fabiochiu/medium-articles huggingface dataset:
The Founder of Match.com Finally Convinced Me That Software Entrepreneurs Should Care About Patents
By: Aaron Dinin
Tags: Business, Entrepreneurship, Intellectual Property, Startup, Inspiration

I get a surprising number of questions from entrepreneurs asking for advice on patenting their products. While intellectual property (IP) isn’t the most common topic I’m asked about (that would be fundraising… by a landslide), I’d definitely put it in the Top 10. The problem is, I’ve never been a big advocate of IP. Specifically, I’ve never been convinced it’s worth the significant expense.

To add a bit of context, I should note that I’m a software entrepreneur, and my focus on software certainly biases my opinion of IP. If, in contrast, I were developing cancer drugs or medical devices, I’d surely have a different perspective.

Instead, as a software entrepreneur, I don’t view the technology startups create as something with much value because most software can be replicated relatively easily. For example, if I wanted to build my own version of Facebook or Instagram or TikTok, I’m sure I could.

And it’s not just me. The software industry itself encourages and enables a commoditized perspective on software. From the open source software movement to Github, the software industry seems to be constantly reminding developers that the code they write isn’t valuable intellectual property.

With this in mind, when entrepreneurs with their brand new startup ideas come asking whether or not to file for patents, I’m usually quick to warn them it’s a waste of their time and resources. After all, learning how to file a patent yourself will take months. Alternately, the cost of a decent patent attorney runs north of $10,000. In either case, since time and money are the two scarcest resources for most new companies, the choice seems obvious: don’t waste your time worrying about someone “stealing” your product. Instead, focus on getting customers and building your company.

At least, that’s what I used to tell software entrepreneurs. Then I met Gary Kremen, founder of Match.com. He leveraged his company’s software patents in a way that made me completely rethink my bias against software entrepreneurs securing their IP. Maybe it’s not such a bad idea after all.

* Gary’s story is based on a podcast and interview I conducted with him on July 26, 2021. Quotes have been edited for clarity.
A Tale Of Two Abortions
By: Sarika Bansal
Tags: Essay, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Health, Women

It was in late April when my husband and I joined a club that has far too many members: we lost what we had dreamed would be our first child.

We learned the news while my sister was visiting me in Nairobi, Kenya. The three of us went in to hear the baby’s heartbeat for the first time, filled with happy anticipation. I had honestly not even considered the option that we would be met with literal radio silence, as my pregnancy symptoms had been raging and I felt healthy. And though I had been reading books and articles about pregnancy, and though many of my friends have been pregnant, I didn’t know much about miscarriage.

Tears streamed down my face, unimpeded, as we learned that I had a silent miscarriage. “What do you mean?” I remember asking in an unnaturally high-pitched voice. My fetus, already so loved, had in fact stopped developing two weeks prior. My body had not realized this, and had continued producing the hCG pregnancy hormone, causing me to believe otherwise.

I wailed, loudly. A woman in the waiting room held me by the arms and told me that God will always provide. I tore away from her. We got smoothies. We drove to the OB-GYN office in a daze.

I had read that up to 1 in 4 pregnancies end in miscarriage. In the waiting room, my sister even showed me a passage from Michelle Obama’s autobiography in which she talks about her own miscarriage and pregnancy struggles. But somehow, I never really thought it could happen to me.

At the OB-GYN office, my doctor said lots of words at me that didn’t filter through. Apparently, she talked through the three options for the actual miscarriage. I could try “expectant management,” meaning that I could wait for the fetus to pass on its own. That could take over a month, given my high hCG levels, and I would have no control over the timing or my environment. I could do a surgical abortion, commonly known as a D&C (dilation and curettage), which would require anesthesia and a trip to the hospital.

Finally, I could do a medical abortion at home, which my doctor recommended for my case. I vaguely remember her opening a medical textbook to tell me how to do it and what the risks were. She solemnly sent out for mifepristone and misoprostol, “just in case” I decided to go that route. We paid the receptionist 2,500 shillings for the drugs, or about $25; she would be able to legally procure them with a doctor’s note confirming my “nonviable pregnancy” (abortion is illegal in Kenya in most cases, though the drugs are available to aid with natural miscarriages like mine).

Reading the words “nonviable pregnancy” stung my eyes. This was not how I expected the morning to go.
I Help Muslim Refugees Because I’m Christian
By: Bright Magazine
Tags: Islam, Christianity, Essay, Religion, Refugees

RRefugees fleeing active war zones usually must leave quickly. They bring very few possessions with them, and sometimes are forced to even leave family members behind. Families that do leave together can become separated once they cross a border.

Salwaa, a 74-year-old Syrian refugee I met in Jordan, has eight children. Two of her sons are in Brazil, one son is with her in Jordan, and her five other children are still in Syria. She has not seen in her daughters in almost five years. “It’s hard because they are my children,” Salwaa says. “No one leaves their children by choice.”

Salwaa also has grandchildren that she’s never met. The pain of this separation and the worry over her children living in a warzone brought her to tears.

