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I Never Thought of Ending It | But I knew my depression was getting bad again.
When I woke up on that fourth day of wearing the same t-shirt and grey sweatpants my boyfriend had left behind at my house the week before.
As I lay in bed with the thoughts surrounding me and the odor from that shirt.
I never thought of suicide.
I knew my depression was getting bad again.
When I lacked the energy to step inside the shower.
Instead, I washed my greasy hair in the kitchen sink with the harshest shampoo I owned to rush out the vibrant blue color I had put there on a better day.
As I watched the beautiful colors fade with the water down the drain.
I never thought of suicide.
I knew my depression was getting bad again.
On that third day of not being hungry, merely sipping at the black coffee struggling through my school work.
When my sister came and sat beside me and placed a plate of warm food beside me, patted my shoulder, and left the room knowing it would only be thrown away when she went to bed.
Still, I never thought of suicide.
I knew my depression had hit its worse, on that day I joined my family for dinner, drinks, and a silly card game.
Surrounded by my family, laughing and smiling, eating more than I had during the week. Looking to everybody that I was out of my slump.
That was the day I thought about suicide.
When within their smiles I could still see the sideways glances at me whenever I took a bite of food.
When the night was over everyone hugged me and told me they loved me.
When I realized it hurt too much to keep the fake smile glued to my lips when all I wanted to do was curl within my darkness.
Depression is exhausting, but for me manageable when I am allowed to be as I am.
When forced to pretend that I am not sick is when the seeds of doubt become poisonous climbing ivy threatening to twist itself around my throat and draw me to the dark where her roots thrive.
When forced to wear a painted face covering the nights where sleep ran from me as if it were a wolf hunting down the moon. That’s when the face beneath it began to crack.
The mind can be a terribly torturous place, but it is my home.
I am happiest when allowed control of my own curtains.
When forced to let in the sunlight is when I am most in darkness. | https://medium.com/afwp/i-never-thought-of-ending-it-cb4105455ca0 | ['Barbara King'] | 2020-12-23 15:32:21.999000+00:00 | ['Mental Illness', 'Mental Health Awareness', 'Prose Poem', 'Depression', 'Mental Health'] |
Que tu primer trabajo sea en una Startup | Specialist developing business model worldwide through research, delivering the best solution focused on a main problem. | https://medium.com/@fabiancollazo/que-tu-primer-trabajo-sea-en-una-startup-661058ef1b02 | ['Fabian Collazo'] | 2020-12-11 17:58:25.405000+00:00 | ['Where To Work', 'New Job', 'Starups', 'Team Collaboration', 'Team'] |
RapidAPI: first steps with Python | TECH GUIDE
RapidAPI: first steps with Python
A friend working for a bank told me once desperately: “Why do we pay so much for the IBAN parser? 300 Euro per month? I can’t believe why is this so expensive”. All I had to answer: “I can do it for 50 :D”. He confirmed he would take the deal, and I started researching. Well, deals with business people you know.
My dog likes REST APIs and smelly dog treats.
While looking for special hosting for API’s I stumbled upon RapidAPI — the Andreesen and Horowitz baked API market place company from California. This was it byotch, maybe even this is what I was looking for my entire career.
As a backend engineer, you have fewer opportunities to play a single-player: you can’t design a nice-looking app everyone wants to lick; or a website with outstanding usability, which other less abstract colleagues can. Besides that, no Instagram influencer or a teenager needs facial recognition API. Our creed is, in a nutshell, a B2B service.
The problem is that you usually can’t reach the decision-makers so easily, and a lot of boilerplate comes on top: billing, accounting, security, and whatnot. All of that is done with the app stores for the app developers, for example. And finally, here we are, RapidAPI.
RapidAPI, on one side, offers an API developer a platform, which allows them to concentrate on the essential part of their business — complex problems and new pluggable functionality. The platform supports REST and, since recently, GraphQL APIs. On the other side, it allows the companies to configure the access once and request the service from different API providers over a single gateway with a single key. Quite a charming idea, actually!
The first person is ever known to be charming.
In everyday programming, we fellow devs ask ourselves: should we write it ourselves, or should we use a library? If the library is well developed and could survive multiple releases, then why not! RapidAPI takes this idea even further. Instead of a program, it offers you a service where balancing, SLA, and availability are no longer your problems. Well, at least not all of them.
There is always a fly in the ointment, though: The project is not perfect. Many of the APIs are buggy, and the platform itself shows quite a disintegrated usability concept. Maybe it’s because I’m in Europe, maybe not, but the web apps are fairly slow. Some of the elements are buggy and poorly documented, but that is, I am sure, caused by rapid growth. Pun intended?
FastAPI and RapidAPI
It’s been a long due for a good python mini framework for the APIs to appear. Django scares off the newbies and data scientists by its monstrosity, age, and existential crisis. Flask was never created to be an API framework, and although it’s very slim and pluggable, neither Flask nor Django was created for programming APIs. Although Django rest framework is an amazing piece of software, it’s just not what you need.
Python celebrates the second (third?) coming. With all the new amazing technologies being released, python is the lingua franca of data science. Asyncio has spawned a whole new branch of web frameworks and attracted more interest from the community.
One of those frameworks is FastAPI — Flask for APIs with asyncio, WebSockets, and http/2. All that you wanted. Fun fact: I’ve known about it first from a data scientist I’ve met at Cornelsen Verlag. It is so easy to use, so even non-specialist in distributed systems can start right away.
The framework is incredibly well documented. Everything I needed could be immediately found. Like many other rest frameworks, FastAPI supports the schema generation based on the models from pydantic — a marshmallow competition built on new python typing functionality.
Like this:
class ParsedIBAN(BaseModel):
iban: str
compact: str
country_code: str
bank_code: str
account_code: str
length: int
bic: BIC
class Config:
alias_generator = to_camel
And here is how a typical endpoint would look like:
@app.post(
"/ibans/",
response_model=ParsedIBAN,
responses={400: {"model": Error}, 401: {"model": Error}, 422: {"model": Error}},
)
def parse_iban(iban_str: IBANString, current_user: str = Depends(get_current_user)):
"""
Parse IBAN supplied in the post payload.
ERRORS:...
Quite straight forward and self-understanding.
RapidAPI requires the open API schema file so that this one can be created with the built-in functionality of FastAPI like this:
def open_api():
api = get_openapi(
title="IBAN PARSER",
version=VERSION,
description="Parses IBANS",
routes=app.routes,
)
api["servers"] = [
{"url": "https://iban-parser.herokuapp.com", "description": "Production server"}
]
...
return api
Dump the result in a YAML file like that:
@invoke.task
def generate_schema(context):
"""
Generates open api schema yaml for the api
"""
from main import open_api
with open("schema.yaml", "w") as yaml_s:
yaml.dump(open_api(), yaml_s)
CI upload schema and automatic upload
Create React App Sample…
To provision the API, and at the first place the endpoints, you can upload the schema file over the web interface. This is a quite simple approach but not really compatible with a lifecycle of a modern 12-factor like API. It is a quite common event in the lifetime of an application that the endpoints change, and uploading a schema file every time you need an update is not the way of samurai.
RapidAPI offers a way to integrate those updates in your ci. Funnily enough, over their own API for meta-information provisioning. Unfortunately, the API is quite buggy, and it took me a while until I figured what the thing was. For instance, it returns “204 no content” instead of 200 when all is fine and 400 with blurry error messages. I’ve posted the working curl with schema YAML in the discussions on the API page. Here it is once more:
curl --request PUT --url https://openapi-provisioning.p.rapidapi.com/v1/apis/$RAPID_API_API_ID \
--header 'x-rapidapi-host: openapi-provisioning.p.rapidapi.com' \
--header "x-rapidapi-key: $RAPID_API_APP_KEY" \
--header 'content-type: multipart/form-data' --form "[email protected];type=application/yaml" -i
You can find the API id (RAPID_API_API_ID) on your marketplace page, and the app key should be inserted in the provisioning API overview.
Besides that, while trying to guess the names of the fields, I figured that the GraphQL backend requests the same API for the frontend, so you can also update the API's metadata from the overview page, which is not directly configurable from the schema file.
Here is a little invoke task I came up with:
@invoke.task
def update_api_data(context):
"""
Updates rapid api data from the schema file
"""
import requests
from main import open_api
url = f"https://openapi-provisioning.p.rapidapi.com/v1/apis/{env.str('RAPID_API_API_ID')}"
api = open_api()
with open("RapidApiDescription.md", "r") as f:
long_description = f.read()
payload = {
"name": api["info"]["title"],
"description": api["info"]["description"],
"longDescription": long_description,
"websiteUrl": "http://iban-parser.herokuapp.com/docs",
}
headers = {
"x-rapidapi-key": env.str("RAPID_API_APP_KEY"),
"x-rapidapi-host": "openapi-provisioning.p.rapidapi.com",
}
response = requests.request("PUT", url, data=payload, headers=headers)
if response.status_code == 204: # somehow they think 204 is okay
print("Upload OK")
else:
raise Exit(f"Upload not OK: {response.status_code}: {response.text}", code=127)
Rapid API testing
Another interesting part of the platform is the testing engine. For a perfect API, you would probably cover it with unit tests. RapidAPI allows you to monitor and overwatch the API from the outside, combining the integrational testing and monitoring in one tool.
Add and configure tests and their scheduling interval; get notified over email or SMS. And they are annoying too! For free!
And now one more bug: the schedules are not working properly: they would not start immediately but at a random point in time. I hope to see that fixed.
The configuration tool is pretty much self-explanatory. A pretty neat feature is building tests based on your schema file's endpoint descriptions: the parameters and URLs are already there! | https://medium.com/analytics-vidhya/rapidapi-and-fastapi-d720789a5b7e | ['Thorin Schiffer'] | 2021-01-25 12:01:38.509000+00:00 | ['Rest Api', 'Web Development', 'Development', 'API', 'Python'] |
What Is A Soul Reading? | A soul reading is similar to a psychic reading but more in-depth. Yes, it involves a prophecy, but it also involves healing, inspiration, and practical exercises designed to jump-start the process of your soul’s transformation by giving you the tools necessary for your journey.
This post contains references to products from one or more advertising partners. Should you make a purchase, I may receive compensation when you click on links to those products (at no additional cost to you). For more information visit this page.
DIFFERENT TYPES OF TECHNIQUES FOR SOUL READING:
Reading Auras & Chakras
A reading of the energy field around your body through clairvoyance (clear seeing), clairaudience (clear hearing), clairalience (clear smelling), or clairsentience (clear feeling/touching).
Your Soul’s Purpose
A look at your soul’s mission and potential as expressed through your personality in this lifetime and in past lifetimes.
Therapeutic
An exploration of your physical, etheric, and astral planes to detect disease, blockages of life force energy, and unresolved emotional issues. Visualizations, affirmations, and gemstone healing exercises may be suggested.
Mediumship and Channelling
A medium often receives channeled guidance, visions, and messages from ancestors (departed loved ones), spirit guides, and animal totems on the astral planes. Medium connect with these guides using clairvoyance, clairaudience, clairalience or clairsentience.
Prophecy
Foretelling the future through inspired inner visions.
Oracle Cards
A Medium’s artwork is intended as a sacred touchstone enhancing the message of your reading and will help you resonate on a visual level.
Ancient Knowledge
Accompanying your reading, and in combination with the oracle cards, medium pulls for you will be a wealth of information regarding specific gods and goddesses, zodiac-based archetypes, herbal wisdom, and Celtic Druidic tree knowledge.
Astrology
An astrological chart is like a blueprint of your soul. It is a way to tap into your inner psyche so that you can understand yourself and others better. Tuning in to the cosmos and cosmic patterns can help you shed light upon your everyday life and prepare you for major once-in-a-lifetime transitions.
SOUL READING BENEFITS:
A Reading is like a wake-up call for your soul.
Discover your soul’s true purpose and unleash your creativity.
Move forward beyond crisis, clear blockages, reduce stress, and promote peace of mind.
Connect with your ancestors and spirit guides, feel guided and loved.
Kathy Tyson, Technology Coordinator/Business Entrepreneur, North Carolina, USA: “This reading has given me the opportunity to go A HA! Every bit of it resonated within me. I love your visualizations and affirmations. Again, I am grateful for your gift from God. You are truly blessed.”
CLICK HERE TO GET A PERSONALIZED SOUL PATH REPORT>>>
More Testimonials can be found here. | https://medium.com/@guidetospirituality/what-is-a-soul-reading-aa4054cec69b | ['Guide To Sprirituality'] | 2021-06-08 08:35:40.494000+00:00 | ['Psychic', 'Life Path', 'Soul Reading', 'Manifestation', 'Life Purpose'] |
Low Carb High Protein Diets — Are There Problems? | This article is from www.wholehealthemporium.com and may contain affiliate links.
Why do people eventually abandon their diets?
Is it because they get impatient? Is it because they get into a plateau?
Did you excuse did you give when you abandoned your diet? No worries no judgment here!
This article gives us an insight on why most low carb, high protein diets can be problematic.
Do they work? Yes — you do lose weight initially on a High Protein/Low Carb diet. You lose a lot of water weight initially.
And this can be a contributing factor to other health problems.
Some people get phenomenal results with supplements — I recommend this one!
So What Happens After?
What happens after your body has shed its water weight?
You Can Lose Muscle Mass
Like most diets, people who adhere to the keto diet experience a plateau in their weight loss journey. This can be attributed to a slowed metabolism.
Amanda Macmillan writes that keto related weight loss is mostly loss of muscle mass. Even though most people achieve ketosis, the weight that they lose is from muscle because muscle burns more calories than fat.
Because of this, their metabolism slows down leading to a plateau. One becomes discouraged and go off the ketogenic diet.
They regain most of the weight lost but they do not have the same muscle mass to burn as much calories.
The Color Of Your Urine Might Change
If you’ve ever been on one of these diets, you’ve noticed that your urine gets yellow.
This is due to ketones which is a by-product of ketosis. This is evidence that your body is burning and breaking up muscle tissue which is protein.
That’s dangerous because if too much of your body’s protein is broken down you could suffer irreparable liver and kidney damage.
Further symptoms of muscle breakdown are evident in general weakness, fatigue and lack of energy.
You May Be At Risk Of Heart Disease
Several studies have reported that cholesterol levels, especially LDL (bad cholesterol) are increased.
“When people eat fewer carbohydrates, their liver produces fewer triglycerides, which may play a role in raising HDL cholesterol levels.” Jessica Caporuscio, Pharm.D.
Another downside of Low Carb/High Fat diets is that studies show that the less carbs you consume the more likely you are to consume more fat.
And this excess fat is stored up in your body’s fat cells where they’ll linger indefinitely, clogging up your arteries with unhealthy cholesterol.
High levels of cholesterol put people at a higher risk of developing heart disease and diabetes.
How Do You Avoid These Disadvantages?
There’s a simple way to avoid this. Do not restrict your diet to any one food group or category.
Rather than blindly cutting Carbohydrates and increasing protein and fat intake, you should opt for a healthy ratio of 30% protein, 15% fat, and 55% Complex Carbohydrates.
This ratio will help you to lose weight steadily and safely. The key is to reduce fat and simple carbohydrates not carbohydrates in general.
Complex Carbohydrates
Because complex carbs have a low glycemic index your body has to use 250% more energy to convert these carbs into fuel than it does to convert fat into fuel.
Your body works harder to metabolize and burn calories from complex carbs than it does High Protein/Low Carb.
What are the results? Safe, systematic weight reduction — the best way to avoid health problems and sagging skin caused by too rapid weight loss.
Conclusion
Much like many diets, the keto diet has its pros and cons. The only way to avoid these possibly catastrophic complications is to come with a sustainable diet and exercise routine.
As many fitness gurus say, weight loss is a lifestyle. It is a marathon not a sprint!
Thank you for reading
What was your low carb journey like?
Leave a comment below and share your thoughts with us!
© Copyright 2021 Whole Health Emporium. All Right Reserved.
Article Credits: Pauline D. and Richard Tracy
Works Cited
Jessica Caporuscio, Phar. “How Can the Keto Diet Affect Cholesterol? Safety and Risks.” Medicalnewstoday.com. N.p., 1 Sept. 2019. Web. 24 Oct. 2021.
Ogden, Jane. “Why Do Diets Fail?” The Psychology of Dieting. Routledge, 2018. 41–47. Print. | https://medium.com/@wholehealthemporium/low-carb-high-protein-diets-are-there-problems-fc6eac4767c6 | ['Whole Health Emporium'] | 2021-12-19 14:01:12.962000+00:00 | ['Weight Loss', 'Health', 'Healthcare', 'Keto', 'Weight Loss Tips'] |
Welcome to KidFloor, Your Enforced Meditation Space | Relax…you’ll be here a while.
Photo by Eileen lamb from Pexels
When the sun has gotten low on the horizon — or you’ve decided to close the blackout curtains at 5 pm — it’s time to find some inner peace on a horizontal surface located in one of our KidFloor Meditation Zones.
We have many locations, but we encourage each of our KidFloor proprietors to put their own unique spin on the space. The age and personality of your KidFloor’s owner may vary according to such factors as “I think I hear thunder,” “that scary dog barked at me yesterday,” or “you were on my brother’s floor last night and it’s MY TURN.”
When you first arrive at KidFloor, you’ll find a number of supplies you can use to enhance the comfort of your meditation space. These supplies may include a crumpled Disney Princess dress you can use to cushion your head, as well as a forgotten and slightly damp towel discarded after bathtime that may keep you warm beneath the fan that must always be on.
We encourage you to be savvy in selecting a floor location. The ideal spot will permit the proprietor to know you are in the space, but will also require the proprietor to actually sit up or move in order to see you. Bonus points if the location allows surreptitious use of your smartphone without the proprietor insisting on another viewing of Baby Shark.
The beauty of KidFloor is its unpredictability. Will you be here for twenty minutes? An hour? Two? No one knows. The arc of time bends and wobbles as you contemplate eternity, berate yourself for allowing consumption of two pudding cups at dinnertime, and wonder which horizontal movement out of the room will avoid the tell-tale creaking of joints that trigger our proprietors to check on you.
The commando crawl is low enough to keep you out of sight, but the dragging sound is a dead giveaway. Infant-style crawling puts too much weight on the squeaky part of the floor right outside the bedroom door. Are they asleep yet? Will they hear?
Better give it another twenty minutes.
KidFloor gives you the time and silence you need to think about life’s big questions while you work on your breathing. Pull air in deeply through your nose (you were hopefully smart enough to find a location sufficiently distant from the Diaper Genie), and exhale slowly through your mouth at a volume just loud enough to provide reassurance of your presence to your proprietor.
Gaze with beatific calmness at the glow-in-the-dark stars pasted on the ceiling and notice that dark patch on the ceiling vent. Is that mold? Is there mold in the HVAC system? What if it’s toxic? Is there a mold-identification guide on the web that you could use to figure out — maybe look for remediation companies and should you maybe paint? How about new paint? You like beach colors…maybe you should start looking for beach colors…the proprietor seems to be out cold, so just take out your phone…
Nope! All of our KidFloor proprietors are expertly trained to redirect your barreling train of thought right back to important questions like “Where does poop come from?” and “Can we go poop right now?” and “Can I watch Baby Shark?” until you reconsider your foolish determination to get things done during important meditation time.
Now settle back down, fluff up that princess dress, and get comfy. Welcome to KidFloor! | https://audreyburges.medium.com/welcome-to-kidfloor-your-enforced-meditation-space-ff42da053746 | ['Audrey Burges'] | 2020-02-10 03:17:21.333000+00:00 | ['Humor', 'Parenting', 'Satire', 'Family'] |
MedMaster. By: Cyra | By: Cyra, Milena, Sufia
What is MedMaster?
MedMaster is a company that uses AI to predict and track children’s health through a wristband and an app.
MMband (wristband)
The MMband is a beneficial wristband for your child to wear. Not only does the MMband track and predict your child’s health, but it also ensures that your child is healthy for future days to come by providing recommendations based on the health of your child in previous days.
The MMband has many features that are all designed to ensure the health of your child. The features of the MMband include:
A monthly goal list
Stopwatch/alarm/timer
Health notifications
A watch
Customizable (child’s name, age, disability)
What data does the MMband collect?
The MMband is able to:
Count your steps each day
Predict future health problems and recommends the care needed
Detect diseases or symptoms
Measure your body temperature
Determine the BPM (beats per minutes)
Read blood flow and blood pressure
How does the band use the data? After collecting the data from the child, the A.I in the band is able to tell if everything is ok with the child. If the child is sick, the wristband can alert the parent immediately.
MedMaster App:
When you get the MMband, it also comes with an app. The app is for storing the data that the wristband collected. The MedMaster app includes:
Daily & weekly reports of his/her health progress
Reports that are compared from previous days
An option for your child to rate their day
One game for your child to be active
Parental controls and options to customize the MMband
Graphs/Charts that show how your child has progressed
Disabilities and Health Conditions
The MMband ensures that your child will be benefited and healthier for more days to come no matter what health conditions or disabilities they are experiencing. The MMband is customizable to any of your child’s needs and likings. | https://medium.com/@cyra-aggarwal/medmasters-918ccbf2a19 | ['Cyra Aggarwal'] | 2021-03-13 22:39:21.623000+00:00 | ['Supervised Learning', 'Healthcare', 'Machine Learning', 'Artificial Intelligence', 'Reinforcement Learning'] |
Santa and elf report after a summer-long lockdown (#prompt) | Hello, Should we start or wait for the perfect view as a reporter talking to his cameraman. he finally got permission to move on. as they were riding in an open van going through the middle of the city.
GOOD MORNING, Everybody. I hope you are taking care of yourself. I know this year been the toughest year of your life. we know things are a lot different now. but here we are going to talk about only happiness, hope, and positive things. Because you don't need to find a reason or moment to be sad there are thousands out there. We are here to collect our happiness motivation for a better tomorrow. This lockdown teaches us how to care ourself. If you still don't know how to link in the below of this video.
you need to step up and look at the world so that you can understand our boundaries, I know if you can see that you are going to find that reason to be happy. There are thousands of people out there who don't have those things that you have right now still they are constantly trying to seeking in pursuit of happiness no matter what their situation is right now.
If you see this we encourage you to seek help, if you really think you needed. This world came so close to humanity in this lockdown, people going to understand what you are going through. you just need to accept it what you have is enough and do what makes you happy. Find your inner peace. | https://medium.com/@anoopsingh-27990/santa-and-elf-report-after-a-summer-long-lockdown-prompt-7140fef2ad | ['Anoop Singh'] | 2020-12-17 08:16:23.452000+00:00 | ['Motivation', 'Prompt', 'Hope', 'Storytelling', 'Lockdown Diary'] |
How SaaSBOOMi Growth Got off the Ground | How #SaaSBOOMi Growth Got off the Ground
The origin story of India’s biggest virtual SaaS Growth/Marketing Conference
At one of the tea breaks of the Bangalore edition of SaaSBOOMi Enterprise. I bumped into Vivek of iZooto, and he started complaining. Nor did he mince any words. “Boss! Why does everything happen only in Bangalore? Why is nothing happening in Delhi?” I said, “Boss! You know, I am just a facilitator. If you tell me to do it in Delhi, we’ll do it. But you have to get the audience, you have to get the core team organized. Then we can do it.”
He immediately said, “I know many founders in Delhi. Let’s create a group now!” Vivek was driven and persistent, and he suggested a few names. I already had some 8 to 10 names. Suddenly we were all set with 14 or 15 people, the group was done and I posted a message saying, “Hey! we’re done with SaaSBOOMi Enterprise in Bangalore, Here’s the next one. We want to do it in Delhi, who wants to raise your hand and I am happy to support, but someone has to lead it. I don’t want to drive it.”
And immediately a few of them said they are happy to contribute and support.
all speakers at the Growth conf.
Two months went by, but nothing moved! We were getting ready for the annual edition then, so we couldn’t really get this thing started. At that time, everyone was proposing September or October for the Delhi edition. I knew we had a very short time to do it, and that would probably not have the bandwidth to do another edition. I suggested May or June because that’s when we will be from this Annual conference, I thought.
The conversation ended there, and I even forgot about it a bit.
But the moment I was through with the annual edition, there were these two-three folks who reached out to me, almost immediately. Dhruvil from Loginext wanted a SaaSBOOMi Mumbai. Pune folks wanted help building the ecosystem in Pune too. While these two are also cooking up, I thought let me post a message on the Delhi/NCR group too. Luckily, seven or eight people who came forward and we started iterating.
This is when I suggested that we not follow how SaaSBOOMi Chennai/Hyderabad’s structure, and build something really unique. After a couple of conversations, it gravitated towards Growth. And since I’d been wanting to do something around Marketing and Growth for so long, it resonated immediately. We also felt that the curated format was really good as it ensured quality and exclusivity.
Collaborating for the sessions on Google docs
We had decided on having 50 companies for the conference. We also figure out the stage of the company, i.e. 500K — 2M ARR. And then we started looking for venue options, and that’s when things started getting really strange.
“SaaS community with ingredients, recipe and also a taster of success directly from the top chefs.” — Punit (CustomerSuccessBox)
The COVID-19 debacle
As the coronavirus spread throughout India, we decided to wait for two weeks and then decide on the way forward. But after two weeks, the situation had not improved.
This is when we decided on doing this online and changed the date from 8th May (Friday) to 9th May (Saturday). We formed three teams, one team to decide the logistics (platform, registrations), the second one to focus on the marketing of the event, and the third was the curation team. So everyone sort-of took on roles, and we had an eight-member core team.
I requested Ashish (Posist), Sparsh (Wingify), & Ankit (AdPushup) to lead the curation part.
Happy smiles from organising team after the event
The team and the program
This was indeed a weekend project because we only huddled on Sundays. Each founder actually put a lot in; they talked about the challenges that were faced in their own organizations, and how we could use that as a guide for the sessions.
As we arrived at a few topics, everyone volunteered to take up one. The goal was to have conversations with a few people in our ecosystem, and then arrive at who would be the best to articulate that specific topic.
The session managers were briefed about their role, and they put a lot of effort into curating the conference, making sure that takeaways were clear for each talk. I remember a couple of dry runs for the sessions by Mrigank & Kapil! Mrigank was up till 11 pm a day before the conference just to do the mock with Armando, the keynote speaker for the conf. Kapil was still nervous till the last minute because he had put in a lot of effort to get speakers on board. He had spoken to four or five people before he got the right speakers for his session.
Speakers were mostly nominated through references based on their familiarity with someone’s work. Ideally, we’d have wanted speakers from more companies to feature to share diverse playbooks, and that is an area for improvement. Curating the audience & curating the sessions are two significant things we do at SaaSBOOMi. And that really helps us to bring out the best in these people itself because once we do this, then everything else will follow. But if the content is not good, it’s like, you know, you’ve gone to a nice restaurant, but the food is not good. The packaging of the restaurant might not be really good, but if the food gives you a ‘wow’ feeling: well, that’s what we were aiming for.
“Rarely have seen such honest and transparent give aways. Could clearly see the steps that need to be taken which if taken correctly will definitely make us build a sizeable SaaS product.” — Manisha (SuperProcure)
What was unique about SaaSBOOMi Growth
1. One of the things was the theme itself: Growth. But the other notable thing is it did not feature the likes of Suresh, Krish, Girish & Manav. For the first time, we actually discovered a lot of people who are under the hood, by which I mean the second layers of leaders in the organization. So most of the speakers were speaking for the first time in a SaaSBOOMi conference. Except for Niraj of HiverHQ, Ashwin of Synup, Varun of Kayako, and few other founders, 60 to 70% of the conference was led by Growth & Marketing leaders. We haven’t seen them in any of the SaaSBOOMi events which I feel is a big achievement for us! 2. The other unique part was, most of the founders involved here were not really very active in any of the conferences of SaaSBOOMi. Founders like Vivek(iZooto), Sachin(Ameyo), Kapil(UniCommerce), Sparsh(Wingify), Arpit(SplashLearn), Prukalpa(Atlan) & Mrigank(PeopleStrong) have also started taking the lead in organizing SaaSBooMi events and we are thrilled! We get many requests from people who really want to contribute. Still, a lot of times we don’t really get the opportunity to take their help. This time we were able to. This was the second unique thing about SaaSBOOMi Growth. 3. In many ways, this is also turning out to be the SaaS leadership academy, where growth leaders are now opening up their own playbooks! Some of the best people in SaaS came forward and spoke, which is why the conference was so interactive, and we got an excellent feedback. Each session had an NPS of 8.5 to 9, only two sessions had a lower NPS. This is quite similar to what we’ve done for other SaaSBOOMi conferences.
The only thing which we could not really do over here was to enable networking. We really wanted to use Airmeet because we felt it would allow people to network, and have informal conversations. But unfortunately, we couldn’t. We will definitely use them next time.
It was also fascinating to see people like Sai, Ankit, and Nivas who started as volunteers become speakers for the growth conference and share their insights, as they are all now serious professionals in their own right. That was also a very good feeling for me!
A Snap from the event
“SaaSBOOMi is the most important community which we as SaaS Founders must be connected with. Its community to find very clear actionables for the challenges and opportunities we will encounter in our entrepreneurial journey…” — Sushil (ExtraEdge)
What did we learn about doing a virtual conference?
1. We made the conference interactive by introducing Polls & Q&A in a manner that people’s minds don’t wander off. 2. We did the digital backdrops with a real conference experience with the conference branding. 3. For peers to be able to engage with each other, we asked attendees to rename themselves to First Name (Real Name) followed by Second Name (Startup Name). For, e.g., Ankit (AdPushup). This helped others identify your company for better interaction during Q&A and Chat. 4. In between every session, while the silence was there, we had music, just to make sure that we provided good experience to attendees. 5. We had extensive preparation on the online front, multiple iterations on the testing off the floor, mock runs with speakers and so on — it all actually worked out well. It was very smooth experience from a delegate perspective, or at least that’s the idea we got.
And yes, we will continue to do growth! With the post COVID world moving towards virtual/online, we are sort of geared up for it. And hopefully, you’ll see many more platforms from SaaSBOOMi on this front!
The Way Forward for SaaSBOOMi Growth:
We would want to take this engagement forward and come up with SaaSBOOMi Playbooks: Pro-bono, closed, invite-only sessions aimed at helping SaaS teams get equipped with real insights of running a SaaS Business. These long-format sessions require teams to come prepared, to be open to learning and unlearning, and to share your context within a trusted environment. The idea is to conduct one playbook every month! Well curated blogs for SaaS founders & teams. We are already working on this. A WhatsApp group for all the Growth/Marketing teams to be connected and share their learnings. And lastly, while we wanted to accommodate everyone, we had to refuse many founders as this format required and necessitated curation.
To bridge this gap, we are coming up with SB Kickstart this July, an early-stage founder conference from SB community for the startups below 1 Mn ARR.
Please subscribe to our newsletter for more updates, and we’ll announce this nice and early.
With inputs from Tarun Davuluri who really made the experience smooth for all delegates and is a big support to all of us. Special thanks to Sai for editing this and adding his magic :) | https://medium.com/saasboomi/how-saasboomi-growth-got-off-the-ground-9337544f4441 | ['Avinash Raghava'] | 2020-05-19 06:04:03.515000+00:00 | ['Saasboomi', 'Growth Marketing', 'Saas Marketing', 'Indian Startup Ecosystem', 'Startup Lessons'] |
The One Thing That Has More Influence on Your Life Than Luck | The difference between 40% and 100%
My two best friends and I decided to give James Altucher’s idea of writing down ten ideas a day a shot.
The basic idea is that you can train your idea muscle like any other muscle. To develop it, you have to exercise it every day, no excuse. The goal is not to come up with 3,650 good ideas a year. You might come up with three good ideas a year. According to James, your brain will become an idea machine within 3–6 months. Imagine doing this for a year. You will become the go-to person for problem-solving, and you will start making serious money off of your ideas.
We are ten days right now, so I can’t talk about results now, but I noticed something alarming.
Out of these ten days, I wrote ten ideas everyday. Friend A only submitted ideas on six days and friend B on four days.
I wouldn’t go as far as saying that this is a reflection of the success we have in our lives since I’m not at a ten out of ten there. However, I see a clear correlation. Even though it was my idea, and therefore it’s understandable that I committed myself the most, both friends A and B were eager to try it as well.
Friend A at least participated in more than half of the days. He is on a promising trajectory career-wise and finally started living a healthier lifestyle. So to me, the 60% he participated symbolizes his emphasis on career over health. He believes that he must prioritize some things over others.
I don’t believe in this concept.
No, you can’t do everything with 100% intensity all the time. But you must find a way to balance things out. Otherwise, you will end up like the star with alcohol problems, the wolf of Wall Street, or bodybuilder with a heart attack.
Success is not a sprint nor a marathon. It’s an endless obstacle race with lots of opportunities to sprint and to rest. Only those who take advantage of both opportunities stand a chance of winning.
For friend B the four out of ten reflect his life pretty accurately. He’s not satisfied with where he’s at in life. He likes to fantasize and talk about big plans — but he never follows through.
His 40% participation reflects his life pretty clearly. He just can’t go through with something.
To me, this is the root of all of his problems.
There is a 60% gap between 40% and 100%. This could be the difference between earning 40k or 100k a year. Between being slightly unhappy in your relationship and being madly in love. Or between working in a job you hate or having your dream job. | https://medium.com/skilluped/the-one-thing-that-has-more-influence-on-your-life-than-luck-5fa47f4d4196 | ['Marco Tiro'] | 2020-06-03 03:51:55.899000+00:00 | ['Success', 'Life Lessons', 'Self Improvement', 'Self', 'Life'] |
The Strenuous life | “I wish not to preach the doctrine of ignoble ease, but the doctrine of the strenuous life, the life of toil and effort, of labor and strife; to preach that highest form of success which comes, not to the man who desires mere easy peace, but to the man who does not shrink from danger, from hardship, or from toil, and who out of these wins the splendid ultimate triumph.” — Theodore Roosevelt
In the 1960’s, a behavioral psychologist and ethologist named John B. Calhoun conducted a series of experiments on a phenomenon he coined “Behavioral Sink”. It was a study of the social psychology of mice in an overcrowded environment, he sought to find parallels between the social behaviors of mice and a possible future in human society.
He used 3000 mice in his experiment, the mice were placed in a utopian habitat where conditions for nutrition, comfort and housing were all provided for.
“At the peak population, most mice spent every living second in the company of hundreds of other mice. They gathered in the main squares, waiting to be fed and occasionally attacking each other. Few females carried pregnancies to term, and the ones that did seemed to simply forget about their babies.
They would move half their litter away from danger and forget the rest. Sometimes they would drop and abandon a baby while they were carrying it.” The study went on for several months and the population became extinct after 900 days.
“The last thousand animals born never learned to develop social behaviors, they never learned to be aggressive, which is necessary in the defense of their young. Not engaging in any stressful activity and only paying attention to themselves, they groomed themselves well so they looked like very fine specimens.”
Dr Calhoun called these The beautiful ones, for their time was devoted solely to grooming, eating and sleeping. They never involved themselves with others and would never fight. They appeared as a beautiful exhibit of the species with keen, alert eyes and a healthy well-kept body.
When the population started declining the beautiful ones were spared from violence and death, but had completely lost touch with social behaviors, including having sex or caring for their young.
Due to the abundance of food and water and lack of predators, there was no need to perform any actions to acquire food or avoid danger. The young had no opportunity to see such actions and to later use them effectively.
Utopia — when one has everything, at any moment, for no expenditure — declines responsibility, effectiveness and awareness of social dependence. Dr Calhoun’s study showed that this leads to self-extinction:
“The lack of challenges gradually spoiled the behaviors of subsequent generations. This degeneration lead to their eventual self-extinction. Due to the lack of challenges, the extinction of the group became inevitable.”
Increased Activity Leads to Fulfillment and Happiness
Another study was done on elderly people in a nursing home. One group was to receive the usual day-to-day care by the caregivers. They had no say in their day to day affairs and were treated as non participants. The other group was treated as active participants and were allowed to perform daily exercise, tasks and encouraged to contribute ideas to the running of the nursing home.
After 10 weeks the results were concluded, the first group displayed no improvements in overall health but instead showed higher levels of apathy and increased physical discomfort and pain. The second group showed more autonomy and self-efficacy.
They were more cheerful, active and rated themselves happier, healthier and optimistic about life. By being involved, being invested in and having something expected of them, the participants gained a sense of empowerment in their everyday lives. Increased responsibility correlated to an increase in their quality of life.
The Catfish and The Koi
Back In the 1800’s, a type of fish called the common carp was bred for color in Japan, by the late 19th century a number of color patterns had been established and this new breed of brightly colored variety became known as the “Koi fish”, a translation from the Japanese which means “carp”.
These beautiful colorful fish made great ornamental pond fish, they were also tolerant of freezing cold and could survive at low-oxygen, low-quality water.
The breed became very popular and caught the attention of Europeans. It was not long afterwards that they were began shipped regularly.
The transporters soon discovered a problem: after the long and boring journey between routes, the fish — having little activity and small room in the barrels — became weak and brittle, and began to lose their brightly colored scaling and desirability.
This caused several issues for the traders. But they soon came up with a solution; use larger tanks, and put catfish in the same tank as the Koi fish.
This solution worked like magic. The catfish ate the weaker Koi and the stronger became better and fitter, by the time they had arrived at their destination, the fish were fit, strong, colorful and healthy. | https://paul-gwamanda.medium.com/the-strenuous-life-af747ff4c92c | ['Paul Gwamanda'] | 2021-01-02 18:08:03.752000+00:00 | ['Courage', 'Hard Work', 'Challenges In Life', 'Dedication', 'Overcoming Obstacles'] |
Protsahan Covid-19 Emergency Relief | On January 21, Riya Bhatia, founder of Virya Foundation, led a Dance Movement Therapy Workshop at the Fremont Senior Center. The workshop, started with a short meditation to center the room and bring participants minds to the present moment. She then explained the benefits of DMT and how she uses Kathak to help individuals improve physical and emotional wellbeing. She also performed a dance sequence to showcase Kathak Yoga, demonstrating the therapeutic elements of Kathak.
The seniors at the center were mesmerized by Bhatia’s elegant performance. Smiles and applause filled the room. Afterwards, many seniors donated to Virya Foundation which raised more than $250. This money was sent to Protsahan Indian Foundation’s Emergency Relief for daily wagers to deliver dry ration relief packs directly to families drastically affected by Covid-19. Each relief package contains 10 kg wheat flour, 10 kg rice, 1 liter cooking oil, salt, spices, sugar, soap, and detergent, and costs Rs. 1120 ($14.86) per pack. Virya Foundation was able to help about 18 families through the money they raised from the workshop at the Senior Center.
If you would like to donate to Protsahan Indian foundation, please visit http://covid19.viryafoundation.com/ to see how you can support families during these unprecedented times. Every donation helps! | https://medium.com/@viryafoundation/protsahan-covid-19-emergency-relief-87963bd63d80 | ['Virya Foundation'] | 2020-05-23 20:22:01.505000+00:00 | ['Covid 19', 'Support', 'Dance'] |
Reflection | People say university is where you make friends for life. It’s where you create memories for life. It’s where you have the best years of your life.
Now for me these statements are only half true. Yes I’ve created memories, made friends and had fun. But I’ve also lost friends, and had hard times as well, but one thing I will always stand by is those who care about you will be there for you.
Some of the people I’ve met over the past 3 years have become family to me; and have changed me for the better. They’ve been there through the good, the bad and the ugly and I could never ask for more amazing people.
The memories I have made have moulded me into the person I am now, some good, some bad, all for a reason.
One thing I have learnt though over the past 3 years is when you’re down, and you feel like there is no point in going any further, you are wrong. There is always better things to come. People will suprise you and provide you with the love and support you cannot give yourself. They will remind you why you need to keep going, sometimes they will be the reason you keep going, even short-term. If that’s the case that’s fine, everyone needs a reason, even if it’s not for yourself it’s better than nothing.
Never forget where you’ve been, and how far you have come from there, and who helped you along the journey. Who were your cheerleaders. Who were your team mates. Who were the ones that held the torch for you when you were too tired to hold it yourself. | https://medium.com/@09johnsonm/reflection-aa2c7ebe524 | ['Maddison Johnson'] | 2020-12-23 17:15:27.686000+00:00 | ['Looking Back', 'Reflection', 'Support', 'University', 'Memories'] |
What Is Bitcoin Mining: Part 2 | What Is Bitcoin Mining: Part 2
Crypto mining is intensive and pricey, and you receive rewards only from time to time. However, this process is attractive to lots of investors who are concerned about crypto. The reason is simple: they are rewarded with crypto tokens for their hard work. Do you remember the Monuments Men? That’s how people see mining, especially those who know how the technology works. DeBay Follow Mar 25, 2020 · 6 min read
Mining Equipment
While earlier miners could use their regular PCs when competing for blocks, that isn’t possible anymore. Bitcoin mining has become much more difficult than before.
One of the main targets of the Bitcoin network is to generate one block every 10 minutes to provide continuous processes and operations and validate transactions. But when one hundred mining rigs are working on a hash issue, they will solve it quicker than five rigs that are trying to solve the same issue. That’s why the difficulty of the computational problem is updated every 2,016 blocks to control the rate at which blocks are generated.
When a large number of computers are working on Bitcoin mining at the same time, the difficulty level rises to keep block production at a stable rate. The opposite is also true — if fewer computers are working on mining problems, the difficulty level declines.
To understand how this situation has changed with time, we will show you the numbers. In 2009, the year of Bitcoin’s launch, the primary difficulty level was one. Now it is higher than thirteen trillion.
That is why miners started using much powerful hardware, such as application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs). The price of an ASIC can run as high as $10,000. A graphics processing unit (GPU) is much cheaper, which is why some prefer to buy those.
Bitcoin Mining
It’s not easy to figure out all the details of Bitcoin mining. This example explains the hash problem in an easy way: I think of a number between one to 50 and tell my colleagues about it. However, instead of telling them to guess the right number, I tell them to name a number that is equal to or less than the number I’m thinking of. One important detail: there are no limitations on the number of guesses.
Let’s say I choose number 25. Colleague A chooses number 31, so he loses because 31 is greater than 25. Colleague B chooses 21, and Colleague C chooses 18. Therefore, they both came to acceptable answers because 21 and 18 are both less than 25. Even though Colleague B is the closest to the right number, he doesn’t receive any benefit. The winner would be whoever chose first.
But what if I pick a 64-digit hexadecimal number and ask billions of people to guess? In such a case, there is little chance that one of them will pick an acceptable number. Also, in cases when both people answer at exactly the same time, this “Explain It Like I’m Five” analogy doesn’t work.
When we are talking about Bitcoin, such situations happen very often, but there can be only one winner. In such cases, the miner who has validated the most transactions will be rewarded by a simple majority, which is 51%. Other miners who solved the problem as well but validated fewer transactions will receive nothing.
Now, let’s talk about 64-digit hexadecimal numbers. Let’s look at an example:
0397601803C22E220509810703BDE2300460EA80322F000CF50ABD0226F27009
It consists of 64 digits, both numbers and letters. You may ask why. Let’s figure out it together by analyzing the word “hexadecimal.”
The first part of the word, “hex,” comes from Greek and means “six.” The second part of the word, “decimal,” is the standard system for denoting integer and non-integer numbers from 0 to 9 and means base 10. This word comes from the Greek word “deca,” which means 10.
If we combine these two words, we get the word “hexadecimal,” which means base 16. However, because our numerical system consists only of 10 numbers (0–9), six letters need to be added (a, b, c, d, e, f) to total 16.
Remember that in Bitcoin mining, there is no need to compute the total value of that 64-digit number or the hash.
Why We Need 64-Digit Hexadecimal Numbers for Bitcoin Mining
Let’s go back to my earlier example of my colleagues trying to guess the number I was thinking of. In the Bitcoin mining world, there is a special term for such a number: a target hash. Using their massive equipment, miners try to guess at the target hash. They generate a lot of “nonces” as quickly as possible.
What is “nonce”? The word itself stands for “number only used once.” It’s a 32-bit number that is much smaller than the hash. The person who generates a hash first (using the nonce) that is equivalent to or less than the target hash will receive an award for completing that block, as well as 12.5 BTC.
How to Guess the Target Hash
The target hash always starts with a minimum of eight zeros. This number may reach up to 63 zeros. What is more, the minimum target doesn’t exist, but we know the maximum one, which was established by the Bitcoin Protocol and can’t be bigger than this number:
00000000bbbb0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
How to Increase Your Chances to Be the First?
To make everything possible, the miner needs to get a fast-mining rig. The other and more realistic option is to join a mining pool, which is a dedicated server that is used to distribute tasks for Bitcoin mining. Each participant receives a “share” when the group comes up with the proof of work to show that they have successfully solved a problem.
Joining a mining pool is one of the best options because it’s very hard to work on your own; the difficulty level of the recent blocks is more than thirteen trillion right now. The chances of guessing and coming to a correct solution are extremely small.
Huge and pricey equipment does not mean everything in terms of solving a hash problem. Electrical power mining rigs play a huge role, as well.
Summarizing all we said above, individual mining is quite unfavorable in today’s conditions.
What Are Coin Mining Pools?
Miners receive tokens when they solve a problem first. The possibility that a person will do that is proportional to the network’s mining power. Those who don’t have powerful computers have a little chance of finding the next block.
One mining card that would deliver less than 0.001% of the mining power on the network can cost thousands. Not every miner can afford such purchases. That’s why it takes a lot of time to find the next block.
How can this problem be solved? The answer is mining pools.
Mining pools have effective control over third-party hashes and guide miners. A mining pool’s payout scheme determines how the reward will be distributed among the pool’s contributors, so even from the very first day, miners can receive a constant flow of Bitcoin.
Other Ways to Profit from Cryptocurrencies
As we said at the beginning of the article, if you want to buy cryptocurrency, you can use exchanges. However, there is one other way: invest in the corporations that produce hardware for Bitcoin mining, such as those that make ASICs or GPUs. That’s how you can reduce the risks, but you need to have a lot of capital to make an investment.
Stay tuned to DeBay! | https://medium.com/debay-official/what-is-bitcoin-mining-part-2-11b603019c47 | [] | 2020-03-25 07:43:39.904000+00:00 | ['Fintech', 'Blockchain', 'Cryptocurrency', 'Bitcoin Mining', 'Bitcoin'] |
Visit One of the Nation’s Best Farmers Markets! | Voted one of the nation’s best farmers’ markets by Cooking Light Magazine, the Roadrunner Park Farmers Market is also one of the oldest operating in Arizona. Located near prestigious Paradise Valley, Roadrunner Park Farmers Market also offers one of the largest selections of produce, fresh chickens, and even grass-fed lamb.
The farmers market is open on Saturdays all year-round, with hours set, for the months June through September and October through May. Vendors at the park, also sell specialty foods, such as jams, jerky, chili, tamales, tortilla soup, among others.
Local farms make up most vendors, with a wide variety of produce and goods including:
Fresh vegetables & fruit
Baked goods
Honey
Jams and jellies
Natural pork, beef, and fish
Hand crafted items
Roadrunner Park
Located off Cactus Rd and North 36th street, Roadrunner Park is not only host to the farmers market, but a variety of other recreational activities that visitors can enjoy either before or after their visit.
The park itself offers lighted sports areas like the baseball field, a basketball court, tennis court, sand volleyball, and soccer field, a lagoon, a playground with a shaded overhang, a pool, outdoor grills, and picnic areas.
The Importance of Farmers Markets
Farmers markets are extremely important, for both the consumer and the farmer. Many successful national brands started at their local farmers market, including Blue Bottle Coffee, Hodo Foods, and Dave’s Killer Bread. Farmers markets are usually the first entry points for new farmers, ranchers, and food entrepreneurs, enabling them to get started selling their crops and produce to customers.
Farmers and ranchers receive 100% of the proceeds when selling at a farmers market, versus the 15 cents when using traditional food outlets.
In a 2017 survey by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), there were 2 million farms in the US, with 3.4 million producers working those farms. Beginning farmers grew to 27% that year, with the state of Alaska as a popular destination for those just starting to get into farming.
This is an important factor, as agriculture supplied $1.053 trillion dollars to the US gross domestic product (GDP) in that year; this number includes the $132.8 billion dollars that farming contributed to the economy. In 2018, food was the third ranked expense that American household’s pay, accounting for 12.9%, right behind transportation and housing.
As of 2019, our local food market doubled to $20.2 billion dollars. This growth has helped to bolster more support for farmers markets and home food growth. Here’s a fun infographic to see the impact of farmers markets:
Roadrunner Park Farmers Market is a great place, to not only get fresh and local produce, but if you’re starting out with your own crops, it’s a perfect place to meet other farmers, ranchers, and farm enthusiasts. You can check out more information about Roadrunner Park Farmers Market on their Facebook page, as well as the AZ Community Farmers Markets website.
If you’re interested in starting your own container farm, we’ve got a guide for that! Give us a call at 602.753.3469 for more information. | https://medium.com/@PureGreensAZLLC/visit-one-of-the-nations-best-farmers-markets-ae59f103130e | ['Pure Greens Arizona Llc'] | 2020-02-24 15:58:10.247000+00:00 | ['Farmers', 'Arizona', 'Vertical Farming', 'Farmers Market', 'Indoor Farming'] |
Quarantine Quashed My Creativity | Quarantine Quashed My Creativity
“It is easy to see the beginnings of things, and harder to see the ends.” -Joan Didion, Goodbye to All That.
I started 2020 so excited about possibility. The previous fall, I’d traded cowboy boots for platforms, ready to take a hit of that New York freedom; and it was truly intoxicating. I’d walk through Union Square belting Amy Winehouse, or parkour off a bodega wall, and no one gave a fuck. I paired socks and Chacos with men’s blazers and called it streetwear. I once sobbed during rush hour at the intersection of 67th and 1st, and a friend texted me after: “Congrats! You don’t live in NYC until you cry in public and nobody cares.” Those first six months in the city felt like one long sigh of relief.
young and in love
In woefully cliche fashion, I’d moved to New York to be a writer — and the place was brimming with stories. I kept little observation lists, like this one from a day on the subway:
relics of past life
I got to report on a badass dominatrix collective, and I finally felt solid enough to reckon with some old trauma. I also had two day jobs: tutoring kindergarten readers and bartending. The boundless, invigorating energy of tipsy adults and that of tiny humans bookended each day.
Then there was that fateful week in March, when our whole world changed. I lost both jobs, and like everyone else, most all human connection. Nine months later, the road ahead is still foggy.
