fabiochiu/medium-articles huggingface dataset:
Automated Machine Learning
By: Mihai Anton
Tags: Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Automl, Machine Learning, Evolutionary Algorithms

The classical machine learning process involves a few default steps that have become default nowadays, namely:

data engineering

model selection

hyperparameter tuning

the actual model training

Due to the highly repetitive nature of trial and error of these tasks, automation can play a big role in optimizing time spent on them. Automated Machine Learning comes to help the process by adding different optimization techniques that determine data scientists be more productive and achieve similar or better results in a shorter period of time.

Since every new product or proposed algorithm has to solve a real problem in order to be successful, Automated Machine Learning has the main goal of saving time and lowering the error rate of humans. In the classical machine learning flow, it all starts with raw data. As the data producing sources are not perfect and often not optimized for analytics, the datasets they produce are far from ready to be fed to a learning algorithm. This creates the need for data cleaning and engineering, which usually takes more time than expected.

Taking into consideration that the power of any learning algorithm (talking about better scores) relies mostly on the data it receives and less on later optimizations, the step of feature engineering has to be consistent and well planned in order to achieve top results.

Right after the data engineering phase comes the model selection step, which is again, subject to trial and error. The fact that some tasks have well known model types that work well only reduces the search space, but there still leaves oportunity for choice between different approaches. The last step, after a model is chosen, is hyperparameter optimization, which has some degrees of freedom regarding the hyperparameters before the model is started to learn automatically.

After listing only three of the major steps of a classical machine learning pipeline (raw data to trained model), there are clearly places where automation can help and automatically iterating over the search space can yield better and unexplored configurations of the data engineering algorithm, while also producing surprising model configurations which work better than expected. As the statistics show, the time spent on data preparation and hyperparameter selection tasks is sometimes as high as 80% of the total project time. The rest of time is spent on almost automatic training of the model.

Since there is so much time to be optimized, it is worth researching better alternatives to the whole machine learning flow rather than just continuing with the classical approach. Not only are good data scientists scarce, but they are also financially intensive nowadays, so finding a secondary optimal alternative is a priority.
Signs My iPhone 4 is Possessed by the Ghost of my Grandfather
By: Ali Solomon
Tags: Ghosts, Satire, iPhone, Grandfather, Humor

Photo by Malte Fleuter on Unsplash

It insists that its outdated technology works just as well as the newfangled iNonsense out there.

It’s unable to sustain a call for longer than three minutes without dropping it.

It can only recharge if conditions are perfect: resting on a cushion in a temperature-controlled climate, with a chilled Milwaukee’s Best nearby.

Its functions are shutting down one by one, but it refuses to be fixed and insists on troubleshooting the issues.

It is systematically deleting members of my contact list who don’t call me enough.

It simply can not take a good photo of me, constantly cropping out the top half of my face, adding nonexistent back-lighting, or inexplicably switching to the sepia filter.

Despite having a shattered screen and zero memory left, it still tries to operate heavy machinery (like iOS 11 or a 1977 maroon-and-cream Oldsmobile).

Its default ringtone sounds a lot like “Alexander’s Ragtime Band.”

Without my having programmed it, Google Calendar reminds me to eat dinner at Denny’s at 4:30 pm.

Sometimes the alarm goes off at 3:07 am for no reason.

The weather app always says it’s too cold.

Between hoarding photos, maintaining a vast and outdated music collection, and declining to delete any data whatsoever, there is not a drop of space left anywhere.

During “Words With Friends” games with my dad, it intentionally gives him shitty letter combinations.

The wallpaper is a photo of a small tabby cat sitting on the steps of a tenement in Brooklyn. When I try to replace it with a selfie of me and my husband skiing, it always mysteriously switches back.

Despite its age, it never seems to have a problem downloading pornography.
The Top 10 Best Movies of 2020
Tags: Film, Movie Review, Culture, 2020, Movies

When I sat down to think up my Top 10 movies of the 2020 film season, I’ll be honest I struggled to write out more than five on my first draft Top 10. I took that as an immediate red flag for two main reasons.

First, I can count on my finger how many times I have run this yearly exercise where I have been unable to come up with ten movies out the gate. The second reason was due to the fact of a pandemic which went to become a major reason behind my going to the theater less than the total of my fingers the entire 2020 movie calendar year. Fortunately in this respect, on-demand streaming came as a natural substitute to movie-going. Even if it did miss out on half the fun of the IRL experience.

“No one knows if 2021 will bring us back to theaters or have us continuing to experience new works on our TVs, tablets and phones.” — Nick Shager, Esquire.

Hard-pressed not to write out a Top 6 list instead of a Top 10, I went to the other source of film I know is always ahead of me in terms of keeping up with everything movies. My elder brother. I asked him for this Top 10 list on his favorite 10 movies of the year. Pausing, taking maybe a minute, he started spitballing films.

