Hot Desking, Time

3.06 | Crypto, VR, Getting Ahead | "The tragedy of life is not that it ends so soon, but that we wait so long to begin it." - W. M. Lewis

News and Numbers

Markets this Week:

• S&P 500 is up 2%

• NASDAQ 100 is up 4%

• Bitcoin-USD is up 2%

• Ethereum-USD is trading flat
   

Headlines from this Week:

• Federal reserve held interest rates at latest FOMC meeting.

• BlackRock files for bitcoin ETF, using Coinbase Custody as its custodian, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

• The Denver Nuggets win their 1st NBA championship & Nikola Jokic wins Finals MVP 🏆

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Finance

By Vlad Estoup, B.Comm. (Finance); working in Ethereum cybersecurity

GICs are very attractive at this point.

Canadian Guaranteed Investment Certificates (GICs) are proving to be an increasingly appealing investment option due to a confluence of factors. As we navigate through the current economic climate, the stock market seems to be quite saturated, and cryptocurrency, although promising, appears to be about 12-18 months away from a significant bull run. Additionally, with interest rates nearing their peak and the Canadian dollar (CAD) showing signs of an impending upswing, GICs may provide an attractive alternative for investors looking for a safer, yet lucrative investment option.

Firstly, the stock market, which has been on a historic bull run, is already near all-time highs. After such prolonged periods of growth, many investors are growing wary of a potential market correction. Furthermore, the potential for future returns in the next year may not be as great as in the previous years due to already high valuations. This creates an environment where alternative, safer investments like GICs become more attractive.

Secondly, despite the buzz around the cryptocurrency market, the next bull run could still be 12-18 months away. Although cryptocurrencies can offer impressive returns, their notorious volatility means investors may be subject to substantial losses. For those who are risk-averse or prefer more predictable returns, the safer and more stable returns from GICs are appealing.

Thirdly, interest rates in Canada seem to be nearing their peak. Higher interest rates tend to correspond with higher rates on GICs, as banks are able to loan out the money they collect from GICs at these higher rates. However, if interest rates have reached their peak and are not likely to rise further, now could be the ideal time to lock into a GIC before rates potentially decrease.

Finally, the Canadian dollar, which has experienced a period of weakness compared to the US dollar, appears to be on the brink of recovery. This implies that investments made in CAD now could see increased returns due to the expected appreciation of the currency. For investors, this represents a potential double win when investing in Canadian GICs: earning interest on the invested capital, and gaining from the increasing value of the CAD against the USD.

In conclusion, the current economic and financial landscape makes Canadian GICs an attractive investment proposition. With the stock market at a high and future returns potentially not as lucrative, the uncertainty of the crypto market, and the peaking interest rates, the security and predictable returns of GICs could be a haven for investors. Plus, with signs of strengthening in the CAD, there could be an additional advantage for those willing to take a position now.

This is not financial advice and you should always do your own research before investing in any securities or cryptocurrencies.

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Sci-Tech

By Keyann; Software Engineer in Web3

GraphQL

GraphQL is an open-source query language and runtime for APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) that was developed by Facebook. It provides a flexible and efficient alternative to traditional RESTful APIs.

Let's go through the key aspects of how GraphQL works using a fictional "Blog" API as an example.

Schema Definition:

GraphQL begins with defining a schema that describes the capabilities and structure of the API. The schema is typically written in the GraphQL Schema Definition Language (SDL) and includes the available types, relationships between types, and the queries and mutations that can be performed. In our example, we have the following schema:

type Post {
  id: ID!
  title: String!
  content: String!
  author: Author!
}

type Author {
  id: ID!
  name: String!
  posts: [Post!]!
}

type Query {
  post(id: ID!): Post
  author(id: ID!): Author
}

type Mutation {
  createPost(title: String!, content: String!, authorId: ID!): Post!
}

Here, we have defined the types Post and Author. Each Post has an id, title, content, and an associated Author. Each Author has an id, name, and a list of Post items. The Query type provides the queries post and author to fetch specific posts and authors by their IDs. Additionally, we have a Mutation type that includes the createPost mutation to create a new post.

