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Building A Live Streaming Movie App & Live TV Website Part 1 — ReactJS Setup | Building A Live Streaming Movie App & Live TV Website Part 1 — ReactJS Setup Devin Dixon Follow Jul 22 · 12 min read
BingeWave’s initial business started was showcasing film premieres in any venue, as the business was initially an Airbnb to Movie Theaters model. Working with the film vertical taught many valuable lessons working with pre-recorded content, aka films.
Today many use our technology to showcase their films virtually as we’ve showcased nearly 2000+ pieces of content ranging from documentaries, short films, web series to features. And people pay filmmakers and film festivals for live interactive virtual experiences.
Throughout our documentation, we use the term pre-recorded content a lot but think of it as virtual film premieres, live podcasts, and other forms of virtual and hybrid events that you can benefit from live engagement. This means everyone watches the same content at the same time.
This tutorial will be in 3 parts and guide you on making a virtual experience with pre-recorded content. The first part will set up the structure of your application and essential classes. The second part will focus on the UX/UI of the application and playing content. The final part will focus on Live TV content.
Technical Overview
Required Developer Skills
We recommend that the developers reading this tutorial have the following skills:
HTML/CSS
Basic Javascript
Basic React
Topics Covered:
Uploading Video Content
Uploading Images
RTMP & HLS Streaming
Code Repository: Download and run the completed code at https://github.com/BingeWave/Build-A-Livestreaming-App-For-Virtual-Movie-Premieres
Estimated Timed: 1 hour
Difficulty Level: Easy to Intermediate
The Tutorial
Step 1: Distributor Account
Like all of our tutorials, our starting point will be a distributor account. This will allow you to access all our API features. Please read the tutorial on Setting up a Distributor Account if you have not already; it should only take a minute or two.
Step 2: Setting Up Our React Application
Now let’s start to build our React application. This tutorial will assume you have NodeJS installed on your computer and have a basic understanding of the command line. Make a new folder, and we are going:
Create a directory for your React Application Install React Install required components like Router, Bootstrap 5
Again, we are assuming you have node and npx already installed.
node install npx #if you don’t already have it installed
mkdir video-app
npx create-react-app video-app #installs the react application
Go into the folder and let’s install some required modules. You can use yarn if you wish, but this tutorial utilizes npm.
cd video-app
npm install [email protected] --save
npm install node-sass --save
npm install react-router-dom --save
npm install react-datetime-picker --save
npm install react-select -- save
This installed Bootstrap 5, React’s Router, A DateTime picker, and a GUI we will use for multi-select. Next, we are going to make a few folders that we are going to use to organize the application:
mkdir src/pages
mkdir src/components
mkdir src/util
Make one page within the pages folder called HomePage:
touch src/pages/HomePage.jsx
And add the following contents:
Finally, let’s modify your App.js to utilize the router and install Bootstrap 5 across our application. Create a src/main.scss file
touch src/main.scss
and import the Bootstrap source stylesheet into it like so:
@import “../node_modules/bootstrap/scss/bootstrap.scss”;
Then import the newly created main.scss file at the top of your src/index.js file like this:
import “../src/main.scss”;
Open src/App.js and import the HomePage from ./pages/HomePage at the very top. Delete everything in the return() function and replace it with <HomePage />. At this time, your code should look like this:
After run npm start and your application should boot to a page that says “My Home Page”.
npm start
Step 3: ENV File
The env file will setup our environment variables inside our application. Start by creating the .env file in your root directory.
touch .env
And we are going to copy and paste these values in there:
REACT_APP_BW_API_URL=https://bw.bingewave.com/ REACT_APP_DISTRIBUTOR_ID= REACT_APP_BW_AUTH_TOKEN=
We are going to set your auth token to the REACT_APP_BW_AUTH_TOKEN and your distributor id to REACT_APP_DISTRIBUTOR_ID. You can find your auth token and distributor id here:
https://developers.bingewave.com/queries/distributors#list
Running the list command will give you a list of distributors you currently have. Pick one and use the id. Then, to obtain your Authorization token, click the Authorization Tab as in the picture below, and copy the Token:
IMPORTANT: THIS IS NOT PRODUCTION SAFE. Your auth token should be unique to only one user’s device. Storing a variable in REACT_APP_ as a variable will make this auth token available to everyone. DO NOT do this in production.
Step 4: Site Navigation
We are going to continue to set up our React Application by adding some navigation. Start by importing the router components at the very top of App.js:
import {
BrowserRouter as Router,
Switch,
Route,
} from “react-router-dom”;
Next, we will replace the main return in the App.js with Bootstrap 5 navigation and the rules for when a route is directed toward a page.
Breaking this down into sections:
Router: The <Router> tag will now wrap around all your pages and will work with the <Switch> tag. HTML Navigation: The HTML with the class navbar, nav-item, nav-link, and other elements is standard Bootstrap 5 navigation. You can read more about it here. Switch: The Switch component can be thought of as a programmatic Switch statement. Depending on the path option specified inside each route, it loads a specific page. Home Page: Right now, the only page we have is the <HomePage /> tag. As we as more pages, we will add more routes to the <Switch> tag.
If you go back to the page in your web browser, you should see the navigation menu at the top with the home page text in the main content area.
Step 5: API Calls
We have to make a class for processing our API calls. In the util folder, create a file called Api.js.
touch src/util/Api.js
Inside, create an empty Api object like the below:
const API = { } export default API;
Next, we are going to add three functions. Each function will take a value from our .env specified in step 3 and retrieve it for usage in the app.
getUrlWithApplicationDomain: the function will take whatever URL we pass in and append it to the URL of the API. _getAuthToken: This will get an authorization token stored in the .env file. IMPORTANT. This is very insecure and should NEVER be done in a production environment. Auth tokens should not be shared, and placing it in an .env file means anyone can have access to that token. _getDistributorID: Retrieves the id of the current distribution
Your functions should look like the below:
When we call our API, we want to standardize the process for every call. We do not want to do things like implementing our Auth token every single time. Therefore, we will write a function called _call that uses fetch to set up a repeatable way of calling the API with expected results.
This function will handle all the API calls by:
Determining the method (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE) Retrieving the Auth token and appending it to the header Handling all the functions for the body Handing the success and error callback
Going deeper into the success and error callbacks in this part of the code:
.then(function (response) {
if(response.status === ‘success’){ successCallback(response.data); } else if(response.status === ‘failure’){ errorCallback(response.errors); }
})
BingeWave’s API only returns responses with an HTTP 200 status. This means you determine if the response was a success or failure through an if statement that checks the status of the response object. So you have to separate if the call was an error or a success and route them accordingly.
We have one more function to add to our API. An upload function for handling file uploads:
Make sure all these functions are included in your Api.js as its base.
Step 5: Create Video Content
Now that the base API code is complete, we can add calls to BingeWave’s API. Let’s begin with CRUD (Create, Update, View, Delete) for a video. Start by going to the documentation for creating a video:
https://developers.bingewave.com/docs/videos#create
According to the docs, the method is a POST request to bw.bingewave.com/videos. The required fields are title, description, type, and distributor_id.
We can test out the route in the query builder. Below is an example of how your input fields might look.
https://developers.bingewave.com/queries/videos#create
After getting it to work in the query builder, we are going to translate that call into code. Add the following code below to src/utils/API.js file.
First, we are going to create our endpoint. According to the docs, the endpoint for creating pre-recorded content is ‘/videos’. So pass that into _getUrlWithApiDomain will give the full path to the endpoint.
The data variable being passed in should be an object that contains the title, description, and type of content. Next, we are going to set the distributor_id in the data object and finally invoke the __call function we defined earlier. According to the docs, the create content takes a POST function that we are passing in, along with the URL, data, and the success + error callbacks. On successful completion, it will return a video object.
Step 6: Upload Video File
The video file we created in the previous step is just the metadata; we still have to upload the actual video. So we will begin by going to the docs for uploading a file.
https://developers.bingewave.com/docs/videomedia#mainvideo
According to the docs, the id of the video file and the actual file are the two required fields in the request. Head over to query builder to test uploading a file before turning the query into code:
https://developers.bingewave.com/queries/videomedia#mainvideo
Notice the request is a POST, and the URL is:
The setMainVideoFile is a command, and the command is set to modify the video resource with specified {id}. At the bottom of the query builder, you will see a dropdown of the movies you uploaded. Selecting the movie will modify the {id}. And finally, choose a video to upload. We provide examples to files to test here:
The form should look like this:
Get an upload working and check the request and response. Now let’s turn this into code:
We set the url the endpoint will connect too, and pass that to our _uploadFile function we creator earlier.
Step 7: List Video Files
For our final example, we are going to list any videos you have created. Start with the documentation for listing videos:
https://developers.bingewave.com/docs/videos#list
For getting a list of uploaded videos, a GET request is sent to bw.bingewave.com/videos with the distributor_id required in the parameters. Head over to the query builder:
https://developers.bingewave.com/queries/videos#list
You can select the distributor account you want from the dropdown list to set the parameter, and click Send to get a list of content.
Go through the response to see a list of videos. Finally, let’s turn the request into code, which should be added to you src/util/Api.js.
We define the URL, and add the distributor id as a query parameter, and finally pass it to our _call function has a GET request.
STEP 8: Implement Remaining API Calls
Those are the basics for taking reading through the documentation and query builder and turning it into code. Then, using those same concepts, we can build out the rest of the API. We will not have a detailed explanation of each function, but we strongly encourage you to study the functions and compare them to API. See the documentation and corresponding functions below:
Using the docs to get the url path and the request method (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE) for an action, you basically build CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete). For example:
GET /videos — Retrieves all the video objects
— Retrieves all the video objects GET /videos/id — Retrieves a single video by its id
— Retrieves a single video by its id POST /videos — Creates a video file
— Creates a video file PUT /videos/id — Updates a video based on its ID
— Updates a video based on its ID GET /events — Retrieves all of the events
— Retrieves all of the events GET /events/id — Retrieves a single event by its ID
— Retrieves a single event by its ID POST /events — Creates an event
— Creates an event PUT /events — Updates a single event by its ID
— Updates a single event by its ID POST /events/id/startStream — Starts an event stream using its id
— Starts an event stream using its id POST /events/id/cancel — Cancels an event at the given id
— Cancels an event at the given id POST /events/id/setWatermark — Sets a watermark to display over the event’s videos
These routes and their request methods can be turned into functions like so:
Step 9: Add Remaining Utilities
To finish up the utilities, we are going to need two more scripts. Start by making the file src/util/appendScript.js .
touch src/util/appendScript.js
Inside that file, copy and paste the following code:
And now create a script to remove code by creating a remove script file:
touch src/util/removeScript.js
And paste the following code:
We are going to need these two scripts to inject and remove BingeWave’s connector script on select pages.
Step 10: Components
The final part tutorial is creating three components. Make these three files:
touch src/components/errors.js touch src/components/EventListings.js touch src/components/VideLists.js
Errors.js
BingeWave’s API returns errors as JSON. In that JSON, it breaks down the field the error occurred in and the specific validation check that failed to give the developer more flexibility on how errors can be handled. This component will parse the JSON and return just the errors.
EventListings.js
The live events resource will be an array. This component will be used to display the contents of a live event resource and give your code greater flexibility as you can place this code anywhere. How do you know what content will be returned? You can see the documentation in the response here:
https://developers.bingewave.com/docs/events#list
We can take those returned values and pass them into a React component like the output in EventListing.js below:
Copy and paste the above code EventListing.js.
VideoListings.js
Similar to event listing, the video listings will display a list of video content. You can view the values returned in the response here:
https://developers.bingewave.com/docs/videos#view
Two key concepts to explore are:
Processing State: When a video is uploaded to BingeWave, it can be any format. We convert to a format specialized live streaming, and the current state of the video is represented by numeric values. You see the values if you head over to our process state chart at: https://developers.bingewave.com/types#video_processing_state
2. API.startStream Function: This function calls our API object we created above, which calls the end point https://developers.bingewave.com/docs/eventcommands#startstream . This is used to play the uploaded video when it associated with an event. Matching up with the docs, we are playing a specific video
Copy and paste the above code into VideoListings.js. Also take the time to compare the response to the variables in the code.
Bonus Challenge
One of the functions we did no implement is chunk uploading. Movie files can be many gigabytes (10 GB, 20 GB or even 100 gigabytes). You do not want to upload the entire file but instead, do it in chunks. As a bonus challenge, write and implement a function for uploading chunked files to the API.
Next Steps — Part 2
This completes part one of Building a Live Streaming Movie APP & Live TV Website. Finally, we have the foundation for our application setup. Next, we will build out the pages and forms for uploading content and streaming movies in Part 2 located here.
If you want to review our other tutorials, please checkout our tutorials here! | https://medium.com/bingewave/building-a-live-streaming-movie-app-live-tv-website-part-1-d0857aaac8ea | ['Devin Dixon'] | 2021-08-03 13:05:24.185000+00:00 | ['JavaScript', 'Nodejs', 'Film', 'Live Streaming'] |
How to Get Your First Article Published as an Online Writer | When I went from casually blogging to consistently writing online, the biggest hurdle in front of me was getting published.
One year later I have permanently conquered my fear of submitting, and now, my articles are published on a weekly basis. It feels awesome to have this confidence, but it was a long trek to get here, and it all started with getting over that first hurdle.
So if you’re struggling right now in the online writing game, I want you to understand getting published is totally within your reach. You’re not a bad writer; you just need a quick reminder of what’s important.
The main reason you’re getting rejected right now is that your articles are probably missing two things: simplicity and (or) originality. That’s it.
Sure, you have to worry about other things, like proper formatting and grammar; but I’m going to assume you’re smart enough to have those figured out. In this article don’t expect me to waste three paragraphs explaining the importance of proper spelling. This isn’t grad school.
Instead, let me break down simplicity and originality, and how you can effectively apply it to your everyday writing. | https://medium.com/the-brave-writer/how-to-get-your-first-article-published-as-an-online-writer-18b4a3d8ea9b | ['Thom Gallet'] | 2020-12-10 13:02:03.564000+00:00 | ['Work', 'Publishing', 'Freelancing', 'Writing', 'Marketing'] |
Crying in the Back | Chronic physical pains sometimes have intense flare-ups that can leave one bedbound
I have chronic pain. I have had chronic pain since I was at least in my teen years. The primary cause of my pain is hypermobility syndrome. In simple English, it means I am so flexible that it causes my joints to be in pain and constantly swollen on some level. The areas on my body that cause the most pain (in no particular order) are my lower back and hips. The most unstable joints in my body (in no particular order) are my knees, ankles, and elbows.
I am regularly seeing a pain management doctor. We have figured out a medicine regime that has worked relatively well. I take the pain meds as needed but sometimes, even with the pain meds, I am left on the floor in the fetal position because of how much pain I am in. Even with my strongest pain medicine.
My back pain flares up particularly bad when I’m stressed out. My parents (I’m adopted, I have no idea of my family medical history, my adoptive parents have never had any kind of chronic pain) never really quite understood the degree of pain I was in until I was in college. I remember being in my college apartment and suddenly had a very painful flare-up. I took medicine (at that time I only had access to over the counter medicines) and I ended up laying on the floor on my back and calling my mother. My roommate was not home (thank God). My mom asked why I called so late at night (it was at a time in the night when she was normally asleep). I told my Mom that I was sorry but I was just in so much pain and I needed someone to talk to. Anytime I called her after that, she seemed to understand the pain I was experiencing on a daily basis.
My back pain was not diagnosed until I was in my twenties because I was considered “too young” to have an “old person disease” like degenerative disc disease. During my first flare-up of pain, I practically crawled to the nurse’s office I was in so much pain. The nurse ordered me two days of rest and the doctor thought I was just stressed out from school. No doctor could give me a straight answer until I was in my twenties for the source of my pain.
At first, my romantic partner didn’t quite understand the level of pain I was in. He had family who had physical pains from war but when he saw on my worst days I was practically bedbound in pain, he realized how bad it was.
One thing that has honestly comforted me is learning about the biology of chronic pain. Studies say that our bodies are incredibly adaptive. We learn to live with the pain. If our pain was magically given to a random person on the street who has never been through chronic pain, they would likely be completely crippled. I know on my bad days that this kind of pain in this scenario would likely cause someone to blackout from the pain. It’s given me a sense of strength knowing that I have kept trekking along with this type of chronic pain. | https://medium.com/@alekseevna/crying-in-the-back-5ef189b0b790 | [] | 2020-12-15 01:14:26.722000+00:00 | ['Disability', 'Pain', 'Chronic Pain', 'Pain Management', 'Joint Pain'] |
Lament is for the privileged, Life must go on for the poor… | Thanks to Mark Zuckerberg whose creation of Facebook, lets millions forget their pains and sorrows, for that quick rush of adrenaline, generated by those “likes” and sometimes appreciative emojis, and some engaging comments.
During one of those “down” moments, I considered resorting to Facebook, and posting my thoughts. Then again looking through the numerous photos I took on this holiday, which was drawing to an end, I was in the process of selecting a few for my Facebook friends, when Harry our Cabin attendant on the cruise, knocked on our door, to clean. I told Harry that the Cabin was quite clean and he didn’t have to, but he insisted on making the bed and changing the towels. While Harry a young Filipino man of 40, with his slight limp, did his job, we got chatting. Harry told me that he had worked on another ship for long, and then had to take a break of over two years, to recover from a car accident, before commencing work again on this ship. Putting my laptop down I asked Harry, if he sustained injuries in the car accident. What he told me really shook my senses, on how trivial my issues were in comparison with what this young man was going through….
Harry said, “yes, I sustained a lot of injuries and had to learn to walk again. But, I have to work”!
Then Harry said, “my whole family was in the car, when the accident occurred. My wife, my mother and my cousin died on the spot! My wife was holding our two year old daughter with her hands wrapped around her, so my child survived, along with my three other children, all of whom had to be hospitalised due to their injuries!” I sat there stunned…. How could this man who had undergone such severe trauma, work with so much enthusiasm? Some days Harry even cleaned our cabin twice a day! For the poor, life has to go on… there is no time for lament, sorrow or contemplation…
I remembered those days, when whole families travelled on one two wheeler in countries such as India and, there was no limit on the number of people who could fit into a four wheeler! It was the same in Phillipines where Harry came from…
I asked Harry how he was coping? He said, I try not to think about it as I have to work for my four children. Though I try to get busy with work, there are times when everything around me is dark…….
I really was lost for words…then, I summoned the courage to say, “have you met anyone since? “ He said “My wife was my childhood sweetheart. She was 14 and I was 16, when we got to know each other. My youngest daughter was in her arms. She saved her and died. If I got into a relationship, will the new woman care for my four children?”
I had no answer, true I thought — it would be a gamble!
Then thoughtfully Harry said, “I see a lot of couples on this ship. But they have been married before, and either widowed or divorced. And they have found happiness and companionship. After all, God created Eve for Adam…… I breathed a sigh of relief…..”Good thinking Harry, I said. Please leave the door open….” | https://medium.com/@tasneemhy/lament-is-for-the-privileged-life-must-go-on-for-the-poor-7146d2d7e1fb | ['Tasneem H Yousuff'] | 2021-01-11 05:58:25.472000+00:00 | ['Patience', 'Life Struggles', 'Poverty', 'Grief', 'Tragedy'] |
𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩 𝐛𝐲 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 | 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩 𝐛𝐲 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠
A Step by step process of affiliate marketing that works on a platform and gives you a successful result.
➡️ℙ𝕝𝕒𝕥𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕞
➡️ℕ𝕚𝕔𝕙𝕖
➡️𝔸𝕗𝕗𝕚𝕝𝕚𝕒𝕥𝕖 ℙ𝕣𝕠𝕘𝕣𝕒𝕞
➡️ℂ𝕠𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕟𝕥 ℂ𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟
➡️𝔻𝕣𝕚𝕧𝕖 𝕋𝕣𝕒𝕗𝕗𝕚𝕔
✅ℙ𝕝𝕒𝕥𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕞
You have to choose a platform where you can promote your affiliate link. I have mentioned some platforms and give you a small description of how you can start affiliate marketing with those platforms. It is easy to build your audience and target your audience you have great deep knowledge and potential to target them. You can build your own audience and start work on one platform. First, you have to focus on one platform and if you getting good results then after that you can move forward and cover more change.
Share great and make a relation with the audience. Help them and solve their issue with your knowledge. A small water drop knowledge can be solved someone’s big issue. Please mind that thing share whatever you have. If you have the wrong information then people will interact with you with feedback. You can find a lot more people who always help you in your niche and help you to get results.
✅ℕ𝕚𝕔𝕙𝕖
Niche is your hobby and interest in which particular thing you are passionate about. If you need some more deep knowledge about Niche then you can “DM” me.
Let me clear that thing with an example you have to find that in which you can help some and you have a good knowledge and good experience.
Let suppose you are a good swimmer and you have good experience of swimming. Then you can share it with some beginner who will encourage you to learn how to swim and those people whose interesting to learn swimming.
✅𝔸𝕗𝕗𝕚𝕝𝕚𝕒𝕥𝕖 ℙ𝕣𝕠𝕘𝕣𝕒𝕞
An Affiliate Program that is related to your Niche and will give you a great commission. Like you are a swimmer then you can sell some physical products like a swimming costume or you can sell some beginning swimming courses that will help you to learn.
After that, you know which program gives you great commission in your niche.
✅ℂ𝕠𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕟𝕥 ℂ𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟
How you can create content on your niche. I have already disclosed my strategy and I’m working for the last two years on that. I have learned it from some great entrepreneurs. You can read that strategy to visit on my profile or you can book a 15-minute free 1-on-1 meeting on “ZOOM”.
I have disclosed a geniue approach that will help you to make content and solve the queries of your audience and your customers.
✅𝔻𝕣𝕚𝕧𝕖 𝕋𝕣𝕒𝕗𝕗𝕚𝕔
Traffic is the actual need of every online and offline business. Without traffic, your 10000$ site looks like nothing. So work on the traffic and make your own traffic. Here are more options to get traffic on site.
➡️𝗣𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰
Paid traffic is the traffic that you purchase through your advertisement. You can drive traffic through Facebook ads, google ads, Bing ads, and solo ads. Multiple-way to get traffic from paid Ads but it needs a good amount of budget for ads campaign.
➡️𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗲/ 𝗢𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗰 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰
You can drive traffic through social media and forums without spending any cent on it. it is also known as Organic Traffic. It is more relevant traffic and you will get a lot more profit with organic traffic.
💥💥𝗕𝗼𝗻𝘂𝘀💥💥
✅𝗖𝗧𝗔 (𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗼 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻)
Your content should be added to the part where customers ready to action and visit the site through your link.
✅𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆
Make transparency with your audience tell them I will get some commission if they will purchase through my link.
Connect me on Facebook :- Click here | https://medium.com/@surajnagarwal1/-fcd0645cb41e | ['Suraj Nagarwal'] | 2020-12-18 06:25:30.863000+00:00 | ['Affiliate Marketing', 'Content Marketing', 'Content', 'How To', 'Content Strategy'] |
What is printable? | What is printable?
A quote printable is nothing but a very simple quote written on a beautifully designed canvas using creative fonts that will be printed. Creatively designed wish to quote printables are in significant demand nowadays, more people buy them, take their prints, encase them during a frame and display them on the walls of their offices and houses. more information
more information
Skills Required -
1. Creative good abilities to imagine, think, design, and make printables that will be sold online.
2. Ability to plug your printables using good social media channels like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, and thru blogging, guest posting, networking.more information
Time Required permanently Designing Quote
Tips -
1. Get some good inspiration — Before you start thinking about the good design of your quote printables, it’s better to urge some inspiration and acquire your good ideas flowing. the upper place to urge inspiration, during this case, wishes to go to Pinterest.com. Pinterest features an enormous good collection of beautifully designed quote printables. a touch wish to attend Pinterest and appearance for “quotes” or “quote good printables, ” you’ll see a huge number of the various printables’ images before you.
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Onsuttonplace.comPrintabledecor.net
Printabledecor.net
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Picmonkey.com (has great fonts, themes, and overlays)
Befunky.com
Pixlr.com
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Openoffice Impress (Free — almost like Powerpoint)Microsoft Powerpoint (2010 version or further)
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How To Monetize -
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more information | https://medium.com/@sameerasumanesekera/what-is-printable-7382f508c508 | ['Sameera Sumanesekera'] | 2021-02-22 05:12:05.954000+00:00 | ['Earn Money Online', 'Easy Learning Printables', 'Printables', 'Etsy Printables', 'How To Make Printable'] |
What’s New in Femtech This Week? | What’s New in Femtech This Week?
#PumpedAtCES
Highlights
#PumpedAtCES: Elvie and Milk Stork team up and bring “Milk Express” and “Pumping Parlor” to CES; Amazon’s PillPack will integrate with BCBS Massachussetts’ member app; 215 biopharma industry leaders sign a new biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry commitment to patients and the public; CES receives backlash for choosing Ivanka Trump as this year’s keynote speaker; Swedish telehealth scale-up KRY raises $140M; New US laws: IVF coverage now mandated in New York state, Oregon implements expanded pregnancy employee protections, Paid leave for any reason takes effect in Nevada; Rev1 Ventures Launches $15M Fund; Duke University and healthcare investment firm Deerfield Management Company launch Four Points Innovation with plans to invest $130M
Company Spotlight
Breastpump startups Elvie and Willow made quite the mark at CES this year. This week we’d like to introduce you to the companies, who aim to make life easier for nursing mothers.
Milk Stork is the first breast milk shipping company for breastfeeding moms.
MyMilk wants to empower breastfeeding moms to understand their breastmilk cues and what it means for each unique mother-infant dyad.
Elvie is working on a silent breast pump, that eliminates noise and allows mothers to pump in peace anytime, anywhere.
Willow has created an all-in-one breast pump that fits in a bra.
In The Know
Moon + Leaf: When CBD Meets Women’s Health (Femtech Insider)
One Medical’s IPO Will Test the Value of Tech-Enabled Startups (Techcrunch)
In 2019, Digital Health Celebrated six IPOs as Venture Investment Edged Off Record Highs (Rock Health)
CES: Femtech Goes Big in 2020 (Gadget)
Sextech from Women-led Startups Pops Up at CES Gadget Show (Miami Herald)
The High Cost of Having a Baby in America (The Atlantic)
Why Have So Many Breast Pump Startups Flamed Out? (Marker)
Fat-shaming the Pregnant: How the Medical Community Fails Overweight Moms (HuffPost)
Austin Has Changed SexEd in its Public Schools (Economist)
Bumps and Startup Bias: How to Balance Babies with Business (Sifted)
Tune in!
What to Watch in Healthcare in 2020 (Podcast: Fierce Healthcare Podcast)
Femtech Insider gets a podcast! We’re currently working on finalizing season #1 and will launch the first episodes in early 2020. The trailer is up and you can already subscribe on Stitcher, Spotify, Google Play and iTunes.
Who’s Hiring?
Prelude is hiring a Healthcare Business Developement Manager.
Aunt Flow is looking to hire a Key Account Developer.
MH Hub is looking for a Communications Intern.
Oura is hiring a Senior Product Desginer.
Rory is looking for a Pharmacy Technician.
Want so see more jobs? Click HERE! | https://medium.com/@femtechinsider/whats-new-in-femtech-this-week-13b714cf62a3 | ['Femtech Insider'] | 2020-01-09 12:19:32.682000+00:00 | ['Femtech', 'CES', 'Startup', 'Breastfeeding', 'Digital Health'] |
How to Play FreeCell Solitaire: 6 Basic FreeCell Game Rules | Freecell Solitaire is not by far the most popular Solitaire game, and many people dread the game as they are of the notion that it is way too tricky and complicated. Well, their opinion is not far-fetched, the game is indeed tricky and could mess with one’s head now and then.
However, if you want to learn how to play Freecell Solitaire card game, there are two things you need to do; Learn and practice. If you have been having trouble winning Freecell Solitaire games, don’t give up just yet.
The game is quite tricky, but it’s so much fun when you finally get to learn. So instead of throwing in the towel and missing out on a very cool opportunity to have fun. Just like many board games out there, Solitaire games are not only games to pass the time with they also make you smarter in the long run.
Playing FreeCell games improves your decision-making skills. Thus if you want to learn how to play Freecell solitaire, then you must take the time to go through this detailed guide. It may be wordy, but trust me, if you are patient enough to learn the entire procedure, you are one step closer to becoming a pro at Freecell solitaire. This guide will provide useful how to play FreeCell solitaire tips, and keep you informed about the following:
What is Freecell?
Useful FreeCell tips
FreeCell rules moving card
How to play Freecell Solitaire?
Freecell solitaire game rules
How to play Freecell Solitaire on a computer?
What is Freecell?
Freecell games are variations of solitaire card games invented by Paul Alfille. It is a complex game that requires cognitive skills. Although the game is quite tricky, you only need a couple of trials and practice.
Learning about Freecell and how to play is the first step to becoming a pro. Note that adherence to FreeCell instructions when you play FreeCell is imperative.
Freecell solitaire shuffles are mostly solvable, and unlike most solitaire game variants that depend on luck, Freecell games are mostly skill-dependent.
The game aims to play all 52 cards into four piles; one of each suit.
Start each pile with aces, then subsequent numbers like two, three, and four follow till you get to the king. The home cell piles are located on the upper right corner of the screen. So that said you start the game by moving any free ace to one of the home cells. Note that only aces that are not covered by other cards count as free aces.
Playing Freecell Solitaire online is more comfortable as the algorithm is already programmed to make some automated moves; for instance, once you start the game, the algorithm will automatically move free aces to the home cell piles.
Freecell Solitaire Rules
Before we get into the process of gameplay, it is imperative to know the basic FreeCell solitaire rules. There are FreeCell rules regarding moving cards around; hence one must be aware of these rules to avoid penalties.
Listed below are basic Freecell Solitaire rules that will save you from penalties and help you win Freecell solitaire games more often.
Don’t be in a hurry to make your move; most of the time, the obvious moves are not always the best. Think carefully and plan your moves. Always remember that your optimum priority is to free up all the aces and deuces even if they are stacked down beneath cards with a higher value. Locate them first and move them to the home cell piles as early as you can. Do not fill all your cells too early, during gameplay, keep most of your free cells as empty as you can so you can have space to maneuver; this is very crucial because your ability to maneuver is most important. Before you place cards in the free cells, ensure that you have no other option. Try to create an empty column as much as you try to free up space on your home cells. Unlike Freecells, columns can be used to store a whole sequence instead of a single card; this way, you can easily make longer sequences. Subsequently one can make a super move since a super move only requires a long sequence including empty columns and Freecells. Consider filling up empty columns with a long descending sequence, starting each new sequence with a king as much as you can. Don’t be in a hurry to move cards to the home cells because you may need them later to maneuver lower value cards of other suits.
Playing Freecell Solitaire on Computer
If you are used to the cards only, then you must learn FreeCell — how to play on a computer. Gameplay slightly varies depending on the app, or site you are playing on, but basically, there are three significant kinds of moves for playing Freecell solitaire online:
In a situation where there are already cards of that suit there, you can move the card with the next highest value.
Moving a card to a Freecell helps you figure out how to play better as it is readily available to be moved to its home cell. To move a card, select your choice card by clicking on it then click on your destination point; either a Freecell, home cell, or column.
Any card standing alone in its column is also considered a free card and thus, can be moved whenever you want as well.
Note that this rule is only valid if both cards are of opposite colors and one of the cards is of a lower rank; For example, moving black suits on red suits and vice versa.
This move is quite common in the traditional Klondike solitaire game.
How to Play Freecell Solitaire
Your primary aim at the start of the game is to free up aces and clear out columns using the least amount of free cells. After all, what is FreeCell without free cells?
You can start by moving the six of hearts onto the seven of clubs when you do this, and the algorithm automatically moves the ace of diamonds to a home cell.
Once this is done your next five moves will be to:
Move the six of clubs to a Freecell
Then move the queen of diamonds onto the king of spades
Move the Jack of hearts onto the queen of clubs
Now move the Jack of spades onto the queen of diamonds once you do these the algorithm automatically moves the free aces of clubs to another home cell.
Move the six of clubs onto the seven of diamonds, and the five of hearts onto the six of clubs. The program then automatically moves the two of clubs to its home cell.
At this point, you should have two home cell piles already, and all four of the free cells empty. The next step is to empty column six by moving the ten of clubs onto the jack of hearts, and the nine of hearts onto the ten of clubs.
Note that you may move any free card anywhere on the tableau to the empty column.
Moving back to column 1 make the following moves:
Move the nine of spades to a Freecell
Then Move the two of hearts to another Freecell
Move the five of spades onto the six of hearts
Now move the ten of diamonds onto the jack of spades and finally
Move the three of spades and the five of clubs each to a Freecell.
Playing Freecell Solitaire to win
Once these moves are made, the ace of hearts and the two hearts will be automatically moved to a new home cell. So instead of moving just one card per move here is a shortcut that can help you move multiple cards all at once if you have enough Freecells.
Note that if you have all four free cells empty, then you can move five cards, three free cells let you move four cards, and likewise, two free cells let you move three cards. In this case, you have two Freecells, so that you can move three cards in a sequence from the bottom of one column to the bottom of another column.
Remember that maintaining FreeCell is key to figuring how to play.
If you are continuing a valid sequence or to another empty column. Select the five of hearts by clicking on it, then click on the sixth column, which is now empty.
The program will put up a dialogue box asking whether you wish to move a sequence or a single card when this happens to click on the move column box.
Watch as your three-car sequence (the five of hearts, six of clubs, and seven of diamonds) moves to the empty sixth column. At this point, you have made lots of progress, and you should be getting the hang of the game already. Now, move the eight of diamonds onto the nine of spades.
The next plan is to clear column eight by moving the eight of diamonds onto the nine of spades, and the four of spades and three of diamonds onto the five of hearts. Then, move the queen of hearts onto the empty first column. (No dialogue box will come on here as the queen is not in sequence with any card).
Next move the seven of spades onto the eight of diamonds, and the five of diamonds to a Freecell; this automatically moves the ace of spades home.
Move the eight of spades onto the nine of hearts. Since we only have one Freecell available, we want to move some of the cards from the free cells back onto columns.
More smart moves to ace the game
So make the next moves:
Move the ten of spades into the empty second column
Then move the six of diamonds onto the seven of spades,
Now move the nine of diamonds onto the ten of spades
And move the seven of hearts onto the eight of spades.
Now you are probably waiting for the program to move the free three of hearts home automatically, but it won’t this time because it thinks that you want to move the free two of spades onto the red suit here later.
So you’ll have to move the three of hearts home by yourself by selecting it and then clicking on the two of hearts.
Now the next item on your list is to move a five-yard sequence from the seventh column to the eighth. But first, you must reverse the backward sequence in the fourth column by moving the king of hearts and the queen of spades to the eighth column which is now empty.
Now you would realize that lots of cards are trapped underneath long sequences in columns five and seven, so you must move five cards from column seven onto the queen of spades in the eighth column.
It’s easier to access the low-value cards in the seventh column, now you need to move the queen of clubs to a Freecell, then ensure the four of hearts finds its way home.
The jack of clubs goes onto the queen of hearts, and the six of spades to the seven of hearts. After which you get the three of clubs home so the two of diamonds can find its way home once it is free.
With the two of spades automatically gone, and both red aces home, you only need to get the three of spades home as well, then move the five of diamonds onto the six of spades.
At this point, you must have gotten eleven cards home and already seeing the end of the game; now you can choose to tow the long route or wrap it all up by moving the long 9-card sequence in two easy moves;
Move five cards to an empty column of your choice by clicking the move column button in the dialogue box, then, Move the last four cards to another empty column by selecting the ten of diamonds and the empty column.
Finally, your final move is to move the eight of hearts onto the nine of clubs and the king of diamonds onto an empty column.
Watch all remaining 38 cards now in a sequence move automatically to the home cells. And voila! Victory!!
Conclusion
Learning how to play FreeCell solitaire card game involves continuous playing. You would realize that playing the same shuffle several times will provide you with more experience to win more difficult levels. You will get better if you play more.
During gameplay ensure you adhere to all Freecell instructions, observe Freecell rules when moving cards.
Keep practicing with the strategy described in this guide, and you will get better results in no time and long to spend more time enjoying Freecell Solitaire. | https://medium.com/@gogetgame/how-to-play-freecell-solitaire-6-basic-freecell-game-rules-1916212cba40 | [] | 2020-12-25 12:21:38.703000+00:00 | ['Freecell', 'Games', 'Manuals', 'Solitaire', 'Guides And Tutorials'] |
Doğru ve Yanlış | in Being Known | https://medium.com/@ahsenarslan/do%C4%9Fru-ve-yanl%C4%B1%C5%9F-cb790b7b081a | ['Ahsen Arslan'] | 2020-12-21 10:56:56.835000+00:00 | ['Mindfulness', 'Writer', 'Psychology', 'Philosophy', 'Mind'] |
A security that capped early investor returns would benefit employees | The proposal for a employee-friendly TREE security
TL;DR — Join me for a thought experiment
Equity ownership is a zero sum game. Companies would prefer to retain equity value for shareholders (e.g. employees) who contribute creative capital rather than continuously pay an equity “tax” to already enriched early investors whose capital contributions no longer have meaningful impact on the business. The introduction of a new security type–the TREE –could cap early investor returns at pre-determined thresholds and free up cap table value for employees, providing a potential win-win solution. This instrument would likely not work for the structures of current early stage and venture capitalist investors, but could represent an alternative fundraising approach for companies and their future employees. This blog imagines how such a security could work in today’s market. It’s an exploration of an idea vs. a perfect solution.
Create more owners.
At Carta (my employer) we believe in the mission of “creating more owners.” Employees and workers should have equity participation in the value they create, rather than just receiving a wage while other owners reap the higher rewards for that effort.
There’s two ways to do this:
The total number of companies offering equity ownership to employees increases The amount of ownership offered at each company increases
The first is already showing promising change. The number and types of companies offering employees equity as part of their compensation grows each year. A normal occurrence in the technology industry, equity grants in the form of options, RSUs, and other awards are becoming more commonplace in the US and abroad. This has driven more ownership for more people.
A reexamination of the second point–changing the terms of ownership within companies–is where additional innovation can and should happen. Instead of divvying up the pie the way it always has–along with the natural questions of confusion and feelings of unfairness–employees and other value creators challenge the status quo.
Equity investments are a permanent company tax
Imagine this scenario: A group of people have an idea and form a company. They accelerate their idea with a capital raise. They can’t get a loan, nor do they feel comfortable having a debt burden yet. Instead they sell 25% of the company to an investor for $100,000. The group takes that $100,000 and builds a great product. Years later, the company is worth $10 million. The creative team who built the business are happy–they have created $7.5 million of value for themselves. The investor is happy. Their investment has returned 25x from $100K to $2.5M.
A few years later, the company is worth $20M. The investor is thrilled! The $100K investment has 50x’d to $5 million. The company team is also happy since they now own $15 million in value. But, they’re also perplexed. Getting their company from $10M to $20M was hard work that their sweat and creativity made possible. The investor’s $100K investment helped kick-start their business, but it hasn’t been relevant in years. Nor was the $100K particularly unique–it was capital that could have come from anywhere. Yet the investor just captured $2.5M of the additional value created. What’s going on?
It feels like the company has sold ownership over its labor to the investor indefinitely. They wonder: I’m proud we’ve been able repay the trust our investor placed in us, but haven’t we returned enough value? That $2.5M of value could have been distributed amongst the company’s employees rather than further enriching an already well-compensated investor. Long after returns on the investment have been realized, the company continues to pay out value to this early financier. The equity stake is a perpetual “tax” on the company.
The company and society begins to wonder why the people who are providing new ideas, finding creative solutions, and creating new value aren’t capturing more value. Employees–the company’s “creative capitalists”–are losing out to this tax placed on the company years earlier.
Even the investors might be surprised–albeit pleasantly. Wow, this investment was better than I expected! While still accounting for other investments that didn’t pan out, the investor’s total portfolio might come out ahead given the returns on the size of their investment. And they get to keep earning even more if the company continues to grow its value.
Financial capital is fungible; creative capital is not.
It’s easy to see why the founders took on capital via an equity round. They were looking to fast track growth, and outside financing gave them access to cash more quickly than building a profit-generating business on their own over many years. An equity investor had more risk tolerance than other risk-averse capital allocators like banks or lending institutions. The investor filled a gap on the investment capital spectrum. Their investment likely followed a venture or growth capital strategy of investing in many risky ideas. While many of the investor’s equity investments would fail, the returns of the successful ones more than cover these losses.
But what unique good did the financial capital provide? And how impactful is it over time? The investor provided an accelerated growth by providing cash without the burden of near-term cash repayment. Over time, however, its direct impact on value creation drops. At a certain point, it’s hard to see how the $100,000 check is responsible for any value creation. In our example, the company is perplexed that the investor continues to gain 25% of all value creation with no new inputs affecting that value. Even if early investors are diluted–which most real world investors are likely to be via stock plans increase, employee grants, etc.–they’re still capturing significant value.
The ideas and problem solving abilities of the company’s intellectual and human capital–creative capital–remains consistently impactful on the company’s value creation. That’s as true when the company just started out as it is when the company increased its value from $10M to $20M.
Here’s a (poorly draw) diagram of how different types of capital affect value creation over time:
Investors will disagree. Some would argue they provide unique insights built from years of experience and industry-specific expertise. Many are right. Investment professionals–like those at venture capital funds–are oftentimes successful founders and entrepreneurs who help companies navigate their way to success. Other investors provide ancillary services like marketing and recruiting help to relieve the burden of companies having to build these costly functions in-house. Their impact is felt even after cash has transferred between accounts.
Research on value-add perceptions between founders and VCs highlight this gap in thinking. A study done by Hackernoon, Newfund, and the University of Chicago “repeatedly point to VCs overvaluing how much time they spend with their portfolio companies as well as their contributions compared to the founders’ perspectives.” Additionally, “VCs generally overestimated how much startup founders valued the impact of their operational support.”
My point is not that impact doesn’t exist, just that it likely decreases the further one goes from a fundraise. It’s oftentimes true that early investors (angels, seed round) eventually get phased out by newer investors (venture, growth) who help companies through a period in which they have an expertise.
Another way of comparing the relative importance of impact from creative capital and financial capital is their fungibility. Funding generally provides cash, not the creativity and ingenuity that drives forward the success of a company and solves a customer need. Financing is dollars, and dollars are generally the same regardless of which financier provided them. Money in a bank account generally looks the same. The creative capital from founders and employees working directly on problems is a less fungible asset. While employees from the CEO down can be replaced, this group is most capable of solving company-specific problems over the long haul.
This again seems intriguing from a risk and reward perspective. As noted above, the business of capital allocators is to invest money into attractive ideas. Some will fail, but the ones who succeed create enough value to cover these losses and then some. Funds have the opportunity to vet hundreds or thousands of companies and can invest into dozens of them from a single fund. In addition to protecting against downside risk through each negotiated investment, risk is also mitigated by spreading funds across a diversified investment portfolio. To top things off, most funds charge a fee based on assets under management to make sure its own employees (partners, back office, etc.) are compensated regardless of returns.
Greater risk is assumed by creative capitalists. Each creative capitalist has a limited amount of time and opportunity to invest their skills into valuable problems. Imagine a 20 year-old who starts working today and wants to diversify their career in the same way a VC diversifies risk across investments. If they work a max of 4 years at any technology job that offers them equity (since most vesting schedules are 4 years in length, this allows them to fully vest their initial grants), they will work at only 10 companies over a 40 year career. While employees protect their downside via earning a wage from companies, there’s much less risk diversification in a career and therefore a reduced opportunity of outsized or transformational rewards compared to the investor model.
And yet, current financing negotiations treat the parties exactly the opposite. The less risky VCs protect their downside and maximize their value capture. Creative capitalists–particularly the employees who don’t even get to participate in negotiations–take what’s left, generally in the form of an equity pool that the board (mostly those same financiers and founders) allocate. While employees can and do benefit from receiving equity rights at a steep discount when a company’s value grows, they also have service minimums (vesting cliffs and vesting schedules) and other tax requirements (upon exercises and sales) that make their value capture less easy than it first appears.
Frustration with current options
Looking back, our fictional company feels frustrated. Over time the creative capitalists of the company–they and their employees–should capture more value, right? They’re the ones providing the greater impact on value creation relative to checks that were written years earlier and they’re the ones taking on risk in their careers by dedicating a portion of it to a company that might not be viable.
Thinking back on its negotiations, the company would have preferred a structure wherein financing was equity-like in the early days and debt-like when value had been created. Equity liabilities in the early days obviated the risks of debt default. As they created value, however, they’d prefer early liabilities to be debt-like and repayable by the value they’ve generated and repaid to investors. After they paid back the financier–and very generously–they could once again fully own the valuable fruits of their labor. And they could divide that value more fully amongst their employees–their creative capitalists.
But the company was only presented with the opposite options from investors: equity investments and convertible note financings functioned like repayable debt in the early days and like non-repayable equity in valuable later years. When I say “repayable debt,” I don’t necessarily mean debt in the form of loan with interest and regular repayments. Rather I refer to how investors capture value early in the lives of companies. Convertible notes and preferred shares with liquidation preferences give first claims on the company’s assets when values are low. Early payouts are indistinguishable from those of debt as shown in the following examples looking at a $15M bank loan, $15M convertible note, and $10M preferred equity investment with 1 1.5x liquidation preference:
As the company’s value increases, investors capture valuable upside from their equity investments and ownership in the company. Preferred shares represent ownership directly. Convertible notes and SAFEs entitle holders to convert their debt and quasi-debt instruments into valuable equity and ownership. Both are efficiently structured to capture upside value. For example, preferred shares might have higher conversion ratios entitling them to convert their preferred shares into more common shares and capture outsized ownership. Convertible notes build on what is owed to them via interest and then convert into shares at a discount via a conversion discount of valuation cap.
When one looks at the payout diagram of a preferred equity investment with a valuation cap, you can see the debt-like and equity components. At first all of the value is extracted by investors: the slope of the line is 1. In the long-term, investors earn value based on their ownership percentage. If they own 40% of equity, then the slope is 0.4.
To companies this game design is unfortunate. Investors only invest when they can limit losses via first claims on value and assets while also participating in large upsides when value is high. Investors are in the business of maximizing returns for their funds by allocating capital to the most promising founders and their companies. When investors enter negotiations, they look to manage risk by protecting against downside outcomes while capturing upside whenever possible. This is built into fund construction models (loss ratios, etc.) and therefore the fund’s business model. Investors have structured securities over time (like preferred rounds and convertible notes) that accomplish these dual goals.
Capital raises and term sheet negotiations therefore often take place with investors having set the agenda of decisions to be made. Even when a company receives multiple and competitive term sheets, they’re still couched in the language of capital providers.
This makes sense when one considers that investors are highly incentivized and very knowledgeable on how to have their needs met in negotiations. VCs and other professional investors assess hundreds of deals each year. That’s a lot of negotiating reps for structuring capital investments on your “terms.” A founder on the other hand might only have this experience a dozen times in their entire career. Venture capital fundraises are set by venture capitalists. Preferred shares and convertible notes are their inventions. Companies transact in the currency investors provided.
Who decides who owns what
Ownership over assets is a zero-sum game. Increased ownership for one group must by definition come at the expense of another group. If creative capitalists are to own more, that means another group of current owners–mostly professional investors and founders–must own less. However, that doesn’t mean both can’t still be compensated well for the amount of capital (creative or financial) that they put in.
How ownership gets divided comes down to the moment when the terms of ownership are negotiated. Ownership discussions typically happen during capital raises. At this moment, companies and potential investors decide how they’ll split up the pie–both now and in the future. The most popular investment securities in startups today are preferred shares, convertible securities, and warrants.
It is my belief that to create more ownership for a company’s creative capitalists — or a payoff that feels more fair — one must understand the dynamics of negotiations and the menu of security types for investment. Riskier companies and ideas might see investors contract for more conservative terms with downside protections. Companies with exciting opportunities, proven results, and high demand will find more favorable terms from investors. More or less, securities can and do reflect the ultimate compromises between those accepting and providing capital.
Can’t there be an investment security that improves the risk and reward dynamics of creative capitalists while meeting the business needs of financial capitalists? I think there is and that the solution can be found at the initial fundraising negotiation table. By rethinking what we accept as truth about the types of investment securities today, we can create a new paradigm that truly does create more owners.
A new investment security — the TREE
Founders would love to keep control of their companies if they could or maintain more ownership for their creative capitalists, i.e. employees. However, companies struggle to find debt financing in early years because investors and lenders are afraid they won’t get paid back. Instead fundraisers turn to more risk tolerant investors who take equity investments in the company with the reward of unlimited potential upside. It solves the problem of cash, but the founders have been forced to give away potentially valuable equity for themselves and their employees forever as we’ve already seen.
But what if investors and companies agreed that the benefits of equity ownership extended only up to a point? A pre-agreed returns cap could enable high returning equity to eventually convert into debt-like securities. Creative capitalists would own everything they’ve created once they’ve paid back sufficient returns to an investor. This seems counterintuitive on first-reading. For example, convertible securities convert debt into equity, not the other way round. Most financiers think of the debt to equity mechanism as a one-way door.
It is via this radical re-imagination that I’m proposing the creation of a new fundraising security: the Targeted Returns for Equity Exit (TREE) security. With this security, parties agree to allow investors to participate in the equity upside of a company up until a point. If a company performs extraordinarily well and returns a high, predetermined multiple to investors, then they can free themselves of a perpetual equity liability. The tax of financial capital for accelerating creative capital would be repaid. While this would probably not work for early stage and venture capital structures today, it could represent a new investment and fundraising approach for others.
Since the continued value-add of the original financial capital at this point is likely marginal, this makes sense. Thereafter the creative capitalists have the greatest impact on the future value and performance of the company and capture the additional value creation in the form of accelerating equity ownership (which corresponds to the leveling out of investor value capture).
The TREE security proposes the exact opposite of the current dynamic. Today, investors hold debt-like securities in their portfolio until it’s valuable to convert them to equity. TREE securities enable creative capitalists to hold obligations as equity on their balance sheet until it’s beneficial to convert them to something debt-like.
How it works today
Let’s see how this would play out in a real world situation. Imagine a company is looking to raise $10,000,000 of financial capital to grow its business.
In today’s world, the company and potential investors would hash out a term sheet. Let’s say they settle on the following: a venture fund will invest $10,000,000 in exchange for a 40% ownership stake, implying a post-money valuation of $25,000,000. Let’s also imagine that founders retain 45% of the ownership while 15% is set aside for employee ownership in an equity pool. Other considerations between the parties might center on the liquidation preferences of the preferred investment and whether the shares are participating or participating preferred depending on how much downside risk is to be negotiated. At a 1.5x liquidation preference, the payout diagrams will be familiar to venture capitalists and transactions advisors:
Payout Diagram for Preferred (Non-Participating) Equity Investment:
Payout Diagram for Participating Preferred Equity Investment:
In the early years the downside risk of the investors is protected via the liquidation preference–the first 1.5x of value (or $15,000,000) is theirs. Thereafter, value is divided between creative capitalists (founders and employees) depending on their ownership stakes and whether the investor’s preferred shares are participating or non-participating.
