Hi, we're Analog ⏳\n\nThe Analog network is a novel, proof-of-time (PoT) based layer-0 protocol that allows decentralized applications to communicate frictionlessly through event data

Analog

analog

(Mostly) Eschewing from the digital world Says the guy using a digital platform to write his blog posts… Well, that’s why I said, “Mostly.” This post was inspired by Using a logbook to improve your programming . Partly inspired by . When we only hire the best means we only hire the trendiest I always found myself thinking, “Why does everything have to move so fast?” I’m pretty sure many of you have as well. I’ve always struggled with fast moving things. I like taking things slowly, especially when I’m learning something new. But I’ve always felt the pressure to “keep up with the market.” Sure, give me something new and I can “learn” it quickly to implement something relatively simple but I have always felt uncomfortable having this weak foundation around said thing. So, I spend some time later on to try to give myself a stronger foundation so I can tuck away this new thing into my toolbox instead of it being a one-off. If you have kept up with my posts (I won’t be offended if you haven't), you’ll notice a theme. I keep talking about foundations and how mine are weak especially in the computer science/software engineering field. In addition, one of the reasons I am blogging is to hold myself accountable to strengthening my foundations. I know it sounds strange being in the software/tech world, that I try to eschew from the digital world but I’m not all about being “trendy.” I like having strong foundations such that I can be flexible to trends but not have to pigeonhole myself on one trend so that the next day when a new trend comes out, I’m already outdated. So, if I’m not going to be trendy, then I’ll need to have strong foundations to show I can be trendy (or traditional, or quirky, or anything). I do this by being as analog as possible. Good ole pen and paper and highlighters and whiteboards and books and tiny notepads. I’m pretty sure I lost a lot of you at the previous sentence. I used to take notes on my laptop in school and then like many of you, probably barely peeped back at those notes later on unless it was for some test. I actually fooled myself into thinking that I had learned the material. What’s worse was that when programming, I didn’t use many comments (a programmer’s taboo that most programmers commit every hour) so when I would go back to my code, I had no earthly idea why the hell I did certain things or worse, not understand my own code. I like painting roadmaps from thought to thought. So, I don’t just take notes linearly, I like to draw circles around ideas and connect them with arrows and stuff. The notes look like a train-wreck after I’m done with the first draft but that’s why I always rewrite them and store them digitally. I started doing this at the end of college and I am probably not going back. It has been studied that people who take notes traditionally of the material. I had stopped doing once I entered the workforce because as I said above, I felt the pressure to “keep up with the market. Writing things down is slower than just typing something out but I truly wasn’t learning on the previous team. I just became a parrot. Indeed this looks like how the general market is in software engineering. We have eschewed understanding for “Googling.” I mean, most of the answers are found on Stackoverflow. I didn’t study this field to become a good “Googler.” That’s not to say I don’t read blogs. I definitely do but I deploy the same method as below. remembered more and have a deeper understanding So, after I switched teams two months ago, I started taking handwritten notes on my learnings and about the product we service. It has been a boon for my understanding. I know that, even if I am slower in the beginning, it becomes a lot easier for me later on to connect more dots and faster. So, that brings me to books, specifically those that are not of the fiction, fantasy, or the like genres. I try as much as possible to get the physical book. This is more expensive but I can afford to sacrifice a few extra bucks so I can have the physical book in front of me. There’s also always the library. If I own the book, I mark it up and highlight as much as makes sense. If I don’t own the book, I have a notepad/pieces of paper and a pen right next to the book to start taking notes on the passage. I try not to read books I don’t own on my commute since it’s very difficult to write on a notepad on a very crowded train car. I tried Post-It Notes for a bit where I would just take one from my pocket, put it on the passage and write a small note to myself. In the end, I decided to just read those books when I am at my desk. Edgar Allen Poe once said, “Marking a book is literally an experience of your differences or agreements with the author. It is the highest respect you can pay him.” So, when I read a book, I take notes in the margins usually asking questions or jotting down thoughts on specific passages. I also highlight impactful passages. At the end of each book, I run through the book again, transcribing my notes to paper. I actually don’t transcribe all of them. I generally summarize the notes and highlights. Once I am done with that process, I transfer the written notes digitally. This way, I don’t have to reread the book again unless necessary. I also don’t have to worry about losing paper, and if I need a reference to the book, I can easily search the digital version of my notes. I recently just finished reading by and it has solidified my opinion on being analog. Yes, I understand this book was written in the 40s but I’ve really not found a better option for me to battle against the “move fast era.” I think this mindset of moving fast is quite toxic on creativity and learning. How to Read a Book Mortimer Adler This brings me to programming and programming books. I generally do the same things in programming books as I do with the nonfiction books but I actually do write out pseudocode first before I get into the real coding. Yes, I handwrite parts of my programs first. In , he describes the logbook method: James Routley’s post “To use a logbook successfully, you have to: 1. Consider the problem you’re attempting to solve 2. Describe your method for solving it 3. Describe the process of carrying out the method 4. Record what happened, and ask how it could be improved” He further describes the benefits of logbooking (yes, I just turned that word into a verb): “1. It provides a framework for solving hard problems by encouraging you to break them down into a series of smaller ones. 2. It helps you focus on the task at hand by providing immediate context on what you’re doing. If you forget or become distracted, you can quickly get back to your train of thought. 3. It helps you learn quickly. You can observe your method for problem solving, see what works and what doesn’t and make improvements.” Routley does this method in a series of markdown files (something I also do, especially when I am lazy). However, I do try to write down as much as possible and do my little method of circling ideas and connecting them and then writing out design and psuedocode. This brings me to when I’m on the go. Sometimes I get some ideas while I’m walking around. Sometimes I even solve a part of a problem that I stepped away from. I have a small notepad (usually ) with a pen in my pocket. I quickly jot down whatever I need to, think about it for a bit, and place the items back in my pocket so I can further inspect when I get home or to a chair/desk. I try to keep my phone use to a minimum. When I’m out, I like to actually engage in meaningful, uninterrupted conversation. I don’t like the superficiality that has come from our conversations. I understand sometimes we need to look at our phones because we are on call for some reason but not all the time. I will abstain from the discussion of phone use for another post. Field Notes For many of the reasons above, I also do analog photography, but for the sake of brevity, I will leave that to another post and not put it on . Hacker Noon In conclusion, I believe in a world that is moving very fast, we need to slow it down a notch; not try to catch up all the time. I believe we can achieve that by being more analog. With slowing things down, we can establish deeper connections to our learning and creativity, and even our interpersonal communications. Resources — Scientific American A Learning Secret: Don’t Take Notes with a Laptop by How to Read a Book Mortimer Adler by Using a logbook to improve your programming James Routley When we only hire the best means we only hire the trendiest

On Being (Mostly) Analog

A Set of Pithy Tales And Swell Doggerel Lets start here then. This is a science fiction comic featuring art that is both mine or stolen and that of generative AI. I hold copyrights on the artwork and text, but you are welcome to use either as you wish. Toyboy SharLin waited pensively while her toyboy was being repaired. She thought they certainly didn't work very long if you ran them hard. She giggled at her double entendre. But the toyboys were after all the best of technology, unless you could afford a real boy like her sister owned. And he was the second boy she'd had in as many years too. Wherever did she get that kind of money. Um um um. Oh well. SharLik was a good tech and SharLin's toyboy would be back up in no time. She laughed at her silly little pun. SharLin fancied herself to be quite clever and somewhat the wit. In reality this was just a something she imagined; the toyboys were programmed as sycophants with a penchant towards flattering their owners and she accepted their judgement as truth. SharLin was deep into the codependency syndrome. As a general rule toyboy afficianados had more money than wit or common sense, and SharLin was no exception. “There, see. He blinked his eyes. Give him a chance to reboot and he’ll be good as new!” SharLin was skeptical. After all, how good was good as new. Toyboy however was possessed by the dreams of his own neuralytic circuits. Burned Out, Burnt Doubt Some summer storm's Leaping licking lightning Bolt blasted black Fire fried fingers Sad skeletal stretch Screams silently To a sullen sky. Nut and Bolt Dirt miners. That was what they were. That was all they had ever been. Barring a miracle that was all they would ever be. Nut liked to compose esoteric verse about computer chips, and then he’d share them with Bolt. after the crash One, two, many pushes and returns; one too many pops... Silly silicon syndrome; stack scattered, system shattered. Bits of bytes, certain symbols, arcane artifacts, and the occasional Hex character. Now all we can find, these remnants of a kind, memories of a metallic mind. Bolt on the other hand was built for cruder work and it was reflected in his attempts at poetry. Thinking about you I composed this haiku I did it for you thinking about you I am wishing we could screw I so lust for you Nut and Bolt both had lustful circuit events about Asterix thier supervisory unit. This was by design. Yet Asterix had eyes only for Bode, and that was not going to change. Charna Charna brought poppies in the spring Yes Charna brought her everything Charna's tunes made her heart sing Without Charna there was nothing Thinking of you in haiku Here is a haiku And I wrote it just for you I'm alone and blue Do you feel the same? Am I alone at this game Thinking about you? Fat Man Blues Your sister says There's a fat man in your bedroom And I, I can hear him groan... Oh Carlita How could you do this to me When you said you'd be all alone I want to know Just what it is, what it is That he's doin to make you moan Chemistry Hypergolic girl Catalyzes desire, Oxidation and reduction Fuel exothermic fire. Balanced reactionHot flash, no ash; Equation satisfaction. you can’t say i didn’t cry You can't say i didn try but you only made me cry so bye bye baby bye bye Yeh it's easy to see you don't give a damn for me so best i let you be On A Happy Note ♪ To end upon a happy note These two float my boat Would they get your vote? Well I hope you found it entertaining, a short diversion from your ordinary sane world into the fevered delusions that accompany mine. As always Comments, Criticisms, and Suggestions are welcome. God Bless All!