What followed afterward was a long discussion debating this year's Top 10 list. We reflected on the movies that were talked about on social media. Specifically, the movies that glimpsed some of the limelight before the pandemic put a close on everything early on in the year. Cinemas included.

At the end of the exercise, we took the list and compared it with the lists of other established film reporting movies. We do this every year. Not to see what order the other corporation, blog, or writer gave each film, but more so, why they chose to do rank certain movies so. Looking at other lists also helped jog our memory on some of the less mainstream movies that slipped through the first Top 10 draft.

Choosing 10 movies out of the thinnest number of films in a calendar year that bared the bruising of a pandemic came down to the emotions that were tied to each. Thrilling, characterful, harrowing, and charismatically joyous, this is my (and no doubt my elder brother, Phil’s) selection of the Top 10 best movies of 2020.
Keto Bombs #5 — Metabolism and Weight Loss
By: Stanislav Kozlovski
Tags: Nutrition, Ketogenic Diet, Weight Loss, Biohacking, Bodybuilding

A common misconception shared by many people nowadays is that you cannot lose weight fast without gaining it back. That is partly true.

On the ketogenic diet, though, that need not be the case. The latest research shows that you have some beneficial changes happen to your metabolism once you lose weight on the ketogenic diet and that you do not gain weight back quite as fast as if you were on a standard calorie-restricted diet.

Water Weight

The first few pounds you lose on keto will be water weight. As we’ve said before, you hold glycogen in your muscles.

glycogen — the stored form of carbohydrates

The moment you stop eating carbohydrates, your body starts burning through all the glycogen and does not replenish it. Said glycogen holds water, a lot of it! (1g glycogen contains ~3.7g water)

This is why when you first start a keto diet you very quickly lose 1–2kg of weight.

Fast Weight Loss

It is widely known that the ketogenic diet is very effective at weight loss. There is a meta-analysis study that inspected 13 studies for long-term weight loss and compared the results of the ketogenic diet versus a low-fat diet.

5 studies of which showed that the ketogenic diet had significant more long-term weight loss, while the rest showed equal.

Which diet provides more lasting benefits?

Resting Metabolic Rate

Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) — the minimum amount of energy your body requires to function.

The RMR of a person depends on both genetic factors (some people have a faster metabolism), age, hormone balance, exercise activity and muscle mass.

It amounts to over 75% of the calories you burn in a day.

Normally, when you lose a lot of weight very fast your RMR drops as well. Your metabolism adapts to your new weight. This is why the yo-yo effect is so widespread — your metabolism is now slower yet your eating habits have not necessarily adapted to the change in expenditure.

Some diets have re-feed windows where you try to ramp up your metabolism back up just because of this effect.

Keto Metabolism

On Keto, your resting metabolic rate does not decrease! Your metabolism does not slow down when losing weight.

A recent study examined the RMR of obese patients that underwent a very low calorie ketogenic diet, losing 20kg in four months and found that all 20 subject had none to very little change in their resting metabolic rate!

Normally, when you reduce your calories your body starts breaking down protein for energy. When you lose muscle, your metabolic rate naturally goes down.

The ketogenic diet is more protective against this muscle breakdown process during energy restricted periods.

Said simply, when in a ketogenic state, your body preserves more muscle. Beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) has been found to reduce leucine (amino-acid) oxidation by up to 41%!
When My Mom Fell Asleep at The Wheel
By: Ryan Fan
Tags: Self, Family, Nonfiction, Transportation, Relationships

Aftermath

Again, life kind of just went on. We didn’t talk a lot about it, but my mom would be a lot more careful while driving. To this day, she is extremely careful and hasn’t gotten into an accident since. She’ll go below the speed limit and she’s often the person going fifty miles per hour on the expressway. It stems from the one incident.

I was young, but I often looked through the mail. I displaced a letter that said that she needed a medical evaluation to make sure she was fit to drive. When she found it, she was already overdue at the evaluation, and it was one of the few times she was genuinely mad at me — but I deserved it.

I’m not sure what impact it had on us. I will say that I don’t mind stopping at a highway rest stop when I’m tired and nodding off when I’m tired. I have been in an accident where someone has fallen asleep and fear that I might do the same thing. The moment I feel myself getting tired, I pull onto a rest station and sleep. I drove through the night once, and slept at midnight, and then woke up in the morning, seven hours later. I know you’re not supposed to idle at a highway rest stop, but it was better than the alternative of driving drowsy.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there are about 100,000 police-reported crashes that involve more than 1,550 fatalities and 71,000 injuries. The fact that we weren’t injured and weren’t dead was only possible through luck and the grace of God — I remember when some missionaries from a church across the street visited us, and we told them about the accident. My mom said that it was because of God that I was alive, and I just shook my head over what I perceived to be fairy tales.

But she was right — God did save us that day. God saved my father when I just happened to come into his room while he was having a heart attack. Despite being flawed people who have made a lot of mistakes as sinners, we were spared.

