fabiochiu/medium-articles huggingface dataset:
Serious Business
By: Mike Carter
Tags: Mobile Marketing, Mobile, Publishers, Advertising, Business

So as our digital media business explodes in multiple directions the discussion every media agency is having (and if they are not, they should be) is that of brand safety. The curtain is slowly lifting and as brands become more savvy, they now question “Exactly where is my brand being placed?”

In March this year France’s Havas SA, the world’s sixth-largest advertising and marketing company, pulled all its U.K. clients’ ads from Google and YouTube after failing to get assurances from Google that the ads wouldn’t appear next to offensive material, forcing Google to revamp its advertising policies. This is one of many cases across the globe and one that will affect numerous social platforms.

The silver-lining here is there’s now some serious media industry housekeeping going on and agencies are regrouping to ensure they have the correct tools in place to confidently execute campaigns. Private Audience Marketplaces have become an attractive ground to invest given the sheer nature of being a so called “walled garden”.

Adjoin has invested strategically through the launch of its local private audience marketplace as one solution to this new landscape we find ourselves in. Working with world leaders such as Krux and the Rubicon Project (the Rubicon Project is a founding member of the Industry Certification Program in Fight against Ad Fraud TAG) and strategic partner IAS who’s core competency is around transparency.

We are using sophisticated tools that are able to assist against not only the brand safety issues, but viewability and ad fraud. Adjoin is committed to investing with these organizations and building out South Africa’s leading private audience marketplace at both scale, tech and innovation.
Jamie Babbit
By: Rene Hirsch
Tags: Movies Directed By Women, Jamie Babbit, USA

in Films from the Future
Some Indiana SB 101 (RFRA) synopsis.
By: Darren Hertenstein
Tags: Indiana, RFRA

There’s a lot of misunderstanding about this new law, because people are reading it as plain English when they shouldn’t.

Below I’m going to go through the three sections that people seem to be having the most problem understanding, Sections 8, 9 and 11.

“Sec. 8. (a) Except as provided in subsection (b), a governmental entity may not substantially burden a person’s exercise of religion, even if the burden results from a rule of general applicability. (b) A governmental entity may substantially burden a person’s exercise of religion only if the governmental entity demonstrates that application of the burden to the person: (1) is in furtherance of a compelling governmental interest; And (2) is the least restrictive means of furthering that compelling governmental interest.”

This only effects Government interactions with Religion. This has absolutely no bearing on Person to Person interactions within the law.

“Sec. 9. A person whose exercise of religion has been substantially burdened, or is likely to be substantially burdened, by a violation of this chapter may assert the violation or impending violation as a claim or defense in a judicial or administrative proceeding, regardless of whether the state or any other governmental entity is a party to the proceeding. If the relevant governmental entity is not a party to the proceeding, the governmental entity has an unconditional right to intervene in order to respond to the person’s invocation of this chapter.”

My Interpretation of this: If the Government of Indiana is substantially burdening a Person’s free exercise of religion, they may invoke this chapter in a suit against the government. If a Person invokes this chapter against another person then the Government must interject to determine if the person can invoke this law.

“Sec. 11. This chapter is not intended to, and shall not be construed or interpreted to, create a claim or private cause of action against any private employer by any applicant, employee, or former employee.”

At lot of people are interpreting this section as meaning employee’s have no right at pursuing punishment against an employer for terminating them due to the employer’s religious beliefs. That’s not what that is saying, in regards to the rest of the bill. What its saying in regards to the rest of the bill is that Private Employers are not covered by this RFRA. It spells out pretty clearly that the RFRA is only to be used in terms of Government and its interactions with people/businesses.

The main issue at hand with all of this, as I see it, is that people are reading this as though its plain English. Its not. It’s legalese. Which is to say that it IS English, but its put down in such a way so that judges will interpret it the way it is intended to be interpreted.
Losing Your Job is a Blessing
By: Julia Appa
Tags: Careers, Self Improvement, Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneur, Business

People experience financial distress when they get fired. I get that.

They have bills to pay and need to find a new job, which isn’t easy at all. It can take several months and while you are on the job hunt, you still have living expenses that you need to cover. Ideally, you would do that with your savings but unfortunately, not everyone has savings.

And even if you do, they might only last for 2 or 3 months so you better fall on your knees and beg your boss to give you another chance, right?

Well, no. Unless you are being laid off because the company’s budget was cut in two, it’s probably better if you two part ways.

Losing your job is a blessing. It’s a sign it was never meant for you anyway.

Even though we like and prefer to blame our bosses for the situation we now find ourselves in, the harsh truth is that we are in part responsible for their decision to lay us off instead of another employee.

In some way or another we were not able to meet our bosses’ expectations.

Perhaps we were always grumpy when we went to the office. Maybe we didn’t react well when getting criticism. Perhaps we just simply didn’t sell as much as they would have liked us to.

There are always reasons why someone decides not to work with us anymore. If we were the perfect employee, they wouldn’t fire us.

I’m sorry if that sounds harsh. There is a silver lining though!

Sometimes we just aren’t made for the industry that we are working in. You can always gain some new skills for your job and acquire new knowledge but you can’t fake passion for something you hate doing.

Instead of trying to fit into that company, allow yourself to try something new.

