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Government officials, utility providers, cybersecurity analysts and everyone in between are questioning the ability of the U.S. power grid to handle proposed plans. Objectives to decarbonize and adopt novel technologies feel lofty, as an overhaul’s financial and logistical burdens feel too much to bear. However, legislation is in place because fewer problems are more pressing than expanding clean energy access and dependability in a tech-dependent world. The State of the U.S. Power Grid The severity of the climate crisis yields catastrophic natural disasters and dismantles existing energy structures. Meanwhile, cybercriminals are honing their skills and using them to tackle critical infrastructure for lucrative payouts. International conflict creates even more opportunities for energetic interruptions. Today’s grid faces more antagonistic influences and it sits vulnerable. The U.S. power grid is ill-prepared to be resilient against new threats, causing more outages, public health crises and economic disruptions than ever. Additionally, most of the transmission lines, circuit breakers, fuses and more and haven’t received adequate attention , as equipment and machinery approach the end of their expected life spans. since the 1960s and 70s Issues compound as outdated grid tech cannot supply the output to meet the demands of a more consumptive and increased population. A carbon-friendly, energy-efficient future may need of electrical generation capacity before 2050 to energize the nation without complications. up to 27 terawatt hours more Extreme heat waves and cold snaps quickly exacerbate a national health and safety issue if homes cannot regulate temperature safely. Power suppliers operate less effectively in extreme temperatures, so they need assistance from an empowered distribution grid to provide more consistent and robust utilities. Overcoming Stagnation With Upgrades It’s apparent the best time to upgrade the grid is now. Grid improvements manifest as innovation, legislation and then installation. The energy revolution has created myriad tools that have entered the power sector in the last 60 years, such as electric heat pumps, battery energy storage solutions, upgraded solar panels and EVs, to name a few. These are a result of countless tech, energy and construction workforces that pooled to create viable solutions, leading to informed legislative action. In October 2023, the Biden-Harris Administration inspired by the Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnership (GRIP) program investments and efforts from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Here are the highlights of how funds will catalyze grid modernization and boost economic and energetic resilience: announced a $3.5 billion plan It will create many well-paying union jobs, assisting underserved communities. There will be greater access to renewable energy sources. Plans include natural hazard prevention tech. Microgrids will appear in more communities. Funds are spread across 44 states and 58 projects. These projects will install a range of technology and infrastructure enhancements. In Louisiana, one focus is installing battery backups and hardening existing transmission lines to be less prone to outages. The number of hurricanes and high winds is increasing in the state, making it a targeted priority. The Wildfire Assessment and Resilience for Networks project covers states prone to ravaging fires and will implement fire-resistant tech, like underground transmission lines. Additionally, not every aspect of grid modernization has to be 100% new and fresh — sometimes retrofits and refurbishing for timely and sustainable delivery. For example, transformers are an essential component of grid operations. Communities can opt for reconditioned transformers with intensified durability and quality control to reduce climate impact and hasten lead times. are the best options The Byproducts of Modernization The advantages of beginning grid modernization now are far-reaching. These projects will take time, but what rewards will the nation reap as the power grid develops? Fewer Cyberattacks Enhanced cybersecurity is a monumental bonus of upscaling the grid. While the U.S. needs a digitized future, it comes at the cost of more holistic defenses. The intensity of , and the digital transformation of mass infrastructure leaves infinite backdoors and vulnerabilities for the world’s savviest hackers. modern cyber warfare is unparalleled While upgrades may allow threat actors to infiltrate, cyberspaces are more protected than legacy systems that lack integration with today’s cybersecurity standards. Reinforced Economy Other boons include economic boosts and job stability. Reducing the frequency of cyberattacks on the power grid alone will save anywhere in damage. between $243 billion and $1 trillion However, expanding the potential of the power grid opens more job opportunities in other tangential sectors, like renewable energy installation and urban design. Fewer federal losses occur while communities rise in financial and career stability. For every $1 million put into a green grid, the nation that fosters rural communities. The allocation will tighten wage and class gaps nationwide. gets $1.5 million in value Strong Disaster Guards Another reason grid upgrades are so urgent is because of intense weather events. Barriers that prevent worst-case scenarios, like outages and structural damage, allow the planet to heal more productively. Debris from destroyed infrastructure and hazardous waste spread becomes less common, primarily as and emergency services thrive. Disaster remediation and recovery expedites because the consequences are less extreme. battery energy storage keeps lights on Reliable, Clean Energy The most prominent impact modernization produces is decarbonization. Renewable power’s reputation will soar when the grid can finally sustain its needs. Eventually, the grid will manage tech like smart meters and IoT to obtain data and optimize systems while dispersing resources on demand. This could reduce electricity costs, congestion problems and peak-time inefficiencies. At the same time, it balances clean energy discourse. More trustworthy systems mean less worrying about the consistency of solar panels or wind power because energy storage solutions carry enough juice to shoulder the population. Public and corporate buy-in will increase to maximize deployment to reach climate targets. Maintaining Momentum The nation must recognize valiant efforts up to this point to adapt the national grid to renewable energy and smart technologies to keep morale elevated. Simultaneously, there is still a noticeable gap between promised performance metrics and reality that must inspire more dedication to modernizing than ever. Collaboration between researchers, tech experts, builders and governments is central to centralizing assets and smartly allocating resources for streamlined implementation.

