fabiochiu/medium-articles huggingface dataset:
Applying Machine Learning to Tic-Tac-Toe
By: Jake Mitchell
Tags: Games, Simulation, Matlab, Data Science, Machine Learning

Tic-Tac-Toe Machine V2.0

The solution to this was rather simple. Have another machine start with no logic of the game whatsoever, and have it face my Tic-tac-toe machine version 1.0 (TTT-M1). Using the same code as before, this new machine (TTT-M2) would learn over 150,000 games how to play Tic-tac-toe, but it would learn against an opponent with a decent amount of skill. Theoretically, TTT-M2 should be smarter than TTT-M1, since it has thousands of games to expose it’s weaknesses, while still getting to develop new strategies.

One particular situation I was interested to see play out was the first move decisions. TTT-M1 got the first move, and I expected it to converge on the middle spot as being the best. It turns out, it actually liked the corners more for it’s starting spot. This left the middle open for the second player, leading to TTT-M1 losing a lot of it’s games against real people. I wanted to see if TTT-M2 would pick up on this weakness, and start targeting the middle spot if it was open for it’s turn.

Here is the learning rate for TTT-M2 against TTT-M1:

Image provided by the author

As you can see, the win percentage started out very low since it was facing an opponent with some knowledge of the game. As the simulations went on, it learned the weaknesses of TTT-M1 until it converged to a winning rate around 0.50. This is very good considering it did not have the first move.

It had also learned that if TTT-M1 did not take the middle on the first move, then it should take it. This proves the well known fact that the middle spot is the best spot to have in Tic-tac-toe.

Now that I had a decent opponent, I developed TTT-M3.

Tic-Tac-Toe Machine V3.0

The final evolution of my Tic-tac-toe machine learning project is TTT-M3. This machine faced off against TTT-M2 in 150,000 games, learning the best strategies while also finding the current holes in the best database. After 150,000 games, here are the results:

Image provided by the author

This shows that the final generation of this Tic-tac-toe machine learning project started out very weak. It hovered around a 25% win rate in the first 1000 games, but then took off and reached around 74%. This is against an opponent with some Tic-tac-toe logic as well (TTT-M2). Here is an example game I played against TTT-M3 (“2” is TTT-M3’s move, and a “1” is my move):

Image provided by the author

I noticed right away that it had developed a strategy to lure me into picking the center spot. Once I did that, it was a tie game every time, which in the computer’s mind, is a good result.

Image provided by the author

I played the middle spot, falling for the trap. It then sets me up to take the top left corner.

Image provided by the author

After blocking it’s horizontal attempt up top, it then sets me up again on the rightmost column.

Image provided by the author

It’s next move in the second row and first column sets up the tie, securing the fate of this match.
Tap Into Who You Are and Bring What You Have to the World
By: Sharon Woodhouse
Tags: Authors, Small Business, Solopreneur, Marketing Strategies, Small Business Marketing

Tap Into Who You Are and Bring What You Have to the World

8 ways for authors, creatives, side hustlers, solopreneurs, and micro-businesses to customize and optimize their marketing efforts Sharon Woodhouse Mar 9·7 min read

Photo by Jonathan Erasmus.

Having written a book, monetized your art, started a freelance side hustle, or launched your small business are all incredible achievements, and those who focus their creativity in one of these ways should make the most of that foundation. Share your content, your art, your products, and your services with the world. Integrate your enterprise and its marketing into your life, and leverage what you’ve started for maximum satisfaction, starting with the sweet gratification of proper financial reward!

I have been helping creatives and small business types make money from their work my entire 27-year career. It started with the authors I published, many of whom turned a single nonfiction book on a topic close to their heart into a cottage industry, a side gig that yielded personal and monetary returns for 3–7+ years after the book’s release.

One thing I learned years ago was that the best way to make money in publishing (or endeavor of your choice) was to customize the sales and marketing approach to fit each author, their book, their personality, their goals, their lifestyle, and their readers. What I have come to think since the 2008 recession is that this is now the only way for authors — and by extension, many other writers, creatives, and small businesses — to receive ample compensation for their endeavors.

There are eight areas I’ve identified that you as a soloist can look at when creating a personalized sales and promotion plan that works for you and your projects.
The Truth About Print on Demand for Small Stores that May Surprise You
By: Roxanne Rockvam
Tags: Small Business Owner, Motivational Quotes, Print On Demand, Marketing Strategies, Small Business Marketing

Visit TheEntrepreneurInMeSays.com for our motivational shirts made via Print on Demand

Way back in 2008 I wanted to make a T shirt for student. I searched online and found a company that would make a custom shirt, just the way I wanted.



It seemed too good to be true.



Back in my high school days we would order T shirts and sweatshirts for our clubs and there were always the dreaded minimums of 24 or 48… ugh. So when I saw that I could order just one T shirt it seemed bizarre. It was such an unfamiliar concept.



Just one shirt?



