InterCodeis in the Healthcare IT Industry

InterCode

Google I/O 2023 has come and gone, but the chatter about generative AI is not over yet. AI progress is sweeping across every corner of our lives, leaving human work in its wake. What was once a futuristic fantasy has transformed into an unsettling reality. It’s true — AI becomes better. And it makes more and more industries go fully automated, with practically no or minimum human involvement. The same is true for data annotation. As the CEO of a data annotation company, with a dedicated team of hundreds of human experts (yes, we still keep it manual), I’m certain that AI isn’t a threat to the manual work we’ve been doing for years. Yet, with the ever-growing array of AI tools for automated data labeling, perhaps there is reason for concern. An Expert’s Take on AI in Data Annotation You knew would be the starting point, right? It quickly became the talk of the town in the global tech community and beyond. And today, the debate is open on its potential for data labeling tasks and the impressive progress it could make on the job. ChatGPT Can ChatGPT ever replace a data annotator? Cornell University’s research the AI language model’s and crowd-workers’ performance on text annotation tasks involving Twitter data. The results were truly captivating: ChatGPT outperformed crowd-workers in four out of five tasks, and its intercoder agreement surpassed both crowd-workers and trained annotators across all tasks. has compared What’s more, ChatGPT achieved this at a per-annotation cost of less than $0.003, making it approximately twenty times cheaper than Amazon’s crowdsourcing marketplace, MTurk. These findings demonstrate the immense potential of large language models ( ) in reinvigorating text classification efficiency. However, I should note that both ChatGPT and MTurk crowd-workers were compared to trained human annotators, which was the gold standard in this research. LLMs Nevertheless, can we place our trust solely on automated data annotation by ChatGPT and similar AI tools, completely replacing the need for manual annotation? Let me explain why I don’t see that happening any time soon, drawing from my experience of over a decade in the field. Yes, AI is helpful, but constantly requires human supervision It's still too early to say that AI will completely replace data annotators. Why? Well, human annotators possess some profound technical expertise and skills. Plus, they understand data on a whole different level and can interpret it in a way that reflects the real world accurately. On the other hand, AI models designed for automated data labeling are inherently flawed and far from perfect. We’ve all seen this when using chatbots for work or personal stuff. They still have a long way to go before catching up with the human touch. For example, AI annotation tools for OCR (Optical Character Recognition) tasks can automatically label documents, select text within bounding boxes, and transcribe it. At Label Your Data, a spin-off of SupportYourApp, the process of document processing involves large teams working as humans in the loop. This means that we receive pre-labeled data and our skilled team applies specific labels to different elements, such as identifying merchants or invoice IDs. Yes, AI is a great pre-annotation tool, but covers a limited set of annotation tasks AI is beneficial for pre-annotation because it can quickly analyze and make initial suggestions for labeling tasks, providing a head start for the annotation process and saving time for human annotators. However, it cannot replace the extensive work carried out by my annotation team due to the fact that AI has been tested for a very narrow range of data labeling tasks. Take ChatGPT for instance. It can only do a few specific annotation tasks. Because when we talk about the AI language model, we are dealing with the NLP (Natural Language Processing) tasks only and text data accordingly. More tellingly, when it comes to tasks like content moderation, ChatGPT is unable to provide accurate labeling due to the absence of emotional intelligence. A quality that AI systems currently lack and may not possess in the future. This holds true for numerous other tasks that involve subjective judgment. So, that’s one more objection to ChatGPT and other AI tools potentially replacing manual annotation. Yes, AI is fast and affordable, but lacks the skills to handle poor-quality data Now, let's discuss automated data annotation for visual data like images and videos, focusing on an AI tool called SAM (Segment Anything Model), developed by Meta. SAM was built using a dataset of over 11 million images and is designed for image segmentation. It can predict masks based on different input types such as bounding boxes, points, and text. While my team manually handles this task, the model takes care of it automatically. Does this imply that manual data annotation is now obsolete and unnecessary? I can assure you that it is not the case. Allow me to explain why. AI models, like SAM, excel at processing only high-quality images. However, our annotators can label even the fuzziest photographs and video data. That’s the skill for AI to keep working on. Yes, AI enables programmatic QA, but lacks data privacy compliance AI is increasingly being used in the field of programmatic QA (Quality Assurance) to automate and enhance various aspects of the testing process. It can test case generation, execute tests, detect defects, and analyze anomalies. This allows QA teams to focus on critical tasks and improve overall annotation quality. However, AI tools for labeling and annotation, such as ChatGPT or SAM, can potentially misuse personal data in a few ways. Improper tool configuration or supervision may lead to unintended exposure or leakage of personal information during data annotation. If annotated data is retained or stored without adequate security measures, unauthorized access and breaches can occur. Aggregated or anonymized data used for model training can also pose privacy risks if re-identification is possible. To address these concerns, robust data protection measures, such as anonymization, encryption, access controls, and audits, are essential for the responsible handling of personal data. Why I Stay Calm Despite AI Challenging My Business AI is stealing the show in the data annotation realm, but I bet you’ll agree with me if I say that AI is powerless without humans. My point remains steadfast amidst the hype surrounding generative AI. For example, SAM performs poorly in medical data annotation, meaning that it requires the involvement of a healthcare professional with medical background for this task. Hence, we at Label Your Data, always make sure to engage subject-matter experts for such annotation tasks. Furthermore, the current research on automated data labeling is limited in its scope and only focuses on tweet classification or high-quality image segmentation, which is just a small part of AI. And it’s important to note that ChatGPT is still trained and supervised by human annotators to ensure the results are sensible and non-toxic. Ironically, even in the pursuit of fully automated labeling, AI tools still rely on data annotation by humans for their training and testing. Computers lack the understanding of our evolving standards for appropriate and respectful speech or vision capabilities. That said, the existence of ChatGPT, and similar tools is still heavily reliant on human experts. But let's not make sweeping claims. In my view, a hybrid data annotation model can be a game-changer when complemented by existing tools like ChatGPT. And an ultimate solution to get the best of both worlds in the age of AI. That’s because the involvement of humans in the loop remains crucial for validating and verifying these models. Their expertise is essential in creating top-notch data annotation and ensuring the reliability of AI. Wrapping Up With AI in the spotlight, it is evident that automated data annotation tools such as ChatGPT have a role to play. But they are far from replacing human annotators. Technical expertise, contextual understanding, and the ability to handle diverse and poor-quality datasets are skills that human annotators possess and remain invaluable. AI tools have their limitations, particularly in tasks requiring subjective judgment and emotional intelligence. However, by complementing automated tools with human expertise, we can achieve more efficient and accurate annotations. The involvement of human annotators in validating and verifying the output of AI models ensures reliability and maintains the highest standards of data annotation. In this age of AI, humans-in-the-loop remain crucial for bridging the gap between automation and the complexities of real-world data annotation.

Should We Fear the End of Data Annotation as We Know It?

