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\section{The race towards generalization}
\label{sec:Introduction}

In the recent few years, the research community has witnessed a race towards achieving higher and higher performance (in terms of an error on unseen data), proposing very large architectures like, for example, transformers~\cite{liu2021swin}. From big architectures come big responsibilities: learning strategies to avoid the over-fitting urge to be developed.\\
The most straightforward approach would be to provide more data: deep learning methods are notoriously data hunger. Since they typically optimize some objective function through gradient descent, having more data in the training set helps the optimization process in selecting the most appropriate set of features (to oversimplify, the most recurrent ones). This allows us to have high performance on unseen data. Such an approach has the big drawbacks of requiring enormous computational power for training and, most importantly, large annotated datasets. While undertaking the first drawback is an actual research topic~\cite{frankle2018the, bragagnolo2022update}, the second is broadly explored with approaches like transfer learning~\cite{zhuang2020comprehensive} or self-supervised learning~\cite{ravanelli2020multi}.\\
\begin{figure}[t]
    \includegraphics[width=\linewidth]{figures/teaser-2.pdf}
    \caption{The double descent phenomenon (dashed line): is it possible to constrain the learning problem to a minimum such that the loss, in over-parametrized regimes, remains close to $\mathcal{L}^{opt}$ (continuous line)?}

    \label{fig:DD_scheme}
\end{figure}
In more realistic cases, large datasets are typically unavailable, and in those cases approaches working with small data, in the context of \emph{frugal AI}, need to be employed. This poses research questions on how to enlarge the available datasets or to transfer knowledge from similar tasks; however it poses also questions on how to optimally dimension the deep learning model to be trained. Contrarily to what is expected from the bias-variance trade-off, the phenomenon of \emph{double descent} can be observed in a very over-parameterized network: given some optimal set of parameters for the model $\boldsymbol{w}^{opt}$ with loss value $\mathcal{L}^{opt}$, adding more parameters will worse the performance until a local maximum $\mathcal{L}^{*}$ beyond which, adding even more parameters, the trend goes back decreasing. This phenomenon, named \emph{double descent}~\cite{Belkin_2019} is displayed in Fig.~\ref{fig:DD_scheme}, and is consistently reported in the literature~\cite{spigler2019jamming, Geiger_2019}. Double descent poses the serious problem of finding the best set of parameters, in order not to fall into an over-parametrized (or under-parametrized) regime. The possible approaches to tackle this are two: finding $\boldsymbol{w}^{opt}$, which is a problem requiring a lot of computation, or extremely over-sizing the model. Unfortunately, both the roads are not compatible with a frugal setup: is there a solution to this problem?\\
In this work, we show that the double descent phenomenon is potentially avoidable. Having a sufficiently large regularization on the model's parameters drives the deep models in a configuration where the set of parameters in excess $\boldsymbol{w}^{exc}$ are essentially producing no perturbation on the output of the model.
Nevertheless, as opposed to  Nakkiran~et~al.~\cite{nakkiran2021optimal}, who showed in regression tasks that such a regularization could help in dodging double descent, we observe that, in classification tasks, this regularization is insufficient in complex scenarios: an ingredient is still missing, although we are on the right path.

\section{Double descent and its implications}
\label{sec:Related work}

\textbf{Double descent in machine learning models.} The double descent phenomenon has been highlighted in various machine learning models, like decision trees, random features~\cite{Meng-Random-Feature-Model}, linear regression~\cite{muthukumar2020harmless} and deep neural networks~\cite{yilmaz2022regularization}. Based on the calculation of the precise limit of the excess risk under the high dimensional framework where the training sample size, the dimension of data, and the dimension of random features tend to infinity proportionally, Meng~et~al.~\cite{Meng-Random-Feature-Model} demonstrate that the risk curves of double random feature models can exhibit double and even multiple descents. The double descent risk curve was proposed to qualitatively describe the out-of-sample prediction accuracy of variably-parameterized machine learning models. Muthukumar~et~al.~\cite{muthukumar2020harmless} provide a precise mathematical analysis for the shape of this curve in two simple data models with the least squares/least norm predictor. By defining the effective model complexity, Nakkiran~et~al.~\cite{nakkiran2021deep} showed that the double descent phenomenon is not limited to varying the model size, but it is also observed as a function of training time or epochs and also identified certain regimes were increasing the number of train samples hurts test performance.\\
\textbf{Double descent in regression tasks.} It has been recently shown that, for certain linear regression models with isotropic data distribution, optimally-tuned $\ell_2$ regularization can achieve monotonic test performance as either the sample size or the model size is grown. Nakkiran~et~al.~\cite{nakkiran2021optimal} demonstrated it analytically and established that optimally-tuned $\ell_2$ regularization can mitigate double descent for general models, including neural networks like Convolutional Neural Networks. Endorsing such a result, Yilmaz~et~al.~\cite{yilmaz2022regularization} indicated that regularization-wise double descent can be explained as a superposition of bias-variance trade-offs on different features of the data (for a linear model) or parts of the neural network and that double descent can be eliminated by scaling the regularization strengths accordingly.\\
\textbf{Double descent for classification tasks.}  Although many signs of progress in regression models have been done, in classification tasks, the problem of avoiding, or formally characterizing, the double descent phenomenon, is much harder to tackle. The test error of standard deep networks, like the ResNet architecture, trained on standard image classification datasets, consistently follows a double descent curve
both when there is label noise (CIFAR-10) and without any label noise (CIFAR-100)~\cite{yilmaz2022regularization}.
