fabiochiu/medium-articles huggingface dataset:
Proof of Authority (POA) : Future of Blockchain
By: Rahul Bablani
Tags: Blockchain, Bitcoin, Ethereum

Hi Everybody,

I have been very intrigued by a cryptocurrency project called POA Network (https://poa.network/) and today will be bringing you my insight into why I think it’ll be one of the biggest projects in the years to come. POA Network is an Ethereum-based side-chain that offers an open-source framework for smart contracts which allows execution to be faster and cheaper. POA Network is utilizing Proof of Authority as its consensus mechanism. Lets look into its benefits:

Bridges: Blockchain Without Borders

The POA Team has created the first cross-chain Bridge in their latest DApp built on the POA Network. The POA Bridge is an interoperability protocol that will allow a user to transform their own (POA) Native Tokens from the POA Network onto the Ethereum network (POA20) in a quick and cost-efficient manner. By connecting blockchains with these bridges you allow for a variety of new use cases that never existed before. I truly believes cross chain bridges is a critical step in the right direction to solve the problem of scalability and connectivity.

Check out the Bridge: https://bridge.poa.net/

Governance: Creating a Trusted Network

POA Network’s proof of authority model creates a public system of ethical and accountable governance. Network validators are required to obtain a US notary license before they are considered for the core network. Each validator must use the network’s “proof of identity” decentralized applications (DApps) to prove their identity and notary status. In the POA network, these individuals stake their identity in order to secure the network. Each validator’s information (name, address, notary license) is transparent and publically available. This creates additional incentive for them to work in the best interests of the network.

In the POA network, validators propose ballots and vote on these ballots through the governance DApp. Validators practice self governance, and a majority decision is required for any ballot to pass. Currently there are 17 validators on the network (with plans for 25), meaning a ballot currently requires 9 votes to pass. Once a decision is made, it is written to the blockchain and becomes an official mandate of the network.

Explorer: Addressing Current Shortcomings

The POA Explorer addresses all the shortcomings of the current Explorers out there.

The table above shows the ambitious set of features that POA plans to have as a part of their project. The POA Block Explorer will have features that will benefit both POA Network as well as the Ethereum Ecosystem. Many Ethereum Forks and Sidechains face the same problem, there is no explorer that currently supports verifying and interacting of smart contracts. This is a crucial step in pushing the industry forward.

Check out the POA Explorer: https://poaexplorer.com/

You can buy POA Native Tokens on Binance for a great price today!

Thanks,

Rahul Bablani
Donkey’s Quest
By: L Kelley
Tags: Short Story, Storytelling, Lessons, Animals, Childrens Stories

Photo by Daniel Burka on Unsplash

“Hey, Donkey, where are you going?” asked Spider.

“Don’t bother me; I have important business,” Donkey replied importantly.

“What business?” asked Spider.

“None of your business,” was Donkey’s curt reply.

“Hey, Donkey, what’s your hurry,” asked Raven.

“I have important business and I must get there,” answered Donkey, sounding a little out of breath.

“Hey, Donkey, you look exhausted,” said Wolf.

“I have important business, but it’s weighing me down,” replied Donkey. “I’m not sure if I’ll get there.”

“Where are you going?”

“Well, I’m not sure,” said Donkey, pausing long enough to get a drink of water. “But I know it’s important.”

“How do you know?” asked Horse, who had also stopped for a drink.

“Can’t you see what I’m carrying?” asked Donkey with frustration.

Raven flew in and landed on Donkey’s back, but not really on his back because his back was covered with bundles of something. “What is all this?” he asked.

“Can’t you tell?” said Donkey with exasperation. “Can’t you see how important they are?”

“No,” said Raven.

“No,” said Horse.

“No,” said Wolf.

“No,” said Spider, who had just crawled over.

“Oh, please,” said Donkey. “It’s so obvious. It’s great works of literature, all the important classics, all the wonderful words of men.”

“Do you read?” asked Horse.

“Do you understand them?” asked Wolf.

“Do you get anything out of them?” asked Raven. And Spider just tapped his eight legs and looked puzzled.

“Well, no,” replied Donkey, answering all their questions at once. “I don’t read them or understand them. I just carry them.”

“But what’s the point?” asked Wolf. “If you’re weighted down with stuff you don’t read or understand, what’s the point?”

Donkey didn’t reply. He was tired and sore from carrying these great works, and he didn’t have an answer for their questions. But it was what he did, what he had always done, and he didn’t know any other way. So, with a sigh, he just moved on and left the other animals wondering at his stubbornness, his inability to see that just carrying things is not the same as absorbing and benefiting from their message.

As the Quran tells us: The example of those who were given the Torah then failed to uphold it is like the donkey carrying great works of literature. Miserable indeed is the example of people who rejected GOD’s revelations. GOD does not guide the wicked people. [62:5]
Medium: Fiction Publications
By: Stevie Adler
Tags: Lists, Medium Publications, Listicles, Fiction, Medium

Pexels

Medium: Fiction Publications

List Medium Publications showing fiction

— — May 2020 — Completely Revised — —

Listed are all publications on Medium, that I have found, showing at least some fiction or poetry, ordered by number of followers.

