fabiochiu/medium-articles huggingface dataset:
Accessing Kerberized Sources From Spark2 In Cluster Mode On Yarn
By: Claire Sasse
Tags: Kerberos, Big Data, Spark

Introduction

Many of phData’s customers face the issue that they need to connect to a source secured via Kerberos in a Spark application. A source can be a JDBC connection like Impala, or a web URL that uses Kerberos for Authentication. While a simple workaround is to run the application on YARN with the deploy-mode client, phData recommends having all Spark applications run in cluster mode. This post will cover how to connect to a secured source in cluster mode based on the example of connecting to secured Kafka from a Spark streaming app.

What’s the Problem?

When Spark runs on YARN on a secured cluster, the user needs to kinit. After performing a kinit, when a job gets submitted, delegation tokens get sent out to the Application Master(AM) and the executors. Those delegation tokens are for HDFS, HBase, and YARN. When a developer wants to connect to a different kerberized source and run the application in cluster mode, it fails. Accessing Kudu with Impala JDBC drivers is a common use case as well as the access of secured Kafka.

The Solution

The solution in this article covers the approach using the concept of a jaas.conf file.

Please note that in order to run in cluster mode, all references to keytabs need to use relative paths.

Example jaas.conf (frank_jaas.conf):

KafkaClient {

com.sun.security.auth.module.Krb5LoginModule required

useKeyTab=true

keyTab=”frank.keytab”

principal=”frank@PHDATA.IO”;

};

Client {

com.sun.security.auth.module.Krb5LoginModule required

doNotPrompt=true

useKeyTab=true

keyTab=”frank.keytab”

principal=”frank@PHDATA.IO”

storeKey=true

useTicketCache=false;

};

We ship the jaas.conf along with a keytab to the application master and the executors by specifying the –files option in spark-submit. This is different than using the –principal –keytab option in spark-submit. Please note the configuration for extraJavaOptions for the driver and the executors.

In the example below, we set -Dsun.security.krb5.debug=false, but you can set to true if you want to get debug information from Kerberos for troubleshooting.

TLS/SSL

If a custom truststore is required, the same approach can be followed with the trustore file (–files) and the system properties javax.net.ssl.trustStorePassword and javax.net.ssl.trustStore (…extraJavaOptions…)

Spark submit example command:

FILES=frank_jaas.conf,frank.keytab,my_truststore.truststore

spark2-submit \

–name my_streaming_app \

–master yarn –deploy-mode cluster\

–num-executors 1 \

–files $FILES \

–conf “spark.driver.extraJavaOptions=-Djava.security.auth.login.config=frank_jaas.conf -Dsun.security.krb5.debug=false -Djavax.net.ssl.trustStore=my_truststore.truststore -Djavax.net.ssl.trustStorePassword=changeit”\

–conf “spark.executor.extraJavaOptions=-Djava.security.auth.login.config=frank_jaas.conf -Dsun.security.krb5.debug=false -Djavax.net.ssl.trustStore=my_truststore.truststore -Djavax.net.ssl.trustStorePassword=changeit”\

–class io.phdata.spark.streaming.StreamingDriver \

/home/frank/streaming-driver-2.0.7-jar-with-dependencies.jar
Do You Fear Missing The Train Of The Next Framework?
By: Dev Rayray
Tags: JavaScript, Angular, Software Development, Programming, React

Do You Fear Missing The Train Of The Next Framework?

FOMO is a real thing in the developer community

Photo by madeleine ragsdale on Unsplash

Are you dealing with FOMO? (fear of missing out) it’s a real thing in the developer community.

Don’t learn something if you fear to miss the train of the next big thing.

Learn it because it makes you feel on 🔥 or that it makes you powerful 💪!

FOMO is gonna stress you out! It will never be enough!

Almost every day there comes a new library or framework. But do you need it? NO!

If you have to build cool things with your basics, it can help you dive into any framework or library.

If you have no experience with React, VueJS, Angular, Svelte, or something else. Don’t let it scare you that won’t get a job!

Never let anyone tell you that framework XYZ is better, so you should learn that!

Build super awesome things because YOU like it! This will help you grow and stay motivated every day!

Building cool things is the best thing to do as a developer as long as it makes you happy!
Abbreviated Review
By: Van Sanders
Tags: Poetry, Review

Bunny Joyce — Van Sanders

My head is pounding as I stare at the TV. 13 years ago there were clove cigarettes and salvia. Betty.

The crisp morning walk up the hill and into the city. Unbelievably vivid red clouds, like red crests in a dark blue sea above. Red berries hanging from a tree in the park after the first snow. Green rings pulled me in.

I broke my jaw but I didn’t know it. I let it go and I didn’t know it.

Screens.
Strange As Angels
By: Not Another Tv Dad
Tags: Poetry

By CL Bledsoe

There’s a chicken roasting in the oven

with potatoes the way you like them,

asparagus on the clean stove. Candles, blues,

and beer. This is my offering to tempt

you home; please understand: voices rise

outside the window — everyone thinks

it’s Tuesday — and nothing helps

except your smell in your closet

while you’re at work. That’s where my desk

went. I’m sorry I told you it was stolen.

I was overtired from keeping the drafts out.

