fabiochiu/medium-articles huggingface dataset:
Blockchain Technology and its Future
Tags: Cyclean, Blockchain, Bitcoin

Hi guys. This is me with another blog post about CyClean. Actually, today I am not going to specifically talk about CyClean itself but about the thing that is related to CyClean: blockchain and its technology. Without understanding blockchain technology, you can’t fully embrace the idea behind cryptocurrencies.

What is Blockchain?

Blockchain was created by Bitcoin’s founder, Satoshi Nakamoto. It is a public distributed ledger where transaction details are shared by nodes in a peer-to-peer network. Also known as a distributed database system, blockchain helps people who do not know or trust each other build a dependable ledger.

The blockchain is structured by a series of blocks that go from the genesis block to the current block, and each block contains a cryptographic hash of the previous block, a timestamp and transaction data. Because these connected blocks look similar to a chain, it is called “blockchain.”

What is a Block?

A block is a space that stores transaction details for a certain period of time (around 10 minutes in the case of Bitcoin). Each block contains the transaction history as well as a time stamp and a hashed value of the previous block. A newly created block will be added to the blockchain every 10 minutes (in Bitcoin’s case it is 10 minutes, but it isdifferent based on which cryptocurrency you are talking about) via the proof of the work system completed by miners. It is known that Bitcoin stores about 1800–4200 transactions per block.

Why is this Important?

Well, blockchain in the past was treated like something that people only use to create cryptocurrency. Now? Many people believe that Blockchain can replace many parts of this world. Cryptocurrency was just created to incentivize those who actually produce blocks. Blockchain itself can do many things other than cryptocurrency. For example, blockchain can be used as a banking system through which each individual becomes bank. Also, blockchain can be used to acquire public consensus more efficiently. Think about it in this way: if you want your data to be decentralized, you have to use blockchain. Many people think that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have no value at all, but once they understand the concept of blockchain, they will realize that blockchain itself is valuable enough to back cryptocurrencies.

The Current Trend

Nowadays, many big corporations like Samsung, Facebook, and Google have actually made teams that are dealing with blockchain. This shows that blockchain is not a joke. It is now a very serious technology. Even major banks around the world are starting to adopt blockchain networks. As time goes by, more and more corporations and people will adopt blockchain. This is about decentralization of power. The more people use blockchain, the more free they are going to be. So, join the CyClean movement and get to know about blockchain technology firsthand!
Zero, one, and all the things in between
By: Martin Vetterli
Tags: Digital, Quantum Computing, Science, Computer Science, Algorithms

Where we learn that each digital revolution starts decades before we see it coming

Photo by Helloquence on Unsplash

When I was in the United States as a young computer scientist during the late 1980s, it was just the beginning of the digital revolution that we’re all witnessing nowadays. But the real breakthroughs leading to this revolution actually happened a few decades before. Could it thus be that a another revolution might be in its infancy today, and we just don’t see it coming? In fact, yes, and quantum computing might just be that. But what is quantum computing? And how does it function?

The term „quantum computer“ was coined in the middle of the 20th century by the famous Nobel Laureate Richard Feynman. In those times the stuff to build computers from were transistors. These little devices are either in a given state, or not (the famous 1s and 0s). Based on these two states the first binary digits (or „bits“) were implemented, and humans started to the create first little processors and the first primitive forms of modern physical hard drives.

But Feynman knew that that was not the end of the story. In fact, he and other physicists realised that the state of matter behaved completely different on the very small scale. Tiny particles such as atoms could be in multiple states at the same time. It was thus not just a matter of 0s or 1s (I know this sounds weird, but nature has indeed many surprises:). Based on this they imagined a future computer. This „quantum computer“ would not be based on bits, but on qubits (from quantum bits), which would be both 0 and 1 at the same time, and all the combinations in between. This would open a huge new computing power.

During the last years, the first physical quantum computers have been built. They are still very bulky machines, which need to be cooled down to minus 273 degree Celsius to work (this is colder than in the interstellar space!). Because it is only at this low temperature that we can work with those strange quantum states of matter. Nevertheless, they do exist, and basically all companies, from Google, IBM and Intel to Microsoft are investing and building such little quantum chips with the hope to build immensely quick computers one day.

Unfortunately, quantum computers are not only big at the moment, but they also have a very low computing power (similarly to the calculation powers of the early computers in the 1970s and 1980s. But as I could witness myself in those early days of computing, it is just a matter of time until computers get smaller and faster, once some basic principles are overcome. In fact, many experts believe that quantum computers will arrive to the every day world within the next 10 to 20 years. And they will not only speed up all processes massively, but revolutionise (once again) the way our data intensive world will work.
How I Am Growing $0 to $80,000 and How You Can Too
By: The Retired Millennial
Tags: Personal Finance, Side Hustle, Money, Profit, Investing

I continued this pattern, where I would buy inventory with the profit I made, sold the inventory, bought more inventory, sold the inventory until I reached $1,000 in profit.