The U.S. Is in Desperate Need of Power Grid Modernization

Banks, merchants, brands and nations have implemented literally hundreds of digital wallets as of this writing and in 2021 were used to make an astounding $15.9 trillion in payments.  Unfortunately, these wallets suffer from rampant problems such as questionable security, intrusive business models, black box design, and limited capabilities. And, they’re restricted by vendor lock-in to boot, with each wallet doing only a few things well. To address these limitations, Foundation Europe, part of the bigger Linux Foundation, recently announced the launch of the vendor-neutral OpenWallet Foundation (OWF), together with Visa, American Express and more than 30 for-profits and nonprofits. The OWF, while not publishing a wallet, seeks to become the core global standard that others leverage to truly consumer centric interoperable digital identities and digital wallets, driven by the investments in existing standards such as eIdas 2.0 and the EU Digital Wallet reference implementation. Linux True to its Linux Foundation roots, the OWF promises to follow the open source software ethos and create an open source engine that belongs to us all. Financial organizations of all shapes and sizes back the OWF and have vouched to create applications using the open software they create as a base for global, interoperable wallets. We might be witnessing the beginning of something big. As Daniel Goldscheider, the OpenWallet Foundation’s founder puts it: “With open source at the core of wallets, like it is at the core of web browsers, anyone can build a digital wallet that works with others and gives consumers the freedom to maintain their identity and verifiable credentials and share relevant data when, where, and with whom they choose.” If successful, the OWF will be crucial for humanity’s future, laying the foundation for interoperability among a wide range of wallet use cases, including making payments, proving identity, storing validated credentials such as employment, education, financial standing, and entitlements. By adopting the same open source core, crypto can potentially be used in any digital transaction. Not many think about validating credentials and proving identity while discussing a crypto wallet, but blockchain may very well be an ideal solution for global interoperable digital wallets. People need to know who they’re doing business with, who they are paying, and who they are playing with. And they need to trust them. If crypto wallets can serve as digital IDs, and the whole world runs on an interoperable engine, the future looks bright. Everyone, from giant corporations to small communities, can develop wallets that serve their specific use case. Thanks to the OWF, all of those wallets will be able to talk to each other. And that makes all the difference in the world. The Problem with Digital Wallets Today That all kinds of organizations are creating digital wallets today suggests these organizations, regardless of their actual intentions, are part of the problem – spreading vendor lock-in, questionable security and black box design, among other ills. The main problem with the current situation is that “without them all staying in sync, every country or organization that issues credentials could become a walled garden. IDs and wallets from elsewhere won’t work, disrupting travel, international students, and mobile workforces.” This is a major issue. An issue that resonates with the words of the Linux Foundation Europe’s Gabriele Columbro: “The world needs a place to store digital assets that matter, and the work of this foundation has the potential to redefine the credentials landscape globally, creating in turn much better digital experiences for people everywhere and new market opportunities.” The wallets of the future will be multi-faceted. Of course, they’ll sign crypto transactions, but they’ll also be used for “proving identity, storing validated credentials such as employment, education, financial standing, and entitlements. And all of this will “enable trust in the digital future.” The Linux Foundation, one of the most credible names in open source technology, is behind the crucial and much-needed initiative. Other names behind the OWF The OpenWallet Foundation is an initiative from the Linux Foundation Europe, but the names behind it are even more prominent, they “include Accenture, Gen, Futurewei and Visa.” Plus, among the general sponsors are "American Express, esatus AG, Fynbos, IAMX, IndyKite, Intesi Group, Ping Identity, SmartMedia Technologies (SMT), Spruce and Swisscom.” That’s not it, “more than 20 leading nonprofits and academic and government entities have joined the foundation.” Among them is the OpenID Foundation, whose chair Nat Sakimura said: "The experience and expertise of global technical Standards Development Organization (SDOs) like the OpenID Foundation and others can help guide the OpenWallet Foundation and increase opportunities for industry and governments.” The consumer and the open-source ethos seem to be at the core of the OpenWallet Foundation’s project. On the one hand, Visa’s Marie Austenaa said that their organization would be “adding our experience and expertise to enable the wider digital payments ecosystem, and make sure consumers have the greatest possible choice.” On the other, DIDAS’ Daniel Saeuberli promised, “together with OWF, we are committed to advancing a global open source approach to wallet data portability and interoperability.” Why the Right Time is Now In conjunction with the OpenWallet Foundation, the Linux Foundation released a . Titled, “Why the World Needs an Open Source Digital Wallet Right Now,” it starts with a little bit of history. “Twenty-five years ago, early-stage web browsers were incompatible and non-standardized. This threatened to derail the web. That threat brought everyone to the table to adopt a core set of standards that ensured interoperability and helped the web to flourish.” research paper stating their case And we want crypto to flourish, and this project is crucial for that to happen. Plus, as we already said, time is of the essence: “Our economic and social progress is being held back by the limitations of today’s digital wallets, especially the lack of interoperability. Meanwhile, many countries and groups are rushing ahead to create their own bespoke digital wallets. That’s why we need an open, secure digital wallet engine that anyone can use on any device, with any operating system, for any app or service, with any currency, in any language, anytime, anywhere. And we need it now.” The OWF will develop an engine that wants to run at the core of everyone’s digital wallet. That open system promises to be “highly secure,” “privacy-preserving,” and “interoperable.” So much so that they might even run at the core of at least one CBDC project. It’s the most important one, though. If you don’t believe us, this is what the executive director of the Digital Dollar Project, Jennifer Lassiter said: “Digital wallets will be at the forefront of providing improved privacy and security, serving as the interface with users around the world for their digital transactions. DDP is proud to be a founding supporter of the OpenWallet Foundation, as now is the time to ensure CBDCs and the user facing wallets are designed with these key principles in mind.” And if that wasn’t enough star power check out what Clive Smith, the executive director of ID2020, said: “It won't be long before digital wallets are the primary user interface by which individuals receive, store, and share their identification documents, educational credentials, health data, money, and other digital assets.” In Conclusion What the OWF proposes has huge implications for . The open-source engine that they’ll build practically guarantees that cryptocurrencies can potentially be included in every human transaction. The world’s identities and credentials will be secured by blockchains of all kinds. And cryptocurrencies and CBDC can be the default way in which future societies will exchange value. As we always believed they would. crypto In retrospect, it was inevitable from the very beginning. Information in this article was taken from the following resources: DISCLAIMER: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/linux-foundation-europe-announces-formation-of-openwallet-foundation-301753956.html