Added to and updated continuously.

Notes:

[ 2017 ] — year of the most recently published story when it is not 2020.

SF-Science Fiction

FSF-Fantasy, Science Fiction

FSFH-Fantasy, Science Fiction, Horror

col 1 — Number of Followers

col 2 — Publication Name and link to Home Page

— — —Some journals have a link to a Review in the editor’s own words.

. . . 1 . . . . . . . . 2 . . . . . .

To be Listed, each Publication must:

Publish some fiction or poetry or both, and,

Have at least 3 different writers published, and,

Have at least 25 followers when listed.

Well over 100 active publications listed, plus some inactive.

No doubt we have missed a few so please let us know via the comments.

Personal Publications

One of the requirements for a listing is at least 3 authors must be published in each journal, so this excludes personal publications, some of which are very good.
Introducing The Feature Crunch
By: Sam Jenkins
Tags: SaaS, Startup, CRM

The Feature Crunch is a new segment that we are launching where we hope to give you our insight on specific areas of TutorCruncher.

Our whole philosophy is to give you tools which allow you to offer your clients a more sophisticated service whilst reducing the amount of time you spend on your administration. Instalments of the Feature Crunch seek to demonstrate different ways in which this can be achieved.

Take a look at our first ever Feature Crunch where we take a look at the Client Pipeline: a tool designed to help streamline your sales and conversion processes.

Don’t forget to subscribe to our channel for future segments on the Feature Crunch!

We would love your feedback on this, so let us know what you think. If you have suggestions of future areas which might be Feature Crunch-worthy, then get in touch with sam@tutorcruncher.com.
Dissolving
By: Vixen Lea
Tags: Alcoholism, Recovery, Poetry, Free Verse, Chemistry

an unlikely molecule

perpetually stable yet

continuously morphing

without you

we are no better than Brother Mars

shrunken and dusty

imagined river beds like scabs

across his mummified plains

you have reigned

with a fair and firm hand

dousing fire and nurturing earth

hammering down justice

in swift torrents and gulping tsunamis

you journey softly through bodies

and carve un-apologetically upon rocks

demanding fluidity and

seeking equilibrium

just two gasses

sharing a covalent secret

collecting the memories of millennia

— — — —

there was a time when

your absence

would wake me at night

parched and pounding

tongue throbbing

stomach rolling

you were

everywhere

yet nowhere

clinking cubes in glasses

swirling round the toilet

streaming from these eyes

but you

didn’t belong to me

in the morning

my throat would close

shrunken and dusty

I tried to sip from the tap

my family watching

as I gagged in the sink

— — — —

here we are again

Phase Change

you and I

particles dissolving

an unlikely molecule

just two gasses

sharing a covalent secret

freeze. thaw.

boil. condense.

ebb. flow.

drench. erode.

drown. revive.
2019 for Voltaire
By: The Voltaire Team
Tags: Trading, Blockchain, Cryptocurrency, Cryptocurrency Exchange, Bitcoin

2019 is here. You might have noticed that we’ve been relatively quiet during the so-called ‘crypto winter’. That’s because we’ve had our heads down building new and exciting features for Voltaire. In this blog, we’re going to briefly summarise what lies ahead.

New Pairs are imminent

Starting from next week, we’ll be integrating three new currencies to Voltaire: Bitcoin SV, Litecoin and Ethereum. These are reflected by the availability of three new markets:

BSV/BCH LTC/BCH ETH/BCH

We’ve chosen to make these currencies available because we’ve observed that they are the most demanded by our users and the wider crypto ecosystem.

Needless to say, any users who held Bitcoin Cash on Voltaire during the latest hard fork will receive a 1:1 pay-out.

Voltaire Cashback

Another exciting development is the introduction of Voltaire Cashback. Exchanges have tried various schemes to reward users over the years, with mixed success. We’ve introduced an innovative fee structure which pays out 0.2% cashback on every maker order you place. That means you’ll get an extra 0.2% of whatever you’re trying to acquire.

As an example, if you place an order to buy 1 BTC, you will have 0.002 BTC (0.2% of 1BTC) deposited into your BTC balance once the order is filled. The order must be a maker order, meaning it is not immediately filled when it’s placed.

Your Cashback that you receive will always be in the cryptocurrency you are acquiring. If you make a trade to buy ETH (therefore selling BCH), the cashback reward you receive will be in ETH.

Cashback will be live in just 14 days. We’ll release a blog with more details soon.

The launch of Voltaire Foundation

We’ve been thinking and speaking about this for a while. We’ll be donating 5–10% of monthly profits to exciting projects in the BCH ecosystem. Specifically, those that help drive adoption and use of Bitcoin Cash.

A fiat gateway, margin trading and advanced trading tools

We’ll be adding in a fiat gateway allowing users in certain jurisdictions to deposit and withdraw fiat. This is the next step in Voltaire’s mission by connecting the legacy banking system to cryptocurrency.

