fabiochiu/medium-articles huggingface dataset:
Mo’ Money (For College), Mo’ Problems
By: Kennedy Martinez
Tags: Student Loans, Learning, Collaboration

In 2012, the tallest residential building in the world was built in Dubai. Worth about 2.4 billion dollars, the Princess Tower is Dubai’s most expensive building. Despite its ridiculously excessive price tag, it is still extensively cheaper than the US student loan debt. In fact, it would cost about 6,666 Princess towers to pay off the rising 1.6 trillion dollars worth of student loans owed across more than 44 million people nationwide. In fact, this student loan debt balance is so massive it could buy the entire country of Ethiopia 20 times. I could make all the comparisons in the world, but the truth of the matter is: I don’t think any average person can even begin to comprehend how much this ridiculous amount of money is. Furthermore, despite its significant impact on the nation’s economy, there is no way to calculate or measure the vast damage it has had on individuals’ careers and personal lives.

According to an article by Business Insider, public college tuition rates in the United States have risen about 213% since 1980. What this means for millennials and proceeding generations is increased apprehension toward college enrollment due to lack of financial ability and increased dependency on loans. I know many individuals who are near the age of retirement and to this day continuing to make payments toward their student loan debt. The same article by Business Insider states how the statistics prove about 32% of those who file for bankruptcy carry some form of student loan debt. It is obvious that this country has been burdened with a statistically significant problem far from being resolved. Many politicians nation-wide are working to assist as many as possible with this financial problem, yet it could take much more than that.

The astounding problems our nation faces with student loan debt leads one to wonder how other nations of the world are also affected. College accessibility is in fact becoming increasingly abundant in countries such as Japan, Korea, and Norway, and research shows that the negative impacts of student loan debt have affected this country more than any other. Since 1990, the United States has dropped significantly from the country with the highest number of individuals ages 24–34 with a four-year degree to 12th worldwide proving student loans are burdening this country at a much higher rate. In over 40 countries worldwide, post-secondary education is offered for free while our country’s debt is over 10 times larger than other developed nations’.

Our group picked this topic because it is a problem that needs to be addressed in both our local communities and internationally. This crippling debt lingers all around us, haunting almost every college student we know. It’s time to educate everyone about the cost of their educations.
Maziar Bahari: “There Is a Great Eagerness among Young Iranians to Know More”
By: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Tags: Conversations, Holocaust, Anti Semitism, Iran

Maziar Bahari. —US Holocaust Memorial Museum

The Museum’s 2020 Elie Wiesel Award recipient, Maziar Bahari, spoke with Museum Director Sara Bloomfield about his life and how he counters hate. An Iranian exile who was later imprisioned by the regime, Bahari has demonstrated exceptional courage in bringing the truth of the Holocaust to Iran and throughout the Middle East. He has been a powerful voice against antisemitism and a fierce advocate for securing the dignity and freedom of all people.
Drain the Swamp
By: Bernie Sanders
Tags: Bernie Sanders, Drain The Swamp, 2016 Election, President, Donald Trump

Donald Trump describes himself as a populist, taking on the establishment. Somebody, who would “drain the swamp.” Somebody who said, “We can’t fix a rigged system by relying on the people who rigged it in the first place.” And somebody who said, “We are going to send the special interests packing and we are once again going to have a government that is of, by, and for the people.” These are all fine sentiments that I agree with. Washington has been dominated by lobbyists and powerful special interests for decades and it is time we rid Washington of their influence. Unfortunately, what we are beginning to see is what I feared, and that is a lot of what Mr. Trump said to win votes is not what he intends to do as the president of the United States.

Let me give you just a few examples:

David Malpass, who is heading up Mr. Trump’s economic transition team, is the former chief economist at Bear Stearns. Not exactly a people friendly institution, but one of the large banks in this country that received a $13 billion taxpayer bailout before it was purchased by JP Morgan Chase. Trump’s leading candidate for Treasury Secretary, Steve Mnunchin worked at Goldman Sachs for 17 years and lobbied to make it easier for banks to force Americans out of their homes during the foreclosure crisis. I think many of Trump’s voters might be surprised to find out that he is considering for secretary of Treasury a gentleman from Goldman Sachs. During the campaign, Mr. Trump promised he would not cut Social Security, but the man in charge of Trump’s Social Security transition team, Michael Corby, is a former lobbyist, who spent most of his career fighting to cut and privatize Social Security. To my mind, one of the great concerns of the American people is the outrageously high price of prescription drugs in this country, the fact that we pay the highest amount in the world. Mr. Trump said during the campaign that he would require Medicare to negotiate with the drug companies and allow Americans to purchase cheaper drugs from overseas, so called re-importation. But one of the leaders of Trump’s transition team, Mr. J. Steven Hart, is a lobbyist for Pfizer, one of the largest pharma companies in America.

Bottom line here is Mr. Trump said a whole lot during the campaign. He talked about being a populist, he talked about taking on special interests, he talked about fighting lobbyists, and yet the initial indications that we are seeing is that not much of what he talked about during the campaign has much to do with where he is today.
4 Life Lessons From Tweenage Boys
By: Kristina Jancar
Tags: Growth, Family, Life, Self Improvement, Life Lessons

Why do all 90s baseball movies have a similar plot?

