fabiochiu/medium-articles huggingface dataset:
2019 Necker Blockchain Summit — Hyped for Change
By: The Bitfury Group
Tags: Blockchain Summit, Technology, Leadership

For Beth Moses, the world’s first ever female commercial astronaut, the ability to pay for a ticket on a spaceship using digital currencies is “magic.”

“You can pay for a ticket to space on bitcoin. I still think that’s magic,” Moses told panelists at the Blockchain Summit on Necker Island this week. “I would love more people to go to space. And I would certainly be quite happy if the global payment network of the future would help them do that.”

Also speaking this week on the Summit’s sixth and final panel, “Hyped for Change: Your World on Blockchain,” venture capitalist Alex Tai urged the assembled group of innovators and technologists to move more quickly from talk to action.

“There’s a place for distributed ledger technology in everything we do. But rather than just talk about it, we need to get on with it,” said Tai, former director of Special Projects with the Virgin Group, who founded the Virgin Galactic project for Sir Richard Branson in 2004. “Build it, it will become better and better and better and become more useful.”

“There’s absolutely a place for bitcoin, I do think it will replace gold in the future. … Let’s not screw it up,” said Tai. “We have an incredible capability designed into these systems.”

Grace Wong, CEO of Liven, an app offering restaurant discovery, one-tap payment and universal crypto rewards, said that blockchain technology has helped her begin to expand her business internationally. With more than 1,000 partnered venues throughout Melbourne and Sydney and more than 400,000 users, Liven is creating a tokenized economy that supports both local businesses and national brands.

“One and a half years ago, my company was running this loyalty system in cash form. But then I found out that applying blockchain and crypto meant we can scale internationally way faster,” said Wong. “There’s a tremendous opportunity to solve this real-world business problem.”
New Beginnings — Episode 001. On our debut episode of Tech For…
By: Tech For Granted
Tags: Building Bridges, New Beginnings, Podcast, Techforgranted, Team Building

On our debut episode of Tech For Granted Podcast , we reflect on our journey in producing a podcast and the ups and down of podcasting. What are the qualities of a good host who should you host a podcast with? We also touch on the tips we’ve gained along the way with regards to marketing a podcast via social media platforms and how to handle potential backlash from your audience. The Tech For Granted team also discusses the learning curve of podcasting and how to step outside of your comfort zone. We also leave you with one important piece of advice that we have learnt from our experience previously producing the Moringa School podcast.

Got any questions for us? You are a part of the Tech For Granted team as much as we are, so leave your comments below and we will answer them in the next episode of the podcast.

Hosted by: Cynthia Muriithi, Eugene Nzioki, Kevin Ahere, Melissa Malala, Michel Atieno and Victor Ireri.
The Impact of Applied Chemistry
Tags: Chemistry, Infographic, Education

Shanghai American School is a non-profit, independent school in Shanghai, China. Primarily serving international students and parents, Shanghai American School established a Problem Based Learning learning environment dedicated to integrating four subjects: English, Science, History and Art in Design. Named the Innovation Institute, Science and Art in Design collaborated to create an assignment that asked students to demonstrate how the application of chemistry has increased humanity’s access to resources. The results of the improved access to resources has had both positive and negative impacts.

Problem based learning typically provides students with a driving question to answer. In this assignment the question was stated as follows:

How does the application of chemistry impact the just distribution of wealth?

Students identified the most commonly used resources of humanity and then used Illustrator software to create infographics. The following infographic designs are meant to illustrate the source, sink, chemistry and impact involved in the utilization of these resources.

We welcome thoughtful, constructuve feedback in the comments section.

Aluminum
Cave’s Shadow
By: Bryan Young
Tags: Breaking Free, Platos Cave, Gaslighting, Poems On Medium, Poetry

Photo by Bangkit Prayogi on Unsplash

Gaslight flickers

in caverns

where victims

are accused

monsters, trapped

in the lying

memory

of truth’s shadow.

Self-delusion

shatters reality,

a malignant

sledgehammer to

aspiration.

Truth’s

disinfecting light

beams just outside

the cave, like

dawn breaking

mountaintops,

a benevolent

breakthrough

waiting

for those who

shatter

their shaded

shackles.

The person

you love is in there,

waiting to

break free.
Where’s your underwear?
By: Matthew Islam
Tags: Religion, Islam, Bangladesh

Nobody wants to see your privates

So, it’s Friday. I’m all cleaned up and in a state of spiritual calm heading into our local mosque. I stow away my soon-to-be-stolen sandals into the shoe-box nearest to where I will sit for my prayers.

This is to facilitate the third eye in the back of my head from unsuccessfully stopping the inevitable happening.

I see an old man stashing away his pair of sandals, dividing each sandal into two separate and distant boxes.

The logic behind this being one sandal without its pair will not be stolen. Many apparently use this technique.

Well played, old seer! Wisdom is an age-acquired talent, I say to myself, when, in that very moment, the little voices in my head pitch in with a depressing thought: “Or maybe you are just really slow.” Anyway, I digress.

I settle into the back of the mosque, a popular location with the young and the posh who attend it.