A quality margin trading product has to come with strong liquidity. We recognise this will longer and will keep you updated.

We also expect to work on creating a more enhanced trading experience for our more advanced users.

And not forgetting 0-conf deposits. The aim is for Voltaire to be the fastest exchange in the world to make a trade.

Continuing the mission of seeing daily electronic cash transactions a reality.

This is the ultimate goal. We will partner with great organisations that will help accelerate our vision: names like Bitcoin.com and HandCash.

Happy trading.

— The Voltaire Team
The most important news of the cryptoindustry
Tags: Cryptocurrency, Ethereum

1. Western Union tests Ripple technology ENG

Western Union began testing cross-border transfers based on XRP cryptocurrency.

According to Molly Shi, senior vice president of Western Union Digital, the company is trying to remain competitive and as efficient as possible. Moreover, employees of the company admit the possibility that the future of the industry will be cryptocurrencies oriented.

“When you think about cryptocurrencies, the first thing that comes to mind is that you need to be ready for their takeoff. We need to be prepared for this from a technological point of view, ”she shares her thoughts. “We must constantly identify trends that customers are paying attention to and ensure that they are ready to meet their needs.”

2. New vulnerability of Constantinople hard fork

According to Trustnodes, another vulnerability was discovered in the Ethereum network in a hard fork. This vulnerability affects some smart contracts with a self-destruct function. The Create2 function is able to replace a self-destruct contract, changing the rules so it could potentially lead to loss of funds. The forthcoming removal of the bug should not affect the launch date of the Constantinople hard fork, which is scheduled for February 26–28.

It is worth mentioning that in the middle of last month, the Ethereum network upgrade was also postponed due to the EIP-1283 vulnerability, which could enable fraudsters to steal users’ funds.

3. Huobi US launched new trading pairs

The US division of Huobi launched trading pairs with a dollar (USD), which was reported on the company’s website. Now verified users can trade Bitcoin, Ethereum and USDT paired with the US dollar. Support for this function has been implemented through the partnership of Huobi.com with the Prime Trust escrow-service. thanks to which users can deposit/withdraw funds in fiat currency, starting from $100.

4. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey Believes in Bitcoin

Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter and Square, reiterated his position regarding Bitcoin, saying that the only cryptocurrency he owns is BTC. Bitcoin is resilient. Bitcoin is principled. Bitcoin is native to internet ideals. And it’s a great brand,” — wrote Jack. He mentioned that Bitcoin has every chance of becoming the number 1 Internet currency. According to him, “it (Bitcoin) has the greatest chance of being the Internet’s native currency. If you think of the internet as you would a country, that’s huge.”

5. Gram Could Be Worth $29.5 Billion

By the end of 2019, the cryptocurrency Gram from the creators of Telegram can reach a market capitalization of $29.5 billion, which will bring considerable income to its investors.

The Bell declares that the forecasts made by Hash Crypto Investment Bank said that “the rational cost” of a single Gram is $5.9. This price is 4,4 times higher than the price investors paid during the second round of the ICO.

The TON blockchain platform allows solving problems associated with the use of a variety of terms, including “infinite sharding” and “hypercube routing”.
暗号通貨市場のHerfindahl-Hirschman指数（Dec/5/2017版)
Tags: Bitcoin, Cryptocurrency, Japanese

in Both Sides of the Table
How to Make $10,000 Writing in a Day
By: Jm Miana
Tags: Humor, Freelancing, Writing, Money, Creativity

Photo by Jason Leung on Unsplash

Most writers wonder how to make thousands of dollars with writing, and this place is full of advice on how to earn big from writing, but while some advice here is well-intended and more or less accurate, it fails at providing the best advice for that.

Most of them are overly complicated or just take too much time and leave us frustrated, but earning a little bit of extra income is way easier than it looks.

You only have to follow these simple steps if you want to earn $10,000 in a day.

Get up early, take a shower, put on some fragrance, and have a nutritious breakfast. Choose a nice outfit for the day. You want to choose something stylish and dark, as it will make you look better for your task, and you will feel confident. Get out of your home and go for a walk. Going for a walk is a proven way to inspire your creativity. Do not forget your face mask. After walking for a few minutes, meet with some friends, meeting with friends will raise your dopamine. Drive together to the biggest city Bank, and do not forget to put on your face masks, remember the Covid measures. Show the teller at the bank what you have written earlier. It should look a bit like this.

Credit: Author

Done! Thanks to this little tip, you will turn your writing into profit in no time. And if by chance it goes wrong, you will not need to pay the rent for the next years.
Coming Soon: Trade Decentraland items with WAX Tokens
By: Wax Io
Tags: Blockchain, Cryptocurrency, Ethereum, Cryptocollectibles, Bitcoin

We are excited to announce that items for virtual reality platform Decentraland will soon be tradable with WAX Tokens on OPSkins!