Honestly, I haven’t felt creative in any way during quarantine. I could never get myself to hop on the sourdough train or try a new exercise or really do anything except binge watch Love Island UK (brain’s fried but she’s got good bant now). I barely wrote at all, because I had nothing to say, and I didn’t want to add to the noise. Every night I fell asleep to sirens and woke up to moving vans. The rich fled to the Hamptons, leaving the poor to pick up the pieces. As Megan Amram said, “Corona is a black light and America is a cum-stained hotel room.”
But while my own writing felt inconsequential, I was consistently amazed by others’ work— Ed Yong’s coverage in The Atlantic was a guiding light all year. This must-read piece in The New York Times so deeply humanized the statistics. Jiayang Fan wrote a personal story that I think about every single day. These authors brought me solace, as good writing often does, but also a renewed sense of purpose. Stories were clarity, and proof of our shared humanity.
This is all to say that… I’m writing again! The sweet angels of Medium have offered me a platform and the freedom to write on whatever feels right. Medium is where I first started sharing posts years ago, before I ever tried to wordbend professionally. I am excited to be back! I’ll be blogging here Wednesdays and Sundays, perhaps more if something crucial happens (i.e. Taylor drops a third album).
this reference is important
Speaking of ~culture~, I’ll leave you with a few things on my mind this week:
The extremely gothic Pharma Bro story. I have many questions but most importantly……WHY the creepy designer photo shoot…..
The stimulus package that will cover exactly 2 weeks of my NYC rent
Ariana’s ability to keep believing in love
Tonight’s Great Conjunction! Get your binoculars.
Future posts will look like Q&As, advice columns, book chats, and Drake-like stream of consciousnesses (kidding, maybe). I hope these lil blogs will feel like a comfy sweater and help quell some of the Sunday Scaries. If you’ve read this far, thank you! I’m feeling optimistic for the first time in awhile. Sending all the love and light for year’s end ❤ | https://medium.com/@meghangunn/quarantine-quashed-my-creativity-ad9ecef02f3c | ['Meghan Gunn'] | 2020-12-21 19:16:35.608000+00:00 | ['Blogging', 'New York City', 'Culture', 'New Blog', 'Love Island'] |
Get rid of your monolithic software supply chain | This month has demonstrated that no software supply chain is strong enough to withstand a determined cyber attacker. Instead of building stronger supply chains, consider creating multiple supply chains with overlapping capabilities for your critical business processes.
TL; DR
FireEye, a cybersecurity firm, had their tool SolarWinds breached by a hacking group believed to be affiliated with the Russian Government.
The hack caused SolarWinds to distribute trojan viruses to Fortune 500 companies, all branches of the US military, the Pentagon, and the US State Department, among others.
No one is immune from the interconnected web of software supply chain dependencies of their own internal or 3rd party applications.
To build a better supply chain, build multiple overlapping chains that watch each other in a “separation of duties” and “zero-trust” environment.
The unbreakable chain
Every organization is a hostage to its supply chain. Outsourcing is so pervasive that it has almost become irresponsible not to engage dozens of other organizations to deliver specialized services at a lower cost. For a Security Pro, this means running down the rabbit hole of subcontractors’ subcontractors and exhausting audit resources trying to find and mitigate the weakest link.
Supply Chain security can seem like an endless maze of subcontractors.
The recent hack of SolarWinds by FireEye should be sobering to anyone that relies upon a single vendor, tool, or product to deliver a critical business service. But these warnings have been here for a long time.
FireEye is one of the world’s top cybersecurity firms with major government and enterprise customers around the world. The company is known for its top-notch research on state-sponsored threat actors and its incident response capabilities. Over the years it was called to investigate some of the most high-profile breaches in governments and organizations.
For example, on March 22, 2016, Azer Koçulu, a 28-year-old programmer, deleted ‘left-pad’ (along with 273 other packages), 11 lines of elementary javascript, designed to add characters to the beginning of a string. The code is so simple that most programmers could be taught to write it within their first week of programming. However, instead of writing this code, React (a popular Javascript framework created by Facebook with ~250k daily downloads in 2016) developers included ‘left-pad’ as a dependency. This means that every organization that trusted React was also trusting Azer, and they all had to rebuild their applications when Azer took his code off the Internet. If anything, this problem has only gotten worse since 2016.
Building mighty chains
Your Security Pro, even with an unlimited budget and countless analysts, could not evaluate every node, patch, update, or line of code in the interconnected web of your organization's software supply chain. Similarly, your attorneys cant write contracts long enough to mitigate the risk of one node’s node being vulnerable to state-sponsored cyber attacks. So how does an organization build a mighty chain that keeps the organization running even during an attack?
Define your business-critical systems and workflows Use separation of duties to break up segments of the critical paths between vendors. Overlap capability sets to reduce single points of failure. Implement a “zero trust” environment for every node in your supply chain, with each node watching and supporting the other nodes. Minimize overlapping dependencies. Demand a comprehensive security plan from each vendor, and ensure that plan asks for one from each node in its critical path.
Break up all of the single supply chains holding you back from achieving operational reliance in your business process.
Many organizations seek out monolithic apparatuses with proven track records of performance in their industry to reduce complexity and costs. The vulnerability we learned this month is that no one is immune from cyberattacks, and every single point of failure will fail, given enough time and pressure. Multiple adequate supply chains will provide better protection than one monolith. | https://medium.com/@nmatlach/get-rid-of-your-monolithic-software-supply-chain-969c63dd5aaa | ['Nick Matlach'] | 2020-12-23 16:14:03.588000+00:00 | ['Security', 'Infosec', 'Supply Chain', 'Cybersecurity', 'Software Development'] |
Role of 5 Amal Totkay (Hacks) in changing my Fixed Mindset to Growth Mindset. | Life can be changed in a moment or can never be changed through the complete life. I have always struggled for my life, which I am going to do with my life. I was sailing the boat my life without a navigator. Then luckily I got into Amal Academy. Here the top 5 totkay that helped me navigate the direction where I should go and what should I do with my life.
Self Talk Get out of your comfort zone Create new habit Ask people help Fake it till you make it
Self Talk:
In our life, it happens whenever we don’t have anyone to share our problems, issues, or ideas then the best thing we can is Self-Talk. I always talk with myself and sort out my ideas. Self-Talk helps me figure out the solution to any problem I am facing. Self-talking helps us to know more and more about ourselves. The more you know about yourself, the more you likely to know the root cause of your problems. Self-talking boosts your mind neurons to think about a certain situation and get ready for it.
Get out of the comfort zone
Have you ever felt that you cannot do the task, cannot do the project work. Well this is all because of your comfort zone. In your comfort zone, your mind doesn’t like to do work that requires more energy and thinking. I had the same problem, I could not do the work which required critical thinking. Then I start doing the critical thinking work slowly. Then it becomes my habit. Now I always find time to complete my work. This is the reason why you should push yourself from your comfort zone.
Create Habits
Creating new habits start producing more neurons in our mind. This helps us to push ourselves from the comfort zone. So if you really want to shift your fixed mindset to a growth mindset then you must create new habits.
Ask People Help
The above 3 steps become really harder when you start working, when this happens to you then you can ask other people’s help. People will help you to create new habits and getting you out of the comfort zone.
Fake it until you make it
Final and most important step shifting your fixed mindset to a growth mindset. Whatever your goals are, start faking it that you already have completed the goal for example if your goal is to become CSS Officer then you should start faking it that you are already an officer. Now when you start faking it then your mind will automatically try to pursue it and push you to do all the work which is required. | https://medium.com/age-of-awareness/role-of-5-amal-totkay-in-changing-my-fixed-mindset-to-growth-mindset-2752636796a8 | ['Saif Ur Rehman'] | 2021-05-06 02:56:33.735000+00:00 | ['Life', 'Lifehacks', 'Growth Mindest', 'Motivation', 'Fixed Mindset'] |
6 Rules for Dodging Harmful Eating During Pregnancy | No time is nutrition more necessary in a woman’s life than when she is holding a baby. This time is abounding with concerns about getting adequate vitamins and minerals and not consuming anything dangerous.
The more we are begging to understand about our meals and what chemicals are operating in them and on them the more apprehensive we become as mothers. Trans fats, saturated fats, unpasteurized milk, reconstituted corn syrup, genetically modified soybean, mercury in fish, pesticides on fruits, sugar, salts; it is virtually impossible to know what a mother should consume.
Here is a list of simple to follow rules for withdrawing unhealthy consumption during pregnancy:
1. Dodge reconstituted anything: Read the labels if you view reconstitutes corn syrup, fruit juice, any element put the produce back on the counter. Reconstituted means they got the raw elements, modified them in some way, and applied what was left to create this product. It is hard to say what variety of ingredients is being utilized when something has been reconstituted. During your pregnancy, it is extremely safer to go for products applying whole components such as fresh fruit juices without additives.
2. Calcium is so valuable in pregnancy. You require around 1,500 mg of calcium every day to fulfill enough to the organism for bone growth and stop dropping bone mass. The best source of calcium is surely dairy as long as it is pasteurized. Cheeses, creams, milk, yogurt, ice cream can all be consumed in moderation if you review the label and it surely states the goods have been pasteurized. If you are uncertain try tofu, salmon, or green leafy vegetables.
3. Countless women prefer to steer clear of meats during their pregnancy. This is not required. There are some easy rules for storing meats saved though. Cook all meats completely, do not feed any meat raw or rare. Avid deli and prepared meats, can be a source of listeriosis. Dodge pre-stuffed meat items.
4. Seafood can cause some women to be alert but, like meat, if it is cooked accurately it is harmless. Dodge any raw or undercooked fish, such as sushi. Dodge local fish grabbed during pollution warnings. Canned fish is fine. Big fish like swordfish and sharks can include mercury so it may be greatest to pick various kinds during pregnancy.
5. Drink 2–3 liters of water a day. Most cities in advanced nations have totally safe drinking water but in order to be saved, you may require to get your water examined or invest in a water filter. Keeping a bottle of chilled water in the ridge can support prompting some women to absorb more but invest in a glass bottle or a stainless steel bottle to withdraw decay from repeated usage of plastic bottles.
6. Go organic: The price of organic foods can be restrictive for some people and there is quite restricted proof to display feeding genetically modified foods when pregnancy can harm your baby but there are also quite insufficient long term investigations which intimate there are no long term consequences from consuming genetically modified foods while pregnant. If there was every time to go organic it is during your pregnancy.
Outcomes
I hope these 6 points about pregnancy food not least help you to understand during pregnancy what to eat and what not to eat or how much calcium you consume in a day. I must prefer you to eat healthily before conceiving and after birth plus during the time. If you are eating healthy then your baby is eating healthy. As we know that every food has blended with a chemical during the grown time but not organic. Organic food is free of chemical or healthy food. Natures Cart provides you the organic fruit and vegetables, fresh fruit and veg, and gives you the facility to make your own fruit and veg boxes in Melbourne Australia. Our aim to serve you the better quality of organic food at the lowest price at your front door or Australian Community. For the shop visit our website.
Read More: 6 Tips For High-Quality Natural Skin Care — For Free | https://medium.com/@welleating/6-rules-for-dodging-harmful-eating-during-pregnancy-29772bdb6fba | ['Ankit Smith'] | 2020-12-15 04:49:07.573000+00:00 | ['Food', 'Life', 'Women', 'Nutrition', 'Pregnancy'] |
Forgiveness: Relief from Hatred. | Imagine you are in your old school, n now is the last class, the arts class.
You are taking out your newly brought colors, n showing them to your old school friends smiling and charming and are excited which drawing will you do today or which activity is gonna be there today.
As you are chatting, the teacher comes in and intuitively asks the class, do you hate someone ? Even though the class was only of 7th Std, folks were shouting out loud speaking Yes they do.
So the teacher was a bit surprised, but continued and shared the idea that tomorrow each one of you will bring as many potatoes as many people you hate and write the person’s name you hate the most. After the activity was done folks were told to keep these potatoes within their sack for 7 days. Teacher at the end mentioned that on the 7th day your hatred will vanish.
The Students got excited and got the potatoes the next day. Some got 2, some 3 and some even got 5 potatoes in their sack, in the hope and kinda magic they wanted to see how hate can vanish.
(Well may be more than hate to these little hearts, vanishing might have been something more intriguing isn’t it ?)
As discussed the day before, every student wrote the name of the person on potatoes, whom they hated the most. Later everyday they carried potatoes. Three days passed by, from the 4th day student’s started complaining, about the smell of the potatoes getting rotten, also how heavy the potatoes were which they had to bear everyday.
Soon the 7th day came, and the teacher asked how do you feel about the people, potatoes I mean, which you had been carrying my young friends. Students broke out loudly with complaints of foul smell, of heavy weight they were carrying everyday and how unhappy they got in the 7 days time.
The teacher finally after listening to her class, said to students this is just a potato, which you could not bear just for 7 days, and god knows for how long you all had been bearing the hate regards to people in your tender hearts. Like potatoes, the hatred when beared in hearts everyday, starts to become heavy and you start disliking yourself because of the feeling you get if you see that person around or think about them.
Hate only increases when you remember the person, or meet them. Hate doesn’t do any good, so today you can throw this rotten potato and also throw away the hate from your hearts about the people and forgive the people you hate. You may remember the good time you had with the people and enjoy your time loving and respecting what you have.
Moral: Hatred when brought to heart, stays and builds heaviness in hearts whereas if you bring forgiveness in the heart it removes all the hatred and makes your heart feel light and charming about this gift we all have i.e Life.
Well this is a story which I read and is not solely mine but still if you relate to it I would love to hear the genuine experience of yours in the comments.
Join me on this 15 story journey.
Here is my previous story if you like to give a read.
#S2: Thank you: A story of bravery. | https://medium.com/@yuvrajdhepe/forgiveness-relief-from-hatred-5fba7ea3943b | ['Yuvraj Dhepe'] | 2020-12-12 16:35:07.832000+00:00 | ['Learning', 'Storytelling', 'Forgiveness', 'Children', 'Class'] |
Building Intangibles in the Business — Are We Doing Consciously? | Intangibles account for 87% of the business valuation in S&P 500 as per a study done in 2015. In 1975, it was 17%.
Building and enhancing Intangibles in businesses are therefore essential to create long-term value.
How do businesses do that, in a conscious way?
First and foremost, it requires thinking beyond ROI for every decision that we make. It requires planning and strategising beyond the quarter, the year.
Second, it requires investment in people, nurturing talent — in leaders, teams within the business.
Third is building a Brand, backed by values, culture, reputation and recall.
Fourth is to build and nurture positive relationships, consciously, at all levels — employees, customers, vendors, service providers, investors…
Many successful businesses prioritize on building Intangibles for creating long-term value.
It’s worth recalling what Tony Hsieh of Zappos once famously said — “Just because you can’t measure the ROI of something doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it. What’s the ROI of hugging your mom?”
#ceo #leadership #scaleup #intangibles | https://medium.com/@pknarayanan/building-intangibles-in-the-business-are-we-doing-consciously-b24e33b0f816 | ['Pk Narayanan', 'Ceo Coach'] | 2020-12-03 04:36:40.120000+00:00 | ['Leadership', 'CEO', 'Intangibles', 'Scaleup'] |
Model Performance Parameters of Binary Classification Algorithms | True positives, False positives, Confusion matrix, Recall, Precision, Accuracy. These terms have been eating the heads of any beginner machine learning enthusiast for some time. This is an attempt to simplify those parameters that are crucial in determining the performance of a binary classification model. A binary classification model is an algorithm used to predict the probability of occurrence of an event( i.e, either the event will happen or it will not). It is binary because there are only two possibilities(either yes or no). These performance calculating matrices maybe used in higher level classification algorithms(more than two possibilities of classification), but this article is restricted to the binary aspect. Common examples of binary classification algorithms are logistic regression, Support vector classifiers, Naive Bayes classifiers etc.
Let us first understand a few basic terminologies with the help of an example. Imagine that there is a hospital which is trying to predict if a patient has the susceptibility to have diabetes in future by seeing his medical conditions. They have built a binary model from the past data of their patients and are comparing the predicted results with the actual results. Here the algorithm is trying to predict the probability of a possible diabetes. Hence, 1 is coded as a yes case(the person can have diabetes).
Please note that an event is a case of something new happening( a case of diabetes) and a non-event is the status quo or not happening(a case of no-diabetes).
So, when a patient actually had diabetes and the algorithm correctly identifies it, it is called as a True positive(1,1). When a patient did not have diabetes and the algorithm correctly classifies it as a ‘no diabetes’ or ‘no’ case, it creates a situation of True negative(0,0). Both these predictions are the successful predictions made by the algorithm. These parameters are used to find the accuracy of a model(which we will see later).
When a patient who actually did not have diabetes is classified by the algorithm as someone who has diabetes, this is a case called False positive(0,1). This is an error of the algorithm which is also popularly called as a Type 1 error of Alpha error. This happens when we actually did not have enough evidence to reject the null hypothesis(Class 0), but we rejected it anyways. Similarly, When a patient who actually had diabetes is classified by the algorithm as a ‘no diabetes’ case, it is called as a False negative(1,0). This error is also termed as a Type 2 error or Beta error. This happens when we failed to reject the null hypothesis even though we had enough evidence to do so. Controlling these misclassifications is one of the biggest challenges for a machine learning scientist as these are complementary to each other(as one decreases, other increase).
Now let us see the performance matrices which decide the effectiveness of a model.
Confusion Matrix: A confusion matrix is a 2*2 matrix which depicts these correct classifications and misclassifications in a tabular form. Generally, we show the actual cases as the rows and the predicted cases as the columns.
Here, we see that when the predicted case(column) and the actual case(row) is 1, the resulting box gives you the number of true positives in the data and so on. This is a raw matrix from where we derive insights about the performance of our model.
Now, Let us see what these performance parameters are and what information they carry. Please note that all these parameters range from 0 to 1, where 1 can be interpreted as 100%.
Accuracy: If you are throwing a dart to a board,accuracy is the measure of how close you were to the bull’s eye. See the figure of a hypothetical dart board. Imagine that hitting the inside circle gives you the maximum point. You had five chances to throw and you managed to hit two times inside the inner circle. Then you can calculate your accuracy as 2/5.
In classification, the accuracy is a measure of the models’ correct prediction to the overall number of predictions it made. The correct predictions are the true positives and the true negatives. Hence, It can be expressed as,
See that the denominator is the sum of true predictions and the wrong predictions.
Error Rate: Error rate is the complement of accuracy. From the dart board, it will be the measure of the number of hits outside the inner circle(which is 3/5). In classification, It is defined as the ratio of number of wrong predictions made to the total number of predictions made. It is expressed as,
Accuracy and Error rate are general parameters which only give an overall idea of the model performance. To specifically understand how the model fares on a data in depth, We should probably understand the below mentioned parameters.
Precision: If you go back to the dart board example, precision is a measure of how spread your hits are. Even when your hits are away from the inner circle, it can be high in precision if they all are crowded to a small portion on the board. Hence if your hits are spread out on the board, it is low on precision and vice versa.
In machine learning context, Particularly in the binary classification context, It is the ratio of true events (1,1) predicted out of all the events predicted (1,1 and 0,1). In simpler language, how many times has the machine correctly predicted the happening of a true positive case out of all the positive case (true and false positives) predicted by it. Basically it says, how correct or pure are you in predicting positive cases!
Mathematically it can be expressed as,
Precision is an important parameter which helps us to control the number of false positives in prediction. This aspect will be discussed later in the article.
Recall: Similar to precision, Recall also tells about the number of positive predictions, but there is a small change. Recall is the ratio of true events(1,1) predicted out of all the events(1,1 and 1,0) actually happened. In simpler language, how many times has the machine correctly predicted the happening of a true positive case out of all the positive case (true positives and false negatives) actually occurred. Basically it says, how accurate are you in finding the positive cases.
Mathematically it can be expressed as,
The Recall is also termed as sensitivity or even as true positive rate. This parameter is important in reducing the number of False negatives, an aspect which will be discussed later in the article.
Specificity: Specificity is the opposite of what a recall is. This is the rate of True negatives. Hence it is also called as True negative rate. It is defined as the ratio of prediction of true non-events(0,0) out of all the non-events that happened(0,0 and 0,1). In simpler language, how many times has the machine correctly predicted the happening of a true negative case out of all the negative cases(true negatives and false positives) that happened. Basically, it is the accuracy of non-events predicted.
Mathematically it can be expressed as,
F1-Score: Often, a machine learning student gets confused about which metric to give importance to. Since, Precision and Recall are complementary, we need a comparison parameter from which we can compare the performance of multiple models. A solution to this issue is the F1-score. F1-score is the harmonic mean of both precision and recall and it is that single metric for comparison. Higher the F1-score, better the model is.
Mathematically it can be expressed as,
ROC curve: One of the important dilemma to a student is where to fix the cut off or threshold for the predicted probabilities. The model built by the algorithm gives a probability value for the output which ranges from 0 to 1, rather than a definite output. And by default, it keeps the cut off as 0.5( i.e., it classifies the outputs greater than a probability of 0.5 as 1 and vice versa, if it is modelling for 1). The ROC curve or the Receiver Operating Characteristic curve provides us with the optimum value of the threshold to be selected. It plots a graph between the true positive rates (or Sensitivity or Recall) and the false positive rates( or 1-Specificity) for every value of the cut off. The curves you see in the figure are drawn by altering the cut off value from minimum to maximum.
Let us understand what does a change in cut off value does. For example if my diabetes finding algorithm classifies a patient as 0 or 1( no or yes) based on a cut off of 0.5, and i change the cut off to 0.6, now i am allowing comparatively lesser ‘yes’ cases to appear in my results and simultaneously it increases the ‘no’ cases. The take away from this is that changing the cut off or threshold changes the true positive rates and the false positive rates and the effect is opposite to each other. Now go back to the curves, Each curve( curve 1, 2 , 3) represent a different model and all of them has a peculiar behavior which is related to the slope of the curves.
When the cut off is set as 0, It means all the classification outputs are 1. Hence, there are no true negatives as well as false negatives and correspondingly it means that both the true positive and the false positive rates are 1(i.e., top right corner of the space). Conversely, when the cut off is 1, all the positive predictions disappear and hence the True positives and false positives are 0 (bottom left corner). The diagonal on the space represents a model of random guessing(like tossing an unbiased coin) and any model below that (or on the diagonal) is said to be poor.
Any machine learning scientists’ aim is to increase the true positives and reduce the false positives and hence we find the optimum threshold value at that point where the curve makes the elbow( or where the pace of change in FPR starts to overtake the change in TPR). This point is said to be the one closest to the top left corner of the ROC space (or B(0,1)). This is because an ideal model will try to make a curve where the True positive rate is 1 and False positive rate is 0( i.e., it tries to touch point B). This is represented by curve 1. The area under this curve is called as AUC (Area under the curve) metric and it has a maximum value of 1( Since the ideal model will make a square of area 1 when it starts from A, touches B and ends at C). When we compare different models, we select the one which has the maximum AUC value and we select the cut off as the point closest to the top left corner.
The Model makers’ Dilemma: If we compare building a machine learning model as cooking a curry, we can say that the vegetables are the data and the utensils are the languages, packages and software we use. But what makes the curry tasty? It is the business knowledge or the domain knowledge that acts as the spices and other ingredients of a useful and employable model. Understanding the problem at hand in the context of the business it is part of is the most important aspect of model building. To decide a cut off means to to find a balance between true positives, true negatives , false positives and false negatives. These issues would not have raised if the classes were perfectly separable and there was adequate gap between them( the ideal case). But we live in a world of chaos and imperfection, so is our data which exist with noise and overlaps. Hence, a scientist has to make certain trade offs or accommodate one type of mistake in order to make a useful gain which will only make sense in that particular business context and this is unique to each problem at hand and there is no one button solution to every machine learning problem.
One such aspect is called the Precision- Recall Trade-off which is just a decision of prioritizing between False positives and False negatives respectively( compare the equations of precision and accuracy to see how they are dependent on these two parameters). We cannot have both high in a real case scenario and has to decide which one to prioritize.
For example, let us consider spam email filtering as a case. Here a False positive means classifying a normal email as spam and a false negative means classifying a spam email as a normal email. For a user, seeing a spam email in his inbox wont be as fatal as missing out an important mail because the agorithm sent it to the spam folder. Hence, in this case we need more precision. One thing we have to understand is that to get more precision, we have to increase the threshold(which will allow only values closer to 1 to be classified as 1 adn hence reducing the false positives).
In the opposite case, let us imagine a credit card fraud detection algorithm. A false positive is when a normal transaction is flagged as fraud and a false negative is when a fraudulent transaction is missed and allowed as normal transaction. A company can accommodate and try to repair the dissatisfaction of a normal customer whose transaction was blocked due to false fraud call, but think about the case when it fails to identify a fraud. They might have to bear huge Financial and credibility damages in a false negative case. Hence, Recall is the important metric here. This logic applies for my diabetes example too. It is okay to misclassify a normal patient as a future diabetic and take adequate care than to miss a real future diabetic due to low recall. To increase recall, the threshold has to be decreased from its default.
Another aspect of dilemma is the Accuracy- Latency Trade-off where the choice is between a faster output or a more accurate output. This is crucial in cases where the real time outputs are required and we have to accommodate some errors in the classifications made.
The final call rests within the creator whose understanding of the problem plays the key role in the sustainability and applicability of the model in the real world. This is the reason why collaboration of the data scientists and the business specialists of the team becomes an important indicator of project success. | https://liginsgeorge.medium.com/model-performance-parameters-of-binary-classification-algorithms-3e08063c3c6c | ['Ligin Saju George'] | 2020-11-21 10:10:38.431000+00:00 | ['Machine Learning', 'Data Analytics', 'Data Science', 'Logistic Regression', 'Supervised Learning'] |
I don’t want 2b hear! | Het readers, several writers ..
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On Medium, R protesting ..
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Mistreatment of writers like indentured
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servants to “Read Time” instead of Claps
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Did ewe know writers on Medium
.
.
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Get paid less than McDonald’s
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Amazon
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,
Walmart
,
,,
UPS & Oops
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Ewe are getting paid <$0.10 per piece.
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Read time is Medium’s way of exploiting writers
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.
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While starving Short story writers.
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‘.
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Starving Poets ..
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Make Prose writers pugnacious by starvation
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Medium won’t change.
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But, I will not change either.
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Tit
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TnA
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4
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Th@
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Thanks for fewer patience, hear goez..
Hey, mocking byrd, tell me a tail?
eh, don’t ewe(유) mock me
How about U Cumulus Nimbus?
eck, kan ewe take me (미) away from here?
Transpire as.u in2 Global Warming?
sk,like H20spouts in tepid Great Lakes?
Teach me the ways of loving<, then
Hrow me 2the bitches of Mars
Bearing our children past impotence
ff..fly away Scrub.J 2a wilder space
I’ve got clouds talking nonstop 2미
ve got Lucifer inside, so have ewe & you
She’s sewn her broken hart in2 all DNA
히’ll break ur children’s heart in2
Infinity will drive them 2BiPo. 오?
‘mmm, as mother eARTh has been raped for 5 mil
Nah, make them wish upon a sun 2b set free
ot like me, fr this chromosome weather X or Y
Thanks 4the pep talk 2stay, Stratus’ weeping
I’m grounded every night 2 know choice. & say no (노)
I’ll never choose again; learned my ABC & 123
’ll stay wild without words like in Auschwitz
A higher language 2return 2feral b4 the mas’a
ll in favor 4 rage & loneliness 2 keep u.s. hear? 캐?
In my DNA is unrefutable truth & wise-cracks
my unbelief, eye snort, “Never 2 C the light”
Sigh, rever 2b re-united with our sun
Never 2b free or always too liberated?
I was never here; my eye nose th@ now
s it done? Me as a liar? Oui, I am not here
Typing my selfis fibs 2a medium
B. Consumption, butt Social Security is reel
Ass ewe & 미
ThenIdentity is a joke
Jeez
amal or is it Mahal?
Fin | https://medium.com/@1jay/i-dont-want-2b-hear-a3462ff9aede | [] | 2020-12-27 15:29:56.763000+00:00 | ['Mental Illness', 'Ontology', 'Christianity', 'Fatherhood', 'Poetry'] |
What’s Your Millionaire Morning Routine? | Even if you haven’t heard about the benefits of having a morning ritual or routine, you can probably guess some of the most common morning practices: Eating a good breakfast, getting some exercise, maybe doing a spiritual practice whether it’s prayer, or meditation, or making a gratitude list; many top entrepreneurs will swear by the power of waking up every morning at set time, many swear by 5am… And yes, absolutely these are all great strategies for a good morning routine, but the truth is that there is no “correct” or “perfect” morning routine that is guaranteed to be effective for every type of person. And anyway, you’re not here because you are looking for just any old morning routine. You are here to get YOUR Millionaire Morning Routine!
I’m not going to tell you any one way is the exact way, because you are not a commodity. You’re a wonderful human being with your own unique strengths and weaknesses. And here’s what that means… the exact way will always be inextricably your way, the way that best fits you and all of our unique wonderful quirks and needs and habits and preferences. We can however, and we will today, simply finding your Millionaire Morning Routine.
Lao Tzu said, “Knowing others is wisdom, knowing yourself is enlightenment.”
So right now, let’s go over some of the 4 most common ways that the world’s most successful entrepreneurs set themselves up for big wins using a Millionaire Morning Routine.
YOUR Time to Rise
I believe it was J.M. Power who once said, “If you want to make your dreams come true, the first thing you have to do is wake up,” so let’s jump right in and discuss your perfect wake-up time.
Many successful people will attest that early-rising is the key to success, and while there are some amazing benefits to rising with the sun, the truth is that knowing what time of the day YOU are the most productive and creative is the key to YOUR entrepreneurial success.
For me it’s 5:34 I wake up naturally at 5:34 almost every day. I look at my phone and that’s the time. It used to be a weird coincidence but after years I just see it as a sign that I’m treating myself right and so it starts me off feeling balanced and ready. So when I hop out of bed to start my own Morning ritual, I start the day happy, filled with purpose and even when my energy is low I have my routine to lift my energy up, filling my cup so that I can share my energy with all of my clients. But… if I need to set an alarm for 4am to go skiing or catch an early flight, I wake up bleary and oh gosh, I remember waking up for skiing at 4:30 and taking one step out of bed so sore from the day before my quadriceps just said UM NO, and I felt right to the floor. I was just crying all the way to the shower, confused and well… I felt like “that alarm attacked me!” Not exactly a great morning routine.
If the dynamic hours of your business happen during that good old 9–5, then waking up between 5–6:30am could very well be your Millionaire Morning Ritual sweet spot. Waking up at 5 will give you plenty of time to enjoy your routine before you need to deal with the agenda of the day. But, consider this, if you are in the night owl game, such as a restaurateur, who loves to keep big things happening well into the early morning hours, then you’ll want to adjust your rise and shine to best suit your needs so you don’t get attacked by your alarm, like I did.
Here’s a surprising tip for those of you who find your creativity gets sparked by that midnight oil: Instead of sleeping late into the morning and staying up until early the next day, have you tried going to bed earlier, and then waking up around 2 or 3am? It’s not as crazy as it sounds! If your creative fires get stoked during those quiet hours of peaceful starlit solitude, you can turn that fire into an inferno by giving yourself 6–8 hours of solid rest beforehand.
Here are 2 key points to consider when choosing your perfect time to rise:
Be Consistent. Whatever time you choose as your magical morning power hour, going to sleep and waking up around the same time each day allows your circadian rhythm to get synced up with your entrepreneurial success.
Allot YOU Time. The activities you choose for your morning routine MUST include the things that serve your mind, body, and soul. Allot enough time for what brings you more joy, more health, and more energy.
Next, let’s talk about:
YOUR Time to Refuel
Maybe you’re the type of entrepreneur who luxuriates in a cup of coffee first thing, the type who needs an hour to stretch and hydrate before they start getting hungry, the type who arises hungry as bear craving a hearty breakfast — the most important thing for your Millionaire Morning Routine is giving your body what it needs to win the day.
Benjamin Franklin preferred to spend an hour meditating on the “Powerful Goodness,” he wanted to create that day, reviewing his to-do list, and journaling before having his breakfast. It’s worth mentioning, just for posterity, that he would spend this first hour buck-naked, just because. So yeah, you do you. The exact way really is always going to be in essence, your way.
Winston Churchill would wake-up around 7:30 every day and have his breakfast in bed while he read his mail, and caught up on all of the national newspapers.
Barack Obama reviews his next-day documents the night before, after his daughters have gone to bed. He’ll regularly stay up reviewing tomorrow’s agenda until around 10pm, because he enjoys having extra time for breakfast with his family the next morning.
Oprah prefers to take two hours to walk her dogs, meditate, drink some espresso, and break a little sweat before she sits down to breakfast.
Here’s what’s most important for ALL types of entrepreneurs to keep in mind when determining YOUR time to refuel:
Hydration is life. No matter what your entrepreneurial type, you have much to gain from scheduling your morning water intake.
Choose fuel that gives you energy. Some entrepreneurs need a hearty protein-rich breakfast to get their engines running while others thrive on a nutrient-rich power shake and a handful of almonds. Honor your process, and stick with what feels great to you.
Now let’s talk about:
YOUR Time to Ramp Up
Some Entrepreneurial types include a strenuous workout into their Millionaire Morning Routine, such as weight-lifting or an hour of power yoga. Other entrepreneurs hit the morning magic bullseye with a brisk walk in the fresh air, or a slow deep stretching routine — and prefer to save the more high-intensity workouts for the end of the day, to help them reset and burn off excess energy before winding down for the night.
Anna Wintour of Vogue magazine starts each morning with an hour-long tennis match, but Henry David Thoreau will tell you that, “An early morning walk is a blessing for the whole day.”
Whatever level of intensity, or duration of time you choose to spend getting your body moving and your blood flowing in the morning, the most important thing any type of entrepreneur needs to remember is just to be consistent, and choose a physical activity that you truly enjoy.
And finally we have:
YOUR Time to Reflect
For my own Millionaire Morning Routine, time to reflect is my absolute favorite. For me, this means gratitude journaling. Reflecting on my gratitude first thing in the morning gives me exactly the right dose of morning magic I need to win my day. I’ll often include things that I am working towards, as though they’ve already happened. This is how I unleash my enthusiasm and align myself with my goals for the day. Your time to reflect is all about creating the mindset that will make you feel powerful, capable, and grounded in your big why.
Ariana Huffington does deep breathing exercises and sets an intention for the day.
Shonda Rimes journals and listens to NPR’s Morning Edition.
Elon Musk spends time with his sons.
Oprah meditates for 20 minutes.
Steve Jobs started every day by asking himself, “if today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I’m about to do today?” And if the answer is no, he adds something to his agenda that will increase his joy. I’ve recently added this to my morning journaling and it’s created some serious positive changes, for one I feel more in control of my day, I feel I have chosen this day, I feel I’m taking good care of myself, my family, and the world on this day when I begin with a game changing question like “if today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I’m about to do today?” It has actually increased my water intake. It sounds funny but I had some left over mindset from my days as an athlete where I would push my body to its limits, but when I put that left over mindset of push push push to the Steve Jobs question, it seems pretty obvious that hydration is going to be a part of my day, because it’s vital for doing what you love.
Some other common practices successful entrepreneurs use to reflect includes prayer, reviewing your goals, listing all your wins from the day before, sending good morning texts to your loved ones, or spending a little extra time in bed snuggling with your partner.
Different types of entrepreneurs are inspired in many different ways. Whatever inspires you, whatever stirs your heart, whatever brings your love for what you do and how you do it bubbling up to the surface — whatever that special practice may be — It deserves a place of high honor in your Millionaire Morning Routine. | https://medium.com/@canonwing/whats-your-millionaire-morning-routine-75518a8cad1 | ['Canon Wing'] | 2021-07-06 20:40:47.641000+00:00 | ['Millionaire Mindset', 'Business Strategy', 'Business Owner', 'Millionaire', 'Morning Routines'] |
Two Key — but ignored— Steps to Solving Any Math Problem | Here’s a strange question.
How many degrees are in a Martian circle?
And I am serious. I want you to answer it. Go!
The Nature of Mathematics
Mathematics is a human endeavour, created (or discovered?) by humans for humans, and as such is a fundamentally human experience. It is a glorious subject chock full of passion and emotion. Why else does Sir Andrew Wiles cry on camera in the 1996 BBC Horizon’s documentary when describing his journey in solving Fermat’s Last Theorem?
Every challenge or problem we encounter in mathematics (or life!) elicits a human response. The dryness of textbooks and worksheets in the school world might suggest otherwise, but connecting with one’s emotions is fundamental and vital for success — and of course, joy — in doing mathematics.
So… Experience mathematics as a human! Help your students do so too!
Answering Strange Questions
There are two key first steps to solving any given challenge. These steps are so fundamental, so important, and really will help you and your students make serious progress. I’ve never seen them explicitly stated — perhaps another consequence of the disconnect between school curriculum culture and the actual practice of mathematics — so let’s remedy that now.
STEP 1 to PROBLEM SOLVING: Have an emotional reaction.
We can’t help it. We are each human and we react emotionally to challenges. So acknowledge your human self by pausing to acknowledge your human response to a problem. That is, explicitly take note of your internal state and give it voice. Doing so gives one’s emotions a place to sit and simply be, and not overwhelm.
If a challenge looks scary, say to yourself, “This looks scary.” If it looks fun or intriguing, say “Wow! Cool!” or “Wow. Weird. Could this be true?” If you are suspicious, say “Ooh. Could matters be this straightforward?” If you are flummoxed and don’t have a clue what to do, acknowledge that and say “I don’t know what to do!”
Next step is to take a deep breath and …
STEP 2 to PROBLEM SOLVING: Do something! ANYTHING!
The key is to work past any emotional block that might hold you back. Turn the problem page upside down, draw a diagram, draw a tree, circle some words, answer a different question that might or might not be related. Simply force yourself to actually do something with no expectation of it leading you down the right path — or down any path for that matter. Really, just do something!
I cannot underestimate the power of taking a piece of action of any kind. (In fact this, I think, is my greatest wish for mankind, for everyone to have the confidence and sense of agency to do something — anything! — in reaction to a problem or challenge in life and not to sit completely stymied and stuck.)
An Example: Putting these Steps into Action
I chose the Martian question here as it is so “out of this world” that you really might be flummoxed by it. (Did you say, “I don’t know what to do!”?) What could the question possibly be asking?
In order to DO SOMETHING, let’s not answer that question and answer an easier question instead. Why not?
How many degrees are in an Earthling’s circle?
Well, we Earthling’s say that there are 360 degrees in a circle.
This now begs the question
Why that number? Who chose the number 360 for the count of degrees in a circle?
And when you sit with this question for a while you might realize that this number is very close to a count in a regular, cyclic phenomenon we humans experience: the count of days in a year.
Babylonian scholars of 4000 years ago were very much aware that the count of days in year is 365¼. Shouldn’t we be saying then that there are 365¼ degrees in a circle?
The answer to this question might be clear, and very human: Who wants to do mathematics with the number 365¼? It’s a very awkward number! The natural thing to do is to round it to a friendlier value.
If we round the number 365¼ to the nearest five or the nearest ten we get 365 and 370, not the number 360. Why did we humans decide to round down to 360?
Let’s continue to be very human.
Thousands of years ago there were no calculators and all arithmetic had to be conducted by hand or in one’s head. It is natural to work then with a number that is amenable to easy calculation.
Often in mathematics we want to divide numbers by two and we see already that choosing 365 as the count of degrees in a circle is unfriendly. Both 370 and 360 are even at the least.
We often want to divide things by three as well, and 360 is now looking good! In fact one realizes that 360 is a much friendlier number for arithmetic over 370: it is divisible by three, four, five, six, eight, nine, ten, twelve, fifteen, eighteen, twenty, and more! Whoa!
So for two very human reasons — what we experience on this planet and our desire to avoid awkward work — we settled on the number 360 for the count of degrees in a circle.
Can we now answer how many degrees are in a Martian circle? What do we need to know?
Martians might follow same reasoning we humans did, but in their context. So we need to know how many Martian days (we call them sols) are in a Martian year.
Each sol is 24 hours and 37 minutes long and Martians experience 667 sols in their year. So we might argue that Martians might initially say that there are 667 degrees in a Martian circle. But given that this an awkward number for basic arithmetic, they too will likely round that count to a much friendlier number.
So … What number do you think that might be?
The Moral of this Story
You might be wondering in this essay: Where’s the math? Why is there no analysis of an actual mathematics problem?
The point of this essay is to simply illustrate the power of being true to one’s human self. We have each encountered math problems in our work that have stymied us and have threatened to shut us down. That happens and that is okay.
And the way to get unstuck is to acknowledge that you are stuck — acknowledge your emotions — take a deep breath and just do something, anything! Astonishingly, that alone can often be enough to break through an impasse and get you going on some fun thinking. And thinking is always fun!
The gist of this essay is courtesy of the Global Math Project. | https://medium.com/q-e-d/two-key-but-ignored-steps-to-solving-any-math-problem-8cd927bf60a0 | ['James Tanton'] | 2019-01-30 21:06:45.773000+00:00 | ['Mathematics'] |
3 major technical problems potentially solved by TAU | TAU uses blockchain, Mainline DHT and android technologies to prove that server-less communication is possible. Each of these technologies has good value, but with major shortcoming. I discuss the nature of these problems and idea to solve it.
History Attack on Blockchain: high mining power holders are able to go back history and recompute the past mining efforts, so that to build an alternative chain, which will cause forking of the established transaction consensus. The bitcoin protocol uses “Proof of Work” energy consumption as barrier to such attack and make the cost of recomputing the history overwhelming costly. Single block can secure up to 50% power of Byzantine Fault Tolerant. A series of blocks can give much higher security. This is why bitcoin community will accept 6 confirmed blocks as immutability. However, “proof of stake” or “proof of transaction”, these light “on-chain” consensuses are exposed to such attack due to no-cost nature of mining. All TAU community chains have such risk as well. In our solution, each peer will maintain a list of friends derived from payments or messages with some level of trusted peers. Friends peers will use hash link to reference blockchains’ hash from time to time in own DAG, which is a tree of own history messages. Therefore, when a history attack happens, each nodes will be able to check their friends references to see which fork is the best to rely on. Peers DAG will require private keys to be altered. This is very difficult for attackers to find most of friends private keys. The whole bitcoin computing power today are not be able to hack a single private key. In short, TAU uses friends social history conversation and reference to firm up the history rather than energy consumption. This is why TAU android app can run thousands of chains mining simultaneously with higher security. The more chains an app runs, the more secure it is. It is like using friends memory to replace energy consumption for history recording. Server-less communication searching latency: without central signal server, a peer does not know when others sending messages. TAU nodes are mostly running on android phones behind firewalls. If a peer has many friends, round robin searching friends will cause latency for new messages when friend list is long. In TAU, rather than round robin, we make each peer to gossip its hearings according to a frequency, based on the status of the phone. In the gossip, a peer could recommend new messages, that were heard of being believed interested to its friends. This is a dynamic programming trick to amortize the searching effort among peers recommendation for reducing the searching complexity from O(n)to O(logN). If a peer has thousands of friends, this approach will reduce the latency to close to constant especially in a big community like a blockchain. DHT routing table pollution: most of the DHT nodes are not working due to being behind restrictive NAT or exposed to malicious Sybil attack. This makes libtorrent code constantly checking healthiness of the routing table, even with this, it is still not safe and causing high data transmission. In TAU, on top of general Mainline DHT, we implemented 2nd DHT using friends relationship as a filter. Through gossiping, each peer will discover friend’s list of friends. The total discovered friends nodes will be the scope of DHT routing table. The content addressing is still follow XOR bucket recursive approach within the scope. On the 2nd level DHT, a peer will always put data to friends node along with generic DHT slower put. TAU dev will behave as a default friend to all peers to help jump-start the communication.
We uses lots of friend list to cope with these known technical problems. Rely on social network, the more service a peer providing to other peers, the more efficiency its own computing becomes. The choice of friends is by each users preferences. | https://medium.com/@imorpheusdw/3-major-technical-problems-potentially-solved-by-tau-55b66edc7b43 | ['David Wu'] | 2020-12-23 10:39:50.873000+00:00 | ['Serverless', 'Blockchain', 'Tau', 'Proof Of Transaction'] |
An intro to Staking Derivatives I | Staking derivatives by domain
The economic risk associated with staking has a multi-dimensional form. Depending on the particular interaction with the cryptonetwork, the stakeholder could incur different losses.
The following is a list of instruments in relation to each domain:
Security and Operability: instruments protecting from attacks and from losses due to network malfunctioning
instruments protecting from attacks and from losses due to network malfunctioning Economics: instruments preventing pure economic losses
instruments preventing pure economic losses Governance: instruments preventing losses from cryptonetwork mismanagement
instruments preventing losses from cryptonetwork mismanagement Network peculiarities: instrument protecting different kinds of losses, such as the right to perform a work for the network or to vote or participate in any kind of activity, peculiar to a network
Let’s now dive in each segment.
Staking derivatives by domain
Security and Operability
In a PoS cryptonetwork, security is possibly the most important property to achieve in order for the protocol to survive. This segment can be split into:
Liveness: Derivative products protecting token holders from a failure of the network, acting as an insurance for an attack to the blockchain. One could think of them as a life insurance for your tokens.
We refer to liveness as:
Availability
Consistency
Two important points to mention:
The distinction between liveness at network level and at individual node validator level. The latter being relatively insignificant in the context of network performance In terms of network design, there is often a decision on what to prioritize in case of network partition (availability vs consistency). Insurance products would therefore be one-sided as the network pre-determines how it will behave in adversarial situations
Operability: Emergency products issued by foundations to attract new validators when live nodes drop below a predefined threshold.
This would act as an additional stimulus to the dynamic inflation mechanism currently enforced by cryptonetworks like Cosmos or Ethereum 2.0.
These products could be a quicker, more effective tool in comparison to a change in the incentive structure (i.e. inflation). This is especially true since many of those decisions are currently made through elaborate off-chain governance processes.
A suitable and helpful parallel with traditional finance would be a quantitative easing policy.
For example, a government executing quantitative easing would translate into an on-chain crypto derivative issued by a foundation or by an emergency DAO.
This newly issued derivative would be more effective than a structural policy aimed to stimulate the economy from the ground up. In fact, the latter would produce tangible results only after years, if not decades. Alternatively, our instrument would produce immediate effects.
In conclusion, the line between security and operability is extremely thin and blurred. If a cryptonetwork security is threatened, its operability would be indistinguishably compromised.
Let’s revisit the parallels between a cryptonetwork and a city or state. A breach in its high-level security (e.g. a coup d’Etat or an enemy invasion) would also affect its operability (e.g. the public transportation would stop working). But on the other hand there is also a non-zero chance that the subway system in a city stops working without the state being attacked. Back to our PoS derivatives realm, the family of “operability derivatives” would address the single risk of operational failure. Either in a form of insurance (binary options) or in the form of futures or swaps, where the value of the product increases (or decreases) based on the likelihood of the failure occurrence.
The work on frontrunning (manipulating order of transaction on a decentralized exchanges) by Phil Daian is extremely inspirational. Frontrunning is an operability risk that could incur in losses. However, it would be very challenging today to create a product protecting these kinds of risks. Even more challenging would probably be collecting the data and prove that a certain behaviour has actually occurred and caused (you) economic losses.
Plausible example: A derivative product on Polkadot, issued by an emergency-DAO, offering X times higher validation staking returns (for a short, limited period) until the restoration of a minimum set of validators is completed (liveness).
Economics
Similarly to PoW mechanisms, PoS protocols are designed to incentivize miners (validators) to provide valuable resources to the network (such as security, block validation, storage) in exchange of staking rewards coming from newly minted tokens.
Staking rewards are doled out to validators in proportion to the amount of tokens staked in the network. Since PoS leads to some predictability of rewards, the affiliation with a traditional cash flow bearing instrument then becomes extremely intuitive.
Naturally, this is the area where one could foresee the vast majority of staking derivatives flourish.
A non-comprehensive list of those instruments includes:
Reward linked products: this is possibly the most popular. Those instruments would track exposures to staking rewards rate, fees, commission rates and validators uptime. We are not far away from having products hedging against a validator’s commission rate change in Cosmos, for example. A comprehensive list of risk/reward factors in the Cosmos network can be found here.
this is possibly the most popular. Those instruments would track exposures to staking rewards rate, fees, commission rates and validators uptime. We are not far away from having products hedging against a validator’s commission rate change in Cosmos, for example. A comprehensive list of risk/reward factors in the Cosmos network can be found here. Risk linked products: those instruments would offer insurance against economic losses resulting from slashing, unbonding or downtime. Taking Cosmos again as an example, one can imagine a derivative product providing protection against a validator being “jailed” or against a revision of its “minimum self-delegation”. However, during early conversations some doubts arose: this kind of protection could result in a net negative for network security. Validators could insure themselves against slashing and therefore be less incentivized to spend additional resources on securing themselves.
those instruments would offer insurance against economic losses resulting from slashing, unbonding or downtime. Taking Cosmos again as an example, one can imagine a derivative product providing protection against a validator being “jailed” or against a revision of its “minimum self-delegation”. However, during early conversations some doubts arose: this kind of protection could result in a net negative for network security. Validators could insure themselves against slashing and therefore be less incentivized to spend additional resources on securing themselves. Liquidity linked products: those instruments would facilitate liquidity for token holders who are obligated by the protocol to lock their tokens for a certain amount of time. In Cosmos, for example, the maximum threshold for slashing is currently set at 5%. That means that 95% of the tokens can not incur in any kind of slashing. One can envision a proliferation of derivatives products representing rights over a portion of locked, but secure, tokens. They would be basically used as collateral. In addition, for Layer 2, there is a whole uncovered field about renting liquidity to L2 hubs, like a lightning network or state channels network. The whole locking mechanism makes funds unusable, yet a hub earns some fees. One could consider this as a hub providing both liquidity and L2 payments routing. Akin to delegation in PoS networks, one could provide liquidity to an L2 hub in exchange for shared earnings. While in the PoS realm one casually sees yield, in lightning the rate of return is called Lightning Network Reference Rate. Consequently, one could wrap this into a derivative.
those instruments would facilitate liquidity for token holders who are obligated by the protocol to lock their tokens for a certain amount of time. In Cosmos, for example, the maximum threshold for slashing is currently set at 5%. That means that 95% of the tokens can not incur in any kind of slashing. One can envision a proliferation of derivatives products representing rights over a portion of locked, but secure, tokens. They would be basically used as collateral. In addition, for Layer 2, there is a whole uncovered field about renting liquidity to L2 hubs, like a lightning network or state channels network. The whole locking mechanism makes funds unusable, yet a hub earns some fees. One could consider this as a hub providing both liquidity and L2 payments routing. Akin to delegation in PoS networks, one could provide liquidity to an L2 hub in exchange for shared earnings. While in the PoS realm one casually sees yield, in lightning the rate of return is called Lightning Network Reference Rate. Consequently, one could wrap this into a derivative. DeFi linked products: This range of products, ideally swaps, would provide the holder a protection (exposure) to one or more “competition” protocols for the deployment of the same, locked asset. Taking ETH now as an example, imagine an asset representing a portion of your locked ETH in validation. Let’s call this new asset DETH. 1 DETH = 1/X ETH, with X dynamically set between 1,05 and 10 depending on risk parameters. A staking derivative product would algorithmically pick the most profitable decentralized protocol to autonomously deploy DETH (i.e. Maker vs Dharma vs Compound). The above example would only work if Maker, Dharma and Compound would accept DETH as a collateral asset.