So I ordered. And dang. It was exactly what I wanted, great quality, super cute. It was a yellow T shirt with a cartoon hippie on it. The print quality was crisp, the shirt quality was sturdy, and it was fast!



At that time I thought, why not create something to sell in our family business. We have a retail store and the difficulty with inventory, especially seasonal or holiday focused inventory, is having to order too much stuff. It was coming up on the 4th of July so I created some American Flag hats.



They turned out amazing. There were no “minimums” required and yes… they sell to you and you can resell them.



It seriously is a bizarre concept. But once you explore this option it becomes a fantastic way to serve your customers with new and exciting products. These new products are also fun for you to create and they don’t take up huge amounts of space in your already small store storage room.



This is such an exciting process that I’ve done with lots of trial and error. But if you want to learn how from one easy to use workshop, make sure to check out my site at infinityproduct.com to bring new sales to your small store.



It’s actually a pretty darn easy process to create the items and if you are a creative person you’ll really think this is a blast. Come on this journey with me.



#doinginfinity
Pexels x Glorify: Making Great eCommerce Product Imagery Easy
Tags: Design, Ecommerce, Stock Photos, Marketing, Small Business Marketing

Glorify x Pexels in action.

We’re pleased to announce our latest API partnership with Glorify, a new eCommerce app that streamlines the product photo process.

Built specifically for small business owners and entrepreneurs, Glorify helps online retailers of all kinds create fast, professional product imagery.

Glorify is a useful tool particularly for Amazon sellers and dropshippers, who may not have the time or resources to spare on traditional product photo shoots. For eCommerce businesses based on frequently testing out new products, obtaining high-quality product imagery can be tough. That’s where Glorify comes in, with a suite of simple, easy-to-use design tools that enable eCommerce professionals to efficiently create the product photos they need to boost sales.

More possibilities in Glorify.

Our partnership means that the entire high-quality Pexels photo library will be available for use in Glorify. Users can make use of beautiful backgrounds, textures, interiors, and outdoor scenes (just to name a few examples) to add depth and visual interest to their product assets. And this can all be done right within the app — no need to search for the imagery you need, download, and then upload again.

As Glorify Growth Strategist Lazar Pavlovic notes, “Setting up an e-commerce business today is easy and accessible to everyone, despite age and location. There are thousands of entrepreneurs starting e-commerce businesses every single day.” Glorify aims to make it easier for these entrepreneurs to find success, along with help from Pexels.

Try out Glorify for yourself right here.
5 Important Strategies for Small Business
By: Society Of Ai
Tags: Manufacturing, Industry 4 0, Strategic Planning, Social Media Strategy, Small Business Marketing

We have talked so much about the top companies and manufacturing units but what about the small ones, let’s focus on what should be some of the strategies which can be adopted by the small manufacturers and what are some of the common thinking which they take throughout their business life and processes and then how they can become the reason for their which do not change for the years and years.

What the main problem of small manufacturer is that he always take increment in sales as the growth factor and which is not true. They always think that adding new products to the product lines will add more costs and they may incur the losses for the same as well. They always focus on the income statement and always ignore the most important part of the financial statements and that is balance sheet. There is concern is lacking for the cash flow as well which shouldn’t be done.But if there are problems, then there are some solutions for those problems as well. There are some strategies which can be used by those small manufacturers to sort out the things or the problems which they are facing in their business and which are stopping them to grow as well.

The first and foremost which they should do is that they should give equal importance to all the financial statements which they are preparing in their business because they all are the part of it and contain some important elements which needs to have their focus. The other one which they can use it to focus upon increasing the products in the product line which is already existing by taking into consideration the proper market research as well. Some of the basic examples of strategies for the small manufacturers is that the collaborations and strategic alliances due to their fear factor with regards to the costing part. The another thing which they can do is to revise the price of the products which they are serving because that is the part of marginal costing and will help the small manufactures to know about the proper fixed and variable overheads as well also it will help them to restructure their labor and material expenses too. Also, what they can do is to focus on the cost analysis, to make it simplifies is most important for the managers to take the proper decisions and to frame the strategies for the small manufacturers.

So, what we can say is that small manufacturers need to focus more upon the operations and management part and also it is very much important to remove all the myths which are prevailing because they think also the same as mentioned above.

If you liked the story and want to appreciate us you can clap as much as you can. Appreciate our work by your constructive comment and also you can connect to us on….

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Website : https://www.societyofai.in/
Business Traps for Blondes.. A relative insisted I needed iTunes on…
By: Digital Garden
Tags: Apple Id, Cybersecurity, Thriller Suspense, Trust, Small Business Marketing

A guide for business owners who have an AppleID, use dating platforms and on the whole believe that most people usually have good intentions.

In 2018 I began to understand the power of an AppleID. It starts off as something that is happy and lets you share photos with your devices and maybe a few friends. The next thing its a key to your soul and harbors evidence of something that is about to be twisted against you.

In 2012, my brother set up my first AppleID.

He wanted me to have an AppleID.

I should have asked more questions.