Being neither, my MO for choosing this location almost always is a pre-emptive strike against the exiting traffic at the end of prayers; that almost always ends up in a traffic jam at the mosque gates, lasting a good half an hour. Don’t judge me. I suffer enough commuting on our clogged up roads to allow the same fate to affect my weekly spiritual bliss.

So, the supplementary prayers begin, and all goes without a hitch. It’s important for many others and people like me to be able to concentrate on our prayers, because Allah knows, the universe’s stream of bull always beams into your head when you try to pray, so you try extra hard to be mindful, in an empty spiritual state, so to speak.

Well, guess what? There are enemies to that too. Imagine, 20 reminders plastered everywhere for people to put their mobile phones on silent; yet there are at least five imbeciles, per prayer, anywhere I go to, who will have their “Nantu Ghotok” and “Munni Badnaam” ringtones grace us with their presence.

I have learned to ignore the odd sounds but, to concentrate, I find it’s always better to keep your eyes open while praying. This too has resulted in grief for me.

I stand up from prostration often to be greeted with the unfortunate sight of exposed buttocks directly in front of me. I know I am not the only one who encounters this.

The frequency of said sightings is on the increase. Spirituality and public exposure of the inter-gluteal clefts are seldom happy partners. Going commando, however, is trending with members of the youth, and their dislike for belts and longer forms of clothing lead to an assault on our piety, weekly.

So, I humbly ask you, oh, youth, where on God’s Earth is your underwear? What you do behind closed doors, on Tinder or Snapchat, is your domain; do us a favour and cover your mounds of destiny this one day, for God’s sake!

- See more at http://bit.ly/1pObdok
Barbie Aunty
By: Paroma Sen
Tags: Life Less, Poetry On Medium, Dolls, Life, Poetry

Photo by freestocks on Unsplash

Porcelain doll

Mauve lipstick

Manicured hair

Perfect nails

Do you know what sweat smells like?

Ever had your nose buried deep

Deep in the heart of fresh mud?

Do you know ‘organic’ is another word for manure?

Have you ever scratched a shoe?

On the pavement between hopes and reality

Have you ever pierced your finger

On a glass shard of a broken heart?

Have you ever run?

Run mad, run free, run wild,

Run like there’s nothing

That could ever slow you down

Barbie Aunty

With your southern drawl

Prim and proper

Not a thing out of place

With your silverware all lined up

And your fake flowers filling the room

The smell of spray-on Febreze

Like your children, to be seen and not heard (certainly not smelled)

Your plush rug snug for my feet

But there’s nowhere for my soul to lie bare

Around you only fake is allowed

There’s nowhere for me to just be me

Barbie Aunty

Let loose sometimes

Take off your heirloom brooch

Sit on the floor awhile

Let your lipstick smudge a little

Ease a strand of hair out of that spritzed lock

A wrinkle in your shirt won’t bring the house down

Worry not, I’ll keep your secret

Barbie Aunty,

Have you ever lived?

Had a little rendezvous?

Have you ever danced?

Your spotless marble floors

Professionally cleaned, clinically sanitized

Dogs aren’t allowed to slobber,

Kitties aren’t allowed to poop

Dressed up doll in a box

You have no soul, no spirit, no life

Manufactured, straight from the Barbie factory

And the rest from Pottery Barn

Barbie Aunty, live a little

Before time runs out

Don’t let the last words you speak

Be “I wish…”
Binance Jersey Now Live!
Tags: Blockchain, Europe, Cryptocurrency

Binance Exchange provides cryptocurrency trading for fintech and blockchain enthusiasts globally, with multilingual support over a variety of services.

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A New Beginning Is Waiting for Us
By: Darshak Rana
Tags: Spirituality, Spiritual Secrets, Happiness, Wisdom, Letters

SPIRITUALITY | NEWSLETTER

A New Beginning Is Waiting for Us

Spiritual Secret #10

Photo by Matt Duncan on Unsplash

Dear Spiritual Souls,

It’s time to reveal some secrets…Spiritual Secrets!

Last week was a roller coaster ride for most of us, especially for the ones residing in the U.S. But I believe that it was just a testament to our temperament.

If we were worried, tensed, or had lost our week because of some external stimulus like elections, we need to work on ourselves.

We must not confine spirituality to books, preachings, and stories. If we can’t adopt it in our practical life to make it better, spiritual knowledge serves no purpose. So, I want to congratulate all those who remained unfazed by the political drama that caused a stir last week. You’re on the right track.

I don’t know what’s in store for all of us, but I hope for a new beginning. I think it’s time for us to reflect upon our past mistakes, learn from them, and move on.

A famous quote by J. P. Morgan comes to my mind:

“The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide that you’re not going to stay where you are.”

Things will only change for the better. At least, I would like to believe so because my thinking governs my feelings and emotions.

Putting aside everything, let me share some spiritual secrets so that we can benefit from it in our endeavors.
The Ultimate List of Exchanges for Online!
By: Tyler B.
Tags: Bitcoin, Blockchain, Ethereum, Blockchain Startup, Cryptocurrency

Since we keep getting questions about all the exchanges where Online (OIO) Tokens are available for trading, we decided to create this list to help you out.

We will go through each exchange, so you can find them all in the same place and learn a thing or two about them before you decide where to trade.

Are you ready? Let’s go!

