fabiochiu/medium-articles huggingface dataset:
MONTHLY UPDATE — January 2020. This article is also available in…
Tags: Blockchain, Updates, Trading, Ethereum, Bitcoin

This article is also available in Spanish(Español)

Dear Alteum Community,

As we kick off the start of a new year, we are excited to announce that we have a lot of new exciting developments that will be arriving in the next few months.

During the holiday break, we had some time to go over everything that occurred in 2019. While serious advances were made, we know we have another full year of opportunity that awaits us. Looking back to the past year, we realized that we’ve overcome a lot of obstacles, and with the hard work, came a lot of valuable learnings and feedback, all of which we aim to utilize for further improvements and future projects.

While some of the work during the end of the year took place mostly behind the scenes, it was during this time that we have analyzed, planned, and developed new alliances that have set more milestones for our company in 2020:

New UX/UI in Collaboration with CoinFabric

Since last summer we’ve embarked on a complete revamp of our user interface and experience. After conducting tests with users, we have taken note of what was regarded as problematic, to which we formulated specific pain points and in collaboration with CoinFabric, have worked on solutions to make the entire user experience easier, more efficient, and all in all, simpler.

As of this year, AlteumX users will be able to enjoy a more user-friendly and attractive trading platform. Along with the launch of our new UX/UI, users will also have access to new features, more cryptocurrencies, and financial tools, the details of which will be announced in the upcoming months.

Back-end Revamp

Scalability, speed, and security in our platform are our top priorities. Part of this move is to create a more efficient system than the one we currently have. In order to achieve this, we have hired new talent, we have increased our security audits, and have aggressively moved towards a complete re-design of the back-end structure to ensure optimal security alongside high scalability.

New Fiat Gateway Integration

To align with new industry security and compliance standards, AlteumX will integrate new gateways for fiat deposits and withdrawals, bridging the gap between crypto and fiat and integrating the industry in Latin America even further.

Updated Listing Policy

Our main objective at Alteum is to bring financial inclusion by supporting promising and reliable projects in optimally-designed ways to ensure internal sustainability and economic scalability. That being said, we have updated our listing policies in order to not only facilitate these projects' access to the New Digital Circular Economy but also protect our users by providing them with responsible investment mechanisms.

Our new Listing Policy will be announced in February 2020 and will go into effect by April 2020.
Flame
By: Whitney Rose
Tags: Poems On Medium, Poetry On Medium, Nature, Spirituality, Poetry

Flame

A Poem To Purify

Photo Copyright of Whitney Rose

Cleanse Your Soul With Flame.

Purify.

Breathe In, Deep.

Let Go Of What Was.

Do Not Fret On What’s To Come.

Ride The Hypnotic Waves Of Heat.

Allow Yourself To Release, Refresh.

Restart, Anew.

Trust The Process.

Trust That Nature Is Your Ally.

Trust That The Universe Cradles you.

One Love.
Weekly Digest: New Livestream, #10YearsChallenge and an Ultimate Guide to our Customer Support
Tags: Fintech, Blockchain, Finance, Cryptocurrency, Bitcoin

We are finally going ahead for Rafael’s Livestream! Find out about this and other news in a fresh weekly digest. So without further ado, let’s dive into it!

Rafael is Going Live

London, Lisbon, Hong Kong, Moscow… Rafael Carrascosa, our VP of Global Partnerships is constantly working hard to provide Crypterium with the best deals and new partners. Due to his hard schedule, we have to postpone Livestream featuring Rafael this week but do not worry, the wait will be worth it. We will go live on the 29th of January at 3 PM (GMT) and you are more than welcome to watch and ask questions.

Livestream will be held on Facebook with a record shared on Youtube later.

Bitcoin #10yearChallenge

#10YearChallenge

Number 1 social media trend of this month was #10YearChallenge, sorry world record egg!

From posting childhood pics on Instagram it evolved into something that raises awareness about increasing poverty and even global warming. Crypterium analyzed #10YearChallenge from the technological and financial point of view.

Read More!

Crypterium Customer Support

24 Hours a Day, 7 Days a Week

and 365 days a year. We work on Christmas, Hannukah and New Years Day — there is no excuse to not respond to queries from you, our beloved community members. This week we made an ultimate guide that shows all the perks of our customer support.

Find Out More!

About Crypterium

CCrypterium is one of the most promising fintech companies, according to KPMG and H2Ventures. We are building a mobile app that meets the banking needs of the digital assets era.

Our goal is clear: with Crypterium, whatever you can do with traditional money you will able to do with digital assets. This idea is supported, among others, by the co-founder of TechCrunch Keith Teare and over 400,000 registered users, and the number is growing every day.

The team is led by former General Manager of Visa Central & Eastern Europe Steven Parker, and C-level executives from global financial institutions, like Renaissance Insurance, London Derivatives Exchange, American Express etc.

Join our Telegram news channel or other social media to stay updated!

