Confer With triggers live streaming video calls between shoppers and instore experts from a website, or outside a store

Confer With

PARAG AGRAWAL VIJAYA GADDE, and NED SEGAL v. twitter Court Filing, retrieved on April 10, 2023 is part of . You can jump to any part in this filing . This is part 34 of 38. HackerNoon’s Legal PDF Series here EXHIBIT K - SECOND DEMAND FOR INDEMNIFICATION AND ADVANCEMENT Via E - Mail and FedEx Twitter, Inc. 1355 Market Street Suite 900 San Francisco, CA 94103 Attn: Chief Executive Officer; General Counsel/ Legal Department Re: Second Demand for Indemnification and Advancement We write on behalf of our clients Vijaya Gadde, Ned Segal, and Parag Agrawal, the former Chief Legal Officer, former Chief Financial Officer, and former Chief Executive Officer, respectively, of Twitter, Inc. (the "Company"). On January 13, 2023, we provided separate notices of our clients' respective rights to indemnification and demanded advancement of expenses, including attorneys' fees, incurred in connection with certain Proceedings defined therein (the "Indemnification and Advancement Letters"). [1] Such notice was provided pursuant to Article IX of the Company's Bylaws dated as of February 14, 2022, the various Director & Officer Indemnification Agreements [2] entered into by the Company and each of our clients, and Section 145 of the Delaware General Corporation Law. On January 20, 2023, we followed up via email and attached undertakings signed by each of our clients. For the avoidance of doubt, copies of these prior correspondence are enclosed herewith. Because we have yet to receive any response from the Company, we write to repeat such demands and request that the Company either immediately provide advancement of fees incurred to date or reply with a statement of any bases on which the Company anticipates denying advancement to, or indemnification of, our clients. If we continue to receive no response from the Company, we will pursue all available remedies in the Delaware Court of Chancery. As a reminder, our clients are involved in certain Proceedings due to their former positions with Company and are incurring Expenses as a result thereof. There can be no legitimate dispute that our clients are involved in these Proceedings by reason of the fact that each was an officer of the Company, and therefore that the Company is obligated to hold harmless and indemnify our clients to the fullest extent permitted by law, and to advance all Expenses incurred by or on behalf of our clients in connection with the Proceedings. Due to our clients' involvement in these Proceedings, they have incurred the following Expenses: Ms. Gadde incurred $ 4,117.50 in Expenses related to the D'Ambly Lawsuit through November 30, 2022. Enclosed herewith are redacted invoices dated November 16, 2022 through November 30, 2022. D'Ambly Lawsuit: Mr. Segal and Mr. Agrawal incurred $25,936 in Expenses related to the Securities Class Action through January 31, 2023. Enclosed herewith are redacted invoices dated December 2 , 2022 through January 31, 2023. Securities Class Action: Inquiries: Ms. Gadde incurred $ 521,127 in Expenses to prepare for her testimony before the House Committee on Oversight and Reform of the 118th Congress through January 31, 2023. Enclosed herewith are redacted invoices dated December 6, 2022 through January 31, 2023. Mr. Segal and Mr. Agrawal incurred $3,467.50 in Expenses related to inquiries by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Division of Enforcement and the U.S. Department of Justice through December 7, 2022. Enclosed herewith are redacted invoices dated December 5, 2022 through December 7, 2022. We demand prompt payment of these Expenses and we repeat our request that the Company advance to our clients as they become due all current and future Expenses, including attorneys' fees, incurred in connection with the Proceedings prior to the final disposition of the Proceedings, as provided for in Section 5 of the Agreements. As to indemnification, we note for the record that our clients' respective Agreements require certain procedures “in the event of any question as to whether Indemnitee is entitled to indemnification under the Agreement." § 6 (emphasis added). Because the Company has yet to respond indicating any questions as to our clients' entitlement to indemnification, application of such procedures is premature. Nonetheless, should the Company take the position that any such questions exist, our clients, as Indemnitees, are empowered to select an Independent Counsel to determine their entitlement to indemnification. We are happy to meet and confer with the Company and its legal advisors concerning the selection of Independent Counsel, consistent with the respective Agreements. This letter does not waive any rights or remedies that our clients may have under current or past practices, agreements, or the law, including those that are not specifically addressed herein. Kindly confirm receipt of this and our prior correspondence and do not hesitate to reach out to me by email at to discuss the foregoing. dlanderson@sidley.com Encl. cc: Mary Hansbury, Global Head of Employment Law, Twitter Katherine L. Martin, Senior Legal Counsel, Twitter Katharine Martin, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati PC sop-twitter@twitter.com Continue Reading . Here About HackerNoon Legal PDF Series: We bring you the most important technical and insightful public domain court case filings. This court case 2023-0409 retrieved on October 4, 2023, from is part of the public domain. The court-created documents are works of the federal government, and under copyright law, are automatically placed in the public domain and may be shared without legal restriction. int.nyt.com

