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Why Subnautica is one of the best games I’ve played this year | Why Subnautica is one of the best games I’ve played this year
A unique setting, an engaging story, and intentional design make this game stand out
I can count on a few fingers the number of times that playing a video game has left me truly terrified. There are a few scenes in The Last of Us and its sequel that would be on the list, as well as a few other games that boast equally scary moments. But the thing about video games is that they’re often designed so you can beat them, which means that (usually) even the biggest bad guys can be beaten down with enough time and energy.
However, there are some games where the most threatening enemies can’t be beaten. All you can do is hope to avoid them. Subnautica is one of those games (though it’s also much more, which I’ll explain below).
Subnautica is definitely not a scary game, but it has moments of pure terror and adrenaline that have already terrified me multiple times. The atmosphere in the game is incredible, and its design has kept me coming back many times. I love when video games break off from genre tropes and create something truly unique. Through its detailed setting and close commitment to engaging gameplay, Subnautica cements itself as one of those rare games.
What Subnautica is and how you play it
First, a quick description. Subnautica is an open-world (ish) survival game set on a planet where water is everywhere. The game opens as your character’s ship goes up in flames, prompting a crash landing in the middle of this mysterious ocean. The ship is beyond repair, so within a few minutes of playing you realize that long-term survival on the planet is your only hope of living. And well over 90% of that survival will take place underwater.
There isn’t much exposition — the entire opening of the game doesn’t take long at all — so you’re dropped into the world pretty quickly. There’s a list of things to find and craft, and the more you find the more opens up pretty quickly. It’s also worth noting that Subnautica is not procedurally-generated. There are dangerous, terrifying areas to find, but they’re intentionally mapped pretty far away from where you start out.
The mechanics of the game involve swimming to ever-greater depths to find materials and resources. With these in hand, you can build an underwater base, pipe in breathable air from the surface, and even build underwater vehicles. The world is tough and inhospitable, but before long you can make it much more inviting.
Why I love Subnautica
Swimming through the waves and exploring the world have been one of the most enjoyable video game experiences I’ve had in forever. Most of the planet is bright and colorful, and the varied topography of the ocean floor keeps the gameplay from getting too repetitive. There’s a sense of wonder that’s so enthralling, and even though I’ve played for several hours I don’t feel like I’ve come anywhere close to finding even half of what’s out there.
I bought Subnautica because it was on sale and because I wanted something to scratch the itch that Outer Wilds left me with a few months ago. The games are different in many ways: Outer Wilds is based purely on story, is much shorter, and is a game about exploring in space. But the themes of exploration, searching for answers, and navigating incredible worlds are present in each title.
There’s a story in Subnautica, and what I’ve found of it so far has been pretty interesting. However, it’s clearly complementary to the survival experience rather than the sole objective like it is in Outer Wilds. I have to wait for new message to come to my radio before I can progress much further, giving me plenty of time to work on my base and find materials for vehicles. When that next message comes, though, I’ll be ready.
Why Subnautica is like nothing else out there
But what I keep coming back to in Subnautica is the sense of wonder that I get by swimming through its world. The plant and sea life is so varied, so incredible, that it’s easy to see how much work went into its design. And since progression has been so well designed, I’m rarely wondering what I should build next or where I should be exploring. You can do everything at your own pace, but the game is pretty generous with hints and tips.
And the moments of pure terror are exhilarating in ways no other game can match (at least for me). I don’t play horror games often, so I’m used to levels where even the biggest bad guys will eventually be conquered. And in truth, that’s a pretty unrealistic setting for a science fiction survival game.
Here, there are underwater creatures called “leviathan class predators” that I just can’t do anything against. I can avoid them by staying in more shallow waters, but I need to go deeper to find everything and progress the story. When I see one in the distance, it reminds me how small and weak my character is. No other game has done that for me. | https://medium.com/the-coastline-is-quiet/why-subnautica-is-one-of-the-best-games-ive-played-this-year-65fd6359c263 | ['Thomas Jenkins'] | 2020-09-21 17:03:57.617000+00:00 | ['Gaming', 'Design', 'Culture', 'Writing', 'Videogames'] |
No Goodbye | You say it’s already gone
That nothing of us is left
In the chest of the heart
You say it’s already gone
That nothing of us is left
In the chest of the heart
And that life goes on
For even your moon is born in another direction
And that life goes on
For even your moon
rises in another direction
You put the winter in your voice
When you talk to me
But I even find it funny
You speak of the time that passed
And the look says otherwise
It’s funny because your body language speaks the opposite
You came to say goodbye
But I cannot forget your earrings
What you put to me
Your dress is like we’re meeting for the first time
Where are you dressed like this?
With these beautiful heels?
Nobody says goodbye like this.
Where are you going in a little dress?
And beautiful shoes?
I’d pretend that I even agree.
And that I remember nothing from this dead-end passion
And we hold each other.
Like two lovers
Saying goodbye isn’t the ideal thing. | https://medium.com/afwp/no-goodbye-988b703ec7c7 | ['Josh', 'Υя_Ωιѕємαη'] | 2020-12-23 15:32:31.604000+00:00 | ['Life Lessons', 'Poetry', 'Life', 'Poem', 'Love'] |
Armed Forces Bowl | Armed Forces Bowl
The second bowl of the day on Saturday is the Armed Forces bowl. The bowl is held in Fort Worth, Texas and this year it features Army and San Diego State.
The line for this game did not see much movement at all; in fact the least of all bowl games. It opened SDST -7 with a total of 46.5 and has only seen the spread drop a half point, down to -6.5.
These are two pretty similar teams in terms of what the game plan is, which is …. run the ball. Let’s see how the stats stack up.
It looks like both teams are scoring less than they should against their schedule. However, both are allowing less than they should be expected to. SDST in particular seem to be doing a better job of keeping their opponents under wraps. The spread could be expected to be -6. And it looks like a low scoring game, totalling 35 points.
When yards per play are used instead of expected points, there is a similar result.
There haven’t been any instances of a favorite having value based on yards per play other than USF in this morning’s other preview.
While these teams both operate run heavy offenses, it appears Army is a little better at completing 3rd downs (probably because they are usually trying to run on 3rd and really short) and SDST is a little better at stopping teams on 3rd. Considering Army’s lack of passing (about 5 attempts a game) 3rd down and short plays will probably decide this game. SDST’s 65% success rate at stopping the opposition will be under the spotlight this afternoon.
Digging into some deeper defensive stats makes SDST look like they might have a bit of an edge. Better tackle for loss rate, significantly better stop rate (let’s hope that ties in with that great 3rd down success rate), significantly better points allowed per drive.
Neither team really has an explosive offense, both ranking in the 70’s (about mid-point of the league). But, Army has a terrible success rate at stopping explosive plays. They rank 119th in the country, so maybe SDST will break some big plays.
The stats seem to point to a SDST win and possible cover. What about situationally? Well, Army is in a bowl for the second straight year and they won last year in overtime. But, how motivated will they be? Their big game was for Commander in Chiefs trophy (a game where a winner came through on Army). As for SDST, they should be pumped for this game. Rocky Long has had SDST in 6 straight bowls. But, other than one year in Louisiana, all five have been in places where they play during the regular season. Las Vegas, Hawaii and San Diego are nice but, if you play there every year, it can’t feel that special to be in a bowl there. Furthermore, its just going to be nice to not be playing at home in the Poinsettia Bowl, which SDST has done three times in the last six years. A trip to Texas should be welcome. As for the option attack that always has to be discussed when capping Army games, Rocky Long and SDST play an option team every year in Air Force. So, this shouldn’t be a surprise. And they have a month to prepare.
Much like Wyoming last night, take this puppy to the bank. And if you see a guy named Pete there, tell him not to hedge longer and get in big on SDST.
SDST -6.5,
Good luck | https://medium.com/@BigTenWatto/armed-forces-bowl-b88954c8aa0e | [] | 2017-12-23 23:07:24.040000+00:00 | ['Sports', 'Sports Betting'] |
How to Move a Mountain | I love this quote because it captures so much in such an aphoristic statement. To move a mountain may be a miracle, but it’s a miracle that comes through incredibly hard and persistent labor and (self) belief. It’s a lesson on habits. It’s a lesson in persistence.
What I also find so inspiring about this book is that it gives you hope that you can and will succeed in finding your path to happiness if you still with it. You have to try and you have to keep trying. It will happen. You can live a virtuous and contented life.
The Analects by Confucius may be the most influential book of all time. As Leys states in his introduction to the Penguin edition:
“No book in the entire history of the world has exerted, over a longer period of time, a greater influence on a larger number of people than this slim volume.”
As the philosophy of Plato and Aristotle emerged during a period of conflict between Greek and Persian power so too did Confucius (and Sun Tzu) emerge during the “Warring States” period of Chinese history from roughly 475–221 BCE which overlaps with the emergence of the Greek philosophers.
Confucius lived and taught in the 6th century BCE. To put things in perspective, that’s when Buddha and Zoroaster were active, and 10 years after Confucius dies, Socrates is born. One of Confucius’ most revolutionary ideas was redefining the term junzi, meaning noble person or person of status, as anyone who was educated and moral. | https://medium.com/big-self-society/how-to-move-a-mountain-68d99c8173a0 | ['Chad Prevost'] | 2020-12-03 12:08:26.546000+00:00 | ['Self Improvement', 'Authors', 'Books', 'Psychology', 'Two Minute Takeaway'] |
Deus Absconditus et Otiosa — Atheism, Modernism, Mormonism | “People readily swallow the untested claims of this, that, or the other. It’s drowning all your old rationalism and scepticism, it’s coming in like a sea; and the name of it is superstition. It’s the first effect of not believing in God that you lose your common sense and can’t see things as they are. Anything that anybody talks about, and says there’s a good deal in it, extends itself indefinitely like a vista in a nightmare. And a dog is an omen, and a cat is a mystery, and a pig is a mascot, and a beetle is a scarab, calling up all the menagerie of polytheism from Egypt and old India; Dog Anubis and great green-eyed Pasht and all the holy howling Bulls of Bashan; reeling back to the bestial gods of the beginning, escaping into elephants and snakes and crocodiles; and all because you are frightened of four words: He was made Man.” — G. K. Chesterton, The Complete Father Brown Stories (Wordsworth Editions, 2006), 394–395
Before proceeding, it is most important to define one’s terms: in this case, modernism and atheism.
In The True Life, Alain Badiou describes modernity’s dramatic evaporation of the social structures which gave order to the life of the West. The two respective events, according to Badiou, which transitioned boys to men and girls to women were military conscription for males and marriage and childbearing for women. This system held for centuries, if not longer, with obvious strains and flaws: for instance, a woman who had a child out of wedlock had no place in the symbolic order of her society and was thus either exiled, abused, or otherwise disregarded. Conscientious objectors may be something of an equivalent among men. The fact that these individuals were seen as anomalies or threats to the stability of society only serves to emphasize how strongly these institutions were rooted in the cultural soil of the West.
These structures have, by and large, since evaporated, with strange results, according to Badiou. The military and marriage were tantamount to initiation or coming-of-age rituals, signaling to not only society at large but to the participating individual that the latter had transitioned from childhood to adulthood and should thus be treated as such. Thus with the dissolution of these structures comes an odd dissolution of any concrete moment in which a boy may become a man or a girl may become a woman in secular society. Considering this neither a negative nor a positive, Badiou only observes that with the blurring of a previously defined society comes the contemporary sense of being adrift — modernism’s lack of identity, belonging, or purpose. According to Badiou, males are no longer required to enter the military, meaning there is no moment in which they are granted the status of manhood by their culture, leading to a kind of Lost Boys-like perpetual youth; likewise, for females, with the rise of sexual liberation and the decline in frequency of traditional monogamy, girls are seen as always already women, always conferred womanhood and thus never experiencing childhood. Even if one denies Badiou’s division of results among males and females, one cannot deny the modernist experience: the structures of traditional pre-modern societies have mostly collapsed, to the point that they are largely no longer viewed as mandatory, opening up a space of freedom. But not only freedom, but a freedom so absolute that it leads to a kind of existential vertigo. “Anxiety is the dizziness of freedom,” writes Søren Kierkegaard; in more modern terms, you can be absolutely anything, and thus all options are equally relevant or desirable, and thus, paralyzed by options and unable to choose, you become nothing really.
Friedrich Nietzsche described a similar phenomenon in The Gay Science, wherein a madman rushes into the city and cries out:
“God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. How shall we comfort ourselves, the murderers of all murderers? What was holiest and mightiest of all that the world has yet owned has bled to death under our knives: who will wipe this blood off us? What water is there for us to clean ourselves? What festivals of atonement, what sacred games shall we have to invent? Is not the greatness of this deed too great for us? Must we ourselves not become gods simply to appear worthy of it?” — Section 125, trans. Walter Kaufmann
The crowd laughs at the fool, until he runs into a church to pray; afterward, the crowd continues their business. Often the most focus is given to the madman who cries “God is dead,” yet little attention is given to his additional point that “we [ourselves] have killed him,” and almost no attention is paid to his conclusion that “we ourselves [must] become gods simply to appear worthy of it.” The point is not simply that traditional religion or theism has mostly died out and that some people simply cannot accept its end, but that the symbolic order which rendered the cosmos itself intelligible and thus manageable for believers has collapsed. Moderns, according to Nietzsche, have generally responded to this collapse in one of two ways: the first is that of the madman, hopeless nostalgic who can only weep at the grave of God; the second, however, is that of the crowd, who meander through the streets with no destination or purpose.
This is Nietzsche’s atheism, properly defined. Rather than to simply say “there is no God,” as if such a phrase were at all self-explanatory, atheism is pure negation — a-theism, the negation or rejection of theism, or normative religion. Atheism need not foreclose on the mythological, or even the supernatural per se, but is instead a negation of the traditional religions that have structured Western societies for the past millennium or more. This is what Nietzsche means when he insists that the world has slipped into nihilism: not that the world has simply sloughed off old superstitions, but that it has broken out of its previous pre-defined patterns of thought and behavior into a dizzying openness; and in that open void, there is no alternative structure waiting to replace the former failed system. Because atheism is simply negation, it has no positive descriptors to add; subtracting theism, it does not then become a religion of its own, but the mere absence thereof. This absence thus begs the question: what, if anything, may come after the death of God?
Modernism and atheism, far from tragedy or triumph, are purely neutral events — perhaps much like the passage from childhood to adulthood — yet that is not to say that they mean nothing. Rather, together, they are the guardians at the gate who open for twenty-first century societies and individuals a world of inexhaustible inexplicability and absolute freedom — which may be two ways of saying the same thing.
Mormonism, too, has not escaped this seismic transition. According to Jana Riess’ The Next Mormons, though the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (or LDS Church) has maintained a relatively higher retention rate among its youth relative to other American denominations, youths (gen-X, millennials, gen-Z) are still disaffiliating from the LDS Church at a progressively increasing rate. Opinions also continue to shift from older to younger generations within Mormon culture concerning sex, gender, and sexuality; reliance upon organized religion, authority figures, and hierarchy; certainty concerning doctrines and traditional practices — among other things.
Furthermore, similar shifts into this realm of inexplicability and freedom punctuate Mormon history. After the assassination of Joseph Smith, Mormonism’s founder, Mormonism as a whole threatened to disintegrate as Smith’s followers broke into a number of factions in the greatest succession crisis the Mormon movement has since experienced. Contrary to the views of devout members of any Mormon denomination, and though most surviving Mormons followed Brigham Young to Utah (in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), the initial succession crisis which led to this fragmentation was not simply brought on by the opportunism or narcissism of a few of Smith’s surviving contemporaries. Smith’s sudden murder — foreseen (if at all) by only perhaps a few days, maybe weeks — left no opportunity for him to put into place a definite apparatus to determine who would succeed him. The event of Smith’s death led the Mormons into an undefined space, from which they emerged with a number of contradictory arrangements. This same experience has reoccurred within various Mormon denominations, such as when the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ceased plural marriage, when the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (now Community of Christ) transitioned to leaders not directly descended from the Smith family, or when the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints witnessed Warren Jeffs’ arrest and imprisonment. Each moment was the dissolution of a previous organizing principle, leading to an open space of possibility, from which emerged not simply one triumphant progression but numerous varying developments.
The least controversial statement one could make about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormon denomination with which I identify) is that the majority of its American members err on the side of a general conservatism — politically, socially, economically, etc. Though this is by no means universal among American Mormons, and of course says nothing of the non-American majority of Latter-day Saints, this datum may nonetheless indicate how many modern Mormons have responded to the advent of modernism and atheism: opting for the role of the madman weeping at God’s grave rather than that of the aimless drifters in the streets. Among Latter-day Saints of this persuasion, much of the non-Mormon world and even Mormon culture (especially the elements which contradict or conflict with traditional Mormonism) are usually experienced as the “wickedness of the world” and the “influence of the Adversary” — a broadly conservative perspective with obvious theological effects. However, given that this general conservatism is more of a persona — or even a caricature — of the genuine diversity of Latter-day Saints, within and beyond the LDS Church, one wonders if Mormon culture might have other options in considering how to respond to the questions of modernism and atheism. More pointedly, what would come of Latter-day Saints leaning into this inexplicability and freedom rather than resisting it? What may come of a plural marriage of atheism, modernism, and Mormonism?
One may begin by stating that all human discourse and understanding is ultimately bound by perspective: one experiences nothing that is not mediated through their own nervous system, complied and interpreted by their own brain — experience is most fundamentally subjective. With this in mind, anything one may say, even theologically, will run the risk of being a superficial reification of their own internal lives, a projection of their psychological state onto the universe. For this reason, perhaps one may attempt to reverse the causal flow; rather than speaking theologically about the universe, one may attempt to speak theologically about oneself and their own subjective experience. In this sense, to speak theologically, even in a particularly Mormon context, would be to describe back to oneself and others their present modernist, atheist experience — the experience of feeling the structures which once provided them with order, identity, purpose, and belonging whittle away against the flint wheel of impermanent reality. What is it like to be a Mormon who is, whether they may realize it, already a modernist and an atheist?
In The Phenomenology of Spirit, G.W.F. Hegel describes this subjectivity, positing that “everything turns on grasping and expressing the True, not only as Substance, but equally as Subject” (trans. A. V. Miller). For Hegel, subjective experience — one’s conscious experience as an individual person — was central and paramount to his philosophy. However, nearly since its publication in 1807, Hegel’s Phenomenology has been — according to some of his latest interpreters — woefully misread.
To understand this misreading, one must turn to Immanuel Kant. Kant’s contribution to Western philosophy was his distinction between a “thing-as-appearance” and a “thing-in-itself”; in other words, Kant described the human subject’s inherent inability to grasp reality in itself, and therefore their reliance upon the limited representations their mind can produce of this or that narrow selection of reality. Ultimately, Kant’s distinction between these two categories is a distinction between two forms of knowing: to believe one possesses the “thing-in-itself” is to deceive oneself into believing one has perceived objective reality, that one’s knowledge is certain and unquestionable; and to understand that one possesses only a “thing-as-appearance,” or a diluted representation of the thing itself, is to recognize the limitations of one’s perceptions, and to scrutinize one’s understanding. The former naively assumes they simply see the world “as it is,” while the latter recognizes that they see the world only “as they are,” mediated by the narrow filter of their senses and mental faculties.
Arthur Schopenhauer, a passionate student of Kant, articulated this view further in The World as Will and Representation. Schopenhauer recognized that the human nervous system can only absorb so much sensory data from the world around it, which the brain then compiles into a working simulation (a virtual reality, if you will) in which the subject lives, moves, and has their very being, so to speak. In other words, Schopenhauer recognized some of the consequences of the fact that the human subject only experiences the “thing-as-appearance” (Vorstellung), never truly accessing the “thing-in-itself” (Wille). He was also a sharp critic of Hegel, the former believing the latter had either misunderstood or outright rejected Kant, describing Hegel’s work as a “pseudo-philosophy” audaciously attempting “to comprehend the history of the world as a planned whole” (Schopenhauer, World as Will and Representation, vol. 2, trans. E. F. J. Payne [Dover, 1966], 442). According to Schopenhauer, in describing “grasping and expressing the True, not only as Substance, but equally as Subject,” Hegel was subscribing to the very epistemological certainty — the naïve belief in access to the “thing-in-itself” — which Kant had critiqued. Worse yet, he claimed, Hegel had made not only an epistemological statement, but an ontological one: the human subject could perceive any and all things, even things not directly present, as in the pre-Kantian metaphysics of Reason, which could deduce the mysteries of the universe from a contemplative distance alone. And thus for the following two centuries, most commentators read a kind of “amputated” Hegel, to use Todd McGowan’s term: attempting to rescue Hegel from his own apparently embarrassing ontology, numerous commentators reduced him to a philosopher of epistemology or anthropology merely. For nearly 200 years Hegel has been read as a commentator on subjectivity alone, his statements on Being itself having been subtracted.
However, as recently as 1989, with the English publication of The Sublime Object of Ideology, Slavoj Zizek has begun a bold re-reading of Hegel — or, perhaps more accurately, a more faithful interpretation of Hegel’s original intent. According to Zizek, Hegel’s equivocation of subjectivity and substance is not a rejection of Kant, but a faithful tracing out of the consequences of Kant’s work. As Kant and Schopenhauer proposed, and as Zizek insists Hegel believed, one never experiences reality-in-itself, only narrow representations thereof; like Anish Kapoor’s Cloud Gate, the subject, a field of consciousness, is a polished surface reflecting back (in warped fashion) its immediate surroundings. In Hegel, subjectivity is experienced as a kind of contradiction between oneself and the external world. Similar to Schopenhauer, Hegel recognizes that the human mind can only represent a narrow portion of its external world back to itself and others. One may compare this limited subjectivity or consciousness to cartography: one explores a given terrain, then distills that experience into a map. The map and the terrain are not the same, and sometimes they can even contradict one another. In this sense, a conscious subject in the world is like a map of the United States hanging on a wall somewhere in the United States. And because consciousness and reality, like a map and its terrain, can be disjointed and out of sync with one another, subjectivity possesses an inherent division or internal fracture — a contradiction. Hegel’s contribution, according to Zizek, was thus not to reject Kant’s epistemology, but to tease out its consequences: if a subject or being arises from and is a part of Being, and if this subject experiences this inherent contradiction within themselves, then something about Being itself must also possess this internal contradiction. What Hegel rejects is not Kantian epistemology but Cartesian dualism, which insists that the human mind is a foreign object in the world. Rather, Hegel proposes, the subject grows out of the world — a being from Being — like a wave from the sea, not inventing this divisive contradiction in its own subjectivity, but bringing with it the division which always already pervades Being itself all the way down. Reality at its most fundamental is fragmented, a contradiction reeling against itself as it continually unfolds into countless different beings and things.
One may read this Hegelian division theologically, as well. In Godhead and the Nothing, Thomas J.J. Altizer proposes that this is in fact the central message of the Christian epic: at the beginning of time, Being — or Godhead, as opposed to God, to use Altizer’s terms — rips itself to pieces in a “primordial sacrifice,” dividing itself in a way which creates not only good but evil, life and death, contentment and horror. Between all things, Altizer states, is an infinite abyss or nihil, the Nothing of Godhead itself, which separates all things: people from themselves, one another, the world — everything. Uniquely, this division is also transposed into God, who also becomes a fragment of the larger Godhead constantly tearing itself to pieces in creation. This primordial sacrifice, eternally ongoing, is recapitulated in various ways by human beings, notably in rituals of division and sacrifice, sometimes even involving the shedding of blood; and ultimately in their own deaths, when they themselves are “ripped to pieces” and cast to the four winds of the world which survives them. In a sense, this is a quasi-Gnostic interpretation of the human condition: while normative Judaism, Christianity, and Islam see Creation and Fall as two distinct events occurring in succession, Gnostic variants of these traditions often describe Creation and Fall as the same event. To be created is to always already be fallen, as, in order to create, Godhead must divide itself from itself.
In the closing chapter of The Puppet and the Dwarf, Zizek describes how deeply this primordial sacrifice or Hegelian contradiction goes by analyzing the narrative of Job, specifically the theological friends who come to “console” him. According to Zizek, Job’s friends represent the typical human response to this fundamental division in themselves and Being itself, and the violence and ignorance (such as their blindness to Job’s profound suffering) which result therefrom. To cope with the chaos of Being, humans construct ideologies through which to interpret the unintelligibility of life: in Job’s case, his friends approach with tightly-defined theological explanations for precisely why he is suffering, and even what he can do to change that; but when Job rejects their explanations, ostensibly “threatening” their existential security, the friends recoil and become enemies, turning on Job. According to Job’s friends, they have simply sought to make sense of the world; in reality, they have sought to explain away the world.
In the end, after Job’s steadfast rejection of his friends’ attempts to explain his suffering by fitting him neatly into their various ideologies, God descends and rejects the explanations offered by Job’s friends, instead endorsing Job himself (cf. Job 42:7). Curiously, however, Job has offered no explanation of his suffering which might compete with the explanations offered by his friends — he has simply rejected any attempt to integrate his experience into their fantasies, ideological or otherwise. However, for Zizek, the question which follows is not so much “how do we cut through fantasy to reality?” but “how does reality produce fantasy at all?”
Following Zizek’s example, one may utilize the three-part psychological structure pioneered by Jacques Lacan of the Symbolic, the Imaginary, and the Real. Imagine a universe entirely devoid of conscious beings, no one to analyze or evaluate any of its contents — this is the Real. Now plant one conscious human on a desert island in the middle of nowhere, entirely alone, and grant them the discursive thinking natural to a conscious person. They can sense external reality, represent it back to themselves (perception, memory), and respond to those representations (plans) — this is the Imaginary. Add two or three more humans, or a thousand, and together they leverage the Imaginary to create a society and culture with social norms and a status quo, so much so that these collective imaginative structures seem almost as if to take on a life of their own — this is the Symbolic. The Real precedes consciousness and its contents, while the Imaginary is a necessary and involuntary byproduct of consciousness, but the Symbolic is the active principle of consciousness, its attempt to not only perceive but alter its environment — including other conscious subjects who may enter its field of awareness.
In a manner of speaking, while the Real and Imaginary are in themselves natural, the Symbolic is a kind of recoil in response to them, an attempt to beat them back, as it were. The Symbolic is a collective attempt at holding back the trauma of the Real and the Imaginary, whether tragic circumstances or unwanted thoughts and feelings. The Symbolic is the realm of ideology — political, religious, or otherwise — a series of potentially utilitarian fantasies operating by and large unconsciously within the subjects themselves. While the Symbolic is objectively an emergent principle of the Real, the subject typically experiences things the other way around: they believe the Symbolic is an organizing principle around which the Real arranges itself, rather than something the Real itself has produced.
Taking many forms — God, State, Father, Mother; the Big Other guaranteeing meaning and intelligibility — the Symbolic is that element which has largely broken down for the West in the advent of modernity. More precisely, the Symbolic has fractured: once a mostly universal means of structuring one’s experience of the Real, the Symbolic has formed fault lines, delineating nearly irreducible competing factions. These competing factions can be cultural, political, philosophical — any interpretive system, or ideology (to retain Zizek’s term), which creates meaning, order, and manageability in one’s subjective experience. Ideology, unconscious fantasy, is the levee one erects to hold back the traumatic floodwaters of the Real — reality as such. The Symbolic is the theology of Job’s friends, who cannot see the suffering Job for the fact that they are too busy “explaining” him — and one can see myriad correlates throughout the history of Western theism and the institutions of normative religion. Or, to return to Badiou’s examples, one may consider the previously unquestioned and unquestionable customs of military conscription, monogamy, and childbearing, once unconditionally expected of Western society generally. These ideologies are the “God” whose death the madman announces in a panic and which the crowd awkwardly shrugs off. The dreadful point is that the crowd forgets that the Symbolic serves a purpose, while the madman naively presumes the Symbolic is contingent upon something which precedes it — both refuse to face the Real.
For Altizer and Zizek, this tension is illustrated in Jesus Christ, particularly his destitute cry from the cross: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34, New Revised Standard Version). In this climax of the crucifixion, God withdrawing from Jesus, one may see modernity itself: the absence of a Big Other to guarantee meaning in one’s suffering, let alone their existence, leaving them in what Zizek calls “the desert of the Real.”
G.K. Chesterton describes this event well:
“When the world shook and the sun was wiped out of heaven, it was not at the crucifixion, but at the cry from the cross: the cry which confessed that God was forsaken of God. And now let the revolutionists choose a creed from all the creeds and a god from all the gods of the world, carefully weighing all the gods of inevitable recurrence and of unalterable power. They will not find another god who has himself been in revolt. Nay (the matter grows too difficult for human speech), but let the atheists themselves choose a god. They will find only one divinity who ever uttered their isolation; only one religion in which God seemed for an instant to be an atheist.” — G. K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy (Ignatius, 1995), 145
According to Altizer and Zizek, in proper Hegelian fashion, Christianity extends the contradiction within the subject to God, wherein God becomes alienated from God as any other subject alienated from themselves. In The Monstrosity of Christ, Zizek explains:
“[I]n Freudian-Lacanian terms: Christ is God’s ‘partial object,’ an autonomized organ without a body, as if God picked his eye out of his head and turned it on himself from the outside. We can guess, now, why Hegel insisted on the monstrosity of Christ. “It is therefore crucial to note how the Christian modality of ‘God seeing himself’ has nothing whatsoever to do with the harmonious closed loop of ‘seeing myself seeing,’ of an eye seeing itself and enjoying the sight in this perfect self-mirroring: the turn of the eye toward ‘its’ body presupposes the separation of the eye from the body, and what I see through my externalized/autonomized eye is a perspectival, anamorphically distorted image of myself: Christ is an anamorphosis of God.” — Zizek, Monstrosity of Christ, 82
In this divine absence, or self-division, bereft of a Big Other to guarantee a meaning to his experience (which would ultimately only dissociate him from it), Jesus enters the space of absolute freedom and chooses to lean into the inconvenient and fatal Real. With no Symbolic order gazing over his shoulder, insisting upon or even compelling him to do anything in particular, Jesus may produce an action that is entirely authentically his own — he may receive reality as it is, even in its “antagonism,” and choose for himself how to respond.
Elsewhere in The Monstrosity of Christ, Zizek articulates the ramifications of the crucifixion of Jesus:
“[W]hen people imagine all kinds of deeper meanings [to their experiences] … what really frightens them is that they will lose the transcendent God guaranteeing the meaning of the universe, God as the hidden Master pulling the strings — instead of this, we get a God who abandons this transcendent position and throws himself into his own creation, fully engaging himself in it up to dying, so that we, humans, are left with no higher Power watching over us, just with the terrible burden of freedom and responsibility for the fate of divine creation, and thus of God himself. Are we not still too frightened today to assume all these consequences of the four words [of Chesterton, ‘He was made Man’]? Do those who call themselves ‘Christians’ not prefer to stay with the comfortable image of God sitting up there, benevolently watching over our lives, sending us his son as a token of his love, or, even more comfortably, just with some depersonalized Higher Force? … “Hegel’s underlying premise is that what dies on the Cross is not only God’s earthly representative-incarnation, but the God of beyond itself … “That is to say: what dies on the Cross is precisely the ‘private’ God, the God of our ‘way of life,’ the God who grounds a particular community.” — Zizek, Monstrosity, 25, 29, 295
In a literary vein, this interpretation of the crucifixion of Jesus — of God the Symbolic — may be most clearly seen in Nikos Kazantzakis’ The Last Temptation of Christ, namely the novel’s portrayal of the execution of Jesus. Having spent his prophetic career in a wrestle between his own desires and the call of God, Jesus wishes for nothing more than domestication, to settle down with a woman and raise a family. Upon the cross, he passes out, dreaming that an angel of God has come down, helping him off the cross, telling him that God has seen his devotion and decided not to force Jesus to go through with crucifixion after all. The angel takes Jesus to Mary, the sister of Lazarus, whom he marries and with whom he fathers children; he even marries her sister Martha, expanding their family. Jesus receives everything he ever wanted. However, after a charged encounter with Paul, who preaches a Messiah who was killed for his and all others’ sake, Jesus realizes he has not had his desires fulfilled at all, but that he is only in a dream, and thus still upon the cross, unconscious. Jesus then chooses of his own volition to wake up, to return to consciousness while hanging from the cross, where he cries out in relief — where he surrenders himself to the Real — “into your hands I commend my spirit” (Luke 23:46, NRSV) — a moment Kazantzakis describes in the closing passage of The Last Temptation:
“Jesus rotated his eyes with anguish, and looked. He was alone. The yard and house, the trees, the village doors, the village itself [where he lived with a family in his dream]— all had disappeared. Nothing remained but stones beneath his feet, stones covered with blood; and lower, farther away, a crowd: thousands of heads in the darkness. “He tried with all his might to discover where he was, who he was and why he felt pain. He wanted to complete his cry, to shout LAMA SABACTHANI. . . . He attempted to move his lips but could not. He grew dizzy and was ready to faint. He seemed to be hurling downward and perishing. “But suddenly, while he was falling and perishing, someone down on the ground must have pitied him, for a reed was held out in front of him, and he felt a sponge soaked in vinegar rest against his lips and nostrils. He breathed in deeply the bitter smell, revived, swelled his breast, looked at the heavens and uttered a heart-rending cry: LAMA SABACTHANI! “Then he immediately inclined his head, exhausted. “He felt terrible pains in his hands, feet and heart. His sight cleared, he saw the crown of thorns, the blood, the cross. Two golden earrings and two rows of sharp, brilliantly white teeth flashed in the darkened sun. He heard a cool, mocking laugh, and rings and teeth vanished. Jesus remained hanging in the air, alone. “His head quivered. Suddenly he remembered where he was, who he was and why he felt pain. A wild, indomitable joy took possession of him. No, no, he was not a coward, a deserter, a traitor. No, he was nailed to the cross. He had stood his ground honorably to the very end; he had kept his word. The moment he cried ELI ELI and fainted, Temptation had captured him for a split second and led him astray. The joys, marriages and children were lies; the decrepit, degraded old men who shouted coward, deserter, traitor at him were lies. All — all were illusions sent by the Devil. His disciples were alive and thriving. They had gone over sea and land and were proclaiming the Good News. Everything had turned out as it should, glory be to God! “He uttered a triumphant cry: IT IS ACCOMPLISHED! “And it was as though he had said: Everything has begun.”
Interpreting Martin Scorsese’s film adaptation of Kazantzakis’ novel, Zizek focuses on Jesus’ cry of abandonment to the Big Other who has failed to make sense of his outstanding failure and horrific execution. According to Lacan, God is the Big Other of the Hebrew Bible, the great che vuoi? or “what do you want?” making traumatic yet gripping demands of the people. In Jesus’ destitution, however, he realizes that this Big Other is not the ground of Being but an emergent property of Being, arising from his own mind; not an externality which he asks che vuoi? but something internal to himself. And thus he returns to the Real. In either case, novel or film, one finds not necessarily the historical Jesus upon the cross, but certainly the literary Jesus of Gethsemane who prays “not my will, but thine, be done” (Luke 22:42, King James Version; cf. Matthew 26:39, Mark 14:36, John 6:38) — a Jesus who surrenders himself willingly to that which exceeds his control, that which is most real.
This mytheme of the self-sacrificing Jesus parallels Hegel’s own notion of reconciliation. Summarizing Zizek’s own reading of Hegel, Todd McGowan expresses this messianic-Hegelian reconciliation well:
“Hegel doesn’t stop with uncovering contradiction in being that corresponds to contradiction in thought. Instead, he contends that the contradiction in being is even more intractable than the contradiction in thought. Most philosophers view knowledge as a movement from thought to being: thought aspires to the knowledge of being. But Hegel reverses this relationship. Thought has a higher status than being and thus can tell us about the nature of being. Though being has a chronological priority — obviously being is a necessary condition for the emergence of thought — thought has a logical priority because it has a capacity for enduring and reconciling itself with contradiction that being lacks. Being simply succumbs to contradiction without gaining any purchase on it. “Reconciliation is the great achievement of thought. Through the act of reconciliation, thought adopts a different relationship to contradiction than being does. It doesn’t overcome contradiction but grasps its necessity. As Zizek puts it in Less Than Nothing, ‘what Hegel calls “reconciliation” is, at its most basic, a reconciliation with the antagonism.’ [Pg. 951.] Even though antagonism or contradiction acts as a limit or obstacle to thought, thought nonetheless has the ability to grasp this limit as what defines it rather than as what it must surmount in order to realize itself. Spirit is, for Hegel, thought’s capacity to recognize contradiction not simply as an obstacle to overcome but as i[t]s own innermost condition of possibility. Reconciliation marks a triumph through the embrace of the necessity of failure.” — McGowan, “The Insubstantiality of Substance, Or, Why We Should Read Hegel’s Philosophy of Nature,” International Journal of Žižek Studies 8:1 (2014), 13
Finally, with this Hegelian background fully formed, one may propose a radical reinterpretation of Mormonism itself, utilizing the narrative structure of the temple rituals practiced by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — the initiatory and the endowment:
In the temple, one begins in the time of “pre-existence,” time before time, where they are given a unique name they are not to share with any other — an identity so fundamentally their own that it cannot be expressed to another. In parallel to this antechamber to time, one may read the Mormon narrative of a war in heaven, a primordial fragmentation of the divine family, a war “before the foundation of the world” between not opposing principles but siblings, both children like any other of a God who can only watch as the cosmos begins to fray and fragment. This God, too, joins in the disintegration: in Mormonism, God is a person, composed of “flesh and bones as tangible as” anyone’s (D&C 130:22); God knows the “pains and sicknesses” of finitude on a visceral, physical level, intellectually and experientially (Alma 7:11–13); God is not exempt from the suffering of existence, nor is God aloof from the human condition —even God can weep (Moses 7:48).
From this primeval time before time, one proceeds in the temple’s ritual narrative to the creation of the world, where they encounter a trinity substantially different than that of normative Christianity: rather than Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, one encounters Elohim (a plural noun in Hebrew), Jehovah (Christ), and Michael or Adam (humanity). Rather than a tight priesthood hierarchy organized by genealogy, one may instead read these three figures in terms of set theory: the proper class Elohim or the Real — the plurality of Godhead or nature tearing itself to pieces — from which emerge, among numerous other sets, Michael the human Imaginary and Jehovah the human Symbolic. Thereafter, Michael-as-Adam is cut off from Elohim and Jehovah in forgetfulness; he is cut off from himself in the division of male and female through sleep; they are cut off from the immortality of changelessness through eating the fruits of finitude and becoming mortal and bearing children distinct from themselves. Ultimately, they find themselves in the “lone and dreary world” of the human condition — the world of Hegelian contradiction all the way down, subject and substance.
Then begins the process of reconciliation, returning to the Elohim from which Adam has become inherently alienated. This is signified through ritual acts such as perfectly unified prayer with others, against whom one must hold no resentment; and an embrace with the Lord through the very veil which separates the Real from even itself — the dividing contradiction running all the way down; Altizer’s nihil ensuring the gaps between beings and things, Zizek’s less than nothing in excess of something and nothing — all while Adam carries the name they received before time began, the name uniquely their own and no other’s.
Additional rituals are then performed: the previously performed rituals, repeated this time in remembrance of the participant’s deceased family and loved ones — by name, with attendant birth and death dates, places of residence, all particular details to testify to this person’s irreducible individuality. Beyond this are sealings, wherein spouses, siblings, children and parents, friends and loved ones, ancestors and descendants, come together in eternal relationships — a Hegelian reconciliation which does not dissolve the differences of each person involved, but honors those differences, even in their “antagonism.”
Finally, every week, Latter-day Saints gather to renew these rituals through one central ceremony — sacrament — wherein bread is ripped to pieces, water is meted into thimble-sized cups, and each person eats and drinks in remembrance of both contradiction and reconciliation. And thus, in narrative and ritual, the fragmented universe holds itself together even in its division, a stained-glass cosmos of multicolor pieces, woven together by the wrought-iron less than nothing.
— — — — — — — — — —
Recommended Reading | https://medium.com/interfaith-now/deus-absconditus-et-otiosa-atheism-modernism-mormonism-5b7a9565a3cf | ['Nathan Smith'] | 2019-12-08 08:40:45.992000+00:00 | ['Atheism', 'Christianity', 'Philosophy', 'Religion', 'Psychology'] |
Just Write The Damn Script Already | Just Write The Damn Script Already
10 Tips on Getting Started in Screenwriting
Photo by Brad Neathery on Unsplash
“Just write it,” is a common phrase I hear from my talent manager. Now, no one is saying it’s going to be an easy process, but there is validity in this statement.
First thing’s first, write it down.
That idea you have for a screenplay, novel, blog, article or whatever it is. Simply write it down — on a sheet of paper, on your computer, on your phone, on Final Draft, or wherever you have access to jot something down.
When an idea comes into your head, capitalize on it because it may not stick around for long. It could be the most outlandish idea or not make much sense at all, but for the love of God write it down. You never know where it could lead you to. Hell, J.K Rowling began writing Harry Potter on some napkins and we all know how successful our good sis is.
Anytime I’m conceiving a script and a new idea pops into my head for a particular scene, or character, or for the overall storyline, I immediately jot it down. I could be in the middle of a conversation and I’ll tell whoever I’m talking to, “Hold up, I just got an idea. Sorry, one sec.” I also do this for any Medium article ideas I have —I jot it down on the Notes section of my phone.
It could be late at night or you could be in the shower, but as soon as that idea appears in your brain, WRITE IT DOWN ASAP. I’ve made the mistake of not doing this in the past and it’s no fun to lose a great idea. Sometimes it’ll find its way back to you, sometimes it won’t. | https://medium.com/a-life-of-words/just-write-the-damn-script-already-506d2eb8bc35 | ['Maalik Evans'] | 2020-05-15 19:12:53.983000+00:00 | ['Self Improvement', 'Tips', 'Career Advice', 'Writing', 'Screenwriting'] |
Affordable Nutritious Meals For Your Busy Week | Your Shopping List
I’ve lived in a few different countries around the globe which has forced me to find a certain constant in the foods I regularly eat. Obviously, every country is different and sells different products in their supermarkets. However, I’ve found the groceries I list below easily accessible in most places. What’s more, they hold similar nutritional values.
Here are some examples of supermarkets and stores that I found to be the most affordable while I lived in the places listed. You may have better ideas — go ahead and comment to let others know.
Winnipeg, Canada: Walmart, President’s Choice, or Costco (for bulk)
Prague, Czech Republic: Lidl, Tesco
Martin, Slovakia: Tesco, Billa, Kaufland
Birmingham, UK: Morrisons, Tesco, Aldi
Vevey, Switzerland: Co-op, Migros
Dairy
Greek yogurt
Cottage cheese
Shredded part-skim mozzarella
Fruits & Veggies
1 lettuce head
1 large onion
3–4 large tomatoes
1 cucumber
1 head of broccoli
1 pack of mushrooms
1–2 bags of frozen veggie mix
1 avocado (if it’s on sale)
Apples/pears
Bunch of bananas
Frozen berries
Protein
2–3 breasts of chicken and or turkey
1–2 fillets of cod
1 packet of frozen seafood (shrimp, mussels, or mix)
10–20 eggs
1 packet of bacon
Starch
Pasta: spaghetti
Packet of rice
Bag of potatoes
Whole-wheat bread
Other
Tub of pure peanut butter
1 can of baked beans
Granola and/or plain porridge (Make sure there is no added sugar) | https://medium.com/in-fitness-and-in-health/affordable-nutritious-meals-for-your-busy-week-201cae934a9a | ['Michaela Grek'] | 2020-12-10 20:24:53.443000+00:00 | ['Food', 'Life Lessons', 'Budget', 'Nutrition', 'Healthy'] |
Breaking Down Silos: Addressing Conflict and Climate Change in the Philippines | By Chris Mawhorter, Research Associate for the Program on Resilient Communities at HHI
In the final hours before I returned to the Ninoy Aquino Airport in Manila, members of a grassroots peacebuilding nonprofit explained to me, “Everyone who works in Mindanao [Philippines] has an anecdote about conflict and climate change, but no one has a real explanation for why it matters, and no one coordinates to address it.” This was the punchline for the intense divide — or “silos” — I observed throughout my time in the Philippines talking to professionals across fields of humanitarian, development, climate science and activism, agriculture, and peacebuilding.
I heard many stories confirming that my research on the nexus between climate change and conflict was relevant, but when I asked about how agencies dealt with this nexus, most reported a lack of formal response or coordination.
Interestingly, many people working in peacebuilding, humanitarian relief, climate science or activism do not have siloed careers. I met people working on climate adaptation for agriculture who had worked in humanitarian relief; peacebuilders who used to be environmental activists; humanitarians with peacebuilding backgrounds. The networks ran deep and wide. Individual experience was not siloed to one area.
Everyone was talking about climate and conflict. Many had spent time working on both climate and conflict. Everyone was convinced they were living climate and conflict. Yet no one was coordinating a response.
Stories and silos
I arrived hours before the Taal Volcano in Batangas exploded south of Manila. The scale and immediacy of the humanitarian response and the dissemination of high-quality, science-based updates two to three times per day from Philippine volcanologists (PhiVOLCS) was truly impressive.
Preparedness for natural disasters is a well-worn tradition in Philippine society, on vivid display during my visit. In one of the most disaster-prone nations in the world, climate change is at the forefront of people’s minds.
Mindanao hosts a massive police and military presence, two long-running insurgencies, and many local splinter groups and social factors that create a complex ecosystem of violence. Less frequent typhoons and fertile soils support 40% of the total agricultural output of the country, along with 60% of its export crops — coconut, cacao, coffee, banana, and more. The fact that this production co-occurs with widespread malnutrition attests to a legacy of colonialism and political exclusion that continues to this day.
In interview after interview, I heard stories about environmentally fragile areas in Mindanao: the Linguasan Marsh, a biodiversity hotspot in the low-lying, highly productive central plains along the border of the newly declared Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM); the islands of Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi (also in BARMM), where militant splinter groups, creeping sea level rise and unpredictable rainfall form a dangerous intersection; and the increasingly typhoon-prone eastern coast where the NPA insurgency continues.
Interestingly, people described environmental stressors producing livelihood and food insecurity, as a crucial cause — direct or indirect — of violence. People also spoke of climate change adaptation projects feeding local tensions, a flood wall built in one community flooding a neighbor, for example. Or security policy affecting projects — a humanitarian NGO’s small climate-conflict project halting because a local partner was “red-flagged” by the government for alleged ties to extremist groups.
The Three Silos
Despite overlapping impacts, siloed responses persist. Three clear silos emerged in implementation and response: humanitarian actors, peacebuilding and conflict monitoring groups, and development actors focused on climate change adaptation, especially in agriculture.
Agriculture-focused groups consider the impact of a wide array of social variables, but not conflict processes, when considering how to support communities affected by climate change. Peacebuilding and conflict monitoring groups acknowledge the effect of natural disasters and environmental damage on their work, but often consider natural hazards outside of their scope. Peacebuilding organizers acknowledge limited coordination, even with former colleagues in climate justice organizations.
Within donor and relief agencies, many run multiple, simultaneous projects in Mindanao on climate change adaptation and peacebuilding, but feel that coordination with colleagues sitting just meters away could improve. Humanitarian agencies work with populations continually displaced by both climate change and conflict, and aspire to shift focus to prevention of root causes.
There are multiple reasons for this breakdown. Many cited organizational mandate. “We do [conflict/climate change/agriculture/disaster relief/etc.]” is a common refrain, with good reason.
Additionally, storms, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions roll through the Philippines so regularly that agencies are often addressing multiple events at once; the response for one starting as a response for several others is ongoing. I joined a humanitarian system briefing on the Taal Volcano where Taal was the first agenda item, followed by two typhoons and two earthquakes still presenting active needs months after their immediate impact. This stretches the relief and attention budgets for already-strained responders. In a highly cyclical environment like this, targeting underlying causes is extremely difficult. (Add a pandemic and it’s near impossible.)
