fabiochiu/medium-articles huggingface dataset:
What does it mean to be an influencer?
By: Enrique Dans
Tags: Entrepreneurship, Influencers, Leadership, Personal, Rankings

Spanish business magazine Emprendedores published (in Spanish) a ranking of influencers in entrepreneurship and leadership (pdf) which it generously included myself in. The ranking was first posted on the web in November, but has just been published in the print edition.

Some years I make it onto these kinds of rankings, and others, not; so I’m not sure how reliable they really are as an indicator of my influence, but the way they’re created is interesting. Emprendedores combines the opinion of dozens of entrepreneurs with a series of metrics from various social networks. I don’t know if all the social metrics used are correct or significant: to be honest, I pay little attention to them these days.

That said, I am concerned about the (mis)use of the term influencer: frankly, if all it has come to mean is an update of “celebrity” or “mercenary”, somebody who sells influence or posts garbage on YouTube to generate advertising, then include me out, as Sam Goldwyn said. I get emails and calls every day offering to pay me to write sponsored articles, for including certain links in my stories, for mentioning this or that, or for publishing press releases, and my answer is always the same: I am not a means of communication, my page is purely personal and my readers are not looking for advertorials. I am fortunate in that most of what I do online I don’t do it for the money.

Fortunately, Emprendedores seems to be using the term to refer to people who aim to inspire through their work, people undertake initiatives of all kinds, in which case, I am very grateful to everybody who mentioned me. As for those people who, despite all the evidence to the contrary over the last three decades, still accuse me of working on behalf of this or that company or of belonging to this or that political party, I can only tell repeat that I do what I do based on my own criteria and that maybe they should turn their attention elsewhere and leave me to get on with doing what I do. I’m too old for mind games.

Once again, many thanks to Emprendedores and to those who remembered an old teacher who still enjoys what he does every day.
This Is How Asian Immigrants Save for Their Kids College Tuition
By: U-Ming Lee
Tags: Personal Finance, Investing, Finance, Money, Life Lessons

They Hope for the Best but Prepare for the Worst

My parents were over the moon when my mum finally became pregnant after ten years of trying to have a kid. But, they were also terrified about the challenges involved in raising a child.

They assumed my mum was pregnant with triplets, all of whom would study medicine at university. Some of this may have been the stereotypical Asian parents’ dream to have doctor children. But that wasn’t the only reason.

My parents knew that sending a child to medical school is a costly and prolonged affair. It takes 5–6 years to complete a basic medical degree, then a few more years as a doctor-in-training. This is much longer than the 3–4 years of education that accountants, engineers, or lawyers go through.

Nevertheless, they mentally prepared themselves to have three kids in medical school at the same time and saved accordingly. By making this assumption, they knew they would be prepared for every eventuality.

In a developing country like mine, university places were limited. So, they even prepared to send their kids to a foreign country.

As an international student, I had very few funding options available to me. In the UK, where I graduated, home students were fully subsidised by the taxpayer (things have changed since then). International students had to bear the full cost of their education.

In my day, a home student paid about 15,000 pounds (about $20,000) a year. A 6-year medical course thus would cost an estimated $120,000. Parents with three children would have to shell out $360,000 in fees alone. Add accommodation costs, textbooks, and pocket money — when I was at college, international students were not allowed to work in the UK — and we’re talking maybe $750,000.

Imagine how hard saving $750,000 in a country like Malaysia would be, where the average wage in 1990 was $50 a month.

So, my parents’ financial burden was relieved by having only one child. But, because they were saving for three children, they were absolutely certain about being on track to saving up for that college fund.
Internationalization in Spring Boot
By: Ikhiloya Imokhai
Tags: Jpa, Internationalization, Spring Boot, Localization, Spring Mvc

Internationalization enables applications to be adapted to different languages. Spring boot offers an easy implementation of this feature and in this short post I’ll show you how to set it up.

For this post, I’ll use a sample spring boot code from my previous article. To follow, you can clone the starter-code .

Configuration class

This is a class annotated with @Configuration and it holds the LocaleResolver Bean which enables us to define a default Locale for the application. The configuration class should also implement the WebMvcConfigurer Interface which provides us with the addInterceprtors() method that enables the application to change the language depending on the language parameter appended to any request. If the request does not have a language parameter or if the language parameter does not exist, it falls back to the default Locale specified.

LocaleConfiguration class

2. Message Property files

Next, add the message property files that will hold key/value pairs of each word to translate. For this post, I’ll be using English(en) and French(fr). All the message property files would be created under src/main/resources folder of the project. I’ll create three properties files:

a. messages.properties: This holds the default messages in the default language, say

good.morning=Good Morning

b. messages_en.properties: This holds the English messages

good.morning=Good Morning

c. messages_fr.properties: This holds the French messages

good.morning=Bonjour

3. Implementation

Next, let’s add code to test our Internationalization feature. In the existing controller, add the following code:

controller for i18n

4. Notes

getMessage method

The first arg to the getMessage() holds the message key as specified in the properties file, e.g “good.morning”.

