fabiochiu/medium-articles huggingface dataset:
The Strange Double Nucleus of the Cocoon Galaxy
By: James Maynard
Tags: Astronomy, Science, Astronomy News, Space, Physics

A galactic collision resulted in the creation of a strange pair of galaxies, and the larger one holds a second hidden core, a new finding reveals.

Roughly 30 million light years from Earth, the Cocoon Galaxy (also known as NGC 4490) is home to two galactic cores, a new study shows. Optical observations clearly show one core which has long been known to astronomers. However, a second core was recently found by astronomers using radio telescopes, hiding in clouds of gas and dust.

This pair of galaxies are the products of an ancient collision between a spiral galaxy and a barred spiral galaxy (the shape of the present-day Milky Way, but much smaller). The pair, drawn together by gravity, collided, triggering a period of active star building in each cluster of stars.

The galaxy NGC 4490, seen by the Hubble Space Telescope. Red areas are regions of active star formation. Image credit: ESA/Hubble/NASA

“One nucleus is visible in the optical, while the other is only visible at infrared and radio wavelengths. We find the optical nucleus and the potential infrared visible nucleus have similar sizes, masses, and luminosities. Both are comparable in mass and luminosity to other nuclei found in interacting galaxy pairs and much more massive and luminous compared with typical non-nuclear star-forming complexes, researchers wrote in Astrophysical Journal.

This event radically altered the shape of NGC 4490 (the larger of the pair of galaxies), while leaving the smaller of the two with a semblance of its former spiral shape. This galactic pair is small — together possessing a total of just 20 percent as much mass as the Milky Way.
Tides
Tags: Poetry, Art, Haiku, Meditation, Reflection

Circulation of Ch’i from Public Domain Review (click caption for larger view)

Tides

A poem of haikus

Chasing Lady Moon’s trail

the Wind blew a whistle

As the mountain sleeps,

I build shrines of

the sands

the waves give and take

an answer that

I could not see,

Busy leaving prints

to write of heavens

I cut the trees

missing the sky

Anger, left behind

my ox ran away from

the fields I plowed

the seeds I planted

the twins of my soul

The foam gave birth to
How to Write for Family Matters
By: Laura Fox
Tags: Submission Guidelines

How to Write for Family Matters

Guidelines and how to submit your work

Photo by Suzy Hazelwood from Pexels

Welcome to Family Matters!

Before submitting your work, please take the time to read the guidelines below. You may also find our FAQ section helpful.

About Family Matters

We are a family-run publication and a supportive space for writers to share their experiences on family and parenting. Whether you’re a parent to be, a single parent, co-parenting, have adopted children, grandchildren, step-children, have interesting family stories to tell, want to share your experiences of having an unsupportive family to help others feel less alone…we want to hear from you!

About Us

Laura, David, and Immy. Photo by Laura Fox.

Family Matters is run by Laura Fox and her husband, David Fox. They have a daughter called Imogen, affectionately known as Immy for short.

The editors are Laura’s sisters, Kathryn and Lucy. We really are a family-run publication and want to make our writers and readers feel like part of the family too!

Laura has mental health problems and writes about her experiences as a mother who is recovering from postnatal depression and healing from a traumatic childhood. She hopes she can help other parents with similar experiences feel less alone.

David has cerebral palsy and writes about parenting with a physical disability. Not only does this help other parents with disabilities feel less alone, but it also challenges the stereotypes around people living with a physical disability.

Meet the Editors/Family

Photo by Kathryn Morris.

I’m a writer, book worm, and mother. I like to write about mental health, parenting, and how we can be better people for the next generation.

I’m also the co-editor for The Brave Writer and my passion is writing.

I am currently working on my first book, a middle-grade fantasy novel.

Photo by Rhys Davies. Used with permission.

I’m a History graduate and all-round nerd. Here on Medium, I write about books, social justice, queerness, and survival — things that I see as deeply intertwined.
Ramble
By: Jenny Justice
Tags: Poetry, Community, Writing, Writer, Social Media

From now on maybe

my poems

will ramble

they will stretch

for miles and miles

taking up the scenery and space.

They seem to feel like someone

has told them something about

longer is best,

more means automatically quality

and the heart of the matter, the point,

the purpose, is something that only

exists at the end of

a long trail,

a winding road

of words words more words —

but did I mention

I’m not really the rambling kind?

Did I mention I know your

mind and mine

tend to take it all in

in spurts of wisdom, moments of

brief inspiration, hits of

quick motivation,

and the thing that we take in

most is

connection

across a scrolling flipping searching

rolling rambling screen —

we take what we can get

maybe breathe maybe smile a bit,

and then it’s off to click and scroll

and search again

for the next brief big thing in

the daily journey

the online intellectual grind

reaching and grabbing for

a small moment

with you,

in real time.
The New Boost VC Accelerator: $500k for Sci-Fi.
By: Brayton Williams
Tags: Founders, Technology, Science Fiction, Venture Capital, Startup

Summary

Accelerators don’t invest enough money.

New Boost VC accelerator deal: $500k for 15% .

. Limited to 7–10 Companies per Tribe.

