This Week I Learned - Week #35 2019

This Week I Learned -

With broad browser support of ES6 (~over 96%), now is probably a good time to move away from jQuery.

* AWS has Python support in Lambda Functions for a while now. Python support for Azure Functions is now generally available and ready to host your production workloads across data science and machine learning, automated resource management, and more. You can now develop Python 3.6 apps to run on the cross-platform, open-source Functions 2.0 runtime. These can be published as code or Docker containers to a Linux-based serverless hosting platform in Azure.

* Python functions can target Linux-based hosting options in Azure including both Consumption and Premium hosting plans.

* The Azure Functions extension for Visual Studio Code simplifies the process of using Functions by automatically handling many configuration concerns.

Azure Functions Core Tools will allow developers to code with the editor of their choice, and naturally Microsoft would really like you to use the Azure Pipelines integration found in Azure DevOps to keep things under control in a continuous delivery world - The Register

* ...issues like cold starts and sudden death after 10 minutes of running are a pain on the Azure Functions Standard Consumption plan. AWS will give Lambda functions 15 minutes to do their stuff before bringing down the axe.

* Regardless of the function app timeout setting, 230 seconds is the maximum amount of time that an HTTP triggered function can take to respond to a request. This is because of the default idle timeout of Azure Load Balancer. For longer processing times, consider using the Durable Functions async pattern or defer the actual work and return an immediate response.

* Premium plan provides additional features, such as premium compute instances, the ability to keep instances warm indefinitely, and VNet connectivity. App Service plan allows you to take advantage of dedicated infrastructure, which you manage. Your function app doesn't scale based on events, which means is never scales down to zero. (Requires that Always on is enabled.)

* In most cases, Azure regional pairs reside within the same geography to meet data residency requirements.

Both Traffic Manager and Azure Front Door global routing services provide:
Multi-geo redundancy: If one region goes down, traffic seamlessly routes to the closest region without any intervention from the application owner.
Closest region routing: Traffic is automatically routed to the closest region

Because of the performance, operability and security benefits to HTTP workloads with Front Door, Microsoft recommends customers use Front Door for their HTTP workloads. Traffic Manager and Front Door can be used in parallel to serve all traffic for your application.

*  No relationship has been found between consuming apple cider vinegar and blood pressure or cancer prevalence, but some research suggests that it may moderately lower glucose levels. While it’s relatively low-risk to consume apple cider vinegar and may have some benefits, its high acidity may also cause erosion of tooth enamel, throat irritation, acid reflux, and interact with other drugs or supplements (particularly with insulin and diuretics). As with most supplements, consuming apple cider vinegar won’t replace healthy lifestyle habits.  - Go Ask Alice!

* To successfully launch a prescription drug in the US after taking it through preclinical studies and clinical trials requires $2.6 billion on an average and takes 12 years. And what are the chances of US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approving the drug? Only 14%. Strategic repurposing of old drugs for new uses can save time as their pharmacology formulation and potential toxicity are already available. In the US, this strategy typically includes a demonstration of its efficacy in in vitro or in vivo animal model systems for new indications and then filing an investigational new drug application with the FDA, where following approval it typically enters into human trials - Times of India

* The number of state-owned Indian banks is down to 12 from 27. There are four new sets of mergers involving 10 banks — Punjab National Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce and United Bank of India to merge to form the country’s second-largest lender (technologically compatible as they use Finacle Core Banking Solution (CBS) platform); Canara Bank and Syndicate Bank to amalgamate; Union Bank of India to acquire Andhra Bank and Corporation Bank; and Indian Bank to merge with Allahabad Bank.

* "more than 20-25% of Isro's over 16,000 employees are women"

New research suggests that the rich have an even greater desire than the poor to continue climbing up the ladder. The rich want more because their wealth and status are essentially linked to their identity. For the upper class, their wealth and status are how they differentiate themselves from the rest of society and they are deeply attached to their worth in society. The authors suggest that this unrelenting desire could explain why many rich people pursue wealth even by unethical means.

* Never follow your passion....but always bring it with you

According to the Japanese, everyone has an ikigai. An ikigai (pronunced eye-key-guy not icky-guy) is essentially ‘a reason to get up in the morning’. A reason to enjoy life.
* "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication" -  Leonardo Da Vinci

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