As a Christian, I turn to the teachings of Jesus to guide my life. I believe we are all part of one family. That means welcoming the stranger, loving our neighbors as ourselves, and working for the good of all people.

When people like Salwaa are suffering, it is the duty of Christians to help them live with dignity.

The author interviewing refugee children in Jordan.

One way to help refugees live with dignity is to give them work. Amona Turkey, 42, left Syria four years ago. The mother of five now lives in Jordan with her children. “It was very difficult for me to come to Jordan in the beginning because I’m alone and I did not have enough money to survive,” Amona says.

Through Caritas Jordan, CRS’s partner organization, Amona was able to take sewing courses. She now can support her family selling the clothing she makes.

“I feel like it’s an art, like any painter when painting something and enjoying it and working on it,” Amona says. “I really like sewing…and I’m happy. It makes me feel content with myself.”

But many Syrians are not able to work. Whalid, 55, used to sell electronics in Syria, but both his home and workplace were destroyed. He came to Jordan in 2013 with his wife and four daughters, and his diabetes and high blood pressure prevent him from working. (Caritas Jordan offers the family assistance.)

“I thank God because he gave me the patience to accept all these tragedies that happened here,” Whalid says. “I believe in what God is doing.”

If Whalid — who survived the loss of his home, job, and country — can still have faith, then so must the rest of us.

I believe Christians in particular can demonstrate that faith by helping refugees, whether by welcoming them into our homes, or ensuring that they live with dignity, wherever they may be.
erfan shabani was borned on July 1993 in khorram abad
By: Erfan Shabani
Tags: Perfume, Parfumes, Influencers, Fragrance

erfan shabani was borned on July 1993 in khorram abad

Erfan Shabani is the most successful Iranian person in the field of perfume who was born on July 2, 1993.

Mysticism has an excellent sense of smell, he always strengthens his sense of smell with different techniques.

Mysticism always says,Start with what you have.

He started his career in very limited circumstances and with minimal tools to record his films.

He posted his first official video on his Instagram page in 2019.

Erfan says that just having an idea is not enough, what guarantees your success is how to do it.

There was only one perfume in his first films! But now we are witnessing the amazing progress of mysticism Erfan has more than a few luxury and expensive perfumes and also introduces very expensive perfumes on his Instagram page.

This is the view of mysticism, be the giant of your work, be the first

In one of Erfan’s videos that he published on his official Instagram page, he was able to recognize the scent of 30 different perfumes with his eyes closed in a very short time,

less than 90 seconds! This skill of Erfan caused the most visited and most famous perfume site in America to share the video that Erfan published on his Instagram page. Erfan operates internationally, he has worked with many big brands in the field of perfume.

In 2018, Erfan was invited to a private party of Tom Ford brand in Dubai, UAE, which is one of the most famous brands in the world that works in the field of perfume, clothing, cosmetics, fashion. He shone in collaboration with Tom Ford brand.

In 2019, Erfan was invited by one of the largest specialized perfume brands, Parfums de Marly, a genuine French niche brand, in the beautiful city of Dubai in the UAE and attracted everyone’s attention.

In 2020, Erfan became more and more noticed by the biggest brands in the world. He was invited by several brands, English, French, American, etc., to attend the private parties of these brands. But because of the COVID 19 virus. These parties were canceled all over the world.

He is currently popular among his fans and has more than 80,000 followers.

Www.erfanshabani.com
10 SHOWS I RECOMMEND FROM THE 2nd LOCKDOWN DAYS OF BINGEWATCHING
Tags: Binge Watching, TV Series, Lists, Shows To Watch, Netflix

10 SHOWS I RECOMMEND FROM THE 2nd LOCKDOWN DAYS OF BINGEWATCHING Belladonnaoflavender Jun 24·2 min read

I must have watched a lot of movies and shows as I do in every lockdown (there have been so many, that once they declared a lockdown extended, it feels like an infinite loop)

I got two new subscriptions of two different OTT’s and I was booked for most days at end of this harrowing May month. You can comment below or mail me to ask me more about these shows/movies and I’ll happily engage you enough to make you watch it. Trigger: Rape, Assault, Murder. I am a basic crime bitch

WHY WOMEN KILL (BEST)

The Twilight Zone (A series of sci fi stories with a mind out their own!)

Liar (The end disappointed not because of the twist but I lost so much interest as it went on.. But what a good job with the plot)

The Comey Rule (Smart af)

Sons Of Sam (All that we know about SOS gets questioned here)

Ajeeb Dastaans (Am sorry but the only hindi movie and the only movie I really liked!)