I bought/acquired items from a few sources, where my primary location was the Goodwill Outlet. Other places I did not expect to pick up items were from the curb. You know when you see something on the side of the road that says “free.” That is a pretty normal thing for my neighborhood to do, and to my surprise, I found a few high-quality items by chance. Here is a breakdown of all the places that I sourced from.

When I made inventory purchases, I kept in mind what platform I wanted to sell it on, because I generally had two buckets of items I would source for. One bucket was eBay the other was local marketplace apps (like Facebook Marketplace, OfferUp, and the like).

Sourcing Items

Before the 0–1k was a thing, I already was flipping, but only on eBay. I had a hypothesis, which was that if I could price everyday items like kitchen appliances, pet items, children's items, etc. for $5-$20, they would go fast on local selling apps like Facebook Marketplace and OfferUp.

I had this hypothesis and tested it for a few days a had made quick sales, so I decided to track my progress. My boyfriend then suggested that he and I race to 1k. He has purchased an item for less than a $1.00 and sold it for $90 on eBay, so he did a 1–1k challenge. So back to the items I chose.

For Facebook Marketplace and similar local selling apps, I focused on low-cost everyday items. Something you can do if you decide to sell on Facebook Marketplace is researching popular categories in your town (or the towns you plan on selling in). Don’t get analysis paralysis at this stage. Make an educated guess on what the demographic in your town would buy, buy it, list it, and see how it performs on various platforms. If the item is low cost or free, you really have nothing to lose. Below are the stats. for the categories that I sold.
Caviar Offers an iPhone 12 Pro Without Cameras for $5K
Tags: Customization, iPhone, Mobile, Smartphones, Technology

‘For those who want to feel safe in all situations.’

By Matthew Humphries

One of the key selling points of the iPhone 12, beyond being a great smartphone, is the fact it doubles as a fantastic camera. Apparently, though, not everyone wants those cameras on the back, and premium Russian brand Caviar has a very expensive solution for those individuals.

As GSMArena reports, Caviar is launching two modified iPhone 12 Pro and Pro Max smartphones with the rear cameras removed and the selfie camera disabled. Caviar explains it designed the iPhone 12 Pro Stealth and iPhone 12 Pro Stealth Gold “for those who want to feel safe in all situations.” These modified iPhones are far from cheap, though.

The base model iPhone 12 Pro Stealth with 128GB of storage will cost you $4,990. Prices for the iPhone 12 Pro Max Stealth start at $5,530. Both Stealth models use a hardened titanium black casing with “vertical guilloche,” which is an interlaced ribbon effect on the surface of the case. Engraving is also available on the back and side of the phone.

For those of you with even more money to splash on a camera-less iPhone, there’s the Stealth Gold models to consider. They upgrade the casing to be tempered titanium with an extra-strong gold PVD coating and the same vertical guilloche finish. The iPhone 12 Pro version starts at $5,520 and the Pro Max at $6,060.

I’m sure you’ll be happy to hear that shipping is free. And Face ID continues to work on these modified iPhones, because it relies on the TrueDepth camera, which hasn’t been disabled. Don’t hang about if you want one, though, as Caviar is making only 99 available of each model.
How to run and debug a single TypeScript file in WebStorm IDE
By: Artem Diashkin
Tags: JavaScript, Debugging, Web Development, Webstorm, Typescript

The easiest way

If you need to run one file and see the results, you don’t need to add ts-node to your dev dependencies.

Let’s take a look at the simple example: currently, we have a single .ts file in our project examples/User.ts .

After running this command in your terminal…

npx ts-node examples/User.ts

…you will see the result:
Seeing Each Other
By: Guy New York
Tags: Short Story, Erotica, Fiction, Love, Romance

We went directly from the sidewalk to the shower.

I didn’t even watch her undress as we fumbled with our clothes in her bathroom, but when the warm water finally penetrated our bodies I had my arms around her. The freckles on her shoulder made constellations that distracted me for a total of three seconds before I felt myself harden between the perfect cheeks of her ass.

She turned and kissed me before I could say a thing.

“I’ve never seen you naked before,” she said when we finally took a breath.

The truth was that we had fucked before, but never alone. We had fucked at parties and in bathrooms; we had fucked on the back patio of a certain bar and we had fucked in a taxi, but never once did we lose all our clothes.

We both stepped back and took each other in.

My eyes moved over her soft curves and she giggled as the water splashed off my head and onto her chest. When we stepped forward again our hands reached out and touched the parts we had ignored. I touched her hip and ran my fingers along her side to the small of her back.

She put both hands on my chest and then slid one to my shoulder and down my arm. Our eyes followed as we touched, and after that, it was lips and kisses that found all the bends and curves that we never noticed in the dark. I kissed her neck and the space between her breasts; I kissed her elbow and rubbed the back of her legs as I pulled her to me.

She ran her fingers over my hip bone and pressed hard against me to see what moved and what didn’t. It wasn’t until our mouths found one another again that our hands returned to the familiar. She was warm and wet as I slid fingers inside her and she guided me to her with all the ease that came with too many drunken nights.