The List of Exchanges

First up, we have IDEX. This is the only Ethereum decentralized exchange with real-time trading and high transaction throughout. You can start trading instantly. Give it a try!

Idex Link: ETH-OIO

LATOKEN is a cutting-edge exchange which makes investing and payments easy and safe worldwide. They are bringing trading and banking to a new generation of blockchain.

LATOKEN Links: ETH-OIO / BTC-OIO

The EtherMium is a multi cryptocurrency exchange platform. It allows users to perform crypto transactions by giving orders to buy/sell using the available pairs. Sounds good? Follow the link to trade!

Ethermium Link: https://ethermium.com/t/0xa3Efef1a1e3d1AD72b9D0f4253e7c9c084C2c08B

EtherDelta is a new decentralized trading platform for many Ether and Ethereum-based tokens. You can check them for yourself to discover a new way to trade.

EtherDelta Link: ETH-OIO

We finish the list with the Bitox Exchange. It is a decentralized trading platform that lets you trade Ether and Ethereum-based tokens directly with other users.

Bitox Link: ETH-OIO

Make your Choice!

Now it’s your time to decide which exchange suits you best. Take a look at all of the options, explore their platforms and then you can come to your own conclusions.

Also, you should keep in mind that an investment in a technology company like us or any other in the market, does not mature in a couple of months. We advice you to keep some of your tokens until they raise in value when our product is ready to welcome more users and create the natural demand for the OIO token — the proper way it should be, not depending on the crypto market and the BTC as a whole.

That said, we want to thank you for your trust and support for the Online brand. You can also download our beta version and start trying our solution to give your internet experience a complete transformation.

➡️ Google Chrome: http://bit.do/Chrome-Extension

➡️ Mozilla Firefox: https://mzl.la/2EhXq53

We’re starting the year on a high note. Let’s free your 2019 from ads, malware and tracking software.

🎇🎉 Happy New Year Everyone!

Want to know more about us?

🔥 Check out our Website for updates!

🐦 Follow us on Twitter.

🗨️ Join our Telegram Group.

📢 Give us a shout-out on Facebook.
[GEEKY] Capistrano Colors
By: Pito Salas
Tags: Rails, Capistrano, Geeky

A random, highly specific and geeky tip:

If you’ve used Capistrano before, you’re familiar with the large error logs. Finding errors is, well, a hassle. You’ve got a whole slew of text, some just saying what command it’s going to execute next, sometimes errors, sometimes just output from Bundler or whatever it’s running. (from Rails Tip #8: Capistrano Colors)
Dawn
By: Tasha Lane
Tags: Sunrise, Poem, Haiku, Poetry, Darkness

Here you’ll find the bits and pieces that don’t really fit anywhere else. A place for everything and anything!

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Florence: Day 1. First day in Florence we had some great…
By: Aix Squared
Tags: World, Travel, Italy

Gelato at Venchi’s

We were trying to find a good gelato place and we came across Venchi’s which we thought was the one we were thinking of (started with a V). The gelato was super good. My niece dropped her cone and it was a quintessential “kid dropping their ice cream” moment — where they kind of stare at it with pouty face ready to cry. One of the workers saw what happened and gave her a new gelato on the house. How nice!

We learned later that this wasn’t the right place, it was actually Vivaldi, but Venchi’s was also one of the top gelato places in Florence. You’ll have to wait to see what we crowned the king of gelato.

Ponte Vecchio

After eating our gelato we wanted to go back and see the Ponte Vecchio which is the bridge slash market connecting the two banks of Florence. It’s a really cool bridge that has a jewelry market during the day. In the evening it’s bustling with tourists trying to take photos of the two banks and the surrounding hills of Florence.

Palazzo Pitti

We crossed the Ponte Vecchio and rested in a large plaza called Palazzo Pitti, which marks the entry into the Boboli gardens. We sat there for a spell and then decided we were all tired and should go to bed. It was a pretty full half day!
5 Awesome 3D Globe Projects To Inspire You 🌍✨
Tags: 3d, Inspiration, Web Design, Web Development, CSS

Catch and throw Paper Planes with one another around the world: a simple concept using the power of the web and Android to create an instant connection to one another.🚀🛫

Today, every second on Spotify, more than 30,000 people start playing the same song as someone they’ve never met. See what people over the globe are listening to in realtime and find new gems.🎵🎧

An interactive 3D visualization of COVID-19. See stats on separate countries or the spread of the virus across the world using the timeline.😷🤒

GitHub: Source Code.

Explore Google’s cloud infrastructure through data analytics, data encryption and container options using their global network interface.💾💻

The Encom Globe is a WebGL-based clone of the globe from the boardroom scene in Tron: Legacy. It is written using Three.js, with some GLSL.🤖🌎

GitHub: Source Code.
3 reasons to speed up your development process
By: Guilherme Sesterheim
Tags: Process Efficiency, Business Development, Business, Software Development

When a company needs a software to operate some process, the usual first step is to look at the market for something ready to be used.

When this software regards a vital core process, the decision of developing something new has to be taken. Whenever the decision of making good quality software is taken, it will probably take considerable time and will be expensive. The companies already know that. What if we could make the process of developing software shorter than usual? Why to invest on delivering software faster?

