fabiochiu/medium-articles huggingface dataset:
INFOGRAPHIC: Areas We Should Invest To Survive Climate Change?
By: Iccdi Africa
Tags: Agriculture, Wash, Women, Food Security, Climate Change

Even if the world manages to keep to the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global mean temperatures to 2°C above pre-industrial levels, climate change is coming. The best way to protect ourselves from its effects is to drastically cut our emissions by deploying renewables, electrification, and energy-efficiency measures. But we’ll also need to adapt to the changes that are coming.

5 Areas We Should Invest in Now to Survive Climate Change

We have many of the tools we need to adapt to a changing climate. But what’s worth emphasizing is that all of these adaptation tasks are worth completing anyway. Billions of lives could be improved by taking action that preserves natural ecosystems, enhances food and water security, protects us from natural disasters, and ensures resilient infrastructure for the coming decades.

In an increasingly interconnected world, these are everyone’s problems. There are few better ways to spend money — but, as the infograph makes clear, investing now will save trillions in the future. What are we waiting for?

By ICCDI AFRICA
10 Best Practices for Improving Your CSS
By: Ferenc Almasi
Tags: Programming, CSS, Best Practices, Frontend, Web Development

3. Set Up a Pre-Processor

Setting up a pre-processor can benefit you in various ways. A pre-processor is a tool that lets you use advanced features that don’t exist in CSS. These can be things like variables for loops, or even functions.

There are plenty of pre-processors out there. Probably the most famous three are Sass, Less, and Stylus. I recommend using Sass because of it’s thriving community and the extensive documentation you can find for it on the web.

So, how can pre-processors help you?

Organize your styles better

Pre-processors help you organize your styles better. They have the ability to break down your files into smaller, reusable pieces. These can be imported into each other, or later separately into your application.

Nest your selectors

Another great way to enhance readability is by nesting your selectors. This is a simple, powerful feature that CSS lacks.

The hierarchical structure makes it easier to visualize how different elements tie together.

Automatically vendor prefix your rules

Some nonstandard or experimental features are prefixed in CSS. Different browsers use different prefixes for them, such as:

-webkit- : for WebKit based browsers such as Chrome, Safari, or newer versions of Opera.

: for WebKit based browsers such as Chrome, Safari, or newer versions of Opera. -moz- : for Firefox.

: for Firefox. -o- : for older versions of Opera.

: for older versions of Opera. -ms- : for IE and Edge.

To support all major browsers, we have to define certain properties multiple times.

Pre-processors help us tackle this with mixin s — functions that can be used in place of hard-coded values.

Instead of writing out the same thing over and over again, you can just include mixin s whenever you need them.

Using post-processors

An even better option is a post-processor. A post-processor can run additional optimization steps once your CSS is generated by a pre-processor. One of the most popular post-processors is PostCSS .

You can use PostCSS to automatically prefix your CSS rules, so you don’t have to worry about leaving out major browsers. They use values from Can I Use, so it’s always up to date.

Another great post-processor is autoprefixer . With autoprefixer , when you want to support the last four versions — you’re all done without having to write any vendor prefixes in your CSS files!

Use configs for consistent designs

Apart from mixin s, you also have the option to use variables. In conjunction with a linter, you can enforce design rules.
The 6 Limitations of Blockchain Technology.
By: Thomas L. Smith
Tags: Bitcoin, Blockchain, Blockchain Technology, Ethereum, Cryptocurrency

Transaction Costs, Network Speed

Bitcoin currently being a prime example. The first few years of it’s existence, it was noted that transactions we’re “nearly free”

Now, as the network continues to grow, we can clearly see that at this rate using Bitcoin will NOT be the most cost effective option of transferring money due to rising transaction costs in the network.

There’s also the “politically charged” aspect of using the bitcoin blockchain, not for transactions, but as a store of information. This is the question of ‘‘bloating” and is often frowned upon because it forces miners to perpetually reprocess and rerecord the information.
Learn Solidity: Variables (Part 1)
By: Wissal Haji
Tags: Programming, Ethereum, Smart Contracts, Solidity, Cryptocurrency

Learn Solidity: Variables (Part 1)

Start writing smart contracts on Ethereum

Photo by Photos Hobby on Unsplash

Welcome to the second article in the Learn Solidity series. If you haven’t read the first one, I highly recommend that you do in order to set up your development environment and write and deploy your first contract.

In this article, we will have a look at variables in Solidity, their types, how they are stored, and how you can use them.

In Solidity we have two types of variables :

State variables

These variables are declared outside of functions (like the attributes of a class) and are stored permanently in the Ethereum blockchain, more specifically in the storage Merkle Patricia tree, which is part of the information that forms the state of an account (that’s why we call it a state variable).

Ethereum Merkle Patricia Trees : source

You can find more information about the way data is stored in Ethereum blockchain in this article.

State variables can be initialized when they are declared and can have the following visibility:

private : The state variable is only visible for the contract where it’s defined.

