fabiochiu/medium-articles huggingface dataset:
Development Update
By: Jeff Heizmann
Tags: Development, Zenome, Dna, Cryptocurrency, Blockchain

During the last days we primary focus on increasing software userability. The point is that a successful platform not only should have a reliable backbone infrastructure and a great set of different features built upon it, but also provide access to them in a very user-friendly manner.



Firstly, we have developed intro screen to introduce users and help them:

You may notice Material Design by Google that we started to use throughout the application. That really streamlines user experience. But, of course, it’s only a starting point — our developement group is still working on the best design solution for the platform.

The next step for users to start operating on the platoform is introducing themselves:

As you can see family may have only one account on blockchain, but still each family member may enjoy his own user profile.



By the way, the main screen for all users looks like this:

All profile information is placed now on a single page. On the right side you can see the list of all related files and data.



One of the options for this page is dropping your file into the window to get it imported:

The import process is now greatly simplified and intuitive. Also there is a dedicated button to select a file with a “select dialog”.

Genetic data is not the only type of data a user can add. Filling in questionnaires is one of the key ways to participate and provide all the necessary data for the further activities on the platform.

It’s worth noting the list of suggestions on the next questionnaire to take.

In addition, the navigation elements now reside in a hidable left menu.

If you have a touch screen, it just takes a swipe to right to open it.



Our previous interface is transformed into so-called “Advanced Data Manager” and intended for experienced users, especially for the developers of services or user-land plugings for the software, as it gives access to underlying service functions.
Fear
By: Indu Ks
Tags: Poetry, Life, Poem, Love, Fear

Photo by Dmitry Ratushny on Unsplash

I fear

That I’ll never live my life.

the way I want to.

that I’ll never know what true love is,

and maybe I’ll never find it.

that I’ll be nothing but a forgettable,

little speck of dust in this world.

that my whole life will be,

inputting data into a computer, for 8 hours a day.

that I’ll never be able to witness,

the aliens coming here.

that I’m not as

smart and funny as I thought I am.

but most of all I fear,

that I’ll be dead inside long before I’m dead forever.
Harmony
Tags: Poetry, Chalkboard Espresso, One Line Poem, Harmony, America

I was always a writer but lived in a bookkeeper’s body before I found Medium and broke free — well, almost. Working to work less and write more.

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10 Day-to-Night Ideas & the Pieces that Make Them Work
Tags: Women In Tech, Fashion, Women, Work Life Balance, Style

At Arthur, one of the most common requests we hear from our members is a day-to-night look that can take them from the office to drinks. Whether those drinks are part of a networking event, blowing off steam with colleagues, or going out for dinner with friends, it can be challenging if you feel your work clothes don’t match your next destination. It doesn’t matter if you spend your day in a business-casual environment or a more formal atmosphere, it can be a hard to make the same outfit work for more than ten hours.

Figuring out what pieces transport you from day to night is one of the trickiest fashion hurdles, but once you have your favorite combos, its one of the most reliable ways to feel stylish at all times. Below are some ideas for how to make the transition, including pieces you can add or swap, and the top picks to make it happen.

To get started, here are a few looks that don’t need any adjustments, they’ll take you easily from work to your next destination. Of course you can always play with your hair and make-up.

Go Monochrome (Ready-To-Go)

The easiest way to take an outfit from day to night, without swapping anything, is to go with a monochrome look. Even if the pieces themselves are casual, the color palette will look polished in the office and will carry over easily into night. Consider a simple white blouse with laid-back trousers, and penny loafers and vest to give the look some edge.
The Latest Death Data From the UK
By: Matthew Bottomley
Tags: Covid 19, Pandemic, Data Visualization, Fact Checking

The UK media constantly report the number of deaths attributed to Covid-19, but with very little additional context. So what’s the full story?

2020 weekly deaths compared with prior years

The graph below shows the weekly deaths recorded in England and Wales by the Office of National Statistics. From which it’s clear to see that:

Around 530,000 people die each year in England and Wales, spread throughout the year.

The winter months see a higher number of deaths during the summer. The seasonal pattern is consistent year on year.

The impact of Covid-19 can be clearly seen over the Spring, when the outbreak first hit the UK and towards the end of the year as the death rate has again began to climb over the seasonal norms.

During the Summer months there was no noticeable difference in this year’s death rate compared with the five prior years.

source: Office of National Statistics

Covid-19 Reported Deaths

The ONS also capture reason for death as recorded on the Death Certificate. The following chart shows the deaths reported as due to respiratory illness, again the data shows this year compared with the previous five years.

Again it is easy to see the initial outbreak in the Spring and the ‘second’ wave beginning post summer. It is again evident from the chart that the summer months saw no noticeable difference from prior years.

Analysing the detail of the 2020 data shows that there is some substitution between Covid-19 and other seasonal flu’s (demonstrated by the blue area falling into the autumn rather than the usual levels seen in prior years (red line in the chart below) the following:

Summary

The ONS death data clearly shows two periods of excess death — the initial outbreak in the spring and the more recent second ‘wave’ as we approach winter.

