first we got our social studies results - i got 12/15, A1 AND THEN the next period we got our amath results - 8/30, F9 LMFAO imagine how fast my mood pummeled HAHAHAHA

hi kokichi! id appreciate a kin match up! i’m adding this after i’ve written the whole thing, and it turned out a lot longer than i’d plan. if this is too much for you let me know and i’ll shorten it as needed! thanks for running this blog, and i hope your day - evening - night is going wonderfully.

i have a light and cheerful personality. i’m also shy, so i mainly speak when spoken to. ive had the same group of friends for as long as i can remember. i can’t say we’ve gotten so close we know everything about each other anything like that, but when i’m with them it’s just a comfortable place i can relax. my position in the group would be the ‘baby’ of the group. i don’t really like being called a baby, but i can’t think of a better term for that haha. but, everyone in the group is very nice to me. i get a lot of physical affection from everyone there, and they’ll buy me pretty much anything. of course, i’ll attempt to return the favor when i can. but not having much money myself, i’ll usually make them something. i’m messy with most things, so it doesn’t turn out as good as i’d like it most the time but they still seem to appreciate it.

outside of that group, i consider myself pretty friendly. i invite girls i think would have fun with us to join our group outings, as well as people i think just need a friend. it isn’t uncommon for me to get denied though, and i’ll continue trying unless they told me to stop asking all together. besides that, i get overwhelmed in social situations easily if im not the one leading them. i can also be really emotional, i don’t handle yelling well and failure of doing anything is really overwhelming for me. i find crying in front of other embarrassing, but it’s not uncommon for me to do that.

i have pretty negative sides to me though. i can occasionally be kind of manipulative and spoiled. i love getting gifts, it makes me feel like someone really cares about me. i keep every gift i get and i kind of hoard them. but, if there’s something i’ve had my eye on for a while that’s where i can be manipulative. most people would do anything for me if i act nice to them or smile at them, sometimes people feel bad after seeing me cry. as a result they’ll usually buy me a gift out of pity, appreciation, even sometimes just to get me away from them. of course, i appreciate these gifts all the same but every time i look at them i feel guilty. this is usually when i’ll take what money i have and buy them something i know they will enjoy. while the usual reaction is feeling guilty i will admit i’ve kept some pretty expensive gifts while not doing anything in return.

as first impressions, people mostly see me as child like and emotional. the emotional part is pretty true. i cry easily, especially when i fail something or can’t meet my own expectations. the hardest things for me to deal with are goodbyes. even if it’s just someone moving a town over i get really close and attached to them the second i hear they’ll be leaving soon. every time someones left, it’s been pretty abrupt. i’ve been told it’s probably because they don’t want me to be sad, or they don’t wanna see me cry. but it just hurts more. sure i’ll cry, but at least i’ll get too legitimately say good bye. even if i barely know someone, everyone is pretty fine with being affectionate with me. some people treat me more like some cat than an actual person, which can make me uncomfortable sometimes. the most extreme case is being pulled onto the lap of someone i just met, in a diner no less. it was embarrassing, and i’m sure it looked ridiculous. while i’m very short myself, sitting on top someone whose only a few inches taller than me probably looks awkward. i put a fair amount of effort into my appearance, usually going for a ‘cute’ loook above anything else. this usually includes big hoodies with thigh highs or a cardigan and a skirt. people have told me i have delicate features, but i’m still confused if they meant it as a insult or compliment. for now my goal is to improve myself, i understand that i won’t always make the best choices and that i’m not that good of a person sometimes. so i’ll work hard to be a better friend to those i know and welcome people who may be lonely.

as for my interests, i enjoy technology. that’s vague, but what i mean is everything i do usually happens on the internet. i have my phone on me at all times, and sometimes i’ll digitally doodle and stuff like that. id like to make an app one day, maybe an app that’ll help people like me. i’m kind of a scatter brain so an app to help people stay organized would be great. i know there are many like that out there but i would like to make a unique one. i also like building PCS, they’re expensive though. i’ll make/help someone make them if they bought all the parts for it. basically, anything to do with tech i’ll love. i also play in band, percussion to be specific. i also collect things such as old knickknacks, but that’s mainly because it’s a family tradition. i also learned how to clean fragile things like that. i’m unsure on whether or not this will help you, i’m an INFP when it comes to MTBI personality types.

wehh, this ended up so long im sorry about that.

I kin assign you with...

Kokichi Ouma

Firstly I thought of Kokichi Ouma, Kokichi is usually presents himself as cheerful and happy infront of the others. He probably has the same friend group for a while basically like DICE. His appearance was made to look more like an innocent like child or in your case "baby" If he's with the right people he could probably get a lot of affection, which is something he overall just craves as well. He probably could also buy you something if you ask him, most likely not just doing it out of the blue. He tries to make friends sometimes and ends up getting denied easily though, Shuichi being an example towards the very end of the game. Though of course he didn't really stop trying until after the 4th trial I believe. He could probably get caught off guard if he isn't the one starting a conversation which could overwhelm him, but he won't show you that. He usually ends up crying when yelled at even if it's crocodile tears, he could also just over exaggerate it so you don't know if it's real or fake. He definitely has a manipulative side, using his innocent looking looks to his advantage to try and get what he wants, which he usually can end up succeeding. He can definitely be seen as child-like as well. If someone he knows is leaving he'll probably do his best to spend time with them before they do leave.

Chihiro Fujisaki

Secondly I thought of Chihiro, Chihiro is definitely a sweet and cheerful person. Though they can be pretty anxious at times. They'd probably tend to stick to people they know just so they'd have some sense of comfort. Theu definitely would be called baby by their friends and they'd probably buy them a few things. Chihiro obviously doing their best to give what they can back to them. Even if it was something after they cried. They'd probably also give Chihiro a lot of affection to make sure they know their loved. They're pretty friendly and if they build up enough courage they'll probably talk or invite someone to hang out with them. Chihiro can get overwhelmed easily and especially in social situations. They're pretty emotional too and can't really handle being yelled at and probably get upset over their failures. Chihiro doesn't exactly like crying infront of others though it's not uncommon for them. Chihiro can definitely be seen as child-like and emotional and probably can't handle goodbyes very well. Chihiro loves anything to do with technology! Whether it be coding or just straight up making something all together if they're able too.

Ibuki Mioda

Lastly I thought of Ibuki Mioda, Ibuki is definitely more of a cheerful or happy person she'll like to stick to people she knows, but will definitely branch out and try to be friends with anyone she thinks need it. She'll also be pretty persistent about it untill she's told to straight up just stop. She probably recieves a lot of affection and gives a lot in return. Whenever someone gives her something she'll do her best to return the gesture with a small gift or something she makes up on the spot. Though some of her attempts can come out pretty messy. She definitely can be seen as child-like as well due to small outbursts she may get. Ibuki will hate staying goodbye to people and will get clingy or really affectionate and probably be upset for a while once they actually leave. She probably also takes a good amount of time into her appearance due to multiple piercings and her hair. She also loves music and will do pretty much anything she can that will revolve around it. She's also probably a hoarder of things.

I hope you're satisfied with your results!

You don't have to worry about it being long, I've had multiple about this length or longer so it wasn't a problem! I hope you have a good rest of your day, evening, or night as well!

Xiao Zhan: An Unyielding, Ambitious Gentleman

Original Article:https://www.weibo.com/ttarticle/p/show?id=2309404475603653886153#_0 Original Author: 雪色烟波里 

I have been reading Portrait Magazine for longer than I have known Xiao Zhan, so when I heard that he was going to be on the cover of Portrait Magazine, my initial reaction was as though the fourth wall had been broken. Portrait  Magazine had always been a magazine famous for reaching deeply into people’s lives, and Xiao Zhan, an actor who has just started his career, is he able to give a deep and exciting interview as required by Portrait Magazine? Very soon, I found out that my worry was needless, not only did he match the expectations, he exceeded it by giving a 7 hour long interview consisting of 20,000 over Chinese characters. As such, I decisively put down my order for Portrait Magazine, and entered the world of Xiao Zhan as an explorer. 

In psychology, there is this famous theory about halo effect, which basically means that a person’s special or outstanding characteristic may overpower and cover all of his other qualities and affect our understanding of that person.

In Xiao Zhan’s case, most of the first impressions of him are of him being a good looking new celebrity, and maybe like all other looks based celebrities – a crazed fanbase, average acting capabilities and perhaps even shortsighted in terms of his career. However, the Portrait Magazine interview shattered this narrow minded view, and brought forth the true Xiao Zhan.

He is not a natural born star, but just someone who works hard to pursue his dreams.

Xiao Zhan’s experiences are almost legendary. Portrait Magazine describes him aptly – he broke into the entertainment scene by chance, battling without armor, and this means that he is an anomaly. After being an every-man person for 20 odd years, working in an industry totally unrelated to the entertainment business, he participated in an idol search variety show by chance and debuted as part of an idol group. After 3 years, he burst into the acting scene with “The Untamed”, and since then, his burst in popularity meant that he attained what many others tried for years in the short span of a few months.

In the short span a few years, he was able to work with the photographer that he used to follow as a photography senior; he was able to perform on the same stage with the very same idol that he used to fanboy. Just a few years ago, he was being interviewed as a commoner with movie dreams, and now he had became the lead role in a movie. This is almost miraculous, and this is even more so when you realize that Xiao Zhan did not let all of that go to his head. Instead, he is taking things one step at a time – “This is just the beginning.” I started following him because I wanted to see how an every-man person like him would survive the entertainment business with just courage. 

Xiao Zhan can be considered as the icon of a commoner joining the entertainment business. With some understanding of him, you will realize that he is different from the carefully packaged idols and celebrities. He had a completely commoner education history, mature moral values and had been part of the working class. He went through the pains of society and therefore he does not put on airs, but instead, down-to-earth like every-man. In his words, he is simply “a common person, who happened to be working as a celebrity.” He calls himself “an entertainment business wage earner”, “Beijing drifter” and a “foreign staff”. Like many of us, he is a workaholic, he focuses on whether overtime is needed, and he still cannot afford an apartment in Beijing.

From the Portrait Magazine interview, you can see that he loves his career, finds joy in working hard in all he does, rejoices at the thought of knocking off and annoyance when his off-work time is being interrupted… to many, he might even feel like the “other self”, your alter-ego who is working hard in the entertainment business. 

As such, I felt that it was very apt for Portrait Magazine to choose Xiao Zhan for an interview. Beneath the glitz and glory of him pursuing his dreams, we can see ourselves in him. At this point, some may ask, I had already been through a commoner’s lifetime, why would I want to follow another commoner? This, we will have to see what stands him apart from the rest of us.

He is not a perfect idol, but just a proactive perfectionist. Xiao Zhan could be said to be someone who has no shortcomings, or in his fans’ words, good in all that he does.

From his appearance, he has good looks that appeals to the mainstream, great height, long legs and amazing amount of hair on his head. He does not dye his hair, have any piercings, wears minimal makeup. To me, this is where I started noticing him. It is ridiculous that some would consider that as being feminine (not that being feminine is a bad thing, but there is absolutely no correlation here at all), because his clean looks, attitude and temperament points to him being a gentleman.

For his capability as an artist, his singing and acting abilities are good. His representative work “The Untamed” had garnered 7 billion views on Tencent’s platform with positive reviews; his participation in the variety show “Our Song” broke 2.0 on the viewership charts, and received widespread audience recognition and support, as well as the positive acknowledgements from the participating mentor singers. Even his weakness, dancing, received more than a million views on Bilibili, a video streaming platform in China.

Besides all these, he knows how to draw, cook, use Photoshop, etc. He does not display these skills deliberately, but brought up offhandedly in various interviews and shows. He does not want to use these to setup a character or a label of himself – these are just parts of him that shows up occasionally. I used to wonder why he seems to be favored by the stars, but after reading the interview, you realize that there is no all-round talent, but just plain hard work in the background. 

Progressive improvements in his acting came from repeated practice of lines and every performance class he took. The perfect look under the camera lenses came from a strict discipline of diet and exercise plus professionalism. Singing and drawing was cultivated from his youthful passion. Diplomacy and tactfulness was learnt from his period of entrepreneurship. “For every single thing, if you want to do it, you do your best for it.” Xiao Zhan said, and also used his own actions to show that. No matter what he did – designer or artist, he did his best.

Many would think that this interview was a channel for him to bemoan about his miseries, but if you studied these 20,000 characters, you will realize that the interview simply laid down his steps and experiences. If you think that the interview showed that he is miserable, then he is, in fact, miserable. To me, the tale of Xiao Zhan is not a tale of misery, but a tale of a man who took the harder path, and an ambitious one at that. He went through the period of being a nameless extra in his acting career, but also attained the period of being a famous actor with countless awards under his sleeve. This is the result of him working hard not knowing the outcome, and this is something which is admirable – for not everyone has the determination to push on not knowing if there would be positive results for all of his efforts. He did, and therefore, he achieved these results.

“If you have the time to discuss, why not just do it?” Xiao Zhan offhandedly said this phrase, which made a deep impression on me. He had always been proactive, one who personifies “actions speak louder than words”.

While others were still mocking him for weak lines, he had already done his work to practice them. Waiting on the horizon were “The Oath of Love”, which would not be dubbed over; “The Most Beautiful Performance”, a series of short clips with acclaimed directors; “I Like You Liking Me”, a play to be performed on CCTV’s Spring Night. It might not be of the highest quality, but the improvement was evident in all of that.

While others were mocking him for needing the director to teach him step by step for his role in “Joy of Life”, he has already found teachers and attended countless performance classes. It is only through Portrait Magazine’s interview that we discovered that the director in “Joy of Life” is actually his teacher, but somehow, that particular behind-the-scenes video was twisted to become evidence of Xiao Zhan’s lack of acting skills. His improvements had always been constant, and so instead, I look forward to his new works coming this year. 

While others were mocking him for being nervous in his first fashion show, he had already looked into improving his overall aura, and in his subsequent red carpet events, he is already a star. 

While others were mocking him for not being generous in disaster efforts, or even spreading rumors of him faking donations, he never said a word to explain himself, but made arrangements behind the scenes to purchase critical medical supplies and equipment to be sent directly to the heavily affected city of Wuhan. It was only when the medical staff from the receiving hospitals posted pictures when these information were uncovered. There is no need to speak of the good deeds you do – this is Xiao Zhan, and a rarity in our impetuous society. 

He sincerely accepts all constructive criticisms and will improve upon it. There is no need to have a negative stance against idol/celebrities, his self motivation is as good as any other artist. 

He is not a packaged character, he has his own ideals and principles in his heart.

Like any popular artist, he has his fair share of anti-fans, and there is a group of “professional anti-fans” who are paid to spin rumors on him. With so many different stories about him, some would wonder who he really is. In many compositions by “fans leaving him”, the most frequent trait they brought up would be “hypocritical” and “fake”.

So what is Xiao Zhan really like?

Let’s take a look at how he does that. 

He wants to win, but not because the opponent lost.

He has a strong desire to win, but it always stems from fair competition. He is gentle and patient even to his opponents. While watching this video, I had lost my temper already, but he remained gentle and patient throughout. This is almost the classic example of restraint and courtesy. If you want to understand him further, continue with this series, and you will realize that he is as real as you and I.

Being uncouth and impolite does not represent realism. To someone who had been through the ups and downs of society, and has strict moral values, being polite and diplomatic is also real. A teenager may find having a temper with words to match it being realistic, but after meeting various people, becoming part of society, being polite and diplomatic is a reflection of the education and culture you have received. Being real simply means that you face the world with everything of you, and being truthful, doing no wrong is also being real. There is no right or wrong, the real you is as fluid as your experiences build up. The 16 year old you is not the same as the 26 year old you, but it is still you nonetheless, and the difference is made up by your growth. Our real self should be one who is able to face his/her past and present logically, be always forward looking, and be always improving.

In Xiao Zhan’s words to his 18 year old self, “You can have the frivolity, disdain, arrogance and wildness befitting of your age, but you must always remain respectful of everyone around you, and stay in awe of those around you in your heart at all times.”

You can see a man’s character from the details of the things he does. These details I would not have taken much of a notice, but I should start learning these good habits as well.

When you want to understand a person thoroughly, it is best that you do know it not from what others tell you, but from what his action does. From his works, his shows, his interviews, his words, you will find that you can understand him better with your own eyes.

For more information:

Variety Shows

Dramas

Interviews

Our Song《我们的歌》

Eternal Classics《经典咏流传》

Who’s the Murderer《明星大侦探》

The Untamed《陈情令》

The Oath of Love《余生请多指教》

Douluo Continent《斗罗大陆》

Portrait Magazine《人物》

人民网采访

《文化十分》

His working capabilities has brought him fans from all corners, but also anti-fans from all over. For a short period in my time with Xiao Zhan as a fan, I momentarily gave up on him because there were just too many anti-fans. However, in this 6 months, he has shown to me the kind of person he is – never speaking of his miseries, fighting his way through on his own, always showing a happy face to those around him. He takes care of everyone around him, from his staff to his colleagues, always emphasized on the importance of education to his team mates, and everyone who has worked with him, from his seniors to his staff, have nothing but praise for him. Being an independent person myself, I choose to believe what I see. He is the first celebrity that I took time to write an article on, and would probably be the last as well. I believe, and I hope you to will, that he is that unique person with a universe in his heart.

Easter Egg – Quotable Quotes from Xiao Zhan

Regardless of how life is bringing down the roof on you, there is always a sky of hope beyond.

