fabiochiu/medium-articles huggingface dataset:
The Nutri-Book App
By: Indu Ravali
Tags: Health Foods, User Experience Design, UX, UX Design, UX Research

All about the project

In today’s busy lifestyle, it’s difficult to find healthy food away from home. If you decide to cook food yourself, you’ll end up getting confused what to cook. Tracking calories and nutrition of home cooked food is tricky, for those who need to keep a track of their daily intakes.

Cook-book is a concept-app designed to provide solution to the problems mentioned above.

My Role

I worked as one of the UX designers on this project and specifically on building up the Diet-planner feature of the app. The entire application was planned by a gathering of individuals. Everybody worked two by two and planned each feature.

The initial research was conducted individually and towards the end all of us worked together. I researched health consciousness in people and the way people used online platforms for planning their diets. With that, I mapped out our strategy for the Cookbook. Along the way, I created information architecture, user flows, wireframes, prototyped functionality.

Design process

Research and Goals

Coming out of research, I arrived at three core goals. The first was to provide a diet-plan. Who has the patience to sit back, search and plan a diet? I streamlined the navigation to get the user to focus on the main features of the app; kept the content focused, timely and relevant.

Finally, it had to be consistent.

Interviews

I conducted four user interviews of people belonging to different age groups and adapting different lifestyles to understand their pain points and their problems in their day-to-day life.

User statements

“I don’t get enough time to plan and schedule diet.”

“The search process for healthy food options is hectic and consumes a lot of time.”

“Tracking calorie intake manually is not possible for every single meal.”

“Finding nutritional values of a recipe or every single ingredient is difficult.”

“Finding the right quantity of food for consumption has never been easy.”

Following all the statements one thing was clear that all the users lacked time for choosing healthy even if they wanted to. Calorie tracking of homemade food was tricky and finding nutritional values was an added task.

Affinity mapping

I organized all the data from the user interviews to an affinity diagram to find patterns and common issues among the users.
Designing a long forms — Pain point for both user and designer
By: Hastyo Listyanto
Tags: Product Design, Form Design, User Experience Design, UX Design, User Interface Design

Long-form can cause frustration for both user and designer. For user it’s intimidating — a lot of user leave the websites without finishing the form. User don’t always have the time and motivation to complete a long-form.

For designer, again, it’s intimidating! In many cases, forms are the final step to the completion of goals. It’s the only thing that standing between page visit and conversion. That’s how important a form is.

Designing a long forms could be intimidating and frustrating

In Santara, a platform where you can register your business to get funding from our investor member, we can’t avoid a long-form. To gather accurate data from business applicants we have to make the application page to be as detailed as possible. Long-form are essential and unavoidable in this case.

So this how we design long-form and improve its usability.

To comply with my non-disclosure agreement, I have omitted confidential information in this case study. All information in this case study is my own and does not necessarily reflect the views of Santara.

Set Expectation Upfront

In Santara business application form, user have to input personal information and legality documents. Before user start to input anything we let user know what document they need to prepare, how long estimated time needed to fill all the forms and make sure that all the information submitted secure and safe.
Quick & helpful Figma tips for designers
By: Linh Pham
Tags: Product Design, Figma, User Interface, User Experience Design, Resources

1. Let Figma do the Math!

The width of this Component should be half of its original width… Let me stop working on Figma, take out my phone, open the Caculator app and type in 139, hit divide icon, then type in 2, then hit “=”….

Yes, I used to have to do that before I knew that you can pretty much calculate anything on Figma. All the numeric values on the right column can be calculated. You can sum, extract, multiply and divide.

Tada, no more calculator.

2. Shift +Arrows: Nudge/Move Layer by 10px

Want to quickly move a Layer up or down? Hold down Shift + Up/Down Arrow and your selected layered will jump 10px instead of 1px.

Question: What if I want the default nudge size to be 8px instead of 10px? You can actually change it to however you want.

Simply go to: Figma Menu > Preferences > Nudge Amount

You can change the Amount of “Big Nudge”

3. Easy Way to adjust Line Height

Line Height doesn’t change after we change the Text Size

Have you ever ran into this problem where you increase your Text Size and all of a sudden your text looks super crowded like this?

Not feeling like guessing what would be a good Line height for the new Text Size? Type in “Auto” and problem solved.

After “Auto” Line height: Tadaaa

4. Copy & Paste Layer Style

To copy a Layer’s Style: Option + Command + C

To paste that Layer Style to another Layer: Option + Command + V

Before

After

5. Show/Hide Ruler: Shift + R

To show/hide Ruler, use this combo “Shift + R” then you can drag a Red Line (Guide) from the Ruler to wherever you want in your Design space.

You can drag as many Horizontal and Vertical Guide lines as you want. To hide all of your Guide Lines, simply hit “Shift + R”

To delete a specific Guide Line, simply click on that specific line, the line will turn Blue. You can then hit “delete” on your keyboard to get rid of that Blue line.