Last summer, I rewatched the classics The Sandlot, Rookie of the Year, and Little Big League with my nine-year-old son. The common thread in these feature films is the young boys enamored with the world of Major League Baseball.

In their story arc, these little boys of summer lust after the Big Leagues, only to realize that their friendships and being kids are what truly makes them happy. They play for the love of the game, not the recognition.

You know what — I want that vibe, too. I want to show up for life for the love of the game.

After the 90s movie marathon, I concluded that tweenage boys are the role models for living a life with inner purpose. I started paying more attention to my own kids’ wisdom, and it turns out they are smart AF. Here are four life lessons I learned from my tween son.
The Divine Director Loses His Shit
By: Steve B Howard
Tags: Short Story, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Humor, Movies

Photo by Daniel Páscoa on Unsplash

He looked again at the text message glaring across the screen and he felt the rage and wrath rising in him. “Yahweh!” the text message screamed. “ I give you a singularity with enough power to create an immense amount of time and space and a 13.5 billion year deadline and this is all you got? Call me back pronto. The producers are screaming for a meeting.”

When he got to the office they were already waiting for him in the conference room: Maggie, the assistant director, immortal name Athena, Anderson, the producer, immortal name Odin, and Larry, his agent, immortal name Mephistopheles (they had all adopted human names after Yaweh had first pitched the idea to them for some reason) all had worried looks on their faces. Shaking his heavy mange of hair and beard twice he gave each one a cold stare before sitting down.

“I think it needs more yellow. Don’t you think it needs more yellow?” Maggie, the assistant producer, piped up as soon as he was in his chair.

“And, Yaw, baby, what’s with all the time spent on that little blue rock in some galactic backwater shit hole? And then it turns out that a bunch of the hairless super monkeys all worship you? I mean, directors are naturally a bit narcissistic, but I think you went a bit overboard here. Am I right?” Anderson, the producer, asked.

“Loved the opening explosion though. But I don’t know, several billion years of hazy opaque energetic clouds before we even get to the first nebula? It just doesn’t grab me. Does it grab any of you? And where’s the dialog? We gotta wait how many billions of years was it again before we even get a grunt? Come on, Yaw. This isn’t like you. You’re the king of holographic universe shows, no one is questioning that, but we can’t ride out another bomb again,” his agent, Larry, said.

He left the studio in a ferocious mood. A few lighting bolts had escaped from his fingertips and scarred the table top before he had stormed out of the conference room. As he walked towards the parking lot, he pulled up the entire database on his phone, the script, shots filmed, budget info, the entire quantum conversion matrix, everything and viciously stabbed the delete tab with his right index finger.
a letter to a girl past the rainbow bridge, who fought her great war.
By: Zach J. Payne
Tags: Love, Mental Illness, Prose Poem, Life, Poetry

for g, beloved of a beloved, after one year.

Dear you, my sister in arms, while you still carried them in this tenuous sphere, I wish you the greatest peace. I know what it means to be weighed down by the holographic voices, to seek the mystic serenity of the longest sleep. I pray that you stand under a beautiful sky, wherever you are.

I hope there is no war in that sacred city, no guilt or remorse or pain or angst. You have held those monsters on your shoulder blades for far too long. Time has a way of dilating, where even a second can feel like an eternity; relative frames demand a reconsideration of time’s skin and bearing.

I know the weight of those concrete shoes, and what it means to untie them. You were here for as long as your feet could keep you up, even if that eternity was a butterfly’s breath by some other angle. You deserve to breathe at your own pace, without Atlas’s burden held against you. I hope you have found that grace.

I, too, bear that weight. Someday, I will seek the same footpath that you found, depositing my bones on this weary road and seeking some far-off light. I have tried to slip my skin before, and will again, unless some happenstance claims me first, or else some trick of fate. This is how our bodies were built, the chemicals within twisting the world that presses against our eyes. But I still take my steps, with the peace of knowing that what will be will be.

There will always be tears in this world. We are built to shed them without shame; only the “wisdom” of thinkers past have bound the baggage to them. We will weep those tears. We will cause them. That is the way of the globe beneath our feet. There are no walls thick enough to keep human nature at bay.

I know that you know the fabric you cut, the oceans of heavy air that your choice poured into the hearts around you; one monster among the legion that fought for your gaze. I know that you loved as best you could love. Then came the moment where you had to love yourself more, in whatever way you could.

I hope that Thanatos and whatever Holy Ghosts there are, whatever psychopomps there be, can take our jigsaw hearts and make something whole out of them. We do not deserve to be broken throughout all of space and time.

For now, we down here hold ourselves together with prayers and swears and the strongest duct tape we can find. Bear our worries no mind. We will see you soon.

With love,

your brother beneath the stars.
Brigade Leaders Share Free Tools for Projects
By: Tom Dooner
Tags: Code For America, Civictech, Civic Hacking, Civic Technology

In order of presentation:

A quick overview of resources that Code for America offers

(starts at 16:55)

On using Mapbox:

On using CARTO:

Kathryn Killebrew (Code for Philly) shows how they used CARTO to help the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission better plan bicycling infrastructure with CyclePhilly. (46:24)

(Code for Philly) shows how they used CARTO to help the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission better plan bicycling infrastructure with CyclePhilly. (46:24) Will Skora (Open Cleveland) shows how to use the CARTO dashboard to quickly visualize parking lot geometry and slice and dice your data with ease. (53:50)

(Open Cleveland) shows how to use the CARTO dashboard to quickly visualize parking lot geometry and slice and dice your data with ease. (53:50) Here’s how to use CARTO in your Brigade project.