It seems clear from the data that the virus was not a prevalent cause of death during the summer months — as with other seasonal ‘flus’. Whether this is due to the warmer more temperate weather or increased level of UV light is unclear.

Looking at the initial outbreak the number of excess deaths beyond which we would ordinarily expect at that time of year appears to be in the region of 58- 60,000, which is higher than the c.50,000 that the ONS has reported based on the relevant death certificates.

This pattern changes with the Second Wave. Where excess deaths suggest a figure in the region of 12,500 compared with 17,000 reported on the death certificate. From the data it seems clear that some 3,000 of the 17,000 reported cases would ordinarily have occurred due to Flu in prior years (the area under the red line in the Chart above).
How design constraints can drive creativity and focus
By: David Weisgerber
Tags: Self Improvement, Entrepreneurship, Self-awareness, Reflections, Vision

How design constraints can drive creativity and focus

Responding to a challenge with self-reflection and procrastination

Not quite the vision statement I’m looking for. But not bad? Photo by Natalya on Unsplash

A few weeks ago, I met with the city manager in my agency seeking general advice. We chatted about my goals, I pitched a few projects I wanted to work on and all-in, we met for about 35 minutes.

Before I left his office, he challenged me to answer five, reflective questions about myself. He wanted me to share my answers with my department head and ultimately, him; the big boss.

So, naturally, since I did the work, I might as well post it on the internet.

The Five Questions

What are my values and vision statement? [technically, two separate questions, but we’ll let him slide] What type of leader am I? Describe myself as a critical thinker. Describe myself as a creative thinker. What are my technical skills?

Not exactly my favorite color [blue]. This was going to take some thought.

After staring at a blank page for a few days [*cough* weeks *cough*] and having a lengthy, incoherent, multiple-paragraph vision statement as first draft. I needed to rethink this.

It was a place to start but the assignment felt too broad and open-ended, I needed to give myself parameters.

It is through mistakes that you actually can grow. You have to get bad in order to get good. — Paula Scher

I decided put the answers of these questions into a front and back tri-fold. This was in effort to drive brevity and clarity.

Plus, it let me endlessly tinker with the design of the tri-fold instead of the content of my answers. But I was reminded:

Design cannot rescue failed content. — Edward E. Tufte

I could have probably edited this forever, but sometimes you have to be done.

Below is what I shared with the bosses.

Values, Vision Statement and Technical Skills

Critical Thinking, Creative Thinking and Leadership Style.

More importantly than their reaction, the exercise helped clarify what I valued. It gave me confidence to trust these values and helped drive some difficult decisions.

It is illuminating how little you think about what you think until you think about it.
The Unofficial Weekly Stratis Retrospect #68 — Khilone
Tags: Stratisweekly, Cryptocurrency, Crypto, Stratis, Blockchain

Stratis also thought about their community, the CEO Chris Trew and all the team members were at the booth to talk to them and they had nice giveaways for their visitors.

I will write an additional blog about the expo itself to share the things I learned and what my overall feeling of the expo was.

Stratis Coherence Suite

The Stratis Coherence Suite is a new product that came to the surface on the Expo. With the Stratis Coherence Suite testbed tools, you can accelerate the development and deployment of enterprise blockchain. Chris Trew said the following about it:

When we developed the Stratis Platform we also built a testing suite optimized for blockchain, enabling us to move fast and provide transparency -we quickly realized this is something everyone building a blockchain network will need and the Stratis Coherence Sweet was born.

Paul Farrington talked about the Stratis Coherence Suite in his presentation about DLT for enterprises.

Wildara

Another exciting thing we learned on the Blockchain Expo is that Stratis has made a proof of concept for a company called ‘Wildara’. Wildara is an innovative project management company from Australia.

Rowan talked about the proof of concept Stratis made for Wildara in his presentation.

Stratis App

Galmoli ⚡‏ @Galmoli_dev created the Stratis Application on Android a while ago and he shared an update with us last week. He shared the actual progress of the Stratis Explorer App.

MediConnect

MediConnect is a verified ICO on the Stratis Platform who currently utilizes the Stratis ICO Platform for their ICO. Last week, MediConnect released new information about their project:

That’s it for now. All the best to everyone!

Khilone

Follow me on Twitter to get all the news right away: https://twitter.com/Khil0ne

And be sure to read all my stories on Medium over here:

https://medium.com/khilone

Other things to keep your eyes on:
The Endless Ritual of the Daily Routine
By: Paul Maplesden
Tags: Ritual, Prose, Life, Routine, Responsibility

Caught up in the grind of time after time and the endless rote of daily life, it becomes so easy to believe that tomorrow will be as today. As we gaze into the vision of our future, the same cycle seems to repeat endlessly, the minutiae writ large as the only change and we look down over the years seeing familiarity spiralling off into tomorrow, an ever repeating pattern of yesterdays.

The cycle can become a soft and quiet trap, and once run so many times, the furrow becomes easy to follow, so familiar and warm and comfortable in the detail of its twists and turns. Like a tender caress, that solid comfort is a resting place, quiet and secure, the predictability a barrier against a dangerous world. There’s no need to answer to anyone but the responsibilities we have chosen and the expectations that others have been more than willing to thrust upon us.

