#how to build a data pipeline

[lisakeller22]

Explore the blog to learn how to develop a data pipeline for effective data management. Discover the key components, best practices, applications, hurdles, and solutions to streamline processes.

[wutheringheightsfilm]

for everyone asking me "what do we do??!??!"

The Care We Dream Of: Liberatory and Transformative Approaches to LGBTQ+ Health by Zena Sharman

Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During This Crisis (And the Next) by Dean Spade

Cop Watch 101 - Training Guide

The Do-It Yourself Occupation Guide

DIY HRT Wiki 

The Innocence Project - helps take inmates off of death row

Food Not Bombs 

Transfeminine Science - collection of articles and data about transfem HRT

Anti-Doxxing Guide for Activists

Mass Defense Program - National Lawyers Guild

How to be part of a CERT (Community Emergency Response Team)

Understanding and Advocating for Self Managed Abortion

The Basics of Organizing

Building Online Power

Build Your Own Solidarity Network

Organizing 101

How to Start a Non-Hierarchical Direct Action Group

A Short and Incomplete Guide for New Activists

Eight Things You Can Do to Get Active

Palestine Action Underground Manual

How to Blow Up a Pipeline by Andreas Malm

Spreadsheet of gynecologists that will tie your tubes without bothering you about it

COVID Resource Guide

Mask Bloc NJ (find one near you, these are international!)

Long Covid Justice

Donate to Palestinian campaigns (2, 3, 4)

Donate to Congolese campaigns (2, 3) 

Donate to Sudanese campaigns (2, 3)

[river-taxbird]

AI hasn't improved in 18 months. It's likely that this is it. There is currently no evidence the capabilities of ChatGPT will ever improve. It's time for AI companies to put up or shut up.

I'm just re-iterating this excellent post from Ed Zitron, but it's not left my head since I read it and I want to share it. I'm also taking some talking points from Ed's other posts. So basically:

We keep hearing AI is going to get better and better, but these promises seem to be coming from a mix of companies engaging in wild speculation and lying.

Chatgpt, the industry leading large language model, has not materially improved in 18 months. For something that claims to be getting exponentially better, it sure is the same shit.

Hallucinations appear to be an inherent aspect of the technology. Since it's based on statistics and ai doesn't know anything, it can never know what is true. How could I possibly trust it to get any real work done if I can't rely on it's output? If I have to fact check everything it says I might as well do the work myself.

For "real" ai that does know what is true to exist, it would require us to discover new concepts in psychology, math, and computing, which open ai is not working on, and seemingly no other ai companies are either.

Open ai has already seemingly slurped up all the data from the open web already. Chatgpt 5 would take 5x more training data than chatgpt 4 to train. Where is this data coming from, exactly?

Since improvement appears to have ground to a halt, what if this is it? What if Chatgpt 4 is as good as LLMs can ever be? What use is it?

As Jim Covello, a leading semiconductor analyst at Goldman Sachs said (on page 10, and that's big finance so you know they only care about money): if tech companies are spending a trillion dollars to build up the infrastructure to support ai, what trillion dollar problem is it meant to solve? AI companies have a unique talent for burning venture capital and it's unclear if Open AI will be able to survive more than a few years unless everyone suddenly adopts it all at once. (Hey, didn't crypto and the metaverse also require spontaneous mass adoption to make sense?)

There is no problem that current ai is a solution to. Consumer tech is basically solved, normal people don't need more tech than a laptop and a smartphone. Big tech have run out of innovations, and they are desperately looking for the next thing to sell. It happened with the metaverse and it's happening again.

In summary:

Ai hasn't materially improved since the launch of Chatgpt4, which wasn't that big of an upgrade to 3.

There is currently no technological roadmap for ai to become better than it is. (As Jim Covello said on the Goldman Sachs report, the evolution of smartphones was openly planned years ahead of time.) The current problems are inherent to the current technology and nobody has indicated there is any way to solve them in the pipeline. We have likely reached the limits of what LLMs can do, and they still can't do much.

Don't believe AI companies when they say things are going to improve from where they are now before they provide evidence. It's time for the AI shills to put up, or shut up.

[mythauragame]

Development Update - April 2025

Hello hello, folks!

Content development for what we'll have available at launch is well underway, utilizing all the tools that Koa and Sark have built for us—like a dialogue creator that powers all of our questlines and a map builder that's allowing us to build 2.5D levels for your characters to explore. It's full steam ahead for our team as we continue to prepare for Closed Beta next year.

Sark has built a fishing minigame for Mythaura, which we will explore in this update. We also have the results for the Spring Quarter Ko-fi Rewards, and would like to remind everyone interested in winning some Radiant Wolfwasps for their journey through Mythaura to enter our Wolfwasp Giveaway on Instagram by 11:59 AM on May 31!

Fishing

Mythaura is filled with all manner of bodies of water—lakes, rivers, streams, and oceans. In addition to being able to traverse water by swimming, Sark has created a way for players to explore them in another dynamic way: fishing.

The fishing minigame will be available at launch, with some post-launch additions planned as well.

Mechanics

After acquiring a fishing pole from the Grinning Gar, players will be able to fish along any body of water.

Players will have to keep their lure close to the fish in order to reel it in. The higher the rarity of the fish, the more difficult it will be to reel them in.

Rarer fish yield better effects when consumed and have a higher sales value with in-game vendors.

Fishing Rewards

Fishing does not exclusively yield consumables—there's also the chance to fish up certain Companions as well!

Pictured above are just some of the creatures that you can fish up from the rivers and streams around Talon's Rest.

The Grinning Gar

"Mind your fingers around the Ottergrebe. He's insatiable."

The Grinning Gar is an adventurer's destination for all things fishing-related. Its proprietor, Captain Hawthorne, is always quick with a recommendation and quicker yet with a fantastic tale about the epic battles he has waged with the fish in Lake Lacrima.

The shop was designed by our own lovely Sourdeer and Hawthorne's design was pulled from one of the NPC Design Contest that we held. Thank you for the design submission, Satyrn! 🎣✨

Ko-fi Spring Quarter 2025 Winners

Thank you to all the Ko-fi sponsors who voted for the Spring Quarter 2025 rewards. Next month we will show the finalized artwork for the Frilled Nester Companion and the Bumblebaby Ryu Glamour. Stay tuned!

Radiant Wolfwasp Giveaway

A reminder that entries for our Radiant Wolfwasp Giveaway will close on May 31, 2025 at 11:59am PST. We will use Wask to determine our winners, and will stream the award selection on our Discord on May 31, 2025 at 12:00pm PST.

Prizes

1st place: Wolfwasp Queen (Radiant), Wolfwasp King (Radiant)

2nd place: Wolfwasp Warrior Drone (Radiant) and Wolfwasp Worker Drone (Radiant)

3rd place: Corgbee (Radiant)

How to Enter

Users will just need to follow three steps:

Follow the @mythauragame Instagram account

Like the giveaway post

Tag a friend in the comments

Writing & Design Updates

2/8 bespoke levels created for intro quest

Dialogue trees begun for intro quest

Companion descriptions rewritten: 2/95

Item descriptions rewritten: 2/69

Wind's End landmarks named: 1/9

Talon's Rest primary businesses & landmarks named: 3/13

Map regions named: 1/12

Territories named: 1/32

Mythaura v0.37

Quest System Foundation: Players can now take on structured quests with objectives and rewards.

