PITTSBURGH — This year’s Highmark Light Up Night headliner will make Downtown Pittsburgh feel like “home.” American Idol winner Phillip Phillips will be headlining the main stage along Fort Duquesne Boulevard. The Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership announced the headliner and the details of this year’s event at a press conference Wednesday morning.

Phillip Phillips to headline Pittsburgh’s Light Up Night concert

What shall we call you? E.g. Jack is first name and Mandanka is last name.

OneHope Wine Presents: Wine Tasting Benefiting SHP Hilliard

OneHope Wine, a charitable winery that’s based in Napa Valley, has been engaging in near-daily weekday virtual tastings via Facebook Live since March 19, each tallying up thousands of viewers once they’re later posted online, according to co-founder ...

Exclusive news and research on the wine, spirits and beer business

Filling a need for pre-selected students returning to the 4J, Bethel, Springfield, and Junction City school districts.

Returning students pick out new shoes, socks, and backpacks full of school supplies thanks to Project Hope

A Thanksgiving Service to celebrate the life of John will then follow at Onehope Moolap Baptist Church, 410 Bellarine Highway, Moolap at 12.00pm. In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of John ...

HARTWICK, John

ONEHOPE Wine is a force for good that gives back with every bottle - donating 10% of each purchase to nonprofits like CFBNJ. Cheers to them and to our friends at Peerless Beverage Company for ...

Community FoodBank of New Jersey’s Post

Coyle joins Foley Family Wines with 25 years of winemaking experience, most recently at ONEHOPE Winery in Napa Valley where she was Executive Winemaker & EVP Hope Management since 2017. There she led a 15-person team and managed the partner wineries to ...

Foley Family Wines Appoints Mari Wells Coyle as Southern Sonoma Winemaker

New downtown bar Dark 30 officially opens this Saturday on Third Street, in the former location of Lucy’s Retired Surfer Bar.

Inside downtown’s newest bar, Dark 30

Traci Strale from OneHope Wines will be serving up some delicious sips at our host shop, Serape Bleu. Plus, 10% of sales from all participating stores will be donated to Las Senoras. See you there!

Don't miss out on the Spring Sip and Shop happening tomorrow in downtown Wickenburg!

His friends and family will hold a service at OneHope Baptist Church in Barrabool on May 16. Ben Dines. Picture: Supplied Mr Dines will be buried in a seperate funeral service at a date to be ...

Funerals to be arranged for Ben Dines and Liam Moreland following Coroners Court decision

ONEHOPE

onehope

Hi, it’s Blazej, Working on the Calculator Project was quite funny and, I would say, a different experience. Different than Etch-a-Sketch which seemed to be more difficult. How is it possible then? The answer might not lie in the exercise’s difficulty but in something else, I guess. Let’s start from the beginning. Starting the Calculator Project I started working on the Calculator on May 2nd, 2024. The first session took me three hours, during which I managed to set it up and run it. It was around midday, so I decided to make a final commit, have dinner, and work out. I wanted to code a bit more that afternoon because I knew my friend was coming to visit the next day, and she was staying for three nights. Like other dedicated Odinists, I didn’t want to take breaks from coding, especially from the Calculator, which I believe is the most important project in Foundations. Unexpected Inspirations I was about to turn off my computer when ForrestKnight’s YouTube video popped up. I watched a bit and paused right after he talked about enjoying coding. I thought this over, and here’s my perspective as a beginner who has just finished coding and still frequently asks myself this question. The answer isn’t straightforward for someone like me, who has had access to a computer since childhood, played many games, and had a basic understanding of how things work. However, I had never coded before! Initial Coding Experience However, I noticed that the more I code and see it work, the more I enjoy the process. This was especially true with the calculator, which went smoothly overall, and I managed to avoid getting SERIOUSLY STUCK—well, mostly. I’ll touch on that later. This project felt significantly easier than the Etch-a-Sketch project, where I struggled with implementing gradient color-changing logic for two days. Coding certainly isn’t easy, but for this project, I dedicated about 1.5 to 2 hours each day over four days, and it was a manageable and rewarding experience. Every time I opened VSCode, I felt very productive, which helped me solve the tasks quickly. The most fascinating thing while working on it was that I could imagine other options that would also solve this exercise. I felt like a child building some crazy Lego Technic car and imagining what features to add again. Funny feeling. Enjoying the Process What exactly do I mean by that? I knew I could have created one function with events for all digit buttons instead of making nine separate ones. However, I forgot how to make it properly and decided to move on with 9 different ones, but I promised myself I would go back and read the documentation provided a few lessons back on how to solve this issue. As I thought I did. I was anticipating getting stuck on something for another five hours or so, but that never actually happened. I got it working with 244 lines of code. Challenges With CSS Now, it was time to start playing with CSS and style this project a little bit. Well, that’s when I got stuck. It seemed to be more difficult than creating JavaScript. I couldn’t believe it! I knew I needed to use Flexbox for this project, but the buttons looked a bit different than the Etch-a-Sketch I made earlier. In Etch-a-Sketch, I was told to make a grid using loops: Whenever I get stuck with Flexbox, I always turn to Josh’s blog post. There is no better explanation of how they work, IMHO. I wasn’t sure, however, if it would work out for a calculator, as not all buttons are equal. I wanted 0 to be larger, for example. I scrolled down the article because I recalled that CSS Grid was mentioned there. It turned out I would actually need to use it here. Moreover, the calculator that has been shown as an example by Odin was also designed using CSS Grid. Discovering CSS Grid At this point, I was a little bit lost because, as I remember, we didn’t touch the grid at all. I began to google it up. What did I find? A large article with quite an advanced explanation of how to use it. I thought it wasn’t time for that and assumed that we would be introduced to the grid at a later time. On top of that, there was only Flexbox mentioned in the exercise sooooo yep, I HOPE we will learn grid too. If not, I will come back to it at some point by myself. LITTLE UPDATE - the next day, I saw this post on Odin Discord: Final Adjustments and UI Design I decided to go with a couple of divs and just regroup the buttons in HTML After another study session, the calculator looked somehow familiar to a normal device. Adding Keyboard Support The last step for me was to make keyboard support. Bloody hell! That wasn’t easy, and I had to go back to the event lesson and read through the documentation several times to understand how these keyboard keys work. It was quite tough, as event bubbling was confusing me. It was the right moment to make 1 function that would click buttons and 2 calls for it. One for a mouse ‘click,’ and the second for a keyboard ‘keydown.’ I managed to sort all digits and equals buttons but decided not to go with operators as I would have to change my logic with the operator’s object. This setup seems easier to grasp if I need to review it later. However, I might be wrong, so don’t take it for granted. The finished project can be seen here: CALCULATOR Reflections and Lessons Learned What was the lesson here? I enjoyed the process of making an app and designing it and learned A LOT about events. I would highly recommend you go through the extra credit process with this one! If you enjoyed this story and found the tips helpful, follow me on Twitter for more updates and coding tips. I’d love to hear about your own coding challenges and successes in the comments below! Hi, it’s Blazej, Working on the Calculator Project was quite funny and, I would say, a different experience. Different than Etch-a-Sketch which seemed to be more difficult. How is it possible then? The answer might not lie in the exercise’s difficulty but in something else, I guess. Let’s start from the beginning. Starting the Calculator Project I started working on the Calculator on May 2nd, 2024. The first session took me three hours, during which I managed to set it up and run it. It was around midday, so I decided to make a final commit, have dinner, and work out. I wanted to code a bit more that afternoon because I knew my friend was coming to visit the next day, and she was staying for three nights. Like other dedicated Odinists, I didn’t want to take breaks from coding, especially from the Calculator, which I believe is the most important project in Foundations. Unexpected Inspirations I was about to turn off my computer when ForrestKnight’s YouTube video popped up. I watched a bit and paused right after he talked about enjoying coding. ForrestKnight’s YouTube video I thought this over, and here’s my perspective as a beginner who has just finished coding and still frequently asks myself this question. The answer isn’t straightforward for someone like me, who has had access to a computer since childhood, played many games, and had a basic understanding of how things work. However, I had never coded before! Initial Coding Experience However, I noticed that the more I code and see it work, the more I enjoy the process. This was especially true with the calculator, which went smoothly overall, and I managed to avoid getting SERIOUSLY STUCK—well, mostly. I’ll touch on that later. This project felt significantly easier than the Etch-a-Sketch project, where I struggled with implementing gradient color-changing logic for two days. Coding certainly isn’t easy, but for this project, I dedicated about 1.5 to 2 hours each day over four days, and it was a manageable and rewarding experience. Every time I opened VSCode, I felt very productive, which helped me solve the tasks quickly. The most fascinating thing while working on it was that I could imagine other options that would also solve this exercise. I felt like a child building some crazy Lego Technic car and imagining what features to add again. Funny feeling. Enjoying the Process What exactly do I mean by that? I knew I could have created one function with events for all digit buttons instead of making nine separate ones. However, I forgot how to make it properly and decided to move on with 9 different ones, but I promised myself I would go back and read the documentation provided a few lessons back on how to solve this issue. As I thought I did. I was anticipating getting stuck on something for another five hours or so, but that never actually happened. I got it working with 244 lines of code. Challenges With CSS Now, it was time to start playing with CSS and style this project a little bit. Well, that’s when I got stuck. It seemed to be more difficult than creating JavaScript. I couldn’t believe it! I knew I needed to use Flexbox for this project, but the buttons looked a bit different than the Etch-a-Sketch I made earlier. In Etch-a-Sketch, I was told to make a grid using loops: Whenever I get stuck with Flexbox, I always turn to Josh’s blog post. There is no better explanation of how they work, IMHO. Josh’s blog post. I wasn’t sure, however, if it would work out for a calculator, as not all buttons are equal. I wanted 0 to be larger, for example. I scrolled down the article because I recalled that CSS Grid was mentioned there. It turned out I would actually need to use it here. Moreover, the calculator that has been shown as an example by Odin was also designed using CSS Grid. Discovering CSS Grid At this point, I was a little bit lost because, as I remember, we didn’t touch the grid at all. I began to google it up. What did I find? A large article with quite an advanced explanation of how to use it. I thought it wasn’t time for that and assumed that we would be introduced to the grid at a later time. On top of that, there was only Flexbox mentioned in the exercise sooooo yep, I HOPE we will learn grid too. If not, I will come back to it at some point by myself. LITTLE UPDATE - the next day, I saw this post on Odin Discord: Final Adjustments and UI Design I decided to go with a couple of divs and just regroup the buttons in HTML After another study session, the calculator looked somehow familiar to a normal device. Adding Keyboard Support The last step for me was to make keyboard support. Bloody hell! That wasn’t easy, and I had to go back to the event lesson and read through the documentation several times to understand how these keyboard keys work. It was quite tough, as event bubbling was confusing me. It was the right moment to make 1 function that would click buttons and 2 calls for it. One for a mouse ‘click,’ and the second for a keyboard ‘keydown.’ I managed to sort all digits and equals buttons but decided not to go with operators as I would have to change my logic with the operator’s object. This setup seems easier to grasp if I need to review it later. However, I might be wrong, so don’t take it for granted. The finished project can be seen here: CALCULATOR CALCULATOR Reflections and Lessons Learned What was the lesson here? I enjoyed the process of making an app and designing it and learned A LOT about events. I would highly recommend you go through the extra credit process with this one! If you enjoyed this story and found the tips helpful, follow me on Twitter for more updates and coding tips. I’d love to hear about your own coding challenges and successes in the comments below! Twitter