Funding is also a concern for peacebuilding and development organizations. Many feel they are chasing funding constantly, and rarely incentivized to prioritize collaboration to address cross-cutting issues. Specialization is not just an organizational culture issue, it is a necessary trait in a competitive field. Aside from inertia or incentives, technical knowledge plays a role. Despite some overlapping career paths, most professionals prefer the lens of their own toolset. This makes sense, as well. One can only fix so many issues at a time, better to focus on the consequential ones.
However, experience has proven narrow approaches not only ineffective, but potentially harmful. Agricultural development specialists lamented the simplified thinking behind the Green Revolution of the 1960s, 70s, and 80s — in which the Philippines played an important role. These specialists emphasized time and again that their work today amounted to overcoming the disastrous social and environmental effects wrought by hyper-focus on yield improvement.
Key Actions: Breaking down silos by activating networks
As momentum builds towards integrating programming, much work remains, and urgency grows. Three key actions can speed up the process. | https://harvardhumanitarian.medium.com/breaking-down-silos-addressing-conflict-and-climate-change-in-the-philippines-85aa2c526808 | ['Harvard Humanitarian Initiative'] | 2020-05-27 14:24:48.601000+00:00 | ['Resilience', 'Humanitarian', 'Conflict', 'Philippines', 'Climate Change'] |
How to Get the Current Location Through the Android Application in Kotlin and Then Save the Longitude and Latitude in Firebase Firestore | How to Get the Current Location Through the Android Application in Kotlin and Then Save the Longitude and Latitude in Firebase Firestore Rohit Kumar Follow Sep 7, 2020 · 5 min read
Get Location from Android
This tutorial helps you learn How to get current latitude and longitude in the Android application and then saving them in Firebase Firestore. As a developer if you know how to get the location of any android device, you will surely make some great things.
There are two ways to get the current location of any Android device:
→ Android’s Location Manager API
→ Fused Location Provider
So we will take a look at both. Let’s start with the first one →
· Android’s Location Manager API
Before diving in the location manager and it’s listener firstly we need to understand that what are the provider’s available in our android device for location. There are two provider’s available in any device:
GPS Provider Network Provider
Both of them have their unique advantages, but we have to use both to get precise location coordinates. Because in some cases like in-door situations Network works and in other GPS works. The network gives the location based on the nearest mobile towers while GPS gives us the exact location.
First of all, before implementing any method we have to take user permission:
Location Permission
To protect user privacy, apps that use location services must request location permissions. Therefore we have to set the two permissions in the Android Manifest file before starting anything.
<!-- To request foreground location access, declare one of these permissions. -->
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION" />
<!-- Required only when requesting background location access on Android 10 (API level 29). -->
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_BACKGROUND_LOCATION" />
We may also ask for permission for Internet access as we are using the Network provider and also saving the coordinates in Firestore
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET"/>
We can check that if permissions are granted or not. If not granted then we can request permission in realtime.
if(ActivityCompat.checkSelfPermission(this,android.Manifest.permission.ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION)!= PackageManager.PERMISSION_GRANTED && ActivityCompat.checkSelfPermission(this,android.Manifest.permission.ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION)!= PackageManager.PERMISSION_GRANTED)
{
ActivityCompat.requestPermissions(this,arrayOf(android.Manifest.permission.ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION, android.Manifest.permission.ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION)
,requestcode
}
<!--Here above we checks first that if permission is not granted through ActivityCompat and then asks for permission in realtime by requestpermission which takes three arguement - Context, permission , RequestCode. -->
Location Manager Instance
Now that we have checked for the permissions, it’s time for getting location by creating the location manager instance in the context of Location service
lateinit var locationManager: LocationManager
<!-- lateinitialize a variable locationManager --> locationManager = getSystemService(Context.LOCATION_SERVICE) as LocationManager
Now we will check that if the GPS is on or not and we also check for network and if both then we use one with greater accuracy.
If any of the GPS or Network provider is enabled then we will request a current location update from the location manager like this :
locationmanager.requestLocationUpdates(LocationManager.GPS_PROVIDER,minTimeinMS,minDistanceinM,locationlistener)
In the above code snippet, you will see the location listener and the other two arguments for time and distance. We will receive location updates from LocationListener on change of location. LocationListener will be notified when the distance interval specified or the number of seconds changes.
And LocationListner has some callbacks methods to provide location-based on some behaviors in the android device, but in kotlin, we use only one that is onLocationChanged which will update in the specified time and distance provided in locationmanager.requestlocationupdate .
override fun onLocationChanged(p0: Location) {
TODO("Not yet implemented")
}
onLocationChanged(p0: Location) — Run’s when location is changed.
override fun onProviderDisabled(provider: String) {
super.onProviderDisabled(provider)
} override fun onProviderEnabled(provider: String) {
super.onProviderEnabled(provider)
} override fun onStatusChanged(provider: String?, status: Int, extras: Bundle?) {
super.onStatusChanged(provider, status, extras)
}
There are also three other callbacks like :
onProviderDisabled(provider: String) — Run’s when the provider is disabled in Device.
onProviderEnabled(provider: String) — Run’s when the provider is enabled in Device.
onStatusChanged(provider: String?, status: Int, extras: Bundle?) — This callback will never be invoked on Android Q and above, and providers can be considered as always in the LocationProvider#AVAILABLE state.
Now let’s put all in one and makes an example
Now after a user turns on his location the longitude and latitude are saving in Firebase Firestore in the given path. | https://medium.com/swlh/how-to-get-the-current-location-through-the-android-application-in-kotlin-and-then-save-the-e3a977059f15 | ['Rohit Kumar'] | 2020-09-08 19:51:00.500000+00:00 | ['Android Location', 'Android App Development', 'Maps', 'Kotlin', 'Location'] |
Step by step instructions to prevail in the Forex market and bring in cash simultaneously! | Step by step instructions to prevail in the Forex market and bring in cash simultaneously! Hanniball Dec 28, 2021·4 min read
Photo by Maxim Hopman on Unsplash
To a novice learning Online Forex Trading, it looks extremely straightforward in the first place. Take money pair EURUSD for example, if you bullish on Euro, basically put in a Buy request. Negative on EUR, simply short it. So natural, you might inquire? Reality with regards to Forex Trading is that it is an expert movement that very few dealers will succeed.
I will simply go through a couple of exceptionally straight forward pointers on the most proficient method to reliably create Forex pips.
In the realm of Forex cash exchanging, numerous novice dealers accept that Forex exchanging programming or framework that contains advanced science is almost certain ready to bring in cash. It could be valid, however what number of us will actually want to track down such a framework or strategy Why not invest energy and cash to learn frameworks or exchanging strategies that are basic yet works?In the Forex money exchanging, the truth of the matter is straightforward frameworks simply work best. Straightforward frameworks are more strong and simpler to exchange as you comprehend the rationale and can in this manner follow it with certainty when you are in a losing streak.I for one feel that it is a lot less complex to exchange with the patterns rather than the running business sector.For some fruitful merchants, when they are content with a framework or philosophy, they stay with it. Keep in mind, you just bring in cash exchanging Forex, and not having 100 frameworks or exchanging approaches however exchanging not a solitary one of them.In Forex exchanging, most merchants succeeded principally because of good cash the board. Insofar as your framework or exchanging approaches has a positive benefit factor combined with appropriate cash the board, you will prevail over the long haul.Notwithstanding, for some Forex Trading amateurs, later numerous days and evenings of learning and processing Forex Trading courses, buying of different Forex Trading Software and Forex Trading System, you actually wind up with an enormous opening in your underlying capital.As times pass by, gradually, your fantasies of independence from the rat race and achievement start to blur. You will start to ask yourself, would you say you are a disappointment? Is it true that you are not sufficiently insightful to turn into a beneficial Forex broker? All things considered, there are numerous effective Forex Trading specialists out there who are experiencing their Online Money Making dreams.
So the Money Making Online million dollar question Are you removed to be a productive Forex Currency Trading broker? Indeed, you can turn into a beneficial Forex Trading Trader! You simply need to deal with Online Forex Trading like running a Successful Online Money Making Business.
Forex Trading Style
Like Stock Trading or any structure Investment Trading. You should ask yourself — what is your Online Forex Trading style news Forex Trading, swing Forex Trading, energy Forex Trading, design Forex Trading and intraday or longer term Forex Trading? It is okay to have a library of Forex Trading style or arrangements, yet most Money Making Foreign Currency merchant does is to focus on a specialty or specific Forex Trading style. Figure out how to do one thing reliably well as opposed to attempting to dominate too many exchanging procedures. You need to pick a style that suits you.
Online Forex Trading Plan
What is your Foreign Currency Trading plan? Before any exchange section, you need to ask yourself it this the right Set Up passage for your Forex Trading style? Where is your definite Forex Currency exchange passage point? What are you Forex Trading Stop Loss target? What is your Forex Trading benefit target?
Anybody includes in Foreign Currency Trading and not having a distinct stop misfortune will have their whole Online Forex Trading account clear out before they even acknowledged it. I realized somebody did only that as of late. A US$10,000 account was cleared out inside seven days without Stop Loss exchanging a couple of cash sets. You likewise need to know what your Forex Trading benefit target point is. What is the goal of having an Online Money Making Forex Trading exchange yet your Forex Trading Account doesn’t Make Money. For one straightforward explanation, you didnt take the cash from your Forex exchange and market inversion against you.
Forex Trading Profit and Loss Plan
Heaps of Online Forex Trading novices dont understood the significant of remuneration to chance element for each Forex Trading exchange. You won’t ever Make Money Online in the event that you hazard $500 yet make $100.
Follow your Well-Defined Forex Trading Plan
Whenever you have recorded a distinct Online Forex Trading, you should have the Discipline to adhere to it. All Forex Trading novices should recollect that Discipline and Money Management are the two most import parts of Forex Trading. Indeed, even the best Forex Trading System or philosophies will fizzle assuming you cannot adhere to it. | https://medium.com/@Hanniball/step-by-step-instructions-to-prevail-in-the-forex-market-and-bring-in-cash-simultaneously-e000d5da26dc | [] | 2021-12-28 07:58:15.451000+00:00 | ['Marketing', 'Money', 'Business', 'Forex', 'Finance'] |
A Brief Overview of Garbage Collectors in Java, Because Cleanliness Is Necessary. | The following are the 7 types of garbage collectors in Java along with description of each and their appropriate use cases. I will try to explain each of them briefly so that you can differentiate between each one of them without going through a long article.
1. Serial Garbage Collector
The serial GC is useful when you only want a single thread to perform all the GC operations. Whenever the garbage collector runs it freezes all the operations running in the background. Due to this, it won’t be a decent choice to use the serial garbage collector in a live server environment where the difference of every millisecond counts to judge the application performance. The other scenario where it would be useful to use serial GC is when there are a large amount of JVMs which run on the same machine and the GC threads would not interfere with each other.
Highlights:- Single thread, Freezes application operations, Not suitable for live environments, feasible when multiple JVMs on a single machine.
2. Parallel Garbage Collector(Also known as Throughput collector)
This was the default GC before Java 9. As the name signifies, the parallel GC uses multiple threads to clear up the memory in the heap space. The parallel GC likewise pauses all the processes in the background while performing its operations. One way to improve the throughput of application is to increase the heap space but on the other hand, this can lead to long pauses when garbage collection takes place.
As we now know that there are multiple threads which perform the garbage collection we control the number of threads which participate in garbage collection. By default, for N CPUs, N Threads are used to perform garbage collection. This collector should be usually used when a lot of work needs to be done and long pauses are admissible.
Highlights:- Multiple GC threads, Pauses background processes, large heap size might lead to longer pauses. no concurrent execution.
3. Concurrent Mark Sweep(CMS) Garbage Collector
As we have seen the parallel GC might lead to long pauses in the application. The Concurrent Mark Sweep(CMS) GC helps us to reduce this waiting time. As we are aware everything comes for a trade-off, we need to share the processor resources with the garbage collector in between the execution of the application. If we compare between parallel and CMS garbage collector, CMS should be preferred only when it is feasible for your application to share the resources with the garbage collector which would also eventually reduce the wait time.
Highlights:- Multiple threads, Less time compared to parallel GC, Processor resources shared, no concurrent execution.
4. Garbage-First Garbage Collector(G1 Garbage Collector)
G1 Garbage collector was first released in JDK version 7 and has been the default java collector since Java 9. The GC , in this case, consists of two phases
a) Marking Phase:- In this phase, the GC divides the heap space into an equal number of contiguous partitions.
b) Sweeping Phase:- After the Marking phase, the GC now knows which region has the least amount of space occupied and clears it as yield the most amount of free space.
Although using G1 collector reduces the wait time but it can lead to degrading performance as the heap size increases since if the heap size is very large it will waste all its time in phase 1 i.e. the marking phase itself. To overcome this issue Shenandoah GC was introduced which we will talk in the coming section.
Highlights:- Two phases, Marks and then clears the space, not feasible for large heap sizes, no concurrent execution.
5. Epsilon Garbage Collector
Introduced in Java 11, the Epsilon Garbage Collector was introduced by considering the scenario when you want to clear a certain amount of memory for your application i.e. it won’t perform any garbage collection. So your next question would be then what’s the point in using it. Whenever the JVM runs the garbage collection process it stops the other processes of your application while its performing GC but sometimes you want to test your application performance without being affected by any other factors. Epsilon is just simply impeccable to use in such cases as it removes the impact of GC on the application performance. This helps you to test your application and helps you to check the throughput without any interruption by the garbage collector.
While using the epsilon garbage collector you can specify how much heap memory you want to allocate for your application and then run it. The downside of the garbage collector is that it does not recycle the objects, not in use. So if the heap space is exhausted the application will run out of memory and throw a java.lang.OutOfMemoryError Exception.
Highlights:- Passive GC, Test application performance, application might run out of memory.
6. Z Garbage Collector(ZGC)
Introduced in Java 10, it helped in concurrent execution of the application without hampering the throughput of the application. Until Java 10 the G1 GC was the default collector in java. But the major issue with the earlier GCs was that they stop the execution of the current application program while the garbage collection is being carried out. This not only adds overhead to your application but also reduces the throughput and add up to the latency of your application.
Being a scalable low latency GC, it performs the expensive tasks concurrently within a time target of 10ms i.e. it does not stop the execution of your current application for more than 10ms. The most important factor in ZGC is setting up the heap size. The max heap size must be set such that it can accommodate and run your application, although it is better the more memory you provide there must be a ratio between the memory usage and how often the GC should run since wasting the memory is not acceptable.
Highlights:- Concurrent execution, specify max heap size, execution time of 10ms.
Image via blogs.oracle.com. Pause Time Comparison between different garbage collectors.
7. Shenandoah Garbage Collector
Introduced in Java 12, Shenandoah is also a concurrent garbage collector as the Z garbage collector and is also known for ultra-low pause time to reduce the overall GC pause times. G1 works to clear the heap memory only when the application is paused. Shenandoah on the other hand can relocate the objects without pausing the application execution. Garbage collection pauses are really frustrating to many users which can be avoided using these garbage collectors which include ZGC and Shenandoah. Although Shenandoah and ZGC both are advantageous for concurrent usage, the former one provides more tuning options. | https://medium.com/swlh/a-brief-overview-of-garbage-collectors-in-java-because-cleanliness-is-necessary-f3dd9babc2cb | ['Prateek Nima'] | 2020-10-10 14:33:06.499000+00:00 | ['Java', 'Interview', 'Software Development', 'Better Programming', 'Programming'] |
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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/tellsy/%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%B2%D1%8B%D0%B5-%D0%B8%D0%B3%D1%80%D1%8B-%D1%81-%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%B3%D0%B0%D0%BC%D0%B8-3af71d6d267f | [] | 2020-12-07 09:22:50.395000+00:00 | ['Education Technology', 'Edtech Tools', 'Education', 'Edtech Startup', 'Edtech'] |
The sex work sham: Coronavirus has highlighted the rank hypocrisy of sex trade-apologist Leftists | Stepping outside of the context of Covid-19 for a (lengthy) moment, the crux of this issue is not that Leftist sex trade apologists are somehow forming this opinion in a vacuum — as mentioned, there is myriad press coverage talking about the supposed benefits of allowing unhindered sexual access to the inside of a woman’s body — rather, this ideology is wrong on two fronts: prostitution should not be considered work in theoretical terms, and the reality of prostitution apologism proves it does not work in practice irrespective of whether it is considered “work” or not.
This argument is particularly egregious in its current form as advanced by Twitter socialists/Marxists/”I’m literally a communist(s)” (delete according to relevant Twitter bio) where on the one hand, there have been campaigns and protests to end the relentless free market capitalism that has gutted our society and left little protection for the most vulnerable amongst us; on the other, there has been an indefatigable crusade to glorify and expand a literal marketplace of human bodies there to provide sexual gratification for what is almost always a man.
Seize the means of production? I guess?
As Julie Bindel, author of The Pimping of Prostitution and campaigner against male violence against women tells me:
The sex trade, and prostitution specifically, is the starkest example imaginable of Leftist hypocrisy. Whilst genuine socialists or even soft centrists have a critique of uber capitalism, many will stop short at condemning poor and otherwise vulnerable women and girls having their bodies mined by rich exploiters for their own greedy and selfish benefit. Prostitution represents the interface between the worst excesses of patriarchy and capitalism.
Dealing with the first issue, on whether “sex work” can or should be considered “work”. The argument is formulated on the premise that by refusing to recognise “sex work” as “work” (or to put it another way, labour), then it prevents those within prostitution from receiving the protections afforded to recognised workers within the capitalist mode of production.
Discussions regarding socialist conceptions of work is a complicated issue, and one which has been debated for many years, but it is necessary to analyse this very carefully to put to rest the claim that “sex work is work”.
The first stop on this carousel of misery has to be the question: “what do you mean by sex work?” The phrase “sex work” has become so ubiquitous as to be totally meaningless. Everybody from the woman enslaved by a pimp, to the student who sells pictures of her body parts online with zero physical contact with the purchaser (which, by the way, is not devoid of risk or damaging consequences), to the “high-class escort”, to the strip club performer and all in-between are concertina’d down into a monolith of “sex worker”.
This renders the very real concrete differences between the reality of these situations as totally meaningless, and is indicative of the lumping together of vast swathes of women who have completely different relationships to this alleged work. (To preface, this section will borrow heavily from this superb Struggle Sessions essay, which is highly recommended.)
Take for instance the woman who performs in a strip club. Common “progressive” parlance would dictate that this woman is a sex worker. But this fundamentally misunderstands the concept of work, and the proletarian relation to it within the capitalist mode of production.
The majority of women that work in strip clubs in the UK are self-employed, which immediately distinguishes them from the proletarian who is exploited by a capitalist owner for their labour power, with the goal of extracting surplus value (which would ultimately result in profit). These individuals would be paid a wage for their labour power; the strip performer is not. The same goes for people who “cam”, and any other situation in which somebody earns money for a sexual performance after a third party takes a hosting cut.
Further, these performative types of “sex work” differentiate themselves from prostitution by their very nature. You can tell that even in common understanding, stripping and prostitution are not the same thing because strip clubs go to great lengths to make sex and sexual contact “against the rules” (not that this means prostitution does not occur within strip clubs, of course). While ironically the common thread between the above and non-pimp related prostitution is that none of them constitute work, they are still very much differentiated by the nature of what each circumstance entails.
These situations do not constitute work in the sense that these people are exploited by a capitalist employer as wage labourers, yet somehow they all constitute a monolithic grouping of “sex worker”. These women have been egregiously grouped together under the umbrella of “(sex) worker” by so-called socialists because, and this is the crux of the issue, they do something for money. This is not what is meant by a socialist conception of work.
Further to this, the condensing of all who do something for money that has the common thread of “sexuality” running through it ignores the very distinct class-differences within prostitution specifically. For example, the women who are controlled by pimps — which in the United States for example make up the majority of women in prostitution — are in no way workers. As the above Struggle Sessions essay points out, pimp-controlled prostitution is more akin to slavery than anything else. The woman is both controlled and effectively owned by the pimp, who oversees every aspect of her existence. The idea of applying “workers’ rights” to a woman who is literally owned by a man who profits off repeatedly selling her body is as grotesque as it is laughably bourgeois. Would these pimp-owned women band together to negotiate better terms of their enslavement? Would they negotiate a contract that stipulates when and where the prolific physical violence and abuse they experience can take place?
The same goes for the “high-class escort”. As with the strip performer and the cam performer, there is no “worker exploitation” occurring here as a socialist would understand the term worker (although of course, exploitation is occurring along sex-class lines). In fact, Marx himself stated that for worker exploitation to occur, the following social relation had to occur: firstly, the individual had to be free from any kind of slave-owner or employer (check); and secondly, they had to be “free” from any other means of subsistence, thus being “hurled as free and unattached proletarians on the labour-market”. This second requirement certainly does not apply to situations where a woman can allegedly pick and chose which high-paying contracts she might become party to.
The individual is not being paid a wage for her labour-power, with the capitalist receiving the surplus value. The relationship does not resemble anything akin to a capitalist exploiting a worker for their labour-power, as no capital is invested. It is simply the transfer of revenue from one party to another.
Suffice to say, sex trade apologists ignore this inconvenient stratification, and condense both ends of the spectrum — with the non-pimp owned women in the middle — down into one amorphous “sex worker movement”. By blurring the conception of worker to mean “doing something for money”, this necessarily then includes anybody else who might “do something for money” within the wider sex trade, resulting in a totally ambiguous collective consisting of pimps, brothel owners, porn producers, and strip club owners.
And what of the aforementioned women who are neither pimp-controlled or engaging in sexual performance?
This is where we can get down to the nuts and bolts of the issue. It has become a progressive flavour of the week to draw analogies between the “Wages for Housework” movement of the 70s, advocated for by Marxist-Feminists such as Silvia Federici et al, and prostitution. Advocates of this position draw parallels between those women who contribute to the reproduction of the proletariat labour-force within the contexts of marriage and household work by virtue of their unpaid labour in the home. This is including, but not limited to, cooking, cleaning, care work, and most importantly here, sex.
The common thread that links the location of housework as work (albeit unpaid work) and prostitution as unrecognised work can be found in the Marxist-Feminist analysis of marriage. To quote Federici at length:
It was understood — and the feminist movement has analysed it — that men always sell themselves, or try to sell themselves, in the wage labour market. We also sell ourselves in the marriage market. For many women, getting married is an economic solution, because the division of labour has been organised in such a way that it is much more difficult for women to get access to wage jobs. So, many women marry not because they want to, but as an economic solution for their lives. And you have sex because that is part of your job. We performed this deconstruction of sexuality, of the family, of the relationship between men and women, and we said that marriage is prostitution. In many cases, you can have a good relationship with your husband, but it doesn’t matter. The reality is that the way the state has constructed marriage has forced women to rely on marriage for survival and therefore, to offer sex in exchange for subsistence. The state has put us into the situation of prostitution. So we have insisted that there is a continuity between the housewife who at night, after washing dishes and the floor, has to open her legs and have sex, whether she wants it or not, whether she’s tired or not — and many women have been beaten up because they refuse sex — and the woman who sells sex on the street. One sells it to one man and another sells it to many men, but there is a continuity between the two.
This, to put it bluntly, is a rather cavalier parallel. Many people would be mystified at the analogy drawn between marriage and prostitution, and argue along the lines of “they’re obviously not the same thing!”, but this misses the point. Federici is right when she states that marriage has, certainly historically and to a greater or lesser degree currently, forced women into a situation where economic dependence necessitates marriage and all that comes with it (in other words, sex). So the parallels between marriage — where the woman “sells it to one man” — and the prostituted woman who “sells it to many men” appear to make economic sense.
This, coupled with the other aspects of marriage — all of the unpaid domestic labour, the cooking, the cleaning, the care work — result in what has been conceptualised in Marxist terms as the reproduction of the work force. By doing all these things, the woman literally reproduces new labourers — and also current labourers who could not face the new working day without this care work — which circuitously results in further extraction of surplus value as the labour force is expanded by the introduction of new workers, and the capitalist can lower wages, thus increasing their profit margins.
Without delving into an analysis of whether wages for housework is a “good” or “bad” thing, the point of the argument is, as Federici states:
“…to demand wages for housework does not mean to say that if we are paid we will continue to do it. It means precisely the’ opposite. To say that we want money for housework is the first step towards refusing to do it…”
It would seem then that by recognising prostitution as this type of unpaid and unrecognised labour, similar to the woman who “sells herself to one man” within marriage, that the demand for it to be recognised as work is one in which would instigate a new class-recognition amongst women as part of the labour force.
However, and with great respect to Federici who is a tremendous theorist and academic, this seems to gloss over the fundamental relationship between the existence of marriage — and importantly, monogamy — as an institution, and the system of prostitution. To quote Friedrich Engels in Origin of the Family, Private Property, and the States:
“We thus have three principal forms of marriage which correspond broadly to the three principal stages of human development. For the period of savagery, group marriage; for barbarism, pairing marriage; for civilization, monogamy, supplemented by adultery and prostitution.
Thus, it is argued here that the system of marriage and the system of prostitution are necessary, but inverse, correlates. To parse that in a slightly less dry manner: they depend on each other to exist, but at polar opposites of the same conceptual spectrum. To quote Engels again:
monogamy and prostitution are indeed contradictions, but inseparable contradictions, poles of the same state of society
Marriage and prostitution developed hand in hand because it allowed men to act on their non-monogamous impulses by cheating on their wives with a woman who was not his wife. This sounds tautological, but the distinction between the wife and the prostituted woman is absolutely fundamental to understanding why marriage and housework as “labour” is not the same thing as prostitution as “labour”.
The man visits the prostituted woman precisely because she is not his wife. He can utilise her body for sexual relief without any concern for reproduction, or emotional and financial investment (beyond the immediate payment). There is nothing in the relationship between the married man and the prostituted woman that resembles the relationship of marriage as it would be understood in worker terms. Nothing is produced or reproduced in prostitution, and that is entirely the point. Domestic housework and sex may well be reconceptualised as work (although that is not without its problems), as it contributes to the literal reproduction of the labour-pool for the exploitative capitalist; prostitution does not.
This is clear to see in modern day Women’s Strikes— where women take to the streets to highlight that without their unrecognised domestic work, the world would likely grind to a halt. Can the same be said for prostitution as a system of so-called work? It would appear not. It should be noted as well, this is absolutely not a callous analysis of the women within prostitution, or a suggestion that the women should just be “done away with”, it is an analysis of the absolute misery of the system itself. Just as socialists do not hate the workers within capitalism, this analysis does not reflect on the women trapped within prostitution. It is an analysis of a system of brutal and violent oppression and exploitation. To suggest otherwise is to distract attention away from the capitalist in the worker-exploitation dynamic, and from the male punter in the prostitution dynamic. | https://medium.com/@tom_farr/the-sex-work-sham-coronavirus-has-highlighted-the-rank-hypocrisy-of-sex-trade-apologist-leftists-4385f1a9ec68 | ['Tom Farr'] | 2021-08-21 16:03:27.962000+00:00 | ['Prostitution', 'Sex Work', 'Socialism', 'Feminism', 'Radical Feminism'] |
Claim Your Joy in 2021 Story Summit Writing Class | Claim Your Joy in 2021 Story Summit Writing Class
If your writing mojo went missing in 2020, it’s time to bring it back, get ready for the new year, and Claim Your Joy in 2021 with this remarkable writing class. The Story Summit Writer’s School will be conducting a 2-day LIVE workshop on Monday, December 28 and Tuesday, December 29 to help get your new year of writing off to an inspiring start.
It is specifically designed to take advantage of the quiet time between Christmas and New Year’s Eve. The 6-hour workshop will be led by the co-directors of the Story Summit Writer’s school, Amy Ferris and Debra Engle.
“What a great way to start this new year!” Says Story Summit co-founder, David Paul Kirkpatrick, also the co-founder of the MIT Center for Future Storytelling and the Former President of Paramount Pictures. “Amy and Debra are two of the finest writing coaches and educators in the field. It’s six hours designed to reconnect you with the sheer deliciousness of the creative process — and give you tips and strategies to make the coming year your most productive yet.”
The schedule is simple:
Amy and Debra will co-teach both days — December 28 and 29, from 1 to 4 p.m. Eastern (10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Pacific).
“It’s time to get excited about your story ideas, elevate your view of your future, and
spend time with other writers who will cheer you on,” says Debra Engle. “It’s all about joy and clearing out old patterns and fears that keep you stuck. Along with Amy Ferris, I’ll guide you to a new way of seeing and experiencing the joy in your writing — and your life.”
“Amy Ferris is the godmother of writing prompts,” says Kirkpatrick. “Amy will instantly take you to the heart of who you are as a writer. She’ll affirm you and your dreams so you can start 2021 with new confidence and clarity. I’ve worked with some of the greatest screenwriters of the 20th century. I am auditing the class, as there is always something new and profound I learn from the Amy and Debra.”
The class is for any writer — poet, novelist, screenwriter, non-fiction author, short story writer, blogger or song-writer. “It’s about impulse and flow. Think magic meets mojo,” says Amy Ferris, “ and you’ve got a glimpse of what this course is all about. We’ve planned 6 hours of prompts, inspiration, motivation, writing, encouragement and community — all during the quiet break between the holidays. It’s the perfect way to keep the good cheer going. You’ll be spending time with other people who understand why the words, I am a writer are so sacred to you. What better gift could you give yourself this year?”
The LIVE workshop-class will include:
— Visualizations and guided meditations to help you imagine your future.
— Exercises to get clear about what you want to write and why.
— Ways to commit to your writing so you’ll follow through.
— Practical tips for setting up a writing practice to fulfill your goals in 2021.
By the time the class is over, Debra and Amy want you to have a joy journal that will motivate you well into the future. So please choose a favorite journal to use for your Claim Your Joy writing. And go ahead — start filling it with quotes, pictures, poems and other reminders of the writing magic inside you.
To enroll or learn more, please go here.
More on Amy Ferris and Debra Engle
Amy Ferris
Amy is an author, a screenwriter and television writer, a journalist and editor. Her adaptation of the movie Funny Valentines (Director, Julie Dash — Daughters of the Dust) was nominated for a Best Screenplay award (BET). Her memoir, Marrying George Clooney: Confessions from a Midlife Crisis was adapted into an off-Broadway play in 2012. She has contributed essays to numerous anthologies. Amy curated and edited the collection Shades of Blue, and co-edited the anthology Dancing at the Shame Prom. She created the monthly column, The Ovary Office, in collaboration with Women’s eNews highlighting and illuminating women in politics. She serves on the Advisory Board of The Women’s Media Center and is on Faculty at Kauai Writers Conference. In 2015, she co-founded The Milford Readers & Writers Festival along with Sean Strub, Robert Levine and Suzanne Braun Levine. In 2018 Amy was honored by Women’s eNews as one of its 21 Leaders for the 21st Century for her activism, her passion and her commitment to women’s voices.
Debra Engle
Deb has been a storyteller all her life. She is the #1 bestselling author of The Only Little Prayer You Need featuring a foreword by the Dalai Lama. In addition, she’s written three other books of nonfiction and a novel and is a two-time winner of the Nautilus Award, honoring better books for a better world.
Deb holds an MFA in Creative Nonfiction and has worked as a book and magazine editor, publisher and mentor for writers worldwide. | https://medium.com/@thegoodage/claim-your-joy-in-2021-writing-class-1641f9d3c78e | ['David Paul Kirkpatrick'] | 2020-12-18 16:10:08.789000+00:00 | ['Writing Tips', 'Claim Your Joy In 2021', 'Debra Landwehr Engle', 'Amy Ferris', 'Writing Prompts'] |
How to Make a Million Dollars in a Year. By Jameil | How to Make a Million Dollars in a Year. By Jameil
First, understand a few things:
Quota is critical, but it’s not your only measure of progress or success.
Revenue and Market share are a lagging indicator of your daily/hourly activity.
Measure those activities with a microscope, or an endoscope. 😎
Have the guts to pivot off something that is not gaining traction.
Be cognizant of your value to others. Ask for blunt feedback from them, otherwise your value is difficult to measure.
In no way am I saying KPI’s > Quota because that’s ridiculous fluff and the box-checkers will do the bare minimum.
• Participation trophies don’t exist in Sales.
• A sense of entitlement will get you nowhere in a competitive marathon.
To reach the Million dollar milestone and to build a dynasty — you need to master what I have developed as the 5 Principles of 🆘Sultans of Sales.
1. The art of daily habits and Neuroplasticity.
2. The art of relationships.
3. Tenacity and grit.
4. Courage and humility.
5. The art of Storytelling.
Your value can never be marginalized by a spreadsheet. Don’t let them box you into a cage. Break the barriers. Take risks.
Creating your Sales Plan
Create a dynamic, measurable, strategic plan and pressure test it often.
You can do better than SMART goals from the 1990’s.
Engage your customers. Directly. Boldly.
Speak to what matters to them.
Create relationships with the gatekeepers and influencers. They control more than you realize.
The key is to create something bigger than any one of us. Make them want to be a part of it.
Drive sustainable Value, to them, for them.
This supersedes everything.
Poke holes in your plan. Ask others to do the same.
How will you reach your audience?
Why would they listen?
Is your plan scalable?
Why won’t it work?
Remove any perception they have of your bias through passion, conviction and data.
You have to Believe in yourself and in what you sell.
In order for them to believe, Data is king.
Anecdotal data will help bridge things in the short term, but long term adoption will require data.
Peer to peer interaction is a fast track.
Get in front of your customers. If not in person, get creative and learn how to stand out from the crowd.
Hope this helps someone level up, and close strong.
🤙🏽 Get after it. | https://medium.com/@jameil/how-to-make-a-million-dollars-in-a-year-by-jameil-b4bb137eaca7 | [] | 2021-09-17 14:32:12.923000+00:00 | ['Talent', 'Sales', 'Leadership', 'Growth'] |
Very nice & if a fan or actually know real milk bar people, after C-19 is done ripping us all new… | Very nice & if a fan or actually know real milk bar people, after C-19 is done ripping us all new one, please remind them we live over here in the dairy state and believe it or not have no dairy bar store brand anywhere! Shameful.
While we are on the subject of the whole election selection theme:
If Georgia turns totally blueish in January can we at least get the ball rolling on getting rid of the horribly legal democracy voter suppression institution also known as the electoral college? I guess the word ‘college’ makes it sound like a smart thing. NO, I don’t want to hear from a bunch of ivy league grads on the positive merits of that E.C. Never want to have to look at the following graphic ever again. NEVER.
Don’t want to see this ever again. It’s democratic misinformation B.S.
I mean WTF ever happened to vote majorities? Yes, there are versions here and there that produce differently enabled bedfellow people, like California’s ballot questions du jour with outcomes sometimes unexplainable, still, methinks there are at least 2 political parties that may never say so but would love this practice abolished, in California. Whatever, still this is manageable.
2. A constitutional amendment or article addendum, ‘when you are legal age in the USA you are registered’, done, over. Court order enforcement voter challenges must be submitted in federal court eliminating any state by state attempted eligibility challenges of citizen voting rights, not cherry-picked by any one state.
3. Stop gerrymandering by any political party. We are the United States of America and NOT the citizens-united of America. Along with motion #3 is the obvious #3a here. Get big biz & corporate mega-money OUT of democratic politics. (check out the gospel of Medium writer Larry Lessig)
4. Readers can plug in their personal responses to other un-democratic ideas I’ve obviously left out….. like does your state have a hairball of voter suppression election laws? Get rid of all of them, you are a U.S. citizen first and foremost and not beholden to some party line state legalese that enables voter suppression. | https://medium.com/@yakalot/very-nice-if-a-fan-or-actually-know-real-milk-bar-people-after-c-19-is-done-ripping-us-all-new-2e35ebdbcb34 | ['Tim Colby'] | 2020-12-26 19:41:40.826000+00:00 | ['Politics', 'Stress Management', 'Humor', 'Listicles', 'Election 2020'] |
Approach Blockchain enthusiasm as a devil’s advocate | In the two days of Bitcoin Workshop with Bitcoin Core developer Peter Todd in Baarn we got to know a friendly devil’s advocate: he kept asking critical questions as if he did not want us to use the bitcoin blockchain at all... Come on! We are here for a developer’s workshop! Let us code, now please!
Nope, not before Peter has fired a sh.t load of questions at you.
Peter Todd (@petertoddbtc) on software development environments for bitcoin core: ‘mostly I use pen and paper. My work is creative.’
Peter Todd: “Now we finally might have a reasonable application for a blockchain.”
Simple question -> many follow-up questions
Peter wrapping up an hour of interrogation on Bitcoin core applications: “Now we finally might have a reasonable application for the blockchain.” Not that Peter has been put under pressure; on the contrary: he was the one asking the questions!
You might expect trainees to be the ones that ask questions during this workshop, but no, Peter Todd is. The atmosphere in the room is great: informal and friendly. There is eagerness in the air to learn a lot at this developers workshop (link).
It is an interactive session. Questions and answers. With one important exception: if someone makes preparatives to actually want to do something with software on top the bitcoin blockchain (which might not be too off-topic at a developers workshop anyway), the tone of voice gets sober and supercooled instantly! How is that possible?: Well, Peter approaches the bitcoin blockchain with a lot of realism. He crosses his arms, bends backwards on his chair. Trainees feel that they have to defend themselves that they want something to do now.
Trainee: storing data inside a transaction, pro’ and con’s, limitations, opt code etc, how do I take it from here?
Core developer Peter Todd takes out his semi-automatic weapon and fires relentlessly:
What are you trying to prevent from happening?
What do you want to solve?
Why do we need global consensus on this application?
How many copies are needed?
Is a public ledger with cryptographically signed / protected data really needed?
What are you trying to prevent from happening?
Is expensive wide replication viable?
How is this fraud going to happen?
If you suppose blockchain, how is that going to solve the problem?
How is it going to offer freedom (from the reign of an intermediate) at the expense of inefficiency?
How are state commitments and state changes relevant? Do the states need to be signed off?
How do you know that the miner is not feeding you transactions with far too high fees?
If you go back 100 steps, how do you know the 101-th step is real?
Concludes laughing: I have an infinite supply of questions!
Todd is acting like the most friendly devil’s advocate. By firing repetitive to-the-point questions he prevents us to not jump to conclusions. End-result? …
In most (business) cases one does not need a blockchain!
In Toddian language: “OK, then we’ll take a database and ask the officers to sign it off there, right? We’re done.” or “So you want decentralize trust and use biometrics on your mobile phone at the same time? Forget it, you trust the device that verifies the fingerprint. And by the way: a mobile phone is very easily hacked.”
How many dents can your enthusiasm take? But no worries:…
When you have Peter picking up the board marker and start to draw Merkle trees, you know you got him lined up for a blockchain solution.
Merbinner tree
‘Merkle binary trees’ an invention of Peter Todd. ‘I am not good at names. I should have called it a Todd-tree, but then: what Todd?’
That his teachings apparently never stop is shown by the following anecdote:
A trainee is happy that Peter retweeted a tweet of his. He thanks him. “How do you know it was me?” Well, it was your twitter-handle that retweeted. “But it could have been a hacker, or my mom. Most probably my personal assistant” :-) | https://medium.com/blockchainrealisten/friendly-devils-advocate-cb0e0f885ce5 | ['Henk Van Cann'] | 2016-05-27 08:16:46.720000+00:00 | ['Bitcoin', 'Blockchain'] |
How to save money with Spectrum bundles? | Saving money has never been as important as it is now. The holidays are coming up which means you are going to spend a lot of quality time with your friends and family at home watching movies or binge-watching new TV-shows. If you are one of those people who are looking to start the New Year with enough money to spend on things that matter to you, then Spectrum has something very special planned for you. Their high-speed internet, entertainment-rich TV and unlimited nationwide calling home phones are the digital services that can save you money. You might ask yourself how can someone save money by getting so many services. That is what we are here to talk about. Let’s talk a bit about Spectrum internet first.
Save with Spectrum Internet
Spectrum has a bunch of different packages for its customers. They offer very fast speeds. 940 Mbps is their benchmark speed. At this speed, you can finally quit worrying about how long it might take gigs of your data to travel from your computer onto your cloud storage or whether you can stream a movie with higher resolution. You can even get a low-budget internet connection of 100 Mbps speed which should take care of all the fundamentals you want to do on the internet. These packages don’t cost a lot. The better thing to do would be to bundle Spectrum internet with other digital services.
Spectrum Voice — nothing beats its signal clarity
To this day, we want to talk to people on our phones. Mobile phones are a great way to connect too. What they don’t offer is the clarity of sound and freedom to talk for hours. Spectrum’s digital phones can do that. Along with many other features, clarity of sound is a constant feature in Spectrum’s digital phones. If you are looking to upgrade your communication with people over the lines, then Spectrum Voice is the way to go. You can have their voice services in a Spectrum Triple Play bundle.
Spectrum TV — entertainment made more convenient
Spectrum TV is the leading live TV service provider in the market. They have a lot of channels for all age-groups. The TV comes loaded with multiple features. Their best feature so far is the Spectrum App that you can use to watch TV on any device that has the app installed on it. That means if you want to get up from your couch and go into your bedroom to watch the rest of the show, you get to do exactly that. Use the Spectrum app on your device to keep on watching your TV.
Spectrum Triple Play — the ultimate saving gem
Back to the original question of how to save money with Spectrum. The best way to save it with Spectrum is by using their bundles. With bundles, you can use a number of services without having to worry about the extra costs and bills. Spectrum Triple Play is all about saving money on digital services. Subscribe to their bundles by going to IRG Digital.
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Spectrum Offers Excellent Digital Entertainment
Spectrum Triple Play — TV, Internet and Home Phone at Your Doorstep | https://medium.com/@irgdigitalcom/how-to-save-money-with-spectrum-bundles-4c6682358d91 | [] | 2019-12-10 18:17:00.277000+00:00 | ['Internet', 'Spectrum Triple Play', 'Spectrum Internet', 'Spectrum Bundles', 'TV'] |
The power of the open heart. | The power of the open heart.
I have the opportunity of being able to write this sitting down at the edge of the ocean as the morning rises. I can´t think of a more beautiful sight than the sun coming up behind the mountains while the waves of the ocean reflect its radiant light beams. For anyone searching for a cure to mental anxiety, depression, and worry, I highly insist you get your butt to the nearest beach, doesn´t matter where you stay, and just be one with the sand and the water. Humans weren´t made to live in packed cities, running around all the time, don´t you get it? We created this lifestyle that reprograms our healthy brains into worrying about literally everything that happens in our lives. Even those who have succeeded in what might seem the best jobs in the world basking in the world's finest luxuries aren´t exempt from the storms of the mind. When we close our hearts and focus on external things, we set ourselves up for a lifetime of endless pitfalls and mental crutches. Our mind becomes our greatest foe and we spend the only life we have being a slave to it. We keep working and searching for meaning in external things trying to shut these thoughts away when actually what we need to start doing is facing them. To face our fears we must first realize our hearts are closed, even when we think they are open. We first need to recognize that there is a distinction between having a truly open heart and sudden rushes of dopamine and oxytocin that the amygdala´s in our brains produce. These rushes of emotions and chemicals are what humans mistake for love because we become totally conscious of the upside of things and negate all the negative sides. Let´s say you start to get infatuated with someone after meeting them, you feel this person is a sign from the heavens that will come to save you from pain and give you a life full of happy moments. Before long, reality kicks in and you realize not a single person on this planet is a perfect human being. We tend to put people on pedestals and minimize ourselves when this happens, you tell yourself you can´t believe what an amazing person the earth has presented to you and forget that you yourself, have all these qualities too. You just refuse to acknowledge them yourself because your mind is too busy living a fantasy, one that seems very real. Don´t worry though, this does not mean that the relationship is meant to fail or that there is no one out there that will share happiness with you. But that is precisely what this is about, sharing happiness.
“When the voice and the vision on the inside is more profound, and more clear and loud than all opinions on the outside, you’ve begun to master your life”
― John Demartini, Count Your Blessings: The Healing Power of Gratitude and Love
To share happiness with someone else we must embark on the journey of opening our true hearts ourselves. We must work to evolve into conscious beings that are capable of diving into the deepest depths of our psyche, emotions, and souls to find out what we are made up of, independent of all the external things that we have achieved. Independent of our physical appearances and without judging the thoughts and emotions that daily inhibit our brains. To bring into balance our judgments and realize within every positive trait lies a negative frequency that brings it into balance. Putting people on pedestals reduces our authenticity, this will cause life to give us a feedback system from our environment whenever we skew reality with subjective bias and fail to reach a balance. Pure reflective awareness is what we must strive to apply every day in our lives, especially around other humans. When we reflect awareness, we acknowledge that every positive and negative trait inside of us lies within the person sitting in front of us. What you see in them, you see in you, nothing to change. This is called grace. Grace is such a beautiful emotion and energy because that is where a truly open heart shines. It is where the heart is most potent and able to give back to the world. In true grace, our heart opens and we start to live a life of equanimity.
Our values as people are the underlying foundation for human behavior, they are the roads we must choose to take every day to manifest a reality of equanimity, peace, grace, and success. When we live in alignment with our values there is the highest probability of objectivity, reflectiveness, and even-mindedness. Our mind evolves from being imminent to transcendent and develops the ability to strategically plan the dissolving of these infatuations and prepare for both sides of chaos and order to enter our lives. To live in alignment with our values we must live by our highest priorities on a daily basis. This means waking up every day and setting our day for ourselves without immediately giving in that power to someone or something else. We maximize our goal achievement to the degree that we are authentic, this is why when we live in an equanimous state we are able to be more reflective and showcase our authentic self. We desire to be authentic and reflective in awareness to solve our problems, create momentum, and a domino effect every day of our lives. This puts us in a state of constant flow which makes life seem as if it were the most simple and easy thing to maneuver because it is. Life shouldn´t be a complicated struggle even though it does involve the struggle, we must accept the struggle at all times may it be present. We have all the behaviors we see in other people because we are everything.
“The moment you realize you already have everything you’re looking for, the universe gives it to you.”
Become a master of your destiny by asking yourself, “how is this helping me achieve my highest value goals?”. Remember that resilience and adaptability are a byproduct of a centered mind that will daily have less noise to be disturbed by. Less anxiety, worry, self-doubt, and insecurities. Find the hidden order in the daily chaos to battle the deepest foes of your mind with an open heart. It has been scientifically proving that if you are not living congruently with your highest values you drastically decrease your aging process. Do not make things more complicated than they should be, start by being grateful for what you have every day. Be grateful you get to breathe, you get to have a body and a mind to control, not the other way around. An open heart is an expression of full potential that will lead you to the life you have always dreamt of having. Dreams do not necessarily have to stay as dreams, just as long as we consciously set our daily habits and actions towards them. Remember that the quality of your life is determined by the quality of your thoughts. | https://medium.com/@pacochavez0/the-power-of-the-open-heart-960b59719f3d | ['Paco Chávez'] | 2020-12-24 14:34:37.821000+00:00 | ['Breakthrough', 'Consciousness', 'Psychology', 'Self Mastery'] |
Send Push Notifications with Flutter, Firebase Cloud Messaging and Functions | Problems have solutions
Basically (I mean truly in the most basic sense, not the overused filler word), the app (admin role) should talk to FCM and say.
“Hey FCM, could you please send this message across to all the clients using the app”
right?
So, what are the ways we can think of doing just that? I can think of three.