Modern Love Defined By Analogy

With the downfall of FTX, cryptocurrency is getting another black eye. The valuations shrink and those who bought in the last few years are looking at huge losses. Sam Bankman-Fried is persona-non-grata now. The FTX implosion is a warning to all that the world now runs on Internet time AND that includes the money world. Remember it is not just cryptocurrency tokens that are digital money. Most money everywhere is digital. cryptocurrency Sending money via our smartphones is convenient, but is it in our best interest? Already some countries are nearly free of physical money with most transactions being done digitally. There is an extreme disconnect in some of these countries between the assets stored digitally as savings and checking accounts and the actual physical currency available. In New Zealand, there is only enough physical money to cover about 5% of the money in citizen accounts. If 6% of New Zealand citizens withdraw their money due to some panic, the system would be in crisis and perhaps even collapse. One could be forgiven for seeing today’s digital improvements as far superior. Ironically in the Information Age, information is more controlled than ever before. The digital revolution now allows for more control of the distribution of information rather than facilitating a wide distribution of useful knowledge. Digital money of all kinds has made things more opaque for average people. During the Great Recession, the run on the banks was significant. Wealth was fleeing American financial institutions very quickly in the summer of 2008. The flight of “digital cash” nearly crashed the financial system. The reasons to move back to Glass-Steagall and other regulations born from the Great Depression seem quite justified when one sees some of the numbers, but I digress. The Great Recession of 2008 was a Great Warning. It was a warning that things can move dangerously fast in digital finance, not just cryptocurrency. FTX should be the final proof anyone needs that cryptocurrencies are some kind of “safe haven” from things like the Great Recession or the Great Depression. Cryptocurrencies are an evolving tool in an ever more complicated financial world, but they are no silver bullet. A possible positive outcome from the crash of FTX could be a slowing of the movement to eliminate analog cash. There is no question that analog money can be a throttle on finance. Physical transactions must take longer than digital ones. In that light though, analog cash can be a stabilizing factor because things just take longer to move through the systems. Analog cash also forces transparency on the financial markets. Transparency is the great gift of analog cash. The elimination of cash has made things predictably more opaque. Digital cash ESPECIALLY digital cryptocurrencies hide terrible things behind the scenes and then collapses quickly. The collapse of FTX illustrates demonstrates the speed. In the late 20th century, when the savings and loan crisis roiled American financial systems, I learned of it because I saw a line outside of Tahoe Savings and Loan in Rancho Cordova, CA. There was a physical manifestation to the savings and loan crisis. Even before it really started showing itself in the financial markets, I saw lines begin to form at some local savings and loan institutions. A cryptocurrency exchange has no physicality. Insiders probably started queueing up early to get their money out of FTX, but no one saw it. Regular accounts on the exchange had no idea what was happening. No one was watching traffic to FTX. There were no lines out of the FTX offices.  It just went, Poof! Analog cash does act as a throttle on how quickly things can get really bad. We on the street get to know a bit more about what is truly going on in the financial markets when there is more physical cash. I fear a completely opaque system operated by greedy robber barons. Analog cash prevents COMPLETE opacity. Regular people should preserve that as much as possible. Let me be clear here. I have some cryptocurrencies. I definitely think there is a place for them in this world. Mostly, I decided to park some money in the crypto space to wait and see. Depending on how this epic battle between the super-rich libertarians and the all-powerful nation-states works out, things like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Dogecoin may still have their place as cash alternatives. Cash is king, but cash is a friend of the regular people, too. Do not forget this. If a person split their pandemic stimulus check between cash put in a cookie jar and crypto, I hazard a guess the cookie jar would be worth more than any crypto holdings accumulated. Though, if they were smart they still have their crypto in a hardware wallet. Despite FTX, I continue to HODL cryptocurrencies, even if cash is still king to me. I am proud of the fact is just as valid today as when I wrote it well over a year ago. If you bought then, you were not on FTX when it imploded. the book I wrote on cryptocurrency that book If you found my advice on cryptocurrency durable and useful - please vote for me in the Noonies → https://www.noonies.tech/2022/web3/2022-hackernoon-contributor-of-the-year-cryptocurrency

The FTX Fiasco Demonstrates the Utility of Analog Currency...Again

HTML is the building block language, CSS is the styling language, and JS is the functioning language. We take this step by step. First a storyline, I started writing codes without structure as I just wanted to see the result, it did not matter how the code end up, I just wanted to see something working on my screen. Guess what, nothing ends up working the way I plan. First, we write out a basic HTML structure, create a div for the clock and add necessary styling to it. <html>
    <head>
        <title></title>
        <style>
        </style>                    The basic HTML structure.
    </head>
        <body>
        </body>
</html>


<html>
    <head>
        <title></title>
        <style>
            #clock{
                background-color: skyblue;
                height: 300px;
                width: 300px;                     
3.              border-radius: 50%;           Clock style
                overflow: hidden;
               position: relative;
               }
        </style>
    </head>
        <body>
            <div id="clock">
2.                            Opening and closing divs for the Clock layout
            </div>
        </body>
   
</html> The output becomes; Other are created further created for the numbers inside the Clock div. divs <div id="clock">
                <div class="n num1">1</div>
                <div class="n num2">2</div>
                <div class="n num3">3</div>
                <div class="n num4">4</div>
                <div class="n num5">5</div>
                <div class="n num6">9</div>
                <div class="n num7">7</div>
                <div class="n num8">8</div>
                <div class="n num9">9</div>
                <div class="n num10">10</div>
                <div class="n num11">11</div>
                <div class="n num12">12</div>
            </div> We are expected to get this; Notice that the numbers are hidden inside the curve and appear straight but we have to spread the numbers to occupy their various positions as in the real clock. We apply this styling first to the general number style. I learned soon enough that the battle is not all about high spirit but a clear identification of what the scope of the project looks like. Taking into account that code writing is building legos, one mistake and everything comes crashing down. #clock .n{
        --rotation:0;
        position: absolute;
        width: 100%;
        height: 100%;
        text-align: center;
        font-size: 1.7rem;
        transform: rotate(var(--rotation));
    } Notice that we included a variable “rotation” so that we can style individual id/class names and apply the specific degree of rotation we wish to apply. For instance, , this means we set the rotation to 30 degrees. (--rotation:30deg-330deg;) The numbers are clogged and we want to space them to their position. Therefore, we apply our various degrees to each of the ids and classes we created for the numbers. when I come across very difficult logic and everything seems to be falling apart, I take into account the revert and review strategy in #debugging. I break the parts and compile them while #monitoring for the errors, sometimes this can be back-breaking and tiring but I soon learn patients and dedication. #clock .num1 {--rotation:30deg;}
    #clock .num2 {--rotation:60deg;}
    #clock .num3 {--rotation:90deg;}
    #clock .num4 {--rotation:120deg;}
    #clock .num5 {--rotation:150deg;}
    #clock .num6 {--rotation:180deg;}
    #clock .num7 {--rotation:210deg;}
    #clock .num8 {--rotation:240deg;}
    #clock .num9 {--rotation:270deg;}
    #clock .num10 {--rotation:300deg;}
    #clock .num11 {--rotation:330deg;}
    #clock .num12 {--rotation:360deg;} We can see that each number is positioned in their various degrees but the clock appears empty as the hour, minute, and second hands are not there. We create those hands by creating different divs for each hand and styling them to our taste. <div class="hour hand"></div>
                    <div class="min hand"></div>    Divs for all the hands.                  <div class="sec hand"></div> We style the general clock hand and each hand; The general clock hand holds the second, minute, and hour hand at the bottom while they rotate round the clock, so we include the ; transform-origin:bottom In order to rotate by one second which is equivalent to one degree, we set the rotation by 1deg by default we will set the all hands (general clock hands) to 12. #clock .hand{
        --rotation:0;
        position: absolute;
        bottom: 50%;
        left: 50%;
        background-color: black;
        border: 1px solid white;
        border-top-left-radius: 10px;
        border-top-right-radius: 10px;
        z-index: 10;
        transform-origin: bottom;
        transform: translate(-50%) rotate(calc(var(--rotation) * 1deg));
    }
    #clock::after{
        content: '';
        position: absolute;
        background-color: hotpink;
        z-index: 11;
        width:15px;
        height: 15px;
        top: 50%;
        left:50%;
        transform: translate(-50%, -50%);
        border-radius: 50%;
    }
    #clock .hand.hour{
        width: 8.5px;
        height: 35%;
        background-color:black;
    }
    #clock .hand.min{
        width: 5.5px;
        height: 40%;                        Styling for each hand.
        background-color:black;
    }
   
    #clock .hand.sec{
        width: 2.5px;
        height: 45%;
        background-color: red; After the code above, we are expected to get this; We notice that the hands are just fixed to one point. We haven’t added the functioning language (JS), so the clock remains static. Now that we are done with the styling, we apply Javascript to make our hands move according to our current time. One needs to pay careful attention to this section. First, we set the clock’s interval and call the function name we are to use and the timing you want inside the interval function. <script>
setInterval(setClock, 1000)
</script> Then, Create three constants or variables second hand, minute hand & hour hand to link them to the HTML divs for the hand of the  clock using document.querySelector. <script>
setInterval(setClock, 1000)
const hourHand = document.querySelector('[data-hour-hand]')
const minuteHand = document.querySelector('[data-min-hand]')
const secondHand = document.querySelector('[data-sec-hand]')
</script> Inside the set clock function, create a constant and attach the NEW DATE function to it.l The new date function helps to get the recent date of the system. Also, create another constant called and get seconds from the new date
Do the same for the minutes ratio, then add to it and divide by 60. secondsRatio secondsRatio <script>
setInterval(setClock, 1000)
const hourHand = document.querySelector('[data-hour-hand]')
const minuteHand = document.querySelector('[data-min-hand]')
const secondHand = document.querySelector('[data-sec-hand]')
 
function setClock(){
    const currentDate = new Date()
    const secondsRatio = currentDate.getSeconds() / 60
    const minutesRatio = (secondsRatio + currentDate.getMinutes()) / 60
    const hoursRatio = (minutesRatio + currentDate.getHours()) / 12
    setRotation(secondHand, secondsRatio)
    setRotation(minuteHand, minutesRatio)
    setRotation(hourHand, hoursRatio)
}
function setRotation(element, rotationRatio) {
    element.style.setProperty('--rotation', rotationRatio * 360)
}
setClock()
</script> After applying that script, the hands still remain in position because my query selector which is a constant is not added to my html so it doesn’t select anything. const hourHand = document.querySelector('[data-hour-hand]')
const minuteHand = document.querySelector('[data-min-hand]')
const secondHand = document.querySelector('[data-sec-hand]') This is supposed to be inserted into our HTML where we have for each hand; divs <div class="hour hand" data-hour-hand></div>
                    <div class="min hand" data-min-hand></div>
                    <div class="sec hand" data-sec-hand></div> Once this done, our clock automatically works. Finally, you get it right, feeling relieved but not yet, document your process, write them the process and review it when you are done. This keeps the knowledge tied within you and helps you build better programs or projects in the future. Thank you. Written by @learnHub Africa team

