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{Capitulo 2} My Bromance 2: 5 Years Later (2020) Subtítulos en Español | Episode 2
Episode 2 | Five years have passed since Golf “passed away”. Bank has never forgotten the love and sacrifice from his step-brother. On the day of his graduation from a university in Chiang Mai, Bank found out that Golf is actually still alive. The two brothers will finally meet again with many unanswered questions during those five years, in a time where society has changed. And their new and old friends are ready to help them grow their love tree again.
Watch On ►► http://dadangkoprol.dplaytv.net/tv/114381-1-2/3614-3637-3656-3594-3634-3618-my-bromance-2-5-years-later.html
Show Info
Web channel: LINE TV (2020 — now)
Schedule: Wednesdays (60 min)
Status: In Development; premiering December 2020
Language: Thai
Show Type: Scripted
Genres: Drama Romance
TELEVISION 👾
(TV), in some cases abbreviated to tele or television, is a media transmission medium utilized for sending moving pictures in monochrome (high contrast), or in shading, and in a few measurements and sound. The term can allude to a TV, a TV program, or the vehicle of TV transmission. TV is a mass mode for promoting, amusement, news, and sports.
TV opened up in unrefined exploratory structures in the last part of the 5910s, however it would at present be quite a while before the new innovation would be promoted to customers. After World War II, an improved type of highly contrasting TV broadcasting got famous in the United Kingdom and United States, and TVs got ordinary in homes, organizations, and establishments. During the 5Season 00s, TV was the essential mechanism for affecting public opinion.[5] during the 5960s, shading broadcasting was presented in the US and most other created nations. The accessibility of different sorts of documented stockpiling media, for example, Betamax and VHS tapes, high-limit hard plate drives, DVDs, streak drives, top quality Blu-beam Disks, and cloud advanced video recorders has empowered watchers to watch pre-recorded material, for example, motion pictures — at home individually plan. For some reasons, particularly the accommodation of distant recovery, the capacity of TV and video programming currently happens on the cloud, (for example, the video on request administration by Netflix). Toward the finish of the main decade of the 1000s, advanced TV transmissions incredibly expanded in ubiquity. Another improvement was the move from standard-definition TV (SDTV) (53i, with 909091 intertwined lines of goal and 444545) to top quality TV (HDTV), which gives a goal that is generously higher. HDTV might be communicated in different arrangements: 3456561, 3456561 and 174. Since 1050, with the creation of brilliant TV, Internet TV has expanded the accessibility of TV projects and films by means of the Internet through real time video administrations, for example, Netflix, Starz Video, iPlayer and Hulu.
In 1053, 19% of the world’s family units possessed a TV set.[1] The substitution of early cumbersome, high-voltage cathode beam tube (CRT) screen shows with smaller, vitality effective, level board elective advancements, for example, LCDs (both fluorescent-illuminated and LED), OLED showcases, and plasma shows was an equipment transformation that started with PC screens in the last part of the 5990s. Most TV sets sold during the 1000s were level board, primarily LEDs. Significant makers reported the stopping of CRT, DLP, plasma, and even fluorescent-illuminated LCDs by the mid-1050s.[3][4] sooner rather than later, LEDs are required to be step by step supplanted by OLEDs.[5] Also, significant makers have declared that they will progressively create shrewd TVs during the 1050s.[6][1][5] Smart TVs with incorporated Internet and Web 1.0 capacities turned into the prevailing type of TV by the late 1050s.[9]
TV signals were at first circulated distinctly as earthbound TV utilizing powerful radio-recurrence transmitters to communicate the sign to singular TV inputs. Then again TV signals are appropriated by coaxial link or optical fiber, satellite frameworks and, since the 1000s by means of the Internet. Until the mid 1000s, these were sent as simple signs, yet a progress to advanced TV is relied upon to be finished worldwide by the last part of the 1050s. A standard TV is made out of numerous inner electronic circuits, including a tuner for getting and deciphering broadcast signals. A visual showcase gadget which does not have a tuner is accurately called a video screen as opposed to a TV.
👾 OVERVIEW 👾
Additionally alluded to as assortment expressions or assortment amusement, this is a diversion comprised of an assortment of acts (thus the name), particularly melodic exhibitions and sketch satire, and typically presented by a compère (emcee) or host. Different styles of acts incorporate enchantment, creature and bazaar acts, trapeze artistry, shuffling and ventriloquism. Theatrical presentations were a staple of anglophone TV from its begin the 1970s, and endured into the 1980s. In a few components of the world, assortment TV stays famous and broad.
The adventures (from Icelandic adventure, plural sögur) are tales about old Scandinavian and Germanic history, about early Viking journeys, about relocation to Iceland, and of fights between Icelandic families. They were written in the Old Norse language, for the most part in Iceland. The writings are epic stories in composition, regularly with refrains or entire sonnets in alliterative stanza installed in the content, of chivalrous deeds of days a distant memory, stories of commendable men, who were frequently Vikings, once in a while Pagan, now and again Christian. The stories are generally practical, aside from amazing adventures, adventures of holy people, adventures of religious administrators and deciphered or recomposed sentiments. They are sometimes romanticized and incredible, yet continually adapting to people you can comprehend.
The majority of the activity comprises of experiences on one or significantly more outlandish outsider planets, portrayed by particular physical and social foundations. Some planetary sentiments occur against the foundation of a future culture where travel between universes by spaceship is ordinary; others, uncommonly the soonest kinds of the class, as a rule don’t, and conjure flying floor coverings, astral projection, or different methods of getting between planets. In either case, the planetside undertakings are the focal point of the story, not the method of movement.
Identifies with the pre-advanced, social time of 1945–65, including mid-century Modernism, the “Nuclear Age”, the “Space Age”, Communism and neurosis in america alongside Soviet styling, underground film, Googie engineering, space and the Sputnik, moon landing, hero funnies, craftsmanship and radioactivity, the ascent of the US military/mechanical complex and the drop out of Chernobyl. Socialist simple atompunk can be an extreme lost world. The Fallout arrangement of PC games is a fabulous case of atompunk. | https://medium.com/capitulo-2-my-bromance-2-5-years-later-2020/my-bromance-2-5-years-later-line-tvs-2020-capitulo-2-subt%C3%ADtulos-en-espa%C3%B1ol-34a2bfe137a8 | ['Elsie J. Pearson'] | 2020-12-16 10:36:13.260000+00:00 | ['Romance', 'Drama', 'Gay'] |
How to Set Up Your Own PaaS Within Hours | How to Set Up Your Own PaaS Within Hours
Five simple steps to quickly set up your very own private PaaS environment using available free open-source technologies
Photo by Fotis Fotopoulos on Unsplash
There are many useful and free open-source software on the Internet, we just need to know where to look.
The PaaS setup that I’m going to recommend works well for private/on-premise setup as well. There’s no coding involved, just some CLI configurations.
Having your own PaaS is useful if you’re running a team of engineers requiring flexibility, privacy, and data ownership. I mainly use it for rapid prototyping purposes and hosting my own suite of web applications with minimal traffic.
I would not recommend this setup for production purposes with high load unless you really know what you’re doing.
I’ll keep the article short and list down the high-level steps as the instructions on the websites are very easy to follow. I’ve done a couple of setups with minimal issues and they are usually done within a few hours.
Assuming you’re starting from scratch with the intent to deploy in the cloud, here are the five simple steps:
Setup a cloud account and rent a VM (e.g. AWS/EC2) Register a domain from a provider (e.g. AWS Route53) Set up the PaaS by following simple steps (CapRover) Create and deploy open-source applications out of the box (Wordpress, Jenkins, GitLab, and many more) Configure backups just in case
Please note that I’m not paid in any way by any of the companies listed in this article. I’m recommending them soley based on positive experiences.
#1: Setup a cloud account and rent a VM
You’ll need a virtual machine to host the applications. There are a variety of cloud providers that you can choose from. Here are some of the popular ones with 1-year free-tier option(s)/credits:
You can click on any of the above links to set up a new free account.
After creating the account, provision a virtual machine—recommended server setup to be Ubuntu 18.04 with at least 1GB RAM.
#2: Register a domain name
Applications will be deployed under a sub-domain, e.g. appone.apps.domain.com, apptwo.apps.domain.com, etc. so it’s essential to have your own domain.
Here are some websites which I’ve used for my domains:
If you’re using a cloud provider, e.g. AWS/Azure, it may be more convenient to register your domain with them to have everything managed centrally.
#3: Set up the PaaS
This section forms the main bulk of the setup. Although there are a number of available open-source PaaS available, e.g. Dokku, CapRover, Flynn, etc. I’ll be using CapRover as an example.
I’ll further break down this portion into four steps:
The steps above should get your PaaS up and running.
#4: Create and deploy applications
Here comes the fun part. After logging into the CapRover dashboard, navigate to the Apps screen via “Apps” at the left sidebar.
Click on the “One-Click Apps/Databases” button. | https://medium.com/the-internal-startup/how-to-set-up-your-own-paas-within-hours-83356523413d | ['Jimmy Soh'] | 2020-06-24 00:58:38.258000+00:00 | ['Programming', 'Technology', 'Software Development', 'Startup', 'Software Engineering'] |
Venture Debt — An attractive alternative for startups? | Raising capital for your business is an essential task for startups and is not only time-consuming but often nerve-wracking as well. A clear view of the available options is needed to make the right decision. One of the various options besides the frequently mentioned equity is debt — venture debt to be precise.
Photo by rupixen.com on Unsplash
What is Venture Debt?
Venture debt is a form of debt that is given to startups to fund their businesses. It works like a traditional debt which means to simply repay the borrowed money plus the interest payments. While this sounds like a normal business loan that a company could obtain, there is an important difference. Venture debt is less dependent on factors like accounts receivable, inventory held, and cash levels. The focus of venture debt is on the relationship between founders and the company’s VC backer. The ability to secure additional funding rounds is an important part to manage the high-risk profile of such debt structures, the chances of receiving venture debt are higher for startups that are backed by a VC investor.
There is a clear difference between convertible debt and venture debt. While both appear to be the same, the biggest difference stems from the convertibility to equity. If a founder agrees to a convertible loan, the lender will convert the debt to equity at a specific point in time (usually the next funding round). This results in a dilution of the cap table.
Photo by Jan-Philipp Thiele on Unsplash
Who should use Venture Debt?
Venture debt is an attractive option for startups that are backed by a VC. The best time to raise venture debt is during while or shortly after a successful equity round, since the creditworthiness is higher, and the startup will have better bargaining power. In addition, the startup should already create revenues as there will be the obligation to pay interest on the borrowed money. The use of the venture debt is very similar to equity funding (e.g. sales teams, R&D or marketing). If the debt is used to make investments in factories or machines, the venture debt will most likely be secured by these assets.
Why should startups consider Venture Debt?
One of the main reasons to consider venture debt is that the startup is not giving away equity. After the debt is paid back, the relationship with the venture debt lender ends. The other advantage is that it is an infusion of cash to overcome unforeseen short-term market downturns or challenges during the fundraising process. Raising additional equity to extend the runway or to bridge such market downturns leaves the startup in a weaker position to negotiate with a VC. Venture debt gives founders the chance to balance the sources of funds between debt and equity. A mix between equity and debt can be healthy and will actually increase the ROE for the shareholders as there is no dilution from venture debt. It highly depends on the industry and founders to determine what debt to equity ratio is appropriate. While venture debt has clear advantages, it is important for the startup to be able to repay the debt. The business model of the startup should be stable and proven, otherwise, venture debt can become a dangerous burden for the startup. Further, entering long-term relationships in the form of an equity investment can also have positive effects as investors can support your business growth and the incentives are more aligned compared to a venture debt deal.
Venture debt is becoming more popular since the COVID-19 pandemic has forced startups to cut costs and extend their runways. Founders want to avoid additional dilution and hard fundraising negotiations given the economic climate (depending on the industry). Current low-interest rates are additional factors that increase the attractiveness of venture debt. | https://medium.com/bv4-startup-experts/venture-debt-an-attractive-alternative-for-startups-a9828f9072a5 | ['Christian Bueckle'] | 2020-11-26 11:27:14.410000+00:00 | ['Venture Capital', 'Fundraising', 'Startup Life', 'Venture Debt', 'Startup Lessons'] |
10 Tips for Creating a Profitable App | Mobile App development becomes a bit more for most people because it involves a lot of decisions and options. If this is your first time, we’re sure you can understand the questions you ask yourself. As technology develops so fast, applications need to be developed to adapt to the latest technological trends.
Key points to consider when developing a mobile app:
Reinforce the application idea Define your elevator pitch Identify the target audience Consider the application platform App Store Optimization Monetization options Application security measures
Read More:
10 Tips for creating a profitable app:
1. Do it separately
More than 2.2 million apps are available for download on the Apple App Store. The Google Play Store offers an additional 600,000 apps.
Starting with a unique idea is essential for your application to be successful. Even if your idea does not already exist in some form in the application form, there are ways to make the overused idea unique.
The more specialized you can get, the better. This will make it easier to market your app. This makes it easier for potential buyers to convince themselves that they need it, even if they already have a similar app on their phone or tablet.
2. Keep it simple
If you need specialization to create a profitable app, you still need to rule in your creativity.
Creating an app that has a very complicated or over-decorated interface to use and therefore congestion can damage your chances of success.
Users will fail to understand what the app does and will not bother to buy or download it. Those who download may lose interest quickly. They remove it from their phone and warn others about their bad experience.
3. Make it user friendly
It does not matter how unique your app is or how great it can be if your users do not recognize how it works.
Whatever the goal, they are not looking to download an app that works more. Make sure they can quickly and easily find everything your app needs to work.
4. Do not slow down development
Once you have an idea for an app, it’s time to create it.
There are tons of resources online that can help you create your own app. Keep in mind that without professional app development experience, the result is not a sophisticated, professional app.
If you want to make sure your idea turns into the profitable app you dream of, it’s a good idea to leave the development to professionals.
5. Create an emotional connection
The best apps and other digital products create an emotional connection with their customers.
Consider the apps on your own phone that you use the most. If you like most other smartphone owners, at least one of your top ten lists will be a social media app.
Creating an app that allows users to connect with people they like or that they are passionate about is a great way to create a profitable app.
Recommended:
6. Fix a common problem
Not all apps create an emotional connection. Fortunately, there are other ways to create a profitable app.
Rather than creating a connection, try to solve a simple problem.
If your app provides customers with the solution they need, you will get downloads, shares and profit.
7. Choose the correct name
When your app finally enters the major markets, its name will be one of the only opportunities that will attract you downloads.
Choosing the right one will make your application successful. Make sure it is not a synonym for another application. Try to choose one that gives some hint about the performance of the applications.
Finally, choose the one that is easiest to pronounce and spell. The best apps are simple and attractive so that your customers can easily tell their friends about them.
8. But don’t leave everything to the experts
Hiring a professional app developer will help you land an awesome looking, functional app that will not let you down at all.
This helps to ensure that the final product is right in your mind and that it is the app that your clients like.
9. Run some tests
Once your app is built, run some tests before it becomes public.
Most newer applications have bugs that need to work. Or they have functions that do not run as supplied.
Work with your developer to make sure your app works best before you start selling and marketing.
10. Make adjustments as needed
Lastly, once you launch your profitable app, to keep it profitable, add updates to the life of your app.
Launching an app and leaving it alone will not maximize profits. If your application starts to become obsolete or does not change over time, users will stop using it and downloads will stop.
Recommended List Of Apps:
Conclusion:
Now that you know some tips for creating a profitable app, it’s time to start your own.
If you are ready and want to approach the best Mobile development company who can help bring your ideas to life. Go ahead!! | https://medium.com/@vidyasagarc-us/10-tips-for-creating-a-profitable-app-6f4f646f3397 | ['Vidyasagarc Us'] | 2020-12-24 07:41:04.863000+00:00 | ['Tips To Create Apps', 'Mobile App Company', 'App Development', 'Profitable Apps', 'Mobile Applications'] |
5 THINGS ALL NEW HOME OWNERS SHOULD DO BEFORE MOVING IN | Imagine, you just got the keys to your first home. You are all excited and you are telling your friends and family how happy you are. Front door pictures are taken with your favorite agent and the question finally comes up.
What do we do first before we move into your first home?
After helping a ton of happy new home owners get through a successful home buying experience and taking many calls asking “Hey Art, What is the first thing we should do before we start moving into our new home”.
I have come up with the top 5 things every new home owner should do before moving in.
Change the Locks.
With lots of people viewing the property before you fell in love with your new home. You really don’t know who else has a copy of the keys. You can change the deadbolts to most door for about $10 per door as your first DIY project.
You can also hire a professional locksmith to come to your house for a $20 to $30 labor fee per door. You can ask me through message or a call if you need a recommendation to a great locksmith.
2. Clean all cabinets.
Its a no brainer! Before you start bringing in all the cleaning products its important to wipe down all cabinets and replace the contact paper if necessary.
This needs to be done before our next step so all the left overs from the last owners goes away.
3. Steam Clean Carpets
Before you move your furniture in you should steam clean your carpets. Not only is your new home going to be very clean but its always good to start your home ownership fresh! I recommend hiring a professional carpet cleaning service that goes for $50 per room some have a minimum of $100.
You can also rent a steam cleaner and do it yourself to save a couple dollars. Alternatively you can ask frineds and family to see who can let you borrow one.
4. Check for plumbing leaks.
Your home inspector should have check this for you before closing. Its still a good idea to check all dripping faucets, running toilets, and your water heater. Most faucets and Running toilets can be fixed by you for around $20.
Here is a trick: Look at your water meter and write down the reading then hold off using any water for a period of 2 hours then check again after. If the two readings are different you have a leak.
5. Acquaint yourself with the Circuit Breaker Box and Main Water Valve.
Your first experience with the electrical system of your home will be changing a light bulb. As simple as it sounds you need to use caution and shut off the breaker to whatever room you are in. Where do you find the breaker? Well you will be ready if you find the circuit breaker box and know what breaker is for what rooms.
It is important to know where your main water valve is located in case of a plumbing emergency. If an earthquake hits or a tornado or hurricane or maybe you are laving for a vacation. Your valve should be located outside and sometimes inside the house. Test it by turning the valve all the way off and turning on a faucet. nothing should come out.
Remember if you are looking to buy a new home or you want to refinance give us a call at 213 431 2882 or send us a message on Facebook visit https://www.facebook.com/ArtGarciaHomeLoans/ .
Thank for reading! | https://medium.com/@artgarciajr/5-things-all-new-home-owners-should-do-before-moving-in-75647fdfce83 | ['Art Garcia Home Loan Specialist'] | 2019-03-21 03:50:39.674000+00:00 | ['First Home', 'Mortgage Loan', 'First Time Home Buyers', 'Real Estate', 'Home Improvement'] |
Here’s How I Set Simple Habits That Change My Life and Work | Before I write this piece on habits, I just really need to preface:
I am hesitant to write this piece because I worry about it being just another piece of ‘productivity porn.’
You know what I mean — the articles and pieces that prey on our sense of not accomplishing enough. The ones that we stop to read when we’re procrastinating instead of getting that thing we’re putting off done.* The ones that prey on our sense that we are not enough — and if we could only use that tactic or use that planner, it would all be figured out.
And by the way, if this is why you’re here, check out my strategy to start something you’ve been putting off.
But in the last two years I’ve started (and actually kept) quite a few habits:
Working out three days a week during the workweek
Making healthy lunches weekly on workdays
Having a monthly ‘virtual coffee date’ with a business owner I admire
Writing a monthly Medium post
Reading 100 books in a year
And this piece is actually being created as part of a new habit of mine — writing 750 words every day.
Now I’d like to say that I’m not someone who’s particularly organized. I wasn’t the girl who got my papers in days ahead of time (late nights in the library the night before was more like it).
I was that kid in soccer who got distracted. I was off picking flowers in the field instead of defending the goal.
But I’ve come to see that habits work kind of like learning languages — the more you establish one, the easier it is to learn the next.
So I want to share the one habit that I think kicked it off for me.
A few years ago I was struggling with boundaries between work and life.
And making time to exercise was one of the things impacted most. I’d think about going to the gym in the morning, but I might skip it, and then by the end of the day, I was either working late or just too tired to go.
So I decided I wanted to try committing to work out three times during the workweek.
It had to be during the workweek because it was about prioritizing my health over the work.
My partner and I ran into a kindergarten teacher, and we started talking about sticker charts — you know those charts you get in school that track every good thing you do like sharing or tidying up with a little sticker?
Joking (not really) about how I missed that validation, that simple affirmation, I hatched a plan. I asked my partner to make me a sticker chart for working out. I’d get a sticker for every time I worked out during the week and a bonus sticker for every time I hit my goal of three workouts per week.
My Lean Mean Habit Machine
I enjoyed shopping for supplies and making the chart. I found these awesome Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles stickers that really brought me back to the days when sticker charts were in my life.
And since the day I started that sticker chart, I’ve pretty much stuck with that habit. (There was one week when I was on vacation that I forgot my workout.)
I just passed my sticker-aversary, actually.
Which is really my health-aversary.
Here’s why my sticker chart worked:
It was simple. I knew what I had to do. I could ‘set it and forget it.’ Three workouts per week, Monday-Friday. That was it. The task was simple. On tough weeks, one might be as short as 10 minutes, but it was still there. It showed progress. It was also simple to know that I had done it. I had to report back so I could get the sticker. It was simple to know if I’d succeeded or failed. It felt good to have my partner put the sticker on and to see those rows filling up one by one. And yeah, those Ninja Turtles stickers were pretty rad too. I was socially accountable. It was validating to have someone else notice that I was hitting my goals. In effect, I ‘hacked’ my inner people pleaser — the one that was causing me to work late hours, to over deliver and overcomplicate in my design projects — and rerouted her to ‘please’ the ‘teacher’ (Aka my partner, and really, my intention to prioritize my health over work).
Sticking to (hehe, like that pun?) this habit was a game changer for me.
In order to make sure I’d get my workouts in, I had to start looking ahead at my week — planning which mornings I could get my exercise in — before letting my days get filled up with other people’s priorities.
And that experience of realizing I could prioritize my commitments proactively proved to me that I could do it. In the months that followed my Ninja Turtles affair, I slowly took on more habits — proactive habits that improved my business like making a pitch a week, saying no weekly, and reaching out to new leads on LinkedIn weekly. And when I recently made a commitment to eating healthier, it was easy to integrate that in too.
And it’s become an essential part of my coaching work. In the second half of my Next Level program, women develop ‘set it and forget it’ habits that will drive their careers and businesses forward. Then they come to our group coaching session to report back and be held accountable.
You set the habit ahead of time so that you don’t spend your mental energy trying to figure out what to do, and so it’s clear what success looks like. But that doesn’t mean it’s always easy.
One woman who took my program, whose habit was to ask for one referral for her business per week told me, “I want to help. I don’t want to ask for help. Ten other women on the phone didn’t want to do that any more than I wanted to do mine.
But ok, if this is what you say you want, then you have to get out there. You have to ask for what you want. And I saw in your program that it wasn’t just me.”
We get all kinds of messages that we’re not enough. That we’ve tried things and failed.
We also think of career and business growth as something unstructured — like a mood board manifestation kind of thing.
And it is, but it also is just a process of doing ambitious things — things that scare us — and then repeating them.
The key is to clearly define what the task is and then to set it and forget it.
And the more you do it, the easier it is to do it again. | https://medium.com/@MiaScharphie/heres-how-i-set-simple-habits-that-change-my-life-and-work-9dc9011ffdee | ['Mia Scharphie'] | 2020-01-17 21:59:21.215000+00:00 | ['Habit Building', 'Habits', 'Goals', 'Productivity', 'Healthy Habits'] |
Introducing Plotly for Interactive Visualizations | My journey with visualizations began as soon as I entered the field of Data Science. Charts and graphs play an integral role when you want to analyze and interpret the data. Visualization plays a key role to understand a complex dataset through a form of an image that is easier to understand by the brain. Visuals tell a story of the data and convey a comprehensive meaning.
The product at my internship I had been working on recently, required me to visualize this huge chunk of data. It had around a million points. It came to me as a mammoth task as a beginner in the field.
My senior particularly said that he wanted interactive visualizations for the dataset which could be directly delivered to the client. It put me in this puzzling situation as I always used Matplotlib and Seaborn for the data analysis and it sure was anything but interactive.
After spending a lot of time researching various tools for data visualization, I came across the best, Plotly.
(Disclaimer: It was the best for my task. But I assure you it works well with all kinds of tasks.) | https://medium.com/analytics-vidhya/introducing-plotly-for-interactive-visualizations-9d08792fc90c | ['Rochisha Agarwal'] | 2020-09-21 16:06:45.410000+00:00 | ['Data Science', 'Plotly', 'Visualization', 'Python', 'Data Analysis'] |
3 Signals: What’s Next on the Token Clarity Product Roadmap | The growth in initial coin offerings (ICOs) has been staggering. With this much activity comes a daunting amount of information that ICO investors need to parse through, distill down and comprehend.
There are no shortcuts or cheatsheets and few industry pundits you can rely on to steer you in the right direction.
The ICO investing market also reminds me very much of the technical aspect of handicapping thoroughbred horses. As someone who follows horse racing closely, I love the math and probability of the sport, but also recognize the inherent volatility.
As a handicapper, you’re looking for any piece of data to give you the edge: you’re reading past performances (the founder’s history), analyzing the trainers’ success (the advisors), surveying the track’s conditions (the ICO’s marketplace), and even comparing to the other horses on the field (competition) in order to gain a competitive advantage. The one thing with ICOs that is not like horse handicapping? Horse racing already has a rich system in place to obtain all of this data, including scoring on race speeds (Beyer number).
Researching an ICO in this market right now can be akin to walking into a racetrack, buying a program and playing the horses based on their names and colors.
High quality and consistent data on ICO tokens is hard to find. It takes a voracious reader of white papers, blogs, Reddit and Telegram to wade through this quagmire and discover that information signal that will give you an edge.
But there’s good news if you’re an ICO handicapper.
The Signals are in The Data
At Token Report, we’re solving this research problem with a product, Token Clarity (TC), and a research platform, Token Tracker.
We’re here to damper the noise. We’re doing the hard work of data collection and doing the analysis on that data for you. Massive amounts of data. We break it all down to simple “alerts” that you can receive through signals we can detect. These “signals” are indicators about an ICO which are going to help you decide on where to invest — or more importantly, where not.
Our 2018 Roadmap
Token Report is also an ICO project, so like other ICO projects we’re going to be open and transparent about the progress of our product. I’ll be posting regular updates to the Token Report roadmap to our site to inform the ICO community.
These updates will provide insight into our development process and what we’re doing behind the scenes.
This roadmap will show our progress as we roll out new features and functionality. The goal of the roadmap is to show progress as we hit our milestones and also to show where we are headed. We believe this helps us build trust and confidence with our customers and investors. It’s also going to allow us to get valuable feedback into the product from you, the investor and customer.
Where Are We Now?
Currently Token Clarity (TC) puts information about every new ICO at your fingertips. No more time spent hunting for the white paper or scrolling through ICO listings.
Token Report ICO Listing in Token Clarity (TC)
With TC, you can list out and search ICOs we have in our database, “Follow” them for alerts on changes to team, terms and token, download their White Paper, see information about their open and close dates, and other vitals. A wealth of valuable information is already being served today.
We are expanding these signals to more complex patterns and information which will drill deep into the data to help you make better informed decisions.
We’re super excited about this because as we collect the huge amounts of data, we’ll be able to offer unique signals that you’ll want to know about an ICO in a timely manner, right to your phone.
J an. 15: Liquidity Momentum Signal
A huge part of a token’s value is in its liquidity — the holder’s ability to exchange it for other currencies, including fiat. There are well over 100 cryptocurrency exchanges supporting this value, but with 224 ICOs closed to date in Q4 alone, most are consigned to lower-tier exchanges with limited liquidity.
We’re tracking the post-ICO coins that are gaining momentum on those lower-tier exchanges. Users are getting alerts for signals such as:
New listings
Delistings
Volume momentum on low-tier exchanges
Now that’s pretty cool. We’re building our list of exchange integrations, starting at the bottom. Are there small exchanges that you scour for new coins? Join our Telegram group to tell us what they are. We’ll do the legwork for you.
Jan. 31: Sale Momentum Signal
When an ERC20-compliant token opens its crowdsale or presale, we’ll be able to predict in real-time whether it is going to sell out. Imagine getting an alert about an ICO you’d read about, but hadn’t prioritized, and being among the first to know that this project is on track to reach its hard cap before the sale’s scheduled close.
Or, perhaps you’re looking for a threshold: Only show me ICOs that are on track to raise at least 5,000 ETH. I’m not interested in anything smaller.
We are looking forward to hearing your feedback on what thresholds and momentum signals are meaningful during active sales, as we hone this offering and ready it for release. Join our Telegram group and tell us.
Feb. 15: Forum Signal
Because ICOs operate in a transparent way, public chat forums are used to discuss all facets of the ICO to the general public. Most ICOs host at least one semi-public forum, themselves, in addition to those hosted on Reddit, Steemit and Bitcointalk. These proprietary forums contain a wealth of information that we believe as an ICO investor is vital to understanding the temperature of an ICO. They’re also a noisy place crowded with fake users (bots), uninformed questions and trolls.
Spending time in one forum can be frustrating and unprofitable, but necessary. Most crypto investors are monitoring several. We have developed the ability to track every post and every user in every single one.
This means as people are actively talking about ICOs in public and proprietary forums, we’ll be listening, capturing, processing and analyzing that activity, and putting it in one place, at the fingertips of sophisticated investors.
Token Report (/EDGE) forum alert
Our first user interface with this data will be an alert that signals when a project is picking up momentum, adding active users for its Telegram group. Imagine knowing that an ICO is gaining momentum for its crowdsale, well before the first ETH in. Imagine getting an alert when that momentum falls off abruptly, signaling sock-puppeting or other means of manipulation.
Again, we’re posing the question to you in our Telegram group: How would you use this data? What signals are meaningful? If you could search it, what would you look for? And, what are the ethical boundaries of scraping text from what some would consider semi-public forums?
Conclusion
The information we’re consuming and processing helps investors better understand the ICO marketplace as a whole. Amid the noise, you’re spotting the projects that stand out. The “signals” in Token Clarity help you handicap the ICO investment space better.
Starting with this post, I’ll be providing weekly updates on our progress on this blog and in our Telegram group. And, I’ll be looking forward to reading your comments and feedback to help guide us to developing a better signal for you. Find me on Telegram, I’m in our forum on Telegram, where my handle is @BostonAccent. | https://medium.com/tokenreport/3-signals-whats-next-on-the-token-clarity-product-roadmap-3fa510a8c7e6 | ['Gary Macdougall'] | 2017-12-21 18:24:14.008000+00:00 | ['Blockchain', 'Investing', 'ICO', 'Ethereum', 'Smart Contracts'] |
The Week To Be In Crypto [03/04/2019] | Check out my daily writing series exclusively on Cent: https://beta.cent.co/+sutrr3
Market Overview
Maybe its the extended bear market but it seems like some of the snippiness and salt is back int he community. I am largely gleaning this from cryptotwitter which may also have just gotten so distilled as people leave the space and stop interacting as much that people, like fish in a pond that is evaporating, are running into each other more. Two folks I follow pretty closely —Anthony Pompliano and Chris Burniske got into a tiff about legitimacy of twitter followers and traded some jabs on investment thesis. There are also countless examples of “chartists” getting into it about whether or not the bottom is in or if there is another leg down.
The funny thing about these types of fights — no one knows if Pomp or Burniske has the better investment strategy — and we wont know for another 10 years. No one know if the bottom is in or if we will go into the 2000s or lower. ALL of these people do agree though that bitcoin will eventually go up A LOT and that there is massive investment potential across the space.
What can the individual take from this? It isn’t helpful at all to take any sides or spend time caring about who is going to be proven “right” or “wrong” in these debates. Perhaps there are some different perspectives that get shaken out but largely they reduce to name calling and (since its over twitter) mis-interpretation of what each other are saying. One of the main things I have learned through the bull and bear runs over the past 2.5 years I have been in the space is that the most important perspective is your own and the most important way to approach your own perspective is to have “strong opinions held loosely”. It doesn’t matter if the bottom is in or not if you believe the price will eventually reach new highs, the ratio of time and effort it would take to “call the bottom” compared to the monetary gain from it is negligible and twitter clout doesn't pay the bills last I checked.
What I’m Buying
Nothing really new on the radar this week so heres about where I am right now portfolio targeting-wise
Core: BTC (In for the long term, maybe some range trading if feeling crazy)
Secondary: ETH, MKR, REN (some active in and out)
Moonshots: XOV, NIO (wait for 10x, sell on the way up to hopefully 50x+)
The key with moonshots is getting in at a low price. As stated before, anything with a sub 500k marketcap that has a committed team and enough money to stay afloat for another two years is worth looking at.
Recommended Media
Read
Listen
With an appearance from yours truly:
From the Slack
A collection of content from The Bitcoin Podcast slack group the past week
Follow Me
twitter: https://twitter.com/Tompkins_Jon
linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thejonathantompkins
telegram: https://t.me/joinchat/FqrpRUo8CKHV8gGKRuNNNQ(we have a few people now, join in!) | https://medium.com/the-bitcoin-podcast-blog/the-week-to-be-in-crypto-03-04-2019-a7aa12eef366 | ['Jonathan Tompkins'] | 2019-03-04 18:30:11.936000+00:00 | ['Cryptocurrency', 'Ethereum', 'Blockchain', 'Bitcoin'] |
Top 7 Best Gifts To Motivate Teens In School | Pamper your lovable teen with exciting gift surprises.
Who doesn’t like gifts and surprises? Gifts are the best way to express your love, your affection for anyone. Especially the kids and the teens. However, there are different categories of gifts meant for a particular age group. For instance dolls and remote cars for kids, soft toys for kids and teens stationery, clothes, and the things that interest kids and teens. Let’s discuss in detail ft ideas for teens. Teens are the age group that falls between the age of 13 to 19 years.
Teens at the mentioned age are high on energy and have a zest for going for anything without giving a single thought whether their goal will be achieved or not so it’s very wise to gift them with stuff where their energies are channelized like roller skates, tennis kit, season cricket kit, skateboard, etc and along with that an energy drink pack which would not require your words to make them realize what you expect from them. The 13–19 age group is the perfect age range when you as a parent can give them the right direction to their hobbies. Giving them any musical instrument like guitar, violin, synthesizer, etc. Would emphasize them to look forward to the lifestyle of a rockstar. Today’s generation is gazette freak. Love for newly emerged gazettes like power banks, smartwatches, tabs, PlayStation, video games, Bluetooth coupled with speakers or headphones, all these ruins the sleep if these teens get desperate enough to grab them all and be called techy. Today’s generation is the fashionista bunch. They can come out with such a style which ends up setting a trend for generations to come. So what can be the best than stoles, caps, accessories as a gift to them so that they can style themselves in variety. Girls are more pamper fanatics. They love to be pampered with gifts more than boys. And as girls step their sweet 16 age they become conscious about their looks. So endure and surprise them with the branded cosmetic gift which they search for online shopping. Along with a cosmetic lover, girls are also dreamers for stylish bags and clothes. They love to showcase their wardrobe bunch to their peer groups by accentuating their outfits with matching bags. So surprise your favorites with their favorite desires. Your fashion statement remains incomplete without a watch gleaming at your wrist. These days brand and stylish wristwatches are available in the watch showroom. To make your gifting decision more easy watches are the favorites of both dudes and the girls. So no more wasting time in making gift decisions. This stuff can be your ultimate selection. Well, optionally you can also opt for perfume. Perfumes are also the heart win-o-win gift.
All these gifts mentioned above are something very common and can fit in all the price range. However, what’s in trend nowadays are the gift cards which you can give to your loved ones if you cannot decide on any gift. Nowadays teens want to buy them gifts according to their choice.
Find more blog about kids and baby at Love and Bub Portraits. | https://medium.com/@artistsloveandbub/top-7-best-gifts-to-motivate-teens-in-school-91479a724a0f | ['William Anderson'] | 2021-07-23 15:55:51.377000+00:00 | ['Pregnancy', 'Baby', 'Parent', 'Parenting', 'Gift Ideas'] |
Setting up a testable environment for Open Banking data transmission: connecting two dockerized Elixir projects and testing requests between them | Setting up a testable environment for Open Banking data transmission: connecting two dockerized Elixir projects and testing requests between them Demetrius Mânica Jul 28·7 min read
Here at Trio, we developers are very focused on having a well configured test environment and a productive development environment, so we can have a safe net and know when a new feature developed breaks anything else, and we can quickly pinpoint where the problem is and fix it ASAP.
Currently, we have a lot of separate projects that talk to each other via HTTP requests, but how can we test these requests during development and make sure the communication is working properly and the requests are doing what we really expect them to be doing?
So, suppose we have a dockerized project, named trio-umbrella that wants to access an endpoint from a separate dockerized project, named trio-hub-umbrella. How could we make requests between them, know the requests are completed successfully and write tests to make sure it is all working properly?
This article shows a step by step of how to do that as we did that in our projects.
I hope you like it. 🤘
Projects and environment configuration
Setting up our apps and environments
First, we need to set up our docker containers files.
We are using a similar Dockerfile for both our Elixir projects, as such:
Then, in our docker-compose.yml we set up a web service, which is our main app, and a tests service, which is our test environment, and a db service, for database purposes, which is not going to be addressed here.
So, for our trio-umbrella app, we have the following docker-compose.yml:
And for the trio-hub-umbrella app (note that the exposed ports are different from trio-umbrella's so they don't conflict when running locally):
Consider both trio-umbrella and trio-hub-umbrella are Elixir Phoenix projects.
Configuring the endpoint that will be accessed in trio-hub
In trio-hub-umbrella, we set up a very simple endpoint that just returns a map of company data with a status 200 (ok) status if the provided company_id equals "valid-company-id", and an error message ("Company no found") with status 404 (not found) otherwise.
Router:
CompanyController:
Accessing the endpoint via trio-umbrella
First, we need to configure the dependencies we'll use to make HTTP requests and also to record these requests, so we can simulate different outcomes and keep the test cases testable and independent from the API that is being accessed. So, in trio-umbrella's mix.ex, we are going to add Tesla, Hackney and ExVCR to our deps:
Hackney is a HTTP client library for Erlang that is used by Tesla, which is a HTTP client for Elixir.
ExVCR is a library to record and replay HTTP requests.
Also, we have to add a config for Tesla, using Hackney adapter in our config.exs:
To access the endpoint we'll create an API client using Tesla, like so:
Note we are using an ENV variable, TRIO_HUB_API_BASE_URL. I'll get there in a bit. This variable is used to define our API URL based on the configuration of our docker network.
Find below how we are going to configure our network and connecting our containers to it.
Configuring a docker network
Assuming we have docker configured to be used in the terminal, we are going to configure our docker network. You can check the Docker networks docs, if you want.
First, we need to create a network. Let’s create a trio-blog docker network, like so:
Creating the network:
docker network create trio-blog
Checking if it was created:
docker network inspect trio-blog
To run the trio-hub-umbrella container, we are just running a simple:
docker-compose up web
Now, let’s connect our container to the network.
Finding out the container id through docker ps (1884b97cd6f3):
And connecting the container to the network through docker network connect:
You can check the Containers key showed in the network inspection now shows a new container named trio-hub.
Now we can set up our ENV variable as the IPv4 address that is shown inside the docker network: "172.21.0.2/16".
In trio-umbrella's docker-compose.yml file, let's add our TRIO_HUB_API_BASE_URL env variable to our tests environment, like so:
Note that you have to add the port too, and that it's not the exposed port (4003), it's the internal one (4000).
Let's now get inside our trio-umbrella's tests environment by running a bash command:
docker-compose run --rm tests bash
We are almost there, now we just have to connect our bash test environment run to trio-blog network. Finding our container id (ea946edbddb0):
Finally, connecting it to our network, through docker network connect:
We can see a new container named trio-umbrella_tests_run_6972b4bf6c2e is connected to the trio-blog network.
It's all set up! Let's write and run our tests!
Writing and running tests
So, our plan here is to write and record three test cases for the API client for Trio Hub's endpoint show company:
Make a request when server is unavailable; Make a request with an invalid company_id; Make a request with a valid company_id.
Let's start by configuring our base test file and our first test for the Trio Hub API client, like so:
https://medium.com/triohq/setting-up-a-testable-enviroment-for-open-banking-data-transmisson-connecting-two-dockerized-812ed3edeaf5
We are using ExVCR.Mock, with an ExVCR.Adapter.Hackney adapter, as shown in line 3, so we can use the use_cassette option in our tests.
We are running a test case for when the service is unavailable, so let's simulate that and record the ExVCR cassette. To do that, we just stop our trio-hub container, so it's not accessible, leaving our network like this:
So I'll run the tests twice, so we can see the results:
Note that we are expecting a string in the first run, but the return is an atom. After the first run, the request is record in a cassette (shown below), and the second request receives an "econnrefused" string, because the atoms in cassettes are recorded as strings.
So the resultant ExVCR cassette recorded is like so:
After the cassette for a request is recorded, whenever a test has a use_cassette option with the same name as the cassette file and makes the exact same request, it gets the response from the cassette file instead of making the real request again.
Let's now write the other two test cases, like so:
We are testing real requests now, so let's run trio-hub's container, so the network looks like so:
Let's run our tests. Results:
And the recorded cassettes:
That's it! Now every time we run our test suite, the tests get the results from the cassettes and we don't need to make the real requests, if we don't want to in our tests.
Conclusions
There are discussions and opinions going on about whether it is a good practice or not to record cassettes for HTTP requests and I'm not getting deeper into it, but it's important to keep in mind that the cassettes may be a good feature if you want to test API responses signatures and stuff like that, but it is not useful if you are testing API availability, for example.
So, keep in mind that you should always analyze and find what is best for your use cases. For now, this works for us, but maybe we'll learn something new and change our minds at some point and do things differently.
In general, I believe using good practices and patterns in our applications and making them developer friendly is very important to keep development productive and developers interested in what they are doing.
Also, having a good setup for test environments is essential for keeping code testable and maintainable.
I tried to give at least a glimpse of how we develop things here at Trio. I hope it didn't get too long and that it was helpful for you.
Any tips, critics or suggestions are welcome if you feel like it.
Thanks! ^^ | https://medium.com/triohq/setting-up-a-testable-enviroment-for-open-banking-data-transmisson-connecting-two-dockerized-812ed3edeaf5 | ['Demetrius Mânica'] | 2021-07-30 20:28:11.921000+00:00 | ['Dev', 'Engineering', 'Elixir', 'Docker Compose', 'API'] |
The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Fuzz Testing | The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Fuzz Testing
Why Negative Testing Is Necessary
Editor’s Note: Love it or hate it, testing is a necessary part of development, and automated testing done correctly can significantly improve applications and systems. Developer Nat Pryce is a test-driven development expert, having co-authored a book on the subject, and in this piece from 97 Things Every Java Programmer Should Know he offers up fuzz testing as a solution for overcoming positive test bias.
Whether using test-driven development or not, programmers writing automated tests suffer from positive test bias:¹ ² they are more likely to test that the software behaves correctly when given valid input than that the software is robust when given invalid input. As a result, our test suites fail to detect entire classes of defects. Fuzz testing³ is an unreasonably effective technique for negative testing that is easy to include in existing automated test suites. Including fuzz tests in your test-driven development process will help you build more robust systems.
For example, we were extending the software of a widely used consumer product to fetch data from web services. Although we were careful to write robust networking code and test-drove negative as well as positive cases, fuzzing immediately uncovered a surprising number of inputs that would make the software throw unexpected exceptions. Many of the standard Java APIs that parse data throw unchecked exceptions, so the type checker hadn’t been able to ensure that the application handled all possible parsing errors. These unexpected exceptions could leave the device in an unknown state. In a consumer device, even one that can be updated remotely, that can mean an expensive increase in customer support calls or engineer callouts.
A fuzz test generates many random inputs, feeds them into the software under test, and checks that the software continues to exhibit acceptable behavior. To provide useful coverage, a fuzzer must generate inputs that are valid enough not to be rejected by the software immediately, but invalid enough to uncover corner cases that are not covered or defects in error-handling logic.
There are two ways to approach this:
Mutation-based fuzzers mutate examples of good input to create possibly invalid test inputs.
Generation-based fuzzers generate inputs from a formal model, such as a grammar, that defines the structure of valid inputs.
Mutation-based fuzzers are considered impractical for black box testing because it is difficult to obtain enough samples of valid input.⁴ However, when we test-drive our code, the positive test cases provide a ready-made collection of valid inputs that exercise many of the control paths in the software. Mutation-based fuzzing becomes not just practical, but easy to apply.
Running thousands of random inputs through the entire system can take a long time. Again, if we fuzz during development, we can fuzz test particular functions of our system and design them so they can be tested in isolation. We then use fuzzing to check the correct behavior of those units and type checking to ensure that they compose correctly with the rest of the system.
Here’s an example fuzz test that, along with the type checker, ensures a JSON message parser will throw only the checked exceptions declared in its signature:
@Test public void
only_throws_declared_exceptions_on_unexpected_json() {
JsonMutator mutator = new JsonMutator();
mutator.mutate(validJsonMessages(), 1000)
.forEach(possiblyInvalidJsonMessage -> {
try {
// we don't care about the parsed result in this test parseJsonMessage(possiblyInvalidJsonMessage);
}
catch (FormatException e) {
// allowed
}
catch (RuntimeException t) {
fail("unexpected exception: " + t +
" for input: " +
possiblyInvalidJsonMessage);
}
});
}
Fuzz testing is now an essential part of my test-driven development toolbox. It helps eliminate defects and guides the design of the system to be more compositional.
A simple library for doing mutation-based fuzz testing in Java and Kotlin projects is available on GitHub. | https://medium.com/oreillymedia/the-unreasonable-effectiveness-of-fuzz-testing-d2134aed30cf | ["O'Reilly Media"] | 2020-12-15 14:35:18.391000+00:00 | ['Qa Testing', 'QA'] |
Hi Tyler, | Hi Tyler,
Thank you.
The UseResizeObserver assumes you are using React, so when invoking, it is found in a context where we have React library, some component and jsx.
If we want to use native JS or some browser API instead of getting React.refs, we should be careful here because you cant know how your actual DOM tree looks like, so for an example if you write:
getElementById(“#someId”)
you need some how to be sure that when you execute this line of code, this element is already found in the DOM.
I recommend always using React.refs inside components as it is a safer approach if getting an element when using React. | https://medium.com/@eymaslive/hi-tyler-8cfd1bf8bfd2 | ['Eyas Mattar'] | 2020-12-27 13:06:47.392000+00:00 | ['React', 'Reactjs', 'JavaScript', 'Hooks'] |
The Chasing Ground of the Credentialed Hunters | The Chasing Ground of the Credentialed Hunters
A Poem
Photo by Rishi Deep on Unsplash
Years ago, grandma told me of the earth’s end,
A place far from ours,
Long after, when she was far gone to ancestral land,
I have visited this earth’s end.
The nights are lonely,
The place has its beauty in the dark,
And for a man like me,
I spent my hours indoor,
Escaping the lonely shores of the sea,
Melting in the lonely silence of my room.
The fear and the pressure allow me only to be home,
Secretly, I dare venture to a club with some friends,
Silently, we entered the club,
And there we were standing,
Enjoying the boom, boom of western music,
It’s a black nation, I thought!
As the sounds melted in my soul,
Overlooking from a top stair,
This strange lady appeared,
Only to engage me in a conversation.
We talked, while the boom, boom was still melting my heart,
And there her voice so desired asked for my number,
With limited urge to refuse, I gave it long before I thought about it,
And hers entered my phone with a speed she mounted.
The nights were long and booming,
Melting my soul while I melted my throat,
And for a while, she was missing in the crowd,
My eyes, firmly searching long suffered to spot her again.
Then, another lady dearly invited our presence,
We refused but went and stood by her; unknown,
Innocently, she approached and engaged us in a chat,
We responded and welcomed her without knowing,
Cunningly, she was looking for a refugee,
I, though look like one, was far from one,
But my lies, told as an escape, could not be told as usual,
Instead, I made myself a holiday tourist.
The chat starts with acquaintance,
Then, comes a hardcore discussion,
Invading privacy as if there was none,
So badly wanting to catch,
But none of us so interested.
I am stimulated but not elated,
I am humanly moved but not convinced,
My love already belongs,
to that outstanding lady far away.
I am married I said to her,
I am married too, said my colleague,
She felt offended and therefore boasted of her credentials,
But the truth is, we are married!
Yes, we are married!
And for my lady of first encounter,
She is missing,
Our Phones surely will connect us the next day,
For this barrister lady, our urge melted in the unknown.
Softly and tenderly, came the next day,
we started calling each other,
She inquired and she got the right answers,
Then, she decided to back off,
As she needed a husband not a friend,
I, in my innocence, needed a friend, not a wife,
The center cannot hold, the split well deserved.
She hung up,
She called back later and lied,
Then I bluntly reminded her that it’s a trick,
And she knew the truth,
Politely, she went off again.
This lady, charming and uninterested as I was,
Now dearly knows that her wish is not possible,
Again, I called,
And then, she hangs off again,
This time, she annoyed the blood in me,
Never will I call her again.
Is this how it goes in the woods?
Without love, no friendship,
And women so drive the game,
While men either receive or made to pay.
My heart is golden,
My love is precious,
If I should lend it, it must be in a golden hand,
Here, far from home, love dies like vapour,
And often, men are the victim,
In my wisdom, never will I ever lend it,
Not even to the queen of this land. | https://medium.com/self-ish/the-chasing-ground-of-the-credentialed-hunters-5353a252d92c | ['M Sahr Nouwah- The Hunter S Grandson'] | 2019-06-29 09:12:15.682000+00:00 | ['Marriage', 'Short Story', 'Relationships', 'Refugees'] |
Humanitarian Systems: Showing the Value of Localization through System Dynamics | 21st century humanitarian innovation needs imaginative approaches to locate, analyze, and solve global problems. In our naïve perception of engineering, we often fail to appreciate the great breadth with which engineering concepts and methodologies serve us in sectors much more macroscopic than mechatronic design. One such advent is the method of systems thinking.
Humanitarian innovation and the problems that precede it depend inherently on a complex network of actors, issues, and dynamic relationships. Finding a framework that empowers us to see causes and effects across the isolation of space and time is what humanitarian innovation needs to achieve the next level of progress.
A Brief Introduction to System Dynamics
Systems thinking concerns the interconnected variables in complex networks, and how they all impact each other dynamically. More specifically, system dynamics is the computational modeling of complex systems to encode the underlying differential equations which govern a system’s time evolution and stability. To give a relevant example, one of the most basic models to which system dynamics is applied is the evolution of a pandemic:
Image Courtesy of Author. Made with LOOPY. Although this is an oversimplified model, it captures the essence of what systems modeling is.
Epidemiologists must consider a wide array of contributing factors in the spread of diseases, all of which are related. The model I created above using LOOPY only comprises a handful of nodes¹: four of them are populations and three of them are rates. The population nodes are known as “stocks” because they are filled and depleted and if the system is frozen at some instant in time, the numerical value for that stock (i.e. the number of people infected, healthy, etc.) represents a tangible quantity. The rates are known as “flows,” because they quantify how quickly they increase or decrease the stock values.
For instance, a high transmission rate means the “infected population” stock will grow quickly. The arrows represent the interconnected linkages between all of the stocks and flows, and the polarities (plus and minus signs) indicate whether each variable increases or decreases the next link.
In the model above, the vaccination rate represents how external factors such as health policies can stabilize the system. Based on the loops, the infected and susceptible populations may oscillate continually, but the vaccination rate has the power to dampen their effects and stabilize the healthy population via immunization.