Website ๏ Telegram ๏ Facebook ๏ Twitter ๏ BitcoinTalk ๏ Reddit ๏ YouTube ๏ LinkedIn
NEWORK 能否帶領人力資源市場去中心化和全球化？
Tags: ICO, 比特幣, Blockchain Technology, Cryptocurrency, Bitcoin

in In Fitness And In Health
It Won’t Get Better
By: Jonathan Greene
Tags: Poetry, Loss, Love, Grief, This Happened To Me

It Won’t Get Better

A Poem

Photo by nrd on Unsplash

It won’t get better

this feeling I have

in the pit of my stomach

that has metastasized

into a planet of pain

Over the years

so many people

want you to know that

it will get better

but that’s only because

they haven’t experienced loss

and don’t know what

a hole feels like

that won’t close and

also plays home movies

on a projector, on a loop

from your heart

It’s not their fault

that they don’t know

and offer advice that

stabs at the memory

of your loved one

because all we want to do

is to grieve, in lieu of

having them back

and we don’t want it to be better

because then the impact

of our loss will be lessened

and if I’m being honest,

the depth of despair

is what feels good,

in the worst way imaginable,

because it reminds me

how much I loved

and how much I lost
The Alchemy of Wisdom
By: Roy Gillett
Tags: Poetry, Memoir, Spirituality, Fiction, Philosophy

Photo by Mattia Faloretti on Unsplash

Solitude is my sanctuary. In that space, everything rises to the surface, angels and demons and hybrid spirits caught in between worlds. They all rise then cool, forming clouds in my soul’s sky. Some of these clouds are dark and bleed rain from their eyes. Others are tearless, for life has made them numb. And then there are those who weep inside, who thunder and lightning their internal rage, quiet magma boiling in their volcanic bodies.

All of this rotates within me. I am calm, meditative the whole time. I don’t know who these spirits are, but I am compassionate, striving to understand their perspectives, to listen to their voices in all their harmony and discord. What are they telling me? Who are they searching for? Have they known this life with all its love and anguish, and the heat of epiphany emanating from their friction? Everything is comprised of juxtaposed elements. The darkness in a shadow makes the gold shine brighter, such a radiantly somber alchemy like the sun’s midnight confessions, revelation the sound of mystery.

I hear the echoes of wisdom traveling through my mind, the wisdom born from the womb of darkness, the darkest meditation engulfing my entire being, a grand inundation of divine presence blanketing the island that I reflect on. The water carries me. I am floating on a lucid dream. The life that I once knew has disintegrated into ashes that my soul scattered in the ocean to return to her again, the spiritual mother, the giver of life and the bringer of death, the endless cycle fueling an eternal journey through the infinite dimensions of existence, where I transmute the unknown to receive insight.
Irish broadcaster uses faith to make journalism truthful
By: Carson Selin
Tags: Religion, Bethel University, Christianity

Growing up in Ireland David Blevins loved English and telling stories. He knew journalism is what he wanted to do. He also felt the presence of God calling him to the ministry. It wasn’t till a pastor at his church told him to seek out another job and if God is truly calling you he will lead you. Blevins took that advice and went to college to become a journalist. After four years at a university, he climbed the rungs of the journalist ladder. First he started as a volunteer at a radio station, than he was able to get a job at a local weekly newspaper, he finally hit it big when he landed a job as a broadcaster for Sky News.

“I’m not a Christian journalist, I’m a journalist who is also a Christian,” Blevins said.

In times of tragedy Blevins looks to his faith to not only get him through tough times but others. Blevins says that the Bible calls for the truth to be told and that’s how he conducts his journalism. He has never denied a story based on his Christian values because of the need for truth in his work. Blevins had worked 29 years in journalism when he finally felt the call of God. He did a lot of thinking before making his decision to study theology for three years. During that three years he was able to strengthen his faith and apply a deeper understanding in his journalism. His strong faith has made him a leader in the Christian journalism world.

“He stood out as one of the leaders at the (Poynter) conference,” Professor Phyllis Alsdurf said about Blevins.

Alsdurf, an English and journalism professor at Bethel University met Blevins at the Poynter conference for Christian journalists. She said he was really outgoing and had a great passion for his work. Alsdurf was able to turn that connection into getting Blevins to come speak at Bethel. Blevins turned the Eastlund Room into a place full of emotion. His charismatic personality along with sad stories of the Irish war lead to laughs filling the room into a quiet somber room. He shared tales of his journey through life and how Christianity has shaped him as a journalist.

“I thought it was cool to see how he integrated his faith into his reporting but knew where to draw the line,” said Joseph Hanson, a student who attended his lecture.

Blevins is a man who thinks that you can’t be a good reporter without understanding religion. He said that if you don’t know religion you’ll never know the full story. After his time studying theology he looked at news in a different way, he felt for the victims and their families. They weren’t just a story for him. They were people. God had given him the opportunity to go deeper in his faith and that helped him in his career.

“Ireland needs reporters who understand religion,” Blevins said.
Airdrop Conclusion & What’s Next
By: T.J. Wilson
Tags: Telegram, Results, Airdrop, Cryptocurrency, Bitcoin

First off, we’d like to thank everyone for their overwhelming support! We received 15,000 airdrop applications in under 48 hours, and at the time of this writing we are the the fastest growing Telegram channel over the last 24 hours. By a pretty substantial margin, too!

The airdrop is now officially closed, so if you were able to verify your email with us, congratulations! You are on the airdrop list.