The second arg (params) is an array of Objects. You could pass a null value here. However, this becomes useful should you want to pass objects or values from the code to the messages.properties file. For example, if you want to pass the person’s name from the code to the properties file. First, we define the key in the properties file for the different languages as such:

good.morning.name={0} Good morning {1}

So that when an array of Objects(say Strings) is passed to the getMessage() method, the first element of the array replaces {0} and the second element replaces {1}. For example:

String[] params= new String[]{“Ikhiloya”, “today”}

The third arg to getMessage() is the Locale which defines the right messages.properties file to read from, if the Locale is not passed or the properties file is not found, it reverts to the default Locale set. The code below shows the implementation.

5. Testing on Postman

Using Postman, we can make a call to the controller and pass “language” as the request parameter.

a. English

localhost:8034/user/get-greeting?language=en

b. French

localhost:8034/user/get-greeting?language=fr

c. Using Parameters

localhost:8034/user/get-greeting-name?language=en

Thanks for reading, you can find the code here.
How Do You Tell a Story?
By: Christina Vaughn, Nurse, Freelance Writer
Tags: Writing, Poem, Storytelling

Photo by Linus Sandvide on Unsplash

How do you tell a story? Your story?

Do you bear all?

Do you leave out the embarrassing? Or celebrate the hall-marked days of reverie?

Or do you hide in the words, bumble over verbs…not willing to let yourself see yourself with all your faults?

A life, whether bright and easy or dim, even sleazy, heals itself with the freedom to speak of itself.

I want to tell a story…my story, many stories.

To laugh at stupid jokes and words and events. To twist or expose, or decompose.

To remember, to work through, to forget, to forgive.

To tell a story my way…

How ‘bout you?
The invisible heroes
By: Unshackled Ventures
Tags: Startup Life, Grit, Entrepreneurship, Startup

Building companies is a grind. Everyone who has started one knows it. The grind itself gets much less attention than the victories at the end. And there are very few people, only those in the inner circle, who witness the grind. The obvious ones are the founders, early hires, investors who get deeply involved.

With this post, I would like to thank the unsung heroes of the grind — families. Spouse and children of entrepreneurs. While they don’t have an active contribution in building a company, they are as much a part of the sacrifices as the entrepreneur themselves. However, unlike the entrepreneur, they are not in control and not aware of day to day progress which ultimately leads to the big steps. Almost like a passenger in a racing car, who has no control over the car, can’t anticipate the twists and turns, but is affected by every one of them. It gets worse in adverse situations, and getting back to normal takes much longer than anticipated. This happens often in our world.

Speaking from personal experience and that of founders in my close circle (Unshackled portfolio and friends), the sacrifices made by families are MASSIVE. And largely under-appreciated and under-celebrated. Starting a company, specially for founders without prior entrepreneurial successes, involves major lifestyle adjustments. The pull on time, finances, and attention creates dynamics that are very hard to live with. Even when founders are with families, they are often not mentally present. Only the grittiest can get through the grind, but even the grittiest can’t do it without families (life partner in particular) who are equally gritty, and willing to sacrifice for the dreams and passions of their family member.

Our wives and our children are the biggest stakeholders in our entrepreneurial journey, and their sacrifices are larger than ours. I know entrepreneurs who have been able to grind it out because their spouse was supportive and kept them going. I also know founders who had to give up after while because the spouses ran out of steam. There’s obviously no right or wrong the families could have done. Whatever sacrifices they make are worth celebrating and its important to recognize that not everyone has the same appetite for risk and stress.

I am extremely grateful to my wife and children, and my partner’s wife, for the role they have played in our entrepreneurial journey with their grit, sacrifices, and support. And to every entrepreneur’s family. Salute!
My Life Is a Flowing Stream
By: Mia Verita
Tags: Inspiration, Poetry, Life, Pom Prompt, Creative Writing

POETRY

My Life Is a Flowing Stream

A poetic response to POMprompt #20 Big Fish, Little Fish

Author Photo. Mia Verita at Taylor Creek in Lake Tahoe at the height of Salmon spawning season

My life is a flowing stream

not the kind in blissful dreams

following stars and moonbeams

It’s more the type that curves and bends

turning corners, meeting ends

only to begin again

like the journey a salmon takes

swimming upstream in rising wakes

against the currents of the great lakes

It winds and turns

treads and churns

departs and returns

through varying degrees of salinity

from fresh water to rising seas

at enmity against my disease

constantly determined to adapt

to each and every habitat

utilizing strength untapped

Through muddy waters, I blaze a trail

Hope is the wind to lift my sail

Life is at stake. I cannot fail.