All day, murderers come to the door trying

to sell cookies, but I’m on a diet. When

the electricity shoots from your eyes, the blood

flower exploding to engulf the ceiling, take

my hand. I have a place we can hide.
Momentum to Turn Away
By: Samantha Lazar
Tags: Short Story, Poetry, Pom Prompt, Magical Realism, Halloween

you awaken to a house

purpled by the twilight

and the ceiling clicks from

its silver latch

before your eyes

rounded jaws begin to spin

a water wheel of singular

top of the scale notes

slowly at first, a familiar

but unrecognizable melody

comes into focus and it sounds

like childhood ending

melancholy and expectant

as a swing returns to dangle

on a rusted chain

the notes, so high begin

to clink faster, and you

clench your teeth into

a frozen smile, a permanent

wince from the tone

so close, so on top of you

smothering you by sound

and you finally have enough

momentum to turn away

you try to lift your hands

to cover your ears, but

they are already high above

reaching for the slanted stars

your finger tips, posed in an O

feel strung together, woven

by fibers that are of you but

seem all wrong, and you pick up

speed and see your feet from

some peripheral vision

you are on point, on point

maddening cramps from toe

to arch to shin to thigh and

is that a ballet outfit, a tutu

the tulle and gauze, the exact

shade of lavender you’d wished

your heart out for so long ago

the metal jaws face you again

churning sound — a crunch and twist

you turn away by luck or fate

dizzy from this involuntary pirouette

just when the agony of being glued

weighs your soul against the light

the music cuts, and by a hinge

you are folded into peace

to rest in the darkness

of your carved wooden box.
I’m Not Allowed to See You.
By: Lisa Martens
Tags: Short Story, Sex, Fiction, Lust, Lockdown

I’m Not Allowed to See You.

A short story.

Photo by Dainis Graveris on Unsplash

I’m not allowed to see you, but that doesn’t stop me from thinking that maybe we could meet at a park and you could fuck me behind some tree, and our roommates would be none the wiser.

I’m not allowed to see you, but that doesn’t stop me from drinking and scrolling through old photos, photos from the time I could call you mine. Anything before, and you look too young, anything after is too painful.

I’m not allowed to see you, to make out with you in dark bars, to blame it on the alcohol, to tell you what I like and how. I’m not allowed to take you to my favorite places and dance with you, make up my own rhythm with you, my own language with you.

I’m not allowed to see you, to smack you and see if you like it.

I’m not allowed to see you, but when I wake up my skin burns, because anything that touches me that is not you causes an allergic reaction. I’m allergic to anything that is not your kiss on my neck. If I could use your body as a cool band aid, maybe the fire would go out and I could finally rest.

I’m not allowed to see you, but my soul fire tells me you’re an animal.

I’m not allowed to see you, to sit in your lap and let you reach up my shirt, my bra, my skirt.

I’m not allowed to see you, but I have the feeling that won’t stop you. No, in fact, I know it will only drive you more wild, for the simple fact that you believe rules are meant to be broken — so, in that case: I’m not allowed to see you. Don’t come here. Don’t you dare.

I’m not allowed to see you, or have you in my bed, or feed you and keep you around so I can have some more of you later. I’m not allowed to kiss you and be sweet to you so that you stay. I’d ply you with softness and skin so you’d never leave.

I’m not allowed to see you, to taste your sweat, to feel your stubble, to tie your hands up with a belt, to hear your beautiful cries of pain, to soothe.

I’m not allowed to see you, to be coy, shy, to dance for you.

I’m not allowed to see you, but I’m not sure if that will stop me.

In fact, I’m very much afraid that it won’t.
Krisa Gonna versus Gender Commander
Tags: Gender, Comic Strip, LGBTQ, Comics, Superhero

About the Artist:

Krisa Gonna is a comic series created by illustrator Kris Barz. All of his characters are part of the LGBTQIA community. The stories are about friendships, relationships, work, family, sexism, prejudice and the strips touch those issues with irony, comedy and a little bit of sarcasm.

The webcomic is an independent project and the official website is live. Go to www.outandaboutcomics.com and check it out!
Hungry Thoughts
By: Teri Bayus
Tags: Sex, Writing, Erotica

Hungry Thoughts

I awoke with hungry thoughts of you. We were in a Caribbean resort. Sun touched my face and the waves pounded the sand. You were asleep beside me, your cock making a tent of the sheet. I straddle on top careful not to wake you. My clit resting on your pelvis, I worked from inside squeezing and releasing. Gently rocking — scraping my cervix, the eruption happens as you still dream. Life force coating my walls and brings my own electrical storm. I unmount and our combined juices pool on the linen sheets. Good morning.

Morning- as I lose my shit and concentrate on the exquisite sensation of ropes of thick cum spraying out of my cock.

Like every cell of me is pouring out.

Abdominal convulsions flexing my seed out in tune to my heartbeat. Thumping out a depleted rhythm and I am undone and become as defenceless as a newborn.

Thick cock throbs as balls tighten. Out drool my pearls, stringy, sweet and. dry like a white wine.

Veins bulge and head glistens, the ridge hard, designed to scoop out a competitors seed whilst planting my own. My very existence a testimony to its effectiveness. An unbroken chain of horny animals who have successfully fucked like animals.

A million couplings. Each as beautiful as the last. A collection of happy moments, some planned and some stolen.