Work efficiency

The majority of companies of all segments have a backlog of internal desired software, and they are commonly generated by the IT area itself but also by the business areas. Since the business areas are requiring more and more software, we can see a move of the automation mindset coming up. The business areas have been understanding that if they manage to spend less time in routine tasks, which can be done by anyone, they will have more time to let people actually think on their jobs.

When people spend less time doing routine tasks, they have more time to criticize the process itself. This kind of will is amazing, because then the companies have the people who know best the process, actually thinking to improve it. Once a process is improved, less money is spent, or more money is made. Then we are actually improving the business.

IDC states that companies which managed to implement OpenShift, and used that to deliver software, had a 531% of average ROI in a 5 years time window. Also other technologies, such as Google G Suite, can speed up the development of software to meet simple workloads. So why not use fast development platforms and practices to speed up this backlog need?

Go-to-market speed up

Months being used to reach some point in that software is not an acceptable strategy anymore. The more time you spend developing something, the more likely that something will be to not fit the market. And right now that is the main concern of every CIO of companies who sell their products straight to final consumers.

Since the market is being flooded with a lot of new solutions, the software development speed must be increased. How can a startup put out a new reliable idea after a weekend? And how can it and put it to work after one or two months? If they can do that having no money, the big companies should do that easily right? This is the way the big companies will avoid to be replaced. IDC also states that the development life cycle can be accelerated by 66% using OpenShift.

Technological independence

Once you can find a platform or well defined process to always develop on top of it, a pattern will be created. The more they are used, the more familiar will be to your development team to use it. Beyond the spared time to set up a new project, the whole IT cost will be reduced:
An LGBTQ Response to Christians
By: James Finn
Tags: Christianity, Equality, Morality, LGBTQ, Religion

Stop having sex with men

I’m an LGBTQ advocate and activist. Because I write a lot about gender and sexual minorities, I get a fair amount of feedback, much of it positive. But not all of it.

Every day of my life, Christians email me or message me to call me a sinner and tell me I’m going to hell unless I accept their faith; unless I repent and stop having sex with men. Almost invariably, those same Christians also morally condemn transgender people.

For example, yesterday morning a Christian commented on one of my articles to assert that I indulge in “sexual sin.” He filled several paragraphs with self-described “dialogue” about how I have to accept a blood sacrifice. I have to appreciate that his God loves me so much that he died in agony to save me. Etc.

Any attempt at dialogue that begins with accusations of sinfulness or disorder is broken dialogue. Any discourse that fails to recognize our moral worth is broken discourse.

Then he told me that he’s not a homophobe. I snorted when I read that. His premise is homophobia incarnate, and his arguments facilitate more homophobia — even systemic, institutional bigotry.

My interlocutor’s entire “discourse” was based on the premise that I’m sinful, broken, and require saving. I could barely finish reading his correspondence, so insulting and infuriating I found it.

I answered him in a few short lines, trying to help him understand the gravity of his insults by returning them in kind. Essentially, I told him to go reproduce with himself.

LGBTQ people are sick and tired of “reasonable” condemnation

We’re sick and tired of people feeling free to proclaim that we’re broken, sinful, in need of healing, or requiring salvation. Can you imagine the public reaction if Christians tried the same discourse about interracial marriage or integrated schools? Oh, the uproar that would ensue!

Still, people counseled me this morning to “moderate my tone”

I can’t do that, not and look myself in the mirror. Not and retain any sense of dignity. I’m constantly disappointed when the public urges me to tolerate homophobic bigotry — when I know for a fact that would join me in shouting down racist bigotry.

A letter to a Christian leader

Not so many months ago, I replied publicly to a Roman Catholic auxiliary bishop who messaged to ask me to tone down the rhetoric and make room for respectful dialogue about LGBTQ issues. My reply to him applies equally to evangelical Christians and to any religious leaders who morally condemn LGBTQ people.

This is what I told the bishop—
What Being in a Detox Facility Is Like
By: Russ W
Tags: Detox, Addiction, Addiction Recovery, Alcoholism, Rehabilitation

Photo by Waldemar Brandt on Unsplash

Room Checks

Suddenly, there’s a knock on your door. “Checks,” an orderly says, as he peeks inside and then says that you need to leave the door open at all times. You apologize and say you didn’t know. You close your eyes again.

Suddenly, there’s another knock; it seems like it’s only been a minute. “Checks,” he says again. Before he rushes off, you ask how often they do their checks. Every fifteen minutes — even in the middle of the night.

Ugh you think. This is going to suck.

Time for dinner. You try to stand up, but your legs don’t seem to be working. You fall back down onto your bed. Whoa. That was weird you think, steadying yourself on your end table.

You file into a line with all the other patients. It’s a motley crew — men and women of different ages and different addictions. You can tell who the alcoholics are from their ruddy hue. One patient has track marks, a couple are barely able to walk, some are like zombies and a few can’t stand still.

Since it’s a decent place, there’s a little cafeteria with some options, which is nice and atypical. You’re not really hungry. You had gotten used to only eating one meal a day, and the benzo has taken your appetite away. As you pick at your mashed potatoes, you survey the crew.

