fabiochiu/medium-articles huggingface dataset:
Small http client
By: George Shuklin
Tags: Rust, Http, Library

I’ve decide to write something simple, like a program to interact with http site. I needed a http library for that. You know, the Python version of requests, or, at least, urllib3.

I got hyper (it required me to upgrade rust from my distro 1.39). It looked fine but… the release binary was 4Mb in size. For a single ‘get’. The stripped version shrunk to 2Mb…

I tried ureq. 5.6Mb non-striped, 2Mb stripped.

Next was awc. It become 7.6Mb, 3.9Mb stripped. And it wasn’t able to use SSL (I used their own example).

Next is reqwest (in both sync and async mode): 6Mb non-stripped, 2.9Mb stipped.

curl (with dependency on libcurl) 2.7Mb non-stripped, 0.26Mb stipped (yes, 260kB).

isahc 3.8 Mb non-stripped. 1.2Mb stripped. ldd says that it depends only on openssl (except of usual libc, etc).

attohttpc (sounds promising, isn’t it?) 3.7Mb non-stripped, 1.1Mb stripped.

minireq (again, promising name) 4.6Mb / 1.29Mb

mio_httpc 3.7/1.18Mb

yukikaze (based on hyper, skip)

http_req 2.8Mb/0.36Mb (362kB!)

(The base line for simple ‘hello world’ is 2.6 Mb before stripping and 211kb after). All tests consisted from a single ‘get’ to one server with println!(“{:?}”, response) (or response_body).

I’m not THAT worry about binary size. Nevertheless the empty binary in 2+Mb in size sound as ‘too much’ for me.

I can’t say it’s a proper evaluation of existing clients. Not at all! But I’d like to point to the tokyo (and other async monstrosities) as possible culprits for bloated 1-GET applications.

… meanwhile, I found the application I though to write: drill. I’ll play with it as sysadmin (to compare with wrk go-based benchmark).

Insofar I’d say that http_req looks like a good client to me. It depends on libdl, libcrypto and libssl, and is just 362kb in size.
Top 5 Interesting links of the day — Crypto Daily
By: Crypto Daily Writer
Tags: Newsletter, Cryptocurrency, Crypto, Bitcoin, Blockchain

The Japanese word for “improvement,” and as it relates to business, it’s the philosophy of continuous improvement on working practices. And with that as the tagline for the fifth edition of bitcoin engineering conference Scaling Bitcoin, it became a perfect way to summarize what’s happening today among the cryptocurrency’s developer ecosystem.
Hire Deadpool Chant
By: Vicki Nemeth
Tags: Poetry, Rule Of Law, Ascii Sheet Music, Chant, Rule1and2

Hello there, readers. I’ve written this little song as ASCII sheet music using this character chart, since I don’t like these lyrics alone as a poem. I’ve improvised the notation method; I’m not using any standard method. While the lines are not syllabically identical, each verse is supposed to be the same number of beats. If you need an instrument to hear the tones, Google “Virtual Piano” or “Virtual Keyboard.” (Skip to just the lyrics.)

Reading Tips

If you can’t see the note characters, click here to skip to the image version. I’m using hyphens for note ties because the tie characters are not showing up for me. For example, I use tied notes where you would normally see augmentation dots (for dotted half notes, etc.), since the dots show up too small. (𝅗𝅥 -𝅘𝅥 ) minus parentheses is three beats. Each repeat of the musical pattern is three lines long and starts with three rests 𝄽

3/4 time, all black keys, downwards arrow ↓ indicates bass

E# A# C#A#G#

𝄽 𝄽 𝄽 𝅘𝅥 𝅘𝅥 𝅘𝅥𝅮 𝅘𝅥𝅮 𝅘𝅥𝅮 𝅘𝅥𝅮 𝅗𝅥 -𝅘𝅥

If I could affo-o-ord

↓F# G# A# C#

𝅘𝅥 𝅘𝅥 𝅘𝅥𝅮 𝅝 -𝅘𝅥𝅮

to hire Deadpool

↓C# ↓D# ↓C# ↓D#↓F#

𝅘𝅥 𝅘𝅥𝅮 𝅘𝅥𝅮 𝅘𝅥 𝅘𝅥 𝅘𝅥𝅮 𝅗𝅥 -𝅘𝅥𝅮

to counter-stalk my stalkers, E# A# C# A#G#

𝄽 𝄽 𝄽 𝅘𝅥 𝅘𝅥 𝅘𝅥 𝅘𝅥𝅮 𝅘𝅥𝅮 𝅗𝅥 -𝅘𝅥

instead I'd hi-i-ire

Harvey Birdman

↓C#↓D# ↓C#↓D#↓F#

𝅘𝅥 𝅘𝅥 𝅘𝅥 -𝅘𝅥𝅮 𝅘𝅥𝅮 𝅘𝅥𝅮 𝅗𝅥 -𝅘𝅥𝅮

because he's a lawyer. 𝄽 𝄽 𝄽 He'd drag them to court,

and when they'd stop,

they'd stop stalking me for justice; 𝄽 𝄽 𝄽 they'd stop stalking everyone,

not just me 'cause

I could afford to hire Deadpool

Repeat

Code Block Damage Control

This is a great opportunity to test how the code block shows up on different computers. My code block looks like this:

Repeat

Just the Lyrics

If I could afford

to hire Deadpool

to counter-stalk my stalkers,

instead I’d hire

Harvey Birdman

because he’s a lawyer.