Queries:

Clients can send queries to request specific data from the GraphQL API. Queries define the exact shape and structure of the response data. Here are some example queries for our API:

# Fetch a post by ID and its associated author
query GetPost {
  post(id: "123") {
    id
    title
    content
    author {
      id
      name
    }
  }
}

# Fetch an author by ID and their posts
query GetAuthor {
  author(id: "456") {
    id
    name
    posts {
      id
      title
    }
  }
}

In the first query, we fetch a post by its ID and include its id, title, content, and the associated author's id and name. In the second query, we fetch an author by their ID and include their id, name, and the id and title of their posts.

Mutations:

Mutations enable clients to modify or create data on the server. Here's an example mutation for our API:

mutation CreateNewPost {
  createPost(title: "New Post Title", content: "New Post Content", authorId: "456") {
    id
    title
    content
    author {
      id
      name
    }
  }
}

This mutation creates a new post with the provided title, content, and authorId. The response includes the id, title, content of the new post, and the associated author's id and name.

Resolvers:

To execute queries and mutations and retrieve the requested data, we need to implement resolvers. Here's an example implementation of the resolvers using JavaScript:

const resolvers = {
  Query: {
    post: (parent, { id }) => {
      // Logic to fetch a post by ID from the database or another data source
      return db.posts.find((post) => post.id === id);
    },
    author: (parent, { id }) => {
      // Logic to fetch an author by ID from the database or another data source
      return db.authors.find((author) => author.id === id);
    },
  },
  Mutation: {
    createPost: (parent, { title, content, authorId }) => {
      const newPost = {
        id: generateUniqueId(),
        title,
        content,
        authorId,
      };

      // Logic to save the new post to a data source (e.g., database)

      return newPost;
    },
  },
  Post: {
    author: (post) => {
      // Logic to fetch the associated author of a post
      return db.authors.find((author) => author.id === post.authorId);
    },
  },
  Author: {
    posts: (author) => {
      // Logic to fetch all posts by a specific author
      return db.posts.filter((post) => post.authorId === author.id);
    },
  },
};

In the resolvers, we implement the logic to fetch data from the appropriate data sources. The post and author resolvers handle the root-level queries. The createPost mutation resolver creates a new post with a generated ID and saves it to the data source. The resolvers for the Post and Author types resolve the associated fields, such as fetching the author of a post or retrieving all posts by a specific author.

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Paradigm Shift

By Roman Kuittinen-Dhaoui, BBA, CPHR Candidate; working in Human Resources

Hoteling and Hot Desking

Hybrid work emerged as a positive outcome stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, transforming the way we approach work-life balance and productivity. The pandemic forced organizations worldwide to quickly adopt remote work practices, and this shift highlighted the benefits of a hybrid work model. Hybrid work offers employees the flexibility to work from home and/or the office, allowing them to better manage personal responsibilities while maintaining productivity. It has reduced commuting time, increased employee satisfaction, and improved work-life integration.

Over the past couple years, organizations have embarked on return-to-office campaigns with varying success. For many organizations remote and hybrid work models are the new norm as they have proven to be effective but they have become expected by employees.

As hybrid organizations force their employees to return to the office, they are learning that they don’t require the same office space anymore because their building utlization is not longer near capacity. Thus, several organizations are looking or have reduced their office square footage to optimize building utilization. A couple strategies to fit say 500 employees in an office space designed for 250 employees include hoteling and hot desking.

Hoteling refers to a flexible workspace arrangement where employees reserve specific workstations or offices as needed, rather than having assigned permanent desks. This approach maximizes workspace utilization and promotes a more agile and efficient work environment. Hoteling enables organizations to optimize their real estate, reduce costs, and accommodate a dynamic workforce that alternates between remote and in-person work. It also encourages collaboration and cross-functional interaction, as employees from different teams can easily co-locate and work together when needed.

