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Home What We Do Culinary Craftsmanship
From Plan to Plate
Our secret weapon is our passion for food, embodied in each of our culinary experts and executed by our world-class chefs. Though trends change and diets evolve, you can always count on our culinary team to cook up something fresh.
Meet Our Culinary Team
Our team of renowned chefs is passionate about creating exceptional, authentic flavor in every system and product. With a combined 190+ years of experience from front-of-the-house to back-of-the-house, our chefs know what it takes to develop innovative, delicious products that satisfy consumers' taste buds and expand your bottom line.
Global Network of Chefs
Nitin Puri
Director of Culinary India
Director of Culinary Middle East
Nitin Puri is the Director of Culinary for Griffith Foods India. A native of Delhi, he has worked in various cities within India, as well as internationally, acquiring diverse culinary knowledge to create recipes that invite a fusion of flavors. Nitin's 21 years of experience across various organizations lends well to his role at Griffith Foods, where he creates product differentiation through customer-focused solutions. He holds a degree in hotel management from IHM – India and is a member of Chef-De-Coaded, a group of India's top chefs.
View all Nitin Puri Insights
Girish Kumar is the Director of Culinary for Griffith Foods Middle East. Originally from India, Girish began his culinary journey as a commis with Oberoi Hotel's luxury collection resorts, later working in various hotels and being exposed to diverse cuisines. He later moved to Dubai to become a chef de cuisine managing Mediterranean and fusion Indian cuisine, helping him add value in his role at Griffith Foods engaging with processors in the QSR and foodservice product development sector.
View all Girish Kumar Insights
Joe Kuechenmeister
Director of Culinary
Corporate Chef
Jonathan Heeter
Ricky Troche
Dennis Girik
Technical Manager Culinary Innovation
Timothy Baran
Christopher Tanner
Corporate Executive Chef
Nehemiah Lim
Ryan Flick
Adam Wright
Joe Kuechenmeister is the Director of Culinary for Griffith Foods US, working to coordinate team activities that drive business in a purposeful way with customers across segments and professional channels. Previously, he worked as a restaurant/R&D chef in NYC for 12 years and was a Liquids Research Chef when he first joined Griffith Foods. He is a Certified Research Chef, member, and certification committee member of the Research Chefs Association.
View all Joe Kuechenmeister Insights
Martha Sánchez is the Executive Chef for Griffith Foods in Mexico, where she focuses on creating sustainable, competitive, and differentiated products based on the company's mission to nourish the world. Martha excels in both cuisine and confectionary and nurtures her love for both through travel. She holds a number of culinary certifications; has participated in several culinary competitions; and is a member of Vatel Club México, the Academie Culinaire de France, and Maestros Cocineros de México.
View all Martha Sanchez Insights
Jonathan Heeter is a Corporate Chef for Griffith Foods, where he works hand-in-hand with each division to demonstrate, scale, and refine innovative trends and products that have a global impact on both customers and consumers. Jonathan developed his love for food growing up in Bordeaux, France, eventually moving to America, studying at the Culinary Institute of America at Hyde Park, and taking on roles as Chef De Partie, saucier, and pastry chef for various top-rated properties. He is a member of the Research Chefs Association and Confrerie de la Chaine des Rotisseurs.
View all Jonathan Heeter Insights
Ricky Troche is a Sous Chef for Griffith Foods US, acting as the "bridge" for all Alsip, IL-based chefs to better serve customers (both internally and externally) through gold standard development, ideations, working sessions, customer visits, and culinary center and kitchen management. He is an ACF Certified Culinarian and a first-place winner at the 2019 Bell Flavors Spark Ignite Cooking Competition.
View all Ricky Troche Insights
Dennis Girik is a Technical Manager in the Culinary Department for Griffith Foods US, where he leads culinary innovation and rapid prototyping. Born in Ukraine, Dennis showed a passion for cooking at a young age, beginning his career after graduating from Vladimir State Culinary College in Russia with honors. After earning a bachelor's degree from Moscow College of Agriculture, he moved to the US to work at various restaurants, eventually earning a degree in food science from the University of Illinois and a master's in business management in 2003. His almost 20 years of experience includes roles in product development at Unilever, flavor applications at Givaudan, and product development and culinary with Griffith Foods, where he helped pioneer culinology as the first Certified Research Chef with the Griffith US.
View all Dennis Girik Insights
Timothy Baran is a Corporate Chef for Griffith Foods US, where he creates and refines culinary-inspired products, working with R&D to bring them to commercialization. He has worked in many areas of the industry, including fine dining, teaching, and competing professionally, including four ACF competitions and one WACS competition. He is a member of the ACF and RCA, a National Champion Official apprentice for the ACF Culinary Team USA, and an Official apprentice for the ACF Certified Master Chef exam.
View all Timothy Baran Insights
Christopher Tanner is the Corporate Executive Chef for Griffith Foods US, where he inspires new concepts for the company's retail and protein customers. Christopher is a highly experienced and decorated chef, having held many roles at restaurants and institutions across the nation. He has been a member of the American Culinary Federation since 1995, holds 50 culinary competition medals, is a Certified Culinary Educator and Judge, and holds three ACF Presidential coins and one medallion, among other accolades.
View all Christopher Tanner Insights
Nehemiah Lim is a Corporate Chef for Griffith Foods Canada. His Chinese heritage and Canadian upbringing have exposed him to many different ethnic cuisines from various chefs. He attended George Brown College for culinary management and is currently enrolled at the University of Guelph in food science courses. Nehemiah is also an Ontario Certified Red Seal 415A – Cook Br. 2 from the Ontario Colleges of Trades.
View all Nehemiah Lim Insights
Ryan Flick is a Certified Research Chef for Griffith Foods Canada. A native of Toronto, Ryan spent eight years in the United Kingdom gaining hands-on experience in classical French/European cuisine at Relais & Chateaux properties and a one-star Michelin restaurant. He holds a food science certificate from the University of Guelph and is a member of RCA and IFT. He has also worked as a Culinary Development Manager for Obsidian Group, managing development for four foodservice brands across 130+ restaurants.
View all Ryan Flick Insights
Adam Wright is a Corporate Chef for the Griffith Foods culinary team in the Scarborough area of Toronto. Adam is a cross-functional corporate chef who collaborates with R&D, sales, and marketing to develop Griffith Foods products with care and creativity to achieve sustainable solutions that help customers grow and nourish the world. With culinary education from schools like the University of Guelph and George Brown College, Adam has developed a keen interest in food systems and sustainable commerce to ensure future generations have access to healthy food. He has been a member of the RCA since 2005 and was a conference speaker at the RCA/George Brown College collaboration for ethnic cuisine.
View all Adam Wright Insights
Davide Bossi
Regional Director of Culinary CASA
Daniel Roseira
Corporate Chef Technical
Valeria Hernandez
Davide Bossi is the Regional Director of Culinary for the Central and South America region. Originally from Italy, Davide began his culinary career by studying at the French Culinary Institute of Istres after earning undergraduate and master's degrees from the University of Milano and the University of Roma. Davide has been a chef for two Michelin-star restaurants, a teacher/chef of culinary arts at Escuela Gastronomica de Occidente in Colombia, and an ambassador in the Internations Expat Association. He is also the founder and CEO of Davide Bossi Chef consulting company of culinary arts.
View all Davide Bossi Insights
Daniel Roseira is an Executive Chef in Brazil for Griffith Foods. Daniel developed a love for cooking at a young age, going on to study food engineering at the Engineering School Mauá, as well as gastronomy at the University of Guarulhos. He led one of the most successful Innovation Days for McDonald's, where he was responsible for coordinating the presentation, development of the concepts presented, and approval for several products while building relationships with the customer's innovation team.
View all Daniel Roseira Insights
Valeria Hernandez is the Executive Chef for the Central American and Caribbean regions. Originally from Costa Rica, Valeria's journey as a chef began in hotels and restaurants, evolving to the food preparation industry and business. She is an active member of the National Association of Chefs of Costa Rica and was a judge for the Burger Rocks- Pizza Rocks- Boca Rocks social activities with the National Board of Children.
View all Valeria Hernandez Insights
Jomi Gaston
Regional Director of Culinary APAC, Custom Culinary
Calvin Tsoi
Siddharth Raghavan
Ratchaphong Katerung
Jaturon Sunyapong
Business Development Chef
Nikul Phayungpong
Culinary Manager
Kano Shunsuke
Bell Tang
Culinary Innovation Consultant
Jacky Song
Colin Yang
Dillon Yao
Toni Griggs
Account Executive – Culinary, Grifm Culinary
Jomi Gaston is the Director of Culinary for Griffith Foods APAC. Jomi began his culinary career in his home country of the Philippines after graduating from the Culinary Institute of American in New York. Since spending time in different countries within APAC, he has developed a deep appreciation for different cultures, gaining a unique understanding of the people, their preferences, needs, and aspirations, which has in turn influenced his culinary path.
View all Jomi Gaston Insights
Calvin Tsoi is the Marketing Culinary and Innovation Director for Griffith Foods in Hong Kong. Since 1996, he has achieved a number of awards and certifications, most notably including the gold medal at Millennium Creating Cooking Competition by Hong Kong Trade Development Council in 1999, the bronze medal at the 6th World Championship of Chinese Cuisine in 2008, a Certificate of Master Chef Course in Chinese Cuisine at the Chinese Cuisine Training Institute, and a Certification of International Master Chef for Chinese Cuisine by the World Association of Chinese Cuisine. Calvin was also an adjust professor for the hotel management faculty at the Tourism College of Zhejiang, China in 2005.
View all Calvin Tsoi Insights
Siddarth Raghaven is a Culinary Director in Bangkok, where he works to strengthen culinary capability. Siddarth has 13 years of experience from Unilever, where he worked all over the world, holding roles as an innovation chef, formulation chef, and SEAA regional lead chef. He was also a trainer for dry product development in the Unilever Culinary Academy.
View all Siddharth Raghavan Insights
Ratchaphong Katerung is a Corporate Chef for Griffith Foods in Thailand. He began his career as a chef assistant in Hotel Plaza Athenee in Bangkok before taking a role as a lecturer for Food and Nutrition and Quality Control at Rajamangala Institute of Technology. Ratchaphong joined Griffith Foods in 2004, where he currently works on SEA projects for QSRs and processors, focusing primarily on the Thai market. He holds a bachelor's degree in home economics from Rajamangala Institute of Technology and a master's degree in food catering technology from King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang. His many accomplishments and awards include preparing lunch for Her Royal Highness Princess Sirinthorn, winning the National Thai Food competition at Kasetsart University with CPF in 2001, winning the Thai Food Development contest for the National Council of Women in Thailand in 2003, and winning the White Box a la Carte competition at THAIFEX-World of Food Asia in 2005.
