solutions', 'Technology', 'Enterprise'] |
15 tips every WhatsApp user should know | 15 tips every WhatsApp user should know
Technology 2019
When WhatApp first launched in 2010, it quickly gained popularity as a great way to meet new people around the world thanks to
📷
Content:
- 1. Play a message to multiple contacts
- 2. Format text in messages
- 3. Say it, don’t type it
- 4. Save the text file of the conversations
- 5. Copy important messages
- 6. Read messages like a Ninja
- 7. Hide WhatsApp from your Phone Library (Android Only)
- 8. Archive chats
- 9. Automatically delete useless media (Android only)
- 10. Back up data using Google Drive (Android only)
- 11. Use WhatsApp in your PC Web Browser
- 12. Download media on your computer easily
- 13. Reply to a specific message in a conversation
- 14. Mute chat on WhatsApp
- 15. Don’t be left behind
When WhatsApp first launched in 2010, it quickly became famous as a great way to meet new people around the world thanks to group chats, allowing for multiple admins per group, people who can add participants from their own contact list.
As a fix technology, I will buy it for both Android and iPhone (formerly $ 1.99 back) and I will activate it on the client’s phone for free by logging into their device with my clause as a small “thank you” for allowing me to repair their handset. It’s been years and updates have passed and WhatsApp has matured into a really great (and free) messaging service.
Companies of all sizes rely on WhatsApp for the right communication. Friends and family depend on it to stay in touch, no matter where they are on the planet. And yes, it’s still a great way to stay in touch with your Peruvian “best friend”. But no matter how long you’ve been using it and especially if you’re just starting out, there may be some great features that elude you. So to make sure you get the most out of WhatsApp, check out the following tips and tricks.
Note: All the instructions provided below are for Android, but the procedure will be similar for iPhone, BlackBerry, Windows Phone, etc. if applicable.
1. Play a message to multiple contacts
WhatsApp is equipped with a broadcast feature where you can send messages to multiple people without having to create a group chat and tolerate unnecessary chats. Have you ever sent BCC to someone in an email, basically what it was. Here’s how to do it:
1. Tap the Menu button in the upper right corner.
2. Select “New broadcast.”
3. Select a recipient from your contacts list, then tap the check mark when done.
4. Type away and send!
📷
Now everyone can be on the same page without having to be on the same page!
2. Format text in messages
WhatsApp allows you to format your messages with italics, bold, and strikethrough just by entering simple commands before and after the text in your messages. Here’s how it’s done:
- Type _ on either side of a word or phrase to italicize it: _word_
- Type * on either side of a word or phrase to bold: * word *
- Type ~ on either side of a word or phrase to cross out the text: ~ word ~
📷
3. Say it, don’t type it
Do you sing like a siren on a moonlit night? WhatsApp has something for you. Hold the green mic icon to record a voice message, then send it by releasing it. This is a pretty obvious feature, as the mic button is right next to the text box, but it’s a good feature nonetheless.
📷
4. Save the text file of the conversations
WhatsApp gives you the option to save any conversation as a text file which is great if you need to show it to someone or if you want to keep it for your profile without keeping it in WhatsApp .
1. Select and open the conversation you want to save.
2. Click the Menu button.
3. Tap on “More.”
4. Click on “Email Chat.”
5. Include or exclude media as needed.
And Voila! You’ll have a timestamped downloadable text document emailed to you. Comes in a bitter divorce.
📷
5. Copy important messages
Got a very important or inspirational text from someone you want to save? Just touch and hold the message, then tap the star icon once it pops up at the top of the screen. Retrieve it at any time by pressing the Menu button on the main screen and selecting “Starred Messages”.
📷
6. Read messages like a Ninja
There is a sneaky way in WhatsApp to read messages without notifying the sender with the blue tick, also known as a tick mark. Follow these steps and get rid of reasonable disclaimer:
1. When you get a message, don’t touch it to open it and kill any notifications you might get.
2. Kill your radio by turning on Airplane mode.
3. With Airplane mode on, open WhatsApp, tap on the message in question and read it!
4. Once done, exit WhatsApp and completely destroy the app!
5. After making sure WhatsApp is completely closed, turn Airplane mode off.
📷
Messages will still be marked as unread, as WhatsApp was blocked from contacting to and from your device while Airplane mode was turned on. Just don’t go back to the conversation again until you’re ready to get noticed.
7. Hide WhatsApp from your Phone Library (Android Only)
WhatsApp has a terrible habit of piling useless junk images and videos into your Android photo gallery app. Here’s how to prevent this using Solid Explorer , although the steps will be similar with almost any file browser application.
1. Open Solid Explorer on your handheld device.
2. Scroll down and select the “WhatsApp” folder.
3. Select “Media.”
4. Press and hold the folders “WhatsApp Pictures” and “WhatsApp Videos” to highlight them.
📷
1. Press the three-dot menu button in the upper right corner and select “Hide”. Your gallery and WhatsApp images should be separated!
📷
8. Archive chats
If there is a WhatsApp conversation that you want to keep secret, you have the option to archive it so it is not easily visible. Simply press and hold the conversation you want to hide. When the Action bar pops up at the top of the screen, press the “Archive” button (the box with a down arrow).
📷
In the future, you can view the archived messages by scrolling down in the list of conversations.
9. Automatically delete useless media (Android only)
There are a lot of great apps on Play Store to clean up unwanted media in WhatsApp. One such application is Siftr Magic, which automatically scans your WhatsApp folder for any junk media. Once done, you can review the scanned images and deselect any images you want to keep.
Don’t miss: Easy way to delete old photos in WhatsApp to free up storage on Android
📷
10. Back up data using Google Drive (Android only)
WhatsApp easily allows you to back up your data using Google Drive. Just follow these steps:
1. Press Menu -> Settings -> Chat -> Chat Backup.
2. Tap on “Backup to Google Drive.”
3. Select how often you want to do so when prompted.
4. Sign in to the Google account you want to use to store your files.
5. Tap on “Backup” and choose your network option (Wi-Fi or Wi-Fi and mobile data).
📷
11. Use WhatsApp in your PC Web Browser
You can use the web browser on your PC to chat using WhatsApp, which is great if you want to text your friends at work or school without ever picking up your phone all the time. Just follow these steps:
1. Go to web.whatsapp.com in your browser.
📷
1. Open WhatsApp on your phone, then hit Menu and choose “WhatsApp Web.”
2. Use your phone to scan the QR code displayed on the page, and WhatsApp will sync automatically.
📷
WhatsApp also has a desktop app for both Mac and Windows, so if you want to use that, just go to their download page.
12. Download media on your computer easily
It’s easy to save media from WhatsApp to your PC without using cables. Using WhatsApp Web, open a chat with the media you want to save, right-click on the image and choose “Save” or “Save As”.
📷
13. Reply to a specific message in a conversation
WhatsApp allows you to directly reply to a specific message in a group or regular chat, that way you can highlight something that someone said before might not get an appropriate response. that it deserves.
1. Open the conversation containing the text you want to quote.
2. Pressing and holding a suspicious word or phrase will display the Action bar.
3. Click the Reply arrow next to the star icon.
4. Your quotes will now be lined up and ready to be sent!
📷
14. Mute chat on WhatsApp
Group chat can often meander into the random realm and be pointless. If you don’t want to exclude yourself from the group, at least you can save yourself from useless information overload.
1. Open the group or personal chat you want to mute.
2. Press the Menu button.
3. Select “Mute.”
4. WhatsApp will provide the option for how long you want to mute chats and notifications.
5. Click “OK” when done.
(You can also press and hold conversations from the chat screen to bring up the option to mute.)
📷
Note that if someone directly mentions you in a group chat, you’ll still get a notification.
15. Don’t be left behind
Unfortunately, those aren’t all the sweet unicorns and lilies in the WhatsApp world, as there are plans to stop support for older handsets in Q1 2017. This change could affect the stock. million users worldwide. Here is a brief rundown:
Support for the following OS versions will be discontinued in early 2017:
- Android: Versions 2.1 and 2.2
- Apple: iPhone 3GS / iOS 6
- Windows: Windows 7
Support for these devices and OS versions will continue through June 2017:
- BlackBerry & BlackBerry 10 operating system
- Nokia Symbian s60
- Nokia S40
So if this change affects you, the best way to avoid interruptions would be to bite the bullet and update your handset. BlackBerry and Nokia users have at least 6 months. Android and older iPhone users are not so lucky but why are you still using such old operating systems ?!
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- Follow WonderHowTo on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and G | https://medium.com/@latesttechtipsandtricks/15-tips-every-whatsapp-user-should-know-452dc61fe10e | [] | 2020-12-20 16:22:19.113000+00:00 | ['Tech', 'Tips And Tricks', 'WhatsApp', 'Tips And Tools'] |
Palestinian father appeals to President Jimmy Carter for his innocent son | I received a copy of a moving letter sent by Khalil El Halabi that was sent to the former U.S. President Jimmy Carter who is well known for his defence of human rights around the world. Mr. Halabi’s som Mohammad an engineer who was running the World Vision humanitarian program in Gaza was picked up by the Israelis and has been wrongly accused of having diverted millions of humanitarian dollars to Hamas to attack Israel. World Vision and the Australian government donors sent top auditors to check out the books and found that Mohammad El Halabi has done no wrong. Israeli officials are too embarrassed to drop the case or to release Mohammad Halabi on bail and so far 151 court sessions have taken place and no evidence of any worth has been made available. Read below the moving letter to President Carter:
Dear President Carter
We met briefly at Gaza’s Museum Hotel in 2009 while the Gaza Strip was under siege. Unemployment was rampant, crippling siege along with the absence of regular electricity and clean water. At the time we met I was working with UNRWA in charge of education and I was among the delegation that briefed you on the situation in Gaza. I spoke about the human rights curriculum that we had produced — the first of its kind in the Middle East. I told you that the goal of that curriculum was to prepare our citizens to be aware of their rights and responsibilities. Our curriculum focused on understanding the other, respecting the faith, freedom of expression, and the right to a just trial in which the accused presumed innocent until proven guilty.
