fabiochiu/medium-articles huggingface dataset:
4 Fun Reasons to Avoid Using “Primitive” Swift Types in Your Code
By: Paul Pela
Tags: iOS App Development, Swift Programming, Swift, Programming, Programming Languages

1. Primitive types aren’t documenting your code

When you see a function definition like this one, do you instantly know what both of the String will actually be?

func getData(for identifier: String) -> String {

Here, String can be anything, both the input String and the output String . If you’re developing the code alone, you will probably remember what is the typical content of those two.

I say probably, because as any developer knows — by Monday you may not remember what the code written on Friday does. It’s something I can promise you. Give this project a few months of a break and it will be easier for you to write the thing from scratch than to try to understand “what the poet had in mind”.

To (try to) ensure the inputs and outputs stay at least a bit clear, you will need to add comments to explain the details of what you expect those Strings to actually contain.

From the above function definition alone we only know we’re looking for some identifier. We may understand from the context of the app what that may be, but what is the result of this function exactly?

Will it give us some kind of person’s name? Or maybe a large chunk of JSON data? Maybe a specific number of animal emojis such as a 🐐 and a 🐠? For no reason. But a String can be all those, so make sure that your code will handle every possible case now. I think you see my point.

In reality, nobody knows what those are until they check the actual code of the function.

We have powerful IDEs (such as Xcode), which provide developers with previews of possible completions. They are useless in this case. Imagine what you would think if you were working on someone else’s code and you stumbled upon the above definition as an Xcode suggestion. My guess is: some rude words will be included in your reaction.
Rain
By: Kahli Bree Adams
Tags: Poetry, Haiku, Love, Haiku Fusion, Life

A crazy collection of haikus from traditional ‘5-7-5' 3-liners to modern adaptations and interpretations. Topics range from humorous to melancholy, the whole shebang.

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Detecting Programming Languages From Code Snippets
By: Tapas Das
Tags: Machine Learning, Resnet, Web Scraping, Sentence Embedding

Data Preprocessing

First step in building the machine learning model is to encode the textual data in the code snippets, and converting them into numerical format.

Below image shows the different preprocessing stages for the code snippets.

Basic Feature Engineering

In this step, basic text-related features are generated from the code snippets, which are listed below.

i. Number of words

ii. Number of unique words

iii. Number of characters

iv. Number of punctuations

v. Number of numerics

vi. Number of hashtags (#)

vii. Number of @

viii. Number of $

2. TF-IDF Vectorization

TF-IDF is a statistical measure that evaluates how relevant a word is to a document in a collection of documents. This is done by multiplying two metrics:

i. Term Frequency (TF): how many times a word appears in a document. ii. Inverse Document Frequency (IDF): how common or rare a word is in the entire document set. The closer it is to 0, the more common a word is.

TF-IDF helps in extracting keywords from the code snippets, which is useful in identifying individual programming languages.

Sklearn Python library provides a ready-to-use implementation for TF-IDF, as shown in below image:

3. Sentence Transformers

Sentence embedding techniques represent entire sentences and their semantic information as vectors. This helps the machine in understanding the context, intention, and other nuances in the entire text.

Some popular sentence embedding techniques are Universal Sentence Encoder, BERT, Roberta, Doc2Vec, etc.

“sentence-transformers” is a ready-to-use Python library, to implement BERT and Roberta sentence embeddings.

4. Min-Max Scaler

The final step in data preprocessing is to normalize the encoded numerical data, to bring all the data points to a common scale. This helps in speeding up the machine learning model training.
Benchmarking LightGBM: how fast is LightGBM vs xgboost?
Tags: Machine Learning, Data Science, Benchmark

Global overview

Let’s go straight to the chart, this should alleviate all the impatience!

View interactively online: https://plot.ly/~Laurae/9/

As we can see, in average LightGBM (binning) is between 11x to 15x faster than xgboost (without binning).

We also notice the ratio gets smaller when using many threads: this is obvious as if you cannot keep the threads busy 100%, then threading inefficiency kicks in (some threads may be forced to wait idle because the processing for the scheduling for the next task is not fast enough).
Truth about Hoisting in JavaScript
By: Upender Bhardwaj
Tags: Javascript Hoisting, JavaScript, Hoisting

Prerequisite : You should know what is hoisting in JS.

I will tell you how it works behind the scene.

Many people see hoisting as the movement of code to the top of the file by JS Engine. It could be termed as very naive explanation as it does not explain why function expressions and function statements do not behave in same manner. It also does not explain why values of variable are not retained.

The answer to this question lies in how JS engine works.

JS engine actually works by setting up Execution Context which is combination of two phases-

Creation phase (Memory space is allocated) Execution phase (Code is executed line by line)

First it works like a compiler by reading all the code, checking for function and variable declarations. It is called creation phase. Please note, the creation phase is very important and is answer to a lot of mysterious happenings in JS.

So, what does JS engine do in Creation phase exactly?

It notes all the functions(with full code) and only names of variables and not their values(it assigns undefined to them here by default as a placeholder ) and allocate some memory for them. Setting up things for the execution phase.