View all Ratchaphong Katerung Insights
Jaturon Sunyapong is a Business Development Chef for Griffith Foods in Thailand. He has a culinary background as a hotel kitchen chef for 14 years in Chicago and San Francisco, moving on to become the Executive Chef in a five-star hotel in Thailand and a Bestfoods Thailand Executive Chef after that. He was the Unilever Foodsolution Thailand Executive Chef for nine years and the Food Innovation and Quality Assurance Director for five years at Yum! Restaurants Thailand before joining Griffith Foods in 2013.
View all Jaturon Sunyapong Insights
Nikul Phayungpong is a Culinary Manager for Griffith Foods, where he adds a signature touch to featured items and offerings his team has developed. Nikul also has admirable experience in both Tex-Mex and Japanese cuisine varieties. He is a member of the Thailand Chefs Association and was ranked a Top Ten MasterChef Thailand in 2018.
View all Nikul Phayungpong Insights
Kano Shunsuke is a Corporate Chef for Griffith Foods in Japan. Shunsuke grew up in Hokkaido, where he grew up watching cooking shows and reading recipe books from a young age. He earned a diploma in advanced culinary arts with business management from Musashino Cooking Academy in Tokyo, where he currently resides. After graduating, Shunsuke worked for a Michelin-starred French restaurant in Mandarin Oriental Tokyo, later moving on to study a variety of cuisines in Australia and joining Griffith Foods in 2015. He holds a cooking license, a food coordinator certificate, and membership in the All Japan Chefs Association (a part of the World Association of Chefs Societies).
View all Kano Shunsuke Insights
Bell Tang is a Culinary Innovation Consultant for Griffith Foods. He lives in Shanghai and has traveled extensively, helping him broaden his views and culinary inspiration. Bell attended the Culinary Institute with a major in western cuisine and has 20 years of experience as an executive sous chef in five-star hotels.
View all Bell Tang Insights
Jacky Song is an Innovation Culinary Chef for Griffith China. Based in Shanghai, Jacky has experience with Western-style cuisine infused with local taste and works to make new, creative concepts come to life. Jacky previously worked for Disneyland/John Georges in Shanghai and is a certified Senior Technician from Western Culinary Institute.
View all Jacky Song Insights
ColinJun Yang is an Innovation Chef for Griffith Foods – China, where he develops innovative foods for QSR brands, especially YUM China. He received a gold medal in the One Belt And One Road intercity cooking exchange competition (2018), a gold medal in the 2018 China skill competition, and achieve a second place at the Lai Shengqing China cooking skill competition.
View all Colin Yang Insights
Dillon Yao is the Innovation Chef Director of Griffith Foods' China Unit. Based in Shanghai, Dillon leads the team of chefs who manage all brand food innovations for greater China. He holds a certificate from the American Culinary Institute of seven days of culinary training, is a Senior Technician of Western Cuisine, and a member of the China Cuisine Association.
View all Dillon Yao Insights
Chef Toni Griggs is an Account Executive – Culinary at Grifm Culinary, a joint venture servicing the QSR markets in Australia and New Zealand through Culinary & Technical expertise. Before joining Grifm, she traveled across the continent, working for over 10 years in a range of high-end restaurants and five star hotels leveraging her expertise in European cuisine while experiencing local fare from across the continent. She holds a degree in Food Science and Nutrition from William Angliss Institute and holds a Certificate III in Commercial Cookery from Chisholm Institute. She is a member of the Australian Institute of Food Science and Technology (AIFST), and is a past winner of AIFST Student Product Development.
View all Toni Griggs Insights
John Feeney
Regional Director of Culinary Innovation
Eugeni Pons
Commercial Chef at Custom Culinary® Europe
Alexander Tieck
Paul Rowland
Jordi Gallego
Berten Bos
Bram Buijks
Lewis Lancaster
Junior development chef
Thomas Duffin
Andy Jones
Anoescha Joubert
Culinary Lead, Griffith Crown Foods
John Feeney is the Culinary and Innovation Director for Griffith Foods Europe. John began his interest in culinary at a young age, working in some of the most prestigious hotels in London, top tier events, international cruise ships, and even private yachts as a personal chef. He then worked in Switzerland as a chef lecturer, mentoring, training, and inspiring others, eventually moving back to England to develop his executive career. He is a Master Chef of the Great Britain Association, a member of the Craft Guild of Chefs, Director & Creator of the Universal Cookery Food Festival UK, and winner of several awards, including Chef of the Year for Gold Nestle UK Foodservice and Craft Guild of Chefs Development Chef of the Year.
View all John Feeney Insights
Eugeni Pons is a Commercial Chef for Griffith Foods Europe. He first attended law school, eventually moving to San Sebastian to become a chef at the Arguiñano Culinary School, drawing tremendous influence from the north sea cuisine and working in various Michelin-star restaurants. Eugeni eventually returned to his hometown near the Mediterranean, where he started a new restaurant and later joined Griffith Foods after some years.
View all Eugeni Pons Insights
Alexander Tieck is a Commercial Chef for Griffith Foods in Germany. He began his career in 1999 with an apprenticeship, later moving to New York City for the Institute of Culinary Education and working for Eleven Madison Park. He spent time in Australia and later moved back to Germany, starting his first head chef position and moving on to Hong Kong to be the head chef in a private fine dining restaurant. In 2013, Alexander and his wife opened a fine dining restaurant in Mallorca, Spain, eventually moving back to Germany, where he now manages the Food Service Brands of Germany and has helped launch key innovations for Griffith Foods.
View all Alexander Tieck Insights
Paul Rowland is a Commercial Chef for Griffith Foods Europe in London, mixing technical, culinary, and commercial skills in his role. He has worked for the Hilton in Geneva, Army School of Catering as an instructor, Ritz London, and Carlton Tower London. Paul has also received a Master Chefs Grand Prix Gold medal for his work in chocolate.
View all Paul Rowland Insights
Jordi Gallego is a Senior Development Chef for Griffith Foods South Europe. A native of Northwest Spain, he has spent more than 35 years in the food industry, gaining a strong culinary background from his family heritage and adopted Mediterranean food culture after moving to Tarragona. Today, Jordi showcases Griffith Foods' culinary approach by developing innovative and relevant concepts that contribute to customer success.
View all Jordi Gallego Insights
Berten Boss is a Culinary Technologist, R&D for Griffith Foods in Belgium. Berten began working in a restaurant kitchen at the age of 14, eventually attending cooking school and studying hotel management in Antwerp. He opened his first gastronomic restaurant when he turned 21 and later opened two more — one of which scored 13/20 in the Gault/Millau. Experienced in product development, financial insights, sales, marketing, and HR, Berten is also a freelance catering manager for Warner Bros for large productions mostly in Asia.
View all Berten Bos Insights
Bram Buijks is a Development Chef in Northern Europe and has worked for Griffith Foods for 14 years. Originally from Belgium, he spent eight years as a chef in one- and two-star Michelin restaurants across Belgium, France, and Spain. He also led a hobby cook school for 15 years in his hometown of Antwerp. Today, Bram works on new developments, participates in marketing programs, and conducts customer presentations to help elevate culinary in every part of the Griffith Foods business.
View all Bram Buijks Insights
Lewis Lancaster is a Junior Development Chef for Griffith Foods, where he supports the development of sauces, seasoning, and dressing for the UK and European market in the RTC, RTE, BBQ, sous-vide, and rotisserie categories. He earned a Level 3 professional chef diploma and spent time working for various hotels and restaurants, eventually becoming a chef de partie. Lewis is a member of the European Chef Council (ECC) and is currently working towards a degree in professional practice in food technology.
View all Lewis Lancaster Insights
Thomas Duffin is a Global Accounts Chef for Griffith Foods Europe, where he provides culinary support to QSR accounts across the continent. Developing a love for food at a young age, Thomas spends much of his time traveling. He has cooked for Jeunes Restaurateurs (JRE) in the Netherlands for 100 chefs with Michelin Stars and is Level 2 Certified in the Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET).
View all Thomas Duffin Insights
Andy Jones is the Senior Development Chef for the UK and Ireland. Growing up in Sheffield, he worked at various hotels and restaurants after school, eventually moving to catering at Chatsworth house for the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire. From there, Andy worked for the legendary Chef Albert Roux at the prestigious five-star Grand Hotel in Amsterdam and later in his first development kitchen at the House of Albert Roux, supplying outside catering for F1 racing, horse racing, and charity events, as well as the famous Michelin two-star Le Gavroche restaurant in London. Today, Andy is a member of Master Chefs of Great Britain and is a Development Chef at Griffith Foods, where he develops and innovates retail portfolios, including BBQ, RTC, and Christmas, and works closely with the R&D, marketing, and insights teams.
View all Andy Jones Insights
Chef Anoescha Joubert is the Culinary Lead at Griffith Crown Foods, a joint venture based in South Africa focused on the QSR sector. In her role, Chef Anoescha creates concepts and products based on marketing insights and trends. Prior to joining Griffith Crown Foods, she gained significant experience in fine dining restaurants, served in multiple Head Pastry Chef roles, including in a Michelin star restaurant and a restaurant awarded South Africa's top restaurant, owned a catering business and worked with several restaurant and food business start-ups focused on bakery, health food and nightlife bistros. Chef Anoescha attended Warwick's Chef School in South Africa for Culinary Arts and achieved Professional Cookery qualification from City & Guilds in the UK.
View all Anoescha Joubert Insights
Mark Serice
VP of Global Culinary
Jonathan Tomlin
Global Corporate Executive Chef Protein Processors
Mark Serice is the Vice President of Global Culinary for Griffith Foods. In his role at Griffith Foods, Mark seeks to elevate culinary for the entire organization, while complementing the business development activities of the company's regional and local chefs. A native of New Orleans, Mark was heavily influenced by Cajun and creole cuisine, as well as his family's shared passion for cooking. He has spent 35 years working in the food industry, with roles as Chef de Cuisine and Corporate Executive Chef for Brennan's Restaurant in New Orleans. He is a Grand Rotisseure for Chaine de Rotisseurs, a member of the American Chefs Association, and a pending member for both the Research Chef Association and the World Academy of Chefs Societies.
View all Mark Serice Insights
Chef Jonathan Tomlin started his career in fine dining, working for Mark McEwan in Toronto, Ontario Canada before training in France under Christian Constant. After returning to school for Food Science Technology, Chef Jonathan began his career at Griffith Foods as a Corporate Chef for Griffith Canada. After four years at Griffith Canada, Chef Jonathan now works on the Global Business Development Team, building business between our global protein processor clients and Griffith Foods local business units around the world.
View all Jonathan Tomlin Insights
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Q: pass array to go-pg query I'm using Go-pg and when I use the following way to execute sql query:
db.Query(&result, sqlQuery, params)

