There has been a lot of discussion in the Apple pundit community about running UIKit apps on the Mac (aka Marzipan). A lot of the coverage has been that of the customer's perspective, but thinking about it from Apple's internal perspective is far more interesting.
I want to first set some context that I think heavily influenced this decision. Over the last several years there have been some thematic concerns from the Apple community. The first is concerns about software quality as classically outlined by Marco Arment's Apple has lost the functional high ground post. Another theme that emerged was that macOS has been neglected as iOS rose to prominence. Additionally, the Mac App Store hasn't seen a lot of love from Apple and several major and indie developers have pulled their apps due to App Store guidelines. Finally, there has been a theme of worry that the iPad is being neglected. There were signs of hope in iOS 9 and iOS 11 but hasn't seen the annual incremental functionality that the iPhone has seen.
I firmly believe that Apple, like most great consumer companies does listen to customer feedback and takes it very seriously. The common answer to solving these problems from the Apple community is to simply throw more engineers at the problem. You hear: "Apple has $285B, surely they can put more engineers on X." This is actually quite harder than you think.
The Tim Cook era Apple is all about discipline and math built on top of the Steve Jobs legacy. You can argue qualitatively about how that's going, but by quantitative measures it's hard to argue anything short of very successful. If you layer discipline and math to frame how Apple would solve these problems with management principles it becomes very interesting.
In Q2 2018, Apple spent $666M on R&D with $61.1B in revenue. That equates to 1.09% of revenue being spent on R&D. In Q2 2017, Apple spent $575M on R&D with $52.9B. That also equates to 1.09% of revenue being spent on R&D. From a budget and planning perspective, it's clear that Apple is having budget discipline with growing R&D spend in line with revenue growth. So assume that R&D growth will be capped to staying inline with 1.09% for the foreseeable future.
Now that we know where revenue is coming from, and we factor in that R&D investment increases in-line with revenue we can make some assumptions. For every 100 engineers that Apple hires, 62 should go to iPhone, 15 to Services, 10 to macOS, 7 to iPad and 6 to Other Products. That seems simple, and given that macOS and iPad get some new resources, surely things will somehow get better... However, this is missing a huge factor: Where growth is coming from.
Factoring in where growth is coming from we can make some new assumptions. For every 100 engineers that Apple hires, 58 should go to iPhone, 26 to services, 13 to other products, 3 to iPad and 0 to macOS. This seems to be closer to what Apple has been doing the last few years. We have seen solid improvements to iPhone features in iOS. Improvements and new services such as Apple Music, Apple Photos, CloudKit, Messages in the Cloud, etc... Expansion and improvements to the other products such as Apple Watch, AirPods, Apple TV, HomePod, etc... iPad has gotten some love but usually every other year, and gets some halo effect due to iOS being a shared platform across iPhone and iPad. macOS, not a ton of new functionality but existing resources can keep chugging along.
However, we are missing one critical assumption here. Apple has always had a focus on where future revenue growth is coming from. At the most basic level, you can shift more investment to the fastest growing segment if you believe that it will continue or accelerate with investment. In this case, Services and Other Products, which have shown faster progress in the last few years.
The other option is to create incremental products. The most exciting products at Apple are the ones we know nothing about. It is certain that Apple allocates a percentage of R&D investment to incremental product lines to unlock incremental growth as iPhone growth matures. As a result, the resource mixes above are reallocated. iPhone may be getting more, Services may be getting even more, new product lines are getting resources as well. Project Titan was rumored at one point to have over 1000 employees, and it still hasn't/may never see the light of day. Which illustrates that Apple is willing to make big bets. An example of this is when Steve Jobs delayed Leopard to divert as many engineers as possible to the iPhone.
Even if Tim Cook gave the go ahead to hire as many resources as needed to make the Mac great, the people may not exist. You can only hire and onboard so many new engineers at a time without impacting quality and stressing the broader organization. Product Managers, Product Marketing and other functions that are at the beginning of the product development lifecycle need to be several months ahead in the process.
Combining the factors of revenue mix, current growth rates, where future growth is likely to happen, talent availability and Apple's discipline keeping R&D spend at 1.09% of revenue you have 2 essential levers to pull in the magical software machine to address these concerns.
Apple could divert more resources to the Mac or iPad functionality in iOS, the trade off is stealing resources from future sources of growth. If macOS being behind was only a short-term issue and didn't need ongoing investment it may make sense. However, if it is a long term investment you have to have a degree of confidence that the Mac is a source of future growth on an ongoing basis. All signs point to that not being the case.
The other option is how do we get more leverage out of the resources that Apple currently has and get more leverage out of every incremental engineer they hire. This is clearly the strategy Apple is employing here. The basic premise is if Apple can consolidate to a smaller number of software platforms to maintain and enhance, agility and quality improve. The entire ecosystem will benefit as a result.
I'm not saying that Apple will eliminate macOS and have iOS running on MacBooks. This means unifying foundation level technologies across iOS, macOS, watchOS, tvOS, etc... as a first step. Once you complete this process, any incremental functionality introduced spans across all of these platforms. The QA you do at this level also benefits every experience. You start low in the stack and work your way up to the customer experience over time.
One place Apple has already done this is with the iTunes Store. What started as Music only, then expanded to TV Shows, Movies and eventually the App Stores. It's all sharing the same underlying infrastructure. Apple has invested heavily in modernizing the underlying architecture of the iTunes store, once that process matured they moved to the user experience in 2016/2017.
The first step of unifying underlying system frameworks will have a big benefit from a quality perspective. This reduces the number of total frameworks QA needs to test while QA staffing remains equal or grows. This is more total QA attention. The same concept applies from an engineering perspective and a test coverage perspective. Further, by bringing iOS apps to the Mac, first party app quality goes up as well. These apps are used by many more users on iOS, get more engineering attention, and more QA time as well. This increases overall software quality on the Mac. It also reduces the amount of new code they have to write, which does not introduce new defects. As UIKit on Mac matures to its end state, you get even more leverage as you can combine more iOS and macOS resources.
If Apple can take existing iOS apps that have more features (or missing from macOS completely) and bring them to macOS, the Mac platform gets feature parity with iOS at a much lower cost.There are also more external developers that currently use UIKit vs AppKit so the opportunity for new macOS apps increases substantially. The barrier to entry is far lower. Additionally, developers that have been nervous about major updates to their Mac software, but have a more modern iOS version can bring a major update to market with less effort. This isn't true for every app, but for most apps that normal people (not geeks) use this is probably the case. Some argue that UIKit apps are not Mac Apps, that is true, Mac Apps as we know them. For the average user, UIKit apps will make the Mac a more accessible platform that is easier to use.
The iOS App Store saw a big overhaul in 2017 with iOS 11. The Mac App Store overhaul for Mojave this year is all about platform and resource leverage. The tooling built to do content features in iOS can be leveraged for macOS and increase the quality of the Mac App Store. Apple also gets resource leverage from editorial staff, writing and content attracting users to open the store more frequently. This will increase substantially when 3rd Party UIKit Apps start coming out. An article about a great To Do List app can now be published on both the iOS & Mac App Stores. This, combined with more apps, and getting some famous developers back on the platform make the Mac App Store much more compelling to the average Mac user.
The solution to iPad neglect develops over time, but I think the iPad will benefit in a big way. Apple has had issues getting large software vendors to build Pro Apps for the iPad. Opening up UIKit to the Mac will help with that problem over time. Before UIKit comes to the Mac for third party developers, Apple needs to solve how to do multiple windows, shared app instances, menu bars, etc... These features will directly benefit the iPad in the coming years. It'll make app multi-tasking better, drag and drop support better, having 2 windows of an app, etc.. User input device support for the Mac will also benefit the iPad. A bluetooth mouse being the first that comes to mind. Not usable in every app/context, but a text cursor would be huge. For third party developers who have avoided iPad apps due to market size, specifically in the pro market, will have more incentive to come to iPad.
My best guess is UIKit on the Mac as presented at WWDC 2018 is in the very early phases. Bringing a small number of UIKit Apps to the Mac in Mojave is more about a proof of technology than anything else. These apps aren't super valuable from a user perspective, but extremely valuable from an engineering perspective. With a fully automated test suite (unit tests, integration tests, UI Automation) you can begin to do the work of unifying the foundation of iOS and macOS and have a ton of visibility on how well you're doing.
Once you get all foundational frameworks running happily on iOS and MacOS, you then start moving closer to the user experience. Multi-window support, menu bar support, user input devices, drag and drop (which may already be solved) and other features need to be supported. Maybe it gets built into UIKit or maybe it's a new framework. It could be both over time. Regardless, over time we will see more powerful apps come to the iPad and simpler more iOS like apps to the Mac. This will expand the potential market for both iPad and the Mac. More pro users will be able to do their work on the iPad. The touch-input generation will have apps on the Mac that work the way they expect them. This could extend the Mac to another generation of computer users, especially as that generation moves into the work force.
Ultimately I think Apple will come out with a new UI Framework that sits on top of all their OS's but I think that's a few years away. It'll start with UIKit portability on the Mac and over time base functionality for Mac being built into iOS. I expect that to be the short term strategy. Long term, assuming they're serious about Swift, I envision a native Swift UI library with modern design patterns that spans all of their OS's. Including watchOS, tvOS and any future product with a UI.
Finally, you don't have to agree with how Apple decides to allocate it's resources, but hopefully this gives you an idea of how resources get allocated in a large company such as Apple.
A great post went around last week that I think everyone should read. There are a couple of great quotes that really capture the attributes that I think make great engineers great.
Understand, at least on some level, the things that you depend on. Own everything. Similarly, if you built it and it's running in production, it's on you to support it. Throwing code over the wall is no longer acceptable. When there's a problem with something you depend on, don't just throw up your hands and say "not my problem." Investigate it. If you're certain it's a problem in someone else's system, bring it to them and help root cause it. Provide context. When did it start happening? What were the related events? What were the effects? Don't just send an error message from the logs.