It’s okay to be miserable when you get fired. The important thing is that you don’t see yourself as a failure because of it. Instead, see it as an opportunity to reinvent yourself and rediscover or even follow your passions.
The 8 Stage Progression of Deadly Domestic Violence
By: Michelle Jaqua
Tags: Women, Mental Health, Abuse, Domestic Violence, Homicide

The 8 Stage Progression of Deadly Domestic Violence

This is the homicide timeline domestic abusers typically follow before killing their partner

Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash

This blog contains information and discussion on domestic abuse and violence, including homicide. This information was gleaned from research by Jane Monckton-Smith at the University of Glouchester.

Intimate partner femicide (IPF) is typically seen as a crime of passion, which is so far from the truth. Research has shown that deadly violence in an intimate partner relationship is very much thought out and planned in detail before the homicide.

Not all abusive relationships end with homicide. Many women (including yours truly) get out of a violent relationship and eventually move on with their life.

However, a percentage of women are murdered by their partner, usually after a particular stage that happens in the relationship.

In the U.K., Jane Monckton-Smith researched violent IPF and relationships. She identified an 8-stage pattern of abusive men who eventually murder their domestic partners.
New Covid-19 Test With Results In 5 Minutes Could Revolutionise Fight Against The Virus
By: Steven Psaradakis
Tags: Pandemic, Covid 19 Crisis, Covid 19, Science, Society

Speed is of the essence in the global fight against Covid-19. If every one of us could know in an instant whether or not we were infected, we could all act accordingly and put an end to this pandemic. Unfortunately, instant diagnosis is not yet within the realm of possibility. But a team of researchers, led by Jennifer Doudna of UC Berkley, are making great strides in that direction.

Doudna and her peers have developed a new test capable of detecting the Covid-19 virus in less than 5 minutes. What’s more is that this test is cheap and portable, with the potential to be used anywhere from the airport, to the class room or work office.

Although the test is not quite as sensitive as current lab testing, and further experimentation is needed to confirm its accuracy, it seems to have the potential to revolutionise Covid-19 diagnosis, and in doing so, provide a much needed windfall in our global fight against the virus.
A Christmas Like No Other
By: Thomas Gaudex
Tags: Pandemic, Memories, Life, Family, Christmas

A Christmas Like No Other

What will Christmas taste like this year?

Photo by Artem Kniaz on Unsplash

I wonder what Christmas will taste like this year. Will the bright tree smell the same? Will my parents’ cats, which I also consider to be my own, still play with balls and tinsel like they did last year, threatening to knock the tree down with their dangerous antics?

Will the evening be relaxed and magical like the many Christmases we spent by the glow of the fire a long time ago? Will the delicious dishes prepared with care and love by my mom have the same flavor once they have touched our palates? Will the discussions be joyful, between my parents, my sister, her boyfriend, my three nieces, and me, while the rest of the family celebrates Christmas Eve on its own?

Will Franck Sinatra’s voice singing Christmas carols and coming out through the loudspeakers of the living room’s hi-fi system warms our hearts like in other years? Will the smiles and laughter of the three little blond heads of which I am the uncle succeed in making us forget how trying the year has been? Will I see happiness in my dad’s eyes?

Will the soft snowflakes make their appearance to comfort me with their pure dance on the road to join the family meal? Will the Moon be there to enlighten my heart and give it some warmth?

Will…

Well, I’m going to stop asking myself all these questions. The comparison is sometimes useless. In twenty-four days, it will be time to live a new Christmas with my loved ones, no matter how different it is from the others because of the pandemic and life events. The present is ours, isn’t it?
The Snow Ball
By: Joy Scrogum
Tags: Poetry, Party Invitation, Childrens Poetry, Snowman, Winter

I found this little verse in an old notebook with other poems intended for children. I always felt like this wasn’t complete, but perhaps it’s best left short and sweet. I imagine this as the text on an invitation to a winter celebration.

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The New Colours
By: Priyanka Srivastava
Tags: Poetry, Writing Life, Writing, Words, Writers On Writing

The New Colours

A poem about that longing trapped in writer’s mind

Photo by AltumCode on Unsplash

the writer in me longs to dust the many shelves in my mind.

the poems trapped in the pages, the many stars.

the writer in me wants to wrap the sky with new colours.
The Bad Days
By: Elizabeth Page
Tags: Love Yourself, Poetry, Write, Heartache, Boymom

My head is aching

My soul is breaking.

My heart has ripped in two.

Half is lost in the place where my dreams lie.

Where my late Fridays, quiet Saturdays, and career went to die.

It hides where I can never return.

But half is held together,

Even through the stormiest weather.

By the children that hold it just a little too tight.

By giggles and snuggles and little wet kisses.

Though I loathe the laundry, as well as the dishes.

Half a heart may be better than no heart at all.
What Exactly Did My College Degree Prepare Me For?
By: Leann Zotis
Tags: College Degrees, Living With Purpose, Education, Life Lessons, College

What Exactly Did My College Degree Prepare Me For?

My college years did more for me than to improve my employment prospects.

I was always a studious child. My older siblings used to brag to their friends that I would read the encyclopedia (yes, I was a child that long ago) for fun.