Creation Phase

The reason function statement’s full code goes into memory where as variable’s are assigned to values is that variable value can change at run time whereas function code cannot be changed at run time.

But what about the 2nd phase, Execution Phase

In Execution phase JS engine simply goes through code line by line, it knows what to expect and what not to expect. It overrides the values of variable declarations and replaces ‘undefined’ with newly assigned values.

// The End !!
Sermons for the Sane: Genesis 1
By: Abel Chan
Tags: Satire, Spirituality, Philosophy, Religion, Politics

Sermons for the Sane: Genesis 1

An alternate look into the bible

Image by Mystic Art Design from Pixabay

Foreword:

The sacred text that is the bible is a book like no other. Standing as the world’s best selling book, it is beyond doubt, the most influential book that has ever been published in the history of mankind.

Its contents act not only as a guideline for those who follow the religion, but has supplied many a theme for the greatest poets, artists and musicians which the world has produced. And for worse or for better, the bible has arguably been the single mightiest factor in the shaping of humanity’s moral progress.

But times have changed. Yet the text does not. The Renaissance had previously launched our race forward, into the modernity we have today; empowering us to make bounds in progress that was only possible with the divergence from religion.

This great crevice that separates logic from superstition has been growing ever since, and the sacred text grows more unimportant with each passing day.

With that being said, one cannot simply dismiss the value of the bible, though it can be argued that with said value came many negating cons. After all, it does make a pretty good doorstop (tested and proven).

But as all works of fiction do, and considering the bible is the best one yet, the piece of literature holds in its texts many wonders, from fantasy and escapism, to perspectives and history.

Although it was created as a tool to manipulate and govern, the bible can still be of use to us. And in this series, it shall be dissected and inspected, where an alternative look at the once-holy bible may perhaps bring forth perspectives that prove to be, if not of practical use, then of poetic interest and satirical gaiety.

Genesis 1 — The Beginning

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
Why Bitcoin Cloud Mining is still Profitable?
By: Hash.Pro Cloud Mining
Tags: Bitcoin

Mining Vs Buying Bitcoin

Buying Bitcoin directly is extremely risky as the prices historically have been highly volatile, and fluctuations could result in significant losses for investors, moreover, you need to overcome human weaknesses in finding the perfect selling time, it is difficult to make a right decision.

Compared to buying on the Exchange, the cost of cloud mining is often not obvious and often considered as a long term investment, it is easier to HODL during the rollercoaster ride market time.

When the prices going UP

Cloud mining investoers can share the benefits that bull market brings and the yield is only slightly lower than the buying.

When the prices going DOWN

During the bear market, the miners will shut down some mining rigs that would cause a decline in difficulty, which means the investors are able to mine more coins (approximately 2–3 times than normal), compensating most of the the losses incurred due to prices decreasing. If you HODL the coins until the next bull market cycle, you would most likely earn higher profits.

Historical ROI of Bitcoin Cloud Mining

Cloud Mining Annual ROI

ROI in 2015

At the beginning of 2015, if you purchased an Anteminer S3 with $282 for 1.421Th/s hashpower, assuming that the electricty cost was $0.0465 per kwh, in other words, $0.89 per day. If you sell the mined bitcoin everyday at 8 am, you will get a total revenue of $743.84 by the end of the year, that is 164% of yield.

ROI in 2016

At the beginning of 2016, let us suppose that you can purchase an ANteminer 1Th/s hashpower 300W/T against $218, the electricy cost is the same: $0.0465 per kwh, if you sell the mined coins everyday, your total revenue will be $270 and residual value of $87.21. The total ROI would be 63.86%.

ROI in 2017

The year of 2017 is special, as the ROI was 870%.

ROI in 2018

As of the press time, we estimate a ROI of 46%.

Conclusion

As you can see that the average annual ROI over the past 4 years is around 280%, which is more profitable than most of the investment products available on the market.
What a Young Gay Hustler Taught Me
By: James Finn
Tags: LGBTQ, Homeless, Equality, Youth, Creative Non Fiction

Numbers and image courtesy of South Florida Gay News

I was young, visiting San Francisco on business, sort of. I attended a couple seminars, but mostly I enjoyed myself. I was carefree, had money in my pockets and few worries to weigh me down.

I spotted him late one afternoon, playing pool by himself in a gay bar in the grungy Tenderloin neighborhood. He wasn’t very good, but I thought he looked sweet. Sexy.

His shiny black hair needed trimming. His denim jacket was black-smudged. His cheeks were a little hollow, but he had an energy, a joy that filled him up and rang like bells in my ears.

I smiled and asked if I could play. I bought him a Anchor Steam beer. He sucked it down. I bought him another one. He sipped it slowly.

We played. We talked. He told me his story —

He was from Kansas City. He was twenty years old. He was all but homeless, renting a dingy room night by night. His joy changed key, turned sour, grated. I couldn’t believe what he was telling me, but the more I asked, the more he talked. Hesitantly, but with obvious transparency.

We took a walk and found ourselves locked in a long kiss in a dark alley. “You wanna come stay with me for the night?” I whispered into his ear. “My hotel has a pool. We can get room service. My treat. It’ll be fun.”

