fabiochiu/medium-articles huggingface dataset:
So How Long Is That 2 Minute Read Really Going to Take?
By: Robert Turner
Tags: Lighterside, Humour, Writer, Writers Life, Reading

So How Long Is That 2 Minute Read Really Going to Take?

How do you actually work out how long it takes me to read for two minutes.

Image courtesy of Unsplash

Enough already. I have a collection of foods in my refrigerator telling me how long I need to cook them for, by when I should cook them and then there’s the health warnings. Literally telling me how long I will have after consumption of said fatty, cholesterol-laden delights before death sets in.

I have numbered steps telling me that I am only four away from happiness, or possibly five. I don’t quite understand step three.

Once I have achieved happiness I can then go back to the book on Success. Happiness was a requirement for success, I think Step 5 if memory serves.

As if that’s not enough, now I am told how long it will take to read? I intensely dislike being told what to do or how long I have to do it in. I am the ultimate intolerant 52-year-old kid when it comes to authority. Or perhaps I just recognize a rubbish idea when I see one.

Shouldn’t we be driven by the subject matter and to hell with the length? I thought that’s what the reading list was for.

Anyway, I now feel obliged to sit with a stopwatch and time my reading. What happens if I go over? Am I a poor reader? What if I finish in under the allotted time. Do I win something? Where is the pop-up with the free iPhone? Wait, maybe I missed a part. Damn, I’ll have to go through it again.

I now studiously avoid any read over five minutes, the pressure is just too much. Oh, and that’s the other thing. Who, pray tell, benchmarks the reading speed. Is there even such a thing. Do they use the Flash or that sloth from Zootopia?

Do they have a panel of readers all reading simultaneously and an average time is used, or is it just one person? If it’s just one, how is he selected?

Is his eyesight above average, does he wear glasses and did he pass elementary reading at grade school? How tall is he? Wait. What’s tall got to do with reading? Well for a start the person is further away from the text than a shorter person. The permutations are dizzying. These blog sites must employ a gaggle of statisticians.

I wonder how they are selected?

Actually, I’ve just had another thought whilst contemplating all of this. Does the two minutes include the time required to put on your glasses and/or zoom in on pictures? Maybe they could add a viewing time for images, say ten seconds per and I’d need at least an extra five to find my glasses. Bloody things are always missing.

I read today that Medium employs an algorithm to check the speed an article is browsed. Too fast and it’s not considered reading. More pressure. It’s all too much.

I feel a headache coming on. I think I will go and find my pain relief tablets.The sixty second ones.
I Defeated Google At Its Own Game
By: Vivek Naskar
Tags: Humanity, Google, Artificial Intelligence, Emotional Intelligence, Self

Photo by Attentie Attentie on Unsplash

Last Sunday, I spent some minutes trying to ask a few questions that Google couldn’t answer, in an attempt to challenge its algorithm. Of course, in the process, I was pushing my own ability to frame complex, unpredictable questions till I finally succeeded. This omnipresent and nearly omniscient search engine was able to process answers from its database for most of my questions. It was getting challenging as I was getting impatient.

But, the question I finally manage to confuse it with, and not get a correct answer to was “Which is the best intelligence?”

The screenshot was taken by the Author

Of course what I wanted to do was to read up on research articles that compared different kinds of intelligence: machine, analytical, historical, emotional and so on. Instead of answering this question on intelligence, what did Google do? It picked up the word ‘intelligence’ and gave me an entire set of all the intelligence agencies from around the world.

We all have seen the technological advancements we as humans have achieved for the last 20 years. But, this exercise of mine reaffirmed that only we, as a race, are capable of nuances, of emotions, of understanding and addressing layers and intricate questions. And no matter how hard we try, how committed our scientific efforts to revolutionalize machine and artificial intelligence, there will always be the element of emotions — their ecstasy and chaos — that sets human beings apart. This is why I was able to stump Google.

Photo by Karl Fredrickson on Unsplash

Of course, a few other living species too came close to us, but as we evolved over centuries, we left them far behind. It is a blessing that we use and misuse. We misuse it when we abuse our emotions when we get carried away in their torrent, instead of appreciating and being aware of them. As they say, we can never let our emotions take control. It is natural experiencing the whole range of emotions but perhaps we find peace when we find the perfect balance between all, not letting one overrule the other. But this takes both time and patience.
We’re All in This Together — How the Alberni Valley Bulldogs are Conquering COVID-19 Challenges
By: Kalli Wilson
Tags: Lottery, Fundraising, Canada, Hockey, Covid 19

Hockey in Port Alberni

As a vital member of the BCHL, the Alberni Valley Bulldogs work hard to provide the city of Port Alberni with exciting Junior A hockey that delivers quality entertainment for the entire family. For years, the Bulldogs’ home stadium has gained a reputation for being one of the most challenging arenas for visiting teams to play in the BCHL. This is solely due to the overwhelming amount of support and electric energy displayed by Bulldogs fans for their favourite team. This committed and dedicated community is proud to own the title of the best fans in the entire BCHL.