Will the OpenWallet Foundation Deliver the Interoperability Digital Wallets Desperately Need? 

¿Ofrecerá OpenWallet Foundation la interoperabilidad que las billeteras digitales necesitan desesperadamente?

La Fondation OpenWallet fournira-t-elle l'interopérabilité dont les portefeuilles numériques ont désespérément besoin ?

क्या OpenWallet Foundation इंटरऑपरेबिलिटी डिजिटल वॉलेट की सख्त जरूरत को पूरा करेगा?

OpenWallet Foundation は、デジタルウォレットが切実に必要としている相互運用性を提供するでしょうか?

A OpenWallet Foundation fornecerá a interoperabilidade que as carteiras digitais precisam desesperadamente?

Liệu OpenWallet Foundation có cung cấp các ví kỹ thuật số có khả năng tương tác rất cần thiết không?

OpenWallet Foundation 会提供迫切需要的互操作性数字钱包吗？

The Monster Men by Edgar Rice Burroughs is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book here . DESPERATE CHANCE DESPERATE CHANCE The great chest in the bottom of Rajah Muda Saffir’s prahu had awakened in other hearts as well as his, blind greed and avarice; so that as it had been the indirect cause of his disaster it now proved the incentive to another to turn the mishap to his own profit, and to the final undoing of the Malay. The panglima Ninaka of the Signana Dyaks who manned Muda Saffir’s war prahu saw his chief disappear beneath the swift waters of the river, but the word of command that would have sent the boat hurriedly back to pick up the swimmer was not given. Instead a lusty cry for greater speed ahead urged the sinuous muscles gliding beneath the sleek brown hides; and when Muda Saffir rose to the surface with a cry for help upon his lips Ninaka shouted back to him in derision, consigning his carcass to the belly of the nearest crocodile. In futile rage Muda Saffir called down the most terrible curses of Allah and his Prophet upon the head of Ninaka and his progeny to the fifth generation, and upon the shades of his forefathers, and upon the grim skulls which hung from the rafters of his long-house. Then he turned and swam rapidly toward the shore. Ninaka, now in possession of both the chest and the girl, was rich indeed, but with Muda Saffir dead he scarce knew to whom he could dispose of the white girl for a price that would make it worth while to be burdened with the danger and responsibility of retaining her. He had had some experience of white men in the past and knew that dire were the punishments meted to those who wronged the white man’s women. All through the remainder of the long night Ninaka pondered the question deeply. At last he turned to Virginia. “Why does the big white man who leads the ourang outangs follow us?” he asked. “Is it the chest he desires, or you?” “It is certainly not the chest,” replied the girl. “He wishes to take me back to my father, that is all. If you will return me to him you may keep the chest, if that is what you wish.” Ninaka looked at her quizzically for a moment. Evidently then she was of some value. Possibly should he retain her he could wring a handsome ransom from the white man. He would wait and see, it were always an easy matter to rid himself of her should circumstances require. The river was there, deep, dark and silent, and he could place the responsibility for her loss upon Muda Saffir. Shortly after day break Ninaka beached his prahu before the long-house of a peaceful river tribe. The chest he hid in the underbrush close by his boat, and with the girl ascended the notched log that led to the verandah of the structure, which, stretching away for three hundred yards upon its tall piles, resembled a huge centipede. The dwellers in the long-house extended every courtesy to Ninaka and his crew. At the former’s request Virginia was hidden away in a dark sleeping closet in one of the windowless living rooms which opened along the verandah for the full length of the house. Here a native girl brought her food and water, sitting, while she ate, in rapt contemplation of the white skin and golden hair of the strange female. At about the time that Ninaka pulled his prahu upon the beach before the long-house, Muda Saffir from the safety of the concealing underbrush upon the shore saw a familiar war prahu forging rapidly up the stream. As it approached him he was about to call aloud to those who manned it, for in the bow he saw a number of his own men; but a second glance as the boat came opposite him caused him to alter his intention and drop further into the engulfing verdure, for behind his men squatted five of the terrible monsters that had wrought such havoc with his expedition, and in the stern he saw his own Barunda in friendly converse with the mad white man who had led them. As the boat disappeared about a bend in the river Rajah Muda Saffir arose, shaking his fist in the direction it had vanished and, cursing anew and volubly, damned each separate hair in the heads of the faithless Barunda and the traitorous Ninaka. Then he resumed his watch for the friendly prahu, or smaller sampan which he knew time would eventually bring from up or down the river to his rescue, for who of the surrounding natives would dare refuse succor to the powerful Rajah of Sakkan! At the long-house which harbored Ninaka and his crew, Barunda and Bulan stopped with theirs to obtain food and rest. The quick eye of the Dyak chieftain recognized the prahu of Rajah Muda Saffir where it lay upon the beach, but he said nothing to his white companion of what it augured—it might be well to discover how the land lay before he committed himself too deeply to either faction. At the top of the notched log he was met by Ninaka, who, with horror-wide eyes, looked down upon the fearsome monstrosities that lumbered awkwardly up the rude ladder in the wake of the agile Dyaks and the young white giant. “What does it mean?” whispered the panglima to Barunda. “These are now my friends,” replied Barunda. “Where is Muda Saffir?” Ninaka jerked his thumb toward the river. “Some crocodile has feasted well,” he said significantly. Barunda smiled. “And the girl?” he continued. “And the treasure?” Ninaka’s eyes narrowed. “They are safe,” he answered. “The white man wants the girl,” remarked Barunda. “He does not suspect that you are one of Muda Saffir’s people. If he guessed that you knew the whereabouts of the girl he would torture the truth from you and then kill you. He does not care for the treasure. There is enough in that great chest for two, Ninaka. Let us be friends. Together we can divide it; otherwise neither of us will get any of it. What do you say, Ninaka?” The panglima scowled. He did not relish the idea of sharing his prize, but he was shrewd enough to realize that Barunda possessed the power to rob him of it all, so at last he acquiesced, though with poor grace. Bulan had stood near during this conversation, unable, of course, to understand a single word of the native tongue. “What does the man say?” he asked Barunda. “Has he seen anything of the prahu bearing the girl?” “Yes,” replied the Dyak. “He says that two hours ago such a war prahu passed on its way up river—he saw the white girl plainly. Also he knows whither they are bound, and how, by crossing through the jungle on foot, you may intercept them at their next stop.” Bulan, suspecting no treachery, was all anxiety to be off at once. Barunda suggested that in case of some possible emergency causing the quarry to return down the river it would be well to have a force remain at the long-house to intercept them. He volunteered to undertake the command of this party. Ninaka, he said, would furnish guides to escort Bulan and his men through the jungle to the point at which they might expect to find Muda Saffir. And so, with the girl he sought lying within fifty feet of him, Bulan started off through the jungle with two of Ninaka’s Dyaks as guides—guides who had been well instructed by their panglima as to their duties. Twisting and turning through the dense maze of underbrush and close-growing, lofty trees the little party of eight plunged farther and farther into the bewildering labyrinth. For hours the tiresome march was continued, until at last the guides halted, apparently to consult each other as to the proper direction. By signs they made known to Bulan that they did not agree upon the right course to pursue from there on, and that they had decided that it would be best for each to advance a little way in the direction he thought the right one while Bulan and his five creatures remained where they were. “We will go but a little way,” said the spokesman, “and then we shall return and lead you in the proper direction.” Bulan saw no harm in this, and without a shade of suspicion sat down upon a fallen tree and watched his two guides disappear into the jungle in opposite directions. Once out of sight of the white man the two turned back and met a short distance in the rear of the party they had deserted—in another