I pushed her against the cold wall, and she screamed as I thrust into her. She tasted like soap and water and everything dripped down our bodies as we steadied ourselves.

“Can we keep the light on this time?” she asked as I lifted her up and filled her again.

“We can leave it on all night if it means I get to kiss your stomach and scratch your thighs.”

Neither of us lasted long in the hot water, but it didn’t matter. It was the beginning of something we hadn’t done before and it felt wonderful. As I scrunched up my face and held her tightly I felt so content that I nearly laughed as I came.

She kissed the water off my nose and clenched around me with a smile I never saw in the dark.
The American Perspective on Defunding the USPS to Prevent Vote by Mail
By: Keya Mann
Tags: Informative, Usps

By Keya Mann

“SAVE THE POST OFFICE!” Is what Donald Trump tweeted on August 17th, 2020. This was to divert the attention away from his continuous assault on the usage of mail-in ballots through the U.S. Postal Service for the upcoming 2020 presidential election.

Trump’s main reasoning for disbanding vote by mail is the alleged high amount of voter fraud, claiming that collectors of the ballots try to cheat the system. However, according to a New York Times article from last month, states that conduct most elections by mail, such as Utah, have an insignificant amount of fraud. The article further indicates that Trump’s disdain for this method of voting is to support the claim that vote by mail “will disadvantage Republican candidates.”

There are several instances where Trump has attempted to undermine voting for the election, including the usage of voting by mail. An article from last week on The News & Observer displayed President Trump telling citizens in North Carolina to vote by mail and in person, which is a direct violation of the laws in North Carolina. Another article from last month by AP News explained that Trump affirmed that he was defunding the U.S. Postal Service to purposely slow down the processing of mail-in ballots. Jena Griswold, the Colorado Secretary of State, described Trump’s actions as “voter suppression to undermine the safest method to vote during a pandemic and force Americans to risk their lives to vote.”

The Democratic Party has been working hard to support vote by mail. According to CNN, at the end of August, the House approved a bill to fund $25 billion to the USPS and “ban operational changes that have slowed mail service around the country.” This was a move against the Trump administration, who had previously “[cut] overtime for employees, [limited] post office hours, and [removed] some high-volume mail sorting machines from USPS facilities.” The supporters of the Biden Campaign are also keen to vote by mail: An article from USA Today states that “48% of voters who plan to vote for Democratic presumptive nominee Joe Biden said they are likely to vote by mail…..that’s more than twice the 23% of voters backing President Donald Trump who said they are likely to vote by mail.”

Given the COVID-19 pandemic, there are record numbers of people who wish to vote by mail, but there’s no telling how much Trump will suppress its impact on the election in November. If vote by mail is hindered before the election, that could entirely change who will take office within the next four years. But if not, the system could be extremely successful, with the potential use of vote by mail in all states for future presidential elections.
Steps to upgrade Angular to the latest version from versions < 5
By: Bhargav Bachina
Tags: JavaScript, Web Development, Angular, Typescript, Software Development

There are a lot of changes to the angular framework recently. it is tedious to upgrade the angular version from time to time, especially when you have the app running angular version < 5. The following is the step by step process to upgrade any angular app from running older versions to the latest one.

if you are running any latest version 6, it’s very easy to update your app all you have to do is run these commands in the CLI on the app’s root folder.

ng update @angular/cli @angular/core

ng update @angular/material (if you are using angular material)

if you are using angular 5 or less, these steps are for you….

Step 1

install/update your node.js to the latest version or it should be at least NodeJS 8+ and check the version.

node version

Step 2

Make sure you install the latest typescript.

npm install -g typescript@latest

npm install typescript@latest --save-dev

Step 3

Remove your node_modules folder so that we will reinstall all the latest versions of Angular.

Step 4

update angular CLI to the latest version with the following command.

npm install -g @angular/cli@latest

you can uninstall the existing angular/cli before you install the latest one.

npm uninstall -g @angular/cli

Step 5

convert your angular-cli.json to angular.json.

Angular uses angular.json instead of angular-cli.json from version 6. it’s very easy to convert the existing angular-cli.json to angular.json, all you need to run the following commands to convert.

npm install -g @angular-devkit/core

ng update @angular/cli

Step 6

convert your Http module to HttpClient Module. it’s easy to convert if you have a common file in which you handle all the HTTP calls.

Old way

New way

Step 7

upgrade your RXJS lib from version 5 to version 6. once you upgrade to version 6, you need to update your code manually or you can install RXJS-compat lib to ensure a smooth transition

some of the changes you need to do in your code once you upgrade to RXJS 6. commented code are the old way.

Step 8

you need to put all observable operators in pipes. some of the examples are listed below.

Old way

New way

Step 9

Make sure if you have third-party libs that work on older versions on angular, you need to upgrade them to the latest versions as well.

Step 10

Angular decided not to compile node specific libs with the latest @angular/devkit, you might find some errors like below. you have to change this file

cannot resolve error: Module not found http

cannot resolve error: Module not found https





ode_modules\ // go to this file

ode_modules\ @angular -devkit\build-angular\src\angular-cli-files\models\webpack-configs\browser.js // look for node: false.

change that to node: {http: true, https: true}

Thank you for reading.