My home phone was set up as a trusted device. My brother failed to advise my landline could be used to reset my AppleID.

This was a good recipe for a stalker. Its much easier for a third party to send a code to a victim’s landline instead of their personal phone or computer.

If he wanted, he could access all my data by resetting the AppleID via my home phone. This was before facial recognition. Actually this was before a password was even required to access the iPhone. Of course he does not do this as I have no evidence.

But if I did have evidence. All he needed was the landline in the front room of the house and any device. Given I was usually in the kitchen (that was down the other end of the house) privacy was not a problem. The house had polished boards so my location was always easily tracked.

I also have early onset Parkinson disorder. A disability is attractive to organised crime. There are more weaknesses to leverage. Especially when another family member is involved. The entertainment can be guaranteed when one acts quickly without proper consideration and the other is more thoughtful (but will swiftly kick you under a bus whilst no one is looking).
Little known hack to add “oomph” to your content
By: Naveen Sivakumaran
Tags: Content Marketing Tips, Content Marketing, Content Strategy, Small Business Marketing, Digital Marketing

Feeling stuck when trying to create content for your business?



It can feel like you’ve exhausted all avenues.



Try this — Talk to your customers.



Over the phone or at your store.



Ask simple questions like:

- Why do they buy from you

- What difference does your product/service make in their lives



Their answers will help create interesting content. Great content.



Here’s why:

✔ They speak the language your customers use to describe what you offer

✔ You might realise the words you’ve been using on your content don’t work

✔ Their answers reflect what they’re thinking of you now

✔ You’ll know how similar people will search for you online



Congratulations!



You’re now ahead of your competition.



You have valuable insights to make your content timely, relevant and SEO-friendly.



That’s why I schedule bi-monthly calls with my clients when handling their content and social media marketing. I pick their brains on what their customers have been telling them.



If you want to try this out, drop me a comment and let me know.

I’ll craft a message (FREE) that you can use to gather insights from your customers.
Content strategy quick fix — If you can’t create, curate
By: Naveen Sivakumaran
Tags: Small Business, Digital Marketing Agency, Content Strategy, Content Marketing, Small Business Marketing

Creating content is hard work.

Harder when you have to do it frequently.

It gets worse when sales, cash flow and operations are screaming for attention too!

Hitting that metaphorical wall is normal.

Wanting to quit is normal too.

But, that doesn’t have to be your norm.

A simple way to get over this is to CURATE — sharing content that others have created.

As long as you credit them, most creators would be delighted if you share their work.

It’s cross-promotion in action.

However, don’t curate everything you find interesting.

That hilarious “milk crate challenge” video… Pass!

A twerk video… Hard pass!

Curated content must be:

Useful to your audience

Relevant to your industry

Timely

Entertaining (when possible)

For extra goodness, add your spin to it rather than simply sharing a link.

Undeniable benefits of using curated content in your content strategy:

Faster

Cheaper

Builds new relationships (with other creators and related businesses)

Gives your audience fresh perspectives

Helps position you as an expert in your industry

For an obvious example of successful content curation, think of an art museum.

Other interesting examples:

If you create content for your business and need a hand with it, drop a comment and let me know. I’d be thrilled to help out.
Content strategy: Perfection vs frequency
By: Naveen Sivakumaran
Tags: Online Marketing Strategy, Small Business, Content Strategy, Content Marketing, Small Business Marketing

Do you know why Eminem and Pablo Picasso are alike?

First, here’s some context as to why I ask you that question.

When we start creating (content, online marketing strategy, software), we start by looking at what the others are doing.

We compare. Research. Analyse. Repeat.

Do you know what we don’t do?

Ship. Aka publish. Aka execute.

Here’s what I’ve learned — Do not compare your content to that of giants.

They invest millions of dollars and weeks and months on production before publishing (mostly).

Want to create content like Gary Vaynerchuk? He’s got a whole media team following him around!

We are never going to match that (yet).

The sooner we accept this, the sooner we can get out of our own way.

See, our audience is not expecting perfect content.

Like my clients’ customers, they’re eager for authentic content that entertains and educates.

Your audience is human. They forgive imperfection.

A handful of keyboard warriors may criticise. But, who wants them as customers? They are going to be a**holes anyhow.

The majority of your customers will forgive when they know it was a sincere effort on your part to give them value. They’ll even love you for it.

Do you know what’s beautiful? When keyboard warriors take shots at you, your loyal fans show up! They stand up for you because they love and appreciate what you stand for. This can only be done if YOU show up for them, mistakes and all. Through your marketing and content.

An average sales email yields better results than a letter you spent 3 months editing and never sent.

The perfect image and copy you spent hours sweating over but never published because they haven’t been approved by 3 levels of hierarchy, is useless.

Content published frequently helps understand what resonates with your audience.

So,

Create fast. Ship often. Learn as you go. Improve. Before we realise it, our content becomes awesome.

Answering my opening question:

Eminem and Pablo Picasso are similar in that they shipped. A lot.

Eminem dropped mixtapes. We know only the hits.