The Former Twitter Executives Send a Second Demand for Indemnification

Business English: A Practice Book by Rose Buhlig is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book . THE PREPOSITION AND THE CONJUNCTION here THE PREPOSITION AND THE CONJUNCTION **Prepositions
\ It is important in the study of prepositions to observe that there are certain words that are followed by certain prepositions. To change the preposition is to convey a different meaning from the one that the speaker intended, or to convey no meaning at all. A partial list of such words with their appropriate prepositions follows: accompanied with anything having no life accompanied by anything having life acquit of accuse of adapted to a thing adapted for a course, because of one's nature adapted from an author agree to a plan or proposition agree with a person agree upon something that must be decided angry at a thing angry with a person compare with to bring out similar qualities compare to without analyzing comply with confer on meaning to give to confer with meaning to talk to confide in meaning to put faith in confide to meaning to commit to one's keeping conform to correspond to, with a thing, denoting similarity correspond with meaning to write to different from dependent on a person dependent for a thing independent of disappointed in employed at a certain place or salary employed in a certain kind of business employed by a certain person or company enter upon duties enter at a door followed by influence over, upon expect of participate in profit by remonstrate against a thing remonstrate with a person Insert the correct preposition in the following: Exercise 125 I shall comply —— your request. The chairman came upon the platform accompanied —— the speaker. He took a walk accompanied —— his dog. The lecture will be accompanied —— stereopticon views. Strikes are usually accompanied —— riots. The years of prosperity were followed —— years of famine. He was accused —— theft, but was acquitted —— the accusation. She is well adapted —— the position that is open. An electric iron is especially adapted —— summer use. The selection was adapted —— Irving. This cloth is well adapted —— summer clothing because it is very light in weight. I agree —— you that the plan is impracticable. Let us agree now —— a place to spend our summer vacation. That is not a proposition —— which I shall agree. It is silly to be angry —— an inanimate object. Don't be angry —— a person because he tells you your faults. His report corresponds in all respects —- yours. Mr. Giles suggested that you would be glad to have us correspond —— you concerning our new bond issues. I shall confer —— my lawyer. The public has conferred a great honor —— him. One should always profit —— his experiences. The new device is entirely different —— the old. I am employed —— a fairly large salary —— a business that is growing daily. All employees must conform —— the rules. I am confiding —— you because I know that I can trust you. She confided her child —— the care of her brother. She is dependent —— her brother —— support. You can have an influence for good —— him. I have remonstrated —— the change several times. Perhaps he will change his plans if we remonstrate —— him at once. Exercise 126—Prepositions Incorrectly Used Each of the incorrect sentences given below contains an unnecessary preposition. When the meaning of "Where are you going?" is entirely clear, there is nothing gained by saying "Where are you going " Omit such superfluous prepositions. to? Wrong Right 1. I took it off the shelf. of I took it off the shelf. 2. I shall accept your hospitality. of I shall accept your hospitality. 3. Where are you at? Where are you? 4. Where are you going to? Where are you going? 5. It is a building twenty to thirty stories in height. of from It is a building twenty to thirty stories in height. 6. Look out the window. of Look out the window. 7. John copies his father in everything. after John copies his father in everything. 8. I am wondering what I should do. about I am wondering what I should do. 9. I shall consult my lawyer. with I shall consult my lawyer. 10. He sat opposite me. to He sat opposite me. 11. I shall leave later . on I shall leave later. for and to 12. I shall try go. and I shall try go. to for of have 13. I might gone. of I might gone. have The wrong preposition 14. He fell the water. in He fell the water. into 15. She died diphtheria. with She died diphtheria. of 16. Divide the work the four of us. between Divide the work the four of us. among ( may be used in speaking of only two persons or things) Between 17. It will be done of an hour. inside It will be done an hour. within 18. Are you angry me? at Are you angry me? with Preposition must be used 19. It's no use to try. It's no use to try. of 20. My sister stayed home. My sister stayed home. at 21. Why do you act that way? Why do you act that way? in 22. We left the third of June. We left the third of June. on The object of a preposition is always in the objective case. Some people have great difficulty in recognizing that in such expressions as for you and me, the pronoun me is as much the object of the preposition for as the pronoun you. Both words must be in the objective case. It is incorrect to say for you and I. Exercise 127 In the following sentences omit the incorrect italicized form: The invitation is for father and I—me. Every one has finished his work except he—him and I—me. It's a question that you and I—me must decide; it refers to you and I—me alone. Girls like you and she—her should have a good influence over the others. All but you and I—me have left. He did it for you and I—me. No one objected but they—them and we—us. She sat opposite you and I—me. They were sitting near you and I—me. We expect you to return with mother and I—me. He wanted my brother and I—me to go into business with his brother and he—him. Neither she—her nor her sister have I seen for several months. My companion and I—me took up the trail of the bear at once. For some distance it led he—him and I—me over the soft, yielding carpet of moss and pine needles, and the footprints were quite easily made out. He—him and I—me had, of course, to keep a sharp lookout ahead and around for the grizzly. All are going on the excursion except he—him and I—me. He—him and I—me went fishing. The rule applies to we—us all—the manager, they—them who keep books, you, and I—me. She beckoned to my companion and I—me. The letter was to be read by the president or I—me. He did it for the sake of my father and I—me. We study Shakespeare with her sister and she—her. She—her and her sister went to the lecture with my sister and I—me. They sent for she—her and I—me, not you and he—him. The program was arranged by the president and I—me. They found that his father and he—him had already left. Mother is going to buy a birthday present to-day for she—her and I—me. The play is interesting not only to you older people but to we—us younger ones also. They expected the work to be done by she—her and I—me. The dispute between his neighbor and he—him over their lot line was settled by the surveyors this morning. He wants to speak to you and I—me. Than and as are not prepositions but conjunctions. They are used to introduce subordinate clauses. Usually the clause is incomplete, but the omitted part is easily understood from the preceding clause and must be supplied to show the case of the noun or the pronoun that is expressed; as, Exercise 128—Than, as : She is as tall as I am. Right : She is taller than he is. Right : I should invite you rather than her than I should invite her. Right Use the correct one of the italicized pronouns in the following sentences: I'll agree that he is richer than I—me, but riches are not everything. I shall send her rather than he—him. No one