Plausible examples:
Put option on Tezos staking rewards (Reward linked)
A Cosmos on-chain insurance-DAO derivative covering downtime slashing (Risk linked)
A staking provider or CEX backed liquidity certificate on locked ATOMs (Liquidity linked)
Off-chain interest rate swap on ETH locked in Compound vs Maker (DeFi linked)
Governance
This is possibly the most “futuristic” and exciting domain to explore. Governance, or a lack of it, has tremendous implications in a cryptonetwork, whether on or off-chain. However, the specs of the debate go far beyond the scope of this article.
What we are really interested in are the economic impacts of those implications. They will be more or less measurable and more or less “hedgeable”.
To this day, it is practically inconceivable to be able to measure the impact that a governance outcome would have on its primitive asset price. The ecosystem developing around decentralized predictions markets though, is evidence of this trend.
A “cryptogovernance” derivative sounds very far from the state-of-the-art blockchain ecosystem. Its abstractivity could feel overwhelming. However, Jesse Walden had previously compared cryptonetworks to cities while Joel Monegro associated governance to capital. The gap is narrowing and this trend will not likely stop.
Cryptonetworks like Tezos and Polkadot are creating mechanisms for a fair and open governance to insure a sound evolution of the cryptonetwork. The more decisions that are made on-chain, the more rational actors will have the opportunity to evaluate outcomes and assess risks. Governance processes will make decisions on fees, rates, upgrades and much more. As I stated before, risks bring uncertainty which leads to seeking protection.
Plausible example: Digital option on rental fees triggered by the positive or negative outcome of a Polkadot governance decision relative to an upgrade of validator’s dilution-fee.
Network peculiarities, hybrids and miscellaneous
In this segment I will include risks initiated by peculiar actions implemented within a cryptonetwork.
The above-mentioned risks do not necessarily need to incur in economic losses. On the contrary, they could relate more qualitatively to risk. A non-exhaustive list includes:
Right to operate: this range of products was inspired by the talk of Gavin Wood from Polkadot about its parachain auction mechanism. Polkadot will have a certain initially pre-defined number of slots available for its parachains. I found the model extremely interesting and I am confident this kind of mechanism will be a source of inspiration for designing staking derivatives.
Polkadot Parachain deployment — https://slides.com/paritytech/validating-in-polkadot#/15
Polkadot Parachain auction schedule — https://slides.com/paritytech/validating-in-polkadot#/20
One could see derivatives hedging the risk of losing the right to carry out work for the network.
Inter-protocol products: One can envision a multitude of specialized actors creating products and providing liquidity for them in a fully decentralized fashion. They would create new “markets” exploring opportunities across cryptonetworks. Teams are already creating infrastructures facilitating this. I also envision those products being collateralized by different cryptoassets. Consequently they will demand different requirements based on the collateralized asset volatility and liquidity parameters. However, they would be extremely hard to implement in a completely decentralized way. Therefore, centralized inter-protocol products will be much easier to create.
One can envision a multitude of specialized actors creating products and providing liquidity for them in a fully decentralized fashion. They would create new “markets” exploring opportunities across cryptonetworks. Teams are already creating infrastructures facilitating this. I also envision those products being collateralized by different cryptoassets. Consequently they will demand different requirements based on the collateralized asset volatility and liquidity parameters. However, they would be extremely hard to implement in a completely decentralized way. Therefore, centralized inter-protocol products will be much easier to create. Structured products (offering combination of payoffs)
(offering combination of payoffs) Regulatory insurance
Plausible examples:
An interest rate swap on Cosmos vs Polkadot validation (Inter-protocol product)
On-chain structure product long ETH staking rewards + a basket of call options on staking rewards for interoperability protocols (Structured product)
Off-chain OTC futures on a Polkadot parachain slot.
Many of those products could belong to two or more categories at the same time. A product tackling downtime, for example, could be seen with multiple lenses: purely economic, operational or for security.
The chart below summarizes interconnections across products and domains. | https://medium.com/@nicola.santoni/an-intro-to-staking-derivatives-i-a43054efd51c | ['Nicola Santoni'] | 2020-11-05 11:23:42.822000+00:00 | ['Derivatives', 'Cryptocurrency', 'Bitcoin', 'Staking', 'Blockchain'] |
How To Stop a Dog From Barking Today, (Easy and Effective) | Hi, my name is Mimi and I have a wonderful Chiweenie dog named Lady LaLa, who is the love of my life. She is a new edition to the family and it has been a struggle to get her to adapt to apartment life. One of the challenges ids to prevent her from barking as the neighbors walk by the lanai, especially if they have dogs of their own.
Chiweenies are a mix of Chihuahua and Dachshund breeds. So they are also referred to as German Tacos, or Mexican Hotdogs, go figure. As you might have guessed they have the personality of both breeds, which make them kind of bipolar, no just kidding, but they can go from one to the other in a hurry.
VERY IMPORTANT: if you are going to want to train your dog to stop barking like I did, then you want to >>CLICK HERE<< to download the $45 ebook for free…you can see what the book looks like below…
What I Used To Train LaLa
The resource above is absolutely a lifesaver and it doesn’t cost anything. I have a few hints, tips and tricks below. Before we get started, it is important to think about a couple of things.
How old is your dog?
How long has your dog been barking at everyone and everything?
You must keep in mind that the older the dog, the more ingrained the barking habit is. It is not impossible for an older dog to relearn a behavior, it may take a little longer and you will need a certain amount of patience.
It would be helpful if you understood what the barking patterns are. Is it that they bark at people walking by , with other dogs? What are your dogs barking triggers? Maybe it’s noise, someone knocking on the door? I am unfortunate to live in a ground floor apartment with a screened in lanai in the front. This means LaLa sees everyone walking within a couple of feet on the sidewalk, everyone at the front door, etc.
I realized I needed to find out what the triggers were, and possibly remove the ones I know I could. I also knew that I could not reform her in a couple of days, that it would take a little time, and it did. But by following the procedures in this free eBook, I now have a wonderful non-barking dog that sits on the lanai with me, and quietly watches the world go by.
Ok without further adieu lets look at a couple of quick things you can do today.
One way you can prevent them from people walking by is to distract them. You could also take away the temptation to bark by preventing it in the first place, …closing windows, removing to another room. I personally don’t use this technique because it seems to me it doesn’t really solve the issue.
Okay, some quick tips:
Don’t yell at your dog while they are barking. I know it sounds counter intuitive, and it’s the first thing you want to do. Think about it, if you are yelling, they think you are barking, too.
Teach your dog to go lie down in their bed or special place when someone comes to your door. Give them a treat. You will need to practice this a lot until they automatically go lie down when the doorbell rings, someone knocks, or even keys are jingling in the door. This can prevent them jumping on you when you return . All in all this is a very good thing all around.
When your dog is barking at you, for some of your dinner, at someone, just ignore them until they settle down and stop. This was the hardest one for me, to be honest. LaLa would try to beg for dinner, then I would put her in her crate. She would then bark and bark. It took awhile to get used to her , then when she finished barking for a few minutes, I would pay attention to her and give her a treat. You will want to lengthen the time they need to be quiet before you interact with them, but they will come around.
Whenever you interact with your beloved pup, please be gentle and kind, a positive attitude will do so much for both of you. I know dogs are smart, but their brains are wired different, you can’t approach them the way you would a child.
I want to give you this info for free, >>CLICK HERE<< to access this free eBook (a $45 value) , and start with your pup today.
So, the best way I think to have a great relationship with your dog is to get them used to the triggers that make them bark, who wants to lived with closed curtains all of the time?
There is a method where you have your dog far away from the trigger so that it doesn’t cause your pup to bark. As it gets closer and closer, praise your dog as long as they don’t react. When the other dog, (or whatever is making her bark) gets closer, don’t acknowledge her barking, but if she is quiet, praise her. Eventually she will realize that not barking gets her the treats and praise that she is looking for.
There are different methods you can use to train your dog, but when you choose the method that works for you, only use that method. Routine is important to your dog, and you must use the same training approach every time. You also should make sure that everyone in your circle, does the same thing, the same way you do. Otherwise your dog will get mixed signals and be confused.
Lets see, is your dog getting enough stimulation? Just like a child stuck indoors on a snow day, your dog will get bored. You must spend time with them, engage with them. T his will keep them engaged, stimulated, satisfied, and tired out. A tired pup doesn’t bark much. Anyway, didn’t you bring them into your family as a companion?
Do you feel confident training your wonderful furry friend? They will be your companion for many years. Who else can give you unconditional love?
You can always call a professional to train them. Just remember that when your dog is home, or at Starbucks with you, those triggers may pop up, so a professional can’t completely take away every trigger, you will need to do some of it yourself.
thanks for visiting with us today. Above all, love your dog as much as they love you. | https://medium.com/@sillydogmarketing/how-to-stop-a-dog-from-barking-today-easy-and-effective-89227fc9b71c | ['Donna Tate'] | 2020-12-26 23:15:27.204000+00:00 | ['How To Train Your Dog', 'Dog Behaviour Training', 'Training Dogs Not To Bark', 'Dog', 'Puppy Training'] |
10 Things You Might Not Know About Breastfeeding | Go past the fundamentals of breastfeeding. We’ve compiled a listing of 10 details it’s possible you’ll not have identified concerning the apply of breastfeeding, and the information must be on the market!
Fortunately, breastfeeding is more and more promoted today. Increasingly more proof reveals the significance of feeding infants this whole, species-specific meals. We all know that breast milk is filled with dwelling nutritional vitamins and minerals, however listed below are some belongings you *may* not find out about breastfeeding.
1. Breastfeeding may be exhausting. No, not at all times! Some ladies have a straightforward time with it, and that’s at all times such a present. However breastfeeding is one thing of a misplaced artwork in our society, and due to this, it would be a problem at first. Many people not develop up witnessing breastfeeding, which has traditionally been a pure studying device. Breastfeeding can include fairly a studying curve for each mother and child. After I had my first child, I used to be shocked by how unhelpful newborns are with the entire expertise. It’s one thing like attempting to deal with a floppy octopus, till you actually get the hold of it. And, I always remember what my superb lactation marketing consultant advised me: “Breastfeeding is probably the most unnatural pure factor on this planet.” If we’re actually sincere, it’s true. And, we must be actually sincere about that so mamas who battle don’t really feel a lot despair that they wish to quit. With that in thoughts…
2. You ought to spend your being pregnant getting ready to breastfeed. Most mothers plan to breastfeed, however few of us put together accordingly. As a consequence of its nature as a misplaced artwork, being armed with information concerning the importance of breastfeeding, in addition to how to do it and troubleshoot if needed, has grow to be important. The variety of instances I’ve seen, learn, and heard of a brand new mother’s breastfeeding relationship getting derailed on account of varied, usually preventable “booby traps” is innumerable. It nearly occurred to me. When my first child was born, I didn’t know get him latched on; I figured it could come naturally. For the following few days, the expertise was so painful, I nearly gave up. The one purpose I persevered was due to what I had discovered throughout being pregnant concerning the significance of breastfeeding, and I’m eternally grateful that I made it by means of the tough patch. I’ve written a step-by-step information to avoiding these frequent booby traps, to assist mother and father put together as I want I might have.
3. Breastfeeding impacts the human microbiome. What’s the human microbiome? The microbiome is the gathering of micro organism, fungi, and archaea that people carry round. Whereas this may not sound notably wholesome, the human microbiome occurs to be important to total physical and mental health. If the phrases “intestine well being” and “probiotics” sound acquainted to you, you’ve doubtless heard a minimum of a bit concerning the unbelievable significance of wholesome micro organism. The microbiome is its personal ecosystem and protecting it in steadiness impacts all the pieces from (*10*) to anxiety and depression. Growing proof is exhibiting the essential significance of protecting this micro organism in steadiness, and breastfeeding promotes this proper from the beginning. Breast milk is full of healthy bacteria, which helps protect the delicate gut flora of your child.
4. Breast milk is made in another way for boys vs. women. Some attention-grabbing information within the ever-growing pool of information about breast milk: it might have a distinct composition based mostly on the intercourse of the kid. Researchers have found that people and different mammals produce milk that modifications composition relying on the extent of earnings and security inside the household, and this influences which intercourse is favored with larger fats content material milk. Our our bodies are wiser than we will fathom.
5. Kissing your child modifications your breast milk. Do you know that the simple urge to cowl your child in kisses serves a biological purpose? When a mom kisses her child, she samples the pathogens on child’s face, which then journey to mother’s lymphatic system. Mother’s physique then creates antibodies to battle these pathogens, which child receives by means of breast milk. What?! Superb, proper? When my son and I each obtained H1N1 (he was 8-months-old), our physicians known as us the poster individuals for breastfeeding. I used to be working close to 105* temperatures and just about depressing; nonetheless I nursed. My little man, alternatively, had some explosive poops and a little bit of a runny nostril, however in any other case? Unscathed. They couldn’t imagine how completely happy and jolly he was, however advised me that it was a testomony to the facility of breastmilk and my antibodies defending him.
6. Males can lactate! Sure, it’s true. Males have the suitable breast tissue to lactate, however since they don’t expertise the hormonal modifications that include being pregnant and assist produce breast milk, a person must spend an excessive amount of time pumping and utilizing galactagogues with a purpose to make ample breast milk. But it has been done.
7. Breastfeeding helps forestall postpartum hemorrhaging. Research has shown that skin-to-skin contact and breastfeeding after beginning has such an impact on postpartum bleeding that ladies who didn’t have skin-to-skin breastfeeding instantly postpartum had been nearly twice as more likely to expertise postpartum hemorrhaging.
8. Your breast milk modifications throughout every feed. Kids usually strategy the breast in a furor of thirst, and your breast milk is ready for that. When your milk begins to let down, you first produce foremilk, which is watery and has extra capacity to hydrate your child. After your child has nursed for a bit and has their thirst quenched, your milk then modifications to hindmilk, which is thicker and has larger fats content material, assembly child’s power wants. And, your breastmilk modifications as your child grows and develops. Check out your stash within the freezer. The milk you make at present doesn’t appear to be or act just like the milk you made in these early days of nursing. And, it received’t look that method in just a few months, both, as a result of once more, our infants inform us what they want from our milk and we modify as wanted by way of Mom Nature.
9. Breast milk has the facility to neutralize HIV. In 2012, researchers at Duke University Medical Center remoted antibodies from B cells in breast milk, which “can generate neutralizing antibodies which will inhibit the virus that causes AIDS.” The findings had been found in an effort to study why only one in 1o HIV constructive moms transmits HIV to her child by way of breast milk, when breastfeeding gives a lot publicity.
10. Breastfeeding for a minimum of 6 months can save hundreds of thousands of lives. UNICEF estimates that if extra moms breastfed solely for a minimum of 6 months (ideally adopted by a minimum of 2 years of breastfeeding with complementary meals), over 1,000,000 lives could possibly be saved yearly. At the moment, solely 39% of infants worldwide are breastfed solely for a minimum of 6 months, which is why efforts to normalize breastfeeding and assist lactation training is important.
As at all times, our purpose isn’t to disgrace moms who can’t nurse for no matter purpose. We all know that the flexibility to nurse one’s baby just isn’t at all times a given, and we by no means wish to disgrace or decide moms. That stated, just as the formula industry has had some not-so-great affect on the best way moms and society basically have a look at nursing, we really feel remiss if we don’t share the reality about breastfeeding advantages. Our intent is at all times to encourage and empower moms.
MYBABYHELP4U | https://medium.com/@nilsondenouden/10-things-you-might-not-know-about-breastfeeding-960f583a91a0 | ['Nilson Den Ouden'] | 2020-12-21 21:02:40.970000+00:00 | ['Mothers', 'Parenting', 'Breastfeeding', 'Baby'] |
Introduction to Recommender Systems: Deal with Overloading Information | This blog is written and maintained by students in the Professional Master’s Program in the School of Computing Science at Simon Fraser University as part of their course credit. To learn more about this unique program, please visit {sfu.ca/computing/pmp}.
Authors: Quan Yuan, Yuheng Liu, Wenlong Wu
Introduction
With the continuous development of Internet technology and the increasing popularity of smart devices, more and more data are generated in current days. Once we get this massive amount of data, the industry-wide personalized recommendation technology becomes easier to implement, whether it’s Amazon or YouTube, or any big tech company is undoubtedly the biggest beneficiary of this area.
Unlike ordinary personal items, smart devices can uniquely link to a specific person, and these personal smart devices are difficult to share with other people, which makes the browsing, transaction, and other behavioral data on your mobile phone play a significant analytical value on the recommender system.
From the perspective of the e-commerce platform, the essential goal of the recommender system is to recommend products that are most likely to be sold to consumers so that the data can be fully utilized. The accuracy becomes higher with the continuous enrichment of personal user data and technical approach.
Methodology
Data Collection
Recommender system uses various information of users and items to obtain a proper recommendation. That means a sufficient dataset is a basis for building an intelligent recommender system. A general dataset contains attributes of users and items and ideally also the interactions of users with items. The following figure shows basic approaches to link a certain user and items.
Several data collection methods and the problem we will meet building the system are mentioned below.
1. Attributes
Both users and items have attributes that provide critical information for the recommender system, such as users’ gender, interests, and descriptions of items. Data mining methods can be used to extract relevant key knowledge from those attributes. By calculating the similarity of the user’s attributes and item’s attributes, we could use the k-nearest neighbors algorithm to obtain the closest item for users. This is a content-based recommender system especially useful when we lack interaction information between users and items. Conversely, it is also a limit. According to the most prevailing recommender system algorithms, interactions of users and items play an essential role.
2. Interaction
To be more specific, interactions refer to the actions and behaviors of users and records of feedback on the server. User behaviors provide lots of useful information. Based on the user behavior, we could tell their recent interests, their concern about a particular item, etc. There are two types of feedback. The explicit one is that users directly provide their attitude toward items such as clicking the “like/dislike” button. However, lots of users leave the page instead of doing that. It turns out that the implicit one, the record of users’ interactions, is more important than it. Suppose a user has read a description of an item up to the end, which means he may have some interest in it. If the user views an item for a few seconds, we can infer this item is not what he wants at that moment. Besides the user’s behavior, the recommendation also depends on time, domain, and other contextual factors.
3. Context information
Context information includes time, location and mood, etc. It is also an important part of the recommender system. For example, the recent interactions are much more important than the past since they represent users’recent needs. For a music recommender system, users would choose different music based on their moods. For an upcoming festival, users would buy some specific decorations. It is like we add a real-time property to the recommender system. Due to the importance of context information, it is important to record users’interactions and update the model frequently to be able to generate new recommendations in real-time.
4. Tag system
Tag system on Instagram
Based on using attributes to provide recommendations, the tag system is a useful tool to create a relationship between users’ interests and items and is widely used on some movie-related and video-related websites. On the one hand, the tag describes the user’s interest. On the other hand, it is a brief attribute of the item. Some websites prefer to provide several related tags for users instead of letting users improvise in order to improve the quality of tags.
5. Cold start problem
Cold start is a common problem in the recommender system caused by the lack of user’s or item’s information. When a new user or a new item is added to the platform, how does the recommender system do without data? It turns out several typical solutions for obtaining original information. You definitely have ever used authorized login to create a new account on a website. As long as signing up with your other social networking account, the system can obtain some of your records from it and extract some useful information as data used in the recommender system. Some websites ask a new user to select some tags intriguing him/her at the beginning. Then, the system will recommend some popular items based on the user’s selections as the appetizer. Random strategy is also used as a solution to the “cold start” problem. Recommending random items to new users or new items to random users can give the recommender system positive feedback based on the user’s interaction with the item.
Algorithms:
1. Collaborative Filtering
Generally, Collaborative Filtering makes predictions based on the past experience of the user. The past experience reflects the user’s preference. Reviews, ratings, number of clicks, duration of browsing, choice of items, and many other factors could indicate what the user may be interested in and be willing to spend time on. There are mainly two types of Collaborative Filtering, which are user-based and item-based.
User-Based:
By collecting the user information and items that users are interested in, the system allocates users with similar preferences in the same group. Suppose user A and user B are frequent users of Netflix, and they have similar preferences in movies. If Titanic is in B’s watching history and A has not watched it, the movie Titanic will be recommended to B as they are determined to have similar tastes according to their experience.
User-Based Formula
Item-Based:
Based on a large amount of data, the system compares the items that may be preferred by similar types of users and determine whether these items are similar or not. The system lists the preferences of each user and recommends similar items to the user.
Item-Based Formula
As mentioned above, both these two types of Collaborative Filtering are based on a large amount of data. The experience of the user and the information of items play an important role in this algorithm.
By comparing the similarity among users and items, the system links potential preferred items to the users. To calculate the similarity, Euclidean Distance is the most direct approach. The smaller the result is, the higher the correlation between two items. However, a negative correlation is hard to be detected in this method. If two items are highly negatively correlated, the result of Euclidean Distance will still be large. Based on this, Pearson Correlation is a better solution as it covers both positive and negative correlations. In addition to this, cosine similarity is another effective approach, which illustrates the ratings in terms of vectors and calculates the cosine value between two vectors to find the similarity.
Collaborative Filtering involves an important machine learning algorithm — — K-Means Clustering. It classifies data points into different clusters so that data points in the same cluster have more similarities than others. First, it randomly plots several data points on the plain. Then, It implements the following steps iteratively until the centroids don’t change.
a) Assign the data points to the nearest centroid and thus construct clusters centered at those centroids
b) Find the center point in each cluster and re-define it to be the new centroid
The following graph shows how this algorithm is implemented when k=2.
2. Content-based
Unlike Collaborative Filtering, Content-based is focused on the contents of the item. It involves data preprocessing and feature extraction. For each item, the system builds a vector containing the extracted features. Also, the system builds a profile for each user based on his experience and preference. Thus, this item will be recommended to the user who is interested in the item with similar features. It might be confusing what the difference between Collaborative Filtering Item-based and Content-based is. For the Item-based algorithm, it is focused on the user’s ratings on the items rather than what contents this user is interested in. For the Content-based algorithm, it concentrates on the common features between the user profile and item profile. As this algorithm clearly lists the features of the item, it can better explain why it is recommended, and it may have a higher chance of meeting the user’s taste. However, extracting features is difficult, as it is hard to define which features are typical and important to the item.
Application
Here are some examples of the recommender system applied to real applications.
1. Amazon
Amazon is a multinational technology company that focuses on e-commerce. G. Linden, B. Smith, and J. York explained Amazon’s Item-to-Item Collaborative Filtering in their paper.
As shown above, the Item-to-Item Collaborative Filtering algorithm can provide customers with product recommendations based on the items in their shopping cart. This feature is similar to impulse goods at the checkout of the supermarket, but Amazon’s impulse goods are personalized for each customer.
In fact, Item-to-Item Collaborative Filtering is item-based Collaborative Filtering. It put all purchased and rated items to a recommendation list instead of matching the user to similar customers.
2. TikTok
TikTok, a video-sharing social networking service. With its advanced and high-accuracy recommendation algorithm, it can make users spend hours on its application a day. In research conducted by Jiamin and Leipeng, they try to reveal TikTok’s mysterious algorithms by introducing feature engineering.
The purpose of feature engineering is to select better features for generating better training data. The common methods to select features are Pearson correlation coefficient, mutual information, distance correlation. By using these similarity tests, the most useful feature can be selected and improve the outcome. For example, users click to see some travel-related videos; the system will record this feature of the user, and look for this feature from later video features (the creator, the music ID, the gender of the character in the video) to ensure there is a high probability that the following videos will also be travel-related.
Conclusion:
The recommender system is a creative solution to deal with overloading information as well as the search engine. The difference between them is that the search engine needs users to have a specific target. However, the recommender system aims to solve the situation that users have no idea about what they want at that moment. Based on the user’s interests and past behavior, the recommender system is able to provide items to the user automatically. The article briefly introduced some data collection methods and prevailing algorithms used in this domain. A few practical applications were given to interpret the deployment of the recommender system in the real world. Nevertheless, all we talked about is just a small piece of this significant topic. Generally, the different company has their recommender system framework base on their business. It’s not the simple combination of the mentioned methods. The recommender system is more like a free domain that you could come up with various innovative ideas to explore the link among users and items.
Thanks for reading! 🤗🤗🤗
References: | https://medium.com/sfu-cspmp/a-brief-introduction-to-recommender-systems-deal-with-overloading-information-58c808201a6f | ['Wenlong Wu'] | 2020-02-04 07:07:52.687000+00:00 | ['Blog Post', 'Machine Learning', 'Recommender Systems', 'Big Data', 'Data Collection'] |
A Beautiful Surprise of Sexual Pleasure | A Beautiful Surprise of Sexual Pleasure
Ray is one hell of a lucky man
Author
Summer breeze played lightly with the tiny drops of sweat that glistened on his shoulders. Days were long and hot, the feeling of excitement in the air. He bit his lip, a bad habit his mother would have said, but he never seemed to notice his teeth slightly pinching his upper lip in anticipation.
Ray sat on their balcony without a T-shirt, his hairy chest reflecting the last light of the sun, sipping his whiskey. He was an attractive man, even in his late forties. His thick black hair was ornate with silver linings, and the wrinkles around his bright blue eyes showed he was a man who loved to smile.
He was in good shape, his weekly visits to the gym and a very carefully planned diet made sure he was in top form. He didn’t feel a day over twenty- five.
He could hear his girlfriend move behind the open balcony door. A surprise, Eve said. Ray pondered what could it be. The two of them have been living together for a while now, and their relationship grew by the passing of each day.
Ray wouldn’t call it love, not at loud in any case. He was certain his feelings towards Eve comprised mostly of lust. She was much younger than he was, his friends teasing him by calling their relationship a mid-life crisis. Ray wasn’t sure what it was, but he was inclined to enjoy it while it lasts. Love… will either come along, or it will not.
He was not the type to label everything and took life as it came along. Eve was everything you can look for: she was bright and funny, and incredibly sexy.
Eve was a brunette, neither tall nor short, with dark-green eyes and a whisk of… mystery about her, Ray thought. What he liked best on Eve were her breasts, cupcake size with sweet crimson nipples, just the right size to fit in his fist.
While he was getting all worked-up thinking of Eve’s breasts, suddenly he felt a light tap on his left shoulder: when he turned around he saw a glimpse of Eve’s perfectly shaped leg as she was running towards their bedroom. He sipped the last of his drink and followed slowly.
When he entered the bedroom, he found Eve stretching cat-like naked on their bed. He leaned on the doorway, his eyes following the curvy lines of her body. He felt aroused, eager to get rid of his own clothes. He wanted to jump right at her and take her by surprise.
For a moment he pondered the idea; most likely Eve would be surprised, but she would like it. She always liked it.
“Hey! Where’s my surprise?” Ray asked while approaching, half- laughing and bent over the bed-sheets reaching for his young lover. Eve smiled and entangled him in a tight embrace.
“I have something to show you,” she replied and slightly pushed Ray away. Ray followed the hint, and pulled back so he could look at Eve, who was rolling on her back, exposing her round tight butt to Ray’s view.
On her right butt-cheek, Eve had a tattoo of a colorful butterfly. It looked so natural, even with the redness around it, and Ray leaned forward to kiss it lightly.
“Oh, baby! You… shouldn’t have! But I’m glad you did,” he said and turned Eve over so he could kiss her.
They started kissing, the kisses grew more intense, their arms and legs swirling around each other. Eve lightly overthrew Ray on his back and sat on top of him. She picked up her long brown hair with both hands, putting her breasts out. She enjoyed the way he looked at her, enjoyed his obviously growing excitement.
“Do you like what you see?” she asked. Ray moaned and reached for her bosom. He gently touched Eve’s nipples and started to turn them both ways, making Eve’s blood warm. Eve laid down on top of Ray, kissed him on the lips and gently began licking her neck.
He moaned as she made her way downwards, licking Ray’s nipples briefly, then made a line with her tongue down to Ray’s belly button. Ray’s manhood twitched in anticipation, moving closer to Eve’s lips, who, in turn, playfully unbuttoned his trousers and released his hard, upright tool. She then grabbed him and started to stroke him with tight, fast moves.
He could almost see himself coming, so he gently pulled her away.
“Your turn,” he said and rolled her over so she was now beneath him.
He kissed her on the neck with light, butterfly-like kisses he knew Eve liked, groping her breasts at the same time. He then turned Eve on her back, lifting her butt in the air.
“I want to look at it,” he whispered, and Eve wasn’t sure if he was talking about the tattoo.
Eve was on her knees, her head and shoulders pressed on the pillow, her ass up, legs spread for him. He explored the sensitive skin around her new tattoo, carefully avoiding the colored skin. She pushed her butt towards him, inviting him.
He smiled, she was so youthful and filled with passion. He spread her buttocks and stuck out his tongue, then started massaging her intimates, starting with the tense area around her back hole and finally nesting around the wet, warm outside of her hairless pussy. He came into her with his tongue a couple of times, then devoted his due attention to her slippy clit.
She came almost immediately, her body adjusting to his mouth so he can have a better reach. Slowly, he got up on his knees, with one hand touching himself. The index and middle finger of his other hand vanished inside her, penetrating her with long, slow moves, his thumb playing with her asshole.
“Please, Ray, please…” she begged, her voice cracking with desire.
He entered her slowly, knowing the unhurried motions would arouse her even more, and she started ramming herself onto his hard cock.
“Easy, honey. You will get it, easy,” he reassured her, but she seemed to pay no attention to him, thrusting harder and harder on him. He grabbed her by the hips.
“Is this what you wanted?” he asked, ramming himself in her wet warm place, their bodies banging loudly on each other. With one hand still on her hip, pulling her closer, or himself deeper, he squeezed her breast with the other hand to the point pain.
She screamed in the mix of pain and pleasure, taking his hand and slightly biting his fingers, then leading him to her front. He immediately started to rub her clit, silky with moist.
Her screaming became louder and inarticulate and soon he felt her spasm vigorously. Ray withdrew from her, and dipped two fingers in her, covering them with her flowing juices.
He transferred some of the fluids to her butt, and was slowly making his way in. She tightened and then relaxed, exhaling deeply, allowing him easy entry. Ray finger-fucked her ass, adding more of her own juices and his saliva.
When he could not hold any longer, he entered her behind with one fast move. He could hear her breathe heavily and started to thrust himself into her. Her moans grew louder, and with them his strokes grew fiercer until finally he let himself go and with few very hard impales he came in her butt.
His heart was racing. He had a feeling he was going to faint from the strength of his orgasm. He hugged her from behind, staying inside her for a moment longer.
They separated with unease, each wanting to prolong the time they’ve spent with their bodies entwined. He rolled over to his side of bed and looked at her. She was so beautiful, her face still flushing from the heat of their desire. She pulled herself in his arms, leaning on his shoulder.
Ray is gasping for air, still surprised at Eve, they have never done something like this before. He could hardly believe it happened. He never insisted, but has asked her to do it before, he figured it’s worth a shot. Eve was reluctant, afraid of the possibility of pain. It was fine by him, he was happy enough to have such a beautiful young woman by his side.
“That was… uh…” he cannot find the words.
Eve smiles and gives him a naughty look.
“It wasn’t that bad,” she says. “Actually, I kind of liked it,” she winks at him, lightly scratching his chest with her long, colored fingernails.
Ray kissed her forehead gently. He is really one lucky man, he thinks.
“I’ll race to the shower!” she said playfully. Ray looked after her in amazement. Perhaps, after all, this was just the kind of love he needed.
Slowly he got up, aroused again and followed her to the bathroom. He heard the water already running. | https://medium.com/lusty-stuff/a-beautiful-surprise-of-sexual-pleasure-4f1694c9bb29 | ['K. Love'] | 2020-08-22 16:13:06.096000+00:00 | ['Short Story', 'Love', 'Sex', 'Sexuality', 'Romance'] |
Dress Like A Rah | We have a problem that I want to talk about. We aren’t giving ourselves the space we need to liberate ourselves.
I know the big word liberation can be confusing. I always thought it was a word that didn’t apply to me and was for people who were bound to such deeper concepts than I could ever be. For example, I thought it only applied to women born in countries who are held captive and never allowed to make a decision for their own bodies. I thought liberation wasn’t a word that could be apart of my story.
I’ve come out of the closet, I cut off my hair, I fell in love, I shortened my name and I think I found pure happiness. I thought this was it. I didn’t know anything else needed to be liberated.
I’m writing this today because I figured out that I was totally wrong. I have work to do. I have to dig deep into the archives from which I was raised to let my body be whatever size it needs to be, to hug my curves the way they are and to let myself eat when I need to eat.
But I’ve worked too hard to be the best Rah I can be and no one is taking that away from me. No one is telling my LGBTQ fam how to be happy.
Someone, probably a man, somewhere sitting in a conference room for a big magazine a few decades ago decided what the perfect woman looked like. And they sold that idea to America. In fact — they created an entire industry for it. The diet industry.
I’m liberating myself from that concept, this terrible industry of lies and suffocation, this idea that I’m only strong if I eat certain calorie amounts per day or that I’m not woman enough if I wear a tie and I’m not man enough for not liking football. I’m liberating myself from the whispers of weight loss behind my back in church and the idea that I am better if I am woman enough.
Goodbye lies. Goodbye self torture. Goodbye gender norms.
Hello life without the fog.
I am strong because I am my truest self. I am strong because I woke up and decided I would look damn fine if I wore a jumpsuit. I am strong because I am telling my truth to the world.
I am strong because I am Rah.
I can eat dessert first, I can make pancakes whenever I want and I can keep that backup pizza in my freezer. No one is defining how I feel about my body and no one is deciding for me how queer I get to be.
Accepting that you’re not one gender, but rather a blend of both is liberation for me. Is it sometimes confusing and frustrating in department stores? Sure it is. But it means I get to rewrite the narrative and decide for myself what beauty is.
Body liberation: taking back the definitions that were pushed upon you and realizing that you can re-write your narrative.
It’s messy. It’s deep. It’s complicated. It’s the best damn thing that ever happened to me. | https://medium.com/@dresslikearah/dress-like-a-rah-9ce971340f76 | ['Dress Like A Rah'] | 2019-09-01 16:06:45.777000+00:00 | ['Weight Loss', 'Body Image', 'Body Positive', 'LGBTQ'] |
8 Tips to Host a Great Wine Tasting Party | 8 Tips to Host a Great Wine Tasting Party
There are many ways to spend good times with your friends, so learn about some basic knowledge to hosting the perfect wine tasting party
There are many ways to have some quality time with your friends; you could go on a night out, have a picnic or just enjoy an evening indoors while enjoying great conversations. A wine tasting party is one of those group activities that many people never really consider. Most times it’s because you probably don’t even know where to begin with the wines.
Even the most devoted of wine lovers admit that wine is a vast topic and to enjoy wine, you would need some basic knowledge. This is a piece for those wine lovers who know their wines but would like some help with a wine tasting party. This is one of the most fun ways to have your couple friends over for some quality time, and we shall help you set it all up like a pro. Here’s to a successful wine tasting party!
A Great Wine Party @enoteca_la_vecchia_botte_
1. Have a Theme to The Night
As aforementioned, wine is a topic that draws from a wide variety of sources. Organize your night according to a theme, and this will keep you from floundering around and mixing up your bottles. Some of the aspects to consider as you develop your theme include:
Systematization
Style — Have a number of wines in the same style. You could, for instance, have a variety of dry, crisp whites or bold, rich reds.
— Have a number of wines in the same style. You could, for instance, have a variety of dry, crisp whites or bold, rich reds. Variety — There is a lot of variety to choose from when it comes to wine bottles. Sample a specific type of wine from different winemaking regions. For example, your party could have a comparison between varieties of Pinot Noir. You could have a bottle from each of the well-known Pinot Noir regions such as New Zealand, Burgundy, Oregon or California.
— There is a lot of variety to choose from when it comes to wine bottles. Sample a specific type of wine from different winemaking regions. For example, your party could have a comparison between varieties of Pinot Noir. You could have a bottle from each of the well-known Pinot Noir regions such as New Zealand, Burgundy, Oregon or California. Vintage — Have some variety with the vintages. Get several vintages of the same wine. It’s a bit of a chore to find different vintages of the same bottle, but the upside is that, if you do find them, then you get to find out what role the aging process plays in a wine’s taste profile.
— Have some variety with the vintages. Get several vintages of the same wine. It’s a bit of a chore to find different vintages of the same bottle, but the upside is that, if you do find them, then you get to find out what role the aging process plays in a wine’s taste profile. Region — Choose a region and sample different types of wine from the region. This is a great way to familiarize yourself with wines from the same part of the globe.
— Choose a region and sample different types of wine from the region. This is a great way to familiarize yourself with wines from the same part of the globe. Random tasting — This is a fun way to add some spontaneity to the night. Have your guests bring a bottle of their choice.
— This is a fun way to add some spontaneity to the night. Have your guests bring a bottle of their choice. Value — Choose a dollar value and buy different wines in this price bracket. It’s one smart way to find out the best bottles at different price points.
— Choose a dollar value and buy different wines in this price bracket. It’s one smart way to find out the best bottles at different price points. Blind tasting — Pour wines into pitchers or decanters labeled by numbers. Alternatively, you could conceal the bottles by serving them from brown bags or wrapped in foil. This is one of the best ways to objectively taste wines and is also conversationally interactive. Make it even more interesting by having the staff in your local store select the wines for you so that they are also concealed from you.
Manage Your Party @cellarswineclub
2. Have All the Necessary Supplies at Hand
It’s not really a wine tasting party if necessities such as appropriate glassware or spit buckets are missing. There are items that are a must-have at such a party. To begin with, you will need a palate cleanser. Bread or water crackers are some easy-to-find palate cleansers. Spit buckets are also important for your guests to spit out unwanted wine into. To do a wine tasting the right way, you will also need some sort of documentation for anything you want to note down about the wines. A wine grid will make things much easier when it comes to getting the important characteristics of each bottle. Download one online and print it out or use it on your phone.
3. Get the Right Food Pairings
Food is a vital part of wine sampling, and since you intend to feed your guests when they visit, then it is important that you find out what food to prepare. The flavors in the wine interact with your food selections in different ways to complete the gastronomic experience. The tannins in red wine will enhance an oily meal in the same way that a good dry white complement charred meat. Aside from keeping the flavors intact, this is also an education in wine and food that your guests will always appreciate. There are a lot of recipes online for your baked goods, cheeses, grilled meats and other cooking options that go well with different wines. Check out “What Wine Should I Drink With Cheese” for a guide on cheese selections for you to pair.
Balancing the food with drinks also involves the manner in which you serve the vino. Know which bottle to bring out first and in what order. The others should follow. If you have a bottle of each, you can line up the bottles in this order; bubbly, light-bodied, rich whites, rose varieties, light-bodied reds, bold reds and finally dessert wines. You also want to serve these wines at the recommended temperatures.
Be sure to also check out “What Wine Should I Drink With Steak” to see how you can pair your steak dinners with some rich wine.
Required Supplies @matilda0214
4. Have an Intimate Party & Make Smart Purchases
Wine tasting is an affair that is enjoyed best in small groups. Invite about ten people or fewer over for your wine tasting party. A smaller group is more intimate, which makes the whole experience that much more special. It is also simpler to pour out a single bottle into all the portions. Having a number of guests exceeding this might mean that you have to get two bottles of everything so that everyone can get a sip. The key to ensuring you don’t run out of wine is to keep the portions as small as possible and the tastes short.
As you decide how many guests you will have over, think also about the amount of wine you should buy per person. A single bottle has 24 ounces of wine, which in theory means you have two wine servings of two ounces per bottle. However, you have to consider re-tastes, because guests will most likely like to have a second taste. For a light tasting, budget for half a bottle per guest. The more realistic math is to have a bottle per person though.
5. Have the Table set Appropriately
First, you have to inform your guests not to wear any scented lotions or perfumes that might stifle the aromas of the wine. This also means that you can’t have any flowers with a strong aroma of scented candles.
Apart from getting fine China and the best cutlery out, you may also find a wine tasting guide handy. There are lots of wine guides chockfull with all the information you may need when questions arise and they will.
Host of Your Party @mariellagargiulo_wp
6. Don’t Get Drunk
Wine tasting should maintain its class to the very end. You achieve this by establishing an air of comfort, competence, and calm. While the conversations you have will impact this, spit buckets will also help. Guests should spit out into spit buckets so that the alcohol levels don’t take away from the whole experience.
7. Allow People Time to Take Notes
Your guests need time to write down what impression they get from each bottle they taste. Your guests may all be wine lovers but wine descriptions are hard to nail for the same reason they are easy to come up with. Ease your guests into the night and encourage conversations that help everyone feel comfortable and you will get more out of them. Taking everything step by step also helps encourage individual and authentic opinions so that you don’t have a scenario where people mirror each other’s opinions. Some of the main points to note down as you taste the wines include:
Flavors and aromas: write down any flavors that come to mind when you taste a bottle of wine.
write down any flavors that come to mind when you taste a bottle of wine. Balance: what is the mix of flavors? Is one flavor too dominant? It could be the tannins, acidity or sugariness, have it all noted down.
what is the mix of flavors? Is one flavor too dominant? It could be the tannins, acidity or sugariness, have it all noted down. The finish: this has to do with the lingering taste after you have swallowed the wine. A quality bottle of wine should have a subtle finish. The low-quality bottles leave no notable taste.
8. Add Some Fun Games to Finish the Party in Style
You can take it a notch higher and make your wine tasting party a bit more interesting with some fun games. You can have these towards the end of the party or inculcate them into the wine tasting. Have prices for winners just to add to that special feeling of being a wine tasting expert.
As the host, you will do well for yourself to find out all you can about wine. Find out all the fun facts you can about wine in general and surprise your guests with your knowledge of wine. It’s not hard to have a successful wine hosting session even if you are not the most knowledgeable wine drinker and a list like this will help you get it right.
Notes for Party People @oeno_official
Thank you for reading with us today! Did these tips help you out a bit more about planning that perfect wine tasting party? Take a look at “Detailed Guide to Making Wine Gummy Bears With Ease” and see how you can include these delicious gummies in your party! Let us know in the comments below what else you include in your wine gatherings.
Wine on My Time is a resource blog for wine lovers all across the world! We take pride in delivering the best quality wine material for our readers. Check us out on Instagram and Pinterest for daily wine content!
Bottoms up! We’ll uncork ya later!! 🍷
Read The Full Article Below! | https://medium.com/@wineonmytime/8-tips-to-host-a-great-wine-tasting-party-474dd3e397f6 | ['Wine On My Time'] | 2019-10-17 16:08:01.230000+00:00 | ['Wine', 'Female', 'Vineo'] |
Breaking the Basket: Understanding Guatemala’s Food Crisis With Data Science | From the graph, there are some interesting ideas to note here.
In 1980 (while Guatemala was still in the civil war), the food availability per capita is not so significantly different for the three countries. In 1996, around the time the Guatemalan civil war ended, the food availability per capita for the country stops fluctuating up and down as much as before and instead begins staying relatively around the same area (between 80 and 100 kgs in grain equivalent). Peru, which has seen massive economical growth throughout the 21st century, has had it’s food availability per capita increase consistently throughout those years. Haiti, although stricken in 2010 by a massive earthquake, did not have its food availability drop significantly (mainly due to the large amounts of foreign aid the country received after the disaster).
So, why is Guatemala not seeing a betterment in its food availability? By the documentation of the dataset, the food availability per capita was recorded in how many kilograms of food, in grain equivalent, a person would theoretically receive a year (theoretical since the value is made from dividing the actual food availability amount by the population of the country).
Based on that, considering there are 365 days a year, that would result in an average of 0.22 kilograms for the average Guatemalan to get every day. Considering that one kilogram of the grain-equivalent measure is 3200 calories, that is an estimated 700 calories that are available for the average Guatemalan.
Of course, there are things to consider, women, the elderly, and children need less than the average 2000 calories required for a healthy male. At the same time, it is not as if every person is only consuming 700 calories every day. The reality is that while people in a better economical standing may be getting a healthy amount of calories, if not more, those people that belong to the groups economically devasted by the civil war may be consuming far less than 700 calories, averaging the data to around the amount.
The data drew some interesting insights, so further investigation was required. Another dataset, this one from the humanitarian data exchange, was used to obtain more information about Guatemala’s food crisis.
To the left, you can see a chart comparing the number of undernourished people and the food availability per capita. It would be easy for one to say right away that the two factors should go hand in hand with one another, but after certain tests, it resulted that both aspects had a linear correlation of -0.01.
In other words, these two aspects had near to no correlation. Why is it that food availability had no influence on the number of undernourished people? Well, although the data on the food availability per capita details how much food should be theoretically available for each person, that does not mean that the distribution of this food is equal for everyone. That is to say, even if the amount of food available for the country increased, it is entirely possible that a large percentage of this food goes to a particular group inside the country.
As Guatemala’s urbanized areas grew and modernized, they would have required a greater amount of food. Even so, the secluded groups that have been economically struggling do not enjoy the benefits of the increased food supply, and as their population grows, so does the number of undernourished people (since they do not have enough food available to properly nourish all their population).
How can this idea be proven? Well, one can take a look at the GDP per capita, and compare it to the food supply per capita for those years.
This chart had a linear correlation of 0.46, also known as a significant positive linear correlation. This meant that the change in the GDP per capita for Guatemala is somewhat influenced by the change in the Food Availablity per Capita and vice versa. However, what does this mean?
GDP per capita is also a theoretical value, it is represented as the GDP of a country divided by its population. Therefore, if GDP per capita can also suffer from the idea of not being able to properly showcase the real distribution of the feature (in this case, the GDP) in the population, it can at least serve to show that the GDP of the country has increased.
If the GDP of Guatemala has increased throughout the year, then the country becomes capable of producing and importing more food. In other words, it’s food availability grows, but if the number of undernourished people is not changing from this growth, then that means that the distribution of this growth and development is not serving to the improvement of this issue.
Let’s take a look at another comparative chart, this one comparing the GDP per capita and the number of undernourished people in Guatemala.
the chart here showed that both the number of undernourished people and the GDP per capita in Guatemala had a linear relationship of 0.7! In a literal sense, that would mean that the increase in GDP per capita in Guatemala has led to a direct increase in the number of undernourished people in the country!
Now, this may not be the case. The graph is very likely to have noise within it, and the sampling of a relatively small timespan may have resulted in the coincidental correlation. That is why it’s important to remember, correlation does not always mean causation. It’s very doubtful that the increase in GDP per capita for Guatemala is resulting in more people being malnourished, but it at least shows that the increase in GDP per capita is not helping reduce the problem.
That is to say, neither the increase in food availability in Guatemala nor the increase in the nation’s GDP per capita is helping solve the problem of malnourishment. If the country is growing economically, and if it’s food supply (as seen from the bar graph) has not changed significantly, why is the malnourished population still increasing?
The allocation of these resources, both the economical power showcased from the GDP per capita, and the food availability are the reason why. As the population increases and economically struggling groups in Guatemala continue to procreate and grow in size, the failure of a proper distribution of resources fails to respond to the increasing need for food from these groups. As the urbanized areas grow in size and continue consuming ever so increasingly, the economy grows, but the benefits of this growth are only enjoyed by those particular individuals in those urbanized areas.
So in summary, we learned that:
Guatemala has not seen a large growth in its food supply, and the lack of distribution in its supply has resulted in many people inside the country still struggling to find reliable sources of food.
Guatemala’s economy keeps improving and developing, but because the allocation of these new resources has not been properly established, there are still many within the country that have not seen any personal economical growth, and continue being incapable of properly nourishing themselves.
As Guatemala keeps developing and growing, it’s important to always keep an eye out for its current issues. With the right information and analysis, it becomes possible to tackle large problems and help steer the country towards a more developed future. | https://marcosmorales2011.medium.com/breaking-the-basket-understanding-guatemalas-food-crisis-with-data-science-5cddd0ec5ed0 | ['Marcos Morales'] | 2020-10-15 15:37:34.237000+00:00 | ['Food', 'Guatemala', 'Data Science', 'Economics', 'Data Visualization'] |
Why I Paid $300k to Quit A Startup | Why I Paid $300k to Quit A Startup
Source: Adobe InStock
I was an early employee at a hyper-growth startup. Life was rich until I tried to quit. This is the story of why I had to pay $300K to unshackle myself.
There’s surprisingly little coverage on this topic, maybe because nobody is incentivized to reveal the unsavory truth, or because VCs and founders get a lot more airtime.
Here’s everything I wish I knew before I joined a startup. I hope it can save you from burning piles of money like I did.
Golden handcuffs
For all the talk around “disruption”, startups exert a surprising inertia over employees.
“Golden handcuffs” is most often used to describe the inertia experienced by big tech employees who make a ton of money and have a hard time leaving. It also applies to startup employees who make a ton of paper gains and have a hard time coming up with real money to keep them.
The real deal with stock options
Working at a startup generally requires taking a salary cut. The deal is sweetened with equity — an ownership stake that can mint millions.
The most common equity vehicle is the stock option. It’s the option to buy a certain # of shares at a set price, aka the strike price. That’s right. You don’t own shares of the company, you own the right to buy them.
There are two more catches:
Options usually expire within 90 days of your leaving — so you have to either pay up or give them up If you pay up, you also owe taxes on your paper gains — the difference between your strike price and the current valuation
#2 is dangerous because your taxes grow with the valuation. Even if you have a cheap strike price, your tax burden can be multiples higher. In fact, your total bill can end up costing more than the startup has ever paid you in cash! Yes, it is actually possible to be net negative after devoting years of your life as an employee.