where params is a structure like the following:
type MyParams struct {
    Codes []int
}

and sqlQuery is
SELECT id FROM bar WHERE code_id IN (?codes)

in the actual SQL query I get query like this:
SELECT id FROM bar WHERE code_id IN ('[7,45]')

Is it possible to have int array placeholder passed properly to have a query:
SELECT id FROM bar WHERE code_id IN (7,45)

A: You could use the go-pg ORM instead for the same results:
ids := []int{1, 2, 3}
err := db.Model((*Book)(nil)).
    Where("id in (?)", pg.In(ids)).
    Select()

// SELECT * FROM books WHERE id IN (1, 2, 3)

A: There are a couple things you can do:

*

*Keep using in (...) and use pg.In.

*Use = any(array) in your SQL instead of in (list) and pg.Array in Go to send a proper array to PostgreSQL.

The first looks like:
db.Query(&result, `SELECT id FROM bar WHERE code_id IN (?)`, pg.In(params.Codes))

the second looks like:
db.Query(&result, `SELECT id FROM bar WHERE code_id = ANY (?)`, pg.Array(params.Codes))

A: A way is to create a string with delimiter required to make an string and then pass it to the db.query to fetch the result.
package main

import (
    "fmt"
    "strconv"
    "strings"
)

func main() {
    a := []int{7,45,32}
    str := ConvertToString(a, ",")
    query := `Select * from table1 where ID IN(`+ str +`)`
    fmt.Println(query)
}

func ConvertToString(a []int, delim string) string{
    var b string
    for _, v := range a{
        b += strconv.Itoa(v)
        b += ","
    }
    return strings.Trim(b,",")
}

Working code on Playground.
Edited:-
You can use Golang sqlx package for your requirement.

database/sql package does not inspect your query and it passes your
  arguments directly to the driver, it makes dealing with queries with
  IN clauses difficult:

SELECT * FROM users WHERE level IN (?);

When this gets prepared as a statement on the backend, the bindvar ?
  will only correspond to a single argument, but what is often desired
  is for that to be a variable number of arguments depending on the
  length of some slice, eg:

var levels = []int{4, 6, 7}
rows, err := db.Query("SELECT * FROM users WHERE level IN (?);", levels)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
May 14, 2016 / 9:49 AM
Islamic State declares state of emergency in Raqqa, U.S. official says
By Marilyn Malara
U.S. Col. Steve Warren reported that the Islamic State has issued a state of emergency in its self-proclaimed capital of Raqqa. Photo by Oleg Zabielin/Shutterstock
WASHINGTON, May 14 (UPI) -- The de-facto capital of the Islamic State is under a state of emergency, a spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition against the group confirmed.
During a press briefing at the Pentagon Friday, Col. Steve Warren said the Syrian city of Raqqa has been scrambling its defenses as if preparing for an expected attack. The reason for the sudden declaration is unclear, Warren said.
"We have seen this declaration of emergency in Raqqah, whatever that means," Warren said in response to one reporter's question. "We know this enemy feels threatened, as they should."
The terrorist group, also known as ISIS, ISIL and Daesh, has begun hiding military vehicles, sidewalks and supplies from potential airstrikes, with a number of its inhabitants moving swiftly to either find cover or leave the city, officials said.
RELATED North Korea ships under sanctions carrying on activities
"We've had reports of ISIL repositioning both their combat capabilities, I guess what they think may be coming next. And we've seen reports of them repositioning personnel to various other -- either within the city or even out of the city," Warren added.
During the briefing, Warren also discussed coalition operations focused on cutting IS's financial support. Two operations -- Operation Point Blank, which focuses on destroying physical "cash piles," and Tidal Wave II, which will focus on cutting oil revenue -- have been ongoing, he said.
"These operations have had an impact. We know that ISIL's total income has been reduced substantially, and we know that their income from oil specifically has we believe been reduced by about 50 percent."
RELATED Union officials, SWAT police face off in Philippines amid ongoing Verizon labor dispute
Warren also touched on the militant group's other means of income -- extorting its residents.
"Their primary source of income is what they refer to now as taxation. In reality, we know that it's extortion. But even their ability to extort money from their own people continues to be reduced as our partner forces liberate more and more territory."
Earlier this year, a report from Syria said IS was facing an economic downturn as the group began cutting salaries and demanding residents pay utility bills in black market Dollars. The extremist group was also releasing detainees for $500 each.
RELATED At least 13 dead in Iraq coffee shop mass shooting

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Home Unlabelled Review of Defy the Night: A Coming of Age Story Set During the Holocaust
Review of Defy the Night: A Coming of Age Story Set During the Holocaust
This post may contain affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, you may be helping to support a voracious curriculum buying habit. Be warned. And thank you for clicking through to purchase.
I've long been a fan of books set during World War 2 and the Holocaust. The horrors that happened during that time and the responses of those around are intriguing, and the courage of those who stood up against evil is inspiring. Defy the Night is based on true accounts of the bravery of young women who were instrumental in saving children from concentration camps. It's a historical fiction, coming of age story from a mother daughter team.
Magali is a young French girl who wants to do something, anything to stand against the atrocities she hears about in the news. She lives in a secluded mountain village that is, so far, free from Nazi control. But she wants to help somehow. When Magali meets an aid worker who is involved in getting children out of camps in the Nazi occupied areas and bringing them to the small village for safety, Magali knows she's found her calling. Unfortunately those around her- notably her parents- want to keep her safe. Magali is a little sure of herself as the book opens. She is outspoken but often only in her own head. She just knows that she can help this aid worker who she compares to Joan of Arc. As circumstances unfold, Magali finds herself in a position to help the children as she desires. And Magali finds herself growing and maturing more than she imagined.
I loved Defy the Night. It was a wonderful favorite to add to the books I've enjoyed from the World War 2 time period. I really loved Magali's character. I know that I'm much (much, much) older than Magali; but I can so totally relate to Magali. She's not perfect- which to me makes her a very likable character- but she is full of passion and energy and is a very compelling character. The story is hard to read because you know it is based very much on actual events. And the events of the day were horrific. But it's also an inspiring story, a story of courageous people standing against evil- in many different ways.
Heather Munn and her mother Lydia shared with my how they became interested in writing about this time period:
Lydia says: When I was researching the events of World War II in France, I came across a book about the aid workers (almost all young women) who rescued Jewish children from the camps, and later, took them out of other dangerous situations to places where they could be safely hidden. I was so impressed by the courage and devotion of these young women, that I wanted their story to be told, alongside the story of the town of Le Chambon, which had first inspired me to begin this series. That was my inspiration for inventing the person of Paquerette, who embodies something of the experience of many of these aid workers. And it made sense to me that someone like her could have used a teenage helper sometimes, so that's how Magali's story began to develop.
Heather says: I've always been fascinated by World War II as well, because I'm very interested in good and evil, in human beings and why they make the choices they make. What made people risk their lives for others? (And what made others cooperate with the Nazis in oppression and evil?) Our first book, How Huge the Night, was more the one that explored how people made their initial choices, though; in 1941 when Defy the Night opens, Magali's pretty clear on wanting to save people. But is wanting to save people enough? That's the really interesting question in this story, to me. Magali wants to be a hero. I used to want that, as a teenager. And when you're a teenager you often don't realize just how much of that desire is actually wanting to be cool and impressive and special. What if being a hero is boring and grueling and you have to do it in secret and nobody ever finds out what you've done? What if it involves changing diapers and comforting kids who are screaming from nightmares and it doesn't look impressive at all? The way that Mom had set up the initial framework of the plot (that's how we work together--I take it from there) those were the issues I saw Magali coming up against as she learns what true heroism means. So that's really what informed the parts of the plot that I came up with, like Magali's complicated relationship with Nina and what she learns about her, etc. To me, growing up has a lot to do with facing reality, and that's what I was trying to force Magali to do.
Heather and Lydia were also able to share with us some photos to illustrate the places in the story:
This is a photo of children in an actual internment camp such as the ones in the story.
These girls are in the Rivesaltes camp that Magali visits in the book.
These are internees arriving at Rivesaltes camp.
And these are pictures of Le Chambon sur-Lignon. This is the town represented by Magli's mountain village in the story.
This is a moving story and one you won't want to miss. For the week of the tour, you can find Defy the Night on sale for $1.99 as an ebook.
Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.
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Although the application of capital market theory is questionable in real estate investment, institutional investors are advised continuously to perform asset allocation and real estate portfolio management with CAPM-based models. Due to a lack of data in many real estate markets and other reasons these models will not be applicable. Searching decision theory application for close buy applications of multiple choice portfolio decisions the authors found an analogy in project management. Multi project management problems are very similar to real estate portfolio decisions. The authors will adopt a project portfolio management approach to solve real estate portfolio management problems. Therefore they develop a financial model where every single real estate is treated like a project. Instead of historic price information from the real estate markets this model uses the specific investment based know how of the individual investor. Risk and return information of every single real estate and the whole portfolio will be methodically generated by a simulative risk analysis. The generated output characterizes the risk and return structure of the real estate portfolio. It is compatible to the commonly used asset allocation processes in the dominating security markets. The authors demonstrate how there model can be used as a back bone in the financial performance-controlling system of an institutional real estate investment company. Different applications in real estate investment decisions, risk management and investment controlling will be shown.


Getting Crafty with Jamie: It's My Birthday... Come Create & PLAY!
It's My Birthday... Come Create & PLAY!
JOIN ME On My BIRTHDAY!!
Come Create, Connect as we Roll, Chat, Laugh and Craft!
Dessert Bar, Tons of FUN under the Twinkle Lights & Card Making in between BUNCO Rounds!!!
It's MY Birthday but YOU Score the Gifts!!
Goody Bags, Event Gifts, Crafting Fun & MORE!