This addition is different from other ERC-721 tokens that we’ve added in recent months because Decentraland is a decentralized virtual reality platform which allows users to create, experience and monetize their content, games, and applications. Decentraland’s mission is to create a virtual world that is owned by its inhabitants.

Decentraland is made up of thousands of 10 square meter parcels of virtual space. These parcels are represented by LAND, a non-fungible token, and are identified using cartesian coordinates. LAND owners can build and publish 3D content and applications, such as Ethereum games, on their LAND. Each parcel of LAND is unique since its geographic location and distance from the center of the virtual world play a large role in determining how much foot traffic (and visual traffic) it gets.

The LAND is tracked on the Ethereum network using non-fungible ERC721 tokens, which can be bought and traded on OPSkins.com with WAX, bitcoin, Ethereum, and fiat currency.

“Blockchain-based non-fungible virtual items add an exciting and lucrative new concept to the cryptosphere,” said Malcolm CasSelle, CIO of OPSkins and President of WAX. “Decentraland is helping further establish the Crypto Collectible marketplace, which OPSkins and WAX are excited to be key players in developing. The integration of Decentraland onto the OPSkins platform creates additional utility for WAX Tokens and incentivizes more players to join the ecosystem.”

Decentraland’s non-fungible ERC721 tokens will be the latest to be added to OPSkins and tradable with WAX Tokens — the first was CryptoKitties in December 2017, and there are more to come. OPSkins is becoming the go-to marketplace to trade Crypto Collectibles. OPSkins boasts over two million weekly transactions on its platform, has millions of active customers and adds 200,000 new users each month. WAX allows anyone to create a virtual goods marketplace, onboarding millions of gamers to the growing cryptocurrency space.

Join the discussion on Telegram at https://t.me/wax_io
La ventana de Overton
By: Edgar Henríquez
Tags: Culture, Política, Ideas, Overton, Mundo

in Both Sides of the Table
10 More Tricks to Appear Smart in Meetings
By: Sarah Cooper
Tags: Office Culture, Humor, Satire, Meetings

If you’re trying to get ahead in the corporate world, appearing smart in meetings should be your top priority. This can be hard if you find yourself daydreaming about Mexico, margaritas or queso cheese dip.

If this happens, keep one of these tricks in your back pocket so you always look like you know what everyone’s talking about even though you definitely do not.

If a technical term is used, stop the person and say, “I think some folks here might not know what that is, could you explain it for them?” or “I think we might have different interpretations of that word, can you describe how you’re using it?” This way you look like you’re trying to get everyone up to speed, and you can finally figure out what that technical term means.

Anytime you hear a multi-word phrase, turn that phrase into an acronym on the fly (OTF) and repeat it back to them. This works best with three-word phrases such as “point of contact” (POC), “public relations nightmare” (PRN), or “product management system” (PMS).

No one looks like they have more on their plate than someone with sticky notes all over their laptop, am I right? What do those sticky notes say? What do those bullet points and double underlines mean? It means you’re important.

Have you ever been in a meeting where someone was told they weren’t needed? It’s the most embarrassing thing ever. It’s also a great thing to do to someone you don’t particularly like. After they arrive, wait until just after the meeting starts and point to that person. Let them know they can leave because they really aren’t needed. This power play will get you through the rest of the meeting looking like a real VP.

Slide decks are only as great as their giant, useless appendixes, so make sure yours has a ton of useless, not even remotely relevant slides in it. You’ll look like you really did your research.

When someone says we’re conflating two issues, don’t you immediately think they’re smarter than you? I know I do. I don’t even know what conflating means but I know once I say it, it’ll be impressive, and definitely accurate.

If you’re ever struggling for something to say, just take a noun and verbalize it. Using simple words in new and interesting ways will creativize your presence.

No one should ever be able to predict if you’re going to like or approve of anything. You know, like how it is with CEOs. The best way to fake this is to randomly alternate between agreeing and disagreeing. You’ll be perceived as a mystery and everyone will be on the edge of their seats wondering what you’re going to say.

People who are never surprised by anything always seem wise beyond their years, don’t they? By saying things are “pretty obvious,” you make it seem like you saw it coming all along, and have more experience than anyone else in the room.

Show your coworkers you really care about what happened in the meeting by asking for an email summary, but also show them how valuable your time is by making it clear someone else needs to do this.

Check out the original 10 Tricks to Appear Smart in Meetings here.
A Wild Flower
By: Ronald C. Flores-Gunkle
Tags: Nature, Weeds And Wildflowers, Photography, Gardening, Flowers

I planted them in the yard to enjoy their profusion of orange and yellow blossoms and because of their hardiness. Their roots thrive in the hard soil there and the stalks resist the occasional gusts of tropical wind. I have been gathering the seeds (they have many!) from my favorites and am tossing them about my property where they grow easily. They love the full sunlight — which, in miniature, they rival!

