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How to Learn Programming with Zero Stress | Photo by Aarón Blanco Tejedor on Unsplash
I’ve been teaching Java for quite a while now. So I often share advice on how to learn programming faster and better. In talking to my students I can see that one thing distracts them very much: coding anxiety. It is a real trouble. Some people find it hard to focus their attention for more than one hour. Some are excessively stressed out by the job search.
So today I’m gonna share on how to eliminate this kind of stress, use the best ways to learn programming, and enjoy coding happily ever after.
Three Main Reasons Behind the Stress for Newbie Programmers
1. Imposter syndrome
This comes close to the expectations of perfection. The salaries are quite high, and some learners think they don’t deserve their paycheck. To aggravate the situation, other teammates seem to be more professional or work more hours. The truth is that you might know quite enough for your level and be improving gradually, but you don’t actually feel this way. Self-doubt is a common cause of stress.
2. Not complying with the image of a real programmer
You see others bragging about how programming is everything for them — how they spend every possible minute on coding, how important it is to them. And then comes you with the ability to code only so many hours and knowing only this one technology. You start thinking that probably you weren’t meant to be a software developer.
Actually it is far from reality. Coding day and night is not the sign of a real programmer. None of us are Neo. Besides, the term “no-lifer” also applies to those who only code and have nothing else to fill in the gaps. Forget about the image. If you have a genuine interest in technologies and learn coding just because you want to, congratulations: you ARE a real programmer.
3. Thinking it’s too late
Although I personally think it’s never too late to learn new skills, some people do stress out about starting a new path at the age of 30 or older. The equation seems to be this: “If I start at 30, I would learn something in about two years and apply for a job as a junior dev at 32. All the other juniors would be 22 to 25. It’s ridiculous!”.
Well, let’s continue the equation. At 34 you become a middle developer while all the rest are 28. It’s not that ridiculous anymore. And suppose you continue and become a senior dev or even a software architect. You’re probably still under 40.
And now imagine you haven’t even started just because you are 30 and all the rest are a bit over 20. Do you feel that subtle resentment about the lost opportunity?
How to get over the anxiety
Photo by Doug Maloney on Unsplash
First, let’s face it: software development is a complicated area. There will be times when you won’t know what to do. Everyone has those — even the most sophisticated software developers. No one is expecting that you will make zero mistakes. It’s utterly impossible. Admitting that flops are part of the process is a great way to ease the burden of shame and to focus on what’s important: the programming itself.
1. Focus on motivation instead of eliminating obstacles
Whether you realize it or not, pleasure is a great motivator. Instead of trying to suppress unpleasant thoughts about possible failures, focus on what’s driving you in the learning process. Try a simple exercise: write a list of reasons you like coding and what benefits you derive from it. You might not notice them while you learn, but when you have this list it clicks within your mind how valuable it actually is for you.
Some other steps can also make you feel better about learning to code. Plan a meeting with other coders to discuss your positive experiences. Play coding games, or try to teach a kid some technology. And see how fun it all can be!
2. Learn step by step
It’s easy to get overwhelmed when you try to get to the advanced stuff as soon as possible. But from my teaching experience, that is not the best way to learn programming. Give yourself time and start with the basics: syntax, inheritances, classes, etc. Be consistent. Your goal is to always be willing to learn a bit more. If you take on too much at once it will be hard for you to get down to learning next time. Move on to more complicated subjects only when you feel confident about the fundamentals.
Practice and practice
Reading piles of documentation or watching hours of videos won’t do you any good until you actually try to code. Programming is very practice-oriented. Sometimes it’s better to start playing with the code to understand stuff than to try to figure out the bulk of theory. Try your own small projects. When you see the first results of your learning efforts, it does make you feel better and more confident.
Don’t take coding too seriously from the beginning. Allow yourself mistakes. Make them and fix them. Gradually you will see how it all becomes more and more clear.
Go see some platforms. Here’s the list of ones I like the most. Yes, they are for learning Java (because I’m a Java tutor), but you can get the point:
CodeGym — that’s an online Java Core Course which is fully gamified. You will dedicate 80 percent of your time to practical tasks and 20 — to covering theory aspects. You can have fun learning programming via games, I’m telling ya;)
CodeAcademy — here you will develop your technical skills which will be very in use when you start looking for a job.
CoderChef — as soon as you get less or more confident with Java fundamentals, you can participate in an online Java contest with other developers-beginners.
3. Don’t try to understand everything at once
It might take months before you begin to understand why everything works this or that way. No, it does not mean you are stupid. It means software development is a multi-dimensional area that cannot be grasped overnight. Be patient with yourself first of all.
I was in these shoes as well. It feels really frustrating when you learn and learn and it’s still not dawning upon you. Don’t give up! Eventually, the puzzle will become a clear picture. Just keep on learning, and don’t expect everything at once. Be prepared for it to take several months to start figuring things out.
4. Use various learning resources
Again, as I said, programming is a complicated area of knowledge. What’s more, different explanations of one and the same subject work differently for each learner. What I mean is you can understand one tutor better than another. The logic would be this: don’t stick to just one learning resource. Try various options and see what works best for you personally. But don’t use too many resources. If you are constantly looking for alternatives, you spend your time on this search instead of actual learning.
Sometimes you think you’ve had enough explanation, but then you come across another way of viewing the same part of the programming profession, and it just clicks with you. This won’t happen until you search for alternatives. So I urge you to look around from time to time.
At the same time, don’t use too many resources. If you are constantly looking for alternatives, you spend your time on this search instead of actual learning.
5. Meet peers
Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash
One of the worst things you can do is lock yourself up and learn programming on your own. It’s a straight path to despair and giving up. Why? Because you are certain to come across difficulties you won’t know how to resolve. The more situations like that happen, the less you will want to continue. Once or twice you will postpone your regular learning time, and then you find yourself reluctant to do it at all.
The picture is quite different if you have some human support. As a learner you suddenly realize you are not the only one struggling. The ideal version would be to meet peers who are learning coding as well. Join professional groups or forums. As an example, have a look at the Stack Overflow community, or find programming subreddits on Reddit. Look for what works best for you, and don’t face programming on your own.
6. Don’t compare yourself to other developers
When you look around and see how many people are into software development, it does feel like an endless competition — especially when you are at the starting point of your learning path. The truth is that everyone feels the same. While you think someone is better than you, someone thinks you are better too. At the end of the day, you are both discouraged for no reason. So I insist that you don’t compare yourself to others in that way. Instead, focus on yourself and your own skills. Add to your professional value instead of holding grudges against the unfair world.
Wrap Up
It’s ok to feel anxiety when you start learning to code. Everyone’s experienced this problem in some way. There’s nothing wrong with you. The thing is that you come upon a complicated area, and at first it usually seems next to impossible to figure it all out.
Here’s what you can do about it: learn step by step, and don’t let yourself get overwhelmed. Connect with other developers online or in real life. Try to find a mentor. Play with the code and allow yourself to make mistakes. Give yourself time. Software development is not something you can learn to do overnight. Focus on your own achievements and on what makes you feel good about coding. Try various approaches and resources. Practice a lot. And surely enjoy the very process! | https://medium.com/quick-code/how-to-learn-programming-with-zero-stress-b0fd089259ec | ['John Selawsky'] | 2020-08-20 14:32:14.107000+00:00 | ['Coding', 'Learning To Code', 'Programming Tips', 'Learn To Code', 'Programming'] |
The Dancing Man on the Bridge | On the eve of my sixteenth birthday, a grand crowd assembled on the Mokola Flyover Bridge, restricting most of the traffic flow towards and from Dugbe, because there was a dancing madman in the middle of the road. That was what they called him. No one knew who he was or where he had come from, only that he had parked his vehicle in the middle of the road, hurried out and begun to dance. My uncle’s car was a hundred feet away, trapped in the gridlock, but he wanted to witness the spectacle for himself so we climbed out of the car and pushed our way through the thickening throng until we found a spot atop an abandoned taxi cab. There he was, the madman, his lanky frame locked in a frenzy, sweaty obsidian skin aglow in the sunlight. He danced without music. The swelling audience had afforded him a wide berth, but it was unclear whether it was so he could dance or to protect themselves from a possible contagion.
Upon careful inspection, I found myself wondering if this man, crazed as he appeared, had indeed lost his marbles. The madmen I had seen had dirty dreadlocks and traipsed about aimlessly, their blackened penises swinging like pendulums through the holes in the rags they wore, but this man had on a suit and striped tie. His head was smoothly shaven, his clacking shoes carrying a soft gleam. In-between his erratic gestures I caught glimpses of a silver necklace and a gold wristwatch. He seemed like a perfectly regular man dancing, but these spectators had called him a madman, thus it was nearly impossible to behold the sight of him without thinking about dirty men with wide grins and tattered clothing. It was not until I concentrated on his face that I noticed his watery eyes, and knew.
This man was not mad. He was in pain.
Laughter rippled through the crowd as the man burst into a slew of exertions, tossing himself to the ground and rolling to his feet, his limbs jerking as if trying to break free of his body. Amidst the excitement I heard bits and pieces of the spectators’ comments. Some were convinced that the man had overdosed on drugs and was reaping the consequences. Others claimed he must have fornicated with the wrong woman and ended up possessed by evil spirits. They all stumbled backwards as one whenever the man got too close.
“Mmaduabuchukwu, see,” said my uncle, shaking his head. “This is what happens when you read too many books. They will say that he took cocaine or heroin, that he used to smoke igbo. Look at this man. Does he resemble a smoker to you, gbo?”
I said nothing. I did not understand what a man’s clothing had to do with drug abuse.
“It is obvious that this man has put too many books inside his head. People don’t know that too much of anything can make you run mad. I’ve warned your father a thousand times not to take you to the university, but he has refused to listen, because he wants an educated child that will carry on the family name. When you come home a lunatic, he will clap himself on the back.”
This time, I could not help myself. “Uncle, I don’t think this man is insane,” I blurted.
“Then you, you must also be insane.” His lip curled and he sucked his teeth. “Maybe you need to get your head checked. Onye iberibe.”
He droned on, but I tuned him out, returning my gaze to the dancing man. I was able to regard him differently now that I knew he was not insane. He was not a madman, just a man who was in agony and had elected to express it by dancing, just as one might scream or cry or destroy property to express themselves. He was dancing. Admittedly, it was a little strange to see, but soon I found myself wondering what could possibly have caused this man so much distress. Perhaps he had lost a fortune or a significant other. There were a million and one possible reasons as to why he was behaving this way, but these people had chosen to affix their reason upon him. And so he was insane not because he had a problem but because they had a problem with him.
As the crowd hollered insults and fell over one another with laughter, I observed the man’s movements. There was no subtlety, no elegance about him. He danced as though the asphalt had burned right through the soles of his shoes. Nothing could be a clearer indicator of his feelings. Joy came gently, like a warm glow spreading across the horizon, and often you didn’t notice its intensity until you paused and observed yourself, because it was already one with you. Pain insisted on being heard and felt. It demanded your total awarenes, filling you with unforgiving absoluteness. That was what I saw now, when I gazed at him — a forced awareness of an internal laceration. Perhaps there was no reason for it. Often, I had been sad without cause, just as I had often found myself bubbling with spontaneous laughter. I could not wrap my head around the idea that this man needed a reason to be the way that he was. I had at this point begun to ponder not his sanity but that of everyone else.
The man thumped his chest once, twice, and dropped to the ground, his mouth open in a silent scream. In a flash, he was back on his feet, twisting and jerking and jumping with a wild look in his eyes, much to the crowd’s delectation. By now, there were tears streaking down my face, not just because of this man’s pain but also the sheer beauty of it. I had come to know pain as a force to be despised and suppressed, but with each spasm of the man’s extremities I saw a thing to be felt. It was an experience, one of the finest facets of a fleeting existence. It was the thrilling fear from closing one’s eyes on a speeding motorbike, and sadness from making a toast to a love that never was. For the first time ever, I gazed into the mouth of pain and was awestruck by its marvellousness.
He whirled about again and for a few seconds our eyes met, and my heart fluttered and slowed to a quiet stop, because this man with the wild eyes was staring right at me. In that moment, time froze and our surroundings ceased, leaving me and the man behind, locked in a meeting of minds with a single thought: I understand. Then it was over and the man continued to dance as though he had not once noticed my presence. I choked back a sob, holding my arms firmly at my sides to keep them from twitching, resisting the sudden urge to burst into laughter at the realisation that perhaps I, too, had gone mad.
Just then, an explosion reached my ears and stunned the crowd silent, and a voice shrilled, “POLICE!” It took me a moment to process the meaning of that word, but by then my uncle, who had somehow maintained his presence of mind, had clambered off the bonnet of the taxi and was screaming at me to get down before I got shot. At the same time, the spell on the crowd wore off and in seconds everyone was stampeding about in a bid to return to their vehicles, the berth completely forgotten. In the chaos I glimpsed my madman tearing across the asphalt towards the edge of the bridge. One second he was there, and then he wasn’t. Two gunshots sent screams rippling through the crowd and a dissonance erupted in my head. Suddenly, a large arm grabbed me and my uncle was shrieking in my ear as he pushed me through the maze of people and vehicles.
I didn’t hear a word of what my uncle was saying. All I could think about was the man who had danced on the bridge and made me cry. I wasn’t sure what had happened to him, only that now a piece of him lived within me, lying dormant until the day that I, too, would dance for all the world to witness and understand. | https://medium.com/@addei/the-dancing-man-on-the-bridge-7761a689899e | [] | 2021-09-06 16:31:45.302000+00:00 | ['Dance', 'Mental Health', 'Profiling', 'Pain', 'Emotions'] |
OUSD School Board Approves Black Organizing Project’s School Safety Plan | Black Organizing Project’s Organizing Director Jessica Black speaks outside of MetWest Highschool on November 13, 2019, announcing the People’s Plan. The People’s Plan became the foundation for the George Floyd Resolution to Eliminate Police the Oakland Schools Police Department. Photo courtesy of Black Organizing Project.
Oakland’s School Board voted on Wednesday to pass a resolution to implement Phase 1 of a reasonable compliance safety plan, a plan Black Organizing Project, Oakland Unified School Department staff, and community partners formulated to deal with school safety without police presence.
The unanimous vote came after Black Organizing Project (BOP), who describes itself as a “Black member-led community organization working for racial, social, and economic justice,” organized for 10 years. Their goal was to eliminate the Oakland Schools Police Department (OSPD), which works exclusively in OUSD schools. On June 24 of this year, Oakland’s School Board voted to dismantle the department when they passed the George Floyd Resolution to Eliminate the OSPD.
With its Phase 1 plan, BOP is preparing for when OSPD is completely eliminated and in-person schooling starts. The plan outlines alternatives to police intervention for most behavioral issues that result in school settings. OUSD teachers, union representatives, principals, school administrators and public health experts helped to design it. Part of the plan proposes that mental health professionals deal with mental health issues instead of police.
When asked why the plan proposes that health professionals deal with mental health crises, BOP Organizing Director Jessica Black said “it’s better to have people who are trained, skilled, professionals who deal with people’s mental health than to have people who are trained to look for suspects and kill people.”
In anticipation of Wednesday’s vote, BOP organized a week of action, calling on the community to post videos on social media in support of police-free schools, contact board members directly to encourage them to support the safety plan, and prepare public comments for the meeting. During the meeting, community members spoke out in support of BOP’s plan.
BOP is happy that Phase 1 of their safety plan has been adopted by the Board but wants OUSD to remove the remaining OSPD officers and the Chief as soon as possible, as the District has not stuck to the original timeline for police removal that the George Floyd Resolution originally set.
“The goal is to have police off campus,” said BOP Organizing Director Jessica Black. “But we feel the community was undermined because they were supposed to be out now, not later.”
OUSD has extended OSPD Chief Jeff Godown’s contract by 90 days. OSPD officer’s contracts are set to expire on January 11, 2021. Through the George Floyd Resolution, the Board instructed OUSD to terminate these positions by December 31 of this year.
In an interview with The Oakland Post, District 5 Board Director Roseann Torres, who helped write the George Floyd Resolution, said directly terminating OSPD officers and the chief were “not within the board’s purview” as the terminations require action from OUSD, not the board. Torres speculated that the process has been delayed by the pandemic.
The District said it needs more time to eliminate the department.
“The District is well on the way to eliminating the police department, but there are parameters within which the District must work to complete this task,” said OUSD Communications Director John Sasaki when asked why OSPD has not been shut down yet. “A police department, even one the relatively small size of the Oakland Schools Police Department, cannot be shut down overnight.”
BOP also wants more community involvement in dealing with safety in schools, including input from teachers and students and plans to include that involvement in Phase 2 of their safety plan.
“Instead of top down we need [school safety] to come from the bottom up,” said Black. “We are the ones who keep us safe, and it’s going to take the parents, the students, the teachers, the community members and administrators to make it work.”
Notes: A similar version of this story will appear in print in The Oakland Post on Friday and another similar version will appear on The Post News Group’s website soon. Thank you to Wanda Ravernell, who helped edit this story. | https://medium.com/@zackhaber/ousd-school-board-approves-black-organizing-projects-school-safety-plan-ac4dfa7724e | ['Zack Haber'] | 2020-12-10 17:56:20.347000+00:00 | ['Oakland', 'Police', 'Safety', 'Schools', 'Education'] |
Does gender matter in Design? | ❓ What is Gendered Design?
Put simply, it is a design that targets a particular gender demographic. This is tied to how a product is marketed because the more specific the target audience is, the more the user will feel like the product is made for them.
We see this on most products we use in our daily lives, even when the product is the same. An example of this is products like deodorants or razors. The same product is communicated in very different manners depending on the target audience’s gender. Usually, men’s advertisements use a more aggressive tone and color palette, while women’s advertisements use softer and more playful language.
If we look at ads from only a few decades ago we see that this language is even more radical, because gender stereotypes and roles have evolved in the last few decades, and we can see that societal change in the way this product is sold and communicated. | https://medium.com/pixelmatters/does-gender-matter-in-design-37493310f814 | ['Jessica Triana'] | 2020-12-21 12:18:01.328000+00:00 | ['Product Design', 'Inclusive Design', 'Design Patterns', 'Gender', 'Digital Product Design'] |
How do you write an art history paper? Part I: Identify the artwork | How do you write an art history paper? Part I: Identify the artwork Debra Thimmesch Jul 6·4 min read
There’s no secret alchemical formula for writing an art history essay, whether you’re creating a comparison between two or three works of art, composing a visual analysis, or drafting a longer research paper. However, there are some tools and strategies that you can use to craft a high-quality art history paper and this series of articles is intended to help you get out of that hole of despair in which you’ve found yourself, back to your desk, and onto success!
First, we’re focusing on some basic tips and tools and important dos and don’ts. In other articles, we will address specific kinds of papers, from art history compare-and-contrast essays and art history visual analysis papers to art history research papers and even the formidable master’s level art history thesis.
But first, let’s identify the work of art thoroughly!
Every analysis of a work of art or architecture begins with the observer looking closely at the object. There is a wealth of information available simply from observation if you know what to look for and that’s what we’re focusing on in this article.
Start with your course textbook. The caption beneath the photo of a given artwork actually contains a wealth of information. The caption provides the basic, essential identifying information about the work of art. This invaluable information is the foundation of your visual analysis and can provide all sorts of clues about the object, monument, or structure, clues that will help you do the successful detective work of visual analysis!
A full art object caption contains the following information:
1. The name of the artist. You’ll also probably see the birth and death dates of the artist or architect, especially on the wall labels in museums. Why do we need this information? For starters, it helps us contextualize the artist and his or her artwork historically.
2. The title of the work of art. Some artists prefer not to give their artworks titles. In that case, you would see “Untitled” in this space. In other cases, if the artwork is very old, we may no longer have this information or the work of art is such that it would not have been titled. For instance, a prehistoric cave painting of a herd of bison would not likely have been titled by the artist or artists. Sometimes, a work of art acquires a nickname or default title based on a major feature like “Lady in Blue.” Or, it can be named after its owner like the Barberini Faun, an ancient sculpture that was named after the wealthy Italian Renaissance-era family that owned it.
One final note on titles: all titles of artworks should be italicized except for works of architecture.
3. The date the artwork was made. The importance of the date is probably obvious. Once again, knowing when a work of art was made helps us place it in the proper historical context but also in the context of the career of the artist who produced it.
4. The medium. What do we mean when we say “medium” or “media” (the plural of ‘medium’)? We are talking about the materials used to construct the work of art. Sometimes, the medium is pretty straightforward. For instance, you might see: “oil on canvas” for a painting or “bronze” for a sculpture. In other cases, the artist might have used a variety of materials. For instance, look at all of the materials Robert Rauschenberg used to make his assemblage, Canyon, which is in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York!
5. The dimensions. There are all sorts of reasons why you’d want to know how big — or small — a work of art is. If a work is tiny, you would probably interpret its meaning differently than if it was monumental, which means larger than life-size. If someone — a private collector or museum or otherwise — is buying an artwork, they would definitely need to know how large the piece is when they are thinking about how and where to display it.
When you see the dimensions of a painting or drawing, for instance, you will see height x width = two dimensions, so the work is two-dimensional. For a sculpture, you would see height x width x depth = three dimensions, so the work is three-dimensional.
6. The location of the artwork. Sometimes this identifying feature is left out of a caption but you should make a practice of knowing the location of a work of art. Often you will see the institution and even acquisition number of the artwork (such as with the MoMA having Canyon in its collection). Sometimes you will see: “private collection” and you may not be able to find further information about who owns the piece.
With architecture, you will always have a location and you’ll know where to go if you want to visit the work, whether it’s the Parthenon on the Athenian Acropolis in Athens, Greece, or Stonehenge on the Salisbury Plain near Salisbury, England.
Consider how much you’re learned about the art work or works you’re focusing on just by gathering the above information from the caption! Next up: Some important art history terms!
For more information and for one-on-one tutoring and writing instruction, contact me at [email protected] | https://medium.com/@wordtune-org/how-do-you-write-an-art-history-paper-part-i-identify-the-artwork-6a053f562ca8 | ['Debra Thimmesch'] | 2021-07-06 14:53:13.383000+00:00 | ['Visual Analysis', 'Art History', 'Art History Pedagogy', 'Art History Majors', 'Art History Paper'] |
Baby Sleep Secrets Review — Baby Sleep Training Secrets | All you need to know about this Baby Sleep Training
First, forget all the things you have been told about your baby’s sleep in the past..
Unfortunately, most information is dangerously outdated and usually reduces your baby’s chances of a calm and deep sleep.
The absolute worst you can do is to begin with a sleep training for your baby without a proven and sophisticated plan (I’m sorry to say, but that’s how most parents still do it).
Sadly, I am speaking from my own, very painful experience…
I now want to share a revolutionary method with you that puts even the most stubborn child consistently to sleep every night
. The best thing about it is that you and your little one will be done with the training in no time!
But first let me introduce myself:..
My name is Susan, and I would describe myself as an ordinary woman and mother. I’m originally from Germany and moved to Portland several years ago, so please excuse any grammatical errors ;).
I also have 2 kids who monkey around all day but who I of course love very, very much!
But unfortunately, our second child Martina confronted us with a problem which quickly became unbearable:
Our little girl simply never fell asleep!
I want to share with you here on my website my very own personal story and how I came across an effective system for a baby’s sleep nearly be sheer accident (and which actually works!).
When I was twelve, I already wanted to be the proud
mother of 9 children one day …
and today I take care of more than 70 children
Sometimes life is strange: Instead of having 9 kids of my own, I nowadays take care
of 73 children at a day care center I founded 4 years ago.
That’s why I can credibly tell you that — through my own two kids and the children from the day care center — I am confronted with the topic of baby’s sleep almost every week.
While the majority of the children from the day care center have outgrown any sleep problems, a lot of the parents also have newborns at home…
For that reason, I heard countless desperate stories of sleepless nights over the years…
However, I only realized the significance of the problem once I experienced it first-hand with my own daughter Martina.
In the beginning we still had hope that Martina’s sleep
would improve by itself over time
Unfortunately that did not happen. Actually, quite the opposite
happened…
Sometimes it took several hours until Martina finally fell asleep!
Her eyes often were swollen and red from all the crying — it broke my heart every time I saw my daughter in this terrible condition!
That was the point when I realized that now is the time that I simply MUST find a solution for this problem.
Not Just for my own child, but also for the suffering parents and children from my day care center…
In hindsight, I have to admit that I clearly regret not having started researching this topic earlier since I was asked so often for advice by other parents.
So I got down to work, researched the issue for weeks and truly read everything I could find in regards to a child’s sleep
And to be completely honest, there definitely wasn’t a lack of literature on the topic…
I went through tons of specialized literature both national and international.
I selected all the techniqites I considered most pmnaaing and wrote them clown in my “baby’s sleep notebook”, which grew daily by several pages. But the following problem remained:
The majority of the sleeping methods either did not work at all, or only for a very short time.
I also realized that there was a lot of contradictory advice with many inconsistencies, for example “just let your baby cry’ and “never let your baby cry”…
Who was supposed to make sense out of all of this?
Luckily, I had an epiphany and a wonderful idea…
Completely overwhelmed by the mass of contradictory advice, I consulted with
a renowned expert on sleep
His speciality? The process of sleep for newborns and infants
Well, to be completely honest, it was actually my husband who led me to this idea Initially…I went through tons of specialized literature both national and international.
An old college friend of his knew this sleeping expert personally. And this specialist just recently published several new studies — with in some cases extraordinary results.
His fee for a three hour consultation was not low but I was so determined to find a working and reliable method for falling asleep that I went for it anyway…
After a few emails and phone calls we arranged an appointment for a consultation and I showed his all my notes I collected so far — and of course asked a lot of questions.
He praised my stock of knowledge on the topic which I naturally found very flattering t: An old college friend of his knew this sleeping expert personally. And this specialist just recently published several new studies — with in some cases extraordinary results.
However, he quickly told me that I completely missed
several crucial aspects of the matter…
Eventually, we talked for far more than the initially arranged 3 hours and I felt like having an epiphany every 5 minutes.
He shared information and other practical advice with me which I have never encountered in any book or other sources (including the internet) before.
At the end of the consultation my notebook had grown again, this time by a lot of new pages, and I couldn’t wait to test my new knowledge in the real world!
Once I was at home, I quickly started with the new “sleeping Protocol
I knew of course that I shouldn’t expect any results overnight, however I had already noticed in the same night that Martina was much calmer than before!
But the biggest surprise was: Within days, Martina could fall asleep
completely independently!
I was completely overwhelmed by pure joy and also felt a great deal of relief!
She finally could fall asleep without any problems and also only rarely woke up during the night..
Already after about a week, I received countless of
calls and mails from parents who applied my
technique.
Nearly all of the parents who received my system reported a similar success to the one I had
with Martina!
Here are several of the thankful reactions and messages I received: | https://medium.com/@youareafamily/baby-sleep-secrets-review-baby-sleep-training-secrets-fc8b1afd00b8 | [] | 2021-04-27 00:28:52.022000+00:00 | ['Baby Boomers', 'Baby Sleep', 'Baby Products', 'Baby Care', 'Baby'] |
How to set up a Linkedin campaign that performs | Create a Campaign Group
After logging into the Linkedin Campaign Manager, create your first campaign.
Campaigns can be put into ‘groups’. This is not necessary but can be useful for better budget control (I used to run 4 individual ad accounts, UK, France, Germany, US, with campaign groups, we can split this regionally)
As you can see below, campaign groups allow you a Total Budget — I feel more comfortable having these safety nets. For whatever reason, you can also schedule your entire campaign groups. Obviously this is hierarchical, and any campaign setting would be overruled by the Campaign Group setting.
Choose a Campaign Objectives
For a quick start and campaigns with direct performance, consider the campaign objective below:
Website visits Lead Generation Website conversions
Which campaign objective is right for me?
The campaign set up for all three objectives is the same. The difference will be on the ad format. The lead gen ad requires a form to be set up. More on that, later.
Set up your Target Audience
You have various ways to set up your targeting. If you’re pursuing some account-based marketing campaigns, you may want to use CRM onboarding. This is a technique where you upload either contact records or account information into Linkedin Audiences. Let me show you how this is done:
CRM onboarding — how to upload contacts OR accounts
Upload contacts or accounts into Linkedin
The two templates are available to download, the information needed are:
CSV template for contact upload
CSV template for company upload
Once you left this to render for about 24 hours, you should be able to select the audience within your campaign set up.
The exciting thing (especially for account uploaded), you can still overlay Linkedin’s targeting. Let’s continue with this.
Saved Audience (if this is the first time you create a campaign, it’ll be empty, you can however save your audience at the end of this campaign and then retrieve the information for future campaigns). Linkedin has a new feature and got set up lists already (never used it) Select countries, regions, cities… I tend to exclude continents where I don’t want traffic from (but then I’m paranoid) profile language
Who is your target audience
This is where you have to play around and get to a comfortable with the reach and budget which is indicated in realtime on the right hand side.
Realtime audience and performance forecast indicator
Make sure to exclude your competitors and choose between job functions or job titles.
You can start running ads with an audience size of 300 — if you have a highly targeted campaign, perhaps that’s what you want to do.
If you previously uploaded contatcts/accounts, this is where you can select your ‘matched audience’.
Choose your Ad format
Which ad format is right for you? This depends again on your objective. Having said that, I focus on direct performance — hence the Single Image ad is going to be your winner. Carousel and video ads are engaging, but won’t deliver conversions.
This conversion ad (beta) is a message delivered to your inbox, expensive, but if you’ve got the money — test it.
Choose your ad format
Placements
err, no thank you Linkedin.
Budget and schedule
Linkedin advertising is expensive! £20 per day is not a lot. Tip: you can try and reduce costs by splitting out target regions/cities. When I targeted the US, the CPC would drop when I excluded NYC.
Automated bidding or manual CPC? I’m old school, unless you have campaigns running for a while, start manually.
A Linkedin rep told me to go above the recommended bid. This is auction based, so you’re not actually paying £12.01, but only a little bit more than the highest bidder. By going in high, you also make sure that out of the big pool of people, you reach those who are considered of better quality (Linkedin algorithm logic).
Great, you’ve reached the end (skipping the conversion tracking here). Let’s move over to the ad.
Set up Linkedin ads
Create a new ad (it may be tempting to just use an existing post, but bear in mind that it won’t have the right tracking)
Create a new ad
I don’t want to talk too much about the design of ads. Other have got this covered. I will say that the ad below is good, don’t be shy using hashtags in your ad copy. I think it could do with a Linekdin CTA.
Call to action options
URL tracking
Make sure to add correct utm tracking. Likely to be:
utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=linkedin&utm_campaign=q3-offer
Medium is cpc (cost per click), this is for Google Analytics to allocate it into the ‘Paid Search’ channel. If you don’t want that, choose something different, but you ‘must’ change the Default Channel Grouping in GA, otherwise the traffic will be allocated into ‘Other’, and that is really annoying and cannot be rectified retrospectively.
If you want to differentiate the ads (and you should, because you should always have a minimum of 2 ads running at any given time) add:
utm_content=ad1
So, you’re complete URL will look like:
https://www.yoursite.com/?utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=linkedin&utm_campaign=q3&offer&utm_content=ad1
Always paste this URL into a browser to make sure it doesn’t break.
Create a second ad, perhaps just changing the text, review the campaign and launch it.
Create ads with Lead Gen forms
If you want to have native lead capture directly on the ad, you need to create your form first, before you start on the campaigns. This is how it’s done.
Create lead gen forms
And this is how you download leads from the platform:
Download leads
Consider Zapier to automatically transfer these leads into your CRM.
What next?
A single touchpoint through a download doesn’t mean much. Think of the entire flow, what happens next, does the lead enrol on an email outreach cadence? Does the SDR reach out?
Hope that helps… give me a shout if the above isn’t clear. | https://medium.com/@dominik-elmiger/how-to-set-up-a-linkedin-campaign-that-performs-2d00c2ad9a08 | ['Dominik Elmiger'] | 2020-07-01 19:31:16.104000+00:00 | ['Linkedin Marketing', 'Linkedin Ads', 'LinkedIn', 'Create Linkedin Ads'] |
CLIMATE CRISIS & RENEWABLES: IRENA — Urgent Action Needed for the Energy Transition in Heating and Cooling | CLIMATE CRISIS & RENEWABLES: IRENA — Urgent Action Needed for the Energy Transition in Heating and Cooling
Posted By: PR Channel Team — Malaga (Remote)
www.GEOPoliticalMatters.com
Heating and cooling based on renewable energy has emerged as an urgent priority for countries striving to meet climate goals and build resilient, sustainable economies.
The transition to cleaner, more sustainable heating and cooling solutions can attract investment, create millions of new jobs and help to drive a durable economic recovery in the wake of the global COVID-19 crisis, says a new study by leading energy organisations.
The joint report by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the Renewable Energy Network for the 21st Century (REN21), highlights the benefits, identifies investment barriers, as well as the policies to drive faster uptake of renewable heating and cooling worldwide. Renewable Energy Policies in a Time of Transition: Heating and Cooling describes five possible transformation pathways, encompassing renewables-based electrification, renewable gases, sustainable biomass, and direct uses of solar thermal and geothermal heat.
Energy efficient heating and cooling based on renewable sources has emerged as an urgent priority for countries striving to meet climate commitments under the Paris Agreement and to build resilient, sustainable economies, said IRENA Director-General, Francesco La Camera.
“The transition to cleaner, more efficient and sustainable heating and cooling solutions can attract investments, create millions of new jobs and help to drive a durable economic recovery in the wake of the global COVID-19 crisis. It will make much needed heating and cooling services available to everyone, including to remote islands and least-developed countries of Africa and Asia.”
Heating and cooling demand accounts for around half of global final energy consumption, mostly for industrial processes, followed by residential and agricultural applications. Most of this energy now comes either from fossil fuels or inefficient, unsustainable uses of biomass. Heating and cooling, consequently, is a major source of air pollution and accounts for over 40 per cent of global energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. At the same time, around 2.8 billion people currently rely on wood fuel, charcoal, animal dung and other inefficient and polluting fuels for cooking.
The demand for heating and cooling is set to keep growing. Cooling demand has already tripled globally since 1990, and as climate change increases the number and severity of heat waves, so does the urgency for supplying air conditioning and refrigeration to billions of people.
Policy makers have so far given limited attention to the heating and cooling transition. By the end of 2019, only 49 countries — mostly within the European Union — had national targets for renewable heating and cooling, in contrast with 166 having targets for renewable power generation. To decarbonise the energy used for heating and cooling, aggressive and comprehensive policy packages that phase out the use of fossil fuels and prioritise renewable energy and efficiency are even more urgent amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which has cut demand for renewables-based heating and cooling services, including in households and small businesses. The health and economic crisis has also worsened conditions for energy access in many developing countries.
Transitioning to renewable sources will help to increase access to clean, affordable and reliable heating and cooling services, even on remote islands and in some of the least-developed countries of Africa and Asia. At the same time, renewable heating and cooling can create new jobs, stimulate local economies, and improve people’s livelihoods, while strengthening countries’ energy security and independence, the report notes.
Click Here to Read the full report
About the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)
IRENA is the lead intergovernmental agency for the global energy transformation that supports countries in their transition to a sustainable energy future, and serves as the principal platform for international co-operation, a centre of excellence, and a repository of policy, technology, resource and financial knowledge on renewable energy. With 162 Members (161 States and the European Union) and 21 additional countries in the accession process and actively engaged, IRENA promotes the widespread adoption and sustainable use of all forms of renewable energy in the pursuit of sustainable development, energy access, energy security and low-carbon economic growth and prosperity. More/… | https://medium.com/@geopoliticalmatters/climate-crisis-renewables-irena-urgent-action-needed-for-the-energy-transition-in-heating-and-85377553b254 | [] | 2020-12-01 10:40:05.887000+00:00 | ['Latest News', 'Climate', 'Renewable Energy'] |
Alagon Plus Hotel & Spa: Modern Chic Ambiance in Downtown Saigon | Alagon Plus Hotel & Spa: Modern Chic Ambiance in Downtown Saigon Comfy Lighting w/ Modern Interiors Convenient Location to Anywhere Popular in Saigon Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Spotlights Various Restaurants & Shops of All Kinds in Walking Distance
Ben Thanh Market Area just within 6min Walk
Beautiful Rooftop Swimming Pool w/ Secret Garden
Cozy In-Room Lighting & Comfy King Bed
Helpful Staff
Hearty Buffet Breakfast
Popular Hotel for Budget Travellers From my viewpoint, I did get more than what a 3-Star hotel could provide! Pity Soundproof could be stronger.
Small Bathtub
Toiletries have vegetable scent, special but not appealing.
Room Type: Executive City View
This is the top room type of Alagon Plus. Stayed: October 2020 | Personal Trip
Ps. This is the second Alagon Hotel I’d stayed. The first one I visited was Alagon D’Antique Hotel & Spa [click here]. A little secret: these two hotels actually share the same rooftop facilities.
Façade & Lobby
Room : Executive City View I’m totally into this combination of colours !! Downtown Saigon at Night
Buffet Breakfast Energize the Good Morning
Rooftop Garden, Gym, Bar & Pool (more details in the Room Tour Video, at the top of this article) Spa Reception Area Gym Just like a Secret Garden ! Rooftop Bar, overlooking Downtown Saigon Lovely View from the Pool
Elegant Staycation at Alagon Plus.
My Foodie Recommendations
Walking Distance from the Hotel Cocotte, Ben Thanh Store 136/11 Le Thanh Ton, Ben Thanh Ward, Dist.1, HCMC Snails, Duck & Champagne. . Lovely #French #Bistro #Dinner in the heart of #Saigon 🥰🥰🥰 … Edit description www.instagram.com
Amun Restaurant & Lounge Level 3, 215–217 Ly Tu Trong, Ben Thanh Ward, Dist.1, HCMC (IG Embed)
Mezze Saigon Level 5, 215–217 Ly Tu Trong, Ben Thanh Ward, Dist.1, HCMC https://www.instagram.com/p/CHSs18JhUsd/
Sol Kitchen & Bar 115 Ly Tu Trong, Ben Thanh Ward, Dist.1, HCMC (IG Embed) | https://medium.com/@chicve02/alagon-plus-hotel-spa-modern-chic-ambiance-in-downtown-saigon-1da92ef08502 | ['Stay With Johnson'] | 2020-12-30 23:02:43.957000+00:00 | ['Hotel', 'Travel', 'Ho Chi Minh City', 'Accommodations', 'Interior Design'] |
In Numbers: Liberal Bias Among College Professors | by Nadiv Rahman
We’ve talked about this a lot, but a new study, waiting to be published in Perspectives on Psychological Science, and co-authored by a Wharton professor, sheds a little more light on the issue. Bias against conservative thought is prevalent among college professors, and in the words of the authors themselves: ‘”The questions were pretty blatant. We didn’t expect people would give those answers,” said Yoel Inbar.’
The numbers are not an overwhelming majority, but considering the nature of the questions, they’re still alarming. Take a look for yourself: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2012/08/08/survey-finds-social-psychologists-admit-anti-conservative-bias#ixzz22zJpUGtt | https://medium.com/stanfordreview/in-numbers-liberal-bias-among-college-professors-c21b6808ffac | [] | 2016-12-09 02:55:33.470000+00:00 | ['News', 'Education'] |
CCTV Security Cameras | Security Camera — HIK 4CH, 8CH, 16CH HQHI-K1Turbo DVR
Closed-circuit TV (CCTV) security cameras are there for video reconnaissance and live observing purposes. These might be single or an accumulation of observation cameras which are legitimately connected to TVs through links or remote methods. In spite of the fact that CCTV security camera is helpful apparatuses in zones which need high security, for example, banks, gambling clubs, and airplane terminals, they are likewise utilized in open spots and in homes.
The most widely recognized utilization of CCTV cameras isn’t wrongdoing avoidance, however wrongdoing identification and arraignment. A few cases have been fathomed with the utilization of these cameras. These cameras consequently move caught pictures on a period slip by or movement discovery premise to a PC or PC utilizing either a USB link or a remote connector. Most present-day CCTV security cameras are basic, light-weight and modest enough to be utilized in home security frameworks.
The cost of CCTV security cameras relies upon numerous things, for example, measure, type, show, goals, zoom, and remote/wired models. The basic types of CCTV security cameras are a vault, shot, and standard c-mount cameras. There are B/W and shading cameras, and cameras with or without sound. The value begins from $30 for B/W smaller than expected shrouded cameras without sound and $40 for those with sound. Shading cameras without sound are accessible from $60 and those with sound are accessible from $70 upwards. Remote cameras are normally 10 to 20 dollars higher than wired ones. Most not too bad observation cameras are accessible in the value scope of $100 — $350. | https://medium.com/@bdetechnology1990/cctv-security-cameras-a79fdbef6003 | ['Bde Technology'] | 2019-08-11 12:31:01.158000+00:00 | ['Master Clock', 'Led Clock', 'Biometric System', 'Security Camera', 'Fingerprint System'] |
Should Christians Have Voted For Joe Biden? | Does Joe deserve the same grace given to Trump?
Photo by Maria Oswalt on Unsplash
If you listen to Christian leaders like Pat Robertson and Franklin Graham, Joe Biden is a liberal Socialist who is going to lead the country into Communism.
And aren’t the policies of the Democrats far less friendly to the church and Christian values than the Trump Republicans have ever been?
From the time of Obama, wasn’t it obvious that the country was headed down the wrong moral path? That’s why Hilary Clinton with those far-left liberal views was soundly rejected in 2016. And, was it not Donald Trump that made it OK again to say “Merry Christmas”?
This country was founded on traditional Judeo-Christian beliefs, that in recent decades have been pushed mainly by the Republican party. The Democrats, on the other hand, historically have pushed for total liberation from everything that even smells like a rule or restriction.
But those who write off Biden as an unrighteous proposition for the church assume you will ignore and dismiss all the chinks in the “armor of uprightness” they claim Donald Trump wears.
The Righteousness of Donald Trump
President Trump is reputed by many of the Christian community to be pro-Life, and anti-same-sex marriage, as well as supportive of Israel. These are the 3 points the church has used in recent years to determine if a President meets their approval. Issues like the economy, health care, and immigration tend to take a back seat to these issues. They don’t evoke the same level of passion or visceral reaction.
Trump’s proclaiming of those church-friendly positions in 2016 made him a more palatable candidate than Mrs. Clinton. She seemed more inclined to pursue the agenda of more looseness when it came to morality. A battle the church thinks it is losing big time. Trump was the proverbial straw at which a drowning man (or society) clutches.
But the Christian community got a lot more than it bargained for. On the subject of Trump’s lack of moral character, they say, “I voted for a president, not a priest.” One pastor said, “I don’t have to live with the man, but I have to live with his policies.”
Their support of his proper position on these “moral” issues was intended to be a goodwill gesture to the President of the freedom to govern at his discretion. But Trump has taken reckless advantage of the power of the office and has shattered every norm, defied every ethical standard, and destroyed every boundary of decency and decorum that his predecessors have held sacrosanct for centuries.
If Trump were an honorable man, he would have regarded that predetermined status as a sacred trust. He would have made even a modest attempt to justify the grace he was granted. Instead, he proves repeatedly that he is incapable of that humility and does not even want to try.
Before the election, he predicted that the only way he could lose the election was if the Democrats cheat. After the election that he clearly lost, he insanely insisted that the election had been stolen from him. He keeps trying to make the point that he is somehow entitled to remain in power.
Every Republican in the country with even a milligram of courage has said that Trump is unfit to hold the office of President. The majority of voters in the country heeded their wisdom and ironically, handed Trump the exact margin of defeat in the electoral college that he boasted about giving his opponent in 2016. Along with an even greater loss of the popular vote.
But it is this predetermination, this conference of “immunity from ever doing anything wrong” that was granted by some to Trump, that simultaneously renders Biden and Democrats as the wrong or bad choice.
Many of the 70 million+ people who voted for the president have no logical reason that they can articulate for their constant support. Except that they decided to hold their nose (again) and vote for him. That leaves no room for arguing or even asking anything concerning this president. The decision is purely emotional and not related to any facts.
Still, these people dare to advance logical arguments why there is something morally wrong to vote for Biden.
No Logic Just Irony
Amazingly, the logic does not work both ways. And when you point that out, the response you get is, How dare you bring logic into this?
Isn’t it ironic that they treat like a god the man who is the most ungodly human being, with the largest god-complex, to ever act in the political arena?
Some Christians want to claim the righteousness of their vote for Trump, while they deny any implied endorsement of his corrupt practices and lies. At the same time, they condemn those who vote for Biden saying that their vote was a clear endorsement of Biden’s liberal (unrighteous) policies, with no relation to Biden’s more upstanding character.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer the great German pastor, theologian, martyr, a spy was asked in 1943 how the Church could sit back and let Hitler seize absolute power. His firm answer: “It was the teaching of cheap grace.” Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ living and incarnate.” -Dietrich Bonhoeffer (The Cost of Discipleship)
If there was ever a person who abused cheap grace, that person is Donald Trump. He said he has never done anything for which he needs to repent.
But do not be fooled. A person’s vote for president brings him or her neither salvation nor damnation.
Because how can you prove that the other person did the same thing you did with the same motive or for the same reason you have?
We Christians have been brutal in our tendency to want to force others to give no other meaning to anything apart from the meaning we ascribe. We erroneously conclude that whatever is not right for me is not right for anyone and everyone else.
This self-centeredness is the main cause of much of the division and confusion in the Church, the Body of Christ, and within (and, the cause of) the many denominations of the Christian religion.
Those who voted for Biden certainly had different things in mind, or maybe just one issue, in the moment when their vote was cast. If they had shared your meanings and thoughts about similar issues as you, they would no doubt have done the same thing as you.
But that is only a probability. There are more than a dozen factors to consider when choosing a president. And each person has but one vote.
To suggest that someone else’s action that’s different from yours is inherently wrong because it is different is a violation of that person’s free will. And not even the Almighty God takes that freedom from any individual. Neither should Christians.
There has never been another president in American history who has been as deliberately divisive as President Trump. When Christian leaders take his extremist position on issues of national importance, and reject Joe Biden out of hand, that raises a bigger question about the integrity of these men than whatever popularity contest they might win from supporting Trump.
God the Creator endows every citizen with the inalienable right to choose. Even the right to be wrong. | https://medium.com/illumination/should-christians-have-voted-for-joe-biden-75c468e4963c | ['Dave Richards'] | 2020-12-02 13:28:50.005000+00:00 | ['Elections', 'Politics', 'Christianity', 'Trump', 'Choices'] |
Things to avoid during your Interview | Things that can ruin your interview
Introduction
It is always important to know that an interview is where you only talk about professional things, stay ground to earth and stay positive about everything you speak. But some people often make mistakes while giving an interview.
Whether a hiring manager feels like you’re fit for the job depends on anything you say. Even something you don’t consider unacceptable during a job interview can make the interviewer reject you. And occasionally, it can be tempting to give a response that seemed correct at the moment, but in perspective was incredibly bad and made you look frail or mediocre. Therefore, it is important to consider what you should avoid saying in advance.
Following are a few lines that might piss off an interviewer:-
· “Oh I saw you recently got married”
It is advisable that before you go to your interview, you should do a background search about your hiring manager so you can discuss his/her life achievements in the interview. But some people get mistaken by that. By doing a background search I don’t mean knowing about their family or personal life. Sometimes with the flow you might want to bring their family topic in between the conversation but do not do that it is not advisable. Keep your interview strictly professional. Ask them about their recent achievements or how did they achieve it or something like that.
· “My previous manager was toxic”
No matter what you’ve been through in your previous company, never talk negatively about it. if you are asked why you left your previous job or if you want to tell the interviewer why you left you can put it more positively. You can say that the job was not the right fit for you or the environment was not a very perfect fit or anything that sounds a bit positive yet you prove your point in that sentence.
if you had a bad experience in your previous company then I am pretty sure that you must have learnt a lot from there. You can mention that. For example, you can mention how you learnt to become calmer or how you handled the pressure well.
LinkedIn Workshop By Rock Grow (rockgrow.com)
· “I see myself as a perfect person hence I don’t have weaknesses”
When questioned “what are your weaknesses?” you should think before answering. The question is very tricky. Finding the right balance of honesty and confidence is important. Every weakness can indeed be presented as a strength if you have the skill but the boundary between speaking the right thing and becoming overconfident is a fine line and you should know it.
· “Let’s talk about the company now. Tell me about it”
This statement is not acceptable because it is advisable to know about the company before you walk for an interview. Asking this kind of question can be insulting sometimes. As mentioned in the first point instead of talking about the company should talk about your hiring manager's achievements and success. If the hiring manager has invested their time in knowing you, then they expect you to do the same.
There are some more points you should avoid while giving an interview:-
· Being over smart
Sometimes you might think answering a question in a certain way will make you look smart but sometimes you might look over smart while answering the question. Understand the fine line between being smart and over smart.
· Not controlling your what you say
Always think before you even speak a work in front of your interviewer. Don’t get excited and start talking about unacceptable things. The way you speak also matters a lot and speaks about you.
· Not keeping your attitude under an acceptable level
You might think if you are perfectly qualified for a position you can show off yourself with all your attitude. Anyone’s attitude is only acceptable up to a certain extent after that anyone can get pissed. So watch it!
Credits: Rock Grow | https://medium.com/@rockgrow/dont-do-this-during-your-interview-76f8773c8087 | ['Jatin Srivastava'] | 2020-12-29 09:53:51.233000+00:00 | ['Offcampusjobs', 'Interview', 'HR', 'Placement', 'Job'] |
Medicalab App: AI + medicine. How can technology help doctors? | Medicalab App: AI + medicine. How can technology help doctors?
We are a team of developers and we are working on creating a mobile app Medicalab which is meant for deciphering laboratory test results and diagnosing diseases.
©Medicalab.com
Our app works based on the principle of machine learning, it analyses complex parameters such as ALT, AST, crude protein, GAMMA-GT, total bilirubin, direct bilirubin, cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, glucose, creatinine, urea, uric acid, alkaline phosphatase, magnesium, amylase, K/Na/Cl, calcium, phosphor, Iron, antistreptolysin-o, c-reactive protein, albumen, etc.
ABOUT THE APP AND ITS CONCEPT:
Medicalab App interprets analyses, compares its results and gives you a list of illnesses, which are characterized by said results, general blood biochemistry and other data.
©Medicalab.com
let’s say, you suffer from hyperglycemia, our app will indicate that you have a high risk of developing diabetes. Similarly, if blood biochemistry results show high ALT, AST, creatine kinase mb, troponin mb, myoglobin, then our app will indicate high possibility of a heart attack.
In case of a heart attack, Ritis ratio is used, which consists of comparing activity of biochemistry AST and ALT results. If said results exceed the norm, the app will record it in the health condition journal, as risk, which was present at the moment of the heart attack, and if it is, otherwise, lower, the app will indicate the risk of developing necrosis of kidney tissue or acute hepatitis, depending on the state of other biochemistry results, urine, general blood analysis.
According to the same principle as the one shown in this example, by comparing complex data, Medicalab also recognizes other diseases. In perspective, we plan to “teach” our AI to recognise a lot of illnesses, from acute infections to cardiovascular diseases, kidney failure, osteoporosis and many more.
Medicalab — is a solution based on AI, which works fast, simple and easy.
It’s important to remark that our app Medicalab does not replace an actual doctor or a consultation. Furthermore, the results received from our app do not count as a diagnosis. Medicalab is of help for doctors and patients of diagnostic medical laboratories. This mobile app is for acquiring a diagnosis before medical review. It’s for the user to ask the right doctor in time and conduct additional examination. We are also aware that many medical professionals use handbook-apps with inconvenient interface where is a lot of complex-structured information and slow search process.
Helena Gromyko. Co-Founder, Digital Marketing & PR Manager.
Pre-doctoral diagnosis in one tap — Medicalab will make complicated medical research easy and accessible, in addition to raising awareness and understanding about personal health.
Modern deep neural networks allow algorithms and therefore apps based on them see connections where an average doctor would not pay attention.
The progression of diseases in their early stage often doesn’t cause any significant changes in laboratory testing results, most of which don’t particularly stand out to doctors during inspecting a patient, ML, on the other hand, can “see” all the data, find hidden links between the attributes, and thus allowing it to alert you about your health in time and for you to stay healthy. Medicalab can analyze the factors’ dynamics, converts it into numbers and keeps the data from analyses, allows the user to quickly and effortlessly observe the changes in the indicators and the journal of examinations for diseases. As well as that, our app’s functions are not only helpful for us, the average utilizers, but also especially for doctors. First of all, a patient with this kind of digital records can communicate with a number of medical practitioners, and secondly, each of the doctors will be able to see not only the medical recordings, but will also be granted with the app’s quick analysis, which will heavily ease the professional diagnosis but will also tone down errors caused by the human factor to a minimum.
Artyom Trofimuk. Co-Founder, Technical Product Manager.
The benefits of Medicalab:
Fast pre-doctor illness diagnosis.
The capability for the user to control his health condition, digitizing laboratory testing results and allowing to contact doctors in time.
Our app serves to help doctors and laboratories as an additional diagnosis tool.
Medicalab app is aimed for russian and english speaking users. The app is planned to expand in the USA and EU.
Send us your questions to [email protected]
DM Medicalab App | https://medium.com/@medicalabapp/medicalab-app-ai-medicine-how-can-technology-help-doctors-d755c647b061 | ['Medicalab App'] | 2020-05-16 22:15:10.724000+00:00 | ['Health', 'Apps', 'Startup', 'Investing', 'Investment'] |
Custom Universal Framework in iOS | Universal framework is required so that we can run the framework on both simulator and real device.
Creating Universal Aggregate
Open your framework project in Xcode, File → New → Target → Cross Platform→ Aggregate.