felt sorrier than she—her. No one knows more about an automobile than he—him. You are more capable of doing the work than he—him. We were nearer the goal than you or he—him. You finished the work almost as quickly as she—her. She writes fully as well as he—him. The manager said he would rather send me than he—him. I secured a position sooner than she—her. It seems to me that they ought to go rather than we—us. I am surprised that you arrived sooner than they—them. They should have elected him rather than I—me. I am not so well-fitted as he—him to hold the position. You are more popular than he—him. Exercise 129—Correlatives There are certain conjunctions, called , that are used in pairs. They are correlatives both—and as—as, so—as either—or not only—but also neither—nor whether—or so—that such—as Illustrations Both—and He has both skill and energy. Either—or I shall leave either Monday or Tuesday. Neither—nor I can neither sing nor play. So—that It rained so hard that we stayed at home. As—as We shall come as early as we can. So—as She is not so tall as you are. (Used in negative expressions.) Not only—but also We saw not only Mr. Brown but his wife also. Whether—or Whether I return to work or stay at home depends on my mother's health. Such—as We shall buy only such goods as we think we can sell. Be very careful not to use the correlative so as incorrectly for so that. So as is used in negative expressions of comparison; so that is used to express result. : We went early so as we could get good seats. Wrong : We went early so that we could get good seats. Right In the illustrations given above, notice that the correlatives always join two similar or coördinate expressions. It is important that they be placed each immediately before one of the two coördinate expressions. : I neither can sing nor play. Wrong : I can neither sing nor play. Right Recast the following sentences, placing the correlative conjunctions before coordinate expressions: Either you ordered it late or not at all. He said he neither had money nor time. We not only bought the books you wished but the games also. We like the place in which we live both on account of its quietness and its pleasant surroundings. I shall either go to Quebec or Montreal. Either he must spray his trees or expect no fruit. I neither like the appearance of the shop nor the attitude of the clerks. They did it both for the sake of your brother and you. This sample not only is much darker but heavier also. They are barred who neither can read nor write. These conjunctions are correctly used in speaking of two things only. Care must be taken to use or with either and nor with neither. In comparing three or more things use any of them, none of them, or no. Exercise 130—Either—or, Neither—nor In the following sentences use only the correct italicized forms: Neither effort nor—or money was spared in the undertaking. I have considered planting maple, oak, and elm trees, but neither—none of them seems to grow well in this climate. We do not believe in either enduring oppression nor—or killing the oppressor. We believe in arbitration. He has no—neither time, patience, nor—or energy. If you ask me which of the three I prefer, I'll be frank and tell you I like neither—none of them. Three courses will be given in the subject this year; you may take either—any one of them. I had already passed three branch roads, but neither—none of them had looked familiar to me. I hardly think he accepted any—either of the two offers he received. Neither the doctor or—nor his wife was at home. Both the books look shop-worn. I'll take neither—none. Except and without are prepositions, and are used, therefore, to introduce phrases; unless is a conjunction, and is used to introduce a clause. Exercise 131—Except, Without, Unless In the following sentences insert the correct form, giving a reason for your choice: —— you leave at once, you will miss your train. I cannot learn to swim, —— some one teaches me. I cannot learn to swim —— a teacher. No one could do the work —— me. John expects to learn —— studying. John will discover that he cannot win promotion —— he works hard. No one can learn how to spell —— first learning how to observe. No one will learn to spell —— he learns to observe. No one will succeed —— he has energy and patience. No one will succeed —— energy and patience. You cannot succeed in any way —— by seizing each opportunity as it comes. It is impossible to grow beautiful flowers —— the soil is good. Exercise 132—Like, as Like is followed by a noun or pronoun in the objective case. As is a conjunction and introduces a clause, and is therefore followed by a verb. Like is not a conjunction and therefore may not be substituted for as or as if. : I wish I could play like you can. Wrong : I wish I could play as you can. Right Insert the correct word in the following sentences: The picture looks just —— you. I haven't a voice —— my brother's. I cannot sing —— my brother can. He walks just —— you do. I hope you will all enjoy the trip —— I did. For pleasure and exercise I think there is no game —— tennis. He said that the town looked just —— it had when he was a boy. I cut the paper just —— you said I should. He talks —— his father. He has the same sort of drawl —— his father has. She was there —— you said she would be. They worked —— beavers. He looked —— a tramp. To give the stitch the proper twist throw the thread over the needle —— I do. He walks —— he were lame. Exercise 133—As—as, So—as Use as—as in stating equality; use so—as in negative comparisons. You will find the new clerks fully —— courteous as were the old. You will not find the new clerks —— courteous as were the old. Elms do not grow —— well in this climate as do poplars. We did not carry —— much advertising this year as we did last year, and we find that our receipts are smaller. Under our system of individual instruction a student may advance —— rapidly as his ability permits. You are not —— tall as your sister. I do not seem to learn languages —— easily as mathematics. This house is not —— large as the other. He is —— active as he was twenty years ago. He is not —— active as he was twenty years ago. Exercise 134—Miscellaneous Blunders To, Too, Two To is a preposition; too is an adverb, and means excessively or also; two is a numeral adjective. Insert the correct form in each of the following sentences: The —— sisters discovered that it was —— late for the 4:15 train. It is —— dark in that corner; come —— the light. He spends —— much time in dreaming, —— little in working. He would have done better if he had not given —— little heed —— the advice of his —— older brothers. —— more hours were passed in the all —— weary task of waiting. It was —— cold —— stay out more than —— hours. You may go ——, but don't stay —— long. —— stay there for —— weeks would be —— tiresome. The doctor said that the —— men were —— sick —— go home alone, and I thought so ——. About —— hours ago I met Mary who said that she was going —— the country ——. There, Their 11. —— are seven brothers in —— family. —— books are —— on the table. —— is no doubt that —— knowledge of mathematics is greater than —— knowledge of English. Were, Where 14. —— have you been? —— you ever on a farm —— alfalfa is grown? —— —— you when the report was read? I was just —— you ——. Of, Have 18. You should —— read more distinctly. I could —— done the work if I had had more —— the necessary tools. If I had tried harder, I might —— done the work better. 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. Rose Buhlig (2011). Business English: A Practice Book. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/38046/pg38046-images.html 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 , located at . www.gutenberg.org https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html

