fabiochiu/medium-articles huggingface dataset:
Yesterday
By: Sean Zhai
Tags: Poetry, Writing, Politics, Covid 19, Philosophy

Get this newsletter By signing up, you will create a Medium account if you don’t already have one. Review our Privacy Policy for more information about our privacy practices.

Check your inbox

Medium sent you an email at to complete your subscription.
Set Up AWS CLI on Your Mac in 2 Steps
By: Okoh Anita
Tags: Programming, Cli, Aws Cli, Software Development, AWS

Set Up AWS CLI on Your Mac in 2 Steps

Deploy from your command line, manage your AWS instances, and more

Photo by Pankaj Patel on Unsplash.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is one of the market leaders in cloud computing. It has lots of services, ranging from infrastructure as a service (IAAS) to platform as a service (PAAS) and some software as a service (SAAS).

AWS services can be accessed in two ways: via the GUI (the AWS management console) and programmatic access via API, CLI, SDK, etc.

For this article, we will be focusing on setting up the CLI interface.

There are two major benefits of using the AWS CLI interface:
One Important Case Where Trump Was Right About Fake News
By: Isaiah Mccall
Tags: Journalism, News, Trump, Election 2020, The Masterpiece

The Code Of Ethics

The code of ethics breaks down into four major points.

Seeking the truth and reporting it

Meaning ethical journalism needs to be accurate and fair with as little-to-no bias as possible. It also requires journalists to be “honest and courageous in gathering, reporting, and interpreting information.”

Minimize harm

This aspect is constantly overlooked in the age of social media. Journalists need to decipher how much harm a potential story can cause, and if it’s worthy of being published. It also requires knowing how to handle sensitive subject matters, such as ones involving victims of sex crimes or juveniles.

Act independently

Journalism is on its own island. You’re not supposed to work with the police or other government authorities. You shouldn’t receive gifts, favors, or any special treatment from anyone (especially if you’re doing a story on said groups). Journalists are to serve the public, and acting in the best interest of the public requires journalism to be its own entity.

Be accountable and transparent

The last requirement of ethical journalism requires journalists to take responsibility for their work while also being as transparent as possible to the public. While some stories are rather straightforward, there are also murky, more ethical articles that require clear and honest explanations from journalists. This also requires journalists to expose organizations or individuals who aren’t acting within these guidelines.
Data Scientists Are Not Magicians
By: Natassha Selvaraj
Tags: Machine Learning, Technology, Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Programming

Why does this happen to data scientists so often?

Photo by Tim Gouw on Unsplash

Even after hearing horror stories from data scientists and analysts, I never believed it was too bad.

As a newcomer in the industry, I thought that a lot of what I was hearing was simply a gross exaggeration of events.

That is…until it happened to me.

My Experience

As a final year computer science student, all of us are required to complete a capstone project.

Since I major in data science, I was keen on taking up a project that involved data analysis and machine learning.

After reading the scope of the project, I had multiple ideas in mind and was pretty excited about moving forward with it. My teammates and I already had a list of questions mapped out for our project supervisor and client.

However, the first meeting with the project supervisor was a complete disaster. Without disclosing too much, here is a brief overview of how the meeting went:

Supervisor: “Client A has a lot of data they are collecting through a variety of channels. They don’t know what to do with the data. Can you do some data analysis on it?”

Student: “Alright, that seems fine. Are there any specific questions they want to answer with this data?”

Supervisor: “Not exactly, maybe just build dashboards and apply machine learning techniques on it.”

After realizing that we were stuck in the “data analyst and rock” situation, my teammates and I decided to just go along with the flow and work with what we had.

Student: “Sure, that seems doable. When can we have access to this data?”

The supervisor explained that it would take some time for us to get access to this data. In fact, we may never get our hands on it at all till the last few weeks of the project submission.

After trying to explain multiple times that it wasn’t possible to start without knowing at least the variables present or the type of data being collected, we gave up.

Based on the details given to us in the project description and sample datasets online, we created a vague proposal and presented it to the supervisor.

Just like the “data analyst and the rock” story, this didn’t go too well either.

Supervisor: “This is great and all, but can you create a generic machine learning model that the client can use?”

What this means: He wanted us to use supervised machine learning techniques to create a machine learning model that would work on data it has never seen before.

We don’t have labels, neither do we have any idea of what the data looks like or what prediction is to be made.

In short, he expected magic.

If one machine learning model could be created and used on any kind of data, and predict anything in the world, machine learning engineers wouldn’t have jobs.
How to Run a Marathon in Just Under Seven Hours
By: Allison Fleck
Tags: Running, Motivation, Marathon, Walking, Inspiration

I usually don’t mention my completion of a marathon unless someone asks me directly, but my husband, a runner himself, brags about it on my behalf.