Idol and fans are actually symbiotic, we support each other and move forward together. When we live our respective lives well, and continue to become better selves. Hence I would say that my fans, I feel that you must first live your lives well, so that you have spare time to like and follow the idol you like.

I don’t think I’m a perfect person, and I don’t want to be a perfect doll.

There is no technique, throw away the vanity, the most precious component would be sincerity, let us use our passion to do well.

I feel that the ideal status is not changed by regrets. What is most important about life is making sure we live in the present and live well, and not regret the past. Present and future is the most important.

Maintain passion, persist, maybe the path forward is not bright and straight, but there will be countless possibilities. Passion can withstand the test of time, protecting each other is not something that is just said.

Hi! I'm going to be a freshman at RISD next year and I absolutely love your work! I was wondering if you have any specific details or tips you have to share? Sorry that this is so vague.

Hi!! I apologize for getting back to you so late since I havent checked this blog in a while, and thank you for the compliment. Congratulations on getting into RISD! This is a bit long so I put it under a read more

As you’ve most likely know or heard by now, freshman year is going to be really tough and it will challenge you to push yourself beyond your limits in your art practice. One of the most important and strongest aspects about RISD, from personal experience, is that you’re going to enter a community of fellow artists that are as passionate and caring about improving their craft as much as you do. They are going to be people who you will want to stay with and keep in touch with for the rest of your life. This is kind of generic advice, but be kind and open minded towards people, and find your community of friends who care about you and your art. They will have a huge impact on you, and you on them, as both people and fellow artists, and even though that community might change and evolve for you over time during your experience at RISD and afterwards, their feedback and care for you is invaluable and will change you, and will stick with you for the rest of your life.

In terms of making your way through freshman year, it’s important to keep in mind that you should have an open mind towards your thought process, experimentation, feedback from others, failure, and yourself. Your professors and peers are really going to challenge and push your to work way our of your comfort zone and think beyond outside of the box; you’re going to work the hardest in your life up to now, and you’re going to be facing a lot of unbearably tough and frustating times as a result. But in the end that experience will be rewarding towards how you approach your practice and your development and improvement as an artist. Don’t approach creating art at this stage with the mindset towards creating a piece worthy of your portfolio, but with an open heart and mind to help you pave way towards how you want to approach your future processes and projects as you move on from freshman year (to be honest, I don’t think the actual pieces themselves that you make during this time will matter to you at all in the last years of your experience at this school!).

With that being said, I can’t emphasize enough how important it is that you need to have a healthy respect towards youself and the space that you need, as well as towards others. I’m not going to sugarcoat things because the truth is that the work environment is competitive and toxic, and it’s easy to fall into the mindset that you should prioritize your projects over nearly everything else. It’s key that you take care of yourself and your health, both physically and mentally, and you shouldn’t be destroying yourself over a project that won’t matter to you by the time you progress from freshman year. Keep good time management, pay attention to yourself, don’t push yourself to a dangerous point, and don’t be afraid to reach out for help, whether that be reaching out to counseling services, friends, or otherwise, if you ever need to. After all, you can’t perform at your best if you’re at your worst! Keep your head up as best as you can and do your best to foster a supportive and healthy environment for yourself and your peers. Make time for yourself and your friends and peers! You deserve to have a life beyond just being dedicated to assigments, and you deserve to care for yourself and have the space to exist; to have fun, grieve, exercise, and so forth.

In addition, you’re going to RISD because you have a passion to create; make work that you care about. This might be kind of contrary advice to hear but if you find that an assignment is just uninteresting or just something that you don’t care about, force it into something that you will care about and will have fun with as much as you can. Creating is very self involved and there’s no point in putting effort into something that won’t benefit you beyond what’s needed. Push yourself to go outside the box and push yourself to go out of your comfort zone and do uncomfortable things, but don’t stray too far from yourself to the point that you’re not enjoying and learning from what you’re doing. And in the end, if you find that RISD just really isn’t right for you, leave if you feel like you need to. It’s not the perfect school and it’s not for everybody, and that’s totally fine!

Some other kind of arbritrary(?) advice: 1) Attend as many shows as you can and stay involved (to your level of comfort)! You’re surrounded by brilliant minds and looking at what others are doing will help you expand your view and understanding on how others approach art, and that will help you figure out what you want for yourself! 2) I don’t think enough people take enough advantage of the resources at the school, especially resources such as the nature lab and library. USE THEM!!! They’re there for you!!! You paid tuition for them!!!! 3) RISD exists in a bubble…get out of it and explore the surrounding area when you have the time! Providence has lots of great food joints and weird and cool and interesting things to see and explore and you get free public bus transportation within Rhode Island with your ID so take advantage of that!! Go to Boston! Go to New York! (granted if you have the money to though) It’s a great refresher to remove yourself from the school’s environment once in a while or so! 4) Don’t take Brown classes in freshman year because that’s way too much handle and kind of..impossible, but do take Brown classes in the following years afterwards when can. The registration is really easy and you’ll find that they offer really cool classes you might find interesting to take. You can take some those to fulfill your liberal requirements for RISD.

These probably seem like pretty general advice (and I feel like should be carried beyond freshman year) but really, I think your experience at RISD will be individualistic in terms of how you learn, grow, and develop as an artist. It will be hard to go through, especially freshman year (it gets way better after you enter your major!) but in the end you’re going to have an irreplaceable experience that will be rewarding and gratifying in the end, even with all its flaws. I hope this helps haha if you need anything else don’t be afraid to shoot another ask! :- ) Good luck, and I hope you have fun!

the grandmaster of demonic interior design or mound squatting & a smitten renovator

⇨ for @howdydowdy​ who wisely suggested a home renovation tv series au based on my crack gifset

Ia . IIa . IIIa . Ib . IIb . IIIb. Ic . IIc . IIIc . Id . IId . IIId . Ie . IIe ⭐︎ . IIIe ⭐︎⭐︎ . extra

Id.

He hadn’t expected to see Lan Wangji again. Meeting him on top of Burial Mound was even more of a peculiar twist of fate.  During their school days he’d never been sure whether Lan Wangji liked him or was just too well-mannered to tell him to get lost. Well, he had been told to get lost at one point, but that had been after a rather crude practical joke so maybe it doesn’t quite count.

However, being a nuisance on purpose had let to the great discovery that beneath his cold demeanour Lan Wangji’s way of thinking was quite alike to his and he had gotten to enjoy detention, Lan Wangji proving to be a worthy opponent in an argument when riled up enough.  There had been a lot of detention.  He’d just correctly assumed that their relationship wasn’t to be long lived after they graduated and went different ways. The family heads sometimes met at conferences but Wei Wuxian was never interested in attending those. Lan Wangji must have sat there every single year, looking attentive while possibly being bored out of his mind. How couldn’t he have been without him there.

He hadn’t realized that he had actually missed the level stare he often was the recipient of.

People who follow the old customs talk about Lan Wangji with the greatest respect. Nevertheless, most accounts of meeting him don’t miss a pitying comment on his icy stare and aloofness. These people are just not able to see what he does. The warmth that radiates off his good deeds, just a vague taste of how compassionate Lan Wangji truly is, and the way his face pulls into a tiny smile when he’s truly happy.

Wei Wuxian tries to remember Lan Wangji’s smile.

It’s way past midnight, and while he long has gotten used to the eerie silence on Burial Mound he’s still rolling around in his sleeping bag, not able to stop the thoughts running in his head. The stone plateau he’s sleeping on doesn’t help in the frontline of comfort either. How soft Lan Wangji’s hotel bed must be.

He could bet that Lan Wangji doesn’t even appreciate it properly. No jump test, no pillow fights. Lan Wangji would just lie down, perfectly still on his back, hands folded over his chest and fall asleep immediately.  As if hotel beds could be exchanged with just any bed.  Whenever he and his siblings had shared a room at hotels or traditional inns, they had pushed their beds or futons together to create one giant cushy paradise to roll around in. He’d always wake to Jiang Cheng laughing at his weird sleeping position, mocking his hair that always looked terrible in the morning before smacking a pillow back at him in retaliation. 

Lan Wangji would look pristine in the morning, no puffy cheeks and no grit in the eyes.  Very boring.  Maybe if they’d share a room some time he’d be able to see it. Have Lan Wangji’s immaculate face turn to him to take in his disheveled state.   Would he have to smile? Would he scold him? At five in the morning he’d probably have to deal with a very grumpy version of himself. He might lie down in Lan Wangji’s bed and pull him down with him just to get him to sleep some more.

Now he regrets not pestering Lan Wangji about sharing a room during his stay at the Cloud Recesses. If Lan Qiren would have ever found out he’d crawled into his nephew’s bed he would have burst with anger.  But down at the hotel they could’ve just slept in, take their breakfast in bed and Lan Wangji would’ve definitely fixed the strands of Wei Wuxian’s hair that were in danger of falling into his coffee. Would his fingers feel soft against his cheek? Or calloused from his Guqin practice?  Wei Wuxian falls asleep to the thoughts of Lan Wangjis fingers carding through his hair.

The shooting starts early in the morning with Wei Wuxian guiding an unusually meek Nie Huaisang through the outer area of the compound. His excited voice easily carries over the soft footsteps of the elderly who tend to the fields.

The air is still cold and crisp, morning dew lazily gliding to the centre of lotus leaves, waiting to get scooped up by the tiny hands of Ah-Yuan.

It’s the first time that Nie Huaisang is commenting on something other than the lack of Wei Wuxian’s sense for interior design. He looks genuinely amazed, voicing his confusion at how Wei Wuxian had managed to build a lotus pond in this hostile environment.   He is rather proud of the pond and even though the seeds are inedible it is a piece of home in this wasteland.

Around noon Wei Wuxian finds himself rambling on about the importance of the cause, his inventions, what farming has taught him, the community in shared values, and really just how brilliant his inventions are. Sometimes the producers have to intervene because he gets too caught up in his stories, and name dropping the Wen family as one of the instigators of the astronomical rents doesn’t help either.

Throughout shooting, Lan Wangji doesn’t say much. He’s mostly tagging along, having quickly gotten used to putting in minimal effort to fulfil his sole role as eye candy.  After all, most people aren’t that well-versed in cultivation anymore and it might be for the better not to dig too deep into the demonic kind.

Even so, despite not saying much and the cameras definitely not being able to catch it, his silence is contemplative. It looks like Lan Wangji is actually listening to him. Listening very attentively. Just really listening. And that hasn’t happened before.

Wen Ning just enjoys the company in general and spending time with Ah-Yuan. Wen Qing is brilliant but also can’t be arsed to put any ounce of her energy into humouring him. Shiejie is supportive as always, but he knows that she doesn’t fully get it. Jiang Cheng, well, he listens and somehow understands totally different things. The other squatters are mostly just fondly exasperated. He doesn’t blame them. For them the cause is much more important. This project means their survival in the city.

But it is nice to show someone how he views the world, to share his interests and light eyes meeting his in understanding. He shoots a cheeky but appreciative wink back but Lan Wangji simply looks away.  Well, that’s not fun then.

Nie Huaisang is filming a solo-portion on appropriate colour schemes.  While the remodelling itself is unnecessary in Wei Wuxian’s mind, some of the ideas on how certain colours can improve moods actually don’t sound half-bad. He has to admit that he has underestimated Nie Huaisang and his dedication to deliver not only a perfect house remodelling but genuinely try to improve the lives of the inhabitants as well. Nie Huaisang is obviously stumped by how little he has to work with in terms of traditional architecture but he makes a commendable effort, even venturing into the historical significance of the statue guarding the cave.

Lan Wangji steps a little bit closer, robes flattering in the afternoon wind. “Isn’t this illegal?” His whisper tickles Wei Wuxian’s ear. “Lan Zhan-ah, Lan Zhan-ah, of course it is. That’s why it’s called squatting.”  He can’t believe that now is the time for Lan Wangji to question the legality of this project. “Wei Ying. You could get in trouble.” He sounds forceful. “That – is the point?” Lan Wangji looks like he has trouble finding the right words. “Wei Ying could just leave, you have a home!” Something squeezes him on the inside and his arm shakes when he points to the collective around them. “You know I can’t leave them behind.” Lan Wangji doesn’t relent. “You could take class-action. My family’s firm could help. If you are willing.” His voice goes soft at the end.  “What the Wen’s do isn’t against the law, they are just using the system to their benefit. Much as I hate them, they’re not that innovative...and Lan Zhan, you are great–“ Lan Wangji’s face softens in surprise– “but I know your dad.” Lan Wangji’s eyebrows ever so slightly draw together. “He does pro bono work.” Wei Wuxian laughs in delight at this. The confusion on Lan Wangji’s face that’s just visible to him is hilarious.  “Money isn’t the issue. Would he really want to have his firm’s name associated with going against the Wen clan?” The associated with me part is left unsaid. Lan Qiren is wise and righteous, but had never been fond of seeing Wei Wuxian pestering his nephew.

It seems like Lan Wangji has many things he wants to say. Maybe berate him like he used to. Wei Wuxian is amazed that even though they haven’t seen each other in a long time, he has gotten better at reading Lan Wangji. Standing this close he not only sees the inner fight Lan Wangji’s seems to be having for the second time today, but how despite the diffused light his eyes are gleaming, how his long hair softly falls against his cheeks, how long his eye lashes are.

The cultivator world calling him the second most eligible bachelor really is a deserved title. Zewu-Jun might be attractive to other people, but compared to Lan Wangji he appears to be rather boring.

No mask to crack with playful banter, no smile to coax out with a teasing remark, nothing Wei Wuxian could do that would make Zewu-Jun wear the same expression of soft surprise, to have that something in his eyes that almost seems to shine through when he is looking at Wei Wuxian and that Wei Wuxian can’t seem to pin point even after 13 years.

Even after getting better at reading him.

“It’s against the law.” Lan Wangji’s voice interrupts his musings. “Well, the law is bullshit,“ he retorts pointedly. Wei Wuxian knows that what he’s doing is the right thing. They stand in silence.

The last scene of the day features the last chamber of the cave.  Wen Ning is delighted at Wei Wuxian’s invitation to join them. The crew has already set everything up for filming and Wei Wuxian, Nie Huaisang and Lan Wangji are politely ushered inside.

Lan Wangji halts in his tracks immediately after entering the chamber. Wei Wuxian is very much delighted at surprising him successfully. “I tried to go for a hyggelig vibe,” he says cheerily as if nothing was amiss. It is very hard to not just laugh out loud at how everything about Lan Wangji screams ‘incredulousness’.

“Wei Ying – there is a demonic blood pool – in your cave!” Wei Wuxian is very adamant on finding out how much it takes to break adult Lan Wangji, so he just hums in affirmation. “Wei Ying, too much blood,” Lan Wangji says with stronger conviction. “It does go great with Wen Nings goth attire!” That is a good enough reason to have a spring spew blood into a big pool in your home in Wei Wuxian’s books. Wen Ning pats down his black, heavy robes in satisfaction.

There is a tiny smile tugging at the corners of Lan Wangji’s mouth.

“Beautiful.”Is the only thing Wei Wuxian manages to think. 

IId 

Did Donald Trump Say Republicans Were Dumb

New Post has been published on https://www.patriotsnet.com/did-donald-trump-say-republicans-were-dumb/

Did Donald Trump Say Republicans Were Dumb

What Are The Auditors Looking For

Donald Trump Tells Oprah in 1988 What He Would Do as President

Unspecified evidence of fraud in the state’s presidential and senate races .

They’re tabulating the ballots – something that was done after the election and then again during a routine partial recount that all Arizona counties are legally required to perform .

They’re also looking for somewhat more, shall we say, unusual evidence of malfeasance. They’ve been holding ballots up to ultraviolet light, photographing them with high-resolution cameras, analysing folding patterns on the paper as well as its thickness and colour, and looking for traces of bamboo fibre.

Trump Did Not Disparage Gop In 1998 People Magazine Interview

CLAIM: If I were to run, Id run as a Republican. Theyre the dumbest group of voters in the country. They believe anything on Fox News. I could lie and theyd still eat it up. I bet my numbers would be terrific. Donald Trump in 1998 People magazine interview.

APS ASSESSMENT: False. The president did not make such a comment to People magazine.;

THE FACTS: Singer and actress Bette Midler, who often speaks out against Trump, shared the false quote attributed to Trump on her Twitter account Sunday, with the comment that Trump certainly knew his crowd. Julie Farin, a People magazine spokeswoman, told The Associated Press that the magazine looked into the claim exhaustively when it first surfaced years ago but did not find anything remotely like it made by the president.;

The image used with the false quote shows Trump during a 1988 appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show where he discussed running for president, but made no reference to Republicans being the dumbest group of voters. The quote first began circulating in 2015 and has been widely shared across social media platforms, including Facebook. It has been widely debunked since that time.

Heres more information on Facebooks fact-checking program: https://www.facebook.com/help/1952307158131536

This is part of The Associated Press ongoing effort to fact-check misinformation that is shared widely online, including work with Facebook to identify and reduce the circulation of false stories on the platform.

Shades Of 2016: Republicans Stay Silent On Trump Hoping He Fades Away

Just like when Donald J. Trump was a candidate in 2016, rival Republicans are trying to avoid becoming the target of his attacks ordirectly confronting him, while hoping someone else will.

By Maggie Haberman

It was a familiar scene on Sunday when Senator John Thune, Republican of South Dakota, tried to avoid giving a direct answer about the caustic behavior of former President Donald J. Trump.