I feel it coursing through the length of my penis. So hard and stiff. Every ripple of thick seed is noticed like drawing a string of soft beads out.

Watch it land or feel it flood. Splashing into forbidden walls and washing over a cervix which dips in unison to the orgasm. To drink deep and draw in the life, the host repaid in advance with ecstacy for the task ahead.

Withdrawing the still solid shaft. Glistens with her wet and marked with her scent. Out slides the unspent.

Perfection. Your best so far.

Today was a day of cleansing and purging. I threw it out some harmful behaviors and thoughts and replaced them with you.

Reveling in my fantasy life, my body has a visceral reaction to recalling you and dreaming up scenarios were we merge and complete the lust connection.

The raw desire for a few stolen hours to fuel our word play and quiet the demons. The healing of our unbridled sex energy is sure to stir up and quite many emotions and dust bunnies of sexuality. I’m looking forward to the discovery of your deepest desires and passions.

You stir inside me every time I read from you, and your thoughts. Magical mystery tour of flesh on flesh.

Teri’s Culinary Erotic Book, Consumed is available at http://www.amazon.com/Consumed-Teri-Bayus-ebook/dp/B016DW85PA
The Building With a Highway Running Through It
By: Daniel Ganninger
Tags: Construction, History, Japan, Design, Architecture

The Gate Tower Building in Osaka, Japan, is a 16-story building that has a unique characteristic unlike other buildings. It has a highway running right through the middle of it.

The highway runs between the fifth and seventh floors of the building, and the highway is the tenant on those floors. The highway tunnels through the building and comes out the other side.

The property owners originally wanted to redevelop the land when approval for such a thing had been granted by the government in 1983. The problem was, the government refused to issue building permits because a highway had already been planned to run through the area.

The owners of the land negotiated with the Hanshin Expressway corporation for five years until they came up with the solution to run the highway directly through the building. It was eventually completed in 1992. The highway doesn’t touch the building in any way, but the highway department still must pay rent on the floors it occupies.

There is sound-proofing on the walls and floor of the building next to the tunnel to eliminate road noise for the workers inside, and since the tunnel is held up by pillars, it doesn’t touch the building, ensuring there are no vibrations from the roadway. The elevators run on the outside of the building and travel from floors one to four and eight to 16. Floors five through seven of the elevator are marked “Hanshin Expressway” and can’t be reached.

Want to delve into more facts? Give a look at Knowledge Stew’s Fact World, here on Medium.
COVID-19: Face Mask Detection using YOLOv5
By: Ethan Mai
Tags: Machine Learning, Object Detection, Data Science, Covid 19, AI

Step №3: Prepare and import your custom dataset

For this project I am using a dataset that I found on Kaggle, unfortunatly the annotations must be in a YOLO file .txt format which isn’t the case in this dataset.

If your annotations are written in the Pascal VOC file .xml format as seen below, it needs to be changed to the YOLO annotation format.

<annotation>

<folder>images</folder>

<filename>maksssksksss4.png</filename>

<size>

<width>301</width>

<height>400</height>

<depth>3</depth>

</size>

<segmented>0</segmented>

<object>

<name>with_mask</name>

<pose>Unspecified</pose>

<truncated>0</truncated>

<occluded>0</occluded>

<difficult>0</difficult>

<bndbox>

<xmin>70</xmin>

<ymin>185</ymin>

<xmax>176</xmax>

<ymax>321</ymax>

</bndbox>

</object>

</annotation>

In order to fix this problem, a simple python script does the trick

If you are using your own dataset, clone my Github repository, move your labels .xml and images to the xml folder and images folder. Make sure to delete the train.txt , validate.txt and test.txt files and process the data by running this command on your terminal:

python data_processing.py

The YOLO annotation format:

<class-name> <center-x> <center-y> <width> <height>

Sample label:

1 0.4053156146179402 0.63 0.35215946843853824 0.34

We then need to import our dataset to the notebook, if you are using my dataset you can just clone the Github repository:

!git clone https://github.com/iAmEthanMai/mask-detection-dataset.git

If you are using your own data, upload your local folder in the Colab file system.
Evolving Your Entrepreneurial Mindset: What Works For Life, Listened Co-Founder Meagan Francis
By: Tara Mcmullin
Tags: Small Business, Entrepreneurship, Business, Podcast, Business Strategy

The Nitty-Gritty:

Why Meagan Francis chose to walk away from her successful content marketing business and start working for someone else

Why she decided to head back to entrepreneurship and go all-in on a podcasting business

How her mindset evolved from venture to venture

The changes Meagan has made to her own role in her business and the way the company operates because of her new entrepreneurial mindset

What would it take to walk away from your business?

What would the circumstances need to be to convince you that taking a job and heading back into the office was the right decision to make?

Maybe for you, it would be an irresistible offer. Maybe it would be an unforeseen problem with the business. Maybe it would be a big family change or a move across the country.

There are plenty of reasons that small business owners close up shop and head back to the job market. And there are plenty of reasons they return to do business for themselves, too.

At the heart of any change from owner to employee — and back again — is an evolving mindset and fresh perspective on your identity.

Meagan Francis, founder of Life, Listened, discovered this for herself as she made the transition from the owner of a content marketing business to the employee of a marketing & communications firm to the head of her own podcasting business.