I’m not sure how deeply I dove into some of the drier subject matter of the Encyclopedia Britannica, but I will agree I was an avid reader and always looking for new avenues of information to impress my friends and family as the resident “know-it-all.”



So, naturally, it only made sense — to me, my parents and my teachers — that I was college-bound.
Thunder Jackson’s Menu — East Quogue, NY
By: Evan Hoffman
Tags: Food, Restaurant, East Quogue, Thunder Jackson

Thunder Jackson’s is a great restaurant in East Quogue, NY, but I can’t find a menu for them anywhere, so I stole one while I was there tonight and took a picture of each page for future reference. The Dirty Burger is really good, as are the buffalo chicken wrap and the tater tots (kind of sweet/peppery).

[caption id=”attachment_217" align=”alignnone” width=”205" caption=”Thunder Jackson’s Menu Page 1"]

[/caption]

[caption id=”attachment_218" align=”alignnone” width=”193" caption=”Thunder Jackson’s Menu Page 2"]

[/caption]

[caption id=”attachment_219" align=”alignnone” width=”107" caption=”Thunder Jackson’s Menu Page 3"]

[/caption]

[caption id=”attachment_220" align=”alignnone” width=”132" caption=”Thunder Jackson’s Menu Page 4"]

[/caption]

[googlemaps https://maps.google.com/maps?oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&ie=UTF8&q=thunder+jackson's+east+quogue&fb=1&gl=us&hq=thunder+jackson's&hnear=east+quogue&hl=en&view=map&cid=11694209826207408058&ved=0CA4QpQY&ei=1YwQS9K7OJqYyASazeDjCw&ll=40.854725,-72.569515&spn=0.006295,0.006295&output=embed&w=425&h=350]

(631) 996–2664
AnalogFolk’s weekly innovation round-up. Issue #54
Tags: Newsletter, News, Innovation, Technology

AnalogFolk’s weekly innovation round-up. Issue #54

Anti-solar panels, iPhone car and more…

W elcome to the AnalogFolk weekly innovation roundup, where our technical lead Francisco Jordão summarises the innovations of the week; from the weird to the wonderful, and everything in-between.

It’s week six but I’m still wondering what 2020 will bring, Think with Google is looking way ahead and has an article about what the marketing will look like in ten years, it’s a quick read or watch. Someone fooled Google Maps to think there was heavy traffic on roads, when instead it was just a bunch of smartphones. New CarKey feature in iOS 13.4 beta brings built-in support for unlocking, driving, and sharing NFC car keys. Researchers are looking into how to make solar panels, or “anti-solar panels,” that generate electricity at night. And Amazon Poly service, that gives voice to Alexa Skills, now allows brands to create their own voice!

Without further ado:

With 2020 upon us, everyone is talking about the upcoming decade. What will marketing look like 10 years from now? Wunderman Thompson Global Chairman Tamara Ingram, Publicis Poke CEO Nick Farnhill and Vineet Mehra, global CMO of Walgreen Boots Alliance, offer their predictions.

You don’t need mad coding skills to make Google Maps show you bad data. It turns out, if you’re creative enough, you can use one of the most common of childhood toys to make Google Maps display false real-time data. All you need is a little red wagon and a hundred cheap smartphones.

Apple released the first beta version of iOS 13.4 for developers, and now 9to5Mac has found evidence of a new feature that will make it possible to use the iPhone as a car key, and more.

Solar panels generate electricity by taking in light, but what if you could generate electricity by putting out light?

Amazon is allowing brands to develop proprietary voices to connect with consumers on Alexa, creating a new engagement tool to grow voice-based commerce.
No World Without Cheese
By: Lisa Bolin
Tags: Poetry, Creativity, Writing Prompts, Pomprompt, Food

A world without cheese is a dark barren place,

With no smells to delight, no new tastes to chase.

If there was no Camembert, just what would one do?

Without gruyere or gouda, there would be no fondue.

With no Cheddar or Stilton, the Brits would be stumped,

And Wallace and Gromit would be down in the dumps.

If Limberger and Roquefort disappeared with no trace,

It would deprive our olfactory sense of their grace,

The delicious, sumptuous stench of these cheeses,

Blowing on soft Tyrolian breezes.

And what of Paneer, Chhurpi, and Kesong Puti delights?

These incredible yak-carabao milk, tasty bites,

So deliciously soft and tenderly made

Without them, the world would not be the same.

It’s Halloumi and Herve, Harvarti and Quark,

That put a real spark right into my heart,

The melty Arbertam, Bocconcini, Mozzarella,

On a grill plate, a pizza, or even a salad,

It’s just not possible to live life without cheese,

Even lactose intolerant are easy to please,

With lactose-free milk to make Trappist monks swoon,

Every person on earth leaping over the moon,

To eat cheesy goodness, Brie, Bergkäse, Comté

Not many in the world need too much of a prompting,

To chow down on a cheese platter, any time of the day

Cheese lovers of the world see no other way!

In case you didn’t know, there’s a clever cheese trick,

The Formaggio di Fossa translates to Cheese of the Pit!

They make it and pop it down into the earth,

To dig it up when it’s ready, it really is worth

Getting your tastebuds on this little gem,

You’ll be rolling all the way home again!