On using Heroku:

Luigi Ray-Montanez (Code for Atlanta) on what Heroku is, if it’s right for you, and how to quickly get set up. (1:07:10) (View Presentation)

(Code for Atlanta) on what Heroku is, if it’s right for you, and how to quickly get set up. (1:07:10) (View Presentation) Jim Van Fleet (Code for Charlotte) talks about how CityGram has sent over 10 million notifications to inform residents about the nearby happenings in their city with Heroku. (1:17:00) (View Presentation)

(Code for Charlotte) talks about how CityGram has sent over 10 million notifications to inform residents about the nearby happenings in their city with Heroku. (1:17:00) (View Presentation) Here’s how to use Heroku in your Brigade project.

Code for America is happy to be able to offer these products for Brigades to use for free though the generosity of the sponsoring companies. So, thanks!

If you know of other products that would be helpful to add to the collection of available tools, please reach out to inkinds@codeforamerica.org!

The next workshop is scheduled for Monday, June 11 at 4:00pm PT / 7:00pm ET. The topic will be announced around the beginning of June. Hope to see you there!

A huge thanks to all the presenters for taking time to share their expertise with the community, and Veronica Young for helping plan and organize the workshop.
I Am Choosing to Live in the Present
Tags: Money, Travel, Life, Zuva, Culture

As I recently wrote, I am in debt. It is indeed fixable, so I am not too concerned. If all goes well, by the end of 2022, I should be ‘debt-free’. As for student loans, I only have one year to pay off as I dropped out, and my studies in South Africa are being paid for by my dad.

When I was working in the UK, I would make, on average £200 a week. Most of that would go on rent, utilities and the £60 I had left would go on leisure. I would try to put some money into my savings; however, the money would eventually come straight back out.

At the moment, I make a modest living freelancing. Though this is because I currently pay no rent, if I had to, I would be in serious financial ruin. I am on payment plans with my creditors and the rest of my money goes into my savings. Though I’m not saving for the future, I’m saving for a holiday.

The end is nigh, whether this is from antibiotic resistance, climate change or a race war. As I have detailed above, the majority of people are struggling. So I have to ask, what exactly am I meant to be saving for? A better life? Security? In this economy?

Going back to university has essentially bought me three years before I have to be an adult. The first two times I did university, I was self-reliant, but this time I will be funded by them.

My id may have taken over. And I know I am being incredibly short-sighted. I may also be succumbing to nihilism by hinting that my future is doomed, however, at least for the next three years, I want to have fun. I want to enjoy my life now while I can. I want to spend all my extra money on travel. I’m tired of worrying about my future. Or at least, I would like to postpone the existential dread I feel for after graduation.

To be candid, there has always been a layer of comfort from knowing that no matter how much I fuck up, I can stay rent-free with my dad. Yes, I would have to sacrifice my autonomy, but my dad and his wife live very comfortably.

This is why I am relatively relaxed about the way my life is shaping up. Yes, I may have dropped out of university twice, but I have protections in place that mean I can be relaxed as I work my way out of this mess I created. Other people do not. I know this. However, even with my safety net, I am not safe from the economy or life.

I had planned to go back to the UK after my studies; however, with the current election results, I am re-thinking that plan. Settling down doesn’t seem appealing. Not to mention, 0.2% of journalists in the UK are Black, so perhaps it isn’t the greatest idea. But that is a problem for 2022 Zuva.
XYO Yellow Paper: Network Implementation and the Sharing of Binary Data!
By: Jenn Perez
Tags: Bitcoin, Blockchain, Ethereum, Cryptocurrency, Data Science

In the XYO world, binary data will, naturally, be shared across the network. Before that information is sent and exchanged, however, different components need protocols on how they’ll talk to each other.

This Yellow Paper lays out these protocols in detail. So when Diviners and Sentinels and other elements “talk” to each other, they‘ll be able to communicate with perfect precision.

Here’s a quickie video intro on the Yellow Paper by the author himself, XYO Research and Data Scientist Erik Saberski:

Get the paper in full at the XYO Website. Happy reading!
JUSTAMENTE - uma investigação.
By: Gabriel Kolisch
Tags: Work, Management, Trabalho, Organizational Culture, Future Of Work

in In Fitness And In Health
Signature anchoring on Bitcoin
Tags: Signature, Bitcoin, Anchoring, Blockchain

What is signature anchoring?

Signing a file using a Ledger Nano S on Woleet’s platform

To address this limitation, and allow a new set of use cases, Woleet proposes an evolution of data anchoring: signature anchoring on Bitcoin. The functionality is available on the Woleet platform and the specification is open (described here and in the Woleet API documentation). Anybody is free to implement a similar functionality in a different way, but of course everyone would benefit from a standardisation and interoperability of proofs of signature (which is the case for Chainpoint based proofs of existence).

The process of signature anchoring is actually similar to data anchoring, except it creates a timestamped proof of signature of the data. With such a proof, not only you can prove that some data existed at a given point in time, but additionally that it was signed by an actor (eg. the creator of the data of any other actor wanting to « put his mark » on the data).