2. Click “Next”
3. Give Suitable Name to the Aggregate Scheme such as
Universal-<FrameworkName>
4. Click on Project → Universal-<FrameworkName> Target → Build Phases → Click “+” → New Run Script Phase.
# Set bash script to exit immediately if any commands fail. set -e # Setup some constants for use later on. FRAMEWORK_NAME = <FRAMEWORK_NAME> OUTPUT_DIR= "${SRCROOT}/build"
# If remains from a previous build exist,delete them. if [ -d "${OUTPUT_DIR}" ]; then rm -rf "${OUTPUT_DIR}" fi
# Build the framework for device and for simulator. echo "Building for device" xcodebuild -project "${FRAMEWORK_NAME}.xcodeproj" -scheme "${FRAMEWORK_NAME}" -configuration Release -arch arm64 -arch armv7 -arch armv7s only_active_arch=no defines_module=yes -sdk "iphoneos" -derivedDataPath "${OUTPUT_DIR}" echo "Building for Simulator" xcodebuild -project "${FRAMEWORK_NAME}.xcodeproj" -scheme "${FRAMEWORK_NAME}" -configuration Release -arch x86_64 -arch i386 only_active_arch=no defines_module=yes -sdk "iphonesimulator" -derivedDataPath "${OUTPUT_DIR}"
# Remove .framework file if exists from previous run. if [ -d "${OUTPUT_DIR}/${FRAMEWORK_NAME}.framework" ]; then rm -rf "${OUTPUT_DIR}/${FRAMEWORK_NAME}.framework" fi # Copy the device version of framework. cp -r "${OUTPUT_DIR}/Build/Products/Release-iphoneos/${FRAMEWORK_NAME}.framework" "${OUTPUT_DIR}/${FRAMEWORK_NAME}.framework"
# Merging the device and simulator frameworks' executables with
# lipo. lipo -create -output "${OUTPUT_DIR}/${FRAMEWORK_NAME}.framework/${FRAMEWORK_NAME}" "${OUTPUT_DIR}/Build/Products/Release-iphoneos/${FRAMEWORK_NAME}.framework/${FRAMEWORK_NAME}" "${OUTPUT_DIR}/Build/Products/Release-iphonesimulator/${FRAMEWORK_NAME}.framework/${FRAMEWORK_NAME}" # Copy Swift module mappings for simulator into the framework. cp -r "${OUTPUT_DIR}/Build/Products/Release-iphonesimulator/${FRAMEWORK_NAME}.framework/Modules/${FRAMEWORK_NAME}.swiftmodule/" "${OUTPUT_DIR}/${FRAMEWORK_NAME}.framework/Modules/${FRAMEWORK_NAME}.swiftmodule" cp -r "${OUTPUT_DIR}/Build/Products/Release-iphoneos/${FRAMEWORK_NAME}.framework/Modules/${FRAMEWORK_NAME}.swiftmodule/" "${OUTPUT_DIR}/${FRAMEWORK_NAME}.framework/Modules/${FRAMEWORK_NAME}.swiftmodule"
# Create new combined simulator and device swift header file. COMBINED_PATH="${BUILD_DIR}/iOS + iOS Simulator/${PROJECT_NAME}-Swift.h"
mkdir -p "${BUILD_DIR}/iOS + iOS Simulator/"
touch "${COMBINED_PATH}" echo "#ifndef TARGET_OS_SIMULATOR
#include <TargetConditionals.h>
#endif
#if TARGET_OS_SIMULATOR" >> "${COMBINED_PATH}"
cat "${OUTPUT_DIR}/Build/Products/Release-iphonesimulator/${FRAMEWORK_NAME}.framework/Headers/${FRAMEWORK_NAME}-Swift.h" >> "${COMBINED_PATH}" echo "#else" >> "${COMBINED_PATH}"
echo "//Start of iphoneos" >> "${COMBINED_PATH}" cat "${OUTPUT_DIR}/Build/Products/Release-iphoneos/${FRAMEWORK_NAME}.framework/Headers/${FRAMEWORK_NAME}-Swift.h" >> "${COMBINED_PATH}" echo "#endif" >> "${COMBINED_PATH}" # Overwrite generated -Swift.h file with combined -Swift.h file cat "$COMBINED_PATH" > "${OUTPUT_DIR}/${FRAMEWORK_NAME}.framework/Headers/${FRAMEWORK_NAME}-Swift.h" #Optional Step to copy the framework to root folder cp -r "${OUTPUT_DIR}/${FRAMEWORK_NAME}.framework" "${SRCROOT}"
5. Select Universal<FrameworkName>Scheme and Generic iOS Device as Target.
6. Product → Build
This will create a Universal Framework in the Output Folder.
Remove Unused Architecture
Apple doesn’t allow the application with unused architectures to the App Store so we need to remove unused architectures.
We need to add run script in the application that uses our custom universal framework.
APP_PATH="${TARGET_BUILD_DIR}/${WRAPPER_NAME}" # This script loops through the frameworks embedded in the application and # removes unused architectures. find "$APP_PATH" -name '*.framework' -type d | whileread -r FRAMEWORK do FRAMEWORK_EXECUTABLE_NAME=$(defaults read"$FRAMEWORK/Info.plist" CFBundleExecutable) FRAMEWORK_EXECUTABLE_PATH="$FRAMEWORK/$FRAMEWORK_EXECUTABLE_NAME" echo "Executable is $FRAMEWORK_EXECUTABLE_PATH" EXTRACTED_ARCHS=()
GOOD_ARCHS=() PRESENT_ARCHS=($(lipo -archs "$FRAMEWORK_EXECUTABLE_PATH")) if [[ "${#PRESENT_ARCHS[@]}" -lt 2 ]]
then
echo "Framework is not a Fat binary, skipping..."
continue
fi for ARCH in "${PRESENT_ARCHS[@]}"
do
if [[ "$ARCH" != x86_64 && "$ARCH" != i386 ]]
then
echo "Extracting $ARCH from $FRAMEWORK_EXECUTABLE_NAME" lipo -extract "$ARCH" "$FRAMEWORK_EXECUTABLE_PATH" -o "$FRAMEWORK_EXECUTABLE_PATH-$ARCH" GOOD_ARCHS+=("$ARCH")
EXTRACTED_ARCHS+=("$FRAMEWORK_EXECUTABLE_PATH-$ARCH")
fi
done echo "Merging extracted architectures: ${ARCHS}" lipo -o "$FRAMEWORK_EXECUTABLE_PATH-merged" -create "${EXTRACTED_ARCHS[@]}" rm "${EXTRACTED_ARCHS[@]}"
echo "Replacing original executable with thinned version" rm "$FRAMEWORK_EXECUTABLE_PATH" mv "$FRAMEWORK_EXECUTABLE_PATH-merged""$FRAMEWORK_EXECUTABLE_PATH" done
This run script removes the unused Simulator architectures only while pushing the Application to the App Store.
Above script solves ERROR ITMS-90085: “No architectures in the binary. Lipo failed to detect any architectures in the bundle executable.”
Now Custom Universal iOS Framework is Complete!
Thank you. Hope this helps you. Please let me know if you have any queries. | https://medium.com/@priya_talreja/create-custom-universal-framework-in-ios-aef7fa6fd51e | ['Priya Talreja'] | 2019-09-08 10:22:13.492000+00:00 | ['Custom', 'Swift', 'Framework', 'iOS', 'Universal'] |
A Mentor To Go Story of Impact: Sruthi Ganesan and Kavya S.R | Background:
Sruthi Ganesan works as the Chief of Staff, Country Manager Office in Western Digital India. She has been volunteering with Mentor Together since 2015. She learned about Mentor Together first through IBM.
Kavya is a student of Computer Science Engineering at UVCE, Bangalore.. She learned about the program through our partnership with her college.
What motivated you to join the program?
Sruthi: “I had been a mentor in Mentor Together from 2015–2017 in the in-person ‘Life skills’ mentoring program. I believe in the purpose of mentoring because I could really see the difference that one can make in someone’s life. My first mentee, Princy, and I had come a long way from where we had begun. It was really fulfilling in terms of understanding her dreams, aspirations, inhibitions and guiding her in some way. Around the same time, Mentor Together had begun the creation of digital content of the mentor training modules wherein I featured in the demonstration role-plays and also provided feedback on the designs for the app.
When I joined Western Digital in 2019, it was almost serendipitous that the Mentor To Go program was launched in my company. I jumped at the opportunity to take up another mentorship. With my second mentee, Kavya, it was a completely different experience because the mentoring was completely virtual and focused on various aspects of work readiness. Since we are both from a Computer Science background, we could relate with each other and bonded over coding among other conversations that we have had.”
Kavya: “The Mentor To Go team came to my college and they spoke about the program and how helpful it is for students. I joined because my friends were joining! I realise now that I’m glad I joined it because it turned out to be really useful”.
What were your initial expectations?
Sruthi: “The first time I started volunteering, I had some expectations about how much I could contribute — what am I supposed to teach my mentee or talk to her about. Now, I have come to realize that it takes time to learn and grow with the mentorship journey. No matter what your initial expectations are, until the mentee really trusts you and starts openly communicating, I don’t think mentorship can go forward. At a fundamental level, it is about how well you both connect.”
Kavya — “I didn’t expect anything in the beginning. I didn’t know many things about a career, work skills, my subjects and its practical uses. I could understand over time in the program how important all of these are.”
Share about your experience on using the app (its features)
Sruthi — “I prefer the older version of Mentor To Go app as it was more structured in terms of session completion. The shift to the newer version was not hard but it grows on you with time. The initial few meetings were difficult to schedule but we managed to progress and completed the mandatory and DIY modules.”
Kavya — “It was not difficult to understand, it was easy for me. The sections where we have to give answers, We talk about that in our call and Sruthi used to correct me if my answers were incorrect.”
About your mentor/mentee and your mentoring journey:
Sruthi: “It has been a very interesting journey. Initially, when we connected, Kavya used to call me Sruthi Ma’am, and it was very formal. I used to tell her: “No, not ma’am, call me Sruthi”. We were off to a slow start, owing to our time schedules. Kavya also wasn’t very comfortable to share anything unless I used to say, “tell me more”. It took time. But that’s how most relationships are. You need to build trust and make the other person feel comfortable. Eventually, after 3–4 months, we developed such a great vibe — we used to share paintings, videos and sketches. During the lockdown period in 2020, when we had gone back to our hometown, I used to check on her, how her family is and if everyone was doing fine. In spite of being in different cities, we were connected much more than before.
As a mentee, Kavya is wonderful. No matter what topic we would discuss, she used to diligently work on it further. In one of our calls, I had suggested some courses on this app called Solo learn, as she was done with her exams. In the next call, she showed me certificates of courses that she had done from that app. She is absolutely committed and dedicated towards learning new things.”
“When our mentorship got over, Kavya said that we should do something together. And we were in different cities by this time also. So I did the doodle to celebrate our mentorship journey together!”
Kavya: “Sruthi is such an amazing person. She is one of the inspirations in my life. She helped me with everything: in my subjects if there’s something I don’t understand in Mentor To Go. I’ll just ask her and she’ll help me understand everything clearly. I like sketching, so I share my drawings. She doesn’t know about agriculture, so I talked to her about it.”
What has been the focus of your mentorship and how did you and your partner work together?
Sruthi: “I think the curriculum was helpful: how you should manage things in a workplace, how to control your emotions, how you go about working in a team, how to write a cover letter etc. Apart from that we also covered some technical skills — visualizing how the code works and how the output gets generated in different programming languages. I believe it all culminated towards the end, we could create that resume and a mock interview based on her strengths, interests and values. I’m not able to put it under one umbrella, but we could connect the dots and integrate it all.”
Kavya: “I wanted to learn about different companies, how to behave in a workspace, technical skills and communication skills. At first, I didn’t fully understand how I would learn these things, but with time as I went through the sessions, and cleared my doubts in the discussions, I can see how much I’ve progressed. I’m still working on all these goals. My interest in mentorship increased because of Sruthi. Whatever doubts I have, she explained everything clearly. Because of her, I got more interested and believed in mentorship.”
Share the best moments in your mentorship
Sruthi — “There are many along the way actually. She is a person who takes note of even the smallest of detail and remembers the significance of it. I saw a whole different side to her during our conversations towards the end of the mentorship. She is very mature and has the ability to put herself in my shoes. She used to enquire my well-being, work and family. She used to explain to me about crop rotation, farming techniques and harvesting when I ask about her day. Despite the hardships she faces, she empathizes with others. That’s a gift to have at such a young age!”
Kavya — “The mock interview we had was very good. It was my best moment. I had to make a video where I’m introducing myself. I made some mistakes and she corrected me. Then when we got on the call, we normally said hi how are you, but that day she started talking like an interviewer. I first didn’t understand why she was suddenly talking like this. That was my most favourite session.”
What do you suggest to a mentee or mentor starting the program?
Sruthi -“Be more open-minded, for you never know how it is going to evolve. Each conversation is like a building block of mentorship, so go with the flow and create a monument!
For mentors who are starting the program, if you have signed up for it, make sure you really invest your time and energy. It takes consistent efforts and utmost dedication to make it a meaningful one.”
Kavya — “I’d suggest to mentees that they should take up the program. In the beginning, I didn’t know much about Mentor To Go. I was in the first year, new to college. I joined just like that. But then I got the best mentor through that chance by joining!” | https://medium.com/the-promise-power-and-pitfalls-of-youth-mentorship/meet-sruthi-and-kavya-81f38b8e904a | ['Shruthilayaa Sasidharan'] | 2020-12-22 07:52:50.636000+00:00 | ['Mentorship', 'Mentoring Matters', 'Mentorship Program', 'Virtual Mentoring', 'Mentoring'] |
Bringing Value | Photo by: Riccardo Annandale
By mastering a few essential skills, you give a good impression and can level up faster in life. “It results in gaining rewards, becoming desired or in demand, and being highly regarded and confident” ( school-for-champions.com). The three skills I chose for you today I have personally found are the key characteristics to work on. Trust, reliability, and flexibility are the most important to being a better employee, friend, and partner. While these may sound like common sense, it might help you to take a step back and evaluate yourself.
First, let’s talk about trust. Allowing people to put trust in you has a huge benefit. In a job, this sets you up for being given more responsibilities,which could lead to increased pay. Promotions often require more responsibilities and a level of trust that you will get the job done. You must be trusted to do tasks such as working with money or having the key to a store. If a supervisor or manager cannot trust you, you’ll be unlikely to earn more responsibility, not to mention, it might be hard to keep your job.
Trust in relationships is also imperative. Friends and family often tell of those closest to them their deepest secrets. I know I definitely wouldn’t want someone to go around telling others rumors that I don’t want to be public. Trusting others with your life or resources is crucial to have in a friend or loved one. Without it, there’s not really any point in having them close by, other than to spread negativity and walk with a one sided relationship.
Another important trait is reliability. Much like trust, being reliable can be almost as equally as important. Reliability means showing up to work or helping a friend move when you have committed to doing so. Plans certainly change and life happens, however that’s when good communication should bridge the gap to let them know you have to postpone or modify the situation. Like having someone’s back, reliability is the trust knowing you’ll be there for someone and in return they will be there for you.
Lastly, is none other than flexibility. While this one is a bit more complex and takes practice, it can prove to be extremely beneficial. Flexibility comes in many forms. It can mean being open to change in the workforce or even in your beliefs. Allowing flexibility in your schedule (depending on the importance of the event) demonstrates your willingness to a little give and take. Swapping work shifts with a coworker is a nice thing to do, especially when you might need a favor in return in the future. Keep in mind that this doesn’t mean you must always change for everyone that asks. It’s important to have balance in your flexibility to protect things that are important to you.
The more challenging part of flexibility is a change or acceptance of beliefs with others. Especially when it comes to the ever taxing topic of politics these days, there’s going to be quite a varying degree of thought from person to person. It is up to you how to handle the topic, but try to be open to understanding others — this can really help you grow in ways you never thought possible. I, for instance, moved from a conservative state to a liberal one. It was difficult to adapt at first, but asking questions and finding an understanding among people has helped me tremendously. Being open to change and actively listening to others was a huge part of my success. Balancing my conservative upbringing and experiences as an adult, I have definitely found a happy middle that feels right for me. I allow myself to be flexible and understanding of all people. It has made my life so much easier and I no longer feel the need to be defensive. Try talking to someone who disagrees with you — you never know what you might learn, and it’s ok to change your beliefs, that’s what brings wisdom.
Use these skills to your advantage and spread trust, reliability and flexibility to others. We need more of them in a world filled with so much fear and misguidance. So be trustworthy, reliable, and flexible, it will help make you a better person and lead to more of life’s benefits. “The more self-kindness and self-compassion you can foster, the more equipped you’ll be to treat those around you the same way. Plus, doing good for others can give your life a deeper sense of meaning” ( healthline.com). | https://medium.com/@buddyverderber/bringing-value-784b5dd6b373 | ['Buddy Verderber'] | 2021-04-01 02:37:09.406000+00:00 | ['Values', 'Courtesy', 'Relationships', 'Trust', 'Friendship'] |
Software Developers & Communication Skills: The Do’s and Don’ts | It’s not about the ability to handle the language
We often work with people from different backgrounds whose first language is not English. Believe us, your language proficiency has little to do with basic interpersonal communication skills.
See below what we mean by poor communication and how you can improve in this area. These are all real situations we’ve been dealing with since the day one.
- DON’T DO: Poorly written emails
We’ve seen it all: poor grammar, one-liners instead of proper responses, or long texts filled with excuses. They won’t do you any good.
+ DO: Pay attention to your writing
Be polite. Make sure you spell the person’s name right. Don’t forget your thank you. Most importantly, proofread before you hit Send. Seriously. Proofread it. Twice.
- DON’T DO: Not listening to the interviewer
Some job seekers are shooting from the hip. They start answering the interviewer’s question without hearing the end of it. As a result, they either give irrelevant answers or completely misunderstand the question.
+ DO: Learn to listen
Listen to the question and make sure you understand it. Hear your interviewer: not what you what to hear, but what they are actually saying. Maybe even repeat the question in your answer to make sure you’re on the same page.
- DON’T DO: Not communicating your point clearly
Instead of getting to the point, some people go around in circles without actually answering the question. When your interviewer asks you about the main language you used in backend, don’t go on describing all your past backend projects.
+ DO: Get to the point
Answer the question directly and refrain from any unnecessary details. Give one good example — it is usually enough. If you cannot answer the question spontaneously, ask for some time to think your answer through. This will only show your discretion.
- DON’T DO: Clichéd answers of too little value
While you might have thought all your answers through, it doesn’t mean that you need to simply reproduce them by heart.
+ DO: Don’t waste time on vagueness
It may be tough for some especially under pressure. Keep it simple. Be honest. Be relevant. You have a limited time during an interview. Still, you could have spent this time on anything. Don’t make it a waste. Use the chance to present yourself.
- DON’T DO: Showing not enough confidence
You don’t need to agree with the interviewer all the time. Neither need you be silent when you didn’t understand the question. This is not politeness, it is lack of character.
+ DO: Speak up
Saying “yes” when you have not understood the question (or heard all of it) will not get you the job. The interview is about you, so make sure that you take the initiative as well. Ask your questions. Voice your concerns. Request clarification when needed.
- DON’T DO: Asking shallow questions
Instead of focusing on what is the most important for them, some candidates ask about the working hours or other issues that they can learn about later. Beware of the questions that you shouldn’t ask during an interview.
+ DO: Ask questions of value
When the interviewer asks you if you have any questions, he or she is really interested in filling the gaps for you. So ask questions that are truly important to you. Ask more about the technology used, the person who held the position before you, or about the financial stability of the company. This is your chance to present yourself professionally and learn more about the company. Use this opportunity wisely.
- DON’T DO: Not taking time to do the research
If you believe you can learn about the company during the interview, the latter becomes a mere waste of time. We’ve heard about the candidates actually asking “So, what does your company do?” during the interview. This is a no-go. Failing to do the basic research reflects on the direction and the outcome of your communication with the hiring manager.
+ DO: Prepare well
If you will do one thing before an interview, it is to google the company and get an idea about their business and learn about them from the news. Show them you are serious. Prepare for the interview thoroughly. Before the appointment, put yourself in your interviewer’s shoes: what questions would you be asking yourself? If you must, do some previous training with friends or by watching sample interview videos. Going in “cold” looks really bad and reflects poorly on you as a person. | https://medium.com/caissa-global/software-developers-communication-skills-the-dos-and-don-ts-739be9036c09 | ['Wilbur Von Biscuit'] | 2018-02-02 14:01:05.699000+00:00 | ['Work', 'Software Development', 'Job Search', 'Job Interview', 'Communication'] |
[Wallet] Why an investor must use IONIA -investment information - | This is IONIA :)
There’s a lot of information in the uncertain market for cryptocurrency.
It’s too hard to find or analyze technical and difficult information among those.
Blockchain technology is evolving, and good news comes out.
If I don’t know if they’re good or bad, I’ll end up losing them.
The place where you can view this information is easy and convenient is…
It’s an Ionia wallet(Platform)
Ionia has a plan to move to the platform at Multi-Wallet.
Beyond storing tokens and coins, we plan to provide investment indicators to ensure that we make the right investments in the crypto market.
Ionia thought that all users should be able to get investment information on crypto assets (token/coin) fairly.
The current asymmetric problem of information asymmetry!
Although the data associated with the difficult technology of the block chain are open, these data are hard to see by people looking to invest in crypto market.
Information is pouring out from various channels.
Unstructured data not regularly accumulated needs to be processed with investment information
Ionia,
We want to visualize this data in a way that’s easy for everyone to see and provide investment information.
If so,
Users can make investments faster and easier using the data provided by the IONIA.
<List of Ionia information sources>
Basic information about crypto assets:
Detects changes such as cryptographic asset issuance and incineration, and github history changes.
About Blockchain:
Detects changes in block size, number of transactions, transit time, transaction costs, etc.
Detection of key crypto asset addresses:
Transmits of crypted assets such as the Exchange, Whales, ICO Foundation, etc.
Exchange Information:
Detects changes in the volume of crypto assets listed on the existing exchange, price changes, and context of adding new crypto assets
Article Information:
Key articles on crypto assets worldwide | https://medium.com/ionia-io/wallet-why-an-investor-must-use-ionia-investment-information-51e3fc1f6ed0 | [] | 2018-08-24 03:31:07.697000+00:00 | ['Bitcoin', 'Wallet'] |
Looking For Frank | I can’t remember how exactly I discovered the music of Frank Ocean, however, I remember quite clearly how I came to the realisation that he was a special talent, or a genius if you will. In my teenage years towards the start of the decade, I revelled in the anarchic music of Odd Future, the Los Angeles based music collective which Frank joined in 2010 after moving to L.A. from New Orleans. I started listening to the leader of the pack, Tyler, the Creator and I’m pretty sure I heard Frank’s voice on one of his tracks for the first time. Over time I made my way through the collective’s entire discography before moving on to their individual works. I downloaded Frank’s debut, a mixtape titled ‘Nostalgia, ULTRA’, which was led by the hit song ‘Novacane’.
The tape was the catalyst for Frank Ocean’s rise to superstardom. The mixtape was self-released even though he had signed with Def Jam Recordings as a solo artist in late 2009. Frank felt unappreciated and frustrated with the situation he found himself in at Def Jam and decided to take matters into his own hands. Weeks later — after the mixtape had generated a significant amount of buzz in the music industry — Frank posted the following message on his (now defunct) Twitter account:
“I woke up today feeling like all my followers should know that . . . my record label slept on me . . . i. did. this. not ISLAND DEF JAM. that’s why you see no label logo on the artwork that I DID. guess its my fault for trusting my dumbass lawyer and signing my career over to a failing company. F**k Def Jam & any company that goes the length of signing a kid with dreams & talent w/no intention of following through . . . now back to my day. I want some oatmeal and toast.”
Nostalgia, ULTRA was indicative of things to come. It showcased Frank’s supreme songwriting ability as well as the fractious relationship between himself and his label, a relationship which would end acrimoniously several years later.
After the success of the mixtape things changed for Frank, he caught the attention and would go on to collaborate with Beyoncé, Jay-Z and Kanye West. More importantly, he finally had the attention of his record label, it’s been reported that Def Jam was not even aware that Frank Ocean and Christopher ‘Lonny’ Breaux (his birth name) was the same person. Frank had the proverbial ‘juice’ now and he demanded a recording budget for his follow-up project, something he was not afforded before. It is rumoured that he asked for $1 million. The label acquiesced to his demands without even hearing any music because they ‘believed so much in this guy that we actually wrote the check.’ According to Barry Weiss, the CEO of Def Jam at the time. Weiss refused to confirm or deny the amount of money the label contributed to the project when he spoke to Jeff Himmelman of the New York Times in 2013.
Frank would repay his label’s faith by producing one of the greatest albums of the past decade, ‘Channel Orange’ released in July 2012. It was his debut studio album and would win two GRAMMY awards but more importantly, it would go on to change the face of the RnB and Hip-Hop music scene. After hearing the tracks at listening parties prior to release, music journalists picked up on certain lyrics and began speculating about Frank’s sexuality.
Frank took to his tumblr account and posted a poignant open letter prior to the album release. He originally intended to include it in the liner notes of Channel Orange. He had previously mentioned to fans that the colour orange reminded him of the summer he first fell in love, hence the name of the album Channel: Orange. The letter confirmed the suspicions of many, in it, Frank recounted the first time he fell in love: “4 summers ago, I met somebody. I was 19 years old. He was too… By the time I realized I was in love, it was malignant. It was hopeless. There was no escaping, no negotiating with the feeling. No choice. It was my first love, it changed my life.” Although he was not the first musician to profess his love for someone of the same gender it was a seminal moment in 2012. After his revelation, Frank received support from luminaries in the RnB and Hip-Hop community and the music industry as a whole. Critics have argued that the subsequent acclaim attached to Frank’s work is a result of not only his talent but also a change towards progressive thinking amongst fans and in the music industry. Michael Arceneaux of the Fader questions whether the criticism of his music ‘reflects a fair impact’ or if it is merely ‘overcompensation for the lack of artists like Ocean in the mainstream’. Frank essentially became the poster boy for the LGBTQ+ community after his GRAMMY wins even though the artist has never expressly defined his sexuality. The assumption is that he is bisexual.
Then Frank went missing. Not in the face on a milk carton sense but to his fans it felt the same way. It took four years before the long-awaited follow-up(s) to Channel Orange were released. Frank is an enigma and in the digital age, he has managed to create ‘hype’ second to none by simply remaining silent. During this self-imposed ‘exile’ there were hardly any public appearances and only the occasional tumblr post (his only social media account, he deleted the rest in 2013).
I should mention that I listened to Nostalgia, Ultra and Channel Orange years later- towards the end of 2014. It is safe to say I heard these records in a space far removed from the hype which surrounded their release. It was all fresh to me and I enjoyed it thoroughly. The only song I had heard before was ‘Thinkin Bout You’ the hit single from Channel Orange but it did not mean much to me at the time even though it was the quintessential anthem of everyone who had feelings in 2013. I was hooked even though I had jumped on Ocean’s wave much later than most of his fans. I too was in dire need of a new album. This need was exacerbated by the artist, there were numerous delays and at times he was just outright teasing fans by posting cryptic clues and images all over the internet.
Endless, a 45-minute visual album was released on 19 August 2016. It was an Apple Music exclusive release and was only available via streaming, which significantly affected the profit margins for both the artist and his label. The album fulfilled Frank’s contractual obligations to Def Jam Records. He was now a free man, a free man who had bought the rights to all his master recordings from Def Jam with his own money.
One day later (20 August 2016) Frank released another album. His second studio album Blonde, the follow up to Channel Orange the world had been clamouring for. It turned out to be a masterpiece, in my opinion at least, admittedly this time around I was definitely swept up by the hype surrounding the release. | https://medium.com/the-tempestuous-times/looking-for-frank-86045f7377ed | ['Storm Simpson'] | 2018-08-19 16:53:55.342000+00:00 | ['Music Journalism', 'Pop Culture', 'Frank Ocean', 'Music', 'Culture'] |
ByteSize: Performant Storage with Flask + React | ByteSize: Performant Storage with Flask + React
Photo by Cobro on Unsplash
In the last tutorial we started putting together a rudimentary link preview component. Starting with the Microlink library, we were able to allow our users to enter a URL address and see an automatically generated OpenGraph preview of the link.
It’s rough though. If we are outside of the caching windows, Microlink will rescrape the entire site. While this sounds wonderful from a “freshness” point of view, it can be death for our site, with loading times approaching ~20 seconds for uncached results.
Brutal.
We have to find a way to bring down that latency to a much more acceptable range.
Sketching it out, we have a few options:
Cache the response ourselves for a longer period of time. Store the data persistently in a database
Caching ourselves could help quite a bit, as our latency would drop to ~5–10ms, but depending on the amount of users and the length of time we store it for the costs could quickly add up.
A database would be more economical for long term storage, but that brings our latency back up into the ~50–100ms range, which when you factor in component rendering that puts us back into an area we’d rather not be.
What we could do is combine the two, using the database to store all the requests, and a smaller caching window to ensure frequently accessed routes are accessed much faster.
If you just want to get the code, you can find the repo here | https://medium.com/@spencerporter2/bytesize-performant-storage-with-flask-react-2d6d362ec13e | ['Spencer Porter'] | 2020-12-05 15:22:35.530000+00:00 | ['React', 'Programming', 'Python', 'Flask', 'Web Development'] |
Mickey Mouse Rolls Up His Sleeves To Battle Netflix and Win The Streaming Wars | When Disney announced its new streaming service Disney Plus, I knew it meant Netflix was about to face its biggest competition to date. Recent moves by Disney have proven it’s not Mickey Mousing around about streaming.
The future of the company depends on it.
CNBC reported in October, Disney would restructure its media businesses into a signal entity with Disney Plus as the central piece of the media division. If you’re wondering what the future of cable television is, this restructuring is a great clue.
Disney sees the writing on the wall for many cable channels as more consumers “cut the cord” from cable and sign up for streaming services like HBO Max, NBC Peacock, and ESPN Plus, another Disney owned media property.
When it comes to owning valuable content and profitable media brands, Netflix cannot compete with Disney. To be honest, I’m not sure any streaming service can come close to matching the number of movies and shows Disney has in the famous Disney vault.
The Walt Disney Company has a decades head start on Netflix and owns some of the world’s most valuable movie brands: Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, and Mickey Mouse. In addition, they now own the 20th Century Fox movie library, which gives them even more content.
While Netflix can’t compete with Disney in terms of its amount of content, the service can compete successfully with Disney to provide new content and create new media brands.
House of Cards, Stranger Things, The Crown, ( Tiger King?!) are just some of the successful brands Netflix has created. We all enjoy the classics Disney can provide, but eventually, you want to see a new story and new content is where Netflix can successfully compete with Disney.
Netflix spends billions per year producing content, and Disney plans to add 50 new Marvel, Star Wars, Disney, and Pixar series over the next few years. This is in addition to other announced movies and shows coming to the service.
The amount of TV that is produced now is mind blogging, and I have given up even trying to watch all the new TV shows I should watch. There is only so much time in a day, and I can’t watch everything on HBO Max, Peacock, Netflix, Hulu, and all the other apps I’ve forgotten.
Usually, at night, I just give up and watch reruns of Seinfeld because trying to find something to watch with all the choices is a task in itself.
Of course, all this content costs billions to produce, and Disney Plus has already announced a price increase is coming soon.
With a company projected 350 million subscribers worldwide by 2024 (Netflix is projected to have 305 million by the same year), the House of Mouse should have more than enough cash to spend on productions.
While Disney will eventually overtake Netflix as the world’s largest streaming service, I wouldn’t underestimate Netflix because the original streaming service’s popularity is not going to decrease.
Netflix will be a very competitive and profitable number two to Mickey. | https://medium.com/@chadwhittle/mickey-mouse-rolls-up-his-sleeves-to-battle-netflix-and-win-the-streaming-wars-d05d0142bd4d | ['Chad Whittle'] | 2020-12-20 22:03:48.958000+00:00 | ['Disney Plus', 'Disney', 'Netflix', 'Streaming', 'Streaming Video'] |
the “new normal” / unevenly distributed | It’s an understandable impulse, and –– if history and literature offer any indication –– an all too human one. (I have a friend who likes to say, “Let us consult the oracle,” right before he Googles something; it’s tongue-in-cheek, and usually Google isn’t so much predicting the future as collecting information –– but really, who’s to say that isn’t just what an oracle, preparatory to gnomic utterance, might do?) And sometimes that “checking the present for signs of the future” strategy pays off; if I head out for a run and see heavy clouds building in the West, I know to keep my route close to home instead of making this a long out-and-back.
But even the best analyst needs data, and my own prediction –– take it for what it’s worth –– is that management consultants are going to have a hard time getting a handle on the long-range implications of 2020’s Covid-19 office reshuffle because the one variable nobody can account for is the human element.
We can’t account for it because this is a “variable” not just in the mathematical sense (depending on the outcome you plug in for x, your solution after working the problem will change) but in the literal one: the human element varies from person to the next, from one workplace to the next. What one boss or office manager or human resources director considers eminently reasonable drives the next one up a wall; the strategies for sharing (and not sharing) space that work well to prevent crowded copy rooms among one group of co-workers become the grounds for a dozen simmering feuds within another.
The nature of the work any given office/enterprise does and the availability of the budget (for hardware/software) and technical expertise necessary to facilitate remote work will of course play their roles. Not surprisingly, the big U.S. tech companies shifted early to telework for many of their employees, and they have largely continued to operate with reduced-occupancy campuses even as their consumer branches have entered the Christmas rush. (Both Facebook and Google, for example, have extended versions of their early-pandemic telework policies into mid-2021.)
Besides the obvious advantages of having a workforce that is not being flattened by a Covid-19 outbreak, and one that can continue working under conditions of quarantine (remember that “quarantine” is what you do if you may have been exposed to the virus, and need to wait at home to see if symptoms develop; by its nature, “quarantine” is going to take out of circulation even more people than are actually infected), the emphasis on work-from-home policies in “Big Tech” makes a certain amount of branding, as well as practical, sense. Apple, Google, and Microsoft, for example, are all pushing various products (both hardware and software) as means for other companies to enable telework and enhance remote-work productivity, so presumably they have the tech and using it as part of their work-from-home strategy allows them to demonstrate that they trust it and use it themselves: a form of free advertising. But I tend to suspect the early, widespread, and –– so far –– long-lasting embrace of remote work in the tech sector is also partly a result of the personalities involved, especially but not exclusively in the upper levels of the decision-making hierarchy.
Jack Dorsey, of course, has famously given his blessing for Twitter employees to work from home “indefinitely”; so far, Twitter seems to be holding good on that promise, which may lead workers in tech and other industries to question whether similar accommodations might be made for individual employees’ health and personal circumstances even after one or more of the highly anticipated Covid-19 vaccines becomes widely available. There is a lot to be said for the humanity and even the practicality of this approach (people able to take reasonable care of their own health and personal needs are likely to be better, more efficient, sharper employees), even as offices also have to deal with the reality that, in most industries, you do kind of need somebody to show up on a regular basis and turn the lights on –– for the production of material goods that cannot reasonably be manufactured off-site, and for those few pesky meetings that really couldn’t have been emails.
And then you have the rather abstruse reasoning offered by my ex-husband’s employer, which announced last week that they wold be –– not recalling telework employees to the office, mid-pandemic –– but making major changes to their current work-from-home structure, on the grounds that “we want you to feel like you’re at work.”
“We want you to feel like you’re at work.”
The ex was not a particularly forthcoming guy even when we were actually married to each other (he listened, supportively, to a LOT of rants, but rarely went on one of his own), so I’m a little hazy on the details. The one that stands out is, I suspect, the one that explains why I know anything about the situation in the first place: The employer now requires not only that each telework employee have a designated Home Office, but that the employee photograph this setup and submit the image for management’s review and approval. It isn’t clear what steps management intends to take if, say, somebody’s leaking roof or squalling infant strikes them as insufficiently office-appropriate. More to the point, I strongly suspect that Management does not have an answer to this question, either; instead, the approach of my former spouse’s employer is reflective of the uncertain, largely unregulated, ad hoc (re)fashioning of digital/virtual workspace rules, in circumstances complicated by unequal access to infrastructure and under conditions which demand that decisions be made quickly, often on the basis of incomplete data (consider, for example, all that we did not know about the risks of airborne vs. contact transmission in mid-March 2020, when many U.S. schools and businesses were scrambling to convert to digital operations almost –– or in some cases literally –– overnight). | https://medium.com/@sarah-geri/the-new-normal-unevenly-distributed-205a51a951e0 | ['Sarah G. Carpenter'] | 2020-12-23 16:39:29.535000+00:00 | ['Work From Home', 'The New Normal', '2020', 'Cultural Studies', 'Covid 19'] |
AI Essentials: Working with Matrices | Matrix Multiplication
Matrix multiplication follows a slightly more verbose methodology than simple addition or subtraction. When multiplying matrices, each row of the previous matrix multiplies with each column of the next matrix. This will become clearer in the example to follow.
One way to think of this process is that each row of the first matrix processes each column of the second matrix. Let’s firstly present two 2 x 2 matrices to multiply:
To calculate the final matrix (that is currently empty) each row of the first matrix needs to multiply with every column of the second matrix. The resulting matrix is known as the dot product of the matrices being multiplied.
Dot products are widely used in machine learning, with NumPy supplying their own dot function to leverage.
This process is admittedly is extremely hard to visualise, so let’s break it down into stages. The first row and column process resembles the following:
Notice that we’re starting with the first row of matrix 1, and the first column of matrix 2. The corresponding values are multiplied, with their products added together resulting in one dot product value.
Since there are more columns to multiply, row 1 then multiples with the next column of matrix 2:
Now row 1 of matrix 1 has processed all columns of matrix 2, we can repeat the whole process for row 2:
And finally process the last column of matrix 2 with the currently active row of matrix 1:
And this concludes the dot product process. We can now simplify the resulting matrix with its true values:
This concludes the dot product process! However, there are some requirements in order for a multiplication to be valid. The above example multiplies two matrices of shape 2 x 2 for simplicity, but there are a couple of rules that one must be aware of when dealing with matrix multiplication that pertains to the shapes and ordering of the matrices being multiplied. Let’s briefly take a look at these requirements.
The requirements of matrix multiplication
Even though the size of the matrices being multiplied does not need to be the same, the inner numbers must match. This requirement is obviously always met in the case of square matrices, but when the dimensions are different, then the column count of matrix 1 must match the row count of matrix 2.
The shape of the resulting matrix is also determined by the shapes of the multiplying matrices— their outer numbers to be exact. These two rules are summarised in the following multiplication:
Outer values determine the resulting shape, and the inner values must be the same for the multiplication to be valid, or defined. If the inner values are not the same, the resulting matrix will be undefined.
Because of these requirements, it is not possible to multiply a non-square matrix with itself! The result would be undefined. This would entail multiplying, for example, a 2 x 3 matrix with a 2 x 3 matrix, and the inner numbers here do not match. We could however do an element-wise multiplication, that will be mentioned further down.
With multiplication, ordering also matters
Unlike scaler products, the resulting matrix will differ depending on which way round the matrices are in your formula. In other words, matrix multiplication is not commutative.
If we take the product of two regular numbers, it does not matter which way round they are multiplied. E.g:
6 x 4 = 24 A x B
4 x 6 = 24 B x A
== Same result
This is not the case with matrices. Re-ordering even the simplest of matrices yields a drastically different dot product:
Dot product vs element-wise multiplication
Another type of matrix multiplication is known as element-wise multiplication. This is where each index of matrix A is multiplied with matrix B. For this type of multiplication to be valid, both matrices must be the same shape.
Element-wise operations are useful for adjusting a matrix in some way, such as normalising the elements with element-wise multiplication, or adjusting magnitude by increasing or decreasing all the elements uniformly.
Did you notice? — matrix addition and subtraction are also element-wise operations.
Working with scalers
Matrices can also be manipulated using plain scaler numbers, with all the operations previously mentioned. This is a nice shortcut for manipulating every matrix element in the same way without having to define another matrix to achieve the same result — and works great in code. NumPy supports such operations out of the box:
""" Scaler operations on matrices """ import numpy as np arr1 = np.array([[2, -3], [5, 9], [-4, -0]]) # adds 5 to each matrix element
print(arr1 + 5)
>>> [[ 7 2]
[10 14]
[ 1 5]] # subtracts 20 from each matrix element
print(arr1 - 20)
>>> [[-18 -23]
[-15 -11]
[-24 -20]] # multiplies each matrix element by 5
print(5 * arr1)
>>> [[ 10 -15]
[25 45]
[-20 0]]
Let’s explore some key interesting properties with matrix multiplication next.
What about division? There is no such thing as division when working with matrices. You can add, subtract, and multiply matrices, but you cannot divide them. There are concepts that loosely resemble division such as inverse matrices — this will be covered further down. | https://rossbulat.medium.com/ai-essentials-working-with-matrices-2ceb9ca3bd1b | ['Ross Bulat'] | 2020-12-11 15:37:36.336000+00:00 | ['Python', 'Neural Networks', 'Artificial Intelligence', 'Deep Learning', 'AI'] |
Can I Get Some Grey in Here? | Virtually all of us today are bound together by a common pervasive feeling of despair. We are all simultaneously experiencing an emotional grey on a scale previously rarely imagined. And yet with each of us living under a cloud of grey, I’m struck by how humanity fails to appreciate the greys in almost all of our daily interactions.
The virus is either extremely deadly, or a hoax. The fires plaguing California are either a direct cause of global warming, or a clear sign of government incompetence. We must either keep schools closed for all students for months on end, or else open them to all ages, without masks.
How did we get to a place where the vast majority of intelligent, thoughtful, empathetic humans can only see in black and white, in all or none? When did we stop appreciating nuance, and reveling in the creativity that comes when we allow for blurred lines?
My life, like many, has been upended by COVID-19. As my partner and I work full time from our home “office,” (read: garage, car, closet, but rarely the desk that is in clear view of our children), we struggle to figure out just how we will raise our five-year-old and eight-year-old. But in that struggle we have an explicit dialog about how to balance risk and reward. We choose, daily, between mental health (dare I admit to occasional play dates inside friend’s houses?!), and physical health. We choose, painfully, between our career growth and our kids’ need for attention. And we are always conscious of our privileged position in this calculus: we are healthy and young, and armed with good health insurance — facts that we absolutely consider when balancing our risk tolerance with the normalcy we desire.
I’m frustrated by the lack of real dialog about risk and reward on a macro scale. At a recent (virtual) local school board meeting in Northern California, a sketch of a plan was put forth that would have paved the way for a tiny cohort of children to come back to campus for as little as one hour per week: homeless children, children with special needs, children who are falling far behind. The sum total of children in consideration would have surely represented less than 4% of the student population, for less than 4% of standard school hours.
Within minutes the plan was shot down categorically by numerous teachers, dialing in over Zoom, as being too great a risk to them and their loved ones. There was not a single person who mentioned just how distanced the teachers and students could be in such a low density scenario. There was no honest discussion of creative solutions that become even more practical and affordable with such a small student population. For example, no mention of outdoor instruction, no mention of hazard pay for teachers who volunteer themselves for the positions, no mention of proactive COVID testing surely achievable for such a small population, no mention of surveying teachers for those who may have already had the virus and recovered, or for those who feel particularly high or low risk. For the most outspoken representatives of the teacher’s union, it seems that zero risk was the only risk deemed acceptable for all in the class, and of course a fallacy in itself.
But the moment most absurd of all — and that which precipitated this essay — was when some teachers voiced allegations of hypocrisy. Some teachers used their precious two minutes of public comment time to argue that no teacher should need to risk stepping foot in a classroom until school board members themselves resume in-person board meetings. This “eye for an eye,” or rather “infection for an infection,” mentality was regrettably entertained by the board, rather than being called out as the vindictive idiocy that it is. This begrudging mindset, on full display, epitomized the fact that our society is not engaging in a real discussion along a risk-reward continuum.
As with literally every decision in life, we should always weigh risk against reward. Virtual school board meetings have almost certainly had higher engagement and public participation than any previous in-person board meetings. The public access has been unparalleled; it is easy to argue that virtual school board meetings should be here to stay. The risk/reward calculus is clear.
Riding a bike, eating raw eggs, attending a rally, taking a hike — each must be weighed in its own right. We should remember we are lucky to live in a country in which we can still choose which activities to engage in and which to avoid. But we should also deeply internalize that each of these activities falls under some shade of grey, different hues for you and me. Let’s encourage each other to choose a grey, weighing not just the risks but also the benefits, and put our energy towards creating nuanced solutions within those colors. I, for one, have a hard time believing that not 4% of the teacher population would volunteer to resume in-person education for 1 hour per week, with a greatly reduced class size, perhaps with some sort of perk attached … earlier retirement, or increased sick days, or some similar concession.
Lastly, let me just state: I have the greatest respect for school teachers. I think they are terribly undervalued, critical members of our society. I think their jobs are extremely demanding and their salaries are ludicrously low. I would gladly pay school teachers four times their current salaries with my tax dollars. My sister is a school teacher, and I am in awe of how much she has sacrificed for a career of service.
I know that every person needs to make their own decisions about personal health and risk tolerance. For some with the means to do so, that may mean indefinitely confining themselves in the safety of their home. But please, please, let’s focus our energy on designing hues of grey that some, surely not all, can live with. If we cannot thrive in a vibrant, technicolor world right now, let’s at least coexist in a version better than strictly black and white.
Want to start a dialog? Contact [email protected] | https://medium.com/@feelin.the.grey/can-i-get-some-grey-in-here-4eb8ec367ea2 | ['Feelin The Grey'] | 2020-10-07 16:22:54.868000+00:00 | ['Schools', 'Covid 19', 'Pandemic', 'Teachers', 'Risk'] |
Protective Laws Every Woman Must Know About! | Women’s safety is the world’s issue but primarily crimes against women in India is increasing every minute. Despite amending severe laws against the offenders the stats do not seem to do down. So women, maybe it is time to pull your socks and take your safety in your own hands. Here are a few protective laws that will help you do so…
Women in the world are doing wonders and hustling every day to fight the age-old misogyny of our society. However, their charts are still not in our favor. Be it inferences of sexual favors, harassment or abuse, we combat through it every day. With a constant increase in offenses against women, knowing your rights is of paramount importance. Knowing protective laws can not only help you save yourself from an unjust act but also position you to help people around you.
So we have listed down a few protective women law and how can you go ahead with basic proceedings against these acts:
Sexual Harassment at Workplace Act, 2013 (Women Redressal, Prevention, and Prohibition)
Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act is an act that intends to prevent, prohibit and redress any act accounting to sexual harassment. Use of language with any inference to sexual remark, innuendoes or touch, nonconsensual proximity, etc can account for sexual harassment at the workplace.
So if you are your known ones have been facing any such issues, make sure you educate them about the same. Let women around you know about your company’s Internal Complaints Committee and speak out loud. The sole purpose of the act is to ensure the safety of women in their workplace.
Indecent Representation of Women(Prevention) Act,1986
Indecent Representation of Women(Prevention) Act aims to prohibit indecent and obscene representation of women in an advertisement, painting, publications, writings, figures or any place else. The act is not known by a lot of people but can combat the indecent representation of women in our society.
Prohibition of Dowry Act
The Prohibition of Dowry Act is one of the most crucial laws that is helping women break the shackle of patriarchy in India. The act prohibits any transaction, be it giving or taking of dowry from either of the two families. If any person in the family does so, they can be penalized under the act.
The Dowry system is an age-old norm in India. A norm that was too normalized to be spoken against. Quite often the dowry in our society is demanded from the bride’s family by the Groom’s family. In a perspective, the norm has a strong root in society due to a lack of financial independence in women.
Regardless of the fact that the act is in force, there are a number of cases where women are seen to be tortured, beaten, harassed, and even burnt. It is a major challenge that society is grappling with but the act makes it a deterrent. Although, the only way out to help the women in need is to speak out and educate everyone around you about the same! Because the revolution begins with YOU!
Special Marriage Act, 1954
Special Marriage Act is intended to ease special forms of marriages and provides for registration to the divorce filing. In a country like India, inter-caste marriage or inter-religion marriages are still not okay with a lot of people. The struggle to get through marriage from different faith is real and the actors make it easier to help individuals ease the process.
Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act,1971
The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act aims to reduce the occurrence of illegal abortion and consequent maternal mortality and morbidity. The act clarifies the conditions under which a fetus can be aborted and the pregnancy can be ended. It also specifies who is qualified to conduct the procedure.
National Commission for Women Act, 1990
NCW i.e The National Commission for Women is a statutory body of the Government of India that was established in 1992. NCW voices out for women’s rights in India and addresses their concerns. This has been extensively helping the upliftment of women and their economic status.
Equal Remuneration Act, 1976
A much-needed act to implement ground level equality for women in India. The Equal Remuneration Act prevents gender discrimination in terms of providing remuneration. Equal pay is a right that shouldn’t be fought for. Regardless of your gender, you deserve to be compensated fairly. Being aware of these laws can not only protect your interest but also help you fight against an unjust act in society.
Protection of Women from Domestic Violence (2005)
Protection of Women from Domestic Violence is an important law every woman must know about! Domestic Violence sadly still prevails in our society, primarily because of toxic masculinity in and around us. The law provides protection to women who are in a relationship with a man (husband or live-in partner). A woman can file a complaint against her partner for causing mental, emotional, physical or even psychological hard that has caused a potential threat to her life and sanity. The law post amendment of 2005 extends to widowed women, divorced women and sisters.
Hindu Succession Act (2005)
The Hindu Succession Act protects the interest of Hindu Women to have shared in the ancestral property. The amendment made in 2005 made it clear that daughters have fair and equal rights in her ancestral property even after her marriage.
Maternity Benefits Act (2017)
The Maternity Benefit Act is known by most of us as it protects the interest of women working during pregnancy. Under this act, if a woman has worked with an employer for more than 80 days during the 12 months preceding to her expected delivery, the employer must grant special facilities to women like compensated Work from Home, Paid Maternity Leave from 12 to 26 weeks, Medical allowance, Creche facilities at the workplace.
Street Harassment/Eve Teasing
The IPC i.e. Indian Penal Code has not defined Eve Teasing or Street Harassment but it surely does protect you from it. Any act that pertains to harassing a woman in public such as passing derogatory remarks or outraging the modesty of a woman can be filed against. Section 294 & 509 of the Indian Penal Code protect women’s safety and restrains an individual to pass any such remark or gesture towards women.
Know What Authority Do The Cops Have On You
Every police station should have a lady police officer who is not below the post of a Head Constable round the time.
A woman cannot be in any circumstances be arrested by a male cop in the absence of a lady constable.
A woman cannot be arrested post-sunset and before sunrise.
A woman can be only investigated at her residency.
The medical procedure of a rape survivor can only be done by a government hospital. A rape survivor can tape her testimony at any place of her choice.
All women are entitled to avail of free legal aid.
Women’s safety is the world’s issue but primarily crimes against women in India is increasing every minute. Despite amending severe laws against the offenders the stats do not seem to do down. So women, maybe it is time to pull your socks and take your safety in your own hands. Here is some self-defense guide by Fuzia that can help you be safe.
The laws and jurisprudence are perfectly designed to protect, safeguard and empower the women of the country. They do not require any change, but their enforcement does. What our society lacks is a proper civic sense and proper enforcement of the laws. Once this is done, there certainly will be a change. | https://medium.com/@pr-26909/protective-laws-every-woman-must-know-about-a65a6d8150c9 | [] | 2020-03-11 12:52:58.963000+00:00 | ['Womens Rights', 'Women', 'Law', 'Legal', 'Safety'] |
Blockchain, IoT and AI — A Perfect Fit | Authors: Riccarda Joas, Jonas Gross, Philipp Sandner (German version here)
Blockchain, IoT, and AI are innovative technologies which will pave the way of digital transformation and will disrupt various industries. These three technologies will converge and will create new business models: Autonomous agents (i.e., sensors, cars, machines, and other IoT devices) will act as own profit centers 1) that have a digital twin leveraging IoT, 2) that autonomously send and receive money leveraging blockchain technology and 3) that autonomously make decisions as independent economic agents leveraging AI and data analytics. We argue that this convergence of technologies will drive the development of such autonomous business models and the digital transformation of companies.[1]
Introduction
Today, blockchain technology, internet of things (IoT), and artificial intelligence (AI) are remarkable innovations, which will improve business processes, bring new business models into existence and disrupt whole industries:
Blockchain, for example, can increase trust, transparency, security, and privacy of business processes by providing a shared, decentralized distributed ledger. Precisely, blockchain technology or, in general, distributed ledger technology can store all kinds of assets similar to a register. IoT drives the automatization of industries and user-friendliness of business processes, which is essential for the German and the European industry. AI improves processes by detecting patterns and optimizing outcomes of these processes.
Currently, the interconnection between these innovations is mainly neglected. However, these innovations can and should be applied jointly and will converge in the future. A possible connection between these technologies could be that IoT collects and provides data, blockchain offers the infrastructure and sets up the rules of engagement while AI optimizes processes and rules. By design, blockchain, IoT and AI are complements and can exploit their full potential if applied combined.
This article discusses the added value, which blockchain, IoT and AI can provide for companies. We argue that the convergence of these technologies can be particular beneficial for data management, identity management and the automatisation of business processes.
Figure 1: Convergence of technologies
Data management
Standardization of data
IoT devices, such as sensors, machines, cars, or smart grids, collect a high amount of data. This data is often stored in a centralized database. Typically, these data lack standardization since different legacy systems for collecting and storing data are being used. Blockchain technology could support the standardization of data by setting up a harmonized digital platform for IoT data accessible for multiple parties. On blockchain systems, data is stored in one data format due to the use of hash functions. Therefore, data would be highly standardized. Moreover, the size of the stored data would be heavily reduced since hash functions transform the obtained data into a string of a specific length. Consequently, data management could be optimized by increased standardization of data.
Data privacy and security
In blockchain systems, the underlying cryptography enables a high degree of privacy. On most blockchains, e.g., the blockchain used for Bitcoin or Ethereum, transactions are conducted pseudonymous. However, it is also possible to enable completely anonymous transactions which is for example the case with Monero or Zcash. The architecture of blockchain systems i.e. private/public key infrastructure, also allows full encryption of stored and transmitted data such that, if desired, only the device itself can read and write its own data.