If you weren’t able to get verified for our airdrop you can still subscribe to receive the latest updates. The Airdrop button will remain on our website but this will only subscribe you to Beaxy email updates. We also recommend joining our Telegram channel and following us on Twitter for the latest Beaxy updates as well.

It will be a few weeks until we can verify the applications. We appreciate your patience while we go through this process! Everyone that submitted an application for the airdrop will receive a response stating whether you have been accepted or rejected for the airdrop.

As a reminder, there will be KYC/Whitelist registration at a later date that we will announce in coming weeks. When you register for the KYC/Whitelist, use the same email you used to register for the airdrop, and your BXY airdrop tokens will be sent to your account after our official launch. We will note this again when we open the KYC portal.

Once again, thank you for your support! We are very excited to move forwards with you and Beaxy. :)

Note: The launch of the exchange is the cut off date to pass KYC and claim any existing token balances that may have been earned through airdrops or bounty rewards. Any accounts that did not do so forfeit any tokens that they had accrued and will need to register for the exchange again.
losing my privacy
By: Gene Yoon
Tags: Business, Religion, Public Policy, Privacy

Another burst of news about privacy online, with Ars Technica explaining that removing personal information from data isn’t enough to protect anonymity, and The Monitor giving an overview of how we’re losing our privacy online.

But these people seem to talk on and on about privacy with some seriously flawed assumptions. They assume that everyone agrees on what privacy is, and that everyone wants privacy in exactly the same way.

I’ve become enamored of the comparison between privacy and religion. Even without being religious scholars, most people have a basic notion of what the word “religion” means. And most everyone understands that different people can have very different views about how to practice their religion, or whether to practice any religion at all.

Privacy is the same way, isn’t it? There is some shared understanding of what the term means, but the specifics of the meaning and practice of privacy can be very different among different people (especially across generations). Some people don’t believe privacy is important at all, choosing to live without it.

Both religion and privacy deserve the protection of our laws, and for very much the same reason: the practice of these matters according to one’s own belief is essential for building and maintaining a sense of meaning in life. In simpler terms, a personal view of these things are required elements of the pursuit of happiness.

Our laws protect religion (and atheism) without saying that “religion” must include a single deity, or prayer at sunset, or robes or hats or ritual. It’s a mistake to think we should protect privacy by defining exactly what data people should consider private.

Breaking my tradition of linking privacy posts to ’80s songs, because this early ’90s song has perfectly apt lyrics:
dry Monku — Rastafari
By: Dry Monkey Philosophy
Tags: Poetry, Haiku, Poem, Rastafari, Reggae

This is a collection of haiku-ish poetry as told by a Dry Monkey. They are loosely structured 5–7–5 — 3 lined stanzas. Each telling a story of its own, while collectively narrating a progressively realized ideal — Hope you enjoy!
Effect Size
By: Aren Carpenter
Tags: Data Science, Experimental Design, Effect Size, Statistics, Stats

Unstandardized Effect Size

Looking at the raw differences between means is one simple, quick method of assessing the effect size, but often requires some previous knowledge or sense of the data if it’s not an intuitive measure like height or weight. For example, with a population of male and female weights, perhaps men weigh 15 kg more than women on average. That is much more intuitive than (drawing from my previous research) a 2x increase in Investigations per Entry between control and experimental groups of Diamondback terrapins.

Overlap

Building on just raw values, you can also calculate an overlap threshold where the respective population distributions cross each other.

Image by Author

Using the AUC (Area Under the Curve), you can then calculate the amount of overlap in the distributions and count the observations who are on the “wrong side”. This measure is also called the Misclassification Rate.

Superiority

Another unstandardized measure is the probability of Superiority. Basically, taken random samples from each group, what is the probability that one is larger than the other. It’s an easy method to calculate, but as a random measure it won’t be as precise as other methods.

As unstandardized measures of effect size, both overlap and superiority have the benefits of being comparable between studies because they are raw probabilities and they provide raw values to get an intuitive sense of the differences between the groups.
Dockerfile: ADD vs COPY
By: Grigor Khachatryan
Tags: Docker Image, Docker, Filesystem, DevOps, Dockerfiles

COPY and ADD are both Dockerfile instructions that serve similar purposes. They let you copy files from a specific location into a Docker image.

COPY

The COPY instruction copies new files or directories from <src> and adds them to the filesystem of the container at the path <dest> .

COPY has two forms:

COPY [--chown=<user>:<group>] <src>... <dest>

COPY [--chown=<user>:<group>] ["<src>",... "<dest>"] (this form is required for paths containing whitespace)

ADD

ADD has two forms:

ADD [--chown=<user>:<group>] <src>... <dest>

ADD [--chown=<user>:<group>] ["<src>",... "<dest>"] (this form is required for paths containing whitespace)

Dockerfile best practice for copying from a URL

Docker suggests that it is often not efficient to copy from a URL using ADD , and it is best practice to use other strategies to include the required remote files.

COPY only supports the basic copying of local files into the container, while ADD has some features (like local-only tar extraction and remote URL support) that are not immediately obvious. Consequently, the best use for ADD is local tar file auto-extraction into the image, as in ADD rootfs.tar.xz / .