In a recent study, it was found that the demand for organic foods is rising rapidly across the world. In Germany, the demand is growing at a rapid pace making it, world's number 2 organic food markets after the US. In fact, organic foods have become so popular that increasing numbers of people have started switching to the organic life. Even the conventional supermarket cannot afford to avoid keeping a wide selection of organic foods and vegetables at their stores. It has also been seen that regardless of the higher prices compared to the inorganic foods, people are selecting a healthy lifestyle.
Small organic food stores long had the image of selling organic fruits and vegetables to the sandal-wearing hippy customers carrying canvas shopping bags. Such shops were expensive and so people avoided them. However, today, Germany is the largest market for organic foods in Europe. It produces a sales volume of more than 5.8 billion pounds experiencing an average growth of 15% every year.
Perhaps the shift towards the organic lifestyle is mainly because of the preference of healthy lifestyle. The fertile grounds of Germany and the long history of green movements in the country is also another major cause for approving organic foods in the country. A strong perception is also currently working that healthy foods should be subsidized by the state and supported by the society. Another important driving force behind organic food is that organic farming is more environment-friendly than conventional farming, as a whole.


text:
M.D. council weighs in on controversial Bill 6
Posted on December 16, 2015 by Taber Times
By Nikki Jamieson
njamieson@tabertimes.com
Before Bill 6 was passed, the M.D. councillors had expressed their lack of confidence in the bill.
During the regular council meeting on Dec. 8, council received a letter to the minister of jobs, Lori Sigurdson, from the Alberta Association of Municipal District & Counties, dated Nov. 27.
It requested that the timeline for consultations be increased, to ensure that government can hear all concerns before they pass the bill.
The biggest concern is whether they are meeting with elected producer groups in the agriculture industry.
"Otherwise, they're not representing anyone but themselves," said Derrick Krizsan, CAO for the M.D.
"Appointed by the province, doesn't mean you're elected, said Bob Wallace, M.D councillor. "These people, we don't recognize them in our agricultural societies."
Ultimately, if the provincial government consults with the elected boards and commissions that represent the various agriculture groups in Alberta, then it would be like consulting with every farmer in the province, since these groups represent them. However, council claims that the only ones being consulted are non-elected.
"I think that elected thing is pretty important," said Dwight Tolton, M.D. councillor. "Because they are meeting with so-called producer groups, that none of us recognize because we haven't voted for them."
According to Tolton, at a recent Mayors and Reeves meeting there was a lively discussion regarding Bill 6, but they ultimately decided to support it after a vote, "because there was some NDP people in the room." About 98 per cent of attendees voted in favour.
"The biggest thing is, the people who wanted to defend what the province is doing, don't come from a farm and have no agriculture inclination what so ever," said Tolton. "(They) don't understand, and they put out there that farm owners don't care about safety. That couldn't be further from the truth."
In addition to the rushed timeline, council also expressed concern of farmers having no option but to get Worker's Compensation, even if their own insurance has better coverage. Krizsan explained that farm workers, through WC, could either sue the employer or go through the board for rehab and lost wages.
"That's why OHS (Occupational Health and Safety) is tied to this, is because if there is an injury then it triggers – in the event of an injury that requires hospitalization or death – it triggers an OHS investigation," said Krizsan.
"These are the industry standards, so let's say, as an employer, let's say you have repeated injuries this (WCB coverage) rate increases, just like private insurance would. The difference between this and private insurance, is WCB deals with that employee… you're not directly involved with it."
"The sad thing is, when you're harvesting, you got a window of good days, and all of a sudden you have an accident, and accidents can happen. All of a sudden your operation is shut down for two weeks for an investigation, that's affecting your livelihood," said Ben Elfring, M.D. councilor. "That's the only thing that scares me; not the only thing, but one of the things."
Bill 6 was given its third reading and passed on Dec. 10.
"I certainly don't disagree with the idea of it, farm safety and safety for workers, but it certainly would have been nice to have a lot more detail exactly what the bill is going to (do), or how it's going to effect us," said Brian Brewin, reeve for the M.D. "I was disappointed with the way it was done, to be honest with you… the lack of consultation and the fear of the unknown."


An internationally-renowned jazz musician who regularly played in Sanderstead and Croydon alongside world-famous venues such as Ronnie Scott's has passed away.
Val Mannix was a staple of the jazz scene in London and beyond for more than half a century but sadly succumbed to heart and liver disease in July with his wife Brenda by his side.
The 73-year-old who was most known for a great sense of humour and his 'deft-touch and timing' on a double bass was also a strong piano player and part of the legendary avant-garde movement of the 70s which rejuvenated the genre.
Born in Sri Lanka before coming over to the UK as a health worker, there were two sides to Val, one a hard grafting nurse by day and the other a light-hearted natural musician by night.
One of seven siblings in a musical family and originally playing piano, Val learnt the double bass after coming to the UK.
Initially settling in South Norwood in Croydon, Val worked for a number of years at the Warlingham Park Hospital for psychiatric patients before it closed in 1999 and moved to Whyteleafe where he lived with wife Brenda for more than 30 years.
The couple, who met at Piano evening classes at Goldsmiths College in 1982, married in Las Vegas in 2008. Although they have any children together, Val had one son and three grandchildren from a previous marriage.
His wife Brenda said: "He had a real love of music and he just always wanted to be playing the double bass, he was a very single minded musician like that. He was a gentle man, had a love of animals and enthusiastically kept up with all the young new music and new bands from American and in jazz.
Brenda also confirmed that he got back into playing jazz full-time after taking an early retirement in 2000 after a heart attack and a triple bypass operation.
During his jazz career, Val played at Sanderstead URC Church and The Oval Tavern in Addiscombe on several occasions and videos of him performing at the Croydon Clocktower are also available on Youtube alongside gigs at the Royal Festival Hall.
He previously played with Courtney Pine in the Jazz Warriors, the Mark Ambler Trio in the 1980s as well as with American Dave Brubeck and was part of the The Gilad Atzmon Quartet in the 1990s. He also played at the late Frank Holder's 90th Birthday Gig three years ago in Soho.
In recent years he was part of the Jo Fooks Quintet and the Ted Beament Trio which saw him at a number of more local venues across south London, Surrey and East Sussex including at the Robertsbridge Jazz Club, The Bull's Head in Barnes, The Spice of Life in Soho, The Hawth in Crawley and the Charlwood Parish Hall during the Mole Valley Arts Alive Festival several times.
Despite becoming ill again in 2013 he kept playing regularly until earlier this year.
Ted Tomkins, 77, from Clapham, teaches music at Guildhall in the Barbican and knew Val for 40 years.
He said: "He was a lovely man both in his music and in his life, just a nice fella. We just met at a gig one night and struck up a friendship. We've played in many different sets with different people over the years. Everyone who knew him liked him, he was an excellent bass player with a good sense of humour.
"I spoke to Val only two days before his death, I knew he'd been on oxygen but he sounded like his old self and really chirpy so it came as quite a sad shock when Brenda told me."
Ted Beament, 77, knew Val for more than 20 years and said: "We met up and played at a gig together a long time ago and have played in a number of different groups together all over the place at a number of venues including Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club.
Val passed away on Saturday, July 14 and his funeral will take place on Tuesday, August 14 at Croydon Crematorium.


text:
\section{Introduction} \label{sec:introduction} \vspace{-2mm}

Estimating data samples from known surrounding samples is a major signal processing task for modern communication applications, especially in image and video communication. The extension of a signal beyond a limited number of known samples is usually referred to as signal extrapolation. A very common task is concealment of transmission errors in mobile image or video communication by estimating lost data blocks using correctly received adjacent blocks. Another area for extrapolation is prediction whereas data samples are estimated based on known data, so only the prediction error has to be transmitted instead of the original signal.

The algorithm described in this paper is an enhancement to the frequency selective extrapolation algorithm proposed in \cite{MeK04b}. For error concealment, it was shown in \cite{MeK04b} that the original algorithm provides very good extrapolation results compared to others, such as the sequential error-concealment algorithm from Li and Orchard \cite{LiO02}, the DCT-based interpolation algorithm from \mbox{Alkachouh} and Bellanger \cite{AlB00}, the projections onto convex sets algorithm proposed by Sun and Kwok \cite{SuK95} or the maximally smooth image recovery algorithm by Wang et al. \cite{WZS93}. Even if the algorithm \cite{MeK04b} belongs to the best extra\-polation algorithms existing so far, in some rare cases it still produces visible artifacts. In addition to an increase of the $\mathrm{ PSNR}$ our proposed algorithm produces less extrapolation artifacts. A comparison between the proposed algorithm, the original algorithm and the extrapolation algorithms mentioned above is presented at the end of this paper. Within the scope of this contribution, the algorithm is carried out for two-dimensional data sets only, but by making use of \cite{MMK06} it could easily be adapted to higher dimensional data sets as well.

\section{Signal extrapolation} \label{sec:extrapolation} \vspace{-2mm}

\begin{figure}
	\psfrag{m}{$m$}
	\psfrag{n}{$n$}
	\psfrag{M}{$M$}
	\psfrag{N}{$N$}
	\psfrag{L}{$\mathcal{L} = \mathcal{A} \cup \mathcal{B}$}
	\psfrag{A}{$\mathcal{A}$}
	\psfrag{B}{$\mathcal{B}$}
	\centering
	\includegraphics[width=0.22\textwidth]{graphics/region2d.eps}
	\caption{Data area $\mathcal{L}$ used for two-dimensional extrapolation consisting of the missing area to be estimated $\mathcal{B}$ and the known surrounding support area $\mathcal{A}$}
	\label{fig:region2d}
\end{figure}

In Fig.\ \ref{fig:region2d} a possible two-dimensional data set is shown, depicted by the two spatial dimensions $m$ and $n$. Area $\mathcal{B}$, called missing area, contains the data samples of unknown magnitude. The magnitude of these samples should be estimated by means of the data samples with known magnitude, subsumed in area $\mathcal{A}$ which is called support area. Areas $\mathcal{A}$ and $\mathcal{B}$ together form area $\mathcal{L}$ that contains all data samples involved in the extrapolation process.

