Adidas Wilson's Blog, page 109
July 24, 2017
This Ethereum and Cryptocurrency Backed Micro-loan and Micro-credit Company is Disrupting Banking
The cryptocurrency ICO market is getting more and more interesting every week. All sorts of ICOs are popping up that utilize blockchain, Ethereum, and cryptocurrency to solve big world problems.
Not only are they getting funding, they are getting lots of funding. TenX did over $80 million, EOS is well over $400 million so far, Bancor did $250 million, the numbers are very large. This goes to show the power of the cryptocurrency world. People are hungry for the next hot ICO that they can potentially multiply their cryptocurrency on, or hold for the long term.
The best use for blockchain technology so far and the place of biggest disruption is in the banking industry. The banking system is outdated and slow. The fastest way to move money from Los Angeles to Paris using the traditional banking system, is to not actually use the system and to physically fly there with cash. That’s not exactly an efficient system. Blockchain technology and blockchain startups are currently giving the banking system a well needed overhaul.
A new Ethereum based ICO company in the banking space, Everex, is bringing banking services to over 2 billion people who do not have a bank account. Everex gives those people access to a mobile based Everex wallet that essentially serves as a bank account with all of the related services but with no fees for exchanging money. Then people can use the wallet to get micro-loans, and micro financing at rates that are affordable. And it’s all backed by actual cryptocurrency.
Another huge issue in the massively outdated banking space is actually moving money around from person to person, or even to yourself. In fact, on a recent trip to Australia it took me over 5 business days to just physically move money to myself while traveling. From my own accounts. The burden and hassle on top of the long wait was extremely annoying, just to access my own money. Blockchain technology, cryptocurrency and startups like Everex begin to solve these problems where you don’t have a centralized power preventing you from accessing your own money.
Many people, especially migrant workers, want a way to send money back home. The problem is that the fees are outrageous and make it grossly unaffordable for the people that need it most. Everex allows you to send it fee free as well as exchange currency anywhere in the world without the astronomical percentage based pricing structures.
Traditionally, you could pay as high as 24% (in some cases even more) just to exchange currency and move it from one country to another.
Another pretty cool feature of Everex is cryptocurrency backed micro-loans and micro-credit. These are all 100% backed by Ethereum and Ethereum based cryptocurrencies. This concept disrupts the credit system and allows lending to happen all based and backed on cryptocurrency.
As of the time of writing Everex is already well into their ICO raising over $6 million worth of Ethereum so far the first day.
Source:
https://www.inc.com/brian-d-evans/this-ethereum-and-cryptocurrency-backed-micro-loan.html
Warehouse Picking Bots Could Soon Replace Expensive Humans
As the consumer demand for e-commerce grows, retailers are counting on robotics to lend a hand. Robotics companies and researchers are working on developing picking robots to select individual items and put them in boxes. It may sound like a small task, but on a scale of online retailer Amazon, the development looks set revolutionize one of the most labor-intensive aspects of e-commerce. Up to now, warehouse “picking” — the act of grabbing an item from a warehouse shelf — was largely done by humans. But that is changing, reports the The Wall Street Journal.
Per the WSJ:
Picking is the biggest labor cost in most e-commerce distribution centers, and among the least automated. Swapping in robots could cut the labor cost of fulfilling online orders by a fifth, said Marc Wulfraat, president of consulting firm MWPVL International Inc.
“When you’re talking about hundreds of millions of units, those numbers can be very significant,” he said. “It’s going to be a significant edge for whoever gets there first.”
So while robots have been able to grab items for a while, it’s proven impractical in warehouses that stock an ever-changing rotation of products. However, more sophisticated robotic arms are being developed that can recognize and respond with tactile differentiation different items, all while amassing data on their experiences to inform future picking practices. Essentially, these picking robots can learn from their collective memory.
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For retailers, this could be a game-changer. For some it means the possibility of fully automated warehouses, a “lights-out” scenario; a facility wouldn’t need overhead lamps because the robots wouldn’t. For others, it’s the ability to refine the jobs of human employees and solve a labor shortage that retailers have been dealing with as e-commerce has continued to expand. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, e-commerce revenues reached $390 billion in 2017 — twice as much as 2011.
Hudson’s Bay — a Canadian retail giant that also owns Saks Fifth Avenue — is currently testing a robot made by RightHand Robotics in its Ontario distribution center. The robot has an arm that can pick up different items and put them in various boxes. The company’s latest iteration of their gripper is pretty incredible; it has impressive tactile functions, various robotic finger options and even fingernails for grasping slim objects.