Double descent of pruned models concerning the number of original model parameters has been studied by Chang~et~al, which reveals a double descent behavior also in model pruning~\cite{Chang_Overparameterization}. Model-wise, the double descent phenomenon has been studied a lot under the spectrum of over-parametrization: a recent work also confirmed that sparsification via network pruning can cause double descent in presence of noisy labels~\cite{SparseDoubleDescent}. He~et~al.~\cite{SparseDoubleDescent} proposed a novel learning distance interpretation, where they observe a correlation between the model's configurations before and after training with the sparse double descent curve, emphasizing the flatness of the minimum reached after optimization. Our work differs from this study by enlightening some cases in which the double descent phenomenon is not evident. We show, in particular, that by imposing some constraints on the learning process, we can avoid the double descent. The experimental setup follows the same as He~et~al.'s.

\section{Dodging the double descent}
\label{sec:method}
\begin{figure*}[t]
\centering
\begin{subfigure}{.685\columnwidth}
\includegraphics[width=\columnwidth]{figures/SDD_MNIST.pdf}
\end{subfigure}\hfill
\begin{subfigure}{.685\columnwidth}
\includegraphics[width=\columnwidth]{figures/SDD_CIFAR_10.pdf}
\end{subfigure}
\begin{subfigure}{.685\columnwidth}
\includegraphics[width=\columnwidth]{figures/SDD_CIFAR_100.pdf}
\end{subfigure}
\caption{Test accuracy in the function of sparsity with different amounts of symmetric noise $\varepsilon$.\\Dashed lines correspond to vanilla and solids lines to $\ell_2$ regularization.\\
\textbf{Left:} LeNet-300-100 on MNIST.
\textbf{Middle:} ResNet-18 on CIFAR-10.
\textbf{Right:} ResNet-18 on CIFAR-100.}
\label{fig:MNIST}
\end{figure*}
\begin{algorithm}[t]
\caption{Sketching performance in over-parametrized setups: prune, rewind, train, repeat.}
\label{Algo}
\begin{algorithmic}[1]
\Procedure{Sketch ($\boldsymbol{w}^{init}$, $\Xi$, $\lambda$, $T^{iter}$,$T^{end}$)}{}
\State $\boldsymbol{w} \gets$ Train($\boldsymbol{w}^{init}$, $\Xi$, $\lambda$)\label{line:dense}
\While{Sparsity($\boldsymbol{w}, \boldsymbol{w}^{init}$) $< T^{end}$}\label{line:endcond}
\State $\boldsymbol{w} \gets$ Prune($\boldsymbol{w}$, $T^{iter}$) \label{line:prune}
\State $\boldsymbol{w} \gets$ Rewind($\boldsymbol{w}$, $\boldsymbol{w}^{init}$)\label{line:rewind}
\State $\boldsymbol{w} \gets$ Train($\boldsymbol{w}$,$\Xi$, $\lambda$)\label{line:wd}
\EndWhile
\EndProcedure
\end{algorithmic}
\end{algorithm}
\textbf{A regularization-based approach.} In the previous section we have presented all the main contributions achieved in the literature around the double descent phenomenon. It is a known result that, given an over-parametrized model, without special constraints on the training, this phenomenon can be consistently observed. However, it is also known that, for an optimally parametrized model, double descent should not occur. Let us say, the target, optimal output for the model is $\boldsymbol{y}_{opt}$. For instance, there is some subset $\boldsymbol{w}_{exc}\in \boldsymbol{w}$ of parameters belonging to the model which are in excess, namely the ones contributing to the double descent phenomenon. Since these are not essential in the learning/inference steps, they can be considered as \emph{noisy parameters}, which deteriorate the performance of the whole model and make the whole learning problem more difficult. They generate a perturbation in the output of the model which we can quantify as
\begin{equation}
    \boldsymbol{y}^{exc} = \sum_{w_i\in \boldsymbol{w}^{exc}} \text{forward}\left[\phi(\boldsymbol{x}_i\cdot w_i)\right],