6. Quickly edit Spacing in a group of elements

If you select a group of Elements like the example above, you will see horizontal and vertical pink lines appear indicating that you can adjust the spacing between those elements.

7. Quick Folder Access

At work, we have many different Folders assigned to different campaigns and projects. As we get more organized and more granular, there are more and more folders made. To make things easily, Figma does have a “Add to Favorite” feature. Simply click on the “star” icon and you will see that Folder you just favorited appear on the right column.
[Video] Segmenting The Seven Kingdoms | Game of Thrones
Tags: Market Segmentation, Game of Thrones, Marketing Strategy, Marketing, Digital Marketing

This post was originally published on Hurree.co

Market segmentation is a fundamental tool for any brands looking to see success in our digital world.

Why? Because segmentation is the key to identifying users as individuals — Therefore allowing brands to create products, services, content and communications that are accurately targeted, personalized and valuable to consumers.

But what about in a world where nothing is digital, and everything is fantasy? To put the significance of market segmentation into perspective, we’ve decided to segment the seven kingdoms.

That’s right. It’s Game of Thrones. We’ve taken seven noble families from the lands of Westeros to identify and analyze their unique traits and characteristics.

We have identified the demographic, geographic, psychographic and behavioral information from these 7 great Game of Thrones houses, to exemplify the importance of creating authentic and relevant market personas. So, here are our significant subjects:

House Stark

House Martell

House Lannister

House Arryn

House Baratheon

House Tyrell

House Greyjoy

The dominant characteristics of these families are what define and segment them; their culture, their values, their geographic location, their politics, climate, relationships, wealth, the list goes on.

Segmenting the 7 Kingdoms of Westeros based on their characterizing features demonstrates how market segmentation works in the real world. The importance of identifying and utilizing the intricacies of individuals and market segments is undeniable when creating on-point personas for your genuine users.
Jon’s Message to the DireWolfpack
Tags: Game of Thrones, Direwolf, Cryptocurrency, Technology

I often get asked about how we’re different from the other coins. Well the whitepaper should give you a pretty clear idea, but alas, not all questions have answers in this one document. So I’ll try and express the thought in my own words.

We’re in the cryptocurrency space, but Direwolf isn’t just a currency. Direwolf isn’t a get-rich-quick scheme and it isn’t about winners and losers.

First and foremost, Direwolf is about creating an environment that is safe and encouraging for its investors. It’s about making its investors feel protected, like their investments are actually building up to something bigger. The DireWolfPack is a family, It’s about feeling right at home here helping eachother. We are about creating new friends, and enjoying the journey rather just racing towards the finish line. I hold myself to the beliefs that I feel the community and the North want to value, beliefs that shape the values that define Direwolf. Such as honesty, transparency, trust, equality, altruism, democracy, meritocracy and fairness.

That’s how we stand out from the rest. The $Direwolf token incorporates the values that the community should aspire towards. That is why I have emphasized the word token in the name, it literally is a token and symbol that you’re a proud member of this family, moving towards these shared goals. Everyone is family, if you’re holding on to it, no matter the amount. And every single one of you has a voice in how we move forward as a collective.

When the snows fall and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies but the pack survives.

And that is why the pack is what matters. As we grow and attract others by demonstrating our way of thinking through action, in the true spirit of this token, the value of $Direwolf will adjust to the market demand. Our dream, mission and ambitions should be first, our reward will follow up second. In that order.

Dear wolfpack, let’s stand strong together and keep rising by lifting others. I am so incredibly grateful that you are considering going on this journey together with us and I hope to see you on the other side.

AROOOOOOOOOO!!!!
Alan Wake Remastered game was unveiled
Tags: Game Notes, Games, Game of Thrones

Ramdi Studio director unveiled Alan Wake Remastered in an official post. This news was not unexpected and some retailers had already revealed its existence.

Yesterday, a Taiwanese retailer called Rakuten Taiwan listed Alan Wake Remastered in its online store for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox X / S series platforms. We are now witnessing the official approval of this reconstruction by Ramdi Studio.

The official post does not include technical details, but confirms that Alan Wake Remastered is in the final stages of development and will be available this fall for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox X / S series and PC platforms. Will be available through the Epic Games Store). It should also be noted that this remake will include all additional published content.

Although we do not have official details, the report published by internal sources contains the following points:

Alan Wake Remastered will use the latest version of the Northlight Engine game engine, with which both Control and Quantum Break titles have been developed.

This version uses ray-tracing technology to implement the game’s lighting, which can be seen on the PlayStation 5, Xbox X / S series and PC platforms, but the previous generation consoles could not implement it.

The game will not be released for the Nintendo Switch console. However, it is possible that in the future with the help of cloud processing (such as Control) will be available to gamers of this platform.

The PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions of the game use higher image resolution and quality textures, but will not use orthopedic tracking technology to implement lighting.

Alan Wake Remastered will run at 60 frames per second.

The game is scheduled for release on October 5, 2021.

