fabiochiu/medium-articles huggingface dataset:
Love Is the Antidote
By: Glenn Geffcken
Tags: Self Improvement, Transformation, Self Acceptance, Self Love, Personal Growth

It Begins with Us

The reason is simple. Uh ho! There’s that word again: “simple.” If it’s too simple we struggle to grasp it and integrate it into our lives. But truly, it is simple. It’s simply this . . . it begins with us.

Carl Yung wrote, “People will do anything, no matter how absurd, in order to avoid facing their own souls. One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious.” This is the heart of our struggles, the avoidance. And we all do it to some extent.

For so many years I judged others because I was harshly judgmental of myself. I was never really a hater, but certainly had my share of prejudices. As a child I was abused by men. So, for most of my life I’ve had a hard time trusting men. Particularly men who looked like my abusers. I knew it was irrational, but I couldn’t help it. If I met a man who looked like my stepfather and had a similar hairstyle, I was immediately distrustful and disliking of that person. And yet, it was all a reflection of my dislike and disapproval of myself. Having been unwholesomely loved as a child there was a shadow deep within me that felt unlovable, and men who reminded me of my stepfather were merely a reminder of my unlovable-ness.

Love of others begins with love of self. Therefore, the antidote of love begins with an inward journey and healing process, by making “darkness conscious.” Only it’s easier to judge others, to be prejudiced and off-putting so as to elevate our self-concept. But self-concept, and even self-esteem, are not the same as self-love, as they are more of the mind and the ego, whereas self-love is purely of the heart.

When I felt unlovable, my capacity for self-love was limited, and as a result my capacity for love of others (or a form of love that is more wholesome and without conditions) was also limited. And as I heal from past traumas and transform my ability to love myself, my capacity to love others expands and becomes more condition-less. The key is to cultivate an ongoing transformation process so we can increase our capacity for self-love, and therefore become more able to love others without conditions.
A Tale of Two Pronouns
By: Clio Hartzer
Tags: Linguistics, Language, Nonbinary, LGBTQ, Gender Pronouns

On the other hand, there’s “you”, which has contributed indirectly to one of the most argued positions in non-binary discussion boards.

Once upon a time in English, we had four distinct pronouns where we currently have one. If I were talking to one person, I would use “thou/thee”; if I were talking to more than one person, I would use “ye/you”. “Thou knows that ye have done wrong, so I need thee to tell me what I should do to you” (“you know that y’all have done wrong, so I need you to tell me what I should do to y’all”).

At some point, we realized that getting rid of the distinction between singular and plural was often confusing, so different dialects developed strategies for creating it again. “Y’all” and “you guys” are among the most common options.

I use “y’all”, even though I’m not a Southerner. And because I’m not a Southerner, people make fun of me for it. The accepted version in my part of the world (the US Midwest) is “you guys”.

But here’s the problem: “Guy” is a masculine word. “Guys” might be widely used as gender-neutral, but “guy” very clearly started out as a term for men. And while “you guys” is not the only place that “guys” appears, it is a major one, and I think it’s a major driver for why we can’t just easily get rid of it.

Those who insist that “guys” is just fine now seem indifferent or oblivious to the history. But the use of “guys” as a gendered term isn’t ancient history. “Guys and Dolls”, for instance, was first performed in 1950, and is still a mainstay for high school musicals. The title contrasts terms for men and for women.

And while “guys” in the plural is widely used as a gender neutral term, “guy” in the singular still largely suggests a man. Ask a cishet Millennial if he’d ever kiss a guy, and I’m willing to bet real money that the most common answer won’t be yes.

Even so, I get that “you guys” is a particularly frustrating construction. It’s easy enough to replace “Hey, guys, how’s it going?” with “Hey, everyone, how’s it going?”

But as a teacher who is actively working to eliminate gendered language in my own speech, I know how hard it was for me to get rid of “Okay, you guys, it’s time to get to work” (I now say “Okay, y’all…” or “Okay, everyone…”).

So I think what is generally missing from these conversations is the realization that “you guys” (like “y’all”) is effectively a pronoun, and pronouns have a linguistic tenacity even stronger than nouns. Pronouns are in short supply as it is, and our process for creating them is limited.
TTT is now tradable with CNY and USDT on KeepBTC exchange
By: Bob Lu
Tags: Cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, Blockchain, Announcements, Partnerships

We are glad to announce that TrustNote’s token TTT is now tradable with CNY and USDT on the KeepBTC exchange since 8th June 2018!

TTT is now tradable on KeepBTC

TrustNote is a Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) based distributed ledger and its development platform for the tokenized economy.

Believing in the key to freedom of innovation in the digital age is decentralisation and being frustrated with today’s blockchains who have not embraced true decentralization, prohibiting the innovators and future thinkers from creating the change they want to see, TrustNote is designed to make development easy, fast and scalable, and bring trust to an untrusting environment for everyone on every device at a low cost.

Additional information including the TrustNote white paper is available online at www.trustnote.org and https://github.com/trustnote/document.