Lineage Data for Beasts: Lineage tracking has been added to beast profiles.

Repeatable Event Support: Events can now be repeated. For example, being able to harvest apple trees in Talon's Rest once a week.

Player Blocking System: Added functionality to block other players.

Buildings can be added to maps and entered: The player can enter and explore buildings with interiors.

Ability to talk to party: You can now interact with your party members to get context-specific dialogue.

New Game Pipeline: Starting a new game now initiates the first quest and generates a random second starter beast.

Map Editor Features: Dozens of new features were added and refined in the internal map tool.

Active Quest Tracking: The codex now shows your active and completed quests. One quest can be tracked as the main quest.

Dynamic Fishing Lighting: When fishing at night, the assets are darker.

Beast Contract Termination: Players are rewarded from a loot pool based on the tier of the terminated beast

Thank You!

Thanks for sticking through to the end of the post, we always look forward to sharing our month's work with all of you--thank you for taking the time to read. We'll see you around the Discord.

[mariacallous]

Europe is under siege—not by armies but by supply chains and algorithms. Rare-earth minerals, advanced semiconductors, and critical artificial intelligence systems all increasingly lie in foreign hands. As the U.S.-China tech cold war escalates, U.S. President Donald Trump battles Europe’s attempt to regulate tech platforms, Russia manipulates energy flows, and the race for AI supremacy intensifies, Europe’s fragility is becoming painfully clear. For years, policymakers have warned about the continent’s reliance on foreign technology. Those alarms seemed abstract—until now.

Geopolitical flashpoints, from the Dutch lithography firm ASML’s entanglement in the U.S.-China chip war to Ukraine’s need for foreign satellite services, reveal just how precarious Europe’s digital dependence really is. If Europe doesn’t lock down its technological future, it risks becoming hostage to outside powers and compromising its core values.

Fragmented measures aren’t enough. A European Chips Act here, a half-implemented cloud or AI initiative there won’t fix a system where every layer—from raw materials to software—depends on someone else. Recent AI breakthroughs show that whoever controls the stack—digital infrastructure organized into a system of interconnected layers—controls the future.

The U.S. government ties AI research to proprietary chips and data centers through its Stargate program, while China’s DeepSeek masters the entire supply chain at lower costs. Europe can’t keep treating chips, supercomputing, and telecommunication as discrete domains; it needs a unifying vision inspired by digital autonomy and a grasp of the power dynamics shaping the global supply chain.

Without a coherent strategy, the continent will be a mere spectator in the biggest contest of the 21st century: Who controls the digital infrastructure that powers everything from missiles to hospitals?

The answer is the EuroStack—a bold plan to rebuild Europe’s tech backbone layer by layer, with the same urgency once devoted to steel, coal, and oil. That will require a decisive mobilization that treats chips, data, and AI as strategic resources. Europe still has time to act—but that window is closing. Our proposed EuroStack offers a holistic approach that tackles risks at every level of digital infrastructure and amplifies the continent’s strengths.

The EuroStack comprises seven interconnected layers: critical raw materials, chips, networks, the Internet of Things, cloud infrastructure, software platforms, and finally data and AI.

Every microchip, battery, and satellite begins with raw materials—lithium, cobalt, rare-earth metals—that Europe doesn’t control. China commands 60-80 percent of global rare-earth production, while Russia weaponizes gas pipelines. Europe’s green and digital transitions will collapse without secure access to these resources. Beijing’s recent export restrictions on gallium and germanium, both critical for semiconductors, served as a stark wake-up call.

To survive, Europe must forge strategic alliances with resource-rich nations such as Namibia and Chile, invest in recycling technologies, and build mineral stockpiles modeled on its strategic oil reserves. However, this strategy will need to steer clear of subsidizing conflict or profiting from war-driven minerals, as seen in the tensions between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the latter’s criminal complaints against Apple in Europe—demonstrating how resource struggles can intensify regional instability.

Above this resource base lies the silicon layer, where chips are designed, produced, and integrated. Semiconductors are today’s geopolitical currency, yet Europe’s share of global chip production has dwindled to just 9 percent. U.S. giants such as Intel and Nvidia dominate design, while Asia’s Samsung and TSMC handle most of the manufacturing. Even ASML, Europe’s crown jewel in lithography, finds itself caught in the crossfire of the U.S.-China chip war.

Although ASML dominates the global market for the machines that produce chips, Washington is using its control over critical components and China over raw materials to put pressure on the company. To regain control, Europe must double down on its strengths in automotive, industrial, and health care chipsets. Building pan-European foundries in hubs such as Dresden, Germany, and the Dutch city of Eindhoven—backed by a 100 billion euro sovereign tech fund—could challenge the U.S. CHIPS and Science Act and restore Europe’s foothold.

Next comes connectivity, the digital networks that underpin everything else. When Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine, Kyiv’s generals relied on Starlink—a U.S. satellite system—to coordinate defenses. And U.S. negotiators last month suggested cutting access if no deal were made on Ukrainian resources. Europe’s own Iris2 network remains behind schedule, leaving the European Union vulnerable if strategic interests clash.

Meanwhile, China’s Huawei still dominates 5G infrastructure, with Ericsson and Nokia operating at roughly half its size. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has even floated buying Starlink coverage, underscoring how urgent it is for Europe to accelerate Iris2, develop secure 6G, and mandate a “Buy European” policy for critical infrastructure.

A key but often overlooked battleground is the Internet of Things, or IoT. Chinese drones, U.S. sensors, and foreign-controlled industrial platforms threaten to seize control of ports, power grids, and factories. Yet Europe’s engineering prowess in robotics offers a lifeline—if it pivots from consumer gadgets to industrial applications. By harnessing this expertise, Europe can develop secure, homegrown IoT solutions for critical infrastructure, ensuring that smart cities and energy grids are built on robust European standards and safeguarded against cyberattacks.

Then there is the cloud, where data is stored, processed, and mined to train next-generation algorithms. Three U.S. giants—Amazon, Microsoft, and Google—dominate roughly 70 percent of the global market. The EU’s Gaia-X project attempted to forge a European alternative, but traction has been limited.

Still, the lesson from DeepSeek is clear: Controlling data centers and optimizing infrastructure can revolutionize AI innovation. Europe must push for its own sovereign cloud environment—perhaps through decentralized, interoperable clouds that undercut the scale advantage of Big Tech—optimized for privacy and sustainability. Otherwise, European hospitals, banks, and cities will be forced to rent server space in Virginia or Shanghai.

A sovereign cloud is more than a mere repository of data; it represents an ecosystem built on decentralization, interoperability, and stringent privacy and data protection standards, with client data processed and stored in Europe.

Gaia-X faltered due to a lack of unified vision, political commitment, and sufficient scale. To achieve true technological sovereignty, Europe must challenge the monopolistic dominance of global tech giants by ensuring that sensitive information remains within its borders and adheres to robust regulatory frameworks.