Picasso created thousands of paintings, but we know of only a few.

If you enjoyed this post, drop a comment and let me know what content ideas you’re working on. I’d love to brainstorm ideas with you.
The ONE thing small and medium-sized businesses get wrong, every time
By: Naveen Sivakumaran
Tags: Small Business, Digital Marketing Agency, Marketing For Business, Content Strategy, Small Business Marketing

We know our product.

We know our operation.

But who exactly are we trying to serve?

That’s right — hundreds of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are trying to be everything for everyone.

Why is this ineffective?

Let’s take a quick trip into the dating world.

We have a specific type of person we’d like to be with.

Then, wouldn’t it make sense to be the kind of person who would attract that ideal?

Or, would you keep changing who you are and chase everyone hoping for a yes?

We cannot be everything for everyone.

The same is true in business.

When I tried to be everything for everyone, I was dealing with business owners and managers whose:

Demographics varied

Business needs were different

Challenges were different

Decision-making process was different

Online behaviour — websites they visit, social channels they’re active on — was different

Now, imagine crafting a brand to cater to all of this!

All of this impacted how and what I could sell them.

I found it effective to pick the one type of client I’d love to work with.

This is the customer who:

Knows and understands what I offer

I’d love to be friends with

Sees me an extended member of their team

Trusts me

Can make decisions

Can afford me.

Isn’t it easier to “speak” to only this customer?

It might take a bit of time and energy.

After all, it’s not about crafting any message and tossing it to the public hoping someone will resonate with it.

When trying to be everything for everyone, we become nothing.

We become a commodity.

We compete on price.

And so begins the race to the bottom.

Getting this one thing right puts you ahead of your competition because it influences many of your business decisions for the better.

Stop what you’re doing right now and ask yourself, “Who am I trying to sell to?”.
Create a Full Stack Note-Taking App with Python, FastAPI, Docker + PostgreSQL
Tags: Full Stack, Python, Docker, Microservices, Postgres

When user click on Save button, submit function will be called... Line 56-66: Get values from all the input field & check for null/empty values. Line 68-83: Send a POST request to the add_note route along with all the data with content-type as JSON. On successful response go to the Notes.html page...

Edit.html

The functions are mostly similar to NewNote.html page … just the route is different in the POST request.

Dockerfile (server/Dockerfile)

server/Dockerfile

Line 1: using nginx:1.18-alpine image Line 2: copy our configuration file (nginx.conf) to /etc/nginx/nginx.conf (inside container)

Nginx Configuration File (server/nginx.conf)

Line 1: http proxy (Layer 7) Line 2: include the corresponding mime types of different file extensions Line 4,5: http server on port 80 (inside container) Line 6: Root folder for serving files Line 8,9,10: Reverse proxy to

example: Nginx will convert any request like api) Reverse proxy to http://api/ (Our Python API container).Nginx will convert any request like http://localhost:8000/api/notes/k yogre to http://api/notes/kyogre . (Remember our Python's API server name is

Nginx Service in docker-compose.yml

Line 23: Name of our container Line 24: Building the container from the Dockerfile present in ./server/ directory Line 25,26: Mount the ./server/html_files/ folder to /usr/share/nginx/html folder, So that any changes in the html files will reflect simultaneously to the running container. Hence we dont need to restart the container services after any changes in html files. Line 27-29: This container depends on db & api containers Line 30,31: Attaching to the webnotes_network Line 32,33: Forwarding port 80 of nginx container(server) to port 8000 (in our host OS). Nginx is running on port 80 inside container.



Building & Running our Application

* To build & run all the containers

- docker-compose up --build * Run all the containers without building from Dockerfile & docker-compose.yml

- docker-compose up

After running “docker-compose up --build” all the containers will start automatically. Now our WebNotes application will be up & running on (http://localhost:8000)

Inspecting any container
Part 3(c) — Search Functionality. So far, we have all the functionality…
By: Chloe Aribo
Tags: Full Stack, JavaScript, React, Tutorial

To filter through the data let’s edit the ResultsContainer.jsx file. In ResultsContainer.jsx, assign the values of the props passed to a new variable called “results”. Create another variable called “resultArr” assigned to an empty array.

Then, declare a for loop to iterate through the props. In this loop we want to push a new box into the resultArr on each iteration. After looping through the data, the resultArr will contain a box for each business listing. ResultsContainer.jsx will render this resultArr.

Because Results.jsx renders only a single box, we can push a Results.jsx component into the resultsArr on each iteration — all while passing the results as props to the Results.jsx component.

ResultsContainer.jsx can then render the resultArr along with some header text “Browse Businesses in Your Area”.

ResultsContainer.jsx file

In Results.jsx we can define the info we want in each box. Each box will have a “title” paired with the matching result data (“Name”: “Father & Son Insurance”, etc.).

Results.jsx file

Now when a user enters a keyword, zip code, selects a category, and clicks submit :
Part 3(b) — Search Functionality. In Part 3(a) we created a GET request…
By: Chloe Aribo
Tags: Full Stack, JavaScript, Expressjs, Nodejs

Now, let’s create a route for the path to ‘/categories’ we made in our “getDropDown” GET request.