Owning everything, or controlling your own destiny is so important. We've all worked with folks who try to own nothing and push work to other teams/individuals, and when things go wrong, they are the ones passing the blame as well. To no surprise, no one wants to work with them more than once.
Bugs will only get worked out if the code actually gets used. You cannot wait until something is perfect before adopting it. You will wait forever. Remember that Agile is micro failure on a macro level. Adopt quickly, deploy quickly, fail quickly, adjust quickly.
There are always opinions on how to ship a product, but I love building the simplest form of the product and deploying it and then iterating on it quickly. Projects that are developed for months and then leave deployment until the end as an afterthought usually run into a wide array of integration issues. At that point, that is unplanned work with no clear estimate of how long it will take to fix.
A few weeks back I went to Disney World. It also happened to be about a week after I received my Apple Watch. The two may seem unrelated but Disney World is foreshadowing what Apple Watch will be in a few years.
When you buy a ticket at Disney World you have the option to also purchase a Magic Band. The Magic Band is an NFC wrist band that serves as your identity while you're at the Disney World Resort (and Disneyland for that matter). You use the Magic Band to enter the park, sign up for Fast Passes, Pay for Meals/Souvenirs and even to create magic.
An example of such magic is at the "Be Our Guest" restaurant. When you enter the restaurant you wave your Magic Band at a touch screen kiosk and order your meal. The payment is automatically charged to your account, and the kiosk directs you to find a table. You sit at the table and a few minutes later your meal arrives. It really does create a moment of delight wondering how they knew where to take your food.
How? The table you sit at is a little thicker than a normal table in order to house an NFC reader. When you sit down it notifies the staff where to bring the food. When you are done eating your table notifies staff to clear the table.
Disney is on an entire new level of user experience design. They used technology to make a highly efficient restaurant but also make a delightful frictionless user experience. What does this have to do with Apple Watch?
Apple Watch has only been out a month, so we are in the very beginning of the ecosystem. In a couple years Apple Watch will be as central to your everyday life as the Magic Band is when you are at Disney World. Apple Watch is emphatically you, bringing an increased level of security. Essentially while wearing the watch you are a walking 2 factor authenticated user, that opens up an entire new world of possibilities.
In the not to distant future you will checkout at Whole Foods, pay with your watch and walk to your car. You will wave your hand at the trunk and it will open. You wont need a car key anymore. Better yet, your car knows whether you or your spouse is driving and adjusts the seats and climate for you. When you get home your garage door just opens. When you're all out of the car it simply locks. The best part of this story is that you didn't have to interact with a single UI.
All of this is possible with Android Wear of course, and Android watches came out first. However, only Apple can truly unlock this future. They started laying the plumbing for this years ago. Passbook came in 2012, TouchID/CarPlay came in 2013, HomeKit/HealthKit and Apple Pay came in 2014 and of course Apple Watch in 2015. This year, rumors are swirling that Apple TV/HomeKit will be central to WWDC. Once Apple ties your phone and watch to your home most of the above is possible within a year. The car is a few years away but Apple has been laying the infrastructure for it for years.
After this story becomes a true story, I would expect brick and mortar retail to have a small renaissance. If we can remove friction from the physical world the web as we know it will feel antiquated.
I've now had my Apple Watch for a couple of weeks. One thing that is a bit annoying is the charger. I charge 2 phones on my nightstand and I'm constantly knocking the charger off my watch. Apple Watch needs a stand, so I looked at several and found this Spigen stand to be the best stand for Apple Watch. I'm a big fan of Spigen's products and this a pretty reasonable stand at $20.
Benedict Evans posted a great article on Mobile Platforms and Technical Debt.
I just moved all of my personal hosting off of AWS recently. The primary reason was cost. AWS is expensive especially when your requirements are static.
For example, your application needs 5 servers with an elastic load balancer plus a multi-zone RDS MySQL instance, the minimum you'll pay per month is north of $250 for fairly low powered VM's. Even if you use reserved instances you're average monthly cost will still be around $200.
By switching to a more standard VM hosting company, you can easily get your average monthly cost to around $100 (or even less if you don't need a lot of CPU's).
Personally, I switched to Linode. I found their offerings to suit my needs and I'm now saving 66% per month. What am I losing? Practically speaking, nothing. Hypothetically I'm losing a lot of flexibility that AWS offers. AWS has robust support for API management of hardware, auto-scaling, automated RDS backups and a lot more obviously. But my requirements are pretty static, so I am comfortable with the trade-off.
Amazon is doing great things in this space and releasing some great technologies. In doing so they are creating feature/platform lock-in with early stage technology companies. Amazon is doing with AWS what Apple is doing with iOS/Mac. By making the switching cost so high Amazon is ensuring the long term viability of their business.
I love AWS and I will continue to use it for new projects where the requirements are a lot more fluid. Once the project reaches a point where the requirements are set, I'll then deploy it to another hosting provider.
BMW finally updated their remote app. I was excited to see the update come out, however BMW yet again disappoints in the app space.
There were a host of changes in this update. Beyond a fresh coat of paint and new icon there are also some other enhancements. When logging in for the first time, they have removed a redundant password prompt. They have also changed the home tab to the vehicle action screen (lock, unlock, ventilation, etc). The vehicle locator has been moved to a secondary tab.
While some progress was made, BMW really missed the point with this update. They did remove some steps from the process of locking your car but the core underlying issue remains. When you send a command to your car, you have to keep the app open and wait to verify that your car has been locked. This can take up to 5 minutes if it works. If there is a limitation that causes such a delayed response, don't make the user feel that pain. Handle the command on the server side and send me a push when it succeeds or fails.
The app is still missing the killer feature. The app needs to be registered as a Transit Provider with Apple Maps so we can send directions to our cars. This would be a seamless integration versus opening the remote app, going to the location tab, searching a different database and sending directions to the car. When I reverse engineered the old Remote App and built my own, I added this feature in 2 hours and I use it all the time.
In the luxury car market, a great companion app is almost a requirement now. Tesla's app is phenomenal and other auto makers are not far behind. But BMW lags behind. This update feels like a low budget update that product marketing shoved upon a third party developer.
I never released the BMW Remote App I built because it was a project that was intended for me. When I explored making it for mass consumption the main issue was testing it on different types of cars with different features.
I'll probably reverse engineer this update to see if there are any new cool features that can be made. I'd love an iOS 8 extension or widget to get quick access to my car.
I have this pet peeve of people giving bad advice about technology. The number one is how to optimize battery life, specifically the iPhone.
I saw one article that even recommended turning off wifi to improve battery life. While conceptually true, in real world practice, absolutely false.
With the iPhone 6 and 6 plus, battery life has never been better. However there are a few things I do to optimize my battery life.
This one seems obvious, but a screen emitting brightness (energy) uses more energy. I keep mine at about 20% brightness with auto brightness control on. This way it gives me what I need if I'm in direct sun light but then backs down when I'm not.
At home and work, stay connected to WiFi. Not only will your connection speed likely be faster on WiFi, you won't be using the Cellular Radio unless you take a phone call (which will soon change hopefully). The cellular radio drains the battery, especially if you are in a poor signal area.
Only enable location services for apps that actually need it. In practice, I keep location services on for most apps, as I don't use most apps frequently. However, if an app keeps monitoring location and I feel it doesn't need it, I just turn off location access for that app.
Push Notifications - Unless you're getting dozens a minute, there wont be much impact. All that is being sent to your phone is less than 1kb. All of this is moot if you're on WiFi.
Bluetooth - If you're not connected to anything, the amount of energy your phone is using for Bluetooth is pretty small. Even with streaming music, newer iterations of Bluetooth chipsets have become fairly good at minimizing energy usage. Conceptually yes, it does impact battery life, but not in a meaningful way if you charge your phone every day.
In the end, just think in terms of energy in vs energy out. Your screen emits energy, your phone's cellular radio emits energy, and other radios emit energy (GPS, wifi, bluetooth). Basically, you just need to optimize which energy sources are used. The screen, cellular radio (3G in particular), GPS are the biggest offenders so focus your efforts there. After that, quit worrying about it.
On Monday I start a new job at Fanatics. It's a great company with awesome people in an amazing industry.
It was bittersweet to leave eBay, especially working on (in my opinion) the best team in the company. I'm still extremely excited about what they are working on. I'll share what we were working on once it has launched.
I started at eBay thinking I'd only work there for a couple of years and move on to something else. 6+ years later, and I couldn't be happier with my experience at eBay. I got to work on some huge backend systems, iOS and Android apps with millions of users, and countless proof of concepts. More importantly, I met some extremely talented people and made a lot of friends.
I've decided to move my site off of my own servers and just use Squarespace. While I'll lose some control over things, I wont have to manage a Wordpress installation, Databases and CDN's. I think I'm ok with that for now. Maybe I'll post more, as I wont be dreading a Wordpress Update.
I spent a couple of hours building a simple iOS8 app from scratch in Swift. The most useful part of this exercise was an Asynchronous Image Loader that I used to load images in a UITableView. It does simple caching with an NSCache. Combined with using a basic NSURLCache the results were really great. Anyway, you can check it out on Github.
The My BMW Remote App stinks, so I fixed it.
This weekend I had a project that required me to create a live dashboard. I found Telemetry (http://telemetryapp.com) and it looked perfect for what I needed. You simply submit new data for the dashboard via their API. They have clients for Mac, Windows, Mobile and Web to view the dashboard. Unfortunately they only had a Ruby Gem to interact with their API. I had a requirement that it needed to be in PHP, so I was on my own.
Over the course of the weekend I built a fully-functional library for Telemetry in PHP and it supports all of their different data flows. I put it up on GitHub so others could use it.
RedLaser was featured on the Today Show this morning.