Conclusion

Make sure you are always running the latest version possible since the Angular team adopted a 6-month release cycle now. Once you upgrade angular to the 6th version, upgrading angular for future releases is pretty easy.
My Homeschool Report Card is a “C”
By: Kristina Jancar
Tags: Growth Mindset, Life Lessons, Self Improvement, Life, Growth

I won’t be getting a merit pay increase for my job as a homeschool teacher. My self-evaluation is a “C” at best. But to be fair, I didn’t have any formal training — not a crash course, not an eBook, not even a job aid.

Maybe that sounds defensive, or perhaps it’s just reality. Sometimes we need to jump in and learn on the job.

Here’s what I’ve learned on the job as a homeschool teacher in 2020:

Lesson #1 — You’re not smarter than a fourth-grader

The next time my kids ask me whether they will ever use the math they are learning again, I am going to say — “Yes! When you need to homeschool your damn kids.”

I seriously hope I never live to see another global pandemic, but this has put A LOT in perspective. For instance, my kids are smarter than me.

Many parents I know are concerned about how far behind our kids might be after all of this, but maybe, just maybe, we need to unlearn everything we know about traditional education.

Observing both of my kids navigate their schoolwork online has been pretty impressive. They have embraced the digital classroom with far more ease than most adults transitioning to working from home.

Takeaway: Just think of how far ahead our kids will be when they enter the workforce with their technology agility. Maybe adults are the ones with an entitlement mentality about what an education is and should be.
Multicultural
By: Matthew Querzoli
Tags: Culture, Humor, Flash, Diversity, Short Story

Multicultural

Flash Fiction

Within five minutes of walking into the Japanese restaurant, the Australian women had used an Italian greeting and ordered the closest dish to Mexican she could find on the menu. She then fired off a text to a friend of South African descent about buying tickets to a German festival that was coming up soon. When she didn’t wait long enough for her ramen to cool, she swore in Portuguese; a word she’d picked up off a Brazilian backpacker on a boozy night out in Bondi, who’d brought her back to his hostel later to have sex. They’d had to be quiet that night, considering the other three roommates had flights home to China the very next day.
8 amazing photos from March! Meet the Daily Level-up Challenge winners.
Tags: Photographers, Articles, Art, Photography, Challenge

We would like to present all the stunning photos that have already won our Daily Level-up Challenge in March! Meet the great artists who have received the title of Photographer of the Day!

Selected photos and their authors receive additional exposure on our Instagram profile. Additionally, every Photographer of the Day receives a Shuttout.com Prime Membership for a week, so they can upload even 5 photos to one photo contest! And make progress faster.

Want to join? Read about the Daily Level-Up Challenge here >>

Now meet the “Photographer of the Day” title nominees!
Photographing Musicians, The Way They Want To Be Seen
By: Pixel Magazine
Tags: Photography, Baltimore, Music

EvH: How did that negative impulse (i.e., not to do what others did) shape the way you positively interacted with subjects in shoots? How did you walk the line between gentle direction to get a great performance out of a subject, and the more heavy-handed manipulation you wanted to avoid?

MW: Well from that frustration of band photos I learned that I really need to get to know my subjects. I can’t photograph a band as soon as I meet them and I can’t photograph them just from talking in emails. So, I decided if I have 2 hours with a band I’ll spend an hour getting to know them and hang out; if I have an hour I’ll spend 30 minutes, and so on. Getting to know them and making them comfortable with me was the key to having the subject interact with the viewer as you see in the photos.

To avoid manipulating them I just get to know them. If they say, “Okay, so like what should we do…?” — because they aren’t comfortable posing, I push back the photographing a little and hang with them longer. Another thing I might do is ask them something along the lines of, “How do you want to be seen? Do you feel comfortable looking at the camera or would looking away be better?” I can also catch them candid in moments of vulnerability, but if I do that I always check with the band or artist before posting or using the photos to make sure they like those, because that can be very very personal.

Dan Deacon. Image courtesy of Micah E. Wood.

EvH: Can you please tell us about one or two of your favorite images from the project, and the situation surrounding them? What makes these surprising, or affecting, or lucky?

MW: The cover photo is one that sits with me. It was of Dan Deacon, a Baltimore electronic artist [above]. He asked me to come to a small venue before he had a DJ set and I got that picture of him just in front of his laptop. It was super quick and just one shot — I usually only take one shot of each moment; I don’t shoot a lot — and it turned out haunting and iconic. Another great one was Jessica Lea Mayfield. She’s an amazing artist from Akron, Ohio.
Gamma and Papa’s Girl
By: Brenda Mahler
Tags: Play, Love, Children, Learning, Grandmother

Gamma and Papa’s Girl

Who Needs TV When Grandchildren are Present?

Our Granddaughter — Home Photo

“Gamma. Gamma. Gamma. Plane” Jodi stands on a stool in an attempt to get closer; the stool might give her the height to accomplish her quest of grabbing the toy in the sky.

