
A writer, musician, and content strategist with a passion for language. When she isn’t helping clients, you can find her writing songs, hiking in a northern forest, or furiously journaling.

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Welcome to my personal Blog

I'm Alexander Hipp


“I don’t know — maybe put a little less food on your plate.”

That was her advice. She was a doctor, for crying out loud.

She was my doctor, unfortunately.

Most of the physicians I’ve seen in my life made me feel like they didn’t care about me or my problems. They had sicker people to see, and I looked “normal.” They spoke quickly, interrupted me, and showed me the door. They were busy, and I wasn’t a priority.

On the hazy, overcast morning of my doctor’s appointment, rain fell silently from the sky. I remember it vividly because I live in Southern California, where it rarely rains, and the doctor was late for my appointment. No one can drive in the rain out here. But, I’ll tell you about that some other time.

She entered the room awkwardly and apologized for her tardiness, but she was unfriendly and cold. Perhaps she was embarrassed that she was late. Maybe she was dreading confirming my diagnosis. Either way, this appointment was about to go south.

I heard the air conditioner click on. She finally confirmed that my test results revealed that I was in menopause. Then she told me to lose weight.

I was 37 years old.

### The average age
The average age for menopause to start for American women is 51. I arrived there 14 years before I was supposed to.

I was pissed.

After my doctor told me to lose weight, she informed me that losing weight would be more challenging now because I was in menopause.

> I don’t know. You’re fine. See the front desk on your way out.
<cite>Every last one of them said that.</cite>

### I looked fine, so no biggie
Multiple symptoms ran parallel but felt unrelated at first.

> “Your body just really doesn’t want to have a period, I guess!” — Words of wisdom from one of my doctors

I stared blankly at her, wondering why she wasn’t doing more to help me, but I had no questions to ask. I didn’t know how to help myself. Was it really okay that I had four periods a year?

Sometimes I would get hot flashes followed by nausea. I would play this fun game with myself: Is this a hot flash or food poisoning? It was always a hot flash. This happened daily.

No one seemed worried about my symptoms, and I returned to my regularly-scheduled life without answers.

Something was wrong with me. But what? Most of the physicians I’ve seen in my life made me feel like they didn’t care about me or my problems.

What Do You Do When You Know You’re Not Fine?


It’s no secret that the covid pandemic has had a huge impact on the way that businesses are run - but there’s also been a switch in the way that people, and HR leaders, approach work. Employees have had time and space to reassess their lives and a lot of them have found they much prefer the work-life balance that remote models have created. Some of this attitude is at the core of the ‘Great Resignation’ trend that we’re seeing creeping closer to our shores. 

As we start to see the pandemic in our rear-view mirrors, and return to a version of normalcy looks imminent, it’s time to assess what HR has learned from the last two years - and how we integrate that into leadership moving forward.

“As a business, I don’t think we will ever go back to that traditional model of nine-to-five, five days a week,” Robert Stone, chief people officer at global marketing agency Wunderman Thompson, told HRD. “People have assessed what’s important to them in life, and that’s work-life balance and wellbeing.”

The marketing and advertising industry has a turnover percentage in the mid to high thirties. Wunderman Thompson is tracking significantly lower than the industry standard over the timespan of the pandemic – something Stone is certifiably proud of. 

### Through this situation
“Through this situation, I think employees saw the true colour of businesses, of how they treated their people,” he added. “Employers that may not have handled it the right away are still feeling the repercussions. We had to re-educate our managers to think, it’s all new - how do we work through this? In the beginning, a lot of people tried to remotely replicate culture from what was in an office environment. However, we eventually had to look at things in a different way and redefine what culture is to a workplace.”

The traditional nine-to-five work schedule is becoming increasingly obsolete as more companies adopt flexible, remote work policies. This shift away from the traditional workday has been accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has forced many companies to adopt remote work as a necessity.