And when this place is known so well, it becomes dangerous, even terrifying to step outside. What might be found there? What dragons await, what new obstacles are there to overcome? Who’s eyes might be opened by the wonderment of a new day? And so this ritual becomes place of safety, where all is known and challenge is gone, and the comfort of monotony, broken only by the occasional ego-treat is our reward for all the bitter years we invested in that which we are told is so important.
BPDU filter VS BPDU guard
By: Ken Lai
Tags: Ken Lai, Bpdu, Networking

I read Michael’s new blog post about how to reduce possibility of the network unavailable time. He talked about BPDU filter and BPDU guard in his second point, and it was quite a confusion that they are seem the same. But actually they are not.

What is the difference

BPDU is short for the phrase Bridge Protocol Data Unit, which is part of the STP that help describe and identify attributes of a switch port. BPDUs allow for switches to obtain information about each other.

As the name says, BPDU filter filters BPDUs in both directions. BPDU filter will prevent inbound and outbound BPDU but will remove portfast state on a port if a BPDU is received. Enabling BPDU filtering on an interface is the same as disabling spanning tree on it and can cause spanning-tree loops.

On the other hand, BPDU Guard keeps an eye open for any BPDU’s entering the interfaces that are enabled this feature. The port will disable as soon as the first BPDU is received, by shutting the port down.
What is Practicing Devotion
By: Pierre Trudel
Tags: Self Improvement, Mindfulness, Spirituality, Spiritual Tree, Devotion

Spiritual Tree-Devotion-Spirituality

Before Their was a man(woman), what was There

Image by John Hain from Pixabay

Devotion is built up of a multitude of spiritual values that we all face in our lives at one moment or another.

Your religion teaches them all to you. I do say religion, because that is the messages we get, through men(women) that they and we interpret to be the values of an out greater teacher (Spiritual Teacher), from which we decide what best suits our feelings and emotions at any particular time.

Our core values are set in our hearts, through our soul and we decide how we apply them. We and we alone are the builders of our path. The values we choose to follow are selected with our free will, often be based on our upbringing and messages given to us by our parents.
Where Migration Changed in 2016
By: Lyman Stone
Tags: Economics, Politics, Silicon Valley, Migration, Chicago

Some of the trends we observed crop up again. Most oil migration isn’t in urban areas, but the cities nearest the oil fields do seem to be facing more negative migration. The Appalachian region and all the east coast megalopolis cities are facing more negative migration as well.

Meanwhile, we can see the strength of Florida, the mountain west, Arizona, and the Pacific Northwest quite clearly, as well as some strength in the upper south region.

What becomes clearer in this map, however, is the large-scale loss throughout Illinois. This isn’t a midwest thing: many Indiana, Ohio, Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Minnesota metro areas fared just fine, even improving their performance. Nor is this a Chicago thing: migration worsened in non-Chicago Illinois metro areas as well. Now, this may be a proximity to Chicago thing, as far downstate Illinois seems to be suffering less, and non-IL metros near Chicago also seem to be struggling.

We can also see the weakness along the western Gulf Coast. This is largely oil-driven as well, but wasn’t quite as clear in the county maps.

We can also look at how domestic net migration has developed over time for a few cities. For example, here’s a basket of several Appalachian metros:

Here we see a divergence. Around 2011/2012, things looked pretty good for these cities. Huntington was struggling of course, but most had positive domestic migration, some very robustly so like Morgantown, WV. Roanoke, as I’ve discussed before, has been much-ballyhooed for its successes.

However, Appalachian metros’ conditions have worsened in many cases, although the most successful metros, like Knoxville, Chattanooga, and Asheville, are getting even moreso! This is a divergence within Appalachia.

We can also look at a basket of midwestern cities:

The above chart is really noisy, I know, but I wanted to include most of the metros I expect people might ask about. As you can see, Des Moines kinda kicks butt, and Chicago is the Big Loser. Chicago’s net migration is more severely negative than any of the other metros in my sample and, to be clear, I included Detroit, Cleveland, and St. Louis, so I wasn’t cherry-picking strong cases. Chicago has more severe outflows even than collapsing cities like Youngstown.

The reason Chicago isn’t declining as fast, or at least wasn’t in the past, is that it historically received more immigrants (which is changing), and it was historically somewhat younger than other Midwestern cities, giving it higher birth rates and lower death rates.

Next up, let’s look at the east coast!
There’s No Such Thing As Brexit
By: Jackson Rawlings
Tags: Politics, Eu, European Union, UK Politics, Brexit

Brexit isn’t real.

It might have been the only thing on the news for the last eighteen months, it might be all we talk about, but it’s not an actual thing.

Politicians say things like “Brexit means Brexit” but what they actually mean is “Uhm…hmmm…dunno”.

Here’s why — there are a few things we think we mean when we say Brexit:

🇪🇺 Removing ourselves from the customs union (or not)

🇪🇺 Removing ourselves from the single market (or not)

🇪🇺 Removing ourselves from the legislative and judicial arms of the EU.

On the first and second points — if we leave the customs union, we leave the single market, and vice versa.