moment they were headed for the long-house from which they had started. It was fully an hour thereafter that doubts began to enter Bulan’s head, and as the day dragged on he came to realize that he and his weird pack were alone and lost in the heart of a strange and tangled web of tropical jungle. No sooner had Bulan and his party disappeared in the jungle than Barunda and Ninaka made haste to embark with the chest and the girl and push rapidly on up the river toward the wild and inaccessible regions of the interior. Virginia Maxon’s strong hope of succor had been gradually waning as no sign of the rescue party appeared as the day wore on. Somewhere behind her upon the broad river she was sure a long, narrow native prahu was being urged forward in pursuit, and that in command of it was the young giant who was now never for a moment absent from her thoughts. For hours she strained her eyes over the stern of the craft that was bearing her deeper and deeper into the wild heart of fierce Borneo. On either shore they occasionally passed a native long-house, and the girl could not help but wonder at the quiet and peace which reigned over these little settlements. It was as though they were passing along a beaten highway in the center of a civilized community; and yet she knew that the men who lolled upon the verandahs, puffing indolently upon their cigarettes or chewing betel nut, were all head hunters, and that along the verandah rafters above them hung the grisly trophies of their prowess. Yet as she glanced from them to her new captors she could not but feel that she would prefer captivity in one of the settlements they were passing—there at least she might find an opportunity to communicate with her father, or be discovered by the rescue party as it came up the river. The idea grew upon her as the day advanced until she spent the time in watching furtively for some means of escape should they but touch the shore momentarily; and though they halted twice her captors were too watchful to permit her the slightest opportunity for putting her plan into action. Barunda and Ninaka urged their men on, with brief rests, all day, nor did they halt even after night had closed down upon the river. On, on the swift prahu sped up the winding channel which had now dwindled to a narrow stream, at intervals rushing strongly between rocky walls with a current that tested the strength of the strong, brown paddlers. Long-houses had become more and more infrequent until for some time now no sign of human habitation had been visible. The jungle undergrowth was scantier and the spaces between the boles of the forest trees more open. Virginia Maxon was almost frantic with despair as the utter helplessness of her position grew upon her. Each stroke of those slender paddles was driving her farther and farther from friends, or the possibility of rescue. Night had fallen, dark and impenetrable, and with it had come the haunting fears that creep in when the sun has deserted his guardian post. Barunda and Ninaka were whispering together in low gutturals, and to the girl’s distorted and fear excited imagination it seemed possible that she alone must be the subject of their plotting. The prahu was gliding through a stretch of comparatively quiet and placid water where the stream spread out into a little basin just above a narrow gorge through which they had just forced their way by dint of the most laborious exertions on the part of the crew. Virginia watched the two men near her furtively. They were deeply engrossed in their conversation. Neither was looking in her direction. The backs of the paddlers were all toward her. Stealthily she rose to a stooping position at the boat’s side. For a moment she paused, and then, almost noiselessly, dove overboard and disappeared beneath the black waters. It was the slight rocking of the prahu that caused Barunda to look suddenly about to discover the reason for the disturbance. For a moment neither of the men apprehended the girl’s absence. Ninaka was the first to do so, and it was he who called loudly to the paddlers to bring the boat to a stop. Then they dropped down the river with the current, and paddled about above the gorge for half an hour. The moment that Virginia Maxon felt the waters close above her head she struck out beneath the surface for the shore upon the opposite side to that toward which she had dived into the river. She knew that if any had seen her leave the prahu they would naturally expect to intercept her on her way toward the nearest shore, and so she took this means of outwitting them, although it meant nearly double the distance to be covered. After swimming a short distance beneath the surface the girl rose and looked about her. Up the river a few yards she caught the phosphorescent gleam of water upon the prahu’s paddles as they brought her to a sudden stop in obedience to Ninaka’s command. Then she saw the dark mass of the war-craft drifting down toward her. Again she dove and with strong strokes headed for the shore. The next time that she rose she was terrified to see the prahu looming close behind her. The paddlers were propelling the boat slowly in her direction—it was almost upon her now—there was a shout from a man in the bow—she had been seen. Like a flash she dove once more and, turning, struck out rapidly straight back beneath the oncoming boat. When she came to the surface again it was to find herself as far from shore as she had been when she first quitted the prahu, but the craft was now circling far below her, and she set out once again to retrace her way toward the inky mass of shore line which loomed apparently near and yet, as she knew, was some considerable distance from her. As she swam, her mind, filled with the terrors of the night, conjured recollection of the stories she had heard of the fierce crocodiles which infest certain of the rivers of Borneo. Again and again she could have sworn that she felt some huge, slimy body sweep beneath her in the mysterious waters of this unknown river. Behind her she saw the prahu turn back up stream, but now her mind was suddenly engaged with a new danger, for the girl realized that the strong current was bearing her down stream more rapidly than she had imagined. Already she could hear the increasing roar of the river as it rushed, wild and tumultuous, through the entrance to the narrow gorge below her. How far it was to shore she could not guess, or how far to the certain death of the swirling waters toward which she was being drawn by an irresistible force; but of one thing she was certain, her strength was rapidly waning, and she must reach the bank quickly. With redoubled energy she struck out in one last mighty effort to reach the shore. The tug of the current was strong upon her, like a giant hand reaching up out of the cruel river to bear her back to death. She felt her strength ebbing quickly—her strokes now were feeble and futile. With a prayer to her Maker she threw her hands above her head in the last effort of the drowning swimmer to clutch at even thin air for support—the current caught and swirled her downward toward the gorge, and, at the same instant her fingers touched and closed upon something which swung low above the water. With the last flickering spark of vitality that remained in her poor, exhausted body Virginia Maxon clung to the frail support that a kind Providence had thrust into her hands. How long she hung there she never knew, but finally a little strength returned to her, and presently she realized that it was a pendant creeper hanging low from a jungle tree upon the bank that had saved her from the river’s rapacious maw. Inch by inch she worked herself upward toward the bank, and at last, weak and panting, sunk exhausted to the cool carpet of grass that grew to the water’s edge. Almost immediately tired, Nature plunged her into a deep sleep. It was daylight when she awoke, dreaming that the tall young giant had rescued her from a band of demons and was lifting her in his arms to carry her back to her father. Through half open lids she saw the sunlight filtering through the leafy canopy above her—she wondered at the realism of her dream; full consciousness returned and with it the conviction that she was in truth being held close by strong arms against a bosom that throbbed to the beating of a real heart. With a sudden start she opened her eyes wide to look up into the hideous face of a giant ourang outang. 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. Edgar Rice Burroughs (1994). The Monster Men. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved October 2022 https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/96/pg96-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 www.gutenberg.org , located at https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html .

