Life Lessons Essay

ife (â€Å"Hard Work Beats Talent, When Talent Doesn’t Work Hard†) – (Kevin Durant) Over this past summer, I experienced a lot of events that I think will change my life for the better. It seemed like everything started falling in place when I got an unexpected call from a college coach from a small school called Samford University. I was shocked that I received the call because for one, I’d never even heard of the school he was calling from. Also, I never actually played a full game of football in high school.The reason he’d called me is because he said he was at one of the previous scouting camps I attended a few weeks prior, and he liked my athleticism and how I always worked hard and never gave up, even when he saw I was having a hard time. He wanted me to attend one of the school sponsored scouting camps that he was putting together, and he offered to get me in for free so I gladly accepted. When I arrived at the camp, I was very nervous becaus e there were a lot more major college coaches there than I expected, and the combine included college students also, so I wasn’t just competing against any regular competitors.There were 6 different events that we were doing that day, and I had never done any of them at any previous camps so I had no faith in myself from the start. At the first event, the 40 Yard Dash, I had to race a college linebacker from another school so I had to prove to my coaches that I could take on any challenge they threw at me from the beginning. But everything didn’t go quite as I expected. On my first try I false started 2 seconds early, and everyone was laughing at me so I started to down myself. On the 2nd attempt, I false started again!It wasn’t as early as the previous one, but I was wasting all of my chances at getting an official time because I was too nervous to even start on time. On the 3rd and final attempt, I managed to get off on a good start and run a 4. 92, but the sc outs weren’t very impressed by that because they knew and I knew that I could do better than what I was showing them. At the next event, the Running back drills, I was already nervous because of how bad I had done at the previous event, and it showed in my actions.When I went up to catch passes from one of the quarterbacks that was attending the camp with me, normal passes that I could catch in my sleep became difficult for me to complete. I was so worried about messing up again that I wasn’t performing to my full potential. The coach that recruited me to attend the camp took notice at my performance and pulled me aside and talked to me. He told me â€Å"he knows for a fact that I could do better, and he wants to see the athlete that he saw at the previous camp, not the nervous one that he had seen today.Just believe in myself and perform to the best of my abilities for the duration of the camp and everything would be fine†. Then he gave me a quote to think of w hen I got down, â€Å"Hard work beats talent, when talent doesn’t work hard†. Now I don’t know what it was about that speech, but when I went back to the drill, everything seemed to fall into place. I was catching every single pass the quarterback threw me, even the ones that were badly placed. When I re-did my 40 Yard Dash, my time dropped from a 4. 2 to a 4. 8. From that point on, I exceed all my expectations at every other event that was available to me at the camp. After that day, I learned that I can’t down myself every time I mess up at something, I have to just keep doing my best and to forget the rest. And whenever I get to the point where I want to just give up, I always remember that quote that the coach told me, â€Å"Hard work beats talent, when talent doesn’t work hard. Word Count: 695