“God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” — Romans 5:8 (ESV)

I will always remember the scene of when I woke up in the car that hit the tree. There were shards of glass to my right, as I was sitting in the back on the right seat, but I was untouched. My mom was untouched too.

I don’t know how much she still thinks about it, but I know it really shook her up. We weren’t the type of family that talked about what was stressing us out to begin with. My mom knew that the world would keep on churning, and that she would still have to drive me and my brother around, while going to still take care of my father after his heart attack.

We were lucky to survive, and I don’t begrudge my mother at all for that one crash. God had a plan for us to survive, and eleven years down the line, I couldn’t be more thankful for everything she did for the family during that one tumultuous time. If there is one thing I can do differently, it’s to call her more and thank her for trying so hard and caring so much.
How to Setup CI/CD with GitHub Actions
By: Raúl Ferrer
Tags: Programming, Continuous Integration, Swift, iOS, Github

Example of Using GitHub Actions in an iOS/Swift Project

To show how to use GitHub Actions in the CI/CD process on iOS, I’ll use my own project (based on a Sean Allen course).

First, we enter our GitHub project and access the Actions tab:

We access a screen that allows us to choose between a predefined workflow or establish our own. In our case, we’ll choose to establish our own.

We see how there’s a workflow in a file called main.yml , which is in .github/workflows/ . We can have different files with different workflows.

Now we’ll change the content of the file so on the one hand it executes the application and, on the other, it executes the programmed tests.

‘name’

It’s a label for our workflow.

‘on’

GitHub executes workflows that are defined with the on key — in our case, any push event. We can also define a specific branch. For example, push events in the devel branch:

on:

push:

branches:

- devel

‘jobs’

Each workflow is made up of one or more jobs . In our case, there’s only one.

‘runs-on’

This parameter contains the type of virtual machine in which the code will be executed. In this case, we’ll use macos-latest (to see the different types of virtual machines available).

‘strategy’ and ‘matrix’

A strategy creates a matrix of environments in which to execute the work. Each matrix allows us to establish a set of different configurations of the virtual environment. In our case, we set the iOS simulator, with the operating system 13.2.2 and an iPhone 11 Pro Max device:

strategy:

matrix:

destination: ['platform=iOS Simulator,OS=13.2.2,name=iPhone 11 Pro Max']

‘steps’

A step is a sequence of tasks. In the example we’re seeing, the first step is to check the repository so the workflow can access it. In this case, this means the master branch.

- name: Checkout

uses: actions/checkout@master

In the second step, the application is built in the environment defined above ( destination ):

- name: Build

run: |

xcodebuild clean build -project GHFollowers.xcodeproj -scheme GHFollowers -destination "${destination}" CODE_SIGN_IDENTITY="" CODE_SIGNING_REQUIRED=NO ONLY_ACTIVE_ARCH=NO

env:

destination: ${{ matrix.destination }}

Finally, in the last step, the tests created in the application are executed:

- name: Test

run: |

xcodebuild clean test -project GHFollowers.xcodeproj -scheme GHFollowersTests -destination "${destination}" CODE_SIGN_IDENTITY="" CODE_SIGNING_REQUIRED=NO ONLY_ACTIVE_ARCH=NO

env:

destination: ${{ matrix.destination }}

When we upload code to the repository, this workflow will run. If we access the Actions tab of the repository again, we can see a list of the times the workflow has been executed. In this case, if no error has occurred, we obtain the following:

We can prove what happens when one of the tests fails. By changing one of the tests so that it is not met, you get:

Here we can see what test has failed.
All You Need to Know About Vault Apps
By: Tali Orad
Tags: Unplug And Recharge, Technology, Parenting, Teens, YouTube

All You Need to Know About Vault Apps

Not just for their eyes only

Just a few days ago CNN reported some very alarming news, of a Florida mother founding clips on YouTube and YouTube Kids that gave children instructions on how to kill themselves. Horrifying!!! and yet I applaud this mom who took the time to monitor and check what her children are doing on their devices. Including checking the content of the apps they are using.

YouTube and YouTube kids are apps we all know of, and now more than ever, going to pay attention in regards to the kids consumption of videos. But what about everything else that is on their devices? Have you heard of the term Vault apps?

What is a Vault App?

‘Vault app’ or ‘ghost app’ lets you store and manage private photos, videos, text messages, voice recording, notes, documents and other files, and stash them in secret folders. For a teen — it’s an opportunity and a liability!

A quick search for them on both Google’s Play Store and Apple’s App Store reveals dozens of listings for these types of apps. The majority of them are disguised as simple calculators or puzzles.

What’s the Problem?

The use of these apps for sexting is increasing in schools across the nation. One episode in a high school in Colorado had at least 100 students involved in sending nude pictures of themselves, and this was just the tip of the iceberg.

It is important for parents and kids to know that it may look harmless but storing or sharing nude photographs is a crime.

What can You Do?

Talk, talk, talk.

Start a conversation with your child about privacy. Let them know that things that go on the Internet or are shared via smartphones last forever and can be shared with anyone.