The lessons she learned in these transitions and the mindset shifts she made in the process apply to any small business owner.

Meagan and I chat about what prompted her to close up shop, how she made the decision to return to small business ownership, and how she’s doing things differently now that she has a fresh perspective and mindset.

Have you learned a valuable lesson from your own business transition?

Have you evolved into a new mindset as a business owner because of a big change? I’d love to hear from you! Hit me up on Instagram — tag me or DM me, I’m @tara_mcmullin.

Click here to listen to Meagan’s story — plus over 170 more episodes form small business owners sharing what works for them.
How to Protect Yourself from Negativity
By: Lydia West
Tags: Christianity, Positivity, Negativity, Lifestyle, Christian

How to Protect Yourself from Negativity

Three Simple Steps God Wants to Prescribe For You

Photo by Hailey Reed on Unsplash

No matter where we go we’re always going to have people come into our environment that have negative things to say. The trouble is, these negative thoughts are often contagious.

In the cold months of winter where the flu quickly spreads, it’s recommended to take multivitamins, rest in warmth, and stay hydrated. This is because it’s easier to prevent something than to cure it. In the same way, make sure that when you walk into a room, whether that’s your workplace, your home, or even the supermarket, here are three important steps you can take to protect your positivity.

Step 1: Get your scripture prescription.

Reading the Word of God is like taking chewable spiritual vitamins. Skimming over it is like swallowing a Panadol. It’s important to actually meditate on what God is trying to say through His Word. Just start by picking one verse, spending time with it, exploring what it means, and allowing the Holy Spirit to speak to you. By taking time to chew on the Word of God, it can be embedded into our memory or “written on our heart” so that when negativity arises, scripture is our first call of action.

Step 2: Take it easy and breezy.

Rest up. Honestly. God provides rest to those who are weary, and as Psalm 23 says, he makes us lie down in green pastures. I think sometimes he really has to make me rest because he knows I wouldn’t do it myself. In the same way, we often run around on our feet fighting through sickness, that we don’t choose to stop and rest until a doctor’s certificate makes that decision for us. Make sure you give space to breathe and spend time with God, so that you feel recharged and refreshed when entering your workplace, your home, and social situations.

Step 3: Be a watered seed not a tumbleweed.

Keep your fluids up and stay hydrated. This is always a common piece of advice given to flu patients. It’s also crucial to soak in God’s presence and fill yourself up with His joy. It means you can face any situation with a spiritual oasis, instead of feeling like a walking desert. Refilling on the Holy Spirit allows us to be like a flowing river, bringing freshness and abundance to those around us.

When we take these steps to protect ourselves, we can prevent ourselves from the unwanted virus of negativity. Paying close attention to our mindset, and aligning it with what God says about us, means we can enter every room with positivity, that radiates out of us and onto others. It means we can frame our problems as opportunities, and live the life God intended us to live.

“You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” –Psalm 16:11 (ESV)
Dragon Tales NaNoWriMo Log:
By: Danielle Nolan
Tags: NaNoWriMo, Kpop, Writing Life, Creative Writing, Writing

Week 2 Check in:

Word count so far: 25175

Word count required to stay on target: The magic number is 25000 by the end of today (which means that I am 175 words ahead). I have had a massive week of writing and have managed to stay ahead of the target for most of this week, even after having one day off. This is not like me at all, since my usual trick is pulling off huge numbers in week 3 and 4 to catch up. Let’s see if I can keep up the pace.

NANO theme song: Black Suit: Super Junior. K Pop fans, isn’t Super Junior’s comeback fantastic? Black Suit is upbeat, fun, has that driving ‘let’s get this done’ drum beat and a killer horn section. As a theme song, it is getting me into the ‘you must start writing now’ zone and is working a treat, especially first thing in the morning.

My NaNo theme song. I love the music video as well; it is so slick.

Beverage of choice: Iced yuzu juice (a citrusy Japanese drink that is very refreshing), extra strong cappuccinos.

Current soy melt in my burner: cherry blossom.

You know that you are a serial procrastinator when:

- You spend far too long adding and removing songs from your writing playlist.

- You start caring about how terrible you are as an Overwatch newbie and start youtubing how to master characters on the roster (right now I am focusing on Soldier 76, Ana and Mercy).

-You thoroughly enjoy watching videos of GOT7 (another Kpop group) teaching Korean for beginners when you have no interest in learning the language.

-You enjoy getting the dishes out of the way far too much.

You know you are a pantser when:

-Your main character unexpectedly says something that makes you cry.

-Your favourite dragon from your last episode goes: “Excuse me. Where is my short story? Let’s set it towards the end of the timeline even though you have barely worked out your big bad or most of the concluding details yet. Thanks!”

-A character that you have worked with before is finally gets his origin story written. He opens his mouth and you discover that he speaks with a lisp.

Story progression so far:

Dragonsong: Completed.

Dragonbonds Unite (where Shimmer insisted that he wanted to be the star): Completed.

It’s the darkest hour of the dragon riders. When rescuing their bonds proves to be impossible, how will the dragons who are left behind find the strength to move forward without them?

Dragongirl (Summer’s song): Approximately 1/3 completed.

Summer discovers that family can be scarier than firebreathing dragons. She recalls the time when she and her little brother Jespa save the Serenity hoard. Just as she realises that Jespa isn’t so annoying after all, the two of them are cruelly separated.