You’ve done one! he says when I try to minimize mention of the race. It didn’t kill me (barely)! I retort.

But the benefits of running a marathon in just under seven hours are numerous. It requires very little training. It takes you long enough to reach the next aid station that you do not need to worry about overhydration. There is plenty of time to chat with people moving along at a similar pace. And, while I’m sure that the people at the front of the race are friendly too, everyone at the back has a fascinating tale of why they are there.

There is a sense of humility and purpose amongst those people trudging along in front of the time cutoff-pick-up van.
6 reasons why you need branded content now
By: Eric Brandner
Tags: Branded Content, Marketing, Content Marketing, Digital Marketing, Advertising

Your marketing team can’t do it all.

You invest in traditional and digital advertising while dedicating long hours to tweaking your strategy in hopes of boosting your return on investment. You do all this while trying to keep up with the latest trends and watching your budget like a miserly Disney villain.

Wouldn’t it be nice to have a go-to tactic in your ever-changing media arsenal that’s both high-quality and enriches the lives of your core audience? Something you can deftly recycle without fear of the message going stale or engagement tapering off?

You need branded content. And you need it now.

We get it. Branded content is a prime target when you have to cut 10 percent of your marketing budget. It’s not an easy tactic to execute well, either. And to top it off, these thoughtful, often multilayered storytelling campaigns designed to attract and educate your core audience usually don’t even include a revenue producing call-to-action. On purpose.

But the risk is low compared to the potential reward. Here are six reasons why.

1. Trust

Branded content is necessary specifically because it isn’t selling your audience. Branded content is sharing and teaching. You’re adding value to someone’s life. In many cases, you’re creating opportunities for your current and future customers to experience something that benefits them before buying your product or converting in some other way. And that engenders trust.

Don’t get us wrong. Ads are great. And you absolutely need them to sell your product. But branded content earns you fans. And you need fans to thrive in the long term.

A 2017 Time Inc. study showed roughly two out of three people polled trusted branded content more than ads. While that’s not shocking, the same pool of respondents went on to emphasize the creativity and alternative approaches that go into making quality branded content vs. advertising products are significant in that equation. That was especially true among younger respondents.

Ads are great. And you absolutely need them. But branded content earns you fans. And you need fans to thrive in the long term.

2. Audience retention

Your ad may be great, but it’s still an ad. You’re going to need to expose people to it over and over, hammering them with your message until you finally hook them. And does breaking your customer’s resolve sound like a great way to start a long-term relationship? Branded content, on the other hand, lets you create stories people remember. It lets you stretch your creative legs. Would you rather see 40 Lexus commercials or watch this spoof crime drama starring Colin Quinn and Seth Meyers? We’re not suggesting you need to choose one over the other. We’re saying you need both. And studies show you need fewer touch points for it to be effective. (A 2016 IPG/Forbes/Newhouse study showed brand recall was 59 percent higher on branded content compared to ads.)
Sharing Cars with Strangers. Much of my life has been an exercise in…
By: Lauren Scherr
Tags: San Francisco, Storytelling, Lyft

Days blur into weeks and months into seasons. I can’t remember how I imagined 2015, but it looks different from the other side. I’ve made and lost friends and watched others slip away. I’ve seen familiar buildings torn down and grown used to the vacant spaces they’ve left behind. I’ve found comfort in recognizing the same faces along my morning commute.

Last week I got into a car with two strangers, both artists. The driver made whimsical etchings of skeletons doing things like driving a convertible over the Bay Bridge. The passenger was a graphic designer. I don’t remember the details. We dropped her off at the Academy of Art and headed north, toward my apartment.

Traffic was heavy and it had been a long week; I’d woken up that Tuesday thinking it was Saturday. We crawled up Third Street and I regretted leaving the office during rush hour. The driver sat beside me, quiet, and I noticed his three watches — two on the right wrist and one on the left.

“We have so much time,” he said.

I didn’t detect any irony.

On the face of one watch, Salvador Dalí looked up at me with his crazy eyes wide and mustache erect. The antennae of his whiskers marked the minute and hour. An ant marched around the perimeter, telling the seconds.

“If you wear three watches, you’ll always have time to do the things you want to do,” he said.

I laughed. He didn’t.

“Are you a fan of Dalí?” I asked.

“Yes, very much,” he said, nodding at a photo he’d taped to the inside of his windshield. This version of the painter held a cat — a pet ocelot, I recalled, named Babou. How strange the things we remember.

I wasn’t paying attention when the driver asked me a question.

“Have you ever been in the eye of a hurricane?” he asked again.

I recalled sitting at home during heavy rains — but no, that’s not the same.

“It’s otherworldly. Like being in a dream,” he said.

He told me about sitting in his backyard during the middle of a storm. He lived in the south and thunderstorms were common, but his was a big one. I imagined him in a plastic chair in the middle of an unkempt lawn, eyes closed.