During our visit, we also spoke about world leaders like Mahatma Gandhi and I told you at the time that our people denounce violence and injustice to all the peoples of the earth despite the injustice that we are experiencing. That is why I explained, we introduced the holocaust into our curriculum to teach our children about the injustice that was acted against Jews at the hands of the Nazis.
Dear President,
If we have a chance to meet again, I would tell you about the case of a human rights violation against a humanitarian worker, Mohammad Al Halabi, the director of the World Vision in Gaza. He was arrested on his return from a meeting in Jerusalem which was focused on providing support to poor families in Gaza irrespective of their political affiliation. They discussed the importance of providing psychological support to children and the need to help the fishermen and farmers.
Mohammad, my son, was accused of fabricated charges of diverting humanitarian funds to Hamas. These accusations have since been disproven by the organization he worked for and the Australian Foreign Ministry who conducted a thorough investigation.
I would have told you that my son was awarded the 2014 UN humanitarian hero award and that by locking him up unjustly they have destroyed all the humanitarian work he was championing all using fabricated charges and unsubstantiated claims.
For 52 days he was tortured as they tried to make him say things that he didn’t do. We had been teaching our kids about the injustice that befell them and now they are unjustly treating us.
My son lost 70% of his ability to hear from the brutal torture in total disregard for basic human rights.
His lawyer has been subject to unprecedented restrictions for the first time in Israeli judicial history. He was threatened inside the courtroom. For 151 sessions over a five-year period, the Israelis have failed to present any proof of wrong doing against Mohammad.
Mr. President,
Despite all of this, we will continue to believe in the universality of human rights and wish that Isreal would believe in and apply justice and basic human rights. Please help us keep this hope alive.
Khalil El Halabi
Gaza on October 5th, 2020 | https://medium.com/@daoudkuttab_6961/palestinian-father-appeals-to-president-jimmy-carter-for-his-innocent-son-9785f13864e8 | ['Daoud Kuttab'] | 2020-10-21 08:29:22.567000+00:00 | ['Carter', 'Humanitarian', 'Palestine', 'Innocent', 'Gaza'] |
將資料回傳到前一頁 controller 的問題 | Learn more. Medium is an open platform where 170 million readers come to find insightful and dynamic thinking. Here, expert and undiscovered voices alike dive into the heart of any topic and bring new ideas to the surface. Learn more
Make Medium yours. Follow the writers, publications, and topics that matter to you, and you’ll see them on your homepage and in your inbox. Explore | https://medium.com/%E5%BD%BC%E5%BE%97%E6%BD%98%E7%9A%84-swift-ios-app-%E9%96%8B%E7%99%BC%E5%95%8F%E9%A1%8C%E8%A7%A3%E7%AD%94%E9%9B%86/%E5%B0%87%E8%B3%87%E6%96%99%E5%9B%9E%E5%82%B3%E5%88%B0%E5%89%8D%E4%B8%80%E9%A0%81-controller-%E7%9A%84%E5%95%8F%E9%A1%8C-7934f14f9055 | ['彼得潘的 Ios App Neverland'] | 2020-12-21 08:14:49.557000+00:00 | ['iOS', 'Xcode', 'Swift'] |
Blockchain technology for safeguarding pharma product integrity | Blockchain technology for safeguarding pharma product integrity Blockedge Follow Sep 8 · 3 min read
Fake goods are everywhere. It’s a global issue that impacts almost every industry in the world. While manufacturers and distributors lose millions of dollars each year to counterfeit goods, they pose an even greater threat to consumers. Identifying counterfeit goods and removing them from the supply chain is a difficult task. The pharmaceutical industry is worst hit by counterfeiting. Fake drugs cost over $200 billion per year and over 1 million people lose their lives using these drugs. The drugmaker’s loss of trust and reputation is an obvious outcome.
Buying and using a counterfeit drug is not like buying a fake piece of clothing or electronic gadget. Fake drugs not only fail to treat the condition but can also be harmful or even fatal to the user. Identifying counterfeit drugs once they reach the market is virtually impossible. The only way to address this issue is by tracking drugs from their point of origin to the point of sale. Blockchain could be helping to deliver on this goal and potentially being a game-changer for the pharmaceutical supply chain.
Why Blockchain technology?
Blockchain technology has entered almost every sector of commerce. It is widely applicable across different use cases from finance to healthcare. Blockchain creates an ecosystem where people can trust each other since everyone involved in the transaction has access to a full ledger. It is an innovative approach to sharing and managing data, known for solving problems in the supply chain, real estate, finance, and government.
The blockchain can be viewed as a disruptive technology for exchanging anything that is worth something. It has all the prerequisites for a secure network to conduct transactions on.
• Security
• Transparency
• Trust
• Programmability
• Privacy
• Scalability
So, how will Blockchain technology ensure drug integrity?
A study by Pistoia Alliance reveals that around 70% of the pharma and life sciences leaders believe that blockchain technology will transform the pharma supply chain by creating an auditable trail and establishing drug provenance. A distributed blockchain-as-a-service platform enables manufacturers, wholesalers, re-packagers, distributors, and consumers to track and identify the origin of a drug thereby ensuring its quality and authenticity.
Blockchain will equip the pharmaceutical industry with the resources to comply with regulations like the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) enacted by the US Congress. By serializing the drugs at unit level and package level helps to track its information like manufacturing location, date, components, the logistics route, sale details, and so on. This data can be managed using easy-to-use software and shared on a permissioned blockchain network. All the authorized stakeholders like manufacturers, resellers, wholesalers, re-packagers, and consumers can have access to this information.
Blockchain allows for close to real-time tracking of drugs from the point of manufacture up to the end consumer. This avoids any possibility of falsification or counterfeiting, as any attempt to modify records would be visible to all stakeholders on the blockchain network.
The use of a blockchain platform for supply chain management makes recalls easier. Since all the information is readily available in the distributed ledger, expired and defective batches of drugs can be identified and located faster than ever before.
Blockchain adoption
The process of adopting blockchain for the pharma supply chain involves multiple challenges. Choosing the right blockchain platform, utilization of the existing IT infrastructure, scaling the network and requirement of a huge amount of time and money. Blockedge makes this process easier with end-to-end support from blockchain consulting to infrastructure management. Talk to our experts now!
Author: Anantha Krishnan, Product Marketer
Aspiring author, creative marketer, and product marketer by trade, plans, creates and promotes strategic content to reach the target audience. | https://medium.com/blockedge/blockchain-technology-for-safeguarding-pharma-product-integrity-f7d47c4eb4bb | [] | 2021-09-08 14:59:50.223000+00:00 | ['Pharma Supply Chain', 'Blockchain In Healthcare', 'Blockchain', 'Pharmaceutical', 'Counterfeit Drugs'] |
Awesome list! | Pegasus Design System Pro for Figma
Move projects to your users faster with a UI Kit designed for greater consistency and usability that adapts to your… | https://medium.com/@hellojohnnymac/awesome-list-edec8918e870 | ['John Macmenamin'] | 2020-12-04 13:06:45.900000+00:00 | ['Design System'] |
ZARA — MODELLING OR MARKETING?. Inditex, Industria de Diseño Textil… | ZARA — MODELLING OR MARKETING?
Inditex, Industria de Diseño Textil, S.A. is a Spanish multinational clothing company. It is among one of the biggest fashion groups in the world, operating over 7,200 stores in in 93 countries worldwide. Inditex compromises of eight brandsZara, Pull&Bear, Massimo Dutti, Bershka, Stradivarius, Oysho, Zara Home and Uterque.
ZARA is the flagship brand of Inditex, it was the first and was established much before Inditex was officially founded. ZARA opened its first store in 1975A Coruna, Spain.The company specialises in fast fashion for the young, price-conscious, and trendy. They have an advantage over other retailers as they do not segment their customers in terms of age and lifestyle, giving them a much broader market.Products include clothing, accessories, shoes, swimwear, beauty, and perfumes.
Zara joined the e-commerce marketplacein September 2010, launching websites in Spain, the UK, Portugal, Italy, Germany and France. In November 2010, ZARA’s online presence grew to include Austria, Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. This without the use of any other social media platforms allows for digital communication.ZARA is fashion retailer that has a large online presence through various different platforms, creating an online presence using social media attracts a wider audience.
I believe one of the biggest platforms for ZARA is their website. This is due to the ‘questionable’ model poses that have sparked various conversations over the internet. This whilst being a very subtle marketing strategy it has proven to be highly effective. People voice their concerns and it becomes quite humorous which tends to lead to more exposure leading to more customers.
Since the beginning of lockdown- due to the inability of models being able to model the clothes in studios. ZARA started a campaign a Zara at-home catalogue of looks which essentially ‘made fun’ of themselves. This sparked major conversation on all social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and more.
These 2 are examples of tweets that other users/consumers have posted. These tweets received a lot of reception and essentially increasing their online presence as more people are talking about it.
