fabiochiu/medium-articles huggingface dataset:
Bethereum is switching to ERC223!
By: Sarah Weiss
Tags: Updates, Blockchain, Cryptocurrency, Smart Contracts

The “Ethereum Request for Comment 20” (shortened as ERC20) was the standard for Ethereum tokens, a short list of guidelines that provided them with cross-compatibility. It created a sort of order and a set of rules for new tokens to follow, or else they’d risk being moved to the sidelines of the nascent blockchain industry.

Certainly, it provided a much needed set of guidelines for new Ethereum tokens to follow. The same logic could be re-applied across a variety of different tokens. ERC20 was favored by the first wave of blockchain crowdfunding projects due to its interoperability and ease of deployment. As of today, there are approximately 100,000 ERC20 compatible token smart contracts in the Ethereum main-net. The most active tokens, in terms of performed operations, have hundreds of thousands of transactions under their belt.

And yet it is time for a change, one that’s more than necessary due to a core feature: transferring tokens from one address to another using a smart contract.

The transfer function of the ERC20 compatible token requires the receiver’s wallet to trigger the transferFrom function. When you fail to “prepare” the wallet for the eventual transfer, the tokens are lost forever, unable to enter the receiver’s wallet or return back to the sender. As this occurs within a smart contract, there is no mechanism to enter the automated contract and extract the tokens from the busted transaction. In other words, your money will be lost forever.

There is already a long list of tokens that are forever lost in ERC20 smart contracts, where the addressee failed to trigger the transferFrom function.

This is where the ERC223 token standard comes into play. ERC223 uses the same transfer function for wallets and smart contracts, negating the risk of confusion on part of the receiver:

transfer (address, uint, bytes)

function transfer(address _to, uint _value, bytes _data) returns (bool success)

There were some opposing opinions, claiming that the issue was not so much a bug rather than a feature. However, make no mistake, this specific feature of the ERC20 token standard design caused a losses totalling millions of dollars across different tokens and it must be considered as a software bug, specifically classified as a software vulnerability.

Asides from fixing this annoying bug, the new transfer method will also allow the smart contract to actively control the tokens that are being sent. For example, an exchange smart contract can react to a token transfer by adjusting the amount in a user’s wallet.

Not only does it solve this pressing issue, but ERC223 transfers also cost less gas than their ERC20 counterparts! Sadly, companies already utilizing the ERC20 Smart Contracts cannot “upgrade” to ERC223, but all ERC223 tokens are cross-compatible with ERC20 tokens.

The ERC223 is clearly the future for transfers on the Ethereum network. For the reasons mentioned above, Bethereum will be utilizing the ERC223 standard for its token.
You Can Survive This Love
By: Paroma Sen
Tags: Roadtrip, Psychology, Poetry, Writing Prompts, Self

En route to Corbett National Park, an 8-hour drive

City traffic giving way to wide open expanses, room to breathe

Room to leave behind the frenzy, the haphazard grasping

that our lives have become, sweetheart…

I turn right and look at your profile, wondering as I often do

what goes on in that mind of yours, sweetheart

I turn left to look out the window, acknowledging for the first time

the fear gnawing at the base of my collar bone…

Because it takes but a moment to lose it all, sweetheart

To make a mistake, fall off the tightrope that my life has become

It takes but a moment to crumble this paper castle of my sanity

The fear gnaws, and I hold back from speaking at all…

The trees lean in over me, propping up a protective canopy

Their branches fingering through the tendrils around my heart

Telling me to hold still, soften my panicked prophecy, just hold on

You can survive this love, sweetheart, they whisper to me…

You can survive this love…

And once you survive this love,

You can survive anything at all.
Down memory lane
By: Olivia Darmanin
Tags: Growing, Home Grown, Other, Maltese, Broad Beans

This last month has been truly a nostalgic trip down memory lane. It started with the numerous photos of the past which my uncle courteously sent electronically. That time when riding a bicycle was a super exciting thing to do, when Christmas presents were anxiously awaited, when my father’s hair was nearly all there, when I did not know that I will grow to look exactly like my mother, and when I was in love with my cool uncle.

Memories kept coming my way when I recently spent some hours in the field of the father of a friend of mine. The smell of the earth, of freshly cut grass, the murky soil under my fingernails, the sliding sweat on my forehead. All recall a particular moment in my life. I remember how, in my younger days, when we used to be at my grandparents’ house, I would scamper to my mother asking for permission to join my grandfather as soon as I heard him say ‘I’m off to the fields.’ With that phrase I was full of the joys of Spring.

There I was, around 20 years later, in the field again, harvesting broad beans and peas surrounded by majestic views of the sea and the uninhabited island of Filfla. As I stood there, I could recall particular moments in our lives, when everything seemed so uncomplicated — my brother playing with his truck loading and unloading soil, me picking up potatoes, grandmother watering the courgette plants and grandfather digging up with the three-prong fork. It was only us four, and some flying insect or bird, just before the sun set. Everything was so tranquil there, as if the world came to rest.