His eyes lit up for a second. Like a little kid’s. Then he looked at the ground. “Yeah. I mean. Yeah, I wanna. I like you. But…”

“But what? Come on! Why not?”

“Cuz… Look, man. That ain’t how it works. I mean …”

I backed up a step and took his hand in mine. “How what works? I just wanna kiss you again, and not in some smelly alley.”

“Dude… OK, I mean, me too. I mean I want to, but… Look, I have to charge you. I’m broke. I got nuthin. I don’t even got a quarter.”

We talked for a long time again back at the bar, and then we cabbed it to my downtown hotel. We ate. We swam and laughed. We pissed business people off by being loud and campy in the sauna.

I washed his clothes and put him in one of the thick terry robes hotels provide for well heeled guests.

We made love.

In the morning, I gave him much more money than he had asked for. His eyes caught fire. “I get to eat!” he said.

He laughed and thanked me while I pretended not to swallow bile.

boy under beach bar shadow, by Line Aerion

I gave him my pager number before I had to leave for the airport. I told him I’d call him from New York and help him figure out what to do. Where to get help.

I told him I’d be his friend.

He was scared. His family had rejected him when they found out he was gay. He had no education. He had no options in life.

He never paged me.

I never saw him again. I don’t remember his name. I don’t even know if he survived the virus. I still think about him.

I still cry for him.
Every Time You Leave
By: Bill Dubay Jr.
Tags: Microfiction, Fiction, Love, Flash Fiction, Centina

One more time around?

Teddy had been waiting for this text since she left. It’d been two months since the moving guys took all the things that made it feel like home.

That was the hardest thing about her fight or flight reactions, seeing the house transformed into an empty shell.

That and her taking the dog.

He should just ignore the text. But it felt good to have a home, even for a little while.

Always, baby.

He sent it and waited. Maybe it’ll be better this time. At least there was the dog. He missed that little guy.
Daily Blockchain Use Cases and News #18
By: Pavel Romanenko
Tags: Technology, Blockchain, Bitcoin, Cryptocurrency, News

Public blockchain Lisk commenced the release of Lisk Core 1.0 to its Mainnet

Decentralized cloud startup Dfinity raised $102 million from Andreessen Horowitz’s crypto fund (a16z) and other investors

Australian federal agency is working on a national blockchain, enabling business transactions to work with smart legal contracts

Banking company Standard Chartered is cooperating with the financial arm of Siemens on a blockchain pilot for bank guarantees for trade finance
Tenet
By: Martino Pietropoli
Tags: Comics, Illustration, Drawing, Cartoon

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

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Car Alarms
By: White Feather
Tags: One Minute Wit, Self, Curated, Humor, Cars

Car alarms are annoying. If someone tried to steal my car, setting off the alarm, I would go out and hand them the keys so they they could take the car and stop that infernal noise.

But that’s just me.

Earlier today I looked out my window and noticed 3 kids walking down the sidewalk. As they passed a certain car the alarm went off. They didn’t even touch the car. They just walked past it.

The kids ran but not far. Turning to look back, the alarm stopped. They then walked back past the car and the alarm went off again. After the alarm stopped they walked past it again and again triggering the alarm 5 times before they got bored and left.

Later I took out the trash. Carrying my bag of trash I decided to walk past the same car. The alarm did not go off. Coming back from the dumpster I walked past it again without the alarm going off.

I fell into an existential crisis. I’m bigger than those kids. Heck, the bag of trash was bigger than them. Why did they set off the alarm and not me? Am I too old? Am I a phantom? Do I even exist?
Submit Your Article to the Polis
By: Mark Weiss
Tags: The Polis, Philosophy, Medium, Politics, Submissions

What is The Polis?

I’ve talked to a number of Medium writers who wish there were more politics-oriented publications. If this sounds like you, The Polis is always looking for new contributors!

A few answers to some frequently-asked questions:

What topics are you interested in?

Politics and Current Events. If you have opinions on the news or an analysis of some current event, we’d love to publish your work!

If you have opinions on the news or an analysis of some current event, we’d love to publish your work! Economics and Policy Analysis. Evidence-based policy discussion is something lacking in the media at large — we’d like to change that!

Evidence-based policy discussion is something lacking in the media at large — we’d like to change that! Philosophy. After all, our publication is named after the ancient Greek city-state, the place without which Socrates argued philosophy could not exist. Any philosophical pieces you may have, whether or not they’re related directly to politics, are welcome here.

Do I have to focus on American politics?

Nope! While a number of our writers are more experienced with American politics, we are more than happy to review and publish pieces that focus on current affairs from around the world.

Do you have any general preferences?