B ecause image size matters, using ADD to fetch packages from remote URLs is strongly discouraged; you should use curl or wget instead. That way you can delete the files you no longer need after they’ve been extracted and you don’t have to add another layer in your image. For example, you should avoid doing things like: — Dockerfile Best Practices

ADD http://example.com/big.tar.xz /usr/src/things/

RUN tar -xJf /usr/src/things/big.tar.xz -C /usr/src/things

RUN make -C /usr/src/things all

And instead, do something like:

RUN mkdir -p /usr/src/things \

&& curl -SL http://example.com/big.tar.xz \

| tar -xJC /usr/src/things \

&& make -C /usr/src/things all

For other items (files, directories) that do not require ADD ’s tar auto-extraction capability, you should always use COPY .

Like to learn?

Follow me on twitter where I post all about the latest and greatest AI, DevOps, VR/AR, Technology, and Science! Connect with me on LinkedIn too!
A Child’s Christmas in Equality
By: James Finn
Tags: Equality, Family, Love, Christmas, LGBTQ

A Child’s Christmas in Equality

Because dreams really can come true

Image licensed from Adobe Stock

Happy Holidays from my heart to yours

I’m writing this on Christmas Eve after having taken a couple days to relax. Christmas for me as a gay man of a certain age is often hard. Not because I dislike the sentiment behind Christmas, but because I love it. And because the world I was born in doesn’t uniformly accept that I can or should love it.

Our LGBTQ stories can be hard to tell

I often feel rejected and excluded at Christmas, an outsider looking in. I think I’m not alone. Lots of LGBTQ people find holidays hard to take, because on days when family is celebrated, family rejection cuts particularly.

We queer people fight rejection and embrace joy by creating family and holiday traditions of our own. More or less successfully. Many of us spend more time and life force struggling to JUST BE than we realize we spend. We forget to dream.

Sharing dreams of love in fiction

One thing I love about writing on line and sharing struggles with LGBTQ folks is that I also get to share in dreams. Writing is conversation and sharing, right down at its heart. Storytelling is common human dreaming. It always has been. Where are we, where have we been, and where are we going?

I’ve been writing fiction all my life, but it wasn’t until I started sharing stories online that I started mainlining into common dreams. Other writers and readers now shape my stories as much as I shape them. When I unleash my imagination and create a tale full of love and joy, I feel like I’m a conduit of something bigger than I am.

Don’t know what I mean? Here’s a Christmas story for you, a tale from my heart that was not born from my own experiences. It resonates with me because it’s a dream. I didn’t dream it; I just shaped it and told it so you could feel it like I feel it.

This is the story of a singing boy who loves a drummer boy. It’s a story of family, Christmas, courage, and possibility. It’s the dream of a boy whose own story is harder. Not so loving. Not so filled with hope.

This is my gift to him and to you, a world we will dream to reality
#MakeoverMonday2019 — Week 3. How many people earned the Federal…
By: Pat Vu
Tags: Makeovermonday2019, Tableau, Data Visualization

#MakeoverMonday2019 — Week 3

How many people earned the Federal minimum wage?

Original Article

Source

Viz in the article

What I like about this viz:

the use of the U.S. choropleth map is appropriate

The color legend is OK

What I don’t like:
APT15: Pancake Loaf
By: Advanced Persistent Treats
Tags: Baking, Loaf, Bisquick, Pancake

What started out as an act of impatience and laziness turned into a surprise hit. Normally, I make pancakes from scratch. My go-to recipe of choice is from Mark Bittman. His “everyday pancakes” recipe is solid.

But, in a pandemic world, I purchased a gigantic box of Bisquick from Costco and was slowly making my way through that stash.

When I was down to the last 2 cups or so of Bisquick powder, I was multitasking in the kitchen and just didn’t have the patience or the energy to use up the rest of the mixture by making individual pancakes. Thus, a pancake loaf was born.

Instructions:

(1) Follow the instructions of your favorite pancake recipe, whether that be something like Bisquick or the Mark Bittman recipe from above, to make a bowl of pancake batter. Make sure your batter isn’t too thick. Add more milk (or milk substitute) to ensure that the batter is smooth.

(2) Let your pancake batter sit in the mixing bowl, on the counter is fine, for about 15–20 minutes.

(3) Pour the batter into a well-oiled loaf pan. Cooking spray is fine. Just make sure it’s all covered in spray.

(4) Bake at 350F for 20 minutes. Note: Normally, I preheat my oven before baking. However, for this Pancake Loaf, I did not preheat. If you do preheat, it may take less baking time. So, keep an eye on it.

(5) You want to be careful about not over baking it. You want this loaf to have the same consistency as a regular pancake — slightly crispy on the outside, and springy in the middle.

(6) You can test with a toothpick to make sure it’s baked all the way through.

(7) You may choose to slice the loaf hot and serve. Or, you may let cool and save for later. It’s important to keep this in the refrigerator. Although it looks like bread, it cannot sit out for days on your counter. It will get moldy.

Pancake Loaf, hot and fresh out of the oven.

If all goes well, you should be able to just slice and enjoy. It should not be rubbery or crumbly.
Level Up Your SQL Skills
By: Mandi Gunningham
Tags: Programming, Database, Sql, MySQL, Software Development

Level Up Your SQL Skills

Tips to help you up your SQL game

Image from Caspar Camille Rubin on Unsplash.