Alan Wake was originally available exclusively for the Xbox 360 and was later released for PC, and we are now seeing the game release for the PlayStation platform for the first time.
Federal Reserve dead end
By: Nuno Fabiao
Tags: Investment, Federal Reserve, Debt, Money, USA

If you’ve been analyzing the dollar’s macroeconomic structure and the United States monetary system, you get the growing feeling that we’re getting to the end of something that no one knows what it is.

The dollar has fifty years as the main reserve currency in the world. A half-century may seem to be the magic number, but most analysts predict we’re getting to the end of the dollar.

And one of these people is Ray Dalio. One of his phrases did bother me.

For example, if you don’t understand how the Roaring ’20s led to a debt bubble and a significant wealth gap, and how the bursting of that debt bubble led to the 1930–33 depression, and how the depression and wealth gap led to conflicts over wealth all around the world, you can’t understand the forces that led to Franklin D. Roosevelt being elected president. You also wouldn’t understand why, soon after his inauguration in 1933, he announced a new plan in which the central government and the Federal Reserve would together provide a lot of money and credit, a change that was similar to things happening in other countries at the same time and similar to what is happening now. Ray Dalio on LinkedIn

Accordingly to the Congress Budget Office, the U.S. federal budget deficit is projected to be $2.3 trillion in fiscal 2021. This number doesn’t include the $1.9 trillion already issued. Last year was $3.13 trillion.

To put these numbers in perspective, the financial crisis of 2008 forced the Fed to inject money into the banking system to save it from collapse. It was called the TARP — Troubled Asset Relief Program. To save banks, the Fed printed about $700 billion.

At that time, it was a ton of money. People were astonished about the amount of debt the Fed was putting into the system. However, today you compare these numbers, and it seems crumbs.

The problem is that the markets are recovering, but the real economy isn’t. So, the United States of America will keep needing more and more stimulus.

The Keynesian Multiplier is a theory that states that the economy will flourish the more governments spend. Yet, if the governments surpass 90% of their debt-to-GDP, they’re in trouble from a macroeconomic perspective.

What usually happens is that after you surpass 90% of the debt-to-GDP, the more you spend, the less your multiplier is your friend. Meaning, less and less growth will happen as the spending rises. And that’s what’s happening to the USA. The American debt-to-GDP is around 130% right now.

So, how are things going to work from now on?
The ‘what’ and ‘why’ of design debt
By: Alicja Suska
Tags: Product Design, Design, Product Management, UX, Debt

The ‘what’ and ‘why’ of design debt

The ‘what’ and ‘why’ of design debt

Monday afternoon. Kick-off meeting. This new project looks very promising, you may have discovered a niche no one knew about. It turns out, you need notifications. “Great! We have a notification system. It shouldn’t be an issue”, you think. How naive…

A quick exchange of sentences. Everyone realizes you already inform [annoy] your user with toast notifications, notifications feed, and bottom overlays. The list doesn’t end here. Occasionally, you even go so as far as showing full-screen popups if the information is ‘really important’. You also send emails…and use Intercom to better ‘connect’ with your users.

Quite a desperate look.

New notifications don’t fit in the current structure. Even if they were, they would get lost in this noise.

You can go in two directions:

try to fit new notifications in the system you have, play whack-a-mole for the next couple of weeks, and end up with a mediocre solution;

or… take a step back and rethink the whole system and solve this issue for good… but, delay the new feature delivery by 3 months.

If this scenario plays out every time you try to introduce changes, your product is drowning in design debt.
Planning To File Bankruptcy?
By: Milan Kumar
Tags: Bankruptcy, Law, Debt, Lawyers, Houston

So, you are under huge financial debts. Behind on car loan, student loan and mortgage payments & already drained up all the credit cards. While under this huge trouble you got a shock by receiving a termination letter from your employer without any prior notice.

After a few days you started getting calls, emails, letters, messages from the debtors which ten folds the existing stress. Now all you want is to get the hell out of this daily torture.

Luckily, you have an option of filing bankruptcy to get a new life without losing most of your necessary assets like home, car etc. All you need is to choose a right bankruptcy lawyer who is capable of getting you out of this terrible situation.

Mr O.Miller White

Top points to check while choosing Attorneys Bankruptcy in Houston.

Most of the Attorneys offer free consultations, so make sure you use this offer wisely. Few important questions you need to ask during this free consultation meetings to evaluate the bankruptcy lawyer.

Is Bankruptcy specialization?

Filing a bankruptcy petition is complicated. So you should avoid amateure lawyers who have little or no knowledge in bankruptcy laws. It is important that you should hire an attorney who understands every aspect of the law and how he can use it to protect you.

Ask what you should file Chapter 7 or Chapter 13?

Not everyone eligible to file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. So the lawyer has to decide whether he needs to file a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy.

How many cases has the lawyer filed?

It’s recommended to hire a lawyer or law firm who files 30 to 40 cases a year.

Is the lawyer going to handle your case?

Make sure your case is not handled by a paralegal. The lawyer has to be your primary contact and he should work with you from the beginning. As there is so much on stake so the lawyer should know the ins & outs of your situation.