The privacy of data is especially beneficial in the context of IoT. In IoT, machines, and devices store a high amount of sensitive data. It is essential to ensure privacy and security of stored data. It is common practice to send IoT data directly from the machine to the respective database for collection purposes. However, this data does not have a high degree of privacy as it is not encrypted. Blockchain technology adds value as it can easily ensure privacy of the collected data. However, there is a trade-off between a high level of privacy and control for illicit activities. In case transactions are anonymous, it is not possible to infer the name and the adresse of the transaction sender. This anonymity features illicit activities such as money laundering or terror financing. In this case, AI can be helpful and can increase security by detecting illicit activities. Yin et al. (2019) propose to use AI, leveraging data analytics, to reduce the risk of illicit activities on the blockchain, which results from the anonymity of transactions. Note that AI technologies benefit from the high amount of provided IoT data as AI algorithms learn from data.
Scalability
A key limitation of IoT is the management of the massive amount of collected data. To improve scalability, the use of blockchain technology and AI can be highly beneficial. Opponents of blockchain technology argue that blockchain systems are per se not scalable because consensus mechanisms such as proof-of-work are very energy consuming. However, there are alternative consensus mechanisms such as proof-of-stake or proof-of-authority, which are more energy efficient and are scalable. Of course, consensus mechanisms will be and have to be further improved. To reach a higher level of scalability on a blockchain, AI can be helpful. Liu et al. (2019) suggest the use of a performance optimization framework for blockchain-enabled IoT systems. This system could be based on machine learning. The authors suggest a “DRL-based algorithm to dynamically select/adjust the block producers, consensus algorithm, block size, and block interval to improve the performance”.
Authentication via a blockchain-based identity
Furthermore, blockchain technology can be applied for authentication purposes and is able to increase trust in network participants by managing the identity of IoT devices. In general, identity management typically refers to individuals and companies but can also refer to IoT devices and machines. Blockchain-based identities will make sure that transaction parties will receive a digital identity, which is based on their actual “real” physical identity: for individuals identity cards and for companies their commercial register entry. Based on such identities, transactions between individuals and companies — e.g. car sharing — but also between individuals and machines — e.g. passenger transport of an autonomous car — or between two machines — e.g. autonomous car pays for parking — can be conducted and processed in an efficient way with low transaction costs and a high transaction speed.
IoT Analytics estimates that more than 20 billion devices will be connected to the internet by 2025. These devices will partly be connected to a payment network requiring a new payment infrastructure. Individuals, companies, and machines must be registered with their digital identities in order to participate in this new payment network. Blockchain technology is a perfect fit to provide a system for installing and managing digital identities in a secure and efficient manner. Therefore, identity management on the blockchain will be of major importance in the future. As with conventional centralized systems also the blockchain identity system has to comply with data protection laws. In fact, blockchain technology with its inherent access systems and encryption processes is even better than non-blockchain-based systems able to, first, protect data by design, second, organize the ownership of data and, third, facilitate the monetization of data. Blockchain also enables security of identity as the records are immutable and difficult to forge.
Automatization via smart contracts
Another field that highly benefits from applying blockchain, IoT and AI jointly is the automatization of business processes. Smart contracts have tremendous potential to yield efficiency gains in various sectors but are currently not heavily adopted in the industry. This is due to the fact that classical smart contracts require crypto assets. However, companies are typically reluctant to use crypto assets because of regulatory and economic limitations. The main drawback of crypto assets is their price fluctuations. If a smart contract is denominated in crypto assets, the receiving party is exposed to a high exchange rate risk due to the volatile price. Even if coins exert a high level of price stability (stablecoins), they might not be adopted by the majority of industrial companies due to several drawbacks: First, stable coins are currently unregulated. Hence, risk-averse companies do not seek to use these assets. Second, the IT and accounting systems of companies are not denominated in crypto assets but in fiat currencies like the Euro or the US dollar. Converting stable coins into fiat currencies for accounting purposes is an operational burden as it costs both personnel and financial resources.
The blockchain Euro
There is only one way how smart contracts can unfold their full potential. A blockchain-based fiat currency is necessary to “flow-through” the smart contract. Only a blockchain-based digital Euro would enable Euro-denominated smart contracts, such that IoT devices can directly offer services on their own like pay-per-use, leasing, and factoring. Due to a digital blockchain-based Euro such new business models could become reality: fully automated devices making decisions on their own while leveraging AI and “economically surviving” by using blockchain for financial transactions while implementing a profit center logic on the device-level.
With such a digital blockchain-based currency, micropayments for IoT devices could be conducted easily and cost-effectively. All transactions denominated in the blockchain-based currency would be directly included in internal accounting and IT systems and would not have to be converted. A further advantage would be that such a blockchain-based Euro would comply with current regulation. First startups like CashOnLedger and Monerium have developed such currencies in 2019. They use e-money licenses for the tokenization of fiat currencies. In contrast to crypto assets, and stable coins in particular, companies demanding such payment solutions do not have to fear regulatory uncertainty since all players act under existing regulation.
Central bank digital currencies
As previously described, a blockchain-based Euro is currently issued by banks and e-money institutes. Also the central bank could launch such a digital currency. In the literature, this is called “central bank digital currency” (CBDC). According to a recent study by the Bank for International Settlements (Boar, Holden, Wadsworth, 2020), more than 70 central banks worldwide analyze implications from CBDC. However, no central bank has yet introduced such a currency. Nevertheless, central banks are starting to engage with digital currencies e.g. the ECB announced the project “EUROchain”, which will be a CBDC prototype developed on the Corda DLT framework.
A ECB-issued blockchain-based CBDC would enable the use of central bank money for smart contracts. Why is this necessary? What are the advantages of a digital Euro issued by a central bank compared to a digital Euro issued by e-money institutes? E-money counts as commercial bank money while money provided by the central bank is central bank money. Even if both kinds of money represent a digital version of the Euro, in the case of bankruptcy, commercial bank money could default, whereas central bank money is a claim to the central bank and cannot default. This difference gets highly relevant in case of financial turmoil, when banks and e-money institutions potentially face bankruptcy.
Monetization of IoT devices via tokenization
Besides improving data management, supporting the authentication of network participants and facilitating the automatization of business processes, blockchain technology can unlock new business models for the monetization of IoT devices. Blockchain technology enables the dematerialization of assets (“tokenization”).
An example: Think about a lamp (e.g. a street light), which has its own (blockchain-based) identity and operates with a blockchain-based Euro. The use of blockchain technology makes the lamp an autonomous entity, operating “on its own”. Via smart contracts, direct payments to the lamp are possible. If a respective payment is received the lamp will turn on. Such payments can be provided by individuals, companies or even the public administration. As a consequence, pay-per-use payment schemes become feasible.
These lamps can further be tokenized so that investors can invest into them in the form of digital assets. Investors would have an incentive to build and maintain the lamps on a full scale as investors receive a share of the lamp’s profits. By providing incentives for investors to invest into building and maintaining the lamps, a new wave of investments could be generated. Tokenization is not only beneficial in the case of lamps but also for all kinds of IoT devices, such as sensors, cars, machines or cameras. The only requirements for tokenization is a connection to the internet and to a blockchain network.
Figure 2: Examples of convergence of Blockchain, IoT and AI
Conclusion
Blockchain, IoT and AI are innovations providing tremendous benefits for security, transparency, immutability, privacy and the automatization of business processes. However, the impact of these innovations is even higher when blockchain, IoT and AI are combined. We argue that these innovations will converge in the future, driving the digitization of the industry. This convergence will increase the quality of data management by reaching a higher degree of standardization, privacy and security of data. Further, new business models are enabled such that autonomous agents (e.g. sensors, cars, machines, trucks, cameras, and other IoT devices) can be set up as profit centers that autonomously send and receive money. We recommend executives to engage with these technologies in order to realize efficiency gains. Blockchain technology, combined with IoT and AI, will pave the way to a new age of digitization.
References
Boar, C., Holden, H., Wadsworth, A. (2020): Impending arrival — a sequel to the survey on central bank digital currency, BIS Paper №107.
Liu, M., Yu, R., Teng, Y., Leung, V., Song, M. (2019). Performance Optimization for Blockchain-Enabled Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) Systems: A Deep Reinforcement Learning Approach. IEEE Transactions on Industrial Informatics.
Yin, H. H. S., Langenheldt, K., Harlev, M., Mukkamala, R. R., Vatrapu, R. (2019). Regulating Cryptocurrencies: A Supervised Machine Learning Approach to De-Anonymizing the Bitcoin Blockchain. Journal of Management Information Systems, 36(1), 37–73. https://doi.org/10.1080/07421222.2018.1550550.
Remarks
If you like this article, we would be happy if you forward it to your colleagues or share it on social networks. More information about the Frankfurt School Blockchain Center on the Internet, on Twitter, or on Facebook.
Riccarda Joas is alumna of the Frankfurt School. She graduated from the Master of Finance program with her final thesis on the intersections between Blockchain and the Industrial IoT/AI. In her professional career as a consultant she focuses on principle investors and private equity with a strong interest in AI, Blockchain and Industry 4.0 topics. You can contact her via mail ([email protected]) or LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com/in/riccardajoas).
Jonas Gross is a project manager and research assistant at the Frankfurt School Blockchain Center (FSBC). His fields of interest are primarily cryptocurrencies. Besides, in the context of his Ph.D., he analyzes the impact of blockchain technology on monetary policy of worldwide central banks. He mainly studies innovations as central bank digital currencies (CBDC) and other crypto currency projects as “Libra”. You can contact him via mail ([email protected]), LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonasgross94/), Xing (https://www.xing.com/profile/Jonas_Gross4) or follow him on (Twitter Jonas__Gross).
Prof. Dr. Philipp Sandner is head of the Frankfurt School Blockchain Center (FSBC) at the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management. In 2018, he was ranked as one of the “Top 30” economists by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), a major newspaper in Germany. Further, he belongs to the “Top 40 under 40” — a ranking by the German business magazine Capital. The expertise of Prof. Sandner, in particular, includes blockchain technology, crypto assets, distributed ledger technology (DLT), Euro-on-Ledger, initial coin offerings (ICOs), security tokens (STOs), digital transformation and entrepreneurship. You can contact him via mail ([email protected]) via LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/philippsandner/) or follow him on Twitter (@philippsandner).
[1] This research and development project was funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) within the funding number 02P17D020 and implemented by the Project Management Agency Karlsruhe (PTKA). The authors are responsible for the content of this publication. | https://medium.com/swlh/blockchain-iot-and-ai-a-perfect-fit-1-e04c6ad73fbc | ['Jonas Gross'] | 2020-02-13 16:45:41.376000+00:00 | ['IoT', 'Blockchain', 'AI', 'Cbdc', 'Euro'] |
Home Again | Driving down the neighborhood with the windows down and the radio playing, the cool winds sweeping up the newly fallen leaves off the large oak trees on either side of the road, it’s all too familiar. The children wrapped in unmovable clothing and rubber boots, their laughter being heard for miles. On the corner of the street is the pumpkin patch, so orange and festive. Then the intersection with the old crack in the street that hasn’t been fixed in years, holding last night’s rainfall. Each passing house’s television displaying Charlie Brown and living rooms filled with joy among each family gathering. At the end of the street the prettiest house, with a well kept yard, grand windows, and lace curtains-the house is a beauty. This house has been vacant and quiet for awhile as if the joyful laughter died out years ago. This house’s secrets lay on the inside. The true deception that no one could see from the perfect view outside.
Pulling into the driveway and remembering the countless nights of her running out barefoot to sit and cry about the arguing. Getting out and locking the car to see the small dent in the corner of the garage door where she hit it after coming home at two in the morning buzzed. The small crack in the corner now a home of an orangish red spider that is spinning around a newly caught butterfly. Walking to the front door and seeing the flaking chips of paint from where it was slammed so many times throughout the years. To the left of the door the flower pot, where at least once a week she’d lose her key and have to use the spare that was poorly taped onto the bottom of. When lifted up the key was still there after all these years, surprised it wasn’t taken or lost when everyone moved out. It was time now to go inside yet hesitantly the door creaked open. The darkness slowly pouring out into the neighborhood but to be stopped by gentle closure. The smell of whiskey, and vanilla candles filling the air. The candles were always the cover up for when people came over. She had learned how to use a lighter at age six just to keep the house pristine. In hopes to mask the problem at hand because she knew long term the problem would never be fixed. To the right was the dining table where everything began. To family dinners that were never civil, they were times of him wrecking her self esteem. She was never the perfect daughter he wanted but he was no perfect father either. Six o’ Clock dinners always had the stench of alcohol with them and rarely few did he act like himself. Looking out the window behind the dining table, seeing the clear difference of how new the bottom piece of glass is from the top. The bottom piece cleary have being replaced from the night he threw his snifter at the window when told about the divorce. That same night she snuck out to get away from their bickering, and getting picked up by who was not her boyfriend because she never had one but a boy who she cared more than anything about. She never talked about what happened that night she left but she didn’t return till the morning. Her mother standing at the front door when his car pulled up and her getting out wearing his clothes. Her mother was mad but knew there was no stopping her.
To the left of the window, the living room, a place for gathering and relaxation. The same dark leather sectional that was a sleeping ground for her father almost every night. Remembering how her mother would yell at him and lock him out of their bedroom. That same year it had got so bad she got the locks changed and kicked him out. Her mother eventually would let him back everytime after he said he has changed. Her daughter knowing well to none that he hasn’t changed and then the cycle repeats. Her Mother dealt with a lot and the contemplation of divorce took her a very long time to be ready for. She was a stay at home wife and he was a drunken lawyer, yet she had to do what was right for her daughter. From the couch was the television, a twenty inch flatscreen that always played Fox News, all year round. Remembering every night when she’d get home from practice and hearing Tucker Carlson talk about Trump or Clinton ninety percent of the time. Slight right of the television was a staircase that led to the rooms. Going up the light amber wood stairs that ached when walked on to see the pictures on the wall and the small dust mites that have attracted to the frames to high to reach without a ladder. The very top step leading to the spread of four rooms. The only room worth going into was the one at the end. Straight center from the last step, the hallway seeming like an unbearably long distance to the door.
The slow steps to the door remembering every day she’d pace back and forth down the hallway when she heard her parents fighting. She always wanted to help but was continuously dismissed and looked down upon by her parents. To the arrival of the door, reflecting on the pure life that lives behind it. The twist of the silver plated knob and a small hault, the door opens to the display of her room. Exactly like remembered too. Pretty white sheets, a window that opens to the side of the roof, a fully stocked and organized closet. The smell of a coconut Sex Wax air freshner that’s meant for cars but there was always two hanging on the end rod of the curtains. The endless memories that fill this room. Walking over to the window and moving the slightly yellowed curtains to one side and seeing the view of the street. The countless times of her opening the window and sitting on the roof with her friends. Always hoisting up one of her friends who would park on the corner of the street at two in the morning to come hangout with her. He was always good to her and she knew that. They would sit and look at the stars, She’d talk about moving out, or how she wishes life was different but they’d always smoke. They both knew it wasn’t good but they both didn’t care because they knew there were worse things to be doing. Turning around from the window lays her bed. The bed looking like it just got made, and feels just as it did twenty years ago. Laying down and turning to the left gazing on the soul that grew up here. All eighteen years that she lived here, what a time it was for her. Always feeling bad for her but she turned out better than anyone expected. Getting up from her bed and taking one more long breath it was time to leave.
Closing her door, walking down the stairs, through the living room and across the dining room back to the front door. With one last look around the secrets were locked back inside. A step down the old porch stairs and gaze at a pretty red ladybug on the lawn, a tear rolls down. Walking past the garage with the orangish red spider whose captive butterfly is now fully wrapped, the car door shuts and the engine turned on. Backing up from the driveway of that pretty light blue house at the end of the street, driving away and now watching the house in the mirror as it slowly vanishes. That was a special house, it was the house that raised me. | https://medium.com/@olivia-mckenna26/home-again-1437dfaa9136 | ['Olivia Mckenna'] | 2020-12-27 23:36:23.819000+00:00 | ['Trauma', 'Home', 'Design', 'Home Again', 'Childhood'] |
Blind Boxes Partners with Juggernaut DEFI | Today we are delighted to announce a partnership that will streamline the onboarding process for creators looking to launch gamified NFT drops on Blind Boxes. We are now joining forces with Juggernaut (JGN) DEFI, a leading Web3 and Metaverse platform on Binance Smart Chain.
TLDR
JGN DEFI is now an official minting partner for Blind Boxes creators
BEP-721 and BEP-1155 minting is supported
Creators will use JGN DEFI to create NFTs before importing them to the Blind Boxes marketplace
Full support for creator royalties will be included
How to mint using JGN Defi
As a Blind Boxes creator you will need to mint your NFTs before you can sell them on Blind Boxes. Now you can use JGN DEFI to create your NFTs before you return to Blind Boxes to list them for sale.
Important: do not select “list for sale” within the JGN dApp. Simply create the NFTs then return to Blind Boxes to create your collection, import your NFTs, and list the collection for sale.
Minting process
After navigating to the JGN minting page, select the token type you want to mint. BEP-721 and BEP 1155 are the available options.
Next follow these steps to create, but not list your NFTs.
Choose file Deselect “put on sale” Choose collection “JGNNFT”
4. Name your NFT and write the description. Be sure to include the series number of your collectible (ex. this is a 1 of 30 NFT)
5. Set your resale royalty
6. Review and click ‘create’
And that’s it. For any questions, contact the Blind Boxes team via our official Telegram channel. | https://medium.com/blind-boxes/blind-boxes-partners-with-juggernaut-defi-6ea235f05249 | ['Blind Boxes'] | 2021-12-31 22:11:10.738000+00:00 | ['Nftgaming', 'Metaverse', 'Nft Minting', 'Defi', 'Nftmarketplacedevelopment'] |
Dressage horse has the shit kicked out of him back at the stables by cool racehorse | Dressage horse has the shit kicked out of him back at the stables by cool racehorse SportsPickle Follow Aug 15, 2016 · 2 min read
LEXINGTON, KY — An American horse that competed in the Rio Olympics in Team Dressage, or horsey dancing as it is more commonly known, was beaten up and given a saddle wedgie by the other horses in its stable today upon returning home from the Olympics.
After getting back to the stable late last night after a long flight to Kentucky from Brazil, Mr. Danceskin was found red-eyed in the corner of his stable this morning by his groomer.
“Unfortunately, bullying is a very real problem in the horse community,” said Mr. Danceskin’s trainer, Trish McDowell. “The thoroughbred racehorses are seen as the cool jock horses and more sensitive and artistic beauties like Mr. Danceskin can be singled out and mistreated. He’s been dealing with this since he was a colt. Apparently not even making the Olympics is enough for these asshole racehorses.”
McDowell says Mr. Danceskin will have the last laugh or whinny, as the case may be.
“All of these racehorses are inbred and have weak, brittle leg bones that can snap at any moment and bring about a premature death,” she said. “And when that happens, Mr. Danceskin will literally be dancing on their graves.”
At the very moment she said that, Danceskin jumped up and began doing the Samba, his heels gleefully kicking this way and that.
“There you go, Mr. Danceskin,” she said. “I love your spirit. They’ll never beat you down.” | https://medium.com/sportspickle/dressage-horse-has-the-shit-kicked-out-of-him-back-at-the-stables-by-cool-racehorse-eb4ad4b976b | [] | 2016-08-15 15:02:53.509000+00:00 | ['Dancing', 'Horse Racing', 'Olympics', 'Sports', 'Horses'] |
The unexplored scope of sustainability: SDGs, SDFs and SDEs | Since 2015, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) framework has been a convenient reference to understand the scope of Sustainable Development and to build a global, coherent narrative and roadmap. Just like the Ten Commandments, the SDGs succinctly list the 17 goals that we should strive to achieve individually and collectively in order to enable our society and environment to sustain, longer and healthier.
The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), UN, 2015
I have taught a lot about the SDGs and have been one of its most diligent ambassadors, especially as Sustainability Director of Techno India Group — which counts 100,000 students from K-12 to college at any point of time — and as co-founder of Y-East which aggregates more than 100 sustainability-focused organisations in East and North East India. The SDGs are so convenient to provide a clear introduction to learners; however, as soon as you want to dive deeper and customise the SDGs to each individual learner, you start to face roadblocks related to the framework’s lack of preciseness and practicality: in which sectors and industries should these goals be implemented? By who? And most importantly, how?
I entertain the belief that no matter which studies or career one opts for, there is always a way to adapt traditional paths and address sustainability. So many different talents populate this earth. Each of us has a unique set of skills, sensitivities and interests that we need to be able to accommodate and utilise for social, societal and environmental enhancement. We therefore need to find ways to visualise sustainable development beyond the spectrum of the 17 SDGs, which only provide a relatively narrow and vague understanding of all the tools and all the ways one can contribute to a more sustainable tomorrow.
In an attempt to further specify and map the framework more practically and at the service of individual career decisions, I developed two complementary frameworks: the 17 Sustainable Development Fields (SDFs) and the 17 Sustainable Development Enablers (SDEs). While the former refers to the industries which we need to reinvent and make more sustainable, the latter provides a list of the tools we can use to enable change towards sustainability. As you read along the 17 SDFs and SDGs below, I invite you to reflect on your own interests and skills, and determine your Personal Key Combination(s) (PKC), i.e. the optimal SDG-SDF-SDE combination(s) that fit(s) the causes you have most at heart and your unique strengths. For instance, I have determined my PKC to be SDG4 Quality Education / SDF12 Education and Skills Development / SDE7 Citizen and Community Movements. Do consider your PKC as flexible: you can explore more than one PKC, and one PKC can include more than one item from each of the three frameworks. Eventually, these complementary frameworks should be able to help you navigate sustainability in relation to your professional and personal development, and to guide you in choosing a path that is unique and specific to you.
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Sustainable Development Fields
The 17 Sustainable Development Fields (SDFs)
SDF 1- Agriculture, fishery and F&B: The art and science of cultivating the soil, raising livestock and fishing, from nature to plate, from extraction to consumption, need to be comprehended through the spectrum of generated social and environmental impact. Scientific research has notably proven the health and environmental benefits of plant-based diets, which have timidly started to gather momentum.
SDF 2- FMCG: Fast-Moving Consumer Goods — which include packaged foods, beverages, cosmetics, toiletries and other consumables — are products that bought on a regular basis and typically don’t stay very long on the market shelf. Tightly associated with the concepts of single use, mass consumption and daily waste, the production, packaging and consumption cycles of these items need to be reinvented in order to both be more environmentally healthy and meet the consumers’ needs.
SDF 3- Textile and Fashion: Fashion — especially fast fashion — is the second most polluting industry after Oil and Gas, sadly reputed for its environmentally damaging production processes, the questionable working conditions within the industry, its fast consumption patterns and heavy waste left in our landfills. Changing the status quo in this regard implies to raise awareness about sustainable fashion, increase cloth items’ lifespan, treat fabric waste especially through innovative processes such as circular economy and upcycling, better allocate resources to stakeholders involved in the production line.
SDF 4- Electronics: Technologies, individual gadgets and heavy hardware have invaded households and organisations, making us both more productive and bigger generators of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (widely known as WEEE or e-waste). Planned obsolescence and unsafe e-waste disposal are two of the many challenges this industry needs to address.
SDF 5- Energy and utilities: Our transition from fossil-fuel energy to renewable energy has significantly accelerated in the past couple of decades, with the leadership of and successful case studies hailing from countries such as Iceland, Paraguay, Norway, Denmark, Austria, Brazil, Chile, China, Australia, Costa Rica. Solar, wind, hydro and other energy solutions are key to a sustainable future which does not deplete energy source sand run out of power. Questions remain about how to accelerate the transition and how to make sure that the energy sector creates millions of jobs to sustain a green economy.
SDF 6- Natural resources and Raw Materials: Natural resources are the foundation of everything humans are able to invent, build and do. Invasive and thoughtless exploitation of said resources, which includes forestry and deforestation, destroys natural habitats, reduces biodiversity and eventually annihilates the ability of all living species to thrive. Securing a sustainable supply of raw materials that have been extracted responsibly in regards to the resources’ ability to renew, and to safe and fair working conditions, is indispensable to a long-lasting and resilient environment.
SDF 7- Construction, Real Estate and Urban Planning: Solutions for humans’ habitats and activities, crystallised under the term ‘development projects’, usually infringe on natural territories on land, over sea, and even towards the sky. More sustainable solutions need to be found to enable cohabitation, where new development projects harmoniously coexist and interact with their specific natural surroundings while social and environmental footprint is duly and continuously assessed.
SDF 8- Home, Hospitality and Tourism: As population and middle-to-high classes increase in numbers, residential capacities, moving into bigger homes, and touristic migrations into hotels and AirB&Bs are boosted along. These sectors are powerful vectors of discovery and new adventures, and therefore also opportunities to start afresh and venture into new, more responsible home design, furnishing and habits, and into supporting traditional local activities, art and ecosystem through travel.
SDF 9- Healthcare and Pharma: Research and technological progress in the spaces of healthcare, medtech and pharma have strengthened our collective immunity overtime, for both our physical and mental health. Today, the sector mostly requires progress in regards to technology and profit-related ethics (especially in the space of biotech), political decisions for access to healthcare services, accessibility, affordability for all and inclusion of marginalised communities. Persisting inequalities in access to healthcare services is also a significant threat to our ability to sustain as a society.
SDF 10- IT and Telecom: The Telecommunications sector gathers companies which globally connect people through phone, internet, cloud and other remote solutions. Though partially invisible to our eyes, this infrastructural network of data servers, wires and cables is very much there, to the tune of more than 8 millions data centres, 380 underwater cables spanning a length of over 1.2 million kilometres around the world, and other facilities such as Satellite Communications facilities. On top of mental health considerations and changes in the way we operate as humans, the way we exchange and power data to the world comes with heavy installing, maintenance, electricity and environmental bills, which cannot be ignored and need to be further optimised to sustain.
SDF 11- Media, Advertising and Marketing: The power of media, advertising and marketing techniques have evolved and strengthened overtime, using techniques to hook the brain which hail from new knowledge in the fields of psychology and neuroscience. Today, the younger generations spend more time in the virtual world than the physical one, absorbing social media and streaming platform contents. What if we used this power to meaningful ends, towards environmental awareness, social inclusion and societal wellbeing, and to spread the use of products and services that strongly align with the SDGs?
SDF 12- Education and Skills Development: The main challenges in the education sector around the world can be summed up into one key question: are we properly equipping our young generations with the tools to navigate a world in constant change, and to solve today and tomorrow’s most pressing challenges? Unfortunately for most countries, the answer is: not yet. The traditional dichotomy between public and private education, unequal access to quality and complete education based on socio-economic background and genders, subject-wise learning hierarchy and silos, lack of research and curriculum contents related to sustainable development, and persisting gaps between taught skills and job market needs are some of the key issues we are still to find efficient solutions to.
SDF 13- Manufacturing and Packaging: Following the financial and economic deregulation in the 1980s, our production lines have become increasingly and fundamentally global. New challenges have arisen in this era of globalisation, which require talents to tackle: responsible stakeholders management i.e. fair treatment and distribution of resources to all stakeholders involved in the production chain, no matter how remote they are from the headquarters; decrease in prices allowed by cheaper labor force abroad leading to ever more mass consumption and therefore more waste; environmental pollution — related to the manufacturing, packaging, delivery and consumption cycles — which especially affects low-income and marginalised communities.
SDF 14- Logistics and Distribution: The advent of globalisation has transformed the space of logistics and triggered new long-lasting realities especially related to global value chain (GVC). Although it may have created enhanced customer satisfaction thanks to online ordering and last-mile delivery, it also created new, complex issues such as the erosion of commercial neighbourhoods and small shops to the profit of big malls and Amazon-like aggregators, destruction of local employment, heavy environmental pollution related to the necessary packaging and transport required for products to keep fresh while travelling the world. While delocalisation and globalisation benefitted from quite a unanimous acclaim, today, mouvements of relocalisation and anti-globalisation are asking the right questions and gathering momentum.
SDF 15- Transports and Aerospace: Mobility solutions, from daily home-to-office commutes to travelling to space, from public tuktuks to the Hyperloop, have always been a switch for fascination and sophisticated innovations. A productive economy, it seems, is one that moves around, travels and explores. However, the advent of fuel-hungry private vehicles and frantic plane travels on a whim have brought transport energy to almost a third of total energy consumption worldwide. Efficient public transportation, car pooling, electric and hydrogen-powered vehicles have offered fascinating leads into a sustainable mobility world.
SDF 16- Finance, Banking and Insurance: The economical, institutional and financial power of the finance, banking and insurance sectors is undeniable, as they offer well-organised money-aggregating spaces and smooth-running financial mechanisms for everyone’s daily monetary affairs and insurance coverage. With great power comes great responsibility… What are the ways in which such mechanisms can be reinvented towards achieving the SDGs, especially in terms of poverty alleviation, reduced inequalities and the financing of a green economy? Great models from impact investment to microcredit to social impact bonds have been showing the way.
SDF 17- Luxury goods: Luxury is often associated with obnoxious lifestyles and perceived as an antonym to sustainability. In many ways however, luxury goods, for their quality, can be a lot more ‘sustainable’ than other fast-consumed, cheaper products. Sustainable luxury is increasingly aligned with conscious consumer behaviours and expectations, to truly include social and environmental sustainability at its core and go beyond gimmicky moves which can be perceived as greenwashing.
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Sustainable Development Enablers
The 17 Sustainable Development Enablers (SDEs)
SDE 1- Tech for Good: Technology is a tool which can be useful for social and environmental impact in so many ways. Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, 3D printing, blockchain, cloud computing, robotics, biotechnology… and many more tech tools can be activated to gain in efficiency and implement at a large scale, while improving well-being, tackling inequalities and building a green economy from the ground up. As a matter of fact, most SDGs would have their tech offshoot: edtech, agritech, medtech…
SDE 2- Awareness and Education: “Awareness is like the sun. When it shines on things, they are transformed”. Global spiritual leader Thich Nhat Hanh implies here that awareness, reinforced by more in-depth educational inputs, is the first step towards individual and systemic change. Well-articulated, mind-opening awareness campaigns can not only shed light on unknown facts and taboos, but it can also trigger a sense of concern, care, and willingness to act in more than one heart, eventually leading to individual and collective action.
SDE 3- Innovation and Entrepreneurship: Converting impactful innovations into long-lasting businesses through entrepreneurship is an efficient weapon to create social value through employment and social impact through the new ventures’ activities themselves, especially through impact entrepreneurship (a term I prefer over social entrepreneurship) which places the SDGs at the core of their DNA. Innovative and entrepreneurial mindsets in general, whether applied to the creation of new ventures, to intrapreneurship or to open innovation, call for needs-based and problem-solving approaches, which is in essence the first logical steps towards solving the issues suggested by the SDG framework.
SDE 4- Inclusive Business Models: Innovation may also occur in regards to the very way business models are thought and deployed. The days of traditional business models of extracting, producing, selling to an unsegregated target audience at a fixed price through one delivery channel are over. Today, there are plethora of inspiring business models embracing the 5P’s (People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace, Partnerships) encapsulated in the SDG framework, using witty mechanisms to offer products and services in a more socially inclusive and environmentally respectful way: cross-subsidisation, circular production lines, servicisation, performance-based contracts, rent-to-own / leasing models, value-for-value models etc.
SDE 5- Human Psychology and Neuroscience: In the past couple of decades, the fields of psychology and neuroscience have opened groundbreaking pathways to better understand our own brains. Humans are creatures of habits whose behaviours, even seemingly irrational behaviours, can be understood through the spectrum neuronal and hormonal activity. New theoretical fields with very concrete applications such as neuromarketing or the nudge theory have proved powerful game changers for new, more sustainable consumer behaviours and individual habits at scale.
SDE 6- Culture, Values and Ethics: Value education, cultural traditions, religions and belief systems in general have a tremendous influence on how people build their sense of ethics and socially behave. Values of care and respect for nature, for example, are at the core of religions such as hindusim, jainism or taoism, and essential to numerous indigenous cultures such as the Maori culture in New Zealand. How to discover and spread the most sustainable world views, and thereby regenerate the nature of our relationship with others and nature?
SDE 7- Citizen and Community Movements: The power of collective approaches have historically shown powerful for both systemic change (here we would remember the Civil Rights Movement in the US, or Fridays for Future launched by Greta Thunberg), and reduction of inequalities of access through decentralised action and fairer distribution. For example, community healthcare implemented in countries such as Liberia enables last-mile delivery of healthcare services. Localised action appears to be the only way to tackle centralised, unequal systems that tend to only profit the most privileged urban population.
SDE 8- Creativity, Arts and Design: Our ability to achieve the Goals relies upon our capacity to dream, imagine and then design solutions for a more sustainable world. Our imagination is the only channel towards a better tomorrow that is yet to exist. The domains of the arts and design offer powerful creative tools to raise awareness, break taboos, elevate the dialogue and trigger action towards our common vision. Art for Good, artfulness and artivism are interesting declinations of the term which further indicate how we can use these tools towards the SDGs.
SDE 9- Communication, Media and Entertainment: By definition, entertaining refers to the ability to hold the attention and interest of an audience — which big social media oligopolies, TV channels, streaming platforms and advertisement companies have learnt to master. Gaming for good, TikTok for Good, Facebook fundraisers, shocking investigative documentaries are other specific examples of how entertainment can do wonders in terms of impact.
SDE 10- Organisational Culture, Policy and Processes: Companies and other organisations significantly structure our lives as well as the economic landscape worldwide. In the same way a family or a country has a culture associated with specific codes, organisations control rules and behaviours within their ambit. Responsible leadership at the top does matter a whole lot, and sets the tone for collective willingness to adopt more sustainable organisational practices, from responsible stakeholders management to inclusive HR policies to enhanced Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategy, to carbon offsetting and insetting.
SDE 11- Non-Profit Sector And Philanthropy: Although criticised for its top-down and relatively short term approach (inserting food for thoughts here: There wouldn’t be anyone available today to efficiently think about future generations — i.e. sustainably — if present generations were not taken care of as well; so some short to mid-term action may make sense, too!), philanthropy implemented through Civil Society Organisations play a key role, not only in emergency relief efforts but also in our collective progress towards social and environmental change. This sector enables resources to meet local needs and rectify inequalities, usually acting as a necessary complement to public services that are lagging behind.
SDE 12- Policy Advocacy, Political and Legal Frameworks: Systemic change without supportive governments and legal framework is close to impossible. Legal compliance is the ultimate way to orientate mass behaviours at scale, and more responsible policy-making is the ultimate goal to ensure sustained change, as laws and rights get established and claimed. Properly enforced civil rights, environmental, CSR and ESG laws essentially align all stakeholders, binding them to play the game.
SDE 13- Market Mechanisms and Economic Policies: Market mechanisms define the way resources are sold and bought at the level of a national economy. For example, supply and demand flow differently in free market economies than they do under planned, controlled markets. The way economic policies establish the rules of supply and demand, from pricing to taxing, plays a key role in resource allocation and distribution, accessibility and affordability, and, of course, environmental sustainability, especially since the Kyoto Protocol put a price on carbon.
SDE 14- Investment and Financial Mechanisms: Responsible finance invites financial players to invest in socially inclusive and environmentally responsible companies, while disinvesting in harmful ones. An increasing number of investment platforms and funds rely on ESG standards and indexes for their investment decisions. Responsible finance has also taken the shape of new, powerful mechanisms at scale, such as Social Stock Exchanges.
SDE 15- Research, Data, Analytics and Assessment: Thank you, Lord Kelvin, for your famous “If you cannot measure it, you cannot improve it”. We have to know the objective facts about the status quo to be able to rationalise our understanding and determine necessary action. For example, social and environmental impact assessment, both pre and post-implementation, allow us to evaluate the desirability and efficiency of a given project, thereby informing and guiding responsible decision-making.
SDE 16- Reporting and Transparency: The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), founded in 1997, set the tone for a new wave of enhanced standardisation and reporting at the global level. Numerous countries and companies have now embraced annual ESG reporting following standardised frameworks, in a (compliant) spirit of transparency for their stakeholders and shareholders. This, in turn, informs better investment choices and redirect resources towards organisations that increasingly focus on their social and environmental responsibility.
SDE 17- Cooperation and Collaboration: Achieving the SDGs will require us to let go of our competitive habits and to show a genuine will to cooperate and share resources. More and more organisations are striving to activate community-based, open-sourced, crowdsourced, collective intelligence approaches (such as the alliances I am associated with, namely Y-East, Youth for Sustainability India Alliance and #LearningPlanet) , thereby truly embodying SDG17- Partnerships for the Goals.
_____________
Of course, these frameworks are not perfect, starting with the SDGs, which omits a few objectives (e.g. preservation of cultural heritage) and includes a few contradictions, especially in relation to SDG8 which rushes into the controversial and more-than-uncertain conclusion that economic growth and sustainability go hand in hand. You may also have noticed that a few items are overlapping, or may be missing. The 3D mapping based of these models is yet to be built; and we may need a forth dimension that we could call the 17 Sustainable Development Stakeholders (SDSs) to have the full picture (although you would get a good idea about the stakeholders in place as you read between the lines of the SDFs and SDEs).
In the meantime, I believe these complementary frameworks provide further enlightenment on the way we can achieve a sustainable society and environment, and accelerate the shift, by allowing each and everyone of us to position ourselves , guide individual decision-making and best put our talents to use. On average, we are called to work 80–100,000 hours in total throughout our professional career, so better combine it with meaningful impact while we’re at it, don’t you think?
Wishing each of you the best on your impactful journey ahead!
Y-East, 2021 © All rights reserved | https://medium.com/@paulinelaravoire/the-unexplored-scope-of-sustainability-sdgs-sdfs-and-sdes-b615e686e361 | [] | 2021-05-15 18:30:16.869000+00:00 | ['Sdgs', 'Framework', 'Sustainability'] |
How to Live a Life of Grace | I’ve learned a lot about grace this year. Grace in action is simple, beautiful—and costly. Grace occurs when a person does something for you that you cannot do for yourself, knowing that you cannot repay them.
As Christians, we are beneficiaries of unimaginable grace. None of us can repay that sacrifice. It is a gift. We are to extend that same love to others.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16, NIV)
Humans make grace a lot more complicated. We hide behind ritual and liturgy. We say, “I’ll pray for you,” and go on with our day. We have busy lives and little time to spare.
Or perhaps we pray for a person but lose interest when healing is not immediate. “Well, I guess they didn’t really want to be better or they would be well by now.”
But what about grace? Do we have room for compassion when people aren’t progressing according to our schedule? Or will we blame them for their perceived failures and walk away?
It’s hard to stand beside someone in the middle of a storm. It’s uncomfortable and messy. And it will cost us something. Are we willing to pay the price? And what is the cost if we don’t?
I don’t want to live a life where I never get involved. Even if it’s messy, I want to love people. I may not get it right all the time (I won’t), but I have to try.
Grace says, “I am with you in this situation, and I will help you do what you cannot.” Grace in action is about being there for someone who cannot do anything to pay you back.
What is grace?
Grace is when a friend brings their lawnmower over to mow your yard. They offer their time and effort because you have a broken mower, you can’t afford a new one, and you have an injured back.
Grace is when you forgive the person who wronged you before they even ask. Grace says, “What you did was unforgivable, but I forgive you anyway.”
Grace is helping a friend with their resume and writing them a recommendation letter when they can’t find a job. It’s taking time to teach them to play the mandolin at no cost.
Grace is staying on the phone with a friend who is having an anxiety attack until they calm down. It’s listening while they sob and holding space for their feelings.
Grace is giving a friend a ride who needs to have their car serviced so they don’t have to sit at the shop all day.
Grace is helping a feral cat who is pregnant, even when you know that the best you can offer her will not be enough.
If you want to live a graceful life, it will cost you something. It will cost you time. It may cost you sweat, tears, and inconvenience. But to whom much is given, much is required. Let us seek to love each other well, no matter the cost. Remember, the world will know we are Christians by—our love. | https://medium.com/artistic-mystic-soul/how-to-live-a-life-of-grace-d6b41a5ea6ee | ['Lisa Beth Wright'] | 2020-11-01 23:34:09.401000+00:00 | ['Faith', 'Religion', 'Relationships', 'Christianity', 'Life'] |
Rivers and Mirrors | What Happens if I no longer hold your mirror blond?
Will you have the decency to stop?
Or are you still craving more of my attention?
Will you go on consuming your own bones and bonfires of death
Or Will you cling to stories of loving hate?
Will you stop yourself from spreading love to empires of hate?
Manifesting the flickers of your hair
Manifesting scents of Empires
Scents of ink and blood
Morphed in the shape of a blond
What would happen if I am no longer your mirror,
Blond? | https://medium.com/@youmnadeiri/rivers-and-mirrors-909d27075a74 | ['Postcolonial Intimacies'] | 2020-12-16 19:30:22.202000+00:00 | ['Postcolonial Literature', 'Postcolonial', 'White Supremacy', 'Karen'] |
Top 5 Free Resources for Learning SQL | 1. SQLBolt
SQLBolt is a completely free fully interactive introductory course. All SQL basics are covered including writing queries, filtering, joins, aggregations in addition to creating, updating and deleting tables.
There are practical exercises to complete after each concept is introduced which help to solidify your understanding of the topics covered.
2. Khan Academy
The Khan Academy Intro to SQL course is a great complement to SQLBolt as it includes video-based content around similar concepts. This provides some useful context and more in-depth explanations. It also does include some practical interactive exercises too.
3. Pop SQL
Pop SQL is actually a really interesting tool for collaborative SQL querying. It enables multiple users to share queries, store commonly used queries in a searchable library and provides a visual interface for analysis.
The Pop SQL website also includes a comprehensive library of SQL tutorials in their ‘Learn SQL’ section. What is particularly useful is that these are organised by database type, for example, Redshift or MySQL specific tutorials. This is helpful if you want to gain an understanding of how the syntax can differ across platforms.
4. SQLcourse.com
This course is similar in format to SQLBolt. It is very interactive with lots of practical exercises which you complete in their SQL editor. There is also a sqlcourse2.com which covers more advanced concepts using the same format and editor.
5. Learning SQL by Alan Beaulieu
If you would like to get a more in-depth understanding of the SQL language then a book can be a useful addition to your list of resources. Learning SQL by Alan Beaulieu is one of the best I have found and is available to read for free online via this PDF.
This book gives some useful background into the origins and usage of the language, provides an overview of query and table design and covers some more advanced SQL topics compared to the courses listed above. | https://towardsdatascience.com/top-5-free-resources-for-learning-sql-537e6c4e4d6c | ['Rebecca Vickery'] | 2020-07-26 21:17:21.270000+00:00 | ['Programming', 'Education', 'Technology', 'Data', 'Data Science'] |
Learning Fast and Slow | Photo by Magnet.me on Unsplash
Passive Learning
You’re learning to code for a few weeks or months. You know the programming basics, have maybe even built some apps.
You find yourself watching another course. It’s an intermediate level, but you seem to understand everything. Every step seems logical, and you know how to code it yourself. Life is good; you’ve made such big progress.
Okay, the hour passed, the course is finished. You haven’t done any coding, but why would you? You could do everything the teacher did; doing it yourself would be a waste of time.
Wrong. Passive watching or reading will not teach you anything. If you don’t make the mental effort, your brain is not making new connections and you’re not learning. You’re just fooling yourself into thinking you’re growing.
Also, looking at someone solving a problem isn’t similar to solving it yourself. You may think you know how to do it, but do you really? Only after you can solve a problem step-by-step, can you be sure you’ve mastered it.
What to do instead
Can you swim? How many books did you read about swimming? What about writing? Mathematics? We learn actively, not passively.
You should get to building your own projects as fast as possible.
But even if you’re a beginner and still need to watch or read many courses, you can get the most out of them. Change your passive learning into active learning. Listen intently and start making connections. Consider how the concepts in this lesson relate to the previous lesson. Pause to contemplate how you would explain the content to someone else.
Another way to activate your learning is not coding along with a teacher. Focus on what they are doing, and every five to 15 minutes, stop to recreate the code from memory. You’ll progress much faster. | https://medium.com/better-programming/learning-fast-and-slow-b0dd911eaf0d | ['Szymon Adamiak'] | 2020-12-15 16:30:48.971000+00:00 | ['Software Development', 'Education', 'Productivity', 'Learning To Code', 'Programming'] |
Dhandayuthapani 👇 | Dhandayuthapani 👇
Dandam Ayutham Bani -
Dandam refer to Wisdom
Ayutham refer to Knowledge
Bani refer to Way of Life
Lord abode the Palani hill is educating us to use our knowledge to gain wisdom and lead life wisely
I was interpreting the possible in-depth meaning behind the deity's name amidst a gathering of the Lords devotees
As per the Purana, the Lord came to be known as Dhandayuthapani Murugan since He had shed all His finery and lived in this abode as an ascetic
With just the Dhandam (staff) as His only asset to raise the awareness that no materialistic wealth will remain as an asset but for the good deeds
Wisdom is the state of this realization, knowledge is the tool to realize and the path of awareness is the way of life
Hence, either way, the in-depth meaning is the same, it is like looking at the Lord from different angles to realize that the
Lord is the same and that only our visions differed -
Let's use our knowledge to walk on the right path to gain the wisdom of Life 🙏🏼 | https://medium.com/@surissoul/dhandayuthapani-82aff7721a0 | ['Suryanarayanan K'] | 2021-07-15 03:21:12.038000+00:00 | ['Wisdom', 'Vision', 'God', 'Revelation', 'Awareness'] |
Why We Want Those We Can’t Have | I should respect myself more, right? This is what you read in the thousands of articles that are trying to tell you how to find yourself first, before expecting to find your perfect mate. This is what you read in self-help books, that no one will love you unless you love yourself. This is how helpful friends and family encourage you just to be yourself and know your self-worth. And love will find you. Hah.
“We accept the love we think we deserve.” Stephen Chbosky
Well, apparently, there is a lot more to that, than just self-esteem issues. And wanting someone who we can’t have is more human and more common than we would think.
Undervaluing me and overvaluing them
When it comes to romantic and sexual attraction, regardless of what we expect from the other person, we tend to overestimate their qualities. At the first moments of meeting, when we subconsciously decide about them, we size them up. If we have chemistry, we immediately assign more value to them than they deserve. Just because we are attracted to them with all of our senses, we are getting a hormone cocktail that waves goodbye to our rational minds.
We see, we hear, we smell, we touch, and if it comes to that, we taste. The stronger the chemistry, the worse our capability is for evaluating them properly.
“I’d never join a club that would allow a person like me to become a member.” ― Woody Allen
If the chemistry or the later attraction stays strong enough, without really knowing them, we start to overvalue them and undervalue ourselves. It doesn’t matter if we see them in a distorted reality, the less we know about them, the more gaps there are to fill with our imagination.
And sometimes even a person with an average level of self-esteem will start degrading themselves to keep up the gap between the overvalued crush and them. It is because of cognitive dissonance when we are trying to post-rationalise our decisions to stay sane — but in this case, it works against us.
The myth of busyness and breadcrumbing
We live in a busy world, and we live hectic lives. We are spreading ourselves thin, and we romanticise busyness. We place more perceived value on busy people, and we tend to appreciate people who respond less or reciprocate our initiations less. We think that someone’s busyness is correlating with their popularity, and we believe they must really be worth it since they are in such high demand.
Someone’s perceived busyness makes them look like scarce resources and their value increases. It results in us thinking they must be spending time with others, that lowers our self-esteem even more; and we are even more grateful for the tiny bits of attention they are showing as if it was a great sacrifice from their side.
Someone’s lack of response shouldn’t imply a higher value, as it is usually a sign of disinterest, lack of communication skills or just plain rudeness.
Unfortunately, it is difficult to walk away, because of the intermittent reinforcement their infrequent appearances causes. When we like someone, our brain releases dopamine to make us feel good whenever the message or talk to us. We get addicted to the hormone rush and start to go after our next kick of it. The intermittent attention strengthens our craving and makes the relief even more powerful, thus making us even more addicted.
As Erika Ettin, founder of A Little Nudge dating website, says: “Our brains love the unpredictability because the highs are higher than if we got the desired reward all the time. This is why breadcrumbing has sadly entered our lexicon recently.”
Breadcrumbing is when someone texts or calls on a sporadic basis, generally because they know you will respond. They will seem to be pursuing you, but in reality, have no intention of being tied down to a relationship. They just like leaving you breadcrumbs, like a trail in Hansel and Gretel, to string you along.
We let them treat us this way just to get our even higher dopamine rush anytime they unexpectedly appear.
The erotic equation
The term erotic equation was coined by Jack Morin in his book, The Erotic Mind. Central to Morin’s understanding of sexual passion is what he calls “The Erotic Equation”: attraction plus obstacles equal excitement. He says that although most couples envision a harmonious love life, sexual arousal thrives upon conflict and “the dark side of lust.” He suggests that sex is paradoxical, which in his equation means full of obstacles. He says a foundational, healthy approach to sex involves “embracing the paradoxical perspective.”
According to Morin, the four cornerstones of eroticism are longing, prohibition, power and ambivalence. Explaining our attraction to unavailable people, we get to some factors that show that longing and anticipation are strengthened by prohibitions and obstacles and also by ambivalence.
This means the more we aren’t supposed to have something or someone, and the more conflicted we feel about our own emotions — the higher the excitement and the arousal becomes. And the greater our desire is the greater satisfaction comes from getting it — even to some extent.
We all say that we crave stability, but studies show differently.
According to a study, attractive potential partners were described as having either low, intermediate, or high availability. When asked who they would most like to date and what kind of restaurant they’d take that person to, participants tended to choose the low availability target and, they decided to take them to the fanciest restaurant
In another study, participants were told that an attractive person liked them a lot, liked them an average amount, or liked them at an unknown level. Participants then rated how attracted they were to the target. Not surprisingly, people were drawn to the prospect who liked them a lot over the prospect who liked them an average amount. However, they were actually most attracted to the prospect who liked them an unknown amount!
Uncertainty works on a few levels here. On the one hand, being uncertain about someone else’s feelings can be seen as an obstacle to pursuing something with them (and attraction plus obstacle means excitement). However, uncertainty could also create a sense of mystery that draws you in, further increasing excitement. | https://medium.com/mind-cafe/why-we-want-those-we-cant-have-fd3dcef16c65 | ['Octavia Morrison'] | 2019-12-27 08:13:16.687000+00:00 | ['Self Improvement', 'Relationships', 'Advice', 'Love', 'Dating'] |
751 Miles | “It’s clear to me now that I have been moving toward you and you toward me for a long time. Though neither of us was aware of the other before we met, there was a kind of mindless certainty bumming blithely along beneath our ignorance that ensured we would come together. Like two solitary birds flying the great prairies by celestial reckoning, all of these years and lifetimes we have been moving toward one another.”
~Robert James Waller
I have a lot of reasons not to do this. I wouldn’t be a decent person if I didn’t think about those things. I’ve done the arguing. I’ve weighed the pros and cons. I’ve considered every possible angle. But I simply can’t talk myself out of loving you. That’s something I can’t do. For me, that’s not a rational thought. I have to be with you!
My heart pounds when you’re away. I feel when I’m with you, it finally syncs up! You know what it’s like? To constantly be reminded there is something wrong with your heart? For years this has been my day. With every single beat…it’s just not quite right…Then when you crashed into my life, it pounded all the more. Like it said, “That’s it! Go and don’t look back!”
Even when you leave the room, it aches. But when I’m with you, I am calm. I can breathe easier. Things are still. Things are right. And I have to be in that place with you. I don’t think my heart itself can handle going on without you.
I know things won’t always be perfect. But I do think that my heart will be right. I don’t understand how that’s even possible. I never believed in this kind of love before. Isn’t that the one organ everyone is always trying to figure out? The heart?
I’m trying. I think I might have figured out my own. And when I look at you, it’s like seeing myself. I get you. You get me. We don’t even have to explain. And it’s so nice to be with someone to whom I don’t have to constantly explain myself.
My heart knows you somehow. Where did you come from? How did this all even happen? Will anyone else ever really understand? Does no one really understand this kind of thing until it happens to them? I don’t understand it. I just know it’s happening. And I can’t deny it or fight it. I just might die if I were to try.
I don’t know how, but I think our hearts seem to know each other . And it would be a shame to keep them apart. I can feel the pain of space between us. My heart won’t ever let me forget that you’re not near me.
Lexi
We weren’t looking for each other. We found each other though. Across the miles, we found each other. In spite of separate marriages, we found each other. Against all odds, we found each other.
To some, our story is a beautiful inspiration. To others, it’s a disgusting story of two broken people who ran away together. To us, it’s everything.
We so desperately want to tell the world our story but we always wonder if anyone could appreciate the beauty of it as we do. We don’t need permission or approval or even acceptance. We just want to be understood.
Do you have a story that’s been misunderstood? Send me an email, I’d love to hear it! [email protected] | https://medium.com/@acfischerpod/751-miles-85cd1b8f6b1e | ['Ac Fischer'] | 2019-10-13 08:13:11.610000+00:00 | ['Love Letters', 'Romantic', 'Love', 'Long Distance', 'Life'] |
It is Not Disbelief That is Dangerous to Our Society; It is Belief. — George Bernard Shaw | Belief. A topic I have spoken on many times before. For one something to be cherished and at the same time something that can be utterly dangerous. A thing that seems so innocent and wonderful, as a child desperately believes in Santa Clause and the Tooth Fairy; yet also a thing that has caused so much devastation. Belief that an entire race or religion of the human population is not worthy of life. Belief that any one person is better than any other based on a skin color, a gender, a social status, a place of upbringing, or any number of fatuous grounds and conjectures. Belief in something so silly as that the Earth is truly flat when the spherical shape of Earth was discovered in the 3rd century BC.
A belief becomes dangerous when it remains unchallenged or challenge is refused for fear of what may be revealed. Questions must always be asked about ideas. If there are no questions then there can be no ultimate truth. If Columbus hadn’t questioned the idea of only sailing one way to India how much longer would it have taken to discover the ‘New World’? If the Greeks hadn’t challenged beliefs that disease is manifested out of superstition and religious punishment, where would the argument for evidence based medicine begin? Everything begins with a question. A very simple thought that simply presents, is this belief or idea valid? No one should ever be shamed for asking. As everyone has heard throughout their time in school, “there’s no such thing as a stupid question”. This should be celebrated. The notion of challenging to further understand, or to correct something that has been widely held as true or not true, should be encouraged with gusto.