THE PREPOSITION AND THE CONJUNCTION

A Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book . MY UNCLE MAKES A GREAT DISCOVERY here CHAPTER I - MY UNCLE MAKES A GREAT DISCOVERY Looking back to all that has occurred to me since that eventful day, I am scarcely able to believe in the reality of my adventures. They were truly so wonderful that even now I am bewildered when I think of them. My uncle was a German, having married my mother's sister, an Englishwoman. Being very much attached to his fatherless nephew, he invited me to study under him in his home in the fatherland. This home was in a large town, and my uncle a professor of philosophy, chemistry, geology, mineralogy, and many other ologies. One day, after passing some hours in the laboratory—my uncle being absent at the time—I suddenly felt the necessity of renovating the tissues— , I was hungry, and was about to rouse up our old French cook, when my uncle, Professor Von Hardwigg, suddenly opened the street door, and came rushing upstairs. i.e. Now Professor Hardwigg, my worthy uncle, is by no means a bad sort of man; he is, however, choleric and original. To bear with him means to obey; and scarcely had his heavy feet resounded within our joint domicile than he shouted for me to attend upon him. "Harry—Harry—Harry—" I hastened to obey, but before I could reach his room, jumping three steps at a time, he was stamping his right foot upon the landing. "Harry!" he cried, in a frantic tone, "are you coming up?" Now to tell the truth, at that moment I was far more interested in the question as to what was to constitute our dinner than in any problem of science; to me soup was more interesting than soda, an omelette more tempting than arithmetic, and an artichoke of ten times more value than any amount of asbestos. But my uncle was not a man to be kept waiting; so adjourning therefore all minor questions, I presented myself before him. He was a very learned man. Now most persons in this category supply themselves with information, as peddlers do with goods, for the benefit of others, and lay up stores in order to diffuse them abroad for the benefit of society in general. Not so my excellent uncle, Professor Hardwigg; he studied, he consumed the midnight oil, he pored over heavy tomes, and digested huge quartos and folios in order to keep the knowledge acquired to himself. There was a reason, and it may be regarded as a good one, why my uncle objected to display his learning more than was absolutely necessary: he stammered; and when intent upon explaining the phenomena of the heavens, was apt to find himself at fault, and allude in such a vague way to sun, moon, and stars that few were able to comprehend his meaning. To tell the honest truth, when the right word would not come, it was generally replaced by a very powerful adjective. In connection with the sciences there are many almost unpronounceable names—names very much resembling those of Welsh villages; and my uncle being very fond of using them, his habit of stammering was not thereby improved. In fact, there were periods in his discourse when he would finally give up and swallow his discomfiture—in a glass of water. As I said, my uncle, Professor Hardwigg, was a very learned man; and I now add a most kind relative. I was bound to him by the double ties of affection and interest. I took deep interest in all his doings, and hoped some day to be almost as learned myself. It was a rare thing for me to be absent from his lectures. Like him, I preferred mineralogy to all the other sciences. My anxiety was to gain real . Geology and mineralogy were to us the sole objects of life, and in connection with these studies many a fair specimen of stone, chalk, or metal did we break with our hammers. knowledge of the earth Steel rods, loadstones, glass pipes, and bottles of various acids were oftener before us than our meals. My uncle Hardwigg was once known to classify six hundred different geological specimens by their weight, hardness, fusibility, sound, taste, and smell. He corresponded with all the great, learned, and scientific men of the age. I was, therefore, in constant communication with, at all events the letters of, Sir Humphry Davy, Captain Franklin, and other great men. But before I state the subject on which my uncle wished to confer with me, I must say a word about his personal appearance. Alas! my readers will see a very different portrait of him at a future time, after he has gone through the fearful adventures yet to be related. My uncle was fifty years old; tall, thin, and wiry. Large spectacles hid, to a certain extent, his vast, round, and goggle eyes, while his nose was irreverently compared to a thin file. So much indeed did it resemble that useful article, that a compass was said in his presence to have made considerable N (Nasal) deviation. The truth being told, however, the only article really attracted to my uncle's nose was tobacco. Another peculiarity of his was, that he always stepped a yard at a time, clenched his fists as if he were going to hit you, and was, when in one of his peculiar humors, very far from a pleasant companion. It is further necessary to observe that he lived in a very nice house, in that very nice street, the Konigstrasse at Hamburg. Though lying in the centre of a town, it was perfectly rural in its aspect—half wood, half bricks, with old-fashioned gables—one of the few old houses spared by the great fire of 1842. When I say a nice house, I mean a handsome house—old, tottering, and not exactly comfortable to English notions: a house a little off the perpendicular and inclined to fall into the neighboring canal; exactly the house for a wandering artist to depict; all the more that you could scarcely see it for ivy and a magnificent old tree which grew over the