\end{equation}
where $\boldsymbol{x}_i$ is the input(s) processed by $w_i$, $\phi(\cdot)$ is some non-linear activation for which $\phi(z)\approx z$ when $z\rightarrow 0$, and $\text{forward}(\cdot)$ simply forward-propagates the signal to the output of the neural network. As the output of the model is given by $\boldsymbol{y}=\boldsymbol{y}^{opt}+\boldsymbol{y}^{exc}$, in the optimal case we would require that $\boldsymbol{y}^{exc}=\boldsymbol{0}$. To satisfy such a condition, we have two possible scenarios:
\begin{itemize}
    \item $\exists w_i\neq 0 \in \boldsymbol{w}^{exc}$. In this case, the optimizer finds a minimum loss such that the algebraic sum of the noisy contribution is zero. When a subset of these is removed, it is possible that $\boldsymbol{y}^{exc}\neq \boldsymbol{0}$, which results in a performance loss and, for instance, the double descent phenomenon is observed.
    \item $w_i=0, \forall w_i\in \boldsymbol{w}^{exc}$. In this case, there is no contribution of the noisy terms and we are in the optimal scenario, where the parameters are de-facto removed from the model.
\end{itemize}
Let us focus on the second case. For numerical reasons, this scenario is unrealistic during continuous optimization; hence we can achieve a similar outcome by satisfying two conditions:
\begin{enumerate}
    \item $w_i x_i \approx 0, \forall w_i \in \boldsymbol{w}^{exc}$;
    \item $\|\text{forward}\left[\phi(\boldsymbol{x}_i\cdot w_i)\right]\|_1 \leq \|\phi(\boldsymbol{x}_i\cdot w_i)\|_1$,\\ with $\|\phi(\boldsymbol{x}_i\cdot w_i)\|_1\approx 0$.
\end{enumerate}
We can achieve these conditions with a sufficiently large regularization on the parameters $\boldsymbol{w}$. The first condition is achievable employing any common weight penalty, as we assume that, for local minima of the loss where $\frac{\partial L}{\partial w_i} = 0$, we have some weight penalty $C$ pushing its magnitude towards zero. The second condition, on the contrary, requires more careful consideration. Indeed, for the propriety of the function's composability, we need to ensure that the activation function in every layer does not amplify the signal (true in the most common scenarios) and that all the parameters have the lowest magnitude possible. For this reason, ideally, the regulation to employ should be $\ell_\infty$; on the other hand, however, we are also required to enforce some sparsity. Towards this end, recent works in the field suggest $\ell_2$ regulation is a fair compromise\cite{han2015learning}. Hence, we need a sufficiently large $\ell_2$ regularization.\\
\textbf{How can we observe we have avoided double descent?} We present an algorithm to sketch the (eventual) double descent phenomenon in Alg.~\ref{Algo}. After training for the first time the model on the learning task $\Xi$, eventually with $\ell_2$ regularization weighted by $\lambda$ (line~\ref{line:dense}), a magnitude pruning stage is set up (line~\ref{line:prune}). Neural network pruning, whose goal is to reduce a large network to a smaller one without altering accuracy, removes irrelevant weights, filters, or other structures from neural networks. An unstructured pruning method called magnitude-based pruning, popularized by~\cite{han2015learning}, adopted a process in which weights, below some specific threshold $T$, are pruned (line~\ref{line:prune}).
We highlight that more complex pruning approaches exist, but magnitude-based pruning shows their competitiveness despite very low complexity~\cite{Gale_Magnitude}. Towards this end, the hyper-parameter $T^{iter}$ sets the relative pruning percentage, or in other words, how many parameters will be removed at every pruning stage.