In my case, the price tag for my vested shares was $100K, but the tax bill will be another $200K. That’s a ton of cash just to keep the shares I worked for, with no guarantees that they will be worth real money. Wild, right?
Your true options
The financial defaults are terrible for startup employees, but they don’t need to be this way. You can and should negotiate the fine print, where all the devils lie. Exceptions are never granted unless you ask.
The first order of business is the exercise window. Instead of taking the punishing 90-day window, ask for 10 years. You can frame it like this: “I believe in the potential of X and I’m excited to take part in the upside. It’s important that I can do that regardless of my cash position at a specific moment in time.”
The best time to ask is before you sign the offer. This is when you have peak leverage, and if you make it the final sticking point, you’re more likely to get it. To gain an upper hand, try to secure competing offers that have more favorable terms.
Does negotiating make you look petty? No, if anything, it shows you’ve done your homework. Not negotiating terrible terms betrays your naivete — like me when I signed my offer.
Whatever you settle on, make sure to get it in writing. Many a verbal promise is broken when there are large sums of money at stake.
If you still wind up with a crazy bill, see if the next company you join is willing to pay your switching cost. I forgot to do this when negotiating with Instagram, but it can work, especially with bigger companies. The downside is that if you need the new company to bail you out of your old one, you are at their mercy.
More points you can negotiate for:
Accelerated vesting : if the startup gets acquired, your unvested shares immediately vest
: if the startup gets acquired, your unvested shares immediately vest RSUs instead of stock options: restricted stock units have a strike price of $0, but early-stage startups may not offer this
Even if you don’t get everything you want, you’ll still develop a better understanding of how accessible your equity really is. Sometimes a higher salary is better than heaps of “life-changing” stock options you can never afford.
One more escape route that just came to my attention: 83b election. If you believe in the growth potential of your shares AND you expect to stay and vest, you can choose to pay taxes on your full grant upfront, rather than on your paper gains down the line. This may save you a lot on taxes, but also comes with a dose of downsides:
You need to file within 30 days of your grant
You’re still paying cash upfront for an unknown outcome
You can end up worse off if the shares decline in value OR you don’t fully vest
Why so employee hostile?
As much as startups talk about growing the pie, the finite pool of shares is treated as a zero-sum. When you give up your options, they go back into the company pool. Your unused options can then be recycled to fund new employee packages.
Here’s how a VC sums it up: extending the exercise window prioritizes the well-being of former employees over existing ones. What startup in its right mind would do that?! Probably one that recognizes it was built, brick by brick, from the hands of early employees. Sadly, 91.4% do not recognize this.
It’s also hard to decipher the terms in your offer package. If every startup had to walk employees through how the numbers play out, a lot of offers would go unsigned because they’re absurd. Instead, we’re sold on the opportunity to “make a dent in the universe”.
It’s rarely about the money until the money becomes real.
Final hours
Most people advised me to give up some shares, or find a third party to front the cash and split the upside — both more rational choices than the one I took.
In the end, watching years of hard work evaporate in 90 days far exceeded the pain of just paying for the damn lottery ticket. I’m lucky I had access to that cash. Many people don’t. They are forced to give up their shares or stay shackled to a company in hopes of liquidity someday.
I never joined a startup to get rich. But I did naively assume that if all went well, I would ride off into the sunset, having paid for the equity in sweat. I didn’t comb through the fine print because I didn’t know any better.
Now you do! Maybe I should rebrand my $300K bill as a premium MBA — it’s sure taught me a lot, and I hope it brings you a wealth of lessons too.
Is a startup worth it?
Source: Garry Tan’s Twitter
I still believe the right startup offers endless amounts of learning and a serious shot at earning. But the pot of gold at the end of Unicorn Road is littered with hidden minefields. It is not designed with you in mind.
To stay safe, negotiate for:
10-year exercise window on stock options Accelerated vesting in the event of an acquisition RSUs instead of stock options if possible Every single promise in writing Consider 83b election to save on taxes
On a brighter note, there’s a growing number of companies that offer extended exercise windows by default. Hopefully one day the shortlist will only call out companies that don’t offer the employee-humane choice.
Recommended reads 📚 | https://entrepreneurshandbook.co/why-i-paid-300k-to-quit-a-startup-e787ba4c4c06 | ['Linda Z'] | 2021-06-14 19:38:17.321000+00:00 | ['Business', 'Startup Lessons', 'Startup Life', 'Equity', 'Startup'] |
My Experience as a Journalism/Publishing Intern | Coincidentally, I’m writing this post a year (to the day) since I finished my internship. Over the six month period every single day was different so to write down or even remember it all would be virtually impossible, but this brief recap will give some context to my next post and might also be interesting to you if you’re hoping to complete a journalism or publishing internship yourself.
Interviewing competitors in the main arena at Equifest, Peterborough
Being a competitive equestrian, I came across Redpin whilst reading one of their regional equestrian magazines. I was fortunate enough that when I contacted the company they’d just been discussing having an intern, so within a few weeks of that first email I went for my interview and was invited to work at some equestrian events over summer, after which I’d work full time in the office until Christmas. There’s a message here for those looking for internships- seek out companies that interest you rather than just considering those with online applications, as you may get in there before other hopefuls have the chance.
In July I was back on the train for a painful four hours up to Rugby to attend the TSR summer show, which Redpin were covering. This was my first event with them and my first time working as a journalist. By the end of that day I had got to grips with the basics of a DSLR camera, filmed for promotional videos, carried out my first solo interviews, met various members of the show committee, live streamed an awards ceremony and got a taste of showing as an equestrian sport.
Then it was time to start in the office. I alternated between the teams (editorial, design and marketing), learning how they worked and helping where needed. Redpin are not just one of the UK’s leading equestrian publishers; they are equally known for their lifestyle magazines which cover the different areas of Wiltshire, so a lot of my work went towards these. My jobs included creating events diaries, finding local stories, interviewing over phone and email, updating content spreadsheets, using Indesign to create page layouts, proofreading, taking marketing calls, carrying out research for events plus writing of all kinds- book reviews, editor’s notes, local club profiles, lifestyle articles and equestrian reports (some of which were five pages long). By Christmas I had created a large portfolio of published pieces.
I also continued to attend events, including the Longines Royal International, Equifest and HOYS. Being week-long trips, these were very intense and days often started at 5am and ended with an exhausted dinner at 10pm. However, they were amazing opportunities to develop my new skills, begin networking and see some incredible equestrian competition. We also had days out to gather content for training features and my final (and most glamorous) trip was the SEIB Showing Awards in Birmingham, which is organised by Redpin and perhaps their most significant event of the season. | https://medium.com/@lornathurgood/my-experience-as-a-journalism-publishing-intern-440357f2b098 | ['Lorna Thurgood'] | 2020-12-20 17:31:53.270000+00:00 | ['Publishing Industry', 'Internship', 'Journalism', 'Internship Experience', 'Equestrian'] |
How to set business goals to attain long-term success? | Hey folks! Hope you’re doing well and safe from the COVID trap. We’re back with another business story to make our readers get more knowledgeable. Every business has got some goals and the success or failure of the business depends on how well those goals are set. So, in today’s blog, we’ll understand what all is covered in business goals and how a perfect strategy should be envisaged so as to attain long-term success.
What are Business Goals?
Every business whether small scale, medium scale or large scale, set some company goals. The goals may be general and specific both depending on the circumstances set for employees, top management, different departments, or sometimes, even customers as well. Goals can be set for the short-term as well as long-term depending on the business purpose and nature.
Thus, in other words, we can say that all such decisions and desires that a company wishes to attain or accomplish in a set stipulated period of time are known as business goals.
Why are they framed?
There is no business plan that can go on without setting a goal. Thus, setting up business goals is the most fundamental part of every business, thereby framing a way to measure how robust and successful the business is.
Adding on, let’s have a look at some of the reasons behind setting the business goals:
They provide a clearer picture of how the targets have to be accomplished and what preparations need to be undertaken.
Creating a common working criterion for all the employees so as to attain a common goal.
Educating and developing a sense of understanding among the company employees about efficient decision making.
Helps in ensuring that the company is heading in the right direction and is doing well.
Objectives of setting business goals
To create a sink between today and tomorrow
To analyze what we’re today and what want to become ahead
To make all the employees accountable for their work
To analyze and pre-plan the expenses and costs to be incurred
To build a performance analysis base to judge how well the business is going
To keep things clear and transparent
What are the 3 M’s in the business?
In the normal run of business, if you have ever been familiar with the business line, you’ve heard about 3 M’s of the business. What are they?
Well basically, just like we need food, water, and air to survive and all the other necessities are secondary; just like that there are 3 M’s in every business that is majorly responsible for making or breaking the business.
✓ Man
Man is the whole sole performer of the business. Even if an organization has all the resources identical, but still one can fail and another can go up, because man is the only resource that decides the robustness and efficiency of the concern.
✓ Money
Finance is the blood of every business. Yes, the need for the money can be less but it will be there. The success and the long-term sustainability of the business is also dependent on the availability of funds and thus, it’s also a crucial factor.
✓ Machine
Last, but not least, the raw materials are converted into finished products, this is done through machines only. Thus, if the machinery is old, obsolete and technologically not updated, then it would adversely affect the business operations. Hence, machines also another important factor.
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Take over your business handles, and manage inputs with complete data access and analytical interpretation. Accessing your tally data was never this easy, just integrate your business with tally ERP9 software download for mobile and web and track every minute input updates (sales, purchases, cash inflow, and outflow, inventory changes) on your mobile phone. Avail the subscription today with free download tally ERP9 with GST sharing and easy transaction tracking. Stay connected for more interesting articles. Feel free to share your feedback. | https://medium.com/@tallydekho/how-to-set-business-goals-to-attain-long-term-success-a07633fc8f10 | [] | 2020-12-15 11:42:20.471000+00:00 | ['Business Development', 'Business Goals', 'Success', 'Business Strategy', 'Business'] |
Machine Learning Distributed: Ring-Reduce vs. All-Reduce | In this blog post, I’d like to share some of the insights from my work at the High-Performance Computing (HPC) Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC) cluster (circa 2010, TACC had a “Lonestar” cluster with 5200 2Gb-nodes), and within the Technology Group at Conoco-Phillips Corp. Specifically, I want to address the issue of Data vs. Model distributed computations.
But before I go into the details, let’s understand what ring-reduce and all-reduce are.
What Are Ring-Reduce And All-Reduce Operations?
All-Reduce is a parallel algorithm that aggregates the target arrays from all processes independently into a single array. Aggregation can be either concatenation or summation, or any other operation that allows for independent parallel processing of arrays. When applied to the gradient of deep learning, the summation is the most common operation.
On the other hand, in ring-reduce, the gradient is divided into consecutive blocks at each node, and simultaneously, each block is updated using the previous node and also provides an update to the next node, making a ring pattern. This method is popularized by tools like Horovod.
Ring-Reduce vs. All-Reduce
When it comes to All-Reduce vs. Ring-Reduce distribution, we often do not consider the price we would need to pay for Ring-Reduce.
For example, All-Reduce ACCURACY is absolutely equivalent to non-distributed training, i.e., we should expect the same results from All-reduce running on any number of nodes, including a single node. However, All-reduce won’t be able to train models that do not fit memory.
Ring-Reduce allows training large models that do not fit in single node memory. However, there is a price in ACCURACY that needs to be paid, and there are methods to deal with it to minimize this price.
Here is an intuitive explanation of Ring-Reduce using a big matrix solving notation that illustrates the ‘price’ that one pays both in terms of convergence rate and attainable convergence accuracy.
First of all, there is a SYNCHRONOUS Ring-Reduce that reproduces the single node accuracy (up to shuffling in case of deep learning batch training). Synchronous Ring-Reduce uploads the model into memory in chunks, but only one node runs at any time.
The next phase of introducing Ring-Reduce for ASYNCHRONOUS distributed computations is making Ring-Reduce reproduce one’s single node ACCURACY for a diagonal block matrix (diagram below, top), with a trivial model-nodes distribution which requires no intra-node communication.
Lastly, here is how we improve Ring-Reduce for a non-diagonal but sparse matrix. Model distribution is still possible, and now each node will need to communicate to its neighbor ASYNCHRONOUSLY and without blocking. It is done by having each node dealing with a ‘delayed’ part of the model weights computed from its neighbor. This deviates from the model update scheme for a single node when the whole model is updated at step n+1 using the model at step n.
Notice Ring-Reduce intra-nodes ‘horovod’ (circle in Russian) dependency
I illustrate All-reduce vs. Ring-reduce using a small MPI c-program (Github) :
https://github.com/romanonly/romankazinnik_blog/blob/master/distributed/model_gs_mpi/README.md
To introduce some complexity, I have chosen a non-diagonally-dominant matrix with a non-guaranteed convergence, as can be seen with the Gauss-Seidel update scheme. As a result, we will observe Ring-Reduce not being able to converge for some ranges of matrix size n (❤00).
Here are the main conclusions by comparing side-by-side All-Reduce and Ring-Reduce:
Synchronous All-Reduce MPI matrix solver that attains absolute up to arbitrary epsilon convergence with Gauss-Seidel iterations. Ring-Reduce is able to distribute large models (large matrices) Ring-Reduce provides a straightforward extension to asynchronous model weights updates. Ring-Reduce may break update schemes. For example, the Gauss-Seidel solver may not attain an absolute arbitrary-epsilon convergence (for example, one can see it for n=100), and the resulting convergence error can be large. Ring-Reduce requires a larger absolute amount of computations, i.e., in my example, each node will make up to ten inter-node iterations between the intra-node communications. Ring-Reduce performance greatly depends on the linear equations sparsity. For a general non-sparse model, no model distribution could be attained.
I had All-Reduce and Ring-reduce implemented in MPI using a non-blocking synchronous MPI Reduce and point-to-point Send and Receive on each node.
Gauss-Seidel update attains arbitrary unlimitedconvergence accuracy of 0.002 with synchronous (blocking) distributed model weights update, versus limited convergence of 0.1 in an asynchronous update. | https://medium.com/@roman-kazinnik/machine-learning-distributed-ring-reduce-vs-all-reduce-cb8e97ade42e | ['Roman Kazinnik'] | 2020-11-18 23:40:10.792000+00:00 | ['Distributed Systems', 'Big Data Training', 'Big Data'] |
Angular 11 Firestore CRUD: add/get/update/delete documents with AngularFireStore | In this tutorial, I will show you how to build Angular 11 CRUD App with Firebase Cloud Firestore that uses AngularFireStore service to get/add/update/delete documents in a collection.
Angular 11 Firestore CRUD Overview
We’re gonna build an Angular 11 Firestore App using @angular/fire library in which:
Each Tutorial has id, title, description, published status.
We can create, retrieve, update, delete Tutorials.
Here are the screenshots:
– Create a new Tutorial:
Cloud Firestore after the Create Operations:
– Change status to Published/Pending using Publish/UnPublish button:
– Update the Tutorial details with Update button:
– Delete the Tutorial using Delete button:
AngularFireStore service
@angular/fire provides AngularFireStore service that allows us to work with the Firebase Firestore. It’s an efficient, low-latency solution for apps that require synced states across clients in realtime.
import { AngularFireStore } from '@angular/fire/store';
export class TutorialService {
constructor(private db: AngularFireStore) { }
}
AngularFireStore for create/get/update/delete Document
The AngularFirestoreDocument is a service for manipulating and streaming document data which is created via AngularFireStore service.
– Create a document binding/ Retrieve:
tutorial: AngularFirestoreDocument<any>;
// db: AngularFireStore
this.tutorial = db.doc('tutorial');
// or
Observable<any> tutorial = db.doc('tutorial').valueChanges();
– Create/Update a document:
const tutRef = db.doc('tutorial');
// set() for destructive updates
tutRef.set({ title: 'zkoder Tutorial'});
– Update a document:
const tutRef= db.doc('tutorial');
tutRef.update({ url: 'bezkoder.com/zkoder-tutorial' });
– Delete a document:
const tutRef = db.doc('tutorial');
tutRef.delete();
AngularFireStore for create/get/update/delete Collection
Through the AngularFireStore service, we can create AngularFirestoreCollection service that helps to synchronize data as collection.
– Create a collection binding/ Retrieve:
+ Get an Observable of data as a synchronized array of JSON objects without snapshot metadata.
tutorials: Observable<any[]>;
// db: AngularFireStore
this.tutorials = db.collection('tutorials').valueChanges();
+ Get an Observable of data as a synchronized array of DocumentChangeAction[] with metadata (the underyling DocumentReference and snapshot id):
tutorials: Observable<any[]>;
this.tutorials = db.collection('tutorials').snapshotChanges();
– Create a collection and add a new document:
const tutorialsRef = db.collection('tutorials');
const tutorial = { title: 'zkoder Tutorial', url: 'bezkoder.com/zkoder-tutorial' };
tutorialsRef.add({ ...tutorial });
– Update a collection:
+ destructive update using set() : delete everything currently in place, then save the new value
const tutorialsRef = db.collection('tutorials');
tutorialsRef.doc('id').set({ title: 'zkoder Tut#1', url: 'bezkoder.com/zkoder-tut-1' });
+ non-destructive update using update() : only updates the specified values
const tutorialsRef = db.collection('tutorials');
tutorialsRef.doc('id').update({ title: 'zkoder new Tut#1' });
– Delete a document in collection:
const tutorialsRef = db.collection('tutorials');
tutorialsRef.doc('id').delete();
– Delete entire collection: Deleting Firestore collections from a Web client is not recommended.
You can find the solution here.
Technology
Angular 11
firebase 8
@angular/fire 6
rxjs 6
Project Structure
Let me explain it briefly.
– environment.ts configures information to connect with Firebase Project.
– models/tutorial.model.ts defines data model class.
– services/tutorial.service.ts exports TutorialService that uses @angular/fire ‘s AngularFireStore to interact with Firebase FireStore.
– There are 3 components that uses TutorialService :
add-tutorial for creating new item
for creating new item tutorials-list contains list of items, parent of tutorial-details
contains list of items, parent of tutorial-details shows item details
– app-routing.module.ts defines routes for each component.
– app.component contains router view and navigation bar.
– app.module.ts declares Angular components and imports necessary environment & modules.
For more details, please visit:
https://bezkoder.com/angular-11-firestore-crud-angularfirestore/
Related Posts:
- Angular 11 Upload File to Firebase Storage: Display/Delete Files example
- Angular 11 Firebase CRUD with Realtime Database | https://medium.com/@bezkoder/angular-11-firestore-crud-angularfirestore-fe0ac15a3c9e | [] | 2020-12-15 01:56:05.504000+00:00 | ['Cloud Firestore', 'Angular 11', 'Angular', 'Firestore', 'Firebase'] |
-Thank You (2021) | Thank you for the moments
when life felt unreal.
Moments when things felt
okay, normal, sane.
Moments when the air was still
and the world around us
stopped spinning so quickly. | https://medium.com/@dylq/thank-you-2021-7f7da6d442ac | ['Dylan Quintero'] | 2020-12-22 21:29:11.202000+00:00 | ['Screenwriting', 'Screenplay', 'Poetry'] |
How TikTok is Affecting Youth: Positive and Negative Effects | Positive Effects
Photo by Owen Beard on Unsplash
Moral Entertainment
The major advantage of TikTok is that it serves as a great source of entertainment. With TikTok, users can dance, act, and expand their social circle. TikTok is interactive, with creative challenges and dances people make for others to recreate and have fun with. And it provides steady enjoyable content. Overall, TikTok is a great app to help stay entertained, especially during the stress of the pandemic.
Publicity
TikTok is a great app for people that want to get famous off of unique talents and daring. Good at art? Want to knock over a mountain of plastic cups with a ping pong ball? With TikTok, anyone can create short videos doing anything they choose to do that’s appropriate and legal to ensnare the public interest and become viral in society.
Learning New Things
On top of the funny videos and the dancing videos, there are some people that make videos with great opportunities and life tips that can help many people. Also, there are other people like doctors or teachers on TikTok utilizing the platform to teach new things every day.
Providing New Opportunities
With the ongoing pandemic, young students such as high schoolers have been finding remote volunteering and internship opportunities directly from TikTok. As an engaging platform, TikTok connects determined youths together to volunteer for nonprofits like Linens N Love or intern for companies. | https://medium.com/linens-n-love/how-tik-tok-is-affecting-youth-the-positive-and-negative-effects-7381b17ac43a | ['Sajida Simrin'] | 2020-08-05 21:25:35.653000+00:00 | ['Volunteering', 'Youth', 'Nonprofit', 'Tiktok App', 'Social Media'] |
Building a Middleware-Based Request Router in Node.JS | Everyone is familiar with the Node.JS Express Framework.
One of the more interesting features of this framework (apart from simplifying the process of handling incoming HTTP/S requests) is its implementation of Middleware for pre-processing any requests prior to them making their way to the final handler / controller.
This feature sparked my interest - and desire to try and build something similar.
So I threw together a quick demo of how you can build your own middleware-based request router.
I’m going to walk through the code here. Or alternatively — you can download the GitHub repo, run it yourself and adapt it to your needs:
Let’s have a look at the file.
I’m going to wrap all functions and variables within a self-invoking function — I’ve found this to be good practice to keep the scope of everything within the function confined so it cannot conflict with variables outside of it.
The first function that I define within our outer function is the “app” function. This is a self-invoking function and closure that can have a request and response object passed in to it from whomever decides to call it. On receipt of these objects, it loops through a stack of middleware functions and listens for invocation of the 3rd input variable (our “next()” function) in order to trigger execution of the next middleware function in the stack. Or if we’ve run out of middleware functions — then the final handler / controller.
I then define some child variables against the primary function/object — namely the stack (app.stack), a placeholder for our handler function, and two additional functions — “app.use” to register new middleware on the stack and “app.handle” to register our final handler function / controller.
Next — I’m going to register a series of middleware functions:
Each middleware function sets a new variable on the request object that is being passed through them.
Next — we register our final handler / controller which, when called, displays the resulting request object within our console.
Finally — we need a function to invoke the app object and trigger the processing of our request through the stack/chain of middleware. I set some seed variables within the request object here and then invoke the app function.
Now let’s look at the result in our console:
As you can see — each variable that is set by a piece of middleware is accessible within the next piece of middleware and from the final handler/controller.
I hope that someone out there finds this as interesting as me and just as useful. | https://blog.darrensmith.com.au/building-a-middleware-based-request-router-in-node-js-37dea9df51ee | ['Darren Smith'] | 2020-01-14 10:12:35.390000+00:00 | ['JavaScript', 'Expressjs', 'Technology', 'Nodejs', 'Middleware'] |
The Genius That Was Gordon Buehrig | If we had to identify one person from the early days of the automobile who made the largest contribution or had the biggest impact on car design, we’d be hard-pressed to find a better candidate than Gordon Miller Buehrig.
Born in 1904, Buehrig was raised during a time when automobiles were just beginning to take off. Features many of us take for granted today were considered groundbreaking innovations in the industry. As it just so happens, many of those advancements were due to Buehrig.
His design work on some of the most beautiful cars in history were more artistic masterpieces than machines. However, many of his technological advances weren’t just aesthetically pleasing, they were functional.
According to an article on 95 Customs, Buehrig once stated, “Never do anything without a good reason to do it. A beautiful automobile gets its form from its function.”
Among the cars that can claim to be designed by Buehrig were the Stutz Black Hawk, Auburn 851 Boattail Speedster, Duesenberg J, 1951 Ford Victoria Coupe, 1956 Lincoln Continental Mark II, and, perhaps the car he’s most known for, the Cord 810/812.
After growing up in Mason, Ill., Buehrig enrolled at Bradley University in Peoria, Ill., where he studied drafting, art, and wood and metal working. However, he was expelled for none other than drawing car designs on his chemistry notebook (seems like a pretty severe punishment for a crime many wouldn’t consider a crime).
He returned to college shortly after being expelled but never graduated, choosing instead to try his luck in Detroit and the automobile industry. His first couple of years in the industry included stints with Packard, General Motors and Stutz. In 1929, he designed the Stutz Black Hawk, which would compete in the Le Mans.
While he was still with Stutz, he was courted by Duesenberg and eventually signed on to work there. E.L. Cord, who also owned the Auburn Company, had already purchased Duesenberg. Buehrig was named the Chief Designer at Duesenberg and given the task of designing the Model J, as well as other models.
In 1934, he transitioned his efforts to the Auburn. The first car he designed under the Auburn nametag was the Auburn 851 Boattail Speedster. From there, Buehrig transferred to the Cord side of the business where he was asked to create the “Baby Duesenberg.” Instead, the Cord 810/812 was born. | https://blog.cordrevival.com/the-genius-that-was-gordon-buehrig-876790b61811 | ['Sam Maven'] | 2018-04-17 12:55:28.319000+00:00 | ['Cars', 'Cord', 'Automotive', 'Classic Cars', 'Gordon Buehrig'] |
If California adopts single-payer, I’ll finally leave the state | It’s mildly ironic that on the 10th anniversary of me taking up residence in the state of California, I’m seriously considering moving my family out. It’s not the outrageous cost of living nor the left-leaning nature of the state even in the “conservative safe haven” of Orange County. Sacramento is now pushing for single-payer health care. If that makes it in, I’ll finally move out.
As is often the case with liberal ideas, the fantasy surrounding the proposal is so outrageous that many in the state will stick their heads in the sand (even further than they already do) and love on the idea while ignoring the consequences. They’re calling for free… everything: no copays or deductibles. This is why it has a chance of succeeding. People will hear that and instantly rejoice.
Of course, “free” is never free. You might be wondering how much this proposal will cost California tax-payers. The current budget is $183 billion. That’s a lot of money and it’s made possible by outrageously high taxes on residents and businesses. To make this single-payer plan work will require $400 billion per year. Yes, this plan will more than triple the current budget.
Let that sink in. I’ll wait.
I’m not rich but my revenue is above average. Even so, I’d by crushed by further increases in state taxes. No thank you.
As Aaron Bandler noted on DailyWire:
California already faces a $1.6 billion budget deficit this year, but the state’s debt problems are actually much worse than that, as the state faces unfunded liabilities of almost a trillion dollars. Given that the Tax Foundation has already ranked California as having the sixth-highest tax rates in the nation, the ensuing tax rates from implementing a single-payer healthcare bill system would be even more onerous and cripple the state’s economy. The problem with creating utopia is that reality eventually kicks in and the attempted utopia turns into a living nightmare, which is why states that have tried to implement single-payer have failed to do so. The price tag of the bill being put forward in the state senate suggests the same will be true for California.
The left is great at selling a dream. They’re like the junior high student council candidate who tells people how awesome it will be when they have Pepsi coming out of the water fountains. They’re in the business of making promises and blaming others for the consequences. No state exemplifies this better than California. I fear I may have to abandon the nice weather to find greener pastures soon.
Article originally published on Soshable. | https://medium.com/political-jargon/if-california-adopts-single-payer-ill-finally-leave-the-state-f8e54fa60ce1 | ['Jd Rucker'] | 2017-05-23 22:03:15.934000+00:00 | ['California', 'Politics', 'Single Payer', 'Health Care', 'Socialism'] |
Intrusion Detection System | “Fewer than one in twenty security professionals has the core competence and the foundation knowledge to take a system all the way from a completely unknown state of security through mapping, vulnerability testing, password cracking, modem testing, vulnerability patching, firewall tuning, instrumentation, virus detection at multiple entry points, and even through back-ups and configuration management.”
― Stephen Northcutt, Network Intrusion Detection: An Analysts’ Handbook
In this article implementation of IDS (Intrusion detection system) is covered using Random Forest Algorithm of Machine Learning.
What do you mean by IDS: An Intrusion Detection System (IDS) is a network security technology originally built for detecting vulnerability exploits against a target application or computer
The dataset used for this project is mentioned below and link is available of GitHub for reference “kddcup.data_10_percent: https://github.com/edyoda/pyspark-tutorial/blob/master/kddcup.data_10_percent.gz
Python is used for implementation, Jupiter Notebook (preferred):
Firstly, pandas and TensorFlow is imported as the main libraries we need will be available. Then dataset path is provided using try catch, and if any error it will throw downloading error. Then read file command is used to read the dataset. Reading rows and printing their status.
Afterwards os library is imported along-with numpy, sklearn, scipy.stats.
The logic categorization and analyze the data. And the below is the output of the analyze data.
Training dataset
In this phase dataset is trained and then tested. Later on importing and fitting of dataset into Random Forest Classifier with estimator 20 and calculating its score. Good accuracy of is achieved through this algorithm and better system performance.This how things gonna easy using python for intrusion detection and finally the system is implemented successfully. The code will be uploaded on GitHub soon.
Stay tuned for interesting stuff related Network Security and its Application.
Have a great day! | https://medium.com/@18bit160/intrusion-detection-system-127e56757b78 | [] | 2020-10-20 13:39:28.551000+00:00 | ['Keras', 'Machine Learning', 'Python', 'Intrusion Detection', 'Random Forest Classifiers'] |
Science Is Not My Religion | The Truth About Science and Religion
When I first stumbled into science, I truly thought I had escaped the patriarchy and dogma of religion. It was the naïve overconfidence of an eighteen-year-old excited to have found her passion.
Over time, through my own reading as well as history of science coursework and participating in dialogue online, I realized how flawed the scientific world is with the same exact problems that plague organized religion: prejudiced dogmas that support the superiority of white, cishet men.
It infuriated me. I had left one space filled with self-absorbed men who think they are endowed with divine knowledge for another.
Whether they are claiming to be the moral or intellectual authority, the goal is the same — to control the narrative through power. Both collect loyal disciples, followers who will affirm their power.
At first, I bought in to science just like I had bought into religion as a kid. I thought it was infallible. I thought I needed to convert everyone around me to it.
But I had attuned myself so closely to the issues with my childhood religion that I couldn’t ignore their presence in science, too. And just as I had with Christianity, I began speaking out about those issues.
It turned out other people had been saying something about them for a long time — women who had fought for the right to practice science, people of color who struggled for a place at the table, queer folks who wanted to be their true selves at their jobs.
People were aware of the problems because they are so much bigger than science and religion. They are flaws and prejudices inherently built into a broken system that privileges whiteness, maleness, and heteronormativity.
Recognizing this makes reform that much more terrifying. If you upset the status quo in one field or community, you’re threatening the whole system.
And those who benefit most from the system are going to fight back.
Photo by Edwin Andrade on Unsplash
Is there still hope?
I didn’t leave religion to find a new god in the laboratory. I left it to find what I perceived as a better method for seeking out objective truths. Science isn’t built on faith — it’s built on evidence, peer review, constructive criticism, and reproduceable results. To accept its results without applying these crucial methods would be depending on faith rather than evidence. People are not infallible.
Science is not my religion. But in many ways, it can remind me of it. This is why I work hard to help it change and improve.
For the first time in my life, I’ve found a community of people like me — nonbinary folks who love science; bisexuals in microbiology; people who also left an anti-science community to study their passion. It’s a place where, for the most part, I can be my unapologetic self.
But it’s only like that now because of the hard work so many folks have put into making science a more inclusive, accepting place. And there is still more work to be done.
That’s why I don’t begrudge the Christian community. There are many people within it, including dear friends, who are actively working to make their faith a space that is safe and welcoming for those who were formerly rejected.
Science has just as much work to do. And those within the scientific community need to understand that although we may be practicing a method for which the goal is objectivity, we are only human. Our results are often colored by biases and our own intentions.
Recognizing that fact is the first step toward reconciling with it. We should all be in a never-ending pursuit of the unvarnished truth. The only way to achieve that is through collective criticism of ourselves and our work — checking each other for mistakes and hidden agendas, anything that would interfere with reaching the most objective conclusion possible.
And in order to do that, we need everyone to be a part of the collective community. By excluding anyone based on race or sexual orientation or gender or ability, we risk objectivity.
We risk truth. | https://readmorescience.medium.com/science-is-not-my-religion-288b0c95729 | ['Sarah Olson Michel'] | 2020-09-30 15:43:45.456000+00:00 | ['Religion', 'Politics', 'Personal Growth', 'Science', 'God'] |
The Paradox of Passive Income | The best ways to become rich quickly are by selling cocaine or peddling “ How to become rich “ courses.
Last week, I was approached by a teenager in the park. Wearing blue pants and a loose-fit coat, he introduced himself as a university graduate.
“ How much do you earn? “ he asked.
“ 20,000 INR/ month “, I replied.
His pause with a silly smile confirmed that he was laughing at my earnings. Latterly, he pitched his network marketing business and a dream to be a millionaire in only six months which I politely declined.
There is a heavy trend of having multiple income streams. Websites are full of quick money junk, YouTubers are selling passive income courses and neighbors hitting on you to join their network marketing business. This increasing trend needs resistance as the lure of being a money machine waste tons of time and energy of people, precisely youngsters.
So, I am here to disrupt the idea of passive income, followed by two rationales - why it’s a con.
1. Kills Compounding Effect:
James gets out of his dental college and starts his dental clinic in NYC. After a year of working 15 hours a day, James made it to $20K annually. But during his second year of dentistry, James decided to choose blogging and writing as his source of passive income. James started to give three hours of his busy day - writing lengthy articles and promoting them on different social platforms.
Reduction in practicing his core skill — dentistry, made him lose patients resulting in revenue losses at the end of the second year.
On the other hand, if he had gone full into dentistry, he could have made $70K annually just by keeping regular follow-ups with patients & referrals he could have through his pleased patients.
What do you get from it?
A lesson. A wisdom on compounding.
Compounding is underrated. It demands time and effort. You should leverage your core knowledge and expertise on the way to become rich and famous. Instead of going crazy on five projects that will make you $500, focus on building something in your niche that will fetch you $1000 straight.
2. Nothing is there like Passive:
In my teenage, I used to search for passive income ideas extensively. And the ideas that topped the google search list were :
Start a blog
Create YouTube videos
Build an app
Now, if you had ever started a blog — you know how hard it is. Buy the domain, host and create the website, publish articles, do SEO, find keywords to rank your blog and much more.
And there is nothing Bible magic that you get viewers exponentially. You need to build links, network with people and promote on forums and social media platforms to earn ten token dollars.
You have to show up daily to outrank your competition by posting on celebrities, bitcoin & regarding your niche.
All this demands hustle — needs mini-sacrifices of choosing not to go to the weekend party, brainstorming actively. It’s an active thing; it’s challenging & exhausting.
The same goes for creating YouTube videos and building an app. There is no shortcut. You need to record-edit and code-iterate for many months to generate the results.
Conclusion:
The passive income idea is a bubble. Earning money by leveraging the internet & technology is easy, but the competition around makes it laborious. You require to invest numbers of hours actively doing something to have a steady supply of wealth. If you have a “ Golden Egg hen ” , you still need to feed and guard it.
If you liked this piece, clap the post.
Yes, your single clap matters. | https://medium.com/@anmolrajput13/the-paradox-of-passive-income-d72c088f4469 | ['Anmol Rajput'] | 2021-03-12 19:46:45.393000+00:00 | ['Marketing', 'Passive Income', 'Money Mindset', 'Income', 'Money'] |
Loopring & DeversiFi announce a Layer-2 Committee — L² | L2 exchanges Loopring & DeversiFi have joined forces to establish the industry’s first L2-specific committee & working-group aptly titled L2 Squared (or L² for short). Symbolising the launch of L², Loopring & DeversiFi have also conducted a token swap, swapping LRC & NEC respectively. Read on for the full story.
The DeFi explosion of 2020 has undeniably proven the power of permissionless, self-custodial finance. Decentralised Exchange trading volumes have grown to now seriously compete with custodial centralised counterparts. However the Ethereum blockchain has been heavily congested by this new activity, leading to prohibitive gas prices and high fees for end users.
🗣 “I believe Layer-2 scaling systems are the solution to Ethereum’s short-term gas price challenges as well as long-term scaling.” says Will Harborne, DeversiFi’s Founder. “As things stand, Loopring and DeversiFi are the first exchanges on Ethereum to harness Layer-2 solutions, using zkRollup and StarkEx’s Validum respectively. However the much-needed migration to Layer-2 is not a simple one, and the network effects of Layer-1 composability are very strong which stand to slow down this ongoing transition.”
Today therefore we announce the formation of a new committee & working group — L2 Squared — designed to collaborate closely on helping the Ethereum ecosystem to solve these pressing issues and accelerate the transition to Layer-2. This will further set the groundwork for L2 composability, where the potential to improve end-user experience and wider DeFi adoption is huge.
Formalising our commitment of working together on this collaboration, DeversiFi and Loopring will be conducting a token swap, swapping LRC for NEC on December 16th 2020. Based on recent growth rates, wider Ethereum events, and internal and external research, we believe that the entire Layer-2 exchange space will grow significantly in the coming future. Together, we are committed and excited for this evolution.
The challenges of a transition to Layer-2
As a starting point, we will work together and solve a number of existing challenges:
Education of Ethereum users and traders about the advantages of Layer-2 systems and Zero Knowledge proofs. The complexity of the technology can stifle adoption unless there is both comprehensible educational content and advocacy by trusted figures. Technical solutions and standards for composability between Layer-1 to Layer-2. Bridging the two worlds is a necessary stage and will accelerate our aforementioned goals. Enhanced composability will make Layer-2 DeFi a more powerful and efficient environment. Developing and agreeing standards for composability and movement of funds between Layer-2 systems. With a growing number of dissimilar L2 technologies, it is paramount we establish a standard to allow easy communication between respective systems and reduce switching costs. The end-goal is easy capital transfer between two L2 dapps. Jointly pushing for increased wallet support for Layer-2. More wallets, more users, more choice, more fun.
🗣 “Vitalik’s rollup-centric Ethereum roadmap for Eth 2 stresses the importance of layer 2 solutions not only today, but as the essential building block for scalability on Eth 2. Layer 2 will always be needed to take Ethereum to its full potential, and to the masses.” Jay Zhou Loopring co-founder. | https://medium.com/loopring-protocol/loopring-deversifi-announce-a-layer-2-committee-l%C2%B2-ca64151d4e95 | ['Matthew Finestone'] | 2020-12-21 17:01:07.600000+00:00 | ['Deversifi', 'Loopring', 'Ethereum', 'Layer 2', 'L2 Squared'] |
Friend and foe: What a Biden presidency may mean for Israel, Iran | After the assassination of Iranian nuclear physicist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, all eyes are on U.S. President Donald Trump who is known for his aggressive Iran policy. Particularly, Trump’s decision to pull the United States out of the Iranian agreement signed under his predecessor Barack Obama, which proposed to lift Western sanctions in exchange for stopping Iran’s nuclear program.
Although U.S. President-elect Joe Biden describes Iran as a destabilizing force in the region, he is expected to urge Iran to return to the negotiating table to resurrect the deal with the European Union next year.
Of course, Iran’s reaction is also essential here as this week the Iranian parliament overwhelmingly approved the outline of a bill that aims to counter sanctions against its nuclear program and increase uranium enrichment.
Until the Iranian presidential elections on June 18, 2021, internal and external factors may strengthen the country’s far-right groups and oppositions.
Some retired U.S. generals and ambassadors along with Democratic Congress members have criticized Trump harshly, claiming he has encouraged chaos between the U.S. and Iran and is trying to create trouble for Biden who will take office in January.
It has been accepted, including by the U.S., that Israel was behind the assassination of the Iranian nuclear scientist. But the operation could not have been executed without the knowledge of the U.S.
Here are some clues as to why it seems the U.S. was involved. Firstly, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited Israel and other Gulf states to discuss Iran a few days before the attack and said that “all options are still on the table” when it comes to Iran. Secondly, Israeli defense forces raised the alert level due to the possibility of an American attack on Iran. And finally, the U.S. ordered the Nimitz aircraft carrier set to leave the Gulf for India to return to the Gulf just before the Fakhrizadeh assassination. Looking at the above turn of events, it seems likely the U.S. would have been aware of the assassination before it was executed.
Many sources I spoke to in Washington, D.C., said that some Iranians in Iran supported the assassination and a large majority of the Islamic Republic believes that it should be taken as a message to the Iranian regime.
Naturally, there is a relatively high consensus that if Biden were in office he would have not allowed Israel to execute the operation as it is common knowledge that the president-elect looks to soften tensions with Iran, at least diplomatically.
In an interview with the Council of Foreign Relations (CFR), Biden stated that the U.S. should not get involved in assassinations and denounced the murder of Iraqi Commander Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in Iraq, saying it was wrong. He criticized Trump, noting that U.S. involvement in assassination operations would only increase tension in the region.
The reality is that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not receive the same level of support from Biden as he received from Trump.
Besides his intentions to rejoin the nuclear deal, Biden supports a two-state solution in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and supports keeping the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem.
Biden urged Israel to halt all settlement activities in occupied territories and stated that more assistance should be provided to Gaza. According to Biden, the Arab states should normalize their relations with Israel, and he has indicated that he does not support the Israeli government’s plans to annex the West Bank.
The U.S. and Israel have an enduring partnership that touches on every field, and the Netanyahu administration will somehow find a way to get along with Biden.
Softening tension between the U.S. and Iran would be positive for Turkey since it does not want any more regional conflicts. It is my hope that Israel and Turkey can normalize relations for the benefit of both countries and the Middle East.
Looking at history, Turkey has never trusted Iran nor should it, considering Iran’s support of Armenia, the PKK and its Iranian offshoot the PJAK. I would not be surprised to see Biden emulate Obama’s 2013 brokering of peace between Israel and Turkey.
The U.S. government has warned of possible Iranian retaliation on the anniversary of Soleimani’s murder — Jan. 3, 2021.
However, the officials underline that Iran is limited in its options as Biden’s inauguration ceremony will take place approximately two weeks from the date.
In other words, Iran may miss the opportunity to soften tensions with the U.S. once more and evade economic sanctions.
As of 2021, I do not expect to see a flare-up of tensions between the U.S. and Iran under the Biden administration. | https://medium.com/@alicinarcom/friend-and-foe-what-a-biden-presidency-may-mean-for-israel-iran-4fece3303456 | ['Ali Cinar'] | 2020-12-08 13:08:57.820000+00:00 | ['Iran', 'Joe Biden', 'Israel', 'Us Iran Tension', 'United States'] |
Congress has Passed a COVID-19 Relief Bill. It is Time to Write a New One. | Congress has once again failed us. Instead of providing relief to those in need politicians have decided to focus on their own needs and those of their donors. While Congress has finally passed a stimulus bill it fails to address the severity of the crisis we face as a result of the pandemic and their lack of action. Congress must start work one the next stimulus deal that better addresses the needs of the American people.
This stimulus bill is like putting a band-aid on a bullet wound. This bill fails to help municipalities or states who have been forced to address this crisis on their own. State and local officials have been forced to make difficult decisions in how they should best address the health and economic crises. The lack of federal assistance has caused governors and local officials to enact shut-downs in an attempt to provide relief to hospitals who have experienced shortages of beds, supplies, and staff. To cover the expenses related to the pandemic state and local governments have had to reallocate funds from other programs or take out loans.
The lack of action by the federal government has pushed millions of Americans into joblessness and poverty. Millions of Americans have had little relief since March as there has been issues with state unemployment systems and the federal government has failed to deliver additional aid. As Americans have been evicted from their homes and forced to rely on miles-long food lines for assistance most Republicans have been focused on destroying our democracy.
If members of Congress understood the severity of the economic crisis we face as a result of the pandemic they would comprehend how their lack of action impacts the lives of Americans. If Congress understood the severity of the crises, they would understand the need of a monthly stimulus of at least $2,000 for Americans who are at least eighteen and earn less than $75,000 per year and give an additional $1,000 for dependents under the age of eighteen. This monthly stimulus in addition to the increased duration of unemployment would help Americans address their basic needs. The $2,000 per month would also help Americans cover unexpected that they have experienced as a result of the pandemic.
Beyond a monthly stimulus the American people need further economic relief. The duration that one can claim unemployment must also be lengthened to at least eighteen months as the economic crisis will outlast the health crisis. While the stimulus bill does provide additional funds for the Paycheck Protection Program there needs to be tougher oversight of this program and penalties for banks and other organizations who fail to follow its guidelines. Congress should also enact legislation that would allow borrowers to combine federal and private student loans into one loan backed by the federal government to prevent private lenders from entering into litigation with those who cannot afford to repay private student loans. Congress should have also included language to provide job training for those who are unemployed or wish to switch careers where there is shortage of workers.
The recent stimulus bill does not aid those who have been most impacted by the pandemic. Rather than providing state and local aid or direct payments to Americans the recent stimulus bill allows for a “three martini lunch” tax deduction for executives who still have lunch meetings in the midst of a pandemic. While this deduction would normally help restaurants the lack of in-person meetings as a result of the pandemic render this deduction useless.
Since the election the number of cases and deaths related to COVID-19 have exploded out of control and many Republicans have focused on destroying democracy rather than the people they were elected to represent. For nine months Congress failed to act as people have experienced economic carnage as hundreds of thousands have died as a result of lack of action and misinformation by Republicans in Congress and the Trump Administration. While this stimulus bill is not perfect the bill should be enacted and Congress should immediately start work on a new stimulus bill that would better address our health and economic crises. The American people can not wait another nine months for Congress to act. | https://medium.com/@maureenelizabethoshea/congress-has-passed-the-stimulus-bill-it-is-time-to-write-a-new-one-3dbf4e704cb2 | ["Maureen Elizabeth O'Shea"] | 2020-12-23 06:36:42.064000+00:00 | ['Politics', 'Congress', 'Economics', 'Stimulus', 'Government'] |
Start Mining Bitcoin In 5 Minutes! — Bitcoin Lockup | In this first look, I am going to go over whether of not it’s worth it to get the CoinMine One cryptocurrency miner. This is actually a VERY interesting product that will make bitcoin mining a simple process that even your grandmother can setup. Seriously, this device helps the un-initiated take the first step into the cryptocurrency world by setting up a non-invasive and simple mining rig that bears resemblance to a video game console.
There are several intricacies when setting up a traditional mining rig, such as an Antminer ASIC or even setting up cloud-mining with a provider. This takes the “know-how” and complete understanding of this process out of the equation. You can literally pull it out of the box and start earning bitcoin (or other cryptocurrencies we’ll cover later) within 5 minutes. This is the first machine of it’s kind and it will revolutionize what any newbies understanding of what “bitcoin mining” is.
So without further ado, let’s answer some basic questions about what this new device does and stay tuned to the end, because I’m able to offer a pretty sweet discount for my readers that are ready to dive in!
The CoinMine One is a sleek, quiet, and easy-to-use bitcoin mining device. Typically, bitcoin mining has been long known as a very elusive and complicated subject that was really only done by people that are extremely technical. Additionally, they have access to A LOT of capital to setup infrastructure for hardware, abundant electrical capacity, and a lot of cooling mechanisms to keep these super computers cold enough to operate.
The CoinMine One solves this problem and provides a way for every day people to begin mining bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies with a simple setup from a smartphone. This is ideal for people that are aware of the advantages of cryptocurrency mining and want to secure their slot to the future of finance.
Generally speaking, not only is this a way to create passive income with a “plug-and-play” method, but it allows you to help contribute and secure the bitcoin network as this device is it’s own node. As someone who has been involved in this industry for several years now, this product was a blessing, as it helps create further decentralization by allowing non-technical users to participate in the revolution for a very fair price!
As cryptocurrency becomes more mainstream, it’s vital to the concept of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to have the masses gain more understanding and participation within the ecosystem. There are only 2 ways you can currently obtain bitcoin.
You can buy it. Either from an exchange or from someone who owns it directly. You can mine it. Currently 85% of the total supply (21 million coins) has already been mined.
This creates not only a level of scarcity, but also points out that as the supply decreases, the demand will surely increase, thus causing the price to rise at an increasingly high rate.
The Coinmine One allows you to do this in a very passive, easy way. I have always been an advocate of cryptocurrency mass adoption and have created this website as a resource to help educate and connect people with the right products and services. Honestly, if you do not want to pay the increasing rates to buy bitcoin, this is a simple and easy way to mint your own coins and has many features to help you compound your earnings as well.
As of this writing, you can directly mine: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Grin, Zcash, and Monero. They have also announced Cosmos (ATOM) staking and a rumored leak of Tezos (one of my favorites) being supported for staking!
I am a huge fan of privacy coins and there are promises of future altcoins being added as well. Additionally, this runs on what they call MineOS. It’s a software built in and managed by the connecting smartphone app that allows you to manage what coins are being mined and allows you to automatically mine the most profitable coin on auto-pilot.
You can even set it up to automatically mine the most profitable coins at all times, and receive your pay-outs in a single coin, or a split. This happens at a conversion at the end of the day (or week) so that this is ENTIRELY automated and allows for full customization. Very cool.
When this first launched in 2018, the retail price of this device was $799. This isn’t a bad price, considering the costs of hardware and cloud-mining contracts that lock you into a certain price that you have to pay, regardless of profitability.
Luckily, I have a special discount for my readers that will give you a special discount code that brings the total price down to $649. You can click the link below to get this special discount and enter “BITCOINLOCKUP” at checkout, if you are ready to start minting your own bitcoin!
Coinmine One — Conclusion
Bottomline, this device looks very promising and provides the world’s simplest way to start mining bitcoin and other crypto’s in a single, silent, and easy-to-use device that you can plug into any standard wall outlet. When I set up my ASIC, I had to get special adapters and splitters to use in my residential home to utilize the dryer outlet and was a real hassle to run a cord from there into the basement.
Additionally, it was EXTREMELY loud and required me to provide fans and ultimately drove up the electricity cost. I will be doing an in-depth review of this device shortly and will have an unboxing and setup video as well. After reaching out to these guys, I am more excited than ever to really put this to the test and make crypto mining easy again!
What do you think? Is there an easier solution to start mining bitcoin from your home? Let me know down below!
Cheers,
The Crypto Renegade
NOTE: This post may contain affiliate links. This adds no cost to you but it helps me focus on giving as much value as possible in every single post by being compensated for recommending products that help people succeed.
CoinMine ONE First Look (2019) | Start Mining Bitcoin In 5 Minutes! | https://medium.com/@cryptorenegade/coinmine-one-first-look-2019-start-mining-bitcoin-in-5-minutes-bitcoin-lockup-202a3a292d53 | ['Crypto Renegade'] | 2020-01-31 01:01:30.878000+00:00 | ['Bitcoin', 'Crypto Mining', 'Bitcoin Mining Hardware', 'Bitcoin Mining', 'Coinmine One Discount'] |
Importance of Collaboration in construction practices | “Collaboration in construction” simply means that teams are working together towards one project goal. Everyone can access the main plans and goals of a project at any time, without having to rely on gatekeepers or slog to faraway offices in order to get the information they need.