American manufacturer Maglite is the undisputed king when it comes to flashlights and torches. We're talking products made to meet the needs of demanding professionals. Expect to get a torch with great performance if you choose a Maglite, because that's what you'll get. The sizes range from the tiny Solitaire to the massiv D6. Let there be light!


text:
<!DOCTYPE html>

        <meta charset="utf-8">
        <meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge,chrome=1">
        <title>MozFest 2014 Schedule: Journalism Track</title>
        <meta name="description" content="Session schedule for the MozFest 2014 Journalism track, October 25 & 26 in London.">
        <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
        <link rel="stylesheet" href="css/schedule.css">
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 2014 Schedule: Journalism

                    October 25 & 26 • Ravensbourne, London, UK • Full Mozilla Festival site

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Q: Concatenate specific values from a cell with specific values from another cell into a particular format
          A                       B                                       C
1       numbers                  signs                                **Result**
2    *001*                 *alpha*                       001-alpha
3    *001*111*221*104*     *alpha*kappa*epislon*ETA*     001-alpha, 111-kappa, 221-epislon, 104-ETA
4    *001*085*             *alpha*delta*                 001-alpha, 085-delta

I'm trying to concatenate the values in columns A and B into the following format under the result section. Anything helps, thanks.

A: Formula solution
Using Textjoin and Filterxml function, of which Textjoin available in Office 365 or Excel 2019 and Filterxml available in Excel 2013 & later versions of Excel
In C2, array formula (confirm by pressing Ctrl+Shift+Enter) copied down :
=TEXTJOIN(", ",1,IFERROR(TEXT(FILTERXML(""&SUBSTITUTE(A2,"*","")&"","//b"),"000")&FILTERXML(""&SUBSTITUTE(B2,"*","-")&"","//b"),""))

A: I'm assuming this is doable with formulas but it might get unwieldy, so perhaps a UDF like this:
Public Function JoinNumbersAndSigns(ByVal numbersRng As Range, ByVal signsRng As Range) As String
    Dim nums As String
    nums = numbersRng.Cells(1).Value
    nums = Mid$(nums, 2, Len(nums) - 2) ' remove leading and trailing *

    Dim signs As String
    signs = signsRng.Cells(1).Value
    signs = Mid$(signs, 2, Len(signs) - 2) ' remove leading and trailing *

    Dim tempNums As Variant
    tempNums = Split(nums, "*")

    Dim tempSigns As Variant
    tempSigns = Split(signs, "*")

    Dim i As Long
    For i = LBound(tempNums) To UBound(tempNums)
        Dim tempString As String
        Dim sep As String

        tempString = tempString & sep & tempNums(i) & "-" & tempSigns(i)
        sep = ", "
    Next i

    JoinNumbersAndSigns = tempString
End Function

In Action:

The nums = Mid$(nums, 2, Len(nums) - 2) and similar line for signs could probably be made more robust, but should work given your current data.

A: Here's another approach using regular expressions ...
Option Explicit

Public Function Link(vNumbers As Range, vSigns As Range) As Variant

    ' ADD REFERENCE TO "Microsoft VBScript Regular Expressions 5.5"

    Dim vRegEx As New RegExp
    Dim vNumbersMatches As MatchCollection
    Dim vSignsMatches As MatchCollection
    Dim vCounter As Long

    ' The two parameters must only reference a single cell
    If vNumbers.Cells.Count <> 1 Or vSigns.Cells.Count <> 1 Then
        Link = CVErr(xlErrRef)
        Exit Function
    End If

    ' use regular expression to get the numbers
    vRegEx.Pattern = "([0-9]+)"
    vRegEx.Global = True
    vRegEx.MultiLine = True
    Set vNumbersMatches = vRegEx.Execute(vNumbers.Text)

    ' Use regular expression to get the signs
    vRegEx.Pattern = "([^\*]+)"
    vRegEx.Global = True
    vRegEx.MultiLine = True
    Set vSignsMatches = vRegEx.Execute(vSigns.Text)

    ' If the number of Numbers and Signs differs, then return an error
    If vNumbersMatches.Count <> vSignsMatches.Count Then
        Link = CVErr(xlErrValue)
        Exit Function
    End If

    ' Loop through the Numbers and Signs, appending each set
    For vCounter = 0 To vNumbersMatches.Count - 1
        Link = Link & vNumbersMatches.Item(vCounter) & "-" & vSignsMatches.Item(vCounter) & IIf(vCounter < vNumbersMatches.Count - 1, " ,", "")
    Next

End Function

And the output ...

A: As long as there will always be a correlation between the number of elements in A & B this will work
Sub SplitandConcat()

' Declare working vars
    Dim lRow As Long: lRow = 2
    Dim sOutputString As String
    Dim iWorkIndex As Integer
    Dim CommaSpace As String

While ActiveSheet.Cells(lRow, 1) <> ""

    CommaSpace = ""

    'Split the incoming string on delimiter
        arInput1 = Split(ActiveSheet.Cells(lRow, 1), "*")
        arInput2 = Split(ActiveSheet.Cells(lRow, 2), "*")

    ' For each non blank item in the 1st array join the corresponding item int the second
        For iWorkIndex = 0 To UBound(arInput1)
            If arInput1(iWorkIndex) <> "" Then
                ActiveSheet.Cells(lRow, 3) = ActiveSheet.Cells(lRow, 3) & CommaSpace & arInput1(iWorkIndex) & "-" & arInput2(iWorkIndex)
                CommaSpace = ", "
            End If
        Next iWorkIndex

' check next row
    lRow = lRow + 1
Wend

End Sub

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


These are super easy to make and my kids LOVED them. You only need three ingredients and no baking needed.
1. Measure out 4 cups of cocoa puffs into a large bowl.
2. Melt the chocolate in a glass or stainless steel bowl over a saucepan with a few cups of simmering water.
3. Pour the melted chocolate over the puffs and stir to combine.
4. Line a tray with baking paper, and spoon the mixture into nests. Don't worry at this point if you feel like they won't hold together. Once they set, it will stick.
5. Add three speckled eggs on the top.
6. Set in the fridge for a few hours and they are done. They will keep refrigerated in an airtight container for a few days.