Amazon is eager to advance this technology through what is arguably one of the biggest new robotics competitions. The Amazon Robotics Challenge will be held from July 27 to 30 in Nagoya, Japan, and invites the academic robotic community to share research and pit their picking robots against each other in performance competitions.
The WSJ reports that over the last five years, U.S. warehouses have added 262,000 jobs to a sector that now employs 950,000 people. Whether these robots will have an effect on the jobs of laborers is yet to be seen.
Source:
https://www.inverse.com/article/34563-robotic-arms-could-soon-be-picking-out-your-amazon-orders
DCEU’s True Superman Will Be Born in Justice League
There’s one thing we can say about Justice League: no matter how Zack Snyder brings Superman back to life, it’s going to be a scene that’s hard to forget. Not only for the visual spectacle of Superman‘s resurrection, but because to this point, fans of the DCEU haven’t really seen the superhero they were expecting to (but not for the reason some disappointed viewers might think). Henry Cavill has brought the blue-and-red suited Man of Steel to life in two different films, and even teamed up with Batman and Wonder Woman… but that wasn’t Superman. Not yet, anyway. It’s going to take a death and resurrection to make this son of two fathers a superhero to stand on his own.
It may seem like a small distinction, but believe us, the version of the DCEU’s big blue Boy Scout who will play a “big” role in Justice League is almost certainly going to be something new. The conversation of whether he is a savior or a menace is over, having died alongside him in Doomsday’s wake. The Kansas farmboy trying to live up to his father’s hopes can rest easy. The last son of an alien empire trying to fulfill his father’s last wish can enjoy the victory. The world stands ready to embrace a new hero for a new era, and when he steps out of that grave in Smallville, it will be his first step as Superman, in all his glory.
From the looks of Justice League, he may not wait long to make his presence known to villains of the entire DCEU universe. But if you’re a little unconvinced that Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel story has all been leading to this birth of the “true” Superman, allow us to explain.
The story of Jonathan Kent comes to a head in his death, both literally and thematically. The scene begins, fittingly, with Clark complaining that his family’s existence is too “safe,” and that he longs to do something “useful.” Jonathan keeps a cool head as he makes a stand for all of middle America, first with words, and soon with action, as a tornado appears to guarantee “safe” has gone out the window. What does Jonathan do? He commands his son to head for cover, and protect his mother above all else. Clearly valuing his wife and son more than his own life, he heads towards the danger.
Many critical of the film are likely to check out at that point, believing Jonathan should have obviously had his invulnerable son do the rescuing, as he heads for cover with his wife (or that Clark would already be Superman, and leap into action against his father’s wishes).
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But that is not Jonathan Kent. That is not the man who raised Clark. And that is the exact kind of human heroism people tend to admire in the hardworking, farming, ‘salt of the earth’ America. When Clark heads back to retrieve the family dog, Jonathan again commands him to seek cover – passing a child into his arms, and demanding that Clark get his mother to the overpass. The audience is supposed to hope Clark will save the day, reveal he is a superhero pretending to be a farmboy, but the words that immediately follow drive home the point of the scene.
That flashback had begun with Clark expressing his desire for some danger, and his belief that simple Americans can’t be of much use to the world. Jonathan shows his son that safety is a gift, and that everyday acts of heroism are as useful as anything. It was the last lesson Jonathan taught his son – a lesson learned, as Clark then explains that “I let my father die… because I trusted him.” Clark put his desire for danger or greatness aside, and trusted his father’s warning. But in Batman V Superman, Jonathan returns to teach his son one more lesson.
After learning just how right his father was about humanity’s fear of someone different, Clark Kent – dubbed “Superman” by the world – sees his own hopes, ambitions, relationships, and even his intentions twisted by fear and suspicion. His emergence into the world has made him not a man, but a figure, a philosophical dilemma, until even the woman he loves doesn’t know if it’s possible to be together. Cue Jonathan Kent, explaining how someone to love can make the world seem a whole lot smaller.
In what appears to be a memory of his father, Clark gets some much needed perspective. Jonathan reminds him that they are simply “men from Kansas,” and that he, too, learned that pride comes at a price. That no matter what good you can do, others will always suffer. That realization haunted him until he met Martha, who convinced him there was goodness to be found in the world. He loved her, and she became his world. She became more valuable to him than his own life, in case any still doubted his reasoning during the tornado scene.
