fabiochiu/medium-articles huggingface dataset:
Have you Sabotaged Your Workout Routine This Way?
By: Mari Teresienė
Tags: Self Improvement, Motivation, Fitness, Lifestyle, Productivity

Have You Sabotaged Your Workout Routine This Way?

…by screaming you hate burpees?

Photo by Lena Bell on Unsplash

So you want to have abs for the post-quarantine glow.

Then you do some at-home exercise videos or pay for some workout apps.

You prepare your yoga mat, gym clothes, and some resistance bands. You promise yourself to do this exercise until the end of the lockdown.

The exercises turn out to be too hard to follow. Your neck hurts from crunches. Your hips become sore. You’re out of breath after the exercises.

“!@£$%^&*()!!!” you swear. “That was unbelievably hard!” you hear yourself complaining.

Then, “The trainer did it with no problems. She was rubbing it on my face!”

Then, this ultimate statement, “I hate this workout!”

Label ourselves!

This is not about having abs to show off. It’s about sticking to a decision we already made. We’re talking about something as simple as working out at home. A basic health need. Not about building a business, getting a Nobel prize, or raising a baby.

In everyone’s holy bible of habit, Atomic Habits, James Clear wrote that one should define his/her identity in advance while creating a habit. It’s called identity-based habit.

He wrote, when a person who’s trying to quit smoking is being offered a cigarette, he’d better say, “Sorry, I’m not a smoker.” This answer is much stronger in presenting his identity compared to, “Sorry, I’m trying to quit.”

The first statement defines what we aim to become (a non-smoker) and helps us walk away from our old identity (a smoker). The second one shows how we’re somehow still attached to it (a non-smoker wannabe, might as well smoke sometimes).

And we believe what comes from our mouth just by saying it.

How do we apply this into our at-home workout routine?

Let’s create a strong identity of what we want to become. Avoid saying, “I’m trying to exercise three days a week to be fit.” This is how many of us face failures because when we miss a day or two, we’d give up on it more easily.

What about, “I’m a fit person because I exercise three days a week.”

This way, we’ll exercise because we believe we’re fit.

It has nothing to do with how many fat percentages we have or how we look in the mirror. You don’t even need to yell “I’m fit!” on the street either. I repeat, you’re fit because you claim it, and because you work out three times a week. You simply show up. We don’t need a bikini picture as proof.
July 16 — frustrated with carbon filter
By: Ruth Grace Wong
Tags: Sewing

So frustrated with this carbon filter sewing project. I sewed the elastic on the wrong side, I didn’t find the zipper foot until the end of the night and so my seams are all wonky, and I messed up the elastic the first time and had to cut it and now it’s too short. What a monstrosity.

Oh well, at least it is functional. When I write up the instructable I will just explain what I did wrong and how to not do that.

I decided not to make another one just to have a perfect instructable. I think it would stress me out too much and be a waste of time.
Recruitment Platform workonblockchain.com — A Final Open Source Gift
By: Jack Tanner
Tags: Development, Blockchain, Open Source, Work

Task definition

You can find below an example of one of the task descriptions, including user story, acceptance criteria, and definition of done

https://github.com/theblockstalk/workonblockchain.com/blob/master/docs/task-example.md

Feature Impact Assessment

We created a step in our development process in which the developer assigned to the task created a “Feature Impact Assessment”. This assessment would outline the proposed changes to the data structures, and gave high-level pseudocode including endpoint input and output schemers, and assessed any other structural changes in the codebase.

This was checked by another developer before the work started. I also checked this (almost) every time, and while this is not technically a role of the sometimes-not-very-technical ”product owner” it worked for me (I am very technical) and our team well to ensure we were developing code that would not need to be redone. We found this to be an effective way for developers to communicate their understanding of the feature specification and to keep all developers aligned on the codebase changes.

I would highly recommend this practice for development teams!

https://github.com/theblockstalk/workonblockchain.com/blob/master/docs/impact-assessment-example.md

Goodbye!

If anybody is legitimately interested in the workonblockchain.com domain please contact me.

From Antonio and I, we hope to see you all around and have enjoyed this journey together!

Cheers,

Jack Tanner and Antonio Sabado
We Are All Too Good for This
By: Meeta Shah
Tags: Politics, Presidential Debates, Democracy, Elections, Debate

Call me ignorant or disengaged but I didn’t bother watching the first presidential debate live on TV last night. I already know where my vote will land — my parents always taught me that your vote is no one’s business to know, but I think if anyone knows me as a person they know the box I’ll check. Even still, I frankly am fearing election day — while I pray that the reign of ridiculousness will be over, I also worry any outcome will cause chaos.

So, instead I spent my evening numbing my brain, watching a scandalous series on Netflix and caught up on the mass amounts of work that had piled up in my inbox while I was dual working/supporting virtual learning/maintaining my household for 19 out of 24 hours of my day, as has become my new normal in 2020. I will give myself some credit — I did read about and watch key elements the next morning. However, I don’t know why I even bothered with that. My mental health is already in dire straits these days, and I knew what I would see on that stage: two men bickering and yelling on stage without telling me anything that I don’t already know about them or their platforms. I can’t imagine the decision despair swing voters must be facing this morning after watching what many are calling the most embarrassing presidential debate in history.