Using the Cloud Messaging Plugin for Flutter Using FCM Server Protocols Using a Cloud Function to route the call
Let’s look at each option
1. Cloud Messaging Plugin for Flutter
This is not possible! as it is intended to receive push notifications. Not the other way around.
2. FCM Server Protocols (Cloud Messaging Rest API)
This is a possible path you can take, but you would easily need some additional work that needs to do apart from just sending a Cloud Message, (e.g. query the recipients from a Db). Probably something to sit in a backend server far far away. And you know what they say about having backend code in the client. Don’t do that!
Also keep in mind that you will have to take the pain to write that extra chunk of code to invoke a Rest API, and all the debugging that comes with it.
Although I didn’t try this option, this should work.
3. Using a Cloud Function
And we have a winner!
Firebase Cloud Functions is a powerful backend service which you can write server code without worrying about any of the complexities of managing infrastructure.
You can invoke a Cloud Function from the Flutter app either through HTTP or a database trigger and let the Cloud Function do the work for you. Inside the function use the Firebase Admin SDK and send messages as you wish. It is an elegant solution, see for yourself.
I am using Node.js because it is the default runtime. Seemed like the go-to move. But as it is stated here you can either use Python or Go as well. | https://jude-m.medium.com/send-push-notifications-with-flutter-firebase-cloud-messaging-and-functions-5e9942a7f23c | ['Jude M'] | 2020-11-24 20:06:57.494000+00:00 | ['Firebase Cloud Functions', 'Cloud Messaging', 'Firebase', 'Flutter', 'Firebasecloudmessaging'] |
Merry Christmas | “The true meaning of Christmas is, “He will save His people from their sins””
“You will be saved because He was born”
Matthew 1:21 — She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” https://www.blueletterbible.org/nkjv/mat/1/1/
Light bulb invention is considered to be the greatest invention of all time. Many scientists tried creating one but is was Thomas Alva Edison who succeeded by inventing a light bulb that stood burning for 1200 hours. This invention saved many who lived in the dark. Even today we are awake and even sometimes without sleeping because there is light. It removes the dark world and the fear we have towards the dark. Saves us from fear. Now we live in a world without darkness, we light a night lamp while we sleep. Our mobile phones and computers function because of light. Television because of light. Light is present everywhere and has removed the fear in us. That is the power of light. In the book of John 8:12, Jesus said.
John 8:12 — “When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”” And in John 9:5
John 9:5 — “While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
Why did Jesus tell this? He did not say this to differentiate between the light and the dark. He said this because he wanted to explain sin and salvation. He said this because Jesus is the way to salvation and anyone who believes in Him will never die in sin to be punished. They who believe in Him will be saved from hell and will go to be with the Lord. They will have Eternal life.
Read the book of Romans 10:9
Romans 10:9 — “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Jesus will create a light in you and you will be the light to this world. You will be a witness for Christ and also minister to people to preach the gospel. The gift you received for free will be given to others by you. You will fall in God’s plan and never be put to shame. Ask Jesus this Christmas to help you get delivered from sin and He will forgive your sins. This is the purpose of Christmas and not anything else. | https://medium.com/@vinodkumarj_12583/merry-christmas-2e96cc729294 | ['Vinod Kumar J'] | 2019-12-22 13:49:05.585000+00:00 | ['Christmas', 'Christianity', 'Christian Living', 'Jesus'] |
What Does A Biden Presidency Mean For The Rest of The World? | What Does A Biden Presidency Mean For The Rest of The World?
It’s not only America where things will change
Photo by Gayatri Malhotra on Unsplash
After days that felt like they would turn into weeks, Joe Biden has been declared the winner of the 2020 presidential election and will become the 46th President of the United States on January 20, 2021.
The landslide that pools predicted may not have happened, but with Biden winning the electoral college by 306 votes, the same number that Trump won four years ago, it’s a convincing victory nonetheless.
Biden’s task will not be easy. He takes over a country that is arguably more divided than at any point since the end of the Civil War. On his own side, he has progressives who want him to push ahead with plans to tackle the climate crisis and beef up medical insurance for millions of people. While his vanquished opponents will simmer over the defeat of their man, Trump.
The task he faces is monumental. One that could be more complicated if the Democrats’ do not have control of the Senate, which is a distinct possibility. The two Senate races in Georgia will go to a runoff and if the Democrat’s win them both, no mean feat, then the Senate will be tied at 50–50, with Kamala Harris being the tiebreaker.
The outpouring of emotion after the confirmation of Biden's victory reflects the relief many felt about Trump’s defeat. Four years of his presidency have dumbfounded and demoralised many. His defeat was a sweet moment for a lot of people.
Not only does Biden's victory affect America, but it also impacts the rest of the world. His policies on climate change and international co-operation will impact the rest of the world.
Under Trump, America wavered from its position as the foremost democracy in the world. His doctrine of America First threatened to remove their influence from the global stage and embolden autocrats across the world.
That will change under Biden. Here’s how: | https://medium.com/discourse/what-does-a-biden-presidency-mean-for-the-rest-of-the-world-b033a8f92b25 | ['Tom Stevenson'] | 2020-11-18 14:36:05.445000+00:00 | ['Joe Biden', 'USA', 'Politics', 'Election 2020', 'World'] |
10 Reasons To Write On Medium During the Pandemic | If you are fortunate to not have too many disruptions during the pandemic, then you are lucky. Between working remotely, taking care of your family, if you have spare time, it’s a good opportunity to share your thoughts on Medium.
You can earn extra money by taking part in the Medium Partnership Program.
You can also write to sharpen your writing skills. In any job today, communication is the key. Writing well often means you’ve set the foundations of speaking well in public and meetings.
You can use the Medium app to speak your articles. It will record and transcribe instantly into the Medium editor.
Here are 10 reasons why I consistently write on Medium during this pandemic.
Social Distancing Can Mean Virtual Closeness
Writing on Medium for a year taught me that you can have a kind of virtual closeness with your readers. You may be social distancing but because you read certain types of articles or you write about certain subject matters, you establish new friendships with publication editors, fellow writers in certain topics, and your readers.
Using your comments to get to know people and their work can allow you to make discoveries. This type of interaction has brought me closer to my audience.
Bring Issues To The Forefront
In emergencies, some people might react well and others may not. When you spot injustice, inequality, and problems in our society, the impulse is for all of us to say something. If enough of us make noise about what our values are, then naturally, our democracy is reaffirmed.
But, if injustice, inequality, and issues are amplified continuously without people who care for it, then it can become cancers in our society.
This is a good time to think about things that are bothering you and write about them.
Air Your Feelings
When you are with your immediate family 24 hours a day and 7 days a week, you might feel that you are spending too much time with them. Yet, you can’t exactly air out your feelings with them in the room. Then, write them down on Medium.
You can remain anonymous on Medium. Other readers on Medium might be able to give you emotional support. Think about a virtual hug from that mom who also wrestled with tending to a husband and kids all day.
Chances you may find that your feelings are widely shared by others.
Distraction
A new hobby always distracts me from the current turmoil. Reading or writing on Medium is an easy hobby to pick up. You don’t need to buy equipment. You just have to signup for a membership and you are good to go.
You can write a few times to see if it suits you. If you have projects that you are working on in your spare time, then write about those.
For me, writing about my projects make me feel more motivated to complete my projects.
Stay In Tune With Creativity
During the pandemic, all of us are all scrambling at work. A lot of us are dealing with small projects that are repetitive but have to get done. There’s not creativity used there. We want to be working on long term projects that we have ample time to be creative in.
Writing on Medium every day can help you air that creativity. Have you tried writing a poem about your day? Have you created satire about remote work?
Sharpen Your Muscles For the Long Distance
Most often, when I write on Medium, I am sharpening my mental muscles for the long-distance journey through my projects. Last year, I was only able to write one good article a day. Now, I write at least 3 or 4 a day in different outlets.
Now, when I sit in front of my computer to work on taxes, programming, or reading academic papers, my concentration kicks in immediately. It’s because I’m now used to the routine.
Set aside one hour every day to sharpen those mental muscles, you won’t regret it.
Discover Yourself
After a whole year of writing about my journey through the last 30 years, I realized that I’m more sure of all the decisions that I’ve made. At each stage, when I evaluated why I made the decisions I made, there were reasons. I found these reasons while reflecting on them in my writing.
After writing on Medium for a year, I realized that I have a lot more passions in life and in my career than what I was limited to. We often pigeon-hole ourselves to our immediate interests because we are not meeting new people. But, on Medium, while reading about other people’s interests, you may discover that you wanted to go on adventures that you didn’t know about.
Build Habits During Uncertainty
I’ve weathered many storms in my life. During each storm, it’s best to put your head down and adjust your life toward the new normal. I take this time to instill some new habits into my routine so that no matter what happens from today onwards, I have these scheduled activities to lean on.
These activities that I defer to every single day provide a sense of safety for me during uncertain times.
If anything, I can count on my morning yoga and writing session. I can always count on my afternoon coffee.
Practice The Art of Sharing
Sharing does not come naturally for people. There’s an inherent compassion and selflessness that you have to tap into. In our capitalistic society, people often make others feel “stupid” for sharing. Knowledge sharing when you are a knowledge worker seems almost absurd to some.
But, I’ve learned in this past year that if you assume your learning is dynamic, then you will have no problems sharing. In the end, I’ve received more from the interactions when I shared than what I have shared.
In about a week of releasing an article that contains the knowledge that I share, I’ve moved onto gaining other types of knowledge. If anything, sharing is a validation of your knowledge and your experiences.
That validation gave me confidence.
Gain Mindful Space
I credit writing on Medium for me to gain a kind of mental space or clarity about my life. Every week, when I write on Medium, not only do I make sense of my thoughts, I’m also inspired by other people’s thoughts on Medium as well.
Once I put down my thoughts, I gain the space in my heart and mind to take in more experiences.
I often do yoga before and after my writing session. This is because these two activities are so similar. Putting words down often seems like a long exhale where you arrive at the destination that is yourself. | https://medium.com/jun-wu-blog/10-reasons-to-write-on-medium-during-the-pandemic-fd5cc27d58fd | ['Jun Wu'] | 2020-04-03 09:56:54.137000+00:00 | ['Writing', 'Writing On Medium', 'Pandemic', 'Writing Tips', 'Freelancing'] |
“The Pi of the Lie” | The death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has set off a firestorm of controversy over filling the vacant seat on the U.S. Supreme Court. If you are reading this article, you are no doubt familiar with any of the statements made in 2016 by Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell:
“I can now confidently say the view shared by virtually everybody in my conference, is that the nomination should be made by the president the people elect in the election that’s underway right now.”
So, to state the obvious, Mitch McConnell, U.S. Senator from Kentucky-a man with decades of service to this country-can not be trusted. His vacillating on this critical issue shows his literal contempt for any sense of decency: it is his own principle that he is violating:
“the decision [of] the Senate … remains about a principle, not a person.”
Principles be damned in the Senate, at least this Senate, controlled by a value-less demagogue. Americans, conservative or liberal, know a liar when they see one, and Mitch McConnell is just that: a liar.
Beyond the lies and deceit of this Senate lies an even darker truth: are there any Republicans in the U.S. Senate with integrity?
Two senators, Lisa Murkowski, R-AK and Susan Collins, R-ME have both stated-for the record-that they oppose voting for a new justice to fill the vacancy prior to the election. Both women state clearly they have no intention of voting for a new justice prior to the presidential election November 3rd. And both women have made intentionally vague statements in regards to exactly what they will do after the election.
Regardless of who wins the presidential election, regardless of the outcome of numerous U.S. Senate races-one of which involves Susan Collins-Republicans will continue to hold power in the U.S. Senate until January 3, 2021. And that gives the Republicans in the U.S Senate all the time they need to drive a stake into the heart of American democracy: regardless of the election outcomes, Republicans will move to seat the next Supreme Court justice after the election but before the inauguration.
This gives Susan Collins, Mitch McConnell, and the other twenty Republican senators up for election a chance to appear honorable, while deceiving WE THE PEOPLE once again. Not voting for a new justice prior to the election is exactly what they told us they would do; none of them ever promised they wouldn’t fill the seat after the election.
The ‘principle’ McConnell argued in 2016 was clear: in a presidential election year, the people should be given the right to decide who picks the next Supreme Court justice through their choice for president. While this principal is stated nowhere in the Constitution, it is not an unholy concept. Truth be told, it makes sense to wait-during a presidential election year-to see which party will win the White House; it makes sense to let the people have a voice, not only on their president, but also on the justice that president selects for a lifetime appointment to the highest court in the land.
What doesn’t make sense-what is unholy and dishonorable-is to state that very principle in one presidential election year (2016) and then renege on that principle in the very next presidential election year (2020). And what makes this an unholy act as divisive as they come is to try to fool the American people by telling them you will not vote for a new justice prior to the election, while secretly planning to fill that seat as soon as the election is over, prior to the inauguration.
When we look at our nation today, at our politics-with the divisiness, the bitterness, the seething contempt for each other-is it any wonder how we got this way? While no side can claim righteousness, and no one can recall the moment this cold war began, we can all be certain we know where it will end: with American pitted against American, Republican pitted against Democrat, conservative pitted against liberal, Moms pitted against Dads, dogs pitted against cats, and so on, and so on, and so on. There is no end to this division; it is like dividing 22 by 7 (π): the answer goes on forever and ever, never repeating and never ending.
There is not much to be sure of in this life anymore, but there is one thing of which I am certain: more lies and more deceit will not bring us together as a nation. As we tread through these troubled times, we should take a moment to reflect on the words of Abraham Lincoln:
“A house divided against itself cannot stand.”
©Timothy J. Sabo | https://medium.com/@tsabo63/the-pi-of-the-lie-916b3502bd21 | ['Timothy J. Sabo'] | 2021-07-15 00:38:52.524000+00:00 | ['A House Divided', 'Republicans', 'Supreme Court', 'Lies', 'Election 2020'] |
AR Masker app (iOS, Android) | Finally, I released my own AR App with Masks for mobiles.
https://armasker.com
AR Masker (iOS, Android) — Photo/Video App for Mobiles with Augmented Reality, Face Recognition (AR Face Tracking) & Your Own Mask Creating.
Any ideas, bug reports from you will be highly appreciated. | https://medium.com/@makakaorg/ar-masker-app-ios-android-4b7b00422adf | ['Unity Tutorials', 'Unity Assets Makaka Games'] | 2020-12-03 20:51:13.238000+00:00 | ['Augmented Reality', 'AR', 'Masks', 'Unity', 'Instagram'] |
First time ever, Christmas trees marked down in Saudi Arabia | Christmas adornments and enriching lights of different shadings are in deal in a shop in the Saudi Arabia capital, Riyadh, unexpectedly. Today, you can discover Christmas trees and enhancements in a keepsake shop in the Saudi capital, in a scene that was troublesome even to envision years back in the Islam moderate realm. These deals have started to steadily show up in Riyadh lately, as an indication of facilitating social limitations, after Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed canister Salman vowed to lead a realm “moderate and free” of revolutionary statutes.
Saudi specialists disallow rehearsing strict ceremonies on its domain other than Islamic. Notwithstanding Christmas trees, the present shop sells Santa Claus, lights, reindeer, present boxes, and home improvements for the Christian eve. “I never envisioned I would see it in Saudi Arabia.” A Riyadh occupant stated, clarifying that he was stunned to consider that to be as it was almost difficult to freely sell these items in the Saudi Arabia realm around three years back. Riyadh as of late observed the finish of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice job, filling in as strict police. For quite a long time, individuals purchased Christmas things furtively from the neighbor the United Arab Emirates, while Christians from the Philippines, Lebanon, and different nations observed Christmas in secret or territories where outsiders live.
Previously, Mary, a Lebanese lady living in the capital Riyadh, certifies that it was hard to track down comparable items in the realm, particularly during Christmas. “A significant number of my companions use to get them from Lebanon or Syria and afterward furtively took them to Saudi Arabia.” She added. Crown Prince Mohammed receptacle Salman attempted a few changes in Saudi Arabia, permitting shows, resuming films, and permitting ladies to drive as a component of his arrangements to modernize the Saudi realm. The shop administrator that sells Christmas embellishments in Riyadh affirms that they additionally sold outfits for Halloween, before, in the midst of the doubt of their neighborhood clients.
The United States Commission for International Religious Freedom in its last report attests that while Saudi Arabia made some central legitimate changes, especially with respect to ladies’ privileges, it has not tended to the fundamental underlying obstructions to strict opportunity in the nation. In April, Riyadh directed a mass execution of Shi’a Muslims, including a few minors at the time they purportedly perpetrated their violations. No open love is permitted in the nation for non-Muslims, and the public authority proceeds to irritate and watch individuals from these networks.
“Ladies, for example, Loujain al-Hathloul, who contradict from the public authority’s required strict guardianship laws have been confined and exposed to serious abuse,” Washington reports, featuring that on a few events all through 2019, the Saudi government delivered content via online media alluding to woman’s rights as a type of fanaticism. In late 2019, USCIRF Religious Prisoner of Conscience Raif Badawi was denied admittance to books and medication and in this way went on a craving strike to dissent. In its 2019 Annual Report, USCIRF suggested that the U.S. Division of State assigns Saudi Arabia as a “nation of specific concern” (CPC) because of its deliberate, continuous, and shocking infringement of strict opportunity. | https://medium.com/@krishmathew910/first-time-ever-christmas-trees-marked-down-in-saudi-arabia-809277810ca1 | ['Krish Mathew'] | 2020-12-22 12:18:01.525000+00:00 | ['United States', 'Christmas', 'Riyadh', 'Middle East', 'Saudi Arabia'] |
Alumni Giving Love Back by Working at Lionel Wilson | Aspire Lionel Wilson staff, then and now.
What’s it like to work at the school you grew up attending? At Aspire Lionel Wilson College Preparatory Academy in Sobrante Park, East Oakland, there are a number of alums now on staff.
For these educators, connections to the school and community run family-level deep. There’s a feeling that the trajectory of their lives, and often of their families’ lives, was forever positively altered by what they gained at Lionel Wilson.
They’re back because, in a way, they never left — they live in the same neighborhood, and see students around at the grocery store or church. They keep coming back because of their love for the students, and a belief that they can change students’ lives in the same way theirs were changed.
Here’s what the Lionel Wilson Alumni had to say.
Ernesto Diaz is a founding student who graduated in 2009. He came back to work at Lionel Wilson in 2012 as an after school educator. He’s now the School Support Manager.
Juan Bolanos graduated in 2010. He started working at Lionel Wilson in 2014, first as an AmeriCorps member before joining the after school team in 2016. He’s now a college academic counselor.
Andy Cruz graduated in 2010. He’s been working at Lionel Wilson longer than the other alums — he started in 2011 as an after school educator. Now he’s the After School Director.
Terralynn Mosby is a founding student who graduated in 2006. She started working at Lionel Wilson in 2016 as an after school educator. She now serves as the Student Activities Coordinator.
Santiago Franco graduated in 2011. Two years later, he was a high school soccer coach, followed by after school educator. He’s now a physical education teacher and Athletic Director, and coaches boys and girls soccer.
Why did you decide to work at the school you attended growing up?
Ernesto Diaz, as an LPS student and now the School Support Manager.
Ernesto: We’re like a family. When I started as a sixth grader, that was the first year the school had opened. Our principal at the time, Troyvoi Hicks, he really made sure we were a community. We were always tight knit. I remember a bonding retreat, that really helped us connect with each other and feel like a family.
Terralynn: For me being back at Lionel Wilson, it’s a blessing just based off where I came from. Lionel Wilson was one of the reasons why I did go to college. I was one of the founding students, as well as Ernesto, and I was a ninth grader when the school first started. So just to be back in this atmosphere is a beautiful feeling, because I was one of those students that I didn’t think was gonna make it out of Oakland. I didn’t think I’d become someone that students will look up to. It just feels good to be back where someone showed me love, and I can give love back.
Andy: I was only there for three years in high school, but as soon as I got there, what I saw and liked about the school was just how involved the teachers were. All the staff, actually. They all took an interest in you, some more than others. Everyone at least had one adult that had your back and was looking out for you. It could have been anyone — advisor, teacher, administrator. They wanted to make sure you were on the right track. Having that experience while I was there, I’m now trying to be one of those adults that helped the kids.
Juan Bolanos is now a college academic counselor.
Juan: I started there the second semester of eighth grade. I was on the waiting list for two-and-a-half years, so I had to go to middle school somewhere else. When I first started at Lionel, one of the first things that caught my eye was the idea that Lionel was a family. Whenever there was a school fight, we would always have an assembly, which we called town halls. It was just this idea of, ‘Why would you fight with your family?’ Even now, as an adult, I may not know the names of alumni that graduated before me, but if I see them around, I recognize their faces. There’s always that little connection when you see someone that also graduated from Lionel.
Santiago: There are a lot of teachers that impacted me. It’s very, very tough for a person of color who comes from Oakland to strive to go to college, especially if you’re a first-time high school graduate in your family. A lot of people have the idea that higher education isn’t an option for them, but there were a lot of teachers that believed in us and basically told us, ‘If you want to go to college, you can set yourself up for that.’ A lot of us went through things growing up, and we felt like Lionel was like our safeguard where we can go and we can interact with people who are like us and show interest in us. As alumni, we just want to give a little something back.
How do you connect with the current students?
Andy: Based on who we are and what we look like, we create like a buffer for families. A lot of the teachers and administrators don’t look like the students. I feel like families feel a lot more comfortable speaking to us about either their problems, or if they need any help, or if they just have any questions about the school. When parents come in late, they’ll skip administrators and come straight to me with questions. I’ve seen that happen to Juan, Ernie, Terralynn, Santi — they want to talk to one of us, because that’s who their kids feel comfortable with. I’ve gone to family parties in the past and I’ve seen students there. And I’m like, ‘Wait, what?’ They’ll be like, ‘What are you doing here?’ And I’m like, ‘I’m related to so-and-so.’ It’s like this because we’re all from the same area. Oakland is not that small, but we don’t really leave the same area that much — especially the kids.”
Juan: We still live in the same neighborhoods that they do. When we were students, we really wouldn’t see our teachers outside of school. Now, we shop in the same grocery stores. We’re going to the same Walmart, the same Target. I think that adds a whole different perspective for them. It makes the trust and unity a lot stronger. I had really strong relationships with my teachers, but I would never see them on like, Saturday or Sunday. Now we see them in church, gas stations. It’s a bond that goes beyond Monday through Friday.
Terralynn Mosby at the prom as a founding student and LPS, and back at the prom years later as the school’s Student Activities Coordinator.
Terralynn: I think everyone can agree that Sobrante Park was a little bit harsher when we were students, compared to what the students have to go through now. It seemed like every weekend, we was saying RIP to somebody on the corner. It was very rough for us to walk past that, but we knew that when we got into the gates, we were safe. That’s what we do for our students as well — no matter what’s going on outside of the gates, when you are on the inside, you’re safe. They feel comfortable coming to alumni. We can honestly say that when it comes to gaining respect from students, we get it first because we actually have walked in their shoes. They can’t say we don’t know what it’s like to wear uniforms or wear a hot vest on a Wednesday.
Ernesto: I’m not a savior. But it just feels great to be able to support and provide what you can to people you see going through similar things that you did growing up. It’s definitely easier for (alumni) to connect with our students than it is for other teachers that didn’t grow up in that community. So we are very visible. And we know how to connect and interact with students. We don’t have a ‘one-size-fits-all’ mentality, we know each student needs a different approach. That has helped a lot with making connections with students and being trusted more, as well.
Santiago Franco played soccer as an LPS student. He’s now a physical education teacher and Athletic Director, and coaches boys and girls soccer.
Santiago: The family piece is really important at Lionel Wilson. My cousins, my older siblings, my younger siblings, they all attended Lionel Wilson. I’m sure that is true for a lot of us. We connect with alumni who graduated years ahead of us, and now we get to interact with their kids. And we connect very well with our students and create really good connections with them.
Why are you able to build close bonds with Lionel Wilson students and families?
Santiago: When I came in, I didn’t know how long I was going to stay. It was more so a time for me to have a part-time job while I go to college. I graduated with a major in criminology. Coming up in Oakland and living in Oakland, I thought what I wanted to do was join the police force and really deter crime and make it a better place. But interacting with the kids, I’m impacting them in ways that Lionel Wilson impacted my family. And that’s mainly because Lionel Wilson has given us an opportunity to go to college. Many of us have parents who migrated here, and our parents didn’t have the childhood that we had, they didn’t have the opportunity to go to college. So thankfully, through Lionel Wilson that was a reality for us. I think, in our minds, every generation that comes in, every student that comes in, every kid that we interact with, we can help support and impact what their life looks like 10 years from now.
Juan: I guess the only way to really put it is Lionel Wilson changed my life, and my family’s lives. I remember growing up, we never had very much. I remember when I filed my first FAFSA, and realizing that my parents really don’t make much. Lionel Wilson got me through college, and my sister and my wife as well. My wife has a masters. Now we make significantly more than what my parents were able to give us. I have a two-year-old. And as I’m looking at it, I know that he is going to have an even better education than I had. In 10 years, Lionel Wilson has changed my family’s trajectory.
Ernesto: I want to give students the experience that I was given. What keeps me there is just being able to give that experience that I was given as a student — being there for students that feel that they don’t really have anyone. There are a lot of students who just need someone to lead them. The reality is that we’re not going to be able to help every single student, but we are able to help as many as we can.
Terralynn: What keeps us coming back, and what keeps us hopeful for better days — because every school is not perfect, let’s be very clear, right? — and what keeps us grounded, is the foundation that we grew up on. It was like, ‘think you can, work hard, get smart.’ That’s what has us coming back. We want those students to get the same love and care, and actually affection, that we got. I remember my teachers really letting me cry. Like, it was OK for them to be that family member, for a moment.
Andy Cruz has been working at Lionel Wilson since 2011 as an after school educator. Now he’s the After School Director.
Andy: The after school program is supposed to be enrichment for the students, but I know that for close to 100 percent of the families, it’s mainly child care because they work. They need that help, and the students have nowhere else to go. At first, it might be that the students may not want to be there. But I think over time, usually towards the end of the year, I have students who show up even on days where we don’t have a program. I’m there, I’ll stay anyways, and then I’ll end up hanging out with some of them until their parents pick them up. It’s giving them a space. It’s giving them somewhere to be, something to do, somewhere they’re safe. We still have some students who are just out and about after school, we’ll see them cruising down the street on their bike. And then you’re like, ‘Why aren’t you home?’ ‘No one’s home anyway, so why am I gonna stay?’ This gives an opportunity to have somewhere where at least they have some kind of supervision, but also have the ability to do activities outside instead of just hanging out.
That’s where I come in. And that’s where Santi comes in with athletics. Juan stays after school, helping students past regular school hours. Ernie has volunteered for basketball, and that small time where we were doing flag football. I don’t know why Terralynn stays so late, but she’s always there. She does cheerleading after school, she’s done the Black Student Union. She’s there more after school than she is during the day, honestly. That’s when we interact with the kids the most, in a non-academic way. It’s a more relaxed environment. | https://medium.com/families-in-action-for-quality-education/alumni-giving-love-back-by-working-at-lionel-wilson-6b9853935ec3 | ['Families In Action'] | 2020-12-08 23:08:22.915000+00:00 | ['Education Reform', 'Oakland', 'Charter Schools', 'Public Education'] |
What are 5 uneasy situations lesbian couples face in Singapore? | Hey everyone! I am Ashley. I am a bi-sexual, but I am now no longer interested in guys romantically anymore. So, perhaps I am more of a lesbian now?
Anyway, I am a Singaporean. And no, Singapore is not part of China, but I am off topic now.
For those of you who do not know, LGBTQ matters are not legalised here. Having said that, here are some situations I feel especially awkward with my partner as a lesbian couple in Singapore.
1. Public Display of Affection
The masses here are still not exactly open minded about LGBTQ couples walking on the streets. Sometimes, when getting intimate in public, there will be stares and whispers from people surrounding.
There was once while walking in a shopping mall with my girlfriend, another couple is behind us. The boyfriend says to the girlfriend, “They are lesbians”. Then, it was followed by some giggles and tension between the air…
Yes, Singapore has gone a long way from years ago in this topic, but, it is still very true that most Singaporeans, especially the older ones, are not entirely comfortable with LGBTQ matters here.
One common way to access if a person actually is fully accepting of LGBTQ matters, is to ask “If your daughter or son is, will you accept that?” Because, many people will be rather okay to accept their relatives or friends being in the LGBTQ community, but, when the situation is really on their hands, the mentality gets more critical and tough.
2. Booking for a Romantic Dinner at a Restaurant
Most restaurants in Singapore still do not make arrangements for lesbian couples. Yes, we can make a reservation claiming that it is for a couple, but, upon arrival, there are bound to have some awkward stares and questions to be expected.
3. Buying Flowers
This is my personal experience and I am sure some of you might have similar encounters. For some reasons, vendors who sell flowers love to ask who are you buying the flowers for. I know, I know, maybe they do so to recommend accordingly. However, I feel a little uneasy to tell a stranger that I am getting flowers for my girlfriend. There will be a moment of shock, then a moment of fake laughters, and then some awkwardly forced conversations, and finally, it is over. Well, at least that is true for my case.
4. Carrying the Flowers when in Public
If you thought the uneasiness ended upon buying the flowers, it only gets worse.
My girlfriend, and even myself too, feel it is uneasy for her to carry the flowers openly as we shop in public. Even the intention is romantic and beautiful, it cannot help to be noticeable to the public as a couple. I might think too much in this situation, but, it is so true that people do look a lot more wheb carrying the flowers…
5. Introducing Friends
Before you think that it is easy for people who are out of closet to introduce their lesbian partner to other friends, I need to wake you up to this very true matter that it is never ever easy, at least here in Singapore.
Why do I say so? Because, it is still a topic of gossip here believe it or not. If I introduce my girlfriend to my colleagues for example, there is a high chance that this will spread like poison. Having said that, I still feel that people generally is accepting, just to what extent. | https://medium.com/@lgbtqwhisper/what-are-5-uneasy-situations-lesbian-couples-face-in-singapore-6a20a0a6bbba | ['Lgbtq Whisper'] | 2020-12-21 17:40:34.750000+00:00 | ['LGBTQ', 'Gay', 'Lesbian', 'LGBT', 'Singapore'] |
Above & Beyond: Designing the Future Business Travel Experience with Lufthansa Innovation Hub | This article was written by Renee Semko Gonzalez and edited by Zoey Tsopela. On behalf of the Above team, a special thank you goes out to our guest speaker Tino Klähne, Head of Strategic Design at Lufthansa Innovation Hub.
With the holidays around the corner, our final Above and Beyond talk for 2020 covered a topic that usually plays a critical role in meeting up with friends and family around this time of year — air travel. While many industries have been hard hit by the pandemic, there’s no denying that the aviation industry has been one of the hardest hit. With a vaccine on the horizon and already being rolled out in some countries, many of us are turning our thoughts to when and how we will return back to “normal,” how hard hit industries will recover, and what conducting business will look like post-pandemic.
With so many unanswered questions about the future of travel, we were lucky enough to have the Head of Strategic Design at Lufthansa Innovation Hub (LIH), Tino Klähne, as our speaker. LIH “explores new digital business models with a mission to “create and capture value beyond flying.” They build ventures in the travel & mobility tech space that focus on traveler life cycles instead of passenger experiences — a shift that is redefining our notion of what it means to travel. Examples include TMNT, a data-driven trip, and mobility trend platform, and Compensaid, a Sustainable Aviation Fuel option for consumers wishing to offset their individual carbon footprint caused by their trips.
While Tino’s insight into the aviation industry had all Abovers — who surely had encountered one or two canceled flights in the last year — buzzing with curiosity, none were more curious than our business development team. Up until this year, travel was a significant component of their work, from trips between our studios in Stockholm, Malmö, San Francisco, and Shenzhen to meeting with clients across the globe. What would business travel look like for them in the coming years? Would there even be such a thing as “business trips” anymore?
Designed by https://www.freepik.com/microne
Over the next hour Tino and the Above team discussed how we envisioned the future of business travel and what areas of opportunities interested us most:
✈️ Transforming “wasted time” into viable productivity
Many of LIH’s ventures tackle the more inconvenient aspects that come with travel, such as “wasted time,” where nothing productive can get accomplished due to limiting factors like poor internet connectivity or lack of appropriate work surfaces/accessories. While the in-flight experience is not at the core of LIH’s work, it has facilitated deep partnerships with ventures like Skyroam, a mobile wifi hotspot, and LoungeBuddy, a smartphone app for accessing airline lounges. One Abover suggested further improving in-flight amenities to allow business travelers to get more done during flights.
“The digital tools like collaborative whiteboards and video conferencing that we’ve been forced to adapt to this past year will likely not go away. Can connectivity be improved in-air so people can work on planes the same way they might during a layover?”
Of course, not everyone agreed that mid-flight was the best place for a video conference. Some felt that taking meetings in such a confined space would be disturbing to other passengers or create issues with regards to confidentiality. Nonetheless, the radical changes we were forced to make in how we worked this year will undoubtedly elevate our expectations of how we get work done while traveling.
✈️ Reimagining the office
Reimagining how we get work done on the go also sparked discussion on where we get work done. Felix Carlsson, a Mechanical Engineer at Above, brought up several interesting points around incorporating flexible working space into the air travel arena.
“If people are going to be working from home 50% of the time, will companies even have offices in the future. Is there a way for LIH to translate their expertise in the lounge/service experience to succeed where WeWork did not?”
Aviation groups like Lufthansa could appeal to business travelers by creating functional office/lodging offerings in commercial hotspots like Frankfurt and Shenzhen. Lufthansa could leverage their service experience and fully arrange safe/sustainable business travels between sites (e.g. Frankfurt site to Shenzhen site). Such a service would cater to the increasing popularity of remote, distributed work while also cutting down on the aforementioned “wasted time” one encounters while traveling for work.
✈️ Redefining the travel “experience”
The biggest topic in our discussion undoubtedly centered around the experience of travel itself. Some felt that business travel would resume in less frequent intervals, so maximizing what they got out of each trip would become the primary priority of business travelers. With rising climate concerns and the increased popularity of remote work setups, others questioned if business travel could still be en vogue after this year?
There’s no denying that the nature of work has drastically changed in the last 9 months (with a few exceptions). Businesses that leveraged tech quickly were able to ground sales/business teams and have reported a boost in sales and higher productivity. The effectiveness of remote work in roles that traditionally traveled often will force many to reexamine what a typical business trip should look like, if taken at all.
Tino pointed out that travelers should start by evaluating the types of business experiences they’re considering traveling for. He claims you have to be strategic about what activities can be crammed together (e.g. meeting multiple clients all in the same area) versus which activities are best left with some breathing room to digest information (e.g. a conference).
For those that travel for a living, the post-Covid era should bring with it new levels of consciousness about why we’re traveling but, more importantly, how and when we should make the most of our trips. Moving forward, business travel will become less functional but more emotional and immersive.
✈️ The rise of business + leisure travel
A critical component of “making the most of our trips” is the hybridization of business and leisure travel (sometimes referred to as ‘bleisure’), which was growing in popularity even before the pandemic hit. Studying past economic crises, McKinsey predicts leisure travel is the first to recover, followed by business travel in phases. A significant driver in leisure travel is the appeal of the “experience economy” to Millennials, an age group with enough tech-savvy to heavily adopt remote working and disposable income to afford frequent travel. The question then becomes how aviation groups can leverage their expertise in concierge services and amenities to provide leisure offerings to Millennial leisure seekers and business travelers alike, especially as the distinction between the two continues to blur. | https://medium.com/a-view-from-above/above-beyond-designing-the-future-business-travel-experience-with-lufthansa-innovation-hub-64668d8750e7 | ['Zoey Tsopela'] | 2020-12-22 12:00:50.212000+00:00 | ['Future Of Work', 'Innovation', 'Future Of Travel', 'Mobility', 'Business Travel'] |
30 Reasons Why I’m Voting for Bernie Sanders | 1.) Bernie believes that black lives matter.
2.) Bernie was a civil rights activist and organizer in his youth and participated in the 1963 March on Washington.
3.) When asked about Islamphobia in America by a young Muslim woman, Bernie asked her to come down to the stage, hugged her and responded with “I will do everything I can to rid this country of the ugly stain of racism that has existed here for far too many years.”
4.) Bernie believes in police cameras and demilitarizing and diversifying police forces.
5.) Bernie and Killer Mike are buds.
6.) Bernie believes in restoring the Voting Rights Act.
7.) Bernie wants to make public universities tuition-free by imposing a Wall Street tax.
8.) Bernie released a folk album, and he sounds like if William Shatner grew up in Brooklyn instead of Canada.
9.) Bernie believes in automatically registering all Americans to vote once they turn the age of 18.
10.) Bernie wants a single-payer, universal health care system.
11.) Bernie “filibustered” for eight-and-half hours against Bush-era tax cuts, specifically the provisions that benefited high-income earners.
12.) In 2015, Bernie introduced a bill to raise the minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 an hour by 2020.
13.) Because he reminds us of Doc Brown, and we all love Doc Brown.
14.) Bernie wants to invest $1 trillion in fixing our crumbling roads, public transit and waste plantswhich will provide jobs to Americans, particularly veterans.
15.) Bernie wants to reverse NAFTA and bring jobs back to America.
16.) Bernie believes men and women should be paid equally and he wants to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act.
17.) Because he inspired this calendar:
18.) Bernie wants to expand funding to Planned Parenthood.
19.) Bernie believes that every employee should have 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave, two weeks of paid vacation and seven days of paid sick days.
20.) Bernie does not ask for money from billionaires or Wall Street. He even donated his check from notoriously douchey pharmaceutical CEO, Martin Shkreli, to an HIV clinic.
21.) He’s said “on fleek” before. (He’s also down with playing Bernie from Weekend at Bernie’s.)
22.) Because Bernie flies coach.
23.) Bernie wants to break up big banks and end the practice of paying out big bonuses to CEOs. He also wants to reenact Glass-Steagall, a 1933 act that separated risky trading from conventional banking.
24.) Bernie has been a supporter of gay rights for decades. He voted against “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and is a co-sponsor of the “Equality Act,” which would expand the Cilvil Rights Act of 1964 to include LGBTQ individuals.
25.) Because Bernie says things like this:
26.) Bernie opposed the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
27.) Bernie was instrumental in pushing 2014 legislation that added billions of additional dollars to the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs. He also believes in supporting our veterans by offering them excellent health care and getting their benefits to them quickly.
28.) Bernie believes in the Iran Deal because:
29.) Bernie is serious about climate change and has a full plan on how he wants to combat it. This plan includes transitioning away from fossil fuels and investing in clean energy.
30.) Bernie believes in treating immigrants fairly and humanely, while creating a respectful system of legalization; he promises to use executive order if Congress prevents him from doing so. | https://medium.com/@hipstercrite/30-reasons-why-i-m-voting-for-bernie-sanders-39eda1f5704e | ['Lauren Modery'] | 2015-12-23 17:12:38.238000+00:00 | ['Bernie Sanders', 'Politics', 'Hillary Clinton'] |
Controversial Things I Believe | You can find more of Ryan’s work in Human Parts, The Coffeelicious, Absurdist, and The Bigger Picture. You can follow him on Twitter here or check out his website here. He’d love to hear your thoughts. Thanks for reading! | https://medium.com/the-coffeelicious/controversial-things-i-believe-4ff7a5c17e3 | ['Ryan Hussey'] | 2015-11-10 10:14:52.438000+00:00 | ['Religion', 'Life Lessons', 'Social Media'] |
2020 IS NO SCIENCE FICTION: MULTI-GENERATIONAL CHALLENGES IN THE WORKPLACE | (Image: Shutterstock, Design: NGG)
Never in the history of humankind have there been five generations working side by side in one place. How do we deal with this phenomenon, and is it a blessing or a curse? Nili Godflein, NGG Global Learning Solutions CEO, might have the answer
The 21st century introduced a new phenomenon that was never before seen in the history of humankind. The constant increase in global life expectancy and the improving health conditions of people aged 50 and above created the circumstances that allow five generations to work together in one place, at the same time. They say age is just a number, but different generations may have radically different values, perspectives, shared histories, sociological outlooks, and relationships with technology. Reconciling conflicting views and opposing work ethics and thinking habits among different age groups has always been a multi-generational challenge of contrasts and complements.
But while past employers had only two groups to bridge between, today there are many more. In the past, older employees retired and made way for the next generation. Today, they all work shoulder to shoulder. Meanwhile, human civilization keeps evolving at a staggering pace that doubles every few years. We never said this was easy!
Generation Y
Many have tried to define Generation Y, and countless researchers have tried to pin down what it is that makes them tick. One thing’s for sure — they’re nothing like I’ve ever seen. They are young, dynamic, accustomed to multitasking, and tend toward chaotic thinking. Members of Generation Y are adept at social networking, bluntly opinionated, and abundantly confident in their power to influence and ability to bring change. They grew up in a world of technology, raised in a culture of plenty, and show symptoms of an overly permissive upbringing.
In 2020 they will take up over 50% of the workforce — but they won’t be there on their own. They’ll be there, for better or worse, together with people of different generations, as peers, superiors, or subordinates.
And So, Conflict Is Born
The conflict has to do with more than just age or youth. It is a conflict between the old world and the new, between generational cultures that have so many different facets:
• Significantly different habits, needs, and perceptions
• Significantly different habits when it comes to consuming information, socializing, and relating to authority and vocational stability
• Significantly different expectations from their bosses, leaders, and teammates
• Duality as a blessing or a curse
The world has always been a mix of contradictions that could either complement one another or be at odds with each other. The conversation in the business and management world revolves around:
• People vs. tasks
• Process vs. outcome
• Macro vs. micro
• Maturity vs. youthfulness
• Masculine vs. feminine
These are but a few of the friction points we see in today’s organizational culture. They make up an important part of the discourse on diversity and inclusion. Different generations in the workplace, each bringing its own unique capabilities. Bringing together different points of view can create conflict, but it’s also the cause for diversity, which, if utilized correctly, can be an invaluable tool for society.
Younger people are tech-savvy, understand how today’s world works, exhibit uninhibited creativity, and bring a youthful sense of joy to the table. Older people benefit from experience and perspective. As the old Mexican saying goes, “more knows the devil for being old than for being the devil”.
And Again, Inclusion
The ability to welcome diversity through open dialogue, mutual respect, and recognition of each other’s strong suits produces excellent managers and work teams that may provide complex, fascinating solutions to our complex, fascinating world. Inclusion and diversity can feel uncomfortable sometimes, because they challenge our deepest and innermost aspects of ourselves. We have to keep in mind the old mantra that’s so easy to say but so hard follow: Respect the Other. See the potential in others and keep your cool. As my mother would say — easier said than done.
SHARE WITH FRIENDS | https://medium.com/@nili-goldfein/2020-is-no-science-fiction-multi-generational-challenges-in-the-workplace-3ea500e9519a | ['Nili Goldfein'] | 2020-10-07 14:22:16.681000+00:00 | ['Workplace', '2020', 'Solutions', 'Conflict', 'Generation Y'] |
Music generation using Deep Learning | “If I had my life to live over again, I would have made a rule to read some poetry and listen to some music at least once every week.”― Charles Darwin
Life exists on the sharp edged wire of the Guitar. Once you jump, it’s echos can be heard with immense intangible pleasure. Let's explore this intangible pleasure…
Music is nothing but a sequence of nodes(events). Here input to the model is a sequence of nodes.
Some of the music generated example using RNNs shown below
Music Representation:
sheet-music ABC-notation: it has a sequence of characters which is very simple for Neural Network train. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ABC_notation MIDI: https://towardsdatascience.com/how-to-generate-music-using-a-lstm-neural-network-in-keras-68786834d4c5 mp3- store only audio file.
Char-RNN
Here I'm using char-RNN structure(Many-Many RNN) where one output corresponds to each input(input Ci -.> output C(i+1)) at each time step(cell). It can have multiple hidden layers(multiple LSTM layers).
Visualizing the predictions and the “neuron” firings in the RNN
Under every character, we visualize (in red) the top 5 guesses that the model assigns for the next character. The guesses are colored by their probability (so dark red = judged as very likely, white = not very likely). The input character sequence (blue/green) is colored based on the firing of a randomly chosen neuron in the hidden representation of the RNN. Think about it as green = very excited and blue = not very excited.
Process:
Obtaining data preprocessing(generating batch-sgd)to feed into char-RNN
Please follow the below link for more datasets. Here I used only Jigs (340 tunes) dataset in ABC-format.
The dataset will be fed into RNN training using a batch size of 16.
Here two LSTM cell represents for each input. The input X0 goes in all LSTM cells in the first input layer. You will get output(h0) and information send to the next time step layer. All output at time step one, LSTM_t1_1, LSTM_t1_2 connected to dense layer whose output is h0. The dense layer at time-step one is called time distributed dense layer. Similarly for the next time step.
Return sequence=True in Keras used in case of when you want to generate output at each input in timestamp sequence. For every input, we need sequence of output. The same input will go to every cell and generate output at every cell in one layer. Every time step(i), we will get a vector of output(256 in given problem).
2. Time distributed dense layer. Please follow the above discussion for a better understanding. At every timestep, it will take all LSTM output and construct a dense layer of size 86. Here 86 is number of unique characters in whole vocabulary.
3. Stateful=True, the last state for each sample at index i in a batch will be used as the initial state for the sample of index i in the following batch. It used in the case when you want to connect one batch with the second batch with the input of the second batch is the output of the first batch. In the case of stateful=false, each batch has zero input to the first time step layer.
Model Architecture and Training:
It is a multi-class classification in which a given input, it will give an output which is an anyone of the total number of character.
The training model generates 86 character after every input of character. based on probability, it will decide the final output character.
Next, we will feed C(i+1) to model, it will generate C(i+2) character. This will continue until all batches of character feed of whole data.
Output:
Open the following link and Paste your generated music is given space in order to play.
For Tabla music:
If you are able to change each sequence as a character than you can use the above char-RNN model. Please read the following blog for a detailed understanding.
MIDI music generation:
Here we will use Music21 python library to read MIDI file and able to convert into the sequence of event. Please read the following blog for detailed understanding.
Models other than char-RNN(Very recent blog):
Its survey blog, have all models apart from the char-RNN model based on Neural Network. Please follow if want to explore.
Google project on generating music:
Based on Tensorflow and LSTM, the project of google researcher.
Reference:
Google Image(for image ) rest link given at respective section
========Thanks(Love to hear from your side)=========
Find detail code on my GitHub account… | https://medium.com/analytics-vidhya/music-generation-using-deep-learning-a2b2848ab177 | ['Rana Singh'] | 2019-12-16 04:45:40.965000+00:00 | ['Deep Learning', 'Artificial Intelligence', 'Mathematics', 'Music', 'Machine Learning'] |
by Martino Pietropoli | First thing in the morning: a glass of water and a cartoon by The Fluxus.
Follow | https://medium.com/the-fluxus/saturday-partita-5-909ef103d9fb | ['Martino Pietropoli'] | 2018-10-06 09:28:56.243000+00:00 | ['Art', 'Saturday', 'Illustration', 'Graphics'] |
Easy ways to Boost your baby’s IQ | BY THABITHA DAVID · PUBLISHED JULY 4, 2020 · UPDATED SEPTEMBER 9, 2020
Topics:
Teach the baby empathy
Babies have the ability to distinguish different tones. For example, if you talk to a baby in a crying voice, the baby will react by crying with you.
A mother and a baby have a very special relationship which starts way before the baby is even born. This feeling for others should be continued at the toddler age.
Teaching empathic responses and gentle courtesies connects brain circuits to make him or her a smart kid. Furthermore, it is a great way to enhance cognitive learning and positive emotional skills.