Data Encryption Essays - Cryptography, Symmetric-key Algorithm

Data Encryption Essays - Cryptography, Symmetric-key Algorithm Data Encryption The electronic age has brought forth many technological advances. With these advances came the need for security and tighter control on how we send information electronically over the Internet or through a network. Date encryption is, in its simplest terms, the translation of data into a secret code. In order to read an encrypted file, the receiver of the file must obtain a secret key that will enable him to decrypt the file. A deeper look into cryptography, cryptanalysis, and the Data Encryption Standard (DES) will provide a better understanding of date encryption. Cryptographic Methods There are two standard methods of cryptography, asymmetric encryption and symmetric encryption. Data that is in its original form (unscrambled) is called plaintext. Once the data is scrambled and in its encrypted form it is called ciphertext. The ciphertext, which should be unintelligible to anyone not holding the encryption key, is what is stored in the database or transmitted down the communication line. Asymmetric encryption (also know as public key encryption) uses two separate keys, a public key and a private key. The private key is available only to the individual receiving the encrypted message. The public key is available to anyone who wishes to send data or communicate to the holder of the private key. Asymmetric encryption is considered very safe but is susceptible to private key theft or breaking of the private key (this is virtually impossible and would constitute trying billions of possible key combinations) (4). Types of public key algorithms include Riverst-Shamir-Adelman (RSA), Diffie-Hellman, Digital Signature Standard (DSS), EIGamal, and LUC (5). Symmetric encryption uses only one key (a secret key) to encrypt and decrypt the message. No public exchange of the key is required. This method is vulnerable if the key is stolen or if the ciphertext is broken (4). Types of symmetric algorithms include DES, Blowfish, International Data Encryption Algorithm (IDEA), RC4, SAFER, and Enigma (5). Cryptanalysis Cryptanalysis is the art of breaking cryptography. Methods of cryptanalysis include: h Ciphertext-only attack V the attacker works from ciphertext only. The attacker does not know anything about the message and is merely guessing about the plaintext (6). h Know-plaintext attack V the attacker know the plaintext. Knowing this information, the attacker can attempt to decrypt the ciphertext (6). h Chosen plaintext attack V the attacker can have a message encrypted with the unknown key. The attacker must then determine the key used for encryption (6). h Man-in-the-middle attack V the attacker intercepts the key that is being exchanged between parties (6). Data Encryption Standard (DES) In 1977 the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and IBM developed the Data Encryption Standard, or DES, to provide a means by which data could be scrambled, sent electronically to a destination, and then unscrambled by the receiver. DES was developed to protect data in the federal computer systems against passive and active attacks (3). Every five years the NIST reviews the DES and determines whether the cryptographic algorithm should be revised, is acceptable, or completely withdrawn. DES uses a very complex algorithm, or key, that has been deemed unbreakable by the U.S. government. There are 72,000,000,000,000,000 (72 quadrillion) or more possible encryption keys that can be used. It applies a 56-bit key to each 64-bit block of data. This process involves 16 rounds of operations that mix the data and key together using operations of permutation and substitution. The end result is a completely scrambled data and key so that every bit of the ciphertext depends on every bit of the data plus every bit of the key (a 56-bit quantity for DES) (2). Conclusion Sending secure electronic information is vital for businesses today. Although the electronic age has made it easier for companies to send and receive information, it has also increased the need for security. Data encryption in itself will not assure any business of sending secure information, but understanding it will surely benefit the company. Businesses who understand cryptography, cryptanalysis, and Data Encryption Standard are on their way to understanding data encryption. Bibliography 1. Bay Networks, Inc. (1997). Configuring Software Encryption. www.baynetworks.com 2. Biasci, L. (1999). Cryptology. www.whatis.com. 3. Frazier, R.E., (1999). Data Encryption Techniques. www.softstrategies.com. 4. Litterio, F., (1999). Cryptology: The Study of Encryption. www.world.std.com. 5. SSH Communications Security, (1999). Cryptographic Algorithms. www.ipsec.com. 6. SSH Communications Security, (1999). Introduction