He’d drag them to court,

and when they’d stop,

they’d stop stalking me for justice.

They’d stop stalking everyone,

not just me ‘cause

I could afford to hire Deadpool.
Formula științifică pentru cum devin afacerile virale
By: Toma Grozăvescu
Tags: Marketing, Coeficient De Viralitate, Growth Hacking, Social Media Marketing, Viralitate

Founder & Growth Hacker @SMARTERS Romania, my purpose is to show people that it can be done.

Follow
The Ways Our Limitations Can Help Make Us Better People
By: Erik Brown
Tags: Self Improvement, Mindfulness, History, Inspiration, Philosophy

“People think focus means saying yes to the thing you’ve got to focus on. But that’s not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully. I’m actually as proud of the things we haven’t done as the things I have done. Innovation is saying no to 1,000 things.” ― Steve Jobs

We’ve forgotten the inherent beauty of the word “limited”. Despite the odd times we find ourselves in, we still live in a time of plenty. Even with a pandemic, most people can sit in warm homes and be entertained with the click of a button. Technology has made the world better and cheaper in countless ways; it’s also given us the concept of limitless things.

Unlimited has become the standard in many cases.

Unlimited talk and text on your phone

The first internet providers doled out services by the hour — not anymore

We can now binge series on Netflix without waiting

You no longer are limited to the music in a store or on the radio

The idea of limits are, well, limits. It’s something we’re almost allergic to today. As a society we cherish the thought of freedom from just about everything. We’ve freed ourselves from wires, and even our offices — now work can be anywhere you want to be. It’s a wonderful time in most ways, except one.

As a society we’ve forgotten the wonderful things limits can do for us. Philosophies such as Stoicism and Epicureanism have praised the joys limits can provide. Science has also shown us unlimited choices can have a detrimental effect. Moreover, history also demonstrates limits can open the doors to incredible creativity and discovery.

The thing we’re so allergic to is one of mankind’s most wonderful motivators. The old saying “necessity is the mother of invention” often rings true in many ways. Hopefully with some reflection and understanding we can relearn the pleasant benefit of limits.
Mr Aravind Pochiraju
By: The Education Growth Summit
Tags: Tegs, Speakers, Lrnr, 2019, Summit

Aravind Pochiraju is the Founder and CEO of Lrnr, an adaptive learning solutions company. Lrnr focuses on building practical and cost-effective solutions for personalized learning that deliver measurably superior results. Aravind Pochiraju is an experienced EdTech entrepreneur who aims to bridge the gap between the way we learn and the one-size-fits-all mode of education. Before starting Lrnr in 2012, he worked at Pearson for over a decade, taking up various product development and strategy roles. He also led the Digital Innovation Group and helped build a publisher first eReader for both iOS and Android. Aravind Pochiraju was instrumental in putting Pearson ahead of competition in the mobile domain by creating several apps such as MadLibs, Grammar Prep, Reading Prep and Live Lessons among others. His leadership and management skills are reflected when he led various projects at Pearson including SIS Integration, WCM and Digital Rights Management for protecting and tracking key resources. We are honoured to have him as a speaker at TEGS. Join him on 12th September’19 at The LaLiT Ashok, Bangalore.
People first: Jeremias Rößler (ReTest)
By: Aiforse Community
Tags: Artificial Intelligence, Software Development, People, Software Engineering, Software Testing

What does motivate you in work?

I worked for a software company as a student. At some point I was given a small change request for an existing project, that I finished on my own. Then the company wanted to make sure everything worked as expected. But for some reason testing was postponed and postponed until the very last minute. Then, one day before the release, my changes were tested. And for some very strange reason, the tester found bugs. So I fixed the bugs. He tested again. He found different bugs — things that had worked before were now broken. So I fixed the bugs. He tested again. Guess what.

This went on well into midnight. Which was especially aggravating, because that day was my testing counterparts’ birthday. So instead of celebrating with his wife, kids and friends — he was with me, testing my crap.

And test automation, which (in theory) should solve this problem, doesn’t. In no project I was until now. It actually makes this somewhat worse. Because the current state of GUI test automation is that it doesn’t work very well. This is why I set out (first in my PhD, now in my company) to remedy that problem and “fix” GUI testing.
A few tips for switching existing projects over to test-driven development
By: Alonso Del Arte
Tags: Tdd, Computer Programming

Photo by Chester Alvarez on Unsplash

It’s not test-driven development (TDD) if you write the tests after the fact. But is it possible to gradually switch an existing project over to TDD? Or do you really have to discard everything you’ve done so far and start over from scratch?

In the case of a hobby project that only you yourself use, starting over from scratch is something to think about. But for a program that even just a few people are already using, starting over from scratch is probably off the table.

And even if you’re sure you’re the only one using your program, a total reset might seem like a dreadful idea, especially if it’s a big program you’ve managed to put together in what little free time you have.

This is something I have a little bit of experience with. Working on a program to draw diagrams of prime numbers in the complex plane brought me the realization that automated testing was not only necessary but required.

And after taking a course with an emphasis on TDD, I realized that not only is TDD more natural, it also makes programming a heck of a lot easier. Sometimes extremely easy.

Regardless of the actual use cases of your program, it is worthwhile to switch the project over to TDD, whether by a hard reset or a gradual changeover. It is worthwhile to go from putting out fires to foreseeing the fires and putting them out sooner rather than later.