I consider myself an educated woman. I also suffer from an excess of empathy that both benefits and hinders me on a daily basis. Frankly, I find the way some of our politicians talk at “us” (ie. the millions of well intentioned, hard working working Americans) downright insulting considering the societal contributions we make.

Thankfully, as an educated woman, I had appropriately deduced that the only thing witnessing the full debate in real time was going to provide me was a sense of anger, shame, anxiety and despair about the future that I am leaving my children. My oldest child is of an age that I should be starting to teach her about government and politics — but she is so sweet and innocent I have decided to abstain on that element of parenting. Here I spend day in and day out preaching to her how to “do unto others” while our leaders throw insults and name call on national television, teaching our next generation that bullying is an acceptable way to get ahead. It is well known that bullying can lead to mental health problems and physical manifestations for children — why on Earth would I want to perpetuate this by allowing my children to watch those who “lead” model this behavior for them and undo all of my hard work? I won’t have it any longer, nor should any other parent in this nation.

If it means I’m ignorant for not watching this debate or the future ones then so be it — my time is in short supply and far too valuable. I refuse to have my intelligence insulted in this way — there are much better ways for me to be “entertained” on television. I’ll of course vote, keep myself educated in alternative ways, live my best life, continue to care for others as I always have and advocate for humanity.

Cancel the damn debates. Rant over.
Paving new ways with PayID
Tags: Cryptocurrency, Blockchain, Bitbns, Crypto

Bitbns joins the PayID Open Payments Coalition along with Ripple and other leading fintechs

International transactions have been inefficient since forever. This in 2020 is set to change with PayID. Bitbns is joining a coalition of 40 global companies who are putting efforts for PayID

PayID is a universal payment ID that simplifies the process of sending and receiving money globally, across any payment network and currency. PayID makes sending money simple and easy with a vision to break down the repositories that exist in payments and change how money is sent globally. You can send bitcoin or USD or INR without remembering a public address or IFSC or long bank account numbers. Traditional bank accounts or new digital wallet PayIDs work across any payment network of any currency.

“Bitbns has been a long-time partner of Ripple’s. Bitbns has the highest trading volume for XRP in India. International, cross-border payments industry has been ripe for disruption and we see PayID playing a pivotal role in achieving that. We are excited to facilitate borderless, frictionless instant transactions for free for users” — Gaurav Dahake, Bitbns CEO

PayID brings together companies across all industries with the first-ever global solution for payments, marrying traditional finance and the new world of fintech under one standard.

For more information on PayID, visit www.payid.org and the PayID Coalition.

Bitbns:

Bitbns is India’s largest crypto exchange and aims to build the easiest and fastest way for anyone to trade crypto. Operating since Dec 2017 Bitbns has users from over 180 countries in the world and has facilitated over 2.5 billion USD worth of trade.
10 Unacceptable Responses That You Should Not Give at a Job Interview
By: Isabel Nyo
Tags: Self Improvement, Software Development, Interview, Work, Programming

Team-Related Interview Questions

Photo by Ben Harritt on Unsplash.

On helping a low performer on the team

“Some people are just incompetent and they cannot be helped.”

The reality of working on a team is that you are working with those who are better than you and those who are not as good as you. What the interviewer would like to understand here is how you tried to help a low performer on your team. It’s not the time to make an ignorant comment. The statement makes it seem like you’ve just dismissed somebody without giving them a second chance.

On helping team members

“As an individual contributor, it’s not my responsibility to help others.”

The purpose of this question is similar to that of the previous question: The interviewer wants to understand how you work as a member of a team. Individual contributors are also part of a team. In fact, there is nothing “individual” about the term “individual contributor” and I actually find this term misleading. As an interviewee, giving an answer that implies you think you can be successful as a lone wolf isn’t wise.

On providing constructive feedback to peers

“I only ever give positive feedback. I don’t like to make people feel uncomfortable. I’m a good team player.”

Constructive feedback does not just mean negative feedback. The University of Tasmania has a very good definition of what constructive feedback is:

“Constructive feedback is providing useful comments and suggestions that contribute to a positive outcome, a better process or improved behaviours. It provides encouragement, support, corrective measures and direction to the person receiving it. Knowing how to give constructive feedback is a valuable skill. Constructive feedback can be positive (letting someone know they’re doing well), negative (letting people know about ways in which things could be improved), or neutral (just an objective observation).”

Constructive feedback is a gift because it’s given with the intent to direct you towards a positive outcome. Those who provide constructive feedback are those who are real team players because they have the best interest of others in mind and the willingness to elevate others for success — even if the process of giving such feedback can be uncomfortable.
Your Choice…
By: Lance Baker
Tags: Poetry, Neighborhoods, Haiku, Action, Community

A fellow traveler and observer on the journey through life. Trying to cultivate a deeper way of being in the world.