To shut down a line of questioning because “it doesn’t work that way” or “that’s not what I was told” is not a valid argument by any stretch of the imagination. The entire point of the question is to ascertain whether things work the way we believe them to and if there is truth to what has been told. It is dangerous to silence people with opposing opinions or thoughts to what is accepted as status quo. It is dangerous to not allow people to wonder and to shame them for doing so. This by no means suggests that every hypothesis will work out or even that it is feasible or justifiable, only that the process of questioning itself should be endorsed.
The most minacious belief of all is one that, when challenged with irrefutable evidence to the contrary, still prevails because of fear. Fear that this *thing* that has been so widely held as an ultimate truth and is so deeply ingrained into one’s psyche that to dismantle it would cause some kind of catastrophic collapse of their very existence. Fear is a very powerful motivator. It of course prevents people from causing themselves deliberate harm in a number of literal circumstances. It also prevents people from causing themselves harm in a metaphorical sense, when they refuse to accept that something has changed or that there is an exception to the rule, because what they believe has become so powerful and all consuming that it can no longer be any other way. Ever. There is another fear. Fear that if people knew you didn’t believe something that was so widely regarded as true you may be ostracized. Fear so paralyzing that going against the grain may incite anger or distaste towards you that you stay silent and feign acceptance to gain acceptance.
All of this brings us now to a very specific belief that is now being contentiously challenged at some of the highest levels of law and public forum. The belief that men cannot be the victims of domestic violence at the hands of women. It is of course true that women can be and are injured by men. It is also true that men have been and can be injured by women. There is this pervasive thought that women are small and fragile beings and they cannot inflict damage upon others. Whilst women have fought for generations to dispel this very thinking, it suddenly becomes weaponized as a winning attribute when a woman is accused of violence. The word for this is hypocrisy. Women can do anything men can do — except be violent, they can never be that. Before we delve into my usual subject matter I want to highlight a few very prominent cases of female perpetrators of violence and I think one in particular will look extremely familiar.
Just in the last month a female boxer was arrested on suspicion of beating her husband to death. Vivane Obenauf, 34, was arrested for allegedly perpetrating a “sustained and violent assault” on her 66 year old husband whom she had only just married in January.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9026013/Female-boxer-Viviane-Obenauf-arrested-suspicion-beating-husband-death.html
Alex Skeel, of the UK, was nearly killed by his girlfriend who is alleged to have poured boiling water on him, slashed him with knives, isolated him from his friends and family, and hit him with glass bottles amongst other claims. The police finally intervened after he continued to make excuses for her on occasions they were called to his residence by friends or neighbors. He was told he was 10 days from death at the time of getting away from her. She is now in jail for coercive and controlling behavior.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/article/81a8f303-5849-45b8-85a0-e8532b5d948b
Phil Hartman was a Canadian comedian and actor. He rose to fame on Saturday Night Live and later starred in a popular TV show called News Radio. In 1987 he married a model and aspiring actress named Brynn Omdahl and they had 2 children together. Their marriage was reportedly difficult as she was intimidated by his success and frustrated that she couldn’t achieve her own fame. She was reportedly jealous and verbally and physically abusive towards him. She sent threatening letters to his exes and Hartman nearly retired from acting to save the marriage. He tried to get her acting roles but she became dependent on alcohol and narcotics and the children had to be removed from the home on occasion because of her drug and booze fueled rages. She wrote threatening letters to his employer that were never sent. His coworkers described him as a family man who cared deeply for his children. In May 1998 Brynn had a “heated” argument with Hartman after she returned from a meal out, he went to bed and at 3am she shot him 3 times. In the head, neck and chest, killing him instantly. She was taking Zoloft, had been drinking, and was using cocaine. She then took her own life after confessing the murder to several friends. The LAPD listed cause of death as “domestic discord”. Friends of Brynn said she had trouble controlling her anger and got attention by losing her temper although they always gave the appearance of being happy and well-balanced as a couple.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Hartman
We now come to American actor Johnny Depp. After telling his then wife Amber Heard that he was finished with the marriage and would be seeking a divorce she undercut him and filed first, producing a list of extortion demands to keep the divorce quiet. On the filing she cited irreconcilable differences as the reason for separation. When he refused her demands for ownership of luxurious condos, tens of thousands of dollars a month in spousal support, and a number of other extravagant requests, she launched domestic abuse allegations at him in the public. Ever since then it has been a heated battle between the two as more and more evidence is brought to light. Depp largely stayed quiet until 2018 when The Sun tabloid printed an article directly accusing him of being a wife beater. Later that same year Amber herself would pen an op-ed for The Washington Post referring to her relationship with Depp and propping herself up as a survivor of domestic violence. He then sued both The Sun and Heard directly for libel and defamation.
In his claim against Heard came the first revelations that Depp may have in fact been the victim of abuse and not she as was claimed. He detailed her aggressive nature and a number of altercations where he alleges she caused him injuries, including the amputation of his finger tip during a rage in Australia. I’m not going to rehash everything that has transpired but in early 2020 audio tapes were released where Amber continuously admits to acts of violence against him, with her main anger towards him being the fact that he constantly runs away from her fights. I believe most have heard these long tapes already but for anyone who has not here is the link to the court submitted versions of this audio in its entirety.
https://www.courttv.com/news/amber-heard-witness-statements-depp-blamed-the-monster-for-physical-verbal-abuse/
Now coming back to that discussion about belief. The public largely sided with Heard in 2016, they had no reason not to. A woman was claiming violence and she had photos spread across People Magazine to prove it. In that moment she cemented her story, she struck first and she struck with devastating force that was heard the world over. She knew it would stick with the mixture of his star power and her allegations. At the time few cared to delve deeper into her claims or to question her accusations. If they did they were met with rousing cries of “how dare you” and “she said so”. Women are to be believed at all costs when they allege something against their male partners, never mind that cracks almost instantly began to appear in the facade.
The LAPD, who were called to the home on May 21, 2016 in relation to the ‘phone throwing’ incident, stated they saw nothing out of place and nothing wrong with Heard other than she appeared to have been crying and her face was flushed. They also had no idea the call involved Johnny Depp as the call was placed under the name Heard. The 911 call log shows him as being named Johnny Heard. When they arrived, Heard and her friends refused to give any more details on him, his whereabouts, or his identity. They found nothing wrong and Heard alleged a verbal disagreement so they left their business card with her and departed. Not widely reported is that some hours later another set of police arrived and also saw nothing. Two separate calls, four different officers, and nothing amiss.
The building personnel gave an off the cuff statement to the press that they had seen nothing wrong with Heard in the days after this alleged incident. The public would later learn that Heard tried to coerce them into retracting this and making a new statement to a friend of hers at People Magazine that they had indeed seen her injured. They refused and referred Heard to their company legal team.
These revelations made some people start to reconsider what they had heard but her claims hit with such force that many were fearful to question her. Again, the belief system. She had made serious and very public claims against someone, the question that began to follow was, why would she lie? When a specific example is challenged in a way that goes against a core belief it is not unusual for people to try and dismiss the contradictory evidence and attempt to justify the event in a way that fits it back into their worldview. The officers were protecting him (see above about not knowing his identity), she must have been wearing makeup and hid her injury from the building staff (more than a few of them testified to seeing her for days, with clearly no makeup on, and nothing wrong). It usually takes something so unbelievably discrediting, patently undeniable, and of equal or more catastrophic force, that to continue to believe the original narrative would then make someone look uninformed and uneducated. In a word, nuclear. Johnny Depp would get his nuclear moment with the audio tapes.
The amount of violence that Heard admits to in the above linked tapes is appalling. Amongst a number of things is punching him in the face, throwing things at him, slamming a door into his head and admitting to starting physical fights. She does not, at any point, insinuate self defense or accuse him of assaulting her other than to say “you hit back” to which he responds that he pushed her off/away from him, which she doesn’t dispute and goes into a tirade about why she isn’t going to discuss details of that fight, and a line to which he admits throwing a can back at her in Australia during the incident in which his finger tip was severed. Add to this the fact he has produced a number of eyewitnesses to her attacks on him and her stories completely fall apart.
These tapes and their contents flew round the world with the same, if not more, furor than her original claims. The tides were turned and they would be turned for good. To have full admittance and undeniable proof in the form of a recording that spans hours led to a world shifting event that suddenly made people understand why she had lied and cemented him as a victim of domestic violence. She had lied because she wanted to undercut him. To seal her status first so she could remain unchallenged and stop him from speaking about anything that had happened to him. She was scared that when he left her and the marriage he would talk, and she had to be the one to talk first and effectively silence him. She never anticipated that he would indeed fight back under the rule of law, she saw him as weak and assumed that he would just stay silent and accept her further abuse through the media. Luckily he found his strength and stood up to her.
Fast forward to July 2020. The case against The Sun went to trial in London. Outside the court Depp was greeted daily by throngs of fans and admirers offering support in the wake of so much of his personal life being laid bare to the world. For most who followed the trial closely it appeared inherently obvious that Heard was lying about everything. Her claims so exaggerated and full of ridiculous details and mistakes that she was confronted with, while Depp openly admitted to his struggles with substance abuse yet maintained his innocence against the abuse allegations and provided all evidence to the contrary. He supplied medical and photographic documentation for his own injuries, he supplied the police depositions and they testified in person, he supplied witnesses to her attacks on him, he supplied security camera footage of Heard without injury in the days after she alleges assault. He supplied everything that appeared necessary to completely discredit her and she appeared to have been the creator of her own demise. She supplied false evidence and claimed horrific injuries that were countered with photographs of her doing public appearances the very next day, or not aligning at all with the remarkable levels of violence she claims to have endured.
She supplied no medical or hospital records to supplement her claims of broken bones. She supplied no evidence to support her claims of absolutely gruesome episodes of violence that, if true, would have left her with lengthy hospital stays and near death on more than one occasion. One does not need to be an expert in medicine to know that her allegations are in no way based in reality and cannot be true when compared with her photographic submissions and behavior in the days after these alleged assaults occur.
Unfortunately disaster struck when the ruling in this case finally arrived. After months of anticipation for what would surely be a resounding victory for Depp, he lost. Justice Andrew Nicol sided with The Sun and declared Heard’s allegations to be “substantially true”. This sent shockwaves around the world as most could not believe it. Survivors of abuse scoffed as they recounted their own court losses in the face of all evidence, others chastised the judge for simply taking the woman’s side. The ruling was condemned by most of the public while the media ran with the victory for themselves and began to write unabashedly that Johnny Depp is a wife beater. It had been decreed by a judge after all so who now would challenge that result.
The ruling in and of itself is deeply flawed on a number of levels in my personal opinion. That opinion is shared by many members of the public as well as a great deal of professionals in the field of law, who have examined it and the case as a whole. There are tons of fallacies and incorrect assumptions throughout. Never mind the complete disregard of evidence against Heard and excusing of the lies she was caught in at every turn. The most dangerous narrative it has raised is that Depp is a court ruled wife beater. This is not the truth. He has never been criminally charged or convicted in this case, has no convictions for violence anywhere in the world, and has simply lost a libel claim against a disgusting English tabloid. Unfortunately it would cause a massive fallout in any event, leading to him swiftly losing his starring role in the Fantastic Beasts franchise as Gellert Grindelwald. An appalling move from Warner Bros studios that incited a weeks long public backlash against the studio for their decision.
There are a number of theories as to how or why the judge came to the decision he did. I’m not going to entertain a lot of them other than to say that his belief, and possibly the beliefs of some of his family members, may have had some influence on it. To very publicly decree that a woman has lied about domestic violence is a heavy hammer to drop. Although I personally believe that the law is the law no matter the circumstances and should be applied equally no matter the circumstances, it is possible that he felt it would be too disastrous to condemn a female in this way. He may have even taken the, “why would she lie” approach. He certainly may have been influenced by someone in his family, friend, or professional circles. He may have decided that Johnny could withstand the judgement against him because he is a man after all, men can just take it and never complain or feel emotional about anything. He may have also just simply, believed her.
I find the latter to be hard to stomach after examining all of the evidence and testimony but that’s the thing about beliefs. They will sometimes make you say and do things that seem completely absurd to others but are completely valid and unproblematic to you.
In the wake of everything the public support for Depp has grown to fever pitch. As I said earlier, the audios proved nuclear to Heard and her credibility. She has now undertaken a PR stance to completely undermine that public support and make various accusations against those who speak out against her. She has filed a $100 million counter claim against Depp alleging that he and his lawyer are running an internet ‘smear campaign’ against her with the use of sophisticated Russian bots. Her previous lawyer, Roberta Kaplan (who dropped her as a client after the audio tapes were released), has compared those who support Depp to the KKK, nazis, and Trump Supporters. It’s worth mentioning that she was reprimanded by the judge in the Virginia defamation suit, which is yet to be heard, for giving misleading statements to the media surrounding various court decisions. A profile was written on Depp in The Hollywood Reporter that reeks of character assassination and never mentions Heard or the evidence against her.
What all of this name calling and peacocking really means is that they are scared. The media knows they have lost the public on this matter and in that an entire belief structure is being crushed and dismantled. Kaplan has a vested interest even after having left Heard and her case because she is a founding member of the #TimesUp legal defense fund. An organization who’s purpose is supposed to be to help victims of sexual harassment and the like. The problem that ensued for her recently is that the organization has been found to be funneling more funds to their executives and their lush board meetings than actually helping anyone. Yelling about poor defenseless women and big bad men is a big business, and Depp threatens the very existence of that business if he gets a fair shake. Their and Heard’s answer to that is to try and silence everyone by slapping them with labels. They’re bots, they’re incapable of rational discourse, they have no understanding of the English language. I wish I were joking but these are actually literal quotes from Kaplan herself. I think that’s rather abusive in and of itself.
If you have to try and silence a massive number of people and label them as essentially heretics, then what does that really say about you? In my opinion it says that you are paralyzed with fear that your beliefs are being challenged and you now stop at nothing to keep those conversations from happening or seeming legitimate. The attempt to intimidate and oppress the public into silence is a wild gamble. There is no conceivable payoff for that maneuver as the pushback will only grow louder and more severe no matter the subject. Telling people that they must believe something because someone said so went out of fashion in the Middle Ages and won’t be reappearing any time soon. We live in the age of information, with knowledge and resources available at the swipe or click of a finger, and this is terrifying to people like Amber Heard and Roberta Kaplan because they know that people are aware of where to find the truth and that they are actively seeking it out.
I don’t know what the future holds for Johnny Depp or his case against Heard in Virginia. I can only hope with the advantage of a jury trial vs one sole man in the UK that people will listen to what the evidence, witnesses, and Heard herself all say. I hope they take it upon themselves to challenge whatever belief they may have in a case such as this, to make sure that the truth is what ultimately prevails. Not a single person or a preference or what they believe should be true, but what actually is true.
“Villainy wears many masks, and none so dangerous as the mask of virtue.”
- Washington Irving -
*The UK trial transcripts can be found here — https://www.nickwallis.com/depp-trial
*All documents and motions filed to this point in Virginia can be found here — https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/circuit/high-profile-cases | https://medium.com/@JM125/it-is-not-disbelief-that-is-dangerous-to-our-society-it-is-belief-george-bernard-shaw-884a60214999 | [] | 2020-12-16 06:49:00.224000+00:00 | ['Belief', 'Domestic Violence', 'Johnny Depp', 'Amber Heard'] |
A Lesson In Failure — Falling From and Into A Coding Bootcamp | Five years ago, I was introduced to programming for the first time. I had never bothered to look at code or understand it. My knowledge of the subject consisted of stereotypical images in my head that resembled something like the Matrix, or with people hacking away in basements and creating what I knew as the internet. Shortly after graduating, I had a made a decision to no longer pursue a career in my originally intended field of industrial and organization psychology. I didn’t want to pursue a PhD, and to be honest, I was burned out from schooling. I wanted to work and earn an income, but I was conflicted with what I wanted to do for a career.
My entire life’s formal education, I had spent checking off the boxes that I was told would lead to success. Grades were straight A’s almost every year from elementary school all the way through college, with the exception of a couple classes. I was viewed as the ideal student, praised by teachers, and my work was obviously reflected in my grades. It was important to me and was the expectation of my family that I did well. I studied for tests, I wrote my papers, and always did my homework. Looking back at my time, I can’t deny that I did well in academics and because of it, I graduated from one of the best universities in the country (GO BEARS!). But at the end of it all, I felt lost. Through all my learning, I did what I needed to achieve the grades I wanted, but never sought to push myself. In fact, at points I shied away from the classes that would push me. The classes that even though I would learn more and would find more interest in them, wouldn’t give me the grade I desired. To me at the time, that was failure.
This is indicative of what’s known as a fixed mindset and although I had never intentionally done so, I had hurt my own educational growth. Now here I was, post college, feeling lost. I took a moment to reflect on the subjects that I had truly enjoyed growing up. Math immediately popped into mind since I had spent countless hours doing workbooks and learning more advanced topics with my grandpa as a kid. Problem solving was fun, whether it was a game of chess or collaborating with others to achieve some common goal. As I pieced together these memories, I had a epiphany that I had wanted to return to my math roots. This realization plus my newly achieved degree led me to researching a career in quantitative psychology. However, as stated before, I was burned out from traditional schooling and I didn’t want to put myself deep into debt for something I wasn’t excited about.
“When you take risks you learn that there will be times when you succeed and there will be times when you fail. Both are equally important.” — Ellen
As I researched other alternatives for a career, I stumbled upon something called coding bootcamps. They were still very young at the time, and weren’t widely known. The programs ensured you could go from minimal coding experience to an employable software engineer in the span of three months. That fact alone removed the fear of being in school for an extended period of time — I could squeeze three months out even though I was burned out. The idea of making a career change in only three months time was intriguing enough that I began researching the various coding bootcamps available. That is when I stumbled across App Academy, which was one of the leading bootcamps at the time. They only required that you make a downpayment of 2000 dollars and then after you found a job as an engineer, they would take 20% of your first year’s salary. And that just checked off the affordability aspect. What was there to lose?
Long story short, I studied Ruby (an object oriented programming language) for a short period of time before enrolling in the next pre-course for their program. This was a class designed to give you a foundation prior to taking a technical assessment to determine if you were eligible for the program. As I had always done, I did what I needed to do and passed the exam. I had made it into the program! I was about as excited as when I had first been accepted to Cal.
For the next month, I studied for hours each day and exercised the small bits of coding knowledge I had up until the official start date. It was go time! As I entered class for the first time, and looked around, I began to hype myself up for this new chapter of my life. I was ready for a change and ready to take on this challenge… and challenging it was. I have never worked so hard to keep my head above water for anything. Each day was 8–10 hours of work plus my commute back to the East Bay. Topics came and went far before you would feel comfortable with them. It felt like trying to constantly cram the night before an exam, except in some hellish purgatory where it never ended. There was a lot of ground to cover in a short period of time and they weren’t waiting for you to catch up. The first exam finally came, and I scored 80%. In college — not terrible, for this particular bootcamp, that was strike one of two for having to exit the program. I was shook but also determined to do better, and I busted my ass for the next week to comprehend the topics, watch extra lectures, and complete as many problems as possible. It was exam day again for recursion and other toy problems, and after taking it, I knew it was going to be close. After receiving my score, I read the numbers of another failure: 80%.
I tried not to think about it too much and continued my daily work. We had already begun a new topic on databases using SQLite, and it gave me something to distract myself with. After beginning pair programming for a short while, I heard my name called by one of the lead instructors. I knew what it was for and could feel a pit form in the bottom of my stomach. As I made my way to the office, I could feel my skin getting hot and nervousness began to set in as I awaited the inevitable. The exchange was short, maybe a a couple minutes. He hadn’t spoken with me before, so his demeanor wasn’t particularly sympathetic as he informed me that I was being dropped from the program. I sort of zoned out as the words hit me, thinking about how hard I had worked to be here, and more importantly that I wanted to be here. I had made a few friends that I commuted with, and others that I spoke to on breaks. I had learned a lot of new things that I hadn’t even touched the surface of prior to starting. But that didn’t matter. This was strike two and as stated in the student handbook, I had to leave.
It was a lonely walk to the car. A cool fall day, with the gray San Francisco skies above, with nothing but the sound of my thoughts filling the world around me. I was mad at myself, and mad at the program for forcing me to leave for scoring 80% on my first two exams. When I finally made it to the car, I cried. I cried like I had never cried before. The mixture of emotions I felt as I sat there was overwhelming. I felt like I was right back where I started, or even worse. I felt like a failure.
For the next five years, I didn’t write a line of code. I wanted nothing to do with it. It had left a scar in my mind that I wasn’t good enough, or smart enough, and it wasn’t for me. And yet, when telling other people about my experience, I couldn’t help but acknowledge that the program was a period of my life that I had worked incredibly hard for. It had pushed me and I had pushed myself. It took some time, but I no longer viewed it as a failure. In fact, it was anything but. It was a period of growth for me as an individual to really push myself to learn something I really wanted to learn despite knowing the inherent difficulty that came with it. I may not have succeeded on paper, but mentally I had grown.
In 2019, I co-founded a business with several friends and set out to revolutionize the age-old racket stringing service business. We each poured extra hours of our time into building our new business and ultimately we began to grow in demand. The excitement of complete strangers using our service was fueling our motivation to do more and be more. Eventually however, it became clear that our model needed to change, and that we needed to be more profitable per transaction. While we weren’t losing money, we certainly weren’t making enough to justify the time spent. Contractor laws change, which hindered the model even more, and in a difficult decision, we decided to stop our services in 2020. Striingr was closed and the company was done. There wasn’t a grade to attach to this, but it was one of the more fruitful experiences in my life. The experience I gained, the people I built connections with and the challenges I overcame were more than worth it. Not everyone tries to bring an idea to life, but I was apart of a team that did, and that means more to me than money.
Additionally, it had indirectly exposed me to coding once again. I didn’t actually code any part of it, but I saw the power of being able to bring a project to life through the means of technology. My good friend, and now mentor, was a seasoned software engineer who built our website from the ground up. It was one thing to code toy problems, it was another to watch something you had envisioned suddenly become a reality. I began thinking to myself, maybe I should learn to code again. I was in a different place: I had motivation, an amazing group of supportive friends, my job was steady and I had some money saved up. Maybe I could give it another shot.
My other good friend and I began discussing options. Ways you could self teach and what the job market looked like. He knew that I had dabbled in code before and pushed me to look into it again. I thought about going back to school, or maybe trying to self start through the Odin Project. The thoughts were mainly just that: thoughts. And then coronavirus hit, and places began to shut down. My work, as a tennis director was among those effected by the shutdowns as governments officials scrambled to establish safety protocols for various businesses. The moment of ambiguity actually made some things much more clear to me, and as a result I made the decision to finish what I had once started.
“Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.” — Henry Ford
I browsed through coding bootcamps once more, which had clearly evolved since I had initially applied five years earlier. There were exponentially more of them, which seemed promising, and several I had seen in 2015 were still around. I glanced through the various programs, but leaned towards more established programs that had been around the block and had numerous reviews and testimonies from past students. I landed on a unique program that would allow me to work full time and still learn to code: Hack Reactor’s RPT program. I quickly submitted my application and began preparing for my second time through a coding bootcamp.
This time it was in javascript, but I noticed that despite the language difference, problems were still logically the same. My prior exposure made learning this time around much easier. Concepts made more sense and I was able to build a solid foundation from the start. After a few weeks, I was given a technical assessment to enter the program — this time no prep course, just self-study — and I passed! I was thrilled to start again and finish what I had once set out to do. I had a growth mindset this time around, and that was distinctly different from the last time I had embarked on this journey.
I’m happy to say that I am nearly through the program and absolutely thriving. Hack Reactor has done a wonderful job with the curriculum, and my classmates are fantastic individuals. I enjoy learning new technologies, the problem solving, working and collaborating with others, I enjoy creating a full-stack app, and even though things are difficult from time to time (working 60–70 hours a week, sacrificing my social life, finding the extra finances, working through difficult bugs), it’s easier to push forward when you understand your overall goal is growth. No poor academic performance, or rejected job application, or closed business is a failure; instead those “failures” are just another step on the road to success. | https://medium.com/@gabrielgutierrez1/a-lesson-in-failure-falling-from-and-into-a-coding-bootcamp-34c5d4accfaf | ['Gabriel Gutierrez'] | 2020-12-19 16:22:02.325000+00:00 | ['Hack Reactor', 'Software Engineering', 'Codingbootcamp', 'Failure To Success', 'Career Change'] |
22 रोचक तथ्य | A Fact website where we post interesting fun facts about the world!! | https://medium.com/@thefunfact101/22-%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%8B%E0%A4%9A%E0%A4%95-%E0%A4%A4%E0%A4%A5%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AF-65681ebba889 | ['The Fun Fact'] | 2020-12-11 13:03:26.239000+00:00 | ['Fun', 'Facts', 'Information'] |
Who Can Beat Trump? | The Republicans can’t win the 2020 election, but the Democrats can lose it. Any of the major Democratic candidates can win against Trump.
Photo by Pau Casals on Unsplash
To determine who is most likely to beat Trump, it’s important to look to history and what has happened recently within our peer nations’ elections.
The 1972 Presidential Election
In 1972, there were nine Democrats that had more than 1% of the popular vote in the primaries. Hubert Humphrey had the most votes in the primaries/caucuses with 25.77% of the vote. George McGovern was in second place with 25.34% of the popular vote. Still, McGovern had the most delegates and was the eventual nominee.
McGovern was considered to be from the ultra-liberal wing of the party. He was somewhere to the left of Bernie Sanders and Andrew Yang. McGovern supported “guaranteed minimum income” and a single-payer healthcare system. In other words, “Universal Basic Income” and “Medicare for All.” He supported guaranteed jobs for everyone, similar to AOC’s Green New Deal.
Nixon was already considered a shifty person. The Watergate Break-In was on June 17, 1972. The news broke immediately. “Deep Throat” started talking to Bob Woodward only three days later on June 20, 1972. This stuff was out there in the news, but few people listened.
Nixon defeated McGovern by the largest margin in American history until that date. Reagan would later hand Mondale a worse loss in 1984. Undoubtedly, McGovern would fare far better today. But, would he win? There is a much larger progressive base today than there was in 1972, but there is also a much larger extreme right-wing base. Even Nixon supported a “guaranteed minimum income” in the 1970s. In 1972, Republicans weren’t the extremists they are today. Today’s Republicans would have kicked Reagan and George H. W. Bush out of their party.
In America today, I would be considered an ultra-liberal. However, if I were placed in one of the world’s other advanced economies I would be considered a moderate at best and more likely, a conservative. The same could be said for such “liberals” as Elizabeth Warren. America is an outlier on the political and economic spectrum. Our system is no longer working for the American people and it hasn’t worked well in over thirty years. Sure, you can cherry-pick a few outdated economic indicators and say we have the greatest economy in the world. On closer look, your argument in favor of our economy will fail every time.
The lesson of 1972 is, that we are taking a risk by nominating the most liberal/progressive candidate for President. Bernie Sanders fits this description in 2020, however, he was no further to the left than McGovern. Yes, I am concerned. I am more concerned because I don’t know if Bernie has the patience to hand Trump a whipping. We may get to find out. I would be happy with a President Sanders — if he can get elected. He is one of my top three choices. I will deal more with “how to beat Trump” in my next story. It’s surprisingly easy.
Recent Elections in Other Countries
The lesson of recent elections in other nations comes out of the U.K. Boris Johnson and the Tories couldn’t get anything through Parliament. Yet, in the face of the Socialist Jeremy Corbyn, Johnson won in a landslide. Now, there is more to the story here. Corbyn and the Labor Party suffered due to allegations of anti-Semitism. Corbyn wasn’t a very charismatic candidate either. It’s also worth noting that “Socialists” in the U.K. are far to the left of Bernie. For that matter, they are to the left of Denmark! Lucky for us, we don’t have to worry about anti-semitism with Mr. Sanders. He is Jewish. He is also very charismatic. But can he win? Yes.
Any of These Candidates Can Whip Trump
Bernie, Biden, Buttigieg, Warren, Klobuchar, Bloomberg, or Steyer are all far more intelligent than Trump. They all have the capability of beating him. They all have baggage. Except for Elizabeth Warren, there is a weakness for each. Sure there are some silly scandals that the far-right tries to exploit about Warren, but the American people see through such foolishness now. My ranking of the candidates that are most likely to beat Trump is in the following order:
1. Bloomberg
2. Biden
3. Steyer
4. Klobuchar
5. Warren, Bernie, and Buttigieg
Now, as the reader jumps up and says “he’s crazy,” let me explain. I have thought the matter through. To see where each of these candidates stands on the issues, this tool from Politico is the best I have found.
Mike Bloomberg
Bloomberg has the best chance of winning for a few reasons. He has crossover appeal. He can easily grab the majority of the independents and all the “never-Trump” Republicans from Trump. Bloomberg would win in a landslide. On top of that, Bloomberg could buy every second of air time on every network from now until the election and it would barely dent his bank account. Even if he were to spend 90% of his fortune, he would still be far wealthier than the most charitable estimates of Trump’s net worth. See my story, The Truth About Trump’s Financial Success for more on Trump’s net worth. He is currently spending $37.00 per second on advertising. He could increase this amount to over $600.00 per second from now until election day and he wouldn’t notice the impact on his wealth. He won’t even have to spend that much to get himself elected and provide the financial push for the Democrats to win the Senate.
His vast wealth isn’t Bloomberg’s greatest strength. It’s his data operation. The Russians, Chinese, Saudis and others could all try to help Trump through social media misinformation campaigns. They would be severely beaten by Bloomberg. Bloomberg made his fortune in the data business. The price for a special Bloomberg terminal is $24,000 per year as of 2018. People pay this much because Bloomberg has the best data and he has the best data because he has the best people. A lot of these people are now helping his campaign’s data operations.
Now, am I a Bloomberg supporter? No, he is near the bottom of my list, but I would certainly do everything I can for him if he is the party’s nominee. The threat Trump poses to our nation is greater than the threats we fought in World War II. He must not only be defeated, but he must also be destroyed.
There is one very good thing about Trump: he isn’t intelligent. If Bloomberg were to ignore the norms of our nation like Trump, we would be in much greater danger. Bloomberg has the brain to pull off a government takeover in a way that Trump could only do in Trump’s own dreams. For this reason, if Bloomberg is elected, it’s imperative that the Democrats show that they are not cowards like the Republicans. The Democrats in the House and Senate will have to stand up to Bloomberg and hold him accountable. Bloomberg’s best running mate would be Deval Patrick.
Joe Biden
Biden doesn’t have the Bloomberg operation, but he is a very likable person. Bloomberg would support him should he be the nominee. Since he is a moderate, Biden would have crossover appeal. Since Biden is the candidate the Republicans have most prepared for and due to Biden’s history of gaffes, Biden is the candidate that is most likely to make a fatal mistake. The Hunter Biden / Burisma scandal will have no effect on Biden. It might actually help him. Biden’s best running mate would be Kamala Harris or Stacey Abrams.
Tom Steyer
Steyer has been unfairly overlooked. He has been a grassroots organizer for a long time. He was the first to confront Trump and paid for air time for years to try to get Trump impeached. He seems like a good guy. It sickens me to hear candidates criticized just because they became a billionaire. I have no problem with a billionaire that earned their money in an honest way and is giving their wealth back to the people of our nation. Steyer meets this qualification. The litmus test for Steyer is the same as it should be for any other Democrat: the nominee must support meaningful campaign finance reform — including a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, 558 U.S. 310 (2010). Steyer’s best running mate would be Kamala Harris.
Amy Klobuchar
Klobuchar is a likable candidate. She was one of my favorites at the beginning. Then the scandal involving the treatment of her staffers came out. I am concerned about her management capabilities. We already have a President that has no idea how to manage people. We don’t need another. This is the worst scandal for any Democratic candidate as far as I am concerned. Yes, Bloomberg and the others have some racial issues. These issues will work themselves out. No Democrat can be elected without the African-American vote. Whoever is elected will owe their election to the African-American population. They will change their ways and strongly support what matters to most African-Americans. The reason Klobuchar’s scandal is worse is that she may not be able to change. She just may not have the “management skills” necessary for the job. The aforementioned considered I would support Klobuchar in a heartbeat in a race against Trump. Since she is somewhat moderate and has a history of working with Republicans, she is an easy winner. Klobuchar’s best running mate would be Cory Booker.
Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders
Warren and Sanders (my favorites) aren’t as likely to win as the candidates above. The reason is that the extreme right-wing will do everything they can to scare the American people into believing that America will turn into Venezuela if either of these people is the Democratic nominee. Unfortunately, too many Americans will fall for this foolishness. Warren’s best running mate would be Cory Booker or Julian Castro. Bernie’s best running mate would be Andrew Gillum or Stacy Abrams, though I hesitate to even make a guess about who Bernie will pick.
Pete Buttigieg
Buttigieg is a moderate candidate. He doesn’t have the “ultra-liberal” label of Warren and Sanders. Still, as a married gay man, he has an uphill climb. Can he beat Trump? Hell yeah! But I fear we will see a Tom Bradley Effect in the polling. People will say they support Mayor Pete but will vote the other way when they cast their votes. Call me terrible for pointing this fact out, but it’s real. Pundits have been talking about if a woman can beat Trump for months, yet, I haven’t heard anyone on television mention this issue. In another year, it wouldn’t be worth mentioning. However, the fear of four more years of Trump has me asking this question. Buttigieg’s best running mate would be Kamala Harris.
Conclusion
Any of these people can easily beat Trump, but they can also easily make a huge mistake and lose. The Democratic candidate needs to run an unconventional campaign because they are running against an idiot. To preview my next story, I will just say, they need to “laugh at him.” They need to fight Trump like Sugar Ray Leonard fought Roberto Duran in the 1980 “No Mas” fight. Do this, and the Democrats will have the election won long before election day. | https://medium.com/datadriveninvestor/who-can-beat-trump-3bc571e9e5e | ['Jp Kobel'] | 2020-02-20 10:46:45.301000+00:00 | ['2020 Presidential Race', 'Trump', 'Democratic Party', 'Republican Party', 'Politics'] |
Making an Interactive Web Map in Python with Folium: Part 1 — Preparing the Data | As a lover of maps, cartography, geography, and all things spatial, I’d be the first to advocate for the use of maps when visualizing any information that has a spatial component. Maps are able to convey a great deal of information in an understandable, intuitive, and digestible form, all while often remaining aesthetically pleasing (usually without much of a need for tweaking style parameters). Additionally, maps have the unique capacity to let readers find themselves in the data being shown, to situate themselves in the story being told. For this reason, when I work on a project, I often try to find a way to visualize the data spatially through either a static map or a dynamic, interactive one.
While much of my experience with map-makery (read: cartography) has been in the creation of static map images, I recently started using Python to make some interactive web maps that allow users to explore the data stored in these maps for themselves. One of the main libraries I’ve been using to make interactive maps has been folium, a Python library that builds on leaflet.js to make it relatively simple to take data in Python and visualize it on a Leaflet map.
Since I recently finished a project trying to predict fire risk for New York City census tracts, I thought I would take my newfound folium skills and apply them to the same dataset of fire incidents. I will walk through the steps necessary to prepare the fire incident dataset for creating an interactive map.
For the first step of this exercise, I import the usual suspects (pandas, numpy, and matplotlib) as well as two libraries that allow for the creation and manipulation of spatial data in Python: geopandas and shapely.
Since I’m mapping the fire incidents, I only need to import the Point module from shapely.
Then I can import the dataset of geocoded fire incidents. This is the version of the fire incident data I used in my project after geocoding each incident. Here I can use pandas to read in the data with the read_csv() method. I also like to use a few pandas methods right away to get a better sense of the data’s structure.
Since there are lat (latitude) and lon (longitude) columns for the data, I can use these to create point geometries for each row in the dataset. Shapely’s Point constructor enables me to do this by passing a tuple of coordinates into Point(). As this needs to be done for every lon-lat pair in the dataset, I can use a list comprehension to create a list of Points that serves as the geometry column. However, in order for the dataframe to become a GeoDataFrame, I need to use geopandas’ GeoDataFrame() method with the incident dataframe as the input data and the list of Points as the geometry. The code for this process looks like this:
The resulting GeoDataFrame functions in much the same way as the pandas dataframe; I can check the columns and missing values with .info(), look at the first few rows with .head(), and even do a simple plot of the data using matplotlib with .plot(). To check that this transformation worked and that the Points data looks the way it should, I can run that last command and look at the resulting plot.
Looks roughly like the five boroughs of New York City, if the city was composed of little blue dots. Excellent, looks like I’m on the right track.
Since this post is getting a bit long, I’m going to save the last steps (making an interactive map with folium using this data) for my next post. I’ll be picking up from where I’m leaving off here, so stay tuned. | https://medium.com/@nchristiansen/making-an-interactive-web-map-in-python-with-folium-part-1-preparing-the-data-6480f7840e13 | ['Noah Christiansen'] | 2019-06-17 01:04:33.519000+00:00 | ['Data Science', 'Python', 'Geopandas', 'Mapping', 'Folium'] |
Google map via API | map with multiple pins
It's mandatory to have an API key to use gmap
Map Types
roadmap displays the default road map view. This is the default map type.
displays the default road map view. This is the default map type. satellite displays Google Earth satellite images.
displays Google Earth satellite images. hybrid displays a mixture of normal and satellite views.
displays a mixture of normal and satellite views. terrain displays a physical map based on terrain information.
Map Controls
The Zoom control displays “+” and “-” buttons for changing the zoom level of the map. This control appears by default in the bottom right corner of the map.
displays “+” and “-” buttons for changing the zoom level of the map. This control appears by default in the bottom right corner of the map. The Map Type control is available in a dropdown or horizontal button bar style, allowing the user to choose a map type ( ROADMAP , SATELLITE , HYBRID , or TERRAIN ). This control appears by default in the top left corner of the map.
is available in a dropdown or horizontal button bar style, allowing the user to choose a map type ( , , , or ). This control appears by default in the top left corner of the map. The Street View control contains a Pegman icon which can be dragged onto the map to enable Street View. This control appears by default near the bottom right of the map.
contains a Pegman icon which can be dragged onto the map to enable Street View. This control appears by default near the bottom right of the map. The Rotate control provides a combination of tilt and rotate options for maps containing oblique imagery. This control appears by default near the bottom right of the map. See 45° imagery for more information.
provides a combination of tilt and rotate options for maps containing oblique imagery. This control appears by default near the bottom right of the map. See 45° imagery for more information. The Scale control displays a map scale element. This control is disabled by default.
displays a map scale element. This control is disabled by default. The Fullscreen control offers the option to open the map in fullscreen mode. This control is enabled by default on desktop and mobile devices. Note: iOS doesn’t support the fullscreen feature. The fullscreen control is therefore not visible on iOS devices.
Add map
Map box place
<div id="map"></div>
initiate the map
var map = new google.maps.Map(document.getElementById('map'), {
zoom: 6,
center: new google.maps.LatLng(37.7749295, -122.4194155),
mapTypeId: google.maps.MapTypeId.ROADMAP
});
Add location
var locations = [
['San Francisco: Power Outage', 37.7749295, -122.4194155, 'http://labs.google.com/ridefinder/images/mm_20_purple.png'],
['Sausalito', 37.8590937, -122.4852507, 'http://labs.google.com/ridefinder/images/mm_20_red.png'],
['Sacramento', 38.5815719, -121.4943996, 'http://labs.google.com/ridefinder/images/mm_20_green.png'],
['Soledad', 36.424687, -121.3263187, 'http://labs.google.com/ridefinder/images/mm_20_blue.png'],
['Shingletown', 40.4923784, -121.8891586, 'http://labs.google.com/ridefinder/images/mm_20_yellow.png']
];
Add the markers
marker = new google.maps.Marker({
position: new google.maps.LatLng(locations[i][1], locations[i][2]),
map: map,
icon: locations[i][3]
});
Keep the map centered
google.maps.event.addListener(marker, 'click', function () {
map.setZoom(14);
map.panTo(this.getPosition());
});
Add click event to markers
google.maps.event.addListener(marker, 'click', (function (marker, i) {
return function () {
infowindow.setContent(locations[i][0]);
infowindow.open(map, marker);
}
})(marker, i));
Full script
function initialize() {
//add map, the type of map
var map = new google.maps.Map(document.getElementById('map'), {
zoom: 6,
center: new google.maps.LatLng(37.7749295, -122.4194155),
mapTypeId: google.maps.MapTypeId.ROADMAP
});
//add locations
var locations = [
['San Francisco: Power Outage', 37.7749295, -122.4194155, 'http://labs.google.com/ridefinder/images/mm_20_purple.png'],
['Sausalito', 37.8590937, -122.4852507, 'http://labs.google.com/ridefinder/images/mm_20_red.png'],
['Sacramento', 38.5815719, -121.4943996, 'http://labs.google.com/ridefinder/images/mm_20_green.png'],
['Soledad', 36.424687, -121.3263187, 'http://labs.google.com/ridefinder/images/mm_20_blue.png'],
['Shingletown', 40.4923784, -121.8891586, 'http://labs.google.com/ridefinder/images/mm_20_yellow.png']
];
//declare marker call it 'i'
var marker, i;
//declare infowindow
var infowindow = new google.maps.InfoWindow();
//add marker to each locations
for (i = 0; i < locations.length; i++) {
marker = new google.maps.Marker({
position: new google.maps.LatLng(locations[i][1], locations[i][2]),
map: map,
icon: locations[i][3]
});
google.maps.event.addListener(marker, 'click', function () {
map.setZoom(14);
map.panTo(this.getPosition());
});
//click function to marker, pops up infowindow
google.maps.event.addListener(marker, 'click', (function (marker, i) {
return function () {
infowindow.setContent(locations[i][0]);
infowindow.open(map, marker);
}
})(marker, i));
}
}
google.maps.event.addDomListener(window, 'load', initialize);
Example | https://medium.com/@nsivanoly/google-map-via-api-845352baaa6f | ['Nesaratnam Sivanoly'] | 2019-06-16 10:38:45.922000+00:00 | ['Maps', 'Google Map Api', 'Google Maps Api', 'JavaScript'] |
The Beauty in Space Exploration | Exploring the Universe has been a human ambition since the dawn of time. Human curiosity has fueled a desire to explore and discover new worlds, push the limits of what is understood, and learn more about science and technology. Space exploration and the progress it involves are critical factors for expanding space science and technology into new realms. They build new prospects for addressing global challenges by triggering new alliances and developing capabilities. Check my disclaimer on my profile and landing page. Moreover, I just came across with these other space companies, it was said that they are building new paths toward commercial space travel which could have a potential of approx. $16.2 billion thermal management market. (1) Would this be a start of new innovation for space exploration? Things are really getting interesting here.
While the exact nature of potential benefits from space exploration is difficult to predict, existing trends indicate that major benefits may be seen in areas such as new materials, health and medicine, transportation, and computer technology. As the benefits of space exploration and creativity become more widely recognized, more countries and non-governmental organizations are becoming involved in participating in these activities. Check this sponsored post that I’m going to share with you. Space travel could be the wave of the future. In addition, I found out that the global space tourism market could become a roughly $1.7 billion industry by year 2027 at a CAGR of approx. 15.2% (2) Space exploration still have a mile to go. We should start learning more as we go to its future.
Space exploration also motivates young people to pursue education and careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. It could satisfy our desire to explore and travel in the future, and it has the potential to provide new homes for our species in the years and decades. Space exploration is a way of life for the whole world! Explore on this if you want to learn more about and your might be the next space explorer!
Source 1: https://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/topics/space-exploration-and-innovation.html | https://medium.com/@yukinoagria/the-beauty-in-space-exploration-2d3c27e77d55 | ['Yukino Agria'] | 2021-04-09 15:07:51.306000+00:00 | ['Space Exploration', 'Finance', 'Stock Market'] |
Remembering The Soul | The incredible feeling of connecting with someone’s soul is one of the most treasured experiences we can have as human beings.
Although all human beings share these basic characteristics, we each show up in the world with our own experiences, feelings, and paths to take. Every human being has their own unique story and way of interacting and contributing to the world.
We have all experienced heartbreak, brokenness, loneliness, joy, laughter, connectedness, and love at some point in our lives. In this way, we are all somehow connected.
We all have light and dark within us: the coexistence of masculine and feminine energy, a full range of emotions and feelings, and the choice as to whether or not we will be aware of such a dance and exchange going on inside of us.
Each person we meet is a soul. People are so much more than their egos. It is time we remember to connect with our souls, so we may connect with the soul of another person, not just the surface of them.
The soul is the intangible part of ourselves where we feel connection, we feel purpose, we reach enlightenment. It is the most beautiful part of our essence, that focuses on doing right instead of being right.
Tapping into our soulfulness allows us to set aside ego-based thoughts and behaviors, which would have us focus on being right — instead of doing right.
In understanding the soul and the ego in such a way, we can recognize that we have this incredible dance of light and dark going on within us as well. | https://medium.com/@caitlin-lynch/remembering-the-soul-2da848ce34e2 | ['Caitlin Lynch'] | 2020-12-24 04:24:49.148000+00:00 | ['Relationships', 'Soul', 'Relationships Love Dating', 'Meditation', 'Spirituality'] |
What‘re We Escaping When We Read? | What‘re We Escaping When We Read?
What Chabon’s magnum opus teaches us.
“The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay.” From BookRhapsody.
When I left Canada for college in America, I felt like Harry Potter arriving at Hogwarts. There’s something otherworldly about the act of escaping, especially when you’ve known the thing you’re escaping from for decades.
It’s not the same as going on vacation. When you’re a tourist, you’re using the escape as a mental reprieve, a psychic refill that prepares you to continue your existence at home.
The kind of escape I’m talking about involves a few self-realizations. First, that the reality you’re used to is in some way oppressive. There’s no opportunities for work, you feel like you’re not “where it’s at,” there’s something about yourself that you hate — maybe you’re just bored.
Second, you have this weird need to adapt to something new. People like novelty, learning new rules and integrating different cultures into a unique identity. We like comfort but we also like to fight for survival. War, both physical and internal, gives people purpose.
Third, you want connection. We’re protean creatures, constantly reassessing and regretting and resolving, as we get older. It feels like the people at home are always going to stay the same. Yet there’s a sea of different worlds of others waiting for you to meet them. You have a craving for empathy, to put yourself in the shoes of the moody New Yorkers, or phlegmatic Californians. You want to live multiple lives.
Let me ask you this: what I’ve been talking about is escape in the physical sense, but couldn’t the same be said of the reader of fiction? | https://medium.com/literally-literary/what-re-we-escaping-when-we-read-d33413137b8a | ['Xi Chen'] | 2018-09-11 10:18:28.391000+00:00 | ['Essay', 'Books', 'Reading', 'Literally Literary', 'Culture'] |
Internet of Trays, Your Singapore Hawker Dream | Introducing Internet of Trays
So what makes our solution so unique?
Market solutions out there generally use RFID technology in order to gather tray return data. The nature of RFID allows for quick detection with the ability to take multiple readings at once so it doesn’t matter even if the trays are stacked.
However, not implementing the RFID system hawker-wide greatly dampens its effectiveness. Take for example, the following scenarios:
Not returning the trays to their designated RFID point would lead to underestimation of tray return rates The possibility of wear and tear or misplacing our RFID tray tags from washing Lack of resources to tag sufficient trays for data collection
Despite being a great solution, it fails to account for many blind spots thus we decided to proceed with a zone-based solution that would provide a better reflection of the tray return rate for a selected zone given the known constraints.
Our solution is founded on the following principles we have learnt in IoT:
Minimal deployment of sensors, use only what is needed. Easy to deploy and easily scalable. Relatively friendly and appealing aesthetics.
Architecture
Overview of Solution Architecture
Here is a high-level overview of our implementation, our group makes use of 3 different types of sensors in total. The RPI acts as a gateway to send data to our Mongo Database through WiFi connection. This data is then constantly being aggregated by an external EC2 server running on AWS which is then pulled by our Frontend Dashboard to display up-to-date information online.
Our Solution Set Up
Tray Return Rack
This setup comprises 2 Infrared (IR) sensors on each level of the Tray Return Rack.
By emitting an infrared light which returns the distance of the closest object obstructing its path, the IR sensor is able determine whenever a tray is present. By keeping track of the status of the tray return rack we would be able to track its utilization rate.
Table Set Up
As for the table’s setup, we have used 2 different sensors to ensure accurate data collection.
The round force sensors (RFS) informs us when a tray is placed on or removed from the table by detecting the change in pressure. While, the Proximity Infrared (PIR) sensor detects movement thus allowing us to check if the table is occupied. This allows us to see if patrons have left without returning their trays, essentially reflecting the tray return rate of a given table.
These have all been taped down and hidden from the customers making them as unobtrusive as possible. Above the RFS, we also placed boards with poster cut outs of the tray return campaign to encourage customers to return their trays.
Charts of Wisdom
The data received is displayed on our live dashboard so we can observe real-time changes in occupancy status of the tables and utilization of the tray return racks.
Moreover, there is an insights tab that automatically generates insights based on the data acquired which can provide the management with a direction to improving the tray return campaign. Read on to the next section to find out more!
Satisfying our stakeholders | https://medium.com/@karissekhoo/internet-of-trays-berseh-22afd37d6985 | ['Karisse Khoo'] | 2020-11-26 02:51:52.080000+00:00 | ['IoT', 'Charts', 'Data Driven', 'Sensors', 'Connectivity'] |
How To Take Over The World in 2021 | How To Take Over The World in 2021
Photo by Ava Sol on Unsplash
I’m not so interested in trashing 2020 and focussing on what 2021 might bring me. I am more interested in what went right for me in 2020 and what that means for my overall mission in life in 2021.
Sure, 2020 put a spanner in the works. A big one. A nasty, hurtful one. But it’s out of my control and I learned long ago to reserve my energy for things that I can control.
My mission in life is to activate the inherent creativity of as many people as possible in this world. I do this because I firmly believe that creativity will save the world. I believe that the robotic way we educate ourselves, the factory assembly line way we work and the rigid, black and white social worlds we live in are wrong and need overthrowing.
But I am not a bomb wielding anarchist. I come with solutions: Be more creative. If you don’t like something, make something new to replace it with.
So as we get to this juncture of the year (as with any year) I am not busy with new year’s resolutions. No, I am busy taking stock with what happened this year.
What Lockdowns Taught Me
I learned that there is no time like now. The best time to start something new is always now. Not tomorrow or next week. Cut adrift and workless in lockdown, I realised that I had just been avoiding starting several things that are key to my vision for the future.
The problem with New Year’s resolutions is that they are solutions deferred… til tomorrow, til the end of the year. They see final outputs and products, not processes. In short, they are like fad diets: If you don’t change your lifestyle, you are unlikely to reap the benefits!
Taking Over The World In 2021
SMART goals and all of that traditional advice are all well and good. But they provide no defence against setbacks and unexpected happenings. But when we are already busy with something, what the outlines have begun to emerge, our resilience is so much greater. We have more capacity to weather the storm and start over again.
When you want to lose weight and fit into smaller jeans, having a binge weekend can mean you just give up. But when your weight loss is tied to a change of lifestyle that increases your happiness, improves your access to things you want and generally moves you across the board to your heart’s desire, it’s easier to write off a binge weekend and start again with the changes on Monday.
Just Start. And Start Again. And Again
I often say that humans do not suffer from a shortage of ideas, inspiration or motivation. What we seem to suffer from is an inability to just START! The smallest of first steps will lead you to the next and the next. It requires courage, vision and some kind of plan, but stepping off that first cliff is THE one thing you must do.
If you must have New Year’s resolutions, rather don’t promise that by the end of the year you will have reached or achieved some benchmark. Rather promise that tomorrow, you are going to start the things that you KNOW will lead you slowly to where you want to be. And promise to keep starting, even when things don’t go according to plan. Commit to taking as many small steps as it takes.
The big steps will take care of themselves. | https://medium.com/an-idea/how-to-take-over-the-world-in-2021-242d0e73a5b9 | ['David Chislett'] | 2020-12-22 17:01:36.220000+00:00 | ['Life', 'Meaning', 'Purpose', 'Change', 'New Year Resolution'] |
A Coming Boom from Crowdfunding and SPACs? | A Coming Boom from Crowdfunding and SPACs?
Something very exciting and special is happening in the world of capital fund raising for emerging market and startup companies. Recently, new SEC rules will allow “Crowdfunding” sites to increase the maximum amount of capital that can be raised by companies from the general public.
Crowdfunding is a confusing term for some. To be more precise, Crowdfunding would be more accurately referred to as “Crowd-Investing”. When speaking of “Crowdfunding”, some people mistake it for the activity of sites like GoFundMe or Kickstarter, and thus think it means donating money to a cause and perhaps for a token reward. In reality, Crowdfunding sites like Wefunder and StartEngine open the doors for regular folk to invest in the emerging market and startup community that used to be the exclusive domain of venture capital firms and institutional investors.
Thus John and Jane Q Public can login to one of the Crowdfunding sites, browse the companies opening their doors to investment, and invest $100, $1000, or more in a company that may be high risk, but also may be high reward. The world of reaping potential 10x, 100x, or more returns on investment is at everyone’s finger tips just as it has been for venture capitalists (VCs) with their million dollar plus investments. Only, in this case, at a level at which the individual investor feels comfortable. It’s an opportunity to “get in early” on a company that may track toward a massive acquisition or IPO.
There are two primary paths to Crowdfunding for companies. The first is leveraging “Regulation CF” which currently allows companies to raise up to $1.07M from the general public. Regulation CF funding has SEC filing requirements for companies via a “Form C”. However, the requirements are something most companies can easily fill out, have an independent CPA review financials, and maybe a lawyer help with risk disclosures, in 2 weeks to 2 months time. Crowdfunding portals make it even easier to file the Form C and tap into the crowd as well. The other path, is a “Regulation A” round which currently allows companies to raise up to $50M from the general public. However, the filing requirements are a little more involved. It may take 1 to 4 months to complete the work required to file for a Regulation A raise and most certainly requires help from lawyers. [Note that Regulation A is also sometimes referred to as Regulation A+]
In the January to February 2021 timeframe, new SEC rules will take effect which up the limits that are allowed to be raised. With Regulation CF filings, companies will be able to raise up to $5M. And with Regulation A filings, companies will be able to raise up to $75M. This is a game changer because these limits become more in line with what many startup and hi tech companies seek to raise in more traditional venture capital rounds. Thus, with this route of funding, more companies will be able to raise the kind of capital they need to grow their company to the point of being fully self sustained by revenue and further growth.