In the preferred (non-participating) scenario, the investor waits for the creative capitalists (founders and employees) to catch up in value capture at an EV of $15,0000,000. At $37,500,000 of EV (when the investors $15M represents 40% of value), all stakeholders continue to capture value at their respective ownership percentages.
In the participating preferred case, the investor captures the first $15M of value, then continues to capture 40% of additional value until a participation cap is reached. Let’s say the participation cap is 2.5x. This implies that the investor will stop and wait for creative capitalists to catch up at once they’ve captured $25M of value, which happens at $40M of EV. At $62,500,000 (when $25M represents 40% ownership), all parties earn according to their ownership percentage.
These models do a great job of allowing multiple options for investors to protect their downside risk. But what about when large amounts of value are created? At $100M of EV, investors capture $40M (40%) for a 4x return multiple, founders capture $45M (45%) and employees capture $15M (15%). At $200M, investors capture $80M (40%) for an 8.0x return multiple, founders capture $90M (45%) and employees capture $30M (15%).
These are the typical equity investments early stage investors use today. Their downside is relatively protected since they get all the value in extreme downside cases. And their returns continue to grow with the company indefinitely.
How the TREE could work
Let’s imagine now that creative capitalists decide to utilize a TREE security. Instead of the investor earning returns indefinitely, terms are written wherein once the investor achieves a 6x return, it no longer continues to participate in equity upside. How is this accomplished? The conversion ratio of its preferred shares dynamically readjusts such they must convert into a fewer number of preferred shares. In other words, investors own a piece of pie that grows proportional smaller relative to a growing pie, keeping the size of the slice exactly the same.
For this example, let’s imagine the same fundraising scenario as before, but with a TREE used in place of a traditional preferred fundraising round. All parties agree that once the investor achieves 6x returns, the company’s obligation to them is complete. At this point, the company decides any additional value is captured by employees to create strong recruiting incentives. All the preferred and participating preferred negotiations remain the same to protect the investor’s downside. Also, let’s imagine that the fundraising ends with the company having 10,000,000 fully diluted shares–4,000,000 for investors, 4,500,000 for founders, and 1,500,000 for employees–at a priced round of $1.00.
At lower enterprise values, our payout diagrams look exactly the same as before. However, when enterprise value reaches $150M, investors achieve their 6x return multiple (40% ownership of $150M = 6 x $10M = $60M). At this point they no longer continue capturing value, they’re agreed upon outsized returns have been achieved. The conversion ratio of their shares starts to decrease, while the conversion ratio of employee shares increases, allowing employees to achieve more ownership and value capture over their efforts.
Here’s what the new payout diagrams would look like:
Payout Diagram for Preferred (Non-Participating) TREE Investment:
Or viewed another way:
Payout Diagram for Participating Preferred TREE Investment:
Or viewed another way:
Let’s revisit our high EV scenarios from earlier. At $100M of EV, investors capture $40M (40%) for a 4x return multiple, founders capture $45M (45%) and employees capture $15M (15%). Investors continue to capture equity since their multiple target of 6x hasn’t yet been achieved. At $200M, investors capture $60M (30%) for a 6.0x return multiple, founders capture $90M (45%) and employees capture $50M (25%). Investors achieved their 6x multiple and no longer capture value. Instead employees creating new value capture more of this value.
This goal can be accomplished without having to issue or repurchase new shares or grants. Conversion ratios on TREE shares are dynamically adjusted based on the enterprise value.
At $100M of enterprise value, stakeholders earn:
Investors : 4,000,000 TREE shares10,000,000 fully diluted1 converted shares1 share$100M enterprise value = $40M value
: 4,000,000 TREE shares10,000,000 fully diluted1 converted shares1 share$100M enterprise value = $40M value Founders : 4,500,000 TREE shares10,000,000 fully diluted1 converted shares1 share$100M enterprise value = $45M value
: 4,500,000 TREE shares10,000,000 fully diluted1 converted shares1 share$100M enterprise value = $45M value Employees: 1,500,000 TREE shares10,000,000 fully diluted1 converted shares1 share$100M enterprise value = $15M value
At $200M of enterprise value, stakeholders earn:
Investors : 4,000,000 TREE shares10,000,000 fully diluted0.75 converted shares1 share$200M enterprise value = $60M value
: 4,000,000 TREE shares10,000,000 fully diluted0.75 converted shares1 share$200M enterprise value = $60M value Founders : 4,500,000 TREE shares10,000,000 fully diluted1 converted shares1 share$200M enterprise value = $90M value
: 4,500,000 TREE shares10,000,000 fully diluted1 converted shares1 share$200M enterprise value = $90M value Employees: 1,500,000 TREE shares10,000,000 fully diluted1.67 converted shares1 share$200M enterprise value = $50M value
One can model the conversion ratios of shares at different enterprise values:
The creative capitalists have paid the cost of acceleration and once again are owners of their labor and creativity. The “tax” of the early equity has been paid–an in multiples.
Iterating on the TREE
What does an investor do with their TREE security once it “maxes” out? There’s many options here that could be explored. If a company had enough cash, it could repurchase these securities and restructure their cap table. There’d be fewer hoops to jump through since the value of the stake would be known and easy to estimate. Or the TREE securities could continue to pay a cash or stock dividend, enabling the investor to sell their stake to an investor with more fixed-income needs. Or savvy financiers could create a structured Payment-in-Kind (PIK) product wherein the stake continued to earn interest or dividends in the form of some other asset that made it re-sellable.
One could also scrap the idea that investors stop earning altogether and instead just earns less at successive targets. In our example, an investor could agree that at 6x, their ownership accumulation rate halves. At 10x it halves again. At 15x, once more, and so on.
Below is what such a permutation could look like for the preferred (non-participating) TREE using our previous criteria along with the required conversion ratios. As you can see investors still earn upside at the target multiple, they just earn less relative to employees whose ownership is increasing more rapidly.
Or alternatively viewed:
The dynamic conversion ratio is tightened as a result.
It would require more terms structuring, but there are an infinite number of permutations for investors and companies to consider. One last example on this to show how it might work.
One could ask why current employees seem to benefit while the investor is capped. Doesn’t that just create the same situation of older employees piggybacking on the efforts of new employees while contributing less relative to the total value created? Also, don’t employees also get paid a salary, protecting their downside already?
If that’s a concern, instead the TREE could be modified so that value above the investor’s cap didn’t go to existing employee ownership, but rather went to a pool for new employees. This could help companies fulfill goals to be more employee-owned.
Why the TREE could work
Two hours later, the pros were meager and the cons were abundant, even if a few of the, in my estimation, were quite petty. “Well,” I said. “It was a nice idea. But I don’t see how we do this.” “A few solid pros are more powerful than dozens of cons,” Steve said. –Meeting between Bob Iger and Steve Jobs regarding a Disney-Pixar merger
There are obvious criticisms that people will raise with the TREE security’s payout structure. However, since the goal of this is to consider how a new security could work, I think it’s worthwhile to approach with an open rather than closed mind. Since we started with the premise that a TREE security is the exact opposite of security structures today and take the needs of companies as preeminent, this is to be expected. Let’s focus on what could work rather than focus on what couldn’t.
Why would investors ever go for this? It completely upends the way angel investors, venture capital firms, and growth equity firms are structured to invest. By limiting their upside, investments become less attractive, and investors are unlikely to invest at all.
This would require a rethink of the current fund structure model. That’s not crazy considering how quickly the venture investing structure has changed in the last 60 years. If TREEs became part of an investment portfolio, upside would be capped with each deal via a targeted return multiple. To compensate for reduced return, traditional VC and early investors would likely require increased risk reduction to make their fund model work.
One way to accomplish this would be for higher early ownership stakes via lower enterprise values during equity negotiations–i.e. investors initially pay less for more. If companies want the benefit of ownership in the long run, investors would want more guarantee of ownership up front to limit potential losses. This would change the way funds build their target loss ratios, but it could still be a sustainable model. Companies and creative capitalists wouldn’t lose their incentive to hit home runs either–in fact, this model encourages the creation of outsized returns.
There’s also the chance that this isn’t a security fit for the investors and investment models of today. However, aspiring and different-minded investors with a different model, thesis, or fund goals might find the TREE an attractive idea. There’s already a rise in new fund model types like those created by Indie.vc.
Could companies even propose something like a TREE?
All fundraises and investments are ultimately negotiations. That leaves ample latitude for parties to find agreement. Term sheets today include all sorts of non-standard things that parties felt important enough to include. Typically, if one side has asymmetric bargaining power or a deal non-negotiable, there’s room to explore new terms.
You can already see the way bargaining power has changed security structures today. Historically convertible notes were the favored debt-to-equity security of investors. As we saw before, it gave the benefits of debt when they needed first claim on value in downside cases and converted to valuable equity at a discount when the company’s value increased. Recently, new convertible types like SAFEs and KISSs have made an emergence. These securities aren’t debt and therefore don’t strap young companies with interest or the chance or the threat of repayment. Even while the economics of the investments remain the same — generally driven by the size of the principle — the change and new vernacular of clearer negotiation terms is significant.
SAFEs and KISSs were created by the startup accelerators Y Combinator and 500 Startups respectively, who represent young companies and their founders. Because these accelerators controlled access to a desirable pipeline of investments, they had increased bargaining power when it came to capital raises with investors on behalf of those companies. While SAFEs and KISSs once seemed new, they now represent the mainstream convertible investments in venture-seeking companies. AngeList noted that nearly 80% of early-stage financings on its platform were now done via SAFEs.
Companies have also shown an appetite for an expanded financing menu. This is clear with the growing deployment of venture debt, revenue-based venture capital, and profit-based venture capital solutions. All represent different models of fundraising for companies and their investors. In short, equity may not be the right (or sole) solution for all startups.
While I won’t delve into the full spectrum of new financing instruments, it’s worth noting that there is appetite for a changed ownership and funding options. While the bargaining power continues to rest with investors–you still see more companies fail from lack of funding than investment funds from lack of capital deployment–the dynamic could be changing. If more money continues to flow into the early stage investment arena, it could reach a point where capital is so abundant that companies gain more power for negotiating which funds they choose rather than which choose them.
Lastly, there actually aren’t that many businesses that become billion dollar, generational companies. Indie.vc’s research shows that only 10–20 companies a year make the jump. That means most companies could benefit from a funding structure that helps them build a great business without needing to achieve unicorn status to justify the investor returns. Great ideas and businesses that would benefit from a lower risk-reward structure than is currently offered by many venture capitalists and seed investors.
Investment funds, like those in venture capital, ultimately are beholden to the return needs of their limited partners. Wouldn’t you have to change the minds of LPs to accept potentially lower returns?
There’s two ways to approach potentially flipping this narrative. First, LPs could invest in funds that have switched their models to better support TREE securities. Those funds would have lower outsized returns, but also lower risk as well. It’s a different type of investment, but not necessarily one for which there’d be no appetite.
Second, now and in the future, not all limited partners are strictly motivated by maximizing returns. Many investors elevate other considerations to guide their investments–creating net positives for society, funding non-profits, etc. Many branches of the federal government take such an approach, as do some pension funds, retirement funds, endowments (like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundations), university tech incubators, sovereign wealth funds, and other high net worth individuals. There are many parties who might want to see more ownership given back to employees and creative capitalists compared to padding the returns of investors. This is particularly true in the current environment where investors and societies are looking to create more owners among historically underrepresented ownership and minority groups–women, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and others.
It’s also worth noting that there are already LPs willing to invest in funds using alternative financing structures like revenue-based capital. TREEs could offer fund managers a differentiation in attracting LP dollars in a crowded field where the biggest funds already tend to reap the lion’s share of the rewards.
Would companies go for it?
“I’ve built something I never thought would be such a success, but I cannot think of Chobani being built without all these people… Now they’ll be working to build the company even more and building their future at the same time.” –Chobani Founder and CEO Hamdi Ulukaya on granting all 2,000 employees equity stakes in the company in 2016
Using a TREE financing, companies might expect to give up ownership earlier on in exchange for more ownership in the long term. That might scare some founders away, whereas others are willing to take the trade. In fact, some companies might think that their ability to offer greater returns to creative capitalists via a TREE financing round could act as strategic recruiting. The message of “we’re aiming to becomer more employee owned” and “the better we do, the better you’ll do at an accelerated pace” might be a noticeable differentiator in a crowded talent market.
A TREE-backed company could attract employees who aspire to maximize their personal earning potential or feel like they want to work for a company with an employee-centric cause. If a company can attract the best employees, this in turn could make them a more attractive and less risky investment. A TREE could be a talent and value-creation accelerant.
Companies have goals beyond just growth and value maximization as well. Many founders and companies aspire to create more ownership for employees and underrepresented segments of societies. TREEs could provide a long-term path to returning ownership to employees. This isn’t a new idea. Employee-owned enterprises have existed for over a century. Even larger corporations are recognizing employee ownership as both a differentiator and societal good.
Would companies lose brand capital by eschewing the old model?
Companies point to their investor base as a positive signal to potential executives, employees, and follow-on investors. Brand name investors create a strong perception of viability to the market. Would a TREE hurt this signal? More often than not, the company’s growth will be driven in the long-term by its fundamentals rather than the source of the dollars in its bank account. Brand name VCs may not utilize this type of security, but they represent just a sliver of the market that very few companies actually get funding from.
Why not just raise venture debt instead of creating a new security?
TREE securities would be better than venture debt. For companies that perform poorly or fail, investors would still receive the same preference in value payout via either the terms of the debt or the liquidation preferences of the TREE securities. In cases where the company does well, investors can make multiples of their initial investment, rather than just a higher interest repayment. Companies would opt for the TREE over debt given it doesn’t come with the restrictive covenants or personal liability of debt. | https://medium.com/@rysullivan/a-security-that-capped-early-investor-returns-would-benefit-employees-e4326b5d63aa | ['Ry Sullivan'] | 2021-02-23 18:28:37.510000+00:00 | ['Venture Capital', 'Equity', 'VC', 'Startup', 'Finance'] |
Hi, I’m Ella. | Hi, I’m Ella. I’m a 16 y/o resident of Washington. I’m here to share what therapy is actually like, spiritual activity I’ve experienced and answer to the best of my abilities any questions you could ever have about me, therapy and how to accept yourself for who you are. Follow me to ask any questions you’d like and to stay up to date on any and all stories I will post! | https://medium.com/@ellashort13/hi-im-ella-b3b674ce3937 | ['Ella Short'] | 2020-12-20 05:27:45.469000+00:00 | ['New Writers', 'Introduction'] |
My Life with the RNLI | By day I am a senior designer at Bright Blue Day in Bournemouth, where one of our clients is the Royal National Lifeboat Institute.
By evening, and on weekends, I am a volunteer RNLI lifeboat crew member at Poole lifeboat station. My pager gets turned on and I am ready to respond at a moment’s notice, ready to go to sea to assist those who need it. As volunteers, we live close to the station and are usually on call to drop everything in response to a ‘shout’.
Poole lifeboat going on a training exercise in Studland Bay. Photo: Will Collins
How it started…
I grew up on the coast in a little lifeboat town called Portrush in Northern Ireland. Ever since I was young, I have been fascinated with the sea and regularly watched the local lifeboat go on exercise at the weekends. Fast forward several years, and I decided to join the crew.
The RNLI is a big part of my life and I find it incredibly rewarding to contribute through my career and in my spare time. Both roles are very time consuming but it is a unique balance of commitment and enthusiasm that makes it work. Don’t get me wrong, it is hard sometimes to dedicate so much spare time but is worth it so we can bring people back safely.
Mayday! Mayday!
When we get paged, it’s like an instant hit of adrenaline. We get changed and head to station as quickly and safely as we can, get kitted/briefed and head to sea. This is usually all done in 6–8 minutes. We are the first responders at most shouts and have to complete intensive training to prepare for this — with first aid, navigation and boat handling a few key skills to master. Our shouts can be anything from first aid, missing persons, groundings, medivacs, searches, and sinking boats, to fire and mud rescues.
I always need to do the check before I leave the house; keys, wallet, phone and pager. And being aware of where I park at the supermarket, or in town as we tend to stay in a 2 mile radius of the station. You do have to live your life as normal; it’s just about being a little more prepared and knowing you can respond if needed.
Dressed ready for the elements in full crew kit. Photo: RNLI
Two complementary roles in life
Each role has its own unique skillset and I find a lot of these cross over. Teamwork is a must in both. In the agency, everyone has a role and there is a clear hierarchy. We all know what we need to contribute to make BBD work seamlessly and to deliver our work on time and to high standards.
It’s the same with the lifeboats. Everyone has their role on the boat; be it helmsman, navigator or radio operator. These all work in tandem on a shout and it’s through the training and experience that these all work effectively.
Both sides have the same ultimate goal; saving lives at sea. My job at BBD does this through designing advice and safety campaigns and through fundraising to sustain the operational side. Volunteering is the pointy end, assisting people from the sea or boats. We hope this will happen less and less as the safety work progresses.
My first-hand experience has helped influence the communications that I work on in the studio. From the front end of the RNLI, I often gain insights that I can feed into our team to answer design briefs. I have worked on a number of RNLI safety campaigns. These included commercial fishing safety, yachting safety, diving safety and dog walkers. All of these I have had first-hand experience of as a volunteer, which helps me communicate the goals of a design brief as I have met a lot of these people in difficult situations and can tailor the work in an emotional or targeted way.
In both roles you have to live by a set of values that define the place you work. These uphold the professionalism and the standards of the work we do in the studio and at sea. Both the RNLI and BBD hold these in the highest regard.
Poole lifeboat going on a training exercise in Studland Bay. Photo: Will Collins
Why I do it?
As volunteers, we put a lot of time not just in going to sea to rescue people. As a charity, we need to fundraise to ensure our existence and do this through various events like our station open day. Training is a massive part of being a crew member as most lifeboat crews don’t come from a maritime background so we attend various exercises and complete assessments to make sure we are fully competent on the boat. I have an enormous amount of pride and purpose as a volunteer crew member. I love the challenges it brings and that it puts you out of your comfort zone at times, as well as learning life skills such as first aid, communication and seamanship. The training gives us a lot of confidence much like gaining experience as a designer over several years. When the pager goes off in the office, it always hits home with my colleagues why we work for them, why we are involved and why we fundraise.
Interested in becoming a volunteer?
If you’re interest in being a volunteer then I would highly recommend it. If you’re passionate about something and have the time and commitment, volunteering is an amazing way of giving back to the community. Whether it’s being a marshal at a running event, shaking a bucket for a local charity or even volunteering on a lifeboat.
There are 2 ways of volunteering for the RNLI. First is locally at Poole lifeboat station were options exist for being a fundraiser, on the visits team, a crew member or shore crew. Check it out here: http://www.poolelifeboats.org.uk/volunteering/
Or look up the main RNLI website and see the opportunities that exist at a local or regional area: https://rnli.org/support-us/become-a-volunteer
Stay safe. | https://medium.com/@chris.speers/my-life-with-the-rnli-bae3afd6680f | ['Chris Speers'] | 2020-09-22 10:15:40.059000+00:00 | ['Agencylife', 'Life Stories', 'Day In The Life', 'Volunteering', 'Search And Rescue'] |
Will green energy save our planet? | As a provider of alternatives to fuel energy production, green energy is becoming the way to go. It’s a rapidly growing vertical that’s empowered by new technology based on solar panels and wind turbines leading the change.
However, after seeing solar panels mounted on thousands of home roofs, and wind turbine farms scattered out on the wild and at sea, I can’t help but wonder what’s going to happen with the waste generated by the solar panels when are no longer working.
If they aren’t working they perhaps will need to be dismantled and disposed of. That will be a lot of metal frames, glass panels, and embedded chemical products. Have anyone pondered about the chemical components that are part of the overall design of those panels? Where are we going to throw them out?
I’ve heard that the lifecycle of solar panels is good for up to 20 years and they require to be replaced after that period.
Nowadays, there’s a green energy trend that’s pushing homeowners to install solar panels to save energy and, in some cases, with the hope of reselling electricity back to a small grid expanding the neighborhood’ area.
However, for homeowners, is a very expensive undertaking filled with a plethora of shady areas imposed by solar panel manufacturers concerning the contract, insurance, costs, and installation, that together creates a hurdle in addition to the mounting uncertainty related to the house market, now that prices seem to be falling as a consequence of the low-interest rates that may have buyers cautious wondering whether a recession similar to the one in 2008 is coming.
In the case of the wind turbines, it’s tricky to see how Mother Nature, which this technology supposed to be saving, is affected by the construction of those tall poles.
Acres of land that end up razed to allow the construction of the towers supporting the turbines. The number of flying birds the turbine fans are killing on the regular basis, and the unknown consequences of the invasion of those white poles in the marine ecosystem when building up offshore, are elements that should be considered when planning the implementation of this replacement technology.
Besides, torn fiberglassed fans have shown the need to be replaced more frequently than initially expected.
Both technologies won’t cover the entire need for energy. Solar panels require sunlight to operate efficiently, and wind turbines need heavy winds to push the fans to around 180 miles an hour to produce energy.
No sunlight, no wind, and no electricity.
Although the green economy is sitting over a $1,3 TN pile of cash, it needs to dig deeper by check and balance more objective planning capable of figuring out the real savings against the implementation costs and real long-term benefits of both technologies.
Please check the following article below to expand the narrative regarding the green energy subject: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/16/us-green-economy-generates-1point3-trillion-and-employs-millions-new-study-finds.html
Armando Castellano Jr is the founder of walletever.org | https://medium.com/@ArmandoCastellanoJr/will-green-energy-save-our-planet-bebd54e2c766 | ['Armando Castellano Jr'] | 2019-10-17 14:59:31.939000+00:00 | ['Solar Energy', 'Green Energy', 'Renewable Energy'] |
Android TV to get redesigned Play Store | Android TV to get redesigned Play Store
Google, wait, I mean Alphabet, showed off a new version of Play Store during I/O 2019 that’s been redesigned to make the downloading of apps an easier affair. Alongside easier app downloads, the entire endeavor is meant to streamline the process of downloading entertainment apps like HBO and Starz and then proceeding to sign up for them and/or login to an existing account. Janko Roettgers for Variety:
To do this, Google is giving publishers the option to combine steps like the sign-up for a service, the installation of the necessary app and the log-in with a user’s credentials, requiring users to press a lot fewer buttons — a kind of one-click subscription feature, if you will. […]
With that growing popularity, the company is also increasingly dealing with discovery issues. Google wants to solve those issues with a relaunch of the Play Store on Android TV later this year with a bigger focus on discovery. “Too much choice can be a problem,” said Android TV developer ecosystem product lead Anwar Haneef during a recent interview with Variety.
One thing Google I/O attendees didn’t get to see was a new version of Android TV. The smart TV operating system received out major UI changes last year, and the company apparently has no plans for another such revamp in the near future. Asked whether Google would upgrade the Android TV codebase to Android Q, GovilPai said: “We don’t necessarily need to be on the same timeline.” | https://sonyreconsidered.com/android-tv-to-get-redesigned-play-store-76f21c3a7532 | ['Sohrab Osati'] | 2019-05-21 18:58:12.157000+00:00 | ['Android', 'Google', 'Tech', 'Home Theater', 'Sony'] |
From Java to JavaScript — Functions and Scopes | In my last post I wrote about data type differences between Java and JavaScript. When it comes to functions, Java and JavaScript have some big differences. Since Java 8 you have Lambda expressions, which give you the chance to pass functions as a method argument, if the parameter is an interface. In JavaScript, every function is an object. This means, you can pass functions to other functions, or create a function that takes another function as an argument (high order component / HOC). In the end, both languages have functional programming characteristics, with Java being more object oriented.
Functions in general have (or should have) the purpose of doing one task of taking some input and returning some output. They may also be used to collect functionality that have the same intent, like setup and connecting to a database. Furthermore, functions can provide privacy, in the matter that only some code has access to that code (for example: anonymous functions). Typically, functions should always return the same output for the same input (pure functions), so that they don’t have side effect and are predictable and testable.
Functions in Java
In Java, every function is bound to a class. This means, you cannot simply create a function for itself — you must add it to a class. There are different types of functions, like class functions (static), abstract functions (for inheritance) or class functions. Furthermore, class functions can be given a scope/visibility type (private, public, protected) which will be explained later. This brings us to the basic method template:
scope modifier returnType methodName(type arguments...) {
/* body */
}
So the basic method has the following options:
scope — (optional) defines the visibility of the method (either public, private, protected). If nothing is defined, it is default public.
modifier — (optional) defines the type of the method (static, final or abstract). Note that constructions like static final are possible and definitely make sense in some cases. If nothing is defined, the method is bound to the instance of the class on default.
are possible and definitely make sense in some cases. If nothing is defined, the method is bound to the instance of the class on default. returnType — (mandatory) defines the type the method returns. It can be basically any primitive data type or object. If nothing has to be returned, you can specify void .
. arguments — (optional) define a list of arguments including their type to pass to the function.
There are types of functions, which have a special use case. Especially in Java, you have the getter and setter methods, which simply do what they say: set and get values from an instance. They exist for privacy reasons, to prevent parts of your code to access instance variables directly. Specifically setter could be used to check if the values you want to set is valid, or to manage multi threaded access. Same counts for getter, where you maybe don’t want to return a raw date (that you persisted in a database), but rather like to return it in a special format. This concept is also part of a clean code paradigm, which prevents duplicate code, not too long functions and more.
Scope Basics in Java
Java is organized in the form of classes and packages, for which you can specify the scopes of your variables and functions at compile time. There are basically three types of scopes you can differentiate: class, method and block level scope.
Member variables relate to a class level scope, meaning that if you define a variable in a class (not inside a class function), this variable can be accessed inside this class. Depending on the modifier you set, the variable (or function) may also be accessible from outside the class. Classes can also be package-hidden, when you define no modifier for it: class Test {} rather than public class Test {} .
If you define a private constructor for a class, this means that you cannot instantiate it, thus there exist only one instance of that class (singelton). In fact, the instance is created and saved inside the singleton class. This might be useful for general settings or assets (images/videos) loading in your application.
Local variables relate to a method or block level scope, meaning that if you define a variable inside a method or block, cannot be accessed from outside:
public class Test {
private String name;
public void setName(String name) {
this.name = name;
{
int nonsense = 42;
System.out.println(nonsense);
}
System.out.println(this.name);
System.out.println(nonsense); // compile error: 'cannot find symbol'
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
Test test = new Test();
test.setName("foo");
}
}
You can run this example with javac Test.java and then java Test . The main point here is that it won’t compile, since line 13 tries to access the block-scoped variable nonsense . Furthermore, it shows the concept of private member variables ( name ), which can only be set using a publicly accessible setName method.
There is way more to add for Scopes in Java, but this would be out of scope for this article.
Functions in JavaScript
In JavaScript, a function is always an object. This opens the possible to pass functions via function parameters, return functions from functions and more. Compared to Java, JavaScript is a functional programming language naturally. There are some concepts that include classes and inheritance. But in the end, some transpiler like Babel will transpile the code into functions. Check out the Babel live compiler here.
Check out this example:
function printSomething0(input) {
console.log(input);
}
const printSomething1 = input => console.log(input);
const printSomething2 = function printSomething2(input) {
console.log(input);
}
printSomething0('test0'); // prints 'test0'
printSomething1('test1'); // prints 'test1'
printSomething2('test2'); // prints 'test2'
It shows three different ways of creating a function. The second one is called arrow function and is my favourite, since it is really concise. Note that this is only available since ECMA Script 2015 (ES6), and will probably be transpiled anyways.
A very important concept in JavaScript are closures. Basically, they are local or private functions, mainly to provide privacy (as mentioned in the beginning of this article). Another important concept are closure functions, described later.
Scope Basics in JavaScript
Similar to Java, objects can have (two) different scopes. You can differentiate between global and functional scope. It is not always as simple as in Java, where you may define a variable inside a function to give hide it from the outside. See the "use strict"; directive.
Also, consider the following example:
const chain = () => {
let str = 't'; // 'var' also possible
return input => {
str += input;
return str;
};
};
const t = chain();
console.log(t('e')); // prints 'te'
console.log(t('st')); // prints 'test'
console.log(str); // ReferenceError: str is not defined
It demonstrates the use of closures and scopes. You can see a closure as a function that has access to its parent scope, even after the parent function has been closed. In this example, str is hidden in the chain method, which only runs once. It also returns a function that has access to its outer/ parent scope str . On this way, the chain method has a private variable. There is way more to add for Scopes in JavaScript, like the let keyword (ES6), which is like a block scope, or object prototypes.
The “use strict” Directive
Understanding scopes in JavaScript is important. Depending on the type of code you write (module code is always strict), this directive is being used implicitly. But sometimes you have to set it yourself at the beginning of a file, in order to prevent the use of undeclared variables. Consider the following example:
"use strict";
test = 12345; // 'ReferenceError: test is not defined' | https://reime005.medium.com/from-java-to-javascript-functions-and-scopes-9bea24c7cfb | ['Marius Reimer'] | 2019-01-06 17:06:00.822000+00:00 | ['JavaScript', 'Software Development', 'Coding', 'Java', 'Programming'] |
DreamTeam Contributors Report Q2’2019 | Dear Contributor,
The end of the second quarter of 2019 ushers in the second edition of the DreamTeam Contributors Quarterly Report. Things at DreamTeam are changing quickly: more and more game features have been added, the DREAM token has been listed on its second exchange, planning has started to add our fourth game, and a long list of flows and designs have been A/B tested. In fact, the principal focus of Q2 was to evaluate the DreamTeam platform and feature KPI’s, highlight areas of opportunity, and outline possible strategic pivots. Because of this, we now know more about what users do on our platform and why they do it than ever before. Join us as we take a look at what has changed, in the last three months, on DreamTeam, the one-of-a-kind payment gateway for players, teams, tournaments, and sponsors.
Traction
For DreamTeam to continue to grow, we must do more than simply add cool new features. DreamTeam must evaluate existing features in order to ensure those features are, in fact, the features that the esports industry wants and needs. The recently hired CMO and CPO are doing just that. Upon joining DreamTeam, the CMO and CPO identified several areas that could be improved and launched a series of A/B tests that were conducted over the course of several months. Based on those results, we are proud to announce that a few user acquisition, retention, and premium conversion bottlenecks have been identified and are in the process of being removed.
Let’s take a look at some of the Q2 numbers:
10+ different A/B tests conducted
16 new big and small game features added
1500 users engaged with for feedback
1.5M emails sent
Product Development
In the past three months, DreamTeam’s added three new modules, redesigned the navigation menus, and launched a long list of game features that will help boost our user acquisition and retention numbers.
Modules
In Q2, DreamTeam launched the following two new platform modules: the DreamTeam Training Center and the Player Analytics Dashboard. Each module, in itself, can be considered a valuable tool for any CS:GO Player or Team. When combined with other DreamTeam CS:GO features, it is easy to see why DreamTeam continues to be the teambuilding and skill-growing platform.
Training Center : the DreamTeam Training Center is the quickest and easiest way for players to improve their CS:GO skills. Players can use it solo or with their team to improve skills on various map categories and game types.
: the DreamTeam Training Center is the quickest and easiest way for players to improve their CS:GO skills. Players can use it solo or with their team to improve skills on various map categories and game types. Player Analytics Dashboard: the Player Analytics Dashboard is a module that will pull, store, and organize Player statistics from the DreamTeam Analytics Tool. The PAD will allow teams to keep track of their progression over time and get a better understanding of where they were, where they currently are, and what they need to continue to work on in order to advance their skills.
Platform Features
The primary focus for platform features in Q2 was to ensure that DreamTeam’s platform navigation system is as user-friendly as possible. As a result, DreamTeam updated the following:
The new navigation menu:
Find: allows users to find players, teams, or team vacancies
Practice: allows users to choose between the Training Center or Practice Games
Analytics: allows users to access the CS:GO Analytics tools
Coaching: allows users to choose between Self-coaching or Team-coaching
Learn: allows users to access the DreamTeam blog in order to stay up-to-date on everything Apex Legends, CS:GO, and LOL.
The new Q-bar now has the option to be collapsed or expanded. The collapsed view gives users, who are already familiar with the DreamTeam icons, the ability to maximize the platform viewing area. The expanded view displays the icons along with the icon names, helping new users easily navigate the platform.
Game Features
In order to remain the place for Apex and CS:GO, DreamTeam must continue to evolve along with the games and communities. As a result, the following game features have been added.
Apex
Player Profiles with Dynamic Stats : The dynamic stats system allows Players to see stat progression over any selected period of time. Profiles also allow Players to connect various social media links. By doing this, DreamTeam Apex becomes part of the larger Apex Legends community.
: The dynamic stats system allows Players to see stat progression over any selected period of time. Profiles also allow Players to connect various social media links. By doing this, DreamTeam Apex becomes part of the larger Apex Legends community. Stats Per Match : Players can now check their stats over a selected number of matches. This is very important. Checking your progress over a 7 or 14-day time span can make it difficult to see small changes in your stats based on gameplay strategy changes, as those days could possibly include hundreds of matches. By checking stat progression over 20 or 50 matches, Players can get a more accurate picture of how their gameplay strategy changes affect their stats.
: Players can now check their stats over a selected number of matches. This is very important. Checking your progress over a 7 or 14-day time span can make it difficult to see small changes in your stats based on gameplay strategy changes, as those days could possibly include hundreds of matches. By checking stat progression over 20 or 50 matches, Players can get a more accurate picture of how their gameplay strategy changes affect their stats. Legend Stats: Provides users with an understanding of the stats of the Legends in Apex Legends. Having more stats on specific Legends can help Players choose which Legend they should use.
Provides users with an understanding of the stats of the Legends in Apex Legends. Having more stats on specific Legends can help Players choose which Legend they should use. Recurring Tracker Additions : Trackers are being added as frequently as possible. This gives Players access to as many stats as Apex allows.
: Trackers are being added as frequently as possible. This gives Players access to as many stats as Apex allows. Apex Leaderboards : Allow Players to see the world’s best in nine different categories. Seeing the statistics of the world’s top Players can help motivate Players to play more and try to reach greater heights.
: Allow Players to see the world’s best in nine different categories. Seeing the statistics of the world’s top Players can help motivate Players to play more and try to reach greater heights. LFG with Chat: Connects a Player’s stats to each message, displays the player’s legend-of-choice, mic information, and gives Players the ability to filter messages by any Legend and platform. Each message is a glimpse into the ability of the Player, making it much easier to find the right teammates.
CS:GO
Match Replay Viewer : Allows Players and Teams to see an exact replay of their games. They can track their strategy, movements, and analyze their games and the games of their competitors all through strategic visualization.
: Allows Players and Teams to see an exact replay of their games. They can track their strategy, movements, and analyze their games and the games of their competitors all through strategic visualization. Improved Flow : All “Play Now” games, which are games that start within 15 minutes, completely skip the Team Application process. The first Team to “Apply” is automatically selected to play in that game. The “quick start option” makes it easier for Teams to apply to a game and also helps ensure that those created games are actually played.
: All “Play Now” games, which are games that start within 15 minutes, completely skip the Team Application process. The first Team to “Apply” is automatically selected to play in that game. The “quick start option” makes it easier for Teams to apply to a game and also helps ensure that those created games are actually played. Additional Game Options and Formats : The following long list of game options and formats has been added to the platform: knife rounds, overtime rules, chat commands, 1v1 Practice Games, teamless practice games, and training center server location options.
: The following long list of game options and formats has been added to the platform: knife rounds, overtime rules, chat commands, 1v1 Practice Games, teamless practice games, and training center server location options. Practice Game Chats: When a Practice Game is created, it automatically gets published in the “Practice Game Region” public chat and Players receive a notification in their Notification Center. This means that Players will receive a direct link to any Practice Game that fits their profile preferences.
Fortnite
Fortnite is coming to DreamTeam! The last couple of months have also been filled with planning the strategies behind the addition of the fourth DreamTeam game. DreamTeam will release more information as the release date nears.
Game Analytics
The Game Analytics team worked closely with the Design Lab to create a series of A/B tests that covered main page designs to registration flows to UX and UI tests. The DreamTeam Analytics Tool has also continued to undergo various updates. Vertigo has been added to the DreamTeam Replay Viewer and Players now have the ability to speed up or slow down the replay with 3x and 0.5x options. In addition to the A/B tests and Replay Viewer updates, The Player Analytics Dashboard now has personal analytics for shooting and grenades.
Blockchain Development
Implementation and Integration of the DreamTeam Token to the platform has been one of the priorities for our Blockchain and Payments team. Over the last few months, DreamTeam has taken the following steps towards the acceptance and support of the DREAM token.
Trickle app development
By the end of April, the automatic underlying conversion of fiat currency to DREAM tokens was ready. However, it took a bit longer than planned to make this feature available to all users, primarily because of the integration tests against the exchanges we are working with.
Additionally, we’ve started working on compensation smart contracts. In terms of a proof of concept project, we built and launched Trickle, a decentralized application for the open-source community. Trickle was one of the winners of EthCapeTown hackathon.
DREAM Platform Integration
The Blockchain and Payments team has been working on DREAM token integration and have outlined a plan for the initial DREAM Token integration onto the DT platform. The goal is to create a flexible token infrastructure that can be leveraged by multiple DreamTeam features, can enhance user retention, and will help create long term value for the token.
In June, the Blockchain and Payments team worked on the development of an experiment with the DreamTeam Wallet & Questline rewards. The goal of the experiment was to compare the engagement of users with the platform with and without the DreamTeam Wallet and rewards for questline completion.
The DreamTeam Wallet test consists of three parts:
Add token rewards for completing the DreamTeam Quest
Add the DreamTeam Wallet to the DreamTeam platform to allow users to collect and spend tokens, currently only on the DreamTeam platform.
Add “Search Booster” — feature users can spend tokens on. Search Boosters place a user’s Player Profile at the top of the Player search for some period of time.
DreamTeam will use the experiment results to shape the next DreamTeam Token-related features.
Exchange listing
In Q2, The DREAM token was listed on its second exchange, Kuna, the largest exchange for Central European, Eastern European, and other CIS countries. Along with the standards that traders have come to expect from any exchange: being 100% secure, around the clock support, various trading pairs, Kuna also has many other features: quick and easy deposits and withdrawals, a new API, mobile app, and Premium accounts. Kuna is also the easiest way to buy and sell crypto as there is no lengthy authorization process and each deposit and withdrawal occurs immediately.
After being listed on our second exchange, we were finally able to apply to and be added on CoinMarketCap, the leading analytical crypto portal. We were successfully added on our first try. All DreamTeam contributors can now easily track DREAM’s market performance.
Events
DreamTeam continues to participate in events around the world in order to meet with blockchain opinion leaders, talk about DreamTeam and the DREAM token, and expand our database of useful contacts. In Q2 2019, DreamTeam attended Consensus 2019, the annual gathering of the cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. In June, our CMO attended the EA PLAY. His focus for the event was on Apex and its competitive direction. Also, our Marketing Director spoke at eSPORTconf Ukraine, where he talked about how DT built an esports recruitment platform that gained more than 1 million users in just a single year.
Media
In Q2, the Media team continued to support all of the DreamTeam product launches, including the Training Center, Apex Mobile app, Apex Dynamic Stats, Replay Viewer, simplified Practice Games flow, and other Apex features: Legend Stats, and added trackers. Our Media team also helped the Product team with new feature development and updating staffing flows.
The Media team produced the following content for all DreamTeam owned media channels:
Created, posted, and promoted 124 unique articles for Apex, CS:GO, and LoL
Created 18 new videos for DreamTeam’s CS:GO YouTube channel and 4 for the Apex YouTube channel
DreamTeam’s owned media stats:
4 million people reached
1,000,000+ YouTube views
In terms of engagement, DreamTeam reduced the LoL content starting in May, yet was still maintaining a 3.3% engagement rate due to DreamTeam’s Apex Legends content growth.
PR
DreamTeam is actively working on creating different kinds of content to keep our key audiences up-to-date on the DREAM token as well as DreamTeam news and product updates.
In Q2, we were mentioned in 33 articles including Entrepreneur, HackerNoon, Oracle Times, Kanobu, Benzinga, AMBCrypto, and many others. Our CEO was also interviewed by popular crypto channels including Crypto Beadles, CryptoCoinShow, and the David Pakman Show.
We updated our contributors with the latest DreamTeam news and released three DreamTeam Digests and three DreamTeam Development Reports.
Customer Support
The Support team received a high customer satisfaction rate of 89% and was also able to maintain a solid average first-response time of 20 minutes.
In Q2, we sent 503 customer surveys and received a response rate of 17%. Overall, we received 74 positive and 10 negative satisfaction ratings.
The past three months have been amazing in terms of features added, positive feedback received, increased organic traffic, and a higher retention rate. In case you missed the Q2 monthly DreamTeam Development Updates, you can read them here.
About DreamTeam:
DreamTeam — infrastructure platform and payment gateway for esports and gaming.
Stay in touch: Token Website|Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn |BitcoinTalk.org
If you have any questions, feel free to contact our support team any time at [email protected]. Or you can always get in touch with us via our official Telegram chat. | https://medium.com/dreamteam-gg/dreamteam-contributors-report-q22019-7bff01edb434 | [] | 2019-07-22 12:48:48.086000+00:00 | ['Quarter Reports', 'Blockchain', 'Esport', 'Gaming', 'Startup'] |
Implementing the K-Means and Agglomerative Clustering Algorithms | I implemented the k-means and agglomerative clustering algorithms from scratch in this project. (Link to Github Repo of Source Code) The python script in the repo uses the yelp dataset. Yelp Dataset Link. I verified the correctness of the implementation using the SKLearn implementations of these algorithms.
Here is some analysis I carried out to understand and compare the two algorithms. Four attributes are used to carry out the clustering in this analysis (latitude, longitude, reviewCount and checkins).
Comparing K-Means vs Agglomerative Clustering Along Two Dimensions (K Value = 3)
Understanding Which Dimensions are Driving the K-Means Clustering Model (K Value = 4)
From the plots above, its evident that the dimensions reviewCount and Checkins are driving the clustering model. We can make this inference from the clear, and well-defined pattern of the clusters in the reviewCount vs Checkins 2D plot.
The reason for this has to do with how we use the Euclidean distance for the similarity metric in K-means clustering. It should be self-evident that the dimensions with much higher values (and range) are going to affect the final distance more than the dimensions with much lower values (and range)
Observe that in the yelp data set, the reviewCount and Checkins values are MUCH higher than the latitude and longitude values. So the result is that those dimensions affect the similarity metric substantially more than the rest. Since we use the similarity metric to evaluate the clusters, it makes sense that the clustering model is driven more by the dimensions, checkins and reviewCount. | https://medium.com/@aakashpydi/implementing-the-k-means-and-agglomerative-clustering-algorithms-3eaf0c229820 | ['Aakash Pydi'] | 2019-06-09 00:48:41.514000+00:00 | ['Data Mining', 'Machine Learning', 'K Means', 'Clustering'] |
Why Do People Think Digital Marketing Course is a Good Idea? | Digital Marketing may be the promotion of goods with the use of digital stations like internet search engines like google, sociable media, email, and websites. A digital marketer is engaged in driving brand awareness, prospecting and many other online tasks which aids a business to earn additional income. Skillhai — The Institute of Skill Development, is one the best institute in Digital Marketing Course in Delhi. Digital Marketing leads to least 20%percent of lead earnings of an organization participating in advertising and promoting its services and products digitally. Therefore it’s the Appropriate moment to combine up a Digital Marketing Course.
Digital Marketing Course is one of the most useful options for a great livelihood. With an abundance of opportunities within the speciality and good salaries, it is proper to combine a digital advertising training course. These days it has become a necessity for businesses to own a robust online presence. Therefore they need to take assistance from digital marketing businesses to boost their internet presence. Thus are there many chances for everybody who would like to make their livelihood inside this field. If you’re in Delhi, you can discover excellent institutes such as SKILLHAI — The Institute of Skill Development, offering Digital Marketing Course in Delhi.
We are prime and the best institute to get digital advertising class at Delhi/NCR & across India. This class enables you to be effective at catching a very good package being a fresher. What’s more, it will improve your skill if you are a working pro and supply you with sufficient opportunities to behave as a freelancer right following the digital advertising and advertising program’s conclusion.
In late years demand for digital-marketing has increased by 50%, leading to the marketing and advertising Industry. Skillhai — The Institute of Skill Development, is one the best institute in Digital Marketing Course in Delhi. On the web advertising and marketing takes place today in receiving high-quality prospects to instant earnings. Undeniably, this makes it mandatory for Company Providers, Experts, and livelihood starters to learn digital-marketing classes. Digital-marketing tasks would be the absolute most in-demand jobs while in almost any firm’s marketing departments worldwide. Digital Marketing & Branding is essential to Startups and should be launched at the Initial Stage. | https://medium.com/@skillhai/why-do-people-think-digital-marketing-course-is-a-good-idea-6413edf6536 | [] | 2020-12-26 10:30:53.662000+00:00 | ['Email Marketing', 'SEO', 'Google Analytics', 'Digital Marketing', 'Google Adwords'] |
What the Weeping Willow Tree Symbolizes On a Spiritual and Human Level | What the Weeping Willow Tree Symbolizes On a Spiritual and Human Level
Photo by Andrew Wilus from Pexels
This short story metaphor is a tribute to a fellow Medium writer, Rabia Akram, and her publication.
Although I don’t personally know you, Rabia, I’ve read some of your stories and feel you’re a lovely soul, which is why I wanted to contribute to your new publication, Tree Stories.
The spiritual symbolism behind the weeping willow tree is a profound one that every human can relate to.
I wonder if that’s why maybe I’ve been fascinated with this tree on a soul level ever since I was a little girl. | https://medium.com/tree-stories/what-the-weeping-willow-tree-symbolizes-on-a-spiritual-and-human-level-8b581f6ce905 | ['Nikki Mcmillan'] | 2020-12-22 00:37:29.304000+00:00 | ['Spirituality', 'Letting Go', 'Flexibility', 'Self', 'Trees'] |
“Don’t invest in it, it’s a scam!” | “Don’t invest in it, it’s a scam!”
The beautiful thing about setbacks
Photo by Nicolas Cool on Unsplash
Over the last 300 years, civilization has grown by leaps and bounds. It’s so interesting that what could not be achieved in 3,000 years was achieved in less than 300. There is a reason for that, but that’s not why I’m here. Consider how this change in the last 300 years have affected the lifestyle of people. And now look at today, and what kind of reality people have to face whether they like it or not.
There was a man I know who loved business. He is well invested in stocks and encouraged others to do so. He introduced brokers to a lot of people. Then the 2008/2009 financial crisis happened. This was not the USA, this was a country hit more strongly by the ripple effect. The stocks got crazily diluted and they have not recovered to the 2006/2007 levels till date. You know how the man must feel. Not just for himself but for those who made losses on his recommendation.
Fast forward a few years later, bitcoin came. He told me he knew about bitcoin when it was less than $5. He said no to it. Not a wrong call though, because he didn’t understand it and those who brought it to him couldn’t explain it properly. Perhaps if he did then, it would have been misplaced or hacked. But you know how volatile the crypto market is. After seeing some amazing drops, he concluded it was a scam. But there is a technology behind it! No one seems to care. The next thing I was hearing from my folks was:
Don’t invest in bitcoin, it is a scam!
When I asked them, how is it a scam? The only thing they can mumble is that it dropped so hard in value. Do you know what drives it? Do you know what problem it solves? Do you know how its value is determined? Do you know what the future holds concerning it? Do you know how it compares against other currencies? All they say is that it is a scam. And well, that’s fearful people for you. So here’s my question for them, now that you believe crypto is a scam, what are you going to invest in?
The cypto world has had it rough so far this year. I got into the ecosystem around September 2017. Owning bitcoin or any other coin in itself is not an investment and I knew this from the onset. My focus was on the passive income. And so far, I have no regrets; I am in it for the world of the future. However, it is just annoying when you find people who look at the setback in the crypto world and judge based on it. The setbacks are actually good because they separate those who are interested in the long term growth and development of the ecosystem from the short term speculators who came in because of the up-spikes in prices.
As for me, I plan to have 5 income streams before the end of the year. Only 2 are functional right now. Would add the third one this month. Strongly hope I can generate enough income to start travelling around the world from next year. Cheers! | https://medium.com/the-ascent/dont-invest-in-it-it-s-a-scam-2a7a1fd50ff1 | ['David O.'] | 2018-06-13 21:01:04.633000+00:00 | ['Future', 'Cryptocurrency', 'Technology', 'Bitcoin', 'Investing'] |
Why I Give Where I Give | Giving Tuesday felt like a massive imposition, but there’s a way to think about this.
I get it. The original idea around Giving Tuesday was a terrific one. Beginning in 2012, back in the days when my business was still in full force and I was making some money, the idea was appealing. Here’s the back story:
After the effects of this year, especially given that I no longer run that consultancy, things are a bit different. First, I am grounded by Covid, as are we all (okay, okay, some of us are). I can’t fly, that means I can’t work, and I can’t do my travel blogging. So, that income is dead. For now.
Medium in its questionable wisdom or lack thereof has managed to mangle not only my income but also that of many of the rest of us, most especially people who’ve been around long enough to have a substantial following and the income that comes of it. Now that the Follow button has become a sad joke, any income I might have hoped to make from my labors, well. Worse, the people I follow, I can’t find either, and their stuff no longer appears so that they can benefit financially from my eyeballs. Go figure. Merry Christmas.
Honestly.
The unemployment I get as a gig worker barely tops a hundred a week. I’m not sure what you can do with that, it’s better than nothing at all, but because the funds were based on a year during which I was in startup mode, there’s nothing to be done. So, not a lot to play with in terms of generosity.
Still, research shows, and it has really been emphasized, that those who have suffered the most financially, those who need charity or who are living right on the edge, tend to be more generous than those who don’t. Case in point, the Grand Turtle, Mitch McConnell, as well as most of his party. That said, nothing turns a Republican into a Democrat faster than to need unemployment insurance and food stamps. Funny how that works, when hoarders become helpless when it’s their turn in the lack barrel.
So when my inbox got bombed yesterday- and I mean BOMBED- with requests and demands to give, I had to go horseback riding.
I’m so glad I can still afford the occasional lesson. Standing in a stall, scrubbing down a horse who is hugely happy to have you there is one hell of a nice way to shrug off the shit, even as I collected plenty of it on my sneakers.
GIVE GIVE GIVE GIVE
I’ve been getting bombed with GoFundMe Campaigns since March. Some I have given to, others I’ve written about and promoted (Kilimanjaro cleanups, for example). I have given what I can where I can, depending on how much I make on Medium (BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA) and how badly the house construction costs have run over budget.
A lot, in fact. At least three times what I budgeted for. You can relate, I’m sure.