Teach ‘Sharing is caring‘
Any smart child should have the sensitivity to share with others. This habit should be introduced at the early stages of a baby’s life.
Read to the baby, story books which speak about sharing or talk in baby language that he/she should share with siblings.
They say “Monkey see,, Monkey do”, Not that I am calling any kid a monkey.
However, I found that my little girl got into the habit of sharing very very early in life because she saw her brothers do it.
Her brothers would come back from school and share with her any birthday chocolate they would have got in school.
Soon I noticed that when she was given a chocolate by someone. She would keep it and give it to her brothers in the evening and share it with them.
Such nature is very rare and will be highly appreciated throughout the kids life.
It is also our duty to teach the importance good manners to our kids. If you are wondering how, read our article How-To Teach Good Manners to Your Kids?.
Show Joy and Interest
A baby develops at his/her best when he or she is loved to the maximum.
This is best communicated by your body language and your enthusiasm through your shining eyes.
Give the baby your full attention. Praising does wonders to anybody. A baby is the same in this aspect.
So, praise his or her babbles even.
Engage the baby with fun-filled activities and lovable nature and watch your baby bloom like a flower.
The key is to show interest. Look into her eyes when you speak to her. Smile at her and greet her with enthusiasm.
Breast-feed your baby, if you can
Exclusively breast-feeding a baby for 6 months and keeping breast milk as the primary source of nutrition for at least 1 year boosts the IQ of a baby.
Researchers say that breastfed babies have a significantly higher scores of cognitive developments than formula fed babies.
Furthermore, breastmilk contains Omega 3, which excels brain function in children.
Although this medication is available for children to take orally, it is best that a baby is breast fed as long as possible.
I know as a working parent it can get more challenging and difficult. I managed to tide over this for 18 months by using a pump and deep freezing the milk in dated bottles.
The caretaker would use FIFO (First In and First) to feed my kids. And two feeds at night and 1 in the morning, I would feed directly.
(Disclosure: Till the little ones got teeth and started biting me). Then it was all pump and bottle till 18 months.
Every cry means something
Babies should be heard for their needs. Their cry is a way to communicate a certain necessity. It could mean comfort, hunger or diaper change or in initial months, colic.
There is no such thing as spoiling a baby by not letting him or her cry it out.
Attending to a baby’s cry makes the baby feel secure and build trust with the parents. It sends the message that I am valued in household as a proper person.
But yes, I understand that pacifying a crying baby can get a bit overwhelming.
I have outlined based on my experience, practical tips and tricks on how to pacify a crying baby in my article Why is my Baby Crying? Tips to calm your crying Baby.
I can assure you it will be worth your read.
Convince your child that he or she is smart
Psychologists say that conveying the message that their child is the smartest will always be a great way to boost your baby’s IQ.
Parents should talk and praise the baby in a positive way.
Research has been performed and the outcome was very convincing.
Babies who have been raised to think that they are very smart have performed well academically and socially.
I can vouch for it firsthand. I would always say to my first son that he is as intelligent as the character Daniel in the Bible.
Similarly, I used to keep telling my younger daughter “she is a smart kid”. Till date years from the time they were infants or toddlers they repeat it. They also believe and they act so.
On the contrary. I had done this naturally and sub consciously. My second one got overshowed by the first due to the close age gap.
And we did face less motivation issues and a complex that he was not as smart as the others. (Even though he is by far the most talented person in our entire family and larger family).
Develop sense of humor
Making your baby laugh is the first step towards developing sense of humor. Babies love to laugh when tickling the toes or making funny faces.
Also, they love to hear different tones of voices. Singing the same song in high pitch is a great way to initiate laughter and a beautiful bond with the baby.
For me, a simple “How are you?” said in a deep tone, followed by a “How are you?” in a squeaky tone. And then telling it in a normal pleasant tone does the trick for my daughter. She finds it funny and bursts into laughter every time.
Let the baby explore
Give your baby alone time with lots of different toys, soft books, and textured material. This is a great way to boost a baby’s brain to develop high level of IQ.
Also, let the baby play with his food and feed him or herself. This stimulates brain activity and has a very positive result.
Any thing that helps in stimulating brain activity will helps them learn and this helps to boost your baby’s IQ.
Messy play is also a very powerful way of playing that will help in your baby development. If you like to know more to give the best to your baby read our article MESSY PLAY — Powerful benefits for your child.
video Time: Expert opinion about how to stimulate healthy brain in kids
Conclusion
Raising a baby requires a lot of efforts from both the parents.
Yes, you heard me right. From BOTH the parents. IF you are a father and wondering how, then you should read our article 11 Amazing ways FATHER’S can contribute to child’s success.
Parents should spend a lot of their time with the baby to develop the baby’s brain to its full potential.
Children are born with a certain IQ level and we can help in boosting our baby’s IQ through some engaging activities and good communication skills.
While you are at it. Do not compare your baby with other babies. Do not set high expectations or feel disappointed if your baby falls short of it. Each baby is unique so appreciate the uniqueness.
What we have outlined above are based on our personal experience which we like to share with our readers and we do hope it helps to boost your baby’s IQ.
This is not a do all and end all list and there are many more ways to boost your baby’s IQ. Don’t limit to only this list. We encourage you to experiment what works best for your baby as your raise your child.
Remember: It is the responsibility of a parent to enhance confidence, intelligence, and knowledge. But it is a higher responsibility of the parent to create a secure and comfortable environment with lots of love and acceptance.
God Bless!!.
We hope this blog has been helpful to you. If Yes, show us love by sharing the blog post with your friends and loved ones. Together we can make the world a better place one step at a time.
If you have any tips or tricks on how to boost your baby’s IQ, please do share with us in your comments below. This will help us to make our blog better and above all your knowledge will benefit other parents also. | https://medium.com/@the-shades-of-yellow/easy-ways-to-boost-your-babys-iq-7dc1e15fdd81 | [] | 2020-11-22 17:45:32.733000+00:00 | ['Baby', 'Health', 'Mental Health', 'Parenting', 'Brain'] |
An Open Letter from Over 300 Legal Scholars on Trump Impeachment Inquiry | For only the fourth time in American history, there is a serious inquiry concerning the impeachment of the President of the United States. We write as law professors because impeachment is a legal proceeding provided for by the Constitution of the United States. We write because the core principle of the rule of law is that no one, not even the President, is above the law and impeachment is the ultimate check provided for by the Constitution. We are writing not to express an opinion as to whether President Donald Trump should be impeached or removed, but to clarify the legal standards and procedures that should be followed.
Impeachment by the United States House of Representatives followed by a conviction in the United States Senate is one of only two methods under the Constitution for removing a President. (The 25th Amendment provides for the removal of the president due to incapacity, and while some have called for that as well, this letter does not address it.) Article II, §4, of the Constitution provides for impeachment for “Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.” There is no definitive answer to what constitutes a “high crime or misdemeanor.” There is no Supreme Court case addressing it. But the history of the phrase and the experience of prior impeachments make clear that “high crimes and misdemeanors” include a serious abuse of power while in office whether or not a crime has occurred. In other words, a criminal act is often sufficient to be an impeachable offense, but it is not necessary.
We urge that the President and those in the Executive Branch cooperate with an impeachment inquiry. Prior Presidents facing such inquiries — Andrew Johnson, Richard Nixon, and Bill Clinton — cooperated with the House of Representatives and its committees. We urge the House to act expeditiously, while providing the President and those in the Executive Branch a full and fair opportunity to be heard. This, however, does not include the right of the President, or the public, to know the identity of the whistleblower. Federal law explicitly provides for secrecy of whistleblowers precisely so they will come forward and report wrong-doing.
We strongly disagree with White House Counsel Pat Cipollone’s statements in an October 8, 2019 letter that the impeachment inquiry is “contrary to the Constitution … and all past bipartisan precedent” and violates “fundamental fairness and constitutionally mandated due process.” Quite the contrary, the Constitution does not mandate the process for impeachment and there is no constitutional requirement that the House of Representatives authorize an impeachment inquiry before one begins. Cipollone wrongly condemns the impeachment inquiry as the House “seeking to overturn the result of the 2016 election.” This fails to recognize the seriousness of the charges against President Trump for abusing executive power for personal political gain and violating federal election law.
If there is an impeachment by the House of Representatives, we believe that the Senate is constitutionally obligated to hold a trial to be presided over by the Chief Justice of the United States. Unlike past trials following impeachments, we urge that this trial be conducted in public, not behind closed doors.
Please click here to view a PDF of this letter and full list of signers. | https://medium.com/@EChemerinsky/an-open-letter-from-legal-scholars-on-trump-impeachment-inquiry-31ee24d5e699 | ['Erwin Chemerinsky'] | 2019-10-18 00:03:57.425000+00:00 | ['Legal Scholarship', 'Legal', 'Impeachment', 'Law School'] |
Exploring Recharts: multiple ReferenceLine segments | Most charts usually require some kind of reference line to compare the current plotted data against. For example, a budget chart can have a reference line for 70% of the budget, to display when the expenses went over the prescribed limit and another reference line for 100% of the budget, Or , a chart showing the monthly rainfall in cm can have a reference line for average rainfall in cm to show in which months the rainfall was more than average. These are very general use cases for single reference lines which span a whole dimension (x or y in terms of cartesian coordinates).
Recharts provides a ReferenceLine component which helps you achieve exactly this.
Then there are some use cases for multiple reference lines which may span different parts of a particular dimension, for example, bar charts grouped by year can have a different average for each year for which to compare that year’s data against. These disjointed segments would span different portions of the x dimension.
Recharts provides this flexibility through a currently undocumented API.
ReferenceLine can accept a segment prop which can take an array with 2 set of endpoints within which the line would be drawn.
This is useful when:
you need to have a reference line which is not horizontal or vertical but sloped.
when you need to have multiple reference lines for different portions of a dimension.
when you need to have a reference line not span the whole dimension.
Then there can be a use case for a single reference line, which can have multiple connected segments, but a single label for the whole line.
This can be achieved by rendering multiple disjointed lines as in the previous use case and having some contrived logic to display one single label by hiding the labels for all but one, and positioning the label correctly, but how convenient it would be if we could pass all these multiple segments to one component, instead of creating a new component for each of these parts and that component could handle all the contrived logic. Also in this case, depending on the implementation the segments could actually be connected and not disjoint.
That’s where the out of the box recharts functionality ends.
We can create our own component to take in a segments prop instead of a segment prop, which is an array of segments, where each segment is an object containing a pair of start and end coordinates. But, creating custom components in Recharts is a pain. So, for now, we will be satisfied with what we have, as the single reference line with multiple connected segments use case can still be achieved by the existing API.
Just for fun, This is what the component may look like:
<MyReferenceLine
segments={[
[{ x: 2, y: 23 }, { x: 4, y: 2 }],
[{ x: 2, y: 23 }, { x: 4, y: 2 }],
[{ x: 2, y: 23 }, { x: 4, y: 2 }],
]}
label="single label"
stroke="red"
/>
Please note that this is fundamentally different than a component which displays multiple ReferenceLine s, as in case of multiple ReferenceLine s each of those lines can have different config parameters, although our custom component may use multiple ReferenceLine components internally and have some contrived logic encapsulated so that the output might still look and behave like a single connected component, OR, it can have a completely separate implementation from ReferenceLine .
A list of all other posts in this series: | https://medium.com/@gaurav5430/exploring-recharts-multiple-referenceline-segments-1856b5b07111 | ['Gaurav Gupta'] | 2020-06-21 14:57:56.653000+00:00 | ['D3js', 'Charts', 'JavaScript', 'React', 'Recharts'] |
Fn 12: It’s More Than Just Teaching Kids to Code | Coding education for kids is wildly popular right now. From books and toys to after school programs from non-profit organizations, companies are putting lots of money and resources behind helping create the next generation of programmers. But is that enough? A few years ago, Anil wrote about his skepticism behind these efforts, wondering if perhaps they are missing the mark on teaching proficiency over literacy.
On our season finale of Function, Anil sits down with Alex Klein, co-founder and CEO of Kano Computing, a company that creates kits for all ages that help make coding and computing skills as simple and fun as putting together LEGO bricks. During their wide-ranging conversation (recorded at this year’s CES), learn about what motivated Alex to empower kids to create technology in this way, and hear his thoughts on the current trends around teaching kids to code.
Thank you for listening to the first season of Function! As we take a break and prep for season two, we want to learn more about you. What do you like about Function? What would you change? Tell us everything in our audience survey! Visit voxmedia.com/podsurvey and let us know what you think.
Guest
Other Links
About Function | https://medium.com/glitch/fn-12-its-more-than-just-teaching-kids-to-code-dc2e142b2060 | ['Maurice Cherry'] | 2019-01-21 12:36:38.203000+00:00 | ['Coding', 'Kano', 'Learn To Code', 'CES', 'Education'] |
Avoiding Assumptions | by Rocky Glenn
As I sat down to write this week I had many false starts and failed attempts as I began to tear into the keys of my laptop fed up with infuriating examples I’ve observed of assumptions and presumptions of folks so assured and self confident of being correct in whatever cause, debate, or argument in which they are currently embroiled. From social issues such as the latest decision by the United Methodist Church to everyday issues in the workplace, there is nothing more off-putting than encountering the smug attitude of another who is more concerned of being right than treating others right. For several days I have pondered and meditated how best to combat the self-centered “looking out for number one” mentality which seems to fuel those who not only insist their way of thinking is the right and only way of thinking but also subscribe to the delusion it is their responsibility to insist everyone not following their line of thought is in error and must be corrected. I realized simply writing a few paragraphs lashing out and spouting how wrong they are and how right I am would do nothing other than add just another pointing finger of judgment and would be furthering the problem at hand.
If you follow my writings at all, it will come as no surprise my favorite author is Brennan Manning. For the last five years I have annually worked my way through Reflections for Ragamuffins, a collection of his writings formatted as daily devotionals. It is not unusual for the same writing to speak to me every year as I read it and I normally discover this as I have often caught myself off guard when I go to share a quote, excerpt, or screenshot via social media only to find I had previously shared the identical idea in years past. This past Wednesday was one of those encounters only this time there was a slight exception. Being aware of what I was intending to write about this week one of Brennan’s statements leaped off the page at me as never before like a mirror held to my face:
“My struggle to cope with certain people has a simple explanation: they represent to me precisely those elements that I have refused to acknowledge and accept in myself.”
Ouch!! Did that hurt you as much as it did me? I recoiled from the statement and sought to find a layer of untruth in it. Is Brennan saying my annoyance at assumptions others make in reality an annoyance at the assumptions I’ve made? Does he really mean when I get angry if someone is throwing their weight around and trying to control a situation I’m actually angry because I’m seeking control myself? When I seek to exclude those who are exclusive, unloving, and unwelcoming, am I really just as exclusive, unloving, and unwelcoming to them as they are to others? What a harsh realization to make! Surely Brennan is mistaken on this one.
Unfortunately, it would seem Brennan has an ally in this line of thinking in the Apostle Paul. In his letter to the church at Rome, Paul shares these words:
You may think you can condemn such people, but you are just as bad, and you have no excuse! When you say they are wicked and should be punished, you are condemning yourself, for you who judge others do these very same things. — Romans 2:1 NLT
We judge others based only on our own understanding and assign our own self-designed motives to words and actions without pausing to consider the motivation or contributing factors to their behavior whether known or unknown. An assumption is simply something accepted as true without any proof. To assume we understand what another is thinking and why they act a certain way is to place ourselves in a position of knowing them often better than we know ourselves. Such assumptions turn into presumptions when taken for granted as truth and judgments are made. Too often we place our self in a position of judge, jury, and executioner of another and determine who they were is who they are and it is who they will always be. In the words of Jesus, we are more concerned about the splinter in someone else’s eye rather than the log sticking out of our own.
Christ taught us the most important thing after loving God is to love our neighbor as our self. None of us are pleased when judged and placed in a box and it certainly does not feeling very loving. If it is so upsetting and unloving to us when dealt with based on assumptions and judgments, why are we so quick to treat others in such a manner? In order to understand, we must learn to listen. We must remember we are all human and truly none of us are better than the other. Whether online or face to face, we must learn to allow others the freedom to be who they are and express themselves with only one caveat . . . that freedom ends at the point it is harmful to others. Recently I came across a Facebook post addressing this very idea by author Steve Austin addressing why certain comments or responses were being deleted from articles he shared on social media. Steve’s explanation was beautiful:
For the first 30 years of my life, I was steeped in toxic, exclusionary theology that was more focused on the rules and red tape of religion than the unconditional love of God.
When I woke up after a serious suicide attempt, and God whispered to my soul, “I’m not finished with you yet,” everything changed. I had researched and done everything in my power to try and end my life because I hated myself, but Love would not let me go.
Love is stubborn.
I had spent all my life in church pews and behind pulpits, striving to be “good enough” for God to tolerate me.
That’s right — “tolerate.”
I believed God loved me, but didn’t like me very much. And it’s because of the kinds of churches I was raised in and employed by.
These days, I’m investing all my energy in love-based theology that makes room for everyone. I have no more time for fear, shame, or guilt. And I won’t tolerate it on my page.
So if you bring your toxic, fear-based, shame-rooted, guilt-steeped theology onto my page and try and throw the Bible at me or anyone else in an effort to prove your point or push people out of the circle, your comment will be deleted without warning. Full stop.
I believe we are all loved and approved by a God who is WILD about us. I firmly believe that NOTHING can separate us — none of us — not me or you or the neighbor down the street (or across the globe) from the LOVE of God.
Steve goes on to say if he removes a particular comments, it’s not because he is angry. He is simply ensuring no one feels unwelcome or threatened by another’s extremely limited view of love. Steve’s post can be seen in it’s entirety here, but in closing I’ve chosen a few more of his words below:
Love makes room.
Love draws the circle bigger.
Love casts a wider net.
Love includes the outcast.
Love includes the rebel.
Love includes the minority.
Love includes those you don’t understand.
Love even includes your enemies.
And God is love.
Assumptions limit love, but love avoids assumptions. | https://medium.com/@donewthreligion/avoiding-assumptions-a1ab20cabf73 | ['Done With Religion'] | 2019-03-08 21:19:04.031000+00:00 | ['Church', 'Acceptance', 'Brennan Manning', 'Christian Living'] |
Elm and Myo playing together | I haven’t been able to stop playing around with my Myo armband since I got my hands on it this week. In truth it’s ruined a few of my plans for the weekend, but boy it’s been fun trying to get the Myo working with various apps and games.
Elm has also piqued my interest lately, so what better way to play with the Myo than to build a game in Elm that is best played using gestures? And along comes Thunder Cow, a light-hearted game where you use the fist and fingersSpread postures to start and stop a moving arrow. The goal is to time your release so that the arrow stops in the red zone.
To play using the Myo armband you also need to add this Lua script into your Myo Script Manager. After you’ve added the script, head over here to give it a go.
The Elm source code for the game is available here. There is no native support for sound in Elm, so I had to resort to using Elm’s JS interop capabilities to invoke Javascript functions to play the mp3 files. | https://medium.com/theburningmonk-com/elm-and-myo-playing-together-5cc5fa4271ec | ['Yan Cui'] | 2017-07-03 20:55:25.023000+00:00 | ['Elm', 'Reactive Programming', 'Myo', 'Programming'] |
Mobile Application Penetration Testing | Mobile application penetration testing is a specialist service offering that can be used to validate the security controls of your mobile applications. Mobile devices have become an essential component of business and of general life in the 21st century. Almost all organizations publishing information through a web application extend this functionality to a mobile application. Exposing this information in an insecure manner can lead to a significant breach of sensitive information.
Mobile application penetration testing permits associations the ability to remove any defects in their system that requires prompt fixing and additional protection. Associations that are entering a mobile pen test scenario should focus on being as positive as could be allowed and thinking about the test as an educational experience.
Why Pen Test Mobile Applications?
The number of mobile device users has been increasing significantly in the last couple of years, and mobile applications are becoming integral tools for daily life. Therefore, protecting the data used by the mobile app has been becoming critically important. At the enterprise level, BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) policies allow employees to connect their mobile devices to enterprise networks. This allows an opportunity for hackers to penetrate the network, and a recent survey indicated in increased attacks using mobile malware exponentially. So, it is crucial for security professionals to understand the security for both mobile device and application levels.
According to OWASP’s Mobile Security Project, the 10 most critical security risks to mobile applications are the following:
Improper Platform Usage Insecure Data Storage Insecure Communication Insecure Authentication Insufficient Cryptography Insecure Authorization Client Code Quality Code Tampering Reverse Engineering Extraneous Functionality
Mobile Penetration Testing Benefits
Reduce Mobile Application breaches
Mobile applications are becoming a favorite of attackers as they are easily accessible for the attackers. Mobile Application Security Testing reduces the risk of mobile app breach by detecting the mobile application weaknesses early and remediating them before an attacker finds them.
Test its responsiveness group
By receiving mobile application security testing as a part of a mobile app security testing services and a mobile project, you can test the responsiveness of your enterprise security team. We can check the time of the response, the nature of the reaction, and the response accuracy.
If the security group doesn’t appropriately respond, then there is something incorrectly in the process that should be addressed. Then again, if the help is outsourced, we can test the nature of this service.
Uncover Critical Vulnerabilities in Your App
Much the same as a vulnerability valuation, penetration testing reveals underlying vulnerabilities in your application and gives suggestions on fortifying your security. With mobile app security testing companies, testers will scan operating systems, network devices, and claims to recognize known and obscure vulnerabilities and make a detailed report containing a complete list of the weaknesses and their criticality. Penetration testing will permit you to comprehend to what extent your mobile application’s vulnerabilities can be exploited by programmers.
Meet Compliance Requirements
In todays regulated environment, compliance to regulations and standards such as PCI DSS, OWASP, GDPR, HIPAA, NIST, RBI CSF, SAMA CSF, NESA and many more other standards requires mobile app security testing as a critical requirement.
Scale the business with secure mobile apps
Mobile application usage continues to increase and outpaces these web applications. Mobile applications that are secure have better chance to retain the customer trust and loyalty. Mobile application penetration testing provides the extra support for scalability of your business.
Closing Thoughts
The fact remains that 85% of organizations state that their association is at moderate risk with regards to mobile threats, while 74% state the risk has gone up over the previous year. The best way to diminish these figures is for organizations to focus on closing vulnerabilities and information escape clauses in their mobile applications through a penetration test. Following the system for sourcing a certified pen analyzer and performing the due diligence in preparing a mobile pen test will permit the association to receive the rewards of having less network architecture that better services its primary concern. it is an absolute necessity to perform penetration testing for every mobile application that you create or ensure that you get it delivered from the mobile application advancement agency that builds up your application. | https://medium.com/@otakuhp/mobile-application-penetration-testing-68409d8b90ee | [] | 2021-06-01 13:38:06.248000+00:00 | ['Information Security', 'Mobile Pentesting'] |
Season’s Greetings | Mummers, from a manuscript in the Bodleian Library, University of Oxford
Cold. Freaking cold…. Finally! Not that anyone really looks forward to the freaking cold but it is December and at least it feels right, here in the northern hemisphere for when it is.
The recently forecast snow mostly missed us, leaving many of us in the American flyover to light the final candles of Chanuka in a frigid landscape of bare trees and dormant grasses. Memories of a “White Christmas” are fading with the changes to our global climate.
Our winter holidays are too early for the season in these longitudes. MLK, Presidents and St. Valentine’s Days unfortunately lack the cultural juice to really get us through the brutal winters that keep those of us who aren’t snowbirds close to home and hearth through St. Patrick’s Day.
As the sunlight begins to last a little longer with the coming of the solstice, there is only Christmas and the New Year before we all must face the worst of the winter. Our winter holidays are over before the full brutality of the season starts leaning hardest on us here “where rivers freeze and summer ends”.*
The NFL’s “Super Sunday” league championship game has become a decent winter holiday as it creeps deeper into February, right when we need something for those who are left out by St. Valentine’s Day, whether by their own fault or not. Although it appeals most strongly to the residents and fans of the professional football teams in only two metropolitan areas, the social gathering and gambling opportunities created by the spectacle of sport come admirably close to good enough — especially in the off years of the Olympic Games.
It has certainly been tough times for social celebrations, in this time of need for social distancing. However, we as a civilization desperately need to emerge from the other side of this plague with one or two steps forward. We are out of excuses. We have enough choices to pull it off.
*”Girl From the North Country” by Bob Dylan | https://medium.com/@barrydredze/seasons-greetings-b96ace56be9f | ['Barry Dredze'] | 2020-12-24 14:31:39.377000+00:00 | ['Human Civilization', 'Xmas', 'Winter', 'Happy Holidays', 'Climate Change'] |
Data analysis made easy: Text2Code for Jupyter notebook | Example of plugin in action
Inspiration: GPT-3
In June of 2020, OpenAI launched their new model GPT-3, which not only has futuristic NLP(Natural Language Processing) capabilities, but was also able to generate React code and simplify command-line commands.
Looking at these demos was a huge inspiration for us and we realized that while doing data analysis, a lot of times, we often forget less-used pandas or plotly syntax and need to search for it. Copying the code from StackOverflow then requires modifying the variables and column names accordingly. We started exploring for something which generates ready-to-execute code for human queries like:
show rainfall and humidity in a heatmap from dataframe df
or
group df by state and get average & maximum of user_age
Snippets was one such extension we used for some time but after a certain number of snippets, the UI becomes unintuitive. While it is good for static templates, we needed something more to handle dynamic nature of our use-case.
Snippet extension example
We decided to attempt building a new jupyter extension for this purpose. Unfortunately, we didn’t have beta access to GPT-3, so using that amazing model wasn’t an option.
Simplifying the task:
We wanted to build something which runs on our desktops (with GPUs). We initially tried treating the problem as a chat-bot problem and started with Rasa but were soon stopped short due to lack of proper training data.
Having failed to build a truly generative model, we decided to develop a supervised model which can work for the use-cases defined in the training pipeline and could be easily extended. Taking inspiration from chatbot pipelines, we decided to simplify the problem into the following components:
Generate / Gather training data
Intent matching: What is it that the user wants to do?
NER(Named Entity Recognition): Identify variables(entities) in the sentences
Fill Template: Use extracted entities in a fixed template to generate code
Wrap inside jupyter extension
Generating training data:
In order to simulate what end “users” are going to query to the system, we started with some formats we thought we ourselves use to describe the command in English. For example:
display a line plot showing $colname on y-axis and $colname on x-axis from $varname
Then, we generate variations by using a very simple generator to replace $colname and $varname to get variations in the training set.
Example of some (intent_id,ner-formats)
Intent Matching:
After having generated the data, which is mapped with a unique “intent_id” for specific intents, we then used Universal Sentence Encoder to get embeddings of the user query and find cosine similarity with our predefined intent queries(generated data). Universal Sentence Encoder is similar to word2vec which generates embeddings, but for sentences instead of words.
Example of intent matching
NER(Named Entity Recognition):
The same generated data could be then used to train a custom entity recognition model, which could detect column, variable, library names. For this purpose, we explored HuggingFace models but ended up using Spacy to train a custom model, primarily because HuggingFace models are transformer based models and are a bit heavy as compared to Spacy.
Example of entity recognition
Fill Template:
Filling a template is very easy once the entities are correctly recognized and intents are correctly matched. For example, “show 5 rows from df” query would result in two entities: a variable and a numeric. Template code for this was straightforward to write.
df.head() or df.head(5)
Integrate with Jupyter:
Suprisingly, this one turned out to be the most complex of all, as it is slightly tricky to write such complex extensions for Jupyter and there is little documentation or examples available (as compared to other libraries like HuggingFace or Spacy). With some trial and errors, and a bit of copy-paste from already existing extensions, we were finally able to wrap everything around as a single python package, which could be installed via pip install
We had to create a frontend as well as a server extension which gets loaded when jupyter notebook is triggered. Frontend sends the query to server to get the generated template code and then inserts it in the cell and executes it.
Demo:
The demo video was prepared on Chai Time Data Science dataset by Sanyam Bhutani.
Short video of supported commands
Limitations:
Like with many ML models, sometimes intent matching and NER fail miserably, even when the intent is obvious to the human eye. Some of the areas we could attempt to improve the situation are: | https://towardsdatascience.com/data-analysis-made-easy-text2code-for-jupyter-notebook-5380e89bb493 | ['Kartik Godawat'] | 2020-09-06 21:12:54.717000+00:00 | ['Machine Learning', 'Artificial Intelligence', 'NLP', 'Data Science', 'Data Visualization'] |
Paper Review — End-to-End Detection With Transformers | Nicolas Carion, Francisco Massa, Gabriel Synnaeve, Nicolas Usunier, Alexander Kirillov, Sergey Zagoruyko
ArXiv link — https://arxiv.org/abs/2005.12872
Contributions
In this paper —
the authors present DETR — an object detection method based on transformers and bipartite matching loss that views the problem as a direct set prediction problem.
their method removes the need for hand-designed components that require prior knowledge about the task like non-maximum suppression and anchor generation.
the source code is made available at — https://github.com/facebookresearch/detr
DETR Architecture
DETR Architecture (src — https://arxiv.org/pdf/2005.12872.pdf)
The model consists of three components as shown in the above figure
1. CNN Backbone
The CNN takes in the image and learns a 2D representation of it by generating a low resolution activation map.
2. Encoder-Decoder Transformer
Architecture of DETR’s transformer (src — https://arxiv.org/pdf/2005.12872.pdf)
Each encoder layer follows the standard architecture of the transformer consisting of a multi-head self-attention module and a feed forward network.
The decoder also follows the standard architecture of the transformer consisting of multi-headed self- and encoder-decoder attention module
3. Feed Forward Network
3-layer perceptron with RELU activations, a hidden dimension d and a linear projection layer are used for the final prediction.
FFN predicts the normalized center, coordinates, height and width of the box w.r.t the input image
Linear layer predicts the class label using softmax function.
Approach
The backbone takes an image with 3 channels as input and outputs a lower-resolution activation map of it with 2048 channels
A 1x1 convolution reduces the channel dimension of this activation map creating a smaller dimension feature map. Then the spatial dimension of this feature map is collapsed since the transformer’s encoder expects a sequence as input.
A positional encoding is passed along with the collapsed feature vector as input to the encoder.
The decoder then takes in the output of the encoder along with object queries which are a small fixed number of learned positional embedding. They are added to the input of each attention layer
The decoder decodes N objects in parallel outputting N embedding, which are then independently passed to a shared FFN after normalizing them by a shared layer-norm.
The FFN independently predicts the class and bounding box (or no object) for each of those N decoder embeddings.
While using the whole image as context, the model globally reasons about all objects together using pair-wise relations between them by using self- and encoder-decoder attention over these embeddings.
An auxiliary decoding loss is used during training to help the model output the correct number of objects of each class.
A bipartite matching loss is used to train DETR.
Loss Function — Set Prediction Loss
It forces unique matching between predicted and ground truth boxes. DETR outputs a fixed-size of N predictions, where N is set to a number larger
than the typical number of objects in an image. The loss function produces an optimal bipartite matching between predicted and ground truth objects and then optimizes object-specific bounding box losses.
Step 1: Finding pair wise matching
All permutations of N elements are searched to find a bipartite matching between the predicted and the ground truth set of objects as seen below:
The matching cost takes into account both the class prediction and the similarity of predicted and ground truth boxes as seen below:
Step 2: Hungarian Loss
For all pairs matched in the previous step, hungarian loss is defined as a linear combination of a negative log-likelihood for class prediction and box loss.
Bounding box loss
Class prediction loss
Experiments
The authors show that their approach achieves competitive results compared to Faster R-CNN in quantitative evaluation on COCO dataset.
Comparison with Faster R-CNN (src — https://arxiv.org/pdf/2005.12872.pdf)
They also provide a detailed ablation study with insights and qualitative results for the architecture and loss function.
They also present results of extending DETR for the task of panoptic segmentation by training a small extension on a fixed DETR model.
DETR extended by a panoptic head (src — https://arxiv.org/pdf/2005.12872.pdf)
Results for panoptic segmentation generated by DETR-R101 (src — https://arxiv.org/pdf/2005.12872.pdf)
Short Comings
Though DETR seems to predict large objects accurately, it has trouble regarding training, optimization and performance on small objects.
References
https://arxiv.org/pdf/2005.12872.pdf
https://arxiv.org/abs/2005.12872
https://github.com/facebookresearch/detr
https://ai.facebook.com/research/publications/end-to-end-object-detection-with-transformers | https://medium.com/swlh/paper-review-end-to-end-detection-with-transformers-f66258135c01 | ['Krut Patel'] | 2020-12-14 06:42:17.104000+00:00 | ['Transformers', 'Machine Learning', 'Computer Vision', 'Object Detection', 'Deep Learning'] |
5 Tips for Creating an Inbound Strategy for B2B | Marketing within the digital age is changing, with inbound marketing at the forefront of the evolution. HubSpot defines inbound marketing as a method of attracting, engaging and delighting customers to grow a business that provides value and builds trust. This new approach to B2B marketing allows tech and telecoms companies to align their activities with consumer behaviour. Customers want content that allows them to gain information about a solution they need, rather than being targeted with irrelevant content.
Behind every successful B2B tech and telecoms business is a successful inbound strategy. Creating your B2B inbound strategy doesn’t have to be hard, and with our 5 tips you can get started straight away.
Tip 1: Determine Your Target Audience
The foundations of an effective inbound strategy are to have buyer personas. If you’ve read our recent blog, Buyer Personas: A Beginner’s Guide, you already know the importance of this marketing tool. Defining your target audience can help you to personalise your inbound strategy. This specialist approach ensures your sales, marketing and service teams are equipped with knowledge that will help to them to generate, close and nurture leads successfully.
Tip 2: Create a Variety of Content
Simple as it sounds, some B2B tech and telecoms companies find it hard to produce content that will spark the interest of their customers. Some B2B marketers will fall into the trap of producing similar pieces of content, which can result in the loss of current and potential leads.
A quick and easy way to get started would be to repurpose some already great content. This can be done by turning a blog post into a video or a SlideShare, adding depth to content as well as creating variety.
Tip 3: Having a Strong Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) Strategy
Google is the answer to everyone’s problems. It’s the first-place potential customers with a problem will go to find a solution. Therefore, having a strong SEO strategy will secure a high organic ranking for your content upon a search engine. This means customers will be more likely to come across your offering.
This can simply be done by targeting high traffic keywords and analysing data trends. These small steps can help to reposition your website and brand in the search engine results, giving greater online visibility.
Tip 4: Nurture Your Leads
Building relationships with customers throughout the funnel should be a high priority within your B2B inbound strategy. According to Marketo, 96% of visitors that enter a website are not ready to buy. With this in mind, your marketing and communication efforts need to cater to your prospects’ needs, giving them the information and answers they desperately need.
A great way to start nurturing your leads is to create valuable content. Marketo states that potential customers would be willing to provide contact information in exchange for valuable content. From here, you can slowly nurture leads via email marketing and tailor content to their needs.
Remember slow and steady will always win the race. Most B2B marketers will spam potential leads with a heavy sales approach. Not everyone will be willing to buy from your brand straight away, it takes time.
5 Innovative HubSpot Features for Your B2B Sales Team
Tip 5: Analysing Your Strategy
After you have implemented your B2B inbound strategy, you should be continuously analysing its progress. This will enable you to determine which parts of your strategy you will need to optimise.
When analysing, you will need to start gathering data on click-through-rates and conversion paths to see which channels have high Return-On-Investment.
Here at Ilex, our main aim is helping your B2B tech and telecoms company to prosper. Saleh states that a properly executed inbound strategy is 10x more effective for lead conversion than outbound.
Our expert team are at hand to help develop your inbound strategy, so you can generate, close and nurture leads successfully. | https://medium.com/@ilexcontent/5-tips-for-creating-an-inbound-strategy-for-b2b-668e6c560417 | ['Ilex Content'] | 2019-10-14 14:22:19.142000+00:00 | ['Tips', 'Marketing', 'Inbound Marketing', 'Telecommunication', 'B2B'] |
When it should have. | When it should have. The Oral Polio Vaccine had paralyzed over 490,000 Indian children. The Indian parliament asked “PATH" (a Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation funded organization- who was being funded by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation at the time ) to leave India and not return, politely.
Immediately as the common narcissistic tact goes — the press released a series of “debunks" which headlined as:
“No —Bill Gates did NOT get kicked out of India for the Polio Vaccine.”
-none of which even mentioned the Peer reviewed science paper published which gave the full research data substantiating the claim,
-and all of which gas-lit the main point behind the matter of the claim to begin with by use of parroted logical fallacies, red herring and scarecrow fallacy.
These narratives are commonly propagated under one or two pretence.
Either:
the publishing party had a traceable and clear-as-verified conflict of interest by affiliation to Bill Gates' or Manufacturer-owned industry; or, the author had a history of narcissistic harassment of whistleblowers threatening their false illusion of reality, which most likely comprised of rainbow unicorn farts and an industrial complex which is run by cherubim and Jesus Christ partnered with Santa Claus ensuring a perfectly ethical and moral standard upon the wealthy conglomerate corporatocracy — aside of course their historically racist eugenics human experimentation projects Argentina faced, or their losses in anti-trust lawsuits.
The overtone of insincerity by the like to the latter of the two is reflective of every definition to which we might attribute the term “narcissist”, such as the use of flying-monkeys, the gas-lighting, but more so prominently is the factor that they simply do not care about anyone others other than themselves.
This is measurable through the lack of consideration of others who are victims of the grotesque criminal actions these industries commit.
They simply seem to wish to utilize their harassment of those harmed and those standing up for those harmed — in order to rally social status — the only thing they care about.
I very much attribute this to the likings of the antichrist-consciousness, as it was exactly that type of narcissism which rallied the crowd to kill Jesus Christ. | https://medium.com/@hyphy/when-it-should-have-1a73b416f18f | ['Shaun Thomas Villafana'] | 2020-12-18 08:17:20.642000+00:00 | ['Dynamics', 'Logical Fallacies', 'Social Psychology', 'Narcissism', 'Sincerity'] |
Girl, Mind Your Own Business | “You’re going to feel like hell if you wake up someday and you never wrote the stuff that is tugging on the sleeves of your heart: your stories, memories, visions and songs — your truth, your version of things — in your own voice. That’s really all you have to offer us, and that’s also why you were born.” — Anne Lamott
Photo by Max Brown on Unsplash
I’ll be honest, when I first heard about the phenomenon that is Girl, Wash Your Face, I was underwhelmed. But, because FOMO has a strong grip on me, I went to Rachel Hollis’ website to find what I had been missing from my life that I didn’t even know about. I listened to the first three chapters of her book on the podcast and was not interested. The writing felt contrived and I did not relate — albeit because I am far beyond her avatar, or ideal reader. The stories felt like inflated Instagram posts and I was turned off.
When the book took off like a late summer firestorm in California, I admit I was a bit disgusted. Really? Is that all it takes to write a bestseller? Not understanding the underlying workings of all that goes into a bestseller: the established fan base, the internet exposure, and the talent and dedication of a powerful book launch team. Still, I wondered, why were women so fired up about this book?
My disgust and disinterest soon turned to ambivalence as I reminded myself that there are billions of books in print and each has its target audience. Rachel Hollis hit on hers like an experienced dart player — bullseye! Se la vie, I thought, such is life and it’s none of my business who reads her books and if she’s helping women get set free, then I’m all for that. If she’s not authentic that’s on her and truthfully, none of my business.
My ambivalence has since turned to almost wanting to cheer her on and promote her. Why this change in attitude? It’s because I see how many Christian women have taken the charge — rude and self-imposed though it might be — to attack and vilify Rachel Hollis and Girl, Wash Your Face. It’s as if nothing stirs a Christian blogger or Facebooker or Instagrammer more than the desire to be against something. To some of these avid againsters, I want to ask, “What are you for?”
I get some of it, really I do. As a believer, I don’t want others led astray or hurt by incorrect theology — been there, done that and it is painful. So trust me when I say I am well acquainted with false teachers in the church and harmful theology and spiritual abuse. On the other hand, Rachel Hollis is not pretending to be a pastor, preacher, Christian counselor, or theologian. She’s sharing her story and helping other women find their voice and, hopefully, freedom.
Somebody once told me that, at the end of the day, everyone is looking for freedom. I happen to believe that freedom comes when Christ sets a soul free from the dead weight of its bondage to sin. I believe that most women walking the face of this earth are not free, and even those who claim to know Christ are still not free. They’re stuck in bondage from living in the present past — bringing their past into their now and making it their identity. They’re in bondage to low self-esteem, fear, negativity, and the lack of resources to turn their lives around. And some Christian women are in bondage to perfection — espousing that only God is perfect but being pushed every minute of every day to attain personal perfection. And not to be outdone, there is a bondage that looks like freedom but chains and shackles its captive as strongly as any egregious sin: the bondage of legalism. (again, been there, done that!) Legalism defines everything that it is against and nothing it is for and sets the legalist on its own personal pedestal of pride that shouts to the world: I’m a better Christian than you because I don’t ___________. You fill in the blank. And lately, the blank is being filled with these words “read Girl, Wash Your Face.”
Let me be perfectly clear in saying that if a pastor or preacher or evangelist were espousing blatantly false doctrine, I would say something to someone I care about that follows that person. But, again, Rachel Hollis claims to be none of those things. She’s doing what I — and hopefully you — do every day: telling her story in hopes that it will help others. That’s my calling too. And as Anne Lamott says, You have a right to tell your story — because it’s your story.
Rachel Hollis is not kidnapping anyone or holding women against their will in a conference center demanding thousands of dollars from them. These women are joyfully and willingly handing over their money to hear a message and get some practical strategies for stepping out of bondage. I know, I know, I’ve read a lot of the criticism of how she is talking to middle and upper-class women who shouldn’t have any of these self-esteem or identity issues, but again, that is her avatar or ideal reader. That is her audience and she is serving them what they want and, possibly, what they need.
It’s not my business to pass judgment on Rachel Hollis or her readers. And it’s not my business to shame other women who are finding what they need in between the pages of Girl, Wash Your Face. I will not read her book, not because I’m afraid she’ll sweep me away with false teaching or because she hasn’t peppered every paragraph with scripture references and received a biblical studies degree from a prestigious Bible college. I won’t read Girl, Wash Your Face simply because it doesn’t appeal to me. Just like I didn’t read 50 Shades of Grey nor do I read Stephen King novels or science fiction or a myriad of other self-help books or wife and mommy blogs. It’s not my thing.
But do you know what is my thing? Seeing women set free! My best friend declared over me one day, “You are a freedom warrior.” Does a freedom warrior get bent out of shape when a not so friendly army becomes its ally in a war against the greater enemy?
You’ve heard the saying, “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.” right? Do you know how we defeated the evil Nazi regime in World War II? By befriending and working alongside the evil communist regime led by Joseph Stalin. At that pivotal time in history, President Roosevelt recognized that the greater good was to stop Hitler even if that meant telling Churchill to pinch his nose and bite his tongue as he sat next to Stalin in planning meetings.
Is the greater evil here a young woman who is making millions of dollars sharing her story and giving women some encouragement but not casting it fully in faith-based doctrine, or the enemy of all women’s souls who holds them captive with lies, shame, and fear?
Photo by Alexandru Zdrobău on Unsplash
And as far as biblical counseling goes, I once had a pastor jab his judgemental finger in my young face and scream at my wounded soul that the only way I could please God was to “fit the mold” of a good Christian woman. This same pastor slammed his fist on his desk in his office, pointed to his counseling degree hanging on the wall, and said that he did not need to support his advice to me with biblical references because he had a degree that gave him the authority to speak into my life.
I must wonder if at that time of my life Girl, Wash Your Face would have done a better job of setting me free than this encounter with a deranged “man of God”? His so-called biblical counsel set me, a new believer needing freedom more than anything, on a course of trying to please God that tore me up in a million pieces and left me fraught with anxiety and exhaustion. I lived a striving existence attempting to please a God who was surely angry with me every day because try as I might, I couldn’t squeeze into that mold.
Do I think Rachel Hollis is telling women everything they need to be set free? No. Do I think she’s hurting women by planting seeds of freedom and identity? No. Do I think she’s deliberately deceiving women to make money? No. She’s found a chord that wanted to be played and that resonates with women.
To the girl who wants to write about why we shouldn’t read Girl, Wash Your Face, I say, Girl, Mind Your Own Business and write the bestseller that you know women need. | https://medium.com/@marypr356/girl-mind-your-own-business-3b5c97a2a1b7 | ['Mary Gallagher'] | 2019-03-22 20:23:48.739000+00:00 | ['Girl Wash Your Face', 'Self Help', 'Freedom', 'Christianity', 'Christian Living'] |
What I ask Junior and Senior Flutter Developers in a Job Interview | What I ask Junior and Senior Flutter Developers in a Job Interview MobileDevBlog Jan 13·7 min read
In this article, I will share my Flutter job interview process, questions I ask during Flutter interviews, and point some tips for junior and seasoned developers. I plan to do a few articles about interviews covering different topics from different perspectives of the interview, so don’t forget to follow and clap ;)
What I ask Junior and Senior Flutter Developers in a Job Interview
I’m Team Lead of the mobile department and my duties include basic things like code review, mentoring, coding of course, but also interviewing candidates. During my career I have interviewed a lot of people for different positions: android developers, front-end developers (especially for React position), and for the last few years flutter developers.
The interviews for android and front-end positions are pretty much stable. I mean the market for this position is not new and it’s clear what to ask and what interviewee should know for every type and level of this position. But with flutter, it distinguishes a little bit. The market for Flutter apps is still small. Well, that’s compared to the other mature markets like android, iOS mobile development, or front-end development. And flutter developer should know not only the Dart language and Flutter framework, how it works, but also a lot of aspects of mobile development for different platforms: how to build and configure the app for iOS and Android devices. And you know a lot of other small, not necessarily complicated things, but during the interview, I have to understand whether the candidate has worked with it or not. That allows me to understand the skills and level of experience.
What I ask Junior and Senior Flutter Developers in a Job Interview
Flutter Job Interview: Start
I usually start the interview with a suggestion for the candidate to talk about the experience, previous job position. Also, I ask to describe the most challenging problem the person has ever solved, or the solution the candidate is most proud of. Of course, such kinds of questions are for Middle and senior developers.
In the case of interviewing a junior developer, I will not start the conversation with such kind of questions, because obviously, this person hasn’t have such kind of experience yet. So, at the beginning of the interview, I usually ask juniors about the courses they have attended, or what kind of online courses they have enrolled in to learn Dart and Flutter development. Another important thing is the small, test apps the person has already built because even if you are a junior developer you need to practice somehow, right?
That’s the interview starter, then I’m usually continuing with technical questions and this is my favorite part of an interview.
Flutter Interview: Technical part
I really don’t like the whiteboard interviews or even worse: questions that require paper and pen, especially the implementation of a specific algorithm. I’ve been to few interviews like this as a candidate and I have to say it is just not the way it should be. It takes a lot of time, like hours to write algorithms, to discuss technical things behind these algorithms, visualize the data structures and possible solutions to the questions asked by the interviewer, and stuff like this. Maybe this approach is good for big companies like Google or Amazon, but not in most of the cases in my opinion.
But, let's get back to my technical interview process. A lot of things depend on the actual position which needs to be filled. For example, if a person applies for a junior developer position, I’m not going to ask questions about the architecture and what this person would choose for a real-time multiuser app, for instance.
Flutter Interview Questions for Junior Developers
I always adjust questions for an interview according to the skill level of the interviewee. And in the case of a junior candidate, I need to check the basics first. This will allow me to understand whether the person knows the Dart programming language, OOP, Dart collections, and Asynchronous programming.