So here are my tips for gradually changing a project over to TDD:
How Can We Win
By: W. Island
Tags: Black Women, Racism

Kimberly Jones gives a real Ted Talk

I have watched this video numerous times and every time it hits me in the chest. Kimberly Jones explain to all who actually want to understand the riots, the looting and the protests. Watch until the very end. It is so powerful. In case you missed it.
The Sprint of Life
By: Emma Rose
Tags: Life Lessons, Poetry, Life, Poem, Poet

Photo by Jaco Pretorius on Unsplash

POETRY

The Sprint of Life

A Poem

Sometimes

Problems

Randomly come about,

In ways that are meant to test us.

Nearly throwing us off our path.

That’s what life is about, I guess.
Write For CodixLab
By: Mustufa Ansari
Tags: Technology, Information Technology, Technews, Tech, Developer

We are looking for code and technology related stuff Only!

What We Are Looking For?

Step by step tutorials of Mobile Application Development, Web development, game development, UI, UX designing.

About Tech gadgets which are highly impactable on human lives.

Who Is Eligible?

Your medium account should have your original picture with some info about yourself on bio.

How to Do Styling?

Stories should have a short title of about 50–60 characters along with subtitle.

Stories should have pictures if you are making a tutorial so you need to include some pics related to steps.

Include Gists if you are working on code-related stuff. Don’t put your code directly into code block because it looks ugly in my opinion. So only put your code inside Gist.

Don’t put too many GIFs in your piece.

Don’t depict your strange voices and emotions (heeh hohh hahh Woww) inside your piece because it does not look too good at all.

Use Emojis where necessary as they look pretty.😉

Use 5 highly followed tags in your story.

How To Submit?

If you are ready to submit your article, send your draft link using our submission form.

Cheers!
Try Me Out Again
By: Afiyah The Poet
Tags: Poetry, Life, Emotions, 365 Days Of Poetry, A Cornered Gurl

Sometimes I feel

I’m too much to handle

Awash with emotions

that drown me blind

Overload asks

for the system shutdown

Calling for a timeout

for the thinking and feeling

Sometimes I’m better off

to not think or feel

If I can just be

I’ll find some peace

I will lay me down

in the hope of being free

I will rise tomorrow

and try me out again.
Guide to BNS Pre-Public Token Sale
Tags: Token Sale, Fundraising, ICO, Cryptocurency, Ieo

Dear people,

After a brilliant verdict to the court battle between RBI and IAMAI for crypto regulation in India, we are thrilled to announce the Pre-Public Token Sale round for BNS token.

We’ve noticed a fairly strong sentiment among masses for BNS token, which delivers on multiple utility fronts. Subsequently, we have been working on the utilities first, and we have already integrated BNS with our range of products.

Apparently, we couldn’t find a more suitable moment for launching the sale, given that crypto is free to breathe again in our country.

Pre-Public Sale — Phases

The sale would be conducted in 4 phases. The minimum amount of BNS one can buy during any of these phases is 30 USDT. The maximum purchasable amount during each of the phases has been described below:

Phase 1 — Max Cap per person will be $500 @ $0.008 ( Total Token Allocation in Phase 1– 1,00,00,000)

Phase 2 — Max Cap per person will be $2,000 @ $0.016 (Total Token Allocation in Phase 2– 2,00,00,000)

Phase 3 — Max Cap per person will be $100,000 @ $0.024 (Total Token Allocation in Phase 3– 3,00,00,000)

Phase 4 — Max Cap per person will be $100,000 @ $0.032 (Total Token Allocation in Phase 4– 4,00,00,000)

after the pre public sale there would be a public sale round that would happen. Followed by trading which we will announced in advance to all our token holder via email.

To buy BNS token, follow the steps below:

Go to https://bitbns.com/trade/#/bns-presale/

Enter the amount of BNS you want to buy.

Please note that BNS token can be purchased only with INR/USDT. So if you already have sufficient INR/USDT balance in your Bitbns wallet, you can buy BNS token in a click.

If you do not have sufficient INR/USDT balance in your Bitbns wallet, you can deposit money using the P2P INR/USDT method for deposits.

How to get BNS token via Referrals

Another way to get BNS token is referrals. You get 50 BNS for referring to each friend who purchases BNS token worth a minimum Rs. 2500 (or 30 USDT).

Referring a friend

To refer a friend for buying BNS token, follow the simple steps listed sequentially:

Go to your profile page on Bitbns.

Scroll down to the ‘Refer & Earn’ section, copy the referral code, and share it among your friends.

Make sure your friends use your referral code while buying BNS.

You will get the 50 BNS reward for each successful purchase by your friends

You can find all details around BNS here https://bitbns.com/bns/
there is power in the water
By: Cathlyn Melvin
Tags: Poetry, Life, Change, Nature, Self

there is power in the water

a poem

Photo by author

feet on the cutting plateau

of a glacial lakeside rock

my eyes on the water

rolling in

and out again

each crest and fall whispering

“hush”

“hush”

in the sunlight there are diamonds on the waves

green and blue the water goes on

and on

further than I can fathom

and fathoms deep

there is power in the water

the force of the waves cuts into the sand

drags stones and branches into the surge

gulls try to float out on a wave

and are tossed back to shore

they shake themselves out

and try again

they are powerless

as we are

to stop the water
Body Image and Motherhood
By: Mae B
Tags: Self Worth, Motherhood, Mental Health, Body Positive, Body Image

My daughter is 6 years old now. It has been six years since I’ve felt that my body was my own. Six years of trying desperately to reverse time with creams and lotions and exercise. Six years of debating a boob job, plastic surgery, and restrictive eating. I have never been able to turn back the clock and become the tight, petite little girl I was before getting pregnant.