Adapting to COVID-19

The abrupt arrival of the COVID-19 in North America forced the league to end the 2019–2020 season prematurely leaving their dedicated fans, players, and coaches disappointed and worried about the long term impact this will have on their teams. Unlike the NHL, a multi-billion dollar sports league, the financial impact on junior hockey leagues could be devastating. For these teams that already rely so heavily on community involvement for funding, revenue can quickly take a hit from lost ticket, concession and merchandise sales.

Looking globally at how other teams are responding to the pandemic, the Alberni Valley Bulldogs did not hesitate to start moving key components of their beloved hockey games online. In May 2020, the hockey team partnered with The Lotto Factory and launched their first online Progressive 50/50 fundraiser.

50/50 Success

The Bulldogs are now proudly running their 50/50 draw every week and promoting participants to continuously purchase tickets for a chance to win half of a growing progressive jackpot. Since its debut in May, the team have raised an admirable $15,000 with jackpots soaring to $5,500! It’s safe to say impressive is an understatement. Want to get in on the action? You can find tickets here.

This overwhelming amount of support fans have demonstrated through 50/50 ticket sales has substantially eased the financial dread for the Alberni Valley Bulldogs that accompanied the COVID-19 shutdown.

The BCHL is known for being a national leader in the development of young star athletes having sent more players on to college hockey teams than any other league in Canada. They value their players and it is fantastic to see that their community values them as well.

What is The Lotto Factory?

The Lotto Factory is emerging as a standout startup company on a mission to revolutionize the online fundraising world. They are a software as a service company (SaaS) that provides non-profit organizations, charities and sports teams with an innovative online fundraising platform for them to run events such as 50/50 raffles and other interactive games. They pride themselves on making it as simple and worry free as possible for organizations to launch and run a successful revenue increasing fundraiser. Interested in learning more?
Living in The Divine
By: Murli R
Tags: Poetry, Sonnet, Poetry On Medium, Sri Aurobindo, Poem

There leaps in me a wide measure of a boundless Joy,

A passion-surge of an impassionate Light.

All world lives throbbing in me of God’s delight,

A wide sea of rapturous calm of an Infinity.

My breast is lit with a glow of a flaming Sun,

All darknesses flee from matter’s pores and depths.

My heart is God’s enamoured liquid kiss,

A joyous rhythm of a happy Divine.

My feet are possessed of a mighty hoof,

They leap beyond heavens into still eternities unbound.

My mind is a golden nautilus of God’s immanent spirit,

A vastness unmeasured beyond belief.

I live in the glory of an ascending physical;

My body is a sanctum of a sweet, pervading-All.
Find Your Rhythm and Run with It
By: Veon Careers
Tags: Music, Women In Tech, Startup, Coding

Have you ever heard the saying, “Dip your toes in the water?” It means to start something slow and carefully, as you’re unsure of whether your endeavor will succeed.

Don’t do that.

Instead, jump in the water. It’s the only way you can fully immerse yourself, overcome obstacles, and feel at home with what you’re doing.

If you ask Loukmane about why he joined Djezzy, he’ll echo this idea. You must face challenges in order to learn and become a natural — someone who’s completely in rhythm while performing the task at hand. He states:

“Before coming here, I had always wanted to work in telecom. Djezzy has a big infrastructure. Working here forces you to learn a lot.There’s lots of room for growth and the scale is incredible. You must not only master your specialty, you must be knowledgeable of how the whole operation works, including the framework of the international telecom infrastructure.”

What makes Loukmane optimistic about the future of Algeria is how new graduates are increasingly taking courageous leaps. They’re pursuing entrepreneurship at an increasing rate, as they know they can find their true calling when they’re testing and implementing bold ideas.

“It’s really exciting what the new crop of graduates are doing. You accomplish and experience a lot being an entrepreneur. You learn how to work in a much more efficient, rhythmic manner.”
Bergembiralah Pekerja Jogja, Kita Dapat Bantuan Rp 600 Ribu
By: Indra Buwana
Tags: Kemenkeu, Bantuan Langsung Tunai, Subsidi, Pekerja

in Both Sides of the Table
Do You Ever Feel Afraid?
By: Camille Deputter
Tags: Bravery, Storytelling

Last summer, I went for a walk in the valley by my house, and I saw a little boy on his bike.

He was hesitating at the top of the hill, afraid to ride down.

To me, that “hill” was just a gentle slope, but to the child, it was big and scary. His mom leaned over, encouraging him to keep going. But he wasn’t so sure.

When I witnessed that scene, it brought me right back to a time when I, as a child of a similar age, hesitated at the top of a hill.

I sat on my bike, looking down the steep hill in front of me. The hill directly faced the lake, so I’d have to make a sharp turn at the bottom in order to avoid riding straight into the inky, deep water.

Finally, I decided to give it a go.

I started out slowly but as I picked up speed, fear took over. I lost my nerve and toppled over, badly skinning my knees.

Not only did I hurt myself, I felt embarrassed. Even worse, ashamed. To this day that memory conjures up a disproportionate level of discomfort.

Why?

I guess I thought I shouldn’t be afraid.