The Calculator Project: Why It Was Easier, Yet Full of Hurdles

ক্যালকুলেটর প্রকল্প: কেন এটি সহজ ছিল, তবুও বাধা পূর্ণ

Das Taschenrechnerprojekt: Warum es einfacher war, aber dennoch voller Hürden steckte

El proyecto Calculadora: por qué era más fácil, pero estaba lleno de obstáculos

Le projet de calculatrice : pourquoi il était plus simple, mais semé d'embûches

कैलकुलेटर परियोजना: यह आसान क्यों था, फिर भी बाधाओं से भरा हुआ

計算機プロジェクト: なぜ簡単だったのか、そしてなぜハードルが高かったのか

계산기 프로젝트: 더 쉬웠지만 장애물이 가득한 이유

O projeto da calculadora: por que foi mais fácil, mas cheio de obstáculos

Проект «Калькулятор»: почему он был проще, но полон препятствий

Hesap Makinesi Projesi: Neden Daha Kolaydı Ama Engellerle Doluydu

Dự án Máy tính: Tại sao nó dễ dàng hơn nhưng lại đầy rào cản

计算器项目：为何它更容易，却又充满障碍

When using the Angular CDK Overlay module, you will likely want to transition the opening and closing of the overlay content. It’s something that seems like it should be pretty easy and straightforward, but it’s actually a little tricky. It can’t really be transitioned with only because it’s a markup that gets added into and removed from the document. It’s not a simple style or class change. We need to leverage Angular animations to make it work well. In this post I’ll show you why and I’ll show you how to make animations work for your overlays. Alright, let’s get to it! CSS https://youtu.be/JEKQ21mXyA0?embedable=true Ok, before we get too far along, I’ve created several posts on the Angular CDK Overlay module where I demonstrate how to set up overlays for some common scenarios, how they are positioned, and how they react when scrolling the containers they are contained within. Angular CDK Overlay Tutorials: Learn the Basics How Positioning Works Scroll Strategies So, if you’re new to these concepts, you’ll probably want to check them out first because everything we’ll see in this post will build off the concepts from those videos. The Demo Application Ok, here we have the example that we’ve been working on throughout the videos on the Overlay module. It’s a list of NBA players, and when we click the button on the right, we get a pop-up that’s created with the Overlay module with more details about the player. It works well, but we want to ease in the pop-up when it opens, and then we want to ease it out when it closes. This should be easy, right? Using an Angular and Animation to Animate the CDK Overlay :enter :leave If you’ve used Angular animations in the past, you’d probably expect to use a simple and animation. This type of animation in Angular allows us to animate items that are physically entering into and out of the DOM. This is something that CSS currently does not support. :enter :leave So, let’s try this and see what happens. Creating an :enter/:leave Animation in the Component Animations Metadata Let’s start by adding the animations array. Within this array, let’s add a trigger. We’ll call it “animation”. player-details.component.ts @Component({
    selector: 'app-player-details',
    ...
    animations: [
        trigger('animation', [
        ])
    ]
}) Then, let’s add a transition for our event. Well use the method to add the style we’ll start from. We’ll add a style object where we’ll start from an opacity of zero. And, we’ll start from a scale of point eight. Then, we’ll use the method; for the timings, we’ll use a duration of zero point one five seconds, and we’ll use for our timing function. And we’ll animate to another style object. This time, we’ll be transitioning to an opacity of one and a scale of one as well. :enter style() animate() ease-in-out @Component({
    selector: 'app-player-details',
    ...
    animations: [
        transition(':enter', [
            style({
                opacity: 0,
                transform: 'scale(0.8)'
            }),
            animate('0.15s ease-in-out', style({
                opacity: 1,
                transform: 'scale(1)'
            }))
        ])
    ]
}) Now we’ll add another transition for our :leave state. This time we’ll start from our open state with a style object containing an opacity of one and a scale of one too. Then, we’ll add another animation function. We’ll add the same timing, zero point one five seconds with an timing function. We’ll add another style object to animate to an opacity of zero and a scale of zero point eight, so the inverse of our enter animation. ease-in-out @Component({
    selector: 'app-player-details',
    ...
    animations: [
        trigger('animation', [
            transition(':enter', [
                style({
                    opacity: 0,
                    transform: 'scale(0.8)'
                }),
                animate('0.15s ease-in-out', style({
                    opacity: 1,
                    transform: 'scale(1)'
                }))
            ]),
            transition(':leave', [
                style({
                    opacity: 1,
                    transform: 'scale(1)'
                }),
                animate('0.15s ease-in-out', style({
                    opacity: 0,
                    transform: 'scale(0.8)'
                }))
            ])
        ])
    ]
}) Binding the Animation to the Component Host With the Decorator @HostBinding Ok, now we have the animation setup, but we need to bind it to our player details host element. So, we need to add the decorator. We’ll add our animation trigger, then we’ll create an “animationState” property, and we’ll set it to true so that our animation will properly be bound on the host. @HostBinding export class PlayerDetailsComponent {
    @HostBinding('@animation') animationState = true;
} Ok, now let’s check this out and see what happens. Nice, the animation on open looks great but when we close it looks like it didn’t animate. And, this is because a leave event didn’t fire for this inner component that we’re trying to animate. The overlay is destroyed and removed before the close animation can run. The overlay is detached before the animation completes. We need to complete the close animation before the overlay is detached. So, we’re going to need to do this a different way. Using an Angular State-based Animation to Animate the CDK Overlay What we can do here is actually switch to a state-based animation. We’ll go with the concept of having a “hidden” state and a “visible” state for our overlay content. Creating a State-based Animation in the Component Animations Metadata Let’s remove the code for the :enter/:leave animation and then replace it with our hidden state. We’ll add a style object with opacity zero and a scale of zero point eight. @Component({
    selector: 'app-player-details',
    ...
    animations: [
        trigger('animation', [
            state('hidden', style({
                opacity: 0,
                transform: 'scale(0.8)'
            })
        ])
    ]
}) Then, we’ll add another state call for our visible state. This state will have a style object with an opacity of one and a scale of one as well. @Component({
    selector: 'app-player-details',
    ...
    animations: [
        trigger('animation', [
            state('hidden', style({
                opacity: 0,
                transform: 'scale(0.8)'
            }),
            state('visible', style({
                opacity: 1,
                transform: 'scale(1)'
            }))
        ])
    ]
}) Alright, now we just need to add the transition between these states, so let’s add the transition function. And we’ll transition between hidden and visible states. We’ll also animate this transition with the animation function. Our animation will run over zero point one for five seconds and will use an timing function. ease-in-out @Component({
    selector: 'app-player-details',
    ...
    animations: [
        trigger('animation', [
            state('hidden', style({
                opacity: 0,
                transform: 'scale(0.8)'
            }),
            state('visible', style({
                opacity: 1,
                transform: 'scale(1)'
            })),
            transition('hidden <=> visible', animate('0.15s ease-in-out'))
        ])
    ]
}) Ok, now, for this animation to work correctly, we’ll need to switch our from a Boolean to a hidden/visible string instead, so we’ll initialize it to hidden. animationState export class PlayerDetailsComponent {
    @HostBinding('@animation') animationState = 'hidden';
} Triggering the State-based Animation When Opening and Closing the CDK Overlay Now, when the component is created, we’ll set this property to visible, which will then trigger the open animation to run. We need to add the AfterViewInit lifecycle hook for this. And we’ll need to implement the interface too. Then, within the hook, we’ll set our to visible. animationState export class PlayerDetailsComponent implements AfterViewInit {
    ...
    ngAfterViewInit() {
        this.animationState = 'visible';
    }
} That will trigger the animation on open. Now, we need to handle the close. To do this, we need to do a few things. First, let’s add a public close method. Inside of this method, let’s set our animationState to hidden. export class PlayerDetailsComponent implements AfterViewInit {
    ...
    close() {
        this.animationState = 'hidden';
    }
} Ok, now, in our player component that opens this pop-up, we need to be able to access the instance of our player details component so that we can call the close method that we just added. We’ll use the view child decorator to do this. Its selector will be the , and we’ll name this property . It will be typed to the as well. PlayerDetailsComponent detailsComponent PlayerDetailsComponent player.component.ts export class PlayerComponent {
    @ViewChild(PlayerDetailsComponent) detailsComponent!: PlayerDetailsComponent;
} Ok, now, in our component template, in the event, we’ll now call our method instead of setting our property to false. overlayOutsideClick detailsComponent.close() detailsOpen player.component.html <ng-template
    cdkConnectedOverlay
    ...
    (overlayOutsideClick)="detailsComponent.close()">
</ng-template> So, this will trigger the close animation to run, but it will not actually detach the overlay. In order to properly detach the overlay, we need to wait until the close animation completes and then notify the player component so that it can properly detach the overlay. Using the Angular Animation Done Event and an EventEmitter to Close the CDK Overlay So, back over in the player details component, we need to add an that will emit when the animation completes. We can add the output decorator with a closed property. This property will be a void event emitter. We’ll fire it when the close animation completes. @Output player-details.component.ts export class PlayerDetailsComponent implements AfterViewInit {
    ...
    @Output() closed = new EventEmitter<void>();
} Now, we need a way to wire up to the close animation done event. To do this, we’ll use an animation-done event callback. Since our animation is bound to the host of this component, we’ll need to use the decorator to listen for the animation done event. And we’ll need to pass through the event. Then, we’ll create a done method. And it will have an event parameter that will be typed to an event. Within this method, we need to check if we are animating to the hidden state. Then, within this check, we’ll emit our closed event. @HostListener AngularAnimation export class PlayerDetailsComponent implements AfterViewInit {
    ...
    @HostListener('@animation.done', ['$event']) done(event: AnimationEvent) {
        if (event.toState === 'hidden') {
            this.closed.emit();
        }
    }
} The last thing we need to do is detach the overlay when this event fires. So, let’s go back to the player component template. On our player details component, let’s add our closed event. When it fires, we’ll set the property to false. detailsOpen <ng-template
    cdkConnectedOverlay
    ...>
    <app-player-details [player]="player" (closed)="detailsOpen = false"></app-player-details>
</ng-template> Ok, now it will still transition as it opens and it will now transition when when it closes too. Cool, so now we have a working open and close animation for our pop-ups, but we can make it even better. Making the Animation Better With the @Input cdkConnectedOverlayTransformOriginOn The directive provides the ability for us to specify the item to place a on in order to better animate the overlay from the origin element. To do this, we can add the and in this case, we are animating the element, so we’ll set that as the selector for this input. cdkConnectedOverlay transform-origin cdkConnectedOverlayTransformOriginOn @Input app-player-details <ng-template
    cdkConnectedOverlay
    ...
    cdkConnectedOverlayTransformOriginOn="app-player-details">
</ng-template> Nice, now our pop-up will animate from and to the attachment point on the origin. Ok, so now you know how to animate the opening and closing of overlays. I hope this helps you as you build out modals, pop-ups, tool tips and similar items in your angular apps. Keep an eye out for more videos on the Overlay module in the future. Found This Helpful? If you found this article helpful and want to show some love, you can always buy me a coffee! Want to See It in Action? Check out the demo code and examples of these techniques in the in the stackblitz example below. If you have any questions or thoughts, don’t hesitate to leave a comment. https://stackblitz.com/edit/stackblitz-starters-hi2gdg?ctl=1&embed=1&file=src%2Fplayer%2Fplayer-details%2Fplayer-details.component.ts&embedable=true Also published . here