The speaker in sonnet 116 is offering a definitive description of the nature of love—not physical lust nor even the casual attraction that so often masquerades as love, only later to break and fall apart. This careful speaker dramatizes the nature of love as he specifies that nature in three qualities: "the marriage of true minds," "an ever-fixed mark," and "not "Time's fool."
The speaker devotes a quatrain to each quality, and then makes an indisputable conclusion in the couplet: if he can be proven wrong in his description of love, then no one ever did any writing and also no one ever loved. Thus, he puts an end to any rebuttal that might even attempt to prove him wrong.
In Sonnet 116, the speaker is dramatizing the nature of love, not lust or ordinary affection, but the abiding love that he declares is the "marriage of true minds" that time's fickleness cannot destroy.
Alluding to the biblical injunction, "What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder" (Matthew 19:6), the speaker describes the true nature of love. Thus, paraphrasing that injunction as admitting impediments to the "marriage of true minds," he declares that he would never attempt to do such. He then explains his reasoning: love, in fact, cannot be defiled, for it is always steadfast. No one can change true love's nature, not even if it is thought that a reason exists to do so.
True love cannot be bent and reshaped; it cannot be removed. The speaker is insisting on the constancy of love; thus he employs incremental repetition as a poetic device to reinforce his claims: "Love is not love," "alters when it alteration finds," and "bends with the remover to remove." By repeating these key words, the speaker makes his meaning concretely clear. Repetition is always the best teaching tool as well as the best tool with which to reinforce an argument in the minds of listeners.
Continuing with his description of true love, the speaker now moves on to his second quality attributed to that description and definition. He thus metaphorically likens "love" to the polestar of the North, which remains, "an ever-fixed mark," serving to guide ships on their voyages across the ocean.
Even when storms whip up and toss the ships with violent winds and rains, the polestar remains ever constant, ever guiding the ships direction. Love then serves as such a polestar; despite the trials and tribulations that confront the beleaguered minds, true love remains to guide those dear hearts out the storms of life on this planet. As the North Star guides ships, love guides the hearts and minds of those who truly love. While the distance of the polestar from the earth may be calculated, its value to humankind in remaining a steady force cannot be plumbed. Thus it is with love, its value cannot be estimated because it remains a dynamic force and always for the good of the those who love.
The great spiritual leader and father of yoga in the West, Paramahansa Yogananda, has averred that the goal of humanity, the goal of each soul is to become so in love with the Divine Creator that the strength of the soul will allow it to "stand unshaken midst the crash of breaking worlds." That strength attaches to the ultimate nature of the love that the speaker in sonnet 116 is describing because love provides the ability for each soul to unite with its Divine Belovèd, it own Divine Creator. And it is only that union that permits the soul to remain standing as worlds around it come crashing down.
Although "rosy lips and cheeks" may be labeled "Time's fool," love cannot be so labeled. Time will destroy the youthful beauty of those physical characteristics, but against love Time has no power. The speaker has already demonstrated that love cannot be "alter[ed]" in "hours and weeks"—or even years and decades for that matter—because love continues to ply its force until the world is taken back into the bosom of its Creator.
The speaker is dramatically and metaphorically likening love to the power of the Creator of the Cosmos. Love is the driving force, the dynamic power employed by that Ultimate Creator to fashion all things on earth and in heaven. Thus it could never be otherwise that that divine quality could ever change its nature, for its very nature is the natural force that all humanity craves and will continue to crave as long as physical, mental, and spiritual bodies exist in their current forms.
The speaker has completed his definitive description of the nature of love. In the quatrains, he has offered three qualities that love possesses: (1) it is "the marriage of true minds," (2) it remains "an ever-fixed mark," and (3) it is not "Time's fool." Thus, he has argued his stance through drama, through metaphor, and through persuasion. This deeply thinking speaker has become convinced that no argument could ever be brooked against his claims.
The speaker, therefore, declaims what at first might seem to be an outrageous assertion: if he can be proven wrong, then no one ever wrote, and no one ever loved. Of course, the speaker knows that any adversary would have to admit the people have written—the speaker himself has just written—and people have loved. If anyone would care to continue in an adversarial vain, the speaker might remind them of all the "love stories" that have been composed time immemorial. The "love story" exemplifies both "writing" and "loving."
Is the text of Shakespeare's Sonnet 116 informative, expressive, or directive?
The poem is expressive. My commentary is informative.
To what is the speaker referring when he says, let him not admit impediment in Shakespeare's sonnet 116?
What do you think the poet has in mind when he refers to false love in Sonnet 116?
When love is confused with lust, it becomes false.
In Shakespeare's sonnet 116, he speaks about "marriage of true minds": Is he actually referring to marriage at all or does he have something else in mind?
What do you think the poet has in mind when he refers to false love in Shakespeare's "Sonnet 116"?
False love is physical lust and/or casual attraction that so often masquerade as love.


Pro wrestling still isn't real, but if anybody blurs the lines between what they can still do in the ring and their influence outside of it, it's Triple H.
'The Game' might still be guilty of the type of gym posing his elders were guilty of thanks to a deep affection for bodybuilding, but the power that underpins his persona is as much borne out of his tenure with the organisation as anything he can realistically get away with doing in his bi-annual matches.
He's a best and worst-of-times performer, too. His ego spiralled out of control in November 2017 with a Survivor Series power-grab at the expense of almost everybody else in the contest, but the effort he made to establish Ronda Rousey at WrestleMania 34 was the vintage ring generalship he was briefly capable of during his 2000 pomp. It mirrors his laboured efforts to both bury and boost Roman Reigns during problematic performances at the 2016 Royal Rumble and WrestleMania 32 respectively.
If he could make his mind up about exactly what service he provides to the main roster these days, he'd potentially be a little higher in this list. Or not in it at all, which is probably exactly why he still likes to keep his putting-over powder dry.


Let's be real, who doesn't want to work in a toy store? Learning Express is always looking for new team members to add to our family. We are flexible with any type of schedule whether you're looking for part time or full time. If you just want a few hours a week to make a little money for the holidays, that great. If you're looking for a career with one of the best small businesses in the triangle, bring it on. Click on the link below to print out our application, then just return it to one of our 4 triangle locations.


Our Kaenon® sunglasses for women offer the versatility you need for everyday wear.
Gently feminine sunglasses for women from Kaenon® in a classic shape draw just the right amount of attention. Broad spectrum UV protection. Comes with case and cloth. Italy.


VeggieTales is neat because they do this as part of every story—they start with a question, then they tell a story, and then answer the question from what was just illustrated.
In other entertainment, it's up to the parents to take the moral lesson and help their children to digest it. It's also important that we make sure that the things we don't want our kids emulating (like calling each other "goober") is stopped as soon as it can be, rather than having it lie dormant and coming back later.
« The Winner Was Clear!


For more than twenty centuries, torrential floodwaters from melting ice-age glaciers sculpted eastern Washington's Columbia Valley leaving in their wake deep deposits of sandy, rocky, alluvial soils. Today, framing the Columbia River, broad plains of ancient sediment constitute one of the world's finest wine grape growing regions.
Red Mountain AVA's unique appellation makes this Cabernet Sauvignon the talk of the town.
A Cabernet Sauvignon of Columbia Valley, Washington. Come and taste the Essence of Washington!
Columbia Valley creates some of the best Chardonnays in the world. This Chardonnay won't disappoint.
An Alluvial Red Blend of Columbia Valley, Washington. Come have a taste of the Essence of Washington!
A Dry Riesling of the Columbia Valley, Washington. Taste the Essence of Washington!
A Pinot Gris of the Columbia Valley, Washington. Come have a taste of the Essence of Washington!