“Not even the birds are chirping,” he said. “They know before we do.”

I asked how long he stayed outside, but he didn’t know.

“I sat there until it was stupid to stay,” he said. “At a certain point, you have to go back inside. I didn’t want to, though.”

Much of my life has been an exercise in leaving at the right time.

“Time stands still,” he said. “I can’t explain it to you. If you ever experience it, you’ll understand.”

I wished desperately to understand. I still do. The ant kept marching around his Dali watch.
Six Golden Rules That Will Change Your Writing Life
By: Samuel Osho
Tags: Writing Tips, Writing Life, Writing, George Orwell, Writers On Writing

Six Golden Rules That Will Change Your Writing Life

Apply these rules and watch your writing pop

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels

Writing is a craft, which means it can be studied, understood, and learnt. It’s natural for you to feel inadequate after reading the works of some excellent writers. But here is the good news, you can be a better writer if you are ready to do the work.

After wrestling with a bouquet of books, I have encountered some of the world’s best writers. George Orwell is one of such beautiful minds that blessed the world with greats gifts such as Animal Farm, 1984, The Road to Wigan Pier amongst many others. His exceptional use of allegory in Animal Farm made him stand out amidst his peers.

However, not many people know his real name — Eric Arthur Blair. In fact, his tombstone bears “Eric Arthur Blair.” But even in his death, the world continues to celebrate the works of Orwell for his ability to explain social injustice, autocracy, democratic socialism to the common man. This is a popular quote from his book, Animal Farm: “All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others.”

In “Politics and the English Language,” an essay published by Orwell in 1946, he handed six golden rules to all writers of the English language. They are six cardinal points that can guide your choices of words and embellish your works with brilliance.

After applying these six rules to my writing, my paragraphs started shining. I thought of sharing them with you, maybe it can help you in your journey of becoming a better writer.
Start your Data Science Journey in 4 Steps
By: Kurtis Pykes
Tags: Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Deep Learning, Towards Data Science

Start your Data Science Journey in 4 Steps

An opinionated path guide for beginning your Data Science career

Until September of 2018 the term “Artificial Intelligence” had literally no meaning to me. I was posting letters for Royal Mail and curious as ever to learn a skill that didn’t require me to physically exert myself. The thought of programming did come to mind, but I didn’t think I was smart enough — by trade I am an athlete after all and did not have proper formal education after High School (unless you want to include my Level 3 Coaching badge and BTEC in sports).

Just under 2 years on, I have received what I deem to be a major achievement in my journey: I am now a Top writer in Artificial Intelligence on Medium.

After initially being filled with joy, my mind switched and before I knew it I was reflecting on where I have come from…

Every major action that I have taken has come as a response to a difficult situation, but it does not have to be that way!

I sucked up my fear of programming, and the fact I hadn’t done an inch of math in 5+ years no longer concerned me, however, that was only because I had lost my job as a Postman — I had no other option. I began my Medium journey in December 2019, but only started posting regularly because the Covid-19 outbreak left me furloughed — I needed to do something productive with my time or I’d just be bored at home until I am wanted back at work (if I am wanted back that is).

Realising that my reactive approach to life is unnecessarily strenuous, I’ve made a decision to be proactive and hope to make a mark in the Data Science field.

You don’t need to be like me! If you are reading this now then you have an opportunity to decide to be proactive today! On that note, I aim to provide you with the tools that have helped me to reach where I am now so that you can kickstart your career.
How to Solve Your “Lack of Motivation” Problem
By: Ayodeji Awosika
Tags: Self Improvement, Life Lessons, Inspiration, Life, Psychology

How to Solve Your “Lack of Motivation” Problem

Hint: Understand that lack of motivation is a lie.

Photo by Taisiia Shestopal on Unsplash

I know what it feels like to have no motivation. I’m talking zero motivation.

Here’s a list of some of the laziest things I’ve done:

I used to watch Law and Order SVU marathons for 8 to 12 hours at a time, never leaving the house.

I drank and/or smoked weed daily for at least a full year.

I’ve had a major porn addiction.

I got a 0.00 GPA one semester in college and wasn’t even smart enough to drop out. I paid for the classes and didn’t go.

I’ve been there.

You feel like you have all the talent in the world to be successful, and you do, but you continue to cling to this identity that you’re not a ‘motivated person’. And each time you do try to clean up your act and fail, it further solidifies that identity.

If you have no motivation and want to change that, you have to change your identity. To change your identity, you have to adopt actions that disconfirm your old identity and gradually help you to build a new one. To adopt the right actions, find something that excites you and compels you to work hard.