According to JetBrains’ 2020 Developer Ecosystem Survey, 56% of developers utilize or interact with a SQL database in their development environment. Even so, most developers view SQL concepts as a secondary concern, as they are often interacting via their chosen language and do not play much of a part in the design. Generally speaking, being able to connect and run basic queries will get you through the day.

At many companies, there is even a separate database team that will be handling the database design and optimization, so you will never get first-hand exposure. I think this is often the deterrent to learning more about SQL. It’s viewed as a utility that is often handled by others. Software developers have enough on their plate, right? Fair enough.

However, in our industry, having full-stack skills is always a good idea. You never know what will be thrown at you. We interact with SQL daily, so more knowledge will always come in handy. Additionally, if you end up at a smaller company that does not have the resources for a full database team, more of those responsibilities will fall on you. Being able to state that you are confident in your database skills during an interview will open up many interesting career paths.

I personally enjoy SQL development more than most. I interned early in my career with a team of outstanding database administrators and quickly fell in love. I had taken my database courses in school, so I had some basic knowledge, but what I learned during that internship has been invaluable to me. Not only did it teach me that I have a secret passion for data, but the technical understanding I gained has been a boon in every job I’ve gotten going forward.

There is a lot to database development and administration — there are experts out there who can work magic. However, as a developer and not an SQL wizard, these are the topics that will set you apart from the pack when it comes to SQL knowledge.

Note: I have experience with Microsoft SQL Server, so that is what I will reference throughout. However, these concepts absolutely apply to other SQL DBMS options.
Fun Side Projects That You Can Build Today
Tags: Web Development, Inspiration, Technology, Programming, JavaScript

Fun Side Projects That You Can Build Today

From building something in 3D to a Bitcoin tracker and more

Photo by Christopher Gower on Unsplash.

Working on side projects can expand your skillset dramatically as a developer and it will prepare you for further complex challenges. It’s probably the fastest way to improve since you can choose what project you want to work on — in contrast to your day job.

There are no shortcuts when it comes to becoming a better developer. Spending time behind the keyboard is a must. So why not do it while working on a fun side project?

However, most developers struggle with what they should build. They tend to overthink it, which leads to zero. I’ll save you the hassle of coming up with the next great killer app. Just start out small and simple.

That’s why I’ve listed seven projects in this article that are both challenging and fun.
FAB DEX eXchangily approved for US pension plan investment
By: Fab Info
Tags: Exchangily, Pension, Dex, Blockchain, Bitcoin

As lots of negative news on centralized cryptocurrency exchanges have emerged in an endless stream, the case for decentralized exchanges is getting stronger.

eXchangily, the first truly decentralized high performance exchange with cross-chain capability, is currenlty in development on the public Fast Access Blockchain (FAB). The STO of eXchangily has been successfully registered with SEC in 2018 and has recently obtained the US pension plan investment qualification.

The US pension plan investment fund is currently accounts for about 30% of the total investment in the United States. It is regulated by the IRS and the Labor Department and enjoys unique tax benefits. Its funding sources include IRA, Roth IRA, 401K, 403B, SEP and many others. eXchangily’s STO (EXG) is one of the very few cryptocurrencies that qualified for the US pension plan investment after Bitcoin.

EXG’s qualification for pension plan investment is not only an important milestone for eXchangily’s US legal compliance, but also for the cryptocurrency investment in mainstream financial industry. It sets a new trend for cryptocurrency to enter the mainstream investment fund portfolio.

As a third generation public blockchain, FAB supports enterprise grade decentralized applications from various industries. FAB will provide comprehensive services for project planning, legality compliance, technical support, token issue, and listing on the decentralized exchange.

An eXchangily technology seminar will be hosted by the Canadian Chain-Times Blockchain Association in Toronto this Saturday afternoon (Feb. 16th, 2019) and will be broadcast live on Youtube and Facebook channels. Refreshment will be provided. Investors are welcome.
How to get an amazing Terminal
By: Martin Thoma
Tags: Terminal, Programming, Shell, Software Development, Hacking

Aliases

A core part of making the terminal awesome is making common commands short. To do so, you create an alias for a command — a shorter version of the original command. The most common example is changing a directory to go one level up. For example, if you are in /home/user/foo/bar , you want to get to /home/user/foo . In most shells, you have to enter cd .. . I like to abbreviate that to .. . So I have the alias alias ..='cd ..' . The syntax may vary, depending on your shell. For Bash, ZSH, and fish it is

alias short='long'

For bash, you insert them in ~/.bashrc , for ZSH in ~/.zshrc . In fish, it is different.

Here are some aliases I like:
Light Painting with Light Tubes and Burning Steel Wool
By: Frithjof Moritzen
Tags: Photography Tutorial, Light Painting, Camera Club, Photography, Photography Tips

One good reason to join a photo club is to learn from other club members who know more about some parts of photography than you. I knew only a little about light painting with light tubes or burning steel wool, but we have someone in the club who did it many times before and knows what he is doing. So he organized a field trip for us all to try it out and to teach us how it works. Thanks, Adrian Jefferson-Brown , it was great fun!