Cosmos sulphureus dressed in orange

The flowers were almost all orange, with eight single or double petals. At first, I rarely saw one in yellow, but as a result of my selecting and sowing the seeds from the yellow-flowered variety (my favorite), that “weed” is now beginning to dominate. I understand there is also a red blossom and I hope to add it someday — I’ll have to go out the gate when the pandemic is over and try to locate one!

I took the photo above and posted it to Bing’s Name That Plant and got this:

Cosmos sulphureus is a prolific seed-producing annual herb considered native to Mexico and northern South America. It grows to two metres tall, and sports very attractive heads of yellow flowers. There are numerous popular cultivars of C. sulphureus in the international horticultural trade, resulting in its wide and intentional spread by humans.

On WIKI I learned that “The plant is tolerant to drought after germination, and is seldom subject to insect or disease damage; this vigor is attested by its status as a pest in some areas of the United States.”

I also learned that it has many uses: its young shoots are a popular food item in Indonesia, its flowers produce a bright dye used in Pre-Columbian America and in Africa to dye wool — and they are served in salad and herbal tea in various countries — and they may be a potent natural medication.

So, nature is kind and generous. My neighbor’s weed — and someone’s pest — is a welcome addition to my garden and my house (the flowers do well in vases when cut) and a boon to busy butterflies and bees.
Ways to Improve the PS5
By: Mark Ramsey
Tags: PS4, Twitch, Ps5, PlayStation, Discord

in Both Sides of the Table
Day 24 — $1636 USD gained
Tags: The Experiment, Request Network, Cardano, Cryptocurrency, Bitcoin

[vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3"][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1" background_hover_color_opacity=”1" width=”1/1" tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default”][vc_column_text]If you don’t know about the “buy and hold 100 crypto for 5 years ” click here[/vc_column_text][divider line_type=”No Line”][vc_column_text]Day 24, the current gain is $1636 USD or 0.12 BTC

Best coin of the day is Status (SNT) with a gain of 64.65 %, the worst one is Potcoin (POT) with minus 8.17 %

We have a new crypto on our top 5, Request Network (REQ), who gained 54.92 % since yesterday and 459.38 % overall.

Top 5 cryptocurrencies so far :

Verge (XVG) 2252.36 % , from $9.62 to $226.29 Tron (TRX) +1039.57 % , from $10.04 to $114.37 Ripple (XRP) +775.45 % , from $9.75 to $85.34 Cardano (ADA) +597.03 % , from $9.57 to $66.71 Request Network (REQ) +459.38 % , from $9.91 to $55.41

A recap of all the 100 Cryptocurrencies and how they are performing against USD

Balance by day in USD

Balance by day in BTC

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]

I made a tutorial on how to start your experiment : [insert page=’how-to-run-the-experiment’ display=’link’]

Otherwise in short this is how I started the experiment :

Got $ 1000 USD in Bitcoin from Coinbase (It’s probably the fastest way to get some, they accept debit cards and it’s almost used worldwide)

Used part of the Bitcoins to buy the other cryptocurrencies/altcoins

I used Binance , Kucoin and Hitbtc to buy most of the cryptocurrencies

All the others on Mercatox , Cryptopia

Another part on Bittrex

Added all the trades on Cointracking.info

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Concourse Update (June 21 2019). The Concourse team had the opportunity…
By: James Ma
Tags: Concourseci, Continuous Integration, Continuous Delivery

I got a need, a need for speed (and parallelized input streams)

The Concourse team had the opportunity to visit some Concourse users out in Montreal last week. We had a blast meeting everyone, including some folks from the Concourse OSS community. Thanks again for hosting us!

I’ll also be in Kansas City for two days next week to meet some other Concourse users as well, so give me a tap on Twitter or Discord (username jama) if you wanna meet up.

Parallel Input Streaming

initialization dropped from 1 hour 22 min to just over 4 min

In addition to the work on Algorithm improvements from the Core track, the Runtime track tested out their new work on Parallel Input Streaming. By parallelizing the input streams we saw a massive improvement on the initialization of tasks in our test pipelines. In our test we saw Dwayne Forde’s Strabo pipeline (which has over 100 input resources on a job) go from a 1 hour, 22 min initialization to just over 4 min. We were able to observe these results on both the BOSH and k8s deployment of Concourse. Exciting work!

Runtime Interface Track

For those who are interested, you can follow along our swappable runtimes (including k8s) work in the Runtime Interface track . We’ve been doing a lot of planning and research, but its all come down to “lets just give it a shot”. We’ll probably have more to say on this next update.

Release Engineering
Facts Versus Fiction
By: Uday Dandavate
Tags: Design Research, Ethnography, Storytelling

Last night I had the opportunity to listen to two inspiring people: Ruchira Gupta, an activist against human trafficking from India who was in attendance to speak about her book, “River of Flesh and other stories: Prostituted Woman in Indian short fiction” and Alice Walker, American novelist, short story writer, poet, and activist whose most well known book is “The Color Purple”. Both of them spoke with passion and conviction about what it means to be a woman in a patriarchal society. One important aspect of activism they mentioned changed my views about facts and fiction.