What is the lawyer’s payment structure?

Many lawyers have their own fee structure but some may ask to pay full amount before filing the petition.

What services they offer for the fees they charge?

Basically the attorney fees covers

Helping you in the to determine whether you should apply for Chapter 7 or Chapter 13.

Handling all the documentation

Representing you in the creditors hearing

Suggesting you the expectations and difficulties during the process

If you are in the Lake Houston, Greater & Central Houston, and all Houston Texas metro areas and looking for lawyers to file Chapter 7 near me (you) then contact the Law Office of O.Miller White for the trustworthiness and affordable service. To know more about them please visit today thehoustonbankruptcylawyer.com or call at (281) 257–2477 for free official consultation.
5 Steps to Reclaim Financial Peace of Mind
By: Sasha Doyle
Tags: Money Management, Finance, Life Lessons, Debt, Money

Step 4: Dealing with your debts

Some debts are more important than others, like rent or heating. These are the priority debts to work on. You’re showing good faith in proposing a repayment plan. That will benefit you if your creditors take you to court.

The plan is to use some of the budget surpluses for priority debts while keeping on top of current bills. You’ll also repay some secondary debts, if possible.

Approach each creditor to agree repayment terms. Only offer what you can afford, based on your budget.

There’s no point agreeing on a plan in April, only for it to fall apart in June.

You’ll have to share your budget plan with your creditors if you want them to agree. A professional can help you negotiate. It’s always good to explain the reason for your current position, a sudden job loss, or illness.

Even if creditors don’t accept your proposals at first, don’t give up. Start paying off what you can afford. It’s a gesture of goodwill and will stand in your favour. If it’s all you can afford, for now, it’s better than nothing.

You may have very little left to put towards secondary debts. If that’s the case, your only option is to seek a moratorium, or “freeze” on your debts, until you’re in a better position.

I’m hyper-aware this is such a stressful place to be in. Especially if it’s the first time, you've had serious money trouble. But I’ve seen the process work. It’s difficult, but it’s manageable.

You’ve now got proof you acted in good faith. If your creditors take you to court, all you can do is tell the court the same thing. They can be sympathetic to anyone making a genuine effort.

It can help to have a voluntary advisor with you to confirm your numbers and the repayment offers you’ve made. Keep records of everything. And if your creditors agree to a new repayment process, get that in writing as well.
‘About Debt’ Q&A Series: Debt or Equity — Which is Best to Grow Your Business? (Part 5)
By: Beacon Fund
Tags: Business Strategy, Financing, Entrepreneurship, Debt, Growth Strategy

Our ‘About Debt’ Q&A Series has finally come to an end with part 5, the last article. Thank you to our readers who have been following the series! We hope this series has been helpful for you and we look forward to coming back with new series. This week, let’s learn more about how much a company should borrow to grow their business!

Q Sandra: “Let’s say that I’m an entrepreneur who runs two branches of coding schools and based on market demand I feel like I can open two more centers. How do I know how much I should borrow for my company’s expansion?”

A Chi-Ling: “A company should only borrow as much debt as the cash flows of the company are able to support. Remember we keep saying that all debt is bad debt if you can’t afford it. So companies that have too much debt will find it difficult to grow. This is because of the high cost of servicing that debt. Regular steady cash flows are required to pay interest and principal on the loan and have to be budgeted for. So if you borrow too much debt and you don’t have a plan to pay it back, that turns good debt into bad debt as much as the underlying asset was intended to increase income.

So for us we would need to take a close look at the company’s projected cash flows, we would need to do a little bit of analysis on whether those cash flows could support that service under a variety of downside scenarios. And then we would work out what is the optimal or best level of debt for that company to take on. So if a business has seasonal or fluctuating revenues and they are highly volatile then it is going to be a bit more difficult to guarantee that there is going to be enough cash to meet that service.”

A company should only borrow as much debt as the cash flows of the company are able to support.

<the end>
If I Listened to Dave Ramsey, I’d Still Be Broke and Miserable
By: Ben Le Fort
Tags: Life Lessons, Advice, Debt, Money, Personal Finance

If I Listened to Dave Ramsey, I’d Still Be Broke and Miserable

Image designed by Freepik

Dave Ramsey is viewed by millions as the leading voice on money and debt.

George Costanza famously said, “When you look annoyed all the time, people think that you’re busy.” That’s how I feel about Dave Ramsey. If you yell and rant all the time, a lot of people will listen to you.

Except I didn’t listen to him, and I’m glad I didn’t because if I managed money the way Dave Ramsey thinks I should, I’d still be broke and miserable instead of a happy, productive 33-year-old millionaire.

What Dave get’s wrong about debt

Dave has a simple view on debt: All debt is bad and should be avoided at all costs.

When you hear that, it sounds smart. Especially when the person delivering the message is yelling at you, but when you stop and think about it for a minute, you realize saying “it’s never a good idea to use debt” regardless of the circumstances makes no sense. It treats us like we’re children, unable to make our own decisions in our lives.