So we either do or we don’t.

Fine, so if we’re Brexiting, we just leave both right?

Well, yeah, except the rather big elephant of the Irish border.

If we leave the customs union and the single market, a hard border returns between Northern Ireland and the Republic, or it returns between Northern Ireland and the rest of Britain.

For various political reasons that have been brewing for about - oh I don’t know, five hundred years - neither option is possible. Any politician that allows either thing to happen will be rightly destroyed for it.

Now, many of the Brexity persuasion would argue that some kind of soft-border agreement will happen, and that’s fine in principle, but it won’t.

If a soft-border occurs (which in practice means using some kind of number-plate/scanner technology to wave through lorries) then you arrive at a completely unregulated backdoor for illegal entry into the UK.

But wait, I hear the Brexity chorus chime in unison. Surely, the way to stop this would be to have immigration checks at the border crossings between Northern Ireland and mainland Britain?

Ah good idea.

Except the DUP won’t like that, will they?

They won’t want anything that symbolically or otherwise distances NI from the rest of Britain.

And as it’s the DUP who are propping up this lethargic Tory government, one suspects they’ll get their way on this one.

Right, so to sum up so far:

🇪🇺 If we leave the customs union, we leave the single market. If we leave these, by default we must then have a new border between RoI and NI, or NI and Britain.

🇪🇺 Even a soft, technological border, will still require some kind of immigration check or we end up with a flood of unregulated immigration, from the continent and beyond, using RoI as a backdoor.

And if I remember correctly, one of the big reasons people voted for this Brexit thing, was to curb immigration from the continent, right?

Oh well, I’m sure it will be fine, let’s muddle past that one for now, it’ll all come out in the wash.
Influence
By: Ashwini Dodani
Tags: Creativity, One Line, Poetry, Relationships, Mental Health

Influence

The flu does make sense

Photo by Matheus Ferrero on Unsplash

Viral smiles, a heart to heart,

gone humans ~ remnant memories,

everything makes sense

when affected

by

interim

relationships,

those that weren’t supposed

to consume you

and destroy.
Portfolio Day
By: Alan Jennings
Tags: Art, Memory, Comics, Charlotte Salomon

Alan is an MFA grad of the Experimental Animation Program at Calarts. His films have screened at Animation Festivals worldwide. See more at alanjennings.net

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NEM launches next-generation social media platform
By: Lukas Wiesflecker
Tags: Social Media, Altcoins, Nem, Cryptocurrency, Blockchain

NEM Hub is in the starting blocks and will revolutionize social media interactions. A unique incentive system is located in the center, which rewards users for their commitment and disburses cryptocurrencies to them.

The novel system started already on 12 June as beta and is fully functional and public since 15 July. Users can register for different tasks after their registration and are rewarded for the creation of different content. This is made possible by a unique reputation system.

A minimum of $10,000 per month in NEM Token (XEM) is distributed to all registered and qualified participants. It is up to them to decide how they participate. Activity in the form of articles and videos is expressly desired, but may also extend to Twitter or Telegram to qualify for a reward.

But NEM Hub also supports special promotions. For example, the community was able to hold a successful logo contest, which now plays a major role in Japan in representing NEM.

From the community, for the community

NEM Hub is designed to strengthen the NEM community internationally. Therefore, it enables the community to create and share NEM content in demand and valuable.

This ensures a high standard of quality that promotes knowledge of NEM’s technology and its adoption. This is also reflected in absolute numbers. Thanks to the stunning collaboration of the community on NEM Hub, the official social media accounts have increased public attention tenfold.

The most important aspect of joint work is the quality of the content. These can be convincing because it is not their quantity that is decisive.

Strong cooperation with DAO Maker

NEM Hub is made possible by using DAO Maker’s social mining technology as a white label solution. This has already proven itself in other projects and provides the unique opportunity to give the community a piece of what they do for NEM back.

Through this partnership, NEM expands its reach while ensuring that sustainable messages are delivered with a strong resonance with consumers, industry, and the trade press.

Become part of the growing community

To participate yourself and benefit continuously from the rewards, you must first register on NEM Hub. You must also keep 1000 XEM in your own wallet to represent a proven interest in NEM to the outside world.

Afterward, you can start directly. For open questions, the own Telegram Group is a good choice. The NEM Community is also happy to welcome interested parties who would like to approach the Hub and learn more about NEM without participating in the Community Rewards.

I share more intimate thoughts in a monthly newsletter that you can check out here. Please let me know in a comment and join me on various social media platforms:

Twitter ● Instagram ● Facebook ● Snapchat ● LinkedIn

WHATEVER YOU DO, DO IT WITH LOVE AND PASSION!

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The Life of a Grunt During the Coronavirus
By: Melissa R. Mendelson
Tags: War, Poetry On Medium, Poetry, Battle, Coronavirus

The nights are the most quiet.

Unbearable and deadly.

The enemy could be lurking close,

but we still close our eyes.

We mutter a silent prayer under our breath

and thank the heavens when we wake up,

if we wake up.

We endure the long days.

Walk endless miles.

Far from safety

with a weapon that barely protects us.