In all honesty, I feel a little bit scared a lot of the time. More than I’d like.

Take publishing my latest book. The process awakened small daily doses of fear in me, as it required me to do something every day that I found at least a little bit scary. Between the publishing and promotion, those tiny prickles of fear became a regular occurance.

I started to notice a pattern. While my body told me I was afraid, my brain told me I shouldn’t be.

“Stop being so afraid,” it said, plainly.

That would be nice, wouldn’t it? No hesitation, no skinned knees? Nice.

Of course, without fear, we wouldn’t have courage.

And without courage, there’d be no bravery.

When I think about it, maybe I did the right thing by falling off my bike that day. After all, skinned knees are better that drowning.

And starting down the hill is better than turning and riding away.

After I saw that boy on his bike, I came home, and I wrote something in honour of him that I’d like to share with you.

Here it goes:

It won’t be the last time that you hesitate here. It won’t be the last hill, the last hurdle, the last time you’re afraid or you wonder if you can do it.

There’s going to be lots of them.

Life will require bravery. And sometimes you’ll take the chance, and go for it, and sometimes you won’t. Sometimes it will be smarter to take the safe road. But sometimes — lots of times — it will be worth it to ride down anyway. So I hope you’ll do it.

Because bravery is where the best stuff is.

I have one final message on the subject of bravery. It’s a poem, from my latest book, Little Poems for Big Hearts.

I wrote this poem to myself years ago when I needed all the courage I could muster. Now, I’d like to share it with you.
I really like your Halloween costume!
Tags: Halloween, Humor, Masks, Comics

I really like your Halloween costume!

…my what?

https://www.dieselsweeties.com/ics/1083/
Of Love
By: Lubna Yusuf
Tags: Time, Urdu, Love, Relationships, Life

microtale

Line Art Lubna Yusuf

ग़म-ए-हयात की मोहताज नहीं

न रस्म-ए-दुनिया की है क़ाएल

वो मोहब्बत ही क्या

जो वक़्त के साथ बदल जाए

غم حیات کی محتاج نہیں

نہ رسم دنیا کی ہے قائل

وو محببت ہی کیا

جو وقت کے ساتھ بدل جاۓ

It mourns nor depends on life,

nor cares for ways of the world,

the Love that changes with time

is it Love at all..
Our $30 Million Series C
By: Joanna Lin
Tags: Funding, Startup

Team Simon this past July

We’re excited to announce our $30 million Series C funding round! This round was led by Polaris Partners with continued participation from .406 Ventures and F-Prime Capital. It’s an exciting time here at Simon and we’re thrilled to have the opportunity to expand on our mission of unlocking the power of data to deliver the next generation of customer experiences.

The modern customer expects personalized customer experiences across the channels they’re on every day. At Simon, we understand that. Data is the key to unlocking the insights and ideas that can drive outstanding customer experiences. However, most CDPs either integrate crudely into enterprise data environments or poorly into existing marketing technologies, making it difficult to truly unify and act on customer data.

We believe there are three things that make a true enterprise CDP:

It integrates seamlessly into all of your customer data

It uses that data to orchestrate campaigns across channels

It leverages machine learning in a way that is cohesive with data and orchestration

Simon is the only enterprise CDP that truly does all three, and we’ve dedicated the past 5 years to building a platform and partnership-oriented company that truly serves the needs of our clients.

Looking Ahead

There’s a lot to be excited for here at Simon. Our company is growing incredibly quickly and we’re looking forward to further scaling our team across almost every dimension — check out our careers page for more information on some of the roles we’re looking for. We’ve been lucky enough to power customer experiences for some of the world’s best brands; this next phase is all about continuing to scale our business while staying true to the values and vision that got us here.

We’ll also be focusing specifically on expanding our data science offering by growing our team of experts. We spent the last four years building a unique data and orchestration foundation that can fully-integrate AI to power comprehensive experiences anywhere. The next step is extending that data science offering further, delivering an incredible platform for predictive personalization.

This could not have happened without our amazing customers, partners, investors, and the Simon Team. Thank you for your continued support — and don’t hesitate to reach out to us if you have any questions, or if you’d like to learn more about our vision, product, or partnership approach.
How to Prevent New York from Becoming the Bitcoin Backwater of the U.S.
By: Brian Forde
Tags: Bitcoin

Digital currency is “one of the most promising emerging technologies for the next 10 years,” according to Joi Ito, director of the MIT Media Lab. More than $600 million has been invested by venture capitalists in startups building on bitcoin and related digital currencies. Additionally, companies like UBS, IBM, and Intel have established labs to identify opportunities to leverage digital currency.

Bitcoin, and the underlying technology, blockchain, let people transfer money without a bank. It also allows them to write simple, enforceable contracts without a lawyer, or, turn physical items like real estate or tickets to the ball game or concert into digital assets that can be sold with low to no transaction fees.

Many are projecting that the impact of digital currencies will be similar to that of the Internet–disrupting traditional industries, challenging existing regulations, and significantly increasing the volume of commerce by dramatically lowering the cost to transact and establishing trust between two previously unknown parties.