We prefer articles behind Medium’s paywall. And while we do not have any guidelines for the content of articles themselves, priority is given to evidence-based, clear, coherent arguments.
The Invisible
By: J.D. Harms
Tags: Poetry, Vision, Winter, Moments, Snow

Looking at the world through snow

all the things

that avoid being looked at

slip through the fingers of your head

If only

there were more than\

if there was something other

than the words that make the life

endurable

Returns as through consciousnesses

& there are moments

staggered

that leave you seeing

breath

among the other days

& counting down to the foreseeable

future
OKEx Weekly Update: Aug 25-Aug 31
Tags: Okexupdate, Blockchain, Bitcoin, Cryptocurrency, Finance

OKEx Weekly Update: Aug 25-Aug 31

Here is everything you shouldn’t miss about OKEx this week

ADD Withdrawal Available

Withdrawal of ADD has been opened from 21:00 Aug 27, 2018 (HKT).

Everipedia (IQ) Withdrawal Available

Withdrawal of IQ has been opened from 15:00 Aug 28, 2018 (HKT).

NULS Mainnet Swap Completed: Withdrawal & Deposit Now Open

NULS mainnet swap is now completed. We have already registered all the tokens to the mainnet for our users, and opened the depositing and withdrawal of NULS from 19:00, Aug 30, 2018 (HKT).

Note:

New NULS deposit address will be generated after the mainnet swap. Please use the new address instead of the previous one. Depositing into the previous NULS address can result in a loss of funds.
Made in Darkness
By: Melissa Coffey
Tags: Poetry, Mythology, Pomprompt, Desire, Reimagining

Myths and fairytales have beguiled my imagination ever since I was a child. Some, like the Greek myth of Persephone and her abduction down into the Underworld by Hades resonate more deeply, asking me to return to her story again and again. I first read a version of the myth when I was about five years old. Over the decades, she keeps dropping by for cups of tea, reflecting different symbolic offerings, insights and questions to me; reflecting back my own shifts, my own deepenings. I’m obsessed with all things to do with her myth. Pomegranates. The concept of the Underworld and its symbolic meanings. The question of the true nature of her abduction. What it felt like for her. And how her time in the Underworld … changed her. The transformation from virgin, Goddess of Spring to wife and Queen of the Underworld.

For where there is transformation, there is always a story.

Lately, I’ve become intrigued by the potential for myth and fairytale to interrogate, subvert and re-imagine the feminine experience. Through a feminist lens, the threads of patriarchy and power can be unpicked, women’s silence and compliance within these constructs can be replaced with eloquence and agency, and new narratives can be unearthed, placing the women in these stories centre-stage. As writer Ursula Le Guin observes:

“In the last thirty years or so, as women have taken to writing as women, not as honorary or artificial men, it’s become clear that they see a rather different world, and describe it by rather different means. The most startling difference is that men aren’t at the centre of it …”

“Once upon a time” is not just a time long ago, but also today or tomorrow. As women writers, we have the ability to travel backwards and forwards through myth and fairytale: to explore possibilities, mine for new meanings, re-write our futures.
My First Days Out of Prison
By: Greg Prince
Tags: Human Prompt, Self, Struggle, Personal Growth, Prison Reform

My First Days Out of Prison

A “correctional” graduation into freedom — and away from my past

Photo: Richard Harris/Getty Images

It was a day like no other. The morning had finally arrived. Freedom was just moments away. Twelve and a half years of harsh introspection, physical challenges, and extreme stress were behind me.

The life steps before me were both terrifying and thrilling.

The guard handed me my paperwork and wished me luck. An abrupt buzz filled the processing room and the orange, 3-inch-thick metal door unlocked with a loud clank. I stepped outside and breathed it in, filling my lungs with fresh Oregonian air.

My best friend greeted me outside the prison door. I gave him a hug. My counselor, Ms. M, who had listened to me for the past two years, guiding me to a more stable and mindful mental place, stood next to him. I gave her a warm hug, too.

“Thank you,” I said, my voice trembling with emotion and gratitude. My eyes watered in humble reflection of my journey up until this very moment.

Ms. M assured me I would do well, so I thanked her again and told her I would stay in touch.

“Please do,” she responded.

My friend and I scarcely spoke as we drove away from the federal correctional institution. That fancy name for a prison — “correctional institution” — always makes me think about how little “correcting” actually goes on behind its walls.

The closer we got to the airport, though, the further my thoughts jumped away from where I had just been. Instead, I found myself looking ahead to the hurricane of events in front of me.
The Dark Prince of Disasters
By: Ariel Lee
Tags: Poetry, Aninjusticeprompt, Love, Relationships, Life

The Dark Prince of Disasters

Pragma — A poem

Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash

The Dark Prince of Disasters has a smile like a loaded gun and his kisses, they are bullets with my name on them. To look upon him is to never know whether or not he is the storm growing over the tumultuous seas, or the lighthouse to harbor the weary sailors.

And no one ever warns the little girls about the boys with pretty eyes who smell like smoke and tastes like scotch. No one ever tells them that these boys are gonna be wild days of bliss and saturnine nights of tear soaked pillows.

Girls like us, we have to learn on our own, because we’re just moths to the flame; mesmerized and haunted by what could be. I knew better, but all I could do was inch closer to the fire until I burned.

