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3.20 | “Everyone appreciates your honesty, until you're honest with them. Then you're an asshole." - George Carlin
News and Numbers
Markets this Week:
S&P 500 is down 2.81%
NASDAQ 100 is down 3.03%
Bitcoin-USD is down 2.39%
Ethereum-USD is down 3.09%
Headlines from this Week:
Splunk was acquired by Cisco for $28B.
Instacart went public at a $10B valuation.
OpenAI unveils Dall-E 3, the latest version of their text-to-image tool.
Finance
By Vlad Estoup, B.Comm. (Finance); working in Ethereum cybersecurity
OOO
Out of office until October 7, 2023.
This is not financial advice and you should always do your own research before investing in any securities or cryptocurrencies.
Sci-Tech
By Keyann, Software Engineer in Web3
Database Design
When designing a research study, imagine creating Excel sheets to track and record data, requiring careful consideration regarding the sheets and columns needed for adequate data recording. This challenge, familiar to Excel users, parallels the essence of database design.
Database design focuses on creating structured tables and columns to build features or achieve goals. The central distinction between designing Excel sheets and database tables lies in the inherent concerns of eliminating data redundancy and enforcing data integrity in the latter. In essence, due to the voluminous nature of data stored at scale, developers must be vigilant about the associated costs in database design.
Different Costs:
Costs are multifaceted. They can be financial, where increased data storage equates to higher expenditure. They can also be functional or physical, affecting the performance of the database concerning the number of tables, columns, and the volume of data. In academia, students learn about database normalization, a theoretical framework aiming to optimize database designs by eliminating redundancy and enforcing integrity.
Practical Implications of Normalization:
While normalization is theoretically ideal, its practical application sometimes demands flexibility, with denormalization being a fitting alternative in specific scenarios.
Example: Notification System:
Consider the implementation of a notification system for cars and users, as a new feature for a car company. The company already possesses database tables for cars and users. The intent is to establish a notification system for various user alerts.
Normalized Approach:
In a normalized setup, different targets might warrant distinct tables, like `CarNotifications` and `UserNotifications`, or alternatively, `AlertNotifications` and `OfferNotifications`.
CREATE TABLE CarNotifications (
notificationID INT PRIMARY KEY AUTO_INCREMENT,
carID INT,
message VARCHAR(255),
created_at TIMESTAMP,
FOREIGN KEY (carID) REFERENCES Cars(carID)
);
CREATE TABLE UserNotifications (
notificationID INT PRIMARY KEY AUTO_INCREMENT,
userID INT,
message VARCHAR(255),
created_at TIMESTAMP,
FOREIGN KEY (userID) REFERENCES Users(userID)
);
Unnormalized Approach:
Conversely, an unnormalized approach could consolidate everything into a singular `Notifications` table.
CREATE TABLE Notifications (
notificationID INT PRIMARY KEY AUTO_INCREMENT,
targetType ENUM('Car', 'User'),
targetID INT,
message VARCHAR(255),
created_at TIMESTAMP
);
SQL Queries and Performance:
Understanding SQL queries is paramount to grasping the performance and costs related to additional columns and table joins. For instance, in normalized databases, data retrieval often requires joining tables, which could be computationally expensive, especially with voluminous data.
SELECT * FROM CarNotifications
JOIN Cars ON CarNotifications.carID = Cars.carID
WHERE Cars.carID = 1;
In unnormalized databases, additional columns may lead to redundancy but can avoid complex joins, making data retrieval straightforward and sometimes more performant.
SELECT * FROM Notifications WHERE targetType = 'Car' AND targetID = 1;
Analysis:
The choice between normalized and unnormalized designs impacts the maintainability and simplicity of the code. For instance, with Entity Framework in .NET, querying a normalized database might require multiple joins, resulting in more complex and potentially less readable code, compared to querying an unnormalized database.
Normalized Query with Entity Framework:
var carNotifications = context.CarNotifications
.Include(cn => cn.Car)
.Where(cn => cn.Car.CarID == 1)
.ToList();
Unnormalized Query with Entity Framework:
var notifications = context.Notifications
.Where(n => n.TargetType == "Car" && n.TargetID == 1)
.ToList();
Conclusion:
Database design, much like crafting Excel sheets for research, demands thoughtful consideration of structure. The inherent balance between normalization, denormalization, associated costs, performance, and code maintainability plays a pivotal role in shaping the efficiency and effectiveness of database systems. The contextual needs and specific requirements of a feature ultimately dictate the optimal approach, be it a meticulously normalized structure or a flexible, unnormalized one.
Paradigm Shift
By Roman Kuittinen-Dhaoui, BBA, CPHR Candidate; working in Human Resources
Paid Vacation Time
Companies provide paid vacation time to their staff for several important reasons, which benefit both employees and the organization as a whole such as:
Employee Well-being and Satisfaction. Paid vacation time allows employees to take a break from work, relax, and recharge. This time off is crucial for maintaining physical and mental well-being. When employees are well-rested and less stressed, they are more productive and motivated when they return to work. This contributes to higher job satisfaction and reduces the risk of burnout.
Work-Life Balance. Offering paid vacation time promotes a healthy work-life balance. It acknowledges that employees have responsibilities and interests outside of their jobs, such as spending time with family, pursuing hobbies, or taking care of personal matters. This balance helps employees feel valued and supported by their employers.
Recruitment and Retention. Competitive benefits, including paid vacation, make a company more attractive to potential employees. Job seekers often consider the total compensation package when evaluating job offers. Offering paid vacation can help a company attract and retain top talent, reducing turnover and recruitment costs.