MinIO can be deployed in a distributed manner that makes efficient use of the resources of more than one physical or virtual machine’s compute and storage resources. This can be MinIO running in a private or public cloud environment, such as with Amazon Web Services, the Google Cloud Platform, Microsoft’s Azure platform, and many others. MinIO can deploy to several types of topologies – in production we recommend (MNMD) deployment. MinIO recommends to provide BC/DR grade failover and recovery support for your single site deployment, which you can design and optimize for your use case. Multi-Node Multi-Drive site replication In a previous blog post, we’ve already discussed some of the best practices to use when . We touched on various aspects of hardware from choosing the best region, the right drive, CPU and memory configurations, and even some of the recommended network configurations. While we touched on a breadth of different best practices for system design, we can always go deeper, and today we’ll dig into some of the fine points around designing MinIO to get the best performance out of drives and networks. selecting hardware for your MinIO deployment In this blog post, we’ll go deep into the network configurations with which you can configure MinIO to the different replication strategies and network topologies that can be used to ensure your data is stored and accessed efficiently across multiple MinIO deployments. You do not need to do any complex configuration such as setting up Bonded/Dual NICs (which adds additional overhead). Simple Networking Strategies MinIO is an S3-compatible storage backend for cloud-native services. In general, we think of network traffic as either between apps and the cluster or between nodes in the cluster. Because of the internode traffic, it is paramount that networking between the nodes is as fast as possible. Each pool consists of an independent group of nodes with their own erasure sets. MinIO must query each pool to determine the correct erasure set to which it directs read and write operations, such that each additional pool adds minimal, but increased internode traffic per call. The pool which contains the correct erasure set then responds to the operation, remaining entirely transparent to the application. Gone are the days when the enterprise could get by with 1 GbE or 10 GbE NICs. The modern enterprise workload ideally utilizes 100 GbE NICs. Given the limitations of physics and overhead for the TCP protocol, these NICs would be expected to deliver 80-90% of the available bandwidth, generally around 10GB/s for 100 Gbps NICs, up to 12GB/s on really well-provisioned networks. MinIO doesn’t need any additional networking configuration out of the box to take advantage of all the bandwidth as it listens on all interfaces. MinIO out of the box supports listening on multiple network interfaces (NICs). You don't need any other special configuration for MinIO networking, but optionally using some of the we discussed earlier, you can route MinIO traffic through a specific interface. networking basics In this example, we’ll use a Linux operating system to demonstrate, but networking basics are the same no matter which OS you use. The implementation might slightly vary depending on the network configuration but this should give you an idea. We’ll first start by listing the route table $ ip route
10.56.98.0/24 dev eth0 proto kernel scope link src 10.56.98.18 If you have configured your MinIO servers to be within the 10.56.98.16/28 CIDR range, let's say one of the MinIO node’s IP addresses is 10.56.98.21 that will get routed through the eth0 interface because /28 matches the route table entry for 10.56.98.0/24. But if you want to route MinIO traffic through eth1 rather than eth0 we need to add a specific route for the MinIO CIDR so that any traffic which matches that subnet gets routed through that specific network interface $ ip route add 10.56.98.16/28 dev eth1 Once the route is added, let's list the routing table again to see how it looks like $ ip route
10.56.98.0/24 dev eth0 proto kernel scope link src 10.56.98.33.18
10.56.98.16/28 dev eth1 scope link Now we see a route for the /28 CIDR. If you ping the MinIO node 10.56.98.21 it will now be routed via the eth1 interface. This is because when there are two routes where /24 overlaps with /28, generally the route with the longest prefix is given preference (in this case /28) and will take precedence over any other shorter prefix route when routing traffic. This is called the longest-matching prefix rule. You can verify the traffic from 10.56.98.16/28 is being routed appropriately if you ping 10.56.98.21 and then check the tcpdump like below. You will notice that traffic from the source 10.56.98.18 is being routed via eth1 to 10.56.98.21. $ tcpdump -n -i eth1 icmp
…
15:55:44.410450 IP 10.56.98.18 > 10.56.98.21: ICMP echo request, id 8416, seq 123, length 64
15:55:44.410471 IP 10.56.98.21 > 10.56.98.18: ICMP echo reply, id 8416, seq 123, length 64
15:55:45.434489 IP 10.56.98.18 > 10.56.98.21: ICMP echo request, id 8416, seq 124, length 64
15:55:45.434518 IP 10.56.98.21 > 10.56.98.18: ICMP echo reply, id 8416, seq 124, length 64
15:55:46.458490 IP 10.56.98.18 > 10.56.98.21: ICMP echo request, id 8416, seq 125, length 64
15:55:46.458520 IP 10.56.98.21 > 10.56.98.18: ICMP echo reply, id 8416, seq 125, length 64 As you can see with MinIO there are no additional special ports or services needed to achieve traffic separation. MinIO is designed with simplicity in mind and we are always thinking about build vs. buy in this case rather than architecting something complex like a gateway service, MinIO leverages networking basics already available at the OS layer to achieve the same result with as little overhead as possible. We can take this idea one step further. These days servers have at least 2 interfaces with the option to add more. So rather than having application traffic go through the same interfaces as MinIO, you can have your application also running on a separate CIDR block (pick a block that is appropriate for your application size). This separation ensures that MinIO traffic for replication and rebalancing does not affect the performance of the application and vice-versa. It also gives you the ability to monitor and track traffic to ensure MinIO always has the capacity and bandwidth it needs to perform its operations without affecting its performance. But what if you have MinIO across different sites or regions? How can you configure it effectively to ensure there are no performance bottlenecks? Well, there are several different types of replication configurations that MinIO offers for some of the most stringent use cases out there. One of the most prolific of the replication strategies is the site-to-site replication. This allows you to start MinIO with a single cluster and expand to N number as the need increases. Assume you have an ETL/ELT application that runs on 3 different sites. Generally, the data is only available in one of the regions and the other regions need to pull enormous volumes of data across regions in order to run its process. Needless to say, this is not only highly inefficient but it puts tremendous pressure on the networking infrastructure and potentially causes bottlenecks for other applications that share the WAN. In a site-to-site replication configuration, you write the data only to the MinIO cluster in the first site. The replication process will copy the data to the other sites automagically. There are no additional changes needed to be made to the ETL/ELT application. You simply point the jobs in each site to their respective MinIO cluster backed by a reverse proxy such as Nginx and the reads will be much faster than they would be over WAN across regions as shown below. But that begs the question, is it possible to further fine-tune the traffic? Let's say you add the data file to site 1 it will immediately replicate it to other sites no matter the time of day. It could be during the peak when perhaps other ETL/ELT jobs are running and simultaneously network resources are being used to replicate data that might not be used until the next day when the next batch is supposed to run. What can be done in that case? This is where MinIO’s comes in handy. Batch replication allows you to pick and choose the type of data you want to replicate at a specific time, it's completely configurable. In this case, a batch replication job can be set to run during off hours when traffic is the lowest. As application access times could vary throughout the day, week and even month, this is where comes in handy so you can configure your batch job to run at exactly the right time. You can deploy peer sites in different racks, data centers, or geographic regions to support functions like BC/DR or geo-local read/write performance in a globally distributed MinIO object store. Batch Replication monitoring MinIO network traffic Final Thoughts To recap, MinIO’s network architecture is one of the most simple and straightforward out there. Rather than reinventing the wheel MinIO uses networking basics to achieve parity with some of the other data stores with complex network and gateway setup that is almost next to impossible to debug. No matter how many times you debug the same issue it will feel like it's the first time you are running into it due to the obfuscated nature of the architecture. Rather MinIO focuses on higher-level abstractions that take the burden away from the application developer from having to maintain the data replication and rather focus on storing and processing the data. As usual, if you have any questions on the MinIO Network configuration or how to set it up be sure to reach out to us on or better yet sign up for the subscription! Slack SUBNET Also published . here

Make the Most of MinIO With Optimum Network Configurations — Here's How

সর্বোত্তম নেটওয়ার্ক কনফিগারেশন সহ MinIO-এর সর্বাধিক ব্যবহার করুন — কীভাবে তা এখানে

Machen Sie das Beste aus MinIO mit optimalen Netzwerkkonfigurationen – so geht's

Aproveche MinIO al máximo con configuraciones de red óptimas: así es como se hace

Tirez le meilleur parti de MinIO avec des configurations réseau optimales : voici comment

इष्टतम नेटवर्क कॉन्फ़िगरेशन के साथ मिनियो का अधिकतम लाभ उठाएं - यहां बताया गया है कि कैसे

最適なネットワーク構成で MinIO を最大限に活用する — その方法は次のとおりです

최적의 네트워크 구성으로 MinIO를 최대한 활용하세요 - 방법은 다음과 같습니다.