One platform that ZARA uses is Twitter. By posting regularly on there to communicate and interact with users, they gain a better standing. They mainly use their twitter to advertise their new collections, this allows for consumers to see what’s available creating a faster route to purchasing. They also advertise various campaigns, E.g. their ‘Join Life’ collection and Zara eco-stores are both examples of how Zara has remained committed to sustainability,which they take part in and so this could also potentially increase their online presence as people have different interests that they tap into. As well as their main account, ZARA also have their own customer service(@ZARA_Care). Thisaccount is dedicated to answering user’s questions ranging from products available to deliveries & returns. This manner of online communication allows customers to engage with the brand as well as being useful in sorting out problems as it is done in a quickly and efficiently, this allows ZARA to be able to portray themselves well by providing good customer service.
Overall, I believe that ZARA has succeeded in using social media as an effective communication system for both sides which is easily accessible. It also allows for consumers to have a bond with the company which in turn works to expand their outreach. | https://medium.com/digital-society/zara-modelling-or-marketing-935d9a8cec24 | [] | 2020-10-22 22:14:34.033000+00:00 | ['Digisoc1'] |
Hercules Tuff Charging Station for Multiple Devices | Published:
IPhone X / 8 Plus / 8 / 7 Plus / 7 / 6s Plus / 6s / 6 Plus / 6 / 5s / 5c / 5 / iPad Pro / iPad Air / Air 2 / iPad mini / mini 2 / mini 4 / iPad 4th gen / iPod Touch 5th gen / iPod nano 7th gen and Beats Pill+, iPad 3 / air / iPad Mini / 4 / 3 / 2, iPad Pro Air 2,, Amazon Kindle (Kindle Fire, Kindle Fire HDX, and Kindle Paperwhite), older models of the Samsung Galaxy S3 S4 S6, Note 2 / 3 / 4, and tablets, HTC One, Motorola Droid smartphones, some GPS devices, Nexus 7 tablets, and PSP game consoles,, Samsung Galaxy S7, S8, S9, Note 8, 9, LG G6,G5, V30 V20, Google Pixel, moto Z, Z2 play, Huawei P9, P9 Plus, Huawei Mate 9, Google Nexus 5X, Nexus 6P,, Lumia 950, 950 XL, OnePlus 2,3,3T, ZTE Axon 7, HTC 10, Nokia N1, Asus Zen AiO,
About this item:
Gift Ready Packaging: a gift for anyone who has a phone or tablet; this unit comes in a beautiful packaging that is retail ready, and plastic sealed; makes excellent gifts for teachers, dads, moms, mother-in-law, father-in-law, sisters, brothers, coworkers, men who have everything, women who have everything.
2 Cables Compatible with iPhone 11, 11 Pro, XS, XS Max, XR, X, SE, 8, 8 Plus, 7, 7 Plus, 6, 6 Plus, 6s, 6s Plus, 5, 5s, 5c, iPad, iPad Pro, iPad Air, iPad Mini, iPod, 2 Type-C Cable, and 2 Micro-USB cable perfectly sized to keep your space organized.
Families & Businesses Love Us: our multi-port quick charging station is loved by homes and businesses; at-home use on kitchen counters, desks, or nightstands; an excellent solution for schools, restaurants, hotels, courier companies, concierge desks, libraries, and classrooms
Fast and Smart Charge: our 6-port fast charger dock will charge your cell phone and tablets up to 80% faster than other devices offering 2.0 amps or less; our stand recognize your devices and deliver the amp that it needs
Charging Stations have ETL, FCC, CE, and RoHS certifications.
Read more…. | https://medium.com/@gadgetarea0/hercules-tuff-charging-station-for-multiple-devices-efe68535ab2d | [] | 2020-12-24 07:00:18.146000+00:00 | ['Gadgets', 'Technology', 'Cool Gadget'] |
Don’t Look Away From The Pain: Mindfulness for the Internet Age | Distracting yourself with the vastness of the internet seems like a great way to deal with negative emotions, but it is not a long term coping mechanism. Here’s what is.
Photo by Ali Yahya on Unsplash
Social media plays a considerable part in the quality of life of many people. Our modern societies lack many traditional safety nets, and our personalised informational flows break down of community life into a fragmented world. Social media devises an extra layer of companionship and support for many people, even while they are otherwise isolated from the world.
Smartphones have been compared to adult pacifiers in that they bestow a psychological comfort and stress relief in a convenient, pleasantly designed edgeless form. We experience a particular kind of safety in the arms of our mobile device. It’s entirely personal to us, goes with us everywhere, and feels secure, privacy concerns and breaches be damned.
There is, however, a downside to the reliance on the technology for mental well-being. Though virtual networks enhance self-esteem in users who focus on contacts with close friends, this momentary increase in self-esteem reduces self-control. Similarly to the effect substances have on individuals: though alcohol is a taste of invincibility for many, it may lead to many impulsive behaviours such as aggression and poor self-control.
For those of us who were not born into an ideal life, self-control is one primary tool for building a better reality for ourselves. Everything we do, from starting a career to maintaining healthy body weight, hinders on being able to control desires and impulses long enough to pursue an end goal.
Along with the actual behaviour that is the result of self-control, the essential ingredients for a tidy mind are emotional regulation and thought regulation. To maintain discipline (also known as the ever-coveted grind), a person needs to have a bird’s eye view of their life. They must be aware of the goals they are working towards to make the right decisions.
Why Be Mindful When You Can Be Entertained?
Mindfulness is primarily a tool. To be mindful is to be aware of what is happening, to have control of processes going on in one’s mind. You become a passenger instead of being a helpless drifter, thrown hither and dither by the whims of thought and emotion. Though it is not a magic wand, it’s akin to a booster in battling negative emotions.
The ability to be mindful hinders on one’s focus on the present moment while allowing yourself to see the bigger picture of one’s life. Yet studies have shown “when people are addicted to social media, their ability to be mindful to what they are doing in the present tends to be impaired because of the distraction caused by the urge to access social media.”
Some decry with absolute certainty that Google is the enemy of concentration. Whether or not the absolutist claim is correct, there are many facets to the distracting nature of our digital discourse. From push notifications to pop-up instant messages, too sickeningly catchy graphics, and clickbait — the jargon of the web. Everything about the way our experience on the internet is designed promotes distraction, along with an irresistible enticing quality. Even if we know the content will probably end up not meriting our attention at all, we still click on it.
It’s a series of microscopic attacks on our attention, and those amongst us that don’t indulge in reading alarmist articles about the internet don’t know to what extent it’s happening.
Though people have an inkling that they spend too much time on their phones, they aren’t confronting the extent of the problem. Just try googling ‘shock’ and ‘screen time’, the app most commonly used to track mobile phone use. Even people who are aware they have a problem with smartphone usage are still surprised when they see the actual numbers.
Should the content be less than garishly distracting, there are other traps available to undermine thought. Promotional materials are disguised as ‘consumer advice’ and useful features. Companies can pose as genuine customers thanks to the anonymity afforded by the web and pass off advertising as reviews. They promise a means to always stay on top of what’s new and exciting in the form of newsletters, then give the same regurgitated information each week with new advertising tucked on. They promote tools to manage our time and experience better and instead give counters to keep track of the fact you’ve lost track of your time.
It’s not just about beating the drums of war and complaining that continually checking your phone is rude and petty. It’s about the immediate, tangible quality of life deterioration you experience as a result of the faulty design of these products. Ask yourself — to what extent am I enjoying an outing with friends if I’m on my phone and missing spontaneous moments? Am I enjoying my time reading articles if half of them are full of filler I’ve already read before? Do I appreciate what the algorithms are suggesting me, or am I riding the coattail of the high I got reading stellar writing ages ago?
What Do You Think About When You Think About Thinking
Much is made online of ‘being your best self’ and ‘living your best life’. Though there are discussions of the insipidness of self-care culture and whether it genuinely does any good, it’s indisputable that striving to better your person is noble.
The question is whether it’s possible to use jumbled and chaotic tidbits picked off of platforms with varying degrees of rigour and content monitoring to better one’s self. Following a model constructed by researchers Fritz Strack and Roland Deutsch, two systems contribute to decision making. A reflective system, one that uses facts and values to make intentional decisions. And an impulsive system, that acts spontaneously without consideration for broader consequences, sometimes contrary to a person’s intentions or goals.
Using the reflective system takes mental time and effort. Distraction and heightened or depressive mental states will not allow you to take full advantage of it. In contrast, the impulsive system can run on autopilot while using up little mental energy. It may control behaviour under stress or obstruction. And so the reflective system is fragile, while the impulsive is resilient.
To deprive yourself of time for reflection mean tilting the balance to impulsiveness. Are you putting forth your best self if you’re following a wellness trend as a knee-jerk reaction, instead of contemplating what’s best for you?
Can You Regulate Emotions With An Uncontrollable Flow of Information?
In times of stress, the distractions you find instantly on your phone is a refuge. It can take one’s mind off things, deploying a strategy called “attentional deployment”.
The coping mechanism boils down to distracting yourself away from the source of the pain, mentally shifting yourself into a different gear. Though there’s no denying its effectiveness in the short term, studies show that this strategy doesn’t resolve the mental health issue fully. What you’re doing is temporarily avoiding your problems, instead of addressing and solving them.
The distractions you encounter are also, to a large extent, out of your control. Though significant efforts are made to include trigger warnings, there’s no guarantee you won’t stumble unto content that will worsen your mental state. This is why patients in treatment with severe psychiatric conditions, such as eating disorders and substance abuse issues, are barred access to the internet and social media altogether. It is done not to isolate them, but to facilitate the recovery process.
It can be tempting to think that as long as the emotion isn’t actively weighing heavily on your mind, it has disappeared. But human nature is such that feelings can resurface days, weeks, and months after you thought you’ve successfully distracted yourself away. Think of the time some obscure adolescent slight suddenly resurfaced in your mind to ruin your day a little bit: like that, only worse.