Gravity.co (Boost VC company)

Boost VC turns 7 years old this month! We have 200+ active investments from over 35 countries, and we have carved out a great brand in the Sci-Fi tech world.

We have invested in leading Sci-Fi companies: crypto (Coinbase & Etherscan), virtual reality (Wave & FitXR), exoskeletons & jetpacks (Roam & Jetpack Aviation), space (Kubos & Launcher), biotech (InterVenn & NextBiotics) and countless other Sci-Fi companies. We know what it takes to get started and get to the next level.

However we have learned that prior to a seed round, there is a large funding gap. If you are starting a Sci-Fi company today you have 2 options for money:

Raise a seed round ($2–4M): This can be done by very few founders before real traction / credibility is obvious. Join an accelerator ($100–150k): This is not enough money to build out deeply technical companies and get to the seed round.

Now there is a third option for Sci-Fi founders. The Boost VC accelerator: $500k for 15%.

Join the family of founders making Sci-Fi a reality! Apply to Tribe 13 www.boost.vc/apply before October 30th!
Bitcoin - Why Bitcoin is not a currency, it’s rather a digital asset
By: Elya Livshitz
Tags: Ethereum, Blockchain, Bitcoin, Cryptocurrency

When you ask yourself “what is currency?”, “What is money?”, you may find it hard to explain. If you examine history it’s pretty clear that humanity went from trading with sheeps and rocks to the usage of “Specifically designed medium of exchange”, or ‘paper that represents your potential to exchange goods’. Money is not an asset, it’s the potential for an asset.

That said, let me ask you a question. By holding Bitcoin, does it give you the potential for an asset?

That’s may sound confusing, because you may think “oh, right now no, but I guess in the future, when Bitcoin will become consensus, people will be fine with bartering for a Bitcoin”.

That’s where the problem lays.

There is a fundamental difference between an asset and currency: Currency does not have intrinsic value, it’s a tool. Asset on the other hand has a value by it’s own. Hence, Bitcoin is more like a piece of gold, and not like bulk of dollars.
Build and Deploy Your Flask API With a Postgres Database
By: Ardy Gallego Dedase
Tags: DevOps, Python, Programming, Flask, Software Engineering

Breakdown of the structure

Let’s dissect and learn about the structure of our cookiecutter template.

main.py — where everything starts

This is the entry point of the API request.

It contains the API endpoint and CLI declarations. It uses Flask-Restful for its APIs.

for its APIs. Creates the Flask app instance.

Uses Flask-Migrate to run SQLAlchemy migrations.

to run SQLAlchemy migrations. Imports the API resources.

src/main.py.

We might want to move the CLI functions when the file gets bigger.

app.py — where create_app resides

This contains the create_app() that returns the Flask app instance. The create_app() also accepts an env param which determines the environment where the app is running.

src/app.py.

config.py — your typical Python config file

This is our configuration file that supports multiple environments.

Database credentials are passed from environment variables. This makes it convenient for us to pass around credentials securely by avoiding writing them on the config file. Render provides a convenient way to pass database credentials to environment variables, without having to explicitly set those credentials. We’ll cover that in the later section about the render.yaml Infrastructure as Code.

src/config.py

utils.py — static and stateless functions

This is where we could add utility functions. It currently contains the get_env_variable() function.

src/utils.py

Resources — Flask Restful resources for the APIs

This contains the API resources implementation.

In the file below, you’ll see that it imports a repository class to create or get a user record stored in the database.

It uses Flask-Restful to make an abstraction to the API resources:

src/resources/user.py

Repositories — abstraction of data

This is where the calls to Flask-SQLAlchemy methods are made:

src/repositories/user.py

Models — represents our tables

In this directory, we declare how our data is stored and structured. The template includes a simple user model with the fields username , avatar_url , and date_created .

src/models/user.py

render.yaml — IaC for Render.com

This is the Infrastructure as Code (IaC) file to provide the resources and set up the deployment pipeline of our service in Render.com.

Below is an example of the implementation that can be found in the Flask Postgres Reference API. It instructs Render to create a web service resource, a Postgres database, and an environment variable group:
A New Course On Color And Design
By: The Team W
Tags: Color, Color Course

I’m so excited to be adding courses on color and design to our online training curriculum.

Katie Stern, who has multiple degrees, books, and lots of experience designing with color and teaching others how to do the same, has put together the first course in what will be a whole curriculum on Color and User Experience (UX) Design.

The first course is Color Terms, Tools And More. I took it myself and learned so much from it. I highly recommend it.

Here’s a short introduction to the course:

If you use the promo code

colornews

when you register you will receive 35% off the regular price. This special price is for two weeks, March 1 to 15, 2018.

Here’s some more info about the course:

You will learn color terminology, the basics of color theory, and how to communicate color information with your team.

If you are analyzing or designing a product or website, then you are working with color. Making color choices can be unconscious or intentional, depending on how much thought you put into them. Identifying colors that will create a great user experience can be a daunting task, especially if you don’t have the vocabulary to communicate about color with your UX team members. When you learn color terminology you will be better able to communicate your color design intentions.