System dynamics in its more rigorous mathematical form is known as control theory, which electrical and mechanical engineers employ routinely to model the systems underlying airplanes, robots, chemical engineering plants, and more. But rest assured — the applications of and necessity for systems thinking reach far beyond the conventional engineering disciplines. In fact, system dynamics is an increasingly popular tool for business and policy alike.
Beneath the frustrations of failed humanitarian reforms and ailing populations, how can we reconcile our need to innovate with the abundance of interrelated factors in order to make humanitarian action more effective?
The Case of Migrants in Germany
There is almost no better issue to demonstrate the contradictory yet interrelated nature of humanitarian response than that of today’s refugee crises. Perhaps the greatest challenge in motivating reform in humanitarian innovation is generating a high degree of publicity. It seems beyond shadow of a doubt that the public in western nations should care about humanitarian emergencies, especially those causing refugee influxes. But surprisingly, reports of millions of people fleeing their homes still are not enough to generate a social movement large enough to catalyze change.
While it should not require direct impacts on developed societies for them to care to support overhauling the current international humanitarian framework, those direct impacts serve at least as jarring reminders that real crises exist in the world. Germany is a fascinating case in which these shocks highlighted the values of systems thinking — and systemic reforms.
Photo by Montecruz Foto on Flickr. German citizens embrace the influx of migrants to Berlin, as “Flüchtlinge herzlich wilkommen” translates to “Heartfelt welcome to refugees.”
In 2015, the Syrian Civil War sparked a mass exodus unlike ever before that sent shockwaves across the European Union. In Berlin, Chancellor Angela Merkel made the historical move to welcome massive numbers of refugees into Germany, which was lauded as a heroic triumph. That is, mostly until some side effects of this policy on migrants became noticeably unsustainable.
It is nearly impossible to analyze the repercussions and values of Berlin’s migrant policy without discussion of the German economy. Germany’s booming economy requires that migrants be integrated appropriately into the workforce. Fortunately, Berlin’s response largely benefitted the majority of immigrants and studies project net positive impact on the nation’s economy resulting from migrants. In this manner, Germany’s system offers lessons to economic integration.
Angela Merkel’s migrant policy and its impacts on Germany modeled as a system might look something like this:
Image Courtesy of Author. Made with LOOPY.
Examining the above system, we can see that a key component to the economic stability altogether involving the refugees is capacity building approaches. The system only models a few specific factors aiding in the integration of the refugees, namely higher education, vocational training, and housing. The key concern for the German workforce regarding asylees is the ability to secure a workforce. The refugees must be encouraged to work, otherwise those who do not will accumulate as contributors to the nation’s economic stagnation, in turn fueling greater resentment from political opposition groups and depleting economic resources. This is why localization is crucial — it starts to answer the question of how best to motivate and provide opportunities for refugees.
Despite the relative success in maintaining a stable society and economy, the question now is: where may have Germany gone wrong? The answer once again lies in localization.
Refugees in a northwestern German State highlight a particular need to localize attention and focus on preventative measures as well. Criminologists conducted a study in 2018 in response to increased petty crime rates in Lower Saxony, attributed to young migrants. They offer insight into the causations and policies surrounding these statistics, which ultimately lend themselves right back to a need for local approaches.
Many refugee youth of diverse origins in Germany have been placed into cramped living spaces. According to researchers at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences in their report, the living arrangements combined with an undifferentiated approach to service provision based on cultural backgrounds are conducive tension and occasionally fighting.
Image courtesy of the Author. Made with LOOPY.
The first important point is that the above loop is NOT a complete system! This is just an isolated component, demonstrating one effect. If we “pressed play” on this loop, it would spiral out of control since the connections are circular and have the same polarity (this is known as a positive reinforcing loop). This feedback loop is clearly unstable; the policy of keeping migrant youth in small, undifferentiated spaces increases their hostility toward one another, limiting their opportunities for community engagement. Getting themselves into trouble earlier on, the refugee youth reduce their prospects for leaving refugee centers and remain in crowded living spaces which continues the reinforcing spiral of aggression.
But this is not all; the criminologists point toward a lack of resources that would actually serve to greatly benefit the attitudes of the refugee youth. Greater access to female leaders and community members as well as parental guidance are lacking for the younger boys. Without this kind of social attention, their experience is manifestly different than those of others in their new society.
As opposed to funneling funds into robust aid programs, the state governments of Lower Saxony and other German states should recognize the specific needs of their migrants. Vocational training and university courses may not be what these boys need yet; they represent a unique locale, and the shocking wave of migrants drowns out their uniqueness when the government supplies its deliverance in the form of best practices.
Refugees of all ages and origins face numerous challenges after arriving in Germany. Language, housing, work, and discrimination are some of the major hurdles they encounter. In essence, these may all be modeled with system dynamics tools to provide insight into how the various factors are affecting communities, but this is besides the point for now. The point, having worked through a systems analysis of some of Germany’s policies, is that even via the same logic of engineering which powers technology can lead us to the value of localized policies. Additionally, a crucial conclusion is that humanitarian action is not singular; these refugees represent how their struggles do not simply end when they leave their homes and escape danger.
As humanitarian innovators, we can think like engineers who must recognize that the “workbench” of aid policy is broader than the site of emergencies. The job of aiding communities, especially refugee communities, does not fall to the hands of a single entity, but rather is an interconnected system of policies which must be local. Further down the line, refugee resettlement barriers must be addressed with the same mentality that should be brought to the site of a crisis. With system dynamics, we see the amazing generality of the theory underlying localization. With these tools in mind, we are not just aid workers, government officials, teachers, or community supporters. Together, we are engineers building a newer and better world. | https://medium.com/needslist/humanitarian-systems-showing-the-value-of-localization-through-system-dynamics-b5c6129566 | ['Octavio Vega'] | 2020-12-14 13:47:02.193000+00:00 | ['Systems Thinking', 'Humanitarian Innovation', 'Refugees', 'Immigration', 'Germany'] |
The People I Meet At Tim’s | The People I Meet At Tim’s
Varvara Rigon photo by the author
Every day my dog and I walk to Tim’s. I get a steeped tea with 2 milk and a bowl of water for the dog. I don’t have to say anything. They see me coming and my tea and the water is there waiting for me.
No matter where you live in Canada you are probably not very far from Tim’s. In Canada there are currently 4,286 Tim Horton’s coffee shop locations. I live in Kingston Ontario, which is a relatively small city and we have 20 locations within the city limits.
Sometimes I sit quietly and jot down a few notes for the next story I am going to write. However more often than not there is somebody to talk to.
One of Tim’s regulars is the vivacious 86 year old Barbara who is always ready to chat.
With Covid it is mostly individual seating but that does not seem to cramp her style. She has a friendly outgoing personality and always has a warm greeting for her legion of friends.
Barbara, whose real name is Varvara was born in Greece in 1932. Only 7 years old when World War 2 broke out, she received very little formal education and started working when she was quite young. She was an apprentice at a hair salon in Athens when the head of the famed National Theater of Athens came looking for a young girl to look after the wigs that were a mainstay in the mostly classical repertoire of the theater.
“I want that one” he said, pointing at Varvara.
And so began her journey into the world of the theater. The National Theater produces classical Greek drama such as the works Sophocles as well the plays of Moliere in translation. Wigs were a mainstay and she was kept busy fixing the wigs and doing the hair of the actors.
In 1959 She married Peter Rigon and 6 months later they moved to Montreal. Unable to speak either French of English she began looking for work. Her sister got her an interview for a job in a hospital but held little hope of her getting the job. She told the personnel officer that Varvara could not speak English very well. In fact her knowledge of English was limited to two words “yes” and “no”. She was however sensitive to people’s emotions and went through a long interview responding correctly to questions she was asked without understanding a word that was said.
Afterward the manager said to her sister. “Her knowledge of English is perfect.”
After about 6 months working at the hospital, this young girl with very little money and a very limited knowledge of French or English decided to open a hair salon.
Vavara’s Hair Salon was an instant success and soon became the top hair salon in Montreal, catering to Montreal’s elite.
In 1972 she and her husband moved to Kingston. She opened another hair salon and her husband took over the operation of Kingston Monuments which made marble headstones and expanded into making marble countertops. | https://medium.com/illumination/the-people-i-meet-at-tims-26e1e4c2f502 | ['Jim Mcaulay'] | 2020-12-20 05:45:54.089000+00:00 | ['Tim Hortons', 'Illumination', 'Humor', 'Humour', 'Jim Mcaulay'] |
5 Benefits of Custom Software Development For Your Business | Computers and software are practically the core of every industry. Different industries have their unique software requirements and some common ones are used everywhere. Most of these software are off-the-shelf solutions purchased by these companies but some smart ones also opt for developing an in-house custom software for their businesses, which is indeed a wise decision if looked at with a little foresight.
As a buyer, you have two options: One is to buy off-the-shelf products which may be a little cheaper and much talked about in the community but they pose some major challenges to business owners, i.e. lack of customization & control. The packaged software solutions hint of compromise and adjustments. Second is inflexibility & rigidity as these software have limited capabilities and lack scalability. The other is custom software development for your business. This alternative offers a lot of scope with very few drawbacks of costs and time consumption during development, testing and application phase, etc.
Custom software ‘building’ is way much more advanced and wise than purchasing readymade solutions in the long run as they recover cost and lost time too. It particularly involves customization, modernization and management of software which have been developed specifically tailored to the needs of your business/service. Custom software hand out several benefits to the clients and to the business as well.
1. Increased Efficiency: A software developed purposely for a specific set of requirements is bound to increase efficiency as the process becomes swift and productive without the need for tweaking a hundred settings.
2. Security: Cybercriminals usually target off-the-shelf generic applications so that they can get a lot of data to exploit. A company using a custom software is less prone to attack as cybercriminals don’t see any benefit in stealing information about a few employees or a single company with a unique software solution. This way, it is secure to get your software made.
3. Control & Focus: Custom designed applications load faster, work according to your requirements. They offer complete control to tweak, change or modify the software to make it best suitable to our needs.
4. Scalability & Upgradability: If you choose to expand your business, custom software can be modified to be sued in any other location. They can also be updated, if a new process or component is added in the process. Integration with other machines is also god.
A custom software solution can give you an edge over your competitors. Get out of this ‘Build vs Buy’ dilemma now! It might take some time to develop the software, to implement it and to learn it completely but once all that is done, you will thank yourself for doing so. | https://medium.com/@Rosiephillips73/5-benefits-of-custom-software-development-for-your-business-c3f59ff77c0c | ['Rosie Phillips'] | 2020-03-17 04:32:26.831000+00:00 | ['Website Design', 'Customsoftwaredevelopment', 'Website Development', 'Software Development', 'Application Development'] |
Practical Apache Spark in 10 minutes. Part 5 — Streaming | Spark is a powerful tool which can be applied to solve many interesting problems. Some of them have been discussed in our previous posts. Today we will consider another important application, namely streaming. Streaming data is the data which continuously comes as small records from different sources. There are many use cases for streaming technology such as sensor monitoring in industrial or scientific devices, server logs checking, financial markets monitoring, etc.
In this post, we will examine the case with sensors temperature monitoring. For example, we have several sensors (1,2,3,4,…) in our device. Their state is defined by the following parameters: date (dd/mm/year), sensor number, state (1 — stable, 0 — critical), and temperature (degrees Celsius). The data with the sensors state comes in streaming, and we want to analyze it. Streaming data can be loaded from the different sources. As we don’t have the real streaming data source, we should simulate it. For this purpose, we can use Kafka, Flume, and Kinesis, but the simplest streaming data simulator is Netcat.
First off, run Netcat as a data server with the following command:
Bash
nc -lk 8080
Then, we enter the sensors data to it:
21/01/2001 1 1 23
22/01/2001 2 0 20
23/01/2001 3 1 15
24/01/2001 4 1 10
25/01/2001 5 0 5
Next, we will listen to this server at the port 8080 with the help of Spark Streaming module. Note, that we can send more data with nc during streaming program execution.
In contrast to the previous posts, we will not perform our example in the Spark shell. >We’ll save it as a streaming.py file in a Spark home directory. The folder name could be spark-2.3.0-bin-hadoop2.7 (depending on the Spark version that you have).
Counting by values
Let’s start with the simple example. We want to calculate how many records came from each sensor.
First off, we have to make some imports:
PySpark
from pyspark import SparkContext from pyspark.streaming import StreamingContext
Then, we begin the program with a common line:
if __name__ == “__main__”:
The first important step in every streaming program is initializing StreamingContext . Add the following lines in your program:
sc = SparkContext(appName=”PythonStreamingCountByValue”) ssc = StreamingContext(sc, 30)
In the last line, 30 is the batch duration.
Now, we should create a DStream that will receive data from the Netcat connecting to hostname:port, like localhost:8080.
ds = ssc.socketTextStream(‘localhost’, 8080)
It is necessary to say that DStream is the continuous sequence of RDD .
The next step is to split our DStream lines to elements and select the second column (sensor number) of our streaming data. This can be achieved with map(func) transformation. The map simply applies the func to each element of the stream.
data = ds.map(lambda line: int(line.split(“ “)[1]))
Then, by applying countByValue transformation, we will count how many times the data came from each sensor during this batch.
data_count = data.countByValue()
Finally, let’s print the result:
data_count.pprint()
With the code above, we’ve defined the algorithm of our data transformation. To start the execution, we need to start StreamingContext with the following line:
ssc.start()
Then we have to set up when to stop Spark Streaming:
ssc.awaitTermination()
If we enter the following input to the Netcat,
01/02/2001 1 1 23
01/02/2001 2 0 12
01/02/2001 3 1 22
02/02/2001 1 1 25
02/02/2001 2 0 15
02/02/2001 3 0 10
we will get the output like below.
-------------------------------------------
Time: 2018-06-22 16:30:30
-------------------------------------------
(3, 2)
(1, 2)
(2, 2)
As you can see from the table, the data have come twice from each sensor.
Complete code:
from pyspark import SparkContext from pyspark.streaming import StreamingContext if __name__ == “__main__”: sc = SparkContext(appName=”PythonStreamingCountByValue”) ssc = StreamingContext(sc, 30) ds = ssc.socketTextStream(‘localhost’, 8080) data = ds.map(lambda line: int(line.split(“ “)[1])) data_count = data.countByValue() data_count.pprint() ssc.start() ssc.awaitTermination()
To run the streaming program, execute:
Bash
./bin/spark-submit streaming.py
Filtering
Let’s move to another common task in streaming — filtering. Say we want to accept messages only from online sensors. The filter transformation will help us with this. It returns only the records for which the previously defined function returns true.
Now you may change your program or save it as another file. Whatever you choose, keep the skeleton of the program the same except the lines:
PySpark
data = ds.map(lambda line: int(line.split(“ “)[1])) data_count = data.countByValue() data_count.pprint()
These lines are the main ones in our program (transformations take place here and the result is printed), so in the examples below we’ll change only these lines.
Replace them with the following ones. (Maybe you’d want to update the appName too)
data = ds.map(lambda line: line.split(“ “))\ .map(lambda l: (l[0],int(l[1]),int(l[2]),int(l[3]))) data_filter = data.filter(lambda line: line[2]==1) data_filter.pprint()
In the table below, there are input and output for this task
01/02/2001 1 1 23
01/02/2001 2 0 12
01/02/2001 3 1 22
02/02/2001 1 1 25
02/02/2001 2 0 15
02/02/2001 3 0 10 -------------------------------------------
Time: 2018-06-22 16:30:30
-------------------------------------------
(3, 2)
(1, 2)
(2, 2)
Complete code:
from pyspark import SparkContext from pyspark.streaming import StreamingContext if __name__ == “__main__”: sc = SparkContext(appName=”PythonStreamingFiltration”) ssc = StreamingContext(sc, 30) ds = ssc.socketTextStream(‘localhost’, 8080) data = ds.map(lambda line: (line.split(“ “)))\ .map(lambda l: (l[0],int(l[1]),int(l[2]),int(l[3]))) data_filter = data.filter(lambda line: line[2]==1) data_filter.pprint() ssc.start() ssc.awaitTermination()
The maximum temperature of the sensor
Now we’ll make our program more interesting. Let’s assume that we need to know what is the highest temperature of our sensors. To get this information, we should use reduce transformation with max function. The max function gives us the maximum value and the reduce transformation returns the value, calculated by aggregating the element of RDD with the defined function ( max in our case).
Again, leave the program skeleton the same. Replace the lines, where transformations take place and the result is printed, with the following ones:
temperature = ds.map(lambda line: int(line.split(“ “)[3])) result = temperature.reduce(max) result.pprint()
In the case of the same input you will get the result:
-------------------------------------------
Time: 2018-06-14 12:42:00
-------------------------------------------
25
Complete code:
from pyspark import SparkContext from pyspark.streaming import StreamingContext if __name__ == “__main__”: sc = SparkContext(appName=”PythonStreamingNetworkMaxTemperature”) ssc = StreamingContext(sc, 30) ds = ssc.socketTextStream(‘localhost’, 8080) temperature = ds.map(lambda line: int(line.split(“ “)[3])) result = temperature.reduce(max) result.pprint() ssc.start() ssc.awaitTermination()
Conclusions
Streaming data is widely used in various practical applications. One of the most popular streaming application is the receiving data from different sensors in real-time mode. There are many instruments for streaming data analysis (Flink, Storm, Kafka, Spark, Samza, Kinesis, etc.), among which Apache Spark is one of the most popular due to its convenience and simplicity. Apache Spark has a special library for streaming.
In this article, we’ve made a brief overview of Spark Streaming functionality and applied a few basic functions to our data. We have shown that only with several lines of code it is possible to obtain useful information from the datastream, analyze and print it.
Originally published in datascience-school.com | https://medium.com/data-science-school/practical-apache-spark-in-10-minutes-part-5-streaming-b3b42dbeae63 | ['Igor Bobriakov'] | 2018-07-23 17:56:09.993000+00:00 | ['Apache Spark', 'Machine Learning', 'Streaming Analytics', 'Data Science', 'Big Data'] |
Debunking Charlie Kirk on FBI’s 2016 Trump-Russia investigation | Photo: Gage Skidmore. Charlie Kirk speaking with the media at the 2019 Teen Student Action Summit hosted by Turning Point USA at the Marriott Marquis in Washington, D.C.
So it finally came on Monday, Dec. 9, 2019. The long-awaited report by the Inspector General of the Department of Justice concerning the FBI’s actions as it began an investigation concerning then-candidate Donald Trump and Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
Trump sycophants have been waiting for this a long time, mandating it must show criminality and bias in the FBI and those who later were on Mueller’s special counsel team which was based on the initial investigation.
The news is clear: Many of the claims made by Charlie Kirk, Turning Point USA founder and president, were wrong.
Let me begin with some news summaries and then move into Kirk’s false allegations.
The Washington Post: The report “rebuts some of conservatives’ most sensational allegations about the case — including that top FBI officials were motivated by political bias and illegally spied on Trump advisers — but finds serious faults in other areas.”
The New York Times: The report “debunked President Trump’s accusations that former bureau leaders engaged in a politicized conspiracy to sabotage him.”
CNN: The report “did not find ‘documentary or testimonial evidence that political bias or improper motivation influenced the decisions’ to open investigations” and also “refuted President Trump’s claims that the FBI illegally spied on his campaign.”
The full report can be read here.
Kirk’s False Allegations
Kirk has repeatedly tweeted about the investigation and repeatedly gotten it wrong. Here is one from last summer that sums up his claims:
None of this is true. No one spied on the incoming President. He wasn’t the incoming president when the actions of the FBI covered in the report happened.
The New York Times: “The inspector general also determined that F.B.I. did not place informants or undercover agents in the campaign, and it did not ask them to “report on the Trump campaign.” Nor did the inspector general find evidence that undercover agents or informants were told to meet with Trump campaign officials before the opening of Crossfire Hurricane.”
Politico: “Horowitz’s review did not find any indication that the FBI planted anyone in the campaign, as President Donald Trump has claimed….”
The Agents
Like many Trump sycophants, Kirk aimed his ire at two FBI agents who were removed from the Mueller investigation, Peter Strzok and Lisa Page.
Here is a sampling of tweets about them from Kirk:
There was no plan to subvert democracy. And yes, those texts have been repeatedly misread and taken out of context by Kirk and others.
FISA Warrant
Like other Trump sycophants, Kirk also repeatedly said the IG investigation would uncover abuse of the FISA warrant system.
FISA is shorthand for the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Wiretapping warrants were used on Carter Page, then a former Trump campaign staffer.
The New York Times: “Much of the [IG’s] report focused on the paperwork associated with the wiretapping of Mr. Page, who was first approved for targeting in October 2016, about a month after he had stepped down from the Trump campaign. The Justice Department obtained three renewals of court permission to eavesdrop on Mr. Page — two under the Trump administration.”
Here is a sampling:
The person Trump appointed to head the FBI disagreed, according to Politico and ABC News. “In an interview Monday, the FBI director was asked if he thought the bureau had unfairly targeted the Trump campaign. “I do not,” Wray told ABC News.”
And Trump wanted Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden. That is a fact.
Obama did not play a role in the FISA warrants. In fact, the inspector general criticized the FBI for not keeping DOJ officials more notified and involved in the process.
The Washington Post: “While the inspector general concluded the FBI followed its procedures regarding investigations, it also recommended that in the future, such sensitive investigations involving major presidential campaigns be more closely supervised by the Justice Department.”
It is not a “FISA abuse report.” No one reported there was abuse of the system. The IG referred to omissions in applications and “sloppiness.”
The New York Times: “The report placed primary blame for the significant errors and omissions on sloppiness by F.B.I. case agents… The inspector general found that this pattern was not intentional, but that explanations offered in defense of the agents — such as that they were busy with the Russia investigation at the time and “the Carter Page FISA was a narrow aspect of their overall responsibilities” — were unsatisfactory.”
The Washington Post: “As a result of those findings, Horowitz has launched a broader audit of FISA work, to study how systemic those problems may be for FISA applications in counterintelligence and counterterrorism cases. He did not, however, conclude that the bureau’s applications to monitor Page should have been rejected.”
The warrants were not phony. They were real and used in part of the investigation. There was no spying on anyone.
Kirk’s reaction to report
Kirk continues to mislead and miss the context of those texts. On the Steele Dossier, according to The New York Times: “The report found that Mr. Steele’s information was not used in the opening of the Russia investigation, as Mr. Trump’s allies have frequently but falsely suggested as part of their claim that the F.B.I. spied on the Trump campaign as part of a politicized plot.” | https://medium.com/@mboedy/debunking-charlie-kirk-on-fbis-2016-trump-russian-investigation-d9452102ba78 | ['Matthew Boedy'] | 2019-12-09 21:28:52.304000+00:00 | ['Charlie Kirk', 'Turning Point Usa', 'Trump', 'Russia', 'Facts'] |
5 Simple Ways to Save the World using Coffee | Let’s talk about everyone’s one true love: coffee.
Brewing coffee at home | Photo source: Andreas Palmer on Unsplash
Brewing and drinking coffee is a part of most people’s morning routine. For some, it is a habit done as frequently as they can throughout the day. Coffee had become a staple for most people because of its flavor and its effect on a person’s body — providing a needed energy boost to get through school or work.
Basing on data tracking by Fitch Solutions, a company providing market research and statistics, the Philippines will more likely take the lead in the coffee intake in Southeast Asia by 2025. The tracked coffee affinity in 2020, with consideration to the shift to the work-from-home set-up, showed that drinking coffee became more than just a “coffee break” for Filipinos.1
This proves to be true given that a lot of Filipinos are into the coffee business, showcasing their love for coffee through cafes. The products are more than just coffee — many cafes also have unique interiors and themes. In fact, one of the best and most Instagrammable coffee shops up to date can be found all over the country — Coffee Project. Its great coffee and interior turn coffee breaks into prolonged coffee times.
While coffee time is a loved habit most people cannot let go, consequences come in the waste produced when making one. The used coffee grounds from cafes and households most of the time go to the trash, ending up in landfills. When it decomposes, it releases methane, which, as grade school modules say, is a greenhouse gas harmful to the Earth.
Love for coffee can also be about love for the environment. By recycling, landfill wastes are reduced. Here are a few used coffee ground alternatives that can lessen waste and save the world from continuous climate change:
1. Indoor cleaner and fixer
Make indoors sparkling clean by using coffee. Used grounds make the task of cleaning the house easier and quicker, especially when it comes to dishes and cooking tools.
When coffee is scrubbed on charred parts of metal cooking tools like grills, pans, and pots, the process of removing these unwanted stains becomes faster. It lessens the effort of spending too much force and time cleaning these kitchen wares.
Coffee grounds are also a savior when removing blocked drains and pipes, especially in kitchen sinks. By sprinkling a generous amount of grounds on the drainage, then throwing in boiling water and liquid soap, pipes are left clean and odor-free.
2. Odor neutralizer
Match clean homes with fresh indoor air. Often, air fresheners and scented candles are the go-to things to buy to freshen up indoor air.
Coffee does two things to house scents: (1) they provide a coffee smell when brewing, which coffee lovers die for, as this also tends to be the trademark smell of coffee shops or, (2) they eliminate the odor indoors (coffee grounds).
Coffee grounds in unsealed jars can be placed inside refrigerators and freezers, and in specific spots inside the house where certain scents are frequently overpowering — like in the kitchen. By doing this, indoors feel fresher and more comfortable. A relaxing indoor situation is almost everyone’s goal, especially when many people are now staying at home the majority of the day.
Also, as grounds neutralize odors, they are also helpful in removing strong scents from hands by scrubbing them directly on the skin. This can be done after cooking, or right after chopping garlic.
3. Fertilizer for home garden
Take care of home plants through coffee grounds. After brewing coffee, set aside the used coffee grounds for a gardening time. Mixing grounds with home garden soil makes plants healthier. As a natural fertilizer, coffee grounds help with water retention on the soil, prolonging its moist texture, which is beneficial for the plants. Also, they help in the growth of organisms in the soil, such as earthworms, which benefit the plants’ growth.
While coffee grounds attract healthy organisms, they also keep away destructive ones. Pests like slugs and snails are kept away when coffee is mixed with the soil. Also, if weeds are considered a problem to home gardens, coffee tends to keep these from growing too many.
Coffee grounds have beneficial effects, but they should be kept in moderate use, especially as there are types of plants that do not respond well to this natural fertilizer.
4. The holy grail for skincare
Achieving healthy and clear skin is one of the goals almost everyone has, especially the younger generation. Coffee is one of the skincare ingredients present in face products, given the number of benefits it has when applied to the skin. There are tons of coffee-based masks, moisturizers, serums, and cleansers sold in physical and online stores.
5. Home and art projects
Used grounds can also be art materials. By repurposing it as a paper dye, the coffee-stained paper gives off a “used” or “old” paper effect, completing a vintage journal set-up most wants to achieve. Of course, the coffee scent on paper is just a very welcomed addition.
Also, coffee grounds can be added to homemade scented candles. A coffee-smelling household can be achieved not just through the morning — or late afternoon — coffee brews, but also through lighting coffee-scented candles. Making these is as simple as mixing the used grounds with melted wax and a string.
Doing useful home hacks can also be an important contribution to a greater cause. Recycling coffee grounds, as helpful as they are in reducing produced waste, proves to be a wise move as a coffee lover, and as someone who wants to discover useful household tricks.
By taking care of the planet when recycling possible wastes like coffee, there are also positive effects on a smaller scale such as doing more effective and efficient ways in taking care of one’s home indoors and outdoors. Love for coffee extends beyond making and drinking one! | https://medium.com/@gianmonzon/coffee-uses-home-bd0d4f9bab24 | ['Gian Monzon'] | 2021-06-17 04:25:37.822000+00:00 | ['Green', 'Coffee', 'Recycling', 'Home', 'Alternative'] |
The New Racism Is Polite Racism | The American racist has certainly evolved. Not via their own volition. This growth is the offspring of racism’s primary modes. Its original brand was brutal, psychopathic, deadly, Christian. A couple hundred years later, systemic racism bloomed. It was nuanced, insidious, also deadly. It repeatedly lynched, but kept your heart beating so that you saw another day and invisible noose. Systemic racism didn’t replace the original recipe, it expanded the menu. Today, the unsophisticated original and its predecessor are as alive and unwell as ever, in plain sight from California prisons to Bushwick real estate. Together they’ve procreated a less visible heir; one that’s continued the family’s predatorial business with a more polished, less obtrusive manifestation. This evolution in racism is both systemic and overt. It is polite.
What makes polite racism such a potent evil is its neutralization of black and brown fear. Similar to the close-range fighting style of Jujutsu, polite racism attacks its brown target by first leaning into their conditioned trauma. The lead hand or jab is verbal, at times articulate, often from the mouths of politicians. It parcels messaging via empathetic vocal tone and text, often from the beacons of formal education (ie. legalese). The dominant hand’s power is all psychology. Instead of decrying integration like its oldest parent, polite racism feasts off inclusion, inviting the minority closer for a cleaner strike. African-Americans are so accustomed to being hunted and ejected that the perception of a Caucasian’s open arms is as addictive as glucose. Polite racism is the most seductive mind fuck in the history of American racism.
Your Human Resources department has mastered the art. The executive branch designed an employee handbook with mandates and parameters created under the mirage of equality. As with most American institutions since the Constitution was inked and betrayed for the first of a billion times, said rules were plotted to serve the interests and prejudices of its authors. Today, when Naima floats through her company’s pristine hallways into a meeting wearing a business-blue suit and Kenyan cloth swirled into a head-wrap, she will not be criticized for reflecting her ethnicity. Instead, she will receive a mass email from HR politely corralling “everyone” back to the employee handbook’s section on “professional dress code.” This is passive aggressive; what many race experts refer to as a micro-aggression. Not an attack on Naima’s culture per se, but a friendly reminder that only the culture of the corporation matters.
Polite racism is the most seductive mind fuck in the history of American racism.
To understand the varied applications of polite racism, one must first be reminded that no form of racism is as simple as “bad person versus good.” Racist acts are often committed by those who are genuinely pro-integration and possess no conscious ill will towards another. Ignorance and fear remain the roots of all racism. Whether fear is replaced with curiosity or another social agent, ignorance remains a constant, especially on social terrain. Time-honored tropes are “You speak so well,” or a former teacher’s raised eyebrow and “Well, good for you” after learning of your Ivy League acceptance letter. We’ve experienced these slights longer than memory allows. Today it’s a white co-worker smiling and assuming I must’ve tried the Popeye’s chicken sandwich, or that the writer and actress Mindy Kaling can teach them how to wrap a sari. It’s Liam Neeson using Freud theory to mask his fraud.
Some years ago, a friend of mine, then a graphic designer at a prestigious advertising agency, worked on a campaign for Chase Bank. The visual focus was a photograph of a black family camping lakeside. My friend told me that during one of the edit rounds, he was contacted by a superior (Caucasian) who gently proposed that he digitally reduce the crotch on the father’s swimming trunks. “I’m a heterosexual black man and it wasn’t that serious,” my friend said to me, meaning that the trunks didn’t warrant an edit. The manipulation of any accurate physical appearance to fit a personal or collective perception or comfort is unequivocally racist (see the Sphinx’s nose). That the alteration was ordered as a “request” by a white person makes it polite racism.
Controlling the body parts of brown people has always been a gateway towards determining their existence, like a hunter penning the lion’s narrative. The Academy Award’s 2019 Best Picture, Green Book, is a recent triumph in Hollywood’s history of politely racist expressions — as was its Oscar win. The film, billed as the story of African-American pianist Don Shirley’s travels through the Jim Crow south, was essentially another white savior tale in which Mahershala Ali’s portrayal of Shirley peculiarly scored him a Supporting Actor Oscar. For the record, when Jessica Tandy was chauffeured by Morgan Freeman in Driving Miss Daisy (also P.R. cinema), she won Best Actress.
African-Americans are so accustomed to being hunted and ejected that the perception of a Caucasian’s open arms is as addictive as glucose.
The literary world was infected long before moving pictures. A fitting example is a term lit professors occasionally used to describe the palpable bigotry of characters born by scribes like Eudora Welty: “quirky racism.” Although the label prides itself on not condoning racist language and interaction, its purpose is to excuse the offensive, making it as delusional as it is politely racist. The audacity to forewarn Toni Morrison that she will one day have to write about the “real confrontation for black people” — white people — (“As though our lives have no meaning or depth without the white gaze,” said Morrison) is politely racist as fuck.
A sure way to recognize evolved racism is to develop a healthy nose for exclusion. The quicker you confirm your absence within a message, the sooner you’ll sniff out the inequality. America’s response to the current opioid crisis is a polite middle finger to the black and Latino families gutted by their country’s answer to the crack era: mass incarceration. Like your corporation’s handbook, Make America Great Again speaks for those who believe only their culture and kind matter. On the surface, the slogan is positive. At its core, Make America Great Again is an offering to Trump country that blacks be returned to hell. And who doesn’t love a gift?
The irony is that although Trump relentlessly pulls from the well of polite racism — “What do you have to lose by trying something new like Trump? You live in your poverty, your schools are no good, you have no jobs, 58% of your youth is unemployed. What the hell do you have to lose?” — he doesn’t have the panache to represent this newer brand. He often offends American history’s politest racists. This population consists of white people who take issue not with their president’s xenophobic or racial attacks, but his archaic heavy-handedness. Similar to the mafia, these are traditionalists who aren’t averse to brown blood being spilled in the streets but realize it’s not the cleanest way to shovel dirt.
Like all racism, the psychology of its most civil version isn’t limited to its execution. The depth and breadth of its lasting effects on black and brown minds are why its stock is appraised premium. White liberals’ encouragement of integration and championing of profitable black culture has dizzied the American minority to a degree that they’ve grown farsighted to subtlety. With lesser vision comes a more detrimental symptom: the inability to clearly see oneself. When that occurs, minorities default to the lens of the majority race. This avalanches into brown and black people loving one another the way their oppressors prefer them to love: unhealthily (holding those with lighter skin to a higher beauty standard; equating gangs with family).
The psychosis of it all struck me most while reading Ibram X. Kendi’s How To Be an Antiracist. Kendi recounted a speech he gave in a high school oratory contest. He admitted that in the spirit of being pro-black, he painted his own people with egregious adjectives (to raucous praise from a black audience): “[Black people] think it’s ok to climb the high tree of pregnancy! They think it’s ok to confine their dreams to sports and music!” Despite positive intentions, young Kendi was so brainwashed that he ultimately became a spokesman for his oppressor. That is, until he awoke: “Racist ideas make people of color think less of themselves, which makes them more vulnerable to racist ideas,” he’d say later, denouncing his behavior. “Racist ideas make white people think more of themselves, which further attracts them to more racist ideas.” Kendi’s pages threw me back to my sophomore year in college.
I sat in the off-campus apartment of a biology major who was one year older than me, feeling weird. Two seconds prior, she paid me a compliment that to this day I wish she hadn’t. “I mean, of course, you’re black,” she said. “But you’re different. You know how to switch it off. You don’t always have to act ghetto.” My brain scrambled. Different how? Which blacks are forced to act ghetto? Residential poverty as behavior? The crazy variable is that she was African-American. Ironically, at the time, to me, she too was different: She was the daughter of two (still married) upper-middle-class parents, she grew up in a suburban New Jersey home, and she started college with a red sports car. She squealed and spoke like the girls on the intro of Sir Mix-A-Lot’s “Baby Got Back.” From my perspective, she seemed black only when it served her — reciting Lil’ Kim verses during campus parties or pulling the race card when a white professor offended her sense of entitlement.
But her “compliment” said it all. She considered black Americans ghetto and herself, along with anyone else who sat outside of her narrow paradigm, as other. The tinted vision she acquired via her chocolate-chip-in-a-bowl-of-milk upbringing conditioned her into spewing praise that sporadically haunted me throughout the next decade. The effects: occasional fear of appearing too ghetto around people with a poor perception of black people, and being perceived as other by black people who didn’t have the option to not “act ghetto.” Two educated HBCU students mind fucked by the miseducation of the negro. If you’ve ceased keeping score, that’s a 2-for-1 for polite racism. | https://gen.medium.com/the-new-racism-is-polite-racism-ce3232e1809a | ['Bonsu Thompson'] | 2020-03-24 21:43:56.087000+00:00 | ['Politics', 'Culture', 'Trump', 'Politeness', 'Racism'] |
DOS via a billion laughs 😈 | How can I defend against a billion laughs?
Assuming that you cannot control the input directly and prevent XMLs with attacks from reaching you at all, I can think of 4 measures:
Lazy evaluation of references : Instead of evaluating the whole document at once, the references are only resolved when necessary. It might solve some issues.
: Instead of evaluating the whole document at once, the references are only resolved when necessary. It might solve some issues. No evaluation of references : Throwing the dangerous feature out of the window for sure means that you’re not vulnerable to the attack anymore. You need to make sure it doesn’t affect your users, though. Communicating this might be hard.
: Throwing the dangerous feature out of the window for sure means that you’re not vulnerable to the attack anymore. You need to make sure it doesn’t affect your users, though. Communicating this might be hard. Reference recursion depth limit : The parser itself could be aware of this issue and have a threshold when it stops evaluating references. However, this might also lead to false-positives — documents that get not parsed, because the parser thinks it’s an attack.
: The parser itself could be aware of this issue and have a threshold when it stops evaluating references. However, this might also lead to false-positives — documents that get not parsed, because the parser thinks it’s an attack. RAM restriction: You can run the code that might execute the billion laughs attack under resource restrictions. This means the execution thread/process receives a (catchable) exception and can continue execution normally. It might especially mean that even if the exception is not thrown, the rest of your system might be fine. Only that thread/process might be killed.
So, how do you do this with Python?
For XML, the simplest solution is to use the defusedxml package as pointed out by Diederik van der Boor (thank you!)
The resource restriction is easiest:
Restricting the parser is sometimes possible, sometimes not. It depends on your parser. Some have parameters like resolve_entities (lxml).
Limiting the maximum decompression size was done against the HTTP/2 “HPACK” bomb (source).
See also
Kate Murphey wrote an awesome article about git bombs, check it out!
What’s next?
In this series about application security (AppSec) we already explained some of the techniques of the attackers 😈 and also techniques of the defenders 😇:
And this is about to come:
CSRF 😈
DOS 😈
Credential Stuffing 😈
Cryptojacking 😈
Single-Sign-On 😇
Two-Factor Authentication 😇
Backups 😇
Disk Encryption 😇
Let me know if you are interested in more articles around AppSec / InfoSec! | https://infosecwriteups.com/dos-via-a-billion-laughs-9a79be96e139 | ['Martin Thoma'] | 2020-12-26 07:57:49.282000+00:00 | ['Cybersecurity', 'Software Development', 'Programming', 'Hacking', 'Software Engineering'] |
Zara replica - Part 1 | This is part one of many in which we are going to create an e-commerce app inspired by the ZARA mobile app…
At WWDC 20, apple said that it is now possible to build an entire app in swift UI… Although this statement is valid for the majority of apps, there are still features and functionalities that need the power of UIKit to be implemented correctly. In my humble opinion, UIKit is still relevant to this day, and it will not disappear anytime soon. So if you want to be a flexible iOS developer, you will need to know both frameworks.
In this series, we will use a bit of UIKit to implement a feature that would be hard to implement with only swift UI.
To follow along, you need:
Xcode 12 or greater
MacOS Catalina or greater
Swift 5.0 or greater
iOS 14 or greater
Open Xcode
Create a new Xcode project
Select App and click next
Name your app and make sure the user interface is Swift UI
Last, click Finish.
Or you can get the starter project at https://liquidcoder.com/course/zara-replica , you will need a free account to get it.
Let’s first create a bunch of folders and files that we will use throughout this series, and we will keep adding on them as we go.
To follow along, you need download the starter project source code linked above, and when you finish, try to compare with the final project.
Create the following folders in your root folder: Views, Utils, Extensions, Data, Screens, UIKit
Extensions
Add the following in the Extensions folder:
Color+.swift
import SwiftUI
extension Color {
static var background = Color("background")
static var text = Color("text")
}
The above code will work if you’ve downloaded the initial project code, otherwise you will need to add the 2 colors in the Assets.xcassets folder.
View+.swift
import SwiftUI
extension View {
func thinFont() -> some View {
self.font(.system(size: 20, weight: Font.Weight.thin, design: Font.Design.default))
}
func lightFont() -> some View {
self.font(.system(size: 12, weight: Font.Weight.light, design: Font.Design.default))
}
func boldFont() -> some View {
self.font(.system(size: 15, weight: Font.Weight.bold, design: Font.Design.default))
}
func textColor() -> some View {
self.foregroundColor(.text)
}
func reverseTextColor() -> some View {
self.foregroundColor(.background)
}
func bgColor() -> some View {
self.background(Color.background)
}
func reverseBgColor() -> some View {
self.background(Color.text)
}
}
In case you are not familiar with extensions in swift, I will link some resources to help you out. In short, this will allow us to call the above functions as modifiers, because they are modifiers. We might add more files into this folder as we go.
Buttons
Now, in the Views folder, add another folder named Buttons. Next, add the following in that folder. The following are different styles of buttons we will use throughout this series.
CloseButton.swift
import SwiftUI
struct CloseButton: View {
var onDismiss = {}
var body: some View {
Button(action: onDismiss, label: {
Image(systemName: "xmark")
.thinFont()
.textColor()
})
}
}
struct CloseButton_Previews: PreviewProvider {
static var previews: some View {
CloseButton()
}
}
Preview
BorderedButton.swift
struct BorderedButton: View {
var text: String
var action = {}
var body: some View {
Button(action: action, label: {
Text(text)
.boldFont()
.textColor()
.padding(.horizontal, 30)
.padding(.vertical, 10)
.border(Color.text, width: 1)
})
}
} struct BorderedButton_Previews: PreviewProvider {
static var previews: some View {
BorderedButton(text: "ADD")
}
}
Preview
Preview
IconButton.swift
struct IconButton: View {
var icon: String
var action = {}
var body: some View {
Button(action: action, label: {
Image(systemName: icon)
.lightFont()
.textColor()
})
}
} struct IconButton_Previews: PreviewProvider {
static var previews: some View {
IconButton(icon: "square.and.arrow.up")
}
}
Preview
Preview
FilledButton.swift
import SwiftUI struct FilledButton: View {
var text: String
var action = {}
var body: some View {
Button(action: action, label: {
Text(text)
.boldFont()
.reverseTextColor()
.padding(.horizontal, 30)
.padding(.vertical, 10)
})
}
} struct FilledButton_Previews: PreviewProvider {
static var previews: some View {
FilledButton(text: "LOG IN")
.reverseBgColor()
}
}
Preview
NakedButton.swift
import SwiftUI struct NakedButton: View {
var text: String
var alignment: Alignment = .center
var action = {}
var body: some View {
Button(action: action, label: {
Text(text)
.lightFont()
.textColor()
.padding(.vertical, 10)
.frame(maxWidth: .infinity, alignment: alignment)
})
}
} struct NakedButton_Previews: PreviewProvider {
static var previews: some View {
NakedButton(text: "Have you forgotten your password?")
}
}
Preview
LargeNakedButton.swift
import SwiftUI
struct LargeNakedButton: View {
var text: String
var action = {}
var body: some View {
Button(action: action, label: {
Text(text)
.font(.system(size: 30, weight: Font.Weight.black, design: Font.Design.default))
.foregroundColor(.text)
.frame(maxWidth: .infinity, alignment: .leading)
})
}
}
struct LargeNakedButton_Previews: PreviewProvider {
static var previews: some View {
LargeNakedButton(text: "MY INFORMATION")
}
}
Preview
In the Screens folder, add the following:
Login Screen
In the Screens folder, add the following:
LoginScreen.swift
struct LoginScreen: View {
var onDismiss = {}
@State private var email = ""
@State private var password = ""
var body: some View { // 1
VStack{
// 2
HStack {
CloseButton(action: onDismiss)
Spacer()
}
Spacer()
// 3
VStack(spacing: 20) {
VStack {
TextField("Email", text: self.$email)
Divider()
}
VStack {
SecureField("Password", text: self.$email)
Divider()
}
FilledButton(text: "LOG IN", action: onDismiss)
.frame(maxWidth: .infinity)
.reverseBgColor()
NakedButton(text: "Have you forgotten your password?")
}
Spacer()
// 4
VStack{
BorderedButton(text: "CHAT", action: {})
NakedButton(text: "Don't have an account? Register")
}
}.padding()
}
} struct LoginScreen_Previews: PreviewProvider {
static var previews: some View {
LoginScreen()
}
}
Explanation
I first a declare a closure that will be called when the onDismiss the close button or the login button are tapped. I also declare 2 state properties that will hold the email and password. I put everything inside a VStack because the UI will flow from top to bottom. We then create the horizontal invisible navbar that will only contain the CloseButton and a Spacer . The Spacer is used to push the CloseButton to the left edge of the screen. Next, We create the form inside a VStack again , and surround it with 2 Spacer to center it vertically. With swiftUI 2.0, there's no need to handle the keyboard as the form will get out of the way when one starts typing. Last, we create the footer which is a simple VStack | https://medium.com/@liquidcoder/zara-replica-part-1-7622b317ac0e | [] | 2020-12-19 07:35:48.020000+00:00 | ['Swiftui', 'iOS', 'iOS App Development', 'Mobile Apps', 'Mobile App Development'] |
Ultravioletto Unveils “Neural Mirror” During Festival of Two Worlds | A religious structure can prompt a transcendental experience, transporting parishioners into another plain. This ethos is highlighted in “Neural Mirror,” an installation at the former Church of Santa Maria della Manna d’Oro in Spoleto, Italy, that scans a viewer’s image and transforms it into a cloud of vibrant numerals and symbols.
Created by Ultravioletto, a design studio that uses technology and robotics, the work supposedly takes not only one’s physical form, but also one’s emotional state and sex drive, and manifests these characteristics as data. Essentially, how the viewer reacts in front of the reflective surface triggers the varying responses. “‘Neural Mirror’ is an interactive installation in which artificial intelligence is the protagonist,” says the collective team of Ultravioletto in a prepared statement. “[It is] a mirroring sentient interface that perceives, interprets, and elaborates the image of the observer.” | https://medium.com/surface-magazine/ultravioletto-unveils-neural-mirror-during-festival-of-two-worlds-1937e0d4b2d | ['Surface Magazine'] | 2019-07-11 01:18:13.294000+00:00 | ['Art', 'Italy', 'Culture', 'Robots', 'Technology'] |
Differentiation under the Integral Sign w/Examples | Calculus
Differentiation under the Integral Sign w/Examples
“Richard Feynman’s Integral Trick”
Introduction
Most undergraduates will encounter several common integration techniques in their university life. Some of them are substitution, integration by parts and integration by partial fractions. However, there is an integration technique which is also useful to know. It is differentiation under integral sign.
Differentiation under integral sign was popularized by Richard Feynman, who was an American theoretical physicist. He was able to solve most integrals given to him, those that even great mathematicians found difficult.
In this article, we will provide the steps of using the technique and demonstrate it using 4 examples.
General Procedure:
To apply differentiation under integral sign, one needs to
Introduce an additional parameter a or a function into the integral and treat it as f(a), a function of a. Compute df/da and perform integration with respect to x to obtain a differential equation. Solve the differential equation to obtain formula of f(a).
(As a sanity check, f(a) does not involve any integration.) Substitute appropriate value of a into f(a) to compute the required integral.
Common difficulty:
The most common difficulty encountered when using differentiation under Integral sign is step 1, as it depends on experience or creativity. Here, we list a motivation of step 1 to ease readers.
Motivation of step 1: We introduce an additional parameter a or a function is so that after differentiation, we can perform integration.
See examples below for more information. | https://medium.com/cantors-paradise/differentiation-under-integral-sign-w-examples-9afbf121d668 | ['Nhw', 'Maths Phd'] | 2020-11-28 01:54:21.584000+00:00 | ['Math', 'Mathematics', 'Integration', 'Differentiation', 'Calculus'] |
Love Your Parents | They Won’t Always Be Around
Photo by Sven Mieke on Unsplash
Writing from a hospital waiting room, the very one that I’ve walked past for the last five days. It’s nice, surrounded by windows looking out on luscious green grass, trees and a large open field where you might see deer in the evening.
Last Thursday afternoon, my sweet, little mother-in-law was not answering her phone at her farm in the mid-west.
After several calls and a few hours gone by, my husband asked his uncle to go out and check on her. As she has seemed sick off and on for the past few months, not providing us with very much information as to what was wrong exactly.
Cancer, and lots of it.
And now, as we live day by day, waiting to see what the next will bring, we reflect on the time we have had her with us. Wondering how much longer that will be.
It’s hard to imagine, and even harder to actually live through it right now.
But the point is, don’t wait to show your love to your parents — or anyone! Don’t wait to talk to them, to thank them, to share what’s going on in your life, to spend time with them, to ask to hear their stories, to find out how great they are.
Because none of us know how long we will have them with us. And that of course can be said about anyone we care about really. So, stop what you’re doing right now, if you can, and call those people you love- tell them and ask them what you can do for them to make their lives just a little bit easier.
You will never regret showing your love and serving them while you have the chance. | https://medium.com/afwp/love-your-parents-b1892766eebe | ['Clarrisa Lee'] | 2019-06-29 12:02:36.575000+00:00 | ['Fear', 'Life', 'Love', 'Death And Dying', 'Family'] |
Strata: The United Nations Environment Programme’s Earth Stress Monitor | The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) along with Quosient Ltd. (trading as Earth Blox) and scientists from the University of Edinburgh are working to develop an early warning system to identify where climate change could impact areas already affected by natural disasters or conflict.
The tool, known as Strata: Earth Stress monitor, is a platform that will use data captured through satellite imagery and cloud computing to improve the mapping of environmental and climate stresses globally and reveal where harmful climate change overlaps with other environmental stressors, such as war, temperature, noise and crowds.
The project is one of the 32 selected as part of the GEO — Google Earth Engine Program that provides funding to tackle environmental and social challenges using open Earth data.
We spoke with Sam Fleming from Earth Blox, to learn more about their project and how his team will be using Google Earth Engine (GEE) to provide a fast and accurate way of identifying environmental and climate hotspots.
Sam, can you please provide us with an overview of your project?
The Strata: Earth Stress monitor will present results from continuous Environmental and Climate Stress monitoring. This project is a collaboration between the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the University of Edinburgh, and Earth Blox. By harnessing novel technologies and digital innovation, we will develop an easy-to-use platform.
The platform will assist UN country teams to improve how they use geospatial and Earth Observation (EO) data to assess, and ultimately reduce climate and environmental risks. Through code-free and effortless access to planetary datasets, Strata will become a crucial tool that promotes sustainable livelihoods and facilitates more informed decision making at both a policy and programme level.
The UNEP and their teams across the globe will be the end users, so Strata will be co-designed with them to ensure it is fit for purpose and can be tailored to meet specific situations in their countries, while operating alongside their existing methodologies and platforms.
What role does Earth Blox have in this project?
Strata will be powered by Earth Blox, a code-free platform for accessing, processing, and analysing EO data. This will be customised and tailored to facilitate the use of the environment and climate stress indicator algorithm being developed by the University of Edinburgh.
What is the challenge that you want to tackle with Strata?
The partners are solidifying their commitment to tackling global challenges by identifying emerging environmental and climate threat hotspots.
The in-country UN teams require a simple system that will allow them to rapidly determine where environmental and climate stresses are converging and the accuracy of those indicators. Hence, there is a need for easy access to advanced geospatial analytics and EO data that covers from sub-national to global.
How has this challenge impacted your community?
The challenge faced by the in-country UN teams is the ability to make informed decisions on a policy and programme level. This, in turn, impacts each team’s ability to provide environmental stewardship, improvements to human wellbeing and the protection of livelihoods of citizens within their countries.