A provably effective strategy is cognitive reappraisal, of which shifting your attention is a part. However, reappraisal goes beyond that. It means an entire rework of yourself, a conscious decision to take your problem head-on but approach it in novel ways that don’t cause as much distress.
One particular way to reappraise difficult situations is through mindful deliberation leading to decentering — a shifting of thought patterns away from your dominant beliefs. Decentering allows one to consider multiple aspects of a situation, rather than the one that currently dominates the internal conversation. The plurality of views enables alternative appraisals of life events.
Successful reappraisal is compelling in that it is prevention for negative, out of control behaviour, not a way to deal with issues once they are already painfully destructive. If you successfully take control of your distressing emotions while they are unfolding, you can choose to what extent they dictate your life. You don’t have to fall into a cycle of depression and anxiety if you can stop the descent from the start. Think of it as treating the cause of your sorrows, not the symptom.
Being Mindful is Not Suppressing Your Emotions
It’s tempting to say that a model hinged on self-control is striving for simple behavioural modification. In other words, ‘control the flow of your emotions through mindfulness’ can be seen as a variation on the age-old ‘get a stiff upper lip and white knuckle yourself through the pain.’ But the stiff upper lip method talks about dealing with the bodily manifestations of hurt. However, mindfulness aims at stopping inner feelings from festering and remaining unresolved until they reach a breaking point.
Mindfulness is also a strategy for making the most of your mental energy: if you’re spending effort suppressing your behaviour, that is effort that cannot be spent on constructive thoughts, spontaneous interactions, and genuine experiences. The discrepancy between pretending to feel well and being hollowed out and tired can leave you feeling inauthentic, negative about yourself, anxious and avoidant towards others. You’re so busy trying to keep yourself from falling apart; there’s nothing left for growth and development.
Mindfulness does not have to be antithetical to the online age. It is an age-old tool in our collective mental arsenal. It is the practice of looking at the glass half full — but utilised to its full potential. Just because the companies in charge did not build our new, shiny technologies to facilitate mindfulness, doesn’t mean we have to give up effective practices.
Do not avoid distractions because some scary internet article told you. Do it because you’ve asked yourself what you want your technology to do: distract you, or help you? | https://medium.com/swlh/dont-look-away-from-the-pain-mindfulness-for-the-internet-age-d8095e592743 | ['Rina Kravets'] | 2020-01-31 19:19:10.321000+00:00 | ['Attention', 'Emotional Regulation', 'Self Control', 'Mindfulness', 'Social Media'] |
“Stolen funds, a discarded gun, swamp rumors and Aled the alligator on the run not willing to face… | in Both Sides of the Table | https://medium.com/touching-doodles/stolen-funds-a-discarded-gun-swamp-rumors-and-aled-the-alligator-on-the-run-not-willing-to-face-b93f3a90c89f | ['Kyle Freeman'] | 2018-10-17 01:33:18.858000+00:00 | ['Inktober', 'Webcomics', 'Art', 'Crime Fiction', 'Illustration'] |
Why You Should Add Videos to Your Website | July is National Video Marketing month! Are you celebrating? If not, then this article should convince your why video content marketing can benefit both best search engine optimization (SEO) services and brand awareness. The current trend shows that people love to watch videos on their smartphones or tablets so if we want our business name memorable online then they need some good quality programming for 3 reasons:
Why Should I Use Video on My Website?
Video is the new way to communicate on social media and it’s time you started taking advantage of this opportunity. Statistics show that viewers will stay engaged longer with video than they would read text, which makes them more likely to convert into leads after viewing a company’s content through videos
As we all know by now technology has changed our lives in ways never before imagined, but there are still some things worth celebrating about old-fashioned communication! For example, studies have shown how when people watch something cute or inspiring (even if it's just YouTube clips), their mood improves significantly.
Statistics on Internet Video Consumption
The internet has revolutionized the way we consume content. Over 70% of Americans now get their news online, and it is predicted that number will only increase with time as people become less reliant on traditional media outlets for information about current events or breaking stories in more remote regions around the world like Africa where many major crises unfold without being seen by “the big screen.”
In 2021 alone according to one recent study from Adobe Digital Insights-, this shift away from television watching towards digital consumption-led viewers who are 18 years old on average (and younger) spending 88 minutes per day consuming videos over-them.
Reasons Why Your Business Should Have Video on Your Website
There are many reasons for placing a video or several videos on your website:
Improve Your Rank on the Search Engine Results Pages
Even though the footage in a video may not be indexed by search engine crawlers, optimizing data makes all of the difference
The old saying “Content is King” applies to videos too! Although some people don’t believe this because they can barely see anything when searching online through their screen reader or via other assistive technology methods for browsing visually impaired individuals with sight disabilities such as logs and scrolling down pages one line at a time which takes forever if you’re trying put something together quickly before your battery dies on.
Keywords
Adding keywords in your videos, titles, and descriptions is a great way to boost the best SEO services.
Optimized YouTube Channel
Google owns YouTube. This is an incredible opportunity for your company to have a higher ranking on the search engine results page of Google! Create a video channel and host all of its content, even if you embed it onto another site or platform such as Facebook or Twitter; this will provide high-quality backlinks that are easy-to-use information about who runs what at any given time period — not just now but historically too (which provides context).
Show Off Your Brand, Products, Services, and Company Personality
Videos are a great way to humanize your brand and connect with website visitors. This relationship is part of the trust-building process, which can lead people into wanting what you offer more than ever before!
Stand Out from Your Competition
You may be able to get ahead of your competition in search engine rankings and create a better impression with customers by using video content on social media platforms like Facebook.
Can I Use YouTube Videos on My Website?
YouTube is the second most-used search engine on the internet. Therefore, it’s highly recommended to use this platform for your videos! With several plugins that can be added in the back end of the WordPress website and even more functionality through a custom YouTube extension you’ll have all necessary tools at hand without having any difficulties navigating around or using them efficiently no matter what device is being used: desktop computer browser like Chrome/Firefox; mobile phone with either Safari app installed onto an iPhone 4S (iOS 5+) running iOS 6+, iPad 2 WiFI+3G
What Should I Avoid When Creating Video for My Website?
When creating videos for your website, there are many things that you should avoid. Remember the goal is to create engaging content and evoke an emotional response from viewers which will result in them coming back again soon! | https://medium.com/@atomicskills.zahra/why-you-should-add-videos-to-your-website-ad0f96036753 | ['Atomic Skills'] | 2021-12-27 13:50:11.642000+00:00 | ['Seo Agency', 'SEO', 'Seo Company', 'Seo Consultant', 'Seo Services'] |
2020: The year that stole heroes. | 2020: The year that stole heroes.
In a now all too familiar topic, I find myself reflecting on those that we lost in this year of sacrifice and setbacks. Of course, every year witnesses the passing of multitudes of great people both known and unknown. 2020 however, has seen fit to singlehandedly yank out some of the cornerstones of my formative years.
I remember remarking back in 2012, that with the death of both Caroll Shelby and Jim Marshall we had lost the fathers of fast cars and loud guitars. What was next, was the inventor of sex going to die? Not quite, Hugh Hefner made it to 2017. But the new “roaring twenties” has kicked off with a different roar than the last one. This roar is the realization of mortality as it applies to my heroes.
I remember Elvis Presley dying, and I watched the frantic news coverage of John Lennon’s murder. I am a Beatles fan for sure, but those were my father’s heroes. My two biggest musical heroes were Eddie Van Halen and Neil Peart.
Neil’s passing came as a shock. The notoriously press-shy drummer saved everything he had to say for the pen and paper. As the author of 99.9% of his band’s lyrics, Rush was an ever evolving musical palette for his philosophical musings. After writing several books that he chose to never publish, he finally began trickling out full length tomes as well. His lack of communication with the world at large undoubtedly helped him keep some semblance of normalcy. So learning that the iconic drummer had succumbed to a brain tumor was surprising, but the fact that we didn’t see it coming was not.
As a teen I was introduced to the music of Rush. Of course I had heard “Tom Sawyer” and other hits, but didn’t realize the vast landscape that lay beyond the radio staples. I spent hours upon hours lost in the twists and turns of lengthy epics like “The Necromancer” and “Hemispheres”. Peart had a progressive soul, in that he went from Keith Moon — like frenzy in the early days to mathematical intricacies in the late seventies, to a composer of drum soundscapes in the following decades. Rush was not just progressive in that they wrote lengthy numbers in odd time signatures, but in that the nature of the songwriting progressed. Of course he hovers at the top of any drummers list, that’s not even that interesting to me. I can only address what he meant to myself. The sublime room ambience surrounding his sparse low Tom hits at the intro to “Show don’t Tell”, or the way he addressed topics ranging from Greek Mythology, to memories of a local park, to the passage of time. “It slips between your hands like water…this living in real time”. Indeed.
That happened in January, and 2020 evolved from that low point to its wretched self. Then October came. Only one musical hero could really surpass Mr. Peart for me. Only one death could really put an end to my sense of childhood as an untouchable universe that was safe from external forces. Eddie Van Halen left us.
THE Eddie Van Halen. My Eddie Van Halen. Van Halen was the perfect storm for me (and millions of others). The music spoke to something in my DNA. With those first six albums with the original group, I found what I didn’t know I was looking for. Van Halen wasn’t just the music, it was the smiles, it was the promise of fun, it was genius wrapped up in a “close enough is good enough” attitude. To me, the hand-made striped guitars are a great summation of Eddie’s personality. He had the instinct to make something unique, he had the talent to make a true work of graphic art out of his guitar. He also would, after all that painstaking work leave one stripe with a paint drip trailing off of it. He would haphazardly leave cigarette burns all over it, or cover control cavities with wads of electrical tape. Of course his guitar playing knocked the rock world back on its heels. The very first image most of us ever saw of him was the perfect shot. It conveyed ferocity, it conveyed mystery. When you picked up Van Halen’s debut, you knew instinctively “this guy isn’t gonna sound like Robby Krieger”.