Well, I snapped out of my recollections and toured the field. I was now captivated by the passion with which my friend’s father speaks about his field and the crops he tenderly cares for without adding any chemicals but rather using natural and organic fertilizer. His field is a source of various crops, in fact at the time there were areas of potatoes, broad beans, peas, onions, garlic, broccoli, and courgettes. He certainly invests his time and energy to guarantee a healthier diet to his family and friends as he shares with them his yield.

I was so delighted. It was like a trip into my childhood years. It was also a breath of fresh air in the hectic life of these days.

I instantly cut some fresh bean and pea pods from the vine and popped them into my mouth. So sweet! And with that fragrant smell of yesteryear, I started craving for some crunchy Maltese bread with tomato paste, broad beans, basil and olive oil. There’s the power of food to bring back memories!

I returned home with bagfuls of broad beans and peas which my compassionate husband gently peeled. For the rest of the year, I have a local supply of organic greens freshly picked and nurtured with love and attention from my favorite farmer. You might find a bug or two in your peas but you should be thankful — that means that they are free from any pesticides.
Kansas to Oregon with Philip Glass
By: Maryjo Wagner
Tags: Philip Glass, Roadtrip, Family, Promises, Life

Although I hadn’t looked at everything I wanted to, it was time to say “enough” and head home. I’d packed my bags, gotten snacks for the car, and filled the gas tank. But let me look at just one more reel of microfilm. Then the librarian calls me over to the desk.

“Dear, I just found some newspapers that have never been cataloged. They’re in fragile condition, but I’d be happy to bring them out for you to look at. I’m sure they’ll be of interest to you, and nobody has ever looked at the papers since the library acquired them.”

No scholar or graduate student could resist looking at primary sources in their field of interest that no other scholar or graduate student has seen. Immediately I ditched my plan for leaving Topeka in time to drive at a reasonable speed and a reasonable number of hours each day. How could I not look at these newspapers?

Now instead of leaving Topeka bright and early in time to make it to Denver in a day, I’m leaving late morning and a day late. And still determined to make a quick detour off Interstate 70 to check out the library at Kansas State in Manhattan. I’m tired, it’s hot, and my car has no air conditioning.

It’s 1,781 miles from Topeka to Springfield, Oregon and home. Easy four-day drive. However, three days of 593 miles each is pushing it without another driver and a planned library stop. But I have faith in my ten-year-old Dodge Dart which already has several cross-country trips on its odometer and thus has highway experience.

No worries. I’ll just pop Philip Glass’ pulsing, driving, keep going Metamorphosis into the tape deck and fill the thermos with coffee. That’ll get me across Kansas the first day even though I’m leaving later than planned.

I’ve promised Stephen I’ll be home in time for Parents’ Night.
The Promise
By: Johannes Mudi
Tags: The Promise, Poetry On Medium, Sky Collection

The Promise

A Poem

Sky Collection Quote Prompt No. 25

Photo by Kendal on Unsplash

Pandemic tarried for seasons

Spanning borders unhindered

Short-circuiting social bonds

Chanting death songs all along

Charming faces masked within its waves

But grieves and breaches are now easing

Death’s trips in circles breaking point met



Would you mind

Starting your day wearing a smile

Those we lost will join in smiling

Looking as earth begets healing

Their prayers from beyond not sparing



Would you mind

Hugging hearts, holding hands

Times lost to gloomy days restore

Flowing freely within each vein

Doses of hope and a cure
That Time I Sanctified Myself
By: Jim Dee
Tags: Humor, Sex, Fake, Music, Letters

_________________________________________

From: Kerr, Jim (FanMail @ SimpleMinds.com)

To: Dee, Jim( Jim @ ArrayWebDevelopment.com )

Sent: Friday, May 20, 2008 12:01 AM

Subject: RE: Clarifying Questions — “Sanctify Yourself”

Dear Jim,

I can tell from your urgent email that you’re a troubled young lad. As such, let me put your concerns to rest once and for all. You wrote to me:

“Dear Simple Minds: After many years of listening to your music, I finally took your advice and … well … (wow, this is tough to admit publicly) … well, I went ahead and sanctified myself. During the process, it was naturally quite exhilarating. However, afterward, I felt a little dirty, self-indulgent, and ashamed. Plus — and, this is the worst part — I think maybe my neighbor may have seen me sanctifying myself through the livingroom window. What should I do?”

Jim … To begin, it’s important for you to understand that sanctifying oneself is a natural thing. As my friend George Michael says, “Not everybody does it, but everybody should!” It’s certainly nothing to be embarrassed about. However, sanctifying yourself should ALWAYS be done in private (or, I suppose, in the company of one or more consenting adults). One should NEVER sanctify oneself, as you’ve said, in front of a living room window. (Ironically, you’ve created the proverbial “elephant in the living room.” While I’m all for openness, I suggest you simply go on with your life as though nothing happened. Sooner or later, your neighbor will repress the visual.)

I hope this advice helps clear the matter up for you. Please feel free to write back if you have additional questions.

And hey … Don’t you forget about me,

-Jim Kerr

Lead singer, Simple Minds
Media Business Are Moving — Web Publishers’ Breaking Point — Media is Broken — Mixed Reality — User Interfaces
By: Ben Johnson
Tags: Ad Blocking, Mixed Reality, Advertising

Gruvi Weekly Digest #25 — A weekly catch up on what we found interesting at Gruvi.