Aproveite ao máximo o MinIO com configurações de rede ideais – veja como

Получите максимальную отдачу от MinIO с помощью оптимальных сетевых конфигураций — вот как

Optimum Ağ Yapılandırmalarıyla MinIO'dan En İyi Şekilde Yararlanın - İşte Nasıl Yapılacağı

Tận dụng tối đa MinIO với cấu hình mạng tối ưu - Đây là cách thực hiện

通过最佳网络配置充分利用 MinIO — 方法如下

Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions by Edwin Abbott Abbott is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book . How, though the Sphere shewed me other mysteries of Spaceland, I still desired more; and what came of it here How, though the Sphere shewed me other mysteries of Spaceland, I still desired more; and what came of it When I saw my poor brother led away to imprisonment, I attempted to leap down into the Council Chamber, desiring to intercede on his behalf, or at least bid him farewell. But I found that I had no motion of my own. I absolutely depended on the volition of my Guide, who said in gloomy tones, "Heed not thy brother; haply thou shalt have ample time hereafter to condole with him. Follow me." Once more we ascended into space. "Hitherto," said the Sphere, "I have shewn you naught save Plane Figures and their interiors. Now I must introduce you to Solids, and reveal to you the plan upon which they are constructed. Behold this multitude of moveable square cards. See, I put one on another, not, as you supposed, Northward of the other, but ON the other. Now a second, now a third. See, I am building up a Solid by a multitude of Squares parallel to one another. Now the Solid is complete, being as high as it is long and broad, and we call it a Cube." "Pardon me, my Lord," replied I; "but to my eye the appearance is as of an Irregular Figure whose inside is laid open to the view; in other words, methinks I see no Solid, but a Plane such as we infer in Flatland; only of an Irregularity which betokens some monstrous criminal, so that the very sight of it is painful to my eyes." "True," said the Sphere, "it appears to you a Plane, because you are not accustomed to light and shade and perspective; just as in Flatland a Hexagon would appear a Straight Line to one who has not the Art of Sight Recognition. But in reality it is a Solid, as you shall learn by the sense of Feeling." He then introduced me to the Cube, and I found that this marvellous Being was indeed no Plane, but a Solid; and that he was endowed with six plane sides and eight terminal points called solid angles; and I remembered the saying of the Sphere that just such a Creature as this would be formed by a Square moving, in Space, parallel to himself: and I rejoiced to think that so insignificant a Creature as I could in some sense be called the Progenitor of so illustrious an offspring. But still I could not fully understand the meaning of what my Teacher had told me concerning "light" and "shade" and "perspective"; and I did not hesitate to put my difficulties before him. Were I to give the Sphere's explanation of these matters, succinct and clear though it was, it would be tedious to an inhabitant of Space, who knows these things already. Suffice it, that by his lucid statements, and by changing the position of objects and lights, and by allowing me to feel the several objects and even his own sacred Person, he at last made all things clear to me, so that I could now readily distinguish between a Circle and a Sphere, a Plane Figure and a Solid. This was the Climax, the Paradise, of my strange eventful History. Henceforth I have to relate the story of my miserable Fall:—most miserable, yet surely most undeserved! For why should the thirst for knowledge be aroused, only to be disappointed and punished? My volition shrinks from the painful task of recalling my humiliation; yet, like a second Prometheus, I will endure this and worse, if by any means I may arouse in the interiors of Plane and Solid Humanity a spirit of rebellion against the Conceit which would limit our Dimensions to Two or Three or any number short of Infinity. Away then with all personal considerations! Let me continue to the end, as I began, without further digressions or anticipations, pursuing the plain path of dispassionate History. The exact facts, the exact words,—and they are burnt in upon my brain,—shall be set down without alteration of an iota; and let my Readers judge between me and Destiny. The Sphere would willingly have continued his lessons by indoctrinating me in the conformation of all regular Solids, Cylinders, Cones, Pyramids, Pentahedrons, Hexahedrons, Dodecahedrons, and Spheres: but I ventured to interrupt him. Not that I was wearied of knowledge. On the contrary, I thirsted for yet deeper and fuller draughts than he was offering to me. "Pardon me," said I, "O Thou Whom I must no longer address as the Perfection of all Beauty; but let me beg thee to vouchsafe thy servant a sight of thine interior." SPHERE. My what? I. Thine interior: thy stomach, thy intestines. SPHERE. Whence this ill-timed impertinent request? And what mean you by saying that I am no longer the Perfection of all Beauty? I. My Lord, your own wisdom has taught me to aspire to One even more great, more beautiful, and more closely approximate to Perfection than yourself. As you yourself, superior to all Flatland forms, combine many Circles in One, so doubtless there is One above you who combines many Spheres in One Supreme Existence, surpassing even the Solids of Spaceland. And even as we, who are now in Space, look down on Flatland and see the insides of all things, so of a certainty there is yet above us some higher, purer region, whither thou dost surely purpose to lead me—O Thou Whom I shall always call, everywhere and in all Dimensions, my Priest, Philosopher, and Friend—some yet more spacious Space, some more dimensionable Dimensionality, from the vantage-ground of which we shall look down together upon the revealed insides of Solid things, and where thine own intestines, and those of thy kindred Spheres, will lie exposed to the view of the poor wandering exile from Flatland, to whom so much has already been vouchsafed. SPHERE. Pooh! Stuff! Enough of this trifling! The time is short, and much remains to be done before you are fit to proclaim the Gospel of Three Dimensions to your blind benighted countrymen in Flatland. I. Nay, gracious Teacher, deny me not what I know it is in thy power to perform. Grant me but one glimpse of thine interior, and I am satisfied for ever, remaining henceforth thy docile pupil, thy unemancipable slave, ready to receive all thy teachings and to feed upon the words that fall from thy lips. SPHERE. Well, then, to content and silence you, let me say at once, I would shew you what you wish if I could; but I cannot. Would you have me turn my stomach inside out to oblige you? I. But my Lord has shewn me the intestines of all my countrymen in the Land of Two Dimensions by taking me with him into the Land of Three. What therefore more easy than now to take his servant on a second journey into the blessed region of the Fourth Dimension, where I shall look down with him once more upon this land of Three Dimensions, and see the inside of every