\subsection{Extrapolation principle} \label{ssec:principle}

The magnitudes of the samples in area $\mathcal{L}$ are described by the discrete function $f\left[m,n\right]$ that is defined over the whole area $\mathcal{L}$, but the magnitudes of $f\left[m,n\right]$ are only accessible over the support area $\mathcal{A}$. The algorithm aims to generate a parametric model $g\left[m,n\right]$, defined over $\mathcal{L}$ in such a way that $g\left[m,n\right]$ becomes an approximation of $f\left[m,n\right]$ over $\mathcal{A}$. The parametric model emanates from a weighted linear combination of two-dimensional basis functions $\varphi_{k} \left[m,n\right]$. The basis functions have to be mutually orthogonal with respect to the whole considered area $\mathcal{L}$.
\begin{equation}
g\left[m,n\right] = \sum_{\forall k \in \mathcal{K}} c_k \varphi_k \left[m,n\right] ,
\end{equation}
where the weighting factors $c_k$ are denoted as expansion coefficients and the set $\mathcal{K}$ covers the indices of all basis functions used for the parametric model. In general, for decomposition of a discrete signal as many orthogonal basis functions are needed as there are samples. Therefore, the number of different orthogonal basis functions used for the generation of $g\left[m,n\right]$ equals $\left| \mathcal{L}\right|$, the number of samples in the signal. Since $\left| \mathcal{A}\right| < \left| \mathcal{L}\right|$ holds, the expansion coefficients for every basis function cannot be calculated directly and an iterative approach is needed. There, in every iteration step one basis function and the corresponding expansion coefficient is determined and added to the parametric model
\begin{equation}
g^{\left(\nu \right)} \left[m,n\right] = g^{\left(\nu-1 \right)} \left[m,n\right] + \hat{c}_u^{\left(\nu \right)} \cdot \varphi_u \left[m,n\right].
\end{equation}
Here $g^{\left(\nu \right)} \left[m,n\right]$ denotes the parametric model in the $\nu$-th iteration step, $u$ denotes the index of the basis function that was chosen for this iteration step and $\hat{c}_u^{\left(\nu \right)}$ is the estimate for the real expansion coefficient. The initial model $g^{\left(0 \right)} \left[m,n\right]$ is set to zero. In the course of the iteration a multiple selection of the same basis function is possible.

The residual approximation error $r^{\left(\nu \right)} \left[m,n\right]$ between $f\left[m,n\right]$ and the parametric model $g^{\left(\nu \right)} \left[m,n\right]$ in the $\nu$-th iteration step is expressed by
\begin{eqnarray}
r^{\left(\nu \right)} \left[m,n\right] \hspace{-0.2cm} & = & \hspace{-0.2cm} \left( f\left[m,n\right] - g^{\left(\nu \right)} \left[m,n\right] \right) \cdot b\left[m,n\right] \\
\hspace{-0.2cm} & = & \hspace{-0.2cm} \left(r^{\left(\nu - 1  \right)} \left[m,n\right] - \hat{c}_u^{\left(\nu \right)} \cdot \varphi_u \left[m,n\right]] \right) \cdot b\left[m,n\right] \! .
\end{eqnarray}
The masking function $b\left[m,n\right]$ is used to mask the missing area $\mathcal{B}$
\begin{equation}
b \left[m,n\right] = \left\{ \begin{array}{ll} 1 &,\ \forall \left(m,n\right) \in \mathcal{A} \\ 0 &,\ \forall \left(m,n\right) \in \mathcal{B} \end{array} \right. ,
\end{equation}
since the approximation error can be evaluated only over $\mathcal{A}$.

\subsection{Projection on basis functions} \label{ssec:projection}

Each iteration step begins with the weighted projection of the approximation error onto each basis function. Thereby the weighting function
\begin{equation}
w \left[m,n\right] = \left\{ \begin{array}{ll} \rho\left[m,n\right] &,\ \forall \left(m,n\right) \in \mathcal{A} \\ 0 &,\ \forall \left(m,n\right) \in \mathcal{B} \end{array} \right.
\end{equation}
is used to control the influence each sample has on the extrapolation process depending on its position in area $\mathcal{A}$. One part of $w\left[m,n\right]$ is again used to mask $\mathcal{B}$. The actual weighting is performed by $\rho\left[m,n\right]$ which can be chosen arbitrarily. A good choice for a weighting function is given in (\ref{eq:isotropic_model}).  The weighted projection onto the $k$-th basis function in the $\nu$-th iteration step results in the projection coefficient $p_k^{\left(\nu \right)}$.
\begin{equation}
\label{eq:proj_coeff}
p_k^{\left(\nu \right)} = \frac{\displaystyle \sum_{\left(m,n\right) \in \mathcal{L}} r^{\left(\nu-1\right)} \left[m,n\right] \cdot \varphi_k \left[m,n\right] \cdot w \left[m,n\right]}{\displaystyle \sum_{\left(m,n\right) \in \mathcal{L}} w \left[m,n\right] \cdot \varphi_k^2 \left[m,n\right] } .
\end{equation}
Thereby the numerator is formed by the weighted scalar product between the approximation error and the $k$-th basis function. The denominator causes a normalization by the weighted scalar product between the selected basis function and itself.

Up to here the algorithm is comparable to the algorithm from \cite{MeK04b}. The difference between this algorithm and our proposed algorithm is that \cite{MeK04b} directly uses the projection coefficient as an estimate for the expansion coefficient without considering that the used basis functions are not mutually orthogonal any longer if evaluated with respect to the support area $\mathcal{A}$. Although the existing algorithm already provides very good extrapolation results, the consideration of the orthogonality property yields a significant enhancement as will be shown in the following.

\begin{table*}{\hfuzz=\maxdimen \newdimen\hfuzz
\hspace{1cm}\begin{tabular}{|p{6cm}|C{1.5cm}C{0.7cm}|C{1.5cm}C{0.7cm}|C{1.5cm}C{0.7cm}|} \hline
& \multicolumn{2}{c|}{``Lena''} & \multicolumn{2}{c|}{``Peppers''} & \multicolumn{2}{c|}{``Baboon''}  \\ \hline
Maximally smooth recovery \cite{WZS93}& $24.8 \, \mathrm{dB}$ && $24.6 \, \mathrm{dB}$ && $19.6 \, \mathrm{dB}$ & \\ \hline
Spatial domain interpolation \cite{AlB00} & $22.2 \, \mathrm{dB}$ && $23.4 \, \mathrm{dB}$ && $16.8 \, \mathrm{dB}$ & \\ \hline
POCS \cite{SuK95} & $22.8 \, \mathrm{dB}$ && $22.7 \, \mathrm{dB}$ && $19.0 \, \mathrm{dB}$ & \\ \hline
Sequential error concealment \cite{LiO02} & $24.7 \, \mathrm{dB}$ && $26.9 \, \mathrm{dB}$ && $18.7 \, \mathrm{dB}$ & \\ \hline
Frequency selective extrapolation \cite{MeK04b} & $24.8 \, \mathrm{dB}$ & $(15)$ & $25.3 \, \mathrm{dB}$ & $(15)$ & $19.2 \, \mathrm{dB}$ & $(5)$ \\ \hline
Presented algorithm & $26.7 \, \mathrm{dB}$ & $(500)$ & $26.8 \, \mathrm{dB}$ & $(250)$ & $19.7 \, \mathrm{dB}$ & $(200)$ \\ \hline
\end{tabular}}
\caption{Maximum achievable $\mathrm{ PSNR}$ for different extrapolation algorithms. In brackets: number of iterations needed for the respective values for frequency selective extrapolation with and without orthogonality deficiency compensation \vspace{-0.2cm}}
\label{tab:odc_results}
\end{table*}

\subsection{Orthogonality deficiency compensation} \label{ssec:od_compensation}

Even if the basis functions are orthogonal regarding the whole area $\mathcal{L}$, the orthogonality does not apply any longer if the basis functions are evaluated with respect to the support area $\mathcal{A}$, especially if they are evaluated in combination with the weighting function. Since, depending on the relation between $\mathcal{A}$ and $\mathcal{B}$, the basis functions are still close to orthogonality this attribute should be referred to as orthogonality deficiency and not non-orthogonality.

Due to orthogonality deficiency the projection does not only lead to the contribution a basis function has to the approximation error signal but additionally contributions from other basis functions are incorporated as well. In order to determine the contribution a basis function has to the approximation signal, the expansion coefficients have to be derived from the projection coefficients. Therefore the approximation error signal is regarded as superposition of all possible basis functions, weighted with their real residual expansion coefficients
\begin{equation}
r^{\left(\nu \right)}\left[m,n\right] = \frac{1}{MN} \cdot b\left[m,n\right] \sum_{l=0,\ldots,\left|\mathcal{L}\right|-1} c_l^{\left(\nu \right)} \varphi_l \left[m,n\right] .
\end{equation}
Applying this to (\ref{eq:proj_coeff}) leads to
\[
p_k^{\left(\nu \right)} \cdot \sum_{\left(m,n\right) \in \mathcal{L}}  w \left[m,n\right] \cdot\varphi_k^2 \left[m,n\right] = \ldots \hspace{3cm}
\] \vspace{-0.5cm} \begin{equation}
\label{eq:proj_exp_coeff}
= \sum_{l=0,\ldots,\left|\mathcal{L}\right|-1} c_l^{\left(\nu \right)} \sum_{\left(m,n\right) \in \mathcal{L}} \varphi_l \left[m,n\right] \cdot \varphi_k \left[m,n\right] \cdot w \left[m,n\right]
\end{equation}
holding for every $k=0,\ldots,\left|\mathcal{L}\right|-1$. Considering the two vectors
\begin{eqnarray}
\ve{p}^{\left(\nu\right)} &=& \left[ p_0^{\left(\nu\right)}, \ldots, p_{\left|\mathcal{L}\right|-1}^{\left(\nu\right)} \right]^\mathsf{T} \\
\ve{c}^{\left(\nu\right)} &=& \left[ c_0^{\left(\nu\right)}, \ldots, c_{\left|\mathcal{L}\right|-1}^{\left(\nu\right)} \right]^\mathsf{T}
\end{eqnarray}
and the matrix
\begin{equation}
\ve{K} = \left( \begin{array}{ccc}
		\displaystyle \sum_{\left(m,n\right) \in \mathcal{L}} \tilde{w}  \tilde{\varphi}_0  \tilde{\varphi}_0  & \cdots & \displaystyle \sum_{\left(m,n\right) \in \mathcal{L}} \tilde{w}  \tilde{\varphi}_{\left|\mathcal{L}\right|-1}   \tilde{\varphi}_0  \\
		\vdots & \ddots & \vdots \\
		\displaystyle \sum_{\left(m,n\right) \in \mathcal{L}} \tilde{w}  \tilde{\varphi}_0  \tilde{\varphi}_{\left|\mathcal{L}\right|-1}  & \cdots & \displaystyle \sum_{\left(m,n\right) \in \mathcal{L}} \tilde{w}  \tilde{\varphi}_{\left|\mathcal{L}\right|-1}   \tilde{\varphi}_{\left|\mathcal{L}\right|-1}
                \end{array} \right)
\end{equation}
with $\tilde{w} = w\left[m,n\right]$ and $\tilde{\varphi_i}= \varphi_i\left[m,n\right]$
the system of equations (\ref{eq:proj_exp_coeff}) could be rewritten in vectorial notation
\begin{equation}
\label{eq:proj_exp_coeff_vec}
\mathrm{ diag} \left( \mathrm{ diag} \left( \ve{K} \right) \right) \cdot \ve{p}^{\left(\nu\right)} = \ve{K} \cdot \ve{c}^{\left(\nu\right)} .
\end{equation}
The matrix $\mathrm{ diag} \left( \mathrm{ diag} \left( \ve{K} \right) \right)$ is a quadratic matrix with entries only on the main diagonal. The entries on the main diagonal are the same as in matrix $\ve{K}$.