This past week we’ve been taking a close look at the media and how it’s adapting to the many changes it’s facing. From where companies are located, to the importance of user interfaces and also how new technologies, such as mixed reality, might influence them.

Ben, CEO

The new media landscape is influencing not only how businesses are run, but also where.

Matt, Operations Lead

Web publishers are starting to reach breaking point. Generating sufficient revenue through advertising is becoming a real struggle after the continuing rise of ad-blockers and mobile apps. They key stat in this article: 85% of all ad revenue ends up in the pockets of either Facebook or Google.

Mirona, Gruvi’s Go Getter

Oscillating between slang and ‘corporat-ese’, this article paints a pretty honest picture of what media is going through and why. It might not necessarily provide a concrete solution, but it’s worth the read for the sobering reality check. Definitely a great complementary read to Matt’s suggestion above.

Johnny, Lead Developer

Forget about virtual reality! Mixed reality (MR) is hear to blow our minds and rock our world!

Franco, Digital Designer

“At some point in your life, you’ve likely been told not to judge a book by its cover. And yet, on the web, people commonly do it: we judge a website — and the products or services it contains — by what we see on the first page we visit.”
Do I Need To Tell You I’m Using A Bot?
By: Robert Merrill
Tags: Productivity, Artificial Intelligence

Screenshot of “Amy”, calendaring bot, interacting with someone to schedule a meeting.

So, I recently started using Amy Ingram to help book my meetings and manage my calendar.

The thing is, “she” is a bot. She’s not human. She’s a program and she’s wicked efficient and managing all the things to harangue my calendar into submission.

The problem? I’m having a hard time acting like she’s human. Because she’s a bot. So it’s awkward for me to say “Amy” or “she” all the time.

The flip-side, if I reveal she’s a program, then it’s even more awkward to say “it” rather than “she”.

But here’s the rub — Do I have an obligation to reveal to you that I am using a bot to transact this arrangement for a meeting? Would you be offended?

And by the way, she can also chase down phone numbers, give directions to meetings and book/cancel items from the calendar. She knows I like a small buffer between meetings and wont crowd me. She knows my favorite meeting places if I am grabbing coffee with someone and can suggest those automagically to the person I am meeting. If I prefer meeting by hangouts or skype, she handles that with the ease of a master scheduling whiz.

Today, I learned that if someone emails saying they can talk at 3pm tomorrow, I can just forward that to Amy saying “please book this meeting” and she will jump in and arrange all the things.

ALL. THE. THINGS.

Next step? Hey Amy, please write a snarky blog post about how things are going in my scheduling world these days and post to Medium. Thanks.
安全扶手，有效預防長輩不跌倒
By: Tony Zeng
Tags: Health, 生活, 安全扶手, 健康, 扶手

in Both Sides of the Table
How Not To Apply To An Accelerator (part 3)
By: Andrew Ackerman
Tags: Entrepreneurship, Poetry

This is part 3 of my “self-defense essay”. If you missed the prior installments, start here with The #EpicNovelFail

The #I’mNotListeningFail

As much as we loath long-winded answers, I’ll take a long response that actually answers the question over a short one that doesn’t.

Sometimes I wonder what question the applicant thought he was answering. Check out these examples:

Q: What is your solution? What’s unique about your solution? A: My mission is to right the wrong, which is just putting United States back on the ideology that built our country… Q: Tell us about your customers/users … A: We are using a combination of all the most successful solutions around the world

Tip: After writing you answer, re-read the question and ask yourself, “Is there anything in what I wrote that is not actually answering that question?”

Next up: The #TrustMeFail
I Created This
Tags: 2020, Poetry, Home, Creativity, Creative Space

Our house is small —

large enough but compact —

the business desk in the room

where we don’t sleep,

crowded with printers and

work-from-home supplies

that only inspire numbers

and financials and waking sleep —

too much left-brain for dabbling

in creative endeavors of the hand,

of expanding creativity to new realms

including a space for what doesn’t

require the tap-tapping of a keyboard,

a space that is just enough and

not too much, a desk with a light and

a backyard view, a surface for a journal

and colored ink and video-watching.

Another creative stick in the eye of 2020.
[BLOG] GUHADA, an E-commerce Platform for 2020
Tags: Trend, Blockchain, Temco, Guhada

GUHADA records all information regarding products and distribution in the blockchain

The consumers on GUHADA platform are able to inquire information about a product that they are purchasing. The information includes product distribution records, condition of the product and current status (availability, etc.). At the point of purchasing a specific product, the consumer can view the price, proof of authenticity, distribution records, and more information all transparently, so the integration of blockchain technology in the e-commerce platform GUHADA, significantly reduces the accountability of purchasing counterfeit products.

Image of designed GUHADA mug and pen

Blockchain Trend of 2020 (3) — Utilization of IoT (Internet of Things)

The “Internet of Things” is settling in our daily lives exponentially. The inserting of NFC chips in the products can be a known case of adoption of IoT in everyday life. GUHADA utilizes NFC chips to track the distribution records of products and shares the information transparently and it can be a possible solution for the opacity problem of the distribution records in the current secondary markets.