The same data can be signed by any number of actors, at any point in time. Each signature generate a new proof and never modify the source data. This allow for a set of new use cases:

Remote signing of documents

one can send a file to a set of signers and ask them for a proof of signature: the file doesn’t need to follow a workflow and is never tampered

Signature timestamping with no intermediate

legacy signature solutions are either not timestamped, or use a centralized authority to prove signature timestamp, while timestamping is inherent to signature anchoring

Data provenance verification

* IoT sensors can emit data along with a signature proof to prove data origin and creation time

* schools can certify the diploma they deliver

* any document used as a proof (like utility bills) can be signed by their emitter to eradicate forgery

Data certification verification

within a data processing workflow, a certification authority can sign some data to prove it certified it at a given date
What are the main differences between an SEO and a SEM?
By: Sonali Hirave
Tags: Content Marketing, Digital Marketing, Backlink Building, SEO

Search Engine Optimization(SEO) is the part of Search engine marketing(SEM). The goal for both is same to increase visibility and traffic in search engines for your website. Basically, SEO is for organic traffic whereas SEM is for paid traffic.

SEO is about optimizing your website to get better rankings in the search results while SEM goes beyond SEO. Depending on your marketing goals, you may use SEO, SEM, or both as part of your campaign. Each tool has its own unique advantages. The key to success is pointing the search engine strategy for the results you’re looking to generate.

What is a search engine optimization (SEO)?

Search Engine Optimization is the process of optimizing your website to help gain organic traffic from search engines. By having a well-optimized site, it means that it is understood better by the search engines. SEO is directly related to satisfying your online visitors.

search-engine-optimization

The SEO industry is continually changing due to the frequent changes made to search engine algorithm. But, there is one aspect of SEO that stays constant, and this is on-page and off-page activity.

There is typically two types of SEO:

on-page SEO off-page SEO

Important components of SEO

SEO is comprised of this two different components.

On-page SEO component

Select proper Keywords

Blog posts and updated copy.

Clean and formatted URLs.

Optimized page load speed

Optimized Titles, meta descriptions, title tags, alt tags etc

Social sharing integration

Off-page SEO component

Link building on your website

create a high-quality backlink

Social sharing signals

Social bookmarking

What is a search engine marketing (SEM)?

SEM is the marketing process with a goal of getting more visibility in search engines either by getting more free traffic (SEO) or paid traffic (Paid search advertising). Search Engine Marketing is over and above SEO but it’s only a subset of your overall Internet Marketing Strategy.

Many people start with a good Web site and invest the most time on SEO, but don’t necessarily follow through as well another very important component, and that is search engine marketing.

SEM is a broader term than SEO and is used to different options available on search engine’s technology, including paid ads. SEM is often used to describe acts associated with researching, submitting and positioning a website within search engines. It includes search engine optimization, paid traditional ads and other search-engine related services and functions.

Important components of SEM

Some most important common components on SEM practice:
Worth More
By: Jun Wu
Tags: Love, Poem, Self, Poetry, Resilience

Worth More

A poem about self-love

We are worth more than

the decisions that we make,

even whole-hearted ones

that break open spirits

for the better.

We are worth more than

the original, the novel,

the truly enthralling art

that we invest to keep.

We are worth more than

curiosity, ingenuity, intellect,

and multi-faceted wonder

that initiates deep dives.

We are worth more than

action, reaction, emotional

security, and love that

perpetuates eternities.

We are worth more than

arches, bends, movements

that imitate and inspire

devotion.

We are worth more than

the sum of all truths,

the mundane, the sacrifices,

the weighted golden loops.

We are worth more than

all that’s good, the grey,

and the darkness that

stays but eventually recedes.

We are worth gifts

that we give to ourselves

daily, small doses at first,

but then extends to every

moment when we are ready.

We are worth listening

to, when everyone else’s

speaking louder than us

to attempt to control the

narrative.

We are worth cutting

through illusions for, to

find ourselves in the midst of

chaos and surrender anyway.

We are worth sitting

still for.

We are worth letting

go for.

We are worth providing

safety for.

We are worth becoming

for.

We are worth initiating

for.

We are worth leading

for.

We are worth praying

for.

We are worth expanding

our lives for.

We are worth savoring life

for.

We are worth giving love

for.

We are worth risking

courage for.

We are worth all the

time it takes to get to know.

We are worth all the

effort it takes to accept

our imperfections for.

We are worth all the

compassion it takes to

see one another truly

and deeply.

We are worth a diversity

of commas that punctuate

our sentences of one in

a billion.

We are worth waiting

past the moment of

living our truths for.

We are worth surrendering

for.
Set Your Personal Finance on Autopilot
By: Tom Fenske
Tags: Financial Planning, Investing, Saving, Money, Finance

The paycheck part

You will likely have many obligations and bills to pay on a monthly or quarterly basis. I am talking of rent, utility bills, insurance fees, and other kinds of subscriptions. Set up automated money transfers that withdraw the amount from your account automatically and transfer it to your debtor on a specific date.

Setting up the transfer orders could be a bit of work if you do it all at once. Therefore, when you pay your next recurring bill, you set up the automatic transfer for this type of bill at the same time. Do this with every bill, and you will see a heavily decreasing amount of incoming bills over the next months. You can also permit your debtors to cash in every outstanding amount directly from your account.