From someone who’s been on both sides, I’m confident in telling you that going from having no motivation to tons of motivation is more than possible. If you follow the path I’m going to describe, you won’t even feel like the old you existed. You couldn’t fathom that you were ever that lazy at a certain point in your life.

So…what do you do? How do you fix your seemingly perpetual laziness problem?
Fiat Panda and VW Gol turn forty
By: Danillo Almeida
Tags: Cars, Design, History, Past, English

Piccolo here, klein there

Fiat created its model to deal with Italians’ need for affordable transportation. It was suffering the effects of the oil crisis, so any new car should be small, nimble enough for urban streets and fuel-efficient. Beauty wasn’t a priority here, which made it clear that this was a rational purchase. Domus magazine says Giorgetto Giugiaro’s infant son quickly nicknamed it “refrigerator” due to its boxy design. The focus was to offer a spacious cabin with reduced external size at low prices.

Volkswagen, in turn, wanted to replace the Beetle in Brazil, but couldn’t use the European Golf for reasons you’re going to read here in a while. The solution was a regional project that closely resembled siblings like the first-generation Passat and Scirocco. Since low consumption was also important there, the Gol featured a much shorter rear fascia than what the buyers were used to see. That and the angular design earned it the nickname “axe-cut”, which lasted a couple years.

1980 Fiat Panda and 1980 Volkswagen Gol

Although the models were born in such different circumstances, they shared the trait of having a small cabin. The Panda mitigated that problem through solutions such as converting the dashboard into the full-width storage area shown at the photo, and front seats which could be folded up to the point of forming a small bed along with the rear ones. The Gol came with a much more common cabin, but it took a toll on its capabilities to satisfy its target customers: the cramped interior became fodder for criticism up to the end of the first generation’s cycle, in 1994.
Earth’s Blood
By: T.S. Narkissa Luna
Tags: Poetry, Earth, Spiritual, Environment, Life

Photo by Jez Timms on Unsplash

Among the stones and winds

Tree’s tress swam yawning free

And its roots unyielding to defeat.

Earth’s sap that would coalesce

The ambition to climb higher

But is consumed by the tree’s thirst.

A power beyond yet so drawing —

Is the thirst for earth’s blood and it’s tears

For when it’s creatures aren’t fed.

Now the tree would consume what has suffered

And bequeath homes from its roots lifted

Yet n’er is it destroyed.
How to Prepare and Send Your New Year Message Card with Python
By: Coşkun Deniz
Tags: Python, Technology, Email Automation, Christmas, Programming

If the program is executed without parameters, it will enter the interactive mode. Otherwise, it will get values from parameters. The entry point function is like the below.

Interactive mode will be handled with the following function by asking the user the required or optional parameters one by one. If the user presses enter without a value, default values shown in parenthesis will be used.

During taking parameters, the message header will be constructed first with the following MessageHeader class.

Since multiple recipients are allowed, to_email instance variable is constructed as a list from a comma-separated string, a file, or a single mail address.

Then the MessageContent class will be used to get parameters to construct the message as HTML with the construct_html_message method like below.

Background, text, and border colors are updated according to given parameters.
Geopoetry: Space and Time
By: Claire C. Mckinley
Tags: Geology, Claire Mckinley, Comics, Science, Oceans

Maps based off of Müller et al., (2008): Müller, R.D., M. Sdrolias, C. Gaina, and W.R. Roest 2008. Age, spreading rates and spreading symmetry of the world’s ocean crust, Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst., 9, Q04006, doi:10.1029/2007GC001743.

Plate reconstructions modeled in Gplates, e.g: Müller, R. D., Cannon, J., Qin, X., Watson, R. J., Gurnis, M., Williams, S., et al. 2018. GPlates: Building a virtual Earth through deep time, in: Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 19. doi:10.1029/2018GC007584.
3 Medium Writers You Should Follow
By: Daryl Bruce
Tags: Writing, Writers On Writing, Medium, Writers On Medium, Sex

Typically, when I post a Top 3 article, I focus on three stories I enjoyed reading on that particular day. Today, however, I felt like doing something a little different and a bit broader. A few months ago, I posted an article listing three of my favourite writers on Medium. You can check out the original right here:

In that post, I stated that I planned on expanding the list every month. While my intentions were good, my execution was a major fail. So, today is the day that I’ve decided to finally make good on my promise.

There are so many fantastic writers on Medium, that it was hard to narrow it down to just three … which was the reason I had wanted to make this a monthly column in the first place.

