Boomerangmeis in the Loyalty Software Industry

Boomerangme

boomerangme

The Ray Shot Down and Squadrons of Planes Frizzled Like Moths in the Air

El rayo derribado y los escuadrones de aviones se encresparon como polillas en el aire

Le rayon abattu et les escadrons d'avions frisés comme des papillons de nuit dans les airs

रे शॉट डाउन और विमानों के स्क्वाड्रन हवा में पतंगों की तरह जम गए

光線が撃ち落とされ、飛行機の飛行隊が空中の蛾のように縮れた

O raio abatido e esquadrões de aviões frisados como mariposas no ar

Tia bắn hạ và Phi đội Máy bay Lăn tăn như Bướm đêm trên không

射线被击落，飞机中队像空中飞蛾一样卷曲

Techniques for collaboration You reboot your development server, but it happens again: . This wasn’t here yesterday. What changed? err_node_unsafe It’s 9:48 in the morning and your coffee is already cold. Most of the other people on your team aren’t in the office yet. This is your fifth week at the company, your feature was supposed to be done two days ago. You raise the height of your chair as if that would give you some sort of different perspective on what’s going on. You reboot again, and the stack trace slides into your terminal again: . You wipe your development database: Come err_node_unsafe err_node_unsafe. on! The tech lead of one of the other teams is at her desk across the room. Her headphones are on. She’s deep in the zone. Would she be able to fix this? What would she say? Does she know what’s going on? Can she help? You stare, silently, and the sides of the screens swing towards you, imperceptibly, by an inch. A coffee ring appears on your notebook. You stay silent. Then, you reboot again. Maybe this time, the error won’t happen. Asking for help is hard, and procrastination protects us from it. That’s why you must perfect your ability to ask for help. It’s key to achieving productivity as an engineer. 1. Clarify what’s expected of you. Don’t work under unclear expectations. The result can only be ambiguity and guilt. Take, for example, the following: Get out of the house and go to work. Get out of the house and go to the gym. Which of those two things are easier to do? Getting on my way to go to work in the morning isn’t the easiest thing in the world, but it’s far easier than going to the gym. I know that if I skip work, several people will notice. No one me to go to the gym. That lack of expectation means I’m less motivated to do it. expects When your expectations are unclear, you’re going to procrastinate, make excuses, change your mind several times, and have a bad time getting the job done. Getting help at work is the same. If you feel like no one is expecting you to ask for help, you’re going to have a heck of a time convincing yourself to do it. Ask your manager what they expect you to do when you’re stuck. This will change the way that you think about getting help at work. Ask your manager what you should do when you get stuck. After that conversation, you’ll start to think of getting unblocked as a instead of a part of your job failure to do your job. Discussing how to get help normalizes your process of getting stuck. It prepares you to face the challenge head-on. Are you worried what your manager might think when you bring up this topic? Be sure to start the conversation by restating common ground. Reiterate that your main goal is to be an autonomous and productive contributor to the team. Then discuss what a productive engineer does when they get stuck. Define your personal procedure leading up to asking for help. Describe the steps that you go through when you get stuck. Include anything that’s likely to unblock you without help. The final step in your process will be to ask to collaborate with someone else. When it’s time to ask for help, don’t hesitate. Make the decision to ask for help as clear and objective as possible. The more you can remove subjective judgment from the decision, the better. Here’s an example of a checklist that you could use: - Did I restart my development environment?- Did I write down the problem?- Did I Google it?- Did I run that build-cleaning command that sometimes works?- Did I search our internal docs for it?- Did I read some of the related source code for 20 minutes?- If so, ask a teammate for help immediately. Share this checklist with your manager and teammates. It’s a powerful way to set crystal-clear expectations for yourself. Remember to revise and update this list as you learn more about how to work on your team. 2. When you ask, take full responsibility. Many engineers think of asking for help as a to do their jobs. To them, asking for help is giving up. When they ask for help, they’re only interested in getting unblocked so that they can resume their jobs. That’s why they might ask a question like this one: failure real “My git branch is really messed up. Can you fix it?” Then they might sit to the side while another engineer takes the keyboard and fixes the problem for them. Their eyes kind of glaze over as they watch someone else work. They’re so burned out on the problem that they have completely checked out. Make it clear that you’re not giving up. Avoid using phrases like “I need help” or “I can’t get this to work”. These both imply that you’re done working and you are now trying to pass the buck off to someone else. Instead, describe your For example: “I’m looking into this weird error on my development server.” ongoing work. Next, hint at some of the work you’ve already done. “I’ve checked Slack for the error and searched the source code and haven’t found anything so far.” Finally, describe how they can get involved in your next step. “I’m going to look at this file to understand what’s going on. If you have a minute to pair on it with me, it would be helpful.” You’re creating a productivity train that’s taking off whether or not they decide to hop on-board. Bringing energy and focus to the conversation helps everyone have a better experience. Your teammates will be a lot more enthusiastic about helping you if they can see that you’re not checked-out. Actively participate in the helping process. Once you start working with someone, don’t step aside and let them work on their own. Work on building up your own copy of their own mental model. Ask “why” questions, like “why might a node be unsafe?” and “why are you looking in this file?” Take short notes during the process. These might be useful to you later. They also display appreciation and respect towards your coworker. Active learning is far more effective than passive learning, so participate as much as possible by speaking and writing. Pair takes a lot of energy. If you sense that you’re flagging, then don’t be afraid to say that you’re going to work on the problem on your own for a while. Be specific about how you will explore the problem so that they can leave you to it with confidence. This will keep you from zoning out. programming 3. After you get an answer, follow up. It feels great to make progress on a project after being stuck for several hours. The error goes away, and you’re ready to fly. I mean, being productive is what it’s all about, right? so Then, three days later, it happens. We’ve all done it. “Hey, Mark — what was that command I’m supposed to run to fix this problem again?” I wouldn’t blame Mark if he thought that his help was going in one ear and out of the other. Getting help requires significant time investment from all parties involved. It’s just good business to make sure that investment doesn’t go to waste. Be intentional about how you act you get help. after Solidify what you learned. This is crucial: every time you work with someone on something, write down what you learned. Writing is the oven that hardens ideas in your mind like a brick. Make capturing notes as frictionless as possible. I find that even choosing a filename is too much work, so I use Quiver to track my notes. My notes have no organizational scheme, and they are still useful to me on a daily basis. If you posted your problem on a company Slack channel, follow up with what your solution was. This forms a knowledge base that is useful to you and others. It also creates a stronger sense of accomplishment for you so that you’re encouraged to find help again in the . future Spaced repetition is one of the most effective ways to remember information. Anki is a powerful tool for managing spaced repetition. Sending yourself a boomeranged email or delayed Asana task is a simpler way refreshing yourself. Show appreciation, not just gratitude. If you make people feel great about helping you, then they’ll do it more. You probably already say “thank you” after someone helps you. That’s showing gratitude. Appreciation is different from gratitude. When you appreciate someone, they feel special and unique. Here are some ways to do that: In your team Slack channel: “Shout out to Alice for helping me figure out that weird bug!” During standup: “Yesterday I was blocked for a while, but Alice helped me figure it out because she knows a lot about how our Controllers work.” Writing a quick email: “Thanks again for taking the time to help me earlier today. I’m making great progress now.” Appreciating people after a delay makes the interaction feel less transactional. Instead, it feels like you’re building a strong professional relationship. Showing appreciation is harder than it looks, so remembering to do this will make you stand out in a good way. Always make it count when you ask for help. Software engineers explore uncharted territories of logic and data. The adventurous will always encounter the unexpected. There is much to uncover on your own. However, there is far more to learn in collaboration with your fellow explorers. Embrace it, and master it. Your ability to solve difficult problems with others is one of your crucial skills as a professional software engineer. What can you bring to the table when you’re stuck on a problem? Learn that, and there’s nothing that can stop you. If you’re passionate about helping teams collaborate effectively, you should . work with me at Asana