Nor can this ever be done, for anybody, and the illusion that it can be done or even should be done baffles me.

I have come to a point today of acceptance. My obsession, and society's obsession around the way “a woman should look” are complete bullshit. I’ve spent so long comparing myself to strangers and trying to be something I’m not that I’ve robbed myself of daily opportunities for happiness.

Today I am still 5'3, about 125 pounds, pancake breasts that are probably a B cup, hips broader, stretch marks faded. My body is not who I am today, but rather a vessel that carries a vivacious spirit whose journey is not defined by the state of the flesh. I have come to realize that my mom body is like a page in a history book, among many pages, that tells my story. My scars are evidence of the battles I’ve been in. My stretch marks are the blessing of my body's ability to change. How womanly I am is not defined by the largeness of my breasts or the width of my hips. I believe I am beautiful, and that other mothers are beautiful.

I hope that every mother out there not feeling sexy enough or skinny enough can shake away preconceived notions from society's views and embrace themselves. Our loved ones and friends can tell us all day how beautiful we are, but until we embrace ourselves we will never feel those words to be true; they will fall on deaf ears. Love yourself, ladies, you did the badass feat of bringing life into this world. And no matter how you feel about it, it is indeed extraordinary.
A Farce
By: Esther Spurrill-Jones
Tags: Challenge, Poetry, Quadrille, 2020, Pandemic

A Farce

Image by Comfreak from Pixabay

A new year is a promise and a wish,

A hope for new beginnings and fresh starts,

But somewhere in the plan there was a glitch:

We steered off of the course into the ditch,

And now this year is nothing but a farce.
Directing Water
By: Jon Bell
Tags: Medium

I grew up playing in muddy Maryland creeks. I liked to make dams in the middle of the water and spot where it got diverted. Then I’d stack up lots of new rocks and see where the water diverted from there. Every action caused a reaction, and every decision was a tradeoff.

I’ve been watching Medium since the very beginning. I’ve seen them add a feature here, then watch it overflow further downstream. I’ve seen them stack up lots of new rocks, take note of the new path the water is taking, then respond accordingly. There isn’t necessarily a single goal or a distinct plan, more of a sense of taste and balance. Add a thing, see what happens, iterate.

Recently Medium decided to put a bit more focus on following specific people, like old-school blogging or even the experience of RSS readers. Instead of recommending “great content,” there seems to be more of a focus on “here’s what writers you enjoy have had to say since last time you were here.”

And ker-plunk, like a rock placed in the river, I’m seeing my behaviours change as a result. I’m finding myself in more of a blog mindset, where each article is seen as part of a greater whole. Which makes me want to write more, and overthink less. And now we all get to see what tradeoffs this brings to light. But even though it’s a new tactic, the strategy feels the same.

For example, I wrote this seven years ago:

“Medium is a place to read and write. Human editors pick the best content instead of letting algorithms do it. This leads to a higher quality experience than on many other sites, so the links get shared a lot. That’s it.”

The water is running in the same direction, we’re just watching Medium drop some new rocks in the way to see what kinds of rapids and eddies emerge.
The Only Introduction to Golang You Need
By: Louis Petrik
Tags: Golang, Software Development, Programming, Go, Learning To Code

Arrays in Golang

Let’s have a look at arrays in Golang. It is important to understand that arrays have certain rules:

They can only contain one type of data.

They have a fixed size.

The fixed size means we can not add more values to the array.

Maybe you know arrays from languages like JavaScript, where the upper conditions do not apply, but when we talk about arrays in Golang, we mean classical arrays, which are also very undynamic in many other low languages.

So when we work with arrays, we have to consider exactly this, already, when we create one, we have to specify how many elements are stored in them.

Here is a simple array, which should have two elements, we store them directly when declaring.

Image provided by the author.

But we can also create an empty array first and pass the values to it during execution.

Image provided by the author.

This way, we get the same result as in the code above, but because arrays always have a fixed length, we cannot add more elements than we have specified in size.

We can also create an array with the shorthand syntax. In Go, as in many other languages, we start counting at 0, so the first element has index 0.

Unlike in Python, for example, the index cannot be negative, we cannot use -1 to select the last element of the array.

If we want to have an array to which we can add more values, we can omit the number in the square brackets, but then it is no longer an array but a slice.

Here we create a slice to which we add another element, but the append function does not overwrite the actual slice but returns a new one, so we overwrite the existing slice with it.

Image provided by the author.

Combining Arrays / Slices and the for-Loop

It’s time to bring two concepts together., with For-Loops , we can loop through Arrays and Slices.

Image provided by the author.

i is our index-variable, value is the element at the corresponding position, a common problem is the following: Go likes to give an error message if we don’t use a variable, so simply not accessing the variable i leads to an error.

If we just write for value , then value will be i, because it is in the first place, so we have to skip the first place, and this is done as follows:

Image provided by the author.