: The state variable is only visible for the contract where it’s defined. public : The state variable can be accessed also from outside the contract where it’s defined since the compiler will automatically create a getter function with the same name as the variable.

: The state variable can be accessed also from outside the contract where it’s defined since the compiler will automatically create a getter function with the same name as the variable. internal : The state variable is visible for the contract where it’s defined and all other contracts that inherit from it.

The visibility specifier is given after the type of the state variable, and if it’s not specified, the state variable will be considered as internal.

Local variables

These are the variables that are declared inside functions and have a lifetime limited to the scope where they were declared in.
Are You Using Outdated Assessment Techniques? 4 Reasons to Shake Things Up
Tags: Edtech, Teaching, Classroom, Education, Assessment

Assessments are an integral component for all RTOs — they’re how we track that students are making progress and keeping up with their courses.

Traditional approaches like pen and paper tests or face-to-face evaluation are currently the go-to choices for most assessors, but as more and more powerful technology emerges, online assessments are proving to be a practical alternative.

Granted, moving from a paper-based environment to a computer-based one can be a tad expensive — depending on the existing infrastructure — but the advantage considerably outweighs the cost.

Having an online assessment system isn’t just about giving your students tests to take on a computer — it’s about getting the entire assessment workflow online: competency framework mapping, test authoring, evaluation, and results analysis.

Less Marking

One of the biggest advantages of e-testing is the automated evaluation. If questions are formatted in a way that can be evaluated objectively, computers can quickly take over the tedious scoring process with a next-to-zero error rate, allowing trainers to devote their full attention to assessing the subjective answers. Digital results are stored in the cloud, saving physical space (goodbye, paper!) and eliminating the potential for misplaced files.

Helpful Analytics

Most importantly, advanced analytical tools can be applied to the test results to monitor the students’ progress closely, conducting horizontal comparison within the class or vertical analysis of individual development. These analytical insights can also help trainers offer deep and timely feedback.

Security

Often the biggest roadblock to the popularisation of online assessments is the fear of cheating, and you may be wondering whether there are substantial measures in place to prevent online assessment fraud.

The answer is a resounding yes.

Cameras and facial recognition tools are reliable ways to verify test takers’ identities, while a cheaper alternative is proctoring. Screen recording is effective against any cheating activity on computers, and keystroke recognition devices could be used to detect abnormal typing, which is often a sign of cheating offline.

Cover Your Ass…essments

Last but not least, moving test authoring into the digital space will let your RTO take advantage of easy competency framework mapping — which is especially helpful in the compliance-heavy environment in which RTOs operate. Making sure that tests are designed per the competency framework enables both trainers and CEOs to double-check the relevancy of their courses.

As the pairing technology matures, the practicality and necessity of online assessment will become more and more non-negligible. RTOs should make the shift to online assessment as soon as possible to start delivering exceptional testing services to their students.
Listing Announcement! Horizen(ZEN) Now Available on Mixin Network
By: Mixin Evangelist
Tags: Mixinnetwork, Horizen, Mixinmessenger, Announcements, Zen

Mixin Network, a new generation transaction network that provides all-inclusive solutions for all level of folks who need instant transaction with different tokens, announced its the 13th main blockchain — Horizen(ZEN), on Oct.24, 2018.

Horizen is a blockchain platform with cutting-edge privacy protocol technology that provides everyone with privacy and complete control of their digital asset.

Now, users can deposit and withdraw Horizen tokens in Mixin Messenger, directly transfer Horizen tokens to contacts, or send lucky coins with Horizen tokens in groups. All transactions of Horizen tokens in Mixin Messenger will be completed only in seconds.
Shrouded Room
By: J.D. Harms
Tags: Poetry, Image, Musing, Love

Shrouded Room

A Poem

Photo by Jr Korpa on Unsplash

Light shades

covered with clothing

bed covered with paper

I tried to design something

on the walls

but had to paint over that

Writing in a different language

isn’t easy

It isn’t easy to change your voice

make it fit the room

and your audience

If you want them to swoon

don’t put out

your cigarette

And the quality of air

changes the dialogue

and our subsequent discoveries

that don’t depend on sight
Wrap me in Moonlight
By: Connie Song
Tags: Love, Romance, Heartwork, Poetry, A Cornered Gurl

Give me reasons to hold the night,

paint the stars,

undress your heart.

Wrap me in moonlight.

Fill the page with words,

the darkness with envy.

Have we gone too far?

Just be sure to catch me when I fall.
An Ode to Ruth
By: Greta Starrett
Tags: America, Politics, US Elections, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Poetry

Once more, into the fray.

Once more, into the fight.

For freedom,

For humanity,

For democracy.

We owe Ruth Bader Ginsburg all our muster.

We owe this country our love.

If we do not do all we can,

We are done.

This is our last chance.

Our last hope

Against unspeakable violence,

And a breakdown of everything

We know and hold dear.