The vast majority of venture capital is deployed to companies located within spitting distance of the major venture capital centers like Silicon Valley, New York, and Boston. Being from a Company located well outside of these zones (Charlottesville, Virginia), and having talked to hundreds of VCs, there is a common and natural hesitancy for VCs to want to invest outside of their region of operation. Jumping on a plane and traveling through airports hours on end once a month for board meetings is not always desirable. Furthermore, VCs also naturally understand best the environment in which they are located and affiliated. They understand and know the talent pool, other sources of capital in the area, and resources that exist in their region of operation best. When a Company in Charlottesville, Virginia or elsewhere in Anytown USA pops onto their RADAR, these questions swirl about and add further risk in their mind to the deal.
With Crowdfunding, by nature of its more distributed nature, more potential investors exist who have familiarity with a company’s region. Furthermore, many crowdfunding investors simply don’t care as much about location since they’re not going to have board seats at the company and be traveling on planes for meetings. Thus, with the increase in the limits of Crowdfunding investment to the tune of $5M and $75M for Regulation CF and Regulation A respectively, it feels like there is a movement afoot that will lead to a dramatic increase in the number of companies seeking investment via this route.
What’s more, there has been a recent uptick in hi tech companies going through the traditional IPO process by way of “SPACs”, or Special Purpose Acquisition Companies. These are shell corporations formed to be publicly traded that merge or acquire the company with the real meat on its bones offering some product or service of value. SPACs allow such meaty companies a faster path to going public. There’s an increasing spate of hi tech companies pursuing this route with the potential for huge returns on investment as a result.
If you combine Crowdfunding with SPACs, it seems there is a real disruptive process in the air for capital fundraising taking place. Whereas many startup and hi tech companies traditionally need to be located in locations with a high cost of living just to raise capital and then undergo a lengthy process to going public, the increased limits for Regulation CF and Regulation A, combined with the rise in popularity of SPACs revolutionizes capital fundraising.
Capital fundraising becomes more democratized via Crowdfunding, lowers barriers, and increases the velocity of capital fundraising by companies no matter where they are located. Furthermore, the velocity for going public is also increased by SPACs. Crowdfunding alone seems likely to lead to a boom in innovation and hi tech company growth across the land. Crowdfunding plus SPACs seem destined to provide a powerful one two punch for companies looking to knock it out of the park and become a publicly traded company along side others on the major stock exchanges.
This isn’t a theoretical realization. Having raised capital thus far through traditional VC routes for a hi tech autonomous vehicle company located just outside Charlottesville, Virginia, far removed from Silicon Valley, I’ve experienced first hand the complications. It’s already difficult to raise venture capital. It’s even more difficult to build a company around autonomous vehicle technology vs say building a company around more commoditized infrastructure like Web site and mobile App platforms. Add to the mix doing this from outside of a region that’s one of the few VC hotbeds, and the pace of capital fundraising can come slowly.
The promise of increased pace of capital fundraising that Crowdfunding via Regulation CF and Regulation A offers combined with the promise of going public faster offered by SPAC formation is reducing the friction and removing barriers that have more recently been ahead of companies like ours. Beyond our previous and current traditional venture capital fundraising efforts, we’ve started down the concurrent path of raising more funds via Crowdfunding. In future articles, I will provide further details on this new era of capital fundraising based on industry developments and direct experience. In the meantime, keep an eye out for the broader hi tech industrial boom that seems to be on the horizon.
Paul Perrone
Founder/CEO — Perrone Robotics
References:
Crowdfunding: https://www.crowdfundinsider.com/2020/11/168682-the-sec-updates-reg-cf-reg-a-and-more-boosts-reg-cf-to-5-million-reg-a-increased-to-75-million/
SPACs: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/19/business/dealbook/deals-mergers-acquisitions-2020.html
Author Contact: https://www.perronerobotics.com | https://medium.com/@pperrone04/a-coming-boom-from-crowdfunding-and-spacs-d1292ad2fa6c | ['Paul Perrone'] | 2020-12-20 19:03:43.247000+00:00 | ['Technology', 'Crowdfunding', 'Spacs', 'Autonomous Vehicles', 'Investing'] |
Four big learnings on health (Part Four: Exercise and X3) | I was debating whether to title this post “The Ultimate Pandemic Workout”, “Maximum Efficiency with Maximum Results”, or something else, but stuck with the thematic of my four-part series on health.
In the first three Parts, I covered:
1. Nutrition (and my vegan power breakfast smoothie recipe)
2. The Cooper Clinic
3. OsteoStrong
Two and a half years ago I had a really traumatic injury the day before the TED 2018 conference in Vancouver. I wrote about it on Facebook:
Joah Spearman and I at TED 2018 in Vancouver, days after my injury
I knew that this injury would change my workouts forever, and I mentally chose positivity — that it would change them for the better. After eventually healing enough, I started to go to physical therapy to get my strength back. I noticed that the workouts were almost all based on strength bands instead of free weights, which I had grown up using (and didn’t really “evolve” from that). I want to thank JD Whittemore and his team at Texas Physical Therapy Specialists again for all of their care — they were truly terrific.
Once I graduated from Texas Physical Therapy Specialists in November of 2018, I was looking for that new kind of workout. I had reconnected with Deepak Suthar, who I used to work with at Bazaarvoice. Deepak had launched the Texas franchise of OsteoStrong, as I wrote about in Part Three. I was quickly regaining strength at OsteoStrong, and it was there where Deepak started to teach me about X3. Initially, I was skeptical but I reminded myself to be open-minded.
Like my physical therapy was, X3 is based entirely on strength bands coupled with a single bar and a plate you stand on for some of the exercises. Elisabeth Rushton has a very comprehensive review published here, and you can find many videos about it on YouTube, including this one by the founder, John Jaquish, walking you through Day One.
X3 is an extraordinarily efficient system, pushing your muscles to a quick fatigue without the same risk of injury that I experienced in Vancouver. For example, when you are doing a traditional bench press your muscles are limited to the weight you can press up at the bottom of the range, where the bar is close to your chest. Your pec tendons are very stretched out at the bottom and carrying the brunt of that load — this is in fact where I ripped my left pec tendon off the bone. I learned through surgery and then physical therapy that this is a fairly common injury, especially for bodybuilders and powerlifters. By contrast, at the bottom of the range in an X3 chest press the band is fairly slack and that gives you a far less chance of injury. You don’t have a lot of tension in a vulnerable position. This also means you can add significantly more weight (by using the larger X3 bands) because the tension increases as you press to your strength zone, at the top of the range when your arms are the most outstretched and your pecs are firing the hardest.
There are eight core exercises for X3 — four for pull days and four for push days. Over time as my strength quickly recovered and then exceeded where I was before my injury, I added two additional X3 exercises.
Here are the five exercises for Pull days, in the order I do them:
1. Deadlift
2. Bicep curls
3. Rows
4. Calves
5. Traps (the extra X3 exercise I added, using a narrow grip on the bar with the band doubled over)
And here are the five for Push days, also in order:
1. Chest press
2. Tricep pull-downs
3. Chest flies, alternating between crossing over and under each time (the extra X3 exercise I added, using the doubled-over band only)
4. Shoulder press
5. Squats
All of these are very well documented in various places on the Web, and if you buy an X3 it also comes with instructional videos.
X3 was so effective that I bought one for our office for our team members to use and used to regularly show them how to do the workouts. Unfortunately, that changed in March as we all went to a work-from-home mode to help bend the curve and protect ourselves and our families from COVID-19.
The gains I made were pretty incredible, especially for someone who typically works around 90 hours per week, between being the CEO of data.world and managing our investments. I’m stronger and in more shape right now than I’ve been in 20 years, thanks to X3 and my overall workout and diet. Here’s a photo that our son took of me doing X3 bicep curls.
X3 bicep curls
I cancelled my gym membership about three months into X3. Although X3 is an expensive upfront cost, you’ll gain your money back quickly with the monthly gym fees saved and you’ll also massively optimize your time. And X3 is an entire body workout, which promotes balance in building your body and developing whole body strength.
However, I don’t just do X3 for my daily workout. X3 claims that it will only take you ten minutes to do daily, but I personally don’t recommend that. My daily workout, which incorporates X3, takes a total of around one hour. I start with around ten minutes of stretches, followed by a now 19-minute-30-second plank (yes, I definitely time this), then multiple bodyweight exercises, and finally finish with X3. I’ve done this workout for at least 600 days over the past two years, so I feel pretty qualified to share it with you now. Consistency is key and it will take you around 30-40 minutes per day when you are starting out (building up your plank time really elongates this workout). As a very busy person, that consistency is one of the things I love the most about this workout — you are hitting your muscle groups every other day and getting more daily workouts in per week. Back when I went to a gym, I was lucky to go more than three times per week because of how much time the commute took back and forth and balancing work and family with it all. X3 is also easy to travel with, although you will need to check your bag (but it beats finding a gym or your hotel not having one at all).
Putting it altogether, here is exactly what I do for my daily workout (and I workout 5-6 times per week):
Brett’s Ultimate Pandemic Workout
I start with 5 stretches, primarily for my lower back and hips. These are very important as the only injury I’ve gotten doing an X3 exercise is a lower-back muscle pull (and usually that has been on the deadlift). Those stopped over 12 months ago and they never took more than a few days to recover from. Note that I do all of my work on a computer, like a typical knowledge economy worker, and that means a lot of sitting. These stretches and exercises will help you recover from sitting so much, which weakens your core. A weak core is the fastest path to injury, especially as you get older.
It is very important that you do all of these exercises and stretches on a nice yoga mat. As you can see in the photo above, I workout without wearing shoes so that my feet also build strength (think yoga). Personally, I use the Manduka Pro Series yoga mats. They are expensive but very much worth it, especially as you build up to a longer plank.
Stretch 1: Lay down on your back and pull your knees to your chest. I’ve done this stretch for so long that I can literally feel my spine decompress. I can actually get my lower-back muscles to move while doing this. This video shows you how to do it with each knee and then both knees but I just do both knees from the beginning. Also, let me take the time here to thank my good friend Brett Jenks, CEO of Rare, an incredible NGO and data.world customer, for giving me the original idea for this stretch and a few others below. Brett adopted these after so many intercontinental plane flights (Rare is very global) to help alleviate lower-back pain, and he was kind enough to pass these onto me.
Stretches 2 and 3: Staying on my back, I stretch my knees from one side to the other, letting them lay on each side for around 30 seconds each. I really take my time with all of these stretches, and that is why they take me around 10 minutes. This is my time to really relax and decompress from all of the sitting. This video shows you how.
Stretches 4 and 5: Staying on my back, I then stretch each knee across my chest, as shown on this video. I sometimes feel my back slightly pop on this stretch, and that is totally normal and feels quite good. Kind of like going to a chiropractor, but without commute or fees. Note that I used to go to a chiropractor once every two weeks but I haven’t since the pandemic began and still feel great.
Warm-up exercise for my plank: To warm up my abs for what is now a very challenging plank, I lift my lower hips barely off of the ground while trying to keep my spine mostly on the ground. My knees are bent and I’m primarily engaging my lower abs although I can feel all of my abs firing. I do around 80 of these but I started out with around 20 or so. My only goal here is to fire up my abs for my plank, and I’m not doing this to exhaustion. This video is somewhat similar although I’m not using a bench — my feet are planted on the ground (on my yoga mat) with my knees bent.
Planking: I wrote about how to do my planking exercise already, and I’ve now built up to 19 minutes and 30 seconds. I never did a plank longer than 3 minutes and 30 seconds prior to my injury. The key here is consistency — and I built up to this length over a two-year period by “simply” adding 10–15 seconds per week (and a few weeks over that two years I plateaued and needed to wait one more week to build up more strength before increasing my time). Isn’t this the secret to becoming good at anything? Very incremental and slow progress — not some quick-fix gimmick? Building up like this has dramatically decreased back pain and made me much stronger overall. Simple tasks, like getting up out of bed, are now very easy.
Note that this exercise is actually four planks in one — a traditional elbow plank, followed by lifting one foot off the ground and holding, then another and holding, and finishing back in the original planking position with both feet on the ground. My post on planking describes how to do it in detail. It is a pretty incredible feeling — you go from a normal body temperature to sweating by the end of it and I can literally feel my body temperature rise from minute to minute. The mental challenge of going for over 19 minutes now is pretty awesome — my body “wants” to stop but I press on with my mind. There are of course other benefits to building your mental discipline.
Side-leg lifts: Now it is time to fire up my legs more as X3 is a total body exercise system. And I also want to hit my oblique muscles more. This article describes how to do them and I typically do 22 per side, although I started out around 10 per side. Remember in doing these exercises that you want to keep enough gas in your tank to do X3 at the end — as that is your fastest path to build strength and muscle mass.
One-handed stands: Now I need to fire up my chest more for X3. I get in a one-handed push-up position, but I just hold each side for 25 seconds. When I first started out, I held each side for around 10 seconds. Again, you want to get fired up here, not totally fatigued.
10-second push-up: To fire up my chest a bit more, I then do a very slow push-up with my elbows close to my sides (wide-grip push-ups can lead to too much tension on your pec tendons). Five seconds down and five seconds up. Just one.
Child’s pose (yoga): I now go into child’s pose to relax for 20–30 seconds. This video shows you how. This feels so good after all of those body weight exercises.
Lunges: To fire up my legs more, I now stand up and finish with 22 lunges on each side. The first video in this article shows you how.
Whew, I’m now ready for strength training and muscle mass building with X3. All of that took me around 40 minutes to do, but you will start out with less time, like around 20 minutes. This is because your plank will probably start at somewhere between 1-4 minutes, depending on your overall level of conditioning.
X3 exercises: I now do my five X3 exercises (as detailed above) depending on whether it is Pull or Push day. Around 1pm today (Sunday), I’ll be doing Pull exercises, but during a regular workday I typically do these exercises around 5:30 or 6pm. Work is quieter then, so it really allows me to focus.
One note on X3 — make sure you really focus on form, as show in John Jaquish’s how-to videos. Also make sure to always keep your fists in a punching, facing forward position for the push exercises — you don’t want to strain your wrists. And don’t get frustrated as you hit plateaus — sometimes it will take awhile for your forearm strength to catch up, for example, but be confident that you are building overall body strength and eventually everything will fall in line as your weaker muscles catch up (often because of years going to the gym and compensating incorrectly).
If you want more proof and you are a Dave Asprey “Bulletproof” diet fan, like my wife is, I recommend watching Dave’s interview of John Jaquish to learn more about the science behind this.
Often people ask me, “What do you listen to during that long plank?” Well, it isn’t just the plank. My overall exercise routine lasts around an hour now, and I love to multitask. I also find that it goes by faster if I’m not just listening to my own breath and grunts. Some people listen to music during their exercise time, but I choose to listen to podcasts or audio books. This helps me accomplish my goal of an Always Be Learning life, as I wrote about in Chapter 4 of my book, The Entrepreneur’s Essentials. Right now I’m working my way through Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder by Nissim Taleb but I’m alternating that with episodes of The Daily, Sam Harris, The Journal, and many other podcasts (I recently finished Bill Gates and Rashida Jones Ask Big Questions, which was excellent).
I hope this pandemic exercise routine changes your life, as it did mine. It will, of course, outlive the pandemic (and thankfully it started before the pandemic for me, so I was already very used to it). I feel stronger and healthier than I have in 20 years and my life is far more time-optimized as well. Plus, no gym fees!
Now watch The Game Changers and adopt a plant-based diet and you’ll feel better than ever, inside and out! | https://medium.com/@databrett/four-big-learnings-on-health-part-four-exercise-and-x3-6ac42e131768 | ['Brett Hurt'] | 2021-01-18 00:38:26.077000+00:00 | ['Plant Based', 'Exercise', 'Yoga', 'Injury', 'Strength Training'] |
End to End Testing Frameworks Introduction | Software testing is a fundamental part of the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) and any system we develop, we cannot ignore this part of the development pipeline.
Fig: Software Development Life Cycle
We can see both manual and automation testing in real-life projects. Manual testing is good for small systems but manually testing a large system is something unimaginable. That’s where test automation comes in, allowing us to run thousands of tests for millions of scenarios to check if the system is bug-free or not.
When we talk about automation testing, there are different types of testing we developer consider while developing a project e.g. Unit Tests, Integration Tests, End to End Tests, etc. Each of these is important for their own reason because they intend to solve a specific type of testing procedure.
What Is End to End Testing?
The diagram below can help us understand the whole testing paradigm and where end-to-end testing fits in the whole picture.
Unit tests are the small building blocks of the whole testing service, where we try to test functional units of the system e.g. different services or functions separately in a more isolated environment, not depending on any environment or other part of the system.
Integration tests are one level up and here we integrate different parts/units of the system together and test if they are being integrated properly and working smoothly. Having multiple units connected here makes the process slower than unit tests.
Fig: Test Automation Paradigm
And finally, end-to-end testing refers to the mechanism where we test the actual flow a user does in the system. Here, our testing client will be treated as a user and does everything e.g. interacting over the pieces, clicking buttons, scrolling pages, navigating around different URLs, etc.
The testing client works like a user, and after taking each step, it checks whether the output/behavior is okay in terms of user perspective. This process is the slowest among others and more end-to-end integrated over different parts of the system.
There exist different types of tools, frameworks to do end-to-end testing. Some of them are being used for ages e.g. Selenium but in recent times we have got some popular and dev-friendly tools in the ecosystem to serve our needs on test automation.
Let’s look into some of these tools/frameworks.
TestCraft
For a small company with limited resources, it is difficult to maintain an additional team for quality assurance and testing. TestCraft is the type of tool where we don’t need to write any code, and anyone can use its interface for creating a testing scenario for a specific flow.
This awesome codeless tool which is based on Selenium for running regression and continuous tests clearly breaks the software testing bottlenecks for small organizations. TestCraft also comes with AI-powered automation overcoming changes in the app which gives immense velocity to a team by saving time.
Fig: Example of Creating a testing flow
Anyone who doesn’t have coding skills can sign up on TestCraft and create tests by using their drag-and-drop interface and run them on different browsers and environments, simultaneously.
Maintaining these tests is easier via TestCraft because it creates dynamic test models that update automatically for reflecting the changes to the app.
Finally, integrating TestCraft with CI/CD pipeline is also very smooth and easy. It enables the teams to achieve continuous testing while pushing code to different test environments and production.
Fig: Example of scheduling a test execution through the CI/CD in TestCraft
Cypress
Cypress is an open-source modern web automation test framework to make the testing process easier and it’s more than just an end-to-end test automation tool. It can be used to interact with different front-end apps built with React.
Cypress comes with its own test-runner which is easier for debugging when a test fails. Here is a sample cypress test that you can check and when it runs it looks something like this.
As Cypress runs in the browser, it is easy for it to interact with the DOM and easily check the updates in real-time. It has built-in features like retries and polling which helps to test the modern data-heavy applications.
Installing Cypress in any environment is a piece of cake because it can be installed using NPM and no additional thing is required, and that’s the reason that integrating cypress in CI/CD pipeline is also very snappy!
Cypress has a very low barrier to entry, anyone can jump in and start writing tests.
Selenium Webdriver
Selenium is a classic tool for test automation, so many organizations still use this to do their test-automation. Selenium executes remotely, not like cypress which runs inside the browser, it sends all the underlying remote commands across the network to the webdriver.
By using Selenium we can write our tests in any language. We can integrate Selenium with our backend system and use the same operating system to execute the commands. The main feature that everyone loves about Selenium it, Its testing support across different browsers.
The standalone Selenium IDE is very good for developers to work with, also it has cross-browser support! This is useful for visual UI testing and also when we test the responsiveness of an application.
Finding visual bugs is easier when we run tests with the Visual Grid, by applying Applitools Root Cause Analysis feature. Also, the Selenium IDE runner can be integrated with CI/CD pipelines.
Fig: Example of Selenium IDE Control Flow
Selenium supports parallel test execution by Grid and which eventually helps us to save execution time and also it consumes fewer hardware resources. It is easier to add this to existing servers.
Conclusion
There are a lot of tools in the test-automation ecosystem, but it’s always up to the developers and managers to analyze the requirements of their system and which tool/framework is best suited for the team and the system itself.
If a team starts thinking about integrating automation testing, I would suggest trying codeless tools. This can help the team better understand how the whole automation testing fits in their development pipeline and decide based on that. Test automation can give the development team enough confidence before deploying something in production. | https://medium.com/swlh/end-to-end-testing-frameworks-introduction-db35177653a1 | ['Nayeem Reza'] | 2020-09-14 14:48:56.349000+00:00 | ['Software Development', 'Software Engineering', 'Programming', 'End To End Testing', 'Software Testing'] |
Creating an Interactive Dashboard from Jupyter Notebook with Voila | Creating Interactive Widgets
Now that we’ve loaded the data, we can start right away to create widgets. These widgets are essentials to add interactivity to our visualizations. In this article, we’re going to use three widgets: one slider widget and two multiple selection widgets. To create these widgets, we can use ipywidgets library that is available for Jupyter Notebook.
The first widget that we are going to create is the slider widget. To do this, we can use IntSlider() attribute from ipywidgets . This slider widget will control how many rows of the dataset that Pandas should load. For example, if the slider value is 1000, then Pandas should load the first 1000 rows of the dataset. Below is the code implementation of that.
import ipywidgets as widgets
import pandas as pd style = {'description_width': 'initial'} limit_case = widgets.IntSlider(
value=1000,
min=100,
max=5000,
step=1,
description='Max Number of Case:',
disabled=False,
style=style)
In the code above, we passed several arguments into IntSlider() attribute from ipywidgets . The first one is value , which is the default value that will be displayed when we run the code. Next, min and max are the minimum and maximum range values that can be considered in the slider. Meanwhile, step is the value increment or decrement when we move the slider up or down. Finally, we add style argument such that the word in description will not be truncated.
Next, with interactive() attribute from ipywidgets , we can link up the widget with the variable in which the value we want to interactively change. Now if we change the slider value, we can see that the length of the dataset will be changed accordingly.
If you run the code cells above, you’ll get an interactive slider widget like this.
Next, let’s create the second widget, which is the multiple selection widget. We can do this by using SelectMultiple() attribute from ipywidgets . With this widget, we have the option to visualize the crime only in particular selection of districts instead of all districts. In order to create this multiple selection widget, below is the code implementation.
import pandas as pd
import ipywidgets as widgets
from ipywidgets import Layout df = pd.read_csv('SF_crimes.csv') unique_district = df.PdDistrict.unique() district = widgets.SelectMultiple(
options = unique_district.tolist(),
value = ['BAYVIEW', 'NORTHERN'],
description='District',
disabled=False,
layout = Layout(width='50%', height='80px', display='flex')
)
In the code above, we use SelectMultiple() attribute to enable us to pick more than one values of our district variable. The first argument that we should specify is options , which should contain the list of available options of our variable (in our case different kinds of San Fransisco districts). The next one is value , which should contain the variable values that we want to display as default, and then description is for the text field to describe the name of the widget.
If you run the code cells above, you’ll get the following interactive multiple selection widget.
To wrap up, we can create the third widget that is exactly the same as the previous multiple selection widget. The purpose of this widget is to enable us to choose which category of crimes that we want to visualize. Below is the code implementation of this widget.
import pandas as pd
import ipywidgets as widgets
from ipywidgets import Layout df = pd.read_csv('SF_crimes.csv') unique_cat = df.Category.unique() style = {'description_width': 'initial'} category = widgets.SelectMultiple(
options = unique_cat.tolist(),
value = ['VANDALISM', 'ASSAULT', 'ROBBERY'],
description='Criminal Case',
disabled=False,
style=style,
layout = Layout(width='50%', height='80px')
)
The arguments that we passed on this SelectMultiple() attribute is the same as before, except that the value and options arguments would be the crime categories instead of districts.
If you run the code cells above, you’ll get the following widget.
Next, we want to combine all of the three widgets that we’ve created before to create an interactive visualization. To visualize the crime locations, we can visualize them with a map, since we have the information regarding the latitude and longitude in the dataset.
To visualize the dataset into a map, we can use folium library. If you haven’t installed folium yet, you can install it using pip command.
pip install folium
We can integrate the map with the widgets such that when we make a different selection with the widgets, the visualization will adjust accordingly.
First, the value of the slider widget will determine how many crimes in the dataset that we should consider in the visualization. Next, the map should then show the crime categories and the districts based on our selection with the multiple selection widgets.
To create additional visualizations, we can also create two bar charts. One bar chart to show how many crimes are there based on the categories that we’ve selected using the widgets. The other chart is to show how many crimes are there in the district that we’ve selected using the widget.
Finally, we need to define a function to integrate all of the three widgets with our map visualization and the two bar charts.
Below is the complete code implementation to do all of that from start to finish.
Now if we call the function update_map in the last code cell of Jupyter Notebook above, we get the interactivity to our map and bar chart visualizations based on the value that we’ve selected in all of the three widgets. | https://towardsdatascience.com/creating-an-interactive-dashboard-from-jupyter-notebook-with-voila-b64918b4d15a | ['Ruben Winastwan'] | 2020-11-01 22:41:51.365000+00:00 | ['Jupyter Notebook', 'Deployment', 'Dashboard', 'Data Science', 'Data Visualization'] |
Canyon hoppers | By the time we turned into a parking lot next to the boat ramp, I was choking on the dust. It looked like a mirage in the distance. A short walk downhill, we found a grassy spot next to a massive mountain lake. Across the way, pine trees came right up to the water and to the left of our spot, reeds filled the space partially obscuring the kayakers who were happily shouting to each other. When we saw the rope swing, it was magic. Topher hooked up his hammock between two trees and spent the afternoon reading Game of Thrones. Ned had just confronted Cersei and was about to die. He couldn’t put it down. I took a little nap while Eric coached Gillian and Matthew on swinging over large rocks into the water. Or in other words it was fantastic.
That night we grilled hamburgers on the grill at Ruby’s RV Park and ate outside under the stars. While making up Topher’s sofa bed, I was thrilled to discover the missing laptop had slipped underneath the couch.
Ruby’s was founded in 1916 by Ruby and Minnie Syrett who loaded up their wagon and buggy to the eastern edge of the Paunsaugunt Plateau. Roads were trails and it took them two days to travel 25 miles. (As we learned from visiting the mountain lake, some roads in this area are still trails….) A few weeks after they arrived at their new ranch, they stumbled upon Bryce Canyon a few miles from their homestead. The Syrett’s began hosting people who came to see the canyon. That’s how Ruby’s RV Park and Historic Inn started. With a general store, rodeo, restaurants and other amenities, this morning we were in search of laundry. We found it. We also found a great story.
A woman and her husband had commandeered all of the washers and dryers. Unfamiliar with laundromat etiquette and feeling self conscious as the only person wearing a mask, I interrupted their conversation to ask if they could free up a washing machine for me to use. We struck up a conversation and I learned that the couple had been living in an RV full time for the last eight years.
I asked, What made you decide to live in an RV?
We were living in Reno. When my daughter graduated high school, I told her, that’s it. We’re selling the house and leaving. She could come with us or find her own place to rent. She got an apartment and put herself through college. We moved to California and then later we bought an RV. My daughter is 48 years old now. We’ve been traveling the country with our friends for the past eight years.
What do you love about it?
The freedom. I have solar on the roof — we use that for the generator. There’s a big bladder — like a water bed — in the back. When you fill that up, we can live for a couple of weeks without a hook-up. We’ve got a satellite dish on the roof for cable. We can travel and see the world, well, see the U.S. We’ve got it worked out that we dry camp now — so we have no expenses. We couldn’t afford to rent spots every night, that would be too expensive. But, we absolutely love it.
What’s the most annoying thing about living this way?
This. (Pointing to the laundry.) It’s annoying not to have a laundry room. Some of the things you take for granted. Like flushing toilet paper. We never flush toilet paper. It causes too many problems in the RV.
Do you regret it?
Not at all. For years we’ve lived off the grid with almost no expenses. We’ve had to learn how to conserve water and where to go to get free hook-ups. The most important thing is you have to really like your spouse. She looked across the laundromat to her husband, because you spend a lot of time together. At that same moment, he looked up laughing and said, It helps if your husband is as easy going as me.
As much as I’ve enjoyed this experience — and I’ve enjoyed it immensely. I do not see dry camping for life with Eric as our retirement plan. Would I rent an RV for a road trip again? Absolutely. Will I retire in one? Probably not. | https://medium.com/@suzywagner/canyon-hoppers-8d2e87b67547 | ['Suzy Wagner'] | 2020-06-27 23:01:56.457000+00:00 | ['Covid Diaries', 'Vacation', 'Rving', 'Summer', 'Family'] |
Why physical businesses need Stardust | Augmented reality today
When we started to explore Augmented reality 3 years ago, coming from a VR background, we didn’t expect AR & VR to be so different. As a matter of fact, basic skill sets are similar, both in terms of asset creation, engine used or even deployment platform (most commonly used phones support both AR and VR). Back then, iOS’s ARkit and Android’s ARcore just got released, paving the way for mass adoption. Vuforia, Kudan, Blippar and other big players were also offering solutions to developers, but from a user point of view, everything remained “gimmicky”. No offense to Pokemon GO (excellent game but not an AR game), Just a Line (short-lived line in space), YouCam (virtual makeup), Houzz or IKEA places (visualizing furniture), Snapchat/IG/FB or every virtual try-on experience for shoes, dresses, glasses or hats and many more AR developers out there. They all play a role in building spatial computing, but the hype has been too big to match users’ expectations…
Image from arvrjourney.com
Speaking about the hype, every geek, techy and innovator is waiting for smart glasses which could eventually replace our smartphones. Well funded startups like Magic leap, Nreal or Madgaze, just to name a few, are competing with Microsoft’s Hololens, Google Glass or Apple glass (if they finally come in 2021 or 2022). As exciting as those glasses can be, we won’t see a mass adoption before years.
SO WHAT’S MISSING IN AUGMENTED REALITY?
Using a smartphone to add a virtual object or information to a packaging, a face or a floor is now very easy, but augmenting an entire physical space is much harder. The difficulty comes from enabling a phone camera to recognize the physical world despite its constant changes. In other words, making sure the camera can “locate itself” in space.
“Computer vision engineers have been knocking their heads on the wall for decades to solve that localisation issue” — LC, a good friend at Alibaba
Think about how our eyes are doing it: if you move objects, change the color of your walls, add 100 people in a conference room, you’re still able to know where you are. That’s because our brain has been trained for years to perform that task almost instantly, processing important information and discarding what’s not. Over time, our brains retain some information, a process called visual memory. The short-term version of visual memory is most important in moment-to-moment construction and stabilization of the visual world.
The traditional approach to replicate this extremely efficient eyes-brain mechanism has been to use point clouds, initially extracted by depth sensors such as Lidar and now also provided by Apple’s ARKit and Google’s ARCore. This approach does work over a short period, typically a few minutes to a few hours. Apple’s World Map, Google’s Cloud Anchors, Azure Spatial Anchors are some examples. But the point cloud approach has many limits, namely its short-lived use-cases. If you’re a business and want to provide information or experiences to your visitors, investing a non-persistent content might not be very appealing.
Introducing Stardust visual positioning SDK
Stardust chose a different path by harnessing some of the most powerful AI algorithms to provide a long-term solution to the localisation challenge. We’ll dig in another post about those algorithms, but in a nutshell, we map multiple times and train our model ~ a form of biomimetics.
Stardust SDK logo: an N, an arrow, a location point or a turtle?
With that in mind and looking at Stardust SDK logo, you’ve probably guessed what the technology enables. Hyper-accurate positioning, visual navigation, but also persistent content in space and in theory real-time multiplayer experiences and games (in theory because we’re not that far on our roadmap, but all good things come to those who wait).
Why is Stardust visual positioning SDK a key piece to spatial computing and therefore a solution for physical businesses
Whether you’re a mall operator, an hospital, an airport, a theme park, a shop, a museum or gallery, a restaurant, a hotel, a public space, a school, a campus or a factory(to name a few), Stardust enables applications that weren’t even imaginable few months ago. At core Stardust offers:
#1 accurate visual positioning system
#2 natural 3D human interactions
#3 visual navigation 4# persistent content #5 multiplayer experiences #6 personalised interfaces #7 3D reconstruction #7 occlusion are just side features built upon #1 and #2.
How Stardust SDK works
BUILT FOR UNITY DEVELOPERS WITH BUSINESSES AND USERS IN MIND
Non-technical people don’t care about how it works, they just want to see it working. To that end, we’re developing an online editor which we hope will be as easy to use as MS PPT. It is an essential brick of our platform since it allows anyone to remotely drag and drop content in space. Visual navigation to various points of interest, information anchored in space, large scale immersive experiences, every piece of content is visible and editable from the online editor.
Work in progress, 3D point cloud to visualize the physical space from the online editor
SO WHY BUSINESSES NEED STARDUST
Let’s make it clear and simple. Stardust enables businesses to offer new services that we not technically feasible in the past. In a nutshell, any physical spaces / businesses can:
Offer a “3D GPS” with centimeter accuracy to indoor and outdoor places
Help visitors knowing where they are in those spaces
Guide visitors to their selected destinations
Overlay content (information, marketing, entertainment) on the top of the real world
More? We’d like to hear from your own industry expertise!
See below how this “accurate 3D GPS” locates users and guide them with visual navigation:
AR navigation and AR way-finding after being accurately
Conclusion
We obviously can’t list every single application and industry which will eventually use Stardust (or some of our friends and competitors, you can also check out ARWAY, VISUALIX, PLACENOTE OR IMMERSAL). However, given the number of business requests we’ve received recently, we believe Stardust is answering real business needs and therefore bringing AR to new heights. | https://medium.com/@neogoma/why-physical-businesses-need-stardust-2bc4bebe23cd | ['Neogoma Stardust'] | 2021-01-05 03:49:49.234000+00:00 | ['Stardust Sdk', 'Neogama', 'Ar Cloud', 'Augmented Reality', 'Computer Vision'] |
a spark | You know when you’re feeling really low, for like, a really long time and you finally feel that spark of motivation or inspiration?
I haven’t felt that spark in too long. On occasion I have some motivation to do things, but it’s always for other people and never for myself. The only things I do are in the drive to seem normal to others. So that I don’t seem like I’m struggling.
I found inspiration in sending letters to my friends for Christmas. It’s been absolutely heavenly feeling that drive again, but I just know it’s ending. With what seems to be a curse on my very existence, no doubt, all of this spark will vanish and I’ll forget the feeling again.
I don’t even have a drive to keep going on, I’m only here for others. I find myself helping others and taking care of others more than I do for myself. Hell, I don’t even focus on my own pain anymore; I’m merely coasting by, forgetting to worry about what’s really wrong and focusing on others. Every time I’m feeling low, something happens to a friend or a family member and they almost always come to me to talk. It’s a blessing, really, because at least I can prevent them from feeling the same way that I do.
But it still hurts. Everything I’ve been put through is like a constant kick in the back, forcing me deeper into the mud. Every time I’m reminded, it’s like I’m suffocating yet also floating. I don’t even recall most of the feelings I felt during my hardships, but they also come back in full swing. They’re always so temporary but I’m always so thankful. I don’t know what I’d do if I had to feel them for longer periods of time.
This lack of really living is damaging me and I honestly have no drive to try and become healthier. I’m an adult now and I don’t even know how to properly take care of myself. It’s rough. But I find comfort in being there for other people more than myself because again, at least I can prevent them from feeling the same way that I do.
Maybe someday I can feel that spark again. I know it’s pointless to really write on this where no one may even see this. But I have a little drive now writing this and possibly finding people that can relate.
Your depression won’t be forever. Your trauma is a temporary pain. Please, drink some water and eat something healthy, take care of yourself for me. | https://medium.com/@anfkore/a-spark-d2feaf0d68b7 | ['Aryana N.F.'] | 2020-12-23 22:30:13.480000+00:00 | ['Reality', 'Spark', 'Depression', 'Mental Health', 'Journal'] |
When God is with us, who can be against us? | The past 3 – 5 days I have been working on SushiVid’s plan B due to CoVid-19. It is inevitable that every business, across the globe, would be affected in big and small ways.
For a startup our size, of course, our burn isn’t too much but we are also hand-to-mouth in a lot of ways. Meaning, this months revenue determines next month’s payroll.
As I fuss about the whole Plan B and worse case scenarios, it dawned on me that had we not close multiple folds in December, I would be in a way worse position than I am today.
Many people were complaining Dec was a slow month, but we didn’t feel that. In fact, we were so shocked at our billing!
But you know what, it wasn’t puzzling to God. He knew… and he prepared for us ahead of time so that we would have enough. In fact, the revenue we closed in December, a huge chunk client has already prepaid in advance! That’s how good God is.
I just can’t help but share this story because I really genuinely believe God breathed into my situation and alleviate my worries.
Praise The Lord.
#startuplife #crisis #testimony | https://medium.com/@yuhwenfoong/when-god-is-with-us-who-can-be-against-us-a1755dd97b0d | ['Yuhwen Foong'] | 2020-02-20 15:00:28.498000+00:00 | ['Christianity', 'Testimony', 'Founder Stories', 'Crisis', 'Startup Life'] |
The stress of the Post-Covid employment process | Know what you are looking for…
A quick browse of Linkedin and you’ll find many job postings with lengthy requirements but vague on what exactly the employer is looking for. There needs to be clarity on the role the potential candidate will play and salary visibility. Of course, most employers may want to keep their description vague as to leave room for other tasks to be added as issues arise but define at the core what it is exactly you’re looking for. The goal of filling a position is to hire the best candidate possible so why is the pay such a secret. Time has shown that employees who feel valued are more productive and become true assets to a corporation. One way to make a person feel valued is to be clear on the salary based on the expectation of the position.
The Interview Games need to stop…
When an interesting resume crosses paths with a hiring manager the initial point of contact is a phone screen. This conversation should be enough to see whether this candidate has potential. The candidate's experience should be discussed, highlighting skills that would be beneficial to the job posting. An in-person or zoom conference should only be considered if the qualifications align and potential and experience should be further examined in follow-up interviews. To set up an in-person/zoom meeting with the candidate only to ask the same questions is a waste of the candidate's time as well as the employers. This may happen because as stated previously the role is vague and because hiring managers are unsure of what they are looking for and they have a hard time asking qualifying questions.
Racism and prejudice are very prevalent…
It is no surprise that unfortunately there are still racist and prejudice systems very much intact. When reading some job posts it is very clear that there is a specific candidate in mind. Rather than listing specific skills, we are seeing more and more employers listing preferred character traits. For a country trying to rear towards building a more accepting society of the various humans that walk this earth, there seems to be a checklist when it comes to someone’s personality. It is understood that we want enthusiastic employees with a great attitude but that doesn’t mean that that will look the same in everyone. HR managers need to be able to be objective and judge each candidate individually and not based on what they are used to or a specific person they have in mind.
Employers should be selective, they should want the best of the best but at the same time understand that while you are interviewing someone, they are also interviewing you. The company should put its best foot forward by making the process less stressful. See the potential employees as human beings and not just a body to fill positions and you’ll be guaranteed to attract and sustain valuable employees. | https://medium.com/@singleexpressions/the-stress-of-the-post-covid-employment-process-cbac3f7345b3 | [] | 2021-07-07 21:57:45.366000+00:00 | ['Unemployment', 'New Hire', 'New Hire Experience', 'Unemployed', 'Employment'] |
What Covid is Confirming About Our (un)Wellness | I have spent much of my career working on interventions that improve the performance of elite athletes and general population clients. My new found purpose is to distill what I have learned over the last 23 years and apply it to a framework that improves people’s day-to-day wellness habits. The intention of this post is to highlight the big picture obstacles we face and set the table for an on-going conversation about what we can do collectively and individually to maximize our wellness potential.
Human nature has repeatedly shown a tendency to overreact in the short term while under-reacting in the long term. It’s a characteristic that has delayed and/or diminished sound policy in many areas. Healthcare, food production and urban planning may be the policy poster children for this claim. As a society we have:
Systematically degraded our food supply
De-coupled our daily activities from our natural, circadian rhythms
Organized our lives to move as little as possible
Worn chronic sleep deprivation as a badge of honor
Sought pharmaceutical cures as first courses of treatment instead of measures of last resort
Created a social media ecosystem that values “likes” over meaningful human connection.
And as we know, this is just a short list of lifestyle changes we have adopted in the name of progress. Pages could be filled with similarly destructive trends that have taken hold in 21st century living. And what is the price for decades of under-reacting to these “anti-wellness” trends? Among others:
Obesity rates over 39%
Diabetes rates over 10%
Hypertension rates over 40%
70+ million US adults with diagnosed sleep disorders
Compromised immunity for large demographic swaths of our under served populations
What do you recognize about these conditions? These are the serious health problems that have made us more vulnerable as a society to Covid 19 and worsened the severity of this pandemic. And many, if not most of these conditions are controllable with better education, more enlightened policies, and the necessary investment to make them stick. Medical advancement and healthy lifestyles that reduce the need for those medical innovations should never be an either or proposition, but that appears to be the trade off we have unconsciously made as a society.
To be sure, there are legitimate debates to be had about what could have been done differently over the last 10 months to mitigate the impact of Covid-19, debates for another article. What I am urging now is a step back to re-assess what has been happening for decades and what it is costing us. Would a better wellness infrastructure have made us more resilient to the impacts of Covid -19? Fewer people with co-morbidities would likely have done four important things:
Have made the relatively low mortality rate of Covid 19 even lower Decreased hospitalizations Have simplified the debate about who gets vaccines first Have left far less economic destruction in its wake
I believe it’s time to start redirecting the resources used to create our massive acute care system towards proactive wellness strategies that we know help people live healthier, more productive lives. Let us now learn the lessons of how decades of under-reaction have left us more vulnerable to this virus. Let us start thinking about our wellness like our lives depend on it, because they do. | https://medium.com/@edlippie/what-covid-is-confirming-about-our-un-wellness-301db3ab3a59 | ['Ed Lippie'] | 2020-12-27 23:16:21.552000+00:00 | ['Fitness', 'Health', 'Healthy Lifestyle', 'Wellness', 'Covid 19'] |
The Lean Startup by Eric Ries (Summary) | As today’s entrepreneur creates successful businesses, the most startup fails in the process to build successful and scalable businesses. The lean startup is a new approach being adopted across the globe and changing the way a company is built and new products are launched.
The book is split into these three parts: -
Vision
This book is a new way of looking at the development of innovative new products that emphasizes fast iteration and customer insight, a huge vision, and great ambition, all at the same time. Startups do not exist to make money, their goal is to learn how to build a sustainable business, it is a job that requires a new kind of management. In this split, Eric makes the case for a new discipline of entrepreneurial management and articulates a new way for startups to gauge if they are making progress, called validated learning. To do this you need to make two kinds of assumptions: the value hypothesis tests whether a product delivers value to the consumer. The second, the growth hypothesis tests how your product will spread to the customers.
Steer
In this spilt, the author gave us the most important tool “The feedback loop — Build, measure, learn” and it can be represented through the following steps: ideas > BUILD > product > MEASURE > data > LEARN > ideas, this loop is at the core of the Lean startup model. The leap of faith is the riskiest move but can generate some incredible results. Once the value hypothesis established, the growth hypothesis is the next critical aspect of the startup. Next, we have to create a minimum viable product (MVP) which is a physical version of the product that will allow entering the build phase. MVP can be everything, from a simple website, a video, a PowerPoint presentation, a prototype and it should be tested faster and cheaper to see early adopters are responding, quality doesn’t matter here. It is also the fastest way to get through the feedback loop with a minimum amount of effort.
Innovative accounting was one of the important measures, as it’s very important to understand that the changes were made to any product are in direct relation to the results and what are the correct lessons learned from each change. It can be done with the three steps process — first, establish real data from an MVP, then tune your engine to the ideal based on your measures and finally choose whether to pivot or persevere. Everything was going as planned but suddenly we realized that the stats were not improving and this will be the biggest challenge an entrepreneur can have, so we have to decide if there is a need to pivot or no.
Accelerate
In this technique, the startup learns to speed up through the feedback loop as quickly as possible. In contrast to a large-batch approach, the small-batch approach will be more useful as it focuses on creating a single finished product very regularly, every couple of seconds even. Building a sustainable business model is very inevitable to eliminate the effects of any one-time customer actions that will never transform into a long-term benefit.
Eric explains that past customers are able to promote sustainable growth in four different ways:
Repeat purchase Word of mouth Funded advertising Side effects of product use e.g., status symbols
There three main engines of growth as well.
Sticky engine — designed to attract and retain customers in the long term Viral engine — depends on person-to-person transmission Paid engine — based on the revenue you can make from each customer or the cost of acquiring a new customer
“Like the other engines, the paid engine of growth is powered by a feedback loop. Each customer pays a certain amount of money for the product over his or her “lifetime” as a customer.”
Conclusion
Below are the 5 principles that were at the core of the Lean Startup methodology and I find them very critical throughout the above stages. | https://medium.com/@chitrakkumar/the-lean-startup-by-eric-ries-summary-285d17010a7e | ['Chitrak Kumar'] | 2020-12-26 10:31:50.677000+00:00 | ['Startup', 'Startup Lessons', 'Venture Capital', 'Entrepreneur', 'The Lean Startup'] |
A Successful Medieval Siege Involved Good Psychology and a Dose of Chivalry | A Successful Medieval Siege Involved Good Psychology and a Dose of Chivalry
Brute force was never top of the list
“If a conflict breaks out in England one or other of the rivals is master in 10 days or less. It is a custom in England that the victors in battle kill nobody, especially none of the ordinary soldiers because everyone wants to please them.” — Memoirs of Philllpe de Commynes, French writer and diplomat (1447–1571)
Can this be right? What about knights — and lances — and melees? Medieval men loved a good fight — didn’t they?
Well, sure they did sometimes. However, in a landscape festooned with castles, there was a better way to get what you wanted — the siege.
We’ve already looked at what life was like for castle defenders here, but what was it like for the attackers? If you think besieging a castle meant a lot of sitting around twiddling your thumbs, think again. There was much to be done and, as always, the rules of chivalry need to be followed. Well, they were supposed to be anyway. After all, a gentleman should be civil, and in a siege that civility had to start right from the beginning. In fact, it started even before that.
Feeling angry? Let’s talk about it
It was vitally important for a siege to have an obvious starting point. However, before a siege could officially begin, the defenders needed to be presented with the demands of the attacking lord.
If the two sides came up with an agreement (i.e. the defenders gave their adversaries everything they wanted), the lives and property of the people in the castle would be spared. Should they refuse, they were guilty of treason toward the besieging lord. As traitors, they were fair game for all those nasty punishments like rape, seizure of goods, death, and whatever else an angry attacker might think up.
Now, if you were the captain of the besieged castle, this put you in a pretty precarious position. On one hand, you have a duty to guard your lord’s property. He’s not going to be pleased if you casually give his fortress away to his enemy. On the other hand, should the castle fall, the new lord might chop you up like liver for his kitty’s dinner. Either way, your stuck — someone is going to want your head. So what do you do?
Well, if you were smart, you would have this all sorted out beforehand. What you needed were your lord's wishes written out and signed in triplicate. The document would specify exactly how long you were expected to hold out, and the conditions on which you could surrender without fear of losing your honor.
Most of the time, part of these conditions included holding a castle until reinforcements had the chance to arrive. So assuming you weren’t immediately giving in to the besieger's demands, things would proceed to the next step.
On your mark, get set, go
Usually, there was an event to signify the siege was officially starting. It could be something as simple as throwing a spear or javelin, or as grand as a shot being fired from a siege engine.
After this, the fun began. Nobody wanted to just sit around twiddling their thumbs waiting for a castle to fall. The clock was ticking, and they wanted to get the thing over and done with ASAP. Attackers, therefore, had a menu of strategies they could pick from in order to help move things along.
According to historian Jim Bradbury, there were 6 S’s to siege warfare. Attackers had their choice of Suborning or subverting key defenders, Scaring the garrisons with “propaganda,” Sapping the walls, Starving the population, Storming the defenses, and Shelling the besieged. Don’t worry, the defenders weren’t left out, they had their S’s too.
These included Stripping the countryside to deprive the besiegers of the opportunity to forage, Sallying forth in sorties to attack enemy positions and assets, Sapping the attacker’s mines and machines, Suborning and subverting elements of the besieging forces, and Shelling enemy positions. How many of the S’s were used, and in what order was entirely up to the commander and the specifics of each siege.
Hurry up and starve
Starving the population was an easy one and really didn’t require much effort by the besiegers.
All they had to do was wait for supplies inside the castle to run out. This came with its own risks, especially if the besieged were well stocked. Even the attackers risked hunger and diseases like dysentery, so the longer they sat, the more likely something would go wrong. On top of that, no one wanted to be parked outside a castle when the weather started to turn cold. However, there was an even more pressing problem.
Imagine you’re in the middle of a siege and suddenly half your army walks out because their terms of service are up. In England, forty days was the usual agreement. After that, they grabbed their swords and their superman lunchboxes, and home they went. Poor Simon de Montfort had this very problem when he fought the Albigensian Crusade (1209–1229) in Southern France. It’s said he lost up to 40 strongholds because of men walking away from the fight.
Gonna rock this place
Shelling the castle walls was a good way to keep your troops busy and wear out the nerves of the besieged.
Trebuchets, which are similar to catapults, were a popular option. Large stones could be hurled at the castle's walls, but other things like burning tar or sand were employed. Engineers plotted and tinkered to make sure the weapon would have the greatest effect possible.
Considering these things could shoot up to 200 times a day, I’d say they did a pretty good job. The largest trebuchet ever built was called the War Wolf. Its height was between 300 and 400 feet, and it’s estimated it could hurl stones at speeds up to 120 miles an hour.
Undermining the local authority
Not everyone was fortunate enough to have a trebuchet as powerful as the War Wolf. Since castle walls ranged between 7 and 20 feet thick, hurling stones wasn’t always going to bring about a quick conclusion. So while some men were busy bombarding the walls, the sappers started their work.
Sapping, or undermining, was basically digging a tunnel under the castle wall. Wooden supports were inserted, then burnt away in hopes the collapsing ground would take the castle walls with it. Although shields and tunnels offered protection for the diggers, the process wasn’t foolproof. Defenders could build counter-mines that intercepted those of the enemy to drive them out.
The most famous use of undermining is probably the attack on Rochester Castle in England in 1215. King John had his men tunnel under the southeast corner turret of the tower. After propping it up with wood, he ordered the fat from 40 slaughtered pigs, “of the kind not fit for eating”, be placed in the tunnel to really get things fired up. It worked, and John's men eventually took the castle.
We control the horizontal and the vertical
Chivalry was all fine and dandy, but it was certainly something that could be set aside when it no longer suited one's needs.
A psychological attack was one of those times. All types of trickery and deception could be used to wear down the morale of the besieged. The enemy might forge a document to the besieged commander from his sovereign ordering him to surrender. Soldiers might disguise themselves and slip into the castle, or a knight thought to be friendly might have secretly switched allegiance.
Sometimes feelings of hatred grew so high, commanders were killed right in the middle of discussing terms of peace. Poisoning the water supply and catapulting dead animals or dung over the walls to spread disease were other methods attackers used that on paper were just not cricket.
Then again, some days a guy was just in the mood for a little fun. Just take the siege of Rennes in Brittany in 1356–57. According to the story, an English esquire named John Bolton got bored while sieging the Breton castle and went hunting. It was a wise decision too because he came back with three braces of partridges. Pleased with himself, he rode up to the castle wall and offered to sell his catch to feed the ladies trapped inside. Well, this hit the pride of one of the Frenchmen, Olivier de Mannay.
How about you come over here and I’ll win those birds for the ladies by a duel, he suggested.
Well, not surprisingly, the governor refused to open the gates to let Bolton in. However, De Mannay was determined to fight. He swam across the moat, won the duel, and swam back to the castle — with the birds in hand.
All right, that’s a wrap
Possibly after all this, the attacking army broke through the walls. Maybe their siege towers were put to use, and the men overran the castle. Then again, maybe they didn’t, not every siege was successful. Anyway, a full-blown assault really wasn’t beneficial to anyone.
More often than not when a fortification did fall it was due to human weakness or because relieving forces failed to come to a garrison’s aid. Either way, when it came down to it, everyone involved would much rather see the thing resolved by negotiation rather than warfare. For one, the attackers would much rather take important people prisoner than have them killed.
These guys were an opportunity for financial gain in the form of ransom, and good insurance for the day when the present winner was on the losing side. For the besieged, as long as you made some effort you were usually ok in the eyes of your peers. And if it was hopeless, and you gave in at the start, well usually people understood that too.
The good thing is, surrender didn’t have to end in total tragedy. David of Scotland offered the besieged at Wark in 1138 not only freedom if they surrendered, but fresh horses. (They had eaten theirs when the food ran out.) Then there was Conrad III, who wanted to imprison all the defenders except the women. He agreed to let them go with whatever they could carry.
They carried out their men.
Notes and sources:
As I mentioned in the last post, in the early days, towns were held under siege more than castles. However, the process was the same either way.
Just because people wanted a siege to end quickly, doesn’t mean it always happened. The sieges of Chateau-Gaillard (1203–4) and Rouen (1418–19) each lasted nearly six months; Calais (1346–47) took eleven months.
Don’t know what I mean by “we control the horizontal and the vertical?” Oh, you youngins. It’s from a TV show, The Outer Limits. You know, back in the day when T.V.’s had tubes and analog dials.