Like any emerging technology, it is still unclear exactly how Bitcoin and other crytpocurrencies should be regulated.

If regulation is done right, it will increase investment in digital currency startups, create jobs and allow consumers to receive cutting-edge financial services of the future, faster and safer.

This month, the superintendent of the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), Benjamin Lawsky, is expected to issue a new regulation called BitLicense. The goals for issuing the BitLicense include protecting consumers from fraud and preventing money laundering and other illicit uses of cryptocurrencies.

However, because the NYDFS is the bellwether for financial regulation, the rules it creates, good or bad, could be replicated by the majority of states in America. If replicated, Bitcoin companies will face substantial regulatory burdens and only a handful of the most well-funded companies will survive— not because of the best product or service, but because they have access to the most money.

My goal in writing this post is to share with Superintendent Lawsky, his hardworking staff, and the public, what I believe to be the four critical flaws of the BitLicense and the unintended consequences the regulation will likely create.
Express.js with Typescript Decorators in Examples
By: Artem Diashkin
Tags: Decorators, Express, Node, Authorization, Typescript

First, create an empty folder and initialize npm project by running npm init -y in the root directory: ( -y flag means that you are answering yes to all npm questions):

Empty project, running npm init -y

We will need to add some npm packages to the dependencies:

yarn add express body-parser

And some npm packages to the dev dependencies:

yarn add typescript @types/node @types/express ts-node -D

package.json

Next, we will need to add tsconfig.json file by running npx tsc — init in the root of our project:

tsconfig.json
Snapchat for Email Marketing
By: Gary-Yau Chan
Tags: Hackathons, Snapchat, Email, Growth Hacking, Email Marketing

Snapchat for Email Marketing

Using Sendgrid API to Delete Content of Email after its Open @ TheNextWeb Hackathon

Snap marketing email would delete email content of user after opening. This creates urgency for users to take advantage of the content upon first viewing before destructing.
An L.A. Ghost Story
By: Erica Rhodes
Tags: Race, Death, Life Lessons, Relationships, Life

An L.A. Ghost Story

The neighbors who taught me about the past, present, and future

Photo: wildfires/Flickr

“You get used to the dark, you realize the ghosts are all friendly” — Jack Kerouac

My first L.A. apartment was a real dumpy place on the side of the road, under the 405 Freeway.

I had two roommates and one bathroom they had to walk through my room to use.

We had a ghost named Susan who hung out at the top of the stairs and got so mad at me for dating a dumb rocker boy, she broke a glass and let me find it in the sink the next day. (I have no idea why her name was Susan. It was a long time ago.)

It was a haunted, dilapidated building, but I only paid $300 a month, so I didn’t mind. I was young, naive, and had no idea what I was doing with my life.

Now I know that’s freedom.

I remember counting quarters, one rainy night, with my roommate Myrah, a cool hippie chick I worked with at Lululemon.

We were broke and wanted to buy a candy bar.

Running to the gas station across the street, we laughed at our handful of loose change, our empty bank accounts, because somehow we knew it wouldn’t always be that way.

And after all, we had each other.

We bought a Snickers bar and Reese’s peanut butter cups, split both, and danced all night to “Home” by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros.

Now she lives in Bali with her husband and two beautiful kids, selling her own linen dresses for $300.

I wish I knew how happy we had been that night, dancing, eating our candy, not caring about the future or the past or the cars zipping by on the highway above us.

But how can you measure happiness based on what you don’t know yet?
Use Google Cloud user credentials when testing containers locally
By: Guillaume Blaquiere
Tags: Authentication, Containers, Security, Google Cloud Platform, Testing

Container packaging is very popular today: it allows a full customization of the execution environment and is language agnostic. More and more applications use it.

So now, to validate the production environment behavior, the developers need to test the containers, not only the workload with unit tests.

In some cases, the containerized app can required to access to Google Cloud API and thus, to be authenticated. When deployed on Google Cloud services, metadata server is reachable and provides the Application Default Credentials (ADC).

How to get authenticated locally with ADC for testing?

By definition, the container run in an isolated environment. That means that your local configuration isn’t known from inside the container, and thus your credentials aren’t loaded

Service account key file solution

If you go on Google search with this query google cloud container test authentication , the first link leads you to Cloud Run local test tutorial.

It’s a great tutorial which explains how to load credentials in the container runtime environment for local tests.

But the suggested JSON file to use is a service account key file. It must be generated and stored locally!

This solution isn’t safe enough and, as described in my previous article, I would like to avoid service account key files. Furthermore, it’s a great question of Eran Chetzroni which has inspired this article.

Local environment and user credentials

When you code your app on your local environment, you use Google auth libraries according with your prefered languages. This library can be used directly in your code, or it can be used as dependency in service specific libraries, such as Cloud Storage client library.