Married to medicine (I have talked about this on my IG)

Big Little Liars (Twists and turns, lives upto the thrilling book)

Body Cam (Real af)

Mare Of Easttown (slow but second best)

Read more such lists & knacks on here:

https://belladonnaoflavender.substack.com/p/kelp-snakes-in-like-a-shed-black

Belladonnaoflavender
All we heard nowadays is Vaccination. But do we know what happens to our body once we are vaccinated?
By: Vociferous Writers
Tags: Corona, Vaccines, Covid 19, Coronavirus, Virus

All we heard nowadays is Vaccination. But do we know what happens to our body once we are vaccinated? Vociferous Writers Jun 24·3 min read

I guess you all are safe and healthy during this critical period of the COVID-19 pandemic. A solution to this pandemic is vaccination. But we have observed certain side effects or severe illness after getting a vaccination. Let us know from a medical point of view, what happens to our bodies once we are vaccinated and how does it prevent us to get affected by the disease.

What is the vaccine?

The vaccine contains weakened or inactive parts of a particular organism that triggers an immune response in the body. Newer vaccines contain the blueprint for producing antigens rather than the antigen itself.

Body’s natural defence against infection:-

To understand how vaccines work we need to first look at how the body fights natural disease. When any pathogen such as bacteria or virus invades the body and multiplies, this invasion causes an infection which leads to illness. The immune system uses many tools to fight the infection such as RBCs and WBCs. white cells contain primarily macrophages, T Lymphocytes and B lymphocytes:

MACROPHAGES: These cells swallow up and digest pathogens and dead cells and leaves behind parts of invading organisms called antigens. The body identifies it and stimulates the formation of antibodies

T LPHOCYTESYM: T cells are one of the important white blood cells of the immune system and play a central role in the adaptive immune response. They attack the cells in the body that are already infected.

B LYMPHOCYTES: These lymphocyte cells produce antibodies that attack antigens that are left behind by macrophages.

When the first-time body encounters any pathogen it takes several days to get over that infection through this antigen-antibody reaction of the immune system. After the infection, the body keeps few T cells as memory cells to remember how to protect the body against that particular pathogen. When that pathogen enters the body again the B cells produce antibodies to attack them.

Process after taking vaccine in the body:-
1 Year: Post Covid
By: Kamran Ali
Tags: Masks, Hope, 2020, Covid 19, Covid Diaries

You wouldn’t imagine, nor believe if I had told you the streets of Time Square were empty except for the homeless and pigeons that inhabited it. No one could imagine it when we were cooped up in our homes and we were glued to our screen to find out what will happen next. People were warned and told to stay home, shops were shut down, taxis were parked away, the MTA was stopping at certain times, no one could imagine NYC as a ghost land. But we witnessed it.

I apologize if it sounds like I’m being over-dramatic but I’m not. You can ask anyone that lived during Co-vid19 in 2020 that this actually happened. It was my last year in college and we were told that the school will be shut down for the time being, no one knew that it be the last day to see all our classmates when we heard the announcement. We thought we will come back in 3 weeks. We were terribly wrong.

Now, after an entire year, well a year and a half, most of the country is now vaccinating people to prevent the virus. More than thousands of people have died worldwide because of this virus. What once a ghost town have returned to the bustling city that once was. I’m sitting here in a cafe and writing this article without my mask. So much has happened in 2020, and 2021 was just a continuation but with more caution. Only recently has the governor of New York lifted the restriction on everything, so now eventually everyone will stop wearing masks indoors and everyone will go back to offices. However, it won’t be that easy to go back to our daily life, things have changed, maybe for the best, or for the worst. We won’t know till we find out. But isn’t that life? Ups and downs?

Let’s just hope we get through anything just like we got through 2020.
A Return to Wellness — Charting the Wellness Industry Recovery
By: Alexander Soria
Tags: Wellness, Covid 19 Crisis, Covid 19, Return To Normal

The COVID-19 pandemic effectively put the world on pause, significantly impacting the wellness industry. Fitness businesses, salons and spas closed their doors. People retreated inside their homes. More than a year later, while coronavirus is still very much here, signs are positive as markets reopen, and consumers begin getting back to, or in some cases finding new, wellness routines.

We’ve all wondered when we’d get back to normal — or find a relatively feasible new normal, at least. When can salons, spas, gyms, and other health and wellness centers expect business to go back to its pre-COVID days? Are we close to recovering? Are customers anywhere close to booking appointments the way they used to before the pandemic?

The Mindbody data science team dug into the data, looking at metrics like monthly bookings, herd immunity, and vaccination rates to see where health and wellness businesses currently stand, and what the days ahead will potentially bring us.

We believe the data tells a powerful story of rebound and recovery.

As restrictions are lifting across the United States, our research is showing us that the wellness industry is on the road to recovery. In states where COVID restrictions have lifted, booking numbers are reaching pre-COVID levels.

Consumers are realizing that wellness is more important than ever, and we’re seeing pent-up demand from consumers who appear eager to get back to their fitness and wellness routines.

Between March and April of 2020, Australia (like most of the world) saw a massive drop in daily consumer bookings. Starting around May, they were making the climb back to normality. Between July and November, they were much closer to 2019’s pre-COVID numbers. But getting into November, they actually surpassed 2019’s numbers.