Their need for a vault app could be just part of their technology curiosity. However, it still requires your parental guidelines.

Talk to your child about using phones responsibly. Explain that you respect their privacy, but you need to keep them safe.

Remind them that taking and/or sharing embarrassing or revealing pictures often comes back to haunt people.

Could it be a sign for a different issue?! Consider that kids might not be trying to hide photos from you but from nosy friends. Try and see if you can understand the reason.

Use a family app store account that notifies you when your child downloads a new app.

* Tip: on iOS there is an easy way to reveal any camera apps disguised as something else. By checking the apps that uses camera, as we all know a calculator does not require access to the camera.

Settings >> Privacy >> Camera.

NEVER SAY NEVER

Don’t assume your children will never use them. Those apps appeal to everyone including kids who do not have much to hide.

Start the conversation sooner rather than later.
Life at Onefootball: scary close to fully Autonomous teams
By: Jim Van Der Waal
Tags: Product Management, Team Organization, Agile, Software Development Team

Summary

Below you can find a short summary of the talk, a TL;DW, highlighting some of the important points.

Onefootball

We are a very international company, with around 200 people we are building the ultimate Football platform for fans. Bringing together all content so that you only need one (digital) product.

We have a lot of loyal and active users around the world. With more than 11 million Monthly Active Users (MAU's), with an average of 50 sessions per month. Illustrating the football fans and our product being part of their routine.

Team organization & Way of working

Within Product & Engineering, we are working with multidisciplinary Product teams. It depends on the product which disciplines are within the team, but in the end it will result in different types of engineering disciplines, design & product, working together in one team.

At the time we have different domains (News, Scores, Platform), with different product teams in each domain. Where each team has end-2-end responsibility for their product. Both of the discovery (determining the most valuable ideas) and the delivery (implementing it for the users).

Why this is so awesome

Purpose: with this setup, you can really focus on the customer and make a direct impact on them.

with this setup, you can really focus on the customer and make a direct impact on them. Autonomy: as a multidisciplinary team we are working with Business + IT (or Product & Engineering) together as one team and really have autonomy.

Why this is needed

Customer focus: you need to balance innovation, optimization, and operation. This is only possible if you have full responsibility and autonomy as a team, making these decisions based on what is best for the customer.

you need to balance innovation, optimization, and operation. This is only possible if you have full responsibility and autonomy as a team, making these decisions based on what is best for the customer. Continuous Innovation: true business agility comes from the ability to test ideas, adapt fast to different opportunities, which can only be done if you are also responsible for the discovery.

Our own challenges

Startup > Scaleup: growing as a company comes with its own challenges, where not everybody can be involved everywhere anymore.

growing as a company comes with its own challenges, where not everybody can be involved everywhere anymore. Bottleneck can shift: where normally the bottleneck is on the development, now also the bottleneck can be the analysis and discovery capacity within the team.

where normally the bottleneck is on the development, now also the bottleneck can be the analysis and discovery capacity within the team. It's a mindset change: you really need to become outcome-driven. This way of working means that sometimes as an engineer you will write less code. If you don't focus on the outcome this can feel unproductive.

For more examples and illustrations, watch the talk! :)
20161222 — #31daysofgratitude
By: Jenny Lawton
Tags: Holidays, Christmas, Haiku, Gratitude

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

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Night Darkness
By: Randy Shingler
Tags: Life, Self-awareness, Poetry, Night, Darkness

Shrouded images in night darkness

Mysterious rumblings can be heard

Strange lights flash across the sky,

Vacuous emptiness felt to the bones

Haunted warnings it sometimes brings.

Eager for the morning’s dawn

Raptured daylight will return

Night’s emptiness can be filled,

People will be moving forward

Where fates have preordained.

Peering out into thick darkness

Wearing its deathly funeral veil

Constraining vision’s desire to see,

Night filled with shadowy phantoms

With devious purposes now unseen.

Strange happenings often take place

With uncertainty about what is there,

Mysteries hidden during night darkness

Are realities revealed in morning light.
Guided and Gliding
By: Somsubhra Banerjee
Tags: Thoughts, Love, Longing, Poetry, Broads Non Grata

The Inscription erodes,

erodes by the hour’s ticking,

I wait alone, being the lover’s longing.

My phrases of love keep floating,

floating in the jasmine scented air,

waiting, wishing to reach your ears,

gliding in the night sky,

guided by the ancient Polaris.

did it reach you?
Lindsay Tia Reilly: “You have to show the people that work for you that their contributions to…
By: Yitzi Weiner
Tags: Fashion, Startup, Leadership

Thank you so much for doing this with us Lindsay Tia! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

My grandmother taught me to sew when I was in my early teens. and I loved it immediately and started making and selling handbags in my parents’ basement. I eventually took all of my graduation money and used it to get my handbag business off the ground.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

After signing the deal to sell the Bravery Brand at Macy’s through their Market @ Macy’s program, we only had a few months to get them the bands made, packaged, and shipped to three different stores. The only way to make that deadline was for me to rush an order through my manufacturer, pick up the Bravery Brands myself, and enlist my friends and family to help package them. By the time the bands were ready to be picked up, I only had 5 working days to get them to Macy’s. So, I gathered everyone around my kitchen table, dropped the box of bands in the middle, and told everyone to “get to work.” Well, let’s just say that when I opened the box and went through it, all 500 Bravery Bands were made in the wrong finish. I just wanted to have a complete panic attack and freak out. But, as a leader of a brand that was built on the concept of “bravery”, I knew that wasn’t an option. Instead, we came together and laughed our way through the task at hand, instead of panicking.