I have a different philosophy when it comes to debt: Debt is not evil or even “bad.” It’s simply a financial tool. It has the potential to build and destroy wealth. What matters is how you use debt.

I know that doesn’t make for a great bumper sticker, but it’s served my life pretty damn well to this point.

Debt was my lifeline

The two-year stretch after I graduated college was the most miserable time in my life. My parents were being evicted from my childhood home, I was in debt, had a crappy job, and had low self-esteem. No aspect of my life was trending in the right direction.

Then I did something that would provoke a rant from Dave Ramsey: I took on more debt to go to graduate school.

Taking on $50,000 in student loans was the best financial decision of my life

You might think that’s hyperbole, but it’s not.

The greatest asset you’ll ever own is your human capital, AKA your ability to earn money. Earning money is what makes all other investments possible.

Going to graduate school increased my income by $60,000. Would you pay a one-time fee of $50,000 for an annual payment of $60,000?

Now, of course, that result will not be typical for everyone. In my field (economics), a graduate degree opens up doors that remain shut forever with a bachelor's degree.

Whether or not taking on student loans is a good decision depends on:

How much income you expect to earn after graduation

How much debt you take on (relative to your expected income)

If you enjoy and excel at the work, you’ll be doing after graduation

You need to understand the pros and cons of a risky decision like this, but you can’t simply say no to every opportunity because you’ve adopted an overly simplistic view of debt.
If Money Isn’t Real, Why Do You Have to Pay Back Your Student Loan?
By: Richie Chevat
Tags: Equality, Debt, Economics, Justice, Politics

If Money Isn’t Real, Why Do You Have to Pay Back Your Student Loan?

Instead of thinking of money as something with intrinsic value locked in a vault somewhere, perhaps it’s better to think of it as a license Richie Chevat Follow Sep 6 · 8 min read

These are also “money.” (Image:Wikimedia Commons)

READER’s ADVISORY: This is an essay of personal opinion and should not be construed as legal advice. The author will not be held responsible if you find yourself pursued by collection agencies and your defense is, “some guy on Medium said I didn’t have to pay back my student loan.”

On the other hand, maybe you really don’t have to pay back your student loan. In March 2020, Congress said you could stop making payments. Then you were supposed to start again. Then, in August 2021, the legally, lawfully and fairly elected President, Joe Biden said it was okay to forget about it for now. So obviously, there’s some wiggle room.

Which makes you wonder if Biden might forget about it entirely. I’m not saying he’s senile! That’s a rightwing, racist, Nazi sympathizer lie which I would never repeat. But is it possible that at his age he might be just a little…forgetful? Is it bad to hope he loses just enough neurons so he forgets to tell everyone it’s time to start paying back their loans again? And what would happen if he did?

Nothing. Nothing would happen. Nothing bad, anyway. Just like nothing happened when the government told you to forget it the first time. Nothing would happen, except you wouldn’t have to pay back your student loan!

Although you have been led to believe that your loan repayment schedule is written in stone, a stone upon which rests the entire economic structure of U.S. capitalism, recent events prove otherwise. Stop paying, start paying, it’s entirely their choice.

This is because, like the cost of a Beanie Baby, the price of a share of Gamestop, the value of crypto currency, the existence of works of “art” called NFTs, and money itself, your student loan debt isn’t real. It only exists in our collective imagination.

That doesn’t mean money doesn’t have immense significance or power. It doesn’t mean we can live in a world without it or simply imagine it away. Society is largely organized around our collective agreement about money. But it is merely an agreement. If we realize that money has no fundamental, intrinsic worth, but is in fact, a human invention, then we are free to imagine different ways of using it.

For example, we are free to realize that no, you don’t have to pay back your student loan, as long as enough of us agree that you don’t.
He Died & We Don’t Know How
Tags: Beyourself, Life Lessons, Mwc Death, Death And Dying, Death

Note: This is a personal incident and can be intense, at times.

I don’t know what to write because I’m not in my senses right now, but I’ll try.

My family consists of my grandpa who passed away in 2012, my grandma, 4 of my aunts (Mother’s sisters), and my maternal uncle (Mother’s brother).

3 hours ago, My Maternal uncle who just turned 53, passed away and his death remained a mystery.

His story:

He was a person who was very kind by heart BUT he made a big mistake. A mistake that ruined his whole life. He started to Drink not once or twice in a month or a year but every single day.

No one supported him including his wife (Who never talked to him for nearly 10 years but they lived under the same roof), Son (33), and Daughter(27). Not a single person even tried to support or protect him EXCEPT her mother and her sisters.

Mothers are Mothers.

Her mother supported him every day while his family (Especially, his son) ‘might’ have even killed him, brutally.

My maternal uncle’s family (His wife and son) never even talked to our family (His mother and sisters) for the last 20 years. They were separated from our family. (Why they were separated? It was my maternal aunt’s decision. She wanted all the property in her name but my grandpa, who passed away in 2012, wasn’t ready to give all his property to his son and his wife as he also had four of his daughters, he needed to take care of.)