Follow
Justice Should Be Served
By: Agnes Louis
Tags: Help, Life, Justice, Murder, Law

His own biological daughter believes that he had killed his stepdaughter.

That should already speak plenty of the man in question.

I stumbled upon Alissa Turney’s case through my favourite true crime Youtuber, Georgia Marie’s channel. I was completely stunned listening to the story:

Alissa Turney went missing in May 2001 and hasn’t been found since. Her stepsister suspects that she was killed by her father, Alissa’s stepfather. She doesn’t make this accusation lightly.

She meticulously catalogued 5 reasons why she thinks her father killed her sister, which you can read here. After listening to some of the condemning facts and reading the piece written by Sarah Turney, the stepsister of the missing girl herself, I couldn’t help but feel surprised that Michael Turner, the stepfather, got away with the crime.

Sarah believes that her father had physically and sexually abused Alissa. She had found letters, written by Alissa, about the abuse she had suffered. She described her father as more like an abusive boyfriend rather than a fatherly figure to Alissa.

Michael even made Alissa sign a behavioural contracts, in which there was a clause stating that he never sexually or physically abused her.

What kind of a father does that? And most importantly, why did he have to make Alissa sign such a contract?

There is something inherently wrong with the narrative.

Parents don’t make their children sign a paper that states they are not being abused by their parents.
Last Words
By: Ernio Hernandez
Tags: Life, Fiction, Death, Family, Love

Setting: a wake

I have to say I am surprised how many friends and family came tonight — and how many stayed. And all just to listen to some stories about me. And some not about me, which is okay, I do not get jealous.

Hearing all of this makes me think about how in life you have all these little moments and they are just little moments: like when you get so angry about something and you get so mad or upset. And then, you can’t even remember what it was all about. It is hard to think about the whole picture when you are just living your life in those moments.

But those little things, they don’t really matter as much as we think they do. And I knew this; I have to say. I knew how to live — to not let everything seem so big and just remember what makes me happy. And I was happy, I was very happy. Believe me. Like the time I was playing with my kids in the house. Yes, in the house, which is… (makes a nod to say “no”). But we were playing and kicking and I fell and broke my… (points to the top of her butt) coccyx. Is that how you say it? Coccyx? The bone in the… you know. I broke it and still I was laughing so hard. And my kids, they make fun of me, I know they make fun of me because of this, but I was still laughing.

I think I will miss them the most. (Pause) I used to hate to think about death. I did not want to believe one day I would just not be here anymore. It scared me so much, I would shake myself to stop thinking about it and do something else to distract me. But I am okay now. I will miss my family, but my kids have their own kids now, this is their time. To be happy. And I know I taught them well. They are good kids because I showed them how to be happy. And that is all I need to be happy.

Read the other monologue Thank You All for Coming:

written to bookend the short play My Condolences:

Last Words by Ernio Hernandez

Copyright ©2009 | Ernio Hernandez | All rights reserved.

(For permission to perform, contact author at ernio @ ernio.com)

Ernio Hernandez is a writer of plays, poems, short stories, humor and other flights of fancy.​

Other plays: The Last Call | One Swipe Left| The Middle of Things
Ecclesiastes
Tags: Creative Writing, Self Love, Poetry, Wisdom, Poem

Am I but once

Am I left for dead

strapped head to a bed

chasing after the wind’s howls?

strapped to a life unplanned

but a life always wanted

it’s a yellow wood-left goes right

right goes left

As above so below so they say

I zippered, then tore, now I’m here

Now I’m HERE

It was the right turn that got me

bitten by the whore

seven heads seven dead

O please seven dead

It was the right turn that got me

bitten by freedom

And now I wonder was it all done already

was I always left forgotten

So now, in this state

I’ve let my hair loose and wiggle my frame

What comes will come

even if it’s just a dream.

Saschia Johnson

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[隨手記] — 有資料，要找些 Insight，我們可以從何開始？
By: Sheng Lin
Tags: Eda, Insights, Data, Data Science

通常 Mentor 或 Bosses 花了高成本找了 Data 相關的人、建立資料的基礎建設，在這種成本壓力之下通常能看見些產出(ROI)！

這時候就會被這個問題追殺：

mine the data and tell me something interesting ?
2:01:39 in Berlin
Tags: Running, Data Science, Berlin, Kipchoge, Marathon

The build-up for this year’s Berlin marathon was a little more exciting than usual. There was something in the air and a hint that perhaps we might witness something special. In the time since Eliud Kipchoge’s Breaking2 attempt on the Monza race-track in Italy, which secured him a place in the history books with 2 hours and 25 seconds over the marathon distance, he has seemed inevitable that he would go on to break the currentmarathon world-record, secured by Denis Kimetto in 2014 with a time of 2:02:57. And so, as Sunday morning approached the talk seemed less about if the current world-record would fall, and more about by how much.