How To Use Common Sense, HTML, CSS, and JS. To Make An Analogue Clock

Discovering Proof-of-Time and Omnichain Interoperability with Analog Analog is a proof-of-time (PoT)-enabled, trustless omnichain interoperability network. The network uses PoT consensus and threshold cryptography to achieve complete decentralization and security. : Vested Interest Disclosure The author's an independent contributor, and while HackerNoon has reviewed the story for quality, the claims hereon belong to the author. #DYOR Interview with Victor Young, Chief Architect at Analog Ishan Pandey: Hi Victor, welcome to our series “Behind the Startup.” Please tell us about yourself and the story behind ? Analog I’m a CS graduate and serial investor with decades of experience in guiding early-stage startups (web 2.0/web 3.0) into successful companies. While working on various algo-trading bots in DeFi, I stumbled upon a problem that gave birth to Analog. Victor Young: What if we could have time-driven smart contracts in algo-trading platforms to trigger actions for efficient signal trading automatically? After conducting extensive research and sharing thoughts with my colleagues, I realized that validated event data is crucial for algo-trading platforms and other DeFi and metaverse protocols. Besides fixing these platforms with validated event data, we noted that the Blockchain sector is in dire need of interoperation. The problem with many current platforms is they sacrifice at least one of the key properties of security, decentralization, and scalability. Together with interoperation, these problems led us to create a new consensus mechanism called proof-of-time (PoT) which now serves as the current solution for the sector post-2020. What if you don’t necessarily need to bridge and pool assets together on one super chain? If you can see what is happening on each chain, you can automate transactions on multiple chains; then, you can trade multi-chain via a centralized order book that queries data from Analog. For example, I can be on Uniswap (Ethereum), and you can be on Serum (Solana), and we should be able to trigger automatic transfers between two chains. Ishan Pandey: Please tell us a little bit about Analog? Further, what is proof of time and how does it work? Analog is a proof-of-time (PoT)-enabled, trustless omnichain interoperability network. We believe that the most significant challenge that current cross-chain bridges face has to do with centralization and associated insecurities that we see with PoA- and PoS-based consensus mechanisms. In our view, a truly decentralized consensus mechanism—backed up by sufficient security guarantees—is the single most essential attribute of any interoperability process. Victor Young: At the core of the network are two critical technologies that achieve complete decentralization and security: proof-of-time (PoT) consensus and threshold cryptography. We have built PoT from the ground up, using the ranking score as a variable to determine who becomes a validator. Through PoT, we are creating a consensus mechanism where all users have an equal opportunity of participating in the interoperability consensus, as opposed to typical PoS- or PoA-based bridges that have high barriers to entry. We have also incorporated threshold cryptography with very high thresholds where a group of tesseracts partially signs the fetched transaction. For example, over 90% of the tesseracts must partially sign a transaction for it to be validated on Analog’s network through PoT. Ishan Pandey: DeFi is gradually establishing itself as the key source of funding, with multi-billion dollars already committed. What is the future of DeFi according to you? Further, how will omnichain blockchains impact the DeFi industry? Blockchain has fundamentally altered the internet landscape as we know it, changing the way we run businesses, financial systems, and societies. On this basis, DeFi—a sector that was non-existent a few years back—has now metamorphosized into a full-blown industry worth hundreds of billions of dollars, and it keeps on growing every day. Victor Young: However, despite the benefits associated with DeFi, we’re still stuck in the “early majority” phase due to the lack of an interoperable framework. We have already seen multiple Blockchain platforms and layer two scaling solutions joining the space. At this pace, the current web3 and DeFi space are in danger of balkanization, where interoperability is sacrificed as organizations race to demonstrate their own Blockchain’s superior features and use cases. In our view, the opportunity in the DeFi industry hinges on seamless interoperability among all the Blockchain networks. It is only by ensuring that all DeFi applications interoperate—whether unrelated or fiercely competitive with one another—that the capabilities of the technology can be realized. Ishan Pandey: The next version of digital network infrastructure is Web 3.0. What are your views on Web 3.0, the Metaverse and the up and coming digital economy? The future is definitely bright, if only an interoperability infrastructure exists to allow DApp developers to build cross-chain applications that can take advantage of multiple siloed liquidity in different chains. Users could also take advantage of such an infrastructure to directly interact with all DApps across the Blockchain ecosystem from their wallets. Victor Young: Ishan Pandey: Do you think more NFTs projects will shift from Ethereum to other blockchains due to gas wars? We’re going to see many Blockchains and layer two solutions emerging with different propositions on tackling network congestion and high gas fees. As of now, most NFT projects are Ethereum-based, and currently, the platform has extremely high transaction fees. It is nonsensical to pay up to US$70 to create an artwork that you would sell for US$ 50. Unless the Ethereum network finds a way out of these issues, we’re likely to see more NFT users shifting their projects to more cost-effective and scalable platforms like Solana, Algorand, and Avalanche. Victor Young: Ishan Pandey: What are your views on Elon Musk buying Twitter? According to you, what impact would it have on crypto Twitter and free speech? As Elon Musk rightly pointed out, free speech is the cornerstone of any functioning democracy, and Twitter is a crucial platform to facilitate that. Therefore, it’s a welcome move that Elon alluded to because he intends to “democratize” Twitter. Victor Young: However, in my opinion, I don’t think matters of openness, transparency, and democracy should be left to one individual. I believe that a truly decentralized platform—and social media in that case—should allow all its users to have more control over their own data, something that Twitter cannot deliver in the current setup, even if Elon has good intentions. Don’t forget to share and like the story!

Proof-of-Time: Next Frontier in Consensus Mechanism with Analog 

Here’s a beautiful paradox. Our bodies have elements found in stars, yet we’ve not evolved to survive in the extremes of space. Sheltered by the crown jewel in our Solar System, a permanent multi-planetary presence forces us to re-think the most basic assumptions about our physiology, psychology, basic functioning, and emotional needs. How can we test prototypes, technologies, and human dynamics for space settlements? A sustained presence in space requires more than a hardware fix. on Earth have been serving as a “petri dish” for decades, informing scientists about the human dimensions for spaceflight and exploration. Of course, the scope and breadth of these field missions vary. Still, at its core, they set out to simulate space-like environments in extreme areas to assess how we respond accordingly. Analog missions I’ve noticed the widening gap between the increased commercialization of the space industry and analog work on Earth for space. Only a few space agencies, research institutions, and private initiatives undertake the challenge of analog work, simulating space-like conditions and experiences for research and development (R&D). These initiatives remain relatively siloed, forcing scientists, explorers, and organizers to often scramble for additional sponsorship sources. I met with two seasoned analog researchers to further understand the dynamics of this current scenario. Ladakh: A Petri dish for Mars in the Himalayas Based in Mumbai, Ph.D. is the Head of two major divisions at Amity University Mumbai- part of India’s largest non-profit private educational group. Siddharth leads the . With a doctorate in aerospace engineering, Siddharth has a breadth and depth of experience in the space industry. He currently also serves in an advisory capacity to several space organizations and he's the project coordinator for the Spaceward Bound India Program. Siddharth Pandey Amity Space Centre and India’s first Centre of Excellence in Astrobiology (ACoeA) The Spaceward Bound Program started at NASA Ames Research Center in 2006. This annual educational program unites astrobiologists, scientists, and students in extreme environments for research and study. Earlier expeditions were conducted in remote areas in the Mojave Desert, Idaho, North Dakota, Australia, New Zealand, and the Polar regions. Ladakh, India was the site for the Spaceward Bound Program in August 2016. Ladakh Spaceward program 2016. (Photo credits: Siddharth Pandey) Ladakh is located in the easternmost section of the Himalayas (3500 - 5500 meters above sea level). With cold temperatures and high ultraviolet exposure due to its elevation, Ladakh has unique topological features that are of particular interest to scientists and analog explorers alike. For example, it has natural hot springs filled with microbial organisms adapted to reduced oxygen levels and atmospheric pressure. Salty lakes coexist with arid desert, making Ladakh in many ways possibly similar to ancient Mars. Data sourced by rovers points that liquid water and warmer temperatures were maybe present on the Martian surface. Despite this rich “petri dish'' for research and development, Ladakh is a lesser studied region for human space exploration. Siddharth co-authored the paper about the 2016 expedition. The International Journal of Astrobiology published this paper. It presents data to prove why Ladakh is an essential place of study for scientists and explorers. “Ladakh: diverse, high-altitude extreme environments for off-earth analog and astrobiology research” “What we see today in Ladakh is helping us build the picture about what Mars was like 2 billion years ago, and also how it changed,” explained Siddharth. “For example, as a result of climate change on Earth, we see that there are several high-altitude lakes in Ladakh, which are slowly receding because the water is evaporating faster than it's getting filled up. Many of these phenomena occurred on Mars over a long time, so this opportunity at Ladakh helps us understand the Martian past in terms of how the surface atmospheric processes enable life and what kind of life forms exist in these harsh conditions? And if such life forms existed on Mars, what kind of environments would they exist in and what kind of byproducts would they have left behind.” Another dimension for the analog work at Ladakh in 2016 includes productivity. Under such extreme conditions, physical and mental fatigue sets in, aggravated by lower oxygen levels. As a result, what would be easy to do based on someone’s given skill set becomes a gargantuan task. These factors forced mission organizers to understand the interplay of individual productivity, health, and emotional well-being with the group dynamics. Siddharth Pandey connected with me from Mumbai. 2021. “During our expedition, we noticed that there were so many cultural nuances that tend to become visible as in how people go about doing their work. And especially when you had researchers from different backgrounds and sciences, as is typical of astrobiology. And there’s also a sequence in which things are done. So, we need to understand that a site like Ladakh can help us train for such kinds of missions.” The Ladakh Spaceward program visit in 2016 received financial support from the publicly-traded automotive company Tata Motors and National Geographic Traveler India.  Researchers collaborated closely with scientists at the in the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) Ladakh Spaceward program 2016. (Photo credits: Siddharth Pandey) Siddharth offered his perspectives on the missed opportunities for the private sector. ”There might not be a clear and immediate return for a space company to invest in analog work unless they have a particular product and service that they would like to market. However, it will be increasingly important to link space research for sustainability on Earth. For example, what are the different technologies for Moon and Mars that can adapt to remote locations in dry environments, which are the usual sites for analog missions? And how can we support the communities that live in these kinds of places? Analog sites can be utilized by companies with applications here on Earth as well, for example, testing low-energy consumption waste management or water filtration systems.” Siddharth explained how his team at the Amity Centre of Excellence in Astrobiology continues to push forward and partner with research and educational institutions for the Mars Amity Research Station (MARS) in Ladakh. For example, they’re planning to build temporary geodesic-dome structures over the next couple of years during specific seasons. Conceptualizing field drills for Moon and Mars with communications lags is another example. The team also wants to democratize the experience and access to the information by opening it up to the broader community of space enthusiasts. Through a new Earth and Space Exploration Program (ESEP) program, enthusiasts apply and partner up for a flat fee with scientists at Ladakh for several days. For the first open call pre-pandemic, more than 100 people had signed up. However, it was scaled down later by the organizers due to social distancing protocols. The Bangalore-based company provided some funding to ESEP 2021, thus showing the dynamism of India’s new space ecosystem. SatSure The first crew of the ESEP 2021 already achieved a major milestone this past July. They tested the Mars Amity Surface Characterization Operations Trainer (MASCOT) in the glacial lake bed of Tsokar at 4600 m above sea level. “Amity University has been very supportive of the work that I do. Space is still not the main focus for universities and especially private ones. I’ve had the opportunity to set up this new center with the freedom to do several things. Building something from scratch presents its challenges, but I’m excited about the prospects for the future.” Analog as Proxy for Imagination and Innovation Ph.D. is a consummate analog researcher and professional explorer. For the past decade, he has specialized in isolated, confined, and extreme environments. Born and based in Paris, France, Benjamin is an elected international fellow of the iconic and a human factor expert at the . He has participated in more than a dozen research expeditions and analog astronaut trainings, including the International MoonBase Alliance missions with the European Space Agency at the Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS) habitat. The depth and range of Benjamin’s missions have taken him to remote locations in the Arctic circle, Iceland, Hawaii, Chile, among many others. Benjamin Pothier Explorers Club International Astronautical Federation Benjamin dreamed early in his life to become a jet pilot. However, these plans were cut short due to eyesight problems, so he pivoted to the arts as the launching pad for his career and analog research. For more than 15 years, Benjamin worked in various mediums, photography, sculpture, interactive installations, and film. He earned his doctorate in an interdisciplinary research program at the University of Plymouth's Planetary Collegium. One of his recent artworks ISSBM (ISS BLUE MARBLE), will be launched to the International Space Station next year in collaboration with the space company Nanoracks. By 2021, Benjamin has already participated in two analog missions. First, he served as Commander of the Orpheus Mission at the in northwest Poland. An international crew of 5 other analog astronauts lived and worked with Benjamin for two weeks. The research station is located in a modified nuclear bunker at a former military airport. The crew simulated extracurricular vehicular activities (EVA) and tested several tool prototypes. LunAres Research Station Orpheus Mission crew members Alicja Musial and Eduardo Salazar Perez during an EVA. (Photo credits: Benjamin Pothier) Benjamin also participated in the CHILL-ICE Moon mission in Iceland’s underground lava tubes. The mission was conceptualized by - a non-profit analog astronaut organization - under the International Lunar Exploration Working Group (ILEWG). A lava-tube is a natural volcanic cave formed after the lava has flowed downslope from a vent, hardened, and emptied. The mission simulated the construction of the first Lunar base (CHILL-ICE stands for the Construction of a Habitat Inside a Lunar-Analogue Lava-tube). Several scientists have proposed lunar caves as ideal sites for robotic and human exploration. These caves would serve as natural shelters from cosmic rays and micrometeorites. EuroMoonMars Benjamin Pothier entering the test site CHILL-ICE mission. 2021. (Photo credits: Benjamin Pothier) Benjamin shared how analog missions open up the study of human ecology, which explains how humans relate to their environments. Benjamin Pothier connected with me from Paris. 2021. “When I'm focusing on the human factor, I’m studying it from an anthropology angle. This allows me to distinguish what’s relevant for the future of human spaceflight because there will be a huge difference between selecting crew to the Moon and Mars compared to selecting crews for the Apollo program or for the International Space Station. I anonymize all my notes about the crew because it’s not about specific individuals. Instead, my study is about looking at the fundamentals of human beings living together under these strange conditions,” explained Benjamin. Benjamin described how easily the industry can overlook breakthroughs in the social dimensions of space settlements. Analog missions require significant effort, preparation, and rigor, especially at the psychological level. Often, those who work with tools and technologies without constraints have difficulty adjusting to the conditions in analog work. These restrictions might explain why the simulation's fidelity also requires ample dosages of imagination and creativity. “I have encountered brilliant scientists that cannot go easily along with the simulation of being somewhere else and playing along with a team. So the simulation also becomes part of the research. It’s a very collaborative process,” said Benjamin. “And although you cannot simulate the entirety of the factors in space for a perfect analog mission, you can replicate many, especially the interaction of crew in the ways they are going live and collaborate. There are also geographical, topological similarities on Earth with the Moon that help field tests and proofs-of-concept.” Benjamin noted a gradual increase in the number of private companies undertaking innovative approaches to support analog work. For example, some of these companies - - plan to build modular habitats on Earth in preparation for long-duration spaceflight. However, there is still evidence of a lack of support from the private sector. Throughout many of his missions, Benjamin has encountered dramatic reductions in the availability of commercial pressurized analog suits. Interstellar Lab “I’m quite surprised, to be honest, that SpaceX doesn’t have an analog division by now. If you plan to go to Mars, you should already be working on analog simulations. Furthermore, some studies are too expensive to conduct in the ISS. It's much easier for space agencies and private companies to conduct more experiments on Earth for long duration spaceflight.” Key takeaways Approaching the human dimensions for sustained space exploration requires a paradigm shift that looks beyond the hardware. Space is an unforgiving environment for the unprepared body and mind alike. Siddharth and Benjamin assessed the variety of factors that harness and truncate analog research missions. With increased stressors that can be simulated on Earth, they advocate that analog work equips us with field data and R&D suitable for spacefarers. To continue to focus on a couple of sectors in the space economy at the expense of the human factors will leave us seriously short-staffed for Lunar and Martian settlements. With an industry that continues to thrive year after year, the time has come for us to embrace analog missions with strength and purpose. We need to imagine our future in space and prepare for it. // is the concept artist featured on the header with (2015). Based in Romania, Bogdan has more than 12 years in the game industry. Science fiction books have inspired his artwork. Bogdan Tufecciu Jumpgates “Places, technologies, and stories inspire me,” said Bogdan. // update. 11.20.21. Since you’ve enjoyed this article, allow me to invite you to my new space blog - recently launched! It’s designed to be ad-free, independently published, and, more importantly, showcasing original research and artwork. Be inspired by the possibilities of our future in space. Continue reading and subscribe to: moni-07b.space