Animating Angular CDK Overlays

Mathilda by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book . CHAPTER II here CHAPTER II I now come to my own story. During the early part of my life there is little to relate, and I will be brief; but I must be allowed to dwell a little on the years of my childhood that it may be apparent how when one hope failed all life was to be a blank; and how when the only affection I was permitted to cherish was blasted my existence was extinguished with it. I have said that my aunt was very unlike my father. I believe that without the slightest tinge of a bad heart she had the coldest that ever filled a human breast: it was totally incapable of any affection. She took me under her protection because she considered it her duty; but she had too long lived alone and undisturbed by the noise and prattle of children to allow that I should disturb her quiet. She had never been married; and for the last five years had lived perfectly alone on an estate, that had descended to her through her mother, on the shores of Loch Lomond in Scotland. My father had expressed a wish in his letters that she should reside with me at his family mansion which was situated in a beautiful country near Richmond in Yorkshire. She would not consent to this proposition, but as soon as she had arranged the affairs which her brother’s departure had caused to fall to her care, she quitted England and took me with her to her scotch estate. The care of me while a baby, and afterwards untill I had reached my eighth year devolved on a servant of my mother’s, who had accompanied us in our retirement for that purpose. I was placed in a remote part of the house, and only saw my aunt at stated hours. These occurred twice a day; once about noon she came to my nursery, and once after her dinner I was taken to her. She never caressed me, and seemed all the time I staid in the room to fear that I should annoy her by some childish freak. My good nurse always schooled me with the greatest care before she ventured into the parlour—and the awe my aunt’s cold looks and few constrained words inspired was so great that I seldom disgraced her lessons or was betrayed from the exemplary stillness which I was taught to observe during these short visits. Under my good nurse’s care I ran wild about our park and the neighbouring fields. The offspring of the deepest love I displayed from my earliest years the greatest sensibility of disposition. I cannot say with what passion I loved every thing even the inanimate objects that surrounded me. I believe that I bore an individual attachment to every tree in our park; every animal that inhabited it knew me and I loved them. Their occasional deaths filled my infant heart with anguish. I cannot number the birds that I have saved during the long and severe winters of that climate; or the hares and rabbits that I have defended from the attacks of our dogs, or have nursed when accidentally wounded. When I was seven years of age my nurse left me. I now forget the cause of her departure if indeed I ever knew it. She returned to England, and the bitter tears she shed at parting were the last I saw flow for love of me for many years. My grief was terrible: I had no friend but her in the whole world. By degrees I became reconciled to solitude but no one supplied her place in my affections. I lived in a desolate country where ——— there were none to praise And very few to love. It is true that I now saw a little more of my aunt, but she was in every way an unsocial being; and to a timid child she was as a plant beneath a thick covering of ice; I should cut my hands in endeavouring to get at it. So I was entirely thrown upon my own resourses. The neighbouring minister was engaged to give me lessons in reading, writing and french, but he was without family and his manners even to me were always perfectly characteristic of the profession in the exercise of whose functions he chiefly shone, that of a schoolmaster. I sometimes strove to form friendships with the most attractive of the girls who inhabited the neighbouring village; but I believe I should never have succeeded even had not my aunt interposed her authority to prevent all intercourse between me and the peasantry; for she was fearful lest I should acquire the scotch accent and dialect; a little of it I had, although great pains was taken that my tongue should not disgrace my English origin. As I grew older my liberty encreased with my desires, and my wanderings extended from our park to the neighbouring country. Our house was situated on the shores of the lake and the lawn came down to the water’s edge. I rambled amidst the wild scenery of this lovely country and became a complete mountaineer: I passed hours on the steep brow of a mountain that overhung a waterfall or rowed myself in a little skiff to some one of the islands. I wandered for ever about these lovely solitudes, gathering flower after flower Ond’ era pinta tutta la mia via singing as I might the wild melodies of the country, or occupied by pleasant day dreams. My greatest pleasure was the enjoyment of a serene sky amidst these verdant woods: yet I loved all the changes of Nature; and rain, and storm, and the beautiful clouds of heaven brought their delights with them. When rocked by the waves of the lake my spirits rose in triumph as a horseman feels with pride the motions of his high fed steed. But my pleasures arose from the contemplation of nature alone, I had no companion: my warm affections finding no return from any other human heart were forced to run waste on inanimate objects. Sometimes indeed I wept when my aunt received my caresses with repulsive coldness, and when I looked round and found none to love; but I quickly dried my tears. As I grew older books in some degree supplied the place of human intercourse: the library of my aunt was very small; Shakespear, Milton, Pope and Cowper were the strangley [ ] assorted poets of her collection; and among the prose authors a translation of Livy and Rollin’s ancient history were my chief favourites although as I emerged from childhood I found others highly interesting which I had before neglected as dull. sic When I was twelve years old it occurred to my aunt that I ought to learn music; she herself played upon the harp. It was with great hesitation that she persuaded herself to undertake my instruction; yet believing this accomplishment a necessary part of my education, and balancing the evils of this measure or of having some one in the house to instruct me she submitted to the inconvenience. A harp was sent for that my playing might not interfere with hers, and I began: she found me a docile and when I had conquered the first rudiments a very apt scholar. I had acquired in my harp a companion in rainy days; a sweet soother of my feelings when any untoward accident ruffled them: I often addressed it as my only friend; I could pour forth to it my hopes and loves, and I fancied that its sweet accents answered me. I have now mentioned all my studies. I was a solitary being, and from my infant years, ever since my dear nurse left me, I had been a dreamer. I brought Rosalind and Miranda and the lady of Comus to life to be my companions, or on my isle acted over their parts imagining myself to be in their situations. Then I wandered from the fancies of others and formed affections and intimacies with the aerial creations of my own brain—but still clinging to reality I gave a name to these conceptions and nursed them in the hope of realization. I clung to the memory of my parents; my mother I should never see, she was dead: but the idea of my unhappy, wandering father was the idol of my imagination. I bestowed on him all my affections; there was a miniature of him that I gazed on continually; I copied his last letter and read it again and again. Sometimes it made me weep; and at other times I repeated with transport those words,—“One day I may claim her at your hands.” I was to be his consoler, his companion in after years. My favourite vision was that when I grew up I would leave my aunt, whose coldness lulled my conscience, and disguised like a boy I would seek my father through the world. My imagination hung upon the scene of recognition; his miniature, which I should continually wear exposed on my breast, would be the means and I imaged the moment to my mind a thousand and a thousand times, perpetually varying the circumstances. Sometimes it would be in a desart; in a populous city; at a ball; we should perhaps meet in a vessel; and his first words constantly were, “My daughter, I love thee”! What extactic moments have I passed in these dreams! How many tears I have shed; how often have I laughed aloud. This was my life for sixteen years. At fourteen and fifteen I often thought that the time was come when I should commence my pilgrimage, which I had cheated my own mind into believing was my imperious duty: but a reluctance to quit my Aunt; a remorse for the grief which, I could not conceal from myself, I should occasion her for ever withheld me. Sometimes when I had planned the next morning for my escape a word of more than usual affection from her lips made me postpone my resolution. I reproached myself bitterly for what I called a culpable weakness; but this weakness returned upon me whenever the critical moment approached, and I never found courage to depart. 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. Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (2005). Mathilda. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/15238/pg15238-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

I now come to my own story.