When you have the biggest opportunity handed to you and everything seemingly goes wrong, you have to face the mistake and fix it. I knew we were better than failure and would do anything to get the right Bravery Bands to the right stores ON TIME. I stayed calm and called the manufacturer, who came immediately that night to pick-up the order and fix it within 48 hours.

I learned a few things from that experience. First, I learned the importance of quality control and quickly created a system with my team and manufacturer that ended up being a better way to get the Bravery Bands produced, which ended up resulting in an even better product in the end.

You have to believe that everything happens for a reason and you have to learn from your mistakes.

What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?

My customers truly feel connected to me, and I feel that same connection to every one of them. Whether they’re wearing a Bravery Band on their wrists or shopping at The Cue, my customers feel, welcomed, understood, and empowered. People want to feel as though they are buying from a person, not a corporation.

EX: Diane: “I stumbled upon The Cue via Instagram and visited this beautiful lounge nearly immediately. Really fun pieces and Lindsay is not only welcoming but beyond helpful. I’m psyched that Dorchester has this spot now; highly recommended. Run, don’t walk!”
Day 525 — Moon through My Window- Haibun Journey Beauty Each Day
By: Ada'S Poetry Alcove
Tags: Haibun, Poetry

Day 525 — Moon through My Window- Haibun Journey Beauty Each Day

Lately I have been missing viewing the moon through my window late at night. The summer trees are too thick with foliage last month. I still cannot see the moon through my bedroom window. However, after working in my studio late into the evening I looked up and noticed the sky was black and the moon was almost full. That got me to thinking about the autumn full moon. Often the harvest moon is in September, but the autumnal equinox is closer to the full moon in October this year. The most common name for the September moon is the corn moon. Still I prefer these two names:“Moon When the Plums Are Scarlet” by the Lakota Sioux and “Moon When the Deer Paw the Earth” by the Omaha Indians.

a night without you

even the light of the moon

seems eclipsed
The beauty of deadline
By: Shakti Shetty
Tags: Lessons, Random, Society, Short Story, Stories

“Where do you see yourself in 5 years?”

“Somewhere dreaming about early retirement.”

“What about 10?”

“Still dreaming.”

Our adopted old son, Ranga, who happens to a Haryanvi street dog with a south Indian name, has become our retirement guru. While leaving for work around 7.30, my last view before closing the door is his lazyass sleeping on the sofa. Here is a guy who hasn’t interacted with another dog in over 3.5 years. Which translates to zero sexual encounters, zero litter record, zero territorial gains and zero ambitions. He doesn’t even lift his hind leg while peeing. His aim in life is to be with us inside the house and run to terrace as much as he can, either for a quickie leak. Not very long ago, he used to run on the ledge with no vertiginous issues. There was a time he loved watching the sunset too. Oh, he used to bark at the corner of the house for no reason. Ghosts, maybe. I don’t know of any other dog who do/did any of these. Of late, he enjoys waging war against house-flies in the drawing hall and pigeons in the balcony. Perhaps when the administration took away his balls, he made a promise to himself: he will seek contentment and nothing else. Looks like he is winning by beating Larry David at retirement goals.
スウォーミングをはじめよう. 強いチームになるために #2
By: Yasuko Naito
Tags: Flow Efficiency, Remote Working, Japanese, Team Building, Agile

Our mission as a data empowerment company. Dramatically expands data utilization possibilities, from operational reforms to social issue solutions.

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Will the Federal Reserve employ the Yield Curve Control (YCC)?
By: Faisal Khan
Tags: Business, Finance, Economy, Economics, Investing

Will the Federal Reserve employ the Yield Curve Control (YCC)?

With the current economic projections predicting a slow & uneven recovery, it might very well do that

Economic projections by the U.S Federal Reserve today were a mixed bag of news for the investors and so were the U.S equities. The American stocks initially rose on a dovish rate hold but the Dow and S&P 500 gave up gains towards the end, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose to another all-time high. Since the interest rate is already close to zero, the Fed has been employing unconventional monetary policy tools to prop up the economy.

More about the monetary policy tools later. Let’s briefly review what the FOMC had to say in the way of economic projections. As expected, the U.S central bank was aggressively dovish, saying it would maintain interest rates at current levels (0–0.25%) until 2022. Although it is extremely rare that the Fed makes such a long-term forecast, this is exactly what the investors wanted to hear, putting them at ease that the central bank would be forceful, proactive, and aggressive.