door. My uncle was rich; his house was his own property, while he had a considerable private income. To my notion the best part of his possessions was his god-daughter, Gretchen. And the old cook, the young lady, the Professor and I were the sole inhabitants. I loved mineralogy, I loved geology. To me there was nothing like pebbles—and if my uncle had been in a little less of a fury, we should have been the happiest of families. To prove the excellent Hardwigg's impatience, I solemnly declare that when the flowers in the drawing-room pots began to grow, he rose every morning at four o'clock to make them grow quicker by pulling the leaves! Having described my uncle, I will now give an account of our interview. He received me in his study; a perfect museum, containing every natural curiosity that can well be imagined—minerals, however, predominating. Every one was familiar to me, having been catalogued by my own hand. My uncle, apparently oblivious of the fact that he had summoned me to his presence, was absorbed in a book. He was particularly fond of early editions, tall copies, and unique works. "Wonderful!" he cried, tapping his forehead. "Wonderful—wonderful!" It was one of those yellow-leaved volumes now rarely found on stalls, and to me it appeared to possess but little value. My uncle, however, was in raptures. He admired its binding, the clearness of its characters, the ease with which it opened in his hand, and repeated aloud, half a dozen times, that it was very, very old. To my fancy he was making a great fuss about nothing, but it was not my province to say so. On the contrary, I professed considerable interest in the subject, and asked him what it was about. "It is the Heims-Kringla of Snorre Tarleson," he said, "the celebrated Icelandic author of the twelfth century—it is a true and correct account of the Norwegian princes who reigned in Iceland." My next question related to the language in which it was written. I hoped at all events it was translated into German. My uncle was indignant at the very thought, and declared he wouldn't give a penny for a translation. His delight was to have found the original work in the Icelandic tongue, which he declared to be one of the most magnificent and yet simple idioms in the world—while at the same time its grammatical combinations were the most varied known to students. "About as easy as German?" was my insidious remark. My uncle shrugged his shoulders. "The letters at all events," I said, "are rather difficult of comprehension." "It is a Runic manuscript, the language of the original population of Iceland, invented by Odin himself," cried my uncle, angry at my ignorance. I was about to venture upon some misplaced joke on the subject, when a small scrap of parchment fell out of the leaves. Like a hungry man snatching at a morsel of bread the Professor seized it. It was about five inches by three and was scrawled over in the most extraordinary fashion. The lines shown here are an exact facsimile of what was written on the venerable piece of parchment—and have wonderful importance, as they induced my uncle to undertake the most wonderful series of adventures which ever fell to the lot of human beings. My uncle looked keenly at the document for some moments and then declared that it was Runic. The letters were similar to those in the book, but then what did they mean? This was exactly what I wanted to know. Now as I had a strong conviction that the Runic alphabet and dialect were simply an invention to mystify poor human nature, I was delighted to find that my uncle knew as much about the matter as I did—which was nothing. At all events the tremulous motion of his fingers made me think so. "And yet," he muttered to himself, "it is old Icelandic, I am sure of it." And my uncle ought to have known, for he was a perfect polyglot dictionary in himself. He did not pretend, like a certain learned pundit, to speak the two thousand languages and four thousand idioms made use of in different parts of the globe, but he did know all the more important ones. It is a matter of great doubt to me now, to what violent measures my uncle's impetuosity might have led him, had not the clock struck two, and our old French cook called out to let us know that dinner was on the table. "Bother the dinner!" cried my uncle. But as I was hungry, I sallied forth to the dining room, where I took up my usual quarters. Out of politeness I waited three minutes, but no sign of my uncle, the Professor. I was surprised. He was not usually so blind to the pleasure of a good dinner. It was the acme of German luxury—parsley soup, a ham omelette with sorrel trimmings, an oyster of veal stewed with prunes, delicious fruit, and sparkling Moselle. For the sake of poring over this musty old piece of parchment, my uncle forbore to share our meal. To satisfy my conscience, I ate for both. The old cook and housekeeper was nearly out of her mind. After taking so much trouble, to find her master not appear at dinner was to her a sad disappointment—which, as she occasionally watched the havoc I was making on the viands, became also alarm. If my uncle were to come to table after all? Suddenly, just as I had consumed the last apple and drunk the last glass of wine, a terrible voice was heard at no great distance. It was my uncle roaring for me to come to him. I made very nearly one leap of it—so loud, so fierce was his tone. 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. Jules Verne (2006). A Journey to the Center of the Earth. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved October 2022 https://www.gutenberg.org/files/18857/18857-h/18857-h.htm 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 , located at . www.gutenberg.org https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html