The list below represents three writers whose work I tend to seek out very frequently. Their writing inspires me and speaks to me on an emotional level. It is this connection that continues to draw me to their work, and makes me want to support them as fully as possible when I see they’ve posted something new. If your name isn’t on this list, please, please don’t take offence. You may just be on the next list!
【対談してきた】時間感覚の合うVCと組むべし：PLAID柴山氏（前編）
By: Yusuke Kuroda 黒田 悠介
Tags: Interview, 日本語, Entrepreneurship, Venture Capital

Open jobs at 株式会社プレイド - Wantedly

On Wantedly, 株式会社プレイド is now listing their recruitment information for Engineer / Programmer, Director / Manager…
Expectation
By: Yunus Celik
Tags: Motivation, Life Lessons, Personal Development, Life, Personal Growth

Expect positivity

When it comes to receiving in life what it is you deserve, it is important to maintain a standard of living which you expect from yourself, and all the things which make up the environment around you.

This means that each day, you hold yourself to a certain standard of being, doing, interacting, thinking and performing.

It is by setting up these expectations for ourselves, that we are able to filter and properly set up a system for determining which experiences add value to our lives, and which experiences detract from our quality of living.

By filtering out the negative, and embracing the positive, we multiply the positive even more, and live a life which exceeds the expectations we initially set up.
Understanding the LightGBM
By: Soner Yıldırım
Tags: Machine Learning, Lightgbm, Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Predictive Analytics

EFB (Exclusive Feature Bundling)

Datasets with a high number of features are likely to have sparse features (i.e. lots of zero values). These sparse features are usually mutually exclusive which means they do not have non-zero values simultaneously. Consider the case of one-hot encoded text data. In a particular row, only one column indicating a specific word is non-zero and all other rows are zero.

EFB is a technique that uses a greedy algorithm to combine (or bundle) these mutually exclusive into a single feature (e.g. exclusive feature bundle) and thus reduce the dimensionality. EFB reduces the training time of GDBT without affecting the accuracy much because the complexity of creating feature histograms is now proportional to the number of bundles instead of the number of features (#bundles is much less than #features).

One of the challenges with EFB is to find the optimal bundles. The researchers at Microsoft designed an algorithm that converts the bundling problem to a graph coloring problem.

In the graph coloring problem, the features are taken as vertices, and edges are added between features which are not mutually exclusive. Then a greedy algorithm is used to produce bundles.

To take it one step further, the algorithm also allows bundling of features that rarely have non-zero values simultaneously (i.e. almost mutually exclusive).

Another challenge is to merge the features in a bundle in a way that values of original features can be extracted. Consider a bundle of 3 features. We need to be able to identify the values of these 3 features using the value of the bundled feature.

Recall that the histogram-based algorithm creates discrete bins for continuous values. To overcome the challenge of merging features, exclusive values of features in a bundle are put in different bins which can be achieved by adding offsets to the original feature values.
Playne Wants Players to Focus on Themselves
By: Peter Cacek
Tags: Gaming, Review, Self, Mental Health, Features

A number of changes have been made to the game since its initial release. It now offers guided meditations for those that need a helping hand, different ways to focus or practice breathing, and even a sandbox mode. A lot of care has been put into this game in order to make meditation more accessible and interesting to a wider audience.

When I first started, the prospect of meditating each day felt like work. I didn’t know how I would turn my brain off and focus on my breathing. Sessions were short and would end with dozens of thoughts piling up. I thought that I was doing something wrong. Maybe meditation was just something I would never be able to do.

But Playne understood my frustrations and nudged me to try at a later time. Days passed before I mustered up the courage to open up the game again. The grove was unchanged, and the fox was still waiting next to the campfire with words of encouragement. So I tried again. And again. And again.

After a while, the time between meditation sessions shortened, and each one lasted longer. Thoughts weren’t as frequent, and I began to step away feeling calm and refreshed. It was actually working.

Meditating with thought pages. Source: Vismaya

The implementation of thought pages, however, is what cemented the game in my daily routine. During the first thirty minutes of my day, I use this mode to write whatever thoughts are stuck in the recesses of my mind, getting them out of my head and onto the page. I find that I need this as a way to ease into a day of writing. Playne distorts the text enough so I can’t reread anything I’ve already written, cementing the idea to just let words flow while I focus on my breath. At the end of the session, I offer those words up to the campfire, causing it to roar to life as I leave behind past worries and focus on the day’s work.

This game has done a lot to bring peace into my life. I most likely wouldn’t even be writing this article right now without the habits this game has instilled in me. It was the push I needed to keep going when I didn’t know if I could.
This AI figured out that the only winning move is not to play
By: Mark Farragher
Tags: Machine Learning, Deep Learning, Computer Games, Artificial Intelligence

Our greatest challenge in machine learning is to clearly explain to an AI what we want to achieve.

For this, we use a reward function.

A reward function is a mathematical expression that tells an AI if it’s doing a good a job. The function measures the difference between an AI’s predictions and the expected results.

So if I want an AI to predict today’s temperature, I would give it a reward function that is simply the difference between its predictions and the actual temperatures. The better the predictions are, the greater the reward.

During training, I would reward great predictions and penalize bad ones. Over time, the AI will learn how to consistently make great predictions.