The enemy could attack at any moment.

We’ll never see it coming

because we’re in their jungle now,

sinking deep into the mud.

The real heroes marched ahead,

diving courageously into war

while we trudge behind,

wondering why we’re here.

We are no heroes.

We are not saving lives.

We should be home,

Safe,

away from danger,

but we are

here,

on the front lines.

Stuck deep in the mud,

someone had lost their glove.

A soldier had fallen.

I saluted them

and trudged on.

A bullet missed my head.

Too many close calls,

but we can’t go home.

We have to stay here.
Bir Günde Sanatçı Olabilirsiniz
By: F. Emir Dorukoglu
Tags: Türkçe, Sanat, Motivasyon, Kültür

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Trust Your Guides
By: Samantha Lazar
Tags: Scfriends, Life, Freedom, Parenting, Trust

Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash

The function of freedom is to free someone else. — Toni Morrison

My son will be nine next week. Like most parents, I was told not to blink, because it will go by so fast. I blinked. My baby is nine.

Today I worry about him growing up in this world. I want him to grow up to be a good man. I want him to have a happy life, but there is little any of us can control.

My mom taught me how she let go of worrying about me.

She said, “you have your own guides. I have learned to trust them.”

I have carried this with me throughout my life. My mom let me be free, and in this way, I learned to trust myself.

In this way, I am (slowly) learning how to let go of worrying about my son. He also has his own guides. I must trust that by freeing him, he will learn how to trust himself. When he gets lost, he will remember to listen to his guides.
IT WILL BE SHALLOW VS…
Tags: Steem, Crowdini, Games, Steemit, Questions

Shallow is just running away from all the songs it has been matched up against so far.

It has beat 3 female singers so far.

Will it face another tomorrow? Go vote now!

All the best,

Jason

P.S. Today is the actual last question of this game. A new game will start tomorrow and start with the championship round of the Best Song tournament!
USA Accidents Data Analysis
By: Shubhankar Rawat
Tags: Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Data Visualization, Data Science, Data Analysis

INTRODUCTION

Road accidents have become very common these days. Nearly 1.25 million people die in road crashes each year, on average, 3,287 deaths a day. Moreover, 20–50 million people are injured or disabled annually. Road traffic crashes rank as the 9th leading cause of death and accounts for 2.2% of all deaths globally. Road crashes cost USD 518 billion globally, costing individual countries from 1–2% of their annual GDP. In the USA, over 37,000 people die in road crashes each year, and 2.35 million are injured or disabled. Road crashes cost the U.S. $230.6 billion per year or an average of $820 per person. Road crashes are the single greatest annual cause of death of healthy U.S. citizens travelling abroad. (Source)

Looking at the severity of road accidents, I decided to analyze the accidents’ data to discover something useful. And here I am, sharing my results.

DATA

The dataset is taken from Kaggle. You can find it here.

This is a countrywide traffic accident dataset, which covers 49 states of the United States. The data is continuously being collected from February 2016 to March 2019, using several data providers, including two APIs which provide streaming traffic event data. These APIs broadcast traffic events captured by a variety of entities, such as the US and state departments of transportation, law enforcement agencies, traffic cameras, and traffic sensors within the road-networks.

The dataset contains 2,243,939(2.24 million) rows and 49 columns(Quite a large dataset). A point to be noted is that even though the dataset contains data for only three years, there are 2.24 million accidents already.

Feature Description

As discussed earlier, the dataset contains 49 features, and the following is their description.
I Use a Gratitude Journal to Love Myself When My Anxious Thoughts Attack Me
By: Jyoti Meena
Tags: Gratitude, Self Love, Anxiety, Mental Health, Personal Essay

I Use a Gratitude Journal to Love Myself When My Anxious Thoughts Attack Me

How I calm myself down when I am knee-deep in anxiety

Photo by Thought Catalog on Unsplash

I have been an anxious person for as long as I can remember.

I am one of those people who are always fidgeting, panicking at minor setbacks, and going into a frenzy if there is more than a little uncertainty.

The first time I realized that it was a problem was when I had a big exam in college. While everyone was stressed for the exam, I was picking on my nails, and biting the inside of my mouth till it bled. I could barely sleep through the night. Passing a single piece of food turned into a herculean chore.

Since then, I have been into therapy and have understood my triggers better. My therapist has helped me see my anxiety as an unwanted guest, instead of a sign of upcoming doom.

I have also developed several coping mechanisms, ranging from breathing exercises to do when the anxiety starts building, to including physical exercises and a healthy diet in daily life.
Trigger Warnings Are Not About Victimising
By: Stark Raving
Tags: Political Correctness, Feminism, Mental Health, Equality, Activism

Trigger Warnings Are Not About Victimising

The point of acknowledging oppression is to empower the oppressed.

Photo by Kasturi Laxmi Mohit on Unsplash

Ironically, the very notion of trigger warnings triggers a lot of people.

“You can’t say anything any more,” they say.

“Bunch of crybabies,” they sob.

These people badly miss the point: the fact that putting trigger warnings allows us to read and write about more things, things that couldn’t be said or read before.