How could I forget those cheeses that smoke,

Bandel, Suhi Sir, Prgica! No joke!

That nice smokey flavour made with wood and fire,

Is really what my heart and tastebuds desire!

Is it possible, really, us poets have missed,

Waxing lyrical about cheese? To be true artists?

No longer, methinks, this is the case,

On POM now, we have our poetic, cheesy embrace!
What I Invest In & Why
By: Ruzaan Du Plooy
Tags: Trading, Investing, Silk Road, Bitcoin, Cryptocurrency

I was one of those rare cases that knew about Bitcoin early on. A number of years ago, I came across a Silk Road article discussing the blackmarket and how funds were being transferred illegally. Ignoring the prevalent FBI investigation bit, I started researching Bitcoin. What it was, how it worked, and how popular it was with the masses. Needless to say it wasn’t popular at all, at least not for people that weren’t involved in criminal activity.

I have always had a fascination with anything that would push towards a global currency. Believing that someday there would be a monetary system that would be able to work on a global and international scale. Bitcoin showed that promise, even back then when I was researching in 2011.

I didn’t have much money to invest with at the time, so I was adamant that my dad look into it and start investing. Even just some spare change, anything, I was so sure of the future of this coin. The idea and possibilities were endless, it just needed the attention of the masses and an urgency call to change our ways.

As fast as my fascination with Bitcoin started, it soon became a dormant memory and I would only perk up when someone mentioned the word in a financial debate, and most of the time it would be shot down due to lack of social acceptance.

Well fast forward to December of 2017. The market hit a whopping $20,000 a coin. What?

Still struggling with social acceptance, it was becoming a rising star among all crypto currencies. I watched those around me get entangled with not just Bitcoin, but other smaller coins as well. They started day trading and went through the motions all traders do when dealing with investing in such a volatile market. I didn’t want any part of the ups and downs so I decided on investing in only one coin, and hold.

The one coin I believed in all along. Bitcoin.

Since then the market has tanked, for lack of a better word. Bitcoin enthusiasts all over the world are watching the the market prices closely and some are speculating that Bitcoin is a lost cause, while others are saying that Bitcoin will hit 50k by the end of the year.

What do I think will happen? I’m not sure. All I know is this was the one coin I have believed in since the beginning and I don’t plan on missing the boat again.

*This article is for educational/entertainment purposes only and I am no way suggesting you need to invest in any of the above or that you would profit from any trading.
Using Chosen Names for Trans Youth Helps Reduce Risk of Suicide and Depression
By: Olivia Homer
Tags: Gender Nonconforming, LGBTQ, Research, Lgbt Health, Transgender

by Olivia Homer

For transgender youth with chosen names that differ from the one given to them at birth, use of their chosen name in multiple contexts is associated with reduced mental health risks, according to a recent study.

The study, published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, involved one of the largest samples of transgender youth to date. The authors measured depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation and behavior, for which transgender youth are at elevated risk, as they relate to chosen name usage in four contexts: at home, at school, at work, and with friends. Chosen name usage in more contexts predicted fewer depressive symptoms and less suicidal ideation and behavior, with increase by a single context predicting a 56% decrease in suicidal behavior.

The authors note the significance of these results; author Stephen T. Russell told UTNews, “I’ve been doing research on LGBT youth for almost 20 years now, and even I was surprised by how clear that link was.” The study also discusses the implications of the findings for families, friends, caretakers, and healthcare providers of transgender youth–especially that calling trans kids by their chosen names is an important way to support them and their mental health. “It’s practical to support young people in using the name that they choose,” Russell told UTNews. “It’s respectful and developmentally appropriate.”

There are many other ways to support trans youth; Lambda Legal’s “How to Support Transgender and Gender-Nonconforming Youth” and the Human Rights Campaign’s page on Transgender Children and Youth provide suggestions and resources. Healthcare providers can also benefit from specialized training on trans issues, such as the services offered by QSPACES’ LGBTQ+ Competency Training and Consulting.

You can access the full text of the study in the Journal of Adolescent Health here: http://www.jahonline.org/article/S1054-139X(18)30085-5/fulltext

You can access the coverage by UTNews here: https://news.utexas.edu/2018/03/30/name-use-matters-for-transgender-youths-mental-health

You can access Lambda Legal’s “How to Support Transgender and Gender-Nonconforming Youth” here: https://www.lambdalegal.org/know-your-rights/article/youth-trans-family-support

You can access the HRC’s page on Transgender Children and Youth here: http://www.hrc.org/explore/topic/transgender-children-youth

You can learn more about the training services offered by QSPACES here: https://www.qspaces.org/lgbtq-training/
When You Feel Loved
By: Judy J Lutz
Tags: Inspiration, Poetry, Love, Spirituality, Spiritual Secrets

When you feel loved

You are safe

Time stands still

Nothing else matters

There’s warmth with all kinds of fuzzies

Like a dog licking your face

When you feel loved

There is trust

Your heart is wide open

You’ve released all defenses

You’re seen and adored

For being you, as you are

No rules

No hoops

No caution signs

Just love

It’s pure and it’s powerful

Washing over you, like sunshine after a hard rain

When you feel loved

Your heart beats slowly

With eternity’s rhythm

Pumping life through your body

All is well in this moment

A connection confirmed

As you gaze upon the world

From the eyes of your soul

Soaking in peace

The truth is divine

You are joy and you matter

You’re enough, you’ll be fine
Queer. Formation.
By: Ben Barczi
Tags: Spiritual Formation, Christianity, LGBTQ, Queer

Queer. Peculiar, different, surprising, unexpected, even unwanted. While this word has been used to condemn and hurt sexual minorities, many of us are reclaiming it with pride, because it is precisely in our difference that we are a gift to the world.