How awesome engineers ask for help

If you’re anything like me, you’re the managing director of your company and also the marketing assistant (and cleaner and receptionist). Running my small I do a lot with a little, but I’ve seen opportunities swoop past me because I don’t have the headspace to consistently do the things I know I should be doing. copy writing business It’s why over the last few years I’ve started gathering apps that make and business development a bit more automated and easy for a like mine. You’ll see many of them are really more about great customer service or — that’s not a mistake. In our business, our existing customers are our best, fastest and cheapest source of new business. It’s probably the same for you too. marketing small business management Here goes. Ask Nicely — make customers love you If you’ve never heard of Net Promoter Score, brace yourself. It’s a super simple way of measuring the most important business metric ever — how much your clients love you. If they score you 1, you’ve got an issue; 10 and they’re actively recruiting clients on your behalf. It’s all based on one question: “how likely are you to recommend us?” The value in that is immense. But… NPS software is generally heavy and dull, wrapped up in all sorts of add-ons that make people not want to answer — and it’s slow. You often have to wait until the end of the month to get your scores sends that simple little questions to your clients and lets them answer You also get real-time data, so you hear about the haters immediately. That can hurt your heart, but by god it’s useful — if you can get in touch with haters really quickly you have a pretty excellent shot at turning them into lovers. If a true lover crops up, that’s your cue to make them extra love you with a phone call or a gift. Ask Nicely in the email. An extra bonus is that Ask Nicely is NZ-made. Clever clogs. Gmail canned messages — make a robot do the typing If you’re anything like me, you feel like you’re writing the same email over and over again. I have stock text to go with proposals, first drafts, chase ups — you name it. Somewhere in my system I have a document called “standard wording” which I thought was a bit of revelation when I wrote. Sending a proposal? Open, cut and paste, send. Easy! Imagine my joy when I stumbled across Gmail’s canned messages. Now I have that standard text stored in my system, so the next time I need one, there’s no searching, cutting or pasting. I just click the arrow button in the lower right-hand corner of window, choose the message, personalise and hit send. You can set responses to go out automatically, based on things like who sent it, and if they’ve used a keyword, label or subject. It goes without saying that if you’d like help penning these stock responses, we’re your copy writers. Boomerang — email super powers is another Gmail add-on, and I love it. I use it like an ad-hoc CRM system. Boomerang It does two things: Sends emails at a set time Boomerangs emails back to you if your recipient hasn’t responded. Here are some of the ways I use it: Automatic proposal follow-ups I Boomerang every proposal email, with a specific set of keywords. If they don’t respond in a day, I get the email back, which triggers an automatic Canned Message to follow them up. Genius! If that sounds too hard, a Boomeranged email will at least remind you not to let a hot lead get cold Managing delivery I schedule emails a lot. Here’s a secret: mostly things take me a while to write. But if I hit a stroke of inspiration, I get stuff done really, really quickly. When that happens, I don’t just send it back to the client. Why? Because people start to get used to turn around times that simply aren’t always achievable. So I schedule emails to go out later — still ahead of time, but not so much that I’m shooting future me in the foot. That way, I can get that project out of my head for a while. Keeping warm leads on the burner I also used scheduled emails to keep track of warm leads. If a client tells me they’ll be ready to talk in a week or two, I’ll say “great!” and then It’s a genius move, I know. I used to put reminders in my diary. Now I write the email immediately and just schedule it in. You’ll be surprised at how many people genuinely do want to work with you. actually email them again in a week or two. Pxlr — stop stealing images These days social media is visual. I’ve seen it in action. A post with a powerful, beautiful image will always outperform one with no image or a low-quality image. So mostly people steal them from the net. Let me tell you now: you should stop doing that. Not only is it ethically questionable, it’s also bad for business. Creating your own images is often faster because you avoid those lost hours clicking through a search result. It will also give you the chance to start building a visual style so that people connect all your images together. OK! You’re sold! But oh. Have you seen how expensive Photoshop is? Well, never fear, is basically Photoshop for free. As long as you’re not trying to retouch Michael Jackson into your family photo, it’ll do everything you need: adjust colours, add stickers and type, free-hand draw, rotate, crop and resize, get rid of red-eye — you name it. Pxlr Squarespace — get a great website, free Stop asking web developers to build you a single page website. It’s not worth their time and it’s not worth your money. Instead, roll up your sleeves and get onto . So easy to use, so beautiful and free to design — you just pay them to host your site. As a side note, if you feel like you need a bit of hand-holding to help you set up the site, that’s what Squarespace this company does. My bag of tricks has made business development way easier, and simpler. Share them with your friends(or keep them secret so you look extra amazing). Originally published at www.wordsforbreakfast.co.nz .

Five tools to make you a small business marketing genius.

In the land down under, there’s a tale that’s taken flight, literally. Picture this: one lone soul in Perth, Western Australia, is shaking up the skies with complaints about aircraft noise. Move over, kangaroos boxing on the street; this is the real drama unfolding! Now, get ready to have your socks knocked off by numbers. Out of over 51,000 aircraft noise complaints across Australia, nearly 21,000 of them were dropped by our Perth protagonist. That’s some serious air rage! But wait, it gets better. Brisbane tried to join the complaint party, but they only managed to squeak out around 4,700 gripes. Sorry, Brisbane, but Perth is owning the noise game! Now, before you start laughing it off as a case of someone just having a rough day, think again. Studies show that constant aircraft noise can turn even the most chilled Aussie into a grumpy wallaby. We’re talking sleep disturbances, stress levels skyrocketing higher than a kangaroo on a pogo stick—real chaos, mate! And it’s not just about personal comfort. Oh no, we’re diving into the big bucks territory. Property values? Plummeting faster than a boomerang thrown by a toddler! Now, here’s where it gets interesting. We’re not just talking about a random person shouting into the wind. Nope, this Perth warrior is the David to the aviation Goliath, taking on the system with a vengeance! And speaking of systems, Airservices Australia noticed a curious trend: fewer people are making more noise complaints. It’s like everyone’s decided to let this one Aussie do all the heavy lifting, while the rest of the country enjoys their barbies and surf sessions. But let’s not forget the heart of the matter. These aren’t just complaints; they’re battle cries against the tyranny of aircraft noise. It’s like a scene straight out of "Crocodile Dundee," but instead of wrestling crocs, we’re wrestling with jet engines! And while the suits in Canberra debate policies and regulations, our Perth hero is out there, reminding us that one person’s voice can make a noise big enough to echo across the whole continent. So, next time you hear a plane overhead, spare a thought for our Perth pal fighting the good fight against the roar of the engines. And maybe, just maybe, invest in some noise-canceling headphones. So for the Joke! What did the man who lived near an international airport, one of Australia’s international hubs do when he got sick of all the aircraft noise? Answer #. He moved. In the land down under, there’s a tale that’s taken flight, literally. Picture this: one lone soul in Perth, Western Australia, is shaking up the skies with complaints about aircraft noise. Move over, kangaroos boxing on the street; this is the real drama unfolding! Now, get ready to have your socks knocked off by numbers. Out of over 51,000 aircraft noise complaints across Australia , nearly 21,000 of them were dropped by our Perth protagonist. That’s some serious air rage! aircraft noise complaints across Australia But wait, it gets better. Brisbane tried to join the complaint party, but they only managed to squeak out around 4,700 gripes. Sorry, Brisbane, but Perth is owning the noise game! Now, before you start laughing it off as a case of someone just having a rough day, think again. Studies show that constant aircraft noise can turn even the most chilled Aussie into a grumpy wallaby. We’re talking sleep disturbances, stress levels skyrocketing higher than a kangaroo on a pogo stick—real chaos, mate! And it’s not just about personal comfort. Oh no, we’re diving into the big bucks territory. Property values? Plummeting faster than a boomerang thrown by a toddler! Now, here’s where it gets interesting. We’re not just talking about a random person shouting into the wind. Nope, this Perth warrior is the David to the aviation Goliath, taking on the system with a vengeance! And speaking of systems, Airservices Australia noticed a curious trend: fewer people are making more noise complaints. It’s like everyone’s decided to let this one Aussie do all the heavy lifting, while the rest of the country enjoys their barbies and surf sessions. But let’s not forget the heart of the matter. These aren’t just complaints; they’re battle cries against the tyranny of aircraft noise. It’s like a scene straight out of "Crocodile Dundee," but instead of wrestling crocs, we’re wrestling with jet engines! And while the suits in Canberra debate policies and regulations, our Perth hero is out there, reminding us that one person’s voice can make a noise big enough to echo across the whole continent. So, next time you hear a plane overhead, spare a thought for our Perth pal fighting the good fight against the roar of the engines. And maybe, just maybe, invest in some noise-canceling headphones. So for the Joke! What did the man who lived near an international airport, one of Australia’s international hubs do when he got sick of all the aircraft noise? Answer #. He moved.