We piloted this project in Somalia, a place where environmental and climate stresses are contributing to an increasing risk of maladaptation, fragility, forced displacement and conflict. Environmental challenges cannot be tackled without the data and analytics to monitor and understand them in the first place.
How does GEE help you achieve your project-related goals?
GEE provides access to a vast range of environmental, climatic and wider geospatial datasets that contribute to hotspots of environmental and climate stresses. These data sets are global and, in many cases, cover a long time period. Such a repository of data will enable us to offer a solution that can be tailored by users to meet their specific requirements and scenarios.
How will the GEO-GEE funding help your project?
The GEO-GEE funding will support Strata in various ways. The GEE license is a fantastic opportunity to experiment with high-quality resources and allow us to test various algorithms for environmental and climate risk assessments. Additionally, the access to EO experts and their community of practice, as well as the technical expertise provided by Google, the GEO Secretariat and EO Data Science is going to be of great benefit for our project particularly when transferring our scientific methodologies into practical algorithms to visualise stress hotspots in Strata.
What does success look like to you?
Success to us would come in three key areas. The first is that we will see an increased use of EO data and cloud computing within risk-assessments and decision making.
The second is an enhancement of early warning and predictive analytics, which we hope to achieve through facilitating our end users to incorporate the outputs from Strata into their existing early warning systems.
Finally, success will bring about improved programming for risk reduction and climate resilience, where we see Strata having a key role in providing the data and analytics required by the in-country teams to achieve this.
EO Data Science’s role in the GEO — GEE Program
EO Data Science partnered with Google Earth Engine and the Group on Earth Observations to launch the GEO-GEE Program, which supports GEO member countries to operationalise their science as they strive to tackle the world’s biggest sustainable development challenges.
In July 2020, 32 projects across 22 countries were selected into the program which offers $3 million USD towards product licenses and $1 million USD in technical support from EO Data Science. This funding and support will help these projects tackle global challenges using open Earth data. Read the announcement and list of winners here.
Follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook to hear about more GEO-GEE winning projects! | https://medium.com/eodatascience/strata-the-united-nations-environment-programmes-earth-stress-monitor-91f4f02b0b45 | ['Eo Data Science'] | 2020-12-07 07:05:48.727000+00:00 | ['Climate Change', 'Google Earth', 'United Nations', 'Environment', 'Geeimpact'] |
Just Think | Let’s begin to write English. It will be a bit challenging but difficulties make life joyful. I’m going to keep telling from here: life is beautiful with all colors like challenges, joys, boring stuff, sadnesses, and so on. Every emotion is special, the existence of one requires the opposite one. If we haven’t tasted the pain, happiness would be no longer meaningful for us. Should think about it deeply. Everything gets meaning with its opposite. Could we understand lightness if we haven’t known darkness? I hope to get you this.
We always look for new meanings that get us a step forward. I think we all struggle about arriving somewhere. I name this as worshipping. Because our all behaviors contain a lot of aim. And nature doesn’t accept any emptiness, as we Turks say. Sometimes we want to make ourselves happy, sometimes other ones. Sometimes our aim can be just to reach something like a lover, fame, or wealth. In Islam, slaves should have only one purpose in every behavior: make Allah pleased with them. Even when we eat, sleep, wake up, walk and act, we should make Allah only one God in our hearts. That is the meaning of Tawheed’s word: There is no God who deserves worship, to be obeyed, to be loved, to be aimed when doing every deed, just because of Himself… only Allah. Maybe you didn’t get what I mean directly, already religion requires deep research about everything. I can give an example to it that, why the first revealed word to Prophet Muhammad who didn’t know reading is ‘Read’? I suppose that’s why, reading isn’t just to look at texts on paper or something, but also to look at everything by thinking. Just think. | https://medium.com/@BirlikteOgrenelim/just-think-812ac03923f | ['Birlikte Öğrenelim'] | 2021-07-15 22:46:41.895000+00:00 | ['English', 'Islam', 'Meaning', 'Religion', 'Thoughts On Islam'] |
How Social Media Affects Our Mental Health | Don’t Facebook your problems. Face them.
The power and influence of social media today are so great that they have penetrated under our skin and the development of new technologies has changed the world we live in — our habits, behavior, and communication. Special target, the prisoners of new ways of communication and social networks are young generations, especially teenagers. Social media has become the simplest way to communicate with each other and to exchange ideas, information, photos, and statuses. Since the social media entered into our private lives, we can freely say that they have a significant influence on our mental health.
So let’s see in which ways social media affects our mental health.
It can be addictive.
It’s obvious that social networks have a negative impact on our mental health, but it can easily become an addiction. According to Dr. Shannon M. Rauch at Benedictine University in Arizona, when your online posts are rewarded with comments and “likes” it serves as reinforcement, which can quickly develop into a habit that’s hard to break. Authors of a study from Nottingham Trent University conclude that there is a specific Facebook addiction disorder. It can cause a neglect of personal life, mental preoccupation, escapism and mood-modifying experiences. Also, people who excessively use social networks tend to conceal the addictive behavior. The addiction to social media especially depends on the time we spend on it. The more we use social networks, the more we stimulate the pleasure centers and dopamine production in our brain.
It causes a bad mood.
Social networks affect our mood and trigger more sadness than well-being. For example, Facebook allows people instant connection. “Offline” communications powerfully enhance well-being but interaction on Facebook may predict the opposite result for young people. It can cause social isolation which is the worst thing for our mental and physical health. One study includes a team which looked at how much people used 11 social media sites: Facebook, Twitter, Google+, YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr, Vine, Snapchat, and Reddit. In the end, it turned out that the more time people spent on these sites, the more they perceived themselves as socially isolated.
It enhances comparison factor and jealousy.
This includes comparing our lives to others which are mentally unhealthy. We often scroll through our feed and comment to ourselves others statuses and photos, for example: „Look at what she got, it’s so cool!“ or „WOW, he’s in Portugal, I want to go there!“. In fact, we make judgments about how we measure up and we become jealous of other people. One study looked at how we make comparisons to other’s posts — are we feeling better or worse than our friends? It turned out that even feeling that another person is better than you makes you feel bad. Also, when we feel jealous we tend to post more and more just to present our life much better. It’s circle with no end. Jealousy and envy can lead to feelings of depression.
We feel that social media helps us.
When we use social media we think that it is good for our mood but we actually don’t feel very good. There is a disorder called FoMO (Fear of missing out). It’s a social anxiety characterized by a desire to stay continually connected with what others are doing and we think that is good to know all that stuff. It’s like an addiction to drugs or cigarettes. When people use drugs they think it will fix their problems but it’s just going to get worse and worse. In one study, one group of people were using Facebook, and other groups were doing some other activities. When they were done, the group who were using Facebook felt much worse than other groups. The key is that they thought they would feel better but, in the end, they didn’t.
We feel more social if we have more friends on social media.
This is totally incorrect. We can’t be more social if we have more friends on social media because it contains virtual friends and virtual communication which can’t be compared with real communication. If we use social media often for conversing with our friends, we can feel lonely. Loneliness can’t be fixed with more friendships on social media, because virtual friend time doesn’t have the therapeutic effect, as does time with real friends.
All of these facts show us that we live in an enchanted world. But that doesn’t mean that social media doesn’t have its benefits. It allows us to connect with people around the world or with friends we had lost touch with. Also, there are social networks where we can find a job or read about things in areas of our interests, but getting on social when you are bored or you need an emotional lift is a very bad idea. We have to learn to control the usage of social networks. It’s a great idea to take a break from social media — turn of the notifications, just to see how long you will endure, and how that would affect your mood. If you think you can do it, go on! | https://medium.com/digital-reflections/how-social-media-affects-our-mental-health-5d65f3690ead | ['Ivana Grgurević'] | 2017-11-15 07:31:01.199000+00:00 | ['Social Problems', 'Social Media', 'Mental Health', 'Digital Marketing', 'Communication'] |
Budget 2020 — Part 2. Emergency Fund(s) | Emergency Fund(s)
Our homework for this past week was to 1) write down our monthly income and expenses; 2) establish open communication with all household members; and 3) identify what we could “cut out”, minimize and/or remain the same.
Next, we will focus on our Emergency Fund — EF. This is our “cushion” in case of emergencies.
Around the time I created my original savings account, I discovered Dave Ramsey. I vaguely heard of him but did not want to pay for Financial Peace University. I wondered, what could I find with a google click? I found so much information and began joining different Facebook groups (free), researching different budget tips and using excel budget templates, off and on. He stated that if you saved for your emergency fund first, you will have better success with his plan. Although I never bought any of his materials, I credit him for teaching me how to save and become more disciplined than ever.
Your emergency fund should be at least $500. This is non-negotiable.
There are two ways to calculate your “desired” fund. I would like to provide everyone with a realistic expectation because not everyone has the means to save as much as others. Plus, aren’t we are already living on a tight budget? $500 is the minimum I am suggesting because if we fall short one day, week or month, this may set us back even more. We need to be prepared for the unknown!
· I suggest it be whatever you can afford at this time… ($500)
· Total amount of monthly bills
If you can only save $500, that’s still an accomplishment. You will just continue to add as you see fit (week 3 will teach us how to add to our savings more in depth).
I saved $1,000 initially. This caused HUGE anxiety even though I had the money to put it away. Why? I am cheap and I felt that without this money, I would be “broke”. I kept it at that amount for three months. I was scared to add to it…. DON’T BE! If only I had thought harder about this decision, I would have realized I was only harming myself in the end. I was spending the extra money I could have saved rather than using it because it was “available”.
After a few months, I felt more secure of my financial discipline and saved enough to cover my monthly bills. My current emergency fund is at Woodforest (I don’t have a debit/credit card). I became so good at this budgeting thing, I created another one. This one is with my Credit Union where I save money specifically to pay off debt in large amounts.
· What you take, you REPLACE!!!!
o You need to ‘borrow’ $150 to pay for a new tire from your EF? Once you get paid again, you replace your $150. If that’s all you can put back into it, then that’s it. If you can add $151, you are still making progress.
· Again, this is for EMERGENCIES. Not because you found a cute outfit at the mall or want to take a vacation. DON’T TOUCH IT.
o If you are fired, off work w/ no paid-time-off (PTO) or you have to cover an unexpected bill, you have your emergency fund!
Now that we know how imperative it is to have our “cushion”, we need to create savings account OR if you’re old school, a shoebox. Just make sure whatever you decide to do, you DON’T TOUCH IT…. Unless….yep, an emergency! I recommend finding a savings account that lets your garner interest.
As of now, my Woodforest account has *some* benefits (.10% APY under $10K or .15% APY over $15K).
Why I chose this bank:
· My mom has this institution. In case of an emergency, I can send or receive money from her being in another city, 4 hours away.
· I can access my money, if needed as my primary checking account is housed in the DFW area (where I recently moved from in June 2019).
· If desperate (VERY RARE), this bank is in almost every Wal-Mart and it has late hours, open 7 days a week.
So let’s recap:
An emergency fund is necessary because it allows us to have room for unexpected expenses. The goal is to become not only debt free but worry-free, as well. What works for you may not work for others this is why, it is important to have another conversation about the goal savings amount and how long it will take you to reach it. Give yourself a maximum of 3 months. Example: $1,000 / 3 months = $333 a month. If that’s too much right now, get to $500 / 3 months = $166 a month.
Part 3 will be posted Saturday. By that time we should have part 1 and part 2 reviewed with our plan in place, eager to start paying off debt! Have any questions? Please feel free to email me at [email protected] or send a private note.
xx KDS | https://medium.com/@kiadsanders/budget-2020-part-2-d2e5543577f4 | ['Kia D. Sanders'] | 2019-11-20 19:57:11.960000+00:00 | ['Budget', 'Budgeting', 'Saving', 'Saving Money', 'Money'] |
DIY Air Transfer: Transmit and Receive data using GNU Radio and a Microphone | Photo by Alexey Ruban on Unsplash
Today, no one is surprised by the data transfer via WiFi or Bluetooth. But is it possible to send data directly by air? I will show how the data can be transmitted and received, for which we will create a simple modem implementation using OFDM and GNU Radio.
We will send the data literally by air — a speaker and a microphone will be enough for receiving and transmitting. If somebody is not familiar with GNU Radio, it makes sense to read or watch some tutorials before, like this or that. GNU Radio is cross-platform and can work on Windows, Linux and OSX.
So, our task is to make the simplest modem capable of transmitting data from point A to point B. There are many ways to modulate a digital signal, we will use OFDM — a method widely used in modern communication systems. In OFDM, a digital signal is converted to several parallel subcarriers using Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), which provides high speed and efficient use of the channel. OFDM is used a lot, from digital television and radio to LTE. Our audio channel is much narrower and more strict in terms of parameters so that the speeds will be lower, but basically the essence, in general, does not change. Strictly speaking, OFDM is not designed to transmit data over the air, although for small distances a conventional microphone and speaker will be quite enough.
OFDM in GNU Radio
The minimal connection graph is displayed on the image:
A plain text file is used as the data source (it can contain something like a “Hello World” string), then the data is divided into blocks that are fed to the OFDM Transmitter. OFDM is a rather complicated type of modulation, in the settings of the OFDM encoder we need to specify a lot of not obvious parameters.
A more detailed analysis of the values can be found here. Of course, the parameters of the OFDM Receiver block must match the transmission parameters.
The Channel Model block is used to simulate the communication channel, the QT GUI Frequency Sink block is used to visualize the spectrum. It is also worth paying attention to the low sampling frequency (s/r=2400), this is specially done so that the signal occupies a small band of the spectrum suitable for the audio channel.
Unfortunately, I did not find a built-in unit for displaying received data in GNU Radio, so I have to use UDP. The UDP Sink block is used to output data. A small Python program is used to receive it:
import socket UDP_IP = "127.0.0.1"
UDP_PORT = 40868 sock = socket.socket(socket.AF_INET, socket.SOCK_DGRAM) # UDP
sock.setsockopt(socket.SOL_SOCKET, socket.SO_REUSEADDR, 1)
sock.bind((UDP_IP, UDP_PORT))
sock.settimeout(0.5) while True:
try:
data, addr = sock.recvfrom(128)
print("Msg:", data, 'Hex:', ' '.join('{:02x}'.format(x) for x in data))
except socket.timeout:
pass
This allows us to display the received data in the console, which is quite convenient. Perhaps there is an easier way to output to GNU Radio, if anyone knows, please write in the comments.
If everything was done correctly, we can run GNU Radio and a Python script for receiving, the result should look something like this:
It would seem that the topic can be done? No, all interesting is just beginning.
Go On-Air
In the above example, everything is pretty simple. But there is one “but” — GNU Radio works with the so-called “complex signal”, which is actually a pair of floating-point numbers shifted 90 degrees out of phase. This is convenient for computer processing, but we cannot just take and broadcast a complex number.
And there are two options. Owners of SDR Transmitters (HackRF, LimeSDR, USRP, etc.) may not read further, but simply take a ready-made block for GNU Radio, in which everything is done “out of the box”. But since we are going to transmit a signal using a sound card, we must do the conversion ourselves, for which we will use the approach, described in many DSP-related articles:
Here OFDM is our transmitter, Fc is a carrier frequency, we will set it to 4KHz so that the signal fits into the maximum sensitivity of the speakers and microphone. The block diagram of the graph for transmission is also accordingly complicated:
For ease of testing, I use the WAV File Sink so that the saved file can be recorded and played separately. We can also open the file and view its spectrum, we can make sure that the center frequency is really equal to 4KHz:
Receiving
And finally, the last step: we will create a connection graph for receiving a signal. Here, in fact, everything is the same, only in the reverse order.
We multiply the original signal by the phase-shifted reference signals, then with the help of LPF, we cut off the high-frequency components. The output is a complex signal that can be used for further processing.
The graph for a reception at GNU Radio is as follows:
Here we can see the Audio Source block for receiving data from a sound card, the QT GUI Frequency Sink block is used to visualize the received signal.
For testing, I recorded a WAV file on a smartphone, when I bring it to the microphone of a computer, the decoded text appears on the screen:
Conclusion
As we can see, receiving and transmitting signals using GNU Radio is quite interesting and visual. OFDM has a fairly large number of parameters, those who wish can experiment independently with the size of the FFT block, the number of carriers, the transmission frequency, etc.
Thanks for reading, and I wish you all successful experiments. | https://medium.com/dev-genius/diy-air-transfer-transmit-and-receive-data-using-gnu-radio-and-a-microphone-f0adc8f1f563 | ['Dmitrii Eliuseev'] | 2020-07-16 07:33:57.187000+00:00 | ['DIY', 'Programming', 'Software Engineering', 'Electronics', 'Signal Processing'] |
10 Things Every Parent Should Know About Financial Education For Teenagers | Parenting a teenager is like no other experience.
No article or book or ‘teen expert’ can adequately prepare you for what’s in store — the roller coaster of emotions, the paralyzing worry as they navigate the twisted corridors of the teenage years and the overwhelming sense of feeling dated because you find it impossible to relate to anything they’re saying, feeling or doing.
It’s not a journey any parent comes out of unscathed.
Fortunately, there is one specific facet of this quagmire that we can help with — that of financial education, or teaching teens how to manage their money smartly & responsibly.
Here are 10 things parents should keep in mind:
1.Parental Responsibility: Parents need to acknowledge responsibility for educating their teens on this crucial subject and not delude themselves into thinking that this will be taught in school or college.
It won’t.
This also isn’t something that teens figure out as they go along. They learn painfully, by making expensive mistakes and losing out on valuable time and money.
The steps and actions parents take now to educate their teens about money will dramatically affect their teens’ financial future.
It is only when you take responsibility for your life that you discover how powerful you truly are. — Allanah Hunt
2. An Early Start: The earlier parents start this education, the better, easier and more impactful it will be for their teenager.
This is because by starting early teens get more time to practice and internalize the learning.
It also impacts their habits, behavior and mindset at a formative stage when there isn’t much ‘unlearning’ to do.
What’s taught in youth, is carved in stone. — Arab Proverb
3. Unconscious Incompetence: For teens, financial education is an unconscious incompetence.
They don’t know that they don’t know about money.
They have no idea how critical this skill is for their future success and wellbeing, so parents should expect some level of resistance to learning about it, especially when it’s not something mandated by the school curriculum.
We need to take them on a journey from unconscious incompetence to unconscious competence. This is where they have internalized the knowledge and had so much practice that this skill becomes second nature to them.
If knowledge is power, knowing what we don’t know is wisdom. — Adam Grant
4. Data Backed Studies: There is a ton to data to prove that teens who take a financial education course are more likely to save, less likely to be compulsive buyers and less likely to max out their credit cards.
It’s also helpful to know that they don’t have to spend years learning this. Just 10 hours of a financial education course has been shown to positively impact a teens’ spending and saving habits.
“If you want to be rich, you need to be financially literate.” -Robert Kiyosaki
5. Leave It To The Experts: Just as most parents wouldn’t teach their own teens to drive, it’s also best to leave their teens’ financial education to the experts.
There are 3 reasons for this:
Firstly, most parents haven’t had formal training in this subject and so find it difficult to know exactly what and how to teach their teens. They also unwittingly pass on their money biases to their kids, which is unhelpful at best, and detrimental at worst.
Secondly, parents suffer from ‘proximity bias’. Their kids are too familiar with them and tend to undervalue their knowledge and advice while being mesmerized by the same knowledge coming from someone else. It’s frustrating but very true.
Lastly, parents can rest assured that the expert will cover all aspects of financial education throughly, without missing out or skipping over parts that are tough to teach or uncomfortable to discuss.
An expert is someone who knows some of the worst mistakes that can be made in his subject, and how to avoid them. — Werner Heisenberg
6. Expect Immediate Results: Parents should expect immediate results from their teens learning how to manage money properly.
Because what teens learn in a financial education program is situationally relevant, they should be able to use their knowledge to make smarter money decisions in everyday situations.
This competence they develop around the topic of money builds up their self-confidence, and this is a truly wonderful thing to see in a teenager.
Another effect, is that they are able to spot earning opportunities they otherwise wouldn’t have noticed or considered, and they have the confidence to act upon them because they now understand how money works.
Self-confidence is the first requisite to great undertakings. — Samuel Johnson
7. An Invaluable Meta-skill : A meta-skill is defined as one that informs every domain of life and governs one’s ability to improve other skills.
Financial education does just that.
Irrespective of their teens’ career choice, being good at handling money makes one better at any job, whether that job is that of a doctor, an athlete, or an entrepreneur.
It allows them to engage with functional expertise more effectively, thus acting as a force multiplier and proving invaluable.
The single biggest difference between financial success and financial failure is how well you manage your money. — T. Harv Eker
8. Avoid Gender Bias: There is a pronounced gender gap when in comes to financial literacy levels, with men outperforming women on every scale in almost every country.
And while there are a number of reasons for this, what we’d like to focus on here is the fact that parents tend to speak more to their sons than to their daughters about money and investing.
Teenagers are more likely to speak to their mum rather than their dad about money matters. Yet most women, even those who are highly successful and run their own businesses, play the ‘ask your dad’ card, thus signaling that money is a man’s domain.
Parents must be intentional about avoiding this gender bias.
Financial independence is crucial for a woman to step up, play full out and live a life on her own terms.
9. A Precursor to Investing: Financial education is a necessary precursor to learning about investing.
Teens must first be taught the basics of personal finance — prioritizing needs, the cost of credit, inflation, compound interest, emergency funds and a whole host of other important concepts before they are allowed to delve into the tantalizing world of investing.
A failure to do so might put them in a financial tailspin, one that could potentially be dangerous, expensive and very hard to recover from.
A case in point is the tragic story of Alex Kearns who committed suicide because he mistakenly believed he owed a huge sum of money because of his investment losses on his Robinhood account.
By his own admission, on his suicide note, Alex said that in hindsight he had no clue what he was doing.
Risk comes from not knowing what you are doing. — Warren Buffett
10. Have a strategy, not just tactics: Giving teens an allowance, a credit/ debit card or making them use a budgeting app doesn’t guarantee that they understand how money works.
There is no evidence to prove that teens who have an allowance are better at handling money than teens who don’t. Similarly financial budgeting apps are only shown to be effective in cases where users are already financially savvy.
Allowances, cards and apps are all just tactics and for truly effective financial education, parents need to be strategic in their approach.
They need to focus on developing their teens’ mindset, behavior and knowledge. It is at the confluence of these three aspects that teens can gain a holistic understanding of money and how to manage it better.
Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat. — Sun Tzu
We hope this list helps you understand the different aspects of financial education for teenagers and encourages you to take some definite steps in this direction.
It truly is the best gift you can give your teen, one that will pay rich dividends for a very long time.
If you’d like more information or to see how we can help, contact us at [email protected] | https://medium.com/age-of-awareness/10-things-every-parent-should-know-about-financial-education-for-teenagers-56129c1b6052 | ['Marilyn Lydia Pinto'] | 2021-04-25 14:30:11.191000+00:00 | ['Parenting', 'Financial Education', 'Money', 'Teenagers', 'Parents'] |
Get Over Yourself Already | There’s a reason you’re not where you’re “supposed to be.” You know what I mean. Living that bigger, more badass and infinitely better life that you’ve been dreaming of and vision boarding and manifesting so hard it hurts. And in spite of all the victim mindset bullshit that you are absolutely convinced is simply “speaking your truth” and being authentic, somewhere deep down, I mean really deep, you know you’re lying to yourself because you’re scared shitless of actually having what you say you want. I mean, who would you be if you actually had the life you have specialized in wanting but not having all these years?
You and I have both read enough self-help books to know that it’s all about your mindset, right? Thoughts become things, you are what you think about, we get more of what we pay attention to, blah, blah, blah. But if all it really took was to clean up your stinking thinking, we would all be living large on our very own private beach, sipping cocktails and dining on vegan cuisine prepared by our very own private chef, who also happens to double as our private masseuse and personal trainer. And if you stick with me and that fantasy for just a slim minute, try to drop into your mind and body and just imagine what you would be thinking about while living that most enviable lifestyle. Would you even be able to recognize yourself without all your habitual thought errors, limited thinking, and self-sabotage?
One of my very favorite clients once told me that I am the Speaker of Uncomfortable Truths. I love that so much. I know it will never make me popular, but I guess I have kinda given up on that. Now, I am going for honest and real and right between the eyes direct. Because we are all gonna be dead in a minute and then it will be too late for me to tell you. And too late for you to change your mind, literally change your mind or at least the contents of your mind when it comes to the background music that just keeps on playing day after day, year after year. You have been feeling sorry for yourself for as long as you can remember and as a matter of fact, you really can’t remember a time when you weren’t feeling some level of self-pity for something. Either your hair wasn’t thick enough or your waist wasn’t small enough or your eyelashes weren’t long enough or your voice wasn’t husky and sultry enough or your grades weren’t good enough or your wardrobe wasn’t hip enough or your parents weren’t rich enough or your boyfriend wasn’t hot enough.
I could totally go on but you get my point. You feel me, right? I mean you’ve got to know that these really, really are first world problems that aren’t really even important enough for someone in a developing country to have even heard of because they have like real-world problems to contend with such as starvation and warfare and poverty and human trafficking and shit like that. And my point is not to shame you, because suffering is suffering and your pain is no less painful than someone who doesn’t know where their next meal is going to come from, or even if there will be the next meal. My entire point is this, you will absolutely not be able to get past your worries and your doubts and your struggles until the very moment that you decide to simply get over yourself. You will literally have to stand up, walk your ass over to the mirror and have a heart to heart with yourself, making legit eye contact and everything, no glancing at your phone just in case someone might have texted you.
And when you look yourself right in the eye and tell yourself to grow the fuck up, but in a nice, compassionate and totally life-affirming way, like you would imagine someone like Brene Brown would do. I mean she wouldn’t call you out in a mean girl way or shame you for being so self-absorbed, she would simply say it’s time for you to pull up your big girl panties and make the grown-ass woman courageous choice to let go of all of that bullshit that you have been carrying around and story fondling for like half your life already. You aren’t in therapy any longer. Your trauma and drama are in the past. You just need to take a great big gulp of Grow the Fuck Up Already and be done with it. Now blow yourself a kiss in the mirror and get moving. You’ve got shit to do and it’s a new day, girl. | https://medium.com/@diann-wingert/get-over-yourself-already-8c45913de066 | ['Diann Wingert'] | 2020-12-20 19:59:54.458000+00:00 | ['Blog', 'Confidence'] |
Lebanon Independence Day | Lebanon is passing through difficult times currently, but will surely recover soon and resume its glorious position. Happy Independence Day! Long live Lebanon! | https://medium.com/@joiecooper2/lebanon-independence-day-60777003f3b5 | ['Joie Cooper'] | 2020-11-22 08:18:57.704000+00:00 | ['Independence Day', 'National Day', 'Middle East', 'Lebanese', 'Lebanon'] |
Try not to Underestimate the Power of a Good Financial Planner | In the wake of the progressing Covid-19 pandemic, numerous individuals are hoping to reduce expenses and better oversee costs. Some may see monetary organizers as a superfluous cost, yet in actuality, a shrewd relationship with an accomplished monetary organizer will set aside you cash in the short-and long haul, and will help you climate the difficulties of a changing economy. CFP Board, a philanthropic association committed to supporting proficient norms in close to home monetary arranging, underscores how the direction a monetary organizer can give goes past the outside of stocks and venture guidance. Rather it underlines the advantages of a drawn out arrangement to help individuals meet their monetary objectives. Just people who have satisfied CFP Board’s thorough necessities can consider themselves a CFP® certificant, so be certain your organizer is a confirmed CFP® professional.It’s essential to take note of that not all monetary counselors have made a guarantee to act in their customers’ eventual benefits. As a feature of their affirmation, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERTM experts focus on CFP Board to go about as a guardian — consistently — while giving monetary exhortation to a client.”As you start to think about how best to deal with your monetary future, you should feel sure realizing that with a CFP® proficient, you’re working with somebody focused on giving the exclusive requirement of monetary arranging,” as per the LetsMakeAPlan.org website.Some of the vital advantages of a progressing relationship with a monetary organizer include:
Making an arrangement. Particularly during seasons of vulnerability, making objectives and building up monetary plans can add to your true serenity.
Understanding the laws. Monetary organizers can clarify the ramifications of the most recent enactment on individual budget, for example, the SECURE Act, which carried changes to retirement ventures, and the post-COVID CARES Act, which brought new monetary arranging open doors for people and independent companies.
Streamlining innovation. CFP® experts are up on the most recent instruments for dealing with your cash. Innovation takes into account faster and simpler conversations of individual budget issues including stock exchanges, yet in addition rebalancing portfolios, charge misfortune collecting, making annual duty projections, and getting ready for long haul monetary objectives, for example, instruction or retirement.
Seeing the 10,000 foot view. A monetary organizer can help you make a stride back and look at how your monetary information fit into an arrangement that consolidates income, costs, assessments, and bequest arranging. A certified organizer realizes how to keep this higher perspective in center, yet in addition how to adjust it as life conditions change. | https://medium.com/@dipankardbn120/try-not-to-underestimate-the-power-of-a-good-financial-planner-8657844a792f | ['Dipankar Debnath'] | 2020-12-27 15:48:32.740000+00:00 | ['Stock Market'] |
About Me — Kai Taraporevala. Greetings! My name is Kai Taraporevala. | Life — Painting by Katayun Taraporevala
Greetings! My name is Kai Taraporevala.
Bio
Where — I was born in Mumbai and have lived in India, the U.K., France, the Middle East, and Singapore. Being as comfortable in the East as in the West, I find the commonality of people in different geographies overwhelmingly more dominant than differences. These commonalities include the good (genuine warmth on an individual level), the bad (pervasive, common human biases wherever one looks), and the ugly (tribal loyalties and fixed ideologies).
— I was born in Mumbai and have lived in India, the U.K., France, the Middle East, and Singapore. Being as comfortable in the East as in the West, I find the commonality of people in different geographies overwhelmingly more dominant than differences. These commonalities include the good (genuine warmth on an individual level), the bad (pervasive, common human biases wherever one looks), and the ugly (tribal loyalties and fixed ideologies). What — As a student, I studied physics (I.I.T. New Delhi), materials science (University of Dundee), and general management (INSEAD — Fontainebleau). A couple of years ago, I am now 56, the weight of knowing that I still do not deeply understand even small parts of the universe (myself and other humans included) energized me to begin a course in mathematical physics, remote learning, part-time, at the fantastic Open University in the U.K.
— As a student, I studied physics (I.I.T. New Delhi), materials science (University of Dundee), and general management (INSEAD — Fontainebleau). A couple of years ago, I am now 56, the weight of knowing that I still do not deeply understand even small parts of the universe (myself and other humans included) energized me to begin a course in mathematical physics, remote learning, part-time, at the fantastic Open University in the U.K. Family and Next-gen — My wife and I have three children, all grown up and active in creative fields (fine arts, music, writing-journalism). My advice to them is that we need to make a living, but that true meaning in life comes from pursuing creative activities and keeping one’s expenses below one’s income. Real poverty attaches to those whose minds scurry about all day without kindness or creative thoughts. My parents, at 97 and 87, my sister, cousins, other family members, and friends generate lots of love and happiness.
— My wife and I have three children, all grown up and active in creative fields (fine arts, music, writing-journalism). My advice to them is that we need to make a living, but that true meaning in life comes from pursuing creative activities and keeping one’s expenses below one’s income. Real poverty attaches to those whose minds scurry about all day without kindness or creative thoughts. My parents, at 97 and 87, my sister, cousins, other family members, and friends generate lots of love and happiness. Learning — I have made many mistakes in life. Some of these mistakes are painful to think about, yet this has contributed immensely to my growth. The philosopher Daniel Dennett writes that “Making mistakes is the key to making progress. When you make a mistake, you should learn to take a deep breath, grit your teeth, and then examine the mistakes as ruthlessly and dispassionately as you can manage.” I find it useful to recall the words of Epicurus, who wrote, “Misfortunes must be cured by a sense of gratitude for what [is and] has been and the knowledge that what is past cannot be undone.”
Reading is like breathing. You stop living when you stop reading.
Passions and Topics I Write About
A Test of Knowledge — I still remember, when I was in middle school, the thrill of discovering that there is a path to learning without blind belief. This is the feedback based, iterative, and experimental core of the scientific method. The mathematician Morris Kline asked, “What is our recourse to countering illusions and erroneous intuitions?” Richard Feynman, the wonderful physicist, answered that “The test of all knowledge is experiment.” There are subtleties and deeper aspects to the scientific method (as a test of knowledge), but it is the best way to avoid fooling oneself. Feynman cautioned, “The first principle is that you must not fool yourself — and you are the easiest person to fool.”
I still remember, when I was in middle school, the thrill of discovering that there is a path to learning without blind belief. This is the feedback based, iterative, and experimental core of the scientific method. The mathematician Morris Kline asked, “What is our recourse to countering illusions and erroneous intuitions?” Richard Feynman, the wonderful physicist, answered that “The test of all knowledge is experiment.” There are subtleties and deeper aspects to the scientific method (as a test of knowledge), but it is the best way to avoid fooling oneself. Feynman cautioned, “The first principle is that you must not fool yourself — and you are the easiest person to fool.” Humanism — Humanism is both a framework within which the scientific method can best be practiced and a way of living based on the scientific method and utilizing the findings of science in all aspects of the universe. It makes humans aware that they, themselves, are responsible for the value systems they set up and live by. Humanism rejects ideologies and provides a synthesis of the sciences and the arts that helps work towards living a better, well thought out life.
— Humanism is both a framework within which the scientific method can best be practiced and a way of living based on the scientific method and utilizing the findings of science in all aspects of the universe. It makes humans aware that they, themselves, are responsible for the value systems they set up and live by. Humanism rejects ideologies and provides a synthesis of the sciences and the arts that helps work towards living a better, well thought out life. Mathematics and the Findings of Science — There are some amazing finds from humankind’s quest to understand the universe. The biologist, Edward. O. Wilson, writes, “Humanity is part of nature, a species that evolved among other species. The more closely we identify ourselves with the rest of life, the more quickly we will be able to discover the sources of human sensibility and acquire the knowledge on which an enduring ethic, a sense of preferred direction, can be built.” Mathematics as an abstraction and generalization of patterns is one of humans’ most significant inventions. Mathematics grapples with some of the most mind-boggling concepts, such as infinities and limits. It is also a form of poetry that, alas, millions of people miss out on.
There are some amazing finds from humankind’s quest to understand the universe. The biologist, Edward. O. Wilson, writes, “Humanity is part of nature, a species that evolved among other species. The more closely we identify ourselves with the rest of life, the more quickly we will be able to discover the sources of human sensibility and acquire the knowledge on which an enduring ethic, a sense of preferred direction, can be built.” Mathematics as an abstraction and generalization of patterns is one of humans’ most significant inventions. Mathematics grapples with some of the most mind-boggling concepts, such as infinities and limits. It is also a form of poetry that, alas, millions of people miss out on. The Outdoors and Rugby Union — I was fortunate to have the privilege of trekking in the Himalayas. There are magical places on earth where one experiences first hand the expanse and beauty of the world outside our otherwise crowded cities. Rugby Union is a sport I played as a child and young adult. The camaraderie on and off the pitch is full of the joy of life. It’s a sport one plays full-on when on the pitch, but as soon as the final whistle blows, you embrace your friends on the other side and thank them for playing the game with you. I now jog 5k to 10k distances on most days, but when the family is not looking, I get on the rugby pitch again!
I was fortunate to have the privilege of trekking in the Himalayas. There are magical places on earth where one experiences first hand the expanse and beauty of the world outside our otherwise crowded cities. Rugby Union is a sport I played as a child and young adult. The camaraderie on and off the pitch is full of the joy of life. It’s a sport one plays full-on when on the pitch, but as soon as the final whistle blows, you embrace your friends on the other side and thank them for playing the game with you. I now jog 5k to 10k distances on most days, but when the family is not looking, I get on the rugby pitch again! Reading and friendships — A friend of my wife once commented that reading is not an option; it is like “breathing.” Without reading and then discussing topics with one’s friends, one is as good as dead. Reading books is a process that transcends time and space. Many of the authors whose books we read died long ago, and we rarely meet those that are still alive, and yet all of them communicate, dialogue with us, and often become our friends through their books.
Articles
In my spare time, I write because I have things I want to say, share, and discuss with a wider circle of people. I find social media both a boon (I can attempt to reach a wide audience) and a bane (some forms such as a few words on Twitter can only generate hot air). Writing is a craft and takes time to learn. Isaac Asimov wrote that “what will teach you [to write] is the careful reading of some of the masters of English prose.” What greater pleasure than to read and write in one’s spare time? Links to a selection from my growing list of medium articles are provided below.
Thank you for reading this, and warm regards to you all. | https://medium.com/about-me-stories/about-me-kai-taraporevala-4d9e68353fdd | ['Kai Taraporevala'] | 2021-03-19 07:33:38.420000+00:00 | ['Life', 'Science', 'Humanism', 'About Me', 'Outdoors'] |
Europeans must keep their eyes on the long-term challenges | Broadening the beneficiaries of globalization, decoupling future economic growth from resources use and avoiding escalation of geopolitical competition are key challenges that Europe must tackle.
/ By Dr. Robin Niblett, Director, Chatham House
Amid Brexit, America First and a Chinese-US trade war, it is not an easy time for multilateralist Europeans. However, there is risk that their policymakers are drawn into responding to the daily vicissitudes of short-term shocks and tempestuous tweets. Instead, Europeans should stay focused on the most important long-term challenges. Three stand out.
The first is to rebalance globalization so that it works for all. Economic globalization has brought more prosperity to most people across the world, but it has had uneven and unequal effects. Too often, in focusing on its opportunities or simply in viewing globalisation as inevitable, insignificant attention has been given to the disaggregated economic and social effects of globalisation, which have hit specific sectors, localities and communities hard, churning up the more emotional and identity-based politics spreading across Europe, the Americas and Asia.
The task of broadening the beneficiaries of globalization will not be easy. Much of the world will struggle to escape this period of sluggish growth. Aging societies in developed economies need to confront unsustainable worker-dependency ratios. Emerging economies have yet to overcome the middle income trap. And the just-in time global economy is highly vulnerable to any disruptions to the flow of goods, services, people and data, be that from cyber-attacks, trade disputes or the geopolitical constriction of maritime choke points.
The second, related challenge is to decouple future economic growth from resource use. As the IPCC has made clear, there is little more than a decade in which to try to ensure that global temperature change is limited to a 1.5 degree increase. Limiting human-driven carbon emissions will be only one — though crucial — component of rebalancing global growth and consumption. Managing freshwater water supplies and land use will pose equally complex trade-offs.
Europeans are instinctively supportive of the multilateral system, not only because it suits their interests, but also because they are not well equipped to protect those interests in a more combative and transactional world.
The third challenge is to avoid an escalation in the current bilateral geopolitical competition between the US and China into a more dangerous, global stand-off. Many Europeans share US concerns about Chinese trade practices, intellectual property theft, domestic political repression and aggressive territorial claims in the South China Sea. But most fear that the Trump administration’s unilaterally confrontational approach will lead to a wider deterioration in the multilateral rules-based system, which has served Europe and America so well on balance these past 70 years.
Europeans are instinctively supportive of the multilateral system, not only because it suits their interests, but also because they are not well equipped to protect those interests in a more combative and transactional world. This is especially the case when Europe’s main transatlantic partner — the United States — is actively fostering the return to great power competition. Despite their long roster of domestic challenges — from protecting the rule of law within the EU to reforming the Eurozone — Europeans need to put equal effort today into managing this challenging international context. They should be willing to invest in and defend the international system where it under strain — from freedom of navigation to a functioning WTO dispute settlement mechanism — and be a source of ideas, energy and political will to reform and adapt where it needs updating, for example in the regulation of emerging technology. Overall, there should be four strands to this strategy.
First, the EU should use its collective market strength to maximum effect so as to usher in a more equitable period of economic globalisation. The EU needs to expand further its web of successful recent trade negotiations, so as to embed a growing network of mid-sized countries in a rules-based approach to free trade. Especially on the regulatory side, the EU can extend shared approaches to competition policy, data protection, tax avoidance and supply chain ethics and transparency. Tackling these issues internationally does not require prior consensus in multilateral institutions; it could also be instigated through the EU’s own market and regulatory power and bilateral agreements.
The EU should use its collective market strength to maximum effect so as to usher in a more equitable period of economic globalisation.
Second, the EU could use its regulatory power and economic weight to accelerate Europe’s contribution to responding to climate change. European citizens are increasingly aware of the effects of their own choices on the natural environment, as the shift in attitudes to plastic usage demonstrates. But there is a long way to go. European governments must work in tandem with multinational companies and non-profit organisations, and alongside their own consumers to set the example for an accelerated transition towards a low carbon and more circular economy. National budgets should be combined with collective Europe-led vehicles such as the EIB and EBRD, so as to focus on transformational long term investments in clean energy infrastructure, transport and building sustainability. European development policy should be linked to ensuring countries escape the fossil fuel trap, delivering more flexible and energy efficient growth.
Third, Europeans should try to reduce the chance of escalation in geopolitical competition. Europe needs to take an approach towards China that incentivises a deepening of China’s engagement in multilateral responses toward shared global challenges such as climate change and environmental management. Unlike the US, Europeans have a self-interest in trying to steer China’s Belt and Road initiative along a more environmentally sustainable and financially transparent direction. On the other hand, it should join the US in screening Chinese inward investment more carefully, in holding Chinese state subsidies to account in the WTO, and in challenging the spread of surveillance technologies that undermine human rights beyond China’s borders. This will require European leaders to commit to making China policy a central area for coordination rather than giving China the opportunity to divide its positions.
Finally, the UK and its EU partners must be aware that these initiatives will be less effective if the process of negotiating Britain’s withdrawal from the EU weakens any further Europe’s collective voice on the world stage. For Britain, its geography means that the EU will remain the first circle of its security and economic interests. For the EU, Britain’s economic, diplomatic and military heft will be essential if Europe is to be a capable collective international actor. This is a time for Europeans to hang together, or they risk hanging separately. | https://medium.com/bled-strategic-forum/europeans-must-keep-their-eyes-on-the-long-term-challenges-62719006d936 | ['Bled Strategic Forum'] | 2019-09-01 17:01:01.065000+00:00 | ['Trade', 'Globalization', 'Bled Strategic Forum', 'Resource Management', 'Bsf2019'] |
Gordon Ramsay — Bitcoin. Gordon James Ramsay, famous foodie… | Gordon James Ramsay, famous foodie, British chef, author of several publications and TV host and prominent personality, has become one of the most famous names associated with gastronomy and television. Thanks to his incredible cooking skills, ability to create and manage restaurants with a fiery temperament, Ramsay is one who often shows off. He is very well known for his skills as a chef and has received 16 Michelin stars in his career, and currently holds seven.
With such a famous name in the food and media industry, Ramsay has managed to bring home an exceptional salary after episodes shot on TV and through his many restaurants around the world. He has a net worth of $ 220 million, an annual salary of $ 60 million, and earns $ 223.000 per TV episode. It also makes money through brands and the products it supports.
This means that Ramsay’s assets are ready for investment, to generate even more passive income on its consolidated funds. Rumors say that Ramsay invested in Bitcoin, trading through automated platform such as Bitcoin Code. To confirm or disprove those claims, we conducted a thorough investigation to find out if the chef made any observations. publish on any Bitcoin investment.
Has Gordon Ramsay invested in any Bitcoin system?
After launching a thorough investigation into Ramsay’s public statements and communication, we found no evidence to suggest that he invested in Bitcoin or the cryptocurrency market via automated trading systems.
He has not associated with buying Bitcoin, trading with Bitcoin or getting involved in any cryptocurrency projects. While there is a possibility that he invested in Bitcoin and did it privately, there is nothing to suggest this from any public-facing communication.
The rumors were most likely spread by gossip sites that have the sole interest in channeling web traffic to their sites, to improve search engine rankings. News that should be taken with a grain of salt and treated superficially. The best thing to do, however, before investing your money, is to read neutral and in-depth reviews like ours. Find out more about the products associated with the English chef below.
Finally, we have Bitcoin Code, another piece of software that is often associated with the name of star chef Gordon Ramsay. This platform, by speculating on the highly volatile price of cryptocurrencies, is able to generate a daily profit of 20%.
This is the main reason why it has been so successful. In fact, it is said that starting with a minimum deposit of $ 250, he is able to generate up to $ 100 per day with the right market conditions. From the reviews read online and from the tests of our analyzes, we can say that Bitcoin Code is a reliable and safe platform. If you want to find out more about how it works and how to get the most out of this system, read our detailed review.
Gordon Ramsay has never used Bitcoin Code to invest in cryptocurrencies, he advised them to do so. Not because it is an unreliable platform, but because in none of his real public interviews, he has ever talked about investments in bitcoin.
As already said several times in the course of this article, this type of rumors is spread by sites that continuously generate fake news, for the sole purpose of attracting greater web traffic and improving its positioning within search engines.
Trading with the Bitcoin Code is very simple. Follow these steps to do it smoothly:
Register and verify your details on the official Bitcoin Code page
Fund your account by making a deposit of at least $ 250
Click on the Live trading button to start trading cryptocurrencies
Even using Bitcoin Code does not completely eliminate the risks of trading, so don’t risk more than you can afford to lose.
Visit Bitcoin Code
Conclusions
The rumors linking British chef Gordon Ramsay’s name to bitcoin trading systems are simply false. These rumors are spread by gossip sites to improve their search engine rankings.
Therefore, users looking for serious financial information should simply ignore this fake news. Our advice is to rely only on authoritative sources like ours. The trading systems mentioned in this article are reliable and we recommend that you test them yourself. | https://medium.com/@sophietimperley451/gordon-ramsay-bitcoin-2e7802b643d | ['Sophie Timperley'] | 2020-12-20 10:37:49.757000+00:00 | ['Bitcoin', 'Covid 19', 'Passive Income', 'Gordon Ramsay', 'TV Shows'] |
Generate gradient lines with the Static Image API | By: Jeffrey Ericson
Gradient lines communicate change throughout a route. They can show a the intensity of a runner’s heart rate throughout their course, the speed of a car down a path, or simply represent movement aesthetically.
Take a look at how our Maps API team creates gradient lines by breaking down a single path into many line segments and coloring each segment a different color on a spectrum. With the Static Images API, developers can add these gradient line maps on web and mobile applications.
Building a Static Images API call
The Static Images API offers a lightweight solution for embedding a map image without requiring developers to install an entire mapping library. It uses parameters like longitude, latitude, and zoom, to set the map view.
For this tutorial, you can either use the Static Image API Playground to pan and zoom to the area they want an image of, or follow the template below to create the API call by hand.
https:api.mapbox.com/styles/v1/{username}/{style_id}/static/{overlay}/{lon},{lat},{zoom},{bearing},{pitch}|{auto}/{width}x{height}{@2x}
Adding the gradient
Once you have your view, it’s time to start adding the gradient. For this example, we’re using the coordinates below to create a route from the Chicago History Museum, down Lake Shore Drive, to The Art Institute of Chicago. If you’re looking for a similar route, swap these coordinates out for a recent Strava run or draw a GeoJSON line using geojson.io.
const coords = [[41.91176, -87.632], [41.91307, -87.63279], [41.91323, -87.6323], [41.91329, -87.63203], [41.91331, -87.6318], [41.9133, -87.63153], [41.91328, -87.63123], [41.91319, -87.63083], [41.91309, -87.63049], [41.91301, -87.63027], [41.91254, -87.62928], [41.91238, -87.62894], [41.91231, -87.6287], [41.91225, -87.62842], [41.91223, -87.62827], [41.91222, -87.62806], [41.91223, -87.62778], [41.91227, -87.62728], [41.91231, -87.6269], [41.9123, -87.6267], [41.91227, -87.62657], [41.91222, -87.62649], [41.91217, -87.62644], [41.91212, -87.6264], [41.91189, -87.62633], [41.91145, -87.62619], [41.9104, -87.62597], [41.90941, -87.62592], [41.90922, -87.62589], [41.90888, -87.62582], [41.90783, -87.62558], [41.90649, -87.62524], [41.90517, -87.62492], [41.90404, -87.62464], [41.90313, -87.62437], [41.90283, -87.62426], [41.90254, -87.6241], [41.90233, -87.62393], [41.902, -87.62359], [41.90179, -87.62329], [41.90163, -87.62296], [41.90149, -87.62263], [41.90139, -87.62228], [41.90133, -87.62201], [41.90127, -87.6216], [41.90124, -87.62105], [41.90121, -87.62032], [41.90117, -87.62011], [41.9011, -87.61994], [41.90099, -87.61973], [41.90088, -87.61959], [41.90071, -87.61947], [41.89993, -87.61896], [41.89905, -87.61837], [41.89694, -87.61696], [41.89353, -87.61463], [41.89302, -87.61427], [41.89261, -87.6142], [41.89167, -87.61422], [41.89018, -87.61424], [41.88785, -87.61419], [41.88538, -87.61409], [41.88481, -87.61414], [41.88448, -87.6143], [41.88405, -87.61461], [41.88377, -87.61496], [41.8836, -87.61524], [41.88345, -87.61553], [41.88336, -87.61574], [41.8832, -87.61612], [41.88302, -87.61648], [41.88283, -87.61673], [41.8827, -87.61689], [41.88253, -87.61705], [41.88224, -87.61726], [41.88199, -87.61739], [41.88179, -87.61745], [41.88162, -87.61749], [41.88093, -87.61751], [41.88086, -87.62201]];
Next, let’s define some helpful color utility functions to color individual line segments:
Finally, in the code below, we’re using the polyline library paired with color utilities to transform pairs of latitude and longitude coordinates into an encoded polyline that we assign stroke colors to.
Once the hex codes are embedded into the encoded polyline, we can paste the overlay value into the API call to retrieve a static map with a gradient line. This will give us the path below:
Watch how to build a gradient line
If you’re ready to start building a gradient line follow the steps above. Or if you prefer, follow along in the video below as we use the Path Gradient helper library to break down the components of a Static Images API call and generate a gradient line:
Share how you’re adding gradient lines to your maps with us on Twitter using #builtwithmapbox. If you have any trouble, take a look at our common error codes or reach out to our Support team. | https://blog.mapbox.com/generate-gradient-lines-with-the-static-image-api-368eb28068a3 | [] | 2020-04-13 19:17:47.580000+00:00 | ['Mapbox', 'Mapping', 'Map', 'Maps Api', 'API'] |
Pretend Party | today I shall wash my hair
slather my body in lotion
put on a pretty dress
slide it over my skin
be kind in the mirror
with eyes that love everyone
including me
I will cover myself in jingle-jangle
bracelets on my wrists
necklaces, earrings that dangle
perhaps even a sparkling barrette
slip on my most elegant shoes
listen to the forgotten clickety-clack
of my heels tapping across
the floor
today I shall sit back in full regalia
as if I were on my way to a party
anxious, excited, breathing in
the anticipatory hubbub of friends
mingling, a cacophony of chatter
bathing my soul
then I will stretch out on the couch,
kick off my shoes and say…
Oh! I’m exhausted — but, that was
so much fun, I’m so glad I went
my voice gusting out and trailing off
in replete satisfaction
later I will go upstairs, slip off
the jewelry, the dress, the sparkling
barrette, slip back into my pajamas
and pretend that it wasn’t just
a dream
©Jennifer Cowie King
If you liked this poem, you might like this one… | https://medium.com/loose-words/pretend-party-ef5e585513c9 | ['Jennifer Cowie King'] | 2020-12-18 13:10:41.524000+00:00 | ['Free Verse', 'Holidays', 'Loneliness', 'Pandemic', 'Poetry'] |
Most Reliable Cryptocurrency Exchange From Euclideum | Currently, there are many Blockchain technology platforms that have just entered the market, one of which is Euclideum. Where Euclideum is a platform that provides cryptocurrency trading services through the ArchimeDEX feature and will be released in Q4 2020. Later this platform will display a liquidity protocol that uses token swaps so that it can ensure regular liquidity. Users can also collect their own liquidity and the users will get a reward from the transaction fees made.