So far so good. But what if we have a more complex scenario?

Consider the game CoastRunners.

The objective in the game is to race around a track in a speedboat, stay ahead of the competition, and collect as many powerups as possible.

You would probably think that a good reward function is to get the highest possible game score, right?

Researchers at OpenAI put this to the test. They trained a machine learning system to play the game and aim for the highest possible score.

What happened next blew their mind:

The AI ignored the race, took its boat into the clearing in the middle of the lake, and turned in a circle over and over again.

Check it out, the boat is completely outside the race track, it’s going the wrong way, and it is repeatedly catching fire because it’s crashing into the pier and into other boats over and over.

But the boat is also picking up 3 powerups during each cycle!

And this strategy is so successful that the AI consistently beats human players by 20% or more.

So here’s what went wrong.

The game designers placed powerups all along the racetrack to entice players to follow the route, but didn’t realize that the powerups in the middle of the lake are all it takes to win the game.

And they only reward players for picking up powerups. They didn’t add any incentive for players to follow the track, stay ahead of the competition, or complete the race in a minimum of time.

The AI researchers trained the AI to only look at the score and ignore everything else in the game.

So of course the AI discovered this loophole and ran with it.

This is a very cute example, but you wouldn’t want a self-driving car crash into a lamppost over and over in real life, because its internal reward function compels it to do so.

Think of all the behaviors we want to see in a self-driving car: stay on the road, drive safely, navigate door-to-door, don’t crash, brake in time for children playing on the street, and so on.

Our great challenge in AI and machine learning right now is to codify all of these good behaviors into a simple reward function that an AI can use and train on.

What are your thoughts on how to reward AI agents?

Add a comment and let me know!
Fun Learning Android Basic Animator Properties
Tags: Mobile App Development, Cartoon, Animation, Android App Development, Apps

As an Android Developer, it is important for us to know all the basic animator properties in place, as it is handy when we need them.

As a test, I made a simple Activity that contains and uses all the basic animator properties for a view. (note: I state basic, it’s because, with Animator API, we could animate almost anything, not just the basic items like in the old Animation API)

Check you identify all the properties animated below? There are nine of them.

If you can’t get all nine of them, let’s go through them below.

You can get the code here.

The animation settings

All the below animations are based on the same animation setting as below.

ofFloat(0f, 3600f).apply {

repeatMode = REVERSE

repeatCount = INFINITE

interpolator = AccelerateDecelerateInterpolator()

duration = 10000

addUpdateListener { animation ->

// The animation settings are all listed below

}

}.start()

Rotation animation

There are 3 types of rotations

1. Rotation

view_fan.rotation = progress

This is actually Axis-Z rotation. But it looks natural rotation from the top view, hence it is just named rotation.

2. RotationX

text_happy.rotationX = progress

This is rotating on the Axis X, which makes it more like a 3D feel of the text.

3. RotationY

text_arrow.rotationY = progress

This is rotating on the Axis Y, which makes it more like a 3D feel of the text. The Text is just >-> , with some semi-transparent background color.

Translation Animation

There are 3 types of basic translations shown below.

Note: translation API might be confusing especially for animate, as it has x , xBy , translationX , (for Y and Z as well). They are well explained in https://stackoverflow.com/a/50190859/3286489

4. TranslationX

view_yatch.translationX = progress/10

This is basically moving along the X-Axis. The /10 is to slow down the movement.

5. TranslationY

view_hotair.translationY = - progress/10

This is basically moving along the Y-Axis. It is negative, as moving upward is negative. The coordinate of Y starts from Top to Bottom.

6. TranslationZ

btn_press_me.translationZ = progress/50

This is moving towards the Z-Axis. It is only applied to the shadow around it, while the view size is retained. Making it feel that the button moving upward. For View without shadow, this effect isn’t visible.

Other Basic Animation

7. Alpha

view_cloud.alpha = (3600 - progress)/3600

This is changing the transparency of the view. The value is from 0 (totally transparent) to 1 (totally opaque). This is useful to fade in and fade out an object.

8 & 9. ScaleX and ScaleY

view_sun.scaleX = progress/3600 + 1

view_sun.scaleY = progress/3600 + 1

This change both the X and Y scale size. It is changed at the same rate to ensure the image is not distorted.

A value below 1 will make it smaller than the original stated size in the layout, and a value above 1 will make it bigger than the original stated size in the scale of the given number.
About Me — Tom Fenske
By: Tom Fenske
Tags: Writing, About Me, Bio, Life, Side Hustle

About Me — Tom Fenske

An engineer discovering the world of online writing

Photo by ThisisEngineering RAEng on Unsplash

Hi fellow writers,

I’m happy to be able to introduce myself to this community. My name is Tom, I’m 31 years old, and I am a full-time power plant engineer. I live together with my son and my fiancee in a small city south of Berlin, Germany.