DESPERATE CHANCE

A DESPERATE DEED

Twitter v. Elon Musk Court Filing by Potter Anderson & Corroon LLP, July 12, 2022 is part of . You can jump to any part in this filing . This is part 28 of 31. HackerNoon’s Legal PDF Series here Feature Image: HackerNoon’s Stable Diffusion AI, Prompt “desperate attempt” FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS IX. After purporting to terminate, Musk keeps violating and confirms his earlier violations 139. After purporting to terminate the deal, Musk continued to make public statements disparaging Twitter and confirming the pretextual nature of his postsigning conduct. 140. In the early morning of July 11 (Eastern time), Musk posted Tweets implying that his data requests were never intended to make progress toward consummating the merger, but rather were part of a plan to force litigation in which Twitter’s information would be publicly disclosed: https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1546344529460174849?s=20&t=oC6vqDn7mVSlH-PMxhwrAA?embedable=true https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1546361634347749376?s=20&t=aMc96R3IDR-cN9VSgzUAJw?embedable=true 141. For Musk, it would seem, Twitter, the interests of its stockholders, the transaction Musk agreed to, and the court process to enforce it all constitute an elaborate joke. 142. Musk also, once again, publicly called for the SEC to investigate Twitter’s disclosures regarding false and spam accounts: https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1546350723654369280?s=20&t=EdwC3-tU8M9wN5jDtCQSHA?embedable=true 143. Musk’s conduct simply confirms that he wants to escape the binding contract he freely signed, and to damage Twitter in the process. Continue reading here