So I step into the fray,

And ask you to do the same.
Does higher salary necessarily bring more happiness?
By: Mai Nguyen
Tags: Data Science

The pursuit of job satisfaction is an important factor that directly affects the employment goals of workers, and further the company’s performance. So when we discuss “job satisfaction”, what can we understand about the term? According to Arne KalleBerg, “A worker’s level of job satisfaction is a function of the range of specific satisfactions and dissatisfactions that he/she experiences with respect to the various dimensions of work. It is thus “the pleasurable emotional state resulting from the appraisal of one’s job as achieving or facilitating the achievement of one’s job values” (Locke, 1969).” (KalleBerg 127)

The concept of job satisfaction has generated an outpouring of research among social scientists. As discussed in the previous post, for this project, we have chosen to look at the job satisfaction levels among developers from the 2017 and 2018 StackOverflow surveys posted on Kaggle.

With these datasets, we have decided to build a descriptive regression model for the 2017 job satisfaction levels, then try use the model to predict the 2018 data and compare with the actual survey results for 2018. We started off by cleaning the dataset with Python, choosing only the variables that we would like to include in our model, such as job satisfaction, career satisfaction, salary, expected salary, number of hours looking for new opportunities per week, benefits, gender, race, etc. Furthermore, we have rescaled the CareerSatisfaction and JobSatisfaction for the 2017 data so it would match the scale of the 2018 data. For instance, a JobSatisfaction level of 10 or 9 would become 7, that of 7 or 7 would become 6, so on and so forth.
Loss
By: Arp - Alessia Petrolito
Tags: Love, Dogs, Mourning, Poetry, Pets

Poetry

Loss

Stubborn dog — You accepted love crumbs and made feast of it

Photo credit Alessia Petrolito

Stubborn dog — You accepted love crumbs and made feast of it.

The loss you felt walking towards age, we could have done more, loved you more.

Stubborn dog — Attached to life even when it’s sour.

Your last years should have been sweeter, we could have done more, loved you more.

No, eyes don’t feels — while most of us left, you awaited.

We came to you for sorries and goodbye — and witness one more time your quiet love and pride.

A yard is not enough — run wild, my dear stubborn dog.
Sugar Cookies
By: Grace Moore
Tags: Ninjabyob, Poetry, Poetry On Medium, Poetry Writing, Family

Sugar Cookies

A poem

Photo by Kari Shea on Unsplash

Talk about her hands

the way they held the rolling pin,

rolling the sugar cookie dough flat

at 4 am because you couldn’t sleep

and she always liked to get up early

anyways. Talk about how you watched

the sunrise through the kitchen window,

how she showed you how to cut

perfect circles in the dough

with an overturned glass

how you frosted them, too, before

anyone else even woke up.

Talk about how for years you remember

being four in your grandmother’s kitchen

but you remembered it with biscuits,

until you asked her, just a month before she died,

if she remembered it too,

and she is the one who reminded you

that is was cookies

and there was frosting.

And now you wonder how you got that wrong

And you wonder what else you might have forgotten

the things you will no longer be able to ask her,

what faulty memories you have

to rely on now.
Bitcoin Flash Rally As Tether Loses It’s Peg
Tags: Bitcoin, Investing, Blockchain, Cryptocurrency, Podcast

In contrast, the Bitstamp chart reads only a 9% gain from 6200 to 6750.

So what’s going on here I thought?

It may have something to do with the fact that right now Tether is 3.5% off it’s dollar peg, trading at $0.965.

This is what it would look like if the market were losing confidence in Tether. You would want to dump your Tether and exchange it for Bitcoin.

Sponsorship Slot

If you would like to earn crypto rewards for watching Chris’ videos then visit TheCryptoverse.show and then click on the “Get Paid To Watch” button, then there’s a 2 minute video that explains how it works.

Continuing With The Show!

If we look at Coinmarketcap we can compare it to TrueUSD…

Or the Gemini dollar…

Or the Dai stablecoin…

And if you think I’m being dramatic regarding my comment about the market potentially losing confidence in Tether, take a look at Tether trading against the dollar on Kraken…

It went all the way down to 85 cents, 15% off it’s peg.

CoinDesk quoted that being an 18 month low for Tether.

This is the fundamental problem with coins that gain their stability based on trust that the fiat currency backing them is actually there.

Coins that are stabilized by algorithms like kUSD and Dai are preferable to me over Tether, Gemini Dollar and even Gold backed tokens.

As a result of this flash rally Bitcoin shorts look a big right hook falling 24% during that 2 hour period.

If we return to the daily chart for BTCUSD on Bitfinex…

The big wick on this candle shows that the previous high along with the 240 day moving average provided strong resistance.

However, the market has not given back all those gains as the price remains above the 80 day moving average which is bullish.

I don’t see any point in me covering anything else today. I think it’d be a waste of time since this is the only thing people are going to want to know about.
Unwavering Belief in Her Own Darkness
By: Tima Loku
Tags: Women, Feminism, Queer, Empowerment, Poetry

Unwavering Belief in Her Own Darkness

Sometimes Red Riding Hood wants the wolf. Sometimes she is the wolf.

Photo by Oleg Onchky on Unsplash

What drew me to her was her unwavering belief in her own darkness.