Van Halen had been battling cancer for several years. He had it beaten for awhile, but the monster would not be denied forever. The band’s output had been sparse for the last several years (understandably), but as long as there was Eddie Van Halen out there the possibility for future magic remained. Now there are just the memories.
Tons of icons left our ranks in this shambling mess of a year. Continuing in music, we lost legends like drummer Frankie Banali, producer Martin Birch, Kenny Rogers, Peter Green, Charlie Daniels, Helen Reddy, Bill Withers, Little Richard…the list is long, and sobering. Outside of music, other legends of western culture also ended their chapters. Sean Connery and Alex Trebek were two prominent examples.
My own father passed away a few years ago, so I’ve had that major realization of mortality slapping you in the face. I’m not new to this, but perhaps it’s the larger than life quality I foolishly but eagerly assign to a few that makes it such a punch in the gut. Thankfully none of the people I’ve listed here were struck down in their youth. All of the people listed and more I didn’t list have left us gifts that can be enjoyed over and over. Some of the promise of “What if” is gone, but the gift of “What was” remains. Maybe that should be enough.
More content on my YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8_WA4NzZvZo_lBw-qftlCQ | https://medium.com/@harrisp72/2020-the-year-that-stole-heroes-cb29d8c774c9 | ['Peter Harris'] | 2020-12-08 22:50:23.177000+00:00 | ['Celebrity'] |
Jerome’s Journal: Pixie — Page 23 | Jerome’s Journal: Pixie — Page 23
Maurice Lamar had a friend named Paul. He was the owner of a small business, maybe you’ve heard of it, Pixie Paul’s Packaging. I never liked Paul, but the guy sure knew how to promote his business in a fun way over time. I like to think I had a big part of his success, but I digress.
Pixies are small creatures, only a a couple of inches tall. They’re unable to speak, but can make sounds when they move. Incredibly animated creatures. Some can be super loyal, some can be super mischievous, but all have strong personalities.
Pixies run their own communities and have small cities scattered around the world. You’ll never find them if they don’t want to be found.
I was invited to visit a large Pixie City, and frankly, the small architecture is amazing. I must have felt like a giant monster to the Pixies, but they brought me in. The large underground cave they lived in didn’t get much foot traffic, so they were completely hidden, and they had large pockets specifically made for larger beings like humans.
They’re able to harvest and create a special resource, known as Pixie Dust, of course. It’s a valuable dust with the ability to give levitational powers to Cryptids and Cryptid Hunters temporarily.
With the rise of Pixie Paul’s Packaging becoming the number 1 corporation in the world, Pixie’s have become prevalent, but it wasn’t always that way. Paul didn’t even know what a Pixie looked like before me, but did I get any credit? I don’t think so.
Paul sucks. | https://medium.com/@danathonjames/jeromes-journal-pixie-page-23-579808105cc6 | [] | 2022-01-01 17:28:51.480000+00:00 | ['Nft Collectibles', 'Crypto', 'Cryptid', 'Artist', 'Nft'] |
Project: Quick & dirty | Project: Quick & dirty
Dijkstra would not like it
“I mean, if 10 years from now, when you are doing something quick and dirty, you suddenly visualize that I am looking over your shoulders and say to yourself “Dijkstra would not have liked this”, well, that would be enough immortality for me.” — Edsger W. Dijkstra, both leader in the pursuit of simplicity and the abolition of the GOTO statement from programming.
Nine times out of ten, when you ask managers to pick among different implementation options, they answer:
The simpler.
which is a shy way to say:
The quicker.
which sounds frustrating as if they didn’t pick attention to the pros and cons you just described, as if the only criterion was speed. All they have in mind at this time is the next delivery date and they just compare two short-term costs:
cost (quick) < cost (clean)
Which is usually true. However this is using the “quick” part of the equation only. The full equation goes like this:
cost (quickAndDirty)
= cost (quick)
+ cost (dirty)
What is cost (dirty) exactly? It is the time developers will spend to re-write or refactor the quick code in a way that it is maintainable, so that further developments will not slow down.
However, as that cleanup operation implies re-writing (i.e. dumping the quick code and replacing it by the clean version), we can state that:
cost (quickAndDirty)
= cost (quick)
+ cost (clean)
and so that:
cost (quickAndDirty) > cost (clean)
Impact over time
To illustrate this approach and alternatives, we built a model to simulate:
the cost (time spent) of development ;
(time spent) of development ; the technical debt , which is the sum of all quick code ;
, which is the sum of all quick code ; the codebase maintainability , i.e. the ability to read/understand it and change it.
, i.e. the ability to read/understand it and change it. the delivery pace as the amount of features shipped without regressions.
Even when coded “cleanly” (debt is zero here), the complexity of the built software increases over time along with the code size (accumulation of new features delivered). Without regular refactoring, the maintainability decreases as the code gets more and more complex and the cost of adding new features in such a poor code increases. The curve of delivery flattens and in the end you cannot deliver anymore (logarithmic scales are used here to better show evolutions over time).
Now let’s look at the worse-case scenario of doing only quick & dirty development instead of clean ones:
As the technical debt increases, maintainability decreases half earlier, down to a level where no delivery can be done anymore (flatline of shipping) as the code got too hard to maintain without breaking things. The cost of development curve steepens for the same reasons: because of the poor quality code, it takes longer and longer to produce new features without breaking existing ones.
So even with speed as the single criterion, we can see that repeated local speed (the “quick” part with “dirty” effects) impairs global speed (delivery pace).
When to handle technical debt?
Actually the cost of a technical debt can only be accounted to a subsequent development iteration (which makes it even less noticeable at start). This can be the immediate next one:
cost (quickNDirt1)
= cost (quick1) cost (cleanDev2)
= cost (dirty1)
+ cost (dev2)
In that scenario systematic immediate cleanup of the dirty code make things better:
With systematic cleanup the debt never increases more than one iteration. Maintainability gets jagged (because of each dirty-then-cleanup cycle) but keeps an acceptable level longer, allowing to deliver longer as well. Cost is sometimes higher tough, as cleaning is more costly (=2) than dirtying (=1).
However cleanup phases (accounted as the “cost of dirty”) can also be delayed (they are often), and occur to some later iteration:
cost (quickNDirt1)
= cost (quick1) cost (dev2)
= cost (dev2) cost (cleanDev3)
= cost (dirty1)
+ cost (dev3)
But each new quick & dirty code in the interim will add up to the debt:
cost (quickNDirt1)
= cost (quick1) cost (quickNDirt2)
= cost (quick2) cost (cleanDev3)
= cost (dirty1)
+ cost (dirty2)
+ cost (dev3)
Now let’s test a fool hypothesis: could letting the debt increase be beneficial in any way?
Not resolving all the debt makes it increase progressively. The cost saved by not cleaning up all the debt (quick dev) is actually increased by the bad consequences on maintainability, which falls earlier, thus impairing the delivery capability more quickly.
This doesn’t seem to be a good solution as increasing letting the debt grow costs you more in the end (as any debt does). One could say that you pay maintainability “interests” in this case.
Even clean code requires refactoring
But that is not enough. As we saw in the first graph, writing only “clean” code warrants a good delivery but still at an increasing cost, because even clean code requires periodic refactoring so that new features can be integrated, not just as additions (thus adding complexity), but merged into concepts shared by the whole codebase. You can see that as keeping a room clean but, as new furnitures are added in, wanting to move or replace some of them to make the whole thing more practicable.
Once again, even if refactoring is costly, it should be seen as beneficial to the whole project’s maintainability (and so lifespan). Thus, on the long run, the cost of refactoring will be balanced by the increased maintainability:
Avoiding quick & dirty to avoid debt is not enough: another kind of “implicit” debt with the increasing complexity of the product, and adding periodic refactorings allow to mitigate the loss of maintainability while keeping a good delivery pace, while not making costs worse.
Now, what if the quick & dirty + cleanup (the other “no debt” approach) would include such periodic refactoring as well?
Quick & dirty, if cleaned up, look similar to the clean code approach when including refactorings, but is a bit more costly and fails in maintainability earlier, because of the time lost in a subsequent cleaning up iteration (instead of writing clean version directly). As a result, delivery is less optimal.
Conclusion
Maintainability is a key factor of project development as it impacts both delivery capability and cost. Poor maintainability also have more unacknowledged effects such as bad stability (i.e. more regressions as the code is getting obscure) and developers productivity (coding is getting harder and more stressful).
In real life, quick & dirty iterations cannot be avoided for both business reasons (deliver a feature to sign a contract typically) and developers laziness (“but it works” attitude) but their effect is detrimental on maintainability.
The only way to mitigate the maintainability damage of quick & dirty iterations is to compensate them by “cleanup” iterations. However, because those cleanup additional iterations result in time loss, cleaned-up quick & dirty code can be summed up as “clean code in twice iterations”.
However, another dimension of maintainability loss is the “natural” tendency of any code to get more complex (and so less maintainable) as it gets bigger and bigger (as a result of features additions). That means that any “no debt” approach (either “quick & dirty + cleanup” or “clean”) require periodic refactoring to keep a reasonable maintainability rate.