You will learn:

The challenges involved with naming colors

The difference between the additive and subtractive color systems

How pigment color is different than digital color

How monochromatic color schemes are built

The definition of tints, tones, and shades and how to create them

How the Adobe Color Picker and Paletton help build color schemes

and much, much more!

So check out the course and let us know if you have any questions.
Digging in the Dirt
By: Rhonda Skinner
Tags: Healing, Poem, Unhealthy Relationships, Patterns, The Rebel Poets Society

Digging in the Dirt

The pattern

Photo by Author, Copyright All Rights Reserved

I find my way through

the tattered chasm of the mind

echoes dancing I can’t see

a heart that sits waiting

for the flame to catch

who walks through

the night’s fire without

getting burned

who asks the question

only to pull the rug

out from underneath

scattered to the winds of fate

waves wash over my feet

echoing the sounds

I used to hear

I wash my hands

only to find them

digging in the dirt

once more
Decentralized Token Registry Is Launched
Tags: Token, Squatting, Obyte, Decentralized, Tokenization

In March we published a what’s next article about the upcoming decentralized token registry and now it is ready to be used in an intuitive user-friendly interface.

The website of the registry is tokens.ooo (testnet.tokens.ooo for testnet).

The Autonomous Agent that powers the registry has been in operation and used by ODEX decentralized exchange and Ostable stablecoins for a long time, and what is launched now is a user interface that allows to easily view, add, support, and dispute registered names. Previously, registering, supporting, and disputing a name was only possible by sending commands to the registry’s AA from the wallet.

To recap, here are the main points that make Obyte decentralized token registry special:

communities compete for the names they want to have;

there is no single owner of a name, instead communities own names;

names cannot be bought, sold, resold, rented, or squatted;

names are free, as well as their use, but locking funds in support of a name is required.

For more details, please refer to the original introductory article.

The UI is still in beta, bugs are possible and some features are missing. It is open source, written in React and Typescript using obyte.js library, contributions are welcome.
What’s going on with Bitcoin drop?
By: Btc Bros
Tags: Blockchain, Btc, Crypto, Btc Bros News, Blog

With the recent rise in interest and press coverage on Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency, a lot of people have invested a lot of money, many have gained, many have lost.

However, one question that people are asking over the past few days is, why has Bitcoin and Ethereum dropped in price?

Although many, including our team at BTC Bros have different views on why this could be, there are also many evident reasons as to why.

Below are two very interesting theories that we have come across on some of our favourite YouTube channels, whilst scanning the net this evening.

We found this one on Bitcoin TV. The original post was made by, tinkertiger2012, on his channel. Shout out to him for this news and analysis!!

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njBjXxVQ0ts&w=560&h=315]

This one is from our good old friend Trevon James. Much love to him for this one also.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duqhjtq6c4w&w=560&h=315]

We searched a little more on each of these theories and found there to be quite a lot of talk about both online. These theories are not only interesting, but if true certainly proof of how decentralization of the currency system affects the ‘elite’ on a whole.

So, what do you think?

Do you have a theory for the current market trends?

Did you sell or hold?

Are you buying more?

Whatever your reasons and choices, remember fellow Cyrptopians…ALWAYS DO YOUR RESEARCH!!

Just to make our position clear…I think we’ll hodl! XD
She Loves Getting On Her Knees
By: K. Love
Tags: Sex, Romance, Sexuality, Love, Short Story

She Loves Getting On Her Knees

An Erotic Story

Author

Stressed up at work

My shareholders are on my nerves

The stock price keeps tanking

I’m the CEO of a large corporation

And I’m losing sleep

My mistress, she’s 25

Young and pretty

Soft and supple

She knows what I’m going through

So she gives me a call

She wants to relieve me of stress

So she books a hotel room

A glitzy overpriced suite

And tells me she’s ready for daddy

I leave the office after work

Get a few shots of whisky at a swanky bar

Then get to the hotel

To spend the night with this beauty

Soon as I get in

She walks to me

Takes my briefcase

Tells me to shush

And then drops on her knees

Unzips my pants

Whips out my fat cock

First she tingles the tip and pee hole

Then she licks the whole shaft

Sucks my middle aged hairy balls

I moan as I feel my cock

Deep inside the warmth of her throat

She pulls off her panties

And fingers herself while giving me a blowjob

While on her knees

Right beneath me

I’m loving it

My stress levels drop down to zero

My mind is blank

All I want is for her to keep giving me this sweet pleasure

She pulls down my pants

Then gets on her feet

Hold my hand and take me to bed

I’m following her like a dog on leash

Not saying a single word

We get to bed

She gets me to lie down

Then she climbs right on top of me

Holds my now very stiff and firm cock

And gets it inside her butthole

She starts riding like a real southern cowgirl

I’m feeling good,

I’m moaning with each ride

Soon I can feel my cum rising

She keeps on riding me

I’m now groaning

My cum explodes like a rocket

Deep inside the hole in her ass

She gets off me

Then licks off my wet cock

While looking into my eyes

My body is still feeling the pleasure of sex

I’m still breathing heavily from the action

She’s now done cleaning me up

Then she goes to her purse

And takes out a check and a ballpoint pen

She brings it to me

I sign it and tell her ‘thanks my love’

She goes in the bathroom to shower up

Before leaving.
In life — everything you are going through
 is preparing you for what you asked for!
By: Ashutosh Jain
Tags: Poetry, Life, Spirituality, Faith, Philosophy

courtesy: MysmsBD.Net480Â Ã — Â 360Search by image

In life — everything you are going through

is preparing you for what you asked for!