Once pruned, the accuracy of the model typically decreases. To recover performance, the lottery ticket rewinding technique, proposed by Frankle \& Carbin~\cite{LTR}, is used. It consists of retraining the subset of parameters that are surviving the pruning stage to their initialization value (line~\ref{line:rewind}) and then training the model (line~\ref{line:wd}). This approach allows us to state whether a lowly-parametrized model from initialization can, in the best case, learn a target task. We end our sketching once we reach a sparsity higher or equal than $T^{end}$ (line~\ref{line:endcond}).\\
\textbf{Experimental setup.} For the experimental setup, we follow the same approach as He~et~al.~\cite{SparseDoubleDescent}. The first model we train is a LeNet-300-100 on MNIST, for 200 epochs, optimized with SGD with a fixed learning rate of 0.1. The second model is a ResNet-18, trained on CIFAR-10 \& CIFAR-100, for 160 epochs, optimized with SGD, having momentum 0.9 and a learning rate of 0.1 decayed by a factor 0.1 at milestones 80 and 120. For each dataset, a percentage $\varepsilon$ of symmetric, noisy labels are introduced: the labels of a given proportion of training samples are flipped to one of the other class labels, selected with equal probability~\cite{Noisy_labels}. In our experiments, we test with $\varepsilon \in \{10\%, 20\%, 50\%\}$.
When the regularization $\ell_2$ is employed, we set $\lambda$ to \num{1e-4}. In all experiments, we use batch sizes of 128 samples, $T^{iter}$ to 20\% and $T^{end}$ is 99.9\%.\\
\textbf{Results.} Fig.~\ref{fig:MNIST} displays our results. As in He~et~al.~\cite{SparseDoubleDescent} work, looking at LeNet-300-100 with $\varepsilon=10\%$, the double descent consists of 4 phases. First, at low sparsities, the network is over-parameterized, thus pruned network can still reach similar accuracy to the dense model. The second phase is a phase near the interpolation threshold, where training accuracy is going to drop, and test accuracy is about to first decrease and then increase as sparsity grows. The third phase is located at high sparsities, where test accuracy is rising. The final phase happens when both training and test accuracy drop significantly. However, while we can observe the double descent in the test accuracy without $\ell_2$ regularization, the phenomenon fades when the regularization is added. Indeed, the existence of the second phase is questioned: the test accuracy which is expected to decrease in this phase reaches a plateau before rising when regularization is added. In this simple setup, the double descent is here dodged.
However, Fig.~\ref{fig:MNIST} also portrays the result of ResNet-18 on CIFAR-10 and CIFAR-100 experiences, with different percentages of noisy labels. Whether the regularization is used or not, on average, and for every value of $\varepsilon$,
the double descent phenomenon occurs and is present in both cases. Those experiments, which can be considered more complex than the previous one, highlight some limits of the use of the standard regularization to avoid the double descent phenomenon, and suggest that a specific regularizer should be designed.\\
\textbf{Ablation on $\boldsymbol{\lambda}$.}
In the previous experiments in Fig.~\ref{fig:MNIST}, we have proposed solutions with a $\ell_2$-regularization hyper-parameter which provides a good trade-off between performance in terms of validation error and avoidance of the double descent.
However, ablating the regularization parameter is a matter of interest to ensure that with larger values, the double descent can not be avoided either.
Hence, we propose in Fig.~\ref{fig:ablation_test} an ablation study on $\lambda$ for CIFAR-10 with $\varepsilon=10\%$.
We observe that, even for extremely high $\lambda$, the double descent is not dodged, and the overall performance of the model drops: the imposed regularization becomes too high, and the training set is not entirely learned anymore. This indicates us that, while for regression tasks $\ell_2$ regularization is the key to dodge the double descent, in classification tasks the learning scenario can be very different, and some extra ingredient is still missing.