After dinner, you get to take a cigarette break, and you meet the other smokers as the nurse take you outside. She’s nice so she lets you have two. You learn this is the only time you are allowed outside. Three times a day. At least you are allowed outside, however, you couldn’t go outside at that place last year.

Back to your room and you meet your roommate. You talk for a while and hear he’s in for alcohol and cocaine, an eight ball a day. He’s leaving tomorrow for transitional living though, and you’ll have the room all to yourself.

He points to the camera on the wall and says don’t forget about that. They’re always watching what we do in here.

You can feel your anxiety rising. You’re starting to feel flushed. Soon it’s time for vitals, and your numbers are bad again. More benzos and anticonvulsants and off to sleep you go. Or try to. The first night is tough.

Between your roommate’s snoring and the orderly barging in with a flash light every fifteen minutes, consistent sleep is tough. And then the nurses wake you up suddenly at 3:30 to check your blood pressure.
Stop Making These 5 Javascript Style Mistakes
Tags: Javascript Tips, Programming, JavaScript, Software Development, Web Development

Using Array Destructuring For Functions With Multiple Return Values

Suppose we have a function that returns multiple values. One possible implementation is to use array destructuring as follows:

const func = () => {

const a = 1;

const b = 2;

const c = 3;

const d = 4;

return [a,b,c,d];

}

const [a,b,c,d] = func();

console.log(a,b,c,d); // Outputs: 1,2,3,4

While the above approach works fine, it does introduce some complexities.

When we call the function and assign the values to a,b,c,d we need to be attentive to the order that the data is returned in. A small mistake here may become a nightmare to debug down the road.

Additionally, it is not possible to specify exactly which values we would like from the function. What if we only needed c and d ?

Instead, we can use object destructuring.

const func = () => {

const a = 1;

const b = 2;

const c = 3;

const d = 4;

return {a,b,c,d};

} const {c,d} = func();

Now we can easily select the data we require from the function.

This also future-proofs our code by allowing us to add additional return-variables over time without breaking things.
Amber Heard’s Attorney Jumps Ship #WithdrewToo
By: Robert Turner
Tags: Johnny Depp, Culture, Media, Film, Amber Heard

So why now?

One of the primary reasons for Kaplan’s Judas moment may have come in the shape of Adam Waldman, Depp’s attorney. Waldman has been merciless and persistent in highlighting Kaplan’s ties to Harvey Weinstein and other questionable past clients, including Jussie Smollet.

On the heels of the news, Waldman was quick to exact his pound of flesh, a biting tweet from him on Twitter ending with #WithdrewToo, a parting shot at Kaplan’s association with #MeToo.His current Twitter stream reflects a list of damning documents, entitled ‘in memoriam’.

For Kaplan, the need to protect her reputation, at least for the sake of appearances and her Times Up fund, has been seriously eroded by her involvement with Heard. It’s hard to campaign for the rights of abused women when you’re representing an abuser. Particularly one that’s a woman.

Amber Heard is rapidly becoming a liability for Hollywood and those who would assume to dangle on its coattails. Kaplan may simply have made the only realistic PR decision left open to her. Distance.

For those of you that don’t follow the glitter rags, here’s a quick recap of events to bring you up to speed.

Johnny Depp decided to sue Amber Heard for damages over allegations Heard made. She claimed Depp had abused her physically. Evidence presented by Depp’s attorney during the trial has clearly shown Heard to be the actual abuser.

Waldman has thwarted Kaplan at every turn, exposing her questionable ties to past clients and questioning her motives. The trial had started moving a little too close to home for Kaplan’s comfort.

Faced with the emerging guilt of her client, a fact she was almost certainly aware of from the outset, she’s opted for the only logical choice.

Feed Heard to the wolves. How she intends to justify this and still retain a shred of credibility remains to be seen.

The effects of her decision on the trial will be minimal. Heard has backed herself into a corner, as years of her intentionally crafted lies and fictions have been torn apart in full view of the public.

She has tied herself to the wheel of her own ship and as it sinks beneath the waves I know one pirate that’s going to watching from the deck of the Black Pearl. Vindicated and with a growing sense of restored honour.

If perchance you’re strolling along the shoreline this evening and you happen upon a long line of very bedraggled rats dragging their sorry, fur soaked butts out of the water, now you’ll know where they came from.
Driving to Another Green World
By: Alexander Nagel
Tags: Poetry, Spirituality

I travel several miles ten times a day -

my outward stretching finger waving away.

By what hand is man’s progress measured?

By what arm is his spirit tethered?

The dimly lit Disciple’s doorway is enough to show the way -

the arching illumination breaking dawn into day.
by Martino Pietropoli
By: Martino Pietropoli
Tags: Humor, Job, Sunday, Comic, Cartoon

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

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MapReduce — Running MapReduce in Windows file system — Debug MapReduce in Eclipse
By: Ananth Packkildurai
Tags: Windows File System, Local File System, Hdfs, Windows, Debug

The distributed nature of Hadoop MapReduce framework make the debugging little harder. Often we want to test our MR jobs in a small amount of data before deploThere are some good tutorials to configure Hadoop development with Eclipse. The major concern with the HDFS file system nature, it is hard to map the debugger in the windows environment. This is a little hack, that will make Hadoop to understand or take input from the windows file system and run the map reduce job locally. This will faster and flexible way of developing.