So, my friend if you will get what you wish to have

then, be careful what you wish for!

After all,

you are what your deepest desire is

as is your desire so is your intention

as is your intention so is your will

as is your will so is your deed

And as is your deed, so is your destiny.
Building Blocks — Chocolatey
By: Andy Watt
Tags: Blockchain, Ethereum, Package Management, Solidity, Bitcoin

Hello readers. In my previous post, I promised a series on putting together a development environment for Ethereum development in Windows. The way that I’m going to structure this is to do a few short ‘building blocks’, introducing a technology or concept, and then use these blocks to put together more involved articles. I hope to keep the ‘in depth’ articles a bit tidier by covering the pre-requisites with a link to a building block instead of a section itself. Accordingly, the first few posts in this series might be a little simple on their own, but be assured that they are part of a bigger picture!

The first building block that I would like to introduce is Chocolatey.

Package managers seems to be very common on Linux (apt-get) and to a certain extent on Mac (brew), but less so on Windows. I’m not sure why this is, given how useful a package manager is for both general users and for developers. I find myself looking to Chocolatey first if I want to install anything at all on my machine. From .NET core SDK to the Dropbox app.

Of course, I use Chocolatey to manage the packages that I want for my Ethereum development environment.

Chocolatey itself can be installed by following the instructions here, or by typing the following into PowerShell:

With Chocolatey installed, you can now use the command line to install, uninstall, query, and update the packages and applications that you will use to configure the Ethereum development environment.

For example, to install Visual Studio Code using Chocolatey, simply open a PowerShell window, and type:

choco install visualstudiocode

If you need to get rid of it, simply type:

choco uninstall visualstudiocode

Some other Chocolatey commands that I find useful are…

Listing all locally installed packages, and their installed versions with:

choco list --localonly

Listing local packages which have an updated version available on the server:

choco outdated

Updating all out of date packages in one go with:

choco upgrade all -y

Or updating a specific package with:

choco upgrade visualstudiocode

The above commands will likely be all that we will use in this series of posts, but if you fancy a deeper dive, the wiki on GitHub is an excellent source of information.

Hopefully this brief introduction to Chocolatey has convinced you that it is a useful tool. In the next few building blocks in this series, we’ll use it to install the required tools for Ethereum development, and to keep them up to date.

Thanks for reading, please either follow me or check back soon for the next in this series.
Riddle Me This: Is Bitcoin the Greatest Fiat Currency Ever?
By: Sung Kim
Tags: Blockchain, Economics, Bitcoin, Cryptocurrency, Fintech

Pondering the utility value of bitcoin

Does that seem apocryphal to you? Bitcoin is supposed to be our savior, our decentralized means of leaving central bank controlled fiat currency. I do believe that bitcoin has fundamental differences from other fiat currencies but it is starting to gain qualities that make it similar to sovereign money. But first we need to have agreement on a key term.

Fiat currency is government issued money that has no intrinsic value. Basically, it’s worth what we (the world) agree it’s worth and does not have a fixed exchange rate with a hard commodity (such as gold or silver) or a legally mandated reserve. Every single government currency is currently fiat. The USD became fiat in 1971 when President Nixon broke the fixed exchange rate to gold. So what key features make fiat currency and bitcoin similar?

No intrinsic value — This is pretty simple. Neither bitcoin or any fiat currency in the world has a fixed exchange rate to a fixed asset. The last government currency to have a legal gold requirement was the Swiss Franc; in 2000, Switzerland ended the 40% gold reserve requirement. Centralization of power — wait a minute! This is one of the key tenets of bitcoin! That power is decentralized and control of information is decentralized. Yes, but bitcoin mining is becoming very concentrated. What used to be someone’s old PC set up as a mining rig has now become a hardware intensive, $1,000,000 plus capital expenditure business. The top 6 mining pools control over 80% of the hashrate distribution. Bitcoin still has inherent decentralization aspects but bitcoin mining is becoming a winner take all endeavor.

3. Ability to increase money supply — How can this be? The incremental increases in bitcoin supply have been pre-ordained! Yes, but we do have hard forks in cryptocurrency. What is a hard fork? This is when a cryptocurrency splits from one into two cryptocurrencies and requires different blockchain technology. Bitcoin experienced a hard fork in 2017 called Bitcoin Cash and this was not the first or last hard fork, but has been one of the most successful hard forks.

One can argue that a hard fork does not increase money supply and hence reduce value. However, any hard fork takes away marginal demand from the original currency and increases supply in a very similar currency. A hard fork is not classic “money printing” or quantitative easing but there are similar effects.