They started 2021 off strong and are holding steady, relative to the previous two years. Like what we saw globally, Australia is on trend with historical numbers, however, they have already exceeded 2019 booking numbers. After the initial quarantine and a secondary July-November (limited largely to Victoria) Australia has bounced back as expected.

We know that getting vaccinated is playing a role in how quickly different parts of the world are able to overcome COVID-19. Our data shows us that most of our businesses are in regions where vaccinations are higher than the 33% average rate. This is promising news for these business owners, who can expect continued progress.

This also reaffirmed that higher vaccination rates are likely correlated with regions being able to get back to business as usual.
Wuhan Virus Delta Variant
By: Aditya Tandon
Tags: Delta, Variant, Covid 19, Wuhan Flu, Virus

Wuhan Virus Delta Variant

The #WuhanVirus #DeltaVariant has now spread to more than 80 countries.

The world is struggling to control it whereas the variant meanwhile is mutating very fastly. So, what we have now is called the #DeltaPlus variant.

It has already spread to at least 9 countries. Our next report tells you, “Why the world needs to watch out for this one?” Mutations have supercharged the virus, the delta variant drove India’s deadly second wave, now this mutation has taken a drastic form called The Delta Plus and is spreading tremendously. Reports say, “Its earlier sample has been traced back to Europe”. In India, the Delta Plus variant has been detected in at least 3 states and it is believed to be more infectious; there is no indication yet if it’s deadlier than the other variants, but experts are already worried about it because this variant could trigger the next wave of cases worldwide.

Reports say, “ Around 200 cases of the Delta Plus variant have been detected across the world and the variant has been found in at least 9 countries which includes The UK, Portugal, Switzerland, Poland, Japan, Nepal, China, and Russia”. In India alone, 30 cases of the Delta Plus variant have been detected and the Indian Government has termed Delta Plus as a variant of interest. Scientists are still studying if this variant can escape the immunity of vaccines because there is a reason to believe that the Delta Plus is resistant to monoclonal antibody cocktails due to its quick genome-sequencing mutations. There is a treatment method where patients are injected with artificially manufactured proteins that prevent the virus from attacking the body, called vaccines. If dangerous mutations were not enough, new findings into the long-term impact of Wuhan virus infections have sparked fresh concerns to the scientists in UK who have been trying to understand the effect of the Wuhan virus on the brain. They have found that even a mild infection could lead to substantial loss of Gray-matter in the brain. British researchers examined brain MRIs of patients before and after they got infected and most of them had mild to moderate symptoms of infection. Their MRI suggested brain damage in areas that help us detect smell and taste like cognitive function and memory formation.

Not everyone will suffer brain damage from the Wuhan virus, but the study shows the possibility can’t be ruled-out and with new mutations, the risk of long-term illness remains in a growing situation.
Canada Easing up Travel Restrictions A little More
By: Pi Overseas Pvt. Ltd.
Tags: Cic News, Canada Immigration, Canada Travel, Pi Overseas, Covid 19

In an official statement, Prime Minister Trudeau said that the government is monitoring and closely monitoring the COVID situation outside as well as inside Canada.

During a press conference, the Prime Minister told reporters that Canada is planning to further relax travel restrictions this summer. He also said that Canada is fully prepared to lift travel restrictions as more people are fully vaccinated.

“We’re talking weeks not months,” Trudeau quoted. He also said that we are definitely positive and hope more good news about reopening will come soon. All of these changes will inevitably depend on vaccination rates, the COVID situation in general, and other countries, Trudeau said.

In the announcement on June 21, candidates who have been vaccinated with full doses will be exempted from 14-day isolation. While some candidates who have recovered from the coronavirus and received their first dose of the vaccine will be considered fully vaccinated in the province of Quebec, they will not be included in this new change.

The prime minister said that the government was so far not ready to make that call but added that experts were currently looking into the matter and hoped for more clear answers in the coming weeks.

For now, the Federal government of Canada has not revealed what metrics it will use before reopening its borders for tourism purposes. The Public Safety Minister said Canada is looking to meet its 75 percent immunization target before reopening its borders. During the meeting held earlier, the Ontario border mayors suggested that all of this be done by July 21.

The Prime Minister has so far not provided an exact date on the reopening of border restrictions.

In summary, it is safe to say that Canada is ready to reopen the travel and tourism industry with some minor precautions. After all this time, candidates can now begin planning their Canada Immigration and make their way to the Canadian landscape.
3-D Brain Tumor Segmentation ERROR
By: Technical Source
Tags: Machine Learning, Programming, Productivity, Covid 19, Matlabsolution

Hi all,

I’m getting the following error running the 3-D Brain Tumor Segmentation example

(https://www.mathworks.com/help/images/segment-3d-brain-tumor-using-deep-learning.html)

Error using trainNetwork (line 165)

Incorrect loss type returned by ‘forwardLoss’ in the output layer. Expected to be ‘single’, but instead was ‘gpuArray’.

The output layer is dicePixelClassification3dLayer. It seems like there’s some kind of error in the definition of that custom layer. Converting to single the outputs of the layer methods didn’t help, same error.