Also, I would ask some basic questions about the Flutter framework, for example, the difference between Stateful and Stateless widgets, what is the build context, the difference between packages and plugins, what is the hot reload and hot restart, and also, something about scaffolds, rows, and columns — so the basics of UI.
The same thing is about state management: junior developer should know the basic usage of some kind of state management solution like Provider with Change Notifiers or BLoC pattern. Another really important thing is GIT. The person should know the basics of GIT, how to manage repository, branching, merging, and stuff like that. What also important is if the person has experience in teamwork. And this is really important. This allows me to understand if the person cares about the code quality and following best practices in collaborative workflows.
Flutter Interview Questions for Middle and Senior Developers
Ok, what about the more skilled developers, who already have commercial experience and a few projects built from scratch to publishing?
So, in such kind of interviews, I also ask technical questions, but I assume that the interviewee already knows some of the basic topics, and that’s why the questions are more advanced. For example, someone with Middle and senior skills have to know Dart programming language with complicated topics like streams, for example, can explain what the event loop is, what isolates are, and how to use them. Also, the candidate should know the responsive UI design practices and have experience in writing different sets of tests including unit tests, of course, widget tests, and integration tests.
Another important topic is the state management in Flutter apps. For example, an experienced person should know not only the differences between common state management solutions but also should know when to use them and can provide valid arguments that support the answer. The same thing is about the project architecture, how to organize the project, how to make it scalable with its growth, and stuff like that.
This allows me to understand how the person is experienced in different topics an how the person thinks, the way they think, and how they make technical decisions.
And it’s not only flutter related things, the interview includes questions about Firebase services, Continuous integration and continuous delivery solutions like Codemagic and Bitrise, or maybe self-made solution using Github Actions or other providers. This is usually a big plus.
Middle and Senior Flutter developers should use Best practices for releasing apps or at least can explain what they used for such kind of tasks. If they can’t put together few words about how they release apps, that’s a warning sign.
Flutter Interview: Proposed Scenarios and solutions
I like to discuss different scenarios and solutions during the interview. I really like to ask questions about what tools and packages would the interviewee use for a fully responsive mobile app for different screen sizes, for a real-time multiuser app, or for a background location-based app. You know the background processing in flutter apps is a huge topic and it’s important to know what the candidate knows about it and what the possible solutions are.
So, I listen to the reasoning for certain solutions to proposed scenarios and making notes for myself.
Job Interview tips and suggestions
The really important thing that plays a huge role in the whole interview is the way people answer the questions.
The answer should not be peremptory. If the interviewee thinks that his answer is the only right answer and he doesn’t consider other possible solutions or ideas, then it says a lot about that person, especially about the decision-making and problem-solving skills.
So, when the interview is over and I have all the needed answers, I have to make a decision on whether to recommend this candidate or not.
If a candidate has the side projects it’s a big plus because it allows me to check the project architecture, the way candidate implemented state management in the app. Also, code quality, UI implementation, and the way a person organize a repository.
And another huge advantage of the candidate is if he has his own published flutter apps in Google Play and App Store. It shows strong interest to flutter development and shows the fact that the candidate has come through all the stages of the development process: from an app idea to publishing.
Flutter Job Interview: Practical Test Assignment
And in some cases, when I don’t feel confident about the candidate, especially for junior and middle positions and especially when the candidate doesn’t have code to show on Github. In these cases, I recommend an additional interview step which is the test assignment.
This test assignment is a really small task, but that will allow me to see the coding skills and understand whether your theoretical knowledge backed by solid coding skills. Test assignment usually requires the set up for state management solution, few screens, and network calls and UI implementation. Tests are optional but would be a plus. Well, that’s not rocket science, the task is simple, but the implementation demonstrates to me the code quality, and I understand the way the person organizes projects and implements business logic — that is the most important one. All of the mentioned things help me to make a decision and this approach always proves its effectiveness.
Flutter Interview: Candidate Background
I prefer interviewing developers that have switched to Flutter from Android and iOS because these candidates know the specifics of the mobile development field and already know how to build apps, release apps, and configure native code. Well, if the person has switched from Web development to flutter, then the native code, Xcode configs, and Gradle dependencies will really make the learning curve harder. But this of course doesn’t mean that the candidate can’t become a great flutter developer in the future.
In this article, I shared with you my approach to interviewing junior and senior flutter developers and some of the interview questions I usually ask during an interview. Hope you liked this article and learned a few things for your next Flutter Job Interview.
Clap this article and leave a comment below with your thoughts about my approach and what you ask interviewing others or what questions you have been asked during flutter interviews. | https://medium.com/@mobiledevblog/what-i-ask-junior-and-senior-flutter-developers-in-a-job-interview-268779f6b4d4 | [] | 2021-01-13 21:45:22.561000+00:00 | ['Flutter Questions', 'Interview Questions', 'Flutter Job Interview', 'Flutter Interview'] |
Earn Passive income in Bitcoin everyday ! | What is Betfury?
Betfury is an online casino, that does not only give you the chance to win some extra money, as every casino does. But, Betfury also gives you the opportunity to earn a part of the daily dividends as well. To sign up, use the following link: Betfury
How can I earn daily bitcoin from Betfury?
Betfury rewards you with, so called, BFG tokens when you wager a certain amount of bitcoin or TRX. These BFG tokens entitle you to a certain amount of the dividends that is released every day.
The dividends that get released every day are 3% of the total pool. This way your earnings will be consistent for a long time. At the moment, the dividend pool almost 70 bitcoin in it. And while releasing 3% everyday, the pool is still growing every day.
How to earn BFG tokens?
You can earn 2 different BFG tokens. The BFG BTC and the BFG TRX. The difference between the two is how you earn them and the dividends you receive. The BTC version, earned by wagering BTC, will earn mostly BTC dividends. While the TRX version, earned by wagering TRX, will earn more of the other 3 currencies. Of all daily dividends a certain percentage goes to all the BFG BTC holders and a certain amount goes to all the BFG TRX holders. In which amounts it is divided can be seen below:
BFG BTC :
90% BTC 10% TRX 10%USDT 10% BTT
BFG TRX
10% BTC 90% TRX 90%USDT 90% BTT In order to earn these BFG tokens you will have to wager either BTC or TRX. In my opinion, your best bet (see what I did there) is to go with BTC. BFG BTC gives you a higher dividend. How much you have to wager for one token, depends on the current amount of mined tokens. In the picture below you can see how much it is at this time
This might seem like a lot for only 1 BFG token, however you will get it for every wager and not a loss. Meaning that you can play games, such as dice, with a high chance of winning and this way you will not lose the BTC but will still get the BFG token.
Best way to mine tokens?
The best way to mine the tokens is through the game “dice”. By setting the game to roll under 95, you will have a 95% of winning. This will give you the opportunity to earn more tokens as the chance of losing you BTC is smaller. This way you can make more bets and this mine more BFG.
How high you set your bets, depend on how much BTC you have and how fast you want the tokens. A smaller bet, might give you more bets and more BTC, however the mining process will be slower as well.
How much will I earn?
This will depend on how much you will invest. More BFG tokens will earn you more daily dividends of course. At the moment 100K BFG tokens will earn you approximatly 0.00078 BTC everyday.
Now, I won’t say that you will get 100k BFG tokens in a day. But be smart about this and reinvest your daily dividends and your token amount will grow.
Betfury also gives you free BTC everyday. Well actually every 20 minutes. Every 20 minutes you can redeem a free box, which will give you 25 satoshi every time. You can do this till you hit the maximum of 1800 a day. You can then use these free BTC to earn BFG tokens and then earn a dividend every day. This will be a slow process as you won’t earn a lot of dividend in the beginning. But if you don’t have a lot to start with, you could try this strategy.
Other Boxes
Besides the free box you get every 20 minutes, there is also the opportunity to earn interest on your BTC with other boxes.
These boxes give you a certain amount of interest on the amount needed to buy the box. By buying the box you deposit your BTC in the box and after the chosen period you will receive it back + the interest. This interest is actually pretty high and can earn you a nice amount of income.
Other benefits
With the betting strategy from above, you will eventually run out of bitcoin. This is not a problem as we want to mine as many BFG tokens as possible, so running out of BTC in inevitable. We will earn it back through dividends anyway.
Cashback
However, there is also another way in which you get some of your losses back. And that is the cashback. Now, when you just created a new account, your cashback will only be 2%. But by wagering, which we do all the time, you will rank up and your cashback will increase. So what is the benefit of this cashback? Well, you will earn this cashback on all the losses you make. Meaning that we can then reuse to cashback funds to mine even more BFG tokens.
Daily Tasks
Betfury also gives you daily tasks you can complete. Completing those daily tasks awards you with some extra of the currency you completed the task with.
Promotions
Every week Betfury also runs promotions. These promotions give you the opportunity to win BTC. This can be through wagering or by using the telegram chat. For all the information I would recommend to check the promotions page once you signed up!
Conclusion
This site has the opportunity to earn you a nice amount of passive income. With a big dividend pool it also has a bright future. Getting in now might settle you for a long time! Sign up now and start earning. Starting early with compounding is the key to long-term success.
#Cryptocurrency #passivearn #bitcoin #dice #dividend #daily #income #free #freemoney | https://medium.com/@razvan.chinga67/earn-passive-income-in-bitcoin-everyday-18a117107a18 | ['Man'] | 2020-12-05 11:10:46.644000+00:00 | ['Cryptocurrency', 'Passive Income', 'Strategy', 'Freemoneyday', 'Mining'] |
Sixty Years in “The Twilight Zone” | The development and execution of The Twilight Zone and its induction into the annals of TV history is a story of an obsessive need for acceptance on many levels.
Submitted for your approval: Exhibit A: Rod Serling, Zone’s creator, executive producer, central writing force, and charismatic host. The show’s popularity preyed upon his endless reservoir of ideas, originally inspired by his obsession with the past and his preoccupation with aging, mixed in with a measure of courage and faith, and the survival techniques he learned in the army.
With monumental tenacity, Serling went on to seek and gain reign over his creation on what was nearly a daily basis, all the while delivering top-notch scripts at a frenetic pace. With a strong desire to succeed, and an intense need for creative control, this small-in-stature (he stood 5'5"), though foreboding and critically-acclaimed non-stop talent, employed a no-holds-barred approach to getting his product on the air — as he saw fit — and settled for nothing less. He protected his turf, circumvented the typically charted waters of TV production, and opposed the demands placed forth by network executives, with a back-door approach to realizing the fruition of his “other-worldly” dreams.
Serling believed in his vision and rarely bowed to editorial invasion, fiercely guarding the end-results of his Zone.
In effect, The Twilight Zone presented weekly excursions into an unknown, yet familiar territory, which showcased morality plays and controversial topics, presented under the guise of science fiction. Characters with dimension were introduced to the audience with arresting aplomb, many of whom were granted a second chance against the odds — much like Serling himself. Though almost canceled twice before its original network demise, The Twilight Zone stayed afloat due to Serling’s tactful maneuvers around Hollywood minds that were uncertain of anything — and everything — related to Zone — except Serling’s undying passion. In the end, however, Serling himself died young, at 50-years-old, never reaching the twilight of his years, though not before he explored, unobtrusively, the senior mentality, and other untapped areas of legitimate topics of conversation, with several, very-real trips into The Twilight Zone.
Serling was born Rodman Edward Serling in Syracuse, New York, on December 25, 1924, to father Samuel Lawrence Serling, a wholesale meat dealer, and Esther Cooper Serling. Shortly thereafter, his family moved to Binghamton, a small city in Upstate, New York. As a youth, Rod, along with older brother Robert (a novelist, best known for The President’s Plane Is Missing), became enamored with the science fiction and fantasy articles published in magazines such as Astounding Stories and Weird Tales. He enjoyed all sports, and his approach to life became somewhat more realistic when he later joined the U.S. Army 11th Airborne Division paratroopers.
Rod started boxing, winning 17 out of 18 bouts — during the last of which he earned what came to be his trademark broken nose. He was discharged from the Army in 1946, and enrolled at Antioch College of Yellow Springs, Ohio because he was interested in “working with kids.” He majored in Physical Education but switched to Language and Literature, during which he wrote, directed and performed in radio productions for the Antioch Broadcasting System that were transmitted over radio WJEM, Springfield.
While still in college, he experienced two life-altering events. In 1948, he married Carolyn Louise Kramer. And in 1949, he sold his first teleplay, “Grady for the People,” for a mere $100.00, to NBC’s Stars Over Hollywood.
Upon graduation from Antioch College, he moved to Cincinnati to become a staff writer for WLW radio, pursued his career as a freelance writer, and collected more than 40 consecutive rejection slips as a reward for his efforts. Those early signs of disapproval did not hinder his persistence in seeking additional approval of his work.
From 1951 to 1955, Serling penned over 70 teleplays, one of which was his 72nd script, titled, “Patterns,” which aired on January 12, 1955, on the Kraft Television Theatre.
“Patterns” was about a power struggle between a ruthless president of a major organization, an aging vice-president who’s pressured into resigning, and a new young executive brought in to replace the vice-president. (Does this foreshadow to the frequent producer replacements that take place on Zone?)
Serling followed the success of “Patterns” with scripts for one of some of TV’s most respected anthology series, including “The Time Element” for Desilu Playhouse and “Where Is Everybody?” for Playhouse 90.
First, “Element” debuted on Desilu. Serling originally penned it as a time-travel story for “The Storm,” back in 1951. He then expanded the story to sixty-minutes and submitted it to CBS in 1957. CBS purchased it, only to shelve it until Bert Granet, producer of the Desilu Playhouse, buys it for use on his show. Granet essentially begged the sponsor to allow “Element’s” filming. It finally aired on November 24, 1958, and became the most popular production aired this year.
Thanks to that and the positive reviews by the critics, CBS finally surmised Serling’s genius.
Next up, “Where Is Everybody?” aired on Playhouse 90 during the 1958–59 season. It ultimately showcased a somewhat unique, almost mystical story that unabashedly arrived at a logical conclusion. Along with “The Time Element,” “Everybody” was an unrealistic, yet believable teleplay that served as a backdoor pilot for The Twilight Zone, for which Serling soon exited Playhouse 90 to establish.
Serling dreamt up the central premise for what becomes The Twilight Zone while, one day, pacing through an empty studio lot at MGM. He sensed evidence of a community, but with no people. He sensed a form of isolation and despair; a frightful feeling of what it would be like to wake up one day in a city with no residents.
“Where Is Everybody?” embraced such traits of an unknown origin and quality. It was seemingly a tale of the last man on Earth (played by Earl Holliman). Wherever he ventured, there was evidence of someone having left, but never being there. We learned these incidents transpired merely in his mind. It was all part of an experiment conducted for research into space travel. Scientists sought to discover if one as able to withstand the isolation involved with an expedition to the moon. Holliman’s character could not. He lost his grip, and the scientists had their answer: Man must earn to conquer his own fears before he attempts to overcome the foreign elements connected with leaving home.
With “Everybody?” Serling’s twists were so slightly the well-oiled, safety-net structure maintained so rigidly by network and studio executives, creating what ultimately became one of the few episodes of Zone to actually climax with a “rational” final act.
Though it eventually became part of The Twilight Zone, “Where Is Everybody” was, for the moment, only a highly-rated episode of Playhouse 90.
By September 1959, CBS and General Foods, one of the network’s major sponsors, ordered Zone as a series. Serling won approval once more, but again, after much rejection, and walking through another dimension, if you will: the back door. “I’m not writing anything controversial in the new series,” he said at the time. “Now that we’re petulant aging men, it no longer behooves us to bite the hand that feeds us.” But he was being facetious.
By December 1959, episodes such as “Walking Distance” (with Gig Young playing a man who travels back in time to his boyhood and hometown) continued to examine Serling’s bi-lateral obsession with youth and old age. Zone was clearly the most controversial program he ever created. He may have fooled a few executives, but the audience and the critics were on to his game — and they seemingly wanted to keep on playing. But for CBS and its sponsors, the stakes were too high.
In between the first and second season, CBS was taken over by Jim Aubrey, who became more interested in what makes money, and not so much quality. He began to cancel most of CBS’s respected dramatic shows and replaced them with silly comedies. Meanwhile, too, he continuously messed with Zone’s budget which, by now, was approximately $65,000 an episode.
By September 1960, the second season arrived, though with seven fewer episodes. Without these seven shows, Jim Aubrey saved close to $500,000 in production costs. Another of his cost-cutting ploys was utilizing videotape, instead of film. Videotape was cheaper.
Aubrey convinced Serling to tape six segments, instead of film them. Yet the disadvantages of video outweighed the advantages. The video episodes had to be shot on a sound stage. Except for stock footage, there were no scenes shot on location.
Since so much of Zone’s essence had to do with “going somewhere,” again, into “another dimension,” not having locales was a glitch in the way of plot development and aesthetic appeal.
Another video handicap was the limited use of camera sets and angles, due to editing. The use of video was then abandoned after six-episodes, and Serling would later call the experience “disastrous.”
By this time, CBS had strong reservations about granting Serling too much creative control. However, it was too late. Serling had carried his Playhouse 90 sensibility into the Zone, and told stories with social commentary, masked behind the premise of science fiction.
Many of Zone’s episodes were morality plays and parables in disguise. His choice for characters began to become clear. There were only two kinds: Likeable characters that were granted a second chance, and unlikable characters who received their comeuppance.
Serling rallied only the finest scripts and scribes. He becomes unstoppable. Besides himself, early Zone segments rely on feature film names, including Richard Matheson (The Incredible Shrinking Man), Charles Beaumont (The Seven Faces of Dr. Lao), and the like.
According to Serling, each episode was to be “complete in itself.” The series was not, he said, “an assembly line operation. Each show was a carefully conceived and wrought piece of drama, cast with competent people, directed by creative, quality-conscious guys and shot with an eye toward mood and reality.”
Yet the show was challenged in the ratings. Sponsors became nervous. CBS began to bend to pressure. But not Serling. He remained true to form, kept his ground, and refused to let the show die. Word of mouth spread. Critics poured their praise. The ratings improved. Subsequent episodes aired with stories such as an angel-like man of “Death,” a once-hot Hollywood star who literally abided in the dream-world of her films, and a child who could make dreams come true.
Meanwhile, Serling’s reveries came to fruition. Each episode of Zone explored the human condition, the ups-and-downs, the sorrows and joys of everyday life. He also enjoyed playing host, his celebrity, and being recognized. It fed his insecurities. He once remarked, “Apparently, on the screen, I look tall, ageless and damn close to omniscient, delivering jeopardy-laden warning through gritted teeth. But when people see me on the street, they say, ‘By God, this kid is 5’5”. He’s got a broken nose and looks about as foreboding as a bank teller on a lunch break.”
By the third season, Serling was writing faster than ever before. Some of the scripts he wrote for Playhouse 90 used to take him from six months to a year to complete. Each Twilight Zone teleplay now took him from thirty-five to forty hours. “It’s the kind of schedule that if I drop a pencil, and then bend over to pick it up,” he revealed, “I’m two weeks behind.” A Zone episode from the first season, “A Stop at Willoughby,” seemed to represent Serling’s frantic pace. It featured an over-worked big-city ad exec who finds peace in a tranquil, mystical small town.
Meanwhile, in this third year, Serling continued to obsess about getting older, and episodes like “No Time Like The Past” and “Of Late I Think of Cliffordville” were the proof in the pudding. “Past” was about a man who lept in time in an effort to change things for the better, but he made mistakes at every turn. He turns to the present in an effort to help change the future.
“Cliffordville” is about a millionaire who was given the opportunity to travel back in time to the early years of his life in an attempt to win back his great fortune, just for the fun of it. Did these segments, in perspective, represent Serling’s lot in life at the time? Did he sit back and wonder,
“When am I to begin enjoying the riches that The Twilight Zone afforded me? Could this have been his initial period of acceptance into reality, after so many years of struggling to find success and win his way, creatively, with his writing? Was he ready to give in?
Maybe so.
One thing is for sure, Buck Houghton who, essentially was his producing partner on the show, would soon no longer be there to carry half the load. As producer Houghton’s contributions became almost as imperative to Zone as Serling’s. Houghton had been a producer for MGM for six years before signing on to produce Zone. He was the man that performed many of the behind-the-scenes duties that were required for a show to come together. He was the perfect partner for Serling, and for Zone first three years their bond is strong.
Houghton, however, exited The Twilight Zone in the third year, mainly because of a technicality, and not because of some huge feud or anything of the sort. After the third season, Zone is having trouble finding a sponsor for the next year. As a result, it’s off the CBS fall schedule. Houghton was offered a job with Four Star Productions that he found difficult to reject.
CBS then decided to bring Zone back in January of 1963, by which time Houghton was already on The Richard Boone Show, and has no intention of leaving.
Meanwhile, Serling was growing tired, in part because Houghton had jumped ship, and Serling was now carrying the load on his own. “I’ve never felt quite so drained of ideas as I am at this moment,” he said. “Stories used to bubble out of me so fast I couldn’t set them down on paper quick enough, but in these last few years I’ve written so much I’m woozy. If only I could take off about six months and replenish the wealth.” “I want out,” he later added, “I get more and more tired of the whole business. I’ll never do another TV series as long as I live.”
By the Fall of 1962, Serling was offered a chance to teach at Antioch College. He accepted it, and The Twilight Zone was placed on hiatus. CBS scheduled Fair Exchange in Zone’s time-slot. “Fair” was an odd, hour-long situation comedy that lasted only half the season.
By January 1963, Serling continued to teach after CBS picked up Zone as a mid-season replacement when new producer Herbert Hirschman was hired to replace Houghton.
By this time, Zone as a weekly half-hour had run its course. Its episodes were extended to a full sixty-minutes, while its title had been shaved. It’s no longer known as The Twilight Zone, but just Twilight Zone with no “The” in front of the title.
The hour-format alteration jarred Serling. “Ours is the perfect half-hour show,” he complained. “If we went to an hour, we’d have to flesh-out stories, soap-opera style. Viewers could watch fifteen minutes without knowing whether they were in a Twilight Zone or Desilu Playhouse.”
No matter. Against his better judgment, Serling struck a deal with CBS for 13 one-hour Zone episodes, and the show began to fade.
Serling was indeed ready to surrender his creative control. He later switched his perspective and offered a seemingly half-hearted attempt at positive thinking. “In the half-hour form we depended heavily on the old O. Henry twist,” he told TV Guide. “So the only question is: Can we retain the Twilight flavor in an hour? We may come up with something totally different.” And instead of integrating himself into the tease and tags, as he had in previous seasons, all of Serling’s narrations for the fourth season were performed against a gray background. His teaching at Antioch College prevented him from visiting the sets regularly.
When he flew in for other business, Hirschman films several narrations at once. But he also decided to leave during the fourth year and accepted another offer — to produce Espionage, a live spy drama that’s filmed in London. The opportunity of going live and work in Europe, which he had never done before, had appealed to him.
Ironically, he’s replaced for the rest of the year by Bert Granet, the producer of “The Time Element.” The CBS plan to expand Zone into a full-hour to increase ratings is a bust. The show’s writing suffered. The episodes were not as memorable, so the network returned the show to its original regular half-hour format.
The fateful date of November 22, 1963 arrived, and President Kennedy was assassinated. The Zone episode set to air, titled, “Night Call,” was postponed until February 7, 1964.
Granet left the series during the fifth season when he was offered $250,000 to take over The Great Adventure, another show for CBS that was massively over-budget. Serling was unable to make a counter-offer, Granet goes on The Great Adventure, and William Froug (who would later produce Bewitched) steps in to replace him.
The Twilight Zone then ends production in January 1964 and is canceled. CBS president Jim Aubrey claimed he was tired of the show. He said he was tired of it after the end of the second season.
By now, Serling knew Zone was not what it used to be — and it hadn’t been for some time. So he agreed to close up shop.
Serling continued writing with screenplays such as Planet of the Apes, which was released theatrically in 1968, and TV’s Night Gallery (which struggled for three seasons on NBC, from 1969 to 1971). He returned to Antioch College, as a Professor, and rallied against the Vietnam War.
He died at age 50 on June 28, 1975 from complications from bypass surgery. Apparently, all the men in Serling’s family died young. The statistics scared him. So he wrote about it in The Twilight Zone.
Serling’s older brother Robert once lamented, regarding Rod: “I didn’t realize until “Walking Distance” [the TZ episode from the first season] that nostalgia for his old hometown had played such a tremendous part in his life, how much he loved Binghamton, how much he wanted to go back to it, which in itself was kind of contradictory because he loved the glamour of Hollywood. He was almost like two people. It’s as if he couldn’t…he got his fill of the glamour every once in a while and had to go home to a simpler life.”
Rod Serling himself once concluded: “Everybody has a hometown. Binghamton’s mine. In the strangely brittle, terribly sensitive makeup of a human being, there is a need for a place to hang a hat or a kind of geographical womb to crawl back into, or maybe just a place that’s familiar because that’s where you grew up.”
Clearly, it was in his hometown of Binghamton that Rod Serling had for years subconsciously began to plant the seeds of his genius for what ultimately became The Twilight Zone. | https://herbiejpilato.medium.com/sixty-years-in-the-twilight-zone-ee079be48cfc | ['Herbie J Pilato'] | 2019-10-02 13:00:37.253000+00:00 | ['Movies', 'Television', 'Science Fiction', 'Fantasy', 'TV Series'] |
Video Maker | In this, we will show you the top such platforms, so that you can easily make videos or so that you can make beginners’ videos. People want to make videos but want free ones. But the free one cannot be made much better. There is not much in the free one like the template, all images, videos in all of this only 10 % is free. Because of this, you are not able to make a good video. Therefore, whenever you are looking for a platform to make videos, then only find the paid ones. I will tell such platform which will get everything and will also give good offers.
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Why Your Family Holiday Should be at The Peligoni Club This Summer | Why Your Family Holiday Should be at The Peligoni Club This Summer
The Peligoni Club is a fun-filled beach club on the beautiful Greek island of Zakynthos. Think golden sands and crystal clear water, mixed with loads of adventures on land and at sea!
We’ve teamed up with the Peligoni Club to host a range of epic activities for little holidaymakers to ensure your children have a holiday to remember!
Mischief on land
High energy and epic adventures are in order as we play in the sunshine, and every element of Peligoni is a source of inspiration for a week of fun! From tug-of-war games and beach treasure hunts to water pistol painting, our adventures are full of smiling children, who you’ll often see running around in their Sunuva gear. Expect a week jam-packed full of excitement under the Greek sun.
Sharky & George mischief on the land (Photo Credit: The Peligoni Club)
Mischief in the ocean
A Sharky & George Greek adventure isn’t complete without mischief in the ocean! We’ll be water bombing from the pontoon, hosting gladiator battles on the floating island and playing in the water with our Sunny Life inflatables! There isn’t a dull moment as we take to the ocean to make a splash to banish boredom and give your child the holiday of a lifetime!
Sharky & George mischief in the ocean (Photo Credit: The Peligoni Club)
Food
After a day filled with fun, we know better than anyone the excitement of dinner time… and at The Peligoni Club, you won’t be disappointed! Complete with a brilliant main restaurant, and four bars for the parents, there’s truly something for everyone. Whether you’re after a tasty pizza or a superfood salad, the dishes are made from the freshest local ingredients! Yum!
Time for tasty treats (Photo Credit: The Peligoni Club)
Find out more about our fun-filled Peligoni Club partnership here: https://www.peligoni.com/kids-activities-with-sharky-george/
Follow us on social or visit our website for more inspiration:
@sharkyandgeorgeparties on Facebook
@sharkyngeorge on Twitter
@Sharkyngeorgeevents on Instagram | https://medium.com/@sharkyandgeorgesocial/why-your-family-holiday-should-be-at-the-peligoni-club-this-summer-316583184884 | ['Sharky', 'George Events'] | 2019-03-08 14:53:16.085000+00:00 | ['Summer', 'Greece', 'Holiday Packages', 'Holidays', 'Travel'] |
Bitcoin Bubble Burst | source:http://www.shutterstock.com
What is a bubble burst?
Bubble occurs when the price of an asset is selling extremely higher than its actual value due to speculation, FOMO(Fear Of Missing Out), and scarcity. Therefore when it bursts , price crashes down to the actual value devoid of extreme speculation, FOMO etc, as per scarcity it depends on demand.
The total amount of Bitcoin compared to minted USD that is in circulation which is about $21 trillion while accounting for lost and misplaced Bitcoin tokens might eventually have only 16–14 million. The market cap of Bitcoin is just about $150 billion which is $0.15 trillion as compared to $21 trillion market cap of USD, so then we can say according to this Bitcoin hasn’t gotten to the point of the value bursting even if as it is not yet mass adopted around the world, we are still in the innovator stage of the product cycle.
Bitcoin has to increase the number of transactions and usage to actually reach the equivalent cap of USD, having backlog issues amounting to say about 150k transactions and with a transaction of 7tps, Bitcoin might not be able to get to the scale of USD usage.
Introducing Scaling solutions such as lighting network and Segwit, we will have to see where the transaction backlog will be then, Bitcoin will rely on off-chain transactions, reducing the activities on-chain. If these solutions don’t come through, mass adoption might be an illusion.
Equating to other payment systems like PayPal ($90 billion), MasterCard($150 billion), visa($200 billion) and AMEX ($80 billion), they have more daily transactions than Bitcoin and yet Bitcoin has more market cap than with fewer transactions. This is speculative as we wait for lightning network or a more robust scaling solution.
Compared to gold whose market cap is about $8 trillion , Bitcoin is still about $0.15t rillion. Bitcoin as a store of value compared to gold is less than 1% of the value of gold.
When will the bitcoin bubble burst?
So far personally I don’t see the price of Bitcoin bursting, just by the definition alone Bitcoin has burst severally but always revives with a very strong rally that takes it to new highs. Many have speculated the price to shoot off and beyond the moon , as far as the use case remains vital Bitcoin will always remain strong especially for those who believe in it as a store of value, aside as from being the first project in the sphere but also the one with the most brilliant developers , we can assume that as far as the blockchain gets adopted fully into the system Bitcoin will always remain relevant.
Even if it will burst we are still very far from the edge.
Are there individual bubbles in the market?
Of course, rating by transactions within the blockchain subtracting the trading account movements we can see that most blockchain projects don’t even have a transaction running in the chain that is a trade. Most of this bubble coins are new ICO with high profile developers, plenty promises, and no delivery. The total Crypto market cap roughly more than 50% of its value are bubbles.
As reported 95% of ICO that sprouted early last year have lost all or most of its value, as a start-up, it’s not expected that all should be successful that should be the realistic expectation of investors. ICO a special class that has evolved the VC model of funding start-ups has also indemnified the swiftness of scammers with superfluous projects that never meet project expectations.
Taking away these bubbles are the new regulations expected anytime soon from different countries, and if team leaders are held responsible for there actions we might be able to curtail this cancer in the sphere.
Which coins are likely to survive the burst.
Of course, Bitcoin will survive, it has been the longest coin since 2009, has robust support from engineers and researchers, easily the most decentralized and secured coin, it accounts for about 34% of total market capitalization and has a fairly useful user-case that accounts for its 200k transaction volume on its chain. For sure we know there are others out there Like Ethereum and others,.
To be safe from the burst or drowning in a scam ICO one must take all the criteria of investing in a start-up into account.Ever since the success of Bitcoin and Ethereum there have been lots of copies claiming they can do better, this are to be avoided. | https://medium.com/gurucapitalng/bitcoin-bubble-burst-6981a013fecd | ['Ekene Obi'] | 2018-05-30 17:24:21.016000+00:00 | ['Cryptocurrency', 'Bitcoin', 'Bubble'] |
Introducing Shared Memos | Safe, encrypted and useful for everyday transactions
In In continuing with the mission to make using and sending Bitcoin more user friendly, the DropBit app has released its feature to Securely Send Memos. This is a unique to our wallet feature that significantly enhances the user experience for those users who send or receive multiple Bitcoin transactions in their wallet.
Many wallets offer the ability to add local memos to a wallet transaction, but no other wallet solution offers the capability to securely share memos between sender and recipient. The DropBit user has the ability to decide at each transaction if they want to share the memo with the recipient or if they just want to keep the memo private, on their own wallet. Not only does DropBit allow this powerful capability, it does so while keeping the messages encrypted and secure.
The shared memo feature works for both Android and iOS, allowing users to decide with each transaction if they want to add a memo and keep it to themselves, or securely share the memo with the recipient. This brings Bitcoin closer to the standard and ease of use of some FIAT wallets, like Cash App and Venmo, in which the memo is an important part of the transaction experience. Gone are the days where recipients and senders are left guessing which transaction was sent or received for which reason when looking at their transaction history.
For power users, or even merchants, this becomes even more important as memos give an ability to catalog activity between the user and recipient. In the comparison graphic below, you can see the image on the right is much more helpful when looking at transaction history.
Left: Transactions listed from BRD Wallet. Right: Transactions with Secure Shared Memos from DropBit
Transactions with Securely Shared Memos
Some other wallets allow you to add a memo to a transaction, but it only shows up on the memo creator’s wallet. DropBit allows for this capability as well, but there is a lot of power in being able to share this memo with the Bitcoin recipient.
Safe and Secure
As important to us as enhancing the utility and user experience of Bitcoin transactions are to us, ensuring that privacy remains unaffected by the features we implement is most important.
Shared memos are encrypted by using the Elliptic-curve Diffie-Hellman Ephemeral (ECDHE) key agreement protocol and AES-256-CBC. ECDHE requires two keys in order to work: our API stores a receiver’s address and corresponding public key, the sender generates an ephemeral key pair. The ECDHE shared secret is used to encrypt the memo which is then temporarily stored by our API. When the receiver sees a new transaction for that address it checks for any memos and the process is performed in reverse using the ephemeral public key and the corresponding private key for that address.
International Accessibility + Open Source Transparency coming soon…
In the coming weeks, DropBit will be made available in almost every country globally. We have heard from countless people who want to use DropBit around the world and soon that restriction is lifted. Additionally, we’ll be working on localizing languages and native currency to a handful of countries in the coming months.
Finally, we have also heard the requests for open source and we are in the final testing phase to open source the DropBit Wallet. Verification is essential in the Bitcoin space, and we are happy to open our solution up to the world so they can have the confidence to make DropBit one of their primary Bitcoin wallet solutions. | https://medium.com/coinninja/introducing-shared-memos-c4ae092b5bfd | ['Coin Ninja'] | 2019-03-04 20:27:52.966000+00:00 | ['Bitcoin'] |
4 really quick steps to improve your online marketing | You certainly know the power of online marketing. If you don’t have a content marketing plan in place, it can be difficult to know how to start and how to get your message out. Remember that you have to contend with everyone else’s messages!
These four steps will help to get you started with an easy to implement content marketing plan. You need to invest just a few hours each month.
1. Send an email to your list
Email marketing is definitely one of most effective ways to market your business. Send an email update to your mailing list on a regular schedule. Always include something valuable for your audience. Don’t just go for the hard sell.
Our top recommendations:
Send the email regularly. If you’re just starting out, we recommend monthly emails to give you time to build your content.
If you’re just starting out, we recommend monthly emails to give you time to build your content. Don’t include all the content in the email. Link to your website to read the rest of the content, such as a blog post.
Link to your website to read the rest of the content, such as a blog post. Personalise the email by including the recipient’s name. All of the major email providers allow you to do this (MailChimp, Aweber, Drip, Get Response, Campaign Monitor).
All of the major email providers allow you to do this (MailChimp, Aweber, Drip, Get Response, Campaign Monitor). Experiment with different subject lines to improve your open rate.
2. Write a blog post
Content is king. Your blog is the best place to publish this content.
Articles on your blog are an asset to your business because they increase your visibility in search engines, give you a catalogue of articles you can point your customers to when they are looking for more information about a topic, and the content itself positions you as an expert within your chosen area of specialisation.
Our top recommendations:
Publish a new blog post at least monthly.
at least monthly. Use great images and photos in your blog to create engaging content.
in your blog to create engaging content. Focus on creating ‘evergreen content’ that will always be useful to your audience.
that will always be useful to your audience. If you’re just getting started, here’s how you can plan a blog post in 10 minutes so you can write better and faster.
3. Engage with social media
Social media for business isn’t about posting updates on what you’re eating or where you’re travelling. It’s about growing a following and increasing engagement.
Connect with your audience and grow a following by posting content that is useful to them. Show you care by asking questions, making connections, and contributing to conversations.
Our top recommendations:
Post new updates at least a few times per week.
at least a few times per week. Always include a photo with your post to increase engagement and reach because images always perform better than text and videos perform best of all.
to increase engagement and reach because images always perform better than text and videos perform best of all. Use hashtags to improve your reach and target a specific audience.
and target a specific audience. Use a social media management tool to schedule in your posts, such as the built-in Facebook post scheduler, CoSchedule, HootSuite, and Buffer.
4. Always provide value to your audience
When you are sharing content with your audience, always think of what they would want to read and what they would see as useful information.
It’s great to talk about yourself and what’s going on for you, but only for a maximum of 10–20% of your total output. The best results come from useful, engaging and visual content that your audience is genuinely interested in.
If you’re not sure what to share, we’d always suggest looking at others in your industry to see what is working for them. Check out your competitors’ posts on social networks. What are they posting? What posts are receiving high levels of engagement?
This can be a great start to kick off your inspiration.
Conclusion
Your online marketing will enjoy steady growth simply from being consistent and investing a little time each month in creating content for your target audience.
The above steps can help to get you on the right path to a simple content marketing plan that works.
What are you doing consistently to improve your online marketing? Is it working? Are you having trouble with getting started? Keep the conversation going and let us know in the comments. | https://medium.com/pennink-productions-blog/4-really-quick-steps-to-improve-your-online-marketing-c0bd8b880b55 | ['Pennink Productions'] | 2018-03-02 10:43:40.543000+00:00 | ['Social Media', 'Content Creation', 'Digital Marketing', 'Email', 'SEO'] |
Natural Language Processing | Natural Language Processing
So if I visually express this it will be something like NLP is a baby product of all the three fields.
Let’s see why NLP is considered as subfield of all the three major fields?
Computer Science -> Programming
Artificial Intelligence -> You will apply Machine Learning Models
Human Language -> Text or Voice.
Does this explain NLP? I guess no! One question which pops up in my mind is that what is the purpose of the NLP?
The purpose of the Natural Language Processing is to read, decipher into machine language, understand and make sense of the human languages. Basically it is the way to teach the machine to understand what is given in spoken or written word.
Remember few years back we have to type everything into Google search to get effective results. Now we just use Google Voice Assistant or Siri ( if you are Apple user ). What changed?
Well it’s not so hard to guess! Google developed apps like Google Translate and Voice Assistant where we dictate something to our Android device that captures our voices in audio files, convert it into text, process the text’s data and search it over internet or convert them back to audio and present it to user. | https://medium.com/analytics-vidhya/natural-language-processing-c01b6610cfa4 | ['Amit Ranjan'] | 2020-12-15 19:52:33.488000+00:00 | ['Machine Learning', 'Artificial Intelligence', 'Naturallanguageprocessing', 'Data Science'] |
How to Leverage AI to Predict (and Prevent) Customer Churn | The problem is, most managers have traditionally taken a retroactive approach to addressing customer churn. They’ll make tweaks, changes, and adjustments, then look back retroactively and conduct a post-mortem as to whether or not those changes were effective. However, with recent advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications, product managers are now capable of better predicting customer churn and take proactive steps to prevent it.
The Problem with the Retroactive Approach
You’ve created what looks to be a well-functioning product or app with a slick user experience, and have some initial success with user acquisition. But after a while, users start to drop off, customers churn, and you’re not quite sure why. In an effort to reduce churn, designers, developers, and product managers will try a myriad of tactics to solve the problem. They might change colors, tweak fonts, move a pay wall, or alter the User Interface (UI), and then wait 2–3 weeks to gauge whether or not turnover has improved. Based on previous retention benchmarks from weeks prior, they’ll try to figure out which change or changes made the difference. Was it one change, a few, or the sum of changes put together?
The disruption of this loop kills workflow, productivity, and overall efficiency in all departments related to improving UX. This A/B approach to testing one or two changes at a time, measuring success, selecting the best option, and moving to the next is slow, cumbersome, and inefficient. Worse, to even consider doing this right, you need to implement one change at a time, and that can take much more time than you have runway for your business.
In short, it’s a backward approach that fragments the UX improvement process, and often addresses the root cause of customer churn too little, too late.
How AI Can Solve Churn Proactively
Our team of data scientists has cráted a better, faster, more efficient approach to solving for customer churn that leverages new advances in machine learning. The real secret sauce to our approach is the way AI is leveraged in a predictive manner. The more you can forecast churn, the better you can prevent it. With machine learning models, you can understand what’s specifically causing churn. Product managers, developers, designers, and executives are spared the guessing games.
Prediction
The first step is the exploratory phase, where you take a deep dive into the data. Instead of click-stream or purchase data, utilizing Machine Learning allows you to sift through large amounts of data instead of only small sections. If you had a list of 100 users ranked top to bottom in terms of likelihood to churn, for instance, you could analyze clusters to see what kinds of people seem to be represented in the “highly likely to churn” bucket. By uncovering profile attributes such as age, gender, income, campaigns the customers came from and source of the customer, you’ll better be able to predict what kinds of customers are likely to churn (and which won’t).
Diagnosis
Machine learning can take you most of the way through analyzing data so that an analyst will be able to help the business team understand who’s likely to churn and propose preventative changes in the UI. Through Behavioral Analytics tools, you can segment users by any attribute — behavior, spending levels, age, or cohort and take appropriate action. The diagnostic step is also vital because you can quantify the risk, correct course, and put measures in place to prevent turnover from happening in the future.
Action Steps to Leverage AI
Now that you’ve effectively leveraged AI to develop predictive models for what kinds of customers are highly likely to churn, here are some specific actions you can take to prevent churn over the lifetime of your business or product:
Intervention — One of the best ways to prevent churn is to intervene in the customer lifecycle of profiles that are likely to churn. By triggering an alert to both the user and your internal team, you can focus on taking steps to retain key accounts or even specific individuals.
— One of the best ways to prevent churn is to intervene in the customer lifecycle of profiles that are likely to churn. By triggering an alert to both the user and your internal team, you can focus on taking steps to retain key accounts or even specific individuals. Acquisition — Churn isn’t always predicted just based on profile elements. It’s also predicated on acquisition channel (Google Adwords, Social Media, Content Marketing, partner referrals, etc.). Based on your predictive analysis, you can target only the most lucrative users with the best retention and LTV, and, of course, fine-tune your products for these specific customers.
— Churn isn’t always predicted just based on profile elements. It’s also predicated on acquisition channel (Google Adwords, Social Media, Content Marketing, partner referrals, etc.). Based on your predictive analysis, you can target only the most lucrative users with the best retention and LTV, and, of course, fine-tune your products for these specific customers. Experience — Color, font, user flow, and other parts of the experience are all things that ultimately impact churn. With AI and behavioral analytics, you now have the tools to know where to focus your efforts on tweaking the user experience.
The bottom line is that customer churn can’t be solved retroactively anymore. Companies, brands, and product managers need to take a proactive approach if they want to meaningfully reduce churn rates. By leveraging AI to generate a data-driven, predictive strategy, companies can take the guesswork out of where to focus their efforts for a healthier SaaS business and even gain a competitive advantage. | https://towardsdatascience.com/how-to-leverage-ai-to-predict-and-prevent-customer-churn-f84d653a76fb | ['Dan Schoenbaum'] | 2018-04-02 22:29:12.154000+00:00 | ['Growth Hacking', 'AI', 'Conversion Optimization', 'SaaS', 'Machine Learning'] |
The Coronavirus Winners | You read that right. More went to corporations, large and small, than went to direct support of the population. This is why we see the stock markets screaming up while cities are going up in flames.
Who will foot the bill for this largesse towards the corporate sector?
Silly question. The taxpaying consumer always pays in the end. The Federal Reserve has publicly stated that they will print as much money as necessary, unlimited quantitative easing for as long as it is needed.
Much of that newly created money will be used to buy back bonds from banks and other financial institutions, giving them another layer of protection against any adverse consequences of the pandemic or civil unrest.
Any physical cash left over to flood the economy will have the effect of diluting the purchasing power of the money already in consumer pockets and bank accounts.
The man in the street pays once again. | https://medium.com/grab-a-slice/the-coronavirus-winners-c93f6e26bf68 | ['Mark Kelly'] | 2020-06-05 11:05:36.495000+00:00 | ['Coronavirus', 'Politics', 'Nonfiction', 'Economics'] |
Exploring Seattle Airbnb Data | Let’s start with some exploratory analysis and get some sort of insights out of this. I will be using Python and various packages to perform this analysis.
Importing Packages is a key element of python data analysis
Then we have to import their CSV files and store them into a data frame.
Store them into its respective names. For this analysis purpose.
For this analysis purpose, we will mostly focus on the listings data frame which has most of the data ranging from price to listings details, reviews, comments etc.
This is the listings data frame, with only the first 5 rows and 92 columns which couldn’t be shown entirely on this screenshot. But we can work from here!
Let’s remove outliers for listings that are over $500 USD per night and look at how much they cost on average based on how many bedrooms they have.
This is interesting:
- Listings without bedrooms(Studio) is more expensive than one bedroom. Would this be because of its renovations? Features? What could this be?
- Listings with 6 bedrooms are the most expensive, even costing on average $100 per night higher than listings with 7 bedrooms.
Now， let's look at the most popular listings in Seattle.
Most of them are really just around the $100 to $150 mark. Expensive listings are not that popular according to the data set.
What are some of the correlations between these variables?
We see that the higher the coefficient, the higher the correlation strength of those variables. From here, we see that the correlations that reach at least 0.6 and above are:
1. The more nights available, the more nights you can reserve
2. The number of beds are correlated with how many guests it can handle
3. Review scores arent too correlated with the hosts’ communication with the traveler
Let’s slice and dice the data frame into the smaller segments to analyze its correlations.
Seems like review scores value has little to do with its listing size(square feet) as we see scores of 8 to 10 are well distributed throughout 0 ft to 3000 ft.
We can also see that the number of bathrooms has a little correlation to its review score. The more bathrooms, the higher the review score whereas having only 1 bathroom actually has more of a lower review score at only 5 or 6.
Maybe this is common sense but having a bigger unit size(square feet) is correlated to how many people it can accommodate.
Most of the airbnb units in Seattle are entire “Apartment”.
On average, the most expensive listings have real beds instead of transformable/portable couches or sofa beds.
We can also look to see if it affects the ratings on Airbnb. But judging from the chart below, it doesn’t seem like there is any correlation between what bed it is.
Is the host a super host an important factor for its price?
Not necessarily, the prices are more or less the same.
Based on these insights, we finally have a better understanding of what’s crucial to achieve a higher rating in Seattle Airbnb listings.
Here is a conclusion of what’s highly usable and needs to be focused on in order to achieve better ratings.
Studio apartments are not only cheaper to purchase to list on airbnb, but they also generate a higher interest, more popularity amongst travelers and also generate more bookings.
Furnitures within the listing is also quite an important factor as we see “real-bed” is what most travellers are looking for and that they will generate more revenue per night.
Listing size isn't too big of a deal when it comes to Airbnb bookings, most travelers would love to save money on accommodations where possible.
Also, as we see from the above, listings with 2–3 bedrooms seem to be the optimal bedrooms to generate income and positive reviews. | https://medium.com/@unstoppablebird/exploring-seattle-airbnb-data-954ea8706ad0 | [] | 2020-12-18 21:07:43.839000+00:00 | ['Python', 'Linear Regression', 'Seattle Airbnb', 'Pandas', 'Airbnb'] |
If I Were Secretary of Energy | If I Were Secretary of Energy
Apparently, some corner of the Twitterverse has nominated me to be energy secretary. As an Australian who is not yet a naturalized citizen, I’m not eligible (I’d be 15th in line to the presidency, so no go), but it’s worth running the thought experiment of what I would do if I ran the DOE — only in this experiment, the world will be perfect and sweeping change won’t be prevented at every turn by a bad Senate set-up. That’s because the reality of the pace of climate change is that we need extraordinary speed to tackle the problem — like the speed with which America launched the Arsenal of Democracy, an industrial effort to make critical munitions for WW2.