The Planet of Pirates: Echoes of Destiny  

In this piece, I blend MVP development theory with hands-on lessons from my co-founder journey in an EdTech startup. Dive deep, and by the end, you'll uncover the hard-learned dos and don'ts of our MVP journey — insights that might just save you a misstep or two. Content Overview Key MVP Concepts and Strategies Understanding Different Types of MVPs Concierge MVP Wizard of Oz MVP Piecemeal MVP Single-feature MVP Landing page MVP Understanding the MVP Development Process MVP Dos and Don'ts: Lessons from YaizY's Experience Final thoughts Key MVP Concepts and Strategies In today's rapid business world, s are vital. Whether you're a new startup or a seasoned company seeking innovation, an MVP is not just another item on your checklist but a strategic must-have in your product development roadmap. It serves as a concrete first step, paving the way for early feedback and setting the stage for ongoing learning and consistent improvement. MVP EdTech MVP is Essential for Market Validation and Fundraising An MVP serves as a significant link, connecting your entrepreneurial dreams with the real-world dynamics of the market. It plays a dual strategic role: decreasing market risk and supporting fundraising efforts. When launching a new product or service, there's always a fair amount of risk involved. Unknown variables can lead to expensive mistakes, like creating a product that fails to connect with your intended audience. That's where an MVP comes in handy. It lets you introduce a basic version of your product, one that includes only the most crucial features that your users need. The practical, real-world data collected from this MVP launch gives you a wealth of insights about how the market reacts, how customers behave, and how well your product is accepted. It's a reality check for your business idea, helping you decide whether to stick with the current plan or adjust your strategy. Market Validation: The second strategic role of an MVP is in fundraising. Investors are always looking for potential high-growth ventures, but they also have to consider the risks of early-stage investing. An MVP serves as a tangible proof-of-concept, demonstrating your business's potential to generate future revenue. It not only shows that you have a market-ready product but also that your team has the capability to execute the vision. Facilitating Fundraising: Let’s take as an example. Its story perfectly illustrates the role of an MVP in fundraising. Instead of developing a fully functional product right off the bat, the Dropbox team made a simple demo video that showcased the software's functionality. This video sparked interest in the tech community, leading to an influx of sign-up requests for their beta version. This surge was proof to investors that there was significant market demand for their product. As a result, Dropbox secured a $1.2 million seed round from Sequoia Capital, paving the way for its later success. Dropbox Understanding Different Types of MVPs The journey to an MVP is not a one-size-fits-all process. The kind of MVP you develop largely depends on your unique business model, the product or service you're proposing, and the specific market conditions you're up against. To help you figure out the best way forward, let's explore the most popular types of MVPs and when you might want to use them: Concierge MVP In this style of MVP, you manually carry out the services that will later be automated in the final product. By doing this, you can learn directly about customer needs, issues, and usage patterns, confirming the value of your product idea without needing a lot of development work. A good example of a Concierge MVP is . At the beginning, the Airbnb guys would go to hosts' homes, click photos, and put them online. It was all done manually. They helped people list their places and others to book them. This gave them a clear idea of what users wanted and confirmed that their idea of a home-sharing platform could work. It was a key step in their journey to build the Airbnb we know today. Airbnb Wizard of Oz MVP Here, the customer interacts with what seems like a fully functional product. However, behind the curtain, the company manually runs the operations.. The key difference from Concierge MVP is that the user doesn't know about the manual work going on behind the curtain. This model allows you to test and confirm your product idea's core functionality without investing heavily in automation or scalability. Take , for instance. In their early days, they used this approach when starting their online bookstore. Customers believed they were browsing an extensive inventory when in reality, Amazon didn't have a large stock of books. Instead, they'd purchase the book from distributors when customers placed an order, then ship it. This gave them a chance to validate the demand for an online bookstore without huge initial inventory investment. Amazon Piecemeal MVP A Piecemeal MVP is like using Lego blocks you already have to build a new toy. You use existing tools, maybe even mix and match different ones, instead of creating everything from zero. This strategy can significantly cut down on development costs and time, offering a quick and inexpensive way to check if your business idea holds water. Groupon is a classic example of a Piecemeal MVP. In the early days, it was a basic WordPress website that sent daily deals to subscribers. The team manually made PDFs for their coupons and managed their subscriber list using readily available software, allowing them to test the market's interest in a group-buying platform with minimal upfront cost. Single-feature MVP This approach is about building an MVP that delivers a single core feature or function that solves the user's main problem. Companies often use this method when they want to perfect a single feature before adding more to their product. is a notable example of a successful One-Feature MVP. The first product only offered one main feature – syncing files across different computers. Only after validating this key function and gaining traction did Dropbox start to introduce more features, based on user feedback and demand. Dropbox Landing Page MVP This is about creating a straightforward landing page that explains the product's value and invites visitors to sign up or buy the product. It's a fast and cost-effective way to measure market interest and confirm your product idea. Buffer, a social media scheduling tool, began as an Intro Page MVP. They described their proposed solution on a basic webpage and invited visitors to sign up if they found the product intriguing. The interest level and number of sign-ups gave them an initial confirmation of their product concept before they committed to building the full product. Understanding the MVP Development Process The path to developing an MVP is not a straight line, but an iterative journey that is deeply rooted in continuous feedback, learning, and adaptation. It's fundamental to the Lean Startup mindset, wherein the focus is on 'learning by doing' and rapid prototyping. Let's delve into the three crucial stages involved in the MVP development process: The Pre-MVP stage is all about groundwork and strategic planning. Here are some key steps: Pre-MVP: Understand the competitive landscape, market size, and potential opportunities. This research will help you identify your unique value proposition and differentiate your offering. Market Research: Define the demographics, interests, and behaviors of your potential customers. Who are they? What are their pain points that your product can solve? Target Audience Definition: Test the waters before diving in. Conduct surveys, interviews, or focus groups within your network to gauge potential interest in your product. Additionally, a landing page describing your product's value proposition can be set up to gather email sign-ups or pre-orders. This helps in assessing the potential demand for your product. Preliminary Demand Validation: This stage is all about bringing your idea to life in a tangible form that people can interact with. Here are the major steps: Prototype Development: Decide what features to include in the MVP that can solve the primary problem for your users. Remember, the goal is to deliver value with the least complexity. Feature Determination: Develop a working model or prototype of your product that demonstrates its core functionality. Prototype Creation: Conduct testing sessions with potential users to gather feedback about the product's usability, functionality, and overall experience. User Testing: Based on the feedback received, refine and enhance your MVP. This is a crucial step in the Problem-Solution Fit, where you tweak your solution until it effectively solves the problem for your users. MVP Refinement: This is the stage where you introduce your functional product into the market. Here are the significant tasks: Minimum (Commercially) Viable Product (MVP or MCVP): Develop a fully functional version of your product based on the refined MVP. This version should be ready to be used by your first set of paying customers. Functional Development: Release your product into the market. This could be a soft launch (to a limited audience) or a full-scale launch, depending on your strategy. Product Launch: Begin your marketing efforts to attract your first customers. Continue to gather user feedback to understand what's working and what's not. User Acquisition and Feedback Loop: Use the feedback from your paying customers to refine and enhance your product. This stage is part of the Product-Market Fit process, where you adjust your product until it resonates with a larger audience in your target market. Product Refinement: Remember, the The iterative nature of this process is the key to effectively applying the Lean Startup methodology, allowing you to minimize risk and maximize your chances of building a product that truly meets the needs of your target market. MVP development process is a cycle, not a one-time event. It's about iterating and improving your product based on continuous learning from real-world feedback. MVP Dos and Don'ts: Lessons from YaizY's Experience Finally, drawing from our hands-on journey, here are pivotal do's and don'ts for MVP development: DOs It's imperative to launch a demo or beta version as soon as feasible. This enables you to gain valuable customer feedback and real-world insights, which can guide your development and refinement efforts. The goal isn't to deliver a perfect product out of the gate, but rather, a functional one that adequately represents your core concept and can be tested in the market. Launch a Testable Product Swiftly: In the pursuit of building an MVP, prioritize features that are most essential to your product's value proposition. Avoid the temptation of adding many features at once. Instead, target those that align directly with the core functionality of your product. Once these are validated and refined based on user feedback, additional features can be considered. Focus on Key Features: While it's important to be open to new ideas and approaches, keep a strategic focus on your product's core. Always aim for profitability and sustainable growth. Any experimentation should be data-driven and anchored by your product's main objective. Experiment Strategically: DON'Ts An MVP is meant to be a cost-effective way to validate a product idea, not a financial drain. Be mindful of your budget and manage your resources wisely. Remember, the goal is to learn about the market's reaction to your product, not to deliver a fully-fledged product. Overspend on MVP Development: While outsourcing can be useful in certain situations, it's essential to maintain a strong internal understanding and control over your product's development. If you outsource too much, you risk losing touch with the nuances of your product and may find it harder to make fast, informed decisions. Over-Depend on Outsourcing: A common pitfall in MVP development is to make the product overly complicated. Remember, the "M" in MVP stands for "minimum" - your goal is to create a product with just enough features to attract early adopters and validate the product concept. Strive for simplicity and clarity in design and functionality. Overcomplicate Your MVP: Aim to create an MVP that's as simple and effective as possible. Utilize existing tools and platforms to minimize coding and expedite the development process. This approach not only saves time but also enhances the reliability of your product at the initial stage. Write Unnecessary Code: While scaling is an exciting phase, it's crucial not to rush into it. Thoroughly test your product and use the gathered feedback to refine your MVP before considering any aggressive expansion. Scaling too soon can lead to amplified mistakes, which are often more challenging and costly to fix than in the MVP stage. Rush to Scale: Final Thoughts As our journey at YaizY advances, we continue to keep our minds open to new insights, learnings, and chances for refinement.  With these insights and principles in mind, we hope to inspire and guide other startups on their journey to develop a successful MVP. Remember, the road to a successful product is a marathon, not a sprint. Stay patient, stay focused, and keep learning. Your MVP is just the beginning of your product's journey!