When it comes to software, Europe runs on U.S. code. Microsoft Windows powers its offices, Google’s Android runs its phones, and SAP—once a European champion—now relies heavily on U.S. cloud giants. Aside from pockets of strength at companies such as SAP and Dassault Systèmes, Europe’s software ecosystem remains marginal. Open-source software offers an escape hatch but only if Europe invests in it aggressively.

Over time, strategic procurement and robust investments could loosen U.S. Big Tech’s grip. A top priority should be a Europe-wide, privacy-preserving digital identity system—integrated with the digital euro—to protect monetary sovereignty and curb crypto-fueled volatility. Piece by piece, Europe can replace proprietary lock-in with democratic tools.

Finally, there is AI and data, the layer where new value is being generated at breakneck speed. While the United States and China have seized an early lead via OpenAI, Anthropic, and DeepSeek, the field remains open. Europe boasts world-class supercomputing centers and strong AI research, yet it struggles to translate these into scalable ventures. The solution? “AI factories”—public-private hubs that link Europe’s strengths in health care, climate science, and advanced manufacturing.

Europeans could train AI to predict wildfires, not chase ad clicks, and license algorithms under ethical frameworks, not exploitative corporate terms. Rather than only mimicking ChatGPT, Europe should fund AI for societal challenges through important projects of common European interest, double down on high-performance computing infrastructure, and build data commons that reflect core democratic values—privacy, transparency, and human dignity.

The EuroStack isn’t about isolationism; it’s a bold assertion of European sovereignty. A sovereign tech fund of at least 100 billion euros—modeled on Europe’s pandemic recovery drive—could spark cross-border innovation and empower EU industries to shape their own destiny. And a Buy European procurement act would turn public purchasing into a tool for strategic autonomy.

This act could go beyond traditional mandates, championing ethical, homegrown technology by setting forward-thinking criteria that strengthen every link in Europe’s digital ecosystem—from chips and cloud infrastructures to AI and IoT sensors. European chips would be engineered for sovereign cloud systems, AI would be trained on European data, and IoT devices would integrate seamlessly with European satellites. This integrated approach could break the cycle of dependency on foreign suppliers.

This isn’t about shutting out global players; it’s about creating a sophisticated, multidimensional policy tool that champions European priorities. In doing so, Europe can secure its technological future and assert its strategic autonomy in a rapidly evolving global order.

Critics argue that the difference in mindset between Silicon Valley and Brussels is an obstacle, especially the bureaucratic nature of the EU and its focus on regulation. But other countries known for bureaucracy—such as India, China, and South Korea—have achieved homegrown digital technology from a much lower technological base than the EU. Indeed, through targeted industrial policies and massive investments, South Korea has become a world leader in the layers of chips and IoT. The EU currently already has a strong technological base with companies such as ASML, Nokia, and Ericsson.

European overregulation is not the issue; the real problem is a lack of focus and investment. Until now, the EU has never fully committed to a common digital industrial policy that would allow it to innovate on its own terms. Former European Central Bank President Mario Draghi’s recent report on EU competitiveness—which calls for halting further regulation in favor of massive investments—and incoming German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s bold debt reforms signal a much-needed shift in mindset within the EU.

In the same spirit, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has launched a defense package providing up to 800 billion euros to boost Europe’s industrial and technological sovereignty that could finally align ambition with strategic autonomy.

If digital autonomy isn’t at the forefront of these broader defense and infrastructure strategies, Europe risks missing its last best chance to chart an independent course on the global stage.

To secure its future, Europe must adopt a Buy European act for defense and critical digital infrastructures and implement a European Sovereign Tech Agency in the model of the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency—one that drives strategic investments, spearheads AI development, and fosters disruptive innovation while shaping a forward-looking industrial policy across the EU.

The path forward requires ensuring that investments in semiconductors, networks, and AI reinforce one another, keeping critical technologies—chips, connectivity, and data processing—firmly under the EU’s control to prevent foreign interests from pulling the plug when geopolitics shift.

Europe’s relative decline once seemed tolerable when these risks felt hypothetical, but real-world events—from undersea cable sabotage to wartime reliance on foreign satellite constellations—have exposed the EU’s fragility.

If leaders fail to seize this moment, they will cede control to external techno-powers with little incentive to respect Europe’s needs or ideals. Once this window closes, catching up—or even keeping pace—will be nearly impossible.

The EuroStack represents Europe’s last best chance to shape its own destiny: Build it, or become a digital colony.

[cripplerage]

One of my foster brothers started showing signs of being in the early stages of going down the "right wing pipeline" on YouTube. For those that don't know, it basically means that the algorithm is slowly transitioning him to slightly harmful content that could eventually lead to him being mysoginistic, racist, antisemitic, etc. It generally starts with basic "alpha male" content. He started referring to himself as a "sigma male," talking about "rizzing up girls," and he's started "mewing," a trend that he thinks will give him a stronger jawline.

He's 12.

So what to do, and why post about it on Tumblr?

In Australia, the prime minister has decided he wants to ban social media for anyone under the age of 16 and potentially also make Australian social media start requiring photo ID for ages verification. Do I think this will happen? Not really. But there are a lot of adults that think that a full ban is the only way to go, without ever fully understanding what the problems with children being on the internet even were in the first place.

A ban will not work. Do we need child safe spaces online? Do we need more internet security and data collection protections? Do we need internet safety training for both parents and kids? Absolutely. But not a ban.

So this is what we're doing instead of banning him from YouTube. Maybe it'll help you know what to do for the kids in your life, or maybe you'll have suggestions to help us.

First off: we're switching to NewPipe. It's ad free, got better privacy, and we can turn off recommendations, comment sections, mature content, and the trending page. Essentially, he's getting switched to a subscriber-only feed. Here's the link.

https://newpipe.net/

Then, we're going to sit down with him, judgement free. We'll ask him to show us what he watches on YouTube and ask him what he likes about it. We'll encourage the good stuff and gently explain to him why we don't want him watching the bad stuff.

Then we'll start building the subscriber feed together. He can make requests and we'll do a basic check to make sure they're safe before adding them, and I'll also show him a bunch of random kid friendly channels he might like so that his subscriber tab can look as full and varied as a home page would. I'll show him how to make folders for his favorite YouTubers so he can check just those ones first.

And that's about it, really. I'm aiming to reblog this with a list of what we're letting him watch so that anyone out there can look for recommendations, but keep in mind that what we think is appropriate for our kid might not be what's appropriate for yours.

Remember: The pipeline is a slippery slope. My brother is a lovely kid, and certainly not mysoginistic or anything like that. He doesn't know he watched anything wrong. But even just repeating the words, accidentally internalizing that toxic masculinity, that is a very dangerous first step. It's a lot easier to break them out of it early.

But don't take this as fear mongering either. The internet is important, and just like it would be difficult for adults to suddenly transition to no internet access, so would it be for children. We've simply gone too far. The internet, when done right, is a place that children can go to for education, community, and self discovery. It's where a lot of young people learn about being gay, or that they're being abused, or about injustices in the world.