My Medium story

I have to admit that I stumbled upon this platform of Medium almost by accident. In spring and early summer, I was doing an online course to learn more about Data Science and work with some tools by myself. I started the course because I am generally interested in the field, and I thought it would be advantageous in my job. When I was searching online for some Data Science-related topics, I landed on this page called Medium. I eventually signed up to read more than the three free articles and can say that I fell in love with this platform ever since. I still am overwhelmed by the sheer volume of quality content on such a variety of topics. As said, I used it to find some additional insights on Data Science, but I shortly started to read about other topics like online businesses, personal stories, and life advice.

Since then, what rattled my cage was Medium's methodology, where anybody can publish an article on a topic he chooses and even can make money from it. This was earth-shaking for me because I didn’t know that such platforms existed. It got me curious, so I started to write some pieces by myself.

I figured that it would be easiest to start with a topic I am comfortable with, so my first pieces covered Personal Finance. I was able to get them published in a publication, and they eventually earned me my first dollar from writing ever (it was the 6th of October 2020, by the way). This feeling thrilled me, and I am so curious to find out where this leads.

Though I have to admit that the money-earning part initially caught me, it is not the only reason for writing. In my studies, I had to write several pieces besides my thesis, but they were in a dry scientific style, obviously. In writing down what came to my mind and what might be useful for others, I found a new hobby. I discovered that writing calms me and makes me feel better, and I think I am more balanced overall. So, even if I wouldn’t be paid on Medium, I would write nevertheless only for my well-being.
SIMDAQ Project Development Report
Tags: Crypto, Startup, Trading, Cryptocurrency, Bitcoin

August 2018

This month is the final stage of preparation for the first release of SIMDAQ platform. Recent Q and A session with SIMDAQ founder Eugene Dubovoi announced all the current aspects and we appreciate how impatiently you are waiting for the launch.

We would like to share with active community of crypto-enthusiasts our latest upgrades and satisfy you interests of such a tool because in a very near future SIMDAQ platform is going to be available for users.

A considerable amount of effort is required to launch a new program. In August we finished developing of all platform modules and made sure everything works perfectly. We summarized many steps, details and individual cases in the process of developing.

At the moment we are streaming to work with content of our trading lessons, feed and quests. Our programmers are making final tests of the platform via users’ interface and correct possible mistakes. They are uploading real historical data for trading simulator.

In August we launched our new landing page and it is already possible to see login system there, so we are testing it from the side of potential users. Currently, according the authorization, now you can’t log into the system, but the registration will be opened right at release date. This is the only step we need to do. And of course, except of mandatory approvals, it is needed to effectively plan and implement a program’s marketing and communications strategy.

What turns out to really matter is having in place a specific set of core capabilities, the most important of which are team collaboration, incorporation of market insights, rigorous planning of upcoming launches, and our customers’ support. These factors are a source of success in our hands and we want to share it with you after the launch!
Why do we need spirituality
By: Darshak Rana
Tags: Self-awareness, Self Improvement, Healing, Spirituality, Life

We all know the world we live in and its impact on our lives. By using our intellectual minds and reasoning prowess, we have solved many mysteries engulfing us. We have profound knowledge of almost everything ranging from the vast space to the tiniest microorganisms.

Yet, there are still many questions that need to be addressed like “who am I, what is my true nature, what is my role on earth, knowledge about the creator, etc”.

We have tried different concepts to quench the inner thirst, but have failed.

Here I present to you, two reasons why we need spirituality than anything else.
Darkness
By: Dr. Niranjan Seshadri
Tags: Poetry, Self-awareness, Mind, Darkness, Thoughts

Dark to light, it has universal appeal

In the first rays of the sun the joy we feel

Makes us forget darkness, it’s can’t reveal

From it, our awareness we must peel
Cost to Hire Python Developer 2021
By: Binal Prajapati
Tags: Cost, Hire Python Developers, Python Development India, Python, Python Development

We all know that there are many well-known popular projects are created in Python, such as desktop Dropbox, Quora, Reddit, Instagram, Paypal, Mozilla, NASA, Pinterest, Youtube (the whole codebase is written in Python almost). By Google, Mozilla, Facebook, Dropbox, Yandex, Red Hat, Intel, Microsoft, the Python language is supported in web development 2020 made some resources predict Python’s full domination.

So, Nowadays, business and startups are highly demanding the python developers for large project development. But, many companies have questions about how much does it cost to hire Python developer. Right! Here you can get your answer regarding the cost, and hiring process of python developer.

Before evaluating the cost to hire Python developers, let’s have a quick overview of Python’s popularity and usage area.

Popularity:

Python is declared the 2nd most famous programming language as per the PYPL Popularity of programming language.