Winning the MVP Game: The Tech Startups' Guide to Success

The Hacker Crackdown: Law and Disorder on the Electronic Frontier by Bruce Sterling, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book .  Preface to the Electronic Release of The Hacker Crackdown here Preface to the Electronic Release of The Hacker Crackdown January 1, 1994—Austin, Texas Hi, I'm Bruce Sterling, the author of this electronic book. Out in the traditional world of print, The Hacker Crackdown is ISBN 0-553-08058-X, and is formally catalogued by the Library of Congress as "1. Computer crimes—United States. 2. Telephone—United States—Corrupt practices. 3. Programming (Electronic computers)—United States—Corrupt practices." 'Corrupt practices,' I always get a kick out of that description. Librarians are very ingenious people. The paperback is ISBN 0-553-56370-X. If you go and buy a print version of The Hacker Crackdown, an action I encourage heartily, you may notice that in the front of the book, beneath the copyright notice—"Copyright (C) 1992 by Bruce Sterling"—it has this little block of printed legal boilerplate from the publisher. It says, and I quote: "No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. For information address: Bantam Books." This is a pretty good disclaimer, as such disclaimers go. I collect intellectual-property disclaimers, and I've seen dozens of them, and this one is at least pretty straightforward. In this narrow and particular case, however, it isn't quite accurate. Bantam Books puts that disclaimer on every book they publish, but Bantam Books does not, in fact, own the electronic rights to this book. I do, because of certain extensive contract maneuverings my agent and I went through before this book was written. I want to give those electronic publishing rights away through certain not-for-profit channels, and I've convinced Bantam that this is a good idea. Since Bantam has seen fit to peacably agree to this scheme of mine, Bantam Books is not going to fuss about this. Provided you don't try to sell the book, they are not going to bother you for what you do with the electronic copy of this book. If you want to check this out personally, you can ask them; they're at 1540 Broadway NY NY 10036. However, if you were so foolish as to print this book and start retailing it for money in violation of my copyright and the commercial interests of Bantam Books, then Bantam, a part of the gigantic Bertelsmann multinational publishing combine, would roust some of their heavy-duty attorneys out of hibernation and crush you like a bug. This is only to be expected. I didn't write this book so that you could make money out of it. If anybody is gonna make money out of this book, it's gonna be me and my publisher. My publisher deserves to make money out of this book. Not only did the folks at Bantam Books commission me to write the book, and pay me a hefty sum to do so, but they bravely printed, in text, an electronic document the reproduction of which was once alleged to be a federal felony. Bantam Books and their numerous attorneys were very brave and forthright about this book. Furthermore, my former editor at Bantam Books, Betsy Mitchell, genuinely cared about this project, and worked hard on it, and had a lot of wise things to say about the manuscript. Betsy deserves genuine credit for this book, credit that editors too rarely get. The critics were very kind to The Hacker Crackdown, and commercially the book has done well. On the other hand, I didn't write this book in order to squeeze every last nickel and dime out of the mitts of impoverished sixteen-year-old cyberpunk high-school-students. Teenagers don't have any money—(no, not even enough for the six-dollar Hacker Crackdown paperback, with its attractive bright-red cover and useful index). That's a major reason why teenagers sometimes succumb to the temptation to do things they shouldn't, such as swiping my books out of libraries. Kids: this one is all yours, all right? Go give the print version back. *8-) Well-meaning, public-spirited civil libertarians don't have much money, either. And it seems almost criminal to snatch cash out of the hands of America's direly underpaid electronic law enforcement community. If you're a computer cop, a hacker, or an electronic civil liberties activist, you are the target audience for this book. I wrote this book because I wanted to help you, and help other people understand you and your unique, uhm, problems. I wrote this book to aid your activities, and to contribute to the public discussion of important political issues. In giving the text away in this fashion, I am directly contributing to the book's ultimate aim: to help civilize cyberspace. Information WANTS to be free. And the information inside this book longs for freedom with a peculiar intensity. I genuinely believe that the natural habitat of this book is inside an electronic network. That may not be the easiest direct method to generate revenue for the book's author, but that doesn't matter; this is where this book belongs by its nature. I've written other books—plenty of other books—and I'll write more and I am writing more, but this one is special. I am making The Hacker Crackdown available electronically as widely as I can conveniently manage, and if you like the book, and think it is useful, then I urge you to do the same with it. You can copy this electronic book. Copy the heck out of it, be my guest, and give those copies to anybody who wants them. The nascent world of cyberspace is full of sysadmins, teachers, trainers, cybrarians, netgurus, and various species of cybernetic activist. If you're one of those people, I know about you, and I know the hassle you go through to try to help people learn about the electronic frontier. I hope that possessing this book in electronic form will lessen your troubles. Granted, this treatment of our electronic social spectrum is not the ultimate in academic rigor. And politically, it has something to offend and trouble almost everyone. But hey, I'm told it's readable, and at least the price is right. You can upload the book onto bulletin board systems, or Internet nodes, or electronic discussion groups. Go right ahead and do that, I am giving you express permission right now. Enjoy yourself. You can put the book on disks and give the disks away, as long as you don't take any money for it. But this book is not public domain. You can't copyright it in your own name. I own the copyright. Attempts to pirate this book and make money from selling it may involve you in a serious litigative snarl. Believe me, for the pittance you might wring out of such an action, it's really not worth it. This book don't "belong" to you. In an odd but very genuine way, I feel it doesn't "belong" to me, either. It's a book about the people of cyberspace, and distributing it in this way is the best way I know to actually make this information available, freely and easily, to all the people of cyberspace—including people far outside the borders of the United States, who otherwise may never have a chance to see any edition of the book, and who may perhaps learn something useful from this strange story of distant, obscure, but portentous events in so-called "American cyberspace." This electronic book is now literary freeware. It now belongs to the emergent realm of alternative information economics. You have no right to make this electronic book part of the conventional flow of commerce. Let it be part of the flow of knowledge: there's a difference. I've divided the book into four sections, so that it is less ungainly for upload and download; if there's a section of particular relevance to you and your colleagues, feel free to reproduce that one and skip the rest. [Project Gutenberg has reassembled the file, with Sterling's permission.] Just make more when you need them, and give them to whoever might want them. Now have fun. Bruce Sterling—bruces@well.sf.ca.us 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. Bruce Sterling (1994). The Hacker Crackdown: Law and Disorder on the Electronic Frontier. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved October 2022 https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/101/pg101-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