Mr. Trump had called Senator Mitch McConnell, the minority leader, dumb and used a coarse phrase to underscore it while speaking to hundreds of Republican National Committee donors on Saturday night. When Mr. Thune was asked by Chris Wallace, the host of Fox News Sunday, to comment, he chuckled and tried to sidestep the question.

I think a lot of that rhetoric is you know, its part of the style and tone that comes with the former president, Mr. Thune said, before moving on to say Mr. Trump and Mr. McConnell shared the goal of reclaiming congressional majorities in 2022.

Mr. Thune was not the only Republican straining to stay on the right side of the former president. The day before Mr. Trump delivered his broadsides against Mr. McConnell, Senator Rick Scott of Florida, the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, presented Mr. Trump with a newly created award for his leadership.

Trump did self-destruct eventually, after four years in office, Mr. DuHaime said. But he can still make or break others, and that makes him powerful and relevant.

Recommended Reading: What Republicans Are Voting Against Trump

So If None Of This Counts What’s The Point

According to those conducting the recount, the purpose of this project is to address a prevailing concern among some voters that the 2020 election was illegitimate. And if the final result is that there was no fraud? That’s fine, too.

“This is not about calling into question the results of the November election,” Ken Bennett, spokesman for the audit, told the Washington Post. “This is about identifying if there are any areas of our elections that need to be improved going forward.”

Few Democrats believe this, of course. They fear that the point of the audit is to simply sow further doubt about Biden’s victory – and pave the way for Republican state-level efforts to enact new voting restrictions that disadvantage their candidates and voters in the name of “ballot security”.

Most Dictators Rig Elections To Win With His Postal Service Gambit Trump Merely Wants Everybody To Lose With Him

What would the U.S. media say if the president of another country was threatening to hobble his nations postal service in hopes of suppressing ballots ahead of an election?

Every once in a while, an American journalist gets this notion: to imagine how the national press would cover a particular domestic story, whether it be white nationalist violence or protests against racist policing, as if it were happening in another country. Its a venerable and sometimes illuminating framea way for Americans, given to believing in their own exceptionalism, to see themselves and their countrys troubles from a different vantage.

But in the postal case, and increasingly in the age of Trump, the if it happened there test proves of little use. It is 2020, after all, and there is no global shortage of demagogues and authoritarians making a joke of democratic processes. They stuff ballot boxes, jail opposition leaders, harass journalists, and threaten voters. They exploit all the tools at their disposal to rig an election in their favor. They increasinglywelcome elections, in fact, with recent scholarship showing that elections can actually prolong dictatorships in the longer term, as three European political scientists put it.

With Universal Mail-In Voting , 2020 will be the most INACCURATE & FRAUDULENT Election in history. It will be a great embarrassment to the USA. Delay the Election until people can properly, securely and safely vote???

Donald J. Trump

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Trump Gets Slap On The Wrist For Rant On ‘stupid’ Iowa Voters

‘Not good to insult Iowa voters,’ one Iowa Republican says, but the fallout is far from dramatic.

Donald Trump’s slam of Iowans as “stupid” would usually be a breathtaking gaffe for a presidential candidate, but the billionaire businessman has proved time and again that this isn’t any normal presidential race and that he isn’t any normal candidate.

Top Republicans and Republican operatives in the state on Friday disparaged Trump’s comments from his Thursday evening rally at Iowa Central Community College in which he questioned the intelligence of voters who believe rival Ben Carson’s claims of a violent past and subsequent redemption. “How stupid are the people of Iowa? How stupid are the people of the country to believe this crap?” Trump yelled.

“Not good to insult Iowa voters,” Doug Gross, the former chief of staff to Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, told POLITICO on Friday.

Steve Grubbs, the chief Iowa strategist for rival Rand Paul, was happy to pounce on the comment. “Trump’s meltdown last night makes me worry what would happen in a stressful situation in the White House,” Grubbs said.

But many Iowa Republicans also don’t see lasting damage. They see the comments as unfortunate but not nearly enough to send Trump packing.

By BEN WHITE

“I heard audible gasps from those I was sitting by, yet that had no effect in his standing in the caucuses. And I’m not trying to dodge or be cute, but we don’t know. We don’t know what impact this will have,”Strawn said.

Most Of Trumps Stories Then Were About His Pending Divorce From Marla Maples

While the quote has been debunked several times since it apparently surfaced in 2015, users have recently been resharing it on social media.

Most of Trumps stories were about his pending divorce from Marla Maples and appearances at various social and entertainment events.

A magazine photo claiming that US President Donald Trump referred to Republican voters as dumbest voters is false.

The photo- that has gone viral on social media platforms quotes the Peoples Magazine in 1998, where it is alleged Trump said if he were to dip his toes in politics, he would use the Republican ticket.

If I were to run, Id run as a Republican. Theyre the dumbest group of voters in the country. They believe anything on Fox News. I could lie and theyd still eat it up. I bet my numbers would be terrific, read the message purporting to be a quote from Trump.

Several Twitter users including Azeem ButtValryLeBourg and MuthuiMkenya;in reference to the ongoing US election indicated that one does not have to be smart if their followers are stupid.

While the quote has been debunked several times since it apparently surfaced in 2015, users have recently been resharing it on social mediaespecially after a Democratic Candidate Joe Biden was projected as the President-Elect for the United States.

The Stars fact-check desk established that the meme was first debunked by SNOPES;in 2015, followed by other independent debunks.

Also Check: How Should Republicans Vote In California

This Is What Trump Told Supporters Before Many Stormed Capitol Hill

The president incited those who attended his rally to march to the Capitol.

President Trump speaks at Save America Rally in Washington

Many who participated in the chaos at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday came straight from an event held by President Donald Trump.

Trumps Save America Rally included the president telling supporters to stop the steal of the , urging them to head to the Capitol to demonstrate against Congress certifying President-elect Joe Bidens victory. Among the crowds battle cries was, Fight for Trump! Fight for Trump! Fight for Trump!

Trump spoke at the event for nearly an hour at the Ellipse, a park near the White House. After he spoke, thousands of attendees, many of them without masks, marched toward Capitol Hill as federal law enforcement vehicles raced to beat them there.

Heres what Trump said at his rally:

Media will not show the magnitude of this crowd even I when I turned on today, I looked, and I saw thousands of people here, but you dont see hundreds of thousands of people behind you because they dont want to show that. We have hundreds of thousands of people here, and I just want them to be recognized by the fake news media. Turn your cameras, please, and show what is really happening out here because these people are not going to take it any longer, theyre not going to take it any longer.

Not going to let it happen.

TRUMP:Thank you.

Dumb Son Of A Bitch: Trump Attacks Mcconnell In Republican Donors Speech

Kushner Quote: “Trump Knows Republicans Are Stupid”

At Mar-a-Lago, former president also goes after Fauci and Chao and claims party cant have these guys that like publicity

Donald Trump devoted part of a speech to Republican donors on Saturday night to insulting the Senate minority leader, Mitch McConnell. According to multiple reports of the $400,000-a-ticket, closed-press event, the former president called the Kentucky senator a dumb son of a bitch.

Trump also said Mike Pence, his vice-president, should have had the courage to object to the certification of electoral college results at the US Capitol on 6 January. Trump claims his defeat by Joe Biden, by 306-232 in the electoral college and more than 7m votes, was the result of fraud. It was not and the lie was thrown out of court.

Earlier, the Associated Press reported that a Pentagon timeline of events on 6 January showed Pence demanding military leaders clear the Capitol of rioters sent by Trump.

But Trump did nothing and about six hours passed before the Capitol was cleared. Five people including a police officer died and some in the mob were recorded chanting hang Mike Pence. More than 400 face charges.

At his Mar-a-Lago resort on Saturday, amid a weekend of Republican events in Florida, some at Trump properties, the former president also mocked Dr Anthony Fauci.

I hired his wife. Did he ever say thank you?

Trump also said Covid-19 vaccines should be renamed Trumpcines in his honour.

Recommended Reading: Are Republicans Cutting Social Security And Medicare

So If None Of This Counts Whats The Point

According to those conducting the recount, the purpose of this project is to address a prevailing concern among some voters that the 2020 election was illegitimate. And if the final result is that there was no fraud? Thats fine, too.

This is not about calling into question the results of the November election, Ken Bennett, spokesman for the audit, told the Washington Post. This is about identifying if there are any areas of our elections that need to be improved going forward.

Few Democrats believe this, of course. They fear that the point of the audit is to simply sow further doubt about Bidens victory and pave the way for Republican state-level efforts to enact new voting restrictions that disadvantage their candidates and voters in the name of ballot security.

Trump Slashes At Mcconnell As He Reiterates Election Falsehoods At Republican Event

Former president Donald Trump called Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell a dumb son of a bitch as he used a Saturday night speech to Republicans to blame the senator for not helping overturn the 2020 election and reiterated false assertions that he won the November contest.

Trump, speaking at a Republican National Committee gathering at his Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Fla., excoriated a number of Republicans even as he publicly called for party unity focusing on those who voted to convict him in impeachment proceedings. But he saved his sharpest vitriol for the Kentucky Republican.

If that were Schumer instead of this dumb son of a bitch Mitch McConnell, they would never allow it to happen. They would have fought it, he said of the election certification on Jan. 6, the day his supporters led an insurrection on the Capitol to block President Bidens formal victory.

Trump spent much of the speech, with many senators in the room, lashing into his former ally in personal terms, often to cheers from the partys top donors. He falsely claimed that he won the Senate election for McConnell in Kentucky and attacked his wife, Elaine Chao, who served as Trumps transportation secretary.

I hired his wife. Did he ever say thank you? Trump said. He then mocked Chao for resigning in response to the Jan. 6 events and Trumps behavior that day.

Some attendees left the private event early, with the speech getting mixed reviews.

Recommended Reading: Why Do Republicans Wear Blue Ties

Trump Gets Slap On The Wrist For Rant On Stupid Iowa Voters

Not good to insult Iowa voters, one Iowa Republican says, but the fallout is far from dramatic.

Donald Trumps slam of Iowans as stupid would usually be a breathtaking gaffe for a presidential candidate, but the billionaire businessman has proved time and again that this isnt any normal presidential race and that he isnt any normal candidate.

Top Republicans and Republican operatives in the state on Friday disparaged Trumps comments from his Thursday evening rally at Iowa Central Community College in which he questioned the intelligence of voters who believe rival Ben Carsons claims of a violent past and subsequent redemption. How stupid are the people of Iowa? How stupid are the people of the country to believe this crap? Trump yelled.

Not good to insult Iowa voters, Doug Gross, the former chief of staff to Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, told POLITICO on Friday.

Steve Grubbs, the chief Iowa strategist for rival Rand Paul, was happy to pounce on the comment. Trumps meltdown last night makes me worry what would happen in a stressful situation in the White House, Grubbs said.

But many Iowa Republicans also dont see lasting damage. They see the comments as unfortunate but not nearly enough to send Trump packing.

I heard audible gasps from those I was sitting by, yet that had no effect in his standing in the caucuses. And Im not trying to dodge or be cute, but we dont know. We dont know what impact this will have,Strawn said.

Lynn Schmidt: Republican Voters Aren’t Stupid Stop Treating Us That Way

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, of Kentucky, speaks during a news conference Tuesday in Washington. Americans waiting for Republicans in Congress to acknowledge Joe Biden as the president-elect may have to keep waiting until January as GOP leaders stick with President Donald Trump’s litany of legal challenges and unproven claims of fraud.

Why do Republican elected officials treat Republican voters like we are stupid?

Multiple times during the past four years of Donald Trumps presidency, there has been an outcry for Republicans to stand up and speak out against the president. Yet, the leadership has fallen silent. The question of why will be studied for years to come. One of the strongest arguments that I have heard and read is that they are afraid of the base. That base is a Republican voter, of which I am one. What if instead of staying silent, our elected Republican officials came home and spoke to us about what they think? Do they really think we are that stupid and cannot understand?

Lynn Schmidt: Conservative and Republican ideologies intersect less and less these days

Instead of being afraid of us as a voting base, elected officials should educate us, share with us, and strengthen the democracy that put them in office in the first place.

Lynn Schmidt is the Missouri state leader for Stand Up Republic and is a registered nurse. She lives in St. Charles.

Read Also: What Percent Of Republicans Approve Of Trump

Vaccine Access Issues for People of Color – Diabetes Daily

New Post has been published on https://depression-md.com/vaccine-access-issues-for-people-of-color-diabetes-daily/

Vaccine Access Issues for People of Color – Diabetes Daily

This content originally appeared on Beyond Type 1. Republished with permission.

By Kayla Hui, MPH

On April 21, 2021, the Kaiser Family Foundation released updated data that found that Black and Hispanic people received a smaller share of COVID-19 vaccinations when compared to their share of coronavirus cases and deaths. Throughout the pandemic, communities of color have borne the disproportionate burden of COVID-19, highlighting the importance of equitable vaccine access. Vaccine access is not only crucial for people of color, but for those with underlying medical conditions such as diabetes. When overlaid with disparities such as implicit bias, it creates a compounded healthcare issue for communities of color with diabetes.

Unfortunately, vaccine access for communities of color has been all but fair. In Arizona, Hispanic people have only received 14 percent of vaccines despite accounting for 40 percent of COVID cases and 31 percent of deaths. And in Michigan, Black people only received eight percent of vaccines despite comprising 23 percent of deaths.

“Because of long standing economic discrimination, communities of color are much more likely to find themselves in jobs where they can’t take off work without docking their pay. They have to work certain hours and aren’t able to get away for a vaccine appointment,” Michelle Andrasik, PhD, clinical health psychologist and affiliate assistant professor of Global Health at the University of Washington, tells Beyond Type 1.

Communities of color have an increased burden of COVID-19 for a variety of reasons including required exposure during work. For Black and Hispanic people, 24 percent were employed by service industries compared to 16 percent of whites. These industries include restaurant, hospitality, and retail work, all of which require people-facing interactions.

People of color are also more likely to live in multigenerational households and in densely populated urban areas and housing situations, further exacerbating coronavirus transmission. In urban counties across the U.S., people of color comprised 56 percent of the population. Additionally, data showed that four in ten Black people (41 percent), Hispanics (38 percent), and Asians (38 percent) lived in areas surrounded by multi unit residential buildings compared to 23 percent of whites.

Another driver of inequitable vaccine access is vaccine hesitancy due to broken trust in healthcare providers among communities of color. Mila Clarke Buckley, a diabetes and food blogger who created the Hangry Woman, was diagnosed in 2016 with type 2 diabetes–a condition where the body cannot properly use insulin. However, after months of failed medications and skyrocketing blood sugar levels, Clarke Buckley discovered—after taking an antibody test with an endocrinologist—she had type 1 diabetes. “I was misdiagnosed with type 2 diabetes which has given me a little bit of distrust in the healthcare system,” Clarke Buckley says.

Clarke Buckley is not alone in her experience. Phyllisa Deroze, a global diabetes patient advocate and blogger, shares that she wanted to get vaccinated, but did not want to be the first due to the legacy of the nation’s medical racism. “The field of gynecology in America was created on the wounds of Black women who were enslaved. And so there’s just really a long history in America of just not treating Black people like human beings and using them as experiments,” Deroze says.

Deroze was told by one healthcare provider that her electrolytes were off, which prompted her to ask her provider for an antibody test. But that provider was offended when Deroze asked to be tested for antibodies. “I was once again denied antibody testing. It was clear that the endocrinologist was offended by me even asking,” Deroze says.

Deroze was misdiagnosed twice for type 2 diabetes, once in 2011 and another time in 2018, albeit having type 1 diabetes. Her misdiagnosis led her to experience diabetic ketoacidosis. “My life was on the line. And that shouldn’t happen,” Deroze says. “If a person is diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, what is the harm in testing for antibodies just to make sure you’re treating the right condition?” It wasn’t until 2019 when Deroze was properly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes by her gynecologist

Clarke Buckley also recalls suggesting antibody testing on numerous occasions to medical providers. However, her idea kept getting shut down, putting her at risk for long-term complications as a result of untreated type 1 diabetes. These complications include: foot problems, urinary tract infections, eye disease, skin infections, heart disease, kidney disease, and even death. “It’s communities of color that are subjected to the system that essentially puts us at additional risk,” Clarke Buckley says.

Misdiagnosis of diabetes among people of color is not uncommon and is just one example of the bias of the medical system. Research shows that glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c)—a measure of average blood sugar over three months that can show evidence of diabetes—is not an adequate health measurement for all genetic ancestry groups. Particularly for African ancestry groups, additional screening may be necessary to diagnose diabetes. This leaves hundreds of thousands of African Americans with type 2 diabetes undiagnosed. Additionally, a high HbA1c measurement alone does not prove that a person has type 2 diabetes. It only proves that glucose levels are consistently high. Therefore, an autoimmune antibody test must be done to confirm or rule out type 1 diabetes. Because type 1 diabetes differs heavily from type 2 diabetes in that type 1 always requires insulin treatment, a misdiagnosis could be fatal and lead a person without insulin into diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), a complication that occurs when the body does not receive enough insulin to break down glucose. DKA can lead to coma and even death.

Some states have made efforts to curb the unequal distribution of vaccines. For example, in Vermont, Black adults and other people of color were given priority status for vaccines. But despite these intentions, many state efforts have fallen short.

Kia Skrine Jeffers, PhD, RN, PHN, assistant professor at the University of California Los Angeles School of Nursing tells Beyond Type 1 that in California, the state distributed vaccine access codes to improve COVID-19 vaccine availability and access for hard-hit Black and Latino communities. “The special code that people of color could use to register to get the vaccine was being distributed among people who were not people of color,” Jeffers says. Instead, wealthier populations who work from home were misusing the system, the Los Angeles Times originally reported.