When collaboration is strong, team members pool their resources and knowledge and prioritize meeting shared goals dictated by the timeline and budget of the entire process rather than their own goals. This, of course, is the ideal way to conduct projects.
Establishing collaborative practices is of particular importance on building design and construction projects, as they are likely to involve bringing together a large number of diverse disciplines, many of which will not have worked together before. They are also likely to involve the co-ordination and integration of a great deal of complex information, procedures and systems.
Failure to establish clear and efficient project-wide collaborative practices can be disastrous.
This has become increasingly true as project structures have evolved from straight-forward client-consultant-contractor relationships to more integrated structures with complex financing arrangements, early engagement of the supply chain and the introduction of sub-contractor and supplier design.
Some of the common challenges of collaboration include:
Overcoming the obstacles and growing pains associated with getting started in a new system
Changing workplace and job site culture, which typically meets new processes with initial resistance
Potentially higher costs upfront, although collaboration efforts typically lead to lower costs in the long run
Collaborative working practices
Procurement Practices
It is important to establish the broad principles of collaborative practice as early as possible in a project, even if some specific details are left unresolved until later stages.
A decision to adopt a collaborative approach should be taken at the outset by the client (perhaps with advice from independent client advisers) so that a requirement to follow appropriate procedures can be included in appointment documents and can be a consideration in the selection of procurement route, form of contract and preparation of tender documentation. The implementation of collaborative practices should then be discussed in detail during consultant team start-up meetings, specialist contractor start-up meetings and pre-contract meetings.
The Government Construction Strategy recommends that public projects adopt design and build, private finance initiative or prime-type contract procurement routes, as these are considered to be more collaborative.
Other forms of collaborative procurement include partnering (sometimes referred to as alliancing), which is a broad term used to describe a management approach that encourages openness and trust between the parties to a contract.
Organization Practices
Organizational working practices that encourage collaboration might include:
Evaluation of the behaviors and collaborative competence of individuals in teams during the procurement process.
Clear lines of communication and authority.
Protocols for the preparation and dissemination of information.
Co-location of team members.
Financial motivation
Regular workshops and team meetings.
Problem resolution procedures, which should be based on solutions, not blame.
Procedures to ensure continuous improvement. This might require continual benchmarking, target setting, assessment, feeding back and adaptation.
Early warning procedures.
Social activities.
Roles and responsibilities
Clarity of responsibility and co-ordination meetings can be improved by the appointment of:
A project sponsor or client representative.
Client champions for different aspects of the project.
A project manager.
A lead consultant.
A lead designer.
A design coordinator (for the co-ordination and integration of designs prepared by specialist contractors).
An information manager for computer-aided design (CAD) or building information modelling (BIM).
Information Management
A consistent approach to software systems, versions, drawing standards and file formats is very important for design projects and will avoid duplicated effort and errors.
Systems might include:
Computer Aided Design (CAD).
Building Information Modelling (BIM).
Common document management systems.
Common data environment.
Shape your future by learning collaborative techniques
Join the community now Lupiter BIM Academy | https://medium.com/@lupitertechnologies/importance-of-collaboration-in-construction-practices-71398177a171 | [] | 2020-12-16 16:12:06.448000+00:00 | ['Bim', 'Collaboration', 'Construction', 'Techniques'] |
Which Are Heavier? Dogs Or Cats?. Applied statistics for machine learning | Are dogs heavier than cats? If you believe the answer is yes, how would you statistically prove it?
This question may seem simple to you if you are not familiar with the scientific process. You may just think of weighing 20 dogs and 20 cats, calculating the averages of both dogs and cats weights and comparing the results. If the mean for cats is 9 pounds and the mean for dogs is 18 pounds, you can say: “Dogs are heavier than cats.” This approach may work when things are clear. But what if the mean for cats is 9 and for dogs is 10, are you going to be sure that dogs are heavier than cats? What if you are comparing a mean of 9.1 with a mean of 9.2?
Cases are not always simple like comparing dogs and cats. There are many critical applications of the scientific process. Imagine you are working on a newly developed treatment for cancer patients, and the results are very close to each other, you are going to determine a threshold to decide if this treatment is making a statistically significant decrease in cancer cells. You are not going to expect to discover the miracle treatment for cancer. You just expect to find a significant improvement in the situation of the patients.
Let’s go back to our lovely dogs and cats.
Source Giphy by MOODMAN
Statistical Analysis
Our question is: Are dogs heavier than cats? Which kind of analysis are we doing by answering this question?
There are two kinds of analysis in statistics.
Descriptive analysis
Descriptive analysis gives information that describes the data in some manner. We present the data in a more meaningful way and make a simpler interpretation of the data.
We use two main types of measures to describe the data:
Measures of central tendency: Mean, median, and mode.
Measures of spread: Standard deviation, absolute deviation, variance, range, and quartiles.
Inferential analysis
Inferential analysis is to tell things about a population from a sample taken from it. It allows us to make inferences from the data. We take data from samples and make generalizations about a population.
In inferential statistics, we cannot prove something because we don’t have the population data, but we can disprove something by showing an exception from sample data.
Estimating parameters: We take a statistic from your sample and predict a population parameter.
Hypothesis tests: We make a null and an alternative hypothesis and use the sample data to answer population questions.
We are doing inferential analysis while we are answering the dogs and cats question. Because we are trying to make an inference about the population parameters of all the dogs and all the cats by generalizing the descriptive statistics of the two samples.
Hypothesis testing:
A hypothesis can be thought of as an idea we are testing. Hypotheses are always about the population parameters, not the sample statistics.
We are trying to prove that dogs are heavier than cats, we set the hypotheses in this way.
Null Hypothesis
The null hypothesis is the idea we are testing against.
“Dogs are not heavier than cats.”
“Dogs and cats have equal average weights”
“There is not a difference in the mean weights of cat and dogs.”
Alternative Hypothesis
The alternative hypothesis is the idea we are testing for.
“Dogs are heavier than cats.”
“Dogs have more average weight than cats”
“There is a significant difference in the mean weights of cat and dogs.”
Sampling
Determining sample size
When it comes to sample size we say “The more samples, the better results”. But more samples mean more complex studies, more money, and more time to finish our study
Therefore, we determine confidence level, margin of error and population size and calculate the minimum sample size to finish our study.
Here is an online sample size calculator to find the minimum number of samples for the statistical inference.
Biased Samples
Biased samples occur when one or more parts of the population are more likely to be selected in a sample than others. An unbiased sample must be representative of the entire population.
Image by Petr Ganaj from Pixabay
If we choose pet cats and street dogs from different countries, it is not impossible to decide that cats are heavier than dogs.
Image by Andreas Almstedt from Pixabay
Cat and Dog Breeds
What about breeds? There is not a high variance in weights of cat breeds(5 lb to 15 lb) but when it comes to dogs, weights can change from 3 to 6 pounds for a Chihuahua to 180 pounds for an Irish wolfhound.
Irish wolfhound and Chihuahua, Image by David Mark from Pixabay
Male and Female Weights
The weights of males are more than the weights of females. We need to be cautious about the subgroups of our population.
Sampling Methods
Simple random sampling (SRS)
Simple random sampling is a method in which every member of the population has an equal chance of being selected. SRS is the ideal sampling method but due to many reasons, we sometimes are not able to do random sampling from the population.
For the dogs and cats case, we can use random sampling but we need to make sure that we have enough samples from all breeds.
Stratified sampling
We take the population and we divide it into something called strata, groups of similar things. Within each stratum, we take an SRS and combine the SRSs to get the full sample.
Stratified sampling can be an easy-to-implement solution in the cats and dogs analysis. Our strata are the cat and dog breeds. We select enough number of random dogs and cats from every breed.
We need to make female and male strata, too. We take equal numbers of female and male animals to our samples if there are equal numbers of male and female dogs and cats in the world. Are there equal numbers of female and male cats or dogs in the world? This is the topic of another statistical analysis.
Cluster sampling
Cluster is a group of subjects that have something in common. In cluster sampling, we divide the population into natural groups. We suppose that these groups are representing the population. We can make clusters according to their location and do SRS. Cluster sampling is efficient and cost-effective but the cluster may not represent the population and this can cause high sampling error.
In cats and dogs case, we can choose a zip code, locate the veterinary clinics in this zip code, and find the weights of the cats and dogs which come to these veterinary clinics. This is easier than finding random vet clinics all around the world but different breeds and weights cause sampling bias. It is necessary to find as many clusters(zip codes) as possible.
Systematic sampling
Instead of completely random selection, we select in an order.
In our case, we can select the petshops in the zipcodes ending with zero and obtain the samples from there.
Convenient sampling
Convenient sampling is also known as grab sampling, opportunity sampling or accidental sampling. You choose the easiest way to get your samples.
In our case, if we go to the closest pet shop, veterinary clinic or animal shelter and get the weights of the cats and dogs, we do convenience sampling. It is easy to get the samples but there is a high possibility of getting a biased sample.
Sampling error
Sampling error is the difference between the sample and the population. Even if we use the best sampling methods, a sampling error may occur. To decrease the sampling error, we should increase the sample size and randomize the selection as much as possible.
Non-sampling error
Non-sampling error is the total of all forms of error other than sampling error.
We can make measuring error while finding the weights of the animals. We can even make processing error during the data entry.
We can make an adjustment error during the data cleaning process. For example, the weight units of the animals from countries other than the US are going to be in kilograms. We can make a mistake in converting kilograms to pounds. (I convert pounds to kilograms as a former physicist who got used to the metric system.)
Probability of error
In the scientific process, you can come to a result but you would need to clarify the probability of making this conclusion by chance.
Significance level
Significance level(Alpha Threshold) is the probability that you say the null hypothesis is wrong when it is true(Type-I error). An alpha value of 0.05 indicates that you are willing to accept a 5% chance that you are wrong when you reject the null hypothesis.
Summary statistics
Central tendency
We summarize the position of the data by calculating the mean, median, and mode. In each case, we should decide which summary values are the most indicative of the distribution.
In the cats and dogs question, calculating the mean seems to be the most appropriate statistic.
Measures of spread (variation)
Measures of spread tell us how data is spread around the middle. How can mean, median, and mode represent the data.
Range
The range takes the smallest number in the dataset and subtracts this number from the largest number in the dataset. The range gives us the distance between two extremes. The larger the range, the more the data is spread out.
In our case, the range of dog weights is bigger than the range of cat weights.
Interquartile range(IQR)
The IQR looks at the spread of the middle 50 percent of your data and gives an idea of the core values. IQR is the difference between the first and the third quartiles.
We can use an online calculator to find the IQR of our dog and cat weights.
Variance
Variance measures the dispersion of the data points around their mean.
Sample variance is equal to the sum of squared distances between the observed values and the sample mean divided by total number of observation minus 1.
The closer the data points to the mean the lower variance we will obtain. As we mentioned above, the variance of dogs is going to be bigger than the variance of cats.
Standard deviation
Standard deviation is the square root of variance. It is the most common variability for variability for a dataset.
In most statistics, standard deviation is much more meaningful than the variance. Because variance has squared units and the results are not as meaningful as standard deviation.
In the cats and dogs case, our variance unit is pound square and standard deviation unit is pounds. Therefore, standard deviation tells us more about the distribution of data in interpretable units.
Coefficient of variation (Relative standard deviation)
Coefficient of variation is equal to standard deviation divided by mean. We need standard relative standard deviation to compare the variance of two different datasets.
In our case, we compare the variations of cats weights and dogs weights using relative standard deviation.
Choosing the right statistics test
There are abundant statistical tests out there, some of them are student’s t-test, Mann Whitney-U test, Chi-square test, correlation test, and ANOVA.
We choose the right test by asking these questions:
Is the data nominal(categorical), ordinal or quantitative(interval-ratio)?
How many samples do we have?
What are we trying to prove? What is the purpose of our analysis?
In our case, weight is quantitative data. So we use student’s t-test if we have more than 30 samples and Mann- Whitney-U test if we have less than 30 samples. (This is controversial!)
The t-value measures the size of the difference in mean values relative to the variation in your sample data.
Mann — Whitney- U test compares differences between two independent groups when the dependent variable is continuous, but not normally distributed.
The magic number:
Why do we choose the test according to a number? T-test assumes that the data has a normal distribution. But we can not check normality if the sample size is less than 30.
Interpret the results
After finding the t-statistics and p-value, we compare p-value with the threshold we determined in the beginning of the analysis.
P- value is the probability of making type-I error. P-value tells us the probability of getting a result like this if the null hypothesis is true. For example, if the p-value is 0.01, it means that there is a 1 percent chance of rejecting the null hypothesis even if it was true.
If p-value is less than the threshold, we are able to reject the null hypothesis.
If p-value is more than the threshold, we can’t reject the null hypothesis.
Conclusion
You read an applied statistics review for data analysis. We asked a very simple question and overviewed many statistical concepts used in data science.
Are dogs heavier than cats? We didn’t even get the data yet! I am going to the closest animal shelter to weigh dogs and cats.
You should say to me: “Stop! You are making a convenience error!” | https://towardsdatascience.com/how-do-you-statistically-prove-that-dogs-are-heavier-than-cats-380d23b12b76 | ['Seyma Tas'] | 2020-11-07 03:56:47.325000+00:00 | ['Two Sample T Test', 'Hypothesis Testing', 'Data Science', 'Statistics', 'Bias'] |
Welcome to Health Care in America | Let’s be clear here. The ONLY reason Republicans turned against Obamacare, the perfect marketplace for insurance companies to gather intel on you and hit you with exorbitant costs in a captive marketplace set up by the government, in other words, the perfect capitalist tool, was racism. Obama proposed it.
Obamacare was based on Romneycare, which in turn was based on a Republican proposal created by the Republican lobby group The Heritage Foundation.
Don’t believe me? Here is a link to the birthplace of Obamacare, on the Heritage Foundation’s own website:
It was a perfect capitalist tool because it gathers every American, potentially, into one spot where a bunch of health insurance companies can post their insurance plans onto a bourse where they have a captive audience.
The reason Republicans can’t create a better healthcare system is that the ACA was already the perfect system — for them and insurance companies.
Not so good for you and me, however. Not at $800 a month. With a $5,000 deductible. This means that for a healthy guy like me, a visit to the doctor is barely covered under any plan between $600 and $750 or so, AND, I have to pay $600 plus a month to an insurance company to pay for the costs of servicing people who don’t take care of themselves.
An overnight hospital stay? Forget it. I’m paying for that.
For me, the outrage isn’t even the fact that every other civilized nation on earth has a government-run healthcare plan that generally takes profit out of the equation.
The real outrage is the consistent Republican efforts to torpedo a plan that they invented, all because a man with brown skin offered it at the federal level.
If a President Mitt Romney had offered this plan, who here believes Republicans would have turned against such a brilliant marketing tool through which the government subsidizes a bourse where insurance companies can ply their services?
I won’t pay it. I’m not signing up for this extortion.
If I end up in the emergency room, y’all can pay for it. | https://medium.com/ruminato/welcome-to-health-care-in-america-b00bf734761d | ['Charles Bastille'] | 2020-12-14 17:52:45.039000+00:00 | ['Racism', 'Insurance', 'Obamacare', 'Healthcare', 'ACA'] |
Scientology and Me, Part Three: Leaving the Church | by Stella Forstner
Previously: Parts One and Two.
It’s not something I put on my CV but it’s true: I have a top-notch Scientology pedigree. My paternal grandparents got into Dianetics in the early ’50s; I’ve read notes from meetings they hosted in their affluent Midwestern suburb to discuss the “new mental science” and audit one another. They were early adopters, to be sure, but from the notes their meetings sound more like a book club gatherings than outposts of a burgeoning cult. My grandfather discovered Dianetics via articles in Astounding Science Fiction, a magazine whose editor was friendly with L. Ron Hubbard and for a time a strong proponent of his ideas.
Introduced to Dianetics precepts as a young boy, my father returned to the Church of Scientology as a young man, well after his parents had lost interest. Scarred and shaken by the excesses of the 1960s but still a believer in the ideas about human potential that he’d taken from that era, my father found a guiding life philosophy in the church. When he met my mother at a Scientology event, she was 17 and escaping a terrible home life. Both had their own demons to conquer, and the church, which offered scientific techniques for unlocking the power of the mind, appealed to them, as did the idea that the principles of Dianetics could make the world a better place.
Married young, my parents divorced in 1979, two years after I was born. My mother rose rapidly through the ranks of Scientology, reaching OT 7 and becoming a high-level auditor, training at the Flag Land Base in Clearwater Florida when I was a toddler. In a series of pictures taken at Disney World in 1980 or so, I’m being strolled in tandem with one of L. Ron Hubbard’s grandchildren, a pink-cheeked, red-headed girl who kept her bonnet on much longer than I did that day.
Born and raised in the Midwest, my mother then packed up and drove across the country with me for a job at a growing mission in Seattle. While she found the work of helping people rewarding, over the years her concerns about the organization grew, in part because changes in the church’s franchise system pushed recruitment and stats and made the atmosphere of the mission oppressive. My mother, unlike my father, was never a true believer, never a doctrinal purist. While she was on course at Flag she was also part of a group of friends who, playfully mocking Hubbard’s maxim that 95% of people are basically good, called themselves the “basically evil club.” My mother was innately suspicious of anyone so serious about things that they couldn’t take a joke, and she could get away with being a little irreverent because she was such an effective auditor, someone who could get results even on the toughest cases.
But she was never invulnerable, particularly not at that specific time in the church’s history. In 1982, according to Janet Reitman’s excellent book Inside Scientology, a young David Miscavige (the church’s current leader), announced that independent missions like the one where my mother worked would come under the control of a new entity, the Religious Technology Center. This undermined the missions’ power and earning potential; they could still offer courses and auditing, but they were now also required to send a quota of their clientele to the local org. The mission where my mother worked was taken over by a new head who put enormous pressure on employees to maintain and increase ‘stats’ — numbers of people who came into the church — who signed up for courses or auditing, and who experienced ‘wins’ (identifying and eliminating engrams, as I discussed in part two) in their sessions. There was even pressure on the poorly paid staff to keep Dianetics on best-seller lists: When new editions were released, employees were expected to buy multiple copies. When stats were down, or not growing at the rate the center had set, someone had to take the blame, and someone always did — which is what my mother referred to as “head-on-a-pike syndrome.”
To understand how this played out, you must first understand Scientologist notions of ‘ethics,’ in both the traditional sense of conduct and moral principles, and the Foulcauldian sense of institutional surveillance (shout-out to all you theory junkies). Scientologists believe that if you err in something, whether by acting against a moral code through stealing or cheating, or simply showing up late for work, it is the result of an ‘overt’: a failure to be honest. If you have overts against individuals or (ahem) organizations and admit to them, typically by writing them up and submitting them to the church, you are taking responsibility for your mistake, and any problems will cease (you will show up on time and stop stealing). But if you do not confess, you will instead find fault in the person or thing you have harmed to justify your bad behavior, and such behavior will continue. These beliefs create perverse incentives — if something is wrong, you should look at everyone around that thing, but not necessarily the thing itself. In the case of my mother’s experience, the source of the ‘problem’ of insufficient stats was found not in too-high goals or increasing public suspicion of Scientology, but in individuals who were assumed to be ‘out-of-ethics.’
This is where it gets really perverse: That idea — that blame must be located within someone — justified an invasive surveillance regime, adopted by both church leaders and staff members, who were encouraged to keep tabs on one another and report any questionable behavior. If you wanted to avoid being the ‘head-on-a-pike,’ you did your best to find someone else to put up on that pike. Scientology missions and orgs maintain huge quantities of ‘ethics files’ on all members, consisting of the member’s own detailed overts and ‘knowledge reports’ written by other Scientologists who believed they’d witnessed out-of-ethics behavior (meaning they basically have your diary AND reports on you by everyone you know). The atmosphere of paranoia and mutual distrust that this system fostered made the mission an increasingly unpleasant place to work, and by the time of Hubbard’s death in 1986 my mother was thinking about leaving. I have dim but deeply etched memories of driving home at night with her, pleased to be in the front seat and to be a confidant in a thoroughly adult matter, listening to her explain some of the complicated institutional politics and psychological dynamics at play in the mission and telling me what it might mean to leave.
According to Reitman’s book, Miscavige’s overhaul of the church franchise system was the impetus for thousands of departures in the mid-’80s, and a few of those were from our mission. It was convenient in a way, because whenever anyone left, they were the new head-on-a-pike for a time, and no one else needed to suffer. Anyone who left the church was typically ‘declared’ a ‘suppressive person’ or ‘SP’ (an enemy of the church and one of the 5% of humans not ‘basically good’) shortly thereafter, and all church members were required to cease contact with them immediately, or suffer the consequences. [A note: ‘Severe’ ethics violations were punished in severe ways within the church, from requirements to take costly ethics courses to being forced to endure physical labor or abuse. Plentiful evidence of these punishments has been detailed in Reitman’s book and elsewhere.] My mother, however, refused to respect these restrictions to the letter. She did not believe that her personal growth or effectiveness as an auditor were compromised by maintaining friendships with ex-Scientologists, called ‘squirrels,’ and secretly stayed in touch with friends who had been ‘declared’ while still in the church.
I don’t specifically remember hearing my mother talk at the time about what she now describes as the straw that broke the camel’s back: the knowledge report written about how I had been seen frolicking at a playground with the son of a recent defector from the church. My mother was angry about herself being subjected to accusation of ethics violations, but she was furious that anyone would attack her child, and she knew that it was time to go. I remember knowing we were going to leave and knowing that my mother was writing ‘the letter’ to church officials that stated she was leaving and gave her reasons for doing so. For a time we waited on whether there would be an official declaration of her status as an SP, which I remember wanting, perversely, as some kind of prize, but also feared as I understood it could make things very complicated with my father.
The church doesn’t take departures well, especially of those who have attained higher levels, and the harassment began before we officially left. We were invited one afternoon to a barbecue at the home of my mother’s friend Jody, the ex-Scientologist whose son Jason had been the source of my playground-based ethics violation. Although she was planning our departure, by that point it wasn’t yet official, and my mother wasn’t publicizing her connection to squirrels. But someone had been tipped off, and before we left for the party Jody called our house to tell my mother that two church members were parked in front of her house in a sedan, waiting to see if we showed up so they could report back. This only encouraged my mother, who parked a block behind the house, where a ladder had been placed on one side of the fence so we could climb up and over to the cheers of the assembled guests. My friend Jason and I were delighted that spies were involved in our lives in any capacity, and immediately began our own espionage, observing them first cautiously from the living room window and later posting ourselves on opposite sides of the house, using Jason’s walkie-talkies to relay such vital messages as “they have some food — I think it’s from Burger King.”
Once we made an official break, the harassment geared up and did not stop for nearly eight years. Professional private investigators visited our neighbors to ask questions about us, went through our trash, and left accusatory or threatening messages on our answering machine. While I knew it upset and embarrassed my mother, I also felt strangely proud that we were so important (and dangerous!) that we had PIs on our tail. It wasn’t until years later that I realized how stressful and difficult this must have been for her, when she was simply trying to rebuild her life. The worst part was the very real threat of litigation. These days, Scientology is openly discussed and criticized in the media and on hundreds of websites and blogs, but 25 years ago only the bravest individuals and media outlets dared speak out against it, for fear of the aggressive ‘fair game’ tactics of the church.
An example: A few years after we left, my mother started volunteering with an organization called Cult Awareness Network (CAN), which supplied information and referred deprogrammers to people concerned their loved ones had fallen into the hands of religious cults. With her background in Scientology counseling and experience both being in and leaving Scientology, my mother made an ideal deprogrammer, able to present alternative views to a person who had closed themselves off to such views. But some of these people didn’t appreciate her experience, and when a Pentecostalist named Jason Scott sued CAN for violation of his civil rights, the Church of Scientology — which had nothing to do with the case but saw CAN as an enemy — encouraged the suit and footed the bill for litigation. The church, in a bit of magisterial irony, purchased CAN assets from bankruptcy court and to this day continues to own and operate the Cult Awareness Network.
When my mother left Scientology, she was in her early 30s, with two children and little work experience. Although she was a skilled counselor, she had no official training outside of the church — and yet after she left, many of her former clients wanted to continue seeing her. Somehow the church got word of this and for months after her departure our phone was deluged with calls from the church threatening to sue her for using church technology and practicing therapy without a license. She had good reason to believe these threats weren’t made idly and knew she would have to start fresh with something new. Eventually she went back to school to finish the degree she’d started 15 years earlier, and went on to build her own business and achieve great professional success — on brains, courage, and little else.
I know my mother was concerned that her leaving the church would affect my relationship with my father, and that she knew it wouldn’t help her already difficult relationship with him. At a certain point, particularly after he married another ardent Scientologist, my father refused to speak to her at all; if he called and my mother answered, he would be silent on the line until, after angrily telling him to grow the hell up, she would call me in to take the phone. There were plenty of tensions in my relationship with my father, but like so many other children and parents, we mostly avoided the minefields and found different ways to relate. I thought we could keep up this dance indefinitely, but it was not to be.
NEXT: Disconnection.
Stella Forstner is a pseudonym for a Hairpin reader who wishes to protect her family’s anonymity. | https://medium.com/the-hairpin/scientology-and-me-part-three-leaving-the-church-9a056590984b | ['The Hairpin'] | 2016-06-02 00:44:28.381000+00:00 | ['My Scientology Story', 'Life', 'Religion'] |
Demand Techies Need Skill in Future 2021 | Companies are finding that they have more IT openings than there are professionals with the necessary skills to fill them. But despite the number of job openings, competition for high-paying jobs is fierce. You need to possess at least some of the most sought-after tech skills to stand out from the rest and grab top-paying tech roles in 2021.
The tech and coding age now demand workers who are able to handle complex situations and bring more expertise to the table. If you’re planning to switch careers or maximize your marketability, here are some of the most in-demand tech skills you need to have today.
Demand Tech Skills:
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) are two very hot buzzwords that have become synonymous with innovation. Today, AI and ML are used in a vast number of services and tools.
According to LinkedIn 2020 Emerging Jobs Report, hiring growth for the role of Artificial Intelligence Specialist has increased by 74% annually in the last 4 years.
Skills such as TensorFlow, Python, Java, R, and Natural Language Processing are skills that you should learn today to improve your chances of getting hired for an AI or ML job as these skills now have the highest demand.
Due to the current popularity, IT employees who started learning AI and ML themselves are sure to earn the highest salaries and demand in 2021.
Cloud Computing
As more and more companies move away from traditional server infrastructure to cloud solutions, the demand for IT professionals skilled in this area has risen steeply.
Cloud technology has opened up a number of new revenue channels, and with the likes of Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure changing the game, having cloud expertise is so essential because of its significance across every other skill set on this list.
Some other most in-demand cloud skills are Microsoft Azure, Docker, DevOps, and Kubernetes.
Cloud Engineers will likely continue to have a long-term need across the technology industry as more companies move to cloud platforms.
Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity experts are in demand due to the increasing attacks brought forth by hackers who want to steal customer information collected by companies. Data breaches could trigger lawsuits and could be very costly.
There is currently a huge gap in the market and it’s estimated that there will be 3.5 million unfulfilled cybersecurity jobs by 2021. This means that if you learn this skill now, you’d have a huge chance of succeeding and securing well-paying jobs.
Cybersecurity, Information Security, Network Security, and Vulnerability Assessment are the best skills to learn to land a job as a Cybersecurity Specialist. You also need a good knowledge of the basics of programming languages.
Data science
Data science can be defined as obtaining insights and information out of data, using a blend of various tools, algorithms, and machine learning principles. Data scientists are much needed in key industries like finance, banking, and healthcare because they enable businesses and organizations to make better, data-driven decisions.
According to LinkedIn’s Most Promising Jobs 2018 report, job openings for Data Scientist roles have a 45% year-over-year growth rate.
A data scientist who also knows how to do data visualization to help people understand the significance of data is highly sought-after.
AR and VR
Also known as Extended Reality (XR) is the collaboration of both Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR). Many industries, such as entertainment, education, health, manufacturing, and advertising, have already adopted XR technology. So in 2021, XR technicians are sure to be in high demand.
According to Hired’s 2020 State of Software Engineers report, demand growth for the role of AR/VR Engineer was 1400% in 2019. 74% of software engineers predict that we will see the full impact of AR/VR in the next 5 years.
Blockchain
Blockchain comes in the last place on this list due to the rapid decline in the popularity of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. But blockchain is not only used for cryptocurrency, but is also used for peer-to-peer payments, crowdfunding, file storage, identity management, digital voting, and so on. Therefore, more companies need developers who understand blockchain, smart contracts, and can build decentralized applications.
Some of the blockchain skills you should learn are networking, database design, and programming languages ranging from Java, JavaScript, and C++ to Go, Solidity, and Python.
Tech giants like Facebook, Amazon, IBM, and Microsoft are working on developing blockchain services.
Development (web, mobile, software)
Developers are responsible for designing, installing, testing, and maintaining appropriate systems for web, mobile, and software. Businesses that want to stay relevant will need developers who can build mobile apps for them and help them streamline their business processes including inventories and sales using a backend system.
Skills: Those looking to specialize in mobile development should gain Android and iOS mobile developer skills. Those looking to specialize in web development should acquire Search Engine Marketing (SEM) Manager skills along with Search Engine Optimization (SEO) skills.
Internet of Things and Edge Computing
As the quantity of data continues to increase, cloud computing shortcomings in terms of latency have become apparent. Edge computing bypasses the latency caused by cloud computing by processing data closer to where it needs to happen. For this reason, edge computing can be used to process time-sensitive data in remote locations with limited or no connectivity to a centralized location.
Skills: IoT specialists design IoT solutions and networks, identify components required, understand how data management fits in, and analyze security risks. Skills needed by professionals versed in IoT include IoT security, cloud computing knowledge, data analytics, automation, understanding of embedded systems, and device knowledge.
DevOps
The word DevOps was coined by Patrick Debois, one of its gurus. DevOps refers to a combination of cultural philosophies, practices, and tools and its primary goal is to shorten the development life cycle and enable organizations to deliver applications and services faster.
The exponential rise in demand for DevOps engineers is attributed to the fact that companies have achieved significant success in delivering high-quality applications and they have experienced overwhelming returns compared with firms that don’t employ these professionals.
Full Stack Development
While not a new job, the rapid pace of technology change has made full stack developers a valuable asset for any company. Both front-end and back-end developers have high demand in many countries, but full-stack developers have even greater demand.
Full Stack Developer job title ranks 2nd in Indeed’s best jobs of 2020 study and ranks top in the growth spotlight at a growth rate of 161.98%.
Currently, most in-demand coding languages across the globe are Go, JavaScript, Java, and Python. JavaScript is also the most commonly used programming language. Go has a high demand but low supply due to fewer developers working with it.
React and Angular, are also at the top of the list of most in-demand front-end tech skills.
Django and Spring are the most demanding back-end framework skills.
Business Intelligence analyst
BI analysts gather data through a number of ways and they are experienced with database technology, analytics, and reporting tools. They are much needed now because they provide a data-driven analysis of competitors and accurate snapshots of where a company stands in the industry.
Conclusion
You need to have top technical skills to make a place for yourself in the brutally competitive tech industry. Demand for skills in the tech industry is changing from time to time, so it’s important to know what current in-demand skills. What the most demanding tech skills of the industry are at present and the potential for future demand. | https://medium.com/@nageshbanothu87/demand-techies-need-skill-in-future-2021-8710bbe3c42d | ['Nagesh Banothu'] | 2020-12-25 09:24:28.626000+00:00 | ['Techies Infotech', 'Skills', 'Future Technology'] |
Moving large scale task processing from Google App Engine to Kubernetes | This year Bluecore migrated more than 90% of our personalized-message processing from Google App Engine (GAE) to Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) to save on infrastructure cost and gain finer control on scale. This blog discusses the reasons we made this change, how we did it, and what the results are.
Why did we do this?
Bluecore reached a scale that made it more cost-effective to move CPU heavy loads from GAE to GKE. The operational overhead incurred in moving from a managed service to self-operated Kubernetes clusters was worth it. Moreover, the engineering effort required to upgrade the Python 2.7 codebase to Python 3 was already significant even if we stayed on GAE, making the decision to switch to GKE simpler.
How did we do this?
To make sure the project was feasible, we first spent a few weeks on a proof of concept implementation on GKE, building a scaled-down but representative message pipeline implementation to confirm both cost savings and that a potentially rebuilt version would provide the required scale. The proof of concept was successful on both accounts so we started on a long journey.
We thoroughly reviewed the GAE email pipeline code base, architecture, and functionality. While sending emails seems simple superficially, there are many aspects to sending emails such as:
Building the audience to target
Email personalization
A/B Testing/Control Groups
Minimum time between email (MTBE)
Coupons
Heat maps
Rendering HTML
Email link processing and shortening.
Analytics
Delivery
Opt-in/Unsubscribe management
Accounting/stats
Once we had a good overview of all the parts that needed migrating (and what parts could be left behind) we started drawing up a new architecture and a coarse work break down.
Architecture
Since the bulk of email related to Google Cloud CPU spending occurs after audience generation, we decided to first keep the audience generation on GAE and from that point transfer control to the new email pipeline on GKE. The result of audience generation is a BigQuery table, providing a great boundary between the old and new platforms. In other words, the pipeline on GKE only has to read the audience from the previously generated BigQuery table, removing the need for large data transfers between the two platforms.
PubSub
Most of the Python code could be implemented in a straightforward manner including switching from the GAE API to Google Cloud API calls. In contrast, the biggest architectural change was the way scaling was implemented.
Given that sending millions of emails in a serial fashion would take a very long time and the task to process an individual email can be considered “Embarrassingly parallel”, we made use of GAE Task Queues to scale sends. Switching to GKE required us to look for an alternative way to do this. We chose Google Cloud PubSub to accomplish similar parallel task processing. Scaling worker pods up and down relative to PubSub subscription backlog size provided similar behavior. This required more engineering work to implement compared to using GAE Task Queues, so while moving to GKE saves CPU cost, there is “no free lunch.”
Worker pods pull Pubsub messages with tasks to process and may publish other Pubsub messages as a result, for example in the case of reading the audience from the BigQuery table.
We made use of the larger allowed payload size of PubPub messages compared to task queue tasks to convey campaign wide settings and other input information. This shared information is then passed by and to worker pods in all PubSub messages so they do not have to look up the same information for each individual task. On GAE, these repeated lookups caused slowdowns at best and strained external caching services at worst. Making sure that we prevent duplication of effort on a per email task basis became one of the main design principles of the project and has been beneficial to our ability to scale. In fact, the GKE email pipeline does not use external caching at all.
Microservices
Given the scale of the change and the critical nature of email processing, the move from GAE to GKE had to be gradual instead of a “big-bang” changeover. To be able to share services between both worlds and also allow usage of functionality not yet migrated, we introduced microservices running in both GAE and GKE, implemented in Go and Python. The shared services also ensure consistency in behavior regardless of where emails are processed. For more information on microservice call retry challenges, read this blog.
Development
To simplify the movement of Datastore access related code to GKE, we decided to port the GAE Python DB Client Library to GKE by replacing the Datastore API calls to Google Cloud Libraries usage. Since some Datastore entities would still be shared between GAE and GKE, reusing the same db.Model definitions ensured consistency across the two platforms.
Code that could be shared between GAE and GKE was moved into shared Python libraries to prevent copied code going out of sync over time. Bigger chunks of functionality were pulled into shared microservices, some written in Go instead of Python depending on performance needs.
Having ordered the email pipeline feature set by priority, engineers worked through analyzing the existing behavior of a given feature, porting the relevant GAE code to GKE, adding unit tests and eventually validating the behavior in QA.
Shadow Testing
We realized that unit and integration tests only would not suffice to make sure email campaigns migrated from GAE to GKE would behave exactly the same (HTML content, links, headers, etc.). The reason for this is the sheer number of settings and customization possible. For example, email templates can contain Python code snippets. The required amount of manually created tests would be near infinite.
To decrease the likelihood of unforeseen regressions during migration, we followed a process called “shadow testing.” During shadow testing, a given email campaign would still send on GAE, but the same campaign would also execute on GKE up to the point of sending. The GKE side would instead write the emails and associated information to Google Cloud Storage. Once both platforms complete processing, a comparison takes place that makes sure both results match and log differences for further investigation.
Successful shadow testing was the gating factor before migration could take place. Since shadow testing was such a critical part of the migration effort and has many interesting facets, watch for an upcoming blog post with more detail.
Rollout
We split the rollout of the migration into two large parts:
Sending of “static” emails
Sending of “personalized” emails
Static, non-personalized, emails (think “20% off of everything!”) are relatively plain and simple to produce, requiring the least amount of feature porting work once the initial architecture for the new email pipeline was developed. At campaign send time, depending on migration status and campaign type, sends would be taken over by GKE from GAE. During the 2019 Black Friday/Cyber Monday (BFCM) period, the new pipeline provided a great way to offload the spikes in sends from GAE. At the same time, this production load proved the new architecture and allowed us to work out any kinks before moving personalized campaigns.
While rolling out static email sends on GKE, we continued porting the personalized email processing. Here we kept some of the complexities of generating recommendations for a given email recipient on GAE by having the GKE pipeline call back into GAE microservices. Examples were dependencies on Memcache, Google Search, and other parts not easily ported without a significant redesign (and risk). This approach provided early cost gains on personalized sends without having to spend a relatively large engineering effort on porting this part.
The results
Bluecore reduced the Google Cloud spending on sending emails by a factor 10. While we calculated the cost savings by combining the Google billing information and code instrumentation, last July we obtained more direct proof by an (unplanned) event during which a large percentage of email processing moved back to GAE from GKE. The App Engine product billing increase during the three days showed without a reasonable doubt the savings to the company (note that Bluecore’s usage of GAE goes far beyond email):
The caveat here is that the savings are for this particular use case; your mileage may vary. By rethinking the email pipeline architecture we can now better meet our scaling challenges and are now running on a less restricted platform. While switching from GAE to GKE comes with more operational responsibilities, Bluecore has grown to the point where the cost of this additional overhead is offset by the gains by a wide margin.
The decision and effort to move platforms are difficult. GAE is a great platform for operational hands-off development as the Bluecore founders experienced in the early years. The choice to move to GKE depends on a lot of factors and we recommend readers to do careful due diligence before starting a project like this.
We would like to thank everyone that has participated in one of the biggest projects in Bluecore’s history. | https://medium.com/bluecore-engineering/moving-large-scale-task-processing-from-google-app-engine-to-kubernetes-9cbaa4767708 | ['Marcel Schoffelmeer'] | 2020-09-01 12:01:01.828000+00:00 | ['Google Cloud Platform', 'Kubernetes', 'Google App Engine', 'Google Kubernetes Engine'] |
A hike to remember- Half Dome, Yosemite | Fig 1: A great view of Half Dome from Glacier Point.
It was a beautiful morning on the 3rd of July, 2021 when some friends and I started our hike up the most iconic mountain in the Yosemite Valley — Half Dome!
The breathtaking and stupendous views on this route made it the best hiking experience I have ever had!
Standing at 8839ft, Half Dome is an awe inspiring granite formation that had first caught my attention when I visited Yosemite in summer 2001 (I was a little boy back then who was intrigued by the shape of this mountain :))
Hiking to the summit 20 years later was reminiscent!
Fig 2: A breathtaking view of the Valley with the famous Half Dome ledge on the left (and me on it).
I would like to share my experience hiking Half Dome and give you some pointers so that you are fully prepared and have the best experience.
Decide on your group of 6 hikers and have everyone register for the pre-season lottery. This happens in March. Proactive registration for the lottery ensures a higher possibility of success and lets you plan your trip in advance.
Have all secondary permit holders respond to confirmation emails from nps.gov. We missed doing that and requesting for an amendment in April was a very painful experience.
Make reservations for your accommodation well in advance. (Who doesn’t like a nice hotel with great breakfast options!). Making reservations for the night before and after your hike will make your trip less stressful, if your budget allows for this. We stayed at the Best Western in Mariposa. It is about a 90 mins drive from the valley. They have well maintained rooms and an excellent breakfast service.
If you are an excellent planner and can find accommodation inside the park, snag it immediately! Setting up base within the park will save you a ton of travel time. Curry Village, is a great option. They have reasonably priced and comfortable cabins that are only a 15 mins walk away from the base of the Half Dome trail.
Fig 3: The Dawn Wall to the left and Half Dome to the right, cloaked in sunlight, as seen from Tunnel View.
Half Dome checklist:
Your Half Dome permit! Gloves - rope climbing gloves from REI or workman gloves from Home Depot. You will need them while climbing up the cables. Water- More is always less. I carried 5 litres but ran out of water on my way down. If your budget allows, invest in a water bladder. This makes sipping while hiking very convenient :) Food- Energy bars and fruits were all I ate throughout the day. I carried half a dozen bars, 2 bananas and an energy drink for the hike. Backpack- with lower waist and upper chest straps. Your back and neck will thank you later. Having a rain fly may come in handy while hiking along Mist Trail. Jacket- lightweight hiking jacket just incase the weather takes a turn for the worse. Hiking shoes- it took me about 20 hours to break into mine. If you need to buy a pair, the sooner, the better. Socks- I carried 2 pairs of hiking/woollen socks. A great way to stay comfortable and avoid bruising your feet. It’s also nice to have a second pair to change into at the halfway point. Sunscreen- We carried 3 bottles between the 6 of us and applied fresh layers 3–4 times. A hat- This was a saviour! A torch or headlamp- It got pitch dark before we could return to the parking lot and having torches handy was helpful. Hiking poles- they were helpful, especially while descending. A nice camera- You probably want to make the most of this opportunity by getting quality photos :) Advil or other pain killers.
With all your gear in place, you should be ready for the hike of your life! Adventure and excitement await you…
Fig 4: Another angle of the Half Dome summit. (in pic- a friend and I)
This trail has 3 very popular and beautiful waterfalls which comprise a section of the Merced River know as The Giant Staircase- Vernal Falls, Silver Apron and Nevada Falls. So all you waterfall lovers are in for a treat.
We started our day at 4:30 am, our hike at 7am and returned to the parking lot at 9:30pm. It takes between 10 and 15 hours to finish the hike so plan accordingly. The earlier you start your hike, the more enjoyable your experience will be (and fewer random hikers photobombing you). It is pretty challenging to hike down the Mist Trail or the John Muir trail in the dark.
We took Mist trail on our way up. This probably is one of the most enjoyable sections of the hike. Hiking along this trail will be a refreshing experience. The cool mist, the early morning breeze and sunlight made this hike not only relaxing but great for photo ops. The Mist trail has a water re-filling station. This will be your last source of potable water during your hike to Half Dome.
Fig 5: Mist trail (bottom left) as seen from a vantage point.
As you hike along this trail while enjoying the mist, please watch your step. The trail is usually very slippery and the path is uneven with ragged rocks and stairs.
At the end of the Mist Trail stands Vernal Fall, a spectacular waterfall that is a part of the river Merced. The falling water collides with the rocks below to kick up a pleasant mist that makes this hike so enjoyable. In Spring, hikers may be drenched by the time they pass the mist from the waterfall. So more planning if you intend to hike at that time of the year.
Fig 6: The beautiful Vernal Falls and the mist it creates.
We made our way up from Vernal falls to John Muir trail via Silver Apron trail. More stairs greeted us!
Fig 7: Stairs on Silver Apron trail.
Fig 8: A Blue Jay on Silver Apron trail.
The long flight of stairs and enjoyable views brought us to John Muir trail. We rested here for a while, elated by our experience thus far.
It was 9:33 am. We were at an elevation of 6019ft and 4.5 miles away from our destination.
Fig 9: A sign board at the intersection of Silver Apron and John Muir trails. (Don’t forget your permit)
Onward and forward as we hiked into Little Yosemite Valley. This part of the hike is like a partial break as there only is a marginal elevation gain. Soak in the beauty of the valley!
We chose the valley as our second resting point, ate and hydrated. I found myself a comfortable rock and lay down on it for a few minutes.
Fig 10: John Muir trail passing through Little Yosemite Valley.
As we hiked up from the valley to Sub Dome, the trail became steeper and I will be honest, moving forward was very challenging. We climbed almost a thousand feet in an hour and arrived at another sign board that read, “2 miles to go”. (Woohoo!)
We met some people who were on their way down. When I inquired, they said that they had started their hike at 1:30am. A great way to catch the sunrise from the summit if you plan your trip well.
It took sweat and blood (minus blood) to hike another mile and arrive at the base of Sub Dome. This was our third major resting point. You will have to be vigilant about wild squirrels that often try to grab your food and other belongings. The ones at the summit of Half Dome are even more aggressive as vegetation and food are scarce up there.
Fig 11: A wild squirrel that was trying to grab my food.
We also took this opportunity to apply a fresh layer of sun screen as there is no tree cover on Sub Dome and Half Dome.
If you made it this far, know that you are on your final stretch uphill, you got this!
We went up to the ranger station, shared credentials and continued our journey. The Sub Dome hike probably is the most challenging as there is neither a well-defined trail nor steps and hikers need to maintain their balance as they hike up the mountain’s steep and slippery granite surface.
Stay vigilant and if for you aren’t confident about making it up the face of the mountain, there is no shame in turning back. Remember, you still have to hike back to the parking lot.
We arrived at the summit of Sub Dome at 1:30pm. It is important to secure all your belongings before you begin your ascent up the cables. (It sucks to lose one’s phone or camera) So take a moment to do that and put on your gloves.
Fig 12: At the base of the Half Dome cables hike.
While you are on the cables, be mindful of people climbing down and clearly communicate how you intend to cross one-another, lead with your feet as much as possible to avoid tiring out your arms and more importantly, enjoy the views and the experience.
We arrived at the summit of Half Dome at about 2pm. I found a rock to sit on and took several moments to just relish the moment. I had made it, we had made it!
Fig 13: A view from the summit of Half Dome.
We had a great time on Half Dome, meeting new people, clicking photos and enjoying the sense of accomplishment. We also saw a man propose to his girlfriend. I commend him for putting in great thought and picking such an iconic spot to pop the question.
Fig 14: My hiking crew.
I was lucky to have been able to do this hike with these cheerful, enthusiastic, caring and fun-loving folks. We helped each other when needed and kept everyone motivated throughout the hike.
I was pleasantly surprised that there were only a few people at the summit on the day of our hike. This ensured almost no wait time get shots on the iconic ledge. A benefit of the lockdown :)
Fig 15: The joy of having conquered the mountain.
We began our descent at 3pm and made it down the cables at 3:50pm. Amongst my group members, I was more challenged by the downward hike was than the upward climb. Having hiking poles was extremely helpful as they helped take some load off my knees and hips.
We arrived at the intersection of Silver Spoon and John Muir trails 3 hours later and rested there. We ran out of water at this point. Fortunately, we had brought a LiveStraw and so were able to drink from the Merced River. You want to avoid doing this as much as possible as the river’s currents can be very strong.
Fig 16: The Merced River.
We continued on John Muir trail and got a wonderful view of the majestic Nevada Falls.
Fig 16: Nevada Falls on the Merced River.
The setting sun lit up the water and granite providing a spectacular view.
The journey from Nevada Falls to the parking lot took us 2 and a half hours. There were numerous land slides that had blocked off sections of the trail. We had to carefully climb over those sections. You should try to ensure that you have crossed the switch backs and are back on Mist Trail before it gets dark.
Our hike ended at 9:27pm. Exhausted yet happy, sore yet accomplished, famished yet satisfied!
Half Dome was a challenging and a splendid experience. I will cherish these memories for years to come.
Fig 17: North Dome and Basket Dome to the left, and Half Dome to the right as seen from Glacier point.
I hope this blog helps you prepare better for your Half Dome hike or inspires you to give it a shot. If a bunch of completely out of shape software engineers could do it, I’m sure you can! | https://medium.com/@shashank_iyer/a-hike-to-remember-half-dome-yosemite-88b3d6fa4289 | ['Shashank Iyer'] | 2021-09-07 06:16:28.440000+00:00 | ['Yosemite', 'Wilderness', 'Fitness', 'Adventure', 'Hiking'] |
How to use INDEX and MATCH function Properly | INDEX and MATCH function mostly use if you want to find something value from data range at different cell ranges. We can call it Advance lookup and its more flexible and effective formula.
INDEX AND MATCH FUNCTION USE
In Simple word we can say that Index has that range which We want a result and Match has that range which we use to find it.
For clear understanding i brought here example.
Selected region for data need
Ok from above image you clarly see that selected regoin data we want. And we have three coloumn so we need three cells. and another important thing is data we want to match is the frame no. Below image shows you where i put datas and where is frame no.
Look at Selected regoin and Frameno. at B6 Cell for match function
Now Its time to Put First Index Function. From Below Image you see the i apply index Function by just =INDEX() Then i select the range which we want result from. In my exapmle is the F Coloumn.
After select the range put “ , ” and apply MATCH Function by just typing “ MATCH ” then select the cell you have to match in mine its “ B6 ” . Then select the range which we want to match in sheet.
After selecting all done out “ , ” Sign and put “ 0 ” or “ 1 ”. what they represent is the
0 = Exact match
1 =Exact or smaller value ( smaller than sign < )
(-1) = Exact or larger value ( greater than Sign > )
And I put “ 0 ” because iwant exact match to it. And put “ ) ) ” for both functions ;)
THE RESULT
WORKING OF END RESULT
If you want more this function then dont directly do autofill. But what you is the Lock your refrencing cell by press F4 its gives the “ $ ” sign infront of them. And then change the index range and get results. mine is below
Add Formula to all three cell
HOPE YOU LEARN SOMETHING
If you have any query than ask in comments and if you have suggestion give it to me its help out.
THANKS !!!! | https://medium.com/being-an-er/how-to-use-index-and-match-function-properly-bf6af263838a | ['Saif Khatri'] | 2020-12-17 04:01:40.583000+00:00 | ['Excel', 'Development', 'Tips', 'Tips And Tricks', 'Engineering'] |
The Vanishing Need for Fracked Gas in Virginia — Chesapeake Climate Action Network | Last week, Governor Ralph Northam signed the Virginia Clean Economy Act into law, making Virginia the first Southern state with a goal of going carbon-free by 2045. Thanks to the bill, Virginia’s energy future looks a lot cleaner.
The future for gas, on the other hand, is a lot less rosy.
The VCEA floors it on clean energy, taking Virginia from nearly zero to 100 in a matter of years. It mandates that the state’s biggest utility, Dominion Energy, switch entirely to renewable energy by 2045. Appalachian Power, which serves far southwest Virginia, must go carbon-free by 2050. It requires Dominion to build 16,100 megawatts of onshore wind and solar energy, and it proclaims up to 5,200 MW of offshore wind by 2034 to be in the public interest.