With conventional wisdom and as a researcher I look for facts over fiction while making up my mind on critical issues. My clients often trust facts or data than narratives. However, Alice and Ruchira brought a new perspective to my awareness and helped reaffirm my belief in importance of story telling in driving change.

Alice Walker talked about the importance of Ruchira’s book of fictional stories from the life of abused women. The stories have aspects of real life experiences of several women consolidated into stories written around lives of fictional characters. The format of fiction invites a reader to find a piece of the story that they can relate to and reflect over without first trying to filter the the facts and question the authenticity of the story. I learned at this event that a fiction is allowed easier entry into a reader’s awareness than factual account of a controversial issue or behavior. For an activist this is a very effective tool for communication.

Ruchira presented a similar perspective when she said, “Facts alienate whereas fiction connects”. Her point was (not exactly in her words) from years of experience championing the cause of abused women, she has found story telling critical to cultivating empathy and nurturing willingness to change. Fictional accounts help generate empathy, whereas presentation of cold facts separates emotion from understanding, making it hard for the reader to empathize with the abused woman, especially if the reader is a man.

Consider this- Ruchira is an invitee to United Nation’s Task Force on Human Trafficking. She regularly attends working groups where facts about human trafficking are presented and actions formulated. She remains committed to the monumental challenge of changing societal attitudes towards abused women. In this task she finds story telling and fiction writing more impactful than mere presentation of data.

For those of us, who are dedicated to inspiring change by cultivating and changing minds, the perspective on importance of fiction over facts is insightful. Social scientists in design have played a big part in making us aware of story telling as a part of getting our clients to reconsider their preconceived notions and align better with the life of everyday people. We often have to juggle our presentations between hard data and narratives. Yesterday’s event makes me more comfortable with the idea of writing provocative scenarios around fictional characters in order to inspire change.
How to Become a Walking Alarm clock
By: Alamiin Si
Tags: Time, Productivity, Time Management, Self, Creativity

How to Become a Walking Alarm clock

Simple strategies to better manage your time

Photo by Mia Moessinger on Unsplash

It was five years ago but felt like yesterday. What people say about time flying is true. I know that now. My experience getting ready for school as a freshman remains undistorted on my mind. I can feel it. I can see it.

My mother would always make a cup of tea for me, and as much as I hate to take anything early in the morning, I will sip the hot liquid. “It is bad luck to go out before eating anything,” she would say. Neither did she backed this statement with reason nor fact. And it doesn’t matter, for I was — and still am — ready to give her that satisfaction, even at the expense of my discomfort.

As my days passed through college, everything began changing. Spending more than half of numerous nights preparing for a test, or working on my computer compiling a report; I would wake up some days very late and barely preparing well for school.

It became harder to include chunking (or gulping) a steaming tea on my morning schedule before catching the 40 minutes ride to my campus.
Lost Wager
By: Harley King
Tags: Poetry, Gambling, God, Heaven, Salvation

Lost Wager

A Spiritual Poem

Canva-Photo by Burak K

God lost

a wager

that He made

with me

about the salvation

of my soul.

I have

escaped the chains

that bound me

to this earth

and have taken

flight into

the heavens

where God

welcomed me

with open arms.

Sometimes what

is lost is never

found. Sometimes

what is found is lost.
Where You Can Listen to Our Podcast
By: Jay Gerhart
Tags: Design Thinking, Disruptive Innovation, Podcast, Jobs To Be Done, Innovation

There are many ways to listen to A Sherpa’s Guide to Innovation, whether you are an Apple/iOS or Android user. If you subscribe on your favorite platform, then it’s really easy to stay up to date! We typically post a new episode every two weeks, usually Thursday evening.

Currently, we are on Apple Podcasts/iTunes, Google Play Music, iHeartRadio, SoundCloud (more recent episodes only), Stitcher, Spotify, and TuneIn.

You can also listen from our hosting site, Buzzsprout. See below for links.

TuneIn has Alexa integration, so when you enable the TuneIn Live skill for your Echo or Echo Show, you can say “Alexa, play the podcast A Sherpa’s Guide to Innovation”

If you have an Echo, you can also enable your AnyPod skill, and say “Alexa, ask AnyPod to play A Sherpa’s Guide to Innovation.” This is a bit hit or miss at this point — speak carefully — she has a hard time understanding “Sherpa’s”.

Apple Podcasts/iTunes:

Google Play Music:

iHeartRADIO:

Stitcher:

Spotify:

TuneIn:

Buzzsprout:

SoundCloud: (Only the most recent episodes)
BOS Platform Plans and Progress
Tags: Tech, Blockchain, Cryptocurrency, Ethereum, Bitcoin

Organizational Structure

The BOS Platform Foundation(BPF), a non-profit foundation in Zug Switzerland, is the entity that supports the BOScoin project and manages the fund for projects budgets. The BOScoin Fundraiser will be conducted under this foundation. BPF will fund the project to achieve its milestones, build the decentralized ecosystem around, and nurture the community around world.