MY UNCLE MAKES A GREAT DISCOVERY

It's March 2020. I'm 5 months into a new role as Director of Sales at when the pandemic hits and sends us all home. I really valued joining a startup with a physical office presence and face-to-face interaction, especially after working remotely for 3.5 years at my last startup. I now found myself on that all-too-familiar Zoom call, this time trying to continue creating stronger bonds with my teammates but struggling to do so. Preciate I know the ideal of recruiting great talent to work at a startup in a physical office was becoming a tall order, even pre-pandemic. Now it's relatively impossible given the nature of remote work and the fact that top talent know they can leverage remote work as an added benefit to joining a company. The best workers will have optionality. Not only did the pandemic send us all home, but it also sent a lot of people into unhealthy mental states. The commonality of anxiety disorders in 2020 was approximately three times more than those in 2019, and those with depression were reported to be four times more than in 2019. The sudden decline in people’s mental health went, no doubt, hand in hand with the pandemic. All of a sudden, people didn’t know when they were going to return to their offices or if it was even safe to leave their homes. The spring of 2020 was a time of a lot of anxiety for some to be left with a lot of unknowns, and being left alone can also send people into depressive episodes. reported Thankfully people were able to adapt to their new reality pretty quickly. Folks found creative ways to connect with their colleagues, friends, and family. They quickly realized that social presence and agency changed the whole “stay at home” game. That’s when really came into play. I used it to connect with people virtually. We would all gather in a virtual meeting and I would move around from one conversation to the other– just like the cocktail hours I missed so much. Preciate I would have a standing Friday night meeting on Preciate with all my friends. During those days of the lockdown, this became the one thing I had to look forward to all week. I also used this time to have virtual lunch (at home) with friends I haven’t spoken with in years because we had moved away from each other. All of a sudden, people were reconnecting and it helped to know that I wasn’t the only one. While we didn’t necessarily discuss our anxieties, I think it was obvious that just being able to talk with someone else during these times was a welcomed comfort. As a company, it can be hard to build a welcoming culture and maintain relationships when you don’t physically see each other—so getting creative helped. Among the things we did to boost company morale and engagement, we hosted virtual game nights on Preciate. The platform allowed us to break into teams on the meeting and confer with each other about our collective answer because the audio proximity tool kept our conversations secret from those whose bubbles were far enough away from us. It was an excellent way to connect with people I hadn’t met or seen physically in a long time. Virtual socializing was (and still is) fun and easy. Preciate saved my mental health, specifically because it had much more to offer me than other platforms like Zoom or Google Meets. Preciate lets users customize their space by adding background music, personalizing the entire background by pinning images or items, not just your singular box. You can also move around to different conversation bubbles as I mentioned before. Working for the company didn’t not help my bias towards it, but hey, I’m only human. So not only did I use Preciate to stay connected with my friends and family, but I also used it every day in my professional life. It’s been nearly two years since we were all sent to work from home. We all remember that time and what we did to make it through, including fostering our relationships over the internet. Since then, some have returned to their offices, some have committed to staying home, and some have found a balance of both. Whichever route you’ve chosen, there’s no avoiding virtual meetings anymore. Therapists and doctors even offer services virtually to adjust to the new way of life! It’s also been that virtual interactions decreased loneliness among people and increased their sense of social support (myself included). reported Every day the standards of virtual meetings are changing, so Preciate is an ever-evolving platform, and as I said, the future of work is remote. I also believe that the future of socialization is remote as well. It’s all here to stay, so we might as well embrace it! is an enterprise Social Presence® Platform dedicated to helping its users create more authentic connections that accelerate business. Through dynamic movement and spatial audio, users are able to create healthier relationships at every interaction. Companies are able to brand their virtual meeting spaces with custom backgrounds and Room Items that turn meetings into memorable moments. All of this accelerates the rate at which they can build trust, collaborate, recruit, sell, onboard. Preciate If you're interested in learning more about Preciate, I'd start with this guide from Preciate's Help Center: What is Preciate? How Does it Work? It's easy to and . Read more about Preciate's as Public Benefit Corporation. Sign Up Create a Room Purpose

How Virtual Socializing Saved My Mental Health

In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, the world of remote work is booming. Both the gig economy and initiatives are becoming increasingly popular. Global lockdown measures have introduced countless companies, around the globe, to the transformative qualities of out-of-office work. Although remote work has been limited by the drawbacks of cross-border payments, modern fintech can create borderless solutions, to ensure that talent can be enlisted from anywhere on demand. work-from-home (WFH) Fintech has the power to solve problems for both businesses and their remote employees. For instance, according to a survey by Mastercard, two-thirds of gig workers in the US have reported needing faster access to their wages - with 85% claiming that they would work more if they could expect to be paid at a faster rate. These limitations have become further exposed by the pandemic - in which a growing number of gig economy workers invariably felt the financial hit of global lockdown measures. (Image: ) Statista As the data above shows, the Covid-19 pandemic has seen 44% of employees in the US embrace remote work, as opposed to the 17% prior to the health crisis. The significant growth of the remote work trend shows that industries must adapt quickly to better accommodate this new pattern. This can be a significant challenge for traditional finance, where employees are generally expected to be in-house and certainly not based overseas. However, emerging technology can help to better support remote work and leverage a more frictionless transformation into a more remote future. The Hurdles Facing Borderless Finance The act of sending an international payment through traditional banking channels can be a complex and drawn-out process that requires the involvement of many middlemen along the way. For instance, if a transaction between a company in the United States and India were required, the US business would ask its bank to send a payment overseas. The domestic bank would then to leverage the transaction, and a respondent bank in India would ultimately receive the funds before transferring them to the recipient company’s account. Each step of this process takes time and costs money to carry out, which can lead to a significant buildup of fees. According to , the average fee for sending payments worldwide is around 7% - which can cost companies relative fortunes when larger transactions are required. confer with another correspondent bank World Bank data Blockchain-based solutions can streamline the process by storing each transaction on a secure distributed ledger. Once a transaction is brokered, it’s stored in an immutable manner and the party has immediate access to the payment without the need for middlemen or hurdling red tape. Significantly, the lack of intermediaries also means that fees are cut, too. Furthermore, because of the distributed nature of blockchain technology, it’s impossible for records to be tampered with once a payment has been recorded. There’s no way for the transaction to be reversed or changed within the ledger - meaning that there’s a far greater level of accountability and security for all parties involved. For businesses that are not yet ready to plunge into blockchain technology, but still feel the urge to optimize their financial flows and break up with traditional banking, APIs (authorized payment institutions) may be the best choice by far. With most of them offering payment card acquiring, a number will also assist with quick account opening for businesses, enabling you to keep most of the processes under one roof. While the traditional banks and the leviathans of the acquiring industry may not be very responsive to the needs of emerging eCommerce businesses, it may be worth considering medium segment players like or , which demonstrate flexible pricing policies and adjusted solutions for securing payments. Unlimint Connectum Gig Economies Built on Borderless Payments The transition towards remote work will invariably lead to growing numbers of international hires and is likely to boost the capacity for businesses to enter foreign talent markets. However, the success of this evolution will revolve around the capacity for emerging fintech to accommodate more borderless payment systems. Today, it’s possible for companies to use blockchain-based apps and payment platforms like LBank as a means of distributing salaries overseas to employees based in nations with different fiat currencies - all with lower fees in place and faster transaction times. Another example of distributed ledger technology that’s already being adopted across many fintech companies is Hedera Hashgraph. With the ability to process as many as , the Hedera Hashgraph leaves Visa’s average transaction processing rate of 25,000 per second in its wake. 500,000 transactions per second Companies looking to embrace remote work will also need to consider adopting salary packages based on the geographic location of their employees. This can help companies and employees alike to receive wages that are in line with the living costs of the location in which they’re based. As far as APIs like Connectum are concerned, they are more flexible in terms of providing tailor-made fees for your geographically dispersed payouts than traditional banks are. can also aid these variations through the use of ‘smart contracts, which can enable employers to define a more dynamic set of rules surrounding remote work. These smart contracts, which are written into the chain, feature well-defined conditions by the parties who created the contract. For instance, the contract could state that specific payments are sent automatically to employees whose VPN access comes from a Mexican server, an Indian server, or a US server. Blockchain technology Fundamentally, the acceleration of remote work is set to be an exciting time for both employees and businesses alike. Although there are plenty of hurdles to overcome in creating a frictionless environment for work from home staff and freelancers, the growth of fintech and blockchain technology ensures that the future looks bright for this liberating facet of the age of the new normal.