'Hello, @SECgov?', 'Chuckmate' tweeted Musk in desperate attempt to back out of Twitter deal 

'¿Hola, @SECgov?', 'Chuckmate' tuiteó Musk en un intento desesperado por retirarse del acuerdo de Twitter

'Bonjour, @SECgov?', 'Chuckmate' a tweeté Musk dans une tentative désespérée de se retirer de l'accord Twitter

'हैलो, @SECgov?', 'चकमेट' ने ट्विटर सौदे से पीछे हटने के बेताब प्रयास में मस्क को ट्वीट किया

「こんにちは、@SECgov?」、「Chuckmate」は、Twitter の取引を撤回する必死の試みで Musk をツイートしました。

'Olá, @SECgov?', 'Chuckmate' twittou Musk em uma tentativa desesperada de desistir do acordo com o Twitter

'Xin chào, @SECgov?', 'Chuckmate' đã tweet cho Musk trong nỗ lực tuyệt vọng để rút lui khỏi thỏa thuận Twitter

“你好，@SECgov？”，“Chuckmate”发推文马斯克绝望地试图退出 Twitter 交易

Marable, in a Desperate Frenzy, Hacked at the Reptile's Awful Head

Marable, en un frenesí desesperado, cortada en la horrible cabeza del reptil

Marable, dans une frénésie désespérée, piraté à l'horrible tête du reptile

मारबल, एक हताश उन्माद में, सरीसृप के भयानक सिर पर हैक किया गया

絶望的な狂乱のマラブル、爬虫類のひどい頭をハッキング

Marable, em um frenesi desesperado, hackeado na cabeça horrível do réptil

Marable, trong cơn điên cuồng tuyệt vọng, đã bị tấn công vào đầu của loài bò sát

Marable，在绝望的狂乱中，在爬行动物的可怕头部被砍

Edmund Hillary, a New Zealand mountaineer, once said, “It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves.” In the scorching heat of the business landscape, your company is a thirsty caravan desperate for insights to guide its journey. But beware, for many, their data strategy resembles a cracked water bottle in the desert – leaking potential and leading nowhere. Are you ready to quench your company's thirst for success with those three simple steps? Many leaders, desperate for a solution, picture a grand data strategy – a sprawling oasis filled with complex architecture and expensive tools. They gather their "data people," spend heavily, and build this technical utopia.  But here's the surprising truth: most companies never reach that oasis. Why? Because data strategy isn't about the bells and whistles. It's about clear, actionable goals. Set Clear KPIs! Start with the Destination, Not the Journey Think of your data strategy as a roadmap.  Before diving into infrastructure or systems, define the 3-5 key performance indicators (KPIs) that truly measure your company's health.  These are your North Stars, guiding everyone toward what matters most, and are the top of your priority to secure. In my book “Data is Like a Plate of Hummus’ which is based on my experience as a data leader and consultant, I many times refer to the KPIs refinement process as a funnel structure, keep things simple, keep them small, just like hummus, a very simple dish but with such powers to fill you stomach for the entire day, in my book I describe my method of refining the KPIs by starting with a set of questions, then pick the most relevant questions, and define which KPIs can answer them, the next step is to identify what action they will drive which gives you the indication to how often you will need it, sometimes seeing a KPI related to time on site every second week with the release cycles can help you understand if the new releases improved or not the user experience, you don’t need to see it daily as it will have nothing to the action of it. Next, establish data governance rules.  This isn't about restrictions but about setting expectations. When will the data be ready? What is the one true source of the data?  Who owns it? How quickly will issues be resolved?  Clear agreements create a supportive system between data users and providers.  Everyone knows their roles and what to do "when the you-know-what hits the fan" (because, let's face it, it will!). In many companies, the idea of data is that everything is important and needs to be used, but in reality, some data is less important than others 🦖.  This led us to hire more engineers and analysts and increase our investment in infrastructure, but as I mentioned a few times in previous articles and my book, will more than 5 KPIs change the decision that needs to be taken? If you need more than that, restart the process of defining your KPIs; you did something wrong there! When you start with too many KPIs it means that you need a consultant each time you need to change something in the dashboard, is it worth it? If you arrive at a meeting and one KPI shows two numbers, can you decide based on it? During my career, I learned an important thing: it’s enough that the data consumer spotted twice an error in the dataset, you lost their trust forever, and from this point, they will check the numbers before they believe you that the numbers are right, generating a few extra hours of work for validation, building a positive trust from the beginning with a system, that can notify the moment there is an issue with the data will save you long term extra investment and hustle! Building Scalable and Iterative Infrastructure Building Your Data Oasis: One Step at a Time Now that you know what data you need, let's talk infrastructure.  Think fast, affordable deployment. Forget a one-size-fits-all approach.  Start with a basic system that can be easily upgraded.  Treat it like a product platform, evolving in cycles.  Each cycle focuses on either improving infrastructure or optimizing costs. The truth is, as a user, you don't care if your data lives in a fancy mansion (Snowflake) or a sturdy apartment building (S3). What matters is getting accurate, timely data. Your team needs to think about how they maximize the buy/build approach for the first iteration because they will learn all the time about what works well and what does not, as well as where the issues lay. The main purpose of picking infrastructure should be to empower, first and foremost, the health metrics you picked and give open for more analysis to be done by the analyst. It needs to be something that will be easy to switch or optimize. But for me, the more important part of the infrastructure is to launch something I can test with the users and learn how it functions for them, whether they see issues or not, and as so, don’t deploy and forget until it breaks, the data people needs to go around and collect feedback, learn the use cases of people with the data and map and prioritize it in the road map. Embrace the Journey, Share the Oasis Data strategy is about making informed decisions for a successful journey.  