But I did give. Some of what I gave went to the Safina Center:
Their mission:
At the Safina Center we advance the case for Life on Earth by fusing scientific understanding, emotional connection, and a moral call to action. We create an original blend of science, art, and literature in the form of award-winning books and articles, scientific research, photography, films, sound-art, and spoken words. We bear first-hand witness and then we speak up, we speak out, and we teach. Our work is designed to inspire and engage others to devote their time and energies to conservation of wild things and wild places. Our creative works have proven their power to change people’s lives and their view of the world.
and
People cannot engage unless they see solutions. We generate some light here; we are guides and thought-leaders. Our Fellows program supports and propels world-recognized writers, artists, and filmmakers. And perhaps more importantly our Launchpad (early-career) Fellows are — with your help — launching professional careers that will carry their important work into coming decades. We are pleased to have a wide circle of Creative Affiliates, highly accomplished and exceptionally creative people who share and amplify one another’s messages and work, and the work of the Safina Center.
The Safina Center is a 501(c)3 nonprofit based on Long Island, N.Y.
This place is one of the few where the overused and much-abused term “thought leader” is wholly legit.
Yeah, you say, they all say that. With so many charities siphoning off money for personal use so that the end product doesn’t get much of what’s left, if you’re jaded, I get it. This isn’t that.
Carl Safina is a personal hero of mine, and his center receives half of what I have left when I expire. But that’s not all. Where they are active is often in places where you and I and the environment (and human rights and and and and) are going to benefit, and so will future generations. To wit:
The Safina Center is one of the reasons this article came about. For those of us who are deeply concerned about the costs of commercial fishing both in terms of wildlife, discarded (read: dead, wasted life) catch as byproducts of netting, bird life killed by lines on the ships, people forced into slavery or outright killed in the name of fishing, this kind of movement is a godsend.
It’s going to take time, and it’s also going to take massive efforts to redirect cultures away from the kind of seafood consumption that is doing so very much damage in our world. But this promises to revolutionize not only what we eat, but also those who grow the products used to make this food, which means education, retraining and redirecting, and opportunities for farmers to refocus.
Photo by Bundo Kim on Unsplash
What about taste? If you, like I am, a huge fan of crabcakes, there is more than just hope. From the article:
Artichoke, hearts of palm, and cabbage play the role of crabmeat in the final product, with rice flour and potato starch used for binding and a hint of Old Bay seasoning for taste. The cake comes as a frozen lump and is easy to prepare: thaw, fry, top with tartar sauce. The crispy outside and cakey inside does everything a crab cake is supposed to do. Was I aware that I was basically eating an artichoke patty? Yes, I was. Was this a problem? Not at all.
Besides. You check the price on a pound of blue crab meat lately? Yeah. That. From thirty to forty bucks.
If you are a vegan, and if you care about this kind of thing, then you will forgive me if I suggest that what you save on purchasing plants instead of prime rib might be well served (pardon the pun) invested in this kind of work.
Photo by Sebastian Pena Lambarri on Unsplash
In the last few years I’ve been educating myself on what we’ve learned about fish, their consciousness, their ability to feel pain or have emotions and awareness. Those things have caused me to feel much more strongly about how responsibly we treat our aquatic buddies, not only from the standpoint of how we care for these living creatures, but also the shit we keep dumping into their house, as it were.
If someone poured sewage into your living room, how might you feel? Precisely.
So there’s a great deal to be said about supporting organizations which are focused on cleaning up, educating, enlivening our lives with new discoveries, sharing incredible new science about those creatures with whom we share this tiny marble. And who are determined to make sure that most of it is here when your grandbabies have grandbabies.
Photo by Daniil Silantev on Unsplash
In a year full of lousy news, this is the kind of story and work I can not only get behind, but it also reminds me of why I send money to the Safina Center. It’s not just about giving. It’s about giving where the gain is out-sized in proportion to your gift. That life on earth-all life on earth- may potentially benefit from the few bucks I can afford to send even in a shit year, with a shit president, and with shit income, I can still find money to give.
Because while I may not be working, the money I do give needs to work. To that end, if I am going to give anything to charity, it’s important that those funds, no matter how meager, and they are, pay off long after I’m fish food myself.
I want to be a part of that kind of story. Already am.
So yeah. Everyone needs something these days. You will forgive me if I don’t respond to the panhandlers on my street corners in Eugene whose signs say that they need money for chew. Forgive the pun, but folks, go spit.
There are better things to do with the funds we can set aside. Safina gets mine.
I hope when you choose to give, your gift keeps right on giving.
Photo by Samuel Regan-Asante on Unsplash
To see the books Carl Safina has written, and they have deserved every single award they have won ( a lot of them) AND there is a new one for kids, please go to:
Please note: I do not have a business relationship with the Safina Center. Just an emotional one.
Thanks for reading, and to Dr. Safina, thanks for writing. | https://medium.com/illumination-curated/why-i-give-where-i-give-1a471728ffb2 | ['Julia E Hubbel'] | 2020-12-03 04:07:08.775000+00:00 | ['Animals', 'Sustainability', 'Charity', 'Giving', 'Conservation'] |
Celer Network 71st Weekly Project Progress Report (1/13–1/17) | Dear Community,
Happy Weekend! 🙌 Here is our 71st weekly project progress report on our community building and technology development! Meanwhile, you can also follow our Twitter account for more updates from Celer Network.
Past Events:
1. Celer Network 2019 Reflection
Read our freshly published 2019 Reflection here. 2019 was a growth year for Celer Network. In 2020, we hope to see increasingly faster growth and positive return from the seeds we planted in 2019.
2. CelerX Interview 2.0
In Celer Interview 2.0, we invited our design lead — Alex to share more behind the scenes stories of Celer. What’s CelerX and what’s the design philosophy behind it? Which CelerX game is Alex’s current favorite? 🐕 Check the interview for all the answers.
3. Solitaire & Gem Cash released in CelerX
Solitaire fans 📢We’ve just added the classic solitaire game into CelerX! Now you can play your favorite card game in CelerX and compete with players around the world. Better yet, with real money prizes!
Match three or more gems to get gold coin rain and high score! The newest addition “Gem Cash” is an addictive and easy game to play.
Join CelerX tournaments here: https://go.onelink.me/N9wI/1stT
4. Partnership with Poseidon Network
We’re excited to announce Celer Network’s upcoming strategic partnership with decentralized content acceleration network -Poseidon. The partnership will allow Celer to help Poseidon Network to improve its profit-distribution mechanism.
Technology:
Mobile:
Finalizing the gamified app on iOS
Finished gamified app onboarding flow for Android
Designed reward phase-2 APIs
Backend:
Continue design and begin implementation of new CelerX reward features
Successfully tested SGN functionalities and UI features on Rinkeby testnet
OSP reliability and operational improvements
Community:
Twitter: 18,896
Telegram: 23,561
Wechat: 9,766
Thank you for reading our 71st weekly report! Please join our telegram group to stay in touch and ask us questions!! We will see you next week! 🙌
Download CelerX now!
Follow Celer Network: | https://medium.com/celer-network/celer-network-71st-weekly-project-progress-report-1-13-1-17-3c114eca7194 | ['Celer Network'] | 2020-01-19 03:00:27.525000+00:00 | ['Blockchain', 'Celernetwork', 'Celerweekly'] |
This time. A self-reflection poem. | Maybe this is the time to just breath.
Maybe it’s not about finding anyone anymore to fill your void.
Maybe this is the time to finally let go of all the layers of agony, despair, and perceptions you’ve carried.
Maybe this is the time to conquer your fears.
Maybe this is the time to believe in you.
Maybe this is the time to weap.
Maybe this is the time to be honest with yourself.
Maybe this is the time to say no more than yes.
Maybe this is the time stop all the comparing.
Maybe this is the time to forgive your past.
Maybe this is the time to be ok with doing one small action to keep you moving forward and get you through your day.
Maybe this is the time when you finally say yes to you.
Maybe this is the time when you accept yourself just as you are with all your beautiful flaws.
Maybe this is the time when you learn to fully love yourself.
Maybe this is the time to show up with all the love, kindness, empathy, respect, confidence, and integrity you have always had.
Maybe this is the time to focus on becoming a better version of yourself while helping others shine and making this world a little better together. | https://medium.com/@nancynunez/this-is-the-time-a-self-reflection-poem-6db7bac64c04 | ['Nancy Nunez'] | 2020-12-17 17:18:57.534000+00:00 | ['Self Improvement', 'Poetry Writing', 'Poetry On Medium', 'Growth', 'Poems On Medium'] |
Why would anyone not support Black Lives Matter? | Why would anyone not support Black Lives Matter?
A non-simplistic look at BLM opposers
There are some concepts and ideas which are untouchable in current times. When words such as “equality”, “liberty”, and “happiness” are uttered, virtually everyone (in the West) agrees that they are something good that should be progressed towards.
The idea of perpetual “progress” is itself one of these ideas which are undisputed in modern societies. In a very matryoshka-like way, the ideas previously mentioned fall under our idea of “progress”. The very same idea which liberal ideologies have very successfully based themselves around for decades now.z
It is not hard to see, then, why defeating the left-leaning juggernaut on every level of society is such a herculean task. And, more to the topic of this article, it becomes much harder to phantom the notion that someone would agree with one of these political causes. The one in question, of course, being the Black Lives Matter movement which recently took flight after the death of George Floyd and others.
Although the BLM movement has been around for much longer,only recently has it achieved such an undisputed status, to the point that mainstream brands now treat it as religiously as they treat LGBT pride. That being the case, how could anyone still oppose it nowadays?
Rioters, looters, and all-around chaos-creators
Pointing out the elephant in the room for starters: a lot of people have a problem with looters taking advantage of the situation to get themselves new plasma TVs (or LEDs, whatever they happen to find.) Of course, this has been the most talked about critique towards BLM, and it usually gets shut down by the argument that these are not true protesters.
What is very often ignored or overlooked by BLM defenders is the overall environment of unrest — and sometimes even chaos — that BLM demonstrations often cause. The looters taking advantage of protests are not what the BLM movement stands for, for sure, but they would not have the opportunity to start looting places had it not been for the riots and disorder caused by the protests.
It is said that there can be no liberty without order. The rule of law is the foundation on which stable societies are allowed to flourish, and law enforcement is part of that rule of law. When individuals start to break the rule of law and create such unstable environments— even if it is for a good cause — society’s stability is put at risk.
Perhaps it is time to put a halt to the activist engines and attempt to backtrack in these times. Especially at this point, when people feel empowered enough to do things such as physically assault police officers without fear of any consequences.
Thus, what (smart) looting critics have a problem with is not the act of looting itself, it’s the way these protests are taking place and their consequences. For civil rights advocates, a large portion of BLM supporters seem to have never internalized the lessons from the civil rights movement.
Radicalism and political agendas
The sudden boom of relevance of the BLM movement following events such as George Floyd’s death has empowered outlandish proposals to
Make no mistake though: the radical side of BLM did not spawn as a result of these events. Contrary to being so spontaneous, many of these radical notions were already well into their development years ago. Political veterans might remember this video, in which the more hateful side of BLM was put on full display.
Although sites such as Snopes will try to “fact check” away things like these by talking about the “high tensions” present and pointing to the wider protests, which are valid points, this does not change the fact that sentiments like these are shared by a portion of BLM advocates. This is in itself worrying due to reasons that will be discussed later on.
For now, though, we have seen these radical ideas have real-world effects. One of the main proposals of the BLM movement has been prison reform, which includes giving more rights to convicted felons and pathways to rehabilitation. Unexpectedly (if you have not followed his actions closely, that is), the Trump administration implemented those very same ideas in programs such as the First Step Act.
President Trump is someone whom an incredible number of liberals consider to be a racist, bigot, and terribly orange man. Yet after seeing his presidency make these reforms, one has to acknowledge the influence of BLM ideology in our current climate. Be that political or cultural.
As previously touched upon, giant brands and companies have all championed political causes before. LGBT pride, women’s empowerment, diversity, and, being the latest one, the BLM movement. Writing this off as a simple commemoration of George Floyd or any other person’s unfair death would be very easy, but, again, that would only be looking surface-level.
Corporations and activists are actively pushing and agenda that, whether they are aware of it or not, is perfectly tailored to benefit certain parties under the disguise of equality and social justice.
As covered by several studies and data, granting convicted felons the right to vote would prove to be of tremendous political gain to the Democratic Party. Not only in most recent times, but elections as far back as George W. Bush could have been drastically different if felons had been allowed to vote.
It is not hard to see why felons prefer the Democrats over any other parties. As is generally known by now, people of color are over-represented in the U.S. penal system. These people of color, especially African-Americans, have been voting overwhelmingly for Democratic candidates for decades. Conveniently enough, movements such as BLM are very much linked to the ideals of pro-diversity, pro-”equality”, and many other liberal ideas that make picking off voters in this demographic so easy.
Even outside of elections, though, the influence of the BLM movement makes itself known. Most are already familiar with the controversies over affirmative action, which at its bare bones is a spoils system based on race, but that is only limited to the field of education. Lately, Democrats in California (again, the Democratic Party is deeply linked to BLM) have been attempting to do away with old civil rights laws in favor of new ones.
As discussed in this article, the changes Democrats are attempting to pass would place special preference over certain demographics in academia. Some of the implementations of this system would be recruitment programs and scholarships based on race/ethnicity, an extra focus on recruiting faculty based on the former, among other clearly unlawful (for now) actions. This would be placed on top of the affirmative action initiatives many schools have taken, of course, and it would effectively remove discrimination protections from certain demographics.
In the spirit of remaining hopeful, there have been proposals which have not yet made it very far. The calls for “de-funding the police” have not made it very far because most people seem to have enough common sense to know that crime will not magically disappear. This is not to mention the actual calls for abolishing the police, which have made it nowhere for obvious reasons.
All in all, these initiatives and changes have been directly influenced by the BLM movement in some way, whether it be before George Floyd’s death or afterwards. The fact that this movement has recently gained so much traction will only help to expose its uglier aspects in the future.
Closing thoughts
Regardless of the many objections people might put against BLM-related initiatives, none of these take away from the fact that injustices exist and continue to exist. Yet the partisan and often malicious intents of many people in this movement cannot be ignored.
The intentions of people fueled by revenge-seeking favoritism often result in over-racialized policies, which they attempt to advance unto broader society under the guise of virtuous progressive ideas. These ideas and the influence they generate cannot be allowed to go unchecked, or society will quickly divulge into the racial conflict and discrimination that we have fought so hard to get away from. | https://medium.com/in-contentione-sanus/why-would-anyone-not-support-black-lives-matter-9a04b7de5b47 | [] | 2020-07-28 19:17:01.075000+00:00 | ['Race', 'Protest', 'BlackLivesMatter', 'Riots', 'Blm'] |
Windows Update Now Offering Microsoft Edge on More Windows 10 Devices | Microsoft has recently announced that its new Chromium-based Microsoft Edge would soon land on business and education devices via Windows Update. The new browser was officially released in early 2020 as a manual download for Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows 10, and macOS users. In June, however, the Redmond-based software giant started the automatic rollout on Windows Update for Windows 10 devices, with the Chromium-powered version of the app replacing Microsoft Edge Legacy on these computers and becoming the new default browser.
The automatic update, however, was only happening on consumer devices, and now Microsoft is ready to expand it to business and education computers too. “Beginning no earlier than July 30, 2020, Microsoft will update Microsoft Edge Legacy to the new Microsoft Edge browser by Windows Update on Windows 10 devices in education and business. This update will not impact devices in education and business updated by Windows Update for Business (WUfB) or by Windows Server Update Services (WSUS). Updates will target education devices first to accommodate back-to-school timing. We will share a business timeline at a later date,” the company explains.
Linux version of the browser on its way As announced earlier this year, those who don’t want their devices to be updated with the new Microsoft Edge browser can download the blocker toolkit that prevents the update from showing up on Windows Update. In other words, these devices can continue running the legacy version of Edge, albeit this would no longer receive any other improvements going forward.
“We are updating Microsoft Edge Legacy to the new Microsoft Edge because we believe it is the best browser for business and educational institutions. Fundamentally, the new Microsoft Edge is a modern browser that offers a fast cadence in terms of delivering security updates, enabling responsive security,” Microsoft says. The company is also working on a Linux version of the new Microsoft Edge, but an ETA as to when it could launch isn’t yet available.
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https://issuu.com/call-recorder-acr-pro-apk-33-3-free | https://medium.com/@danielpolltron/windows-update-now-offering-microsoft-edge-on-more-windows-10-devices-61ed487b089f | [] | 2020-07-01 20:15:03.820000+00:00 | ['Windows'] |
Wisdom from “Facing Race 2020” | Wisdom from “Facing Race 2020”
Drawn from Glenn Harris’s closing remarks
“Where Do We Go From Here? Building a Just Multiracial Democracy”
was the name of the closing plenary of the Facing Race 2020 Conference presented by Race Forward. Glenn Harris outlined that people, cultural, and institutional power must all be built simultaneously to create a system that adequately serves all people in the USA. Right now, the systems are designed to exclude the many and serve only the select few.
“Because of the energy of people saying ENOUGH…we saw the wins that we did” as Judith Browne Dianis asserted.
Enough. Enough nonsensical violence against people who are trying to sleep in their own bedrooms like Breonna Taylor. Enough of denying the humanity of too many people.
“How do we turn success into significance?” -Rev. Dr. William Barber II
The Poor People’s Campaign has a robust moral agenda to shift systems towards justice, to end poverty and inequality, to address the environmental crisis of this moment, to call out unnecessary militarism and to end, once and for all, white nationalism. It is also organizing in tremendous ways to shift the power structures of the entire country, especially where white supremacy still reigns most strongly in the southern states.
We are in the “3rd Reconstruction,” which demands systemic healing and justice.
Both Rev. Dr. William Barber II and Glenn Harris called out the fact that the third reconstruction is underway. The first reconstruction happened after slavery was “ended” by the 13th Amendment in 1865. The second reconstruction was attempted after Jim Crow was “ended” with the Civil Rights Act in 1864. “Ended” is in quotes because aspects of slavery and Jim Crow are still alive in the systems of this country, particularly that of mass incarceration. Now is the time to dig up the roots of this systemic oppression.
“1 out of every 875 Black residents in the USA has died in the last 8 months from COVID-19.” - Eric Ward
Reconstruction has a long way to go, particularly with regards to health justice during this pandemic. It is time to say ENOUGH to a disproportionate number of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color dying during this pandemic without adequate access to compassionate care.
“We can and we will imagine a new future” -Andrea Jenkins
It is no small task to reimagine society in a way that is empowering to all people, excluding none. As Jenkins pointed out, Black Trans lives are the most excluded, and it is imperative to call in the edges of the edges in this movement for life.
Integration is key.
The design of this conference was exceptional. It neither overpromised nor did it demand too much of participants. Participants were led through grounding exercises before each session that prepared the mind to be a fertile ground for the seeds planted by each speaker. Thank you, Race Forward. | https://medium.com/@smg108/wisdom-from-facing-race-2020-718893d2ed86 | ['Sarah Mccarthy Grimm'] | 2020-11-19 16:28:28.059000+00:00 | ['Power', 'Racial Justice', 'Equity', 'Systems Change', 'Democracy'] |
How Sex Went from “Ouch” to “Oh, My God! Don’t Stop!” | I had more sexual hang-ups in my teens, twenties and thirties than a good Catholic prostitute has Hail Mary’s. When it came to anything related to sex, I was intentionally witless, being from a good W.A.S.P family.
Of course, being as uncomfortable as I was with everything to do with sex — even talking about it — I was a perfect mark to believe anything I read since I had no other context to check the veracity of claims and assertions about what was and was not normal.
One of the things I believed was that ALL healthy, young women had on-call personal lubricant dispensers inside their vaginas.
Bedroom scenes in movies showed me how it automagically squirted its stuff as soon as a girl’s panties hit the floor. Romance novels told me, in technicolor purple prose, about the ease with which cocks slide into pussies. And all that stuff we hear about how easy some women rape, well, that left me thinking that if a woody is in the room, women will be wet.
Unfortunately, I seem to have been born with a defective axel-greaser. But I never had the courage to say anything. So for my entire fourteen-year marriage, in addition to having a virtually non-existent libido, I also got zero pleasure from intercourse since it always kind of hurt. There was just too damn much friction, so the sooner it ended the better.
Well, imagine my delight and surprise when the first man I slept with after my marriage ended, rolled on a lubricated condom.
His cock slid in and out with no resistance! And it felt…well, to be honest, it kind of felt like he wasn’t even there. He was quite a bit shorter and less girthy than my ex-husband and without the friction there didn’t seem to be much to get me either hot or bothered.
But I was delighted to discover the magic of a lubricated condom.
The next man I dated had a cock that was the shape of a soup can. Since I’d never watched porn, and Hollywood movies don’t typically provide up-close and personal cock shots, I was taken aback by how short and wide this man’s member was.
He, too, used a lubricated condom when we had sex. The challenging thing with this man was that he couldn’t maintain a hard-on so he’d thrust once, twice, maybe five times then pull out and masturbate for a few strokes, then re-enter me. Of course, each time he did this, he’d be rubbing off the lubricant so after three or four re-energizers, his condom-covered cock was dry.
Pushing a dry can of soup into one’s vagina is no fun at all. At least, it wasn’t for me.
To my credit, after suffering through this three or four times, I did let him know it was uncomfortable, so he’d add some spit. That helped a little, but never enough to make sex actually enjoyable.
My third post-marriage sexual partner was the cross-dresser who realized after our one night together that he preferred the company of men in bed.
That’s when I gave up dating for a while. But in those nine months, I’d learned that since condoms came lubricated, my ‘vadryna’ must be at least somewhat normal. That was a win.
But even better was the fact that the next man I dated took the time to make sure I was ready for intercourse before he dove in. He would — and still does when needed— spend thirty minutes getting me primed, so I’m desperate to have him inside me. I’d never experienced this kind of attention before.
And even though it gets me hot and bothered in a good way, I still don’t get wet. He was happy to bring home lubricants to help, since after several months together I got an IUD and were able to play sans condom, therefore, without the free lube.
It took several brands to find the one that works the best for us—it’s silicone-based — but sweet Mary Mother of Joseph, who knew that the right lube would make such a pleasure difference?
Well, apparently the researchers who studied Women’s Perceptions about Lubricant Use and Vaginal Wetness During Sexual Activities and had their research published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine in 2012, knew.
We were recently reminded when we ran out of our favorite Sliquid and had to resort to the old drugstore brands we had collecting dust in my bedside table. What remained of the ones our sons had (allegedly) stolen, drip-by-drip.
Using subpar lube led to subpar sexual experiences. It made me feel bad for all the folks who don’t know that there’s a world of quality personal lubricants available that cannot be found on drugstore shelves.
When I recently used some of the basic brands, I found they either got sticky or seemed to evaporate before Mr. Barker and I had finished needing their services.
“Owe! Wait. Can’t you feel that your cock is catching? Stop!”
I’d have to thrust my hips forward far enough to pop him out since he’s typically behind me, roll over to face him and apply more lube to his quickly shrinking manhood.
This was not great for either of our egos or libidos.
In a pinch, we found that the very best substitute for high-quality lube is coconut oil. It stays slippery with just about the perfect friction for as long as we need it. The only trouble is that it leaves oily stains on the sheets.
The point of all this is that I spent twenty years fearing sex, first because it was sinful, then because it was painful, when I could have reduced that time to six years — since married sex is not a sin — if only I’d had a Fairy Sex Godmother to tell me that it was okay to need help getting wet and that it was worth spending a half day’s pay on a 500ml container of high-quality lube since it would give me months of breathless pleasure.
Now you know. You’re welcome. | https://medium.com/love-and-stuff/how-sex-went-from-ouch-to-oh-my-god-dont-stop-c165b2966bcb | ['Danika Bloom'] | 2020-04-29 17:45:21.490000+00:00 | ['Health', 'Sexuality', 'Self', 'Advice', 'Life Lessons'] |
All you need to know about eco-mining.biz | Photo by Aleksi Räisä on Unsplash
In the journey of getting to know about Bitcoin, you might become very hectic nowadays. Well, to ease that for you, Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency that is mined to be earned. This is a digital currency that can be used for digital transactions and payments as well.
How to easily mine Bitcoin
It is the major question that arises as soon as we discuss Bitcoin. Where can we get it? It is gained by mining online and spending time with enough knowledge, lest you can get scammed.
Not everyone has enough time and knowledge to mine for cryptocurrency in the present era. Someone will have to do it for you. That’s where https://eco-mining.biz/ steps in.
Eco-mining.biz is a trustworthy company that extracts bitcoin for you even if you don’t have the basic knowledge of it. They will charge you some cryptocurrency and do the hard job for you.
Photo by André François McKenzie on Unsplash
They have a cloud farm planted with all the necessary equipment required for mining. The equipment means Antminer and some microchips that can locate bitcoin. The equipment is also from the very famous manufacturers that are expert in making such devices.
Unlike other mining companies, this company has a very firm vision that is to provide a phenomenal financial infrastructure in the world. No doubt they have cutting edge technology devices that work whenever needed without any failure.
In addition to the technology, they also have a very trained and professional team of individuals that do the work. As far as the performance of any company is concerned, customer care centers are also very cooperative, and they look forward to helping you in any regard.
They have been working for a long time in this field, and hence they have all the proper knowledge about cryptocurrency and bitcoin mining. Your bitcoin will be surely safe in their hands. They have a huge number of clients and hence have a trust developed all around the countries where the concept of cryptocurrency is not new.
Photo by Dmitry Demidko on Unsplash
To date, there is no such case against this institution for scamming and stealing people’s money. Feel safe working with them. The company is very professional and believes in mutual trust with the client. | https://medium.com/@muhammadkhalila613/all-you-need-to-know-about-eco-mining-biz-c3150d53118 | ['Khalil Ahmed'] | 2020-11-06 15:40:22.437000+00:00 | ['Bitcoint', 'Eco Mining', 'Bitcoin Mining', 'Eco Mining In 2020', 'Crytocurrency'] |
How To Create A Binary Heap In JavaScript | Building our Binary Heap Class
In our example below, we will be building a max binary heap. Once you understand how to build this, creating a min binary heap can be done in a similar way. To start, we will create a class and call it MaxBinaryHeap. This will have one property, called values, which will be initialized as an empty array.
class MaxBinaryHeap {
constructor() {
this.values = [];
}
}
Inserting into our Binary Heap
Let’s first look at how we can add values to our max binary heap. The first step will be to push the value to the end of our values array. The push method will put the value in the next spot in our heap. Remember the first rule of our heap: All levels of the tree must be filled in order. If the last level of the tree is not filled, the nodes of the tree are filled in from left to right.
Then, we will need to do a bubble-up effect. This means we will compare the inserted value to the parent value. If the inserted value is greater than that of the parent, we will switch these values. We will continue this until our inserted value is in the correct spot.
Inserting into our Binary Heap
Removing from our Binary Heap
When removing from a binary heap, we will typically be removing the root value. This means that in a max binary heap, we are removing the largest value, and in a min binary heap, we are removing the smallest value. In our example, we will call our method, extractMax.
To do this, we will first swap the root value with the last value in our array. Then, we will do a bubble down effect. Since our new root will likely not be in the correct position, we will compare this value, to its children. Whichever child is greater, we will swap it with the parent. We will continue to do this until the value is in the correct spot. In the end, we will return the max value. | https://javascript.plainenglish.io/how-to-create-a-binary-heap-in-javascript-e1e6f6446ff9 | ['Chad Murobayashi'] | 2020-12-21 11:59:17.465000+00:00 | ['Computer Science', 'JavaScript', 'Binary Heap', 'Data Structures', 'Algorithms'] |
Intersectionality of race and gender in Hiring Algorithms | The internet has caused macrostructural changes in labor markets, institutional norms, and corporate organization with workers’ experience of the labor process, their investment in it, and their outcomes from it (Kalleberg, 1989). Hiring technologies have been evolving along with the internet. Internet services like Monster Jobs and search engines became the source for job listings because of their cheaper rates and greater outreach because their room to extend unlike newspaper classifieds. This then followed with online job applications, triggering a jump in the volume of applications for open positions as it became easier to apply for multiple jobs. This came with a price — employers now had to adopt applicant tracking systems to help organize and evaluate rapidly growing pools of candidates.
As the quantity of potential job candidates boomed further to include both higher volumes, some employers began turning to new screening tools to keep up. The conventional assessment would mean deviated team, resources and time. This gave rise to Hiring Algorithm vendors to increase efficiency, and in hopes that they will find more successful and diverse set of employees. With the outcry for Diversity and Inclusion, some vendors are exclusively catering the hiring process based on the diversity principle with promises to remove certain biases.
These hiring algorithms boast about it’s potential to remove bias from the hiring process. They argue that by making hiring more consistent and efficient, recruiters will be empowered to make fairer and more holistic hiring decisions but it is important to realise that what they promise is the interpersonal human prejudice, which is just one source of bias. Other biases like Institutional, structural, and other forms are equally important which are completely neglected in this case. Institutional bias in most cases refers to racial and sexual biases. Structural bias observes broader patterns of disadvantage stemming from contemporary and historical legacies such as race, unequal economic opportunity, and segregation.
When screening systems aim to replicate an employer’s prior hiring decisions, the resulting model will likely reflect prior social biases. Although it might seem natural for screening tools to consider previous hiring decisions, those decisions often reflect the very patterns many employers are actively trying to change through diversity and inclusion initiatives. Hiring is never a single huge decision but a series of smaller, sequential decisions. Siri Uotila, a research fellow at the Women and Public Policy Program at the Harvard Kennedy School says “language is gendered” and algorithms tend to pick these differences as features for selection. While automated phone interviews are “blind”, humans as well as algorithms can still infer information about a person’s race and other demographic factors, such as socioeconomic status, from the sound of their voice.
Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University and the International Computer Science Institute say that even before hiring technologies there is a considerable amount of bias in ad services for these jobs. They found that fake Web users believed by Google to be male job seekers were much more likely than equivalent female job seekers to be shown a pair of ads for high-paying executive jobs when they later visited a news website. This is one subtle way that algorithmic advertising perpetuates an already existing gender divide in the job market. In another paper by Le Chen et. al., they conclude that even when controlling for all other visible candidate features, there is a slight penalty against feminine candidates large enough that masculine candidates receive a substantive increase in rank.
#BlackLivesMatter campaign and other recent events have made the reality of racial and gender based discrimination in our society painfully clear. In one famous experiment, job applicants with white-sounding names, such as Emily, received 50 percent more callbacks than those with African American–sounding names, such as Lakisha.
Sometimes this differentiation goes beyond just race and gender of an individual. Neighborhood, sensitivity of the job role, education of parents, socio-economic status, name of the applicant etc. Living in a wealthier (or more educated or Whiter) neighborhood increases callback rates. But, interestingly, African-Americans are not helped more than Whites by living in a “better” neighborhood.
Vendors have rolled out some promising features that reflect at least some awareness of the deep and systemic inequalities that continue to distort hiring dynamics. Measures like these could ultimately help pull hiring technologies in a more constructive direction, but much more work is needed. Vendors are rapidly releasing new features, and addressing flaws. Our hope is that by using detailed and specific examples to examine the equities and biases of predictive hiring products, we have highlighted common issues that remain unaddressed and unresolved — despite others’ calls for care and caution. There is an urge for advocates, lawmakers, employers, and vendors to confront the emerging questions posed by predictive hiring technologies, articulate principles for their responsible use, and take concrete steps to update regulatory frameworks accordingly.
REFERENCES: | https://medium.com/@t-ksai1998/intersectionality-of-race-and-gender-in-hiring-algorithms-f4b0020cdd6b | ['K. Tejas'] | 2020-12-16 18:11:54.141000+00:00 | ['Hiring', 'Algorithmic Bias', 'Bias', 'Gender', 'Race'] |
vscode extensions that made me fall in love with dotnet | Visual studio code has an healthy extension ecosystem which bridges the gap between Visual Studio and this hackable editor. I want to share the extensions that allowed me to completely switch to vscode for dotnet development.
Without extensions
OmniSharp
vscode ships with c# Intellisense using omnisharp.
OmniSharp is a set of tooling, editor integrations and libraries that together create an ecosystem that allows you to have a great programming experience no matter what your editor and operating system of choice may be.
http://www.omnisharp.net/
Roslynator
Adds resharper like behaviour and displays warnings when code can be improved. This is my favourite c# extension because it adds insights and helps me to write better code.
C# Extensions
Enhance the context menu by adding options to create a class or interface. It also allows creation of parameters via the constructor or create a constructor based on the parameters. While this extension is not in activate development anymore. I’m still able to use it without any issues.
.NET Core Test Explorer
Adds a menu item which displays all tests in the solution and adds a button to run all tests.
With testing explorer
C# XML Documentation Comments
Generates XML documentation when the user types ///
Live share
During the pandemic I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to work from home. Live share enables remote pair programming using your own editor configuration. I love this extension because it enables me to use vim and my own environment in an interactive pair programming session.
Settings Sync
Using Github’s gists to synchronise vscode’s configuration across machines.
Vim
I love vim bindings and this extension makes my wrists happier.
Conclusion
There are many extensions that enhance the vscode experience making this editor equal to any other major IDE out there. Do you use vscode for dotnet development? Please share the extensions you are excited about. | https://medium.com/@thomasfarla/vscode-extensions-that-made-me-fall-in-love-with-dotnet-443270ba1273 | ['Thomas Farla'] | 2020-10-26 06:47:20.387000+00:00 | ['Developer Experience', 'Vscode Extension', 'Vscode', 'Dotnet', 'Dotnet Core'] |
I Got the Fever, Do You? | 50 WORDS
I Got the Fever, Do You?
Photo by Erik Witsoe on Unsplash
My temperature rises when I write. That heat is passion. I once read writers see things differently than others like when they look at objects, they see something else that no one else does. A floor tile might present a face, or you might see characters shaped in the sky. | https://medium.com/the-bad-influence/50-word-microfiction-e99070bf1f9f | ['Giulietta Passarelli'] | 2020-12-04 23:01:06.644000+00:00 | ['Passion', 'Writing', '50 Words', 'The Bad Influence', 'Fever'] |
Nostalgias that shall stay as one | After staying away from campus for more than two hundred days and getting a notification that says we shall stay home for two hundred more, moments we had in KGP have now gently swayed to becoming something reminiscent of a distant past. We all definitely are awaiting our chance to relive these moments but deep down we know that some of them only exist in sublime nostalgia. Needless to say, This is post-COVID imagery from the viewpoint of an alumnus who has returned to campus. We start with his story from what he claims as his third favourite spot in KGP, Nehru Museum.
As I sat down the stairs at the Nehru Museum entrance, I realized that much has changed over the past few years. Either that or I was too ignorant to notice them before. There is a copper tiling on the floor that strangely seemed to bring more luster to this place. On the other side resides a more familiar statue. It probably misses the hugs it got during the never-ending GPL sessions. This place also used to have the best Aam Panna juice during awfully humid summers, first-floor canteen at the back next to the Center for Theoretical Something. Cycling for more than the mile to Nalanda, completely drenched either in my own sweat during summers or due to needlessly excessive rainfall otherwise accompanied with one hundred other problems which I don’t remember were all forgotten with one sip of that Aam Panna juice. My mouth tingles a little, probably trying to remember the sour sensation it misses. They stopped making it in my Final year though, not sure why but I really hope they bring it back.
I stood up and walked around the three statues making my way through the road containing Biotech and Archi dep. Something felt terribly wrong and I couldn’t point it out at first, but the lights were bright enough to remind me that this entire ally was illuminated now in a wrong colour. I remembered that the orange incandescence over here blended perfectly well with every single lone walk like this one. It felt like that orange light could let me walk through for a while as if nothing else really mattered any more than this walk, than this moment that I was having back then. In an instant, one was transferred to this 80s movie setting where everything just seems perfect. This alley hasn’t lost its charm entirely but the incandescence just seemed to make it a thousand times better. Probably some guy thought it was more energy-efficient and that it’s better to switch to LED lights, but let’s just say I did the math including all factors, and turns out, it’s not.
I could have jumped over Gate 4 to head to my destination, but I take right instead to take a look at my second favourite place on campus. I heard from Juniors that this place, which is Physics top, isn’t accessible anymore. I could recall the first time I went there with my batchmates just after Autumn sem. You sit across a ledge three stories high swinging your legs to keep yourself warm rather than for the cinematic feel it gives. You have conversations for several hours before noticing it’s four in the morning already. Still, no one wants to get up and you plan to wait out till sunrise. Interestingly enough, the path to Physics Top was through a grill-less window in Maths dep. Maybe that was the reason why it remained accessible for so long till some useless guy ratted it out to the admin. A place that holds so many memories is now just an inaccessible rooftop. Of course, there are still other ways to get there which probably would get you a DisCo, but jumping through that window is not going to be one of them anymore.
I exit out through GolC and head towards Tikka. We occasionally gathered here at GolC to go all the way down to the Biryani place beside the Railway Station. It was a twenty-minute ride where we shared Autos with local KGP residents. Everyone had their own stories, their own way of thinking, and their own adventures that they shared, providing a serene uniqueness to each trip. From then, it was only a matter of time before we were served with one of the best Biryanis in town. Every piece of meat was succulent and every last spice danced to their own symphonies inside our mouths. These trips were soon replaced with Delivery services and random movie streams during lunch. If I could turn back time, I would probably try to spend more time with my friends than I did with my Laptop Screen.
On my way to Tikka, I realized I am still trying not to look to my right to avoid any possible eye contact with the girl’s hall. Before I could move on with that thought, I reached the Tikka circle that now housed a large clock tower. I remembered reading articles about how much money was spent on it. I believe that this one structure shall stay there from now on for a very long time. I vaguely recalled that this place used to have varying structures every year. But now it’s going to be a single ginormous clock. I realized that this structure has more utility than others but couldn’t stop these thoughts from barging in. Tikka has now shifted to another place, which means I can no longer stand here as an excuse to stare at my crush, but hey! That reminds me that my feelings for my crush are another non-existent thing now.
I walk across Vikramshila, towards Nalanda. It took me a while to sneak past the guards, maybe I’m too old for all this now, but I did it anyway and there I was at Nalanda top. This place always provides a unique serenity. Wind in my thankfully still existing hair, and the feeling that I am at top of the world. Fun fact, Nalanda did not exist in my first year. Classes were in Main Building, and humid summers just made it incredibly tougher to survive. Nalanda definitely was a lifesaver. Provided me with much knowledge and much more comfortable sleep than I could ever ask for. I could see a building far away which I recognized to be the new multi-specialty hospital under construction. Better healthcare for my juniors is definitely a good thing, right?
KGP has gone through many changes, and I just can’t imagine what all would have changed the next time I come here. I can’t stop comparing these changes to Aam Panna. It might feel a bit sour and can make you flinch, but that’s the beauty of it! Sourness is just my inertia that everything would stay the same amazing way it is. The refreshing feeling is the one that tells me it is all for a better day to come. And I am definitely going to miss all of this. You can take a KGPian out of KGP, but you never can take KGP out of a KGPian, can you? | https://web.scholarsavenue.org/nostalgias-that-shall-stay-as-one-3428f838d24a | [] | 2020-12-27 15:27:19.955000+00:00 | ['Bhaatave', 'Nostalgia', 'Memories', 'Kgp', 'Imaginative'] |
Neon Roots, Soul Brothers, and Rainy Days | Is Billie Eilish reliving history or righting it?
A Strum and Bang Literary Drift
by Kenneth J. McKay
At the 2020 GRAMMY awards in January, artist Billie Eilish won Song of the Year, Record of the Year, Album of the Year and Best New Artist. Her brother, Finneas, also collected five GRAMMYs that night as well, some shared with his sister, some on his own. The last time anyone ran the board of major awards like that was in 1981. This just added to the teen’s crowded shelf of American Music Awards, Apple Global Artist of the Year, MTV Video awards, pretty much every award available (including a Guinness World Record, for something…).
I hope that Uber has a big trunk
Seeming to appear out of the ether (actually SoundCloud), Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O’Connell is another example of digital Beatlemania — near instant fame on a global scale, and the personal toll that comes with it.
Many of Eilish’s longtime friends couldn’t relate to her newfound fame and, as a result, she became increasingly isolated and prone to self-harm, even as her songs were riding high on the charts. “I was so unhappy last year,” she said in an interview, which aired as part of “The Gayle King Grammy Special.” “I was so unhappy, and I was so joyless.” She recalled contemplating suicide during a tour stop in Germany.
“I don’t want to be too dark, but I genuinely didn’t think I would make it to 17,” said Eilish, who turned 18 in December. “I think about this one time I was in Berlin and I was alone in my hotel … And I remember there was a window right there … I remember crying because I was thinking about how the way that I was going to die was … I was going to do it.”
She referenced her struggles in the song “Bury a Friend,” which features the lyrics: “Today, I’m thinkin’ about the things that are deadly, the way I’m drinkin’ you down/Like I wanna drown, like I wanna end me.”
A different song relays similar emotions :“Talkin’ to myself and feelin’ old/Sometimes I’d like to quit/Nothin’ ever seems to fit/Hangin’ around/Nothin’ to do but frown,” only these are not the lyrics of an Eilish song. The lyrics to “Rainy Days and Mondays” were sung by another young female singer who, in 1970, was on a similar career trajectory, and was also overwhelmed by that success.
If not for the awards, you would think this was Prom Night
Nominated for the same awards as Eilish in 1970, Karen Carpenter won the GRAMMY for Best New Artist, an award she also shared with her brother Richard, her writing and performing partner in the Carpenters. Karen and Richard Carpenter can easily be viewed as the seminal sister/brother tandem that paved the way for Billie and Finneas. Much like Eilish, Karen Carpenter sang in a soft, hushed voice meant to draw you in, with her keyboard playing brother, Richard (in the pre-Finneas role), providing the melody for his sister to waft upon. Even the four year age difference between Richard and Karen echoes that of Finneas and Billie. (Maybe the boys simply needed the head-start over their talented sisters?)
The source…
…and the echo?
Insisting on becoming a drummer after bristling against being handed a glockenspiel in her high school band, Karen was initially nervous about performing in public, but said she “was too involved in the music to worry about it.” In 1975, she was voted the best rock drummer in a poll of Playboy readers, beating Led Zeppelin’s John Bonham. (No offense, but ...really?) Karen was a teenager, slightly older than Eilish, when she entered the Billboard charts, soon having her first #1 hit, “Close to You,” right after her 20th birthday. Either solo or with her brother, Karen Carpenter’s career resulted in 90 million albums sold and 32 various Top Ten Billboard hits.
12 years after that first #1 song, Karen Carpenter was dead, having passed away from anorexia nervosa, struggling with image and weight issues since high school. “How can anybody be too thin?” she once said, in a sad, but revealing moment. At one point in her battle, she weighed only 79 pounds.
and we all watched this happen…
“People never think of entertainers as being human, “ Carpenter said of the pressures of success and idolization. “When you walk out on stage, the audience think, ‘Nothing can go wrong with them.’ We get sick and we have headaches just like they do. When we are cut, we bleed.”
Eilish is no stranger to the criticism of her appearance. The negative comments and her own struggle with insecurities issues led Eilish to fixate on her self-image. She has been candid about the sometimes “toxic relationship” she has with her body, saying she has experienced periods of body dysmorphia, depression and self-harm over the years. She had naturally gravitated toward baggier clothes, which Eilish said has introduced problems as well.
Baggy Billie
“If I wore a dress to something, I would be hated for it. People would be like, ‘You’ve changed, how dare you do what you’ve always rebelled against?’ I’m like, ‘I’m not rebelling against anything, really.’ I can’t stress it enough. I’m just wearing what I wanna wear. If there’s a day when I’m like, ‘You know what, I feel comfortable with my belly right now, and I wanna show my belly,’ I should be allowed to do that. It’s not that I like my body now. I just think I’m a bit more OK with it.”
These days, the Los Angeles native finds herself in a much healthier state of mind and credits her mother, Maggie Baird, with convincing her not to end her own life, immediately scaling back her daughter’s performance schedule and show business-related commitments to allow more time for self-care, a move that has clearly paid off.
Karen Carpenter’s mother, Agnes, was the opposite of Maggie Baird. She was ashamed of her daughter’s eating disorder. She felt that her daughter was “going overboard” with her dieting habits and never reached out to offer any real support. Karen Carpenter once said, “I may not be in control of anything else, but I am in control of my body.” In the end, Karen lost that control, succumbing to years long abuse of laxatives, taking thyroid medicine to speed up her metabolism although she had no thyroid problems, and using ipecac syrup to induce vomiting. She had been eating, but also throwing it all up. Karen Carpenter had unknowingly dissolved her own heart muscle with the syrup.
Back in January, Billie shared a collection of photos on Instagram from a recent trip to Hawaii. The post included a shot of Billie in her bathing suit, and people had some things to say. “It was trending,” Billie said. “There were comments like, ‘I don’t like her any more because as soon as she turns 18 she’s a whore.’ Like, dude. I can’t win. I can-not win.”
On stage in Miami, Eilish addressed body-shaming and attempts to judge others for what they choose to wear: removing her t-shirt in the pre-recorded visual, she slowly sinks into a pit of black tar before disappearing beneath the surface completely. “Some people hate what I wear; some people praise it; some people use it to shame others; some people use it to shame me,” she says. “Would you like me to be smaller? Weaker? Softer? Taller? Would you like me to be quiet? Do my shoulders provoke you? Does my chest? Am I my stomach? My hips? The body I was born with — is it not what you wanted? If I wear what is comfortable, I am not a woman. If I shed the layers, I’m a slut. Though you’ve never seen my body, you still judge it and judge me for it. Why?”
It’s been 50 years between Karen Carpenter’s big win at the GRAMMY Awards and Billie Eilish’s. Though neither Eilish, nor any of her fans, were even born when Karen Carpenter was alive, the two artists share an undeniable connection through the incredible pressures and unrelenting demands of success and the judgement of others. Eilish’s experiences might suggest that not much has changed, but her actions prove otherwise. While Karen Carpenter’s musical legacy can’t help but be viewed from the shadows of her struggles, we can see hope that Eilish’s future will move forward in the light. And with the continued support of her mother and brother, Eilish said she’d like to use her own experiences to pay it forward to her young fans, many of whom might be grappling with mental health concerns of their own. This was part of the reason for the video at the Miami concert.
Just before the GRAMMY winner for Album of the Year was announced, the 18-year-old Eilish could be seen at her seat mouthing, “Please don’t be me,” on camera. She then reacted by throwing her arms into the air and shouting “No” as her name was called for the award, against artists including Ariana Grande, who she said should have won. She explains that this was a moment of humility, not self-shaming.
So when we look for artists to stand up for themselves, and let their ravenous fans and critics know that their lives and their own well-being are not part of the deal, we can now look at Eilish and mouth, “Please be you.”
Right on, fight on… | https://medium.com/strum-and-bang/neon-roots-soul-brothers-and-rainy-days-971afaa37a06 | ['Kenneth Mckay'] | 2020-04-26 12:16:35.600000+00:00 | ['Culture', 'Mental Health', 'Music', 'Women', 'Billie Eilish'] |
When I’m with you, I forget | When I’m with you I forget what it was I’d decided to order when we were at the back of the queue. Now we’re at the front; it’s my turn and they’re waiting. But you just flashed that smile at me, so now I’m standing here, dazed and swaying slightly, with only one thing on my mind:
your mouth.
I forget the passcode to my phone and the PIN number for my card. My hand hovers over the keypad as an assortment of mystifying symbols – are they digits? – dance provocatively in front of me, daring me to touch them and get it wrong. My thoughts have been completely overrun by the memory of
your fingers.
I forget what time I was meant to be at the place I am supposed to have got to by now. The only minutes I give a damn about are the ones that I spend looking into
your eyes.
I forget who it was that asked me to email something important to them, urgently. In this moment, we are the last two people left alive after the world turned inside out and upside down. I know that I am yours, and nothing else. I belong here in this bed, with my head on
your chest.
When I’m with you I forget;
where I am,
who I was,
and what is expected of me.
When I’m with you,
I forget to think,
and remember how to feel. | https://psiloveyou.xyz/when-im-with-you-i-forget-cd17df041f3b | ['Amy Knight'] | 2020-12-13 13:02:32.573000+00:00 | ['Prose Poem', 'Relationships', 'Poetry Sunday', 'Love', 'Soulmate'] |
With crypto, sending money is as easy as sending email | Working in crypto, I often find myself forced to use hypotheticals to defend it. For example, when I talk about sending money being as easy as sending an email, I often hear “but I can easily send people money with Venmo.” And it feels both logical and right: I paid for dinner last night and used Venmo to request funds from my friend. We’re all settled, right? Well, sort of.
Imagine that instead of paying with my credit card at the restaurant, I had instead only been able to use a debit card connected to a checking account with a balance of $10. The moment before I pay for the $20 dinner using a debit card, I request $10 from my friend through Venmo. He accepts, the funds hit my Venmo account, and I initiate the transfer to my bank. Trouble is that I won’t have the money in my account for 1–3 days. In this instance, my debit card will be declined for the payment. Upon thinking through this scenario you might think to yourself: that’s interesting, but can’t you just use a credit card so you won’t have to pay the balance off for at least another month? Sure, assuming I have access to credit (which many people don’t).
Let’s look at a more ‘first world problem.’ Say you need to quickly move assets around to take advantage of a time-sensitive investment opportunity? Imagine Bitcoin’s price is rapidly rising you that now is the right time to get in. You want to invest $10,000 immediately, but don’t have that much cash in your bank account. However, you do happen to have $10,000+ in your stock brokerage account and you’re enthusiastic about moving funds from publicly-traded stocks into Bitcoin. But moving your funds turns out to be trickier than it should be.
Let’s imagine that your epiphany for moving funds occurred on Monday morning, so you were able to place a simple market order for $10,000 of your stocks. You go to withdraw or transfer your money to your bank account. Except there’s a settlement issue. While Schwab told you that they executed your trade, it’ll take up to 2–3 days for the cash balance to be available for use in your Schwab account. (NOTE: If this epiphany had occurred Friday evening, however, you’d have to wait over two full days for the market to open on Monday morning.)
So you end up waiting 2–3 days for your funds as Bitcoin’s price fluctuates, and when the money is available to you initiate a transfer to your connected bank account. Except that the funds go through ACH (Automated Clearing House, an archaic system in the US that’s used to transfer money between banks), so it’ll take 1–3 days. Now, if you have the right permissions with your stock brokerage, you may be eligible to pay a $25 fee to wire your money to your bank account, but there’s something silly about paying to move your own money at a speed that you’d probably just expect if you weren’t simply used to the legacy system.
Even once you can see the amount processing into your bank account, it may take an overnight ‘settlement’ period for the funds to actually be available to you to move elsewhere. So you’re looking at a minimum of 3–4 days (and up to a week later) before you have access to your funds to purchase bitcoin.
That’s insane. It’s your money and your property. You could probably sell your furniture and gadgets on craigslist for cash faster than you could get cash from selling your stock, and in an increasingly digital and global world, it feels — and I can’t use this word enough —insane.