Unfortunately, the matrix $\ve{K}$ cannot be inverted in general, hence an approximate solution is needed to determine the expansion coefficients from the projection coefficients. Therefore the matrix
\begin{equation}
\hat{\ve{K}} = \left(\mathrm{ diag} \left( \mathrm{ diag} \left( \ve{K} \right) \right) \right)^{-1} \cdot \ve{K}
\end{equation}
is defined. For every $k$ in $0,\ldots,\left|\mathcal{L}\right|-1$ the projection coefficient $p^{\left(\nu\right)}_k$ is the sum of the real expansion coefficient $c^{\left(\nu\right)}_k$ and the terms generated by orthogonality deficiency
\begin{equation}
p^{\left(\nu\right)}_k = \hspace{-3.5mm}\sum_{l=0,\ldots,\left|\mathcal{L}\right|-1} \hspace{-4.5mm} c^{\left(\nu\right)}_l \cdot \left( \hat{\ve{K}} \right)_{k,l} =
c^{\left(\nu\right)}_k \cdot \hspace{-5mm} \sum_{l=0,\ldots,\left|\mathcal{L}\right|-1} \frac{c^{\left(\nu\right)}_l}{c^{\left(\nu\right)}_k} \cdot \left( \hat{\ve{K}} \right)_{k,l} \label{eq:proj_exp_Khat2}
\end{equation}
with $\left( \hat{\ve{K}} \right)_{k,l}$ denoting the $l$-th column in the $k$-th line of $\hat{\ve{K}}$.

Assuming that
\begin{equation}
\label{eq:approx_assumption}
p^{\left(\nu\right)}_k \approx \alpha c^{\left(\nu\right)}_k \ , \ \ \forall k=0,\ldots,\left|\mathcal{L}\right| -1
\end{equation}
with $\alpha$ being a constant factor, the expansion coefficient $\hat{c}^{\left(\nu\right)}_k$ can be estimated well using (\ref{eq:proj_exp_Khat2})
\begin{equation}
\label{eq:elaborate_approx}
\hat{c}^{\left(\nu\right)}_k = \frac{p^{\left(\nu\right)}_k}{\displaystyle \sum_{l=0,\ldots,\left|\mathcal{L}\right|-1} \frac{p^{\left(\nu\right)}_l}{p^{\left(\nu\right)}_k} \cdot \left( \hat{\ve{K}} \right)_{k,l}}
\end{equation}
Even if (\ref{eq:approx_assumption}) is a relatively weak assumption, it is valid as the summation over all projection coefficients equalizes possible minor variations of the real factor $\alpha$.

\subsection{Basis function selection} \label{ssec:selection}

After computing the appropriate expansion coefficients for all possible basis functions, one basis function has to be chosen to be added to the parametric model in the iteration step. There are several different possible criteria for choosing the basis function. All lead to slightly different orders of the basis functions to use but also to comparable extrapolation results. The criterion used here is to choose the basis function which minimizes the distance from the approximation error signal to the weighted projection onto the basis function. The index $u$ for the basis function to use is determined by
\begin{equation}
u = \mathop{\mathrm{argmax}}_{k=0,\ldots,\left|\mathcal{L}\right|-1} \left( p_k^{\left(\nu\right)^2} \cdot \sum_{\left(m,n\right) \in \mathcal{L}} w\left[m,n\right] \cdot \varphi^2_k \left[m,n\right] \right).
\end{equation}

\section{Results}\label{sec:results} \vspace{-2mm}

The results for the frequency selective signal extrapolation with orthogonality deficiency compensation are shown for concealment of erroneous blocks in images. Therefore blocks are cutted out from the images ``Lena'', ``Peppers'' and ``Baboon'' according to an error pattern and the extrapolated signal is compared with the original signal in these areas. As error criterion the $\mathrm{ PSNR}$ is evaluated for the luminance component in the lost areas. The left subfigures of Fig.\ \ref{fig:lena_presentation_figure} to Fig.\ \ref{fig:baboon_presentation_figure} illustrate some parts of the examined error pattern used for concealment of $16\times16$ pixel sized block losses.

The proposed algorithm is compared with the original frequency selective extrapolation without orthogonality deficiency compensation \cite{MeK04b} and the extrapolation algorithms from Li and Orchard \cite{LiO02}, Alkachouh and Bellanger \cite{AlB00}, Sun and Kwok \cite{SuK95} and Wang et al. \cite{WZS93}. As parameters for the frequency selective extrapolation (with and without compensation) we use ones close to the parameters proposed in \cite{MeK04b}. According to them, the weighting function used for the concealment is generated by a radial symmetric isotropic model
\begin{equation}
\rho\left[m,n\right] = \hat{\rho}^{\sqrt{\left(m-\frac{M-1}{2}\right)^2 + \left(n-\frac{N-1}{2}\right)^2}}
\label{eq:isotropic_model}
\end{equation}
with the correlation coefficient $\hat{\rho}$ chosen to $0.8$. The support area is formed by a frame of $16$ pixels around the missing area.

\begin{figure}
\centering
\psfrag{s01}[t][t]{\color[rgb]{0,0,0}\setlength{\tabcolsep}{0pt}\begin{tabular}{c}Iterations\end{tabular}
\psfrag{s02}[b][b]{\color[rgb]{0,0,0}\setlength{\tabcolsep}{0pt}\begin{tabular}{c}$\mathrm{ PSNR}$~ in $\, \mathrm{dB}$\end{tabular}
\psfrag{s04}[b][b]{
\psfrag{s06}[][]{\color[rgb]{0,0,0}\setlength{\tabcolsep}{0pt}\begin{tabular}{c} \end{tabular}
\psfrag{s07}[][]{\color[rgb]{0,0,0}\setlength{\tabcolsep}{0pt}\begin{tabular}{c} \end{tabular}
\psfrag{s17}[l][l][0.85]{\color[rgb]{0,0,0}``Lena'' without compensation
\psfrag{s18}[l][l][0.85]{\color[rgb]{0,0,0}``Lena'' with compensation
\psfrag{s19}[l][l][0.85]{\color[rgb]{0,0,0}``Peppers'' without compensation
\psfrag{s20}[l][l][0.85]{\color[rgb]{0,0,0}``Peppers'' with compensation
\psfrag{s21}[l][l][0.85]{\color[rgb]{0,0,0}``Baboon'' without compensation
\psfrag{s22}[l][l][0.85]{\color[rgb]{0,0,0}``Baboon'' with compensation
\psfrag{x12}[t][t][0.85]{$0$
\psfrag{x13}[t][t][0.85]{$50$
\psfrag{x14}[t][t][0.85]{$100$
\psfrag{x15}[t][t][0.85]{$150$
\psfrag{x16}[t][t][0.85]{$200$
\psfrag{x17}[t][t][0.85]{$250$
\psfrag{x18}[t][t][0.85]{$300$
\psfrag{x19}[t][t][0.85]{$350$
\psfrag{x20}[t][t][0.85]{$400$
\psfrag{x21}[t][t][0.85]{$450$
\psfrag{x22}[t][t][0.85]{$500$
\psfrag{v12}[r][r][0.85]{$12$
\psfrag{v13}[r][r][0.85]{$14$
\psfrag{v14}[r][r][0.85]{$16$
\psfrag{v15}[r][r][0.85]{$18$
\psfrag{v16}[r][r][0.85]{$20$
\psfrag{v17}[r][r][0.85]{$22$
\psfrag{v18}[r][r][0.85]{$24$
\psfrag{v19}[r][r][0.85]{$26$
\psfrag{v20}[r][r][0.85]{$28$
\vspace{-5mm}\includegraphics[width=0.48\textwidth]{graphics/PSNR_over_iter_all_ref_and_odc.eps}
\caption{$\mathrm{ PSNR}$ over iterations for ``Lena'', ``Peppers'' and ``Baboon'' with losses of size $16\times16$ pixels. Solid line: orthogonality deficiency compensation used. Dashed line: original algorithm \cite{MeK04b}}
	\label{fig:results_plot}
\end{figure}

The basis functions used are the functions of the two-dimensional discrete Fourier transform whereby a very efficient realization of the algorithm presented in \cite{MeK04b} is possible. Since the entire algorithm performs in the frequency-domain only two FFTs are needed to change into the frequency domain and back respectively. Additionally, the DFT basis functions are suited especially for signal extrapolation since monotone areas, noisy regions and edges can be extrapolated very well. Here, the FFT applied has a size of $64\times64$ samples.

In Table \ref{tab:odc_results} the concealment results for the used error pattern are listed for the mentioned extrapolation algorithms. It can easily be seen that the original algorithm already outperforms most of the other methods. But in combination with the proposed orthogonality deficiency compensation a further increase of up to nearly $2 \, \mathrm{dB}$ is possible. Although the proposed algorithm performs $0.1 \, \mathrm{dB}$ worse for ``Peppers'' compared to the sequential error concealment \cite{LiO02} it provides the best extrapolation results from the regarded algorithms considering all images.

Further the influence of the orthogonality deficiency compensation on the frequency selective extrapolation is investigated. For that in Fig.\ \ref{fig:results_plot} the $\mathrm{ PSNR}$ achievable with and without orthogonality deficiency compensation is plotted with respect to the number of iterations. The gain in $\mathrm{ PSNR}$ is apparent but in addition it is obvious that more iterations are needed to achieve this gain. This is caused by the circumstance that in the first iteration steps the generated parametric model gets less energy due to the orthogonality deficiency compensation. So more iterations are needed in order to gather enough energy in the model. By avoiding a too strong emphasis of single basis functions caused by orthogonality deficiency no degradation occurs with an increasing number of iterations. Whereas the original approach declines after passing a peak the proposed algorithm causes a saturation of the $\mathrm{ PSNR}$. This is especially important as the mentioned peak normally cannot be met in practice. By using the original algorithm one always runs the risk to perform too much or not enough iterations and miss the best possible extrapolation. Due to the saturation effect this is risk is avoided using the proposed algorithm. In Table \ref{tab:odc_results} the number of iterations needed to achieve the best $\mathrm{ PSNR}$ is listed in brackets for the two algorithms.