The Google auth library tries to get a valid credentials by performing checks in this order

Look at the environment variable GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS value. If exists, use it, else…

value. If exists, use it, else… Look at the metadata server (only on Google Cloud Platform). If it returns correct HTTP codes, use it, else…

(only on Google Cloud Platform). If it returns correct HTTP codes, use it, else… Look at “well-know” location if a user credential JSON file exists

The “well-known” locations are
except one
Tags: Poetry, Awareness, New Life, New Year, Self Identity

there’s a place

location unrevealed

as is the singularity of

a consciousness

cast on the sea

in commutations of shade

no one acquainted

except one

there’s a someone

disparate from them

coincidentally analogous

a divergent veneer

with no one aware

except one

the changes in me

are difficult to see

sans proper appraisal

penurious in delivery

an invisible existence

with complementary adjustments

congruous fissures

fractious splinters

visions fraught

consciousness caught

between

reality and anarchy

no particle revealed

except one

the person i project

the mask that i wear

a dichotomous identity

a camouflage, concealment,

containment of truth

distanced from my i

which can never be

no vision revealed

except one

the representation of analogy

the futility of actuality

the fragility of foundations

the fissures of rejections

twisting their perception

their cant of my can’t

as boisterous and inconceivable

as perpetual and inevitable

as time immemorial

no soul apprehends

the truth of that bend

except one
Weekly News Roundup #12
By: Parul Gujral
Tags: Crypto, Bitcoin, Crypto News Today, Blockchain

Welcome to our Snowball cryptocurrency media digest. Here we will provide you with regular updates on trending news from the blockchain and crypto space.

Rundown of what happened last week:

TRON Founder Pays $4.57 Million for Lunch With Buffett: Justin Sun bid a record $4.57 million to have lunch with Warren Buffett, who famously referred to Bitcoin as “probably rat poison squared.” Sun launched Tronix, also known as Tron or TRX token, in 2017. It’s valued at $2.56 billion and is the 10th largest cryptocurrency in the world. Read more

US Lawmakers Urge Trump Advisor Larry Kudlow to Promote Blockchain: A group of U.S. lawmakers has urged advisors to President Donald Trump to include blockchain on their list of emerging technology initiatives. The bipartisan letter, which was spearheaded by U.S. Representatives Trey Hollingsworth (R.-IN) and Darren Soto (D.-FL), asks the National Economic Council to host a forum on the nascent technology, as well as to include blockchain on a list of technologies that the Trump Administration will promote. Read more.

Major Bitcoin Accumulation Was Underway by Big Money During Crypto Winter: The number of wallets holding between 1,000 and 10,000 bitcoin has seen a sharp increase since the crypto market bottomed this winter, indicating significant accumulation during the price dip. Read more

Analytical Firm Calls Bitcoin ‘King of the Assets Class Hill’: Delphi Digital based its commentary on bitcoin’s returns for four straight months, especially given that bitcoin’s performance comes at a time when traditional risk assets continue to face selling pressure. “May’s outperformance has been especially important given the broader weakness across many other asset classes,”

Read more

Novogratz Sees Bitcoin Consolidating in $7,000 to $10,000 Range: Given the huge run-up in cryptocurrencies this year, billionaire investor Mike Novogratz is predicting Bitcoin will soon consolidate to a narrower trading range but noted that pure excitement could carry prices even higher. “On a go-forward basis, Bitcoin probably consolidates somewhere between $7,000 and $10,000. You know, trees don’t grow to the sky,” the chief executive officer of Galaxy Digital Holdings Ltd., said. Read more.

Tweet of the week:

This week our favorite tweet comes from ‘Naval’ referring to a special startup which emerged back in 2009, can you guess what it is?

Join our Snowballin’ community:
世界頂尖人士如何實踐這樣的基本功｜百書維新
By: Alvin Chen 陳俞安
Tags: Reading, Read, 百書維新, Books

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You Need to Feel Your Bottled Up Anger
By: Denis Murphy
Tags: Emotions, Anger, Mental Health, Mental Illness, Emotional Intelligence

You Need to Feel Your Bottled Up Anger

Especially if you have suppressed it for years.

Anger wasn’t modelled to me in a healthy way when I was growing up. I only saw anger manifested in adults who lost the run of themselves and lashed out at other people.

I didn’t like this. As a child, I also realised that if I got angry back at an angry adult then things just got worse for me.

Somewhere along the line, my younger self thought it would be a better idea if I didn’t feel anger. Suppressing it felt a lot safer in the short term.

Whenever I felt anger emerge I suppressed it and pretended I felt fine.

I felt like I was walking on eggshells most of the time.

I avoided situations that brought my anger to the surface.

I would rarely speak my mind, especially if I felt it could lead to an angry and confrontational situation to deal with.
Package? What Package? How to Stealthily Plan A Child’s Birthday Party
By: Melissa A. Matthews
Tags: Humor, Life Lessons, Party, Parenting, Kids

Package? What Package? How to Stealthily Plan A Child’s Birthday Party

Three worthwhile strategies for distracting mini-Inspector gadgets from the Birthday gift trail

Photo by Erik Mclean on Unsplash

When I was a kid, birthdays were made of surprise fancy family dinners at expensive restaurants and new clothes. My mom wanted us to understand how to dress, eat, and behave in fine-dining establishments. I suppose it was to help us develop adventurous palates but also to recognize that there was more to life than our small — Caribbean enclave — neighborhood in Brooklyn.