Medieval Warfare: A History, Maurice Keen (Oxford University Press)
https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/kenilworth-castle/history-and-stories/siege-kenilworth-castle/
https://stpaulscastles.weebly.com/square-towers-or-round-towers.html
https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/siege-warfare-and-women-8th-c-17th-c
https://deremilitari.org/2013/06/the-myths-of-medieval-warfare/
https://deremilitari.org/2013/11/medieval-siege-warfare-a-reconnaissance/
http://www.castlesandmanorhouses.com/architecture_03_walls.htm
http://www.medieval-life-and-times.info/medieval-weapons/under-siege.htm
https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/inspire-me/10-things-sieges/
https://deremilitari.org/2013/06/the-myths-of-medieval-warfare/
https://www.ancient.eu/article/1230/siege-warfare-in-medieval-europe/ | https://medium.com/lessons-from-history/a-successful-medieval-siege-involved-good-psychology-and-a-dose-of-chivalry-1a55f882cd8f | ['Nicol Valentin'] | 2020-11-21 00:02:03.030000+00:00 | ['War', 'Culture', 'History', 'Technology', 'Psychology'] |
Making a difference for people with diabetes | “Most improved of all, my HbA1c from 50 to 41, which is almost normal! The best in years! This programme is working for me!”
In New Zealand, diabetes is the largest and fastest growing health issue with 1/4 million people diagnosed with the condition and another 100,000 people estimated to be undiagnosed. Globally, diabetes is a pressing health issue. By 2030, it is predicted that 522 million people will have the disease. A staggering 1 in 2 people worldwide live with the condition but are undiagnosed.
For Type 2 diabetes (the most common form of diabetes), 80% of cases are preventable, by maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
How can Melon help people with diabetes?
Melon is a digital health company that offers a broad range of programmes for a number of health conditions. Melon has specific programmes for both pre-diabetes (diabetes prevention) and Type 2 diabetes, both demonstrating significant impact for their users.
Siobhan Bulfin, founder of Melon Health, says that online programmes are bringing together support and resources for patients in ways that weren’t available a few years ago.
For people living with diabetes, the self-managed Melon programme enables access to an online coach (video or messaging options); participation in an online community to share experiences or seek support; health tracking; monitor mood, energy levels, diet and symptoms; and a suite of educational resources.
Making an impact on people with pre-diabetes
Over 60% of people who complete the Melon 16 week programme report as no longer having pre-diabetes. The impact on these people is huge — they do not go on to develop Type 2 Diabetes or cardiovascular disease.
Our programmes makes a difference in people’s lives in other ways too — check out Ed’s story. | https://medium.com/melon-health/making-a-difference-for-people-with-diabetes-7aefda42c2e4 | ['Aaron White'] | 2018-11-30 02:45:28.178000+00:00 | ['Diabetes'] |
40-man breakdown: Dustin May | Dustin May (Carrie Giordano/Los Angeles Dodgers)
by Cary Osborne
(Editor’s Note: For the next few weeks, Dodger Insider will analyze a different member of the Dodgers’ 40-man roster every weekday. The series continues alphabetically with Dustin May.)
Position: RHP
Previous Years with Dodgers: One
Age: 22
2019 Summary: One of the top right-handed prospects in the game, May made his big league debut on Aug. 2, 2019, and allowed just one run over his first five innings before running into trouble in the sixth against the Padres at Dodger Stadium. In four starts, he had a 2.82 ERA before a move to the bullpen. After a couple of rocky appearances in relief, May was dominant down the stretch. In his final eight regular-season appearances, he didn’t allow a run in 10 innings and struck out 14 batters with one walk. He was rewarded with a spot on the Dodgers’ National League Division Series roster, appearing in two games and allowing one earned run in 3 1/3 relief innings.
Best ’19 Moment: In a duel against fellow highly-touted young right-hander Jack Flaherty, May went 5 2/3 innings against the Cardinals on Aug. 7 and allowed one run, striking out seven batters. He didn’t figure in the decision but kept the Dodgers in a position to win, which they eventually did 2–1.
Standout Stat: Of the 84 right-handed batters he faced, May walked one.
Statcast Stat: May’s 3,058 average spin rate (23.4 revolutions) on his curveball ranked seventh in the Majors (minimum 100 batters faced).
Interesting Fact: The Texas native was committed to Texas Tech University, but opted to sign with the Dodgers after they selected him in the third round of the 2016 MLB Draft.
Where He Stands: May is a special talent, and the Dodgers have the starting pitching depth to give him more time to develop. On March 9, manager Dave Roberts announced the expected starting rotation to begin the season. Absent from the five names was May’s. That likely means, because the Dodgers want his development to come as a starter, May starts 2020 in Triple-A Oklahoma City. But he showed last season that he is ready to take on the challenge of being a Major League starter, and he showed the ability to succeed in the big leagues. He’ll be up at some point, and could be a major factor for the Dodgers.
Past Breakdowns:
Scott Alexander
Pedro Báez
Austin Barnes
Matt Beaty
Cody Bellinger
Mookie Betts
Walker Buehler
Caleb Ferguson
Dylan Floro
Tony Gonsolin
Victor Gonzalez
Brusdar Graterol
Kiké Hernández
Kenley Jansen
Joe Kelly
Clayton Kershaw
Adam Kolarek
Gavin Lux | https://dodgers.mlblogs.com/40-man-breakdown-dustin-may-b0fbf22bb647 | ['Cary Osborne'] | 2020-04-23 23:56:20.696000+00:00 | ['Dodgers', '40 Man Breakdown', 'Dustin May', '40 Man Roster', 'MLB'] |
When Intimate Partners Bully and Bulldoze ~ | How to Recognize and Survive Abusive Bullying
Get Ready for the Bully Ask
by Dr. Jeanne King, Ph.D.
Bullies and abusers have a way of bulldozing their way right through the “ask.” They know what they want and nothing is going to get in their way. Sound familiar?
It may start with an apparent pitch that looks like this, “I think we should…”
At first, you may not be certain whether the pitch invites your opinion or is the introduction to the bulldozing effort to follow. You seek to comprehend their suggestion/request, and before you can process it — much less formulate your reply — their eagerness percolates.
Bully Bulldoze Beginnings
You can feel its cascading momentum over your genuine personal preference relative to their request/suggestion. All of your energy attaches to the over-powering insistence and persistence of their “ask.”
In processing it, you lose sight of your own answer to their original question. Before you know it, your focus is exclusively on containing their campaign.
The quest can be so overbearing that you forget to even factor the nuances of their original question. Things that you may normally consider in making most decisions fall to the wayside. There simply is no room for your consideration of implications and consequences.
Pseudo Bulldoze Break
So you buy for time and attempt to pull back out from the mirage of influence and bullish control. Initially this feels good because you have created an intermission for yourself. So you think. You may even believe that in this pause you can return to the business of your own life.
But sure as the day is long, they resurface in email, text and voicemail. And suddenly, you realize that there is no intermission. You are not allowed a break, because God forbid in this sacred space, you could come to your senses.
The chase is on again, but this time layered with manipulation and mind games to seduce your compliance. When you resist engaging, you are scolded and battered. The whippings you get in your effort to hold your own can be so over the top that you begin to break from within.
Bulldozing Over the Top
If you have been in this dynamic for long enough, you may see the pattern and know the importance of your reaching within and demanding escape. You may create your absence so as to regroup and tend to your own life.
Sure enough, the moment your promised return arrives, the chase is on again. Then, if you haven’t re-engaged in the bully party immediately upon this expected return, there will be battering over that as well. Before you know it — in their bulldozing effort — you are flooded with punishment, demands and threats for compliance. In severe cases, you could be met with crippling coercion and violent threats against your life.
You may be drawn to reach for support from others outside of the bully dynamic. Beware as you do, the bully may very well pollute your support network. From here, you may feel as though you are sinking. Don’t give in. Instead, find your clear “no” and detach. Disengage for your survival and find the lesson that this bully has taught you.
If you are in an abusive relationship with an intimate partner, sibling or friend, take a hard and fast look at the dynamics of battering behavior. The sooner you do, the more likely you will break this dangerous cycle of abuse.
For information on domestic abuse, visit http://www.preventabusiverelationships.com/emotional_verbal_abuse.phpand claim Free Instant Access to The 7 Realities of Verbal Abuse. Dr. Jeanne King, Ph.D. helps individuals and couples worldwide recognize, end and heal from domestic abuse.
© Dr Jeanne King — Domestic Violence Prevention and Intervention | https://medium.com/@drjeanneking/when-intimate-partners-bully-and-bulldoze-6680cece6622 | ['Dr Jeanne King Phd'] | 2019-02-10 12:40:49.271000+00:00 | ['Abusive Relationships', 'Domestic Violence', 'Bullying', 'Bully', 'Domestic Abuse'] |
The Free Will Zone: 300,000 Years of Quarantine | This compelling book by Shiloh Russo Stone has just been published by Aingeal Rose & Ahonu under the World of Empowerment imprint. It debunks the law of attraction and reveals the real universal laws that have been kept hidden from humanity and denied our free will for thousands of years. You can get it on Amazon here.
The Free Will Zone reveals that the real secret about the law of attraction is that there is no such law in our universe.
The 12 laws you will read about in this book are the real operational forces we can utilize to create in our reality and they have been hidden from us for thousands of years. Without this knowledge our attempts to create are hit and miss, win and lose, or just fail, because we lack vital information.
The revelations in this book will teach you how to create with permanence and free will on all levels; health, wealth, love, and spirituality, with guaranteed eternal progress and abundance. You will learn hands on practical exercises designed to help you develop your creative abilities, and give you the encouragement to do more when you see fast results. Truths that have been stolen from humanity, which remain hidden still, will be revealed to you, as spiritual deficits are the true cause of material lack which is why these truths are kept a secret.
Knowledge is power and the author, Shiloh Russo Stone promises to help you get your power back.
In this book she provides an in-depth look at the past life history of each sign of the Zodiac. Long forgotten channeled information is shared from a source whose intent was to enrich humanity’s spiritual understanding and promote love for one another. Learn about hidden energies and symbols, and how power structures and religions control humanity and keep planet earth a ‘prison planet.’
This book is for those who are trying to use the ‘Law of Attraction’ and are coming up short. True and everlasting abundance linked to spiritual wealth is your birthright. This is the free will path to eternal happiness explained by the author in an easy to read format that all can understand.
Here’s what some reviewers had to say about The Free Will Zone:
“This book filled in a lot of knowledge gaps for me and helped me understand why things happen which we sometimes cannot understand. The explanation of the Signs of the Zodiac really helped me understand my Sun Sign and my past life. There’s so much information here and I just can’t believe nobody knows about it.” -Brandy Bergner
“I was really surprised to learn about the twelve universal laws and it left me wondering why nobody knows about them. I understand a little better why the Law of Attraction sometimes fails us because there is just not enough information. I highly recommend this book to anybody who wants to make real and lasting changes in their lives. It helped me a lot.” -Scott Landers
Here is a brief bio of the author of The Free Will Zone:
Shiloh has been a student of Astrology and metaphysics for over forty years. She has worked as a professional Astrologer and Tarot reader and now writes non-fiction metaphysical and spiritual books. She has travelled the world extensively, studying the religious and spiritual practices of people in Europe and the Near and Far East. She has researched the origins of humanity and the history of planet Earth as well as other planets that form the Galactic Federation of Light. This is the first book in which she shares her extensive knowledge with the world. The next one is on its way, focusing on ‘the planetary shift’ and how it is affecting inter-personal relationships.
As a student and practitioner of the ‘Old Ways’, she feels the ancient knowledge should be available to all who wish to use it, especially in this day of uncertainty, unrest and loss of free will. She is in the process of synthesizing much of her research and studies. Shiloh is committed to de-bunking mainstream law of attraction by revealing the real secrets long hidden from humanity.
In this book she devotes her time to drawing humanity’s attention to the spiritual and moral obligations they have towards each other rather than restricting their focus on merely trying to ‘attract’ large amounts of money, which doesn’t always work. (In this book she explains why.) She is committed to teaching others how permanent abundance is achieved through the focus on spirituality, self-knowledge, and personal empowerment.
The Free Will Zone by Shiloh Russo Stone is published by Aingeal Rose & Ahonu, Twin Flame Productions LLC under the World of Empowerment imprint. If you’d like to see your book in print, contact us.
https://twinflameproductions.us
Global Publishers & Distributors of Print, Digital & TV Media. For all our conscious creative clients ► we Coach with Love ► we Design with Joy and we ► Publish & Distribute Beautiful ☼ Books ☼ eBooks ☼ Podcasts & ☼ TV Courses all over the world! | https://medium.com/world-of-empowerment/the-free-will-zone-300-000-years-of-quarantine-168096bd4d70 | ['Aingeal Rose'] | 2020-12-13 20:16:26.048000+00:00 | ['Life', 'Future', 'Universe', 'Earth'] |
Hundreds Killed, Thousands Flee | What impact does this have globally?
Ethiopia is a close military ally to the US and has been essential in maintaining peace in the precarious Horn of Africa.
Civil war would destabilize the region and could cause mass displacement of the second-most populous country (110 million people).
The war could easily spill into Eritrea; there are already 96,000 Eritrean refugees living in Tigray.
If Ethiopians continue to flee to Sudan, which already has 1.1 million refugees, this could destabilize the fragile transition that the nation is currently going through, including an ongoing economic crisis.
Ethiopia also runs a vital peacekeeping mission in Somalia that would be under threat because of inner turmoil.
There’s something you can do right now to help innocent civilians:
While the conflict continues, thousands of Ethiopian people are continuing to flee to Sudan. The refugee camp is in dire need of food and supplies. Something you can right now to help — donate to the Norweigan Refugee Council, the organization that is currently managing the on-the-ground efforts at Um Rakuba refugee camp in Qadarif, eastern Sudan. | https://medium.com/@tyleranne04/hundreds-killed-thousands-flee-bf2a51485e3c | ['Tyler A. Donohue'] | 2020-11-24 21:21:50.703000+00:00 | ['Human Rights', 'International Relations', 'Humanitarian', 'Africa', 'Ethiopia'] |
When is the upcoming Akshay Kumar movie confirmed by KV Vijayendra Prasad? | As salman khan confirm its “BAJRANGI BHAIJAAN 2” , now Akshay kumar have something big to shock his fans about his upcoming movie “ROWDY RATHOD 2” . Confirmed by KV Vijayendra Prasad.
akshay kumar playing the character of shiva and sonakshi sinha as paro will be the lead actor in the movie . also this movie is not going to be the continue part of where the first movie ended. it will be the new start as they needed new start for the movie, the movie is said to be in air by the end of 2022.
Along with this if we talk about salman khan “BAJRANGI BHAIJAAN 2 “. ETimes contacted the writer of the movie and YESS!! he confirmed it that it is under process
When asked to writer about the movie he simply said “i won’t be saying anything , if you all want to know anything about the movie soon just wait for our salman bhai to reveal it to his audience
Even the film director KABIR KHAN confirmed that script is not ready yet but will be out soon .
to know more about bolly click the link below.
LINK | https://medium.com/@TheGoodFitnessVIbes/when-is-the-upcoming-akshay-kumar-movie-confirmed-by-kv-vijayendra-prasad-3707847ab5c1 | ['The Good Fitness Vibes'] | 2021-12-23 08:32:10.489000+00:00 | ['Bollywood', 'Latest News', 'News', 'Bollywood News'] |
Dear Skinny Jeans: I’ve Outgrown you… | My actual closet — Yes this is POST purge & to be fair shoes never stop fitting
Every year I purge — In an age of Marie Kondo and a focus on reducing consumption, it is the done thing.
And each year it gets easier. I have, over the years, heeded my husband’s input that “just because it’s a good deal, doesn’t mean you should buy it…” and so I am more selective. I look for quality, not fast fashion. I read labels and fabric composition. I select classic silhouettes and timeless colours.
But I’m not perfect.
There are outdoor parties and BBQs that justify a new summer dress. There are speaking engagements and panel discussions that merit a new suit. Or new shoes at least. Pro tip: shoes are what those who will notice are most likely to remember when you are on stage. There are theme events and times of year that let me rationalize a seasonal shirt or scarf or accessory.
And while the piles have, over the years, gotten smaller overall, it is still a necessary, annual task.
So I make the piles. And I am ruthless.
Or so I thought.
The truth is there are beautiful things, expensive quality pieces that somehow make the cut each year. And they shouldn’t
There are a pair of Tommy Bahama trousers in that beautiful light-weight fabric that is perfect for summer business. They are olive with a high fitted waist and wide legs. The pleat on the front is sharp as a knife and they never wrinkle.
Ever.
I can pair them with everything from a bold-print, tailored button-up shirt to a classic white t-shirt. I can wear them with sandals or my favourite — and most comfortable — high heels. And when I wear them I feel like I am 6 feet tall.
So when I do that Marie Kondo test, when I pick them up and examine them — still in their perfect state — no pulled seams or imperfections — and ask that critical question “Do these bring me joy?” that answer is YES!
Wanna know the last time I felt joy wearing them?
2010.
A lot has happened since then. There was another baby. And then there was a dress code change that mean jeans were more appropriate than my wardrobe of tailored suits and trousers.
And even when the opportunity did present to don these fabulous trousers, the season was wrong or there was a better option in my closet or I was too post-holidays/post-baby/post-whatever to actually be able to zip them up and breathe.
And then life continued to unfold — time away from work and then flexible work options where yoga pants were more practical and a hell of a lot more comfortable to wear in my home office.
In the nine-years since 2010 my body — like me — is different.
So the pants just don’t fit. And they likely never will again.
And ten or five or even two years ago, this would have felt like defeat. Like a failure to ‘get back’ to my previous or ideal body shape. To fit back into ‘those pants’.
I wonder now, even if those pants fit, could they handle me?
My body — like me — is different in many amazing, powerful and beautiful ways.
It is craftier and more experienced. There are lines around my eyes from laughing and my mouth from mourning. My body is both slower and stronger. I listen better and labor longer to find the forgiveness and compassion I didn’t bother with before. I touch people when I speak to them. I make eye contact when I listen. I hug harder and hang on longer.
I am bigger and rounder and fuller and wiser — inside and out.
So this year, I said good bye to those trousers along with a lot of other clothing.
Not because those items are too small. Not because I am too big.
Because I am more.
More mature, more developed, more savvy, more ambitious and more grounded.
And those trousers? They can’t handle all that more — My body and I have simply outgrown them. | https://medium.com/@itsleahhunt/bye-bye-skinny-jeans-8a836f0d22cd | ['Leah Hunt'] | 2019-08-27 16:39:20.526000+00:00 | ['Letting Go', 'Personal Development', 'Body Positive', 'Personal Growth', 'Body Image'] |
plt.xxx(), or ax.xxx(), That Is The Question In Matplotlib | Difference between plt.xxx() and ax.xxx()
As shown in Figure 1, there are three main layers in matplotlib architecture. From top to bottom, they are Scripting layer ( matplotlib.pyplot module), Artist layer ( matplotlib.artist module), and Backend layer ( matplotlib.backend_bases module), respectively.
Figure 1, Matplotlib architecture
Let’s start from the bottom, the Backend layer handles all the heavy works via communicating to the toolkits like wxPython or drawing languages like PostScript in your machine. It is the most complex layer. Within this layer, FigureCanvas is the area onto which the figure is drawn and Renderer is the object which knows how to draw on the FigureCanvas . A regular user like you and me barely need to deal with this layer.
Then the middle layer, Artist layer, where ax.xxx() derives from. As the name implies, using this layer, you can control and fine-tune as many elements (e.g. spines, tick direction, tick label size, tick label font, tick colour etc.) as possible in the figure just like an artist paints on the canvas. This layer allows you to do more customisation compare to Scripting layer (see below) and more convenient for advanced plots. Especially when handling multiple figures/axes, you will not get confused as to which one is currently active since every subplot is assign to an ax . This is why ax.xxx() is sometimes referred to object-based plotting. We definitely will use this layer more often when writing a web application, or a UI application, or perhaps a script to be shared with other developers.
The top layer, Scripting layer, where plt.xxx() resident is designed to make matplotlib work like MATLAB script. In other words, this layer is considered as the lightest scripting interface among all three layers, which comprises a collection of command style functions for a quick and easy generation of graphics and plots. This is why many matplotlib tutorials prefer to introduce from this layer. It is the easiest part to start with and use, you basically add up objects (e.g. line, text, rectangle) on top of the figure . Scripting layer plotting is sometimes also called procedural plotting.
Figure 2, Scripting layer plotting
‘figure’ and ‘axes’ in Matplotlib
In matplotlib , figure and axes are layers of a figure (please note that I do not quote this “figure” as a script). Here let’s use a figure from matplotlib website to explain the concepts.
Figure 3, Parts of a figure in Matplotlib
As we can see from Figure 3, the whole figure (marked as the outer red box) is the base of a figure. The layer above it is the axes (marked as the inner blue box). A figure can at least have one axes . From here we know that, axes refers to a part of the figure and is not a plural word for more than one axis. For instance, if you have one plot on a figure , then that plot is the axes . If you have multiple subplots on a figure , then each subplot is one axes . To be able to make a plot, we normally call fig = plt.figure() at the beginning. We create one axes object in the figure by calling ax1 = fig.add_subplot(2, 1, 1) . This created the first subplot within a 2-row by 1-column figure . Therefore, all ax1.xxx(…) are functions specifically for ax1 . For example, to access x-axis and y-axis in the subplot ax1 , we call ax1.xaxis(…) and ax1.yaxis(…) . Likewise, we can add another subplot by calling ax2 = fig.add_subplot(2, 1, 2) and manipulating its elements by calling ax2.xxx(…) . In this way, we have a clear idea about which subplot we are working on without messing up the code (of course, there are many other ways to call two axes , for instance, fig, ax = plt.subplots(2) , then each axes can be accessed by calling ax[0] and ax[1] ).
A example plot with two methods
Alright, after clarifying the concepts of plt.xxx() and ax.xxx() , let’s use a simple example adapted from matplotlib document to demonstrate their differences when plotting figure with subplots.
Scripting layer plotting
Artist layer plotting
If everything goes right, you will get the following figure.
Figure 4, A example figure
As you can see from these two scripts (Scripting layer plotting vs. Artist layer plotting), although the code of artist layer plotting is more verbose than that of scripting layer plotting, it is easier to read. This is a very important practice to let you produce quality code and increase the readability of your code. When the plots getting complicated, the power of artist layer plotting will become more and more apparent.
Taken together, we may use plt.xxx() to quickly get a plot for exploratory data analysis, however, ax.xxx() is a go-to style when your code is part of a serious project and need to be shared with others. In addition, as a learner of matplotlib , I strongly advise starting from artist layer plotting, from which you will have a more comprehensive understanding about matplotlib plotting and definitely benefit more for your long-term development in data visualisation.
Here are materials I found very useful (continually updated list) | https://towardsdatascience.com/plt-xxx-or-ax-xxx-that-is-the-question-in-matplotlib-8580acf42f44 | [] | 2020-02-01 22:42:48.301000+00:00 | ['Data Science', 'Matplotlib', 'Data Visualization'] |
Life of a Train Ticket Inspector | Myst and Mystique
When I tell people about my decision of moving to Coonoor in the Nilgiris, the immediate question that follows is — “what made you decide on Coonoor coming all the way from Kolkata?” As I playback the same answer yet one more time, I have often wondered if I chose Coonoor or the Nilgiris brought me here.
I have often wondered how life takes people to different places. There is something ordained about it, I feel. Though there can be counter arguments, it is difficult to deny that fate has a hand in it. One can always rationalise by citing reasons of job, education or marriage. But, for example, does one justify why someone finds a job in Bombay and not Bangalore or Delhi? Similarly, how between two students from the same college wanting to go overseas for post-graduate education one lands up in California and the other in Ohio?
This is not just limited to longer-term or permanent relocations. One sees it even in the nature of jobs people land up with. Some have frequent-flyer miles lapsing because they do not have time to take holidays, whereas others have their Airline Cards downgraded for lack of travel. Like many Indians, I take astrology with a healthy dose of skepticism. But, many years ago, someone looking at my horoscope had said — you will have the life of a Railway Ticket Collector. Elaborating further, he added — you will not spend two nights at the same place. Enquiring why a Railway TT and not an airline pilot, he told me in all seriousness — because it will not be a life of 5 Star luxury. He was not too far off the mark considering the life of an itinerant salesman I led for the better part of my life.
In the course of my 35 odd years of working career, I moved a good twelve times including a four year stint in Nepal. At one point, we made a serious effort of migrating to the United States. But, despite having greencards did not make any headway in six or seven years before deciding to give it up. Looking back we feel, it was not meant to be. However, more interesting is the story of my return to Calcutta.
Unusual for Bengali parents, that too of an only child, I left Calcutta immediately on qualifying as a Chartered Accountant at their insistence. A decision for which I can never thank them enough for. It was a turning point of my life. Whatever I have achieved in my professional life would not have been possible if I had stayed back. It sure caused them some pain and loneliness. But, that was a sacrifice they made for my future. Perhaps, it was their best gift to me.
I had no intention of returning to Calcutta even after retirement and had already started looking for a nest in some other part of the country. In 2009 December, my mother passed away after a brief illness. Myeloid Leukaemia snatched her away in just five days. We had to shift her to the hospital on the morning her 50th Wedding Anniversary when the diagnosis was confirmed. Though we had planned no celebrations — as birthdays and anniversaries were always a private affair in our family — she had probably lived for that day. But, within weeks of her passing away — quite out of the blue my transfer to Calcutta came through. A few other little things happened in the next few days — which convinced me that she had wished that I come back to Calcutta to be with my father, who was left alone.
Last October — after exactly a gap of ten years I lost my father again after a short illness and a surgery from which he could not recover. With the last link gone, I felt there was little reason for me to stay in Calcutta except for my job. Then Covid19 happened. Perspectives changed almost overnight. The lockdown was godsend for reflection. I took the decision to hang up my boots on turning 60 in September and came away to Coonoor as soon as travel restrictions eased.
Taste of Tea and Hills
That brings me back to the original question of why Coonoor? I had always fancied having a place in the hills. The Kumaons in Uttarakhand was my first choice. I even bought a little patch of land between Ranikhet and Almora. Also seriously considered acquiring a cottage in Kasauli overlooking the Garur valley and the mighty Trishul range of the Himalayas, that parents of dear friends had built and wanted to sell off after her father passed away. Then some practical considerations prevailed and Coonoor beckoned.
Now it seems the Nigiris is where I was destined to be. I like the moderate climate and the Blue Hills and Tea plantations have a calming effect. I feel blessed. But, whether this is the final stop, who can tell?
#Coonoor #Nilgiris #Kolkata #Calcutta #Kumaons #Ranikhet #Almora #Uttarakhand #Tea Estate #TeaGardens #NigirisTea #SouthIndia #TamilNadu
Story first published in GhoseSpot | https://medium.com/@sandipghose/life-of-a-train-ticket-inspector-14ce2ced9b99 | ['Right Angle'] | 2020-12-21 07:36:14.256000+00:00 | ['Cities', 'Life Lessons', 'Life', 'Retirement', 'Nilgiris'] |
Saas, Paas, & Iaas- Decoding the 3 Cloud Computing Service Models | Evolution of Cloud Computing Models
Over the years, this technology paradigm has evolved through multiple phases. The earlier forms of computing that preceded modern cloud computing included grid, utility, and on-demand computing. The earliest forms of modern cloud computing that include Software (SaaS), Platform (PaaS) and Infrastructure (IaaS) emerged as a technological outcome that attended the dipping costs of computer and server hardware. Users could purchase individual servers to power their computing requirements.
The cloud paradigm emerged when software makers and hardware vendors combined multiple servers in a concerted bid to harness the immense computing power generated by a grid (or network) of connected servers. Concurrently, the evolution of digital connectivity technologies that underlie the World Wide Web in recent years formally brought about the modern concept of “cloud computing.” In recent times, the purveyors of technology have parlayed cloud-computing systems into multiple tiers of service, variously labeled as SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS.
Software as a service (SaaS)
(SaaS) is a software licensing and delivery model that has gained a significant presence in a wide range of modern corporate, business, scientific, and commercial applications.
SaaS technologies allow users to license proprietary software on a subscription basis — monthly or annual. As providers of an ‘on-demand’ service, SaaS service providers host the software on the cloud to which users connect through a browser and an Internet connection. As a hugely cost-effective alternative to on-premise software installations and packages, the SaaS model seamlessly delivers a variety of applications that pertain to enterprise resource planning programs, office, and communications software, payroll and accounting packages, human resources management, mobile applications, etc.
LOWER UP-FRONT COSTS
SaaS offers users a line of significant advantages and benefits when compared to the traditional model of installing software packages on hardware located within business premises. Lower up-front costs and zero license fees represent the main advantage. This creates distinct advantages for freshly minted business operators. For instance, SaaS services allow start-up operators to minimize the costs of bringing a business idea to life. Observers note this allows “entrepreneurs to cycle through new ideas more quickly, trying out ideas until they hit on a successful one.” This is reinforced by the fact SaaS service providers manage the information technology infrastructure that runs the software; this is the critical factor that reduces the fees for hardware and software maintenance.
SaaS offers users a line of significant advantages and benefits when compared to the traditional model of installing software packages on hardware located within business premises. Lower up-front costs and zero license fees represent the main advantage. This creates distinct advantages for freshly minted business operators. For instance, SaaS services allow start-up operators to minimize the costs of bringing a business idea to life. Observers note this allows This is reinforced by the fact SaaS service providers manage the information technology infrastructure that runs the software; this is the critical factor that reduces the fees for hardware and software maintenance. HASSLE-FREE OPERATION
The nature of traditional computer systems requires expert help to configure and set up on the premises of business operators. In marked contrast, SaaS service providers install and configure SaaS applications on remote servers (known as the cloud). This difference translates into real gains for users and customers in terms of minimal delays, sustained hassle-free operation, and higher levels of engagement with the service. Also, SaaS users enjoy shorter learning curves, thereby driving higher productivity in the workplace.
The nature of traditional computer systems requires expert help to configure and set up on the premises of business operators. In marked contrast, SaaS service providers install and configure SaaS applications on remote servers (known as the cloud). This difference translates into real gains for users and customers in terms of minimal delays, sustained hassle-free operation, and higher levels of engagement with the service. Also, SaaS users enjoy shorter learning curves, thereby driving higher productivity in the workplace. AUTOMATIC UPGRADES
Software upgrades and package installation (or re-installation) can pose headaches for business operators because these consume business hours that businesses could use to find (and serve) new customers. The SaaS model removes such problems because service providers typically deploy upgrades on centrally hosted software applications. This ensures SaaS customers enjoy smooth, uninterrupted transitions to higher levels of service. Also, SaaS offers users high levels of usability and access through a browser and Internet-connected device only. This aspect promotes user convenience and decimates the traditional pain points associated with legacy computing paradigms.
Software upgrades and package installation (or re-installation) can pose headaches for business operators because these consume business hours that businesses could use to find (and serve) new customers. The SaaS model removes such problems because service providers typically deploy upgrades on centrally hosted software applications. This ensures SaaS customers enjoy smooth, uninterrupted transitions to higher levels of service. Also, SaaS offers users high levels of usability and access through a browser and Internet-connected device only. This aspect promotes user convenience and decimates the traditional pain points associated with legacy computing paradigms. SUBSCRIPTION PACKAGES
A multiplicity of choices can help elevate the appeal of service in the eyes of customers and users. Bearing this in mind, SaaS service providers offer multiple subscription packages tailored to the requirements of business users. This flexibility allows users to scale up their engagement with a SaaS service in tune with the demands of, for instance, an expanding enterprise. Customers can also negotiate with service providers to arrive at custom service packages that have individual dollar valuations. Also, customers enjoy the flexibility of operating a service on multiple devices such as desktop machines, laptop computers, connected tablets, and smartphone devices.
A multiplicity of choices can help elevate the appeal of service in the eyes of customers and users. Bearing this in mind, SaaS service providers offer multiple subscription packages tailored to the requirements of business users. This flexibility allows users to scale up their engagement with a SaaS service in tune with the demands of, for instance, an expanding enterprise. Customers can also negotiate with service providers to arrive at custom service packages that have individual dollar valuations. Also, customers enjoy the flexibility of operating a service on multiple devices such as desktop machines, laptop computers, connected tablets, and smartphone devices. SaaS-POWERED LEARNING
Advancements in technology, rising use of connected mobile devices, and high levels of broadband Internet penetration are expanding the market for learning management systems that are based on SaaS technologies. Increasingly, educators and business operators are positioning learning materials, products and solutions on the cloud resulting in cost-effective learning products. These are relevant to more extensive sections of society, institutions, and organizations. Moreover, factors such as the availability of new vendors and better computational capabilities are expanding the market for SaaS-based learning products and services.
CHALLENGES with SaaS
This computing paradigm remains vulnerable to unauthorized access and malevolent hacking expeditions in online domains. Digital miscreants have targeted businesses that operate on the cloud by blocking customer access to critical online systems. This poses real risks that can translate into an erosion of market value for SaaS service providers. In response, service providers must continuously invest in improving security and authentication processes on the cloud, thereby delivering incremental assurances to their clients and customers.
Additional challenges that figure in the development of SaaS-powered products and services include custom third-party payment integration, safe and well-defined database access compliant with GDPR norms, guaranteeing zero-downtime deployment,managing the subscription lifecycle, and building a fully customizable SaaS system.
Platform as a service (PaaS)
PaaS is “a category of cloud services that provide a platform allowing customers to develop, run, and manage applications without the complexity of building and maintaining the infrastructure typically associated with developing and launching an app.”
PaaS providers host the hardware and software on their infrastructure, thereby releasing customers from any obligation to install in-house hardware and software to develop or run a new application.
LOWER SET-UP COSTS
For instance, a major commercial vendor such as Oracle offers Oracle Platform Services to modern software developers. Subscription-based models that allow developers to build Java applications, mobile apps, and websites drive access to these services. This cloud-computing model is gaining steam because it helps customers to reduce their set-up costs and cut the expenses associated with maintenance.
For instance, a major commercial vendor such as Oracle offers Oracle Platform Services to modern software developers. Subscription-based models that allow developers to build Java applications, mobile apps, and websites drive access to these services. This cloud-computing model is gaining steam because it helps customers to reduce their set-up costs and cut the expenses associated with maintenance. ASSET FOR CODERS
PaaS-based systems allow developers to retain significant levels of control over custom configurations, thereby preserving the contours (and content) of original development work. Developers are empowered by the fact PaaS service providers handle application execution services, data services, and the underlying operating system functions. Besides, high-grade PaaS vendors offer developers the use of individual development tools, frameworks, and other resources uniquely tuned and configured for use in the platform provided by the vendor(s).
PaaS-based systems allow developers to retain significant levels of control over custom configurations, thereby preserving the contours (and content) of original development work. Developers are empowered by the fact PaaS service providers handle application execution services, data services, and the underlying operating system functions. Besides, high-grade PaaS vendors offer developers the use of individual development tools, frameworks, and other resources uniquely tuned and configured for use in the platform provided by the vendor(s). SCALE AT WILL
Scalability remains one of the watchwords of the platform as a service. PaaS services are typically scalable that generate substantial cost savings for developers, thereby aiding revenue generation mechanisms to gain greater traction. The real world benefits for developers include the ability to expand the scope of an application in tune with market requirements.
Scalability remains one of the watchwords of the platform as a service. PaaS services are typically scalable that generate substantial cost savings for developers, thereby aiding revenue generation mechanisms to gain greater traction. The real world benefits for developers include the ability to expand the scope of an application in tune with market requirements. SPECIAL EDITIONS
PaaS service providers deliver enterprise versions of custom services to customers through a hybrid model that incorporates public clouds, and on-premise compute infrastructure. However, some clients prefer to use purely special versions of PaaS. These choices serve to boost developers’ productivity, enhance their utilization rates, and lower an application’s time to market cycle.
PaaS service providers deliver enterprise versions of custom services to customers through a hybrid model that incorporates public clouds, and on-premise compute infrastructure. However, some clients prefer to use purely special versions of PaaS. These choices serve to boost developers’ productivity, enhance their utilization rates, and lower an application’s time to market cycle. BELLS & WHISTLES
The applications developed from the ground up using PaaS technologies offer scalability, SaaS enablement, can accommodate multiple digital tenants; provide 99% uptime, etc. Observers note that enterprises deploy PaaS technologies primarily because these reduce the amount of coding required to enable an application, help to automate business policy and drive the migration of apps to the hybrid model of cloud computing.
Challenges with PaaS
PaaS technologies pose particular problems and risks for service providers. These challenges include balancing control, cost, and capacity of a PaaS-based service, providing full multi-tenancy support, designing role-based access controls, creating audit trails, and integrating third-party services into modern PaaS platforms. Additional challenges may emerge in the form of virtualization management, fine-tuning the PaaS compute architecture, designing inter-operability with other cloud services, and creating technically sound fault tolerance parameters.
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
IaaS operates by traditional cloud architecture. Per the IaaS cloud-computing paradigm, service providers host the infrastructure such as servers, storage units, networking hardware, virtualization or hypervisor layer, etc. This model negates the legacy business case for investing in on-premise data center infrastructure and equipment. Modern IaaS service providers also offer policy-driven services to clients and customers. These services include monitor service performance, detailed billing of customer services, log access, digital security, load balancing, backup, replication, and recovery, etc.
IaaS represents “the virtual delivery of computing resources in the form of hardware, networking, and storage services. It may also include the delivery of operating systems and virtualization technology to manage the resources. Rather than buying and installing the required resources in their own data center, companies rent these resources as needed,” according to popular definitions of IaaS.
COST-EFFICIENCY
The infrastructure-as-a-service paradigm offers a cost-efficient computing paradigm for users and customers. Most IaaS customers pay service providers on a per-user basis or may negotiate hourly, weekly, or monthly rates. Observers note the pay-as-you-go model eliminates significant capital investments and the up-front costs incurred when business operators deploy legacy versions of on-premise hardware and software packages.
The infrastructure-as-a-service paradigm offers a cost-efficient computing paradigm for users and customers. Most IaaS customers pay service providers on a per-user basis or may negotiate hourly, weekly, or monthly rates. Observers note the pay-as-you-go model eliminates significant capital investments and the up-front costs incurred when business operators deploy legacy versions of on-premise hardware and software packages. BRANDED SERVICES
Some of the stalwart instances of IaaS vendors and products include Amazon Web Services (AWS), which offers Simple Storage Services (S3) and Glacier. AWS also offers customers the use of computer services such as Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2). Similar products spring from Google Cloud Platform (GCP) that provides storage and compute functions through Google Compute Engine (GCE).
Some of the stalwart instances of IaaS vendors and products include Amazon Web Services (AWS), which offers Simple Storage Services (S3) and Glacier. AWS also offers customers the use of computer services such as Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2). Similar products spring from Google Cloud Platform (GCP) that provides storage and compute functions through Google Compute Engine (GCE). LOW TO HIGH
IaaS providers often implement a tiered approach to pricing for their services and products. This helps them attract a broad swathe of customers with differing requirements and gain traction in competitive commercial markets for cloud computing services. Amazon Web Services, for instance, allows enterprise customers to access AWS Spot Instance at sharply discounted prices compared to its menu of on-demand services. Similarly, users can access specific versions of Google’s virtual machines at rates that are 70% lower than its superior virtual machine services. These instances of dynamic pricing are an outcome of service providers’ imperative to offload spare computing capacity to interested customers.
IaaS providers often implement a tiered approach to pricing for their services and products. This helps them attract a broad swathe of customers with differing requirements and gain traction in competitive commercial markets for cloud computing services. Amazon Web Services, for instance, allows enterprise customers to access AWS Spot Instance at sharply discounted prices compared to its menu of on-demand services. Similarly, users can access specific versions of Google’s virtual machines at rates that are 70% lower than its superior virtual machine services. These instances of dynamic pricing are an outcome of service providers’ imperative to offload spare computing capacity to interested customers. SUPER PROSPECTS
The commercial market for IaaS services is expected to expand at a brisk pace shortly. Industry observers remain upbeat in light of rising demand for (and growing adoption of) infrastructure computer functions in the enterprise market. Significant drivers of these trends include pure-play IaaS service providers and cloud providers related closely to telecom services. Meanwhile, “Midmarket and small enterprises are even further along the adoption curve. By 2019, more than 30% of the 100 largest vendors’ new software investments will have shifted from cloud-first to cloud-only,” according to a recent press release by Gartner.
CHALLENGES of IaaS
A raft of business challenges have emerged to face service providers that offer IaaS services to clients and customers. These may include subscriber expectation management, defining support systems that handle different forms of payments from customers, accommodating the need for custom analytics that measures customer profitability and usage, managing the service value chain, and controlling business with multiple partners. Also, service operators must remain agile in terms of experimenting with product prices, product features, the configuration of service packages, and navigating the intricacies of customer licenses. They must also work to actively manage customer expectations and refine the concept of datacentre ‘in-the-sky.’
Conclusion
The business case for cloud computing technologies and frameworks will continue to burnish its relevance and utility years and decades into the future. The large and incrementally enormous volumes of data generated by modern scientific, commercial, and technological enterprises will require larger data centers powered by innovative technologies. These may form the central planks of local, regional, and national economies in the future. That said, the central role of the cloud may morph into differentiated expressions, marshaled by real-time processing technologies and a deeper engagement with refined versions of civilizational requirements.
Source: Cuelogic Blog | https://medium.com/cuelogic-technologies/saas-paas-iaas-decoding-the-3-cloud-computing-service-models-25407ee1a568 | ['Cuelogic Technologies'] | 2019-03-28 06:22:07.536000+00:00 | ['Saas App Development', 'Software As A Service', 'Cloud Computing', 'Cloud Service Models', 'Product As A Services'] |
why? | why?
why do i feel this way?
why do i feel alone when people are around me ?
why do i feel like i have no one to talk to?
why do people think they know me?
why do i have to pretend like i’m happy?
why do people not take me seriously?
i cry all the time but all alone.
i have to deal with everything on my own.
i have so many questions but no answers.
just why ? | https://medium.com/@tahiroulam2005/why-d0011b4cae9b | ['That Sad Bitch'] | 2020-12-20 19:40:26.445000+00:00 | ['Feelings', 'Mentalhealth', 'Emotions', 'Why'] |
Robot Patrols Are Just The Beginning | Remember The Future
Robot Patrols Are Just The Beginning
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, public discourse has significantly changed tone and direction. The Overton window has stretched on many issues. Robot law enforcement is one of them. It will be here to stay.
If you want to inform yourself about the robots that will soon be patrolling around the world, look no further than Boston Dynamics’ YouTube channel. Their robots have seen a lot of publicity over the last decade, often paired with commentary linking their act and likeness to a Terminator-like future (FastCompany, New York Post).
Public reception so far did not indicate a great acceptance of the idea of these robots performing important civic duties in everyday life.
All that seems to be changing now, with the public terrified by a global pandemic, human interaction being vilified, and social coherence being of high importance. There are indications that the idea of seeing robots patrol and help to enforce basic regulations is becoming acceptable. Singapore recently made headlines for using Boston Dynamics’ Spot robots in public parks to remind people of social distancing:
And that was only the beginning. We are already seeing a new wave of patrol robots being released into public life:
This raises the obvious question — What is next?
The Overton Window Is Opening
One theory can help us explain what is going on and try to understand where this might lead. It’s called the Overton Window and comes from the realm of political discourse.
The key idea is that at any given point in time, there is a whole scale of stances on a given issue. Those stances can be ordered by how acceptable they are to society — very fringe ideas being “radical,” while the mainstream sits in the middle as “policy” or “popular.”
The Overton Window tells us which ideas are acceptable to society at a given point in time, which can help understand the discourse of the time.
The Overton Window is, of course, not static. New ideas enter the world regularly, and attitudes shift often. Charting political history, as marked by debate and policy, every country has clear changes in their Overton Window over time. Just think of topics such as Universal Basic Income, which has entered as a fringe idea, and is now being trialed in several cities around the world.
Major events have the potential to radically change the shape of the Overton Window for the society living through them. They change how people see reality and what ideas are acceptable. One example would be the expansion of the US government’s powers after 9–11 through the Patriot Act . | https://medium.com/illumination-curated/robot-patrols-are-just-the-beginning-5e43d3224dfa | ['Sebastian Mueller'] | 2020-09-27 08:10:39.069000+00:00 | ['Society', 'Future', 'Robots', 'Ethics', 'Philosophy'] |
Deconstructing the Date | Photo by Jessica Felicio on Unsplash
Finding the one is a colossal waste of time. This had been my mantra until recently, when I decided to get back on apps in order to find “a” one. Someone I wanted to see again. Someone I wanted to kiss. Someone to share my nights with.
What I have found is that we’re no good at meeting each other. Yes, once we’ve gone through matching and messaging, we may agree on place and time — and actually go through with it. But once we’re there, who is to say that we’re actually wanting to be seen for who we are or to truly see the person before us? Who’s to say we even know how to do that?
That we can bring basic decency to the process is a win for humanity.
My relationship ideal is to create a “here.” A third place — where you and I meet. A place that feels connected. Where there is no spiel. No rote run down on what we’ve done and where we’ve been. In my bedroom, woodcut letters read be here with me. I’m not trying to kidnap anyone — I just want to find a present with someone else.
While it’s easy to complain about dating, it’s close to miraculous that we’re willing to meet strangers at all. In several decades time, we have adopted a completely new behavior. That we can bring basic decency to the process is a win for humanity. But the fact that we don’t know how to be in our own bodies and connect with someone else is a loss.
I only want to be with someone if we add something to each other’s lives.
This isn’t a problem with no name, but it’s certainly a problem with no solution. If you don’t know how to be with yourself, I can’t help you. If you don’t know how to be with me, I can try to guide you, but I can’t do it for you.
While I used to bristle at the idea that we don’t need to teach men, as I look at the landscape of patriarchy, the systems that support an ignorance of the self and others’ needs, I see that the whole thing is rigged. I have spent a decade of dates playing therapist, trying to help men understand their emotions and reactions, and I’m officially done — not from a place of anger but one of clarity. I don’t know that we ever got anywhere anyhow.
On Valentine’s, when I told a guy I had been dating for a month that I wanted to feel more connected to him, all he could say was, “This is awkward.” That he grabbed his things and walked out, while shocking in and of itself, didn’t really surprise me. I haven’t heard from him and I don’t expect to. A previous version of me would try to repair this, try to help him figure it out — what was he scared of? Where was the wound? But that’s not my work. That’s his work, whether he chooses it or not.
I don’t need to date. I don’t need to marry. I only want to be with someone if we add something to each other’s lives. If we can inhabit a space of our own making.
This essay is part of a series about relationships, dating, and friendship, sponsored by Chorus, the matchmaking app where friends swipe for friends. | https://medium.com/the-chorus/deconstructing-the-date-54df4edcb4 | ['Erika Anderson'] | 2020-02-20 18:55:51.606000+00:00 | ['Patriarchy', 'Presence', 'Dating App', 'Mindfulness', 'Dating'] |
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Business strategies, technologies, Financer for Startup companies. | https://medium.com/@xonac68804/best-property-dealers-and-real-estate-agents-in-pune-pcmc-295b23778b1b | [] | 2020-12-26 06:44:37.885000+00:00 | ['Real Estate'] |
Joy | Why everyone is wrong about “the joy of the Lord”
Photo by pereslavseva On Freepik
After weeks of working, trying to make it better, trying to bring restoration, they finally heard the word of God. The priest read and the Levites explained the meaning for hours, filling in huge gaps in Israel’s collective memory.
They have come to rebuild and inhabit Jerusalem after long, hard years of exile. And now, as they hear of the promises and requirements of God, their hearts are torn. They begin to weep tears of deep grief, this crowd of people shaking with sobs. We have been so far from the Lord. We have broken every promise we’ve made to Him.
In those days, that grief would have been mixed with fear. Because they had broken their end of the covenant, God was freed from His: He was no longer bound to His word to care for and protect them. With enemies surrounding and God’s protection removed, they would have realized how dangerous their position was.
What will become of us?
But the priest and leaders soothed the people. Don’t be grieved, they said. Don’t mourn or weep or lament. The joy of the Lord is your strength.
Instead of a day for fear and grief, it was a day to celebrate, to make sure everyone could participate in the festivities. And, just like that, the people stopped weeping. They went on their way and celebrated. | https://medium.com/@regiikelginting/joy-b7b8786d514f | ['Regii Ginting'] | 2020-12-12 11:26:08.599000+00:00 | ['Joy'] |
Your Top 3 Accessible Handbags for Autumn. | “Be A Nice Human, Born Anxious”
It sounds like such a simple message, doesn’t it? For some, it seems the meaning is lost.
Born Anxious is an Autism friendly clothing brand; owned by a mother of an Autistic child, this range is what fashion is usually not for people on the spectrum. The clothing is soft, sensory friendly; there are also no labels at all. (These are just two issues Autistic people face when shopping for clothing.) There are also a range of colours, to suit a variety of sensory needs.
As an Autistic person, it was a revelation to find this brand. I am not a very ‘fashion forward’ person — preferring to stick to my own preferred style of clothing. I also usually go for soft fabrics — with things like sequins and zips to be tolerated only for official-type functions.
One Tuff Muvva and Born Anxious have collaborated to bring you the ‘Be A Nice Human’ collection. On the back of slogans like #BeKind, this has the idea to build a kindness army. And there are two different style of handbags — including a messenger handbag and backpack.
You can buy the messenger bag here, and the backpack here. | https://medium.com/conscious-life/your-top-3-accessible-handbags-for-autumn-8834cea47d0e | ['Elizabeth Wright'] | 2020-10-12 10:07:48.136000+00:00 | ['Disability', 'Handbags', 'Fashion', 'Inclusion', 'Fashion Trends'] |
4 things I learnt from COVID crisis? | To be Grateful:
While many of my colleagues and relatives suffered and lost their loved ones, lost their well-established career and jobs, went through a heavy financial crunch and emotional burden, I am grateful to not have faced those extremities. I am thankful to God for keeping my family members safe, keeping the money meter rolling and allowed me to spend time with my 3-year-old son and create that bond. With the amount of survival guilt I have, I can only wish the future to be shinier for everyone in this world.
To Trust & Believe
Leading large scale teams come with constant worry whether the team will deliver what is needed if there is no tracking in a Work From Home scenario. I WAS WRONG (and happy about it). Surprisingly, what I realized is that each of my teams performed outstandingly well without/minimal tracking. I learnt to keep more Trust in my team. Sorry for not being able to do that earlier. I believe more in my team members.
To Adapt and Move On> (Resilience)
While we love the idea of NO Change, COVID hit us left, right and centre. I was stunned to learn that we all almost learnt INSTANTLY to Work From Home and continued the HUSTLE of the new technology to deliver the best. I learnt to adapt to situations like water and without worrying about the past, just keep moving on.. KEEP MOVING… Chalte Raho (in Hindi)..
And, the future will be bright because we are STRONGER
During the whole process, we all developed more patience, performed brilliantly well under emotional pressure and sailed through these difficult times. I feel we all are far STRONGER than we knew we are.. We have come a long way and with this new strength of being RESILIENT, we will invite brighter days, brighter future and more smiles.
I hated 2020 to the core and felt that I won't wish a “Happy New Year’ this time to anyone, but I honestly wish you all that this New year will be Happy because that’s the HOPE we all have.
So, with that, I am wishing you all a “Happy NEW Year”.. Stay bless. and Never forget to count your blessings. | https://medium.com/@rajeshrathod2311/4-things-i-learnt-from-covid-crisis-a1cf908fcd7a | ['Rajesh Rathod'] | 2020-12-17 12:03:14.208000+00:00 | ['Grateful', 'Learning', 'Resilience', 'Covid Diaries'] |
Not a feminist. | “There is a stubbornness about me that never can bear to be frightened at the will of others. My courage always rises at every attempt to intimidate me.”
― Jane Austen ( Pride and Prejudice)
I had a sociology lecture and the ongoing topic was status of women in the Indian society. It’s very unfortunate to see women in such condition in a society that also worhsips women in the form of shakti. A very strong thought came up while studying about different facets of the topic.
Essence of Life.
From the shining hues, emanated an aura
Yes there she was in all her glory.
Mother Nature bestowed upon her all the serendipity, yet she’s vulnerable
She’s gracile like a daughter, genial like a wife and nurturing like a mother.
All the fortune flows from her smile, she looks at with an awe
Engulfed by the pernicious customs, that pure smile tardily evanesced.
Misogyny it is or the very essence of manhood, the little life sinks
The very existence of the shrimpy man would be imperilled.
Supernal baby came as a benediction to bless the mankind,
Immaculately disseminating fortuitousness.
Like a drop of rain in the desert,
But then he is the man, peremptorily vanquishing the epitome of life.
The little he knows, she’s the source of eternal puissance and audaciousness
Picayunish creature would also come to an end if the flare dies,
And there would prevail somberness.
Abha | https://medium.com/@abhasingh-9152/not-a-feminist-b0335b53336e | ['Abha Singh'] | 2020-12-10 15:43:06.537000+00:00 | ['Writer', 'Poetry', 'Poet', 'Writers On Medium', 'Literature'] |
10 Simple Confident Body Language Tips | Personality Development | Tips That Can Make Anyone Instantly Like You !!.
We all want to have the limelight. We want people to pay attention to us. To grab on other’s eyes it is important to look confident. Our body of course plays a major role to give us a confident look. Here are some tips on how to appear confident and make people instantly like you!
Real And Genuine Smile
A real and genuine smile is very important to look confident. It not only makes you look confident but grabs the attention of the person you are having a conversation with. Smile instantly makes you look confident. It is a sign that you are open to conversation. Smile is a weapon to showcase your confidence but yet it is not needed in some kind of conversation. Unnecessary smiling might look unpleasant. A real and genuine smile is one where you get wrinkles around your eyes and the end of your mouth face upward, not horizontal.
Note:
Do not over smile or keep grinning. This makes the person feel unpleasant.
Sticky Eyes
Eye contact is another important thing you have to take care of. Looking at a person while you talk signifies you are confident about your speech. Eye contact also showcases that you are interested to talk. Maintaining eye contact while you deliver your point is the best tip to convince others. Talking to a person with wandering eyes showcase you’re not interested, not confident, and not sure of what you are talking about.
Note:
Remember you have to maintain eye contact in a way that you should not look like you are steering the person.
Decent eye contact that makes the person feel comfortable. And make him/her feel that his/she is a person of greater importance
As you end the conversation do not take off your eyes instantly or do not just look away. Take time and reluctantly break the eye contact
Body Posture when you are standing
This is important and should be in parallel with your eye contact. Let your body completely turn towards the person with whom you are talking with. People usually make a mistake by just turning the neck or rotating eyes. Let your entire body face the person. This is a sign that says “Yes I am interested in the conversation”. If you want to place your point remember eye contact with your feet facing the person will draw the complete attention of the listener. This posture also helps you to understand if someone is interested to talk to you or not. If you encounter such a body posture, make a move.