Analog Work on Earth for Space: The Need To Embrace Analog Missions

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose By any other word would smell as sweet. So Romeo would, were he not Romeo called" - Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare Analogies have always been writers’ favorite medium to use. They give life to both literature and prose. Being a tech writer myself, I like to use analogies - they help me to make my piece more interesting and easy to follow. In this article, I have explored the use of metaphors and analogies in tech writing. A few weeks back, I came across an argument about ‘ ’ on a discussion forum. A few interesting articles were also shared by the participants in the discussion. Apparently, the metaphor seems quite fit to describe the data, as it is first refined to be used as a ‘fuel’ to business. data is the new oil However, people who disagree with this analogy argue that oil is not renewable, while historical data doesn’t lose its value after usage in a certain business case. According to : Bernard Marr “If we are going to think about data as a power source or fuel, then it would make more sense to consider its similarities with renewable sources like the sun, wind, and tides. There is an abundance of it – more than we can ever use – and rather than fencing it off and reducing the supply, we should think about how we can make it more widely available to everyone.” Metaphors and analogies help in delivering technical knowledge in an understandable and interesting way. Though experts may argue whether the analogy does justice to the technical term, however, it helps in raising some awareness for non-tech and newbies. For example, “ ’ conveys that data is useful for businesses! Hollin Collins describes the significance of metaphors in her article : data is a new oil The Power of Analogy in Technology “New technologies are hard to convey. Marketers in technology have the challenge of describing new concepts and making them understandable to consumers and business people. I find analogies to be powerful communication vehicles that overcome the challenge, making the unfamiliar familiar.” Here is a list of a few interesting analogies and metaphors for emerging technologies: Artificial Intelligence AI has been explained quite artistically in this Hacker Noon : article “The strange loop mirror: When I think of AI I think about the machine looking back at you, seeing you much like a distorted mirror does. AI-first companies like Facebook and Google are looking back at you with years of self-images, questions, and thousands of data points in terms of likes and other interactions. It’s a strange mirror with a kind of memory that gives you an x-ray into your self-image. When the AI in this mirror is making me feel seen, it’s doing me a service in the maintenance of being human, which is to tell my story. The more limbic resonance in us, the more engagement. We really like being mirrored! There is a loopiness to this because it’s self-reinforcing and therefore giving rise to phenomenons such as filter bubbles and saturated biases in our egos.” Cloud computing “Cloud computing is like plugging into a central power grid instead of generating your own power." OK, don't like that one? There's always the thermostat analogy" - Reuven Cohen IoT Here is a selected analogy for IoT from this interesting : article “The IoT as the Apotheosis of Connectivity: Dali’s famous painting “The Apotheosis of Homer” depicts the epic poet’s ascension to the divine. It was a common scene in classical art. This reflects the original theological meaning of the word ‘apotheosis’, which is to elevate something to a divine or holy status. I use the term deliberately (if advisedly) here. The suggestion behind this first metaphor is that the IoT represents an elevation of connectivity to a sacred status. This is perhaps the most basic metaphor for the IoT. As Greengard puts it, the IoT “extends connectedness far beyond computers and into all the nooks and crannies of the world”  (Greengard 2015, 16).” Blockchain “Imagine a huge vault from a bank. The vault is filled with rows of unlabeled deposit boxes. However, each deposit box has a glass facade, allowing everyone to visualize the contents of the deposit box, but does not access it. When a person opens a new deposit box, it receives a key that is unique to that box. Making a copy of the key does not duplicate the contents of the box. And in the same way, even though you have the key, the box is not technically yours. You only have the ability to access what’s inside of it. This is fundamentally the concept of cryptocurrencies based on Blockchain.” - Lunes Platform Enjoyed the above analogies, right? Let’s wrap up this article with another masterpiece from Shakespeare: “But soft, what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun!” - Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare Previously published here .

“My words fly up, my thoughts remain below." Metaphors and Analogies in Technological Writing