Favourite line of dialogue so far:

“Why do you want me to go? Let me help you Thummer. I can cheer you on and go ‘Yay Thummer’ I won’t be bored. I love hearing you sing.” (Jespa’s lisp is adorable. I am starting to care about him a lot which is making the ‘tragic past’ that I need to establish for him really difficult to write.

Immediate goals:

Finish Summer’s Song, Start Scarlet’s story.
170+ Developer Teams Now Live With OST KIT Alpha III Embedded Wallet-Lite Challenge, 24 Hours Left to Register!
Tags: Ethereum, Cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, Blockchain, Tech

170+ Developer Teams Now Live With OST KIT Alpha III Embedded Wallet-Lite Challenge, 24 Hours Left to Register! OST Follow Jul 19, 2018 · 6 min read

OST is building essential blockchain infrastructure and developer tools to help businesses turn their platforms into engaging ecosystems. The OST KIT Alpha program enables OST to build the technology side-by-side with the international developer community, to gather their valuable feedback to develop real solutions for real businesses.

We started the OST KIT Alpha I program back in March. Developers were invited to mint their own Branded Tokens, staked on OST. The two-week program yielded 1600 new Branded Tokens and over 18 million token transfers.

In April and May, Alpha II resulted in 73 excellent POCs of how businesses can use OST KIT to tokenize their apps, with use cases ranging from reading programs to insurance to logistics! Check out this infographic to discover all the verticals represented in the second Alpha program.

With the recent release of the Ledger and Balance APIs, developers can now integrate end-user transaction histories and token balances into their platforms. Alpha III is an opportunity to integrate OST Branded Token Wallet-Lite features into your apps, and to provide us with your feedback on how to build the best, most robust, wallet APIs, UX and features to meet your business needs.

Since announcing OST KIT Alpha III last week, we have received over 170 registrations from developer teams in over 35 countries to create a POC integration with OST KIT:
Something Real
By: Aaron Quist
Tags: Feelings, Poetry, Healing, Emotions, Love

Something Real

A poem

Photo by Marc-Olivier Jodoin on Unsplash

I want to make you feel alive.

I want to make you see

something beyond your own reflection.

I want to make you splinter and fissure

beneath the honesty of my kiss.

I want your pain to bleed out and blend itself

into the light dilating our pupils.

I want to help you realize your true self,

this divine breath gifted to each passing moment.

I want to make you feel the way you deserve —

Real.
KiWi Brings its ‘A+’ Game to the Renewable Energy Business
By: Irene Sun
Tags: Solar Energy, Ethereum, ICO, Cryptocurrency, Blockchain

The KiWi New Energy team has on average more than 25 years of experience in fully integrated solar system design and core smart inverter technology development. Here are some members of our A+ team of entrepreneurs, experts and industry leaders.

Kiwi Founder and CEO Dr. Steve Huang

KiWi Founder and CEO Dr. Steve Huang has been working in the semiconductor and solar industry for more than 15 years. He is a serial “green” entrepreneur with full solar value chain (solar wafers, solar cells, solar inverter technology) experience. He has founded and co-founded several startup companies, such as Gitech Energy, Danen Technology and i-Energy Corp.

He also worked as Senior Channel Marketing & Operation Director for APAC in NVIDIA Corporation. He holds a PhD degree in Business Administration from London University.

KiWi Co-founder and CTO Dr. Paul Garrity

KiWi Co-founder and CTO Dr. Paul Garrity has more than 25 years of experience in the design and product development business. Paul also founded Neosen Energy in 2013, as a product company focused on delivering smart wireless energy products to the industrial medical, automotive and consumer markets in the US, the EU and Asia.

KiWi Co-founder and COO Gary Hsiang

KiWi Co-founder and COO Gary Hsiang has more than 25 years of experience in UPS power, solar system design, and solar power plant project management. Prior joining KiWi, he was the Director of Solar BU from Darfon Electronic and Senior Product Manager Role of PV String Inverter & UPS system from Eaton.

KiWi New Energy aims to change the way people invest in green energy by making solar investment easy for everyone. Unlike conventional solar energy companies, who look for large investors, we crowdsource solar projects. The income of investors will be distributed through our brand new cryptocurrency, the KIWI Token; this helps us cross borders, as well as help participants avoid lengthy bureaucracy. Our highly lucrative solar projects are ideal for investors who want to make the world a cleaner and better place.

KiWi New Energy aims to change the way people invest in green energy by making solar investment easy for everyone. Unlike conventional solar energy companies, who look for large investors, we crowdsource solar projects. The income of investors will be distributed through our brand new cryptocurrency, the KIWI Token; this helps us cross borders, as well as help participants avoid lengthy bureaucracy. Our highly lucrative solar projects are ideal for investors who want to make the world a cleaner and better place.

To learn more about us and our investment opportunities, click here. Follow us on Twitter, or like us on Facebook.
I SCREAM FOR ICE CREAM
By: Michelle Monet
Tags: Comedy, Poem, Humor, Weight Loss, Poems On Medium

I SCREAM FOR ICE CREAM

I ate a pint of caramel swirl ice cream

After a bad day —

For relief.

It’s a pattern I’ve had all my life now

A frozen retreat

From the grief?

After a few bites I decided

Oh Hell..