Note:
Before you initiate the conversation turn your body completely. Don’t turn while you continue to talk.
If you are already talking to one person finish the conversation and then start new. If you break the conversation with one and talk to the other. This my showcase that the person you are talking at moment is of lesser importance.
Slightly node your head as you talk this will look more responsive.
Body Posture When You Are Sitting
If you have a conversation while you are seated remember not to lean back and talk. Lean your body towards the person with your hand on the table or your thigh. Leaning back showcase you are bored and not interested to talk. And sitting with you back extreme straight will showcase arrogance. In both the posture, the person will feel disrespected.
Note:
Do not keep your hands too far from your body.
Do not break eye contact even after you are seated.
Greet the person before you sit and get up after the conversation. Handshake will do.
Chin Up
Walking with your chin down makes you look clumsy. Keep head straight, shoulders stiff, and chin perpendicular to your shoulder while you walk and talk. Head, shoulder chin and eyes should be in sync to give your posture a confident look.
Do Not Fidget
If you move unnecessarily while you talk this will create disturbance in the communication. It will divide the attention of the listener towards your action and speech. Many of us have the habit to fidget. Some may play with things kept around, girls play with hairs or nails. This showcase irresponsible behaviour.
Note:
Looking here and there, playing with things around showcase that there is a lack of concentration. This also showcases as if you are trying to hide things.
Do not play with your mobile phone or engage yourself in any gadget.
Responsive Actions
Move your hands and try to explain. Your hands should be in sync with your speech. If you stand sturdy while you talk it looks less interesting rather boring. Nodding your head and hand moments show your responsive, alert, and attentive. It showcases a high level of concentration .using hands while you talk is best recommended when you have to deliver a presentation at your workplace.
Note:
Do not over move. It will divide attention and create disturbance
There should not be a jerk in your movements. Flawless moments.
Voice and Pitch
This has a major role to maintain consistency in the conversation. Your voice should be consistent while you talk. We have a habit to end up our conversation with a high or low pitch. High pitch showcase rude behaviour, it shows what you say is correct and no more suggestions are required. Whereas low pitch at the end of the sentence will show you are not sure about what you stated.
Note:
Conversation in a lower voice is always safe. Loud and harsh voice will be irritating. It might provoke fights.
Do not use “NO” Directly
Yes, even if you do not agree with the person avoid using the word “NO”. . No word pass on negative vibes. Try to put your point or view in a way that will deliver your disapproval without passing on negative vibes. Instead of saying No It is wrong, say it is incorrect.
A Firm Handshake
Handshake — It is when you pass on an energy level to the next person. You handshake when you meet someone the very first time. If you have a weak handshake it will give a bad impression. Move your hands from the shoulder and not the limp. Keep eye contact as you shake hands and smile.
Note: | https://medium.com/personality-traits/10-simple-confident-body-language-tips-personality-development-c03901403821 | ['Apurva Somvanshi'] | 2020-12-26 17:08:54.641000+00:00 | ['Personality', 'Self-awareness', 'Self Improvement', 'Confidence', 'Personal Development'] |
One is bigger than the other (Day 60) | Photo by Jordan Whitt on Unsplash
Today, we had another crisis. In the morning, I was alone with our baby, as my husband went and took both our cars for their tires to be changed. Winter is near and it is the law in our country, to change tires to winter tires by November 15 each year.
He got home some minutes after noon and I told him that my breasts hurt because Otto has grown so big, that now when he is in my lap, he can kick me right up to my breasts.
But soon we realized it wasn’t Otto’s kicking. Well, he was, just the pain wasn’t from that. I saw that there are some red spots at the bottom of my left breast and we both knew what that meant. That there are probably some clotted milk ducts and they got infected. I didn’t feel warm or anything, just annoyed that this is happening again.
To be honest, I didn’t know why this should happen as our baby is constantly demanding milk and there are times that I feel that there is nothing in there for him. But somehow, milk still runs even though they feel empty.
It is funny how if you’ve asked me before Otto was born what I think about breastfeeding, I would say that it is a natural way of feeding your baby. With an emphasis on natural, meaning, it comes naturally. I couldn’t be more wrong, however. At least in my case.
So far I’ve had a rough start as Otto wasn’t latching very well. Then, there was a really bad case of hurt nipples with blood and scabs; mastitis, twice, but the non-bacterial one; clotted milk ducts with pain in my breasts at least every couple of weeks. This pain even woke me up once with stabbing, pinching, burning sensation deep inside. Oh, and my left breast is now larger a centimeter in diameter, compared to the right one.
But on the bright side, the baby is growing and that makes me happy despite all the teeth-crunching.
Motherhood in numbers: | https://medium.com/a-year-in-a-life/one-is-bigger-than-the-other-day-60-75230004a195 | ['Sara Tomsic'] | 2019-11-20 20:08:52.413000+00:00 | ['Baby', 'Breastfeeding', 'Motherhood', 'Parenting'] |
Travel to Kalamata | History
The history of Kalamata begins with Homer, who mentions Pharai, an ancient town built more or less where Kalamata Castle stands today. It was believed that during ancient times the area currently occupied by the city was covered by the sea, but the proto-Greek and archaic period remains (Poseidon temple), which were discovered in the Akovitika region, prove the opposite.
Top Destinations
Old Town
Like many other Greek cities, Kalamata boasts an amazing historic quarter, where you’ll love wandering along narrow alleys and neoclassical mansions and cute abandoned corners. Located in the northern part of the city, just below the castle, the old town of Kalamata is home to several must-see churches, including the Byzantine Church of the Holy Apostles and the Ypapantis Cathedral, a few museums, and a plethora of shops selling local products and original souvenirs.
Church of Ypapantis
The Ypapantis Cathedral, built in 1839, is a stunning Byzantine-style church that houses the Virgin Mary’s holy icon of the same name, dating back to 672 AD. It was found in the stables of the Ottoman governor after he dreamed of a woman telling him to dig in a particular place. After the discovery, he even converted to Christianity because of the many miracles he was supposed to have performed. The church, which sits on a square with the same name, was severely damaged by the earthquakes of 1886 and 1986, both times restored.
Archaeological Museum of Messenia
The Archeological Museum of Messenia is located in the historical heart of Kalamata, where the old market once stood, and houses an extensive collection of archeological finds from prehistoric times to the Byzantine era. It is divided into four geographical areas, including Kalamata, Messene, Pylia and Trifylia, representing the four provinces of Messenia. Exhibits include the splendid Koroni mosaic depicting different scenes of the god Bacchus’ worship.
Kastro
The Kalamata Castle dominates the city on a lush pine-covered hill. The structure was built in 1208 by Geoffroi de Villehardouin, a Frank knight who conquered Achaea. It boasts an impressive gate, and although it dates back to the 13th century, it miraculously survived the earthquake in 1986, which destroyed a large part of the city. The Castle is a little haven of peace and serenity, the best place to enjoy the sunset from a beautiful point of view.
Messenia
As the Messenia region’s capital, Kalamata is an ideal base for exploring the area. Messenia certainly deserves a visit with spectacular beaches, four-and five-star resorts, historical treasures such as old castles and ancient cities (the old city of Messene is nearby) and archeological sites. Whether you’re there for three days, a week or even ten days, you’ll quickly realize that Kalamata has so much more than just a small provincial city.
Top beaches
Kalamata beach
Kalamata beach, awarded with a blue flag, extends over 2.5 km and is easily accessible from the city centre. If you want to adopt the local habits, you can also get there on foot or by bike. The beach, which has a fine rocky shore and warm, calm waters, beach bars, umbrellas and sun lounges, is an ideal choice for a quick rest during the day. Kalamata Beach has a wide variety of beach bars, cafes and tavernas.
Voidokilia
You will find Voidokilia, the spectacular, famous and mostly photographed beach in Messinia, at a distance of 10 km from Pylos, next to the Gialova lagoon in the western part of Messinia. The main feature of this natural bay with its perfectly round crescent, fine, white powder-like sand and crystal clear turquoise waters is its natural beauty that attracts all visitors to the region.
Almyros
It’s one of Kalamata’s most popular and busy beaches. The beach is 6 km east of the city, just before the road to Mani. It has white pebbles, sun loungers and umbrellas and many cafes and beach bars, of course. It’s perfect for water sports like water skiing and windsurfing.
Velika
The large and sandy coast is located two and a half kilometers from the village of Velika, after crossing the reeds growing in the area. The fine golden sand and trees make it a meeting place for many locals and tourists who want to relax in the Messinian Gulf waters. There is a large cafeteria on the edge of the beach, which stands near the sea.
Petalidi beach
Petalidi beach is just before the seaside town harbour. The coast is 300 meters long and is covered by large rocks, while the seabed is sandy. On Petalidi beach, 15 km from Messini, you’ll find shade under the surrounding trees and a traditional coffee shop on the sea front, where you can enjoy the beautiful view.
Important Links
Kalamata port
Kalamata Airport
Car Hire Kalamata | https://medium.com/@rizos085/travel-to-kalamata-d8e371b2d766 | ['Maria Brown'] | 2019-10-18 11:01:39.191000+00:00 | ['Kalamata', 'Greece', 'Car Rental', 'Travel'] |
I Followed the Proud Boys for Hours as They Terrorized DC | December 12, 2020, marked another intense night of protests and counter protests in Washington, D.C. Proud Boys and Trump supporters descended on District streets for the second time in less than a month, allegedly in support of a president who continues to lie that the 2020 election was fraudulent. The true motive of this rally, however, was made apparent by roving bands of Proud Boys looking for Black Lives Matter (BLM) protesters and ANTIFA to attack.
Both Proud Boys and Trump supporters, different but not mutually exclusive groups, came to D.C. back in mid November for a similar rally, which was mostly peaceful, until day turned to night and violence spread through the streets. This time, however, things were different. The violence started Friday night continuing throughout the day on Saturday, and intensifying as the night wore on. Proud Boys and Trump supporters actively sought out, often in full view of police, victims to attack.
As a resident and someone covering local stories for The Southwester newspaper, I wanted to observe and record what would become another historical moment of unmitigated violence in the city I’ve come to call home. For over five hours I moved between the roving bands of Proud Boys and Trump supporters and local counter protesters who were occupying Black Lives Matter (BLM) Plaza in order to protect it from vandalization.
The true motive of this rally, however, was made apparent by roving bands of Proud Boys looking for BLM protesters and ANTIFA to attack.
Though mid December, the daytime temperatures hit the mid 60s — ideal for outdoor gatherings. The streets around the National Mall, closed by MPD, were empty of vehicle traffic. There was a perceptible thrum in the air. Speeches and music permeated the air around the congressional end of Pennsylvania Avenue. I jogged up the street and blended into the flow of foot traffic heading back towards the White House and downtown.
If you’ve never been to D.C., Pennsylvania Avenue is a wide 1.2 mile stretch between the White House and the U.S. Capitol. There is a protected bike lane down the middle of the road.
Want to read this story later? Save it in Journal.
People were upbeat and festive. Some had costumes on. Others were selling Trump merchandise. At 7th and Pennsylvania Ave, one of the major arteries into downtown, camped out in the wide bike lane, a pro Trump hip hop track blasted from loudspeakers. The “DJ” was being interviewed by someone I’m sure I’ve seen on Twitter but couldn’t place.
I cut north at 11th Street, another major artery, and encountered my first large group of Proud Boys and more Trump supporters at Hotel Harrington. I’d seen them there the night before. The entire block outside the hotel was blocked by city vehicles and police cruisers. Groups of people were crowded around Harry’s Restaurant, which had been friendly to the same groups of rally goers the month before. It was packed. Few people wore masks, distancing was non-existent.
This whole weekend was manufactured by misinformation, lies, and the fragile ego of one president on his way out of office.
From there, I headed towards BLM Plaza. Around three blocks away, I ran into the first police line. Thousands of Trump supporters and Proud Boys shouted insults across the line at counter protesters in the park. The man next to me challenged the people on the other side to cross the line, calling them “ANTIFA faggots.”
Moving through the crowd of MAGA protesters and Proud Boys, I overheard more bravado and calls for banding together to find some counter protesters to beat up.
After about 20 minutes with the pro Trump faction, officers — a mix of National Park Police (NPS), MPD, and SWAT — calmly gave everyone 3–4 polite warnings that they were about to move the line back to put more distance between the two groups. Once authorities started the “Move Back!” chant and march, everyone respected the push. People tripped over each other, the media and others recording the protest/rally tripped over each other, then they tripped over police bicycles, but officers remained exceptionally tolerant and even helped people up. I got the impression that the police were treating this side of the protest with kid gloves.
Right before the police could finish establishing the new line, a large Proud Boy came out of nowhere and sucker punched someone with long hair (I’d been live-streaming up to this point and caught the scuffle on camera). Police tackled him and took him away. I lost sight of the long-haired person as she or he was subsumed by police officers and taken somewhere else.
Attack comes after the 4:10 minute mark
I’d seen from previous all-day protests, the activity and violence always ebbs and flows, but usually starts to ramp up the longer people stay out — especially once it gets dark. This time, like the rally in mid November, it became a competition between two opposing factions that, based on environmental pressures and incentives, battled it out for supremacy. And it was a battle. There were skirmishes, regrouping, full scale assaults, taunts, and retreats. There were even field medics, a constant at the protests all summer. In between these two warring organisms, a fluid wall of federal enforcers — a third faction — who themselves ebb and flow with the energy of the protest.
After moving through the streets in an attempt to reach BLM Plaza, to observe the protest from the other side, I saw groups of Proud Boys coming in and out of an alley. They were looking for a way to breach police lines and attack groups of ANTIFA (ANTIFA was there but they were outnumbered by BLM counter protesters).
This is where I first encountered Proud Boys moving in and out of an ally, looking for way to attack counter protesters
I followed them through an alley, stepping over streams of urine coming from men relieving themselves on the sides as hundreds of other people walked by. There are no public restrooms downtown, and rally-goers had been out all day. Many publicly consuming alcohol.
It became a competition between two opposing factions that, based on environmental pressures and incentives, battled it out for supremacy.
The contingent of Proud Boys moved south towards the White House chanting “Fuck ANTIFA!” They split off into smaller groups and went “hunting” down other streets, until they reformed, swarming a small group of young women around Freedom Plaza. The young women accused the Proud Boys of being racist thugs, shouting, “Why are you walking with racists?” They shouted back and forth, with the now growing group of Proud Boys and Trump supporters surrounding the young women. There was a heated verbal sparring match until the police came in and pushed the young counter protesters back.
I followed a "band" of Proud Boys down to Freedom Plaza where they engaged a small handful of counter protesters. Interaction with the counter protesters comes several minutes in.
That’s when I ran into Mr. “BLM (Biden Loves Minors)” Electric Scooter Guy (had a sign taped to a wooden handle strapped to his back). He asked if I was going to post all this on social media in the morning and what bias I was going to print. “You know you all spin the news,” he informed me. I asked him if he wanted to talk to me and tell his story. He rode off.
Around this time, I came upon a peculiar sight — something I’d observed out of the corner of my eye up until that point but hadn’t put into words — a group of Proud Boys and Trump supporters surrounding a police cruiser and speaking amicably with the officer inside. You could hear one of the speakers saying, “Back the blue,” and “We’re on your side.” The officer acknowledged the support.
After the incident mentioned above, the Proud Boys gathered around this MPD cruiser and spoke with the officer inside. This "buddy buddy" friendliness was not extended to counter protesters.
According to other reporters and observers, as well as what I consistently witnessed, police giving Proud Boys the benefit of the doubt seemed the norm.
To be fair, counter protesters continually hurled/threw/yelled insults at the police. There was no love lost between BLM protesters and police over the summer, but objectively, police aren’t supposed to play favorites. Since the ongoing protests erupted after the killing of George Floyd, police have been recorded in various cities across the United States, including in D.C. (the infamous Lafayette Square protest comes to mind, among others), violently attacking peaceful protesters. There was one incident during the height of the summer when police ransacked a food and first aid tent at BLM Plaza.
Around this time, I came upon a peculiar sight…a group of Proud Boys and Trump supporters surrounding a police cruiser and speaking amicably with the officer inside.
Police only seemed to go after Proud Boys when they broke police lines and attacked BLM counter protesters. Even then, time and again, police went after and arrested counter protesters while letting Proud Boys and Trump supporters retreat back to their side. Every time the Proud Boys broke through lines and started fights, as soon as the police arrived, they’d start shouting “Back the blue!”
When I first got to BLM Plaza, it was relatively calm except for volleys of insults being traded by Trump supporters and counter protesters at the Capitol Hilton. Chants of “USA!”, the National Anthem, and even Christmas jingles were lobbed back and forth along with the ubiquitous expletives.
Trump supporters and BLM counter protesters square off in a verbal shouting match before counter protesters moved back to BLM Plaza to "secure it" before Proud Boys broke through and attacked.
Walking back down to the barricades at Lafayette Park, I grabbed a water and chatted with another freelance journalist, who, like me, unaffiliated with any major news network was out recording. Then the shouting started and people began running towards the north end of BLM Plaza. Fights had broken out. Proud Boys and Trump supporters charged through the police line while others snuck through an alley, attacking counter protesters.
Before the most significant of the brawls started, I came upon a young Black man who was tackled by police officers, frisked, then let go without explanation. As the police ran to contain other fights, he chased them asking whether or not they were going to arrest him.
At the north end of BLM Plaza, was the bigger brawl. Several people were injured. A mix of Proud Boys, police, and counter protesters were in various stages of fighting with each other. People with cameras were rushing up and down the street to record more than half a dozen fights. It was chaos. Protests and rallies that turn violent like this, though, are always chaos. Once the first punch is thrown and there’s a pile on, people get tunnel vision, running towards or away from wherever the most action is.
After several intense minutes of fighting, police and BLM counter protesters repelled the Proud Boy attack. Some people were being taken away. Others were being seen by the street medics.
Police forces, now in full riot gear, capped off BLM Plaza. They were letting people in but not out. To leave you had to exit the southwest side of BLM Plaza and keep heading west until you were far enough outside the police lines to walk all the way around the affected area. The police line went almost all the way to Thomas Circle, several blocks northeast of the White House. Here, I ran into groups of people getting into more skirmishes with the police line only a hundred feet away.
It was chaos. Protests and rallies that turn violent like this, though, are always chaos.
Small groups of Proud Boys chased local cyclists doing tricks in the street, who, in-turn, lobbed insults of their own. Proud Boys called them “Faggots” again and again, challenging them to come back.
At one point, I pulled someone getting beat up by a group of Proud Boys out of the pile on. Other Proud Boys tossed fireworks from across the street. People dispersed quickly after trading a few more insults.
Emptied out after this exchange, I continued home. Pennsylvania Avenue was still blocked off to vehicle traffic. It was dark, desolate except for that same thrum of energy. Only a few blocks back the way I had come, sounds of the amorphous battle between two opposing factions, one hellbent on destruction and the other focused on protecting their murals, their places of gathering, and their city, continued. The violence went on long after I made it home. A BLM banner was ripped down at Asbury United Methodist Church and burned. Four people got stabbed. A few dozen BLM counter protesters were arrested. The Proud Boys went home, successful in their mission to sow chaos. Et cetera ad infinitum.
Back in Southwest, I thought about how this whole weekend was manufactured by misinformation, lies, and the fragile ego of one president on his way out of office. The Proud Boys descended on D.C. lubricated by all this misinformation, no longer standing back nor standing by, but playing out a violent dystopian fantasy where everyone who wasn’t them was an enemy combatant who deserved no quarter. | https://blog.usejournal.com/proud-boys-came-to-d-c-for-violence-not-peaceful-assembly-9789018634f1 | ['Matthew J. Koehler'] | 2021-03-02 08:05:20.583000+00:00 | ['Proud Boys', 'Reporting', 'Protest', 'Constitution', 'BlackLivesMatter'] |
Well, there is various web host or hosting providers in the market to offer you the best hosting… | Well, there is various web host or hosting providers in the market to offer you the best hosting products and plans. Therefore Bluehost Reviews will help you to know everything about it. However, with Bluehost Hosting, you never have to worry about your website being slow even when there is a lot of traffic. The Bluehost 24/7 expert support is always there to help you. When you need it either by phone, email, or live chat.
Because they are rated no. 1 in web hosting for small businesses. They feature 1-Click installations in all their plans. In addition to offering a full range of web hosting services, Bluehost Hosting plans provides marketing training, SEO services, social media marketing, content creation, graphic design services, email, domain names, and local business listings to grow traffic.
What Is Bluehost Web Hosting?
The Bluehost is a web hosting company was founded by Matt Heaton and Danny Ashworth in Provo, Utah. Its one of the oldest web hosts, Bluehost was founded in 2003 and has since grown to become one of the world’s largest providers of reliable and cheap web hosting.
The Bluehost hosting provider has become the largest brand name when it comes to WordPress hosting. They are an official ‘ WordPress ‘ recommended hosting provider. They have a well-maintained staff of 750 people, who work round the clock.
Bluehost offers a range of products and services to help you get started with your website or online shop from shared and WordPress hosting to website builder tools. They have a special focus on meeting the digital marketing and training needs of small businesses.
Why Bluehost Is Ment For You?
In a nutshell, all Bluehost plans offer their customers 24/7 live chat, unmetered bandwidth, and five email accounts. Similar to many other website hosting companies, they too offer their new users a free domain for the first year. Bluehost plans start from $3.95/mo and include improved security, backups, and a free SSL certificate. These help to keep your blog or website protected and safe.
Briefly, all Bluehost hosting plans offer their customers unmetered bandwidth, 24/7 live chat, and five email accounts. However generally, like any other website hosting companies, Bluehost also offers a free domain for the first year to their new users. Bluehost plans start from $3.95/mo and include improved security, backups, and a free SSL certificate.
All these features will help you to keep your website safe and protected. Although Bluehost is a well-recognized brand name in bargain web hosting. Therefore it powers over 2 million websites worldwide, with the help of a large volume of business, they are able to offer steep price discounts.
Bluehost Reviews of Performance
The most concerning performance metric that you should figure out is the speed and load time of a website. These not only affect the user experience on your website. But also it affects WordPress SEO rankings of the site. The latest studies show that a single second drop in website speed can decrease your conversion rate by 7% at least. Similarly, a three-second delay may cost you 50% of site traffic.
Although choosing the right web hosting service is a bitter experience. Because hosting either can make or break your website completely. Therefore, you have to spend several hours doing research. Trying to understand and then comparing all these hosting companies. Here in this article, we will tell you Bluehost performing best at this level or not?
Bluehost Speed Test
Well, having a fast website is very important for many different reasons. Because a fast website has a competitive advantage over others in terms of Google ranking factors. This means it increases the visitors to your site.
When it comes to the matter of user experience. Thus if your site loads fast, then new visitors are more likely to engage with your web content and convert to clicks. In addition, fast websites can unlock all the best opportunities for a website.
Therefore this is the best way to figure out the speed of the web hosting company’s servers have both hosting companies are served with exactly the same webpage from the same location. Therefore a small difference in page size is due to the server level caching. Because both hosting uses different types of servers.
The test of Bluehost servers would respond with increased traffic, using various testing tools that send virtual users to the site. They gradually built up to 100 visitors to see how the server would handle increased requests from multiple connections at once.
Therefore if the server load remained stable throughout the test even at peak traffic then it’s good to handle the load. Certainly, if you are looking for a really fast website? then Bluehost will be the perfect fit for you. It is also important to note that it didn’t record any downtime during the testing.
Bluehost Server Response Time
When you are testing a live website using various tools. Then you are basically seeing how everything on your website loads. This includes images too because it takes much longer to load than plain text. Although overall the last 24-month performance of Bluehost has been good.
Bluehost is clearly at the top with its fast load time of 405ms (0.4 seconds). If your target audience is in the United States (USA). Then this would benefit your website. However, if more of your users come from other parts of the world, then you can change your server location too.
Pros And Cons of Bluehost Hosting Provider
However, all web hosting companies have their own pros and cons. But with some of them, you can live with and some of them are such you cannot ignore. Well, here are the pros and cons of Bluehost that you need to consider:
Pros:
Well, at first, let us now take a look at the advantages of Bluehost hosting providers that make Bluehost the top choice among the users and website creators.
Pricing: Bluehost hosting plans are well within the reach of most users, particularly those who are just starting out.
Bluehost hosting plans are well within the reach of most users, particularly those who are just starting out. Reliability: The Bluehost powers a large number of websites with minimum downtime.
The Bluehost powers a large number of websites with minimum downtime. No hidden charges: There are no hidden fees when signing up for your account.
There are no hidden fees when signing up for your account. Free domain: In addition, you will get a free domain name for a one-year duration when you signup.
Cons:
However, like others, Bluehost has not come without some disadvantages. Therefore you should aware of such disadvantages before signing up for the first time.
Costly renewal: It has a higher domain renewal price. Even the free domain renewal price is also very higher than average.
It has a higher domain renewal price. Even the free domain renewal price is also very higher than average. Upselling Addons: Bluehost has an aggressive upsell process during signup. However, you can uncheck all the addons easily, if you do not need them.
Bluehost Reviews of Services & Hostings
Bluehost value hosting packages comes with unmetered bandwidth, SSL certificates, free global CDN. Also, you will get free daily, weekly and monthly backups. That is on a powerful proven platform that is built to scale, optimized for speed, and security. Bluehost has the cheapest hosting plan worth $2.75/mo.
Well, If you are looking for something basic and inexpensive. Then shared hosting is probably all you need. This is the reason most beginners and small businesses are shopping for it. Besides, Dedicated hosting is the most expensive hosting of it. Thus it is best suitable for large commercial firms. Those who need full control of their resources.
Although with Bluehost’s dedicated hosting, you can essentially renting a physical server. The VPS hosting plan is a middle-ground option for you. Where you share a physical server with others. But still, you have a virtual operating system, therefore the server functions as if it is physically yours.
WordPress hosting is certainly what it sounds like a hosting that optimized for WordPress customers. Bluehost offers a variety of hosting plans and packages available for all budgets and sizes. Bluehost offers shared hosting, VPS hosting, dedicated server hosting, cloud hosting, Woo Commerce hosting, WordPress hosting, and many more.
Let us now take a look at the plans provided by Bluehost: Bluehost hosting providers offers five types of hosting plans:
Shared hosting VPS hosting Dedicated hosting WordPress hosting Cloud Sites
These hosting prices are all pretty good. But you can make sure you get the best price. Although at the Basic level, you have one website with 50GB of space and unmetered bandwidth. You can also get one domain, five parked domains, and 25 sub-domains. Also, it gives additional features of five email accounts with 100 MB of storage each.
However, With the Plus or Choice Plus plans, you can get unlimited websites and unmetered space and bandwidth. Also, you get one domain included, and you can have unlimited parked domains and sub-domains. Email accounts and storage are unlimited, along with marketing offers.
In addition, it includes Global CDN and one Spam Experts as an extra benefit. The highest level plan is Business Pro. It includes extra annual benefits. That including two SpamExperts, one dedicated IP address, one premium SSL, domain privacy, enhanced performance, and SiteBackup Pro.
VPS Hosting
VPS hosting prices are in line with typical costs for industry-wide VPS hosting. However, The speed for the first two plans is 2 CPU cores. But up to three and four cores for the top plan. Although you can get 30GB SAN storage at the lowest tier, and up to 120GB at the highest level tier. However, RAM ranges from 2 GB up to 8 GB.
You get 1 TB of bandwidth at the Standard level, and up to 3 TB at the Ultimate level. Each tier includes one domain. The Standard plan of it includes one IP address. But you can get two with the rest. Every plan of Bluehost is backed up by 24/7 support and a money-back guarantee.
Dedicated Hosting
If you choose Dedicated hosting then with the Standard plan or Enhanced plan. You can get a 4 x 2.5GHz CPU. The Premium hosting plan offers you a 4 x 3.3GHz CPU. Storage is ranging from 500GB to 1 TB. Also, the RAM starts with 4 GB at the Standard level, ranging up to 16 GB at the Premium tier.
Also, you can get 5 TB of bandwidth at the Standard tier, 10 TB at the Enhanced tier, and 15 TB at Premium plan. One domain is included with every plan. You can get 3 IP addresses at Standard plan, 4 at Enhanced plan, and 5 at Premium plan. All Bluehost plans are backed up by 24/7 service and a money-back guarantee.
WordPress Hosting
Well, these plans may look as same as Bluehost shared hosting plans, Also, they cost you the same amount. However, at the end of the year, Bluehost introduced a new category: WordPress Pro.
WordPress Pro
These plans are quite expensive compared to their simple WordPress hosting and what some competitors offer (many hosts sell WordPress hosting plans at the same prices as general-purpose shared hosting plans). WordPress Pro at Bluehost hosting is a big deal.
However, this is one of the company’s most popular services. Because of more than a million sites hosted by the company. The WordPress Pro plans are running on the high-performance VPS and offer you improved site speed.
The plan features at the Build level include Basic Jetpack Site Analytics, 100 Free Premium Themes, Marketing Center, daily backups, and Malware detection and removal for added security of your website.
Its Grow plan is a step up with Jetpack Pro. Therefore the Business review tools let your visitors leave positive feedback, Google, Bing, or Yahoo, reviews for your business directly from your website.
Search Engine Optimization tools give you real-time optimization tips on how to increase your search engine rankings? It’s integrated into the Marketing Center. Where you can see statistics that how you are performing in major search engines?
Cloud hosting
Bluehost Cloud hosting is a more reliable upgrade to the Shared hosting plan basically. A cloud hosting plan allows you to utilize multiple cloud servers at the time. Also, it allowing your website to automatically switch to a different server in case of a hardware failure or high traffic.
Conclusion
Well, here in the end section we are hoping that all the information given above will help you to decide whether to choose Bluehost hosting or not? Also, you can check out the Bluehost hosting plans and packages to select from and start your journey with the best web host provider like Bluehost. | https://medium.com/@yagoub1415/well-there-is-various-web-host-or-hosting-providers-in-the-market-to-offer-you-the-best-hosting-d43c89cbd1c0 | [] | 2020-12-26 21:11:07.614000+00:00 | ['Bluehost Coupon', 'Bluehost Review', 'Bluehost', 'WordPress'] |
Becoming a Twitter Elite. | If you missed the debut episode, this link should take you there.
Twitter is like that fun social hangout in your neighbourhood that every young adult is attending and you also desire to join in as well, to catch as much fun, vibes, cruise and Inshallah as others. But it can be depressingly sad to have just a two-digit number of audience with an almost unnoticeable fraction of that number engaging on your posts for over two decades of joining the app. It's like attending a party and still feeling alone in the midst of the crowd when no one ever notices you. Yet, seeing that Twitter has a record of pioneering a litany of online movements and trends, including the famous #EndSARS protests, you could as well be on your way to becoming the next big wave on the internet. But Nigerian Twitter is an extreme sport. It has fatal injuries, penalties, offsides, yellow and red cards, but I'm here to walk you through the guides to becoming big on this bird app.
So, get your account ready. And I don't mean the account bearing all your real names. Create a new account. We are starting from the bottom, to the top. Ensure this new account doesn't in any way look like your regular account. You can choose to create a parody of popular Twitter accounts. It gets difficult for one to quickly recognise who the real Taaooma is when you have your “Taaoma” account popping up in their search results too. Well, unless they are observant and smart to detect the blue verified tick that omits your account. Confuse people with your parodies, regardless. You can also choose to create catfish accounts too. Use nudes on your DP as thirst traps. Litter your timeline with raunchy photos as baits. Nigerians are generally horny people, especially the men. You'd definitely attract the gullible ones easily. And with your account set, you're already in the right step to making it big on Twitter.
Tweeting is quite similar to blogging, you just serve an audience what you feel they might be interested to read, only that you do so with 280 characters or less. So in making contents, you have to be fluid and concise. Know how to say 5,000 words in 280 characters and less. Twitter people aren't that patient like their Facebook counterparts, to be reading your long posts. So, brevity is key.
Be smart, be interesting, make your audience want to read your tweets. Aside just being interesting, be vulgar and provocative too. That's how you drive massive traffic to your new account. Be smart while at it. Have sense. Even if you don't have, pretend you do by showing up out of the blue — regardless of the topic — to give your two cents and your hot take on topics that absolutely no one summoned you for. Politics. Sports. Movies. Health. Business. Jokes. Religion. War. Patriarchy. Feminism. Boko Haram. Fulani Herdsmen. Kidnapping. Be there for it all. And serve it hot! Twitter people love gists, and they like it hot and spicy. Consistently dish it to them premiumly.
Now that you have gotten your quality established, focus on quantity. Join every Follow for Follow and Like for Like thread like a spammer. Follow everybody you encounter on the app, even though you both are clueless on where you're headed, just follow yourselves still. Remind people to kindly follow you back. And for the stubborn ones; go even to their inbox and remind them to Follow back. Be deliberate about your growth. And as you go on your following spree, make sure the numbers on your Following never exceeds that of your Followers. Never, ever! You don't want to ruin your celebrity status before it even starts. So, peruse the list and unfollow hundreds of people, especially those who aren't following back — these ones want to use you as a brick to build their own celebrity statuses. But you can't be used so cheaply by obdurate goats. Unfollow them instantly. That's basically how stars do.
And as your followership grows, feed them with contents. Remember, hot and spicy, vulgar and provocative, raunchy and obscene contents. Sometimes ask dumb questions like, “how long should a proper sex lasts?” Other times, tell terrible jokes. Lie ruthlessly in your posts. Lie about the girl who visited you and begged for sex that you declined. Let your followers do the judgements in the comments and drag themselves. Watch them blab and pull one another by the pants, phallus and balls. Don't reply any comments. Just watch. An intending celebrity shouldn't condescend to replying comments, or else all you have worked for thus far, would more or less be like an exercise in futility. So, maintain the leader-follower boundaries.
Post obscene pictures, let thirsty lots lust after you. Ask harmless questions like, “are you really fine?” and watch deep and pensive people come under your comments to cry with teary eyes emojis. Be controversial in your posts, people would surely come to vent. Constantly offend marginalized groups in the society to gain clout. Attack Feminist Coalition, lynch on Tatibiji FC, offend people and groups. Make them want to get back at you. And on these posts that you put up, instruct your followers to Retweet them. You gain new followers that way too.
Retweet other influencer’s posts too. Connect with them. To be popular likewise, you have to keep a circle of popular tweeps. You know an even casual reply from them on your comment can earn you massive followers? So, be visible under their posts. Complement them, hype them, say things to draw attention and get noticed. Sometimes, your perfunctory “nice pics” can’t earn you that. So, I suggest you insult them. Buhari, Sanwo Olu, Davido, Bobrisky, Wizkid, Tiwa Savage, Lai Mohammed, Desmond Elliot. Insult celebrities. But don’t worry, people won’t see your insults as that sordid, they would call it savagery. So, savage people cruelly, without conscience. Follow trending hashtags to locate where the violence is, and launch attack. Be a typical keypad warrior; always be in fights. But be in fights with popular people, and avoid the mediocre ones — they have nothing to lose and you have nothing to gain likewise. Meanwhile, if a popular Twitter user engages you in a fight, your followers list is further blessed.
And as your audience further grows and remains blessed, and depending on how soon or how long it takes to attain 5k followers, do your first giveaway. And at various landmarks like 10k, 20k, 50k, 100k followers, do follow-up giveaways. Nigerians online are attracted to giveaways. Many are broke and need this your money. Organise contests for them, tell them to like and retweet your posts, let them virtually market you to qualify for the giveaways. And by then, you would be worshipped. You would earn loyal followers, people that would be calling you sir or ma, without even knowing you're just 18. They would respect you regardless.
And at this point, change your name from the SexyDiva on your catfish account to what you rather wish to be known as. Add “Influencer” to your bio, and “Content creator,” and “Social media strategist and manager.” Charge outrageously for ads on your page. You started from the bottom, now you're here. Sew puffy shoulder pads to your clothes and walk around like you have huge boils in your armpits.
And as you adhere to these guides, be sure that your name shall become enlisted among Twitter elites like some of us, Inshallah. | https://medium.com/@slimmyveek/becoming-a-twitter-elite-e50112a522be | ['Slimmy Veek'] | 2020-12-20 20:10:06.228000+00:00 | ['Humour', 'Nigerian', 'Twitter', 'Becoming Nigerian'] |
Illegalizing Abortion Is An Act Of Violence Too. | As a woman who is greatly interested in women’s overall bodily autonomy, the very act of subjecting a woman to something as life threatening as pregnancy is an act of violence in itself. More often than not, women lose body parts in pregnancy and our bodies are often altered often negatively after childbirth. For some women, a lifetime is never enough to heal from diabetes, lost limbs, partial blindness, memory loss, pelvic pain, depression, dislocated cervixes, digestive difficulties, cracked bloodied nipples and even the loss of esteem from weight gain which to me is also valid.
No woman should ever stand the risk of undergoing the dangers associated with childbirth as some form of “punishment” for being sexually active and an eventual “reward” to the society’s ever increasing human capital for labour.
In Nigeria, abortion is only legal in cases where the mother’s life is in danger. What poses “danger” is of course relative and subject to the interpretation of the medical personnel and indeed people around her. Why should other people make decisions that are crucial to a woman’s health except her?
Violence does not start from “merely” slapping, hitting or groping a woman. Violence starts from the very moment a woman’s bodily integrity is up for debate. It starts from statements that insinuate that a woman’s body belongs to anyone but her and much less a husband.
It starts when teenage girls receive lessons on sexuality from half baked Nollywood movies that demonize abortion in itself and offer abstinence as the solution, often forgetting that even in socially approved marriages, unintended pregnancies often happen. This too leads to married women undergoing discreet abortions because even in an approved institution for sexual relationships, women’s overall sexualities are violently policed and philandering husbands often refuse to use condoms.
The worst part of illegalizing abortion for me, is the manner in which it exposes the mother to much more risks which are often lifelong. A pregnant teen who has to drop out of school to have a baby, is stripped of educational and financial autonomy. She becomes the target of men who would want to take advantage of her situation as an economically disadvantaged woman, to exploit her and in most cases beat and even rape her. | https://medium.com/@AngelNdukaNwosu/illegalizing-abortion-is-an-act-of-violence-too-eb1e036773dc | ['Angel Nduka-Nwosu'] | 2020-11-26 08:38:17.523000+00:00 | ['Womens Health', 'Abortion', 'Feminism', 'African Feminism', 'Women'] |
Best IDE’s for 2021 Web Development Beginners and Pros | Best IDE’s for 2021 Web Development Beginners and Pros
A Guide to Choosing the Best IDE for You
Photo by Sigmund on Unsplash
There are tons of great web IDE’s out there to choose from. It can sometimes be overwhelming to choose one. We’re going to look through each IDE and choose the best one for you.
Screenshot of Visual Studio Code
Visual Studio Code is developed by Microsoft. It’s a very robust and well-rounded IDE for beginners and pros. Despite being developed by Microsoft, VS Code is available on all the major operating systems.
Visual Studio Code supports all the big programming languages like HTML, JavaScript, Python, C, PHP, and C++. It should be noted that Visual Studio Code is built on Electron which is known for being slower. However, I have not had any problems with Visual Studio Code and it remains my go-to for projects.
Screenshot of Brackets
Brackets is one of the new kids on the block. It is still being developed and isn’t as robust as some other options. It, however, has some unique and distinguishing features for web development. Its live preview mode is second to none and the IDE is very clean and simple. Brackets is also very beginner-friendly.
However, because it's not as polished as others yet, it can sometimes be hard to use. I often find I’ll run into bugs and the amount of available plug-ins is very limited compared to others like Visual Studio Code. While I’m not “daily driving” brackets yet, I’m keeping my eye on it and ready to switch over once it is more polished.
Screenshot of Atom
Atom is developed by GitHub… which is owned by Microsoft. So I guess Microsoft makes both, competing for your $0. Atom is also a great IDE. It, unfortunately, does have some fatal flaws though.
Like Visual Studio Code, Atom is built on Electron. While Visual Studio Code is very fast, I’ve personally experienced huge speed issues with Atom. But that might be just me.
Screenshot of Sublime Text 3
Sublime Text 3 is the latest version of sublime text. Sublime has gained respect from many programmers through its time. Sublime supports all the operating systems and all the languages. Sublime is known for being blazing fast and is a good solid choice for many people.
However, Sublime technically costs $80. But it has a free “evaluation.” How long does it take for you to evaluate the software? That’s up to you. Their website states:
Sublime Text may be downloaded and evaluated for free, however a license must be purchased for continued use. There is currently no enforced time limit for the evaluation.
So… it's free until you feel guilty about it I guess.
Conclusion
While there’s many other popular IDE’s, I believe these are the best for specifically web development. At the end of the day, they all work really well and will get the job done. Choosing an IDE is more preference-based then it is feature-based. They all support plug-ins which means no feature is going to be specific to only one IDE. Hopefully, this guide helped you choose one though. | https://medium.com/the-innovation/best-free-ide-for-2021-web-development-beginners-and-pros-ea239cce9ef4 | ['Henry Gruett'] | 2020-12-04 16:02:56.194000+00:00 | ['Visual Studio', 'Coding', 'Programming', 'Ide', 'Web Development'] |
Ctrl-Alt-Delete: The Planned Obsolescence of Old Coders | In 2007, Mark Zuckerberg, then 22, said out loud what many in the software industry think: “Young people are just smarter.” Twelve years later, the lack of older programmers is still little studied compared to other dimensions of diversity. Google’s annual diversity report, for example, counts how many women or people of color it employs. Microsoft tallies its American Indian and Alaskan Native staff, and Apple is proud to hire veterans. It is commendable that these companies have revealed some measures of their diversity, but there is an omission: None report their age distribution.
Ari Rapkin Blenkhorn is a 47-year-old engineer who says she quit her last full-time job because the company, she says, wanted “a crowd of cheap youngsters. They didn’t want to support more senior people with established careers.” Her employer, which she requested not be named, valued her professional connections but did not invest in that network by sending her to conferences. “I believe they really didn’t understand why this was important or how my attending a research conference was different from junior developers attending technical training.”
Blenkhorn says that once she was back on the job market, the ageism she experienced was compounded by sexism. Despite her profound technical achievements, she was dismissed by recruiters as irrelevant and dull, as a “mom.” She recently completed a PhD in computer science and hopes the education will improve her chances in the job market.
Kevin Stevens, a 55-year-old programmer, faced a similar attitude when he applied for a position at Stack Exchange six years ago. He was interviewed by a younger engineer who told him, “I’m always surprised when older programmers keep up on technology.” Stevens was rejected for the job. He now works as a programmer at a hospitality company where he says his age is not an issue.
For other programmers, the outcomes can be far worse. A 2018 investigation by ProPublica’s Peter Gosselin and Ariana Tobin into age discrimination at IBM found that starting around 2014, the company attempted to reinvent itself by replacing older workers with younger ones. It laid off veteran employees by the thousands and strong-armed others into retiring. One 60-year-old systems engineer named Ed Kishkill was sent a layoff notice and told he had three months to find another job at IBM. Despite his decades of experience, he was rejected for all other positions. By the time of the ProPublica article’s publication, Kishkill was working as a Staples store clerk. | https://onezero.medium.com/ctrl-alt-delete-the-planned-obsolescence-of-old-coders-9c5f440ee68 | ['A. Jesse Jiryu Davis'] | 2019-03-08 15:37:31.665000+00:00 | ['Engineering', 'Tech', 'STEM', 'Careers', 'Digital Life'] |
You Can Get the Source Code Apollo 11 and Take a Course on It | You Can Get the Source Code Apollo 11 and Take a Course on It Jeremy Morgan Jul 19, 2019·4 min read
In software development you’ll hear the term “moon shot”. If something is a “moon shot” it’s something that’s extraordinarily difficult, like landing on the moon. We say this about some app doing something cool, but what about the software that… landed us on the moon? What was the original “moon shot” all about?
The Software That Put Us on the Moon
Meet Margaret Hamilton. She was the director of Software engineering at MIT Instrumentation Laboratory, which was contracted to build the onboard software for the Apollo Space Program. This is her standing with the stack of source code used to launch us to the moon. Today we complain when Visual Studio runs slow.
If you’re a developer of any kind, you owe a lot of thanks to her, since “Software Engineer” wasn’t even a term before she came along.
So imagine having to write software that had to work the first time it ran, and run perfectly, or people would die. Sounds like a lot of pressure right? Margaret and her team did it. They built it, and it worked. It succeeded.
They made a piece of machinery land on the moon with a computer that had about .08 percent of the processing power of an iPhone.
You can get a lot more background and details here.
The Source Code
A few years ago, Ron Burkey released the source code for Apollo 11. He put a ton of work into this. This is the source code for the Apollo Guidance Computer, or AGC.
Not only can you download the source code, but he created a simulator for the AGC, at the Virtual AGC Page. You can dig deep into the systems and how they work, trust me it’s a rabbit hole for geeks. Tons of awesome stuff here. There’s even a kinder, gentler introduction to the AGC you can check out to get familiar.
The AGC source code is written in assembler, which is foreign to most of us. I’ve played around enough with x86 assembler to know it’s not my calling, but perusing through a lot of this source code, you can piece together how some of this stuff works.
Comanche and Luminary
If you dig into the code, you’ll see it’s divided into two parts, Comanche and Luminary.
Comanche is the software for the Command Module and Luminary is the Lunar Module.
The Command Module was the cone that contained the crew and vital equipment, and was the vessel returned back to earth.
The Lunar Module well, it was the module that landed on the moon.
It’s very interesting to see how these systems interact. When you look through the source code you can see a lot of cool hints how everything works.
The DSKY
The DSKY was the user interface for the computer. You could enter commands through a calculator-like interface and it was connected directly to the AGC. The commands contained a verb and a noun for each command.
If you dig deep enough into the source code you’ll see a lot of references to the DSKY and commands related to it. It was a marvel of engineering for its time. Of course, there is a DSKY simulator if you want to play around.
How Do I Know so Much About This?
I may sound like a seasoned expert here, but I just took this free course on the code of the Apollo 11, then started digging in the code and researching stuff.
Click Here to Take This Course for FREE
For the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon Landing, Simon Allardice created this awesome course on Pluralsight exploring the AGC. It’s a quick course, and it won’t teach you how to write AGC specific assembler code, but it will give you a good idea of how things worked back then and how the whole thing fits together. After watching this you’ll get a better understanding of the source code, and start looking for easter eggs.
Conclusion
Ok if you’re a nerd like me, you love stuff like this. Obviously this isn’t some kind of actively developed code where you can do pull requests and add features. Nobody will hire you because you put AGC knowledge on your resume. But it sure is fun to go through this code and figure out how things worked, and look at the comical comments in the code. It’s fascinating and well worth the time to explore if you’re genuinely curious about this kind of stuff.
You can always yell at me on Twitter if you’d like to discuss it further.
Enjoy! | https://medium.com/@jeremymorgan/you-can-get-the-source-code-apollo-11-and-take-a-course-on-it-f511abb869a1 | ['Jeremy Morgan'] | 2019-07-19 15:48:56.647000+00:00 | ['Science', 'NASA', 'Space', 'Apollo 11', 'Programming'] |
5 Reasons Men & Women, Fake Orgasms | In my early 20s, I just wasn’t that interested in sex.
I had been known to fake an orgasm or two when I just wanted it to be over quickly. Sometimes it was to give him feedback so that he wouldn’t internalize it and make it about him.
I was also uneducated about sex then. There were no discussions going on about sex in my marriage and I wasn’t able to be so vulnerable at that time in my life.
Recently, I was involved in a group discussion about faking orgasms. Naturally, there were lots of opinions about why people do it, however, it seemed as though they were mostly negative comments toward those who said they have done it. The comments were mostly focused on women faking orgasms. The assumption being, that only women fake orgasms.
I found that to be rather restrictive, almost boxing women into categories:. those who fake orgasms and those that are above doing that. As if it is just wrong to do so.
I’m curious by nature, and noticed that I was slightly triggered when one woman said, “Well, I’ve never faked an orgasm!” As a dating and relationship coach, I went straight to “you don’t know why those women did it” and “we shouldn’t be bashing anyone about faking an orgasm.”
Women have their reasons. We shouldn’t jump in and villainize them. Yet, in the way society has conditioned us to think, faking an orgasm means dishonesty. But does it? Are there any positive reasons we fake orgasms?
My curiosity continued to get the best of me, and I just had to know. So, I dug in and researched the data around faking orgasms. As I was sitting at my computer researching this, it never occurred to me that maybe men do it, too.
It’s more obvious if men don’t have an orgasm, but do they fake it? I’ve only experienced one instance where I wondered if it was faked. At that time, I quickly put it out of my mind because, like other women, I had this belief that men do not fake orgasms. It’s always been just a woman thing.
I found Dr. Robert Burris’ research helpful. In his podcast, Faking Orgasms: Who Fakes & Why? I satisfied my curiosity. I was excited to know that they have done research on men faking orgasms. Turns out men do fake orgasms and there are many reasons why.
5 Reasons men and women fake orgasms:
1. To provide positive feedback to their partner.
2. Sexual boredom or it was just taking too long, not going to happen.
3. To enhance enjoyment, to excite their partner, and stimulate more arousal.
4. To avoid unpleasant consequences of unsatisfactory lovemaking or sexual disappointment.
5. They may be considering cheating on their partner and may want the current partner to think all is okay in the relationship.
According to research, men and women fake for different reasons. Men are more likely to fake an orgasm to avoid conflict or uncomfortable conversations. Men who have faked it reported using a combination of vocalizations, changes in physical movements, and even moaning.
Sounds familiar.
Women were more likely to fake orgasms to enhance or provide positive feedback because they were bored. I’d add being tired or uninterested in sex to this list.
As a society that already has issues around sex, communication, sexual boundaries, and sexual choices, and because having more sex would be beneficial to our health — improving the communication with your partner can only benefit you both.
I’d say we are better off choosing the road of curiosity and understanding, rather than shaming those who do it. For many, expressing such intimate details is a vulnerable thing to openly share.
Wouldn’t we, as a society, be better off sharing, supporting, and listening so that we may understand the reasons — rather than a blatant disregard of someone that does it?
Retraction happens when we get judged for sharing our private experiences and might hinder the sharing of such private experiences in the future. We just shame people back into inauthenticity and hiding — the very thing that got us into this mess in the first place. It feels more proactive to listen, to understand, and to seek knowledge and support of open dialog on such sensitive topics.
Now that we know there are many reasons why men and women fake orgasms (and maybe more we haven’t even mentioned), we can set aside the women blaming and have real conversations around orgasms, sex, and intimacy.
Originally published on Elephant Journal. | https://medium.com/@consciouslyawak/5-reasons-men-women-fake-orgasms-ba82845d377e | ['Consciously Awake'] | 2020-12-19 00:00:38.328000+00:00 | ['Sex', 'Dating Advice', 'Orgasm', 'Relationships', 'Relationships Love Dating'] |
I Found the Best Hour for Breakfast. Science Agrees | I Found the Best Hour for Breakfast. Science Agrees
No more rumbling stomach at 10:30 am.
Photo by Ben Kolde on Unsplash
First, I worked on reducing sugar. Then, on the consumption of wholegrain cereals only. After, I tried to restore a connection with my body and its signals of hunger and satiety, through intuitive eating. Even after that I changed my breakfast to something much more nutritious and filling.
It was time to take the next step.
I was raised as a breakfast person. My parents wouldn’t let me go to school on an empty stomach. Even if it was just an apple or a slice of bread, I had to eat something.
But most of the time they didn’t have to fight at all.
I’ve always loved breakfast. From sweet children’s cereals to English muffins, French toasts, and now avocado toasts, fried eggs, or sheep yogurt with muesli, it’s one of my favorite times of the day. Waking up and thinking of nothing else but getting to the kitchen table to refuel before the day begins.
Curiously, my brother turned out to be a no-breakfast person. In fact, he doesn’t eat right away when he wakes up, but a few hours later when he gets hungry.
When he told me this, I began to see the major problem lodged in my own breakfast habit. | https://medium.com/the-ascent/i-found-the-best-hour-for-breakfast-science-agrees-5544372c783a | ['Auriane Alix'] | 2020-10-15 12:02:09.264000+00:00 | ['Health', 'Food', 'Self', 'Breakfast', 'Self Improvement'] |
Marlow’s Gig | Marlow’s Gig
Saturn was so delightfully human, all things considered. Marlow could see Neptune trembling through the crimson, wrinkled artificial atmosphere during her evening stroll. With an ancient textbook under one arm and a cup of coffee in her right hand, Marlow searched the crumbled stone streets for Giggle Jellies.
They were hard to separate from Crumble Jellies. Crumble Jellies were toxic if not prepared correctly, although they were docile compared to the magnificent Giggle. This hunt was a necessary evil when it came to Marlow’s search for endless beauty. Marlow had already prepared seven dozen jars this last week alone, only four were faulty Crumble blends.
When she returned to Earth next month to visit her family for the holidays, Marlow would sell them out in a day. They were awful pets—smelly, nippy, and loud. However, a Giggle Jelly face cream reversed ageing in decades with a single jar. This was the only moon in the solar system that had them. Crumble Jellies in comparison were, at best, good for salad toppings or lap dogs.
Marlow stopped, spotting a Giggle three feet away. She cooed—giggles liked owls. Must be the feathers—nothing was feathered on Saturn. She knelt, dumping some of her chilled espresso on the ground. The Jelly rolled out from under his carbon cave. With splops and squeaks, he rolled over to drink.
“MARLOW!” The Giggle Jelly scurried.
Marlow sighed. She checked her intercom. “What’s the matter?” She shouted into the machine.
“I’m in a bind. Do you mind picking me up?”
Marlow looked at the cave. The Giggle Jelly was long gone, the rock sealed shut with indiscernible Saturnalia goo. “Drop your co-ordinates. I’ll be there in ten.”
Peggy didn’t drop her co-ordinates. Marlow plugged her intercom into her open-top cruiser control panel. “Take me to Pegs,” Marlow ordered. In seconds, the control panel lit up and loaded some numbers and a message: PEGGY, FIVE MINUTES, NORTHWEST. Marlow fired up her ship and sped off into the sunset.