In the end, both the amount of quick & dirty and refactoring iterations will dictate the product life expectancy, that is, the time when the code base will be deemed not maintainable anymore and will stop the delivery capability. At this point the only options will be either product freeze/discontinuation or full rewrite. As the old saying goes:
— Why refactor it, since we’ll rewrite it from scratch in two years? — To avoid rewriting it from scratch in two years.
The approach of your choice will dictate how long your product is expected to live. | https://javarome.medium.com/project-quick-dirty-6d2ca4a8eddb | ['Jérôme Beau'] | 2020-10-13 09:22:53.730000+00:00 | ['Development', 'Project Management', 'Programming', 'Design', 'Quality'] |
What’s Your Inciting Incident? | What sparked the need or desire to take that first step?
What sparked the need or desire to take that first step? | https://medium.com/@toddbrison/whats-your-inciting-incident-4cda19df09fc | ['Todd Brison'] | 2020-11-18 23:31:16.232000+00:00 | ['Research', 'Maps', 'Business Development', 'Entrepreneur', 'Writing'] |
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING. | -Social media marketing helps improve brand loyalty.
Engaging with your customers and leads on social media helps you build stronger customer relationships. This can set you apart from your competition by showing your audience how your brand is different and reinforcing that your business cares about its customers.
Thankfully, social media allows for easy and effective brand building. Social media has a benefit over traditional media because it can get your brand in front of people much more quickly and easily. Furthermore, it gets your audience looking at your brand even when they aren’t thinking about your brand or product.
-How social media can be used for marketing?
Social media allows even the smallest business to interact with the wider world. Social media allows you to create a dynamic online presence and establish a dialogue with a wide audience — including existing customers, new prospects, your competitors and suppliers.
-Why is social media important in 2020?
Social media is important because it allows you to reach, nurture, and engage with your target audience — no matter their location. When a business can use social media to connect with its audience, it can use social media to generate brand awareness, leads, sales, and revenue.
-How does social media affect marketing?
Social media has become a powerful platform for marketing due to the high brand exposure and great return on investment. … The biggest effect of social media marketing is that you can reach to your targeted audience, stay engaged with them and respond to their queries quickly.
-What makes social media attractive?
Social media allows us to connect with other like-minded individuals more easily, and at a faster pace, than ever before. It also helps us find new interests, while realizing that we might not be alone in our love of some particular topic or hobby.
-Social media marketing is extremely cost-effective
Implementing a social media marketing strategy is a fantastic way to reach your target audience without a huge budget. When it comes to ads, they’re also extremely cost-effective since you only pay the platform when users click on your ad (for many platforms).
-Some of the most popular platforms for brand development and marketing include:
1) Facebook.
2) Twitter.
3) Instagram.
4) LinkedIn.
5) Snapchat.
6) Pinterest.
FOR MORE ARTICLES AND INFORMATION VISIT OUR PAGE- www.infabrands.com | https://medium.com/@kudosware/everything-you-need-to-know-about-social-media-marketing-bb1fafbb33c | [] | 2020-12-07 17:32:53.029000+00:00 | ['Influencers', 'Social Media Marketing', 'Influence', 'Influencer Marketing'] |
Invaluable Lessons I Learned From A Free Online Challenge | I’m at that stage in my life where I am eager to learn new things; to grow and challenge myself. Maybe to even step out of my comfort zone again.
It has been a LONG time since I’ve felt this way. And the feeling is invigorating.
I give credit to the project of publishing my book to get me excited about ‘doing’ again. Doing new things, learning, creating, putting things out there.
Hungry to find something I want to spend my time on, I signed up to Jess Glazer’s recent Idea2Income challenge and it was full of SO many ‘aha!’ moments.
With the excessive amount of information we consume every day, it’s hard to find something that sticks. Since I can’t stop thinking about these nuggets of wisdom, I feel compelled to share them:
You have to know where you are, before you decide where you are going: I never think about where I am now, I always think about where I want to be. Just like when looking on a map, how can I know how to get where I want to be, if I don’t know where I am now!? This struck like me lightening.
Your beliefs are the only limits: The only thing stopping you from achieving what you want are your beliefs. “I’m not good enough to…”, “I’m not qualified to…”, “I can’t afford to…”, “No one will listen to what I have to say…” These are not facts. They are your own limiting beliefs. The sooner you recognize them, the faster you can move forward.
You will never be ready: There is never a good time to step out of your comfort zone. It will always be uncomfortable and you will never be ready for it. I always say to myself, when my kids grow up a bit, I will do it — but that could take another 15 years, so yeah, if you really want it, you just have to get on with it.
Nothing happens through osmosis, you have to take action: This struck me again as another bolt of lightning. I am queen of consuming ‘knowledge’. I read online, I read case-studies, I enroll in courses and training programmes and absorb, absorb, absorb. But then, obviously, nothing comes of it. You’ve got to take action. Any action!
There is no such thing as perfection: When taking action, there is no such thing as doing it perfectly. In fact, Jess encourages “messy action”. Messy action is better than no action, and you learn from it.
So, what am I going to do now? Haha, I have no idea but I’ve taken some action by putting this out there, so let’s see what comes next! | https://medium.com/@abhanaismith/invaluable-lessons-i-learned-from-a-free-online-challenge-472c22cd8721 | ['Abha Malpani-Naismith'] | 2021-06-17 12:08:02.413000+00:00 | ['Comfort Zone', 'Online Business', 'Online Marketing', 'Digital Course', 'Learning And Development'] |
Lead generation tools to get more targeted leads. | No matter what industry you’re in, if you’re not generating new leads you’ll eventually go out of business. Everyone has some sort of lead generation process. It can be a time-consuming process, too, but it doesn’t have to be.
Lead generation is also a great way to increase brand awareness, which as you can assume, most brands strive for. Fortunately, there is no shortage of lead generation tools to help you accomplish this.
Lead Generation Tool
Any tool you use to find or create leads is a lead generation tool. Your calendar, your calling app, your CRM — they’re all connected to the lead generation process. Each tool has its own little role.
Without these databases, this whole list would be null and void. You can’t chase a lead you can’t access. You can’t schedule a call until you’ve found contact information.
So, lead databases are an essential part of the process and most companies use more than one. Here are 3 that will help you find the right leads for your business.
Lead generation is an integral part of any sales process. Hopefully, we’ve enabled you with a more powerful lead gen strategy thanks to these tools. | https://medium.com/@theluckygupta/lead-generation-tools-to-get-more-targeted-leads-7226fd3c819e | ['Lucky Gupta'] | 2020-02-20 06:06:50.677000+00:00 | ['Business Strategy', 'Business Intelligence', 'Lead Generation', 'Digital Marketing', 'Business Development'] |
OSGi. What’s That? | Have you ever heard of OSGi? Do you know what’s its purpose?
If you haven’t, I’ll do my best to introduce you to this wonderful piece of software.
Origin
Let’s see what Wikipedia has to say:
The OSGi Alliance, formerly known as the Open Services Gateway initiative, is an open standards organization founded in March 1999 that originally specified and continues to maintain the OSGi standard.
Some OSGi Alliance members are Bosch Software Innovations, Software AG, IBM and more companies whose businesses target the Internet of Things market.
Purpose
OSGi is a Java specification, or simply put, just a set of interfaces.
It aims is to define a way to develop modular Java applications and to utilize the concepts of a microkernel architecture, also known as a plug-in architecture.
This architecture consists of two primary components:
System core — the minimal set of functionalities that are considered to build up the heart of a software system.
— the minimal set of functionalities that are considered to build up the heart of a software system. Plug-in modules — also called bundles in OSGi, they represent independent and stand-alone pieces of software which are meant to bring additional features to the core system, thus expanding its functionalities.
Figure 1 — Definition of an OSGi system
We can imagine bundles as separate mini-programs that operate over an OSGi core system.
Bundles can be plugged into the core system at runtime, and they can start working immediately without the need for a system restart which makes the software very flexible and extendable.
Bundles can also be easily reused in other applications. And hey, it’s better to reuse whole components rather than just objects, right?
Furthermore, the plug-in architecture offers strong loose coupling between modules which makes them easy to test and the software easy to develop since different modules can be developed in parallel because they’re independent from each other.
Figure 2 — Example of an OSGi system
Now let’s take a look at Figure 2.
It demonstrates an embedded system that can read or write commands to multiple sensors through the serial port with the help of the Serial Port Library module, it can also persist each sensor’s data using the SQL Database module and can send data to a cloud service through the HTTP Client module.
Here the cool part is that If we want the system to support a new sensor, e.g. a temperature sensor, we just develop a temperature sensor bundle and introduce it to the system. Additionally, If there’s a need for more functionalities like data compression, for an example, we’ll again develop a data compression bundle then install it to the system and use it.
Key concepts
Bundles
An OSGi bundle, or as we earlier said — plug-in module, is an ordinary JAR file containing a manifest file with some additional OSGi-specific headers. Its idea is to be an extension to an OSGi system.
Bundles can export functionality and import functionality from other bundles in the system.
Every bundle should introduce abstractions to its business logic through interfaces and export only those interfaces to other bundles, thus allowing its business logic to vary independently. This strategy ensures loose coupling between bundles.
Bundles have their independent life-cycle. When they’re installed to a system they start running if their dependencies are met, otherwise they just stay inactive, on stand-by. Additionally, while running if some dependencies drop, the bundle is stopped until the dependencies are met again.
Figure 3 — Bundle life-cycle
Services
Services are the concept which bundles use to import and export functionality from and to other bundles.
In OSGi, any Java object can be registered as a service.