There are still huge differences between bitcoin and government fiat currency. Bitcoin is not fiat currency with a different wrapper. However, as bitcoin “grows up” and and is pulled in different directions, it has adopted some fiat currency characteristics.
The Anatomy of an Entrepreneur
By: Kieran Audsley
Tags: Success, Entrepreneurship, Business, Entrepreneur, Startup

How can we get better at looking to the future?

I’m going to again use Elon Musk and his philosophy of thinking via first principles as it is the only way I feel any light can be shed on how to get better at looking to the future. Reasoning by first principles is when you reason up from the fundamental, basic assumption. Meaning, you have the bedrock of an idea or believe and you reason up from there. I’ll run through how Musk used this… Musk knew that at some point in the future, we would need to establish the use of renewable energy — it’s inevitable as fossil fuels will run out at some point. That’s the base assumption. It’s the one fundamental truth we know. Then he reasoned up from there. If we need to shift to renewable energy then how do we do that? Well, we need to switch our current usage of fossil fuels to renewable sources; thus, electric vehicles. It’s really quite simple when you run it like that — Elon Musk thought it was and that’s why he built it.
It’s Important to Discuss Your Travel ‘Love Languages’ Before a Trip
Tags: Tourism, Love, Travel, Life Lessons, Relationships

In his book, ‘The Five Love Languages: How To Express Heartfelt Commitment to Your Mate’ Gary Chapman outlines five ways to experience and express love which he coined as “love languages”. They include: receiving gifts, quality time, words of affirmation, acts of service (devotion) and physical touch.

Although these are strictly about the experience of love, I believe the concept can be configured and applied to travel partners.

About a year ago I went to Amsterdam with a friend. However, the trip was doomed to failure from the moment we touched down. It became apparent that we had very different expectations when it came to holidays. She loved tourist attractions and visiting well-known locations. Whereas I like to immerse myself into the culture — visit unknown locations, eat and drink etc.

We hadn’t set the time aside to discuss our preferences and expectations. But if I could have a do-over, these are the things I would have talked about:

Are you a tourist or adventurer?

Photo by Alice Young on Unsplash

This is where my friend and I clashed the most. I like to live in the experience whereas she liked to ensure she had gifts and mementoes to remember the trip by. I would say this is one of the most important things to establish and discuss prior your trip but remember there will also be overlap. For example, I love museums. Have a conversation and make a compromise of sorts if your expectations differ.

Quality time and communication needs

Photo by Andrew Draper on Unsplash

How much space do you need? For me personally as an introvert, after a day of social interaction I need some solo quiet time. Whereas some people enjoy and need constant stimulation. When you are travelling in a group or duo, it is important to be aware of peoples boundaries. Let people know prior to the trip your needs so there is no confusion or upset when you get there.

Acts of service and division of labour

Photo by Clem Onojeghuo on Unsplash

To ease the burden of responsibility it is important to discuss your roles on the trip. Who is in charge of; the planning of the trip, entertainment, cleaning and cooking (if applicable). Sometimes you will be with someone who expects an equal division of labour across the board/ a division of separate tasks. This would ensure living together would be as easy as possible.

Intimacy

Photo by Moriah Leynes on Unsplash

Are you heavy or light sleepers? Do you snore? If you are to be living together these are important points to consider when deciding to share a room. A light sleeper and heavy snorer is an instant clash and will set the tone for the trip if anyone isn’t well-rested.
El Estado de CoinYou
By: Molly Malone
Tags: Criptomonedas, Noticias, Español, Espanol, Bitcoin

Splitting time between my original home in rural Minnesota & my second home, Guatemala | Director of Education with CoinYou.co, a Crypto Learning Community

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The Sempiternal
By: Anitha Sankaran
Tags: Microfiction, Readers, Fiction, Books, Authors

The Sempiternal

50 Word Micro- Fiction (Story Prompt #4)

Photo by Andrés Gómez on Unsplash

The white roses ornamented the bookshelf. I took the book that was underneath an etched wooden skull and read the title “The White Petals” by Sarah Williams.

My eyes welled up since I found a fervent reader.

“I am Sarah Williams. I died forty years back, but my book lives.”

©Anisesh 2019

In response to the image prompt by Justin Deming —
the work of Silence
By: Siân Griffin
Tags: Poetry, Call To Action, Awakening, Silence, Poem

What if all the silence of the world

gathered herself at will?

and kissed the night, and kissed your night

O! such black and still.

What if summer would not turn around

and winter came once more?

A mist, you find, is knocking-

she’s knocking at your door.

And if this mist were living,

what forests would she bear?

and should the trees be caught out singing,

who else might you meet there?

It will take such silent guessing.

It will take the mess of song.

The method is the madness. Think!-

it’s not what calls you home.

Ask of what are your fears made

when the silence finally comes:

remain afraid to greet your voice here?

or else speak with us in tongues.
The 3 Most Important Skills to Learn Now to Thrive in 2020
By: Danny Forest
Tags: Self Improvement, Inspiration, Productivity, Education, Life Lessons

The 3 Most Important Skills to Learn Now to Thrive in 2020

Do you feel like you’re going nowhere? Learn these to thrive like you never have before.