Once I called her an angel and she laughed in my face.

“you won’t say that if you knew me”

How naïve of me then,

I did not know that angels do not reside where demons have gone missing.

They always live together.
Dream Craters
Tags: Poetry, Dreams, Fiction, Microfiction, Perspective

Fossilized hearts live within the arctic

Like vital dreams frozen under the ice

Holding packs of wishes still unknown

As old layers of life slip into the craters
Marketing Observations Amid the COVID-19 Outbreak
By: Pmg Digital Agency
Tags: Covid 19, Crisis Communications, Covid 19 Crisis, Consumer Behavior, Digital Marketing

It’s been over twelve weeks since the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) was first reported in Wuhan, China. Since then, a global crisis has emerged as the disease continues to spread; affecting hundreds of thousands of people and requiring swift action by governments, first responders, and institutions. From interruptions across the global supply chain to the mass cancellations of large public gatherings, this situation is unprecedented and evolving rapidly. As such, a new -though we believe temporary- reality has emerged that requires thoughtful navigation by brands and marketers.

The Latest from PMG

Check back soon for more COVID-19 crisis coverage from the team at PMG.
About Me — Ani Vidrine. Greetings, fellow writers! It is such a…
By: Ani Vidrine
Tags: Gratitude, Introduction, Autobiography, Lovestory, About Me

About Me — Ani Vidrine

Hi, I’m Ani

Greetings, fellow writers! It is such a joy to be a part of this inspiring forum with you.

I believe that the best way to tell you “about me” is to share a little about my passions.

I love to research and write. One of my favorite things is to sit with a big cup of coffee on the porch each morning and write. Writing is prayer for me, a way that I connect to the Love within me. I enjoy sitting on that same porch in the evening with my husband, sipping a glass of wine, and being warmed by a fire when the weather is cool.

I love communing in Nature. A frequent pastime of mine is hiking in the arboretum in the state park that is a little less than an hour’s drive from my home. I also walk, bike, and practice hatha yoga regularly.

I love spending time with family and friends. Our Saturday night regular is sharing a meal and playing Spades (on our I-pads) with my brother-in-law and sister-in-law on our porch (during this pandemic). My husband and I partner up and do our best to come out victorious, which happens about half the time. We take turns cooking savory meals. My brother-in-law always brings the dessert.

I love singing with my sons. I have two grown sons who are both musicians. It is just the best fun to sing with them, creating harmonies, and laughing together.

I love to study. I am currently a 3rd year Ph.D. student at the California Institute for Integral Studies in Integral and Transpersonal Psychology. The focus of my research is yoga philosophy and enneagram studies.

I love my meaningful work. I am graced to serve as an Interfaith minister, spiritual director, psychotherapist, yoga teacher, and workshop facilitator, as well as to be on staff at The Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation.

All of this takes place in rural Louisiana where I am nurtured by airy fields, oak and pine trees, and critters, from cows to cats.

Blessings and gratitude to you with abundant peace and goodwill.
What Happened To Christmas Traditions?
By: Floyd Mori
Tags: Love, Holidays, Family, Tradition, Christmas

What Happened To Christmas Traditions?

They were different this year

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

Some traditions were still possible

With the coronavirus pandemic hitting the entire world so hard this year, some Christmas traditions were changed or postponed. This was a year like no other, and the holiday season was different as well. Families could not engage in the normal Christmas traditions which had been part of their celebration of the festive season for years. Many traditions went by the wayside as people had to take precautions to stay safe.

Most families enjoy getting together in groups, large and small, during the holidays. Christmas parties are a favorite family occurrence as well as enjoyable events for most places of employment and organizations. Attending Christmas concerts, ballets, theater, and movies are traditions which many families normally enjoy doing together at Christmas time.

Since the medical experts and government officials were advising everyone to spend the holidays only within their family unit, those who live in the same household, many traditions were not held. People were told that they should not travel or gather in large numbers.

Most people seemed to adhere to the recommendations because they wanted to keep themselves and their family members safe during the pandemic. With the numbers of positive cases of COVID and deaths from the virus, continuing to skyrocket, it has become an unprecedented crisis. Staying safe meant making changes to the holiday season.

It was a quiet Christmas for most people. Although there were numbers of people traveling since the pandemic began, the numbers were lower than in past years. It was hard for many people to change their travel plans, and they wanted to see their family and friends.

Some Christmas traditions were still possible. People could have a Christmas tree and decorate their homes. They could go out to see the Christmas lights around town. They could watch Christmas programs on television. They could bake cookies and take them to neighbors. They could exchange gifts. Many people were able to attend church. Kindness and love did not have to be curtailed.

Although many regular holiday traditions had to be changed or not done this year, there is hope for the future that next year will be better. The regular Christmas traditions should be back for all to enjoy in 2021.

Let’s all keep a positive attitude and have hope for the pandemic to end soon so that next year will be a good year. We should be able to get back to a more normal life.
Becoming the ‘look it up’ adult
By: Shamontiel L. Vaughn
Tags: Generation Z, Libraries, Adulthood, Dictionary, Al Green

Becoming the ‘look it up’ adult

With the Internet at our fingertips, why do some still choose to not learn more?