GUHADA employs a distribution record tracking system through blockchain technology by inserting NFC chips in each product, enabling tracking of the entire distribution process about the product as well. If the initially sold product is resold in GUHADA platform, the purchaser of the reselling product can inquire reliable information that is in the blockchain, which has been uploaded in the first place through the NFC chip during the distribution process. This way, the consumers can purchase authentic luxury products in the GUHADA platform without the worries of purchasing counterfeit items.
Recap: Our Code && Coffee Interview with Microsoft
By: Ben Fox
Tags: Microsoft, Product Management, Windows 10, App Development

Microsoft’s #CodeAndCoffee project is a series of interviews with members of the Microsoft developer community. We linked up with @WindowsDev to talk about how User Camp got started, our app development process, and some thoughts on monetization and user engagement in the Microsoft Store.

The Twitter thread is a bit hard to follow in retrospect, so here’s a time-ordered sequence of the tweets from the interview. Enjoy!
USECHAIN TO LAUNCH MAINNET ALPHA ON MARCH 31, 2019
Tags: Usechain, Blockchain, Cryptocurrency, Mainnet, Token

USECHAIN TO LAUNCH MAINNET ALPHA ON MARCH 31, 2019

Dear Usechain Community,

It’s nearly 3 months over in 2019 and as we wrote down on the roadmap, we 0cxare here to announce that Usechain will officially launch the Mainnet at Q1, 2019， and exactly, March 31.

What we have done in 2019?

The Dapp R&D team spent lots of energy on developing the Usechain app in the past 4 months. The app has the functions and products of transferring, lottery, predictions market for various indices, stocks and commodities market, futures trading, wealth management which is in Chinese, an English version will come out in a few months.

The operating team talked with different entity industries to build USE token economy. So far, we are working with diners, hotels, vineyards, tourist resorts, and insurance companies which are mainly in China, to help them issue tokens to do pre-paid card business and fine granular level marketing using tokens.

Now we come to the core of this announcement — the Usechain Mainnet.

On March 31, we will launch the Mainnet (alpha) to show the stage achievement contributed by our blockchain R&D team in the past 15 months.

The Usechain blockchain consists of a committee, miners, real-name users, and anonymous users.

The committee will be selected by the community. Decision making, jurisdiction, and qualified miners verification are the rights entitled to the committee.

How to be a miner on Usechain network?

To become a miner on Usechain network, you need to be a real-name registered user, and to avoid waste on computing power and hard fork, miners will need to pay a certain amount of deposit. According to the RPOW algorithm, miners will be chosen randomly.

More details on the rules of Usechain mainnet will be given out in the next couple of weeks, stay tuned.

We always appreciate your support. Let’s make blockchain different!
Did You Build Your 2020 Hygge Corner Yet?
By: Kyrie Gray
Tags: Culture, Humor, Satire, Comedy, Books

Hey everyone! Are you ready for Halloween? We have a bowl full of candy in case we get kids coming around our building, but I suspect we shall be eating most of the treats ourselves. Oh no…

So whether you’re devouring discounted bags of Snickers or arguing over which scary movie to watch with a loved one who does not respect your zombie preferences, I hope you have a spooky Holiday.

Stories:

Do you have a dog? Then grab some popcorn and dog biscuits to watch one of these canine-themed scary movies.

Unfortunately, the Climate Denier’s Conference has to be moved again for…reasons.

If you have a blogger in your life who is struggling, read them one of these new releases inspired by children’s books.

Images by: Shaun Kreider/Kreider Designs @kreiderdesigns

Nancy Drew fans might have loved all the hidden clues and random objects featured in her mysteries, but do they know where they are now?

It’s been a weird year. So time to update your hygge rituals for 2020.

The app graveyard is full of lost technology. This Halloween they are rising from the dead to let the world know how terriblely they were wronged.

Extra

This Halloween comic is up today in Slackjaw!

As always, thank you for supporting this little publication!

Kyrie
Sensory Overload
By: Aaron Quist
Tags: Sex, Poetry, Lessons, Love, Senses

Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash

Bombarded

with

fingers,

lips,

and

eyes

dilating

passed

awareness,

I

give

in

to

her,

to

what

they

have

to

teach

me.
There's an elephant in the meditation room.
By: Insight Timer
Tags: Mindfulness, Community, Consciousness, Meditation, Startup

(Statistics in this article were updated in August 2020 to reflect the growing number of users within our community).

Five years ago I was in San Francisco with my brother Nicho. The April morning was sunny and cold as we hurried east on Sacramento to our first Wisdom 2.0 conference. Inc Magazine describes the event as “connecting through technology in a way that supports a person’s well-being, work effectiveness, and is ultimately useful to the world.” Don’t worry — we didn’t understand it either.

For first-time attendees it’s a curious affair. Meditation teachers and new-age publishers mingle inside with tech titans and venture capitalists — a perfect microcosm of the city outside. In 2015, LinkedIn’s CEO Jeff Weiner sang Sittin’ On The Dock Of The Bay in front of 3,000 people while Tibetan monks spent 4 days constructing — and then deconstructing — an altogether different microcosm in the lobby.