Formation. The taking on of a certain character, a settled inner disposition to pick out certain facts in the world and respond to them. Against the obsession of contemporary ethics with elaborating rules or principles (the greatest good for the greatest number, or Kant’s universal maxim), formation seeks to understand what makes human persons good within, shaped into wholeness and capable of bringing about creative goodness in the world.

These two words—queer, formation—are perhaps the key interests of my life, along with a third: Jesus.

I do not here say “Christian,” although I could; but as this word has taken on resonances that directly oppose both “Queer” and “Formation” I want instead to talk about the way of Jesus, the unfolding of the peaceable shalom of God that Jesus called “the Kingdom.” I am deeply convinced that the way of Jesus is a lens that can help us understand more deeply what it means to be queer, what it means to be take on a formation befitting our humanity, that these are best expressed in a relationship of following the Jesus way.

This will take some unpacking, for these three sit in tension: Queer, Formation, Jesus. Most people I encounter will welcome perhaps one, at best two of these. For many reasons, queer and formation seem to pull away from one another. And Christendom has made it intensely difficult for queer people to welcome Jesus, or to see Jesus as welcoming them.

But for me, it is the in unexpected, peculiar — even queer — pulling together of these three themes that I find the playful fire, the fresh breeze of Spirit hovering over my chaos. So I want to hold these together and join the play, and see where this journey of Queer Formation with Jesus leads.
Just a Grey Beach
By: Rox Applesmith
Tags: Wonder, Nature, Dialogue, Family, Short Story

Just a Grey Beach

A micro-story.

Photo by Brad Halcrow on Unsplash

“It’s just a pile of sand,” the boy grumbled to his older sister. Their family had taken a trip to Long Beach and there was a bit of time to muck about before dinner. Carla sat with a pile of sand in her palms. She figured her brother was just hungry.

Mike continued, “This is just what you’d think would happen with one of Dad’s bright ideas. It’s raining, constantly, and everything is grey through and through. The sky. The sand. The ocean. The waves may as well be puddles. Hell, I can hardly tell the sea and sky apart.” He paced.

Carla was bemused. She asked, “How many grains of sand do you think I’m holding in my hands?”

He paused. “I don’t know. 1,000? No, it’s got to be more than that. 100,000? The trouble is I don’t have much of a sense for how small they are in the first place. They could be larger or smaller by an order of 1,000 without me noticing, so it’s hard to estimate.” For a moment, the puzzle distracted Mike from his complaints. He scrunched his eyebrows, but Carla kept gazing at the waves, rolling.

“I was just remembering that a handful of sand contains more grains than we see stars in the sky at night,” she added.

Mike scoffed. “Well, there are no stars to see now. Not with all this cloud-cover and damn fog. I bet we won’t see any tonight, either — even if Mom does let us go outside to take a peak.”

“They’re there whether we see them or not.” The two stood in silence and watched some gulls parry the wind, cawing out their frustration for any passerby to hear. Mike could only take this for a minute or two.

He broke the silence. “We should head in for dinner, I think.” Carla nodded. The pair back-tracked up the shore.
Setup Mirth Connect Monitoring in a Day
By: Jack Yeh
Tags: Mirth Connect, Grafana, Exporters, Prometheus, Monitoring

Photo by Marten Newhall on Unsplash

tl;dr: If you are already familiar with the concept of monitoring and only need the Mirth channel exporter: https://github.com/teamzerolabs/mirth_channel_exporter

New assignment: Monitor Message Throughput and Errors with Mirth Channels

Let me know if this matches your story:

You have gone live with several hospitals on HL7 Channels.

You use Mirth Connect, and everything is running well.

Sometimes, you hear from the hospital that HL7 messages (ADT/MFN) are queuing up on their end. Or, they haven’t seen any message from you (MDM/ORU) in a while.

You log into Mirth, and discover that messages have queued up, or getting into the error states for the last two or three days.

You are busy leading a team in implementing new features, company is in the early phase, and cannot spare cycles to check up on Mirth Connect.

How can we set things up to be notified when messages are stuck or erred out?

Mirth Connect comes with its own Rest APIs in polling these numbers. If you are looking for something quick, you can call these two API endpoints, grab the numbers, parse them, and call Slack API to generate warnings. This script can be set on a tiny AWS EC2 or Azure VMs and run as a Cronjob every 10 minutes.

The first API endpoint is:

/api/channels/statistics

You make calls to it like this:

curl -k --location --request GET 'https://mirth-instance.yourcompany.com/api/channels/statistics' \

--user admin:admin

This assumes your mirth is deployed at https://mirth-instance.yourcompany.com, and has a user that can log into it with admin:admin as the credential.