After my grandpa passed away, my grandma was left with few financial resources. My grandpa was the most affluent of all, but after his death, there was a fight for his property and my grandma gave away some of his own property to his son (My maternal uncle, who passed away) and my maternal aunt to solve the conflicts. Still not satisfied, my maternal aunt never called or talked to us, she completely disconnected from our family.

While my maternal uncle wasn’t offered anything in his own house, as mentioned earlier, he entirely depended on his mother who was left with little financial resources to feed herself and my uncle.

It was hell on earth for him every single day. He died every day. He never got any support from his family. He was never offered even a glass of water in his own house. Separated from them in the same house, He lived in the dreaded heat without food and water, alone in his room.

His mother was the one to cook for him in her house. He came to her mother’s place in the morning and left for his home at night. His mother (my grandma, who’s 75 now) used to bear all expenses of his unemployed son who drunk all through the day, still never lost his cool. He never, let me repeat, never became angry. Instead, He remained content and whenever I saw him, I witnessed a big great smile on his face.

While he was surrounded by struggles, problems, and absolutely brutal people (his wife and son), he never lost his cool and treated them with love.
Beginning an Endless Journey
Tags: Psychology, Death And Dying, Mindfulness, Beginning, Life

Photo by Pablo Heimplatz on Unsplash

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” — Genesis 1:1

This truth comforts me. I hope it does comfort you too; knowing that everything begins at one specific truth. And that all other aspects and subsidiaries of life branched from the same truth.

Life can be scary at times. Or should I say, to be more precise, living life is scary. But the thing is, knowing that everyone feels the same way that I do comforts me. Is that rude? Is something about me off? Whatever. What matters is that we all begin at something, at some point.

Day by day we take a step towards our end. Sometimes, we fearlessly take a leap. Like drinking a whole bottle of vodka, or smoking a whole bunch of cigars, maybe when we decide to eat 17 Big Macs a day. We all have that leaps in life. Because walking can sometimes be boring. Leaping seemed more like an exciting way to go on our way to the end.

So what did you do today? Did you take a step or a leap towards your end?
A Death in the Family
By: Andrew Neuman
Tags: Death And Dying, Japan, Pandemic Reflections

On March 29th, my wife got a phone call from her family in California: Her Tita (aunt) had passed away in her sleep. April 29th would have been her 88th birthday.

Death in the age of COVID is a strangely remote thing: We are not there to comfort the dying by their bedside. The dying die alone for fear of infecting the living, the living stay away for fear of infecting the dying. My wife’s aunt, I should make it clear, did not die of COVID. For her, a lifetime full of physical pain came to its merciful conclusion, freeing her from decades of bearing up under excruciating agony. Our last phone call to her, lasting only a minute or two, was pitiful and awkward as she could barely recognize it was us who was calling her. It was a lesson in always telling your family that you love them — at every opportunity.

In the meantime, other relatives must now handle the business of cremation, burial, and bringing a close to a life no longer lived. With two weeks’ quarantine in the United States and another two weeks upon our return to Japan, we decided to not return to California after talking it over with our family. Time, distance, and disease separate us during a time when we would usually come together.
Pictures
By: Kate Bounds
Tags: Death And Dying, Death, Bereavement, Grief, Grief And Loss

Pictures

So Tiny.

Looking at your baby pics.

Haven’t looked at this photo album since I made it. I made 4 in the months following your death.

I baked – breads, cakes, cookies – but none of it had any taste.

A grayness washed over my life when you died.

A dulling of my senses while sharpening my emotions.

And the pain is brutal.

I do not look back in regret but mostly fondness

and that Longing –

The Mother’s Desire to feel you in my belly again.

To start over – the great dream of middle age

To return to our younger selves but with today’s knowledge. You can’t get experience without time but sometimes both are a bitch.

To give without return.

We do it when our kids are young – then get rewarded by an infant’s smile and a toddler’s kiss – the love from an innocent. Then the kids grow up and the love has to grow also. From perfunctory to preferred. A choice. The metamorphosis of psyche and the physical. Coming to our own conclusions, shaking off our parents, to truly stand in our own. Yes, “in.”

I am coming in to a new version on the Jennifer-Kate continuum and I’ve been watching the changes from my disconnected self I’ve lived in since you died. I’ve spent more time in 3rd party and I’ve wondered if maybe I died and I’m hanging out with “God” reviewing my life play by play. But if I was dead and you are dead, why doesn’t this benevolent omnipotent god let us reunite? Okay, too deep into another thought to follow at this moment…

Looking at the picture after we got home from the hospital, I’m holding you against my chest in one hand, you are so so tiny and I look so so tired. Oh to be that kind of Tired again. Not this heavy cloak of weariness wrapped up in the knowledge you will die in 31 years.