Marlow relaxed. Peggy’s father owned the moon and the little human settlements that dotted the surface of this particular moon. They didn’t look at Marlow, creeping into their stone brick houses for the evening. She waved anyway. Peggy often was found running away to party, either in the large estate she owned or out on the towns. Peggy was made. Her pastime consisted of ship racing and making sure that Marlow didn’t harvest too many Giggle Jellies. Marlow’s job was a little more difficult: keep Peggy out of trouble. She was the sole heir of the Jelly empire. Peggy’s father paid Marlow to play bodyguard in free board and free access to Giggle Jellies, duty-free… most of the time.
HERE, the ship dinged. She got out of the car in front of a tall, metal wall building. The saloon. It was closed for the night. One ship remained, long past closing. From it, dangled a body. Marlow winced. She went to it and found the body more or less half asleep but quite fine. “Peggy? Are you all right?”
“Do I look all right? I’m stuck. Get me out.”
Without complaint, Marlow tugged on her arm, freeing her sister. Peggy stumbled to her feet. A little beaten, and a little dusty, but nothing too worrisome. Peggy was her usual bleary-eyed self. “Let’s go home, Pegs.” Marlow offered a shoulder. Peggy nodded and leaned against her.
The drive home was quiet enough. After all, they weren’t far away. Not far enough for Peggy to complain. “Why so glum?” Marlow asked. “You look like you had a fun night.” She swerved the car, driving around a clique of Ylem Ducks, wobbling like bowling pins, shrieking like hungry ostriches from the middle of the road.
Peggy winced. She straightened. “Can you cool it with the driving? It wasn’t a fun night.”
“What did you do?”
“Don’t interrogate me. You’re not Mother.”
Marlow shrugged. “I was just curious, Peg. What did you do?” She was only half interested. The moon on the belt now faced the sun. Light refracted on the wobbling atmosphere.
Peggy twitched. Marlow nearly missed the turn into the driveway. She parked, dragging twitchy Peggy around the back of the estate. Exhausted, Marlow let go of Peggy, dropping her on the concrete. “Are you okay, Pegs?” Marlow knelt by Peggy’s side. “…Pegs?”
Peggy shuddered and rolled into the pool, skull first. On impact, her body convulsed and short-circuited.
Marlow leaned out over the side of the pool, on hands and knees lest she should meet not-Peggy’s eyes. “Pegs?” Marlow cried.
“What are you going on about?” Peggy stood at the doorway, wearing a plush robe with her hair piled on her head in messy curls. “Can you shut up? I heard you freaking out in the pool. I have to work in the day, unlike you..” She stood on her toes, staring at Not-Peggy in the pool. “What did you do to my cyborg?”
Marlow stood up, cleaning the dirt off her pants, her eyes watering from dust and fatigue. “She slipped. I had to rescue her from a car accident on the other side of the moon.”
Peggy took out her phone and smiled. “Oh good. The system works. You found her in five minutes, not bad. Dad is testing to see whether you’re worth hiring after all. Didn’t need to wake me though. Get Peggy out and dry her off. Dad’s going to have a fit when he sees what you did.” She turned back to the house, stretching her arms over her head.
Marlow balled her fists. She started forward. Peggy turned, but by then, Marlow snagged Peggy’s hair and cast her into the pool with Not-Peggy. Peggy screamed for help, her robe hood snagged by Not-Peggy’s hand.
Several workers came out of the house, looking frantically for Peggy. By the time Peggy was back on land, Marlow’s ship snapped the atmosphere. They watched her ship on a speedy course to earth. They watched air seep through the new hole in the atmosphere, thousands of Giggle Jellies sucked out the ozone layer and drifting away. | https://medium.com/@taliyaahofficial/marlows-gig-cc7b2970a4e9 | ['Taliyaah Onze'] | 2020-12-27 00:08:00.693000+00:00 | ['Sisters', 'Short Fiction', 'Science Fiction', 'Humor', 'Creative Writing'] |
How to Configure Single Page Routing with Svelte and Express.js | How to Configure Single Page Routing with Svelte and Express.js
Learn how to avoid ‘page not found’ errors when using client-side-routing and hot reload
Photo by Oliver Roos on Unsplash
This tutorial is for anyone who creates single-page-apps and wants to know how to configure routing properly on the server side. It will use Svelte as the framework, but the techniques here will work for any app using client side routing.
The Problem
Client-side routing solutions like svelte-routing work great, but they will break if you try to refresh your page when using them, and this means that it’s impossible to use hot reloading. This is because all routing logic is performed on the client, and when you initially load a page, say localhost:5000/home , the client code isn’t yet loaded. This means that your browser will attempt to find the file home.html at localhost:5000 but it won’t be there, because it’s a single page app. It only has index.html .
Here’s an example.
The code above creates a simple Svelte app and uses svelte-routing as the routing solution. It then creates a Route for the Home component and a link to navigate for it. The Home component only returns a p tag that says ‘Hello, this is the homepage’.
When I load up this app, I see the root page.
And when I click Home , I am routed to the Home page.
The problem arises when I attempt to navigate to localhost:5000/home directly, or when I refresh the page. If I do that, I’ll see a blank page, or a Not Found error.
The Solution
To solve this problem, we need a way of intercepting the HTTP calls to localhost:5000 and then redirecting them all back to index.html . When we do this, the server will return the root page, which will load all of our code, and then the routing will kick into action and display the home page.
We can do this by creating an express server to serve our app, so let’s do that.
First, install express, by running npm i express and then create a file, server.js at the root of your project. Add the following boilerplate to create the server.
var express = require('express')
var app = express() app.listen(3000, () => {
console.log("App listening on port 3000")
})
Now, we need to do two things. We need to configure a static directory which will tell express where it can find our html & js files. Then we need to intercept all http calls and route them back to index.html.
The static directory for Svelte will be the public directory because that’s where all of the built files are placed. This is standard so will probably be the same for other frameworks, but obviously make sure you check.
To define a static folder in express, we do this:
app.use(express.static('public'))
So add that to server.js
var express = require('express')
var app = express() app.use(express.static('public')) app.listen(3000, () => {
console.log("App listening on port 3000")
})
Now, if you run your server with node server.js , you should actually see your application loaded in the browser. However, we still haven’t solved the problem.
Now we need to re-write all http calls to index.html . This is straightforward, and looks like the following.
app.get('*', (req, res) => {
res.sendFile(__dirname + "/public/index.html")
})
The asterisk character intercepts all calls, and then we tell the server to return the index.html file from the public folder. We use __dirname to get the fully qualified path.
If you run your server now, you should be able to navigate directly to localhost:5000/home . There is still one problem, though.
Hot Reloading
One of the benefits of this was that it would enable hot reloading. However, now that we aren’t using Svelte’s npm run dev to run our app, we aren’t getting the benefit of that. Currently, we’d need to stop the server, compile the app and restart it again to make hot-reloading work. This is a pain to do manually, but we can automate it relatively easily.
There’s a nice little npm package called concurrently . The last step of our process is to install this with npm i concurrently and then create a script in our package.json to run both our server and our hot-reloading. Here’s how that looks for svelte (it will be almost identical for other frameworks).
"scripts": {
"build": "rollup -c",
"dev": "rollup -c -w",
"start": "sirv public",
"serve": "concurrently \"node server.js\" \"npm run dev\" "
}, | https://medium.com/javascript-in-plain-english/how-to-configure-page-routing-with-svelte-and-express-js-ab5a4e0ad12f | ['Lee Mcgowan'] | 2020-09-19 14:34:39.838000+00:00 | ['JavaScript', 'Expressjs', 'Svelte', 'Programming', 'Web Development'] |
Be.cash: A Tool For Signing Bitcoin Cash Transactions Offline | Be.cash: A Tool For Signing Bitcoin Cash Transactions Offline
Be.cash is a new tool developed by Bitcoin Cash developer Tobias Ruck. It provides users with the ability to sign Bitcoin Cash transactions offline, without the need for internet service. Bbernardos Follow Oct 17, 2019 · 3 min read
Being able to sign and send transactions offline has always been difficult and developers have introduced different methods to achieve that goal such as sending crypto over satellites or via SMS messages. On October 13, software developer Tobias Ruck introduced an alternative way to sign and send BCH transactions offline called Be.cash.
Ruck made a 10 minute Youtube video explaining how Be.cash works, both from the merchant’s and the customer’s side. He created an offline wallet where the sender doesn’t need to be online to create a transaction. He explains the entire process, step by step in his video.
Be.cash consists of two pages: One for the merchant and the other for the customer.
The merchant needs to enter his address in the Merchant Address field and click on Set Address on the merchant page of Ruck’s tool.
The Payment Amount field needs to be set to the amount that the customer is paying. Once that is done the merchant clicks on Make Request.
This creates a Payment Request that the customer needs to copy. The copied request needs to be entered on the customer page of Be.cash in the field Payment Request. Clicking on the Pay button signs the transaction even if the customer’s address is empty.
With Be.cash it is possible to sign and create a transaction from an address that has not been funded yet. The user will be able to create the transaction even if he doesn’t have the required amount on his wallet.
After clicking on the Pay button the tool creates a Payment Response. The created code needs to be sent back to the merchant, preferably in the form of a QR code. The merchant scans the code or he enters the code in the field Payment Response on the merchant page of Be.cash.
Clicking on Redeem sends the transaction from the customer to the merchant. Any change that is left on the address after the transaction is sent goes back to the customer. According to the developer, this will be ensured by the smart contract of the application. The smart contract also ensures that the coins can only be redeemed once.
In his demo video, Tobias Ruck signs a transaction from an empty wallet. He then deposits the needed funds on the wallet and confirms the transaction. The funds are sent to the merchant's wallet minus the transaction fees which are paid by the person broadcasting the transaction.
Be.cash has received a positive response on social media and online forums. Cointext CTO, Vin Armani said the following about this new app:
“If you can get a microprocessor smart card to do this and interact with a point-of-sale via NFC or chip, you have a billion-dollar company on your hands”.
Contract: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1gEHk9W94j1gIeW2O-hHxhszBdGgvQXlC9udotCHmRUc/edit#gid=522143879
Code repository
Merchant page
Customer page
Sources: | https://medium.com/coinmonks/guide-be-cash-a-tool-for-signing-bitcoin-cash-transactions-offline-70467435ff53 | [] | 2020-08-26 10:57:54.569000+00:00 | ['Blockchain', 'Bitcoincash', 'Bitcoin', 'Cryptocurrency', 'Crypto'] |
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Livestreaming, what’s in it for us?
Technology has advanced significantly since the first internet livestream but we still turn to video for almost everything. Let’s take a brief look at why livestreaming has been held back so far, and what tech innovations will propel livestreaming to the forefront of internet culture. Right now livestreaming is limited to just a few applications for mass public use and the rest are targeted towards businesses. Livestreaming is to today what home computers were in the early 1980s. The world of livestreaming is waiting for a metaphorical VIC-20, a very popular product that will make live streaming as popular as video through iterations and competition.
Shared Video
Do you remember when YouTube wasn’t the YouTube you know today? In 2005, when Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim activated the domain “www.youtube.com" they had a vision. Inspired by the lack of easily accessible video clips online, the creators of YouTube saw a world where people could instantly access videos on the internet without having to download files or search for hours for the right clip. Allegedly inspired by the site “Hot or Not”, YouTube originally began as a dating site (think 80s video dating), but without a large ingress of dating videos, they opted to accept any video submission. And as we all know, that fateful decision changed all of our lives forever. Because of YouTube, the world that YouTube was born in no longer exists. The ability to share videos on the scale permitted by YouTube has brought us closer to the “global village” than I’d wager anyone thought realistically possible. And now with technologies like Starlink, we are moving closer and closer to that eventuality. Although the shared video will never become a legacy technology, before long it will truly have to share the stage with its sibling, livestreaming. Although livestreaming is over 20 years old, it hasn’t gained the incredible worldwide adoption YouTube has. This is largely due to infrastructure issues such as latency, quality, and cost.
Latency is a priority when it comes to livestreams.
Latency is the time it takes for a video to be captured and point a, and viewed at point b. In livestreaming this is done through an encoder-decoder function. Video and audio are captured and turned into code, the code specifies which colours display, when, for how long, and how bright. The code is then sent to the destination, such as a streaming site, where it is decoded into colours and audio again and then displayed on a device like a cell phone. The delay between the image being captured, the code being generated, transmitted, decoded, and played is consistently decreasing. It is now possible to stream content reliably with less than 3 seconds of latency. Sub-second latency is also common and within the next 20 or so years we may witness the last cable broadcast (or perhaps cable will be relegated to the niche market of CB radios, landlines, and AM transmissions).
On average, the latency associated with a cable broadcast is about 6 seconds. This is mainly due to limitations on broadcasts coming from the FCC or another similar organization in the interests of censorship. In terms of real-life, however, a 6 second delay on a broadcast is not that big of a deal. In all honesty a few hours’ delay wouldn’t spell the doom of mankind. But for certain types of broadcasts such as election results or sporting events, latency must be kept at a minimum to maximize the viability of the broadcast.
Sensitive Content is Hard to Monitor
Advances in AI technologies like computer vision have changed the landscape of internet broadcasting. Before too long, algorithms will be better able to prevent sensitive and inappropriate content from being broadcast across the internet on livestreaming platforms. Due to the sheer volume of streams it is much harder to monitor and contain internet broadcasts than it is cable, but we are very near a point where the ability to reliably detect and interrupt inappropriate broadcasts instantaneously. Currently, the majority of content is monitored by humans. And as we’ve learned over the last 50 or so years, computers and machines are much more reliable and consistent than humans could ever be. Everything is moving to an automated space and content moderation is not far behind. We simply don’t have the human resources to monitor every livestream, but with AI we won’t need it.
Video Quality
In the last decade we have seen video quality move from 720p to 1080p to 4K and beyond. I can personally remember a time when 480p was standard and 720p was considered a luxury reserved for only the most well funded YouTube videos. But times have changed and people expect video quality of at least 720p. Live streaming has always had issues meeting the demands of video quality. When watching streams on platforms like Twitch, the video can cut out, lag, drop in quality, and stutter all within about 45 seconds. Of course this isn’t as rampant now as it once was, however, sudden drops in quality will likely be a thorn in the side of live streams for years to come.
Internet Speeds
Perhaps the most common issue one needs to tackle when watching a live stream is their internet speed. Drops in video quality and connection are often due to the quality of the internet connection between the streamer and the viewer. Depending on the location of the parties involved, their distance from the server, and allocated connection speed the stream may experience some errors. And that’s just annoying. Here is a list of the recommended connection speeds for 3 of the most popular streaming applications:
Facebook Live recommends a max bit rate of 4,000 kbps, plus a max audio bit rate of 128 kbps.
YouTube Live recommends a range between 1,500 and 4,000 kbps for video, plus 128 kbps for audio.
Twitch recommends a range between 2,500 and 4,000 kbps for video, plus up to 160 kbps for audio.
Live streams are typically available for those of us with good internet. Every day more people are enjoying high quality speeds provided by fibre optic lines, but it will be a while until these lines can truly penetrate rural and less populated areas. Perhaps when that day comes we will see an upsurge of streaming coming from these areas.
Language Barrier
You can pause and rewind a video if you didn’t understand or hear something, and many video sharing platforms provide the option for subtitles. But you don’t really get that with a live stream. Pausing and rewinding an ongoing stream defeats the purpose of watching a stream. However, the day is soon approaching where we will be able to watch streams, in our own native language with subtitles, even if the streamer speaks something else. Microsoft Azure’s Cognitive Speech Services can give livestreaming platforms an edge in the future as it allows for speech to be automatically translated from language to language. The ability to watch a livestream in real time, with the added benefit of accurate subtitles in one’s own language, will also assist language learners in deciphering spontaneous speech.
Monetization
One of the most damning features of a live stream is the inherent difficulty in monetizing it. As mentioned before, videos can be paused and ads inserted. In videos, sponsored segments can be bought where the creators of the video read lines provided to them. Ads can run before videos etc. But in the case of a spontaneous live stream sponsored content will stick out. In the case of platforms like YouTube there are ways around ads. Ad blockers, the skip ad button, the deplorable premium account, and fast forwarding through sponsored segments all work together to limit the insane amount of ads we see every day. But in the case of a live stream, ads are a bit more difficult.
Live streaming platforms could implement sponsored overlays and borders or a similar graphical method of advertising, but the inclusion of screen shrinking add-ons like that may cause issues on smaller devices where screen size is already limited.
Monthly subscriptions are already the norm, but in the case of a live streaming platform (Twitch Prime not withstanding), it may be difficult for consumers to see the benefit in paying for a service that is by nature unscheduled and unpredictable. Live streams are great for quick entertainment, but as they can go on for hours at a time, re-watching streamed content is inherently time consuming. For this reason, many streamers cut their recorded streams down and upload them to platforms like YouTube where they are monetized through a partnership program. It is likely that for other streaming platforms to really take off, they would need to partner with a larger company and offer services similar to Amazon and Twitch.
What Might the Future of Livestreaming Look Like?
It is difficult to say, as it is with any speculation about the future. Technologies change and advance beyond the scope of our imaginations virtually every decade. But one thing that is almost a certainty is the continued advancement in our communications infrastructure. Fibre optic lines are being run to smaller towns and cities. Services like Google Fiber, which is now only available at 1 gigabit per second, have shown the current capabilities of our internet infrastructure. As services like this expand we can expect to see a large increase in the number of users seeking streams as the service they expect to interact with will be more stable than it currently is now. Livestreaming, at the moment, is used frequently by gamers and Esports and hasn’t yet seen the mass commercial expansion that is coming.
The future of live streaming is on its way. For clues for how it may be in North America we can look to Asia (taobao). Currently, livestreaming is quite popular in the East in terms of a phenomenon that hasn’t quite taken hold on us Westerners, Live Commerce. With retail stores closing left and right, we can’t expect Amazon to pick up all of the slack (as much as I’m sure they would like to). Live streaming affords entrepreneurs and retailers a new opportunity for sales and growth.
Live streaming isn’t the way of the future, video will never die, but the two will co-exist and be used for different purposes, as they are now. Live streaming can bring serious benefits to education as well by offering classrooms guest lessons and tutorials by leading professionals. Live streaming is more beneficial for education than video as it allows students to interact with guest teachers in real-time.
The live streaming market is waiting to be tapped. Right now there are some prospectors, but in North America, no one has really found the vein leading to the mine. So maybe it’s time to get prospecting.
Premier League leaders Liverpool will lock horns against West Bromwich Albion at Anfield on Sunday. The Reds will look to continue the great start they have hard in the season so far and consolidate their position at the top of the points table.
Klopp’s men have found some great form after they have won their last couple of matches against Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace.
West Brom, on the other hand, lost their first match against Sam Allardyce on Sunday when they were handed a 3–0 drubbing at the hands of Aston Villa.
Premier League 2020–21 Liverpool vs West Bromwich Albion: Team News, Injury Update
Thiago Alcantara, Xherdan Shaqiri and James Milner all returned to team training, and we could see Milner and Shaqiri could be available for this game.
West Brom will have to do without Jake Livermore as he is currently serving a suspension. Conor Townsend, Hal Robson-Kanu and Kyle Bartley are also ruled out.
Liverpool vs West Bromwich Albion Probable Staring XI
Liverpool Probable Staring XI: Alisson Becker; Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joel Matip, Fabinho, Andy Robertson; Jordan Henderson, Gini Wijnaldum, Naby Keita; Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane
West Bromwich Albion Probable Staring XI: Sam Johnstone; Darnell Furlong, Semi Ajayi, Dara O’Shea, Kieran Gibbs; Matt Phillips, Romaine Sawyers, Matheus Pereira, Connor Gallagher, Grady Diangana; Karlan Grant
Whatever was supposed to happen when the Baggies hired Sam Allardyce clearly hadn’t happened in time for Aston Villa’s visit last weekend.
West Brom created nothing, apart from the strong impression that Big Sam won’t need to worry about how he’s going to spend his £1million survival bonus.
Still, short of turning up and finding where to plug in his sandwich toaster, Allardyce had little time to work his magic.
Remember, it only took 67 days for him to turn England into front-page news again.
So might another week of The Big Sam Method make all the difference against Liverpool? Probably not. But factor in Jurgen Klopp shuffling his pack before and during this one, and the goals-galore angles start to look iffy. | https://medium.com/@bokanidhi/soccer-live-english-premier-league-livestream-west-bromwich-albion-vs-liverpool-soccer-57233e9d5e41 | ['Liverpool Live'] | 2020-12-27 10:12:10.289000+00:00 | ['Liverpool', '4k', 'Live', 'Soccer', 'Scorecard'] |
XGBoost: A Complete Guide to Fine-Tune and Optimize your Model | XGBoost: A Complete Guide to Fine-Tune and Optimize your Model
Photo by @spacex on Unsplash
Why is XGBoost so popular?
Initially started as a research project in 2014, XGBoost has quickly become one of the most popular Machine Learning algorithms of the past few years.
Many consider it as one of the best algorithms and, due to its great performance for regression and classification problems, would recommend it as a first choice in many situations. XGBoost has become famous for winning tons of Kaggle competitions, is now used in many industry-application, and is even implemented within machine-learning platforms, such as BigQuery ML.
If you’re reading this article on XGBoost hyperparameters optimization, you’re probably familiar with the algorithm. But to better understand what we want to tune, let's have a recap!
PART 1: Understanding XBGoost
XGBoost (eXtreme Gradient Boosting) is not only an algorithm. It’s an entire open-source library, designed as an optimized implementation of the Gradient Boosting framework. It focuses on speed, flexibility, and model performances. Its strength doesn’t only come from the algorithm, but also from all the underlying system optimization (parallelization, caching, hardware optimization, etc…).
In most cases, data scientist uses XGBoost with a“Tree Base learner”, which means that your XGBoost model is based on Decision Trees. But even though they are way less popular, you can also use XGboost with other base learners, such as linear model or Dart. As this is by far the most common situation, we’ll focus on Trees for the rest of this article.
At that point, you probably have even more questions. What is a Decision Tree? What is Boosting? What the difference with Gradient Boosting?
Don’t worry, we’ll recap it all!
What are Decision Trees and CARTs?
CART: Does this person play video games? — Image from XGBoost Documentation
Decision tree is one of the simplest ML algorithms.
It is a way to implement an algorithm that only contains conditional statements.
XGBoost uses a type of decision tree called CART: Classification and Decision Tree.
Classification Trees : the target variable is categorical and the tree is used to identify the “class” within which a target variable would likely fall.
: the target variable is categorical and the tree is used to identify the “class” within which a target variable would likely fall. Regression Trees: the target variable is continuous and the tree is used to predict its value.
CART leaves don’t simply contain final decision values, but also real-valued scores for each leaf, no matter if they are used for classification or regression.
What is Boosting?
Boosting is just a method that uses the principle of ensemble learning, but in sequential order.
If you’re not familiar with ensemble learning, it’s a process that combines decisions from multiple underlying models, and uses a voting technique to determine the final prediction.
Random forests and Bagging are two famous ensemble learning methods.
Ensemble Learning example with the Bagging method and a majority-vote strategy — Image by author
Boosting is a type of ensemble learning that uses the previous model's result as an input to the next one. Instead of training models separately, boosting trains models sequentially, each new model being trained to correct the errors of the previous ones. At each iteration (round), the outcomes predicted correctly are given a lower weight, and the ones wrongly predicted a higher weight. It then uses a weighted average to produce a final outcome.
Ensemble Learning example with the Boosting method, using weighted-Average strategy — Image by author
What is Gradient Boosting?
Finally, Gradient Boosting is a boosting method where errors are minimized using a gradient descent algorithm. Simply put, Gradient descent is an iterative optimization algorithm used to minimize a loss function.
The loss function quantifies how far off our prediction is from the actual result for a given data point. The better the predictions, the lower will be the output of your loss function.
Example of loss function: Mean Square Error
When we construct our model, the goal is to minimize the loss function across all of the data points. For example, Mean squared error (MSE) is the most commonly used loss function for regression.
Contrary to classic Boosting, Gradient boosting not only weight higher wrongly predicted outcomes, but also adjust those weights based on a gradient — given by the direction in the loss function where the loss “decreases the fastest”. If you want to learn more about Gradient Boosting, you can check out this video.
And as we said in the intro, XGBoost is an optimized implementation of this Gradient Boosting method!
So, how to use XGBoost?
There are 2 common ways of using XGBoost:
Learning API: It is the basic, low-level way of using XGBoost. Simple and powerful, it includes a built-in cross-validation method.
import xgboost as xgb
X, y = #Import your data
dmatrix = xgb.DMatrix(data=x, label=y) #Learning API uses a dmatrix params = {'objective':'reg:squarederror'}
cv_results = xgb.cv(dtrain=dmatrix,
params=params,
nfold=10,
metrics={'rmse'}) print('RMSE: %.2f' % cv_results['test-rmse-mean'].min())
Scikit-Learn API: It is a Scikit-Learn wrapper interface for XGBoost. It allows using XGBoost in a scikit-learn compatible way, the same way you would use any native scikit-learn model.
import xgboost as xgb X, y = # Import your data xtrain, xtest, ytrain, ytest = train_test_split(X, y, test_size=0.2) xgbr = xgb.XGBRegressor(objective='reg:squarederror') xgbr.fit(xtrain, ytrain)
ypred = xgbr.predict(xtest)
mse = mean_squared_error(ytest, ypred)
print("RMSE: %.2f" % (mse**(1/2.0)))
Note that when using the Learning API you can input and access an evaluation metric, whereas when using the Scikit-learn API you have to calculate it.
Objective function
XGBoost is a great choice in multiple situations, including regression and classification problems. Based on the problem and how you want your model to learn, you’ll choose a different objective function.
The most commonly used are:
reg:squarederror : for linear regression
: for linear regression reg:logistic : for logistic regression
: for logistic regression binary:logistic: for logistic regression — with output of the probabilities
PART 2: Hyperparameter tuning
Why should you tune your model?
How would an untuned model perform compared to a tuned model? Is it worth the effort? Before going deeper into XGBoost model tuning, let’s highlight the reasons why you have to tune your model.
As a demo, we will use the well-known Boston house prices dataset from sklearn, and try to predict the prices of houses.
Here how would perform our model without hyperparameter tuning:
import xgboost as xgb
from sklearn.datasets import load_boston
from sklearn.model_selection import train_test_split
from sklearn.metrics import mean_squared_error
boston = load_boston()
X, y = boston.data, boston.target
dmatrix = xgb.DMatrix(data=x, label=y) params={'objective':'reg:squarederror'} cv_results = xgb.cv(dtrain=dmatrix, params=params, nfold=10, metrics={'rmse'}, as_pandas=True, seed=20) print('RMSE: %.2f' % cv_results['test-rmse-mean'].min())
## Result : RMSE: 3.38
Without any tuning, we’ve got a RMSE of 3.38. Which isn’t bad, but let’s see how it would perform with just a few tuned hyperparameters:
import xgboost as xgb
from sklearn.datasets import load_boston
from sklearn.model_selection import train_test_split
from sklearn.metrics import mean_squared_error
boston = load_boston()
X, y = boston.data, boston.target
dmatrix = xgb.DMatrix(data=x, label=y) params={ 'objective':'reg:squarederror',
'max_depth': 6,
'colsample_bylevel':0.5,
'learning_rate':0.01,
'random_state':20} cv_results = xgb.cv(dtrain=dmatrix, params=params, nfold=10, metrics={'rmse'}, as_pandas=True, seed=20, num_boost_round=1000) print('RMSE: %.2f' % cv_results['test-rmse-mean'].min())
## Result : RMSE: 2.69
With just a little bit of tuning, we’ve now got a RMSE of 2.69. It’s a 20% improvement! And we could probably improve even more. Let’s see how!
Deep dive into XGBoost Hyperparameters
A hyperparameter is a type of parameter, external to the model, set before the learning process begins. It’s tunable and can directly affect how well a model performs.
To find out the best hyperparameters for your model, you may use rules of thumb, or specific methods that we’ll review in this article.
Before that, note that there are several parameters you can tune when working with XGBoost. You can find the complete list here, or the aliases used in the Scikit-Learn API.
For Tree base learners, the most common parameters are:
max_depth : The maximum depth per tree. A deeper tree might increase the performance, but also the complexity and chances to overfit.
The value must be an integer greater than 0. Default is 6.
: The maximum depth per tree. A deeper tree might increase the performance, but also the complexity and chances to overfit. The value must be an integer greater than 0. Default is 6. learning_rate : The learning rate determines the step size at each iteration while your model optimizes toward its objective. A low learning rate makes computation slower, and requires more rounds to achieve the same reduction in residual error as a model with a high learning rate. But it optimizes the chances to reach the best optimum.
The value must be between 0 and 1. Default is 0.3.
: The learning rate determines the step size at each iteration while your model optimizes toward its objective. A low learning rate makes computation slower, and requires more rounds to achieve the same reduction in residual error as a model with a high learning rate. But it optimizes the chances to reach the best optimum. The value must be between 0 and 1. Default is 0.3. n_estimators : The number of trees in our ensemble. Equivalent to the number of boosting rounds.
The value must be an integer greater than 0. Default is 100.
NB: In the standard library, this is referred as num_boost_round .
: The number of trees in our ensemble. Equivalent to the number of boosting rounds. The value must be an integer greater than 0. Default is 100. NB: In the standard library, this is referred as . colsample_bytree : Represents the fraction of columns to be randomly sampled for each tree. It might improve overfitting.
The value must be between 0 and 1. Default is 1.
: Represents the fraction of columns to be randomly sampled for each tree. It might improve overfitting. The value must be between 0 and 1. Default is 1. subsample: Represents the fraction of observations to be sampled for each tree. A lower values prevent overfitting but might lead to under-fitting.
The value must be between 0 and 1. Default is 1.
Regularization parameters:
alpha (reg_alpha): L1 regularization on the weights (Lasso Regression). When working with a large number of features, it might improve speed performances. It can be any integer. Default is 0.
(reg_alpha): L1 regularization on the weights (Lasso Regression). When working with a large number of features, it might improve speed performances. It can be any integer. Default is 0. lambda (reg_lambda): L2 regularization on the weights (Ridge Regression). It might help to reduce overfitting. It can be any integer. Default is 1.
(reg_lambda): L2 regularization on the weights (Ridge Regression). It might help to reduce overfitting. It can be any integer. Default is 1. gamma: Gamma is a pseudo-regularisation parameter (Lagrangian multiplier), and depends on the other parameters. The higher Gamma is, the higher the regularization. It can be any integer. Default is 0.
Approach 1: Intuition and reasonable values
A first approach would be to start with reasonable parameters and to play along. If you understood the meanings of each hyperparameter above, you should be able to intuitively set some values.
Let’s start with reasonable values. It would usually be:
max_depth: 3–10
n_estimators: 100 (lots of observations) to 1000 (few observations)
learning_rate: 0.01–0.3
colsample_bytree: 0.5–1
subsample: 0.6–1
Then, you can focus on optimizing max_depth and n_estimators.
You can then play along with the learning_rate, and increase it to speed up the model without decreasing the performances. If it becomes faster without losing in performances, you can increase the number of estimators to try to increase the performances.
Finally, you can work with your regularization parameters, usually starting with alpha and lambda. For gamma, 0 would mean no regularization, 1–5 are commonly used values, whereas 10+ would be considered as very high.
Approach 2: Optimization Algorithms
A second approach to find the best hyperparameters is through Optimization Algorithm. Since XGBoost is available in a Scikit-learn compatible way, you can work with Scikit-learn’s hyperparameter optimizer functions!
The two most common are Grid Search and Random Search.
Grid Search
A Grid Search is an exhaustive search over every combination of specified parameter values. If you specify 2 possible values for max_depth and 3 for n_estimators, Grid Search will iterate over 6 possible combinations:
max_depth: [3,6],
n_estimators:[100, 200, 300] Would result in the following possibilities:
max_depth: 3, n_estimators: 100
max_depth: 3, n_estimators: 200
max_depth: 3, n_estimators: 300
max_depth: 6, n_estimators: 100
max_depth: 6, n_estimators: 200
max_depth: 6, n_estimators: 300
Let’s use GridSearchCV() from Scikit-learn to tune our XGBoost model!
In the following examples, we’ll use a processed version of the Life Expectancy dataset available on Kaggle.
import pandas as pd
import xgboost as xgb
from sklearn.model_selection import GridSearchCV data = pd.read_csv("life_expectancy_clean.csv") X, y = data[data.columns.tolist()[:-1]],
data[data.columns.tolist()[-1]] params = { 'max_depth': [3,6,10],
'learning_rate': [0.01, 0.05, 0.1],
'n_estimators': [100, 500, 1000],
'colsample_bytree': [0.3, 0.7]} xgbr = xgb.XGBRegressor(seed = 20) clf = GridSearchCV(estimator=xgbr,
param_grid=params,
scoring='neg_mean_squared_error',
verbose=1) clf.fit(X, y) print("Best parameters:", clf.best_params_)
print("Lowest RMSE: ", (-clf.best_score_)**(1/2.0))
estimator: GridSearchCV is part of sklearn.model_selection, and works with any scikit-learn compatible estimator. We use xgb.XGBRegressor(), from XGBoost’s Scikit-learn API.
GridSearchCV is part of sklearn.model_selection, and works with any scikit-learn compatible estimator. We use xgb.XGBRegressor(), from XGBoost’s Scikit-learn API. param_grid: GridSearchCV takes a list of parameters to test in input. As we said, a Grid Search will test out every combination.
GridSearchCV takes a list of parameters to test in input. As we said, a Grid Search will test out every combination. scoring : It’s the metric(s) that will be used to evaluate the performance of the cross-validated model. In this case, neg_mean_squared_error is used in replacement for mean_squared_error. GridSearchCV is simply using a negative version of MSE for technical reasons — so it makes the function generalizable to other metrics where we aim for the higher score instead of the lower.
: It’s the metric(s) that will be used to evaluate the performance of the cross-validated model. In this case, neg_mean_squared_error is used in replacement for mean_squared_error. GridSearchCV is simply using a negative version of MSE for technical reasons — so it makes the function generalizable to other metrics where we aim for the higher score instead of the lower. verbose: Controls the verbosity. The higher, the more messages.
More parameters as available, as you can find out in the documentation.
Finally, the lowest RMSE based on the negative value of clf.best_score_
And the best parameters with clf.best_params_
Best parameters: {'colsample_bytree': 0.7, 'learning_rate': 0.05, 'max_depth': 6, 'n_estimators': 500}
Random Search
A Random Search uses a large (possibly infinite) range of hyperparameters values, and randomly iterates a specified number of times over combinations of those values. Contrary to a Grid Search which iterates over every possible combination, with a Random Search you specify the number of iterations.
If you input 10 possible values for max_depth, 200 possible values for n_estimators, and choose to do 10 iterations:
max_depth: np.arrange(1,10,1),
n_estimators: np.arrange(100,400,2) Example of random possibilities with 10 iterations:
1: max_depth: 1, n_estimators: 110
2: max_depth: 3, n_estimators: 222
3: max_depth: 3, n_estimators: 306
4: max_depth: 4, n_estimators: 102
5: max_depth: 1, n_estimators: 398
6: max_depth: 6, n_estimators: 290
7: max_depth: 9, n_estimators: 102
8: max_depth: 6, n_estimators: 310
9: max_depth: 3, n_estimators: 344
10: max_depth: 6, n_estimators: 202
Now, let’s use RandomSearchCV() from Scikit-learn to tune our model!
import pandas as pd
import numpy as np
import xgboost as xgb
from sklearn.model_selection import RandomizedSearchCV data = pd.read_csv("life_expectancy_clean.csv") X, y = data[data.columns.tolist()[:-1]],
data[data.columns.tolist()[-1]] params = { 'max_depth': [3, 5, 6, 10, 15, 20],
'learning_rate': [0.01, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3],
'subsample': np.arange(0.5, 1.0, 0.1),
'colsample_bytree': np.arange(0.4, 1.0, 0.1),
'colsample_bylevel': np.arange(0.4, 1.0, 0.1),
'n_estimators': [100, 500, 1000]} xgbr = xgb.XGBRegressor(seed = 20) clf = RandomizedSearchCV(estimator=xgbr,
param_distributions=params,
scoring='neg_mean_squared_error',
n_iter=25,
verbose=1) clf.fit(X, y) print("Best parameters:", clf.best_params_)
print("Lowest RMSE: ", (-clf.best_score_)**(1/2.0))
Most RandomizedSearchCV’s parameters are similar to GridSearchCV’s.
n_iter: It’s the number of parameter combinations that are sampled.
The higher, the more combinations you’ll be testing. It trades off runtime and quality of the solution.
As for GridSearchCV, we print the best parameters with clf.best_params_
And the lowest RMSE based on the negative value of clf.best_score_
Conclusion
In this article, we explained how XGBoost operates to better understand how to tune its hyperparameters. As we’ve seen, tuning usually results in a big improvement in model performances.
Using our intuition to tune our model might sometimes be enough. It is also worth trying Optimization Algorithms like GridSearch and RandomSearch.
But most of the time, you’ll get an even better result with a mix of Algorithms and adjustments through testing and intuition! | https://towardsdatascience.com/xgboost-fine-tune-and-optimize-your-model-23d996fab663 | ['David Martins'] | 2021-05-15 11:42:22.562000+00:00 | ['Hyperparameter Tuning', 'Scikit Learn', 'Machine Learning', 'Technology', 'Xgboost'] |
Riding boots | There was a tumble of shoes at the front of the main homestead at Burwah, our family farm. Not rubber-soled shoes that could bring in prickles and burrs from the paddock, but leather-soled boots riding boots. Boots to fit everyone in the family neatly lined up next to each other, in the front entranceway of our old Queenslander.
“Shoes off,” Dad ordered every time he opened the front door to the house.
The state of the farm could be ascertained by what you found in that entranceway. Muddy boots when rain was plentiful, dust and dust and dust during the years of drought. A stark reflection of the state of the farm at any given moment.
A visit from our city family would be telegraphed by colourful, rubber-soled shoes, unhelpful for farm work or horse riding. The stock agents would come in their glistening new, polished RM William’s (sometimes you would wonder if they had ever seen the inside of a shearing shed). If the entrance hall was littered with boots covered in manure, messily abandoned in a pile, it was likely we were in shearing season.
In the racks above the shoes, there was always a 410 shotgun, with ammunition stacked on the side shelf in the case of a snake in the house yard or near the homestead. On those days we had unwanted visitors, I can remember my mother expertly loading the 410, only to hit the snake so many times it was unrecognisable as any of God’s creatures.
Eventually, the unmistakable mark of two young girls born and brought up in the house came to the fore, and the boots were pushed aside to make way for ballet bags, swimming gear and school shoes. An assembly of new additions crowded the front entrance, but the constant was always the boots.
For decades the entranceway welcomed shoes from the shooters, shearers, stock and field agents, neighbours. Eventually, the polished business shoes of the bankers would be left there, too.
When my parents filed for bankruptcy, we packed the car, left the farm and everything on it save one of our work dogs and anything deemed to be of no value by the bank. We were walking away from a life that had delivered some fortune and but many more times heartbreak.
We never discussed the years on the farm or what had been left behind. At just 14, my focus was on what comes next. I had no desire to reflect on what we had lost. The farm was behind us, but two decades later, as I was buying my own first home, my father brought me a housewarming gift.
It was my first pair of riding boots, dipped in copper. The creases in the leather, stretched side elastic and barely readable RM William’s tags permanently immortalised.
I had long forgotten these tiny little boots, but they had been a permanent feature at the front door on the farm. At one point, I remember, they were used as little flowerpots, where my mother grew seasonal flowers from bulbs to brighten the front entrance.
Today they are a focal piece at the entrance of the home I share with my husband and our children. Since we left the farm, Dad had sent them to South Africa to be copper plated. A characteristically thoughtful thing for my father to do. What he didn’t say, he showed us through his actions.
My copper dipped boots
Since he gave me these little boots, they have become a reminder of our strength as a family. Our collective resilience has been tested through distance, divorce, and illness. The resilience first cultivated through drought, fire, and floods is now reinforced as we take on cancer and COVID enforced distance. | https://medium.com/@cassjbennett/riding-boots-a3780c304f03 | ['Cassandra Bennett'] | 2021-09-04 21:41:45.928000+00:00 | ['Farmers', 'Farming', 'Corona', 'Drought', 'Boots'] |
Math Misplacement May be a Chronic Condition, But Placement Alone Isn’t the Cure | Work to address inequitable math outcomes begins in the classroom, but it can’t end there. Given the prevalence of policies like tracking — which disproportionately place students of color into lower-level, often dead-end, math sequences — math equity includes examining how students are steered toward math classes in the first place.
Whether in K-12 schools, community colleges, or four-year universities, evidence increasingly has emerged to show that math misplacement is widespread:
Large numbers of students who took Algebra in eighth grade have often been required to repeat the course in high school, even though many were considered proficient on algebra tests, one California study found, noting that students of color were more likely to meet that fate. One possible explanation was that the majority of districts relied on parental requests, which could increase access to advanced math courses for more privileged students. As a result of these concerns, California legislators passed a law on math placement intended to address disparities as students transition from middle school to high school.
A similar scenario occurs when students transition from high school to college. Large numbers of community college students traditionally have been under-placed in remedial math courses, due to the limited validity of placement tests. And Black and Latinx students are disproportionately affected by “math misalignment” — a pattern highlighted by our colleagues at the University of Southern California — in which students considered “college ready” based on their high school performance nevertheless are assigned to remedial courses.
To date, there has been no research to document the effectiveness of the 2015 law on high school math placement. But postsecondary research has shown that placement reforms are most effective when paired with math pathway reforms. Even for students who aren’t fully prepared, evidence has demonstrated clearly that supporting them to succeed in college-level courses is a more effective way to boost math achievement than assigning them to remedial sequences.
Research on postsecondary placement may hold key lessons for K-12 schools. Numerous studies have demonstrated that far more students ultimately succeed in college-level math courses if they’re allowed to enroll in them and receive just-in-time support. Consider these examples from California:
First, beginning two years ago, the 23-campus California State University system embarked on an extensive reform, eliminating the use of placement tests and banning remedial courses for entering students. In the past, one out of every 17 Latinx students and one out of every 11 African American students were “disenrolled” after failing remedial courses. Under the new policies, all entering students begin their math sequence at the college-level, though they may be referred to “corequisite” versions that provide just-in-time support.
In its first year of implementation, college-level math courses were taken by eight times as many students who would have been deemed “not ready” in prior years. And the pass rate in those courses even went up slightly. In eliminating remedial courses and providing co-requisite support, CSU didn’t just change how it placed students, it also changed the math sequences themselves.
The second case involves California’s community colleges, which have pursued a similar strategy, as a result of 2017 legislation. The law bars colleges from placing students in remedial courses unless evidence shows that doing so will boost their success in college-level math. (And given what existing research says, there is rarely justification for placing students in remedial courses.) The law has led to significant increases in student enrollment in and passage of college-level math courses, across racial and ethnic groups, according to a recent report by the Public Policy Institute of California. However, the report also noted that equity gaps in math completion remain, particularly for Black students.
To understand why this happened, it’s important to note that some colleges went farther than others to change their pathways. Colleges that change their placement practices without eliminating bad pathway options leave students vulnerable. Many colleges continue to offer remedial courses. What’s more, according to a recent report by the California Acceleration Project and Public Advocates, colleges with higher proportions of Black students were more likely to retain remedial courses. Even though colleges can no longer assign students to take these courses, their presence in course catalogs may give students the impression they should take them.
My recent report with Rogéair Purnell uncovered misleading and deficit-oriented messages on college websites that might reinforce that impression and cause students to take unnecessary remedial courses that could deter their progress toward a degree. Such messages, regardless of their intention, can be particularly insidious with respect to equity, in light of research showing that, when confronted with options, women and students of color (USC research) are more likely to under-estimate their abilities in math.
To date, no study has documented the impact of California’s 2015 law requiring districts to use objective measures to determine ninth graders’ math placement. It is clear that more districts have changed their placement practices in recent years — eliminating, for example, teacher recommendations that may introduce implicit bias into the process.
Those appear to be important steps toward equity in high school math education, but research is necessary to understand the impact of such changes on students’ math outcomes. Analyzing district-level data as well as how the placement policies are described to students and families should also be part of any research.
Furthermore, improving the transition between eighth and ninth grade ideally requires considering inequities in students’ middle school math opportunities, given that only some students have access to accelerated options, which too often predetermines their high school trajectories. As the postsecondary reforms illustrate, high schools need to focus not just on placement, but on the quality and variety of the math pathways students ultimately can pursue.
Many thanks to Patrick Callahan, Aly Martinez, and Rachel Ruffalo for conversations that informed this blog post. | https://medium.com/@pamela-80683/math-misplacement-may-be-a-chronic-condition-but-placement-alone-isnt-the-cure-58b4605293bb | ['Pamela Burdman'] | 2020-12-17 21:59:08.145000+00:00 | ['Mathematics Education', 'Education Reform', 'Higher Education', 'Education', 'Equity'] |
Is Netflix Reshaping The Film Industry? | Nevertheless, for filmmakers, Netflix does not only affect the film industry positively. Many directors argue that the distribution model brought by online streaming services such as Netflix is killing the cinema experience. Recently, Steven Spielberg has suggested that the Netflix format is close to television rather than film, so Netflix films are far from offering a cinematic experience. With the rise of online streaming services, more and more people are beginning to consume movies on their smartphones or computers for practical reasons. These practical reasons began to neglect cinematic experience, which can only be achieved in the movie theater. (You can check BBC’s reflection about the matter in here) These online platforms have created many positive and negative results for filmmakers. In the future, there is no doubt that these digital platforms will have greater reflections for filmmaking and filmmakers.
Since the cinema’s invention, it has been assumed that films belong to movie theaters. However, with this new model, it seems to be the answer to the question of where the movies belong is blurred. What is certain is that with the rise of online streaming services, our movie watching practices have changed and will be changing in the future.
That is my reflection on the subject. Thank you for reading.
And I am curious about your ideas.
What is your opinion? What do you think about the future of the film industry? | https://medium.com/illumination/is-netflix-reshaping-the-film-industry-18c60d70058b | ['Mustafa Yarımbaş'] | 2020-09-01 12:12:27.471000+00:00 | ['Culture', 'Film', 'Netflix', 'Business', 'Art'] |
Smart Homes of the Future- The Evolution | The evolution of homes have closely followed the evolution of mankind. From the primitive dwellings in the caves by the early homo sapiens to the present day cement structures inhabited by the modern human race, homes have undergone significant transitions and transformations.
However the present day human race considered amongst the most cognitive species on this planet , is still classified as Type 0 civilization according to Kardashev Scale that defines the measure of a civilizations level of technological advancement based on its ability to harness and use energy. We humans are currently capable of harnessing only partially the energy received by our planet and are estimated to reach Type 1 civilization only in next approximately 200 years to start harnessing the entire energy potential on earth.
This journey of evolution from Type0 to Type1 civilization requires us humans to develop living methods that will be more harmonized, efficient and sustainable. The basic building blocks of this will be the Smart Homes that we build, which at present are highly sub-optimal and pose quite a few serious challenges as suggested in my previous article.
In my view, the Smart homes in their existing avatar are gadget intrusive infrastructures that have a steep learning curve for its tech-challenged inhabitants. Also the existing Smart Homes till this time are primarily technology focused that is basic in nature and do not take in to considerations the dimensions of architecture, design and environment that are equally critical aspects of making a home Smart.I believe “Smart Homes of the Future” will be highly cognitive structures that will be an efficient blend of 3 critical elements
a) Sustainable Architectures
b) Green Systems & Solutions
c) Technology Innovations
Let us understand each of these 3 elements that combined will add tremendous value addition to the homes of the future.
a) Sustainable Architectures
The Smart Homes of the future will incorporate architecture practices aimed at minimizing the environmental impact of construction with innovative designs, techniques and materials.
1. Passive Designs: This technique makes the homes extremely energy efficient by leveraging on the elements of natural environment such as local weather conditions, sun direction, wind flow and the home’s outer shell. These are optimized for maintaining ambient temperatures, maximizing natural light and enabling maximum ventilation, thereby keeping the home naturally cool in the summer and warm in the winter.
2. Heating and Cooling Systems: The home designs will incorporate solutions such as double stud walls, cool roofing material, fully insulated concrete slab, Rain Screens,UV resistant facades and geothermal heating and cooling system for the floors and ceilings of the house thereby increasing its energy efficiency.
3. Sustainable Construction Practices: The techniques on sustainable construction will use specified materials that come with the lowest possible carbon imprint. Using natural materials the impact of concrete, that is responsible for releasing a huge amount of carbon, is significantly reduced. Sustainable constructions also ensure durable structures that last long thereby reducing wastage and energy costs that will make huge long-term impact on global ecology.
b) Green Systems & Solutions
1. Alternative Energies: The homes of the future will be completely off grid and will not only consume but also produce energy using alternate renewable energy sources like Solar, Wind, Geo thermal, Hydro and Bio Fuels. Nuclear Energy can be deployed at city level for providing energy to the households.
2. Human Centric Lighting: The homes will have efficient & automated lighting systems that will follow the circadian cycle of natural lighting synchronized to the body’s natural clock resulting in optimal productivity during the day and sound sleep patterns during the night. This also offers tremendous mental and physical health benefits to the occupants of these homes.
3. Water Management: The Smart Homes will be built with inherent water management solutions like waste water recycling, rain water harvesting and xeriscaping. The houses will be designed to have smart showers or air pressure showers that consume less or no water, waterless washing machines, smart taps dispensing only the required amount of water and smart toilets that require minimal or no water for flushing.
c) Technology Innovations
1. Artificial Intelligence: AI as it is more popularly called, transforms the mundane smart homes to “contextually aware cognitive homes” having almost human like intelligence to learn and detect patterns for predicting and taking actions autonomously. It has the ability to make homes truly seamless and tech non-intrusive as it will not even be required to press buttons on gadgets, use mobile app or even give a voice command. The technology will come in the form of AI powered robots or platforms that will perform tasks as per preferences of its owners. Robots with AI capabilities also known as Home Bots will find huge application inside a Smart Home. Though these are still at a very early stage of development but are gaining fast traction in the smart home space with the tremendous utility and ability value that they augment in the home environment. The idea here is not to make humans dumb but to augment their efficiency by doing tasks which they anyways have been doing inefficiently like switching off lights, securing door locks, turning off water taps , cleaning homes, making shopping list, bill payment reminders, to-do list and many more.
2. Machine Learning: Machine Learning or ML is a statistical methodology of data analysis that builds automated analytical models through training and testing for learning patterns and predicting outcomes. The key part of this methodology constitutes of data analytics module where raw sensor data readings are processed and data patterns are identified using learning algorithms, so the system knows in advance the follow up action to an event occurrence. With those data patterns, a Smart Home system should be able to predict a user’s behavior based on historical data and develop the so-called situational or contextual awareness — i.e., understand a user’s intentions at a given moment and change parameters accordingly. It will also enable predictive maintenance of all the housing systems and proactively inform, remind and repair them even before the actual failure occurs.
3. Blockchain: With Connected homes of the present, security and privacy are major cause of concerns and also one of the reasons for their low adoption. These concerns will only increase with more smart devices getting connected to the home networks in future. Blockchain technology provides a secure platform that supports sensitive transactions where privacy and reliability are critical. Its inherent features of security and privacy protection will be used in Smart Homes for creating unique digital Identity for the occupants for giving them permission based access control. Data on security breaches, anomaly detection, land records, utility bills and medical records of the occupants can be stored. These information once stored on blockchain cannot be tampered with and also ensures complete privacy by not revealing the identity of the home owner.
4. Augmented/Virtual Reality: The technology of AR/VR augments the real world environment by over laying a computer-generated image or information on it to provide a composite view of the real and virtual environments.This augmented view can be used for interaction with the Smart Home for controlling the devices and knowing the status .It will also enable learning information about the devices like product manuals or troubleshooting guides. It can also be used for design purpose by super-imposing virtual interiors on real spaces for taking an informed decision before finalizing the design or purchasing the furniture. Further these can be used to provide virtual tours of properties remotely before making a buying purchase.
5. Microchip Implants : Wearables like Smart bands , Smart Shoes or Smart tags promise less user friction over the present day mobile applications for interacting with the homes but never the less still pose the challenge of intervention.Human Microchip Implants address this issue by directly inserting a microchip in to the human body that allocates a unique digital identity to the person along with storing his profile information. These implants will completely do away with the need of having any physical wearable on the body enabling seamless non-intrusive experience across use cases like controlling devices, making digital transactions, authenticated entries , seamless airport check-ins,digital voting and many more.
6. Converged Smart Platforms: Today in a Smart Home there are multiple systems deployed such as automation, security, safety and media servers .Currently each of these systems are deployed as silo solutions that do not leverage on mutual capabilities. It is this missing link that Smart Homes of the future will integrate through converged Smart Platforms capable of integrating not only the diverse internal systems in a home but also linking them to the ecosystem outside the home to fully harness the abilities of this multiplied system. The Platforms will be augmented with capabilities of each of the technologies discussed above and the future technologies as they emerge. These Smart Platforms will further interconnect to evolve in to a mesh of Smart Homes that will leverage to optimize mutual resources and capabilities there by enhancing efficiencies.
The methods and technologies as discussed above are already at the cusp of reality and these in my opinion will enable the “Smart Homes of the Future” to evolve beyond the uni-dimensional gadget centric structures to multi-dimensional sustainable abodes. It is these Smart abodes interconnected through Smart Platforms that will form the basic building blocks for the Smart Cities, Smart Nations and eventually the Smart Planet capable of harnessing and using the full energy potential, thereby enabling us humans in our quest to becoming a Type 1 Civilization.
Let me know your thoughts on disruptions that you envision will accelerate this evolution.Look forward to your valued suggestions and inputs — Thank you
(Reference : http://www.hondasmarthome.com/) | https://medium.com/@anuppande/smart-homes-of-the-future-the-evolution-92491e31261b | ['Anup Pande'] | 2019-01-02 09:10:26.505000+00:00 | ['Green Energy', 'Internet of Things', 'Connected Home', 'Sustainability', 'Smart Home'] |
Subsets and Splits