three-dimensioned house, the secrets of the solid earth, the treasures of the mines in Spaceland, and the intestines of every solid living creature, even of the noble and adorable Spheres. SPHERE. But where is this land of Four Dimensions? I. I know not: but doubtless my Teacher knows. SPHERE. Not I. There is no such land. The very idea of it is utterly inconceivable. I. Not inconceivable, my Lord, to me, and therefore still less inconceivable to my Master. Nay, I despair not that, even here, in this region of Three Dimensions, your Lordship's art may make the Fourth Dimension visible to me; just as in the Land of Two Dimensions my Teacher's skill would fain have opened the eyes of his blind servant to the invisible presence of a Third Dimension, though I saw it not. Let me recall the past. Was I not taught below that when I saw a Line and inferred a Plane, I in reality saw a Third unrecognized Dimension, not the same as brightness, called "height"? And does it not now follow that, in this region, when I see a Plane and infer a Solid, I really see a Fourth unrecognized Dimension, not the same as colour, but existent, though infinitesimal and incapable of measurement? And besides this, there is the Argument from Analogy of Figures. SPHERE. Analogy! Nonsense: what analogy? I. Your Lordship tempts his servant to see whether he remembers the revelations imparted to him. Trifle not with me, my Lord; I crave, I thirst, for more knowledge. Doubtless we cannot SEE that other higher Spaceland now, because we we have no eye in our stomachs. But, just as there WAS the realm of Flatland, though that poor puny Lineland Monarch could neither turn to left nor right to discern it, and just as there WAS close at hand, and touching my frame, the land of Three Dimensions, though I, blind senseless wretch, had no power to touch it, no eye in my interior to discern it, so of a surety there is a Fourth Dimension, which my Lord perceives with the inner eye of thought. And that it must exist my Lord himself has taught me. Or can he have forgotten what he himself imparted to his servant? In One Dimension, did not a moving Point produce a Line with TWO terminal points? In Two Dimensions, did not a moving Line produce a Square with FOUR terminal points? In Three Dimensions, did not a moving Square produce—did not this eye of mine behold it—that blessed Being, a Cube, with EIGHT terminal points? And in Four Dimensions shall not a moving Cube—alas, for Analogy, and alas for the Progress of Truth, if it be not so—shall not, I say, the motion of a divine Cube result in a still more divine Organization with SIXTEEN terminal points? Behold the infallible confirmation of the Series, 2, 4, 8, 16: is not this a Geometrical Progression? Is not this—if I might quote my Lord's own words—"strictly according to Analogy"? Again, was I not taught by my Lord that as in a Line there are TWO bounding Points, and in a Square there are FOUR bounding Lines, so in a Cube there must be SIX bounding Squares? Behold once more the confirming Series, 2, 4, 6: is not this an Arithmetical Progression? And consequently does it not of necessity follow that the more divine offspring of the divine Cube in the Land of Four Dimensions, must have 8 bounding Cubes: and is not this also, as my Lord has taught me to believe, "strictly according to Analogy"? O, my Lord, my Lord, behold, I cast myself in faith upon conjecture, not knowing the facts; and I appeal to your Lordship to confirm or deny my logical anticipations. If I am wrong, I yield, and will no longer demand a fourth Dimension; but, if I am right, my Lord will listen to reason. I ask therefore, is it, or is it not, the fact, that ere now your countrymen also have witnessed the descent of Beings of a higher order than their own, entering closed rooms, even as your Lordship entered mine, without the opening of doors or windows, and appearing and vanishing at will? On the reply to this question I am ready to stake everything. Deny it, and I am henceforth silent. Only vouchsafe an answer. SPHERE. (AFTER A PAUSE). It is reported so. But men are divided in opinion as to the facts. And even granting the facts, they explain them in different ways. And in any case, however great may be the number of different explanations, no one has adopted or suggested the theory of a Fourth Dimension. Therefore, pray have done with this trifling, and let us return to business. I. I was certain of it. I was certain that my anticipations would be fulfilled. And now have patience with me and answer me yet one more question, best of Teachers! Those who have thus appeared—no one knows whence—and have returned—no one knows whither—have they also contracted their sections and vanished somehow into that more Spacious Space, whither I now entreat you to conduct me? SPHERE (MOODILY). They have vanished, certainly—if they ever appeared. But most people say that these visions arose from the thought—you will not understand me—from the brain; from the perturbed angularity of the Seer. I. Say they so? Oh, believe them not. Or if it indeed be so, that this other Space is really Thoughtland, then take me to that blessed Region where I in Thought shall see the insides of all solid things. There, before my ravished eye, a Cube, moving in some altogether new direction, but strictly according to Analogy, so as to make every particle of his interior pass through a new kind of Space, with a wake of its own—shall create a still more perfect perfection than himself, with sixteen terminal Extra-solid angles, and Eight solid Cubes for his Perimeter. And once there, shall we stay our upward course? In that blessed region of Four Dimensions, shall we linger on the threshold of the Fifth, and not enter therein? Ah, no! Let us rather resolve that our ambition shall soar with our corporal ascent. Then, yielding to our intellectual onset, the gates of the Sixth Dimension shall fly open; after that a Seventh, and then an Eighth— How long I should have continued I know not. In vain did the Sphere, in his voice of thunder, reiterate his command of silence, and threaten me with the direst penalties if I persisted. Nothing could stem the flood of my ecstatic aspirations. Perhaps I was to blame; but indeed I was intoxicated with the recent draughts of Truth to which he himself had introduced me. However, the end was not long in coming. My words were cut short by a crash outside, and a simultaneous crash inside me, which impelled me through space with a velocity that precluded speech. Down! down! down! I was rapidly descending; and I knew that return to Flatland was my doom. One glimpse, one last and never-to-be-forgotten glimpse I had of that dull level wilderness—which was now to become my Universe again—spread out before my eye. Then a darkness. Then a final, all-consummating thunder-peal; and, when I came to myself, I was once more a common creeping Square, in my Study at home, listening to the Peace-Cry of my approaching Wife. 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. Edwin Abbott Abbott (1995). Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/201/pg201-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