Since 1998 there have been 7 new male marathon world-records set on Berlin’s fast and flat course, 3 of them since 2010. Would we see a another? Sure enough, as if to order, Eliud Kipchoge served the latest world-record to Berlin crowds, crossing the line in an incredible 2:01:39, smashing the previous record by 1 minute and 18 seconds; we haven’t seen a record breaking margin of more than a minute since Derek Clayton lowered the world record from 2:12:00 to 2:09:36 in 1967. It was all the more impressive because the 33-year-old Kenyan achieved it while running the last 17km on his own after the last of his pacers, not to mention the rest of the field, drifted away long before the finish.

2:01:39 in Context

Let’s begin to try to put Kipchoge’s 2:01:39 finish-time into context. It corresponds to an average pace of 4:38 minutes per mile or about 2:53 mins/km, which is the equivalent to running a 17.4 second 100m sprint. Try it; it’s non-trivial. Now imagine doing it 421 more times to get to the finish-line!

What about the rest of the field who started with Kipchoge? At the time he crossed the finish-time how far has the average runner left to run, assuming they continued at their average race-pace? 21.6 kms! Imagine that, the average runner still has more than half the marathon to run by the time Eliud Kipchoge crossed the finish-line; it’s a little less for men (20.9 kms) and a little more for women (23.2 kms).
Letters from the library
By: Melissa Riker
Tags: Activity, New Jersey, Books

Letters from the library

Check out what’s going on at the Pinelands Branch Library in the new year.

By Margaret Lafferty

Medford Library Association

The holidays are past and the New Year is swiftly arriving. Many are planning celebrations, and others are contemplating resolutions. Which are you?

As the Pinelands Library looks forward to January, we have some exciting events upcoming. On Jan. 9 at 10:30 a.m. we will be celebrating the anniversary of our 1000 Books Before Kindergarten. All children aged 5 years and younger regardless of previous participation are invited to join us on a sing-a-long journey with Kim Yarson and her guitar as we celebrate the one-year anniversary of the 1KBBK. If you are new to 1KBBK, please ask us how to participate.

Later that evening at 6:30 p.m. our adult crafting program continues. Learn how to make a book page garland perfect to decorate any room in your home. All supplies will be provided.

Are you a fan of all things Harry Potter? Then you will want to join us for a Harry Potter Yule Ball themed party with games, crafts, music and dancing! Play a round of table Quidditch or Harry Potter would-you-rather Jenga, make a wand or golden snitch ornament, take a group photo in front of a huge green screen with your themed background of choice and more. Attendees are encouraged to dress up. Craft supplies are limited and therefore registration is required.

Author of The Other Side of Rock and War, Billy Terrell, will be visiting the library on Saturday, Jan. 12 at 11 a.m. to share his life story. The Vietnam War veteran will share his tale of overcoming poverty and the horrors of war and going on to forge a legacy of love and compassion while working with famous comedians like Ray Romano, Chris Rock, Adam Sandler and more. Terrell will have copies of his book on hand to sign.

Until next time, keep turning those pages and Happy New Year!
Science in the System: From Pixels to Text
By: Mike Jacobs
Tags: Typography, Fluent Design System, Design, Microsoft

First, there was written language. Shortly after came type, a way of optimizing written communication through the reuse of identical characters. Typesetting might have been used as far back as 2000 BCE: there’s evidence that ancient Mesopotamians used a form of typesetting to stamp cuneiform impressions on bricks.

The point is that humanity has a long history of caring a lot about the appearance of our written communication.

In my previous article, I wrote about the challenges of turning square pixels into curving, irregular shapes and how anti-aliasing can help. In this article, we take a look at techniques for rendering text.

The challenges of rendering text

At the intersection of art and necessity exists typography, the design and use of typefaces to produce written language. Typefaces balance beauty with practicality; they represent familiar characters in a way that’s instantly recognizable, while adding their own unique style. These stylistic features frequently manifest as elegant slants and subtle curves or bold strokes.

Which in no way resemble our humble onscreen building block, the pixel.

In the past, typefaces were generally designed with print media in mind, where the output is at 1200 DPI or higher: enough resolution to smoothly and sharply realize the details of a typeface. On the other hand, a typical computer screen has a DPI of 72–96— dramatically lower than print. As a result, onscreen text looked jagged and misshapen compared to its print counterpart.

Anti-aliasing can get rid of blocky, jagged edges, but it also has a softening effect that might not be that noticeable when applied to an animated 3D scene (such as in a game), but can make text look blurry and unreadable.

We need text to look smooth, but also razor sharp.

There’s an additional challenge to rendering text. To render a TrueType font, we take its outline — a pristine collection of mathematical formulae that describe it — and map it to pixels at the desired resolution.

Just figuring out how to translate a typeface’s outline to physical pixels can be difficult. Algorithms that work fine for scaling an image have trouble when applied to fonts. For example, take this outline for a lowercase “m.”