Anna Lopes, MD, family physician based in Southern California, explains that the underlying culprit of vaccine inequity is systemic racism. Lopes references the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, an ethically abusive study that failed to treat and inform Black men of syphilis in the 1930s and the forced sterilization of Puerto Rican women. “There was significant hesitancy in the Black community, and other communities of color, specifically because of institutional racism,” Lopes says.

Achieving Vaccine Equity

Jeffers suggests that to achieve health equity, health leadership must reflect and have representation from the communities they serve. “If you don’t have community stakeholders involved in the planning, then community perspective is often overlooked or underappreciated,” Jeffers explains.

In addition to having representation in health leadership, Jeffers and Andrasik add that equity involves recognizing and rectifying historical injustices and distributing resources like vaccines to populations that need it the most.

“What we have found in terms of access is that you really have to take the vaccine where people are. We have partnered with Black churches, community centers, and community organizations to open up vaccination sites,” Andrasik explains. “In doing that partnering, the vaccination sites then reach out to their local communities they have long standing relationships with.”

Still, people of color are struggling to access vaccines due to transportation, financial, language, and nebulous registration barriers. To achieve equity, Andrasik, Jeffers, and Lopes stress that states need to be more intentional with their vaccine rollout process to make equity intentional. “All of these access issues really create barriers that are easily mitigated when we really think outside the box and think about how we can do things differently, and in partnership with communities,” Andrasik says. Vaccine access for people of color with diabetes is just the first step toward equity.

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IGTV vs Youtube: Six Tips to Choose the Right Video Platform for You

Most content marketers and business owners seem to ask a common question when it comes to video marketing.

Which platform should I upload my videos to: IGTV or YouTube?

When compared to YouTube's long-standing years of dominating the video marketing industry, IGTV is the new kid on the block. Yet since Instagram announced that IGTV previews would now appear in the regular Instagram feed, along with videos being shared to Instagram profiles, views have increased by ~300-1000%, proving that IGTV's popularity is still steadily growing.

Both Youtube and IGTV make great contenders for your video content. So when it all boils down to it, do you place all bets on YouTube or IGTV?

Today, we're going to put these two social media video platforms to the test, IGTV versus Youtube, and share six tips to help you choose the right social media video platform for you.

1. IGTV vs. YouTube: Dimensions & Layout

When it comes to dimensions and layout for IGTV and YouTube, they tend to differ drastically. IGTV is a social media platform where vertical videos tend to thrive. Your IGTV video dimensions should be 1080 x 1920 pixels or an aspect ratio of 9:16, which is the same size as the Instagram story dimensions.

YouTube dimensions are more on the horizontal aspect, where the preferred aspect ratio for Youtube is 1920 pixels x 1080 pixels or a ratio of 16:9. Youtube has a wider dimension because it calls for long-form videos and visuals with more to show, which is why it's easily compared to TV or a broadcast. In contrast, IGTV is explicitly made for bitesize content for mobile phones.

Why does dimension have such a large play in how you should consider choosing between IGTV or YouTube?

Based on the space (or dimensions), you're given limits or allowed to use space for content’s creativity. More space means more content. Less space means finding better ways to make the most of it.

Since IGTV is made for vertical, it calls for tight shots and close-ups. Being too wordy or filled with text isn't feasible for content creators. With YouTube, you have more space to add tiny details. longer shots and more cutaways. Depending on what your video content's goal is, one or both could work just fine.

Keep in mind that despite the dimensions YouTube allows you to upload videos that can go up to 10 hours, whereas IGTV stops at 1 hour, however, they are working on removing that IGTV time limit in the future.

2. IGTV vs. YouTube: Analytics and Insights

Video analytics help us to know what's working and what needs improvement. Compared to IGTV, Youtube has more advanced analytics.

IGTV analytics only show you how many views and likes your IGTV video has gotten. It doesn't show you statistics, view time, or how your engagement developed over time. However, insights are almost instant and can be seen fully over the first three days as engagement is rapid, but it has a short shelf life.

YouTube analytics is made with content creators and bloodthirst analytic marketers in mind, as opposed to IGTV, which is only made for sharing content rather than analyzing it in depth.

With YouTube Analytics, you get an in-depth view of your video's success from start to finish. YouTube engagement comes in waves despite its longer shelf-life. You'll get individual and group analytics on videos published on your channel like:

Watch Time

Impressions Click-Through Rate

Average View Duration

Audience Retention

Re-Watches

Engagement

And more.

3. IGTV vs. YouTube: SEO & Discover

When it comes to SEO, YouTube takes the cake in the video content realm. Since Google owns YouTube, it's SEO algorithm works very similarly. For example, when you type an inquiry on Google, you'll now see video options pop-up on Google's first page.

YouTube videos can be embedded and found outside its platform and shared around various online mediums. Youtube allows you to add up to 30 keywords to your video, not to mention rewarding and ranking videos with the most views or popular accounts.

Even if you aren't subscribed, you can effortlessly find videos to fit your needs.

IGTV however, is static and sucks on Instagram's app. You can mainly find IGTV videos well, on IGTV or Instagram.

When it comes to SEO and search, you only have two places: the explore page and an Instagram account. If you're not following an Instagram account, you won't see IGTV videos unless you go out of your way to search for them.

Hashtags can be added, but without your viewers following your account or going viral instantly, your video will be lost in a sea of IGTV content.

4. IGTV vs. YouTube: Engagement & Ads

When it comes to engagement, you'll likely find that your IGTV video will have higher social engagement numbers (likes, comments, shares), but the YouTube video will rack up more views and likes on a more extended journey because of its long shelf life.

IGTV ads have begun showing up in IGTV from a select group of partners and advertisers in the US with plans to continue expanding globally. But mainly with test partners and will become the norm as it continues to grow.

On the other hand, Spiel Creative found that when choosing what to watch, whether a video relates to a viewer's interests is 3x more important to people than whether it has a famous actor.

Not mention YouTube is the second most-preferred platform for watching video on TV screens among 18 to 34 year olds, after Netflix. YouTube wins on watch time.

Making YouTube the most-preferred platform that has ads for watching video on TV screens.

5. IGTV vs. YouTube: Influencer Marketing

When it comes to influencer marketing on both IGTV and YouTube, it's pretty much fair game.

Believe it or not, YouTube was one of the first social media platforms to host and connect influencers to brands before "influencer" became an official term in marketing.

Instagram itself has turned into the influencer marketing hub as well with added features and tools for brands to work directly with influencers.

Both platforms have tapped into micro and macro-influencer marketing, users are now accustomed to seeing brand collaborate and join forces regularly.

The only downside is that once again, Youtube's content shelf life has a longer life span, making it better, in the long run. However, IGTV has created tracking and partnership tools that easily help both the brand and influencer see results and sync efforts. Both IGTV and Youtube have pros and cons even on the playing field.

To get started on influencer marketing on your preferred platform, check out these guides below:

9 Surprising Ways You Can Use YouTube for Influencer Marketing

The Essential Guide to Getting Started with Influencer Marketing

6. IGTV vs. YouTube: Social Shopping

When it comes to social selling, IGTV is ahead of the curve. Social selling is the art of allowing customers to shop directly on a social media platform without leaving to a third-party platform or website.

Youtube doesn't have shoppable features, mainly because they are a video platform first before and foremost. Youtube mainly provides ads for brands. What it lacks for social commerce, it makes up for eCommerce.

Since Facebook owns Instagram, so it should come as no surprise. IGTV now has shoppable tags that creators can use when uploading videos to their IGTV channels.

Now you can shop… right on IGTV ?? It’s an easier way to find products you love and support your favorite creators. ?‍♀️ Available everywhere today. pic.twitter.com/aeV2FEL01m

— Instagram (@instagram) October 5, 2020

IGTV vs. YouTube Summary: The Choice is Yours

IGTV vs. YouTube, you can put the two social media platforms together, look them up and down and read every professional's list of pros and cons. But at the end of the day, it's your choice.

What are your social media goals, and what do you want to accomplish with your video content?

Don't forget, you can choose to use both YouTube and IGTV to give your content a creative space. Instead of figuring out which platform is best for your business, IGTV vs. Youtube. Instead, experiment with both platforms and see which one fits your business needs best.

So which social media platform are you going to choose to help your business grow online?

Whether you pick IGTV or YouTube, here are some detailed Wishpond guides to help you along the way so you can make the most out of your video content:

The Complete Guide to IGTV Dimensions & Best Practices You Need

18 Powerful Ways to Grow Your YouTube Channel

12 SEO Grow Hacks to Grow Your YouTube Channel

7 Best IGTV Cover Examples & Tips to Increase Your Videos Engagement

10 YouTube Contest Ideas For Massive Engagement

10 Amazing eCommerce Instagram Accounts and Examples We Learned From

How to Seriously Master Instagram Like a Pro

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Apple's Most Recent Cellphones are Excellent

Buyers more than likely are in agreement with myself that iPhone X layout was among the best, and that is precisely why Apple chose to keep the exact same style to their next pair of personal cell phones. Introduced a year ago, it's the first Apple cellphone to remove the home button. From the other, I held its fresh redesign, '' the iPhone Xs. My eyes squeezed closed, and I passed them back and forth between my hands, rolling each telephone over, believing the curves, glass springs, double lens camera lumps, and lightning ports. I understood that I could not tell the difference between the two phones. This is not a criticism. It's only a fact of S design years, in which Apple locks at the iPhone design and focuses, rather, on upgrading key internal components. Therefore, the largest changes to this 5.8-inches iPhone Xs and its big brother, the 6.5-inches iPhone XS Max, both of which I tested, can be seen in performance (thanks to the new A12 Bionic CPU), photographs and movies, (brand new digital cameras and a new ISP backed by the A12), along with functionality (iOS12, the final version of that came pre-installed on my evaluation components ). The outcome is a set of brilliant, elegant, and high-performing units which can please iPhone fans and get more than a few looks out of Android cellphones. It has the exact rigid surgical steel frame wrapped in a new glass substance which Apple said was formulated to be more scratch resistant and durable. I gave the telephones a couple half-hearted drops onto a thin-pile rug but wasn't prepared to allow them to slip away . So far I've discovered just one very fine scratch on the iPhone Xs Max. So let's think about them scratch-resistant, but nevertheless not scratch-proof. The larger iPhone Xs Max shares all the iPhone X's substance and layout features, but does so in a 6.2-inch x 3.05-inch x 0.30-inch human anatomy. At 208 g, it is much thicker than the Iphone Xs. The Xs Max is really a bit shorter (0.04 inches) and narrower (0.02 inches), but it is also a few grams bulkier when compared to the Iphone 8 Plus, the most big-screen cellphone that from a space the iPhone Xs Max most looks like. Button positioning power/sleep, quantity controllers, ring/silent change -- are the exact same. But, there's a single minor chassis gap. On the bottom edge of both phones sits on the lightning connector. It is book-ended by means of a pair of drilled holes that adapt one half of their stereo speaker program and one of their cellphone's microphones. There was six holes on both sides. Now the ideal side includes six openingsbut the left, which just houses a mike, has only three. This little change was done, in part, to accommodate the new internal antenna configuration that contains 4x4 MIMO and License Assisted Access, which utilizes unlicensed 5 GHz range to deliver 1 Gbps broadband over LTE. Apple updated the water along with dust-resistance rating to IP 68, which contrasts into the handsets surviving in 2 inches of water for up to 30 minutes. I did not have to go swimming together with the Iphone Xs or Xs Max, but did run the latter telephone under normal water, milk, and juice. After that, as recommended, I rinsed and dried off the phone. I had been careful to not plug it into a light cable (that's a no-no following a dowsing) but did put it on a wireless charging base in which it had no problem accepting a fee. Apple, by the way, said it put some work into making the wireless charging system (basically the concealed coils in the telephone ) more pliable. This is great news, since I've on more than 1 event, awakened to find my iPhone X did not charge because I put it a small off-axis on the charging base. I never ran into that problem with either the iPhone Xs or even Xs Max. The iPhone Xs and iPhone Xs Max bodies are rigid and solid-feeling, but torqueable, particularly the larger smart phone, which actually makes a tiny clicking sound once I attempt to spin it. Apparently, I've only had these iPhones for weekly, but based on a calendar year's encounter with the first iPhone X (granted, mostly in a thin case), I consider this layout frame tough and ready for the long term. Even as Samsung trolls Apple for the dense black cutout at the top of the iPhone Xs and Xs Max, Apple shows no indicators of stepping back in the multi-option technologies, which grew nor slipped in the newest iPhones. Much like the first TrueDepth Module, this one is still packaged with all the exact components (none of which, as far as I can tell, have been updated). There's a 7 MP camera, scatter projector for depth sensing, infrared camera (depth sensing), flooding illuminator (yes, too for depth-sensing), proximity detector, ambient light sensor, the next half of the stereo speaker system, along with a mic. About the backs of the Iphone Xs and Xs Max, there's more of that custom glass, the Apple Logo, the word Iphone (however no"X" or"s"), along with the 12 MP dual camera program. This vertically-oriented, pill-shaped camera module appears exactly the same as it did in the last Iphone X. It is still a prominent bulge, but it did not receive any bigger. Inside the module is all new hardware supported by new image technology, but more on that later. I've always considered that the 5.8-inch Iphone X an exceptional tradeoff between a big-screen telephone and hand-friendly ergonomics. The screen is large and immersive, however, the human body is more comfortable to hold and pocket. The iPhone Xs Max by comparison can, especially if you're utilised to holding a more compact mobile, feel big. It is not embarrassing to hold, however people with smaller hands will probably fight with one-handed usage and will most likely want to turn on Reachability, which using a swipe back on the horizontal bar moves all halfway down the display, which makes it more accessible. Nonetheless, the trade-off might be well worth it. I forgot how much I enjoy the bigger iPhone screen, and about the Iphone Xs Max, you get far more screen without contending with a larger phone (there is only that 0.04-inch height difference between the Iphone 8 Plus along with the iPhone Xs Max). Apple's full-stack management of this Iphone layout, development, and manufacturing process pays dividends throughout the handset. However, it's most noticeably in the silicon, which can be created and designed in conjunction with the hardware and software components which will rely on it. This past Year, Apple released the A11 Bionic, a powerful cellular CPU with integrated Artificial Intelligence Power. The brand new A12 Bionic builds on that brief legacy having a more strong Neural Engine and even more impressive graphics performance. When I examine a new iPhone, I start by using Geekbench 4 to check out the raw CPU performance. To ensure that there are minimum background processes going, I usually conduct the exam before I've set up a single program. I conducted the Geekbench CPU benchmark and (along with learning that Apple stuffed an extra gig of memory within the new Xs class iPhones) saw that the only core scores had improved somewhat between the A11 Bionic and A12 Bionic. However, the multi-core score was strangely lower. Not by a good deal, but I had never seen that happen. The numbers were much higher than that which I made from Qualcomm's Snapdragon 845, but a lower effect on the new Iphone didn't make sense. But once I reran the Geekbench CPU evaluation per day or so later, the A12 multi-core numbers beat those of the A11. My guess is that, even though I put up the Iphone Xs and Xs Max as new iPhones, there may still have been some background installation process happening that hauled down the CPU numbers. The bigger leap in functionality is in the Geekbench Compute Metal Score, which leapt from 15,145 over the Iphone X to 22,245 on the iPhone Xs and Xs Max. Apple's done a great deal of work to beef up images performance, particularly for the raft of ARKit 2 (and Surface 2) applications heading into the stage, a few of which can support multiplayer gambling. While there aren't a lot of ARKit 2 programs in the app shop, I'd get a hands-on time using an iPhone Xs operating Galaga ARthe identical demonstration Apple showed off during the iPhone Xs unveiling. To play with, a couple of other journalists stood around a desk and pointed our phones in the virtual Galaga video arcade game console. Shortly, alien enemies began streaming from the movie game screen and from all over us. I swung the phone from side-to-side up and down and up to view and then take at the incoming horde. It was fast-paced and a blast. Similarly, I have seen , with ARKit 2, the telephone can set, say, a very realistic digital pressure stove or sneaker to a true table or in my feet, the illusion divided only once I slid my hands into the frame and, about the iPhone Xs screen, it looked like my digits were stuck under the pot. You can not encourage these types of real-virtual combinations without ample graphics horsepower, thickness mapping, as well as the AI needed to identify the surfaces, shadows, and even reflections will work on online objects in a real space. That processing capacity also helped amp more ordinary operations like Face ID. While the procedure for registering my face was unchanged from the original iPhone X, opening either phone with my face, in addition to using Face ID to access password-protected programs and services, is significantly quicker than it was on the iPhone X. Overall, in real-world applications, both Iphone Xs and Xs Max run reliably. Apple put tremendous effort into enhancing the photo and movie experience on the iPhone Xs and Xs Max. Besides new lenses along with a bigger sensor, the cameras (back and selfie) are all backed by a brand new image signal processor chip. The features on the dual cameras are unchanged by the iPhone X (and will be the exact same on both iPhone Xs and Xs Max). There's the f 1.8 wide angle lens and the 2.4 2X telephoto. Both include optical image stabilization and will shoot around 4K video in 60 fps. They still take slow-motion video at up to 240 frames per minute. If you'd like mad 960 fps super-slo-mo, you will need to look to Samsung. In the pure-play digital photography race, though, Apple takes the guide. Its Smart HDR uses sensor, ISP, and neural engine enhancements to catch some of the finest high-dynamic range photos I have ever seen. The gap between what was possible on the original iPhone X along with also the Xs and Xs Max is stunning. Apple created a system capable of shooting 2 frames each thirtieth of a second, and instantly analyzing and combining them into a single picture that maintains not just foreground and background detail, but can freeze action without introducing grain. In numerous images, I saw that the iPhone Xs and Xs Max locate colour and detail in dark spaces while not blowing out the lighter places. The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is also an superb low light shot, however I think the Xs line is a bit better. I'm particularly impressed with how Apple's built upon its pole position in Portrait Mode photography. Apple unveiled Portrait Mode in 2016 using the iPhone 7 Plus (the software lagged behind the hardware). Since then, Apple's refined the technology, including items like Studio Light, Contour Light, Stage Light, and Stage Light Mono. These attributes remain, and are marginally enhanced. That which I love and, as an amateur photographer who frequently performs with f-stops to get just the right depth of field change, is that the new Depth Control. Depth Control allows you to take a Portrait Mode photograph and correct the Bokeh, or depth of field attention, when you shoot the pictures. This works with both front and rear cameras, which means that the image chip is using two unique kinds of depth information. On the back, it's the benefit of two lenses to become stereoscopic info. The front camera relies on the depth-sensing components. I understand, Samsung's Galaxy Notice 9 offers the capacity to correct background focus as you're taking the picture, in addition to after. But, there is a crucial difference here that is evident from the iPhone Xs and Xs Max Depth editor. It is a slider that lets you adjust smoothly from a virtual f 1.4 aperture to a digital f16. In a real camera with a mechanical aperture, the higher amounts interpret to sharper focus from the backdrop and reduced numbers imply the focus thickness is significantly shallower. On the Galaxy Note 9, Live Focus basically sees the pictures as two airplanes: the foreground and background. The slider effectively blurs the background plane. The iPhone Xs's depth slider is based on all of the depth advice to decrease or improve background focus through all the planes between the very front of their subject and the background. Combined with the improved Portrait Mode stitching (handling the way the topic and a blurred background fit together), the subtlety of the impact through the assortment of virtual f-stops is impressive and, Apple's explained, is modeled by how actual lenses together with hardware apertures would influence each picture. For the majority of people the smart phone camera is their only camera. This places a pro-level command from the hands of huge numbers of people, that are just about to begin taking some really wonderful portrait photographs. Just after shooting regular pics, video, and 4K, I remain surprised with the standard of photos and videos coming from their Iphone Xs and Xs Max. Sure, it is strange that the larger Xs Max doesn't, as could be tradition, have some enhanced picture capturing attributes, however I doubt anyone is going to be disappointed with the photo quality produced by either innovative mobile phone. There are a couple of other hardware-related improvements, such as the promised dual-sim technology which allows for multiple phone numbers (believe work and personal numbers of one phone) via the aid of eSIM technology. Unlike regular SIMs, you do not require a carrier card solely for the carrier to support it and enable it on your cell phone. It is a nice feature that, for evident reasons, I couldn't test. For audio aficionados, there's also the new stereo recording and wider-stereo playback. This can be relatively tough to test, and that I occasionally worry my ears are not adequate to notice what could be a more nuanced difference. However, I did find a way. I listed , in landscape mode, some cars driving by. They start on the left side of this screen and drive to the rightside. In movie I recorded with all the iPhone Xs, the sound travels from one side of the telephone to another. Playback about the iPhone X is pretty loud but is lacking in the exact same degree of separation. Apparently, videos with a great deal of sound engineering aren't only great displays for the amazing screens, but highlight the new, wider stereo playback abilities also. As hardware/software marriages go, you can not do much better than the Apple iPhone Xs and iOS 12. I have been running betas of the new portable OS for weeks on my iPhone X and discovered it impressively stable and smooth. On the Iphone Xs and Xs Max, it gets even better spouses. In addition to butter-smooth and lighting quick operation (in games, movie, and web browsing), the enhanced reality abilities unveiled in iOS 11, ARKit, and the iPhone X are more refined and tailor-made from iOS 12 along with the iPhone Xs. The intelligent assistant is a greater listener than ever before, and getting smarter. Her speech is much more conversational and she's asking follow-up questions. Siri can be more proactive, spotting connections between benign items like locations and schedules and showing them in advance. Additionally, there are a range of third party apps tapping into Siri, allowing you to use only your own voice to access program features and information without so much as launching the app. You are able to set up iOS 12 on your older iPhone (down to this iPhone 5s), however not all attributes, particularly those between AR, will operate on the older devices. Still, I really suggest the upgrade with anyone conducting an iPhone 7 and up. It's simply a better, more glossy, proactive, and smart user experience also, to be honest, I have barely scratched the surface of all the upgrades and feature improvements you'll find. Apple asserts 30 minutes more battery life involving the Iphone X and Xs and 90 minutes longer with all the iPhone Xs Max. In my experience, either new phone may get you through most of the afternoon on a single charge. I spent using only the iPhone Xs Max. I kept the brightness high and ran all sorts of programs and processes. It lasted a solid 10 hours. Perhaps just a tiny bit less than I anticipated, but still enough to get me through most of the day. Seriously, with under a week in my belt, it is difficult to supply a complete assessment of battery life performance. There are many factors and, obviously, battery life is going to be great on new cellphones. Speak to me in 6 months or twelve months, and we're going to see if I'm still satisfied with battery life. It is not strange that Apple did not bring down the price for the brand new $999 iPhone Xs (or hold onto the initial version and market it at a lower cost ). I'm not even shocked that we now have an almost $1,100 model or that we're able to pay a whopping $1,449 for the 512 GB Iphone Xs Max (which happens to be the model that I tested). Apple's already demonstrated that people will pay almost anything to get their hands on the hottest iPhone. Is $1,000 or more to cover a smartphone? Perhaps, but how many of us think about the entire price rather than monthly payments? I am, though, somewhat annoyed that Apple stopped the lightning -to-3.5 millimeter adapter. It is like in the last 12 months, we have gotten rid of our Beats and Bose headsets, such as it's a solved problem. Memo to Apple: It's not. What I can say is that all these are the iPhones you desire. The Iphone Xs does not mess with what I consider a timeless design, and also the Xs Max only takes all that's wonderful about the iPhone X also expands it. As a pair, they're just as amazing as the first home-button-free iPhone X. The design appears especially elegant in a golden finish. Participants will love the new camera, and also gamers and content customers will want the big-display Iphone Xs Max.