Avert vs. Avoid

Avert vs. Avoid Avert vs. Avoid Avert vs. Avoid By Mark Nichol What’s the difference between avert and avoid? They share a primary meaning (with a subtle but significant distinction) but despite their structural similarity are etymologically unrelated. This post discusses their senses and origins and those of similar-looking synonyms. Avert derives from the Latin verb vertere, which means â€Å"turn.† To avert is literally to turn away; one averts one’s eyes or gaze when one turns away, so as not to make eye contact or see something. But avert also means â€Å"prevent† or â€Å"ward off,† a sense it shares with avoid. However, while avert implies active effort to stop something from happening, avoid often suggests keeping away from or refraining from something rather than preventive action. One averts disaster by doing something to stop it, while one avoids it by removing oneself from a situation that will result in disaster. Aversion, originally the noun form of avert, still alludes to the physical act of turning away in its modern senses of â€Å"dislike† or â€Å"repugnance†; more rarely, it refers to an object of antipathy. Avoid stems from the Latin verb vuider, which means â€Å"empty† and is also the origin of void, which as a verb means â€Å"empty† and as a noun means â€Å"emptiness.† The a is a vestige of the Latin prefix ex-, in this sense meaning â€Å"out†; the prefix, slightly altered in the Old French word esvuider, ended up in Anglo-French as the first letter of avoider, from which the English word avoid is derived. (Devoid, meaning â€Å"without,† also has the root word void.) Something is said to be avoidable, and an act or practice of avoiding is avoidance. Another word that appears to be related to avert and avoid is evade, which means â€Å"avoid† or â€Å"escape† but its origin is the Latin verb vadere, meaning â€Å"go†; to evade is literally to not go. Something avoidable is also evadable, though this adjective is seldom used. The noun form is evasion. Inevitable, meaning â€Å"unable to be avoided,† is also unrelated; its antonym, evitable, is rare but also goes back hundreds of years. Their ultimate source is the Latin verb vitare, which means â€Å"shun.† In addition to being an adjective, inevitable sometimes appears as a noun, as shown in â€Å"Accept the inevitable† (meaning, â€Å"that which cannot be avoided†). Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:35 Synonyms for â€Å"Look†On Behalf Of vs. In Behalf OfEspecially vs. Specially

Choosing a Path 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Choosing a Path 1 - Essay Example Marketing is another core component of business. It involves all activities entailed in the communication of the value of the products and services of a business. It entails appealing to the need of the consumer or buyer to take up the target product and not any other alternative. This will equip me with the skills on how to get to increasingly acquire market share. These two business majors are related in that both work together towards meeting the business goal of profitability. I have chosen finance because of the authoritative influence of my father. My father works in the finance department of a private firm. Additionally, he has special interest in the performance of stocks of various companies. Spending more time with him drew me into understanding how to trade in stocks and I am now keen to note any trends in stocks of some companies. Moreover, knowledge on stocks makes conversation with my father flow as we argue on facts that we both understand. He uses his knowledge in finance to assist me in related academic work. He uses such opportunities to convince me to pursue a course in business finance. Strategically, he shares his best experiences in the career and gives examples of other renowned people who have had successful careers in business finance. This made the profession appeal to me, making me keen on mathematics, languages and business education. My elder cousin has been the authoritative figure that made me also consider taking a course in marketing. During my holidays, he would ask me to accompany him as he visits various retail outlets to market the products of the company that he works for. This has made me appreciate some practical aspects of marketing. My cousin is always keen to analyse advertisements and then explain to me the intention and impact of the respective advertisements. This has made me gain some knowledge in marketing, particularly with regards to market segmentation, targeting and advertising in general.

Spotify Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 2

Spotify - Essay Example Through the two theories, Spotify has been identified to be a major competitor in the entertainment industry but lacking a high level sense of taking advantage of opportunities that it has. Some of these opportunities are key markets in key continents like Africa and South America where virtually no markets exists for the company. With the increase of technology in all of these continents, the company is in a position to take advantage. Finally, there is a recommendation for the company to have its own software to make access to music even easier. Introduction Cloud-based music-streaming services are becoming quite common of late with the advent of high speed internet technology (Boyer et al, 2007). Spotify is one company that provides this kind of service for financial gains, meaning that the company is in a highly competitive environment where it has to gain better market shares than its competitors who have been described to be in exceed in modern times. Launched in October 2008, Spotify has gone about the provision of cloud-based music-streaming service with style with the delivery of music-streaming unto both desktop and mobile phone. Another peculiar feature of Spotify would also have to do with the availability of songs that the company has in its database as the company provides wide range of songs from different backgrounds and genres; all of which forms the basis for e-commerce. 2.0 Strategic Situation Analysis The focus of this section of the paper is going to be to look at how Spotify is currently using information system to support its business strategy. 2.1 External Environment 2.11 Political The political environment of Spotify is largely influenced by both local and global legislations and regulations that are made by government to protect the intellectual property of musicians and other works of music. Depending on royalty levels however, some musicians have been reluctant in releasing their songs for use for online services by the company as t here is the fear that songs that are made available online could easily be cyber attacked (Bradley, 2010). Politically therefore, local and international legislations have somewhat affected the number of songs that the company could have access to. 2.12 Economic Spotify’s business growth and development is largely dependent on prevailing economic conditions and climates. Rising cost of living therefore affects the company’s business negatively as in such times, the larger industry to which Spotify belongs, which is the entertainment industry, is considered by many not to be a necessity but a want (Christensen et al, 1998). In effect, even though the use of information systems and e-commerce in general is expected to make products more accessible to customers, accessibility does not automatically bring about patronage in harsh economic times. 2.13 Social The social environment