When I do production on music and guided meditation recordings, I sometimes come to a decision point in the process where I need a bit of feedback. Today, I was concerned about a certain aspect of my narration, and needed some perspective on how it was coming across. So, as I generally do in those situations, I grabbed the closest person available, which usually means my wife.
I found her in the kitchen, and said, "Would you come and listen to something?", to which she replied, "Will it take long?" It's always good to have a willing audience.
So I sat my wife down in front of speakers and played her what I was concerned about. I didn't tell her what my concern was exactly, so as to not bias her reaction. I asked her to tell me if anything bothered her about the piece.
Her response was to critique all the things that I was actually quite happy with, and had worked very hard on. Those, she didn't like. As for the part I was concerned about, after asking for more specific input she said she had no opinion.
I found myself totally tweaked over this, with a whole salad of insecurity, frustration, bitterness and a few more things I'd just rather not talk about.
But this is how I get to work on humility and surrender. My ego is much too crafty to get suckered into this stuff straight on, so life uses my wife, whom I'd never suspect, as a secret agent in a kind of side maneuver. Slipped right in when I wasn't expecting it, to zing my ego. Life gets its way, as usual, processing us, whether we like it or not. It's nothing personal, that's just its job.
The only question at that point is, "How fast can I let it go?" In this case, it fortunately only took a few minutes. Maybe that's because it wasn't such a big deal, but I'd like to think it's because I've been practicing letting go. Practice is good. And as it is everywhere , here in Santa Fe meditation is good too.
Anyway, I'm over it, for now.


text:
Q: Python / pydantic / FastAPI - describe this datastructure as a Schema Model? Problem
I have a data structure of nested lists of Dicts that I am trying to build a response_model for in FastAPI using Pydantic models but it's proving so far impossible. As soon as I apply the response_model= directive the data returns empty from the API. If I remove the response_model= directive the same query to the API results in data returning just fine and has content.
The Data looks like the following:
[
    {
        'code': 'trabant',
        'description': 'East German Trabant',
        'listings': [
            {
                 id: 1000,
                 cat_no: "Trabi1",
                 descript: "Trabant Interior Mirror"
                 price: Decimal(16.95),
                 veh: 'trabant',
                 sec: 'interior'
             },
             {
                 id: 1001
                 cat_no: "Trabi2",
                 descript: "Trabant Interior Clock"
                 price: Decimal(56.95),
                 veh: 'trabant',
                 sec: 'interior'
             }
         ]
    },
    {
        'code': 'skoda',
        'description': 'Czech Skoda',
        'listings': [
            {
                  id: 2001,
                  cat_no: "Skoda5",
                  descript: "Front Grille",
                  price: Decimal(36.95),
                  veh: 'skoda',
                  sec: 'bodywork'
             },
             {
                  id: 2002
                  cat_no: "Skoda6",
                  descript: "Skoda Grille Badge - Front"
                  price: Decimal(16.95),
                  veh: 'skoda',
                  sec: 'bodywork'
             }
        ]
    }
]

Which when boiled down to it's structure looks like:
] # root list
    { #can be any vehicle in a list of 40+
        'code': #vehicle's db code
        'description': #vehicle's textual name>,
        'listings': [ #list of catalogue items for this vehicle
            {
                id: #db id,
                cat_no: #Customer SKU,
                descript: #Description of a part,
                price: #Decimal value for price, no evil floats here!,
                veh: #db code for vehicle,
                sec: #db code for section
            }
        ]
    }
]

I tried to describe it using these Pydantic models:
class ORMBaseModel(BaseModel):
    class Config:
        orm_mode = True

class CatListing(ORMBaseModel):
    id: int
    cat_no: str
    descript: str
    sec: str
    veh: str
    price: Decimal

class VehicleCatListings(ORMBaseModel):
    code: str
    description: str
    listings: List[ CatListing ]

class ListOfCatListings(ORMBaseModel):
    List[ VehicleCatListings ]

But when I use the following route:
@app.get("/api/cat_no/{ff_no}/listings", response_model=schema.ListOfCatListings)
def getListings(ff_no: str, db: Session = Depends(databases.getDb)):
    listings = crud.catalogue.getListings(db, ff_no) #db request that returns data output as shown above

    if listings is None:
        raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail="FF No catalogue listings not found")

    return listings

I get a blank object {} in return as if the pydantic model is ignoring the data somehow. I am however finding it hard to debug.
NB: I don't work for a place that sells rare Eastern European Car parts, I just used these as an example ;)

A: Okay so after a lot of banging my head on a brick wall it turns out this is a very common problem and it's mentioned a few times on Stackoverflow already. The fault here is that:
class ListOfCatListings(ORMBaseModel):
    List[ VehicleCatListings ]

Should be:
class ListOfCatListings(ORMBaseModel):
    __root__: List[ VehicleCatListings ]

This achieves what I needed.
I hope this helps someone else out.


A married couple that plans to show the world how you can screw the 9 to 5 through affiliate online marketing!
Josh had already been working online for 6 years before taking Jill under his wing to start traveling around the world and screw the 9 to 5! Even though they've had their struggles, they have found a lot of success in online affiliate marketing.
Starting up Screw the 9 to 5 website was on a whim while they were on their honey moon. The success didn't come right away, and it's the failure of a previous online product that pushed them to change up Screw the 9 to 5 into the success it is today!
They are a lovely couple, and I am so happy that they decided to come on the show. The amount of traveling and the amount of work that they put in is very inspiring!


ASR management believes that the best way to provide superior service to our customers is through dedicated and motivated employees.
We start by selecting the people that fit the ASR corporate culture. Prior to employment, candidates are interviewed, screened and evaluated on their skills/experience and the attributes that make them solid team players: honesty, integrity, self-motivated, strong written and oral communication skills, user community interaction, and business awareness.
We respect the individuality of our employees and the unique skills they bring to ASR.
We provide excellent employee benefits compensation and the opportunity for employee ownership in the company.
We provide the right training and guidance to ensure our people's success.
We maintain a company culture that rewards professional growth and innovative thinking.
We stand by commitments we make to our employees.


When I first began using essential oils and was looking at various deodorant recipes to try, I kept seeing the words "deodorant stone" being used and had no idea what it was!!
Although you can apply essential oils "neat" (undiluted) to your armpits after the deodorant stone has dried, I prefer to mix my essential oils with coconut oil because I have sensitive skin and some oils can sting when applied under your arms (especially any citruses!). You can also mix around 10 drops of essential oil into a 4 oz mason jar with coconut oil to have some on hand that is pre-mixed!
Another way you can use deodorant stones is before applying your homemade deodorant as an anti-perspirant!
My favorite essential oils to use with coconut oil are Lavender, Ylang Ylang, or Bergamot! They're all very gentle essential oils and smell amazing. I want to try Grapefruit as well, since it's supposed to help slow down hair growth! Just be careful to avoid using any citruses when going outside in the sun.
Have you tried using a deodorant stone?? I apply mine twice a day (once out of the shower in the evening and again in the morning when I wake up!) It sounds like a strange and foreign thing at first…but it really does work!
I was doing some reading about stones and found some posts that discussed the possibility of deodorant stones containing harmful minerals that could be absorbed. Also, minerals, like aluminum, that could be in benonite(sp?) clay and zinc oxide depending on what the earth is like where they are harvested. I have been making deodorant with only baking soda, coconut oil, and EO's (Thieves, Lavender, Purification, and Tea Tree). It does not usually last all day but is so liquidy when the coconut oil melts in the bathroom that I am afraid to carry it in my purse. I shoved some YL deodorant in an Abundant Health lip balm tube and keep it in my mini oil bag in my purse to use in a pinch. Just wanted to share so you can do some homework, too. I did not save any of the articles. Sorry.
I've never heard of this before! I've been wanting to try a DIY Deodorant recipe (today I completely forgot to put deodorant on so of course headed to your blog to find something) I will definitely have to find one of these online!


text:
N O T E S
Hamlin Garland said that he had passed along to Crane a suggestion W.D. Howells had made to him -- that he �go down and do a study of this midnight bread distribution which the papers are making so much of.� This sketch seems to be one of the results of Garland�s hint. A version of the meeting in which the suggestion was made is used to open the sketch in its first appearance, in the New York Press, April 22, 1894, Part 3, p.2:
Two men stood regarding a tramp.
�I wonder how he feels,� said one, reflectively. �I suppose he is homeless, friendless, and has, at the most, only a few cents in his pocket. And if this is so, I wonder how he feels.�
The other being the elder, spoke with an air of authoritative wisdom. �You can tell nothing of it unless you are in that condition yourself. It is idle to speculate about it from this distance.�
�I suppose so,� said the younger man, and then he added as from an inspiration: �I think I�ll try it. Rags and tatters, you know, a couple of dimes, and hungry, too, if possible. Perhaps I could discover his point of view or something near it.�
�Well, you might,� said the other, and from those words begins this veracious narrative of an experiment in misery.
The youth went to the studio of an artist friend, who, from his store, rigged him out in an aged suit and a brown derby hat that had been made long years before. And then the youth went forth. The situation between the �old friend� and the �younger man� is continued in the opening section of �An Experiment in Luxury,� a sequel to this sketch that appeared in the Press on the following Sunday.
This "matching" story appeared in the New York Press, April 29, 1894:
An Experiment in Luxury
The Experiences of a Youth Who
Sought Out Croesus.
IN THE GLITTER OF WEALTH
A Fully Acrobatic Kitten Which Held
Great Richness at Bay.
LIFE OF THE WOMAN OF GOLD
Are there, After All, Burrs Under
Each Fine Cloak and Benefits
in All Beggars� Garb?
�If you accept this invitation you will have an opportunity to make another social study,� said the old friend.
The youth laughed. �If they caught me making a study of them they�d attempt a murder. I would be pursued down Fifth avenue by the entire family.�
�Well,� persisted the old friend who could only see one thing at a time, �it would be very interesting. I have been told all my life that millionaires have no fun, and I know that the poor are always assured that the millionaire is a very unhappy person. They are informed that miseries swarm around all wealth, that all crowned heads are heavy with care, and --�
�But still --� began the youth.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Spread the berries in the pie shell.
Mix sugar, cornstarch, salt and cinnomon in a 4 cup glass measure.
minute until thickened and clear, 3 to 4 minutes.
shell. Refrigerate at least 2 hours.
sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla.