BlockchainOS(BOS) is a for-profit company based in South Korea that delivers the BOScoin development and builds potential businesses on top of the BOScoin platform. BOS, as the first proposer of this project, will develop the platform and ontology protocol so that anyone can utilize the protocol without any limitation. BOS also has a plan to set up research centers in several cities (e.g. SF in USA or London in England) and bring great developers into BOScoin projects to work globally.

Stardaq is a for-profit company that is incorporated in South Korea and also the name of the application service on top of the BOScoin platform. Stardaq is a prediction market where people can bet on public figures by setting a long or short position. This service will use Stardaq Dollars which will be proportionally convertible with BOScoin tokens. It has a goal to be a service that has one-hundred-million active users.. Stardaq has tested its mobile application alpha version and will launch a service globally first in English, Chinese, and Korean.

Delicracy, short for Deliberative Democracy, is a collective decision making tool where people, politicians, or market researchers can conduct surveys to get reliable statistical and qualitative results. This tool works by placing bets on a set of proposals. This type of system can help promote transparency and participation for decision-making processes in organizations large and small.

The above three organization will support the BOS Platform Foundation(BPF) at the initial stage to bootstrap the ecosystem and increase the value of the network. While BPF focuses on delivering the promised developments and milestone as well as increasing the value of the network. Independent project proposals that contribute to the ecosystem will also be given the opportunity to get voted on Congress and funded by Commons Budget if passed.
Six high-end campaigns that will give you wings
By: Enzo Greco
Tags: Birds, Animation, Monday Motion, Advertising, Commercial

Enzo’s Monday Motion #192: December isn’t the easiest month for our furry, flying friends. If they don’t end up on your plate, they’re struggling for food themselves. Six brands who give them a feather in their cap.

Feel the pain

KFC is a strange brand to put on this list and the next video proofs way.

I do have to give credit to them: just like last year, they manage to get the attention on the battlefield of Christmas spots. This year a classic (cel-animated) video directed and produced by Golden Wolf.

Solidarity hens

One step closer to chicken-friendly behavior is egg-farm ‘Poulehouse’ who give the old hens their well-deserved pension.

Creative agency Brand Station gave the French brand a tv-debut which will stick. The Pixar-level storyline and execution was directed by Akama and produced by Wizz.

In your face

When you live for the rush of the road, an imperfect day on your motorcycle is always better than a good day off of it. Even if that day includes some bird-on-face action…

Insurance brand Progressive is for the thrill-seekers who consider risk as part of the deal. With humor on their side, they manage to deliver another convincing commercial.

Good to know: no birds were harmed during the production thanks to the magical CGI of The Mill LA.

Willpower

It takes a lot of confidence and determination to survive on the South Pole. This specific penguin takes it one step further…

The new focus of the bank is to help progress the people, businesses and communities. This ongoing commitment is beautifully portrayed by the concept of Saatchi & Saatchi Melbourne and director Adam Gunser. Extra credits to the post-production by Alt.VFX with their very convincing penguin.

Rapping Ravens

Non-profit label Birds Records uses sound snippets in every track (hence the name). For their launch, they created a brand film/music video that was backed up by WWF.

Russian animation studio Petrick united a cast of nine illustrators and animators to deliver this mashup video. Just like their previous collaborative project a feast to watch!

For the bold

A tiny robin bird goes all in to conquer the all-new Toyota Corolla…

Director Adam Stevens managed to create a funny, little story where the product placement feels very natural. The colour match of the bird and car is cleverly found just like the car wash scene. Again great work by Saatchi & Saatchi Sydney, Goodoil Film, and Alt.vfx. Watch the making of, if you love to see the CGI-magicians at work.

Last Week

Artists love to experiment. Combine a musician with a director and the result can be quite surprising.

Enzo Greco is Motion Director at Born05.
The Russian State Duma proposed to recognize cryptocurrency as a property
By: Alexandra Petrova
Tags: Crypto, Media, ICO, Cryptocurrency, Bitcoin

Russian authorities continue to work on creating a blockchain friendly environment and adequate framework for legalizing cryptocurrencies. Lawmakers are now trying to implement a draft bill that would not contradict the existing legislative framework or require a major change, Tokenbox CEO Pavel Salas points out: “It’s important to understand that the Central Bank, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Economic Development try to adopt a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies and ICOs. Edits were done on clauses about ICOs and digital assets. The terminology of token must be very clear, companies that launch ICO will have to buy and sell those tokens. Within many systems the tokens can also be used as money, so this draft bill tries to regulate this part. It is stated in the draft bill that under certain conditions cryptocurrency, or a cryptoruble, can be further used on the territory of Russian Federation. However in order to do this they must first answer the question: who this cryptocurrency belongs to? That means that the state does not want an impersonal turnover of cryptocurrency. Every wallet should be bound to a certain person in order to understand where the money came from.

Most of the Russian citizens will not be affected, as this is only the first iteration of this draft bill. For the crypto community this means the need of interacting more actively with the regulators and the State Duma in order to create even more legal norms for the development of the digital economy” — said Mr. Salas.