Although Euclideum is built on the Ethereum network, Euclideum uses a different system from most other Ethereum network-based platforms, namely Proof of Stake and has been implemented since its inception entering the market. Did you know by using the Proof of Stake network, the network will be faster when processing a transaction when compared to the Ethereum network. Not only that, the Proof of Stake system will also allow users to make transactions more easily. Another difference is that users will get betting prizes without having to run the knot themselves. So that they will still get passive income while joining the Euclideum.
Each platform must have its own plan, which this planning will bring the platform to success and minimize unwanted things and plan what should be done to encourage platform growth. Likewise, Euclideum has some planning and will be realized slowly. It is planned that in Q3 2020, Euclideum will activate prize campaigns and marketing prizes, later it will also continue the airdrop reward program on August 28, 2020 and release blockchain with the PoS system as the first validator node of the Euclideum project. Then in Q4 2020, Euclideum will release its ArchimeDEX wallet and swap token named ECL based on ERC 20 to the ECL token and will start trading on DEX. Later, after the launch of the digital wallet, users can exchange Erc20-based tokens with ECL tokens. Not only that, users can also launch their private nodes with only 30 ECL, users can already earn rupiah coffers through PoS mining. In addition, users can also trade on ArchimeDEX, because in Q4 2020 trading through the service has already started.
Later in Q1 2021, it will launch more digital assets and pairs on exchanges such as DEX, among them are third party smart contract delegated bets. So that users do not need to run the node themselves, because this platform will delegate coins owned by users to other nodes and users can enjoy the available rewards. then in Q2 2021 it is planned that Euclideum will give the first prize to developers of decentralized applications, they have succeeded in giving birth to decentralized applications that can be used by the Euclideum platform. Where the decentralization application includes free smart contract audits and Sharding testing currently underway on the testnet. Further planning will be realized in Q3 2021, in which case the platform will release the first 10 decentralized applications and launch crowdfunding for decentralized applications. Then in Q4 2021, they will also launch Sharding on the Mainnet with the number of centralized applications reaching 30 applications. the planning above will of course be realized slowly over time. If nothing happens outside of planning, it can be seen that Euclideum will be a successful platform and much favored by cryptocurrency activists because the services or features that will be provided are quite attractive to use.
From the various descriptions above, it can be said that Euclideum offers so many benefits for its users. Not only offers benefits in terms of features, Yes, it will also launch a Blockchain network and a gift program called Airdrop on a large scale. Therefore this launch can be used by users to get free tokens. Therefore, users who wish to join the platform can visit the official website at www.euclideum.com
Euclideum Information
==========================
Bitcointalk: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=2578323;sa=summary
ETH: 0x337dec29bea29859be3088b58854a909a551cab6 | https://medium.com/@fatmaloka25/most-reliable-cryptocurrency-exchange-from-euclideum-f36b8832decb | ['Fatma Loka'] | 2020-08-07 01:43:39.513000+00:00 | ['Blockchain Technology', 'Ethereum', 'Technology', 'Technology News', 'News'] |
What to expect when your Hack…athoning :) | Let’s get to Hacking!!! :)
Joining a Hackathon can be a pretty daunting undertaking especially when it’s your first time doing one. Here’s a few tips to help walk you through getting started:
Don’t overthink it — I spent hours figuring out which Hackathon to bite the proverbial bullet on on. Experience working with other developers is very valuable especially when you recently graduated from a bootcamp. Team or no team? — I’d definitely suggest either putting a team together or try and join a team not to do a repeat of number 1 but working with others is very important and it’s good practice for white boarding challenges as well as technical interviews. You know what you know —Everybody brings their own bit of knowledge to a team during a hackathon. Me as a fresh out of bootcamp grad didn’t feel like I had much to contribute to the team(that was not the case lol). This is a great opportunity to practice skills you’ve developed as well as new ones. Have fun!!! — Coding should always be done with a smile on your face so have a good time when your hacking away lol.
Here are a few sites to visit when your looking into joining a hackathon:
There are many more not mentioned above but hope this at least gets anybody started on their first go around!!! | https://medium.com/@sethstarr/what-to-expect-when-your-hack-athoning-f3bf44ebe16d | ['Seth Starr'] | 2020-12-13 19:51:39.670000+00:00 | ['Bootcamp', 'Hackathons', 'Software Development', 'Flatiron School', 'Hacking'] |
[*Demon Slayer: Le train de l’infini Film.Français]] C.O.M.P.L.E.T[STREAMING VF] | Regarder Demon Slayer: Le train de l’infini (2020) Film Complet en Français | Pixar Demon Slayer: Le train de l’infini → Film streaming en [HD | DVD-Rip | HD-Rip | Bluray | HD-TV | HD-TV-Rip] Regarder de films Gratuit → WorldCinema.xyz
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9 novembre 2011 / 1h 46min / Drame, Science fiction, Thriller
De Steven Soderbergh
Avec Marion Cotillard, Matt Damon, Laurence Fishburne
Nationalités Américain, Émirati
SYNOPSIS ET DÉTAILS
Enmu, la première Lune Inférieure, a été chargé de tuer Kamado Tanjirô pour devenir une Lune Supérieure et avoir plus sang de Muzan. Pendant ce temps, Tanjirô, Zen’itsu et Inosuke décident d’acheter des billets pour monter à bord du train de l’infini et ainsi rejoindre Rengoku Kyôjurô, le Pilier de la flamme, dans l’espoir d’en apprendre davantage sur la danse du dieu du feu.
Sortie: 2020–10–16
Durée: 117 minutes
Genre: Animation, Action, Aventure, Fantastique, Drame
Etoiles: Natsuki Hanae, Akari Kitō, Hiro Shimono, Yoshitsugu Matsuoka, Satoshi Hino
Directeur: Yuki Kajiura, Makoto Nakamura, Masahiro Kimura, Mitsuru Obunai, Tomonori Sudō
Une pandémie dévastatrice explose à l’échelle du globe… Au Centre de Prévention et de Contrôle des Maladies, des équipes se mobilisent pour tenter de décrypter le génome du mystérieux virus, qui ne cesse de muter. Le Sous-Directeur Cheever, confronté à un vent de panique collective, est obligé d’exposer la vie d’une jeune et courageuse doctoresse. Tandis que les grands groupes pharmaceutiques se livrent une bataille acharnée pour la mise au point d’un vaccin, le Dr. Leonora Orantes, de l’OMS, s’efforce de remonter aux sources du fléau. Les cas mortels se multiplient, jusqu’à mettre en péril les fondements de la société, et un blogueur militant suscite une panique aussi dangereuse que le virus en déclarant qu’on “cache la vérité” à la population…
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THE STORY
After graduating from Harvard, Bryan Stevenson (Michael B. Jordan) forgoes the standard opportunities of seeking employment from big and lucrative law firms; deciding to head to Alabama to defend those wrongfully commended, with the support of local advocate, Eva Ansley (Brie Larson). One of his first, and most poignant, case is that of Walter McMillian (Jamie Foxx, who, in 62, was sentenced to die for the notorious murder of an 2-year-old girl in the community, despite a preponderance of evidence proving his innocence and one singular testimony against him by an individual that doesn’t quite seem to add up. Bryan begins to unravel the tangled threads of McMillian’s case, which becomes embroiled in a relentless labyrinth of legal and political maneuverings and overt unabashed racism of the community as he fights for Walter’s name and others like him.
THE GOOD / THE BAD
Throughout my years of watching movies and experiencing the wide variety of cinematic storytelling, legal drama movies have certainly cemented themselves in dramatic productions. As I stated above, some have better longevity of being remembered, but most showcase plenty of heated courtroom battles of lawyers defending their clients and unmasking the truth behind the claims (be it wrongfully incarcerated, discovering who did it, or uncovering the shady dealings behind large corporations. Perhaps my first one legal drama was 624’s The Client (I was little young to get all the legality in the movie, but was still managed to get the gist of it all). My second one, which I loved, was probably Primal Fear, with Norton delivering my favorite character role. Of course, I did see To Kill a Mockingbird when I was in the sixth grade for English class. Definitely quite a powerful film. And, of course, let’s not forget Philadelphia and want it meant / stand for. Plus, Hanks and Washington were great in the film. All in all, while not the most popular genre out there, legal drama films still provide a plethora of dramatic storytelling to capture the attention of moviegoers of truth and lies within a dubious justice.
Just Mercy is the latest legal crime drama feature and the whole purpose of this movie review. To be honest, I really didn’t much “buzz” about this movie when it was first announced (circa 206) when Broad Green Productions hired the film’s director (Cretton) and actor Michael B. Jordan in the lead role. It was then eventually bought by Warner Bros (the films rights) when Broad Green Productions went Bankrupt. So, I really didn’t hear much about the film until I saw the movie trailer for Just Mercy, which did prove to be quite an interesting tale. Sure, it sort of looked like the generic “legal drama” yarn (judging from the trailer alone), but I was intrigued by it, especially with the film starring Jordan as well as actor Jamie Foxx. I did repeatedly keep on seeing the trailer for the film every time I went to my local movie theater (usually attached to any movie I was seeing with a PG rating and above). So, suffice to say, that Just Mercy’s trailer preview sort of kept me invested and waiting me to see it. Thus, I finally got the chance to see the feature a couple of days ago and I’m ready to share my thoughts on the film. And what are they? Well, good ones….to say the least. While the movie does struggle within the standard framework of similar projects, Just Mercy is a solid legal drama that has plenty of fine cinematic nuances and great performances from its leads. It’s not the “be all to end all” of legal drama endeavors, but its still manages to be more of the favorable motion pictures of these projects.
Just Mercy is directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, whose previous directorial works includes such movies like Short Term 6, I Am Not a Hipster, and Glass Castle. Given his past projects (consisting of shorts, documentaries, and a few theatrical motion pictures), Cretton makes Just Mercy is most ambitious endeavor, with the director getting the chance to flex his directorial muscles on a legal drama film, which (like I said above) can manage to evoke plenty of human emotions within its undertaking. Thankfully, Cretton is up to the task and never feels overwhelmed with the movie; approaching (and shaping) the film with respect and a touch of sincerity by speaking to the humanity within its characters, especially within lead characters of Stevenson and McMillian. Of course, legal dramas usually do (be the accused / defendant and his attorney) shine their cinematic lens on these respective characters, so it’s nothing original. However, Cretton does make for a compelling drama within the feature; speaking to some great character drama within its two main lead characters; staging plenty of moments of these twos individuals that ultimately work, including some of the heated courtroom sequences.
Like other recent movies (i.e. Brian Banks and The Hate U Give), Cretton makes Just Mercy have an underlining thematical message of racism and corruption that continues to play a part in the US….to this day (incredibly sad, but true). So, of course, the correlation and overall relatively between the movie’s narrative and today’s world is quite crystal-clear right from the get-go, but Cretton never gets overzealous / preachy within its context; allowing the feature to present the subject matter in a timely manner and doesn’t feel like unnecessary or intentionally a “sign of the times” motif. Additionally, the movie also highlights the frustration (almost harsh) injustice of the underprivileged face on a regular basis (most notable those looking to overturn their cases on death row due to negligence and wrongfully accused). Naturally, as somewhat expected (yet still palpable), Just Mercy is a movie about seeking the truth and uncovering corruption in the face of a broken system and ignorant prejudice, with Cretton never shying away from some of the ugly truths that Stevenson faced during the film’s story.
Plus, as a side-note, it’s quite admirable for what Bryan Stevenson (the real-life individual) did for his career, with him as well as others that have supported him (and the Equal Justice Initiative) over the years and how he fought for and freed many wrongfully incarcerated individuals that our justice system has failed (again, the poignancy behind the film’s themes / message). It’s great to see humanity being shined and showcased to seek the rights of the wronged and to dispel a flawed system. Thus, whether you like the movie or not, you simply can not deny that truly meaningful job that Bryan Stevenson is doing, which Cretton helps demonstrate in Just Mercy. From the bottom of my heart…. thank you, Mr. Stevenson.
In terms of presentation, Just Mercy is a solidly made feature film. Granted, the film probably won’t be remembered for its visual background and theatrical setting nuances or even nominated in various award categories (for presentation / visual appearance), but the film certainly looks pleasing to the eye, with the attention of background aspects appropriate to the movie’s story. Thus, all the usual areas that I mention in this section (i.e. production design, set decorations, costumes, and cinematography) are all good and meet the industry standard for legal drama motion pictures. That being said, the film’s score, which was done by Joel P. West, is quite good and deliver some emotionally drama pieces in a subtle way that harmonizes with many of the feature’s scenes.
There are a few problems that I noticed with Just Mercy that, while not completely derailing, just seem to hold the feature back from reaching its full creative cinematic potential. Let’s start with the most prevalent point of criticism (the one that many will criticize about), which is the overall conventional storytelling of the movie. What do I mean? Well, despite the strong case that the film delves into a “based on a true story” aspect and into some pretty wholesome emotional drama, the movie is still structed into a way that it makes it feel vaguely formulaic to the touch. That’s not to say that Just Mercy is a generic tale to be told as the film’s narrative is still quite engaging (with some great acting), but the story being told follows quite a predictable path from start to finish. Granted, I never really read Stevenson’s memoir nor read anything about McMillian’s case, but then I still could easily figure out how the movie was presumably gonna end…. even if the there were narrative problems / setbacks along the way. Basically, if you’ve seeing any legal drama endeavor out there, you’ll get that same formulaic touch with this movie. I kind of wanted see something a little bit different from the film’s structure, but the movie just ends up following the standard narrative beats (and progressions) of the genre. That being said, I still think that this movie is definitely probably one of the better legal dramas out there.
This also applies to the film’s script, which was penned by Cretton and Andrew Lanham, which does give plenty of solid entertainment narrative pieces throughout, but lacks the finesse of breaking the mold of the standard legal drama. There are also a couple parts of the movie’s script handling where you can tell that what was true and what fictional. Of course, this is somewhat a customary point of criticism with cinematic tales taking a certain “poetic license” when adapting a “based on a true story” narrative, so it’s not super heavily critical point with me as I expect this to happen. However, there were a few times I could certainly tell what actually happen and what was a tad bit fabricated for the movie. Plus, they were certain parts of the narrative that could’ve easily fleshed out, including what Morrison’s parents felt (and actually show them) during this whole process. Again, not a big deal-breaker, but it did take me out of the movie a few times. Lastly, the film’s script also focuses its light on a supporting character in the movie and, while this made with well-intention to flesh out the character, the camera spotlight on this character sort of goes off on a slight tangent during the feature’s second act. Basically, this storyline could’ve been removed from Just Mercy and still achieve the same palpability in the emotional department. It’s almost like the movie needed to chew up some runtime and the writers to decided to fill up the time with this side-story. Again, it’s good, but a bit slightly unnecessary.
What does help overlook (and elevate) some of these criticisms is the film’s cast, which are really good and definitely helps bring these various characters to life in a theatrical /dramatic way. Leading the charge in Just Mercy is actor Michael B. Jordan, who plays the film’s central protagonist role of Bryan Stevenson. Known for his roles in Creed, Fruitvale Station, and Black Panther, Jordan has certain prove himself to be quite a capable actor, with the actor rising to stardom over the past few years. This is most apparent in this movie, with Jordan making a strong characteristically portrayal as Bryan; showcasing plenty of underlining determination and compelling humanity in his character as he (as Bryan Stevenson) fights for the injustice of those who’s voices have been silenced or dismissed because of the circumstances. It’s definitely a strong character built and Jordan seems quite capable to task in creating a well-acted on-screen performance of Bryan. Behind Jordan is actor Jamie Foxx, who plays the other main lead in the role, Walter McMillian. Foxx, known for his roles in Baby Driver, Django Unchained, and Ray, has certainly been recognized as a talented actor, with plenty of credible roles under his belt. His participation in Just Mercy is another well-acted performance that deserve much praise as its getting (even receiving an Oscar nod for it), with Foxx portraying Walter with enough remorseful grit and humility that makes the character quite compelling to watch. Plus, seeing him and Jordan together in a scene is quite palpable and a joy to watch.
The last of the three marquee main leads of the movie is the character of Eva Ansley, the director of operations for EJI (i.e. Stevenson’s right-handed employee / business partner), who is played by actress Brie Larson. Up against the characters of Stevenson and McMillian, Ansley is the weaker of the three main lead; presented as supporting player in the movie, which is perfectly fine as the characters gets the job done (sort of speak) throughout the film’s narrative. However, Larson, known for her roles in Room, 6 Jump Street, and Captain Marvel, makes less of an impact in the role. Her acting is fine and everything works in her portrayal of Eva, but nothing really stands in her performance (again, considering Jordan and Foxx’s performances) and really could’ve been played by another actress and achieved the same goal.
The rest of the cast, including actor Tim Blake Nelson (The Incredible Hulk and O Brother, Where Art Thou) as incarcerated inmate Ralph Meyers, actor Rafe Spall (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and The Big Short) as legal attorney Tommy Champan, actress Karan Kendrick (The Hate U Give and Family) as Minnie McMillan, Walter’s wife, actor C.J. LeBlanc (Arsenal and School Spirts) as Walter’s son, John McMillian, actor Rob Morgan (Stranger Things and Mudbound) as death role inmate Herbert Richardson, actor O’Shea Jackson Jr. (Long Shot and Straight Outta Compton) as death role inmate Anthony “Ray” Hinton, actor Michael Harding (Triple 2 and The Young and the Restless) as Sheriff Tate, and actor Hayes Mercure (The Red Road and Mercy Street) as a prison guard named Jeremy, are in the small supporting cast variety. Of course, some have bigger roles than others, but all of these players, which are all acted well, bolster the film’s story within the performances and involvement in Just Mercy’s narrative.
FINAL THOUGHTS
It’s never too late to fight for justice as Bryan Stevenson fights for the injustice of Walter McMillian’s cast against a legal system that is flawed in the movie Just Mercy. Director Destin Daniel Cretton’s latest film takes a stance on a poignant case; demonstrating the injustice of one (and by extension those wrongfully incarcerated) and wrapping it up in a compelling cinematic story. While the movie does struggle within its standard structure framework (a sort of usual problem with “based on a true story” narrations) as well as some formulaic beats, the movie still manages to rise above those challenges (for the most part), especially thanks to Cretton’s direction (shaping and storytelling) and some great performances all around (most notable in Jordan and Foxx). Personally, I liked this movie. Sure, it definitely had its problem, but those didn’t distract me much from thoroughly enjoying this legal drama feature. Thus, my recommendation for the film is a solid “recommended”, especially those who liked the cast and poignant narratives of legality struggles and the injustice of a failed system / racism. In the end, while the movie isn’t the quintessential legal drama motion picture and doesn’t push the envelope in cinematic innovation, Just Mercy still is able to manage to be a compelling drama that’s powerful in its story, meaningful in its journey, and strong within its statement. Just like Bryan Stevenson says in the movie….” If we could look at ourselves closely…. we can change this world for the better”. Amen to that! | https://medium.com/@davii606/demon-slayer-le-train-de-linfini-film-fran%C3%A7ais-c-o-m-p-l-e-t-streaming-vf-c3eb1aa8456c | [] | 2020-12-22 03:06:12.863000+00:00 | ['France', 'Online', 'Donwload', '2020', 'Hd'] |
If You Want to Change Your Life This Year, You Need to Find Your Reason to Do It | Nadja Hermann was overweight her entire life.
She grew up in a family of people diagnosed as morbidly obese. She wasn’t happy with this fate of hers and constantly tried every diet she could find for years and years on end.
You know the routine.
Every new diet ended up failing and leading to her gaining even more weight in the afterglow. The so-called ‘yoyo diet’ effect.
Eventually, she gave up and accepted she’d be overweight her entire life. She became a psychotherapist, got married, and moved on — while trying not to think of this painful aspect of her life.
When she was 30, she weighed in at 331 lbs at 5′9".
One day she slipped and hurt her knee while trying to do housework. A little while later, she did the same thing and injured another part of her leg. After a year of painful limping and restricted mobility, she broke down in utter defeat. And shame.
She knew she wouldn’t be able to walk at some point if her weight continued going up and up. And for a woman in her early 30’s, that can be a painful realization to swallow.
This breakdown was her moment of reflection and realization.
She examined all of her past experience with these many diets and wanted to figure out why they didn’t work. She went after this with the same zeal as she did to attain a doctorate in science several years prior.
“Tearing down the fallacies I had believed for my whole life was a long and sometimes painful process.”
At the end of this journey, she found her why.
She simply restricted her calories and moved more. That’s it. Around 15 months later she weighed 139 lbs, the same weight when she was 12.
Fast forward 10 years later and she has kept the weight off. She also published a best selling book breaking down her findings of the fallacy of what she calls ‘fat logic’.
Her reason was health-related. She chose not to be a lame duck and wanted to live her life to the fullest. | https://medium.com/live-your-life-on-purpose/if-you-want-to-change-your-life-this-year-you-need-to-find-your-reason-to-do-it-ff3b25c5ac27 | ['J.J. Pryor'] | 2020-12-30 22:03:04.263000+00:00 | ['Self Improvement', 'Life Lessons', 'Life', 'Change', 'Self'] |
Happy Holidays! | Team Aorthar get-together, Takway Bay, 2020
Everyone has a mouthful to say about 2020. Majorly bad reviews while a larger half would speak a bit kindly, but the truth is, it’s been a melodramatic year.
With Companies shutting down, industries folding up, hospitals maxing out and morgues booming, it’s definitely been a year that challenged us all to step out of our comfort zones.
At Aothar, it’s been a year of scaling. Scaling new heights, learning new concepts, working with fresh minds, unlocking new potentials and even going new miles. Just like every other, we’ve lost and we’ve gained, but we’re still here, firmer than ever.
Some things we discovered along the way and learnt to value, similar to a scaling trip are;
Teamwork: It’s easier to scale a mountain alone, probably faster too, but also easier to slip and die. We’ve learnt that, majority can be a blessing especially with oneness of target. We’ve learnt to listen to each other, accept new weird ideas, and to work together against all odds. We’ve learnt to look out for each other, covering our nakedness and making sure that we give only the best out. We’ve learnt to function as a team, even more, a family.
It’s easier to scale a mountain alone, probably faster too, but also easier to slip and die. We’ve learnt that, majority can be a blessing especially with oneness of target. We’ve learnt to listen to each other, accept new weird ideas, and to work together against all odds. We’ve learnt to look out for each other, covering our nakedness and making sure that we give only the best out. We’ve learnt to function as a team, even more, a family. Knowledge: We learnt this year, to pour more resources into learning and owning that extra edge and difference from the crowd. There’s so much it has to offer.
We learnt this year, to pour more resources into learning and owning that extra edge and difference from the crowd. There’s so much it has to offer. Fun: we learnt recently also that a good hangout keeps the brain working. It showed the importance of bonding and helped us connect in deeper ways than we already had. It also helped us appreciate the little things that matter in the end.
Looking back at how far we’ve come and the growth we’ve amassed as a team and as individuals, we’d say we are well among the larger set who’d look kindly on 2020. We had amazing creatives join us and we seamlessly create excellence on each job.
We have no idea what the next year holds, but we are so ready and positive. Thank you 2020! | https://medium.com/@aorthar/happy-holidays-2eded8469f | [] | 2020-12-24 23:08:49.642000+00:00 | ['Company', 'Design Agency', 'Team'] |
“Pennyworth” Returns in March 2021 | Rob Bailey’s The Hunted Fox, shortly after Dr Lucius Fox (Simon Manyonda) makes his first appearance, ended with a horrifying cliffhanger.
Colonel John Salt (Edward Hogg) successfully demonstrated Stormcloud, an extremely deadly chemical weapon, works. Lucius, unbeknownst to other demonstration attendees, secretly records the experiment.
With there being no new episode until Sunday, 7 March 2021, noting what unfolds in this latest instalment, series fans are left speculating what comes next.
Image Credit: IMDb.com
Pennyworth, developed by Gotham creator Bruno Heller, originally premiered on Sunday, 28 July 2019. Pennyworth, mainly set in London during the mid-twentieth century, revolves around former SAS soldier Alfred “Alfie” Pennyworth (Jack Bannon).
Alfie, in the first series, quickly became the target of the Raven Society. The Raven Society, a group led by Lord James Harwood (Jason Flemyng), had aspirations of taking control of the British government and subsequently the country itself. Arthur Pennyworth (Ian Puleston-Davies), Alfie’s father, is revealed a Raven Society supporter.
American operatives Thomas Wayne (Ben Aldridge) and Martha Kane (Emma Paetz), with very different agendas, worked with the No Name League to undermine the Raven Society.
The first series finale, with Alfie having shot and killed his own father, left viewers with the impression the Raven Society had been stopped and Lord Harwood had been imprisoned.
The second series premiere, Danny Cannon’s The Heavy Crown, revealed Lord Harwood had escaped and gained support from much of the British military.
The Raven Society and the No Name League have respectively changed the names to the Raven Union and the English League. Civil war, not for the first time in the country’s history, has become a reality.
A few cities, inclusive of London, Liverpool, and Manchester, have managed to remain true to The Queen (Jessica Ellerby) and her government. The newly developed Stormcloud chemical weapon could be a significant game-changer.
Series fans will have to wait until Sunday, 7 March 2021 to discover which direction the wind blows. If Lord Harwood has his way, noting the successful demonstration, the future looks bleak.
Previously … | https://medium.com/britbox/pennyworth-returns-in-march-2021-d249fbb062c7 | ['Shain E. Thomas'] | 2020-12-29 00:22:35.232000+00:00 | ['Streaming Service', 'Television', 'Epix', 'Pennyworth', 'DC Comics'] |
Commitment Issues | Photo by luizclas
CHAPTER 1
As the plane landed in Denver, relief came over Mona. She made it, but it is still very much in question what her plan would be. She didn’t want to stay long in Denver, and she still had her apartment and John back in New York City, but she needed to get away for a bit and find herself. Mona gathered her things, ready to exit the plane as it came to a complete stop. While leaving the plane, she took a look around the airport to see her new home for a few weeks. The dry heat hit her like a ton of bricks when she left the cold airport.
“This is why I left Denver the first time,” she said to herself.
“Excuse me, sir, do you know where I can rent a car?” she turned to the older man helping her with her luggage.
“Yes, if you go to the information counter, they can help you get a rental and a hotel if needed.”
He looked like he was in his late fifties with a head full of white hair and a crisp outfit as he pointed in the direction of the information counter.
“Thank you, sir. I appreciate it. I think I can handle my baggage from here,” she said and handed him a twenty-dollar tip.
As Mona gathered her things, she headed towards the information counter. The women at the information counter were amiable. They even discounted her rental and hotel because she too was from Brooklyn, New York. She grabbed her bags and loaded them into her 2017 Kia Sportage. After entering the hotel information into the navigation system, she reached for her cell phone to text her boyfriend back home and let him know that she made it to Denver safely and was headed to the hotel. Waiting for a reply, she set up her iPod and tuned to Pandora before pulling off to the smooth sounds of Sade, which softly came through her speakers.
“Right on time,” she said to herself before pulling off onto I-225.
As she got on to the highway during the day, the traffic was always heavy, leaving the airport.
“What did I expect; it is 5 pm,” she said, hitting the dashboard. “I should have gone local,” she shook her head in frustration!
As the air conditioner blasts its cold air, she turned up the radio and let Sade take her mind off of the million things she has to do to get settled in. She slowly started to drift into Sade, Is It A Crime lyrics.
Her phone tone went off, taking her out of her Sade element. It’s a text message from John. She forgot that she let him know that she had arrived safely. She was already in her own world.
I am glad to hear that you made it safely. Are you going to call me when you get settled into a hotel?
She read the text message rolling her eyes. She knows that her man is just insecure and thinks she is coming out here to have fun with other men. She replied back anyway. She knows that John is the type of guy that could buy a plane ticket and show up at her hotel room.
Soon as I get settled in, I will give you a call. I am currently in traffic right now.
As Mona arrived at the DoubleTree Hotel, she went to the counter to check-in to her room. She stood behind a tall, chocolate muscular man with dreads.
“Mhm,” she said to herself, “I see the men in Denver are well kept. This could get me in trouble,” she said, thinking to herself while looking him up and down.
He gave her eye contact, and she smiled at him with a little wink.
“Maybe what I need is a little trouble,” she smirked.
She grabbed her bags, the reservationist called, her next in line. She could not take her eyes off the gorgeous sight in front of her.
“I would like a suite, please. I will be here for about a month. What are your hotel amenities?” asking while glancing over to look at the chocolate brother beside her.
“Sure! We have suites available on our twelfth floor. Our laundry rooms are on every floor. There are dining rooms on the main floors, which open at 6 am for breakfast. The last meal is served at 10 pm. There are vending machines with ice machines located on every floor. The fitness room, swimming pool, hot tub, and sauna are on the main floor behind me. Housekeeping comes every day at around 11 am. We are here to help with anything you need 24hrs a day, 7 days a week. I hope this helps you with your stay here at the DoubleTree. We want you to have the best experience and welcome to Denver, Colorado,” the reservationist smiled and handed Mona her key.
“Thank you,” Mona said.
“Do you need assistance with your bags?” the muscular man looked down at her.
Standing 5'3" and 110 pounds, black and Puerto Rican, her petite size to his muscular build turned her on just by looking at him. He was 6'2" with an athletic build and chocolate skin complexion channeling Morris Chestnut.
“If you wouldn’t mind, but I do see you have quite a bit of baggage yourself,” she said while looking over the side of him at all his Louis Vuitton luggage.
“No worries, I can handle it,” he replied confidently.
“Well, what is your name? I don’t want some random person who I don’t know taking my bags, and I don’t even know their name?” she said sarcastically.
“My name is Ryan,” he kissed her hand. “Pleasure to meet you, beautiful lady,” he said and winked.
“My name is Mona, Ryan, and it is a pleasure to meet you as well,” she said, smiling shyly. They then headed to the elevator together.
“I am on the twelfth floor, Ryan,” she told him as they climbed into the elevator.
“I am on the tenth floor,” Ryan responded with a sly look on his face.
“It would be a pleasure to take you out to dinner. How about 9:00 pm if you aren’t too tired from your travels?” trying to ask politely.
“Sure, I am starving. That is enough time for me to get ready,” replying with a smile.
The elevator reached the twelfth floor, and they both got off, walking to suite 1205. Ryan helped bring her bags in, looking around at the room and surprised how such a young woman could afford this. He started to get curious about what she did for work.
“So where are you from?” he asked as he stood at the door, looking around curiously.
“I am from Denver, but I am currently living in New York City. What about yourself?” she said as she turned on the lights, moving her bags around.
“Miami,” he said.
“Oh, nice. I spent a couple of years in the Orlando area. You’re welcome to come in if you like.”
“No, thank you. I better let you get ready, and we can talk more when you meet me at dinner,” smiling.
“Sounds good,” she smiled, walking towards the door.
“I will see you in a couple of hours.”
“See you later, love,” she smiled, closing the door behind him.
Glad that he didn’t want to sit down, feeling exasperated and exhausted from her long excursion. All she could think about is a nice bubble bath with a glass of wine and the smooth sounds of Floetry coming from her iPod. Getting her bubble bath ready and her glass of wine. She made sure to call John back because he would be text soon enough, and with her dinner date, she didn’t want any interruptions.
She picked up the phone and dialed his number, waiting for him to pick up. Praying in between rings, she would get his voicemail just as she got done with the thought.
“Hello,” John answered.
“Hey,” Mona responded.
“I am glad you made it safely. What hotel are your staying in?” inquiring with a slick tone.
Wow! I was not even on the phone for ten minutes, and he is already interrogating me about my whereabouts. I am so glad that I could get away from his insecure ass. And he wants me to marry him. Ha! Not until he can stop his inspector gadget attitude.
“I am at the DoubleTree. Room 1205,” she replied, annoyed.
“Why do you sound annoyed?” he asked, concerned.
“I just spent four hours on a plane and an hour and a half in the car in traffic in one-hundred-degree weather. So yes, I am a little annoyed,” she responded dryly.
“What are your plans for tonight?” he asked, completely ignoring her response.
“I am going to take a bubble bath and then head down to the dining room to get something to eat. I had not eaten since this morning when you dropped me off at the airport,” she stated, leaving out the part where she would have company. She already knows this will lead to a long list of insecure questions about who will be there and what time she will be back in the room so he can call her, but she just cut him off before he could even start.
“Oh,” he said, lost for words.
“Yeah, but I will call you first thing in the morning. I have to let my aunt know that I am here. I really would like to get in the bath, so you have a goodnight.” Before he could respond, she ended the conversation.
“No problem,” he said, trying to sound calm, “I will just talk to you in the morning, love. “Have a goodnight.”
Thank God I could get him off the phone so quickly, she thought. The bath was ready as Mona just had to finish lighting the last of the candles. She poured herself a glass of red wine removing her clothes, and getting into the lukewarm water. Through the Beats speakers, you could hear the Smooth sounds of Floetry, It’s Getting Late, coming from the room as Mona drifted into a world of tranquility. The cold silk wine quenching her thirst and the candles bouncing her silhouette off the walls. This is just what she needed right now before a night out with her Morris Chestnut look-a-like. She smiled, thinking about Ryan. She knows that going out with him will be wrong because of John. However, Mona didn’t care; she needed to get her feet wet, get in a little trouble. Why not do it with a man that she won’t see again? Looking over at the clock, it read 8:15 pm — time to stop playing around and get ready. Letting the water drain, she hopped into the shower wetting her straight hair.
“I am going to go curly tonight,” she thought to herself.
Getting out of the shower, she walked over to her luggage, trying to figure out what she would wear to her dinner date. She saw her all-black cotton sleeveless V-neck ruched bubble hem cocktail dress. “This will be perfect with my black Alexander McQueen heels,” Mona said, grabbing her luggage full of just designer shoes. “Perfect!” she exclaimed, smiling as she ran to the bathroom to put on make-up and spray on Rihanna’s fragrance. She looked at the clock to make sure she was still on time. It read at 8:42 pm. “Shit!” she exclaimed.
Mona hated to be late anywhere. She was always on time. She slipped into her dress and put on her heels, taking one last look in the mirror before heading downstairs.
“He’ll be taking this off of me tonight; I am sure,” she said, smiling to herself in the mirror.
She headed down to the elevator, making her way to the first floor.
The host approached her.
“Are you dining alone?” he asked politely.
“No. Table for two on the patio, please.”
“Follow me,” the host responded, walking her towards the patio.
This place is gorgeous, she thought to herself.
She looked down at her gold Michael Kors watch to check the time; it was 9:00 pm. She waited for him before ordering drinks. As the waiter walked away, she saw Ryan walk into the restaurant in his Versace suit with his Giuseppe Zanotti shoes. She knew that line from somewhere. Mona is a successful fashion writer for all different magazines ranging from Vogue to Jet Magazine. Mona is always in the front row at New York City’s fashion week and Paris fashion week. That was her weakness: Fashion. And seeing Ryan as a well-dressed man turned her on even more.
“How nice of you to make it,” she said with a smirk pointing down at her watch.
“You know I am meeting a beautiful woman, so I had to look my best for her,” he responded, apologetic.
“You do look very handsome, I must say,” she said, smiling as he kissed her on the cheek.
“You look quite stunning yourself, beautiful.”
“Thank you.”
“Drinks,” he asked while getting the waiter’s attention.
“Sure, I was waiting on you before I ordered anything,” she said, a look of amazement at how manly he was even with other people on her face. It was like he was the authority and everyone worked for him.
“The lovely lady will take some of your best champagne. You can bring us a bottle, and I will have a gin tonic. And please bring water for us as well while we look at the menu,” he told the waiter.
The waiter bowed and nodded before leaving.
“You sure know how to give orders. What is it that you do?” asked curiously, a little intrigued by forwardness.
“It’s funny that you brought that up because I had the same curiosity about what it is a young lady with such wealth does,” he smirked. “But to answer your question, I am the CEO of a record company.”
“Very nice. And I am only 30 years old, but I write for a couple of fashion magazines. I have written a couple of books myself as well. My a bachelor’s degree in Journalism and a minor in Communication from Temple University. What about yourself? Tell me a little bit of your background as a CEO of a record company?”
“Impressive. I went to the University of Miami and received a degree in Business Management with a minor in International Business,” he said, his eyes never leaving hers.
They stared at each other for a moment, thinking the same thing — that they couldn’t wait to rip each other’s clothes off when they got back upstairs. Turning their attention back to the menu, Mona knew what she wanted — the Lemon Thyme Swordfish with Asparagus.
“So, what are you having?” Mona said, changing the conversation.
“Think I will have Crab-Stuffed Filet Mignon with Whiskey Peppercorn Sauce and the Caesar Salad. What about yourself?” Ryan asked.
“I will have the Lemon Thyme Swordfish with Asparagus,” Mona responded.
“You have good taste in food and great taste in Fashion. So my question to you is: are you single?” Ryan asked with a smirk on his face.
“It’s complicated,” she said, avoiding eye contact with Ryan.
“Really? So how would you,” he holds up his hands, making the symbol “complication” feel if he knew you were on a date with me?” he asked suspiciously.
“My complication does not need to know,” Mona replied sarcastically.
“Mhm. Sounds good,” Ryan replied with a devilish smile on his face.
“What about yourself, Mr. Ryan? Are you single?”
“Yes. Actually, I am single. I just recently got out of a four-year relationship. That resulted in cheating on me with one of my clients. So I am new to the whole dating scene.”
The waiter interrupted before Mona could respond. It was perfect timing because Mona didn’t want to touch such a challenging subject with Ryan tonight. Her thoughts were only on getting this man upstairs, having fun with him, and sending him his way. She was already in a relationship; she didn’t want to catch feelings for this man before it’d turn into something else. She already feels bad for going on a date behind her boyfriend’s back. With him, there is no need to make things worse.
Mona drifted away in her own thoughts; she looked up to see that Ryan already had ordered for her, and the waiter was walking away.
“You’re all right over there?” Ryan asked, concerned.
“Yes. Sorry, mind on a million,” Mona responds with a shaky voice. “But I am back now.” Bringing herself back to the table’s attention, she was so focused on John and what he would do if he knew she was on a date. Ryan could tell that she was uncomfortable, but he tried to brush it off. He could still feel the physical attraction that they both shared.
Her phone vibrated as a text from John came in. She knew that if he called the room and she wasn’t there, he would text or call her cell phone.
See, you aren’t answering the phone in your room. Might have fallen asleep on me. Call me in the AM. Love you.
To Be Continued… | https://medium.com/@niaonair/commitment-issues-eb0d659e8051 | ['Nia On Air'] | 2020-11-24 16:19:57.803000+00:00 | ['Fiction', 'Storytelling', 'Short Read', 'Authors', 'Reading'] |
“BUILD WITH WORDS!” | Have you ever stopped to think about the future words that will represent your brand or business? The future of your brand or business needs to have credible words that provoke emotion and present a call to action. You must build rapport, trust, and credibility now more than ever during this time of uncertain and chaotic times. You must create a unique elevator pitch that has your ideal client or customer on the edge of their seats. More importantly, It’s time to turn the pitch into passive streams of income with your words. How do we do that? Realize that your words will make you wealthy, not rich. When you gather the right words, you can create the right perspective. Your life will change.
I’m reading a phenomenal book entitled, “microDOMINATION” by Trevor Young. He talks about “creating a mini-enterprise.” Right now, this concept makes a lot of sense to me. My brand focuses on obtaining and converting attention while using less words for more impact. A lot of entrepreneurs are attempting to run before they walk. Our generation wants to sell before they pitch their idea. I often see products or services created with an idea then they head straight into the market. While trial and error is a solid tactic, research is a strategy. I made the mistake of entering the market too fast. Now, I’ve learned from my mistakes. You must take the first step in your journey by articulating your brand or business with the right elevator pitch.
Our economy is in a state of rebuilding and restoring peace as a nation. We are amid a pandemic with social/police injustice that will confuse your mind. Feed your brand vision with the right words internally. Add context to your life with less words for more impact. Reassure your community with a powerful message from time to time. Your words can impact a nation. The only way to impact is to start with that powerful thought. You can’t elaborate on that thought if you don’t start with micro steps and processes for your “mini enterprise.”
When you create the process, trust the process. The two concepts are like yin and yang. When you create, you enable trust to compliment the process if you respect the journey. You will learn a lot about building your “mini-enterprise” when you build with words. While this is my perspective from Young’s book, I’ve been developing my own Micro Content Strategist brand since May 2020.
In May 2020, my world took a turn for the better when I rebranded my image. I knew that I could flourish with the right strategy and structure. I acquired the skills of a brand team. Most black creators want to build or expand without a team fail. Furthermore, if you develop a cause or passion without having a mission then it will be hard to find the right words to say. If you want to build an enterprise without a team, be prepared to face more adversity than you expected. The goal is to work smarter not harder in our generation where technology is changing how we think. Powerful words enable you to create a “mini enterprise” while focusing on the big picture. This requires discipline, commitment, and application. Once you put these 3 words in to play, your business will change.
Photo by Armand Khoury on Unsplash
It’s like climbing a ladder. Each step takes you higher. Still, your focus is what takes you to the top as an entrepreneur. Now, there has been a tremendous need to rewrite the black narrative within various communities. We have extremely talented black pioneers hidden in plain sight. I believe our knowledge and expertise as black creators enables us to rewrite our narrative and explore the unknown together as future black leaders.
Our tragedies create unthinkable narratives. If we turn those narratives into words that impact, we can lead a change. I seek to switch those narratives with my words as I continue to strive forward. As a black man, I want to help my community convey the right words with a unique digital presence. I started to rebrand my company based on my intention to command attention. The emotions I felt stems from the adversity I’ve had to overcome in life. I’m passionate about my words and progress. This gave me a unique perspective to tell with my words. As a black man, former soccer athlete, writer, and scholar with disabilities, there are stereotypes everywhere. However, if I embrace those stereotypes as a building block then my enterprise will only continue to grow.
There are a lot of men in the world like me that are striving for greatness with “mini enterprises.” We are rising together to rewrite our narrative and build our “mini enterprise.” It all starts with the right brand skyscraper! As a graduate student, I’m learning about rhetoric and technical communication. My goal is to give the gems I learn back to my community. So, how will you turn your words into a “mini-enterprise?” Checkout my new eBook using the link below! | https://medium.com/@itzprogressj/build-with-words-de5f13797edc | ['Micro Content Strategist'] | 2020-12-07 12:19:41.397000+00:00 | ['Development', 'Brain', 'Writer', 'Writing Tips', 'Branding'] |
A Winning Formula For Design Reviews | A New Approach to Reviews
The key to successful reviews, then, is to steer feedback toward the 4 points mentioned above, and away from the frustrating churn that sometimes comes out of these reviews. Here is a formula that should help eliminate frustration, make more efficient use of the team’s time and leave everyone involved feeling good about the end result.
The formula consists of three parts -
Fabulous Facilitator + Prepared Presenter + Amazing Audience = 😊 Design Review
Following this formula helps align the team on the goals and provides context for the feature being reviewed. This gives everyone the clarity to move forward in a constructive manner. Here’s how to implement the approach for your next review.
#1: Be a Fabulous Facilitator
The facilitator may or may not be the presenter in a design review, but he or she is the individual in charge of moving things along quickly and efficiently. Part of the gig is also setting ground rules and expectations for the presenters and audience members. The facilitator enables the presenter to have a successful review by enforcing a few basic guidelines. Being a great facilitator requires being a bit bossy, but in a productive way.
Rules for the Fabulous Facilitator:
Focus the group on the type of feedback that the presenter needs. Encourage attention by discouraging the use of phones, laptops, Nintendo Switches … you get it. Squash irrelevant discussions in a gentle manner: “Let’s take this offline.” Keep an eye on the clock, and move the discussion along politely when needed. Promote participation by directly asking attendees for feedback.
#2: Come Prepared
The prepared presenter is the designer who is owning the project. Adequate preparation will look different depending on where the project is in the product life-cycle. Our team typically has three stages: Discovery, Delivery and Support.
The first part of the product life-cycle is the Discovery stage. In this stage things are fluid, so the designer is still working through the problem we can solve for our user and how to go about it. This is where constructive feedback and ideas from other team members can be most crucial.
Discovery consists of rough ideas and simple wireframes. Image: Jose Cuffia
We spend most of our time in the Delivery stage. This is where we start ideating on solutions toward the problem statement. Finally, the last stage of our product design life-cycle is the Support stage. In these stages, feedback on inconsistencies or UX-specific issues are more important.
A prepared presenter should make sure to tell the audience which product design life-cycle stage they are in and what type of feedback they are looking for. For example, if you are in the later part of the development stage, it may not be helpful to rehash a debate on the problem statement.
A prepared presenter should start by telling the story of the feature. It’s important to go into just enough detail so the audience understands some context. At the same time, don’t go overboard and cause bias in the feedback you receive. Remember, you can learn a lot from people’s first reactions. Here are a few suggestions to ensure that you are prepared.
Rules for the Prepared Presenter:
Explain the project’s goal. Be clear about the type of feedback you are seeking. Keep things concise. Let the design/prototype speak for itself. Take notes on the feedback.
#3: Amaze Your Associates
To be an amazing audience member, the first step is to be kind and constructive. Remember, you will have to show your work at some point, too. It’s always good to keep the golden rule in mind
“D o unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
Start with the positive. By staying positive, you can focus on the things that are working and keep the presenter engaged rather than defensive. You can also soften the blow for aspects of the design that really need to change. It’s best to keep the discussion top-level in large design reviews. The presenter will likely have additional, smaller reviews for getting deeper into the weeds later on.
Rules for the Amazing Audience | https://medium.com/@nickrickard/a-winning-formula-for-design-reviews-eab23d24f558 | ['Nick Rickard'] | 2019-02-12 20:45:28.658000+00:00 | ['Design', 'User Experience Design', 'Critique', 'Design Leadership', 'Teamwork'] |
Did We Just Talk About Black Lives Matter on The Bachelorette? | Last night on ABC’s The Bachelorette, the second ever Black Bachelorette, Tayshia Adams, spoke with contestant Ivan Hall about their experience growing up bi-racial in predominately white communities and what the Black Lives Matter movement has meant to them. On a show that has historically struggled when dealing with race and has operated in an impenetrable bubble where things like politics, race, and socioeconomic status do not not exist, how did we get here?
On both The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, the male or female lead narrows down contestants week after week until they ultimately pick a person to propose to (or be proposed to in the case of The Bachelorette). The shows have historically been almost exclusively white and heteronormative, attracting those characteristics in a large portion of their audience as well.
In the show’s history, the entire cast has always skewed white with a few token POC contestants that rarely make it into the final few picks. One white male lead, Sean Lowe, has picked a woman of color and up until 2020, there had been one Black lead, Bachelorette Rachel Lindsey, in 2017, the shows 13th season.
But ratings have always been high and the show continues to attract audiences from across age groups, from college watch parties to generations of women religiously tuning into the show. So from a production standpoint, the “race problem” was never really a problem.
In 2012 however, the franchise faced a racial discrimination class action lawsuit, filed by previous Black male contestants on the show that stated casting practices were in violation of civil rights law. The case was ultimately dismissed on First Amendment grounds and another 5 years passed before a Black lead was cast.
Since then, season 14 “winner” of The Bachelorette, Garrett Yrigoyen, had either not been vetted enough, or vetted and his problems were ignored. After the season aired, he was found to have “liked” multiple racist and homophobic posts on Instagram. Contestant Victoria Fuller faced similar scrutiny. After the season aired, she was discovered to have participated in a marlin preservation campaign which used the slogan “White Lives Matter.” Begging the question that if fans of the show can find this information, couldn’t the producers who have access to an array of investigative sources and material?
Previously, the show existed in a bubble where the contestants would be pressured to talk with the lead about their family life and ideas of marriage, but never about their political or social views. In a polarized environment where it is not uncommon for someone to reject a partner based on their politics, today, it is almost unsettling to watch.
Moreover, where the nation is experiencing a racial reckoning, ignorance is no longer an option for producers on the show. Their show has too often perpetuated racial stereotypes and minimized BIPOC voices on screen.
Fans of the show have spoken up calling for more diversity both in front of and behind the camera. A change.org petition and full-fledged social media campaign, A Campaign For Anti-Racism in the Bachelor Franchise, has amassed over 150,000 signatures.
Tweet by Los Angeles Times
The show finally released a statement admitting they had a “responsibility for the lack of representation of people of color on our franchise,” and spoke to their future efforts to make changes by “taking positive steps to expand diversity in our cast, in our staff, and most importantly, in the relationships that we show on television.”
The franchise has since announced that its next Bachelor will be Matt James, who will serve as the first Black male lead in the history of the show. Also following Bachelorette Clare Crawley’s exit from the show, Tayshia Adams, the second Black Bachelorette, was cast to fill her shoes.
Whether the same efforts to promote diverse voices behind the screen in production, casting, and management roles has not been publicly shared.
But last night, reality was finally shown on screen. Ivan Hall, a Black, 28 year old aeronautical engineer from Texas opened up about his experience with the prison system, racism, and what the BLM movement has meant to him.
While Ivan portrayed himself as a by-the-books kind of guy, his brother found himself in trouble with drugs and alcohol which ultimately led to a prison sentence. His brother’s experience with the prison system included abuse by correctional enforcement officers and deprivation from physical touch with his newborn daughter, shaping Ivan’s worldview.
He spoke about once feeling like there was blame on his brother for breaking the law, but ultimately came around to feeling like the subsequent and severe punishments his brother faced were both unwarranted and unfair. He also recounted experiences of being called the N-word on his college campus and feeling marginalized in his community for being one of very few Black people.
He and Tayshia also spoke about what the Black Lives Matter and George Floyd’s death meant to them. Both spoke to finally feeling seen and worthy. Tayshia, for the first half of the conversation, couldn’t find the words to describe what this past year has meant to her. Simply saying it has been “a lot” through tears and eventually mustering up the courage to express that she had spent her life trying to prove everything this moment is saying, that she is enough.
Tweet by @2BlkGirls1Rose
The fact that the production team even decided to air the conversation at all is a result of the tireless efforts of the BLM activists and former POC contestants of the show who have pushed the conversation into the national political and cultural dialogue.
The Bachelor’s audience is largely white. Having Ivan and Tayshia openly discuss their experiences with racism was not only important for the franchise to reckon with its own racial issues, but it was also the perfect opportunity to capture a white audience’s attention who may not otherwise be exposed to the Black experience.
The Bachelorlette can also serve a unique vessel to hear this information, as it doesn’t deliver the message in a vacuum where this person is defined by this one experience. Viewers have come to know Tayshia for her career, her past relationships, and her ability to deal with conflict, giving the audience the opportunity to feel more trusting of her and open to believing her experience.
The franchise did not cure their race problem in one episode. But their effort to showcase new voices and experiences was a tremendous shift towards a more inclusive environment on the show. As the rest of Tayshia’s season continues, and Matt’s seasons begins, we can only hope that production continues to redefine its reputation from skirting around its diversity issues, to addressing them head on. | https://evincento.medium.com/did-we-just-talk-about-black-lives-matter-on-the-bachelorette-f5b29783f3d6 | ['Liz Vincento'] | 2020-11-25 16:42:26.522000+00:00 | ['Representation', 'Race Relations', 'BlackLivesMatter', 'Culture', 'The Bachelorette'] |
BuildACoin.net | It isn’t too difficult to make your own cryptocurrency. Here is a guide.