The General Assembly also passed a bill this year allowing Virginia to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a regional carbon-trading program now in place from Maine to Virginia. With Virginia joining RGGI, all fossil fuel generating plants will be required to pay for the right to spew carbon pollution.
What might all of this mean for gas?
We got an early sign earlier this month when Dominion asked its regulator, the State Corporation Commission, to relieve it of a requirement to model new gas plants. In December 2018, the utility was planning for eight to 13 new gas combustion turbines (a plan the SCC rejected because the company inflated electricity demand).
Today “significant build-out of natural gas generation facilities is not currently viable, with the passage by the General Assembly of the Virginia Clean Economy Act of 2020,” the company wrote in its filing.
You read that right. Their previous plans are no longer viable.
If additional gas plants aren’t viable in Virginia, then what’s the purpose of the Atlantic Coast and Mountain Valley pipelines?
Dominion’s primary argument for the ACP has been that “Virginia needs new pipeline infrastructure” for home heating, manufacturing, and electricity. “Demand for natural gas is growing,” Dominio CEO Tom Farrell continued in an October 2018 op-ed in the Richmond Times Dispatch. Likewise, MVP claims its gas is desperately needed.
Yet even before passage of the VCEA, the need for these pipelines was in question. Only about 13 percent of Mountain Valley’s gas was spoken for, with the destination for the remaining 87 percent “ unknown.” And, in a brief before the U.S. Supreme Court, Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring argued that Virginia already had no demonstrated need for the expansion of fracked-gas infrastructure, with demand only projected to decrease in the foreseeable future.
Is Dominion on its way to walking away from the project?
One sign that Dominion might be on the way to abandoning the ACP is the fact that the company did not oppose HB167 (sponsored by Delegate Lee Ware), which is now law. This bill requires an electric utility that wants to charge customers for the cost of using a new gas pipeline to prove it can’t meet its needs otherwise, and that the new pipeline provides the lowest-cost option available to it. This bill makes cost recovery for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline-and the Mountain Valley Pipeline-much more difficult. Dominion’s acquiescence to the bill could be an indication that the company is preparing to fold up shop on this project.
With Virginia now on a path away from fossil fuels, the ACP and MVP are not needed to supply electricity to Virginians, if they ever were. Dominion and EQT should cancel their plans and move on.
Two other projects may also be on their way out under Virginia’s new commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Developers are proposing two huge new gas plants only a mile away from one another in Charles City County. Neither the 1,600 MW Chickahominy Power Station nor the 1,050 C4GT plant plan to sell power to Virginia utilities; their target is the regional wholesale market. So, while the VCEA won’t force them to go green, they will have to pay to pollute under RGGI. This added cost, plus the permitting issues the plants are encountering, could persuade them to abandon their plans.
And, if the C4GT plant goes away, so too should Virginia Natural Gas’s plans for a gas pipeline and compressor stations to supply the plant, what we’re calling the Header Injustice Project.
All in all, gas is on its way out in Virginia. We only wish the companies had seen the writing on the wall before they started seizing land, cutting down precious trees, and clogging rivers and streams with sediment. | https://medium.com/@chesapeakeclimate/the-vanishing-need-for-fracked-gas-in-virginia-chesapeake-climate-action-network-892eb16fa8f8 | ['Chesapeake Climate Action Network'] | 2020-04-23 20:39:47.178000+00:00 | ['Dominion', 'Virginia', 'Fracked Gas', 'Atlantic Coast Pipeline', 'Pipelines'] |
Matha Traders|Total Interior Solutions | Matha Traders is the trusted name which is synonyms to perfection and quality. Completing over two decades we are one of the largest supplier & dealers of all kind of materials for interior including Plywood, MDF, Multi-Wood, Veneer etc. Since our inception in 1994 Matha Traders have been the pioneer in redefining spaces inside and outside Kerala, bringing about a paradigm shift in concept of living spaces. Matha Traders bring together all leading brands under one roof providing exceptional service and support to our customers. A remarkable facility for realizing all your interior and design dreams requirement. We serve products that are of global standard and best in-class, class in terms of quality and durability. We provides Best plywood, and leading best plywood shop &plywood distributor in Kochi, Matha traders is a plywood distribution agency we sale marine grade plywood, Block boards, decorative veneers, MDF Boards, Particle Boards, PVC Boards, Laminates etc.
If You Want to Find More…Click Here | https://medium.com/@muzammimepits12/matha-traders-total-interior-solutions-2c4330ff602c | ['Matha Electronics', 'Matha Traders'] | 2021-08-27 05:46:42.794000+00:00 | ['Plywood Supplier', 'Plywood Manufacturers', 'Kochi', 'Ernakulam', 'Interior Design'] |
Wai in Waikīkī: Past, Present & Future Paths Forward for the Ala Wai Watershed | The biggest mistake that has drastically altered Waikīkī’s water distribution and ecosystem was the construction of the Ala Wai Canal, but how exactly did the Ala Wai Canal come to fruition? Introduced in 1921¹⁸under the Territory of Hawaiʻi by Lucius Pinkham, the canal was constructed under the guise of “sanitary concerns” whose justification stemmed from racist assumptions conclusions about the sanitary health loʻi kalo system decided that the marsh lands of Waikīkī were a threat to public health. Pinkham also oversaw the process to approve sugar cane plantation projects, which would greatly benefit from a concrete watershed, as it diverted water from the disintegrating ahupuaʻa and instead allowed for an increase in commercial use of water. The Ala Wai Canal was built to increase the potential profitability in Waikīkī; to make money and promote tourism. The canal began construction in 1921, and the project was contracted to the Hawaiian Dredging Construction Company, owned by Walter Dillingham, a close associate of Pinkham¹⁹. Permits signed off by Pinkham mandated that the canal be constructed above sea level, and the company ended up selling the dredged material (spoil) back to the territory in order to comply with the permit²⁰. During the construction period, many families whose ancestral ties to this land run deeper than the canal ever will, were forced to sell their land or have “condemned” by the territorial government. This process was coined as the “Waikiki Reclamation Project” though it sought to dispossess people from land rather than reclaim it²¹. Canal construction necessitated draining the freshwater from Waikīkī and mandated approximately two miles of inland dredging to fill in the fishponds and wetlands, as well as the dredging of coral reefs to create beaches for tourists²². The construction of the canal and the draining of the wetlands was a vital step in making way for an urbanization process to build the tourist industry. At the time, and contemporarily, the tourist industry brings financial profit to a rich, foreign few. | https://medium.com/@sarahmichalhamid/wai-in-waik%C4%ABk%C4%AB-past-present-future-paths-forward-for-the-ala-wai-watershed-dee6ca096b28 | ['Sarah Michal Hamid'] | 2020-12-10 04:08:23.688000+00:00 | ['Water', 'Hydrology', 'Hawaii', 'Waikiki', 'Resource Management'] |
Brand Meets Consumer | Written by Jason Rose, July 8th, 2016
This is part three of an ongoing blog series I’m dedicating to the Shapes of Stories, as theorized by sci-fi author Kurt Vonnegut. If you need to catch up, Shapes of Stories is the introductory post, followed by A Man, Woman (or Brand) in a Hole in which I discuss the “man in a hole” story shape and how it can be applied across varying mediums.
This post will discuss another of Vonnegut’s story shapes that he calls “Boy Meets Girl.” The story doesn’t have to be about a sweet young man meeting the girl or boy of his dreams but it’s an easy way to remember the shape.
The story starts with a perfectly average moment, neither bad or good, when suddenly everything is changed for the better (boy meets girl). Just when the apex of happiness is reached, everything changes for the worst (boy loses girl). But fear not, fortunes quickly reverse and all is good in the world (boy gets girl back, for good).
Visually it looks like this, remembering that the X axis is time chronologically from beginning to end and the Y axis is relative happiness from happiness upward to sadness downward.
This shape has been used in almost every rom-com, but it’s about more than our need to find a star-crossed lover — it’s about the ups, the downs, and the inherent fragility of human life. When things are blah and ordinary, we hope something great comes along. When something great comes along, we are terrified of losing it. And once we lose whatever “it” may be, we want it back.
A great example of this story trajectory can be found in the celebrity and political gossip rags that line cashier counters. How a culture tells stories about its most known individuals says much about what that culture values in a story.
This probably sounds familiar:
Person A is just an average joe or jane.
Person A accomplishes something incredible.
Person A loses it all due to some fatal human flaw.
Person A finds redemption and comes back better than ever.
As a society, we love to build our popular figures up, only to tear them down, before ultimately allowing them to win their way back into our good graces. It’s a vastly different story than the rom-com, but the same shape.
So what does this have to do with you as a marketer, creative, or doer of any sort of business?
As always, start by recognizing this shape in the wild. I guarantee you will find it used in news stories, podcasts, documentaries, books, TED talks, and throughout any media intended to educate, persuade, or entertain.
Next, try to use it yourself. People remember stories, not stats. If we want to be better communicators, we must shape our messages along the story arcs people love to consume.
You can fault Hollywood for being formulaic, but “boy meets girl” will be used in countless nausea inducing rom-coms next year for a very good reason, it still sells — use it to your advantage.
We would love to help you tell your brand story! | https://medium.com/forward-obsessed/brand-meets-consumer-ce8f7189f60d | ['Ds Media'] | 2018-07-18 15:19:02.787000+00:00 | ['Branding', 'Marketing', 'Storytelling', 'Brand Strategy', 'Writing'] |
Meet the team: Alexandra | Meet the team: Alexandra
Q: Introduce yourself with a few words? What is your job at New Wave Digital?
A: The name is Alexandra, and I am an adventure seeker with an endless love for her bicycle and flora. You can find me either biking, hiking, or around plants.
I joined the New Wave Digital’s team back in the summer part-time as a data coordinator, and here am I today — joined the team officially as a communications & analytics manager.
Q: How does a typical working day start for you?
A: I am always trying to start the day without internet access, so I can center myself and enjoy the early morning calmness at home. Although the second I open my eyes, the two little furballs from the cat species start playing with each other and coming to me for some cuddling.
A cup of coffee is a must, and then I go through the to-do list I created the previous day. Before I give any identification to the team that I am active, I go through my emails so I can give my team members the needed time for talks and projects discussing rather than just being distracted by my mail list.
Q: What innovative technology excites you most? Why?
A: Augmented reality. Even though it scares me sometimes how you can combine both realities, at the same time excites me about the possibilities you could have either by developing it or by using it. Using augmented reality for marketing projects is one of my main to-dos in the future, as I am curious to see how brands can connect with their people and gain new brand ambassadors.
Q: What is your SUPERPOWER?
A: It’s the ability to calm myself and to make rational decisions in emergencies.
Unknown rooftop in Sofia 🇧🇬
Q: What’s the skill you’d love to learn in the future?
A: Happily, for me, it is not only one skill. The two skills that I really want to develop are graphic design and public speaking. I already started working on both of them, and I am feeling extremely motivated to master them in the future.
Q: Which person (existing or dead) would you like to grab a bite with (if you have a chance)?
A: This is a tough one, but I would say, Terry Pratchett. Too late, I found about the magical world he created, and the way his writing challenges me to think out of the box, and how I need to develop my storytelling skills.
Q: What is your ideal way to lose steam/to relax?
A: Go out for a walk or some biking. There were too many times I’ve experienced stress in the past, and biking is what helped me get through the rough times. The ache in my muscles after a 50K bike riding is the sweetest one.
Streets Of Berlin 🇩🇪
Q: What is your most preferred spot in the world?
Berlin. Amsterdam. The mountains and the sea. Originally I am from Varna, and I get to see the sea less, as I am currently adventuring in Sofia. But I am compensating with frequent hikes up in the mountains around the big city. And the perfect company would be my partner in life and crime and the two furballs — Chaplin and Amelie. | https://medium.com/@newavedigital/meet-the-team-alexandra-d6b076c44a0f | ['New Wave Digital'] | 2020-12-15 08:27:45.442000+00:00 | ['Marketing', 'Communication', 'Digital Nomads', 'Digital Agency', 'Team'] |
3 Keys for Building a Personal Brand | <a href=’https://www.freepik.com/vectors/background'>Background vector created by freepik — www.freepik.com</a>
What’s the single best thing you can do for your career?
Build your personal brand.
It doesn’t matter if you work for someone else or for yourself. Your personal brand is what you stand for, how people perceive you, and what you’re known for. It can make the difference between getting career opportunities and staying stagnant.
Everyone has a personal brand, even if they don’t realize it. But to shape your own brand, you have to be proactive and take control. When’s the best time to start building your personal brand? Today!
I made a video about this which you can see below. If you want more content like this then make sure to subscribe to the Be Your Own Boss Podcast Youtube Channel where my wife Blake and I teach you how you can be your own boss.
Here are three keys to building your personal brand:
Consistency
What is your area of expertise? What do you want to be known for? Choose a topic and stick to it. It could be anything from marketing to leadership to coding or accounting. The key is to be consistent. If you’re all over the place, people won’t know what you stand for or what skills or knowledge you have to offer. Choose a message and stick to it.
Frequency
Once you’ve chosen your topic, be frequent about the message. Share it as much as possible across multiple channels. Leverage social media to share articles, podcasts, photos, videos, and more. Within your organization, start conversations on the intranet or get involved in committees. Don’t spam people, but get your message out there as much as possible. You want to be in people’s minds, and that doesn’t happen by only speaking up or sharing once a month.
Blake and I made lots of mistakes during our entrepreneurial journey and learned things the hard way, but you don’t have to. Whether you are considering going off on your own or you already have, this will be a valuable resource for you. Download our PDF on the 7 things you need to master if you want to be a successful entrepreneur.
Building a personal brand doesn’t happen overnight. It takes years and years of staying true to these three principles and continual practice to build your brand. Keep working on your personal brand — it’s the most crucial part of building your career.
Visibility.
Your consistency and frequency don’t matter if they aren’t visible. You have to share your message in the most visible ways on the most visible platforms. Reach out to other thought leaders, podcasts, or publications and offer to contribute or collaborate. When your message is visible, people will think of you when they need someone for a particular task or topic.
These three keys can help shape your personal brand and set you on the path to success, whatever your path may be. | https://medium.com/jacob-morgan/3-keys-for-building-a-personal-brand-96b59e00095f | ['Jacob Morgan'] | 2020-12-02 11:56:52.747000+00:00 | ['Personal Branding', 'Business Strategy', 'Future Of Work', 'Entrepreneurship', 'Career Development'] |
Game Over Dude: Flickering UI text in Unity | Objective: Create game over text which appears and flickers when player’s lives are zero, or less.
Add a UI text element, which will be added as a child of the Canvas. Use the Rect Transform component to center the text in the canvas with X =0, Y=0 and Z=0 coordinates. In the Text component set the font size to 50, color to white allow both horizontal and vertical overflow to overflow using drop down menu. Once we like the look, make sure the check box next to the name, Game_Over_text, is unchecked so it is not displayed at start of the game.
Now enable the text when the player dies, by adding the code below to the UIManager script, which is attached to the Canvas. While there other ways to activate the Game_Over_text, using the transform.GetChild seems efficient. If the lives of the player is zero or less, start the coroutine GameOverFlicker(), which sets the child 2 game object to be active and the after 0.5 seconds turns it off, and again waits 0.5 seconds. This is in an infinite while loop so the process repeats.
UIManager funtions on Canvas
The Game_Over_text must be child 2, i.e. the third child in the hierarchy. Now this has some limitations, or features, depending on perspective. The code above flickers child(2) so if the child order changes as shown below, so does the UI element which flickers. Notice, how the flicker can be moved from the game over text to the lives image and then the score text by changing the order of UI elements within the Canvas. | https://medium.com/@hal-brooks/game-over-dude-flickering-ui-text-in-unity-7bbd22553770 | ['Hal Brooks'] | 2021-06-08 01:18:12.940000+00:00 | ['User Interface', 'C Sharp Programming', 'Unity'] |
Re:Birth | Re:Birth
Two years ago, we were both homeless, Sam lived with her parents, and I stayed at a local men’s sober house. Before meeting each other, Sam was a single teenage mother from rural Minnesota. Her child's father was absent fighting addiction and cleaning up in the first years of their son’s life. I was from an affluent family who went through a bitter divorce of everyone in it. By 16, I was living with friends in Minneapolis. By 18, I was in college at the University of Minnesota and working nights at First Avenue nightclub.
My life was a cacophony of parties every night, where we worked hard and then drank even harder. Within a year, I was binge drinking every night and failing out of college. As I neared, 30 drinking had completely consumed me. I started my day with pulls from a vodka bottle, used an empty water bottle for clear booze to maintain withdraws through the day, and finished the night by emptying the liter size bottle. Every day, for about 4 years.
Eventually, a roommate helped me out, and I attended my first treatment at Hazelden Center City, widely regarded as one of the world's top treatment facilities. I was pampered daily with great meals, therapy, hot tubs, and domesticated deer. We had scheduled meditation, relaxation, reiki, and every other kind of holistic help. After 90 days, I left feeling confident, refreshed, and alone.
I could not return to Minneapolis, as all I knew there was alcohol. I moved north to Duluth to start a new life in the beautiful wilderness of the Lake Superior area. Instead, I piled work on as the amassed debts came calling. I worked two full-time jobs, breakfast cook in the morning from 5 am to 1 pm, followed by operating a private dining club from 4 pm until as late as 2:30 am the next day. I slept two naps a day and worked for months this way.
I was desperate for fun and escapism, so I turned to an old friend in whiskey one night. I thought it would be a night and back to work. It became an attempt to end my life. Within a week, I was back to binge drinking, and the shame of relapse was so intense I gave up. I abandoned both workplaces (one in a wild drunken at work mess where I fell asleep in a chair after downing vanilla extract from the workplace) and set out to die from alcohol. I had some savings from all the work, so I headed straight to the booze shop.
The first few weeks were admittedly fun as withdraws were not intense yet, and all party no work is great. Just as before, though, the shakes, panic attacks, and nightmares returned. I found myself in hospitals, ICUs, psych wards, and detox on a regular basis. Each time I stayed if needed, I left, found any alcohol of any kind, and set out to drink again.
It was not until July 2018, five months after being intubated and catheterized in the ICU after drunkenly driving my car into a ditch, that I got help. After failing to die and out of options for more alcohol, I called an ambulance and went to the hospital for the last time. I went to an Adult/Teen Challenge treatment center and sobered up. It was such an awful experience I left early. I completed my time, and since I was there voluntarily, I could leave on my terms.
I found my sobriety in the community around me. For 7 months, I lived in a local men’s shelter after losing my housing in treatment. Eventually, I found Sam, and then I found housing. Sam moved up here, and together we moved into our tiny, dilapidated house with an absent landlord.
Sam came from an opposite family surrounded by poverty. She had known broken homes, domestic violence, and starving all too well. What we had now was among the best in life. For years she worked odd jobs of service in Minneapolis. Valet attendant, fast food, retail, etc. She did so much and so often to afford a life for her son. To stay awake, she found stimulants to help. Much of the money made was spent on them to keep going. It is the cycle of capitalism and poverty wages.
While Sam was at work, her home and partner were nothing short of chaotic. She became a victim of domestic violence, verbal and emotional abuse herself. Stuck in a scary and dangerous situation, she broke free with friends' help and moved home with her parents.
We found each other on Tinder on Christmas Day 2018. We spent the entire night talking about life. We stayed up until 4 am together discussing everything but keeping it pure enough not to send nudes. We met the next day and have been together since.
Together we found work, planned our lives, and set out to work. In the two years we have been dating, we have had time for two dates and one vacation that entirely drained our savings. It was completely worth it. In that time, I have worked as a breakfast cook (again), overnight shelter supervisor, grocery cashier, election judge, and helper at a resource center for those in need. Sam has bounced from elder care facilities as a CNA as each place became increasingly worse to their staff. She now drives nights for a gig work company delivering food to those who can afford it.
What follows is the story of our baby. Although we are not religious and dislike cliches, we had a miracle baby. I hope you find some of the joy we have in our home in the following pages. Thank you for reading, and know we love you.
It was around 1:50 on the morning of August 17th. I had just started my bedtime routine as I am often up late with insomnia. I was sleeping on the couch as Sam had become too large for us to both fit comfortably in the bed. I laid down, covered up, and started to rest. 10 minutes later, Sam bursts out of the bedroom in pain. I did not know for sure this was it, but I had a strong feeling. Sam was a tad in denial and asked to call the OB office. A minute into the phone call, her water broke while on the toilet. I dialed 911, and by the time I got to Sam’s side, our baby was crowning already.
I had my phone tucked between my ear and shoulder, trying to hear the dispatcher Ryan tell me what to do. Sam was screaming louder than I thought was possible, and I was trying to yell over her to Ryan. I could barely make out him saying get her to lie down on her back. We got there, and almost instantly, a pool of birth formed around us. It was also when our child’s head fully came out, and I was terrified. I could no longer hear Ryan. I put the phone down to my left on the floor, still connected. Sam was calming me and containing her pain before letting go and pushing.
I placed my hands where I thought they should go and was completely terrified. The head was outside, and the baby was not responding. We were three weeks early; he was blue and silent. Every worst fear immediately came to mind. I was certain we miscarried. In one giant push, Ezra came out. He slithered out with such ease. He was grey, silent, and not moving.
I picked the phone back up, and Ryan was still there. I was sobbing, thinking our baby has died so close to birth. Ryan told me to wrap him in a towel as quickly as possible. I grabbed the nearest one and cocooned him. It was then he breathed and gave the slightest coo. He never cried, but he was alive.
The EMTs still had not arrived. I thought it had been near an hour, frustrated and adrenaline high, and I was confused as to what was taking so long. In truth, it took them about 9 minutes to arrive with an ambulance, fire truck, and van. They came inside, and I collapsed on the kitchen floor. Sam was sitting on the bathroom floor, holding our son. She looked more beautiful than ever. She was amazingly calm and strong. Asher, her first son, was in his bedroom, which was attached to the bathroom. I had forgotten this entire time that he was there, so I went to check on him. Somehow, he slept through the whole thing.
Medical folks took control and eventually asked me if I wanted to cut the cord. I laughed and said something akin to “may as well at this point.” As Ezra and Sam detached from each other, we wrapped Sam in a medical robe, doing our best to hide what we could. She had to be brave one more time and walk out of the house with an umbilical cord trailing behind here and a placenta still inside.
She and Ezra rode to the hospital together in an ambulance. I took a few minutes to gather myself and pack up things for Asher before driving to the hospital to bring our family together completely for the first time.
When we arrived at the hospital, we had to wait for a moment in the waiting area for Sam to finish her delivery. I cannot imagine having an unexpected home birth, followed by passing the placenta later halfway across town. Yet she did it and did so good. Within minutes she was holding Ezra and attempting to nurse as if nothing happened. The strength, courage, and love she has known no bounds. I knew this already for how much she would do for Asher.
Eventually, Asher’s dad came to get him, and Sam and I spent the night with our son. I still had not slept, and it was nearing 4 am. I was a strange mix of exhausted and alert. We took turns holding Ezra, all five pounds six ounces of him. We did not talk; we didn’t have much to say other than a few expletives of sighing relief. We took turns syringe, feeding him his first meals. Mere milliliters of milk was all it took. We crashed eventually and slept with Ezra in a bassinet next to Sam.
Because of COVID-19, the hospital was eerily quiet. We could not have visitors, and hardly anyone was in the building. We spent all our time in a quiet, safe, and personal room for the first day. Just us and our baby. It was perfect, a combination of the home birth I wanted to try (although not like this), and the hospital Sam wanted to be at.
The doctors and nurses let us sleep and took care of Ezra for a bit, and we had our first scare. His blood sugar was slightly low. It turned out in our tiredness, we did not feed him quite enough. We took turns learning to breastfeed, and pinky feed. His blood sugar went up to a healthy level, and everything was looking good. I took the opportunity to go home and gather clothes to return together as a family.
Entering the house, I was hit with everything we left. The medical items still on the floor. The pool of afterbirth still on the bathroom floor, slowly soaking into the bathmat. There was medical packaging everywhere and absorbing pads laid down everywhere, but where they should be, it seemed. I found the umbilical cord scissors in the kitchen sink and Ezra’s tiny respirator mask on the counter. I was hit with everything and cried.
I texted a friend who is a midwife and asked what to do with the afterbirth. I asked if they had any advice and what to do. They were helpful (thank you again, Rachel), and I cleaned up the house while Sam was feeding Ezra his first meals across town. I must have panicked packed as I grabbed a litany of diapers (the hospital had them already), baby clothes, and toys, but extraordinarily little for Sam and me.
I went to Target to pick up a car seat and other baby items we had yet to get that Sam had ordered from the hospital bed. We finally had everything we needed to get started. We were out of money again, but full of love and hope.
I returned to the hospital, returned to Sam and Ezra. Sam was already up out of bed and walking around with Ezra. She was ready to go home, but we used a day to recoup and be a family. Although the doctors recommended we rest for another day, we went home once we knew Ezra was healthy. On the way out, the nurse complained endlessly about wearing a mask for COVID-19 and offered nothing but short sarcastic remarks to new parents trying to figure out a new car seat for the first time.
We did this alone. We planned for our baby. I had a job that was turning into a long-term place I loved. We were more secure than we have been in an exceptionally long time. We did not plan for a global pandemic and quarantine. I tried to continue working, but the stress and risk eventually became too great, and I quit for unemployment benefits. We had a magical summer with more money than we were used to, and for the first time, we lived freely. While we could not be with family, nor have a baby shower, we were together and making our family whole.
Unfortunately, the pandemic has lasted longer than expected, and unemployment did not. We were both out of work and earning around $200 a week for a family of three with $850 rent. We drained our savings, staying afloat. We drained our happiness by staying alive. Our struggles have been endless and a constant reminder of our shortcomings.
Although life had become more stressful, we had plenty of hope. At home, Ezra was perfect. He rarely cried, slept a lot, and pooped plenty. Since we were both at home, we traded off diapers and feedings. It worked extremely well with Sam sleeping overnight with Ezra in the bassinet, and me sleeping during the day. We both were fully rested and involved in our baby’s life fully. He was never alone or left crying.
Sam set out to become the greatest mother she could be. Pumping milk in such a quantity, Ezra could not keep up. She read nearly the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy to him in a month, nearly all 481,103 words. They became inseparable, as he attached to her breast and she held him. They often would fall asleep together in bed for naps during the day. It is, without a doubt, the precious thing I have seen.
Sadly, we were in dire need of income, as our house was falling apart and our landlord nowhere to be found. Our laundry machine broke, and we had to spend hundreds at laundromats. The showerhead detached from the wall and is now snaking along the tub floor. The basement started flooding with each rain. The final straw was the toilet clogging and flooding the bathroom with waste. The landlord refused to fix it and only offered to go to Kwik Trip during a pandemic as a solution. We fixed it the following day ourselves and have still not seen our landlord since getting our keys.
Mixed into all of this was our other child Asher, her son, my stepson. He was entering third grade from his bedroom in zoom meetings. It started great, but as time went on, difficulties began to arise. We had an increasingly hard time attending class and staying motivated. We frequently fought over the school. Asher threatened to quit entirely and tried to stop going. Many of his friends in class were doing the same.
It was around this time that I finally found employment again. I returned to service work at a local resource center for those in need. The irony of working to help those in need while we ourselves were very much in need was not lost on me. The free items I could take from work saved our family. We got winter clothes to stay warm, food to fill our bellies, and diapers for our baby. We did not get enough income, and on Black Friday, we received an eviction notice to vacate by January 1st.
We are still here, though. We are still working as Sam delivers food through gig work at night, and I hand out bag lunches during the day. We make enough to get by and survive, but I no longer know what will happen in three weeks. We could lose everything we have; we could be without a home working full time.
However, we still have hope and an exceptionally large amount. Without fail, the community around us has continued to amazing and supportive. Most of our baby gear was donated to us during the pregnancy. We still have the most important thing to us, each other, and our love for one another. My goal in writing this is to share that hope with you so that hopefully you can see that there is still happiness, love, and hope even in some of the most desperate times. We are in a time when we all must come together out of desperation. It is only together we can fix this. | https://medium.com/modern-parent/re-birth-57b5ebbe259c | ['Ryan Glenn'] | 2021-01-05 20:15:02.947000+00:00 | ['Parenting', 'Poverty', 'Photography', 'Baby', 'Covid-19'] |
Healing and Familial Denial | Healing and Familial Denial
What happens when your change is uncomfortable for others?
The little one has some anger issues…must be your side of the family. Photo by Daniel Cheung on Unsplash
I have a relative who has not worked as a waitress in over a decade.
And yet people still ask me, “Is she still a waitress at Friday’s?”
She’s had four corporate jobs and three kids since then.
What is going on? | https://medium.com/invisible-illness/healing-and-familial-denial-4eb660b9f727 | ['Lisa Martens'] | 2019-05-31 11:01:36.271000+00:00 | ['Stress', 'Healing', 'Anxiety', 'Family', 'Mental Health'] |
Bird | I’m thinking about I know why the caged bird sings
And about Dunbar and Angelou and even Keys —
That image of wanting freedom —
And then I think,
Freedom is a type of love
And love is freedom.
Because my heart is a caged bird
In my chest,
encased in flesh,
Ribbed coop,
And when you come near
(At first, at least)
she battered at the bars
With desire for
What caged birds want,
But even now
Lying quietly
Almost asleep
Your arms holding me
I’m unlocked and open
So that my love
flies from me,
not soaring high above,
Us
She just flutters
peacefully
into your hand.
Tamed. | https://medium.com/@esilveirapoems/bird-b08f39de996a | ['Erin Silveira'] | 2020-12-23 13:04:31.361000+00:00 | ['Poetry', 'Poems On Medium', 'Poetry On Medium', 'Poem'] |
Massive Worldwide Cryptocurrency Adoption is about to take place — But not in the way you think it will! | Why we have yet to see worldwide adoption:
At it’s core, cryptocurrency is a medium of exchange but lacks an important component — practical and convenient use.
It’s only when cryptocurrencies replace traditional payment methods that we will start to see worldwide adoption.
This will only take place when transacting in cryptocurrency is seen as more convenient than transacting in tradition online methods.
We are already seeing mobile messaging payments in China as the preferred payment method when compared to online payment by over 78%.
The next step in this evolution is the use of cryptocurrency as the medium of exchange for mobile payments.
The Problem with Existing Cryptocurrencies:
For the longest time, cryptocurrencies worked under the assumption of building a cryptocurrency to satisfy a market need with the hope that users will naturally and organically adopt cryptocurrency as the medium of exchange.
If you build it, he will come — Field of Dreams
This approach has worked well for bringing in innovators and early adopters to the cryptocurrency market but has done little in the way of bringing in the majority of users into the market.
To cross the chasm and bring in majority of users into this space, a new approach would need to be created.
Crossing the Chasm:
Social networks over the last few years now have the largest user based ever recorded in history. With literally billions of active users on popular social and messaging networks such as Facebook, WhatsApp, SnapChat and Wechat.
Looking to China for the Latest Trends
As of 2018, WeChat has over 1 billion active users. WeChat is a Chinese multi-purpose messaging, social media and mobile payment app.
What makes WeChat unique is the widespread adoption by the users of it’s mobile payment app.
The Chinese mobile payments market is exploding where over 74% of payments are made on the app instead of cash or debit cards. Additionally, this platform is expected to grow over 68% in the next two years.
The North American and European markets have yet to see comparable adoption simply because mobile payments aren’t integrated into any of the popular North American or European messaging apps. Many analysts suggest it’s just a matter of time before it does.
That is, until now.
Enter: The Largest ICO in History
In February of 2018, Telegram launched launched a private ICO raising $850 million from 81 investors and later the month held a second private sale from 94 investors, raising a total of $1.7 billion in March between the two sales.
Telegram also stated in their SEC filing that they may also be pursuing subsequent offerings beyond these first two sales which could potentially breaking the $2 billion mark for this ICO.
Why such huge interest in Telegram?
Telegram has over 200 million users and growing at a rate of over 350,000 new users daily.
Telegram + Cryptocurrency Mobile Payment = Killer App
It’s not just Telegram…
The telegram ICO gives an idea of the interest and scale of widespread use and adoption of cryptocurrency as a payment mechanism within messaging apps.
It’s not just Telegram that is adopting cryptocurrency as a payment mechanism. Zuckerberg has confirmed his commitment to studying the potential of cryptocurrency within Facebook and Facebook alone could drive mass adoption of cryptocurrency as a common payment method.
With Telegram, Facebook and many other popular messaging looking to cryptocurrency as a payment method — this may very well be the catalyst for worldwide adoption.
Are YOU Ready for Worldwide Adoption?
In China, Messaging apps have proven to be fertile grounds for mobile payment processing with over 75% of payments taking place via messaging apps (when compared to online payments).
Mobile Messaging + Cryptocurrency = Worldwide Adoption
These messaging apps have the ability to solve the biggest problem currently facing massive worldwide adoption.
It will be at least a few years before we will know if cryptocurrency payment within mobile messaging apps will be the right catalyst for worldwide adoption.
For now, we do know that some of the largest investors in the world are betting on this and if the trend in China is any indication, it’s likely going to result in worldwide adoption of cryptocurrency as major player in online payments. | https://medium.com/the-capital/massive-worldwide-cryptocurrency-adoption-is-about-to-take-place-but-not-in-the-way-you-think-it-2228a24d26d4 | ['Richard Knight'] | 2020-08-11 13:47:00.634000+00:00 | ['Blockchain', 'Cryptocurrency', 'Cryptocurrency Investment', 'Bitcoin', 'Altcoins'] |
Down the Middle | Spiralbound
Comics for life, brought to life by Edith Zimmerman. | https://medium.com/spiralbound/down-the-middle-8a570a2dcfe0 | ['Grant Reynolds'] | 2019-04-19 11:01:00.846000+00:00 | ['Pain', 'Memoir', 'Health', 'Comics', 'Emergency Room'] |
Case Study: Main e-commerce challenges for beauty brands in 2019 and how KIKO Milano overcame them | The cosmetics market is estimated to double in the next 10 years, according to the EY consulting firm. It should be ideal to join the bandwagon and start your own cosmetics brand… Or not? What are the main obstacles that beauty brands will have to face in 2019?
Pandora’s box of competition
With the boom of new cosmetics brands in the last 10 years and the expansion of e-commerce, cosmetics brands do not compete only with local companies. They compete with everyone who ships to the same country. As the customers have access to sites like Amazon, eBay, Allegro, Souq, Alibaba, and others, the options are exponentially growing.
Prices of cosmetics are dropping and it is getting increasingly harder to offer something unique to your customers.
2. Omni-channel retail strategy needed
Currently, cosmetics are not sold solely in a drugstore. They are sold everywhere! Starting from drugstores, own-brand cosmetics stores, multiple stores, newspaper shops to online drugstores, pure players, own e-commerce of the manufacturer, Instagram shop-now posts, Facebook shop, and selling directly via live chat…
Do you have to be available everywhere? Certainly not, but the more channels you use to sell and/or to advertise your products, the more you can sell. The rule of thumb is — be where your audience is!
3. Price competition (and not only…)
As mentioned before, it is not only that the prices of cosmetics are dropping down: beauty companies are offering many special promotions, discount coupons, in-cart discounts, and loyalty programs. It makes it even harder to stand out with your offer.
Did you know that more than 80% of consumers use coupon codes when shopping online?
What does it mean? Your customers not only want and use coupons, but they are also actively looking for coupons during their entire buying process. If you do not offer them, you are certainly behind the competition, especially as there are more and more websites and blogs that conveniently collect the coupons for the customers, like for example:
Moreover, almost 60% of the customers would use more coupons if those were available online. Being listed in your retailer’s offline leaflet is not enough anymore.
4. Customer loyalty… or rather the lack of it
67% of consumers buy beauty products from at least 4 websites, and loyalty rates for cosmetics are only 42%
The customers are not loyal anymore. Especially Generation X, in particular with beauty brands. The choice of cosmetics is abundant nowadays; the choice of channels to buy them as well. The customers are constantly trying something new and the customer retention is even harder than making them to buy in the first place!
Beauty brands try to fight it by offering loyalty programs, with the biggest ones owned by Ulta, Sephora, and Dr. Brandt, but also chain retailers like DM or Rossmann.
It is recommended then to find the best customer loyalty strategy for your brand and stick to it.
Do you want to learn more about customer loyalty? Read our recent article to learn how to measure loyalty and keep your buyers coming back >>>
5. Low average shopping basket
For the same reasons as above and because of low shipping costs, customers tend to buy less from one brand than they used to…
6. Low customer lifetime value
As points 4) and 5) say, the lack of loyalty and low average spending mean low customer lifetime value.
7. High customer acquisition cost
The omni-channel strategy, price wars, abundance of competition that bids for the same keywords, expensive marketplaces — everything adds up to high acquisition costs.
Customers now search online, buy offline (ROPO — Research Online, Purchase Offline) or online (Research Online, Purchase Online). The most important thing is — most of the product research starts online. Almost everyone has access to all ratings and reviews available out there. They trust their peers more than your brand and if you do not have reviews or your reviews are questionable, they will not buy your products. You need to make sure your products have ratings and reviews.
You also need to have control over the content that is out there. Not only your content. All the content. Welcome social media listening, Brandwatch, and all the other tools where you can track mentions and average ratings: they will be your new friend from this year on.
After 2017–2018 full of fruitful influencer collaborations, now beauty brands are facing an issue. The customers already know the influencers are being paid to advertise your product. They prefer to hear the advice of “ordinary people”. Hence, the boost for micro-influencers and user-generated content. Authenticity is the new buzzword.
8. Demand for personalization
It is no longer a trend. It is a clear demand from the market.
As the study from Marketo showed, 79% of consumers say they are only likely to use a brand’s promotion if the promotion is tailored to previous interactions. Personalized discounts, coupon codes, in-cart discounts will have their glory days in 2019.
Case Study: How does KIKO Milano approach those challenges?
A few words on KIKO Milano’s success story:
Founded in 1997, in Bergamo, Italy, KIKO has now over 930 stores in 20 countries (with a broader online presence reaching 32 countries). They have more than 1200 products in their portfolio, including make-up, beauty accessories and skincare products.
Their mid-priced products (the mission of KIKO is to supply women with professional, innovative and luxurious cosmetics, for every budget) are best sellers in Europe, thanks to the good quality of the products, curated content, and great social media and sales strategies.
Until 2016, the brand was known mostly in Europe. They have expanded very quickly in the last 2 years, opening shops all around the world (Florida, New York, Brazil, China, Middle East, India, Europe). Currently they are expanding in India and will open a shop in Israel in 2019.
In 2017, KIKO reported the turnover of 610 € million income.
Ranked in 2018 as the 5th best cosmetics brand in France; according to Kantar Worldpanel, French 15–24-year-olds now buy as much from KIKO (volume) as they do from Sephora (chain drugstore).
KIKO is definitely having a great success worldwide but the beauty brands challenges also impact them. They closed 27 shops last year in the USA (as they were not profitable).
How do they approach their marketing strategy and try to grow despite the market saturation, high competition, and low brand awareness in the countries they expand to?
Their main marketing strategy is a copy of ZARA’s. They open stores in centric locations (KIKO has opened their shops in the Champs-Élysées, Times Square, and other main locations around the world), they have a strong online presence and online-exclusive deals, they are changing their portfolio constantly, they work a lot on their limited editions. They also run a huge outlet online shop with old limited edition products (-70%).
10 marketing strategy pillars of KIKO
(and how do they face the challenges in the beauty industry that are coming in 2019?)
1. Loyalty program
KIKO Rewards(it was ongoing from 2017 until 20/07/2018, currently they are revamping the loyalty program and they are launching a new one — KIKO KISSES — already available in the UK. We will update the post once there is more information available about the new loyalty program & whether they open it in all their countries.).
You can register to the KIKO Rewards program either offline (in the shop) or online (on the website or by downloading their app).
The program has 2 main benefits:
Special discounts sent to all registered users by email/app, sometimes free gifts, sometimes free shipping, sometimes a dedicated in-cart discount (usually they last 1–3 days maximum). Those special offers ARE NOT the same as sent to the users who subscribe to the newsletter. I would say the KIKO Rewards program has more frequent/better discounts than just a newsletter subscription.
sent to all registered users by email/app, sometimes free gifts, sometimes free shipping, sometimes a dedicated in-cart discount (usually they last 1–3 days maximum). Those special offers ARE NOT the same as sent to the users who subscribe to the newsletter. I would say the KIKO Rewards program has more frequent/better discounts than just a newsletter subscription. Points collection: they can be later redeemed as vouchers (and combined with other promotions)
You can use your points collected on a real KIKO Card (which can be used in the offline shops) or an online KIKO profile (which can be used for the online shop or as a card in the phone app, which you can show instead of the physical card in the offline shop).
joining KIKO Rewards (500 points)
(500 points) points collected from the orders (for example for Poland 5 PLN = 10 points)
(for example for Poland 5 PLN = 10 points) points collected from different actions on the website (for example, filling in your “beauty profile”; the company can then provide you with personalized offers — 200 points)
(for example, filling in your “beauty profile”; the company can then provide you with personalized offers — 200 points) social media following (Instagram, Twitter, Google +, Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest; 10 points per each)
(Instagram, Twitter, Google +, Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest; 10 points per each) social media engagement (retweets, pins, likes; 5 points each, max. once per month per platform)
(retweets, pins, likes; 5 points each, max. once per month per platform) incentivized reviewing and rating their products (10 points each review, once per month)
(10 points each review, once per month) downloading KIKO app (100 points)
KIKO sends special offers to the loyal customers clusters , like this one:
2x points were given, both online and in the shops, only to the existing users of the KIKO Rewards program, during a limited time frame (18th to 21st of January 2018).
Points could be redeemed as vouchers:
Voucher KIKO 25 PLN (approx. 6 EUR) — Points: 800
Voucher KIKO 50 PLN (approx. 12 EUR) — Points: 1500
Voucher KIKO 100 PLN (approx. 24 EUR) — Points: 3000
You could use the points in your cart, to reduce the costs. No minimal order sum was required to use the points. Points could be used also for discounted products shopping.
KIKO has approached the problem with customer retention and lifetime value by offering a very competitive rewards program, with gamification elements, that brings the customer over and over to their shop. Having been their customer for the last 2 years, I have to admit that each shopping seems less and less expensive due to the rewards in points, special sales, personalized discounts I have received, etc. They have converted me to a loyal customer (and an avid reader of their newsletter) from the day 1.
The new loyalty program preview (UK version) seems to have an amazing design and gamification of the whole program included:
Would you like to build your own, personalized loyalty program but you do not know where to start? Book a free demo of our easy-to-use (and to integrate with your e-shop) program here or contact us directly here.
2. Newsletter sign-up incentive (discount)
Usually around 5 € off the next purchase, advertised by a fancy pop-up message every time you enter the website not logged in.
3. Influencer collaboration
They have collaborated greatly with influencers, which has given them the opportunity to establish themselves in social media, especially on Instagram and Pinterest (where their focus is). Nowadays, they have moved from this strategy to:
4. User-generated content
They have their own hashtag — #kikotrendsetters (in some countries — #kikoyes), if you use it in your picture, it means you agree that Kiko will use your picture on their website/social media (and they do use it, very often):
5. Limited edition products (currently 10 different ones are available as of 23/10/2018)
What is special about the limited editions? They are always season-specific (summer makeup for summer, winter for winter), they use different models (thinner, bigger, with a different skin color, with a different personality). The amount of the limited edition and of the cosmetics shades ensures that you will find something for yourself and you can identify with the company.
6. Personalized products (make-up palettes, engraved lipsticks) as well as promotions (discount coupons) and personalized tips sent via email and/or available on your profile:
7. Discount coupons and in-cart discounts available for a short period of time:
Currently — fall promotion gives -20% if you spend over 30 EUR, -30% if over 50 EUR (in Germany).
Some promotions are valid in the online channel or only in the offline channels, depending on the promotion.
How KIKO distributes discount codes:
newsletter
social media profiles (in their posts)
influencer marketing (in the sponsored posts)
Google ads, display ads
paid partnerships with local websites (for example: El País in Spain)
banners on other websites (magazines)
websites that collect coupons (RetailMeNot, coupons.com, Groupon, CouponFollow, Goodshop, Vales y Cupones etc.)
their own app (Kiko Rewards previously, soon Kiko Kisses — working only on Android and in chosen countries as of October 2018) — the codes are delivered in messages and as push notifications (if the user enables them).
They use fixed codes for discounts.
Sometimes they launch a personalized discount (for instance, for a birthday). On the example below, they use a fixed code (SPECIALDAY) but the code works only during the day of the birthday of that specific user (they have a set of rules for that). The date of birthday is set up on your KIKO Rewards profile. Here is the email I got for my birthday:
8. Non-monetary in-cart promotions
KIKO often does in-cart promotions based on the amount spent — here’s a current example (23/10/2018): orders with a product total equal to or greater than EUR 49 receive a EUR 4.90 discount on shipping costs.
They also often offer free shipping to all KIKO Rewards registered users. The promotion is announced by email, on the profile of the user, and as a push notification from the mobile app.
They also often add a free gift — a cheaper makeup product or accessory with the orders.
Here you can see an email I got (they offered me a free gift that depends on the value I spend in their shop on that specific day and is a surprise):
9. Gift cards
Kiko offers online gift cards, offline gift cards (physical ones) that can be used also online (with the barcode and security code entered at the checkout), and seasonal (Christmas) gift cards.
The gift cards can be charged with anything from 20 to 999 €, must be used within 2 years from the date of purchase, and can be used only in the country of purchase.
They are not rechargeable. We cannot use the gift cards to purchase other gift cards (and therefore to prolong the value)
10. How does KIKO…
…localize the promotions?
They offer different discounts in different countries.
Some offers are country-specific (holiday-specific). Like Columbus Day in the USA:
Some offers are running longer in some countries (currently -30% on makeup brushes, which used to be a central promotion, has mostly expired but is still available in selected countries, like Belgium):
There are some promotions that are very rare, this one I’ve found only in Russia:
Another one that I’ve found currently only in Italy — buy 2, get a third one free:
Another one that is available only in selected countries:
Buy 2 lip products, a third one free of charge.
Some offers are similar, but have different promotional mechanisms:
In the UK, if you buy 3 eyeshadows, an empty palette is for free.
In Poland, if you buy 3 eyeshadows, the palette is for 1 gr (it is 0.25 cent). Tricky, it?
Some offers are “better” in some countries.
For example in the USA:
2+2 BOGO (Buy One, Get One) sale (BOGO is super popular in USA)
Same promotions have a different discount %% in different countries:
Newsletter discount code: 30 PLN for 150 PLN minimum spent in Poland (20% discount), 5$ for every 20$ spent in the USA (25%). Free shipping minimal amount spent to qualify varies by country. In Poland it is approx. 40 €, while in the USA it is 15$… clearly, the US clients get better deals.
How does KIKO fight coupon fraud?
They offer coupons only for a limited time.
In some cases, the time is extremely limited. For example, on the French website, where I was yesterday, there was no discount. Today I went there, and there was a pop-up discount (the right red corner — it says “only for this visit — 10% of discount — use it now”). I refreshed the page and it disappeared. Awesome.
In the case of an occasion-specific coupon (like the birthday of a user), they have special rules set up that let you use your coupon only on that day (which is the date of your birthday set up in the CRM).
They activate different coupons in different countries. Even if the same coupon is valid in different countries, it can have a different duration or varying availability dates. For example, the HALLOWEEN coupon is valid currently in various countries, but not all of them.
You cannot validate the coupon available in another country. When you place an order, you need to be on your country’s website. You can change the website on the top bar of the website. If you want to order to Hungary from Poland, you cannot.
If you click on the “I” sign, you will be informed that if you want to order to another country, you have to open that country’s website. Then the discount code will not work any more.
Gift cards have specific bar codes and can be used only in the country where they have been purchased. The bar codes are specific and set up by country.
How do they control their promotions budget?
They regularly A/B test promotions, in the same country and in other countries. That is why they have established different promotions in different countries as well as different promotion durations.
Some countries have more discount codes, some have more free gifts, some have more free shipping. All is continuously tested and optimized, also based on the ROI of the campaigns.
Some countries get discounts up to 70% of the product price, some only up to 50%.
Everything is tracked and optimized to bring profits. That is why for example in the USA, they offer bigger shipping discounts (shipping is cheaper) than in Poland (where they have to ship the products from the warehouse in Italy, because they do not have one in Poland). In Poland, most common promotions are discounts based on the amount spent (which makes sense, as the shipping is costly and they need to promote high average baskets to save on the shipping and bulk the orders).
Summary
In short, KIKO has designed an omni-channel strategy focused on low-cost customer acquisition (placing shops in popular places, a wide online presence, a newsletter optimized for conversion, working with influencers, and user-generated content to bring brand awareness — which are, indeed, cost-effective methods). They are constantly optimizing and updating their portfolio and bringing in a mid-priced innovation. What really helps them to survive in those competitive times is a great pricing strategy (discount coupons, personalized promotions, in-cart discounts) and a gamified rewards (loyalty) program (which helps them to retain the customers and convert them in free brand ambassadors). I would easily call this case study a customer loyalty building best practice.
This strategy would be impossible to implement without a technically advanced system and a good collaboration between the tech and marketing teams. The development of such a program is a long and costly process, unless you go for a ready-to-implement solution like Voucherify, for example.
Ready to build your promotion system like KIKO? Our dedicated team is ready to assist you! Sign up, it’s free
Originally published at www.voucherify.io. | https://medium.com/voucherify/case-study-main-e-commerce-challenges-for-beauty-brands-in-2019-and-how-kiko-milano-overcame-them-14fbc3774e88 | ['Jagoda Dworniczak'] | 2019-12-30 00:00:00 | ['Sales', 'Marketing', 'Digital Marketing', 'Case Study', 'Ecommerce'] |
Deepnote 2020: The Year in Review | January: Collaborative features
Deepnote is a collaboration-native tool. We already had real-time multiplayer editing in place, but that by itself is not enough. When people collaborate, they don’t use just tools, they also define processes. We had already seen how our users are exchanging messages by writing Python comments. Now it was time to step up our game and in January we introduced comments. You can use comments to give and respond to feedback, track changes, suggest improvements, and, in general, iterate faster.
February: Telling the world about us
In February, we announced that we raised $3.8 million seed round and welcomed some amazing investors on the board, including Index Ventures, Accel, Y Combinator, and Credo Ventures, as well as a number of angel investors, including Greg Brockman, Dylan Field, Elad Gil, Naval Ravikant, Daniel Gross and Lachy Groom. This was the first that we told the world what we are building.