It’s hard to believe 2019 is close to ending. If you’re anything like me, whether 2019 went well or not, you want to make 2020 better. Many think there’s a limit to how good a year can be for them, but I assure you this is not the case.

You can always thrive more. Never accept mediocrity. You only have one life, so there’s no reason not to make the best of it.

“You only have one life, but if you do it right, once is enough.” — Mae West

2017 wasn’t a glorious year for me. It wasn’t bad, but nothing to brag about. Near the end of that year, however, I decided to get out of that mediocrity. It was almost an accident, really.

How were 2017 and 2018 for you?

Back in September of 2017, I went to live in Cambodia to work remotely on my startup. In the course of the next 12 months, I also lived in Spain, India, Canada, and Colombia. I started 3 businesses, wrote 4 books, wrote 300+ articles on productivity, learning, life lessons, etc, became a top writer in 16 categories on Medium.com (including top 1 in Travel, Education, and Inspiration), became healthier, opened my own light coaching program, learned 36 new skills, etc.

Reading that, you may not guess that I’m actually a software engineer by trade, building video games for a living.

Needless to say, I did thrive in 2018. So, did I manage to make 2019 better in the end? To some degree, yes.

A year ago, I wrote this piece, which went viral:

The 3 Most Important Skills to Learn Now to Thrive in 2019

It was the first time one of my articles exploded. It’s the one that put me on the map. As such, I had to live by it. In 2019, I did more of what I talked about in that article.

The result: a pretty fantastic 2019!

And I know that can happen to you too, to levels you may not even imagine possible (I certainly didn’t).

So, why am I writing this now? We’re just in October after all!

Truth is, to become who you want to become, you’re going to need to change, and change doesn’t happen overnight. Two to three months from now though, that’s reasonable. I’ve been there and know other people who have also been there.

But trust me, it’s not easy. What I’m proposing in the following paragraphs is no shortcut to success. It’s a set of skills that, once learned and honed, can lead you to any success you may strive for.

Of all the skills that contributed to me thriving in 2019, I narrowed it down to the three most important in my opinion. This also comes from compiling and testing theories in some of the best self-help books in the world.

In 2018, I listed the following 3 skills as the top ones to learn:

3. Learn to take action.

2. Learn to adapt to change.

1. Learn to learn.

In 2019, I’m adapting this list based on new experiences and research. I ordered them from least to most important in my mind:
Tezos Foundation to Issue Grants for Blockchain and Smart Contract Research
By: Darren Lee
Tags: University, Blockchain, Tezo, Grant, Startup

The Tezos Foundation has announced it will be issuing financial grants to research institutions for blockchain tech and smart contracts development, according to an official press release published August 9.

The Tezos Foundation will provide grants to four research institutions: Cornell University, the University of Beira Interior, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and France-IOI, the press release notes.

Emin Gün Sirer will lead the Cornell University team to “develop protocols that may be applied to Tezos,” paying particular attention to sharding, and Portugal’s University of Beira Interior will receive four grants for two master’s theses and two Ph.D. projects focusing on logging events of robots in factory environments and support for machine-checked smart contracts respectively.

France-IOI’s grant “will support the education and training of current and future Tezos developers,” and the grant for Decentralized et Consulting, LLC. (“Decet”), a research institution of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, is aimed at building an “accessible online developer documentation resource for the Tezos ecosystem.”

Earlier this summer, the Tezos Foundation had made a statement that it would hold a call for research proposals through an open grantmaking process in August.

Last month, the company had announced that international professional services giant PwC, headquartered in London, would conduct an external audit of the company’s finances, Cointelegraph reported July 24.
Teamwork Is For All American Haiku Writers
By: Pierre Trudel
Tags: Americanhaiku, LGBTQ, Love, Womansrights, BlackLivesMatter

Sign up for American Haiku Steamship To Writing History

By American Haiku

Writing takes practice. American Haiku is a great way to put your words from your fingers to your piece of paper. Don't quit, you can do it. Take a look
The Elderly Woman Who Used Cyanide to Murder Those Who Trusted Her
By: Jyoti Meena
Tags: India, True Crime, Serial Killers, Murder, Crime

The First Spree of Murders

In 1999, Kempamma started frequently visiting the nearby temple. In the guise of a concerned, older woman, she would seek out younger women who would appear to be distressed.

The women would see her as a maternal figure and would quickly confide in her about their troubles. After all, they came to the temple looking for help.

The women trusted her with their secrets and worries due to her age and wisdom.

By providing them with an ear, Kempamma would collect all the information about their worries. The usual tension ranged from illness to conceiving a male child.

To every issue, she would guarantee a holy solution — a special ‘puja’ (worship ritual to the gods) that she was an expert at.

Kempamma would ask the victims to come to a vacant plot near the temple, wearing her expensive jewelry and clothes as a part of the ceremony.

Towards the end of the ritual, she would present them a glass of water laced with cyanide as a pious token.