Let’s say, however, that you instead had $10,000 of a crypto Stablecoin called USD Coin stored in a hardware wallet (i.e. on a USB in my house) or in some sort of Decentralized Finance tool (like Dharma.io or TokenSets.com). To move those funds into your Coinbase account to purchase bitcoin could take <1 minute and you’d then be able to (almost) instantly convert those funds into bitcoin.
Whatever your view of cryptocurrency, it’s unquestionable that the current financial system makes it too difficult to move your own money around. I’m bullish on crypto being the technology that disrupts the legacy financial system to make it faster, cheaper, and ultimately more accessible to more people. | https://medium.com/swlh/with-crypto-sending-money-is-as-easy-as-sending-email-2a672835063c | ['Jason Karsh'] | 2019-07-08 19:14:43.146000+00:00 | ['Bitcoin', 'Money', 'Stablecoin', 'Finance', 'Legacy Financial System'] |
9 Vue Input Libraries to Power Up Your Forms | Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash
A poorly designed form can turn visitors away from your site. Luckily for Vue developers, there are tons of Vue input libraries available to make prettying up your forms a breeze.
There are several benefits to having an intuitive and user-friendly form, including
Higher conversion rate
Better user experience
More professional branding
Like every other major framework, there are tons of community solutions for building beautiful Vue.js forms. From simple text inputs all the way to advanced phone number templates, there are so many options for your forms.
Here are some of my favorite Vue Input Libraries. While, this list is just about form elements, I’ve compiled a list of Vue icon libraries too.
I hope you find these tools as useful as I do!
1. Vue Select
Working with <select> elements is a huge part of any form. But if you have experience doing this, you'll know that they can be a real pain to customize.
Luckily, Vue Select, a library by Jeff Sagal provides an intuitive way to add features like
It’s easy to use and I’ve definitely used it across several projects.
2. Vue Input Tag
Allowing site visitors to add their own tags is a common feature that forms want. However, implementing your own flexible system can be tricky — especially for people new to Vue.
The Vue Input Tag library is a great way to add a powerful feature to your forms.
3. Vue Dropdowns
Vue Dropdowns is another library that handles <select> elements. Not only does it create sleek inputs, but it also provides a great way to set data and listen to events such as change and blur .
With a simple setup, it’s definitely a great way to make your forms look prettier with minimal effort.
4. Vue Color
Vue Color is a simple way to add color selection into your forms. Implementing one of these systems from scratch takes hours of planning and work, but using Vue Color takes just a few minutes.
This library also is highly customizable.
It comes with several different styles, event hooks, and support for different color formats. I definitely recommend Vue Color for adding some next level customizability to your app.
5. VueJS Date Picker
VueJS Date Picker is one of the cleanest date picker libraries that I’ve seen. It gives you a calendar view that allows users to click around to select a date.
In my opinion, it’s very professional looking and is also extremely customizable. In fact, it has dozens of easy-to-edit props and events tto perfectly match your use case. However, I think the default setup is also great for a majority of projects.
But don’t take my word for it, check out this screenshot from the Vue DatePicker demo.
6. Vue Switches
Switch inputs are a beautiful way to create toggled options — they’re sleek, intuitive, and can be modified to match virtually any app’s style.
Vue Switches is an amazing library for creating beautiful switch inputs. With a variety of themes and the ability to customize colors and text, it’s a flexible solution for your forms.
7. Vue Dropzone
Vue Dropzone is a drag and drop file upload library. In the past few years, drag and drop file uploads have been becoming more widespread and they’re an easy way to make your app feel modern.
Vue Dropzone provides dozens of custom props and events that allow you to tweak its functionality to your specific projects. But regardless if you choose to modify it or not, it’s a simple, yet powerful tool to add to your forms.
8. Vue Circle Sliders
Vue Circle Sliders are a great way to add a little flair to your forms. Different than a typical, linear slider input — circle sliders can feel more natural depending on the values you’re collecting.
I love this library because it’s so versatile. It supports touch controls, allows you to set max/min values, and even lets you control the step size of your slider.
Overall, this is a really cool option to consider to add some more style to your Vue applications.
9. Vue Phone Number
Without using any libraries, it can get a little tricky collecting phone numbers. You’d have to worry about formatting, country codes, etc.
The Vue Phone Number library takes care of everything and comes with a beautiful UI that looks professional and secure, two factors that will increase the conversion rate of your forms.
It’s also extremely flexible and you can customize several features, including
Valid Country Codes
Theme and Colors
Phone Number Formatting
Wrapping Up
While this is by no means a complete list of Vue input libraries, these 9 that I’ve listed have helped me save so much time while developing projects. Plus, I think they’re all simple ways to power up your forms with advanced features.
I hope you discovered some new tools that you can incorporate into your Vue projects.
What are some of your favorite input libraries? I’d love to hear from you! | https://medium.com/javascript-in-plain-english/9-vue-input-libraries-to-power-up-your-forms-91ca63ac389d | ['Matt Maribojoc'] | 2020-12-24 01:47:19.758000+00:00 | ['Technology', 'JavaScript', 'Vuejs', 'Web Development', 'Front End Development'] |
I Can Make You Happy | Yes! I can make you very happy.
How?
Not me so much. What I can do is to amplify your state of happiness in a way, but mostly, me, myself and others cannot do it for you.
Have you noticed that every time there is a problem; how you happen to be there? This statement applies for when things go well; you also happen to be there when plenty of laughter and happiness abounds.
Only you can make you happy, but it starts with you accepting responsibility for everything that happens in your life — a simple change which makes a tremendous difference.
Considering this, it seems that other people put the icing on the cake.
And to add to you happiness, there is another essential ingredient. Gratitude, yes, being delightfully grateful will 10 X your joy when you spend several moments daily with: I am happy and grateful now … (and then you call out all the things you have and can do).
I am happy and grateful now that I can share this message with you.
I am happy and grateful now that I have clothes to protect me.
I am happy and grateful now that I have a sandwich for lunch.
I am happy and grateful now for corrupt politicians because, without them, the world would fall into anarchy.
The last one may be tough to comprehend for some, but yes, even be grateful for those who seem to have harmed you.
People are essential to your growth and helping you become the person you want to be, to get the things you want, and to do what others need you to do.
Talk to me today if you want to know more on how I can make you happy. | https://medium.com/@reinhardtjobse/i-can-make-you-happy-7adf6ae7baed | ['Reinhardt Jobse'] | 2020-12-21 12:35:24.880000+00:00 | ['Wealth', 'Happy', 'Personal Development', 'Happiness'] |
Plotting the Batman Equation in Python using Numpy and Matplotlib | Batman has been my favorite superhero since childhood. Plotting the Batman equation was quite fun. In this tutorial blog we will be showing how to plot the Batman equation from scratch with NumPy and Matplotlib. The only prerequisite is minimum introduction to basic python. If you are expert in python and matplotlib you are advised to skip to the final part.
We will be describing from very basic matplotlib scatter plot. First of all we will show how to plot some basics points in matplotlib using scatterplot. The code shown below plots 4 co-ordinates (1,1), (2,4), (3,9) and (4,16) in their respective x and y co-ordinates using scatter plot.
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import numpy as np x = [1, 2, 3 , 4]
y = [1, 4, 9, 16]
plt.plot(x,y, 'yo')
plt.show()
By plotting a series of points in a curve we can represent the function of the curve.
Y = np.arange(-10,10,.05)
X = np.zeros((0))
for y in Y:
X = np.append(X,5*y**3+50)
plt.plot(Y,X, 'yo')
plt.show()
Two different functions can be combined into a single plot just by appending those points and plotting them together.
Y1 = np.arange(-10,10,.05)
X1 = np.zeros((0))
for y in Y1:
X1 = np.append(X1,-5*y**2)
Y2 = np.arange(-10,10,.05)
X2 = np.zeros((0))
for y in Y2:
X2 = np.append(X2,(5*y**2))
X = np.append(X1,X2)
Y = np.append(Y1,Y2)
plt.plot(Y,X, 'yo')
plt.show()
All we need to do is combine 7 different curves into a plot to demonstrate Batman’s equation. The curves has been taken from this link.
import math Y = np.arange(-4,4,.005)
X = np.zeros((0))
for y in Y:
X = np.append(X,abs(y/2)- 0.09137*y**2 + math.sqrt(1-(abs(abs(y)-2)-1)**2) -3)
Y1 = np.append(np.arange(-7,-3,.01), np.arange(3,7,.01))
X1 = np.zeros((0))
for y in Y1:
X1 = np.append(X1, 3*math.sqrt(-(y/7)**2+1))
X = np.append(X,X1)
Y = np.append(Y, Y1) Y1 = np.append(np.arange(-7.,-4,.01), np.arange(4,7.01,.01))
X1 = np.zeros((0))
for y in Y1:
X1 = np.append(X1, -3*math.sqrt(-(y/7)**2+1))
X = np.append(X,X1)
Y = np.append(Y, Y1) Y1 = np.append(np.arange(-1,-.8,.01), np.arange(.8, 1,.01))
X1 = np.zeros((0))
for y in Y1:
X1 = np.append(X1, 9-8*abs(y))
X = np.append(X,X1)
Y = np.append(Y, Y1) Y1 = np.arange(-.5,.5,.05)
X1 = np.zeros((0))
for y in Y1:
X1 = np.append(X1,2)
X = np.append(X,X1)
Y = np.append(Y, Y1) Y1 = np.append(np.arange(-2.9,-1,.01), np.arange(1, 2.9,.01))
X1 = np.zeros((0))
for y in Y1:
X1 = np.append(X1, 1.5 - .5*abs(y) - 1.89736*(math.sqrt(3-y**2+2*abs(y))-2) )
X = np.append(X,X1)
Y = np.append(Y, Y1) Y1 = np.append(np.arange(-.7,-.45,.01), np.arange(.45, .7,.01))
X1 = np.zeros((0))
for y in Y1:
X1 = np.append(X1, 3*abs(y)+.75)
X = np.append(X,X1)
Y = np.append(Y, Y1) plt.plot(Y,X, 'yo')
plt.grid()
plt.show()
Thus we can see the Batman equation has been plotted. Finally some graphical modifications.
ax = plt.gca()
ax.set_facecolor((0, 0, 0))
plt.plot(Y,X, 'yo')
ax.set_yticklabels([])
ax.set_xticklabels([])
plt.show()
The complete code is available in this link. | https://medium.com/@subarnopal/plotting-the-batman-equation-in-python-using-numpy-and-matplotlib-b209b02aed68 | ['Subarno Pal'] | 2019-06-25 06:47:26.334000+00:00 | ['Python3', 'Data Visualization', 'Batman', 'Matplotlib', 'Python'] |
The onething you need to know anything to get in your life….. | The onething you need to know anything to get in your life…..
Yes…Based on True Events !
You can test this and comment if it won’t work for you..
What ever you are in the state now.. its because of what you built yourself in your imagination with Emotions..
We all knew..when things are going smooth and happy…it’s easy to be positive and happy…But we got struck when things are not in our favor ..some ecosystem like social push..hit you on your face in the name of rejections ..
Just for a moment whatever situation you are in… imagine your state of mind is #fearless…
That first emotion to reflect is #fearless …..get you out from any bad situations…OR to get whatever you want…be it any… just be fearless for that moment..(thats the only option you left/use it for any situation)
For Personal ,professional,Business , Dream, failure, Success, etc..be it any
#Emotions #Imagination are the 2 Keys get you VIP tickets for you to get anything…
You must experienced OR will experience that emotional state many times on your journey … when you get rejections, ignorances,failures,..
This onething will move you greater heights at the sametimes makes you fall down too like 2 sides knife …so with emotions you just need an #imagination like whatever the struggle you got into but all are making to reach your colorful destination finally…
The trickiest part is..its not easy at first attempt…to understand what you are ..what your potential….you have to check your Emotions behind your thoughts..
Simple technique is
#Visualize that “You achieved it…!”
Then #SelfTalk will trigger all positive vibes and make you evaluate/criticize-self and push you to be unique or creative way to try the right ways…your Blueprint for your Dream state!
Believe me…Believe in you..
Your Emotions+Imaginations will get anything !
BG pic credit: Pinterest | https://medium.com/@senthilc-ei/the-onething-you-need-to-know-anything-to-get-in-your-life-7d2786c9dc9e | ['Senthil Chidambaram'] | 2020-12-13 19:35:46.627000+00:00 | ['Emotions', 'Emotional Intelligence', 'Self Improvement', 'Leadership', 'Mental Health'] |
Miami: Latin Passion & Pastel Pink Skies | From the Porter & Sail editorial team.
Each month Skyscanner puts out a list of affordable flights to cities. This July, Miami caught our eye. Book that plane ticket, and then check out Porter & Sail’s Guide to Miami for those in search of the city’s local flavors.
What do you think of when you think of Miami? For us, it’s an endless cafecito beneath a slow ceiling fan while sun-beaten old men in white shirts play dominos at the corner table. If you concur, let these perfect renditions of dishes from Cuba, Mexico, Haiti and Venezuela take you there.
The Cubano
Las Olas Cafe
This fast-moving cafeteria is a local favorite for legendary Cuban comfort food. Arguably Miami’s finest Cubano, the bread is slathered in real butter and filled with house-made mojo-infused pork loin, salty ham, and topped with pickles, mustard, melted Swiss, and expertly pressed on la plancha.
Churrasco
Fiorito
Exceptional Argentinian cuisine is cooked and served by Fiorito’s owners in unassuming Little Haiti. The tender Churrasco is prepared either as a main dish or a sandwich, topped with colorful chimichurri.
Ropa Vieja
David’s Cafe
A Miami institution, David’s Cafe serves authentic Ropa Vieja like the Cuban grandmother you never had — and now wish you did.
Arepas
27
This two-story restaurant linked to Freehand Miami’s supercool Broken Shaker bar, dishes out impressive Latin fare. The house-made Arepa platter, served with ropa vieja, queso de mano, and hogado easily feeds four.
Empanadas
Los Fuegos
Crisp and stuffed with hand-cut beef and spicy llajua sauce, Los Fuegos’ empanadas are an elevated take on a Gaucho staple, prepared by a renowned Argentinian chef.
From the Porter & Sail editorial team.
About Porter & Sail
Porter & Sail’s insider destination guides to the world’s creative capitals are now unlocked and available for all. Get inspired, then book at our cool, luxurious hotels.
The best restaurants, drinking establishments, art galleries and more are yours to peruse whether you are traveling now or planning your next trip.
Follow our travels and keep us in your pocket on your next adventure by downloading the Porter & Sail app. This is how we travel now. Download the app today! | https://medium.com/porterandsail/miami-latin-passion-pastel-pink-skies-7d16fe79346b | ['Mila Singh'] | 2019-06-25 20:02:19.709000+00:00 | ['Food', 'Latin', 'Travel', 'Miami', 'Florida'] |
Quick tips on Capybara | Asserting Elements
Before your system test runs any javascript or starts clicking on any DOM elements, you want the test to wait for any page changes or AJAX requests to resolve. This helps prevent race conditions.
Methods like has_selector? has_no_selector? are useful for making sure you are on the expected page.
def assert_first_visible_row row_text
has_selector? ".rowWrapper" ## Rest of code block.
end
Scoping
There are a lot of elements on your DOM that Capybara has to sort through. Especially if you have multiple of the same element like rows in a table. If you click on a link in a particular row then it might be hard for Capybara to find the correct row since there are many rows in a table.
Robust scoping helps avoid this problem.
within find_all(".rowWrapper")[1] do
assert_text row_text
end
Using within is great to help narrow down where you want Capybara to look on the page.
Additionally, if using normal element ids, classes or names is not working then within() supports XPath. The ability to use XPath can help you drill down when css selectors are failing.
Element matching
Capybara will match elements partially by default. This can be extremely frustrating if you have several buttons with different variations of “Submit” for a form.
<button>
Submit Now
</button> <button>
Submit
</button> <button>
Submit Later
</button>
Capybara will match on the first one if you use click ‘Submit’ .
One way to resolve this is to pass in an argument to the click method.
click 'Submit Later', exact: true
You can also change Capybara’s default behavior in your test setup.
## Match Exact.
Capybara.exact = true ## Method `find` returns the first element and ignores the rest.
Capybara.match = :first ## Capybara will raise an error if more than one element is found.
## Helps to prevent inexplicable breaks.
Capybara.match = :one ## Return exact match if exists else will default to partial match.
Capybara.match = :prefer_exact ## Raises error if more than one match.
## Same behavior as :prefer_exact if Capybara.exact is set to false.Capybara.match = :smart
Capybara Don’ts
NO Sleeps
Don’t use sleeps() to make you tests wait for AJAX or other page elements to load.
It’s a sloppy practice and Capybara has native configurations to address waiting for elements or requests to show up such as the Capybara.default_wait_time .
Additionally you should be using the methods that wait like described in the above section.
Don’t Add Selectors just to satisfy your tests
You should write up your HTML views with concise selectors to make it easy to style and for javascript like jQuery to hook onto. However you should avoid going back after you are done and add more selectors in order to help pass your system tests.
Robust scoping within your tests should help avoid any need to add more selectors to your views.
Resources
The following are some helpful resources that helped me with system testing with Capybara. | https://medium.com/@zlarsen.zl/quick-tips-on-capybara-e9c444528212 | ['Zoe Larsen'] | 2019-01-20 00:08:20.508000+00:00 | ['Best Practices', 'Capybara', 'Ruby on Rails', 'Software Development', 'Testing'] |
10 Small Design Mistakes We Still Make | The saying that “good design is obvious” is pretty damn old, and I am sure it took different shapes in the previous centuries. It referred to good food, music, architecture, clothes, philosophy and everything else.
We forget that the human mind changes slowly, and the knowledge you have about human behaviour will not go old for at least 50 years or so. To make it easy for you, we need to keep consistent with a couple of principles that will remind us of how to design great products. We should be told at least once a month about these small principles until we live and breathe good design.
The human brain’s capacity doesn’t change from one year to the next, so the insights from studying human behaviour have a very long shelf life. What was difficult for user twenty years ago continues to be difficult today — J. Nielsen
Revisiting: Don’t Make Me Think
Steve Krug laid out some useful principles back in 2000, after the dot-com boom which are still valuable and relevant nowadays. Even after his revised version, nothing changed. Yes, you will tell me that the looks are more modern and the websites are more organised and advanced (no more flash!). But what I mean about that is — nothing has changed in human behaviour. We will always want the principle “don’t make me think” applied to any type of product we interact (whether it is a microwave, tv, smartphone or car). | https://uxplanet.org/10-small-design-mistakes-we-still-make-1cd5f60bc708 | ['Eugen Eşanu'] | 2020-07-31 06:49:32.876000+00:00 | ['Design', 'UX', 'Design Thinking', 'Product Management', 'Creativity'] |
When is Enough #Enough? | When I write about these horrific crimes, sometimes I include stats and sometimes I do not. Stats typically add — or perhaps used to add? — veracity to one’s claims. So I can blather on about how firearms are the second leading cause of death for children in the US — just a hair less than motor vehicles and double that of cancer — and the primary cause for black children. I could talk about mass shootings in general vs. school shootings, domestic shootings, police shootings, suicide, and accidental vs. intentional gun deaths.
Most of the time, I don’t bother, and for several reasons. First, I took enough stats in college to know that you can make the numbers say whatever you’d like, and people who support the NRA are of course very practiced in this. Second, the numbers vary by source (with most saying that key categories are under-reported), and people will attempt to discredit them by citing another source which is fairly easily done. The sources are really good at sounding legit and hiding their political intent. But any dimwit with any connection to reality whatsoever can see that school shootings are increasing, that it is an almost uniquely American phenomenon, that some types of guns are more popular than others.
When I leave out the numbers, this really sends the people who are more concerned about numbers than children. The odds of getting killed in school are still very slim, they say. Our schools are still very safe overall, they say. It’s not a gun issue but a mental health issue, they say (yes, these same people who only trot that last argument out for white shooters, and notably don’t support mental health funding anyway). What they’re really trying to say about me? You’re not listing the numbers, You don’t know what you’re talking about.
I can’t even tell you how often one of my kids has had a reason to say, Hope I don’t get shot today. How many times my five exchange kids over the years have said, Don’t think I’ll mention this to my parents back home. How often my own heart has fallen to the floor.
I don’t suppose that these people really don’t care about children at all, they just care more about their guns. Or they’re thoroughly brainwashed. Or most likely they understand that talking about real, live (or dead) kids will never win them any points. Normal readers, normal people may have some sympathy with gun owners, they may appreciate numbers, but they do not want to see America’s children called collateral damage. Normal readers, normal people care about kids. Normal people cry when they see Riley’s picture. Bailey Holt’s picture. Martin Duque Anguiano… Alaina Petty… Alex Schachter…or the latest, Kendrick Castillo, who also tackled his shooter.
So let’s talk about the kids — who are the main reason I choose to skip over the stats. Yes, it’s a very small number of kids who actually die in school shootings (or are even shot). One could call them collateral damage, if one wishes to be pragmatic about our children and our future. We can ignore that they were smart kids, brave kids, possibly the kids who would have cured cancer or solved global warming, the center of their parents’ universe and their reason for breathing. We can ignore that there is no good reason for them to be dead at all.
We can ignore those families and friends, who are five or ten or fifty times as many in number as the kids who were killed. Almost anyone who has lost a child — in a violent manner or otherwise — will tell you that it’s hard to wake up without thinking about them every morning for the rest of their lives. Every family occasion will remind them, every one of life’s celebrations that happen to some other kid. When someone doesn’t mention their dead kid or friend — they notice. The days, the years, the dollars and lack of sleep, the love and memories they carried into raising those children up.
Still a relatively small number, I suppose, if you’re still counting. Expanding the circle outward, though, are all of the other kids and teachers who were there or absent that day. Those survivors who know firsthand now, just how expendable they all are. Those who will jump at every loud noise for the next few years, or maybe forever. Those who will suffer survivors’ guilt, or possibly even kill themselves as some of the Parkland kids recently did. The teachers who wonder if they could have or should have done more. The parents of the survivors who still got the texts saying He’s in my classroom, and wandered around in a fog wondering for hours whether they are still parents at all. And all of the law officers and medics who carried out the bloody bodies, the images indelibly etched into their memories. Who then go home to their own kids.
But it hardly stops there. Remember that in-school training I mentioned, or those “lesser” incidents? Every school in America, every one of our children. I can’t even tell you how often one of my kids has had a reason to say, Hope I don’t get shot today. How many times my five exchange kids over the years have said, Don’t think I’ll mention this to my parents back home. How often my own heart has fallen to the floor. I can’t imagine there is a single, loving parent in the country who hasn’t felt this numerous times — even those in favor of less restrictive gun laws. In a state with more guns than people, half of our high school stays home following a threat.
Last but not least are the millions of teachers in the US, caught both literally and figuratively in the crosshairs of guns and politicians. My husband, for example, a teacher who has seen numerous guns and knives across his tenure, and the rise in school security that never seems to be sufficient. Now many lobbyists and politicians would have us believe that these teachers, who are by their very nature and choice of profession nurturers — who spend eight hours of every day and every year trying to mold our children into the best possible human beings they can be — should also carry guns and be able to kill these same children at a moment’s notice.
These politicians and lobbyists claim the teachers “are good with it.” That teachers, who have never done much of anything simply for the money, will happily carry guns if we pay them more, they say. It’s okay to loosen rather than tighten the concealed carry and other gun laws, they say. They have “stats,” they say. So do I. (I’ve also seen the stats on their NRA funding.)
But even more importantly, I have children. Riley’s parents had a child whose spirit lives on. And all of these children, these brave, committed kids who have been through active shooter training and are still willing to tackle a gunman, might be the only hope America has left. Let’s hope they survive it.
Or, we could finally decide that they matter and enough is #enough. | https://sherrykappel.medium.com/when-is-enough-enough-d99ba486b1e0 | ['Sherry Kappel'] | 2019-06-05 19:44:25.544000+00:00 | ['Gun Control', 'America', 'Guns', 'Parenting', 'School Shootings'] |
Shared Practices in Museum Open Collections Data | Image Background: River View with Fishermen by Salomon von Ruisdael, Walters Art Museum.
Open digital collections support not only richness in digitized objects, but value in the data surrounding those objects. In our observation of a larger move toward open access in the context of museum collections, we may ask what information institutions choose to share about their open collections data and their common practices in doing so.
In considering what common characteristics open collections data policies may grow to develop in the future, we may begin answering this question by looking at current shared practices.
This article will take a closer look how a selection of museums communicate the availability of open collections data and find shared practices therein.
Walters Art Museum
The Walters Art Museum Policy on Digital Images of Collection Objects Usage outlines the use terms for collections images and data under open licenses. In reading this policy with attention to terms surrounding open collections data, the policy addresses the following pieces of information:
Licensing Terms
“Because the Walters owns or has jurisdiction over the objects in its collection and owns or customarily obtains the rights to any imaging of its collection objects, it has adopted the Creative Commons Zero: No Rights Reserved or CC0 license to waive copyright and allow for unrestricted use of digital images and metadata by any person, for any purpose. The longer text descriptions about the artworks on this website are released under the GNU Free Documentation License.”
2. Direct Link to Collections API
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMa)
On the MoMa website, About the Collection leaves breadcrumbs to open collections data under a section titled “Research datasets” which describe the data available as well as their availability on GitHub.
Within the MoMa Github repository, the README functions as the guide to using MoMa open collections data, addressing:
Scope
“This research dataset contains 130,262 records, representing all of the works that have been accessioned into MoMA’s collection and cataloged in our database. It includes basic metadata for each work, including title, artist, date made, medium, dimensions, and date acquired by the Museum. Some of these records have incomplete information and are noted as “not Curator Approved.” The Artists dataset contains 15,091 records, representing all the artists who have work in MoMA’s collection and have been cataloged in our database. It includes basic metadata for each artist, including name, nationality, gender, birth year, death year, Wiki QID, and Getty ULAN ID”
2. Available Formats
“At this time, both datasets are available in CSV format, encoded in UTF-8. While UTF-8 is the standard for multilingual character encodings, it is not correctly interpreted by Excel on a Mac. Users of Excel on a Mac can convert the UTF-8 to UTF-16 so the file can be imported correctly. The datasets are also available in JSON.”
3. Licensing Terms
“This datasets are placed in the public domain using a CC0 License.”
4. Disclaimers
“Images are not included and are not part of the dataset. To license images of works of art in MoMA’s collection please contact Art Resource (North America) or Scala Archives (outside North America).” […] “This data is provided “as is” for research purposes and you use this data at your own risk. Much of the information included in this dataset is not complete and has not been curatorially approved. MoMA offers the datasets as-is and makes no representations or warranties of any kind.”
5. Attribution Details and Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
“MoMA requests that you actively acknowledge and give attribution to MoMA wherever possible. If you use one or both of the datasets for a publication, please cite it using the digital object identifier [DOI 10.5281/zenodo.266290]. Attribution supports efforts to release other data. It also reduces the amount of “orphaned data,” helping retain links to authoritative sources.
6. Misc Usage Guidelines
“Do not mislead others or misrepresent the datasets or their source. You must not use MoMA’s trademarks or otherwise claim or imply that MoMA endorses you or your use of the dataset. Whenever you transform, translate or otherwise modify the dataset, you must make it clear that the resulting information has been modified. If you enrich or otherwise modify the dataset, consider publishing the derived dataset without reuse restrictions.”
[…]
“Because these datasets are generated from our internal database, we do not accept pull requests. If you have identified errors or have extra information to share, please email us at [email protected] and we will forward to the appropriate department for review.”
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Open Access Policy adopted this month outlines the availability of open collections data by addressing:
Scope
“The Metropolitan Museum of Art creates, organizes, and disseminates a broad range of digital images and data that document the rich history of the Museum, its collection, exhibitions, events, people, and activities.” […] “It also makes available data from the entire online collection―both works it believes to be in the public domain and those under copyright or other restrictions―including basic information such as title, artist, date, medium, and dimensions.”
2. Licensing Terms
“This data is available to all in accordance with the Creative Commons Zero (CC0) designation.”
[…]
“The Museum dedicates select data of artworks in its collection―both works it believes to be in the public domain and those under copyright or other restrictions―to the public domain. You can download, share, modify, and distribute the data for any purpose, including commercial and noncommercial use, free of charge and without requiring permission from the Museum.”
3. Available Formats
“The data is available as a Comma Separated Value (.CSV) file on GitHub, a web-based data repository and Internet hosting service. It is updated on a weekly basis.”
4. Direct Link to Data Repository
Cooper Hewitt
On the Cooper Hewitt website, Open Source at Cooper Hewitt outlines “the growing list of tools and resources that the museum has made available under a variety of liberal license conditions which are, where possible, global in application” — open collections data being one of those resources. Guidelines surrounding open collections data at Cooper Hewitt are summarized under section titled Open Data and Public API, reading:
“Collection data, excluding images, is released under Creative Commons Zero. It is available as a downloadable spreadsheet, as individual JSON files, and through our public API. Learn more about this in our Developers section.”
In this summary, Cooper Hewitt includes the following pieces of information:
Licensing Terms
2. Available Formats
3. Direct Link to Collections API
While the summary above does not link directly to the Cooper Hewitt GitHub repository containing collections data specifically, it does include a link to the “Developers section” which does.
In addition to this summary included on the Cooper Hewitt website, the Cooper Hewitt GitHub repositories contain a collections data README which supports a more in-depth overview of available data and its terms for use. This README include the following pieces of information not already represented in the shorter summary represented on the Cooper Hewitt website:
Scope
“Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum is committed to making its collection data available for public access. To date we have made public approximately 75% of the documented collection available online. Whilst we have a web interface for searching the collection, we are now also making the dataset available for free public download. By being able to see ‘everything’ at once, new connections and understandings may be able to be made. For more information please see our website.”
2. Instructional Wiki (Including pages for Creating Commons Licensing, Data Usage Guidelines, Tips on importing this dataset, Generating Persistent URLs, Objects, and Media)
3. Misc Usage Guidelines
“Following the lead of Europeana, we have also released some guidelines for use which suggest that users: Give attribution to Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. Contribute back any modifications or improvements. Do not mislead others or misrepresent the Metadata or its sources. Be responsible. Understand that they use the data at their own risk.”
Summary
In reviewing current institutional practices, we can begin to see themes in how terms for open collections data are articulated by museum institutions and how these themes are applied in practice.
The most common pieces of information used to indicate the availability of open collections data within this selection of four institutions included:
Licensing Terms: 4/4 Institutions. Of these 4/4 institutions, all share collections data under a CC0 license.
4/4 Institutions. Of these 4/4 institutions, Scope: 3/4 Institutions
3/4 Institutions Available Formats: 3/4 Institutions
3/4 Institutions Direct Link to Data Repository: 2/4 Institutions.
2/4 Institutions. Direct Link to Collections API: 2/4 Institutions
In reviewing this selection of museum open collections data practices and how those practices are communicated to users, it should be noted that only 2/4 institutions maintain an open access policy (Walters Art Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art), while all four institutions function as strong examples for how museums are sharing open collections data.
As institutions continue in a larger move toward openness, looking at current practices can tell us more about how openness is communicated. By reviewing the practices of The Walters Art Museum, Museum of Modern Art (MoMa), Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Cooper Hewitt, we can identify themes in how museums are communicating the availability of open collections data, and what elements are at the center of that communication. | https://medium.com/berkman-klein-center/shared-practices-in-museum-open-collections-data-72e924c4849a | ['L. Kelly Fitzpatrick'] | 2017-07-26 03:52:33.209000+00:00 | ['Open Access', 'Art', 'Museums', 'Data', 'Open Data'] |
(Annoying) Little Drummer Boy | (In this series, we’re taking a look at the Christmas story through the lens of songs. If you missed any, you can catch up on Part I & Part II.)
I have some ambivalence about the next Christmas song on our list. I love the lyrics, but the song itself can be somewhat annoying in practice. (Is that bad to say???)
The song I am referring to is none other than “Little Drummer Boy.” My annoyance comes from the endless drones of “Pa rum pum pum-pum’s.” I know — those drum beats are the whole essence of the song. But they seem to drown out the lyrics, which carry a beautiful message.
Come they told me
Pa rum pum pum-pum
A newborn King to see
Pa rum pum pum-pum
Our finest gifts we bring
Pa rum pum pum-pum
To lay before the king
“Little Drummer Boy” was written by Katherine K. Davis in 1941, but there is a bit of mystery surrounding it. Some accounts say Davis wrote the lyrics herself, while others say it was a collaboration between Henry Onorati and Harry Simeone.
The song was first recorded by the Trapp Family Singers (the family The Sound of Music was based on) in 1951. Like most Christmas carols, “Little Drummer Boy” has been recorded by hundreds of artists, most recently by Carrie Underwood. (I guess Carrie is saving Christmas for me this year!)
The lyrics tell the tale of a boy who tags along with the Magi to see baby Jesus. The Magi bring extravagant gifts to lay before this newborn King. But the little boy has no gifts to offer. The sound he makes on his drum is the only thing he can give to Jesus.
Little baby
Pa rum pum pum-pum
I am a poor boy too
Pa rum pum pum-pum
I have no gift to bring
Pa rum pum pum-pum
That’s fit to give our King
Pa rum pum pum-pum
Shall I play for you?
Pa rum pum pum-pum
On my drum
Do you ever feel like you have no gifts to give to Jesus?
Even in the Christian subculture, it’s easy to feel like service to God is reserved for a select few. I’m not as eloquent as that pastor. I don’t have a platform like that writer. When we see people doing “big things for God,” we might think, “I could never serve God like that.” (Truth talk here: These are a few of the discouragements I find myself battling against!)
But using our gifts to serve God isn’t reserved for “professional Christians.” While some may be called into vocational ministry, every vocation is a ministry. There is no secular and non-secular divide.
When laid down before King Jesus, anything we offer becomes holy.
The pulpit the pastor preaches in is holy, but so is the stethoscope the doctor uses to diagnose sickness. The plumber’s wrench is holy as he fixes the leaky sink. The bacon and eggs the waitress sets down on the table is holy, as is the broom used to sweep the floor.
The high schooler who struggles with math offers his best to Jesus right before the big exam. He receives a 72, and it is holy.
The frazzled parent brings home takeout for the family for the third night in a row. They manage to have a ten-minute dinner together before someone has to rush off to soccer practice. It is a holy ten minutes.
The ordinary becomes holy when presented before Jesus. That’s the magic of Christmas. A barn becomes a palace. A feeding trough becomes a bed fit for a King. And the sounds of a little boy beating a wooden drum becomes a joyous proclamation to the world that a savior has been born.
I played my drum for Him
Pa rum pum pum-pum
I played my best for Him
Pa rum pum pum-pum
Then He smiled at me
Pa rum pum pum-pum
Me and my drum
Earlier I confessed to finding the refrain of “Pa rum pum pum-pum’s” irritating. But there is an irony to my grievance when viewed through the meaning of the song.
The little drummer boy, of course, is not playing his drum for my approval. He’s playing his best for Jesus. So it doesn’t really matter what I or the rest of the world thinks of his gift.
Those “Pa rum pum pum-pum’s” may annoy me to the point of switching to another station, but Jesus accepts the gift. Jesus smiles at the boy playing his best for his King.
Imagine the feeling of Jesus smiling at you.
What gift do you have to give Jesus this Christmas?
Spending an afternoon with a lonely friend? Sending a funny Christmas card to make someone laugh? (Thank you, Ron Jon!) Paying for the person behind you at the McDonald’s drive-thru?
However meager your gift feels, it becomes holy at the feet of Jesus.
There will always be people like me who roll their eyes at little drummer boys.
But Jesus smiles at them. | https://medium.com/nobody-left-out/annoying-little-drummer-boy-f886974bea57 | ['Michael Murray'] | 2020-12-17 17:58:45.561000+00:00 | ['Christmas', 'Jesus', 'Religion', 'Christmas Music', 'Spirituality'] |
The Future of Travel and Tourism | It is without a doubt that the number of holidaymakers globally in 2020 has dropped due to the pandemic, but there is likely to be a significant resurgent in tourism for 2021 as travel companies, airlines and tour operators adapt to the new ‘normal’ which will help keep travellers safe.
There is a certain unease with holidaymakers who have opted for ‘staycations’ instead this year, but we’ve grown used to being global citizens with the freedom to travel with our passports in one hand and a tourist map in the other. It just means that people will be taking extra precautions to keep safe and avoid crowded tourist hotspots where social distancing maybe hard to maintain.
Through health screenings at borders and airports installed with ‘green lanes’ for travellers can lead towards a healthy recovery. And numerous companies and pharmacies have started to offer ‘Fit to Fly’ certification that allows people to take quick and simple Covid-19 tests before they embark on trips aboard. This offers peace of mind for travellers who know they are 100% fit to fly, and for local populations too who know visitors that they welcome are not ill.
Of course, recent breakthroughs in medical research and trials for the interim also help offer peace of mind. For example, a vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech is found to be 95% effective against the coronavirus. Governments, universities and philanthropic foundations across the world are also investing in research. This will inevitably lead to mass production of a viable vaccine, which could be ready as early as end of the year. Currently, 170 vaccines are being tracked by the World Health Organisation as potential feasible candidates.
Travel and tourism are an essential driver of our global economies and it plays an important part in our post-pandemic recovery. As key travel and tourist locations start to accept visitors again, they will be conscious to help maintain social distancing and other health protection practices, such as asking visitors to wear masks. Travelling in groups with strangers are also expected to change, and tour operators will adopt new models to offer group travel but only with individuals that interact regularly. Consequently, these practices will allow the travel and tourism industry to start operating again safely and in a sustainable way, producing economic benefits while at the same time keeping people safe.
Mapa Group’s view is that the tourism and travel sector will bounce back in 2021. Tour operators and airlines are already offering significant discounts for flights and accommodation for next year, which will entice holidaymakers and offer huge savings.
Our MNG Tourism business has offered discount up to 55% for top holiday destinations, and even during the height of the pandemic cancelled holidays were refunded in full, even though advance payments were made to our suppliers. This was only possible as our strong financial structures allowed us the flexibility to operate with a contingency. MNG Tourism as a business has always been customer orientated which is why it has been able to grow year-on-year. Based on its years of experience in the hotel industry, from the iconic World of Wonders Topkapi Palace and Kremlin Palace, the recently completed SLS Dubai, and the Gloria Gazelli Hotel in Georgia, to name but a few, Mapa Group believes the future is still bright.
As part of Mapa Group’s work in construction for the hospitality, tourism and airport sector, we’ve shifted our thinking for the future design and development of our projects. Future projects will need to be designed in ways that can potentially reduce transmission of deadly viruses between people, while not losing any of the aesthetic appeal of a particular architectural space.
To learn more about Mapa Group, visit our webpage.
https://mapa.group | https://medium.com/@mapa-group/the-future-of-travel-and-tourism-512a297d38d0 | ['Mapa Group'] | 2020-12-01 11:25:03.888000+00:00 | ['Travel', 'Vacation', 'Tourism', 'Holidays', 'Covid 19'] |
Before Hiring Baby Sleep Consultant Sydney — Things You Must Know | Did you know you needed to talk to paediatrician before hiring a baby sleep coach? There are also other factors to consider.
Baby Sleep Consultant Sydney
Today, many parents are at least considering working with a baby sleep consultant Sydney. The best baby sleep consultant will help parents sleep train their children. However, before jumping into the bandwagon to get a coach for your child, there are several things you need know.
You need to talk to your paediatrician
One of the things that people assume is that some babies are just restless sleepers thus do not get the required quality sleep. However, this is very far from the truth. Babies suffering from any physical discomfort will not be able to sleep well. This means restless nights or even days. To rule out any
physical problems, consult a paediatrician. If there are no causes for lack of sleep, then you can go ahead and start looking for a coach.
The right time to start
This is one of the most controversial topics when it comes to sleep training a child. Different babysleep consultant services recommend different ages for sleep training. The parent is however the best person to understand when their child requires the attention of a baby sleep consultant Sydney. Either
way, the best time to start is when the baby is weaned as has started feeding on other foods other than breast milk. A two weeks baby might be a challenge, but a four month or older baby is good. The earlier (to a point) the better.
Get the consultant you are comfortable with
Every family has its values, schedules and preferences. In that regard, it is important to hire a baby sleep consultant Sydney that is aligned to the family values, and you feel comfortable around. Remember that babies are quite discerning and will be restless around a personality they are not
agreeable with. A sleep coach will also come into the very intimate parts of your home. So, when carrying out interviews for the best baby sleep consultant, be sure to hire the one that you feel most comfortable with.
You must put in the work
Some people think that hiring the best baby sleep consultant Sydney is enough. However, as many specialists will highlight, the expert will recommend change in behaviour and schedules, but ultimately
it is the work of parents to enforce all this. You must understand that you must put in the work and be consistent about it in order to achieve results. This must be understood from the word go by all parents.
These are some of the must know things before hiring a baby sleep consultant. Consider all these factors before you make that hire. | https://medium.com/@mynewbornsydney/before-hiring-baby-sleep-consultant-sydney-things-you-must-know-4657148f63f9 | ['My Newborn'] | 2019-04-03 05:55:53.414000+00:00 | ['Parenting', 'Baby Sleep Consultant', 'Sydney', 'Baby Sleep', 'Baby Sleep Sydney'] |
How to put passion into practise: Overcoming your fears and starting your own business | Image from Unsplash @rahulp9800
Have you ever thought about starting your own business but then felt the financial risks were too big? Or decided not to take the leap for fear of failure?
Well you’re not alone, when Australians were asked why they were afraid to start a business the main answers were fear of failure and financial loss.
So why do people want to start a business? The reasons included financial control, passion, independence and a desire to help others. Starting a business is gaining interest, with business registrations with ASIC increasing 10% year-on-year in the 6 months prior to June 2020.
I conducted a series of interviews as well as a quantitative survey among men and women aged from 20–55 between August and October of 2020.
Fears
So although wanting to start a business, participants expressed hesitation. Fear of failure and financial loss were the overwhelming reason. For many their life circumstances were feeding into their fear of failure due to pre-existing family commitments. One participant said, “with the life stage I’m at there’s added responsibility. I’m married and we’re probably having a family soon…It would be good to move on with your own passion but at the same time you can’t compromise on family.”
Not having had the foundations within Australia nor the financial freedom yet to set up her own business another participant stated that she “still does not have many Australian friends,” and that her lack of connections were impacting on her confidence to start a business. She also said that money was a big concern stating “I need a job to pay my rent and bills first, then I can think about doing something different. Ironically I need to be an employee first to afford to be an entrepreneur.” Participants who had previously had their own businesses and had not achieved their goals were wanting to try again. The experience that things don’t always go to plan may have also raised concerns about business failure.
‘Impostor Syndrome’, qualifications, where to start?
Other factors holding people back were a lack of capital and “impostor syndrome.” This was explained by one participant as questioning whether he was qualified enough to charge people services he was currently providing for free. He expressed self doubt about how to run a business and his lack of qualifications. Others highlighted similar feelings about a lack of professional experience and not knowing where to start.
Interestingly participants expressed and interest in starting businesses that were in a different industry to the ones they were currently working in or qualified for. Such as people in childcare wanting to move toward textiles, and people moving from education toward hospitality and moving from computer studies to environmental sustainability. I noticed a pattern of people wanting to move away from their professional careers into areas they were more passionate about.
Overcoming Challenges
So what would help people to move forward with their plans to start a business? The overwhelming responses were coaching, help with planning and a checklist of what needs to be done. Almost all of the respondents found that whilst they have their ideas, they are unsure of where to start. These feelings stemmed from not having an understanding of what is needed to start a business, being unaware of what clients may actually want, wanting coaching to ensure they were setting the business up correctly, or the desire to find contacts to bounce ideas off.
Next Steps
If you are thinking of starting a business and would like some tips to help you push past your fear and reduce your risk of failure, then here is a free downloadable guide. | https://medium.com/@ekhenderson01/how-to-put-passion-into-practise-overcoming-your-fears-and-starting-your-own-business-5481c1ff99df | ['Eleanor Kate'] | 2020-11-05 02:42:20.545000+00:00 | ['Fear Of Failure', 'Finance And Banking', 'New Business', 'Entrepreneurship', 'Employment'] |
“Anxiety isn’t good with statistics.” | Photo by Sean McAuliffe on Unsplash
A stressed brain does not like nuance.
One thing to learn about a stressed or anxious brain is that that particular brain (and person) is in a very “all or nothing” framework. At that moment, stress and anxiety tend to lead us to think in very “either/or” terms. There is not much gray between the “black and white” of an anxious brain.
In practical terms, this means that decision-making involving multiple options gets more challenging. It may be hard to even see that there are options available.
When asking “why” about a particular choice, it may be helpful to remember that anxiety may only see one or two: fight or flight.
Photo by Alexander Krivitskiy on Unsplash
Fear favors efficiency.
Survival is key here. And it can be helpful to remember that this same “fight or flight” system that is robbing you of the ability to make complicated decisions is trying to help you live.
The example I typically use is that if a tiger was running at you then you do not want to doddle while searching the internet to find out what a tiger would prefer to eat … besides you! You definitely don’t want to leisurely prepare a tasty meal for the tiger, perhaps with an appropriate wine pairing. By the time you do your research, decide on appetizers, and prepare the meal, YOU will have become the main course for the tiger. Fight or flight (after the pause of the freeze response) is helpful here.
Our body and brain’s reaction to fear, stress, and anxiety, is there for a reason: our survival. Decisions about survival do not have time for committee meetings.
Decisions about survival tend to go for the quickest, bluntest instrument to achieve the goal.
Consider even the low-level threat of hunger and how our body craves the fattest, sweetest, most carbohydrate-laden treat. The custard-filled doughnut may not be healthy, but it satiates our hunger quickly and efficiently.
Part of why an anxious brain is not good with probability is that it focuses on the “what if this happens” scenarios; that sort of thinking may help us survive the “what if”.
But by imagining that “what if” event, we really feel that it is possible; we feel it is real in our brains and bodies … which is in large part why our bodies react the way that they do to both acute and chronic stressors.
Photo by Robin Benzrihem on Unsplash
So what do we do?
Stop. Breathe deeply. Breathe again.
In this present moment, the “x” or “what if” is not happening.
While the stressed/anxious brain is reacting as if there is a crisis, we need to communicate to our body that we are not actually under threat. Instead of the short, shallow breathing that fleeing from danger requires, we communicate with our bodies using the same slow, deep breathing that our body would use at rest. Because our body is reacting to the stressor, we need to communicate with our body first.
The areas of our brain that are about fear are reacting; once we help that part of us find a more calm space then the more thoughtful part of our brains can take over.
After we feel calmer, then our prefrontal cortex has a chance to look at how many people actually get bitten by a shark, or struck by lightning, or what is our chance of getting hit by a meteor. Then we can actually weigh our chances … and our choices.
Remember: “Anxiety isn’t good with statistics”. And for sure a stressed brain focused on survival is worrying more about the chance of a Sharknado than about winning the lottery. | https://medium.com/whenanxietystrikes/anxiety-isnt-good-with-statistics-a1efb06b2436 | ['Jason B. Hobbs Lcsw'] | 2020-03-28 19:03:36.116000+00:00 | ['Anxiety', 'Self', 'Mental Health', 'Mental Illness', 'Therapy'] |
To Be An Ally Is To Love | Allyship| LGBT | LGBTQ | Love
To Be An Ally Is To Love
Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash
Love
It’s such a simple word. Love. We all want it. We all give it.
But do we all give it unconditionally? It sounds pretty altruistic when we say we do. But what does it really mean in our everyday life? Unconditional. Without condition. When we throw that adjective out there, we are setting the bar pretty high. Way, way, up there. So why do we make such a point to talk about unconditional love?
My guess is we like looking like wonderful people, whether we really are or not.
How about you? How many people actually love another human being UNCONDITIONALLY? I know I feel like I fail this bar every day. But maybe what we really need is a different perspective of what love is- and how unconditional love doesn’t just belong to the uber calm and holy ones.
Love- I’ve always really loved the Biblical definition of this word. You’ve heard it at a wedding if nothing else.
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails. New International Version
Whew. That’s a lot. Ready to pull it apart? I’m no Bible scholar, but we can look at the adjectives' English translation and learn plenty. Grab your coffee cup, and let's go.
Patient
Kind
No Envy
No Boasting
No Pride
No Dishonor
No Self-Seeking
Not Easily Angered
No record of wrongs
Not delight in evil
Rejoice with truth
Protect
Trust
Hope
Persevere
It Never Fails.
Whew. OK, when you put it that way, it’s easy to see why it is so hard to live up to. I mean, really? Sixteen Dos and Don’ts. Seems like it should be a pretty clear concept with all that explanation. Let’s see if we can combine similar ideas to give ourselves a break.
Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash
We all should be able to love whoever we want. But what I really want you to stop and think about is this. Right now, today, right after you hear the news that your son or your daughter is gay or lesbian or any other type of sexuality but yours? Right when all of your feelings are jumbled up like a dryer full of pantyhose, and you feel like you’re about to faint. Do you honestly love your person any less than you did an hour ago? Your son, your daughter, your parent, your friend? Have your deep-down gut feelings of love shifted? Has their personality or character changed in any way? (hint: the answer is no)
You’ve just hit on the biggest reason of all that you absolutely CAN become an ally. It doesn’t need to be about religion or politics or any social construct. It can absolutely come down to one simple thing. All you really need to do is continue to love someone who you have always loved. Easy-peasy, right?
Love. We all want it. We all need it. Can we give it- even when someone steps outside the box we put them?
Being an ally doesn't have to cause conflict in your heart. After all, love really is love, no matter who.
So let’s look back at our biblical definition of love. Those sixteen do’s and don’ts we saw up there ^. That kind of love is unconditional. It’s all about the other person, and it’s not about me. It’s all about kindness, and it’s not about fear. It’s about giving more than we get. It’s about understanding, even when we don’t. It’s about choosing to love someone in the deepest possible way- for their best good.
Wait. Look at that last sentence, the third word. Choosing. Well, there you go, you’ve been choosing who YOU love all along.
To start this series on being the advocate your loved one needs, go to this story.
For the next story in this series then go here.
If you are interested in learning more about love than I ever imagined, this is a good spot to start.
This one is a bit of an introduction if we haven’t met before:
And this one will start you on my journey to unconditional love in Africa.
Thanks for reading! You are appreciated! | https://medium.com/an-idea/to-be-an-ally-is-to-love-257818fe64ce | ['Teresa Kuhl'] | 2021-03-16 15:15:32.596000+00:00 | ['Relationships', 'LGBTQ', 'LGBT', 'Love', 'Allyship'] |
The 🍔 menu | The 🍔 menu
A step by step guide to creating a Hamburger Menu in SVG & CSS
hamburger menus
The Hamburger Menu widget is on every other site nowadays. It has become synonymous with the web and, perhaps even more so, with web development. Have, for instance, a look at Dribbble or Codepen. There you’ll find a fair share of examples. They come in all shapes and sizes where one is more elaborative than the other. Developers and designers can’t seem to get enough of the widget.