Photo credit: Mike Douglas Show/Wikimedia Commons

When I saw Al Green’s tweet with the Walgreens photo editing, I was tickled. It’s dope to see tweets from the 74-year-old Rock n’ Roll Hall of Famer. I’ve seen him live in concert, and it is a sight to behold. As a former entertainment reporter, I’ve seen a lot of artists perform live — Jay Z, Fantasia, Nas, Anthony Hamilton, Trey Songz, Stevie Wonder, Salt n’ Pepa, Angie Stone, Lyfe Jennings, Yasiin Bey (Mos Def), Macy Gray and Stevie Wonder are ones who immediately come to mind.

Even as a kid, I was big on concerts, seeing childhood crushes like Immature and Subway, and enjoying Aaliyah two-stepping across the stage. But if I had to pick a top five, Al Green would easily make it. With no smoke and mirrors, he had the crowd’s eyes locked on him the entire time. I have an immense amount of respect for his music, his voice and his success. So I panicked when I initially saw his name trending, specifically after the recent news of Chadwick Boseman. I don’t want to hear anymore of 2020’s tumbleweed of bad news.

It was nice to see an artist trend for a lighthearted joke. Of course people like me were worried about the worst news but relieved when it wasn’t that. But what rubbed me wrong was those who decided to tag his own account, laughing about thinking of his death— as if he doesn’t have an entire family and friends who would feel a way about that. Imagine someone laughing and thinking your husband, your uncle, your brother, your father, your grandfather or your cousin is dead — crying laughing emojis included. Even after being fully aware that this icon is still living, imagine still feeling the need to call him your elder out of his name and crack jokes about his death. Where’s the joke in that? And how is that bullshit funny?

But she wasn’t the only proudly oblivious one. This tweet rubbed me wrong, too, proudly explaining how she always confuses Marvin Gaye with Al Green — although the two have completely different sounds, height, build, facial structure and features, hairstyles, and one has no affiliation to Motown. Do all black R&B singers somehow look alike? And why is it OK to shrug off learning what they look like as being “b4 my time”?

From these two tweets alone, I realize I’m evolving into the look-it-up adult that annoyed me as a kid. The Internet is right at our hands, so why is it somehow becoming cool to boast about not using it?
Airdrop Event Announcement
Tags: Airdrop, Events, Custody, Cryptocurrency, Fuzex

This Airdrop event is the differential distribution of CUST, the custard toner, according to the FXT’s holdings, which CUST expects to increase by nearly two times since its initial public offering and further increase the value of the token through partnerships with global asset trusts and exchanges.

FXT is a token of the real-time cryptographic money payment service, the FujiX Project, and the bank’s final review approval for the current U.S.-direction BIN has been completed.

And about 10 times the difference was exchanged for a CUST Token 1:1, and the token was recognized for its rising value.

We look forward to expanding the opportunities for FXT and CUST through this Airdrop event.

1. Opening a dedicated FXT wallet

1) In this case, the CUST is distributed according to the amount of FXT that is deposited into the wallet.

2) Please open your wallet through the link below and deposit the FXT at 23:59:59 on July 9.

https://xtock.io (The wallet will be available on July 8th.)

2. Criteria for CUST airdrop payment

1) FXT Retention Period: From the 10th of July 2019 to 23:59:59.

- The first snapshot will take place on July 10th at 00:00 sharp, and the release will not take place until the end of the retention period.

2) From the time of OO o’clock on July 10th to the time of 23:59 on July 23rd, for a total of 14 days, we will air-drop the CUST as follows.

- Interim deposit after the start of the airdrop event will not be calculated.

⊙75,000~99,999 FXT : 375 CUST

⊙100,000~1999,999 FXT : 1000 CUST

⊙200,000–499,999 FXT: 3,000 CUST

⊙500,000~999,999 FXT : 10,000 CUST

⊙1,000,000 FXT or more : 25,000 CUST

3) The airdropped CUST will be credited to the address you sent us on July 24 and will be bettered 25% on July 24th to October 24th of every month.

Thank you.

※ More: Currently, the withdrawal of FXT from CoinBene is blocked.

If FXT fails to release until the time of the Airdrop event, we will hold the FXT in CoinBene and share with you a separate policy.
The Next President Needs Me
By: Jack Shepherd
Tags: Humor, Politics, Elizabeth Warren, 2020 Presidential Race, Email Marketing

The Next President Needs Me

After donating to a political campaign, I was persistently recruited by numerous top candidates to help them win

My involvement in politics has never been professional, but I know enough about the game from reading Twitter, explaining to strangers how the electoral college works, and listening to (numerous) podcasts that I consider myself an expert. But even so, I was floored (and honestly, flattered) to receive an email from Democratic Presidential frontrunner Elizabeth Warren herself in November. It wasn’t about anything in particular—just a nice note to let me know she was thinking of me. Although I never asked for this, she included a number of pictures of her golden retriever.