Clark only realizes his father’s meaning moments before his death, but it anchors Clark Kent’s story as that of a man, having integrated the wisdom of his father. Jonathan met Martha, and the world became simple, and good. Clark looks at Lois, and realizes the same. And true to his Kent name, that’s all the goodness Clark needs to put his life in danger to protect her.
Since Jor-El is obliterated along with Krypton when Kal-El is still a baby, he typically plays a minor role in the actual formation of Superman. At least in terms of playing a true “father” role, since Jor-El is not the same kind of hero his son grows up to be… in fact, his defeat, and lack of power to change his world’s fate are what make that chapter of the story such a somber one. And on the surface, that is kept intact in Man of Steel, even if this version of the brilliant scientist Jor-El is a bit more… hands-on. This time around, though, his hopes for the baby Kal-El are a bit more profound.
Jor-El doesn’t intend to send his son to Earth so that he can simply survive, nor ensure Krypton’s own survival, as Zod sought to. When Kal first meets his father’s artificial intelligence aboard the Kryptonian Scout Ship, Jor-El explains the the destruction of Krypton wasn’t a catastrophe. The planet’s unstable core was the cause of the planet’s destruction, but was truly the result of Krypton failing on a species level. And for that reason, neither Jor-El nor his wife would be escaping the planet alongside their child. In this version of the story, Jor-El believed that ” Lara and I were a product of the failures of our world… and tied to its fate.”
A fate that began to form when Krypton turned away from discovery, from creativity, from hope and optimism… and sought control, strength, fear of the unknown, and pride in their strictly structured society. But by being born free from that social system and sent to Earth as a newborn, Jor-El explains…
“You’re as much a child of Earth now as you are of Krypton. You can embody the best of both worlds: the dream your mother and I dedicated our lives to preserve. The people of Earth are different from us, it’s true. But ultimately I believe that’s a good thing. They won’t necessarily make the same mistakes we did. Not if you guide them, Kal. Not if you give them hope.”
That “dream” he refers to is the return of the choice and chance that, he believed, had sparked Krypton’s own greatness. It’s the idea that children could dream of becoming something more, something greater than the role society intended: “You are the embodiment of that belief, Kal.” In no uncertain terms, Kal-El is his father’s dream of a better world made real. His hope that humanity would avoid the same fear, complacency, and resignation that had led to Krypton’s downfall. All his son need do is inspire them, and guide them towards a brighter future filled with possibilities.
Source:
http://screenrant.com/justice-league-movie-superman-return/
The Authorpreneur: 3 Paths to a Lifetime of Success
The truth is that most authors will not sell more than 500 books. Typically, their book stops selling after their family and friends have already bought it. The reality is that many authors do not have a following, which will halt the sales of their book.
An engaged following is crucial to the success of an author’s book. Although, if your book does not sell 5,000 copies, it does not mean that you should surrender as a failure.
This is why the author needs to become entrepreneurial if they want long-term success. Once the author starts thinking like an entrepreneur, he/she eventually becomes an authorpreneur.
What is an authorpreneur? It is an entrepreneur that offers products and services that are based on their book(s).
A Wall Street Journal bestselling author can teach others authors about how their book can make the list too.
Alternatively, a health author can sell their health coaching service as a supplement to the book.
I consider myself an authorpreneur. In my book, Reaching the Finish Line, I offer flexible career paths to ease the transition to becoming a full-time entrepreneur.
As a result of the book, I offer personal consultations and a monthly coaching program for those who wish to go beyond the content of the book. Regardless of your book, you can create products and services that supplement your book.
There are three paths that you should consider to become a successful authorpreneur. There is a path for everybody. The sensible way is to choose the path that falls within your capacity.
1. Traditional publisher.
Many people desire a traditional publisher because of their international distribution in physical bookstores.
It can be even more important if your intent is to target an American or German audience.
Ninety-two percent of American university students and 95 percent of German students prefer print books over ebooks, as discovered in a recent international study.
This study is quite encouraging if your plan is to get your book in all the big box stores, airports, and major bookstores. Although, it is worth noting that traditional publishers will not do a lot of marketing for your book. However, their network of connections can open up an abundant amount of opportunities for you. With those connections, you can partner with some cool organizations like Habitat for Humanity, Amtrak and JetBlue.
It is these partnerships that can help you sell more books and attract potential clients.
2. Independent publisher.
More people are learning that they can make more money with their books elsewhere. Some aspiring and struggling authors do not care about the fame, but rather on making a sustainable living as an author.