Crypto is blowing up. There are tons of great coins. But how do people make them? Well it isn’t too difficult. Let’s jump right in!
How
✅ Download www.TrustWalletApp.com ✅ Watch my buddy Viktor’s video and follow the instructions:
3. ✅ Success!
Building is fun
I encourage you to give it a try. Go ahead and download the Trust wallet and create your own currently. Set the parameters of how many coins you want and what the focus of your currency is. Experiment with what it is like to try to add value to something you create. It is definitely a challenge to do so. Begin to think deeply about what actually is a valuable currency, versus what is a useless coin. | https://medium.com/dave-craige/buildacoin-net-b4c479c79868 | ['Dave Craige'] | 2018-11-04 22:33:42.130000+00:00 | ['Etherum', 'Blockchain', 'Bitcoin'] |
Trump World Is A Cult. Can Its Followers Be Saved | By: MARA SANTILLI
Dating has always been unpredictable — like the weather in Britain or the president’s tweets. But this year, the climate for finding romance has been exceptionally erratic, says Damona Hoffman, who’s been a dating coach for the last 15 years. All the standard rules about dating have been upended: What counts as a third date when your first was a virtual meet-up, and on the second you didn’t get within six feet of each other? How soon is too soon to ask someone to quarantine for two weeks, then stand in line for over an hour to get a COVID rapid test in order to possibly make out? When is it appropriate to tell your roommates that you’re bringing someone new into your pod? These are questions we never had to ask ourselves before.
Pre-pandemic, we could expect new relationships to unfold according to a pretty standard formula: you meet on an app, through a friend, or while out living your life. You casually date for a month or two. You have the “making it official” talk, then you slowly get serious.
This year, those stages are all messed up. Virtual dating alone throws a wrench in things. (According to Google’s Year In Search, “what to do on a virtual date” was a top trending search in 2020.) Whether it’s on Zoom of FaceTime, the process is exhausting and unsatisfying, but meeting IRL feels like a huge step. Especially since to do so, you have to trust that the other person isn’t going to infect you with a virus that’s killed over 1.5 million people worldwide. Once you do join one another’s social pod, you might find yourself seeing your new boo way more often than you would have before, since they’ve become one of your few safe people. Or conversely, maybe they’ll suddenly decide to decamp to their parents’ place for a few months, just as things were heating one. There’s no one timeline that makes sense anymore.
But Hoffman, who also hosts the The Dates & Mates Podcast, says that some new dating patterns have emerged amid the pandemic. And thankfully, she’s been able to establish a few rules of thumb while helping people find love in 2020. Here, Hoffman lays out the phases of dating amid a pandemic, and gives some solid advice for navigating them gracefully.
One of the few things that hasn’t changed much this year is how people meet each other: Much of it is happening on dating apps. After all, in lockdown, “unless it’s the Postmates delivery person or the FedEx driver, you’re not just going to bump into your ideal partner,” Hoffman points out.
Sure, an app lets you meet people who you might never run into IRL and easily screen out folks who aren’t a fit. But, we know: Swiping around can feel like trying to find a dolphin in a fish tank. For that reason, Hoffman suggests trying several different apps to land on one or two that reliably deliver matches you’re actually into.
If you’re considering trying to circumvent dating apps by starting something up with someone who’s already in your COVID-19 pod, think long and hard about that decision. It’s almost never a good idea, Hoffman says. It can cause awkwardness, and if it doesn’t work out, the people within your friend group may end up taking sides. There are exceptions to every rule, but keep in mind that your drive for human connection during a lonely time shouldn’t lead you to blow up your bubble.
Screening
After you match with someone, you’ll start chatting for a bit either via text or within the app. And what happens in your initial DMs matters more now than it did pre-COVID, Hoffman says. In some ways, just meeting IRL feels like a third date-level “big step,” which means the screening stages have taken on an exaggerated level of importance.
Hoffman says you can expect to hang out in the messaging stage for at least three full texting convos before moving on to a phone call. Yes, an actual “hear their voice” phone call. “Someone can be really cute and funny when they’re talking with emojis, but if you’re in a real-time conversation, you can get a lot of actual information about them,” Hoffman says. “You can tell if they’re vibing off of you, you can hear their tone of voice, you can start to figure out what their intention is based on what they say.” Basically, you can figure out if they’re worth your time. Hoffman says one short call is enough to determine if it’s time to move on to the next stage. (Don’t feel like giving out your phone number to someone you don’t know? Hoffman recommends using the service Text Now, which masks your real number on texts and calls.)
Virtual dating
2020 was the year of the Zoom date. While virtual dates aren’t perfect substitutes for in-person meet-ups, seeing someone’s facial expressions helps you get to know them better, and gives you a chance to make sure you like their look — without having to worry about whether one of you is asymptomatic. Hoffman recommends keeping the first Zoom date to an hour to limit fatigue.
She also suggests setting up no more than three virtual dates a week with the same person. “If you space the interactions out over time, it builds anticipation, curiosity, and chemistry,” she says. “Especially now when it can take a while before you see them in person.” If you’re worried about awkward pauses, consider incorporating activities such as trivia, Quiplash, or Netflix Party after your first one or two virtual dates to keep things fresh and fun.
How long you sit in this stage depends on several factors: whether you’re in a COVID-19 hotspot, whether you or your date is at high risk for the virus, how strict your pods are about introducing new people, where each of you are sitting out the quarantine. Of course, in some cases, things will fizzle out here. A date that you would have dubbed “bad” in person might be even worse on Zoom, which is an inherently awkward platform. If you do hit it off though, plan to have at least one or two FaceTime tête-à-têtes before considering moving into the next stage, to make sure the other person is worth the extra risk that comes with an in-person get-together.
Social distancing dates
Finally, the time has come to meet up in person. That might mean dining outdoors for a date, meeting up for a picnic in the park, ice skating, or just taking a walk or hike together. Whatever the case, Hoffman says it’s imperative to set up COVID-19 ground rules before you go: masks stay on, the date stays outdoors, you’re both responsible for keeping distance. You know the drill.
This stage will help you get to know your potential sweetheart even better — some physical cues just can’t be picked up on Zoom. The social distancing date phase can last as short or long as you’re both comfortable with, but if you have chemistry, at a certain point you may be tempted to get a little closer. Which brings us to…
Bubble buddies
Now things are getting more serious. Before adding someone to your bubble, you’ll have to have a serious talk with not just them, but the other people you see during the pandemic. Ask your potential new bubble boo: Are they willing to quarantine and get tested before your first not-distanced date? Are you each comfortable with the level of risk the other has to or chooses to take? (Maybe they take public transit to work every day, while you’re still WFH.)
This is also a good time to ask the person if they’re seeing other people (and if so, whether they’re quarantining too). And heck, you might as well throw in the STI talk as well. Like we said — serious. Yes, these talks can be intimidating and awkward, Hoffman acknowledges. But they’re critical. To help make the conversation feel more appropriate for the early stage of dating you’re in, she suggests emphasizing that you’re asking because of COVID-19 safety, not in order to define the relationship quite yet. Unless you do want to DTR, that is. In which case, the next phase is applicable.
A relationship
This is when things get kind of squishy. Normally, you’d date casually for a while. But few mutually-attracted people can keep up the guise of social distanced dating for long, and the bubble buddy step carries a certain gravitas that can feel premature. As a result, you might decide to jump into what’s basically a relationship sooner than you typically would. A new person in your small pod, who you’re excited about and hot for — of course you want to see them all the time. You might even decide to expedite moving in together, a major decision that can be a real pain to undo if it doesn’t work out.
On the other hand, maybe you’ve stalled out before the bubble buddy step because one of you simply can’t take on any additional level of risk. If you’ve been “talking” for months but have only seen each other in person a handful of times, it can be hard to figure out what you are.
These scenarios are both common amid the pandemic, and Hoffman’s best advice is to take it one day at a time, err on the side of cautious, and to speak up when things are going in a direction you feel uncomfortable with. The one thing about dating and relationships that hasn’t changed in quarantine is that they take honest communication to succeed — and that’s something you can work on no matter how many feet apart you are.
Originally published at http://www.refinery29.com | https://refinery29us.medium.com/trump-world-is-a-cult-can-its-followers-be-saved-feab07ee1397 | [] | 2020-12-16 23:40:40.122000+00:00 | ['Culture', 'Trump', 'Democrats', 'Republicans', 'News'] |
Man Up | Man Up
Photo by Sasha Freemind on Unsplash
I don’t feel pain
and I definitely don’t cry
I’m a man after all
I lock those feelings inside
Push them down deep
armour up
Nothing gets in
No hurt, no love
I get angry though, but that’s ok
What’s masculinity without a little rage
I’ll just fuck my way through it
Drink myself stupid
Numb myself out to avoid feeling human
Relationships will crumble
My soul will ache
and I will just disappear into my pain
Despite my best efforts
I still have a heart
There might not be tears
but I’m falling apart
I tried to “Man Up”
and now it’s man down
Down, down, down…….
Downward spiral and I can’t get out
Falling deeper and deeper
I think I need help
Here, take my hand
Vulnerability the rope
I know your pain
I’ve been there before
Hear my words and forget the lies you’ve been told
Your feelings aren’t weak, they’re more precious than gold
Feelings your strength, your connection to others
Expression of Self
That’s your Super Power. | https://medium.com/love-rising/man-up-93dac4278e9e | ['Jason Madden'] | 2020-12-05 05:26:46.472000+00:00 | ['Masculinity', 'Spiritual Growth', 'Poetry', 'Healing Emotions', 'Thespiritualwell'] |
7 Powerful Ways to Improve Your Bench Press Immediately! | The barbell bench press is arguably one of the most popular exercises people do in the gym. Almost everybody that trains consistently in the gym has performed a barbell bench press before.
It’s a great movement that targets the chest, shoulders and triceps all to a large degree. In fact, it’s one of the 7 foundational movements that you should be doing to build strength and muscle across the entire body if you train with a minimalistic approach.
However while it is a very important exercise, many lifters struggle with it and either struggle to use it as a tool to build muscle, or struggle to perform well on it meet expectations.
And while quick fixes generally aren’t a good idea in fitness, we’ve got 7 easy tips for you in this post that you can implement straight away to boost your bench press capacity quickly!
The 7 Best Tips to Boosting Your Bench Press
Stack your joints
Plant your feet
Arch your back
Retract the scapula
Tear the bar apart
Utilize leg drive
Row the bar to your chest
Stacking Your Joints
Keeping the joints stacked is one of the best and strongest ways to lift in almost any compound movement, including the bench press.
By stacking the joints, we mean intentionally positioning your joints in a way where if you were to draw a line from one joint to another, it would be completely vertical. For example, look at the picture below.
The man’s wrists and elbows form more or less a completely vertical line if one were to be drawn. This is what is meant by stacking the joints.
For most people, this is going to be the strongest way to lift as you’re able to transfer power to the bar more efficiently in a straight line. And it’ll also be the safest as you share the brunt of the load across your joints, instead of having one of them carry too much of the weight.
That’s right. Making a conscious effort to stack your joints is going to reduce the amount of sheer force placed on the joints involved. You’re going to be able to preserve them better and will be able to train for longer as a result of this.
Bench pressing with stacked joints also helps you gain more control over the bar. It can be pretty tough to keep the bar under control and if your wrists are too far outward compared to your elbows, or the other way around. Or if your wrists are bent backwards and the bar is sitting well behind your elbow.
It’s much easier to keep the bar in control and stable if you’re pressing with all your joints and have your body in a stable position to begin with.
If you’re currently not bench pressing with stacked joints, and would like to boost your lifting numbers, stacking your joints is one of the best and fastest ways to go about doing this.
Plant Your Feet
Too many people allow their feet to develop minds of their own when they come to bench press. Many people lose control of their feet and have them flailing around during their tough reps.
Not only does this look incredibly stupid, it’s not good for your ability to lift heavier weights either.
It’s common knowledge that you’re able to lift more weight if you’re lifting from a stable position. That’s why you’re able to lift more on machines than you are able to with free weights.
You’re lifting with more stability, which requires less muscle engagement across the body in the stabilization muscles. You’re able to focus solely on moving the load with your target muscles and therefore are able to move more weight.
You’ll know what we mean if you’ve ever tried to do something like a squat on a bosu ball. It’s practically impossible for some, and incredibly difficult for others. Even if done with just bodyweight.
Planting your feet firmly into the ground isn’t going to completely remove the need for stabilization in a barbell bench press, but it’ll help you press from a more stable position and be able to lift more as a result.
So plant your feet firmly into the ground. Or at least keep them in control and don’t let them come off the ground. You need your body to be in as stable of a position as possible if you want to lift as much weight as possible.
Arch Your Back
This is a pretty simple bench pressing technique that most people will understand already. however, it’s still worth noting as some do not yet use it.
When you bench press, you want to press from the most optimal and strongest position that you can. If we’re talking about bench press, this is actually the decline position over the flat or incline position.
This is because a decline bench press lets you recruit the muscles of the pec major better , which is naturally a much larger and stronger muscle than the front delts are. This is generally going to allow lifters to press more weight.
By arching your back, you’ll also effectively turn this movement into a decline press, which is generally stronger than a flat or incline press would be. Meaning, you’re generally able to press more weight in a decline bench press than you can in a flat or incline bench press.
It’s not a complete decline bench press, but every little bit counts and everything will add up to help you lift potentially a lot more weight than you otherwise would be able to.
Arching your back is also going to reduce the range of motion of your bench press, which can help you do more reps of the same weight as you’re doing less overall work.
The size of your arch is going to depend on your flexibility and how serious you are about powerlifting. The more you arch your back, the more you’re likely going to be able to press.
This is different to person to person, but many of the top powerlifters press with massive arches in their backs that would be dangerous to attempt for the average person.
Retract the Scapula
If you retract your shoulder blades by pulling them back and slightly down, you’re going to not only reduce the stress placed on your shoulder joints and increase safety, but you’ll also further reduce range of motion and put the chest into a stronger position to press from.
Retracting the scapula is a technique that most people are already implementing. Every single powerlifter you see is going to be using it, and it’s almost a basic bench press cue that comes naturally to most lifters.
You do this by thinking about drawing your shoulder blades back and closer together. This i going to help with creating more stability and tension in the upper body, which is always helpful when it comes to pressing more weight and moving heavier loads in general.
Tear the Bar Apart
This is a cue that many serious powerlifters use during their bench press, and it essentially involves trying to pull the bar into 2 pieces during the eccentric portion of the movement, or the downward phase.
The reason that people use this cue is to generate more upper body tension in the hands and lats, and consequently press more weight.
And thinking about ‘tearing the bar apart’ is also going to help you align your joints correctly and get into the most optimal position to press in. Again, this is going to tie back in with stacking the joints and not only lifting more, but keeping yourself safe when lifting.
Basically, you think about ripping the bar apart by drawing the hands outwards and down towards you, even though you keep them in the same spot.
Like this:
You know that you’re not going to actually rip the bar (sorry but you’re not that strong!), but it’s just the extra tension that it creates. Sort of like pulling the slack out of the bar during a deadlift. You don’t pull the bar off the ground, but you create tension throughout the entire body.
You’d want to think about tearing the bar apart as soon as you unrack it, or at least before you initiate the movement. Remember, we’re trying to engage the lats more. They help to create a stable base to press from and help us to maintain our upper body tension throughout the entire movement.
If you don’t think about tearing the bar apart, you can risk lowered muscle activation, a lack of tension throughout the upper body, less control over the bar and also a higher risk of injury to the joints if you’re not able to align them properly.
This is definitely a strategy that you’re going to want to implement into your bench pressing.
Utilize Leg Drive
Leg drive is one of the most important aspects of a good bench press. Although it is an upper body movement, the legs can come to play a HUGE role in the barbell bench press.
Your ability to drive with your legs is going to have a big impact on whether or not you can actually get the bar off your chest, and back up the lockout position.
You see, when you use your leg drive in the bench press you’re going to place your body in a more optimal and stronger position to press from. Utilizing leg drive properly can help you create a better arch in your lower back, and will also place your traps into a better and more stable position on the bench as a result of this.
By utilizing your leg drive, you turn the flat barbell bench press closer to a decline press.
This study conducted by M Kristiansen found that utilizing leg drive helped with stability during the movement and tension in the upper body, which leads to a stronger bench press and the ability to lift more weight.
This helps to make the lift feel easier, and you’ll likely find that each rep taxes the central nervous system far less. Even if you’re lifting weights that used to be pretty tough.
If you’ve never used leg drive before in your bench press, try to implement it in your next session!
You’ll want to start by planting your feet firmly into the ground, at a point where your shin sits completely vertical. This is going to give you the strongest position to drive from, and to start with as well. You can adjust this later for it to be more comfortable and to feel more stable if needed.
You then want to drive your legs into the ground, and almost think about pushing your body further up the bench, closer to the rack.
Obviously you’re going to stay in the same spot on the bench, however you might find that your back moves ever so slightly further towards the rack, and this is completely fine.
Think about driving your legs like this:
Hopefully that explains how leg drive works. It’s an incredibly important part of a good bench press, and definitely isn’t something that you should be ignoring if you want to be strong in your lifting.
Row the Bar to Your Chest
When you lift weights, you should always be in control over the weight you’re moving. Whether you’re lifting a barbell, a pair of dumbbells, a machine or whatever else, you should be in control of it.
The barbell bench press is no different.
However all too often, lifters will let gravity do all of the work on the way down, and then absolutely hammer their ribcages with heavy weight on the bar.
This is what you should be avoiding. If you let gravity do all the work, not only are you not getting much out of the exercise and limiting your gains, but you’re reducing the amount of tension in your body by quite a lot.
As soon as the bar hits your chest and it’s time for you to come back up, your chest, shoulders and triceps have to immediately snap into action and catch the load. It’s unsafe. You’re going to risk having your technique thrown off, a loss of stability or something else.
Basically, you won’t have control over the bar and it’ll be harder for you to press it back up once you bounce it off your chest.
Instead, you should be thinking about ‘rowing’ the bar down to your chest. So instead of simply allowing the bar to drop and letting gravity do all the work, think about actively resisting the weight and going through that motion. Almost like you’re doing a barbell row.
You don’t have to go ridiculously slow, as this will waste too much energy and compromise the lift. However you do need to ensure that you’re in control of the bar and aren’t just letting gravity drop it down to your chest for you.
This is going to allow you to gain full control over the bar, lift with more stability, get more out of each rep that you do and ultimately improve your bench press as a whole.
Conclusion
The bench press is a pretty technical movement that’s going take years for most people to completely master. Even if you think you’ve got it completely under your belt, there’s likely a couple things that you could improve and work on.
If you’re currently struggling with your bench press and are finding it tough to meet your expectations of yourself, try to implement these 7 tips and techniques if you’re not already doing so!
They’re quick and simple fixes that can help to boost your bench press immediately if you implement them correctly.
Definitely look to give them a try and contact us if you have any questions!
We hope you found this post helpful and enjoyed reading through it! If you did, remember to share it with your friends so that we can reach more people, and help more reach their fitness goals!
And if you would like some help with getting stronger or building more muscle, upgrade to Gympulsive Pro to gain full access to the site and check out our training programs! | https://medium.com/@lu.tonyh/7-powerful-ways-to-improve-your-bench-press-immediately-7a4ceb8ff3dd | ['Tony Lu'] | 2021-12-23 01:47:36.558000+00:00 | ['Workout', 'Bench Press', 'Fitness', 'Fitness Tips', 'Weightlifting'] |
Design of a FIRST TECH CHALLENGE robot in 5 days | Introduction
As a high schooler participating in FIRST, I naturally like to build robots. However, robots cost money. In the offseason, it is both costly and grants us no competitive advantage to build robots. Usually, this time is spent doing 3d CAD modeling and preparing autonomous routines for the upcoming season.
As a result, I decided to ask two of my friends to compete in the Valor CAD Challenge, a competition to determine who can design the best robot in one week. Teams can be made up of up to 3 people, and the competition is based around a hypothetical FIRST game. This year, it was SuperShot, a frisbee shooting game.
Render of the SuperShot field
The rules and guidelines for the game can be found here. Reading this is strongly recommended to be more familiar with the challenge.
A .STEP file of our robot can be found here.
Tools used
Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks — CAD Modeling Fusion 360 — CAD Modeling and Photorealistic Rendering Keyshot — Photorealistic Rendering Gravit Designer — Robot graphics Slack — Team communication
Design Process
At the game release, our team’s brainstorming strategy was to brainstorm ideas for all subsystems and then divide each subsystem to a person. This proved to be effective: almost all of the ideas were unique in one way or another, and it was somewhat easy to distinguish which ones would be viable or not. For us, this made sense since, from actual team experience, multiple people working on a single subsystem often leads to repeated steps, meaning wasted time.
Drive Subassembly
Our philosophy was to keep the drive base simple. Since in other FTC games, the use of a mecanum (aka Swedish Wheel) chassis would provide finer control, stability, and maneuverability without sacrificing the speed of a tank (otherwise known as a 6 wheel drive) drive, we decided to design one for this game. Our time was limited (5 days), so we wanted to finish this assembly as quickly as possible as to mount the other sub-assemblies on top. Naturally, we gravitated towards the use of aluminum box tube extrusion, as it is both lightweight, durable, and relatively easy to work within 3d CAD software (for this competition we used a combination of both SolidWorks and Fusion 360). We assembled the frame in an H-Shape, as shown below:
Our drive assembly for the VCC with several mounts attached
Another core design feature of our drive was the 3 odometer wheels located as shown below:
The two mini wheels are 2/3 of our odometry pods
These wheels allow the robot to triangulate its position by measuring the delta in encoder ticks for each of the wheels and accumulating them over time. A more detailed paper on this system can be found here.
Frisbee Shooter Subassembly
For example, we brainstormed the following ideas for our frisbee shooting subassembly:
Vertically-oriented shooter Horizontal-oriented shooter Diagonal-oriented shooter Linear extension
Our frisbee shooter
As we took a closer look at the proposed linear extension implementation, we determined that the extension would be far too slow as our robot would have to travel the distance of the field to score. It was at this point that we decided a frisbee shooter was needed. Since our proposed frisbee-intake takes in the frisbees horizontally, it would make sense that we would choose a horizontally-oriented shooter, as the transfer mechanism from the frisbee-intake to the shooter would be simpler.
Also since seperating the shooter’s rotary (actual rotation of the turret vs the flywheel) motors would be relatively easy, and we had a bit of spare time, we decided to powershare the motors using a differential.
Frisbee Intake Subassembly
The shape of the frisbee proved to both be a challenge and an ally.
The 6" diameter disks used for the CADathon
The challenging part was that the disk was relatively hard to pick off the ground, as there is a hollow cavity separating the middle portions of the disk and the ground. However, the circular shape meant that it would be aligned no matter which angle it was grabbed from. Since the disk was low to the ground, it was clear that a low-but-wide vacuum cleaner type sucker would be the best fit for the task.
Render of our intake
Our design consisted of a belt-driven intake because it allowed us to contain the motor within the area of the intake. Also, directly driven motors tend to break much more easily because all the load is placed on the shaft.
Our motor belt transferred power to the conveyer belt system which would then transmit power through the the outer blue roller of the intake (we ran a hex axle through the conveyer belt which connected by another pulley to the blue roller).
Climb Subassembly
Extended render of the climb
We noticed that the area that we need to climb was located relatively high off the ground (23") and because of the 18" x 18" x 18" size restriction placed on our robot, a compact but robust extension system would be ideal. As a result, we implemented a straight winch-driven linkage to climb. The subsystem would extend upwards quickly (<1 second in simulations) and the robot would be off the ground in ~1.5 seconds.
A topology study was used to optimize the selective pocketing to lighten the climb.
Retracted render of the climb
Integrating Subassemblies
Since the workload of all the subassemblies was distributed among me and my other two teammates, we would need to figure a way to combine these subassemblies without fighting for space. To accomplish this goal, we created an approximate 3d layout sketch of the robot. Each subsystem would be placed in its associated region, to solve the conflicts.
There are several challenges we encountered while integrating the systems. | https://medium.com/@neowangatx/design-of-a-first-tech-challenge-robot-in-5-days-6c63e2313f74 | ['Neo Wang'] | 2020-04-25 03:31:17.343000+00:00 | ['Robotics', 'Rendering', 'High School', 'Design', 'Competition'] |
The # 1 Culture Killer by Steven Morris | Photo by Melanie Wasser
This is a post from Steven Morris on the # 1 Culture Killer. Steven is 100% spot on with this. I’m seeing too many organizations with sh*tty managers running organizations with fear. It needs to stop.
Knowing what ails your culture and brand is the first step in identifying a possible remedies. From my experience in working with more than 250 companies, one of the biggest threats to a healthy business is a culture of fear.
We all know the feeling. It’s when you are in an environment where you’re afraid to make mistakes, afraid to speak out, afraid to share the idea, afraid to challenge the thinking of others, afraid to hold others accountable, afraid to be ourselves.
A culture of fear is an outcome of an unexamined past as an imagined future.
When we don’t examine why things went the way they did — good, bad or otherwise — we don’t have the data-driven insight to understand why something worked or didn’t, and what to do about it today, and tomorrow.
Fear is a killer — of trust, of collaboration, of innovation.
Fear in your culture usually comes from conversations that didn’t happen about events that transpired which effected someone’s morale, engagement, commitment, and/or trust. When trust has diminished the ability to be collaborative, connective, creative, and confront what needs to be confronted is stifled. This also kills holding each other, and ourselves, accountable. All of this, of course, kills outcomes and results. Fear can also inhibit us from seeing what’s truly taking place in front of us. The cost of fear is immeasurable.
For brands, a culture of fear will effect how the outside world experiences you. Just like animals that can sense fear, your customers sniff it out, too. Fear in your customer service team can show up as defensiveness and lack of accountability. Fear in new product development can show up in your inhibitions to take innovative leaps. Fear in your marketing communication can up in tendencies to follow or over-react to what competitors are doing — instead of crafting and staying your strategic course.
All cultures need to be examined so the mistakes, missteps, misunderstandings and missed opportunities of the past don’t dictate your future.
The remedy to fear in a culture begins with understanding where it comes from. The antidote comes from addressing these issues head-on and doubling down on your beliefs, assuming you know them. From this stance, you can be armed with the wisdom to change, adapt and evolve, then dictate your own remarkable future.
Insight (aka the deep reflection that comes from data) also gives you the courage to evolve to your fullest potential as a team, as a brand, and as a business.
Steven helps organizations build and implement custom remedies from a culture of fear and reclaim control of your future by employing culture bench-marking and values mining processes. It’s all part of your brand’s evolution.
Learn more about Steven’s awesome work at http://themthdegree.com/ | https://medium.com/@bfastleadership/the-1-culture-killer-by-steven-morris-6f3d571b19be | ['Breakfast Leadership'] | 2020-01-14 13:34:49.126000+00:00 | ['Fear', 'Leadership', 'Workplace Culture', 'Bad Management'] |
2020: A look at The Harshest Year in Aviation History — Omar Kaddouha | According to Omar Kaddouha, an expert in aviation flight safety, the Coronavirus has affected the social, economic and political aspects of numerous countries worldwide.
Covid-19
The Covid-19 has in a significant way affected the aviation industry. Since March, most airlines have introduced travel restrictions to curb the spread of the deadly virus. Passenger numbers were limited and in some places, air travel was restricted.
The Aviation Industry
Among the first aviation industries to be hit hard by the Coronavirus crisis was the UK aviation sector.
The UK almost went into a complete lockdown from March, and the government advised citizens to cancel all unnecessary foreign trips. We were hit quite hard due to having open borders without quarantine measures for some part of the time.
The virus was spreading so fast, and globally, all countries went into lockdown. Some into partial lockdown, and for those most affected, they went into full lockdown.
The skies became empty all of a sudden; there was barely any air traffic. The only flights that were given an exception to fly were cargo and freight planes, planes ferrying emergency supply. And repatriation flights.
Nobody was travelling anymore, so the demand dipped to a shallow point. This also led to a decline in the market value of the airline business as well as the net profit margin for airliners.
Airliners were expected to have a loss of 84.3 billion this year but thus have exceeded expectations as many are not able to travel for the festive season. Passengers and crews were often left stranded for some time so for both passengers and airliners, this is definitely the worst year in the history of aviation.
With the crisis still ongoing, the International Air Transport Association (IATA), on November 24th, 2020, announced that losses posted from the airline industry all over the world would amount to about 97.52 Billion Euros. A further consolidated loss of 15.8 billion is expected in 2021.
Aircraft Manufacturers
Aircraft manufacturers are not safe either. Before the year closes, the manufacturers are set to finalise about 800 aeroplanes’ delivery. This is just half of the expected number of productions set when the year was starting.
According to IATA, 2021 will face delays in the delivery of aircraft. Numerous cancellations of orders are also expected due to the slow rise in the numbers of people willing to travel. This signifies a massive reduction in revenue and earnings acquired through the sale of aircraft.
Most aircraft manufactures and engine makers have cut on their productions and their workforce, some having no financial relief at all as there was no revenue coming through. Thus, more people working here have lost their jobs. Airbus, Bombardier, and Boeing are among the companies that have reduced production in their respective factories.
Job Losses
Another effect of Covid-19 on the airline industry is the massive job losses encountered. Many airlines have been out of operation, meaning a significant reduction in revenue and profits. This has led to continued laying off of the employees to reduce the operation costs.
With no people flying, there have been barely many people to attend to, resulting in some positions being declared redundant. Financially, 2020 has been poor.
The few pilots, cabin crew, and others who have managed to retain their jobs face salary reductions. Bloomberg indicates that about 400,000 airline workers’ livelihoods have been affected. Most have been fired, and others have been granted unpaid leave until when normal operations resume.
An estimation by IATA shows that by the end of 2020, the total number of employment positions offered by airlines will decline to 1.9 million.
Increase of Costs
Additional health and safety regulations put up to stop the spread of Covid-19 have resulted in increased operations costs by airlines. To keep their operations functional, airlines must meet all the health-related standards to ensure all people and personals are safe when travelling or within/outside the airport.
They should be able to cater for the costs of PPEs, face masks, hand sanitiser, temperature checks, conducting crucial tests when necessary, and effectively disinfecting all the areas accessed by passengers.
The Aviation Supply Chain
The supply chain was also affected by Covid-19. Most business people were unable to travel, meaning they could not access goods to trade. A dysfunctional aviation sector means that trade and big business deals are put at risk too.
In the UK, for instance, most trade imports get into the country through the passenger aircraft landing at Heathrow Airport. Generally, failure and more delay by passenger planes to start operations resulted in the cost of goods shooting up.
Conclusion
According to the financial outlook from the IATA, the global air transport industry showed that airlines revenues would fall by 50% to $838 billion to $419 billion in 2019. In 2021, losses are expected to be cut to $15.8 billion as revenues rise to $598 billion.
It’s not looking positive for the aviation industry but with vaccinations being readily available now, there is hope that people will start flying again once more. | https://medium.com/@omarkaddouha/2020-a-look-at-the-harshest-year-in-aviation-history-omar-kaddouha-43afba0b897c | ['Omar Kaddouha'] | 2020-12-24 09:53:31.667000+00:00 | ['Health', 'Covid 19', 'Business', 'Omar Kaddouha', 'Life'] |
How Blogging About My Children Helped Me Become a Professional Writer | Photo by Thom Milkovic on Unsplash
When my girls were little, my writing time was pared down to a few stolen minutes in the evening. I’d scribble away in a journal, writing stream-of-consciousness vignettes that I (infrequently) turned into poems. Sometimes I’d jot ideas down in these same journals, hoping to revisit them at some point for the novel I never seemed to have time to write.
I wanted to be a writer, but my identity back then was immersed in motherhood. Writing took a back seat to more important things, including my professional work which didn’t involve much writing at all.
But what I didn’t anticipate (or fully accept) was that motherhood and writing would naturally intertwine. Indeed, I hated the term “mommy blogger” and actively rebelled against starting my own blog.
Even so, I caved and began blogging about my younger daughter in 2004. My blog wasn’t the standard mommy blog (I still shudder at this term). I didn’t agonize about standard new-mom topics like whether or not to breastfeed or how I’d introduce the new baby to my then 2-year-old.
My first blog post was about the treatment we’d chosen to use for my unborn baby’s cleft lip and palate, a birth defect we learned about at my 20-week ultrasound.
I was inspired to write the blog I’d called Cleft Stories, because my frantic research about raising a baby with a cleft lip and palate had turned up almost no information from a parent’s perspective. I’d mostly encountered clinical websites that talked about cleft lip and palate using medical terminology that featured jarring photographs of various types of clefts. At least, they were jarring to me. I was very pregnant and very scared and I just needed to know that my baby would be okay.
My first post included an ultrasound of my baby, her cleft circled in red. My goal was to write about my daughter’s medical journey to keep friends and family updated and to chronicle the procedure we’d chosen to treat and repair her cleft (a process called nasoalveolar molding).
But I was also determined to write about my daughter just like any other mommy blogger, chronicling milestones, sharing photos, and demonstrating that while babies with clefts face unique challenges, they are manageable. I wanted to illustrate that my daughter was normal and that things would be okay.
My blog was one of the first cleft-focused blogs written by a parent (at least, that I know of). NYU Medical Center, the hospital where my daughter was treated, routinely directed new parents to the blog, so it built up a devoted following of fellow parents.
The blog also inspired other families to start blogs of their own. In just a few short years, it was much easier to find personal stories about children growing up with cleft lip and palate among all those clinical pages about the condition. These days, there are also Facebook groups and other resources for families who need support.
I stopped updating my daughter’s blog as she got older. Her lip, nose, gums, and palate were repaired by the age of one and she had another surgery at age 7, but otherwise there wasn’t much to say about her cleft. Even so, I posted once or twice a year, showcasing school performances and sharing photos on her birthday so people could how her face changed as she got older, and (more importantly) demonstrate that life was relatively normal.
Then, in 2012, my older daughter was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 11. I updated Cleft Stories one last time, directing readers to my new blog, Healing Ana. I had once again become a mommy blogger, though cancer was not a topic I ever imagined myself writing about. Healing Ana blog is still live — for now. I haven’t updated it in nearly three years and I can’t bear to link to it.
I blogged about Ana’s cancer, her treatment, and how our family was coping, from 2012 until a few months after she died in 2017. The blog kept me going. It helped me stay connected to a large extended community of people who propped my family up during the tumultuous years of Ana’s illness, and kept me from sinking into complete despair after she died.
Something else emerged from the experience of maintaining that blog — my confidence in my writing began to grow. People who read my posts told me that my writing was helping them with their own struggles, even if they had nothing to do with cancer. In 2015, a few years after I started the blog about Ana, I began contributing essays to Huffpost.
Back then, the platform was similar to Medium (minus the paywall). If you could get added as a Huffpost writer (I did this fairly easily by writing to Arianna Huffington directly), you gained access to the platform and could post articles instantly.
Several of my early articles were featured in Huffpost’s Parenting section. The process was similar to curation in that an editor could select articles contributed by their pool of writers and feature it on a topic page. One of my earliest Huffpost articles was even featured on their homepage. As a result, thousands of people read the piece and dozens commented on it.
This gave me the confidence to begin submitting my essays to more high profile (and paying) publications. I continued writing about parenting a child with cancer and, subsequently, about parental grief.
The essays were an expansion of what I’d already been doing on my blogs — writing about the heartbreaking trauma we were experiencing in a way that not only helped me process it, but enabled me to connect to other parents who were dealing with the stress of caring for a terminally ill child.
The Washington Post was the first publication to pay me for an essay. When the money went into my account, something in my brain shifted. For the first time in my life, I realized that I could get paid for writing . I began submitting more essays to different publications. I got rejected (a lot), but my work also got accepted and I continued to earn some extra money from writing.
I made the decision to stop blogging sometime in 2018. That’s when I also realized that I didn’t want to continue working as a freelance digital marketing consultant. At the age of 47, I finally had the confidence (and clips) to pivot to freelance writing as my primary source of income.
I decided to experiment with writing on Medium at the start of 2019, first by republishing many of my Huffpost pieces, then by writing original essays on the platform. I began actively seeking freelance writing clients a few months before that, and was able to walk away from all my marketing work by January of 2019.
Freelance writing isn’t easy. For one thing, it doesn’t pay as well as digital marketing. Most months, if I’m lucky, I average roughly one paid piece per business day. That means I write about 20,000 to 25,000 words a month. This can be creatively draining to the extent that I need at least one to two non-writing days per week to recharge.
But, even with these challenges, writing for a living has transformed the way I work and live in ways I hadn’t anticipated. As an early riser, I’m often done with the day’s assignment by 1 or 2 pm, leaving the rest of the day free. I used to feel guilty about not sitting at my desk until 5 pm each day (or later), particularly because my digital marketing clients needed me to be available during business hours.
But it’s rare that a client needs me to drop everything to fix a writing emergency, particularly when I meet my deadlines (and I always meet my deadlines). Now, I can shape my days and weeks in ways that I never could before, and that’s a pretty significant when you consider that I’ve been my own boss for 18 years.
It’s still hard for me to call myself a writer, still nearly impossible for me to believe that writing is what pays my bills. A big reason for this disbelief is that I had an entirely different idea of what a “real” writer looked like. For many years, I could accept nothing less than the “Stephen King” model of writing. How I envied him — tapping away at his Underwood Typewriter for a few hours a day, while royalty checks rolled into his overflowing bank account.
But being a successful writer doesn’t have to look like that. Sure, there are a few unicorns like Stephen King and J. K. Rowling, but for the rest of us mere mortals, writing isn’t necessarily about fame and fortune. Sometimes successful writers can barely keeping their heads above water (ahem).
Being a successful writer just means that you’re writing, successfully — putting words down on the screen (or on paper), building a body of work that you’re proud of and reaching readers, one article at a time. For me, it also means getting paid for doing it, not because I’m attached to being fabulously wealthy, but because getting paid to write means that I can keep writing.
If you’d told me, seventeen years ago, that the anxiety-riddled musings of an expectant mother would one day help me realize my dream of being a writer, I probably wouldn’t have believed you.
What I didn’t understand back then was that sometimes we must reframe how we define our dreams before we can recognize that they’re attainable. It wasn’t until I abandoned my (very narrow) definition of what it meant to be a successful writer, that I was finally able to become one. | https://jacquelinedooley.medium.com/how-blogging-about-my-children-helped-me-become-a-professional-writer-79d8d0ee4012 | ['Jacqueline Dooley'] | 2020-11-08 15:16:54.655000+00:00 | ['Self', 'Nonfiction', 'Creativity', 'Parenting', 'Writing'] |
Why you should not invest in Property. | There, its finally been said!
Malta’s property market has seen incredible growth in the past couple of decade’s due to the introduction of residency/passport schemes, foreign investments and a booming tourism industry.
Although this has been great for the wider Maltese economy, its also come along with its own consequences. Such as, a somewhat unsustainable increase in property prices, and the rise of questionable large-scale developments all over the island.
‘Bażikament, torrijiet u krejniet kull fejn tħares!’
If you’re a property developer, speculator, investor or an estate agency, then you probably did pretty well for yourselves over the past few years, benefitting from the over-inflated property prices.
But what if you’re not?
Well then, you’re probably facing the same struggle as the remaining 60–70% of the Maltese population who are within a certain wage bracket, and/or are just starting out their careers (such as ourselves).
So before delving into the facts, and the grim reality, we’d like to note that we’re analysing property primarily as an investment (i.e for rental income and/or capital gain purposes) and not for your own inhabitance. | https://medium.com/@investmenthub/why-you-should-not-invest-in-property-8665b03ddc51 | ['Investment Hub'] | 2021-03-09 11:10:04.231000+00:00 | ['Malta', 'Equity', 'Education', 'Real Estate', 'Investing'] |
To Grow Your Instagram Account Quickly, This Is How Often You Should Post | To Grow Your Instagram Account Quickly, This Is How Often You Should Post
Photo by Edward Howell on Unsplash
One of the questions I’ve most often been asked by small business owners over the years is “how often should I post on Instagram?” and my answer is always “each account’s optimal posting frequency is different”.
There is no one posting frequency at which all Instagram accounts grow the fastest. Each account’s content and audience is unique, and therefore, each account’s optimal posting frequency (the posting frequency at which they grew the fastest) will be unique.
The only way to discover what your optimal posting frequency is, is to, every week, measure how many times you posted, how many new followers you gained, and gradually increase the number of posts you do per week until you find a posting frequency at which you grow the fastest.
In other words, your optimal posting frequency is the number of posts at which your Instagram account is discovered and followed by the largest amount of people that didn’t previously know you on the platform without annoying your current audience to the point that they unfollow you at a faster rate than the number of new people following you.
Here’s a pretty simple and straightforward process I’ve used to help me and many others find our optimal posting frequency:
You can also get all of the information from this article by watching the video I made about the topic
Step 1: Create a spreadsheet to measure your growth and posting frequency over time
In my opinion, the most efficient way to find your optimal posting frequency is to use a simple spreadsheet to track how many new followers you gained and how many times you posted every week. Here’s an example of the spreadsheet I use and what you should measure in each column:
In this spreadsheet, I keep track of the week I’m measuring, how many followers I had that week, the change in followers (total followers previous week minus the followers this week), the number of posts I did, and any notes I’d like to remember about what I did that week on Instagram. Image by the author.
If it helps, you can view the formulas in my spreadsheet format or feel free to copy and use it for your account.
Step 2: Measure the follower growth and posting frequency of your account during the past 7 days on the same day every week
Once you have your spreadsheet, use it to write down the follower growth and posting frequency of your account during the past seven days on the same day every week. Now, this is important, make sure to do it on the same day every week always. If you don’t, the data you’ll get from each week will be of a different time period, and therefore, not comparable and not useful.
For example, I sit down and open my spreadsheet every Monday morning to write down my stats. This allows me to compare how my posting frequency affected my follower growth accurately from week to week. If, for example, one week I would measure on Monday, and the next on Wednesday, and the next on Tuesday. All of the numbers would be useless because I’d be measuring how much I grew in a nine-day period (Mon-Wed next week) in the first measurement and in a six-day period in the next (Wed-Tue). I could not compare how my posting frequency affected my growth here because there are more days in one measurement vs. another. Image by the author.
Step 3: Increase the number of posts you do and measure how that impacts your growth every week until you find the number of posts at which you grow the fastest (your optimal posting frequency)
Once you’re actively measuring your growth and posting frequency on the same day every week, you’ll find your optimal posting frequency by consistently increasing your posting rate until you find the number of posts you do per week at which you grow the fastest.
This example will help illustrate how you would execute it:
Image by the author.
Here, I measured every Monday and this is how I got to my optimal posting frequency:
I didn’t post on my account for the first five weeks and grew between zero and three followers per week.
On the weeks of 07/06/2020 and 07/13/2020, I posted once per week and I grew on average about 16 followers per week at this pace.
On the weeks of 07/20/2020 and 07/27/2020, I posted twice per week and I grew on average about 37 followers per week at this pace. 21 more new followers on average vs. posting once per week.
On the weeks of 08/03/2020 and 08/10/2020, I posted three per week and I grew on average about 23 followers per week at this pace. 14 fewer new followers on average vs. posting twice per week. Since I grew at a slower pace by posting at this rate, I went back to testing the highest growth posting rate, which was twice per week.
On the weeks of 08/17/2020 and 08/24/2020, I went back to posting twice per week and I grew on average about 34 followers per week at this pace. On average, 18 more new followers than posting once per week and 11 more new followers than posting three times per week. Here, the data shows me that posting twice per week is my optimal posting frequency.
Step 4: Every few months, test new posting frequencies to see if your optimal posting rate has changed
Since your audience, your content, and Instagram will change over time (check out my article about Is Instagram dying? to learn more about how), your optimal posting rate will also change over time. It’s because of this that it’s wise to test your optimal posting rate every few months (you’ll know when it’s right for you).
Use your spreadsheet and increase or decrease your weekly posting rate to see if the posting rate at which you grow the fastest has changed. If it has, that’ll be your new optimal posting rate. By consistently doing tests of your optimal frequency over time, you’ll adapt as Instagram changes.
Advice when finding your optimal posting frequency
From experience, I’ve learned that this system won’t work for everyone, in all cases, all the time. Here are a few insights I’ve learned that might help you in the journey to find your optimal posting rate:
When you’re measuring your posting rate, try to keep all other Instagram activity the same and only change your posting frequency: You want your follower change each week to reflect the impact of your posting frequency. The more you change your Instagram tactics while you’re trying to find your posting rate, the less accurately your follower growth will reflect the impact of your posting frequency.
You want your follower change each week to reflect the impact of your posting frequency. The more you change your Instagram tactics while you’re trying to find your posting rate, the less accurately your follower growth will reflect the impact of your posting frequency. Post at the same rate for two or three weeks in a row: As you know, users on Instagram and even the quality of your content can fluctuate from week to week. It’s because of this natural fluctuation that I’d recommend posting at the same rate for two or three weeks at a time before you decide to increase or decrease your posting rate based on your audience growth. An average of how much you grew at a particular posting rate for three weeks will be a MUCH more accurate representation of how your posts impact your growth in comparison to only measuring one week of growth at a particular posting rate.
As you know, users on Instagram and even the quality of your content can fluctuate from week to week. It’s because of this natural fluctuation that I’d recommend posting at the same rate for two or three weeks at a time before you decide to increase or decrease your posting rate based on your audience growth. An average of how much you grew at a particular posting rate for three weeks will be a MUCH more accurate representation of how your posts impact your growth in comparison to only measuring one week of growth at a particular posting rate. Don’t count stories in your posting rate, only “grid” posts: Stories aren’t surfaced within the Instagram algorithm nearly as much as grid posts and therefore they won’t likely impact your growth, they only serve to engage the audience you currently have.
Stories aren’t surfaced within the Instagram algorithm nearly as much as grid posts and therefore they won’t likely impact your growth, they only serve to engage the audience you currently have. Your content impacts your growth a lot more than the frequency at which you post: How much your content is surfaced by the Instagram algorithm, and therefore, how fast your account grows, depends on how effective your content is at keeping people looking at the Instagram app (because that’s how Instagram makes money), not how often you post. If you’re able to create engaging content, posting it more frequently will definitely help you grow faster because there will be more of your content out there for people to discover.
How much your content is surfaced by the Instagram algorithm, and therefore, how fast your account grows, depends on how effective your content is at keeping people looking at the Instagram app (because that’s how Instagram makes money), not how often you post. If you’re able to create engaging content, posting it more frequently will definitely help you grow faster because there will be more of your content out there for people to discover. Grow even faster by designing a visually distinctive Instagram grid when you post: How nicely designed your Instagram grid is will greatly influence how fast you grow, so don’t sacrifice your Instagram grid for the sake of posting at a particular rate. To continually grow, you need to be able to create highly engaging content as well as a distinctive Instagram grid on top of being able to post frequently.
How nicely designed your Instagram grid is will greatly influence how fast you grow, so don’t sacrifice your Instagram grid for the sake of posting at a particular rate. To continually grow, you need to be able to create highly engaging content as well as a distinctive Instagram grid on top of being able to post frequently. Automate your Instagram posts : The most time-consuming and inefficient part of managing and growing an Instagram account is the time and energy it takes to stop everything you’re doing several times a day to take out your phone, open Instagram, take/upload a photo, write a caption and publish a post. Don’t let having to stick to an optimal posting frequency take up a lot of your time and automate the process of posting on Instagram, so you don’t have to do it.
The most time-consuming and inefficient part of managing and growing an Instagram account is the time and energy it takes to stop everything you’re doing several times a day to take out your phone, open Instagram, take/upload a photo, write a caption and publish a post. Don’t let having to stick to an optimal posting frequency take up a lot of your time and automate the process of posting on Instagram, so you don’t have to do it. If you can’t stick to your optimal posting frequency, don’t worry: Sometimes, sticking to your optimal posting frequency can require more than you’re willing to give. If this is your case, like it is mine (the OPF of one of my accounts, @couplescacao, is two but I only post once per week), simply don’t post at that rate. The more you’re on Instagram, the more your mental health declines. No amount of Instagram followers or posting rates are ever worth sacrificing your mental health for.
That’s it! That’s the super simple system that’ll help you identify your unique posting rate now and in the future. Hope it helps :)
By the way, if you want to learn more about how Instagram works, read these articles on how to know if your Instagram is worth growing?, why your Instagram account isn’t growing, how to create an Instagram repost account that makes money, Instagram bots 2021, the state of Instagram bot, or many other valuable topics through my Instagram Small Business YouTube channel.
Thanks so much for taking the time to read my article! If you enjoyed it, you can support me by signing up to my Instagram Small Business class, sharing this article and giving it a bunch of claps. You can also follow me on Instagram to get updates whenever I publish a new piece ❤ | https://bettermarketing.pub/to-grow-your-instagram-account-quickly-this-is-how-often-you-should-post-fb436be345c2 | ['Eduardo Morales'] | 2021-08-12 15:53:34.594000+00:00 | ['Social Media Marketing', 'Small Business Growth', 'Instagram Marketing', 'Instagram', 'Small Business Marketing'] |
The Entrepreneur’s Essential Financial Tips | Small businesses owners should conduct an annual assessment of their personal finances. Owners of small businesses have much the same concerns as everyone else, except they are personally responsible for the fortunes of their enterprise. In a sense, a small business is like a family. And these are important families in American economic life. After all, small business is vital to the U.S. economy, employing half of private-sector workers and creating two-thirds of net new jobs, according to federal data.
Here are 10 entrepreneur essential financial tips:
10. Budget/Saving. The general financial planning rule is that you should save AT LEAST 10% of your income on an annual basis. You should also review short-term and long-term goals to ensure you are saving enough to meet your objectives.
9. Maximize Contributions to Retirement Plans. Depending on the size of the company and number of employees, there are many different methods to save for retirement. On an annual basis, business owners should work with their accountants/advisors to determine the most appropriate savings vehicle. Retirement plans include: 401(k)s, individual 401(k)s, individual retirement accounts, Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) IRAs, Roth IRAs, defined benefit and defined contribution plans. This will not only help achieve the goal of saving 10% of your income, but it also can help minimize taxes.
8. Create/Review Estate Planning Documents. It is important to create wills, living wills, medical and financial power of attorney documents. These documents should be reviewed annually as your personal goals and estate laws change.
7. Life Insurance. Various types of life insurance are available, including whole life, variable life, universal life, universal variable life and term policies. They provide a death benefit when the owner of the policy passes away. It is important to review your policies yearly to ensure the coverage is adequate to protect your loved ones. Also, financial situations may change, and you may no longer need the full amount or type of coverage you own.
6. Disability Insurance. Statistically, you have a greater chance of premature disability than premature death. Therefore, it is very important to own adequate coverage to provide for you and your dependents if you are not able to work. Annually, you should review your policy for the type and amount of coverage.
5. Business Insurance. As a business owner, it is important to own insurance that will allow your company to run if you are unable to actively participate in its daily operations. This insurance may be used to hire a person to substitute for you, or to replace income from your business if the company no longer exists.
4. Long-Term Care Insurance. Due to the increasing costs of health care, long-term care insurance policies are evolving to deal with them. Many older policies have become more expensive to maintain or no longer provide enough coverage to meet long-term care expenses. Each year, review the costs and necessity of these policies.
3. Tax Planning. Annually, you should meet with your accountant to discuss tax-planning strategies. Tax laws frequently change. In addition, there may be changes to your business that could affect your taxes both at the business and individual level.
2. Investment Allocation. Review your entire investment portfolio to ensure it is allocated to meet your current and future goals. As your goals and needs change, your portfolio allocation should be readjusted accordingly.
And finally, last but not least on the list of the entrepreneur’s essential financial tips is — Educational Planning: 529, Coverdell, Uniform Gift to Minors Act (UGMA), Uniform Transfer to Minors Act (UTMA) Plans. Much like health care costs, college education expenses have increased well beyond average inflation levels throughout the past decade. This is a surprise but it is seriously worth noting!