This was understanding that there was more to life than Red Lobster and Olive Garden. It was exciting, we could order anything that intrigued us on the menu and as we got older, we could each invite a friend to celebrate with us. We weren’t birthday party kids.

As a parent now, I can understand the intentionality and thought that my mom and granny put into those magical birthdays.

For my own daughter, birthdays have been a haphazard sort of affair from the very start. I planned a large Beach lime (hang out/ gathering) for her first birthday just for the entire family to fall ill on the actual day. We had to cancel. For her second birthday, she celebrated at a joint birthday party with my eighty-three-year-old great aunt. That was a comedy of errors not worth recounting. For three and four respectively, we took her on a series of outings to various play spaces. They were okay but not amazing.

She turns five next week and so we decided early on that there should be a party. She set the theme back in July and we — the parental minions — set to work organizing the extravaganza. Who knew a kid’s birthday party was so much work?

Perhaps, we both did and that’s why this is the first.

sigh.
Row Is A Taurus
By: Tre L. Loadholt
Tags: The South, Life Lessons, Peace, Life, Nonfiction

Row stops me as I walk away from our building. I am carrying bagged shrimp shells to the dumpster. She notices my quick pace, yet does not stop being Row. I love this about her. We communicate, share a few words. She’s getting older. But, aren’t we all?

“Hey, there, Tre Tre! Whatchudoin’?”

“Row, hey, there! *holds up bagged shrimp shells* I am headed to the dumpster to throw away this mess. I just put dinner in the oven. What you know good?”

“Oh, well, Tre… You know. I’m just making it. I got the little gathering going on downstairs like I told you the other day, remember?”

“YES! Of course, I remember. Are you enjoying it so far?”

“Yeah. You know how we do.”

“Yes, I do know, Row.” *smiles as I say this*

“I know you ain’t one for no crowd. I know how you like keeping to yourself and all, but we down there and you’re more than welcome. I told you this the other day. But, I wanted to say it again.”

“Thank you, Row. I just put dinner in the oven. You know I am not a night owl and yes, I don’t do well around a lot of people. I do thank you for thinking of me, though. You will be 29 on Monday, yes?”

She beams as she bounces this question around in her head. I can tell she is happy at the thought of aging. It brings some sense of peace to her. Her eyes widen and I stand before her like a kid waiting anxiously for the answer.

“YES! Can you believe that, Tre? 29! I will be 29!”

“Haha! Yes! 29 is a good age. You will like it.”

We hang intensely on those words a bit. She, with her berry black & mild, tapping the ashes into the hum of the air, away from me. Always aways from me. Me, longing to be as free as her, no cares outside of necessities and whims. Smoke and I do not get along. She is respectful in her approach as she keeps the flick of it out of my space.
TNDL: “WAR IN THE SPIRIT WORLD. GOOD AGAINST EVIL.SEE EPHESIANS 6: “
By: J. K. Woods
Tags: Yahweh Elyon Yeshua, Bible, God, Christianity, Tndl

Ephesians 6 (NKJV)

Children and Parents

6 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with promise: 3 “that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.”

4 And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.

Bondservants and Masters

5 Bondservants, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ; 6 not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, 7 with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men, 8 knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free.

9 And you, masters, do the same things to them, giving up threatening, knowing that [a]your own Master also is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him.

The Whole Armor of God

10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the [b]wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of [c]the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints — 19 and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

A Gracious Greeting

21 But that you also may know my affairs and how I am doing, Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, will make all things known to you; 22 whom I have sent to you for this very purpose, that you may know our affairs, and that he may comfort your hearts.

23 Peace to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.

Footnotes:

Ephesians 6:9 NU He who is both their Master and yours is

Ephesians 6:11 schemings

Ephesians 6:12 NU this darkness,

2
Culture War Dispatch — The History and The Blame
By: Fred Peatross
Tags: Culture, 1960s, Hippies, History, Politics

by Fred Peatross

I grew up in the 1960s. There was a culture revolution going on then. Today America is a much meaner place than it was in the 60’s. But there was a craziness that swept the nation in the 1960s. I was no angel but I do remember wondering how anyone could be as stupid, angry and as destructive as the ‘Make Love Not War’ generation?

The Vietnam conflict was the longest war in U.S. history, over 50,000 American youth were killed, and the Army was filled with draftees; “conscripts paid to kill”, as Joan Baez lyricized. It was this combination; the war, the draft and the popular resistance to both, that provided the backdrop of the sixties principal motif, “rebellion against authority”. This antipathy to authority merged with left wing ideology, both of which held that all of humanity should live together in a peaceful egalitarian utopia.

The crazy, off-the-wall changes in attitudes of the 1960s seeped into the mainstream and the effects are clearly visible today. The 60s gave American democracy a cob-webbery of theories, movements, and changes in mores which soon morphed into a peripheral of oddball collections; fringe players that in the end institutionalized and thoroughly entrenched its way of thinking into what forms the very basis of the current progressive movement. This morphing is measured in shattered values not toppled governments.