He and I, we have always been parallel lines. Running side by side, but never crossing paths. And I have wanted for so long to kiss the living hell out of him. But not in the way of warm and drenched desires, but to exorcise the devils out of his weary soul.
Perverse Kicks
By: James G Brennan
Tags: James G Brennan, Illumination Curated, Perversion, Poetry On Medium, Poetry

The erotic game, a need,

the taste for something new.

A yearning from generations passed down,

from neolithic man to man of culture.

The excitement, forbidden fruit,

cravings acted upon given opportunities.

The ultimate sexual experience compellingly addictive

finding pleasure from object to insect to animal,

the mind knows no boundaries.

The brain awash in rebelling ecstasy.

To embark upon complexities of performance public,

to take upon the venture new for others to witness,

while they become an unwilling party.

A complete surprise, feelings of disgust

at the invitation to enacted madness.

Come and try this game it’s new,

give yourself over to intense hidden feelings,

after all, they’re in us all, come on over, taste these new delights.

Unbelieving gaze finds its repugnance,

stark horror of what could be?

The performer finds themself high on rebellion

extracted from onlookers manipulated emotion;

twisted perception fed until the next urge

finds itself in all-consuming irresistible temperament.
This Is an Actual Video of Frank O’Hara
By: Nicole Cliffe
Tags: Genius, Poetry

It was filmed the night before he died (he was run over by a dune buggy on Fire Island, which I think he would have found funny, had it happened when he was old and tired instead of young and vibrant and talented beyond measure.)

You should read a Frank O’Hara poem every day of your life, and two on Sundays. You should start with “The Day Lady Died,” about Billie Holiday. Go read it now, and we can talk about it a little.

(via)
The Peer Mountain Mobile App: Part 1 — Signing up
By: Peer Mountain
Tags: ICO, Tech, Bitcoin, Blockchain, Cryptocurrency

The Peer Mountain mobile app is currently in Alpha mode. Here’s a preview that shows you how to set up your account with your passport, date of birth, and email. The process only takes a few minutes (note: the accompanying video has been edited and sped up for convenience).

Once this is done, you’ll be all set to make swift and secure transactions with other members of Peer Mountain’s decentralized trust ecosystem.

The app is free and available through easy-to-access invitations in the form of QR codes or links. Once you’ve accepted your invitation, you’ll need to create your Peer Mountain dossier.

Sign up to Peer Mountain

Enter and confirm a 6-digit PIN. You can change your PIN in the app settings at any time. Alternatively, you can use your smartphone’s fingerprint reader to sign up if it has one.

Once you’ve confirmed your PIN, write down your recovery keywords on a piece of paper. This is safer than taking a screenshot or storing these keywords digitally, as other apps may be able to view them, making them potentially easier to steal.

To continue, select six of your keywords. You’re now ready to start building your Peer Mountain profile.

2. Build your Peer Mountain profile

Your Peer Mountain profile contains the identification documents you require for identity verification, as well as personal details, such as your date of birth and contact information. All data is encrypted so that nobody — not even Peer Mountain — can see or access it.

To start, you’ll need to scan an identification document — in this example, we’re using a passport. Your device will ask you for permission to take pictures and record video, and make and manage phone calls. Tap “Allow” for both.
Nocturnal Guests
By: Gabrielle Bell
Tags: Gabrielle Bell, Comics, Bedbugs, Pest Control, Insects

Gabrielle Bell (www.gabriellebell.com) is a cartoonist based in Brooklyn. Her most recent book is Everything is Flammable.

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Stop, collaborate and listen. Do people still listen to the radio? I mean actively listen.
By: Kevin Alexander
Tags: Happiness, Self Improvement, Education, Podcast, Life

Stop, collaborate and listen. Do people still listen to the radio? I mean actively listen.

Anymore radio is something that happens in the background while we do anything else (drive, work, etc.).

Podcasts are quickly following that same path.

But there are a few that are so good they force you to stop what you’re doing and listen. Here’s 3 of my favorites:
Confession
By: Elle Rogers
Tags: Confessional Poetry, Self, Eating Disorders, Poetry On Medium, Poetry

There is no marrow in my bones.

I have a stomach filled with stones

I swallowed knowing

where this all would end —

with sustenance

thrust before me

a line of sacrificial lambs

that had no business in this land

where air is all the food and drink

I will admit I need.
Liquified Owns One-on-One with ToneDen
By: Joanna Novak
Tags: Facebook Messenger, Facebook Ads, Case Study, Toneden, Playbooks

Lesson 1: Facebook Messenger is Powerful

The word is out: Facebook Messenger is the new email. The open rates are consistently sky-high and the platform is far more personal.

In fact, the platform is having a peak moment. A recent article in eMarketer noted: “According to a survey of US smartphone users conducted by Vibes in March 2018, more respondents were interested in using Facebook Messenger to engage with a brand than any other messaging platform.”

For most marketers, then, the challenge is often building a strong Messenger list. This is a challenge that Reyes has met and conquered. In fact, he’s come up with unique ways to grow Liquified’s Messenger list, putting the company at the front of the pack of ToneDen’s Messenger users.

Lesson 2: Get Creative with Campaigns

“Just give you a breakdown of the campaigns I’ve been doing pretty regularly,” Reyes shares, “they’re A) building my Messenger list and B) hyping up the following day’s annouce.”