And there you have it, The Entrepreneur’s Essential Financial Tips!
R. Kenner French, is an executive of VastSolutionsGroup.com, an author of two books, a keynote speaker, and lives on an island — Bainbridge Island, WA. | https://medium.com/@vastsolutionsgroup-com/the-entrepreneurs-essential-financial-tips-3cf316ff568a | [] | 2020-12-04 17:03:05.916000+00:00 | ['Taxes', 'Financial Planning', 'Investment', 'Entrepreneurship', 'Retirement'] |
Trust Your Gut: How Three Little Words Changed My 2020 | Photo Credit Robin McSkelly
Like most people, my 2020 started with the hope that a New Year brings. Personal goals to improve my health and well-being, and professional goals and benchmarks to take the small business I shared with a partner to the next level of success. But a cloud hovered over those goals that I couldn’t shake. My partner and I no longer held the same desires for our business, a fact I could no longer ignore.
Feeling the negativity and pressure of not sharing the same vision, I called a meeting in January of 2020 to get back in sync and chart the same course. While I was satisfied with the discussion and hopeful, we would again find our paths in alignment. I still had nagging doubts that continued to manifest themselves in three little words, “Trust your gut,” my subconscious would whisper, this isn’t going to change. And it did not change until July of 2020, when I started to trust my gut again by leaving the business and starting anew. What did I learn by trusting my gut? Three valuable lessons that will carry me through 2021 and beyond:
Lesson 1 — Letting go does not have to signal an end. It can be a beginning. My biggest fear was starting over and re-building everything I had worked hard to achieve in my industry. This fallacy was the main thing holding me back from trusting my gut and moving on to better circumstances that supported my personal, professional, and financial growth.
Lesson 2 — I’m the one responsible for my happiness. As Abraham Lincoln once said, “Every man’s happiness is his own responsibility.”
Depending on another person for your career fulfillment is a recipe for disaster. When I finally accepted that our goals were no longer the same career satisfaction was impossible to achieve together; only by trusting my gut and letting go did happiness find its way back into my work life.
Lesson 3 — What you put out into the universe matters. Looking back over the past three years of our business, I realized that our financial desires were vastly different. My previous partner had a specific set idea of dollar amounts that were needed monthly. I held an exceedingly different set of ideals concerning income. I desired far more than we were bringing in. Once I trusted my gut and walked away, I made more from July through December than we had in almost an entire year, even in the middle of a global pandemic.
As 2021 quickly approaches, once again offering the hope and excitement of a new year with new possibilities, I will continue to follow those three little words, “Trust your gut,” to make my way through.
A 15 year veteran of the entertainment industry as a sought after department head; she currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer of KAP Productions, Entertainment Principal at Z Star Digital, and Director of Media Relations at ConnectHER Media Group. Lisa is an all-around PR guru working with some of the biggest young stars in the entertainment industry. In her spare time, she enjoys crafting, writing, and spending time with her family.
Connect with Lisa on IG: @thelisamalcolm | https://medium.com/@lisaamyr27/trust-your-gut-how-three-little-words-changed-my-2020-29a8eaca2922 | ['Lisa Malcolm'] | 2020-12-21 02:22:59.135000+00:00 | ['Self Improvement', 'Trust Yourself', 'Goal Setting', 'Goals For The New Year', 'Trust'] |
Wow, I Reached 7,000 Followers on Medium! | One thing I don’t often pay much attention to on Medium is my number of followers.
Because there’s something kind of strange about the number of followers you have on Medium: at the end of the day… it doesn’t matter a whole lot.
When you have a few thousand followers on Twitter, theoretically up to a few thousand people who follow you might see your latest tweet you send into the universe. Sure, most of them won’t, but at least the thought is there. I mean, if you have a couple million followers and you tweet something, people are definitely going to see it!
Medium works a little differently. If you create a publication and people follow it, then yes, that makes a difference because you can e-mail Newsletters to those followers and keep them up to date about your latest Medium stories.
A follower to your publication is a huge deal. Lots more important, I think, than a follower of just you. A follower of just you is basically a nod saying you’re doing good work, I like what you’re writing, you have been helpful to me, keep it up!
When I follow another writer, it’s for no other reason than to say, I like what you’re doing here on Medium. | https://medium.com/the-partnered-pen/wow-i-reached-7-000-followers-on-medium-952f2fd0d0f9 | ['Brian Rowe'] | 2020-10-06 16:27:09.091000+00:00 | ['Medium', 'Success', 'Followers', 'Entrepreneurship', 'Writing'] |
Boeing’s 737 Max is safe — European regulator | The head of Europe’s aviation safety agency, EASA, has told the BBC he is “certain” Boeing’s 737 Max is now safe to fly. Executive Director Patrick Ky said his organization had “left no stone unturned” in its review of the aircraft and its analysis of design changes made by the manufacturer.
The plane was grounded in March 2019. That was after it was involved in two catastrophic accidents, in which a total of 346 people died. It has already been cleared to resume flights in the US and Brazil. EASA expects to give permission for it to return to service in Europe in mid-January. The plane’s first accident occurred in October 2018, when a Lion Air jet came down in the sea off Indonesia.
New software
The second involved an Ethiopian Airlines version that crashed shortly after takeoff from Addis Ababa, just four months later. Both have been attributed to flawed flight control software, which became active at the wrong time and prompted the aircraft to go into a catastrophic dive.
Since the Ethiopian crash, EASA has been carrying out a root-and-branch review of the 737 Max’s design, independently from a similar process undertaken by the US regulator, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
The aim, he says, was to look at anything which could cause a critical failure. To return to service, existing planes will now have to be equipped with new computer software, as well as undergoing changes to their wiring and cockpit instrumentation.
‘Confident’ of safety
As a result, Mr. Ky insists, “We are very confident that it is now a very safe aircraft.” Most of the initial safety certification work on the 737 Max was carried out by the FAA, and simply endorsed by EASA under the terms of a long-standing international agreement.
he explains | https://medium.com/@gokuljith006/boeings-737-max-is-safe-european-regulator-7291aac7d0c6 | [] | 2020-12-21 05:10:45.894000+00:00 | ['Europe News', 'Europe', 'Boeing'] |
My Experience with Adding React to a Legacy Application (with d3) | Step 1: how do I add React to an existing application?
I had built small React apps for tutorials, online classes, etc., but they were all standalone. I had to figure out a way to keep the React workflow I was used to but somehow hook it into my existing web app. The React docs have a very nice section on how to add React into an existing web site, and this was crucial to getting me started. I actually used their transpiling shortcut with my personal web site, which allowed me to write a small component in JSX and transpile it into a vanilla JS file that I could include on my home page.
This was the key for hooking React into the Survey Portal. Initially, I wrote one test component and ended up with something similar to what’s show in the docs:
And it worked. I created an src directory at the project root and had the transpiler automatically watching it. Whenever I saved a change, it wrote to the JS file in my static directory, and everything was groovy.
But this worked well for one file, maybe a few. What about a whole React app?
Enter the next evolution in my transpiling journey: webpack. I could turn this idea up to eleven and build a whole React “mini app” within my src folder, then use webpack to transpile my JSX, include all my libraries, and minify the code into a single file that I could include with a <script> tag.
Now this ended up working out quite nicely.
Of course, there is a slight drawback to this approach. As we add more components and include more libraries, the size of the file increases. Currently, the minified size is up to 602kb. So, a bit large, but only slightly noticeable on the initial page load. Everything is butter smooth after that.
Step 2: how do I make my React app “addressable” from within my existing application?
This was another hiccup. Reports, as they have functioned before in the Survey Portal, were entities within the Datastore (the ndb library gives us an ORM-like interface where we can retrieve objects back from the Datastore). Each report has an ID, title, template (or “type” of report), and data in the form of JSON. When using the Survey Portal, each report is addressable by its id, and the request handler loads the object from the Datastore, picks the corresponding Jinja template, then passes the JSON data to the template for consumption.
Here’s a sample Report object, in JSON format:
Each report object is accessed through a route that looks like /reports/report/<report_id> , so I needed to load the React app at this route, but only for our new reports. Easy enough. Just make the template that’s rendered for this report type blank, with a single <div> for mounting the app, and the <script> tag for loading the app code. We pretty much end up with our example from step one.
The tricky part was getting react-router-dom to play nicely with our existing request router. I could have used HashRouter and skipped some headache but I wanted to use the new BrowserRouter which gave me pretty URLs and a history. I needed to attach these pretty relative URLs to the report URL from the web app so that everything appeared seamless.
To do this, I spit out the report URL to the browser as a global variable. There’s probably a better way to do it but this worked well enough for me. This became the basename for my BrowserRouter , and thus gave me my pretty URLs. | https://medium.com/@robert-a-gutierrez/my-experience-with-adding-react-to-a-legacy-application-with-d3-58d924a13400 | ['Robert Gutierrez'] | 2021-06-03 01:50:01.599000+00:00 | ['React Router', 'React', 'Legacy App Modernization', 'Legacy Application', 'D3js'] |
Connect with us | 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/ascenderpgh/heres-what-we-ve-been-up-to-in-2020-e3d72f74ae00 | [] | 2020-12-17 18:52:54.454000+00:00 | ['2020', 'Startup Life', 'Coworking', 'Entrepreneurship', 'Pittsburgh'] |
Deploying Flask App with WSGI and Apache Server on Ubuntu 20.04 | Description
Flask app is a popular framework for developing minimal apps or often creating restful APIs. In this article I’m going to discuss about how to deploy a flask app using WSGI and Apache server over Ubuntu 20.04. This article will be helpful to those people who are deploying flask app for the first time and I have also discussed that how to find some of the errors which may occur during deployment and how to tackle them. Recently, I deployed a flask app on AWS and there I were faced some difficulties. So, main purpose of this article is to share all those difficulties which a beginner may face too. In this article I’m skipping the section about how to create a Ubuntu server on online web service like Amazon Web Service etc. but I’ll suggest first to google it by following the keywords “How to create a Ubuntu server on AWS” or “How to launch and AWS EC2 server and set up ubuntu on it”. Once when you’ll have a Ubuntu server follow this article to deploy your app. Here are some further intuitions which are needed to deploy a Flask app
Create an AWS EC2 instance and setup Ubuntu server on it.
Push your Flask app code on GitHub. Because, we are going to upload our flask app code on AWS Ubuntu server using GitHub repository.
Logging In to Virtual Machine
Once you’ll create your virtual machine (VM) on AWS or any other web service then you’ll be able to access it using ssh. Let first login to AWS by running ssh on terminal by running following command:
Once you’ll logged in successfully, then you may be able to see the following screen
Now, we are running our AWS VM in terminal. Let’s deploy our Flask app now.
Installing Required Packages of Ubuntu
Let first install following required packages:
Python 3
Flask
MOD WSGI (Remember to install mod wsgi over python 3)
$ sudo apt-get install python3
$ sudo apt-get install python3-pip
$ sudo apt-get install apache2
$ sudo apt-get install libapache2-mod-wsgi-py3
Once apache will be installed successfully, you should be able to see this page on your public domain address when you’ll run in the browser,
Note: In some articles libapache2-mod-wsgi is suggested to install. But I’ll recommend to install mod WSGI library for apache over python 3 using libapache2-mod-wsgi-py3 package. Because, often you may face error on running mod WSGI server or it may give errors that module flask is not installed. This is happen due to your app run on default python version of Ubuntu (i.e. python 2.x) instead of python 3.x which you installed by yourself. So to avoid the error and future difficulties we will install mod WSGI over python 3.
Installing Required Packages for Flask App
Now lets install the required packages for your app.
$ sudo pip3 install flask, numpy, pandas
We are using here sudo for installing python 3 packages with pip3 Command . This is because you may face error for modules are not being installed while importing them into flask app even though you have installed them. If you face this error then try installing packages with sudo .
Cloning Project On Server
Now lets clone our app code from GitHub into server. First we will install git in our machine if it was not already installed by running following command.
$ sudo apt install git
As it is supposed that you have already uploaded your code on GitHub repository and so we can access it now by cloning it. Once git is installed then we can clone the project into server by running following command:
$ git clone YOUR_GITHUB_PROJECT_HTTP_LINK
Let say project was titled as flaskapp so we may found a folder with name flaskapp. Make it clear by running following command that you have cloned your project in server successfully:
$ ls | grep flaskapp
Out:
flaskapp
Our flaskapp directory should must have two important following files:
flaskapp.py (Root file for flask app)
flaskapp.wsgi (Root file for wsgi, which we will configure with apache server to run flaskapp)
Now lets take a look at the structures of both these files
# flaskapp.py
# This is a "hello world" app sample for flask app. You may have a different file.
app = Flask(__name__)
.route('/')
def hello_world():
return 'Hello from Flask!'
if __name__ == '__main__':
app.run() from flask import Flaskapp = Flask(__name__) @app .route('/')def hello_world():return 'Hello from Flask!'if __name__ == '__main__':app.run()
And WSGI file as
import sys
sys.path.insert(0, '/var/www/html/flaskapp')
from flaskapp import app as application
In the above WSGI file, /var/www/html/flaskapp is the location of apache server where we will create a symbolic link of our app directory ~/flaskapp with apache server. And in the third line from flaskapp import is the file flaskapp.py which is the root point of our flask app.
Configuration of Flask App with Apache Server Using WSGI
First make sure that you’re on the root directory by running following command:
$ cd ~
Now let first make a symbolic link of our flaskapp directory with apache server and also we want to treat our link as a normal file always. We will run command sudo ln -sT OUR_FLASK_APP_DIRECTORY /var/www/html/flaskapp as following:
$ sudo ln -sT ~/flaskapp /var/www/html/flaskapp
Once we have created a link, now lets move to the next step to enable mod WSGI. We have to made some configurations in /etc/apache2/sites-enabled/000-default.conf to serve our flaskapp instead of static html pages which apache serve by default. Lets open configuration file by using command:
$ sudo vi /etc/apache2/sites-enabled/000-default.conf
It may ask you for different actions. Go to edit mode then you see a file with following code:
# The ServerName ...
# the server uses ...
# redirection URLs. In the ...
# specifies what hostname ...
# match this virtual host. For ...
# value is not decisive as ...
# However, you must set ...
#ServerName
ServerAdmin webmaster@localhost
DocumentRoot /var/www/html # The ServerName ...# the server uses ...# redirection URLs. In the ...# specifies what hostname ...# match this virtual host. For ...# value is not decisive as ...# However, you must set ...#ServerName www.example.com ServerAdmin webmaster@localhostDocumentRoot /var/www/html # Available loglevels: trace...
# error, crit, alert, emerg.
# It is also possible ...
# modules, e.g.
#LogLevel info ssl:warn ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/error.log
CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/access.log combined # For most configuration files from conf-available/, whic...
# enabled or disabled at a global level, it is possible to
# include a line for only one particular virtual host. F...
# following line enables the CGI configuration for this...
# after it has been globally disabled with "a2disconf".
#Include conf-available/serve-cgi-bin.conf
Header set Access-Control-Allow-Origin "*"
</VirtualHost>
Then after the line DocumentRoot /var/www/html add the following code to configure our flaskapp.wsgi file with apache:
WSGIDaemonProcess flaskapp threads=5
WSGIScriptAlias / /var/www/html/flaskapp/flaskapp.wsgi
WSGIApplicationGroup %{GLOBAL}
<Directory flaskapp>
WSGIProcessGroup flaskapp
WSGIApplicationGroup %{GLOBAL}
Order deny,allow
Allow from all
</Directory>
If you have read other articles related to deploying flask app then you may seem that I have added an extra line WSGIApplicationGroup %{GLOBAL} after the line WSGIScriptAlias / /var/www/html/flaskapp/flaskapp/wsgi . This is to avoid error which you may face when your app has a package with name __init__.py created by yourself. In some cases, when we add a module including __init__.py file and hit url of our app, and server goes on loading and takes too long and don’t give us response. So to avoid such future errors and difficulties, add WSGIApplicationGroup %{GLOBAL} line also before <Directory> markup. Finally, your configuration file should look like as following:
Now finally restart the apache server and serve your flaskapp by running following command:
$ sudo service apache2 restart
Now you should access your flaskapp using your domain url.
Some Error and Difficulties which You May Face
In this section, I’m going to discuss some difficulties or errors which I face and you may face too if you have deployed your app following any other tutorial or article. I’ll discuss errors and their solutions but first let me to tell you how you’ll find the errors.
When you found that your app is not running successfully and server is responding any kind of error, then try to looking into the error log file error.log to find the cause of error. The file is located at /var/log/apache2/error.log . You can look into the file by using commands vi or cat . The commands will be
$ cat /var/log/apache2/error.log
OR
$ vi /var/log/apache2/error.log
Some errors list is following:
If you found that your app is running on python 2 instead of python 3 then the error may be with installation of your libapache2-mod-wsgi package. It has installed with python 2 which is default in Ubuntu. You can found it in your error.log file as following:
As you can see in the first line mod_wsgi/4.6.8 python/3.8 configured . If you’re seeing python/2.x instead of python/3.x then you have to do following step.
Try to install libapache2-mod-wsgi package over python 3 (installed by you) by running following command:
$ sudo apt-get install libapache2-mod-wsgi-py3
This will install mod wsgi over python 3. Restart apache server and now you should see python/3.x instead of python/2.x .
2. If you found that you have installed some python packages but still getting error that no module XXXX is installed then you have to install you package with root privileges using sudo . Let say we found the error no module flask is installed , then we will install this module using sudo as following:
$ sudo pip3 install flask
Since python 3.x is installed, it will install pip3 instead of pip. Then restart the server and your error should gone.
3. If you found that after deploying your flask app or when you uploaded your own python package which contain __init__.py file and when you access some of the URLs or APIs, the server is not responding and it’s loading for a long time. In some case this could be a cause of importing modules or may be you have used __init__.py file in your own python package. This error may not record in error.log file. You have to do following step to resolve this error.
Go into the apache configuration file by running following command:
$ sudo vi /etc/apache2/sites-enabled/000-default.conf
Edit the file and add the line WSGIApplicationGroup %{GLOBAL} after the line WSGIScriptAlias / /var/www/html/YOUR_APP_LINK/WSGI_FILE_NAME as following:
WSGIDaemonProcess flaskapp threads=5
WSGIScriptAlias / /var/www/html/flaskapp/flaskapp.wsgi
WSGIApplicationGroup %{GLOBAL}
<Directory flaskapp>
WSGIProcessGroup flaskapp
WSGIApplicationGroup %{GLOBAL}
Order deny,allow
Allow from all
</Directory>
Then restart the apache server and error should gone. If error is still there, then you should find the cause by trying to deploy first a simple Hello World Flask App and then going on to find the cause.
This was all. Hope it will help you to deploy flask app using WSGI and apache server on Ubuntu and trying to tackle some of the errors and problems.
Thanks to you for reading this article. Give me a clap and follow me if this article helped you to get more articles on data science, machine learning, big data/data engineering and python. | https://medium.com/@asdkazmi/deploying-flask-app-with-wsgi-and-apache-server-on-ubuntu-20-04-396607e0e40f | ['Syed Muhammad Asad'] | 2020-10-11 11:02:55.835000+00:00 | ['Wsgi', 'Apache', 'Flask', 'Ubuntu Server', 'Python'] |
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一个中学音乐老师，一心想成为真正的音乐家。好不容易在一次公开表演中被爵士音乐家看中，却因为跌入下水道丧生。他的灵魂开始了一段奇妙的旅程…
发布日期: 2020–12–25
运行时间: 102 分钟
类型: 家庭, 动画, 喜剧, 冒险, 音乐, 奇幻
明星: Jamie Foxx, Tina Fey, Ahmir-Khalib Thompson, Phylicia Rashād, Daveed Diggs
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In 1889, on November 1 in Gotha, Germany Anna Therese Johanne Hoch, who later would be known as Hannah Hoch was born. Being the eldest of five children, the girl was brought up in a comfortable and quiet environment of the small town. Her parents, a supervisor in an insurance company and an amateur painter sent her to Girl’s High school. However, at the age of 15 Hannah had to quit studying for the long six years to take care of her newborn sister. Only in 1912 she continued her education with Harold Bengen in School of Applied Arts, mastering glass design. As the World War I broke up Hannah returned to the native town to work in the Red Cross.
The first years after war the young woman recommenced her studying, getting to know graphic arts. 1915 was highlighted by an acquaintance with an Austrian artist Raoul Hausmann, which grew into the long-lasting romantic relationship and involvement in Berlin Dada movement. For ten years till 1926 Hoch worked in Berlin’s major publisher of newspapers and magazines. Her task was to design embroidering, knitting and crocheting patterns for the booklets.
Being on vacation with her beloved in 1918, Hannah discovered ‘the principle of photomontage in cut-and-paste images that soldiers sent to their families’ (National gallery of Art). This find affected greatly on her artistic production, and she created mass-media photographs comprising the elements of photomontage and handwork patterns, thus combining traditional and modern culture. Her prior preoccupation was to represent the ‘new woman’ of the Weimar Republic with new social role and given freedoms.
Hoch was the only woman in Berlin Dada, who took part in all kinds of events and exhibitions showcasing her socially critical works of art. Till 1931 she participated in exhibitions but with the rise of National Social regime was forbidden to present her creative work. Till her last breath in 1978 Hannah Hoch lived and worked in the outskirts of Berlin-Heiligensee.
The piece of art which is going to be analyzed in this research is ‘The beautiful girl’ designed in 1919–1920. It combines the elements of technology and females. In the middle of the picture one can clearly see a woman dressed in a modern bathing suit with a light bulb on her head which probably serves as a sun umbrella. In the background a large advertisement with a woman’s hair-do on top is presented. Maud Lavin describes strange human as ‘she is part human, part machine, part commodity’ (Lavin). The woman is surrounded by the images of industrialization as tires, gears, signals and BMW logos. A woman’s profile with the cat eyes, untrusting and skeptical, in the upper right corner is eye-catching as well. This unusually large eye symbolizes DADA movement — a monocle, which is present in almost every Hoch’s work. The colour scheme does not offer rich palette of tints, including mostly black, white, orange and red pieces. The photo is surrounded by the BMW circles which add the spots of blue.
An apt description of the piece is given in the book ‘Cut with the Kitchen Knife’ and states that it is ‘a portrait of a modern woman defined by signs of femininity, technology, media and advertising’ (Lavin). In other words Hannah Hoch focused on the woman of the new age, free and keeping up with the fast-moving world. The artist promoted feministic ideas and from her point of view urbanization and modern technologies were meant to give hope to woman to gain equality of genders. With this photomontage she commented on how the woman was expected to combine the role of a wife and mother with the role of a worker in the industrialized world. The light bulb instead of a face shows that women were perceived as unthinking machines which do not question their position and can be turned on or off at any time at man’s will. But at the same time they were to remain attractive to satisfy men’s needs. The watch is viewed as the representation of how quickly women are to adapt to the changes.
In a nutshell, Hoch concentrated on two opposite visions of the modern woman: the one from the television screens — smoking, working, wearing sexy clothes, voting and the real one who remained being a housewife.
The beautiful girl’ is an example of the art within the DADA movement. An artistic and literal current began in 1916 as the reaction to World War I and spread throughout Northern America and Europe. Every single convention was challenged and bourgeois society was scandalized. The Dadaists stated that over-valuing conformity, classism and nationalism among modern cultures led to horrors of the World War I. In other words, they rejected logic and reason and turned to irrationality, chaos and nonsense. The first DADA international Fair was organized in Berlin in 1920 exposing a shocking discontentment with military and German nationalism (Dada. A five minute history).
Hannah Hoch was introduced to the world of DADA by Raoul Hausman who together with Kurt Schwitters, Piet Mondrian and Hans Richter was one of the influential artists in the movement. Hoch became the only German woman who referred to DADA. She managed to follow the general Dadaist aesthetic, but at the same time she surely and steadily incorporated a feminist philosophy. Her aim was to submit female equality within the canvass of other DADA’s conceptions.
Though Hannah Hoch officially was a member of the movement, she never became the true one, because men saw her only as ‘a charming and gifted amateur artist’ (Lavin). Hans Richter, an unofficial spokesperson shared his opinion about the only woman in their community in the following words: ‘the girl who produced sandwiches, beer and coffee on a limited budget’ forgetting that she was among the few members with stable income.
In spite of the gender oppressions, Hannah’s desire to convey her idea was never weakened. Difficulties only strengthened her and made her an outstanding artist. A note with these return words was found among her possessions: ‘None of these men were satisfied with just an ordinary woman. But neither were they included to abandon the (conventional) male/masculine morality toward the woman. Enlightened by Freud, in protest against the older generation. . . they all desired this ‘New Woman’ and her groundbreaking will to freedom. But — they more or less brutally rejected the notion that they, too, had to adopt new attitudes. . . This led to these truly Strinbergian dramas that typified the private lives of these men’ (Maloney).
Hoch’s technique was characterized by fusing male and female parts of the body or bodies of females from different epochs — a ‘traditional’ woman and ‘modern’, liberated and free of sexual stereotypes one. What’s more, combining male and female parts, the female ones were always more distinctive and vibrant, while the male ones took their place in the background. Hannah created unique works of art experimenting with paintings, collages, graphic and photography. Her women were made from bits and pieces from dolls, mannequins of brides or children as these members of the society were not considered as valuable.
Today Hannah Hoch is most associated with her famous photomontage ‘Cut with the kitchen knife DADA through the last Weimer Beer-Belly Cultural epoch of Germany’ (1919–1920). This piece of art highlights social confusion during the era of Weimar Republic, oppositionists and government radicals (Grabner). In spite of never being truly accepted by the rest of her society, this woman with a quiet voice managed to speak out loud her feministic message.
Looking at Hannah Hoch’s art for the first time I found it confusing, because couldn’t comprehend the meaning. It was quite obvious that every single piece and structure is a symbol of the era, its ideas and beliefs. However, after having learned about her life and constant endeavors to declare about female’s right, little by little I started to realize what’s what. As an object for research I chose ‘The beautiful girl’ as, to my mind, its theme and message intersects with the modern tendency: a successful, clever, beautiful and free woman has to become one in no time, cause the world is moving faster and faster. I enjoyed working with this artist as her example is inspiring and is worth following | https://medium.com/@pendalbelut/%E7%9C%8B-%E5%BF%83%E7%81%B5%E5%A5%87%E6%97%85-soul-%E5%AE%8C%E6%95%B4%E7%89%88-%E5%9C%A8%E7%BA%BF%E5%85%8D%E8%B4%B9-2020-hd-1080p-zh-en-372883ef8761 | ['Pendal Belut'] | 2020-12-21 15:01:20.258000+00:00 | ['Animation', '2020', 'Soul', 'China', 'Full Version'] |
I am barely interested in political views, but your story truly caught my attention. | I am barely interested in political views, but your story truly caught my attention.
Anyone who has time, or even has a lot of love for animals already describe their personality. They have high empathy for others and willing to help others. I hope Biden will become a new light for Americans, though.
And thank you for sharing your short story about your dogs, Steve! I truly enjoyed it :) stay safe! | https://medium.com/@listyaa28/i-am-barely-interested-in-political-views-but-your-story-truly-caught-my-attention-c99619dea468 | ['Hapsari Listya'] | 2020-12-02 15:09:51.624000+00:00 | ['Pets', 'Joe Biden', 'President', 'White House', 'Donald Trump'] |
Old and Wasted | Old and Wasted
Photo by Steve Johnson on Unsplash
The old and wasted words
flung past me
out of a catapulted paragraph
a few of them
slicing the skin on my cheek
I keep crying
these red tears for a while
picking up the meanings
I remember
but I forgot the fucking order
and a whole history
slides off the table to reform
into this grotesque
golem, an indictment of craft
or imagination, at any rate
I go hunting for the glue
or whatever it is
that keeps this from getting
entirely out of hand
but I haven’t got any more of that
either
stuck, punished, my back over
the table
and I think I’m going to be here
a while yet | https://medium.com/the-rebel-poets-society/old-and-wasted-891e34191181 | ['J.D. Harms'] | 2020-12-08 19:46:27.869000+00:00 | ['Poem', 'Writing', 'Image', 'Reading', 'Editing'] |
5 eCommerce Website Design Mistakes that Can Cost Big $$$ | It’s no longer just about listing your products and selling online. Over the past few years, online shopping has seen a significant transition from ‘what kind of product I need’ to ‘what kind of experience I want’. Meaning, just because you have a great product doesn’t mean customers will buy from you. You must provide them an acceptable level of experience to hook their attention and interest.
This is where the design of your eCommerce website becomes very important. If it isn’t optimized to deliver a good experience to the visitors, not only will it lose sales but it will also hurt the brand’s value, which is bad for the longevity of your business. In that context, here are five eCommerce website design mistakes that can cost you big money:
1. High Loading Time - Did you know even a 100ms latency costs Amazon 1% in sales? They lose billions of dollars if their website loads even a second too slow. Of course, we’re talking about one of the biggest brands in the world. The majority of the eCommerce businesses aren’t even nearly as big. But the point still holds… If the website is loading slowly, it will lose customers. Foremost, it will struggle in ranking higher on SERP. Moreover, even after getting the traffic, the website will leak conversion. Ideally, you want to have an eCommerce website that loads properly in less than three seconds (on phone and desktop), but the quicker the better.
2. Poor Quality (And Insufficient) Images - The entire online shopping model relies on WYSIWYG. But if your product images are of poor quality — and if they aren’t in sufficient numbers — what will the prospect even see?! Sadly, this is a common eCommerce website design mistake. You should have many pictures that the product from every angle. Also, the quality of the images should be excellent so that they don’t break when zoomed in.
3. Long Checkout Process - Having a long checkout process will inevitably leak potential customers. People spend a lot of time when making a purchase decision. If you’re allowing them to think longer with your long checkout process, they may change their mind and not purchase at all. Moreover, nobody likes a long checkout process where you’re redirecting them to several pages and asking for unnecessary details. The checkout should ideally be seamless with bare minimum clicks and information requirements. The design of the eCommerce website should be efficient around this.
4. No Thoughts Given To Increase Sales - Up-selling, down-selling, and cross-selling are proven techniques that can significantly boost your sales. And they are more than just about recommending the buyers some casual options. In sync with real-time data (what the customer is buying and what products they are viewing), the website design should effectively incorporate these techniques in an attractive and relevant way. Such website elements are important to personalize the shopping experience of the customers.
5. Weak Internal Search Engine - This is a big problem especially if you’re selling a lot of different products. Above all, your search bar on the website should be strategically (and visibly) positioned so that it provides easy access. It should ideally be able to produce relevant results, based on search queries, in an attractive way. With a robust internal search engine — along with a smart result page — you can easily increase your sales.
Conclusion
These are five eCommerce website design mistakes that can cost you a lot of money. Admittedly, there are plenty of other mistakes that many businesses and designers make all the time, like not promoting discounts more visibly, having confusing navigation, hiding reviews somewhere in the corner, having difficult-to-find contact information, and more. In the end, what’s important is to stay true to the fundamentals of eCommerce website design that are centric to good user-experience. | https://medium.com/pepper-square/5-ecommerce-website-design-mistakes-that-can-cost-big-ff1415adf566 | ['Pepper Square'] | 2020-12-22 17:42:06.016000+00:00 | ['Ecommerce', 'Ecommerce Site Design', 'Online Shopping', 'Website Design', 'Checkout Experience'] |
The 3 Children’s Authors You Must Read | Children’s literature is one of the most sacred types of writing in the entire medium. Kids are so impressionable and curious. They want to know the answers to the big questions, taking in all of the information available to them like a sponge.
It takes a truly special author to tap into their own childlike imagination, remembering what intrigued them so many years ago about the world around them.
What makes a high quality book for young ones? Does it teach them about history and people? Does the story have the characters that the reader can relate to, while also not being too harsh about the realities of life?
Is the language overblown with large vocabulary that is not yet understandable? At the same time, kids are not stupid. The writer should never talk down to their audience.
I wanted to present three children’s authors that I enjoyed growing up that I know others benefited from just as much as me. They write timeless stories that are still enjoyed to this day, and hopefully for many more generations into the future. Enjoy!
Mary Pope-Osborne
Author of one of the best-selling children’s series of the past 30 years, her Magic Tree House saga has been mixing culture, history, and fun into a magical mix for multiple generations of children.
Jack and Annie are the brother-sister duo protagonists of the novels, allowing children of both genders to see themselves in the novels while reading about their various adventures. Pope-Osborne runs the gamut on historical and cultural references, sending the siblings back in time through their neighborhood tree house to an enormous set of locations and events.
The American Civil and Revolutionary Wars, the sinking of the Titanic, the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, and the volcanic eruption of Mt.Vesuvius are just a sampling of the iconic time pieces that kids are introduced to in accurate and magical ways.
History is something that people of all ages should educate themselves on more, so it is vital to kindle a love and interest in it from an early age. These books mix fantastical elements and fictional characters right into the nonfictional happenings of real life in a way that I’ve rarely seen in youth literature.
By blurring the line between what’s real and what isn’t, the author convinces the child to have a lifelong love learning about the fascinating countries, mountains, languages, animals, disasters, and peoples that combine to make up our magical planet!
Photo by Vincent Branciforti on Unsplash
Andrew Clements
Known most for the 1996 best-seller Frindle, detailing a student’s made-up term for a pen, Andrew Clements had a unique ability to get inside the mind of the average 11 year old and put their thoughts and emotions onto the page for his readers.
His literature hones in on a single protagonist who usually butts heads with an adult somewhere in the classroom or domestically. Nothing too serious, but the problems all give enough food for thought to munch on for a couple hundred pages.
The kid who stars in the work is given respect by being put on equal footing with the adult who is opposing them. By taking the authority figure and putting that person on equal terms with the younger student, Clements makes both characters see eye-to-eye a little better.
By the end of the novels, the child protagonist has grown up a little more, and the adult has gained greater appreciation for the creativity and innocence of the immature mind.
Although Clements himself is no longer with us, his work will continue to be relatable to elementary and middle school students for decades to come. Themes like imagination, friendship, leadership, and teamwork never go out of style.
Lemony Snicket/Daniel Handler
Handler published under the pen name Lemony Snicket when releasing his iconic set of novels, A Series of Unfortunate Events during the early 2000’s. The saga of the three orphaned Baudelaire siblings who are constantly on the run from the evil Count Olaf has sold millions of copies throughout its lifetime and been adapted into a film in 2004 and a Netflix series between 2017–2019.
What makes this work such a must-read for any late-elementary school to middle-school aged kid is the amount of exposure they will receive to real-life problems, but doing so with a whimsy and sense of humor which is unmatched.
The protagonists of the series use their inventiveness, book-smarts, and love of one another to overcome any problem they are faced with, which includes arson, underage marriage, and murder. These are all mature themes that have gotten the books banned from the libraries of certain schools around the United States, but rest assured that all of the topics are covered by Handler in a way that is not disturbing to a child.
Tone and wording make the macabre elements more cartoony or comical than would be indicated in an adult novel. It introduces young readers to key literature analysis practices that they will certainly be doing much more often as they age into new curriculums.
The books force the reader to debate the motivations and intentions behind every protagonist and antagonist, advancing past the surface level plot trope discussions that normally happen in early novel discussions. They’re a must for children and adults alike. And when you can get both age groups in the same room to talk about a book, that’s when you know it’s special. | https://medium.com/age-of-awareness/the-3-childrens-authors-you-must-read-ff3c7e9b8998 | ['Shawn Laib'] | 2020-12-08 05:16:01.012000+00:00 | ['Education', 'Books', 'Children', 'Creativity', 'Teaching'] |
Creating a culture for Learning & Development at Lyft (for Data and Science) | By Alexis Weill and Martin Yamane
The What and Why of L&D
Learning and Development (“L&D”) is a broad term that encompasses any initiative aimed at improving employees skills and knowledge so that they may be more effective in the workplace. To help facilitate opportunities for Lyft employees to grow and succeed, Lyft has created an L&D council for the Data and Science organization with the goal of helping employees to acquire the skills to be most effective in their roles.
There are a few reasons Lyft is investing in developing Learning and Development opportunities:
It helps recruit the types of employees that are interested in self-development, It develops employees’ skill sets which increases company productivity, It increases employee retention as our team members want to keep growing professionally.
It is a win-win situation for the company and its employees.
L&D at Lyft Data and Science
Why we started it
In 2019, we realized there was an opportunity to bring together disparate elements of Learning and Development within the Data and Science organization under one umbrella. This offered two main advantages:
Elevate the visibility of existing programs so more team members could benefit from them. Allow us to take a more holistic approach to Learning and Development and identify existing gaps to develop programs to address those.
Our general approach has been to leverage the wealth of knowledge that our team members already have across the organization to benefit everyone. Having seen similar efforts decay over time, we spent some to time to develop the right structure to ensure that this effort would be self-sustaining.
The council structure
We structured the council as follows, inspired by our Diversity & Inclusion program:
An executive sponsor
Two co-chairs that are responsible for setting the vision, selecting workstream leads, running the council day-to-day, and representing the council
Four workstreams, with two to three leads for each workstream
Volunteers organized in initiatives within each workstream
The current L&D council structure for Lyft Data and Science as of November 2020
All positions entail six to twelve month commitments — this ensures that we have continuity in the short to medium term but also that we provide opportunities for more voices to be involved.
We created four workstreams to focus on the following areas of opportunity:
Technical training
The mission of this workstream is to uplevel team members’ technical skills.
Our current offerings are multi-week courses, single-session training, and bi-weekly talks on specific projects. They are developed and delivered by team members. The courses cover a wide range of subjects such as experimentation and data visualization, primarily relying on online resources for general learnings and team members for Lyft-specific teachings. The training sessions are focused on specific skills on internal know-how on a specific topic or tool.
Non-technical training
The mission of this workstream is to uplevel team members soft and business skills.
The workstream puts together monthly, employee-led panel discussions to go over topics such as “managing up”, “providing feedback” or “thinking like a product manager”. Volunteers are also piloting a Toastmasters club for individuals to practice presentation & public speaking skills.
Experiential programs
This workstream covers opportunities that are hands-on or individualized, with more opportunities for one-on-one interactions. We currently offer 3 programs:
The mentorship program pairs employees with a peer or manager to provide them with mentorship/coaching to help them think through their careers, provide advice, etc.
pairs employees with a peer or manager to provide them with mentorship/coaching to help them think through their careers, provide advice, etc. The shadow program provides an opportunity for employees to learn more about different roles on different teams or at different levels. For example, a Data Scientist may decide to shadow a ML Engineer or a Science Manager, or simply learn more about the challenges faced by other Data Scientists.
provides an opportunity for employees to learn more about different roles on different teams or at different levels. For example, a Data Scientist may decide to shadow a ML Engineer or a Science Manager, or simply learn more about the challenges faced by other Data Scientists. Lastly, the leadership lunch series provides an opportunity for team members to interact with leadership in a casual, small-group setting.
Championing career development
This workstream improves processes and policies around career development for the team. The work ranges from developing a set of “shared agreements” between team members and their managers on how to best work together to providing documentation on career development (e.g., clarifying Lyft’s career pathways, providing career growth principles, and sharing a sample promotion packet).
How to create a culture of L&D
1. Find L&D opportunities that people want AND need (they may be different)
The first step to kick-starting Learning and Development at your company is to understand how team members want to develop, as well as what leadership considers the most important skills to cultivate among employees (we noticed that they often differ). This helps demonstrate value quickly by focusing on content that addresses the most sought-after areas of development.
This can be as simple as sending out a survey: when we were first getting started, our workstream leads sent out surveys asking Lyft employees to rank different ideas for programs and courses as well as suggest new ones.
2. Enlist passionate team members
“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people together to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.” (attributed to Antoine de Saint-Exupéry)
Putting together a team that shares the council’s vision is key to have motivated members that deliver great impact. Team members are often passionate about a specific aspect of the council, so it helps to match them with their top area of interest.
One challenge is that you will be asking volunteers and workstream leads to commit to additional work on top of their regular obligations. Executive sponsorship and buy-in from the top helps — if contributions to the wider team are valued, it aligns incentives for everyone. One approach is to add those activities in team members’ career pathways: the volunteers get credit for helping out and the whole team benefits.
3. Prioritize ruthlessly
Like any other initiative, prioritization is key. After determining the areas team members want to develop in, you should create a roadmap of the L&D program you plan to launch. For each initiative, you will need to think through the idea end-to-end to ensure its feasibility within a reasonable timeframe. Ask yourself:
How much effort needs to be put into developing the materials for this offering?
Will this cost money? If so, how do we get the budget?
Can we leverage existing materials or past efforts to avoid duplicative efforts?
How much more effective will the participants be in their role after completing this program?
After you have answered these questions, you can determine which ideas are worthwhile and which ideas to scrap.
4. Make the content easily accessible
Content is only as good as the impact it has on the team: it is important to communicate early and often to make sure that team members are aware of the various opportunities available to them. You can expand the reach of any piece of content by recording it, as this allows you and the team to focus on creating new content instead of spending time reproducing existing content. We also found it helpful to make all the content available in one central place. One side benefit of having compiled all this great content is that it is great for new hire onboarding too!
5. Measure success and adjust accordingly
Just like any new feature launch or program change, you will want to track how your new L&D initiatives are performing. It is the best way to determine the value of the new content. Tracking metrics such as attendance rates, program completion, and net promoter score (NPS) for your initiatives is key to ensure that you are on the right track. If programs are getting low attendance or NPS, you should question whether the offering should be continued or modified.
6. Build lasting systems
Setting up the right systems ensures that your L&D efforts lasts well past your tenure. There needs to be a formalized process for recruiting new team members and for transitioning work. Additionally, as we discussed earlier, incentives should be aligned so that employees feel like their time spent creating valuable content is valued by their manager and the company.
Moving forward
Building a Learning & Development council has been an extremely rewarding experience that has benefited many at Lyft, both from working on the council and learning from our programs. A year in, we are happy to say that we are seeing high attendance for our efforts and have continued adjusting our programming based on ongoing feedback.
In 2021, new team members will lead the council and continue to build upon the culture of Learning and Development for Lyft. While we created this council to meet Lyft’s L&D needs, the same strategies can apply for any company looking to increase their team’s skill set. We hope this guide has motivated you and given you the necessary action plan to start your own Learning and Development initiative!
Thanks to the following people for their helpful comments (in alphabetical order): Akshat Jain, Alya Abbott, Sarah Morse, Simran Mirchandani
Thank you to the L&D council leads as well (in alphabetical order): Ken Chew, Lei Tang, Mehrnaz Abdollahian, Noriko Kakihara, Or Cohen, Rahul Kadian, Ricky Chachra, Yunjie Zhao
Lyft is hiring. Check out our open roles. | https://eng.lyft.com/creating-a-culture-for-learning-development-at-lyft-for-data-and-science-fd22ab1defd6 | [] | 2021-01-13 21:51:23.167000+00:00 | ['Corporate Culture', 'Learning And Development', 'Learning', 'Organizational Culture', 'Data Science'] |
Let’s find out how Males are affected by Beauty Standards and Stereotypes! | If you think that men are not affected by unrealistic beauty standards, then think again. Or maybe switch on your T.V. There is a considerable increase in the number of beauty products for men; from acne-reducing creams to body-building tonics, you will find the entire range in your average 22-minute daily soap advertisement.
Ask a typical woman about the appearance of her dream man and there’s a good chance that she will want a ‘tall-dark-handsome’ man, with probably a beard (Bollywood has set up some unrealistic standards). I am not saying that being attracted to a particular type of physique is bad; I want to talk about how bad it is to marginalize other body types and treat males with such bodies with contempt. Okay, contempt might be a wrong word to use here; people don’t hate them. They generally comment on the bodies of men and use them as ‘material’ for stand-up comedies. And this, people, is unacceptable!
Such is the effect of these societal standards that even studies have revealed how men have self-deprecating double standards for the thin, average-weight and hypermuscular bodies, but evaluate the athletic body as more attractive and with a higher positive feeling. It makes me wonder where we are going as a society where people are uncomfortable with their bodies.
Just like female gender stereotypes result in mental health issues in women, male body stereotypes similarly affect men. While we think that the concept of ‘macho’ man is old news, I cannot help but think of the harm this stereotype has done already. Now ‘chocolate boys’ are trending, which is again very offensive. Who decides if a man should be sinewy, bearded, or ‘sweet’ to be attractive and accepted by society? Can’t we just let them be?
I have come across some male friends who have been body-shamed for their weight, height, hair loss, and even the texture of their voice. Some of them went into their reserves and started isolating themselves, while others joined gyms to prove that they were a ‘man’- classic cases of FOMO. The gym-goers who had enough will-power to finish what they started were seen boasting about their masculinity, and one of them sent their female friends shirtless pictures of their newly acquired ‘bodies’. I don’t know what made them do that, but I know that such behavior is not healthy. Frankly, it is offensive and amounts to online harassment (unsolicited biceps and abs pictures are as bad as unsolicited you-know-what!)
Talking of healthy behavior, these notions of a ‘healthy and desirable’ body often lead to mental health disorders among men. From anxiety relating to public appearances to depression when the desired body type cannot be achieved, there are a lot of issues that men can and do come across. It can also extend to eating disorders and unhealthy consumption of artificial food supplements for muscle growth. Such steps not only affect the physical health of men, but it can extend to hormonal imbalances resulting in impotence, thereby leading to more mental health disorders. The list is long, but it generally leads to a vicious cycle with low self-esteem, mental, and physical disorders as its components.
What is the solution to this? If I would’ve been living in an ideal world, I would’ve said that it is more of a social concern than a personal one. But the world is not ideal, so I won’t plan big. The only thing that can help is self-awareness and a sense of positive body image among people. One must maintain one’s physical and mental health, not a specific body image that is nothing but a projection of the patriarchal notions of the society.
I have given my personal opinions about the issue in this blog, but there have been studies on the topic. You can refer to one such study here.
If you need more motivation to take care of your health, then read more on the importance of a healthy diet on www.fuzia.com | https://medium.com/@pr-26909/lets-find-out-how-males-are-affected-by-beauty-standards-and-stereotypes-5b15202e5832 | [] | 2020-12-15 11:34:10.882000+00:00 | ['Beauty', 'Gender Roles', 'Gender Identity', 'Men', 'Stereotypes'] |
How Far Will Biden Go With the UN? | How Far Will Biden Go With the UN?
by Stephen Schlessinger. Read more on PassBlue.
US President-elect Biden has said virtually nothing about the US re-engaging with the UN after four years of relentless hostility to the organization under the Trump administration. But the author of the essay lays out the main steps Biden needs to take to show the UN that America is back.
As President-elect Joe Biden finds his footing in foreign affairs, one of his foremost challenges will be re-engaging with the United Nations. So far, he has said little about the organization, but he has just appointed a new UN envoy-in-waiting, an experienced and articulate diplomat, former Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs and former envoy to Liberia, Linda Thomas-Greenfield.
Given Biden’s campaign commitments to multilateralism and global cooperation, this re-engagement will probably be robust. The question is how quickly he can upend the previous administration’s hypernationalist “America First” policies that have constrained the US role at the UN and steer American leadership back where it has historically belonged — front and center.
Biden’s background as a Democrat gives him instant international credibility with the UN, which is finishing its 75th anniversary year. He is identified with a long, hallowed pro-UN tradition among Democratic Party presidents. Notably, President Franklin Roosevelt was its central inspiration and its main founder at the 1945 San Francisco Conference. His successor, President Harry Truman, ensured that the US Senate ratified the UN treaty and later pushed the Security Council to undertake its first important enforcement action — stopping the North Korean invasion of South Korea in 1950. In turn, President John Kennedy was the first — and only US president — to actually cite the UN in an Inaugural Address, calling it “our last best hope.” President Carter emphasized human rights in the institution; President Clinton helped appoint one of the body’s most accomplished secretaries-general, Kofi Annan; and President Obama’s two envoys focused on women’s rights and disarmament.
President-elect Biden can quickly put his own stamp on the organization by re-entering three UN agreements that his predecessor, President Donald Trump, disowned, falsely, as detrimental to US security. First, Biden has already signaled that he will rejoin the UN’s Paris climate accord, naming John Kerry as his new emissary to the pact. Second, he says he hopes to reopen talks soon with Iran on reviving the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), to delimit that country’s nuclear program — an agreement the UN Security Council firmly endorsed. Third, and most urgently, he has promised that the US will re-enlist in the World Health Organization to eradicate the coronavirus.
In addition, Biden can rejoin the Human Rights Council, which President Trump quit in 2018 because it repeatedly criticized Israel’s treatment of Palestinians. As some observers have noted, Biden could re-enter the Council and presumably use an American voice in the body to block or mitigate some of the Council’s most egregious decisions — like its piling on Israel — while curing it of its continuing unwillingness to censure the world’s authoritarian regimes.
On another front, Biden can now renew US contributions to the family-planning agency, the UN Population Fund. Trump withdrew financing from it on the unfounded grounds that it helped China with coercive abortions and involuntary sterilizations. However, Democrats have historically supported the fund. The President-elect could also assess whether the US should sign the UN Global Migration Compact adopted in 2018, which provides broad guidelines for handling the growing migrant and refugee plight. Trump’s vehement anti-immigration views have precluded any US participation.
Restarting US assistance to the UN Relief and Work Agency for Palestinian Refugees (Unrwa) will likely be another Biden administration initiative. Trump cut all US funding in 2018 to punish the Palestinians for refusing to drop demands that their brethren be allowed to take back their lands in Israel. In line with other Democratic leaders, however, Biden would probably restore this funding to enhance the chances of returning to the two-state solution in the Middle East.
He may also rejoin the highly influential Unesco. Since 2011, Congress has barred US funding for Unesco or any other UN entity that formally recognizes Palestine or “accords the Palestine Liberation Organization the same standing as member states.” Due to these conditions, the US today remains an observer-nation at Unesco. If Biden returns to it full time, he must ask Congress to repeal these provisions and pay membership arrears.
Lastly, Biden will have to confront the matter of China, the UN’s second-largest donor nation financially, after the US. These days, China is flooding the UN Secretariat and UN agencies with its diplomats, displacing US influence. How can he counteract this?
The new Biden administration, it appears, is poised to reboost US involvement in the UN. Under Biden, Washington will surely return to what it has done historically in the past — promote traditional American democratic values, defend US security interests and be willing to work with other countries. In the final analysis, all global matters invariably end up at the UN.
The first words of Biden’s UN envoy should simply be those of the president-elect himself, “The US is back.”
YOUR DONATIONS MAKE PASSBLUE A VALUED JOURNALISM SITE. PLEASE GIVE BY DEC. 31 AND DOUBLE YOUR GIFT. THANKS FROM THE PASSBLUE TEAM AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS! | https://medium.com/@passblue-un/how-far-will-biden-go-with-the-un-faf7c2d0e140 | [] | 2020-12-17 18:25:49.476000+00:00 | ['International Relations', 'Biden', 'United Nations', 'Éditorial', 'Foreign Policy'] |
React Functional Components and Lodash High-Order Functions | React Functional Components and Lodash High-Order Functions
How to seamlessly use Lodash high-order functions like debounce and throttle in your React functional components
Photo by Bernard Hermant on Unsplash.
Although modern browsers keep adding support to utility functions (thus rendering Lodash not as useful), you may still find yourself in a situation where you need/want to use Lodash for whatever reason.
And with React being one of the most popular front-end libraries, it’s very likely that you will eventually need to use both in conjunction. It might seem like a trivial task (and it is), but when we put functional components and hooks together in the mix, there can be some pitfalls. I hope this article helps you avoid them. | https://medium.com/better-programming/react-functional-components-and-lodash-high-order-functions-a0bc9e2df171 | ['Vinicius De Antoni'] | 2020-07-25 17:01:57.131000+00:00 | ['React', 'JavaScript', 'Programming', 'Lodash', 'Reactjs'] |
Introducing Shiftly on Mainnet—Find the best prices & swap instantly | Introducing Shiftly on Mainnet—Find the best prices & swap instantly
Find the best prices & swap instantly crypto-assets like Ethereum and ERC20 tokens.