Have a look at the python popularity graph according to Google Trends.

Python used in many areas such as,

Web development (from little micro to macro web applications)

Scientific and numeric (Predicting matches score, weather, etc.)

Software development (making testing and control software)

Desktop GUIs (Graphical User Interface)

Let’s Evaluate the Cost to Hire Python Developer.

For your business, Python is the best choice to build a web application. You can hire python developers at affordable prices and get your work done smoothly.

Many options are available in the market to hire Python developers like in-house developers, freelancers, and outsource developers. As per expert opinions, most companies choose outsourcing because that is the most beneficial project option.

Bacancy Technology is one of the leading Python development companies from that you can hire Python developer.

$22 — Hourly rate $2800 — Monthly rate — 5+ years of exp. Python developer

Engagement Model:

Full-Time Hiring — Duration — 8/hours per day, five days/week

Communication: Email, Skype, Phone

Billing: Monthly

Part-Time Hiring — Duration — 4/hours per day, five days/week

Communication: Email, Skype, Phone

Billing: Monthly

Hourly Hiring -

Communication: Email, Skype, Phone

Billing: Monthly

Monthly Hiring — Duration — 160 hours per month

5+ Years of Exp. Python Developer

Communication: Email, Skype, Phone

Billing: Monthly

They provided expert and specialized, knowledgeable Python developers to you. They are good at handling large projects smoothly with high customer satisfaction. Let have a quick view of their Technical stack.

Python Development Stack:

From Bacancy Technology, You can hire Python developers in 5 simple steps,
The Dinosaurs and the Young Woman
By: Mike Meyer
Tags: Politics, Culture, Future, Climate Change, Change

By Mike Meyer ~ Honolulu ~ January 21, 2020

The chasm grows wider by the day. On one side, we have dinosaurs still unaware that they are dead and on the other, Greta Thunberg. The dinosaurs, in angry denial of reality, are being goaded into a lumbering run by the wit and intelligence of a young woman who will not leave them alone.

The dinosaurs, of course, are the rulers and so powerful no one can stop them. But they are picking up speed toward the cliff edge just as Greta intends.

It’s the story of the generations but amplified by a planetary disaster. Even some of the dinosaurs know things are not going where they thought. Because of that, they allow the most befuddled and ignorant to take the lead, trumpeting, and bellowing.

But even the ones that know are caught and unable to turn around. There is only a narrow ridge that reaches the future, and it is not for dinosaurs. It is for the observant and scientifically aware.

This is the time for the punctuated equilibrium of fast evolution. The dominant dinosaurs have destroyed their world and will not survive. If any of us are to survive, we need to re-evaluate everything we know and everything we do.

Meanwhile, in Washington DC, the desperate maneuvering of criminals determined to avoid paying for their stupidity performs in a theater of the absurd before an amazed audience. Is there no lie so blatant, no crime so evident that it can’t be denied? The absence of shame is their flag of odious pride.

But it has always been this way, they all agree. There has always been only greed and willful ignorance. There has never been knowledge, but only lies and the best liar wins. Their churches have always taught this. We are all liars, so you must believe us.

While the dinosaurs thunder across the plain to the cliff edge, the criminals destroy and then bury all words that once held honor. They take pride in widespread disgust and sneer at anything not stolen. Is this a road to survival?

No. This is not even a mistake. It is so wrong that it is an absolute absence. These people are erasing themselves and are trying to delete all of us around them.

Then what? Greta manages to smile.
Perspective Is Everything
By: Shannon Ashley
Tags: Personal Development, Life Lessons, Self, Shannon Ashley, Mental Health

Here’s the Life Lesson

Everyone faces difficult things, but a shift in perspective is the most effective way to get through challenges. It’s not that I like losing a tooth. And I certainly don’t like spending more money on my teeth this year.

However, I’ve been in a great deal of pain for more than a month. I am willing to do what it takes to live pain-free again.

Sure, I won’t be completely pain-free for the next few days as I recover from surgery. But I can see some light at the end of the tunnel.

Shifting your perspective isn’t always easy, but it’s always worthwhile.

Right now, I’m going through an especially difficult point in my life. There have been several financial and work-life hurdles that I either wasn’t expecting or have found more challenging than usual to overcome.

I feel a great deal of pressure as a single working mom, and it’s even harder to talk to other people about my circumstances because I “made more money than ever” in 2019.

So far, after taxes, all of my dental work over the past year, putting my daughter into a private school, and finally becoming a driver, my savings account is honestly not where I thought it was going to be when I first began making better money a year ago.

And I’ve been deeply ashamed of that over these past couple of months. Getting through that frustration and overwhelm has definitely required a change in my perspective, and it hasn’t been so easy as people make innocent and even well-intended comments about how I’m doing so great.