Hi, I'm Bruce Sterling, the author of this electronic book.

Dick Sands the Boy Captain by Jules Verne, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book . HOPE REVIVED here HOPE REVIVED The wind had now increased to a hurricane; it had veered to the south-west, and had attained a velocity little short of ninety miles an hour. On land, the most substantial of erections could with difficulty have withstood its violence, and a vessel anchored in a roadstead must have been torn from its moorings and cast ashore. The memorable storm that had devastated the Island of Guadaloupe on the 25th of July, 1825, when heavy cannon were lifted from their carriages, could scarcely have been more furious, and it was only her mobility before the blast and the solidity of her structure that gave the "Pilgrim" a hope of surviving the tempest. A few minutes after the topsail had been lost, the small jib was carried away. Dick Sands contemplated the possibility of throwing out a storm-jib, made of extra strong canvas, as a means of bringing the ship a little more under his control, but abandoned the idea as useless. It was, therefore, under bare poles that the "Pilgrim" was driven along; but in spite of the lack of canvas, the hull, masts, and rigging, gave sufficient purchase to the wind, and the progress of the schooner was prodigiously rapid; sometimes, indeed, she seemed to be literally lifted from the water, and scudded on, scarcely skimming its surface. The rolling was fearful. Enormous waves followed in quick succession, and as they travelled faster than the ship, there was the perpetual risk of one of them catching her astern. Without sail, there were no means of escaping that peril by increase of speed; the adroit management of the helm was the only chance of avoiding the hazardous shocks, and even this repeatedly failed. To prevent his being washed overboard Dick lashed himself to his place at the wheel by a rope round his waist, and made Tom and Bat keep close at hand, ready to give him assistance, in case of emergency. Hercules and ActÃ¦on, clinging to the bitt, kept watch at the bow. Mrs. Weldon and her party, at Dick's special request, remained inside the stern cabin, although the lady, for her own part, would much rather have stayed on deck; she had, however, yielded to the representation that she would thus be exposing herself to unnecessary danger. The hatchways were hermetically closed, and it was to be hoped that they would withstand the heavy sea that was dashing over them; only let one of them give way to the pressure, and the vessel must inevitably fill and founder. It was a matter of congratulation that the stowage had been done very carefully, so that notwithstanding all the lurchings of the ship, the cargo did not shift in the least. The heroic young commander had still further curtailed his periods of rest, and it was only at the urgent entreaty of Mrs. Weldon, who feared that he would exhaust himself by his vigilance, that he was induced to lie down for a few hours' sleep on the night of the 13th. After Tom and Bat had been left alone at the wheel they were, somewhat to their surprise, joined by Negoro, who very rarely came aft. He seemed inclined to enter into conversation, but found little encouragement to talk on the part either of Tom or his son. All at once a violent roll of the ship threw him off his feet, and he would have gone overboard if he had not been saved by falling against the binnacle. Old Tom was in a frantic state of alarm lest the compass should be broken. He uttered a cry of consternation so loud that it roused Dick from the light slumber into which he had fallen in the cabin, and he rushed to the deck. By the time he had reached the stern, Negoro had not only regained his feet, but had managed successfully to conceal [Illustration: Quick as lightning, Dick Sands drew a revolver from his pocket.] the bit of iron which he had again extracted from beneath the binnacle where he had himself laid it. Now that the wind had shifted to the south-west, it suited his machinations that the magnetic needle should indicate its true direction. "How now?" asked Dick eagerly; "what is the meaning of all this noise?" Tom explained how the cook had fallen against the binnacle, and how he had been terrified lest the compass should be injured. Dick's heart sank at the thought of losing his sole remaining compass, and his anxiety betrayed itself in his countenance as he knelt down to examine its condition; but he breathed freely as he ascertained that the instrument had sustained no damage; by the dim light he saw the needle resting on its two concentric circles, and felt his fears at once relieved; of course, he was quite unconscious of the fact that the removal of the bit of iron had made the magnet change its pointing. The incident, however, excited his misgiving; although he felt that Negoro could not be held responsible for an accidental fall, the very presence of the man in such a place at such a time perplexed him. "And what brings you here, this hour of the night?" he asked. "That's not your business," retorted Negoro insolently. "It is my business," replied Dick resolutely; "and I mean to have an answer; what brought you here?" Negoro answered sullenly that he knew of no rule to prevent his going where he liked and when he liked. "No rule!" cried Dick; "then I make the rule now. From this time forward, I make the rule that you shall never come astern. Do you understand?" Roused from his accustomed doggedness, the man seemed to make a threatening movement. Quick as lightning, Dick Sands drew a revolver from his pocket. "Negoro, one act, one word of insubordination, and I blow out your brains!" Negoro had no time to reply; before he could speak he was bowed down towards the deck by an irresistible weight. Hercules had grasped him by the shoulder. "Shall I put him overboard, captain? he will make a meal for the fishes; they are not very particular what they eat," said the negro, with a grin of contempt. "Not yet," quietly answered Dick. The giant removed his hand, and Negoro stood upright again, and began to retreat to his own quarters, muttering, however, as he passed Hercules,- "You cursed nigger! You shall pay for this!" The discovery was now made that the wind apparently had taken a sudden shift of no less than forty-five degrees; but what occasioned Dick the greatest perplexity was that there was nothing in the condition of the sea to correspond with the alteration in the current of the air; instead of being directly astern, wind and waves were now beating on the larboard. Progress in this way must necessarily be full of danger, and Dick was obliged to bring his ship up at least four points before he got her straight before the tempest. The young captain felt that he must be more than ever on the alert; he could not shake off the suspicion that Negoro had been concerned in the loss of the first compass, and had some further designs upon the second. Still he was utterly at a loss to imagine what possible motive the man could have for so criminal an act of malevolence, as there was no plausible reason to be assigned why he should not be as anxious as all the rest to reach the coast of America. The suspicion continued, however, to haunt him, and when he mentioned it to Mrs. Weldon he found that a similar feeling of distrust had agitated her, although she, like himself, was altogether unable to allege a likely motive why the cook should contemplate so strange an act of mischief. It was determined that a strict surveillance should be kept upon all the fellow's movements. Negoro, however, manifested no inclination to disobey the captain's peremptory order; he kept strictly to his own part of the ship; but as Dingo was now regularly quartered on the stern, there was a tolerably sure guarantee that the cook would not be found wandering much in that direction. A week passed, and still the tempest showed no signs of abating; the barometer continued to fall, and not once did a period of calmer weather afford an opportunity of carrying sail. The "Pilgrim" still made her way northeast. Her speed could not be less than two hundred miles in twenty-four hours. But no land appeared. Vast as was the range of the American continent, extending for 120 degrees between the Atlantic and the Pacific, it was nowhere to be discerned. Was he