Safety

First things first: safety! There was a reason we went to the beach: there is not much that can burn. Quite the opposite. In the dark, you are not so much aware of the tide coming in and get your stuff wet.

So, safety: Be absolutely sure that everyone involved knows what is going on: when you burn steel wool, the sparks (burning matter/ember) fly around and can hit things and people. The sparks can burn sometimes longer than you expect, they can damage your lens (put a UV filter in front of your lens as a protection) or put holes into your clothing. Wear old stuff and keep your distance from the flying fiery sparks. The person whirling around the steel wool should cover up as much as possible to prevent OUCH! Wear a hat, gloves and eye protection. I hope you get the idea. Be safe.

Disclaimer: Act at your own risk, I take no responsibility for any harm done while you practice light painting with burning steel wool. You are responsible for the safety of the area you are affecting. There should be nothing flammable anywhere near. If you are unsure if it is safe, don’t do it. Take precautions for the event of fire, have a fire extinguisher ready to use and know how to use it. And don’t try this at home!

This article is for entertainment/illustration only.

OK, that out of the way, how does it work? We tried two different ways of light painting, one was using burning steel wool as the light source, the other one was moving light tubes as the light source. Images you can expect look like this:
Justice Kayode ESO Sustainable Development Goals Summit: Youth Participation in Achieving The SDGs
By: Iccdi Africa
Tags: Climate Change, Wash, Sdgs, Youth, Sustainable Development

What is relatively new is the importance of youth integration in achieving this goal. The United Nations recognizes young people as rights-holders who can promote and facilitates, accountability, and responsiveness from governments towards actualizing the SDGs. Youths are Critical thinkers, Change-makers, innovators, Communicators and leaders.

Today, there are 1.8 billion people between the ages of 10–24; they are the largest generation of youth in history. Connected to each other like never before, young people want to and already contribute to the resilience of their communities, proposing innovative solutions, driving social progress and inspiring political change. When well informed, they can also be agents of change, mobilizing to advance the Sustainable Development Goals to improve the lives of people and the health of the planet. To this end we at ICCDI Africa passionately advocate for discussions on the SDGs amongst the youth demographic.

The Justice Kayode Eso Students Chambers SDG Summit was a platform to discuss and educate students of the University of Lagos on the SDGs and ways in which we can all contribute to attaining them.

The Summit consisted of two panel sessions focusing on three core areas;

· Gender and Education

· Goals centered on Environmental Protection

The program started by 1:00 pm, with an opening speech by the Head of the Justice Kayode Eso Students’ Chambers — Oloyede Agbolarin, followed by a Keynote Speech by the Secretary General of the Lagos Model United Nations, 2019 — Ipinnuoluwa Ade-Ademilua

The first panel session on Gender and Education was discussed by Ms. Gracious Ernest, Ms. Zulu Uwolloh and Mrs Lillian Idowu.

The discussuion centered on the importance of educating the girl child so as to close the gap of gender based inequality, in turn tackling SDGs Goal 4 and 5

The second panel session was discussed by Ms. Anumenechi Deborah (ICCDI Africa), Dr. Bunmi Afinowi (UNILAG) and Mr. Chukwuemeka (SustyVibes).

The discussion explored the importance of environmental protection, and ways in which we can contribute to the sustainable development goals.
Desarrollar, motivar, atraer y retener talento son los desafíos centrales de la Industria TI.
Tags: Gestión De Equipos, Talent Acquisition, Cultura, Talent Management, Talento

in In Fitness And In Health
Hair So Problematic (Working While Black)
By: Sharon Hurley Hall
Tags: Women, Work, BlackLivesMatter, Racism, This Happened To Me

A few years later, we moved to Barbados. I’ve talked before about the colorism that pervades Barbadian society, so it’s no surprise that almost everyone around me wanted to do something about their hair. Decades later, I still recall comments about the “impossibility” of dealing with natural hair and the desirability of straightened hair.

Aside from the hot iron and chemical straighteners, in the 80s Black women also had the option of the Jheri Curl. This was an oily curly perm which became the butt of many standup comics’ jokes.

“The irony was that a hairstyle considered cute for a white woman was considered unprofessional for a Black one.”

Or you could braid your hair in the style coopted by Bo Derek in 10. (I say coopted because women of African ancestry have been styling their hair in elaborate braided patterns for centuries.) The irony, of course, was that what was considered cute on a white woman was considered unprofessional in a Black one.

I wore braids a lot in the mid to late 80s, but as I later discovered, what was fine for a student was unacceptable in many workplaces. When I was very young, I remember being fascinated by my aunties’ weekend hot ironing ritual to get their hair ready for the work week. As an adult, I learned why they did it.

In one of my job interviews, I was told that if I got the job, I’d have to straighten my hair, because braids weren’t allowed. That happened to many women, so it’s no surprise that most of them caved and switched to a more “acceptable” hairstyle.

This still happens around the world, where people of the global majority have their hairstyles policed by both white people and BIPOC who are operating from the same playbook.

“The way I wear my hair doesn’t affect my ability to do my job. If my hair is clean and in an appropriate style for my ethnicity, it’s nobody’s business.”