After the victim’s death, she would rob all the gold and diamond from the bodies and sell them in the market. Her first victim was a 30-year-old Mamatha Rajan.

The murders continued till 2000 when she tried to rob a house where she went for the holy ritual ceremony. The victim found out the truth and ran away to her family, screaming.

Unfortunately, Kempamma was only given a short sentence of six months and released soon after.
Why Should You Consider Shifting to Microsoft’s New Edge Browser
By: Sayan Mondal
Tags: Microsoft, Programming, Browsers, Edge, Open Source

Why Should You Consider Shifting to Microsoft’s New Edge Browser

Does Microsoft's new browser have the edge over Chrome?

Photo by Marten Bjork on Unsplash

Have you been using Google Chrome as your default Web Browser? Well, a lot of us have been doing the same. Why you ask? Well, why not? Chrome provides an easy-to-use interface, lots of customisation features, and an extension store that overwhelms you with available options.

But what if I told you there was something better out there which can do 80% of what you have been doing or trying to do with Chrome but not kill your CPU and memory usage while you’re at it. I present to you, Microsoft Edge, or should I say, Microsoft’s new Edge.
Love Is an Action Word
Tags: Poetry, Haiku, Autism, Family, Joy

Haiku is a form of poetry usually inspired by nature, which embraces simplicity. We invite all poetry lovers to have a go at composing Haiku. Be warned. You could become addicted.

Follow
How to Use Code-Splitting With React and Parcel
By: Zachary Orona-Calvert
Tags: Programming, React, Web Development, JavaScript, Reactjs

How to Use Code-Splitting With Parcel

As always, Parcel sticks to the big feature behind its hype, zero configuration. This means we don’t have to create a config file to actually use the feature. Parcel just knows how to handle everything on its end, so all we have to do is use the dynamic import() function syntax.

For code without a rendered component, it’s simple to just use the dynamic import as follows.

Define logic:

//math.js export default function add(a, b) { return a + b; }

Use logic somewhere else:

//frontpage.js import("./math").then(math => {

console.log(math.add(1, 2));

});

But if we have a component to render, we need to first define our subcomponent:

Then, in order to use this component somewhere else in our app, we need to use React.lazy inside a suspense component by doing this:
September 2
By: Steve Frank
Tags: Devotional, Poetry, Christianity, Charles Spurgeon, Prayer

Greatness.

Fame.

Obscurity.

Anonymity.

None of these matter.

None impact the result.

None determine Your actions.

For…

You can be approached by all.

Whether famous or unknown.

All have equal access to You.

So Lord, in this time of struggle,

I appeal to you, knowing…

I will be heard

And this is the first step in healing.

In being healed by you.

Whether praying for myself or others,

the first step in healing is

connecting — with — You.

Lord, hear my appeal today.

Strengthen my bond with You today.

Lord, begin healing my connection with You,

today.

Spurgeon September 2 Morning Devotional
Write for Sparks Publication
By: Leon Purton
Tags: Leadership, Growth, Writing, Writer, Sparks Publication

Submission Guidelines

Sparks Publication is a repository of these little sparks of inspiration, motivation and education. Even better if it balances all three.

Articles posted to Sparks Publication will use tags like Leadership, Personal Development, Self, Growth, Psychology, etc. and contain a blend of science, personal story (not necessarily your own), and actionable takeaways for the reader.

Please review (and support!) some of the current articles to get a feel for the types of articles expected of writers for Sparks Publication.

I will note that no story that bridges the requirements for education, motivation and inspiration will be refused, providing it meets the intent of the General Medium Tips above. Sparks Publication will prioritise articles behind the paywall, but if the article meets the requirements it will have a home.

Sparks Publication will prioritise the reader in all things, not the writer. Your article should be written with that in mind. Editors of Sparks Publication will provide some feedback on your article, aimed at improving its impact. These will be left as Private Notes on your submissions and will focus on the heading and opening paragraphs.

If you are after genuine help to improve your article, this can be provided, please leave a private note at the top of your submission (highlight some text, then click on the lock symbol) requesting this assistance. Then, time permitting, the Editors will provide some feedback to improve the overall quality of your writing style and article structure.

Again, the motivation for editing is to improve the quality for the reader, and it is hoped that this investment in you as a writer, will improve your submissions down the track — which will, in turn, benefit the reader.

Of course, any improvement focussed on the reader will make your articles better, will improve your readability, and hopefully your reach.

The Sparks community is built on generosity, and it is generosity with the most valuable of things, time. Sparks readers will know that their valuable time is being well spent on Sparks Publication articles. Any investment of time by the editors on your articles is made with the editors most valuable resources. Time.

Gratitude and humility are how you repay those efforts.
Live#1. Introducing the Color Team — Marketing Team
By: Color Platform
Tags: Blockchain, Color Platform, Ethereum, Bitcoin, Cryptocurrency

The Color Platform is all about transparency, which is why we’re sharing snippets from the Color workspace. Color had its first Facebook Live session on April 12, 2018. Jay and Cindy gave a short office tour of Marketing and dApp Development team. You’ll be able to find out what each team does specifically. The video is also uploaded on Color Youtube Channel. So feel free to check the videos there as well :)

Have a Colorful Day

Join the Chatroom to Learn More!
Hold Your Own
By: Wild Flower
Tags: Self Improvement, Strength, Poetry, Life, A Cornered Gurl

Know the wolves that hunt you

know the holes in the road and the bumps

of the unknown that continue to taunt you.