Independent publishers offer an advantage — better terms. They do not offer the typical terms that you will get from a traditional publisher (10 percent royalty for print books and 25 percent royalty for ebooks and audiobooks).
Independent publishers also offer the convenience of allowing you to keep the rights to your book. Often, with a traditional publisher, you commit to an agreement for a duration of five to seven years.
The only potential disadvantage that may dissuade authors is the book advance. Some independent publishers offer a small book advance, usually between $2,000 to $5,000. However, some others will not offer any book advance, especially if they are a small press or new publisher.
As an indie author, you will make more money from your books, but you will not have the privilege of leveraging a major publisher’s connections. While your indie publisher may have a network of connections, it is likely that it will not be enough for you to be dependent on them.
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You should also consider partnering with local businesses and nonprofit organizations. It can be harder to form alliances with the national ones if they do not know your brand. However, local businesses and nonprofits are significantly easier because they are more likely to work with local residents. After all, you and they share a common objective, which is making a difference in your community.
These types of partnerships can open up opportunities to sell more books and attract potential clients.
3. Self-publisher.
Self-publishing is without a doubt the easiest way to publish a book. Before there was the book platforms (like Amazon, Kobo, Nook and iBooks) and aggregators (like Smashwords, Draft2Digital and Pronoun), the majority of people were limited to publishing with Author House, Xlibris or iUniverse.
These publishers are commonly known as print on demand publishers. Fifteen years ago, publishing with one of these companies was not such a bad idea. Now, today’s technology has made it easier to publish, and distribute your book through various eBook platforms.
If you truly want to be the publisher, you will need to use your own international standard book number (or ISBN). You can register the name of your publishing company with this number.
Alternatively, you can use an ISBN from the company that will be helping you publish your book. However, that company will become the default publisher (i.e. CreateSpace, Ingram Spark, Smashwords or Draft2Digital).
The distinct advantage as a self-published author is that you will make the most money in comparison to other authors. You can make a net royalty of up to $6 per ebook and $7.50 per paperback book.
Conversely, the main disadvantage is that there will be no publisher to pay you a book advance. Why? Well, you would be the publisher, hence the name, self-published.
Besides the higher profits, you will also endure the other advantages and disadvantages of indie authorpreneurs.
The final word.
The truth is that few authors are making over $100,000 a year from just writing books. If you want to make an annual six or seven figure salary, you have to create products and services that are based on your books.
Do you want to be an authorpreneur? Well, first you need to write a book. When will you start writing your book?
Source:
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/280411
‘The Defenders’ is the Marvel team-up you hoped for — Iron Fist and all
“The Defenders” is the type of superhero streaming that we’ve come to expect from Netflix’s live-action Marvel productions. Well worth the wait, the new show is every bit the event that Marvel fans hoped it could be.
The coming together of the streaming service’s four superhero shows — each with varying styles on how to be a hero — works in part because of how they focus on why such a get-together shouldn’t work at all.
But before Daredevil (Charlie Cox), Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter), Luke Cage (Mike Colter) and Iron Fist (Finn Jones) team up to defend New York City, the producers of the show divide the four into pairs.
Matt Murdock is still reeling from the pain of losing the woman he loved, Elektra (more on that later), and has left his Daredevil/vigilante days behind to focus on being the best lawyer possible. And who should end up needing a good, affordable attorney? Jessica Jones. (Jones is on the bad side of Misty Knight, played by Simone Missick. Could Misty have a future as a Defender, too?)
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Murdock and Jones butt heads from the start as they realize they’re both investigating something that connects to an evil scheme too big for the both of them.
That something is Sigourney Weaver’s Alexandra, who may be the biggest surprise of “The Defenders.” She’s a compelling villain with a mysterious past that borders on the unbelievable — we can’t say more than that without giving too much away.
Source:
Visa cards could soon help Bitcoin work in the real world
A recurring challenge for bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is how to make them work in the real world. A Singapore-based startup says the answer is its Visa card.
TenX is pitching its debit card as an instant converter of multiple digital currencies into dollars, yen and euros. The company said it takes a 2 per cent cut from each transaction and has received orders for more than 10,000 cards. While transactions are capped at approximately £1500 ($2000) a year, users can apply to increase the limit if they undergo identify verification procedures.
TenX’s bid to make digital currencies easier to spend comes amid massive volatility and in fighting within the cryptocurrency community. Bitcoin, the most popular, slumped after reaching a record in June amid concerns about a split in two, only to recover as fears faded. The company has built an app that serves as a digital wallet connected to the Visa card so that when it’s swiped at a cafe or restaurant, the merchant is paid in local currency and the users’ crypto account is debited.