Prepare for a journey of 1,000 miles

exhaustion, frustration and plastered smiles

But I will survive these trials

I’m resilient and I’ll carve my way

I’ll navigate the current’s forceful sway

I’ll swim to a brighter day

I’ll stride to greet my new horizons

I’m not afraid of this massive leviathan

nor dissuaded by this lure of the siren

For I am not a fish out of water

I’ve known the turbulent currents well

I’ve surfed the great storm’s swell

Stones filter through my patience sieve

Every ounce of my strength, I’ll give

And even if it kills me…I’ll live
3 best-read blogs of Angular Weekly #88
By: Jexia S Editorial Team
Tags: Angular, Typescript, Angular2, JavaScript, Software Development

3 best-read blogs of Angular Weekly #88

Angular Weekly is a curated newsletter for Angular 2+ pros.

By Andrey Kutsenko

This week’s 3 best-read articles:

2ality.com

12 minutes — How do TypeScript’s enums work and what can they be used for?

By Axel Rauschmayer.

www.telerik.com

8 minutes — Learn how to use services and dependency injection to improve your Angular development by making it modular, extensible and loosely coupled.

By Peter Mbanugo.

wanago.io

4 minutes — The Observer pattern is common among various native JavaScript features and many libraries.

By Marcin Wanago.
My Verse
Tags: Dead Poets Society, Postvoid, Poetry, Poetry On Medium

Nothing, to the eyes of the masses.

I am a puny being.

A singular thing, no more.

An empty cocoon, quenched with dismay.

One lifetime I had a wish,

That I too could live freely, let my wings take plight.

But alas, I am dead, and nothing.

To the mass of eyes.
I Was Yours
By: Heath ዟ
Tags: Poetry, Life, Love, Life Lessons, Relationships

Sometimes I wish I could take it back,

the youth and the energy I wasted,

watching now as you debase with abandon

(this is not carpe diem —

this is the footfall of your downward spiral)

no savor for the breath of the breeze given freely,

taken, as if owed your selfish eye, squandered,

as if it came in endless supply,

but, girl,

you’re going to come up short in the end

and you,

maybe you’ll forget how kindly I gave my touch to you

amidst the breadth of your thinly given skin,

remembering only the most recent wreckages you left,

robbing me of even that deserved consideration

and you,

maybe I’ll be lost in the crowd of those courting fools

who thought they loved you, without a clue

how little that meant to you, how easy it was for you

to think there would always be the next

and you,

maybe when you’re older and wise enough

to understand how rare it is to be wholly wanted,

how remarkable to be gratefully sacrificed for,

it won’t be my discarded heart you recall for your regrets

and you,

maybe I won’t ever be the one to make you think

how your dramatic claims of personal blame

were nothing more than thinly veiled indictments

of anyone but yourself

and you,

maybe you’ll never make the connection between

how I made you feel and how I could have made you feel

while you describe me in every breath except the one

where you would finally attach my name

and I,

I was there, on even your worst days, your throw-away,

always seeing the best in you, embracing the whole of you,

in your corner, believing, despite my beaten faith —

I was there, and I was yours.
We have finished the development of ICO Token dApp.
By: Dapp Builder Team
Tags: Blockchain, Ethereum, Token, ICO, Development

development of ICO Token dApp

Now you can create your own ICO token based on ERC20 standard. It’s an extended version of Custom Token dapp that we have presented earlier. You can read the solidity code here.

A dApp creator specifies the standard token parameters (such as token name, token symbol and decimals number) and the special parameters for token sale:

Initial supply — number of tokens that will be issued immediately, before the token sale starts. Token fund deposit — an Ethereum address that get initial token supply. ETH deposit — an Ethereum address that will get Ether after ICO successfully finish. Token exchange rate — how many tokens a customer can buy for 1 ETH. Token creation cap — the maximum number of tokens for issue. Token creation min — the number of tokens that must be issued before the ICO ends. Start funding block — the Ethereum block number after which ICO starts. End funding block — the Ethereum block number after which ICO stops.

ICO Token dApp: Creation form

Then the creation form is submitted and smart contract creating transaction is successfully mined the dApp creator gets his/her own smart contract for ICO and token fund deposit gets the initial token supply.

The token sale starts after the start funding block and goes on before the end funding block or before the token creation cap is reached.

The main dApp screen is the ICO screen:

Here customers can buy tokens and watch the token sale progress. A customer can enter the number of tokens he/she wants to buy or the value of Ether he/she wants to spend (the number of tokens will be calculated automatically).

ICO Token dApp: Token sale interface

In the sidebar menu user can switch into token screen. This is the screen for standard token operations like the interface for Custom Token dApp , that we have made earlier.

ICO Token dApp: Token interface

After the successfully finished ICO the organizer (ETH deposit) can withdraw all ETH from the contract.

ICO Token dApp: Finalizing

If ICO ends before the reaching of token creation min, the ICO organizer can not withdraw Ether from contract and all the customers (except for holder of initial supply) can do refund.

ICO Token dApp: Refunding

Try it now on https://dappbuilder.io/builder

Or watch the code on https://github.com/DAPPBUILDER/dApp-Builder

Stay in touch for for updates via
Aggregation vs. Composition in Object Oriented Programming
By: Anna Azzam
Tags: Code, Python, Programming, Design Patterns, Object Oriented

In Object Oriented Programming, there are many different types of relationships which can exist between two or more classes. The most common two types are:

Inheritance — an “is a” relationship

— an relationship Association — a “has a” relationship

This blog is going to do a deep dive into the two types of Association relationships — Aggregation and Composition.