text:
Application and Selection Process
The Summer Academy Team
Abdulaziz Alshehhi, Tomoh Fellow
Abdulaziz Alshehhi is a Tomoh Fellow and Assistant Instructor for the Challenges of the New Political Economy course in the Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Scholars Program. He received his BA from UAE University with Honours of the first degree, majoring in Political Science and minoring in Communications and Leadership. He studied and participated in international programs at Tsinghua University in China and Philipps University in Germany. He was also trained in the Art of Negotiation and Diplomacy from the United Nations Institute for Training and Research and is an alumni of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Program for UAE Youth Ambassadors. Alshehhi loves meeting people, sharing ideas and seeing other people's points of view, and exploring opportunities. He is enthusiastic as an NYUAD family member and believes in the importance of knowledge and education.
Aisha Hamisi, Manager of Operations and Student Advising
Aisha Hamisi is the Manager of Operations and Student Advising for the Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Scholars Program and the NYUAD Summer Academy. She organizes and coordinates recruitment events at various high schools and at NYUAD, where she presents at Summer Academy and meets all potential students. Hamisi works with the students up to and beyond their Summer Academy graduation. She guides students and alumni on their academic, personal, and professional goals. Hamisi heads logistics and administration for both of the Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Community Programs — Summer Academy and the Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Scholars Program. Hamisi also worked for the Human Resource department, where she helped NYUAD during its start-up phase and through the employment of its faculty and staff. Prior to working for NYUAD, Aisha worked for Lucent Technologies as a Resource Manager. She graduated from Portsmouth University with a Bachelor of Arts in business administration in 2004. Hamisi also holds a Master's in business administration degree from the University of Wolverhampton Business School. In March 2019, Hamisi received her certificate in CELTA (Certificate of English Language Teaching to Adults).
Ayan Ibrahim, Academic and Student Affairs Specialist and Instructor
Ayan Ibrahim is the Resident Instructor for the Challenges of the New Political Economy course in the Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Scholars Program. As an Instructor, she supports the Scholars in strengthening their critical thinking and writing skills through group writing workshops and 1:1 meetings throughout the course of the Program. Prior to joining the SMSP team, she worked as an Associate Writing Instructor for NYU Abu Dhabi's Writing Program and Writing Center advising undergraduates on various elements of the writing process. Ibrahim is also the Academic and Student Affairs Specialist for the SMBZ Community Programs, in which she advises and assists the SMSP Scholars and the high school Summer Academy students in establishing their educational goals in preparation for their graduate and undergraduate studies, or attaining scholarship opportunities.
Ibrahim earned her Bachelor's Degree in Journalism (Public Relations), a minor in Psychology and a Masters of Art in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, with a concentration on Reading/Language and Literacy Education, both from Georgia State University. Since receiving her Masters, she has also worked in Atlanta, Georgia as an adjunct professor instructing adult English language learners on writing and reading skills at Mercer University's English Language Institute and as an elementary and middle grades ESOL teacher within the public school system.
Aysha Aljaberi, Senior Director
Aysha Mohammed Aljaberi is the Senior Director of Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Community Programs. She provides oversight of the academic and administrative functions of the department.
Dr. Aljaberi has been a certified Clinical Scientist and served in different leadership roles in Abu Dhabi Healthcare Services Company, operations, research, and academia. She was previously the Director of Disease Prevention and Screening Center. She was the Manager for the Ambulatory Health Services' Main Laboratories in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain. A few of her achievements included; increasing the service market share and growth in revenue, the expansion of services by opening new centers in Abu Dhabi and the Al Dhafra region, the standardization of disease control practices across Abu Dhabi centers, and acquiring international and local accreditations to central laboratories. Dr. Aljaberi also served as an Adjunct member of the Health Sciences Faculty at the Higher Colleges of Technology.
Dr. Aljaberi holds a Ph.D. and Master of Research in Biomedical Sciences/Biochemistry both from the Medical Schools of The University of Nottingham and Strathclyde University, and a BSc from UAE University. She had published research in the fields of cancer cell and molecular biology and is a recipient of the Sheikh Rashid Award for Outstanding Scientific Achievement and Academic Excellence from The UAE Embassy in London.
Dr. Aysha Aljaberi is passionate and contributed to the case of enhancing the living quality of people of determination. She is also passionate about childhood and youth mentorship and education.
Dharini Parthasarathy, Instructor and Learning Designer
Dharini Parthasarathy is the Instructor and Learning Designer for the Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Community Programs. In this role, she serves as:
Part of the curriculum development team for the Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Scholars Program and the NYUAD Summer Academy
The lead instructor for the NYUAD Summer Academy College Readiness and Success course
The lead advisor for NYUAD Summer Academy students and alumni, supporting college, graduate school, and scholarship applications
Part of the advising team for the Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Scholars Program students and alumni, supporting graduate school and scholarship applications
An assistant instructor for the Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Scholars Program and the NYUAD Summer Academy, supporting courses such as Leadership and Public Speaking
Prior to this role, Parthasarathy served as the Abu Dhabi-based Academic and Student Affairs Specialist and a New York-based Graduate Assistant for the Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Community Programs. Parthasarathy holds an MS in Learning Experience Design from Brandeis University, an MA in Higher Education and Student Affairs from New York University, a BS in Electrical Engineering from Miami University, and a BS in Mathematics and Statistics from Miami University. She currently resides in the United States.
Erich Dietrich, Associate Academic Director and Instructor
Erich Dietrich researches, publishes, and teaches on the history and internationalization of higher education, equity in access to higher education, and affirmative action policies in a comparative, international context.
With a research focus on equity in higher education, Professor Dietrich has published on affirmative action policies in Brazil and has served on the advisory board for the Institute of International Education's International Academic Partnership Program for Brazil, which promotes collaborations in higher education. He regularly teaches a graduate-level study abroad course, Race, Class and Equity in Higher Education in Brazil. He is co-PI on a grant from the CAPES Foundation of the Brazilian Ministry of Education on "Access and Retention of Black Students in Higher Education: Advances and Challenges in a Comparative Perspective."
A second line of research and scholarship concerns outcomes assessment of study away and global education. Dietrich is co-PI (with Professor Sebastian Cherng) of the SAGE (Study Away and Global Education) Research Project, which includes CASSIE, the Consortium for Analysis of Student Success through International Education, a federally funded research project that expands the empirical evidence on international education and student outcomes by establishing a national databank that enables a quantitative approach to understanding the impact of international education experiences on college success.
Dietrich serves as an Ambassador for the Magna Charta Universitatum Observatory, and is a former Board Member of AIEA, the association of leaders in international higher education, and former Chair of NAFSA's International Education Leadership Knowledge Community (IEL-KC).
From 2009-2019, Dietrich was Assistant Vice President of NYU Global Programs and Associate Dean of Global Affairs at NYU Steinhardt. He holds a PhD from New York University, a master's from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a BA, magna cum laude, from Carleton College.
Dietrich is a 2022 recipient of NYU Steinhardt's Teaching Excellence Award, and received a Fulbright International Education Award to India in 2016. By invitation from the US Embassy in Greece and the Greek Ministry of Education, he conducted capacity-building workshops for study abroad in Greece in 2019. He serves as Academic Director for the NYU Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohamed Scholars Program and the NYUAD Summer Academy.
Jonathan Marsh, Academic Program Manager and Instructor
As a member of the first team of employees on the NYUAD campus, Jonathan Marsh has served the student community in a variety of academic and residential life roles since 2010: Graduate Resident Assistant, Senior Global Academic Fellow, Academic Resource Center tutor, teaching assistant, and English proficiency assessment consultant for Admissions' Candidate Weekend process. As a member of the NYUAD Community Programs' team since 2013, he has worked on the New York-based office staff to support alumni programming and academics at NYU New York and serves as an Instructor in the SMSP and SA Critical Thinking and Persuasive Writing courses. Marsh earned his bachelor's degree in film from New York University and his master's in mental health counseling from NYU Steinhardt; he is a licensed mental health counselor in New York State.
Mohamed Abdishakur, Academic Affairs Coordinator
Mohamed Abdishakur is an Academic Affairs Coordinator and an Assistant Instructor for the Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Scholars Program. He received his Bachelor's degree in Psychology from UBC and completed his MBA from the Jack Welch Management Institute. Prior to joining NYU Abu Dhabi, Abdishakur was an assessment consultant for various entities, including Afaq, Strata, and AD Police. In that capacity, he facilitated leadership assessment and development workshops, led senior government executive teams, and developed competency frameworks enhancing organizational performance. In 2020, Abdishakur shifted his focus toward education and took up an academic coordinator role for the medical school at Khalifa University. He remains passionate and committed to supporting excellence in student learning outcomes. During his free time, he enjoys reading, paddleboarding, chess, and Latin dance.
Povashni Naidu, Assistant Manager for Programming and Strategy
Povashni Naidu is the Assistant Manager for Programming and Strategy for both the NYUAD Summer Academy and the Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Scholars Program. Naidu joined the Programs in 2013. Prior to this position, she successfully coordinated numerous international medical conferences for Synovetics in Abu Dhabi. Naidu began her career at Massdiscounters in South Africa, where she was a graduate associate. Thereafter, she was promoted to manage training for the retail giant. Naidu received an Honours Bachelor of Commerce Degree from the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal, Diploma in Human Resource Management from the University of South Africa, and MSc Education from the University of Glasgow.
Reem Shraim, Instructor
Reem Shraim is an Instructor with the Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Community Programs. She currently serves as the Instructor for the NYUAD Summer Academy Leadership and Public Speaking course, Principal Instructor for the Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Scholars Program Public Speaking course, and Assistant Instructor for the Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Scholars Program Leadership course. She graduated from Zayed University with a Bachelor's degree in Psychology and Human Services and from the Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Government with a Master's degree in Public Policy. She is an alumnus of the Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Scholars Program Class of 2017-2018. Shraim previously worked as a research coordinator for an autism study at Al Jalila Children's Speciality Hospital in Dubai, wrote articles for the Gulf News on special pieces covering psychology related matters in the UAE, and interned with Dubai Police.
Sara Aldhaheri, Program Coordinator
Sara Aldhaheri is a Program Coordinator for the Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Community Programs. She acquired her BA in International Relations from Zayed University. Politics and history are subjects close to her heart. Outside of work, she enjoys spending her time with cats and learning the Russian language.
Sara Almarzooqi, Program Coordinator
Sara is an NYUAD alum with a BS in Biology and a minor in Heritage Studies. She was also part of the NYUAD Summer Academy's class of 2017. She served as an Admissions Ambassador for most of her time at NYUAD. She was very involved on campus and one of her most influential duties included serving as a Cultural Engagement Assistant Manager and a UAE Cultural Ambassador, where she helped encourage students to explore the UAE and its heritage.