The Hamburger Menu is not without controversy. Some hate it, and some love it. Numerous articles are debating it and its alternatives. Some argue that its proper place is in the history books. Regardless of its fate, it continues to have widespread use. Over and over, it keeps showing up in new sites. It’s especially popular for mobile views where menus typically are hidden.
There are quite a few variants out there exploring different kinds of animations. I’ve created a couple myself. Here are a few of my creations:
The anatomy of the Hamburger Menu
the two states of the hamburger menu
In its most simple incarnation, the Hamburger Menu comes as straight, parallel lines. Usually, they’re three. These lines stay in some form of a clickable container. Shapes and sizes of menus may vary, but their use is the same. Clicking them toggles the hamburger’s state. This interaction makes the menu go back and forth between its opened and closed state. The conventional way to portray the opened state is by showing an X. It signals to the user that tapping/clicking the button again closes the menu.
Ever so often, there’s an animation going between these two states. Buttons like these are excellent opportunities for web developers to delight their users. Generally speaking, it’s the perfect place to add an animation. Animating the button’s state transition is not just pleasing to the eye; it also serves a purpose. It’s a good UX to give users feedback on touch and click interactions.
What is SVG line animation?
Drawing a line
SVG line animation is, as the name implies, a technique to animate lines. Or, more specifically, SVG paths. It creates an appearance of drawing a line on the screen. The method emerged mid-last decade, and it has remained popular since. This article from 2014 explains the technique in detail: https://css-tricks.com/svg-line-animation-works/.
The effect is ideally suited for the Hamburger Menu as the widget is, most often, created with lines. This article discusses how to use the technique to animate between the two different states of the Hamburger Menu.
The three horizontally parallel lines
First of all, let’s start by drawing the three lines. Drawing vectors requires a vector editor. I.e., if you’re not a hard-core SVG coder and like to do it by hand. I use Inkscape to draw my vectors.
The first thing to do is to find a suitable size for the SVG drawing. Using a 100 x 100 pixel SVG document is a good idea. Working with even numbers makes it easier to relate and work with sizes and proportions. It’s, in theory, possible to go with whatever size when drawing these vectors. Remember, the S in SVG stands for scalable.
When drawing the lines, let’s also reserve some wiggle room for the animation on the sides of the menu. This space is reserved for later on when animating the lines. In the editor, the pen tool creates new strokes.
Video of drawing a hamburger
Was it too quick for you? If so, here’s the recipe
Draw a straight line on the upper part of the screen Move the end-points of the line to make it 60-pixel wide. Vertically center the line around y=29. Set the stroke width to 6px Duplicate the line and move the copy to the center of the SVG document. At y=47px, the center of the copied line lands at 50px. Half the stroke width is 3px. I.e., 47 + 3 = 50. Create another copy and place the third line at y=68px. Placing the third line at this position makes the hamburger symmetrically correct.
The numbers above, e.g., the stroke width, need not be the exact numbers, used here, should you recreate this example. The important thing is choosing values that create something visually appealing. It is possible to tweak these numbers and fine-tune them. They should be such as the hamburger matches the style of the other content on the web page. It’s the web developer’s job to create a consistent look and feel building web pages.
A look at the produced code should look something like follows. These essential parts below should be found somewhere in the SVG code.
<svg width=”100” height=”100” viewBox=”0 0 100 100”> …
<path d="M 20,29 H 80" /> // top line
<path d="M 20,50 H 80" /> // middle line
<path d="M 20,71 H 80" /> // bottom line …
</svg>
The X close icon
Next up is creating the X close icon. The way to build it is by extending the top and bottom lines. The idea here is to make the SVG document include both shapes at the same time. Combing the opened/closed states goes perfectly together with the SVG line animation technique. It makes it possible to animate between the different shapes of the menu. The creation, at this point, might look like a bird’s nest. Don’t worry. It’ll make sense later on discussing the animation. The following three parts should be part of the model:
The straight lines (the hamburger)
The connecting lines, joining the two shapes
The X close icon
The way to extend the line is to break up the process in three steps.
1. Extend the line
The first step is to extend the top line with an edgy line that includes part of the X icon. The drawing, at this point, doesn’t need to be perfect. It just needs to be good enough, so you spot half the X.
2. Adjust the coordinates
After extending the path, the next step is to move the connecting nodes to their appropriate coordinates. The connecting line can be arbitrary. However, the X icon should be proportional to the hamburger. In this example it’s a line going from (25px, 25px) to (75px, 75px).
3. Make the lines smooth
Last but not least, converting the line to a Bezier curve makes it smooth. First, let’s look at what it looks like doing the above procedure for the top path. Here again, the pen tool once again comes in handy.
Video of extending a line
Once the top line is in place, it’s time to do the same procedure for the bottom line. Since everything needed is already on the screen, it then makes sense to reuse the work above. Duplicate, flip, and position the copy does the trick to replace the previous bottom line. Bringing objects forward & back is one way to access the right path at the right moment.
Completing the model
Move to HTML
When the model is complete, it’s time to move it over to HTML. Luckily, HTML is interoperable with SVG. That means that anything SVG directly works inside any HTML document. Copying the SVG code into the markup makes it appear on the screen when loading the page in a browser.
Placing references, HTML selectors, on the SVG DOM nodes, is what to do next. Doing so opens up the markup to the wonderful world of CSS. Or, more specifically, it enables manipulation of the SVG paths. With CSS, these SVG elements can have styles, be animated, and inspected. Below is what the structure of the CSS rules looks like after adding classes:
<style>
.line { ... }
.line1 { ... }
.line2 { ... }
.line3 { ... }
</style> ... <svg width=”100” height=”100” viewBox=”0 0 100 100”>
<path class="line line1" … /> // top line
<path class="line line2" … /> // middle line
<path class="line line3" … /> // bottom line
</svg>
Another thing to do is to center the menu and to remove the default margin. This is not a must, but it makes it more pleasant to work with the menu. A flexbox container, conveniently places the widget in the center of the browser window.
body {
align-items: center;
display: flex;
justify-content: center;
height: 100vh;
margin: 0
}
How long are these lines?
An essential part of the SVG line animation technique is knowing the length of the paths. Here is where the Dev Tools shines. The inspector’s console window can, in numerous ways, access DOM elements. One of the more convenient ways is the nifty focused element shorthand $0. It gives direct access to the currently focused node in the inspector. The function call getTotalLength, callable on any SVG path, measures the lines.
Finding the length of the lines
Measuring the lines gives the lengths 207px and 60px. It should come a no surprise to see the number 60 again. It is the original length of the hamburger lines. Another thing to note is that the first and the last lines are equally long except for minor rounding errors. This outcome is what to expect as they are duplicates. Both of them are 207px long when rounded upwards. These two numbers, 207 & 60, are the values needed to get started with the SVG line animation effect.
Diving into the SVG line animation technique
A great way to get accustomed to the line animation technique is by using the inspector. The style editor lets you change the CSS rules with immediate feedback. Visualizing the change makes it easier to get a feel for how the CSS affects the SVG paths. The instant feedback loop quickly helps to hon in on desired values. The goal here is to use the model, created above, to find the following two sets of values:
The values that make the hamburger appear again. The values that make the X icon appear again.
These two sets of values, in turn, represent the end-points in the animation. Interpolation between these two extremes is what creates the actual animation.
The first thing to do, working with the animation, is to set the stroke-dasharray rule for one of the long lines. The stroke-dasharray rule takes a range of values that describe dashes and gaps. The animation effect in this article needs only two values. They are one dash and one gap. One way to find the dash/gap value pair is to set both values to the full length of 207px and work backward. The keyboard’s up and down arrows stepwise alter the value in the editor. Stepping through the first value in the set of values reveals the hamburger.
The same procedure, as above, goes for the X icon. This time the second rule, stroke-dashoffset, comes into play. The offset pushes the line forward to reposition it. The diagonal line in the X is slightly longer than the lines in the hamburger. For this reason, the line needs an extension. Adding a handful of pixels adjusts its length.
Now, let’s have a look at the results. Below are the different sets of values found:
<style>
/* Hamburger */
.line1 {
stroke-dasharray 60 207;
stroke-dashoffset 0;
}
.line2 {
stroke-dasharray 60 60;
stroke-dashoffset 0;
}
.line3 {
stroke-dasharray 60 207;
stroke-dashoffset 0;
} /* X icon */
.opened .line1 {
stroke-dasharray 90 207;
stroke-dashoffset -134;
}
.opened .line2 {
stroke-dasharray 1 60;
stroke-dashoffset -30;
}
.opened .line3 {
stroke-dasharray 90 207;
stroke-dashoffset -134;
}
</style>
Animation
The Dev Tools is a powerful ally when it comes to animation. With the inspector, it’s possible to test, fine-tune, and record animations. The style editor allows modifying CSS to re-run animations immediately. All inside the browser. The Dev Tools provides the perfect playground for exploring and crafting animations.
The simplest way to get objects moving on the screen is by using CSS transitions. They’re easy to use. One specifies what other CSS rules to animate. Setting the target rule, together with duration and easing, immediately enables animations. It is very convenient. Once in place, the only thing needed to start an animation is to change the value of the target rule. Here’s what the transition rule looks like for the Hamburger Menu:
transition: stroke-dasharray 600ms cubic-bezier(0.4, 0, 0.2, 1), stroke-dashoffset 600ms cubic-bezier(0.4, 0, 0.2, 1);
Notice the specific easing used. The cubic Bezier easing above comes from the Material UI guidelines. It’s a bit more punchy compared to the regular ease easing.
Here’s what fine-tuning in the Dev Tools might look like
Putting it all together
The event handler is the last step in creating the animation. It’s what makes the menu interactive. Toggling the “opened” class triggers the animation automatically. The only thing needed is a place to trigger the state transition. The SVG element itself serves as a perfect place to insert the handler.
<svg … onclick="this.classList.toggle('opened')">
Accessibility, updated version
After publishing the first version of this article, Dennis Lembrée pointed out, that the above version is not accessible. Accessibility is important, so let’s fix the fundamental parts. The right thing to do is to wrap the menu inside a button and move the event handler to the button. With buttons, some of what’s needed for the menu to be accessible comes for free. The menu becomes focusable and it automatically enables keyboard tab navigation.
Adding an additional aria-label is also very helpful. It gives contextual information to users relying on screen readers.
<button onclick="..." aria-label="Main Menu">
<svg>
...
</svg>
</button>
The source code
And here’s the complete menu on Codepen
Full source on Codepen
That’s it! If you reached this far, you can hopefully now know a bit more about Hamburger Menus. Thanks for reading, and the best of luck with your animations!
Cheers,
Mikael | https://uxdesign.cc/the-menu-210bec7ad80c | ['Mikael Ainalem'] | 2020-06-04 18:07:26.892000+00:00 | ['UI', 'Web Development', 'CSS', 'Visual Design', 'UX'] |
A Newborn Doc at the frontline | Melissa DeRosa, secretary to the Governor of New York, launched a COVID-19 maternity task force on April 20. An important mission of the task force is to spearhead birthing centers as safe alternatives for low risk women laboring during this pandemic. As a pediatrician working on the frontline in a newborn nursery, I responded to the Governor’s tweet, volunteering to be on this task force. I did not receive a response. I called the two numbers I could find. One went to a voicemail that said the inbox was full and hung up on me. The other said they were experiencing calls that were longer than usual and therefore I should call back later and also hung up on me.
Looking at the publicly released list of task force members, there is no representation from a general pediatrician. Rightfully, obstetrics and neonatology are represented. But these are two pillars in a three-pillar medical team. Most women who give birth, and especially those considered “low risk” and appropriate for transfer to a birthing center, deliver healthy newborns. And that’s what I am an expert in.
But I would be remiss not to mention that my expertise extends beyond the professional realm. Seven years ago, I gave birth to my third child in my own home, here, in New York City, the epicenter of the current pandemic. I understand the complexities of outside-of-the-hospital birth just as well as I understand the complexities of hospital birth, the complexities of hospital birth during a pandemic, and the complexities of hospital-birth in a hospital at the epicenter of the pandemic. And I feel strongly that a general pediatrician, especially one specifically focused on newborn care, should be at the table during the decision making process of this incredibly important topic.
Here is why:
Before March 13, 2020, I was mostly a scientist. Yes, I had a medical degree. Yes, I had an active medical license. Yes, I was a board certified pediatrician. And yes, my Columbia appointment came with 20% effort carrying for newborns in the nursery at the NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital (MSCH). But before that day, I was mostly considering myself a scientist, deeply committed to my NIH-funded studies of rodent models of stress and resilience. I used to joke that I was 120% scientist — and physician for whatever time there was left after that.
But that all changed on March 13, 2020, when our hospital diagnosed the first woman in labor with COVID-19 and I, as one of six core attendings in the nursery, would soon be carrying for babies born to these moms. The flurry of activity was overwhelming for many. There were so many questions. So many unknowns. Whole policies and procedures changed. Some of our attendings fell into the category of high risk. Who would care for these infants? And how?
In the midst of this, for reasons that I am still psychoanalyzing in myself, I stepped up and volunteered to be the nursery’s “COVID attending”, which I was for most of the first month of the pandemic that overtook our hospital, healthcare system, and way of life. For the past month, I have been 120% doctor and honored to be able to use my expertise at the frontline. There are a lot of experiences to share about that month.
Here is one:
When I walked into the nursery on that day, one of the babies of a COVID-19 positive mom that had been admitted overnight was inside our newly designated “PUI area”. (Babies born to COVID-19 positive moms are considered “persons under investigation” or PUIs for the first 14 days of life.) I asked the nurse how this baby’s poor mom was doing. Generally, babies in this area have very sick moms that cannot care for their infants in their private room, which is where babies normally are admitted to. The nurse looked at me confused and said “Fine”, curious to why I was asking this. When I finally opened the chart, I saw that the mom was indeed medically stable. She could have had the baby in the room.
I called the mom on her cell phone — one of our many new and strange standard practices now. (These calls are meant to reduce healthcare exposure. We first speak to moms on the phone, addressing any issues or concerns, going over how to care for the infants, etc, then we visit the rooms for the physical exams of the babies.) The mom was panic-stricken. For almost 10 minutes I just let her talk. She was so scared of giving COVID-19 to her baby that she didn’t want to have her baby anywhere near her. She didn’t want to breastfeed because she feared this would transmit the virus. She detailed to me how she had found a friend who would take the baby from the hospital and care for them in their home, far away from mom, for the first 14 days. Then she jumped into a flurry of concerns that 14 days might not be long enough.
When I was finally able to talk, I spoke calmly but confidently. At that moment in time, we had had over 50 PUI babies admitted, most of whom I had personally cared for. I could reassure her that none of our babies had gotten sick despite rooming in with their moms, direct breastfeeding, and going home with their moms. We take precautions of course. Masking, hand washing, breast hygiene, baby’s isolette six feet away from mom. But baby can be with mom! We also now know these babies are doing well when they come back for their first well child visit at our new COVID Newborn Follow-up Clinic. Overall — I could tell this mom with confidence — we are seeing really good outcomes in babies.
As a pediatrician, and in particular a newborn doc, I am still baffled by this. We are always worried about bugs near babies! I told this mom that while still speculative, we think that a breastfeeding COVID-19 positive mom might indeed protect her baby from catching the virus from others. We think this because we know for many other diseases, maternal antibodies transfer to the breastmilk and then to baby, conferring protection against a slew of terrifying germs.
I spent 36 min on the phone with this mom. One hour later, the baby was in mom’s room, breastfeeding.
I can’t relay the magnitude of that in words.
And that’s why I think a general pediatrician belongs at the decision making table. | https://medium.com/newborns-in-the-pandemic/a-newborn-doc-at-the-frontline-f04a2f12d93e | ['Dani Dumitriu'] | 2020-04-23 16:28:00.423000+00:00 | ['Newborn', 'New York', 'Covid 19', 'Maternal', 'Frontline'] |
Regulations, crowdfunding and WARS :) | In the Spanish market, where Wupplier.com will be based, the regulation is fairly new
As financial institutions gradually lose their role as general ledgers, lending market places are gaining weight in the market, thus forcing regulators to rapidly come up with specific laws on the field. Traditional financial institutions have historically been heavily regulated. Furthermore, as a consequence of the recent 2008 global financial breakdown, financial regulation has increased, with more capital requirements (i.e. Basel III) limiting the market players’ ability to lend, specially to SME’s and mid-low income individuals.
In the Spanish market, where Wupplier.com will be based, the regulation is fairly new, and relatively few licenses for lending marketplaces have been granted to date. In order to initiate operations as a marketplace, the venture needs to be registered in the CNMV (Spanish equivalent to SEC). The requisites to obtain such license are the following; it is necessary to have a minimum common equity of €60k or a social liability insurance or warranty that covers up to 300,000€ in damages and 400,000€ in other potential prejudices, corporate statutes, an official document attesting that they are of good character and repute and have not been convicted of any offence, provide a business plan for the next year, a list of the main shareholders and a copy of the confidentiality agreement amongst others. All of these requirements, will permit the venture to continue operating until a license is granted.
The biggest burden to obtaining the license is the considerable amount of time it takes — from 3 to 6 months. Additionally, the legal costs that new ventures need to face also represent an entry barrier for new players, as specialised legal advisors need to be hired.
It is important to note that the current license from the regulator does not provide the right to manage the creditors / debtors money, as a consequence these ventures are forced to operate through payment platforms, ultimately increasing the cost of operations. To further obtain the payment platform license it is required to register and operate under the legislation of the Spanish Central Bank (Spanish equivalent to the Federal Reserve), which is harder and more expensive to obtain.
From Wupplier.com we are currently focused on the legislative burden we are facing to become a marketplace, and we are limited at the moment to act as such.
the disruptive technology in the lending space has the ability to diminish the dependence on the traditional financial system
At the same time, we are exploring the possibility to substitute the payment platform for a traditional escrow account provided by a traditional financial institution. By being able to substitute the payment platform, we might be able to start acting as a market place without the proper regulation, as we would not hold neither the creditor nor the debtor money at any moment. Although we might be able to bypass the current regulation by taking this action, this system is costlier and harder to scale, and it would not be profitable to operate in the long-term.
What regulators need to understand is the importance of a light regulation, as the disruptive technology in the lending space has the ability to diminish the dependence on the traditional financial system, and ultimately re-distribute risk among the market players and limit systemic risk. | https://medium.com/singular-factory-blog/regulations-crowdfunding-and-wars-ccb830701e66 | ['Singular Factory'] | 2018-02-24 16:06:44.436000+00:00 | ['Wupplier', 'Apps', 'English Posts', 'Fintech'] |
Birmingham Bowl | Birmingham Bowl
Saturday marks a day of less than remarkable bowl match-ups. The first one is the Birmingham Bowl pitting the USF Bulls against the Texas Tech Red Raiders.
The line on this bowl opened USF -2, moved up to -3 and trending back down on game day. -2 is widely available and some -1.5 is starting to appear. The total is also moving on game day; it opened 67 and moved down to 65.5 but, has bounced back to 66 this morning.
The expected points scored and expected points allowed is usually the best place to start as it gives an idea of how the teams performed against such different competition, giving us a base line to start comparing them.
This shows a lot of love for USF. This is by far the biggest spread this method has produced in the bowls so far. It is also the biggest discrepancy in comparison to the bookmakers lines in the bowl season to this point.
The yards per play comparison also backs up the love for USF.
This is the first time there’s been a favorite with a yards per play advantage big enough to show value on them. And 4 points is no small amount of value.
Digging a little deeper shows that the offensive and defensive numbers don’t help the case for Texas Tech that much at all either.
USF has a decent advantage when it comes to stopping teams on 3rd down. And USF scores a ton more in the red zone.
The defensive metrics also weigh heavily in USF’s favour. These are massive differences. Everything is pointing USF’s way.
The Bahamas Bowl preview had a very similar feel. A lot of things favored Ohio but, the motivation felt like it would be heavily in UAB’s corner. That turned out to be spectacularly wrong. The situation with the strength of schedule is kind of similar though — UAB had the worst schedule in the nation and in this case USF is coming in with the 90th ranked schedule while TTU has the 30th ranked schedule. That is just such a huge difference that it throws a lot of the statistical advantages into question. And while USF had a disappointing end to the season and maybe didn’t see this bowl in their future, Texas Tech had to come back in the 4th quarter of their last game to get to 6 wins and earn this invite. Whatever the opinion is of Texas Tech’s coach in the media, it would seem the players want him there are willing to play for him.
There are a ton of bowl games and this time of year every Johnny, Jimmy and Joe wants to bet on every single one of them. But, if you’re a Jimmy in Florida today, its probably best to sit this one out and go to the dogtrack instead.
No play,
Good luck | https://medium.com/@BigTenWatto/birmingham-bowl-d2508d4e5897 | [] | 2017-12-23 16:26:40.621000+00:00 | ['Sports', 'Sports Betting'] |
Why You Need to Build Great Systems, Not Goals | Why You Need to Build Great Systems, Not Goals
5 things to consider for long-term progress
Photo by Roman Bozhko on Unsplash
For you to reach your desires and dreams — your unique version of success — the typical advice you’d get is to set meaningful goals. Whether that’s improving your fitness, stepping up a level in your field or industry, or dedicating more time to your relationships, you need goals.
And in fact, this is what I firmly believed for years. Goals are destinations, and we all need to have something to aim for, right?
It’s the same approach you and I use for everything.
Do you need to get your morning coffee? Make a goal to get out of bed and head into the kitchen.
Want to lift more weights in the gym? Set a goal to attend the gym more often and lift more weight.
Want to be a better writer (my goal)? Create a goal to write more often and improve over time.
I’ve set hundreds of significant goals during my life. I did reach a lot of them, but many of them I also didn’t. I didn’t like the consistency of this, but I wasn’t sure on how to correct and improve this.
But recently, I learned one of the most important things to consider about achieving what I wanted. A podcast show including Brian Moran, co-author of The 12 Week Year, highlighted that to get the big goals we want, we need to build systems around them.
One of my core values is that you and I should dedicate our time each day or week to self-reflection. Because being able to understand who we are today, to then take actionable steps to innovate and improve ourselves is one of the best things we can do. And the way to do that is through systems.
This fact made me realise to lead my goals with one thing. Not motivation. Not desire. Not even the reward at the end. The system I put in place for myself to achieve what I want.
It made so much sense.
Systems are objective-based. They aren’t influenced by how you feel each day.
They aren’t influenced by how you feel each day. Systems are results-focused. There are always reasons why you couldn’t reach your goal. But at the end of the day, you either completed it, or you didn’t.
There are always reasons why you couldn’t reach your goal. But at the end of the day, you either completed it, or you didn’t. Systems keep you going, whether you feel like it or not. Following a system is like a missile following a laser-guided target, if set correctly, you’ll get a result no matter what.
So, a question for you: If I asked you to set a goal, then completely forget about it, focusing only on building a system around it. For example, your goal is to squat 100 kilograms, but you ignore that goal and spend 100% of your thoughts and efforts on training every day. Do you think you’d reach that goal?
Of course you would!
Most people spend too much time on what’s at the end of the tunnel, not how to get through it. You’re then poorly prepared for the inevitable problems on the way, such as loss, defeat, criticism, fear, and knocks in confidence.
Systems create answers to those problems. And there are a few points you need to consider once you create your own.
Photo by Isaac Smith on Unsplash
Set your standards.
Standards are what keep you active each day. It’s a daily minimum of something you do that you must follow no matter what. How to do that? Set a daily minimum of something you’ll want in the long term and stick to it no matter what. There’s nothing you’ll enjoy 24/7. So, you’ll have to pick something.
The problem with goal setting is that it makes you care only about the end. You end up looking at the success only and the gleaming triumph you’ll feel for reaching it.
You quickly forget about the hard work, smart decisions, resilience, and patience, to name a few, that allow your systems to be efficient and help you along the way.
I was like this. I set the goal to be a writer, but I felt so attracted to the idea of being an influential writer who engages with tens of thousands and makes a very healthy living off it. But I forgot about the critical steps of how I was going to get there.
It’s like jumping off a diving board and belly-flopping into the water because you didn’t learn how to enter it safely and effectively.
What you set can be as simple as ten push-ups or a one-mile walk by the end of the day. It needs to be small and easy at first. That’s how you form the habit. I use this with everyone I coach in fitness training.
Build the habits and systems in your mind to commit to a minimum amount of work each day. And you’ll eventually be doing it with minimal exertion. Once that starts to happen, then you can raise the bar.
Don’t fall victim to survivorship bias.
What is survivorship bias? Well, I’m glad you asked (you probably didn’t).
This one’s important. Goals have one unique disadvantage over systems. Imagine explaining your new goals to a friend, compared to your new systems. Which one do you think they’ll find more exciting?
One sounds more boring than the other, but that’s precisely it.
Survivorship bias makes you only value what you do see and ignore what you don’t.
It’s like the iceberg effect; you forget that an iceberg is humongous because around 80% of it is underwater. That’s survivorship bias; seeing surface-level results and thinking that’s all there is to it.
Think of celebrities or famous athletes. You see the money, the fame, the fact that they can wake up each day anywhere they want, with no clue about what to do, or they have an assistant tell them instead.
You then hear their advice on success, and it’s usually something cliché like “never give up” or “strive for your dreams”. But what you don’t see is the years they spent failing, doubting themselves and being ignored and criticised.
What you also don’t see, is the other 99% of people that had the same start as them but didn’t make it. You see Lewis Hamilton, for example, making his way from the bottom to the top of Formula 1, but you forget about the tens of thousands of kids who didn’t.
Goal success is more glamourous than systems, and that’s the problem. But it takes an effective system that nobody else can see to reach and exceed your goal in the first place.
Let the goal be and focus on what others don’t see because that’s what matters and makes the difference to your success. As James Clear once said, winners and losers have one thing in common: “they have the same goals”, not the same system.
Goals hold you back more than you might realise.
Focusing on the goal alone is very narrow-minded thinking. Say you want to write 100 articles a year — In fact, this is what I did — that equates to 25 articles every quarter (three months).
Now imagine you instead set yourself a standard to write one article a day at least. Without thinking about it, that’s already a minimum of 365 pieces per year. You could even do 25, 50, or even 100 articles each quarter because you’re not focused on hitting just 100 a year.
Goals can be limiting. They don’t beg the question “but what if I have more potential than this?” whereas systems are limitless. They don’t just have the end in mind; they look at improving yourself physically, mentally and spiritually too.
If your goal is to drink more water, but your system is drinking 2 litres minimum per day. Your system guarantees that not only do you reach your goal, but you now retain a healthy habit which improves your skin, energy levels, happiness and many other benefits.
Goals are great for clarity and having a clear vision of what you want, but systems guarantee how you’re going to get there.
Goals don’t tell you what to do next.
Why do fitness enthusiasts work so hard, for weeks, towards their goal of losing weight or building muscle, only to return to their original self once completed?
It’s is a common problem that many people struggle with as they sign up for fitness programs or workout classes to lose weight, only either give up or reach their goal and have no drive to carry on. It’s because they hit a “now what?” phase. They failed to build a system of useful habits that retained their behaviours without needing much effort.
The reason that systems are much more compelling is that they turn “now what?” into “now”.
“Now I will…”
“Now I can…”
“Now I should…”
Goals-focused people use motivation and rewards as their primary driver. In that mindset, you only picture the end that’s what excites you.
System-focused people use their processes as their primary source of fuel. With that, you’re now focusing on what you’re doing today. You know your actions today will give you that 1% minimum improvement because daily improvements add up and compound. You’re driven by the process and the challenges, not hitting the target once and leaving it there.
Goals tell you where to go. But systems tell you where to go, how to get there and what to do next.
Learn to love the process.
This point is my favourite because it’s the most important.
You and I need goals the same way we need a purpose in life. But we just use goals in the wrong way. They are not things to impress your friends, so it looks like you’ve got a lot coming for you, and they aren’t merely to make you feel like you’re doing something. They’re for one reason: clarity.
Systems are beautiful works of art. They shape you to become a powerful individual who lives by virtue and constant growth.
Don’t get me wrong; goals are useful in the short term. You don’t need a masterplan system to take a shower every morning. But for long-term results and consistent results in your life. Please invest in your systems. | https://medium.com/the-ascent/why-you-need-to-build-great-systems-not-goals-e0541f952421 | [] | 2020-05-24 15:08:04.186000+00:00 | ['Personal Development', 'Self Improvement', 'Self', 'Goals', 'Psychology'] |
「鼎金必修辭典」＃Altcoin | Learn more. Medium is an open platform where 170 million readers come to find insightful and dynamic thinking. Here, expert and undiscovered voices alike dive into the heart of any topic and bring new ideas to the surface. Learn more
Make Medium yours. Follow the writers, publications, and topics that matter to you, and you’ll see them on your homepage and in your inbox. Explore | https://medium.com/earnest-ftb/%E9%BC%8E%E9%87%91%E5%BF%85%E4%BF%AE%E8%BE%AD%E5%85%B8-altcoin-8a1d1071e401 | ['Earnest Fintech Brokerage'] | 2020-12-21 05:48:38.676000+00:00 | ['加密貨幣', '專業術語', 'Altcoins', '鼎金數位金融經紀所', '山寨幣'] |
“The most important thing in the game industry is people”: an interview with Tim Fadeev, Business Development Director at Awem Games | “The most important thing in the game industry is people”: an interview with Tim Fadeev, Business Development Director at Awem Games BDinGD Oct 9, 2019·15 min read
BDinGD CEO Pavel Tokarev interviewed Tim Fadeev, Development Director at Awem Games. Awem publishes and produces match-3 projects like Cradle of Empires.
They spoke about partnering with EA Games, working with Wargaming and Ubisoft, salesmanship, and how to avoid burnout without taking vacations.
From starting a marketing agency from scratch to meeting the head of EA Games Russia
Pavel Tokarev: Tell me about how you ended up in game development and what are the major turning points in your career.
Tim Fadeev: It’s been a long bumpy ride. It all began when I found my own marketing agency. I quickly realized a no-name company made up of me, a CEO, and a designer couldn’t compete with big firms and agencies. Besides, I was always playing games, so I figured, why not start working exclusively in gamedev? At that time, there were very few agencies that devoted themselves entirely to gamedev in Russia.
We offered clients a full range of marketing solutions, ranging from social media and traffic handling to event planning, banner production/printing, etc. This obviously turned out to be a tall order, but I immediately took a liking to the people who work in gamedev. For example, Tony Watkins, the head of EA Games Russia, happily agreed to meet with me, even though I was just some random nobody. That was sometime between 2010 and 2013.
How did you get in touch with him?
I wrote to him on LinkedIn and said we were a small agency with a few ideas about how to help launch the next game from the FIFA series, and I gave him a brief overview. He suggested we meet. I didn’t believe something like that was even possible. He just said he’d be in St. Petersburg, so we should meet up and chat. I hadn’t even provided any details — all I did was float my idea and describe it in a few words.
Working with Wargaming and Ubisoft
Later on, we got the opportunity to work with Wargaming. We did an SMM [social media marketing] campaign with celebrities for them. In that case too, I just wrote to someone or other, got introduced, and started networking. Then I started to level up my most important tool: Facebook. I realized there’s no audience on VK [Russian social network]. That’s how I ended up working with Wargaming. We partnered with their SMM department. It wasn’t a lot of money, of course, but they believed in us and gave the chance to do something for a big gaming company.
Unfortunately, my whole entrepreneurial venture ended up being a fiasco. I didn’t make any money. Some businesses just didn’t have the budgets in Russia. Large companies like Ubisoft have their own “pocket” agencies. You couldn’t just come in off the street — they kept you standing in the doorway, so to speak. I was left in debt with loans and realized I’d had enough of being an entrepreneur. I had to look for a job. In the end, my business lasted all of two years. But at least I had tried my hand as a business owner: I learned what it meant to support myself and pay a salary to employees — we had about 15 of them at our peak. I ended up in the red, of course, but I gained experience.
Next, I started looking for work. I knew I wanted to get into the gaming industry. But it turns out it’s almost impossible to get in unless you know someone or there’s someone to vouch for you. I already had a “hobby,” even before this, of sending my resume to the world’s top gaming companies, like Naughty Dog or Rockstar Games. And I was totally serious about that. I really did dream of working at those places.
Eventually, some attempts succeeded. For example, I interviewed with Facebook and got called to lead their gaming division in Russia.
On working for IGG
Then I got an email from the Chinese branch of IGG [I Got Games]. At first, I thought it was from those Nigerian scammers, since the email was worded in such a weird way. We scheduled an interview, but the Chinese HR rep said she had a sore throat and suggested we conduct it in writing instead. Later I learned she just didn’t speak English all that well, so it was just easier for her to write.
At that time, I didn’t know anything about the company. I wasn’t even paying attention to the mobile market because I was a PC and console gamer, and I had never even thought about mobile gaming. The interview itself was also strange. The first thing she asked me was how old I was. I said I was 30, and she laughed and said I was older than her. Anyway, we ended up scheduling a second interview, this time with the company’s vice president. I was given a test assignment to come up with a plan for promoting their project in the Russian market. They liked my ideas and offered me a job. A contract with Singapore, a salary in dollars — I was totally convinced I wouldn’t be getting a dime. Ultimately, one other guy from Russia and I became the first IGG employees. After that, things just sort of happened: someone added me to PR in GameDev, and I started getting to know everyone and hanging out with them.
IGG office in China
What do you like most about your job?
The most important thing is the people. The key to my job is communication. And I’ve never met cooler, kinder, or more understanding people. There are rotten apples everywhere, of course, but there are more good people here. Everyone here is happy to engage with you and collaborate on projects.
On diving into corporate culture in Asia
Can you talk about a few differences between Asians and Europeans or people from post-Soviet countries?
There’s really too many to list. Okay, here’s one small but important example: in Asia, you have to give and receive business cards with both hands, or else it’s considered disrespectful.
Is there a big difference in conceptual thinking? Is that something you have to be aware of?
The corporate culture in Asia is completely different in its subtleties and nuances. For example, a line forms to scan a fingerprint to get into work in the morning, and God forbid you’re marked as late. Likewise, at 5:59 pm, there’s a line to clock out. They leave regardless of what’s going on or if there’s an urgent project. They’ve finished their job and gone home. Upper management, of course, works overtime. They work with people in other countries and have more responsibilities. But the rank-and-file are just like factory workers: they come, bang out their work, and leave.
On sales and procedures
What projects are you currently working on?
My main concern is developing Cradle of Empires. I’m responsible for its relationships with platforms, among other things. I also do publishing for other markets and stores. Right now, we’re entering the Chinese market and getting all the documents we need. We’ve also found a publisher for the MENA [Middle East and North Africa] region.
What kinds of connections do you seek out?
Since we’ve already found a publisher, I no longer have an urgent need to attend conferences. Generally speaking, marketing agencies who make good creatives are always valuable. That’s who we’re interested in getting in touch with now.
Aside from marketers, who else do you work with? Do you outsource art or anything like that?
Right now, we’re actively recruiting all sorts of employees, but as far as art goes, we currently don’t need to outsource, since we have our own team, and it’s pretty big. Of course, we do sometimes outsource some things when we can’t handle the amount of work we have. Sometimes it’s quicker to give the art to a third party.
In your experience, what typical errors do vendors make that hinder their sales?
There was one example recently — I even wanted to post it online, but we ended up just laughing about it in group chats. I got a mass-marketing email that said “Need a CPI or CPA traffic?” No “hello” or anything. I can safely say that sales will be low here. I just sent it to a group chat, and it turned out that company’s owner was in it and apologized to everyone. I hope that sales rep got fired, or at least a slap on the wrist.
At the last White Nights Conference, when I was hanging out at the Flying Dutchman, some guy tried to pitch his service to me while I was in the bathroom. Then he caught me on the way out and kept going. Now he writes me follow-up emails, but after what he did, I’m certainly not going to respond.
In your opinion, what is the best approach to sales?
First, you have to study the client and figure out how interested they are actually going to be. Find out their weaknesses so that you can offer to solve them. In other words, do your homework. Don’t just shoot from the hip. I’ve learned that from experience.
Actually, I have an example from another conference. These people met with me and began to propose some promotion for Steam or a PC program. They hadn’t even bothered to notice that we make mobile games and tried to sell us something completely unrelated. Ultimately, they just wasted both their time and mine. But if you provide a useful service and offer it to someone you think it might help, then things will probably work out, and talking to them will be worth your while.
On networking
What is the most important mode of communication?
Definitely conferences and face-to-face meetings. Working with China is a prime example. Chinese people are so polite that it’s one thing to send messages through Skype, and quite another to meet in person. You can go to dinner with your partner and come up with a unique solution or address an issue in a way you never would have achieved online.
Is renting booths at conferences worth it? Or is it easier to search through the crowd?
It depends on the product, but a booth is always easier because you can invite someone to come to you. That immediately inspires confidence and poses a clear advantage over a lone wolf who is walking around with a backpack and offering something to everyone. You can invite someone to your booth, sit comfortably, drink some water or coffee, and show them the product right there and then.
Awem’s booth on a conference
At which three conferences have you had the most productive meetings?
White Nights, Pocket Gamer, and one other more specialized conference in Helsinki that all the top Chinese companies and publishers attend. At that conference, I was able to demonstrate my product and metrics right away and give my pitch. In response, publishers provide immediate feedback. Some people even made a simple analysis, saying right off what needed to be added to make it in China. So, to me, that was perfect.
More generally, my personal top three are White Nights, Pocket Gamer, and maybe Gamescom, although Gamescom is a big B2C event, which has its own nuances. I would also add Casual Connect and DevGAMM.
White Nights pre-party
What helps you build relationships with your partners?
That’s a tough question. Maybe it’s my charisma. I have a lot of experience talking to people and selling myself. I’ve worked in TV and radio, I’m good with words, and I generally try to get along well with everyone. I don’t have any enemies (I hope :)).
What is your strategy to avoid making enemies?
I’m a real diplomat, and I always make it so that everyone comes out a winner in the end. Once when I was still living in my hometown, some bullies came up to my friend and me and tried to take something from us. My friend knew karate and said he’d fight them, but while we were looking for a good spot for a scrap, I found a common language with them, and we ended up chatting for a long time at a bus stop. They bought us beer, and at the end of the day we all but hugged goodbye.
I don’t like to use pressure to make deals. I prefer to make friends with someone — then they’ll give me a discount because I’m a good guy and we enjoy each other’s company. I try to make it so the other person voluntarily gives me a discount just because we get along well. I think that’s a better approach than twisting someone’s arms and giving them ultimatums. That may work once or twice, but it’s a small industry. Word travels fast, and nothing good will come from it in the long run.
How much can a top-notch business developer earn?
I’ve heard it’s possible to get as much as 10,000 euros [11,000 USD] a month. It’s different everywhere, but the range is 3,000 to 10,000 [3,300 to 11,000 USD]. There are also bonuses, stock options — every company has its own perks.
How does your company train its employees?
Right now, our priority is cultivating our star talents from within rather than recruiting from outside the company. That’s why any of our employees can choose what they want to learn and how, and we take care of the rest. We’re constantly buying books and conducting classes, workshops, and employee-only events. Upper management also schedules one-on-one meetings. Plus, we have a QMM (quarterly management meeting), where we gather all the C-level employees, directors, department managers, etc. in one place. Besides chatting and addressing current issues, we use these events to conduct training sessions and level up our employees’ soft skills.
What is your strategy for time management? What self-organization apps do you use?
Usually my random access memory is enough to keep my time management on track. But it gets difficult after a conference when I have a lot of information to process. You get a never-ending stream of follow-up emails when you get home, so it’s easy to miss something. To deal with that, I got myself Asana, which is where I keep track of my personal tasks. There’s also Jira. We use that within the company, along with other internal scheduling systems.
On relaxation
How do you relax? What tools do you use to avoid burnout?
I work from home most of the time. I only go to the office when I need to, so I have time to do some reflection. For me, conferences are a way of getting out and socializing. When I don’t have any work to do, I can take a break in the middle of the day and play a console game or go down to the sea. It’s really easy to relax here in Cyprus. I’ve been here almost two years, but I haven’t taken a single vacation the entire time, because it’s just not necessary here. If you approach your work in a deliberate fashion and take care of everything promptly, you can find time to take a load off, go for a walk on the beach, or stretch out on the couch with your laptop.
What are the pros and cons of living and working in Cyprus?
I have an unbelievable number of friends and acquaintances here — more than I’ve ever had before. There are a ton of things to do every weekend. The mountains, the ocean, barbecues at friends’ houses — after weekends like that, I feel like taking a break! In other words, you don’t have to get stuck sitting at home. But there are some weekends when we just turn off our phones and chill at home on Sunday, because there’s just so much going on. After that, you start work on Monday fully recharged, so you don’t even feel the urge to take a vacation.
What about the cons?
I used to think this environment is so relaxing that people in Cyprus don’t want to work. But you get used to the ocean after a while, and the wow-factor goes away. You can still go there whenever you feel fed up with everything. Some people have their office right by the shore. They just cross the road, and there’s the beach. And yet everyone is calm and productive at work. No one gets distracted.
The only major downside is the flights. They’re all very expensive and have layovers. To get to the yearly IGG meeting in Fuzhou, I had to complete an entire quest. The route went through Qatar and Guangzhou. Another negative is that the internet is slow and expensive. 50 Mbps costs about 55 euro [60 USD] here. Comparatively, internet in Russia is fast and cheap. Uploads can sometimes be only 5 Mbps. Uploading a video to my YouTube channel Typical Bizdev can sometimes take several hours.
What made you choose this company?
First of all, because it’s in Cyprus. All I knew about Awem Games is that they make casual games. I had never gotten into the details beyond that. But after I started thinking about changing jobs, I met Mitya, who was the CMO then. We just got lunch and had a great talk. It wasn’t even an interview. I found out more about the company and its games and met my future colleagues, and I liked everything I saw. Before long, I was invited to join the team.
Why did you agree to take the job?
I liked the team. Despite the company’s rapid growth, they had retained a unique homey atmosphere where everyone is family and added elements that Western companies often have. Of course, I also liked the product the company makes. Besides, I really wanted to return to the game industry, since I had left to work for startups on projects that had nothing to do with games. I also liked their approach and the challenges that they asked me to tackle — it’s the same stuff I’ve always been doing and always wanted to do. Simply put, everything came together perfectly: the work, the team, the product, and the location in Cyprus.
What helped you forge a successful career?
I often think up challenges for myself, solve them, and produce the results. I don’t wait for a task to fall in my lap. For example, back when I was working for IGG, I remembered I had a friend who produced kvass [a traditional fermented Slavic beverage], and I recommended he release a batch with a promotion for our game — with a code under the cap and all that. It worked, and we became the first game released in Russia in collaboration with a soft drink. New games joined the project, we cultivated a VK group, and we played around on Apple Watch every week. And that all started with me just floating my idea to the vice president. He agreed, and the rest is history. Eventually, the company wasn’t spending a dime. The producer was handling all the costs.
Basically, you have to be proactive and not be afraid to assume responsibility if you have a cool idea. Here’s another example. One day, I was bored because I had nothing to do for IGG, so I thought I’d write to Tinkoff Bank. As a result, we got a project going with them, a gaming card. For the first 1,000 rubles [15 USD] spent, the bank gave back 3,000 [45 USD]. In the first month, we earned more than 1.5 million rubles [23,000 USD].
Another example from a very long time ago: we decided to go on a vacation where we drove from St. Petersburg to Venice and back in two cars. The idea was to get by as cheaply as possible by spending nights camping, etc. But I decided to make a project out of it. We prepared a presentation and came to an agreement with Tinkoff and the website Yaplakal.com for support. The bank issued us their new credit cards, and Yaplakal.com gave us a free spot on their homepage. We traveled around in branded cars, paid with the bank’s cards, filmed it all, and kept a complete videoblog.
More recently, there was this idea that just came to me on my way to work, after I heard the news about Notre Dame burning. We decided to do an awesome fundraising event in Cradle of Empires to help save this great cathedral. Everyone got things ready in literally two days. Everybody on the team was excited about the idea, but, unfortunately, we couldn’t do it because of certain things in the app stores’ policies regarding charity.
Anyway, just keep coming up with ideas and don’t be afraid to bring them to your team to try to make them happen. The only kind of person who doesn’t make any mistakes is someone who doesn’t do anything. :)
Do you have any job openings currently? Now’s the time to plug them.
Our most important opening right now is for a game design director. But, generally speaking, we are always willing to take on top-notch game designers, programmers, artists, and analysts. We want awesome, talented people, so even if we don’t have a vacancy listed that fits you, send your resume to [email protected] and our supergirls will be sure to have a look at it. :)
What are your plans for 2020?
My main plans are to finally get an ISBN or to get as close to it as possible and publish in China and alternative stores, like in the MENA region. And, most importantly, to release a new project and make its launch a success. | https://medium.com/@bdingd/the-most-important-thing-in-the-game-industry-is-people-an-interview-with-tim-fadeev-16a59607196c | [] | 2019-10-09 15:41:32.520000+00:00 | ['Game Development', 'Business Development', 'Best Practices', 'Game Industry', 'Interview'] |
Getting Started with React + TypeScript | Getting Started with React + TypeScript
The basic benefits of combining both
Source: the author
In this article, we will go through a few examples of how to use React & TypeScript. We look at props, interfaces, a few hooks, and form handling.
Of course, we have to build a setup first. The easiest way is to use npx.
npm install -g npx npx create-react-app my-app — template typescript cd my-app/
If you already have a React.js project, you can add TypeScript support to it later.
npm install — save typescript @types/node @types/react @types/react-dom @types/jest
Then simply rename each file extension from “js” and “jsx” to “tsx”.
The good news is that TypeScript and JavaScript are very compatible. This means that we can have code in the .tsx files without problems, which is actually nothing else than ordinary javascript.
An example of this in our app.tsx:
function displayCount(userCount : number) : number {
return userCount
} function add(x) {
console.log(x)
} function App() {
return (
<div className="App">
Current Users: {displayCount(24)}
<button onClick={() => add(24)}>Click me</button>
</div>
);
}
The upper function uses types, which is only possible thanks to TypeScript. The add-function would work the same way only in JavaScript. Nevertheless, we can use both together.
You may need to disable the strict mode in your tsconfig.json: "strict": false
Creating the first component
Now we can use TypeScript to write some code for React.js. Let’s create a function-based component.
For this, we can optionally use the following syntax. So we define a component of type React.FC, which stands for Functional Component.
const UserInput : React.FC = () => {
return <input type=”text”/>
}
Thanks to TypeScript, we can now also define which data types we expect for our props.
const UserInput : React.FC<{text: string}> = (props) => {
return <input type=”text” placeholder={props.text}/>
} <UserInput text="Please enter"/>
If we now pass a number as text, TypeScript will report an error — because we expect a string as a prop with the name text.
Using interfaces for props
But we can also implement the whole thing with an interface.
interface Props {
text: string
} const UserInput : React.FC<Props> = (props) => {
return <input type=”text” placeholder={props.text}/>
}
We can also combine interfaces. In this case, we specify that we expect as props the interface car, which consists of brand and speed, both assigned a data type.
interface Car {
brand: string
speed: number
} interface Props {
car: Car
} const CarSeller : React.FC<Props> = (props) => {
return <p>The {props.car.brand} is {props.car.speed} fast </p>
} <CarSeller car={{brand: "Mercedes", speed: 150}}/>
Making props optional
Maybe the speed is not interesting for the potential buyer of the car. In that case, we don’t have to hand it over, and we can mark it as optional in the interface — this is possible with the question mark.
interface Car {
brand: string
speed?: number
}
Using interfaces for our props, we can create a clean and understandable list of which props our component needs and is optional.
To clean up a bit and make the code easier to read, we can, of course, do without the props keyword in TSX:
const CarSeller : React.FC<Props> = ({car}) => {
return <p>The {car.brand} is {car.speed} fast </p>
}
We can also sort the interfaces into their own files. It makes sense to have an interface for each component in the same file, so you can see directly which props are needed.
But for our props interface, we ultimately access the car interface, and if we need it in several other components, we should create a separate file for it.
CarInterface.ts:
export default interface Car {
brand: string
speed?: number
}
Importing it in the App.tsx:
import Car from “./CarInterface”
interface Props {
car: Car
}
Hooks
Using TypeScripts features like Types is again purely optional for Hooks — but it makes sense. But we don’t have to specify a datatype for useState, as in the following example.
function App() {
const [count, changeCount] = useState<number>(0)
return <p>{count}</p>
}
Again, we can use interfaces to define our data types.
interface userInputInterface {
count: number
} function App() {
const [userInput, changeInput] =
useState<userInputInterface({count: 0}) return <p>{userInput.count}</p>
}
Using Refs
To do this, we need to access something you already know from working with TypeScript outside of frameworks like React or Vue. The types HTMLInputElement — since we are now working with refs.
const inputFieldRef = useRef<HTMLInputElement>(null) const getFocus = () => { inputFieldRef.current?.focus() } return <>
<input type=”text” ref={inputFieldRef} />
<button onClick={getFocus}>Click me</button>
</>
We pass null as a parameter to the useRef, since at the time of execution, the input tag is not yet rendered in the DOM. This way, we make sure that the connection starts from our input tag.
Form handling with refs & TypeScript
We just had HTMLInputElement to access the DOM with a ref. Now let’s have a look at TypeScript-React with refs in handling a form.
A shape always has a Submit button, which makes sure that the shape is sent. Without frameworks, there are some attributes for the form, e.g., to which URL the data should be sent and with which method.
But we want to solve all these things manually, with React.js in JavaScript style. Therefore we write a function, which is triggered when the form is sent — and then prevents the standard procedure with preventDefault().
const App : React.FC = () => { const submitHandler = (event: React.FormEvent) => {
event.preventDefault()
} return (
<form onSubmit={submitHandler}>
<input type=”text” />
<input type=”submit” value=”Submit”/>
</form>
)
}
As a parameter for the submitHandler function, we pass the event, which must be of type FormEvent, because it is an action with our form.
const App : React.FC = () => {
const textInputRef = useRef<HTMLInputElement>(null) const submitHandler = (event: React.FormEvent) => {
event.preventDefault()
const enteredText = textInputRef.current!.value
console.log(“submitted:”, enteredText)
} return (
<form onSubmit={submitHandler}>
<input type=”text” ref={textInputRef} />
<input type=”submit” value=”Submit”/>
</form>
)
}
As the default value for useRef, we take again null, as type, we retake the HTMLInputElement.
Our function for handling the submits now accesses the ref. Using the current! syntax, we tell TypeScript that it is okay if the value is null. Finally, no input has been entered yet.
In the actual input field, we just need to make the connection to the ref, and then everything is ready. If we now press submit, the handler function is executed, which gets the user input from the ref — and outputs it to the console.