Earlier, we lived in industrial and post-industrial societies, and gas and oil were the only things of value. Now, it’s the age of information society and data has replaced petrol as the economy’s driving force. The reason is that with the help of Big Data, people significantly improve production efficiency and business economics. That’s true. That’s why today, you may hear a lot of comparisons of data with gas, oil, gold, and other treasures of humanity. Historical background: The first person who compared data to oil was Clive Humby. But the context was quite different — not connected with monetization. He meant that data is useless until it’s put to work and is refined. Thus, to become like gas or oil, the data should be collected, analyzed, interpreted, and used. Why is data compared to oil? Data today is a vital business asset. The most prominent companies in the world like Microsoft, Amazon, Apple, and Facebook own such an amount of data that nobody can even imagine. For example, for Amazon, work flawlessly. data collected drives around 35% of revenue — the recommendations based on users’ data When people use their products or services, these corporate giants collect information about every aspect of their behaviour and decision making. Then they adjust their products, marketing strategies according to data received and analyzed. That makes them even more prosperous and more powerful. Thus, companies that base their development strategy on data massive get 5% greater revenue than the companies that do not rely on that. Just like with oil, which brings value only after it’s refined and used. Open data issue Open data is everything you can reach without a password: social media, blogs, forums, dating apps, etc. Big data is more than a billion lines or more than a petabyte. Because now, the term ‘big data’ is so well-known that it is complicated to understand what is what. So when I say big data, I mean exactly this. We’ll start by looking at how people represent big data. Most think of them as a large, large amount of something. But in reality, all big data technologies are based on diverse data, and from these little pieces of collected data, a giant picture is created. For instance, most people never check the background in photos on social media. And this is 60–70% of all the insights that can be obtained per person — is there any renovation in the apartment, and this is the level of income, which can be seen from the window, all kinds of sights for determining geolocation. Then, from these small photos, a clever algorithm can assemble a complete picture of what is around the person. So if you are taking pictures for social networks, check the background. The ethics of data collection: cases What other sources are there based on which it is easy to collect information about you? It can be a person, and it can be an algorithm that will target ads to you. Of course, the most popular sources are social networks, blogs, forums, and e-commerce platforms. The leader of people’s interest in 2016-2017 was Tinder. The point is, these various dating apps show the distance to the person. Anyone who is more or less familiar with mathematics knows that simple methods allow you to determine the location from several points, knowing the distance to a person. It is clear that all kinds of services and social networks never show the real location. They protect the user and indicate approximate distance. It is impossible to understand where exactly this person is located. But the average lonely person updates Tinder about 18 times a day. By updating this information, you can understand how the person moved, where he was. Geolocation is the first thing on the list of things that can be learned about a person, because judging by the same personal data law, it’s like your home address is your personal information. No one should know it. For example, in social networks, it is in closed access. But if we take all your publications, see where you were, for the majority — really for 99% - users, 80% of geo-sites are two clusters: home and work. At the same time, what is closer to the city center is work, what is next is home. It is clear that there are exceptions, but these exceptions are at the level of statistical error. Another example: A couple of years ago, the Windows 10 operating system’s free distribution was launched. Those who rushed to install the OS on their personal computers were a little disappointed in the end. A number of “controversial points” were found in the agreement. The first was that Microsoft collects and stores the history of visits to pages on the Internet, passwords to sites, and data about the user’s access points. This is done through the data connection of Microsoft account. The option can be disabled, but in Windows 10 it is enabled by default. As a result, the user can become a victim of fraudsters and voluntarily transfers data to American courts and intelligence services — in accordance with US law, IT companies are required to disclose this data at the authorities’ request. Few people like the ability in Windows 10 to track online user behavior by third-party advertisers. Perhaps, most of all questions are raised by one of the points of the license agreement, which states the following: Personal correspondence, local files, and other personal information (including the content of letters and other personal data contained in private folders) may be disclosed if Microsoft deems it necessary to protect consumers or comply with the terms of use. In general, everyone is used to the fact that apps collect data about users. Most of the time, the data collected by Internet companies is used to make apps work properly. For example, when ordering a taxi or building a route to the desired object, the program asks for the user’s location in order to correctly process the request and provide relevant information. The desire of Internet giants to collect more and more information about users is quite understandable: in the Internet era, personal data and data about user activity on the Internet have become a real business asset, the value of which is growing every day. However, stands out from all other attempts: The total collection of data about the user and his activity in the absence of a transparent description of the process of using this data naturally raises many questions. Microsoft’s new privacy policy, published in July 2015, No violations? However, despite the dissatisfaction of users who voluntarily give their data to Microsoft or any other service/app, there are no significant violations of legislation on personal data in the license agreements. Thus, such a data-driven approach of running a business is completely lawful if you agree with Terms of Use. Of course, data and information can’t replace gas or oil. However, it can be fully compared in value and worth for business and economy.

Understanding the 'Data is the New Oil' Analogy

Photo by Inside Weather on Unsplash A few years back, when I was learning HTML and CSS, I found it difficult to differentiate between CSS margin and padding. In fact, at some point, I failed a quiz on these CSS properties. In the past two months, I have been taking the HTML/CSS microverse track. I have invested time, not only to understand but also to practice the CSS margin and padding properties. If you are a beginner learning HTML and CSS, I don’t want you to struggle to understand these concepts. This is why I will explain them to you using simple analogies. House analogy Imagine you have a piece of land and you want to build a house. First, you build a perimeter wall(defined border) around your land. When laying the foundation of your house(element), you are likely to leave some spacing between the perimeter wall and the house. If you build two houses(elements) in the same compound, you will have a spacing between the first house and the second house. Photo by Oliver Roos on Unsplash Margin. This spacing between the perimeter wall and the house, or from the first to the second house, should come into your mind when talking about margin. According to , “The CSS margin properties are used to create space around elements, outside of any defined borders.” w3schools You can set an element margin with the following properties: Specifies a shorthand property for setting the margin properties in one declaration. margin: Specifies the top margin of an element. margin-top: Specifies the right margin of an element. margin-right: Specifies the bottom margin of an element. margin-bottom: Specifies the left margin of an element. margin-left: example: <div = > < class "my-piece-of-land" My first house < = > div class "house1" </ > div /div> .my-piece- -land { : px;
  height: px;
  background: grey;  
} of width 900 300 .house1 { : px;
  background: white;
  margin: px; margin-top: px; margin-right: px; margin-bottom: px; margin-left: px; } width 350 100 /* sets a margin of 100px from the defined boder from all direction */ 10 /* Specifies the top margin of an element */ 10 /* Specifies the right margin of an element */ 10 /* Specifies the bottom margin of an element.*/ 20 /* Specifies the left margin of an element.*/ Padding. After your house is complete, and you put a table(element’s content) inside the house. The space around the table from the house wall is what we will call padding. According to , “The CSS padding properties are used to generate space around an element’s content, inside of any defined borders.” w3schools You can set values for the padding on each side of the box using the following properties: serves as shorthand for the preceding properties. padding: specifies the top padding of an element. padding-top: specifies the right padding of an element. padding-right: specifies the left padding of an element. padding-left: specifies the bottom padding of an element. padding-bottom: Example: <div = > < class "my-piece-of-land" My second house < = > div class "house2" </ > div /div> .house2 { : px;
  background: magenta;
  padding: px; padding-top: px; padding-right: px; padding-bottom: px; padding-left: px; } width 350 100 /* Serves as shorthand for the preceding properties. */ 10 /* Specifies the top padding of an element */ 10 /* Specifies the right padding of an element */ 10 /* Specifies the bottom padding of an element.*/ 20 /* Specifies the left padding of an element.*/ Difference between margin and padding. Conclusion Margin and padding are among the building block in HTML and CSS. These properties allow for the creation of an elegant layout in your design. You should spend time to deepen your understanding of these concepts. To dive deeper into these topics, check w3schools.com . References W3schools Tutorialspoint Pediaa

Understanding CSS Margin and Padding With Simple Analogies

If you’ve used , been to a , watched a Hollywood movie about , or know about , you can understand blockchain and cryptocurrency. These simple analogies explain the fundamental difference between the two. Google Docs casino bank heist DNA The public, and even professionals, tend to misconstrue that cryptocurrencies and blockchain are the same. While the two niche terms may have gained awareness in the past year, most of the public audience still believe that they are synonymous. In fact, marketing efforts have largely contributed in loosening each of the term’s concrete definition, creating even more confusion for people who are not fluent in the industry’s language. There is a fundamental difference between the two, and it can directly affect whether or not businesses should get involved with the technology. To highlight the big difference in the simplest form, let’s look into these unique blockchain analogies. Each caters to a distinct demographic: students, gamblers, finance planners, and even biologist. Google Docs Image courtesy by Natalie Matthews-Ramo A simple illustration to explain the mechanism of blockchain system is by looking at the core function of Google Docs (all credit goes to , the author of The Business Blockchain who came up with this metaphor). William Mougayar Google Docs made its appeal due to its efficient collaborative feature that allows multiple users to view and edit a document at the same time. It reduces the lead time of waiting the other party to receive, view, edit and send the document back. Normally, the software being used is Microsoft Word. Most databases in the world today still work like Microsoft Word: access and edits can only be made by person at a time, while everyone else is locked out. Like Google Docs, blockchain solves the issue by updating any changes for everyone to see in real time. one Based on this metaphor, you can view blockchain as simply a technology, a powerful tool that helps business’s operational functions to collaborate efficiently. For instance, applying blockchain technology in the banking institution would allow any money transfers to be simultaneously verified on both ends. Casino Image courtesy by 10bet Another helpful metaphor from to explain a fundamental difference between blockchain and cryptocurrency to a beginner is by imagining yourself in a casino. The process begins with exchanging cash for chips or tokens that can only be used to gamble at the casino. Outside the building, these chips have no legitimate purchasing power. Ajit Kulkarni In this example, the casino chips are cryptocurrency coins, and the casino is the blockchain network providing an ecosystem for players to participate in the exchange and transaction processes. Safe Vaults Image courtesy by freepik from CoinDesk proposed a glass box analogy to illustrate the transparency & decentralized features of crypto currency. This transparency is powered by blockchain system that creates private keys for public addresses of the wallet. Fabricio Santos Let’s imagine a huge vault from a bank. The vault is filled with rows of unlabeled deposit boxes. However, each deposit box has a glass facade where everyone can visualize the contents, but can not access it. When a person opens a new deposit box, it receives a key that is unique to that box. Making a copy of the key does not duplicate the contents of the box. And in the same way, even though you have the key, the box is not technically yours. You only have the ability to access what’s inside of it. The whole safe vault is the blockchain system, operating and showing the activities of people storing and transferring content from one deposit box to another. On the other hand, crypto wallet is illustrated by each of the deposit box in the vault with content exemplifying the cryptocurrency. This is fundamentally the concept of cryptocurrencies based on Blockchain. Anyone can see the contents and transactions of all other addresses. DNA Image courtesy by ScienceNews Biologists and natural scientists can also understand blockchain’s function of recording and updating every transaction by looking into DNA’s role in organisms. provided this insightful correlation between blockchain and DNA. Robin Ranjit Like DNA, which is a record of genetic transactions and mutations that spread as life expanded across the earth, blockchain too is a record of transactions, spreading across the internet as more people use cryptocurrencies. Both become more complicated over time as our DNA evolves and new blocks are added to the blockchain. Each blockchain (Bitcoin, Ether, Ripple) is like as a distinct species (human, chimpanzee, etc.). A blockchain can also be forked (like with Bitcoin Cash) to create a competing currency in the same way that two distinct species can share common ancestor. Furthermore, like how changes to DNA do not happen easily — it takes about a million years for a genetic mutation to catch on — building a blockchain is not easy, either. The process of evolution and natural selection is a little bit like mining, a complicated series of steps that creates something incredible. scientists believe From all these metaphors, the clear difference between blockchain and cryptocurrency that majority often misunderstood is: Blockchain is a technology, while Cryptocurrency is its application Because bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies were the first use cases for blockchain, people think of them as interchangeable. In reality, the different coins are just one application of blockchain technology. This fact should be made into public awareness, especially for businesses across different industries. Despite the volatile crypto market taking center stage, blockchain could actually be the most powerful technology of our time. A technology that holds such great growth opportunities like blockchain should not be missed. However, in the midst of and crypto winter today, should businesses still believe in blockchain? Dive into the current crypto weather by following these for businesses. bitcoin crashes 3 critical steps About Principal Strategic We are an elite blockchain business advisory firm, specializing in 360 blockchain marketing services. At , we talk, discuss, brainstorm and execute innovative ideas of marketing blockchain projects. Our extensive knowledge about blockchain and priority of your business growth allow us to provide tailored and innovative solutions for you to propel your business beyond these obstacles. We have worked exclusively with revolutionary enterprises such as and . Check out our interesting blockchain and educational . Principal Strategic Tokenize Xchange World Trip Singapore projects blogs | | | | | We post daily updates on blockchain news and resources on our social media. Follow us: Facebook LinkedIn Instagram Telegram Twitter Youtube References: Chauhan, R. R. S. (2014, Jul 22). The Bitcoin blockchain/DNA metaphor. . Retrieved 7 February 2019, from Medium https://medium.com/@rchauhan/the-bitcoin-blockchain-dna-metaphor-e9500333ca9f Kulkarni, A. (2018, Nov 20). Blockchain Vs. Cryptocurrency: How The Two Relate To Each Other. . Retrieved 7 February 2019, from Medium https://medium.com/datadriveninvestor/blockchain-vs-cryptocurrency-how-the-two-relate-to-each-other-edf7632fe9de Lunes Platform. (2018, Feb 11). Explaining blockchain to laypeople: the analogy of the glass box. . Retrieved 7 February 2019, from Medium https://medium.com/@lunes.platform/explaining-blockchain-11695afee9c0 Mougayar, W. (2016, Sep 9). If You Understand Google Docs, You Can Understand Blockchain — CoinDesk. . Retrieved 7 February 2019, from CoinDesk https://www.coindesk.com/understand-google-docs-can-understand-blockchain