Available markets:

TrustNote Charts

TrustNote (TTT), Market Cap, 21/6/2018. Source: coinmarketcap.com

Find more about TrustNote

GitHub | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn | BitcoinTalk
Nikmatnya Belajar Islam
By: Didik Tri Susanto
Tags: Hikmah, Ilmu, Islam

Written by

Proud to be Moslem | Introvert | Backend Engineer | VP of Engineering DOT Indonesia | dot.co.id
In case you missed: Kript app new functions review
By: Kript Team
Tags: Kript

In case you missed: Kript app new functions review

Account list, Ethereum wallets, Markets, Security, Profile settings and other features

Account list

Now on the main screen of Kript app you see the state of all connected accounts (exchanges and wallets). Read more

Ethereum wallets

You can connect unlimited Ethereum wallets. Kript gets data for the trading pair tab (“Tickers”) from EtherDelta exchange. Balance and asset list include all cryptocurrencies available on the account. Tokens are displayed in test mode and can be shown not in full.

Markets

New tab “Markets” is added to information about trade pair. It allows comparing offers of all the exchanges supported by Kript. Selected exchanges are shown in a separate category “My exchanges”.

Security

Passcode, Touch ID and Face ID (for iOS only) provide even better safety of the application.

Profile settings

But for safety settings, new profile management menu provides an opportunity to download profile picture and add nickname.

The Kript team is already developing social functions in the app, so your nickname and profile photo will be useful for you pretty soon! ;)

What else?

✅ Added USD/BTC switch button for choosing balance currency

✅ QR Code scanner for exchange connection. The function is supported by exchanges: Binance, Bitfinex, Kraken

✅ Trade volume display in tab “Tickers”

✅ Google+ authorization

✅ Beginning mode

Have questions?

Be free to write us on hello@kript.io
Cách mua token giáo dục (LEDU)
By: Education Ecosystem
Tags: Bitcoin, Exchange, Blockchain, Vietnamese, Ethereum

Education Ecosystem is a decentralized ecosystem for learning about technologies and trying them out hands-on using free practical project examples.

Follow
Ready, Willing, and Able Sir
By: Yohanan Gregorius
Tags: Poetry, Words, Writing Process, Poetry Writing, Tanka

Tanka inspired by General Henery X’s Poem

Ready, Willing, and Able Sir

My words’ aid and comfort to our allies

Photo by Kyle Glenn on Unsplash

Repository

gladly I wait for impact

Give my place to her

She fits so much better here

I will have my day in court
Dismantle 3D Model into fragments
By: Mitsuya Watanabe
Tags: JavaScript, Ui Ux Design, Animation, Threejs, 3d

Workflow

* Load model

* Create geometry from model

* Create scene, camera

* Create Mesh for polygonal model with shader material

* Render scattering fragments

I place emphasis on the creation of a polygonal object and dismantled triangle parts. Therefore, I will explain these procedures in that point of views next.

Highlight Code

Create polygonal model

In the example of modifier / simplifier , they supply the diminishing code as SimplifyModifier class. It is not native support code in Three.js but well-maintenance code. So we can use it as follows.

var loader = new THREE.FontLoader();

new GLTFLoader().load("models/gltf/LeePerrySmith/LeePerrySmith.glb", function (gltf) {

var mesh = gltf.scene.children[0];

var modifier = new SimplifyModifier();

var simplified = mesh.clone();

simplified.material = simplified.material.clone();

simplified.material.flatShading = true;

var count = Math.floor(simplified.geometry.attributes.position.count * 0.8); // number of vertices to remove

simplified.geometry = modifier.modify(simplified.geometry, count);

var geometry = new Geometry().fromBufferGeometry(simplified.geometry);

})

We can control how level we abstract the model by the count. Although the variable called simplified is cloned by pure model mesh and the instance type is BufferGeometry, I had to convert it into Geometry for the next process. I don’t know why I should do that but apparently, there is no data for normal in attribute. After converting it to Geometry, recreate as BufferGeometry using fromGeometry method.

geometry = new THREE.BufferGeometry().fromGeometry(geometry);

The difference between the two is as follows.
The Girl I Met One Sunday Night
By: Kasun Ranasinghe
Tags: Slice Of Life, Life, Romance, Fiction

Photo by Geoffroy Hauwen on Unsplash

Who was she? The girl that sat next to me on that calm Sunday night… Snacking on bits and bites as she watched the curtain fall on her long and tiring week. She had sleepy eyes, dark shadows pooling low, a thoughtful look she shared with the world as the world looked back at her. What to do? What to do? What mountains will I climb tomorrow? What oceans will I cross next? Question after question danced before the fading light as the sun waved us its last goodbye.

I watched her smile then watched it fade… Maybe she was thinking of a lover long lost or a friend she once shared coffee with? She hummed a tune, “Valderi Valdera”, her head swaying with the rise and fall of the melody. Must have been an old favorite, a song shared at kindergarten or the music of her motherland. I could never say… I watched her slump down in her chair, the crumbs of cheesy treats falling down on her light green sweater. Must have thought of the work she had left or the annoying boss she’d have to face come Monday morning.

It must have been 10 minutes, maybe 20 until she changed her pose again. This time she was a humming and hawing pulling out a phone from her sleek black purse. The BIG F maybe or the chaotic T, what ever it was, it lit up her light mocha face followed by a smile that sprang into a giggle. Must have been the kittens… yup… kittens always brought her back from her slump. She laughed for a while and then the screen went dark. She slipped it back in without a care in the world, it had done its part.