So we can evaluate a form with TypeScript & React. | https://medium.com/javascript-in-plain-english/react-typescript-813b02ff3672 | ['Louis Petrik'] | 2020-09-30 13:18:08.260000+00:00 | ['Typescript', 'JavaScript', 'Reactjs', 'Programming', 'Web Development'] |
December 15th, 2021 — NCAAB Betting Preview | YTD: 4–0 (+3.37u)
Morehead St. @ Xaiver (-15) | O/U 133.5
The №22 Xavier Musketeers bring a 9–1 record into Wednesday’s matchup against a 6–4 Morehead St. squad. Xavier comes off a 20-point victory against in-state rival Cincinnati. Xavier’s promising start to the year is thanks to several contributors including 4 guys averaging double figures. There’s a good chance Xavier makes some noise in the Big East this season and it rolls on tonight.
Their success is in large part to a defense that ranks #25th in the country in opponents points per game. Morehead State doesn’t light up the scoreboard themselves either. Beyond that, Xavier is 5–1 ATS as a home favorite and Morehead State is 1–4 ATS as an away underdog. I like this spot a lot for Xavier I’ll even lay -8.5 in the first half. Morehead is #239th in 1H PPG while Xavier is #28th in opponents points per game. Xavier is 31st in 1H PPG, while Morehead is ranked #166th in Opp. 1H PPG.
PICK: Xavier 1H -8.5 and -15
Northern Colorado @ Arizona (-24.5) | O/U 153.5
#8 ranked 9–0 Arizona is on the front lines of a Pac-12 that is on the rise this season. Lead by Bennedict Mathurin, Zona holds two big wins over Michigan and Illinois fronting the resume. Additionally, Arizona is 8–1 ATS and simply has been a wagon this year. All this to say I’m going to fade Arizona today.
Northern Colorado is on a three-game win streak and could muck this up to make an interesting first half. The Golden Bears aren’t great defensively but are much better in the first half than the second half; ranked #173rd in 1H Opp. PPG. and #295 in OPP. PPG. Furthermore, Northern Colorado is #152nd in 1H Power Ratings and #269 in 2H Power Ratings. I’ll just hold my nose and hope Northern Colorado mucks it up in a big game for them.
PICK: Northern Colorado 1H +13.5
Chattanooga vs. Belmont (-5.5) | O/U 139
A matchup of a couple mid-majors who could make a splash in the NCAA tournament this coming march meet in Nashville tonight. Chattanooga is 9–1 and Belmont brings in an 8–3 record into the battle. This figures to be a back-and-forth battle, so I’ll be looking to take the points.
Especially with Chattanooga being 4–1 ATS on the road and power ranked #37th on the road. Chattanooga is better defensively #46th in OPP. PPG. while Belmont is #206th in OPP PPG. Chattanooga also has the rebound advantage being #102nd in rebounding and Belmont is #170th against. Chattanooga is #23rd in rebounding against while Belmont is #234th in rebounding.
PICK: Chattanooga (+5.5)
QUICK PLAY TEASER -110
Utah St @ Weber St. OVER 139
- Top Half in pace
- Both averaging 75 PPG.
- 6–3 & 5–3 to the OVER
UC Irvine @ USC UNDER 132
- UC Irvine 0–6 To UNDER
- USC 3–7 to UNDER
- USC 61 OPP PPG
- UC IRVINE 57 OPP PPG | https://medium.com/@ttucker325/december-15th-2021-ncaab-betting-preview-9e9be6af4742 | ['Tyson Tucker'] | 2021-12-15 16:57:35.998000+00:00 | ['Betting', 'Picks', 'NCAA', 'Gambling', 'Basketball'] |
Interested in Building a Research Career? Here’s What You Need to Know. | Tetra Insights | Interested in Building a Research Career? Here’s What You Need to Know. | Tetra Insights Casie Mattrisch Follow Aug 13 · 4 min read
Working professionally in the world of user research is an exciting and evolving career choice. Luckily, there’s a path into a research career for people from any background-even for those with zero experience!
As a researcher myself, I’ll start by introducing you to what researchers do and the skills that will help you succeed in the field.
What a Researcher Does
Research Operations: There’s much more to the profession than conducting research. Research operations surrounds all phases of research work and includes process creation, project planning and organization, recruitment, and participant and data management. Conduct Research: Once a solid research plan is created, we conduct research based on planned methodologies. For instance, depending on the goals, subject, and budget, we might conduct surveys, personal interviews, or usability studies. Analyze Research: With our raw data collected, researchers then evaluate the data and generate insights using tools such as Tetra (in fact, Tetra Insights was founded to make this part of the process easier for qualitative researchers). Present Research Insights: Nothing matters more than effectively presenting your research results. It’s essential that your stakeholders understand, care about, and act upon the insights you’ve unearthed-this is what makes you valuable to your organization. Learn more about this critical phase where we expand on the science behind influential research . Manage Research Repository: As your volume of research projects and insights grows, you’ll need an organized and shareable place to store and access it. We use a range of technologies-including the Tetra platform-as research repositories. Learn more about optimized research repositories .
Critical Researcher Skills
Both practical and soft skills are critical components to being a successful user researcher. While these aren’t exhaustive, the lists below do cover some of the most important skills of effective user researchers.
Practical Skills
Recruiting
Scheduling
Participant management
Survey creation
Interviewing
Research planning
Reporting
Quantitative data analysis
Qualitative data analysis
Research repository management
Soft Skills
Empathy
Open-mindedness
Communication
Curiosity
Storytelling
Collaboration
Career Paths
Research as a First Career
If you are new to the workforce, a common starting point is within research operations, helping to design and plan for research projects. This can be a jumping-off point or a full career specialization, depending on your career goals and interests.
If you choose to move into other areas of research, you’ll likely begin in a junior-to-mid-level tactical role where you will focus on conducting research. Then, if you have the desire and required experience, you can continue on to the strategic level where job titles include Senior Researcher, Lead Researcher, and Head/Manager of research.
Research as a Career Change
Research is somewhat unique in that it is a field that welcomes people from other disciplines. Someone, for instance, who comes from psychology, education, or even retail can bring extensive value to research projects. In this case, you might begin somewhere in the mid-level area of research depending on your experience and skill set. If you are considering a career change into research, ask yourself what skills you have from your previous experience that are also valuable as a researcher.
There is no necessary or perfect combination of education requirements for a successful research career. However, here are some options to improve skills and experience as a researcher depending on your experience level:
Formal Education Opportunities
Common master’s degrees: Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Psychology, Interaction Design, Communication Design, Information Systems and Design
Research bootcamps
Online courses and learning in research methodologies
Conferences for researchers
Informal Opportunities
If you are interested in a career in research, I encourage you to seek out the communities listed above and begin participating in them. This will give you an insider perspective on what it’s like to work in the field. And, user researchers are usually very excited to help out those who are interested in joining the field, so don’t be shy about asking questions!
To keep up with the latest research trends and helpful resources, subscribe to our newsletter, The Insightful. | https://medium.com/the-insightful/interested-in-building-a-research-career-heres-what-you-need-to-know-tetra-insights-31b99fa9e049 | ['Casie Mattrisch'] | 2020-08-14 19:14:07.041000+00:00 | ['Research Careers', 'User Research', 'User Research Resources', 'User Experience Research', 'Researchers'] |
The Fragmented Designer | More from Pascal Barry Follow
Designer of digital products, brands, websites and type. Co-founder at akord.com, a tech startup based in Paris. Visit the source at www.blogofpascal.com | https://pascaljb.medium.com/the-fragmented-designer-8c31060c90f2 | ['Pascal Barry'] | 2020-11-04 11:44:06.176000+00:00 | ['Design', 'UI', 'Skills', 'UX', 'Product Design'] |
Why Pair Programming Is Fantastic | What is Pair Programming?
Simply put, pair programming is an agile technique where two programmers work on a problem at a single workstation.
Workstation requirements:
One computer Two keyboards Two mice One monitor or two mirrored monitors
Writing code is not everything, but understanding the problem is.
The art of problem-solving
As Richard Feynman’s technique points out, thinking out loud and explaining the problem or a solution to someone is the simplest way to tackle a problem. The simpler the explanation, the better the understanding.
Solving tiny problems at a time and, in turn, achieving smaller milestones, is crucial in problem-solving. Therefore, the problem is first broken down into tiny achievable tasks.
In general, the software engineering process encourages programmers to ask as many questions as possible regarding the problem. When, why, how, where, etc. Some things can be assumed — like that limits that need to be set, and ultimately the solution needs to be full-proof that passes most edge cases. The solution should assure easy understandability, extensibility, and long term maintainability. To write tests for success, failures, and important edge cases one should know what those cases are which can be found out by asking good questions.
The most common mistake programmers make is to jump into solutions. The creative process needs time and iterations. Try to avoid this mistake by taking enough time to understand the problem at hand so you don’t end up solving the wrong problem or rather in a wrong manner.
The pair programming technique involves two people working on a single block of code, one driving the process and providing a high-level bird’s eye view of the steps called the Navigator. With the counterpart typing out the code and taking take care of the semantics called the Driver.
Steps involved:
Once the problem is fully understood, the pairs will then break it down into much smaller independent tasks that can be achieved in a relatively small amount of time. The pairs should have a basic understanding of the standard practices and conventions that are adapted in the codebase, which has to be written down in a document. The list of the standard practices I follow is listed here. The pairs should agree upon when to break. If possible, set a timer before starting the task. The most popular technique, Pomodoro, is ideal to make sure pairs don’t get worn out due to prolonged intense work. If Test-Driven Development is a common practice at your workplace, the roles can use the Ping Pong Method to switch roles after every Pomodoro session.
Now, let’s understand the roles of the pair.
Roles of a navigator:
The navigator is responsible for the “tactical” mode of thinking. The navigator ideates, and share thoughts and opinions by asking good questions about the driver’s thought process and reasoning behind the code.
The navigator is an onlooker who can catch and point out any syntactical errors and typos immediately. The navigator also must keep each other on track. To ensure that one does not get lost in the rabbit hole as the driver is in the deeply focused mode to worry about the nitty-gritty. An extra set of eyes for a reality check is always helpful.
As a live reviewer, the navigator helps reduce the complexity and efforts required for peer review in the process. Any potential bugs can be caught sooner and the code can be modified immediately — improving the quality of the code as a result.
A navigator makes notes and is involved in high-level problem solving by speaking out loud and ideating about the algorithm involved.
Roles of a driver:
The role of the driver sounds simple, but coding is not just merely typing something on the keyboard. Writing code requires a deep, undivided, focused mode of thinking. Not to mention this job is quite demanding and requires intense mind power to solve complex problems in the form of code. Therefore, the process involves multiple steps, but the driver’s job is to stay focused on the tiny task at hand.
The driver just needs to first think out loud about what their thought process is in achieving this task. Once agreed upon the solution the last step will be writing out the code. When encountered with obstacles or glitches the two parties decide upon how to go forward.
Sometimes when you’re hit with an impasse, it’s better to take a break, meditate, go for a run, take a nap, or play a game before revisiting the problem.
I want to leave you by saying:
When it comes to programming, a pair is greater than two. | https://medium.com/better-programming/pair-programming-392eece7d341 | [] | 2020-07-07 20:11:03.208000+00:00 | ['Beginners Guide', 'Pair Programming', 'Code', 'Programming', 'Agile'] |
Honoring the Christmas Spirit in a Time of Spud War | As Upland prepares for the epic Sandbox Wars, tensions are already rising and friendships are being tested. For some it’s “just a game”, and for others it’s all about the long-term community connections. For many, of course, it’s both.
With the holiday season upon us, we want to refocus the community on what it means to be an Uplander, a member of a community that is built by (and for the benefit of) all of its citizens.
In order to emphasize this, we have a few announcements.
Between the first and second round of the Sandbox War tournament, there will be an official Armistice throughout all of Upland. We will stop the fighting, and come together as a community to celebrate the Holidays. During this period, there will be gift giving, decorations, festive costumes, and more. The competition will start again on January 1st, with the Sandbox War Championship.
Additionally, in response to the division we have seen in the community, we will be replacing Armageddon with Sandbox Wars: Detente. This will be a time of easing relations amongst former enemy combatants, and rebuilding a support and collaborative community.
This 3rd sandbox competition will replace cell towers with a more positive structure, and instead of reducing points, this structure will boost the points of a fellow player (boosting will not be available for a player’s own structures).
NYC Collections Update
We also have a policy update for collections: Whenever NYC collections reach 100% minted, we will unlock them. This is because there is no advantage to keeping sold-out collections locked, as it increases the likelihood a player may sell their property before the true value is revealed through collections.
In the upcoming days, we will begin releasing the sold out NYC collections. After that, we will then begin to release the first 3 collections that are not sold out, in accordance with the major SF-centered property development sandbox release. If you have NYC properties on the marketplace, you may want to be cognizant of the timing of the reveals, so you can adjust your asking price in case your property has been impacted by the new information. The precise timing for the NYC collection release will be announced at least 24 hours before the reveal.
NYE Uplander Fireworks
The new year is coming up fast (who’s ready for 2020 to be over?), and Upland is preparing to celebrate in style! However, to create a truly unique New Years Eve experience, we’ll need your help. We are calling on all Uplanders with video skills to create a short fireworks video that will be featured in Upland. Similar to the Halloween experiences, every player that submits an original firework video will get a temporary NYE-themed 3D model to place on a property that they own, on December 31st. Before midnight UTC, when a player visits their property and clicks on the model’s pin, they will see a countdown to midnight. 10 seconds before midnight UTC, players will see an animated countdown, and then the player-created firework video. After midnight, when the pin is clicked, the countdown and fireworks will replay. In order for the best results, the videos must be in portrait mode (vs landscape), and be no longer than 30 seconds.
Additionally, we are collecting voice recordings of Uplanders counting down from 10–1 and yelling “happy new years!”. We will combine these collected recordings and sync them with the countdown animation that will display before the fireworks. We will provide the countdown animation for all who are interested, in order to help ensure the voice recordings are in sync with the animation. We will provide a form where players can submit both the fireworks videos and the countdown audio.
This way, Uplanders can celebrate the New Year’s Eve countdown together, even if we’re apart! | https://medium.com/upland/honoring-the-christmas-spirit-in-a-time-of-spud-war-6bb86fc724e6 | [] | 2020-12-15 21:14:49.437000+00:00 | ['Blockchain', 'Eos', 'War', 'Christmas', 'Gaming'] |
10 Cyber Security Tools to Watch Out for in 2021 | With an immense number of companies and entities climbing onto the digital bandwagon, cybersecurity considerations have come up as limelight. Besides, new technologies such as Big Data, IoT, and Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning are gradually more making inroads into our everyday lives, the threats related to cybercrime are mounting as well. Additionally, the usage of mobile and web apps in transacting financial information has put the complete digital stuff exposed to cybersecurity breaches.
The inherent risks and vulnerabilities found in such apps can be exploited by attackers or cybercriminals to draw off crucial information data counting money. Internationally, cyber-security breaches have caused a yearly loss of USD 20.38 million in 2019 (Source: Statista). Plus, cybercrime has led to a 0.80 percent loss of the entire world’s Gross domestic product, which sums up to approx. USD 2.1 trillion in the year 2019 alone (Source: Cybriant.com).
Statista Report 2018 “Security Threats at All-Time High”. The no. of security threats or vulnerabilities in all kinds of Information Technology software is at an all-time high.
Even the spiraling pandemic has introduced a distressing impact on several enterprises and companies worldwide, the majority of companies arbitrarily attempted or moved their business sections to the untouched or unaffected digital space. Most security funds were, yet, also battered as a collateral outcome of the complete economic downturn. The shrinking budgets mainly exacerbated traumatic digital transformation by gross disregard of privacy and cybersecurity components of the subtle process.
To stem the rot and preempt adverse penalties of cyberthreat or crime, like losing client trust and brand repute, cybersecurity testing should be made compulsory. Cybersecurity expense is nonetheless forecasted to rebound and hit again in the year 2021, giving relief for exhausted CISOs, and their shattered IT, cybersecurity teams. Meanwhile, I would like to acquaint you with a series of best cybersecurity tools that can make a palpable divergence for your overall security program and 2021 budget plans.
What Is Penetration Testing?
The penetration test is a kind of Security testing that is carried out to assess the security of the system (software, hardware, information system, or networks environment). The main objective of this type of testing is to scrutinize all the security risks or vulnerabilities that are found in an app by assessing the system’s security with malevolent techniques and to safeguard the data from the hackers and manage the system’s functionality. Penetration testing is a kind of Non-functional test which intends to make official attempts to breach the system’s security. It is also called a Pen Test or Pen Testing and the QA engineer or tester who performs this testing is considered as a pen tester aka ethical hacker.
What Are the Best Cyber Security Tools for 2021?
Any app security testing method shall require the conduct of a functional test. This way, several security issues, and vulnerabilities can be detected, which if not rectified in time can result in hacking. There are a plethora of paid and open source testing tools available in the market. Let’s discuss the top 10 cybersecurity testing tools to look out for in 2021:
1. NMap
NMap is a short form of Network Mapper. NMap is an open-source and free security scanning tool for security auditing and network exploration. It works on Windows, Linux, HP-UX, Solaris, BSD variants (comprising Mac OS), AmigaOS. NMap is used to detect what hosts are accessible on the network, what versions and OSs they are running, what services those hosts are providing, what kind of firewalls/ packet filters are in use etc., Several network and systems administrators find it beneficial for regular jobs like check for open ports, maintaining service upgrade schedules, network inventory, and monitoring service or host uptime. It comes with both GUI interfaces and command line
Core Features:
Determines hosts on a network
It is used to determine network inventory, network mapping, maintenance, and asset management
Produces traffic to hosts on a network, response time measurement, and response analysis
Used to recognizes open ports on target hosts in the arrangement for auditing
To search and exploit risks as well as vulnerabilities in a network
Download: NMap
2. Wireshark
It is one of the best tools and freely accessible open-source pen-testing tools. Generally, it is one of the network protocol analyzers, it allows you to capture and coordinatively browse the traffic running on a system network. It runs on Linux, Windows, Unix, Solaris, Mac OS, NetBSD, FreeBSD, and several others. Wireshark can be extensively used by educators, security experts, network professionals, and developers. The information that is recovered through the Wireshark software testing tool can be viewed through a Graphical User Interface or the TTY-mode TShark utility.
Core Features:
Rich VoIP analysis
Live capture and offline scrutiny
In-depth examination of hundreds of protocols
Runs on UNIX, Linux, Windows, Solaris, macOS, NetBSD, FreeBSD, & various others
Captured system or network data can be browsed through a GUI, or through the TTY-mode TShark utility
Read/write several variant capture file formats
Captured files compressed via gzip can be de-compressed concurrently
Coloring rules can be applied to the packet list for intuitive and rapid analysis
Live data can be read from Blue-tooth, PPP/HDLC, internet, ATM, Token Ring, USB, etc.,
Outcome can be exported to PostScript, CSV, XML, or plain text
Download: Wireshark
3. Metasploit
It is a computer security project that offers the user vital information about security risks or vulnerabilities. This framework is an open-source pen test and development platform that offers you access to the recent exploit code for several apps, platforms, and operating systems. Some of the jobs that can be attained in Metasploit from a pen test perspective comprise vulnerability scanning, listening, and exploiting known vulnerabilities, project reporting, and evidence collection. It has a command-line and Graphical User Interface clickable interface that works on Linux, Windows, as well as Apple Mac OS. Metasploit is a commercial tool but it comes with an open-source limited trial.
Core Features:
Network discovery
It has a command-line and GUI interface
Works on Windows, Linux, & Mac OS X
Module browser
Basic exploitation
Manual exploitation
Vulnerability scanner import
Metasploit community edition is offered to the InfoSec community without charge
Download: Metasploit
4. Netsparker
This commercial security test tool is a web app security scanner. Netsparker is a deadly accurate, automatic, and simple to use web app security scanner. This amazing tool is mainly used to identify security risks automatically like Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) and SQL injection in web services, web apps, and websites. Its proof-based Scanning technology does not simply report risks; it also generates a Proof of Concept to confirm they aren’t false positives. Therefore, there is no point in wasting your time by verifying the detect vulnerabilities manually after a scan is ended.
Core Features:
Advanced web scanning
Vulnerability assessment
HTTP request builder
Web services scanning
Proof-centric scanning technology for dead-accurate threats finding and scan outcomes
Full HTML5 support
SDLC integration
Exploitation
Reporting
Manual tests
Automated identification of custom 404 error pages
Anti-Cross-site Request Forgery (CSRF) token support
Anti-CSRF token support
REST API support
Download: Netsparker
5. Acunetix
It is a completely automatic web vulnerability scanner that identifies and reports on over 4500 web app vulnerabilities counting all variants of XSS XXE, SSRF, Host Header Injection, and SQL Injection. Acunetix smartly detects around 4500 web vulnerabilities. Acunetix is a commercial tool. Its DeepScan Crawler scans AJAX-heavy client-side SPAs and HTML5 websites. It enables users to export detected vulnerabilities to problem trackers like GitHub, Atlassian JIRA, Microsoft TFS (Team Foundation Server). It is obtainable on Linux, Windows, and Online.
Core Features:
A high detection rate of risks and vulnerabilities with lower false positives
Integrated vulnerability management — organize and control risks
Deeply crawl and scrutinize — automatic scans all websites
Integration with popular WAFs and Issue trackers like GitHub, JIRA, TFS
Open-source network security scanning and Manual test tools
Run on Linux, Windows, and online
Download: Acunetix
6. Nessus
It is a vulnerability assessment solution for security practitioners and it is formed and maintained by a company called Tenable Network Security. Nessus aids in detecting and fixing vulnerabilities like software flaws, malware, missing patches, and misconfigurations across a variety of OSs, apps, and devices. It supports Windows, Linux, Mac, Solaris, etc. It specializes in IPs scan, website scanning, compliance checks, Sensitive data searches, etc., and assists to detect the ‘weak-spots’.
Core Features:
Configuration audits
Mobile device audits
Reports can be simply tailored to sort by host or vulnerability, generate an executive summary, or compare scanning outcomes to highlight alterations
Detect vulnerabilities that enable a remote attacker to access confidential data from the system
Identifies both the remote faults of the hosts that are on a network and their local flaws and missing patches as well
Download: Nessus
7. W3af
It is a Web Application Attack and Audit Framework. W3af is a free tool. W3af secures web apps by searching and exploiting all web app vulnerabilities. It determines 200 or more vulnerabilities and controls your overall risk exposure on the website. It detects all sorts of vulnerabilities such as Cross-Site Scripting (XSS), SQL injection, unhandled application errors, Guessable Credentials, and PHP misconfigurations. It has both a console and graphical UI. It works on Mac, Linux, and Windows OS.
Core Features:
Assimilation of web and proxy servers into the code
Proxy support
Injecting payloads into roughly every section of the HTTP request
HTTP Basic and Digest authentication
Cookie handling
UserAgent faking
HTTP response cache
DNS cache
File upload using multipart
Add custom headers to requests
Download link: W3af
8. Zed Attack Proxy
Zed Attack Proxy is a free and open-source security testing tool, developed by OWASP. Popularly known as ZAP, Supported by Unix/Linux, Windows, and Mac OS, ZAP allows you to find a set of security risks and vulnerabilities in web apps, even at the time of the development and testing phase. This tool is simple to use, even if you are a novice in pen-testing.
Core Features:
Authentication support
AJAX spiders
Automatic Scanner
Forced Browsing
Dynamic SSL certificates
Web Socket Support
Plug-n-hack support
Intercepting Proxy
REST-based API and so on
Download link: ZAP
9. Burpsuite
It is also essentially a scanner (with a restricted “intruder” tool), even though several security test experts swear that penetration test without this tool is unimaginable. It isn’t free, yet very lucrative. It generally works wonders with crawling content and functionality, intercepting proxy, web app scanning, etc. One can use this on Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux environments.
Core Features:
Cross-Platform Supported
Very Light Weight And Stable
Can Work With Almost All Browsers.
Perform customize attacks
Well Design User Interface
Can Assist in crawling Website
Aid in scanning Https/ HTTP Request and Response
Website: Burp suite
10. Sqlninja
It is one of the best open-source penetration testing tools. The aim of Sqlninja is to exploit SQL injection threats and vulnerabilities on a web app. This automated testing tool utilizes Microsoft SQL Server as a back-end. Sqlninja has a command-line interface. Sqlninja works on Linux, as well as Apple Mac OS X. It comes with a slew of descriptive features, counting remote commands, DB fingerprinting, and its detection engine.
Core features:
Direct and reverse shell, both for UDP and TCP
Fingerprinting of the remote SQL Server
Formation of a custom XP cmdshell when the original one has been disabled
Withdrawal of data from the remote Database
Operating System privilege escalation on the remote database server
Reverse scan to seek a port that can be utilized for a reverse shell
Download: Sqlninja
Wrapping Up
These are the top cybersecurity testing tools that will give you security for your personal data, mitigate the rates of data breaches, as well as stolen hardware. Other advantages of these tools count tighter security and greater privacy. These must-have security tools will help you evade cyberattacks and secure your IT infrastructure. Lastly, such security software requires up-gradation and maintenance to constantly have top-notch security. | https://medium.com/dev-genius/10-cyber-security-tools-to-watch-out-for-in-2021-d541dc55d8ca | ['Shormistha Chatterjee'] | 2020-12-10 20:34:30.351000+00:00 | ['Security Services', 'Software Testing', 'Security Testing', 'Cybersecurity', 'Security Tool'] |
7 Best Bluetooth Earbuds Under $100 | Products | We’ve all been there — you’re enjoying your favorite music or listening to a podcast and suddenly your earbuds are yanked off because the cable got caught on a drawer or door knob.
It’s even worse if the cable gets tangled or malfunctions and either or both earbuds stop working, further adding to the annoyance.
With Bluetooth earbuds, you’re no longer tethered to your device, so you can go about your work or your run without missing a beat of your favorite song. Plus, bluetooth earbuds offer added features like water/sweat resistance, app integration, and can connect to your virtual assistant.
If you’re on the market for the best Bluetooth earbuds under $100, read on for our top picks with advice for finding the right pair for you.
Best Bluetooth Earbuds Under $100
The Jabra Elite 65T is a pair of true wireless earbuds with a smaller, streamlined design and some nice features like a built-in heart rate monitor. The earbuds are noise-isolating so they passively prevent ambient noise from leaking in.
If you’re biking or running, you can adjust the amount of sound you want to let in using the HearThrough transparency feature via the Jabra Sound+ companion app.
The integrated controls allow you to configure the earbuds such that when you remove them, the music automatically pauses, and resumes when you put them back in.
You can take calls and listen to music without worrying that your audio will drop out. It also integrates seamlessly with Google Assistant, Siri, or Alexa so you can use voice commands and quickly get the information you need.
The Jabra Elite 65T earbuds offer best-in-class call performance with battery life of up to 15 hours for maximum productivity. And, with Bluetooth 5.0, you can seamlessly connect the earbuds to your device to use while working from home or learning online.
A pocket-friendly charging case is also included to keep you connected all day and three sets of EarGels in different sizes to ensure great sound quality.
Samsung’s Galaxy Buds are an amazing addition to an already crowded field of bluetooth earbuds under $100. You can pair the earbuds with your device, and enjoy clear calls, your favorite music or podcast while working, walking or working out.
The earbuds offer top-notch battery life with up to 1.7 more hours of playtime after a quick 15-minute recharge in the available premium case.
Samsung has also enlisted AKG to help tune the speaker drivers for solid sound quality. For the latest stability, there’s Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity, an Ambient Sound mode to filter in outside noise, and intuitive touch controls.
You can pick up the Samsung Galaxy Buds in black, yellow, or white and enjoy high-quality lossless sound.
3. Anker SoundCore Liberty 2 Pro
Anker Soundcore Liberty 2 Pro is a great alternative to the pricey AirPods Pro earbuds.
Not only do these buds deliver clear, crisp high tones and deep, punchy bass sounds, but they’re also designed with Astria Coaxial Acoustic Architecture that completely eliminates interference.
You can adjust the sound levels using the HearID Custom Sound equalizer and enjoy your favorite audio. Both earbuds have controls, Bluetooth connectivity, and you can use Siri voice commands for hands-free control over your device.
You’ll get at least 8 hours of listening on a full charge, 32 hours with the charging case, and a quick 10-minute recharge will give you up to an hour of use in a pinch. In addition, you’ll get various liquid silicone gels and wings for a secure and comfy fit in almost all ear sizes.
4. Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless Earbuds
Sennheiser’s Momentum True Wireless is a beautifully designed, perfectly fitting pair of Bluetooth earbuds meticulously crafted with every fine listening detail considered.
You can access touch operation, intelligent voice control and assistants that work intuitively with you. Plus, the in-house audio technology used in this pair creates category-leading sound for the ultimate wire-free listening experience.
Transparent Hearing ensures that you can listen and chat without removing the buds and keeps you aware of your surroundings. In addition, you can use the integrated internal equalizer to fine-tune your audio the way you want to hear it.
The Momentum True Wireless earbuds offer a finely sculpted, slim, and lightweight design finished with beautiful metallic details on the exterior. Ear tips in four sizes are included for superior sound isolation and all-day ergonomic comfort.
The main drawback with this pair of earbuds is its slightly underwhelming battery life of up to 4 hours on a single charge and an extra 8 hours in the charging case.
5. Cambridge Audio Melomania 1
If you want the best Bluetooth earbuds with mind-blowing sound, the Cambridge Audio Melomania 1 is a great pair. The earbuds combine Cambridge Audio’s award-winning engineering and sound quality with the convenience of true wireless listening.
In fact, this pair outperforms some of the best headphones on the market including the AirPods (2019). While they may not offer noise-cancellation technology, they make up for it in their superior 45 hours battery life.
The Melomania 1s offer outstanding audio quality and a comfortable design making them good value for the money. The main downside is that the control buttons can be annoying to use.
While the design of the Lypertek Tevi earbuds is a bit plain, they’re still among the best Bluetooth earbuds available. The earbuds deliver neutral audiophile-like sound with great battery life of up to 10 hours on a single charge and 70 hours with the included charging case.
Plus, the earbuds support Bluetooth 5.0 with ACC and aptX for a highly stable wireless connection, and feature an IPX7 waterproof rating that protects them from rain or sweat. Built-in control buttons allow you to adjust volume and control phone calls, music or your voice assistant.
The earbuds punch well above their weight and tick every box you could ask for from what are a pair of basic budget bluetooth earbuds for under $100.
7. Klipsch T5 True Wireless
Featuring the signature Klipsch sound, this pair of buds holds its own against the best Bluetooth earbuds you can find. The buds offer high build quality, stellar sound, long-lasting battery life, and a cool charging case.
You’ll get a clear, warm sound with legendary acoustic clarity. Plus, its patented oval ear tips offer an excellent seal for superior bass, noise isolation, and ultimate comfort.
The buds are outfitted with Bluetooth 5 technology and combined with AAC high-quality conversion technology and aptX so there’s no delay during playback.
You can use one or both buds to take calls or listen to music, and seamlessly connect to Siri, Alexa, Google Voice Assistant or any digital assistant of your choice.
What to Look for in Bluetooth Earbuds Under $100
Battery life : The best Bluetooth earbuds on a budget may not have the same battery life you’d get from wired headphones. While most come with charging cases, go for a pair that can give at least five hours on a full charge.
: The best Bluetooth earbuds on a budget may not have the same battery life you’d get from wired headphones. While most come with charging cases, go for a pair that can give at least five hours on a full charge. Noise cancellation : Most Bluetooth earbuds lack noise cancellation features, but it’s an important feature to have if you’re using the buds for traveling. However, active noise cancelation can affect battery life.
: Most Bluetooth earbuds lack noise cancellation features, but it’s an important feature to have if you’re using the buds for traveling. However, active noise cancelation can affect battery life. Function : If you plan to work out or travel, make sure you get a pair of buds with a snug, secure fit and that are waterproof, splash and sweat resistant.
: If you plan to work out or travel, make sure you get a pair of buds with a snug, secure fit and that are waterproof, splash and sweat resistant. Voice-call and sound quality: The pair of buds you pick should match your daily-use needs and at least beat the corded earbuds that came with your device, if any.
Ditch the Wires for Good
Bluetooth earbuds have become increasingly popular because of their unobtrusive and light feel. If you prefer headphones, we recommend some good over-ear headphones for gaming and music. If you’re planning to use your Bluetooth earbuds while working out, you can turn to our guide on the best wireless earbuds for your workout. | https://medium.com/@bsvrjstr/7-best-bluetooth-earbuds-under-100-products-e72cfb0452e7 | [] | 2020-12-23 09:26:55.043000+00:00 | ['Earband', 'Technews', 'Blutooth'] |
Out of the Gray | For better or worse, at 27…28, the world slowed down instead.
The virus closed its doors, and the doing, doing, doing was confined to smaller and smaller spaces until she found herself left with the space of her mind. In quarantine, figurative and literal, the Gray was inescapable. It bubbled as usual, but this time, something bubbled up.
Did ya miss me?
He shouldn’t have been as perfectly recognizable as he was.
It was hard to tell if Adult Norm — an image at once natural and indulgent and scandalous and mundane — was crafted from the Gray, or simply covered in it, head to toe. At any rate, he couldn’t harm anyone from in here. The sludge would slow him down.
Did ya miss me?
Go away. You don’t have a home here.
That’s funny, because you can see me. But I can’t see you.
I see something good enough. Go away.
Oh, really? What is it?
She didn’t have an answer.
Did ya miss me?
She didn’t hate him, but she hated that she didn’t, and that she should. She wanted to bury him in the sludge, and suffocate him with the Gray, but where would she hide the body? She wanted someone else to tell her where.
Did ya miss me?
Yes, someone else.
What is that something you see, exactly? What’s it gonna be, five years down the line? Want me to act it out for you?
No.
Yes. Wait — no!
He clearly wasn’t going anywhere, so she indulged him now and then, if only to shut him up. The morning walk, once hers and the gray’s alone, became his playpen. The molasses moved and molded itself as she strode, first around him, but then for him.
She crafted him friends. A home, but this time one he picked himself. A fuzzy robe against a flat chest, and a pair of slippers as he moved from one of his well-kept little rooms to another. A Christmas tree, just like the ones popping up in the neighbors’ windows, and not an ounce of shame about sweet solitude, interspersed, of course, with food and more friends. He was an excellent host, a reasonable chef, and somehow a much better gardener than she ever tried to be. He liked ‘English hunting lodge’ touches and flannel sheets in the winter. He liked sitting still as much as he liked walking.
He was overstaying his welcome, and she took on an unwanted tenderness toward him, cycling with fits of guilt and fear and private rage when he shuffled around too loudly, or tried to brush some of the gray from his body. If he was such a threat, why was he so damn ordinary?
It was time for him to go. | https://medium.com/@normvjulian/out-of-the-gray-1af9c4378c9b | ['Norm Julian'] | 2021-09-08 02:32:25.806000+00:00 | ['Gender Critical', 'Gender', 'Transitions', 'Transgender', 'Transgender Rights'] |
+ve Day 1: Bugs or a revisiting reminder | The day started like a normal one. What caught my eye was a bug in one of kitchen drawer which by the way I have been ignoring in another empty drawer. This time it caught my attention because there is lot of food stuff kept in that drawer. On moving the stuff around, I found that the bug has a large family and they are taken care of well in the presence of all food items at their service. So, while the family was enjoying the feast, I dropped all of them along with their feast into the dustbin. Next step was to save the remaining items which were not affected by the guests. After sealing all the items in a airtight container, I cleaned the drawer and finally took a sigh of relief. Hoping that even if the guest come back again some day they will have difficulty in getting their hands on the feast.
Although it feels amusing to tell this story. But, I felt irritated by starting the day with cleaning kitchen drawer and throwing away stuff. It had positive message in hindsight- To revisit
Yes, to revisit the drawer after a period of time. Or to revisit a book or thought or clothes or a corner of home or a place or a goal. This will keep the thing fresh. It will keep away the bugs or prevent the thing from rotting. I have seen my father doing the same with his clothes every season or at least twice in a year. It gives him a new set of clothes to wear and also helps to care both set of clothes. The revisit can also be calling an old friend with whom you have not connected in last 6 months. So, revisit to replenish, refresh and revamp the outlook.
Till next day. Wish you lots of +ive energy. | https://medium.com/@no8h/ve-day-1-bugs-or-a-revisiting-reminder-65d8054c306c | [] | 2020-04-24 14:54:25.570000+00:00 | ['Revisit', 'Positive', 'Lessons', 'Daily Blog', 'Journey'] |
Poisoned | Photo by Lucía Cortez
I was thirsty and there was nothing stopping me from getting a big glass of cold water from the fridge.
My mother ends up complaining once more because I have walked throughout the house with no shoes and have not brushed my teeth yet. She used to say that walking barefoot is bad as all kinds of infections and diseases can enter the body through the feet. Drinking water was bad because when people wake up their mouths are usually dirty. Frankly, I thought she was exaggerating everything and the only reason I quickly put on my socks and shoes this morning was to go to the orchard in the back.
I headed to a thick wooded meadow which was wet and shady with a narrow stream running throughout it. Chickens or people rarely visit this area since it usually gets flooded when storms pass through the seacoast.
I walked through the meadow, crossing ferns and big leafy plants to meet again with a girl who was playing here hours ago in my dream.
I was curious since every time I took a step towards her she stood a little more distant than before. She had a pale face, brown wavy hair and held a particular old fashioned doll in her left arm. I do not play with dolls often hence myself playing with paper doll figurines. The girl stared at me continuously and I could not understand if she wanted to play or just speak with me. It was strange that an older girl like her wanted to wander here instead of in her bedroom or rear of the patio.
I went beside the tree she was laying on, but I did not see her anymore. She had once told me her name. I tried calling out for her but the pronunciation would not come out. I opened my mouth once more to yell, but no sound came out and all was quiet.
There were huge, hungry mosquitoes buzzing around me. I looked around my surroundings to see that there was no path but only leaves and broken sticks spread all over the ground. I noticed that these things resembled smurf houses I once saw on some stickers a girl from my school had. I had no idea that these creatures from the movies or stickers were real, but this was quite a discovery. I still doubt their real color was blue though.
These small houses were fragile and broke apart easily much like the fallen leaves covered with random dark spots. I wondered if I could eat them and if someone would believe me that I found the smurf’s houses outside of my Grandma’s backyard?
Noteworthy, yes, but that is not what I was here for, the mosquitoes were driving me crazy, I caught one, two…Opened my hands and they have escaped, leaving a black dusty mark on the palm of my hands, swatted a huge one full of blood. Was it my blood or its blood?
I closed my eyes to think about it. Suddenly, a frozen breeze gave me goosebumps and squeezed my back. And that was weird, because the leaves of the trees were quiet.
So, I fixed my eyes on that tree where she was standing up. I remembered her well as it was not too far ago, it was in my head as the freezing sensation on my skin.
Was she playing ‘hide and seek’?
I saw the tree besides me which appeared to be close and far at the same time. The tree was not moving itself, my feet either, but we were hanging up and down as without attaching each other.
I stayed quiet, looked around in detail moving only my eyes, listening my own breath which was calm. I was not scared. The mosquitoes were out of my focus, the background was very much extensive and enlarging. I did not care what was behind me. My ears were my back eyes. The shoulders slid back and my neck was steady.
I felt like a bag whose walls ripped out. Birds were chirping away, the sunlight changed, I could be like this without knowing if the globe was moving fast or slow. I was here and beyond myself.
My body was tingling till I got warm again. I yawned and returned to home silently.
Photo by Lucía Cortez
A slice of fried fish was resting just besides a half arepa on my favorite enamel plate and Mom pours tamarind juice into my cup. We sat down to breakfast with Grandma while my little sister was still sleeping, both women were complaining about me leaving their sight and no helping them put the plates on the table. Then they were talking about what to cook for lunch when we were not even done with breakfast yet.
As for me, it was the perfect timing to ask them “Do you know a girl named Sonia?”
Mom squinted and said easily “that is an uncommon name in this town”.
Grandma was over the fact and told me “the only one I knew named Sonia was the sister of Mr H”.
She surprised me. Sonia could not be the sister of Mr H.
“She is 13 or 14 years old. He is not young”.
Mr H was a man in his early 50’s presently, an his family owned a house several yards away from Grandma’s land.
“He had a sister named Sonia” Mom stated.
My eyes went wide open, and I had removed a fish bone from my mouth.
“Is she tall? Brown hair and a round face?” I asked them but trying to describe her in a way that was new to me.
Grandma told me “Yes, her hair was brown, wavy, bright, and…”
“She was retarded” my Mom said with a sad expression.
“What does retarded mean?” I asked with so much interest.
A long sigh left my Mom’s mouth as she was reckless to find the right words.
“Well, she was a little sick” Grandma answered.
“She was different” my Mom replied closing her response.
Then, Grandma said “She was always at home under the care of her mom and her aunts”.
Mom interrupted her to add “In the past, some families used to isolate or hide their sick relatives”.
“Does she lives in that house?” I rebuked by pointing to the back of the orchard.
Grandma looked beneath her hands which were resting on the table and answered “She lived there for a while, but her family often withdrew to another property”.
“She died long ago, Julia” Mom said to me.
“When?” I babbled while moving my head side by side.
Mom sipped some tamarind juice.
“It was more than thirty years ago. She and Mr H were the only children of Mr G. All we know is that she died young. She was fourteen”.
“How?” I could not believe someone would die at that age, I was almost half way!
Grandma raised the voice while saying to me “the girl is dead”.
I quickly replied “People can be poisoned and could die from…”
Grandma stared at me, the most linear time that I have ever drawn in my memory from her sharp eyes- and she said with an authoritarian tone by setting the end of that conversation:
“Julia, wash your plate”. | https://medium.com/@luciadcortez/poisoned-9b5d9753e4da | ['Lucía Cortez'] | 2021-01-25 21:57:53+00:00 | ['Nature', 'Death', 'Wildlife', 'Spiritual', 'Radiance'] |
Fund Managers Believe Bear Market Is Almost Over | Photo Courtesy of Executive Rising
We have waited months for a reprieve from sinking markets in the crypto space and the wait may be finally over!
I wrote a post the other day about Tom Lee and his prediction for the crypto market, feel free to check it out here. That was the first report of good news for crypto hodlers.
Timothy Enneking is the managing director of Crypto Asset Management, LP and is publicly claiming that he believes that the crypto winter is “largely over.”
Crypto Asset Management was founded only last year and their CAMCrypto30 index fund has fallen in value 69% since January, when it saw it’s long time highs. The company manages approximately $20 million in assets.
Photo Courtesy of Crypto Asset Management Home Page
What Caused the Fall In the First Place?
Enneking cites four reasons for the fall:
1. Rumors of upcoming regulation.
2. Asset consolidation
3. Huge liquidation by the Mt. Gox trustee
4. Massive selling of crypto assets to pay taxes and business expenses during the downturn by companies and individuals.
“Consolidation after the amazing 2017 increase” drew back some of the funds invested in cryptocurrencies, he said.
Many investors had become scared, and still may be, of the regulation rumors since the Security and Exchange Commission announced that they have dozens of investigations ongoing surrounding cryptocurrency. No one knows exactly what they are looking for and we likely won’t know unless they actually find something.
Enneking, also, stated that the market is still up over 600% in the last 15 months and this is a huge amount! Since the inception of crypto, we have seen huge gains over and over again, year after year.
Retrieved from a Facebook Group. Photo of popular coin prices one year ago.
Another valuable point that he made was that Bitcoin’s domination of the marketplace has decreased from 45.7 percent to 44.3 percent in the past 4 months.
But why has the happened? Is this a good thing or a bad thing?
In my mind, it is a good thing because this shows that other coins are stepping towards the forefront and may be able to start to stand on their own without relying on Bitcoin. This could be good for altcoin investors.
He Concluded His Report by Stating That The Market Should Being Rebounding Soon!
In truth, I don’t think we will see $7,000 per Bitcoin again after this downturn is over because big money will not let it fall again.
The other day, an announcement was made that the likes of George Soros and the Rockefellers are seeking to invest in cryptocurrencies. They have enough money to refuel the market if it tries to fall again or to intentionally make it fall if they choose to do so. This is likely what has happened with the stock market repeatedly for years.
The entire crypto market is still fairly small compared to other global financial markets so it can be easily manipulated if they choose to do so. Following big money is usually the smart thing to do, if you want my opinion.
** Please don’t consider this post to be investment advice, I am not a financial advisor. Do your own research and make your own decisions, as I do. And only invest money that you can afford to lose. **
What do you think about the state of the market and it’s future? I would love to know your thoughts.
Thanks so much for reading!
Ivy | https://medium.com/wespostdotcom/fund-managers-believe-bear-market-is-almost-over-529bbc59eb8c | ['Ivy Riane'] | 2018-04-11 18:30:12.872000+00:00 | ['Bitcoin', 'Cryptocurrency', 'Sentiment', 'Investing', 'Finance'] |
douleur | if you wanted me gone you could’ve asked.
i would’ve walked away.
all it took was honesty.
honesty,
trust,
& venerability.
such peculiar things in life.
it’s one person against the next
& so on.
all you had to do was say the words,
“we don’t want you here”
“we don’t care about you”
“you don’t belong here”
& i would’ve left
but no.
you put on a mask
to hide how you truly felt.
i could hear the whispers,
loud & clear.
but alas i ignored them.
thinking it was just my trust issues coming in for their spotlight.
but no,
they were right.
you never liked my presence.
but don’t you worry,
because i don’t like it either.
-a.f | https://medium.com/@ashtynht/douleur-b7a0380975a | [] | 2020-12-22 00:27:16.832000+00:00 | ['Pain', 'Two Faced People'] |
Instagram | Instagram
Our story in pictures.
For those who are not on the photo and video sharing service, here are at least some of the images and captions you can find there. They appear here in reverse chronological order: most recent at the top. Also, clicking the date associated with each image will take you to that particular image in the Instagram feed, where you can often find additional images in the montage.
2020–11–23 The laser cutting process while it was underway at Solocraft Canada here in Calgary. Here, the aft sections of the balsa wing ribs are being cut. We don’t know about anybody else, but we could sit and watch this all day. 🤓
2020–11–22 Another image to give a sense of scale. These are the two parts of the tip rib. They really are gorgeous.
2020–11–22 Picked up the first batch of parts from the laser cutter and they look amazing! These are the balsa parts. The plywood parts were not cut. It turns out that modulating the power of the industrial strength laser cutter (it normally is used to cut steel plate and similar material) made proceeding the other parts a non-starter. There was just too much heat. You can see that one of the elevon ribs is pretty charred but still completely usable. Lasermann recommended firms which use much lower wattage ‘laser engravers’. So the search for a firm to carry on with the work continues. On the bright side, a Google search for ‘laser engraving shops’ yields a lot more results than a similar search for ‘laser cutting shops’. Discussions are ongoing with three of them, all based in Calgary. Many thanks to the folks at Lasermann Cuts in Red Deer. You did a great job and we’ll be back to see you sometime down the road with job(s) for which your equipment will be more suitable.
2020–11–15 Finally managed to get the loft defined for the lower nose. Lofting to a point with guides is tricky as it turns out. Now that the first one is done, though, repeating the process for the top of the nose should be much more straightforward.
2020–11–15 The fully contoured surface between the two boundaries where the sides of the fuselage are flat and parallel. This is the area where the wings will eventually mate with the fuselage. Next step, the surfaces forward and aft of this surface. They are trickier because they vary in both height and width along their length.
2020–11–15 The fuselage solid reshaped using the top profile outline and shown without the defining edges. Next step is to create section drawings to define the front profile.
2020–11–11 The fore and aft outlines of the fuselage have been defined. A half ellipse was used for the forward section and two tangent curves were used to create the after, concave outline. The overall objective was for an aerodynamic elongated teardrop shape. Next step is use the profile to modify the fuselage body.
2020–11–11 “Je veux évoquer l’influence sous-jacente de la conception du fuselage: pour cela, ne cherchez pas plus loin que Laurent Negroni dont les beaux dessins de tous les continents de transport valent bien le coup d’œil. Ils sont uniques et magnifiques. Son esthétique «rétro futuriste» est ce que j’ai gardé à l’esprit lorsque j’ai réalisé les croquis originaux du fuselage. Je ne suis pas et ne serai jamais dans le même univers que Negroni, mais je fais certainement de mon mieux pour imiter l’esprit de son travail alors que je passe du croquis au produit fini et physique. Je tiens beaucoup à attribuer à son travail l’information du mien.” — Terence C. Gannon
2020–11–09 The rough solid for the tail has been added and centered. Also, the fuselage top profile has begun to be defined. The shaded rectangle below the fuselage is it’s ‘shadow’ being cast on the Sketch plane. The two construction lines define the fore and aft locations where the fuselage must be flat to facilitate the eventual mating with the wings. Forward and after of these lines, the fuselage pod will be ‘sharpened’ accordingly.
2020–11–07 A restart of the fuselage work. There was a seemingly endless list of frustrations with the package used previously so after finishing up the wings and sending the profiles off for lasercutting, the fuselage work will continue with Onshape. The side profile of the fuselage has been brought over and then extruded into a solid 44.5 mm (1.75") wide. | https://medium.com/the-selected-curve/instagram-dcd4f3d245e5 | [] | 2020-11-26 22:25:05.541000+00:00 | ['Innovation', 'Instagram', 'Aviation', 'Computer Aided Design', 'Model Aircraft'] |
Alternative to Bitcoin Mining: A User Reward System | How Does this System Benefit You?
The monetisation model based on quality users ensure constant and updated activity which in turn encourages quality content and users.
The importance of quality content and users should not be undermined. Let’s take Facebook as an example — our go-to social media platform to keep ourselves updated with our friends’ lives and the latest happenings in the world. The algorithm of pushing out relevant and quality content is ever-changing to fit not just the need of our daily updates, but also to ensure that users are attracted to the platform and always going back to it for better content.
The constant update of algorithm, which makes it almost impossible for all content creators to find out and keep up with, ensures that nobody is able to exploit the algorithm on Facebook to fill the feed with bad, non-related and advertising content to everyday users. While scrolling through the newsfeed, you would realise that a majority of content shown to you are the ones you would interact with, as the algorithm learns your behaviour on the platform. This is one of Facebook’s key features which has helped kept its place as one of the most-used social media platforms since it has publicly launched 13 years ago.
Similarly, the group rewards on Consentium ensure that everyone who contributes, stays active, and are also encouraged for such behaviour. The rating of group types make sure that these rewards are based on the total number of active and trusted users, instead of the number of users of any behaviour and types. This results in less exploitation and gaming of the CCM system, which in turn builds a trusted environment of relevant communities.
With these right, relevant and quality connections on the platform, a trusted and secure environment encourages more activity and transactions to take place. This in turn generates more transactional fees which are then redistributed to these users through group rewards via the CCM system.
As technology evolves and with more altcoins budding in the crypto-world, prepare yourselves as this monetisation model is the near and new future even to crypto-applications. | https://medium.com/consentium/alternative-to-bitcoin-mining-a-user-reward-system-c3c78176c920 | [] | 2018-01-25 01:11:04.387000+00:00 | ['Cryptocurrency Investment', 'Cryptocurrency News', 'Bitcoin', 'Altcoins', 'Bitcoin Mining'] |
6 Easy Ways to Start AI Marketing | Artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer the next big thing, but a mainstream tech being adopted in digital marketing now. From startups to large organizations, more and more firms are opting for AI-powered digital marketing tools to enhance campaign strategies and decision making. According to a recent report, 51 percent of marketers are already using AI, while 27 percent of them are planning to incorporate it within their digital marketing strategy.