Now only each element in our slice is output, but not the corresponding index.
Pack Up Your Troubles…
By: Background Noise Comics
Tags: Therapy, Depression, Cartoon, Mental Health, Comics

Sometimes it’s not what they say, but what you hear.
Yogis vs. CrossFitters
By: Andrew Hutchinson
Tags: Creativity, Fitness, Life, Culture, Humor

Sign up for Coffee and Sunrises

By Coffee and Sunrises

Humor to bring a smile to your face and make your day a little brighter Take a look
feeder.ro announces the first release on vinyl Dragutesku — Suflet Prezent EP [feeder sound]
Tags: Romania, Music, Releases, Electronic Music

We are super happy to announce you that the first release on vinyl by feeder.ro will be out soon at deejay.de

Stemming from the same passion for electronic music that created the weekly feeder sound series, the review column, as well as the possibility for renowned or emerging artists to contribute to the platform on their own. After almost three years of collaborating with deejay.de, our publishing schedule consists of weekly EP, LP, or VA reviews, coming from artists from all over the world, with a focus on the Romanian scene. Investigating the contemporary local culture we came across a lot of groovy sounds, mysterious rhythms and beautiful compositions, coming from more or lesser known artists. This first release is a statement to the fantastic possibilities that the local scene has reached, by delivering outstanding house or techno-driven rhythms to the world. It was not easy to select the artist and the tracks for this first publishing, as we listened to a lot of music coming from everywhere, yet one of our purposes is to identify and promote talents with a vision that stands out.
Don’t Ignore How Far You’ve Come
By: Kamga Tchassa
Tags: Personal Growth, Life, Self, Progress, Goals

Don’t Ignore How Far You’ve Come

You lose more than time.

There’s a detriment to comparison. With comparison being ‘the thief of time’, there’s no need to explain. You know what comparison is stealing — your time. Your life. Your chance at shining bright in less than a century.

What we fail to mention is the subtle, grinding, peeling of comparison; the self-talk that puts a pit under nearly everything; the omnipresent cloud we trudge along.

Back in Cameroon, I was lucky to catch this the second time I restarted college. The first time — when I started thinking that maybe I wasn’t as smart as I thought — I wasn’t so lucky.

If my brain was all I had, and I kept failing all these entrance exams and not being able to cope with my classmates, then, who was I?

I wasn’t athletic, I wasn’t handsome enough to flaunt any sort of looks — my glasses and acne made sure of that. If anything, my whole life story had completely changed because of the choices I thought I was forced to make by my parents. Which, in truth, I made.

I chose to study Sciences even though I loved the Arts. I chose to go for a Biochemistry major even when I felt my heart was elsewhere. It took me years to get back on track. I still feel it will take a decade before I get close to course correcting.

Guess what? I may never.

But what has all this history to do with progress?
Maa
By: Shakti Shetty
Tags: Motherhood, Random, Tweets, Maternal, Shakti Shetty

Heaven doesn’t exist. Mothers do. They are and shall always be the purest form of love. Perhaps love was discovered by a mother as her heart wears no boundary. Besides, nobody knows you better than your mother. And there’s no point in asking her whether she’s proud of you. She is and will always be, no matter how great a douchebag you’ve become. He keeps telling her “Some day you’ll be proud of me!” to which she smiles — as mothers usually do. As selfless as her mind.

*****

The poor mother looks at her son in amazement and wonders where has her innocent lil’ boy disappeared. This was the very kid who used to point at her tummy whenever someone asked him “Where are you from?”. To him, his mother has grown old now whereas to her, he remains a newborn. From a very young age, he knew we belonged to our mothers more than anything else. Birth might have separated him from her but a child actually never leaves the mother’s body. As tranquil as her lap. You appreciate her more when she’s gone. For more details, get in touch with those who’ve lost her.

*****

No matter how short the barber crops your hair, she will always find them long. To her, you are the most eligible bachelor. For good or worse, an Indian mother loves reminding you that she’s your mother and there’s a bigger chance of her inquiring “What?” instead of “Who’s that lucky girl?” when you mention your marital intentions. As intrusive as her concerns. Once you settle down, you’ll realize that she is present in your behaviour too. Turns out the risky habit of telling everything to your wife is cultivated during those years spent close to dear mama.

*****

As nourishing as her hands. Single or married, the burden on a woman pretty much remains the same. Kitchen often becomes her coveted part of home. In there, she works harder than the exhaust fan. Well, she deserves air-conditioned kitchen with no noise or steam to deal with. Almonds are good for her provided you have them. She cares for you as if her life depended on it. A mother straightaway fetches her children a glass of water whereas they ask her whether she needs a glass of water. Difference.

*****

Why are they the way they are and why aren’t we the way we’re supposed to be? As unblemished as her intentions. Worrying is their favourite pastime. She laughs at the lil’ boy’s jokes, not because they were always funny, but because she thinks she’s responsible for his happiness. He may turn out to be a crappy stand-up someday but it’s OK for the time being. In an ideal world, we’d be celebrating Mother’s Day on a daily basis. Better still, we’d be celebrating Mother’s Day and Labour Day on the very same day. Ahem. Those who have a problem don’t celebrate their birthdays, right?
Poll Pettiness
By: The Nib
Tags: US Politics, Political Comics, Comics, Political Satire, Election 2020

Sign up for Taking Stock of COVID: New comics from The Nib

By The Nib

New comics from Matt Lubchansky, Keith Knight, and Niccolo Pizarro. Plus How Seniors Are Living With COVID-19. Take a look
Kamaru Usman Recovering From Hernia Surgery
By: Edward Carbajal
Tags: Surgery, Champion, MMA, UFC, Kamaru Usman

The newly crowned welterweight champion, Kamaru Usman is unlikely to defend his title anytime soon. After winning a unanimous decision at UFC 235, Usman was noticeably limping in his exit from the cage but it is not his legs that will be keeping him from action. The champion underwent surgery for a hernia on Tuesday and will need to take some time to recover before he makes his first title defense.