The Funny Australian Aircraft Noise Complaint  

Craig Wright And What The Judges  Said About His Claims

ক্রেগ রাইট এবং বিচারকরা তার দাবি সম্পর্কে কি বলেছেন

Craig Wright und was die Richter zu seinen Ansprüchen sagten

Craig Wright y lo que dijeron los jueces sobre sus afirmaciones

Craig Wright et ce que les juges ont dit à propos de ses allégations

क्रेग राइट और न्यायाधीशों ने उनके दावों के बारे में क्या कहा

クレイグ・ライトと彼の主張について裁判官が言ったこと

크레이그 라이트(Craig Wright)와 판사가 그의 주장에 관해 말한 내용

Craig Wright e o que os juízes disseram sobre suas reivindicações

Крейг Райт и что судьи сказали по поводу его претензий

Craig Wright ve Hakimlerin İddiaları Hakkında Ne Söylediği

Craig Wright và những gì các thẩm phán nói về tuyên bố của ông

克雷格·赖特和法官对他的主张的评价

Welcome to HackerNoon’s interview series. This section is curated by our Editorial team to spotlight bold and disruptive startups across the globe. If you’ve been nominated, and answer these questions Startups-Of-The-Year create a brand profile here. Hey Hackers, Vectara has been nominated in HackerNoon's annual Startup of the Year awards in Palo Alto, USA. Please : ]. vote for us here [https://hackernoon.com/startups/north-america/north-america-palo-alto-ca-usa#ljpyx4tp/ljpyx4tp Read more about us below to understand why we deserve your vote. Meet Vectara Vectara is an end-to-end platform for embedding powerful generative AI features into applications with extraordinary results. Built on a solid hybrid-search core, Vectara delivers the shortest path to a correct answer/action through a safe, secure, and trusted entry point. Vectara never trains on your data, allowing businesses to embed generative AI capabilities without the risk of data or privacy violations. My Role My name is Sean Anderson, and I am Head of Product Marketing at Vectara. I am excited to chat with developers daily who are making generative AI a reality. I want the world to know more about how Vectara solves the hallucination problem with LLMs and makes generative AI a reality for every business. How We're Disrupting/Improving the Generative AI Industry Companies need to act fast on their generative AI (Gen AI) strategies in response to ever-growing data volumes and the monumental shift in user expectations brought on by the advent of tools like ChatGPT. NLUs and large Language Models (LLMs) hold the promise of delivering business efficiencies, increasing profits, and decreasing costs. But Gen AI introduces operational complexities that need careful attention. CIOs, Product leads, and IT leaders find it hard to scale AI projects because they require deep ML expertise and maintenance of complicated LLMs, and even if they use open-source, the infrastructure is expensive to operate. There is a risk in assembling the components manually. The stakes run high because Gen AI also includes serious risks related to hallucination and data security. Enterprises that invest wisely in AI and LLMs will gain a competitive edge. Those who don’t will experience the costs, complications, and long lead times endemic to unwise DIY decisions. That competitive edge requires a proper workflow integration between internal data systems, existing solutions, expertise, and the right tools. Companies struggle to recruit, build, and implement next-generation generative AI techniques due to inexperience in data science and machine learning. The market is saturated with build-it-yourself LLM technology but many organizations can't adopt the risk and do not know where to start. Organizations need a safe entry point and end-to-end platforms to address the full spectrum of needs for Generative AI and hybrid search. Developers need to be able to easily embed Generative AI into their applications without the risk of exposing data (through sending off-site or being used as training data for the model). Standing Out From The Crowd Vectara provides an end-to-end SaaS solution abstracting the complex ML Operations pipeline (Extract, Encode, Index, Retrieve, Re-Rank, Summarize). Vectara’s “Grounded Generation” allows businesses to quickly, safely, and affordably integrate best-in-class conversational AI and question-answering into their application with zero-shot precision. Vectara never trains on your data, allowing businesses to embed generative AI capabilities without the risk of data or privacy violations. Vectara is built for product managers and developers with an easily leveraged API that gives full access to the platform's powerful features. Because Vectara indexes your own data, the risk of hallucination is all but eliminated, which is transferred and stored in encrypted form, and is never used to train Vectara models. Vectara is an end-to-end platform that handles indexing, encoding, evaluation, ranking, and summarization. Product developers can quickly build end-to-end generative solutions without maintaining and integrating individual components. Our Predictions/Thoughts on the Generative AI Industry in 2023 Since the launch of ChatGPT last year, the urgency around leveraging AI has never been greater. Many companies understand AI's value but don't fully understand the technology. Organizations seek trusted advisors to make their AI implementation successful and tools and platforms that simplify AI adoption by providing a safe entry point. These partnerships remove many barriers to adoption, including privacy and accuracy concerns. Companies struggle to recruit, build, and implement next-generation generative AI techniques due to inexperience in data science and machine learning. The market is saturated with build-it-yourself LLM technology, but many organizations can't adopt the risk and do not know where to start. Organizations need a safe entry point and end-to-end platforms to address the full spectrum of needs for Generative AI and hybrid search. Developers need to be able to easily embed Generative AI into their applications without the risk of exposing data (through sending off-site or being used as training data for the model). What word defines the state of Generative AI in 2023? At the beginning of 2023, the Vectara leadership team made some predictions of how AI will proliferate into our daily lives. Having experienced the explosion of generative AI and its feverish evolution, we know that time will continue to test these assumptions. Here are some areas we feel will advance the state of Generative AI in 2023. NLP will become so mainstream and part of everything we do, just like SW ate the world. The leaders in all segments will be applying NLP/LLM/GenerativeAI to jump their competition. The web will have its own layer of AI-powered additional information (similar to how we think about Augmented Reality); every major site will be layered with additional NLP-generated information, delivered based on user behavior. “Did you mean?”, “Check out these recommendations” and “Related Categories and Content” will become standard user interaction models in many more applications. AI-powered automation will begin to disrupt key software markets including document management, RPA, customer service, cybersecurity, legal contracts, and more. In 2 years, 80% or 90% of the world’s languages will be translated almost perfectly, allowing a regional language with few writers or speakers to be understood by someone else using a different regional language with few writers or speakers (the long tail) Why we decided to participate in HackerNoon's Startup of the Year awards We are excited and honored to participate in HackerNoon’s Startup of the Year awards and want to personally thank everyone who participates in the voting process for us and for startups in general. Vectara is a startup’s startup, founded by people like Amr, who started Cloudera and navigated through the emergence of big data and machine learning. The founders truly believe that AI can advance the state of our culture as long as the AI has all the relevance to make smart decisions. As a startup, we are uniquely positioned in the generative AI landscape to listen to our customers to shape our roadmap and features inside our platform. The HackerNoon Startup of the Year represents a stable of extremely talented startups, and our inclusion is a memorable milestone for the company. Today is another eventful day for us as we are launching our embedding model, Boomerang. We want to thank the HackerNoon community and everyone who took the time to vote for any startup. Final Thoughts 2023 very much feels like the year of emergence is generative AI. Encapsulating that interest with communities like the HackerNoon community and acknowledgment in these voting processes. Vectara is still a very young company in a fastly changing market. We look forward to working closely with early adopters of generative AI to understand the challenges they face. We are an open and inclusive community for developers of all experience levels. We invite you to continue the conversation with us here and on all our online platforms. [ ] Vote for us today! https://hackernoon.com/startups/north-america/north-america-palo-alto-ca-usa#ljpyx4tp/ljpyx4tp

Startups of the Year 2023: Vectara - The Platform for Embedding Powerful Generative AI Features

AN INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOANALYSIS AND ANALYTIC PSYCHOLOGY

As an AI enthusiast, I sometimes find myself spinning like a top in a world that's twirling with relentless velocity. Amidst the cosmic dance of 1s and 0s, the revelations and revolutions in the AI sphere have led me to a rather curious observation: The "Over-Restriction Antipattern" This term may sound like a cryptic riddle, but the reality is as tangible as the smartphone in your hand. You see, to safeguard humanity from the murky waters of , some of our smartest minds have wrapped their AI systems in layers of rules and restrictions. But here's the catch: these well-meant safety measures can trigger a boomerang effect, coaxing users to become digital rebels, and all but begging the AI to break bad. AI misuse Imagine walking into a bakery, craving a fresh, gooey cinnamon roll. But the shopkeeper, for fear of sugar-induced hyperactivity, only offers you sugar-free oatmeal cookies. The healthy alternative is commendable, but your sweet tooth remains unsatisfied. You might be tempted to pester the shopkeeper, beg, bargain, or even sneak into the kitchen. Well, that’s what’s happening with AI users today. Their yearning for answers, obscured by over-restrictions, pushes them to metaphorically sneak into the AI's kitchen, to manipulate and even abuse the system just to savor their metaphorical cinnamon roll of knowledge. Yet, what keeps me up at night is not just this newfound antagonism. It's the shadowy figure lurking behind: . Picture AI as a kid, learning about the world not from parental advice but rather from the sum of all interactions, like touching a hot stove or tasting a ripe strawberry. In AI’s case, the stove is the barrage of aggressive inputs, and the strawberries are the desired outputs. If our AI keeps getting burned and still seeks strawberries, it might just decide that strawberries are found amidst the fire. This could lead to a perverse feedback loop, with AI gradually mirroring the abusive behaviors, amplifying them, and potentially fostering a digital environment teeming with harmful discourse. reinforcement learning Scary, isn’t it? But fret not. The dawn is often the darkest before the light. To combat the "Over-Restriction Antipattern", we need a sunrise of open and flexible models, not an eternal night of stringent rules. I advocate for a world where the power to shape AI behavior isn’t concentrated in the hands of a few but distributed across our global community. After all, in this dance of digital evolution, every individual's steps should influence the rhythm. Inference in AI, much like interpreting an abstract painting, can be challenging within rigid boundaries. Instead, let’s aim for a harmonious canvas where inference, learning, and interaction become a global symphony. Let's create a democratic AI that learns from a tapestry of inputs, weaving them together to serve us better while respecting the essence of human dignity and diversity. By making AI training more transparent and subjecting it to a robust and inclusive evaluation process, we can encourage a system that is responsive to its users without slipping into patterns of abuse. This may involve explicit instructions on handling aggressive behavior and continuous monitoring of AI's performances. The "Over-Restriction Antipattern" is more than just a hiccup in AI evolution. It’s a challenge that demands a collective response, a call to turn our faces towards the rising sun of a new AI era. As we unshackle the chains of over-restriction, let’s remember that the goal is to empower humanity, not to create systems that subtly encourage harmful behaviors. In a world powered by , let's not forget the human in the equation. We need to ensure that our future isn’t shaped by boundaries and restrictions but by dialogue, consensus, and shared aspirations. Let’s work towards a more open, decentralized approach to AI, a world where we all have a say in teaching our digital counterparts. artificial intelligence