While hair discrimination (which is racism, let’s be clear) mostly affects women, Black men aren’t exempt from the problem. In the last year alone we’ve seen Black children excluded from school because of their hair and a Black football player having his locs cut off. In fact, you don’t have to look very hard to find dozens of similar stories.

It’s so bad that people are having to pass legislation like the CROWN Act to stop anti-Black hair discrimination at work.

Let’s be clear: the way I wear my hair doesn’t affect my ability to do my job. As far as I’m concerned, if my hair is clean and in an appropriate style for my ethnicity, it’s nobody’s business.
Enchantress and The Beast
By: Janani Kehelwala
Tags: Poetry, Poems On Medium, Fantasy, Poems And Stories, Abuse Of Power

Enchantress and The Beast

Somewhere in Multiverse

Photo by Gabriela Gutierrez on Unsplash

Beast was quite distraught, oh well

For one, he was a “beast” now

On top of all that he had to find true love

What even is “true”? Seriously, how?

Beast had not one living parent

People he knew were furniture now

Besides, he was ever obeyed only

Fed, served, curtsied, bowed

Beast dragged himself across the castle

Felt compelled to investigate now

Set foot for the first time in his massive library

“Please illuminate, Lumiere, somehow”

Beast read books upon books on love

Definition of “true” was inconsistent now

A fool’s errand, he declared this

“I’ll end my misery”, he then vowed

Beast went up to his damned rose

Touched that last petal, his head bowed

Enchantress appeared and bellowed at the beast

“The hell you think you’re doing now?”

“Let me get this straight”, the beast began

“You come to stop me, today? Oh wow!”

“You cursed an underage child for vanity”

“How was that fair? You absolute cow!”

Beast continued, “My servants had families”

He said his piece with a raised brow

“You have no power left to abuse on us”

“Kindly piss off, if you’d please, love”

“When you put it that way, well, I suppose”

Enchantress wondered, out loud

“Maybe you’re right, I was a bit hasty”

“Shall I undo the spell, dove?”

“And what, give me an identity crisis?”

“Thanks, but no thanks, please go now”

Enchantress left, quite distraught

Beast hit the floor, turned man now
Torture
By: Scott Ninneman
Tags: Poetry, Poem, Relationships, Poetry On Medium, Heartbreak

I look at you and die inside

You brand me like a steer

I search for strength and peace of mind

I bathe in every leer

I pray for hope and what I need

And float each time we meet

I leave in pain with broken heart

I sigh in my defeat

I build you up more than you are

I dream of what might be

Extend myself beyond my means

With hope that once you’ll see

To you I am a friendly face

A strength for now and then

You care a bit but not like me

You leave when you say when

And what I need is never met

Yes, though you say you’ll try

When I break down and ask for help

It’s on alone I cry

You say I need to know you care

The depth of what you feel

But put to test your deeds aren’t there

You turn upon your heel

And so I doubt just why I try

Just what I hope to get

As deep inside I know the truth

Each time you will forget

November 11, 2004
Hell Yes, I Am A Kinky Librarian
By: Zara Everly
Tags: Essay, Kink, Sex, Sexuality, Libraries

When I initially started library school a few years ago, I really had no idea that being a librarian could be such a turn on to men. Then I joined Fetlife and started using dating apps. Quickly I learned just how much a fetish being a librarian is.

When men find out that I am a librarian, the vast majority have the same reaction: “yum, a sexy librarian.” Not only am I librarian but I have the whole stereotypical librarian vibe going on. I wear glasses: plastic rimmed with a slight cat’s eye angle. I own a fuck ton of cardigans and favor dresses. I don’t think I dress terribly sexy but I don’t think I am dowdy either. I have a lot of cats and I am a bookworm. I have fairly long hair and often that long hair is piled up on my head in a bun.

The men seem to eat it up. They have always had a thing for librarians, they say. They fantasize about librarians and all have similar fantasies. They dream of lifting up her skirt and fucking the librarian in the stacks. They think about taking her up against the stack, books tumbling down in passion. Her tightly bunned hair comes falling down conveniently so they can grab a handful and hold tight as they fuck her into blissful oblivion.

How a man views the librarian betrays much about the man. What he wants from her does as well.

I find men’s attraction to librarians interesting. Some men feel punitive. The librarian has scolded him for a late book. Perhaps she has shushed him. The man wants to set her right. Some men equate librarians with intelligence. They are truly attracted to her symbolic smartness. Some men, although I am not sure how common they are, purposely seek out intelligent and strong willed women so they can degrade her. She is a challenge to be beat down and put into place. The librarian symbolizes a woman with power and they want to master that woman.

I like to think that men that are attracted to intelligent women are men who are confident. They are not threatened by her. Instead, they seek companionship in the intelligence that she represents. There are also men who wish to be mastered by the librarian as well. They want to give in further to her power and submit. Then there are others who want to coax out the wild sexual animal they believe is lurking behind the supposed prim exterior.

How a man views the librarian betrays much about the man. What he wants from her does as well.
Anything For The Gram
By: Ryan Bates
Tags: Instagram, Social Media, Photography

Getting it/ Photo by @Sandiegochris

Anything For The Gram

An Instagram Story

Instagram started as a clever app for users to share photos instantly. With the touch of a filter, a meaningless photo of breakfast could be turned into a creative work of “art.” Naturally, the Internet called it “hipster,” but this labeling didn’t last long.