Lets extend the LocalFileSystem and override with our windows file system

The Path, input and output should be located on the project root directory. Now you all set, you can run the MR job in you windows local machine.
The Colour of Ink
By: Priyanka Srivastava
Tags: Photo Contest, Poem, Singapore, Poetry, Photography

Don’t ask me the colour of my ink

most of the time it’s colourless.

I borrow the raindrops from the flowers

and a pinch of saffron from the sky.

The fragrance is from wildflowers

trapped in my mind

and to dazzle the page

a handful of stars stolen from moon.

A different colour

but it speaks to me,

the many colours

quieten me.

Dennett has asked us to share our favourite pics for the month of May, Skygazing is my favourite past time, sharing one such moment here and the poem inspired by the colours of the sky.
Preludes
By: Mahesh Cr
Tags: Poetry Writing, Sri Aurobindo, Yoga, Poetry On Medium, Poetry

The arid spells are a distant memory

Gone the days of skies empty and barren

Or bristling air of all moistness shorn,

When all forward hope was a futility.

No more are clogged the inner doors,

No more collides the haphazard world

Onto the unwary heart most unprepared,

A quiet resonance most subtly grows

To the hidden vasts behind and above.

Not content with my wake now invades

My erstwhile unconscious sleep and dreams

With a lustrous hint of aspiring love.

Who knew an absence could sweet

be, upending the very basis of desire,

What strange lacking fuels this new fire

That flaming sings in itself content.

I who wailed for a fond face drifting

In the course of life currents swift,

Now passively watch worlds swept

By surging purpose in a luminous seeing.

Such are the preludes of my self-unfolding,

A footnote minor on the pages of Becoming.
Two MFS Seniors Named National Hispanic Scholars
Tags: Moorestown Friends School, Schools, Headlines, College Board

[caption id=”attachment_55154" align=”alignleft” width=”300"]

Left to right, Jessica Ferber and Camille Aguilar[/caption]

Two Moorestown Friends School seniors were recently named as National Hispanic Scholars by the College Board in the 2017 National Hispanic Recognition Program. The honored students are: Camille Aguilar of Medford and Jessica Ferber of Cherry Hill.

These National Hispanic Scholars scored in the top 2.5% among Hispanic and Latino test takers in the region for the 2015 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT).
Product Update: Launch of App, EZ Reward
Tags: Announcements, Gaming, Blockchain, Bwx, Blue Whale Global

Dear Blue Whale Fan-mily,

Blue Whale Global is happy to officially announce the launch of our exclusive decentralised application (DApp) facilitating reward-based game evaluation, tentatively titled EZ Reward.

Samsung Galaxy users can currently download EZ Reward at the Samsung Galaxy Apps store in South Korea. Users can look forward to the upcoming launch of EZ Reward at the Google Play store.

Sample picture of game evaluation application

The application will allow users to earn rewards in the form of Blue Whale Global’s native token, BWX, via various participatory activities including game downloads, play time, recommendations and reviews. Users will be able to earn BWX by participating in fun game evaluations and giving direct feedback to game developers through the blockchain-based application.

The pilot run of EZ Reward also seeks to develop an open and transparent network for the global indie game ecosystem. With the expansion of open user participation and a decentralised reward distribution according to the growth potential of these games, game developers are granted fairer opportunities to grow and flourish within the industry.

Future application updates will also introduce easier and more efficient digital asset transactions and a blockchain-based marketplace platform focusing on game assets, game distribution systems, community building and other services. This will not only establish unique channels of exposure and communication for the global game ecosystem, but it will also improve the ease of accessibility to blockchain technologies for the mass public.

Blue Whale Global will be in charge of leading this innovative collaboration between the blockchain industry and the gaming industry through the development of the required infrastructure with blockchain technology to facilitate application functions. This includes a blockchain-based network system for token rewards, contributions, distributions and transactions; enhanced gameplay interactivity for existing games; and the reformation of a user-driven game ecosystem.

As one of the market leaders of the blockchain industry in South Korea, Blue Whale Global has recently completed the successful beta testing of a native digital wallet application, which connected an online community of buyers and users to a network of offline sellers and business partners. Blue Whale Global also launched a global asset-sharing ecosystem, Shareable Asset, which aims to provide crowdfunding and tokenization services for the fractional ownership of tangible assets via blockchain technology.
#46: The Great Gestation of Crypto Part 1
By: Kelly Mcquade-W.
Tags: Blockchain, Bitcoin, Cryptocurrency, Education, Finance

Featuring Rebekah and Justice

Listen Now

Show Notes

After interviewing 12 guests, it felt there were 144 different answers to the state of Crypto in the summer of 2018. Nothing is happening, everything is coming, this is the Great Gestation. Part 1 starts in the middle with a trader and a visionary.

Transcript

Coming Soon.
Charlotte Brown — an Author’s Introduction
By: Charlotte Brown
Tags: About, Bio, Authors, Biography, About Me

Charlotte Brown — an Author’s Introduction

British Born Nomad. Wine Professional. Likes to Write.