I responded to say that as a cat person, dogs do nothing for me, but that I was grateful for the email, and expected that to be the end of it. But something about my forthrightness clearly struck a chord. The very next day, Senator Warren began sending me sensitive, highly detailed information about her campaign’s finances.

And then came the ask. I don’t know whether it was the time I responded to Nate Silver on Twitter to inform him about a new poll, the time I quote-tweeted a particularly insightful comment by one of the hosts of Pod Save America, or the time I responded to the President himself with a glib but pointed barb comparing him to a kind of snack food, but something about me had clearly captured her attention.

“Here’s the ask,” read the subject line. And inside, a simple but stark request:

“We’ve only got the rest of the week to hit our November fundraising goal and we need your help to get it done.”

Soon my inbox began to fill up with emails like this. Some struck a tone of honest vulnerability and uncertainty that the Senator would never want to be made public.

Many were admirably blunt. While the Senator was out in front of the cameras acting as if everything with the campaign was going smoothly, she was confiding her deepest fears in me at the same time.

What had I gotten myself into? Yes, I’m one of the few people in America who knows what a “debt ceiling” is and is brave enough to share his opinion about it. Yes, I became an expert on Iran within minutes of finding out that General Qasem Soleimani was a person, and that he had been assassinated. And yes, I’m one of the only Democrats with enough political sophistication to know that there is a chance we may not win this next election, and that I should donate to as many promising candidates as I can while I can. But why me? And why now?

Well, that’s when things took an even stranger turn. Coincidentally (or not), I had just fired off a tweet explaining how delegates work in the Democratic Primary when this email hit my inbox. Seems like the Senator has been telling her friends about me.
Paper: Detecting Near-Duplicates for Web Crawling
By: Iván De Prado
Tags: Computers, Ir, Paper

Three guys from Google have published the paper Detecting Near-Duplicates

for Web Crawling at the 2007 WWW Conference with a technique for detecting near-duplicates over a set of web pages.



They have developed a method aimed at performing near-duplicate detection over a corpus of 8B pages with a dataset of hashes of only 64 GB (Wow!).



Interesting issues tackled within the paper:

A method (simhash) for hashing documents. It has a very interesting attribute: hashes of similar documents are very close. You could consider that 2 documents are duplicates if their Hamming distance is 3 or less. They say that 64 Bits hashes are enough for near-duplicate detection over 8B pages.

A way to compress the hashes so that all the data needed for performing near-duplicate detection over 8B pages fit within over 32GB

A fast way to look for duplicates at Hamming Distance of 3 or less.

A fast way to perform batch queries using MapReduce with a speed of 1M fingerprints every 100 seconds with 200 mappers.

A good review of the state of the art of the duplicate detection: it is shown what shingles are; the authors propose to use typical IR document vectors for document attribute extraction; some possible usages are also mentioned, as well as other algorithms for performing duplicate detection.
Here is some stuff that is on the to do list and will be changed, fixed, added!
Tags: Bitcoin, Blockchain, Altcoins, Ethereum, Cryptocurrency

Here is some stuff that is on the to do list and will be changed, fixed, added!

1.Sorting Cryptocurrencies by PRICE (USD), PRICE (BTC), % (24H), % (7D), SUPPLY, VOLUME (24H)

2.Swipe on the mobile version will be changed since we have to agree with our users that its much better and easier to scroll up and down to thru Cryptos

3.Links to facebook, discord and youtube channel will be added to every Cryptocurrencies important link section

4.Night mode

There are also some other fixes… on the list, but we are sure this 4 will improve our user experience most.

Every suggestion, opinion and recommendation is appreciated!
Redefining Communication- Role of Social Media in Disaster Management — Open Designs India
By: Shrikrishna Tangatur
Tags: Digital Marketing, Disaster Management, Business Marketing, Social Media

Social media are forms of information and communication technology disseminated through social interaction. Social media rely on peer-to- peer networks that are collaborative, decentralized, and community driven.

In recent years, social media has emerged as a popular medium for providing new sources of information and rapid communications, particularly during natural disasters.

With the disasters around the world becoming a frequent phenomenon, the world is witnessing the increasing role of social medial during times of disaster management. It has become a vital tool aiding government and other rescue agencies to jump into action to much exact locations, disseminating information to wider audience, know ground reality and so on.

The Social role of social media in disaster times:

Rescue: During Uttarakhand disaster, WhatsApp is used by stranded people to locate a spot.

Rehabilitation: During Chennai floods 2015, social media played a major role in disseminating information like boat vehicle availability (Ola boat)

Relief: Mapping in Facebook about lack of medicines, food and this helps in NGO and public spirited individual to supply relief materials

The benefits accrued by social media can be enumerated as:

Helps in fast broadcasting the information/ ground realities to wider audience without waiting for news or government agencies

Enable 2-way interaction between various victims and rescuing team or

The tracking of affected people become easy and quick due to tracking facility available to social media tools

Helps raising relief material and money by easy collaboration with

Make relief operations more effective and timely

Helps in alerting authorities during onset of calamity thus aiding in taking preventive measures

Data collection and updating alerts and notifications become easy

Disaster management is the one, which plans to reduce the vulnerability and impact of disaster. Social media is a tool which can reach millions with in a second, helps both before and after disaster occurs.