The Instagram of today has evolved. While there’s still an abundance of Harry Styles and Justin Bieber pictures on the Popular (Explore) Page, Instagram as a whole has evolved into a community. Many of the friends I have today are people that I’ve met through Instagram.

I live in San Diego, CA. I moved here a little over two years ago, and for the first year, I didn’t know many people other than my girlfriend. Then in May of 2012 I met a friend though work who was posting incredible photos on Instagram. These photos were so good that I assumed he was using a DSLR, but he wasn’t…he was using an iPhone. I was blown away, and from that moment on I was hooked. We spent hours exploring the city, looking for new places to shoot. Since I wasn’t native to San Diego, this gave me a means of viewing the city in a way I never could have before. It became a challenge to find new places and take the best photos possible. At times I’m sure it seemed like an obsession, (I know my girlfriend thought it was) but it made me feel alive.

I’ve spent many evenings on beaches and piers waiting for the sun to set just so I could capture it. If you’ve ever been to San Diego you know that the beaches are definitely tourist hotspots. There’s always people taking pictures with tripods and big cameras, and here we were with our little iPhones — climbing over rocks, getting blasted by waves and doing just about anything to get the shot. “Anything for the gram” became our mantra (side note — get some sort of protection plan for your smartphone, it’s worth it).

Since those initial few months, I’ve met many creative and inspiring people through Instagram. People who have pushed me and welcomed me with open arms. People like me that love to explore and get a rush from taking great photos. It might sound strange, but Instagram has united us. We collaborate, we inspire, and we help each other grow. We’re a family. Some of my closest friends today are people I’ve met through Instagram. Two years ago I felt lost in this city, and now I’m finally home.

With the devices we have today, you can create exceptional photos with nothing more than a smartphone and a few apps. If you’ve ever been interested in mobile photography, I urge you to give Instagram a try. If you’re already on Instagram, feel free to give me a follow @ryanbates.
WebGoat SSRF 2 3
Tags: Infosec, Solutions, Ctf Writeup, Webgoat, Ssrf

WebGoat SSRF 2 3

WebGoat SSRF 2

WebGoat SSRF lesson 2

After watching this mind-blowing talk about SSRF from Orange Tsai

let’s see what’s in this lesson

Tom, pretty straight forward

Press the button and we get Tom

The lesson explicitly tells us to change the URL to “jerry”

Hidden page input

Inspect the button with your browser dev tool, find the hidden input and change the URL from “tom” to “jerry”

And here’s Jerry

Press the button again and the lesson is completed

WebGoat SSRF 3

A brand new button!

Press the button

No go

To stick to the game plan we could check if there is something like the last lesson in here

Again, a hidden input field

Change the hidden text input to “http://ipconfig.pro" thus asking the server to request the page

Yep, ipconfig.pro

Press the button again and the lesson is completed

And remember to go check http://ipconfig.pro/ to check its functionalities

This concludes WebGoat SSRF 2 3

I hope you liked it.

PVXs — https://twitter.com/pivixih
It’s not Black or White… It’s Grey — My Final Views on Violence
By: Claudia Wong
Tags: Desensitization, Violence, Spanking

The discussions in this class truly helped me broaden my understandings of the dynamic dimensions of violence. Hearing people’s views on ethics, abuse, rape, and other topics surrounding violence, opened my eyes to thoughts and views I have never considered before. I believe we all became critical thinkers, allowing us to clearly and rationally think about violence. I think that listening to everyone’s opinions allowed everyone to look at certain topics in different lights. A topic I keep thinking back to was the discussion on corporal punishment; specifically spanking. Within our class alone, there were many different views on whether or not is it is ethically right to spank a child. Some believed that a good reason to continue the spanking cycle was because “it was done to me, and I turned out fine”, while other believed it is an abusive behaviour and punishing a child can be done without violence. When we first discussed spanking, I thought about my past. I was spanked as a child and I believed that a spank on the bum, with reason, is not abusive. I have never looked at my parents as abusers, nor will I ever. But as the semester progressed, and the conversation about spanking continued, I began to second guess myself. Talking about violence, specifically about abuse and spousal abuse, I began to question whether or not I would spank my child. Like I mentioned before, violence can be a confusing topic, but when it comes to discussing ethic and moral values, I waver on whether or not to spank my child. I obviously have the choice to spank my child, and it is not against the Canadian law; but there is also a non-violent approach I could be taking to the situation.
“Paint Covered Hands”
Tags: Poetry, Self Love, LGBTQ, Life Lessons, Transgender

“Paint Covered Hands”

A poem

Photo by Dennis Schrader on Unsplash

Paint covered hands

What’s your definition

Of a man?

Does he work his life away?

Or does he live his own way?

Does he grab a chisel and stay?

Sculpt himself

Into something worthy of a statue

Does he light up the room

When he smiles at you?

Mirror, mirror

My eyes

Tell no lies

The smile I wear

Is no mask

And I don’t have any questions

To ask

Just glancing up

To say hi

To the man I’ve become

Notice the new scars

From the battles I’ve won

Mirror, mirror

I’ve just begun