This Week I Learned - Week #45 2020

This Week I Learned - 

* Microsoft OpenHack is a developer-focused engagement that connects development teams (Open) with experts to tackle a series of real-world challenges through hands-on experimentation (Hack) in person or online (Virtual).

* A data pipeline has five stages grouped into three heads:

1. Data Engineering: collection, ingestion, preparation (~50% effort)
2. Analytics / Machine Learning: computation (~25% effort)
3. Delivery: presentation (~25% effort)

* AWS is adding a second AWS Region in India which is expected to be operational in the second-half of 2022. The Asia Pacific (Hyderabad) Region will be located in the state of Telangana. AWS Asia Pacific (Mumbai) Region was launched in 2016. 

* The BBC website, the sixth most popular in the UK, has mostly migrated from the broadcaster's bit barns to Amazon Web Services (AWS) with around half the site now rendered using AWS Lambda, a serverless platform.

* Oracle hosts Tiktok and Zoom

* Anthos 101 video playlist

* Kubemetes YAML Generator 

* Secure LDAP capability of Google Cloud's managed identity and access management (IAM) platform, Cloud Identity lets you manage access to traditional LDAP-based apps and IT infrastructure using either G Suite or Cloud Identity. Secure LDAP enables authentication, authorization, and user/group lookups for LDAP-based apps and IT infrastructure. Secure LDAP uses the same user directory for both SaaS and LDAP-based applications, so people can use the same Cloud Identity credentials they use to log into services like G Suite and other SaaS apps as they do to log into traditional applications.

* AutoML is an extension of the cloud-based ML PaaS offerings demanding the skills of using tools such as Amazon SageMaker, Azure ML, Google AI Platform, and IBM Watson Studio. The AutoML tools expect developers to be familiar with the ML PaaS. 

* Microsoft has launched a desktop tool called Lobe (link to exe) that runs on Windows and Mac. Lobe assumes no knowledge of machine learning and deep learning of developers. It has a wizard-like interface for data acquisition, training, and evaluating the models. Any developer with basic programming knowledge can utilize Lobe to train a deep learning model and integrate it with her application. Lobe came to Microsoft through an acquisition made in 2018. Once the model is trained, it can be exported as a CoreML, TensorFlow, TensorFlow Lite or a hosted model. CoreML targets iOS and macOS, while the TensorFlow model can be used in any application. TensorFlow Lite is meant for web browsers and resource-constrained devices like Raspberry Pi Zero. 

* Server Rack Power Consumption Calculator

* The Param Vir Chakra was designed by Swiss born Eva Yuonne Linda ... She married Vikram Khanolkar (later to be Major General) and changed her name to Savitri Bai Khanolankar when she moved to India.

* K Subrahmanyam, the doyen of India's strategic affairs community, and as the premier ideological champion of India's nuclear deterrent, declined the Indian government honour of a Padma Bhushan in 1999, stating that bureaucrats and journalists should not accept government awards.

* While there is plenty of opportunity, audiobook narration isn’t as easy as simply reading out loud. It is a distinct art form that requires some natural ability but also determination, dedication and practice. Top-tier narrators earn as much as $500 per finished hour of content (not including time spent doing retakes). Those just starting out might earn $100 per finished hour but can earn far more in royalties if they are smart about identifying promising titles - WSJ

* Heat helps soothe stiff joints and relax muscles. Ice helps reduce swelling, which causes pain. The cold constricts blood vessels and decreases circulation to the area. Ice should be applied to an acute injury for 10 minutes at a time to prevent tissue damage to the skin by frostbite or lack of blood flow. 

* "What is your biggest weakness?" - You probably won't win any points with an obvious humble-brag such as, "My biggest weakness is that I work too hard and care too much about getting results." But an honest answer about your shortcomings won't help your chances and could very well hurt them. Admitting your own weaknesses will only help you if the person you're admitting them to already has good reason to trust you and respect your work...give an honest answer, as much as you can, while being mindful of how your stated weakness might fit in with the culture and values of the organization and the person you're speaking with. Describe your weakness as one you're working to improve. Most important, make it clear that the person you're talking with can absolutely count on you to deliver what the organization needs. 

* Taking the absurd seriously means acknowledging the contradiction between the desire of human reason and the unreasonable world. The contradiction must be lived; reason and its limits must be acknowledged, without false hope. However, the absurd can never be permanently accepted: it requires constant confrontation, constant revolt. To embrace the absurd implies embracing all that the unreasonable world has to offer - Albert Camus, The Myth of Sisyphus 

* “We suffer more often in imagination that in reality.” - Marcus Aurelius 

* Every religion is an insult to somebody - Swaminathan Aiyar