Thus, Social media enables to quick response and rescue measures and helps in adapting to vulnerable situation.
Guy Kawasaki: What I learned from Steve Jobs
By: Pito Salas
Tags: Guykawasaki, Stevejobs, Wisdom

Interesting article by famous Guy Kawasaki about what he learned from Steve Jobs:

“But few, if any, of these people have been inside the tent and experienced first hand what it was like to work with him. I donât want any lessons to be lost or forgotten, so here is my list of the top twelve lessons that I learned from Steve Jobs.” (from What I learned from Steve Jobs)
Dark Hearts
By: Bill Adler
Tags: Short Story, Fiction, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Racism

Dark Hearts

If you could read minds, would you want to?

Photo by Bill Adler

I dropped a quarter into the vending machine at the corner of Wooster and Broome, pressed the glowing button, and listened for the soda to roll into the hopper.

“You must be really thirsty to drink that,” Cassie said. “First, what is Six Cola? Second, what kind of soda costs twenty-five cents?”

“It’s the only drink left in the machine. Besides, what’s life without trying new things?”

“What’s life without a visit to the ER? But it’s your stomach, Harry.”

I downed the cola in between breaths. The drink tasted like mixed wild berries, but left a crunchy sensation on my tongue. Still, it quenched my thirst, which is what I needed to battle the 95 degree August sun.

Cassie’s next words unnerved me. “That black guy over there, watching. He’s going to mug us.” Cassie clutched her purse. “I want out of here.” Her mouth was closed and her lips didn’t move.

We strolled along Mercer Street for a block, when out of the blue, Cassie stopped and yanked my arm like it was a dog’s leash. “I don’t like the look of that man.” An African American in his twenties, wearing a tight, dark blue t-shirt with his right hand in his pocket, was walking toward us. “He’s got a gun.” Cassie’s lips remained motionless.

How strange to discover in the same moment that I can read minds and my girlfriend’s a racist. Nothing she’d ever said hinted at that. Liberal, raised in New York City, New England college — Cassie had all the ingredients of open-mindedness.

Six Cola’s power only lasted twenty-four hours, but that was all I needed. I canceled Saturday’s proposal dinner. I canceled my life with Cassie. Instead of telling her I couldn’t marry a racist, I made up a lame excuse about not being ready.

I visited that vending machine every day for the next month, hoping for a refresh of Six. Who wouldn’t? But there was no more… until I started dating Lou, an architect I met in my veterinarian’s waiting room.

“Sec. I’m thirsty.” Lou slipped her hand out of mine and turned toward the vending machine, while I watched the always fascinating New York streetscape. When I heard the sound of a glass bottle drop into the pickup hopper, I spun around and saw Lou with a bottle of Six tilted at a forty-five degree angle from her mouth, her throat undulating as the amber liquid emptied.

She glared at me and her lips tightened.

I reached for Lou’s hand, but she slapped it away. “Stay away from me!”

“What?”

“No, Chinese people don’t carry diseases.” When I tried to take her hand again, she scurried back.

“I didn’t say anything.”

“Goodbye, Harry. Have a nice, racist life all by yourself.” She dropped the empty bottle in the trash bin next to the machine, pivoted, and walked away.
Introducing…OpenSea Drops!
By: Devin Finzer
Tags: Company Announcements, Opensea Drops, Featured

Over the coming weeks and months, we’ll be teaming up with the most exciting creators and developers in the space, launching new and exclusive NFTs on OpenSea.



Read the full post on our blog.
Taylor token sale first week’s results
Tags: Blockchain, Token Sale, Taylor App

Taylor token sale first week’s results

63% sold and more!

This week has been extremely exciting for our team. It was amazing to witness the amount of support our project received in such a short period. This only shows us the high demand for our service and the validation of our core values.

Here are the main results from the first week of crowd sale

500 ETH soft cap reached in less than 10 minutes;

63% of the tokens available for crowd sale are already gone — in one week;

The total amount of 2,793 ETH has been raised so far, which now converts to more than 2.4 million dollars.

21% of contributions came from the referral program.

We would like to take the opportunity to remind our community that the referral program is still ongoing alongside the token sale, and it will remain live until it ends.

The 15% discount starts now

Today is the beginning of our second week of sales, and we can’t promise that there will be another week after this one.

Time to take action: we advise our contributors who either want to purchase TAY tokens for the first time or want to increase the amount that they have in TAY to take action as soon as possible, in order to guarantee that the supply will be available and that they still get e great discount in price.

The 15% discount is applicable only for the next 7 days and while there is still TAY available for purchase via the crowd sale

New plans available and great reasons to increase the amount you have in TAY

If you like the sound of making profit several times a day, those plans are for you:

Holders of at least 1,000 TAY get access to the mobile trading assistant for free;

Holders of at least 3,000 TAY get access to additional (premium) features, such as priority notifications and bigger trading limit.