One approach that companies are taking to replace the nine-to-five schedule is the implementation of flexible work arrangements. This can include options such as remote work, flexible hours, and job sharing. These arrangements allow employees to work from anywhere and at times that best suit their needs, which can lead to increased productivity and job satisfaction.

Without even reducing the 40-hour work week. Time is money, right?

The nine-to-five Is Dead. Here’s What to Replace It With


Working in cybersecurity means you’re constantly playing a game of catch-up. Every day you learn something new, but your work is also never finished.

Whether you are a security researcher developing threat intelligence to power IDS / IPS systems or someone trying to plug holes in an area like application security, you will constantly be forced to find new solutions for unknown problems.

To Dutch security engineer Ferry (he prefers us not to share his last name), it’s this ever-evolving part of infosec that’s kept him in the field for over a decade. He currently works for Rijks ICT Gilde, a group of tech consultants who work on a variety of Dutch government IT projects. 

> “The thing I love most about my job is that every day comes with new challenges and opportunities. There are always new vulnerabilities to expose, new detection systems to set up, new hackers to catch. This job really is never done.”

Security engineers love working in the field of cybersecurity, also known as infosec or fosec, for a variety of reasons. One of the main reasons is the constant challenge and ever-evolving nature of the field. With new technologies and threats emerging all the time, security engineers are always learning and adapting to stay ahead of potential attacks.

Another reason security engineers enjoy working in fosec is the sense of purpose and importance of their work. With the increasing reliance on technology in nearly all aspects of our lives, the need for robust and effective cybersecurity measures is more critical than ever. Security engineers play a critical role in protecting sensitive information and ensuring the continuity of vital systems and services.

Additionally, the field of fosec offers many career opportunities and paths. From incident response and penetration testing to risk management and compliance, there are a wide range of specializations and roles to choose from. This variety allows security engineers to find a career that aligns with their interests and skills.

Finally, many security engineers find the field to be intellectually stimulating and rewarding. The field is full of complex problems and puzzles, and when a solution is found, it can be extremely satisfying.

Overall, security engineers appreciate the dynamic and challenging nature of fosec, the sense of purpose and importance of their work, the variety of career paths available, and the intellectual stimulation and rewards of the field.

Working in cybersecurity means you’re constantly playing a game of catch-up. Every day you learn something new, but your work is also never finished.

Why the security engineers loves working in fosec


Here is a fun fact to stick in the back of your mind for trivia night or to use as an interesting ice breaker: the Amazon River has no bridges. None. Zero. Zilch. That is in spite of the fact that the Amazon is 4,345 miles long.

The Amazon has a river basin that covers 2.7 million square miles. It has the highest flow and discharge rates out of any river on Earth. It runs through multiple countries and dumps into the Atlantic Ocean. In all of that there is not a single bridge that crosses the river at any point. You cannot drive over the Amazon River, even if you wanted to.

Why is it that the Amazon has no bridges when other smaller rivers have dozens or even hundreds?

### Geography and Economics
The Amazon River is one of the most remote rivers on Earth. It plunges from a source that is nestle high in the mountains at nearly 18,000 feet and then runs through one of the largest and thickest jungles found anywhere. The result is, there are not very many paved modern roads that run along the Amazon.

In fact, if you take a quick glance at the map, there are only a handful of towns and cities that are even large enough to register that are located on the banks of the Amazon.

So the Amazon is remote, so are a lot of other rivers. Why not just one bridge? A single bridge.

### Current and Future Projects
There are a couple of bridges that span Amazon tributary rivers. One such bridge is located in Manaus, the largest city along the Amazon. But the bridge doesn’t cross the main expanse of the river. There is another bridge crossing a large Amazon tributary in Peru.

President Bolsonaro of Brazil has repeatedly said he wants to build a bridge over the Amazon but detractors say it would be for his legacy and serve no real purpose. No progress has been made on the Brazilian Amazon bridge proposal.