It hasn’t always been this way of course; meditation and money aren’t obvious bedfellows. But the science has caught up and so consumers have caught on. And where you find consumers, you find capitalists — first as entrepreneurs, then as companies, then as investors — the ritual is as old as meditation itself.
Mahi
By: Lyondhur Picciarelli
Tags: Poetry On Medium, Sil, Poetry

in Both Sides of the Table
The Things We Shared
By: Andrew Beso
Tags: Short Story, Love, Coffee, Romance, Dating

“One Grande Cafe Americano for Gin.”

Photo by Tyler Nix on Unsplash

I was on my way to the counter but you already grabbed MY coffee. Who the hell do you think you are?

“Hi, uhhm that’s mine?” I smiled at you, the kind that purses the lips to hide the grin.

“Ah no, wait, this is my black coffee? Are you — ? I’m Jean.” You quipped back but looked confused, with your index finger pointed at yourself. You had an identity crisis for a moment there.

From how you said your name, I now get the mix-up. I had two options then: Start a TED talk discussing the difference between cafe americano and black coffee, or just bluntly tell you you got it wrong. But I noticed you were busy craning your neck, looking for a place to sit. So I settled for the kinder yet quicker method.

“Hey, I think our names sound alike…and I guess we like the same coffee, too. I’m Gin, with a ‘G.’ Can you check the name on the cup?”

You removed your thumb which was perfectly placed, concealing the written name.

Gin.

“Oh fuck.” You subsequently look at the cup, at the barista, at me, then back to the cup in horror.

Pin drop silence.

“One Grande…Cafe Americano for…Jean?” The barista carefully interjected by saying the exact line but slower and sounding apologetic this time. I noticed he was eavesdropping in our awkward exchange.

“Oh…I’m Jean. Ha ha. THAT is my coffee. Ha ha,” you said, attempting to grab the newly served beverage but your hand quickly retreated, “ No wait, I’m so sorry! Did you order the same thing? Do you still want this?” You asked while still looking around, either you’re still finding a place to sit, or maybe you’re aiming for the exit now.

I confirmed and explained there’s no harm done. A different name on my cup wouldn’t change the coffee experience. We just laughed it off. I offered the vacant chair on my table since I reckoned you still haven’t found one. You seemed hesitant but after a quick sweep in the surrounding, you kind of looked defeated.

“Relaaax! It’s just sharing tables. And it’s not the first time we shared something.” I gave a gentle chuckle.

We walked towards my table and I was readying our conversation starter: Cafe americano is not black coffee! From the counter and up until we sat, you refused to give eye contact. So maybe it’s time for some formal introduction.

“Hi, I didn’t catch your name. I’m Gin.”

You kind of spit your coffee as you smiled. “Nice meeting you, Gin. I’m Jean.”
UPDATE: Execution Delayed for Lisa Montgomery
By: Lisa Marie Fuqua
Tags: Culture, Justice, True Crime, Murder, History

Lisa Montgomery | via NBC News

Attorneys for Lisa Montgomery, Amy Harwell, and Kelley Henry had been working on a clemency petition for the Montgomery. Earlier this month, they asked for their client’s execution to be delayed because they had contracted Covid-19.

The attorneys cited they needed time to recover before they would be able to finish their petition.

On Thursday, November 19, 2020, a federal judge granted the Cornell Law School International Human Rights Clinic’s request. Lisa Montgomery’s execution date has been rescheduled for December 31.

Judge Randolph Moss added that if Harwell and Henry had not recovered by December 24, they need to bring on addiction counsel to assist with the case.

I will post any new updates I find.
What would you tell your 15-year-old self?
Tags: Growing Up, This Happened To Me, Life Lessons, Reflections, Personal Growth

The question is often asked in varying ways, but the sentiment is always the same. Given a chance to meet, what ground breaking word of wisdom would your enlightened current self offer to your younger counterpart?

I get it from time to time and have given it some thought.

To be honest I wouldn’t tell him much. That kid was a grade A jack ass. He wouldn’t listen to no one for any reason. Hell bent on blazing his own way and downright determined to make his own decisions no matter how foolish. Most days annoyingly stubborn and selfish.

At best I would simply give him my love and let him know I cared deeply for him. It’s all going to work out just fine anyway.
Official Map of the Highway System of Texas
By: Texas General Land Office
Tags: History, Texas, Highway, Maps

Produced primarily as a tourist map for Texans and visitors and to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Texas’ independence from Mexico, the Official Map of the Highway System of Texas represented a boom in construction over less than thirty years and features every major population center in the state during the early 1930s. A far cry from the faint trails of the 1830s and dirt paths of the 1900s, both intra- and inter-state routes indicate increasing amounts of commercial and recreational traffic in 1936.

The legend describes the various types of highways and markings on the map, while also making a point to travelers regarding the Texas Highway System’s lack of toll bridges. This map was issued for free by the State Highway Commission.

Red and black lines depict U.S. and state highways respectively. While many of the roads shown are paved, there are still several “earth” roads, most notably to the west of the 100th meridian. When the Texas Highway Department was established, there were an estimated 148,000 miles of roads in Texas, but few of them were paved. By 1930, just six years before the map was issued, Texas boasted 18,000 miles of highways, and about one-third of them were paved.[4] Highway 81, which was used as a guideline for Interstate 35 within the next decade, connected Fort Worth, Austin, San Antonio, and Laredo. In a testament to the links between modern and pioneer-era transportation, Highway 81 was built over the route of an old military road. A special reference is made to the enticing fact that “There are no toll bridges on the Texas Highway System.”