English as a Second Language Learning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

English as a Second Language Learning - Essay Example Yule also outlines six traits inherent in language but are not all realized in animal communication. Therefore, animal communication may exhibit some of them but not all of them. This includes the following: First of all is the notion of duality in which language is organized at two distinct levels which makes it possible to produce different meanings from combining same segments. For instance, b ,a , and d can be combined to produce dab and bad which have totally different meanings.(†¦ibid)Secondly, animals have a bistratal communication system while humans have a tristatal one. The bistratal system unlike its counterpart cannot be manipulated to produce different messages. A case in point is the mowing of a cow. This could be interpreted differently depending on the context. It could mean it needs grass, or water or calling out for its young one. Human language on the contrary as seen before combines different segments uniquely in order to vary the meanings.Displacement also i ndicates a variation because unlike animals, humans have the ability of expressing events that are far removed from time. Their grammar is developed and expresses the past through past tense and the future time aspect for things to come. Animal communication does not allow for such.Moreover, human language is arbitrary. There is no natural relationship between a word and its meaning. For example, preacher, vicar and clergy all refer the same person but there is no relationship between the sign and the signified.

East Asian Buddhism Essay Example for Free

East Asian Buddhism Essay The Ghost festival, the second most important festival of the year, is an event in which features of Buddhism are most relevant in Chinese culture. The ritual, by essence, belongs to the living and the dead – it creates a harmony between the two, as well as that between the individual, society and nature in its performance. Its Chinese term, Yu lan pen hui, is composed of the foreign word â€Å"yu lan† that refers to the pitiable fate of those hung upside down in the prisons of hell and the Chinese term â€Å"pen† which indicates the bowl in which offerings are placed. As the story of Mulien recorded in the Hungry ghost sutra represents, the festival synthesizes elements of Indian Buddhism into the indigenous concepts of China. Stephen F Teiser essentially captures this quality when he descirbes it as â€Å"China was made more Buddhist and Buddhism was made more Chinese. † Because the Yu lan pen jing is a key text in the development of the Buddhist rites in the ghost festival that is held in the seventh month of the lunar calendar, it will be examined to observe the blending of the two values. The Ghost Festival Sutra (also known as Yu lan pen jing), which was written in the sixth century, is peppered with traces of Buddhism attempting to integrate into Chinese life. Its first few lines become all the more significant when considering that they were not present in the oldest narrative forged approximately eighty years earlier that serves as the basis of the ghost festival, The Sutra on Repaying the Kindness by Making Offerings (also referred to as Bao en feng pen jing). As Alan Cole, Professor of Religious Studies at Lewis and Clark College cites in his book Mothers and Sons in Chinese Buddhism the Ghost Festival Sutra, Buddha pronounces these words as Mu Lian explains his failure in feeding his mother: â€Å"Even [you cannot achieve this feeding] though your filial submission resounds [everywhere], shaking heaven and earth. Neither the gods of heaven nor the gods of earth nor the evil demons of the heterodox [sects], nor the Daoist masters, nor the four heavenly kings can achieve this either† (Cole 88). Primarily, this passage directly highlights Mu Lian’ s filial affection – as Cole points out, he is endowed with the honor of being praised by the Buddha as someone whose filial submission â€Å"[shakes] heaven and earth,† which indicates that Mu Lian is considered to be the paradigm of filial piety (89). This addendum could be construed as an adaptation to the Chinese ideal, in which filiality is of the essence. More importantly however, the second half strongly suggests that the Buddhist institution has the sole rights to perform such form of ghost festival. The writers deem the non-Buddhist religious specialists – including all other gods and Daoist practitioners to be incapable of