How, though the Sphere shewed me other mysteries of Spaceland, I still desired more;

THE PARVENUE.

Business English: A Practice Book by Rose Buhlig is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book . WORD ANALYSIS here WORD ANALYSIS To learn English words thoroughly we must spend some thought on the way in which they are made up, on the language from which they have been derived, and on the changes in meaning made by adding prefixes and suffixes. Three important influences in building the English have been the Anglo-Saxon, the Greek, and the Latin languages. The simplest words in the language are Anglo-Saxon. The following exercises illustrate how words have been multiplied by Anglo-Saxon prefixes and suffixes. Name as many words as you can that make use of each of the following prefixes. Give only such as are recognizable English words without the prefix. Exercise 46 —aboard a —misjudge mis —becalm be —unknown un —foretell fore —uproot up Give the meaning of each of the prefixes used above. What part of speech does each prefix make? Exercise 47 Using the following Teutonic suffixes, form English words. Be careful that the root taken alone is an English word. —kingdom dom —goodness ness —manhood hood —friendship ship What does each suffix mean? What part of speech does it make? Exercise 48 As above, form words using the following suffixes: —darken en —fearful ful —golden en —smoothly ly —sweetish ish —childlike like —fearless less —lonesome some Define each suffix. What part of speech does it make? Exercise 49—Greek Roots Below is given a list of common Greek roots with the English meaning of each. Form words using one or more of the roots for each word, and define the words you make. For instance, give the meaning of , , and . telephone telegraph monarch Greek English Greek English —hear phon —time chron —far tele —circle cycl —write graph —earth geo —see scop —government polit —small micro —rule cra —one mono —people demo —chief arch —water hydro —measure metr —many poly —pressure, weight baro —riches pluto How many names of modern inventions have you made? Exercise 50 What words belonging to your vocabulary end in the following suffixes? Choose only such as have an English word for the root. Adjective Suffixes able, ible—able to be, fit to be
Readable, fit to be read. al, eal, ial—relating to, having to do with ant, ent—being, inclined to ate—having the quality of, inclined to ic—like, relating to ive—relating to, of the nature of, belonging to ory, ary—relating to ous—full of, abounding in Verb Suffixes ate—to make fy, ify—to make ise, ize—to make Noun Suffixes age—condition, act, collection of ance, ancy, ence, ency—state of being ary, ory—one who, place where, that which ant, ent—one who ist, ite—one who ion, sion, tion—act of, state of being ity, ty—quality of being ment—that which, act or state of being or, er, ar—one who try—state of tude, itude—condition of being ure—condition of being, that which The following is a list of the more commonly used Latin prefixes: Exercise 51 a, ab—away from 1. , —away from a ab 2. —toward ad 3. —before ante 4. —against anti 5. —two, twice bi 6. —around circum 7. —together with, against con 8. —against contra 9. —from, apart from, down from de 10. —apart, not dis 11. —through dia 12. —out of ex 13. , —into in en —to cause to be en 14. , —not in un 15. —between inter 16. —toward the inside intro 17. —one mono 18. —not non 19. —in the way of, against ob 20. —through per 21. —before pre 22. —after post 23. —before pro 24. —again, back re 25. —half, partly semi 26. —away from se 27. —under, below sub 28. —above, more than super 29. —across trans 30. —one uni Exercise 52 Analyze the following words, telling prefix, root, suffix, part of speech, and meaning: business package truthfulness unsuccessful useless anteroom workmanlike agreement prefix monotone nervousness uniformity beautify breakage disrespectful misguidance semicircle pleasant perfection crystallize kingship sameness progressive precaution incase subway undeniable imaginary enrich disown displeasure supernatural pianist readmit endurance melodious bicycle adjuster reaction interlineal Exercise 53 When the prefixes , , and are used to form English words, the final consonant of each is often changed to the initial consonant of the root to which it is joined. ad con in assumes the forms , , , , , , , , , , assimilating the with the first letter of the word to which it is prefixed; as, Ad ab ac af ag al an ap ar as at d ab-breviate al-literation ar-rest ac-cept al-lot as-sign ac-cumulate an-nex as-sist af-fect an-nounce at-tract af-flict ap-position at-tribute ag-gregate ap-prove at-tune assumes the forms , , , by assimilation; it takes the form before and it drops the before a vowel; as, Con col cor com com p; n col-lateral com-mercial com-pose col-lect cor-relate co-operate com-mission cor-respond co-ordinate assumes the forms , , , by assimilation and takes the form of before . In il im ir im p il-lusion im-migrate ir-ruption im-port Exercise 54—Peculiar Adjective Endings The suffixes and are sometimes troublesome because it is difficult to know which ending to write. As a rule, if the new word was made from another English word, the ending is , as . The words ending in are derived from the Latin, and, as a rule, the ending cannot easily be separated from the root and still leave the latter an English word. Examples are: able ible able blamable ible divisible intelligible digestible audible visible permissible flexible incredible possible terrible horrible indelible The suffixes and must also be carefully noted. No rule can be given for using one rather than the other. Whenever in doubt, consult a dictionary. Note the following: ant ent ant ent important independent pleasant convalescent triumphant competent luxuriant convenient stagnant confident The endings and , where and are often confused, are illustrated in the following: eous ious e i eous ious hideous delirious miscellaneous impious courteous studious The endings and are shown in the following: cious tious cious tious conscious fictitious precious superstitious delicious cautious gracious ambitious suspicious nutritious The endings and are illustrated in the following: gious geous gious geous religious courageous Exercise 55—Peculiar Noun and Verb Endings Nouns in and ance ence: ance ence acceptance intelligence appearance reference annoyance patience acquaintance negligence remittance diligence ignorance residence Nouns in , , and sion cion tion: sion cion tion exclusion coercion acquisition aversion suspicion precaution Verbs in , , and ise yze ize: ise yze ize advise analyze baptize supervise paralyze recognize Verbs in , , and ceed sede cede: ceed sede cede exceed supersede concede proceed intercede succeed precede Exercise 56 What other words can you form from the following? Explain what prefixes or suffixes you use in each case and what part of speech you form. success consider real change please doubt publish attend occur apply regular satisfy emphasize industry operate assess second busy practice resist expense distribute organ define depend locate work sense attract install desire preside effect vital count sign Exercise 57 There are many words the meanings of which are easily confused. The spelling and the definitions of such must be mastered. Analysis in this exercise and in the one following does not require separation into prefix, root, and suffix, but it necessitates a careful study of the words, first, to note the difference in spelling; second, to consult a dictionary, if necessary, for the difference in meaning. Define each word clearly. Use each in a sentence to illustrate its meaning. accept—except common—mutual add—annex complementary—complimentary advice—advise continual—continuous affect—effect contraction—abbreviation after—afterward contradiction—denial ascend—assent currant—current assure—promise defective—deficient attain—obtain deprecate—depreciate benefit—advantage effective—efficient brief—concise eligible—illegible center—middle eminent—prominent claim—maintain expect—hope combine—combination intelligent—intelligible Exercise 58 As above, define each word carefully and use it in a sentence to illustrate its meaning. healthful—healthy proficient—efficient inventory—invoice proscribe—prescribe invite—invitation purpose—propose last—latest quiet—quite later—latter recommend—recommendation liable—likely—apt refer—allude loose—lose repair—fix need—want requirement—requisite—requisition perspective—prospective respectfully—respectively positive—definite scarcely—hardly practicable—practical stationary—stationery precede—proceed therefore—accordingly principal—principle 500 SPELLING WORDS\Lesson 1 business losing surprising height receive loosely Saturday depth believe across Wednesday eighth wholly whether excellent daily obliged describe exercise earnest Lesson 2 attached decision probable seize attacked buying usable siege gentlemen studying salable friend although relying desirable Messrs. thoroughly occasion honorable nickel Lesson 3 disappoint knew acquittal stopped disappear design occurrence referred disapprove forty compelling planned disagree fourth beginning swimming anxious purpose permitted submitted Lesson 4 all right persuade Norwegian variety already pursued possession prairie tongue prepared accumulate neighbor separate repaired dissatisfy soldier crystal necessary dissolve shoulder Lesson 5 their awkward opportunity scheme advise mucilage development schedule advice familiar statistics accurately laboratory peculiar accidental efficient until similar competent Spaniard Lesson 6 policy patient merchandise conscious rough ancient mercantile precious disease partial scarcity suspicion balance facial indebted physician decease ambitious estimate caution Lesson 7 ascend noticeable vengeance emergency assent serviceable address compliance minute manageable salary reference conceal exchangeable currency apparel immense advantageous withhold typical Lesson 8 edition especially appreciate imitate addition pamphlet essential initial identify illustrate eligible official illegal February legible curtain nuisance punctual illegible adjacent Lesson 9 later crystallize lieutenant lenient latter neutralize anthracite naphtha weighed conceit bituminous liquid destroy catarrh rheumatism gauge indelible colonel influential sieve Lesson 10 duly interfered analyze attorneys durable transferred analysis specialty mutual reconcile paralyze sympathy bargain accidental banana campaign misspell irregular molasses mattress Lesson 11 ached designate vicinity recognize social available guardian technical forfeit adequately celebrate hygiene opposite subordinate porcelain angel parallel sufficient poultice angle Lesson 12 society associate rumored remittance sirloin definitely courtesy remuneration laborer spherical obstinacy restaurant visitor commercial financial government souvenir permissible sapphire acquaintance Lesson 13 quite appropriate convenient knowledge least distinguish exaggerate principal, a written mysterious confidential stationary, a among appearance endeavoring judgment psalm conference immediately implement Lesson 14 assure greatly embarrassment auxiliary expect grateful organization conciliate prompt deserve advertisement principle, n eliminate bureau assessment stationery, n illuminate deficient accommodate parenthesis Lesson 15 coupon indispensable measure proprietor length innumerable condemn transient vehicle investigate security persistent customer incandescent liniment signature costumer effervescent mosquito mischievous Lesson 16 canal company's repetition sulphur channel real estate abbreviated benefited liquid equivalent unabridged unanimous recent assignment assurance itemize trough extravagant pneumatic calcimine Lesson 17 precede freight authority leisure proceed achieve mortgage neuralgia procession between specimen dyspepsia precision imagine solicitor substantial extinguish autumn coöperates passenger Lesson 18 merely mechanical preliminary omitted cashier permanent miscellaneous omission urgent prominent subscription committee hesitate precaution incredible commission anchored interval anticipation precisely Lesson 19 specify preparation athletics deceit equity coincidence excursion receipt accrue irresolute suggestion obstacle concrete vaccination courageous promissory summary glycerine concession compulsory Lesson 20 deficit sceptical anniversary rhythm mansion conscience presumption rhubarb mention interruption guaranteed fatigue reckoned approximately prejudice synopsis license avoirdupois privilege emphatic Lesson 21 scholar Elkhart industrious collision scissors Memphis hideous delusion career Niagara artificial oxygen sincere Raleigh cantaloupe martyr chiffonier Oregon unscrupulous apology Lesson 22 receipt Cincinnati sovereign chemical welfare Des Moines committee frontier feigned Decatur ingredients fulfilled chord Dubuque counterfeit facsimile scythe Alleghany responsible identical Lesson 23 exceed Paducah foreign Cheyenne succeed Eau Claire solemnity metallic secede Peoria assassinate nauseated immigrant Savannah pneumonia invariably emigrant Manila diphtheria injurious Lesson 24 adoption Minneapolis fraudulent mahogany scientific Indianapolis negligence corduroy guidance Syracuse diligence Schenectady syllable Milwaukee ridiculous duplicate Fort Wayne Valparaiso comparative reënforce Lesson 25 Duluth Massachusetts preferable periodical Missouri Connecticut preferred insertion Wisconsin enthusiastic publicity excursion luxurious acknowledgment prevailing plateau twelfth professional damageable tragedy 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

WORD ANALYSIS

THE INVISIBLE GIRL.