What is an Association relationship?

An association relationship between two classes is a “has a” relationship. For example:

A Car has an Engine and a Wheel

has an and a A Person has a Leg and an Arm

has a and an A Book has Pages

This usually represents when there are two classes, ClassA and ClassB , and either:

ClassA contains ClassB as an attribute, or

contains as an attribute, or Instances of ClassB are constructed inside ClassA

What’s the difference between Aggregation and Composition?

There are two sub-types of Association relationships — Aggregation and Composition. What’s the difference between these two?

Composition

Composition implies that the contained class cannot exist independently of the container. If the container is destroyed, the child is also destroyed.

Take for example a Page and a Book . The Page cannot exist without the Book , because the book is composed of Pages . If the Book is destroyed, the Page is also destroyed.

In code, this usually refers to the child instance being created inside the container class:

class Book:

def __init__(self):

page1 = Page('This is content for page 1')

page2 = Page('This is content for page 2')

self.pages = [page1, page2]



class Page:

def __init__(self, content):

self.content = content book = Book() # If I destroy this Book instance,

# the Page instances are also destroyed

Aggregation

With an aggregation, the child can exist independently of the parent.

So thinking of a Car and an Engine , the Engine doesn’t need to be destroyed when the Car is destroyed.

class Car:

def __init__(self, engine):

self.engine = engine



class Engine:

def __init__(self):

pass engine = Engine()

car = Car(engine) # If I destroy this Car instance,

# the Engine instance still exists

How are these represented a UML diagram?

In a UML diagram, both Aggregation and Composition are represented with a diamond arrow between the classes. The diamond end goes on the side of the container.

Aggregation uses an open diamond

Composition uses a closed diamond

Here’s an example:

Hope this helped!
A LOVE STORY
By: Em Lingenfelser
Tags: Relationships, Poetry, Lit

I laid in the meadow next to the garden,

As he descended over my body.

Moving from my toes to my navel to my neck.

I was intoxicated by every scale on his body.

As he exposed his fangs and poured his venom into me.

All I could think about,

All I could dream about,

Were those little beady eyes.
Early Morning Coffee
By: Natassa Penn
Tags: Fear, Dreams, Time, Life, Scuzzbucket

Early Morning Coffee

Where dreams live and die

You know those mornings you wake up strangely refreshed? It’s an exception lately. Your pour yourself some black coffee, you sit at the kitchen table and have the urge to create something. It’s the most alive you felt in weeks.

Then you look at the clock on the wall opposite you and you got only minutes left before you get up, you get dressed and you leave your house at exactly the same time you did yesterday.

You say good morning to the same neighbour, you hold the yard door at exactly the same spot so it doesn't make noise and wake your lover who’s still in bed. You’ll repeat the movement in the evening to surprise her.

Only she knows it’s you. She knows you try to walk in quietly. She knows your life is as quiet as the door. She knows you return at exactly 1800 cause you drive for exactly 32 minutes and you always leave at twenty five past, spending 3 minutes to reach the parking lot.

You tend to ignore it but you know too. You know your life is just days on repeat. Especially now. Especially on weekdays you gulp down the fury. It’s almost numb now. Good boy…

Only those moments in the morning when you take your first sip of black coffee do you remember who you are. You allow yourself to feel how it would have been if you were free, if you didn’t leave your lover in bed, if you didn’t have to shut the fucking door quietly and say good morning to the fucking neighbour whose name you don’t even know.

Whisper these words to yourself: I allow myself to feel what I’m afraid to be and maybe one day I won’t be afraid anymore and I will do it. I will save me.
Mindful Musings
By: Tre L. Loadholt
Tags: Community, Music, Letters, A Cornered Gurl, Young Minds Of Medium

We have made it through August and we are still breathing. *Sighs* It is a blessing to be able to type that sentence out — to still breathe, to still have the ability to do so. With the weight of this world quite heavy on our shoulders, we marched right into September. It is my hope that you all are safe, that you’re well, and you are surfing through these crucial waves as best as you can.

A Cornered Gurl is growing steadily and it does my heart good to see interactions between many of our writers. Our community is a solid one and for this, I am grateful. We have 1,545 followers, 194 writers (with 110 active on Medium), and an encouraging group of people here who know this is a safe space for their heart’s work.