Cutting that lifeline will put a lot of children in isolation, and isolation makes them vulnerable. We just need to put safety measures in place and take a normal amount of interest in our children's lives, that's all.

Feel free to leave some child friendly YouTube recommendations in the notes!

[eponymous-rose]

It's another busy week, so I'm gonna do one of these again because it genuinely helps me keep track. Today in a nutshell!

Worked on some e-mails over breakfast - mostly coordinating for dinner tonight (I 100% did not forget to make the reservation, I promise, I just uhhhhhhhhhhh definitely didn't forget, that's for sure, and thank goodness for no particular reason that they happened to have one table left at 6PM), happily agreeing to write some reference letters for my PhD student's postdoc applications, rescheduling some meetings, setting new meetings, meetings meetings meetings. Oh, and booking tables for a couple of card shows this month! Off to work!

I get in a little later than I'd like and rush downstairs to the lounge to make my mug of tea pre-class, where I run into a student who just defended his PhD last week. I'm on his reading committee, so we agree to set up a time to go over my (honestly quite minor) comments on his dissertation. I also run into our incredible facilities guy, who follows up on some technical issues my students ran into over the weekend, hopefully resolved - I have five groups of three undergraduate students running their own weather stations all across the metro area of our city!

No time to enjoy the tea, so I leave it to steep a hilariously long time and rush back downstairs to teach my class! This year's students are truly exceptional - apparently over the weekend they all discovered that the Mac version of the data collection software for their weather stations is no longer supported, and they all independently coordinated to get PCs into the hands of all 5 groups. Let me tell you, when you're expecting to have to spend the first 20 minutes of the class troubleshooting and are instead greeted by a quiet, expectant two rows of faces, it's a great feeling.

Today's lecture is a topic I'm really passionate about - teaching students the "why" behind a lot of the statistical methods they've learned in the past (these are college seniors) and working on building a pipeline for exploratory data analysis. This isn't explicitly part of the syllabus, but my gosh, the quality of the final reports has improved sharply once I introduced these lectures. The students participated a bunch and happily launched into think-pair-share groups without my having to coordinate them. This is my sixth time teaching this class, and these students are far and away the best I've encountered. I am also very, very bad with names (and have a lot of anxiety about calling someone by the wrong name) but managed to successfully use an example in class in which I rattled off four students' names in a row, no effort needed. Phew.

As a side note, this has always been far and away my least-favorite class to teach, and this was the year I was gonna change that - I brought it to a curriculum development workshop last year and even presented on it at an education conference last week. But... dang, having strong students truly makes it effortless to enjoy teaching this class.

Back to my office, which smells like the double-spiced chai that has been steeping so long it's probably quadruple-spiced by now. Delicious. I have an hour until my next commitment, so I try to get ahead on grading the homework assignment my students handed in on Friday (all 15 of them handed it in on time!!!!). I also realize that this is my last block of free time until dinner, so I run downstairs to heat up my soup for lunch.

After getting through four of the assignments, it's time for a weather briefing (we have a team for a national forecasting competition), which means it's mostly just time for technical difficulties, but we make it through in the end and wrap up a bit early - back to grading! Students are doing great on this assignment overall, which is gratifying, but I make a note of a topic some of them are struggling on so I can mention it during Wednesday's class.

Weekly hour-long meeting with one of my Master's students! He talked about how he's taking a course on pedagogy to help with his work as a teaching assistant this quarter (!!) and he's been working through my first round of revisions of his very first first-author scientific journal article and had a few clarifying questions. I recommended some off-the-wall papers in the communications literature that I think would dovetail well with some of the discussion in his paper, and he was really jazzed to get to explore those. We also decided to get him set up with a million core-hours on a supercomputer so he can start on the next phase of his research - he promised to have the paper ready for the next set of revisions by the end of the week, so while I'm working on that, he can get familiar with the new system. I am also reminded that I really need to come up with some more substantial funding for him - currently he's working on a fellowship, but that runs out after three years.

After he heads out (a few minutes early, more grading time!) I get an e-mail from a scientist in Switzerland - she and I are working on getting her out here for a two-year postdoc job studying lightning with me. She's made revisions on her application for funding, so that's another thing for me to read over this week. I'm also reminded that I have to get back to an Italian grad student who wants to come visit my group for a year. Still figuring out the logistics on that one...

I also need to get back to a forestry service colleague of mine about getting the university my share of the funds for our fast-approaching field work using brand-new radar tech to study wildfire smoke plumes. I really, really need to get back to him this week - I think we're planning on flying out in April to start.

ALSO also this week, I have some pretty intense revisions of my own to deal with - I've been given this opportunity to write a huge review article, and I finally got it done back in December... only to learn that they want it to be about half that length. I'm going to take a swing at carving 5,000 words out of that behemoth.

AND a colleague and I are working on a resubmission of a grant to study thunderstorms in really unusual places, and I promised her I'd have a complete draft for her to read by the 7th. Phew. Good thing my week is only front-loaded with meetings.

Whoops, no more time to grade/read e-mails and schedule in my head. We have someone here today interviewing for a job on our faculty, and I'm one of the search committee members! Better dash downstairs to catch the candidate's talk. We have five two-day interviews planned for the next four weeks. Ouch.

Awesome talk by the candidate (we're very lucky to be spoiled for choice even in our very specialized field - we've whittled 86 qualified candidates down to five), and I launch straight from that into a student's PhD entrance exam. At this stage I should mention how much I genuinely loathe our PhD entrance exam, which is a pedagogical and logistical nightmare all around. This was a very popular opinion, which is why we as the faculty voted unanimously to completely change the process last year. Why are there students still taking this horrible exam???? Fuck if I know, man. At this point, it's voluntary to opt into it, and I am baffled and deeply frustrated at how many faculty members apparently encouraged their students to take it. Anyway, the student does a great job and we muddle through somehow, and now it's back up to my office to do some cramming on small-talk topics before a colleague and I host the faculty candidate for dinner!

A delightful dinner all around - my colleague is someone I was initially intimidated by (she's a giant in the field) but with whom I have since bonded, so we had some fun banter in the car and I think it helped the job candidate relax a little. We had some fun big-picture talk (and some less-fun big picture talk about news that dropped as we were eating) but mostly just talked about how much we love this part of the world. Good food, drink, and conversation. On the car ride home, I managed to troubleshoot a problem my undergrad research assistant was having with getting access to the supercomputer he needs for his project. Phew.

That's a long day, but good stuff all around!

[mister13eyond]

I stayed up too late writing a lore dump on my phone.... sticking it under the cut just so I have it somewhere concrete

MANA. 

This is one of the basic building blocks of the universe. Just as physical things are made of atoms, spiritual and magical things are made of mana. 

There is mana abundant in the universe, but it isn't something everyone can access. Human souls are made of mana, but most humans cannot cast magic. After death, human souls are returned to the fabric of the universe just as human bodies decompose into carbon and rejoin the earth. For most people this is all that exists after death: a return to whence we were made. But for some, deals can be made. That's where angels and demons come in. 

Angels are beings who are capable of drawing, storing and casting mana as magic from the universe around them. They are capable of miracles, and can change their shape at will. These beings have formed an organizational structure for dealing with humankind and human souls- we call this organization Heaven. 