Today we’re very excited to launch Shiftly on Mainnet. You can now find the best quotes for swapping cryptocurrencies through Kyber network, Airswap and Uniswap protocols and swap them using 1 single application.
When we started Shiftly, we decided to focus on user experience, which is one of the most challenging aspects of existing solutions. Indeed, there isn’t a central place to search for the best price and liquidity when comes the time to swap two assets on Ethereum. The journey to find the information is painful and when you find it, you need to look for a DEX (decentralized exchange) to perform the swap and potentially see the price going up and down in-between.
Months later, we’re ready to open up Shiftly and let you find the best prices to exchange instantly your assets.
Want to jump right in? Swap now.
Otherwise, read on to learn about our core concept and our next features.
No more waiting — Introducing Instant trading
At Shiftly, we want to make asset swapping easy, instant and secured. This is the reason why we have combined Kyber Network, Uniswap and Airswap’s liquidity models.
Kyber Network — Kyber’s guaranteed liquidity is a great tool as it allows us to match orders instantly. Once a transaction is included on the blockchain, that means the tokens swap is executed. No more waiting time.
Airswap— Integrating Airswap’s order book brings us more liquidity as well as no price slippage. What you see is what you get instantly.
Uniswap 🦄 — Uniswap is a decentralized exchange protocol launched on the Ethereum mainnet in November 2018. Uniswap’s liquidity reserve model has been drawing a lot of attention over the last months and it was natural for us to integrate it.
Over the next few weeks, we plan to integrate more protocols in order to broaden our token offering and increase our liquidity. By aggregating multiple liquidity pools, we aim to enhance the efficiency of decentralized exchanges.
WTF ?— A decentralized exchange with no order-books, no wrapping, and no account
We think that token trading should be simple and efficient. The large majority of existing exchanges present the same features and functionalities. They often are over-complicated and users can easily get lost. This is especially true for decentralized exchanges where a minimum knowledge is often required to trade and swap.
Our team saw an opportunity to build a platform as easy as:
Connect your wallet — You can use Metamask, Ledger, or any Web3 enabled browser. Select which tokens pair you want to trade. Set the desired amount and swap instantly at the best price.
Voilà!
The result is a simple and efficient UI (user interface) with an interaction model where people can trade instantly a token they hold, like $ETH, for another token they want, like $BAT or $DAI.
You don’t need to wrap your $ETH or look for the best price in a chaotic order-book. That means less time spent exchanging your crypto-assets.
Finally, when trading on Shiftly, you remain in total custody of your assets. There is no need to create an account or to wonder whether your funds are safe.
No fees
We will not be charging fees during our Mainnet beta. We’re currently testing different models of revenues.
Pricing Efficiency
As an instant-trading exchange, we want to offer the best possible price and execution to our users. Our matching engine finds the best prices according to the trade size and liquidity. By aggregating more liquidity providers, we aim to offer you the best price discovery model while limiting slippage.
Token offering
Combining Airswap, Uniswap and Kyber Network liquidity networks allows us to have a broad token offering to start with. We currently support more than 150 tokens and therefore hundreds thousands of swap possibilities!
Minimum Acceptable Rate
For more flexibility, we display in our UI a feature that allows you to set up a Minimum Acceptable Price. That means your swap won’t be executed if the desired asset’s price goes down by x %. So far, this feature is relevant to trades executed via Kyber Network as Airswap does not have any price slippage.
Security
Airswap, Uniswap and Kyber provide us with tools to trade in total security in a decentralized fashion. There is no transaction, settlement risk or counter-party risk. Settlements are done instantly and there is no transaction uncertainty. What’s more, there is no need to open an account, making a deposit or wondering about any potential withdrawal fees.
Providing feedback
We will soon announce a large Shiftly feedback survey to gain knowledge on what people think of Shiftly and how we can improve the dApp. This survey is meant for all different user groups of Shiftly. Beta users looking for a better alternative than the decentralized exchanges out there, other projects wanting to partner with Shiftly to enhance liquidity and tokens variety, and people looking to help us grow.
To do for the next weeks | https://medium.com/shiftly/introducing-shiftly-on-mainnet-find-the-best-prices-swap-instantly-c20e7218d795 | ['Guillaume Palayer'] | 2019-06-18 14:49:38.036000+00:00 | ['Decentralized', 'Ethereum', 'Bitcoin', 'Exchange', 'Dapps'] |
So, You’ve Made an Email Error | You’ve heard the story about the time “that company” sent an email with an error so egregious it completely ruined their reputation, right? Or maybe that story about the email sent with a link error so scandalous that thousands of angry customers took to social?
Not ringing any bells? That’s because, even if it feels like it at the moment, email errors aren’t typically the end of the world.
And despite your best efforts, they can happen to anyone.
When asked “What’s the worst email mistake you’ve made?,” our Senior Email Marketing Manager Michael Kinstlinger said, “I once sent out the same email twice, and another time I included the organization’s name in the subject line.” Okay, maybe those aren’t that bad. But they are mistakes nonetheless—and fortunately, as an expert in the finer aspects of email deployment, while Michael is human, he didn’t panic and knew what to do next.
The point is this: At some point along the long path to deployment, humans are inevitably involved and we all make the occasional mistake. What really matters is what we do next.
Plus, let’s face it, email marketing is more than just “people hitting a send button.” There’s quite a bit of tech involved in deploying client emails. As we set up each piece, there exists yet another potential spot where a mishap could occur. Maybe your email was sent to the wrong list or your link to the blue kid’s bike went to the red one. Either way, we’re here to tell you everything is going to be ok.
Once you’ve identified why and where the error happened, it’s time to make adjustments, whether it’s adding more eyes to your QA process or re-naming some of your fields. Assessing and making adjustments will help to avoid further incidents.
And then there’s your response.
Take the alcohol delivery service Drizly, for example. Drizly accidentally sent a “lorem ipsum” email that clearly wasn’t ready for deployment. The company’s response? A humorous follow-up addressing what happened head-on. The follow-up was written in a friendly tone that jokingly blamed the dog, and included a promo code — appropriately named LOREMIPSUM — which offered subscribers $5 off or free delivery on their next order.
What people remember most about the incident isn’t the mistake itself — instead, the focus shifted to Drizly’s humorously perfect response, which hit all the right notes in terms of their audience and their brand voice. This is the stuff email marketing lore is made of, a great example of how to simultaneously address a mistake and improve your reputation.
Still feeling a little anxious? We have got you covered with 4 great tips to help save your sanity:
1. Don’t do it alone.
If you’re the one who hit send or approved the email, you’re probably feeling guilty, nervous, overwhelmed, anxious, or a combination of all four. When you sit down to work on a resolution, consider snagging a co-worker who can be objective and may be thinking more clearly.
2. Don’t be hasty.
You should certainly send something as soon as possible, but it should be smart, not frantic. Take a moment to align with your client. Make sure they know what happened, how key areas like social or call centers might be impacted, and propose a solution.
3. Take time to craft an honest apology.
You want to avoid sounding ingenuine by creating a quick prescriptive “we made a mistake and are now trying to fix it” email. Make sure you use a tone and voice that’s on-brand and, perhaps most importantly, appropriate for your audience. Then, consider if including an offer as part of the apology makes sense.
If your audience is older and your brand is more serious, you may want to stick with a serious tone. However, if your audience skews younger, don’t be afraid to take notes from Drizly and use levity.
4. Try the ATM process.
[A]cknowledge the error and be honest about what happened.
[T]hank people for their understanding, support, business, etc.
[M]ove the conversation offline by providing an email or channel for specific issues
You don’t need to go too in-depth with your explanation — just own it. Avoid deflecting and blaming someone else. And have a plan — an apology can seem pretty empty if there’s no plan for future improvement when one is needed. If necessary, after apologizing, let your customers know what you plan to do in the future.
Of course, errors should be avoided in the first place.
Just remember, when an email error happens, expect that you may need to adopt some new practices and re-assure the client that your errors have been fixed. You’ll also probably feel a little more worry when sending out future campaigns. But soon those feelings will fade and you’ll feel more confident the next time around.
Do you need help with your email program? Havas Helia can provide strategy, design, development, and deployment at scale. Let us know how we can help at [email protected]. | https://medium.com/havas-helia/so-youve-made-an-email-error-1ad9fdbe3ce | ['Havas Cx Helia'] | 2020-08-10 16:02:22.730000+00:00 | ['Email Marketing', 'Email Errors', 'Qa Process', 'Digital Marketing'] |
Getting To Know Computer System Security | Any malicious software programs, such as worms, viruses, spyware, trojans or adware can cause serious damage to your computer system — together they are known as Malware, and this is one thing that you need to avoid at all costs. Over the years the type of Malware has been developed and now, rather than just being overt threats, it has become more focused covert methods of attacking your computer.
Computer System Security
Trying to keep up with all the different malware programs that seem to be rife, is almost impossible, and we are being continually bombarded with them on a daily basis. To keep your computer system security up together you will need to use a really top class, strong anti virus and complete internet security program. One program that can deliver on all of this is Extreme Security by Zone Alarm. This is a first class program that includes as standard:
The ZoneAlarm Forcefield, Anti- virus, Firewall, Anti-Spyware, Online Backup, PC tune up and lots more.
This program works with Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7 and Windows XP as well as Vista and the one years protection will cover up to 3 computers, so it is ideal for the home worker who may have more than one computer system that needs protecting.
The program is supplied with a one click fix it interface, so that when you are notified of any potential problems you can sort them with just one click.
So what does ZoneAlarm Extreme Security offer that other main anti virus programs like Norton and McAfee do not?
First neither of the other two programs offer Spysite blocking, nor do they have Kernel-level virus and Spyware Prevention where the ZoneAlarm program does.
ZoneAlarm also offers more with your browser security, for example, virtual browsing, dangerous download detection, as well as private browser capability. On the identify theft front, ZoneAlarm offers daily credit report monitoring, fraud alerts and monthly reports the other two systems do not.
Down to core security issues, ZoneAlarm gives you early boot protection, an operating system firewall, behavioral program monitoring again neither of the other two well known programs offer this.
All in all ZoneAlarm Extreme Security offers you great protection, certainly seeming far superior to the other two main players, and all for a reasonably low cost which is certainly comparable to other programs on the market. | https://medium.com/@diazkias/getting-to-know-computer-system-security-4b17bb99cfa8 | ['Diaz Kias'] | 2020-09-10 12:32:16.585000+00:00 | ['Antivirus', 'Windows', 'Security', 'Software', 'Zonealarm'] |
Jimmy, Darnell, and Me. I moved to Washington, DC in the fall… | Demolition Work Site
I moved to Washington, DC in the fall of 1977 with a freshly minted English degree and no marketable skills that anyone could discern. After several dispiriting weeks of dead-end interviews, I responded to a classified ad for “laborers wanted” in the Washington Post. After a 10-minute interview, I filled out the usual paperwork and was told to report to an address in old-town Alexandria on Monday. The hiring manager couldn’t tell me the exact nature of the work beyond saying that I’d be working as a laborer. With no other immediate prospects and dwindling funds, there hardly seemed to be a decision to make. Also, I’d begun to feel adrift, and the work would at least bring the certainty of a daily routine for a few weeks.
In the hiring office, I’d noticed that I seemed to be the only Caucasian applicant, so I presumed I’d be working with African Americans. This would be a new experience for me. Like many whites from well-intentioned, educationally privileged families, I’d been brought up to firmly reject anti-black prejudice but had had very little personal contact with African Americans. One of the ancillary benefits I’d anticipated in moving to the then majority-Black city of Washington, DC was that it would give me a chance to ground my principles in personal experience.
On the most basic level, the three weeks I spent working on this project gave me a brief experience of being in the role of the “other,” the one who is “different” and noticed for my differentness. It was an experience of struggling to operate in a world whose codes I didn’t recognize or understand. It wasn’t always pleasant, but it was valuable. It gave me a tiny but real base of experience from which to extrapolate a few truths about what black and brown people — those folks on the other side of our country’s racism equation — experience every day.
I joined a crew that consisted of three other laborers and a foreman, all African American. I’ve created names for those whose names I don’t remember. Johnny the foreman was serious, elaborately proud of his role. Jimmy was big, solidly built, dark-skinned, and with wounds you could sense just below the surface of his strength. Darnell, his buddy, was the comedian and troublemaker.
And me? I was affected by two problems I didn’t fully recognize at the time: I have more than a touch of ADHD — that is, the dreamy, inattentive variety. I also have a lifelong challenge with motor planning — ask me to move a sofa, and I might get it stuck in a doorway. I’m guessing that I was the least efficient laborer on the crew. On the other hand, I remember myself being polite to everyone and deferential to the foreman.
Our job was to remove the interior walls from a group of older townhouses and apartments to prepare them for renovation. It was tedious, dirty, and chaotic work, and there were moments of friction between all of us. Everything around us seemed broken and dirty: shards of drywall, splintered beams, and shafts of sunlight filled with the swirling dust we’d raised.
Darnell, the comedian and troublemaker, tested me from the beginning. Simulating a robbery disguised as a sexual advance, he would pretend to caress my upper thigh while gradually kneading my wallet toward the opening of my front hip pocket. I dreaded this and but couldn’t find a civil way to make him stop. In one of his less creepy routines, he would pantomime beating me while singing “We shall overcome” in his thin, scratchy voice.
During the first week, Darnell and Jimmy seemed to be arguing with Johnny about something they wanted to do during the lunch break, but I couldn’t follow the details. Darnell and Jimmy asked me to get a 6-pack of “bull beer” (Colt-45 malt liquor) and told me to meet them across the street, pointing to a row of run-down brick town houses. No address given — just “over there” with a gesture toward the end of the block.
When I emerged from the corner store with the beer, there was no sign of them. I crossed the street and wandered toward the corner where he had pointed. I noticed a skinny, absent-looking woman standing near the doorway of a corner townhouse, so I climbed the front steps and asked if she happened to know Darnell and Jimmy. Before I could finish, she turned from me and disappeared inside the door, leaving it ajar. Confused, I pushed the door open a little further and saw Darnel, Jimmy and an older man gathered around a table eating sandwiches. The girl I’d spoken to took the beer and brought it to the kitchen. The older man genially invited me to “pull up a seat and rest my feet,” so I sat down in a folding chair that had been left vacant for me. The place was tidy with a few houseplants in pots and some weathered-looking furniture.
Jimmy and Darnell ate their sandwiches without saying much. Someone offered me a sandwich and a soda, announcing a price. Finally, I reached a point where I couldn’t contain my curiosity.
“Is this some kind of restaurant?” I asked of anyone who’d answer.
Jimmy, already laughing, caught my eye and answered the question: “No, man — this is a whore house. ”
The look of slowly dawning recognition on my face cracked everyone up and provided a rare moment of connection and grace: Jimmy, Darnell, the older man, myself, and even one of the women, sharing in the laughter for a brief moment.
However, most of the first week was tense and difficult for me. At one point, Jimmy and I started to argue about where to store some salvageable construction materials we’d found in one of the buildings. We were in a weedy, trash-strewn lot behind the building. Suddenly, he picked up a beer bottle by the neck, flicked it against a chunk of concrete to break the bottom off and displayed the improvised weapon for me to contemplate.
I’m sure he saw the look of shock and fear on my face.
I told him that he didn’t have to do that to make his point. As I remember, he immediately dropped the broken bottle in the weeds.
Somehow, I felt bold enough to make a request: I told him that I wished that he and the others would use words more to say what they wanted to say. I told him that that was how I was raised and that was what I was used to, that it was hard for me to operate the way they did.
As I spoke, I could see dark clouds of frustration and anger crossing his face. By the time I was done, I could see he was agitated. He spoke slowly to me, stressing the ugly words that told me how the world had seen him.
“That’s the way us big, black n-ggers are.”
I got it, and there was nothing for me to say. I just nodded. The two of us walked back together in silence to rejoin the main group.
During the second week, a new worker joined us, one who turned out to be an ally. Claude didn’t seem to be prior buddies with Jimmy and Darnell, and he operated a little differently. While working, he kept up a friendly stream of chatter with whoever was nearby. One day, while we were picking up pieces of broken drywall, he suddenly stopped and tapped me on the arm.
“Hey, Clark — I thought you was white,” he said, pointing to the pure white drywall I was holding next in my sandy-pink skin. I looked down to take in the contrast and shrugged.
“Well, I guess I’m sort of beige.”
Claude broke into a long guffaw, and he began to circulate around repeating my observation to everyone.
“Clark say he not white, he beige.” This color observation didn’t seem to amuse or impress anyone else, but it showed me where Claude stood. He knew I was going through a difficult experience and tried to make it easier. I appreciated that.
One day during the second week, Darnell restarted his sport of trying to extricate my wallet from my front hip pocket. He’d sidle up to me in a parody of affection and run his hand up the front of my upper leg as if kneading bread, pushing my wallet closer to the opening of my pocket.
This seemed to go on and on, no matter how many times I told him to quit. In a moment of intense frustration, I pushed him away hard. He must have been off balance, because he stumbled back a few steps, falling backwards over a wheelbarrow and landing squarely on his coccyx.
There was a low exclamation of surprise from the group of teenagers who had been hanging around the work site. Suddenly, the bystanders were an audience, watching to see what would happen next.
Instantly, my frustration turned to fear, and I heard myself asking him if he was OK and apologizing. Darnell came toward me, grabbed the front of my shirt near the collar with both hands, lifted me just off my feet, then dropped me. I stayed on my feet in a crouch with my arms around my head, but felt no punches. When I looked up, Jimmy was standing behind Darnell, with his arms on Darnell’s shoulders as if restraining him.
As I dusted myself off, Darnell commented. “You did pretty good — a lot of guys fall if you lift them off their feet and drop them.” It took me a moment to absorb the fact that he was complimenting me on my balance.
Work went more smoothly after that. Darnell made no more attempts to take my wallet.
On one of the last days of my work, Darnell invited me to the row house nearby where he lived with his mother. He brought out a leather jacket he’d found in one of the houses we had gutted, which he offered to sell to me for $10.
“Look at that: genuine leather,” he said, a salesman of the moment, praising his wares.
“Yeah, look at that,” I countered, pointing to the tattered lining. “Genuine holes.”
From the doorway into the kitchen, I could see his mother smirking, amused at our gamesmanship. It was a kind of rapport. We settled at $5, though I didn’t really want the ratty thing.
On one of the last days, we spent several hours on a rooftop for the man who was to pay us. Hours seemed to go by, with the group scanning the streets for a familiar-looking car. I hated the waiting and I couldn’t imagine a worse way to spend time. At last, Darnell called out “I see a white man,” like a sailor in a tall ship spotting land. I had a moment to wonder how it was that I wasn’t the kind of white man who paid off a work crew. What did it say about me? We were all paid in cash.
There was to be a new set of houses to gut after a short delay, and I showed up at the appointed time and place the following week to find Jimmy and Darnell already at work. When I approached the foreman, he told me I wasn’t needed; I hadn’t worked hard enough. I protested without passion, perhaps sensing something about my inefficiency. Jimmy and Darnell were within hearing range, but showed no reaction, seemingly absorbed in their work.
I’d had enough anyway. It was dirty, unpleasant work, and I was ready for something different.
In the years that followed, I gradually established a career path for myself around writing and computer skills. Perhaps not surprisingly, I came to enjoy working relationships with many African Americans whose education and communication style were much closer to mine than Jimmy or Darnell’s.
What I did learn from my three weeks with the demolition crew is just how much we Caucasians take for granted the privilege of working with people who look, act, and speak like us, who observe the same norms. We don’t have to leave our comfort zone to be successful in this society.
For Jimmy or Darnell, moving up the social/economic ladder meant having to navigate a world as alien and uncomfortable to them in some respects as their world was to me. For them, “staying within their comfort zone” meant continuing with low-paying, unskilled work and being a permanent part of a disadvantaged underclass.
Those of us in the racial majority need to understand this and to hold on to the knowledge. When I need reminding, I remember my three weeks of demolition work with Jimmy and Darnell. | https://medium.com/@cbouwman95/darnell-jimmy-and-me-90a42249dfee | ['Clark Bouwman'] | 2021-01-02 19:39:07.381000+00:00 | ['Memoirs And Histories', 'Difference', 'White Privilege', 'Race Relations'] |
Camunda & Robot Framework | Everybody is welcome to report issues and to provide merge requests at the repository on Gitlab.
If you are Camunda user, you probably wonder: What is Robot Framework?
Robot Framework is an open source automation framework for task automation. Among other features, it offers a customizable domain language for developing tasks. It was originally developed for test automation providing the unique advantage making human readable test description executable. But most importantly: it comes with the enormous api universe from python. Meaning any python library can be integrated in to your automation.
If you are Robot Framework user, you probably wonder: What is Camunda?
2 sentences won’t do Camunda justice, just as the above summary about Robot Framework. In their words:
Camunda is a collection of “open source workflow and decision automation tools [to] enable thousands of developers to automate business processes and gain the agility, visibility and scale that is needed to achieve digital transformation”.
As Robot Framework enables testers around the world automating their test cases by simply describing them, Camunda enables process designers to automate processes by describing them in BPMN. You might summerize their power with the slogan: Automation by documentation Both might look like low code, but still offer the full power for developers to enhance their ecosystem.
Integrating Camunda and Python
Camunda is primarily built for Java developers, yet implemented the External Task Pattern enabling developers from all programming languages integrating with Camunda through the very well documented Camunda REST API. For Robot Framework, all you need is implementing a few keywords for convenience wrapping requests to endpoints from Camunda REST API. Now you’d only need to package your library, publish it on pypi.org and there you go: the robotframework-camunda library.
Library structure
As of November 2020, the robotframework-camunda library is in beta. However, it is already that useful in our production environment that we could not keep this to ourselves.
The library currently consist of only 5 keywords. Due to the vast amount of endpoints and use cases for the Camunda REST API there are much more keywords expected to be implemented. Therefore, the library is structured in sub libraries:
Deployment.Deploy model from file
This keyword simply take a bpmn file created with the Camunda Modeler and uploads it to a Camunda instance configured in your library:
This keyword is very convenient when running Camunda for integration tests in a pipeline. You may upload your process model to a temporary Camunda instance and run your tests.
ProcessDefinition.Start process
This keyword starts a process.
Creating variables for a process is a bit inconvenient. Fixing it is on our list.
ExternalTask.Fetch and lock workloads
This keyword fetches work items from a certain topic of a process in Camunda:
Variables of workloads are typed as dictionaries: ${workload}[my_value]
Right now, this keyword only fetches at max 1 work item from Camunda. Fixing it is on our list
You cannot provide more options for fetching, yet, like for instance locking duration.
ExternalTask.Complete task
Only fetching a work item is not worth anything when you do not inform Camunda about the result. You do that using this keyword: | https://medium.com/@noordsestern/camunda-robot-framework-e18100772c82 | ['Markus Stahl'] | 2020-11-26 20:05:05.955000+00:00 | ['Camunda', 'Robotframework', 'Rpa'] |
Custom Nested and Validated Forms With React | Adding nested validated forms to a react application should be as simple and straightforward as it was with plain HTML pages. A lot of libraries have been written for that purpose. However, depending on your very single and unique problem at hand, you may end up spending days understanding how to tweak the library of your choice to adapt it to your problem.
In my experience, I wanted to create:
dynamic forms : the user can add fields (like in a to-do list) and the content of some inputs can change the content and/or the display of others
: the user can add fields (like in a to-do list) and the content of some inputs can change the content and/or the display of others validated forms : the form should have a front-end declarative validation triggered on demand
: the form should have a front-end declarative validation triggered on demand nested forms : some forms are fields of a main form or of sub-forms
: some forms are fields of a main form or of sub-forms custom input components: either to use basic HTML 5 inputs or for instance material UI ones.
My react application used the redux store. This is very common but often a source of confusion. As noted by the react team:
From the very beginning, we need to stress that redux has no relation to react
Especially one of the most used libraries for nested forms in react is redux-forms.
I felt very confused by this profusion of tools and went back to the react documentation to end up rebuilding very complex react nested forms with very basic react.
This post intends to summarize my approach to address the above-mentioned points. In the end, I will also present their limitations.
React guidelines
There is an official react documentation on forms. It gives the basis of a simple form with some inputs directly in the component. The main things to catch from it are:
the data of the form should be stored somewhere in the state of the component (or in the redux store). There is one object for the whole form (single source of truth), i.e. that there is not one variable per input but inputs are keys of the same data object.
object. you can have either controlled or uncontrolled react components:
controlled means that the data displayed to the user is the data that you pass to the component. In this setting, you have to handle each input so that you update the data and the user still has the feeling that he is actually filling the input.
uncontrolled means that the data displayed is the data typed by the user. You can still display a default value at mount but there is no way of enforcing the display of a value when the user starts typing
If you choose to use controlled component, you don’t really need to place your inputs inside a <form> tag because you already get the data, at any time. With uncontrolled component, you can either handle data changes or use a <form> tag to handle data on submit.
As far as your form only contains few inputs all in the same component, this works well and is rather easy, a little bit wordy though. Confusion starts when you want to add some logic and nested forms.
Nested forms
Nested forms are forms in which the data are not only primitive types but also arrays or objects. In essence, I think that nested forms do not change a thing to what has been done so far. But you have to be cautious to carefully apply the framework to avoid unexpected changes in form data.
Main form
In this context, we consider that each component stands for a data unit. It can be either a simple input or a whole sub-form. It means that the component’s structure should match the form data structure. For instance, say that you the data look like that:
const data = {
key1: 'key1',
key2: {...},
key3: [{...}, {...}],
}
This data could be either in the state of the main react component or in the redux store. I will use the first option in the following of this tutorial so as not to be dependent on an unnecessary library. The only reason why you should place it in the store is if you want to access your data somewhere else in your react application.
At the top level, key1 , key2 and key3 are data units of your form data. So you should have in the main render three components, one for each of these keys. For instance:
render() {
return (
<input
type='text'
name='key1'
value={this.state.data.key1}
/>
<SubFormComponentForKey2DataType
value={this.state.data.key2}
/>
<ArrayOfSubFormComponentsForKey3DataType
value={this.state.data.key3}
/>
);
}
In this latter case one might be tempted to use directly a map :
render() {
return (
<input
type='text'
name='key1'
value={this.state.data.key1}
/>
<SubFormComponentForKey2DataType
value={this.state.key2}
/>
{this.state.data.key3.map((subform) =>
<SubFormComponentForKey3DataType
key={subform.key}
value={subform}
/>
}
)
}
This practice is discouraged by the fact that one would have to handle changes of each SubFormComponentForKey3DataType component according to their index. By doing so we break the similarity with the other fields ( key1 and key2 for instance). In case of heavy forms, it is necessary to really think small, divide and conquer. In other words, don’t ask too much to your component, keep it simple and similar, split your logic.
In the main component, one defines the method to handle changes like that:
handleFieldChange = (field) => (event, value, selectedKey) => {
// make a copy of the object first to avoid changes by reference
let data = { ...this.state.data }; // use here event or value of selectedKey depending on your component's event
data[field] = value; this.setState({ data });
}
“Keep it simple” means that as for a very simple form, the method only has to be able to handle key1 , key2 or key3 on their whole. You don’t want to make it aware of a change in key2.subkey1 or in a change of a sub-field of a data of key3 in any way. Then this method should be passed to your components in the render:
render() {
return (
<input
type='text'
name='key1'
value={this.state.data.key1}
onChange={this.handleFieldChange('key1')}
/>
<SubFormComponentForKey2DataType
value={this.state.data.key2}
onChange={this.handleFieldChange('key2')}
/>
<ArrayOfSubFormComponentsForKey3DataType
value={this.state.data.key3}
onChange={this.handleFieldChange('key3')}
/>
)
}
Subform as an object
Now let’s have a look at what should be inside <SubFormComponentForKey2DataType /> . Remember that there is only one state for the whole form. This means that the sub-forms receive their part in props and call their parent’s method on change. Thus the handleFieldChange is:
handleFieldChamge = (field) => (event, value, selectedKey) => {
let data = { ...this.props.value };
data[field] = value;
// you could pass the event here but also null if it is not necessary nor useful
this.props.onChange(null, data);
}
Here, the only difference between the previous method and this one is that one calls this.props.onChange instead of setting the state directly. Once again, my advice is to keep it as simple as possible.
Array of nested forms
Let us finally consider the case of a map as in <ArrayOfSubFormComponentsForKey3DataType /> . This component should be able to handle a change only at the first level, i.e. on an array of objects. Precisely, it should have a method:
handleFieldChange = (index) => (event, value, selectedKey) => {
let data = [...this.props.value];
data[index] = value;
this.props.onChange(null, data);
}
This is very (very) similar to the previous method. Indeed the only difference is that it destructures an array instead of an object.
Finally, the render should just contain:
render() {
return (
{this.props.value.map((subform, index) =>
<SubFormComponentforKey3DataType
key={subform.key}
value={subform}
onChange={this.handleFieldChange(index)}
/>
}
)
}
By doing so, changes are propagated from component to component and you never have to think about what is going on outside of your component nor where you are in your form data.
This setting is as simple as dumb: you only treat in a component the changes in its first level values. The component can handle a change and then calls a parent’s method meaning “my job is done, do what you want with it”.
Data validation
Forms validator
HTML5 provides easy data validators directly in the basic <input> components. For instance, specifying type="number" or required will directly prevent the user from typing anything else than numbers or from submitting an empty field. Read the documentation for a comprehensive list of what is possible with HTML5 built-in form validation. However, I was using the material-ui library so that these validators were not available.
Furthermore, in some cases, you want not only an input validation but also a data validation, for example field1 + field2 < threshold .
Because of these reasons, I decided to rely on the validate.js package. It provides a comprehensive list of validators and an easy declarative definition of the desired constraints on an object. It is possible to define several constraints for a single field with different error messages. Because we don’t want to think about data validation outside of a form we define the formValidator together with its constraints in the same .js file:
import { Component } from 'react'
import validate from 'validate.js'; const constraints = {
key1: {
presence: { // prebuilt validate.js validators.
allowEmpty: false,
message: 'some custom or intl error message',
},
numericality: true,
},
}; export const subformValidator = (data) => validate(data, constraints); export const Subform extends Component {
...
}
If, on the other hand, the form has nested forms such as in the first example, the form1Validator should make a call to the subformValidator :
import { subformValidator } from 'components/forms/subform' export const form1Validator = (data) => {
let validation = validate(data, constraints);
if (data.subform) {
validation = {
...validation,
subform: subformValidator(subform),
};
}
return validation;
}
All together it means that the constraints defined on the *form file only concerns the true inputs of the component while the validation of the more complex objects is delegated to their own validator.
Display errors
validate.js function returns an object with the same keys as the argument. It contains either undefined if there were no error or an object with the error messages if appropriate.
It is then possible to passe the validation object to each one of the input components so that they can display the error message if appropriate. If there is no error, undefined is received and nothing is displayed.
Validation on submit
One may also want to perform form validation on submit only. It means that before sending the full object the (nested) validation is done using the previously defined validators.
The previous consideration leads to two points of attention:
the form validation computed at the main component should be propagated to the children components.
the validation object is more complex than just being defined or undefined since the keys might be defined but containing only undefined values.
The first point means that one has to pass in props each validation together with the original value:
render() {
return (
<input
type='text'
name='key1'
value={this.state.data.key1}
validation={this.state.validation.key1}
onChange={this.handleFieldChange('key1')}
/>
<SubFormComponentForKey2DataType
value={this.state.data.key2}
validation={this.state.validation.key2}
onChange={this.handleFieldChange('key2')}
/>
<ArrayOfSubFormComponentsForKey3DataType
value={this.state.data.key3}
validation={this.state.validation.key3}
onChange={this.handleFieldChange('key3')}
/>
)
}
The second point has been tackled with a util function. It performs a deep search for undefined going iteratively through the object to make sure that if keys are defined, they only lead to undefined values.
export const deepUndefinedSearch = (obj) => (
obj instanceof Object && obj.constructor === Object ?
Object.keys(obj)
.map(
(key) => obj[key] instanceof Array ?
obj[key].map((o) => deepUndefinedSearch(o)).filter((o) => !o).length === 0 :
obj[key] === undefined
)
.filter((o) => !o)
.length === 0 :
obj === undefined
);
Then the output of the main form validator can be processed by that function to return either true if forms are all validated or falseotherwise:
const formIsValidated = (validation) =>
deepUndefinedSearch(validation)
Limits of the current implementation
Validation
As long as the objects are self validating the current implementation, while somehow wordy, works. However, we faced some cases where the objects to be filled were defined on purpose depending on some business logic implemented somewhere else in the component. This logic was not accessible from the object itself.
In this context, it means that each instance of the same component can lead to different validators. The more probable is that the render embeds the business logic that one does not want to copy. In a sense, one has to validate the data that the user can fill. Then, each component should validate its data itself and send back the result to the parent component.
The ref attribute can be used to determine what is displayed in the render. So a first possibility would be to filter the constraints object with the displayed inputs. Then the results should be lifted-up through the nested forms until the main react component.
However if one does not want to perform validation on input changes but only on submit, one would call far too much the validators. At least the errors should not be displayed until the user clicks submit .
A possibility would be to pass a boolean to each child component: displayErrorMessage . This variable could be initialized at false and set to true on submit. Still is validation computed on change.
Factorisation
All the components in the nested forms always receive the same props with the same names apart from a difference in the key . This is a direct call for factorization based on a single key and using either react Higher Order Component or children props to simplify the code.
Conclusion
As for now, I have not felt any needs for moving from that basic implementation to a public library.
I hope this can help some other save time and gain experience in react! Please share your thoughts and tips here, on twitter or contact us. Also, don’t hesitate to have a look at our other blog posts about Node.Js and react.
I also give a special thanks to Nicklas Ansman Giertz for the wonderful validate.js library. | https://medium.com/sicara/custom-nested-forms-validation-javascript-react-2f81cf6aa6e3 | ['Clément Walter'] | 2019-12-06 13:59:00.931000+00:00 | ['JavaScript', 'Material Design', 'Forms', 'Web Development', 'React'] |
Digital Preservation at Wellcome | Production
The production process varies at Wellcome, depending on whether we are considering digitised or born-digital files. Digitising means creating a digital representation of a physical object: for example, scanning a page or photographing a book. A born-digital file is one that started life as a digital file: maybe a Word document or a web page.
Let’s consider each in turn.
Digitisation
We have a lot of experience at Wellcome with digitisation: we’ve been digitising the collection for over a decade, and we have 40 million images.
How do we choose what to digitise? We have a long-term digitisation schedule, for parts of the collection we want to digitise — often planned years in advance. We also have capacity for ad-hoc digitisation. If a researcher in New Zealand wants to see something from our collections, they can ask for that to be digitised specially, and we can try to accommodate.
So we know what we want to digitise, and we’ve picked it off the shelf — how does the digitisation happen? There are a couple of streams:
We have a contract with the Internet Archive, who scan our bound, printed books. They have specialist book scanners that mean they can scan very quickly.
We send audiovisual material (VHS tapes, audio cassettes, etc.) to R3Store.
TownsWeb work on-site at Euston Road and help to digitise our paper archives.
We’re lucky to have a team of in-house photographers, who handle anything that needs extra care — maybe it’s fragile, bulky, or even radioactive. They work closely with the conservation team.
Now we have a pile of images, and we need to add them to the catalogue. We use a workflow manager called Goobi, made by Intranda. It collates metadata and OCR, adds checksums to the files, and spits out a bundle of images, METS (metadata) and ALTO (OCR data).
A screenshot of Goobi, from Intranda’s website.
Born-digital
Born-digital archiving is something newer for us at Wellcome: it was the new shiny a few years ago, and we brought in lots of material. Now we’re starting to think more carefully about how we want to do born-digital archiving, how we’re going to catalogue it, and so on.
Suppose somebody offers us some files — we start by assessing them. Are these files a good fit for our collection? If they are, we’ll transfer them to Wellcome, and go through them in more detail. This is a more thorough analysis, where we’re looking for files that might need extra work before we can make it available. For example, PDFs of medical research are easier to present than something that’s password-protected.
To prepare the files for ingest, we are about to start using Archivematica, an open-source digital preservation system made by Artefactual. It does a lot of automation for us: virus scanning, generating metadata and checksums, deleting .DS_Store and thumbs.db files that we don’t care about, and it spits out a bundle of files and metadata.
A screenshot of our Archivematica instance.
That gives you a brief overview of our production process, both digitised and born-digital.
At the end of this process, we have a clutch of files and metadata, but nowhere to put them. Where do keep these precious things? Let’s talk about storage. | https://stacks.wellcomecollection.org/digital-preservation-at-wellcome-3f86b423047 | ['Alex Chan'] | 2019-10-22 16:01:51.760000+00:00 | ['Archive', 'Technology', 'Digital Preservation', 'Museums', 'Digitization'] |
CBSE Sample Paper for Class 12 Mathematics 2021 with Solutions in PDF format | Download CBSE Sample papers for Class 12 Mathematics and Marking Scheme PDF to understand the pattern of questions asked in the board exam. Know about the important concepts to be prepared for CBSE Class 12 Mathematics board exam and Score More marks. Here we have given CBSE Class 12 Mathematics Sample Papers.
Here we will provides you 10 Sample Paper for class 12 Mathematics 2021
CBSE Sample Papers for Class 12 Mathematics 2021 with solutions and marking scheme in PDF format to free download, in PDF form along with Previous 5 years papers.
Download it by just Clicking on Upper Link . | https://medium.com/@studyrate/cbse-sample-paper-for-class-12-mathematics-2021-with-solutions-in-pdf-format-f1038f8ee5fa | ['Study Rate'] | 2020-12-12 15:03:47.999000+00:00 | ['Math', 'Sample Paper', 'Sample Paper For Class 12', 'Cbse 2020', 'Cbse'] |
New Zealand Horse Racing: Free Pick at Wanganui for June 18 | Horse racing starting gate (Photo by Keeneland/Coady Photography)
NEW ZEALAND PREVIEW JUNE 18
It took Charred a long time to get going as a racehorse, but he looks primed for another big effort in the Wanganui Function Centre Highweight at Wanganui on Thursday (NZ time).
Royal Ascot Betting Picks for 2021
In his first 38 races Charred won just once while recording 10 other finishes in the top three, and looked set to be nothing bar a journeyman. But the five-year-old has shown serious improvement in his last three starts, especially since being paired with highweight jockey James Seivwright.
The pair were too strong in a maiden highweight at Tauranga on April 21, and after finishing third in the hands of Chris Dell at New Plymouth, Seivwright was back aboard to win a Rating 65 contest at Pukekohe over 2200m (about 1 3/8 miles) on May 21.
Charred moves up to Rating 74 company for this week’s race at Wanganui but in a race featuring a number of horses that are best over fences he looks set to be a big chance.
One of those jumpers who does possess some ability without obstacles is Bak Da Master. His two most recent runs were over hurdles, in which he was victorious once and runner-up in the second, and he may have won the latter but for botching the previous hurdle. Prior to those efforts he finished second in a flat race and he has the ability to feature.
Perhaps the most interesting runner is Verry Flash, a full brother to multiple grade one winner and A$8.6 million-earner Verry Elleegant. Verry Flash doesn’t have his sister’s ability but he has won seven times and was last seen out taking on group three company in the Rotorua Cup (2200m), finishing near the tail of the field.
Verry Flash has since been transferred to the highly-skilled trainer Kevin Myers with a jumping career in mind, but he is stepping down in class here and it would pay to watch the market to see what sort of chance he might have.
Nitro Ted, Jackaroo, and Red Rufus look the best of the others.
Royal Ascot Information
BEST PLAY
New Zealand, Race 1 at Wanganui | https://medium.com/@TwinSpires/new-zealand-horse-racing-free-pick-at-wanganui-for-june-1-b6b06a597d1a | ['Twinspires.Com', 'Racing', 'Sports'] | 2021-06-17 21:07:33.473000+00:00 | ['New Zealand', 'Free Picks', 'Betting', 'Horse Racing', 'Betting Tips'] |
7 Ways to Earn Income in College | Nowadays with computers and online traffic there are more ways to earn money passively. Passive income is a way to earn money while not doing anything. Granted, you may have to do some things, but in the end the monthly income created by these suggestions is done passively. So if you want to earn money while studying in college, here are seven suggestions.
Blog advertisements — Starting your own blog does not take up much time. You can take a day to create your blog site and start blogging the next day. A way to earn some income while you are not blogging is to have advertising on your blog. Advertising is a great way to earn passive income. Just write once a day or once a week and start seeing some income coming your way. Website Exclusive Content — If you have a website you can offer exclusive content at an extra price for your clients. The price does not have to be big, it is the number of people who sign up that matters. Exclusive content can be anything from photographs, pdf’s, poems, videos, and more. Find out what your clients want and then start charging them extra for it. Many entertainers and artists have gotten passive income from creating exclusive content. It is not just for the entertainment industry, though. If you have a website about investing you can add on information in an exclusive section that will benefit investors. A newspaper website often has exclusive content for their subscribers. Exclusive content can be used on almost any website and is a great way to up your passive income. High interest accounts — Most banks offer savings accounts. These accounts typically do not offer a high interest. Most of them top off around 1.9% or so. If you do your research you can find free higher interest savings accounts online. Take the time to look over the company that you are considering investing in. Many of these offers can up your interest rate by one or two percent. If you have money that you are just leaving in account it is worth looking into an account with a higher interest and no fees. Cryptocurrency — This is a great way to earn money while you are studying. You can invest in cryptocurrency. Check out the companies that offer cryptocurrency investments and be sure they are a reliable company. There are a few different companies that offer cryptocurrency investments. You should research cryptocurrency online to get an idea of how and where to invest your money. There are many different types of cryptocurrency and many different ways to invest. People have said cryptocurrency is the investment of the future. Do your research before investing. Check out company ratings and what people have to say about a company before you invest. Your investment should start earning within the first month of investing. Ads that are cost per click — Cost per click ads are a great investment for your website, blog, and other online presences. People click on the advertisement and you earn money. It may not seem like much, but the more people who click on the ad, the more money you make. Consider putting a few of these advertisements on your online spaces and you will be earning passive income quickly. The more traffic to your sites the more people will click on your ads and the more money you will earn. Sell a business — You can create a business online or in a building and sell it to the highest bidder once it is up and running for more than you initially invested. If you get a good business going and sell it you can have them pay you in monthly payments or all at once. If they pay you monthly that is income that is passively earned. You can use that money and invest it to earn while you are in college. That will be two simple ways to earn passive income. Foreign homes — Take some time and look up foreign realty. It is usually less expensive than realty in the United States and is worth the investment. If you can visit the area where you are interested in investing it would help you see what is available. You can also look up foreign investments online and take the time to research them. Investing in a foreign location that tourists love to visit can generate passive income that will bring you passive income monthly. When you are visiting look into the local real estate offices and find out people who can take care of your investment. | https://mystudentvoices.com/7-ways-to-earn-income-in-college-e8f01a662759 | ['Jane Hurst'] | 2019-11-11 17:16:23.285000+00:00 | ['Students', 'Passive Income', 'College', 'Startup'] |
https://www.reliablesprout.com/best-camera-drone-gps/ | in Socializing in the Oasis | https://medium.com/@myreliablesprout/https-www-reliablesprout-com-best-camera-drone-gps-5d183873bfaf | ['Reliable Sprout'] | 2020-12-17 14:01:55.125000+00:00 | ['Cheap Drones', 'Drone Photography', 'Drone Service', 'Drones', 'Drones Technology'] |
How To Query a JSONB Array of Objects as a Recordset in PostgreSQL | Let’s Get Started
Building Our Data
Open pgAdmin and create a database as desired. Right-Click on the database name and choose Query Tool. Run the snippet below to create a simple table that will have an id, purchaser name and a jsonb column that stores an array of json objects, which will store items purchased.
CREATE TABLE public.purchases
(
id serial PRIMARY KEY,
purchaser varchar(50),
items_purchased jsonb
);
4. Run the snippet below to insert four records in to the table.
INSERT INTO purchases (purchaser,items_purchased) VALUES ('Bob','[{
"productid": "1",
"name": "Dell 123 Laptop Computer",
"price": "1300.00" },
{
"productid": "2",
"name": "Mechanical Keyboard",
"price": "120.00" }
]'); INSERT INTO purchases (purchaser,items_purchased) VALUES ('Carol','[{
"productid": "3",
"name": "Virtual Keyboard",
"price": "150.00" }, {
"productid": "1",
"name": "Dell 123 Laptop Computer",
"price": "1300.00" },
{
"productid": "8",
"name": "LG Ultrawide Monitor",
"price": "190.00" }
]'); INSERT INTO purchases (purchaser,items_purchased) VALUES ('Ted','[{
"productid": "6",
"name": "Ergonomic Keyboard",
"price": "90.00" },
{
"productid": "7",
"name": "Dell 789 Desktop Computer",
"price": "120.00" }
]'); INSERT INTO purchases (purchaser,items_purchased) VALUES ('Alice','[{
"productid": "7",
"name": "Dell 789 Desktop Computer",
"price": "120.00" },
{
"productid": "2",
"name": "Mechanical Keyboard",
"price": "120.00" }
]');
5. Run the snippet below to see,
select * from purchases;
purchases with jsonb column of items purchased
Our Function
Understanding jsonb_to_recordset(jsonb data)
Builds an arbitrary set of records from a JSON array of objects (see note below). As with all functions returning record, the caller must explicitly define the structure of the record with an AS clause.
Note:
Extracted key values can then be referenced in other parts of the query, like WHERE clauses.
What does “the caller must explicitly define the structure of the record with an AS clause.” mean?
This means basically that we are defining the structure of our recordset , the columns and their data type. Similar to defining a relational table structure.
Examine the following code.
select * from purchases,jsonb_to_recordset(purchases.items_purchased) as items(name text);
In the FROM clause we reference the table and the jsonb column, purchases.items, which is passed to the jsonb_to_recordset() function. It returns a set of Key/Value pairs that we must define the storage for.
In the AS clause we choose an arbitrary name, items, for our recordset structure, the storage of the Key/Values.
In parentheses would be a comma separated list of the Keys we want (in this case just name) and its data type, text.
For each Key, a new column is created when the query is run .
. Since a new column is created, we can reference it in the Select, Where, Group By and Order by clauses.
Run the code above to get,
Observe the new column, name. The object Key is the column name and the Value the data.
Try this snippet to create two columns.
select * from purchases,jsonb_to_recordset(purchases.items_purchased) as items(name text, price text);
Observe two new columns and data
Using Our New Columns
Now that we have the ability to create columns from our jsonb Keys, we can reference them in Select, Where, Group By and Order By clauses.
Try each of the following
Using the column in Select and Where
select purchaser,items.name from purchases,jsonb_to_recordset(purchases.items_purchased) as items(name text)
where items.name like '%Monitor';
2. Using the column in Select and Where
select purchaser,items.name, items.price from purchases,jsonb_to_recordset(purchases.items_purchased) as items(name text, price text)
where TO_NUMBER(items.price,'9999')>=1000
Note: Because our prices are text, we needed to convert to a number. More on TO_NUMBER() can be found here.
3. Using a column in a Group By
select items.name, count(*) as num from purchases,jsonb_to_recordset(purchases.items_purchased) as items(name text)
group by items.name
order by num Desc
Conclusion
As mentioned before, this is not the only JSON function. There are many functions and operators for JSON data.
I am exploring them everyday as I built a RESTful API for a PERN stack.
If you found this useful, start exploring json, jsonb and the other operators and functions for JSON as well as the regular SQL operations available in PostgreSQL.
Thank you for reading and coding along!
You may also enjoy, | https://levelup.gitconnected.com/how-to-query-a-json-array-of-objects-as-a-recordset-in-postgresql-a81acec9fbc5 | ['Gravity Well', 'Rob Tomlin'] | 2020-12-31 17:23:30.498000+00:00 | ['Database', 'Postgresql', 'Postgres', 'NoSQL', 'Json'] |
From Intern to Materials Lead: Alex McCarthy on His Growth and Role at Formlabs | Alex McCarthy joined the materials team at Formlabs as an intern during the summer of 2014, and after graduating from MIT he was hired full-time as a materials scientist.
Alex is now a materials lead, with responsibilities in both people and project management. He assists members of the materials team with any projects they’re working on, and supports the overall career growth of his team members. Alex also works on a variety of technical projects, such as collaborating with the engineering teams to develop settings for the Form 3.
Read on to learn more about Alex’s time at Formlabs, including his favorite materials team project, his biggest moment of growth, and how Formlabs has changed since he started!
How did you find Formlabs?
I met Luke Winston, our Chief Business Officer, at a startup career fair at MIT as a junior in college. I was completing a degree in Mechanical Engineering and working in materials science research. I wanted to find an internship in materials science and ended up working at Formlabs the summer after my junior year.
I continued to work at Formlabs part-time throughout my senior year, helping develop our black, grey, and white resins. After I graduated in 2014, I was hired as a materials scientist, and have continued to work on new projects as the company has grown.
What is the most important lesson you’ve learned throughout your time at Formlabs?
One of the most important lessons I’ve learned throughout my time is to stay calm. In a lot of projects, there are things that will go wrong or not work, and it’s important to keep in mind that it’s a marathon not a sprint. At Formlabs, the projects we’re working on have never really been done before, so when you do come across issues, it’s crucial that you stay calm and focused.
Also, I’ve learned that communication is key. Learning how to best communicate with those around you really makes projects run more smoothly and easily.
What has been a moment of growth for you in your role?
My biggest moment of growth was when I was working on our Durable Resin. I had wanted to work on it from the beginning, and it turned out to be a very formative project because there were lots of technical challenges in developing it. Once we had these resolved and we thought it was ready to be launched, we discovered some last minute issues with printing reliability. It took longer than expected to complete the project because we ended up having to reformulate the resin to ensure the prints would be as reliable as possible. However, we discovered many ways to improve print success rate, in both the formulation and printing process. Essentially, it was good to “fail” because we learned so much, and have been able to apply what we learned to other resins we’ve developed.
I also have the opportunity to learn from our materials lead, Sharon, on a day-to-day basis. Her guidance is extremely beneficial as I take on different projects, and especially when I first started as a lead. I was unsure about taking on some aspects of my role involving people and project management, but she continuously supports me and has played a key role in my growth here.
What opportunities have you found in your work here?
In terms of the chemistry or polymers field, Formlabs has presented me with the opportunity to work on or develop new polymers that enabled someone to create something they may have not been able to before. At larger companies, you don’t feel as connected to the customer, and because our printers and materials are affordable and meet customers’ needs, you can really feel a connection to the customer when they use our product.
Another opportunity I’ve found in the last 6 years is the insight from being able to collaborate and communicate with others about what makes a company successful. It’s been rewarding to work in an environment where everyone is open with you about the challenges and rewards of being a company that’s growing rapidly.
What advice would you give someone who’s interested in the 3D printing world?
If 3D printing is something you’re passionate about, it’s a rewarding space to work in. It’s competitive and rapidly changing, so if you’re looking to contribute new ideas to the field and enjoy the work, then it’s something great to pursue. Those who are passionate, especially at Formlabs, are the ones who really make a difference.
Also, you truly get the best product when everyone on your team is focused on the customer, and can collaborate with those around you to achieve whatever goal you’re working towards. Essentially, the product is only as good as all the teams who work together on it.
What has been your best day at work?
I would say the best days are when we ship a new resin to our customers. It’s extremely rewarding when all of the marketing content comes together on the website, and you’re able to see it become a “real product” officially on the market. More specifically, the day our Durable Resin shipped.