The students of the 1960s assimilated the religion of rebellion and anti-Americanism into the future institutions (now the current institutions) of this country. No they didn’t die from LSD or the white powdered dust of cocaine in their college years but became today’s newspaper reporters, professors, and congressional leaders. And most have been in these positions of influence through the 80s, 90s, and 2000s.

There’s a long and arduous road ahead. If there is any hope of reclaiming a culture that is completely lost at this time it will require a renaissance and resurgence of critical thinking combined with a desire and will to right culture. A difficult task when there’s a monster storm and 1/2 of America doesn’t see it. Quite a burden to carry into the future. I’m so sorry, grandchildren. We were fools. I’m so sorry
Scanning BigQuery Table with Google Cloud Data Loss Prevention (DLP)
By: Kanji Hara
Tags: Bigquery, Gcp, Dlp, Python

We are in the information age, never in our history storage was so cheaper than now. Thus, we created a new behavior of saving first and analyzing later.

But, this new behavior brings an important question: “How much sensitive information we are storing.”

To help with this question and a bunch of others related to security information google built the DLP (https://cloud.google.com/dlp/).

DLP has a lot of great features and today I’ll talk about looking for sensitive data in our BigQuery Table.

It’s easy and you can find all code here (http://bit.ly/2G0GG2W ).

By the way, I assume that you know how to create a service account in GCP, but if not let me know it and I’ll create an article about it.

Ok, let’s do it.
Israel’s Economy Grew at 4.1% in The Third Quarter of 2017
Tags: Jef, Gdp, Economy, Focus, Israel

Israel has experienced an impressive jump in GDP growth

According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, Israel’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew 4.1% in the third quarter of 2017, surprising forecasters who were skeptical because of a slow first half.

Instead, there has been an impressive jump in growth in the third quarter, made up by consumer spending which grew at an annual rate of 7.8%, the bureau reported.

On a per capita basis, consumer spending increased at a rate of 5.7% in the third quarter, while it only grew at a rate of 4.2% in the second and declined of 1.5% in the first.

According to the bureau, there was also a strong increase in investment in fixed assets at a rate of an 8.1%.

Tel Aviv Stock Exchange

Not only that, business GDP also grew 4.2%.

Economists had expected Israel’s economy to maintain the same 4% annual growth rate it already had in 2016. However, the GDP increased in the first quarter and that caused economists to revise their forecast for 2017.

However, not everything is growing. There was in fact an halt in export growth, which rose by just 0.4% in the third quarter compared with the preceding quarter. Public expenditure fell 1.6% in the third quarter.

The Israel Central Bureau of Statistics was 1949 to carry out research and publish statistical data on all aspects of Israeli life and is headquartered in the Givat Shaul neighborhood of Jerusalem, with another branch in Tel Aviv.
Who’s the Expert on My Gender? The Importance of Self-Attestation
By: National Center For Transgender Equality
Tags: LGBT Rights, Transgender, Policy, LGBTQ, Gender

A few weeks ago, Massachusetts became the seventh state to improve its policies by removing the requirement for a health care provider’s signature on the gender marker change form for state-issued IDs and records.

In just the last year, Oregon, California, and D.C. removed the provider signature requirement for driver’s licenses and state IDs, and California, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington removed the requirement for birth certificates. These amazing advancements are symbolic of a larger shift in our state governments accepting people’s ability to know and report their own gender.

NCTE strongly advocates for policies and legislation across the country that allow trans people the autonomy to self-identify on their ID documents.

Why is self-attestation is so important for the progress of trans equality?

1. Self-attestation allows trans people to represent themselves.

Self-attestation is when an individual reports information on an application that does not need to be verified by any secondary source, like a doctor or physician.

Self-attestation is generally already used on state IDs and licenses for information such as height, weight, hair color, and eye color. Trans people themselves know their own gender identity — in fact, they are already the ones who report gender to health care providers. Requiring a healthcare provider to “certify” what someone tells them is their gender is belittling, expensive, and entirely unnecessary.

For many trans people, self-attestation would allow them to have an ID document that represents them accurately and holistically without having to seek out a provider to approve the legitimacy of their own identity.
Mi Mayor Añoranza/My Greatest Longing
By: María Cristina Aponte
Tags: Polyglot Poetry, Poesia, Family, Poetry, Love

English

It’s sad to know we don’t speak the same language.

that the kisses that I long for, you hate.

That the affection I give you, you file away,

and the love you feel for me, you disfavor it.

I know that your expressions of love are different

and that inside your heart, you adore me.

I take comfort in the thought that you have me in your mind,

even if you spend long hours inside it.

Because I would give anything to hear and understand you,

to feel the way you feel, even if it’s only for a minute,

to travel to the place where you have fun.

That way, I will reach you while I transmute.
The Farewell Message to 2020
By: Marta Brzosko
Tags: Big Self, Transitions, Mindfulness, Psychology, Self

The Farewell Message to 2020

Then, let’s have some silence.

Photo by Ruy Albcrem on Unsplash

Dear Big Selfer,

many of us have been waiting for this: the end of 2020. The year when more people than ever feel like they’ve hit rock bottom. The year after which — we imagine — things can only get better.