The Go-Getter: A Story That Tells You How to be One by Peter B. Kyne is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book . II here II The President emeritus of the Ricks' interests was not destined to uninterrupted cogitation, however. Within ten minutes his private exchange operator called him to the telephone. "What is it?" Cappy yelled into the transmitter. "There is a young man in the general office. His name is Mr. William E. Peck and he desires to see you personally." Cappy sighed. "Very well," he replied. "Have him shown in." Almost immediately the office boy ushered Mr. Peck into Cappy's presence. The moment he was fairly inside the door the visitor halted, came easily and naturally to "attention" and bowed respectfully, while the cool glance of his keen blue eyes held steadily the autocrat of the Blue Star Navigation Company. "Mr. Ricks, Peck is my name, sir--William E. Peck. Thank you, sir, for acceding to my request for an interview." "Ahem! Hum-m-m!" Cappy looked belligerent. "Sit down, Mr. Peck." Mr. Peck sat down, but as he crossed to the chair beside Cappy's desk, the old gentleman noticed that his visitor walked with a slight limp, and that his left forearm had been amputated half way to the elbow. To the observant Cappy, the American Legion button in Mr. Peck's lapel told the story. "Well, Mr. Peck," he queried gently, "what can I do for you?" "I've called for my job," the veteran replied briefly. "By the Holy Pink-toed Prophet!" Cappy ejaculated, "you say that like a man who doesn't expect to be refused." "Quite right, sir. I do not anticipate a refusal." "Why?" Mr. William E. Peck's engaging but somewhat plain features rippled into the most compelling smile Cappy Ricks had ever seen. "I am a salesman, Mr. Ricks," he replied. "I know that statement to be true because I have demonstrated, over a period of five years, that I can sell my share of anything that has a hockable value. I have always found, however, that before proceeding to sell goods I had to sell the manufacturer of those goods something, to-wit--myself! I am about to sell myself to you." "Son," said Cappy smilingly, "you win. You've sold me already. When did they sell you a membership in the military forces of the United States of America?" "On the morning of April 7th, 1917, sir." "That clinches our sale. I soldiered with the Knights of Columbus at Camp Kearny myself, but when they refused to let me go abroad with my division my heart was broken, so I went over the hill." That little touch of the language of the line appeared to warm Mr. Peck's heart considerably, establishing at once a free masonry between them. "I was with the Portland Lumber Company, selling lumber in the Middle West before the war," he explained. "Uncle Sam gave me my sheepskin at Letter-man General Hospital last week, with half disability on my ten thousand dollars' worth of government insurance. Whittling my wing was a mere trifle, but my broken leg was a long time mending, and now it's shorter than it really ought to be. And I developed pneumonia with influenza and they found some T.B. indications after that. I've been at the government tuberculosis hospital at Fort Bayard, New Mexico, for a year. However, what's left of me is certified to be sound. I've got five inches chest expansion and I feel fine." "Not at all blue or discouraged?" Cappy hazarded. "Oh, I got off easy, Mr. Ricks. I have my head left--and my right arm. I can think and I can write, and even if one of my wheels is flat, I can hike longer and faster after an order than most. Got a job for me, Mr. Ricks?" "No, I haven't, Mr. Peck. I'm out of it, you know. Retired ten years ago. This office is merely a headquarters for social frivolity--a place to get my mail and mill over the gossip of the street. Our Mr. Skinner is the chap you should see." "I have seen Mr. Skinner, sir," the erstwhile warrior replied, "but he wasn't very sympathetic. I think he jumped to the conclusion that I was attempting to trade him my empty sleeve. He informed me that there wasn't sufficient business to keep his present staff of salesmen busy, so then I told him I'd take anything, from stenographer up. I'm the champion one-handed typist of the United States Army. I can tally lumber and bill it. I can keep books and answer the telephone." "No encouragement, eh?" "No, sir." "Well, now, son," Cappy informed his cheerful visitor confidentially, "you take my tip and see my son-in-law, Captain Peasley. He's high, low and jack-in-the-game in the shipping end of our business." "I have also interviewed Captain Peasley. He was very kind. He said he felt that he owed me a job, but business is so bad he couldn't make a place for me. He told me he is now carrying a dozen ex-service men merely because he hasn't the heart to let them go. I believe him." "Well, my dear boy--my dear young friend! Why do you come to me?" "Because," Mr. Peck replied smilingly, "I want you to go over their heads and give me a job. I don't care a hoot what it is, provided I can do it. If I can do it, I'll do it better than it was ever done before, and if I can't do that I'll quit to save you the embarrassment of firing me. I'm not an object of charity, but I'm scarcely the man I used to be and I'm four years behind the procession and have to catch up. I have the best of references--" "I see you have," Cappy cut in blandly, and pressed the push-button on his desk. Mr. Skinner entered. He glanced disapprovingly at William E. Peck and then turned inquiring eyes toward Cappy Ricks. "Skinner, dear boy," Cappy purred amiably, "I've been thinking over the proposition to send Andrews out to the Shanghai office, and I've come to this conclusion. We'll have to take a chance. At the present time that office is in charge of a stenographer, and we've got to get a manager on the job without further loss of time. So I'll tell you what we'll do. We'll send Andrews out on the next boat, but inform him that his position is temporary. Then if he doesn't make good out there we can take him back into this office, where he is a most valuable man. Meanwhile--ahem! hum-m-m! Harumph!--meanwhile, you'd oblige me greatly, Skinner, my dear boy, if you would consent to take this young man into your office and give him a good work-out to see the stuff he's made of. As a favor to me, Skinner, my dear boy, as a favor to me." Mr. Skinner, in the language of the sporting world, was down for the count--and knew it. Young Mr. Peck knew it too, and smiled graciously upon the general manager, for young Mr. Peck had been in the army, where one of the first great lessons to be assimilated is this: that the commanding general's request is always tantamount to an order. "Very well, sir," Mr. Skinner replied coldly. "Have you arranged the compensation to be given Mr. Peck?" Cappy threw up a deprecating hand. "That detail is entirely up to you, Skinner. Far be it from me to interfere in the internal administration of your department. Naturally you will pay Mr. Peck what he is worth and not a cent more." He turned to the triumphant Peck. "Now, you listen to me, young feller. If you think you're slipping gracefully into a good thing, disabuse your mind of that impression right now. You'll step right up to the plate, my son, and you'll hit the ball fairly on the nose, and you'll do it early and often. The first time you tip a foul, you'll be warned. The second time you do it you'll get a month's lay-off to think it over, and the third time you'll be out--for keeps. Do I make myself clear?" "You do, sir," Mr. Peck declared happily. "All I ask is fighting room and I'll hack my way into Mr. Skinner's