63% of the token supply have already been sold

We advise all our members to contribute as soon as possible. Tokens are being sold quickly, and we believe that our token sale will come to a closure much sooner than the deadline. Send your contribution now and guarantee your tokens before they sell out.

If you are not whitelisted, you still have time to participate in our token sale. Sign up on our website smarttaylor.io and carefully follow the steps on your personal dashboard. We have written an article with detailed instructions for you to follow.

We also have some exciting news baking in the oven. Stay tuned!

Follow us and get in touch

Find more detailed information about the Taylor service and app please visit our official website smarttaylor.io.

Follow us on Twitter, Facebook or on your favorite social media platform to stay up to date with our latest news and announcements.

Feel free to post your questions, suggestions, and comments on our Telegram channel. We’re looking forward to hearing from you!
Coming Here Was A Mistake
By: J.D. Harms
Tags: Relationships, Breaking Up, Disappointment, Poetry, Hurt

Said through the nose

of a grandfather clock

because the time wasn’t bright

Coming through a mistake

still standing

still loving the company of misery

You did pull away

& I pulled back into the swamp

of memory

where I cherry-picked the best

reeds to blow

The sound of that wasn’t anything

like the remorse

we’re so used to

Then hiding our Canadian fists

in an effort to make it to the door first

holding open

empty expressions with the confidence

of geriatrics

So you shovel your argument

along

with the other shit

& let the night take hold of your hair

for the separation

that isn’t a mistake
Oversimplified Machine Learning (1): Multiple Regression
By: Theo De Quillacq
Tags: Machine Learning, Data, Data Science, Analytics, No Code

Oversimplified Machine Learning (1): Multiple Regression

How computers recognize patterns

The term machine learning may sound provocative. Machines do not learn like humans do. However, when given identifiable tasks to complete, machines excel.

Algorithms answer questions. Once trained they take in relevant information and give an educated guess to their question.

Let’s pretend you work for an advertising company that wants to identify a target audience for luxury items. The company won’t bother advertising to most consumers. So the company decides it wants to estimate salaries in Topeka, Kansas to find suitable targets for their marketing campaign. The firm finds a dataset online about local residents. This data is comprised of hours worked monthly, age, and monthly salary. The firm hopes to use this dataset to predict the salary of consumers not inside the dataset.

Monthly Salary in Topeka, Kansas

These first five examples contain monthly examples of descriptive information and salaries.

It seems like there is a pattern to this data. Intuitively, if someone works more hours they are paid more. It also makes sense that older workers earn more because of their experience.

Let’s take a closer look at the entire dataset. A pattern emerges: both Age and Hours Worked increase salary.

For each hour worked, salary on average increases by a certain amount. For every year of age salary on average increases by some other amount. The formula for this relationship looks like:

A + (Hours Worked * B) + (Age * C) = Salary

Where A, B, and C are unknown variables.

For every A, B, and C there exists a unique plane.

Let’s take the list of <A,B,C> and call it θ. Afterwards, let’s pick a random number for each. This creates a plane.

This plane is like the bolded formula. It takes in two numbers and returns Z. Depending on the three numbers of Theta the plane takes a different shape.
Signs That You Have a Ghost In Your Home
By: Kyrie Gray
Tags: Horror, Spirituality, Life Lessons, Humor, Ghosts

What should you do?

Ok, let’s say all the above could not be explained away with logical reasoning. In which case, you might actually have a haunting on your hands. Now you have to take the next steps.

Get some sleep if you can

Yes, this might seem condescending, but you have to do it. We are more likely to experience things like sleep paralysis, forgetfulness, and overactive imaginations when we are tired. This means that (most) of the above signs are actually your brain playing tricks on you. Take some sleeping aids or go to a motel for a night or two. You’d be surprised how different a situation can look when you are well-rested.

Research

If your house is haunted by a human ghost, chances are that someone died in that location. Sorry! You should have visited a website that tells you that information because only some states require real estate agents to inform you outright. Whoops. Research will also show you if there is any pattern of people dying in the home. Which means you might be next.

Get a second opinion of someone you trust

Invite over a good friend (or a not good one who you feel deserves a scare) and see if they notice anything weird. Having another person who can confirm that weird things are happening will make your case stronger.

Gather evidence

Show thermometers in cold areas. Record strange sounds. Record doors opening by themselves. You will have to prove your findings later, so get as much as you can.

Call for help

Depending on the seriousness of the situation and your own personal beliefs, you have a few options. Faith-based exorcisms are available, but they are apparently quite strict in choosing who they aid. Professional mediums can help spirits move on and even cleanse home. Though if you hire professional paranormal investigators you might end up on a television show, so that’s always cool.

Hope that you are only renting

Sometimes you just can’t budge those ghosts. When that happens you have to learn to live with them. Should that be impossible, consider moving. Landlords don’t like renting to ghosts, so you have a better chance of finding a new place than they do.