I also hope 2021 to be gentler for all of us. However, we can’t know this for sure. Rather than making it sound like a threat or warning, I invite you to see something else in this statement.

I invite you to appreciate the infinite potential of not knowing.

When we accept uncertainty as part of life, we can relax a bit more. We may find solace in the realization that we can’t control everything. Of course, we can still play our part in making 2021 a better year.

But let’s not fall for the trap of believing we can cast a spell and make it something we think it should be.

Let’s use these last few days of 2020 to contemplate what has been — and open ourselves to what’s coming. Maybe this week’s reading from the Big Self can inspire that.
5 Cognitive Bias Explains Why We Make Terrible Life Choices
By: Arun Agrahri
Tags: Entrepreneurship, Life Lessons, Psychology, Cognitive Bias, Self Improvement

4. Sunk cost bias

A sunk cost is any past cost that has already been paid and cannot be recovered. This bias, which is related to loss-aversion and status quo bias, can also be viewed as bias resulting from an ongoing commitment.

Examples:

Keeping something that you don’t need, because you spent money on it.

I might as well keep eating because I already bought the food.

I might as well keep watching this terrible movie because I’ve watched an hour of it already.

A person may have a $20 ticket to a concert and then drive for hours through a blizzard, just because she feels that she has to attend, having made the initial investment. If the costs outweigh the benefits, the extra costs incurred (inconvenience, time or even money) are held in a different mental account than the one associated with the ticket transaction¹

How to avoid Sunk Cost bias?

Because sunk costs cannot be retrieved, they should not factor at all into future decisions. The money has been spent and is a non-factor in your next decision.
Read about some of the most intriguing electronic music recently released on vinyl
Tags: Electronic Music, Art, Music, Vinyl, Collection

Read about some of the most intriguing electronic music recently released on vinyl feeder.ro Follow May 2, 2020 · 3 min read

feeder.ro/ep column is the vinyl lover’s heaven: exclusive premieres, fresh releases, videos and track reviews are regularly lined up on feeder’s racks.

For the past 3 years, the collaboration with deejay.de has brought to light a large series of articles about the local and international underground electronic music.

Today, on feeder.ro, you can read more than 800 EP & LP reviews, covering all shades and colours from the minimal, micro-house, deep, deep tech, house and techno spectrum. Being one of the major vinyl distributors in the EU and around the world, the deejay.de online store numbers more than 200.000 titles.

For us, it’s more than a pleasure to crate dig daily in the infinite catalogue and select some of the most intriguing electronic music. Check out the latest additions to the feeder.ro vinyl collection and grab your copies at deejay.de

Triad — Chong Ji Pai (Dubphone Remix)

Vlad Arapasu — Vesica Piscis EP [Unic]

Filipp — Miletus EP [Geodesic]

Aney F. — Time Existence [CUE]

Various — H24001 [H24 Records]

ONNO — Cloud Control (Dubphone Remix) [Seve17een]

Various — Five Years Of Love [Castanea Records]

Unknown — OUVERT004 [Ouvert]

Filipp — Stuffz EP [Swiftness]

Various — DRUZHBA009 [Druzhba]

Various — Into The Cave [Na Zrak Records]

Dubphone, Patrascu — Talking Machines EP [Bad Barbie Records]

G76 — Giarmata Plutonium [Naural]

Unknown — Stowaway 005 [Stowaway]

Priku — OCTO001 [Octophonic]

Miroloja — Kard [Hubble Recordings]

Julian — Mind Blowing Thoughts EP [Eliptic]

Vid — No Ginger No Fun EP [Visage LTD]

Anxious Delay Group — Fast Feeling [Adg Groove Laboratory]

Paul Walter — No Boundaries EP [Malonian]

Jorge Savoretti — ATIPIC009 [Atipic]

Unisson — Tanz Mania [UNS Records]

Unknown — TELUM005 [Telum]

Lulla — Juju Embers [Cedesciu Wax]

Here you can discover the schedule & timetable for feeder sound LIVE STREAMS 🔴. And here you can send your best music to feeder sound OPEN CALL.

Stay connected and feed your curiosity for alternative music. 🔊

Words by: Cristina Popa (random) & Andrei Racovițan (ubic)

The feeder sound project is organized by Save or Cancel team, composed of Cristina Popa ( random) and Andrei Racovițan ( ubic), through and is co-funded by AFCN, Thematic area: Digital art and new media. The program does not necessarily represent the position of the National Cultural Fund Administration. AFCN is not responsible for the content of the program or the way the program results can be used. These are entirely the responsibility of the beneficiary of the funding.
Blocks
By: Anna Rozwadowska
Tags: Poetry, Attainments, Philosophy, Self, Building Blocks

Building blocks, stumbling blocks, time~chained, molecular

strands absent, sometimes, when the love for self idles.

Absent blocks; identified in the structure of the inner being are horrified of their illumination, yet one must search, and rebuild, search, rebuild~how does time build you?

Babes formulate a seething structure; golden age opportunes the reflection,

stillwater, souls in the stillwater, bathing in the understanding of what went wrong.