Blockchain vs Cryptocurrency Explained Using 4 Simple Analogies

Why does it so long to build this? Why can’t you predict (accurately) when this feature will be done? What is your team doing all day, anyway? Explaining the process of creation is hard. People have pointed out how much and are part of it. But hear this story about a Christmas Tree… software art discovery A family room, a wonderfully decorated , a string of lights woven into its branches. Important guests are expected to arrive at six for dinner. The scene: Christmas Tree The nearest outlet, which has not been used since last year, does not seem to function anymore. No electricity means no lights. Disappointed guests, grumbling spouses, ruined lives up ahead. The problem: : So, can you fix this within the hour? 5:00pm, Stakeholder : Well, the right way would be to call the electrician, who could diagnose and solve the problem. Given how old the system is, this may well involve ripping open the wall and putting all new cables in. Developer : But the electrician would not be able to get here within the hour, let alone fix this. So can fix this, within the next hour? Stakeholder you : I think so, but I can’t really tell. Honestly, I cannot. Developer If it is fuse, it would be a quick fix, but the other outlets are working so that seems unlikely. I should check for that anyway, takes only five minutes. I could also peer inside the socket, see if there is a loose wire or something. Under these scenarios, we can be ready in 15 minutes. We could move the tree, but there is hardly room in the other corner and the ornaments may fall off and break during the move. If it goes well, this will be quick; if this doesn’t go well, the tree will look very sad. I could run an extension cord from the other side of the room. It won’t be pretty on the white rug, but it will work. I can tape down the cord so people won’t trip. This assumes we have a long enough extension cord in the house. Let me check the garage, the attic, and the back of my car. I think we have a long one somewhere. If we have one, we can be done in 30 minutes. Turns out we have one white 8 foot cord, but it is too short. I also found a 40 foot cord, but it is dark green. That is all we have. I can go to the store, but it will take at least half an hour, if there is no traffic. I can also keep looking, but there is no guarantee we have a longer white cord. 5:15pm I kept looking but never found another cord. I did stumble upon some white vinyl tape. It is not too sticky, but matches the color of the rug. I am going to duct tape the cord down, then put white tape over it to hide it. 5:25pm Some of the white tape had gotten discolored and it looks terrible. I can go to the store to buy some new, but it will take at least half an hour. Do you think we have more of this? 5:35pm That was great, we salvaged an old sheet for white fabric to cover up the dark green extension cord. Duct tape is holding everything down, but you can hardly see it. Lights are on! 5:45pm So why was it so hard to give me an estimate for this? You just ran the extension cord and found a way to cover it up. 5:55pm Stakeholder: We are so impressed with your tree, your house, and the hilarious story about the extension cord! But why didn’t you run the cord up the wall and across the ceiling, nobody would have ever seen it there given that it is dark green. Surely, that would have taken only five minutes… 6:00pm Important Guests:

The Christmas Tree Analogy of Software Engineering

As an experienced crypto wallet developer, we offer a white label wallet solution for different blockchain projects. Many companies that have their own token or decentralized app have reached out to us with the request to create an in-app wallet for them recently. Even more companies that we know — our partners/friends/people we drink beer with at conferences — complain that , especially when the services you provide are not related to wallets/payments at all. Of course, we could take is as a challenge — build a WL wallet for all needs. But, in fact, we can’t: our precious human resources are naturally limited, and not every company can afford to/put their trust into a “black box” solution/plead their inability to build a no-risk-of-screwing-up wallet, after all. “building your own ETH wallet is a drag” Regardless of the possible reasons, many crypto companies — especially dapps — shun the idea of building their own app just because it would cost them some 1.5 months of development (full ios/android team load)? We do not know of any successful and ambitious crypto startup that has spare developers. Fitting an MVP of a wallet into your company’s roadmap can be. . . well, if by any chance you work in the industry too, just imagine that and paste the best answer! If you do not, I’ll tell you: impossible unless your survival depends on this (it usually doesn’t). Even the smallest Dapp on Earth can easily go live by implementing Metamask payments, but when it comes to mobile, everything comes to a halt. So what can we do? After sleeping on those facts for several weeks, we came up with an idea. Why not create an ETH wallet SDK for everyone who needs it? “Happiness for everyone, free, and no one will go away unsatisfied” Well, that and make the wallet work with Lumi. Do we or do we not have the right to benefit from our own work? And that we did. An SDK (software development kit) — is literally a toolkit, a bunch of pieces of code, libraries, etc that you can use to create applications with. Implementing the Lumi SDK allows the app to sign Ethereum transactions. So we created the — the only thing left was to find a guinea-pig… a pioneer, we mean. Lumi SDK Some of you have probably heard of 0xUniverse — a colorful blockchain strategy game where players explore space, fly spaceships, and colonize planets. Each planet is a unique collectible usually purchased via Metamask (on desktops). The problem occurred when the 0x team decided to expand and develop a mobile version of their creation — there was simply no existing solution available for Dapps at that time. So it was the perfect opportunity to give our SDK a try and, as a result, Lumi wallet has been successfully integrated into the 0xUniverse mobile game. What does that mean for the 0x player? oh god, there’s finally an 0x app! (so they are going to play the game more often and spend more time in it) they decide to purchase a new spaceship, and woo-hoo! They just click the purchase button, are redirected to Lumi Collect, confirm the payment details, and go right back to the app. It’s as simple as it could be. Of course, the easiness of the interaction affects the frequency of the purchases too, if you know what we mean :) That’s only one Lumi SDK implementation case: the possibilities for use are endless. Let’s say, you’re running a decentralized auction platform, and your client wants to purchase an item and send it as a gift to a friend. Instead of finding himself in a long process of signing several transactions he can finalize the whole deal in a single click. Do you think it’s time for your Dapp to go mobile? See how easy it can be! ( ) Github link here

Welcome the Metamask mobile analog: nobody needs to build crypto wallets anymore

For some time, I have been tinkering with definitions of technical concepts to understand them personally to explore ways in which I can expand their use cases and applications. I believe that the key to mastering a technical concept is to having a somewhat localised version, a close to home definition. For that, stories often come in handy in breaking down technical concepts. What is a ? Here’s Wikipedia’s definition. blockchain A , originally , is a growing list of , called , which are linked using . Each block contains a of the previous block, a , and transaction data (generally represented as a root hash). blockchain block chain records blocks cryptography [1] [6] cryptographic hash [6] timestamp merkle tree Well, what’s then the parallel between trains and blockchains? A train is a series of connected coaches(bogies) that run along a set of rails. A coach is attached on the first coach, which drives the rest of the successive coaches attached. Any coach of the train has two connecting mechanisms (connectors), one linking to the former coach (one ahead of it) and its own connector to the coach that will come after it. This is the case for all coaches apart from the first coach which only has one connector, linking the second coach to it. Not just any coach can be added on to the train, say, arbitrarily adding a cargo coach to a passenger train. From the descriptions above, the key elements are; Record entries (transactions)- like rows in a spreadsheet. Blocks (from block 0 to block n) Cryptographic hashes - address to a block A timestamp Transaction data Generally, several transactions make up a block where the first block is called the genesis block (block 0). When the block is confirmed by peers on an interlinked network and agreed as valid, it is joined onto other blocks making a chain. A block-chain. A blockchain can therefore be seen as a growing list of coaches, called blocks, linked using connectors (defined by ). Each block contains its own ID number, an address of the previous block, its own address (hash), a timestamp and a reference to the transaction data included in the block. The blockchain is made available to participating nodes who run and maintain it. cryptography Nodes (participants) in a blockchain network achieve agreement as to the correct state of data on the system by agreed mechanisms called consensus algorithms. The consensus algorithms ensure that data is the same for all nodes in the network and thus prevents malicious actors from manipulating the data. And just like trains, blockchains keep getting updated over time to become more efficient by increasing throughput and extent of scalability. Algo Rhythm :) Endnote This is an attempt to scratch the surface. I hope the explanations suffice to make sense of the technology. In future articles, I shall explore types of blockchains, DApps, distributed ledger technologies and their use cases (practical and idealized). Other Posts by Me Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technologies in Society Getting Started with Hyperledger Composer on Windows 10