An outline for the letter “m”

The next image shows how, when we use a typical rasterization algorithm to turn this outline into pixels, we end up with a suboptimal character. For example, see how the rightmost stem is twice as wide as the other stems.

A simple rasterization attempt, resulting in blocky curves and uneven stems.

Hinting

The TrueType font standard lets font developers provide “hints” about how the font should be drawn at specific resolutions. These hints can dramatically improve the font’s appearance on the screen:
[Release Notes] uPrism.io Meetings V1.3.9 👏
Tags: Uprism, WebRTC, 유프리즘아이오, Release N Updates, 유프리즘

in In Fitness And In Health
Why We Need More Introverted Leaders
By: José Roberto Valladares
Tags: Introvert, Life Lessons, Society, Business, Leadership

Where do you see yourself in ten years?

Had you asked me this question a couple of years ago, I would’ve probably panicked. I’ve been very indecisive my whole life, when it comes to both unimportant and important life decisions — suffice it to say, in three years I’ve changed three different majors.

Although this question still seems pretty daunting to me, things are different now: After my second time changing major, I decided it was time to seek advice from a psychologist, in order to understand myself a little better. Fast forward about a year, and I’m currently studying Economics and Management at university. I now know, my main goal is to eventually found and run my own company. I guess that would be my answer to the cliché, above-mentioned question.

From my therapy sessions, it became clear I had actually always known what I wanted to do, I was just too scared to admit it to myself. But why?

As a business owner, you are choosing to become your own boss — the ideal situation for the average introvert. The problem is, according to my psychologist, that you eventually have to lead other people, too: For me, as an introverted 20-year-old, it just seemed out of the question.

Eventually though, I found out it wasn’t such a far fetched idea — as it turns out, introverts can actually be great leaders.
Kinship/Skin-ship
By: James Spencer
Tags: Poetry, Love, Family, Life Lessons

Kinship is more than skin-ship,

Family can be less than familiar.

Strange, the ties that bind -

No volition but love, the force

Through the bone, through the cell,

Driving how we are made kind.

All together choosing our likenesses

In faces and hands not unlike our own:

Unarrangeable marriages of

Kith not yet kin.

Kinship is more than skin-ship

And thicker than blood.

for Daryl, Rebecca, Maya & Samuel
The 5 Most Common Mistakes to Avoid in Your First Date
By: Godofredo Rojas
Tags: Self Improvement, Self Love, Relationships, Advice, Lessons

The wild world of dating can be a tricky one to navigate. And there are no hard and fast rules about what you should do when you are dating.

Have you ever wondered why I did? The day after you date someone. Two weeks ago, one of my best friends called me from Lima; we had a long conversation. We relived dating experiences from our past. And laughing like crazies.

I remember I met him at the gym when I was 15 years old. He was a chubby teenager who caught my attention because he always trained alongside the most beautiful girls in the gym. I started to notice him; he wasn’t focused on working out; he intended to have a conversation with those girls; he was too obvious.

Now he’s married and with children, a financial advisor, funny and smart guy. To make a long story short, he told me about the facts he used when he was dating a new girl and what he learned about it. And the words that he said make sense to me.

I decided to write about it. I will tell him later his experiences inspired this post.

Let’s see what actions you should avoid if you start dating someone.
Looking into your eyes
By: Nilla Chen
Tags: Imagism, The New North, Poetry, Translation, Cloud

Looking into your eyes

Translation from Yan Ailin’s Name the Names of All beings

Photo by Anders Wideskott on Unsplash

Looking into your eyes

There comes imagism of clouds

like waves, sweeping across

In your eyes, you transform

into the finest sky. Becoming

the port of cloud sea

There I sit, fishing

Of what kind the fish must be

to live in your mysterious cloud sea?

I wait, for the emerging

of those starry, starry fish.

Translated from Yan Ailin (顏艾琳)’s Name the Names of All beings (點萬物之名)
Starbucks Leadership Taught Me Something No Other Company Has
By: Meg Haynes
Tags: Life Lessons, Life, Personal Development, Love, Happiness

Starbucks Leadership Taught Me Something No Other Company Has

Don’t say, “you’re welcome”

Photo by Vaishnav Chogale on Unsplash

During my last semester of college, I took a part-time job at Starbucks to help curb the pressure of finding a big-girl position upon graduation. I worked there through the summer until I found a role in the career I wanted.

Nearly four years after I moved on, I remember only a few things from training. For a regular latte, the steamed milk is poured over the espresso. For a Macchiato, the espresso is poured on top of the milk to leave a “mark.” (I was told that macchiato in English means to mark and that’s an easy way to remember the recipe. I looked it up; it means stained. Close enough.)

And whenever a customer says thank you, respond with, “thank you.”

At first, this seemed weird to me, almost rude. I was raised to be proper, and the proper thing to do when someone says, “thank you,” is to say, “you’re welcome.” (Don’t get my grandma started on saying, “no problem.”)

Once I thought about it, I realized “you’re welcome” implies “you are always welcome to ask; I chose to say yes.” It implies an unconditional favor has been done.