Consistently, Liquified utilizes Messenger to announce releases and event on-sales with contests. In his Facebook post, he’ll include a creative — a photo or a video — that doesn’t show the artists face, and offer fans the chance to win tickets to a show if they guess the correct performer before the 1 pm announce.

“I include a caption that says be sure to respond to our message from Messenger,” Reyes says. “The bigger the artist is the, more hyped people are, the more people that are going to enter the contest.”

Reyes used a variation on this strategy to announce Borgeous’s show at Opera Nightclub, and ToneDen’s Events Playbooks provided the perfect scaffolding. With a contest post that included clear, easy-to-follow steps (yes, emojis included), Liquified’s Facebook followers were invited to tag friends in the comments and opt-in to the Facebook message they’d be receiving. Liking and sharing the photo got users more chances to win VIP tickets.
#IAFilmmakers Series: Celebrating Iranian-American Filmmakers
By: National Iranian American Council
Tags: Persian, Iran, Filmmaking, Art, Iranian Americans

Films are a universal medium, a way to communicate across groups, barriers, and borders. They are simultaneously an expression of an individual person and a collective group. Though set in different places and spoken in different languages, films have the power to captivate and connect people in moving ways. Despite the Iranian government’s restrictions and censorship on art, Iranian cinema has played a significant role in elucidating Iranian culture and contemporary life to audiences worldwide.

One renowned Iranian filmmaker, Asghar Farhadi, has spoken about the issue of censorship in Iran using an apt metaphor: “when you put a rock in front of a body of water, the water goes a different way…my point is not to endorse the problem of these limitations, but the issues of censorship make you discover a new language.” Farhadi quips that Iranian officials believe the creativity of Iranian filmmakers is owed to censorship, but also raises an important point that “in the short-term, these problems can result in creativity, but in the long-term creativity is destroyed.”

In line with a cultural disposition for the arts, and with a flourishing native cinema, Iranian Americans both celebrate the films of their heritage and continue their artistic traditions as filmmakers themselves. While their Iranian counterparts must face the challenges of censorship and limitations, Iranian-American filmmakers have the rightful freedom to express themselves. And yet, as immigrants or children of immigrants, their stories are often intertwined with their identities.

Over the course of December, NIAC will be highlighting some of the inspiration, identity, and art of our community’s brilliant filmmakers, who have made their mark by sharing stories that resonate across cultures and hyphens. Visit the links below to read our first profile and a special feature that examines Iran’s decision to select “Finding Farideh” for the Oscars’ 2019 International Feature Film Category. Check back every week this month for more in our #IAFilmmakers Series.
Do you know the horrible story behind your favorite holiday songs?
By: Kyrie Gray
Tags: Humor, Satire, Culture, Comics, Christmas

After the birth of her first child, Amy is back with a totally fictional story about a baby drunk on power. Rebecca’s sneak peek at some of Britney’s remixes that celebrate her (non)freedom are a must-listen(read). And Rachel shows us why it’s better not to bring snowmen to life.

That’s just some of what you’ll find in this week’s humor roundup! As always, thanks for reading and supporting this little humor publication.

Stories:

The dark backstory behind some of your favorite Christmas songs.

Image created in Canva

This newborn baby is drunk on power.

Image created in Canva

It’s time to revolt against Santa!

Image and story by Lynn I. Hsu

Lynn gives us a comics that reveal misunderstood innovators.

There’s no way you will miss these court-mandated remixes Britney Spears is releasing well before she is released from her father’s control.

Image and story by Rachel Dodman

This isn’t your grandma’s Frosty, so forget the jolly, and get ready for grim reality.

Old Favorite:

8 Things you shouldn’t say to your depressed friend who has just seen Cthulhu.
Being the Bad Guy in Video Games
By: Josh Bycer
Tags: Game Development, Videogames, Gaming, Philosophy, Features

Being the Bad Guy in Video Games

How do game designers tackle playing from a bad guy’s perspective?

Playing as the bad guy is something unique to video games and a specific niche. In the last few weeks between Destroy All Humans, Maneater, and Carrion, I got to be an evil alien, an evil shark, and…another evil alien. There have been many games that toy with the notion of letting the player’s evil impulses come out, presenting us with a discussion on why breaking bad is a lot harder than it sounds.

Antihero vs Villain

During the early 2000s, developers loved letting players live on the wild side as evidenced by the widespread use of “morality sliders” in AAA games. However, morality sliders are one of the hokiest game systems in my opinion, and not what I’m talking about today.

Many games like to say “you’re bad, but you’re just an antihero. Yes, you are doing bad things, but they’re for the greater good.” Bioware is perhaps the most notable example of this, but the problem I’ve had with Bioware’s use of this technique is that being bad in their games usually means you’re a jerk. But a jerk that’s still saving the day from the bad guy. Even Overlord, a game where you play as a Sauron-looking villain, still has you saving the day from another evil force. The plot point “bad guys fighting bad guys” is often the story of games featuring the antihero archetype.