To illustrate the service concept, let’s consider the following example: Let the Earth be the OSGi core system while people are plug-in modules. Now let’s consider one exact person. We know that he has multiple friends —also plug-in modules. He can request favors from his friends who are computer scientists, lawyers, doctors, etc. Every ask for a favor is basically a use of service. Moreover, he doesn’t necessarily need to know how exactly will his friends do his favor, he just needs the results. This way his friends’ plan for how to do the favor can vary independently, because this won’t affect the final result. This shows how bundles don’t export their inner logic, instead they export only an interface to it.
Figure 4 —Services example
Why do we need OSGi?
OSGi makes complex software look like a Python “Hello world” example.
It offers a nice development flow which works towards a loosely-coupled, nicely divided into modules application with reduced complexity.
The modularity which OSGi provides eases not only development complexity and development speed but also maintenance and testing of an application.
Furthermore, we can
Add or remove functionality during runtime.
Reuse whole components instead of just objects.
Efficiently encapsulate business logic and export only interfaces to it.
Resolve the Jar Hell problem via bundle versioning.
etc.
Here’s a note from the OSGi Alliance showing what kind of software is built with OSGi.
The OSGi component system is actually used to build highly complex applications like IDEs (Eclipse), application servers (GlassFish, IBM Websphere, Oracle/BEA Weblogic, Jonas, JBoss), application frameworks (Spring, Guice), industrial automation, residential gateways, phones, and so much more.
What’s the “Hello world” of OSGi?
Let’s create a simple calculator usage example which demonstrates core OSGi principles.
We’ll create a calculator provider and a calculator consumer.
In order to prevent cluttering, only the key parts of the code samples will be shown here and a link to the complete source code will be left below.
Calculator provider
First, we’ll describe what functionality will our calculator support.
Provider’s Calculator interface
Then we’ll start implementing the functionality straight ahead.
Provider’s Calculator implementation
Note that we’ve used the OSGi @Component annotation to mark our calculator’s implementation as a service component. This way we register it to a place called SCR or Service Component Runtime which will manage our component and ensure that it can be accessed through its interface by other components later in the future.
That’s all from the provider module’s part.
Calculator consumer
Now let’s inject our calculator provider module’s interface via the @Reference annotation.
Consumer’s Calculator usage
We also used the @Activate annotation to mark a method as a first-to-run when the component is instantiated.
Observation
In this example, we clearly see that the calculator’s implementation has the freedom to vary independently. For instance, we can change the calculator’s multiplication operation to use multiple addition operations instead of direct multiplication, and we won’t break anything in the system. All bundles will continue to use the calculator but with the updated implementation instead.
Sources and guides
You can find the complete source code and further setup details in the GitHub repository below.
Conclusion
Relatively old and proven to be stable, OSGi makes complex software manageable, flexible, extensible and robust.
It’s basically a standardized ‘go-to’ solution for enterprise Internet of Things solutions. | https://medium.com/swlh/osgi-whats-that-f15183822805 | ['Daniel Gospodinow'] | 2020-05-29 17:11:51.790000+00:00 | ['Modularity', 'Osgi', 'Java', 'Specification', 'Plugins'] |
Long Before Mosul Offensive, U.S. Spooks Worried About Chemical Weapons | Long Before Mosul Offensive, U.S. Spooks Worried About Chemical Weapons
Concerns and fears may still be slowing operations
by JOSEPH TREVITHICK
On Jan. 22, 2017, Iraqi troops were looking for help cleaning up an apparent chemical weapon laboratory that Islamic State terrorists set up inside Mosul University, according to Stars and Stripes. Later in January, Baghdad’s troops showed journalists from the Associated Press another chemical warfare site in the eastern half of the city.
U.S. Air Force intelligence summaries show American officials had worried about these toxic materials for months before Iraqi and Kurdish forces began the offensive. War Is Boring obtained the heavily redacted documents through the Freedom of Information Act.
“ISIL will probably continue to employ chemical weapons as a force multiplier and to exploit the weapon’s psychological impact,” intelligence analysts at the Coalition Intelligence Fusion Cell wrote in May 2016, using a common acronym for Islamic State. “Nevertheless ISIL chemically modified munitions are unlikely to be very effective due to distance from production centers, inadequate storage and poor quality material.”
Situated within the U.S.-led Combined Air and Space Operations Center at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, the cell includes American and other coalition personnel. Based on the records we received, the group puts out at least one comprehensive intelligence summary every week.
More than four months later, concerns and fears about deadly chemicals might be one of many factors slowing efforts to finally eject the extremists from their de facto capital in Iraq.
When Iraqi and Kurdish troops moved into Mosul in October 2016, Islamic State had already shown it was ready and willing to use chemical weapons. The next month, information analytics company IHS Markit released a report compiling data on more than 50 reported chemical attacks the terrorists had launched since 2014. | https://medium.com/war-is-boring/long-before-mosul-offensive-u-s-spooks-worried-about-chemical-weapons-4a18f3c3a000 | ['Joseph Trevithick'] | 2017-01-31 11:02:00.496000+00:00 | ['Chemical Weapons', 'FOIA', 'Wmd', 'Wib Front', 'Islamic State'] |
About Me — Ethan Chua. Student. Son. Philosophy & Psychology… | About Me — Ethan Chua
Student. Son. Philosophy & Psychology Enthusiast. Politically Confused. Mostly Lost.
Image by Author
Hello there! I’m Ethan.
I am a 16-year-old student still studying in Singapore. I’m still at that young age where possibilities are nearly endless and I’m still free to do the things I enjoy, so that’s awesome!
I was born in Malaysia and stayed there for an entire month before my parents decided to move to Singapore. My parents were Malaysians but went to Singapore to pursue their education and eventually decided to live there. I have changed my citizenship recently and am now a proud Singaporean!
I’m still embracing my high school life (although we call it secondary school over here) but I do like to write on the side.
I really like to read, but am also extremely selective about the books I read (there are only so many books we have time to read, so I’ve got to make them count). I love reading, writing, and talking about the humanities and the human condition, but I am particularly interested in philosophy and psychology. If you have book recommendations or want book recommendations, feel free to contact me!
Despite my love for books, I still have a snazzy social life and love spending time with my friends. We will often go out or call online to chat and play.
When writing, I tend to have a slightly more formal tone as I prefer to specialize in informative yet helpful articles. I started Medium in November 2020 since it was the holidays and I had little to do, I thought, why not?
My Topics
I usually publish stories on philosophy and self-improvement, with the occasional article on current affairs. I focus on well-being and how to lead a rich, fulfilling life.
As for the specific topics I am interested in, it would be the branches of philosophy that arose after the 1800s and that are more individual-centric. Particularly, we have
Existentialism (Camus, Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, Satre, Heidegger)
(Camus, Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, Satre, Heidegger) Post-modernism (Jacques Derrida, Michel Foucault)
(Jacques Derrida, Michel Foucault) Depth psychology (Carl Jung, Sigmund Freud, sprinkles of Lacan)
I also love psychology — mental health is very interesting and important. I tend to explore the fields of
Consciousness (It’s nature and application)
(It’s nature and application) Emotions (The science behind it and its implications)
(The science behind it and its implications) Personality (Relationships, Self-improvement)
On top of that, being a Buddhist myself, I do dabble in some Eastern philosophies such as Taoism and Buddhism. Alan Watts is cool, check him out.
So expect articles from me to focus on linking such philosophies to current affairs and our daily lives, or simply extracting invaluable life lessons and sharing them with you!
My Top Articles
Last updated: December 2020
My Latest Articles
Last updated: December 2020
Contact Me
At the moment, I only have email as a viable contact, but it’s fine, email is fun!
Contact me here → [email protected]
I cannot wait to start a conversation! See you around :) | https://medium.com/about-me-stories/about-me-ethan-chua-52a68ac69939 | ['Ethan Chua'] | 2021-01-01 05:48:15.945000+00:00 | ['Introduction', 'Writing', 'Blogging', 'Philosophy', 'About Me'] |
Make facts matter (again) | Make facts matter (again)
This week, we saw a worrying backlash against independent civil society groups in Georgia, including Transparency International Georgia, for standing with thousands of citizens demanding a progressive electoral reform.
Smear campaigns and accusations of bias are some of the widespread intimidation tactics independent and critical voices face in response to their evidence-based analysis, as we also saw recently in Brazil.
Those who denounce corruption and human rights abuses are often the target of disinformation campaigns, while their reports and findings are dismissed as ‘fake news’ or slander.
Anti-corruption activism relies strongly on trust in independent media. The use of social media and the impact of fake news is a real threat for our work.
But fake news is not always easy to detect and spreads rapidly. What can be done?
In Georgia, for example, coordinated accusations against our chapter through anonymous Facebook posts were recently detected, labelled and debunked by another civil society group.
Solidarity is important. Several civil society organisations based in Germany, including Transparency Germany, recently expressed deep concern over the rise of attacks against civil society in Europe and called on the German government to support activists in its neighbourhood through the political levers available to them.
No matter where you live, you too can support independent actors in the age of fake news. Identifying fact-based reporting over misinformation and reporting fake news on social media platforms are some of the first steps.
Tell us what you think @anticorruption.
This blog is part of our weekly series of updates on everything corruption-related. You can get them straight to your inbox every Friday. | https://voices.transparency.org/make-facts-matter-again-48bd89c113c4 | ['Transparency Int L'] | 2019-12-02 09:18:06.107000+00:00 | ['Newsletter', 'Fake News', 'Civil Society', 'Journalism', 'Corruption'] |
Living the high life: Summiting Colorado’s tallest peaks | A viewpoint overlooking the Rockies features the beauty of Colorado on the Mount Bierstadt trail.
“I once read an interview with an ultramarathoner who was asked why he would conceivably want to run all that distance. His response: because it feels so good when you stop,” remarked outdoor enthusiast Brent Daniel in reminiscing about the rewarding pay-off condoning the hours of physical discomfort he endured climbing five Colorado fourteeners.