For those not yet investing, there are several barriers holding them back. According to a survey by McKinsey, the two main reasons are poor digitalization and a lack of skilled people to implement it. In other cases, it is simply a lack of knowledge about what AI can actually do.
The reality is, there are plenty of potential ways you can use AI in digital marketing — but which ones should you use? Here are six top use cases that are feasible to implement and add long term value from the start.
1. Optimizing Ad Spend
For advertising to make sense, you need to be making more money than you spend. Therefore, when optimizing your campaigns, it is important you know exactly what a customer is worth to you, so you are not paying more to acquire them than their worth.
Instead of figuring this out manually through a process of trial and error for say 10–20 segments, AI techniques such as deep learning (DL) can help you analyze users’ massive behaviors for segmentation. It can then accurately predict conversion rate (CVR) and return on advertising spend (ROAS) for over 1 million segments so you can identify and target the most profitable ones.
AI can also help you learn user intention and interest, which help you create campaigns with relevant products to these profitable segments, boosting your ROAS further. According to Appier data, AI product recommendations can generate 10–20 percent better CVR.
2. Enabling True Cross-Screen Targeting
With many consumers owning multiple devices these days, being able to effectively target them has become trickier. Should you target a user on their desktop, tablet, or smartphone? When is the best time to target them? What are they using each device for?
AI can answer questions such as these and help you target ‘cross-screen’ with much greater precision. By monitoring and understanding a customer’s typical purchase journey across different devices, AI can help you develop a single customer view to link the same user the multiple devices he or she owns. You can then use this insight to target the right people at the right time on the right device, and adapt your campaigns to suit these different touchpoints.
3. Improving App User Lifetime Value
With one in four people abandoning apps after just one use, it is never easy to keep your app users hooked.
While success used to be determined by how often your app was downloaded and installed, it is now determined by a much more valuable metric: continued engagement and user retention. After all, only the users who fulfill in-app events such as subscriptions and purchases will continue to spend.
Instead of relying on guesswork and human experience to find your most valuable app users, DL can not only minimize fraudulent installs for a better start, but also analyze user patterns in your app, such as clicks and in-app events, along with their browsing behavior on external websites based on third-party data, to figure out which types of users are most likely to stay and convert. You can then focus your efforts on these people.
5. Expanding Share of Wallet
As the Pareto Principle suggests that 80 percent of your company sales come from 20 percent of your customers, it is crucial to remarket to your existing customers.
Marketers can use machine learning (ML) to increase share of wallet by creating more personalized product recommendations, which, in turn, encourages existing customers to buy more. Rather than base your personalized recommendations on pre-defined rules, ML can consolidate historical first- and third-party customer data to discover their interests and preferences beyond what they have shown on your own channels.
These insights enable you to make hyper-personalized recommendations, mapped to customers’ real interests. The result? You could see your revenue increase by 6 to 10 percent.
5. Enhancing Customer Experiences
To have sticky customers, you need to be delivering not just great customer service, but exceptional customer service. Delivering this is not easy, but it becomes much more achievable with the help of AI.
No one likes waiting. Widely adopted chatbots allow brands to respond to commonly asked customer questions in timely fashion through live chat experiences. In addition, they are available 24/7, meaning customers can get answers from your company at any time.
AI predictive analysis can also help you personalize product recommendations and make relevant suggestions during customer communication. By analyzing past and real-time data from online chat, email, phone calls, CRM and social media using natural language processing, you will not only know what your audience is interested in, but also their sentiment, such as “satisfied”, “frustrated”, “excited” or others.
6. Predicting & Preventing Customer Churn
Customer churn is an ongoing challenge for brands. Even if your monthly churn is just 3 percent, compounded over a year, these lost customers add up. Plus, acquiring a new customer can cost five times more than retaining an existing one.
Traditionally, tackling churn involves taking a retroactive approach. You make tweaks and changes then look back and work out whether they were effective.
Instead of doing this back work, marketers can use ML to predict what types of people are most likely to churn, and what makes them tick. You can then put measures in place to prevent it. For example, setting up an alert for specific churn indicators, tailor campaigns based on dormant customers’ current interests, or tweaking campaign creatives resonant with customer preferences.
From optimizing your ad spend to expanding your share of wallet and preventing customer churn, by using AI to turn your customer data into actionable insights, you can create a much more effective marketing strategy and gain a competitive edge. Which ones will you invest in? | https://medium.com/appier-blog/6-easy-ways-to-start-ai-marketing-923ca8f5a7c9 | [] | 2020-03-10 02:58:29.486000+00:00 | ['Personalization', 'Best Practices', 'Artificial Intelligence', 'Customer Segmentation', 'Digital Marketing'] |
Riffing Intellectual | Mundanity lends sanity to our intangible tangle, our blah-filled moments UN-mangled, right before our bored eyes. Torrid sighs, tell sordid lies, to ourselves, about how best to occupy the shelves inside our minds intertwined as we be. At least these days, ya see. See, the mundane is our secret fun game wherein the clock struck 12, but in a timeless realm. One that WE helm the ______…EXACTLY! Fill in our blank and you’ll still not find us, lost in each other in another dimensional space, like a plotline chased only to erase the reason you ran in the first place. You’ll never flow, in this state, in which we partake, because the trick is a treat, and it’s on ‘Nothing St.', where the ‘nothing’ beats, everything else. It’s us to ourselves, in the most useless of cells, for they have no restraints on our love and no directions to taint it with others mind-framing it, and thus stealing away its ultimate ‘unique’ we lazily lay upon, whenever the heart beat, falls under our feet, while our feet retreat, from the floor, for higher shores, and our higher scores, are scored light years away from his, hers or even your doors.
Simplicity…
Quiet… Doubt…? No.
Wow. Just wow. | https://medium.com/channspirations/riffing-intellectual-f9bbc0981ca8 | [] | 2021-02-20 06:44:38.189000+00:00 | ['Fate', 'Poetry', 'Médium', 'Inspiration', 'Poetry On Medium'] |
How does SEO optimization build a company’s image | SEO makes the web business familiar to the target audience
Search engine optimization (SEO) has become an essential tool for marketing and popularizing any business entity. It is the engine of a vehicle without which the vehicle cannot even act. A website requires various types of strategies and applications to build a reputation among people. And the medium that is used for the propagation of a website is all about optimizing it on search engines. When a web user starts looking out for particular information or service, he may check out only those links that have high rankings on search engine listing. This is the reason that SEO optimization service providers offer optimization services, so that web businesses may come in the listing of one of the highest-rated websites.
SEO is the bridge that tends to connect a business owner and web user through the chord of requirement satisfaction. The website, generally, functions on a number of factors, such as having an easily accessible site, prominent effectual linkages with other websites, and captivating the attention on your website for long. SEO optimization considers that the search engine ratings of any business organization increase with the help of only an efficient website. As it is not a toddler’s game to hold the attention of consumers for long, different optimization techniques have been developed by the experts here. These skilled techniques enable the online business to achieve maximum growth rates for their company.
Click here to read full story. | https://medium.com/@searchengineviews/how-does-seo-optimization-build-a-companys-image-a1eb6a5852dd | [] | 2021-12-31 21:18:20.016000+00:00 | ['Seo Optimization', 'Seo Techniques', 'Search Engine Ranking', 'Website Traffic', 'Seo Services'] |
What Even Is ‘Fun’ Anyway? | Photo: Graiki/Getty Images
Here is an actual thought I just had: Oh boy, I know what would be fun! A *different* flavor of tea! Yes, it’s a cry for help. But also, I’m probably not alone in finding that life during Covid has skewed toward the monotonous.
Seven or maybe 100 months in, “something like life has resumed and suspended panic has mellowed into sustained malaise,” as Rachel Sugar writes in Vox. She recalls going to an outdoor comedy show and wondering, Is this fun? “What was fun? I can no longer remember… Is Emily in Paris fun? Is a Zoom birthday party fun, is ordering a pizza fun, are jokes fun, is wine fun? Have I ever experienced fun?”
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Maybe the problem is that even before the pandemic, we’d gotten a little out of touch with what “fun” is. Remember those eyeball-stinging Instagrammable pop-up museums? Were those fun or sort of terrible? Remember autumns stacked with one cute, fall-leaf-hued photo op after another? Were those ever really fun? Perhaps we had already lost track, substituting what looks like fun for what feels like fun.
Pandemic life is not about Big Experiences or even social media-friendly snapshots. If we are going to get through this in one emotional piece, we are going to have to really stay connected to small and tangible ways to feel good. At the risk of sounding super un-fun, here are Four Principles of Fun to keep in mind:
Fun is often connected to a sense of play. And yet many of us — adults and kids alike — have lives that offer vanishingly few opportunities for play. That’s why we should all try something new and playful and dumb this weekend. Covid may keep us from joining a basketball team, but surely you can talk a family member into a game of charades or two.
2. Fun often involves laughter. As you’ll recall from those idiotic, pointless, and super-fun giggle sessions of childhood, laughing is the MOST FUN. Not LOLs or crying-laughing emojis, but real, actual belly laughs. Call your funniest friend, or cue up that dumb movie you love. Come on, it’s for your health!
3. Fun releases dopamines; releasing dopamines feels fun. Something to try, as Dakota Morlan writes in Forge, is to make a “happy list” of things you love. She has nine other ideas of things that are sure to cheer you up here:
4. Anticipating future events can be fun. Looking forward to something is also proven to be a mood-lifter, although nowadays when life seems so uncertain and unplannable, it often feels like there are few things to look forward to. So go ahead and plan something enjoyable. For Elemental writer Dana Smith, it’s her wedding; but this can also be a new hike or a virtual cocktail hour with friends.
You know what else is fun? Sharing ideas with others. So hey, share in the comments how you’re still having fun in our largely shut-down lives. Could be fun! | https://medium.com/@sheenwatson8377372/what-even-is-fun-anyway-4abfa05dc3f6 | [] | 2020-12-12 21:10:25.785000+00:00 | ['Fun', 'Life', 'Pandemic', 'Enjoyment', 'Self'] |
Southlake Carroll vs Martin | Texas High School Football Live | Southlake Carroll vs Martin | Texas High School Football Live
Watch Here Live: http://rizkihambali.sportfb.com/hsfootball.php
Dragons
9–1
Warriors
10–1
The Martin (Arlington, TX) varsity football team has a neutral playoff game vs. Southlake Carroll (Southlake, TX) on Thursday, December 24 @ 7:30p.
This game is a part of the “2020 Football State Championships — 2020 Football Conference 6A D1 “ tournament. | https://medium.com/@dewiadindafutri/southlake-carroll-vs-martin-texas-high-school-football-live-cff82e3507d0 | ['Dewi Adinda Futri'] | 2020-12-22 02:26:55.994000+00:00 | ['Arlington', 'Texas Rangers', 'Texas'] |
A green new deal | Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other congressional Democrats have introduced what they are calling a Green New Deal, aimed at increasing economic security for all Americans and pulling back from the brink of catastrophic climate change. The measure is at present an outline for future action, but predictably, it has drawn out the right wing in reactive opposition.
The list of proposals centers around two key concept: economic justice and reduced emission production. The first of these is antithetical to the libertarians among us, people who believe that we should be more responsible about choosing where we are born and who our parents are. The effect of NIMBY — not in my back yard — exists because people with money are the ones who pay for political campaigns and thus receive the benefits that regulatory power can provide. Water pipes in affluent neighborhoods deliver water, while those in Flint, Michigan add lead to the mixture. Gated communities are spared from having to breathe noxious fumes and small particulates, leaving asthma-inducing atmosphere to places like East St. Louis. And people who are able to afford their own cars find that well stocked grocery stores are much more conveniently located for them than for people who have to rely on public transportation.
The Republican mythology is that one’s economic status is the result of one’s choices — hard work vs. lounging about being the key decision. Personal decisions do affect the outcomes in our lives, but the right-wing position ignores the relevant factors. To use sports analogies, if you are born on third base or if you can run a race without having to carry a fifty pound backpack, you have an advantage over those who are not so fortunate. Your bootstraps have less to do the lighter you are to start with.
The second aspect of the Green New Deal also comes under attack for its goal of revising our economy into sustainability. Ocasio-Cortez’s identification as a democratic socialist makes right wingers believe that the real goal is to transfer the means of production into the control of the proletariat, though why that would be a bad idea is often left unstated. But the latter is not necessary to achieve the former. While the regulations required to get to a green economy would not embrace the fantasy of an entirely free market, requiring, for example, that carbon dioxide emissions go down does not negate the ability of corporations owned by stockholders to produce vehicles for sale to consumers.
I have been told by Trump supporters that this green energy dream is impossible. They tell me that the Sun sets and the wind dies down, and though Gretchen Bakke’s book, The Grid, suggests ways that we can store excess generated electricity, there is nothing in the right wing vision that we can do. The promotion of high speed rail in the Green New Deal gets mocked, and for some reason, despite air travel these days being a combination of the experiences of prison intake, renewal one’s driving license, and purchase of the last bottle of taco sauce at Walmart on game day, for some reason, my antagonists insist on an anticipatory nostalgia for planes over trains. But trains have a much lower carbon footprint than aircraft and trucks, so opposition to this form of transportation does not arise out of any concern for the planet. And contrary to the narrative of the fossil fuel party, wind and solar power are steadily increasing in the percentage of electricity generated in even this country. As James Baldwin is quoted as saying, “Those who say it can’t be done are usually interrupted by others doing it.”
One attack was nothing but a schoolyard taunt, the claim that the Green New Deal includes a provision to provide economic security for people who are unwilling to work. That was an error in an early draft of a Frequently Asked Questions document, not something that appears in the House resolution. As an author, I know all too well how dangerous the send button is, and I find it interesting to note how many people who will excuse Trump’s many absurdities and illiteracies have leapt in to criticize a typo in an opponent’s proposal. May we all be spared from imperfect documents.
Republican opposition here is entirely predictable. The combination of greed and ignorance is the essence of the party’s ideology today. But the good news is that large majorities in this country understand that global warming is happening and that we are the cause. The Green New Deal is an outline of how to reverse the damage. The fact that we must wait for at least two years to gain a Senate and president who will go along illustrates the irrationality that we have allowed to infect our political system. | https://gregcampnc.medium.com/a-green-new-deal-5820769c843d | ['Greg Camp'] | 2019-02-13 09:14:55.457000+00:00 | ['Green New Deal', 'Politics', 'Climate Change', 'Alexandria Ocasio Cortez', 'Economic Justice'] |
Imagination-The body’s light-house | What exactly is an imagination? Is it your sub-conscious that fantasizes of the future? Is it a cell in your mind that plays dreams when you sleep at night? Is it the reason behind fiction? And lastly to us spoiled homo-sapians (human beings) who have everything at their disposal… why is it even important? The truth is science has never claimed imagination as a biological feature of the human body, nor is it a skill a business has in under job specifications. It is the magical ability we mentally possess to form images, narratives and other hypothetical visuals in our mind. We utilize our memory in such a way that we create scenarios mentally such as of the future which are yet to happen. It is thanks to our imagination that we create new ideas and theorise about things, because of our tendancies of being a curious cat.... The wonders of human nature.
I have sometimes referred to whatever imagination is as a true biological feature, because when you think about it your muscles contract and expand whenever your brain sends the command since you have full control. It’s like when we pull some sort of light switch in our body, our mind is lit up in a whole new world where unicorns are real, cars fly, foods convincing you not to eat them and many more. But if i pull you back down on earth you might just be imagining your exam results and how shocked you are either giving yourself a pat on the back or a smack to your cheek. Especially an empty mind I find is the best playground for some interesting thoughts, because you can spend hours wandering in the ramblings of your mind whilst opening a locked door each time.
We always use the term “vivid imagination”, but the truth is that everyone on earth has a vivid imagination, whoever you are and whichever place in the world you live in…. your imagination is a powerful tool. It brings us onto the topic of what practicality imagination serves. Truly great things can be can be invented in this modern world via our imagination if we rule out the stigma that an imagination is only responsible for fictional aspects our minds can produce and not be implemented. An imagination is the field for your ideas, have fun with it and use it wisely, your mind will not disappoint I can assure you that. | https://medium.com/@treatmehappy/imagination-the-bodys-light-house-5adcaabd6ff3 | [] | 2020-12-16 11:22:02.829000+00:00 | ['Creativity', 'English Language', 'Mental Health', 'Humour', 'Thoughts And Ideas'] |
Artis Affiliate Reward Program | Artis Affiliate Rewards Program
Artis Turba is excited to announce the ARTIS Affiliate Rewards Program (AARP). The AARP grants holders of ARTIS the right to share in the Artis Turba revenue stream generated by operating its trading platform. Each ARTIS holder will receive an even distribution of 50% of the revenue generated from the trading platform, allocated according to ARTIS holdings. Artis Turba hereby aims to create a sustainable revenue stream for ARTIS holders by way of the AARP and ensure growth in the value of ARTIS as trading increase.
Transaction costs are levied on each trade and in the respective currency of each pair, the transaction cost are split 50% to Artis Turba for operational cost and 50% to ARTIS holders as reward. The rewards due to ARTIS holders are credited to their Artis Turba wallets for each respective currency.
Forward together!
Example
“For example if i will hold 5000 artis how much i will get artis or dollars?”
“It will depend on 2 factors; trade volume on ARTIS TURBA exchange (ex fees are 0.25% per trade) and the prices of all the cryptos listed. The payouts are distributed in BTC, ETH, DASH, LTC, XRP, XMR, ARTIS according to each Cryptocurrency’s underlying volume traded.
So for simplicity let us assume that the sum of all Cryptocurrency volumes equals $10 million per day:
Ex fees = $10 million x 0.25% = $25,000
Share 50% = $12,500
$12,500 is then split among all ARTIS holders via smart contracts (the equivalent in BTC, DASH, XRP, XMR, LTC, ETH and ARTIS).
There is 350 million ARTIS so
1 ARTIS gets $12,500/350,000,000 ARTIS = $0.00003571 per day
Thus 5000 ARTIS gets $0.00003571 per day x 5000 ARTIS = $0.17 per day | https://medium.com/artisturba/artis-affiliate-reward-program-df940cd36a61 | ['Artis Turba'] | 2018-04-06 07:30:01.603000+00:00 | ['Altcoins', 'Blockchain', 'Ethereum', 'Ethereum Wallet', 'Bitcoin'] |
One Planet Youth Orientation | by Thomas Gomersall
As those who read one of my previous blogs on WWF’s One Planet Youth (OPY) programme will know, OPY starts off with a short orientation at which participants get better acquainted with the programme, local environmental issues and each other, as well as develop ideas for their own group projects. Here’s what the orientation process involves:
Photo credit: Thomas Gomersall
Taking place over two days, the orientation begins with an introduction on the programme’s content and expectations of its participants, the biggest of which is to carry out their own self-led conservation group projects. In fact, much of the orientation is about providing participants with a baseline for developing these projects and the skills they will need to carry them out.
OPY Leadership Training Programme 2019. Photo credit: WWF-Hong Kong
For example, if one is going to work with a group of people on a shared project for roughly nine months, teamwork is essential. So over the course of the orientation, participants are treated to a series of activities designed to get acquainted better, trust each other and build group cohesion. One of the most interesting of these is a game in which groups must compete to record as many animals and plants along the shoreline at Hoi Ha Wan Marine Park within two hours –City Nature Challenge style — which not only helps participants to form those all-important social bonds, but is also an excellent opportunity to hone their identification skills and understanding of local biodiversity.
Of course, team-building is only one part of developing a successful conservation project. Equally important is having an idea for that project and being able to execute it. For participants to come up with and express their ideas, they are given special brainstorming and creativity exercises to stimulate their imagination and are also presented both with preliminary ideas from WWF and previous OPY projects for inspiration. Project topics can include anything from food waste to pollution to the wildlife trade, or whatever inspires participants. WWF makes sure to take into account what they would like to learn or gain from the OPY programme and helps them to craft their projects in ways that will help them to achieve those goals.
“Listening to the young peoples’ voices is one of the principles of the One Planet Youth Education Programme,” says Augustine Chung, Senior Education Officer for WWF-Hong Kong and supervisor of the OPY Leadership and Training programmes. “So, during the orientation, sections are reserved for the young people to express their interest and ideas in nature conservation.”
Photo credit: Thomas Gomersall
Photo credit: Magnus Lundgren Wild Wonders of China WWF
Depending on the types of projects participants show an interest in, they may even get a chance to go on field trips to provide them with the practical survey skills and knowledge of local environmental issues they will need to carry out their projects. For instance, those interested in sustainable seafood may visit a fish market in Sai Kung, while those with an interest in Chinese white dolphins may go on a survey for them and learn about common techniques used in marine mammal conservation.
Photo credit: Thomas Gomersall
As an added bonus, the orientation provides ample opportunities to experience and learn about local biodiversity. On the first day, participants are treated to a glass-bottom boat tour of Hoi Ha Wan’s rich coral communities. On the second day, they took part in several birdwatching sessions around Mai Po Nature Reserve in search of the myriad of birds that use its habitats, as well as other animals like the reserve’s resident water buffalo herd.
Photo credit: Thomas Gomersall
Whatever activities it involves, the OPY orientation promises to be a fun, educational and engaging experience for anyone who takes part in it, and an important first step in their OPY experience. | https://medium.com/wwfhk-e/one-planet-youth-orientation-a414126336a3 | ['Wwf Hk'] | 2020-10-30 04:00:15.857000+00:00 | ['Youth', 'Biodiversity', 'Hong Kong', 'Nature', 'Conservation'] |
Finding Healing from the Residential School System: TWC Indigenous Programming | A memorial honouring the 215 children at Kamloops Residential School
Written and submitted by Tyler Craig, BA
The recent discovery of the unmarked graves of 215 children at Kamloops Residential School is a stark reminder of the sordid history of the residential school system. It is expected that as other residential school sites are searched that more unmarked graves of children will be found. This is a time of profound sorrow and is awakening many people to the atrocities of the residential school system. We at Together We Can express our deepest condolences to the families and communities that are grieving and stand in solidarity as they mourn and find a path to healing. The injustices caused by the residential school system must never be forgotten and concrete action needs to be taken to foster healing and reconciliation.
Together We Can is committed to ensuring that our indigenous clients are supported at this time. Over 90% of our indigenous clients report either being a former student of the residential school system or have been intergenerationally impacted. Our clients further report the associated grief and trauma being a significant contributing factor to their addiction. This has often led to a loss of indigenous cultural identity and disconnection from traditional culture. We steadfastly agree that addressing the aforementioned factors needs to be conducted with a “culture is treatment” model.
For this reason, we developed the TWC All My Relations program in 2016 with the cooperation of indigenous organizations and the support of local elders and knowledge keepers. We recognized that a culturally relevant program was needed to facilitate recovery from addiction. At the TWC All My Relations program, cultural teachings, indigenous ceremonies and on the land teachings are at the core of this program. Clients are connected to culturally appropriate counselling services and with elders for individual sessions to address grief and trauma. Our goal is for TWC All My Relations clients to become culturally connected and that they are afforded the chance to build a strong indigenous cultural identity. Program graduates often report that the cultural support and that being introduced to indigenous ceremonies and teachings has been instrumental in them being able to overcome their grief and trauma.
Together We Can will continue to be committed to fostering culturally appropriate healing for our indigenous clients. Regardless of which primary treatment program an indigenous client attends, we aim to ensure that the principles of cultural safety and humility are at the core of our interventions. We have a dedicated second stage residence for indigenous clients where they can benefit from continuing cultural support from TWC and are encouraged to build a connection to the local traditional indigenous community.
Prior to COVID, we welcomed indigenous community organizations and groups to use space at TWC Main Centre for their meetings and activities. While this has been put on pause, once it is safe to do so once again, we are prepared to offer space at TWC Main Centre for Vancouver indigenous organizations and groups for their use. Hosting indigenous based activities at our Main Centre has had the secondary benefit of introducing our non-indigenous clients to traditional indigenous culture and teachings. We will be resuming community indigenous events such as traditional feasts and ceremonies after COVID. Please stay tuned to our blog and social media posts for when these are resumed post-COVID. Through this, we are committed as an organization to take a meaningful role in helping the indigenous community heal from the residential school system.
Please visit https://twcrecoverylife.org/all-my-relations for more information on the All My Relations program. | https://medium.com/@togetherwecan/finding-healing-from-the-residential-school-system-twc-indigenous-programming-4869c030b359 | ['Together We Can'] | 2021-06-08 16:15:42.892000+00:00 | ['Indigenous', 'Healing', 'Trauma', 'Residential School', 'Remembering'] |
Vaporwave and Personal Relationship with Music | I never really think hard about my relationship with music. Generally, I just see music as a creative product that owns various qualities in itself that was meant to connect to a certain type of person, in any kind of way, and then become something to that person. For example like how we corelate a place from our past with a song we listened to or simply heard at that time. To me, taste is of something that don't matter much when it comes to a person's choice of music. Taste, in my own conclusion, is a result of a person's luck or unluckiness in gaining a good education, and his/her family influences growing up. Not everyone has the freedom of defining their own taste, and I am calmed by this idea; that I can look at music simply as something that feels good or not, a result based on a choice-making process that I don't need to think hard the how of.
music and random encounter
Chance encounter with new music has become easier through music app like Spotify or platform like Youtube. With their personalized algorithm, each time when we access their service, a set of 'curated based on my interest' contents are already presented neatly for my pleasure. And by the nature of Internet Age, the supply of contents never runs out; there will always be something new I haven't heard of. Most of the time, I'd found one or two songs amidst a 20 songs choice that caught my ear and really perked my interest. I would then keep them in my favourite list and keep them for later. Sometimes I place them into separate playlists made to be listened for specific events, such as road trips, study, or relaxing.
I seldom read music criticism or journalism. Growing up with my mom’s teaching, I always know what I like and I don’t need more explanation, especially the complicated ones, about them. Simply put, I trust my feelings. Although sometimes joining a deeper discussion about the music I listened to and the musicians behind them that I admire felt like necessary thing to do, especially to get deeper understanding about the songs, I still would choose to just absorb the basic information to keep the songs simple. Simple is good, it has more space.
a critic to the system
When I chose to read about vaporwave through Grafton Tanner’s book, I ventured into it blindly just out of curiosity. I’ve heard the term a few times in college and some seniors use them as their artwork’s subject matter. I only know that vaporwave is strongly linked to music because of reading the book.
Important note to make about the book is it is also a media analysis of the Western society — I was a little reluctant in using this terminology, but Tanner himself used this term repeatedly in his book. The main problem, like a cancer within a body, discussed in Tanner’s book is how internet, late-capitalism, and ubiquitous technology manipulates in the 21st century. In this book he exposed the darker side of our current age that was hidden behind our phone’s bright screen. Reading this has been an unsettling journey. It was not fun at all. But I have come to think of unpleasant things sometimes as stuffs that are simply that way because they are unfamiliar to me, or sometimes stuffs that bears some truths, or is a representation of a reality unknown to me, that don’t always brighten the image of the world I have in my head.
Politics has never been of much interest to me. News about politics in my country, Indonesia, are near a perfect one hundred percent sad, or lies. I have come to grow a sort of helpless feeling whenever political topics were mentioned because, in a country heavily saturated with corruption and selfish leaders, I know there is nothing of immediate effect that I could do. Same applies for talks about global destruction. Always, I would settle with the conclusion that I can only manage me and the people close to me. So I would apply the important messages from intellectual politics criticism and apply it into my daily life with only myself and some people around me as the subject. Influencing has never been my good trait. I assume almost the same stance when I’m reading Babbling Corpse, I noted its important reveals and points and treat them as a puzzle piece in the borderless puzzle of the world I’m bit by bit trying to put together in my head.
bitter and cynical but true
I do not completely understand the whole points presented in the book. I skipped many parts. This is one part because I do not have direct experience to some topics it discussed, one part because I didn’t listen to the songs being referenced and many parts of the book are a description of the songs, and another part is because the writer’s narrative style with heavy cynical tone. For example is this tail of a paragraph in chapter four:
"Our present situation in the United States – with systemic racial violence, right-wing terrorism, ecological destruction, and economic turmoil – is becoming too volatile to ignore, yet the culture industry still peddles ludicrous, infantile fantasies and has done so for decades.”
The strong criticism style of Tanner is unfamiliar to me, so sometimes his arguments would sound too harsh, although what he say sometimes ring true with me. But this is part of the result because I don’t have enough understanding about the American society he is criticizing about and he don’t do much basics explaining in this book.
limitlessness and nostalgia
The fourth, and last, chapter of the book was the most interesting to me. Tanner dived into this simple fact that I also think of sometimes: isn’t there too much music out there? He brought up important discussion about music industry and wider society’s interaction with music in these days. He brought questions that has begun to surface, such as 'do you ever just get sick of music?' and about the damage of easy access digital consumption to how people nowadays approach music. I think it’s true that sometimes meanings are lost when something starts to exists in abundance. When something become 'too much’, it also become a burden. I always feel this kind of thing as something that invites me to just push it aside and go back to the bright space of my happy and simple world.
The growing amount of songs released everyday, how increasingly easy it is to produce one with only simple equiptments and minimum talent right now, Tanner deems as alarming. But more alarming than that is pop music’s influence over the majority of American citizen-scape. There is a side-effect in mindless consumption, moreover the ones we didn’t realize were forced on our plates, songs heavily commercialized by giant music agencies. Tanner’s interesting argument about this is presented through Taylor Swift’s album 1989. But none of the bad side of scarily popular pop songs would matter once we "…slap a filter over it all. Our limitless nostalgia, our willingness to subscribe to an ideology that scrambles our codes of meaning in exchange for material pleasure, our addiction to information, and our distracted, regressive tendencies form the base of a greater societal crisis", in summary, the ghosts from the past and the commodification of them.
Tanner wrote about how America is never the same after the event of 9/11 and the following behavioral change after it. The one he mainly focuses his eyes on is how the desire to 'go back to the past' grows and took roots deeply in many Americans. This is interestingly discussed with Killer's Brandon Flower's 2015 song music video titled Lonely Town. And this is where I can finally understand his main argument about 'commodification of ghost' as mentioned in the book's title.
I made temporary conclusion after finishing the book. Some of the things I already believed are reinforced in this book, and one of them is how knowing how to measure proportion of what we consume is important and healthy to our mind. I’ve quit instagram for almost a year now. But that decision come with rational reasoning based on my own understanding of my needs. Knowing what I need helps me a lot to be calmer, especially in the face of limitless information and countless other stuffs available for me to access every time every day. There was once a time when I felt somehow left behind, there is just too much out there to keep up to. But I figured it could be made simpler by knowing and defining what I need and what I feel towards a certain types of digital services.
Tanner ended the book with a short description of hikikomori. And I agreed. Maybe a lot of us are, in each our own unique way, trying to solve our own case of loneliness. I felt most grateful when I realize how lucky I am to own a set of tools that made me able to view the things I have right now as the biggest gift I’d ever receive: my family, my small circle friendships, all the connections and bonds I have formed over the years.
I am nowhere near to knowing all the answers to even my own worries and fears. I am afraid of being lonely, somewhere in my deepest thought I know this. And this is one of the reason why I want music to stay simple to me. I want it to be simply a beautiful composition of melodies and clever combination of skills that amazes me and accompanies me through mundane moments in my everyday.
21/12/2020 | https://medium.com/@hunnie/after-thoughts-vaporwave-and-personal-relationship-with-music-3066f997d49a | [] | 2021-04-25 08:52:54.978000+00:00 | ['Book Review', 'Grafton Tanner', 'Consumerism', 'Vaporwave'] |
DataBroker DAO is now one of the smart solutions on bee smart city | Smart city managers are facing a daunting task. Depending on their size, location, population and numerous other factors, every city has different needs and requirements. And to make things worse, the smart city market is currently neither transparent nor digitalized, making it extremely difficult for them to see the forest through the trees and find the appropriate solutions for the problems their cities are facing.
bee smart city, founded in 2017, has one simple goal: to accelerate the development of prosperous and livable smart cities and communities around the globe. To this end, they provide an efficient toolset for smart city analysis and for facilitating collaboration and the successful implementation of the best smart city solutions available.
Their database currently features about 500 smart solutions, neatly divided in subcategories like Smart economy, Smart environment, Smart government, Smart living, Smart mobility and Smart people. Recently DataBroker DAO was added, showing cities all over the world the road to our decentralized marketplace for sensor data.
Benefits for smart cities …
As a user, registering will enable you to search the database for solutions, using smart indicators to filter the results. You can learn how other cities address problems and challenges, explore their aims and the results of implementing individual solutions and access information on involved partners for project implementation. In addition, it will allow you to share solutions, label them as being smart and add them to your favorites. And soon a rating will be displayed on every solution in the bee smart city database, enabling you to quickly identify the best solutions available.
… and for solution providers
As a solution provider, you can add new solutions to the bee smart city database and edit or modify your solutions. Seizing the opportunity to make your solutions available globally and increasing your visibility in the market by showcasing your portfolio of solutions, connecting with municipalities, companies and other organizations around the world and helping them to accelerate their smart city projects by acquiring them as new clients or partners.
424 cities worldwide are already using the bee smart city database, with top cities Amsterdam, Moscow, Winnipeg and Columbus already deploying dozens of solutions. And now that DataBroker DAO is added to the list of solutions, we’re curious to see which city comes knocking on our door first…
In the meantime, we’re working on a new website for DataBroker DAO, soon on air… Stay tuned!
Join our Telegram channel for all information and questions or drop us a line: [email protected] | https://medium.com/databrokerdao/databroker-dao-is-now-one-of-the-smart-solutions-on-bee-smart-city-51d5c55e43a9 | ['Frank Van Geertruyden'] | 2018-08-21 14:59:38.432000+00:00 | ['Smart Cities', 'Data Marketplace', 'Digital Challenges', 'IoT', 'Data'] |
The reason for the tremendous support of the Syrian opposition is oil | The United States, which seized Syrian oil with the help of the Kurdish Armed Forces, deployed hundreds of its troops in the oil-bearing regions.
Donald Trump, who during the Turkish operation “Source of Peace” decided to withdraw the US military from northeast Syria, further admitted: — “We are in Syria for oil.” With the start of Turkey’s military operation, the United States left 16 bases and military posts in the region. But in Deir ez-Zor, Al-Hasak and Raqqah, where there are billions of dollars of oil, they have not budged. Moreover, 800 US troops withdrawn from northern Syria were sent to oil fields. After the suspension of the Turkish operation, the United States returned to six bases and points in the oil regions of Syria.
In addition, Washington’s leadership set about creating two new military bases at the oil-rich Deir ez-Zor. 250–300 troops, armored vehicles, heavy weapons and ammunition were additionally sent to these areas. The US military continues to patrol the fields occupied by Kurdish armed forces in Syria.
The day before, during his visit to Germany, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the provision of the United States “huge resources” to the Syrian Democratic Forces, which are fighting terrorists. Washington is proud of this and will continue to support the Kurdish units, as it considers this to be of interest. The United States plans to keep oil under control by sponsoring SDS, and this plan is not limited to Syria. This region has strategic importance for the transfer of Iraqi oil to the Mediterranean Sea.
According to a spokesman for the US Department of Defense, Jonathan Rath, the US is funding the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDS) from oil revenues in Syria.
It became known about the existing 85-year plan, involving the transportation of Kirkuk and Syrian oil to the Israeli port of Haifa. It was he who determined the latest events in the region. If the oil pipeline, which the United States expects to lay in the region now controlled by the Kurds, can be launched at full capacity, then 5 million barrels of oil per day can be transferred to the Israeli port of Haifa.
As part of the aforementioned plan, the Abu Kemal checkpoint between Iraq and Syria was opened. And after that, Washington announces the complete withdrawal of its contingent from the territory of Syria? | https://medium.com/@sardarmesto/the-reason-for-the-tremendous-support-of-the-syrian-opposition-is-oil-d86b801f2eaf | ['Sardar Mesto'] | 2019-11-15 06:14:28.011000+00:00 | ['Usa In Syria', 'Syrian Civil War', 'Syria'] |
How to Spot Master Manipulators and Avoid Being Played | How to Spot Master Manipulators and Avoid Being Played
Learn to recognize the textbook patterns of narcissists, sociopaths, and psychopaths to protect yourself and those you love from being abused
Photo by JESHOOTS.COM on Unsplash
Master manipulators act in patterned and predictable steps. Through their twisted lens, the world is their chessboard and people are pawns to be used and abused.
If we know what to watch for, we’ll be far less likely to be played by these cons, whether as individuals or as a society. So let’s walk through the typical strategies in a narcissistic playbook.
Manipulators Set Their Mark
First, master manipulators set their focus on a target. This target may be a person, group, system, or nation that they’ll try to exploit for purposes of self-gain or simply to feel a surge of power and control.
These manipulators fail to understand that true strength is choosing love and kindness, and because they lack any sense of empathy or compassion for other people, they actually view kindhearted and honest souls as weak and pathetic. They often refer to their targets as “Losers” because they believe they’re “Winning” at some kind of game.
Unable to form healthy relational attachments, these psychologically damaged individuals rely on manipulative maneuvers when interacting with other people. They often start by luring a target during a grooming period. This phase may or may not include love bombing, but ultimately this is the stage in which a healthy-minded person believes they’re entering into a genuine, trusting, safe relationship (whether platonic, professional, or intimate).
In this stage of their game, the abusers convince a target that they’re trustworthy and on their side in the world — more than anyone else. Then, they establish solid trauma bonds as they gaslight and brainwash a target through a progressive slide of abuse and alienation.
This pattern is common for sexual predators, trafficking rings, and domestic abusers (whether physical, sexual, spiritual, financial, or psychological). But these same textbook maneuvers are used by con-artists of all types, building the trust of a target while gaining access to their bank accounts, bodies, minds, and spirits. They set their mark and then systematically devour a soul one small compromise at a time.
They set their mark and then systematically devour a soul one small compromise at a time.
While that slow progression is quite common (and well documented by those who study sociopathic/psychopathic behavior), manipulators may also lash out with an impulsive blast against someone who dares to question, challenge, or discern the abuser’s true character (especially if it’s done in public to tap into the abuser’s core of shame). This is typically known as “narcissistic rage” and it’s the kind of rant we’ve witnessed recently when R. Kelly exploded during an interview with Gayle King.
In that moment of rage, manipulators feel ALL POWERFUL, especially if their target becomes emotional, silenced, or afraid. And that’s a drug these abusers learn to crave.
Another reason manipulators attack a target is when they aim bitterly at anyone who threatens the abuser’s frail ego simply by existing in the world as a stronger, smarter, kinder, happier, or more successful person/group/system. This is the age-old story of jealousy taken to an extreme. As Taylor Swift sings, “People throw rocks at things that shine.”
“People throw rocks at things that shine.” — Taylor Swift
In this last situation, imagine emotionally fragile children who haven’t yet developed a sense of security in the world. Unlike more secure children who are willing to share, these less-secure children would rather destroy a toy then let someone else enjoy it. If their envy becomes pathological, they’ll even aim to destroy the happy child (whether over a toy, attention, approval, or just soul-deep jealousy of the one who is happier.)
Now picture this happening on an adult level. This may involve a competitive co-worker who sabotages someone’s career, a jealous ex who stalks the new lover, a narcissistic partner who sets out to destroy someone’s entire life, or a psychopathic serial killer who preys upon the innocent simply for the thrill of taking total power over someone who has what the killer wants — innocence, love, happiness, friendships, trust.
Beware the Smear Campaign and the False Reality
Once the manipulators choose a target, they will intentionally erode the target’s reputation by labeling that target as unsafe, crazy, wacko, psycho, sick, unfit, a liar, a thief, a cheater, a criminal… anything to make people doubt the innocence/competence/stability/sanity of that target. They may even replace the target’s name with a nickname based on this false persona and repeat that accusation constantly until bystanders begin to associate the target accordingly.
Abusers do this by finding one small mistake or flaw, exploiting that weakness, and eroding the credibility of the person or system by exaggerating and obsessively focusing on that one weak point. If manipulators can convince enablers to doubt the truth for even a second… they can reframe reality and convince them to believe wildly distorted claims or “alternative facts.”
If manipulators can convince enablers to doubt the truth for even a second… they can reframe reality and convince them to believe wildly distorted claims or “alternative facts.”
Taking this as far as they can go, manipulators will push this “spin” by launching an all-out smear campaign, causing some people (enablers) to doubt or distance themselves from the innocent scapegoat. This is what forms a “system of abuse.”
Consider recent situations involving Harvey Weinstein, Jeffrey Epstein, and Larry Nassar. None of those predators could have gotten away with their horrifically violent abuses without an entire system of enablers surrounding them.
Many manipulators take it even farther, brainwashing other bystanders to join in on the abuse. These co-abusers are called “flying monkeys” as a tie to The Wizard of Oz in which the Wicked Witch of the West holds court in her castle while sending her troops out to do the dirty work. With enough flying monkeys, some manipulators choose to step back and keep their hands clean while pulling the puppet strings of the people around them.
As an example, take a look at American History X, a 1998 American crime drama written by David McKenna. In that film, the leader of a white supremacist group sits up in his seedy office and fuels a circle of manipulative minds. He labels innocent people as the enemy and then sets his flying monkeys loose to attack. Is he committing violent acts? No. But is he a puppet master pulling the strings without any regard for how those actions will impact the young extremists in his clutch (much less their targets)? Absolutely.
Another juvenile behavior manipulators may revert to is backstabbing to triangulate their targets. In this case, they pit two targets against one another just to watch them devour each other.
Consider The Girl on the Train, the bestselling novel by Paula Hawkins. In this story, the manipulative husband plays his ex-wife against his current wife (and then, just for kicks, adds in a new partner). His goal is to scapegoat his ex. But, he’s already starting in on his current wife as his new target. He’s so good as his game, he convinces everyone his ex is not only insane but a murderer… he even convinces her of that false reality.
And that’s the real danger of these manipulators. They aim to make their target lose complete grip of the truth.
And that’s the real danger of these manipulators. They aim to make their target lose complete grip of the truth.
Triangulation may involve two people, two families, two companies, two rivals, or two groups of people (races, religions, classes, tribes, nations). A cheating husband may bring his lover to a dinner hosted by his wife. A manipulative ex may triangulate the kids as weapons against their innocent parent. A corporate executive may pit two competitors against each other to weaken them before pouncing with a buyout. A tyrant may fuel hate between two factions, encouraging them to tear each other to bits so they’re too distracted to notice the destructive things he’s doing right in front of them all. By trying to divide and then conquer, these abusers play a sick game from the start.
By trying to divide and then conquer, these abusers play a sick game from the start.
Peek Behind the Curtain
When the target starts to question the truth, manipulators will project their own unhealthy behaviors onto the target and convince enablers that the innocent scapegoat is the one guilty of the very crimes they’re committing. The abusers will also play the victim, gathering empathy from those who can’t see behind their masks.
For example, if a husband is having an affair, he’ll accuse the wife of cheating. If a con is stealing from the company, she’ll accuse an innocent coworker of stealing.
If we really want to know the sins of master manipulators, listen to what they accuse others of doing and we’ll know exactly what they’re up to.
If we really want to know the sins of master manipulators, listen to what they accuse others of doing and we’ll know exactly what they’re up to.
Discernment is Key
Once we understand clearly how this twisted con game works, it’s very easy to identify the “players” of the world.
So how do we maintain our own power? By choosing not to become an abuser, an enabler, or a flying monkey. And while we can’t always avoid becoming a target (no one is immune), we don’t have to lower ourselves to their standards when we do find ourselves in that terrible position.
Consider The Truman Show, a 1998 American comedy-drama directed by Peter Weir and written by Andrew Niccol. In this story, Truman was groomed from birth to believe in a false reality. While he thought his life was real, he was actually being played, terribly, by everyone he loved and trusted. None of the abuse could have happened if the producer of the reality show that exploited him hadn’t been supported by an entire cast of enablers.
As Truman started to question the truth, the producer upped his abuse. Once he could no longer manipulate Truman completely, he set out to destroy the innocent target, and the entire system rallied behind him because it benefitted them to keep Truman in the show.
This story serves as a strong example of how difficult it is to realize we’re being manipulated, break free of the lies, reclaim the truth, and fight our way to freedom, especially when an entire system is trying to convince us we’re the one who is wrong and the manipulator is right. It takes tremendous strength, clarity, resilience, and spiritual discernment to stay true to ourselves in that kind of storm.
The key is to keep our heart open, our mind clear, our feet steady, and our soul anchored to a greater, more powerful, more sacred source of positive energy so we can discern the truth without being blown to bits by the dark, negative vortex of destruction. | https://medium.com/invisible-illness/how-to-spot-master-manipulators-and-avoid-being-played-fdb87809d969 | ['Julie Cantrell'] | 2020-07-01 23:45:02.707000+00:00 | ['Relationships', 'Advice', 'Life Lessons', 'Mental Health', 'Psychology'] |
Looking Back: The Story Behind My Success | I received my Certificate from the University of Manchester conferring me a First-Class degree in Economics & Politics last month, and so, only recently did I take my graduation photos to officially celebrate it.
Here’s my story: When I was a child, I used to be beaten up at school almost every day just because I was different from most other boys. I was smart, quiet outside of the classroom, and not physically strong. I asked for help to my teacher, school assistants, parents, grandparents, friends, you name it, but no one ever cared enough to help me. I enjoyed school, but one day I told my parents that I did not want to go any more because of the bullying I constantly suffered. Nevertheless, my father forced me to go regardless, and so, I could never escape this hell. At the time, I felt that if I fought back, I would be fuelling an endless cycle of violence and potentially legitimising their posterior attacks. If one day I ended up in the hospital, they could say that I had also beaten them up, had started first, etc. (there were no cameras on the school precincts). And even if I fought back, I always felt that I would lose anyway because not only were the bad boys physically stronger than me, but they were also always in groups when they attacked me, and therefore, in much greater number than just myself. As a result of that, I got a lifelong trauma which led me to get very close to attempting suicide in the past.
I am originally from Portugal and when I finished High School, I decided unilaterally to move abroad to study at a world top university. Many people around me, including in my family, were against that and even tried to dissuade me from leaving by saying things like ‘He must be crazy, for sure’ or ‘You will never make it on your own’. But I did. At the age of 19, I left my country and everything I had behind, apart from a backpack, a piece of luggage and around 2000€ (all the money I had saved throughout my childhood). I came to the UK without having any relative or friend already living in here. I worked full-time for the first two years just to save money, and then, worked two part-time jobs whilst doing my degree to always support myself. These were 6 years in total where I was always on my own in a new country.
So, if you have somebody in your family or know of someone who has been suffering, or has suffered, from severe bullying for a long time, then please pass them a message which I wish someone had told me when I started being bullied as a child (although this is a message that perhaps only them will fully understand). If this can inspire at least one kid and prevent them from attempting/committing suicide one day, then everything I wrote has already been worth it:
**********************************************************************************************************************************
Fight back and stand up for yourself, no matter how ‘impossible’ it seems to you, because if you don’t, nine times out of ten no one else will, and you will end up later, like me, regretting it every single day for the rest of your life. You have read it right, looking back now, I would have rather run the risk of dying in a fist fight whilst standing up for myself at the time, than to live for the rest of my life with the permanent regret of having repeatedly failed to defend myself; to protect myself from the systematic humiliations I had to go through and the resulting effect of feeling a coward that will always haunt me wherever I go. This is because what prolonged and severe bullying will take away from you in the end is something very difficult to recover (though not impossible) which is your self-respect. This, in turn, will take at least a few decades, if not a lifetime, and even then, nothing is ever guaranteed. Despite that, even if you just cannot do it and are a loser now, it does not mean you will be a loser forever. Things change ‘as long as you give them a chance to’ (Professor Green). Work hard to be successful in something that matters to you; have focus and perseverance to fulfil your dreams, no matter what other people say to try to hold you back. That is the only way I have found to survive, to keep on living, by believing I may one day be able to fully restore the respect I once lost for myself. And if one day you manage to become a winner, like me today, when you get there, look back and pay tribute to your younger self, because you could only get this far because you survived your worst moment in life in the first place. This moment should be dedicated to that.
**********************************************************************************************************************************
Finally, I would also like to pay tribute to all the kids around the world who die every day at the hands of Bullying. Some examples include the stories of Daniel Fitzpatrick, Roger Trindade and Amanda Todd who either committed suicide to escape this hell or were killed by the bullies. I am no different from them, perhaps just a bit luckier for still being alive. | https://byrslf.co/looking-back-the-story-behind-my-success-3930bfc92ecf | ['Miguel Miranda'] | 2021-05-10 22:31:28.861000+00:00 | ['Mental Health', 'Self Improvement', 'Life Lessons', 'Inspiration', 'Beyourself'] |
Leveraging injection tokens to solve circular dependencies in shared libraries | In the past year, my team and I have been busy building a shareable Angular library for the use of other developers in the organization.
In the process of doing so, we’ve faced lots of challenges of how to develop generic reusable services and components. We’ve also had to implement some interesting use cases of Angular’s injection tokens, in order to solve a variety of problems, like
circular dependency between our libraries
loose coupling between the hosting application and consumed library
If you’ve ever built, or are looking to build, an Angular library and you find yourself refactoring over and over again just to solve dependency issues, You came to the right place!.
Moreover, if you feel that you are well familiar with Angular’s injection tokens, but have the feeling that you can do more with them, then this post is definitely for you.
Ecosystem
As part of my work in Yotpo’s platform group, we aim to build capabilities for all of Yotpo’s current and future products. Those capabilities should reduce both the developers’ and customers’ learning curves while interacting with Yotpo’s components.
From the developers’ point of view, we aim to create Plug & Play building blocks, so that our developers will be able to increase their velocity.
For that purpose, we’ve built an Angular mono repo, managed by NX, we use semantic versioning, and publish our artifacts as npm packages to Jfrog.
To make our artifacts as generic as possible, we depend heavily on injection tokens to help the hosting app provide each lib with everything it has to know to perform its goal.
Plenty had been written about Angular Injection tokens, and if this technique is not familiar to you, then you should definitely read about it here. But the short version of Injection tokens (to me) is that this is a mechanism that gives you the ability to inject something other than an angular service, even something which is not a class.
Basic usage of injection tokens
Let’s examine how MeaningfulService exists in the core lib.
For this service to be generic, it is dependent on an injected configuration, so…
export interface MeaningfulServiceConfig {
meaningfulProp: string;
}
we expose an injection token for the MeaningfulModel…
import {InjectionToken} from '@angular/core';
import {MeaningfulServiceConfig} from './models/meaningful-service-config';
export const MEANINGFUL_CONFIG_INJECTION_TOKEN = new InjectionToken<MeaningfulServiceConfig>('MeaningfulServiceConfig');
and we consume this token in the constructor of the service:
import {Inject, Injectable} from '@angular/core';
import {MEANINGFUL_CONFIG_INJECTION_TOKEN} from '../meaningful-config-injection-token';
import {MeaningfulServiceConfig} from '../models/meaningful-service-config';
@Injectable({
providedIn: 'root'
})
export class MeaningfulService {
constructor(@Inject(MEANINGFUL_CONFIG_INJECTION_TOKEN) private config: MeaningfulServiceConfig) { }
}
This is all good for the core lib.