Silence again, she was back to dreaming of the adventures that lay ahead. A few more minutes passed us by, the world was dark again; except for the gentle glow of the city’s street lights. Sunday was almost over and she was ready to leave. She stood with the grace of a queen, careful not to make a sound and turned to me still sitting there beside her. She smiled and placed her hand in mine.

“This was nice… Now lets go home and put the kids to bed”
Coinpaprika Release — Independent Source of Crypto Data
Tags: Cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, Blockchain, Ethereum, Data

After continuous strive to have independent data, now we can say that we are fully autonomous from other services!

What does it mean?

Data from 176 exchanges is imported and stored into our servers without any 3rd party members. With that integration we can bring you data straight from the places where the trades take place.

is imported and stored into our servers without any 3rd party members. With that integration we can bring you data straight from the places where the trades take place. Prices, charts, volume and other numeric values are waged and counted independently from other services. Previously we helped ourself with data from external sources, which sometimes resulted in showing wrong prices. (And we were not aware of it). From now, it won’t happen again.

from other services. Previously we helped ourself with data from external sources, which sometimes resulted in showing wrong prices. (And we were not aware of it). From now, it won’t happen again. Data refreshes now faster, as we serve you 265 ticks on average per 1 second, which is around 16 000 ticks per 1 minute . Simply speaking, we refresh info about 16 000 prices on different pairs, every minute.

. Simply speaking, we refresh info about 16 000 prices on different pairs, every minute. Prices are more stable and reliable as they are calculated in consideration with every single market. With that in mind, no strange and unconfirmed deviations from the price will occur.

as they are calculated in consideration with every single market. With that in mind, no strange and unconfirmed deviations from the price will occur. We have built tools to detect outliners and anomalies. We are constantly monitoring prices, we even created a publicly available dashboard to show the difference that our independent system made — coin price listing with comparison to other websites! You can check it here!

We are very proud that this day finally came, as working on our own data means we have more space to introduce even more intriguing charts, more interesting correlations, and many new features in future!

Check it now on coinpaprika.com!

Once again we would like to shout out that Coinpaprika is fully independent - we don’t relay on cmc data, as many other platforms do.
เมื่อไรควรจะใช้ Web Animations ?
By: Suranart Niamcome
Tags: User Experience, Animation, CSS, Highlight, Coding

in In Fitness And In Health
UbiatarPlay airdrop: info about Eidoo users eligibility
By: Amelia Tomasicchio
Tags: Token Sale, Airdrop, Blockchain, Ethereum, ICO

The info about Ubiatar airdrop and ICO have been changed. Please read this new blog post for more info.

As you might know, the UbiatarPlay ICO will start in less than a month, on March 23rd.

In this article, we will explain to you how the UbiatarPlay airdrop, or free giveaway of UAC tokens, works, and so how to get it.

The UbiatarPlay Airdrop: eligibility for Eidoo users only

UbiatarPlay will provide an airdrop of 100 UAC tokens for all people who have the Eidoo app installed and a verified KYC until March 22nd, 2018 at 11 p.m. CET.

So, to be eligible, you need to have the Eidoo app installed on your device, and complete Tier 2 on the ICOengine website.

Note: Tier 1 won’t be enough to receive UAC tokens.

When you fill the form for this KYC, you will be asked to enter an Eidoo wallet address. This will be the address where tokens will be distributed.

This airdrop will be available also for Eidoo users who have already completed the KYC process.

The distribution will start on May 5th, and it might last a few days because of the Ethereum blockchain speed.

How to be eligible for the UAC airdrop

Download the Eidoo wallet app on your mobile device or desktop (the desktop version will be launched in a few days) before March 22 at 11 p.m. CET Login/Register your account on www.icoengine.net Complete the identification until Tier 2. Read a step-by-step guide here before March 22nd at 11p.m. CET Wait for May 5th for the distribution of 100 UAC (it might last a few days)

Disclaimer: U.S. and Chinese citizens are not allowed to participate in the Eidoo-powered ICOs or in this airdrop.

The UbiatarPlay ICO will start on March 23rd, read more here.
Penjaga Masjid itu ternyata bukan orang “biasa”
By: Didik Tri Susanto
Tags: Islam, Hikmah, Masjid

Written by

Proud to be Moslem | Introvert | Backend Engineer | VP of Engineering DOT Indonesia | dot.co.id
Investigating Airplane Accidents Over the Past 110+ Years
By: Meena Aier
Tags: Data Science, Airlines, Planes, Data Visualization, Aircraft

Airplanes have gotten safer, haven’t they? Yes, consistent improvements in technology have made flying safer on the whole. However, airline business models increasingly focus on achieving efficiencies of scale by transporting a greater number of passengers per flight. This has dramatically increased the cost of every crash — not just in $ terms, but more importantly, when we consider the number of human lives lost.