The Gig Economy Beyond Borders: How Borderless Finance Can Revolutionize the Future of Remote Work

is the most comprehensive plan ever proposed to reverse global warming. Project Drawdown On Sept. 5, 6, and 7 of 2018, a project founded by Henry Poole named <code>/earth hosted a small hackathon for Project Drawdown. I acted as MC and Agile coach. kindly offered us meeting space at their beautiful building in San Francisco. The goal was to initiate a new Free-libre Open-Source Software (FLOSS) . In addition to five developers and five scientistd and volunteers from Project Drawdown, we were honored to have present for a few hours each day. The Internet Archive project Richard Stallman Richard Stallman Ryan Allard Drawdown has developed a modeling methodology that allows you to predict the impact on greenhouse gas emissions of the adoption of various . Examples of the 80 solutions so far modeled are: greater adoption of rooftop solar, greater use of silvopasture, great education for girls globally, and so forth. The models use solid data collected by researchers all over the world, and compute emissions with them based on very thorough . The models have a lot of inputs and parameters, but are not especially complicated mathematically. With a great deal of careful work in these models and a great deal of data, it is possible to predict what it will take to reverse global warming — to begin to greenhouses gases. Project Drawdown is about solutions, not problems, and it is a fundamentally hopeful project: it shows that humanity can control its own destiny and reverse the slow-motion global train wreck we are passengers on today. solutions models drawdown Chad Frischmann But there is room for improvement, which is why we were there. The models are in Microsoft Excel. They are not secret, but they are not exactly free and open. By virtue of being in Excel, they can only be understood, improved on, and hacked, by a limited audience with difficult version control. We believe that several actions will make these climate models available to researchers and policy makers world-wide: Moving to Python, a friendlier system than VBA for modeling work. Using modern software engineering approaches, such as for version control, continuous integration, and automated tests. git Separating the data from the computations. Eventually, building a modern browser-delivered platform. Using a modern Free Software license that allows others to use and contribute to the models. Owen Barton Project Drawdown was strategically open, but not tactically well-versed in the principles of Free Software Movement. In particular, they have not “released” or licensed these spreadsheets. One of the great results of this hackathon was that Henry, Richard Stallman, and a coding attorney named Marc Jones had a chance to confer with Chad Frischmann, Vice President and Research Director of Drawdown. They have tentatively agreed to use the , subject to ratification by their board. Gnu Affero General Public License Marc Jones Simultaneously, Owen Barton, Denton Gentry and I were building the initial Python instance of the code. It took a whole day of discussion and explanation from Ryan Allard for the developers to start speaking the language of the scientists and modelers. I treat every problem with urgency, but some things can’t be rushed. If you ever bring developers and scientists together for the first time, plan to invest some time in co-learning each other’s jargon. Stephanie Liu Owen and I hacked all evening until exhaustion overcame us. I like to believe we are not workaholics, but both of us had come a long way and wanted to maximize our impact in these short three days. Owen built the Python web service. I felt it was very important to allow for gradual replacement of the Excel system using the , so I hacked the Excel spreadsheet to make calls to the web service. This allowed the existing spreadsheet to continue in use, but to call out to Python. At first, we literally implemented a single subtraction in Python to get an end-to-end “spike” proved out. In fact, we did not fully achieve that for the size of tables we needed until Friday morning. Many thanks to , an MIT-licensed open source project, without which Excel integration would not have been possible. Strangler pattern VBA Web Denton, meanwhile, developed a “gold-standard” test that actually fires up Excel, computes a model, and extracts a sampling of data values. This is an “integration test” that should give us and future developers great confidence in our coding. Denton Gentry On the final day, Owen got a much more complete part of the model working, probably about 1/10th of the total work. Working with the Drawdown scientists, we developed a for future programmers to follow. Having developed both an integration test and unit tests, and a functional, if clunky, in-Excel data comparison technique, we believe we accomplished the fundamental mission of the hackathon: There is now a modern Python where volunteers may scrub in to help Project Drawdown promote solutions to global warming. mini-roadmap FLOSS repo Henry Poole Robert L. Read