MMA Junkie wrote that after the surgery, Usman made a post on social media afterward saying that the surgery was not like his previous knee surgery’s “at all”. Usman injured his foot during his fight with Tyron Woodley and made claims of knee issues that plagued his performance but said once those injuries are clear we could see a different version of Usman as champion.

However, Usman’s manager told MMA Junkie that the knee issue Usman mentioned in the past does not currently require surgery. Oddly enough, Usman is now the second UFC champion in recent months that needed to have hernia surgery as Robert Whittaker was removed from his bout against Kelvin Gastelum the day of their fight at UFC 234. Thankfully, Usman’s surgery was not emergency surgery like Whittaker’s and hopefully will not add to the UFC’s list of interim title situations.

The standard recovery time for the surgery Usman had is typically four weeks before patients can return to any physical activity. If anything can be said about competitive athletes, especially in combat sports it is that they are not “standard” and usually look to move forward when something like surgery happens. Usman reported the day after that surgery went well and that he was already doing physical rehab.

Not surprising for someone that fought their way to a title seemingly with one functioning leg.
Medford Police Department to host Coffee with a Cop
By: Tom Beck
Tags: Events, Cops, Police, News, Community

Medford Police Department to host Coffee with a Cop

The program aims to advance the practice of community policing through improving relationships between police officers and community members one cup of coffee at a time.

On Oct. 14, officers from the Medford Township Police Department and community members will come together in an informal, neutral space to discuss community issues, build relationships, and drink coffee. This is a unique opportunity for residents to talk and interact with Medford Police Officers on a personal level, not in a formal meeting setting.

Coffee with a Cop provides a unique opportunity for community members to ask questions and learn more about the department’s work in Medford’s neighborhoods. All community members are invited to attend. The event begins at 9 a.m. on October 14th at the Medford Starbucks located 513 Stokes Road in Medford and runs until 11 a.m. Residents are free to stop in anytime.

The majority of contact law enforcement has with the public happens during emergencies, or emotional situations. Those situations are not always the most effective times for relationship building with the community, and some community members may feel that officers are unapproachable on the street.

Coffee with a Cop breaks down barriers and allows for a relaxed, one-on-one interaction. Coffee with a Cop is a national initiative supported by The United States Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services. Similar events are being held across the country, as local police departments strive to make lasting connections with the communities they serve.

The program aims to advance the practice of community policing through improving relationships between police officers and community members one cup of coffee at a time.

Please contact Lt. Waterman with questions: 609-654–7511 x 108 or awaterman@medfordpolice.org.
I Love the Way Your Name Tastes
By: Caitlin Jill Anders
Tags: Poetry On Medium, Poetry, Self, Love, Blue Insights

I Love the Way Your Name Tastes

A poem.

Photo by Mia Baker on Unsplash

When your name pops up on my phone,

I can’t help but stare at it.

I love the way it’s shaped.

Is that weird? I can’t help it.

I trace the top of your name with my eyes,

the subtle way it rises and falls.

I want to see what your message says but I can’t

get past your name.

I say it in my head and let it fall,

down into my mouth. It fits in there.

I can roll it around without wanting to swallow it.

I want your name to sit there. I want it to stay.

Will I ever hate your name? The way it looks,

the way it fits, the way it tastes?

The way it lives in my mouth,

ready to spring out in a moan or a whisper

at any moment. Will that change?

Will your name send chills through my body,

and drop rocks into my stomach,

leave them floating there,

unable to break them up into dust until

long after your name has passed.

It’s weird how the way we see words can change,

how we can hear a name that once made us smile,

and quickly feel like anything but.

Will that happen? Will we let it?

Your name has always tasted sweet

and I hope it stays that way.
A Lover’s Reason For Hope
By: Riku Arikiri
Tags: Poetry On Medium, Poetry, Poem, Love, Hope

A Lover’s Reason For Hope

Poetry under 50 Words

Photo by Marc-Olivier Jodoin on Unsplash

However I try, I break to surmise — the reasons for grief, the beliefs that cause me woe, these silly dreams never cease.

Will I see you again, as I navigate the seas?

Tears in my eyes and a heart filled with a reason to believe.

You are out there.
Legalising LGBT rights in the UK and beyond
By: Kate Aaron
Tags: Gay Rights, Queer, LGBT, LGBTQ, LGBT Rights

Legalising LGBT rights in the UK and beyond

It’s not all about marriage equality.

The queer emancipation movement has had more dealings with the courts than decriminalising homosexuality and the legalising same-sex marriage alone. After decriminalisation came the equal age of consent. It took a 1997 ruling by the European Commission of Human Rights to confirm that the UK’s unequal age of consent was a violation of the European Convention of Human Rights, a wrong which wasn’t corrected until 2000.