The Ethiopian Airlines crash last week brought a renewed focus on aircraft manufacturers’ as well as regulators’ responsibilities in maintaining the highest standards of aviation safety. The days following the crash saw all major regulators across the globe grounding Boeing’s 737 Max 8 jets, which as per analyst estimates, could potentially cost all stakeholders involved billions of dollars over the next few months. The cost of 157 lives lost is incalculable, and far more acutely felt.

The fact that air travel has gotten safer is commonly known — but I wanted to take a quick look at the underlying data, and try and determine how some key trends have evolved over the past century. Thankfully, there are some great open source datasets available, which make it possible to have a fantastic data frame that spans over 111 years. Towards the end of this post, I note all of the resources I have used to collect, clean, analyze and visualize this data.

First things first. Let’s take a look at some aggregate numbers.

How many plane accidents have occurred since 1908? Nearly 5,800. This includes commercial, military and private flights.

How many lives have been lost in these accidents? Over 115,000.

What was the deadliest year for plane crashes? 1972. This year witnessed 105 plane crashes, which resulted in nearly 3,000 deaths.

The graph below visualizes the number of plane crashes and fatalities over the past 111 years, with some annotations.
Trips, collections, sports, cooking…
By: Vicky Randle-Zemborain
Tags: Cooking, Travel, Collecting

There are lots of passions: traveling, collecting, cooking, gardening… and behind every passion there is always a passionate person who enjoys it, who spends time in it, intensity and patience. Usually, there is a natural desire to share what we like the most. A good way to do it is to tell the story behind it.

The missing piece of a collection

Books of private collections

There is always a story behind every collection; how and when the desire to collect began, which was the most difficult piece to get, with whom this passion is shared…

We are experts in the production of high quality private bespoke books. We offer you the opportunity to have your own “coffee-table book” of your collection and in the number of copies you want.

Do you have a collection or know someone who is? Contact us
Bitkub.com officially received the DBD Registration Badge in Thailand!
Tags: News, Articles, Blockchain, Cryptocurrency, Bitcoin

Launching recently on the 9th of May 2018, our goal is to raise the bar of what is expected for a cryptocurrency exchange. For only being 3 months young, bitkub.com has already released Bitcoin, Ethereum, and OmiseGo — and for the very first time in Thailand, Wanchain and Cardano. We also have given out brand new car, smartphones, and up to 400,000 THB cash prize for users who participated in our campaigns. Moreover, before the month of July ends, all bitkub.com users are up for a surprise for the new coins that will be released.

And today, as a highlight for our 3 month achievements, we are proud to announce that the Department of Business Development (DBD), Ministry of Commerce of Thailand has recognized bitkub.com as a legally operating online business by giving us the “DBD Registered” trademark.

People can now check bitkub.com registration over the Department of Business Development Thailand website. It is important to note that all internet users who buy and sell cryptocurrency must check the authenticity of the website to avoid fraud.

Bitkub.com aims to be the first cryptocurrency exchange company to be fully licensed by the Security Exchange Commission. We will continuously work together with regulators and other contributors for the development of the cryptocurrency and blockchain ecosystem in Thailand.

“Security of our users is our number one priority and bitkub’s DBD registration trademark is a significant milestone towards building a trusted and credible cryptocurrency exchange. With the proper government compliance in place, Bitkub.com is prepared to provide users with strong asset protection and prevent any kind of security breaches”, statement made by Ton Sakolkorn Sakavee, the CEO of Bitkub.com

DBD Registered trademark means that bitkub.com users are protected by laws. For a company to receive the DBD Registered trademark, among others, the company must have registration in accordance with the Thai laws, and a cryptocurrency service that does not contradict the laws, public order, and good morals.

As Thailand’s leading digital asset exchange, bitkub.com intends to be the pioneer in facilitating the government-cryptocurrency relations. With the recent regulation of the Thailand government on ICO Portals and Cryptocurrency exchange, bitkub.com is expected to receive more licenses in the upcoming months.
A Brief History of the Syrian Conflict
By: Matt Mulholland
Tags: Syria, ISIS, Data Visualization

The story begins in March 2011 with pro-democracy demonstrations in the country. After police fired upon demonstrators the numbers grew to hundreds of thousands by that summer. Soon afterwards, the demonstrators began to take up arms against the government and the country descended into civil war. Adding to the chaos was the rise of the Islamic State, or ISIS, in the region that also began fighting.

The conflict truly hit the world stage when the use of chemical weapons was reported in August 2013. President Obama had before ‘drawn the line’ on the use of such weapons, implying that it would evoke outside military intervention. After this occurred, however, no such intervention took place and the UN and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons led the dismantling of the Syrian Government’s chemical weapons supply.

By September 2014, the ISIS threat had become a world news topic as they began to cause more trouble than the Syrian Rebels. The United States military began airstrikes, that have continued since then, aimed at slowing the advance of the Islamic Radicals.

Throughout all of this as well is the almost independent Kurdish resistance against the Islamic State. Although the Kurds in the northern part of Syria are a part of Syria, the government has done little to protect the region comparatively. The Kurds have been fighting the IS with their own militias.
Continuous functions
By: Adrià Serra
Tags: Machine Learning, Mathematics, Data Science, Deep Learning, Calculus

CALCULUS CONTINUITY OF FUNCTIONS PROPERTIES

Continuous functions

How most machine learning cost functions should be

In the last post, we introduced limits, they are the tool that we are going to use to check local continuity of functions. There exist some possible factors that make our function not continuous.