Blockchain — the Train Analogy

Learn how Dmitri used a Kickstarter campaign to validate and launch Analog.cafe, a blogging platform for film photographers : What’s your background, and what are you working on? Davis Baer : My name is Dmitri, today I live in Vancouver. In the past, I’ve been a Thai expat, a long-time visitor to San Francisco, a 15-year veteran Torontonian, and a Moscow kid. Both of my parents have a theatre education, although after we immigrated to Canada they had to pick jobs that could make them money more efficiently. I’ve always loved art and leaned towards creative tasks, though as I did that I’ve taught myself how to code, starting with HTML and CSS, moving to ActionScript, then PHP, and, finally JavaScript as I am now hacking together interfaces in React and do some light Node development. Dmitri Tcherbadji Analog.Cafe, the consequence of the above inclinations and experience, is my passion project. Analog.Cafe is a community-driven web magazine that features photo essays, reviews, and guides about or through film photography. Most people don’t realize this yet, but the practice of taking images via chemical emulsion on film rolls hasn’t disappeared. In fact, it has grown considerably in the past few years; even Kodak is beginning to bring back some of its old stock from the dead. It’s never going to be the same as it was in its heyday, but the medium has got a growing, passionate community of about a million+ users around the world. The website has been launched just over a year ago with no funds allocated towards advertising as a result of a small Kickstarter campaign. Today it’s growing at a rate of about 80% per month with 38 authors having their work published or scheduled to be published as of September, 2018, and article release schedule booked for seven weeks ahead. What motivated you to get started with your company? I started working on Analog.Cafe at the very beginning of 2017 as a way to dedicate my time to a creative side-project during the fourth year as a CTO at a small business intelligence company. Chiseling away personal ideas while earning stable income elsewhere has been the routine since the university years. In a way, this practice has taught me at least a third of everything I know about business and building robust web applications today. I should probably add that every creative project I’ve taken on involved some kind of technical solution. I’ve been passionate about photography and to some degree film photography for years prior as I ran another side-project, ArtSocket, an online store that attempted to sell prints. Although I’ve made a decision to end the support for that property, I wasn’t yet ready to leave photography behind. In fact, I wanted to dive deeper. At that time, my most impressive collection of work on ArtSocket came from a Japanese film photographer, , with a few more works of superior quality coming from folks shooting analogue cameras. So I followed the art and took the time to get to know the community behind it better, as well as the craft itself. Chi To test how valuable a community-run film photography publication could be to folks other than my mom I ran a Kickstarter campaign. This was the first time I’ve had a fair amount of strangers contribute their personal funds directly to me, which, of course, felt good and was ultimately the green light I was waiting for. What went into building the initial product? I raised about 1,500 Canadian dollars to build Analog.Cafe, which wasn’t nearly enough. Even in Thailand where I lived as an expat (a beautifully-warm country with delicious $1 dinners) this sum was insignificant. A few hundred dollars went into producing the rewards for backers and all of the remaining money went immediately to a small team of local developers who helped me create the via Node/Express and Mongo. Undoubtedly, I had to pay most of the remaining fee from my own pocket. headless CMS API To build an experience I wanted: a Medium-like composer interface, offline editing with Buffer-like scheduling, easy sign-ins via Passport.js, pixel-perfect design, and zero bloatware — everything had to be coded from scratch. I spent the first few weeks at the office with the developers, scoping out a path a user would take from visiting the website to creating a submission, sending it in and my role as an editor from changing the content to making sure it goes out on time. Some of these features were entirely new, such as allowing users with no account an offline access to the editor (which is possible with help of ). Others, like the ongoing with the browsers’ native were being fought by a team of open-source developers at , my inspiration to virtually everything I build back to the community. locally localForage battle <ContentEditable /> Slate contribute Prior to getting started with this project, I waded through the storm of all the build scripts, decisions and the seemingly-infinite options when it came to JavaScript tooling. The prep paid out (with a huge thanks to team). Weekly builds are as easy as making a commit and running — which proved to be invaluable as I worked hard to balance all of the above with the new editorial duties for the magazine and, of course, the full-time CTO duties which paid the bills. Create React App yarn deploy How have you attracted users and grown your company? Analog.Cafe’s users are authors and readers. The first cohort of readers and writers are the same people who contributed to the Kickstarter campaign and their immediate friends and families. I spent two weeks online scoring the web for bloggers who also shoot film. These are the people who mattered the most since, unlike my personal friends and family, their interests aligned with what I am doing, rather who I am. A few weeks after sending out the rewards and pushing to the web, I’ve launched a Product Hunt which yielded a significant first bump of interest and submissions. Being featured came as a very pleasant surprise: there are plenty of people in tech who love to shoot film, too! After the bump, however, the traffic declined significantly. It’s worth noting that launches, although exciting, are . v0.0.1 campaign not a sustainable way of building clientele Stats from the Product Hunt launch Fortunately for me, running Analog.Cafe, a static React app hosted on S3 with minimal Dyno setup on Heroku, and a sandbox version of Mongo in front of Redis server never cost more than $30/month. My runway never depended on visitors or submissions and I had time to build, experiment, break stuff and learn as the readership naturally grew along with the positive market trend in my niche. Up until the last couple of months, however, the growth felt incredibly slow as I tinkered with design, stability, features, and, most importantly, learned to create better content and consistently engaging with the community via social media. The next breakthrough for Analog.Cafe came in the form of ass-kicking via the deliberate, structured, and directed stream of advice at the Y-Combinator program. The most significant of which was to , which is exactly the reason I was able to get crowdfunded in the first place; by reaching out to a list of people who may be interested with personal messages. Being a fairly sensitive person I typically react badly to being ignored, which is the most common type of rejection online. But with time, I chose to take it less personally and concentrate on acquiring a list of potential talent who do have time and interest in what I do. Which is 100X more effective than waiting for Google to send someone my way or dumping dollars on ads. Startup School do things that don’t scale During the past few weeks, Analog.Cafe has gained enough submissions for me to start redrawing the publication schedule to be more frequent and receiving requests for a search field. These pieces of content, a key metric of diversity, external interest, and validation of the entire platform premise made their way to my inbox because I went and asked for them, and maybe, . made something that people want What’s your business model? Analog.Cafe is a passion project. As such, I feel it would be ridiculous to clutter the user experience and infringe privacies with ads. didn’t allow it on Medium, neither should I; as long as I have a runway. For now, I am working on building content worthy of attention, interest, participation, and support. Ev Williams I’ve mentioned this before, but I think it’s worth reinstating in this context as well: taking the time to create the right environment and a set of technical principles before writing any code makes an enormous impact on the future of a business. Because I’ve decided to build most of the solutions in-house with full control over the architecture I am able to pay less and focus on growth. Although this may not be the right strategy for everyone. What are your goals for the future? As proud as I may sound for building something that isn’t expensive to maintain, that too will change. As growth is happening faster than anticipated, there needs to be some thought put towards funding; I am still carefully considering the options. As for the fun stuff, a few planned enhancements are: inviting editors from the community, creating a more predictable and compelling publishing schedule, weekly software updates, and producing analytics reports for the contributors. What are the biggest challenges you’ve faced and obstacles you’ve overcome? If you had to start over, what would you do differently? Building a tech stack from the ground up to serve what practically is a custom blog has long-term advantages, but it’s also a major setback in terms of an ability to create content and interact with the audience. In retrospect, it probably would have been a better idea to involve more people in this project, focus on content and raise more money. New authors pay attention to the diversity of authorship — a clear signal to openness and acceptance of the publication. Analog.Cafe is meant for the film photography community, not just Dmitri. Should I have realized that earlier and worked harder on recruiting writers, rather than publishing my own, I’d have at least 3x the attention and participation on the website today. What’s your advice for entrepreneurs who are just starting out? There’s an abundance of knowledge on the internet, and answers to practically any questions that one may come across while building a product. But even if you know exactly what needs to be built, the choices going forward beyond technicalities are often uncertain. To make them smarter I highly recommend finding some guidance — and it has to be from a person or organization that you trust. Once you do find them, maybe after reading their answers on how to build certain tools or listening to their lecture online, consider taking a course that includes them or they have constructed. It’ll expand your expertise and give a better perspective on what could be done to build better products. For my creative and/or highly technical friends: keep an open mind. From the production chambers the chatter of business folks may sound like a complete waste of air; in many cases it is. But it would be a mistake to shun from that world, especially if you want to build something of your own. Where can we go to learn more? is the website; if you’ve dabbled in film photography or know anyone who has — head to and share it with your friends. We’re also on and , posting new photographs every single day. Analog.Cafe Analog.Cafe/Submit Twitter Instagram Of course, I would love to read your feedback, questions, or objections in the comments below. AMA! This interview is brought to you by , a tool to schedule and automatically repeat your posts on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Google My Business OneUp

Founder Interviews: Dmitri Tcherbadji of Analog.Cafe

One of the coolest things (and definitely the cutest) to come out of was , self-described as “a game centered around breedable, collectible, and oh-so-adorable creatures we call CryptoKitties!” ETHWaterloo CryptoKitties About a month ago, they launched a bounty on their smart contracts, and I thought I’d take a look. I found a few modest bugs (the code’s very well written) and in return they awarded me with this, my very own BugKitty: (I seriously laughed my head off when I saw what they’d designed. Well played, CryptoKitty team.) At around the same time, the game, and the value of these digital kitties, started taking off, with the one-of-a-kind ‘genesis cat’ — about $100,000 at the time. selling for nearly 250 ether That set me thinking about my own nearly-unique cat. He’s pretty awesome, but that sort of money can make a big impact. Coincidentally, my favorite charity of all time, , is doing its yearly charity drive. Worldbuilders is the creation of , who is not only an incredible author (seriously, go read ), but also a genuinely kind person. Worldbuilders runs a yearly charity lottery, stuffed with donations from sci-fi and fantasy authors, publishers and fans (along with lots of other cool stuff), and sends all their proceeds to . Worldbuilders bearded wonder Patrick Rothfuss his books Heifer International Heifer give livestock and training to disadvantaged families, to help them become self-sustaining. Here’s about the good they can do. Giving a heifer and the necessary training to care for her to a family costs about $500, but that gift can be enough to set an entire family on the road to supporting themselves and improving their conditions immeasurably. a good writeup on the Worldbuilders blog So, I listed my beloved BugCat up for auction, starting at a seemingly-insane 200 ether, and going down to 25 (CryptoKitties uses Dutch auctions, which reduce over time until someone buys them). One of the Ethereum founding team, Jeff, , and Thomas Clowes to commit to buying it if we could get enough retweets — 500 of them. expressed some interest promptly persuaded him And so , and you all retweeted. A few hours later, we hit 500 — and endless thanks to everyone who helped spread the word. By that point, Jeff was in bed, and as soon as it hit 500, I went to bed too. I tweeted Waking up in the morning, BugCat was sold — but not to Jeff. Someone by the name of ‘dimsim’ had in the night, for , making BugCat the second highest priced CryptoKitty sold so far. Did they learn about BugCat from all the retweets? We may never know. Jeff seems about this outcome. bought him 175 ether surprisingly okay 175 ether translates into after the auction house fees, and before exchange fees, and that’s a bit over $75,000 at today’s rates — or in Heifer terms, about 150 (analogue) cows. about 169.1 I’ve emailed Worldbuilders to sort out the best way of turning our Magic Internet Money into USD for the fundraiser, and I’ll post progress updates on Twitter. Please don’t forget that you can donate too — you’ll be helping a good cause, and getting a chance to win some excellent books and games in their lottery. If you , your donation will be tracked as coming from the Ethereum community. Leave your Ethereum address as a note, and I’ll send you a CryptoKitty (offer limited while stocks last). donate here Thank you to Jeff, CryptoKitties, Thomas Clowes, the pseudonymous ‘dimsim’, and all of you who helped retweet.