But this dovishness is like a double-edged sword. Keeping interest rates so low for such an extended period of time means that the Fed is expecting a slow and uneven recovery at best. This was evident in its other projection where the U.S. economy is expected to shrink by 6.5% this year, the most in recorded history, before bouncing back to 5% in 2021 and 3.5% in 2022.

In related data releases, OECD released its latest Economic Outlook today (chart below) projecting the U.S economy to shrink by 7.3% with Euro area contracting by 9.1%, while the global economy is expected to slow by 6.0% in 2020.
Healing My Sexual Trauma
By: Majnooni Confessions
Tags: Health, Sex, Feminism, Spirituality, Religion

I didn’t have a plan B when I quit the job that was soul-sucking my life away. I just didn’t have a choice. I wanted change, but I wasn’t ready to change. It didn’t matter whether I was ready or not. I had to go with the flow of the Universe because she knows best and she had already chosen for me.

The same thing I warn people about, that the healing journey is not one to be taken lightly, is the same thing tripping me up right now. You never know where this journey will take you. You have to be open-minded, and open hearted, to any and all possibilities. If there’s one thing I want to teach it’s that.

Often when we don’t leave our comfort zones willingly, we are forcibly removed from them in a painful and surprising way. Regardless of who you are, and where you’re at, you have to take that L with grace and dignity.

Spiritual expansion is the goal: not worldy-expansion, or the acquisition of material wealth and comfort — although that’s a nice reward and desired outcome. Spiritual self development doesn’t always look pleasant and pretty; like something you would want to do. You have to go through the painstaking work of peeling back the veils of illusion in search of personal truth for yourself. It’s a solo journey. It doesn’t always make sense to others. But with unprecedented soul-journeying comes depths within oneself that no one else can describe, no one else can claim to understand, and no one else can advise us upon. We are the only ones in there, and we are the only ones with whom we can consult about our inner depths.

But in some ways, the soul-journey is also a communal journey. The amazing thing about openly and honestly sharing with ourselves and others about what we think and feel, is that it automatically attracts people to us who match with our vibration, and it automatically repels people who don’t. The part of this that causes pain, is when we have emotional or familial attachments to people whose vibration doesn’t resonate with ours. It hurts when they’re naturally pulled away. But there can be no other way.
Effective Word Play
By: Denis Murphy
Tags: Words, Emotions, Authenticity, Creatvity, Language

Effective Word Play

It has the power to change everything.

You like seeing things that you have never before.

You enjoy noticing something that should have been obvious but it wasn’t until you stopped to take a closer look.

As a creative person, you are often been plagued by the feeling that nobody likes you.

That your thinking is too different and a little too weird.

That nobody is following along to the narratives you write or the way you see the world.

When you wholeheartedly believe in this idea that nobody likes you you feel isolated and alone.
I’m Trying To Write
By: Kevin Keeney
Tags: Humor, Unlocked Words, Poetry, Writers On Writing, Writing

I’m trying to write,

but nothing is there.

It’s like flying a kite

where there’s not any air.

I first tried a poem,

but that didn’t work.

The words made me feel

like an overgrown berk.

I found a nice picture

of a path and a tree.

And wrote about a man

who was talking to me.

It seemed really awkward,

the man and the tree.

What was he doing there?

Just waiting for me?

Sometimes my stories

don’t make any sense.

But I keep trying.

I must be quite dense.

I had another picture

of colorful stones.

I thought that they might be

pet rocks seeking homes.

These ideas are way out,

way out in the blue.

It doesn’t give credit

to the reader. That’s you.

Sometimes when I think

it’s a good time to write,

I find I’m mistaken.

I’m tired. Good night!
“Unit 42” on Netflix
By: Jeff Ehren
Tags: Crime Drama, Netflix, Cybercrime, Hearing Impaired, Television

“Unit 42” on Netflix

One of the best cybercrimes shows gets a second season

“Unit 42” image by Netflix

Fans of the Belgian crime drama “Unit 42” are pleased that there is a second season. For those of us in the United States, we need to wait a little longer for it to arrive on Netflix. However, the first season is available to watch — and you won’t be disappointed.

“Unit 42” revolves around a cybercrime unit. But instead of a state-of-the-art, futuristic setting that seemingly has become a standard for shows in the United States, “Unit 42” works out of a basement. And the audience sees all the hardware including the servers, wires and connections.

Samuel Leroy, played by the empathetic Patrick Ridremont, is a widowed father of three who comes back to work as the new head of the unit. In just ten episodes, he goes from being overwhelmed by grief to opening his heart to another. His journey shows us that the cliché “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks” is a false narrative for those who truly try.