And it returns information in the following format:

<list>

<channelStatistics>

<serverId>c5e6a736-0e88-46a7-bf32-5b4908c4d858</serverId>

<channelId>101af57f-f26c-40d3-86a3-309e74b93513</channelId>

<received>0</received>

<sent>0</sent>

<error>0</error>

<filtered>0</filtered>

<queued>0</queued>

</channelStatistics> ...

</list>

Using Python, Ruby, or NodeJS, we can easily parse the above and alert when error or queued reaches a threshold (say 50–100 messages).

To make the Channel Names readable, we call the second API:

curl -k --location --request GET 'https://mirth-instance.yourcompany.com/api/channels/idsAndNames' \

--user admin:admin

Which returns this payload:

<map>

<entry>

<string>101af57f-f26c-40d3-86a3-309e74b93533</string>

<string>Hospital-ADT</string>

</entry> ...

</map>

If you have followed this document from Slack: https://api.slack.com/tutorials/slack-apps-hello-world, you can see that we can programmatically send warning messages with this curl command:

curl -X POST -H ‘Content-type: application/json’ — data ‘{"text":"Error messages for Hospital-ADT is queuing up!"}’ YOUR_WEBHOOK_URL

And you can take a breather and know that messages are not queuing up or causing issues when Slack is quiet.
Waiting for Santa
By: Patrick M. Ohana
Tags: Poetry, November, Gifts, Blue Insights, Santa

Photo (CC0) from PxHere

Waiting for Santa

In My Santa Suit

I’m still waiting for Santa in my Santa suit

I don’t have a chimney

so I’m not sure how he’s planning to get in

I left the door to the balcony open

but it’s too cold and it had to be closed

He won’t come through the front door

so there’s no point leaving it ajar

There’s a little hole in the ceiling above the TV

but he won’t fit through it

unless he becomes a Santa ant

He can ride through the clouds with elves and reindeer

but he can’t ride through a hole I believe

I could wear my coat and boots and wait for him outside

but I doubt I’ll see him so low on the ground

I could wait for him on the roof near the frozen pool

but it’ll be dangerous for the reindeer if they crash on the ice

I guess that there’s no point in waiting for him

he has too many presents to deliver

and I’m not a kid any longer

I didn’t ask for much this year

and I already got it

in the last week of November

It was a gift from the Moon

so Santa had nothing to do with it

I wonder who did

Methinks I was very good this year

Patrick M. Ohana
New tools in FlyElephant and announcement of webinars
By: Dmitry Spodarets
Tags: Cloud Computing, Science, Data Science

New tools in FlyElephant and announcement of webinars

FlyElephant team wishes a Happy New Year. We started this year with an expansion of tools’ list, webinars and the formation of a community around the platform.

FlyElephant is a platform that provides scientists with computing infrastructure for calculation and automates routine tasks and allows focus on the core issues of research.

Octave and Scilab have now become available for users, so the complete list of the supported languages and tools includes GCC (with support for OpenMP), R, Python (v2 & v3), Octave and Scilab. Beta program participants can use the following tools: Java (v7 & v8), Julia, OpenFOAM, GROMACS, and Blender. If you are not a FlyElephant user yet, you can sign up here. In honor of the New Year, you can put $300 to your account by entering the special promo code 195708679772.

In January, we run a series of webinars. We will tell you everything about FlyElephant, discuss possible options for its practical application, and we will show you a range of technologies and tools that can be useful in your work. Schedule of January webinars:

One of the priorities for our team this year is to build a strong community around FlyElephant. We want to bring together experts from different areas who use big computing capacities to solve problems, share knowledge and help each other with problem-solving, and to join for project cooperation. While working on this functionality, I want to invite you to our slack chat.

Our team is open for cooperation. We are looking forward to working with owners of computing resources and producers of specialized software. We are ready to support scientists and provide for free the required amount of resources needed for their public research. We are ready to show a DEMO presentation of how the platform works to anyone who is interested.

Your ideas, suggestions and comments are very important for us. Please feel free to share them with us and write to support@flyelephant.net.
Military company G4S offered a service to protect private digital assets
By: Ico, Crypto News
Tags: Blockchain, G4s, News, Bitcoin, Cryptocurrency

Group 4 Securicor (G4S, United Kingdom), the largest security services company in the world, offered protection for cryptocurrency assets owned by individuals and legal entities. According to Dominic MacIver, G4S senior risk analyst, the company uses the existing infrastructure to provide the service, namely, secure storage for high-value items.

In accordance with a specific algorithm, the customer of the service distributes encryption keys across several types of autonomous devices and transfers them to G4S storage. The devices are stored in different places that have limited access by third parties. Thus, the customer’s digital assets will be protected from attempts of unfriendly external attacks, and the customer himself will be protected from criminal encroachments for the purpose of cryptocurrency extortion. According to Financial Times, the largest European cryptocurrency exchange which is still unknown already became the client of G4S.