Set a date for your automatic transfers a couple of days after your paycheck arrives. By this, you ensure that you have enough liquidity. Another advantage is to support your own budgeting. By paying all bills at the beginning of the month, you get an idea of how much you have left for the rest of the month.

This automated transfer system and permitted cash-in will save you a lot of time you formerly spent on paying bills. It also benefits you financially by saving the occasional reminder charge.

The savings part

If you want to save regularly and consistently, the best system is to treat your savings rate like a bill. Take some time and figure out how much money you need to save to reach certain goals like the down payment of a house. Translate it to a saving rate you can afford.

Set an automated money transfer order every month with this rate directly from your paycheck account to your savings account. Like in the chapter before, set a date for the withdrawal a couple of days after your paycheck arrives.

Just treat your saving rate as a regular bill to yourself. You will be surprised how little you miss the money that never sits in your paycheck account anyway.

The main advantage of a separate savings account lies not mainly in the higher interest rate. The benefit is that you seldom see that money, and it is harder to reach.

To make this more vivid, I will tell you about my savings account: I use a special account from which I cannot pay online or withdraw cash from it. The only possibility is to apply for a withdrawal to a specific reference account, which is my paycheck account. This process takes about three to four days to be completed.

To make it clear, nothing can stop me from withdrawing cash from my savings account to my reference account and buying that motorcycle I am craving. The forced delay will make me think twice and even a third time if it is really a good idea right now or just an impulse that will vanish over time.
I Said No To The Culture Warriors
By: Radhika Tara Kali
Tags: Culture, India, Feminism, Inequality, Womens Rights

She’s a bhartiya naari¹ they say

She should wear a saree

My skin is censored at the hands of men

My worth depends solely on the clothes I wear

I can’t wear shorts

I don’t dare

They gather behind their banners

Recruit their ‘senas’²

Assemble!

Culture Warriors

Make her pay!

They say

Eyes towards me

Every time I step out of my home

I’m scared

Are my sleeves too short?

Better be safe

So I go grab a shawl

My character is based on the threads I wear

She’s in a saree?

sarvgun sampann³

They say

You would be perfect

It wasn’t for the jeans you wear

Marriageable

If it wasn’t for the ‘boy friends’ you met

You’re a bhartiya naari

Don’t drink that western poison

Go wear a saree

You look elegant and poised in

Feminist?

Ha! Feminazi

Cry the Culture Warriors

City squares, bazaars, strip malls

They’re all war zones

Whore

Slut

Randi

Those are the labels they use

For the rebellion

For the women who refuse

To follow their sick rules

Women like me

Daughters

Mothers

Aunts

We become ‘fair game’

In us, they see their chance

For glory

I sprayed acid on her!

I beat her up!

I showed her what happens

When she doesn’t cover up

Go wear a saree

They say for the hundredth time

It comes up from my gut

Visceral

Unstoppable

The most powerful word

NO

~

©Radha Chetna Laxhmi. All Rights Reserved.
Releasing the Dether App - Your DeFi cash-to-crypto on/off ramp
Tags: Blockchain, Ethereum, Dether, Cryptocurrency, Tokenswap

A little over a year has passed since we launched the Dether beta app. Taking into consideration the feedback of our community of users, we’ve made great strides on Dether’s roadmap and are excited to present the new features of the Dether app to you today!

Our mission

Since the beginning of the project, our mission has always been and remains to break barriers to cryptocurrency adoption by creating a bridge between cash and crypto.

What is the Dether App?

The Dether App is your decentralized mobile application to buy and sell crypto locally with cash — no bank account needed, and no fees taken by us. First launched on testnet in 2017, then on mainnet in August 2018, the Dether app creates a direct bridge between cash and crypto. With this stable release, we have built a frictionless solution for individuals willing to trade crypto with others.

What can you do with the Dether App?

✔️Build your crypto portfolio: store Bitcoin, ETH & all ERC20 tokens (Upcoming: Polkadot and Kusama)

✔️Buy crypto: use cash to purchase BTC, ETH and ERC20 from other peers in over 140 countries

✔️Sell crypto: turn your phone into a mobile crypto ATM and make money from it

✔️Exchange crypto on a decentralized exchange : swap ETH to ERC20 tokens and vice versa

✔️Locate crypto shops around you that accept crypto as a means of payment

What’s new in this release?

With many exciting new features and improvements, we have organized them around five main elements.

1 — Get your zone: A new way to own land on Ethereum
Cryptocurrencies soak up the sun in Caribbean banks
By: Ryan E. Dennis
Tags: Banks, Exchange, News, Cryptocurrency, Puerto Rico

Global cryptocurrency market is valued at $375B

Puerto Rico is leading the Caribbean digital currency charge

Eight Caribbean island economies may create their own dollar

One of the largest crypto exchanges Bitfinex is heading to Puerto Rico. The Caribbean presents a unique advantage for cryptocurrencies, as a way to work around the biggest impediment to the space which is government regulation. How will the rise of cryptocurrencies impact Caribbean islands?

Why This Matters

The $375 billion cryptocurrency market could help to revitalize the Caribbean, a region plagued by slow economic growth and high levels of debt in recent years. Much of the Caribbean is underserved when it comes to banking services, which is why they are turning to cryptocurrencies in order to provide better financial services for their citizens.

