List of Useful Scala Libraries

Scala is evolving in a fast way with many third-party libraries erupting on the scene. It is gaining in traction in a multitude of domain areas especially for data processing. The below link provides details to some aggregated list of useful project libraries that can be found on the web.

awesome scala

Build Your Own Robot

Almost everyone has played with legos in their childhood. They have become a nostalgic episode in lives of most adults especially laying the foundations of spatial abstractions to engineering. As the use of robots evolve commercially so will the demand for consumers wanting to develop and design their own. Gradually, they may become the next trend of ubiquitous gadgets for the new generation of households. What we really need is an evolutionary change and serious inspiration from legos towards building viable robots. Although, such robots do exist in the market they rarely if ever provide for a real-world solution other than as toy prototypes for playing and research. We need more evolvable and programmable hardware that can be constructed in whatever creative form to build a sense of individualism. Although, tools like Rasberry Pi and Arduino are making some strides in making such flexibility in hardware possible. However, what people really desire are robots as inspirational from movies like Real Steel and I,Robot that could eventually become part of our home experience and aspect of our everyday lives. A robot with a near enough cognitive ability to walk around in our local streets that perhaps a human had created. Robots can play a variety of roles to benefit humans and not just as toys. Humans often find having pets in the house a valuable experience as part of nurture and nature. However, robots could provide for even more multitude of experiences around the house. Currently, creating your own robot is not just for the lighthearted though. It requires the ability to understand artificial intelligence as well as engineering of hardware circuitry and sensors. Perhaps, what we lack here is a level of abstraction similar to a PC or a mobile which allows people to build their own and yet not have a need to build a CPU, a memory chip, and at such a low level of abstraction. What most people desire is robotics that can be built like a metaphor of infrastructure or even platform as services in a blackbox manner. Not every one needs to know hardware. But, providing them the versatility of lego-like pieces allows them to not only build robots of their own but also to design their own programmable software. Even connecting them to internet of things approach for the cloud could be an option. Such approaches are still very bare bones in the market, very much research oriented, or for industrial scale use. In time, we as consumers are likely to see robots becoming an every day item of gadget that could be transposed through a transformer like set of pieces, in large scale, and powered up through downloadable programs in a USB or bluetooth plug and play fashion. 

How To Train Your Dragon 2

A long awaited sequel to the successful story of a boy and his dragon. The new story revolves around the boy evolving into a dragon master almost depicting richer themes around his life story. The story also has a deeper meaning than before and a more intermingle of action. How To Train Your Dragon 2 is a powerhouse of animation built to tantalize and titillate our minds of our own dragon. The animation sequences display a 3D awe inspiring delivery for thrills and audience imagination. But, also to involve us in the death-defying battles that erupt and swoop through at dizzying heights. Perhaps, such movies might even trigger interest for more remote control or even robotic dragons.  

Bitten

Some shows have such meaningless story lines that it becomes so obvious as to why they continue to be successful. Take for example the relatively new show 'Bitten' which is about werewolves and their internal struggle as well as the background lives of the individuals. However, what the show ultimately brings forward is one character at center of it which is Elena who continues to battle between her obligations to her werewolf pack but also her desire for a normal life. The show displays clearly no primary villain but a few sidekicks to the show. It also displays the protagonist not completely heroic either. The show primarily attempts to lure audiences by way of sexual scenes. One cannot but wonder that the reason why so many watch the show is to see Laura Vandervoort in the flesh. Such shows also epitomize the lack of audience tastes for shows and their relative success. Good stories often seem to take a back seat while sexually gratifying character sequences are used to exploit audiences.

Netherlands vs Argentina

One very intense game with no goals scored on either end even with overtime. Both sides were relentless and working as a team. However, by the second half one could witness that the pressure and frustration was catching up with the Netherlands team as they were falling and pushing all over the place. Netherlands team does seem to have tendency of falling over very easily to grab a free kick or a penalty. Other times, they were literally pulling and tugging the Argentinian players. One could tell they were losing steam and getting desperate. However, going into penalties is a dangerous endeavor for any World Cup team, if it means going against Argentina, who have one of the best forward players. Ultimately, it was the penalties that provided a clear break for Argentina right from the first shoot out. Overall Argentina proved to be a far better team to qualify into the finals. Germany vs Argentina will be the pinnacle of World Cup 2014 in a very intense match. On one side we have the well oiled machine of Germany and on other hand we have the artful attacking plays by Argentina. Both, solid in their team spirit and working together to clinch the goals.