If f is an arbitrary function, it is not necessarily true that:

Limit definition, self-generated.

Continous at a value definition

The function f is continuous at a if:

Limit definition, self-generated.

As you notice, in the last post, our example was not continuous, because, at the value of 3, the function had no solution. Another example of this is the g(x)=xsin(1/x).

g(x)=xsin(1/x) function plot, self-generated.

In this case, at 0, the function seems to be 0, but it’s impossible because we are trying to divide by 0, so it has no solution, this function is not continuous at 0, to convert it we should write the function as:

Continous function, self-generated.

Now the limit of g(x) when x tends to 0 is 0.

Properties of continuity

If f and g are continuous at a , then f+g and f·g are continuous at a .

and are continuous at , then and are continuous at . If g is continuous at a, and f is continuous at g(a), then f ∘ g is continuous at a.

Continous at an interval definition

The few theorems of this chapter have all been related to the continuity of functions at a single point, but the concept of continuity doesn’t begin to be interesting until we focus our attention on functions which are continuous at all points of some interval.

If f is continuous at x for all x in (a,b), then f is called continuous on (a,b).

To define it for closed intervals, it’s a bit different:

A function f is called continuous on [a,b] if:

Continous interval definition, self-generated.

Converting a single point continuity to an interval continuity

The hypothesis of this theorem requires continuity at only a single point, but the conclusion describes the behavior of the function on some interval containing the point.

Suppose f is continuous at a, and f(a)>0. Then there is a number δ>0 such that f(x)>0 for all x satisfying |x-a|<δ. Similarly, if f(a)<0, then there is a number δ > 0 such that f(x) < 0 for all x satisfying |x-a|<δ.

Summary

This is the third post of the calculus series, in it, we introduced how limits are used to describe the continuity of functions. Limits will allow us to define derivates and integrals. Techniques used for optimizing functions to find the minimum error, and here is where calculus gets involved.
我從 Sketch 老粉變成 Figma 鐵粉的 10 個理由
By: Lin Simon
Tags: UI, Figma, Sketch, UX, Design Tools

Figma vs Sketch - What sets Figma apart?

Designers are making the switch from Sketch to Figma. Import a Sketch file and start designing on the Web today. Get…
Lost in Imagination
By: Synthia Satkuna, Ma Candidate
Tags: Nature, Imagination, Poem, Sky, Poetry

I look towards the wondrous sky

I admire the clouds so frightfully high

I imagine a small world in the clouds

Beyond our recognition, no overcrowds

I see nothing of a noted mark

My imagination colours in the spark

Flying under the clouds, seeking creativity

I stumble upon vibrant festivity

Though life is dreary, banal, and warring

The sky illustrates a visual soaring

As the creative mind relentlessly flows

And reality loosens its grip and slows

Keeping grounded to the scene

I pace around and come clean

While productive and pragmatic

Childhood brings upon the dramatic
Stop using the term ‘racist’ unless you’re sure it is
By: Shamontiel L. Vaughn
Tags: Racial Profiling, Prejudice, Race, Racism, White Privilege

Stop using the term ‘racist’ unless you’re sure it is

Empty accusations on race can make you lose all credibility

Photo credit: Nicole De Khors/Burst

I sat quietly in the condo association meeting, listening to the goals of our new management company, budget estimates and building repairs. I kept my promise to defend a neighbor whose rental car had been towed twice. Right after I asked about temporary car stickers, that’s when another owner said something that caught my attention: “Someone left a racist sign on our doors.”

My ears perked up immediately. Who would have the audacity to leave racist signs in a condo building like mine — a building with every single race on the Census questionnaire? The audacity! Tell me who right now. I said none of this, but she had my full attention.

She followed up by explaining that someone left signs asking tenants and owners to not let visitors park in their reserved parking spots. I waited for the racism. She pointed out that these were “kids” who parked in the spots. (They were in their early 20s; I disagree with the term “kids.”) I was still waiting on the racism. And then she stopped talking. Finally, I spoke up, “Where is the racism in this?” Her response: “The sign described what they looked like. It said they were Black and Hispanic.” Still, I’m waiting on the racism.

Photo credit: Thought Catalog/Burst

And then it hit me all at once. I was the one who created that sign months ago. These same two people had been parking in all the condo owners’ parking spots. They’d get kicked out of one and park in the next. Two separate times I’d come home to find someone in my parking spot and had to park a block away, run into my unit and go running back out the door to make it to my next destination — even though I’m paying a mortgage that includes my parking spot. After the second time with me having to find a parking spot in a crowded metropolitan neighborhood, I created the sign. I was trying to narrow down who in the building was allowing this duo to keep parking in our spots. Simple description was on the sign: race, age, license plate, make and model of car, and a reminder about people owning their spot. In turn, this lady decided it was “racism.”

I sighed and told her, “I’m a 38-year-old black woman. And the make and model of my car is __________________. Our President is a Hispanic woman. Our Secretary is Asian. I wrote that sign! Me describing the people in this room right now does not make me racist. Don’t accuse me of racism unless you can prove there was actual racism.”