The games mentioned at the start make no bones about it: You are the bad guy doing bad things. But what does it actually mean to be the bad guy?
Protect your investment with Coin Mine Australia’s guide to fakes, scammers, and frauds
By: Aaron Darr
Tags: Ethereum, Blockchain, Bitcoin, Coinmineaustralia, Investing

They say imitation is the highest form of flattery, but when imitation websites and social media accounts are being used to try and trick our participants days out from the TGE/ICO, it is flattery that we and our token holder community could do without!

1.

Phishing sites imitating Coin Mine Australia’s website look very professional, but it’s easy to spot a fake. Our company name is Coin Mine Australia, not any other variation of the name. Please Double-Check the URL when clicking on any sort of advertisement (Google-Ads, Facebook…) An imitation YouTube account can look like an authentic fan page, but videos can be altered to include wallet addresses and requests for money — especially on the day of the TGE/ICO when our team is busy helping participants.

2.

Private keys are just that — private. Never give up your private keys. Coin Mine Australia will never ask for that information. If someone does request your private keys, let us know and we’ll do our best to get them kicked off the Internet.

3.

There is no way to purchase tokens before Monday, 19 March 2018. If it sounds too good to be true, it is. Do not transfer money to anyone promising free tokens or early sales.

4.

Bookmark the website. If you bookmark the real https://coinmineaustralia.com website, then you can always go back to the site on TGE/ICO start day and be confident you are clicking the right URL. Check for the “Extended Validation Certificate (EV)” SSL certificate in your URL address bar to make sure it’s the real Coin Mine Australia website.

5.

Our Telegram admins will not contact you via DM to make an investment. If someone does contact you, make sure they post a message on the public channel to confirm their identity so that you can see their ADMIN badge.

6.

On TGE/ICO launch day, do not use any wallet address posted to social media. No YouTube video or tweet will contain our wallet address. The only way to access the TGE/ICO wallet address will be via our website purchase dashboard. Anything else is a fake.

7.

Buy from Coin Mine Australia and Coin Mine Australia only. We are the exclusive seller of our CMA tokens during the TGE/ICO. No exchanges or 3rd parties have access to our tokens so don’t give money to websites or individuals offering to sell you CMA™ Tokens.

8.

Let us know if you spot a scam or suspect one. If you tell us, we can try to stop them and we can warn others. The whole community can help each other stay safe and help the Coin Mine Australia TGE/ICO go smoothly by pointing out bad actors and working together to expose them.
Stable Coins and Cryptocurrency
By: Jamie Boyer
Tags: Bitcoin, Cryptocurrency, Altcoins, Finance, Stable Coin

Stable Coins and Cryptocurrency

Looking for stability in an unstable world

We’ve all heard it. Don’t invest in cryptocurrency: it’s not safe; it’s not even real! But, we all know that’s not true. In fact, it was recently announced that many Ivy League schools have invested portions of their endowments into cryptocurrency funds.

Image Credit: blog.goodaudience.com

So what is cryptocurrency? At its very core, cryptocurrency is a decentralized digital cash system. Unintentionally discovered in 2008, Bitcoin (believed to be the first cryptocurrency) was created as a means to prevent “double-spending” in financial transactions. You know — kind of like “floating a check” … I pay you, then, before that money is withdrawn from my bank account, I pay someone else. At the end of the day, I’ve paid two debts with the same pot of funds. Not cool.

Bitcoin founders realized that processing all payments through one centralized place caused not only time delays, but also relied on a single source to validate whether or not funds were actually available. And so began the decentralized system which relies on the consensus of many to validate a transaction. But decentralization also means that cryptocurrencies are not typically “pegged” against another stable asset (think US dollar), and the coin’s value fluctuates… sometimes a lot!

According to Sherman Lee’s recent Forbes article, Explaining Stable Coins, the Holy Grail of Cryptocurrency, in a perfect world, cryptocurrency would have four key attributes: price stability, scalability, privacy and decentralization. If a coin possessed these four attributes, it could, theoretically, be practical for everyday purchases as well as desirable for longer-term investments.

So what is a “stable” coin? It’s a coin that is pegged (backed) by another stable asset, like gold, but NOT tied to a central bank. In essence, the coin has value as deemed by a “tangible” asset, i.e. gold, but the accountability of a decentralized network.

Recently, there are few projects attempting to solve the stability issue. Some are even pegging against the US dollar, and then backing with an alt. coin like ETH or Bitcoin. Both ETH and Bitcoin are available on the Get Cred app. If you haven’t checked it out, download the app and get started today!

As these projects continue to unfold, it’s not unreasonable to envision a world where we’ll be using cryptocurrency for everyday purchases very soon. And Get Cred is an easy way to start your journey.
Be Aware of the Quiet Ones like Keanu Reeves — They Are the Ones That Actually Make You Think
By: Tim Denning
Tags: Relationships, Leadership, Education, Life Lessons, Work

The world doesn’t need more loud guys full of too many words, with buff arms, in tight shirts, and huge egos to match. The world needs quiet people. Why?

Quiet people make you think.

Thinking brings clarity.