I’d like to take this time to welcome a few more new writers: RH, Elisa Herrera, lina reisinger, Alex Hanna, Sidonia Owl, Muthia Huda, Nasa CF, Sydney J. Shipp, Jasmine Poulton, Jessica Lee McMillan, Connie Song, Rafaela Mempin, Shalini C, Lubna Yusuf, and Naomi Leilani Acosta.
Heidi Yu, Chief Everything Officer
Tags: Social Media, Team

Heidi is the CEO & Founder of Boostinsider and BOOSTO, Serial entrepreneur. MBA graduate from Seattle University. After exiting e-commerce platform Pocomaru, she founded Boostinsider at the end of 2014, providing in-depth data analytics for 350,000 active social media influencers covering 2 Billion followers. In Oct 2017, Boostinsider launches SocialBook: the world’s most comprehensive influencer data analytics platform with AI technology. It allows brands and influencers to view the demographics and psychographics data of the audience of any YouTuber and Instagrammer, do social media listening and competitors tracking.
IoT + Logistics = ❤
By: Puneeth Narayana
Tags: Logistics, IoT, Supply Chain Management, Startup

Amongst all the noise surrounding Internet of Things(IoT) today, one industry that has emerged as a clear beneficiary from this IoT revolution, it is the Logistics and Supply chain industry.

Source: Wikimedia Commons

There are millions of shipments being moved, tracked and delivered by a variety of machines, vehicles and people each day. It is no surprise that logistics and IoT are a perfect match for each other. In logistics, IoT can be used to monitor every step of the process. The data gathered can then be analyzed which helps us gather new insights and optimize the processes. Logistics providers have been able to unlock higher levels of operational efficiency, while creating customized, dynamic, data-driven and automated services for their customers. Falling prices of device components (sensors, actuators and semiconductors), faster wireless networks, and increasing data crunching capabilities only compound the business benefits, ensuring that IoT will be a disruptive trend in the logistics industry over the next decade.

Using the data gathered by IoT, we can begin to tackle difficult operational and business questions in exciting new ways. Various aspects such as operational efficiency, safety, security, customer experience and new business models by leveraging rapid information gathering and processing which IoT enables. This will enable them to make wiser decisions, reducing costs, increasing efficiency and creating new revenue possibilities.

Cinqueon helps you at Fleet Management and Asset Utilization to drive greater operational efficiency which is at the heart of realizing the IoT value.

Some major KPI’s include:

Lower Fuel cost by suggesting most efficient path with real time traffic report Quality Control, some items such as perishable foods or medicines need to be transported at specific temperature ranges to maintain product integrity. Diagnosis & Alerts End to End Visibility

One of India’s leading pharma distributors has benefited from this solution. They deliver lifesaving drugs to one of the leading hospital chains in India among other clients. It is critical for them to ensure that the time in which the drugs are delivered and the condition that they are delivered in(some drugs are temperature sensitive) always meets the given benchmarks. We helped them as IoT consultation and implementation partners to improve the efficiency and visibility of their overall warehousing, logistics and supply chain.

With our logistics solutions, they were able to track every delivery in real-time on their dashboard, and also keep track of SLA’s for all their shipments. Apart from that, we were also able to improve the efficiency of delivery agents by optimizing routes and help in last mile delivery hence enabling them to deliver better customer experiences.

This enhanced visibility and accountability have helped them to be a preferred partner for more pharmaceutical manufacturers.

This article first published at :

https://cinqueon.com/iot-logistics-%E2%9D%A4/
ALTEUM AMBASSADORS
Tags: Brand Ambassadors, Blockchain, Exchange, Cryptocurrency

We are currently searching for candidates who truly share Alteum’s mission of financial inclusion

In this program, we will enlist blockchain/crypto enthusiast from all regions around the globe who are willing to take the challenge and seek to ensure useful and affordable financial products and services to the world.

This is your opportunity to become an Ambassador and become part of the Alteum Team!

Brand Ambassadors Program Requirements:

1. Crypto and Blockchain enthusiast

2. Truly shares Alteum’s mission of Financial Inclusion

3. Socially active in key networks

4. True knowledge of crypto community in your region/country

5. Embrace diversity and respect

Benefits :

1. Exclusive monetary benefits in AlteumX.

2. Continuous training and development opportunities.

3. Exclusive Invitations to Alteum’s annual kick of events in Latin America.

4. AUM token rewards

5. 24/7 direct access to Alteum’s core team.

6. First hand news and announcements before anyone else.

7. Presence in Alteum’s official website as country representative.

Do you think you have what it takes to represent us?

Interested candidates can apply here!

If you have other queries regarding this program, please email to info@alteum.io
Profitable Crypto trading strategies part 5: Voltra
Tags: Trading, Ethereum, Investing, Bitcoin, Cryptocurrency

The name Voltra is actually the combination of “Volume” and “Trades”. The reason is pretty obvious: the Voltra algorithm is primarily constructed on the traded volume. This means that it generates buy and sell signals using the price and its traded volume. This is actually our very first algorithm where trading volume is a key component.

The first unfortunate part is that the algorithm has four hyper-parameters which are tough cookie to optimize. Matter of fact, I had to run the (brute force) optimization code all night because it takes several hours to finish. The second part is that, like all our previous methods, it is not a magical formula that wins every trade. But if you know a tad about investing or trading then this does not come as a surprise.