Image courtesy of the author

The first story I remember writing was when I was seven and it had everything you could possibly want from a child’s writing — weather and violence. The wind shot a cloud with a gun to make it go away so the sun would shine.

Questionable themes aside (my dad’s idea of bonding was us watching 80s Schwarzenegger films together), writing was my obsession when I was a child and into my teenage years. It was an escape from my rather intense, hormone-addled brain.

But despite my English degree, somewhere in the depths of adulting, I forgot how to do it. Or at least, I forgot how to want to do it. More ‘important’ things came first like finding a job, getting married, starting my own business.

But 2020 rolled around and with it, some huge life changes including becoming intentionally homeless, jobless (in the most traditional sense) and nomadic for the foreseeable future. So here I am again, (virtual) pen in hand, writing every day with increased vigour and delight.

Three things to know about me

#1 Aside from writing, wine is my passion, my love. Culture, geography and people of the world can all be found in a glass of wine. My husband and I opened a wine store in 2013. At 28 years old, I was the youngest wine merchant in the UK.

We sold the business in October 2020, then donated, threw or gave away all our possessions (I now own just 95 things), re-homed our cat and said goodbye to the UK for a life of perpetual travel, making wine and writing.

#2 I was brought up nomadically and this has continued throughout my adult life. I went to four different schools, I’ve moved over 20 times and am not about to stop now. I’ve begun my new travelling life in Logroño, northern Spain, but will be moving on in early 2021. To where, I don’t know. And I love that.

#3 I live my life like a stroppy teenager. If someone tells me to do something, I’ll likely do the opposite. I have a problem with authority. If someone says ‘it can’t be done’, I’ll double down with grit and determination to prove them wrong. I don’t want to live in people’s idea of ‘the real world’ because that is normally shorthand for accepting a crappy life.
Did it really happen
Tags: Poetry, Meaning Of Life, Existence, Purpose

Upon waking up in the morning

From a night of induced for getting

The question strikes like

If my mind was a computer booting

Each time asking the same questions

Asking for the memories that define it

Asking for information on it’s body

It’s function in the world

Who am I

What am I

Where did these memories come from

**

It’s not quite a thick mud that we

Descend to or

That makes us occasionally afraid

To lie hopeful for renewed consiousness

Then to wake up with the sense of loss

Breath like one misses home

**

What a funny thing love is

Or who the people loving

Or safety in a world that’s doomed

It’s a simple question then

But there is no answer

If love is so precious then

Precious is irresponsible with love

Why is there any point at all

I’m curious

What do I dream about?
Just a Little Boy
By: Bernadette Decarlo
Tags: Poetry, Blue Insights, War, Homelessness, Children

Just a Little Boy

Children of God

Photo by Dave Webb on Unsplash

Just a little boy, abandoned alone,

returns to a homeless home



They named him God’s children

because Spirit has to provide

when parents are gone

His soul is faithful

To his mother’s heaven scent,

before he was swaddled upon her breast

He reaches for a sign

from the first love of his life

He’s just a little boy

He cries for his Mommy and

wishes for a home

He remembers his comfort

when he was formless before he became a form
Crypto Portfolio Updates
Tags: Blockchain, Management, News, Cryptocurrency, Crypto

Our goal is to empower investors around the world with knowledge in trading and investments. This Publication focuses on crypto related investments

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Love, Amy
By: Jen Smat
Tags: Love, Death And Dying, Death, Poetry On Medium, Poetry

The day I died

in our 4th floor apartment,

winter snaked through dark halls

as you pounded on the doors

of nameless neighbors —

screaming,

desperate for someone, anyone —

to breathe me back to life.

Did you know I was disappearing

(Where are the sirens?)

into thin air, as they say, ironically?

I put my hand on your shoulder once

that morning, in the hallway.

Remember? You turned around thinking

(Help me) help had arrived, pleading

to a ghost.

The day I died

I felt your breath crawling toward my lungs — I know

(I’m so sorry) you tried, my friend.

After a million cold stones have been turned over

searching for ways you could have saved me,

after all these years the memory still sits on your shelf,

a delicate relic.

Set it down now.

The night before

the day I died

I didn’t know how to tell you

(We were so young, weren’t we?)

that the weight of my skin had become too heavy

to pull over my bones,

that I was ready to peel off the layers one last time,

to wake

and finally

be light.
Mysteries of Thee
By: Murli R
Tags: Sri Aurobindo, Poetry On Medium, Poem, Poems On Medium, Poetry

Mysteries of Thee I harbour in my breast,

Each timeless and an eternity vast.

What dreams born of my consecrated heart

Becomes a rapture-song of Thy delight.

Why then this strange mystery of death and decay,

This life unfurled into pain and bondage?

Why the noble suffer and the wicked rejoice, eh?

Why my heart wedded to Thee broken in siege?

Why my nights are long, and unending seems?

Why Thy gleam lost in the twilight of the Inconscient?

Why the long road to Thy divinity wrought with dangers,

Why Thy godhead hidden in me and evil dominant?

My heart says Thou art there in the darkness,

My spirit living in Thy sun knows the coming hour.

My mind set to Thy compass moves towards Thy shoreless bliss,

My body a skiff upon Thy golden seas of Matter.