In 2002, the UK parliament amended the adoption laws of England and Wales, removing the provision that required only married couples may adopt. While not specifically a queer-rights issue, the change still allowed LGBT individuals and couples to apply for adoption for the first time. Scotland introduced similar legislation in 2009, and the U.S. has had related laws in every state except Mississippi since 2011, but elsewhere the issue remains contentious.

The British military has allowed LGB troops to openly serve since 2000, although it didn’t prohibit discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation for another ten years. Trans personnel are also allowed to serve openly, a matter which has still not been resolved in the U.S. military. In 2008, representatives from all three major branches of the British military — army, navy, and air force — were allowed to march in uniform at London Pride for the first time. All three services now actively recruit at Pride events.

Section 28, a notorious provision to the Local Government Act 1986 which banned the “promotion” of homosexuality in schools, was repealed in 2002. Under Section 28, a teacher couldn’t so much as comfort a child confused about their sexuality by saying it was okay to be gay. In 2009, Prime Minister David Cameron formally apologised for the introduction of the law by his party, calling it a “mistake” and “offensive.”

Some LGBT discrimination protection has been law in the UK since 1999. In 2003, workplace discrimination was prohibited. In 2007, the Sexual Orientation Regulations forbade discrimination in the providing of goods and services. In October 2007, the government announced plans to introduce a bill prohibiting the incitement of violence based on sexual orientation or gender identity. This was realised in the Equality Act 2010, which overwrote the array of earlier laws providing legal protections to queerfolk.

Great strides have been made in recent decades, but there is much still to be done. The laws pertaining to transfolk are still murky in places (and generally took longer to implement than for LGBfolk, but that’s a whole other blog post), and those pertaining to minors are still not perfect (the British government is currently looking into the matter of “conversion therapy,” a recent import from the U.S.). Nonetheless, in a recent Gallup survey, LGBT residents voted the UK one of the top ten places to live.
Haiku Review #27
By: André Pinheiro
Tags: Australia, Reviews, Haiku, Melbourne

As a new Melbournian, I’m visiting new places every day. Haiku Reviews is my attempt to summarise the places I visit in short poems; it’s also a city guide for lazy readers like myself.

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What if A Song of Ice and Fire Never Receives a Written Ending?
By: Ben Shelley
Tags: A Song Of Ice And Fire, The Winds Of Winter, George R R Martin, Game of Thrones, Books

The Story so Far

Many who will read this will know the story, either from the television series or from reading the book. For myself, I watched the fourth season of the show, before re-watching the first three, finishing the series and then buying the books. The motivation for which was due to how bad the last two seasons were and the desire for a better finale.

Seven books covering five main volumes of a Song of Ice and Fire have been released so far. Books three and five have been split into two parts, with the other entries covering more than 800 pages each. They are a meaty read but well worth it. No stone is left unturned in Martin’s world and after reading through the first 100 pages of A Game of Thrones, I was hooked.

As you can imagine, the books contain more information than the television show. More characters are contained within and endings are not as clear cut as they are on your screens.

Katlyn Stark’s character in the television show is killed off after the Red Wedding. In the books, she is resurrected as Lady Stoneheart, a vengeful spirit who enacts revenge on the Freys for their actions. Rob Stark’s wife does not die at the Red Wedding and Daenerys has a nephew who is also vying for the throne.

Suffice to say that the books offer a ricer tapestry of information and therefore, a more compelling story. It is one that has been left with…

John Snow being stabbed

Theon escaping Winterfell with Sansa’s friend

and Stannis being alive and vying for the throne.

It is parked on the edge of a cliff and has many threads waiting to be sewn together. It is one that has left us hanging for nearly ten years and one that I am desperate to continue.
My Natural High
By: Meghan Gause
Tags: Self Improvement, Poetry, Life, Fiction, Dreams

My Natural High

A poem about my dreams

Photo by Lacie Slezak on Unsplash

Henery X (long) Challenged me to write a poem explaining my natural high. I hope you enjoy my rendition of ecstasy.

I implore everyone I tagged to let go of your daily stresses and let out your inner feelings – you’re natural high, so we can all feel your personal magic.

My dreams

My essence vibrates, eyes sealed shut, my breathing deepens, as my existence deteriorates from reality.

My conscience seeks deeper, into what I call home.

My escape.

Where my misery becomes nothing but a foreign remembrance.

The once hostile mind that devours my entirety,

Recedes into pastel hues.

The pale moonlight proms beneath my feet, as the grass bows for my entrance.

Birds hum a tune, akin to the beating of my heart.

The water tastes like honeysuckle and leaves a gentle kiss upon my lips.

How sweet it is.

The bliss.

The delicacies of my secret realm resonate within the very fibers of my being.

I dread my awakening.

But it always comes.

I grab hold of this trance and breathe in.

Deep.

One last hit before I go.

Oh, woe is the morning hour,

Dear night, please come soon.

Save me from myself.

Make sure you tag me in the poem you write! Let’s get to know the raw side of each other, writers we are, for now, and forever!

Nicole Akers Randi Lee Harper Sara K. Runnels Kirstie Taylor Zita Fontaine Christine Stevens Roz Warren Christina M. Ward Adam, Diabetic Cyborg Vanessa Torre umair haque Rachel Thompson
Quit Your 9 to 5 for a Business, Pros & Cons
By: Aliyan Shaikh
Tags: Entrepreneur, 9to5 Job, Entrepreneurship, Prosandcons, Business

Quit Your 9 to 5 for a Business, Pros & Cons

Are you ready to quit your 9 to 5 job?