I’ll just eat the damn pint!

That carton’s not QUITE the big size?

(I couldn’t stop at the 10th or 12th bite.)

So, I might feel like hell in the morning

Bloated — my head might just THROBBBB!

Does the cold flavor soothe all the chakras?

It seems worth it…

The sweet frozen globs!

Sometimes I pick Butter Pecan

Moose Tracks or sweet peppermint swirl.

The ice cream slides down me like heaven

In the moment I’m a — QUITE content girl!

My go-to has always been ice cream,

Haagen-Dazs, Ben n Jerry’s and such.

In my house it was always forbidden

In my family, I couldn’t eat it too much.

My dad would bring home coffee flavor

Then try to hide it from me.

But I’d sneak down the stairs late at night

Scrape the spoon satisfactorily.

tenor.com

A family friend said my mom never once

Ate any food without shame.

Hell …I just wanted the ice cream!!

Not to feel any weird sense of blame.

tenor.com

Oh well, I am weak for some ice cream

At times I just have to give in.

Today was that day and its ok

Arrest me for my Ice Cream Binge Sin?

So, for now I’ll say, ‘Yes I am worth it!’

Sometimes a girl MUST have her vice.

So I’m accepting that I wanted this splurge and

Honestly it tasted real nice.
Development Update: January 20, 2017
Tags: Blockchain, Bitcoin, Ecommerce, Software Development

The Milestone 1 developer release of OpenBazaar 2.0 is now available! This release is meant solely for developers and those building or intending to build on top of the OpenBazaar platform. You can read more about what the release entails here.

Since this is a release meant for develpoment, he functions available in Milestone 1 are very minimal. They include:

Users can download and install the client and server from Github, and use it to fill in their profile, store info, and post listings

The network can host listings, stores, and user profiles

Users can follow and unfollow

Here’s a short walkthrough video by our UX / Design Lead, Mike Wolf:
The Dog Watches Me Have Sex
By: Greyson Ferguson
Tags: Sex, Relationships, Pets, Life, Dogs

The Dog Watches Me Have Sex

And it’s freaking me out!

Photo by Charles Deluvio on Unsplash

Everything is going as I’d like.

I’m enjoying myself.

She’s enjoying herself.

The dog is…oh my god, the dog!

The dog is sitting there, in the doorway, watching. Like the possessed child in so many horror movies.

Not blinking. Not moving. Watching. Beady little eyes staring down the barrel of his snout. We make eye contact.

God, we made eye contact!

Now everything is weird. All because my dog decided to watch me have sex.

Doubling Down

I’ve always lived with dogs. At least since early grade school. Since then I’ve had at least one dog in my life. So I’m fully aware of their strange fixation on any kind of bedroom act.

Thankfully none of my dogs have learned how to open doors yet. So that’s a relief. Sometimes there is no door. Or there’s no time to slam it shut. Hopefully, in those instances, I don’t catch a glance of those reflective glossy eyes in the distance.

It’s generally easy enough to forget about the dog watching us like we’re two giant pieces of juicy meat twisting over a fire. But one time, well one time my dog doubled down on it.

In the middle of the act, myself on top, the dog decided to let himself into the room and sit alongside the bed, looking up at me. I could look at her, or, if I turned a few inches, my eyes would lock with his.

He wouldn’t leave. He wouldn’t move. That is until I tossed a throw pillow at him. I hoped it would send him out of the room. It didn’t. It made him upset.

I found myself battling wits with this Jack Russell/Beagle mix far too often. But this time, he had the upper hand and he knew it. He sniffed the pillow, looked at me, then lifted his leg.

“Don’t you dare!” I think because I can’t say it out loud. I maintain my rhythm with her. She hasn’t noticed a change. Her tousled hair mostly shielding her vision.

I watch him.

He watches me. All while pointing his gun at the pillow. He’s in charge. He makes the rules.

I blink first, and he pulls the trigger.

Spraying all over the pillow, he maintains his eye contact. It’s not a short stream.

What can I do? I can stop what I’m doing, jump down, and, well then I’m not sure. I can yell at him from here, but that would accomplish nothing. Or I just continue what I’m doing while he continues what he’s doing.

It’s my only option.

He finishes. Probably shakes off and coughs, then turns and heads out of the room.

“What the hell was that?”

“What?”

Whoops, did I say that out loud?

That damn dog. Called my bluff because he knew I couldn’t do anything. Thankfully the dogs I’ve had since haven’t done that. Of course, they are both female dogs, so maybe they have better sense than that?

Although one just crawls under the bed. That kind of freaks me out too. But more in a bed breaking, squished dog situation.

Why can’t the dogs leave me alone while having sex?

Why?
The Rising Cost Of An Offline Retailer
By: Sarah Tan
Tags: Retail, Offline Marketing, Centareum, Ai Powered, Blockchain

The Rising Cost Of An Offline Retailer

And how blockchain can improve the situation

Rising costs have been a big hurdle for an offline retailer to acquire customers in terms of marketing. Digital marketing has been a big thing for offline retailers in the recent years with its neat, automatic, and direct approach.

This generation is led by social media influences, paid search, personalized experiences for consumers and more. These are the tools that marketers in these days leverage on to acquire new customers for businesses. However, how effective are these platforms to create a lifetime value of the customer acquired?