Hot desking refers to the practice of employees sharing and rotating workstations in a flexible and collaborative environment. It allows employees to choose their workspace based on their specific needs, encourages cross-team collaboration, and fosters a dynamic work culture. With hot desking, employees can seamlessly transition between remote and in-person work, enjoying the benefits of flexibility and adaptability while maximizing productivity and utilizing office resources effectively.

TLDR: Hybrid is here to stay; organizations want to maximize their office utilization.

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(Head)Space

By Keyann

Time is of the essence

My entire life I always thought I had more time… More time to achieve success and enjoy it, or more time to date and discover myself. In essence, more time to take risks and learn from them. But as I approach my 26th revolution around the sun, the time I thought I had isn’t there. The days don’t feel as long, and the years feel even shorter.

This is how I thought of it - I want to have kids by around 32. That means that I’ll be trying for about a year. I also want to be married for a couple years or so before jumping into having kids. Before getting married, you’ll probably be engaged for about a year. Subtract 4 years from 32 and that means I’m looking at getting engaged in about 2 years, which is news to me! But putting it that way, as a kind of time crunch, kind of takes away the romance.

I started my full-time career barely a year ago, in May 2022, less than a month out of school. Working in an early-stage startup, I haven’t really made much time to travel, party, or explore, as the first 2-3 years really require you to make sacrifices and hustle in order to make revenue, so that you can enjoy the fruits of your labour. But by then, I may be much more settled down than I thought.

The year prior to that, I was hustling at school and working 2-3 jobs. That was at the end of the pandemic, which took off another 2 years of social life. Prior to the pandemic, I was a naive student, spending all my money and time partying on the weekends.

It’s not that I’m unhappy with any of my choices or results that I’ve achieved over the last couple of years. It’s that I didn’t realize I was committing such a big part of my life to these decisions when I made them, and accepting that now is, well, not that easy. I hear from so many married people “Don’t get married” and/or “Don’t have kids.” I also hear from so many single people, “dating sucks” and/or “women/men are trash!”

Whether you think I’m young and have many years ahead of me, or not, is not relevant. We all think about these things, like our careers, relationships, and other big parts that make up the one life we get.

What’s the lesson?

• We take time for granted. In reality, when it comes to long-term goals and commitments, you never have as much time as you think, and you’re not thinking about your time properly. You may be rushing into decisions out of fear and uncertainty, or you may be overly prolonging your choices out of the same fear and uncertainty. In the end, I think it’s natural to get in your head and not be content at times, otherwise practicing gratitude wouldn’t be such an influential practice. So be wise and mindful about your time and choices.

• You’re taught a lot about how to land a good job, how to get a be a perfect partner, or what to look for, but no one tells you how to make those decisions, or what it feels like after committing. Maybe you won’t learn but just knowing that is better than the surprise you face when things don’t go as expected or hoped.

• Everything has a trade-off. Whether it’s your lifestyle, career, or partner. Perhaps the real truth is that if you’re not grateful and mindful, you may never be happy with your decisions. Especially for those with an insatiable lust for life like myself. Maybe being happy is not just gratitude for the things you have, but also being able to accept the things you won’t have.

• Maybe a big part of all this is that we’re conditioned to think we should expect to be satisfied with our choices most of the time. I know that with most things, but maybe even the deeper parts of life, like purpose and romance, are also commercialized, as if conditioned through the content we view.

"The greatest happiness you can have is knowing that you do not necessarily require happiness." - William Saroyan

TLDR: Be wise and mindful about your time and choices. Life is shorter than you think.

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Company of the Week

H2O.ai

H2O.ai is a technology company that specializes in artificial intelligence and machine learning. Founded in 2012, the company's main product is H2O, an open-source software for data analysis. The H2O software is designed to allow users to perform machine learning tasks at a high level of complexity, and it can be integrated with a wide range of other data analysis tools.

H2O.ai's platform is used by data scientists and engineers across many industries to build AI models and applications. The company's products offer a range of machine learning and deep learning capabilities, including automated machine learning (AutoML), explainable AI, and support for a variety of algorithms and model types.

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Written by: Vlad Estoup, Keyann Al-Kheder, and Roman Kuittinen-Dhaoui