Also Read: Best Crypto Trading Bots

Let us now take a look at Voltra’s buy and sell decisions. The chart below shows the Bitcoin (BTC-USDT) market at 30-minute intervals for 30 days. As you already know by now: the “B” marks indicate buys and “S” indicate sells.
I wish…
By: Abhinaya S.B.
Tags: Poetry, Poetry On Medium, Dreams, Thoughts, Positive Thinking

I wish to be a bedside lamp

That knows when to shine and when to nap.

I wish to be a grain of sand

Reminding posterity of their dead ancient land.

I wish to be the oars of a boat

That lets one wander yet stay afloat.

I wish to be a gold fish —

Awestruck by the world it can yet again, relish.

I wish to be a chair,

Offering support to one in despair.

I wish to be the gentle aroma of coffee;

A promise of refreshment that can set you free.

I wish to be a swing set

That lets one soar high when upset.

I wish to be a table fan

That constantly whispers, “you absolutely can!”

Alas I am but a ball of bulky thoughts

A heart full of fancy, a fish out of water

Chasing ephemeral jewels, distraught;

A confused, curious woman, friend and daughter.

I wish to become a wisp of smoke

That smells of hope

I wish to be a laser beam that guides

Those in fear of changing tides.
Getting Closer with Our Team
By: John Abi Farah
Tags: Edtech, Team, Team Building, Bowling, Company Culture

Getting Closer with Our Team

A beautiful day with a few unexpected surprises

Getting to know the fun side of your co-workers is always invigorating; however getting to know the fun side of your boss is probably the most refreshing feeling you’ll ever experience! That didn’t come as a surprise to us though, here at Aimee we’re already a tightly knit team.

What did come as a surprise, however, was discovering that some of us had some unexpected talents including an unaware professional bowler.

Let’s rewind back.

Our team building day started out at the office. We’re used to our daily huddles, but this time we sat down in a circle and just shared some stories about each other; stories that we’re proud of. The more the stories rolled, the more we saw each other laugh, smile, and be amazed. I was literally watching bonds being formed while existing ones grew even stronger.

We then set out and carpooled to Link, our resident arcade, and bowling alley. Upon our arrival, we set out into three different bowling teams, with four members in each team. The goal was simple: the team with the most number of points wins.

It was then the surprises started rolling towards the bowling pins. Tony, our CEO who we fondly call Doc, barely played before but was scoring one strike after another. Armand, one of Aimee’s interns, was right behind him. The heat was on. Before we knew it, the game became a high five event, with each team forgetting about their score and just cheering for anyone who would hit a strike or a spare. All while encouraging anyone who hits the bowling pins with a fashion. It wasn’t just bowling prodigies that came to light; we also discovered some snooker and 8-ball sensations.

A couple of hours later, we headed over to a traditional Lebanese restaurant and sat down for a nice lunch. Little did we noticed that we were still asking each other questions, still getting to know one another. A few laughs here, some fun there, we were developing a stronger bond without even realizing.

The following Monday we returned to work. The change was immediately noticed. Our enthusiasm was at an all-time high, our communication skills became even smoother, and our overall performance was drastically increased.

It was then we realized that we weren’t just co-workers anymore. After that great team building day, our already established team had become something more: we have become a cohesive unit.
Introducing Pattern Matching in Scala
By: Knoldus Inc.
Tags: Scala, Knolx

Welcome to another week of KnolX sessions . In this session , we see the power of the Scala’s pattern matching in different use cases.

Scala provides a powerful pattern matching feature. Pattern matching enables us to match on much more than just ordinal values.

Introducing Pattern Matching in Scala [slideshare id=13437290&w=425&h=355&sc=no]

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The Pussycat Dolls return with fired-up new single “React”
By: Matt Sevits
Tags: The Pussycat Dolls, LGBTQ, Pop Culture, Music, Pop Music

The Pussycat Dolls return with fired-up new single “React”

After a decade away, the poster girls of sexy female empowerment are back — and maybe better than ever?

It’s 2020, and everything old is new again. My Chemical Romance is selling out arenas all over the country, the Jonas Bros. are better than they’ve ever been, and Disney reboots and remakes are ruling the box office. Nostalgia is the most powerful force in pop culture today.

It makes sense, then, that The Pussycat Dolls would capitalize on this new wave of pop culture revivals and get back together (well, most of them, anyway) to stage an epic comeback. After all, the market is sorely lacking in girl groups now that Little Mix, Girls Aloud, Spice Girls, et al. are nowhere to be found.

You could make the argument that there’s no audience for a quintet of sexed-up pop starlets in 2020… but a generation of older millennials raised on PCD’s brand of infectious, sexy empowerment anthems would disagree. Gay twitter, PCD fans and the general public alike have been thirsty for news about the Pussycat Dolls for years, with endless rumors of reboots, recastings and rebrandings since the group disappeared after sophomore album “Doll Domination.”

The U.K. has always been particularly kind to girl groups, and especially kind to Nicole Scherzinger, who has managed to carve out a career for herself there as a pop star and TV host/judge. Hot on the heels of a surprise performance on the U.K.’s “X Factor” at the end of 2019, PCD are boldly thrusting themselves back into the pop consciousness and creating a space for themselves in the current media landscape with new single “React,” and its accompanying music video.