One of the common hurdle that an offline retailer face is retaining customers. Most common digital marketing being promotions and offering discounts, are effective in acquiring brand new customers but it also encourages customers to spend only during the sale period.

With the rise of technology, blockchain came into the picture. Blockchain has been used in various use cases and it most definitely can be applied to this problem. An up and coming new project based locally in Singapore is launching an app to counter the existing retailer dilemma through blockchain and AI technology.

This app, Centareum, is an end-to-end decentralized proximity-based mobile marketing platform that efficiently connects offline retailers with their targeted customers. Their aim is to bridge the gap between online marketing and offline purchasing power at brick-and-mortar stores.

One of the features of Centareum is that it is able to capture previously unavailable data such as; overall customer profile, consolidated retailer promotions to retailers, live shopping trends and real-time customer conversion through blockchain and AI-powered proximity marketing network. Through its decentralized platform, Centareum is able to create a direct interaction between customers and retailers based on our 4R System (Right Place, Right Time, Right Promotion and Right Price).

Additionally, with the above-mentioned features and even more, there is also near zero ads/listing fee due to the fact that is on the blockchain technology which only requires fees to be paid for the transaction of the ads. This saves retailers as much as 99% of the selling price on their product which they can pass on as a new promotion for their customers.

With blockchain technology, it is a win-win situation for both retailers and consumers. The results? Retailers receiving lower costs while customers get specialized rewards as well.

Learn more about Centareum here:

Centareum Website

Centareum Facebook

Centareum Twitter

Centareum Instagram

Centareum Telegram

Centareum Medium
In Defense of the 1%
By: Ed Newman
Tags: Money, Satire, Ideas, People

MONEY

In Defense of the 1%

Money brings honor, friends, conquest, and realms. — John Milton

Photo by Giorgio Trovato on Unsplash

IN 2011 I was leafing through the October 31 Time magazine when an essay by Joel Stein caught my attention: “Who Speaks for the 1%?”

Illustration by the author.

Actually, the first item to catch my attention was the page’s title, The Awesome Column. The haughtiness of the page title seems to reflect the hubris of certain politicians and talk show commentators. I’m not a subscriber to the mag but believe, based on 40 seconds of Google research, that The Awesome Column used to be a staple of Time and has re-appeared. I draw that conclusion based on a 2006 question at Yahoo, What happened to Time Magazine’s awesome column? — Yahoo! Answers

After reading several additional sidetracks I’ve concluded that Joel Stein enjoys tweaking noses and being contrarian. So naturally he saddles up and leads us into the current fray called Occupy Wall Street. He’s a good writer. Here’s the opening…

I don’t like the top 1% of anything. Intelligence? Boring! Fun? Exhausting! Thoughtfulness? Annoying! Hairiness? Too hairy! So I get why the Occupy Wall Street protesters gained momentum with their slogan WE ARE THE 99%. Everyone loves the 99%. You can have a beer with the 99%. You can eat with your hands in front of the 99%. You can talk about TV shows with the 99% without them telling you that while they don’t think there’s anything wrong with TV, if they had one, they would watch it literally all the time, so it’s better to just not keep one…

Stein goes on to say that for the most part the top 1% are interesting, generous and charming. These are the folk who started Time magazine, founded Stanford where Stein went to college, and have built the art museums that the public enjoys. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation** was started by a one per center, as have many other such endeavors.

If there is a pecking order of people to despise in this world, it would probably be the 1% of the 1%-ers who are jerks that embarrass the rest of the 1%-ers.
Automating social media marketing with Python — Chapter 1: The Bot(s)
By: Eduardo G D C
Tags: Social Media Marketing, Python, Instagram, Automation, Facebook

Social media ‘Marketing Bot’

The objective of this post is to create a bot that can handle various aspects of social media marketing. To keep things organized, we’ll be making separate bots for each of the features. Not only will your program be easier to read, but you’ll be able to schedule cron jobs for specific functions.

This post is for educational purposes only. Familiarize yourself with each social media’s terms of use. The code in this post is provided as is and makes no claims or warranties. Violating a platform’s terms of use can result in your account getting banned.

Chapters

Each chapter of this post is focused around a core feature. I’ll update this section as we develop each new feature.

I recommend following the chapters in order so you have an understanding of the flow and the code. You can also download the code here. As this marketing bot was created for Rocket Moving, most of the features are centered around moving/relocation services. Feel free to clone the repository and make your own adjustments.

Chapter 1: The Bot(s)

Chapter 2: The ‘Post Bot’

Chapter 3: The Content

Chapter 4: Handle Images

Chapter 5: Posting on Facebook

Chapter 6: Add a location to the Facebook post

The following chapters are in production. I’ll return to this section and update/link them.

Chapter 7: Removing images from src/Images/

Chapter 8: Updating Google Sheets

Chapter 9: Posting on Instagram

Chapter 10: Posting on Twitter

Chapter 11: Posting on Pinterest

Before you start

You should have some basic knowledge of Python and the libraries we will be working with. We are using Python version 3.6.8. Keep in mind our machine is running Ubuntu 18.04 so the code in this post is designed for Linux operating systems.