“Gamma, down. Gamma HELP” Though she can reach the floor with one giant baby step, I swoosh her into the air and then place her feet on the floor — my attempt to convince her and myself that I am an essential part of her freedom of movement. A false belief that is short lived as her feet carry her to the front door and her hands grab the knob, pulls down, and she exits.

“Gamma, carry you?” She asks with arms raised and hands open. I pick her up and we walk enjoying the allusion that I am needed again — for a moment — until she exclaims, “Gamma, down.” She is running independently again.

Watching a child grow up is amazing. This is an accepted fact for anyone and everyone who has lived the experience. However, for a grandmother it yields new significance. As Jodi’s gamma I am in two roles. As the participant, she is a toy to be cuddled, tickled, and played with. As the observer, she is a reflection of her mother. She is driven by the desire to do it herself while being restrained by a desire to be touched, held and loved. Children are complex as they themselves probably can’t define their goals but know what they don’t want.

“I’m Grandpa’s girl.” We laugh and smile because she realizes the control she commands. “Papa, I’m Mama’s girl,” she exerts knowing this will elicit the reaction she desires.

Papa looks at her with a stern eye, walks closer and asks with concern, “Whose girl are you?”

“Mama’s girl!” She falls back onto the couch cushions just as he pounces and through the giggles she laughs, “Papa’s girl.” As quickly as the game started, he stops tickling and turns away. “Papa, I’m Mama’s girl.” The game resumes. At the age of two she has learned to manipulate the people in her environment to her delight and theirs.
You don’t learn to Juggle by learning to Juggle…
By: Tom Connor
Tags: Blog, Agile, Tom Connor, Learning, Leadership

You need to be clear about and focused on executing the process in order to get the outcome that you want. Seth Godin gives the example of the process to improve your children’s writing. Writing better is the outcome, the process is just to write. And write. And write. Do lots of bad writing. Don’t worry about the structure or spelling or punctuation — they will come as an outcome of lots of good process.

Another saying — people who have lots of good ideas, have a lot more bad ideas. If you don’t have many good ideas then you need to start writing down anything and everything. Get into the habit of writing lots of ideas — they will likely be bad, but some where through the scraps, slowly, you will begin to accumulate a couple of good ideas. The process — writing down ideas — leads to the outcome — finding some good ideas.

James Altucher explores this further by suggesting you write down 10 ideas everyday.

if you can’t come up with ten ideas, come up with 20 ideas.

Extending the theme of trusting the process Cal Newport writes in “the Empty Sky Paradox” how

the path to becoming a standout includes a prohibitively difficult step. It’s this step that limits stars, as most people simply lack the comfort with discomfort required to tackle really hard things.

In other words, the discipline of learning to throw and learning to catch. And taking the time to executed this flawlessly. Newport continues:

… there’s no way getting around the necessity to clear your calendar, shut down your phone, and spend several hard days trying to make sense of the damn proof.

I can’t recommend Seth’s Akimbo podcast highly enough — and the Q&A on the following one

Let me know what you think? I’d love your feedback. If you haven’t already then sign up for a weekly dose just like this.
If you ever wanted to hear myself and John Gruber talk for two and a half hours (that’s five Ted…
By: M.G. Siegler
Tags: Daring Fireball, Podcast, The Talk Show, MG Siegler, John Gruber

If you ever wanted to hear myself and John Gruber talk for two and a half hours (that’s five Ted Lassos) about Skype, the Apple Watch Series 6, App Clips, Watches, Apple TV+, Ted Lasso, HBO Now Plus Go Max, 2001, Tenet, IMAX, Great Theaters, James Bond, Michael Clayton — oh, and next week’s iPhone event — here’s your chance:
Plastic Pollution
By: Conservancy Of Swfl
Tags: Environment

By Conservancy of Southwest Florida Volunteer Bill Rhodes

Frequently, when a Conservancy of Southwest Florida docent or naturalist speaks with guests, he or she will mention our mission, which is “to protect Southwest Florida’s unique natural environment and quality of life … now and forever”.

When we talk about birds found injured on our highways, we remind people how food litter (think banana peels or apple cores), carelessly thrown out car windows can attract mice and other small animals. These then attract birds of prey, which become easy targets to be struck by a passing car or truck.

Sea turtles will mistake empty plastic bags floating in the ocean as jellyfish, a favorite snack. Once ingested, these bags will seriously harm or kill the turtle. We have a small exhibit near the patch reef tank in the Dalton Discovery Center that illustrates just how bad the plastic pollution problem has become. Plastic bottles, cups, lids, straws, jugs, monofilament fishing line — a vast array of plastic products — are floating in our oceans, and these plastics do not readily break down or degrade. In fact, it can take about 500 years for a soda bottle in the ocean to completely decompose.

Just how bad is plastic pollution in our oceans? Shocking pictures of debris, floating in the oceans in huge mats of plastic waste, increasingly make the news. But, it’s not just what you can see that is worrisome. Two recent studies in Europe, one examining fish and the other shellfish, all destined for the dinner table, found that ‘micro-plastics’ — tiny, microscopic beads of plastic that remain after years of degradation — were found in one third of the fish and 100% of the mussels.