achieving the feeding of the dead (Cole 89). This reflects the increasing competition between the Buddhists and Daoists over crafting such offerings. The mix of Chinese and Buddhist ideas is also manifest in Buddha’s explanation of the reason for â€Å"the food enter[ing] [Mu Lien’s mother’s] mouth †¦ chang[ing] into flaming coals, so in the end she could not eat† as cited by Stephen F Teiser (Teiser 50). The Buddha states that his â€Å"mother’s sins are grave† (50). This directly refers to the Indian notions of Karma, signifying that his mother’s actions in previous lifetimes have led her to her current state. The second half of the Yu lan pen jing further denotes the filial theme, but emphasizes that it can only be fulfilled using Buddhist ritual means, by making offerings to the Buddhists. As Cole puts it, filial devotion is evidently â€Å"equated with being a good Buddhist† – this can be observed for instance, in the Mu Lian’s question to the Buddha shown in the following quote from Stephen F. Teiser’ s translation of the Sutra in his book The Ghost Festival in Medieval China: â€Å"But all of the future disciples of the Buddha who practice filial devotion, may they or may they not also prevent yu-lan bowls as required to save their parents as well as seven generations of ancestors† (Teiser 52). This again concords with the Chinese essentiality of filial affection, which â€Å"surpasses all other ethics in tis historical continuity† as Ho describes in William Lakos’ book Chinese Ancestor Worship (Lakos 52). Moreover, as translated by Teiser, the final passage states the desired relationship between the ritual and the Chinese society in affirming that â€Å"kings of states, princes, sons of kings, great ministers, counselors, dignitaries of the three ranks, any government officials or the majority of common people who practice filial compassion† are required to perform the ritual. This again underlines the explicit connection that the Sutra draws between performing the ritual and being filial. As Cole coins it â€Å"if you are to be filial, you perform this 7/15 Buddhist offering regardless of who you are in Chinese society† (Cole 93). In this respect, the text places the date 7/15 as the center of discussion on Buddhist filiality, characterized by the duty to save one’s parent and the necessity to make offerings to the Sangha. The festival reveals the syncretic character of Buddhism with Chinese social and cultural systems. Buddhist myths and rituals exist simultaneously with the Chinese indigenous forms of ritual and conceptions of society. The ghost festival also offers a solution to the problem of the ascetic way of life of Buddhism that imposes on Chinese culture that resounds family values. While opponents have long condemned the Sangha for fostering otherworldliness, the celebration integrates those who have chosen the ascetic path to participate in the well-being of their ancestors. As noted in the canonical source of Yu lan pen sutra as translated by Teiser, the Buddha orders â€Å"the assembled monks of the ten directions should chant prayers on behalf of the family of the donor for seven generations of ancestors† (Teiser 52). The ritual hence by nature, accepts monasticism and more importantly appoints it as a central aspect of the life in the community – the participation of the monks is pivotal to the salvation of the ancestors. Their ascetic energy is especially effective during the ritual because the full moon of the seventh month designates the day on which Sangha has finished its three-month summer retreat during which they â€Å"release themselves† through meditation, meaning the energy has been accumulated during the period (Teiser 4). In a larger sense, because the festival takes place at the time of the fall harvest, it can be interpreted as not only a symbol of the passage of priests and ancestors to new forms of existence, but also of the â€Å"completion of a cycle of plant life† (4). Their role came to entail a state level importance in the seventh century when the practice was established as part of Chinese state religion, rituals being performed for the benefit of imperial ancestors. The vitality of such function, rather than being confined to local cult, assured the cult to survive into the modern times (5). An irony arises from this ritual – wandering ghosts as well as settled ancestors are recipients of the offering. Ancestors contrast with the concept of ghosts. In his book Unities and diversities in Chinese Religion, Robert P. Weller explains that ghosts are