Even if you have the Iphone X, I would not upgrade unless you need more realistic augmented reality and also full depth control in your portraits. To get iPhone 6s, 8, 7, and even 8 Plus officers, that the iPhone Xs and Xs Max will certainly feel as a big step into the foreseeable future.

Why We Moved a 20-Year-Old Site to Gatsby

We knew we had a problem.

In 2019, SitePoint was getting Lighthouse Speed scores under 10 on mobile, and between 20 and 30 on desktop.

Our efforts to control UX bloat were failing in the wake of a publishing business environment that sprang new leaks just as we’d finished temporarily plugging the last one. Our reliance on advertising, controlled by external parties, was a major obstacle to improved site performance. Our traffic growth had turned into decline.

On a site that provided people with a place to come and learn to code with best practices, this was not a good look. And it wasn’t a site we could feel proud of, either.

To make matters worse, operational bottlenecks had arisen that made adaptation a tricky logistical business. Our team was struggling to make changes to the site: having focused on our Premium experience for several years, we were down to one developer with WordPress and PHP experience. To test out code changes, the team would have to wait in a queue to access our staging server.

It wasn’t energizing work for anyone, and it certainly wasn’t efficient.

It was time to make some changes, and we set out to look for a solution. After a lot of research, we decided that Gatsby would be a great fit for our team. It would play to our talent strengths, help us solve all of the issues we had identified, and allow us to keep using WordPress for the backend so the editorial process wouldn’t need to change.

Why We Moved to Gatsby

[caption id="attachment_176594" align="aligncenter" width="1522"] The end result.[/caption]

Early in the research process, Gatsby started to look like a serious frontrunner. SitePoint isn’t a small site, so we knew that the tech we chose had to be able to handle some pretty intense demands. Gatsby checked all of our boxes:

We could code everything in React, a tech that every member of the front-end team knows and uses daily.

Gatsby is super fast at its core — performance was at the heart of this project, and we could start from a good footing.

The entire site is rendered as static, which would be great for SEO.

We could build it as a new project, which meant no worrying about the existing codebase, which brought a huge amount of legacy code with it.

We could use Gatsby Cloud, allowing the team to get feedback on the build at any time just by pushing the branch to GitHub.

DDoS attacks on WordPress wouldn’t cause us issues, as the front-end is completely stand-alone.

More Maintainable CSS with styled-components

Since we were going to rebuild the site from scratch, we planned to make some design changes at the same time. To help with this work we decided to use styled-components.

styled-components keeps the site’s styling easy to maintain, and we know where to look when we want to change the style of something — the style is always with the component.

How We Made the Build Happen

We started by following Gatsby’s basic docs and pulling in our posts with the gatsby-source-wordpress plugin.

This was a big initial test for us: we had to see if it was even possible to use Gatsby for our site.

After 20 years of blogging, we have over 17,000 posts published. We knew the builds would take a long time, but we had to find out if Gatsby could deal with such a massive amount of content. As you’ve probably figured, the test delivered good news: Gatsby works.

A quick tip for other teams working with large sites: to make development a better experience, we used environment vars to prevent Gatsby from fetching all of the site’s posts in development. There’s nothing quite like a 60 minute hot reload to slow progress.

if (hasNextPage && process.env.NODE_ENV != "development") { return fetchPosts({ first: 100, after: endCursor }); }

From this point, we ran into some limitations with the WordPress source plugin. We couldn’t get all the data we needed, so we moved to the WordPress GraphQL plugin.

We use Yoast to set our metadata for SEO, and had to ensure we were pulling in the correct information. We were able to do this with WordPress GraphQL. By doing it this way, the content team could still edit metadata the same way, and the data would still be dynamic and fetched on each build.

During the build, we would have three or four people in the team working on parts of the new blog. In the past, if they wanted to get feedback they’d have to push to our staging server and make sure nobody was already using it.

We found that Gatsby Cloud was a great solution to this issue. Now when someone pushes to a branch in GitHub, it creates a build in Gatsby Cloud along with a preview link. Our developers could share this link and get immediate testing and feedback much more effectively than before.

This faster feedback cycle made it easy to have multiple people on the team working on the build and put an end to a major bottleneck.

Launch Day Fun

On the big day, we launched the new site and ran through our initial tests. The new blog was flying — every page load felt instant.

We ran into some problems on SitePoint Premium, which started running into slows and even crashes. The culprit was a new element on blog pages that pulled in the popular books people were currently reading. It would do this via a client-side API call, and it was too much for Premium to handle due to the amount of traffic we get on the blog side.

We quickly added some page caching to the API to temporarily solve the issues. We realized we were doing this wrong — we should have been sourcing this data at build time, so that the popular books are already loaded when we serve the page to the user.

This is the main mindset shift you need to make when using Gatsby: any data that you can get at build time should be fetched at build time. You should only use client-side API calls when you need live data.

Once we’d re-written the API call to happen during the build, the first load of a blog page was even quicker — and Premium stopped crashing.

What We Still Need to Solve

While it’s hard to overstate how much better our on-site experience is today, there are still a few pain points we need to solve.

If a new article is published, or if content is updated — as it is multiple times per day — we need to re-run the Gatsby build before these changes show up.

Our solution for that right now is a simple cron job that runs at pre-scheduled times over the course of a day. The long-term solution to this is to add a webhook to the WordPress publish and update button, so that a new build is triggered once pressed.

We also need to get incremental builds running. Right now, the entire site needs to be rebuilt each time, and given our content archive, this can take a while. Gatsby just introduced incremental builds as we went live, and we’re working on implementing this on our site. Once that’s set up our builds will be much faster if the only thing that has changed is content.

Our speed score is still not where we want it to be. While the site feels subjectively very fast, we are still not getting consistent scores in Lighthouse. We want to get both mobile and desktop into the green zone (scores of 90+) for optimal user experience and SEO.

Would We Do It Again?

A launch of this type would normally be a pretty nerve-wracking event, and take a lot of work from the team on launch day.

With Gatsby, our launch was really easy. We just had to move WordPress onto a new domain, and point sitepoint.com at the Gatsby version of the site.

Then we sat back and watched the numbers to see what happened to our traffic. Within a few days, the data was starting to come in and we were seeing a 15% increase in traffic. User engagement metrics were up across the board. And we hadn’t even removed our ads yet (which, you may have noticed, we’ve since done).

It’s not hard to figure out why the effects were so immediate. We had better SEO running on static HTML and CSS pages, and massive speed improvements made possibly by the move to Gatsby.

Since we made the move, we’ve increased our Lighthouse speed scores from 6-15 on mobile to the 50-60 range, and from the 30s on desktop into the 70s. We wanted to ensure speed remained top of mind with this change, so we’re using a great tool called Calibre that runs speed tests over a number of top pages each day and alerts us to the scores. We are using this tool to continue to improve our score, so I hope to have another article for you in three months when we get everything to stay in the 90+ range.

The team loves working in Gatsby. The blog codebase was something that nobody wanted to work on. Now, everyone wants to take those cards thanks to the great developer experience.

If you’ve been eyeing a move to Gatsby and wondering if it’s ready for prime time, take our advice — it’s worth the switch.

Continue reading Why We Moved a 20-Year-Old Site to Gatsby on SitePoint.

by Stuart Mitchell via SitePoint https://ift.tt/2O3eMp5

The Newer iPhone's Line Gives You Anything and Everything that is Good and More

Just in case, like me, you appreciate the first iPhone X layout, which removed the single button and expanded the magnificent OLED screen to the majority of the borders, the iPhone Xs won't fail you. Released a year before, it is the very first Apple smartphone to take out the single button. At another, I held its own brand new redesign, '' the Iphone Xs. My eyes squeezed closed, and I handed them back and forth between my hands, rolling each phone above, believing the curves, glass backs, double lens camera bumps, and lightning ports. I realized that I couldn't tell the difference between both phones. This isn't a criticism. It is only a simple fact of S design years, where Apple locks in the iPhone design and concentrates, rather, on updating key internal components. As such, the largest changes to the 5.8-inch iPhone Xs and its big brother, the 6.5-inch Iphone Xs Max, each of which I analyzed, can be discovered in performance (thanks to the newest A12 Bionic CPU), photos and videos, (brand new digital cameras along with a brand new ISP endorsed by the A12), and performance (iOS12, the final version of that came pre-installed on my evaluation units). The result is a set of fantastic, tasteful, and high-performing units that will please Iphone aficionados and capture over a couple of looks out of Android devices. It still has the same rigid surgical metal frame wrapped into a new glass substance that Apple said was formulated to be scratch resistant and durable. I gave the telephones a couple half-hearted drops on a thin-pile carpet but was not ready to let them slip away . Thus far I have discovered just one very fine scratch about the iPhone Xs Max. So let's think about them scratch-resistant, but still not scratch-proof. The bigger Iphone Xs Max enjoys each of the iPhone X's content and layout attributes, but does this at a 6.2-inch x 3.05-inch x 0.30-inch entire body. At 208 g, it's considerably heavier than the iPhone Xs. The Xs Max is really a hair shorter (0.04 inches) and thinner (0.02 inches), however it's also a few grams heavier than the Iphone 8 Plus, the big-screen cellphone that from a space the Iphone Xs Max most looks. Button placement power/sleep, volume controllers, ring/silent switch -- are the exact same. However, there's a single minor chassis gap. At the bottom edge of the phones sits on the lightning connector. It is book-ended by a set of holes which accommodate one half of their stereo speaker system and among their phone's microphones. There was 6 holes on both sides. Now the correct side includes six holesbut the left, which only houses a microphone, has just three. This little change was completed, in part, to accommodate the new inner antenna setting which contains 4x4 MIMO and Permit Assisted Access, which uses unlicensed 5 GHz spectrum to deliver 1 Gbps chip over LTE. Apple upgraded the water along with dust-resistance rating to IP 68, that contrasts into the handsets residing in two inches of water for as much as half an hour. I did not have to go swimming with the Iphone Xs or Xs Max, but didn't run the latter telephone under normal water, milk, and juice. Then, as recommended, I rinsed and dried off the telephone. I had been careful to not plug it into a light cable (that's a no-no after a dowsing) but didn't place it onto a wireless charging foundation at which it had no trouble accepting a charge. Apple, by the way, stated it put some effort in making the wireless charging platform (essentially the hidden coils within the phone) more pliable. This is very good news, since I've on more than one occasion, woken up to discover my iPhone X didn't charge because I placed it a modest off-axis about the charging base. I never ran into this issue with the iPhone Xs or even Xs Max. The iPhone Xs and iPhone Xs Max bodies are stiff and robust-feeling, however torqueable, specifically the larger mobile phone, which really makes a tiny clicking sound once I try to spin it. Clearly, I have only had these iPhones for a week, but according to a calendar year's encounter with the first iPhone X (granted, mostly in a thin situation ), I believe this design frame tough and prepared for the long run. Even as Samsung trolls Apple to its dense black cutout near the top of this iPhone Xs and Xs Max, Apple shows no signs of stepping back in the multi-feature technologies, which grew nor slipped in the most recent iPhones. As with the first TrueDepth Module, that one is still packed with the exact elements (none of that, as far as I can tell, have been updated). There is a 7 MP camera, scatter projector for thickness sensing, infrared camera (thickness sensing), flooding illuminator (yes, also for depth-sensing), proximity detector, ambient light sensor, the next half of this stereo speaker system, and a mic. On the backs of both the Iphone Xs and Xs Max, there is more of that custom made glass, the Apple Logo, the term Iphone (but no"X" or"so"), along with also the 12 MP dual camera system. This vertically-oriented, pill-shaped camera module looks exactly the same as it did in the last iPhone X. mouse click the next site It is still a notable bump, but it didn't get any bigger. Within the module is new hardware backed by new picture technology, but more on that later. I've always thought that the 5.8-inch Iphone X that an exceptional tradeoff between a big-screen phone and hand-friendly ergonomics. The screen is large and immersive, but the body is more comfortable to hold pocket. The iPhone Xs Max in contrast can, especially if you're used to holding a smaller phone, feel large. It's not uncomfortable to hold, but people with smaller hands will probably struggle with one-handed usage and will probably want to turn Reachability, which with a swipe back on the horizontal bar moves everything halfway down the screen, which makes it longer reachable.