Oh geez. I’m going to vomit…

4/25/2021

www.letterstomygirl.com
VCoL in action: The active observer
By: Theo Dawson
Tags: Learning And Development, Alternative Education, Optimal Learning, Vcol

Effective micro-VCoLing requires that we allow a corner of our minds to stand back to observe ourselves and others as we go about our daily activities. My colleagues and I call this corner of the mind an active observer.

All micro-VCoLs™ include an instruction like, “For the next few days, allow a corner of your mind to scan the environment for…” This corner of your mind is the active observer. In order to micro-VCoL optimally, you’ll need to:

cultivate your own active observer, and

learn how to use your active observer to perform a range of actions.

The ideal active observer

An ideal active observer is able to stay focused on the VCoL task at hand, which can differ from VCoL to VCoL. For example, your observer may be asked to:

Observe inner sensations, states, feelings, or thoughts.

Listen or watch for specific emotions, ideas, or states of mind.

Listen or watch nonjudgmentally (as in active listening).

Scan the environment for specific features.

Notice how information is presented.

Notice relationships or connections.

Notice assumptions or biases.

It may take some time for your active observer to habituate each type of observing.

Differences between the active observer and other types of observers

There are several differences between an active observer and the kind of observers cultivated in mindfulness or clinical therapy contexts:

The active observer may be asked to be neutrally observant, but might also be asked to make judgments.

The active observer may be asked to simply observe, but might also be asked to take action.

The active observer may be asked either to avoid or to take on the role of inner critic or skeptic.

The active observer may play an active role in forming and breaking habits and memories.

People who find it difficult to observe without automatically triggering self-criticism or who frequently engage in unhealthy mental rumination may need professional help with creating a healthy active observer.

Summing up

Cultivating a healthy and versatile active observer is essential for optimal micro-VCoLing. As with any skill, the best way to build active-observer skills is to practice reflectively in everyday contexts—with VCoL.
Day One in ALC4.0 : Start of Webpack Journey
By: Mwadime Makokha
Tags: Learning And Development, Learning To Code, 150daysofalc4, Webpack

I am really excited to have been shortlisted in the Andela Learning Community(ALC) 4.0 scholarship, a great chance to advance my development knowledge, experience and practice.

#150DaysOfALC4

In line with the great challenge of #150DaysOfALC4 and also eagerness to share my dev journey, I am purposing to document my journey in the ALC, and eventually after finishing the learning. Therefore, am starting with what I learnt in day one. I have started with a course in Webpack Fundamentals. Some time back, I had purposed to start learning all about webpack after finishing school work, because I believed I needed to look for a good learning platform or source. However, when I saw the course, with a duration of 2hrs 23 mins,on the ALC track I took the chance; I am not regretting so far.

On day one I have learnt the following:

What is webpack?

I found this medium article really helpful describing Webpack in very simple terms.

Importance of webpack

It helps in minification of code which helps in reducing code size and thus improving site speed thus improving user experience on the site. This minification process involves things like removing spaces in the code,enabling faster parsing of files in the server.

It enables easy error and bug checking in the code especially in large production codebase; a process called linting. We all know how we can be so involved in solving a problem and may overlook some bugs which are lethal in production.

With each passing day, updates on versions of languages e.g. javascript are increased thus browsers have to support the new and old versions of the language thus a need to have a way of making browsers run new versions. This conversion of a language to another either different in type of versions is called transpilation. Webpack helps in easing this process.

It also helps in bundling many files e.g. javascript,css and image files into a small number of files to help reduce requests to server since if no bundling is done that with each file requested the resources of each is served as well, reducing site speed.

I did some basic programming using the webpack build but I will give the basics on a later article since I found the introduction just great enough to be on its own especially for a beginner to webpack like me.

If you have articles,sources or articles that could help me on this journey in learning Webpack please do provide.

Day one of #150DaysOfALC4 was great and am hoping to improve in coding and also documenting my journey here on Medium!
Invaluable Lessons I Learned From A Free Online Challenge
By: Abha Malpani-Naismith
Tags: Comfort Zone, Online Business, Online Marketing, Digital Course, Learning And Development

I’m at that stage in my life where I am eager to learn new things; to grow and challenge myself. Maybe to even step out of my comfort zone again.

It has been a LONG time since I’ve felt this way. And the feeling is invigorating.

I give credit to the project of publishing my book to get me excited about ‘doing’ again. Doing new things, learning, creating, putting things out there.

Hungry to find something I want to spend my time on, I signed up to Jess Glazer’s recent Idea2Income challenge and it was full of SO many ‘aha!’ moments.

With the excessive amount of information we consume every day, it’s hard to find something that sticks. Since I can’t stop thinking about these nuggets of wisdom, I feel compelled to share them:

You have to know where you are, before you decide where you are going: I never think about where I am now, I always think about where I want to be. Just like when looking on a map, how can I know how to get where I want to be, if I don’t know where I am now!? This struck like me lightening.

Your beliefs are the only limits: The only thing stopping you from achieving what you want are your beliefs. “I’m not good enough to…”, “I’m not qualified to…”, “I can’t afford to…”, “No one will listen to what I have to say…” These are not facts. They are your own limiting beliefs. The sooner you recognize them, the faster you can move forward.