Fronted again by lead singer Nicole Scherzinger, the holy reincarnation of PCD reunites Carmit Bachar, Ashley Roberts, Jessica Sutta and Kimberly Wyatt for a new round of sensual dance-pop burlesque realness. The last time we saw the group, they were releasing Bollywood-lite bops (“Jai Ho”) and underrated disco samples (“Hush Hush; Hush Hush”), but the sound of pop in 2020 has evolved, and so has PCD’s sound. Taking a page from the Danity Kane playbook (RIP?), the Dolls have eschewed their typical hip-hop/pop fusion for straight-up dance music.

It’s not an immediate hit, and it certainly doesn’t feel like an obvious radio-friendly smash, but it’s a catchy earworm of a track that weasles itself into your brain and takes up residence. As a buzzy comeback single, it’s sure to make a splash. With rapid-fire verses and a pulsing midtempo electrobeat, “React” represents a new sound and a new message for PCD 2.0. Gone are the blunt sexual advances of songs like “Don’t Cha” and “Buttons,” opting instead for… reflection? With lyrics like, “ Looking for a little confrontation/Now I know the nice guys turn me bad,” the track has Scherzinger and company still leaning fully into bad girl personas, but maybe growing up a little bit and wondering about a loving partner who doesn’t engage with shitty inflammatory behavior like picking fights and throwing fits.
“Welcome to our family.”
By: Mama Hope
Tags: Advocacy, Social Change, Social Impact, Africa, Tanzania

After recently graduating the Global Advocates East Africa Program Julita will pass off the management of the Free to Dream program she started as an Advocate and joining the Mama Hope staff as our East Africa Field Coordinator. She’ll be working with the Global Advocate Team to connect young advocates all over the world and build our capacity to support the brilliant hearts and minds existing in our partner communities.

“This transition is about giving back and growth for me. What I received from Mama Hope was so much love, encouragement, hope and technical support. That is why Free to Dream came to reality. So, I want to be there for the future classes and tell them their dreams are also possible. This transition will bring growth to me personally because I am handing over the program to another Advocate who will grow it from within, building on the trust and hope that already exists. I believe by having Easter take the lead and pour her creativity and being into Free to Dream, it’s impact will be amplified. I look forward to showcasing East Africa’s outstanding talents and promoting those that take social work in East Africa to the next level even after they have finished their time with Mama Hope.”

Vincent, Julita and Easter each have their own stories, come from different backgrounds and have walked different paths to get where they are. One theme that connects their stories is their experience with family. Vincent spoke with us about his childhood and how his parents’ resilience against the inequity they have faced catalyzed his motivation in the fight for more equal distribution of our world’s abundance. Easter shared how the openness she has found in her relationship with her teenage daughter shapes her approach to working with youth today. Julita gives much of the credit for her passion for girls education to her mother, who worked incredibly hard to ensure that she and her brothers received an education.

Without intention, but with a very big welcome, this week came with a kind reminder of the formative influence that our families — chosen, born with or otherwise — give us. At Mama Hope we are grateful for those that have chosen us, that recognize the responsibility we have to care for each other through our work, and every person that moves in this space with love, hope and respect. After all — these are the key ingredients in building the global family that makes our world work!

Written by Jane Body, MAMA HOPE’s East Africa Field Coordinator.
by Martino Pietropoli
By: Martino Pietropoli
Tags: Thursday, Humor, Comics, Cartoon, Psychology

First thing in the morning: a glass of water and a cartoon by The Fluxus.

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Triple-Quote: Conflating Stratagems for Strategy
By: Leonidas Musashi
Tags: Sun Tzu, China, Epistemology, Tactics, Strategy

“Many people see strategy as a high-level, long-term plan. Sun Tzu’s bing-fa was, to a large degree, a reaction against this view. His definition was much closer to the definition of strategy used in modern game theory: a chosen set of methods reacting to possible situations. These methods set are chosen with a big-picture view of mission and the competitive environment. Because of this, some might call Sun Tzu’s work a book of tactics.”

ScienceOfStrategy.org, on ‘The Difference Between Strategy and Tactics as Seen by Sun Tzu’
Why and How to Have a Marriage Staff-Meeting
By: Dr. Mckay Caston
Tags: Christianity, Productivity, Spirituality, Relationships, Marriage

Greater Unity

Setting aside time for a marriage staff meeting could provide a greater sense of unity as you plan the calendar together. It is no longer your life and my life — it is our life.

Improved Communication

Since part of the marriage staff meeting is calendar planning, there will be no more surprises about evening meetings that will keep one of you out late again when the other expects both to be home. You know what social engagements require both of you to participate so that you don’t throw a last-minute planning wrench into your spouse’s day. Also, with a staff meeting, you are able to look ahead at the week and make sure you plan time for each other and the kids — whether a date night or family board game and movie night.