Ask your hands to know what they feel and hold

part ways with your tears, laden with fears

amplified with the constant gush of

what is yet to come.

Call them out and rest with them,

bed yourself until the trembles

are disassembled and reassembled

to resemble a world

that no longer scares you

Know yourself.

soar through the clouds

and merge with the sky,

fall down as rain

landing as droplets of hope.

Hold yourself,

place your fingers on your shoulders

arms across arms, elbows to chest

drop your head and rest.

Sway if you need, wail if you must

but above all else now,

you have to let go, you have to trust.

Be bold and wise in a time that

twists your mask from verse

to rhyme to a hymn of I don’t know

what this is.

Let go and readjust. Trust the artist within.

Paint with your brush.

Feel your aches

marching to the tune of a beat

that is new to you.

Let yourself be the chorus.

Stop starving for touch,

longing to fill your belly

with a love that is

right in front of you.

Now is the time

to know the arches in your back

when you release

the crease of your tongue

when you sip

from your finest glass

when you savor

that flavor you love.

Know yourself.

Know the screams forming within

that long to shout

I don’t know how to be

in the world that is

against me.

In a world

that would better see us

fail than prevail as one.

We need to hold ourselves,

break free from the haze

of media that would soon

fill our lungs with dirt before truth.

See the shedding of within

the discarded skin that

has fallen beneath us

to reveal the truth

of what we have always known

Bare and alone

you must now relearn

how to hold your own

and how to

know yourself.

Wild Flower (Jess Banks) is an Australian based writer. Lover of coffee, chocolate, and rum. Excited by nature, adventures, and poetics. Still discovering who she is and openly writing about her faults and triumphs. Follow her new publication “Where Wild Things Grow”

© WF, 2020.
Month In Review: Daily Connect
By: Deborah Christensen
Tags: Poetry, Art, Self-awareness, Life, Spirituality

Well, this is the third complete month I have been publishing on Medium.

Here is a compilation of all stories I have published during January 2019.

They appear under the headings: Spirituality, Art, Self Awareness, Life and Poetry to make them easier to peruse.

I am happy to report that this month I have made it into being a Top Writer in four categories on Medium in Mental Health, Parenting, Art and Creativity.

I also am a writer for some additional publications: The Ascent, Uncalendared, Creative Humans, Invisible Illness, Change Your Mind Change Your Life, The Junction, and Chalkboard.

Articles I have published for them do not appear on my Daily Connect page but are on my Medium profile. However, I have added the pieces in this Monthly Review for those of you who may like to check them out.

I wrote my first Haiku poem, and am now addicted.

I also wrote a few articles exploring sexuality. This is a different area for me to explore and examine through writing.

Thank you all for reading and following what I write. I feel honored.

January 2019

Articles in Other Publications

Spirituality

Self-Awareness

Life

Art

Poetry
Providing counselling and health services to women refugees in Turkey
By: European Commission
Tags: Women, Refugees, Syria, Turkey, Humanitarian

“Before I received help from the counsellors working at this centre, I was in despair,” explains Aisha*, a young mother of two children. At the age of 20, she is already a mother of two and had to endure an abusive marriage. “When my husband and I fled Syria four years ago, I was 8 months pregnant and we had to walk through the winter snow to cross the border into Turkey.”

Turkey is host to the largest refugee population in the world; nearly 4 million people have fled to Turkey due to conflict in their home countries. Of that number, more than 3.5 million are from Syria. Aisha is just one of the millions of Syrians who have sought refuge in Turkey in the past seven years, fleeing the seemingly endless conflict in Syria.

The EU supports humanitarian partners such as UNFPA in providing complementary services inside government-run migrant health centres. These centres help cover the gaps in services related to reproductive health and psychosocial support. © UNFPA

Over 95 percent of the Syrian refugee population have settled in local communities throughout the country. Turkey provides free primary and secondary education and healthcare, along with other social assistance to refugees. However, due to the scale of the needs posed by millions of refugees, the EU decided to provide €6 billion known as the “Facility for Refugees in Turkey” to support the Turkish efforts.

While EU projects help address basic needs of the refugees through such projects such as the Emergency Social safety Net (ESSN), the largest single humanitarian cash transfer project in the world, one critical aspect that EU-funded projects try to address is the protection needs of refugees, in particular women and girls.

According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) there are 900 000 women and girls of reproductive age living as refugees in Turkey. These women are vulnerable to gender-based violence including sexual violence, early and forced marriage, high risk of unwanted pregnancies, and other reproductive risks.

The EU therefore supports humanitarian partners such as UNFPA in providing complementary services inside government-run migrant health centres. These centres help cover the significant gap that exists in services related to reproductive health and psychosocial support. Through its Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), the EU has funded these services in 25 locations since September 2017.