\begin{figure}
    \centering
    \begin{subfigure}{1\columnwidth}
        \includegraphics[width=1.0\linewidth]{figures/ICASSP_4_values_Train_Loss.pdf}
    \end{subfigure}
    \begin{subfigure}{1\columnwidth}
        \includegraphics[width=1.0\linewidth]{figures/ICASSP_4_values_Test_Loss.pdf}
    \end{subfigure}
    \caption{Train and test loss at varying $\lambda$ for CIFAR-10, with $\varepsilon=10\%$.}
    \label{fig:ablation_test}
\end{figure}

\section{Is double descent avoidable?}
\label{sec:Conclusion}

The problem of finding the best-fitting set of parameters for deep neural networks, which has evident implications for both theoretical and applicative cases, is currently a subject of great interest in the research community. In particular, the phenomenon of double descent prioritizes the research around finding the optimal size for deep neural networks: if a model is not extremely over-parametrized it may fall into a sub-optimal local minimum, harming the generalization performance.\\
In this paper, we have moved some first steps, in a traditional classification setup, towards avoiding the double descent. If we successfully achieve a local minimum where, regardless of its over-parametrization, the performance of the model is consistently high at varying the cardinality of its parameters, there would not be a strict need in finding the optimal subset of parameters for the trained model. Standard regularization approaches like $\ell_2$, which have proven their effectiveness in regression tasks, evidenced some limits in more complex scenarios while dodging effectively the double descent in simpler setups. This result gives us hope: a custom regularization towards avoidance of double descent can be designed, and will be the subject of future research.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaArXiv


Welcome to our first official Snow Alert of 2016. It's New Zealand's South Island that's the first cab off the rank this year, with the Canterbury region set to score snow to low levels across Sunday/Monday.
As is the norm in late May, there's quite a bit of divergence between the models, so it's hard to know what to expect. To give us some clarity we called on The Grasshopper to break it down for us.
"Screaming cold southerly winds make a welcome return this coming week – put your feet up and take a seat in the comfy chair as we watch autumn turn into winter in the Canterbury Ski Fields and Mt. Ruapehu." He explained.
"A potent low pressure system crossing the South Island Friday night into Saturday will herald a change to much colder conditions. Confidence is still low on the total amount of snow that could fall. This is because the models are in disagreement on the exact location of the centre of the low which is forecast to lurk to the south of the South Island next week, before spinning off to the east next Thursday.
"At the moment, total snowfall amounts look to be in 15-30cm range in the Canterbury High Country. 40-50 cm is not out of the question in North Canterbury on the highest ground and on Mt. Ruapehu. Most of the snow that sticks will fall above 1000m but on Sunday – the coldest day – the snow may get down to 600m during the heaviest bursts. Beyond next Thursday, high pressure will build to the north and winds will shift around to the west bringing a return to milder weather.
We're still a way out from the Opening Weekend's, but there's no reason we can't get excited about some more white rain!
Daily forecasts by The Grasshopper will begin on June 1st.


LEDtronics, Inc., with more than 30 years of leadership in innovative LED lighting solutions, announces the newest member to its series of high-brightness, energy-efficient retrofit LED Recessed Downlights. The RDL32-4-12W series are Energy Star and UL/cUL listed, dimmable ceiling can-style downlights ideal for indoor use in architectural/décor lighting and commercial applications: hospitals & medical facilities, hotels and resorts. They only use 12 Watts of energy and can replace halogen bulbs up to 75 watts — a tremendous energy savings of up to 80%.


text:
What's New in Boost Voice in November 2019
by boost | Nov 11, 2019 | Boost News
New BC1 Content – Foundation English
Our new Foundation English content targets staff who are just getting started in their language training. These courses are designed to prepare users for engagement in English at a basic level of communication. Course content is department-specific, which will help users pick up practical language abilities much faster and easier.
This release includes new BC1 coursework for FO, FB, HK, and ENG. Content offerings include a mix of General English and hospitality-centered topics, ranging from "About Me" and "Introductions and Greetings" to "Hotel Numbers" and "Places in a Hotel".
Enhanced Level Tests
We have implemented several new enhancements to level tests to improve accuracy of level assignment, as well as improvements to test questions and reducing the likelihood of any duplication of questions when taking (or retaking) the same test.
The Virtual Assistant
We are pleased to be rolling out a "Virtual Assistant" in this latest release of Boost Voice. Powered by artificial intelligence (AI), the Virtual Assistant bot is built into the app itself and provides users with immediate support anytime, anywhere.
The Virtual Assistant is designed to sustain a high volume of concurrent sessions and can communicate in our key languages – Thai, Japanese, Chinese, Bahasa Indonesian and English. Users can type in questions in any of those languages and will find answers to the most commonly asked questions.
Boost Challenge: Group Shot Winner
by boost | Oct 7, 2019 | Boost News
A big CONGRATULATIONS to the front office team of the Centara Watergate Pavillion Hotel team for winning our "Boost Challenge: Group Shot" contest. Boost visited the property for the prize giveaway and spend some time with the team. There are 20 Boost Voices users on the team, and we are delighted to hear that they have improved their English language skills and are gaining confidence when communicating with guests. Keep up the great work and thanks for the fab photos!