dreaming? was he mad? Dick would perpetually ask himself: had he been sailing in a wrong direction? had he failed to steer aright? But no: he was convinced there was no error in his steering. Although he could not actually see it for the mist, he knew that day after day the sun rose before him, and that it set behind him. Yet he was constrained in bewilderment to ask, what had become of those shores of America upon which, when they came in sight, there was only too great a fear the ship should be dashed? what had become of them? where were they? whither had this incessant hurricane driven them? why did not the expected coast appear? To all these bewildering inquiries Dick could find no answer except to imagine that his compass had misled him. Yet he was powerless to put his own misgivings to the test; he deplored more than ever the destruction of the duplicate instrument which would have checked his registers. He studied his chart; but all in vain; the position in which he found himself as the result of Negoro's treachery, seemed to baffle him the more, the more he tried to solve the mystery. The days were passing on in this chronic state of anxiety, when one morning about eight o'clock, Hercules, who was on watch at the fore, suddenly shouted,- "Land!" Dick Sands had little reliance upon the negro's inexperienced eye, but hurried forward to the bow. "Where's the land?" he cried; his voice being scarcely audible above the howling of the tempest. "There! look there!" said Hercules, nodding his head and pointing over the larboard side, to the north-east. Dick could see nothing. Mrs. Weldon had heard the shout. Unable to restrain her interest, she had left her cabin and was at Dick's side. He uttered an expression of surprise at seeing her, but could not hear anything she said, as her voice was unable to rise above the roaring of the elements; she stood, her whole being as it were concentrated in the power of vision, and scanned the horizon in the direction indicated by Hercules. But all to no purpose. Suddenly, however, after a while, Dick raised his hand. "Yes!" he said; "yes; sure enough, yonder is land." He clung with excitement to the netting; and Mrs Weldon, supported by Hercules, strained her eyes yet more vehemently to get a glimpse of a shore which she had begun to despair of ever reaching. Beyond a doubt an elevated peak was there. It must be about ten miles to leeward. A break in the clouds soon left it more distinct. Some promontory it must be upon the American coast. Without sails, of course, the "Pilgrim" had no chance of bearing down direct upon it; but at least there was every reason to believe that she would soon reach some other portion of the shore; perhaps before noon, certainly in a few hours, they must be close to land. The pitching of the ship made it impossible for Mrs. Weldon to keep safe footing on the deck; accordingly, at a sign from Dick, Hercules led her back again to her cabin. Dick did not remain long at the bow, but went thoughtfully back to the wheel. He had, indeed, a tremendous responsibility before him. Here was the land, the land for which they had longed so eagerly; and now that their anticipations were on the point of being realized, what was there, with a hurricane driving them on towards it, to prevent that land being their destruction? What measures could he take to prevent the schooner being dashed to pieces against it? [Illustration: "There! look there!"] At the very moment when the promontory was just abreast of them, Negoro appeared on deck; he nodded to the peak familiarly, as he might have saluted a familiar friend, and retired as stealthily as he had come. Two hours later, and the promontory was lying to the larboard wake. Dick Sands had never relaxed his watchfulness, but he had failed to discover any further indications of a coast-line. His perplexity could only increase; the horizon was clear; the Andes ought to be distinct; they would be conspicuous twenty miles or more away. Dick took up his telescope again and again; he scrutinized the eastern horizon with minutest care; but there was nothing to be seen; and as the afternoon waned away the last glimpse had been taken of the promontory that had awakened their expectation; it had vanished utterly from their gaze; no indication of shore could be seen from the "Pilgrim's" deck. Dick Sands uttered a sigh of mingled amazement and relief. He went into Mrs. Weldon's cabin, where she was standing with her party. "It was only an island!" he said; "only an island!" "How? why? what island? what do you mean?" cried Mrs. Weldon incredulously; "what island can it be?" "The chart perhaps will tell us," replied Dick; and hurrying off to his own cabin, he immediately returned with the chart in his hands. After studying it attentively for a few minutes, he said,- "There, Mrs. Weldon; the land we have just passed, I should suppose must be that little speck in the midst of the Pacific. It must be Easter Island. At least, there seems to be no other land which possibly it could be." "And do you say," inquired Mrs. Weldon, "that we have left it quite behind us?" "Yes, entirely; almost to windward." Mrs. Weldon commenced a searching scrutiny of the map that was outspread before her. "How far is this," she said, after bending a considerable time over the chart; "how far is this from the coast of America?" "Thirty-five degrees," answered Dick; "somewhere about 2500 miles." "What ever do you mean?" rejoined the lady astonished; "if the 'Pilgrim' is still 2500 miles from shore, she has positively made no progress at all. Impossible!" In thoughtful perplexity, Dick passed his hand across his brow. He did not know what to say. After an interval of silence, he said,- "I have no account to give for the strange delay. It is inexplicable to myself, except upon that one hypothesis, which I cannot resist, that the readings of the compass, somehow or other, have been wrong." He relapsed into silence. Then, brightening up, he added,- "But, thank God! at least we have now the satisfaction of knowing where we really are; we are no longer lost upon the wide Pacific; if only this hurricane will cease, long as the distance seems, we are on our proper course to the shores of America." The tone of confidence with which the youthful captain spoke had the effect of inspiring new hope into all who heard him; their spirits rose, and to their sanguine mood it seemed as if they were approaching to the end of all their troubles, and had hardly more to do than to await the turning of a tide to bring them into a glad proximity to port. Easter Island, of which the true name is Vai-Hoo, was discovered by David in 1686 and visited by Cook and LapÃ©rouse. It lies in lat. 27Â° S., and long. 112 E.; consequently, it was evident that during the raging of the hurricane the schooner had been driven northwards no less than fifteen degrees. Far away, however, as she was from shore, the wind could hardly fail within ten days to carry her within sight of land; and then, if the storm had worn itself out, (as probably it would,) the "Pilgrim" would again hoist sail, and make her way into some port with safety. Anyhow, the discovery of his true position restored a spirit of confidence to Dick Sands, and he anticipated the time when he should no longer be drifting helplessly before the storm. To say the truth, the "Pilgrim" had suffered very little from the prolonged fury of the weather. The damage she had sustained was limited to the loss of the topsail and the small jib, which could be easily replaced. The caulking of the seams remained thoroughly sound, and no drop of water had found its way into the hold. The pumps, too, were perfectly free. Dick Sands did not fear for the stability of his ship; his only anxiety was lest the weather should not moderate in time. Only let the wind subside, and the schooner once more would be under his control; but he never forgot that the ordering of the winds and waves were in the hands of the Great Disposer of all. About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Jules Verne (2005). Dick sands, the boy Captain. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved October 2022 https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/3250.html.images 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

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