A photograph of the Alamo is one of several images found in the margins of the highway map, which was intended both to decorate the map and entice tourists to visit.

The map also features photos of several state landmarks. The Texas Capitol is distinguished by its signature pink granite. The Alamo appears labeled as the “Shrine of Texas Liberty.” Newly constructed buildings on the Dallas Fair Park grounds herald the Centennial Exposition. On the map’s verso, a collage of notable sites within the state is pictured, including the other San Antonio missions, Sam Houston’s campground at San Jacinto, several military bases, and scenes of agriculture and industry.
Allday soothes with new album ‘Starry Night over the Phone’
By: Mitch Ley
Tags: Msc, Rap, Allday, Music, Australia

Allday soothes with new album ‘Starry Night over the Phone’

The third album from the Aussie artist is largely a healing breakup anthem that builds an atmosphere of its own.

There’s something about Allday that just isn’t of this world. His music has an energy that transports you to another realm whether you like it or not. It takes you out of the present moment — and that’s why his latest project is so excellent.

Starry Night over the Phone is mostly a breakup album, and there’s nothing you want more when you’re feeling those feelings than to be somewhere else. Or maybe sometime else. Opening track Restless may begin with a dancehall rhythm, but you’re more likely to be taken back to 2007 when you hear The Veronicas on the hook. It turns out Aussie rap, dancehall drums and The Veronicas are a fire combination because Restless is a great intro to Starry Night over the Phone.

We’re instantly taken back to the familiar Allday vibe with Don’t Wanna Push You Away Anymore. The track is almost excruciatingly laidback, especially so because it was originally released with much more energy and then changed for the album release. But it’s the Allday we love with a masterful use of autotune rivalling Kanye West, Bon Iver or Post Malone.

The rest of the project traverses the thought processes post-breakup. Blaming yourself for all the pain and tears on Atmosphere, one of the more melancholy moments. Best Life describes the point where you decide to quit worrying and move on. You’d better stop messing around and make a move on If Not Now, When? and Wonder Drug reflects on the way we wait around for the perfect moments that will never come.

It’s been a huge week for Allday. He’s dropped this new album, taken on Triple J’s Like a Version with an awesome cover of Big Yellow Taxi, and then teamed up with The Veronicas again during his Splendour in the Grass set with an epic cover of Untouched.

Based on this effort, I think we’re set to see a big year from Allday. There are multiple tracks on Starry Night over the Phone that deserve to see commercial success. He’s offering a unique brand of alternative rap music that isn’t being replicated (well) by anyone else in the industry. Give Allday a listen, your heart and soul will be better for it.
STAND GINZA /80 が作り出す新しい”経済圏”の形
By: 江口晋太朗, Shintaro Eguchi
Tags: 日本語, 銀座, City

in Both Sides of the Table
Introducing the New ARK Docs — Guides, Tutorials, and More
Tags: Crypto, Blockchain, Blockchain Technology, Blockchain Development, Open Source

Since its inception, ARK Docs has always been a valuable resource for our community. Everyone from developers to our partners have utilized ARK Docs to work on their own projects, tools and services. Today, we are happy to showcase the new ARK Docs which will become your main hub for documentation, tutorials, guides and more!

The New ARK Docs

A clean new design is immediately apparent. Just as with all of our products, we have standardized and streamlined our design across multiple areas (all our upcoming projects will follow this new design style). In terms of ARK Docs, we have incorporated this simple layout with major documentation split among our eight main products.

New ARK Docs are accessible at https://ark.dev

A quick glance reveals exactly what you need. Click a product and go straight to that products main documentation. Selecting Core will take you to the Core introductory page and from there you can navigate to other specific areas.

The content is organized simply and clearly. Different categories include architecture, services, transactions, how-to guides and update guides.

Additional Guides and Tutorials

In addition to our main product guides, users will find other ARK related guides. There are guides for exchange integration, API guides and guides for our ARK Grants and Security/Development Bounty Programs. Additionally, our Software Development Kits are available in six popular programming languages!

This new documentation will be an important resource for developers and partners. Additionally, our multi-part tutorials clearly illustrate how to apply ARK’s Blockchain Framework to specific applications.

Each tutorial series will be broken down in easy to digest parts where developers can tackle a project all at once or break it down into manageable sections over time. We already have two great tutorial series available at launch within ARK Docs and more on the way!

If you would like to see a specific tutorial or have a request, you can reach out to us by using the ARK Docs contact form: https://ark.dev/contact

As our products evolve and our community continues to expand, so will ARK Docs. The information within ARK Docs will be a valuable resource to the entire community that will constantly evolve to reflect the needs of developers, partners and community members.
How to reduce the chances of screw-ups in DIY Investing
By: Abhishek Rai
Tags: Portfolio Management, Finance, Personal Finance, Value Investing, Investing

(1) Investor’s Dilemma — How to pick the right jockey

As an investor, your job is to pick a company that will become more valuable than it is today i.e. share price increases multifold. A firms’ value is nothing but all the free cash flow it is going to generate for its shareholders over its life. So basically, as an investor you have to pick firms that should be able to generate more cash flow and the current price is not reflecting it already.