In fact, every bridge proposal targeting the Amazon has stalled and gotten nowhere. No one has even attempted to break ground which shows how stiff the headwinds are to such a project. Many bridges has been dreamed up but so far none have become reality.

It is odd to think that in 2022, over a hundred years since people dug out the Panama and Suez Canals, no one has managed to build a bridge across the Amazon.

### Conclusion
Resistance to bridging the Amazon can be summed up in this way.

* Too remote

* Too expensive

* No public support

And that is it.



Here is a fun fact to stick in the back of your mind for trivia night or to use as an interesting ice breaker: the Amazon River has no bridges. None. Zero. Zilch. That is in spite of the fact that the Amazon is 4,345 miles long.

There Are Zero Bridges Across The Amazon. Here Is Why


About eight or ten years ago, I was excited about smart fabric and connected textiles —  especially about what the next generation could be once the materials evolved. Now, Microsoft’s got me excited again, and, well, skeptical.

Smart fabric refers to textiles that embed technology such as sensors and conductive thread into the structure and function of the material.

In the case of Microsoft, the patent is for fabric in a jeans’ pocket. The fabric is embedded with layers of connected sensors that can recognize an object or gesture.  

And, it’s more than just sewing in a few sensors. The patent also details the development of data processing circuitry. It can receive, process, and transmit data from the smart fabric.

Then, there’s a computing system containing a machine learning module. It receives and processes incoming data and builds prediction models. These can recognize an object placed next to the piece of smart fabric or a touch gesture applied to it. 

The computer system can recognize objects commonly held in a pocket and their absence. For example, your pocket sends a reminder to your phone when it fails to detect coins for parking meters or your hand sanitizer. 

As for gesture recognition, rubbing the phone against your pocket could quickly trigger a command on your phone via NFC. It could also have applications in gaming and various consumer products.

### Not Microsoft’s first rodeo

Microsoft’s been interested in smart fabric and smart clothing since the mid-2010s, filing various patents, such as electronically functional yarn for smart shirts and gloves. 

The current patent is most likely an extension of a 2020 project called Capacitivo, where a smart fabric tablecloth identifies foods, such as specific items of fruit placed on the table, or even liquid inside glasses. It’s a somewhat strange use case. 

<div class="ratio ratio-16x9">
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ITYGILCULPo"></iframe>
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About eight or ten years ago, I was excited about smart fabric and connected textiles —  especially about what the next generation could be once the materials evolved.

Msoft's smart fabric that can detect objects and gestures


If you are over age 30 and not working to counter the natural effects of aging, your muscles are wasting away as you read this. By age 70, you’ll have lost about 40% of your once enviable muscle mass. It doesn’t have to be like this, and if it is, you still have time to fix it.

You can build muscle at any age. It just gets a little more challenging later in life.

“Old and young people build muscle in the same way,” explains Roger Fielding, PhD, a professor of medicine at Tufts University. “But as you age, many of the biological processes that turn exercise into muscle become less effective. This makes it harder for older people to build strength but also makes it that much more important for everyone to continue exercising as they age.”

Building muscle, no matter how old you are, offers clear and numerous health benefits.

### Stronger body, longer life
You’ve probably heard plenty about physical and mental well-being boosts from aerobic exercise, such as brisk walking. A new study adds to the smaller but convincing body of work on the health benefits of building muscle.

Muscle-strengthening workouts — using weights, resistance bands or even just doing push-ups or some heavy lifting in the garden — lower the risk of heart disease and cancer, and up the odds of longer life, according to a review of 16 studies on the topic, published in the July 2022 issue of the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

### You can do this
Around age 50, the chemical and biological processes that trigger muscle growth start working more slowly, Fielding writes. But the process doesn’t stop. It just means older people don’t gain muscle as easily as younger people. And while it might seem hard at first, building muscle gets easier with time, regardless of age.