In our server.js file declare a route that, for now, responds with a status of 200. You always need to respond to a request. Even if you have no data to respond with you can respond with a status. Look here for all status codes.

server.js file

Next, we’ll need to create a controller function to help us get the data from our categories.json file. Controllers are middleware (functions) that perform tasks on a route. In this case, the task will be getting the requested data (the list of categories) and returning that data as a response object

Create a folder in the Server folder called “Controllers”. In the Controllers folder, create a file called “categoriesController.js”. In the categoriesController.js file, declare a variable called “categoriesController” that is assigned to an empty object. Each controller we create in this file will be added as a key to this categoriesController object. We will export this entire object.

Create a key called “getCategories”, assign this key to an arrow function with req, res, and next as parameters (representing the request object, response object, and next function respectively).

In this function, destructure the categories object from the categories.json file. Use the “fs.ReadFileSync” method to get data from that file. Be sure to parse the data from that file using the JSON.parse method.

Store the categories response object you get from the categories.json file to res.locals. Then, return next. You can also add a conditional to throw an error if the categories object is empty.

**Note: Res.locals is an object that contains response local variables scoped to the request. It’s values are available only during that request / response cycle.**

**Note: Returning next moves response data from one controller to the next controller (if any) and then back to the route. Without returning next you’ll never leave the controller function.**

categoriesController.js file

Add the controller to the ‘/categories’ route in the server.js file.

Once the data from the categories.json file is saved to res.locals, you can modify the route to respond with that data in addition to the status.

server.js file revised

Now our GET request to ‘/categories’ in SearchBar.jsx can be completed. We are now querying data stored locally on our computers!
#HellMonth at AltCampus
By: Tejas Aithal
Tags: Web Development, Altcampus, Fullstack, Mern, Dharamshala

Original blog at www.badbrahmin.in

December 2019 was one of the craziest months here at AltCampus. We were done with our formal tuition and we were (close to) ready to code together a full-stack app. This is my attempt to put together a couple of things I learned and the experiences we had. Trust me, the last month of the decade tipped quite a few scales and had more AHA! moments than I can count.

What we built: The Explorer (~‾▿‾)~

Our Stack

— — — — — — — — — —

A MongoDB + Node.js + Express.js backend serving a React.js (+ Redux) frontend.

We have been learning the MERN stack and playing to our new-found strengths was the best foot forward.

App Idea

— — — — — — — — — —

Problem:

We have a bunch of great mentors who have mastered their craft and a tiny community filled with folks from various backgrounds. While this gives us students an All-Access pass to the world of tech, we didn’t do a lot on other fronts like personal finance, relationship building, management, marketing, writing, goal setting etc.

While weekly sessions helped, we felt the need for something more. Perhaps an automated system that would continuously add knowledge to an individual’s database? (AHA! Tech reference.)

Thus, Explorer (working name: Exposure System) was conceptualized.

Team:

Idea:

An internal system that would mail resources to students and the alum. Post consumption, the receiver will write down their key takeaways from that resource.

These will be sent individually, in teams of two and three. This ensures we have group participation too.

Points are awarded per submission and deducted on failure to do so.

Process (WIP)

— — — — — — — — — —

This part of the post will essentially be a list of topics I’ll cover going forward. The series will try to outline how the app came to life (on our localhost’s) and things I learned along the way. Jabillion’s of console.log()’s and errors later, we are really proud of what we’ve built.

(☞⌐■_■)☞

Coming up: Building User Stories and how they can help.

Things that made #HellMonth, a Hell Month.

— — — — — — — — — —
Creating an Application Shell with Rails and GraphQL
By: Patrick Candlin
Tags: Ruby, Full Stack, GraphQL, Rails

After jumping into GraphQL it is easy to see why it is so popular. The main benefit of GraphQL is that it allows the client to have a say in the structure of the data requested from the server. This is achieved by creating a schema-based query language that is shared by the client and the server.

This query-based approach offers one main advantage over REST APIs. With a REST API, the client sends HTTP requests (get, post, delete, etc…) to various endpoints and gets the response back in a predetermined form. For instance:

Client sends a GET to https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/users and the server responds with:

The problem with the above is there might be a bunch of data we might not want. GraphQL allows control over this by allowing the clientside developer to write queries for the data they want. For example:

query: {

Users: {

name

email

}

}

Which would receive the following response:

Pretty cool!

Getting started with GraphQL is easy in rails.

Create the App shell:

rails new graphql_app --database-pg and cd graphql_app ***Note: do not use --api for in the app generator. We need the stuff the comes with views so that the GraphiQL user interface render properly. Which is nice for writing test queries. add gem 'graphql' to your Gemfile and run bundle install . Please check out the docs for more details. run rails generate graphql:install this will: create a bunch of boilerplate for setting up the graphQL API and install a new gem graphiql-rails . run bundle install again to install the graphiql-rails gem. run rails db:create to create the DB. To tell rails what it needs to render on add the following links to app/assets/config/manifest.js

//= link graphiql/rails/application.css

//= link graphiql/rails/application.css run rails s and go to http://localhost3000/graphiql

You should see the below.