What's New in Boost Voice in September 2019
by boost | Sep 13, 2019 | Boost News
Engaging New Content
Boost Voice now has two new content packages covering topics on Human Trafficking and Body Language. The new packages use a variety of job- and subject-specific vocabulary phrases to engage in dialogue scenarios that are relevant to the workplace.
The Human Trafficking packages focus on scenarios where staff witness or suspect trafficking in the hotel environment, contact victims, report incidents of trafficking, deal with reports of trafficking, and assist authorities. The scenarios are presented in the context of each department. These packages not only help bring an important issue to the attention of hotel staff, they also help staff communicate essential information about human trafficking. Together these benefits can improve guest safety and security, and potentially help combat this crime.
The Body Language packages build on the body language fundamentals covered in the app's BC1 content, and students will learn the key terms and will be able to speak about the key concepts of body language. In this way, the scenarios will build the student's awareness of guest body language and understand how to read it. Students will also better understand what they convey with their own body language, and how to convey the right message at all times via their body language.
New Awards & Badges
Most users of Boost Voice tell us their favorite part of the app are the games. This is great news as our gamified approach keeps users engaged and learning. We have added two new award types – Promo and Progress, giving our users a wide array of goals to aim for – and badges to win!
Improved Widgets
The new designs for the My Level widget, and My Level Test Results emphasize the significance of each level and corresponding benchmarks.
In addition to options for verification via email and Facebook, Boost Voice users can now opt for verification via a mobile number (a code is sent via SMS to the number provided).
Boost Partners with HCTC to Provide Mobile Training for Students
Boost has partnered with Thailand's Hospitality & Catering Training Centre (HCTC) in Mae Sot to provide free English language training via our mobile app Boost Voice. Boost provided 65 licenses of this mobile training solution to HCTC's students for 12 months, allowing the students to build up and improve their English language skills for hospitality. HCTC prepares students from less fortunate socioeconomic backgrounds for a career in Thailand's hospitality industry and recruits students from North-Western Thailand.
"We train and prepare hundreds of students for a bright career in hospitality and Boost's technology will help bring them to the next level in terms of English language skills" says Mr. William Harden, HCTC Director, adding "Language is essential in hospitality – you cannot separate language from guest service – and so it is important that our students have access to tools that will allow them to speak clearly and competently. Boost Voice is specifically designed for hospitality and is perfectly suited to our 'mobile first' students. We are very grateful for Boost's generosity and look forward to seeing the benefits this will bring our students".
Boost Voice teaches employees English and/or Mandarin language skills using content that is department specific and developed by hoteliers. Employing gamification, the solution is interactive and encourages students to learn continuously and consistently. Importantly, the solution is designed with input from hoteliers and trains students in English language skills that are most relevant to the hospitality industry.
"Boost Voice equips students and employees with language skills that is most relevant to the work place" says Allan Taylor, CEO of Boost, adding "We are very proud to partner with HCTC and help them with their good work preparing Thai youth for a productive and fulfilling career in hospitality. We hope that with Boost Voice, their language skills will further improve and help their own life and career prospects".
Boost Voice will be deployed alongside HCTC's own training team who will continue to teach their curriculum.
About Hospitality & Catering Training Centre (HCTC) Mae Sot
Mae Sot, located in north-western Thailand, is home to a patchwork of ethnic groups – among these are the Thai Karen hill tribes. With the development of Thailand's socioeconomic environment and the limited access to basic social services, training and employment in the area, it has become increasingly difficult for them to earn a living.
As a result, plenty of youth leave their family for the big cities to seek a better future. Unequipped with the required skills and knowledge, it is nearly impossible for them to find a proper job. This makes them easy targets for exploitation and abuse.
Fortunately, there is hope: a feasibility study confirmed that Thailand's booming hospitality industry is on the lookout for dependable, qualified staff to fill entry-level positions. With this in mind, the concept of a school specializing in vocational hospitality and catering education was developed in 2008 with the joint-support of two NGOs: IECD (Institut Europeen de Cooperation et de Developpement) and TBCAF (Tak Border Child Assistance Foundation). After further development, this initiative finally opened its doors as the Hospitality & Catering Training Centre giving Thai Karen young adults the opportunity for a brighter future through education.