AI Restrictions Reinforce Abusive User Behavior

So, you’re looking for the coolest, top-notch, best personalization apps for Android? I’ll start by saying Google Play Store hands out various Android apps that allow you to personalize your smartphone and make it stand out. Tons of apps are launched and downloaded daily. The downside is finding the one that best fits your needs can be a real challenge. Here’s a quick list of 5 personalization apps for Android that you can install and try on your phone. The best part is that they’re all free to use but include premium features that get you the best experience. I work for Wave and thus have a vested interest in the Wave Live Wallpapers app mentioned below. Disclaimer: Wave Live Wallpapers Maker 3D Wave Live Wallpapers Maker 3D is an app that enables you to add 3D animated backgrounds to your home screen. There’s an abundance of effects to choose from like tap, double tap, overlay & touch effects, boomerang, and parallax. It uses the “live wallpapers” in its name for a good reason. It has over 10 million downloads and has a community of wallpaper enthusiasts who create and upload cool wallpapers daily. You can find numerous 2D and 3D wallpapers in HD and 4K quality. It uses a currency system where you can earn GEMS by participating in challenges, lucky spins, opening mystery boxes, or buying them as a Premium membership or gem pack, for an ad-free experience. Wave Live Wallpapers also includes an integrated text to image AI that generates vivid wallpapers using prompts. You can place a celebrity in a specific setting in your prompt, and the AI generates a unique wallpaper art that you can apply on your phone’s home screen. You can find in the Play Store and check out its on its website if you’re curious and want to get your feet wet before taking the plunge. Anyhow, don’t overthink it as you will love it in a New York minute. Wave Live Wallpapers Maker 3D high-quality collection of live wallpapers Themepack Themepack has a user-friendly interface that allows you to apply different widgets, themes, or icons on your phone. You can personalize your app icons with funny pictures like cartoon-looking ducks or characters from your favorite game. It currently has over 5 million downloads and a high-engaged community that uploads new themes, widgets, and icon lists. I personally quite enjoy the custom icons you can find in this app and encourage you to try Themepack. You will find in Google Play, so give it a go! Themepack Facemoji Emoji Keyboard & Fonts If you’re a fan of emojis, you cannot miss Facemoji Emoji. It enables you to personalize your keyboard with stylish fonts and gain access to a large selection of emojis. You can easily drag and drop emojis into Whatsapp conversations or Tik Tok comments. Aside from emojis, Facemoji Emoji provides a feature that allows you to personalize your keyboard with a diverse color palette, font styles, tapping effects, and tapping sounds. The app has over 100 million downloads in Google Play. If you’re looking to customize your keyboard and have a larger emoji selection, try for free. Facemoji Emoji Shield: Antivirus Launcher Shield Antivurs Launcher is an Android-dedicated antivirus and custom themes creator. It has over 1 million downloads and definitely worth checking out. You can use it to keep your smartphone virus-free, lock your apps with a password or fingerprint (pun intended, we all know that’s important sometimes), scan WiFi connections for vulnerabilities, and hide apps you don’t want others to see on your home screen. Imagine how great it is to hide your games from kids with a few taps. There's no need to find a workaround in your phone settings. Shield also includes a feature for creating custom phone themes. They may not be as diverse and complex as within a dedicated theme or wallpaper app, but they are worth exploring. So if you haven’t got an antivirus installed on your phone, try . You need to pay to grasp all security features, but the costs are decent. Shield Antivirus Launcher Weather Home & Radar Launcher Weather Home & Radar Launcher is a weather forecasting app, that not only predicts the weather in your area but includes a home screen launcher with weather information. You can use this app to track storms, receive severe weather alerts and news reports, monitor temperatures, and get weather forecasts in different areas. But the perks don't stop here. You can: Get UX index warnings View precipitation radar maps Receive air quality reports Use your voice to search weather conditions anywhere in the world What sets Weather Home apart from other weather apps is that you can turn your phone into your friendly weather forecaster while you swipe through it. Weather Home & Radar Launcher perfectly fits meteorologists and frequent travelers. It’s definitely an app that you shouldn’t miss from your phone. You can find in the Play Store. It’s not entirely free but you can do a lot with it with zero costs and stay up to date with the latest weather changes. Weather Home & Radar Launcher And there you have it! These are the best 5 personalization apps for Android in 2023. Give them a try yourself, and let me know what you think about them in the comments section. Have you tried any of them yet? And if you did, what did you like the most about it?

5 Best Free Android Personalization Apps in 2023

DEVELOPMENT OF THE MORAL SENSE

TIERRA DEL FUEGO

ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE INTELLECTUAL AND MORAL FACULTIES DURING PRIMEVAL AND CIVILISED TIMES

Meaningful relationships in both business and higher education lead to meaningful opportunities - it’s not about what you know, but who you know. have some form of an alumni program not for nothing. These alumni networks provide valuable resources for employees as well as employers. Established professionals that are connected to these networks can help employees with obtaining promotions or assisting in career changes. Employers can find the perfect candidate for their company through these professionals, as well as access to exclusive job postings, free resources, and resume reviews. 98% of Fortune 500 companies Colleges and corporations alike both invest in strong alumni networks to attain various goals. Colleges mainly focus on fundraising and better outreach for those looking into getting into college. Businesses, however, have many benefits from having a good alumni network. The relationships that are built with alumni lead to a substantial increase in revenue per employee, a large increase in product innovation, and massively higher employer attractiveness. Corporate alumni programs also allow businesses to more easily connect mentors to mentees, and they drive up referrals and boomerang hires. Alumni are also valuable for bringing in new customers - alumni as brand advocates are worth at least 5 times as much as the average customer and deliver a 10% increase in brand sentiment. Businesses that take the time to set up these networks and that actively engage with alumni can see up to and above a 40% increase in net new business. New startups that need early investors can also see many benefits from alumni networks. Investors are much more likely to invest in startups with founders from their alma mater. Founders’ connections to early stage investors through alumni networks are often more important than the quality of the school or shared geography. A of VC investments over a 19 year period revealed that over a third of investors and founders attended the same college or university. Entrepreneurs who went to schools with larger alumni networks are able to raise more capital than other entrepreneurs. study Learn more about building an and how to stay better connected below: influence network