The condo board association grew quiet, looking from me to her. Soon after that debate, and another one she and I had on dog ownership (long story), she stormed out of the meeting. But I was still offended by the accusation that I was accused of racism.
Recipe 17: Steak on a Cast Iron Skillet
By: Sarah Charles
Tags: Recipe, Marriage, Food, Cooking, Steak

What You’ll Need

4–5 Redskin Potatoes

Steamed Corn

1 inch thick steaks (whatever cut you like)

Cast iron skillet

Salt and Pepper (for rub)

Olive Oil

Tongs

Garlic (crushed or powder)

Butter

Spoon (for basting)

How We Did It

1. Take steaks out of the fridge and place on a plate (let them rest for 20 minutes).

2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

3. While steaks are resting, wash and cut redskin potatoes.

4. Drizzle olive oil on potatoes and add 1/2 teaspoon garlic and salt and pepper to taste.

5. In a greased casserole dish, dump potatoes in and bake in the oven. Cook for 20 minutes before putting steaks on, flip, and bake for another 25 minutes.

6. While potatoes are baking, begin heating your cast iron skillet (the focus is to sear the steak, so make sure it’s hot!).

7. Season the steaks with salt and pepper. Mop up the seasoning with the steak to push in the leftover salt and pepper.

8. Add olive oil to the cast iron skillet (enough to lightly cover the bottom).

9. Lay steaks away from you (AHHH, listen to that sizzle).

10. Let sit on the first side for 30 seconds. Flip.

11. Let sit on the other side for 30 more seconds.

12. Lift steak with tongs and rest them on the side of the pan so they can sear even better (the oil will cook it nicely this way).

13. Lay steaks back down.

14. Peal, crush, and add garlic to the pan (garlic powder will also work — but don’t over do it, friends!).

15. Flip steaks.

16. Cut cubes of butter and add to the pan.

17. Tilt the pan and begin to baste the steaks with the juices.

18. Put the corn in the microwave (follow directions on the bag).

19. Take the steaks off and let them rest.

19. Once potatoes are done take them out of the oven, serve with steak and corn, and enjoy!

A Final Note

Aaron and I had so much fun cooking this together. We loved putting our own spin on it but we do need to give credit where it is due. First, my brother, who is a steak guru, shared this recipe with us. Thank you, Michael Schoettle!

He sent us video to follow (YAY for Gordon Ramsay!): https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AmC9SmCBUj4
Stop Worrying About Too Many Tokens
Tags: Bitcoin

A common argument against the massive growth in blockchain tokens is “Why don’t all these decentralized applications have to create a separate currency instead of just using one that already exists?”

From the user’s perspective this is a valid question. It is far from ideal for a user to need to swap coins on an exchange before being able to use an application.

However this perspective is flawed for two reasons:

First, decentralized applications are on a journey and not yet at a destination. Most technology adoption curves struggle mightily with user experience early on in their lifecycle. The first operating systems used nothing but command line interfaces. GUI implementations were added later. During the 90s, AOL users waited minutes to log in, all the while hearing the irritating buzz of a dial-up modem. The experience will eventually get better.

Second, because Bitcoin called itself a currency, users are mistakenly assuming that all these tokens are also currencies. This mistaken assumption leads many people to believe that there should be only one currency, much the way the USD is the world’s reserve currency.

But these tokens are not currencies — they are mini-protocols. They are the protocols used to access the applications, and as we have seen through the internet, when it comes to layering protocols, abstraction is our friend.

For example, decentralized exchanges already exist (albeit with their own challenges), and as they mature token swapping will become completely abstracted from the user experience. Tokens will become the decentralized equivalent of the API keys that we all now take for granted as a behind-the-scenes means to an end.

So no, there aren’t too many “currencies” out there. In reality, only a small fraction of the items listed at www.coinmarketcap.com can even be properly referred to as cryptocurrencies. Rather they are new platforms on the blockchain that themselves use mere protocols to govern their functionality.

If we were really talking about thousands upon thousands of competing currencies in a new currency market, then yes, we would definitely expect a massive culling, Highlander-style, down to a handful of currencies used to transact business globally. But that’s just not what’s happening. Rather, a new, powerful technology with myriad untapped uses has hit the world stage, and each company that uses it has its own protocol.

Make sense? When you realize this simple fact, blockchain companies become a lot less scary.
Marketing to Millennials & Gen-Z: YMS Recap
Tags: Influencer Marketing, Events, Youth Marketing, Marketing Strategies, Conference

This week we participated at Voxburner’s YMS (Youth Marketing Strategy 2017), conference which was held at Brooklyn’s trendy Industry City. During the intense two days thought leaders, brands and agencies came together to discuss their experiences and strategies for marketing to and with millennials and Gen Z’ers. Brands such as Chegg, Zoomph, UCA, and yours truly (Julius) had booths within the venue to share information and network with attendees. Conversations were had, donuts were eaten, and plenty of swag handed out.

Not only were attendees able to network and learn about brands, but there was a well thought out agenda with insightful panels sharing insights and learnings about the evolving market from every perspective. Using #YMS17, attendees were busy tweeting out quotes, photos, and things they took away from the panels. It was very interactive.