Billie Webber, played by the engaging Constance Gay, is the hotshot and hotheaded hacker-turned-cop. Though not one to follow procedures, Billie can be considered a role model. As expected in some international shows on Netflix, there is a gender equality that is not directly discussed, but rather accepted. The only time this was addressed in the first season was in episode six when Billie said, “What’s with the dumb sexism?”

But Billie is more than just a gender. She has a genuine admiration for the craft of coding and hacking. She also is an advocate at heart which leads her down questionable paths as a cop. She must struggle with the excitement and anonymity of her hacking life with the public and violent life as a cop.

The rest of the unit represents the broad spectrum of society with little focus on the diversity itself as an issue. There is one episode (Episode 2: Faith and Law) highlighting the inner struggle of a character — Nassim Khaoulani, played by Roda Fawaz. The rest of the season, however, simply accepts people for who they are and what they may be.

Possibly the least-represented group on television is the hearing impaired. Alice Meerks, played by Danitza Athanassiadis, is the medical examiner for Unit 42 — and she is deaf. A member of Unit 42, Bob Franck, played by Tom Audenaert, is the main interpreter during the first season. But Sam begins to learn sign language, both for professional and personal reasons.

For those in the United States, it is best to remember that certain international shows do not shy away from nudity, sex, and sexuality. Instead, such aspects to life (and death) are simply accepted.

“Unit 42” balances the seriousness of its criminal content with endearing moments and with humor — mostly done by characters playfully jabbing at each other. It challenges current polarizing rhetoric by showing how people can live and work together, no matter what label may be used to define them. It shows how we all struggle in life, and — with no simple solution — we simply try our best.
Timebox Like a Champ
Tags: Leadership, Prioritization, Productivity, Time Management

This excellent HBR article on timeboxing lays out very clearly why this simple, but extremely powerful practice can significantly ramp up your ability to succeed at what we at Indiggo call “getting the right $#!^ done well!” In fact, we’ve built the world’s first intelligent software that not only catalyzes you to timebox like a champ but to execute enterprise-wide strategy by timeboxing at scale!

https://hbr.org/2018/12/how-timeboxing-works-and-why-it-will-make-you-more-productive
The Festival
By: Heather Ann
Tags: Music, Poetry On Medium, Poetry, Writing, Festivals

It was raining that night

But not hard enough to stop the show

I stood in the mist

And watched the lights strobe

The music filled the air

The beat of the drum

The strum of the guitar

The rawness of the vocals

And we in the crowd were connected

To each other

And to the music

In the shadow of the New York skyline

Memories most people dream of were made

I treasure them

Like a rare antique

And when I close my eyes

I can still feel the rain on my skin

As I sang along

With my friends

And all those in the crowd

Who shared in that special moment in time

©HeatherAnn
Korean Beef Curry
By: John Lim
Tags: Curry, Korean, Korean Food, Korean Beef Curry, Asian

Want a taste of heaven? Then try this Korean beef curry.

This isn’t just a regular Korean curry- It has a smooth, silky creaminess and a spicy flavor all in one bite. Okay, so it sounds like regular Korean curry. But I also add in a secret ingredient that takes this curry to the stratospheres. Read on if you want to learn more.

My version of Korean beef curry is chock full of savory flavors that’ll make your heart beat fast every time you head over to your fridge and find leftovers (assuming that it’s still there and your family didn’t sneak some during the middle of the night).

There’s nothing better than a hot bowl of delicious Korean beef curry.

What makes this curry different is the ingredients. There are the usual earthy ingredients like carrots, sure, and potatoes, sure. But the secret ingredient in my recipe is red wine. Yup, good ol’ red wine helps pull out all the flavors from the beef, carrot, and potato. There’s a subtle smoky flavor in the finished Korean beef curry that makes it unexplainably delicious. You just have to try it to believe.

Now’s your chance to make this divine curry. It’s everything and so much more:

easy to make

nutritious and healthy

great for breakfast, lunch, or dinner

the ultimate comfort food

Store-bought Korean curry

There’s no need to reinvent the wheels for this curry recipe. Store-bought Korean curry powder works just fine. Visit your local grocery market or Amazon, and you’ll see Korean curry powder sold with different labels. I suggest the Ottogi brand; they’re the oldest and most reliable in terms of taste and quality.

Ottogi sells curry powder for different spice levels, from mild to really spicy. Depending on your spice tolerance, go with what you’re comfortable with. We’re using the mildly spicy curry packet for this recipe (affiliate link).

Let’s fill your tummy with some delicious Korean beef curry.

Korean Beef Curry Recipe

Ingredients

3 cups of water

1 cup water for curry sauce

1 package Ottogi Curry Powder

1 tbsp red wine Cabernets works best

1 instant white rice or any rice of your liking

1/2 onion cut into slices

1 potato peeled and cubed

1 carrot peeled and cubed

2 tbsp butter

2 pounds thin beef tenderloin

Directions

1. Add 2 tablespoons of butter in a pot over high heat. Cook until the butter melts. Add 2 pounds of thin beef tenderloin and stir.