More info: https://t.me/blockchaininvestio
The Story Tree
By: Gregory D. Welch
Tags: Poetry, Life, Nature, Life Lessons, Poem

The Story Tree

Poetry

Photo by Anthony Dean on Unsplash

Another morning walk

this time to the story tree

to see what tales might be found

tucked between its well worn bark

The story tree, with all its wobbling rings

piling up in stacks of years

sorted and stored away inside

like memories of all the travelers before

I lean in and listen for those groaning years

rich with ghosts and a good story or two

of all those folks that passed by

with all the barbed wire curvature of their lives

This old story-tree growing tall and crooked

what tales it might whisper

with all the thorn rich rasp of its leaves

just another morning walk
Collect for the Fifteenth Sunday After Pentecost
By: Alan Bentrup
Tags: Church

Grant us, Lord, not to be anxious about earthly things, but to love things heavenly; and even now, while we are placed among things that are passing away, to hold fast to those that shall endure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Readings for this week:

Exodus 16:2–15

Psalm 105:1–6, 37–45

Philippians 1:21–30

Matthew 20:1–16
I Remember Those Days
Tags: Friendship, Poetry, Hope, Love, Sorrow

I remember those days,

How you used to love to talk to me, how you’d love to hear me talk.

We’d never mind the world surrounding us.

Alas, those honest, meaningless conversations will never happen!

I remember those days,

Those walks in the wilderness,

Those talks filled with tenderness.

The songs you sang for me,

The poems I wrote for you.

The smile on your face upon seeing me could keep me sane walking through hell.

The simple joy of being in each other’s presence!

The safe space we’d provide each other.

Now,

All I get is a sigh or a ‘hi’,

A ‘take care’ or a ‘bye’.

What has changed, love?

What has changed?

Not me.

I still worship you with the same earnest devotion you’d always mock me for.

I still remember you in every smile, pain, and deed.

Circumstances have changed.

And you?

Definitely.

Where is that joyously tearful smile gone?

Why has your warmth changed to coldness?

You did admit that you could never see me as a lover.

But, we were good friends, at least.

Didn’t that ever mean anything to you?

You were a good friend, but a bad lover.

Naïve me never thought it would end this way.

And even after it did end, I still sit up hopeful.
Yachtside Charter adopts Aditus Pay as Crypto Payment Service Provider
By: Aditus Pr
Tags: Yacht, Crypto Affluent, Bitcoin, Aditus, Luxury

Aditus, the world’s first luxury access platform for crypto-affluents, has signed a partnership with Yachtside Charter to enable the charter of luxury yachts using Aditus’s ADI tokens, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

Yachtside Charter is an acclaimed European-based group with offices across cities that are frequented by crypto-affluents, such as Monaco and Phuket. In collaboration with Anthony Brisacq, co-founder and CEO of Yachtside Charter together with Yachtside Group, founded by Philippe Chadel and Moody Fayed, they aim to revolutionise the luxury yachting world by creating the only instant luxury yachting charter solution, allowing you to book a yacht online with just a few clicks.

Whether you are looking to organise a party cruise with friends and loved ones or a lavish business meeting, Yachtside Charter has the perfect solution. Make your selection based on customisable single or multiple day trips; as well as sunset jaunts. There are various options available at many amazing destinations around the world.
Storing Images on Cloudinary to Use for Your Rails Backend
By: Zakari Badiru
Tags: Programming, React, JavaScript, Software Development, Ruby on Rails

Using React to Upload to Cloudinary

I used fetch and a API url, with the POST method to upload the image onto a specific folder on my cloudinary account.

Image provided by the author.

Retrieving the URL from Cloudinary to use in the backend with Ruby on Rails

I need to create a new image in the Backend (Ruby) in order to archive this. Therefore I created this method:

Image provided by the author.

There are two functions in the above code snippets that for you, the reading is undefined. Firstly, is the (API.postImage), this is a post method that takes an image URL and body as an argument and then responds in JSON format, like so:

Image provided by the author.

Again, the above code snippet refers to the post method that for you, the reading is undefined. This is the post method:

Image provided by the author.

This is a generic post method that I created for the purposes of its reusability. You need only call it and pass a URL and body as an argument.

Secondly, is the addImageToImageCollection method. This method is self-explanatory and is defined below:

Image provided by the author.

Here you have a collection of images using a spread operator, and new images are added onto the collection nondestructively.

Image provided by the author.

As so as you click the upload image button you create a new image on the Backend(Ruby) using the image URL retrieved from Cloudinary.

As always thanks for reading, happy coding, and I hope this helps someone down the line.
Our Brains Can Continuously Change For the Better Throughout our Lifetime
By: Michelle Monet
Tags: Brain, Neuroscience, Trauma, Health, Aging

Our Brains Can Continuously Change For the Better Throughout our Lifetime

Neuroplasticity gives humans new hope for the future.

happybrainlife.com

When I saw the PBS TV show recently about Neuroplasticity it happened to be the same week my therapist mentioned it to me. She was doing a speech about Neuroplasticity to a group of her colleagues.

She said, “This is wonderful news. Our brains can alter in positive ways as we age!”

So, twice in one day, I heard the word Neuroplasticity. That seemed like one of those Universal signs, so, I went to research the subject. I wanted to learn more.

Here’s a short definition from Wikipedia:

“Neuroplasticity, also known as brain plasticity, neuroelasticity, or neural plasticity, is the ability of the brain to change continuously throughout an individual’s life... The brain can respond to life and change itself by forging new neural pathways and circuits while pruning away old ones, as needed.”

So we can reprogram our brain!