socially marginal beings that lack â€Å"both social standing of the gods and the kinship standing of the ancestors† (Weller 60). In contrast, ancestors re deemed to have â€Å"permanent wealth and power† in the community at large – they were more than a religious concern, involving both social and political implications and upholding â€Å"indispensability in the socio-political realm† (Lakos 32). Their worship serves as a cornerstone for the ancestor-family-kinship system. This idea is well supported with the traditional Confucian view. As sociologist Hugh Baker puts it in Teiser’ s article, â€Å"other people’s dead were of little concern, the only dead to be worshipped were one’s dead and ancestors† (Teiser 60). This view corresponds to those of the defenders of indigenous traditions like Yen Chih-t’ui who assert that the solidarity of ancestors is the solely valid aspect of the celebration – they disapproved of the offerings for the hungry ghosts. Comparably, others consider the ghosts as the only recipients of the offerings, claiming that including the ancestors as the recipients were aimed to adapt the religion to the dominant, yet ultimately non-essential, cultural values (60) – their emphasis is on the Buddhist deliverance from the six paths of rebirth. This stark contrast is deemed to create a conflict between the Buddhist idea of ephemerality and Chinese social solidarity. Interestingly, the two concepts are able to be reconciled to form a bigger whole. In fact, historical records clearly reveals that both entities were served. As Teiser cites from the yun lian pen sutra, the Buddha orders the Sangha to release themselves â€Å"for the sake of seven generations of ancestors, your current parents and those in distress† (61). In his article â€Å"Ghosts and Ancestors in Medieval Chinese Religion: The Yu-lan-p’en festival as Mortuary Ritual† from the book History of Religions, Stephen F. Teiser tackles the controversy by construing the ghost festival as rites of passage. This means that the ritual allows the individual to undergo a transition from one social group to another. He or she hence leaves one â€Å"world† and joins another, with liminal period in between (Teiser 52). The celebration imbues in the dead a sense of regeneration and rebirth, through the cycle of seasonal festivals (58). In this respect, both the marginal state of the ghosts and the settled group status of the ancestors are imperative aspects of the entirety of the process. While both sides are different, they are by ritual structure, on the same side, hence by no means contradictory. Anthropologists tend to describe this as the ideas the yin and yang aspect – the fundamental basis of Chinese philosophy- of death: two seemingly opposing sides that in fact complement each other to a unitary process. Acknowledging the mutual existence of ancestors and ghosts reflects the dual nature of the hungry ghost festival. Several other views prevail in appreciating the duality of the yun lan p’en. The ritual can also be interpreted as a practice that allows a new form for an old practice – as In de Groot contends, Buddhism has offered Chinese culture with an â€Å"exotic edifice† of ritual that concords with the Chinese â€Å"extreme concern for the destiny of the dead† (62). Another perspective relies on the Chinese practicality to explain the seemingly contradicting nature of the ritual. As Holmes Welch explains, the Chinese cult exercises both aspects of the practice like a â€Å"prudent man dealing with the unknown,† since there is no way of knowing which version of the afterlife is true. This results in the form of ghost festival, which ensures that the rites of both versions are engaged (62). Essentially however, the practice recognizes the immortality of the group – as demonstrated by the ancestors – in the face of death – the ritual by nature is aimed to place the deceased as a part of the structurally unchanging king group and compels all of the members of the group, both living and dead, to gather for a communal meal (Teiser 64). One does not have to dominate, suppress or reduce the other. Understanding that these concepts are not mutually exclusive allows for an appreciation of the bigger framework of the festival – one that is full of seemingly contradictory ideas such as Buddhism and Chinese cult, ancestors and ghosts, life and death. Hence the coexistence of the ideas in the ritual are not an irony but rather a paradox in that juxtaposing the two concepts sheds light to the value of the Hungry Ghost festival.