Starbucks leadership recognized this. They also recognized that this does not reflect how business works.

In business, transactions are conditional. Someone pays for a product or service and the person upholds their side of the bargain. If the paid party does not provide the agreed-upon service, that would be fraudulent.

Customers choose to do business with Starbucks, so a “you’re welcome” doesn’t quite fit. Without the paying customer, the transaction wouldn’t happen. Therefore, it is equally — if not more — important to thank them for their purchase rather than to respond to their gratitude saying, “you’re welcome!”
PWiC at Google WTM IWD’19 Global Summits
By: Pakistani Women In Computing
Tags: Women In Tech, Pakistani

Women Techmakers is undoubtedly one of the most active and impactful communities of women technologists with a global presence.

Driven by the belief that a diversity of perspectives leads to better decision-making and more relevant products, Google began Women Techmakers in 2012, helmed by former Google[x] Vice President Megan Smith. Women Techmakers is a global program that celebrates women, encouraging them to pursue and excel in technology careers.[1]

Pakistani Women in Computing (PWiC) is inspired by the work Women Techmakers is doing to bring balance and increase the diversity of the tech space. A number of PWiC team members have been part of Women Techmakers International Women’s Day (IWD) global summits, Google I/O or Women Techmakers Scholars Program in the past and have found these events and opportunities to be extremely useful in their personal and professional growth.
What got GROUT thinking this week…
By: Grout Projects
Tags: Politics, Links We Like, Timesup, Blockchain, Worker Cooperatives

Today we start a new weekly roundup of the articles and ideas that got us going during the past week.

Contributors: Erin Fairbanks, Lisabeth Laiken

Start with a good listen: Note to Self: DO I WANT TO DELETE MY FACEBOOK ACCOUNT OR WHAT? Manoush weighs in. Loved this episode!

“Astrophysics for People in a Hurry” I bought this book on audible, sadly Neil doesn’t narrate it.

New York’s classic model agency took a group to March on the 20th and I just feel good about it.

“Remember, if you’re ever going to be able to have a conversation with an actual Trump supporter, shouldn’t you at least be able to explain white fragility to your sweet old mom without making her cry?”

Working as a Hospice volunteer, I spend so much time learning how to not be awkward around death and I’m not even the one dying.

We’ve been thinking a lot about #TimesUp here at Grout and what the next steps should be to actually create the change in workplaces. These short films on showing what sexual harassment looks like, seems to be a good start.

We were excited to hear that the Suffragist Votetilla volunteers won the inaugural Community Champion Award! We met some of these amazing women when we were in Cooperstown over the summer, they had fantastic stories to tell!

Interesting to see the idea of the importance of arts to the strength of a community quantified and mapped. NY state is very green, which is terrific.

There is a new freelance marketplace using “tokenized reputation” to bring more of the earnings to the worker and maintain accountability.

This story on a queer, female entrepreneur taking back turmeric for Indian farmers is such a fantastic success story and inspiration!

Many of New York’s worker cooperatives are owned by marginalized groups, and in 2017 their numbers went up in NYC which we think is a very good thing.

And this short video from WEF 2018 made very clear the disparity in the world and how much work there is to do to change it.
Nimiq Gift Cards
By: Team Nimiq
Tags: Nimiq, Bitcoin, Cryptocurrency, Payments

Nimiq Gift Cards

A collaboration with Bidali

Nimiq is excited to announce a collaboration with the Canadian crypto payment processor Bidali. As an immediate outcome, this collaboration allows Nimiq users to buy items and services from known brands such as Starbucks, Uber, Amazon, and even Bubba Gump Shrimp Co using gift cards from Bidali’s website or NimiqGiftCards.com.

How does it work?

“Nimiq is so easy to use, but so far the Nimiq Shop has been the only place I can actually buy something.”

Use your NIM everywhere! The Bidali gift card service opens the door for Nimiq users to buy from over 150 merchants in 4 countries: USA, UK, Australia, and Canada. From a cup of coffee to the latest album of your favorite band, your NIM now holds the potential of buying almost anything you want! This marks the first step into the tangible world and opens a wide range of new options on how to use your NIM.

Bidali’s gift card service requires a minimum of $50 when buying with NIM. Users should expect a confirmation email in approximately 30 minutes as Bidali is using Changelly in the backend which can take up to 30 minutes to confirm transactions.

What about the Nimiq Shop?

Aside from NIM being accepted on Bidali’s website, Team Nimiq began a technical collaboration with Bidali. Thanks to this partnership, Bidali has provided access to their SDK which allows for any website to use their backend to buy gift cards.