Rather than secretary of energy, I’d prefer a bigger role. If efforts to curb climate change are only housed within DOE, we won’t succeed at the scale required. I’d like a job that doesn’t yet exist, analogous to the role of Henry Knudsen in the Arsenal of Democracy. Knudsen was an industrialist who was critical in the Office of Production Management and a member of the National Defense Advisory Commission (like him, I’d be willing to take that job for $1 per year). My job, perhaps as Climate Liaison, would be part of the National Climate Defense Commission, and a key member of an Electrification Production board. The climate defense commission would quarterback the finance and logistics economy-wide. The Electrification Production board would figure out how to ramp up industry to make all of the electric vehicles, heat pumps, batteries, solar cells, wind turbines, load centers, nuclear reactors and long distance transmission lines we need.
Given the right resources, and political will to match, we could be mostly decarbonized by 2030–2035, and close to pushing the very ambitious schedule required at this point to hit a 1.5 degree C (2.7 F) climate target. The climate office would coordinate the required response that included finance (OMB, FED), the Electrification Production board (scale up and production), the Bureau of Lands Management, the DOE (new science projects and new technology), the EPA (regulatory), and the department of housing (again, deployment). I’m ready for that job!
But back in the universe where we have to address climate change with the offices and departments that already exist, let me describe a plan for the DOE.
DOE artists-in-residence
The first thing I would do is hire a team of DOE artists in residence. We need ideas and creativity. These artists would fulfill a role similar to the NASA art program that began in 1962 which was critical to filling the American imagination with the possibilities of space travel, the adventure, the future, the wonder. In the 50 years since Earth Day, an enormous number of column-inches have been written about our deteriorating environment (and more recently deteriorating climate) but not enough about visions for what success looks like for humanity. The DOE artists-in-residence would go to work showing us what the future of cleaner electrified building stock would look like, how much cleaner our streets and air will be with electric cars and new electric transit modes, including electric flight. We’d see verdant pictures of the future of regenerative agriculture and an even more productive carbon sequestering food system that also makes more space for wildness and national park and recreation areas. You might find it odd that the first thing I’d do at DOE is make art, but this is critical, we need a shared vision of where we are going, one of abundance and success and of the U.S. winning, if we are to get the popular buy-in and acceptance we need to address climate change in earnest and at scale.
Split the two-headed hydra of the DOE
The second thing I would do is fix a long-standing conflict in the Department of Energy. Currently, out of its $32 billion budget, only $2.3B is spent on energy independence and innovation, not all of which is carbon free. $5.5B is spent on science, only a fraction of which is spent on near-term solutions. The lion’s share ($23.7B) is spent to modernize our nuclear security and stockpile. In other words, the biggest piece of the DOE has nothing to do with domestic energy supply, and only about 10% of the DOE budget is being spent on technologies and solutions that are really going to impact on the timeframe we have to address climate change. If you recognize that energy is most of the problem with climate change (as the data tell us), and it needs a huge amount of focus, you’d like it not to be the bastard child of a split-personality weapons organization.
“If you recognize that energy is most of the problem with climate change, and it needs a huge amount of focus, you’d like it not to be the bastard child of a weapons organization.”
The DOE is like the Hulk. ARPA-e and EERE are the mild-mannered and solution-oriented Bruce Banner, and the rest of time the DOE is big, lumbering and destructive to its own cause. I’d split this two-headed hydra into a Dept. of Energy and a Dept. of Nuclear Security. This will ruffle feathers, but I stand by the idea that we need focus, not a schizophrenic agency that doesn’t know whether it’s looking after aging cold war weapon systems or securing the future of a green planet with clean energy. Speaking in round figures, this new DOE should have a budget of $10B — all focused on energy systems and national energy independence while getting to zero net carbon. This would triple the amount the DOE spends on necessary domestic energy supply and demand technologies and issues. I’m not saying don’t fund the other side of the DOE; the nuclear security component is critical, particularly if we are to build trust in the peaceful domestic use of nuclear energy and the management of waste.
Reform R&D funding to encourage innovation
Some $5B in the DOE budget goes toward science and national labs. Science is good, and National Labs are good, but they shouldn’t be a mating pair. I would reform where this R&D money goes so that it isn’t only earmarked for national labs, but allows small businesses, start-ups, and other innovators to compete for more funding for near-term climate solutions. Before WWII, research and development in the US was largely done by small independent companies and industrial firms like Bell labs, which were agile and high-performing. After WWII, spurred by Vannevar Bush’s `Science the Endless Frontier’, a new apparatus of national labs and research universities was created, to discover new science and turn it into engineered innovations. It was a great idea at the time, and much good science has come out of it, but it has become too dominant at this time when we need boots-on-the-ground solutions. Because much of this infrastructure, particularly the national labs, was built out at a time of the Cold War, it’s out of date, solving problems that aren’t that relevant any more, with labs that aren’t always located where people now want to live, work and innovate. I’d like the DOE to allow more of the work that the US government’s science agencies do to be done outside of national labs and universities, to enable the nimble teams in start-ups and small companies to be able to compete for research funding. We need to encourage the best and the brightest, with the biggest ideas. The whole country could be a national lab, distributed like the Internet, and we could democratize science funding and have more people participate in the ideas and innovation of the nation.
Currently, there is a culture clash between how the DOD and the DOE fund research in the national interest. The first agency offers its performers a modest 7% of profit above and beyond the costs strictly required to perform the work, recognizing that this research is real work and the businesses who do it should see a small profit from it (although in reality most of them actually spend this on patenting and legal fees related to the work). The second agency does the exact opposite, requiring small businesses to contribute “cost share,” typically 10–20% of the total project cost! If we want our best and brightest solving the problems of clean energy, let’s motivate them, not tax them to work.
80% Scale, 20% Science
There’s currently a divided opinion in the DOE as to whether we should focus on science or scale for fast climate solutions. To keep us on target for beating 2 degrees warming, I would focus first on scale and deployment, with a heaping dollop of research on top. Let’s think of this as a 80:20 rule. 80% spend money on improving the things we know work and lowering their cost and increasing their performance. 20% on swing for the fences big science and engineering challenges that have the potential to change the game. Guarantee success with the 80, and bet on big upside with the 20. Foremost (the 80), this means all things electrical, all things renewable. And while it may not sound as exciting as “miracle solutions,” in the near term DOE effort needs to focus on the mundane — our homes, streets, and businesses. We need to electrify our appliances, vehicles and buildings, and network them all to balance our loads and make a more robust and resilient grid that provides lower cost energy to all. I would be setting targets for lots of mini-moonshots: $0.50/W rooftop solar, $0.03c/kWh wind onshore and $0.06 offshore. Air source heat pumps with COP’s of 4 in cold climates. Batteries with a storage cost of $0.05c/kWh that will work for 20 years. 40% efficiency scalable photovoltaic cells. Grid controls and protocols that seamlessly balance all of the loads. EERE would be focused on all of these near term technologies that we largely already have, but all of which need to become easier to use, easier to integrate into our houses and the world.
Change the conversation from fossil fuels
Next, I would expand the scope of the Energy Information Agency. The EIA, which was made a separate agency of the DOE at the conception of the agencies for reasons of independence, has done a great job of keeping and recording energy data. I’d give the EIA a new mandate to model successful, detailed scenarios of our energy supply that are compatible with 2 degree climate targets. I’d ask the EIA to redefine the US energy system not so much in terms of primary energy as defined by fossil fuels, but by end use energy needs and the inefficiencies in meeting those needs. The terms of the energy conversation are written by fossil fuels and this is embedded all the way down to how we express our energy data. Right now primary energy, and the way we define efficiencies of renewables are on terms defined by fossil fuels. Let’s level that playing field. In the best version of itself that I can imagine, the EIA plays a role similar to the Wartime Production Board of WWII that in the publication “Wartime Production Achievements and the Reconversion Outlook” spent considerable effort modeling out the effects of the transformation not only into a wartime economy, but even more importantly the reconversion outlook back into the peacetime economy. The EIA can play a critical role with data and modeling of providing blueprints for the conversion of the economy to clean, largely electrified and with lower energy costs for everyone. I would request that by mid 2021 they will have completed the report “Electrification Production Achievements and the Conversion Outlook to a Clean Economy” or something to that effect. All communications of the EIA should be expressed as a function of where we are at versus 1.5 and 2 degree climate targets so there is climate context for every headline — — this is an antidote to the greenwashing of corporate America as they make vague gestures that are unmeasurable.
If I can only get one thing to happen at EIA however, it is to change the units of all of their publications. Right now we talk about everything in British Thermal Units (BTU’s), a unit literally defined to talk about coal heating water — — useful for and defined in large part by thermal machines that burn fossil fuels. Going forward we should publish all EIA work in kWh. We can’t use the language of the oppressor if we are to foment the revolution.
Mandate and money for fusion and fission
As regards the big science that DOE does, I’d give more mandate and money for fusion (combining atoms), and yes, fission (splitting atoms). Both can be done safely, both are experiencing great progress, and both can be enormous contributors to our climate solutions. The energy secretary needs to be engaged with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in a way that shortens the timelines and lowers the cost of bringing new technologies to market. America does not need nuclear to meet its energy and climate goals, but that is not true of every country in the world. The tenure of the next energy secretary will be the tenure where the US either cements itself as a leader in peaceful nuclear energy technologies, or surrenders that crown to China, or Russia, or South Korea or Japan. We should aim to lead the world.
You can’t “efficiency” your way to zero
Next, I would change the department of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy to the department of Electrification and Renewable Energy. Why? The time is long past when efficiency measures will work to address climate change. We need to be at carbon zero, and you can’t “efficiency” your way to zero. Efficiency is good, and I won’t discourage important work on more efficient insulation materials and machines etc., but we need transformation. We can no longer have any new fossil fuel-based technology. This includes investing in carbon sequestration, which I don’t believe will work economically at scale; the amount of CO2 that humans emit each year is as much tonnage of material as every other human activity, as much as all of our mining, manufacturing and agriculture, combined. Sequestering that much carbon just isn’t going to happen on the timeframe we need. It’s cheaper to not make carbon in the first place, by electrifying everything and powering it with renewables and nuclear.
“The amount of CO2 that humans emit each year is as much tonnage of material as every other human activity combined. Sequestering that much carbon just isn’t going to happen on the timeframe we need.”
So the new Department of Electrification and Renewable Energy would focus on the things we know we need to do to transform the infrastructure: electrification of vehicles, improving batteries, lightweighting our vehicle fleets. Electrification of buildings needs to happen fast, and I’d focus on increasing the efficiency of heat pumps for space and water heating and cooling, including turning it into a shiftable load and giant battery; and developing the control systems for electrified homes and a larger, more complicated grid,
The difficult bits to decarbonize
After that, we would need to decarbonize the more difficult parts of our emissions. I’m confident that with scale, cost reduction and integration, we have most of the technology we need for 80% of our emissions. The last 20% is hard, though, and includes agriculture, emissions of refrigerants, land use, cement, steel, aluminum, the polymer industry, paper and pulp industry, and other things critical to our way of life. The DOE runs a small program that does bandwidth studies of industry and how efficient they can become. I think this is an incredible start to a much more powerful idea that I would get behind — scoping not only efficiency measures for these industries, but ways we can turn the industries into assets in the modern infrastructure that can shift loads, become batteries, and otherwise have benefits to the larger energy system. I’d also create a dedicated department of biological materials. Either we will build a competitor to the existing highly emitting polymer industry by using biology to make a precursor or feedstock for a green plastics industry, or even better we’ll harness biology in even more productive ways to make a plethora of materials that will sequester carbon as they also provide us better products and higher performance. Advanced timber construction of multi-story buildings that are a carbon sink is just one possibility.
Reform regulations that favor fossil fuels (FERC you)
There is a little appreciated office that has extraordinary influence over our energy system — the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). FERC does not sit within the DOE, but If I were secretary of the DOE I would seek to work very closely with FERC because, as the DOE Solar office already knows, it is the soft costs that dominate the costs of solar at this point. Soft costs are regulatory costs and non-hardware costs. Utility scale solar routinely generates at under 3c/kWh, but frequently ends up costing the consumer 15c/kWh or more. Some of this is the real cost of transmission and distribution infrastructure, but a lot of it is regulatory burden, billing costs, and other inefficiencies built into the American regulated utility system. We will do more to lower the costs of electricity — we will need to deliver 3x what we do now to get to net zero carbon — by fixing regulations, building codes, and market rules than we will by lowering the cost of hardware.
Zero-emissions mandate, no tricky carbon accounting allowed.
There is also the issue of the relationship between DOE and EPA. This needs to be stronger than ever. The previous products of their relationship are well known, but no longer ambitious enough. We all know Energy Star as the efficient appliance program, which has been reduced to a blue and white label that you ignore as you decide which refrigerator fits in the space you have in your kitchen. We’d be better served by an electrification appliance standard that certifies appliances that are not only efficient, but can inherently engage in demand response and storage, and that don’t burn any fossil fuels at all and use natural or zero emission refrigerants. The other program we all know of is the CAFE standards, which is the other label you ignore that is stuck to the window of the sports car you really want to buy when you are purchasing a minivan. California is getting closer to getting it right. We should be setting a date after which you can only have completely zero-emission vehicles. The size or efficiency of that zero emission vehicle is much less important. Let’s stop calling it a CAFE standard and call it what it needs to be: a zero-emission mandate.
The DOE’s booze problems
A joke within the Department of Energy is that it has two booze problems. The usual booze problem is well understood. The “Booz problem” is a problem not unique to the DOE, and unfortunately all too typical of the U.S. government. In a fever dream of small government ideology the government decided to outsource much of the contracting and contract management components to companies like Booz Allen Hamilton. They have good people, for the most part, but they are expensive and they have too much process, and at this point it costs the DOE about $1 to spend about $1. Just having good public servants doing this job would improve the accounting and lower the costs of administration of the activities of the DOE. I’ve probably just made enemies for life.
The Department of (youthful) Energy.
When NASA launched the Apollo program the average age of its engineers was 26. I am an enormous believer in giving young people more responsibility to take more risks and control more resources earlier in their careers. Our ossified agencies have been optimized over the years by careerism, including the university research sector and its tenure processes that mean that people aren’t embarking on their own original or ambitious work until after one or two subservient post-docs in their 30s. The U.S., especially around climate and innovation, needs to embrace the voice of its best and brightest when they are at their most passionate and energetic. I think I’m almost too old for Energy Secretary, I’d prefer someone under 40. I’d like the head of EERE to be someone around 35. I’d like the head of ARPA-e to be a swashbuckling 30 year old with big ideas.
Let’s put the energy back into the Department of Energy.
P.S. Seriously though, it’s about people.
You didn’t ask, but I’d like the leadership to look something like this :
Jennifer Granholm or Arun Majumdar for Energy Secretary. In the real world this is a political position and they are good at politics and can speak energy technology. This role needs a great retail communicator who can inspire the nation on the fabulousness of the voyage we are about to undertake.
Alex Laskey or Cathy Zoi to run the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). Both have real world experience getting energy technologies to scale. Both can speak Utility as a native tongue. Both can manage a big organization and transition it to one with big ambitions.
Ayana Johnson to run the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Younger, brings science, communication, passion, and an appreciation of the lands and especially the oceans and their critical role in a climate fix.
Ilan Gur, Danielle Applestone, James McBride or Dane Boysen to run Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA-e). All are young, all know the best and worst of the national labs ecosystem and university research establishment and what the private sector and start-ups have to offer. All are creative, all will swing for the fences.
Sam Calisch or Arjun Bhargava for Energy Information Administration (EIA). Young blood that has a 21st-century perspective on data that can press refresh on the EIA and give the U.S. a dashboard of where we are and blueprints of where we need to go to get to zero carbon.
Adam Zurofsky or Katherine McConnell (Brighte) to run the Loans Program Office (LPO) to expand the scope of the office to figure out how to maximally leverage government money with private sector money to maximise deployment of new technologies and to figure out how to finance the 21st century electrification infrastructure that we need that is both supply and demand side. | https://medium.com/@saulgriffith/if-i-were-secretary-of-energy-b740d6aedd54 | ['Saul Griffith'] | 2020-11-30 20:44:44.047000+00:00 | ['Electrify', 'Climate', 'Climate Action', 'Electrification', 'Climate Crisis'] |
You Are Here #1: A Pandemic Life Update | You Are Here #1: A Pandemic Life Update
For my 28th birthday this year, a friend of mine bought me a plant. It’s a white fusion calathea and, unlike my other plants, it wears its emotions straight on its sleeves. Whenever I come back from my parents’ house after a few days, its crinkly droopiness is dramatic — almost in a laughable way. I pour it a long drink of water with both guilt and satisfaction at its need for my care. Luckily for me, it forgives easily and within hours it stands up straight and pretends to not need me again.
This is my fifth plant in the apartment and my third acquired during the pandemic. Early in the lockdown, I discovered the magnificence of the Marina/Alamitos/Naples neighborhoods of Long Beach and I haven’t looked back. The Whole Foods at PCH became a frequent grocery stop and that’s where I picked up my first pandemic plant — a small potted money tree — which looks no different now than the day I bought it, although maybe a few leaves taller. It takes residence on my kitchen counter nearest the window so it can breath some fresh air and sun every so often. Unlike the calathea, it doesn’t need much attention to survive.
Things that were purely for leisure in the past have become necessitated lifelines. Whereas I used to plan my days out by the hour, I now only plan out one part of my day: securing time for the brief hours I will be outside, walking in the sunlight. There isn’t much else to plan anymore. For the week, it’s usually deciding to see a friend or two — and only one with whom I am comfortable to visit without a mask. I miss exercising and breaking a sweat. I miss exercising in groups of people or surrounded by passerbyers. I have had the urge for eight months now to wake up early at daybreak to exercise when no one is out, but the motivation to get up for the day has decreased exponentially. Rest is rare, even though I sleep about eight hours a night.
I miss easiness most of all. The ability to get up and go see someone, do something. The proximity and facial expressions of acquaintances and strangers. The light and distracting conversations with people I don’t have to be vulnerable with. I miss reading at the laundromat while waiting with my fellow neighbors for our clothes to dry. I miss finding comfort in other indoor spaces other than my apartment and my car, like eating hot food at restaurants and carpooling to a birthday hangout. I really, really miss cooking for my friends. I miss feeling unwell and not worrying if it’s the onset of a life-threatening, contagious disease. I miss not overthinking.
It’s rained the most this year and I’m not talking about the weather. It’s also been the year of the longest drought and yes, I’m still not talking about the weather. People have been keeping themselves warm however ways they can, burning thing after thing, as we’re unable to embrace one another. We’re missing a warmth that doesn’t require kindling. It’s a tragedy, this mess.
It’s interesting that being confined to one space can make a person more overwhelmed by the world than actually being in it. Being quarantined at home as a single person has made it so that most of my social interaction consists of being stuck onto a screen. The digital world and its noise has been infinite and unyielding, a million voices both personal and corporate crying out for attention. That being said, I try to spend as many hours as I can outside, either walking through my favorite neighborhoods in Naples or Bixby or biking along marine stadium. Actually being out in the world makes me realize how small my problems are — and how unscary the world’s many problems are when surrounded by real, live people and not just their inner voices. Being online kinda feels like getting into a glimpse into God’s inbox… without the perspective of being God.
I wish I was able to tune out my mental state and just be simply fixated and content with dabbling in an art project — or any project — during this strange time. It would be nice to enjoy something like that enough to the point where the physical and mental work to set it up was nothing compared to the want to do it. But the only thing that I feel that way about right now is being out near the water and trees and finding a sunlit spot of grass to lay my blanket on and nap. Chasing that ever elusive rest and quiet. | https://medium.com/@angelinejlee/you-are-here-1-a-pandemic-life-update-a13df5c66d59 | [] | 2020-12-20 04:36:50.491000+00:00 | ['Carvell Wallace', 'You Are Here', 'Journal', 'Pandemic Diaries'] |
Customer Experience Strategy and inbound immigration at London-Heathrow | I vaguely remember her face. She was a young mother, must be in her early thirties or late twenties. She had a toddler with her, a son, who must have been less than two years old. That little one was hyper. Let us call her Anna as I do not know her real name. Anna and myself were in the same cabin in the Qatar Airways flight from Melbourne to London via Doha Qatar. The flight took off around 10.30 in the night into its first lag of 15 hours. I settled down to read a book as I usually cannot sleep while travelling or watch movies (that is a disease I believe). After the dinner, people settle down to watch a movie or sleep, and the cabin lights went dim.
Everyone else was sleeping except me, Anna and her little boy. I noticed Anna because she passed my seat repeatedly a few times without making any noise like a ghost. Had I not been awake, I would not have noticed her. For a while, I was wondering what the hell she was doing in a dimmed cabin. It took me a while to realize what was happening.
Her little one was walking around in the cabin, and Anna was following her everywhere he went. The little one was so small that I did not even notice him in the dark. Anna was just behind him. He just went on and on through the entire cabin, Anna was walking behind him and prepared to catch him if he fell. Initially, it was fun to watch. However, soon, I got bored and went back to my reading. After another hour, Anna and the little one was still going through circles in the dark cabin. I tried counting how many times they passed me, and I lost the count. In between they stopped, to change the nappies. Boy did not sleep or slow down, and neither did Anna.
That incident helped me to create a whole different perspective on motherhood. I did not know how Anna managed that. For fifteen hours, she could not take her eyes off from the hyper-energized kid. She could not go to the loo. She could not sit, she could not sleep, or she could not watch a movie like others in that cabin. On top of that, she made a conscious effort not to make any noise especially because others were sleeping or resting. How she got that energy, I did not know.
Finally, after fifteen long hours, I got off from Doha to board the next flight to London after two hours. And there she was. I met them again in the same cabin. And the story began. Anna was following the little one who was running through the isles, and this time, it was more intense as it was the daytime. Everyone else in the cabin minded their own business as they were so bored of seeing the son and the mother running behind each other.
After seven and half hours we all off-board the flight in Heathrow and I saw Anna ahead of me, with huge two cabin bags and the little one at her back. Finally, we arrived at the inbound immigration after a long walk just to be shocked to see a long, long, very long queue at the immigration clearance. There was a zigzag line ahead of us, and more than seven hundred people were lined up and waiting impatiently for their turn. Me too joined the queue. After more than 24 hours in the air, I was restless, exhausted and with zero energy. Luckily, I did have only the backpack. But Anna, she had her son at the back, two big luggage and then the toddler started crying.
She started consoling him and, in the attempt, she slowdown in the queue and people overtook her. Toddler probably exhausted started screaming. Anna tried her best to control him but failed. She was still in the queue like everyone else, no special treatment.
I looked at the officers who were standing near the queues wearing, London-Heathrow staff badge and the purple uniforms, most of them were females. They supposed to assist and control the traffic in those queues. They saw Anna and the screaming toddler, and then they moved away to the front and did not do a damn thing. They were making jokes to each other and having a fun time, and the only thing they did at the font of the line was yelling ‘next’ informing the next person in the queue to the next counter. Seriously …? I was thinking to myself and lost my patience.
I called one of the officers and explained to her ‘that lady with the screaming toddler is coming from Melbourne, which is for more than 24 hours now. Can you please take her to the front of the queue? Can’t you see that child is screaming?’. She then gave a pitying look at Anna and said, ‘let me see what I can do’, and she went to the front of the queue. I saw she was muttering something to her colleague, showing Anna and but they did not do a damn thing.
After more than one hour in the queue, I saw Anna was clearing at another counter parallel to me.
That is why London-Heathrow inbound immigration should seriously think about ‘Customer Experience Strategy’. | https://medium.com/@agilitydna/customer-experience-strategy-and-inbound-immigration-at-london-heathrow-d1ed6a1b8d44 | [] | 2019-06-09 15:42:51.909000+00:00 | ['Travel', 'Customer Experience', 'London', 'Strategy', 'Heathrow Airport'] |
SnapSuite meets StartFast, why we swiped right. Choosing the right accelerator for your startup. | If you are a business owner running your own startup, you know how important it is to find the right accelerator program. If you think about it, it can be a lot like dating. There are plenty of fish in the sea but who is ‘the one’?
In most romantic movies, novels, and fairy tales, the main protagonist is in a desperate search for the one who completes them, the missing piece to their puzzle. Our search for the perfect accelerator was very much the same; we were looking for ‘the one’ that gave us butterflies and made us feel like anything was possible. The perfect partnership that would stay strong, well past the honeymoon stage.
So, in the crowded startup accelerator landscape, what made us “swipe right’ on StartFast? Here’s why we decided StartFast was the right fit for us.
Background check
We started our relationship with StartFast the way many modern relationships start — with a Facebook creep and a Google search. We liked what we saw. StartFast’s 12-week accelerator program helps startups build and develop scalable businesses. The program goes way beyond a cookie cutter, step-by-step approach. They work with businesses in a personalized way, helping them overcome their most pressing problems. So, in other words, StartFast seemed like they would make a very supportive partner.
Skin in the game
In many accelerator programs, investors attend a pitch day at the end of the course in a bit of a “may the best pitch win scenario”. But with StartFast there’s a twist. In this case, it’s a good one. The investors actually act as mentors in the program, and we are given the opportunity to build relationships over a longer period of time. They also put their money where their mouth is by providing an immediate investment when the program begins, so the startups can concentrate on building the best business they can.
No distractions
We are able to live and work on campus at Le Moyne College in Syracuse New York. We wake up and literally walk across a parking lot to work every day. There, we have access to all the resources we need. This once in a lifetime luxury enables entrepreneurs to focus on developing successful sales and growth strategies. We learn, strategize, implement, sleep and repeat. This is a huge advantage and this immersive process was one of the things that attracted us most to StartFast.
Huge and valuable network
StartFast gives us access to over 100 world class mentors and investors. It is not just about the quantity but also the quality. The mentors come from a variety of successful industries and companies such as Restaurant.com, Planet Fitness, and Nike just to name a few. Just like speed dating, we get one-on-one time with each of the mentors; but we have the privilege of connecting and building relationships over a 3 months period. At the end of the 3-month program, we will be pitching to a room of over 250 potential investors. This will increase our odds of gaining more capital and expertise that will take our company to the next level. StartFast will be with us every step of the way.
Great track record
When making a commitment with an investor you want some reassurance that they know what they are doing. You don’t want to get ‘into bed’ with a company that doesn’t know how to get the job done. StartFast has a history of success and no crazy exes. Its portfolio includes, Electronic Gaming Federation, Wyzerr (clients include Google, T-Mobile, and Disney) and Tunedly (featured in Huffington Post, Billboard, and Forbes).
Location, Location, Location
StartFast is based in the United States which gives SnapSuite access to this huge market. We started off in Canada but as a result of being a part of this accelerator program, we have registered our company in the United States. So we packed up our bags and headed to the ‘big city’ (okay so it’s technically considerably smaller than Toronto, but I like the visual). With this infrastructure in place, we can get our feet wet in all of North America. We consider this to be a huge advantage which added to StartFast’s appeal.
It was a no brainer
For us, the decision to partner with the StartFast program was a no brainer. They had all the qualities we were looking for in an accelerator, and out of the over 800+ companies that applied this season, StartFast chose us. We can’t wait to develop our relationship for the duration of the course and do great things together in the future.
If you think StartFast might be a great partner for you, you can check out their website here: https://startfast.net If you want to learn more about SnapSuite and how we are improving the construction industry or if you are just curious to see if we live ‘happily ever after’, visit us at https://www.snapsuite.io/
Original Article posted here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/snapsuite-meets-startfast-why-we-swiped-right-dwain-browne | https://medium.com/@dbrowne_94670/snapsuite-meets-startfast-why-we-swiped-right-choosing-the-right-accelerator-for-your-startup-2717718720c | ['Dwain Browne'] | 2019-06-17 17:01:25.838000+00:00 | ['Investors', 'Entrepreneurship', 'Funding', 'Startup', 'Venture Capital'] |
Invisibility Amongst the Invisible | As an infant, I was adopted from Korea and brought to live with my white parents in rural Wisconsin. Growing up in this white community, I was taught the myth of assimilation and colorblindness. While never explicitly stated, I quickly learned to fit in, to not discuss race, and to understand that I was just like everyone else. The belief when I was growing up was that assimilation would keep me from experiencing racism. This belief in assimilation was further perpetuated by friends and adults in my life telling me “I don’t see you as really Asian”, as if to celebrate my ability to fit in. I, too, came to see this as something to be proud of.
Looking back, I am not surprised that I developed internalized oppression. I can see the ways it impacted my childhood at a young age. I was one of about six children adopted from Korea around the same time, and we were playmates while we were in diapers. But as we grew, we quickly began to forge our own ways. I distanced myself from them for fear that we would be labeled “the Asian kids” and viewed as weird outsiders. This distancing continued well into college, where I avoided other Asian students for the same reason. I often found myself tense up around Asian foreign exchange students, afraid I would be viewed as “one of them.” This need to distance myself was so strong that I didn’t go to a Chinese buffet or out to sushi until my senior year of college- as I was terrified that someone would make an uncomfortable joke or recognize that I was “one of them.”
The “Cool Asians” from Mean Girls (2004)
As I began to gain confidence in myself and understand the world in racial terms, my relationship with other Asians became even more complex. Rather than avoiding other Asians because I didn’t want to be seen as “one of them”, I now began to avoid other Asians because I was afraid I wouldn’t be seen as “one of them.” Despite how much I was drawn to other Asians with the hopes of catching a glimpse of something that was familiar, I was also terrified of what they would see. I was sure that they would see right through me, and recognize that I wasn’t “a real Asian.” Suddenly, the statement “I don’t see you as really Asian” that was once such a compliment, now worked to add to my shame. This is termed “racial imposter syndrome,” and it explains the constant fear that you “aren’t enough”. This is often felt when one’s racial heritage doesn’t match the stereotype- for instance, the Black child who grew up in a rich suburb, the Latinx kid who can’t speak Spanish, or the gay youth who didn’t have a difficult coming-out story. Often adopted children experience this because of the lack nuance they see in their racial identity, mixed with the misalignment between stereotypes and their experience. For instance, I held the same one dimensional stereotypes of Asian women that we see in the media.
For me, my racial imposter syndrome bubbled up when I thought of all of the experiences I had lacked. I didn’t have an immigrant story, my parents didn’t have an accent, I didn’t have a “Tiger mom”, I wasn’t good at math, I wasn’t quiet and submissive, and I hated kimchi. While many other Koreans likely have these things in common with me, I missed this complexity because of stereotypes that led to my lack of nuance in my identity.
This racial imposter syndrome, mixed with the unconscious belief that “assimilation would keep me from experiencing racism” kept me from recognizing the way that race impacted my life. I easily brushed off microaggressions around “where are you really from” and “I really like Asian girls” as annoying, but not truly acts of racism, because I wasn’t really Asian.
On March 16, 2021, the Atlanta Anti-Asian hate crime happened. A gunman, whom I will not name, intentionally went to three different Asian-run day spas and killed eight people, six of whom were Asian women. And many of those Asian women were Korean, like me.
I struggled to place my feelings around it- I wasn’t an immigrant and it wouldn’t happen to me here in my neat little suburban neighborhood. I went on a walk to clear my head and gain some clarity. And then, as I reached the furthest destination and turned around to head home, I noticed a car coming towards me. And suddenly, my gut told me how I felt. I stepped into the snowbank, quickly making space between myself and the car. My shoe and my pant leg got soaked. The driver passed slowly, smiled, and waved. There was nothing to fear, it was just someone passing me in a car. At that moment, I realized what I had known all along- I was Asian and I was read as Asian. A racist wouldn’t know that I grew up in a white neighborhood, that I didn’t know anything about my heritage, or that I wasn’t “one of those” Asians. Rather, I was Asian, and that’s all they would see. In fact, that’s all anyone would see. Regardless of how I saw myself, everyone else saw me as Asian.
Or nearly everyone else. My husband, a white man who has progressive values, didn’t say anything about the hate crime. He mentioned it in passing, as if to be commenting on news so unrelated to us that it didn’t need a pause. He fell into the same unconscious belief system as my parents- that my assimilation protects me from racism and random acts of violence like what happened in Atlanta. My parents didn’t call to see how I was doing. And my white, liberal, race-conscious friends didn’t check in for a few days. It isn’t that they didn’t care about me. In fact, I got three check-in texts in a matter of minutes as news broke about the Boulder shooting only six days later. It wasn’t that they didn’t care, they simply “didn’t see me as Asian.”
As I talked with other Korean adoptees, our stories were similar. Rarely did parents check in. Rarely did our partners check in with how we were doing, or even recognize that we saw ourselves in the victims of the shooting. And often, there was a belief that “this couldn’t happen here.”
A big conversation in the media after the Atlanta anti-Asian hate crime happened was around the invisibility of violence against Asians. We as a nation have been aware that crimes against Asians have gone up exponentially since COVID-19, when politicians used racist rhetoric about “Kung Flu,” “China Virus,” and suggested that the Chinese intentionally made it in a lab. And yet, these crimes have been silently experienced, with the crimes viewed as singular and random acts of violence, and not part of a racist epidemic.
Finally, this anti-Asian sentiment is getting media attention. Unfortunately, it took a tragic and violent shooting (and even now there is no consensus on if it was in fact a hate crime), but at least the pattern is being discussed. But in the discussion, the focus is on the stereotypic depiction of Asian women- those whose names the majority of Americans can’t pronounce, immigrants from “some Asian country”, in a nail salon with a neon sign. It leaves out Asian women who don’t fit that stereotype- those of us who are Indian, who are multiracial, who are 3rd or 4th or 5th generation, and those of us who (like me) are adopted. We are the invisible amongst the invisible- and yet we still carry the burden of being viewed as Asian women. | https://medium.com/@hannah-matthys/invisibility-amongst-the-invisible-45136cfba6ec | ['Hannah Matthys'] | 2021-04-06 14:27:40.872000+00:00 | ['Colorblind', 'Asian Hate Crimes', 'Asian American', 'Racial Justice', 'Adoptee'] |
[OFFER] Little Fish Big Ocean: A Business Student’s Guide to Separating from the Rest of the School | [OFFER] Little Fish Big Ocean: A Business Student’s Guide to Separating from the Rest of the School Clasclus Fraukeyh Sep 14, 2019·1 min read
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Check Now => https://bestproduct2234.blogspot.com/?book=1508664757 | https://medium.com/@eager_ochre_pig_775/offer-little-fish-big-ocean-a-business-students-guide-to-separating-from-the-rest-of-the-school-692c07875288 | ['Clasclus Fraukeyh'] | 2019-09-14 03:24:19.774000+00:00 | ['Startup'] |
Popping the Christian Bubble | Popping the Christian Bubble
The Danger of Trying to Protect Your Kids From The Big Bad World
Image by kenishirotie on Envato Elements
In 2013 a UK school teacher was sacked for failing to complete a risk assessment before pruning a bush at her school. If you think that’s ridiculous, then you would also be appalled to learn that the Welsh Ambulance Service refused to take this man’s 95 year-old Aunt to hospital for a basic medical procedure because of the potential health and safety risk posed by the three front steps of her house.
Whether we like it or not, we live in a society that attempts to manage risk, analyze it, reduce it, and ultimately eliminate it. Prior to 1970 seat belts were an optional upgrade in cars in my home country — Australia. I happen to think seat belts are a good, sensible addition to cars by the way, but these days my child has to be in a specially fitted — and downright expensive — child restraint until he is seven years old. I’m pretty sure at the age of seven I was riding in the back of a truck — unrestrained of course.
You don’t have to look too far to see that we are into reducing risk to a point that sometimes defies common sense. Nearly every product on our store shelves is labelled with fine print absolving the manufacturer of liability. Reader’s Digest published some examples of the plethora of stupid warning labels that you can find on products. Some would have to be seen to be believed. For example:
“Not intended for highway use” — On a wheelbarrow
“Not intended for use as a dental drill” — On a carpenter’s drill
“Do not use for drying pets.” — In the manual for a microwave oven.
“Caution: Remove infant before folding for storage.” — On a portable stroller.
“Do not iron while wearing shirt” — On an iron-on shirt pattern
“Warning: May contain nuts.” — On a package of peanuts.
“Warning: May cause drowsiness. Use care when driving a car” — On a brand of dog medicine
“Do not use while sleeping” — On a hairdryer.
Then we have the phenomenon of Helicopter parenting. You have probably heard about helicopter parents who hover over their children to keep them safe from every conceivable danger. They keep a vigilant eye on their little, and not-so-little ones, protecting them from virtually everything. Helicopter parents try to shield their children from not only physical danger but from failure and negative consequences of every kind.
Protectiveness, and indeed, over-protectiveness has become a way of life in our culture. Now, an argument can be made that much of it is, on balance a good thing. But, according to Dave Kinnaman in his book, You’ve Lost Me, spiritual over-protectiveness is actually driving young people away from the Church.
Photo by Aaron Greenwood on Unsplash
Inside the Christian Bubble
Does the church prepare young people for a life of risk, adventure and service to the world? Or are we trying to churn out safe, nice, compliant Christian kids huddled in their sheltered Christian homes, too frightened to step outside and engage with the world beyond the church? According to Kinnaman, wrapping your kids in spiritual cotton wool might actually result in the opposite of what you are hoping for.
Kinnaman’s research shows young adults who have left the church identified the factors as reasons for their departure:
34% said the church’s tendency to demonize everything outside the church was a factor
31% said that the church ignore the problems in the real world
27% said that Christians are afraid of pop culture (especially movies, music and video games)
18% said the church squashes creative expression and another
18% said they are involved in social causes that the church just doesn’t seem to do or say much about, like protecting the environment for example.
In short, many young Christians feel overprotected. Millions of young believers perceive that the church has kept them fearful and detached from the world — a world mind you, that they are called by faith in Christ to help, to serve and to change.
There is a great irony in this. You see, being a Christian was once so dangerous that at the Nicene Council, an important church meeting in the 4th century A.D., of the 318 church leaders who attended, only 12 had not lost an eye or a hand or did not limp on a leg lamed by torture for their Christian faith. Those were the days!
Walk into your average Sunday service these days and take a look around at the young people there and most likely they will look bored. Young people are drawn to risk, challenge and adventure, but these things are often discouraged in the local church. Instead, many congregations offer a safe, nurturing community — an oasis of stability and predictability. Studies show that women and seniors gravitate toward these things. So not surprisingly such congregations are over-represented with women and seniors.
Richard Rohr, in his book, “From Wild Man to Wise Man,” says it like this:
“Real spirituality should emphasize movement over stillness, action over theory, service to the world over religious discussions, speaking the truth over social niceties, and doing justice instead of self-serving. Without this, spirituality becomes characterized by too much inwardness, a morass of unclarified feelings, and religion itself as a security blanket. This prevents a journey to anyplace new, and fosters a constant protecting of the old. It is a no-risk religion, just the opposite of Abraham, Moses, Paul and Jesus…”
As long as we present the Christian faith, inaccurately, as something less than the great, challenging, risky, dangerous, treacherous adventure that it was meant to be, we sell out. And young people will find their adventure elsewhere.
So What Can We Do?
Try to keep your kids inside the Christian bubble at your own peril. According to Kinnamen though, if we want young people to engage with Christian faith then we will not achieve this by being hyper-protective and demonizing everything outside of the church bubble. Rather, we must resist our tendency towards over-protectiveness, and turn it into opportunities to develop wisdom and discernment — modern people call it critical thinking.
Demonstrate Compassion
Over-protectiveness characterizes everything and everyone that is not Christian as evil but discernment helps young people understand that other people are not our enemies, but that there is fundamental brokenness in all humans — including ourselves — and we should overwhelming treat people with respect and compassion.
Model Cultural Exegesis
Over-protectiveness makes strict rules about media consumption. It avoids watching, reading and talking about current events and popular culture and hopes that it will just go away. But, as famous theologian Karl Barth once said, discernment reads the Bible and the newspaper. Rather than steering clear of secular music, movies, websites, books and TV shows, why not watch, listen and read together and then do a cultural exegesis together. Ask the question, “What does God think of this?”
Stop Oversimplifying
Over-protectiveness oversimplifies the tough stuff of life — suffering, failure, relationships and offers formulas and glib catchphrases instead of honest answers. But discernment is honest about the hazards of being human and teaches that life is complex and messy and Christianity offers a framework by which to understand that mess — though not completely because in reality, there are many questions that simply have no answers. We must learn to accept mystery if we are to become spiritually mature.
Encourage Responsible Risk-Taking
Over-protectiveness discourages risk taking and uses fear to protect the next generation. But discernment guides young people to trust God fearlessly and follow Christ’s call to reach and change the world in positive ways. This means taking seriously Jesus’ words when he says, “If you try to hang onto your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it” Are we willing to embrace this truth on behalf of the children that God has entrusted into our care?
Photo by Gianandrea Villa on Unsplash
Time to Let Go
What if God is preparing the next generation for great exploits in his name? What if a new renaissance of mission could be realized in this generation? Is our preoccupation with safety keeping our children on the sideline? Or are we willing partners in preparing them for what God has planned?
Jesus knew how to call young people. Think about it. He called 12 young people — his disciples — to come and follow him, and they dropped their nets and went. But have you ever considered that 24 parents let them go? Not one of the parents said, “That’s too risky, too dangerous, just plain ridiculous. What about you future? What What about your family? What about your safety?” Each parent understood that sometimes the best thing you can do is pop the bubble of spiritual safety that put around our kids. | https://medium.com/backyard-theology/popping-the-christian-bubble-cdf905294af0 | ['Dan Foster'] | 2020-03-04 04:31:10.731000+00:00 | ['God', 'Spirituality', 'Christianity', 'Religion', 'Faith'] |
BentoBox News July 2019 | August 9, 2019
Check out the latest news from BentoBox HQ.
Welcome to the first edition of BentoBox News, a monthly recap of all the happenings here at BentoBox HQ. This series is where we will highlight our website and product launches, awards and share press. July was a good month for us. We’re excited to see what the rest of the summer brings.
In the News
Big Announcement!
We’re happy to share the news: Enlightened Hospitality Investments — which was co-founded by Danny Meyer, Mark Leavitt and Peter Mavrovitis — has invested in BentoBox. EHI has invested in several hospitality technology startups, including Resy, Gather and GoldBelly. Read more at Eater.com
Franchise Times
Check out the Franchise Times article, “Accessible Websites: Compliance and a Big Opportunity” that features our very own Perry Rahman, Channel Strategy Manager at BentoBox.
The Nook
Our Co-Founder and CEO, Krystle Mobayeni was profiled in The Nook, a new global community that celebrates accomplished women.
Did you see it?
Pete Wells detailed The 20 Most Delicious Things at Mercado Little Spain for The New York Times. We love the work that CMYK did for Little Spain through our program for designers and developers: Bento Experts.
Launched Websites
In July we launched 171 new websites. Here are a few: While We Were Young (NYC), Bandit (Chicago), The Butcher’s Daughter (NYC) and Milo (Texas).
Product Launches
A monthly performance recap — straight to our customer’s inbox. It’s full of important website metrics such as the number of online visitors, interactions, eCommerce revenue and so much more.
The BentoBox Monthly Insights email.
Listen Now
Krystle Mobayeni spoke with the founders of Tilit NYC on Heritage Radio Network’s Opening Soon podcast about digital presence for restaurants, alongside Michael Chernow of Seamore’s and The Meatball Shop.
Awards
We’re happy to announce that BentoBox is Great Place to Work Certified! Great Place to Work’s mission is to build a better world by helping organizations become Great Places to Work FOR ALL. | https://medium.com/beyond-the-meal/bentobox-news-july-2019-e9a8c93b7fc2 | [] | 2019-09-10 19:52:28.105000+00:00 | ['Hospitality', 'Fundraising', 'Restaurant Business', 'Startup'] |
Justicia Descentralizada: Resolviendo la Ambigüedad en los Smart Contracts | 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/astec/justicia-descentralizada-resolviendo-la-ambiguedad-en-los-smart-contracts-7e82511bc330 | ['Federico Ast'] | 2021-01-21 15:18:45.815000+00:00 | ['Criptomonedas', 'Ethereum', 'Smart Contracts', 'Blockchain', 'Bitcoin'] |
Nurhadi-Aldo, Bukti Anak Muda Tidak Apolitis | Another writer in the sea of talented authors. Open for freelance work.
Follow | https://medium.com/binokular/nurhadi-aldo-bukti-anak-muda-tidak-apolitis-62e22b5b065 | ['Ann Putri'] | 2020-08-06 04:59:47.192000+00:00 | ['Newsmap', 'Sentiment Analysis', 'Nurhadi Aldo', 'Politik', 'Etnografia Digital'] |
What Else Can Go Wrong? | What Else Can Go Wrong?
One of those days when nothing goes right (humor)
Photo by Nik MacMillan on Unsplash
Ever have one of those days when nothing seems to go right and everything is harder than it needs to be?
I’m having one today.
My day started in the dark at 5:30 a.m. My alarm goes off this early because I have to take a pill on an empty stomach one half-hour before putting anything in my stomach. Anything like coffee.
When she prescribed this medication, my doctor advised me to take it at bedtime. “Have you met me?” I asked.
She knows, everybody knows, I graze all day. My stomach is never empty. My bedtime ritual involves reading and a snack. Usually, hot chocolate and a pickle. Don’t ask.
So, my alarm goes off this morning at 5:30 and my hand blindly searches for the pill bottle on the nightstand. Blindly, because, of course, it is dark but also because my eyes are always glued shut in the morning. Allergies, don’t you know.
I finally find the pill bottle and try to open it. It doesn't work. It doesn’t open. I’m getting desperate because this is taking too long. I’m supposed to take the pill and go back to sleep until 6:00 so I can have coffee as soon as I wake up. Nobody wants me to delay coffee.
As my fumbles grow more frantic, I realize that the pill bottle is upside down! No wonder it won’t open. I’m trying to open the wrong end!
By the time I fish out the tiny pill and swallow it down, I can’t go back to sleep. I try, but it just isn’t happening.
With eyes still glued shut, which doesn’t bother me since it is pitch black in here, I get out of bed and stumble over to grab my robe.
My robe hangs on a hook set into the wall between my side of the closet and my husband’s. He put the hook there specifically for my bathrobe, so I could easily find it in the dark.
I can’t find my robe! It isn’t on the hook.
Dammit, Barney!
Barney is my cat. (Her name is Barney because she is supposed to be a barn cat.) She is the most beautiful calico you’ve ever seen. She is also a thief.
I might be biased but Barney really is beautiful. Photo by Jonica Bradley
She steals pens, hair ties, lip gloss, my fit bit (which still hasn’t been found three years later), socks, and giant California sized lemons. I’m not talking about tiny little Meyer lemons. I’m talking lemons the size of grapefruit.
Barney gets blamed when anything in our house disappears or is misplaced.
Here she is trying to steal a pen after she stole my peanut butter cup (look behind her head). Photo by Jonica Bradley
Here she is trying to look innocent while attempting to steal plastic wrapped, tie dyed t-shirts. Photo by Jonica Bradley
My missing robe really was her fault. It wasn’t the first time she got her claws into something hanging and pulled it down. Coats on coat hooks, curtains, dish towels, my bathrobe.