In other words, plastic pollution in the seas is so bad that the fish you eat are very likely to contain discarded plastic. While the immediate health threat to us is small, as little of those plastics are absorbed, the consequences over a long period of time are not well known.

What can you do to help? The obvious answer is to be certain to not leave any plastic (or, in fact any other) materials behind — don’t throw waste out of your car window; don’t leave plastics on the ground or in the water, and never throw anything into a storm drain. It is surprising how many people do not understand that storm sewers will drain into local waterways and carry whatever is thrown into them directly into our rivers, bays and oceans.

The less obvious, but perhaps more important, answer is to simply be aware of the problem that plastics can cause as environmental pollutants, advocate for using less and less of them in our consumable products, and of, course, recycle rather than discard.
When A Migraine Feels Like A Stroke
By: Keri Savoca
Tags: Health, Life Lessons, Medicine, Women, Life

Women suffer from migraines more often than men do, and researchers say that hormones may be the culprit. Estrogen may make women more sensitive to migraine triggers. For this reason, oral contraceptives containing estrogen (i.e. most of them) are contraindicated for women who experience migraine with aura. There is plenty of evidence to back this up.

Migraine symptoms can mimic those of transient ischemic attacks, or “mini strokes”, which some studies suggest could foreshadow a “real” stroke. And alarmingly, women who experience migraine with aura might be at an increased risk as well; blood vessels temporarily narrow during a migraine attack, which can cause blood clots to form, making migraine sufferers more susceptible to full-blown strokes.

Maybe it isn’t “just a headache”.

When CNN anchor Brooke Baldwin recently “disappeared” in the middle of her set, fans on social media began to ask where she had gone.

That’s how quickly it happens; you’re fine, and then you’re not. Thousands of people responded to her post, expressing empathy, and sharing their own stories of being completely debilitated by a sudden migraine attack.

Thankfully, I haven’t had a migraine in a few months after consulting with my doctor and making some lifestyle changes. I still get them a few times a year, but it’s a drastic improvement from having them on a regular basis.

But still, I’m frightened each and every time it happens.

What if it happens when I’m driving? When I’m crossing a busy street? When I’m holding a pot of boiling water?

By the time I say to myself, “I think I’m going to have a mi — ”, it’s too late. I couldn’t even call for help if I tried.

Considering how common migraine attacks are and how dangerous they can be, it’s concerning that there are so few ways to make them stop.

There are abortive medications that take awhile to kick in. There are injectable triptans that work rapidly, similar to an Epipen, but need to be administered at the first sign of trouble. And there are pain medications that help you deal with the after-effects.

The key, perhaps, is in prevention.

Find out what triggers your migraines, and work with a doctor to eliminate as many triggers as possible.

Some of the triggers might be biological; you can address these with your doctor and try to eliminate the underlying causes.

Others might be environmental, such as exposure to bright lights.

While attempting to prevent all migraines can be futile, it’s important to realize that stopping a migraine in its tracks might be altogether impossible. Considering the potential risks of having recurrent migraines, it’s in your best interest to do whatever necessary to prevent as many of them as possible.

And when it comes to environmental triggers, there are usually simple solutions; you can tint the windows of your car darker than the legal limits, for example, with a note and an accurate diagnosis from a doctor.
There are Two Types of Immunity
Tags: Communication, A Few Words, Podcast, Covid 19, Immunity

There are Two Types of Immunity

Why are we dumbing this down?

Photo by CDC on Unsplash

Raise your hand if you can explain the difference between disease immunity and sterilizing immunity. OK, I see a few people way in the back; my fellow geeks.

I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve explained this difference to friends and family and even strangers. Yet from Dr. Fauci on down every pandemic thought leader is talking about this without explaining it. They keep saying how after you get vaccinated (please tell me I don’t have to answer the question, “Vaccinated for what?”) you still need to wear a mask. Yet they never explain why. Or if they do the reporter blows right by it, or something. Do they think we are too stupid to understand?¹ The reason comes down to the difference between disease immunity and sterilizing immunity. In terms of the current pandemic, disease immunity means protection from the disease COVID-19, whereas sterilizing immunity means protection from playing host to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which is the virus that causes COVID-19.

Right now we know that the Pfizer vaccines currently being administered offers some protection from infection (i.e. sterilizing immunity), but it is about 50% effective in that regard vs the much reported ≈95% effectivity for disease immunity. Obviously what we need to do right now is prevent people from dying, and at 95% effectivity for disease immunity it will accomplish that quite well.

When health experts say we need to wear masks after receiving the vaccination I wish they would go on to say something like, “and that’s because we know that the vaccine offers good disease immunity, which means that it protects you from getting COVID-19, but it offers a much lower degree of sterilizing immunity, so you could still be carrying around the virus and shedding it all over the place even though you’re not getting sick yourself.”