Heaven is run with a similar structure to a government. Officials are elected by vote, with representatives being chosen at larger scales the higher up the ranking one goes. At the top level of heaven exists what is essentially an angelic Supreme Court- those who have the final say on what is or is not angelic law. Angels work to uphold a sense of order and balance in the world, and to create a fair and just existence. 

In order to do so, angels make deals with humans to reward their souls with preservation after death. When a human has been deemed to have a positive impact on the world around them, and when they have prayed to angels for life after death, their souls are kept in Heaven. This is something between walled garden and museum display- a collection of the mana that once made up the humans deemed worthy by angelkind.

The environment in Heaven is best thought of as political. Angelic relationships tend to remain professional,  polite, and above all private. Since the entire system is run democratically, reputation and status mean everything to angels. It is far more dangerous to be caught up in a whisper campaign in Heaven than any physical threat- a poor enough reputation will trap angels in lowly positions with no hope of advancement, while a good reputation and a solid network are needed to maintain any sort of influence over the celestial legal system. 

Human souls are judged and reviewed by the Celestial Court, a legal system that reviews the life and impact of each human soul brought in as a potential candidate for preservation. Celestial defense attorneys, such as Asphodel (before their quiet exile) are tasked with presenting a case as to why this human is worthy of Heaven. Those souls rejected in court will be released into the universe once more. 

Celestial court also handles cases where human souls cross paths with Demons. Demons are a different kind of being, and their dominion is known as Hell. 

Demons are not capable of drawing mana from the universe. They are formed from mana, but after establishing themselves as sentient beings, they cannot pull from the fabric of the universe the way Angels can. This means demons must rely on another source of mana: that contained in the human soul. 

Hell functions a lot like a large corporation. Demons make deals with humans to grant them favors in exchange for their souls, after which their souls are sent up the pipeline to the Devil. The Devil then distributes from the mana pooled by all demons under his employ, with the amount of mana each demon receives proportional to their position in the company. Promotions up the ranks happen when demons are exceptionally skilled or experienced, with demons at the lower ranks serving more menial or administrative jobs. Vin worked in a position where his job was keeping track of records and collections, managing data on how much mana came and went through his pipeline. Other demons, like Nik and Ike, would have been in charge of writing contracts or making offers directly, in what more closely resemble sales positions. 

The atmosphere in Hell can be thought of more like a large company with many small social groups and networks. Because the work is stressful- and because demons need to know human vices and pleasures well in order to offer them- Hell has a rather rowdy party culture. Demons are known for indulgence and hedonism, working only so that they can run wild in their hours off. 

Because they are both attempting to collect human souls for different purposes, demons and angels consider themselves to be enemies. However, there is a small portion of both populations who spend their time on Earth, and who have acclimated to one another. These may be those who work in the field directly- offering deals or miracles- or they may be exiles. 

Exiles are demons or angels who no longer live in Heaven or Hell. There are a variety of reasons this may happen, but most often this is due to negative circumstances. For example, Vin is exiled due to a series of loopholes which resulted in an unfulfilled contract. Because he was accidentally summoned with a summoning circle typo, he was summoned for magic he could not actually provide. On top of this, his summoners died immediately from their bungled magic, which left Vin unable to negotiate any adjustments to their terms. As a result, he must stay in earth indefinitely, as the terms of his contract dictate he's only free to return to Hell once he has completed his end of the bargain. Most demons trapped on earth are similarly bound by contracts or exiled for their failures to perform their jobs in Hell. 

Angelic exiles, on the other hand, tend to be a bit subtler. Angels have a system called Falling that can be used to cut an angel off from all mana in the universe. However, this is an incredibly dangerous process. An angel cut off from the source of all mana creates something like a black hole in that angel, causing them to pull indiscriminately from everything around them- compromising both the magical equilibrium of a location as well as draining and potentially killing any humans, demons and/or angels around them.

To avoid this outcome, fallen angels are collared. The collar binds the fallen angel, containing them to a singular form and quantity of mana. Collared fallen can no longer shapeshift, cast magic, or absorb mana. They are held in stasis unless their collar is removed- which would result in the aforementioned magical black hole. This means that properly Falling is a very rare verdict for the celestial court, reserved only for those whom the creation of a dangerous magical weapon still presents less threat than leaving them to their own devices in Heaven. 

Instead of Falling, exiles like Asphodel tend to have been quietly pushed out while making it seem like their own idea. Since reputation and status are so important to angels, many angels who are looked down upon, isolated from or shunned by their peers quietly slip away to earth under the pretense of a project or vacation. This is generally framed as the exile's own decision, though it is usually clear that the angel's peers and superiors are making the decision for them. In these cases, exiled angels are more like estranged family members- quietly cutting off those in Heaven unless an emergency happens, cut off themselves from any access to mana or magic. Exiled angels tend to be reclusive and low-key, living among humans and avoiding drawing unnecessary attention to themselves. 

Amongst these circumstances, it's hardly odd for a reclusive pair of exiles like Vin and Asphodel to cross paths. And while Vin may no longer be able to earn mana from hell, there are ways for demons to collect it that do not need the same process. 

Human souls tend to shed mana the same way their bodies shed skin cells and hairs. On an individual level, this is a negligible amount of mana, but at larger concentrations of people this amount of mana can be collected quite easily. Human souls tend to shed more mana when emotions are high, so events where large amounts of people gather and experience strong collective emotions make for excellent opportunities for demons. These may be things like concerts, movies, theme parks, gatherings, or even streams- mana operates on emotional closeness or collectivity with the crowd, not physical. 

As a result, many exiled demons become involved in culture or the arts. Music, theater, art, filmmaking and dance are all common ways for demons to engage with humans in order to draw them together and unite them in collective experiences in order to harvest mana. Combined with demons’ hedonistic culture in hell, it means a great deal of demons also frequent clubs, bars, raves and parties. 

[govindhtech]

Pegasus 1.2: High-Performance Video Language Model

Pegasus 1.2 revolutionises long-form video AI with high accuracy and low latency. Scalable video querying is supported by this commercial tool.

TwelveLabs and Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced that Amazon Bedrock will soon provide Marengo and Pegasus, TwelveLabs' cutting-edge multimodal foundation models. Amazon Bedrock, a managed service, lets developers access top AI models from leading organisations via a single API. With seamless access to TwelveLabs' comprehensive video comprehension capabilities, developers and companies can revolutionise how they search for, assess, and derive insights from video content using AWS's security, privacy, and performance. TwelveLabs models were initially offered by AWS.

Introducing Pegasus 1.2

Unlike many academic contexts, real-world video applications face two challenges:

Real-world videos might be seconds or hours lengthy.

Proper temporal understanding is needed.

TwelveLabs is announcing Pegasus 1.2, a substantial industry-grade video language model upgrade, to meet commercial demands. Pegasus 1.2 interprets long films at cutting-edge levels. With low latency, low cost, and best-in-class accuracy, model can handle hour-long videos. Their embedded storage ingeniously caches movies, making it faster and cheaper to query the same film repeatedly.