Trauma has always existed. Trauma created by the violence of an unequal society has always existed. It doesn’t always have to though. To change things, we need to fight systemic inequalities. We need to empower those that are oppressed. The way to do that, clearly, is not to leave them to deal with their trauma, whilst reinforcing it every way that we can.

The purpose of trigger warnings is not to coddle those that might need forewarning about difficult topics because of their own life experience. Nor is to suggest that they are weak. The point is to not add violence on top of violence. It is to acknowledge that things are harder for those that suffer from oppression, and thereby recognise their strength and the challenges that they are dealing with, have to deal with and have dealt with.

Trigger warnings are not about treating people as though they were weak, they are about doing what we can to make them strong in a world that does not want them to be.

This is not limited to trigger warnings — there are many times when the fight against oppression is countered by people saying that the movement itself is victimising the oppressed by suggesting they need uplifting. There is a valid concern behind this — the oppressed have long been infantilised. In the case of women, the damsel in distress trope dies hard.

But when we don’t recognise the challenges the oppressed face, they blame themselves for issues that are far larger than them. And guilt is not an efficient emotion. It doesn’t lift people up. It does not empower. It promotes self-loathing and lethargy.

It’s a cliché-d saying: You need to know the rules to break them, but it is certainly true when it comes to oppression. Once you have understood the mechanisms leading to your own behaviours and the way people interact with you, only then can you start acting to make a change. Only then can you stop blaming yourself, or feeling that such outcomes are inevitable.
Why Does My Country’s Racism and Intolerance Still Shock Me?
Tags: Politics, Social Media, Zuva, Culture, Racism

People will claim we lost because of Jeremy Corbyn. We did not. He has suffered the same smear campaign previous Labour leaders have had to fight. With almost 80% of the British media owned by five billionaires, it is right to assume that future Labour leaders will suffer the same.

People will say it is the antisemitism that lost us the campaign, even though recently former Prime Minister Theresa May unveiled a statue of Nancy Astor with minimal backlash even though Astor was a known nazi-sympathiser and anti-semite.

People will say it is the hate and intolerance of Labour supporters yet will say nothing of the disparaging comments Boris has said (and refused to apologise for). In which he insulted, Black people, single mothers, the working-class, EU citizens, LGBTQ+ community — basically everyone. It is almost laughable that Boris can spew so much hate yet Corbyn speaking out Israel’s genocide against Palestinian people is what has left a sour taste in everyone’s mouth.

Don’t get me wrong, I am firmly against antisemitism and intolerance of all kinds, but this is a problem in all the parties, not just the one. Yet these people still voted Boris Johnson in, why? I will give you a hint. It is the very same thing that got Donald Trump his presidency across the pond.

This country that I love is entrenched in racism to the point that people would rather suffer under austerity than help their fellow Black and Brown man. They would rather the NHS privatised so we get Brexit even though Brexit will not be done anytime soon.

I don’t know why my country’s racism shocks me, seeing as it was built on the backs of slaves. As Nicole Bedford rightly stated, “Xenophobia from centuries of colonial dominance has lead to the cultural melting pot it is now.” People will try to claim Britain is better than our friends across the pond, but this election has shown we are not. Brexit showed us we aren’t. Yet I allowed myself to have hope. Hope for change, hope for a better life for everyone.

But we didn’t get that today. Instead, the majority dug in its heels and chose austerity. The Conservative’s manifesto was ridden with lies and half-truths, yet it is what the people voted for. The country that I love is filled with people who don’t love people like me. I don’t know why that still shocks me.
Swell
By: J.D. Harms
Tags: Poetry, Relationships, Memories, Moments, Love

There is an opening

between words

that you slip inside of

This is just before

the magic breath begins

its exhale

Inflated presumption

here dies a dialogue

hiding behind winds of desire

Flawed scopes

blur the distances &

the busker takes your guitar elsewhere

Some things have to swell

to push

the embrace through to the world

leaving us open

to this
Sevencoin Exchange 進展報告 03/11–04/14
Tags: Blockchain, 工作誌, Sevencoin, 進展報告

in In Fitness And In Health
Dogs Are Coming Back to the White House!!
By: Ilene Starr, Blossum Ann Miracle Dottie Starr
Tags: Politics, Anecdotes, Life, Pets, Dogs

Animal Advocacy

Dogs Are Coming Back to the White House!!

It’s party time and I’m dressed for your Inauguration!

Woo Hoo Major and Champ! It’s party time and I’m dressed for your Inauguration!

What a relief to know dogs will be back in the White House. There weren’t any of us to supervise during the last four years and look what happened!

First Dogs from the recent past reached out to offer words of advice as you pack up and move into The People’s House:

Bo Obama, Portuguese Water Dog and most recent canine to set up housekeeping in the White House with Barack and Michelle Obama, has this to say:

Don’t sweat it. First Dog is a pretty cushy gig.

You have your own chef, so ask for what you want. I say, steak at every meal!

When you’re in the Situation Room, keep barking to a minimum.

Don’t poop on the rug in the Oval Office…at least not for the first two years.