The Nimiq Shop is and always will be the best place to buy your Nimiq Swag. It is also the place where we showcase the most recent version of the Nimiq WooCommerce plugin and the Nimiq Checkout, allowing you to conveniently pay in NIM directly from your browser enjoying the Nimiq Checkout experience. Considering that the Nimiq Shop also double-functions as demo site in itself, Team Nimiq built a new “Nimified” site for Bidali:

Thanks to Nimiq being native to the web and Bidali’s JavaScript-based framework, it was possible to integrate Nimiq and Bidali quickly and seamlessly with a few efficient lines of code. This integration is a testament of how fast, easy and convenient it is to create web apps using Nimiq. NimiqGiftCards.com was built as side-project by frontend developer Sören, you can find the code on GitHub.

Just the beginning

With a new website on the way, Bidali’s collaboration couldn’t have reached Nimiq at a better time. For the long-term, we’re analyzing possible benefits Bidali could get from the non-custodial crypto-fiat bridge Nimiq OASIS, and, for Nimiq, potential benefits from Bidali’s financial backend and distribution channels.

We want to thank Bidali for their amazing and quick support and welcome them into the Nimiq Ecosystem, the Nimiq Family.

Pura Vida

Team Nimiq
Museum M. H. Thamrin
By: Yacob Wijaya
Tags: Museum, Jakarta Pusat, Dki Jakarta

in In Fitness And In Health
Brockhampton: The Best Years of Our Lives
By: Patrick Coyle - Simmons
Tags: Hip Hop, Rap, Music, Discovery, Brockhampton

The Saturation Era began with the group’s first release in the trilogy with SATURATION being released on June 9th, 2017.

In the lead-up to the album’s release Brockhampton released four singles; HEAT, FACE, STAR, and GOLD. All four of these songs would go onto become signature tracks from the group, and easily the most popular songs on the album itself. SATURATION clocks in at just under and hour and features a very diverse 17 tracks (3 of which are skits, a staple on all 3 of the SATURATION albums).

HEAT opens the album and right away thrusts listeners into the vast and vibrant world that the group has created with their unique and sometimes polarizing sound. Aggressive and in-your-face are probably the best ways to describe songs like HEAT and BUMP, easily two of the band’s most “hard” songs to date. STAR, another standout single, packs a powerful punch filled to the brim with pop culture references, with each line hitting harder than the last and leaving an impact on the listener.

Music Video for STAR

Music Video for FACE

On the other end of the spectrum, songs like FACE, MILK, and SWIM are some of the softest sounding Brockhampton songs, but are each equally as impactful as those mentioned above, with FACE even being used in the second season of the hit Netflix Original show Dear White People.

Along with unique and vastly different songs from any other band or group out there, Brockhampton has also achieved something special with their music videos. Each video has a distinct look and feel, with all videos from the Saturation Era being shot in the same aspect ratio. These releases were all connected through their openings, which feature the band’s web designer, Roberto, introducing the video in Spanish.
How to give your mind and body the love it deserves
Tags: Psychology, Life, Mind, Love, Work Life Balance

The endless loop of work, sleep, and more work is easy to get caught up in. Your body cries in outrage after a while and demands that you pay heed to its needs. There’s some rest your body and mind deserve. Its fine to “take days off” in your search for hyper-visibility and general awakening with that in mind. But that doesn’t mean that you have to take a break from the solid foundation you’ve developed for self-love. Without the fear of feeling frustrated, challenged, or tired, there are a million little ways of giving your body some affection.

Here are few safe and subtle ways to make your daily schedule a bit more self-loving:
The Dangers of Solitude
By: Maitreya Thakur
Tags: Philosophy, Life, History, Thoughts

Much has been said about the boons of solitude but far too little about its dangers. Solitude is a double edged sword. On the one hand it can inspire deep reflection, on the other hand it can induce stagnation. The independence of solitude can lead to a dependence on it. What appears to be conducive to growth can become restrictive to growth.

I look back on two writers, across two continents and two civilisations, whose words and warnings on the dangers of solitude resonate centuries later. The first is the American philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson, and the second is the Hindu monk Swami Vivekananda.

Writing in the mid-nineteenth century, Emerson wrote:

“It is easy in the world to live after the world's opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude.”

Emerson recognised our tendency to cave in to the opinions of the majority. It is easy. It is convenient. It is safe. When we don’t want to submit to the will of the majority, we avoid the majority in an attempt to escape the burden of living with it. To Emerson, this was a sign of weakness. Instead he advocated developing the ability to be independent in the midst of the crowd.

A few decades after Emerson, Vivekananda echoed this thought when he said:

"Live in the midst of the battle of life. Anyone can keep calm in a cave or when asleep. Stand in the whirl and madness of action and reach the Centre. If you have found the Centre, you cannot be moved."

The vigour in Vivekananda’s language is reflective of the audience he mainly spoke to - the demoralised and depressed masses who he sought to energise. His message is also a critique of those who saw spirituality as a lazy means to avoid the battles of the world. Vivekananda saw spirituality as a way of life which enabled one to engage more actively in the world, not to retire from it.