text:
HomeTim Ferriss ShowRoland Griffiths, Tim Ferriss | The Future and Science of Psychedelics | SXSW 2018
Roland Griffiths, Tim Ferriss | The Future and Science of Psychedelics | SXSW 2018
This is a conversation between Tim and Roland at the 2018 SXSW Conference
Roland Griffiths Ph.D., is a professor in the Departments of Psychiatry and Neurosciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
His principal research focus has been on the behavioral and subjective effects of mood-altering drugs.
Check out these other Podcast Notes from Roland's appearance on the Found My Fitness Podcast
For more on psychedelics, check out these Podcast Notes from Michael Pollan's appearance on The Tim Ferriss Show
Roland has researched a variety of compounds in his lab, including caffeine
Caffeine is the most widely used mood altering drug in the world
80-90% of the world's population consumes caffeine
"It's so embedded in our culture, that it almost becomes invisible with respect to the fact that it's enormously effective at generating daily self administration"
Caffeine is incredibly effective at even very low doses
A 6 oz. cup of coffee delivers about 100 mg of caffeine
You can often detect levels of caffeine at 10 mg and below in subjects, even as low as 2 mg
"By and large it's a relatively safe compound"
Psychedelic Research
Roland has been doing research on mood altering drugs at Johns Hopkins for 45 years
25 years ago, he started a meditation practice, which got him interested in altered states of consciousness and spiritual experiences
At this point he became quite acquainted with the older research on psychedelics from the 1950s and 1960s, which seemed to point to the fact that psychedelics can create experiences that very much look like naturally occurring spiritual experiences
At this point , he decided to do more research on psilocybin after getting approval from the FDA in the year 2000
Psilocybin is the psychoactive ingredient in magic mushrooms
This was the first time a protocol like this had been approved in many decades
In his first study…
Participants took a capsule of synthesized psilocybin (at a dose of 30 mg per 70 kg of body weight – this is about 5 grams of dry magic mushrooms)
They put on eye shades and headphones, and listen to music
They're asked to direct their attention inwards
Trip sitters were there to watch over participants
One of the most interesting results of the study – there are characteristic features that can emerge from these conditions, that resemble naturally occurring spiritual experiences reported by people in religious circles over many generations
2 months after the experience, participants frequently said it was among the most personally meaningful experiences of their lifetime
30% said it was the single most meaningful experience in their entire life
What were these mystical experiences like? What features do they have?
One core feature – a sense of oneness, interconnectedness of all people and things
Also, a sense of sacredness, accompanied by feelings of happiness and peace
Transcendence of time and space can also occur
People attribute to the experience enduring positive changes to their mood and behavior
The Many Psychedelic Compounds
The best known psychedelics include psilocybin (found in certain mushrooms), mescalin (found in the peyote cactus), and DMT which is used widely in South America in Ahyahuasca
These are all natural compounds
Use of these compounds dates back thousands of years – they were often used for religious and haling purposes
Another classical psychedelic – LSD
This is synthesized
Roland's research has focused mainly on psilocybin
All these compounds have somewhat different pharmacologies, hit different receptors in the brain, have different durations of action, and have different onset times, but by and large they're more similar than different
They all bind to 5- HT 2a receptor (aka serotonin 2a receptor) in the brain
These compounds cause changes in visualization, hearing, perception and elicit changes in consciousness sometimes seen in dream states, as well as mystical experiences
The term psychedelic literally means "mind-manifesting"
Neuroscience and The Default Mode Network (DMN)
We know psychedelics bind to the serotonin 2a receptor, and then kick off a range of downstream effects
Psychedelics reduce activity in the default mode network
Meditation has also been found to do the same
What does the DMN do?
It's associated with rumination and the idea we have of being "a self"
This is where the brain goes when it's not busy – to worry, daydream, ruminate etc.
Activity in the DMN is upregulated in depressed people
Check out this image
This shows the interconnectedness of different brain regions after dosing with a a psychedelic
"There are emergent connections being made, where all kinds of information is being passed back and forth" – after the drug is eliminated from the system, these effects subside
In a way, a psychedelic experience is like resetting a computer
In a literal sense, a rewiring of the brain is taking place
The experiences someone has on these compounds, is very much determined by set and setting, as well as intention
The Therapeutic Applications of Psychedelics
Roland has done psychedelic studies in 3 areas, using them to treat:
Existential distress in cancer patients – psychedelics have been found to greatly decrease their "end of life anxiety" in most volunteers
Treatment resistant depression
Tim actually helped fund this research
Antidepressants just aren't very effective – they can work, but many people take them and are still depressed
What are some potential negative side effects of psychedelics, what are some risks?
For Roland's studies, he screens potential volunteers very very carefully
People with, or with a family history of a psychotic illness (schizophrenia, bipolar disorder etc.) are ruled out
He estimates he is probably more cautious than he needs to be
Almost everyone who has participated in one of Roland's studies, has said their well-being and life satisfaction has increased after the experience
Roland created a poll online, asking people to describe their worst psychedelic experiences
11% of people put themselves at risk for physical harm
3% ended up in an ER
3% said they participated in violent/dangerous behavior
8% said their well being or life satisfaction as a consequence of that experience was decreased
Of people who had the experience over a year ago
10% said they had enduring psychological problems
8% had sought out professional treatment
People with a family history of schizophrenia seemed to be especially prone to negative side effects like the above
How do the prep sessions work for Roland's psychedelic studies?
He has participants spend about 8 hours in preparation (usually two four hour meetings – this will be done in the session room, so patients are familiar with the environment)
The participant will meet with the two guides/trip sitters and do a "life review"
Relationship history, what meaning the participants are searching for in life, what kind of work they do, issues growing up etc.
It's important to know how they're "showing up" to the session, and what issues might be currently going on in their lives
The goal is to establish a sense of trust
"With a high dose of psilocybin, there has to be a certain level of surrender and trust"
Participants rehearse the process of having their guides support them, if they experience any sort of fear/anxiety during the trip
Roland tells his patients, if anxiety/fear arise …
Give voice to it – this is enough of a reminder, usually, for people not to mentally run away, but rather to be curious and interested in the fear that's arising
Pay attention and be interested in it
"There's nothing in consciousness than can hurt you" – The only problems occur when you believe things which are untrue, to be true
"Nothing in your consciousness can hurt you, but it can sometimes give the appearance of being very threatening"
If you encounter something scary, identify the object of consciousness as just that – don't run from it
Go into the negative thoughts and emotions that arise – investigate them
What does the day of the session look like?
Participants usually come in around 8:30am
They are advised to have a small breakfast, and to take their normal amount of caffeine
Before taking the psilocybin, patients will have their baseline blood pressure readings taken
With the psilocybin capsule, participants take 6 oz of water
The guide will then sit down with the volunteer, and have them look through art books or nature paintings
The goal is to get them out of the "thinking mind" and into a a "present mind"
Not long after this, the participant is encouraged to put on their eye shades, and lay down
The onset of psilocybin effects, can occur as quickly as 20 minutes
It reaches peak effects after 2-3 hours, and then starts tapering off
By 4pm, people are usually back to baseline
The voluneer is picked up by a friend or spouse
Why was psychedelic research halted in the 1950s and 1960s?
In short, there was a sense of anti-establishment fever associated with psychedelic users
There was a belief that the risks involved with psychedelics, didn't outweigh the potential benefits
This was a result of over zealous media coverage
At one point, all research with on psychedelic compounds was halted
"I think it was a case of very bad PR that shut things down"
Psychedelics Become a Schedule 1 Compound
After research was halted, psychedelics became a Schedule 1 compound
What are the criteria for being a Schedule I compound?
It has to be a drug of abuse
It has to have no medical application
Examples – certain opiates, heroin
What has kept Roland going for so long, when there's so many obstacles to doing legal psychedelic research?
"It's the most interesting game in town"
"I could not think of something more important and interesting that I could spend my time on. This is a window into the nature of consciousness"
"Psychedelics are a convergent methodology to meditation, for really investigating and understanding the nature of the mind, and what could be more interesting that that"
Tim – "You could make the argument that our entire experience of life, is a function of mind"
Roland is currently recruiting for a number of studies
The study for the treatment of depression with psilocybin is ongoing
However, they can only admit people to the study who are within commuting distance of Johns Hopkins (there are a total of 13 sessions)
It's open to anyone 21-75 years old, with a current episode of clinical depression
However, you cannot currently be on any SSRIs, or antidepressants
"It very unusual, you find something like this, where so little. does so much" – Tim
Tim has decided to commit $1 million of his own money over the next few years to psychedelic research
To support this research yourself, check out Tim.blog/science
"May you remain aware of awareness"
We often get so lost in our stories, that we forget this
"The true method of knowledge, is experiment"
Tags:lsd, psilocybin, psychedelic research, psychedelics
The Tim Ferriss Show: The Oracle of Ottawa – Tobi Lütke
The Tim Ferriss Show Ep. #259: Lessons from 50,000 Interviews: Larry King and Cal Fussman
Mildred Hoskey
Moshe Gaudy