Our panel, Consumer Psychology & the Rise of Digital Influencer Marketing, was moderated by our VP of Sales and Customer Success Bryn Caruso, and included Tom De Napoli from Viacom Velocity, Joy Peabody from Estee Lauder, Ellyn Fisher from Ad Council, and Effortlyss founder/influencer Alyssa Bossio. The panelists shared thoughts on how it’s been shaping product launches, business and their marketing strategies overall.

In case you missed it, you can watch it on our Facebook below!
5 things bike-sharing tells us about Chicago
By: Matteo Foglio
Tags: Data Science, Bikes, Divvy, Data Visualization, Ridesharing

Our analysis tells the story of a service that is popular among residents, particularly loved by people in their thirties, and characterized by interesting differences in how people use it.

Curious about what we found out? Here are 5 different stories and don’t forget to play with our data visualizations here.

But before we begin, what is the Divvy Bikes open dataset?

The dataset released by Divvy has a pretty straightforward structure: a list of bike rides with information about where and when a user unlocked and then parked the bike. All the data released by Divvy are anonymized and up until the end of 2019, they also included riders’ age and gender. Our analysis includes data from 2013 until the end of June 2020.

As is typical in any data story, our work started with cleaning the data and preparing them for the analysis. Now, on to the results.

Popular Rides

It is no surprise that the most popular routes span across Downtown and the lovely Chicago Lakefront Trail. In this visualization, you will see the top 1000 rides by popularity. Each arc in the map represents all the trips between the two stations connected.

Looking closer at the map, you will notice two common patterns.

First, several popular rides start or end on university campuses, showing how students use bikes to travel across their campuses.
Sorrow Of Africa
By: Omar Talib
Tags: Poetry, Thesceneandheard, Poetry On Medium, Art, Africa

I will see the children cry

I will see their Papa starve and die

I will see their Mama trying to try

I will see all this and sigh.

I will drive by this everyday

I will think to myself, there is a way

I will go to my home, a world away

Sit by my fire with Mozart to play

I will see the children toil

I will see mama dig the soil

I will see Papa ‘neath his cross

His legacy and life, a loss

I will leave at dusk to fly away

Looking forward to another day

I will meet my friends and have a drink

Pink Champagne, who has to blink?

I will see mama under the sun

Her bleeding fingers hope the day is done

I will see mama under the moon

Tears of resolve forestall their doom

I will see my glass, bubbling pink

I scold myself for how much I think

“Relax” I say, “It’s not your fault”

Sip away and worry naught.

I will leave at dawn to fly back home

I will see the children all alone

I will see mama ‘neath her cross

Her Legacy and life, a loss

I see my face in a mirror

What stares me back is a horror

My life, my wealth, my sheer pleasure

Africa, her children waste in squalor.
Gaudí for iOS: Theming and Dark Mode
By: Giuseppe Lanza
Tags: Programming, Swift, iOS, Mobile, Dark Mode

Semantic Colors

This framework uses semantic color names to better adapt to dark mode and other possible themes living within the same app.

Work with your designer to get these right. As Apple recommends, don’t take shortcuts and don’t change the semantic meaning of the semantic color.

Gaudí’s SemanticColor enum provides a clear hint about what that color actually is:

public enum SemanticColor: CaseIterable {

case label(LabelColor)

case fill(FillColor)

case background(BackgroundColor)

case groupedBackground(GroupedContentBackgroundColor)

case separator(SeparatorColor)

}

Each one of these LabelColor , FillColor , BackgroundColor , and GroupedContentBackgroundColor have different specific semantic colors such as primary , secondary , tertiary , and so on.

Don’t use a LabelColor as a fill color. This will introduce entropy in your project. Work closely with your designer to adhere to this specification.

When, in your code, you will be using just SemanticColor s in the correct way, to re-skin your app will be as easy as change 20 lines of code. You will also be able to A/B test the different theme by creating a new theme object with the new colors.

Why semantic colors

By reading .red , one would expect as result a color that is a shade of red, while reading primary , there are no expectations.

This framework aims to make theming easy. If you are using a black color for a text it would be strange to see black actually rendered as a white color in a dark mode theme.

For this reason, I decided to adopt Apple recommendations about using semantic colors, not only to support Dark Mode, but also to allow different themes to work together, maintaining a layer of semantic abstraction from the theme color and the actual rendered color.

How to use it

label.textColor = .semanticColor(.label(.primary))

This simple line of code will set the textColor of a label to be the primary label semantic color of the current theme. If the theme changes, the color will change too.

You can also create your custom semantic colors just by extending the color enum of which it makes semantic sense to have a new color. For example, if the color is for a text label then you want to extend LabelColor like so:

public extension LabelColor {

static var myCustomSemanticColor: LabelColor {

return .custom(color: .color(fromHex: "#123456"))

}

}

I strongly recommend you adopt this “extension approach”, as it might be tempting to use the custom case of the enum directly but this will bite you in the future when you’ll have to repeat that color again for another label, or change it for all the labels with that custom color.