Thinking can lead to change.

I’ve always been intrigued by Keanu. He is a quiet person who keeps to himself and still hasn’t figured out how to be famous after twenty-nine years of being one of the most iconic Hollywood Actors of all time.

Keanu doesn’t get fame, attention or noise. Instead, he prefers to be quiet and insert silence in his speeches and TV interviews.

When he does choose to speak, he drops short sentence bombs like this interview with Steven Colbert:

Stephen: “What do you think happens when we die, Keanu Reeves?” Keanu: I know that the ones who love us will miss us.

In eleven words, Keanu summed up the entire meaning of life. It was a moment of sheer brilliance.
And also, and also, and also
By: Jan Schultink
Tags: Keynote, Presentation Design, PowerPoint, Presentation, Investor Presentation

There are so many wonderful things to say about your idea. all the problems it solves, all the things it can do, all the thought you have put in to make it perfect.







In the middle of the “and also, and also, and also, and also” the audience gets bored and wonders what it actually boils down to. In 99% of pitches I have designed, there is one original idea that is more important than all the other features.







Design your presentation around this. When describing the problem (always easier to do than selling the solution), focus on the most important issue. When presenting the solution, hammer in that one crucial innovation. After that is done, you can mention other elements of your story as a “by the way”. But, watch out not to get carried away here.







Prioritising that one big idea out of all your smaller ideas is not a matter of diluting things with generic terms: “we deliver ROI”. It should be highly specific.
The Best Deep Learning Papers from the ICLR 2020 Conference
By: Patrycja Jenkner
Tags: Iclr 2020, Conference, Machine Learning, Data Science, Deep Learning

Last week I had the pleasure to participate in the International Conference on Learning Representations (ICLR), an event dedicated to the research on all aspects of deep learning. Initially, the conference was supposed to take place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, however, due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, it went virtual. I’m sure it was a challenge for organisers to move the event online, but I think the effect was more than satisfactory, as you can read here!

Over 1300 speakers and 5600 attendees proved that the virtual format was more accessible for the public, but at the same time, the conference remained interactive and engaging. From many interesting presentations, I decided to choose 16, which are influential and thought-provoking. Here are the best deep learning papers from the ICLR.

Best Deep learning papers

1. On Robustness of Neural Ordinary Differential Equations

In-depth study of the robustness of the Neural Ordinary Differential Equations or NeuralODE in short. Use it as a building block for more robust networks.

Paper

The architecture of an ODENet. The neural ODE block serves as a dimension-preserving nonlinear mapping.

First author: Hanshu YAN

LinkedIn | Website
[Notice] EXNOMY Open Event 1 — Event Duration Extension Information
By: Exnomy X Linkercoin
Tags: Decentralization, Airdrop, Linkercoin

EXNOMY Open Event 1 — Event Duration Extension Information

‘EXNOMY Open Event 1 — LinkerCoin (LNC) Airdrop for Testers’

The event period is extended until 12:59 PM (UTC) on December 3, 2019.

Check the past notice regarding the event.

(https://medium.com/linkercoin/notice-exnomy-open-event-1-linkercoin-lnc-airdrop-for-testers-8ff534f01964)

We appreciate your participation.

LinkerCoin Team
Business Continuity and Backups in the Virtual World
By: Eric Vanderburg
Tags: Information Security

Virtualization has really become a mainstream technology and an effective way for organizations to reduce costs. Virtualization simplifies processes but also creates new information security risks to handle. This article is concerned with business continuity and how virtualization can create many new opportunities and efficiencies in your business continuity plan. This is the third article in a series on virtualization.

Specifically, three elements of business continuity that can be enhanced through virtualization. These elements are hot, warm, and cold sites, which provide redundancy in case a single site goes down. Snapshots record changes to the virtual machines to protect against data loss or server downtime, offering fast and easy restoration to the snapshot. Virtualization is also an excellent platform for testing since servers can be easily created, saved, and cloned. If you have not considered virtualization in your business continuity plan, I hope you will add it to your implementation plan.
Time-Series Forecasting: Predicting Stock Prices Using An ARIMA Model
By: Serafeim Loukas
Tags: Forecasting, Machine Learning, Data Science, Stock Market, Time Series Analysis

1. Introduction

1.1. Time-series & forecasting models

Time-series forecasting models are the models that are capable to predict future values based on previously observed values. Time-series forecasting is widely used for non-stationary data. Non-stationary data are called the data whose statistical properties e.g. the mean and standard deviation are not constant over time but instead, these metrics vary over time.

These non-stationary input data (used as input to these models) are usually called time-series. Some examples of time-series include the temperature values over time, stock price over time, price of a house over time etc. So, the input is a signal (time-series) that is defined by observations taken sequentially in time.

A time series is a sequence of observations taken sequentially in time.

An example of a time-series. Plot created by the author in Python.

Observation: Time-series data is recorded on a discrete time scale.

Disclaimer: There have been attempts to predict stock prices using time series analysis algorithms, though they still cannot be used to place bets in the real market. This is just a tutorial article that does not intent in any way to “direct” people into buying stocks.