2. Use a ladle to take out excess liquid from the pot (this will happen once the beef starts to cook).

3. Once the beef turns brown, add the cubed carrots, potatoes, and onion and stir.

4. Add 1 tbsp of red wine.

5. Add 3 cups of water and let it simmer over medium-low heat for 10 minutes until the carrot and potato softens.

6. Curry sauce: Add the curry powder in a small bowl. Add 1 cup of water and mix until the powder dissolves.

7. Add the curry sauce to the pot and mix well.

8. Let it simmer over low heat for another 7 minutes.

9. Serve over a bed of hot rice. Enjoy!

Find the original recipe at https://harueats.com/korean-beef-curry/.
The Great Wall of China
By: Jesús Salazar
Tags: Ideas, History, Short Story, Life Lessons, Self Improvement

The Great Wall of China

“The image is what people think we are. Integrity is who we really are.” — John C. Maxwell

Photo by Bruce Röttgers on Unsplash

During the 3rd century BC. To protect against invaders, a 2,250 km wall was built on the northern border of China. It was seven meters high and five meters thick at the highest point, with watchtowers every hundred meters.

Some have calculated that the cost of building “The Great Wall of China”, if built today, would exceed the cost of building 100,000 kilometers of railroad in the United States.

Despite the protection of the wall, China was invaded several times during successive centuries. The invaders never scaled the walls or attacked the towers.

They entered through the gates after bribing their guardians.

Leonardo da Vinci once said:

“The depth and strength of human character are defined by their moral reserves.”

Leonardo da Vinci

Just as no defense is stronger than the character of its guardians.

Your strength of character is your true defense against the temptations of life.

Many people rely heavily on their reputation and neglect their character. And it is character that really defines who they are.

“The Great Chinese Wall” had a reputation as one of the most effective defense constructions of its time. The builders were proud of the result of their work.

But, they forgot to worry about a very important aspect, such as the character of the guardians who would be in charge of guarding the passage through the wall.

We do not have total control of what our reputation is, because it depends on the opinion of others, but the strength of our character depends exclusively on us.

John Wooden said it well:

“Care more about your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is simply what others think you are.”

John wooden
Deploying a cloud-only development environment
Tags: Docker, Data, Code Server, Engineering, Nginx

Our first interaction with cloud-only development environment was through the VSCode remote development extension. Even though this extension is still in the preview phase, it has proved to be the single most useful extension for Data Engineering. The remote development extension is easy to install and we only need a simple ssh config to connect to different servers. Instead of using terminal to access servers and using nano to apply fixes, VSCode provides a seamless development interface that makes code editing and execution a much more enjoyable experience.

Remote Development Extension

Using the VSCode remote extension quickly became insufficient as our team grew and as Data Engineering started to transfer data products to PC based teams in the Agency. It was clear that we have to bypass any dependencies locally, including VSCode, and we need a solution that can work anywhere without any prior configuration. This is where we came across across code-server, built and maintained by Coder, a company that provides cloud IDE as a service and distributes open source docker images for their software components.

check out the code-server github repo

Data Engineering mostly runs on a PostgreSQL + Python stack, so having a browser based GUI for SQL and Python is equally important. For this purpose, we rely on the Jupyter docker-stacks as a notebook environment and Pgadmin4 for database management. Pgadmin4 is our go-to option as a GUI for Postgres because it has mapping support for spatial data.
Type Inspiration 02 — August. Featuring Helvetica and Love by VJ Type…
By: Debbie Turner
Tags: Design Process, Inspiration, Type Inspiration, Design, Typography

This experiment combines one of my favourite fonts, Helvetica, with a font called Love from https://vj-type.com/. It’s a quirky mashup of old and new, but I have used this exercise to push my design style.
More Sky Than Earth
By: Brigid Maloney
Tags: Ekphrasis, Georgia Okeefe, LGBTQ, Feminism, Poetry

Ghost Ranch, NM — Photo by amygdala_imagery iStock

(A poem ending in a paraphrase of Georgia O’Keefe)

Purple Petunia is my own,

a petal to slide down, a dark center

to crawl in beneath the seeds.

Here are my mother’s thigh to cling to,

a teacher’s ruby word, and the labium,

oh all the labium of the all women I’ve held and hoped

to hold in the hidden pockets of day.

If I could only stop there Georgia, but in your sunset & moonrise

I see myself angled, sectioned waiting for the sun

to set behind your radiator building.

Where the world waits with all its varied lights —

the super rosins her bow, her treble bounds down the hall

past the newlyweds unpacking their baggage,

to the dealer weighing her tweak,

up the fire escape the architect sketches a tree —

It’s for the bereaved the smoke rises. In the distance

the searchlights beckon me down streets

where I too picked flowers, picked seashells,

rocks and pieces of wood. I ate around the holes

of donuts, raisins in cookies, saving the best for last.

When I hold your pelvic bone up in the sun I see the sky blue,

the blue it will always be, as it is now,

after all man’s destruction has ceased.