Isn’t this great news for people with traumas and PTSD issues too?

webmd.com

People used to believe the brain became fixed after a certain age, but newer research has revealed that the brain never stops changing in response to learning.

I love this!

In instances of damage to the brain, such as during a stroke, the areas of the brain associated with certain functions may be damaged but eventually, healthy parts of the brain may take over those functions and the abilities can be restored.

Neuroplasticity also offers real hope to everyone from stroke victims to dyslexics.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to know that our brains are malleable and could actually shift and change for the better over time?
Netanyahu discusses technologies with Elon Musk
Tags: Israel, South Africa, Focus, Autonomous Cars, Jef

The prime minister met with Elon Musk at his residence in Jerusalem, as reported by Globes The two discussed future technologies during the two-hour meeting, including autonomous vehicles.

South African-born Canadian American billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, the CEO of electric-car maker Tesla, has met Netanyahu during his stay in Israel.

Netanyahu later told the Negev conference: “I met with Elon Musk this morning. He told me that Israel is a technological power, and that he appreciates what we’re doing here.”

According to Israel’s Prime Minister, Musk said that the Negev could supply all of Israel’s energy needs. “The Negev is Israel’s energy future. You can deploy solar systems here that will give you more energy than you need — clean energy,” Musk said.

Musk also visited Jerusalem during his visit.

When Netanyahu visited Munich in February, he met with auto industry leaders, including BMW chairperson Harald Krueger. According to Netanyahu, Krueger wants to make Israel one of the places in the world where it conduct autonomous vehicle trials.
dry Monku — A Haiku on the Move
By: Dry Monkey Philosophy
Tags: Journey, Poetry, Haiku, Life, Poem

This is a collection of haiku-ish poetry as told by a Dry Monkey. They are loosely structured 5–7–5 — 3 lined stanzas. Each telling a story of its own, while collectively narrating a progressively realized ideal — Hope you enjoy!
I Would If I Could
By: Agnes Louis
Tags: Strength, Poetry, Life, Love, Compassion

If only I could —

I would have

take away that pain

shove it in a box

seal it, wrap it, lock it

throw it into the ocean

and let the waves eat it whole.

If only I could —

I would have

erase the memories

haunting you in your dreams

tailing you like a shadow.

I would — take it down, scrub it clean

so you can paint it with your own colours.

If only I could —

I would have

shield you

keep you far and away

from harm, from hurt

cocooned you with love

clothe you in warmth.

Alas, it is not to be.

I can’t — shield you from pain, hurt, harm

I can’t — keep you away from the ghosts of the past

I can’t — protect you from the evil within, without

So I do what I can.

Catch you when you fall

Give you — a shoulder to cry on

a pair of ears for you to unload

words of comfort to soothe your soul

I would if I could —

But I can’t —

So I do what I can —

I’ll do my best

to make you see, feel, know

that you are not walking alone

that you don’t have to do it alone

I am here.

I am here with you

— for you.
Taoism; Follow the Path of Least Resistance to Overcome Any Obstacle
By: Owen Lloyd
Tags: Life, Taoism, Life Lessons, Philosophy, Self

Taoism; Follow the Path of Least Resistance to Overcome Any Obstacle

“When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.”

― Lao Tzu

Whenever I feel overwhelmed, stressed, or that life isn’t going my way, I look to the East.

Western society is built upon hard, grueling work. It is built upon trying to bulldozer our way through every minute obstacle we may face.

Most of the things we accomplish seem to be through extreme exertion and mental strain, often at the cost of our own mental health.

When I personally feel anxious due to the demands of a society such as ours, I look to the wisdom of the East.

Photo by Moodywalk on Unsplash

The philosophy of Taoism promotes the idea of flow, which has also been recently popularised by productivity gurus, who may have taken the Taoist concept out of context a little.

“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.” -Lao Tzu

The concept of flow, or Wu Wei, heavily advocates paying attention to nature and almost imitating how it functions, and how it flows.

Taoism suggests that we should not try to swim against the current, as seems to be the way in Western society, but instead simply let the current take us where it pleases.

Nature is an interconnected system, in which everything has its place, its job to do, in which everything flows, without expectation, without ambition.

Let’s take the common example of water. Water does not exert itself, it does not try. Water takes the path of least resistance, yet always manages to find a way to slowly break down the hardest of obstacles.

Photo by Alex Perez on Unsplash

Water is a perfect example of Wu Wei.

We should all be a little bit more like water.

Water doesn’t care about the results. Water isn’t trying to accomplish anything, it is simply focused on the present, on the task at hand.

This is where the idea of flow can benefit our lives.

In the West, we are driven by results. We do things because we think that they will afford us with money, status, power or accomplishment.

However, when we are in a state of flow, we don’t think about the results, we just think about the present, about the next, smallest step to take, the next word to type or the next brick to lay.

This is the state that allows us to actually achieve huge amounts when we’re not actually focused on achieving anything at all. All we’re doing is slowly chipping away, with minimal effort, engaged with the present, absorbed by flow.

Photo by 五玄土 ORIENTO on Unsplash

So when you’re worried about not getting results, not achieving what you had hoped to achieve, not having the life you desire, forget about it and bring flow into your life, and you’ll probably achieve more than you had ever hoped for.