Congrats you have an empty Rails / GraphQL shell to get started!
Having a degree in Computer Science from a top university isn’t enough anymore
By: Ayah Abu Sgayar
Tags: Computer Science, Full Stack, Nanodegree, Udacity, Graduate

This is the first time ever, since the 8th grade I guess, that I write in a public forum like this. And although I’m almost certain that little to no readers will stumble upon my stories, it feels nice to imagine having a listening ear and a small audience, so hello to you, my friend.

I graduated from Tel Aviv University with two degrees: Computer Science and Psychology. It took me longer than the usual amount of time to finish my studies, for many reasons that I will not bore you with right now, but eventually I finished. And today I’m taking my first steps in the journey of finding my next and first position in Software Engineering.

You need to stand out. Hundreds of people apply to that job listing that you think fits you so well. Many of them will be better than you in a variety of skills, and you need to somehow stand out.

I hear this a lot, and after applying for over 30 positions in the last few months, and not having a single call back, I think they’re right. I’m not standing out enough, although believe me, I am a catch, but something isn’t working well up ’til now.

And something needs to change.

So I decided to enroll in a Udacity Nanodegree Program (bet you didn’t see that coming).

I mean, let’s be honest, my average is neither good or bad, and unless I put something in my CV that makes up for this somewhat bad disadvantage, I won’t be standing out anywhere (I say somewhat because I don’t think we should measure peoples’ abilities according to their grades, and one day I’ll write more about the subject).

Anyway, I enrolled in the “Full Stack Web Developer” program. In it, I get to work on 5 different projects that I can add to my CV, and that will help me work on my skills and be more involved in this world I’m very eager to become a part of. It took me a good amount of courage to take this step, since it costs a fortune to an unemployed grad like me, but I’m grateful I did it.

In my next story (is this what I should call every piece I write in here?), I’ll be writing about my first steps in the program, how it’s going so far, and some more stuff like that.
Hire Full Stack Development Services Company: Jai Infoway
Tags: Full Stack, Full Stack Developer, Hire Dedicated Developer, Hire Developers, Full Stack Development

Why does your business need Full Stack Development Company

When your project needs a quick MVP.

When you need to manage with a client’s expectations while developing an app.

When only a little amount of shared responsibility is required and things must be delivered on time.

When you need to cut the cost of developing an application.

When you want to improve the management of your startup’s team.

When you receive better assistance and maintenance

Our Full-Stack Development Services

Front End Development

Full Stack Mobile Development

Full-Stack Magento Development

Custom Full Stack Development Services

A Python-based web development framework with a simple interface.

Integration and Deployment Services.

Why Hire Full Stack Developers from Jai Infoway?

One-Stop Solution Provider

24*7 Support

Clients and our team sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) to keep the project idea strictly confidential.

We conduct a series of tests to identify bugs and ensure that it is user-friendly.

We follow Agile Methodology.

Ensure timely delivery of your project.

How does Our On-boarding Process Work?

Understanding your project requirement.

Sign NDA with us.

Discovery and planning with Expert.

Developing the front end & back end.

Testing & Release the products.

Support & Maintenance

Are you interested in working on a full-stack project with us?

You can hire full-stack developers, From Jai Infoway, We ensure your success by speeding up the release of digital products.

Visit: https://jaiinfoway.com/custom-development
Setting up Rails as an API for a React Frontend
By: Shane Geary
Tags: Ruby, Full Stack, Coding, Ruby on Rails, API

The first step in this is always running the command to create a new rails app with rails new app-name where app-name is filled in with whatever you are naming your application. We also want to configure webpacker with our new app by adding — webpack=react to use React as well as configuring postgres as a default database:

rails new app-name --webpack=react --database=postgresql

When that finishes creating everything, always make sure to cd into the directory of your new Rails app (cd app-name). Now we want to create the database by running this line in the terminal:

rails db:create

This app’s models will be venues and each venue will have many reviews. Venues will have a name, slug and image_url. While reviews will have title, description, score and venue_id to associate the venue it belongs to.

In the command line of the terminal, we will run these generators to create the files for the models:

rails g model Venue name slug image_url rails g model Review title description score:integer venue:belongs_to

** Using venue:belongs_to in the generator is an easy way to establish the belongs_to relationship between venues and reviews and it will also handle setting the foreign key on the table and create an index.

These generators will create the 2 associated files in db/migrations and in app/models.

Adding has_many: reviews to the Venue model:

class Venue < ApplicationRecord

has_many :reviews

end

We are now ready to migrate our database:

rails db:migrate

After running that you should see a new schema.rb file created.