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Home > Company Industry Overviews > Compania de Minas Buenaventura S.A.
MSCI Announced Some Major Changes in Its Classification Review
South Korea is not yet a developed market
South Korea's (EWY)(MAKOX) status as a developed market has faced a lot of debate. Some multi-lateral institutions consider it a developed market. MSCI, however, classifies Korea as an emerging market.
[marketrealist-chart id=1376792]
In its annual market classification review for 2016, MSCI said that its Korea Index will not be elevated to developed market status even in its 2017 review. One of the reasons it cited was that the changes announced by the Financial Services Commission in South Korea will not take effect until 2017. It further stated that "the investment frictions related to the lack of convertibility of the Korean Won and restrictions imposed by the local stock exchange on the use of exchange data for the creation of financial products remain unaddressed."
MSCI Peru Index may be reclassified
MSCI announced that its Peru Index will remain in the Emerging Markets Index for now. However, it may be reclassified under frontier markets if it falls below the minimum requirement of three constituents for classification as an emerging market. Presently, there are three stocks in the index: Credicorp (BAP), Southern Copper (SCCO), and Compañía de Minas Buenaventura (BVN).
The MSCI Argentina Index will be included for the annual review in 2017 to be potentially reclassified as an emerging market because Argentina's central bank did away with foreign exchanged restrictions and loosened capital controls in December 2015.
The MSCI Nigeria Index may lose its frontier market status and be reclassified as a stand-alone market due to issues with capital mobility. This reclassification could go through in MSCI's November 2016 semi-annual index review.


The most common networking medium today is Ethernet. The most popular Ethernet uses 4 wires, 2 for sending and 2 for receiving, to provide 100M full duplex bandwidth. The equivalent to 100M Ethernet is 802.11g WiFi, which provides 54M half duplex bandwidth.
If you have just 2 computers with Ethernet adapters, the simplest thing to do is to connect both with a cross-over cable. If you have 3 or more computers, you'll likely get a switch or router, and connect each computer to that, one Ethernet cable / computer. With full duplex switched Ethernet, you'll get a total of 200M bandwidth in each conversation between a pair of computers - 100M sending, and 100M receiving. As you add computers and Ethernet cables, the total bandwidth provided by your network grows. This is why we say that an Ethernet network is scalable.
Wifi, on the other hand, is not scalable. With your computers connected thru WiFi adapters, whether directly to each other (ad-hoc mode), or to a WiFi router (infrastructure mode), all computers must use the channel together. No matter how many computers you have - 2, 3, or more, your computers will have to share the channel. And if your neighbour has a WiFi LAN on that channel, your computers will have to share the channel with your neighbours WiFi LAN.
By saying "share the channel", I am saying that, when your WiFi router is transmitting, no other computer or router within range of your router can transmit. Only one device - computer or router - can transmit over any channel at any time.
To share the channel, a WiFi device uses a strategy called Carrier Sense Multiple Access/Collision Aviodance (CSMA/CA). CSMA/CA, which is similar to a strategy previously used by classical (pre-switched) Ethernet, is not an efficient strategy.
Each WiFi component has to listen to the channel for some amount of time, before transmitting, to ensure that nothing else is currently transmitting. Precious portions of your 11M (54M, 128M) bandwidth are wasted, when listening.
Even with each WiFi component listening to the channel before transmitting, it's always possible to have a collision, when two or more components pick the same time to start transmitting. When there's a collision, both components will have to retransmit; more of your bandwidth is wasted, when retransmitting.
With Ethernet, if you use the proper equipment and design your network within limits (mainly, with each computer connected, by no more than 100 metres of Cat-5 or better cable, to the router or switch), you're pretty much guaranteed 100M bandwidth. With WiFi and CSMA/CA, the general estimate is that you will get 1/3 - 1/2 of the stated bandwidth. And that only involves your computers and router, with your router managing the relationship. When your neighbour's WiFi LAN becomes involved (and both routers have to manage a peer-peer relationship), your channel availability, and bandwidth, drops further.
There are 11 802.11 channels, but only 3 do not overlap. To minimise interference with other WiFi networks, everybody should use only channels 1, 6, or 11.
Now, 802.11b and 802.11g are mature, ratified standards. Each manufacturer of standard equipment designs it to perform in a predictable way, so if your WiFi router has to share the channel with a router made by another manufacturer, it will perform properly. But 802.11g doesn't provide enough bandwidth, so the manufacturers have developed a new standard, 802.11n. The new standard was only recently ratified by the various WiFi vendors, and this will limit its effectiveness.
As you increase the effective size (area / volume) of your WiFi neighbourhood, your WiFi components will be able to detect ("see") more WiFi networks using any channel. Since only one WiFi device can transmit at any time, your WiFi network will spend more time waiting to use the channel. When simply waiting becomes unsuccessful, it will spend additional time recovering from collisions. More waiting / collisions = less effective bandwidth = slower file transfers. Pure and simple.


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