Health and Well-being Benefits. Regular vacations can have a positive impact on an employee's physical and mental health. They reduce the risk of stress-related illnesses, promote relaxation, and improve overall well-being. Healthy employees are more likely to be present at work and less likely to take sick days.
Compliance with Labor Laws. In many countries, labor laws or regulations require employers to provide a minimum amount of paid vacation time to employees.
Providing paid vacation time is a strategic investment in employee well-being, job satisfaction, and overall organizational success. It helps companies attract and retain talent, maintain a motivated and healthy workforce, and create a positive workplace culture. Additionally, it often aligns with legal requirements and labor standards, ensuring compliance and reducing legal risks.
TLDR: Paid vacation is part of your total rewards package along with salary, bonus, benefits, etc. So use it strategically!
(Head)Space
by Keyann
Next Step: Dream
I was watching this stand up bit by this comedian, Rene Vaca, and he talks about dreams. He asks someone in the crowd: “What’s your dream?” One person says, “I have 2 kids, I don’t think about that.” Another said, “To have a sugar daddy.” To which he basically replied “Fuck those kids, fuck your man, what was your dream before all that? What do you want? It’s important to have dreams. Don’t give up on them.”
I found that very insightful. I have goals, both short and longer term, but I can’t remember what happened to my dreams. At some point, my dream was to be a video game maker, at another point it was to be scientist and win a Nobel Prize, and at another to make music and art. But at some point, my dream became more of a goal. Now that i’ve achieve most of my goals, I ask myself “Now what?”. As if, what is it all for?
So lately, i’ve been asking people, “What are your dreams?”. Sure enough, many people don’t have an answer or can’t seem to answer that question.
Somewhere along the line, I, like many others, lost sight of my dreams. But it’s important to have dreams because chasing them is what gives you purpose and drive - the pursuit of dreams makes you excited to wake up in the morning. Moreover, for myself at least, chasing purpose gives me hope, which feels better than spending it. For instance, I feel much better leading up to a well earned vacation than toward the end of it.
At the same time, it can be hard to accept you have a dream because you leave yourself vulnerable to the possibility that you may not achieve it.
But I think all these excuses for not chasing dreams are irrational and dangerous. I think pursuing your dream is more invigorating than not, regardless of whether you ‘achieve it’.
When I look back on what I’m proud of, one of the things that weirdly comes up is the Weekly Edible magazine we released after our first year of consistent emails. I never had a dream to create a magazine, and it wasn’t ‘successful’ by any means, but I think I made something cool of which I’m proud.
If you’re passionate about something and wake up excited every day to pursue that, then be grateful, enjoy that, and just focus on the craft and improving. With that mentality, you’re the most likely to go far with it.
Also crucial, is to not prioritize trends or material desires. There are so many distractions. Distractions from going on your phone, distractions from the time and money spent to go out, distractions from comparing yourself on social media to others and what’s working for them. But don’t chase trends. Don’t get inpatient over eminence, and deviate from you dreams because of that.
If you want do something like art, and want to be an artist, then I’d say dedicate your free time to that. Put money to making, showcasing, and exhibiting your art. Don’t waste time speculating what art to do. Start something, see it through to its fullest, and decide after what the next thing is. And make art that you want to make or are proud of making. Don’t make art just because that’s what the market is buying. Markets change and trends get replaced. To quote Wayne Gretzky, ‘don’t go where the puck is, go where it’s going to be.’
All of this said, there’s a catch 22 to it all.
It’s clear in hindsight how I could have accomplished certain dreams, but at the time it really wasn’t clear, and so I wouldn’t have been capable then.
Perhaps I could have ‘trusted the process’ more, but credit is owed to the fact that I needed to try different things with a combination of successes and failures in order to have this perspective and truly appreciate that being able to chase your passion and dream is enough.
If I don’t stick to a dream, I stress over that. But there were many periods where I was very dialled in, and then that made stress about not going out to spend time with people and enjoy life.
They often say growth happens outside your comfort zone; however, there’s a lot of comfort in consistent routines, from which growth can also arise.
With any dream, you’ll be required to do some task you don’t enjoy, but that’s always temporary. What’s eternal is looking back on your life’s work and how it makes you feel.
Despite all that, I’ve balanced work and life, and most of the lack of substantial progress in one vertical comes from going horizontal too much as a result of not sticking to something very long term.
Nothing is lost. Ultimately, it comes down this: from this day forward, you can either start doing the thing you’re passionate about and grow toward your dreams, or you can not.
Company of the Week
Palo Alto Networks
Palo Alto Networks, Inc. is an American multinational cybersecurity company with headquarters in Santa Clara, California. The core product is a platform that includes advanced firewalls and cloud-based offerings that extend those firewalls to cover other aspects of security.
The company offers firewall appliances and software, as well as, Panorama, a security management solution for the global control of network security platform as a virtual or a physical appliance. Palo Alto Netwroks also provides subscription services covering the areas of threat prevention, malware and persistent threat, URL filtering, laptop and mobile device protection, DNS security, Internet of Things security, SaaS security API, and SaaS security inline, as well as threat intelligence, and data loss prevention. In addition, the company offers cloud security, secure access, security operations, and threat intelligence and security consulting, professional services (including architecture design and planning, implementation, configuration, and firewall migration), education services (such as certifications, as well as online and in-classroom training), and support services. It sells its products and services through its channel partners, as well as directly to medium to large enterprises, service providers, and government entities operating in various industries, including education, energy, financial services, government entities, healthcare, Internet, media, and manufacturing.
Written by: Vlad Estoup, Keyann Al-Kheder, and Roman Kuittinen-Dhaoui