Adding a before_create callback to the venues controller that creates a unique slug based off the venues name when we create new venue:

class Venue < ApplicationRecord

has_many :reviews before_create :slugify



def slugify

self.slug = parameterize

end

end

Parameterize should handle both down casing characters and replacing spaces with hyphens for us.

Now to create a method in the Venue model that will take all of the reviews that belong to a Venue and get the average over all rating:

def avg_score

return 0 unless reviews.size.positive? reviews.average(:score).to_f.round(2)

end

The Venue model should now look like this:

class Venue < ApplicationRecord

has_many :reviews before_create :slugify def slugify

self.slug = name.parameterize

end def avg_score

return 0 unless reviews.size.positive? reviews.average(:score).to_f.round(2)

end

end

This is a good point to seed the database with your choice of custom seed data by adding it to the db/seeds.rb file and running the following command:
Thanks to our 300 followers!
By: Giulio Prisco
Tags: Books, Turing Church, Science And Technology, Letters, Religion And Spirituality

300 followers is not a million yet, but it’s a start!

Thank you all for following turingchurch.net! We hope you find our posts on the intersections of science and religion interesting, and perhaps some times inspiring.

My book “Tales of the Turing Church: Hacking religion, enlightening science, awakening technology” is available for readers to buy on Amazon (Kindle and paperback editions).

Please buy my book, and/or donate to support other Turing Church projects.

Hacking religion, enlightening science, awakening technology

We hope you’ll continue to follow our developing ideas on spirituality and technology, engineering and science fiction, mind and matter. Don’t forget that turingchurch.net is open to contributions from readers. You are welcome and encouraged to post comments and submit articles.

Our cosmic visions:

We will go to the stars and find Gods, build Gods, become Gods, and resurrect the dead from the past with advanced science, space-time engineering and “time magic.”

God is emerging from the community of advanced forms of life and civilizations in the universe, and able to influence space-time events anywhere, anytime, including here and now.

God elevates love and compassion to the status of fundamental forces, key drivers for the evolution of the universe.

New contributor Sarah Chowhugger has written a series of posts on her cosmic visions.

What are YOUR cosmic visions?

Picture from Wikimedia Commons.
How to Keep a Modest Mind
By: Gabriella Didio, Let Yourself Shine
Tags: Christianity, Purity, God, Religion And Spirituality, Jesus

“Clean the inside of the cup and dish then the outside will become pure.” — The Bible

In our culture today anything goes, and no one seems to check it. Is it any wonder that there is an increase in depression, a search for purpose, sadness, emptiness, and broken relationships that kept nothing sacred and exclusive for a spouse?

Our behaviors first start in the mind. There are many thoughts that come into our mind each day. And they can take root in our soul, or we can pluck them out and offer them to God as a sacrifice.

An example of the kinds of thoughts we have are: the thoughts of our flesh, the voice of the enemy trying to make us fall spiritually, the Spirit of God giving us encouragement, and the words of godly men and women.

Reasons for the problem: Instead of relying on our own limited understanding. We can look to The Bible as a lamp to light our way.

“All uncleanliness of covetousness, let it not be held among you as is fitting for Saints.” Ephesians 5:3

Even Jesus said, “No-one who puts their hand on the plow, and looks back is fit for the Kingdom of God.” Luke 9:62

“Take every thought captive” — 2: Corinthians 10:5

Our lives can improve dramatically when we keep God’s design for how we should live. And keep our minds pure, just as Jesus was pure. That means immediately surrendering all unclean thoughts back to God. And following his commandments.
Daily Bite-God shall bless!
By: Donnaree Taylor-Mitchell
Tags: Daily Bite Devotional, Christianity, Dtaylormitchell, Religion And Spirituality, Psalm

Daily Bite-God shall bless!

Today’s verse: Psalm 67:7

God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear him.

Are you worried about what the future holds for you?

Thinking about the future may lead to uncertainties. You plan and make preparations but there is no guarantee that things will work out in your favour.

You may be unsure of many things. Your career plans may not work out. Your marriage journey may be different from how you imagined it to be. It may take lengthy periods to realize some of your life goals.

With all the uncertainties of the future there is one sure thing. God shall bless us!

You may be doubtful about the future of your career but you can be certain that God shall bless.

You may not be confident in the future of the economy but you can be assured that God shall bless.

You may not be able to see pass school, work, family, and everything else you are juggling, but you are able to see a future where God shall bless.

It is taking longer to get that house, but God shall bless. It is taking forever to have your first child, but God shall bless.

God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear him.

Whatever negative thoughts you are having about your present, your future, or any other aspects of your life, comfort yourself with the thought that God shall bless.

Heavenly Father,

I thank You for all You have done for me. I thank You for past, present, and future blessing. Help me to be greatful for all You have blessed me with. Allow me to continuously embrace your blessings for my life. In Jesus’ name Amen.
#Tumindig: The Most Iconic Filipino Movement
By: Jason Casil
Tags: Activism, Advocacy, Equality, Art, Filipino Artist

Artwork by Kevin Raymundo / @KevinKalbo in Twitter

To those who are unfamiliar, ‘Tumindig’ is a Filipino word that translates to an English phrase “To stand firmly” or “arise”. He expressed this by his drawing, where one fist is visibly standing while the others kneel.