Still, the trade-off could be worth it. I forgot just how much I enjoy the larger Iphone display, and about the Iphone Xs Max, you get far more display without contending with a bigger phone (there's just that 0.04-inch height gap between the Iphone 8 Plus and also the iPhone Xs Max). Apple's full-stack control of this iPhone layout, development, and production process pays dividends throughout the gleaming handset. Nevertheless, it's most noticeably from the silicon, which is developed and designed in tandem with the software and hardware components that will rely upon it. This past Year, Apple announced the A11 Bionic, a powerful cellular CPU with built-in Artificial Intelligence Power. The new A12 Bionic assembles on this brief legacy having a more powerful Neural Engine and even more impressive graphics functionality. Any time I analyze a new Iphone, I start by using Geekbench 4 to test out the raw CPU performance. To make sure there are minimal background processes going, I usually conduct the test before I have set up a single program. I conducted the Geekbench CPU routine and (together with learning that Apple stuffed an excess gig of memory in the new Xs course iPhones) found the single core scores had predictably improved marginally between the A11 Bionic along with A12 Bionic. On the other hand, the multi-core score was strangely lower. Not by a lot, but I had never seen that occur. The amounts were much higher than that which I got from Qualcomm's Snapdragon 845, but a decrease effect on the new Iphone did not make sense. But once I reran the Geekbench CPU test a day or so later, the A12 multi-core numbers beat people of the A11. My guess is that, though I put up the Iphone Xs and Xs Max as fresh iPhones, there can still have been a background installation process going on that hauled down the CPU amounts. The larger leap in functionality is at the Geekbench Compute Metal Score, which leapt from 15,145 around the iPhone X to 22,245 on the iPhone Xs and Xs Max. Apple's done a great deal of work to beef up graphics performance, particularly for the raft of ARKit two (and Surface 2) software heading into the stage, some of which will support multiplayer gaming. When there are not a great deal of ARKit 2 apps in the program store, I did get a hands-on time using an Iphone Xs running Galaga ARthe identical demonstration Apple showed off throughout the Iphone Xs unveiling. To play, a few other writers stood on a desk and pointed our phones at the Galaga video arcade console. Soon, alien attackers began streaming from the video game screen and from all round us. I swung the telephone from side-to-side and down and up to watch and then shoot at the incoming horde. It had been swift and a lot of fun. Similarly, I have seen how, with ARKit 2, the telephone can place, say, a very realistic virtual pressure cooker or sneaker on a real table or in my feet, the illusion broken only when I slid my hands into the frame and, even about the iPhone Xs display, it looked like my notes had been stuck under the pot. You can not encourage these kinds of real-virtual mixes without ample images horsepower, depth mapping, along with the AI necessary to identify how surfaces, dark areas, as well as reflections will operate on virtual items in a real open space. This processing power also helped amp up more ordinary operations like Face ID. While the process of registering my face was unchanged from the first iPhone X, opening either phone with my head, in addition to using Face ID to access password-protected programs and services, is noticeably faster than it was about the iPhone X. In general, in real life applications, both iPhone Xs and Xs Max run properly. Apple place massive amount of work into enhancing the picture and video experience to the iPhone Xs and Xs Max. Besides fresh lenses along with a bigger detector, the cameras (back and selfie) are all backed by a brand new picture signal processor chip. The specs on the double cameras are untouched by the iPhone X (and are the exact same on either the iPhone Xs and Xs Max). There's the 1.8 wide angle lens and also the f 2.4 2X telephoto. The two comprise optical image stabilization and can shoot around 4K video at 60 fps. They still take slow-motion video at up to 240 frames per minute. If you want mad 960 fps super-slo-mo, then you'll need to look to Samsung. In the pure-play digital photography race, though, Apple requires the lead. Its Smart HDR uses sensor, ISP, and neural engine enhancements to capture a number of the most effective high-dynamic range photos I have ever seen. The gap between what was possible on the original iPhone X along with the Xs and Xs Max is stunning. Apple crafted a system capable of capturing two frames each thirtieth of a moment, and immediately analyzing and combining them into a single picture that maintains not just foreground and background detail, but can freeze actions without presenting grain. In a number of pictures, I found the iPhone Xs and Xs Max locate color and detail in dark spaces with out blowing out the lighter locations. The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is also an excellent low light shooter, but I think the Xs lineup is a bit better. I'm particularly impressed with how Apple's built upon its own pole position in Portrait Mode digital photography. Apple created Portrait Mode in 2016 using all the iPhone 7 Plus (the applications lagged from the hardware). Since that time, Apple's refined the technology, including items such as Studio Light, Contour Light, Stage Light, and Stage Light Mono. A lot of these attributes remain, and have been marginally improved. What I love and also, as an amateur photographer who regularly plays with f-stops for just the ideal depth of field change, is that the brand new Depth Control. Depth Control allows you to take a Portrait Mode photo and adjust the Bokehdepth or depth of field focus, when you shoot the photographs. This works with both front and rear cameras, meaning that the image processor is using two unique kinds of depth information. On the back, it's the benefit of 2 lenses to become stereoscopic information. The front camera counts on the depth-sensing components. I understand, Samsung's Galaxy Note 9 gives the ability to adjust background focus as you're taking the image, in addition to after. However, there's an essential difference here that is evident in the iPhone Xs and Xs Max Depth picture editor. It's a slider that allows you adjust smoothly from an electronic f 1.4 aperture into a digital f16. At a real camera with a mechanical aperture, the high amounts translate to sharper focus from the backdrop and also reduced numbers imply the focus depth is significantly shallower. On the Galaxy Note 9, Live Focus essentially sees the images as two airplanes: the foreground and background. The slider blurs the background plane. The Iphone Xs's thickness slider is based on all of the depth advice to reduce or enhance background focus through all of the planes between the very front of this subject and the desktop. Together with the enhanced Portrait Mode stitching (handling the way the topic and a fuzzy background fit together), the subtlety of the effect through the variety of virtual f-stops is remarkable and, Apple's explained, is modeled by how real lenses using hardware apertures would impact each picture. For the majority of people the smart phone camera is their only camera. This places a pro-level controller at the hands of millions of individuals, who are just about to start taking some truly fantastic portrait pics. Just after capturing regular shots, video, and even 4K, I keep on being stunned with the standard of photos and videos coming out of this iPhone Xs and Xs Max. Sure, it is odd that the bigger Xs Max does not, as might be convention, have any improved image capturing attributes, however I doubt anyone is going to be disappointed with the graphic quality delivered by either innovative mobile phone. Right now there are a couple of other equipment-related improvements, such as the promised dual-sim technology that allows for multiple phone numbers (think work and personal numbers of one telephone ) through the support of eSIM technology. Unlike ordinary SIMs, you do not need a carrier card only for the provider to confirm it and enable it on your mobile phone. It's a wonderful attribute which, for obvious reasons, I could not test. For audio enthusiasts, there's also the new stereo recording and also wider-stereo playback. This is relatively difficult to test, and I sometimes worry my ears are not good enough to notice what could be a more nuanced difference. However, I'd find a way. I recorded, in landscape mode, a few cars driving by. These begin on the left of this screen and push to the right. In video I recorded together with all the iPhone Xs, the noise travels from one side of the telephone to another. Playback on the iPhone X is loud but lacking in the identical degree of separation. Apparently, pictures with a great deal of sound engineering are not just great showcases for the great screens, but emphasize the brand new, wider stereo playback abilities also. As hardware/software relationships go, you can not do much better than the Apple iPhone Xs and iOS 12. I've been operating betas of their new mobile OS for months in my iPhone X and discovered it incredibly smooth and stable. On the iPhone Xs and Xs Max, it becomes even better spouses. In addition to butter-smooth and lighting quick operation (in games, movie, and web browsing), the enhanced reality skills first announced into iOS 11, ARKit, and the iPhone X are far more refined and personalized from iOS 12 along with also the iPhone Xs. The smart assistant is a much better listener than ever before, and getting smarter. Her speech is much more conversational and she is requesting follow-up queries. Siri can be more proactive, putting connections between benign items like locations and schedules and presenting them beforehand. Additionally, there are a range of third-party programs tapping into Siri, letting you use only your voice to get app attributes and information without so much as launching the app. You may set up iOS 12 on your old iPhone (down into the iPhone 5s), however not all of attributes, particularly those between AR, will operate on the old devices. However, I clearly suggest the update with at least anyone operating an iPhone 7 and up. It's simply a much better, more glossy, proactive, and intelligent user experience also, to be honest, I've barely scraped the surface of all the upgrades and feature improvements you'll discover. Apple asserts 30 minutes more battery life between the iPhone X and Xs and 90 minutes longer with all the iPhone Xs Max. In my experience, either new phone will get you through most of the afternoon on a single charge. I spent using just the iPhone Xs Max. I kept the brightness and conducted all sorts of apps and processes. It lasted quite a solid 10 hours. Maybe a bit less than I expected, but still sufficient to get me through most of the day. Seriously, with under a week under my belt, it's hard to provide a complete evaluation of battery performance. There are many variables and, of course, battery life is going to be great on new smartphones. Speak to me in 6 months or a full year, and we're going to see if I'm still satisfied with battery lifetime. It's no real surprise that Apple didn't reduced the price for the brand new $999 iPhone Xs (or even hold on the original model and market it at a lower price). I am not shocked that we now have an almost $1,100 model or that we're able to spend a whopping $1,449 for your 512 GB Iphone Xs Max (which happens to be the model that I tested). Apple's already proven that individuals will pay virtually anything to get their hands on the most recent iPhone. Is $1,000 or more too much to pay for a smart phone? Perhaps, however many people think of the full price as opposed to monthly payments? I am, though, somewhat annoyed that Apple discontinued the lightning -to-3.5 mm adapter. It's like in the past 12 months, we've gotten rid of our audio and Bose cans, such as it is a solved problem. Memo to Apple: It's not. What I could say is that all these are the iPhones you want. The iPhone Xs does not mess with that which I consider a timeless layout, and also the Xs Max simply takes all that is amazing about the iPhone X and enlarges it. As a pair, they are just as beautiful as the original home-button-free iPhone X. The design looks especially elegant in a golden finish. Photographers will love the newest camera, and gamers and content customers will want the big-display Iphone Xs Max. Even if you have the Iphone X, I still wouldn't upgrade unless you absolutely need more realistic augmented reality and also complete depth control on your portraits. For iPhone 6s, 7, 8, and even 8 Plus owners, the iPhone Xs and Xs Max will feel like a enormous step into the foreseeable future.

Europe’s PEPP-PT COVID-19 contacts tracing standard push could be squaring up for a fight with Apple and Google

A coalition of EU scientists and technologists that’s developing what’s billed as a “privacy-preserving” standard for Bluetooth-based proximity tracking, as a proxy for COVID-19 infection risk, wants Apple and Google to make changes to an API they’re developing for the same overarching purpose.

The Pan-European Privacy-Preserving Proximity Tracing (PEPP-PT) uncloaked on April 1, calling for developers of contacts tracing apps to get behind a standardized approach to processing smartphone users’ data to co-ordinate digital interventions across borders and shrink the risk of overly intrusive location-tracking tools gaining momentum as a result of the pandemic.

PEPP-PT said today it has seven governments signed up to apply its approach to national apps, with a claimed pipeline of a further 40 in discussions about joining.

“We now have a lot of governments interacting,” said PEPP-PT’s Hans-Christian Boos, speaking during a webinar for journalists. “Some governments are publicly declaring that their local applications will be built on top of the principles of PEPP-PT and also the various protocols supplied inside this initiative.

“We know of seven countries that have already committed to do this — and we’re currently in conversation with 40 countries that are in various states of onboarding.”

Boos said a list of the governments would be shared with journalists, though at the time of writing we haven’t seen it. But we’ve asked PEPP-PT’s PR firm for the info and will update this report when we get it.

“The pan-European approach has worked,” he added. “Governments have decided at a speed previously unknown. But with 40 more countries in the queue of onboarding we definitely have outgrown just the European focus — and to us this shows that privacy as a model and as a discussion point… is a statement and it is something that we can export because we’re credible on it.”

Paolo de Rosa, the CTO at the Ministry of Innovation Technology and Digital Transformation for the Italian government, was also on the webinar — and confirmed its national app will be built on top of PEPP-PT.

“We will have an app soon and obviously it will be based on this model,” he said, offering no further details.

PEPP-PT’s core ‘privacy-preserving’ claim rests on the use of system architectures that do not require location data to be collected. Rather devices that come near each other would share pseudonymized IDs — which could later be used to send notifications to an individual if the system calculates an infection risk has occurred. An infected individual’s contacts would be uploaded at the point of diagnosis — allowing notifications to be sent to other devices they had come into contact with.

Boos, a spokesman for and coordinator of PEPP-PT, told TechCrunch earlier this month the project will support both centralized and decentralized approaches. The former meaning IDs are uploaded to a trusted server, such as one controlled by a health authority; the latter meaning IDs are held locally on devices, where the infection risk is also calculated — a backend server is only in the loop to relay info to devices.

It’s just such a decentralized contacts tracing system that Apple and Google are collaborating on supporting — fast-following PEPP-PT last week by announcing a plan for cross-platform COVID-19 contacts tracing via a forthcoming API and then a system-wide (opt-in) for Bluetooth-based proximity tracking.

That intervention, by the only two smartphone platforms that matter when the ambition is mainstream app adoption, is a major development — putting momentum in the Western world behind decentralized contacts tracing for responding digitally to the coronavirus crisis, certainly at the platform level.

In a resolution passed today the European parliament also called for a decentralized approach to COVID-19 proximity tracking. MEPs are pushing for the Commission and Member States to be “fully transparent on the functioning of contact tracing apps, so that people can verify both the underlying protocol for security and privacy, and check the code itself to see whether the application functions as the authorities are claiming”. (The Commission has previously signalled a preference for decentralization too.)

However backers of PEPP-PT, which include at least seven governments (and the claim of many more), aren’t giving up on the option of a “privacy-preserving” centralized option — which some in their camp are dubbing ‘pseudo-decentralized’ — with Boos claiming today that discussions are ongoing with Apple and Google about making changes to their approach.

As it stands, contacts tracing apps that don’t use a decentralized infrastructure won’t be able to carry out Bluetooth tracking in the background on Android or iOS — as the platforms limit how general apps can access Bluetooth. This means users of such apps would have to have the app open and active all the time for proximity tracking to function, with associated (negative) impacts on battery life and device usability.

There are also (intentional) restrictions on how contracts tracing data could be centralized, as a result of the relay server model being deployed in the joint Apple-Google model.

“We very much appreciate that Google and Apple are stepping up to making the operating system layer available — or putting what should be the OS actually there, which is the Bluetooth measurement and the handling of crypto and the background running of such tasks which have to keep running resiliently all the time — if you look at their protocols and if you look at whom they are provided by, the two dominant players in the mobile ecosystem, then I think that from a government perspective especially, or from lots of government perspectives, there is many open points to discuss,” said Boos today.

“From a PEPP-PT perspective there’s a few points to discuss because we want choice and implementing choice in terms of model — decentralized or centralized on top of their protocol creates actually the worst of both worlds — so there are many points to discuss. But contrary to the behavior that many of us who work with tech companies are used to Google and Apple are very open in these discussions and there’s no point in getting up in arms yet because these discussions are ongoing and it looks like agreement can be reached with them.”

It wasn’t clear what specific changes PEPP-PT wants from Apple and Google — we asked for more detail during the webinar but didn’t get a response. But the group and its government backers may be hoping to dilute the tech giants’ stance to make it easier to create centralized graphs of Bluetooth contacts to feed national coronavirus responses.

As it stands, Apple and Google’s API is designed to block contact matching on a server — though there might still be ways for governments (and others) to partially workaround the restrictions and centralize some data.

We reached out to Apple and Google with questions about the claimed discussions with PEPP-PT. At the time of writing neither had responded.

As well as Italy, the German and French governments are among those that have indicated they’re backing PEPP-PT for national apps — which suggests powerful EU Member States could be squaring up for a fight with the tech giants, along the lines of Apple vs the FBI, if pressure to tweak the API fails.

Another key strand to this story is that PEPP-PT continues to face strident criticism from privacy and security experts in its own backyard — including after it removed a reference to a decentralized protocol for COVID-19 contacts tracing that’s being developed by another European coalition, comprised of privacy and security experts, called DP-3T.