How to turn 1 digital cat into 150 analogue cows

I’ve been painting graffiti under bridges and in abandoned buildings since I was 15. I grew up in San Francisco when street art was booming. Inspired by the colors and aesthetic, I looked for ways to create art and taught myself to paint. I made an effort to meet artists where I lived and discovered online bulletin boards to share photos. As I got older, I discovered the graffiti communities on Flickr. As Tumblr grew, the community moved. As Instagram emerged, the community moved again. “Gift”, Photo collection from 2010–2012. https://www.flickr.com/photos/horsegoo/albums/72157628284619571/page2 In recent years, I haven’t had the same leeway to paint in public areas. There was a greater cultural acceptance of street art when I lived abroad. Since there was so much demolition, painting on walls was seen as beautification. When I moved back to the US, I started painting on larger canvases and eventually moved toward spray cans and paint brushes. Kawan’s sunset project. https://sunset-running.tumblr.com/ Based on a project by , I photoshopped the paintings with motion blur filters and modified the lighting effects. The result was a creative jumping off point for painting a digitally inspired physical painting. Kawandeep Virdee Last year, I started experimenting with how digitally manipulated images could inspire physical paintings. I began creating aesthetically beautiful images by taking classic paintings from the 18th and 19th century and running various photoshop filters over them. I found the color and contrast from these old paintings to be unmatched. Process for turning classic paintings into beautiful color muses. I took the digital pieces and used them as the inspiration for painting new pieces. I remixed the classical paintings on a computer and then painted the remixed image. The Ninth Wave hanging on my wall. http://blog.rememberlenny.com/post/140417243456/inspired-by-ivan-aivazovskys-1817-1900-painting I continued my interest in graffiti, again taking the digital space as a canvas. I spent a few months building out various software tools that I thought would be useful for graffiti artists. Eventually, having the large library (read millions) of paintings, I wanted to do something more than just browse them. Painting based on Ray Collin’s Seascape series painting after digitally manipulating the photo. http://blog.rememberlenny.com/post/140642976601/next-painting-based-on-ray-collins-seascape I started exploring different techniques around machine learning. I learned about the application of neural networks to do “Style Transfer”. This was the process of analyzing two images for the qualities that make the picture recognizable, then applying those qualities to another picture to “transfer the style”. The color, shapes, contrast, and various image features would be translated from one image and onto another. The most commonly recognized style transfer application is from Van Gogh’s “Starry Night” to any photograph. Example from a github repository that implements the Artistic Style Transfer algorithm using Torch. https://github.com/jcjohnson/neural-style Similar to the previous project of painting the digital Sunset images, I processed pictures using the Artistic Style Transfer algorithm and then painted them. Going back to the plethora of graffiti images I had collected, I took images of nature and then processed the style of interesting looking street art. The end result was an aesthetically interesting image that I couldn’t imagine creating from scratch. Process of creating the Artistic Style Transfer images. It’s been a few months since I’ve done anything with this technique of mixing images and painting them. I hope that the process depicted above can be a source of inspiration for other programer/painters who enjoy mixing the two practices. Final version of the digitally inspired painting. https://twitter.com/rememberlenny/status/825026441603592193 Below are a few examples of combining the street art images with photographs. Let me know if you enjoyed the post above! Thanks to for the grammatical review, for the ideas Edwin Morris Lam Thuy Vo

Digital processes inspiring analog paintings

On security as a spectrum, attack vectors, and how people who don’t understand security focus on the wrong things Credit to ibtimes.co.uk Imagine there’s a house you are trying to protect, with a large front door. What is the front door protecting, and who is it protecting these things from? Perhaps it’s in a rough area of town, and you went out of your way to purchase a triple deadbolt, upper- and lower-locks, and an alarm system. No matter what you do you’re mostly operating under the false pretense of . Any measure you take will only deter a specific subset of people, there’s no one thing you could do to fully protect your front door. No matter what, if someone was motivated enough, they’d find a way in. security Security is a spectrum. You know that your triple-deadbolt door will probably keep out a petty thief, but would it deter the fire department? A SWAT team? Probably not. If the party on the other end of it is determined enough and has enough resources, your door can be broken down. can be thought of as the same as your door, and your house as your public facing website/data/API. There is no one algorithm, one program, or one solution that will make you completely safe. There is simply no one right way. It’s all about the levels of risk that you want to assume. The question you need to answer is not: Cybersecurity Does this completely protect me? but instead should be: To what extent should someone have to go to access my information? This seems counter intuitive at first — most people will answer no one, or only a select few people they already know. This way of thinking is not applicable in security though — if simply wishing for something to be protected made it so, there would be no need for encryption, security, or protection in general. You must operate under the assumption that there will always be parties dedicated enough to get to your data. What level of risk are you alright with? If the NSA wants access to your data, there is (almost certainly*) nothing you can do about it. They do this for a living, day-in and day-out. Whether you choose to run with pbkdf2 for your password storage or unsalted-MD5, you’re asserting that you accept a level of risk. It’s not guaranteed that pbkdf2 will secure your users’ information — and even then, attackers will take the path of least resistance. *Yes, you can probably come up with a scenario in which you have some set of information that you could protect from the NSA. This article is assuming a publicly facing website/data set that has multiple attack vectors, not personal security/drives. An 8096-bit Truecrypt drive that is only connected to a local network, with keys stored entirely in memory is outside the realm of this article. Your “house” has multiple points of entry Imagine that your well protected house also has a back door leading to your backyard. This door is merely a screen door, with a wooden spring keeping it closed. Why would an attacker go through your front door, when they could go through the back door for a fraction of the effort? Security works in much the same way. Attackers, just like burglars in real life, will go through the path of least resistance. These various methods of entry are attack vectors. You can have a high-entropy, large-keyset password store that will deter many, but forgetting to close port 22 and leaving your root credentials at admin/admin for SSH renders that useless.. They were able to accomplish their end goal by going about it a completely different way. Just like the petty thief would just hop over your fence and go in the back door, inexperienced cyber criminals can get access to your data even if part of your system is extremely well defended. It is uncommon to create a system that has only one attack vector. Most complex business applications (especially those that embrace the 21st century, with the cloud, 2FA, live document syncing, backups, and more) will have hundreds of attack vectors. Each one of these can be seen as a door into your data — some admittedly less severe than others — but the analogy remains. You cannot only focus on hardening one entry point, you need to think about the wider scope and minimize the amount of entry points instead, making sure that they are all up to an acceptable level of risk. Now don’t take this to mean that you be hacked — rather, it means that there will always be someone out there with the ability to hack your system. You just have to decide what level of security your data warrants, and what level of risk you find acceptable. will More to Security There’s a lot more to security than is mentioned here, but step 1 is always to have the right frame of mind when approaching the topic. It’s nearly impossible to have a complete understanding of your security system if you are still focused on completely securing your system against everyone — it’s a naive point of view that has been consistently proved wrong, usually at the expense of your users data. Author Note: This was meant as a fairly basic introduction to security through an easy to understand analogy. It’s primarily focused towards those not in the security field, and takes a lot of simplifications and abstractions. Any questions, corrections, or concerns can be addressed to jdecaro@usc.edu

Security as a Spectrum: An Intro Through Analogy

People use analogies to try and describe how new tools and complex systems work. Email was sold to many as “electronic letters” and Skype as “internet telephone”, even though both of those software systems have nothing to do with paper letters and how they were written, posted, paid for, sorted and delivered (in the email case) and how telephone calls were made in the case of Skype. Now we have a new tool, Bitcoin, which men are having a hard time categorising so that it can be understood by consumers who know nothing about software and the true nature of money. This has led to many perception problems, as each person brings their own ideas to Bitcoin. Entrepreneurs have the biggest problem of all, because they are trying to sell a service with the software, so their need to find a good analogy that fits has many consequences for adoption of their product. As you may know, Bitcoin has characteristics that currently make it suitable for a class of transactions. Note how I do not say that Bitcoin has ; the people who say that are trying to use Bitcoin inside a mental model that creates analogies like, “Bitcoin is digital cash”. Which it …but I've written about that before. limitations can be The analogy in question goes like this: “Bitcoin with one meg blocks is like a highway with one lane” That analogy is completely wrong, because it assumes that Bitcoin is like a car on a motorway (what Americans call a “highway”) when it is more like a train on rails. British Rail High Speed Train near Chesterfield Trains travel , have , with a , and . Lets think about this. on fixed rails set ticket prices carriages fixed number of seats fixed schedules Train departure display at Paddington Station, London. Trains to Twyford, Bristol Temple Meads, and Penzance. Platforms 14, 2 and 4. You know when the train (The Blocks with a fixed size) is leaving, you know when (The Schedule) it will arrive with your goods (your transaction) or with you the passenger. A “Single Day Return” British Rail ticket, Bognor Regis to Norbiton (not London), Printed 09:19, 2nd November 2005 Price £19.50, valid on one day only, Ticket Number 13303. You know how much it costs to ride, either in first class or standard fare (The Fee). Time table 23, circa 1962. Edinburg (Waverley), Peebles, Galashiels, Haywick, Langholm and Carlisle, showing all times, carriages and stops. You know the best time to catch a train in advance (The Congestion), because the schedule is published (The Blockchain), and you can rely on the people who run the service that it will perform exactly as specified (The Miners). And the internet is The Rails. Trains are a much better analogy for Bitcoin. Bitcoin takes a set amount of time (more or less, depending if you are in rush hour) to process a transaction. There is a fixed set of rails it runs on, and a set of more or less fixed prices to ride. British Rail Inter City 125 interior, circa 1980. The number of carriages with a set number of seats is also fixed, and that is the block size. No one expects extra capacity to be laid on in a train system (sufferers of British Rail on the Paddington to Cornwall route know ) they understand that the British Rail networks is a system with a fixed capacity, and that if they want a seat, they need to book one in advance or pay to travel First Class. Lets take, by analogy, the idea of increasing the British Rail network’s capacity on this notorious Paddington to Cornwall line. No one who is serious talks flippantly or casually about “increasing the train length”. what that is like Anyone familiar with how train systems work knows that increasing the train length to increase passenger capacity has serious repercussions and side effects and is not a simple and easy fix. First of all the platforms on the British Rail network are all of a set length, and passengers getting on and off of a train cannot be accommodated without increasing the platform length along the entire system. The Euro Star system, being designed all at once for a target capacity, has platforms that are suitable for its coaches. The British Rail system on the other hand is very old, and is a rickety patchwork of ancient short stations and old rails. Many times when you are on an InterCity 125 train, the manager will say, . This is exactly like saying, “If you want your Bitcoin transaction to clear quickly, you need to use a slightly higher fee”. “If you are leaving us at Castle Cary, please note that you will only be able to leave the train from coaches three, four and five as the platform is short” Increasing the block size alone will not produce a Bitcoin that can handle more transactions per second without side effects, and once again, the need for this increase ; it is only people who see Bitcoin as a rival to PayPal who characterise this capacity feature as a problem. is not universal Unlike the real world consumer railways, Bitcoin is software you can set up yourself. You can have your own Bitcoin network, like a model railway set Insert insult here. and design it to do whatever you like. You can build a massive, accurate miniature rail network, that has no empty rails on it and nothing but trains, or a network with only an engine on it, with miles of track. Its your personal world, where you can do whatever you like. In the world however, Bitcoin does not conform to any single person’s idea of what its true purpose is. It has some specific characteristics that make it unique, mainly that it is decentralized and safe from the control of the State. This single feature is, to many, its greatest attribute. It is trivial to set up a MySQL database money simulation that can out perform PayPal. It is not so easy to design and , which is a hard problem that took the finest software minds decades to solve. real run Bitcoin Whatever anyone thinks of Bitcoin, they are free to use it or to decline to use it. What they cannot do is superimpose their ideas by force on everyone else who uses the network in its correct function. There is no argument that anyone will accept to cause them to abandon Bitcoin’s central proposition, and as I said before, if you want a PayPal 2.0, you have MySQL to power it and you don’t need Bitcoin. Lentil soup, fresh bread, fresh unsalted butter. ↴

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