One asset of the original approach is that it is able to reconstruct monotone areas as well as edges and noisy regions very well. In some rare cases artifacts are produced at sharp corners. The proposed algorithm is able to reduce these artifacts noticeably so that they are barely visible. For illustration representative parts of the examined images are shown in Fig.\ \ref{fig:lena_presentation_figure} to Fig.\ \ref{fig:baboon_presentation_figure}. On the left side, the erroneous pictures are shown. Mid, the concealed picture by use of the frequency selective extrapolation without orthogonality deficiency compensation is presented. On the right side, the ortho\-gonality deficiency compensation is used. To achieve the best visual quality the number of iterations are chosen $20$ (without compensation) and $250$ (with compensation) for ``Lena'' and ``Pepper''. For highly structured images such as ``Baboon'' more iterations are performed as indicated by $\mathrm{ PSNR}$. This is due to the fact that structured areas have to be composed of more basis functions to give a natural appearance. So we use $50$ iterations for the uncompensated and $1000$ iterations for the compensated approach. Although the number of iterations seems to be very high far less iterations can be used as well. In practice the described algorithm only needs little more iterations than the original algorithm to outperform it (see Fig.\ \ref{fig:results_plot}). The encircled areas show some example blocks where the outlined  algorithm produces less visible artifacts compared to the original algorithm. Apparently, the proposed algorithm provides very good visual results for smooth as well as structured areas and on sharp edges.

\section{Conclusion} \label{sec:conclusion} \vspace{-2mm}

The algorithm presented here provides a very efficient approach to cope with the orthogonality deficiency that has been inherent in the frequency selective extrapolation up to now. This approach leads to very good objective and subjective results and it is an efficient method to extrapolate signals in monotone and noise-like areas and over edges. Although the proposed algorithm is computational expensive compared to the other considered algorithms, for every application a good trade-off between quality and complexity can be found by limiting the overall number of iterations for an image and distributing the iterations to blocks according to their surroundings. Nevertheless, further work will focus on deriving a simplified approach to compensate the orthogonality deficiency with less computational complexity.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaArXiv


text:
Widescreen Weekend
Rediscovering the magic of cinema
Widescreen Weekend 2020
Client: Science Museum Group
Widescreen Weekend is the annual festival of big, bold cinema experiences presented by the National Science and Media Museum. The festival focuses on screening films in a range of formats including 35mm, 70mm and 3-strip Cinerama and is known for its commitment to photochemical film – always showing film on film where possible.
Widescreen Weekend is the longest running festival hosted by the museum but it needed to reposition itself navigating both the new Science Museum Group festivals brand and operating within ongoing social distancing measures. We worked closely with the festival team to develop a campaign that celebrates both the mechanics and experience of cinema, especially in this strange year.
We took the visual language of analogue film as our starting point, avoiding the overplayed film reel imagery and instead delving deep into the aesthetics of photochemical film throughout the ages: grain, scratches, lens flare, dust and cue marks for reel changes and film leaders – the hidden footage at the beginning and ends of reels.
We created bespoke textures based on our research and combined these with stills from the films being shown, showcasing the films themselves alongside the (often hidden) technical expertise that makes it all possible.
We developed a range of marketing lines celebrating the joy of the cinema experience, particularly considering a year in which most of us have been streaming our entertainment. The festival presented an opportunity to safely experience cinema as a group activity and rediscover the joy of sharing film after a long period of cinema closures.
We worked with the festival team to navigate changing situation around lockdown, moving away from traditional outdoor advertising and focusing on social media marketing and moving image outputs.
Building on the success of the festival, the Science and Media museum are continuing the series with Widescreen Weekend Rediscoveries; a new monthly series of screenings, showcasing a mix of heritage, classic and cut films projected in a range of formats.
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text:
'It Was a Planned Attack.' Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot Says Looting Was Organized
Mayor Lori Lightfoot speaks at a news conference Monday, Aug. 10, 2020, at Chicago Police headquarters to address looting that occurred overnight in Chicago.
Anthony Vazquez—Chicago Sun-Times/AP
By W.J. Hennigan / Chicago
August 12, 2020 12:56 PM EDT
A day after looters smashed-in retailer's windows, carried away loads of high-end merchandise and overwhelmed police officers in downtown Chicago, Mayor Lori Lightfoot says the violence was an organized raid and not a demonstration of angry protest.
"When people showed up on Michigan Avenue in the downtown area with U-Haul trucks and cargo vans, and sophisticated equipment used to cut metal, and the methods that were used, and how quickly it got spun up… that wasn't any spontaneous reaction," Lightfoot told TIME in her fifth-floor offices at Chicago's City Hall on Tuesday.
The chaos that unfolded Sunday night, and into the predawn hours Monday, was initially blamed on a police shooting in the city's southside Englewood neighborhood. News of the incident—along with misinformation that a minor had been shot—pinballed on social media, resulting in "caravans" of cars headed north downtown, Lightfoot says.
"To be sure, there are people that did join in that were motivated by lots of different reasons, and certainly were motivated by social media posts encouraging people to come downtown," Lightfoot says. "But the core of what happened — that's organized criminal activity… It was a planned attack."
For three hours that night, Chicago was under virtual siege. Hundreds of people flooded the streets. Looters broke into buildings and came out with armfuls of jewelry, clothes, electronics and other goods. The 911 switchboard was swamped with 1,800 calls between midnight and 3 a.m., a figure that's typically in the teens at those hours. Lightfoot says the looters knew that police staffing would be low that early Monday morning and therefore picked "the moments where they feel like they have the best opportunity to make a move."
The aftermath seen at the store Nordstrom on Aug. 10, 2020, following a night of unrest in Chicago.
RMV/Shutterstock
The city's Magnificent Mile and other shopping districts were hit with widespread theft, vandalism and destruction. Many of the businesses were big-name retailers like Gucci, Nordstrom and Apple. Some were looted just six weeks earlier amid the violent unrest that erupted after George Floyd, an unarmed black man, died in Minneapolis police custody in May. And all were struggling to deal with the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Chicago, like many other U.S. cities, is in the midst of a surge in violent crime. Last month, 573 people were shot in America's third largest city — at least 58 of them juveniles. There have been 430 recorded homicides through July, which represents a 51% increase over the same period last year. Compare that to New York City, for example, which had just 237 murders, despite having nearly three times the population.
In recent days, the Chicago Police Department has instituted 12-hour shifts and canceled days off for all officers until further notice. On Monday, the department sent 400 officers downtown. Expressway exits were closed and nearly every bridge was raised to seal off the area. By dawn, it was clear Chicago was an American city in distress. Shattered glass carpeted sidewalks. Trash billowed down major streets. Police stood guard in riot gear on corners.
Lightfoot says authorities have yet to identify ringleaders or individuals who she believes strategized the violence. A task force of police detectives, FBI agents and officials with the U.S. Attorney's office are now busy collecting and analyzing hundreds of hours of security camera footage to identify those involved.
"We're still going through lots and lots of video tape," Lightfoot says. "But people were able to fairly quickly take out cash registers, ATM machines, cut through metal grate, and to get beyond and behind security systems that are pretty sophisticated. That's not your average looter."
The mayor says she's instructed police to locate every automobile spotted downtown amid the looting for "being part of a criminal operation." "Every car that we can trace to a resident of the Chicago, I want that car found and I want it towed," she says. "We're not messing around."
On State Street, in Chicago's River North downtown neighborhood, Bill LaMacchia, 54, estimated about $20,000 damage on his bar and restaurant, Bijan's Chicago. Shards of glass that used to be part of his revolving door and window panels crunched under his gym shoes as he walked. A group of looters had heaved a marble-top table through a massive picture window overlooking the outside patio. They took nearly every bottle of liquor from his shelves. Some of them even sat and drank the bottles in his patio seats. The whole scene was captured on his security camera. "It was like a video game," LaMacchia said. "They did whatever they wanted."
Ariel Atkins, a Black Lives Matter Chicago organizer, dismissed authorities' narrative during a rally Monday in support of the more than 100 individuals arrested for various offenses during the looting. Her organization believes Sunday night's unrest was an organic reaction to the shooting in Englewood, which she pointed out was yet another example of the distrust between police and many Black Americans.
"The Mayor cannot expect people to play by her rules as she refuses to treat them with basic dignity," a Black Lives Matter Chicago statement said. "These protests can only end when the safety and well-being of our communities is finally prioritized."
On Sunday afternoon, police in Englewood say they approached Latrell Allen, 20, under suspicion of carrying a gun. Police allege Allen then ran, pulled a gun and shot at officers who returned fire. Allen is now recovering from multiple gunshot wounds. "Police say a lot of things," Atkins said, pointing to the fact that the police did not have body camera footage of the incident.
To Lightfoot, the police shooting was simply subterfuge for a larger criminal scheme. She warned against conflating the necessary conversations Americans need to have about racial injustice and policing with criminal activity that often harms communities of color.
As the city's first Black female and openly gay mayor, Lightfoot insists it's important to lift the voices of organizers, activists and citizens seeking to upend legacies of injustice in Chicago. But the looting this week represented something different to her.
"To see young people who are Black act in the way that they acted, like they had every right to take somebody else's property — and not just the big guys who have lots of insurance, but the little shop owners in neighborhoods all across the city — they have so little respect for all the sacrifice that people who look like them put into forming a business, all their hurdles, all their challenges that small businesses have," Lightfoot says. "Particularly small businesses of color, without any regard for not only hurting those business owners but hurting also employees, who also are generally employees of color. That offends me to the core."
On Jeweler's Row along Wabash Avenue, in Chicago's central business district, some small business owners saw their entire livelihood wiped away. Mohammad Ashiq, the 60-year-old owner of Watch Clinic, entered his watch repair shop to discover all of his inventory, some $900,000 worth, had been stolen from his glass showcases. Hundreds of watches for sale and in the process of being fixed for customers were missing. None of it insured. "It is my entire life," he says as a nearby L-train rumbled above his store. "Forty-two years in this business. I am left with nothing but my health."
With such a risk hanging over business owners' heads, many are now reassessing what they should do next. Al Wojtek Macniak, 57 and his daughter, Marta, 35, say they plan to move out their business, M&M Jewelers, out of the ground-floor Jeweler's Row storefront after looters broke into their building a second time in two months. "We moved here 10 years ago because we wanted the foot-traffic," Marta says. "But it's no longer worth it to stay."
Lightfoot recognizes Chicago is at an inflection point, as violent crime rises and the gulf of suspicion widens between the Black community and her police force. She hopes she can bridge it. "The question is how do we find opportunity out of even these very dark days?" Lightfoot asks. "And what we do to band together because together — it sounds like a cliche — but it is so true, we won't survive this moment. We will not thrive. We will not move beyond, get stronger, and better if we don't unite."
Write to W.J. Hennigan at william.hennigan@time.com.
Police Reform: Here's How America Should Rethink Safety
America Needs to Get Back to Facts


We feel our platform is terrific for Microsoft Windows. And, our VLANs are a great way to privately network your servers. The physical network infrastructure over which the VLANs route traffic have no contact with the Internet. Plus, the traffic is unmetered, and very fast. But, getting Windows Server 2008 to properly recognize our VLANs can be a little tricky.
Here, click Finish. And, on the next screen click OK.
Double-click "Unidentified Networks," and change "Location type" to Private.