Pegasus 1.2 is a cutting-edge technology that delivers corporate value through its intelligent, focused system architecture and excels in production-grade video processing pipelines.

Superior video language model for extended videos

Business requires handling long films, yet processing time and time-to-value are important concerns. As input films increase longer, a standard video processing/inference system cannot handle orders of magnitude more frames, making it unsuitable for general adoption and commercial use. A commercial system must also answer input prompts and enquiries accurately across larger time periods.

Latency

To evaluate Pegasus 1.2's speed, it compares time-to-first-token (TTFT) for 3–60-minute videos utilising frontier model APIs GPT-4o and Gemini 1.5 Pro. Pegasus 1.2 consistently displays time-to-first-token latency for films up to 15 minutes and responds faster to lengthier material because to its video-focused model design and optimised inference engine.

Performance

Pegasus 1.2 is compared to frontier model APIs using VideoMME-Long, a subset of Video-MME that contains films longer than 30 minutes. Pegasus 1.2 excels above all flagship APIs, displaying cutting-edge performance.

Pricing

Cost Pegasus 1.2 provides best-in-class commercial video processing at low cost. TwelveLabs focusses on long videos and accurate temporal information rather than everything. Its highly optimised system performs well at a competitive price with a focused approach.

Better still, system can generate many video-to-text without costing much. Pegasus 1.2 produces rich video embeddings from indexed movies and saves them in the database for future API queries, allowing clients to build continually at little cost. Google Gemini 1.5 Pro's cache cost is $4.5 per hour of storage, or 1 million tokens, which is around the token count for an hour of video. However, integrated storage costs $0.09 per video hour per month, x36,000 less. Concept benefits customers with large video archives that need to understand everything cheaply.

Model Overview & Limitations

Architecture

Pegasus 1.2's encoder-decoder architecture for video understanding includes a video encoder, tokeniser, and big language model. Though efficient, its design allows for full textual and visual data analysis.

These pieces provide a cohesive system that can understand long-term contextual information and fine-grained specifics. It architecture illustrates that tiny models may interpret video by making careful design decisions and solving fundamental multimodal processing difficulties creatively.

Restrictions

Safety and bias

Pegasus 1.2 contains safety protections, but like any AI model, it might produce objectionable or hazardous material without enough oversight and control. Video foundation model safety and ethics are being studied. It will provide a complete assessment and ethics report after more testing and input.

Hallucinations

Occasionally, Pegasus 1.2 may produce incorrect findings. Despite advances since Pegasus 1.1 to reduce hallucinations, users should be aware of this constraint, especially for precise and factual tasks.

[mayerfeldconsulting]

Building a leadership pipeline starts with identifying high-potential employees because… 👇

The best leaders don’t just appear; they are developed.

But how do companies identify employees with leadership potential? High-potential employees are more than just top performers. They are adaptable, eager to learn, and ready to take on more responsibility.

At Mayerfeld Consulting, we help businesses define clear leadership criteria and implement structured assessments to recognize employees with leadership potential. Performance metrics, manager feedback, and leadership assessments provide a data-driven approach to identifying future leaders.

Organizations that proactively invest in leadership development are more likely to retain top talent and ensure smooth leadership transitions.

📢 How does your company identify high-potential employees? Let’s share insights below! 👇

[cyberanalyst023]

Exploring the Azure Technology Stack: A Solution Architect’s Journey

Kavin

As a solution architect, my career revolves around solving complex problems and designing systems that are scalable, secure, and efficient. The rise of cloud computing has transformed the way we think about technology, and Microsoft Azure has been at the forefront of this evolution. With its diverse and powerful technology stack, Azure offers endless possibilities for businesses and developers alike. My journey with Azure began with Microsoft Azure training online, which not only deepened my understanding of cloud concepts but also helped me unlock the potential of Azure’s ecosystem.

In this blog, I will share my experience working with a specific Azure technology stack that has proven to be transformative in various projects. This stack primarily focuses on serverless computing, container orchestration, DevOps integration, and globally distributed data management. Let’s dive into how these components come together to create robust solutions for modern business challenges.

Understanding the Azure Ecosystem

Azure’s ecosystem is vast, encompassing services that cater to infrastructure, application development, analytics, machine learning, and more. For this blog, I will focus on a specific stack that includes:

Azure Functions for serverless computing.

Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) for container orchestration.

Azure DevOps for streamlined development and deployment.

Azure Cosmos DB for globally distributed, scalable data storage.

Each of these services has unique strengths, and when used together, they form a powerful foundation for building modern, cloud-native applications.

1. Azure Functions: Embracing Serverless Architecture

Serverless computing has redefined how we build and deploy applications. With Azure Functions, developers can focus on writing code without worrying about managing infrastructure. Azure Functions supports multiple programming languages and offers seamless integration with other Azure services.

Real-World Application

In one of my projects, we needed to process real-time data from IoT devices deployed across multiple locations. Azure Functions was the perfect choice for this task. By integrating Azure Functions with Azure Event Hubs, we were able to create an event-driven architecture that processed millions of events daily. The serverless nature of Azure Functions allowed us to scale dynamically based on workload, ensuring cost-efficiency and high performance.

Key Benefits:

Auto-scaling: Automatically adjusts to handle workload variations.

Cost-effective: Pay only for the resources consumed during function execution.

Integration-ready: Easily connects with services like Logic Apps, Event Grid, and API Management.

2. Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS): The Power of Containers

Containers have become the backbone of modern application development, and Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) simplifies container orchestration. AKS provides a managed Kubernetes environment, making it easier to deploy, manage, and scale containerized applications.

Real-World Application

In a project for a healthcare client, we built a microservices architecture using AKS. Each service—such as patient records, appointment scheduling, and billing—was containerized and deployed on AKS. This approach provided several advantages:

Isolation: Each service operated independently, improving fault tolerance.

Scalability: AKS scaled specific services based on demand, optimizing resource usage.

Observability: Using Azure Monitor, we gained deep insights into application performance and quickly resolved issues.

The integration of AKS with Azure DevOps further streamlined our CI/CD pipelines, enabling rapid deployment and updates without downtime.

Key Benefits:

Managed Kubernetes: Reduces operational overhead with automated updates and patching.

Multi-region support: Enables global application deployments.

Built-in security: Integrates with Azure Active Directory and offers role-based access control (RBAC).

3. Azure DevOps: Streamlining Development Workflows

Azure DevOps is an all-in-one platform for managing development workflows, from planning to deployment. It includes tools like Azure Repos, Azure Pipelines, and Azure Artifacts, which support collaboration and automation.

Real-World Application

For an e-commerce client, we used Azure DevOps to establish an efficient CI/CD pipeline. The project involved multiple teams working on front-end, back-end, and database components. Azure DevOps provided:

Version control: Using Azure Repos for centralized code management.

Automated pipelines: Azure Pipelines for building, testing, and deploying code.

Artifact management: Storing dependencies in Azure Artifacts for seamless integration.

The result? Deployment cycles that previously took weeks were reduced to just a few hours, enabling faster time-to-market and improved customer satisfaction.

Key Benefits:

End-to-end integration: Unifies tools for seamless development and deployment.