British Virgin Islands based Bitfinex’s ability to transfer money had been shrouded in secrecy ever since Wells Fargo stopped processing its wire transfers early last year.
🍗 ไก่ทอด กร๊อบ กรอบ
By: Mattika Singtosee
Tags: Kfc, Chicken, ไก่กรอบ, Food Recipes, ไก่ทอด

in In Fitness And In Health
RBG’s Passing Has Raised The Stakes of the 2020 Election
By: Faith Ann
Tags: America, Politics, History, 2020 Presidential Race, Ruth Bader Ginsburg

The Supreme Court is stronger than you think

The founders of our country envisioned the judicial branch to be the weakest of our three federal branches but in 2020, their expectations were far from reality. The Supreme Court has taken over an increasingly interventionist role in the 21st and late 20th century: when the President or Senate and House of Representatives act irresponsibly and contrary to the Constitution, the Supreme Court takes the reigns.

And the Supreme Court’s ruling has been nothing less than revolutionary for our country. Almost all major (and popular) legal changes to our nation have come from the Supreme Court. Gay marriage, the right to an abortion, interracial marriage, and the 2000 Presidential election are just a few to name.

But more importantly, Justices serve for life. Unless impeached, an incredibly difficult and unlikely process, Justices are employed until they retire or pass away. The average length of a Justice’s tenure is 16 years or 4 presidential terms; the average length since 1970 is 26 years. The longest length of a Justice’s tenure is 34 years, but RBG’s passing goes to show it is not unusual for Justice’s to serve on the court for upwards of 20 years.

Although there have been calls to limit Justice terms, most notably Andrew Yang’s platform for his 2020 presidential run, amending the constitution has not gained nearly enough support. The constitution can only be changed if both the Senate and House of Representatives have a two-thirds majority OR by a constitutional convention called by two-thirds of state legislatures. If passed by either of these means, the amendment then needs to be ratified by three-fourths of the States. If this sounds like an extremely difficult and unlikely process, it’s because it is.

A Trump confirmation would effectively change the highest court to a conservative majority for the foreseeable future.
Buy tickets for Blockchain & Bitcoin Conference Thailand with 50% discount !
By: Lidiya Tsenenko
Tags: Discount, Blockchain, Conference, Bitcoin, Thailand

Buy tickets for Blockchain & Bitcoin Conference Thailand with 50% discount!

March 6, Bangkok will host the major international conference dedicated to blockchain, cryptocurrencies, and ICOs — Blockchain & Bitcoin Conference Thailand.

The event will include:

· 16 crypto industry experts from 10 countries;

· panel discussion dedicated to ICO regulation in Thailand;

· an exhibition area, featuring trading platforms, suppliers of equipment for mining farms, software developers.

Only between March 2 and March 4, buy tickets with 50% discount!



20 000 THB

10 000 THB

Hurry up, there are only about 30 tickets left!

Program and registration is available on the official website.
The Illustrated Interview: Jenny Jedeikin
By: Edith Zimmerman
Tags: Spiralbound, Comics, Jenny Jedeikin, Illustrated Interview

Every week on Spiralbound we ask one of our featured artists: How do you make comics? This week we spoke (emailed) with Jenny Jedeikin, most recently of “Did I Mention My Friend Jerie?” (Check it out if you haven’t already! And see here for our full interview archive.)

So, Jenny, how do you make comics? (Text from Jenny, drawings by Edith Z.)
Take a Knee, America
By: Christyl Rivers
Tags: Protest, Politics, Racism, Riots, Culture

Take a Knee, America

a poem to honor our fallen

Blood red sky, Christyl Rivers

Take a knee and bend it, Beg

forgiveness for a most unoriginal of sins

— Not slavery — but racism itself

Take a knee and remember sacrifice

Take a knee and spill your tears

Take a knee in rage of injustice

Take a knee closer to the hard pavement

Where breath stops, blood flows, protests blaze

Take a knee for our bloodied Earth

Take a knee for police justice

Take a knee for COVID justice

Take a knee for Climate justice

When one life is taken by another

Take a knee; set your child upon it — tell your truth

Take a knee and pray for peace

Take a knee, and take a breath,

but take action too
How I started transitioning before I came out as transgender.
By: Grace Hansen
Tags: LGBTQ, Transitioning, Personal Development, Transgender

Or “How I go about feeling comfortable in my body, without everybody knowing I am transgender”

Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash

At this time, I am only out to my family and some close friends (my official outlist is at 41 people!), while I wait for HRT to do it’s thing going on 12 months. I’m 54, so I know it takes a while at my age. So, I do everything possible to keep my sanity while I wait. I have a number of routine, scheduled, self-care activities or female oriented behaviors that I carry out ruthlessly, on a schedule, that helps me firmly live my femininity every day and feel as comfortable as possible in my body.

The items below are ordered from least often to most often.

And all of this is being done PRE-social transition. At work and in public every day. While some of it isn’t that significant, it allows me to live part of the the mental experience my mind craves, while I wait on the effects of HRT and for the date of my FFS and Legal name & gender change.

Every once in a while, my wife gets asked, “What’s up with Deadname’s finger nails?” or Did Deadname get their eyebrows shaped?” My wife always answers in the affirmative and adds that I’m really big on self-care and personal hygiene. I think many people write me off as “MetroSexual” or “SpornoSexual” So far, to my eternal disappointment, nobody has asked, “Are you transgender?”