I found out about this along with many other fascinating things about SARS-CoV-2 as well as about viruses generally by listening to TWIV. You can be smart too! Listen to TWIV. It’s awesome.
Never Underestimate the Importance of Doing the Work
By: Lucy King
Tags: Inspiration, Writing, Productivity, Self Improvement, Creativity

Never Underestimate the Importance of Doing the Work

The hallmark of a creative professional is to roll sleeves up and get work done.

Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash

Picasso was the most prolific professional painter of all time. He produced an estimated 13,500 works in a career that lasted 75 years. We can’t all be as prolific as Picasso, but we can channel his drive and dedication to his art.

Creativity is about showing up. It’s about putting in work regardless of your mood, outside factors or obstacles.

Over the years I have worked with many gifted people in design, new media, performing arts and publishing. Within the kaleidoscope of my world, there are several types of “creatives” I avoid emulating at all cost.

Type 1: The “would be” creative.

This type tells you how they had a brilliant idea to solve an unmet need but someone beat them to prototype and went on to make a gazillion dollars from the IPO. When you bump into them months later you hear a similar story. You start to wonder why they don’t act on any of their ideas.

Type 2: The “not very” creative

“I consider myself an artist who doesn’t create art”

A superficial character tried this line on me in a bar. It may impress some people but for those of us in creative industries — not so much.

To my mind, an artist is someone who shares something of aesthetic or functional value with the world at large.

If you say you’re a writer, then sit down and write.

If you say you’re an actor, then audition or take an acting class.

If you say you’re an entrepreneur, then get involved with a startup.

It doesn’t matter how gifted you are — if you don’t apply or hone your talent you are non-creative (at least in my books). Having a great idea is a good start, but you need to follow through and execute.

Type 3: The “once was” creative

This type rests on their laurels, enjoying the fruits of earlier work. In the music world, this is your one hit wonder. This is Blackberry. This is Kodak. This is any business that lost competitiveness when the market environment changed. Continue learning and challenging yourself — if you don’t the world has a way of evolving right past you.

Finally, don’t discount the importance of supporting fellow creatives. If you expect people to show up for you, you need to show up for them too!

Talent is a gift. But if you’re not doing the work, then you’re not showing up in life as a creative professional.

Would Picasso complain about a creative block? I doubt it. He’d sit down and draw an abstract portrait of himself in the throe of indecision. That drawing would be worth a fortune today.

As always, it comes down to mindset.

If you have a curious mind combined with a strong work ethic consider yourself blessed — because that is the magical combination to succeed as a creative professional.

Thank you for reading!
10 alternatives to “I love you”
By: Jess Semaan
Tags: Humor, Life Lessons, Psychology, Love, Relationships

To simplify my life, I thought of 10 alternatives to I love you, that feel more real. Feel free to share yours:

1- When I am with you, my body feels at peace

2- You meet my needs [insert needs]

3- I feel intense emotions for you, I am still figuring out what they are

4- The way you treat me, makes me feel accepted and cared for

5- Your presence makes me feel grateful about my life

6- The way you write / think / work / paint etc. inspire me to create / do / act

7- Being with you, helps me get to know myself better

8- My mind goes often into fantasy about you

9- I feel an urge to care for you, and provide you with affection both physical and emotional

10- We have a lot in common, including similar values, and it makes me wonder if we would make a good long term team
A new social media platform may have just saved a young Filipino’s life
Tags: Blockchain, Cryptocurrency, Philippines, Social Media, Bitcoin

The Steem Dollar is worth around $2 USD today, which results in $16,000 USD.

The blockchain — the underlying technology Steemit runs on — is changing the world at rapid speed

Not only does it have the potential to include people from all over the world into the financial system, and enable them to earn an income online, but it also allows micro transactions for little or zero fees.

Sending a $1 or $10 donation to @darthnava would hardly be possible through the traditional banking system, because it would be eaten up by transaction fees. So the simple absence of high fees makes donations and mutual support possible.

In addition — the money that @darthnava’s article generated, did not come from other people’s pockets. It came straight from the blockchain. It belonged to nobody.

How is that possible?

The STEEM currency gets generated in a “mining process” similar to Bitcoin and other digital currencies.

While, normally, mining is an activity reserved for “geeks” who run mining computers; on Steemit the mining is done by publishing, commenting and upvoting content — something everyone knows how to do these days. They don’t even need to care about the mining process, they just do what they have always been doing on other social media sites: posting and engaging with others.

@darthnava can now pay for not only the minimum costs of his operation, but also for medicine, doctors fees and his recovery in the hospital. All from his “Miracle Votes Post” which will go down in the history of Steemit.

This is how the blockchain and borderless currencies are improving the world and foster compassion and community.

And what about you?

How could a social media platform that pays you change YOUR life?

You can open your own Steemit account here whenever you are ready to step into the future of money and the new connected economy. When you do, please come and say Hi in the comments of one of my posts there.