If it’s helpful I’m using r2019a on windows 10 on a i9 9900k + 1080ti.

ANSWER

Matlabsolutions.com provide latest MatLab Homework Help,MatLab Assignment Help for students, engineers and researchers in Multiple Branches like ECE, EEE, CSE, Mechanical, Civil with 100% output.Matlab Code for B.E, B.Tech,M.E,M.Tech, Ph.D. Scholars with 100% privacy guaranteed. Get MATLAB projects with source code for your learning and research.

Hi,

The issue exposed here is related to low GPU memory. That being said, the following error should not be thrown. I have heard that this issue is known, and the concerned parties may be investigating further.

'Conversion to single from gpuArray is not possible'

A possible Workaround:

The attached patch will fix the error mentioned above, in the sense that the above error message will not be thrown if the training process errors out due to low GPU memory. Follow the steps below to apply the patch.

1) Save the attached zip file to your $MATLABROOT folder. The $MATLABROOT folder can be determined by running the ‘matlabroot’ command.

2) Using MATLAB, navigate to your $MATLABROOT folder by executing the command:

cd(matlabroot) in the MATLAB Command Window.

3) Execute the following command to unzip the file:

SEE COMPLETE ANSWER CLICK THE LINK
Meet Ohio’s final Vax-A-Million winners
By: Jaden Jefferson
Tags: Local, Ohio, Covid 19, Health, News

Meet Ohio’s final Vax-A-Million winners

Vax-A-Million logo (Jaden Jefferson)

TOLEDO, Ohio — Wednesday, Ohio’s final Vax-A-Million winners were announced, although this time, none of them were from Northwest Ohio.

Esperanza Diaz of Cincinnati took home the $1 million prize and 13-year-old Sydney Daum of Brecksville will benefit from a full-ride college scholarship to any Ohio college or university of her choice.

“You [Gov. Mike DeWine] congratulated me and was super excited. I’m excited! I couldn’t sleep last night,” Diaz said.

Watch the full story here.

“We were always planning to get her vaccinated, but we were gonna wait until later in the summer to have her fully vaccinated by the time school started. But when you announced the Vax-A-Million lottery, we thought ‘hey, this is a good time to maybe do it now’,” said Jennifer Daum, mother of Sydney Daum.

Since the announcement of Vax-A-Million, vaccinations have skyrocketed, indicating that the incentive was successful, but vaccinations have since decreased following the last few drawings.
Provider visits return to pre-pandemic level for some specialties
By: Valuate Health Consultancy
Tags: Recovery, Risk Management, Product Value, Population Health, Covid 19

Provider visits return to pre-pandemic level for some specialties

Photo by Martin Sanchez on Unsplash

The dramatic drop in in-person ambulatory patient visits to primary care and specialty providers was one of the most immediate impacts of COVID-19. Researchers at Harvard University, the Commonwealth Fund, and Phreesia analyzed the frequency of outpatient visits across diverse specialties and report that total visits have rebounded to pre-pandemic levels — an impressive feat.

Valuate Health Consultancy reviewed the report to identify key takeaways that may affect strategic thinking for manufacturers.

1The analysis highlights that large provider organizations have worked diligently to foster patient confidence by building safe environments during the pandemic. These actions have proven to patients and caregivers (especially older ones) that the value of visiting a practice is greater than the relative risk of contracting the virus. Large organizations that have made bigger strides than smaller practices may have the resources and institutional support for risk management to drive innovative approaches to safety.

2The report suggests that manufacturers should take a close look at why subsets of patients are or are not returning to the office. A substantial drop in in-person pulmonology visits may mean high-risk populations are struggling. Identifying access barriers for the populations that continue to avoid critical provider visits is the only way to improve care. The data suggest that variation exists between younger and older populations as well as between the commercial and Medicare plans.

3Data showed that access to technology may be driving patient engagement with providers. Providers managing COPD, for example, need novel approaches to succeed in the virtual environment with this patient population. In contrast, the shift toward telehealth may be a permanent solution for behavioral health visits

Manufacturers must be just as diligent to restore relationships with healthcare providers: partnership is a two-way street.

The rapid recovery from COVID-19 interruptions reflects the immense work that provider practices have done to push to return to the status quo. Watchful waiting and hopeful thinking that the virus will disappear or run its course equates to lost opportunities to demonstrate a commitment to serve patients at the same level provider partners have shown.

As we work together with providers and integrated delivery systems to care for patients over the next several months, we will look to these reports as a way to target our efforts and restore relationships in ways that reflect current practice patterns by disease specialty, age range, and payer type. When product value is aligned to support the current functioning of diverse clinical practices, we become part of the solution to ensuring access to care for all.

How can we help find your way in to provider partnerships that optimize product value for diverse provider and payer stakeholders?
10k Trainer Redesign UX Case Study: Make Running Social Again
By: Jared Poulsen
Tags: Running, Design, Covid 19, Apps, UX

The Process

Product Research / Competitive Analysis:

I conducted research online, analyzing the design of competitors within the running market. Some of the apps I analyzed were 10k Trainer (of course), Strava, Mapmyrun, and Nike Run Club.