Coindesk reported on the silent edit to PEPP-PT’s website yesterday.

Backers of DP-3T have also repeatedly queried why PEPP-PT hasn’t published code or protocols for review to-date — and even gone so far as to dub the effort a ‘trojan horse’.

#DP3T entered as a candidate to so-called PEPP-PT in good faith, but it is now clear that powerful actors pushing centralised databases of Bluetooth contact tracing do not, and will not, act in good faith.

PEPP-PT is a Trojan horse.

— Michael Veale (@mikarv) April 16, 2020

ETH Zürich’s Dr. Kenneth Paterson, who is both a part of the PEPP-PT effort and a designer of DP-3T, couldn’t shed any light on the exact changes the coalition is hoping to extract from ‘Gapple’ when we asked.

“They’ve still not said exactly how their system would work, so I can’t say what they would need [in terms of changes to Apple and Google’s system],” he told us in an email exchange.

Today Boos couched the removal of the reference to DP-3T on PEPP-PT’s website as a mistake — which he blamed on “bad communication”. He also claimed the coalition is still interested in including the former’s decentralized protocol within its bundle of standardized technologies. So the already sometimes fuzzy lines between the camps continue to be redrawn. (It’s also interesting to note that press emails to Boos are now being triaged by Hering Schuppener; a communications firm that sells publicity services including crisis PR.)

“We’re really sorry for that,” Boos said of the DP-3T excision. “Actually we just wanted to put the various options on the same level that are out there. There are still all these options and we very much appreciate the work that colleagues and others are doing.

“You know there is a hot discussion in the crypto community about this and we actually encourage this discussion because it’s always good to improve on protocols. What we must not lose sight of is… that we’re not talking about crypto here, we’re talking about pandemic management and as long as an underlying transport layer can ensure privacy that’s good enough because governments can choose whatever they want.”

Boos also said PEPP-PT would finally be publishing some technical documents this afternoon — opting to release information some three weeks after its public unveiling and on a Friday evening (a 7-page ‘high level overview’ has since been put on their Github here — but still a far cry from code for review) — while making a simultaneous plea for journalists to focus on the ‘bigger picture’ of fighting the coronavirus rather than keep obsessing over technical details. 

During today’s webinar some of the scientists backing PEPP-PT talked about how they’re testing the efficacy of Bluetooth as a proxy for tracking infection risk.

“The algorithm that we’ve been working on looks at the cumulative amount of time that individuals spend in proximity with each other,” said Christophe Fraser, professor at the Nuffield Department of Medicine and Senior Group Leader in Pathogen Dynamics at the Big Data Institute, University of Oxford, offering a general primer on using Bluetooth proximity data for tracking viral transmission.

“The aim is to predict the probability of transmission from the phone proximity data. So the ideal system reduces the requested quarantine to those who are the most at risk of being infected and doesn’t give the notification — even though some proximity event was recorded — to those people who’re not at risk of being infected.”

“Obviously that’s going to be an imperfect process,” he went on. “But the key point is that in this innovative approach that we should be able to audit the extent to which that information and those notifications are correct — so we need to actually be seeing, of the people who have been sent the notification how many of them actually were infected. And of those people who were identified as contacts, how many weren’t.

“Auditing can be done in many different ways for each system but that step is crucial.”

Evaluating the effectiveness of the digital interventions will be vital, per Fraser — whose presentation could have been interpreted as making a case for public health authorities to have fuller access to contacts graphs. But it’s important to note that DP-3T’s decentralized protocol makes clear provision for app users to opt-in to voluntarily share data with epidemiologists and research groups to enable them to reconstruct the interaction graph among infected and at risk users (aka to get access to a proximity graph).

“It’s really important that if you’re going to do an intervention that is going to affect millions of people — in terms of these requests to [quarantine] — that that information be the best possible science or the best possible representation of the evidence at the point at which you give the notification,” added Fraser. “And therefore as we progress forwards that evidence — our understanding of the transmission of the virus — is going to improve. And in fact auditing of the app can allow that to improve, and therefore it seems essential that that information be fed back.”

None of the PEPP-PT aligned apps that are currently being used for testing or reference are interfacing with national health authority systems, per Boos — though he cited a test in Italy that’s been plugged into a company’s health system to run tests.

“We have supplied the application builders with the backend, we have supplied them with sample code, we have supplied them with protocols, we have supplied them with the science of measurement, and so on and so forth. We have a working application that simply has no integration into a country’s health system — on Android and on iOS,” he noted.

On its website PEPP-PT lists a number of corporate “members” as backing the effort — including the likes of Vodafone — alongside several research institutions including Germany’s Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute for telecoms (HHI) which has been reported as leading the effort.

The HHI’s executive director, Thomas Wiegand, was also on today’s call. Notably, his name initially appeared on the authorship list for the DP-3T’s White Paper. However on April 10 he was removed from the README and authorship list, per its Github document history. No explanation for the change was given.

During today’s press conference Wiegand made an intervention that seems unlikely to endear him to the wider crypto and digital rights community — describing the debate around which cryptography system to use for COVID-19 contacts tracing as a ‘side show’ and expressing concern that what he called Europe’s “open public discussion” might “destroy our ability to get ourselves as Europeans out of this”.

“I just wanted to make everyone aware of the difficulty of this problem,” he also said. “Cryptography is only one of 12 building blocks in the system. So I really would like to have everybody go back and reconsider what problem we are in here. We have to win against this virus… or we have another lockdown or we have a lot of big problems. I would like to have everybody to consider that and to think about it because we have a chance if we get our act together and really win against the virus.”

The press conference had an even more inauspicious start after the Zoom call was disrupted by racist spam in the chat. Right before this Boos had kicked off the call saying he had heard from “some more technically savvy people that we should not be using Zoom because it’s insecure — and for an initiative that wants security and privacy it’s the wrong tool”.

“Unfortunately we found out that many of our international colleagues only had this on their corporate PCs so over time either Zoom has to improve — or we need to get better installations out there. It’s certainly not our intention to leak the data on this Zoom,” he added.

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Watch now: Illinois economy surges in first quarter | National News

New Post has been published on https://tattlepress.com/economy/watch-now-illinois-economy-surges-in-first-quarter-national-news/

Watch now: Illinois economy surges in first quarter | National News

Gov. J.B. Pritzker appeared in Decatur to announce an expansion of financial assistance for families and child care providers.

SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois economy showed strong signs of recovery during the first quarter of 2021 as businesses continued to reopen from the pandemic and direct government payments flowed to businesses and individual consumers.

Data released last week from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis showed the state’s economy grew at an annual rate of 6.4% during the quarter as its gross domestic product – the market value of all goods and services produced by labor and property – approached its pre-pandemic level.

Watch now: Pritzker signs bill allowing Illinois student athletes to profit from name, image, likeness

That growth rate was on par with the rest of the nation and slightly ahead of the pace set by most of Illinois’ surrounding states. But the state’s total GDP, at just under $770 billion annually, remained below where it was two years earlier, before the pandemic.

BEA noted that government assistance payments, including direct economic impact payments, expanded unemployment benefits and Paycheck Protection Program loans all flowed to households and businesses during the quarter through the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, passed in December, and the American Rescue Plan Act, which passed in March.

But the agency also noted that the full impact of the pandemic could not be quantified in the state GDP numbers because the impacts were generally embedded within the data and could not be separately identified.

“I think that is substantially stimulus, which means borrowing money from China and throwing it into the Illinois economy,” Illinois Chamber of Commerce President Todd Maisch said during an interview. “But there’s no substitute for basic demand in the economy. So as much as (President Joe) Biden wants to spend more and more trillions of dollars, there’s no substitute for basic demand in the economy. And we’re still lacking that, there’s no doubt about it.”

The most improved sectors of the Illinois economy were also among the hardest-hit by the pandemic – arts, entertainment and recreation, which grew at a 38.6% annual rate, followed by accommodation and food services, which grew at an 18.4% pace.

Durable goods manufacturing also showed strong improvement with a 13% growth rate, as did the information sector, which includes the media, which grew at a 14% rate.

But with the state’s unemployment rate still relatively high at 7.1%, and the overall labor participation rate at only 62%, Maisch said the state’s economy is still not fully recovered, and he suggested that some government policies such as enhanced unemployment benefits that are aimed at mitigating the impact of the pandemic might be making things worse.

“That extra payment that you get from unemployment, it really does impact people’s behavior and their willingness to get back in the workforce,” he said.

Maisch also pointed to lingering concerns among many about the safety of returning to the workplace as well as structural issues in the economy such as the inability of many people in the workforce to find affordable child care.

Speaking at an unrelated event in Decatur, however, Gov. J.B. Pritzker disputed the idea that enhanced unemployment benefits are incentivizing people not to go back to work.

“I think it is a Republican right-wing talking point that says that people are just choosing to be lazy, to stay home, to get the extra few hundred dollars while they can,” Pritzker said.

Pritzker was speaking in Decatur to announce new policies aimed at making child care more affordable for working families so more of them will be able to return to work. That includes reducing the out-of-pocket cost of child care for those who qualify for state subsidies as well as increasing the reimbursement rate the state pays child care providers.

“We’re ensuring quality child care is accessible for more people, allowing more people to return to work without worrying about where their kids will go during the day and helping Illinois’ child care network rebuild after the last 16 months of our COVID-19 crisis,” Pritzker said.

6 facts about the Delta variant in Illinois

9,697 cases

Updated 12 hrs ago

The Illinois Department of Public Health reported a total of 9,697 cases of the COVID-19 variants in the state as of Sunday, with the Alpha variant that originated in the U.K. making up almost 70% of cases. The Gamma variant from Brazil makes up about 25%.

How many in Illinois

Updated 12 hrs ago

The strain of concern in Illinois currently, however, seems to be the Delta variant from India, even though there were only 84 total cases statewide as of Sunday.

PHOTO BY ANTONIO PEREZ, CHICAGO TRIBUNE

‘Growing presence’

Updated 12 hrs ago

Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Monday that the Delta variant already is a “growing presence in Illinois,” and officials expect it to be the dominant strain statewide by fall.

“The lessons here at home and across the world are a harbinger of what could happen here, particularly in low-vaccinated areas, if we don’t see a higher uptake of the vaccine across Illinois,” Pritzker said. “This is very real. I implore all residents, if you have friends and family on the fence, share with them the lifesaving benefits of these free vaccines and encourage them to remain masked until they are fully vaccinated.”

Antonio Perez, Chicago Tribune

‘Even more contagious’

Updated 12 hrs ago

Dr. Emily Landon, chief health care epidemiologist at the University of Chicago, said the Delta variant is “even more contagious than the Alpha variant,” but vaccination efforts throughout the state should keep the spread limited.

“Fully vaccinated people really don’t need to be concerned,” Landon said. “All of the vaccines that are available in the U.S. work well with the Delta variant but don’t work as well as protecting you from the original COVID. But, we’re talking about 95 and 90%, which is not significant enough to make me want to change how people are behaving.

“Where you see fewer vaccinated individuals, you’re more likely to have an outbreak. When you have COVID spreading in your community, everybody is at higher risk, including the people that are vaccinated. Certain communities, certain parts of the country are more likely to be protected because they have more people who are vaccinated.

“Unvaccinated children are still unvaccinated. Even if the rest of the family is all vaccinated, if you take unvaccinated kids to a COVID hot spot, they could get it and bring it back to your community and spread it.”

Provided photo

‘A never-ending race’

Updated 12 hrs ago

Dr. Ramon Lorenzo-Redondo, research assistant professor at Northwestern University’s Department of Medicine Division of Infectious Diseases, said an important part to note is the variants are a natural evolutionary process that all viruses go through.

“Let’s say this is a race,” he said. “Viruses that are faster and more efficiently infecting people will win the race, but it’s a never-ending race. If we put a hurdle so big that no virus can jump it, then we’ll be fine, and that’s what we’re doing with the vaccine.

“We know the Delta variant is very good at infecting, but so far none of the data shows that any of the variants can evade the immunity generated by the vaccines.

“Until you are fully vaccinated and with the time period recommended until full immunity develops, you are not fully vaccinated and are at risk. Be very careful as if you are in the middle of the pandemic. Once you are fully vaccinated, you are in a much better position.”

Photo by Charles Rex Arbogast, Associated Press

‘Multiply very quickly’

Updated 12 hrs ago

Dr. Rachel Rubin, co-lead of the Cook County Department of Public Health, said the Delta variant is of most concern lately because it seems to be more infectious and can spread faster, but it can also be more dangerous in terms of how sick a person can get.

“We don’t want the Delta variant to spread more widely,” she said. “Because this virus can make you sicker, it means younger people can also get sicker, unlike the original COVID-19 that hasn’t caused much trouble in younger people.

“The bottom line is that we absolutely need to get people vaccinated. You don’t want to get the Delta variant because it can make people really sick, but you can also get it and not know that you have it, and then spread it. It could multiply very quickly unless we get people vaccinated.”

CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION

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Europe’s PEPP-PT COVID-19 contacts tracing standard push could be squaring up for a fight with Apple and Google

New Post has been published on https://magzoso.com/tech/europes-pepp-pt-covid-19-contacts-tracing-standard-push-could-be-squaring-up-for-a-fight-with-apple-and-google/

Europe’s PEPP-PT COVID-19 contacts tracing standard push could be squaring up for a fight with Apple and Google

A coalition of EU scientists and technologists that’s developing what’s billed as a “privacy-preserving” standard for Bluetooth-based proximity tracking, as a proxy for COVID-19 infection risk, wants Apple and Google to make changes to an API they’re developing for the same overarching purpose.

The Pan-European Privacy-Preserving Proximity Tracing (PEPP-PT) uncloaked on April 1, calling for developers of contact tracing apps to get behind a standardized approach to processing smartphone users’ data to coordinate digital interventions across borders and shrink the risk of overly intrusive location-tracking tools gaining momentum as a result of the pandemic.

PEPP-PT said today it has seven governments signed up to apply its approach to national apps, with a claimed pipeline of a further 40 in discussions about joining.

“We now have a lot of governments interacting,” said PEPP-PT’s Hans-Christian Boos, speaking during a webinar for journalists. “Some governments are publicly declaring that their local applications will be built on top of the principles of PEPP-PT and also the various protocols supplied inside this initiative.

“We know of seven countries that have already committed to do this — and we’re currently in conversation with 40 countries that are in various states of onboarding.”

Boos said a list of the governments would be shared with journalists, though at the time of writing we haven’t seen it. But we’ve asked PEPP-PT’s PR firm for the info and will update this report when we get it.

“The pan-European approach has worked,” he added. “Governments have decided at a speed previously unknown. But with 40 more countries in the queue of onboarding we definitely have outgrown just the European focus — and to us this shows that privacy as a model and as a discussion point… is a statement and it is something that we can export because we’re credible on it.”

Paolo de Rosa, the CTO at the Ministry of Innovation Technology and Digital Transformation for the Italian government, was also on the webinar — and confirmed its national app will be built on top of PEPP-PT.

“We will have an app soon and obviously it will be based on this model,” he said, offering no further details.

PEPP-PT’s core “privacy-preserving” claim rests on the use of system architectures that do not require location data to be collected. Rather devices that come near each other would share pseudonymized IDs — which could later be used to send notifications to an individual if the system calculates an infection risk has occurred. An infected individual’s contacts would be uploaded at the point of diagnosis — allowing notifications to be sent to other devices with which had come into contact.

Boos, a spokesman for and coordinator of PEPP-PT, told TechCrunch earlier this month the project will support both centralized and decentralized approaches. The former meaning IDs are uploaded to a trusted server, such as one controlled by a health authority; the latter meaning IDs are held locally on devices, where the infection risk is also calculated — a backend server is only in the loop to relay info to devices.

It’s just such a decentralized contacts tracing system that Apple and Google are collaborating on supporting — fast-following PEPP-PT last week by announcing a plan for cross-platform COVID-19 contacts tracing via a forthcoming API and then a system-wide (opt-in) for Bluetooth-based proximity tracking.

That intervention, by the only two smartphone platforms that matter when the ambition is mainstream adoption, is a major development — putting momentum behind decentralized contacts tracing for responding digitally to the coronavirus crisis in the Western world, certainly at the platform level.

In a resolution passed today the European parliament also called for a decentralized approach to COVID-19 proximity tracking.

MEPs are pushing for the Commission and Member States to be “fully transparent on the functioning of contact tracing apps, so that people can verify both the underlying protocol for security and privacy and check the code itself to see whether the application functions as the authorities are claiming.” (The Commission has previously signaled a preference for decentralization too.)

However, backers of PEPP-PT, which include at least seven governments (and the claim of many more), aren’t giving up on the option of a “privacy-preserving” centralized option — which some in their camp are dubbing “pseudo-decentralized” — with Boos claiming today that discussions are ongoing with Apple and Google about making changes to their approach.

As it stands, contacts tracing apps that don’t use a decentralized infrastructure won’t be able to carry out Bluetooth tracking in the background on Android or iOS — as the platforms limit how general apps can access Bluetooth. This means users of such apps would have to have the app open and active all the time for proximity tracking to function, with associated (negative) impacts on battery life and device usability.

There are also (intentional) restrictions on how contacts tracing data could be centralized, as a result of the relay server model being deployed in the joint Apple-Google model.

“We very much appreciate that Google and Apple are stepping up to making the operating system layer available — or putting what should be the OS actually there, which is the Bluetooth measurement and the handling of crypto and the background running of such tasks which have to keep running resiliently all the time — if you look at their protocols and if you look at whom they are provided by, the two dominant players in the mobile ecosystem, then I think that from a government perspective especially, or from lots of government perspectives, there are many open points to discuss,” said Boos today.