Source: https://www.vedomosti.ru/economics/articles/2018/03/27/754974-gosduma-kriptovalyutu-imuschestvom
Meat Eaters Face Slightly Higher Health Risks, New Study Finds
By: Robert Roy Britt
Tags: Health, Meat, Nutrition, Science, Diet

Image: Unsplash

Meat Eaters Face Slightly Higher Health Risks, New Study Finds

The message is in line with the majority of other research

The latest study of meat consumption finds eating red meat, processed meat or poultry twice a week raises the risk of cardiovascular disease by 3% to 7% and ups the odds of premature death by all causes 3%.

“It’s a small difference, but it’s worth trying to reduce red meat and processed meat like pepperoni, bologna and deli meats,” said senior study author Norrina Allen, associate professor of preventive medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “Red meat consumption also is consistently linked to other health problems like cancer.”

While the percentages were small, the study was not. It involved 29,682 participants who reported what they ate. (Self-reporting is known to not be the most reliable method of developing data.) “Our study shows the link to cardiovascular disease and mortality was robust,” study leader Victor Zhong, assistant professor of nutritional sciences at Cornell University, said in a statement.

However, the study did not break out red and processed meat separate from poultry. Other research has shown red meat and processed meat associated with health risks more so than poultry. A study last year in the journal Nutrients found people who ate 2 ounces of red meat daily (roughly half a hamburger) were 18% more likely to die prematurely from any cause, and 26% more apt to die from cardiovascular disease, compared to vegetarians.

The new study, published Feb. 3 in JAMA Internal Medicine, contrasts notably with a controversial report in September in which researchers suggested people shouldn’t worry about red meat consumption. That report was roundly criticized and dismissed as flawed by several scientists and health organizations.

The advice on meat consumption has actually changed little in recent years. “Fish, seafood and plant-based sources of protein such as nuts and legumes, including beans and peas, are excellent alternatives to meat and are under-consumed in the U.S.,” said study co-author Linda Van Horn, professor of preventive medicine at Feinberg and a member of the 2020 U.S. Dietary Guidelines Advisory committee.

The new study found no increased risk from eating fish.
Icicle Daggers
By: Sydney Duke Richey
Tags: Emotions, Poetry, Words, Human Behavior, Relationships

Thanks to J.D. Harms and Scrittura for the prompt “ write a piece where a human interaction or person becomes inanimate.”

Sydney Duke Richey writes from the heart. Inspired by everyday experiences, her poems, haiku and non-fiction come from a slice of her life.

Sydney lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband. She has two children and two grandchildren.
Plants can be endangered, too?
Tags: Endangered Species, Orchids, Conservation, Florida, Plants

Written by Conservation Associate Julia Walker

When you hear ‘endangered species’, what do you think of? I would bet you’d think of manatees, panthers, sea turtles, and other animals. I’m here to shed some light on a few other endangered species that you might find right in your back yard!

Protecting our endangered species is important work. We are losing species at an alarming rate, and often it is due to human causes. With hard work from scientists (and people like you), species can be removed from the endangered species list.

The bald eagle is an excellent example; after a steep population decline, scientists discovered a major cause of this sudden drop. DDT, an insecticide, was contaminating their food source and causing the shells of their eggs to be too fragile. By banning DDT, bald eagles rebounded, and are no longer listed as an endangered species.

There is still a lot of work to do, though. In the United States alone, there are 1,662 endangered and threatened species. (See the breakdown here from USFWS).

However, did you know: 946 of those listed species are plants?!

Florida has many natural treasures, but perhaps none quite so coveted as the orchid. It may be because Florida is a hot-spot of orchid diversity. The National Park Service reports orchid diversity is the highest here in the Everglades, over any other NPS unit in the continental US. In such a warm and humid climate, orchids receive plenty of moisture and nutrients, without hurting the trees they grow on.

As a result of their beauty and prestige, their populations have been exploited for commercial gain. In the 1800s, the railroad first came to Florida and began shipping orchids north as a house plant. Due to a century of over-harvesting, their populations have steadily decreased. According to the National Park Service, they believe collection is the direct cause of the loss of three species in Everglades National Park.

So now, we have determined that plants can be endangered, too. The good news is we have started to protect these precious plants.

The Endangered Species Act of 1973 protects both plants and animals on a federal level, but 32 states have laws that also protect endangered plants. (USFS). This means endangered plants are protected from the trade industry, and require permits to collect or study these species.

Here in Florida, we have some beautiful and interesting orchids. The five species below can all be found here in Collier County. Take a look to see some of Florida’s hidden treasure.

Craighead’s Noddingcaps

The Craighead Noddingcap is a small orchid, just 4–6 centimeters high, which blooms in late June to early July. They grow in forests and woodlands, and open at night to show their beautiful purple and white flowers. However, this orchid is incredibly imperiled. Due to habitat destruction and over collecting, there are only three known occurrences of this species. (North American Orchid Center)