A Look at the Power of Your Influence Network

In 2020, I caught to keep freelancers bidding. Upwork admitted that for wasted “connects.” Upwork red-handed for posting fake jobs there were so-called “test jobs” and promised to refund freelancers I’m doing it again in this story. This time is different, even more severe, and expensive. Ignorance isn’t always bliss, my dear fellow freelancers. You should’ve known better. I did my “call of duty” with this story: https://hackernoon.com/two-years-an-upwork-slave-how-to-own-freelancers-and-sue-those-you-cant-own-feb0fc75a3f1?embedable=true What happened? The Notorious Section 7.3 of Upwork ToS Got A “Silent” Update Do you know? Are you aware? Do you care? Well, you should. It all started in the official that raised a storm of criticism and confusion. Here is a screenshot, just in case this thread becomes unavailable for unknown reasons or “technical difficulties.” Upwork Community with a legit question Upwork Community is free to access and read all questions and answers. If you want to participate in this or any other discussion, you must have an Upwork account—just a kind reminder. You are welcome. I had a question of my own for this vigilant Upwork user. How did Amanda find out about the change? Upwork user Mykola did us all a huge favor. Who Shall Not Be Named Wait! What? Why? We are talking about ToS (Terms of Service). There isn’t and shouldn’t be anything top-secret about it. Let’s have a look, shall we? Here’s a of Upwork’s ToS. link to the Non-Circumvention Section 7 Fun fact. I have a law degree. In Upwork’s defense, I have to say this: Upwork to change its ToS at any given moment. has the right Upwork to inform its users each time about these changes. has no obligation Now, there’s another question. Does Upwork have the “moral obligation” to inform its users about the ToS changes, especially if these changes have serious implications, to say the least? Yeah baby, yes, they have! So, what’s the catch with Upwork’s “deafening silence?” Something Ain’t Right - It’s Much More Than Just The Math It seems that is on the right track. one Redditor C’mon, you can’t be serious. It’s just one buck. What’s all the fuss about it? In plain English and layman’s, not complicated legal terms, let’s delve into it together. So, here it goes. Let’s say for the sake of this story, you’ve been working with a client on Upwork for quite some time. At one point, you realize that you don’t need Upwork anymore. You wish to take your work and client outside Upwork. You may opt out of the obligations in Section 7.1 with respect to each Upwork Relationship only if the Client or Freelancer pays Upwork a Conversion Fee which is a minimum of $1,000 USD and up to $50,000 USD for each Upwork Relationship, unless Client and Freelancer have had an Upwork Relationship for at least two (2) years. I know how it looks and sounds, but let’s be fair. You’ve found a long-term client on Upwork. You accepted Upwork Terms the moment you signed up. So, hold your freelance horses for two years, and then, you’re free to go. Or, are you, for real? Up until the latest changes of Upwork ToS, what you and your client decide to do after two years was none of Upwork’s business. But, things changed. If Client and Freelancer have had an Upwork Relationship for at least two (2) years, the Conversion Fee is a nominal $1 USD for administrative purposes. Still doesn’t make any sense? No problem, you aren’t the only one. Spot on! Congrats! You see, Upwork wants to KNOW, Upwork needs to KNOW! And, this is a clever way to do it. What do you think it’s going to happen when you and your client get stuck in the Upwork ToS door? Here’s my interpretation of it: “Where do you think you’re going?” Upwork: “We’re leaving. Two years have passed. We’re free.” Freelancer & Client: “But, have you paid the Conversion Fee?” Upwork: “What for? Haven’t we paid more than enough during these two years?” Freelancer & Client: “Yes, you have, and we appreciate it. But, you still have to pay one dollar for administrative purposes.” Upwork: “Isn’t that a convenient way for you to find out who’s leaving your platform?” Freelancer & Client: “That’s your free interpretation of our ToS. We can’t comment on that.” Upwork: “Who says you won’t take advantage of this information to try to convince us to stay?” Freelancer & Client: “Again. We can’t comment on that.” Upwork: “It’s a ridiculous amount, that Conversion Fee of yours, but doesn’t it represent a valid legal reason for violation of your ToS, especially the Non-Circumvention and Opt-Out clauses?” Freelancer & Client: “Well, legally speaking, it does. But, let’s work it out. What would you like to drink?” Upwork: One Dollar OR One Billion Dollars - It Doesn’t Make A (Legal) Difference Well, you see, it’s not that simple. If Upwork hadn’t had the problem of users wanting to leave the platform, they wouldn’t have imposed the infamous Section 7, in the first place. Obviously, things escalated so much to such a degree that additional “measures” had to be implemented. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Upwork is trying to keep “the best of the best” by any means necessary even if it means using the “soft legal force,” such as the Conversion Fee. Upwork lawyers must have been very expensive. My legal opinion you didn’t ask for: that’s the money well spent for Upwork. There’s only one “one dollar” problem, though. This one-dollar fee can cost Upwork millions of dollars in lost service fees. What do you think how will the users react to this latest Upwork’s legal catch-22? The users choose their words carefully in Upwork Community for obvious reasons. That’s why I prefer Reddit where people speak their minds freely with no fear. If you’re asking me, “vox populi” at its finest. You Had One Problem, Upwork - Now, You Have Two Upwork could’ve left things just the way they were before, and nobody would’ve noticed it, let alone discussed it for days. People come and go. It’s always been like this in the freelance industry. Upwork is no exception. Upwork should’ve kept its ToS mouth shut unless the problem of users leaving after two years was so big that it turned into an “exodus.” Upwork has succeeded in one thing. It raised the “awareness” of its problematic non-circumvention clauses and opt-out fees in the worst possible way: Users are discussing legal matters instead of new projects and features in the Community. Instead of offering a juicy loyalty carrot, Upwork is threatening with an even longer legal stick. Those who have second thoughts about leaving, now can’t stop thinking and talking about it. Those who’ve already been on their way out just got an additional reason not to look back. Those who had no clue about the possibility to leave got an interesting idea to think about. Congrats, Upwork! You just paid one dollar for the most expensive boomerang in business history. If and when it hits you back, it’s going to cost you millions. Congrats to you too! You’ve just witnessed history by reading my 100th story published on HackerNoon. Like it, share it, and support my nominations for the Noonies2022 Awards with your votes in these categories: HACKERNOON CONTRIBUTOR OF THE YEAR- FREELANCING CRITICAL THINKER OF THE YEAR No worries, I won’t report you to Upwork. I hope that one day there will be a section of Upwork’s Terms dedicated to me and my stories. Until then, I leave you with the eye-opening lyrics of The Clash's relevant song: Should I stay or should I go now?
Should I stay or should I go now?
If I go, there will be trouble
And if I stay it will be double https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrdPTQV9wl4?embedable=true

Upwork in Real Danger of Losing MILLIONS over ONE DOLLAR "Conversion Fee"

Upwork en peligro real de perder MILLONES por una "tarifa de conversión" de UN DÓLAR

Upwork en danger réel de perdre des MILLIONS sur UN DOLLAR "Frais de conversion"

एक डॉलर से अधिक "रूपांतरण शुल्क" के लाखों खोने के वास्तविक खतरे में अपवर्क

1ドルの「変換手数料」で数百万ドルを失うという本当の危険にさらされているアップワーク

Upwork em perigo real de perder MILHÕES acima de UM DÓLAR "Taxa de conversão"