Miss Beazley and Barney Bush, the Scottish Terriers brought to the White House by George W. and Laura Bush, want you to:

Be sure to direct your own Holiday Extravaganza. Oh, and insist you choose your own decorations and photographer!

Play hide and seek with the Secret Service. They love it!

Look really, really cute and you will get away with anything and everything! We tried and it really works!

Buddy Clinton, Labrador Retriever, brought to the White House by Bill and Hillary Clinton, would advise:

Pay attention in meetings, so you can give the Prez valuable, classified advice when all his advisors have gone home.

What’s said in the Oval Office stays in the Oval Office. Mum’s the word!

Groom yourself carefully so you always look handsome as you cross the South Lawn. You never know where the photographers are.

Millie Bush, Springer Spaniel, brought to the White House by George H.W. and Barbara Bush, suggests:

Accept that a book will inevitably be written about you. Proofread it yourself so they get it right. Kids all over will want to see you (and they always drop food!)

Have puppies in the White House. Everyone loves puppies!

Let your puppies loose in the White House. Nothing like a puppy scavenger hunt to make the Secretary of Defense smile!

We wish you a glorious stay! Remember, we’ve all been there. If you’re ever in a jam, give a call.

Cheers!
One Man’s Treasure
By: Robin Wilde
Tags: Nostalgia, Videogames, Yu Gi Oh, Wario

I won’t be alone in being a millennial who has trouble confronting my past self. Unlike past generations we don’t have the luxury of burning our diaries in the dead of night, because so much of it is pasted online for the world to see. So it’s interesting occasionally to go back to the very beginning, and to experience the cultural artefacts that influenced me before the internet extended its corrupting tentacles.

Emulation is a wonderful thing, and having the entire library of a console at your fingertips is a temptation it’s hard to ignore. It was in this spirit I fired up Yu-Gi-Oh! The Falsebound Kingdom, which I remembered as an epic adventure with stunning graphics and deep, multi-genre gameplay, as I wouldn’t have put it when I was nine.

Oh dear. Well, it’s certainly epic in the sense of being huge, although it’s less an elegant 12-course dégustation than the equivalent of devouring a barrel of gruel. The creature models aren’t bad for 2002, it’s true, though they really lose something cycling through the same eight attack animations and five background locations.

Looking at these games through an adult eye, you start to probe questions that didn’t arise at an age when you unquestioningly accepted the reality put before you. Why has a series famed for its card-battling mechanics decided that it suddenly needs to become Pokémon? Why are all the maps completely square, culminating in a featureless black void? Why are all the stars painted onto an obvious sphere around the level rather than using a proper skybox?

We know the mundane answers, of course — time and budget constraints on the developers, plus this being nobody’s idea of a magnum opus. But it’s a curiously reassuring sign that my tastes have matured over the years, even if it doesn’t speak well of the kind of content which received the Nintendo Seal of Quality.

What’s more disappointing than the actively bad are the merely mediocre. Wario World is ostensibly a member of the same platformer family as the Wario Land games, except the inevitable result of farming it out to a third party developer is a short, loveless game reliant on badly dated early-2000s visuals and a sense of humour that keeps the grossing out but misses the personality. It’s not one of Nintendo’s finer moments, given that until that point Wario’s record was pretty flawless. The less said about Wario: Master of Disguise, the better.

But for all the disappointment, I’ve found something genuinely cathartic about laughing at every failure and missed opportunity. I hope someone goes through my creative works with the same critical eye one day — but that would require everything I make not to be perfect, and that isn’t going to happen any time soon. If you have fond memories of something from your childhood you haven’t revisited in a while, why not go and burn some bridges? It’s better than spending your lockdown staring at the walls.
Notes From a Demonstration
By: The Battleground
Tags: Palestine, Germany, Photo Essay, Berlin, Israel

No country, apart from the United States, is as riven with debate about its relationship with Israel as Germany.

The reasons are obvious. But the enthusiasm shown for the Jewish state has been more cautious. Some might even say, since Bonn first exchanged ambassadors with Jerusalem, in 1965.

It was the eve of the German student movement, which, in the wake of the 1967 Six Day War, would become heavily pro-Palestinian.

Inevitably, Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories became bound up with German criticism of the conflict in Vietnam and Germany’s support for the US during the Cold War.

For many Jews, German leftists would take over responsibility for Antisemitism from the Nazis, following the 1976 hijacking of an Air France airliner from Tel Aviv to Entebbe by the Baader-Meinhof gang, with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).
5 Things Happy People Almost Never Do
By: Eva Keiffenheim
Tags: Life Lessons, Relationships, Advice, Habits, Happiness

Obsessing Over Productivity

Let me guess. You’ve read all the lists about the things productive people do. You know to plan your day in the evening, create an environment that works for you, and do your deep work in the morning.

But productivity doesn’t lead to happiness.

From 2017 to 2019, I obsessed over my morning routine. I took a cold shower, did some breathing exercises, meditated, and journaled. And while these habits can help, they become an anti-dote to unhappiness if you treat them as dogma.

Productivity habits can be great. But like almost anything in life, they have a marginal point of utility. At some point, any additional piece of productivity doesn’t make your life better but even decrease your happiness.