By focusing on clear goals, strong governance, and scalable infrastructure, you can create your data oasis – one that fuels your company's growth. I am working nowadays on my new book, I would appreciate it if you share it in the comments or find me on Linkedin with more details about your data journey what worked for you, what didn’t, and looking back what would you have done differently? Edmund Hillary, a New Zealand mountaineer, once said, “It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves.” In the scorching heat of the business landscape, your company is a thirsty caravan desperate for insights to guide its journey. But beware, for many, their data strategy resembles a cracked water bottle in the desert – leaking potential and leading nowhere. Are you ready to quench your company's thirst for success with those three simple steps? Many leaders, desperate for a solution, picture a grand data strategy – a sprawling oasis filled with complex architecture and expensive tools. They gather their "data people," spend heavily, and build this technical utopia.  But here's the surprising truth: most companies never reach that oasis. data strategy Why? Because data strategy isn't about the bells and whistles. It's about clear, actionable goals . clear, actionable goals Set Clear KPIs! Set Clear KPIs! Start with the Destination, Not the Journey Start with the Destination, Not the Journey Think of your data strategy as a roadmap.  Before diving into infrastructure or systems, define the 3-5 key performance indicators (KPIs) that truly measure your company's health.  These are your North Stars, guiding everyone toward what matters most, and are the top of your priority to secure. 3-5 key performance indicators (KPIs) In my book “Data is Like a Plate of Hummus’ which is based on my experience as a data leader and consultant, I many times refer to the KPIs refinement process as a funnel structure, keep things simple, keep them small, just like hummus, a very simple dish but with such powers to fill you stomach for the entire day, in my book I describe my method of refining the KPIs by starting with a set of questions, then pick the most relevant questions, and define which KPIs can answer them, the next step is to identify what action they will drive which gives you the indication to how often you will need it, sometimes seeing a KPI related to time on site every second week with the release cycles can help you understand if the new releases improved or not the user experience, you don’t need to see it daily as it will have nothing to the action of it. Next, establish data governance rules .  This isn't about restrictions but about setting expectations. When will the data be ready? What is the one true source of the data?  Who owns it? How quickly will issues be resolved?  Clear agreements create a supportive system between data users and providers.  Everyone knows their roles and what to do "when the you-know-what hits the fan" (because, let's face it, it will!). data governance rules In many companies, the idea of data is that everything is important and needs to be used, but in reality, some data is less important than others 🦖.  This led us to hire more engineers and analysts and increase our investment in infrastructure, but as I mentioned a few times in previous articles and my book, will more than 5 KPIs change the decision that needs to be taken? If you need more than that, restart the process of defining your KPIs; you did something wrong there! When you start with too many KPIs it means that you need a consultant each time you need to change something in the dashboard, is it worth it? If you arrive at a meeting and one KPI shows two numbers, can you decide based on it? During my career, I learned an important thing: it’s enough that the data consumer spotted twice an error in the dataset, you lost their trust forever, and from this point, they will check the numbers before they believe you that the numbers are right, generating a few extra hours of work for validation, building a positive trust from the beginning with a system, that can notify the moment there is an issue with the data will save you long term extra investment and hustle! Building Scalable and Iterative Infrastructure Building Your Data Oasis: One Step at a Time Building Your Data Oasis: One Step at a Time Now that you know what data you need, let's talk infrastructure.  Think fast, affordable deployment . Forget a one-size-fits-all approach.  Start with a basic system that can be easily upgraded.  Treat it like a product platform, evolving in cycles.  Each cycle focuses on either improving infrastructure or optimizing costs. fast, affordable deployment The truth is, as a user, you don't care if your data lives in a fancy mansion (Snowflake) or a sturdy apartment building (S3). What matters is getting accurate, timely data. Your team needs to think about how they maximize the buy/build approach for the first iteration because they will learn all the time about what works well and what does not, as well as where the issues lay. The main purpose of picking infrastructure should be to empower, first and foremost, the health metrics you picked and give open for more analysis to be done by the analyst. It needs to be something that will be easy to switch or optimize. But for me, the more important part of the infrastructure is to launch something I can test with the users and learn how it functions for them, whether they see issues or not, and as so, don’t deploy and forget until it breaks, the data people needs to go around and collect feedback, learn the use cases of people with the data and map and prioritize it in the road map. Embrace the Journey, Share the Oasis Embrace the Journey, Share the Oasis Data strategy is about making informed decisions for a successful journey.  By focusing on clear goals, strong governance, and scalable infrastructure, you can create your data oasis – one that fuels your company's growth. I am working nowadays on my new book, I would appreciate it if you share it in the comments or find me on Linkedin with more details about your data journey what worked for you, what didn’t, and looking back what would you have done differently? I am working nowadays on my new book, I would appreciate it if you share it in the comments or find me on Linkedin

Your Data Strategy is a Cracked Water Bottle in the Desert (and How to Fix It)