heart. Thank you, Mr. Skinner, for consenting to take me on. I appreciate your action very, very much and shall endeavor to be worthy of your confidence." "Young scoundrel! In-fer-nal young scoundrel!" Cappy murmured to himself. "He has a sense of humor, thank God! Ah, poor old narrow-gauge Skinner! If that fellow ever gets a new or unconventional thought in his stodgy head, it'll kill him overnight. He's hopping mad right now, because he can't say a word in his own defense, but if he doesn't make hell look like a summer holiday for Mr. Bill Peck, I'm due to be mercifully chloroformed. Good Lord, how empty life would be if I couldn't butt in and raise a little riot every once in so often." Young Mr. Peck had risen and was standing at attention. "When do I report for duty, sir?" he queried of Mr. Skinner. "Whenever you're ready," Skinner retorted with a wintry smile. Mr. Peck glanced at a cheap wrist watch. "It's twelve o'clock now," he soliloquized aloud. "I'll pop out, wrap myself around some rations and report on the job at one P.M. I might just as well knock out half a day's pay." He glanced at Cappy Ricks and quoted: "Count that day lost whose low descending sun Finds prices shot to glory and business done for fun." Unable to maintain his composure in the face of such levity during office hours, Mr. Skinner withdrew, still wrapped in his sub-Antarctic dignity. As the door closed behind him, Mr. Peck's eyebrows went up in a manner indicative of apprehension. "I'm off to a bad start, Mr. Ricks," he opined. "You only asked for a start," Cappy piped back at him. "I didn't guarantee you a start, and I wouldn't because I can't. I can only drive Skinner and Matt Peasley so far--and no farther. There's always a point at which I quit--er--ah--William." good "More familiarly known as Bill Peck, sir." "Very well, Bill." Cappy slid out to the edge of his chair and peered at Bill Peck balefully over the top of his spectacles. "I'll have my eye on you, young feller," he shrilled. "I freely acknowledge our indebtedness to you, but the day you get the notion in your head that this office is an old soldiers' home--" He paused thoughtfully. "I wonder what Skinner pay you?" he mused. "Oh, well," he continued, whatever it is, take it and say nothing and when the moment is propitious--and provided you've earned it--I'll intercede with the danged old relic and get you a raise." will "Thank you very much, sir. You are most kind. Good-day, sir." And Bill Peck picked up his hat and limped out of The Presence. Scarcely had the door closed behind him than Mr. Skinner re-entered Cappy Ricks' lair. He opened his mouth to speak, but Cappy silenced him with an imperious finger. "Not a peep out of you, Skinner, my dear boy," he chirped amiably. "I know exactly what you're going to say and I admit your right to say it, but--as--ahem! Harumph-h-h!--now, Skinner, listen to reason. How the devil could you have the heart to reject that crippled ex-soldier? There he stood, on one sound leg, with his sleeve tucked into his coat pocket and on his homely face the grin of an unwhipped, unbeatable man. But you--blast your cold, unfeeling soul, Skinner!--looked him in the eye and turned him down like a drunkard turns down near-beer. Skinner, how you do it?" could Undaunted by Cappy's admonitory finger, Mr. Skinner struck a distinctly defiant attitude. "There is no sentiment in business," he replied angrily. "A week ago last Thursday the local posts of the American Legion commenced their organized drive for jobs for their crippled and unemployed comrades, and within three days you've sawed off two hundred and nine such jobs on the various corporations that you control. The gang you shipped up to the mill in Washington has already applied for a charter for a new post to be known as Cappy Ricks Post No. 534. And you had experienced men discharged to make room for these ex-soldiers." "You bet I did," Cappy yelled triumphantly. "It's always Old Home Week in every logging camp and saw-mill in the Northwest for I.W.W.'s and revolutionary communists. I'm sick of their unauthorized strikes and sabotage, and by the Holy Pink-Toed Prophet, Cappy Ricks Post. No. 534, American Legion, is the only sort of back-fire I can think of to put the Wobblies on the run." "Every office and ship and retail yard could be run by a first-sergeant," Skinner complained. "I'm thinking of having reveille and retreat and bugle calls and Saturday morning inspections. I tell you, sir, the Ricks interests have absorbed all the old soldiers possible and at the present moment those interests are overflowing with glory. What we want are workers, not talkers. These ex-soldiers spend too much time fighting their battles over again." "Well, Comrade Peck is the last one I'll ask you to absorb, Skinner," Cappy promised contritely. "Ever read Kipling's Barrack Room Ballads, Skinner?" "I have no time to read," Mr. Skinner protested. "Go up town this minute and buy a copy and read one ballad entitled 'Tommy,'" Cappy barked. "For the good of your immortal soul," he added. "Well, Comrade Peck doesn't make a hit with me, Mr. Ricks. He applied to me for a job and I gave him his answer. Then he went to Captain Matt and was refused, so, just to demonstrate his bad taste, he went over our heads and induced you to pitchfork him into a job. He'll curse the day he was inspired to do that." "Skinner! Skinner! Look me in the eye! Do you know why I asked you to take on Bill Peck?" "I do. Because you're too tender-hearted for your own good." "You unimaginative dunderhead! You jibbering jackdaw! How could I reject a boy who simply would not be rejected? Why, I'll bet a ripe peach that Bill Peck was one of the doggondest finest soldiers you ever saw. He carries his objective. He sized you up just like that, Skinner. He declined to permit you to block him. Skinner, that Peck person has been opposed by experts. Yes, sir--experts! What kind of a job are you going to give him, Skinner, my dear boy?" "Andrews' job, of course." "Oh, yes, I forgot. Skinner, dear boy, haven't we got about half a million feet of skunk spruce to saw off on somebody?" Mr. Skinner nodded and Cappy continued with all the naïve eagerness of one who has just made a marvelous discovery, which he is confident will revolutionize science. "Give him that stinking stuff to peddle, Skinner, and if you can dig up a couple of dozen carloads of red fir or bull pine in transit, or some short or odd-length stock, or some larch ceiling or flooring, or some hemlock random stock--in fact, anything the trade doesn't want as a gift--you get me, don't you, Skinner?" Mr. Skinner smiled his swordfish smile. "And if he fails to make good-- , eh?" au revoir "Yes, I suppose so, although I hate to think about it. On the other hand, if he makes good he's to have Andrews' salary. We must be fair, Skinner. Whatever our faults we must always be fair." He rose and patted the general manager's lean shoulder. "There, there, Skinner, my boy. Forgive me if I've been a trifle--ah--ahem!--precipitate and--er--harumph-h-h! Skinner, if you put a prohibitive price on that skunk fir, by the Holy Pink-toed Prophet, I'll fire you! Be fair, boy, be fair. No dirty work, Skinner. Remember, Comrade Peck has half of his left forearm buried in France." 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. Peter B. Kyne (2004). The Go-Getter: A Story That Tells You How to be One. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/12257/pg12257-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 President emeritus of the Ricks' interests was not destined to uninterrupted cogitation