### It’s never too late
What if you’ve never worked out before? No problem.

Just ask Mike Harrington, who was a complete couch potato at age 69 and is now a state-champion powerlifter.

We don’t have to become powerlifters to reap significant health benefits. The American College of Sports Medicine suggests this basic approach for healthy adults who want to build strength:

* Warm up and cool down for 5–10 minutes.

* Choose a weight or resistance level that you can move eight to 15 times. The last repetition should be difficult.

* Do one to three sets, two or three days a week.

* Exercise all the major muscle groups.

* Use proper technique and full range of controlled motion.

* Seek a professional trainer if you don’t know proper technique.

The answer is a strong yes, and here’s why you should start now. If you are over age 30 and not working to counter the natural effects of aging, your muscles are wasting away as you read this.

Can You Build Muscle When You’re Older?


A team of researchers at Jilin Engineering Normal University in China recently published a paper indicating they’d built an AI model capable of recognizing human facial expressions.

I’m going to save you some time here: they most certainly did not. Such a thing isn’t currently possible.

The ability to accurately recognize human emotions is what we here at Neural would refer to as a “deity-level” feat. The only people who truly know how you’re feeling at any given moment are you and any potential omnipotent beings out there.

Here are my three golden tips for realistic planning:

* Underestimate how much you can get done in a day
* Overestimate how much time a task will take
* Overestimate interruptions during your day

### The reason some bootcamp grads are set up to fail
* In my experience, not all bootcamps are created equal. They vary widely in acceptance processes, curriculum, program structure, and quality of instructors. They’re designed to push candidates through courses that will have them writing some code fairly quickly.

* As a result, programs are forced to strip away a lot of fundamentals — those basics that help developers understand the “why” behind the code they’re writing.

* When young software developers learn by copying and pasting, it can make troubleshooting difficult when they come across something that doesn’t fit the pattern they’re used to.

* Small businesses and startups are those most likely to hire developers without degrees, but I’ve seen too many bootcamp grads take jobs at startups only to find they haven’t learned enough to make any real impact.

### Up front:
The research is fundamentally flawed because it conflates facial expression with human emotion. You can falsify this premise by performing a simple experiment: assess your current emotional state then force yourself to make a facial expression that presents in diametric opposition to it.

If you’re feeling happy and you’re able to “act” sad, you’ve personally debunked the whole premise of the research. But, just for fun, let’s keep going.

### Background:
Don’t let the hype fool you. The researchers don’t train the AI to recognize expressions. They train the AI to beat a benchmark. There’s absolutely no conceptual difference between this system and one that tries to determine if an object is a hotdog or not.

What this means is the researchers built a machine that tries to guess labels. They’re basically showing their AI model 50,000 pictures, one at a time, and forcing it to choose from a set of labels.

### The problem:
All of this seems useful because, when it comes to outcomes that don’t affect humans, predictions models are awesome.

When AI models try to predict something objective, such as whether a particular animal is a cat or a dog, they’re aiding human cognition.

You and I don’t have the time to go through every single image on the internet when we’re trying to find pictures of a cat. But Google’s search algorithms do.

### Neural take:
This is a total scam. The researchers present their work as useful for “fields like human–computer interactions, safe driving … and medicine,” but there’s absolutely no evidence to support their assertion.

The truth is that “computer interactions” have nothing to do with human emotion, safe driving algorithms are more efficacious when they focus on attention instead of emotionality, and there’s no place in medicine for weak, prediction-based assessments concerning individual conditions.

A team of researchers at Jilin Engineering Normal University in China recently published a paper indicating they’d built an AI model capable of recognizing human facial expressions.

Why ‘facial expression recognition’ AI is a total scam


### The AGI hype train has hit some heavy traffic.

While futurists and fundraisers used to make bullish predictions about artificial general intelligence, they’ve become quieter lately. Peter Thiel — the tech billionaire and rumored vampire — says Silicon Valley big brains have lost enthusiasm for AGI.