To-Do List Progress

A marriage staff meeting also provides the opportunity to discuss what needs to get done around the house. Rather than always talking about what is undone, you have a context in which to decided when to get things done. Create a list during the week and bring it to the table on Sunday afternoon. This way you are able to spread out house projects on a doable timeline without feeling like there is no more margin time to rest and just be togehter without having to do a task. With margin time built into the calendar — and a reasonable schedule for completing home projects — all of life is not just about fixing things, making improvements, or feeling behind.

Date Night Gets To Be Date Night

If you do not have a specific time when you have the marriage staff meeting, any free time becomes susceptible to breaking out into a discussion of the problems that are reserved for that special Sunday afternoon time at the kitchen table. Your date night even becomes a potential target, doubling as a staff meeting if you haven’t reserved a specific time to deal with the fix-it and calendar issues. Date night should be an opportunity to listen to each other and just be, without pressure to fix or plan or accomplish a task. With a marriage staff meeting, date night gets to be date night.
The Future Will Be Present
By: John Horan
Tags: Mindfulness, Poetry, Time, Meditation, Future

Creative Commons License geralt (pixabay.com)

I got trapped in the past

I got caught in its cages

The future seemed the only hope

But I couldn’t escape

I’m trying this new thing called the present

If I could climb into it

Through the bars

Bad burns from crashed cars

I’m going nowhere…

Sitting still…

The bars start to fade

Is this the future I crave?

The pain insists on the past

The wounds seem built to last

Fuck it one more round

I’m drinking down

Into this moment

Into the heart of it

The future I want

If it’s ever comes

Will be present.
Leadership Agility Online-Seminar with Michael Hamman
By: Catherine Colombo
Tags: Agile Development, Free, Leadership, Vuca World, Online Seminar

COVID-19 has generated a global disruption of a magnitude few of us now living have ever experienced, reminding us that we truly do live in world of volatility, unpredictability, complexity, and ambiguity — we live, that is, in a VUCA world.

We believe, that everyone should be able to show Agility in her Leadership. So we invited Michael Hamman, US-author and Leadership Coach for a Online-Seminar.

In this free four-part series about Leadership Agility / Agile Leadership, we will dive into these three territories of our leadership and establish for ourselves a baseline understanding of what it means to lead — within ourselves, our families, our communities, and our workplaces — in a VUCA world. The sessions are interactive and highly conversational. Expect to be inspired, challenged, and equipped with practical wisdom to take home to work with you.

Michael created a short introduction video for us. See live what he has to tell us about this topic. Have fun.

More Information and tickets.

Please consider a buying a donation ticket. All donations will go to Plan International, whose “strategy is to work with vulnerable children and especially girls so that they can learn, lead, decide and thrive. “(https://plan-international.org/organisation/strategy )
How to Write Great Dialogue for Short Stories
By: N.A. Turner
Tags: Writing, Creativity, Fiction, Short Story, Writing Tips

The Rules for Good Dialogue

“Dialogue is the way to nail character, so you have to work on getting the voice right.” — Anne Lamott

I love the quote by Anne Lamott at the beginning of this article. Dialogue should be dramatic. This was one of the first things I learned writing dialogue for my short stories. One of my friends (who happens to be an editor) made it very clear: make complete sentences. Often in ‘real life’ we abbreviate and shorten. We’re lazy. But our dialogue writing shouldn’t be.

Just write down dialogue as people say it in real life, right? No. Don’t punish your reader. People like clear and complete sentences.

One of the best online lectures I followed this year were the ones by Brandon Sanderson . He uses the MICRO rules for writing good dialogue:

Motive: Let the motivations of your characters seep through what they say. Especially when interacting with other characters. This is always more powerful than expressing the emotions of your characters through plain narrative.

Individuality: Write dialogue in such a way so you can tell the characters apart. Each character has their own way of speaking. Sanderson believes that using dialect is not the best idea. Alternatively, you can use intellect or quirks. Perhaps one of your characters has a certain saying she likes to repeat. Play around.

Conflict: Good dialogue has its own innate conflict in it. This does not necessarily mean you have to bring up an argument. The most important thing is that your character(s) should want something. Have them say it! To support conflict in dialogue, try to build tension in conversations.

Realism: How realistic do you want your writing to be? Make a decision. To write it just like people say it can be grading. Make it more eloquent. Use full sentences. Don’t make it feel stilted. A great tip Branson Sanderson gave in his lecture on dialogue was to read screenplays for good dialogue. Try it! What I like to do as well is to eavesdrop on conversations. That’s a good way to bring some individuality to your characters’ dialogue as well.

Objective: Why do the characters say something? What is their aim? You can use dialogue to progress your plot or to explain something about the world you created. What do you want to achieve?

Characters influence dialogue

Like I said in the introduction, you can play around with accents or disabilities. Every person is different and so are your characters. You have to build some kind of individuality.

Where did your characters grow up? Are they (highly) educated? Do they have any disabilities? All of these factors and more influence how someone speaks. Two psychology professors just hold different conversations and use different words than two market vendors do.

Do your research and have someone check it familiar with the issues you play around with. Know your characters.