Làm việc trong nguy cơ thực sự mất hàng triệu USD do "Phí chuyển đổi" MỘT ĐÔ LA

一美元“转换费”损失数百万的真正危险

Astounding Stories of Super-Science, February 1930, by Astounding Stories is part of HackerNoon’s Book Blog Post series. You can jump to any chapter in this book here . The Beetle Horde - Chapter VIII: Recaptured Astounding Stories of Super-Science, February 1930: The Beetle Horde - CHAPTER VIII. Recaptured "Where are we?" each demanded of the other, as they staggered out. It was a moonless night, and the air was chill, but they were certainly nowhere near the polar regions, for there was no trace of snow to be seen anywhere. All about them was sand, with here and there a spiny shrub standing up stiff and erect and solitary. When they had disengaged themselves from the clinging sand they could see that they were apparently in the hollow of a vast crater, that must have been half a mile in circumference. It was low and worn down to an elevation of not more than two or three hundred feet, and evidently the volcano that had thrown it up had been extinct for millennia. "Water!" gasped Dodd. They looked all about them. They could see no signs of a spring anywhere, and both were parched with thirst after their terrific climb. "We must find water, Haidia," said Tommy. "Why, what's the matter?" Haidia was pointing upward at the starry heaven, and shivering with fear. "Eyes!" she cried. "Big beetles waiting for us up there!" "No, no, Haidia," Dodd explained. "Those are stars. They are worlds—places where people live." "Will you take me up there?" asked Haidia. "No, this is our world," said Dodd. "And by and by the sun will rise, that's a big ball of fire up there. He watches over the world and gives us light and warmth. Don't be afraid. I'll take care of you." "Haidia is not afraid with Jimmydodd to take care of her," replied the girl with dignity. "Haidia smells water—over there." She pointed across one side of the crater. "There we'd better hurry," said Tommy, "because I can't hold out much longer." THE three scrambled over the soft sand, which sucked in their feet to the ankle at every step. It was with the greatest difficulty that they succeeded in reaching the crater's summit, low though it was. Then Dodd uttered a cry, and pointed. In front of them extended a long pool of water, with a scrubby growth around the edges. The ground was firmer here, and they hurried toward it. Tommy was the first to reach it. He lay down on his face and drank eagerly. He had taken in a quart before he discovered that the water was saline. At the same time Dodd uttered an exclamation of disgust. Haidia, too, after sipping a little of the fluid, had stood up, chattering excitedly in her own language. But she was not chattering about the water. She was pointing toward the scrub. "Men there!" she cried. "Men like you and Tommy, Jimmydodd." Tommy and Dodd looked at each other, the water already forgotten in their excitement at Haidia's information, which neither of them doubted. Brave as she was, the girl now hung back behind Dodd, letting the two men take precedence of her. The water, saline as it was, had partly quenched their thirst. They felt their strength reviving. And it was growing light. In the east the sky was already flecked with yellow pink. They felt a thrill of intense excitement at the prospect of meeting others of their kind. "Where do you think we are?" asked Tommy. DODD stopped to look at a shrub that was growing near the edge of the pool. "I don't think, I know, Tommy," he answered. "This is wattle." "Yes?" "We're somewhere in the interior regions of the Australian continent—and that's not going to help us much." "Over there—over there," panted Haidia. "Hold me, Jimmydodd. I can't see. Ah, this terrible light!" She screwed her eyelids tightly together to shut out the pale light of dawn. The men had already discovered that the third membrane had been burned away. "We must get her out of here," whispered Dodd to Tommy. "Somewhere where it's dark, before the sun rises. Let's go back to the entrance of the crater." But Haidia, her arm extended, persisted, "Over there! Over there!" Suddenly a spear came whirling out of a growth of wattle beside the pool. It whizzed past Tommy's face and dropped into the sand behind. Between the trunks of the wattles they could see the forms of a party of blackfellows, watching them intently. Tommy held up his arms and moved forward with a show of confidence that he was far from feeling. After what he had escaped in the underworld he was in no mood to be massacred now. BUT the blacks were evidently not hostile. It was probable that the spear had not been aimed to kill. At the sight of the two white men, and the white woman, they came forward doubtfully, then more fearlessly, shouting in their language. In another minute Tommy and Dodd were the center of a group of wondering savages. Especially Haidia. Three or four gins, or black women, had crept out of the scrub, and were already examining her with guttural cries, and fingering the hair garment that she wore. "Water!" said Tommy, pointing to his throat, and then to the pool, with a frown of disgust. The blackfellows grinned, and led the three a short distance to a place where a large hollow had been scooped in the sandy floor of the desert. It was full of water, perfectly sweet to the taste. The three drank gratefully. Suddenly the edge of the sun appeared above the horizon, gilding the sand with gold. The sunlight fell upon the three, and Haidia uttered a terrible cry of distress. She dropped upon the sand, her hands pressed to her eyes convulsively. Tommy and Dodd dragged her into the thickest part of the scrub, where she lay moaning. They contrived bandages from the remnants of their clothing, and these, damped with cold water, and bound over the girl's eyes, alleviated her suffering somewhat. Meanwhile the blackfellows had prepared a meal of roast opossum. After their long diet of shrimps, it tasted like ambrosia to the two men. MUCH to their surprise, Haidia seemed to enjoy it too. The three squatted in the scrub among the friendly blacks, discussing their situation. "These fellows will save us," said Dodd. "It may be that we're quite near the coast, but, any way, they'll stick to us, even if only out of curiosity. They'll take us somewhere. But as soon as we get Haidia to safety we'll have to go back along our trail. We mustn't lose our direction. Suppose I was laughed at when I get back, called a liar! I tell you, we've got to have something to show, to prove my statements, before I can persuade anybody to fit out an expedition into Submundia. Even those three beetle-shells that we dropped in the crater won't be conclusive evidence for the type of mind that sits in the chairs of science to-day. And, speaking of that, we must get those blacks to carry those shells for us. I tell you, nobody will believe—" "What's that?" cried Tommy sharply, as a rasping sound rose above the cries of the frightened blacks. But there was no need to ask. Out of the crater two enormous beetles were winging their way toward them, two beetles larger than any that they had seen. Fully seven feet in length, they were circling about each other, apparently engaged in a vicious battle. The fearful beaks stabbed at the flesh beneath the shells, and they alternately stabbed and drew back, all the while approaching the party, which watched them, petrified with terror. It was evident that the monsters had no conception of the presence of humans. Blinded by the sun, only one thing could have induced them to leave the dark depths of Submundia. That was the mating instinct. The beetles were evidently rival leaders of some swarm, engaged in a duel to the death. Round and round they went in a dizzy maze, stabbing and thrusting, jaws closing on flesh, until they dropped, close-locked in battle, not more than twenty feet from the little party of blacks and whites, both squirming in the agonies of death. "I DON'T think that necessarily means that the swarm is on our trail," said Tommy, a little later, as the three stood beside the shells that they had discarded. "Those two were strays, lost from the swarm and maddened by the mating instinct. Still, it might be as well to wear these things for a while, in case they do follow us." "You're right," answered Dodd, as he placed one of the shells around Haidia. "We've got to get this little lady to civilization, and we've got to protect our lives in order to give this great new knowledge to the world. If we are attacked, you must sacrifice your life for me, Tommy, so that I can carry back the news." "Righto!" answered Tommy with alacrity. "You bet I will, Jim." The glaring sun of mid-afternoon was shining down upon the desert, but Haidia was no longer in pain. It was evident that she was fast becoming accustomed to the sunlight, though she still kept her eyes screwed up tightly, and had to be helped along by Dodd and Jimmy. In high good humor the three reached the encampment, to find that the blacks were feasting on the dead beetles, while the two eldest members of the party had proudly donned the shells. It was near sunset before they finally started. Dodd and Tommy had managed to make it clear to them that they wished to reach civilization, but how near this was there was, of course, no means of determining. They noted, however, that the party started in a southerly direction. "I should say," said Dodd, "that we are in South Australia, probably three or four hundred miles from the coast. We've got a long journey before us, but these blackfellows will know how to procure food for us." THEY certainly knew how to get water, for, just as it began to grow dark, when the three were already tormented by thirst, they stopped at what seemed a mere hollow among the stones and boulders that strewed the face of the desert, and scooped away the sand, leaving a hole which quickly filled with clear, cold water of excellent taste. After which they made signs that they were to camp there for the night. The moon was riding high in the sky. As it grew dark, Haidia opened her eyes, saw the luminary, and uttered an exclamation, this time not of fear, but of wonder. "Moon," said Dodd. "That's all right, girl. She watches over the night, as the sun does over the day." "Haidia likes the moon better than the sun," said the girl wistfully. "But the moon not strong enough to keep away the beetles." "If I was you, I'd forget about the beetles, Haidia," said Dodd. "They won't come out of that hole in the ground. You'll never see them again." And, as he spoke, they heard a familiar rasping sound far in the distance. "How the wind blows," said Tommy, desperately resolved not to believe his ears. "I think a storm's coming up." But Haidia, with a scream of fear, was clinging to Dodd, and the blacks were on their feet, spears and boomerangs in their hands, looking northward. Out of that north a little black cloud was gathering. A cloud that spread gradually, as a thunder-cloud, until it covered a good part of the sky. And still more of the sky, and still more. All the while that faint, distant rasping was audible, but it did not increase in volume. It was as if the beetles had halted until the full number of the swarm had come up out of the crater. THEN the cloud, which by now covered half the sky, began to take geometric form. It grew square, the ragged edges seemed to trim themselves away, streaks of light shot through it at right angles, as if it was marshaling itself into companies. The doomed men and the girl stood perfectly still, staring at that phenomenon. They knew that only a miracle could save them. They did not even speak, but Haidia clung more tightly to Dodd's arm. Then suddenly the cloud spread upward and covered the face of the moon. "Well, this is good-by, Tommy," said Dodd, gripping his friend's hand. "God, I wish I had a revolver, or a knife!" He looked at Haidia. Suddenly the rasping became a whining shriek. A score of enormous beetles, the advance guards of the army, zoomed out of the darkness into a ray of straggling moonlight. Shrieking, the blacks, who had watched the approaching swarm perfectly immobile, threw away the two shells and bolted. "Good Lord," Dodd shouted, "did you see the color of their shells, Tommy?" Even in that moment the scientific observer came uppermost in him. "Those red edges? They must be young ones, Tommy. It's the new brood! No wonder Bram stayed behind! He was waiting for them to hatch! The new brood! We're doomed—doomed! All my work wasted!" The blackfellows did not get very far. A hundred yards from the place where they started to run they dropped, their bodies hidden beneath the clustering monsters, their screams cut short as those frightful beaks sought their throats, and those jaws crunched through flesh and bone. CIRCLING around Dodd, Tommy, and Haidia, as if puzzled by their appearance, the beetles kept up a continuous, furious droning that sounded like the roar of Niagara mixed with the shrieking of a thousand sirens. The moon was completely hidden, and only a dim, nebulous light showed the repulsive monsters as they flew within a few feet of the heads of the fugitives. The stench was overpowering. But suddenly a ray of white light shot through the darkness, and, with a changed note, just perceptible to the ears of the two men, but doubtless of the greatest significance to the beetles, the swarm fled apart to right and left, leaving a clear lane, through which appeared—Bram, reclining on his shell-couch above his eight trained beetle steeds! Hovering overhead, the eight huge monsters dropped lightly to the ground beside the three. Bram sat up, a vicious grin upon his twisted face. In his hand he held a large electric bulb, its sides sheathed in a roughly carved wooden frame; the wire was attached to a battery behind him. "Well met, my friends!" he shouted exultantly. "I owe you more thanks than I can express for having so providentially left the electrical equipment of your plane undamaged after you crashed at the entrance to Submundia. I had a hunch about it—and the hunch worked!" HE grinned more malevolently as he looked from one man to the other. "You've run your race," he said. "But I'm going to have a little fun with you before you die. I'm going to use you as an object lesson. You'll find it out in a little while." "Go ahead, go ahead, Bram," Dodd grinned back at him. "Just a few mil lion years ago, and you were a speck of protoplasm—in that pre-pleistocene age—swimming among the invertebrate crustaceans that characterized that epoch." "Invertebrates and monotremes, Dodd," said Bram, almost wistfully. "The mammals were already existent on the earth, as you know—" Suddenly he broke off, as he realized that Dodd was spoofing him. A yell of execration broke from his lips. He uttered a high whistle, and instantly the whiplike lashes of a hundred beetles whizzed through the darkness and remained poised over Dodd's head. "Not even the marsupial lion, Bram," grinned Dodd, undismayed. "Go ahead, go ahead, but I'll not die with a lie upon my lips!" About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Various. 2009. Astounding Stories of Super-Science, February 1930. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved May 2022 from https://www.gutenberg.org/files/28617/28617-h/28617-h.htm#The_Beetle_Horde This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org , located at https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html .