A zero inbox at 6 PM can be great. But if you always prioritize your inbox over your life’s playfulness, your inbox will make you feel unhappy. Productivity can enhance your lives, yes, but obsessing over it is toxic.

Obsessing over productivity is a fast track to unhappiness. Do too much of anything, and you’ll feel drained. Or, as my grandma said,

“Moderation in all things is the best policy.”

What to do instead:

Take a step back and look at the role of productivity in your life. Does it still serve you, or have you reached the point where it lowers your wellbeing?

If you’ve deprived your life of all pleasure and sensuality, you should pull the brake.

Faster is not always better. You won’t find the happiest people sitting in a corner office in NYC or watching the number on their bank accounts rise.

Genuinely happy people value playtime as much as their productivity. Don’t trade seeing your friends on Friday night for a larger paycheck. Stop chasing optimization and start treasuring what you already have.

Break your self-made productivity shackles. Even if other people claim it to be working for them, it will not always work for you. Only keep the habits you really like. Allow yourself to engage and enjoy activities that don’t feel productive.
AWS — Deploying React With NodeJS App On ECS
By: Bhargav Bachina
Tags: Software Development, Programming, AWS, Web Development, Docker

AWS — Deploying React With NodeJS App On ECS

A step by step guide with an example project

Photo by Taylor Wright on Unsplash

AWS provides more than 100 services and it’s very important to know which service you should select for your needs. Amazon Elastic Container Service (Amazon ECS) is a highly scalable, fast, container management service that makes it easy to run, stop, and manage Docker containers on a cluster of Amazon EC2 instances. Amazon ECS lets you launch and stop container-based applications with simple API calls, allows you to get the state of your cluster from a centralized service, and gives you access to many familiar Amazon EC2 features.

In this post, we are going to deploy React application with nodejs environment. First, we dockerize our app and push that image to Amazon ECR and run that app on Amazon ECS.

Example Project

Prerequisites

Dockerize the Project

Pushing Docker Image To ECR

Deploying On AWS ECS

Accessing Webapp in the Browser

Cleaning Up

Summary

Conclusion

Example Project

This is a simple project which demonstrates developing and running React application with NodeJS. We have a simple app in which we can add users, count, and display them at the side, and retrieve them whenever you want.

Example Project

If you want to practice your own here is a Github link to this project. You can clone it and run it on your machine as well.
Tax Wars: How H&R Block & TurboTax Are Leveraging Influencers
Tags: Marketing, Content Marketing, Influencer Campaigns, Social Media Marketing, Advertising

For more information about Julius or our blog, please contact Russell Wilde Jr.

By: Noah Tuller

It’s everyone’s favorite time of the year: Tax Season. Donald Trump proclaimed his dream of making the Tax Code so simple it would put H&R Block out of business, but we’re not quite there yet. Meanwhile, H&R Block and TurboTax have both boosted marketing efforts and ramped up their influencer strategy.

For years, H&R Block has featured an unknown, grey-haired, bespectacled gentleman along with the slogan “Get Your Billions Back America,” playing on the idea that those who do their taxes without a professional are leaving money on the table. Their new campaign features a face many would recognize, Mad Men’s Jon Hamm. Hamm, who has previously done voice over work for American Airlines and Mercedes, finally makes his debut as the face of an advertising campaign.

The dapper Don Draper and his commercials are a stark contrast to what H&R Block has previously done. Hamm, dressed more stylishly, is smooth talking and casually publicizes H&R Block’s new slogan: “Get Your Taxes Won.” The idea here is that if Jon Hamm is on the screen, you’re going to be watching him, so there’s no need for him to scream anything from the rafters. He’s already got your attention.

Jon Hamm H&R Block commercial

While H&R Block is using one person to spearhead their new campaign, TurboTax has picked a handful of high profile celebrities to do the same. Music producer DJ Khaled, actress Kathy Bates, and retired baseball player David Ortiz are all names TurboTax has tapped into in order to promote the ability to video message financial consultants straight from your phone in order to help walk you through how to fill out your forms.

What is great about the TurboTax ads is that they play on the idea of each celebrity looking for tax advice on relatable activities. Ortiz is now occupying his time by teaching tennis at a country club and is curious if he can write-off the equipment he is purchasing. Bates has just moved into a new home haunted by ghosts and wants to know if they can be claimed as dependents (not so relatable necessarily but a great nod to her Emmy award-winning role in American Horror Story). Finally, DJ Khaled inquires about business deductions after starting his own personal training business. The company, owned by Intuit, has also tapped into the Hispanic market by creating a commercial in Spanish featuring actress Karla Souza.

DJ Khaled TurboTax commercial

Both H&R Block and TurboTax tap into the distinct personalities and backgrounds of each influencer, which creates enjoyable content to watch. Once we get into the heart of that much-anticipated time of the year and you need something to help put a smile on your face, just remember the look of pure delight Jon Hamm has when he bites into that sprinkle donut or that when the tax expert in the video message asks, “Hello Mr. Khaled, did you have a tax question?” DJ Khaled responds with “Yes, Ms. Tax Lady.”