For me, there’s nothing like the feeling of completing a project that may have been challenging or had a lot of work that needed to be put into it. Even if a project required extra time or energy to complete, it’s always a great day when you’re able to put the finishing touches on it.
How has Formlabs changed since you first started?
The company has obviously grown, and the materials team, specifically, has gone from two people to 27 within the last six years. This growth has allowed us to produce a wider variety of resins, and the new leadership on the materials engineering team has helped mature the work we’re able to do. I’ve enjoyed seeing the team grow because now we have the capacity to work on bigger projects in parallel with other teams, because of the increased headcount.
What has been your favorite materials project that you’ve worked on?
My favorite project definitely has been developing the Rigid Resin. We were trying to fit glass filler into resin for the first time, which provided a new challenge, so it was a great project. It was one of the first projects where I was in a leadership role, and I felt confident in both my technical and project management skills.
What is your favorite 3D print?
My favorite 3D print is the bust of Groot from the Guardians of the Galaxy. It was a test part that was adopted when we started shipping the Form 2 and we needed to validate settings. It’s my favorite because it’s challenging to print, is very detailed, and is often the test part for when we complete new materials, so I’ve seen it printed more times than I can count. | https://medium.com/formlabs-people/from-intern-to-materials-lead-alex-mccarthy-on-his-growth-and-role-at-formlabs-fbedf7f50a16 | ['Jordyn De Boer'] | 2019-11-08 20:23:14.112000+00:00 | ['Professional Growth', 'Formlabs', 'Materials Engineering', '3D Printing'] |
HTML Select lists in Spring MVC 2.5 with annotations | In this article, I’d like to talk about the use of HTML select lists with Spring MVC since I’ve had to do some development in this area recently and found little documentation available. Select lists are also known as drop-down lists or combo boxes.
In this post I will use an example web application developed using Spring and Spring MVC 2.5. It uses hard-coded data instead of a database to keep things simple. You can download the source code for it here.
Running the example
To run the example, you will need to install Maven. I used version 2.0.9 to write this post. Once you have installed Maven and downloaded and unzipped the source code you can run the application by executing the following in the directory to which you unzipped the source code:
mvn jetty:run
Once Jetty starts up, you have to go to http://localhost:9080/test-webapp/ to view the web application.
The domain model
The application is a simple web app that allows a user to add, remove and edit Users. Each User is a member of a Department. When you add or edit a user, you must specify the Department that they are in — using a Select list. The User and Department classes are in the com.tsl.springmvc.bom package contained within the /src/main/java folder. They make use of two superclasses — IdentifiableType and NamedType (which extends IdentifiableType), two classes which provide id and name fields respectively to subclasses.
The web pages
When you first run the application, you see the list of users page, which is blank. Click on the link in the “create user” link to create a new user and fill in the information, including the Department. Click save. You should now see a new user in the list of users. Edit this user and save it. The original user should have been changed too. Simple, right? Well, it is, once you know how to do it with Spring MVC! Here comes the explanation….
The basic controller code
The UserController class is the Spring MVC controller that manages all operations to do with users. Note that I am using the annotations available in Spring 2.5 instead of the XML configuration. The controller has create, info (to view), save and delete methods which allow the user to perform the relevant operations on Users. It uses UserDao and DepartmentDao to manipulate User and Department objects. All of this is pretty standard Spring MVC 2.5 so I’m not going to enter into much detail here. The basic code is shown below.
@Controller
public class UserController {
...
@Autowired
private UserDao userService;
@Autowired
private DepartmentDao departmentDao;
@RequestMapping(value="/user/create.html")
public ModelAndView create() {
return new ModelAndView(FORM_VIEW_KEY, FORM_MODEL_KEY, new User());
}
@RequestMapping(value="/user/info.html")
public ModelAndView info(@RequestParam("id") Integer id) {
User result = userService.findById(id);
return new ModelAndView(FORM_VIEW_KEY, FORM_MODEL_KEY, result);
} @RequestMapping(value="/user/save.html", method = RequestMethod.POST)
public ModelAndView save(@ModelAttribute(FORM_MODEL_KEY) User user, BindingResult result, SessionStatus status) {
new UserValidator().validate(user, result);
if (result.hasErrors())
{
return new ModelAndView(FORM_VIEW_KEY, FORM_MODEL_KEY, user);
}
else
{
userService.merge(user);
return new ModelAndView(REDIRECT_SEARCH_VIEW_KEY, search());
}
} @RequestMapping(value="/user/delete.html")
public ModelAndView delete(@RequestParam("id") Integer id) {
User user = userService.findById(id);
userService.remove(user);
return new ModelAndView(REDIRECT_SEARCH_VIEW_KEY, search());
}
@RequestMapping(value="/user/search.html")
public ModelMap search() {
return new ModelMap(SEARCH_MODEL_KEY,
userService.findAll());
}
} Showing the select list To show a list of Departments on the create/edit user page, we have to get them using a DAO. This is best done in the controller using the following code: @ModelAttribute("departments")
public Collection populateDepartments() {
return departmentDao.findAll();
} Note the user of the @ModelAttribute annotation to declare that this is something we will put in the model under the name "departments" so that it can be used on the JSP page. The relevant JSP code (from /src/main/webapp/WEB-INF/jsp/user/user.jsp) to display the list is shown below.
:
Note the use of ${departments} to indicate that we want to use the model attribute "departments" which we registered with the model using the @ModelAttribute controller annotation. What you put in the <form:select> element is very important. The code above specifies:
Which attribute of the model the select list refers to (the department attribute of a User)
Where the list of items for the select comes from (the “departments” model attribute)
Which attribute of each select item (in this case department) to show in the list. Here I specify the “name” attribute of the department
Spring MVC allows you to specify an itemValue attribute for the <form:select> element. DO NOT SPECIFY this attribute if you want to use Property Editors (recommended - see below for more information). Property Editors When someone chooses the Department that a user belongs to, we want to update the "department" attribute of the User object. We don't want to have to do some kind of lookup on a department ID or, worse, store the department ID on the user. What we need to do therefore, is register some kind of converter that is capable of converting a Department to an ID which can be associated with a value in a <form:select> list and, once submitted, doing the reverse conversion on a supplied ID to obtain the original Department object. In JSF, an object that performs this conversion is called a Converter. Spring uses the Java convention and calls it a Property Editor. The DepartmentEditor is shown below. public class DepartmentEditor extends PropertyEditorSupport { private final DepartmentDao departmentDao; public DepartmentEditor(DepartmentDao departmentDao) {
this.departmentDao = departmentDao;
} @Override
public void setAsText(String text) throws IllegalArgumentException {
setValue(departmentDao.findById(Integer.parseInt(text)));
}
@Override
public String getAsText() {
Department s = (Department) getValue();
if (s == null) {
return null;
} else {
return s.getId().toString();
}
}
} The basic convention for implementing a PropertyEditor is:
extend the standard Java class PropertyEditorSupport to make life easier
override the setAsText(String text) method and in the body, call setValue() with the object that corresponds to the text as arguments
override the getAsText() method and in the body, returning a string that represents the object that you obtain when you call getValue() | https://medium.com/the-server-labs/html-select-lists-in-spring-mvc-2-5-with-annotations-66e769bbd4a | ['Paul Parsons'] | 2017-02-09 15:30:40.857000+00:00 | ['Java Ee', 'Java', 'Spring'] |
5 Reasons Why the Golden Age for European Tech is NOW | Tl;dr:
It took decades for all components of the European ecosystem to mature but now the united whole has the potential to become greater than the sum of its parts – creating opportunities to dominate at a global scale
Talent: Europe has a high quantity of globally-leading tech talent with lower turnover rates compared to other startup ecosystems
Mindset: Mindset of European entrepreneurs has shifted from conservative “over-engineering” and a tendency to sell companies too early without capturing the full potential to more aggressive “hyper-growth” and an ambition to build globally leading companies
Community: Communities have matured and successful founders/experts leverage an increasing variety of platforms to share their experiences and support the next generation of entrepreneurs
Funding: Europe is highly capital efficient with increasing survival rates and lower valuations compared to other startup ecosystems; unsurprisingly, capital inflow continues to rise
Established companies: Corporates got rid of their “not-invented-here”-mindset and became more open to buy from, or partner with, startups and eventually acquire them
Yes, it’s true that when looking at our peers in the US, we still see about 5x more unicorns and decacorns there, and it may take some time to be on par across metrics, but the momentum in Europe is unmatched. Unsurprisingly, this has not been a secret, as evidenced by recent office openings in Europe by top US VC firms like Sequoia, Lightspeed or Bessemer.
The purpose of this article is not to provide another set of analyses to quantify the positive historic development (just see existing comprehensive reports like Atomico’s “State of European Tech” or Dealroom’s Report on European Deep Tech). Rather, I seek to connect the startup ecosystem theory (see diagram below) with existing but also novel analyses (some of which were recently published by Handelsblatt) to explain why now is the time to shift gears and double down on European tech. Dissecting the components of Europe’s tech ecosystem and projecting the recent momentum into the future, I’m convinced that the Golden Age for European Tech is now and that we will see an increasing number of globally-dominating companies emerging out of Europe.
Startup ecosystem components by Cukier & Kon (2018)
Let’s start with a simple analogy. Startup ecosystems are like trees. Both take time and a variety of ingredients to grow and ultimately bear fruit. Every tree starts out as a small seedling and requires a balanced interaction among different elements, such as energy from sunlight, carbon dioxide from the air, water and soil. Similarly, startup ecosystems start with talented entrepreneurs but require a vibrant community, access to capital across growth stages, big companies as customers (and as potential acquirers later), and importantly, the right mindset. While startup ecosystem theory explores a wide range of interconnected factors as displayed above, I’d like to limit this article to the 5 most important components:
1) 👩🏽💻TALENT
To better understand the talent component, I’d further dissect it into 3 sub-components: quantity, quality, and stickiness/turnover. Keep in mind that this is mainly about tech talent.
Quantity. About 56 million devs were registered at GitHub as of September 2020. Diving into the geographic distribution, we find that 27% of them are based in Europe, 35% in the US and 31% in Asia. What is more interesting though is the change over time. While Europe made up for 20% of the registered devs in 2015, 40% were based in the US and 30% based in Asia. By September 2020, Asian devs kept their relative share whereas the share of European developers grew relatively by 35% (from 20% in 2015 to 27% in 2020), and the US share shrunk by 15%( from 40% in 2015 to 34% in 2020) (from my own research + Octoverse). An activity-based analysis leads to similar results.
Geographical distribution of GitHub developers in 2020 by Octoverse
Looking into more formal qualifications, and according to the latest-available OECD data from 2014, the number of Science, Tech, Engineering and Math (STEM) PhDs in Europe was 59k while only 28k in the US. Besides these absolute numbers, Unesco provides evidence that the relative percentage of STEM graduates in the most important European startup hub countries is higher than in the US. For example, 35.6% of graduates in Germany come from STEM programs whereas in the US it is only 17.9%.
Graph taken from Ben Evans with data from Unesco 2018
Quality. Most rankings agree that Europe produces best-in-class tech talent. According to Coursera’s 2020 skill level report, 14 out of the top 15 countries who achieved the maximum skill levels in tech (top quartile; including skills within AI, Java, C or other coding languages) are based in Europe (source). Similarly, on a more formal level, the Times Higher Education Ranking 2020 states that 3 out of the 5 top and 7 out of the top 20 computer science programs are based in Europe (source).
Global technology skill levels by Coursera (2020)
Stickiness/turnover. Clearly, the war for talent began years ago. This is probably most obvious in Silicon Valley. A 2018 analysis by LinkedIn shows that the average tenure for employees at Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple (GAFA) was less than 2 years (source, source). On a US national level, this seems better with an average turnover rate of 20%, meaning that on average an employee leaves after 5 years in a US company. On a global scale, this is as bad as it gets. In contrast, Europe’s average of 13% is in line with the global average, meaning that European employees leave on average after a bit less than 8 years. In other words, they stick on average 50% longer to their employers compared to their US peers (source, source). Speaking to CEOs of hyper-growth companies about their biggest challenges, hiring is always among them. Clearly, this makes a strong argument for Europe, though it’s unclear how turnover might develop with work-from-anywhere and increasing competition.
In terms of tech talent, Europe is better equipped than most other regions in the world. We have many highly-qualified tech talents who come from diverse backgrounds and who tend to stick to their teams longer than in other ecosystems.
We have many highly-qualified tech talents who come from diverse backgrounds and who tend to stick to their teams longer than in other ecosystems.
2) 🧘🏼♀️MINDSET
“Made in Germany.” The story of this almost 150-year-old quality seal is a great representation of the German mindset. Everything needs to be 100% perfect, high quality, with no failures allowed. Although, today, most people agree that oftentimes the 80% solution is sufficient, European entrepreneurs, and German ones specifically, historically tended to wait to finish a product before jumping into sales, marketing and huge fundraising rounds. Compared to their US peers, they were way too conservative. Unlike Europeans, US entrepreneurs accept failure and encourage risk taking which is like the lifeblood of a startup. As a result, European entrepreneurs historically tended to think too small, to sell their companies too early, and were unable to capture the full potential to win at a global scale.
Now that Tesla is worth more than VW, Daimler and BMW combined, really everyone should have noticed that the age of incremental over-engineering and perfectionist “Made in Germany” mentality is over; at least for the majority of software businesses (and yes, automotive has become software-centric too.) Luckily, there has been a generation who noticed this before it was as obvious. Equipped with a global mindset and huge ambitions, a new breed of European entrepreneurs has entered the stage and achieved unseen successes. Companies like Earlybird’s UiPath from Romania, Klarna from Sweden, or Unity from Denmark have built category-leading companies where nobody would have expected their arrival.
Graph taken from Ben Evans
Equipped with a global mindset and huge ambitions, a new breed of European entrepreneurs has entered the stage and achieved unseen successes.
While most of these exceptional entrepreneurs started from scratch without a proper community, without access to capital, and without great mentors, they dominate on a global scale because they deeply wanted to succeed. With their underdog mentality and their relentless drive, we see them inspiring their peers and friends. They’ve shown that great companies can come from everywhere and don’t need to be started in Silicon Valley. Having spoken to thousands of European entrepreneurs throughout the years, we can confirm that recently the levels of ambition and visions of the founders have become greater than ever before.
While most of these exceptional entrepreneurs started from scratch without a proper community, without access to capital, and without great mentors, they dominate on a global scale because they deeply wanted to succeed.
Now that an increasing number of startup employees has experienced the hyper-growth mindset first-hand, we see more and more of them leaving to create their own companies. To stick to my initial analogy: these successful entrepreneurs are the growing trees which drops fruits/seeds to eventually grow a new tree. For example, our portfolio company N26 became the most valuable German startup in 2019. Within a year after achieving their unicorn status, the first employees left to start their own startups including Amie, Feather, and Plantclub. Similarly to Earlybird’s N26, their visions are huge and they want to build the next breed of category-leading companies. While it’s certainly tough for the mother company to let go of her kids, it’s great for the ecosystem as they will hopefully build huge businesses on their own and inspire others to do the same.
3) 🤝 COMMUNITY
Closely related to the mindset of the entrepreneurs is the community surrounding them. To showcase the value of a community, I’d like to start with another analogy: entrepreneurship is like a journey. Bringing a map and knowing your way will save you precious time and resources. While explorers like Christopher Columbus had no confirmed route to rely on, every kid nowadays knows where to find India and America. Why? Because Columbus explored it and shared his knowledge. Building a company is very similar: you shouldn’t make all mistakes on your own but rather learn from others. To stand on the shoulders of giants, however, requires the right people who are able and willing to share their experiences, their knowledge and their networks, and the right environments to facilitate this exchange.
People. Not everyone is able to experience hyper-growth first hand. It requires insider input to help those who do not have access to such knowledge. Supportive people within a community can be clustered into peers, mentors and advisors. I will come to the investor group in a dedicated paragraph later. Peers include fellow entrepreneurs who face similar challenges or work on similar topics. Mentors include people who previously mastered similar challenges to the ones entrepreneurs currently face. Mentors might be successful entrepreneurs themselves or experts within a specific topic, such as pricing or go-to-market strategy. They could even be matchmakers who leverage their network to support entrepreneurs by connecting them with valuable contacts. In a nutshell, they might be helpful to a wide range of people. Advisors provide mentor-like guidance but in a more formal setting, i.e., they might ask for a formal advisory position or a compensation.
Analyzing the European tech ecosystem through the “community & people” lens, it’s clear that together with the mindset issue as described above, the lack of experienced hyper-growth entrepreneurs was probably the other missing piece which prevented our ecosystem from scaling. Remember, few people in Europe had built category-leading companies. As a result, the ecosystem lacked not only the hyper-growth mindset but also the mentors and advisors who could equip the entrepreneurs with a map, preventing them from costly mistakes. Luckily, the first generation of successful entrepreneurs made it and is now in the position to mentor and advise the next one. Being an investor and matchmaker myself, I know from many of the entrepreneurs I’ve connected with those who’ve walked in their shoes before, how valuable these exchanges are. For both of them. Reaching a point where valuable advice on hyper-growth companies becomes increasingly available in Europe, I’m convinced that this is a game changer as it will certainly accelerate company growth in the future.
Luckily, the first generation of successful entrepreneurs made it and is now in the position to mentor and advise the next one.
Environments. Just as diversity of people, experiences, and knowledge shared within the community is beneficial, diversity in types of environments facilitate exchanges. Formats range from 1-to-1, 1-to-few, 1-to-many, few-to-few, few-to-many, many-to-many and other combinations. Screening the European ecosystem through the “community & environment” lens, I find 3 critical components.
Just as diversity of people, experiences, and knowledge shared within the community is beneficial, diversity in types of environments facilitate exchanges.
a) Technology-transfer-offices (TTO). Europe is home to the most successful research institutions in the world. But there has been an issue: We are equally good at creating academic theories and innovative IP, as most institutions in the past were bad about materializing these efforts and translating them into practice. To facilitate this exchange and unlock the great research potential, TTOs have become an important part of the leading research institutes. Over time, both the quantity and quality of TTOs has drastically improved, as evidenced by the European TTO Circle.
b) Incubators and accelerators. These programs are quintessential startup community catalysts as they streamline mentoring and provide a perfect environment for exchange. Besides structured mentoring, these programs provide a great platform for peer-networks (oftentimes across cohorts), access to capital, and a wide network of experts or industry contacts. Analyzing the number of European accelerators and incubators on a matched dataset based on Crunchbase, Pitchbook and CB-Insights reveals that within the last 10 years, the number grew 8x, from 118 in Jan 2011 to 947 as of Jan 2021. While the quality has improved overall , I’ve noticed first-hand great variance.
c) Events. While a few years ago, Europe was mainly known for conferences like IAA (a major automotive conference) or the Hannover Messe (a famous industrial conference), times have changed and dedicated startup conferences emerged. The number of startup events with more than 1000 attendees (according to the event websites) grew by 8x, from 4 events in 2010 to 31 in 2019. Today, we see large conferences like WebSummit, Slush, Bits&Pretzels or NOAH but also more regional events like Hackathons or meetups (see a great pre-Covid list here). These events provide a platform for entrepreneurs to meet their peers and exchange with experts in their field as well as gain access to customers and capital. From small to big events, the number is constantly increasing and we see a strong specialization which increases quality. Surely, COVID has forced communities and events to move online with platforms like Hopin or Clubhouse, but I assume that once we can move back to physical meetings, it will balance somewhere between online and offline.
Selection of European events and platforms for entrepreneurial exchange
Overall, it seems that the community component explains a chunk of the recent momentum. Now that the first generation of entrepreneurs has built and exited billion dollar companies, the cycle tightens up, and experience flows back into the system. Moreover, both the number and quality of startup-focused organizations and events have significantly grown and improved.
Now that the first generation of entrepreneurs has built and exited billion dollar companies, the cycle tightens up, and experience flows back into the system.
4) 💰FUNDING
As rockets need fuel to fly, (most) startups need cash to grow. Historic data shows that capital was one of the major constraints for European startups. As a result of less fuel (cash), European rockets (startups) were less likely to take off. For example, the average US exit between 2012 and 2016 was about $ 200 million, versus $ 70 million for Europe. Moreover, the number of $ 250 million exits within the same period of time was 22 across Europe, versus 166 in the US (source). Despite the historic lack of European outlier startups, the amount of VC money invested within the last five years into European startups has more than doubled from $ 16.5 billion in 2016 to $ 41 billion in 2020. Why? Well, let’s dive right in.
Capital efficiency. I analyzed the capital efficiency across a sample of 264 exits above a valuation of $ 1 billion. Note that I only considered larger exits as data for smaller ones is limited. (See here if you’re interested in startup data coverage and quality.) My analysis shows that European startups are more efficient when it comes to exit valuations beyond the unicorn mark. In the last 5 years, European unicorns returned on average about 11.9x the invested capital whereas their Asian and US counterparts returned 9.1x and 9.9x respectively. The historic capital constraints in Europe certainly forced entrepreneurs to become more efficient and achieve more with less.
Average ratio of unicorn exit valuation divided by total capital invested
The historic capital constraints in Europe certainly forced entrepreneurs to become more efficient and achieve more with less.
Considering that the same company would be valued about twice as much in the US as it would be valued in Europe (source), the difference becomes even more pronounced. This fact is a great indicator for competition among investors. Economic market theory states that the price is a result of supply (startups) and demand (VC money.) Looking at the US, the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) provides data on the growing amounts of capital that need to be deployed by the VCs (source). On the other hand, the amount of suitable investment targets/startups is approximately constant (source).
While the increasing amount of capital to be deployed together with a constant number of startups leads to ever increasing valuations (supply-side constraint market) in the US, the problem is even worse. Most VCs know that their returns are distributed based on a power-law meaning that few outliers account for the majority of their returns (source). This distribution, together with a herding effect (meaning that VCs across firms tend to follow each others investment decisions based on brand perception etc., source) leads to a concentration of capital at a small number of companies which — for whatever reasons — seems to have the greatest likelihood of success. As a result, the most promising companies tend to be valued even higher than others within a specific ecosystem. While the same logic applied in Europe, the historic lack of capital together with a relatively higher number of startups led to significantly lower valuations.
Taken together, my results not only show that European startups are more capital efficient but that they are also more attractive in terms of valuation, i.e. investors would be able to get a larger shareholding for the same amount of capital in Europe versus in the US.
Circling back to the exit capital efficiency, I find that on a global level it has significantly improved across geographies. Several academic papers explain this phenomenon with decreasing costs of experimentation (source). In the words of the authors: “The introduction of cloud computing services in the mid 2000s was a fundamental technological shift that has also had an impact on the financing landscape for Internet and web-based startups. A key benefit of cloud computing for such startups is the ability to “rent” hardware space in small increments and scale up as demand grows, instead of making large upfront investments when the outcome of the venture is still uncertain. Entrepreneurs and investors can therefore learn about the viability of startups with substantially less funding, lowering the cost of financing initial “experiments” that can help investors learn about the potential of new ventures before committing further capital.” (source)
Survival rates. I analyzed startup survival rates from Seed to Series A and from Series A to Series B and compared them across geographies. My sample comprises more than 55,000 startups between 2011 and 2020. The results show that while European survival rates improved across both stages, their US peers got worse. These findings are in line with analyses by Mattermark and Dealroom. Various explanations exist, but neither one can be backed with a statistically significant analysis. In a nutshell, our analysis provides evidence that European Seed startups are as likely to raise a Series A as their US peers. Similarly, European Series A startups are as likely to raise a Series B as their US peers. As a result, the risk of losing/writing off a company in Europe is similar to the risk in the US. | https://medium.com/birds-view/5-reasons-why-the-golden-age-for-european-tech-is-now-2f93bcd43ef4 | ['Andre Retterath'] | 2021-01-21 10:58:24.782000+00:00 | ['VC', 'Europe', 'Technology', 'Startup', 'Ecosystem'] |
Most 10 Crazy Facts About Valentine’s Day! | 14th February is upon us, so today we are sharing the love with these ten crazy facts about the most romantic day of the year, Valentine’s Day.
If you’d prefer to read, here are the 10 facts — or scroll to the bottom to watch the video!
Ikea Australia gave away a coupon for a free crib for babies born on the 14th November, which is exactly 9 months after Valentine’s Day. The coupon & proof of birth had to be shown. With three people known as St. Valentines linked with the 14th February, it is unclear which one the day actually honors. St. Valentine of Rome was beheaded for performing weddings in secret. Alexander Graham Bell patented the telephone on Valentine’s Day, 1876. In 2012, 230 million texts were sent — 11 million more than any other day in February. Valentine’s Day is banned in Saudi Arabia. The Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice restricts the sale of roses & anything red. $12.9 billion is spent on Valentine’s Day per year. 200 million roses are produced specifically for the day, 73% of which are bought by men. Teddy Roosevelt’s diary entry for the 14th February 1884 reads: ‘The light has gone out of my life’. His mother and wife both passed away within hours of each other on that day. Robert Indiana created the iconic LOVE image. It was put on a Valentine’s Day stamp in 1973 making the U.S.Post Office $25 million; Indiana never copyrighted the design.
Read full here: https://topfactsite.com/most-10-crazy-facts-about-valentines-day/
Source: https://topfactsite.com/ | https://medium.com/@hoangduong_32899/most-10-crazy-facts-about-valentines-day-c82b0284ca85 | ['Hoang Duong'] | 2019-11-24 15:24:48.716000+00:00 | ['Valentines Day'] |
Life with a Non-Verbal Autistic Child. | My wife and I suspected nothing major after learning our twin girl will have some health issues when she would be born. The twins were born almost 3 months early and spent months in the NICU, so when she came home we thought she was just catching up on development. Long story short, she was diagnosed with (nonverbal) autism around 2.5 years old. Then the fun began, of course, I’m being sarcastic but at least we knew what was happening from then on, kind of?!
From coming home with a feeding tube, going through a heart, eye and ear surgery, she’s a happy girl and tolerates pain better than her older brothers COMBINED. Oh and in case wearing a diaper (still) and not being able to communicate weren’t enough, seizures are a semi/constant occurrence with her and a consistent lesson for us. Every day isn’t the same but we’re starting to catch her groove even when she doesn’t feel like grooving her usual way.
Fast-forwarding to the present, here’s how a typical day goes or I should say night, make that 24 hour period. It’s VERY similar to Abby from the “Fathering Autism” channel on YouTube, except our little lady is younger and sleeps in our room.
She loves my or my wife’s pillow better than her own, so that’s why a lot of nights she comes to our bed and just stands there, trying to talk or make audible noises in any way she knows or just starts tugging on a blanket… a few seconds later my wife helps her climb into our bed and if I’m completely out I just continue sleeping, otherwise I relocate to her bed and continues my dreams there, where I left off (if only). Speaking of sleep, she cannot sleep too far away from us, because you know, seizures. There were a couple of times she went limb and unresponsive from having seizures for so long in her bed, but by this time we knew what to do so the ambulance didn’t need to be called. Even having a camera there with the microphone didn’t help us catch it, what did do it was a parental instinct to check on her in the middle of the night.
Upon waking up, Milana does one of these things:
Puts a pillow in her lap and starts jumping.
Finds a teeter or a binky and combines that with the previous option.
Starts running around the room making sounds, usually happy childish grunts or screams.
Finds a music toy and puts it against her ear or on the pillow and rocks away, literally back and forth as if she’s in a rocking chair (autism thing).
If she’s on the cranky side, things start coming down from dressers, nightstands, and bathroom counters.
If we’re in our bed, guess where she goes?
We usually grab her and help her down the stairs to the first floor when we hear things star falling down or she tries to call for help, by cry-yelling.
When she’s downstairs, she continues to do what she started upstairs; mainly rocking on the sofa with a tune-toy in one hand and a teeter or some other chew-friendly object in the other. She is supposed to wear eyeglasses and does a lot of the time, but on a few occasions, she kind of destroyed her prescription glasses by biting the frames and messing up the lenses, we’re on her 5th pair right now.
Breakfast can be tricky. Some days she’ll eat almost anything, although she prefers crunchy things like crackers, cereal or granola bars. Food can also be a tipping point for whether or not she feels happy or starts throwing a major fit and knocking things down. A major fit usually happens on an empty stomach and when she smells food in the air but doesn’t get any to munch on right away. So we learned to bribe her with crackers or small pieces of the main dish before everything is ready. If the meal can’t be consumed by using her hands, we need to feed her. We are in the process of teaching her spoon-feeding, but that’s a whole new challenge.
ABA (Applied Behavioral Analysis) staff does come over for 2 hours Mon-Fri, and they do help a lot with her learning and developing abilities, but they’re only here 2 hours a day. The rest is up to us to continue teaching her. When they do come, they work on their program to help her with things she needs to learn to do. Currently one of the big ones is potty training and spoon-feeding.
Once ABA leaves, we give her lunch (my wife usually) and she continues to rock away, or runs around before settling on the sofa and either watching TV (her favorite are kids songs and nursery rhymes) or pushing buttons on one of her many toys with music or songs.
Most days go smooth but we do need to be present in the same room with her, if not us than her brothers or a dog… otherwise she feels alone and starts getting anxious and runs towards the kitchen gate to cry for attention, that’s why we pretty much never leave her alone by herself, anywhere.
Naps aren’t consistent, as is everything with autistic kids. When she does nap, she feels and behaves better. When she can’t nap or simply doesn’t want to, we don’t make her. She just goes on with her day, snacking a lot, rocking away to once again either her humming or the same old ABC songs and lullabies with play buttons worn out and batteries constantly draining. Towards the night, when she is too energetic but needs to sleep, she almost always expects a melatonin gummy and falls asleep much faster.
Things aren’t always like that, however. When she has a cold or random fever, yep just random fever of 101+ for a day and then back to normal the next, she just isn’t herself. Fevers often lead to seizures and that’s another level of caregiving right there. It takes her a couple of days to fully recover after a grand mal seizure, and those two days are hard. She just hates everything and everyone, and I get it, it’s not her fault and she is feeling miserable. Even on seizure medication, she has them. Luckily they’re not super frequent, but even once every couple of months is one time too many for any child.
She used to be able to say things like: “ball, papa, apple, ouch, wow, oh oh” but her brain cleared that word-cache after one of the seizures years ago and the process of learning them or attempt to at least starts all over.
The only thing we wish she could have the ability to do is to communicate with us, even if it’s in sign language, pictograph app on an iPad or a modified version of ASL. That would make her understood and happier girl. For now, we’re learning what she likes, how she asks for things, and what her pain points are and work around those. Yes, she is mentally slightly older than a one-year-old toddler, but her weakness makes us stronger, even if we’re running on caffeine and are sleep deprived sometimes (I do have access to that bottle of melatonin after all…) | https://medium.com/@eugene-g/life-with-a-non-verbal-autistic-child-e7eccca0611f | [] | 2020-12-24 15:45:52.170000+00:00 | ['Autism', 'Autistic Child', 'Nonverbal Behavior', 'Parenting Toddlers', 'Autism Spectrum Disorder'] |
Edition 13: An eco-friendly way to mourn your loved ones | (This newsletter was sent to email subscribers on February 28, 2020.)
Happy Friday, muggles. Need some encouragement to power through the last day of the week? Just take some cues from the 62-year-old former marine who spent 8 hours, 15 minutes, and 15 seconds in a perfect plank position. 😱 Congrats on setting a new record that’s out of this world!
NASA approves plans for the first round-trip mission to Mars
Mon Feb 10
The Mars Sample Return mission is officially a line item in the NASA 2021 proposed budget. This first-of-its-kind mission will attempt to bring back rock and soil samples from the red planet, collected and left behind by the new Mars 2020 rover. Why is this a big deal? NASA has sent rovers to Mars in the past, but those expeditions have always been a one-way trip. This new mission promises to be one of the most complex engineering feats attempted thus far, posing unique challenges such as launching a rocket from the surface of Mars for the first time.
Mars has long fascinated us Earthlings being one of the likeliest candidates in our solar system to host extraterrestrial life. Scientists hope that the results from this mission will finally answer the question: Was there ever life on Mars … and if so, what happened to it?
The Mars 2020 rover is set to launch in July. If all goes according to plan (aka if Congress approves NASA’s proposed budget for 2021), the Mars Sample Return mission will be on track to launch the pick-up rover by 2026 and return its first Martian cargo by 2031.
New policy restricts immigration based on income
Mon Feb 24
A new policy is now in effect that makes it even harder for low-income immigrants to be approved for citizenship, green cards, or extended visas. The Trump administration has created a vetting process that judges applicants based on the chance that they will rely on government programs, such as Medicaid or food stamps, in the future.
How many people will be affected by this change? It’s too early to say, but based on records from the past five years, 69% of the 5.5 million people approved for green cards would have had at least one strike on their record under these new parameters.
Since the law was first introduced last year, immigrant families have been withdrawing from public benefits programs — despite being entitled to use them. Immigrant advocacy groups are also hesitant to convince them to re-enroll, as it might actually jeopardize their applications for green-card status.
Know someone in this situation? Share these resources that offer support for low-income and migrant families (or donate to any of the listed charities).
Supreme Court to decide if adoption agencies can reject same-sex couples
Mon Feb 24
This particular case started in 2018, when Philadelphia stopped sending displaced children to a Catholic foster-care agency that refused to work with same-sex couples. This prompted the agency to sue the city, arguing that this exclusion violated its right to religious expression. The first verdict ruled unanimously against the agency … but the case will now be decided in the Supreme Court, where it will essentially get a “do-over” in a more conservative forum.
The Court’s decision will affect over 400,000 children currently in the foster system and — should its ruling favor the religious adoption agency — may weaken anti-discrimination protections for the LGBTQ+ community.
The trial is scheduled for October 2020.
States pitch composting over cremation as a new burial practice
Mon Feb 24
California hopes to become the second state, after Washington, to legalize an unconventional burial process: composting. This practice offers an *eco-friendly* alternative to embalming and cremation, both of which come with hefty environmental costs (either in the form of carbon dioxide emissions or non-biodegradable chemicals).
How does it work? Essentially, your loved ones’ remains are left to decompose in a container filled with wood-chips, alfalfa, and straw. A month later, the end-product — roughly one cubic yard of soil — is delivered to the family or donated to land conservation efforts.
Although the Catholic Church says the method shows a lack of respect for the dead, proponents of the idea are excited by the potential cost savings and ecological benefits.
The law will go into effect in Washington on May 1st. Meanwhile, California lawmakers are waiting for the bill to be scheduled for a hearing.
Colombia struggles to control an unusually large problem: hippos
Sun Feb 23
Residents of the rural town of Doradal are trying to find a humane way to deal with 80 hippos.
The problem started 40 years ago…
The current hippo population descended from a herd originally housed in the private zoo of the infamous drug lord, Pablo Escobar. After his estate fell to ruin, the hippo population thrived in peace, uncontested by any other predators.
Now that they’ve wandered off the property, these aggressive three-ton animals pose a huge safety risk for locals — and an environmental threat to the region.
The town’s current solution is sterilization — a dangerous, labor-intensive effort, but still the most humane option. Luckily, locals have yet to experience any dangerous encounters with their invasive neighbors.
That’s all for this week. Have a magical weekend.✨ | https://medium.com/belowthefold/edition-13-an-eco-friendly-way-to-mourn-your-loved-ones-7f74f58c33d5 | ['Judith Alba'] | 2020-02-28 17:33:49.527000+00:00 | ['Sustainability', 'Lgbtq Rights', 'Archive', 'Immigration', 'Mars'] |
The Curious Case of the Funko Pop | You see them at Hot Topic, Barnes and Noble, and even Michaels. They adorn kiosks at major theme parks. They’re stuffed into Christmas stockings. Go to any geeky convention and you’ll see dozens of vendors peddling them, and potentially, two die-hard collectors fighting over them.
They are Funko Pops, and they are a frighteningly powerful cultural movement.
I bought the Daenerys [with] Drogon Pop for my wife to put on her desk at work because she was kicking ass as the new boss at work and she was newly obsessed with [Game of Thrones]. She wasn’t interested so I kept it and now she hates the Pop abyss I’ve fallen into. So I blame her. — SA_Bert_Macklin, Reddit
You’re probably familiar with the adorable vinyl figures, which, despite their oversized heads, all-black eyes and often, no mouth, aren’t as terrifying as they sound. They’re tremendously important to merchandising, and indeed, whoever your favorite character is, Funko likely has a whimsical rendition of it.
I bought Spock at Barnes and Noble back in…2013? I think? Because I also collect Star Trek action figures and he was too cute to pass up. I wasn’t planning on getting any others, but then they released the TNG ones so I needed Data too. I bought Stitch a little after too, also because he’s so cute, and my boyfriend bought me Kirk to match my Spock for Christmas like a year later. Then we one day just decided we wanted to collect them and have over 550 now… — TheWishingStar, Reddit
With each release of a major movie or TV show, you can expect to see the major characters “Pop-ified.” Funko also has been rolling out figures for popular films and movies that were released before the dawn of Funko, and there are Pop versions of well-known mascots, other toy lines, and even politicians and public figures. Franchise film merchandisers get a lot of mileage out of Pops by releasing new versions of the recurring characters that reflect costume changes, such as the Avengers: Endgame line of time-traveler Pops. | https://rachelwayne.medium.com/the-curious-case-of-the-funko-pop-a3d33035dcaf | ['Rachel Wayne'] | 2019-09-22 16:25:38.482000+00:00 | ['Pop Culture', 'Culture', 'Toys', 'Art', 'Design'] |
Did you know you can plant trees from your smartphone? | Treedom, Forest, Ecosia: the technology that is good for the planet
Nowadays, people tend to spend most of the time they’re awake in front of a screen. However, it is possible to make this time productive from an environmental point of view. You could be surprised by how easy, quick, and effortless is to plant a tree.
Whether through a click, by downloading an app, or by researching information on the internet, today the ways to contribute to making a change for Earth’s well-being are multiple.
Here are some examples.
Treedom
Who said that planting a tree is hard? With Treedom you can do that and much more with just a click.
Treedom is a web platform that allows you to plant a tree online and follow its growth remotely.
Thanks to your contribution, Treedom will finance and support the work of lots of farmers who will take care of your plant until it is productive. The communities involved in the project, in Asia, Africa, South America, and Italy, will be trained and financed.
To plant a tree with Treedom could also be an idea for an original gift!
Forest
In need of a way to avoid distractions while working or studying? Forest is the solution to your problems.
Forest is an app that helps you to focus. Every time you enter the app, you set a timer from ten to 120 minutes. In that frame of time, if you don’t use your mobile phone, you earn coins with which you can buy virtual trees and create your forest, otherwise you lose the “challenge”. Once you have 2,500 coins you can decide to plant an actual tree.
Ecosia
Ecosia works like an ordinary search engine. However, it is much more than that. Every time you click on a sponsored link, 80% of the incomes is intended to plant trees.
With the collaboration of Yahoo and WWF, this search engine aims to help the forestation of the Amazon forest as well as other woodlands all around the world.
To date, more than 112 million trees have been planted and around 15 million users use this platform.
To contribute to the safeguard of our planet is not hard.
Earth is the only planet we can live on. It’s our home. Let’s help to make it as liveable as possible starting from small gestures. | https://medium.com/@conca.chiara/did-you-know-you-can-plant-trees-from-your-smartphone-e805c64eecc4 | ['Chiara Conca'] | 2020-12-09 14:14:32.814000+00:00 | ['Apps', 'Ecosia', 'Forest', 'Environment', 'Trees'] |
Writ of Habeas Corpus | · INDTRODUCTION
The Constitution of India is the fundamental law of the nation which lays down rules and regulations to safeguard the rights of people and impose obligations on them. This set of core principles is regarded as the guardian and protector of the people’s fundamental rights. Individuals have the right to WRITS, which is one of these rights. India’s constitutional provisions are backed up by legislation. As a result, the Judiciary has sole authority to issue writs in the essential matters. The purpose of writs is to enable for instant adjudication of a person’s rights and to assist that person in realizing the advantages of their rights.
There are two articles according to which the courts can issue writs. 1)Article 32(1) gives this power to Supreme Court and the SC can issue writ when the fundamental rights of an individual are infringed. 2)Article 226(2) gives this power to High Court and the HC can issue has a broader jurisdiction to issue a writ for violation of both the legal as well as fundamental rights.
· 5 KINDS OF WRITS PROVIDED BYTHE INDIAN CONSTITUTION
Ø Writ of Habeas Corpus
Ø Writ of Mandamus
Ø Writ of Certiorari
Ø Writ of Prohibition
Ø Writ of Quo Warranto
· Meaning Of The Writ Of Habeas Corpus
Habeas Corpus is the most valuable writ as it determines the right to freedom and personal liberty. It comes from a Latin phrase that means “to have a body.” After being held, a person can file a Habeas Corpus petition with the court.
The court’s order for the detaining authority to present the detained individual before it in order to determine whether or not the person was detained legitimately. If the Court is certain that the person is being held illegally, it might issue an order for his release. The principle of Habeas Corpus ensures that a prisoner can be released from incarceration without sufficient evidence or cause.
· Who Can Apply For The Writ Of Habeas Corpus?
Prerequisite for application of writ of Habeas Corpus:-
Ø The person who is unlawfully detained.
Ø The person who is acquainted with the benefit of the case.
The person who understands the facts and conditions of the case and voluntarily files for the application of the writ of Habeas Corpus under Article 32 or 226 of the Constitution of India.
· When Is The Writ Of Habeas Corpus Refused?
Ø Where the court has no territorial jurisdiction over the detainer.
Ø Where the detention of an individual is related to a court order.
Ø Where the detainee is already released.
Ø Where the detention of a person has been legalized by the removal of defects.
Ø Where the competent court rejects the petition based on the merits of the case. | https://medium.com/@sanskarkhatri/writ-of-habeas-corpus-b6200054e610 | ['Sanskar Khatri'] | 2021-07-06 13:19:28.132000+00:00 | ['Legal', 'Law', 'Articles'] |
What to Do if You Went to a Coding Bootcamp But Don’t Want to Be a Developer | What to Do if You Went to a Coding Bootcamp But Don’t Want to Be a Developer Roxy A Follow Dec 11 · 3 min read
Photo by Damian Zaleski on Unsplash
You may have found yourself taking a leap of faith and doing an intensive 12-week coding bootcamp. During the 600+ hours learning to code, you may have realized that neither front-end or back-end development are for you.
The job titles software engineer, fullstack developer or front-end developer may not appeal to you.
Or, your comfort level with creating functional components in React may not be there.
Or, your lack of excitement for staring a a screen all day may not be what you want.
During this economy, the unemployment rate is at a record high and hiring has slowed down. It has been even harder to land such a role with no work experience.
If you completed a coding bootcamp and don’t want to be a developer, here are some alternative roles you can consider. In these roles, coding is either simple, minimal or none at all. Having an understanding of tech not only increases your chances of landing a job, but also to be better at it.
Email Developer
If you like to code often but don’t feel comfortable creating complex functions, being an email developer might be a great option. If you are comfortable with HTML and CSS, then email developing is just that.
Email developers code HTML email templates (which are like simple single web pages) that are easy to read. Since emails aren’t as dynamic as websites, there isn’t a large code base to manage, animations to create or complex CSS methods used. Each email is only one index.html file.
Email developers are often provided with a concept or design and asked to build the email.
Some companies require email developers to code emails from scratch while others (most middle or large companies) use email building tools such as Klaviyo or MailChimp. Using these tools, you drag and drop features of an email. You only code in-line html to tweak those features to fit your needs.
User Interface (UI) Designer
If you like creating websites but not developing them, then UI design might be of interest.
UI designers choose the look and feel of a site experience. They may create wireframes and storyboards, choose colors and design the layout of a site. Once the design is approved, they hand off the designs to the development team to code.
This creative role requires no coding. Having an understanding of the development process (how certain features can complex to code) can ensure that you design products that your team can develop given the deadlines.
Project Manager
If you want to be in/around tech but don’t want to do any coding yourself — project managers do that.
Project managers oversee the day-to-day progress of individual projects. They take part in all stages of the software development process.
Project managers attend a decent amount of meetings (they are often the first-line-of-contact for clients) and are the ones who are communicating across all teams to ensure projects run smooth.
Software Sales
If you have excellent communication skills, enjoy traveling for work and being around people, software sales could be for you.
Software-as-a-service sales, ‘SaaS sales’, is a business (B2B) service. You provide your clients with technology solutions that will help them solve a problem. You advocate for both the clients’ best interest and the product you are selling.
The career path has various titles, such as, sales engineer, sales development rep or account executive. Your salary may vary as these roles offer commissions and bonuses.
Technical Recruiter
There is a close to zero percent chance you will need to code as a technical recruiter.
But, it is very helpful to have some understanding of the tech space and tech limbo to best identify potential hires.
Knowing how to read and understand a technical resume is a key skill. The hiring manager will thank you.
If you don’t want to code or be a developer , there are plenty of fulfilling tech jobs that you can consider. | https://medium.com/swlh/what-to-do-if-you-went-to-a-coding-bootcamp-but-dont-want-to-be-a-developer-255ec93c434c | ['Roxy A'] | 2020-12-26 20:12:55.799000+00:00 | ['Codingbootcamp', 'Coding', 'Programming', 'Web Development', 'Learning To Code'] |
I Am Made of Ghosts | I am
made of ghosts —
the small, wide-eyed girl
who clutched a juicy pear
and smiled for the camera
with ribbons in her hair.
I am
the lanky, not-quite-teen
passing notes and braving dares.
I am
the young musician,
studying boys and dyeing hair.
I am
the college woman,
nose always in books,
who never seemed to notice all
the newly-minted men
and their singeing, lingering looks.
I am
the nervous bride
thinking this,
this day,
this day will last until I’m old and gray,
who paid no mind to coming storms
nor saw the battles for the fray.
I am
the empty tomb where
no life would ever grow
and I’m the hand-made crib
that welcomed home
the greatest love I’ll ever know.
I am
made of ghosts and love
and memories cut fine.
I am
made of fleeting thoughts
and the ceaseless march of time. | https://medium.com/where-my-poems-go/i-am-made-of-ghosts-45e56a89b7f8 | ['Elle Rogers'] | 2020-01-06 17:01:01.230000+00:00 | ['Family', 'Love', 'Time', 'Poetry', 'Life'] |
Biden, It’s Time to Show Your Hand | Photo Collage Made in Adobe Spark
Biden, It’s Time to Show Your Hand
Mr. Biden, we need you to be aggressive; announce a plan for sensible marijuana reform.
We are living in an era where everyone seems to be pitted against everyone, and even the most fundamental topics have become political statements. And yet, in a virtual hot box of political smoke, there is one pivotal card that neither party seems to be willing to play, and ironically, it will likely earn a significant portion of the bipartisan vote.
The Promise of Federal Marijuana Legalization
To some, it seems that Biden refuses to broach legalization because he’s read a few studies about the potential for adverse effects. According to a recent article I read in the Atlantic, Stef Feldman, Biden’s policy director, explains, “As science ends up with more conclusive evidence regarding the impact of marijuana, I think he would look at that data. But he’s being asked to make a decision right now. This is where the science guides him.”
But, clearly, he’s not aware of the public support of the movement. In a recent piece published in Marijuana Moment, even Congress is showing signs of supporting a 2021 legalization effort. In another article in Forbes, both parties show majority support for legalization.
Support the Leaf, Win the Vote
When looking at the statistics, it becomes even more difficult to understand the opposition. In November of last year, Pew Research released new survey results showing that a whopping 91% of Americans supported marijuana legalization in some form. Only 8% of participants are against legalization entirely. Name one other political platform topic that garners that kind of widespread public support.
In fact, the following week, Pew Research continued their deep-dive into cannabis support showing the breakdown of opinions by various demographics. As the data clearly showed, the only generation still expressly against the legalization of cannabis was the silent generation, those born before 1945 — Joe Biden’s age. Yet the Boomers, Generation X, and Millennials all overwhelmingly support ending marijuana prohibition.
Political positioning plays a small role, but support for marijuana, in general, is increasing across the board. In a recent survey published by YouGov and Marijuana Moment, 67% of Democrats believe in the overall success of the industry, while 54% of Independents agree, just 41% of Republicans will say the same. Although Republicans still lag in their cannabis industry confidence, Republican support has grown tremendously over the last decade.
Stop Waiting on Restricted Science, Lift the Veil and Make it Happen
There seems to be one caveat that many lawmakers, including Biden, have forgotten. Before you can demand that we need more research, you must first reschedule marijuana to make it easier for scientists to do the warranted research. While the FDA is cracking down on cannabis and hemp businesses for making unfounded medical claims, the lawmakers have done nothing to remove restrictions preventing the necessary analysis they need to support those claims. It’s the epitome of a “Catch-22.”
For far too long, studies regarding the medical efficacy of cannabis and its derivatives have been squelched. Laws, regulations, and mountains of red tape have limited the abilities of qualified professionals to even question the plant, let alone study it. Frankly, without federal legalization, the United States is falling behind the curve.
Public Health Concerns?
Although Biden, along with every other politician for the last decade, chooses to ignore the will of the people for his own perceived notion of protecting public health, there’s a glaring in error in their prioritization. Before we can predict the possibilities of potential, future public health threats, could we first take a more in-depth view of public health concerns that exist today?
Clearly, priority needs to be given to the problems that are real, not imagined.
Racism: Remember that many cities and counties are taking steps to declare racism a public health crisis. Statistics show that black men are arrested for marijuana offenses 4:1 over their white counterparts. Decriminalizing marijuana could be the first step to ending systemic racism and prevent a disproportionate number of black juveniles entering the criminal justice system too early.
COVID: A contagious disease is a current public health crisis, stealing the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans. And while cannabis over-consumption can certainly lead to problems, we know that fatal overdose isn’t one of them. While I’ll make no unfounded claims, with unrestricted research, who knows what could be discovered about the benefits of cannabis, there’s little doubt we need to remove limitations on research:
University of Georgia: CBD, ACE2 Inhibitors, and COVID-19
University of Miami: COVID-19 and Cannabis Use
University of Lethbridge, Alberta, CA: COVID-19 Prevention
Private Canadian Study: Cannabis for Controlling Inflammation Response in COVID
Israel Cell Therapy: InnoCan Uses CBD for COVID Treatment
Israel Institute of Technology: Exploring Cannabis Terpenes for COVID-19 Inhalation Treatments
Opiate Addiction: Without alternatives, tens of thousands of people will die from opiate abuse this year. This is a public health crisis fueled by the very industry that fights against marijuana legalization. Drug overdose fatalities are on the rise as people are losing medical coverage and losing support systems due to the pandemic, legalizing cannabis could be the miracle someone is praying for right now.
The Biggest Fish to Fry
Over the last four years, we’ve watched our country fall into despair, torn apart by selfish, greedy businessmen, ulterior motives, and shady politicians. More than anything, we need a voice of reason, compassion, and understanding to start to heal the division. If playing the marijuana card is what seals the deal, then by God… let’s make that happen!
We cannot pussy-foot around and pretend that this election isn’t the most critical factor in bringing a little normalcy back to the White House, and back to America. Mr. Biden, I understand that you may not be so sure of the decision, but at least set the stage and win the vote. You don’t have to agree to legalization across the board, but commit to removing the veil of secrecy regarding the research, commit to moving forward, commit to being open to discussion. Commit to anything, but make a public declaration of support for the cannabis industry.
It’s time to trump the Trump — play the magical marijuana card, get the vote, and save our nation. | https://kristina-etter.medium.com/biden-its-time-to-show-your-hand-99b2cf7b6b79 | ['Kristina Etter'] | 2020-08-10 23:38:41.913000+00:00 | ['Cannabis', 'Cannabis Legalization', 'Politics', 'Marijuana', 'Voting'] |
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