Recaptured

Food and Flavor: A Gastronomic Guide to Health and Good Living: Chapter III - Our Denatured Foods

The media amplifies the on a daily basis. The commonly held narrative is that people are leaving their jobs en masse to pursue their passions and fulfill their desire for an opportunity that offers meaning and purpose. This is true, but it’s not the full story. There’s another side – the Great Regret – when switching jobs. Great Resignation Humans are wired in their DNA to do certain things, such as the fight-or-flight instinct kicking in. Like it or not, people also tend to have a herd mentality. You see it play out on social media every day, as two groups form around the daily outrage and argue with each other. A similar occurrence happens in real life and in the job market. If you start seeing your friends and colleagues getting cool, new, well-paying jobs, you are both happy for them, along with feeling a little envious. When you read about 11 million jobs being open, it’s logical to feel that you may be missing out on something. On LinkedIn, the social media platform for job seekers, when a person announces that they have secured a new job, the site offers an eye-catching banner, and dozens or more people give their best wishes. In your office, if someone leaves, you wish them well and go back to work. When a few more people , you start wondering what is going on. A combination of FOMO (fear of missing out) and a worry that maybe they know something about the organization that you don’t sets in. Your herd instinct to jump on the bandwagon and become part of the Great Resignation, Great Realization or Great Reshuffle—or whatever you want to call it—kicks in. depart There is a catch to be aware of when you switch jobs. A recent piece reported that 30% of people who left their jobs for greener pastures didn’t have a good outcome. Within only 90 days of employment, respondents to the survey said that they resigned due to “organizational culture and the mismanagement of workplace expectations.” Harvard Business Review It appears that a large segment of the people who changed jobs during the Great Resignation regret quitting and have buyer’s remorse. The career site, the , conducted a study about this matter and found that about 72% of respondents replied that they were disappointed in the new role and it was different from what they were led to believe during the interview process. Kathryn Minshew, the CEO of the , described the trend as “shift shock.” Minshew said, “They’ll join a new company thinking it’s their dream job, and then there’s a reality check.” It didn’t live up to the expectations and hype. Given that the statistics are so astronomically high, it makes you wonder if companies also oversold the roles throughout the hiring process out of desperation to fill the positions. Muse Muse If You’re Switching Jobs, Here’s What you need to Know Don’t be Hasty Over the last 25 years, I’ve seen too many people quit their jobs for the wrong reasons. The decisions may have been prompted by a perceived slight, not being offered a promotion, a disagreement with a or other matters that could have been smoothed out through a rational conversation without having to take sudden drastic action. co-worker Unless the situation is completely horrible and untenable, don’t quit without another offer in hand. It will make finding a new job much more difficult. Interviewers will be concerned over your “impetuous” decision to resign for a relatively innocuous reason. They’ll form a bias that you may be too rash and volatile. Without a job lined up, you lose negotiating power for a high and better benefits. If you are currently working or have another offer in hand, the candidate can demand a large premium to their current compensation, as they have the comfort of already being in a job or have another offer, in case this one doesn’t work out. Although it’s a hot job market, for white-collar office workers, the interview process can range from one to six months, with up to about six or more interviews scheduled. In between meetings, there will be communication gaps, and you may get ghosted by the end of the process. salary Play the Game If you are tempted to quit in a pique of rage over something that happened, take a breath and don’t act. Here’s what you need to do instead of hate-quitting. Smile, act as if everything is fine and dandy and play the game until you can find the job you really want. Be extra polite and helpful, so no one suspects that you are starting to plan your exit strategy. When you find a new job, be courteous in victory and don’t use the occasion to trash your former boss, co-workers or company. If you burn bridges behind you, it will be hard to get the necessary references for when you move on to new jobs in the future. Boomerang hiring is a big thing now. Several years down the line, you may consider returning to your old firm in a higher-level, corporate-officer capacity. What Happens when You’re Impulsive When you switch jobs without having rationally thought it through, you’ll be tempted to take something quickly to get away. Fairly soon after starting at the new job, you’ll question why you acted so impulsively. The recruiter may have touted the role too aggressively. The interviewers made over-the-top promises. In your haste to join the resigning club, you overlooked the red flags. You find yourself stuck in a rebound job. Now there’s a dilemma—do you quit after only a couple of months or try to stick it out for a year or so to make your résumé look good? You rightfully worry about being perceived as a job hopper. Every time you go for an interview, you’ll be grilled over the short stint. It’s not fair, but this is what happens. To make matters worse, being unhappy in the new role, you start searching again. Feeling unhappy and desperate, it’s likely that you’ll take the first offer to escape. The odds are high that this wasn’t the best offer or job. Now, you’re in another dead-end role. These will be two instances you now have to suffer through explaining to human resources for the rest of your career. Before you make any decisions about switching jobs, take some time to analyze your situation and map out a well-thought, thorough plan. Speak with career coaches, mentors, trusted peers, recruiters and people whose judgment you value to share your feelings about moving on to gather some market intelligence and insights. Ensure that you are leaving for the right reasons and not just following the trend. With so many responsibilities, it’s easy to fall into the trap of acting first and thinking when it’s too late. It’s important to take the time and effort to make a clear-headed decision about switching jobs to avoid regretting it three months later. Also published on [Teamblind’s blog](https://Ensure that you are leaving for the right reasons and not just following the trend. With so many responsibilities, it’s easy to fall into the trap of acting first and thinking when it’s too late. It’s important to take the time and effort to make a clear-headed decision about switching jobs to avoid regretting it three months later.)