So Mayor Pete gets $2,800 from James Murdoch, that's kind of surprising to me. I wonder what Sean 'missing link' Hannity thinks of that.
James is not like his brother. I wouldn't say he's Mr. Joe progressive, but he's not like his bro Lachlan.
I read this recently, it was interesting .
Late: Everyone should read this article on Lachlan. In a way, it's a warning that we should all stay on top of. Lachlan will be Rupert's empire heir. He's fallen into the white supremacist thing and will one day be pretty damned powerful in the media world. Definitely something to stick a pin in and recognize as a big red flag for trouble down the road and be ready for it.
Odenkirk donated to Beto? Devastating.
I'm certain the RWNJ couch fainters who will hyperventilate at this non-story will be equally furious about the billionaires who are actually pouring billions into the Trump GOP, amirite? Why do I keep feeling like I'm living in the movie Rollerball (the good one)?
I'd like to see Danny Devito play Bernie in the movie.


Our next task is to parse data from show version from a device.
II. Parse the below 'show version' data and obtain the following items (vendor, model, os_version, uptime, and serial_number).  Try to make your string parsing generic i.e. it would work for other Cisco IOS devices.
Store these variables (vendor, model, os_version, uptime, and serial_number) in a dictionary.  Print the dictionary to standard output when done.
Note, "Cisco IOS Software...Version 15.0(1)M4...(fc1)" is one line.
System image file is "flash:c880data-universalk9-mz.150-1.M4.bin"
Cisco 881 (MPC8300) processor (revision 1.0) with 236544K/25600K bytes of memory.
The first thing we do is to import pprint to do pretty printing.
Then we'll add the large blob of text from show version into a string called show_version.
We want to split this large string into a list so that we can do useful things with the data. We will split based on \n and store it in a list called show_version_list.
# Split string based on "\n" and store it "show_version_list"
To store data in later we create an empty dictionary. A dictionary can be used to look up data based on a key. It's a key/value store. The curly brackets indicate that it's a dictionary and not a list which uses normal brackets.
We then need to loop through the data that we stored in the list show_version_list.
# Loop through all items in the list "show_version_list"
To show what is currently in the list, I will loop through the list using enumerate() to show where our strings are currently placed.
This is what the list currently looks like.
7 Copyright (c) 1986-2010 by Cisco Systems, Inc.
23 System image file is "flash:c880data-universalk9-mz.150-1.M4.bin"
31 Cisco 881 (MPC8300) processor (revision 1.0) with 236544K/25600K bytes of memory.
43 256K bytes of non-volatile configuration memory.
There are a lot of \n entries in there and also a lot of white space.
We want to start extracting information from the list and adding it to the dictionary. The first step is to look for the vendor. This is done by using an if statement and looking for a string. If we find Cisco IOS Software in the line that we are iterating through in our list, we will store that the vendor is Cisco under the key vendor in the dictionary sh_ver_dict. The OS version can be found by using split() and splitting on ",". The string at index 2 will then be the OS version. To get only the number of the version, once again split based on Version and the number is stored at index 1.
The next thing we are looking for is the model of the device. To find the model we will look for bytes of memory. If we find that string then the second word in that line should be the model.
After the model has been found, let's look for the serial number. To find the serial number we look for the string Processor board ID. We can then split that string and the second word should be the serial number.
The final thing we are looking for is the uptime. We will search for the string uptime is and if we find that string the second word should be the uptime. We will strip off some white space with the strip() function.
All that is left then is to print the dictionary.
# Print the dictionary "sh_ver_dict"
If we run the script, this is what we get.


SHAMOKIN — Located at the corner of Market and Arch streets, Shamokin's new Heritage Restaurant seeks to relate the city's glorious past to its present-day customers. The restaurant's interior includes an impressive array of local artifacts, each with its own unique story.
Owned by Sam and Kathy Vetovich, Heritage is a labor of love three years in the making. It combines the couple's interest in preserving local history with their desire to offer customers a quality dining experience.
From the Masonic lodge and Fun Shop to the Victoria Theatre, J.H. and C.K. Eagle Mill, Capitol Theatre, The Coal Hole and more, the area's history has all come together under one roof for a museum-like experience mixed with fine dining.
In addition to the functional artifacts, there are a number of iconic signs from former local businesses, including the Fun Shop, Mac's Hoagies, Ziggy's Cigar Store and Cheers II.
The restaurant's menu is as unique as its decor, serving items you can't find anywhere else in the coal region such as fried chicken skins, pierogi wontons, duck breast, gnocchi and more. People are invited to come in and try a spin on the famous Club 122 tenderloin sandwich while sitting at one of the tables from the former restaurant.
Heritage manager Dan Montrose said he plans to introduce cook specialties on the menu, giving the staff the opportunity to share some of their own heritage or personal favorite dishes with guests.
Sit at one of two bars and enjoy the weekly bartender specials or one of the classic cocktails including the popular mojitos or mules, and save some room for dessert.
Heritage is proud to partner with Jill Smith, owner of A Piece of Cake, who is bringing your favorite desserts back in an all-new atmosphere. Enjoy staples that will be featured as well as an never-ending rotation of delicious goods baked from scratch by Jill herself.
Heritage is always trying to push the boundaries of what it can bring in with entrees, desserts and drinks. The restaurant is hard at work for this year's Anthracite Heritage Festival, held Memorial Day weekend, with specialty dishes that will showcase the past regional history.
Visit Heritage Restaurant on Facebook to follow daily specials and more.


Whatever your plowing needs, Harrell has the right plow for you. The 6300 On-Land Plow is available in 5, 6, 7, & 8 bottoms. It features a category 3 hitch, a heavy duty all tubular frame, and front & rear gauge wheels. A large center pivot pin and reinforced tool bar ensure years of trouble free plowing. The heavy duty roller assembly allows for stability and smooth shifting. Moldboards come standard with UHMW wings, multi-life lower shins, and heat-treated shares.


Margaret leads the overall strategic planning and direction of thrive. She is responsible for developing partnerships across the cultural sector and delivering good governance and sustainability. She has extensive strategic marketing and leadership experience and was previously Head of Marketing for BBC Sport and Radio 5live.
Christine provides invaluable support for the thrive team. From office management and operational support for projects, to assisting our CEO in ensuring thrive's good governance and strategic growth. Christine has over 10 years' experience in the arts sector in operations and marketing roles - working for venues, festivals and support organisations.
Claire Rose provides project-management support to all of thrive's clients and is often the first port of call for help and advice. She provides training for both ourselves and on behalf of our clients, alongside managing our events programme. Claire Rose has a degree in drama and has worked in the tourism industry.
Fiona leads the thrive client team and is responsible for providing all of our clients and partners with the very best possible service. Her communication with the cultural sector ensures that our research projects, resources, and events are tailored to the needs of the sector. Fiona has over 18 years' experience in the arts sector working in both venues and production companies.
Chris leads the thrive research team. He is responsible for the design and delivery of research projects for our partners and clients, ensuring that the right questions are being asked to provide the most insightful answers. Chris is a certified member of the Market Research Society and has over twelve years' experience in research, data, and benchmarking across both the arts and hospitality CRM sectors.
Laura works on data analysis, creation of reports and analysis of customer and sales data for our clients and partners. Prior to joining thrive, Laura spent six years in market research, working with clients such as PepsiCo and Google. She holds a masters in Business Administration.
Colette manages communications for thrive, including our website, social media, newsletter and visual identity. She also provides practical communications solutions and support to our clients. She has worked in administrative and communications roles in the non-profit and arts sectors. She holds a BA in Fine Art and Art History.


Forget keeping them dry, with our 240gsm merino kids base layers and hats there is no need anyway, they'll be free to play outside all day, all year round - and they'll stay warm no matter how wet they get. Layer these soft winter weight merino base layers under clothing, ski gear or rainwear for natural insulation with no bulk to get in the way of play. At the end of the day, there is no need take them off, kids can wear them to bed as super snug PJs for a better night's sleep - even if those covers don't stay put!


This entry was posted on 8 mayo 2014 at 10:48 and is filed under Castilla y León, León, Turismo Cultural, Turismo Religioso, Turismo Rural.	You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.


White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said on this Sunday that her President Donald Trump did not wish any violence in his Twitter post a day earlier on Saturday in which Trump criticized Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar and his comments on the 9/11 attacks.
"Certainly President is wishing no ill will, certainly not violence towards anyone. But the President is absolutely and should be calling out the congresswoman for her, not only one-time, but history of anti-Semitic comments," Sanders told reporters this Sunday in support of the president.
"It's absolutely abhorrent the comments she continues to make and has made and (Democrats) look the other way. I find what her comments to be absolutely disgraceful and unbefitting of a member of Congress and I think that it's a good thing that the president is calling her out for those comments, and the big question is why Democrats aren't doing it as well. "Sanders added.
The 38-year-old Ilhan Omar is a Somali-American politician serving as the U.S. Representative for Minnesota's 5th congressional district since 2019. Omar was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2016 on the Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party line. She was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2018, marking a number of historic electoral firsts.
As the first Somali-American, the first naturalized citizen from Africa, the first minority woman from Minnesota, and one of the first two Muslim women, along with Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, to serve in Congress, she has always been accused of anti-Semitic comments by her critics. In fact, lawmakers from Trump's Republican party are the ones who have accused Omar of minimizing the 9/11 attacks, while critics of the president say he took Omar's words out of context in order to stoke anti-Muslim sentiment.
Donald Trump is perhaps the only president who is so much interested in tweeter, often the early morning tweets are about something that Trump has had on his mind all night, though there's increasing evidence he is often inspired to post after tuning in to his favorite, fawning Fox News morning show and getting angry or feeling persecuted. And they follow a pattern of both subject matter and style – Crooked Hillary Clinton (83 tweets since he entered the White House), "fake news" 183 times or the vow to Make America Great Again 104 times.
Trump's controversial tweet has been so far rebuked by many prominent Democrats, including presidential hopeful Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. They believe that Trump was inciting racism and violence towards Omar with the video. In addition, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Saturday also criticized Trump for using what she called the "sacred" memory of 9/11 for a political gain.