You will never be ready: There is never a good time to step out of your comfort zone. It will always be uncomfortable and you will never be ready for it. I always say to myself, when my kids grow up a bit, I will do it — but that could take another 15 years, so yeah, if you really want it, you just have to get on with it.

Nothing happens through osmosis, you have to take action: This struck me again as another bolt of lightning. I am queen of consuming ‘knowledge’. I read online, I read case-studies, I enroll in courses and training programmes and absorb, absorb, absorb. But then, obviously, nothing comes of it. You’ve got to take action. Any action!

There is no such thing as perfection: When taking action, there is no such thing as doing it perfectly. In fact, Jess encourages “messy action”. Messy action is better than no action, and you learn from it.

So, what am I going to do now? Haha, I have no idea but I’ve taken some action by putting this out there, so let’s see what comes next!
Class 6–10 Educational Learning App
By: Rajat Deshwal
Tags: Education Technology, Education, Learning, Ncert Solution, Learning And Development

Class Saathi by TagHive — The Best Educational Learning App for Students of Class 6–10

The world today is a competitive place and our children have immense responsibilities to perform. With exams being a constant source of pressure for both parents, teachers and students, how do we ensure that we cultivate a healthy and independent space for students to learn and enjoy what they do? The answer is simple — download Class Saathi, The best educational learning app for CBSE students of class 6,7,8,9 and 10.

TagHive’s Class Saathi is a comprehensive support based learning platform that encourages students to handle their own learning outcomes outside the classroom while also allowing parents and teachers to participate in this ecosystem and assume the role of the monitor.

Our Class Saathi app, deemed as one of the best apps for NCERT solutions, has endless reserves of mock quizzes, all designed by IITians — the country’s most refined technical minds. Our unique AI system designs and moderates quizzes in such a way that students can transcend levels of difficulty, making them more confident with each stride.

Students can also access video based explanations for STEM concepts over our app.

How to use our best online learning app:

Go to your app store and search for the Class Saathi app. Download and register using any email Id. Enter a world of quizzes, animated teaching guides and success. Our learning solution is currently available only for Android devices.

If you’re looking for a detailed demo for our variants, drop us a line through our infomail. We want to help you leverage the best online learning app, custom designed for NCERT students from classes 6th to 10th.

We, at TagHive, are committed to doing the best for our students and teachers. We would be very happy to address any queries you may have. Feel free to reach us at info@tag-hive.
Function in C Language
By: Raiyan Shahid
Tags: Learning To Code, Software Development, C Programming, Software, Learning And Development

Function in C is a object which has certain functionality to perform a particular task. It is block of statement which perform task.

There are two types of function:

Pre-defined function

User-defined function

Pre-Defined Function in C

Pre-defined Function : Pre-defined functions are already defined and ready made available for use although we can use any predefined function but before using it we must include Header files.

Header files contains definitions of related functions

C provides several types of Header files, some common Header files are :-

Stdio.h :- This header files contains various standard input output functions like Printf, scanf, etc.

Conio.h :- This header file contains various concole input output functions like clrscr, getch, etc.

Goto xy function :- This function set the cursor at the specified position of the output screen.

Example :

goto xy(row, column)

printf (“Hi);

goto xy (20, 25)

printf (“Hi”);

String.h :- This header file contains various string manipulation functions like Strlan, strcpy, etc.

Math.h:- This header file contains various mathematical function like : sin(x) , cos(x), tan(x), sqrt(x), tabs(x), pow(x,y), col(x).

Dos.h :- This header file contain dos base function.

Example : delay

Delay :- This function hold the output of specified micro seconds.

stdLiv.h :- This header file contains various standard library functions.

Example : exit

alloc.h :- This header file contains various dynamic memory allocation like malloc(), calloc(), realloc().

graphic.h :- This header file contains various graphics function like line(), cycle(), rectangle, setcolor(), ets.

User-Defined Function in C

User-defined function : User defined function is defined by the user according to their requirements. The major advantages of user defined function is its reusability and reliability. Using user defined function we can divide large and complex program into several small modules for effective maintanenece.

Example:

void show() — -> Prototype declaration

void main();

{

printf(“In main”);

printf(“go in show”);

show();

printf(“again go in show”);

show();

printf(“bye”);

}

void show()

{

printf(“Welcome”);

}

In user defined function we get three major component:

Prototype Declaration

Calling

Declaration

Prototype Declaration : As we know we can refer anything without its proper declaration. Here before using user defined function we must declare it.

The general format is : return type fucntionname();

Calling : It means to transfer the control from calling function to called function & after the executing of called function control will be again transferred from called to calling. To call a function we use calling statement.

The general format is : functioname();

Declaration : It is used to defined a function. It indicates what operation to be performed by the function.

The general format is : return type functionname() { function body }

Declaration must be similar to the declaration but it can’t be terminated.

Refer — ArzaTechs