Experience from the <code>/earth hackathon for Project Drawdown

Note: I initially posted to on February 29, 2016. Given the sturm and drang leading up to and following the U.S. presidential election, I thought it might be a good time to revisit it. While this piece focuses specifically on tech startups, I think (and hope!) that the conclusion that I drew applies more broadly. We’re going to be okay. In fact, I think we’ll be better than okay. this article LinkedIn — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — - Talk about a downer to end the weekend. On Sunday, TechCrunch published a piece called “ ” which begins with the line, “The gold rush of the last ten years is over.” Lest you think that this is simply a way to draw you into the article, the author tells you that it’s (maybe) not. Despite being just two months into my second startup, I’m compelled to consider existential questions about the state of my as yet unnamed business. How are we to write a corporate obituary when we don’t even have a name? After the Gold Rush startup Sarcasm aside, there is a world of difference between recognizing that Silicon Valley has been living in a valuation bubble and declaring that material changes in the operating ethea of large companies have rigged the game against startups. The truth is that the game has always been rigged. Large organizations have massive structural advantages. This is not new. It’s really, really hard to start something new and effectively compete against the establishment. Despite the recent Hollywoodization of startup culture, entrepreneurs know that there are few jobs less sexy than starting a business. It’s a confounding slog, one where the founders have to convince others — and themselves — that they have some magic that no one else has. Creating a new market? The entrepreneur is seeing something that no one else sees. I don’t know if this meets the clinical definition of psychotic, but you can probably confer with the DSM to find out. Entering into a crowded market with expectations that you’re going to win? That takes more than a healthy ego; it requires a degree of self-delusion. When businesses and entrepreneurs succeed, delusion is rightfully recast as prescience and/or insightfulness. Getting to that point takes time so perhaps it makes sense that founders and funders are on the same metaphorical acid trip. Liquidation preferences aside, venture funds are highly aligned with their portfolio companies. It doesn’t matter, on some level, if valuations make sense. What matters is that when they soar, everyone feels validated. And when the bubble bursts, everyone feels the punch in the gut. The author goes on to write “I’m sure occasional startups will still emerge from left field to conquer the world. But for the foreseeable future, as the odds against them get longer, and the competition fiercer, it will happen less and less.” I remember the “dotcom crash” at the turn of the century. New York City’s tech scene, which in its frothy heyday had branded itself as “Silicon Alley”, was a barren wasteland. I started a business on the ashes of the dotcom boom. It took 2.5 years for me to raise dollar one. But I built the business (which I ultimately sold) and the city’s tech community came roaring back. In Q4 2015, and that constituted a steep dropoff from a few quarters prior. NYC companies raised $903 million dollars in venture funding Startups aren’t dead. They will continue to innovate, create jobs, and reimagine the world. So I encourage everyone to take a deep breath. That sound is the bursting of a bubble. It’s not the end of startups. is how hackers start their afternoons. We’re a part of the family. We are now and happy to opportunities. Hacker Noon @AMI accepting submissions discuss advertising &sponsorship To learn more, , , or simply, read our about page like/message us on Facebook tweet/DM @HackerNoon. If you enjoyed this story, we recommend reading our and . Until next time, don’t take the realities of the world for granted! latest tech stories trending tech stories

Everything is Awful and We’re All Going to Fail

Dear Bankless Nation, Take a quick guess at what this Dune Analytics graph represents: What do you think? Turns out it’s the number of ! Reddit Collectible Avatars holders These users, many of whom are newcomers to NFTs, have surged to nearly since the social news aggregator giant launched its Polygon-based NFT system only a few months ago. 3 million strong The growth is incredible, and it shows Reddit’s really onto something. Let’s dive in and walk through the basics of these blooming digital collectibles for today’s post! -WMP The Reddit Avatars boom Reddit Collectible Avatars explained In July 2022, Reddit introduced as an extension of the platform’s rebuilt system. Collectible Avatars Avatar Builder Collectible Avatars are made by independent artists that confer holders with unique benefits on the Reddit website, like special treatment on your posts and customizable wearables. limited-edition digital collectibles The avatars, the initial 31 special-edition series of which have already sold out, are sold through the , purchasable in USD, and maintained in Polygon-based digital wallets. Collectible Avatars Shop Reddit Vault This month Reddit opened up the ability for holders to easily to other Reddit Vaults or external wallets, e.g. MetaMask accounts. transfer their own custom avatars Series over 100Ξ volume so far While all the initial series have already finished their primary sales in the Collectible Avatars Shop, you can browse early secondary marketplace listings across these series right now. on OpenSea To date, the most active collections that have reached +100Ξ total volume have been: — Foustlings 271Ξ total volume, 0.34Ξ floor currently — The Senses 266Ξ total volume, 0.79Ξ floor currently — Wear Your Emotions 134Ξ total volume, 0.2Ξ floor currently — Baked Goods & Evils 111Ξ total volume, 0.1Ξ floor currently At the time of this post’s writing, the collective trading activity around all of the initial series amounted to over $2.3M USD worth of sales volume across +12,000 unique sales so far. Trading on OpenSea Keep in mind that Reddit Collectible Avatars are minted on Polygon, so if you’re interested in trading them you will need a Polygon wallet set up, some MATIC tokens to cover your Polygon gas fees, and some ETH to make buys or bids. 1) 2) 3) Once you sign in to OpenSea, you can use your wallet dashboard to bridge ETH and MATIC if you need to. Then you could search around on the Reddit Collectible Avatars or through to review the available listings. from Ethereum to Polygon series overview page all the avatars at once What comes next? Reddit Collectible Avatars are really interesting because they’re one of the first big attempts in the mainstream to let users expand their ownership and identity both in and beyond a single social media platform. I also really like the effort because it’s light, it’s fun, it’s gamified, there are tiers of wearables for tons of customization possibilities, there are interesting platform perks, and there’s open interoperability from being built on Polygon. In the months ahead, look for Reddit to field new artist partnerships and to continue attracting millions of more holders from its massive user base. It also seems probable, and from what I can tell highly requested by early holders, that Reddit will launch a more expansive and standalone avatar marketplace to provide a bespoke experience for novices and power users alike. Also, don’t be surprised if other social media giants follow suit with their own NFT avatar pilots if Reddit’s collectibles numbers continue to be strong! Action steps 📣 Subscribe to the subreddit to keep up to date with future news, artist features, and more r/CollectiblesAvatars 🌊 Check out the first on OpenSea limited-edition Reddit avatars 🎁 See my last post if you missed it! A sneak peek of Blur First Published At:﻿ https://metaversal.banklesshq.com/p/the-reddit-nft-surge

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