Let’s recreate a situation for you to better experience this dilemma: let’s go back in time, assume you are in 2010 & you have to pick one of these three private sector banks in India:

Three private sector banks in Mar 2010

All three are leading private sector banks. The macro thesis would have said that banks would grow at a 14%+ growth rate from 2010–2020. Which firms would you have picked in 2010? Take a pause & pick one of these.

Bank 2 has the largest loan book size. Bank 3 has the highest profit margins. Bank 1 and Bank 3 have a similar asset base.

Ten years’ later in 2020, here are the financials of the same three companies:

The same three private sector banks in Mar 2020

And here are the share price returns:

Data source: Screener as of Dec 1, 2020

Bank 1: HDFC Bank, Bank 2: ICICI Bank, Bank 3: Axis Bank

Looking at the financials alone in 2010, it may not be that easy to predict that HDFC Bank would grow multi-fold and Axis Bank would face the NPA crisis. Different metrics become important in different industries. In this particular case, Net Interest Margins and the quality of the loan book would have provided more info but there are always some unknowns.

Which jockey to pick is the question you need to answer as an investor and it is an incredibly difficult thing to do.
Creating your first spider — 01 — Python scrapy tutorial for beginners
Tags: Programming, Python, Tutorial, Web Development, Coding

Extracting the data

Once we have all the books, we want to look inside each book for the information we want. Let’s start with the title. Go to your URL and search where the full title is located. Right-click any title and then select ‘Inspect’.

Inside the h3 tag, there is an ‘a’ tag with the book title as ‘title’ attribute. Let’s loop over the books and extract it.

We get all the books, and for each one of them, we search for the ‘h3’ tag, then the ‘a’ tag, and we select the @title attribute. We want that text, so we use ‘ extract_first ‘ (we can also ‘use extract’ to extract all of them).

As we are scraping, not the whole HTML but a small subset (the one in ‘book’) we need to put a dot at the start of the Xpath function. Remember: ‘//’ for the whole HTML response, ‘.//’ for a subset of that HTML we already extracted.

We have the title, now go the price. Right click the price and inspect it.

The text we want is inside a ‘p’ tag with the ‘price_color’ class inside a ‘div’ tag. Add this after the title:

price = book.xpath('.//div/p[@class="price_color"]/text()').extract_first()

We go to any ‘div’, with a ‘p’ child that has a ‘price_color’ class, then we use ‘text()’ function to get the text. And then, we extract_first() our selection.

Let’s see if what we have. Print both the price and the title and run the spider.

scrapy crawl spider

Everything is working as planned. Let’s take the image URL too. Right-click the image, inspect it:

We don’t have an URL here but a partial one.

The ‘src’ attribute has the relative URL, not the whole URL. The ‘books.toscrape.com’ is missing. Well, we just need to add it. Add this at the bottom of your method.

We get the ‘img ‘ tag with the class ‘thumbnail’, we get the relative URL with ‘src’ then we add the first (and only) start_url. Again, let’s print the result. Run the spider again.

Looking good! Open any of the URL and you’ll see the cover’s thumbnail.

Now let’s extract the URL so we can buy any book if we are interested.

The book URL is stored in the href of both the title and the thumbnail. Any of both will do.

Run the spider again:

Click on any URL and you’ll go to that book website.

Now we are selecting all the fields we want, but we are not doing anything with it, right? We need to ‘yield’ (or ‘return’) them. For each book, we are going to return it’s title, price, image and book URL.

Remove all the prints and yield the items like a dictionary:

Run the spider and look at the terminal:
On Writer's Block
By: Elyse Wright
Tags: Writing, Poetry, Poems On Medium, Writers Block, Poem

Photo by Daniel McCullough on Unsplash

“Write what you know,” the voice instructed,

Noticing my wordless page.

But my mind continued to be blank.

For every beautiful, poetic thought

Decided to spend the night elsewhere.

“Lean into it,” you once told me.

“Lean into those times where your mind is blank.

That’s when the most profound words emerge.”
The Story of the Diamond and the Coal: Muhammad Iqbal on the Virtues of Struggle
By: Faisal Ali
Tags: Pakistan, Islam, Poetry, Muslim, Muhammad Iqbal

Now I will open one more gate of Truth, I will tell thee another tale.

“O thou entrusted with splendors everlasting, We are comradres, and our being is one; The source of our existence is the same, Yet while I die here in the anguish of worthlessness, Thou art set on the crowns of emperors. My stuff is so vile that I am valued less than earth, Whereas the mirror’s heart is rent by thy beauty.

My darkness illuminates the chafing-dish, then my substance is incinerated at last. Everyone puts the sole of his foot on my head, and covers my stock of existence with ashes. My fate must needs be deplored; Dost thou know what is the gist of my being?

Thou art a condensed wavelet of smoke, endowed with the properties of a single spark; both in feature and nature thou art star-like, splendors rise from every side of thee. Now thou becom’st the light of a monarch’s eye, Now thou adornest the haft of a dagger.”

“O sagacious friend!” said the diamond. “Dark earth hardened, becomes in dignity as a bezel. Having been at strife with its environment, it is ripened by the struggle and grows hard like a stone.