I know this damn cat dumped my robe on the floor, I just don’t know where on the floor. My eyes are still glued shut and it is still dark. I peel open one eye. It doesn’t help. Too dark. Did I mention my bathrobe is black? I bend over to feel around on the floor. After bumping my head on the wall -twice- I find and pick up my robe.
I try to put it on, but I can’t. I think this robe is broken. My arm won’t go all the way in the sleeve and I can’t find the other sleeve at all. I start making little whiny squeaky grunting sounds. It is freezing in here.
I start to throw the vile, broken thing onto the ground when I discover I have been holding it upside down. I had been trying to use a pocket as an armhole.
I get this sorted and decide I’d better have light to get dressed. We have two ways to turn on the light in the bedroom. A switch on the wall, and a chain under the ceiling fan/light fixture.
I flip the switch. Nothing. I have to find and pull the chain. I manage to find the chain after swirling my hand in circles above my head forever. I give it a pull and quickly have to yank on it three more times. I had turned on the fan. I didn’t need it any colder in here!
I find the other chain and tug.
Let there be light! I check the time thinking I could probably have my coffee now.
It had been 7 minutes.
Might as well kill some time and get dressed.
Socks, panties, and leggings are easy to put on while staying warm under my robe. Bra, undershirt, long sleeves and over-shirt, not so much. It is freezing in here. It’s got to be minus 50 degrees outside (it was +31f). So I hurry.
Shivering, I yank my sports bra over my head and shove my arms into the shoulder straps. The bra rolls up into a kielbasa under my armpits. It takes another forever to get the sausage roll bra unrolled and over my boobs. Something is wrong! Each boob is hanging out the sides of a thin strip of material between them.
I had put the bra on backwards.
Boy, I really need coffee at this point.
Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash
As soon as I finished my first cup of coffee (yes after waiting the interminable 30 minutes) it is time to take my kid to school.
I normally wear my waist-length hair up, but when it is freezing cold, I wear it down. It keeps my neck warm.
I am wearing my hair down today.
After grabbing money to deposit in the bank, and a tie-dye t-shirt to get in the mail, I put on my husband’s old army coat. As soon as I get my left arm in the sleeve I feel a searing pain on the same side of my head. Somehow, I’ve managed to get my hair caught inside the sleeve.
I take my kid to school without incident.
Arriving at the bank, I realize it is closed. Whether this is because it is veterans day or because it isn’t yet 8:00 a.m. I don’t know.
I don’t care.
I drive home and crawl back into bed.
And here I am.
Waiting.
Wondering.
Worrying.
What else can go wrong? | https://medium.com/high-xpectations/what-else-can-go-wrong-97b463c2f986 | ['Jonica Bradley'] | 2019-11-11 20:39:57.313000+00:00 | ['Self', 'Humor', 'Life', 'Short Story', 'This Happened To Me'] |
Resilience | 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/spiritual-secrets/resilience-8213cc564e7a | ['Darshak Rana'] | 2020-10-02 16:03:41.289000+00:00 | ['Resilience', 'Spirituality', 'Life Lessons', 'Poetry', 'Spiritual Secrets'] |
Why Your Genes Are Not Your Destiny | What is epigenetics?
When most people think of evolution, the first name that comes to mind is Charles Darwin, but a contemporary of Darwin’s named Jean Baptiste Lamarck had proposed a theory of “acquired characteristics” by which individuals evolved certain traits within their lifetimes. The most oft-cited example discrediting this theory is that of giraffes elongating their necks by stretching to reach the treetops and then passing on this trait of long necks to their progeny. In contrast, Darwin proposed that those giraffes that had the longest necks went on to find food, survive, and reproduce. Eventually, Darwin’s theory of natural selection prevailed, but his 18th century French naturalist contender may have simply foreseen the field of epigenetics, the study of those drivers of gene expression that occur without a change in DNA sequence. The prefix “epi-” means above in Greek, and epigenetic changes determine whether genes are switched on or off and also influence the production of proteins. If you imagine your genetic code as the hardware of a computer, epigenetics is the software that runs on top and controls the operation of the hardware.
Epigenetic changes control the expression of genes through various mechanisms. The epigenetic mechanism of DNA methylation involves tagging DNA bases with methyl groups, a process that tends to silence genes. DNA methylation is responsible for X-chromosome inactivation in females, a process necessary to ensure that females don’t produce twice the number of X-chromosome gene products as males. Methylation is also responsible for the normal suppression of many genes in somatic cells, allowing for cell differentiation. Every somatic cell in the human body contains nearly identical genetic material, but skin cells, muscle cells, bone cells, and nerve cells exhibit different properties due to different sets of genes being turned on or off.
Methylation of cytosine bases leads to changes in gene expression. Mariuswalter [CC BY-SA 4.0]
Many epigenetic changes associated with the development of cancer have been found to be transgenerational; in other words, the altered epigenetic pattern can be passed down to subsequent generations without re-exposure to the agent that originally caused the epigenetic change. The effects of treatments, such as radiation and chemotherapy, and environmental toxins, such as endocrine disruptors, are often transmitted to offspring via reprogramming of DNA methylation patterns.
Inappropriate DNA methylation has been referred to as a “hallmark of cancer,” along with uncontrolled cell growth/proliferation. Almost all types of human tumors are characterized by two distinct phenomena: global hypomethylation or loss of methylation, which may result in the expression of normally suppressed oncogenes, genes that promote tumor formation, as well as regional hypermethylation or increased methylation near tumor suppressor genes. In other words, genes that promote tumor formation are turned on while genes that suppress tumor formation are turned off.
Cigarette smoke has been shown to promote both demethylation of metastatic genes in lung cancer cells as well as regional methylation of other specific genes via modulation of enzymatic activities. To succinctly summarize, genes themselves are not driving tumor formation; rather inappropriate gene expression is increasing the risk of tumor development.
National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) from Bethesda, MD, USA [CC BY 2.0]
Considering DNA methylation’s crucial role in regulating health and disease, insights gleamed from genetic models devoid of DNA methylation may not be relevant to the human condition. Epigenetic changes tend to be species-specific; the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and the roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans don’t seem to exhibit DNA methylation at all, and the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster displays only a minimal amount.
A 2018 study conducted on the nematode C. elegans concluded that the continual expression of genes responsible for developmental growth contributed to aging in later life; the authors argued the results could also be applied to humans. However, DNA methylation is widely prevalent in human genomes and responsible for gene suppression at different stages of development, which could prevent the unnecessary gene expression described in the study.
Using models that are subject to similar epigenetic changes is critical when attempting to extrapolate findings to humans. As previously suggested, our attempts to unravel the interface between genes and disease without accounting for genetic expression may therefore lead to incomplete or inaccurate models of disease and aging. | https://medium.com/medical-myths-and-models/why-your-genes-are-not-your-destiny-952efa377d2e | ['Nita Jain'] | 2020-02-03 20:53:57.796000+00:00 | ['Health', 'Education', 'Science', 'Ideas', 'Self Improvement'] |
Swallow | In the year before she died my mother bought a bird identification guide. Not an official one, a tiny thing from the 90s, eccentric title, stained pages, something someone once loved very much. She never really learned about the birds we see around our home, the guide was abandoned on her desk. But she let me know: if I could choose to be an animal, I would choose to be a bird. The flying, the freedom. She considered getting a tattoo of four small swallows. We represented the swallows: free to go wherever we wanted to.
In my thoughts she is the person who stands still and looks up when she sees a bird temporarily suspended in the air, that it makes her think of us. Maybe I should have told her: it’s you, you’re the swallow, sooner rather than later you’ll be free from earth and full of freedom.
But we don’t tell each other everything.
In the year after my mother died I learned the names of all common birds in the Netherlands. There are three species of swallows common here: the barn swallow, the house martin, the swift.
I would like to tell you: every time I see a bird, it’s you. | https://medium.com/@iljamarianne/swallow-31a41ae292c2 | ['Ilja Marianne'] | 2020-12-15 13:45:37.346000+00:00 | ['Poetry', 'Birds', 'Grief', 'Column'] |
Emotional check-in. | Life is a construction of ideas and concepts. There is one going around and it is the idea that health is accepting and perceiving and dealing with reality and realities terms. I´ve always been an angry person, I used to have constant fits of rage throughout the day. ¿How do we find a way to control these situations? If at all possible. By being aware. Be aware of how your body feels, you might have heard of it this, the process of practicing mindfulness and finding the roots of these emotions. Sitting still and watching your breath, observing those thoughts, whatever they may be. Do not try to actively control these thoughts, do not try to transform them into something else. Watch them, with time those thoughts will transform by themselves, with no force needed. When I was younger I was such an angry person. That´s something inside of me that has resurfaced throughout my entire life. Meditation has become such a useful practice for these types of situations. As humans, we have the power to sit with ourselves at any moment in time, during any activity, and observe numerous aspects of ourselves. When we are angry, our body´s temperature spikes, we become heated and our bones and muscles become tense. Our mind projects thoughts and emotions we don´t mean to have, they are just a reflection of what we have been unconsciously bottling up inside. Follow the feeling down into the poisonous root and see where it takes you. Does it bring back memories of something in the past? Usually, when a negative emotion arises we try to move on the something else to dissipate it. What happens if instead of running from it, we muster up the patience to sit with it. Gather up the courage to note and realize why this emotion is surfacing. The next step is to observe this emotion, free of judgment. When we truly know that our thoughts are not ours, that our thoughts come from an external source of consciousness, we then realize that they are merely thoughts. When you choose to give meaning to them is then we start to feel anger, anxiety, and worry. Use this little guide to observe your emotions throughout the day and gather information as to why they might be rising inside of you. As this becomes easier, life starts to feel different. We start to flow with the current and our intuition becomes louder and easier to follow. We then realize life is a gentle river that we can navigate, it doesn´t have to be a tropical storm in the ocean. | https://medium.com/@pacochavez0/emotional-check-in-83c2b20a8af9 | ['Paco Chávez'] | 2020-12-23 14:53:10.188000+00:00 | ['Energy', 'Feelings', 'Meditation', 'Emotions'] |
It Doesn’t Matter Why Marriage Ends | Five years ago I married for the second time, to my second husband. This was the marriage that was going to be right. We were equipped with the correct pieces which we arranged at the correct time. He was a vast improvement from my ex-husband: caring and thoughtful and responsible. He wanted to get married, and in an expected series of events, that’s exactly what we did.
And now we are separating.
The logical question that follows is why did it end? What happened?
I’ve been unsure of how to write about the dissolution of my marriage for some time now, which is both surprising and frustrating in light of the time and research I’ve put into the decision. I spent years in couples counseling, individual therapy, self-reflection paired with the inability to think about anything else (for those who have ever considered a separation, you know about this weight and how insidious it is). With all that work behind me, it seems like I should have a neatly packaged answer. An abstract or a lab report.
My other studies have told me that humans have a strong desire to be similar, to imitate. I followed suit, engaging in the same marriage experiment as those around me. Until the raw yearning to go and be alone, the one living in my blood and saliva and brain cells, crushed out the desire to be the same.
What do people want to hear? What’s the truth of it? What should I say?
No one cheated. No one abused. Our stances on religion, politics, and money are not wildly different. The socially acceptable answers do not exist for me. I can point to nothing easily because nothing about this is easy.
How do I tell my parents, married for 34 years and practicing Catholics, that another marriage is coming to an end?
How do I describe the collection of fibers twisting quietly in my gut, despite the pieces of what we’ve built that bring some moments of happiness?
How do I explain the pain of asking for something I want, even though the thing I want has also broken me into a million tiny pieces? | https://rachaelrenk1.medium.com/it-doesnt-matter-why-marriage-ends-e0ca30bc87cf | ['Rachael Renk'] | 2020-02-27 18:50:34.980000+00:00 | ['Divorce', 'Relationships', 'Marriage', 'Love', 'Life'] |
AWS —Amazon Route 53 — Routing Policies Overview | Multivalue Answer Routing Policy
Amazon Route 53 —Multivalue Answer Routing Policy
Multivalue answer Routing Policy is like Simple Routing Policy but it can return multiple values, such as IP addresses for your web servers, in response to DNS queries. You can specify multiple values for almost any record, but multivalue answer routing also lets you check the health of each resource, so Route 53 returns only values for healthy resources. It’s not a substitute for a load balancer, but the ability to return multiple health-checkable IP addresses is a way to use DNS to improve availability and load balancing. | https://medium.com/awesome-cloud/aws-amazon-route-53-routing-policies-overview-285cee2d4d3b | ['Ashish Patel'] | 2020-03-19 20:09:37.382000+00:00 | ['AWS', 'Route 53', 'Amazon Echo', 'Routing', 'Cloud Computing'] |
My iOS App Creation Process — Part 2 | Photo by Fotis Fotopoulos on Unsplash
In Part 1 of the series, I outlined my overall approach to iOS development. Here’s the outline of the significant steps as a reminder:
Develop user personas and associated user stories Detail the Desired App Features and Requirements Determine Best App Architecture Determine the minimal viable product (MVP) for the initial app release UX design (SwiftUI) Data Modeling (JSON) Coding and Testing Preparing for iOS App Store Submission Develop plans for a future version to implement features that didn’t make the initial MVP for release
In this article, I will focus on the third and fourth bullets to offer insights into how I determine the best app architecture and decide on the MVP.
Determine Best App Architecture
Photo by Tobias Keller on Unsplash
I have a standard set of questions I work through with my clients to uncover the appropriate architecture for a given app. Here’s a small subset of these questions:
Does the app need to be available on only iOS or both iOS and Android? Does the app’s content need to be available on the web? Does the app make use of Location-based services? Does the app display a map view? Does the app need to access/retrieve/publish information from/to an online service? If Yes, is there an Application Programming Interface (API) for the online service? Does the app require user authentication to access or perform actions under the API methods? Does the app need to store user defaults? Does the app need to store data on the device for reloading later, such as on the next launch? If the app stores data or user defaults, does that data need to be synchronized to other devices the user utilizes? Does the app use Bluetooth networking for any of its functionality? Does the app require any encryption of its content, including storage of defaults?
Using the above questions and basing my app on the latest for iOS14, I chose the Model-View-ViewModel (MVVM) design pattern. The MVVM pattern is appropriate given the reactive nature of the SwiftUI and Combine frameworks from Apple.
Model-View-ViewModel (MVVM) Design Pattern
The Flickr API does not require user authentication for only returning the Interestingness photostream, but it requires user authentication to manage a user’s Flickr Favorites. Therefore, I need to implement OAuth User Authentication and, in particular, OAuth 1.0 to meet the Flickr API user authentication requirements. To implement an OAuth 1.0 authentication functionality, I will need to use Apple’s CommonCrypto encryption framework for the Hash-based Message Authentication Code (HMAC) Secure Hash Algorithm 1 (SHA-1).
The app will not store any photos from the photo stream other than simple caches to limit mobile data usage. Therefore, there is no need for Core Data framework. Note: I could use Core Data as a means of caching photo data and decrease the overall data usage of the app. However, I plan to use a Swift library to implement the photo image data’s caching and avoid the coding to implement my own custom caching.
The Flickr API returns information about photos and other related information in JSON format. Therefore, JSON Codable will be used to properly decode the API results for use in the app’s data model.
The app will need to implement both Core Location and MapKit frameworks to enable location-based photo streams and the subsequent display of specific photo locations on a map.
Here’s the initial app architecture I created based on the requirements and discovery questions above:
Initial App Architecture Diagram
I’ll share the specifics around the MVVM in an upcoming article in the series.
Determine MVP for Initial App Release
My approach to defining a minimal viable product (MVP) is relatively simple:
Group the app requirements under the appropriate architecture components Implement at least one (1) requirement from each grouping to build out the app’s foundational structure. Review the development scope for the MVP against the complete set of documented requirements. The review helps ensure future development work builds on a solid app foundation and avoids an all too common event where a developer must tear the app’s code apart to additional functionality for requirements not part of the initial MVP. Ensure the MVP is meaningful to the app user. In other words, the user must have a positive user experience with the MVP version of the app. For example, you wouldn’t choose the implement only the settings screen as part of the MVP for a photos app. You would want to ensure the screen(s) for the photos would be in the first release’s MVP, even if you needed to forego the Settings screen initially.
Based on my MVP process, I defined the initial MVP scope as follows:
View — Photo Grid that can display any of the photo streams
View — Photo Details for an individual photo, including a map view of its location if that data is available
View — Settings to allow for the user to change the appropriate settings, including authentication with Flickr.com
ViewModel — PhotoStore which handles the data binding with the views and communicates with the models
Model — Photos to represent the photo streams
Model — Photo to represent an individual photo
Model — PhotoDetails depict details of a particular image such as the photographer, image title, image date, among other information.
Model — OAuth service to perform authentication with Flickr API
Model — Various Flickr API models to support API actions and errors
In summary, my MVP will consist of at least three (3) screens/views, one (1) view model, and multiple data models. In my next article, I will detail the approach I use for UX design and data modeling.
Until next time, stay safe and keep learning! | https://medium.com/swlh/my-ios-app-creation-process-part-2-c50156a7e94f | ['Jody Abney'] | 2021-01-10 20:11:28.655000+00:00 | ['MVP', 'Data Modeling', 'Mvvm', 'Design Patterns', 'iOS App Development'] |
How to Write a Meta Description That Gets Clicks | The main thing to do to get your web pages to appear in the Search Engine Results Pages is to optimize them for search engines (SERPs). However, it does not guarantee that people who find your article through a search will click on the link to read it, instead of reading similar other articles. Of course, you create web pages to be read, not just to be displayed to a large number of people. This is why you must concentrate on meta descriptions in addition to writing excellent content while keeping search engine optimization factors in mind.
A meta description is a 160-word summary of the content that attracts search engine users. Meta descriptions play no direct role in search engine optimization. However, it becomes extremely important once you write an SEO-friendly article and it appears on Google’s first page. When a user searches for something on Google and finds ten articles with nearly identical headlines, how does he or she decide which one to click on? Of course, by looking at the meta description beneath the link. Search engines prioritize articles with a high click-through rate (CTR) or the number of people who click on the article. The audience is given a brief overview of the content via meta descriptions. You will be able to pique their interest in your post and persuade them to read it over the others if you write these 160 words correctly. Hence, as a Jacksonville SEO Company, we will show you how to appropriately write the meta description for your content in this article.
How to Write a Meta Description That Gets Clicks?
Make use of appropriate keywords
If you publish content that is optimized for search engines, you are already familiar with keyword research. If not then first you to learn about how to approach keyword research. You must include relevant keywords in your text naturally. If you use the proper keywords in your meta descriptions, Google will readily understand the fundamental idea of your content and will rank your article at the top of its search results when people search for the keywords in your meta description. The keyword is also highlighted in your meta description by Google.
The keywords must, however, be used naturally in the meta description, just as they must in the text. That means, the meta description should be as reader-friendly as possible, and not stuffed with keywords unnecessarily. Add one or two keywords for each meaningful phrase. If you insert all the possible keywords here and there in your meta description, it will look spammy, and Google will lower your website ranking.
Jacksonville SEO experts will suggest you try to write in a conversational tone. You can use Ubersuggest for keyword research. Don’t make the mistake of using the same keywords for nearly similar web pages. Using different keywords will help each of your pages to appear on Google search for the specific keywords. For example, if you have a digital marketing agency that provides SEO services, the relevant keywords of your webpage would be “On-page SEO”, “On-page SEO services”, “SEO services” etc.
2. Don’t worry about the word count
As mentioned earlier, the maximum word limit of meta descriptions is 160. But that doesn’t mean you must write that much. If you can convey your message in fewer words, with relevant keywords correctly inserted, don’t hesitate to stop much before the word limit. At the same time, if you cannot complete your sentences meaningfully in that limitation, feel free to write more. But keep in mind that Google will cut off the extra portion than 160 characters (not words ), and the users won’t see that portion in the search results, so add the keywords and relevant details in the first 160 words.
Let us take the example of the digital marketing agency again. Suppose you are writing on “how SEO helps business”, you can write a meta description like this, “SEO makes a business website get on top of search results. People trust a business more when they see it again and again. SEO helps to build brand awareness and to get potential customers to the website easily. It eventually increases the conversion rate.” But on Google, it will show like, “SEO makes a business website get on top of search results. People trust a business more when they see it again and again. It helps to build brand awareness and to get potential customers to the…….”.
It doesn’t mean that if users see the truncated results they would not click on the links. Sometimes they are tempted to read those articles with trimmed meta descriptions out of curiosity. But generally, it is advised to write shorter meta descriptions and longer articles to have a greater chance to rank on Google.
3. Optimize your webpage for rich Snippets
Creating snippets will enhance the chance of your article getting clicked. Your article will stand out from the crowd when you add snippets along with the right title, URL, and meta description. Webpages with snippets appear much more engaging to Google than those without them. It gets to recognize the key information provided in your content and places it in the search result accurately.
To create rich snippets, you need to put structured data markup to the web pages and write what your content is all about. You can also insert additional information here, which would otherwise overload your article. Here is an example of a rich snippet. If you search “what are the top 10 SEO strategies” on Google, you will find some key points on SEO in bullet form before the first link. That’s the featured snippet. This link will, of course, get much more clicks than the rest. Now, you need to keep in mind that not every topic will make a rich snippet. Some types of content like recipes have much more scope here.
4. Do not duplicate
There is a strict warning while writing meta descriptions. Never copy your competitors’ descriptions, regardless of how similar the main topics are. Duplication of meta description hampers the search engine optimization ranking of your website badly. As mentioned earlier, do not copy your meta description for other close web pages as well. They all will then compete for the same keywords you use and the overall click-through rate (CTR) of your website will decrease. So, make sure that you write a unique meta description for all your web pages.
It is true that the job of writing a summary of each web content in only 160 words that too with necessary keywords inserted organically, is pretty challenging. According to the Jacksonville SEO Company, if you are not confident enough about your writing abilities, it is better to leave the meta description part completely. Google will automatically fill that portion from your content then. The best idea would be, however, to hire an SEO expert for this purpose.
5. Use Interesting Words
To grab the attention of potential readers, you must use striking words or phrases, just as you do for headlines. You can take inspiration from your competitors’ websites. At the same time, never compromise with the amount of information you can give in that small space, to make your meta description linguistically interesting.
Think of yourself as a Google user. When you search with certain keywords and look through, take ten different meta descriptions on the first page. Which one would you click on? Which words in the meta description compel you to do so? Write those words in your meta description. Many content writers prefer using words like “best”, “popular”, “top”, etc. Words like “learn”, or “know” work well too. Of course, you need to include these words in your content only when they are relevant. Another important thing that you need to add to your content is a call-to-action or CTA. These words like “Click to know more”, “Buy now”, entice people to click on your article and read it.
Conclusion
Though it is not directly related to search engine optimization, you cannot deny the importance of your content’s meta description in ranking your webpage on the first ten search results and gaining more organic traffic. Remember that when a search engine user goes through all of the search results on the first page, he or she quickly gets a sense of what each content is about based on only the title, image, and meta description. Because everyone is busy, users only click on article links whose meta description appears to be interesting and capable of meeting their needs. Each of your web pages should have a distinct, interesting, and informative meta description.
You should also include meta descriptions on your product pages. If this seems like too much work, at the very least include the meta descriptions of your home page and the most important pages. Even if you follow all of the above tips, keep one thing in mind: if Google thinks it doesn’t fit with the search, it will change it and place a more relevant portion of your text instead. However, your web pages will undoubtedly receive more clicks if you write the meta description of your page according to tips and techniques are given in the guide. | https://medium.com/@jacksonville-seo-company/how-to-write-a-meta-description-that-gets-clicks-975ead0a73b9 | [] | 2021-11-30 08:49:56.533000+00:00 | ['Social Media Optimization', 'Jacksonville Social Media', 'Internet Marketing Tips', 'Internet Marketing', 'Social Media'] |
Ben Francis a 14 Accomplished Photographer and Filmmaker at Age 14 | Ben Francis, a young and multi-talented videographer & photographer, showcases his recent works on Instagram @ben.greeff. He has been involved in many projects since a young age, and currently, he is working on several prominent projects.
Ben Francis, a young and talented artist specializing in photography and filmmaking, introduces his social media profile to gain more followers and clients. Ben is a South African videographer and photographer who has a great talent in video editing and various photography and filmmaking projects. He introduces his social media profile to showcase his talent, services and to reach more business opportunities. Ben’s social media profiles, including Instagram @ben.greeff, Facebook, YouTube, and more.
Moreover, Ben is also a prolific videographer/videographer who always makes great photos and amazing videos. Ben shares some of his amazing photos as free stock photos on Pixabay. “I have worked with many clients from different backgrounds. Each client is unique, and I have to listen carefully to their goals and realize the idea into a masterpiece work. Therefore, I have to understand the project and find the “vibe” in every project. Thus, every client will get a truly unique video. I will always respect my client’s deadlines and needs, no matter the cost or time frame. Every project is essential. I will be able to pull through and give you the best results for your satisfaction,” said Ben Francis.
Ben Francis is a multi-talented artist. He utilizes sophisticated equipment and state-of-the-art technology to produce high-quality photos and films. He adequates to using various video editing software like Final cut pro 10 and Davinci resolve 16. Working on many projects and delivering the best results has enhanced his experience, and someday he wants to become a filmmaker, working in the film industry.
About Ben Francis
Ben Francis is a professional videographer and photographer. Ben resides in Cape Town, South Africa. Besides working on photo/video and filmmaking projects. Ben sells his photography works in prints (www.benfrancisprints.com) and accepts video editing projects. Ben is good at video editing and filmmaking. He provides video editing services like adding special effects/sound effects, custom title animations, cinematic color grading, powerful story-driven music, custom motion graphics, smooth and seamless transitions, and more. For information about Ben Francis and want to hire him to edit video, please visit his Instagram profile @ben.greeff or visit https://linktr.ee/benfrancis.
Contact:
Ben Francis
073 787 2745
[email protected] | https://medium.com/@sutotu.epegec/ben-francis-accomplished-various-video-photography-projects-with-satisfying-results-30c5bed6485d | ['Sutotu Epegec'] | 2021-12-20 18:45:23.512000+00:00 | ['Videographers', 'Cape Town', 'South Africa'] |
Your career graph can only rise as high as the skills and competencies you develop. Here’s why. | Your career graph can only rise as high as the skills and competencies you develop. Here’s why. HiREarchy May 22·4 min read
Vishal S, an accounts executive, was on the verge of a break down. It had been more than 6 months since he lost his job at a 3-star Mumbai hotel. He had almost exhausted his savings and was desperate for a new job. Most companies he approached told him that they had frozen hiring until market conditions improved. Vishal did not blame them as he was aware that it would take some time for businesses to recover from the impact of the pandemic.
Not one to give up, Vishal continued to apply for jobs and ,in a span of 2 months, sent applications for 30 different openings but didn’t get an interview call from any of them.
One day, Vishal bumped into Amit, his classmate back in college, whom he hadn’t seen in a long time. During the course of their conversation, Vishal told Amit how miserable he was without work and sought the latter’s advice on what he could do to turn things around. Here is how the conversation went.
Vishal: Amit, I am at wits’ end trying to find a new job. The prices of day to day items are shooting through the roof and I am at risk of defaulting on my EMIs. If I don’t find something soon enough, my family could be without a roof. Is anyone in your professional network looking for an accountant?
Amit: Vishal, I will certainly check with my business associates for any openings in their firms. However, the pandemic has shifted business priorities for a lot of companies. I’m sure you would have noticed it too. Virtual interviews, remote meetings, online consultations — the post pandemic work environment will be driven by technology and new ways of working…
Vishal: Yes, you are right! Many jobs require candidates with experience in using digital tools and I think I may be at a disadvantage here. I am not familiar with the latest tax filing software commonly used in a lot of firms today.
Amit: I’m glad you realise that you have a skills gap. You are not alone, Vishal. The pace of change has accelerated since the pandemic. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) based tools have already started to replace humans in some of the basic accounting tasks. It is much more efficient and cost-effective for companies to use automation instead of hiring a full-time employee.
Vishal: Does that mean the role of accounts executive is redundant in today’s job market? I’m too old to switch to a different career. What can I possibly do?
Amit: No, all I am saying is that you need to develop your skills to compete with the rise of technology. One of my friends is a recruiter; he once told me that the existing job skills of today’s workforce could be outdated in the next 3 to 5 years. As a professional, you are only as good as the value you deliver. How many online courses have you taken since you lost your job?
Vishal: Well.. I checked out a few of them on LinkedIn Learning but didn’t enrol for any. I was too anxious to even think about upgrading my skills. I do not have any money to spare for professional development right now!
Amit: I can understand your situation, Vishal. However, nothing will change until you decide to change. Think about how much better your resume will look with a few accounting software certifications added to it. Learning new skills will not only help you perform better but also smoothly collaborate with global customers.
The best part is that many online learning platforms like Udemy offer free, self-paced courses that you can take at any time of your choosing- even when you are commuting to work! In 6–12 months, you could have much more knowledge than you currently do. The result: you will grow professionally and be able to command a higher salary.
Vishal: I see your point, Amit! But how can I stay focussed on learning. I have barely read a book since I graduated from college all those years ago!
Amit: My friend, where there is a will, there is a way! Make a list of the most relevant accounting skills that you are likely to need in the next 10–15 years, for example, data analytics and process optimisation. Remember to also include soft skills like persuasion and collaboration. Evaluate your current skill levels and identify the gaps you need to close. Think about how your responsibilities are likely to change in the next few years.
Ask a peer at work or your manager for honest feedback. You can also use the inputs you received during your last performance review as a reference point. Next, create a timeline for developing those skills based on your career aspirations.
Don’t rely on your employer alone for training opportunities. There is a wide range of training courses available online, some of which are even accredited by leading institutions like KPMG. Check the reviews left by people who have already been through them before you sign up. Remember, a few hours a week is all it takes to acquire new skills.
However, the key is to be consistent over a period of time. The results will certainly be worth it. Upskilling can help you increase your lifetime earnings significantly.
Vishal: Amit, I am glad we had this conversation! You have completely changed my perspective on learning new skills to remain relevant in the job market. While I continue my job search, I will focus on sharpening my skills to enhance my market value. I can never thank you enough for your words of inspiration! | https://medium.com/@InvestcodeHiREarchy/your-career-graph-can-only-rise-as-high-as-the-skills-and-competencies-you-develop-heres-why-49f9ef2951a0 | [] | 2021-05-22 07:14:28.240000+00:00 | ['Talent Management', 'Development', 'Improvement', 'Upskilling', 'Reskilling'] |
Gender Specific Worker Rights in India’s white collar jobs. | Disclaimer:
Being a boy, I had to really really get into the heart of how much it bothers my female counterparts. Given the sensitive nature of this article, I have used my words very carefully. Sincere apologies, if any part of the article is thought of otherwise.
“The fight for women’s participation in the workforce is not to create exclusive policies, but of more inclusive policies for them to fit in.”
“Why White collar jobs specific?”
A huge chunk of Zomato’s 4500 employees (35 % Women) are peripheral workers and gig workers. Given the nature of the job, these jobs are mostly taken by men. Although there might be a sizable portion of those jobs taken up by women, the policy enacted is largely in effect to the white-collared jobs of Zomato like the software engineers, hr managers etc.
The Sociological and Economical Perspective.
There is culture of silence harvested around this issue. Starting the word Hysteria originated from the word Hystera which means Uterus. Women were seen to be having a wandering uterus, and by calling only made them hysterical , making it all the more sexist.
Menstruation has remained a big ticket taboo right from where children are being educated.
Through middle school and high school, the well-being cell of our School used to conduct massive 3 — Day sessions devoted to educating my female classmates about Menstrual Health. The disheartening thing being, we boys were taken to another class at the time these sessions were held and we were shown a Magic Show instead of being educated of the amount of pain each and every girl has to go through for 2–7 days every single month. I somehow mustered up the courage to discuss this matter with a couple of my childhood friends about this at the time of writing this article. They shared that the entire well-being built around a stigma surrounding this issue, and completely brainwashed them to remain ashamed about this saying that menstrual periods are supposed to be “TOXIC”. Similar anecdotes can be expressed by girls from other parts of India. The fact that Period Leaves being made a big deal and having to discuss/debate about it should not even exist once we ensure the ecosystem built around Women’s Menstruation is openly being spoken right from where everyone is being educated about this from childhood itself. Agreed, speaking openly about one’s cycle can be rather personal to share. But it’s a normal female biological function which needs to be respected rather than made a taboo of.
Zomato’s perspective and Way Forward for India.
The company’s bold move followed with mentioning women can openly mention that they can openly mention they are taking a sick leave. This will break the stigmatization surrounding Menstruation. The scant level of awareness attached to the way Menstruation is perceived across India. There is a great deal of secrecy and shame to one’s menstrual period . It is paramount to note that Menstrual Stigma is itself a misogyny. Companies would further take this up as a part of their Corporate Social Responsibility to educate schools and masses. This move would be left for the discretion of the employee to decide when she needs to take time off. It would be unfair how she should be overlooked for a promotion/raise/project just because she takes a period-leave. Glass Ceiling Effect and prevailing Gender Biases faced by women at workplaces can be accentuated by this move adding to skewed gender ratio. More and more companies may choose to not employ women at work places owing to the high hiring cost for women. This has however already been there ever since women have been a part of the workforce owing to the opinion of Cultural Dualism where women traditionally stick to household tasks. How did Zomato address these potential sexist microaggressions? Zomato has the POSH ( Prevention Of Sexual Harassment ) department put in place where employees, can complain in case they were to face any such discrimination due to availing the provision of a period leave . POSH also paved the way for equal pay for all genders
within the company. Glorifying this policy for all companies can potentially break all gender biases previously held.This move would persuade the removal of the existing tax on Sanitary Products. 20% of the school going girls drop out once they reach puberty. Removal 17% GST Tax will finally allow more and more lower class girls and women access to these products.
One size fits all?
This can bring the motive to ask How painful are your periods at the time of taking a period leave? Which even a gynaecologist can’t answer. It is highly subjective for each and every girl/woman and it would be foolish to expect perfect tailor made solutions for all women. While I do respect the opinion that Period leaves are not a compulsion for all women, we must not however ignore the debilitating experiences some women have to undergo during their monthly cycles. There is overwhelming support from women who vouch strongly against the “Period Leave” mandated by Zomato In Social Media Forums, calling it a weak clickbait policy. I am not in favour of that debate. We must seek to create inclusive policies for women in women in workplaces in order to break down previously held gender biases.
“How many period leaves? “
The exact number of days women deserve as a part of their period leave is already up for debate. There is already an overwhelming dis-consensus when it comes to the political regions having sick leave in place. Bear in mind a company stationed in a particular region must adopt the sick leave policies of the state. Why does this matter? People against the Menstrual Leave conveniently back up their argument , saying , “Women could just take a Sick Leave“. Not all the employed women from all the states were given a similar treatment when we talk about sick leaves. Given below are a few examples where Zomato quarters are stationed.
For ex:
a) Gurgaon: 7 Sick Leaves
b) Banglore: 12 Sick Leaves
c) Mumbai : 6 Sick Leaves
“how can menstrual leaves, be implemented fairly, without misuse”?
That is a question that cannot be answered even before it gets implemented. As we know , Nothing Interesting is ever completely One-Sided. True compliance is always an issue, but that can not be the excuse to not adopt the policy.
War of two Capitalist Models : Economic-Based vs Sustainability-Based
Economic-Based : This model would motivate companies to follow a more hire and fire policy which means hiring women would be unenviable for the company down the road. Companies may justify this model for cost-cutting measures as the cost of hiring for women is expensive, adding to compulsory paid maternity leave ( double the salary ). This justification may prove to be a cobra effect for companies since long term sustainability and reputation of the company would be affected for petty short term financial advancements.
Sustainability-model :Commodification of the worker’s overall happiness index increases by giving the incentive for the menstruating workers to take a period leave, would further allow greater productivity for companies in the long run. Some women may not be in their labour market best. And that’s just a couple of days in a month. This need not be the case for all the women who are menstruating as a lot of women choose not to take the leave too. The move would encourage women to be more recognised for their biological differences apart from women and motivates them to contribute back to their company more willingly. Women in general would want to prefer to work from home, consistently traveling during their period only makes things worse by making cramps more painful, this can genuinely reduce the overall productivity of the woman employee. The case for employing menstruating workers would mean a more stable workforce and more improved reputation for the company despite initial financial shortcomings of having to employ women.
Final thoughts :
Given that health remains an umbrella category for policy makers, menstrual leave, in my opinion, will remain a pipe dream in India for a long time unless policy makers establish more policies in favour of women’s health.
Acknowledgements :
I would like to thank my elder sister Nidhi and my high school best friend Lynncey in particular from the massive number of people with whom I had had a discussion with. I was able to have a very mature discussion with them on this matter, after which I was confident that I would be able
to do justice to this paper to my best ability. I gained valid perspective from both angles, which made me appreciate the way my female counterparts were able to succeed in life both in their professional and personal spaces. | https://medium.com/@abhinavgudipati/gender-specific-worker-rights-in-indias-white-collar-jobs-abbe0a92c341 | ['Abhinav Gudipati'] | 2020-10-11 09:41:56.455000+00:00 | ['Mensturation', 'Gender Identity', 'Gender', 'Periods', 'Gender Equality'] |
“Friends” at 25 (Part I): The One with the Analysis | My Rebuttals to the Most Common Disparaging Claims Against Friends
Disparaging Claim #1: Friends had majorly messed up sexual and gender dynamics that make it “cringe-worthy” to watch in the present day.
Most of the commentaries disparaging Friends focused on the fact that the humor has aged poorly and most that make this argument cite outdated sexual and gender dynamics. These commentators cite the occasional gay panic humor, the fragile masculinity of the show’s men, and the portrayal of sexual and gender minorities. Sure, there is some humor that felt crass when it first aired and would definitely not sit well with the Twitterverse if aired today (like the fat jokes about Monica), but nevertheless these arguments have never convinced me that Friends was misogynistic, homophobic, or transphobic. Here’s why.
Exhibit A: The Women are Strong and Equal. Rachel, Monica, and Phoebe are fully equal members of the ensemble, which is in sharp contrast to many of the show’s contemporaries (e.g., Seinfeld, Frasier). The female characters are fully autonomous in their careers, powerful agents in their romantic relationships, treated as full equals by the male characters, and approach marriage and motherhood with an admirable mix of cautiousness and commitment.
Exhibit B: The Men’s Fragile Masculinity is the Subject of Derision not Celebration. Ross and Chandler are extremely insecure in their masculinity (most egregiously displayed when Ross refuses to hire a male nanny for Emma and any time someone thinks Chandler is gay). Sure they get uncomfortably teased by the other characters for being soft or effeminate by the other characters, but what is overlooked in this argument is that their fragile masculinity is the butt of the joke. It quickly becomes clear that Chandler’s use of humor as a defense mechanism against his intense fear of expressing vulnerability, Ross’s attempts to prove his manliness, and Joey’s hollow bed-hopping are huge liabilities that each character needs to overcome to have any shot at a happy ending. In fact, becoming emotionally mature men is the arc of all the male characters.
Exhibit C: The show not only portrayed sexual and gender minorities but portrayed them positively. Ross’s ex-wife Carol’s decision to leave him for another woman at first felt like a provocative plot twist, but when viewers were introduced to the same-sex couple what they did not see was an offensive caricature or the butt of a joke, but rather a healthy, stable relationship between two strong women committed to marriage and motherhood. They even got married in a particularly memorable and controversial episode that aired at a time when there were no regular gay or lesbian characters on a primetime network comedy (this was 2 full years before Ellen DeGeneres came out of the closet).
Undoubtedly more problematic was the portrayal of Chandler’s cross-dressing father. The fact that his father ran off with the pool boy and started an all-male burlesque show was frequently used to explain why Chandler was so damaged and insecure. Although that may sounds horrific to a 2019 reader, there are several factors that should be considered. First, everyone on the show came from a dysfunctional family (Monica and Ross’s parents were hypercritical and played favorites, Joey’s parents were engaging in extramarital affairs, Rachel’s parents went through an exceedingly nasty divorce, and Phoebe was raised by a single mother who died by suicide). It was hardly presented as the case that Chandler’s family of origin was dysfunctional because of his father’s sexual and gender identity, it was just an aspect of it. And that becomes increasingly clear when we meet his mother, the boundary averse romance novelist (played by Morgan Fairchild), and eventually his father (played by Kathleen Turner). Much outrage has been piled on the decision to cast a cisgender actress as his father, but it is important to note that transgender rights and transgender representation in Hollywood are a long overdue but nevertheless recent phenomenon. The very fact that the show had a (presumably) transgender character that was eventually humanized and accepted could be viewed as a positive step toward inclusivity.
Copyright: Warner Bros.
Disparaging Claim #2: The lack of racial diversity on Friends was unrealistic and offensive.
Other than Ross’s romances with a couple of women of color (most notably Aisha Tyler in the final two seasons), Friends was undoubtedly whitewashed. The homogeneity of the show was especially ridiculous when you consider that its setting was urban New York City in the 1990s. In many ways this is a valid criticism, but it overlooks an important contextual factor — network television as a whole was enormously segregated during this time period. Mixed-race ensembles barely existed with shows being either predominantly black (e.g., A Different World, Martin, Living Single) or all white. And of course, the all-white ones got more than their fair share of the acclaim. In fact, during the 10 years that Friends was on the air, a total of 13 series were nominated for the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series —Friends, Frasier, The Larry Sanders Show, Mad About You, Seinfeld, 3rd Rock From the Sun, Ally McBeal, Everybody Loves Raymond, Sex and the City, Will & Grace, Malcolm in the Middle, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and Arrested Development. Of these 13 series, only 2 had cast members of color and neither were in a lead role. These exceptions to the all-white ensembles were Penny Johnson Jerald, who routinely stole scenes as Larry Sanders’s assistant, and Lisa Nicole Carson and Lucy Liu, who were Ally McBeal’s confidante and nemesis, respectively. (One could argue that Shelley Morrison and JB Smoove became regulars at some point on Will & Grace and Curb Your Enthusiasm, respectively, but they definitely weren’t part of the core, original ensembles of those series).
Although this is technically a valid criticism, it reflected the state of television at the time and singling Friends out as a particularly egregious offender is illogical.
Disparaging Claim #3: Friends was anti-intellectual.
The most ridiculous take I have seen on Friends was that it contributed to the downfall of Western Civilization by mocking intellectual pursuits and science. Yet somehow, this take nevertheless went viral. Ross was ultimately not mocked because he believed in science but because he was socially awkward, and annoying. The geekiness was just an easy target. Again, looking at the 13 series nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series during the 10 years Friends aired, 4 featured main characters with high brow professions requiring graduate degrees (Ross the academic on Friends, Frasier and Niles the psychiatrists on Frasier, Will the lawyer on Will & Grace, and the entire ensemble of Ally McBeal). In each these shows the high brow professions were mercilessly mocked. And, echoing what was said above about how any representation could be viewed as good representation, Ross was one of the only PhD academics on a comedy series until The Big Bang Theory rolled around.
Disparaging Claim #4: Friends was just frothy fun and had no substance.
Comedy series in the 1970s and 1980s tended to have serious undercurrents (e.g., the horrors of warfare on M*A*S*H, culture wars on All in the Family, ageism on The Golden Girls) or at the very least pause from the laughs frequently for very special episodes covering dramatic material (e.g., The Cosby Show, Roseanne, Murphy Brown). These were shows about something. Then the self-proclaimed “show about nothing” Seinfeld came along and provided a new and refreshing model. But to me, Friends was not a Seinfeld knockoff. It had far more emotional depth and was far more interested in human development and nuanced social relationships. I think it exists somewhere in between the extremes of being about something very serious and being about nothing. I could try to articulate my thoughts on this in my own words but why bother when it has already been said perfectly?
“No sitcom has ever been as deliberately self-effacing as Friends. The title, the theme song, the episode names (“The One Where…”) were self-explanatory at best, insipid at worst. They were friends; they were there for each other. Move along, nothing more to see. But it wasn’t just the sharp writing or the comic rapport that made Friends great. Its Gen-X characters were the children of divorce, suicide and cross-dressing, trying to grow up without any clear models of how to do it. They built ersatz families and had kids by adoption, surrogacy, out of wedlock or with their gay ex-wives. The show never pretended to be about anything weightier than “We were on a break.” But the well-hidden secret of this show was that it called itself Friends, and was really about family.” — James Poniewozik, Time Magazine
Disparaging Claim #5: Friends was a good television show — but only for the first few seasons.
I find this a particularly confusing argument, because to me one of the things that is most astounding about the show is how it forged such a unique trajectory in terms of quality. Typically shows go one of two paths — they start strong and eventually decline or they take a while to find their footing and then soar. The best seasons of Friends are its 4th and 8th, its worst are its 3rd and 7th, with its 1st and 10th seasons lying in between. After a strong 1st and 2nd season, it took a big hit quality-wise in its 3rd season, leading many to think it was heading to an early flameout. But then things got hugely rejuvenated in Season 4 when Phoebe became a surrogate, the guys and girls switched apartments, and Monica and Chandler began their secret affair. After a terrific 5th and 6th season, the show hits its low point with Season 7, which lacked interesting plot points, was overstuffed with guest stars, and featured the lowest point of Matthew Perry’s drug addiction. But then out of nowhere it bounced back in its 8th season with its Emmy-winning arc about Rachel’s unexpected pregnancy. The final two seasons declined a bit, but still had a number of masterful episodes that were on par with the best the show had ever done. The fact that Friends was so resilient following quality downturns is one of the things that makes it so singular in television history and such a joy to rewatch from start to finish.
Disparaging Claim #6: Friends was just not a good television show.
If you can strip away the baggage of its popularity and cultural impact, ignore its retrospective lack of “woke”-ness, and overlook the outdated technical aspects inherent in the multi-camera comedy, what you are left with is consistently hilarious character-driven comedy featuring clever writing and superb acting. Episodes like “The One with the Embryos,” “The One Where Everybody Finds Out,” and “The One with the Prom Video” are consistently and rightfully ranked among the best half hours of television comedy in history. The performances of the whole ensemble, particularly the Emmy-winning ones by Jennifer Aniston and Lisa Kudrow, are only more impressive upon repeated viewings. And even when it went off the rails with some truly bad episodes (don’t even get me started on episodes like “The One with Russ,” “The One with the Mugging,” or “The One Where Joey Speaks French”) it would get back on track with a gem in no time.
Friends was not the most consistent or refined comedy of all time and, like all comedies, the appeal of its humor and characters is subjective. (And contrary to popular belief, not finding a show’s style of humor or characters particularly appealing does not make it inherently or objectively poor in quality.) But there’s a reason why so many millions of people continue to love the show and why it was feted by the Emmys, Screen Actors Guild, and Golden Globes. And that reason is that it was a great television series. And if you agree with that statement, I assure you there is nothing to be ashamed about. | https://medium.com/rants-and-raves/friends-at-25-part-i-the-one-with-the-analysis-fd14f19272e1 | ['Richard Lebeau'] | 2020-08-28 20:43:20.265000+00:00 | ['Hollywood', 'Review', 'Media', 'Culture', 'Television'] |
Impression of Play / Our ancestors | James A. Reeves’s online quadruplex of play, by Troels Steenholdt Heiredal
I’m starting to tense up, knowing that I need to, or it’s more I want to, have to get this right. To say something profound about the work, and it’s blocking me, crippling my every move, till nothing comes out—and still I hate it all.
The concept of play has come up for me over the last few weeks, both in my readings and in conversations with friends, amongst them James A.Reeves. The idea of letting go, and give yourself space to play, for through this you will open yourself to new possibilities. Stephen King calls this writing with the door closed, in a space that is just yours, to let out anything that you might never show anyone but that it’s a process of looking through all that you entail. Not all of which will be helpful, but sometimes you have to play your way through some bad stuff to get to the really good.