Current 10K Trainer App Design

Nike Run Club, Strava & MapMyRun

This research, coupled with the red routes, helped me develop a hierarchy of my design. I knew what needed to be most important on each screen.

Furthermore, I conducted a lot of research on Dribbble, looking for examples of successful UX/UI design. “What makes this design successful compared to the rest?” was the prominent question that propelled my research.

The overarching theme I found was simplicity. In almost every aspect — typography, layout, color scheme — the most successful designs were the simplest ones.

As Steve Jobs once said, “Innovation is saying no to 1,000 things”. I made sure to take this quote to heart. Simplicity became one of the key features to my design process.

User Stories

User stories are short, simple descriptions of a feature told from the perspective of the person who desires the new capability, usually a user or customer of the system.

User Personas & Red Routes

User Flows

The user personas, user stories, and red routes inform what the user flows look like. User flows are the beginning of the visual design of the app. They simply inform what will be displayed on each screen.

Sketching / Wireframing

My initial paper and low-fidelity wireframes were created to get a basic idea of what the app would actually look like. They essentially work as a rough draft for the high fidelity wireframes.

I created two low fidelity prototypes (shown below the paper wireframes).

These are the two most important screens for the design, so I prototyped these and planned to use the high fidelity versions of each as a template for the other screens.

Visual Design / Prototyping

Finally, it was time to work on the visual design for the high-fidelity prototypes. I went through multiple different color palettes and grid structures before arriving at my final product.
My journey at Salesforce
By: Anurag Shekhar
Tags: Salesforce, Lockdown, New Hire, Covid 19, Futureforce

Introduction

I’m Anurag Shekhar working at Salesforce as a Software Engineer,Associate Member of Technical Staff. I have completed my B.Tech in Computer Science at IIT Hyderabad. Currently, I’m in the data intelligence team in BizTech. I came to know about the Futureforce program during my placement season. Salesforce was the first company that I interviewed with and got selected. Since Salesforce was one of my dream companies, I instantly accepted my offer and I must say I am very happy with my decision.

Smooth On-Boarding

I joined Salesforce when COVID pandemic was at its peak. At that time, I was a bit worried about the joining dates because I heard some news from my friends about their deferred joining dates. Salesforce did an amazing job with their on-boarding. Not only were they on time but all the workstation requirements and accessories were provided well before time given many companies were facing problems due to lockdown. Salesforce even provided additional WFH money so that we could set up our working environment.

Initial Days at Salesforce

I was greeted very well by everyone, be it leadership, managers or Futureforce alumni. Everyone was so welcoming that after 1 week we were talking or chatting like we have known each other for years. Sometimes we as Futureforce used to ask so many questions or doubts but our mentors calmly and patiently responded to our queries.



First, we thought, since everything we were doing was all virtual so we won’t be getting proper training or attending bootcamp. But I was surprised that not only they had organised a bootcamp for us but it was so well-organised that it almost felt that we were in an office. In the bootcamp, almost everything was covered, from the basics of cloud till tax filing session. During our bootcamp, we used to play many games, meet our leadership and in the later half, we used to learn more about how to make a transition from campus to corporate. That bootcamp was really a memorable experience.

Later we came to know about Trailhead and Trailhead playground. I was so amused by the platform that I became a Trailhead Ranger within a month. You can learn all trailhead modules and trailmixes in a fun and interactive way and get rewarded upon becoming a ranger. Salesforce also provides various talent development courses where I used to learn about business behind the cloud, high impact teaming, agile methodologies etc.

Giving Back to Society

Salesforce follows 1:1:1 model. First, I didn’t understand about this initiative by Salesforce. But once I started participating in volunteering events and activities then I got the sense of what this model is. Now I’m a volunteer rockstar, where we have to complete at least 56 hours of VTO. We as Futureforce are participating in many volunteering events like helping small organizations with their dataset, painting together for a good cause etc.

Even though I’m eager to join Salesforce Hyderabad office physically, I will always remember this special lockdown on-boarding.

Signing off, Anurag Shekhar
Leisure Centres and the impact of Covid-19
Tags: Gym, Portsmouth, Breakingviews, Covid 19

The leisure industry has been one of hardest hit areas in the country since COVID-19 hit the UK. As revealed by The Guardian in June, almost 20% of the leisure centres risk being closed for Christmas, putting almost 60,000 jobs at risk. The new three-tier system in place has allowed areas with medium or high-risk cases to remain, but very high areas, such as Liverpool, have enforced the closure of leisure centres.

Photo taken by myself

Steve McFarlane, a duty manager at Everyone Active Bourne, West Sussex, believes that the site has “adapted quite well” but appreciates it took but it has “some getting used to”. The adaptions in question are “hand sanitisers everywhere, viral plus — our cleaning chemical — everywhere” as well as one-way systems, to ensure two metres are followed in the building. When asked about how Steve perceives the impact on the industry, he stated,

“I think it has been affected, not too badly though. The adaptations that we have put into place is probably the biggest effect on it, but I wouldn’t say that there is any struggle to keep going, due to the size of Everyone Active”.