Scalability: Supports projects of all sizes, from startups to enterprises.

Collaboration: Facilitates team communication with built-in dashboards and tracking.

4. Azure Cosmos DB: Global Data at Scale

Azure Cosmos DB is a globally distributed, multi-model database service designed for mission-critical applications. It guarantees low latency, high availability, and scalability, making it ideal for applications requiring real-time data access across multiple regions.

Real-World Application

In a project for a financial services company, we used Azure Cosmos DB to manage transaction data across multiple continents. The database’s multi-region replication ensure data consistency and availability, even during regional outages. Additionally, Cosmos DB’s support for multiple APIs (SQL, MongoDB, Cassandra, etc.) allowed us to integrate seamlessly with existing systems.

Key Benefits:

Global distribution: Data is replicated across regions with minimal latency.

Flexibility: Supports various data models, including key-value, document, and graph.

SLAs: Offers industry-leading SLAs for availability, throughput, and latency.

Building a Cohesive Solution

Combining these Azure services creates a technology stack that is flexible, scalable, and efficient. Here’s how they work together in a hypothetical solution:

Data Ingestion: IoT devices send data to Azure Event Hubs.

Processing: Azure Functions processes the data in real-time.

Storage: Processed data is stored in Azure Cosmos DB for global access.

Application Logic: Containerized microservices run on AKS, providing APIs for accessing and manipulating data.

Deployment: Azure DevOps manages the CI/CD pipeline, ensuring seamless updates to the application.

This architecture demonstrates how Azure’s technology stack can address modern business challenges while maintaining high performance and reliability.

Final Thoughts

My journey with Azure has been both rewarding and transformative. The training I received at ACTE Institute provided me with a strong foundation to explore Azure’s capabilities and apply them effectively in real-world scenarios. For those new to cloud computing, I recommend starting with a solid training program that offers hands-on experience and practical insights.

As the demand for cloud professionals continues to grow, specializing in Azure’s technology stack can open doors to exciting opportunities. If you’re based in Hyderabad or prefer online learning, consider enrolling in Microsoft Azure training in Hyderabad to kickstart your journey.

Azure’s ecosystem is continuously evolving, offering new tools and features to address emerging challenges. By staying committed to learning and experimenting, we can harness the full potential of this powerful platform and drive innovation in every project we undertake.

[darkmaga-returns]

Ironically, Exxon is exploding the myth that natural gas is the enemy of the world. However, it also exposes the plan to create a separate power grid that serves only AI data centers; that is, it will not connect to the consumer grid to power homes, businesses, and factories, nor will it lower your power bill.

Exxon owns more the 40,000 producing natural gas wells in America and easily increase production with no other capital investments. Creating off-grid power plants excuses Exxon from the Green Agenda’s lust to cut power to consumers, while participating in the AI craze to take over the world.

Chevron may take the AI challenge with over 13,000 wells across the nation. Overall, there are over 300,000 (estimated) high-producing natural gas well in America. ⁃ Patrick Wood, Editor.

It isn’t just nuclear projects getting in on the “selling power to data centers” trend – now oil supermajor Exxon is joining the trend.

In fact, Exxon is planning a large natural gas-powered plant to supply electricity directly to data centers, incorporating technology to capture over 90% of its carbon emissions, according to the New York Times.

This would be Exxon’s first power plant not dedicated to its own operations. Carbon capture systems remain rare and costly, despite federal subsidies, limiting their broader adoption.

CEO Darren Woods said this week: “There are very few opportunities in the short term to power those data centers and do it in a way that at the same time minimizes, if not completely eliminates, the emissions.”

Exxon exec Dan Ammann added: “We’re being driven by the market demand here. It’s low carbon, it’s available on an accelerated timeline and it avoids all the grid interconnection challenges.”

Tech giants are increasingly willing to pay extra for reliable clean energy, including nuclear power. Here are Zero Hedge we spent most of 2024 documenting numerous tech giants like Google, Meta and Microsoft all inking deals with nuclear power generators to secure data center power in the future.

The New York Times adds that Exxon, having secured land and engaged potential customers, plans to launch its gas-powered plant within five years—faster than building new nuclear reactors.

Uniquely, the plant would operate off-grid, avoiding lengthy grid connection delays. This move highlights how the growth of data centers and AI is transforming the energy sector, pushing Exxon into a business it once avoided.

Chevron could be next, too. Its CEO Mike Wirth predicts off-grid power projects will become more common, and Exxon is exploring similar ventures, aiming to launch a gas-powered plant with carbon capture technology.

Exxon plans to spend $30 billion over six years on emission reduction and alternative energy while expanding oil and gas production. The company sees growing electricity demand from data centers as an opportunity to enter the power business, leveraging its expertise in carbon management and pipeline networks.

Read full story here…

[accountsend]

Scaling Up: Strategies for Navigating Business Development in a Time of Rapid Growth

Article by Jonathan Bomser | CEO | AccountSend.com

Imagine your business as a ship embarking on an exciting voyage across uncharted waters. The journey from a small enterprise to a thriving powerhouse is exhilarating, but it comes with its own set of unique challenges. As you sail through the tumultuous tides of rapid growth, how do you navigate this transformation with finesse? In this comprehensive guide, we'll delve into seven practical strategies that will serve as your guiding stars, leading your B2B business development efforts through the intricate dance of rapid expansion.

Download the infographic here!

Embrace Technological Advancements: Empowerment through Efficiency and Insight

In today's digital landscape, embracing technological advancements isn't just an option; it's a strategic imperative for businesses on the path to growth. Imagine freeing your team from the shackles of repetitive tasks by harnessing cutting-edge tools. Visualize a scenario where automation breathes life into efficiency, allowing your workforce to focus on strategic initiatives that drive innovation and propel your business forward.

But the technological realm offers even more. Dive into the realm of big data, where hidden treasures of actionable insights await. By deciphering patterns and trends, you're equipped to make informed decisions that steer your ship towards prosperous horizons. The integration of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems isn't just a technical feat; it's a game-changer that transforms how you manage your sales pipeline. Seamlessly synchronized data empowers you to anticipate needs, tailor strategies, and fuel growth.

Strengthen Your Team: The Foundation of Sustainable Expansion

As your business evolves, so must your team. Picture your team as architects, constructing the future of your enterprise. Beyond skills, focus on nurturing a team that thrives in the face of change, a team capable of embracing challenges and growing with your business.

Investing in your team is an investment in your business's future. Imagine providing them with the tools and knowledge to tackle evolving demands. As they acquire new skills and insights, their collective potential becomes a force to be reckoned with, ready to champion your business's ascent to new heights.

Deepen Customer Relationships: Nurturing Bonds Beyond Transactions

The heartbeat of your business is your customers. While the allure of acquiring new clients is undeniable, the value of nurturing existing relationships cannot be overstated. Imagine building relationships that transcend transactions, turning customers into brand advocates.

Engage in a symphony of regular interactions, value addition, and meaningful feedback loops. The art of customer retention goes beyond satisfaction; it's about building emotional connections that result in loyal partnerships. A satisfied customer not only stays but becomes a beacon of positive referrals and influential reviews, guiding others to your doorstep.