Source:
The ‘Game of Thrones’ season 7 premiere was pirated a staggering 90 million times
The first episode of “Game of Thrones” season 7 was a massive success, and has been watched through official channels more than 16 million times since its debut last Sunday — the most for a premiere in HBO’s history.
But that figure pales in comparison to the number of times it has been pirated.
According to piracy analysis company MUSO, the 71st episode of the fantasy epic TV series been illegally viewed over 90 million times across the globe.
It’s a staggering figure — nearly six times as many as the official view count — and includes illegal streaming, torrenting, and direct downloads.
“Game of Thrones,” based on the “A Song Of Ice And Fire” books by George R. R. Martin, is a sprawling epic, dealing with court intrigue, fantasy wars, and dragons. It is always pirated heavily, regularly appearing at the top of “most-pirated” lists measuring illegal downloads in any given year.
The episode in question, “Dragonstone” — spoiler alert! — deals with exiled Queen Daenerys Targaryen making her return to her ancestral home, the island of Dragonstone, as the North debates the way forward after the defeat of Ramsay Bolton, and in King’s Landing Cersei Lannister, newly crowned, forms an alliance with Euron Greyjoy. And if none of that makes sense, don’t worry — “Game of Thrones” is famously complex, spanning multiple (fictional) continents and featuring dozens of characters.
“Game of Thrones” season 7 episode 1 was streamed 77.9 million times, torrented on public trackers 8.3 million times, directly downloaded 4.9 million times, and torrented from private trackers 500,000 times, Muso says.
Most illegal views came from the United States (15.1 million), followed by the UK (6.2 million), Germany (4.9 million), India (4.3 million), with Indonesia (4.3 million) rounding out the top five.
In an emailed statement, MUSO cofounder Andy Chatterley said: “There is no denying that these figures are huge, so they’re likely to raise more than a few eyebrows in the mainstream industry, but it’s in line with the sort of scale we see across piracy sites and should be looked at objectively. What we’re seeing here isn’t just P2P torrent downloads but unauthorized streams and every type of piracy around the premiere. This is the total audience picture, which is usually unreported.
“Audience figures have always been a critical measure for studios and TV execs to assess the health of shows. The fact that there’s been over 90 million streams and downloads of the Game of Thrones season seven premiere outside of the official channels in the first three days since airing, not only shows just how popular this show is, but the massive opportunity to engage people and bring them back to legitimate mediums.”
HBO isn’t standing by and doing nothing, however. Piracy news site TorrentFreak reports that ISPs who have customers that are torrentingthe season seven premiere are being sent warnings, telling them to change their ways.
Source:
Little Girl’s Tearful Meeting With Gal Gadot Shows Why ‘Wonder Woman’ Matters
By Ed Mazza
.@GalGadot shared a moment with a young Wonder Woman cosplayer while signing autographs with the Justice League at San Diego @Comic_Conpic.twitter.com/KZhucQd0yC
— Variety (@Variety) July 22, 2017
This is why Gal Gadot is a superhero.
Viral footage from Comic-Con in San Diego showed the star comforting a young fan who was wearing a “Wonder Woman” shirt and cape.
But the little girl, named Ashley, began to cry when she reached the front of the line.
“She was so happy to meet her that she was tearing up,” her mother Christine Keller wrote on Twitter.
In the footage, Gadot reaches across the table and takes the girl’s hand.
“There’s no reason to cry, all right,” Gadot said. “Here we are together.”
One of Gadot’s “Justice League” costars joined in.
“You’re a warrior,” said Ezra Miller, who plays the Flash in an upcoming film. “Your ability to cry is what makes you such a warrior. Come join the Justice League whenever you get ready.”
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Keller, author of “The Adventures of Danica Dreamer,” said the encounter had a big impact on her little girl.
“These characters matter and can have a huge influence on young people,” Keller wrote on her “Danica Dreamer” Facebook page. “What a great role model and genuine, nice person. My daughter will always remember this moment for the rest of her life.”
It wasn’t just Wonder Woman making an impression. The same footage also briefly showed an excited little boy with tears in his eyes as he met Ben Affleck, current star of the “Batman” franchise as well as “Justice League.”
Source:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/gal-gadot-wonder-woman-little-girl_us_59756675e4b0e79ec19a3fcd