In the event of a second nationwide lockdown, Steve was unsure on how “much the industry could take” but firmly believes that they will “find a way through whatever happens”.

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Center on Halsted: October Update
By: Center On Halsted
Tags: Community, Jobs, Covid 19, HIV, LGBTQ

by: Modesto Tico Valle, CEO, Center on Halsted

We’re just over eight months into the Coronavirus pandemic, and I continue to be inspired by your generosity and thoughtfulness. Since July, you’ve helped us reach 6,461 individuals — from Zoom classes for Seniors to rental assistance through the HIV Resource Hub.

October has always been a time of reflection for me and the Center on Halsted staff. During LGBTQ History Month, we recognize LGBTQ trailblazers, advocates, and allies, like Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Representative John Lewis, who believed in building community and securing safe spaces for LGBTQ people to learn, connect, and heal. Their vision, coupled with your leadership and generosity, has positioned Center on Halsted to provide positive outcomes for our community during these challenging times.

Across all departments, from Silver Fork to HIV to Behavioral Health, our holistic approach to care has calmed fears and provided hope. As more LGBTQ people struggle to find jobs, they seek our support for basic life essentials — food, housing, employment, healthcare, and therapy. Through the pandemic, we have also been reminded of the personal violence and traumas some have experienced at home during shelter in place. We have connected individuals to safer environments and provided additional counseling and resources for their safety. I invite you to learn more about our Anti-Violence Project as we participate in Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

Our masks and social distancing haven’t prevented us from building community. I’m excited to share the resounding success in our first virtual WERQ LGBTQ Job Fair with 30 participating corporations and more than 400 job-seeking registrants. To accommodate the virtual environment, we expanded the event to two days with a total of four sessions. Corporations continue to seek our guidance as they develop diversity initiatives and goals.

“Connecting with companies directly through the WERQ Job Fair allowed me to ask questions about specific positions and built my confidence in applying for jobs that fit my experiences. I was also able to ask about their culture and how they’ve embraced the LGBTQ and Latin communities.” — Carlos, job seeker

Center on Halsted will once again host warm meals on Thanksgiving and Christmas for youth and seniors. As you know, many of these individuals are unstably-housed, have few family members in Chicago, and seek connections. Loyal volunteers have played a key role in creating these holiday moments, and we’re excited to be a place of joy and family.

I want to thank you for staying connected to our work, checking in on your fellow LGBTQ community, and helping us navigate the new normal. In the coming weeks, we will share more about our impact over the past year and our holiday fundraising campaign match.

Modesto Tico Valle

CEO, Center on Halsted
An Emergency Preparation Drill That Could Save Your Life
By: Bruce Fenton
Tags: Disaster Response, Covid 19, Preparedness, Emergency, Pandemic

An Emergency Preparation Drill That Could Save Your Life

This is a drill.

Should you choose to accept this challenge, following the instructions in this drill could save lives and improve your peace of mind and overall security profile.

A great piece on safety from Kraken a few years back started with a premise “Let’s begin with the assumption that within 24 hours your usual mobile phone number will be hijacked by social engineers.”

Similarly, let’s begin this article with a drill: “You have 24 hours to prepare and travel at which point you will be stuck in place for 60 days with limited access to food, medicine, electronics, comms or help.”

What do you do? What do you buy right now? Where do you go? What loved ones or pets do you need to arrange for or help? What unique medical or safety concerns do you have? What about your passwords, hardware wallets, private keys and backups? Do you have hard drives or USBs you need to secure? How will you transport them safely? What if you need to stay in a shelter? How about communications backups?

There are lots of questions and sometimes just asking them is helpful. The time to mentally prepare for any security risk is when there are no problems.

In a hack, natural disaster, crisis or emergency there are several types of people‬

‪Some are well prepared‬

Some are unprepared

‪Some are lucky‬

‪Some are foolish ‬

‪Some are unlucky ‬

We can’t control all aspects of luck, but we can sometimes create our own luck.

One of my favorite business quotes is from Steven Spielberg “Luck Happens When Preparedness Meets Opportunity”. This applies to work but also investing, planning and even survival. Sometimes the luck might be survival itself.

We can also avoid being in the “foolish” or “unprepared” category. In most disasters there are a small number of people who make bad decisions: they ignore warnings from safety professionals, refuse to evacuate or don’t prepare. Inevitably these people are the largest drain on emergency and medical systems.

Preparing not only helps you, it helps those around you. The more prepared the members of a community the less drain on resources in an emergency: less runs on supplies if more people are well supplied, less avoidable mistakes if people communicate and are informed and therefor less drain on the emergency services and better chance of survival for all.

Prepping for emergency is one of the most responsible things we can do.