Tis this ripeness that has endowed my form with light. And filled my bosom with radiance. Because thy being is immature, thou hast become abased; Because thy body is soft, thou art burnt. Be void of fear, friend and anxiety; Be hard as a stone, be a diamond!

Whosoever strives hard and grips tight, the two worlds are illuminate by him. A little earth is the origin of the Black Stone, which puts forth its head in the Kaa’ba, Its rank is higher than Sinai,

It is kissed by the swarthy and the fair. In solidity consists the glory of life; weakness is worthlessness and immaturity.”

Note: This is taken from Reynold Nicholson’s translation.
Time On
By: Background Noise Comics
Tags: Humor, Work, New Year, Work Life Balance, Comics

Even the anticipation of being back to work is hard. How was your first day back?
Momentum
By: Joseph Emmi
Tags: Life Lessons, Journal, Challenge, Personal Growth, Commitment

There are days that definitely seems like nothing is working. Sometimes those days becomes weeks or even months. You question yourself, your decisions and the even the future. Are you doing the right thing? Is it going to be always like this?

Who knows?

But the only thing I always say you cannot do, is not trying.

There will be days that will totally feel waste of time, like lost or even worthless, and those are the days that you just keep doing it what you are doing. Get out, show up and do the work, it doesn’t matter what.

It ain’t cool to keep trying and see no results. It frustrating at times, but if great things take time, and everything that worth doing requires patience and discipline, then the last thing to do is to give up.

I have had a lot of those days, but then you have those moments where everything seems to be in the right place. Everything makes sense. Everybody gets it.

Momentum.

These moments just happen, you cannot fabricate them, you cannot force them. They appear in front you, but they are not miracles, they are the result of all that work that you once almost stopped, all that work that you questioned many times. The result of commitment and belief that what you were doing was the right thing no matter what.

However, easy as these moments appear they can go away. They can vanish in the air even faster than when they arrived, but like anything else, like the work that brought them in the first place, is up to you.

You don’t own momentum and it doesn’t owe you anything either, but you can make it stay longer. Rather than satiate your ego and fill the voids for all those missing opportunities, for that long wait, treat it well and show it that you care.

Grab it and get hold onto it, not because that way it won’t escape, it will if it wants to, but because it is your opportunity to move away, far where you always dreamed to be, where you have always wanted to be. Don’t let it go.
Meet Manatee County’s New Leadership
By: Cheri Coryea, Manatee County Administrator
Tags: County Government, Government, Leadership, Manatee County

Last month two career public servants, Manatee County Administrator Ed Hunzeker and Deputy County Administrator Dan Schlandt, retired after a combined 90 years of public service.

Following in Mr. Hunzeker’s footsteps is a big job, but I’m excited for the challenge, especially with two new Deputy County Administrators by my side, John Osborne and Karen Stewart.

As the County’s chief long range planner for almost a decade, John brings a wealth of experience in the public and private sectors as well as his military background. He’s a natural choice for deputy administrator. John’s recent focus has been infrastructure planning, impact fee feasibility and serving as the County’s Planning Official.

With a varied background in urban and strategic planning, construction management and environmental management, John Osborne brings great insight to the County’s major projects.

You’ll spot John in the County Administration Building at all hours of the day, handy laptop at his side. I’m not sure he actually needs the computer though — John’s got an incredible memory that gives him keen insight on the innermost workings of our government and public infrastructure. He’s got a great attitude that’s garnered the respect of County Commissioners, our department directors and leaders around Manatee County.

Not long after Commissioners approved John’s appointment, I sought out the project management expertise of our County Economic Development Official, Karen Stewart to be our other Deputy County Administrator. I’ve worked on numerous County Initiatives with Karen over the years including implementation of our Children’s Services Tax and the launch of the County Commission’s Economic Development Incentive program.

As the County’s Economic Development Official, Karen Stewart helps roll out the blue carpet to new businesses in the area.

Karen’s diligence in the EDI program has helped create or keep nearly 6,000 high-paying jobs in Manatee County since the inception in 2008. Karen has impeccable organizational skills, evaluates our return on investment policy and has made strong business alliances throughout the U.S. and abroad.

Karen takes over the operations branch of our government and will oversee much of the day-to-day business of our people, programs and services. John’s ideal role is infrastructure, utility and development projects. He’ll manage the growth elements of our business and much of our government’s transition to east Manatee County near the Premier Sports Campus. Keeping projects moving and making improvements for our citizens to enjoy and be safe are our main objectives.
It’s How I Feel
By: Melissa R. Mendelson
Tags: A Few Words, Writing, Poetry, Loss, Life

Photo by Marcos Paulo Prado on Unsplash

I’ve lived through too much,

but these past few years have been difficult.

My body changed.

I lost time,

and I feel gutted, empty.

The chances of me having my own

is no more.

If I want a child,

it won’t be mine,

and I know that shouldn’t bother me.

But it does.

How could I raise someone in a world

like this one right now?

I should get over it.

Move on already,

but part of me won’t,

still holding on.

And it’s cold and bitter,

angry at everything,

and I hate my life right now.

It needs to change.

I just don’t know how,

so I write

because when I write, I feel alive.