Between the Digital Marketing course and the coaching program I’m doing atm, I haven’t had the time to sit down and write a proper article. Instead, here’s a medley of thoughts about Love, The Mind, and Being that have been bouncing around in my head. What Is Love? , rings a remix of the ‘90s band Haddaway’s single on my Instagram feed. What is love? Baby don’t hurt me don’t hurt me no more So, what love? Is it when a baby doesn’t hurt you? is The love we hear about in songs or see in movies isn’t love. It’s an attachment. Attachment and exploitation of a love object. What can the object give me? Attention, time, sex… but in the real world, we soon find the other person can’t do that for us, and the fear creeps in—the fear of losing the object that provides the illusion of love. Instead of facing the reality of unfulfilled expectations, we simultaneously try to fix ourselves so that the person finds us loveable and adjusts the person to fit our preferred criteria. , then we’d be happy; we would feel loved. We get tricked into believing love can be outsourced. So, the fear of losing the love object that provides the illusion of love begins to enter. When we don’t love ourselves, looking for love on the outside always gives us anxiety. “Will they like me?” is the focus, whilst the real question is do I like myself? If they were just a little more to our liking . . Love is a state, not a feeling. Love is independent of love objects. Love is free. It is always there, patiently waiting to be uncovered. It’s a state you began in and will die in. Love is an energy that cannot be created or destroyed. You don’t need to generate love, find love, or get love. It can only be gently uncovered behind the layers of conditioning put upon your heart. The paradox is that no one can give you love - you cannot get love; you can only LOVE. This is an important distinction ❤️ Stuff Like This ; your mind whispers when you dare to dream beyond the confines you’ve been placed within. But what if it does happen? What if it’s right there, waiting for you to see through the lies of your mind? What if all sorts of things happen to all sorts of people, including you? Your mind is just telling you a story based on past experiences. It pretends to grasp the entirety of everything: how the world operates, what other people are like, and what you are like. (Seriously, ask your mind anything, and it’ll come up with a response! - how silly is that? It’ll never say, gosh, I don’t know, and leave it at that. It’ll begin wondering and try to figure out a response to soothe itself that it does know everything). It claims to have all the answers when, in reality, it’s barely scratching the surface. Stuff like this doesn’t happen to people like me We cling to the illusion of self-knowledge, yet the truth is we don’t fully understand why we are the way we are. Sure, we concoct explanations and reasons—neatly logical delusions—but at the core, we simply exist as we are, inexplicable even to ourselves. And the mind? It can’t accept this mystery. Here’s another annoying feature of the mind Have you ever noticed how, when you ignore a certain thought or narrative, your mind scrambles to find something else to occupy you with? It will use to reel you back in. When you feel restless, it’s your mind bouncing around, desperate to divert your focus away from the present back to itself. The mind thrives on your attention; it feeds off it. And we feed it generously, distracted from the now, lost in thoughts of past hurts and stories. anything The more intense the emotion tied to a particular memory, the more your mind returns to that story. It never goes back to the happiest moment of your life over and over again as much as it revisits the moments of hurt, unfairness, and sadness.   These negative experiences have a stronger gravitational pull for evolutionary reasons, but it doesn’t mean we should leave it at that. Happiness only exists in the present moment. I know it’s such a cliche, but seriously - where is your past, right now? Where is it? It’s in your fucking mind, obstructing you from being here, right now, as you are. The only way these stories stay alive is if you keep feeding them your attention. Oh, yes, you do. When we say we don’t have control over our attention, what we really mean is that we haven’t trained a skill of controlled attention. But I don’t control my attention… The good news is that attention is a trainable skill,  but the bad thing is that it takes effort. It requires overcoming the automaticity of your mind. It’s tough! I’m going through this training right now with the coaching course I’m doing, and it’s painfully obvious how automated every aspect of my being is. One of the practices we’re supposed to do daily is a 15-minute contemplation exercise. I won’t go into the details, but my mind would literally do nothing else but concentrate. It brings stuff I haven’t thought of in , to escape focusing for 15 minutes. considerable years anything In fact, I sat down to do the exercise but ended up editing this article! This is the state of affairs of my mind, and most minds, I’d argue, is that 15 minutes out of 16 hours that we are awake is too much for the mind to handle. We have close to 0 control of that freak inside our heads. If this isn’t scary, I don’t know what is 🤷‍♀️ Poem The happiness of being I lay on the grass on a sunny Sunday afternoon Looking at the sky, expecting something new When a thought suddenly arises Maybe I’m not supposed to believe in disguises? The thoughts disguised as truth the Opinions of others disguised as the glue that keeps society together and maybe even predicts the good weather. But seriously - what is a thought? A moment captured then repeated in blocks Built into houses of stories we’re told Forgetting the essence cannot fit in a mold. Society is a construct to keep the flock together But finding happiness requires disconnecting from the fear of separating from others, Even in a stormy weather. The storm inside borne out of separation Holds the key to the kingdom of creation Endless moments of being here and now Forever giving, gifting, leading, leaving The True Self you were never without. . . Thank you for your time & attention. Train your mind because life is as good as the quality of your mind. Also published . here

The Crazy Mind, Artificial Love and Happiness of Being

DESKERA

deskera.com

51-200 employees

Since 2008

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DESKERA

EVERGREEN INDEX #2780

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DESKERA

deskera.com

51-200 employees

Since 2008

COMPANY RANKING

DESKERA

EVERGREEN INDEX #2780

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