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About the author:

Anja Schuetz is a Cryptocurrency Mentor for absolute beginners and a Customer Communication & Operations Consultant for Start-ups. She also runs the Conscious Crypto Community, which currently consists only of women. Sign up for her free Crypto-Fitness Museletter here.
The Ultimate Minimalist “Bookflow”
By: Auriane Alix
Tags: Reading, Inspiration, Self Improvement, Self, Books

“Book-selling”

I have reached a point in my life where the minimalist lifestyle is what suits me best. I don’t see the point of keeping, accumulating, cluttering up, and filling up my house and my mind.

I keep only the best in my library. Before I’ve read half a book, I already know if it is one of the books I’m going to keep or not. I keep about a quarter of my reads. The ones that are underlined stay with me automatically, since that means they have left their mark on me, and they are unsaleable anyway.

To find out whether I keep a book, I ask myself two questions:

Has it brought anything to my life?

Will I read it again?

I have two ways to get rid of my old books:

Offer them

Of course, I don’t recommend books I didn’t like. But sometimes I do enjoy a read, but I find that another person will enjoy it better than me. I like to give it as a gift to this specific person, just as much as I like it when someone gives me a specially chosen book.

Sell them

I sell my books on Vinted. It’s doing quite well. I sell them at half the purchase price, and that allows me to earn money to buy my next books. I like the whole process, knowing that the book is going to fall into someone else’s hands, that its teaching is being passed on.
一流研究者への道
By: Ichi Kanaya
Tags: Tedx, Science, Pineapple Blog

in Both Sides of the Table
I Am So Over Vagina Shame
By: Gwenna Laithland
Tags: Womens Health, Body Positive, Women, Body Image, Sexuality

Nowadays, my vagina and I have a good relationship. She and my uterus have seen me through two pregnancies resulting in three children. I know what she likes and she has always been responsive when it’s time to get down and dirty. I take good care of her and she cooperates by keeping the yeast infections to a minimum.

But this healthy relationship with my vagina is a nominally new development. Not so long ago, we weren’t on as great of terms. I’ll be fair and say this was definitely me, not her. She didn’t misbehave or function poorly. No, the blame for our dysfunction lay with me. I was ashamed of her.

This isn’t to say I was ashamed of or unsure of my identity, sex, or gender. I’ve always been clear on these fronts. No, my shame came not because I had her but because I’d grown up thinking she was dirty and her natural responses made me slutty. My vagina getting moist when aroused, her insistence on bleeding every month, her gross flaps of skin, and easily stimulated nerve endings was supposed to be a source of shame.

No one ever actually told me in so many words to be ashamed of her. But I was nonetheless. I grew up in conservative Okahoma. Our sex ed was written by Southern Baptists. It wasn’t just abstinence-only education. It was “Even thinking about sex makes you no better than the Devil.”

Pregnancy was not prevented by condoms or the pill. Instead, when and where I grew up, the best birth control was supposedly the threat of eternal damnation.

It didn’t work, by the way, the abstinence by way of Jesus. At least not for most people. While in middle and high school, Oklahoma was on a top ten list of “Most teen pregnancies” and “Highest drop out rate of teen mothers.” Turns out that for most hormone-drenched teens, hell could be risked if it meant seven minutes in sexual heaven. I took those God-fearing, hell-wielding lessons to heart but many didn’t.

In public, I was the picture of chastity and “saving myself.” Left alone to my own devices, I succumbed to baser instincts. I’d discovered masturbation while a preteen and spent years humping pillows, couch arms, and balled up duvet covers. But don’t worry, I was ashamed the whole time. I wouldn’t lose my virginity until I was nineteen. Not for lack of opportunity, partners, or even desire, but for shame.
What is her-story?. Are the classics trapping us in…
By: Joanne De Róiste
Tags: Literature, Feminism, Reading, Books And Authors, Books

What is the canon?

Before pressing on it is important to define what is meant by the canon in literature and why it is important. In summary, it is the collection of literary works that has survived the test of time, it includes those stories that remain popular with readers, are picked through by academics and that have become part of the public imagination.

The canon is used as a touchstone against which other works are evaluated. It comprises what we commonly refer to as ‘the classics’, those books that survive in print long after their authors. It contains fine works and that is indisputable but what it includes is not the problem.

The problem is what it excludes for the canon is disproportionately comprised of works by writers who are male and white. It is an exclusive club and therein lies the difficulty with continuing to use it as a touchstone.

The canon of literature is ultimately flawed because getting published in the first place was not always based on merit or writing credentials, rather it was influenced by power and privilege. It was an instrument of the patriarchy and a blunt one at that. And so there are few (if any) statues, museums, streets or memorials dedicated to historical female literary figures simply because they stood on the wrong side of power and privilege in a male-dominated world.

It is an exclusive club and therein lies the difficulty with continuing to use it as a touchstone.

What is the price?

The tragedy is that we don’t know the names of many women writers, not because they didn’t exist, but because they were not encouraged, promoted or published. They existed outside the club and their attempts to gain entry were met with scorn and resistance.

Their success could only come at a price never asked of their male counterparts. Forgoing recognition, some beat the system by publishing under a male pseudonym in order to stand a chance of publication; others who persevered were stigmatized and ostracized for their refusal to conform to societal expectations.