March: Code intelligence
We introduced our first code intelligence features. Even though data science workflows are fundamentally different from software engineering workflows, there’s a lot we can learn from decades of research in programming languages and developer tooling. Deepnote shows you function documentation and autocompletes your parameter names so you can focus on the problem, not the code. Since March, we’ve also added a linter that analyzes your code to flag stylistic errors, bugs, and suspicious constructs. Deepnote now has full code intelligence as you may know it from IDEs.
April: Command palette
How do you build a powerful yet intuitive interface? Command palette in Deepnote gives you superpowers with a single shortcut. It provides quick access to all your files and most popular actions (e.g. run all, delete a cell, hide code). Just press Cmd + P on a Mac or Ctrl + P on Windows and start typing.
May: Teams
In May, we introduced Teams, a key milestone in improving the collaborative experience. With Teams, you can create a shared space for all your collaborators and share projects, files, and environment configurations. You can also choose different access levels for maximum security, just like you would in a GitHub organization or in a shared folder on Google Drive.
June: Deepnote community
Our community started sharing what they’ve been building using Deepnote. And there are some awesome things — like a course teaching you NLP the Stanford way, an overview of most-used Python packages, or a showcase of how to create your own data sets. If you want to join our community of data scientists and makers and share your work with the world, come and say hi.
July: Cell outputs export
In July, we introduced cell outputs export — every cell comes with a unique link that you can share with others or embed into tools like Notion. Shared outputs update whenever the original cell is executed, so you can create live dashboards.
August: Integrations
In August, we doubled down on integrations. First, we introduced GitHub & GitLab integration, allowing you to link your Deepnote project with your GitHub repository and commit in one click. We’ve also added BigQuery, AWS S3 buckets, MongoDB, Snowflake, PostgreSQL, and the list of integrations is still growing.
September: Cell management
Even though cells are not a new concept, they’ve been traditionally underutilized and their benefits generally remained unexplored. We experimented with ways how to structure and navigate your codebase, as well as direct the attention of readers to relevant parts of the notebook. We added support for hiding the output of a cell or the code itself. This is a collaborative feature, so if you are presenting your notebook to someone, you can easily hide the code and only show them the relevant outputs.
October: Public beta
In October, we’ve opened up our private beta to all and the support has been overwhelming. On launch day, we got trending on Hacker News, Product Hunt, and Reddit. In the first month, we’ve 5x-ed our daily active users and sign-ups. Thank you for helping us spread the word!
November: Versioning
Versioning has been one of the most requested features since day 1. In the first iteration, we introduced history which allowed you to see the list of actions by your collaborators. Today, you can see the previous states of your notebook and revert to past versions, either from snapshots you create yourself or the ones we create automatically for you. This helps you collaborate more effectively and should make for a smoother experience in your code reviews.
December: First-class support for SQL
We believe SQL is a first-class citizen of data science, so in December we added a new kind of cell into the notebook — a SQL cell. With SQL cells, Deepnote highlights your syntax, suggests table and column names when typing, and outputs pandas data frames, Deepnote-style.
As a small bonus, we’ve pre-installed a ton of libraries into every new Deepnote project, so now you have your favorite data analytics and ML libraries ready in Deepnote, including numpy, pandas, tensorflow, keras, nltk, seaborn, and more. All you have to do is import them into your project. | https://medium.com/deepnote/deepnote-2020-the-year-in-review-7907ff40a76e | ['Jakub Jurových'] | 2020-12-31 13:56:25.786000+00:00 | ['Data Science', 'Programming', 'Jupyter Notebook', 'Python'] |
Python: How to Connect to, and Manage a Database with SqlAlchemy and Pandas | Photo by panumas nikhomkhai from Pexels
This is an extension to a previous article 👀 that covers the low-level methods of establishing a connection to a SQL database and executing queries. We cover here the equivalent high-level methods in SqlAlchemy and Pandas to do the same in fewer lines of code
TL;DR: full code
Prerequisites
Install pyodbc, sqlalchemy and pandas using your preferred package manager
You might want to create a virtual environment first
Then, install the required driver for the DBMS-database you want to connect to. For example, if you want to connect to a Microsoft SQL Server-Database, you need to download and install the driver from Microsoft, after choosing your operating system
For more details on pyodbc (Open DataBase Connectivity for Python) and DBMS (Database management system), 👀 the previous article
Creating a SqlAlchemy engine 🚒
While SqlAlchemy is an Object Relational Mapper, it also offers a SQL toolkit. To connect to the Server, we first create an engine object based on a URL in the format:
Docs for engine configuration and supported databases
For Microsoft SQL Server-Database, dialect is mssql , and the driver is pyodbc . Then, we pass the URL to the create_engine method:
A common mistake is to forget to download the required driver
Establishing a connection 🔗
We can easily now use the connect method of the engine to return a connection object cnxn , which is automatically closed when used with a context manager:
Docs for connect
Executing a query using Pandas 🐼
Let’s assume that the database we are connected to has the following 2 tables T_CUSTOMERS and T_ADDRESSES :
And we would like to execute the query in get_customer_details.sql
get_customer_details.sql
Pandas can read a SQL statement/file directly into a DataFrame if given a connection using the read_sql method. We also use the text method to compose a textual statement that is passed to the database mostly unchanged:
Docs for read_sql, text
That was neat! few lines of code to connect and execute a query into a DataFrame 🙇
Executing a parameterized query 🐼❔
What if we would like to use the same query for a different customer? We could change it, but instead, we can use a parameterized query to make it accept any customer!
Simply replace the customer name in the query with a :param_name for example :lname :
get_customer_details_param.sql
We run the new query exactly as before, but pass a new argument params which is a dictionary of param_name: param_value :
You can pass as many parameters as you want as long as you have defined them in the query
What is next?
Start using Docker 🐋 for Python and learn how to create a Python requirements file 📄 using pipenv.
Happy coding! | https://medium.com/python-in-plain-english/python-how-connect-to-and-manage-a-database-with-sqlalchemy-and-pandas-cc6cd1e261e8 | ['Gabriel Harris Ph.D.'] | 2020-09-27 11:01:13.849000+00:00 | ['Python', 'Database', 'Sql', 'Programming', 'Pandas'] |
Seeing myself for the first time at 40. | Seeing myself for the first time at 40.
Put your hands up if you lost everything during this pandemic. What I really mean to ask is: did the floor under you give out? Are you free floating in anxiety, trying to save yourself?
This year I realized that my 4 year relationship with an emotionally unavailable man had become untenable. The reason I was with him (I realize now) was because I was emotionally unavailable and severed from myself. We’d been living as expats for the last 3 years and were thrilled to come back to Canada last December, a couple months before lock downs started happening all over the world.
When we broke up, he took the kitten and the internet plan. I didn’t have internet access for a week, and my life suddenly got very quiet. It was like a Vipassana meditation course I didn’t sign up for.
A couple things I discovered:
Many of my positive personality traits were developed in part to hide feelings of worthlessness and shame
The reason I struggle with closeness, intimacy and relationships is because I was insecurely attached growing up, and also endured abuse
Deep down I felt like a little girl wanting so much to be seen, protected and cared for
As someone who identifies as a strong, independent, queer, feminist, poc, educated, outspoken, etc, etc, admitting these things were so f’n shameful. I felt disgusted and sorry for myself.
I’m writing to understand how it came to be at 40, I’m finally tuning into myself. For the first time in my life I’m giving myself the steady, loving presence and attention that I so craved my whole life. | https://medium.com/@finallylove/seeing-myself-for-the-first-time-at-40-96f4cca614fe | ['Ash Hj'] | 2020-12-23 21:53:26.609000+00:00 | ['Healing', 'Recovery', 'Self Love', 'Self Acceptance', 'Self-awareness'] |
CRYPTOCURRENCY WEEKLY MARKET ANALYSIS — BITCOIN’S RALLY COULD HAVE TOPPED OUT FOR THE YEAR | Business intelligence company MicroStrategy used the $650 million it had recently raised through convertible bonds to buy more Bitcoin. The firm’s CEO, Michael Saylor tweeted that the company had purchased 29,646 Bitcoin at a rate of $21,925. This takes MicroStrategy’s holding to 70,470 Bitcoin, worth about $1.125 billion.
Another institution, One River Digital Asset Management, revealed a $600 million position in Bitcoin and Ether.
BITCOIN VALUE FUNDAMENTAL ANALYSIS
The company plans to buy $400 million more of the assets to take the total holding to $1 billion. The firm’s CEO, Eric Peters, told Bloomberg that cryptocurrencies are likely to witness “generational allocation” and “the flows have only just begun.”
Some institutional investors are selling their gold to buy Bitcoin. Christopher Wood, global head of equity strategy at Jefferies, has sold 5% of his gold position to buy Bitcoin. Wood said that any pullback will be used to buy more Bitcoin.
On similar lines, Ruffer Investment Company Limited has also trimmed its position in gold and has purchased Bitcoin. The company said that Bitcoin will act “as a hedge to some of the monetary and market risks that we see.”
The purchases by institutional investors show their confidence in Bitcoin. However, it is unlikely that the institutions will continue buying if Bitcoin’s rally turns vertical. They may wait for a correction to get in.
Therefore, we believe that Bitcoin is ripe for a correction or a consolidation. Let’s study the charts of the top-5 cryptocurrencies and spot the critical levels to watch out for.
Read more | https://medium.com/@platinumcryptoacademy/cryptocurrency-weekly-market-analysis-bitcoins-rally-could-have-topped-out-for-the-year-10a49a45aece | ['Platinum Crypto Academy'] | 2020-12-23 08:23:36.989000+00:00 | ['Market Analysis', 'Bitcoin', 'Eth', 'Btc', 'Gold'] |
Team Zero Weekly Newsletter | At this point in time, although we recognise that some form of node system is highly desired by the community, we will not be including a node structure in this particular fork.
Many projects that have implemented such a node feature and system have encountered much detriment from the community and 3rd parties when the execution of said node reward systems are flawed, or perceived to be Ponzi like. This is something that we at Zero do not take lightly regarding our coin and projects reputation, and will be the subject of much further discussion and debate should such a feature be implemented.
Please be clear when reading this though, that we are not ruling out some form of node system to be implemented at some point in future. We just need to be sure that if a node system was implemented, that is contributes to the short, mid, and long term goals of the coin / project.
As always, thank you all for your continued support on Zero’s path to steady, organic growth, and we hope you enjoy the products being delivered that can attest to Zero’s current and future status in this realm.
(Note for new comers — please bear in mind that at this point in time Zero relies solely on donations from the community as there was no pre-mine or ICO with this coin originally. We are working to implement a dev fee, so please read further and watch this space. Every person involved with Zero — inclusive of the dev team — are volunteering their time and efforts to the project)
For anyone interested in investing — please do your own research prior to committing to any project, and we ask you to please not blindly commit to a project because someone else told you to. | https://medium.com/zerocurrency/team-zero-weekly-newsletter-aaa099815264 | ['Zero Currency'] | 2018-06-07 16:15:23.347000+00:00 | ['Technology', 'Internet', 'Computer Science', 'Blockchain', 'Bitcoin'] |
Miami Republicans elect 1st Venezuelan-American Vice-Chairman | L to R: Vice-Chairman Gianfranco Puppio-Perez, US Senator Marco Rubio, & Miami-Dade County Commissioner Sen. Rene Garcia.
MIAMI, FLA — In a historic 1st, Miami-Dade County Republicans have elected Vice-Chair Gianfranco Puppio-Perez as their very first Venezuelan-American Board Member.
Having escaped Socialist Venezuela less than a decade ago, Puppio-Perez has rapidly risen through the ranks of the Miami-Dade GOP. Affectionately called by his surname, “Puppio” is a devoted volunteer, activist, and GOP loyalist who has served at the municipal, School Board, state, and federal levels for a slew of elected officials.
With the support of US Senator Marco Rubio, Miami-Dade County Commissioner Sen. Rene Garcia, State Committeewoman Liliana Ros, and several local and state Republican leaders, Puppio-Perez was easily elected unopposed.
Most recently, Puppio-Perez served as the Republican National Committee’s (RNC) Regional Engagement Coordinator in Miami-Dade, where he led the Latinos for Trump coalition in the westernmost part of the county.
Puppio-Perez’s efforts led to tens of thousands of newly registered Republicans in targeted state legislative and congressional districts. His team of volunteers and Republican activists organized voter registration drives and promoted them on a series of WhatsApp groups and local Spanish-language programs that are consumed by Miami’s ever-growing and Republican-leaning Hispanic community.
“We would often leave the office after midnight,” said Republican activist Isela Hernandez, who spent countless nights registering hundreds of voters, mostly new American citizens of Cuban and/or Venezuelan descent, in Puppio-Perez’s Miami-Dade Latinos for Trump Community Center in West Miami-Dade adorned by flags that reflect Miami’s diverse Hispanic communities.
Puppio-Perez’s team of dedicated volunteers registered tens of thousands of new Republicans in a matter of weeks.
Puppio-Perez’s efforts produced shockwaves in Miami’s Republican circles and he was encouraged to run by long-time Miami-Dade Republican State Committeewoman, Liliana Ros, who has made voter registration a priority for the local GOP.
“We have never seen this level of enthusiasm from our Latin-American neighbors. We need to keep growing and expanding our party and there is no one who understands that better than Puppio” remarked Ros, who was Puppio-Perez’s chief backer and the woman responsible for spearheading the creation of Republican clubs in every ethnic community in Miami-Dade.
Puppio-Perez shortly after being elected unopposed as Vice-Chairman of the Miami-Dade Republican Party. He was nominated by newly-elected Chairman Senator Rene Garcia — a current Miami-Dade County Commissioner.
Puppio-Perez’s election further cements a growing trend of GOP loyalty by the Venezuelan exile community in Miami-Dade. In 2020, the City of Doral, the most Venezuelan city in America, voted for the Republican Presidential candidate for the first time ever. It was an adamant rejection of socialism and a massive showing of support for the Trump administration’s policy towards the Maduro regime.
In short, the Trump campaign achieved what many had failed to do for decades: align the Venezuelan exile community with the Republican Party.
As the Venezuelan community continues to grow across Miami-Dade and the State of Florida, empowering leaders like Puppio-Perez is key to making in-roads in this critical voting bloc.
After the results of last week’s December run-off election, the City of Doral will once again have a Venezuelan-American serving on the Council: Republican businessman Oscar Puig. And as of last night’s election, the Republican Party of Miami-Dade will now have its very 1st Venezuelan-American Vice-Chairman: Gianfranco Puppio-Perez. | https://medium.com/@reyanthonyfl/miami-republicans-elect-1st-venezuelan-american-vice-chairman-899ea70882d4 | ['Rey Anthony'] | 2020-12-18 05:21:41.817000+00:00 | ['Cuba', 'Trump', 'Latinoamerica', 'Republican Party', 'Venezuela'] |
Surrounding all the hype, self-driving vehicles may prove useful. But not in the way you think | Surrounding all the hype, self-driving vehicles may prove useful. But not in the way you think
Photo by Adele Payman on Unsplash
I was watching an episode in the Bloomberg Quicktake series called Hello World. If you haven’t watched the series yet then start now.
In this episode, they talked about self-driving spraying vehicles. They were big contraptions. Which drove around a farm. And sprayed the plants. While the vehicle was moving along. The vehicle uses normal self-driving sensors. Like LIDAR and cameras and GPS. For extra comfort. It is a detailed map of the farm. Due to the automation of the device. One person can manage 5 of the vehicles using their laptop. If there is a problem the vehicle will send a notification to the device. So the human can go check up on the vehicle.
After the episode ended the did a quick review of the episode. And Ashlee talked about he didn’t believe something like that existed. He only known about it when some person on Instagram gave him information about the company.
An interesting mention about the encounter. Compared to Silicon Valley people. They were less braggadocious about how they made their product and their achievements. As they didn’t hype to the moon how much their device can do. The second is that they are selling these devices around the US. And soon internationally. This is fantastic compared to other self-driving cars. From the tech companies. Which sold close to none. With billions of dollars to play with.
So self-driving vehicles are useful not in the traditional way. Not in the driving you to grocery shop and back. But in the way collecting blueberries in a farm way. In the documentary.
In my opinion they did not talk much about the engineering feat of the vehicle. As they needed to create a vehicle. That sprayed on demand. And the engine that could power that. And all the other sensors on the device working together. That I think is better engineering work and the tech companies. As they stick a few cameras on the top of the car and call it a day. It showed in the video they manufacture the vehicle in house. The only tech companies that do that is Tesla. So this company is likely way ahead of many companies in silicon valley.
The only difference.
They don’t spend millions of dollars on hype and marketing. But innovating in their sector.
And only people in the agriculture space will know about it. Talking about agriculture technology. In the end interview. The host talked about she knew a friend that used robots to milk cows. She said the robot used lasers. And robot works how to milk the cow from there.
Ashlee gave another example. In which he knew a company in Idaho. Which had a robot collect rocks for them. This is important because of the sheer amount of land. Over time the ground will churn out rocks. So they need to remove the rocks from the land. So they can plant the crops properly.
From what I can see there is a lot of movement going on in the AgriTech space. Which they don’t generate the same amount of hype of a software silicon valley firm. But may do even more important stuff. Compared to an app that helps you get snacks to your house cheaper. | https://medium.com/@tobi-olabode/surrounding-all-the-hype-self-driving-vehicles-may-prove-useful-but-not-in-the-way-you-think-5fa55b836fa | ['Tobi Olabode'] | 2020-11-22 20:16:40.669000+00:00 | ['Self Driving Cars', 'Agritech', 'Machine Learning', 'Agriculture'] |
OEMs Double Down as EVs Hit Tipping Point | CO2 regulations and the on-going crisis have caused the market penetration of plug-in vehicles (EVs) to accelerate this year. This is particularly the case in Europe where EVs are likely to represent 8–10% of all light vehicles sold in 2020 vs. 3.1% last year. This figure reached 9.9% in Q3 2020, when the share of diesel dropped to 28% from 50% at the end of 2015 (chart below). Thanks to the old continent, EV sales are likely to finish 2020 around 2.5M units globally, up from 2.1M in 2019. We are entering the vertical portion of the S-curve — certainly in Europe — which is triggering a virtuous circle fueled by incremental investment and product visibility.
2020 EV acceleration in Europe shows clear tipping point
In Europe, the launch of new EVs, the increased awareness of the impact of fossil-fueled mobility on air quality and a set of strong incentives delivered drastic EV growth starting in Q1 2020, then building momentum. In Germany, the EV share reached 17.4% in October and 11% YTD. France recorded 14.3% in November, and 10.3% for the first 11 months. Across Europe, the share of EVs among light vehicles sales more than tripled in Q3 vs. 2019, approaching 10%.
In China, the EV market picked up steam in S2 2020 after slower penetration in S1. The EV market share stood at 5% in 2019 and will likely be marginally higher in 2020 before building steam in the coming years. The EV market is led with majors such as SAIC, BYD and Tesla, but a few emerging players are making significant inroads. More on this later.
In the USA, 228k EVs were sold in the first 10 months of 2020 vs. 327k for all of 2019, representing a slight drop in market share. Fortunately, EVs continue to inch up in California, increasing to 7.9% of all light vehicles YTD 2020 vs 7.6% in 2019. It should be noted that the state has historically represented about half of US EV sales even though it has about 11% of the US population. However, this local increase won’t suffice to generate EV growth at national level.
Regulatory pressures and incentives deliver electrification
Starting in 2021, OEMs must reach 95 grams of CO2 per km for their European sales from an average of 122 g/km in 2019 (JATO data) — or pay a 95€ per vehicle per gram CO2 above 95. The pressure on CO2 emissions will only increase in Europe with a 2030 target at 60 grams and possibly even 47 grams, with an objective of at least 30M zero-emission cars on European roads by 2030. OEMs have no choice but to widely electrify their portfolio.
In China, the central government decided in 2019 to extend incentives, initially scheduled to expire a year ago, to the end of 2021. Last month, it presented a comprehensive plan for 2021–2035. EVs (a.k.a. New Energy Vehicles or NEVs) are to reach 20% of news car sales by 2025, and the objective is significantly more aggressive for public fleets.
In the USA, the outgoing administration has relaxed CAFE going forward from +5% per year (established under Obama) to only +1.5%, aiming for 40.6 MPG — or 137 gram CO2 per km for a gas engine — in 2026. Thankfully, the Biden administration has a clear climate agenda. It includes higher financial incentives and the addition of 500k public charge points to the current 90k by 2030 — which is clearly insufficient as China already has 600k plugs and the EU 200k+. In addition, more OEMs are now backing higher CO2 targets, closer to California’s. This will hopefully reverse the negative EV trend observed in 2019 and likely in 2020.
Most OEMs now rush to bring more EVs to market faster
If all OEMs are developing a range of electrified vehicles, from mild hybrid, to plug-in hybrid, battery EVs (BEV) and fuel cell EVs, some are deploying more aggressive strategies. OEMs are reducing their internal combustion engines (ICE) development budgets, many having announced their decision not to develop any new ICEs from now on, akin to Daimler. Let’s look at what some of the most ambitious players are doing to grab market shares in the fast growing EV segment.
GM raised its budget for electrification and autonomous driving by 35% to $27B through 2025 (over half of the company’s Capex and product development budget). Vehicle rollouts are being expedited: 30 new EVs are to be introduced and 40% of its US lineup will go electric by 2025. Development cycles for some models are shortened and significant efforts are made in battery tech — GM announced a 60% drop in battery cost by mid-decade. Speed is of the essence!
The company is so engaged in electrification that they are willing to pay US-based Cadillac dealers up to $500k to drop the franchise if they are not willing to embark on the EV journey, which entails an upfront investment (charger, tooling, training) estimated at $200k and lower maintenance revenue down the road.
Volkswagen future EV range
VW Group (future EV range above) announced it will invest 73B€ in electrification and digital tech over the next 5 years, equal to 50% of the Group’s total R&D and Capex budget, up from 40% previously. This should result in the launch of approximately 70 BEVs by 2030. A critical aspect of the shift towards electrification is the conversion of existing assets. The Zwickau, Germany plant was completely revamped from producing 100% ICE vehicles (it once produced the 2-stroke Trabant) to 100% BEVs, starting with ID.3 and ID.4.
The German OEM is off to a good start with ID.3, despite initial software glitches. The Golf-size hatchback took the lead on the European market with 10.475 units in Oct, slightly ahead of Renault Zoe, the 8-year old previous EV market leader. VW expect the mainstream brand to sell 1M EVs in 2023 and 1.5M in 2025.
Hyundai Motor is also aggressively pursuing electrification. The OEM’s ambition is to sell 1M EVs in year 2025. It plans to introduce 23 BEVs by 2025, based on a recently presented modular platform capable to reach 500 km WLTP. The Korean OEM also invested in Arrival and Canoo, among others, to gain faster access to technology.
Several new OEMs are emerging from the pack with massive means
Dozens of companies have been established over the last few years to take a shot at the EV market, aiming for Tesla’s success. However, only a few will succeed.
In China, emerging players are emboldened by their skyrocketing valuation. Nio, Xpeng (P7 below) or Li Auto are currently valued between $30B and $60B, with massive increases — but largely unreasonable given their size — over the past 3 months. Nio and Xpeng respectively delivered 37k and 21k BEVs during the Jan-Nov 2020 period. This remains marginal but is growing fast, i.e. +111% for Nio and +87% for Xpeng y-o-y. This easier access to cash will certainly bolster their growth, with more products for more markets.
Xpeng P7
In the USA and Europe, a series of emerging OEMs are readying their product introductions. They include Rivian, Lucid, Canoo, Lordstown in the USA, or Arrival in Europe. Some are surfing on the EV hype to go public, such as Arrival and Lordstown, raising hundreds of millions to fuel their growth. Rivian remains private but recently raised $2.5B.
What does this mean for Tesla
Will the acceleration at the traditional OEMs and the emergence of new players result in a massive dilution of Tesla’s market share? I don’t think so. Tesla is not resting on their laurels. Tesla strives to stay ahead of the pack in technology, particularly re. battery tech. Elon Musk announced a few weeks ago that the company had a roadmap to roughly halve battery cost per kWh at vehicle level. In the meantime, more range is being packed into existing vehicles, e.g. soon 435 miles (EPA) on the 8 year-old Model S. For reference, the longest range Audi eTron offers only 222 miles.
Tesla is also expanding its range with a pickup truck, a 2nd gen Roadster, and is considering a Europe-focused $25k hatchback, the real volume kicker there. The company sold 319k in the Jan-Sept 2020 period, i.e. ~30% of all BEVs sold globally. Given this trend, 500k vehicles in 2020 seems within reach. For 2021, the financial analysts’ consensus puts Tesla sales at 800k units — four plants will be operating by year end vs. one at the beginning of 2019.
If VW, Hyundai and Tesla progress as announced, the later’s volume will remain higher in 2023 and most likely in 2025, even if Tesla will see its BEV market share dilute somewhat. What matters in the end is that the overall EV penetration continues to accelerate to quickly become the norm across the globe.
Marc Amblard / Founder & Managing Director, Orsay Consulting
Based in Silicon Valley and dedicated to the mobility space, Orsay Consulting provides startup and tech scouting as well as advisory services and executive workshops to corporate clients, and assists startups as a board advisor.
Register here to receive monthly articles on the Mobility Revolution by Orsay Consulting. | https://medium.com/@mamblard75/oems-double-down-as-evs-hit-tipping-point-74003ac466b4 | ['Marc Amblard'] | 2020-12-11 23:41:12.052000+00:00 | ['Electric Mobility', 'Climate Action', 'Electric Vehicles', 'Co2 Emissions', 'Tipping Point'] |
XTRD Community Update — June 4th, 2018 | We want to share with you the most recent updates on what XTRD has been up to!
This week was full of meetings and negotiations, we were exploring possibilities of different partnerships and options to buy-out licensed businesses. Last, but not least — it was a week filled with understanding that we are moving forward in the right way.
First of all, we are pleased to announce that we have added a new low-latency channel to our Hong Kong destination. Its only 173 ms from NY4 to HK1. Check on your side and tell us who is faster :). This will allow us to facilitate worldwide market data streams and faciliate lower latency worldwide execution.
Another reason we did this is a growing relationship with one of the major crypto exchange players in that region.
We were contacted by a global telecommunication company(!) that is looking to deliver normalized market data for crypto to their clients. We want to warn our community that it is not a one-day task to seal that kind of large deal, but we are working on it.
We had a meeting with Kx Systems — truly the number one provider of in-memory vertical databases (sorry, Oracle, this is really true). There are tons of possible interactions starting from simply feeding data into their engine and ending with an integration of XTRD backend with their state of the art trading platform with the capability to offer this to our clients.
Another great conversation we had is with Blockchain Terminal. Super smart guys, great technology, and solid vision. Like us, they want to focus on the part of the business that is more organic for them. For us it’s back-end, hardware, networks and for them — GUI, advanced analytics, interaction with clients. Time will tell what we can do together.
Our FIX API is a great fit for many hedge funds and index providers. Based on growing demand, we decided to extend the tradeable instruments lists by adding altcoins besides ETH and BTC.
XTRD is also exploring the possibility to become a solutions vendor for exchanges by providing managed colocation services, security, and building required software components such as FIX gateways. Stay tuned for updates.
Based on conversations with our clients and potential partners, we built the following road-map of additional routing destinations: OKEx, Bittrex, and Binance.
To increase awareness of our project and attract more clients, partners, and new community members, XTRD will participate in series of events such as Blockchain Futurist Conference(Toronto, Canada, August 14 -16, 2018), The Trading Show 2018(New York, USA, September 26, 2018), and Blockchain Shift(Miami, USA, October 11–12, 2018). Feel free to stop by our exhibition booths and say “hello” or ask tough questions during roundtables. | https://medium.com/xtradeio/xtrd-community-update-june-4th-2018-1bbe06833317 | [] | 2018-06-05 00:30:19.181000+00:00 | ['Ethereum', 'Blockchain', 'Bitcoin', 'Cryptocurrency', 'Community'] |
Spindling | I crave the depths of introversion,
like deep pencil marks scrawn
with purpose over a blank page.
I hide beneath my blanket of thought
that busyness tends to misplace
in his frenzied routine, but I can not stay.
Drawn as a moth displaced in day,
I spindle my senses to flock
over earth’s playground.
Thoughts refuse to remain mute.
They erupt from a bird’s trumpet,
making promises of another meal, soon.
From the swoosh of an airplane,
marking up sky in its wake.
They sigh out from bamboo chimes
reciting ancient tales of the breeze.
Quieter, still, are the whispers
of white blossom children playing
over spring’s fresh new landscape.
And if you edge in close enough,
you can hear the maple tree
loosening his belt, just a little,
to add one more ring. | https://elizabethhelmich.medium.com/spindling-6fe598835095 | ['Elizabeth Helmich'] | 2020-03-10 21:15:22.135000+00:00 | ['Mindfulness', 'Seasons', 'Spring', 'Poetry', 'Joy'] |
We are wayamaya and it’s time to start traveling! | Hey, Hi, Hello!
We are wayamaya!
We were never big travelers. We had no big plans and we didn’t win the lottery. We are just a young couple that has left their boring and stressful jobs to start something new and exciting! All we wanted was to make a 180 degree turn from a typical daily routine and to change our lives for the better.
Why traveling?
Because one can never grow tired and bored when everything around is somewhat different or even absolutely new — a new place, new people, new language, different climate, different customs and clothing and so on and so forth. There is a hidden beauty in even the smallest things, but one can never truly see it or fully appreciate it when being outside “the real world”. Traveling is being in “the real world” because it’s all about leaving our comfort zones and being open to the world. Although there is no end to the adventures when traveling, this whole idea means a lot more to us. Where we are living is not necessarily where we want or need to be living and by traveling we want to find our place in the world. Maybe next to you? =)
Why blogging?
There are so many blogs about traveling, but when we looked through them to find relevant information to help us, we were quite disappointed. Unfortunately, those many blogs didn’t meet our requirements and we had to deal with most things on our own. That’s why we decided to make our own blog where we could share what we have experienced.
Expectations?
Of course, everyone has different expectations, but here on wayamaya blog we will try really hard to convey what was important to us and had a great impact on the organization of our travels or on staying in a previously unknown corner of the world. We will also try to present you many important conclusions drawn from our journeys. The concept of running this blog will most probably change while we gain more experience and due to your comments and criticism, which we hope you will share on our website.
Follow us!
We hope that you will enjoy our blog and follow us on our adventures! We invite you to follow and like wayamaya on Facebook , Instagram , Youtube , Twitter and Pinterest . Also, if you find a good article or photo on wayamaya website and its social media feel free to comment and share it. We would really appreciate it!
Be in touch!
If you are interested in cooperation or just want to say Hi, please contact us below or via email at wayamaya.travel (at) gmail.com. | https://medium.com/@wayamayatravel/we-are-wayamaya-and-its-time-to-start-traveling-8db234ca6290 | ['Wayamaya Travel'] | 2020-03-06 12:05:29.469000+00:00 | ['Blogger', 'Travel', 'Travel Tips', 'Travel Writing', 'Traveling'] |
What are the Top 5 In-demand Skills for Freelance IT Specialists and How to Master Them? | According to the data provided by Upwork in its report, it becomes clear that the top freelancing skills include creative design and interface design (58%), copywriting (58%), and mobile software development (51%). Below, we’ll tell you how to succeed in freelancing and become a truly in-demand specialist. We’ve compiled a selection of free training materials that will take your skills to the next level.
According to the LinkedIn Global Trends report, people looking to migrate to telecommuting do so for several reasons. They want to travel freely, get flexible hours, new experiences, and comfortable working conditions.
There are many ways to become a freelancer and each one has its benefits. If you want to start a career as a remote employee while getting a stable job load and collaborating with well-known corporate clients, consider remote IT jobs at EPAM Anywhere. We’re happy to share information on the skills required to gain this opportunity.
Skills that freelancers need for software development jobs
There are a few areas that haven’t been covered by COVID-19. Despite the introduced quarantine restrictions, the demand for software engineers remained high. 86% of American companies haven’t changed their hiring process. More interestingly, 31% hire more software engineering professionals.
To remain competitive, software engineers must continually develop and possess the following skills:
Proficiency in one of these programming languages: Python, Java, JavaScript, C#, and PHP.
Integrated development environment (IDE) to manage the codebase.
Knowledge of popular relational databases like Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle Database, and MySQL.
Excellent understanding of software testing.
Understanding of software security fundamentals such as encryption algorithms, popular hacker attacks, and cryptography.
However, the main question is: what domains are popular today? According to Hired.com for 2019, demand for AR and VR engineers grew by 1400%. There was a remote147% increase in Gaming Engineer and Computer Vision Engineer positions. This course will help you get a good job in this field:
The Udemy Coding Interview Bootcamp Algorithms, Data Structures Course will help you prepare for your interview.
UX design skills
Knowledge of UX i design basics allows you to devise a consistent user journey. UX experts pay great attention to behavioral patterns and strive to solve user problems with easy navigation and other design elements. In this case, aesthetics fade into the background. Here are the key skills a UX designer must have:
Ability to conduct high-quality research of the target audience, create customer personas, and identify their needs.
Experience with devising information architecture to better organize content.
Excellent visual communication skills. Ability to create typography and icons for effective communication through design.
A good understanding of behavioral characteristics, empathy, and the problem-solving mindset make a UX designer a real professional. Below is a list of tutorials to help freelance UX designers take the lead in the niche:
DesignSpot YouTube channel with workshops and lectures from leading product and UX designers.
Skillshare free micro-course library helps creative freelancers acquire skills in illustration, motion design, filmmaking, and more.
A product design Udacity course with self-assessment, community support, and interactive quizzes to keep track of progress.
Cloud computing and DevOps skills
There is sometimes a gap between software development and IT operations. We need top-notch cloud engineers and DevOps[YS1] to close such gaps.
As a rule, DevOps are ex-system administrators or software engineers. Therefore, such specialists know how to manage projects and understand the SDLC cycle. They also have software testing skills.
For this reason, working with configuration and cloud platform management, deployment, versioning, and continuous integration management tools is essential.
DevOps must create a productive environment for professionals. Thus, good communication skills and a team-player mindset to unite IT specialists and developers is a must.
DevOps EPAM specialists have selected the best courses to help you strengthen or gain useful skills. Here they are:
DevOpsMinsk. This is a YouTube channel where videos are released every 2 weeks. Community meetups are also held there.
Cloud Engineering with Google Cloud. It’s not even a course, but a professional certification available on the Coursera platform. It’s completely free. It involves testing and subsequent certification for students.
Version Control with Git created by Atlassian. The course introduces you to the use of Bitbucket and Git in a version control context.
Software testing skills
Attention to detail, analytical skills, and technical experience are fundamental software testing skills. These specialists [YS2] constantly interact with project stakeholders and team members. Therefore, good communication skills are required. Only in this case, QA will be able to convey information correctly to all people involved in the project and eliminate the appearance of confusion.
These resources will help you improve your skills in software testing:
Micro-course on Coursera e how to build a test automation framework with the help of Selenium and TestNG. The program provides interactive mentoring and testing.
Software testing (course on the Udacity platform) is focused on middle-level QA. It covers a wide range of topics, including error messages and code coverage.
Business analytical skills
The work[YS3] of Business analysts isn’t limited to collecting requirements from customers. Moreover, their transformation into tasks for developers is also not the final stage. In addition to the above, the business analyst must develop comprehensive development and functionality upgrade strategies, using strategic analysis. Also, the competence of business analysts includes writing documentation and creating prototypes to make the requirements clear to the rest of a development team.
Extra skills like business intelligence help you get a competitive edge. You can find the fill list in the article we’ve recently wrote. The following resources will also help with this task:
Strategic business analysis. It’s an educational program powered by Coursera created for senior professionals. After completing the course, you’ll be able to calculate the lifetime value of customers, forecasting, and more.
Course on the eDX platform: «Business and Data Analysis Skills» teaches how to make the work of a business analyst easier and more efficient. With this course, you’ll learn how to use spreadsheets productively and present information in a visual format.
You can find more useful information in our blog.
Conclusion
Are you dreaming of working as a freelancer, but with a permanent job, benefits, and bonuses? Are you striving for a balance between personal life and work? All of this can be achieved at EPAM.
We’re constantly looking for professionals ready to channel their talents into the development of our customers’ projects. The positions of T-shaped IT specialists are always relevant. Join the EPAM Anywhere team and work on projects from all over the world. | https://medium.com/@ekaterina.v.red1/what-are-the-top-5-in-demand-skills-for-freelance-it-specialists-and-how-to-master-them-3f5b955968f0 | ['Frank Gilbert'] | 2020-12-23 14:15:50.650000+00:00 | ['Development', 'Freelance', 'Jobs'] |
100 Words On….. Existing | Photo by Austin Chan on Unsplash
Are we living “Digitally Vicarious”? It seems that relevance is achieved through multiple online profiles with many of our friends, family, and colleagues only knowing us through our electronic selves. We spend too much time managing our virtual existence rather than our physical one, and nearly always at the cost of what makes us human. Living online should only be complimentary rather than seen as a replacement. It becomes all too easy to hide behind avatars and projected perfection when the true beauty of life is the self with the electronic noise filtered. Experience life in analogue, not in digital. | https://medium.com/the-100-words-project/100-words-on-existing-62082f9e206a | ['Digitally Vicarious'] | 2020-12-17 04:46:36.853000+00:00 | ['Information Technology', 'Existence', '100 Words Project', 'Humanity', 'Mental Health'] |
4 Hurtful Writer Stereotypes That Need to Be Debunked! | Being a writer is a legit job and it deserves to be respected. Sadly, though not everyone looks at it that way. Some people just think that writing is more like a hobby or a phase. Stereotypes have even begun to spring up which could be both annoying and damaging to a writer’s confidence. So if you are a writer, you should at least know the common writing stereotypes. By at least knowing these stereotypes you will know which ones to avoid playing to, and you can also help your fellow writers by discrediting these stereotypes. Here are 4 Writer Stereotypes that need to be debunked.
1. The loner
Some writers tend to be quiet and introverted. This is because writers have a lot on their minds. They are constantly trying to come up with new concepts to write about. And there will be times that they will want to be by themselves. Sadly, some people take this the wrong way, and think that writers are loners by nature. This is a very unfair assumption because there are many writers who are introverted and like to be around people. Each and every writer has his or her own personality and they should never be lumped together under one category.
2. The book worm
Most writers are often categorized as book worms. And this is a stereotype that has some truth, because most writers tend to be bookish. But people should never categorize writers to be just book worms. Some writers are adventurous and have very outgoing personalities. Writers are people who write. And these people could be writing about their own experiences and adventures. These writers could be mountain climbers, chefs, teachers and even rock stars. Technically everyone can be a writer, just as long as they have the ability and passion for writing.
3. The weirdo
The weirdo stereotype is by far the most painful and damaging stereotype for writers. It does not mean that you have good diction and have a fount of information to write, that you are socially inept. Sadly though some writers are considered weird because they have different thought patterns to other people. So next time someone calls you weird just because you use words that they don’t understand, don’t feel bad. You are not at fault. They are just being ignorant and rude.
4. The know it all
Yet another insulting stereotype that some writers suffer through is the “know it all” moniker. This is hurtful because writers tend to have a lot of information they want to share. Remember that most writers have a lot to say, and they do it through their writing. And seeing as most writers tend to hoard a great deal of information in their heads, they will most likely want to share it in conversation. Sadly though, some people can’t keep up with the conversation and accuse writers of being a know it all or a show off. And if you are a writer and this has happened to you, it will most likely be a very annoying experience. But don’t take it to heart. Just remember that these people are just insecure in their inability to convey intelligent ideas and just want to bring you down. So don’t stoop to their level. Let them be, and you be you.
Posts you might also like:
5 Reasons Why Procrastination Can (Sometimes) Make You a Better Writer!
5 Useful Tips on How to Stay Motivated as a Writer!
3 Feasible Reasons Why You Should Write at Night!
What Do Writers Have in Common? | https://medium.com/writers-republic/writer-stereotypes-ef5cbd228054 | ['Flynn Hannan'] | 2020-07-08 06:17:37.372000+00:00 | ['Writers On Medium', 'Writing', 'Writing Life', 'Writers Life', 'Writers Discussion Group'] |
Periodontal Surgeries(Gum and Bone Treatment) | This part covers the treatment of gums and the bone surrounding the teeth. Bone loss is an important sign of deteriorating oral status leading to loosening of teeth and development of voids in the region of supporting structural area (surrounding the teeth and jaw bone). Maintaining a healthy oral status includes a healthy gingival (gums) and bone status. Any instability in this status leads to various oral issues which ultimately damage the normal oral status of an individual. We at SMILE DESIGNERS provide all the periodontal surgeries (bone replacement and gum surgeries) to achieve the normal healthy status again. Gummy smile correction by LASER, any tissue abnormality, mobile teeth treatment (loose teeth), bad breath, all treatment facilities are available at our center. Surgical and non-surgical intervention, both the means of treatment and therapy are available. | https://medium.com/@sg0000647/periodontal-surgeries-gum-and-bone-treatment-ab0a462b48c5 | ['Sonam Gupta'] | 2020-12-18 06:43:12.948000+00:00 | ['Trends', 'Thinking', 'Streaming', 'Health Foods', 'Men'] |
How to override ngx-charts tooltip styles with angular-material theme? | Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash
In this article, we will see how we can use angular material with ngx-charts.
What is ngx-charts?
ngx-charts is the charting library built with angular and D3. It is used for data visualizations. It is using Angular to render and animate the SVG elements with all of its binding and speed goodness and uses d3 for the excellent math functions, scales, axis, and shape generators.
ngx-charts come with some default styles for the tooltip, labels, legends, etc.
In this article, we will override the tooltip styles to make it look like as in the material data-visualization guidelines.
Let’s start by creating a new material theme. We are assuming that angular material is already installed. We can create our custom angular theme as follow:-
style.scss
As a next step, we will create scss mixin which will accept the angular material theme and override the tooltip style for us.
The mixin is like below:-
style.scss
We are assuming here the tooltip is consistent throughout the application. So we are good to override the style with !important.
As you can see, we have access to angular material typography, mixins variables, etc. A couple of points to notice:-
We are targetting the ```.ngx-charts-tooltip``` directly. But we can wrap it in our custom class wrapper to avoid collision with some other components in case we are writing a library.
As the tooltip caret is separate from the tooltip box so we need to override the background color for carets separately(.tooltip-caret.position-right etc).
We are using ```mat-elevation``` mixin from angular material to provide the box-shadow to the tooltip. You can read more about it here.
We are also using the ```secondary-text``` color from the material theme to make the sub-label looks like the secondary.
to make the sub-label looks like the secondary. We are also getting the font-size from the material typography and making the sub-label as per the material data-visualization guidelines. Although we can also apply the mat-body-2 class in HTML(on span tag in below HTML file) as well I believe it's better to put the related code in the same class as have access to it.
We can also override the other things axis labels, legend labels, etc with the material typography and theme.
The basic idea is to have the charts consistent with the material theme. So that if we implement multiple themes, then we can have our ngx-charts styles according to the other themes as well.
Our HTML file will look like:-
app.component.html
The end result will look like below:-
chart example
Stackblitz example:- | https://medium.com/@sonigaurav119/how-to-override-ngx-charts-tooltip-styles-with-angular-material-theme-6b8348c07ed3 | ['Gaurav Soni'] | 2020-11-03 19:15:14.558000+00:00 | ['Material Design', 'Angular', 'Charts', 'Ngx Charts', 'Angular Material'] |
Why Web development ? | First of all, Intro.
Hi, My name is Karan Pal Singh. I am a self-taught web developer. This is my first time writing a blog. So, don’t judge me.
Yeah… So let’s get started.
A short and simple answer for “ Why Web development ? ” would be, it’s cool. I was introduced to web development by one of my friends few years back. Since then, I have been checking out web development once in a while. Until this whole pandemic thing happened. I got laid-off. I had a lot of time just to sit, watch movies, eat, get fat. I thought why not put my energy to work and let’s don’t waste the time that I have. Since then, I have been learning web develpoment on my own. So far, I have learned ReactJS and little bit of backend.
The thing that amazes me about web development is the Visual representation in the browser that I get from writing code. That’s what keeps me going every single day.
I always knew that I wanted to code. But couldn’t find a way to get started. Or should I say nothing amazed me as much web development did. Specifically front-end. I just love how I can put things together and make a whole website. Web development is just limited by your imagination. Anything that you can imagine you can create. Whether it’s a simple website or a PWA ( Progressive web app) or even an AR website.
Web development is the tool. You should know how to use it for your cause. | https://medium.com/@kdsgyt/why-web-development-96e0d9d856ab | ['Karan Pal Singh'] | 2020-12-29 12:21:48.435000+00:00 | ['Website', 'Web Development', 'Kdsgyt', 'Front End Development'] |
The Guide I Wish I Had for JavaScript Object Creation Patterns | Object Factories With Mix-Ins
Using object factories with mix-ins is good for modeling objects that don’t have a clear “is-a” relationship. In the example below, we can create three distinct and unrelated types of objects — platypuses (aka platypi or platypodes), penguins, and humans — that share some behavior but are not in any way subclassable. Rather than duplicating code in methods for each object factory, the behavior is mixed-in using Object.assign , which copies all enumerable properties from a source object into a target object.
In the code, details , swim , and layEggs are objects with properties that all have function values. There are three functions for creating three different types of objects: createPlatypus , createPenguin , and createHuman . These three functions can be used to create new instances of these types of objects.
Taking a look at createPlatypus , we see the function takes a name parameter. In the function body, Object.assign is used to assign the enumerable properties from the details , swim , and layEggs objects into an empty object. After the properties from those three objects are copied into the new object, it uses the addDetails method, which was copied into createPlatypus from the details object when we used the Object.assign method, which copies in enumerable properties. Thus, it creates a new platypus object with a name property and the methods from the details , swim , and layEggs objects.
If you check the properties of objects instantiated from these functions, what do you think you’ll see?
> let platypus = createPlatypus("platypus");
> let penguin = createPenguin("penguin");
> let human = createHuman("human");
> human
{ displayDetails: [Function: displayDetails], swim: [Function: swim], name: 'human' }
> penguin
{ displayDetails: [Function: displayDetails], swim: [Function: swim], layEggs: [Function: layEggs], name: 'penguin' }
> platypus
{ displayDetails: [Function: displayDetails], swim: [Function: swim], layEggs: [Function: layEggs], name: 'platypus'}
If the use of the addDetails method was confusing there, here is another version where we set the details in the function itself. Note that within these functions, the execution context is going to be the global object, but we can use an empty object assigned to a variable to add some properties locally as shown on lines 22–25. | https://betterprogramming.pub/the-guide-i-wish-i-had-for-js-object-creation-patterns-e0af3043993d | ['Liz Fedak'] | 2020-11-13 15:55:37.530000+00:00 | ['Programming', 'JavaScript', 'Object Oriented', 'Oop'] |
Spectral encoding of categorical features | About a year ago I was working on a regression model, which had over a million features. Needless to say, the training was super slow, and the model was overfitting a lot. After investigating this issue, I realized that most of the features were created using 1-hot encoding of the categorical features, and some of them had tens of thousands of unique values.
The problem of mapping categorical features to lower-dimensional space is not new. Recently one of the popular way to deal with it is using entity embedding layers of a neural network. However that method assumes that neural networks are used. What if we decided to use tree-based algorithms instead? In tis case we can use Spectral Graph Theory methods to create low dimensional embedding of the categorical features.
The idea came from spectral word embedding, spectral clustering and spectral dimensionality reduction algorithms. If you can define a similarity measure between different values of the categorical features, we can use spectral analysis methods to find the low dimensional representation of the categorical feature.
From the similarity function (or kernel function) we can construct an Adjacency matrix, which is a symmetric matrix, where the ij element is the value of the kernel function between category values i and j:
It is very important that I only need a Kernel function, not a high-dimensional representation. This means that 1-hot encoding step is not necessary here. Also for the kernel-base machine learning methods, the categorical variable encoding step is not necessary as well, because what matters is the kernel function between two points, which can be constructed using the individual kernel functions.
Once the adjacency matrix is constructed, we can construct a degree matrix:
Here δ is the Kronecker delta symbol. The Laplacian matrix is the difference between the two:
And the normalize Laplacian matrix is defined as:
Following the Spectral Graph theory, we proceed with eigendecomposition of the normalized Laplacian matrix. The number of zero eigenvalues correspond to the number of connected components. In our case, let’s assume that our categorical feature has two sets of values that are completely dissimilar. This means that the kernel function K(i,j) is zero if i and j belong to different groups. In this case we will have two zero eigenvalues of the normalized Laplacian matrix.
If there is only one connected component, we will have only one zero eigenvalue. Normally it is uninformative and is dropped to prevent multicollinearity of features. However we can keep it if we are planning to use tree-based models.
The lower eigenvalues correspond to “smooth” eigenvectors (or modes), that are following the similarity function more closely. We want to keep only these eigenvectors and drop the eigenvectors with higher eigenvalues, because they are more likely represent noise. It is very common to look for a gap in the matrix spectrum and pick the eigenvalues below the gap. The resulting truncated eigenvectors can be normalized and represent embeddings of the categorical feature values.
As an example, let’s consider the Day of Week. 1-hot encoding assumes every day is similar to any other day (K(i,j)=1 ). This is not a likely assumption, because we know that days of the week are different. For example, the bar attendance spikes on Fridays and Saturdays (at least in USA) because the following day is a weekend. Label encoding is also incorrect, because it will make the “distance” between Monday and Wednesday twice higher than between Monday and Tuesday. And the “distance” between Sunday and Monday will be six times higher, even though the days are next to each other. By the way, the label encoding corresponds to the kernel K(i,j)=exp(−γ|i−j|)
We will consider an example, where weekdays are similar to each other, but differ a lot from the weekends.
array([[ 0, 10, 9, 8, 5, 2, 1],
[10, 0, 10, 9, 5, 2, 1],
[ 9, 10, 0, 10, 8, 2, 1],
[ 8, 9, 10, 0, 10, 2, 1],
[ 5, 5, 8, 10, 0, 5, 3],
[ 2, 2, 2, 2, 5, 0, 10],
[ 1, 1, 1, 1, 3, 10, 0]])
array([[ 1. , -0.27788501, -0.24053512, -0.21380899, -0.14085904, -0.07049074, -0.040996 ],
[-0.27788501, 1. , -0.25993762, -0.23394386, -0.13699916, -0.06855912, -0.03987261],
[-0.24053512, -0.25993762, 1. , -0.25 , -0.21081851, -0.06593805, -0.03834825],
[-0.21380899, -0.23394386, -0.25 , 1. , -0.26352314, -0.06593805, -0.03834825],
[-0.14085904, -0.13699916, -0.21081851, -0.26352314, 1. , -0.17376201, -0.12126781],
[-0.07049074, -0.06855912, -0.06593805, -0.06593805, -0.17376201, 1. , -0.50572174],
[-0.040996 , -0.03987261, -0.03834825, -0.03834825, -0.12126781, -0.50572174, 1. ]])
array([0. , 0.56794799, 1.50908645, 1.08959831, 1.3053149 , 1.25586378, 1.27218858])
Notice, that the eigenvalues are not ordered here. Let’s plot the eigenvalues, ignoring the uninformative zero.