“Elon’s not talking about it anymore and Larry Page is off to Fiji and doesn’t seem to be working on it quite as hard,” Thiel said at a recent event.

While futurists and fundraisers used to make bullish predictions about artificial general intelligence, they’ve become quieter lately. Peter Thiel — the tech billionaire and rumored vampire — says Silicon Valley big brains have lost enthusiasm for AGI.

### IT is healing
Can self-healing security software fight cybercrime?

Thiel described Musk as “a weathervane for the zeitgeist,” who’s stopped talking about AGI because interest has declined.

Scientists are also increasingly skeptical. A recent study paper posited that AGI is “in principle impossible,” while other researchers have mocked the term’s proponents.

“I have yet to come across work on AGI that I can take seriously,” tweeted Abeba Birhane, a cognitive scientist based at University College Dublin.

### The path towards AGI increasingly appears — at best — a long one.

Imbuing machines with human-like intelligence remains immensely challenging. As Melanie Mitchell, a computer science professor at Portland State University noted in a preprint paper published last year on arXiv:


>Since its beginning in the 1950s, the field of artificial intelligence has cycled several times between periods of optimistic predictions and massive investment
<cite>Alexender Toto</cite>

Critics fear that another AI winter is coming. Hyping AGI helped spurred enormous investment in artificial intelligence, but overconfident predictions could be detrimental to progress in the field — if the real-world advances prove disappointing.

While futurists and fundraisers used to make bullish predictions about artificial general intelligence, they’ve become quieter lately. Peter Thiel — the tech billionaire and rumored vampire — says Silicon Valley big brains have lost enthusiasm for AGI.

The Power of Visualization in the 21st century


[According to research](https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/00251740610673332/full/html), up to 90% of consumers’ snap judgments made about products can be based on color alone. Color also plays an important role in brand identity. Coca-Cola is red, Facebook’s blue, and so on.

A number of companies have actually succeeded in trademarking and “owning” colors that their competitors can’t use.

For instance, Tiffany & Co has trademarked its shade of blue, T-Mobile magenta, and UPS its “pullman brown.”

### Know the legal requirements
The Lanham Act defines trademarks as, “any word, name, symbol, device, or any combination thereof” that’s used to, “identify and distinguish one set of goods or services from other sources.”

Although colors aren’t included in that definition, since 1995, they can be trademarked as part of a service or product, providing they meet four conditions:

* The color needs to work as a source of brand identification.

* It must not have a functional purpose — think yellow or orange for safety signs.

* It needs to show proof of “secondary meaning.” That is, the public has come to associate a 
color with a particular good or service.

* It doesn’t put competitors at a disadvantage by affecting cost or quality.

Ticking all the boxes can prove challenging, especially when it comes to secondary meaning. General Mills, for example, has failed to trademark yellow for its Cheerios box. The court ruled that the color isn’t a distinctive element of the brand, as it’s commonly used by other cereal companies.

### Apply for the color trademark ASAP

You can file a trademark application with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), even before you’ve started using the color in commerce, or proven its secondary meaning.

If the USPTO determines that the color mark isn’t distinctive yet, but can be, if used consistently in the future, it will be registered on the Supplemental Register.

### Hire a trademark attorney

Navigating the legal waters can be challenging, and it’s better to speak with a professional early on, before making a substantial investment.

Trademark attorneys can check whether a color is available for use, and whether there are any similar color marks already being used in the relevant market that could impede registration, or result in lawsuits from competitors.

According to research up to 90% of consumers’ snap judgments made about products can be based on color alone. Color also plays an important role in brand identity.

I'm Alexander Hipp

Recent Posts

What Do You Do When You Know You’re Not Fine?

The nine-to-five Is Dead. Here’s What to Replace It With

Why the security engineers loves working in fosec

There Are Zero Bridges Across The Amazon. Here Is Why