So. There you go!
The Dawn of Anticipation Breaks Through my Fear
By: Marilyn Flower
Tags: Poetry, Anticipation, Faith, Light, Hope

That delicious dance between the long, drawn-out longing

for a new day, a new way, a new hope on the horizon.

As long as it’s a ways off, that dance continues in my heart.

It’s coming. It’s not here yet, but it’s coming. I can see it

as the pre-dawn glow of the Solstice sun after three days of darkness.

When that darkness breaks with a slim crack, I know we, humanity, are on the right track — the bud of hope begins to blossom in my heart.

But it’s still such a shiny sliver; how do I know it’s even real?

Or if this isn’t all we get? We’ve put so much store in hope before

only to be dashed hard on the shores of disappointment.

Isn’t it better not to hope so high, to rein it in

within realistic bounds, to avoid that blasted, crippling crash?

But this is a dance, and dance doesn’t stay static for long.

A sliver begins to widen into a brilliant blast of pastel light reminding

me, it really is there. In this moment of a morning,

that which was on the horizon reaches out to me and to we,

even as I and we reach out to it.

Dare I believe eyes widening in wonder, senses go on alert.

No, this can’t be it; I don’t even know what it is really.

Doubt kicks in as the light gets brighter, splaying and raying

out in all directions now.

Darkness dims, dissolves into a grey that lightens

into the dawning day, as the night kisses the dawn

before retreating on the far horizon. What stars remain

give one last winking twinkle before fading from view.

Day-o, day-o! Daylight comes as daylight does

with the courage of consistency as if to scold my doubt

with its shine — oh, ye of such brittle faith.

Is it brittle, or am I like the child enjoying a scary story

read over and over? Loving that delicious tickle of fear,

praying that just this one time, the monster will prevail

before the heroine shows up on the dime,

banishing him back to his cave.

We hover on bated breath, matching the reader in receptive intensity

for the story to complete its arc across our imaginations.

As in all dances, it takes the follower and the leader together

to invoke its magic. Where would Harry Potter be without all of we?

Day, night, meet each other amid their bliss

as we sigh with relief and delight.

Let this ever new day in our ever-new lives

begin and end, as always, with their and our kisses!
英文演講是你無法克服的惡夢？別擔心，只要會說「這幾句」，專業度提升！
By: Wuwow Team
Tags: Work, English, Public Speaking, Speech

三、演講小技巧 Public Speaking Tips

Asides from knowing what you want to say and the order of things, a successful speech is more than reading words off pieces of paper. Public speaking can be a frightening thing, but once you get the hang of it, it can be empowering and boost your self-confidence. Here are some tips to make your public speaking experience even more invigorating.

除了釐清你想表達的主題的先後順序，成功的演講更不只是照本宣科。公眾演說可能是一件令人恐懼的事情，但是一旦掌握了技巧，你就會變更堅強並增加你的自信。這裡有一些技巧可以使你的公開演講體驗更加充實。

1. Who will you be speaking to? 演講的對象是誰？

Know your audience. Why are they there? Are they mostly professionals, advocates, or students and people who need to be there? Knowing the type of people you’ll be speaking to can help you set your tone, how formal or laid back you should be, and can help you get mentally prepared.

了解你的聽眾。他們為什麼在那裡？他們主要是專業人士，粉絲，學生還是被逼著出席的人？得知你要與之交談的人的類型，可以幫助你調整語氣，來選擇是要用一個正式或還是悠哉的方式，進一步做好心理準備。

2. Look into their eyes. 與他們的眼睛對視

Whether it’s a small group of 10 or a filled lecture hall, making direct eye contact will allow you to connect to your audience on a more personal level.

不論是十個人的小團體還是塞滿人的演講廳，視線交流會幫助你拉近與觀眾的距離。

3. Where will it take place? 會在哪舉辦呢?

It might be a good idea to be more familiar with the venue that you will be speaking at. If possible, try standing in the exact spot where you’ll be presenting and imagine yourself speaking with the crowd there. Walk around and take in the overall feel and vibe of the environment. This should calm you down and help reduce that stage fright.

去演講場地熟悉一下是不錯的選擇。可能的話，請嘗試站在你要演講的確切位置，並想像自己與觀眾交談。到處走走，感受環境的整體感覺和氛圍。這樣可以讓你平靜下來，並有助於減輕舞台恐懼感。

4. Rehearse with body language, movement, and distractions. 練習時使用一些身體語言，動作以及一些分散注意力的東西。

I don’t think you need me to remind you how important it is to rehearse your presentation before the big day. It’ll also do you a lot of good to practice with some body language that’ll help you emphasize your points and some movements to keep the audience interested. Try adding distractions (turn on the TV, or practice outdoors) to help you get ready for anything that might come up during your presentation.

我想我應該不用提醒你「練習演講」這件事到底有多重要。使用一些身體語言跟動作來強調你的重點，也可以讓你的觀眾保持興趣。試著增加一些會分散注意力的事情（像是開電視，或在戶外練習）來幫助你準備在演說時可能突然發生的任何事情。

5. Jump at any opportunity to speak. 利用任何機會講話

If you are given any chances at speaking in front of a group of people, take it. This will not only allow you more practice before the big day, you’ll also be able to find a style that works better for you.