“From a PEPP-PT perspective there are a few points to discuss because we want choice and implementing choice in terms of model — decentralized or centralized on top of their protocol creates actually the worst of both worlds — so there are many points to discuss. But contrary to the behavior that many of us who work with tech companies are used to Google and Apple are very open in these discussions and there’s no point in getting up in arms yet because these discussions are ongoing and it looks like agreement can be reached with them.”

It wasn’t clear what specific changes PEPP-PT wants from Apple and Google — we asked for more detail during the webinar but didn’t get a response. But the group and its government backers may be hoping to dilute the tech giants’ stance to make it easier to create centralized graphs of Bluetooth contacts to feed national coronavirus responses.

As it stands, Apple and Google’s API is designed to block contact matching on a server — though there might still be ways for governments (and others) to partially work around the restrictions and centralize some data.

We reached out to Apple and Google with questions about the claimed discussions with PEPP-PT. At the time of writing, neither had responded.

As well as Italy, the German and French governments are among those that have indicated they’re backing PEPP-PT for national apps — which suggests powerful EU Member States could be squaring up for a fight with the tech giants, along the lines of Apple versus the FBI, if pressure to tweak the API fails.

Another key strand to this story is that PEPP-PT continues to face strident criticism from privacy and security experts in its own backyard — including after it removed a reference to a decentralized protocol for COVID-19 contacts tracing that’s being developed by another European coalition, comprised of privacy and security experts, called DP-3T.

Coindesk reported on the silent edit to PEPP-PT’s website yesterday.

Backers of DP-3T have also repeatedly queried why PEPP-PT hasn’t published code or protocols for review to-date — and even gone so far as to dub the effort a “trojan horse.”

#DP3T entered as a candidate to so-called PEPP-PT in good faith, but it is now clear that powerful actors pushing centralised databases of Bluetooth contact tracing do not, and will not, act in good faith.

PEPP-PT is a Trojan horse.

— Michael Veale (@mikarv) April 16, 2020

ETH Zürich’s Dr. Kenneth Paterson, who is both a part of the PEPP-PT effort and a designer of DP-3T, couldn’t shed any light on the exact changes the coalition is hoping to extract from “Gapple” when we asked.

“They’ve still not said exactly how their system would work, so I can’t say what they would need [in terms of changes to Apple and Google’s system],” he told us in an email exchange.

Today Boos couched the removal of the reference to DP-3T on PEPP-PT’s website as a mistake — which he blamed on “bad communication.” He also claimed the coalition is still interested in including the former’s decentralized protocol within its bundle of standardized technologies. So the already sometimes fuzzy lines between the camps continue to be redrawn. (It’s also interesting to note that press emails to Boos are now being triaged by Hering Schuppener, a communications firm that sells publicity services, including crisis PR.)

“We’re really sorry for that,” Boos said of the DP-3T excision. “Actually we just wanted to put the various options on the same level that are out there. There are still all these options and we very much appreciate the work that colleagues and others are doing.

“You know there is a hot discussion in the crypto community about this and we actually encourage this discussion because it’s always good to improve on protocols. What we must not lose sight of is… that we’re not talking about crypto here, we’re talking about pandemic management and as long as an underlying transport layer can ensure privacy that’s good enough because governments can choose whatever they want.”

Boos also said PEPP-PT would finally be publishing some technical documents this afternoon — opting to release information some three weeks after its public unveiling and on a Friday evening (a seven-page ‘high level overview’ has since been put on their GitHub here [this link has since been deleted – Ed.] — but still a far cry from code for review) — while making a simultaneous plea for journalists to focus on the “bigger picture” of fighting the coronavirus rather than keep obsessing over technical details. 

During today’s webinar some of the scientists backing PEPP-PT talked about how they’re testing the efficacy of Bluetooth as a proxy for tracking infection risk.

“The algorithm that we’ve been working on looks at the cumulative amount of time that individuals spend in proximity with each other,” said Christophe Fraser, professor at the Nuffield Department of Medicine and Senior Group Leader in Pathogen Dynamics at the Big Data Institute, University of Oxford, offering a general primer on using Bluetooth proximity data for tracking viral transmission.

“The aim is to predict the probability of transmission from the phone proximity data. So the ideal system reduces the requested quarantine to those who are the most at risk of being infected and doesn’t give the notification — even though some proximity event was recorded — to those people who’re not at risk of being infected.”

“Obviously that’s going to be an imperfect process,” he went on. “But the key point is that in this innovative approach that we should be able to audit the extent to which that information and those notifications are correct — so we need to actually be seeing, of the people who have been sent the notification how many of them actually were infected. And of those people who were identified as contacts, how many weren’t.

“Auditing can be done in many different ways for each system but that step is crucial.”

Evaluating the effectiveness of the digital interventions will be vital, per Fraser — whose presentation could have been interpreted as making a case for public health authorities to have fuller access to contacts graphs. But it’s important to note that DP-3T’s decentralized protocol makes clear provision for app users to opt-in to voluntarily share data with epidemiologists and research groups to enable them to reconstruct the interaction graph among infected and at risk users (aka to get access to a proximity graph).

“It’s really important that if you’re going to do an intervention that is going to affect millions of people — in terms of these requests to [quarantine] — that that information be the best possible science or the best possible representation of the evidence at the point at which you give the notification,” added Fraser. “And therefore as we progress forwards that evidence — our understanding of the transmission of the virus — is going to improve. And in fact auditing of the app can allow that to improve, and therefore it seems essential that that information be fed back.”

None of the PEPP-PT-aligned apps that are currently being used for testing or reference are interfacing with national health authority systems, per Boos — though he cited a test in Italy that’s been plugged into a company’s health system to run tests.

“We have supplied the application builders with the backend, we have supplied them with sample code, we have supplied them with protocols, we have supplied them with the science of measurement, and so on and so forth. We have a working application that simply has no integration into a country’s health system — on Android and on iOS,” he noted.

On its website PEPP-PT lists a number of corporate “members” as backing the effort — including the likes of Vodafone — alongside several research institutions including Germany’s Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute for telecoms (HHI) which has been reported as leading the effort.

The HHI’s executive director, Thomas Wiegand, was also on today’s call. Notably, his name initially appeared on the authorship list for the DP-3T’s white paper. However, on April 10 he was removed from the README and authorship list, per its GitHub document history. No explanation for the change was given.

During today’s press conference Wiegand made an intervention that seems unlikely to endear him to the wider crypto and digital rights community — describing the debate around which cryptography system to use for COVID-19 contacts tracing as a ‘side show’ and expressing concern that what he called Europe’s “open public discussion” might “destroy our ability to get ourselves as Europeans out of this.”

“I just wanted to make everyone aware of the difficulty of this problem,” he also said. “Cryptography is only one of 12 building blocks in the system. So I really would like to have everybody go back and reconsider what problem we are in here. We have to win against this virus… or we have another lockdown or we have a lot of big problems. I would like to have everybody to consider that and to think about it because we have a chance if we get our act together and really win against the virus.”

The press conference had an even more inauspicious start after the Zoom call was disrupted by racist spam in the chat field. Right before that Boos had kicked off the call saying he had heard from “some more technically savvy people that we should not be using Zoom because it’s insecure — and for an initiative that wants security and privacy it’s the wrong tool.”

“Unfortunately we found out that many of our international colleagues only had this on their corporate PCs so over time either Zoom has to improve — or we need to get better installations out there. It’s certainly not our intention to leak the data on this Zoom,” he added.

Presentation script

[slide 1 project Morpheus] Hello my name is robert spence, and this is my presentation of the Final Major Project.

[slide 2 presentation outline] I will be going over various points in the presentation. The Synopsis, aim of the project, a flythrough the environment, influences, group work, challenges , evaluation, learning over the project, and aims for the future.

[slide 3 synopsis] Originally I had a different idea for the project. To produce a modular asset pack that could be used to create a star ship interior. The point of the pack being that it could be customised to fit different hulls. After sharing this idea with fellow course members and friends, a few professed interest in working on such a project. After that is was a couple of meetings and we had a completely different idea prepared. Group members mentioned wanting to create a whole backstory for the project. This is where we came up with the idea of project Morpheus. A third person game that uses an alien threat and exploration game mechanics, using the alien threat as an inhibitor for exploring. Establishing the genre, story and game mode gave us a good starting point to plan out our respective projects.

 [slide 4 Aim and target audience]

One of my goals for this project was to create a portfolio piece that takes into account the learning I have done over the course. Using the skills I have developed and improving on issues brought up in previous projects. Using this learning I would create an explorable environment to show to potential employers. This includes designing, modelling, and texturing each of the assets as well as applying collision, placement and lighting. Limited interactability was a second concern.

[slide 5 the video]

The hydroponics department. The part of the station that handles multiple important functions. Water recycling in the vats, photosynthesis based air recycling, growth of edibles, and research into new strains of plants.

[slide 6 Influences] The industry has a few prominent games that use similar ideas and styles to the ones we were looking to create. Tripple A Games like Alien isolation by creative assembly and Prey by Bethesda both use implacable alien threats in open, explorable environments. We wanted to go more for Preys look and feel, because alien isolation was too much into the horror genre. One of the other main references was the Station in Mass effect andromeda. It has open environments with a clean look. In terms of other media we looked at films like Passengers and The Martian for their visual design. Most of my reference came from artists like Robert hodri, Brian Sum, JB Banks, Tor Frick, Eren Vasquez, and Sungwoo Lee.

[slide 7 Working in a group]

Working in a group was an interesting experience. Part of the reason I wanted to work with people on a project was to experience the good and bad aspects of group work. The other part was to narrow our focus. To work on a similar goal with the restriction of getting our art styles in line with each other. Getting this experience will better prepare me for work in proper teams. I know that our group worked in a vastly different way to how an actual studio works but that dosnt mean to say that the experience wont help. Getting feedback from people trying to achieve the same goal is helpful.  

[slide 8 challenges]

Scope was one of the biggest issues we faced. The character artists did well keeping to schedule for their side of the project. It was the three of us environment artists that struggled the most. Setting out to create two versions of the environment was a mistake. We might have been able to keep to schedule if we were experienced artists in a proper work environment. In this case we overestimated our working capability. Something that should have been focused on every few weeks. it was about half way through I realised that it would be challenging if not impossible to get all the features I wanted implemented in time. Talking with team mates and lecturers we agreed that scaling back would be an idea if we did not have time to implement the extras. Focusing on quality over quantity. Some of my problems stemmed from lack of communication. Perhaps if I had revealed that I was struggling early on I could have rescheduled or scaled the scope earlier, avoiding stress that caused more problems.

[slide 9 evaluating criteria]

Time spent…12 weeks. Not including planning. It is hard to gauge what is an appropriate time for creating an environment. Much of it depends on how many assets are needed for the scene, what quality they need to be, and how efficiently they are created. Originally I had estimated 4-5 weeks per environment. With the last couple of weeks reserved for interactability and lighting. Finding out later that artstation environment challenges are given 8 weeks, I might have planned to focus on producing just the one environment. The industry expects artists to be able to optimise their work as much as possible. The less memory an asset or environment uses the more can be put into a game. I think I did quite well in terms of optimisation. A couple of issues were pointed out early. One was the transparent textures in the floors and another was how open the environment was. Due to placement of the assets within the scene I couldn’t wall off many areas. But in terms of the transparent textures a lot of the issues were caused by using boxes rather than planes, doubling the rendering needed through those surfaces. The tanks were also causing an issue for much the same reasons compounded by the fact they had a particle effect inside each of them. One of the key skills for any artist is composition. The main composition itself was sorted in the planning stage but there were minor adjustments to balance everything within the engine.

[slide 10 successful or not?]

The environment is at a quality where I can put it up on my portfolio. Which might note have been the case had I chosen to split my focus. This way I only need to tweak one environment a little for show rather than heavily redoing two. There is more I would like to do but I will talk about that at the end.

[Slide 11 what I took from the project]

Scope and scale are important. So is communication. Not just between team mates but in terms of getting feedback from others. It is also important to take a step back relax and take a look at the greater picture. Too much time was spent in a rut focusing on things that did not matter. I am not a leader. Being able to both focus on my work and on managing others at the same time is not a skill I possess…yet. In terms of the positives I have noticed that I am more likely to read into new 3d techniques and try them out. My general art skills have improved. Texturing, baking, composition, and lighting were things I struggled with more than the modelling but I feel more confident now in what I can do. I have also gotten more comfortable with posting my work up. Not as much as Id like but im getting better.

[slide 12 future plans]

My main focus over the next few weeks will be on the artstation beyond human challenge. I have been putting minimal effort in to get the FMP done. I will also be working on all the projects I posted on my portfolio. Including this one. Improving where needed and culling where necessary. Making the portfolio as strong as possible for job application.

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Feed

A Pinflux 2 feed is just like a feed upon any kind of other social network-- it's a collection of web links as well as material from boards and customers that the Pinner has adhered to.

How to set up a Pinterest account for your company

If you plan to use Pinterest to market your organisation, you ought to create a Pinterest service account, rather than an individual account. Organisation accounts offer business-specific features like analytics and the ability to utilize Pinterest advertising.

If you already have an individual Pinterest account, you can convert it to a company account. You'll simply need to fill in some additional information concerning your service and accept the business-specific terms of service.

If you don't already have a Pinterest account, right here's how to develop one for your organisation.

Step 1: Develop your Pinterest for company account

Most likely to the Pinterest for business web page and also click Join as a business.

Enter your email address, password, business name, as well as web site, as well as choose which classification your company falls into: specialist, somebody, media, brand name, seller, on-line industry, regional business, institution/non-profit, or other.

Make certain to examine the regards to solution and personal privacy policy. After that click Produce account.

When your account is created, your home page will certainly appear like the screenshot listed below. Your followers won't see this; it's just what you see when you log in. Your fans will see your profile, which you can access by clicking on the red thumb tack in the leading right-hand corner.

Pinflux 2 Testimonial & Introduction

Vendor: Cyril Jeet

Product: Pinflux 2

Release Day: 2019-Mar-28

Launch Time: 11:00 EDT

Front-End Price: $27

Sales Page: https://www.socialleadfreak.com/pinflux-2-review/

Specific Niche: Social Network

What is Pinflux?

Pinterest is the fastest expanding website traffic source for ecommerce, brands, blog writers and also even social media sites marketing professionals.

With over 250 million monthly active individuals, a high existence of women customers, and a big percent of purchasers, this system is crucial for any kind of online marketer's success.

Till now Pinterest lay untapped for automation because there was no reliable automation software application that opened every feature of Pinterest. Pinflux is the only software application that does this well.

Effective Pinterest Automation Includes

Collaborate with multiple boards across numerous IDs.

Automates pinning of fresh content.

Search and immediately find effective content from Pinterest.

Locates pins in any kind of niche and repins them to your boards.

Instantly complies with particular niche targeted profiles.

Unfollow automation for profiles that did not follow you back.

Like & activity automation.

100% assistance for hands-on actions. You can do whatever from within

What Is Pinflux 2?

Pinflux 2 is a total revamp of our really effective Pinterest automation software program.

In this version we have taken care of to make the automation truly easy by removing the application authorization process. You can automate everything without having to get your app approved, so it's really-really easy for users.

It additionally sustains scheduled of posts and also pins, as well as automation for adhere to and unfollow.

The professional version likewise sustains direct messaging the fresh followers on Pinterest.

PROS

Do all work from a single interface for all accounts.

Do jobs much faster as well as much better with automation.

Set up pins actions throughout numerous boards.

100% totally free social traffic

Perfect for Ecom Sellers & Bloggers

Super Easy To Make Use Of User Interface

Powerful Keyword Browse Technology

Complete Coverage Keeps You Updated

Exactly how Does Pinflux 2 Work?

The Three-Step Simple Website Traffic Refine

Action 1: Link all your Pinterest accounts & Boards

Action 2: Establish your key phrases & board settings.

Action 3: Enjoy your Pinterest web traffic & statistics grow.

Price & Examination

OTO 1: Pinflux Pro - $47

Improved and supercharged variation of Pinflux unlocks extra powerful automation features and also supports even more number of accounts and also boards. Perfect for expert Pinterest marketing professionals.

Pro variation has the complying with add-on functions

- 2 years of totally free upgrade - Support for unlimited accounts - Support for unrestricted boards - Unlimited blog posts - Unlimited Interaction - Industrial license

OTO 2: Pinflux Company - $67

With this certificate, your customer can offer Pinflux and keep all the sales earnings. It's an one-time permit that enables them to offer Pinflux.

Pro version has the complying with add-on attributes

OTO 3: Viral Reach Pro - $47

Open massive web traffic from Facebook with this effective Facebook automation software application that allows you produce the social blog post for the whole month at the same time.

OTO 4: Mighty Memes Pro - $47

Usage memes to drive website traffic involve your target market as well as drive massive website traffic to your deals with one of the most powerful meme making software application.

Conclusion

"It's A Good deal. Should I Spend Today?"

Not only are you getting access to Pinflux 2 for the very best price ever supplied, but also You're investing totally without danger. Pinflux 2 include a 30-day Money Back Assurance Policy. When you pick Pinflux 2, your contentment is guaranteed. If you are not totally pleased with it for any kind of factor within the very first 1 month, you're qualified to a complete refund - no doubt asked. You've got nothing to lose! What Are You Waiting on? Try It today and obtain The Adhering to Reward Currently!