Some tips:
Simple GPS data visualization using Python and Open Street Maps
By: Leo Tisljaric
Tags: Gps Tracking System, Data Visualization, Pandas, Maps, Python

The goal

The image below shows the goal of this method. There are three main elements that need to be included:

Map image — map in some image format like .png, .jpg, etc. GPS records — records that consist of (latitude, longitude) pairs. Geographical coordinates — conversion from pixels to geographical coordinates.

The final result of the GPS visualization method (Image by: Author)

Data

For this article, a small GPS dataset is used collected with the Columbus V-990 logger that I’ve carried in my pocket for two days. Data is available at the github repository.

It is a simple (latitude, longitude) dataset with around 35000 records and looks like this:

Used dataset (Image by: Author)

Methods

Here, we will go through all the steps needed for this method to work. For the full code, visit the github repository.

1. Get the map

The map can be downloaded from https://www.openstreetmap.org/export. Just choose the part of the map that you need by clicking “Manually select a different area.” Write down the coordinates of the upper left, and lower right corners in this case (45.8357, 15.9645) and (45.6806, 16.1557).

Exporting the OSM map (Image by: Author)

Then export it by using the “Share” button on the right side. Don’t forget to choose the option “Set custom dimensions” and align the view to the selected area.

2. Python code

Importing packages and data:

To draw geographic coordinates on the image, coordinates must be converted to image pixels. Method scale_to_img(gps_coordinate, (image_height, image_width)) takes the GPS coordinates and converts it to image coordinates (pixels) based on the image width and height.

The image below shows the need of converting the geographic coordinates to image coordinates:

Difference between geographic coordinates and image coordinates (Image by: Author)

Right now, we have drawn the GPS records on the map! If you look at the image below, it will look better if there are some other elements, like grid and geographic coordinates.

Visualization of the GPS coordinates on OSM (Image by: Author)

Those extra elements will be added using the matplotlib package:

The final result is here:

The final result of the GPS records visualization using Python and OSM (Image by: Author)

Conclusion

Visualization of the GPS data can be challenging when using a programming language to automate it. There are some interesting Python packages that can be used for such purposes. But, in some cases, it can be hard to install and use them, especially if you have only a simple task to do.

With this article, the simple but effective method for visualization of the GPS dataset was presented. We used Python and the OSM to build a framework. In the article, all the steps were shown, but you can find the full code here: https://github.com/tisljaricleo/GPS-visualization-Python

If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to comment or contact me!

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leo-tisljaric-28a56b123/

References
What is a heat map? Heat maps can be seen often online and much more so since COVID-19, so what are they?
By: Steve Walker
Tags: Data Visualization, Geospatial, Data, Maps, Covid 19

What is a heat map? Heat maps can be seen often online and much more so since COVID-19, so what are they? Steve Walker ·Oct 22, 2020

Heat maps show concentrations of attributes generally focusing on geographic locations on maps. The value of heat maps is that they provide a quick visualisation of what is happening where and under what conditions depending on the use case and the data points. What does it tell you — not much on its own necessarily for single data attributes, but plenty when combined with other data.

Let’s take the simple example of an area where the core data attribute is registered incidents of industrial pollution or waste contamination.

Whilst this is a high-level view, we could drill down to the point at which we could see each notified incident at its “home” location as a single pin. However what more could be added to this attribute which would provide more insight? In this use case, the red pins represent school locations thereby immediately highlighting the risk of schoolchildren potentially being exposed to contaminants.

Are you getting the (literal) picture? By overlaying and/or filtering various data sets we can easily obtain more insights than by just looking at one core attribute. This is the strength of heat maps in contemporary geospatial solution platforms such as Mapcite.
Map clustering with Leaflet
By: Gimhan Wijayawardana
Tags: Leaflet, Markercluster, JavaScript, Maps, Clustering

It’s been two months since I’ve started my internship at Entgra. During those two months, I was able to learn both backend & frontend related things. From the stuff I learned, “Map clustering” was totally new to me. I never had used maps before in a web application. So this mapping thing was really exciting for me. In this blog post, I’ll share my experience on how to do the map clustering using Leaflet.

Before getting into the topic, For those who don’t know what “Leaflet” is, It’s an Open-source Javascript library which is similar to Google maps. It’s really easy to use, 100% free to use and it has almost every mapping feature. You can find instructions on how to setup Leaflet here. At the end of this tutorial, you’ll be able to cluster your map as below

If you’ve already setup Leaflet on your website/web application, You can clone the repository of Leaflet.MarkerCluster. There’ll be two CSS files & a Javascript file named as below

1. leaflet.markercluster.js

2. MarkerCluster.css

3. MarkerCluster.Default.css

Import the above three files into your project. For the tutorial, I’ll add a random map location to the map. This is how you initialize the clustering feature to your project. You can create a javascript file add the below code. You can also change it according to your requirement. Add this code and you’ve got yourself a clustered map.

I’ll include more documents I found interesting and useful for further my development.

Clustering Live Preview

How to use the MarkerCluster plugin

Add custom icons to map

Hope this was helpful and see you soon in another blog post. Keep Coding!