We can see a pretty substantial gap between the first eigenvalue and the rest of the eigenvalues. If this does not give enough model performance, you can include the second eigenvalue, because the gap between it and the higher eigenvalues is also quite substantial.
Let’s print all eigenvectors:
array([[ 0.39180195, 0.22866879, 0.01917247, -0.45504284, 0.12372711, -0.41844908, -0.62957304],
[ 0.40284079, 0.24416078, 0.01947223, -0.4281388 , -0.53910465, -0.01139734, 0.55105271],
[ 0.41885391, 0.23795901, -0.0032909 , -0.00102155, 0.24759021, 0.82656956, -0.15299308],
[ 0.41885391, 0.21778112, -0.01536901, 0.36430356, 0.56996731, -0.36551902, 0.43094387],
[ 0.39735971, -0.02474713, 0.07869969, 0.66992782, -0.54148697, -0.08518483, -0.29331097],
[ 0.3176117 , -0.61238751, -0.71702346, -0.09280736, 0.02933834, 0.00752668, 0.02123917],
[ 0.27305934, -0.63907128, 0.69187421, -0.13963728, 0.11758088, 0.02521838, 0.06615712]])
Look at the second eigenvector. The weekend values have a different size than the weekdays and Friday is close to zero. This proves the transitional role of Friday, that, being a day of the week, is also the beginning of the weekend.
If we are going to pick two lowest non-zero eigenvalues, our categorical feature encoding will result in these category vectors:
array([[ 0.22866879, -0.45504284],
[ 0.24416078, -0.4281388 ],
[ 0.23795901, -0.00102155],
[ 0.21778112, 0.36430356],
[-0.02474713, 0.66992782],
[-0.61238751, -0.09280736],
[-0.63907128, -0.13963728]])
In the plot above we see that Monday and Tuesday, and also Saturday and Sunday are clustered close together, while Wednesday, Thursday and Friday are far apart.
Learning the kernel function
In the previous example we assumed that the similarity function is given. Sometimes this is the case, where it can be defined based on the business rules. However it may be possible to learn it from data.
One of the ways to compute the Kernel is using Kullback-Leibler Divergence:
Where D is Symmetrised KL divergence:
Here pi is a probability of the data given the category value i:
The idea is to estimate the data distribution (including the target variable, but excluding the categorical variable) for each value of the categorical variable. If for two values the distributions are similar, then the divergence will be small and the similarity value will be large. Note that γ is a hyperparameter and will have to be tuned
To try this approach will will use liquor sales data set. To keep the file small I removed some columns and aggregated the data.
Since we care about sales, let’s encode the day of week using the information from the sales column Let’s check the histogram first:
sns.distplot(liq.sales, kde=False);
We see that the distribution is very skewed, so let’s try to use log of sales columns instead
sns.distplot(np.log10(1+liq.sales), kde=False);
This is much better. So we will use a log for our distribution
liq["log_sales"] = np.log10(1+liq.sales)
Here we will follow this blog for computation of the Kullback-Leibler divergence. Also note, that since there are no liquor sales on Sunday, we consider only six days in a week
array([[0.00000000e+00, 8.77075038e-02, 4.67563784e-02, 4.73455185e-02, 4.36580887e-02, 1.10008520e-01],
[8.77075038e-02, 0.00000000e+00, 6.33458241e-03, 6.12091647e-03, 7.54387432e-03, 1.24807509e-03],
[4.67563784e-02, 6.33458241e-03, 0.00000000e+00, 1.83170834e-06, 5.27510292e-05, 1.32091396e-02],
[4.73455185e-02, 6.12091647e-03, 1.83170834e-06, 0.00000000e+00, 7.42423681e-05, 1.28996949e-02],
[4.36580887e-02, 7.54387432e-03, 5.27510292e-05, 7.42423681e-05, 0.00000000e+00, 1.49325072e-02],
[1.10008520e-01, 1.24807509e-03, 1.32091396e-02, 1.28996949e-02, 1.49325072e-02, 0.00000000e+00]])
As we already mentioned, the hyperparameter γ has to be tuned. Here we just pick the value that will give a plausible result
gamma = 20
kernel = np.exp(-gamma * kl_matrix)
np.fill_diagonal(kernel, 0)
kernel array([[0. , 0.17305426, 0.39253579, 0.38793776, 0.41762901, 0.11078428],
[0.17305426, 0. , 0.88100529, 0.88477816, 0.85995305, 0.97534746],
[0.39253579, 0.88100529, 0. , 0.99996337, 0.99894554, 0.76783317],
[0.38793776, 0.88477816, 0.99996337, 0. , 0.99851625, 0.77259995],
[0.41762901, 0.85995305, 0.99894554, 0.99851625, 0. , 0.74181889],
[0.11078428, 0.97534746, 0.76783317, 0.77259995, 0.74181889, 0. ]]) norm_lap = normalized_laplacian(kernel)
sz, sv = np.linalg.eig(norm_lap)
sz array([1.11022302e-16, 9.99583797e-01, 1.22897829e+00, 1.27538999e+00, 1.24864532e+00, 1.24740260e+00])
In [18]:
sns.stripplot(data=sz[1:], jitter=False, );
Ignoring the zero eigenvalue, we can see that there is a bigger gap between the first eigenvalue and the rest of the eigenvalues, even though the values are all in the range between 1 and 1.3.
Ultimately the number of eigenvectors to use is another hyperparameter, that should be optimized on a supervised learning task. The Category field is another candidate to do spectral analysis, and is, probably, a better choice since it has more unique values
len(liq.Category.unique()) 107
array([[0.00000000e+00, 1.01321384e-02, 2.38664557e-01, ..., 5.83930416e-02, 2.05621708e+01, 4.44786939e-01],
[1.01321384e-02, 0.00000000e+00, 1.50225839e-01, ..., 1.17178087e-01, 2.24843754e+01, 5.89215704e-01],
[2.38664557e-01, 1.50225839e-01, 0.00000000e+00, ..., 5.33952956e-01, 2.95549456e+01, 1.33572924e+00],
...,
[5.83930416e-02, 1.17178087e-01, 5.33952956e-01, ..., 0.00000000e+00, 1.59700549e+01, 1.80637715e-01],
[2.05621708e+01, 2.24843754e+01, 2.95549456e+01, ..., 1.59700549e+01, 0.00000000e+00, 8.58405693e+00],
[4.44786939e-01, 5.89215704e-01, 1.33572924e+00, ..., 1.80637715e-01, 8.58405693e+00, 0.00000000e+00]])
plot_eigenvalues(100);
We can see, that a lot of eigenvalues are grouped around the 1.1 mark. The eigenvalues that are below that cluster can be used for encoding the Category feature. Please also note that this method is highly sensitive on selection of hyperparameter γ . For illustration let me pick a higher and a lower gamma
plot_eigenvalues(7000);
plot_eigenvalues(10)
Conclusion and next steps
We presented a way to encode the categorical features as a low dimensional vector that preserves most of the feature similarity information. For this we use methods of Spectral analysis on the values of the categorical feature. In order to find the kernel function we can either use heuristics, or learn it using a variety of methods, for example, using Kullback–Leibler divergence of the data distribution conditional on the category value. To select the subset of the eigenvectors we used gap analysis, but what we really need is to validate this methods by analyzing a variety of data sets and both classification and regression problems. We also need to compare it with other encoding methods, for example, entity embedding using Neural Networks. The kernel function we used can also include the information about category frequency, which will help us deal with high information, but low frequency values.
Update 07/04/2019: A better way to calculate the similarity function is to use Wasserstein distance instead of symmetric Kullback–Leibler divergence. The updated code can be found in my github repository. | https://towardsdatascience.com/spectral-encoding-of-categorical-features-b4faebdf4a | ['Michael Larionov'] | 2019-07-04 21:51:52.380000+00:00 | ['Kernel Trick', 'Feature Engineering', 'Graph Theory', 'Data Science', 'Machine Learning'] |
Education And Technology | A subject often misunderstood and very often used interchangeably, yet very different. But what is it about them that they are often considered as pairs? Is it because of their dictionary definitions or because they are often seen as synonyms of each other?
Today, in a globalized world, where information is mostly digital, living in the information society, education becomes fundamental. It will allow reducing the abyss and the differences between those who have access to technologies and those who do not have. Aiming at the democratisation of access to information, enabling everyone to build knowledge-based on new technologies, making our society more just.
For some decades now, schools in a good part of the world have talked about “paradigm shift” in education. Traditional education would be based on the transmission and accumulation of information what Paulo Freire called “banking education”. Today, society would demand an education more focused on the integral formation of citizens.
This integral formation of the human being, in our current society, involves the construction of skills such as autonomy, responsibility, critical sense/thinking, knowing how to do, knowing how to learn, knowing how to live together, among others. New technologies alone will not build these competencies; they are not an end in themselves, nor a cure.
Information and communication technologies were not created for use in education; they result from economic and political interests. For example, the internet emerged in times of war to maintain communication between military bases. Nevertheless, how do we effectively combine these technologies with education? What do they have to offer that makes them so important and debated recently?
These are not such easy answers, as we are only at the beginning of this process, there are no ready-made answers or perfect solutions. Indeed, there are proposals for the conscious use of these technologies: proposals that remove or at least soften exclusions that humanise and transform the human being into not only a user but also a critical user.
While many private schools in some places around the world access the internet in high school and only a little percentage access it in public schools. But what would public school students be missing from the lack of internet access? They would be missing the opportunity to deal with the digital world, with materials that facilitate, expand, diversify learning, and allow interactivity.
These materials, coming from different cultures and peoples, containing different languages, such as visual, audiovisual, textual, pictorial, etc. These students are being excluded from the globalisation process, from the current cultural process and as a result, they are being excluded from the labour market. The reality is that, for the first time, education is faced with the possibility of influencing our development decisively.
Although the UK's education system may differ to the rest of the world, we know that the reality of education in some if not many countries still lack basic resources. Still, one cannot think that new technologies are superfluous. We must put efforts on both because a school equipped with a computer without desks and blackboards is of no use. Today, we must overcome the delays of the past, making possible a future combined with technologies.
Therefore, new technologies arise often, and schools need to adapt and change their teaching methods, including, to guarantee learning and opportunities, because today nobody can learn everything. Still, one must learn to learn, that way one will be manipulating the technologies, that allow access to innumerable information, but with the necessary awareness and critical sense for a citizen of the information society, because in this universe of knowledge, in this immense network of communicating and interactive vessels, they assume greater importance regarding methodologies, learning to navigate, further reducing the concept of stock of knowledge to be transmitted.
Another facet of our current information society, also linked to learning to navigate is linked to easing, access to information anywhere and anytime, creating new spaces for knowledge, therefore schools today should not lose its status as educators, because today any subject can be in contact with information in different places and times.
The possibility of a truly continuous education arises, that is, the citizens of the globalised world can be at all times, seeking information that facilitates, expands and modifies their knowledge and realities, whether related to personal or professional life.
The planet has become our classroom and our address Herbert McLuhan —
In conclusion
The current society requires us a review of our roles, our relationship with the world, and the other, whether on the part of teachers, students or schools. This change may be slow, different from the productive sectors. Furthermore, it is the beginning, as many have already noticed that it is impossible to change the course of our history, so we must prepare and train citizens to live our time consciously. | https://medium.com/technology-hits/education-and-technology-a3e71a2cc291 | ['Josh', 'Υя_Ωιѕємαη'] | 2020-12-27 16:37:45.755000+00:00 | ['Knowledge', 'Life', 'Education', 'Life Lessons', 'Growth'] |
Coronavirus Is Forcing Black Churches to Make Tough Choices | Brad Braxton, PhD, who is a pastor (The Open Church of Baltimore) and a chief diversity, equity, and inclusion officer (Saint Luke’s Episcopal School) believed this moment did not call for the villainization of pastors on either side of the issue. Instead, he sees it as a call to think critically about the role the church plays in community health. Service at The Open Church took place on a conference call and included a sermon, a Covid-19 information session led by a health care professional, and prayer. “We had church,” Braxton says. “And God was not dishonored.”
As coronavirus continued to make its presence known on American soil, many pastors could not help but honor the information presented—even if it contradicted their initial position. Bishop Clarence Laney (Monument of Faith Church of Durham, NC) was set to go through with Sunday’s service until he watched Chanequa Walker-Barnes’ “Pastoring in a Pandemic” Saturday afternoon. As an ordained minister, licensed therapist, and pastoral care professor, Walker-Barnes offered pastors with concrete issues to weigh as they consider moving forward with traditional forms of worship. “After watching that and learning many of our seniors still planned to come as a sign of faith, I knew I couldn’t do it.” Consequently, there was no service at Monument of Faith.
Beyond the decision to host services, many bemoaned the theological responses to the coronavirus crisis circulating on social media. Among them was the belief that, if Christians significantly adjusted their lives as a result of coronavirus, it signaled a true lack of faith. Founder of one of the largest denominational bodies among Black congregations, Bishop Paul Morton cautioned against the closure of churches as they are a “spiritual hospital” and “spiritual police department.” There was also the creation of the C.O.V.I.D. (“Christ Over Viruses and Infectious Diseases”) acronym and meme. This illuminates the growing consensus that Black pastors do not take pressing community concerns seriously and seek to numb Black Christians to reality with over-spiritualization.
“We can’t explain a virus theologically,” says theologian and Africana studies professor Monica Coleman. “But we can respond to a virus theologically.” Coleman suggested congregational leadership calling members and working with them to ensure the practical needs of medicines and groceries are met. Coleman also suggested churches think critically about providing their members with information regarding powers of attorney and other legal protections. “The more we plan, the less stress we feel. If pastors can alleviate stress, that’s what they should be doing.”
Laney concedes that, had certain technological investments been made at Monument of Faith, canceling Sunday’s service wouldn’t have been necessary.
As new guidelines suggest gatherings of no more than 10 people, pastors must assess their willingness to concede to forces beyond their control. “Most of us wrestle with the theological and social implications of a decision because our skills may not be as sharpened as we think they are,” Bishop Laney says.
This flexibility may include finally listening to those who have been calling for congregations to embrace various forms of technology for the last decade. Laney concedes that, had certain technological investments been made at Monument of Faith, canceling Sunday’s service wouldn’t have been necessary. “So many of us have been resistant because we viewed technology as an alternative to the brick and mortar,” Laney says. “But that’s not the case at all and this has really shown me its importance in ways I didn’t see.”
Transitioning to online connection and growth groups, South Euclid UCC will be using this as an opportunity to stretch the boundaries of what church looks like. As pastor, Clayton Jenkins is also exploring what that means for baptism and communion. “Are we going to trip if it’s not unleavened bread and grape juice? If I say go grab a ritz cracker and some water, will you be okay with that? This moment will force us to use divine imagination and ensure that it is theologically sound.”
As a pastor and senior executive at an educational institution, Braxton also believes this is a prime opportunity for his ministerial colleagues to understand themselves as part of a larger public health apparatus. “I honor the ways the epidemiologists, public health officials, and physicians provide necessary care for our community,” Braxton says. “As a pastor, I lead a community that contributes to public well-being. Knowing this, what is our responsibility to contribute to public health?”
“I believe this is a time when fan-based ministry will fail,” Clayton Jenkins offers. “We love to say ‘where two or three are gathered together’ but could two or three survive for six months if we’ve not really prepared them? If we have not been authentically and earnestly making disciples, it will show now.” Smith agrees and believes the Covid-19 crisis will call pastors into deep reflection. “This is really just the beginning of a season of unknown,” he says. “There are a lot of things we can be right now but none of them are more important than being the hands and feet of Jesus.”
Sunday is coming and many will not gather at their respective houses of worship to celebrate victory over the forces of death. To do so would give those forces permission they must not have. Yet, as a Sunday kind of people, we bear witness to our faith and resilience every day. And, on the day we consider most holy, we have an incredible opportunity to reimagine the ways we honor that truth. | https://zora.medium.com/coronavirus-is-forcing-black-churches-to-make-tough-choices-34faa6c88fee | ['Candice Marie Benbow'] | 2020-03-18 17:13:41.523000+00:00 | ['Black Church', 'Church', 'Health', 'Religion', 'Coronavirus'] |
Homecoming | I have spent a lifetime attempting to escape myself.
I’ve tried to outrun my trauma,
I’ve tried to never be “in” my diseased body,
I’ve even tried to kill myself.
I’ve tried projecting my insecurities onto others and after 30-some years I’ve finally decided to come home.
I’ve finally laid myself to rest inside of this sack of flesh and bone. No longer wishing, or needing, to escape the chamber of horrors that I wake up to every morning — this tomb that is my body.
I may not be perfect, I may be flawed beyond repair in some areas, but I am proud to showcase who I’m becoming as I continue to work towards a more stable structure. One I can come home to. | https://medium.com/@bethnintzel/homecoming-83afa7d555da | ['Beth Nintzel'] | 2020-12-18 22:20:13.646000+00:00 | ['Prose', 'Personal Development', 'Short Read', 'Home', 'Personal Growth'] |
4 Dangerous Cleaning Products to Avoid At All Costs | Even though a great variety of commercial cleaning products have the potential to clean a surface effortlessly, many of those are not safe at all. Typically, powerful store-bought cleaners contain harsh toxic ingredients that might have a negative impact on your health and you need to avoid them by finding gentle eco-friendly alternatives. Switching to green cleaning doesn’t have to be a difficult transition. Just ditch these four dangerous cleaning products and rely on their natural substitutes:
Drain cleaning products
The ingredients these cleansers are full of might cause severe skin burns, eye irritation and if swallowed, they might affect the throat and the stomach, as the effects could be lethal. To rest assured your well-being has been taken into account, steer clear of commercial drain cleaners at all costs and go for safe, eco-friendly cleaning hacks. To refresh and disinfect the drain, simply pour down half a cup of baking soda, followed by the same amount of white vinegar. Let the ingredients sit for a few minutes, then rinse with hot water to wash away dirt and germs.
Air fresheners
You may adore the fragrance your store-bought air freshener provides, but the ingredients it contains are not harmless at all. Air fresheners are known for containing formaldehyde, which is a dangerous ingredient that could affect the skin, the eyes and the throat. Air fresheners are made of other dangerous substances that can cause serious health conditions like pulmonary oedema to more sensitive people. Obviously, air fresheners are products you should stop using right away, so try to improve air quality indoors with safer approaches. Fill a spray bottle with water, add 10–12 drops of essential oils of your choice and spray all around your place — that will do the job the healthy way.
Carpet cleaning products
A large number of commercial carpet cleansers contain naphthalene that could lead to dizziness or headache in the short run. If exposed for too long to those products, they could cause liver problems, which turns those into cleansers you need to give up on. Instead, treat carpet spills and stains using only eco-friendly ingredients like white vinegar, salt and essential oils. Do you notice unpleasant smells coming from the carpet? Banish nasty carpet odours naturally by sprinkling the rug with baking soda and letting the ingredient sit overnight. Vacuum clean the carpet thoroughly and it will be as good as new, without exposing yourself to dangerous toxins.
Antibacterial products
Living in a germ-free environment is what all of you want, but remember to avoid using antibacterial products when cleaning your home. Surely these solutions will do their job, yet the ingredients they contain might cause drug-resistant bugs to appear. To avoid that, make sure your home is germ-free with the help of eco-friendly ingredients. The best natural alternatives of antibacterial products are white vinegar and lemon juice. Both ingredients are acidic, which means no germs and bacteria would manage to withstand the treatment. Mould and mildew in the bathroom, as well as germs trapped in the fridge, in the oven or on the kitchen countertop, can be safely removed with natural DIY mixtures with vinegar and lemon juice.
Never use these dangerous cleaning products that threaten your health. Commercial drain cleaners might lead to skin burn and eye irritation, so disinfect the drain safely with white vinegar and baking soda. Air fresheners contain dangerous ingredients like formaldehyde, that’s why you should rely on essential oils to refresh the air indoors. Store-bought carpet cleaners are another harmful product you should give up on and replace with natural cleaning agents like baking soda and white vinegar. Antibacterial products are likely to promote the development of drug-resistant bacteria, that’s why you should eliminate germs with eco-friendly ingredients like white vinegar and lemon juice.
© FK Domestics Ltd | https://medium.com/@fkdomestics/4-dangerous-cleaning-products-to-avoid-at-all-costs-2da3246c1256 | ['Marta Nikolova'] | 2021-11-15 15:38:54.433000+00:00 | ['Cleaning', 'Cleaning Tips'] |
How Adobe Experience Platform is Using Event-Driven Automation to Enhance Customer Experience | This article provides a behind-the-scenes look at how Adobe Experience Platform is using event-driven automation to improve reliability and stability.
In today’s world of microservices and loosely coupled software modules, events are often the binding pieces of how the desired functionality is achieved. Software components generate events and corresponding actions on these events define how the components would behave. These events might be the signal generated by users making requests, or base computing components sending in failure indications, or even the applications pointing out the potential issues due to different inputs.
Even when developers have access to generated events and know the sequence of actions that are required to be taken to complete a process, they are required to write a significant amount of code to implement them. Not surprisingly, this resource-intensive process has enterprises looking at several available technologies to automate these complex sequences of actions.
Enter event-driven automation (EDA). EDA offers enterprises the ability to increase efficiency in their operations by replacing manual processes with automated workflows.
Event-driven automation defined
EDAs are computer programs written to “listen” and respond to events generated by the user or the system. Applications rely on programming that separates event-processing logic from the rest of its code. With EDA, an event can be any identifiable occurrence that has significance for the workflow for which it is designed. Examples might include events caused by a large user-generated volume of requests and system-generated events such as program failing to load, sensor outputs, or messages from individual threads.
EDA is accomplished through sensors that listen for the events, which then trigger a potentially complex sequence of actions either sequentially or in parallel. These actions form a workflow where values derived from a set of actions are passed through to a subsequent set of actions based on specified conditions or predetermined criteria. These actions can be written in any programming language to improve responsiveness, throughput, and flexibility in a given workflow.
EDA offers endless possibilities for improving workflows
At Adobe Experience Platform, we’re exploring how EDA can be used to analyze operational patterns and develop mechanisms to address bottlenecks in our processes. One of the biggest advantages of using EDA for workflows is that it works around the clock without human intervention.
Adobe teams are using EDA internally for several different kinds of workflows ranging from auto-remediations of alerts received from system and application, achieving scalability of application proportionate to the user-generated load, security remediations, and providing information to teams on the ongoing health of the system. Currently, our teams have identified a wide variety of use cases including:
Auto-remediation of Resque job deadlock and Sidekiq job failures
Selective remediation of Solr collections
Health check and pipeline restart while messages are queuing up
Recovery of quarantined streaming segments in Siphon Stream
Auto-remediating lag when while copying data in MirrorMaker processes
Scheduled and manual recovery of failed Kafka messages
Autoscaling of Kafka broker on high load
Auto-remediation of alerts coming from Nagios such as journal threads, OOM, disk space, etc.
Detection of vulnerable security policies
CSO’s problem management using auto-remediation to improvise problem management
Implementation challenges
In order to successfully implement a workflow using EDA, teams must do two things: first, detect the events on which they want actions to be taken, and then identify the appropriate action sequence. The EDA system needs to be provided access to the environment where the event-driven automation has to be executed. This requires the networking layer to work in accordance with the requirements of the application and EDA both.
While EDA is expected to provide higher uptime, and better reliability to the applications utilizing it, it is even more important for EDA itself to be highly available and not fail. Its hosting architecture needs to ensure that the EDA system is scalable as per the load and has redundancy built in to ensure continued availability in case one part of the system fails.
Figure 1: Event Driven Automation Hosting Architecture
How are we building event-driven workflows?
Adobe Experience Platform uses API-first design to make all of its functions available to developers for use with Adobe Experience Platform services, Adobe solutions, and third-party applications.
EDA honors the design principles prescribed by AEP and provides AEP developers the freedom to develop in open development manner. Our developers are free to write their own code and workflows to provide actions in response to the events they wish to address.
Early results have been very successful. With one of its first automations in the production environment, AEP developers were able to execute approximately 900 workflows within the first two months for social, saving more than 30 potential major outages.
Figure 2: Event Driven Automation — Social Use Case for POC
Automation creates new opportunities for innovation
Innovation has long been recognized as a key driver of success. Virtually any type of mundane, repetitive task or set of tasks currently handled by people could unleash new levels of creativity and productivity if automated.
Here at Adobe, we know that when we optimize our workflows, we optimize our people — freeing them to focus on what they do best. With several event-driven workflows currently under development and more on the way, we are improving the stability and reliability of Adobe Experience Platform and giving our developers more time to focus on developing new and innovative solutions for our customers.
Follow the Adobe Tech Blog for more developer stories and resources, and check out Adobe Developers on Twitter for the latest news and developer products. Sign up here for future Adobe Experience Platform Meetups. | https://medium.com/adobetech/how-adobe-experience-platform-is-using-event-driven-automation-to-enhance-customer-experience-d1ee3e4d3118 | ['Jaemi Bremner'] | 2019-07-10 00:06:29.268000+00:00 | ['Automation', 'DevOps', 'Platform', 'Adobe', 'Software Development'] |
How to Use Material Data Tables on the Web | How to Use Material Data Tables on the Web
Everything you’ll need, from the web code to best practices
You probably already know Material Design — Google’s open-source design system for quickly building beautiful interfaces. But you might not know that one of Material’s most popular use cases on the web is being the “front-end of the back-end.” Oodles of Material web apps are essentially admin panels, data displays, and tools for content manipulation. In fact, this use case is so prevalent that, according to a survey by Material-UI (a 3rd party open-source React implementation of Material Design) 70% of respondents said they used that product to build admin panels and dashboards.
We recently revamped Material’s data table component (read about the updates from designer Karen Ng) and released the web code and documentation for quickly integrating this component into your own web product. Now, you can easily and instantly (after installing the component) leverage and theme data tables with some default behaviors, such as row selection, utilizing Material’s animation and design system. Here’s how:
Basic Material data table with default theme
To get yourself a data table, you only need the following three steps:
In a terminal:
// Install checkbox styles for the row selection variant
npm install @material/checkbox // Install data table styles
npm install @material/data-table
2. In your Sass file:
@import " // Import checkbox styles for the row selection variant @material/c heckbox/mdc-checkbox"; // Import data table styles
@import @material/data-table /mdc-data-table";
3. In your HTML, include the correct classes in the following structure:
<div class="mdc-data-table">
<table class="mdc-data-table__table" aria-label="Dessert calories">
<thead>
<tr class="mdc-data-table__header-row">
<th class="mdc-data-table__header-cell" role="columnheader" scope="col">Dessert</th>
<th class="mdc-data-table__header-cell" role="columnheader" scope="col">Carbs (g)</th>
<th class="mdc-data-table__header-cell" role="columnheader" scope="col">Protein (g)</th>
<th class="mdc-data-table__header-cell" role="columnheader" scope="col">Comments</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody class="mdc-data-table__content">
<tr class="mdc-data-table__row">
<td class="mdc-data-table__cell">Frozen yogurt</td>
<td class="mdc-data-table__cell mdc-data-table__cell--numeric">24</td>
<td class="mdc-data-table__cell mdc-data-table__cell--numeric">4.0</td>
<td class="mdc-data-table__cell">Super tasty</td>
</tr>
<tr class="mdc-data-table__row">
<td class="mdc-data-table__cell">Ice cream sandwich</td>
<td class="mdc-data-table__cell mdc-data-table__cell--numeric">37</td>
<td class="mdc-data-table__cell mdc-data-table__cell--numeric">4.3</td>
<td class="mdc-data-table__cell">I like ice cream more</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</div>
If you want to include the default interaction demonstrated in this blog post, you will need to instantiate the data table in your JavaScript file. This can be built upon with your own system, and MDC-Web provides a base as a jumping-off point:
import {MDCDataTable} from ' // Import the componentimport {MDCDataTable} from ' @material/data-table '; // Instantiate the data table based on the `.mdc-data-table` class
const dataTable = new MDCDataTable(document.querySelector('.mdc-data-table'));
Material Data Tables provides basic interactions including selecting of table rows and returning an array of selected row items. The baseline functionality builds in accessibility, but if you are extending the table, please refer WAI-ARIA Authoring Practices for table for ARIA recommended role, states & properties required for table element.
In the example below, you can find the data table interface being used to calculate the total calories. The table is built via a web component template using JSON-based data.
let totalCal = 0; // Add "row selection changed" event on the data table dataTableEl.addEventListener('MDCDataTable:rowSelectionChanged', (event) => {
const {rowIndex, selected} = event.detail;
const calories = sampleData.rows[rowIndex][CALORIES_COLUMN_INDEX];
if (selected) {
totalCal += calories;
} else {
totalCal -= calories;
}
...
});
Material data table reading from data source with interactive tally of calories.
You can also combine components within a table. In this example, we’re using Material chips as quick-selection shortcuts for selecting items in the table. We can combine interfaces like so, to make this possible:
// Add "chip selection" event on the data table dataTableEl.addEventListener('MDCChip:selection', (event) => {
...
}
Material data table using chips for quick-selection.
Data table with theme switcher.
You can use the Sass mixins as a styling API, or use custom properties to apply theming with MDC-Web, and serve that theme change by using the prefers-color-scheme media query, or provide users with their own option using the Material switch component, for example.
We also added the data table to the Material Theme Builder, so you can see how your global theming styles will affect this component along with the others, and how all of those styles interact.
Material Theme Builder tool
Now that you know how to use, extend, style, and explore Material data tables on the web, go forth and experiment! Don’t forget to share your data tables down in the comments section below 👇 | https://medium.com/google-design/how-to-use-material-data-tables-on-the-web-b12e881119a4 | ['Una Kravets'] | 2019-09-25 16:49:56.043000+00:00 | ['Material Design', 'CSS', 'JavaScript', 'Tools'] |
Cypress vs Selenium vs Playwright vs Puppeteer speed comparison | Our recent speed comparison of major headless browser automation tools, namely Puppeteer, Playwright and WebDriverIO with DevTools and Selenium, received a very positive response. The single most common ask from our readers was that we follow up by including Cypress in our benchmark. In this article, we are doing just that — with some precautions.
Note: In case you haven’t read our first benchmark, we recommend going through it as it contains important information on the hows and whys of our testing which we have decided not to duplicate in this second article.
Table of content
Why compare these automation tools?
Aside from the sheer curiosity about which was fastest in end-to-end scenarios, we at Checkly wanted to inform our future choices with regards to browser automation tools for synthetic monitoring and testing, and we wanted to do that through data-backed comparisons.
Before we add Cypress to the mix, we need to consider the following key differences to be able to contextualise the results we will get.
Laser focus on testing
Contrary to the tools mentioned above, Cypress is not a general-purpose browser automation tool, but rather focuses on automating end-to-end browser tests. This narrower scope enables it to excel in areas of the automated testing domain where other, more general-purpose tools have historically struggled.
In the author’s opinion, the most evident example of this is Cypress’ unmatched E2E script development and debugging experience. It is important to note that this kind of qualitative characteristic cannot be highlighted in a speed benchmark such as the one you are reading right now. The goal of this benchmark is to answer the question “how fast does it run?” and not “which tool is the best all around?”
Local testing flow
As mentioned on the official documentation, while Cypress can be used to test live/production websites, its actual focus is on testing your application locally as it is being developed.
Production vs local, from https://cypress.io
This benchmark is set up for running against live environments (Checkly itself is used for production monitoring), and therefore will test Cypress on this use case only, exposing a partial picture of its performance.
Methodology, or how we ran the benchmark
Note: If this is the first time reading this blog, we recommend taking a look at the full version of our methodology writeup from our previous benchmark, as it is important to better understand the results.
Once again, we gathered data from 1000 successful sequential executions of the same script. To keep things consistent, we kept our guidelines and technical setup identical to our previous benchmark, with the exception of two added packages: [email protected] and [email protected] .
Cypress was run using the cypress run command, and all scenarios have been executed without any kind of video recording or screenshot taking.
The results
Below you can see the aggregate results for our benchmark. For the first two scenarios, we kept the results for from our previous benchmark and added fresh data for Cypress. The last scenario is based entirely on new executions. You can find the full data sets, along with the scripts we used, in our GitHub repository.
Scenario 1: Single end-to-end test against a static website
Our first benchmark ran against our demo website, which is:
Built with Vue.js.
Hosted on Heroku.
Practically static, with very little data actually fetched from the backend.
This first scenario will be a short login procedure. Having a total expected execution time of just a few seconds, this test is run to clearly highlight potential differences in startup speed between the tools.
Our demo website login scenario running
The aggregate results are as follows:
Benchmark results for our demo website login scenario
While no large startup time difference had been revealed in our first benchmark, here Cypress seems to exhibit a markedly longer startup time compared to the other tools. Cypress’ own reported execution time, ~3s in the case of this test, implies ~7s needed until the test can start running.
Ordering execution time data points from larger to smaller, we can more clearly see the separation between the different tools:
Execution time across runs for our demo website login scenario (in logarithmic scale)
This kind of very short scenario is where the difference in startup time will be felt the most; on average, Cypress is close to 3x slower than WebDriverIO+Selenium, the slowest tool in this test, and more than 4x slower than Puppeteer, the fastest tool in this comparison.
Our next scenario has a longer overall execution time, therefore we expected the above ratios to decrease.
Scenario 2: Single end-to-end test against a production web app
Our second benchmark ran against our own product, app.checklyhq.com, a full-blown web application which sports:
A Vue.js frontend.
Heroku hosting.
A backend which heavily leverages AWS.
Dense data exchange between backend and frontend, animations, third party apps and most of the components you expect from a production web app.
The second scenario is a longer E2E test which:
Logs in to app.checklyhq.com. Creates an API check. Deletes the check.
Our longer check creation scenario on Checkly
The aggregate results are as follows:
Benchmark results for our check creation scenario
As we can see, the separation between Cypress and the rest of the tools remains. It is also consistent with our previous finding about the startup time: on average, it seems to be ~7s slower than WebDriverIO on this test, too.
The relative result is indeed closer compared to our previous scenario: here Cypress is, on average, not even 2x slower than the fastest tool (now Playwright), whereas before it had been 4x slower.
Execution time across runs for our check creation scenario (in logarithmic scale)
So far, we had only executed single-scenario tests. This is where our previous benchmark stopped. This kind of setup surfaced interesting information, but did not cover the very frequent case where multiple tests are run in a row, as part of a suite. We were particularly interested in seeing if Cypress would regain ground when running multiple tests sequentially, so we produced a new dataset for Cypress and all the tools previously included. That makes up our third scenario.
Scenario 3: Test suite against a production web app
Our suite included our check creation scenario, just seen in the last section, and two brand new E2E scripts, both going through login, asset creation (respectively alert channels and snippets), and deleting them afterwards.
For Puppeteer and Playwright, we executed suites using Jest. For all other frameworks, we used the built-in features they already came with.
Our suite scenario on Checkly
The aggregate results are as follows:
Benchmark results for our suite scenario
We can see that the difference between Cypress and the other tools is now considerably lower, with the mean execution time over 1000 executions being just ~3% slower compared to WebDriverIO+Selenium (the slowest tool in this run), and ~23% slower compared to Playwright (the fastest).
The smaller spread is also visible on our comparative chart…
Execution time across runs for our suite scenario (in logarithmic scale)
…where excluding the values above 50s allows us to “zoom in” and better see the small difference between Cypress and WebDriverIO:
Execution time across runs for our suite scenario (in logarithmic scale, magnified)
An interesting if secondary observation is that WebDriverIO running the DevTools automation protocol seems to consistently exhibit a higher degree of variability in its execution timings. The only scenario in which this did not seem to be the case was the first one, when we were running a very short test against a static site. In the case of our test suite run, the green peak in our first chart is highlighting this finding.
Have doubts about the results? Run your own benchmark! You can use our benchmarking scripts shared above. Unconvinced about the setup? Feel free to submit a PR to help make this a better comparison.
Conclusion
It is time to summarise mean execution timings for our scenarios side by side.
Mean execution timings comparison across scenarios
The final performance ranking is as follows:
Final rankings for our three scenarios
In conclusion, our second benchmark showed the following findings:
Cypress exhibits a longer startup time compared to the other tools listed so far. This weighs down short execution scenarios, while it shows less in longer ones.
compared to the other tools listed so far. This weighs down short execution scenarios, while it shows less in longer ones. Cypress seems to be approximating Selenium speed in longer suites , which are the norm in E2E testing. It remains to be seen whether very long-running suites could see Cypress climb up the ranking.
, which are the norm in E2E testing. It remains to be seen whether very long-running suites could see Cypress climb up the ranking. Puppeteer’s advantage over Playwright in short tests does not translate to longer executions. Playwright tops the ranking for real-world scenarios.
Playwright and Puppeteer show consistently faster execution times across all three scenarios.
Across real-world scenarios, Playwright showed the highest consistence (lowest variability) in execution time, closely followed by Cypress.
Takeaways
Be mindful of Cypress’ sweet spot: local testing is what will enable to use it to its fullest potential. It will still perform well with live websites, but might not be the fastest option.
Cypress’ high startup time might interfere with high-frequency synthetic monitoring scenarios, but is not likely to make a real difference in the context of classic E2E testing builds.
Playwright currently seems like the obvious choice for synthetic monitoring of live web applications.
If you are reading this article to help inform your choice of an automation tool, make sure you integrate any takeaways with considerations relative to your own use case. Speed is important, but ease of script development and maintenance, stability, feature set and so on need to be considered as well, and the best way to assess those is to try out the tools with your own hands.
If you have comments, suggestions or ideas for benchmarks you would find helpful, please reach out to us on Twitter at @ChecklyHQ, or email the author at [email protected]. Stay tuned for further automation benchmarks.
banner image: “Moonlight Revelry at Dozo Sagami”. Kitagawa Utamaro, 18th/19th century, Japan. Source | https://medium.com/@rag0g/cypress-vs-selenium-vs-playwright-vs-puppeteer-speed-comparison-73fd057c2ae9 | ['Giovanni Rago'] | 2021-03-04 13:01:03.483000+00:00 | ['Selenium', 'Testing', 'Test Automation', 'Performance', 'Cypress'] |
ICON (ICX) i_rep Economics | Hi Iconists 👋,
There has been a lot of debate around IISS and i_rep Economics these past weeks.
Through this article, we provide an explanation of what is i_rep, its impact on the network, and what are the consequences of modifying it.
What is i_rep? i_rep is a governance variable that dictates how much representatives (Main P-Reps and Sub P-Reps) earn in the network. Each of the top 22 Main P-Reps submits an i_rep suggestion, and the network i_rep is then calculated on a stake-weighted basis.
i_rep is a governance variable that dictates how much representatives (Main P-Reps and Sub P-Reps) earn in the network. Each of the top 22 Main P-Reps submits an i_rep suggestion, and the network i_rep is then calculated on a stake-weighted basis. What is the impact of i_rep on the network? i_rep impacts the resources available for representative operations: how much ICX they earn, but also the inflation of the ICX supply.
i_rep impacts the resources available for representative operations: how much ICX they earn, but also the inflation of the ICX supply. Should P-Reps lower their i_rep? If one top 22 Main P-Rep lowers its i_rep, it impacts the rewards earned by each representative, including the rewards of small Sub P-Reps. Used as a marketing argument, it can also lead to a race to the bottom, out of which only the largest players will be able to keep their operations running. Although some large main P-Reps are earning disproportionate amounts of ICX, there are other ways to rebalance the network, such as changing your votes.
What is i_rep?
i_rep is a reward suggestion made by ICON Public Representatives (P-Reps). Public Representatives contributes to the ICON ecosystem through block validation and governance. They can set the i_rep variable based on their targeted revenues, operating costs, and profits. It then influences the expected reward amount at the end of each term in a stake-weighted basis, taking into account only the i_rep of the top 22 Main P-Reps. Because of this stake-weighted approach, if any Main P-Rep increases or decreases its i_rep, it impacts the revenues of all other P-Reps in the network (both Mains and Subs).
The rewards pool for Main P-Reps and Sub P-Reps is calculated as per below, with the i_rep variable equal to the stake-based weighted average i_rep of the 22 Main P-Reps:
As of 23 November 2019, P-Reps are sharing around 2,850,000 ICX per month rewards:
Block Validation Rewards are shared equally among the top 22 Main P-Reps. This means that each Main P-Rep earn 23,330 ICX per month for their role.
Representatives Rewards are shared among the top 100 representatives (22 Main P-Reps and 78 Sub P-Reps), depending on the percentage % of voting rights delegated to them.
All this information can be found on ICON Tracker, as well as the current i_rep: https://tracker.icon.foundation/governance
Now that you understand better how i_rep is calculated, we think it is time to have a more in-depth look at what is the impact of i_rep on the network.
What is the impact of i_rep on the network?
Inflation
Inflation refers to an increase in price levels due to an increase in the quantity of money. In the case of ICON (ICX), when delegator and representative rewards are distributed, new coins are created, which leads to higher supply in the number of tokens, and a decrease in ICX value: prices measured in ICX (other tokens, goods, and services) should in theory increase.
Representative rewards come from a different pool than Voter rewards. Hence, when Main P-Reps increase or decrease their i_rep, the amount of rewards received by voters remains unchanged. However, by setting a different i_rep, they influence the overall inflation of the network, and in theory, the value of the token.
Below is a table approximating what would be the total rewards and inflation of the token depending on the overall i_rep (assuming that the top 22 Main P-Reps all set-up that i_rep):
Analysis by POS Bakerz, monthly and yearly rewards for 22 P-Reps and 78 Sub P-Reps. Inflation generated does not take into account delegator rewards and assumes that 100% of the P-Rep rewards come from newly minted ICX.
Representative Finances
i_rep determines how much both Main P-Reps and Sub P-Reps earn. The higher the i_rep, the higher the number of rewards. The lower the i_rep, the lower the number of rewards. Representatives use ICX generated by i_rep to finance their operations: maintaining a secure validation infrastructure, creating content, building products for the ecosystem, being involved in governance decisions, testnets, and other various tasks.
Should P-Reps lower their i_rep?
Initial Governance Variable
i_rep was initially set up at 50,000 based on an ICX price of $0.40. The main goal of i_rep is that representatives can sustain their operations and have incentives to contribute to the network. Network infrastructure and labour for such operations are costly, as well as event organization and marketing. While the debate is currently centred on lowering i_rep, it is essential to note that at current ICX prices ($0.12), representatives are earning 3x less than what was initially planned. While large P-Reps can easily maintain a secure infrastructure with such revenues, this is very impactful for Sub P-Reps, which, as highlighted below, are less attracted by the opportunity of doing so:
Shared Impact
When debating i_rep, since the network i_rep is determined on a stake-weighted basis, it is essential to note that when any of the top 22 Main P-Reps modify their i_rep, it impacts the network i_rep. The one that modifies its i_rep does not charge more or less than the other representatives but impacts how much the overall set of representatives is currently charging.
While a large Main P-Rep could easily sustain a network i_rep of say 10,000 or 20,000 at current ICX prices, such a level would be unsustainable for lower-ranked Sub P-Reps, which are already quite inactive for a large number.
As community members, it can be tempting to pinpoint how the top 5 P-Reps are making a large number of rewards and to pressure them into lowering their i_rep. Nonetheless, it is essential to note that if they lower their i_rep, the overall network is impacted by this new revenue structure, and Sub P-Reps operating at breakeven or at a small loss will now operate at a larger loss.
Because of this shared impact of i_rep, we believe that the best solution would be to redelegate from these large players to smaller ones out of the Top 5. Votes are very concentrated among these large players, and this is the main reason why they can make such large amounts of ICX.
Below is a table illustrating what would be the impact on the network if a large P-Rep would diminish its i_rep by 30%:
Race to the bottom
This expression refers to a competitive state where companies attempt to undercut competitors’ prices by sacrificing quality. Although i_rep does not correspond directly to the price charged by the representative, it has appeared to be a marketing element in some P-Rep strategies, campaigning as being cheaper than the competition.
While lowering i_rep can be a good decision, we believe that it should be taken by consulting the overall ICON community. There are a couple of issues that have to be solved with the current IISS mechanism, and these issues are being debated in the forum. Yes, large P-Reps are getting too many rewards, and yes, lowering i_rep would mean lowering their rewards as well as the inflation of the network. But this would also mean lowering the rewards of many lower-ranked representatives, including Sub P-Reps, which currently have little incentives to be proactive in the network.
We also believe that if lowering i_rep becomes a competitive marketing argument, we could see further waves of cutthroat competition with i_rep going from 50,000 to 40,000 and potentially further down. What happens when i_rep lowers too much? representatives will start earning less, and in our case, we think that the concern should be specifically on Sub P-Reps since most of them at the moment are running at a loss and cannot afford further lowering.
Don’t get us wrong; we are not against lowering i_rep. We think that this variable is actually made so that we can modify it. However, such modifications have significant impacts on the whole ecosystem and cannot be taken without proper consultation with all the relevant stakeholders. Plus, i_rep should not be a campaign argument for P-Reps, but rather a quite stable variable that evolves after thorough analysis and community debate. For now, POS Bakerz does not plan to increase or decrease its i_rep.
For further questions and debate, we would love to chat with you on Telegram: https://t.me/posbakerz
For IISS enhancements debate, please join the forum discussion here: https://forum.icon.community/t/iiss-enhancements/209
Get to know more about ICON
DISCLAIMER: This is not financial advice. Staking and cryptocurrencies investment involves a high degree of risk and there is always the possibility of loss, including the loss of all staked digital assets. Additionally, delegators are at risk of slashing in case of security or liveness faults on some PoS protocols. We advise you to DYOR before choosing a validator. | https://medium.com/stakin/icon-icx-i-rep-economics-eb0da092233b | [] | 2020-04-19 15:44:36.179000+00:00 | ['Staking', 'Proof Of Stake', 'Cryptocurrency', 'Icon', 'Blockchain'] |
The Movies Made Me Do It: Confessions of a Film Actor (Issue #9) | CHRISTMAS VACATION, 1989, PG-13 — Who didn’t want to sled downhill endlessly at massive warp speed, dodging just about every obstacle along the way, only to slam into a Walmart sign at the very end? Pretty much every kid with a derring-do attitude as well as a knack for performing slapstick. I always watched in delight this sequence, amazed at the length and energy of the stunt, wishing I could do what Chevy Chase did so effortlessly in his films: physical humor and funny faces. He was a hero in that sense.
He was even more of a hero in Christmas Vacation, my favorite of the series, which changed the dynamic of the Griswold family from traveling to staying at home for the holidays, hosting irascible grandparents and obnoxious relatives. Who can’t relate to a hapless but determined dad, wanting to present the best Christmas year ever? Especially when it meant life or death on that icy rooftop, stapling strand after strand after strand of Christmas lights under the full moon.
“The lights aren’t twinkling, Clark.”
“I know, Art. And thanks for noticing.”
There were other welcome additions to the Griswold family saga:
We see Clark’s job at the big company, which brilliantly sets up his bonus award gag by the film’s climax (his profanity-laden rant holds up so well because it’s so character driven and primal that it remains timeless).
The yuppie couple next door (Julia Louis-Dreyfus in an early role) who are constantly disrupted by the Griswold family and relatives.
Those quieter, poignant moments, like when Clark gets locked in the attic and resorts to watching home movies, or when he has a heart-to-heart with his niece Ruby about Santa Claus. The warmest is when his caring father confesses drinking Jack Daniels to endure past holidays.
Clark’s shameless flirting with a department store employee while shopping for his wife, only to be caught by his son is classic stuff:
“Can’t see the tan lines, can you Russ?”
“Nope.”
Maybe because everybody called me ‘Russ’ growing up, I had an instant connection to the son character. I loved how different actors portrayed him in the series, but Johnny Galecki was my favorite because I was closer to age with him, and there was a refreshing cynicism in his attitude: He knew his dad meant well, but he was more embarrassed this time around when certain accidents or mishaps threatened the family’s livelihood. Juliette Lewis was also my favorite as Audrey because her attitude was the same, yet even more acidic. Her little scene with Beverly D’Angelo as the mom/Ellen is a gem: she complains about sharing a bed with her brother, while Ellen lights up a cigarette, only to be called out offscreen by her mother.
As for the rest of the film, it’s got so many memorable moments that it’s obvious why it ranks along other Christmas classics. Even if you’ve seen the film countless times, there’s always something to make you smile. And it’s also one of those movies where your favorite parts can change or evolve as you age. I still love:
• the turkey dinner scene (with Aunt Bethany singing the pledge of allegiance for grace)
• Clark and Eddie shopping together: notice how Eddie drops the enormous dog food bag over the lightbulbs
• the surprise squirrel
• Uncle Lewis torching the Christmas tree with his stogie
• the kidnapping of Clark’s boss
• the cute animated title sequence
• “Merry Christmas! Shitter was full!” (Randy Quaid still steals the show)
Christmas Vacation remains a quintessential holiday movie because it knows exactly what it is, and yet surprises us with sweeter, human moments beneath all the raunchy silliness. It doesn’t forget that heart can also elevate a comedy. Which leads to one last memory: when I first saw the movie, I’ll never forget the moment when Clark gazes out the window, dreaming about his swimming pool, then fantasizes about a woman — the department store employee — skinny dipping all alone. This was the only part I wasn’t allowed to watch. Mom said to shut my eyes. No peeking. I was like, “Come on, Mom!” But she insisted. The sex would have to wait. | https://medium.com/an-idea/the-movies-made-me-do-it-confessions-of-a-film-actor-issue-9-e732c376e2b3 | ['Russell Bradley Fenton'] | 2020-12-29 12:04:28.147000+00:00 | ['Film', 'Movie Review', 'Movies', 'Acting', 'Film Reviews'] |
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