If your designer surprises you with a slightly different shade of grey, or a different color out of the schemes of the ordinary color palette originally agreed, talk to them to see if that extra color is necessary, and if it is, then make an extension.
The Gull Anarchy
By: Ria Ghosh
Tags: Poetry, Poetry On Medium, War, Poem, Female Empowerment

Poetry

The Gull Anarchy

A poem about a girl and her fight!

Photo by Jack B on Unsplash

How do you make an eagle out of a seagull?

How can you possibly harden her soul?

Those fragile limbs of her will never yield the struggle!

Is she capable of malice?

Can she sail these hurricane clad seas?

Will we ever win with her?

The first day that I stood with my chin up and fears tramped,

I heard these behind me.

I was nervous, tapping my left foot

to march with the rhythm of my heartbeat.

The ships were ready to leave!

I looked back, and the land was narrowing its arcs.

With the first fire, I had to give the command.

For the first time, my voice had that dread.

The vast sea stared me into my eyes and mocked my fright.

She laughed at my composed demeanor.

They doubted my every sigh!

The rifle clenched tightly to my arm, my jaws dictated, “fire!”

The Atlantic was chilly and cruel,

For a girl and her country.

When I jumped higher, the skies fell upon me.

Did I hope for a little more?

Had I bargained for a little less?

The sun was setting in my arms

as I kept rising our flag on their trams.

How do I know, at which point to slow?

They asked for a wish and I demanded a show!

I won hearts and promises and lives.

I won trust and respect and acceptance.

I won leadership and happiness and a second chance.

As I step on that ship every day, I remind myself that

This was a triumph.

The other one may not be.

My palms are still sweaty, my voice still cracks.

I still fill my eyes with grim realities before any war.

The little seagull is still afraid of razor-sharp arrows and tar lad barrels.

But when I will look back to these vast seas,

I will mock them for bending down before me.

I will stamp the sky and the ocean in my heart till the end of my days.

And then let them tell the story.

Of a seagull who fought like an eagle!
I Just Had A Leg Transplant
By: Jean Kennerson
Tags: Writing Challenge, Rhymes, Poems On Medium, Humor, Poetry

This story is published in Imperfect Words, a generalized Medium publication that’s home to the misfits!

If you want to be a writer, click here!
Komodo Notary Node Elections 2019
Tags: Blockchain, Dpow, Privacy, Pirate, Kmd

Komodo Notary Node Elections 2019

Pirate gets 3 places as Notary Node Operators

The election period for this year’s Komodo Notary Node elections ended on 14th May 2019. Although the result has not yet been officially confirmed, all 3 nodes with which Pirate participated were elected.

Pirate gets 3 places as Notary Node Operators

Pirate received 1,303,033 votes for the European region, making Pirate the market leader in Europe, which is irrelevant as the first 8 places in a region are awarded as junctions. But it shows and proves how strong and big the popularity of the community is.

Besides Pirate, Voskcoin, chmex, phba2061, node-9, and1–89, cryptoeconomy and komodopioneers have made it.

For North America Pirate is also at the starting line. 964,556 votes were cast, which makes it third place in the NA region for Pirate. Other candidates are madmax, lukechilds, chainmakers, computergenie, dragonhound, strob and d0ct0r.

Place 5 with 922,967 votes it ended up in the Asian-Russian region (AR). Other candidates elected were: madmax, indenodes, tonyl, decker, alright, gt and etszombi.

Pirate did not participate in the SH region, but even there, well-known users from the community were elected. On behalf of all pirates congratulate all future nodes.

What are the tasks of a notary node?

The NNs are responsible for the security, interoperability and decentralisation of the Komodo ecosystem. Thus, all notary nodes have a great responsibility for the KMD ecosystem.

What services do the notary nodes receive?

In approximately each notary node can earn approximately 50 KMD per day, that makes approximately 1500 KMD per month. On the other hand, there are also expenses for security, hardware and electricity. Pirate will put 50% of its rewards into the further development of Pirate. Pirate thus has an additional source of income that will drive the Pirate project forward.

Further information will follow in the coming days. If anyone has any questions, our captains MrLynch and FishyGuts are always ready to help.

Discord: @FishyGuts#5085 / @mrlynch#5735

Twitter: @PirateChain / @PirateChainUK

E-mail: marketing@pirate.black / mrlynch@protonmail.ch

Many thanks to MrLynch and FishyGuts for their strong commitment. In the sense, a loud ARRR for the mateys and a loud ARRR for the community!

Click on the following link to see the complete results of the elections.

Links:

https://pirate.black/

https://notary.pirate.black/en/

https://discord.gg/Seqqw63

Best Regards Seko1900

Follow me on Twitter:
Crypto and Taxes — The Basics Part 2
By: Dorian Kersch
Tags: Ethereum, Taxes, Blockchain, Bitcoin, Bitcoin Mining

This is Part 2 of 3 on how to file your cryptocurrency taxes.

Part 1 went over the basics of creating a capital gains/loss report. We will touch on things like cost basis, 1099B, etc.

Part 2 will go into “How do I know if I need to pay taxes?” We will go over use cases such as buying altcoins, mining, donating, etc.

Part 3 will go into some of the tools / services out there to help you calculate the reports.