The Flow

Take a look at the diagram made for Rocket Moving. The ‘Post Bot’ accesses Google Sheets to extract content. It calls either Pexels or Pixabay depending on the url from the Image Link column in Google Sheets. The post is composed and posted on the different social media platforms. The script ends with the bot sending a Telegram message to administrators.
4月の詩
Tags: 日本語, Japanese, Poetry, 日本, Japan

in In Fitness And In Health
The Comfort of Coming Home
By: Lindsey, Lazarte
Tags: Life Lessons, Personal Growth, Travel, Life, Self-awareness

Now, you’d think that after being cooped up in the same place for nearly five months, with very limited contact with other people, we couldn’t be more excited to get out and get a change of scenery for a little while — and you’re exactly right.

We were ecstatic.

Since we’ve been home so much because of COVID-19, we were constantly connected to our electronic devices.

We were always checking our phones, going on our laptops, and watching more television than we could ever imagine.

A break from all of that was exactly what we needed and that break couldn’t have come soon enough. So the days leading up to our trip, we were just itching to leave.

It was a nine-hour drive from our apartment in Queens to our first campground in Baxter State Park in the northern part of Maine.

We left before the crack of dawn last Saturday and arrived to our campsite around 4pm, so we still had a few hours of sunlight left.
You are the Puppeteer. Are You Taking Care of Your Puppet?
By: Emily Jennings
Tags: Self Improvement, Consciousness, Spirituality, Life, Ego

You are the Puppeteer. Are You Taking Care of Your Puppet?

Achieve balance, and your physical existence will be beautiful.

Photo by Robert Zunikoff on Unsplash

I had a dream last week that there was a puppet who I was very engaged with emotionally. I wanted to buy it some nice things. So, I spent time trying to please this puppet with gifts. In the end, when I came looking for it, it was lying on the ground, lifeless. Its puppeteer was taking a break. It became painfully apparent that I was focusing on entirely the wrong thing here.

I woke up knowing exactly the message I was supposed to receive from that dream. We are not our egos. They are only an extension of our true selves. The puppet (our ego) is not to be focused on for solutions in life.

Our ‘selves’ are so much more vast and rich than our surface lives portray. Yet, many people live in a materialistic, physical-oriented way, and live their whole lives without ever stopping to examine who and what they really are. With deep introspection beyond our day-to-day lives, we quickly realize who we are beyond our egos — a higher, more pure, and wise being. The puppeteer.

The puppeteer is constantly thinking — thoughts do not cease. But the puppeteer can quiet the mind. Truths can then be uncovered about the universe. An even higher self — a consciousness that unites all of us — may even be discovered if the puppeteer looks deeper into their existence.

However, the puppet is important too. The puppet is an extension of your beautiful self, and it’s living in the physical realm. It is a manifestation of your spirit. Your thoughts, feelings, and the other items you take into your body like food, are creating this manifestation. Your puppet represents you among the other puppets here on Earth. So, why not take care of it? Certainly buying things for it can become indulgent, and make you forget your higher self. But seeking a balance for its health and wellness through achieving your inner balance is a valuable endeavor.

Take good care of your puppet, so that when it walks onto the stage and starts the show, it is glowing. Your puppet can inspire so many other puppeteers, and when it is in good condition, it will attract the puppets that help the puppeteer on its journey.
Why Study IT Management?
Tags: Management, Study, Study Abroad, It, Why

In an ever-changing business landscape, it is increasingly more important for companies and large organizations to invest in the best information technology services they can. Without maintaining the quality of their IT, it quickly becomes impossible to conduct daily business and maintain their integrity. For round-the-clock availability, maximum performance and security, organizations need IT professionals which are where study IT management comes in.

Why is a Master’s in IT Management so Important?

A degree in IT Management will prepare you for many things. For instance.

Your Master’s will help you understand what your employees are doing. Whilst it is true you don’t have mastery of all the tasks your team members perform, it is still important to familiarize yourself with business-critical issues those you have expectations of how to handle. Masters will teach you how to support your employees as they seek to overcome the challenges they face. Good team leadership skills are essential and taking a master’s degree gives you opportunities to practice and refine them. They are a key part of what makes a good IT management.

Once students graduate, each is certified as being equipped with the knowledge, skills, and understanding they need to deliver IT services effectively so that wherever and however IT is used, its use contributes towards achieving the organization’s goal.

As a graduate, students possess up to date knowledge and understanding of the latest advances in a wide variety of IT-related fields. They will know how to best use it so clients get value for money. They will also know which kind of organization would benefit most from them.

Better Job Positions After Study IT Management

After taking a master’s degree, you will be in a much better position to set achievable goals for your team. As a manager, it will be your responsibility to monitor team progress and to maintain and reinforce a shared vision to deliver the best outcome.

The people skills you refine during your degree will help your professional reputation and attract a good team. Because a Master’s degree in IT management offers its students a curriculum based on the whole IT industry, as an employer, you will be able to recognize and develop new talent.

After you graduate and begin offering your professional IT management services, you have the option to become an outsourcing solution. It is a great way to earn a living if you need a flexible way to work. These days, it’s pretty usual for mid to large organizations to outsource all their IT requirements for the IT specialists. Managers to work off-site remotely.

Final Words

You may already be working as an IT professional or know you have the technical skills. But if you’re contemplating a transition into management, a Master of Information Technology Management is well worth considering. The program provides a solid foundation to help you design, deliver and operate business technologies more effectively.