I shall bear within me the asteroid’s strike and the storm’s fury,

I shall live in death until death is no more:

I shall walk in the heartless brood of earth’s falsity

Till earth turns to Thy gold of vast pliant matter.

I shall still ask Thee why and wherefore of things;

If not to Thee, to whom shall this banter worthy of bliss?
UI/UX Career: Building Your Personal Brand
By: Nick Lawrence
Tags: Ui Ux Design

How to build your personal brand to outmaneuver your competition and succeed in the UI/UX market.

Overview

These days it can seem almost impossible to get ahead in UI/UX, and for good reason, its a highly in-demand, rapidly shifting field!

It is far harder to get into now than it was even a few years ago, but don’t let that put you off; where there is competition, there is opportunity!

Today we’re going over how to build your personal brand to outmaneuver your competition and succeed in the UI/UX market.
Cherry Hill family biking for a cure to multiple sclerosis
Tags: Disease, Ms Society, Fundraiser, Delaware Valley, Awareness

When Cherry Hill resident Patty Taylor’s son Sean was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at the age of 10, she was shocked.

“I thought, what do you mean MS?” she said. “That’s not a kids’ disease. Only adults get MS.”

Patty, a nurse, would soon learn kids do get MS and finding viable treatments for those children was still in the works.

This revelation eventually pushed Taylor and her family to participate in the MS Society’s Bike MS: City to Shore Ride. This annual ride will take place on Sunday, Sept. 28. It begins in Cherry Hill at the Woodcrest train station and ends in Ocean City. All of the money raised goes toward MS research.

Patty and Sean are participating for the ninth time this year. Shortly after Sean was diagnosed, a friend rode in Sean’s honor, introducing the Taylors to the National MS Society and the event.

That year, the family did not ride, but waited at the finish line for the riders. Being a part of the event inspired them to form a team the following year.

“He said, ‘Mom I want to do this next year,’” Taylor said. “So the next year, myself, Sean and my father did the ride.”

In 2006, Team Taylor was formed. It was initially comprised of just a few family members. The first year, the family raised about $7,000.

Unlike some other people diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, Sean has been able to participate in the bike ride each year. Patty described Sean as an athletic kid who was always very active. She said he has done well with the medication prescribed to him.

“Sean’s been on this injection for once a week for nine years,” Taylor said. “He’s been doing great, but other kids aren’t so lucky.”

Team Taylor has grown has the years have gone on. As a result, the amount of money they raised has grown as well. Coming into this year. Team Taylor has collected more than $80,000 in donations for the MS Society.

“They’ve been so great,” Taylor said. “We’ve been so lucky and we’ve had such great care. I want to make sure everyone can get the same sort of care we get.”

Today, Sean is a 19-year-old sophomore at TCNJ. After he began college, Patty was unsure if he’d want to continue doing the bike ride. However, there was nothing stopping Sean from participating.

“He asked, ‘When are you going to sign us up for the ride?’” Taylor said. “He said ‘I’m just going to keep riding. Nothing is going to stop me from riding until there’s a cure.’”

Team Taylor will be doing the 45-mile ride on Sept. 28. Participants can choose to ride a short distance or the full route from Cherry Hill to Ocean City.

So far, the bike ride has almost $4 million. Participants can visit bikepae.nationalmssociety.org to form a team. Donations can also be made at the website.
Smartphone Addicts or Zombies?
By: Erica N
Tags: Technology, Humor, Consumerism, Life, Culture

Smartphone zombies. They walk among us.

They always stare down at their phones. They never let go.

Nothing in the world is as important as their phones.

They stare at their phones while walking. They stare at their phones while talking. They stare at their phones while partying. They stare at their phones while showering, eating, driving, while they're bored, and while they are entertained.

You can’t get them off of their phone. It’s their lifeline. Remove their phone and risk getting your head removed.

You risk having to deal with someone throwing a tantrum because they can’t read all 302 of their unread notifications.

Their phone has everything in it: movies, pictures, music, maps, food, video chatting, social media, games, the internet, their entire identity…

Their phones make all sorts of noises from beeping to ringing. Their phones vibrate. Every ten minutes it asks for attention.

The smartphone zombies walk among us. They strike the young and the old. They are men. They are women. They are non-binary. Sometimes they are animals. Yes, even animals are affected.

They nearly walk into walls, doors, and poles. They can’t finish a sentence. They can’t start a sentence. They can’t eat anything without first checking their phone. When they do eat, they chew their food without realizing it. An hour could go by and they are still chewing.

They’re mindless.

They lose track of time. Time doesn’t exist for smartphone zombies. When they say, they’ll be ready in 5 minutes, they really mean 5 hours.

They sleep with their phones, eat with their phones, shower with their phones, bathe with their phones. Some of them have their phones surgically attached to their hand so it will always remain with them. Forever.

How does one defeat the smartphone zombies? You can’t. As long as smartphones exist, there will always be smartphone zombies. No medical breakthrough is enough to combat smartphone zombies.

If you or a loved one is a smartphone zombie, there’s little that can be done but there is hope. Just look at the phone less every day. Go for a walk, read (not on your phone), stare at a wall, greet an animal and acknowledge that the earth exists outside that phone screen.

But whatever you do, avoid all smartphone zombies.