For years, web developers of all experience levels have relied on __caniuse.com __to understand the support of a given feature. Reviewing caniuse.com is helpful in determining backward compatibility or which of the modern browsers supports cutting-edge improvements to web specifications. In 2023, Google introduced Baseline to the web community. This tool is not just another addition to the developer's toolkit but a crucial aid in determining the safety of features and APIs for use in production-grade web applications. It’s a platform for interoperability, a much-needed resource to help engineers produce more consistent and efficient experiences, and a testament to Google's commitment to improving web best practices. Why Google Baseline? Browsers are constantly evolving, and vendors release updates monthly. With more individuals contributing and working on specifications than ever before and a far more transparent dialogue between the main browser vendors (Safari, Firefox, Chrome, Edge), it's become increasingly difficult to track which new features are stable across the landscape. However, with the introduction of Baseline, this struggle is significantly alleviated. Considering the above, as new features are released into browser engines, engineers often need more time to ramp up, refactor, or strategically plan the introduction of new features into their code bases. More importantly, as Google is often one of the platforms that push front-end technology forward, it has admittedly accepted that it is partly to blame here. It’s one of the reasons the Chrome team came up with web.dev and developer.chrome.com, as Chrome is often the first browser to land cutting-edge technologies. The introduction of Baseline has also led to further documentation and conferences focused on interoperability. New features mean documentation, and Google has made strides to ensure MDN has the relevant documentation for newer technologies as they land in Chrome. Closing the Vendor Gap From Google's perspective, engineers have one significant struggle: the behaviour and consistency of features across vendors and browser engines. It’s a pain point for all engineers in the field, requiring complex planning and solutions often to overcome a particular browser engine's lack of support. The solution here (for the last two years) was Interop 2022 and Interop 2023 - a conference and community that helps bridge the gap between browsers to provide a more consistent and performant web. What is Baseline? Baseline serves as the universal flag of acceptance across browser vendors. It helps engineers determine what is fully stable across the landscape and across browser vendors for the most recent two versions of each browser. This feature stability assurance is a game-changer in web development, providing a reliable benchmark for engineers to base their decisions on. How Does Baseline Work? You can access Google Baseline on MDN, web.dev and caniuse.com. Baseline also plans to provide a way to see what has become stable across all browser vendors through a year-on-year approach. For instance, you can read the following article to see what got added to Baseline in 2023: Baseline 2023 As engineering teams, we must keep up with these changes and avoid getting stuck in old solutions for common problems. Importantly, Baseline has two labels: Newly available: the feature is finally interoperable.
Widely available: 30 months have passed since the interoperable date. Baseline considers the major browser vendors to be: Safari (macOS and iOS)
Firefox (Desktop + Android)
Chrome (Desktop + Android)
Edge (Desktop) Google Baseline’s Effect on Engineering Teams One of the most significant benefits of Google Baseline for engineering teams is the removal of guesswork and research required to implement new features. For instance, a Frontend Engineer may want to leverage CSS Grid's new sub-grid feature. With Baseline, they can quickly and confidently determine its support across major browsers, saving time and effort. Sub-grid helps engineers define a grid within a grid to have more refined control over layouts. Heading to caniuse.com tells us there’s a global usage percentage of 87.42%—pretty decent, but we still need to ascertain which browser vendors support / don’t support / partially support the feature. CanIUse now displays a Baseline badge that tells us that this feature is “Newly available across major browsers.” Likewise, if you review the documentation for the sub-grid on MDN, you’ll see a similar banner: Finally, if you review the sub-grid article on web.dev, you’ll see this feature got added to Baseline in 2023: A Word on Evergreen Browsers In my opinion, we do not talk enough about this topic. For most modern users, the days of manually updating browsers are gone. Chrome, Firefox, and Edge auto-update automatically. Safari is an outlier in this case. Safari requires a manual update when a new release is sent out from Apple or when OS X is upgraded annually. Regardless, more users than ever use the latest version of browsers. Although we should ensure the features we build degrade gracefully, this is less of a fundamental consideration nowadays and more of a luxury assumption. Useful Links Google Baseline
Google Baseline Introduction
Baseline 2023
Interop 2022 / Interop 2023 For years, web developers of all experience levels have relied on __ caniuse.com __to understand the support of a given feature. Reviewing caniuse.com is helpful in determining backward compatibility or which of the modern browsers supports cutting-edge improvements to web specifications. caniuse.com In 2023, Google introduced Baseline to the web community. This tool is not just another addition to the developer's toolkit but a crucial aid in determining the safety of features and APIs for use in production-grade web applications. It’s a platform for interoperability, a much-needed resource to help engineers produce more consistent and efficient experiences, and a testament to Google's commitment to improving web best practices. Baseline Baseline Why Google Baseline? Browsers are constantly evolving, and vendors release updates monthly. With more individuals contributing and working on specifications than ever before and a far more transparent dialogue between the main browser vendors (Safari, Firefox, Chrome, Edge), it's become increasingly difficult to track which new features are stable across the landscape. However, with the introduction of Baseline, this struggle is significantly alleviated. Considering the above, as new features are released into browser engines, engineers often need more time to ramp up, refactor, or strategically plan the introduction of new features into their code bases. More importantly, as Google is often one of the platforms that push front-end technology forward, it has admittedly accepted that it is partly to blame here. It’s one of the reasons the Chrome team came up with web.dev and developer.chrome.com , as Chrome is often the first browser to land cutting-edge technologies. The introduction of Baseline has also led to further documentation and conferences focused on interoperability. web.dev web.dev developer.chrome.com developer.chrome.com New features mean documentation, and Google has made strides to ensure MDN has the relevant documentation for newer technologies as they land in Chrome. Closing the Vendor Gap From Google's perspective, engineers have one significant struggle: the behaviour and consistency of features across vendors and browser engines . It’s a pain point for all engineers in the field, requiring complex planning and solutions often to overcome a particular browser engine's lack of support. the behaviour and consistency of features across vendors and browser engines The solution here (for the last two years) was Interop 2022 and Interop 2023 - a conference and community that helps bridge the gap between browsers to provide a more consistent and performant web. Interop 2022 Interop 2022 Interop 2023 Interop 2023 What is Baseline? Baseline serves as the universal flag of acceptance across browser vendors. It helps engineers determine what is fully stable across the landscape and across browser vendors for the most recent two versions of each browser. This feature stability assurance is a game-changer in web development, providing a reliable benchmark for engineers to base their decisions on. How Does Baseline Work? You can access Google Baseline on MDN , web.dev and caniuse.com . MDN MDN web.dev web.dev caniuse.com caniuse.com Baseline also plans to provide a way to see what has become stable across all browser vendors through a year-on-year approach. For instance, you can read the following article to see what got added to Baseline in 2023: Baseline 2023 Baseline 2023 Baseline 2023 As engineering teams, we must keep up with these changes and avoid getting stuck in old solutions for common problems. Importantly, Baseline has two labels: Newly available: the feature is finally interoperable. Widely available: 30 months have passed since the interoperable date. Newly available: the feature is finally interoperable. Widely available: 30 months have passed since the interoperable date. Baseline considers the major browser vendors to be: Safari (macOS and iOS) Firefox (Desktop + Android) Chrome (Desktop + Android) Edge (Desktop) Safari (macOS and iOS) Safari Safari Firefox (Desktop + Android) Firefox Firefox Chrome (Desktop + Android) Chrome Chrome Edge (Desktop) Edge Edge Google Baseline’s Effect on Engineering Teams One of the most significant benefits of Google Baseline for engineering teams is the removal of guesswork and research required to implement new features. For instance, a Frontend Engineer may want to leverage CSS Grid's new sub-grid feature. With Baseline, they can quickly and confidently determine its support across major browsers, saving time and effort. sub-grid sub-grid Sub-grid helps engineers define a grid within a grid to have more refined control over layouts. Heading to caniuse.com tells us there’s a global usage percentage of 87.42%—pretty decent, but we still need to ascertain which browser vendors support / don’t support / partially support the feature. caniuse.com caniuse.com CanIUse now displays a Baseline badge that tells us that this feature is “ Newly available across major browsers. ” CanIUse CanIUse Newly available across major browsers. Likewise, if you review the documentation for the sub-grid on MDN, you’ll see a similar banner: Finally, if you review the sub-grid article on web.dev , you’ll see this feature got added to Baseline in 2023 : web.dev web.dev Baseline in 2023 Baseline in 2023 A Word on Evergreen Browsers In my opinion, we do not talk enough about this topic. For most modern users, the days of manually updating browsers are gone. Chrome, Firefox, and Edge auto-update automatically. Safari is an outlier in this case. Safari requires a manual update when a new release is sent out from Apple or when OS X is upgraded annually. Regardless, more users than ever use the latest version of browsers. Although we should ensure the features we build degrade gracefully, this is less of a fundamental consideration nowadays and more of a luxury assumption. Useful Links Google Baseline Google Baseline Introduction Baseline 2023 Interop 2022 / Interop 2023 Google Baseline Google Baseline Google Baseline Google Baseline Introduction Google Baseline Introduction Google Baseline Introduction Baseline 2023 Baseline 2023 Baseline 2023 Interop 2022 / Interop 2023 Interop 2022 Interop 2022 Interop 2023 Interop 2023

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