The artwork made by Mr. Raymundo was powerful enough to break through the barriers on being bystanders and apolitical.

On an interview with Rappler, He said “The message is to not be afraid of speaking out, and of standing up for what is right, even if it feels like you’re the only one doing it.”

In the country, many teenagers to young adults are actively expressing their constructive criticisms and concerns through social media, online activities, and face-to-face movements. However, there are many reported cases of security breaching, arrests, and harassments related to young activists.

Photo by Aaron Favila

Those who has the privilege and freedom to speak-up on behalf of them are signified by a fist standing up in dissent. While the fist next to it seemed curious, Kevin told in an interview that he wanted to show how one’s voice can affect those around them.
The Time Has Come to Advocate
By: Heather Hansen
Tags: Self Improvement, Advocacy, Confidence, Personal Development, Self-awareness

The word “advocate” is a verb and it’s time for you to start doing it. You need to advocate for yourself, your checkbook, your ideas and your future. Because no one else can do it for you.

Before we started with social distancing, I was doing a lot of traveling. I’d been in San Francisco, Boston, Nashville and Miami in just ten days. On one of my flights the woman next to me noticed my bracelet, which reads “advocate”.

“Are you an advocate?”

I smiled and said. “Actually, I wear this bracelet to remind me to advocate. It’s a noun, but advocate is also a verb. I wear it to remind myself to ask for what I want in ways that I’m likely to get it. And to remind myself to build my credibility, use evidence and ask questions effectively. Because ultimately I believe that no one can advocate for me as well as I can. And no one can advocate for you as well as you can.”

Now she’s a client. She saw that if she could begin to see advocate is a verb, she could begin to start advocating. She’d stop looking for someone outside of her to be her advocate and she would start advocating for herself.

It’s time for you to advocate. Stop waiting for the person who can be your best advocate, and advocate the best you can. The more you advocate, the better you get. It might be that you need to advocate on the phone with your bank, in a meeting with your manager, or at dinner with your partner. There are all kinds of opportunities to advocate.

And the job is yours. Rather than looking for an advocate, start looking for ways you can advocate. No one can do it better than you can. Because no one has your passion, your talent, your experience or your drive. And no one wants what you want as much as you want it. You’re the one who knows. So own your wants and needs. Advocate.

It means you have to build your credibility and use your evidence. You ask your questions and present your case. And you recognize that advocate is a verb. So you do it. You act. And you ask for what you want, until you get it. Advocate is a verb and it’s time for you to start doing it.
Amidst COVID, TEP goes online for 9th year
By: Rodgeson Jev Flores
Tags: Advocacy, News, The E Waste Project, Up Diliman, E Waste

THE E-WASTE PROJECT

After its postponement last year due to the Coronavirus Pandemic, UP Circuit brought back The E-Waste Project (TEP) as a social media campaign last April-June 2021 — a continuation of the organization’s flagship social advocacy.

Held via TEP’s official Facebook and Twitter pages, this year’s edition was centered on promoting awareness online about electronic waste (e-waste), its proper disposal, and management. Barred from holding the traditional collection drive due to COVID-19, the organizers chose to pivot to educational infographics, webinars, and various mini-events.

“We had to consider what would be informative and, at the same time, easy to look at and understand, so that even people who have no prior knowledge about e-waste would still understand our point,” said Samantha Oguing, one of this year’s heads for TEP, on the shift online.

Every week, TEP published infographics that impart research-based facts and data about e-waste. Beyond numbers, it also debuted the educational comic series “E-Boy Adventures,” featuring the story of a robot made from recycled e-waste. Moreover, minigames and raffles were held to encourage engagement for the campaign.

🎨: Mara Escano & Emil Renz Santos for The E-Waste Project

As for webinars, the first episode of “#TEPTalks” was held last April 23, wherein speakers Dr. Eulalio R. Guieb III (an anthropologist) and Aileen Lucero (the National Coordinator of the EcoWaste Coalition) tackled the importance of considering e-waste in technological innovation, as well as its environmental and health impacts, to students and professionals from different educational institutions, organizations, and fields.

📸: Gamaliel Paul Olano

“After the webinar, I researched more [about] the topic, hoping na [that] I can learn more and pass what I’ve learned sa aking [to my] friends na di nakapag-attend [who weren’t able to attend]. Para kahit papaano, makatulong kami sa pag-lessen ng problema [So that, in our own ways, we can help mitigate the problem] by being aware and taking steps (like recycling),” remarked Julienne Beatrice Bobadilla, one of #TEPTalks’ participants.

Now in its ninth year, The E-Waste Project is UP Circuit’s annual social advocacy project aimed at raising awareness about the environmental impacts of e-waste. This year’s edition was made possible through the leadership of members Jewel Cusipag (18A) and Samantha Oguing (18A).