These are lofty ideals to live by. They were as difficult to achieve then as they are to achieve now. Yet look how fresh and relevant the words of these two stalwarts are today. In the hyper-connected lives that we lead today, we must struggle to find the "Centre", and carry it with us as we head into the crowd.
The Married Man
By: Danna Reich Colman
Tags: Politics, 2016 Election, Love, Elections, Donald Trump

I was once in love with a married man.

He’d call me every morning on his way to work, in the evening on his way home, and once again while taking the family dog for a walk after dinner.

He’d come by my house to say hello while he was out doing errands on the weekends.

He dropped by to bring me flowers and a teddy bear on his way to the hospital to see his newborn baby.

He called me every birthday and Valentine’s Day for thirty-six years to tell me he still loved me.

All these years I never asked him to stop calling. Until today. He said he’s voting for Donald Trump.
The Two Types of Data Engineering
By: Jesse Anderson
Tags: Data Engineer, Data, 97 Things

There are two different types of data engineering. There are two different types of job types with the title data engineer. This is especially confusing to organizations and individuals who are starting out learning about data engineering. This confusion leads to the failure of many teams’ Big Data projects.

Types of Data Engineering

The first type of data engineering is SQL-focused. The work and primary storage of the data is in relational databases. All of the data processing is done with SQL or a SQL-based language. Sometimes, this data processing is done with an ETL tool.

The second type of data engineering is Big Data-focused. The work and primary storage of the data is in Big Data technologies like Hadoop, Cassandra, and HBase. All of the data processing is done Big Data frameworks like MapReduce, Spark, and Flink. While SQL is used, the primary processing is done with programming languages like Java, Scala, and Python.

Types of Data Engineers

The two types of data engineers closely match the types of data engineering teams.

The first type of data engineer does their data processing with SQL. They may use an ETL tool. Sometimes, their titles are DBA, SQL Developer, or ETL Developer. These engineers have little to no programming experience.

The second type of data engineer is a software engineer who has specialized in Big Data. They have extensive programming skills and can write SQL queries too. The major difference is that data engineers have the programming and SQL skills to choose between the two.

Why These Differences Matter To You

It’s crucial that managers know the differences between these two types of teams. Sometimes organizations will have their SQL-focused data engineering team attempt a Big Data project. These sorts of efforts are rarely successful. For Big Data projects, you will need the second type of data engineer and a data engineering team that is Big Data-focused.

For individuals, it’s important to understand the required starting skills for Big Data. While there are SQL interfaces for Big Data, you will need programming skills to get the data into a state that’s queryable. For people who have never programmed before, this is a more difficult learning curve. I strongly recommend SQL-focused people understand the amount of time it takes to learn how to program and the difficulty involved.

Only by knowing and understanding these two definitions can you be successful with Big Data projects. You absolutely have to have the right people for the job.

Originally published at jesse-anderson.com.
Don’t let the coronavirus ruin Pi Day!
By: Phil Johnson
Tags: Technology, Humor, Cartoon, Mathematics, Comics

Don’t let the coronavirus ruin Pi Day!

Nerds can practice social distancing AND have fun!

Happy Pi Day 2020! Thanks to technology, we can practice social distancing AND still have our Pi Day parties. HAVE FUN, NERDS! 🤓
A Five Minute Exercise I Do Before Writing Articles
By: Neera Mahajan
Tags: Personal Growth, Learning, Pitythereader, Writing, Writing Tips

A Five Minute Exercise I Do Before Writing Articles

That I was so ashamed to share with you

Photo by Radu Florin on Unsplash

You have cleared your desk, you have finished all your chores, you have turned your mobile phone on silent, and you have disconnected from the internet.

For the next hour, you are now going to write the article you have been planning to write all day.

You open the document and POOF!

Your mind has gone blank.

The articles that you drafted a few days earlier, you try to take them further, but nothing comes to mind.

It is as if your mind doesn’t want to focus on the writing at hand. It wants to do everything else but write.
A Writer Emerges
By: Thalia Dunn
Tags: Self Improvement, Poetry, Poem, Self Reflection, Writing

POETRY

A Writer Emerges

Becoming a Writer

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

Nine months of solitude,

perfect gestational period

to birth a writer.

Call it a surprise

or a mistake.

The pandemic continues to circle,

keeping me tucked in my home,

and writing has begun as the passion

to create quickens.

Let me rephrase.

Not the writing,

but the urge to develop

as the fetus grows from cells to heartbeat,

from tadpole to newborn.

A writer has been penned.

Having quietly scribbled

for decades,

I tucked my words away

in my little red diary

as a six year old

when I watched Captain Kangaroo,

and later

in my marbled composition notebook

as a teen

to capture adolescent highs and lows

And this year,

finally,

I felt

an overwhelming urge

to give voice

to the swirling emotions

whirling through my mind

begging to begin

their journey to the world;

I picked up my pen

and my story flowed

into the world.
Sunrise 20201215
By: Jenny Lawton
Tags: Mindfulness, Gratitude, Poetry, Life, Haiku

entrepreneur, mentor, advisor, mother, wife, dog parent and lover, tennis player : changing the world one woman and entrepreneur at a time

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