As you might have noticed, we have 2 more libraries that depend on the core library by using MeaningfulService.
import {Inject, Injectable} from '@angular/core';
import {MeaningfulService} from '../../../../core/src/lib/services/meaningful.service';
import {LIB_A_CONFIG_INJECTION_TOKEN} from '../lib-a-injection-token';
import {LibAConfig} from '../models/lib-a-config';
@Injectable()
export class ServiceAService {
constructor(private meaningfulService: MeaningfulService,
@Inject(LIB_A_CONFIG_INJECTION_TOKEN) private libAConfig: LibAConfig) { }
doSomething() {};
}
There are a few things to note here:
The service depends on both the core’s MeaningfulService and Lib-A injected configuration
The service is not provided in root, since it is part of a library that is designed to be lazy-loaded by the hosting application. Thus the service needs to be provided by an Angular module
export interface LibAConfig {
libAProp: string;
} import {InjectionToken} from '@angular/core';
import {LibAConfig} from './models/lib-a-config';
export const LIB_A_CONFIG_INJECTION_TOKEN = new InjectionToken<LibAConfig>('LibAConfig'); @NgModule({
imports: [CommonModule],
providers: [ServiceAService,]
})
export class LibAModule {}
Now that our library is wrapped up, we can consume its Angular module in an Angular application. The module’s configuration also needs to be provided.
@NgModule({
declarations: [AppComponent],
imports: [BrowserModule, LibAModule],
providers: [
{
provide: LIB_A_CONFIG_INJECTION_TOKEN,
useValue: LibAConfigProvider
}
],
bootstrap: [AppComponent],
})
export class AppModule {} import {LibAConfig} from '../../../../libs/lib-a/src/lib/models/lib-a-config';
export const LibAConfigProvider: LibAConfig = {
libAProp: 'hello lib a'
} export class AppComponent {
constructor(private service: ServiceAService) {
service.doSomething();
}
}
But oh no! We have a runtime error.
NullInjectorError — occurs due to a missing provider: ‘MeaningfulServiceConfig’
Ok, this one is easy to solve right?
We can provide the MeaningfulService configuration the same way we’d provided the Lib-A configuration, right? Here’s what I don’t like and wish to solve in this approach:
The hosting application that uses the Lib-A module needs to be familiar with Lib-A dependencies — MeaningfulService and its configuration. My main concern is that if tomorrow I replace the use of MeaningfulService in Lib-A with MeaningfulService2 (together with its own injection token), then this will be considered a breaking change and the hosting application will have to change its AppModule.
Moreover, as Lib-A expands and becomes more depended upon and requires more injection tokens, the hosting application would have to be extremely familiar with each dependency to provide its configuration.
With that in mind, let’s define the requirements for our solution. | https://medium.com/yotpoengineering/leveraging-injection-tokens-to-solve-circular-dependencies-in-shared-libraries-2f46e13ee752 | ['Ido Mor'] | 2021-09-02 11:33:20.121000+00:00 | ['Frontend Development', 'Injectiontoken', 'Nx', 'Angular'] |
Crypto Wallet — How to Survive the Winter? | To survive, a crypto wallet has to do more.
Payment needs can be regarded as one of the origins of crypto assets, and this scenario has naturally been followed by many teams. In the past, many teams have made attempts in this field, but the major business model formed by such attempts is to provide payment platforms for merchants and to draw a certain percentage of commission for each purchase received by merchants. In such a scenario, if the crypto wallet is only used as a tool to complete an on-chain transaction, there is no way to charge users. Some wallets have chosen to work with Visa or Master to issue bank cards that can be used easier in the off-chain world and share some revenue as one of the payment channel participants and OTC desk. This could work.
The Lightning Network is another payment solution native to the crypto community. In the Lightning Network ecosystem, wallets can receive some fees by providing node services.
However, none of those attempts has changed the reality that encrypted assets are only accepted as a payment medium in a very small range. It is a bit difficult to make good money on this. However, with the rapid development of stable coins, a large number of users are rapidly pouring into crypto payment scenarios. These users are directly or indirectly bringing income to the wallet, and the growth rate is amazing.
The production of crypto assets (Mining) is one of the few fields in crypto world that generate income steadily in the past decade. A lot of players are crowded in this field, they have their own strengths, work together, and share the pie. Unfortunately, crypto wallet is not among them. However, with the launch of more and more PoS networks, crypto wallets were introduced into the production process finally, and stood directly at the forefront of the industry chain. There is a new name now: Staking.
More and more PoS network are squeezing into the top 30 of CoinMarketCap. The total output volume from staking can reach tens of billions of dollars per year, a considerable amount of revenue would be generated within crypto wallet by providing services around Staking.
The largest piece of income comes from third party applications. With the improvement of experience and the formation of user habits, both centralized and decentralized third-party services are increasingly accepted by wallet users. As a tool for users to manage assets, such services and wallets have a strong coupling effect.
DeFi applications, in particular, are developing rapidly and are bursting with tremendous energy and innovation. As the DeFi application network continues to mature, the asymmetry between centralized and decentralized services will be gradually erased, and the security and other advantages of open finance will be fully reflected. The cross-chain technology is also evolving rapidly, and each major blockchain will soon be connected to form a huge parallel universe. The stable coins and offchain assets projection will act as a wormhole to connect on-chain and off-chain universes. A lot of assets and users are entering the chain through these wormholes, forming a huge cross-border financial network.
The crypto wallet is the entrance of this financial network, and it is also the navigator of people in this complex network.
And DeFi is just a small part of the DApp world. The prosperity of DApp will directly bring huge revenue to the wallet. We have seen it once on the EOS network on winter 2018. Although the prosperity lasted only a few months, leading EOS wallets all received a lot of income, even enough to support them for years. This short period of prosperity is also a precious sample, many imaginary scenes become reality and many problems were exposed. Everyone learned something.
A year and a half have passed since then, we can see major blockchains such as Ethereal and EOS are evolving rapidly, and a lot of team are proposing new ideas and working hard to implement, the ability of DApp teams are rapidly improving as well. I am confident that a greater prosperity of DApp will return in the near future. | https://medium.com/bitpie/crypto-wallet-how-to-survive-the-winter-ce0bbcc777e7 | ['Bitpie Wallet'] | 2020-04-14 14:34:27.652000+00:00 | ['Bitcoin Wallet', 'Defi', 'Lightning Network', 'Dapps', 'Bitpie'] |
Mr. Timesaver: a local success story | With business doubling every year since inception 3.5 years ago, Mr. Timesaver is on course to become number 1 dry cleaning pick-up and delivery service in The Netherlands. We met with founders Kevin Zara (31) and Xayenne Tromp (30) to learn about their journey.
How it all started
Kevin and Xayenne moved to The Netherlands 11 years ago from sunny Aruba. After graduating from the Rotterdam Business School and doing a masters in Entrepreneurship, Kevin got a job at an oil & gas company. His busy working schedule and short opening hours of the dry cleaners made it impossible for him to get his clothes dry cleaned. Xayenne was still studying at the time, so she took on the task of bringing Kevin’s clothes to a dry cleaner. However, she soon got tired of it. There just had to be a better way. From their personal need, the idea of Mr. Timesaver was born.
Analyzing the market
Kevin gave notice to his employer and in the months that followed, Kevin and Xayenne invested time and resources in market research to avoid entering the market blindfolded. They analyzed opening hours of traditional dry cleaners, potential target groups and areas.
They decided to focus on The Hague and surroundings, because of its large expat population. “The Dutch like to keep things the way they are.” explains Xayenne. It would take time before the locals would be convinced to give Mr. Timesaver a shot. “For expats, the pick-up and delivery dry cleaning service is quite normal, especially for people from US and UK. It is something they are used to back at home but miss when they move to The Netherlands.” adds Kevin.
Marketing the business
Kevin and Xayenne learned the theory behind marketing and branding during their studies. However, as Xayenne puts it, “Reading about it and actually doing it is totally different”. After launching the website, the business did not pick up immediately. They had to teach themselves how to successfully employ social media marketing strategies and use Google Ads.
According to Kevin, adoption is a big challenge. The concept of Mr. Timesaver is new to the Dutch market, “When people see Mr. Timesaver for the first time, they are a bit skeptical. It takes time. People check out your Facebook or Google reviews and they see them grow over the months. Then they finally decide to give it a try.” Stellar reviews is something Mr. Timesaver can be proud of. They have managed to score a 4.9 average on Google and Facebook, based on over 170 reviews.
When it comes to marketing, one of Mr. Timesaver’s strengths is its social media presence and great audience engagement. Xayenne, who is in charge of social media, mixes it up with memes, fun facts, and videos, “I try to add something fun to the life of the customer when I post something. Not just, ‘Hey did you order today?’”
Mr. Timesaver has a forward-thinking and open approach when it comes to innovation and staying relevant. They have recently started testing traffic generation through videos. “We have to prepare for the future and keep up with marketing trends. In the future, 80% of traffic to websites will be through videos. We have to adapt.” explains Kevin.
Rebranding
One thing’s for sure, Kevin and Xayenne are not afraid to make mistakes and learn from them. Looking back at the first year, Xayenne says, “It was trial and error in the beginning”. After realizing that the original logo does not connect well with the target audience, they rebranded. Xayenne explains, “In the name, there is a mister, but you did not see a mister in the logo.”
They took the time to learn more about the impact of images and colors. Inspired by a retro theme, Xayenne redesigned the logo and the website herself, “What most people do is they hire an outside company to do their branding. You don’t feel the connection with the branding they come up with. You just pick from a selection of logos and colors they present. It doesn’t feel personal.” After successfully rebranding Mr. Timesaver, website traffic and order numbers significantly increased.
Word-of-mouth
Even though, they have mastered digital marketing, Kevin and Xayenne do not underestimate the importance of traditional word-of-mouth marketing. When asked how important word-of-mouth has been in building the Mr. Timesaver brand and generating new business, they both respond with “MOST important”. Xayenne explains, “With social media you have to show 100 people to convince 2 people. However, if one person tells 8 friends about Mr. Timesaver, all 8 will automatically perceive Mr. Timesaver as trustworthy.”
New generation
“These days, a lot of working people do not come home at 5, and probably not even at 6” says Kevin. However, most dry cleaners in The Netherlands close at 5. Many take a few days to dry clean your laundry, which does not fit in today’s instant gratification culture. Moreover, the new generation is used to ordering everything online, from clothes to groceries, and having it delivered at their doorstep. “People are shifting more towards convenient services” explains Kevin. He feels that traditional dry cleaners are a dying business, because of their lack of adaptability.
Kevin believes that adaptability and flexibility are key in today’s market, “We will be there for our customers when it fits them. People do not want to hear the word ‘No’.” This is why Mr. Timesaver is open from 7am to midnight and customers can choose a 1-hour time window for pick-up and delivery. Delivery can be arranged as fast as 24 hours after pick-up.
Customer relationships
When asked to analyze what played a crucial role in the success of Mr. Timesaver, one of the things that Kevin and Xayenne emphasized is the importance of relationship building, “We have built a close relationship with our customers. We actually got to know our customers.” Their friendly and open attitude is partially influenced by the Aruban culture they grew up in. Back in Aruba, they also worked in the hotel industry which gave them a lot of experience when it comes to customer service and putting a smile on a customer’s face.
Kevin and Xayenne take the time to listen to their customers and understand their needs. As a result of customer feedback, Mr. Timesaver now offers shoe service, clothing repairs, and tailor service. Kevin believes that any business should be open to change, “You constantly have to reinvent yourself in order to succeed. What can we do to better ourselves?” Customers play an important role in providing direction for reinvention.
The business model behind Mr. Timesaver is very smart. It allows Kevin and Xayenne to focus more on customer service and relationship building. “We are not doing the cleaning. We are doing the logistics. This way we can focus more on service.” explains Xayenne.
Quality and consistency
In order to concentrate on what they are really good at, Mr. Timesaver chose to partner with carefully selected dry cleaners, tailors, and cobblers. They tested them to ensure that high quality standards are met, even under time pressure. Some companies passed the test, while others could not handle the pace. As Mr. Timesaver grows, this business model helps facilitate that. Partnering with companies means that they can scale quickly without investing in extra cleaning equipment or a larger facility.
One of Mr. Timesaver’s trademarks is their 1-hour pick-up and delivery window, which customers can choose. To live up to customers’ expectations, Kevin and Xayenne investigated smart solutions to help them stay on schedule. One of those solutions is a route optimization app which they are currently using.
Quality and consistency are extremely important to Mr. Timesaver’s reputation. This also applies to Mr. Timesaver’s employees, who act like brand ambassadors. Employees are responsible for ensuring that customers have a positive experience. With every pick-up and delivery, customers are greeted with a warm smile and a handshake. Employees always engage in conversation with customers which makes the experience very personal, but at the same time, uniform to the Mr. Timesaver brand.
The next chapter
At the moment, Mr. Timesaver offers their services in The Hague, Rotterdam, Leiden, Delft, and the small towns in between. In the coming month, they plan to conquer the whole of South Holland region and move towards Amsterdam.
Kevin and Xayenne have already done market research in Amsterdam and are currently testing the logistics. Amsterdam is proving to be difficult, because of heavy traffic, narrow roads, and driving hazards (read: crazy cyclists). Nevertheless, Amsterdam is an interesting market. Kevin explains, “Amsterdam houses are small. Many people do not even have a washer or dryer.” In addition, Amsterdam, like The Hague, has a large expat population.
Expansion most probably means that Kevin and Xayenne will need to loosen the reigns of control and allocate some regions to their growing team. However, with everything they have learned over the past 3.5 years, and a great team of people to support them, they are undoubtedly ready for this next step. | https://medium.com/marketing-and-branding/mr-timesaver-a-local-success-story-c6bd43d9c747 | ['Raul Tiru'] | 2020-12-21 12:00:50.362000+00:00 | ['Branding Strategy', 'Brands', 'Branding', 'Rebranding', 'Brand Strategy'] |
Embracing Uncertainty In An Age Filled With It | Embracing Uncertainty In An Age Filled With It
Uncertainty is downright terrifying, right?
Photo by Anton Darius on Unsplash
Uncertainty is downright terrifying, right? I mean, what can you do with it? Planning goes out the window, you don’t have all the information to make a solid decision, and you swim in a sea of anxiety and fear.
So…not good.
And this year has exacerbated this fear. Every day, the news blindsides us with the latest unexpected tragedy. We consume it with an air of “of course this happened. Why wouldn’t it?”
However, this is nothing if not natural. Our mind craves the opposite of the current uncertain reality, which is certainty. The brain’s #1 job, according to psychology professor Lisa Feldman Barrett, “is making these guesses, and then comparing them to sense data from your body and from the world that is continually arriving, as a way of reducing uncertainty, which, it turns out, is the metabolically efficient thing to do.”
It’s metabolically efficient to reduce uncertainty, but in a world that’s filled with it, how much can we reduce before we run out of gas?
I find that there is a much better solution…
Let Go and Sink
I recently went through a cacao ceremony (definitely recommend for literally everyone in the world). In this particular session, I was invited to go into the ocean. Past my knees, past my hips. Oh, what the heck, fully submerge myself into the murky depths.
At first, it was rather intimidating staying underneath the waves. I was told to stay under, to feel what it felt like. I’m someone who doesn’t normally experience anxiety, but oh boy, I fully felt it in that moment. It was so murky and uncertain.
However, once I felt the anxiety and made my peace with it, I relaxed into the sea. It was an ease beyond belief. Like sighing over and over and over, being okay with the murkiness of the ocean.
Then I went up to the surface. What I found was shocking: Millions of people were trying their damndest to stay afloat, to not sink into the scary depths. Treading water, treading water. Furiously kicking their legs and floundering their arms. Just doing whatever they can to not even look at the uncertainty underneath.
I realized that I had been once of the millions for so long. Unwilling (or even unable) to let go and allow myself to be immersed in the unknown, in the murkiness. But once I did, once I felt the unease around sinking into uncertainty, and then let that feeling go, I found bliss and ease and breath on the other side.
Hope For the Future
What was cool is that my imagination didn’t stop there. I went back down into the middle of the ocean, sinking gently to the bottom, content with the murkiness and the not-knowing. Next, one by one, people started to let go and come down with me.
This, in my opinion, is a glimpse of the near future. As the pandemic and politics and public injustice rolls along, people will either get too fatigued or fed up and decide to make a change. That change is to EMBRACE the fact that none of us have any idea what’s going to happen. Despite our brains being these big prediction machines, our consciousness — that is, our soul, our essence, our connection to Source — is not. This is who we actually are. The brain is merely a tool that’s taken over, having us furiously tread water.
In the near future, we all will let go. We all will realize that much of the things we worry about are outside of our control. What we can control, what we are certain of, is that we’re in control of our reactions to events, circumstances, and conditions. We have the ability to be at peace with the current moment. We don’t have to agree, but we can still be at peace and at ease. We can breathe deeply and be still. And one by one, we can rediscover that we are whole NOW, we can heal ourselves NOW, we can be okay NOW.
Photo by Chad Madden on Unsplash
When You Stop Fighting Uncertainty, You Befriend It
Everyone eventually came down into the depths, finding their peace with uncertainty. Sure, it’d be nice to know for certain when this “pandemic” will be over. But the reality is we don’t know. And once you’re at peace with that not knowing, when you can sit in the murky depths and not wig out, that’s when the pandemic will end for you, personally. You will no longer find fear keeping your head above water. You sink into the depths with calmness and clarity, not allowing the fear of media and groupthink to keep you fatigued and scared.
Sure, it’d be nice to have all the injustice in the world eradicated. But we don’t know if and when that will happen; that’s reality. Once we can be at peace with this reality, then we can let go and decide to react in a positive way, to be healthy and act healthy towards others in our own way, and to set a solid example of how to exist in a communal, kind presence.
With 2020 giving us a virus, political unrest, an explosion or two, war, racial violence, and motherfucking murder hornets, it seems like the only certain thing is uncertainty. So find a semblance of comfort in that uncertainty. Welcome it into your arms, find space for the fact that nobody knows what’s going to happen. Hell, most of us don’t know what’s happening right now. So if we can calm our minds and shut the tool off for a second, our Soul, our consciousness can remember that we actually exist in the murky depths, and that we can be our own guiding light.
Millions of Stars
That’s what the end of my ceremony showed me: Millions of individuals, embracing the uncertainty, coming down to the bottom to find peace within the world, and shining like endless stars in the sky. It was beautiful, and it will be beautiful. One by one, we become our lodestar, our lampholder to navigate the uncertainty. And then, one step at a time, we enter a state of alignment and enlightenment.
And when there are millions of stars in the murky depths, it’s almost as if there’s no murk at all. The ocean is too bright with everyone following their unique path, at peace with the uncertainty surrounding. As guiding lights, we keep our focus on our own next step, our own next challenge that we tackle with confidence and faith, bringing us ever closer to a peaceful, compassionate, wonderful world.
Will this be the definitive future? I’m uncertain.
But I’m okay with that. | https://medium.com/the-innovation/embracing-uncertainty-in-an-age-filled-with-it-155f13b3ac1f | ['Jake Lyda'] | 2020-12-30 18:02:48.566000+00:00 | ['Life Lessons', 'Letting Go', 'Life', 'Uncertainty', 'Peace'] |
The Ultimate Interview Prep Guide for Your Next Dream Data Job | Photo by Greg Rakozy on Unsplash
The Ultimate Interview Prep Guide for Your Next Dream Data Job
What helped me interview successfully with FANG and unicorns for jobs ranging from product manager to data scientist Tessa Xie Feb 21·9 min read
After rounds and rounds of resume editing and hundreds of applications, you are finally hearing back from your dream companies; but instead of celebrating, you are entering another round of panic: What will the interview process be like? How do you prepare, and where do you start?
Everyone who has been through the recruiting process knows what I’m talking about. Adding to the level of panic, if you are like me, curious about and interested in different roles in the data world, you might be interviewing with different companies for different job titles (albeit all data-related). How can you possibly have enough time and energy to prepare for all these interviews for jobs with seemingly worlds-apart requirements?
GIF from GIPHY
Don’t despair; after going through several rounds of recruiting and interviewing for data-related jobs ranging from Product Manager (least technical and most business-focused) to Applied Scientist (ML-intensive and very little focus on business), I have realized that there is a lot of common ground in those interviews (a little digression: this reinforces my belief that skill sets in the data world are mostly transferrable, so don’t be afraid of making the “wrong” decision early on in your career, you can always pivot). I’m going to share the resources I have collected along the journey of preparing for those interviews to help you interview-prep more efficiently and effectively.
First things first, decide what to prioritize
There is a lot to cover when it comes to interview prep; in order to keep things manageable, I have split the content into two articles. In this article, we will first cover the most common interview topics among all the roles. In the next article I publish, I will then cover the more specialized interview topics for each specific role.
Since most people don’t have years (or even months) to prepare for these interviews, it’s important to have a plan for prioritization. Deciding what to focus on and how to split time across different topics really boils down to three factors: 1) What is the focus of the job profiles you are targeting? 2) What are the sizes of the companies you are applying for?, and 3) What are your weak areas?
What’s the focus of the role? It’s important to know whether the role you applied to is a Data Scientist role with a focus on metrics or an Applied Scientist with a focus on ML models so you know which area of the interview prep to put the most time in. I have a pretty detailed breakdown of different data-related job profiles and their requirements in my article about different career paths in the data world which should give you a solid idea about the distinction between Data Analysts, Data Scientists, and Data Engineers. For other roles, there are several ways to find out about this information:
The best way is to study the job description in detail. A well-written job description usually gives you a pretty good idea of what you will be focusing on in the role.
Image from LinkedIn (Sample Job Post for Data Scientist)
Another way is to check out the LinkedIn profiles of people who work at the companies that you are applying for in the same or related jobs. If most of them mention SQL in their role description or skills section, don’t be surprised when SQL shows up in the interview.
Lastly, don’t hesitate to leverage your recruiter. Recruiters want to set you up for success, so they are often happy to give you an idea of what will be covered in the interviews (or reach out to the team/interviewers on your behalf to get more information).
What’s the company size? The smaller the company, the more they need the hire to be a well-rounded data talent being able to wear multiple hats at the same time. At big companies like FANG, most jobs are already well-defined, and recruiting is a standardized process. Interviewers might proactively share detailed interview guidance, or provide more information on request.
Sample email of what a FANG recruiter sent for interview prep, pretty impressively detailed.
However, if you are interested in startup roles, then your interview prep should be broad. Even if you applied for a Data Analyst role, you could be asked to whiteboard your code for one round and talk about ML models the next.
What are your weak areas? Hopefully, you already have a general idea about which areas you might need to improve on (I get tripped up by probability questions every time even though I was a math major); but if not, going through some of the sample questions in this document is a good way to assess your fluency in each topic. It also has some good preparation resources for each area.
Next, let’s dive into the common sections that you might encounter in interviews for data-related roles.
Section 1: Coding (Data Quering) Interviews (SQL)
Common for: Data Analyst, Data Scientist, Data Engineer, Applied Scientist
When applying for data-related roles, it is very likely that you will encounter a SQL test, either as a real-time coding interview or an offline / take-home test. Most companies I have interviewed with conduct coding interviews through coderpad.io, but it might ease your nerves to know that most interviewers won’t compile and run your code and are very lenient with regards to syntax errors since there are so many dialects for SQL. So to prepare, don’t worry about knowing the difference between week() and extract(week from timestamp), but definitely know the difference between inner join and outer join.
Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash
W3Schools (free)— a great place to practice syntax and you can easily navigate between topics.
SQLZOO (free) — has both self-paced tutorials and practices, though it’s worth noting that the concepts are relatively fundamental.
Datacamp (subscription needed for accessing most resources) — there are courses for different levels of SQL competency; intro and intermediate level would suffice for most interviews.
Udemy (priced by course) — there are a lot of good SQL courses on Udemy; just remember to buy them at a discounted rate (there is almost always a course on discount).
Udacity (subscription-based) — this is a more pricey option but has more structured learning that will take longer to complete. Udacity occasionally provides scholarships that are sponsored by companies, definitely keep an eye out for those awesome opportunities.
Section 2: Business Sense (Case-Based) Interview
Common for: Data Analyst, Data Scientist, Product Manager
Many data roles require business sense and interface regularly with business stakeholders. There are several variations of Business Sense interviews, ranging from the “traditional” open-ended case questions common in consulting interviews to more metrics-focused ones. However, in any case, interviewers want to test how you break down and approach a problem in a systematic and structured way and communicate your approach and findings.
There’s usually no right or wrong answer to these questions; it is more important how you arrive at a solution than what your exact answer is. It’s important to be able to break down problems in a MECE (mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive) fashion and be familiar with the top-down and/or the bottom-up approach of solving problems.
Photo by Austin Distel on Unsplash
Disclosure: This section contains affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through the links here, at no cost to you. All the books recommended here are the books I used and liked during my own interview prep. (the affiliate links are marked with “*” and you can always bypass it by searching for the book names directly from Google).
Case In Point*: this is the OG case study guidebook that’s described by the Wall Street Journal as the MBA bible . If you have never seen a case study and have never heard of the “MECE” framework before, this might be a good place to start as it will help train the structured thinking style.
. If you have never seen a case study and have never heard of the “MECE” framework before, this might be a good place to start as it will help train the structured thinking style. Case Interview Secrets*: written by a former McKinsey consultant, this book not only demonstrates the best frameworks for case interviews but also illustrates the best communication style (most analytical interviewees struggle with top-down communication since analytics requires you to be in the weeds most of the time, but a lack of structure in your communication style can easily confuse your interviewer and make your message lost during an interview).
Product Manager Interview*: this book lays out hundreds of real questions and answers from PM interviews with big companies, and it provides detailed analyses for each sample answer. Note this book doesn’t have frameworks laid out in detail, so it’s better to be used to practice after you learn the frameworks.
Crack the PM Interview*: this book offers a detailed guide for each component of the PM interview. If you are interviewing for DS or Data Analyst jobs, you only need to focus on the metrics questions and case questions.
Image from Google
Decode and Conquer*: this book complements the Product Manager Interview book by providing frameworks and techniques used to approach those sample questions.
Lewis C. Lin is a big icon in the product management world and he has a lot of good tricks and advice not only for PM interviews but also for training your business and product acumen. He has his own website where you can read about product-management-related blog posts and sign up for his newsletter.
Section 3: Behavioral Interview
Common for: All the roles
The Behavioral Interview focuses on your past experiences as well as hypothetical questions to assess whether your experience and working style fit the role, the team, and the company culture. The best way to prepare for this portion of the interview is to do mock-interviews with a friend and make sure you are SUPER familiar with everything that’s on your resume. It’s not a good look if you are asked about a project on your resume and you can’t recall what you did exactly.
The typical framework used for behavioral interviews is called the STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) method. Based on my experience as an interviewer, a lot of technical talents tend to focus too much on the “task” and “action” components and not enough on the “situation” and “result”. Keep in mind, your interviewer usually has neither the time nor enough context to find out about the deep-in-the-weeds nitty-gritty technical details of your project. Make sure to give the interviewer enough background story (situation) and make sure to highlight the end result to showcase your top-down communication style and your ability to drive results and impact. And don’t worry, if the interviewer IS interested in the technical details, they will ask and give you time to talk about it more.
Indeed — this is a good list of frequently asked questions to start with
Googling “behavioral questions” will give you a lot more resources to prepare for this portion of the interview
No matter which interview topic you decide to focus on first, remember: Practice makes perfect. Memorizing frameworks (or syntax for the coding portion) is never enough; knowing how to apply them is the key. | https://towardsdatascience.com/the-ultimate-interview-prep-guide-for-your-next-dream-data-job-be4b2c7f73a8 | ['Tessa Xie'] | 2021-02-21 22:55:02.069000+00:00 | ['Data', 'Job Interview', 'Data Science', 'Interview', 'Careers'] |
SWIMMINGLY | Velvet water presses gently
against my gliding body.
I feel my muscles tighten
as I glide from twilight through delicious darkness
and on toward dawn.
My heart soars to heights it seldom reaches.
“This is it”, I say softly to myself.
This is how it goes when I do the work.
I capture this moment and store it. | https://medium.com/literally-literary/swimmingly-dd4f084ee360 | ['J Grant'] | 2019-08-24 17:29:15.186000+00:00 | ['Moments', 'Poetry', 'Memories', 'Remeberance', 'Self'] |
How to forgive yourself for being an ordinary human? | Creative Process
Why the ancient artists use their “Genius Spirt” to free themselves from public judgement?
Photo by Dori Bano on Unsplash
The few gifted humans
We eat, we sleep, we wake up to do it all over again. Life was like this for most of our stone-age ancestors. However, there were a few gifted humans who saw something out of their humdrum existence.
They saw pebbles as a hunting tool, bird bone as a flute and animal fur as a jacket. With these ideas, they start to educate their tribe. Tribes began to form. Civilization began to develop.
“I live on Earth at the present, and I don’t know what I am. I know that I am not a category. I am not a thing — a noun. I seem to be a verb, an evolutionary process — an integral function of the universe.” R. Buckminster Fuller, I seem to be a verb
Introducing the Genius spirits
The ancient Greek believed that their personal spirits were divine messengers who mediated between the gods and mortals. They were known as “Genius Spirits”.
“When she was growing up in rural Virginia, she would be out working in the fields, and she said she would feel and hear a poem coming at her from over the landscape. And she said it was like a thunderous train of air. And it would come barreling down at her over the landscape.” Elizabeth Gilbert, Your Elusive Creative Genius
I remember having the same sudden palpitation feeling during a writing contest years ago. My heart was pumping wildly. My fingers stretched open, trembling in anticipation when the idea flashed into my mind. Words start to pour out in torrents across the screen. My grammars and syntax were on point. Nothing was blocking the flow of the story.
After one month, I received an email from the reviewers. They will be awarding me a “Special Award” certification. Everyone was congratulating me. But I felt that I just got lucky during the competition.
Probably, my Genius Spirit was hanging around in the room and choose to convey the story to me.
The appearance of Genius Spirits throughout history
Beethoven
Beethoven started to experience ringing in the ears when he was 28 years old. As an upcoming music composer, this was detrimental to his career.
He decided to take control of his life by writing down on staff paper when he heard the melodies in his head. This action has forever changed the course of classical music.
Shakespeare
Shakespeare uses the sights and sounds of London as a muse for his plays. He wrote 37 plays in his life, which were still playing after 400 years.
J. K Rowling
Rowling created “Harry Potter” on a delayed train from Manchester to London’s King’s Cross station, which will make her a millionaire.
Fortunately, there was a delay in the train that day.
Disney
Walt Disney created his famous cartoon Mickey Mouse in 1928 while sitting on a long train ride.
Currently, the famous mouse has been bringing in $1 million a year in merchandise sales for Disney.
Before they were famous, they were just ordinary human like you and me.
What makes them stand out among their peers? They show up every day in their profession, dedicating their lives to their work.
Beethoven loved to write down his ideas in his notebooks and took his time to try out different versions of them before releasing his work to the public.
Shakespeare used 3 years to write Romeo and Juliet, which would go on to become one of the famous play in the world. J.K rowling took 5 years to write Harry Potter and is now one of the world’s highest-Paid author at $92 Million.
Walt Disney was fired from a Missouri newspaper for “not being creative enough”. He set up Disney Brothers Studio with his brother Roy in the early 1920 and went on to be nominated for 59 Academy Awards, winning 32, all for his unparalleled animations.
The ancient artists are protected from 3 things.
The Artist’s Ego
In this article, the word “ego” is the Latin word for “I.” Literally translated, ego means “I.”
Imagine you have clinched the top writer tag at Medium, people start to take notice of you and your articles. Readers clap for you. You felt great.
Your ego index level shoots up. Every morning you wake up, you felt like you have created a mark on Medium.
One day, you wake up to notice that the tag was gone. You felt the world go quiet in that instant. Your ego came down shattering from the top.
“In ancient greek time, if there was a painter and the painter was like painting great art. He would bring and show it to the public and the public would say, “ Oh, he has a Genius Spirit living in the walls!” Shawn Mendes, Talks Wonder, Writing Process & New Album
The ancient writers never put all the credit on themselves. They give praises to their Genuis Spirit, who they believe had assisted them with their creative process.
2. The Artist’s Narcissism
Mayo Clinic stated that Narcissism behaviour is a mental condition in which people have an inflated sense of their importance, a deep need for excessive attention and admiration, troubled relationships, and a lack of empathy for others.
Vincent Van Gough is a perfect example of a Narcissistic artist. He has painted over 30 self-portraits of himself between 1886 and 1889. New evidence suggested that van Gogh cut off his ear when he heard about his Brother’s marriage. A typical Narcissist who need full attention on him to gain validation of his own existence.
“ He was also exhausted from working hard and the high standards he set for himself. He was uncertain about the future and felt that he had failed, as a man and as an artist.” Van Gogh Museum
The ancient artists understood that all their creations were work of arts by their Genius Spirit. Instead of asking people to admire them, they thank their Genius Spirit for stopping by and transmit the creative information to them.
3. The Artist’s fatigue
All writers have a similar mannerism. They will fuss on every tiny detail in their paragraph to make sure that their article is perfect to be published. Content fatigue will slowly set in, which might lead them to feel burnt out by their own expectation.
“If your work was brilliant, you couldn’t take all the credit for it, everybody knew that you had this disembodied genius who had helped you. If your work bombed, not entirely your fault, you know? Everyone knew your genius was kind of lame.” Elizabeth Gilbert, Your Elusive Creative Genius
The ancient artists are not fearful of public judgement. By freeing themselves up from their responsibility to their works, they can focus on their next creation.
How to forgive yourself during an unfruitful day?
“My muse is here. It’s a she. Scruffy little mutt has been around for years, and how I love her, fleas and all. She gives me the words. She is not used to being regarded so directly, but she still gives me the words. She is doing it now. That’s the other level, and that’s the mystery. Everything in your head kicks up a notch, and the words rise naturally to fill their places.” Stephen King, “The Writing Life” (2006)
If you are lucky enough to catch the message from your Genius Spirit, say a big thanks and do a little dance in your room.
There will be days when your Genius Spirit might take a vacation elsewhere. Just show up anyway. Be open. Create your stuff. If your work comes out quite uninspired, do kindly forgive yourself. Your Genius Spirit was not in your walls that day.
Freed yourself from your own expectation. Keep showing up every day. You never know when your Genius Spirit would drop by uninvited into your walls again.
Final Takeaway | https://medium.com/@crumpledticket/how-to-forgive-yourself-for-being-an-ordinary-human-52142bd3516a | ['Edith Sam'] | 2020-12-22 23:32:30.596000+00:00 | ['Creators', 'Artist', 'Life', 'Writing', 'Creative'] |
Foggy Turn of the Road | Foggy Turn of the Road
photo by William J Spirdione
It is time to slow down a little now.
Not sure who or what lies around the bend.
To move as fast as conditions allow.
Alert, aware, on all senses depend.
The fog it rolls off hills of melting snow.
Wet blackened trunks of trees create rhythm.
A gentle curve completes the peaceful flow.
No problems here, at least that’s our theorem.
If lulled to sleep, might wake to find trouble.
Someone or something was crossing the road.
A broken down truck, a tree, some rubble.
From the woods to the road a deer has strode.
The road was clear, no smashing of metal.
Safe passage now, a little unsettled. | https://medium.com/@wjspirdione/foggy-turn-of-the-road-b393dcb903d8 | ['William J Spirdione'] | 2020-12-14 14:16:39.120000+00:00 | ['Sonnet', 'Poetry', 'Society', 'Weather', 'Travel'] |
6 Lessons From Marcus Aurelius That Will Help You Become a Better Leader | Marcus Aurelius, known as the “last great emperor,” ruled over the Roman Empire for nearly two decades, until his death in 180 AD.
At this time in history, Marcus Aurelius was holding the most powerful position in the world. He was leading the world’s most prominent Empire.
During his time as ruler, he wrote his thoughts down in journals which eventually came together in his “Meditations”. These are a collection of thoughts he produced for his own sake and in the pursuit of becoming a better human being. And, a better leader.
These insights are available to you now. Strive to implement them as Aurelius did, and you’ll be on your way to becoming a world-class leader. | https://medium.com/big-self-society/6-lessons-from-marcus-aurelius-that-will-help-you-become-a-better-leader-5cd0fccd0375 | ['Clément Bourcart'] | 2020-12-19 17:16:07.662000+00:00 | ['Quotes', 'Self Improvement', 'Philosophy', 'Advice', 'Mindfulness'] |
Text Analysis in Foreign Languages | Project Background
Recently I have started a for-fun project analyzing Twitter posts about a Japanese Show I am watching. In my previous posts, I have discussed using the Twint library to gather all show-related tweets and some analysis about tweets and tweets related actions such as the number of replies, retweets, and likes. The show has broadcasted seven episodes in total, and I have gathered over 222k show related posts. I have presented the code and some interesting results on my GitHub.
Besides analyzing the tweets' quantity, I am also interested in the tweets' contents to see what fans are posting about the show. It can be challenging to use traditional NLP techniques because these 222k tweets are in 40 different languages. Here is the language share of all show-related tweets:
Tweets Languages Share
The graph shows that English only accounts for roughly 4% of all tweets, and 86% of the tweets are in Japanese. To understand the contents and frequently used words for these posts, we could use NLP models designed for different languages, or we could translate all foreign languages into English before applying text mining techniques. However, we could start the analysis by analyzing the Emojis used in all posts for quick insights.
Frequently Used Emojis Among All Tweets
Emojis are widely used in social media posts, and they help the users express their posts' sentiments graphically. Knowing what Emojis are frequently used in show related tweets helps us understand how fans react to the show. To know the most frequently used Emojis, the first step is to group all posts and extract all Emojis used in these posts. Here I have all tweets stored in the DataFrame called all_tweets:
main DataFrame with all tweets
As shown above, by filtering tweets with specific hashtags related to the show, there are 222301 tweets in total between October 1st and November 21st in at least 40 different languages. Each row of the DataFrame is one tweet, with various features about these tweets, like the user who posted this tweet, at what time and date, etc. Tweets contents are stored in the column called “tweet”. To get the frequency of all Emojis used in all tweets, we can group all 222301 tweets by “concating” or “joining” string variables.
tweets_contents = ','.join(all_tweets[‘tweet’])
Using the code above will join all rows in the column “tweet” into one giant string variable, separated by a comma. Here is an example with the first two rows:
example
After combining all tweets, we need to filter out the Emojis out of the string variable “tweets_contents”. Emoji is basically a kind of Unicode. We could use regular expressions to exclude all other characters:
using re library
As shown here, it includes other symbols like “&”, “\” that is not something we want. Another way of selecting Emojis out of a string is to use the emoji library:
using emoji library
This works much better. We can write a function and apply it to all tweets.
import emoji def extract_emojis(x):
return [word for word in x if word in emoji.UNICODE_EMOJI] all_emojis = extract_emojis(tweets_contents)
After checking the “all_emojis” list, I found that some characters show up frequently in the list but are not Emojis. Including them would bias the results. I then add an extra filter to exclude unwanted items:
Now I have a list called “all_emojis” that stores all the Emojis shown up in the tweets. The next step is to count the frequency of each unique Emojis and show the most frequent ones. This is a classic question of converting a list into a dictionary based on the item frequency. As discussed in my previous article, the easiest way count item frequency and sort the dictionary is to use the Counter library:
change a list into a dictionary
As shown by the number of “keys” in the dictionary, there are close to 900 unique Emojis used in all tweets. The Counter dictionary records each Emoji’s frequencies as the dictionary value. To get the most frequent keys, call the most_common function from Counter:
common_emojis = Counter(all_emojis).most_common(30)
Here I have chosen the top 30 most common Emojis. The common_emojis defined by the code above is a list of tuples with the first element of each tuple as the Emoji, and the second element as the Emoji frequency:
The last step is to plot this list as a bar plot:
vals = [x[1] for x in common_emojis]
legends = [x[0] for x in common_emojis] plt.figure(figsize=(14,4))
plt.ylim(0, 38000) plt.title('Top 30 Emojis in over 222k Related Tweets') #get rid of xticks
plt.tick_params(
axis='x',
which='both',
bottom=False,
top=False,
labelbottom=False) p = plt.bar(np.arange(len(legends)), vals, color="pink") # Make labels
for rect1, label in zip(p, legends):
height = rect1.get_height()
plt.annotate(
label,
(rect1.get_x() + rect1.get_width()/2, height+5),
ha="center",
va="bottom",
fontname='Segoe UI Emoji',
fontsize=15
) plt.savefig('words_tweets.png') plt.show()
After some adjustments, the graph looks like this:
Due to the limitation in the font by Matplotlib, the Emojis in the plot are not colored. If you know any way that I can use to plot colored Emojis, please do let me know!
Most Frequently Used Emojis By Week
In the previous section, we have looked at all Emojis used in all tweets. We could segment tweets by different weeks and look at the most frequently used Emojis for each week to see whether the fans' reactions have been different. The “date” column shows the tweet posting dates. Based on the date, we could create a column indicating which week this tweet was posted. Rather than dividing weeks by Mondays, since this show releases every Thursday at midnight, I think it is more meaningful to segment the weeks by episodes releasing date. First, I created timestamps for all show releasing dates. The first episode was released on October 8th, and I set the starting date at one week before the first episode:
To create the “week” column that can be used to groups all tweets after different episodes, I first define a function, then I apply the function into every row of the column “date” using a lambda function:
Checking the number of tweets a week after each episode by value_counts():
This show is getting more and more popular with more episodes being released. Especially for episode 7, it was released on November 19th, and the data were collected until November 21st. With around three days, the number of tweets is already higher than all other weeks.
To get the frequency counts of Emojis in different weeks, we need to groupby the tweets by weeks and apply the frequency count for each week:
Following the previous procedure, after “groupby” tweets by weeks, we use the join function to join all tweets by week to have eight giant strings representing eight weeks.
For each week, we are creating a dictionary to store the Emojis’ frequency counts. Besides, we need to include what week is this dictionary belongs to. Here I am using a list comprehension to construct a list of tuples:
emojis = [(strings.index[i], Counter(extract_emojis(strings.iloc[i])).most_common(1)) for i in range(8)]
The first element of the tuple, “strings.index[i]”, is the week index; the second element “Counter(extract_emojis(strings.iloc[i])).most_common(1)” is the most frequent Emoji and its count for this week:
Emojis by week
We could use the list “emojis” to plot a bar chart:
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt, numpy as np # Set up plot
freqs = [emojis[i][1][0][1] for i in range(8)]
labels = [emojis[i][1][0][0] for i in range(8)]
xlabels = [emojis[i][0] for i in range(8)] plt.figure(figsize=(8,4))
plt.ylim(0, 17000) p1 = plt.bar(xlabels, freqs, color=”pink”)
plt.title(‘Most Used Emojis by Episodes’)
# Make labels
for rect1, label in zip(p1, labels):
height = rect1.get_height()
plt.annotate(label,
(rect1.get_x() + rect1.get_width()/2, height+5),
ha=”center”,
va=”bottom”,
fontname=’Segoe UI Emoji’,
fontsize=20) plt.savefig(‘emoji_eps.png’) plt.show()
The slicing for list “emojis” can be confusing. As demonstrate below, we need to use “ emojis[i][0]” to get the episode week index, use “emojis[i][1][0][1]” to get the frequency count and “emojis[i][1][0][0]” for the Emoji,
The bar chart looks like this:
By adjusting the parameters in most_common, we could also look at the top 3 most frequently used words by week: | https://towardsdatascience.com/text-analysis-in-foreign-languages-b952d7de3f41 | ['Zijing Zhu'] | 2020-12-01 18:03:32.715000+00:00 | ['Emoji', 'Text Analysis', 'NLP', 'Data Science', 'Data Visualization'] |
Podcast Episode #2: Perspectives of Shannon Ellis, Academic Data Scientist | Shannon Ellis is an Assistant Teaching Professor in the Cognitive Science Department, and has taught COGS 9 Introduction to Data Science, COGS 18 Introduction to Python, and COGS 108 Data Science in Practice. In this podcast episode, Shannon reflects on her experiences in academia, her projects, and how she transitioned from her biostats-focus at Johns Hopkins to her generalized teaching position at UCSD.
During Shannon’s undergraduate experience, “Data Science” wasn’t a word defined in her vocabulary — nor was the discipline offered at her undergraduate institution. Inspired by her high school biology teacher, Shannon sought out to study genetics at King’s College in Pennsylvania, where she got her first taste in research. From inputting data she spent years collecting into a software program, she became fascinated with the software and how it gave her immediate answers. This fascination carried Shannon into her graduate programs, where she learned to program and experiment with data analysis. By the end of her PhD, she was performing computational analysis on large datasets, and was exposed to Data Science in the genetics domain.
Deciding she wanted to go down a route of analyzing data and not dedicating the entirety of her career to “answering one question,” Shannon went on to pursue a Postdoc doing research at the Leek Group, a Data Science lab in the biostatistics department at Johns Hopkins. Shannon talks fondly of the Leek group, and recalls her mentor, Jeff Leek, fostering a more entrepreneurial environment in academia and differentiating himself from other mentors by trying out “bonker ideas”.
When asked how she got into the field of biostatistics, Shannon jokingly says she “back-doored [her] way” in, not having any prior experience or degree in the subject. At the end of her Postdoc, she was faced with the dilemma of continuing a career in research or teaching. “Those who can’t do, teach”, was a saying that stuck in her head, and almost convinced her that teaching was simply a fallback career. However, after much deliberation, she concluded that she wanted to teach and continue to experiment in different domains instead of pursuing a proper line of research.
At Johns Hopkins, she taught undergraduates on public health biostatistics, where her students experimented with public health datasets using the R programming language. Afterward, she applied to universities and education-focused positions at government programs and startups. Her transition to UCSD came after she encountered a job posting from the university’s Cognitive Science Department, and after following the much needed encouragement from her advisor, she decided to apply. She has now been teaching at UCSD for a year, and continues to teach a little bit of computational genetics as part of the Data Science Capstone.
Shannon worked on two projects during her Postdoc, the first of which is Cloud Based Data Science (CBDS). As the Curriculum Lead for CBDS, Shannon develops the content for the courses. Through offering a set of online courses that can be taken for free, CBDS aims to democratize Data Science education. The program sets starting points for people with limited math or comprehension skills, and was built to go in concert with CBDS +, an in-person tutoring program. CBDS was developed during a time when Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) were revolutionizing education, and CBDS had hundreds of thousands of applicants. But when looking at their applicants’ backgrounds, they discovered that they were all educated with a masters degree.
“We don’t want hundreds of clones of the same person,” Shannon says. She further emphasizes that she wants CBDS to help educate people from different works of life. CBDS targets those who are economically under-privileged, particularly those “who can’t take time out of their life to just study.” The program aims to improve their students’ financial conditions by helping their cohorts obtain entry-level jobs, and teaches them the basics of data analysis and data wrangling.
Her second project, Recount, is more biostatistics focused. “Biologists have gotten really good at publishing data”, but unfortunately, it’s not easy to get or use. In response, the team took all publicly available RNA-Seq data (measures gene expression levels), and processed 70,000 human samples in a single pipeline to make it easier and more accessible for biologists to work with. Shannon worked on phenotype prediction in this project, using a self-coined term called “in-silico phenotyping”, which utilizes Machine Learning to predict the kind of tissue, sex, age, and a variety of factors pertaining to the individual without going back to them for validation.
If interested, check out Shannon’s personal website to learn more about her, or the Leek Group to learn more about their projects! | https://medium.com/ds3ucsd/perspectives-of-shannon-ellis-an-academic-data-scientist-99cafe573f86 | ['Kashika Rathore'] | 2020-07-31 05:25:42.105000+00:00 | ['Machine Learning', 'Public Health', 'Data Science', 'Biostatistics'] |
LEXICAL | Lexical analyzer reads the source program character by character and returns the tokens of the source program. It puts information about identifiers into the symbol table.
The Role of Analyzer:
It is the first phase of a compiler
It reads the input character and produces output sequence of tokens that the Parser uses for syntax analysis.
It can either work as a separate module or as a submodule.
Lexical Analyzer is also responsible for eliminating comments and white spaces from the source program.
It also generates lexical errors.
Lexical Analyzer is also responsible for eliminating comments and white spaces from the source program.
It also generates lexical errors.
Tokens, Lexemes and Patterns
A token describes a pattern of characters having same meaning in the source program such as identifiers, operators, keywords, numbers, delimiters and so on. A token may have a single attribute which holds the required information for that token. For identifiers, this attribute is a pointer to the symbol table and the symbol table holds the actual attributes for that token.
Token type and its attribute uniquely identifies a lexeme.
Regular expressions are widely used to specify pattern.
Tokens, Patterns and Lexemes
Lexeme: A lexeme is a sequence of alphanumeric characters that is matched against the pattern for a token.
Pattern: The rule associated with each set of string is called pattern. Lexeme is matched against pattern to generate token.
Token: Token is word, which describes the lexeme in source pgm. Its is generated when lexeme is matched against pattern. Example: Lexeme: A1, Sum, Total
Pattern: Starting with a letter and followed by letter or digit but not a keyword.
Starting with a letter and followed by letter or digit but not a keyword. Token: ID
Lexeme: If | Then | Else
Pattern: If | Then | Else
If | Then | Else Token: IF | THEN | ELSE
Lexeme: 123.45
Pattern: Starting with digit followed by a digit or optional fraction and or optional exponent
Starting with digit followed by a digit or optional fraction and or optional exponent Token: NUM
Counting Number of tokens :
A token is usually described by an integer representing the kind of token, possibly together with an attribute, representing the value of the token. For example, in most programming languages we have the following kinds of tokens.
Identifiers (x, y, average, etc.)
Reserved or keywords (if, else, while, etc.)
Integer constants (42, 0xFF, 0177 etc.)
Floating point constants (5.6, 3.6e8, etc.)
String constants (“hello there
”, etc.)
Character constants (‘a’, ‘b’, etc.)
Special symbols (( ) : := + — etc.)
Comments (To be ignored.)
Compiler directives (Directives to include files, define macros, etc.)
Line information (We might need to detect newline characters as tokens, if they are syntactically important. We must also increment the line count, so that we can indicate the line number for error messages.)
White space (Blanks and tabs that are used to separate tokens, but otherwise are not important).
End of file
Each reserved word or special symbol is considered to be a different kind of token, as far as the parser is concerned. They are distinguished by a different integer to represent their kind.
Example : | https://medium.com/@viswanadh-b/lexical-7270f91493 | [] | 2020-12-11 03:59:13.371000+00:00 | ['Analytics', 'System', 'Programming Languages', 'Programming', 'Coding'] |
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