如果你有任何機會跟群眾講話，抓住它。這不只可以讓你為了那一天的到來而多做練習，還可以利用它找到更適合你的演說方式。
Nervos CKB Development Update #35
By: Ian Yang
Tags: Blockchain, Development Updates, Cryptocurrency, Nervos

By Cipher Wang, Xuejie Xiao, Ian Yang.

May 4th to May 17th, 2020

TL;DR

CKB v0.32.0 will be released on May 22 and Testnet Aggron will be reset on the same day.

We are building two dApp development frameworks: Capsule and Lumos.

CKB Explorer has a new look.

Neuron v0.30.0 has been released.

Changes in CKB

We have delayed the release of v0.32.0 to this Friday (May 22) because of bugs:

Fix collaboration issues between two protocol by driftluo (nervosnetwork/ckb#2075)

Fix orphan block pool deadlock by quake (nervosnetwork/ckb#2074)

We will also reset the testnet Aggron on 22nd, see details in wiki.

Make minor change to pow algorithm for testnet by yangby-cryptape (nervosnetwork/ckb#2028)

We are also working on:

Improving RPC error messages and documentation.

Implementing Chain Freezer to separate code and hot data in the database.

Improving chain sync.

See more details in this public sprint board.

Changes in Dev Tools

We are busy building 2 useful development frameworks:

Capsule: a Rust based smart contract development framework.

Lumos: a JavaScript/TypeScript based dapp development framework.

If you know the generator/validator separation of CKB, you would realize that capsule is for validator, while lumos is for generator. When working together, we expect them to provide top-level development experience on Nervos CKB.

Both frameworks are making good progress, and are expected to be released soon.

Changes in Applications

We have updated the UX of CKB Explorer

Build a new main page theme with a large HUD.

Introduce several new data charts.

Neuron v0.30.0 has been released

Bundled with CKB node v0.31.1.

Update UX components, including Settings, DAO page, and Experimental divider.

Add operating system info in the Debug info.

We have release ckb-rich-node for dApp backend data source.

We are working on:
Celer Network 69th Weekly Project Progress Report (12/23–1/3)
By: Celer Network
Tags: Blockchain, Celerweekly, Celernetwork

Dear Community,

Happy Weekend! 🙌 Here is our 69th weekly project progress report on our community building and technology development! Meanwhile, you can also follow our Twitter account for more updates from Celer Network.

Past Events:

1. Happy New Year!

First thing first, Celer Team wishes everyone a happy new year!

2019 was a great year pushing the boundaries of blockchain technology and adoption with many milestones. Looking forward to a wonderful 2020 with blockchain large-scale adoption driven by Celer’s technology and product!

2. CelerX Tournament Feature is LIVE

The long-waited tournament feature is now LIVE in CelerX! The 1st Fruit Punch game tournament with a $200 Prize Pool is waiting for you.

Join now at https://go.onelink.me/N9wI/1stT to play and win grand prizes. Follow CelerX at @celer_x on twitter for more exciting updates.

3. CelerX Top Winners share CelerX experience

“Play CelerX, Earn Cash” We asked some of our top winners to reveal their secret sauce in winning real money in CelerX games. Eager to give it a try? Join CelerX tournaments at https://go.onelink.me/N9wI/1stT and bring back cash prizes with your skills💪
How to buy and sell Bitcoin in Nigeria
Tags: Crypto, Cryptocurrency, Blockchain, Bitcoin

Lumierexchange is still the leading provider of bitcoin in Nigeria for crypto investors in Nigeria, this guide will take you the process of buying Bitcoin in Nigeria with Naira (NGN).

Registration: Create an account on lumierexchange. You will be required to verify your email after signing up. Please click on the verification link to complete the signup process.

Identity Verification: Navigate to the profile settings page to access the ID verification page. You will be required to upload any of these (National ID card, International passport, Driver’s license) in order to verify your account with Lumierexchange.

We will review your application and approve your account as soon as we have fully verified that all documents are correct, you will usually receive an approval email in less than 3 hours of applying.

Buy: Once your account has been verified, you will have access to buy any amount of bitcoin from us. Navigate to the member’s dashboard page and enter your required amount (in Naira) into the currency calculator tool. Be sure to select bitcoin from the drop down list of cryptocurrencies, click Buy bitcoin.

Enter your bitcoin wallet address in the currency address field provided. Select your preferred payment method and click on proceed to payment button.

Make a payment into any of the bank accounts provided on the order confirmation page and click mark as paid when you have completed payment.

We will fund your bitcoin wallet as soon as we verify your payment (usually within 2 hours).

How to Sell bitcoin in Nigeria

Create an account on lumierexchange and complete the email verification process. You are not required to complete the ID verification process in order to sell bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency to lumierexchange at this time.

Navigate to the profile settings page to access the bank account section, choose your bank name from the list and add your bank details to enable you receive funds from us.

Go back to the dashboard and click on Sell at the top of the currency calculator tool, enter the Naira equivalent of how much BTC you have for sale; be sure to select bitcoin from the drop down list of cryptocurrencies, click Sell bitcoin.

Select your bank account from the drop down list of bank accounts, click Proceed to payment

Send the bitcoin to the wallet address provided on the order confirmation page and click mark as paid.

You will receive the Naira equivalent of the btc amount sold in your bank account as soon as we verify your payment (usually within 2 hours).