Using this idea has helped me move forward with my work, to realize that I can write, draw, photograph, build anything in the act of play because afterward, I’ll always have the chance to review it.
With this in mind, I have put down my impressions of James A. Reeves’s playing with painting:
If I could only see the world through all your eyes.
One can not help to wonder about the relationship between the written word, inner vision, and the hand — when faced with James Reeves’s new painting quadruplex.
The writerly influence immediately brings to mind Stephen King’s very first rejected short story “Happy Stamps”. King describing how his mother’s tongue had turned green from licking stamps while the character in the story is described with “lips pink and eyes bleak, then slowly returns to the table” [Stephen King, On Writing, p.39]. The struggle in the craft, in the making, in the living.
“OUR ANCESTORS OF PAINTED WAX” / “AND LICHEN FORMED UPON MY JAWS” James Reeves, Watercolor on paper, 2021
In Reeves’s paintings, we find both a longing for the solitude of the wast open space, the figure and the fire — and a withdrawal into a colored interior universe. Here creatures of sampling rules, eyes giving way to eyes, with dangling claws, but no body is needed, is it hidden behind the colored background or simply been reduced, pulled into the picture plane by the force with which these were painted?
You can’t help but be drawn into this vortex behind the creatures. A masterful faint blue shadow line at the bottom makes the whole blue disc stand moving from the dark interiors of a lake to a waterfall, or is it more like a wormhole — an opening to another? A red tunnel suggests a bodily interior, from which one of these creatures emerges as a fuck’d up Jack In The Box when you sit in your most private on the toilet.
Things change in this space, where plumes become bunny ears, a classic animal of the nightmarish. Are we looking into the deserted fever dreams of a writer turn painter? As if Reeves embodies both Hunter S Thompson and Ralph Steadman at the same time.
“THEY BECAME FRIGHTFUL WITH LOFTY PLUMES, EYES LIKE BALLS, FINGERS TERMINATED BY CLAWS, THE JAWS OF SHARKS.” James Reeves, Watercolor on paper, 2021
And I can’t help but trying to put myself in the place of these creatures, what would we be able to see with that many eyes? Would get a more nuanced view of the world, or simply be overwhelmed by the multiplied impressions. Clawing for some meaning in a world the bombards us with “new” all the time, deathscrolling on Instagram, Twitter, CNN in the background, NYTimes on the table, there’s always a new — a thing we haven’t seen or liked or commented on in a snarky self-enforcing manor.
Are Reeves’s begging us to put the phone down and return to the fire, to the solitude of our beings, or our beginnings? To be still for a moment and feel our entire being, feel our hands, our eyes, the lichen forming upon our jaws, and return ourselves to the land.
And finally, it’s interesting that Reeves chooses to present this work as a quadruplex, one has to wonder if this is a nod to the softball stadium in Reeves’s former hometown of New Orleans. There’s potentially much more to unpack there, but for that, we would need a few more of Reeves’s words.
You can read James A. Reeves’s thoughts on the act of play and where these paintings did come from on his blog post here. | https://medium.com/@troelsheiredal/impression-of-play-our-ancestors-6f4e8a4a0e16 | ['Troels Steenholdt Heiredal'] | 2021-04-26 16:23:59.672000+00:00 | ['Play', 'Critique', 'Writing', 'Process', 'Painting'] |
Sexual assault offenders in the military have too much influence | Adapted from a story by The Washington Post’s opinions staff.
One best idea: Sexual harassment takes place everywhere. This is one in a series of posts about how various industries can change to stop sexual harassment. What’s your one best idea? Share it here.
Monica Medina’s idea: Give the inspector general broader authority
Medina is an adjunct professor in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. She served as senior adviser to then-Defense Secretary Leon Panetta from 2012 to 2013.
Despite the many actions taken to aid the victims of sexual assault in the military, there are still too few prosecutions and little real accountability. Though there’s not an easy fix, there is an easy step forward: The secretary of defense could direct the inspector general to investigate and recommend the proper disposition of particularly difficult sexual assault cases or command failures to address pervasive and persistent sexual misconduct issues.
The Defense Department inspector general has the experience to take on this responsibility. To deal more effectively with the problem of retaliation against sexual assault victims, the inspector general’s office is already charged with investigating all claims of professional retaliation related to sexual assault.
Getting the IG involved in retaliation complaints was the recommendation of a panel of judicial experts directed by Congress to come up with ways of dealing with this special category of whistleblower. As a result, the inspector general’s office has a cadre of investigators and managers schooled in sexual assault response training and investigations.
Giving the inspector general broader authority would take the most challenging cases away from the military chain of command, give victims a way to have their cases investigated more thoroughly and give the department a way to deal with high-ranking offenders who may have undue influence over the chain of command. | https://medium.com/the-lily/sexual-assault-offenders-in-the-military-have-too-much-influence-e895ae427317 | ['The Lily News'] | 2017-12-31 13:35:30.155000+00:00 | ['Ideas', 'Power', 'Sexual Assault', 'Military', 'Issues'] |
Java: Arrays & ArrayList - What you need to know | Array vs. ArrayList in Java
No matter which programming language you want to master — you can’t get around arrays. This also applies to Java.
And it doesn’t matter if you already know arrays pretty well or if you don’t know what arrays are — this article is for you.
I will go through the concept and implementation of arrays in Java with you.
Because there is also the so-called ArrayList in Java, which is very important to understand, we will also go through this feature.
We will especially clarify the differences between Arrays and ArrayLists.
Have fun!
What are Java’s Arrays?
You may already know arrays from other programming languages — because they are so fundamental that they exist in almost every language.
You may already know arrays from other programming languages — because they are so fundamental that they exist in almost every language. Very simplified we can imagine an array like a list or a stack of elements. Each element could be thought of as a variable of its own, which we can access with code and which has a value.
We also declare an array as a variable — but it can store several independent values.
For example, we could create an array called “Students”, which stores the names “Max”, “Anna” and “Tom”. We could also create a variable for each of the students, but that would be very difficult to manage. Because we can not deduce from one variable in the code to another.
If the variable students1 exists in the code, we cannot use code to determine whether there are still students2 or students3. In an array, however, we have all elements in one place.
It is important to understand that although array is a term that occurs in different programming languages, the technical details differ from language to language.
Arrays have a fixed size, so we cannot simply add another element to an array.
Arrays can store arbitrary primitive data types and also reference types as elements.
The values of the elements in an array can be changed at any time.
The elements can be of only one data type.
The elements in an array all have an index. The index is 0 for the first element, the second element has index 2.
Let’s have a look at Java’s Arrays in practice.
With the following code, we create an empty array. The following lines make sure that we add some values to this array.
The 3 in the square brackets when creating the array means that the array only has space for 3 elements. As already mentioned, arrays have a fixed size.
String people[] = new String[3]; people[0] = “Max”;
people[1] = “Anna”;
people[2] = “Tom”;
By the people[0] we indicate that we want to change the first element in the array. The first element always has the index 0, as already mentioned. We do the same for the second and third elements, which have index 1 & 2. So you notice that the length of the array is always 1 greater than the highest index in the array because we start counting from 0.
Another way to create an empty array is, instead of writing the square brackets behind the variable names, to write them directly behind the datatypes.
String[] people = new String[3];
But there is another syntax to create an empty array:
String people[]; people = new String[3]; people[0] = “Max”;
people[1] = “Anna”;
people[2] = “Tom”;
So far we have only created one array, which is empty by default. But we can also specify which values should be stored in the array when we create it.
String people[] = { “Max”, “Anna”, “Tom” };
Again, it does not matter if we put the square brackets after the variable-names or after the datatypes. But if we use this syntax with the curly braces, we have to pass at least one value — we cannot create an empty array by this syntax.
Outputting elements of an array
In a Java Array, you start counting from 0 — so the first element in an array has the index 0.
String[] people = { “Max”, “Anna” }; System.out.println(people[0]); // Max
System.out.println(people[1]); // Anna
If we want to output a whole array with System.out.println, we have to do this with the Java Arrays-package.
import java.util.Arrays; String[] people = { “Max”, “Anna” };
System.out.println(Arrays.toString(people)); // [Max, Anna]
But it is rather rare that we want to output the whole array with its structure — we rather want to output every single element. For this, we can use the for-loop.
String[] people = { “Max”, “Anna”, “Tom” }; for (int i = 0; i < people.length; i++) {
System.out.println(people[i]);
}
Now a name is printed in each line. Max, Anna, Tom.
As you saw, people.length prints the length of an array. That means the number of elements.
We can overwrite an element in an array at any time.
String[] people = { “Max”, “Anna”, “Tom” }; people[0] = “Maxi”;
System.out.println(people[0]); // Maxi
Understanding what happens under the hood
Arrays under the hood often work differently in different programming languages. Let’s try to get some clarity about Java’s arrays.
When we create a new, empty array, memory is already reserved in memory for the execution of the program. Therefore we need to specify the length of the array, i.e. the maximum number of elements, which are written into our array.
The same is true for the datatype because this is essential for preparing the needed memory.
An array can be overwritten — we can create an array with the same name as our existing array. Let’s do this with an example. We create our array of people again and write two elements into it.
String people[]; people = new String[2]; people[0] = “Max”;
people[1] = “Anna”;
Now we create the same array directly under it, but this time with 3 elements that have room in it. At third place (with index 2) we write another name.
people = new String[3]; people[2] = “Tom”;
Puzzle: What happens to Max and Anna now? Did we just extend the array, which already contained the two names before, or even completely overwrite it? Let’s find out by looking at what is in the array.
System.out.println(people[2]); // Tom
System.out.println(people[1]); // null
System.out.println(people[0]); // null
Before we created the same array again in the code, Max had index 0 and Anna had index 1 — now they are gone. We cannot access the previous values anymore, so we have overwritten the array.
So you can imagine the state of memory after we overwrote the array — at the position of index 0 and index 1 there are no values. Max and Anna are still present in memory a short time ago, but we can’t access them anymore because the new array starts to occupy fresh memory.
Then they are finally removed by the garbage collector.
In Java, every object has a counter that counts how many references point to the object.
Multidimensional Arrays
A multidimensional array is an array whose elements are arrays. The nice thing is, that you can see already when declaring such an array, that it is a multidimensional one.
Here is how you can visualize this:
The array, which we call multidimensional, has as elements itself normal arrays, which have different elements. Here is an example.
int[][] coordinates = new int[3][3];
Coordinates is now an array containing three arrays, which in turn contain 3 elements, all of which are integers.
To write something into this array, we have to specify the exact position again. As there are now three different arrays within the array, in which we could store something at three different places, we have to specify exactly for both.
coordinates[0][0] = 15;
So we write the value 15 to the first place of the first array.
Then we can output our array in the following way.
System.out.println(Arrays.toString(coordinates[0]));
System.out.println(Arrays.toString(coordinates[1]));
System.out.println(Arrays.toString(coordinates[2]));
Now we see the following output:
[15, 0, 0]
[0, 0, 0]
[0, 0, 0]
ArrayList — the workaround
When I explained what arrays are, it already became a rule that an array is fixed in size. So we cannot simply add any elements — when we create an array, we directly or indirectly specify the number of elements, which will fit in it. So we can directly reserve the needed memory.
Genauso wie Array ist ArrayList eine Klasse, die wir in unserem Java Code nutzen können, um eine ArrayList zu erstellen.
An ArrayList is basically very similar to an array:
The index starts at 0 and is an integer.
Just like an array we can create an ArrayList by calling “new”.
The function ArrayList() is especially important for us. If we do not pass a parameter to it, an ArrayList with an initial capacity of 10 elements is created. But we can also pass an integer to set the initial size.
So we create a first empty ArrayList and then directly add two values to it — Max and Anna.
ArrayList<String> people = new ArrayList<String>(); people.add(“Max”);
people.add(“Anna”);
Now we want to output these elements from our ArrayList — what is noticeable is that we cannot simply access a value with people[0] — we have to use an extra function to access it.
System.out.println(people.get(0));
System.out.println(people.get(1));
There are also many other functions for the ArrayList that are useful. We can output the number of elements in the list with people.size() , so we can also use a for loop to go through all elements.
Instead of a for-loop we can also use for-each in Java — the syntax is a bit simpler.
for (int i = 0; i < people.size(); i++) {
System.out.println(people.get(i));
}
Instead, we can use for-each, which works as follows.
for (String i : people) {
System.out.println(i);
}
Looks a lot easier, doesn’t it?
With an array, it was so that we could always overwrite an element by accessing its index and simply setting another value in that place.
In lists, there is a function to overwrite a value at a position.
people.set(0, "Tom"); — we overwrite the value at position 0 with the value “Tom”.
But in a list we can not only add elements but also delete elements from it — there is a separate function for this too.
people.remove(2); — important to understand is, that not only the value of the element is set to zero, but the whole entry is removed from the list. So the size is reduced by 1 and the deleted element is missing every track. | https://medium.com/@louispetrik/java-array-list-17b1fa26f0d6 | ['Louis Petrik'] | 2020-11-11 17:11:10.899000+00:00 | ['Java', 'Programming', 'Coding', 'Object Oriented', 'Software Development'] |
2020'nin Kelimeleri: Yansın Bu Kelimeler! | Get this newsletter By signing up, you will create a Medium account if you don’t already have one. Review our Privacy Policy for more information about our privacy practices.
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The Wisdom we need | Question from the Internet:
“What are easy ways to become wise and not worry about things?”
In order to acquire such Wisdom that we stop worrying about anything, we need to attain Nature’s perfect, infinite Wisdom that reveals all the cause and effect processes, and Nature’s evolutionary plan with our role in it.
Then we would understand that whatever happens is all programs the most ideal for us to reach everything we need to reach.
In order to attain Nature’s perfect Wisdom we need to become similar to Nature, acquiring it’s qualities of selfless altruism, unconditional service of others and the whole system.
When we become seamlessly integrated elements, “cogwheels” of the system, then its whole life-force, energy will flow through us to others and we will encompass, understand everything effortlessly.
https://youtu.be/Iin2T0PsL4w | https://medium.com/@samechphoto/the-wisdom-we-need-6b65cfd4f563 | ['Zsolt Hermann'] | 2020-12-21 22:18:07.892000+00:00 | ['Wisdom', 'Education', 'Nature', 'Life', 'Love'] |
Does Manual Therapy Reduce Fear of Movement and Pain Catastrophizing? | Photo: photology2000/Canva
Fear of movement and fear of future pain can decrease physical activity and quality of life, increase pain intensity and work absenteeism, and cause higher levels of disability. Fear is a powerful motivator. It can create a perpetual negative feedback loop that is difficult to escape. Fear and catastrophic thoughts may cause an over-reaction to pain or potential threats of pain or injury, leading to avoidance behavior.
Manual therapy, such as massage and joint manipulation, can provide short term reductions in the pain experience. But can manual therapy improve fear-avoidance, kinesiophobia, and pain catastrophizing in individuals with chronic musculoskeletal pain?
A recent research review concluded manual therapy was no better than no treatment or other treatments on reducing fear-avoidance, kinesiophobia, and pain catastrophizing. This is not to say manual therapy is useless, but it should not be used to target fear-avoidance, kinesiophobia, or pain catastrophizing. | https://medium.com/beingwell/does-manual-therapy-reduce-fear-of-movement-and-pain-catastrophizing-197576f7d00 | ['Zachary Walston'] | 2020-12-11 03:08:48.433000+00:00 | ['Health', 'Research', 'Pain', 'Healthcare', 'Fear'] |
The Search — III | Against the yawning mouth of night
I called your name to the moon
and listened
for the wind and the wane
to carry back news
In the blinding light of day
I read your name in footprints
across burning sand,
and in the ice of the north
I left inuksuk to guide your way
I’ve carved years in lines,
frozen, burned, scarred,
on this weathered face
since I set out to find you.
Now I stand at the end on torn feet
Before ancient Yimorada, I presented myself
as told by the hands of dead men,
wise men, and veiled women with knives,
to be tested three times and found worthy,
to learn where I may find you at last.
Through the narrow passage I made my way
past the hanging corpses, the unworthy dead;
the howling sphinx, her question solved;
through walls of air and midnight flame,
past the door with no key
At last I stood in frozen Xanadu
and sang the sacred notes,
my words, my question, my desire,
rousing the Naga from the lotus baths,
to answer me in sibilant song:
“You will find what you seek
in the faces of mothers,
the footprints of pilgrims,
the grip of a child,
the eyes of the broken-hearted,
the tears of the bereaved,
and the blood of the sacrificed
Only when you know this
will she appear to you.”
I bowed my head,
I understood
It was not an end I found
but a beginning. | https://medium.com/literally-literary/the-search-iii-e81ed390e8d6 | ['Heath ዟ'] | 2018-03-26 18:14:44.696000+00:00 | ['Love', 'Wisdom', 'Journey', 'Poetry', 'Hope'] |
Do you know in Iraq 80% of suicides are women? | Yes, It is true in Iraq women’s are the most who suicide
Nearly 600 people who took their own lives in Iraq in 2019, 80% were women with over 1,000 recorded suicide attempts. The growing number of cases in Iraq indicates an average of 1 suicide death and 3 attempts per day.
A Key component in suicide prevention in Iraq, is improving the accessibility of health services. It is fundamental to build capacity, ensure quality of care of health services, increase awareness and advocacy on mental health and tracking stigma.
by Dr Emad Abdulrazaq
Iraqi’s Ministry of Health
Iraq has suffered years of turmoil as a result of economic mismanagement, numerous wars and internal divisions.
I hope government of Iraq takes an initiative to make things better specially with women's. | https://medium.com/@sexadvisor/do-you-know-in-iraq-80-of-suicides-are-women-c85ae98ce0e1 | ['Kate Garcia'] | 2020-12-11 12:49:30.221000+00:00 | ['Middle East', 'War', 'Suicide', 'Iraq', 'Women'] |
How to Actually Deploy Docker Images Built on M1 Macs With Apple Silicon | Use buildx
Buildx comes with a default builder that you can observe by typing docker buildx ls into your terminal. However, we want to make and use a builder ourselves.
Make a builder
You will need a new builder, so make one with docker buildx create — name m1_builder . Now you should see the new builder when running docker buildx ls .
Use and bootstrap the builder
The next steps are to “use” the new builder and bootstrap it. Start with docker buildx use m1_builder and then docker buildx inspect — bootstrap , which will inspect and bootstrap the builder instance you just started using. You should see something like this:
computer@computer-m1 ~ % docker buildx inspect — bootstrap [+] Building 5.3s (1/1) FINISHED => [internal] booting buildkit 5.3s => => pulling image moby/buildkit:buildx-stable-1 3.1s => => creating container buildx_buildkit_m1_builder0 2.3s Name: m1_builder Driver: docker-container Nodes: Name: m1_builder0 Endpoint: unix:///var/run/docker.sock Status: running Platforms: linux/arm64, linux/amd64, linux/riscv64, linux/ppc64le, linux/s390x, linux/arm/v7, linux/arm/v6
You can see that this builder has a whole host of platforms it will build for!
Build with the builder
Now, cd your terminal into a place where you want to build and push an image so you can run this pseudo-command:
docker buildx —-platform linux/amd64,linux/arm64,linux/arm/v7 -t <remote image repository> --push .
You should see the “in use” builder go crazy and build the architectures you specified.
Manifest
Once your image has been built and pushed, you can inspect the manifest with:
docker buildx imagetools inspect <remote image repository>
You should see a manifest printout with all your different architectures. Most services that pull an image are smart enough to know which architecture to go get.
Clean up
Finally, as you might have experienced, Docker can start to take up a bit of disk space. If you did not use buildx , you probably ran docker system prune --all , the equivalent for buildx that is luckily semantically similar.
docker buildx prune — all
That’s it! Happy container development! | https://medium.com/better-programming/how-to-actually-deploy-docker-images-built-on-a-m1-macs-with-apple-silicon-a35e39318e97 | ['Jon Vogel'] | 2020-12-22 16:49:09.470000+00:00 | ['Apple', 'Docker', 'Apple Silicon', 'Programming', 'Containers'] |
GCP Digest: Cloud SQL discounts, Open Match game matchmaking, Next OnAir session packages | GCP Digest: Cloud SQL discounts, Open Match game matchmaking, Next OnAir session packages
GCP Digest Issue 3 (June 29, 2020)
I probably jumped the gun a bit too early in the previous newsletter, announcing the Jakarta region. The Jakarta region was officially launched last Wednesday on June 24! But you could have started using it much earlier :)
In this issue, we highlight committed use discounts for Cloud SQL, as well as the announcement of Open Match, an open source game matchmaking platform (by Google Cloud and Unity).
Incidentally, I finally launched my first GCP course, Deploying Node.js on GCP! It is available on Gumroad or Udemy. Also available as a bundle with my book, but Gumroad only.
Happy reading!
- Jonathan
Cloud SQL committed use discounts, and lower list prices
Cloud SQL is not known for being cheap (but have you heard of cheap managed RDBMS anywhere?). However, Cloud SQL committed use discounts were introduced this week, giving 25% discount off of on-demand pricing for a 1-year commitment and a 52% discount off of on-demand pricing for a 3-year commitment.
Commitment does not mean “pay upfront”. You commit to a certain usage (measured in USD per hour of equivalent on-demand spend), and Google Cloud will bill you that usage every monthly billing cycle (minus the discount), regardless of whether you used Cloud SQL that month. You can share the commitment between MySQL, PostgreSQL, and SQL Server instances (so if you migrate from SQL Server to MySQL next month, your discount is intact). The discount only applies to CPU and memory usage, in a particular region (but does not apply to shared CPU machine types).
On-demand pricing is also now simplified. Cloud SQL previously offered sustained use discounts, but sustained use discounts in Cloud SQL are now removed in favor of lower list prices fixed at the previous sustained use discount price. That means you get the best on-demand price regardless of your Cloud SQL usage (no need for continuous usage to get the sustained use discount).
This is great news. Personally I just hope to see db-e2-micro instances that provide more bang for buck compared to db-g1-small instances (expensive). Anyone from Google Cloud reading this?
Open Match — Game matchmaking at scale
Now, this is genuinely exciting and interesting. Open Match is an open source project cofounded by Google Cloud and Unity, created to help game developers solve the difficult problem of matchmaking — the art of matching a set of players together to maximize their enjoyment of the game. Developers provide the actual matching algorithm via code using a pluggable Match Function. Open Match helps to handle the scaling issue of calling multiple match functions at the same time, while preventing the match functions from creating multiple matches with the same player. See blog post for details.
I am playing Sonic Racing now on Apple Arcade, and I keep getting matched to beginner racers, which is boring. Hopefully Sumo Digital (the developer) will consider using Open Match :)
Next ’20 OnAir Resources and Session Guides available now
As highlighted here, you can now browse the session catalog and create your own playlist to customize your Next OnAir experience (happening in two weeks). And if you’re lost you can simply choose from curated Session Packages that group together sessions by topic. There are also Cloud Study Jams to help you develop skills and get some hands-on lab experience, while interacting with expert Googlers.
15000-node GKE clusters
Vanilla Kubernetes can only scale up to 5000-nodes per cluster. In this (self-congratulatory) blog post that has been going around (thus forcing me to make a honorable mention here), GKE has managed to scale a cluster to up to 15000 nodes, and this capability will be made available to both you and me soon.
Can we see a show of hands here of who in the GCP Digest audience needs a Kubernetes cluster of 15000 nodes? None? That’s what I thought.
reCAPTCHA Enterprise to block Web Scraping
reCAPTCHA Enterprise helps to identify web scraper bots and continues to identify them as their methods evolve, while enabling human users to access. It gives tools and visibility to prevents such bots from accessing valuable web content, and reduces the computational overhead necessary to serve bots, while letting security admins spend less time writing manual firewall and detection rules.
This is probably not a new product but it was highlighted in a blog post this week, and I found it interesting. However, I do have crawler products and services (past, present, and future) and I selfishly hope that people won’t use this product :)
Pub/Sub notification channel in Cloud Monitoring
For the longest time, Cloud Monitoring (previously Stackdriver) only supported the following notification channels: email, Cloud Console mobile app, PagerDuty, SMS, Slack, and webhooks. Pub/Sub is now available as an additional notification channel. Pub/Sub seems to overlap with webhooks, but with Pub/Sub you get a durable queue that ensures that your notification will eventually be handled by the subscriber. With webhooks, it’s pretty much just best effort. Also, if you trigger a Cloud Function from Pub/Sub, you can potentially dynamically fix the issue, e.g. Cloud Function code to handle a failing load balancer alert by switching to a failover load balancer. Check out the blog post.
Apigee: API Management for Envoy
Envoy is a high-performance pluggable proxy for improved networking and observability in microservice environments. Apigee Adapter for Envoy is now in beta, and enables you to extend Envoy’s capabilities to include API management, so that developers can expose services behind Envoy as APIs. Specifically, it helps with verifying OAuth tokens or API keys, checking API consumer quota, and collecting API usage analytics. Needless to say, you need to use Apigee, which I am sure is amazing for enterprises and larger companies, but out of reach for smaller shops like myself.
Network threat detection with Packet Mirroring
Packet Mirroring is now in GA, and it offers full packet capture capability, allowing you to identify network anomalies. Once Packet Mirroring is enabled, you can use third-party tools to collect and inspect network traffic at scale. You can deploy intrusion detection solutions (IDS), network traffic analysis (NTA), and also gain visibility into network health. There is an extensive ecosystem of partners which you can use to deploy IDS and NTA. See the blog post.
As an aside, I really like how Google Cloud doesn’t try to kill off their partners, like some other clouds. Instead, they treat them like real partners. I hope this trend continues.
Beta? GA?
The list below is best-effort and not meant to be exhaustive.
Entered GA
Entered Beta
For more product updates, visit Google Cloud release notes
Events
Next OnAir (Weekly, starting July 14)
More
See you next time! | https://medium.com/joncloudgeek/gcp-digest-cloud-sql-discounts-open-match-game-matchmaking-next-onair-session-packages-16234206c8a0 | ['Jonathan Es Lin'] | 2020-07-14 01:56:20.821000+00:00 | ['Google Cloud Platform', 'Google Cloud', 'Gcp Digest'] |
Save and Organize Search Results | We recently pushed a new version of the Hyperspeed extension with optimizations for a few websites, including Google Docs, and an exciting new feature that enables you to save and organize your searches!
You can install the Hyperspeed extension here.
We realized that we were working on projects with related topics and that it would be really beneficial to see content related to the same subject from disparate sources all in one place! Hyperspeed helps you cover more ground faster, by asking several questions across several websites or forms of content. We needed a way to organize these groups of searches that were related to either the same project or topic.
Saving Your Search Result
Saving your results allows you to organize search results so that you can revisit them later. Saving a result consists of the following components.
User curated notes for the result
Add notes to your saved results, adding additional context and information on why you saved those results.
Add notes to your saved results, adding additional context and information on why you saved those results. Folder to store the result
The folder system helps users organize their search results according to specific projects or topics they are working on.
The folder system helps users organize their search results according to specific projects or topics they are working on. Thematic tag
Use tags to group different ideas across multiple projects. As an example, lets say you are researching animals and you wanted to tag different types like; land cloud or velocirabbit .
Use tags to group different ideas across multiple projects. As an example, lets say you are researching animals and you wanted to tag different types like; or . Screenshot for visual context
Many of us are visual learners. The screenshot offers visual context to the search results. Take screenshots of those land cloud and velocirabbits .
URL where result was found
We give you the ability to immediately jump back into the content that contained the search results they found interesting.
Saved Search Results Dashboard
Saved search results are organized in a personal dashboard. You are able to navigate your saved results using a folder and tagging system. Each saved search result can be edited within the dashboard.
We hope that being able to save search results can be a great step towards enhancing our overall ability to cut through information faster and more efficiently! | https://medium.com/go-hyperspeed/save-and-organize-search-results-14c3c5fdceb3 | ['Manny Sevillano'] | 2021-04-13 18:00:04.065000+00:00 | ['Productivity', 'Reading', 'Efficiency', 'Organization', 'Research'] |
A Pinky Promise | A Pinky Promise
Photo by sarandy westfall on Unsplash
To let go
of that memory
and let us both
surpass every idea
we once forced
upon it.
To widen
the distance we keep
deceiving ourselves with,
like a game, a lesson,
a self realized again
and again.
Just this once,
let’s pretend
I don’t know you
and
you don’t know me.
But
for how long
can I deny
having always heard
your thoughts
trickle throughout
time and space?
For how long
can I ignore
your whisper,
that beacon
guiding me back
to myself?
How long
can I pretend
that I don’t still feel
the truth?
That I feel you waiting
because I wait.
That I feel you seeking,
because I seek.
That I’m in your dream
because it’s my dream.
That I know you
because I know me.
That this time
must be
the first time,
our last time,
no time at all.
That again
I would promise —
because
like the strands
of god’s DNA,
these pinkies
entwined
all those lives,
all those deaths,
ago. | https://psiloveyou.xyz/a-pinky-promise-c8727dec0df0 | ['Aaron Quist'] | 2020-12-30 00:21:02.016000+00:00 | ['Spirituality', 'Poetry Sunday', 'Love', 'Samsara', 'Soulmates'] |
Future of Internet Of Things: Uses Major IoT Trends in 2021 and Beyond | The increasing adoption of technologies used by companies round the sector drives the IoT marketplace. According to a Fortune Business Insights report, IoT technology or IoT Solutions holds tremendous capability within the ICT zone with the global marketplace worth US$ 190 billion in 2018 and reaching US$1.1 trillion by 2026. The report predicts that the worldwide marketplace will increase at a ferocious CAGR of 24.7% at some throughout the forecast years. Another report shows an adjusted CAGR price of 31.4% for COVID-19.
According to Statista, and information gathered by Forbes, the number of installed IoT devices in 2020 is around 30 billion. It will rise to over 75 billion in the next five years (in every second of the next five years, 285 new gadgets will go online).
Use of IoT Application in Various Industry in 2021 and beyond
Manufacturing
Transportation/mobility
Smart buildings
Energy
Retail
Consumer electronics
Healthcare
Agriculture
Top Future IoT Trends that you should look out for in 2021
1. IoT For Cybersecurity
With an increase in iot development company and the variety of online devices, cybersecurity is the main priority for all enterprises as IoT profits recognition. The network is predicted to increase in the coming years, and so the statistics volume may also increase.
IoT security will see an exponential growth as more users will keep their information over the cloud. From banking info to home safety, everything is easily breached if the security firewall is weak in IoT programs.
2. Will IoT Boost Predictive Maintenance?
Yes, it’s going to. In 2021 and beyond, the smart home system will notify the owner for plumbing leaks, equipment failures, or other hassle so that the house owner can avoid any disaster. Soon those smart sensors will input our houses.
In response to these predictive competencies of IoT, we will anticipate to look at home care offers as a contractor service. If there might be a need for any emergency action, your presence within the residence will not be necessary.
3. Emerge Technology AI and ML
AI ML Development are precise data-driven technologies collectively with IoT which form the future of human- machine interactions. The developers are setting up a mixture of IoT and Artificial Intelligence to assist automate repetitive tasks, simplify work, and get the most accurate information.
4. Smart Healthcare
To preserve the affected person’s health in check, smart healthcare app development and wearables implants might be able to monitor specific parameters. By combining monitors, hand-held devices, and all sorts of scientific systems, an affected person’s health reports can be captured in real time and sent to the person concerned.
5. IoT for Retail App
IoT retail can make the retail experience more personalized for each consumer primarily based on the customer’s buying background with in-app advertising and marketing. When we buy a product from a particular eStore we already get updates. With IoT-enabled mobile apps, the app can use in-web site maps to direct us to our favorite store.
Wrapping Up
Now we all know that the use of IoT in 2021 and in future is essential and it has a major role in almost every sector as we can see above. For any company which applies the IoT technology in their business model, it can easily provide better services and solutions to their respective clients.
I hope that the above quick guide helps you know the role of IoT Application Development in different industries and major trends in 2021 and in the coming years. If you want to know more or want to take any IoT Consulting, you can feel free to get in touch with us. | https://medium.com/@widzdavid78/quick-guide-on-internet-of-things-major-industries-and-future-iot-trends-2021-x-byte-enterprise-82f20afb2697 | ['David Widz'] | 2020-12-17 07:57:28.491000+00:00 | ['Trends', 'IoT', 'Internet of Things', 'Iot App Development', 'Mobile App Development'] |
Training with Blast | I’m 43, and according to the BMI charts, even at 6' 3" I am too short for my weight. That’s what 17 years of professional consulting will do to you. Anyways, the point of this short story is about using Blast Baseball’s intuitive software to train hitters better.
To begin this journey, I started off with 14 swings that I took in offline mode.
Some basic analysis reveals:
Plane score is just below average
Connection score is higher end of average
Rotation score sucks
Time to Contact is slow
Attack Angle is too upslope
Bat Speed is meh — but at 43 and not having swung since Fall Softball…I am at peace with it
Connection at Contact is strong
Diving into the Rotation score deficiency, I found that my rotational acceleration was really, really low. Like around 2.0 Gs low. Basically, I couldn’t move my hips.
So after I was done crying, I clicked on my favorite button, the “Get Better” button right in the Blast app.
There I found a handful of drills that were recommended to me in order to improve my rotation score. I picked two: the 45° Offset (open stance) and Step Behind drills. | https://medium.com/@aaronlilach/training-with-blast-598fb456c48e | ['Aaron Lilach'] | 2020-03-03 20:57:59.768000+00:00 | ['Hitting', 'Baseball'] |
Geoengineering | Geoengineering (or earth engineering) is a concept (first invented by Mikhail Budyko) that might be an alternative in humanity’s back pocket to prevail in the immediate environmental crisis.
Photo by Li-An Lim on Unsplash
The Oxford Geoengineering Program has segregated it into Solar Radiation Management (SRM) and Greenhouse Gas Removal (GGR). (Link) Because of the radical environmental changes due to temperature increase, ozone layer destructions, industrial growth, deforestation, and increased Co2 and methane gas, scientists are researching more about this. However, it might be an excuse to extend the fossil fuel, and there might be rapid changeover shock to nature, which might backfire.
Indeed, not the best solution, but if properly researched, planned, and executed, it might buy us a few years to improve our practices to save us all.
Please explore the simplified concept of Geoengineering in the following video. | https://medium.com/illumination-curated/geoengineering-or-earth-engineering-is-a-concept-first-invented-by-mikhail-budyko-that-might-a6343ad616a3 | ['Suntonu Bhadra'] | 2020-12-05 21:02:52.591000+00:00 | ['Short Form', 'Earth', 'Climate Change', 'Geoengineering', 'Nature'] |
Zero Day | On this day, with images of unmarked vans and faceless mercenaries radiating across my screen, it feels like some zero-day moment is coming. A BC/AD transition that historians will mark ever after.
Maybe it already happened. Maybe that’s what I felt on November 8, 2016. That seismic shift under my feet, the sickening lurch into an alternate universe. The wrong timeline. The abyss.
The workings of history do not operate so simply, of course. The wave that broke that day had built for decades. The pardoning of Nixon, the rise of Friedman and Rand, the Chicago School experiments in Latin America, Newt Gingrich’s realization of the power of cable news, Reagan’s annexation of the Falwell contingent into the GOP ranks, the blinkered centrism of Bill Clinton passing the 1996 Telecommunications Act and repealing Glass-Steagall, the PATRIOT Act, Obama’s refusal to prosecute the war criminals of the Bush administration, the steady expatriating of U.S. jobs and capital under multiple administrations of both parties, the flaccid DNC, and of course the cumulative effects of underfunding education for two generations. Trump was not only inevitable, but in retrospect, so blindingly obvious that Matt Groening predicted his presidency ages ago.
Yet I can’t help but feel that even these dark four years have been but a prelude. The curtains in the shop are still up. We can’t see what’s happening in the back room. What horrific construct lies in wait just on the other side of our ability to accept that it is real, and that it is happening here.
There are hints in history. Echoes from textbooks, but history doesn’t repeat, it rhymes. The new fascism will not be exactly the same as the old. Although when your logo is the spitting image of an SS pin, maybe the beast’s visage will stir memory. By then it will be too late. Like the orcs tending the Uruk-Hai, Republican footsoldiers will get their heads snapped off as well, collateral damage for the greater good.
Writing this, I see how language mocks me. Apocalyptic imagery has been the domain of the right for so long, when it comes from the left it appears a hysterical mirror. Conventional wisdom extols the virtues of centrism, but when the enemy pulls up in the Econoline and throws the bag over your head, the intellectual pursuit of common ground is out of place.
Here in Texas, I have been surrounded by the palpable itch for a defining conflict for years. Some call it a second civil war, others a race war, others a more general south’s-gonna-rise-again, but in the end, it’s all the same thing. An assertion that one type of person is inherently better than another, and that this distinction should be legally enforceable. Oddly, it’s what they accuse the left of promoting, peddling tired tropes like Schrodinger’s Immigrant, simultaneously stealing your job while being granted immediate welfare benefits upon arrival. Projection works. Ask the Bloviator-In-Chief.
Back during the Cheney administration, I began to draw parallels from that time to the period before World War I. As Modris Eksteins brilliantly writes in Rites of Spring, there was an undercurrent of destruction in those pre-war years. A sense that the staid old world needed to be torn down and a new one brought into fiery being. I hear these sentiments from young people on all sides of the political spectrum today. Burn it down, they chant, leave nothing standing.
Maybe, then, this looming cataclysm is as inevitable as the events that preceded it. Perhaps my unwillingness to accept it is an indictment of my privileged status as a child of high empire. The Xers, last to ride the wave, first to fall off.
Yesterday, I went gun shopping for the first time in my life. I had the browser open for less than five minutes before I recoiled in horror. I am an artist. A creator, not a destroyer. But I am also a father, a son, a boyfriend. What must I do to protect those I care about if others see them as targets? What would I twist myself into to ensure their safety? Is it in me? My youthful desire was to wage a war in words and notes, not blood and bone. Even now, four decades on, my heart can’t cross the line.
Do good times create weak men? Perhaps. It depends on your definition of weakness. The strength to continue living in a world that rejects your reality is not insubstantial. Ask the dead.
Change or die, the Sandman said. And perhaps that is the zero day I fear the most. The day I transform into something I cannot recognize. The day this broken society makes me finally do it. I feel it coming. I have already contorted so much, already been someone I am not too many times to count. But this…can one ever come back from war? Someone can. Whether or not it is me remains to be seen.
“And in his eyes
The cold stars lighting, very old and bleak,
In different skies.”
-Wilfred Owen | https://medium.com/thinky-thoughts-almanac/zero-day-d7afbec60809 | ['Matthew Broyles'] | 2020-07-24 15:19:23.665000+00:00 | ['Trumpocalypse Now', 'World War I', 'Society', 'Late Stage Capitalism', 'Politics'] |
Hivemapper Studio, a better way to fly | Studio does this by breaking up the world into hexagon shaped tiles — 0.1 sq km per tile. Collectors can map 1 tile or 100,000 tiles and they can do this whenever they want, providing total flexibility. Pilots get paid per tile they map and can track their tiles through the Studio map.
The best part is that pilots don’t need to fly manually for any of this. The Studio system generates automated flight paths for the drone to map your selected tiles. These flight paths ensure contiguous coverage, high quality data, and a simplified collection process for drone pilots.
After uploading video for the tile, the collector earns a financial reward and their username is displayed on the tile — marking ownership of the map. You can’t totally understand the excitement of seeing your piece of the global map grow until you try it for yourself. In fact, one of our early collectors, Mr Dundee, who has mapped over 1,000 tiles in Australia explained it best: “Hivemapper Studio is Pokemon Go for Pilots.”
The map is growing thanks to Studio
We’ve had people all over the world from Australia to Atlanta, Georgia building maps with their drones thanks to Hivemapper Studio.
Since February 2020, collectors in the Hivemapper mapping network have been rapidly adding to and growing the global map:
9,000 sq km — in more than 75 countries — have been mapped
— in more than 75 countries — have been mapped 50% monthly growth of the global map
of the global map In just one week, areas of the map have grown from 1 to 90 sq. km — about three Manhattans
Collectors have already earned thousands of dollars and built thousands of kilometers of map with Studio, but that’s just the start.
We’re just getting started
One of the great things about building a tool like Studio is being so interconnected to the community that you are working with. We have been able to get a ton of feedback from drone pilots which has helped to shape our roadmap going forward. We’re really excited to announce the following updates coming out in the next few months:
On-map leaderboard — we want folks to be able to see exactly how they are doing relative to their fellow collectors.
On-map stats — we want our collectors to quickly be able to track their own personal accomplishments.
Studio Integration with Airmap for better live planning around restricted airspaces.
Account information (account balance, how much map you’ve covered, etc.) — we will be working steadily to integrate Studio more tightly into Hivemapper accounts. This way, in your Hivemapper dashboard, you’ll be able to see exactly how the maps you’ve built have contributed to your tile amounts.
New tile alerts — in the future, we’d love for you to be able to “follow” areas and be alerted when there are high value tiles that pop up.
Tile checkouts — as we get bigger, we want things to be fair between our collectors. Building in some method for “checking out” a tile for a time period will be critical to make sure you don’t map the same area as someone else and not get credit.
We’ve been thrilled with the reception so far for Hivemapper Studio. We’ve loved empowering the world’s drones to build better maps and we’re excited to keep building towards a better 3D map.
If you want to get started with Hivemapper Studio, check out our blog post that outlines how to get started!
Don’t have a drone?
Don’t worry, you can still build a better map with Hivemapper by signing up on our waitlist for Open Dashcam. Check out more here.
Let’s get connected
Join us on our Discord community to get the latest updates on Hivemapper and chat with an awesome group of pilots and GIS enthusiasts. | https://blog.hivemapper.com/hivemapper-studio-a-better-way-to-fly-841a2c330756 | [] | 2020-10-21 01:28:24.846000+00:00 | ['3d', 'Autonomous Vehicles', 'Mapping', 'Drones', 'Maps'] |
I Ate Pizza Hut’s New Vegan Pizza and Now I’m Here to Tell You About It | We were a Hut family, meaning that Pizza Hut was the chain pizza chain we preferred and which I treasured as the world’s greatest treat. I dunked on Domino’s and Little Caesar’s lovers and they dunked right back on me. Regardless of family affinity, many of us shared fond memories of the Pizza Hut BOOK IT! program that gave you free pizza in exchange for reading books over the summer, a deal my child-self regarded as something akin to getting free diamonds in exchange for taking long baths.
At some point in the last couple decades, though, I’ve noticed that many of my generational peers regard “the Hut” with a uniquely strong disdain. I sometimes keep my chain pizza preferences private, but other times I feel moved to shout, “The pan crust is very good!”
I’ve generally moved away from regarding chain restaurant food as the pinnacle of decadence, but Pizza Hut has still managed to provide comfort at times when I needed something incredibly nostalgic and familiar. As an adult, it can be hard to find a more nourishing vegan option on a long road trip than stopping by one of those iconically-roofed buildings for an oversized fountain soda and a veggie-and-marinara-packed personal pizza in a hot pan. As my friend Kathleen recently said, Pizza Hut should really be eaten in the Hut — but that’s not so safe at the moment… *shakes fist at Covid-19 yet again*
Allow me to provide a disclaimer: Chain restaurants like Pizza Hut are gross places that exploit their employees, cheapen the supply chain, and, of course, profit greatly off the dead bodies of animals. It’s pretty much impossible to avoid contributing to suffering whether you’re vegan or not (my grocery store profits off of dead animals too!), but the global megacorp capitalism that’s personified by companies like Pizza Hut no doubt makes the world much worse, not better.
Buuuuut most of us don’t adhere to strict ethical guidelines every time we eat — as someone who does a great deal to support local vegan and vegetarian businesses, I feel okay, if not particularly proud, of occasionally giving in to an old-fashioned Hut craving. That said, if we ever overthrow the billionaire oligarchs I will happily give up my quarterly Pizza Hut indulgence and perhaps just ask if anyone copied down the pan crust recipe before burning down HQ.
[Editor’s note: We are not planning to burn down Pizza Hut HQ. Also, I’m writing this.]
So anyway, I scratched my Pizza Hut itch last night and tried this new Beyond Meat Italian Sausage pizza. Here’s my vegan* order, just what it was before plus sausage: large original pan crust (no crust flavor, those are not vegan), extra marinara sauce, mushrooms (you better believe I slammed that “extra” option), and bell peppers. Also breadsticks, but you have to ask for them without any topping to make them vegan.
Once the pizza was delivered to our doorstep and we cracked the “baked at the Hut, opened by you” sticker seal, I added some grated Violife parmesan from the fridge and some fresh basil from our backyard. You can see them pictured on the pizza—they’re the part that makes it look fancy.
Back to the pizza.… As you can see, they do not skimp on the “sausage” here. This thing was loaded with these meaty little knots that the press releases say were developed exclusively for Pizza Hut by Beyond Meat. For those of you who are already enthusiastic Beyond consumers, I should mention that despite the sausage designator, this is a lot more similar to Beyond Beef than to the packaged Beyond sausage products. To me, it seemed to be basically browned crumbled Beyond beef with a few added sausage-y herbs, notably some forward fennel (is fennel ever not forward?).
From a takeout value perspective, this was a deal: Plain breadsticks (you have to actually request no topping) and a large pizza with the max recommended toppings, plus a 30% tip, came out to just over $30. We were pretty hungry and my husband and I might normally house a Pizza Hut pie this size in one evening, but the amount of sausage on this one locked us in at two slices each, so we’ll get another full meal out of it.
Let me get what the haters would say out of the way here: Pizza Hut pizzas are, uh, unique, particularly the Original Pan crust. It’s really more of a bread than a crust, but as any French bread pizza enthusiast can tell you, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. This crust, though… It’s not for everyone. It’s light, pillowy, and salty, though too thick to be floppy. It’s maybe closest to focaccia, but with a crisp crackery crust and… less flavor. But I love it? I don’t know what to tell you. The sauce is, IMO, actually great — a thick, deep red umami-party, and they take you seriously when you ask for extra sauce. The veggie toppings are pretty basic, but you can double ’em up, as we do with our mushrooms.
My review? If you ask me, this is a pretty good pizza! Just keep in mind I am a major weirdo who already loved Pizza Hut. In Austin, I’d rate a few places pies (Lil Nonna’s, Conan’s, Via 313) above it, and many popular local pies (East Side Pies, Homeslice) below it. 😬 The mushrooms were great and dominated the toppings mix and that crust made me feel seven.
As far as the new vegan sausage, it definitely helped make this a filling meal, but I’m not sure it added much more than novelty to my average Hut feelings. Upon taking his first bite, my husband exclaimed, “Are you sure this isn’t sausage?!”, an experience I always have mixed feelings about, because 1.) YIKES OH NO I’M SCARED but also 2.) realistically meaty plant food could help to unlock a better future for animals. But it wasn’t, as I quickly established by simply tearing one open and smelling it — the Beyond scent is unmistakable.
I like Beyond Meat products sometimes, and I actually prefer them to Impossible, but I do find that I often hit a wall where enough is enough — this pizza definitely hugs that wall, and I could have probably done with about half of the amount of sausage they provide. That said, I can see the heavy hand appealing greatly to some folks seeking big, filling, affordable vegan meals — looking at you, weightlifting vegans.
Do I recommend this pizza to you? My friend, that’s between you and the Hut. | https://medium.com/tenderlymag/i-ate-pizza-huts-new-vegan-pizza-and-now-i-m-here-to-tell-you-about-it-4940530de06d | ['Summer Anne Burton'] | 2020-11-20 21:59:20.901000+00:00 | ['Plant Based', 'Food', 'Pizza Hut', 'Pizza', 'Vegan'] |
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