We have all had a job that sucked the life out of us. The daily grind of working for a company that you do not really care about is draining. While self-employment can be a tough one, as it comes with its own problems, setbacks, and stressors, the sense of achievement and pride you will derive from it is worth the investment.

I have extracted some PROS and CONS after listening to many interviews of successful businessmen:

Photo by siwanatyan on freepik

PROS:

You will be your own boss. You will have control over your own destiny, and you can do work that you enjoy. You can create your own schedule. Wake up when you want and sleep when you want. There will be unlimited income potential. You will have the opportunity to create jobs. There will be full freedom of traveling. There will be unlimited growth potential. You will have the freedom to do anything you want. You don’t have to answer to anyone. You will have the ability to change and explore. There will be more networking opportunities. You will leave a legacy behind.

CONS:

There will be nobody to guide you. No one will tell you if you are doing things right or wrong. You can read my story “5 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING A NEW BUSINESS” for some guidance. You will fall many times. You might lose all your money, and it would be very difficult to get over. People will not understand you. They will doubt you. You take on 100% of the risk. There will be no guaranteed paycheck. You may not be getting paid for a while. You will have lots of responsibilities on your shoulders. You will end up working more.
ওপেনসোর্স সফটওয়্যার — প্রযুক্তি জগতের এক নীরব বিপ্লব
By: Al Xayeed
Tags: Oss, Open Source Software, Open Source, Bangla

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History and Whiteness
By: Gwen Frisbie-Fulton
Tags: Whiteness, Politics, History, Race, Election 2020

How will the story of this election be told?

As a kid, road trips were marked by dog slobber and historical markers.

We had an ’83 Jeep Cherokee with no heat and no air conditioning. The winters were fine in that car, but the summers were pure hell. Oberon, our Great Dane, would lean his massive head over my shoulder, his drool sliding in long, shimmering strings down the back of the seat, pooling by my legs, and sticking my thighs to the vinyl.

We lived in the country and I spent my elementary school years carsick as we drove up and down mountain roads, gravel spitting out from the wheels and rattling against the undercarriage. Therefore, I was grateful for the frequent stops we would make when my mother saw one of those black and white metal historical markers on the side of the road. My parents would get out and read the sign, my brother would barely glance up from his comic book, and I would puke into the pretty orange daylilies growing in the ditch.

My mother was and still is the smartest person I know. She worked a while as a waitress until the restaurant that employed her required her to offer chilled forks to customers and she thought it was a rule just too pretentious to abide. She later led tours at a local history museum. It wasn’t until I was much older that my mother went to college, and then to graduate school, and then became a professor and historian — — something that seemed to surprise everyone except the four of us who rode in that car all those years.

While it’s true that so much of history is tweed suits and dusty libraries, my mother made history into a tangible, living thing. Back on the road, my mother would twist her body around to face us, the seatbelt tangling up her long hair, and lecture us about what the roadside sign had said — but then she would tell us so much more. The history my mother told was not a laundry list of dates, battles, and white men on white horses, but instead, described acts of rebellion, sabotage, and, perhaps most importantly, everyday people’s survival in everyday life. The history from my mother was not Jefferson, Napoleon, and the Crusaders, but Sisulu, Marat, and the Luddites.

After those road trips, I would go to bed dreaming of garment workers monkeywrenching industrial looms and of operators on the Underground Railroad wading upstream and North in the moonlight. The way my mother told history always left me with the questions that history should always leave you with: As the march crossed the bridge in Selma, as the Sturmabteilung gathered in beer halls, as the Conquistadors set their sails, as the locusts ate the crops, who would I have been?
National Sawdust Names Winners of First Female & Non-Binary Composer Contest
By: Rachel Montpelier
Tags: News, Music, Composer, Gender Equality, Women

Contest winner Kayla Cashetta: National Sawdust

National Sawdust, the Brooklyn performance venue, has announced the winners of its inaugural Hildegard Competition for Female and Non-Binary Composers: Kayla Cashetta, X. Lee, and Emma O’Halloran. According to The New York Times, the winners were chosen from 140 submissions from all over the world. They will each receive $7,000, professional mentorship, and the opportunity to showcase their work at National Sawdust.

The contest was designed to “reward composers at the start of their careers, prioritizing artists who had never received a large commission, released a commercial recording, or composed for a professional ensemble.”

Cashetta is based in the Bay Area and is a doctoral student at UC Berkeley. She has performed with Eco Ensemble, Splinter Reeds, and Soo Yeon Lyuh, among other artists. X. Lee works in LA and will continue their studies at Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique in the fall. They have previously worked as a techno DJ and producer. O’Halloran is from Ireland and has collaborated with Crash Ensemble, PRISM Quartet, and the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra. She has composed for concerts, film, and theater.

Composers Paola Prestini, Du Yun, and Angélica Negrón judged the Hildegard Competition and will serve as the winners’ mentors. Under their tutelage, Cashetta, X. Lee, and O’Halloran will compose their own works, which will be performed by the Refugee Orchestra and recorded on June 12 at National Sawdust. The event will also feature pieces from the competition’s runners-up.

“I am deeply moved by the volume of responses to the Hildegard Competition,” Prestini commented. “The future of composition is bright and the need for opportunity, vast.”

To find out more about the Hildegard Competition, as well as its winners and judges, go to National Sawdust’s website.