Germany vs Brazil

The world cup game between Germany vs Brazil was clearly very astonishing. Not so much in the way Germany beat Brazil. But, more in the manner with which so many weaknesses emerged in the Brazilian team. It appears Brazil have a very weak defense line. Most of them just appeared to stand there motionless as Germany bombarded their attack for the goal. Germany were relentless through very early on in game. And, it seemed that the first goal from Germany really shocked Brazil. The Brazil team also rely way too much on one man to bring them to a victory. However, for Germany, it is a clearly different story throughout the game. Germany have for so long played as a team. And, it was their lack of arrogance and great set of passes that clinched them the victory. Germany are very solid team where almost every player in set pieces is doing their bit. Perhaps, it was an understatement of anyone to assume Brazil had any chance without Neymar. Even with him on it would have made no difference. One man against an entire team would be unbeatable especially when it comes to the talents of Germany. It would be one amazing final when it turns out to be Germany vs Argentina.

Thundr Web Framework

Thundr is a relatively new lightweight web framework for Java, adaptable for google app engine based applications development. It provides for a rich amount of services for working within the local platform as a service cloud environment especially in aspects of virtualized instances. There is aspects of easily modularizing components as well as a seamless approach towards API integration. One other interesting fact is that it does not utilize excessive levels of magic that are synonymous in many larger frameworks like SpringMVC or Grails. Such a framework would come in handy when applications are being deployed to the cloud, require good points of integration, are relatively lightweight, and do not get in way of one's desire for rapid application development.

Pest Control In Big Cities

One is never too far from a colony of rats and mice in big cities that are so densely populated. London and New York City being prime examples where they are even more in population than humans. Some can be docile and distant. Others, will not care and will gleefully play around with humans in background, as if to tease our intense dislike for the creatures. Still there are others, that will jump on top of a human's back and even bite viciously in defense. There are also some that will just open their gaping mouths to a human as if to exchange the intense fear and dislike both parties have for each other. Rats and mice will always dwell in company of humans. Perhaps, this is a natural part of their scavenging existence to come after all our rubbish that we so profusely throw away on a regular basis. Rubbish is plentiful in big cities. They also are a very disruptive creatures that will destroy everything in their way and spread disease in process. Some humans have even developed a strange fondness for them. One can emphatically agree that rats and mice can be a nightmare for a homeowner. In the time that rats and mice have been around, humans have yet to create an effective strategy of tackling them especially during a domestic infestation. We have so called commercial recipes and options. Some are not very long lasting or just ineffective. Others work well if used with traps. Traps are nasty business for most people. As they are nocturnal animals, one never knows what they are up to once they get access to our homes, while we are away or even asleep. Another, annoying experience for homeowners is the droppings which are highly toxic and hoovering only seems to spread the effects. They make cleaning around the house an utter nightmare as they spread their droppings on everything and can even at times shoot urine at person if they are in the vicinity. It is even worse for those individuals that have an allergic reaction. We as humans find ourselves at a quandary. Wherever humans go, the rats and mice sure to follow. It is almost like they are our savage night stalkers. But, surely our lives would be a lot easier if we just got rid of them, at least in a way that they do not invade our homes. A generally accepted way is to have a predatory animal, plug any open holes, keep the house clean, and poison bait as a long lasting remedy on rats or mice. But, even such methods can allow rats and mice to adapt to their surroundings. They have even adapted well to sonar repellers in cities which in fact attract them to homes. It can also be argued that homes that provide for an intense amount of repellers, poison, traps, and minty smells may actually be doing themselves a disservice. Rats and mice can probably learn to adapt to such risks and in fact realize that homes with so many preventative measures could only mean one thing - such homes have a lot of food at their disposal. The iRobot created a very successful way of cleaning the floor. Perhaps, we can extend the idea of a robot to act as a predator or communicator to the mice or rats in a continuously adaptive way. The robot should be able to learn from a rat or mouse behavior and take that into a feedback loop to ward them away. So, overtime a robot should always be looking for inputs from rat or mouse, to stay ahead of the game. Not all preventative methods work for pest control as such animals have adaptive practices and their own unique ways of handling human fear. And, though they are animals, they are curiously smart ones too. A robot is a smart beast as well that is engineered to do one thing and one thing only at its optimum potential. To eradicate rats and mice completely we would need to understand their nest sources, their local forging behavior, the patterns of behavior they display with humans as well as among themselves, and what types of preventative measures make them fear. There is even an approach to understanding degrees of fear in a fuzzy way to tabulate what is intense enough for one may not be intense enough for another. One could even adapt the robot using genetic algorithms and through reinforcement learning. Perhaps, the ideas of using autonomous robots could also work here as a way of pest control and eradication. Could one create a robot in form of a cat, rat, mouse, or even a snake? Unfortunately, pests in big cities are not just limited to rats and mice either. They can even be foxes, squirrels, insects, and the list could go on based on the city in question. In end, the humans take a backseat as they turn a war on pests, at least to the anticipation of striking a peace deal.

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