With 58 peaks exceeding 14,000 feet, summiting the state’s tallest mountains has become a staple activity in Colorado for avid hikers seeking unmatched beauty and a taste of adventure. Granted, summiting a fourteener is significantly different from your average hike; known for breathtaking views and extreme difficulty, attempting one usually requires months of physical training, altitude acclimation and prior experience traversing the outdoors.
Last summer, Colorado resident Brent Daniel tackled Mount Bierstadt, a seven mile hike with a near 3,000-foot elevation gain. As a seasoned outdoorsman, he is set apart from the crowds of tourists that flock to Colorado every year. However, this does not make each climb any less difficult; there are no easy fourteeners.
Brent Daniel soaks in well-earned views from the summit.
“The climb is always amazing, the views incredible, the opportunity to share something with your friends, totally uplifting and inspiring. But man, does it feel good to get back to the trailhead,” joked Daniel.
Working as a Senior Research Scientist in Lyons, Daniel uses his off-time to embark upon thrilling outdoor adventures across the globe and captures these moments through his photography. He has been frequenting the Rocky Mountains his entire life, and at only 19 years old, he successfully summited his first fourteener.
“I wanted to figure out who I was. Mountains are great for stripping away all the different guises we drape ourselves in to keep from seeing who we really are, the bad and the good,” said Daniel.
For many climbers, bagging peaks becomes addictive.
“I still love climbing them to see how my friends will respond to the challenge and what they’ll learn about themselves. And, without a doubt, I still always learn something new about myself with each climb,” said Daniel.
Now in his forties, Daniel has climbed Bierstadt, Elbert, Sherman, Handies and Sunlight, but he intends to expand this list with even more fourteeners in the future. From the perspective of raw beauty, he deemed Mount Sunlight as being the most spectacular of the bunch.
“They’ve all been challenging, horizon-expanding, gratifying and humbling, but Sunlight Peak was some of the most beautiful, amazing scrambling I’ve ever done with some of the most fantastic scenery I’ve seen anywhere — like climbing in a fairy tale,” he recounted.
The prospective magnificent beauty from atop the rugged peaks are not the primary motivator for every adventurer. For college freshman Benjamin Brodt, it was the personal challenge that inspired him to plan and train for his summit attempt.
18-year-old Benjamin Brodt begins his ascent of Mount Bierstadt just after sunrise.
“I like pushing myself past what I think I can do, and this was probably the hardest thing that I have ever done,” he remarked.
Brodt had placed third in his division in an Olympic triathlon earlier that summer, but despite being in exemplary shape, still experienced troubled breathing and a severe headache from the altitude, testament to just how tough the strenuous trek to the top can be.
Dallas native and Mount Elbert summiteer Abby Garrett detailed that her most challenging factor was timing. During a post-graduation road trip, she had decided on a whim to take on the mountain with her friend without fully understanding just how demanding it could be.
“You have to start very early, around 6:00 a.m., to make it to the summit and back before sunset. We got a late start that morning, so we were hiking down the mountain with little sunlight. It was unnerving and made the trek down take longer than usual,” related Garrett.
The push to the summit contains tricky obstacles of loose scree and bouldering.
On the whole, the most important element to note is that safety and good decision making must remain each climber’s top priority on the mountain.
Never be afraid to turn back if the weather looks questionable; it is not worth risking potential injury on something your body can’t handle. After all, the climb isn’t always about making it to the top.
“When the end is in sight but still out of reach, you’ve got to just put one foot in front of the other and remind yourself to appreciate the sound of a stream gurgling or birds chirping. Knees may be a bit sore, and you may have a few hot spots on your heels. But it’s better than sitting in front of a computer any day,” said Brent Daniel. | https://medium.com/cardinal-news/living-the-high-life-summiting-colorados-tallest-peaks-88871d942799 | ['Alyssa Thompson'] | 2020-05-07 16:35:23.994000+00:00 | ['Travel', 'Hiking', 'Colorado', 'University'] |
How to Add Text Labels to Scatterplot in Python (Matplotlib/Seaborn) | How to Add Text Labels to Scatterplot in Python (Matplotlib/Seaborn)
Step by step guide to how to add text labels to scatterplot in python when using seaborn or matplotlib libraries Abhijith Chandradas Jan 27·4 min read
Python is great for data visualization! Matplotlib is very fast and robust but lacks the aesthetic appeal. Seaborn library built over matplotlib has greatly improved the aesthetics and provides very sophisticated plots. However when it comes to scatter plots, these python libraries do not have any straight forward option to display labels of data points. This feature is available in other data visualization tools like Tableau and Power BI, with just a few clicks or hovering the pointer over the datapoints.
In this article, I will explain how to add text labels to your scatter plots made in seaborn or any other library which is built on matplotlib framework.
The Data
The dataset is English Premier League table. We are interested in three columns:
i. Team : Team Name
ii. G : Goals Scored
iii. GA : Goals Conceded
Scatter Plot : Goals Scored vs Goals Conceded
A simple scatter plot can plotted with Goals Scored in x-axis and Goals Conceded in the y-axis as follows.
plt.figure(figsize=(8,5))
sns.scatterplot(data=df,x=’G’,y=’GA’) plt.title(“Goals Scored vs Conceded- Top 6 Teams”) #title
plt.xlabel(“Goals Scored”) #x label
plt.ylabel(“Goals Conceded”) #y label
plt.show()
Basic scatter plot
Label Specific Items
Most often scatter plots may contain large amount of data points, we might be interested how some specific items fare against the rest. Labelling all the data points may render your plot too clunky and difficult to comprehend.
For example, if we are examining a socio-economic statistic of USA, it makes no sense to display the labels of all countries in scatter plot. It would be useful if USA’s and other selected competitors data is labelled so that we can understand how these countries are performing with respect to each other and rest of the world.
Coming to our dataset, I am a Totenham Hotspur(TOT) fan and am interested only in the performance of TOT against the other teams.
I can add the label using plt.text()
Syntax:
plt.text(x=x coordinate, y=y coordinate, s=string to be displayed)
He x and y are Goals scored and Goals conceded by TOT respectively. The string to be displayed is “TOT”.
x, y and s are positional arguments and need not be explicitly mentioned if their order is followed.
plt.text(df.G[df.Team=='TOT'],df.GA[df.Team=='TOT'],"TOT", color='red')
Additional arguments like color, size, alpha(transperency) etc. can be used to change to text format. It can also be grouped within fontdict to make your code easy to read and understand.
plt.text(df.G[df.Team==’LIV’],df.GA[df.Team==’LIV’],”LIV”,
fontdict=dict(color=’black’, alpha=0.5, size=16))
Scatter Plot with specific label (Image by author)
Adding Background Box
bbox parameter can be used to highlight the text.
sns.scatterplot(data=df,x=’G’,y=’GA’)
plt.text(x=df.G[df.Team==’TOT’]+0.3,
y=df.GA[df.Team==’TOT’]+0.3,
s=”TOT”,
fontdict=dict(color=’red’,size=10),
bbox=dict(facecolor=’yellow’,alpha=0.5))
Note that an indentation of 0.3 is added to x and y coordinates so that the text and the background box does not overlap with the datapoint.
It is optional but can improve the aesthetics of the chart.
Scatter Plot with Text Box (Image by author)
Labelling All Points
Some situations demand labelling all the datapoints in the scatter plot especially when there are few data points.
This can be done by using a simple for loop to loop through the data set and add the x-coordinate, y-coordinate and string from each row.
sns.scatterplot(data=df,x=’G’,y=’GA’) for i in range(df.shape[0]):
plt.text(x=df.G[i]+0.3,y=df.GA[i]+0.3,s=df.Team[i],
fontdict=dict(color=’red’,size=10),
bbox=dict(facecolor=’yellow’,alpha=0.5))
Scatter Plot with all labels (Image by author)
Final Touch
We have completed constructing a labelled scatter plot. However, we can observe that a few text boxes are jutting out of the figure area.
It would be aesthetically more pleasing if the text could be wrapped within the plot’s canvas. This can be done by changing the position, size etc. of the text.
I generally achieve this by increasing the plot area by using xlim() and ylim() functions in matplotlib.
In the below code you can see how I have applied a padding of 1 unit around the plot while setting x and y limits.
plt.figure(figsize=(8,5))
sns.scatterplot(data=df,x=’G’,y=’GA’) for i in range(df.shape[0]):
plt.text(x=df.G[i]+0.3,y=df.GA[i]+0.3,s=df.Team[i],
fontdict=dict(color=’red’,size=10),
bbox=dict(facecolor=’yellow’,alpha=0.5)) plt.xlim(df.G.min()-1,df.G.max()+1) #set x limit
plt.ylim(df.GA.min()-1,df.GA.max()+1) #set y limit plt.title(“Goals Scored vs Conceded- Top 6 Teams”) #title
plt.xlabel(“Goals Scored”) #x label
plt.ylabel(“Goals Conceded”) #y label
plt.show()
Padded Scatter Plot with labels (Image by author)
If you know any better methods of wrapping the elements in plot within the canvas area please let me know in comments.
You can check out the notebook for this article in GitHub.
Here are some other stories you may be interested in. | https://towardsdatascience.com/how-to-add-text-labels-to-scatterplot-in-matplotlib-seaborn-ec5df6afed7a | ['Abhijith Chandradas'] | 2021-01-30 01:11:47.688000+00:00 | ['Data Visualization', 'Best Practices', 'Scatter Plots', 'Matplotlib', 'Seaborn'] |
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