Expand Into New Markets: A Voyage into Uncharted Territories

Expanding into new markets is akin to a thrilling expedition, a journey that promises new vistas and untapped potential. However, such an endeavor requires strategic planning and market intelligence. Visualize comprehensive market research as your compass, leading you to identify opportunities that align with your offerings.

Adaptation is key in uncharted waters. Tailor your products and services to resonate with the unique demands of these new markets. As you set sail, you're not just expanding geographically; you're weaving your brand into new narratives, positioning yourself as a valuable player in diverse landscapes.

Develop Strategic Partnerships: The Catalyst for Amplified Growth

Partnerships aren't just alliances; they are the accelerants that propel growth. Imagine uniting with entities whose strengths complement your own. Picture collaborations that broaden your reach, amplify your impact, and open doors to unexplored avenues.

Cultivate these partnerships as you would a thriving garden. Nurture them, and watch as they evolve into fertile ground for mutual growth. Through collaboration, you tap into networks that wouldn't have been accessible individually, unlocking a realm of new possibilities.

Invest in Your Brand: Crafting an Identity that Evolves

As your business expands, your brand should evolve too. Think of your brand as a living entity, adapting to the ever-changing marketplace. It's more than just aesthetics; it's about creating an experience that resonates with your audience.

Investment in your brand is an investment in your business's perception. Imagine refining your branding materials to mirror your growth journey. Enhance your digital footprint, creating an online presence that captures your brand's essence. Launch targeted campaigns that evoke emotions and build connections. Your brand isn't just a logo; it's the embodiment of your commitment to excellence and innovation.

Regularly Review and Adapt Your Strategy: The Symphony of Agility

In the dynamic realm of business growth, stagnation is the adversary. What propelled you to success yesterday might hinder you today. Regularly reviewing your strategy isn't a choice; it's an imperative.

Imagine your strategy as a living organism, evolving in response to the shifting environment. Regular recalibration ensures you stay nimble and responsive, enabling you to pivot seamlessly in response to changing market dynamics, customer preferences, and emerging trends.

Conclusion: Crafting Your Growth Odyssey

Scaling your business isn't just about getting bigger; it's about getting better. Each strategy we've explored is a thread in the tapestry of your growth journey. These strategies, fortified by the potency of verified B2B emails and sales leads, become your compass in this uncharted territory.

As you embark on this transformative voyage, remember that growth is an art—a symphony of strategy, innovation, and adaptation. These strategies are your notes, harmonizing to guide you to success. Equipped with verified B2B emails and sales leads, you're ready to navigate the complexities of scaling with confidence. Seize the helm of your growth story, and watch as your business unfurls its sails, navigating towards a horizon brimming with achievements, inspiring others to set sail on their growth odyssey.

[ai-resume-builder]

Data Professionals: Want to Stand Out?

If you're a Data Engineer, Data Scientist, or Data Analyst, having a strong portfolio can be a game-changer.

Our latest blog dives into why portfolios matter, what to include, and how to build one that shows off your skills and projects. From data pipelines to machine learning models and interactive dashboards, let your work speak for itself!

[askagamedev]

What are game development jobs that most people have not heard of?

Here are some of the lesser-known roles in the game industry that you may not have heard of:

[Technical Artist] - an artist who writes code to help other artists realize their visions. This can include creating shaders, working on the pipeline to keep assets within technical constraints, or any number of other roles involving art and programming.

Prototype Artist - an art generalist who specializes in putting together usable art for a game prototype. They know the quick and dirty hacks and key knowledge to get what's needed into the game and working, rather than focusing on finishing out production quality assets.

[Test Engineer] - a programmer whose focus is on building and maintaining automated tests to validate game assets, rules, and gameplay.

[Build Engineer] - a programmer who focuses on making sure the in-development game builds and runs properly. They are in charge of catching build breaks, notifying those responsible for those breaks, and backing out the offending depot checkins.

[Monetization Designer] - a designer who focuses on the kind of content we can offer players who are interested in paying, how we offer it to them, and how we can provide them the value they are looking for without offending them.

Data Scientist - An analyst that focuses on reading, parsing, and interpreting all of the data gathered from players playing the game. This ranges from which characters the players liked to romance to total player life cycle. Their reports help inform future creative and executive decisions.

Localization Manager - the various countries and regions we want to sell our games in all have their own sets of laws, regulations, and cultural norms that should be considered. Localization managers serve to guide localization development to ensure that the game passes regulations and make sense to the audience in those regions.

[Join us on Discord] and/or [Support us on Patreon]

Got a burning question you want answered?

Short questions: Ask a Game Dev on Twitter

Long questions: Ask a Game Dev on Tumblr

Frequent Questions: The FAQ

[spewagepipe]

Dev Pipeline: Determined Dungeon Generation [Pt. 6]

During the first playtest, I made use of a fairly-well-reviewed, free OSR dungeon that claimed to be "system agnostic". It proved to be a miserable failure of a dungeon in many, many ways – and while I was still able to glean useful data about Determined from the sessions, the most obvious take-away was this: there's no such thing as "system agnostic". Determined would need its own dungeons that would not invoke or rely on things like hit points, armour class, attributes, saving throws, repeated encounters with the same monsters, or improvised interventions from the GM to fill huge gaps in the descriptions.

I tried to create a conversion guide that would turn typical OSR encounters into Determined-compatible puzzles. I looked for ways to invent monsters with surprising immunities and weaknesses, traps with novel triggers and warning signs, and all manner of gonzo lateral-thinking puzzles. I tried building randomizer tables, drafting fill-in-the-blank templates, and compiling tips from various "how-to" guides.

The best of these systems allowed me to generate what I considered a single, acceptable encounter idea over the course of about an hour. In terms of the prep-time-to-play-time ratios, this was unacceptable – ideally, I wanted something that would let GMs make encounters in minutes. Also, if the state of module design and dungeon prep guides is any indication, making genuinely unique and interesting obstacles continues to be a problem for the whole OSR, not just me.

At the same time, numerous other facets of the game were facing awful design crises. I'll give just one particularly egregious example to illustrate: In one iteration of the game from that year, players would periodically exit the dungeon and return to "town", where they could spend their treasure on their basic needs and equipment upkeep. Well, one enterprising player looked up the operation of a smithy online, and then described his character sneaking into the blacksmith's shop at night to repair his own armour and weapons free of charge. I was impressed by the ingenuity and thought it was worth rewarding... but I quickly realized the underlying problem: for every "town" service that he was able to obtain for free in this way, he would become less and less dependent on dungeon delves for income. He was on track to becoming a homesteader – in the immortal words of Soren Johnson:

Given the opportunity, players will optimize the fun out of a game.

The normal way to fix this problem is to deny players the option to play in un-fun ways – but, in pursuit of OSR gameplay, I was saddled with the design goal of providing infinite options.

But by late 2022, I was becoming increasingly convinced that there was no way to create system-wide mechanics that would fix the growing list of issues while still abiding my design goals. Instead, I was going to need to fix them using the diegetic mechanics.

Click here for Part 7