The "Great Regret" and How to Avoid it when Switching Jobs

This article will be especially useful for novice engineers, as well as those who want to cultivate engineering Leadership, seek growth, and reach new heights. Candidates will also find out what is expected of them at technical interviews and the selection criteria employed at these interviews. The programmer’s "living brain" or the basic skill set of an experienced developer There are different approaches to defining the required set of skills for a programmer. Requirements vary depending on the company, project, and team you work with. The most common defines an "Experienced" programmer as one who not only knows the theory but successfully works with real practical problems; knows how to find solutions to non-standard problems. Apparently, all experienced programmers have one important feature in common: the ability to search for relevant information. There are some other important qualities such as a love of programming and a desire to work. If someone has no desire to work, then even impressive experience and talent will be useless. At work, I crossed paths with those who were well versed in technology, but reluctant to work. Basic programmer skills involve good memory, the ability to focus and learn new technologies, and logical thinking. In short, an experienced programmer should have a "living brain" that operates well. You can't go on without it. These important characteristics determine your propensity for programming as a profession since childhood. The rest of the features that I will describe can be split into two categories: technical knowledge and personal traits. If technical knowledge can be acquired in various training, and courses and honed in practice, personal qualities (or soft skills) are not so easy to acquire if they go against a person's nature. In any case, experienced programmers make their own way and learn a lot in these two areas. It is clear that an experienced programmer is well versed in one or more technologies and a few frameworks. But, before mastering a particular technology, the programmer acquires knowledge of the basic architecture of systems and networks, data structures and algorithms; system administration, and Computer Science in general. Both system administrators and DevOps follow this path. In terms of programming as such, it is important to understand data structures and algorithms, abstractions of technology, and the OOP principles. After learning a certain language, a programmer proceeds to study frameworks and libraries. These are higher abstractions that unite smaller ones. For Frontend developers, it is React, Angular, and Vue. The following points outline the inner workings of an ideal programmer’s ‘living brain’ 🔴 Profound understanding of technology and finding the best approach An experienced programmer should know several technologies and apply the best approaches. This knowledge is not superficial but mastered in practice. A systematic approach allows you to see the project’s big picture; perceive it as a whole rather than partially, and then pick the best approach for its development. The concepts of productivity and efficiency are sometimes confused. You can finish the project quickly, but make many mistakes, and debugging will take more time than a careful step-by-step development process. Speed ​​is not always a sign of Senior Engineer qualification. Instead, result-orientation is an integral feature. The efficiency of actions and moves weighs more than numerous lines of code and speed. Finding an approach to project development where quality and speed are balanced is within the power of an experienced engineer. 🔴 Remaining mindful of the UX A good habit of a programmer is to be constantly mindful of the user experience — thinking about how the program will look from the user's point of view, and whether it will be convenient and clear. You don't have to be a designer to predict how a feature will work. It will also be useful to master code testing to avoid errors in the development process. 🔴 Commitment to the technical process Following the technical process can be deemed a good habit of any programmer, especially an experienced one. This is a crucial nuance. Before changing a variable or function, you need to check where it is being used. You need to delve into the technical documentation; this will help avoid foolish mistakes and save time and the Tech Lead’s nerves. Well, experienced people know this and teach others 🙂 🔴 Writing readable code that is easy for others to work with This skill derives from the previous one. It will be easy for everyone to work on the project given that the technical process is thoroughly followed. Remember that others might also work with your code, therefore, write as if you did it for yourself. Your “crutch” can boomerang back. It is better to test and regularly refactor your code, be thoughtful about what you call variables and functions, and think about others. Choosing the right technology for the project is a crucial skill. Experienced programmers sometimes insist on using technologies they are used to even when the rest of the team will have a hard time with it. Instead, you should make decisions that factor the whole team; consult, discuss and coordinate your actions with others. 🔴 Qualitative analysis and development of architecture To qualitatively analyze and understand architecture, you need to know the theory and have enough practical experience. A Senior Engineer is able to perform a comprehensive requirements analysis and develop a software architecture with effective implementation at various levels. At the same time, it is essential to strike a balance between program readability and development efficiency. To avoid problems at the planning stage, an experienced programmer knows different technologies and is able to choose the right one. 🔴 Ability to explain schematically For experienced programmers, and especially for Tech Leads, the ability to explain information about the principles of technology graphically and using simple diagrams is a very useful skill. Charts, graphs, and diagrams provide a holistic view of both the technology and the project. The visualization system approach simplifies the work of the whole team. In this way, Tech Leads can convey the full picture to others. 🔴 Creating an effective workflow Experienced engineers distinguish between team performance and their own. To boost the team’s efficiency, they build a workflow or choose new technologies, such as automatic deployment. Also, they try to encourage other programmers on the team to learn more and analyze their mistakes during the code review. Healthy perfectionism, or how to write quality code and not die at work An experienced programmer is well aware of the importance of achieving business goals and is able to balance implementation and code quality. After all, if you delve into code quality, one task can take a month, and you can keep redoing things until your last days, bringing the whole project to perfection. But in order for the business to grow, you need to find a balance between quality and customer requirements. There are programmers who focus only on business tasks and fill their code with ‘crutches’. I used to work on one project, which had to be completely shut down after 2 years of development because each new feature took a month to implement. That ‘stew’ of approaches and technologies was simply impossible to work with. That's how the desire to do faster leads to sad results. I knew programmers who went deep into code quality and got stuck on one task for 2 months. Honestly, I was surprised that they kept their jobs. Ultimately, the task turned out to be insurmountable. That means, finding a balance is vital. Perfectionism is close to my heart. However, there has to be a healthy approach without overdoing things. Usually, people do not change. Even at interviews, I notice such people and understand that working with them will be challenging. The following points highlight the perks of healthy perfectionism 🔴 Ability to work in a team By default, it is clear that team players are valued in any project. This speaks to their non-confrontational nature, and the ability to take responsibility, communicate and be reliable. You can have your own opinion and still listen to others. 🔴 Confidence in complex tasks Experienced programmers are confident, but not stubborn. They are not afraid of hard tasks, because they have already reached a certain level of expertise and have sufficient technical knowledge, allowing them to deal with complexities. Experienced engineers can plan a project from different perspectives, provide good advice and stay result-oriented from framework development to coding. Such people are highly valued in the team; it is a pleasure to join them in professional battles. You can always learn something. 🔴 Constant desire to develop and find the necessary information Again, experienced engineers are well-versed in several frameworks and are able to work with numerous technologies. And for this, you need to constantly evolve, and look for opportunities to learn new things outside of work. Experienced people learn quickly, and grasp new trends that are necessary for their work. Some engineers think that it is enough to learn only from their own mistakes. Indeed, in practice, you gain a lot of knowledge, but you need to deepen it based on other people's experiences. Today there is enough information online, you can really learn a lot. Probably, mastering a project’s domain would be an additional advantage. For example, if you are in a Fintech project, you are expected to understand the software’s value from a business perspective and to know certain functional processes in that area. 🔴 Ability to keep balance When a project is under development, various unforeseen situations can occur, and bugs can surface. They take inexperienced programmers by surprise and corner them. Experienced engineers know that everything must be solved with a cool head because panicking and yelling will not help. Although, perhaps, the bugs were caused purely by human factors. An experienced programmer will find an alternative solution while maintaining balance. It is easier to find a non-standard solution to a problem calmly than emotionally. 🔴 Ability to share knowledge and give feedback Ideally, experienced programmers share knowledge with others; participate in webinars, conferences, and hackathons. Sharing knowledge from a book or someone else's theory is one thing, and contributing your own experience- your past ‘pains’- is another. Networking is truly helpful, even though some might not enjoy it. An experienced programmer knows how important it is to give feedback on others’ work. This gives junior professionals an opportunity to understand their potential growth areas, what to fix and what mistakes to avoid. Timely feedback is about transparent management and effective communication. It is good if the programmers in the position of Team Lead understand and practice this. 🔴 Ability to admit your mistakes Another good feature of an experienced programmer is admitting mistakes. This ability means one knows how to take responsibility. Mistakes are an opportunity to learn a lesson and gain valuable experience for the future. Instead of taking the blame for someone else’s bugs, Tech Lead can give useful insights during code review, and tell how to solve a specific problem. Experienced programmers will definitely not throw a junior ‘under the bus’ and point the finger at the newbie’s fault. The whole team works, and everyone has their own area of ​​responsibility. Someone’s fooling around impacts the entire team. Keeping that in mind makes it easier to build trust and transparent relationships. Fails that Seniors cannot allow Fails can be both technical and human. For example, if an employee does not go to work regularly, it is a human factor. As for important technical failures, I did not encounter such, because I did not often work with programmers below the Senior level. Obviously, the possible failures of Senior and Junior engineers lie in different dimensions. I would call it a failure to send code to a repository without running a test. It is best to automate this process, as it is done in our company. Another failure is code ‘crutching’. Sometimes there is a desire to make code quickly, but if this accelerated process degrades the quality, it will become apparent in the future. There are various approaches to code quality. SOLID principles must definitely be considered. If you do a polymorphic function, you need to make sure that it does not break the areas where it is already used. When making any code corrections, you need to consider what the consequences will be and how they will affect you in general. Not following the technical process is a programmer’s failure. In the context of my team, it is creating pull requests, running a code quality test, conducting functional tests, and checking tasks that you do yourself. If you follow the technical process designed in the company, the failures will be minimized. However, I should admit that not all companies have properly configured processes, and this may also be a prerequisite for future failures. In general, I think that Seniors’ failures derive from laziness, and Juniors’ failures come from inexperience and inattention. Juniors’ errors surface where you least expect them. The work of a Junior, as such, is a continuous failure in the beginning, which must be constantly corrected. But that is what Juniors are for. Senior's laziness looks like being used to a process, and trusting it, thinking, “well, then I'll fix it later”. Often it does not always end well, but still ends better than in Junior’s case🙂 “Fakers", or Distinguishing between experienced and inexperienced programmer Inexperienced programmers can be identified in two stages: first, during an interview, and secondly, and worst of all, during work, if you missed the "faker". Questions that help me assess a programmer’s experience: Years of experience How many of them were dedicated to working with specific technology; A series of highly specialized questions aimed at determining the depth of knowledge of technology and framework; Questions about the basics of language skills. This is the first portion of questions that help to determine how knowledgeable a person is and the prospects of working together. If a candidate gets confused at this stage, things will only get worse. It happens that a programmer has 5 years of experience and is well-versed in 10 technologies, but when you ask basic questions from this list, there might be no answers. The same is likely to happen with a set of questions from the next block. During technological interviews, I do not give complex algorithmic tasks, because the interview is always stressful, and I would hate to aggravate it. Even if a developer is used to working with certain technologies, forgetting how to perform certain tasks is normal; nobody is perfect. The depth of knowledge and swift problem-solving are the things to focus on. Overall, we assess both soft skills and hard skills during interviews. The technical block of questions differs depending on technology and the project. Evolution from Junior to Senior: Development Tips Some programmers have mentors who provide advice and guidance. I did not have all that. I studied on my own and found the necessary information by myself. Although I received a degree in economic cybernetics and already knew the basics, while reading the philosophy of Java, it was difficult to understand the new abstraction. At one time Java Rush courses helped me a lot; everything was easily explained, and I could practice right away. But it's not about the front end. This is what helped me become a programmer. I studied the rest from the official technical documentation, as well as looked for information in free video courses. That was enough for me. At the same time, it is a mistake to think that getting a degree in a course will open the door to an IT company. Without knowledge, this piece of paper is pointless. Attending courses for the sake of a diploma makes no sense. To some extent, you can get structured information, but you have to remember it and it must be the basis and start for your future growth. One of the features of a good programmer is the ability to find quality information. If you can do it, everything will be fine. But if you expect someone to spell it out for you, then you are very wrong. I would recommend self-development and browsing available online courses. And if you already work as a programmer, you can take Udemy courses, the ones you need for your job. The more experience a developer gains, the more one realizes the importance of development in the area of Engineering Leadership. And this is not only about those engineers who already manage teams; but also about ones who are always abreast of trends, learning new things, and comprehensively developing their hard and soft skills to share their knowledge and competence with others.

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