CTI Group Worldwide Services inc. Brings Mobile Assessment to the Cruise Industry in Partnership with Boost
by boost | Jun 12, 2019 | Boost News
Powered by Boost, the tailor-made mobile assessment solution CrewHire will select cruise employees at much higher industry standards
Virgin Voyages to use CrewHire to aid in the validation of candidates in preparation for their inaugural voyage in April 2020
Boost, the leading mobile training solutions provider for the Hospitality industry, and CTI Group Worldwide Services, Inc. (CTI Group), a pioneer in the cruise recruitment industry with over 250,000 crew placed, have developed a cruise-specific mobile solution designed to assess the English language skills of applicants looking to work in the cruise industry. CrewHire will be used to pre-screen all cruise line applicants, accurately testing for suitability and language proficiency. CrewHire is available to all cruise lines, and global recruiting and placement agencies. CrewHire will be used by Virgin Voyages to validate all non-native English speaking candidates' English language skills globally in preparation for their inaugural voyage set for April 2020.
Boost drew on CTI Group's expertise in the cruise industry to develop the technology that powers CrewHire. The mobile app uses mobile technology to measure an applicant's spoken American English language proficiency, for hire and eventual career in the cruise industry. Unlike existing tools, CrewHire tests applicants on department-specific words and phrases, with results immediately available through a customised dashboard, with English language proficiency measured according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) standard.
This app is a real game-changer given the way the Millennial Generation uses their smartphone and tablets. This technology will allow us to reach more potential crew and provide an even higher level of relevant assessment, ensuring we are able to select and place cruise line employees who possess real potential. Importantly, due to the mobile nature of CrewHire we are able to reach many more potential applicants, significantly widening the net in an efficient and cost-effective way. We will be testing applicants on department-specific phrases so our cruise line clients will have a good understanding of their employees' knowledge and abilities.
Robert Upchurch
CEO, CTI Group
With growing demand for cruises continuing, it is more important than ever to select skilled hotel service, deck and engine shipboard employees to deliver the ultimate experience for all guests taking a cruise vacation. It is a requirement for employees to have at least a proficient understanding of the English language and so it is necessary to accurately gauge a candidate's ability in the initial phase of selection. Boost's mobile technology that underpins CrewHire has been specifically developed for this purpose. We have worked closely with CTI Group to develop a selection program that incorporates cruise-specific tests and terminology, ensuring that cruise lines around the world are able to select the best, most able candidates.
CEO, Boost
The mobile Apps will be available for all devices on the Android and iPhone platforms.
CTI Group is one of the world's leading agencies serving the maritime and resort staffing industry since its founding in 1986 by our CEO Robert Upchurch. After 30 years, our company has attained a reputation of excellence through its commitment to provide its clients the very best customer service while delivering the most qualified and experienced candidates for their high industry demands. Our success, having placed thousands of recruits into life-long professions in culinary, hospitality, and deck and engine positions, is a testament of our commitment to our clients. Having the ability to maintain great customer relations is exactly why we have staff on the ground, assisting our many branch partners overseas with the training support and resources they need to get the job done.
About Boost
Boost is the leading mobile training solutions provider for the Hospitality industry, improving hospitality employee productivity through mobile learning and assessment for vocational skills, upselling and languages. Boost empowers employees to provide better service, increasing guest satisfaction levels which in turn benefits hotel bottom lines thanks to reduced recruitment and training costs, and more loyal guests.
Through five distinctive mobile training applications: Boost Profile, Boost Voice, Boost Skills, Boost Upsell and Boost Select, hotel employees are able to learn at a time and place of their choosing, fitting perfectly into their busy schedules. Unlike traditional classroom-based methods, Boost's mobile solutions are scalable, providing high quality training and assessment options from a single independent to a group/chain hotel at a regional or even global level. Boost Apps allow HR to track employee performance and highlight additional training needs in real-time.
Boost is backed by funding from a number of private investors including École hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL) and is currently used by over 250 hotels throughout Asia, teaching over 22,000 hotel employees the skills needed to improve guest satisfaction and grow their careers. Boost is headquartered in Singapore, with offices in Indonesia, Japan, Thailand and China, with R&D centres in Europe, Asia, and North America.
For more detailed information on Boost and its suite of applications, please click on a button below to contact us:
Horst Schulze joins Boost as Director and Board Member to bring service excellence through mobile training solutions
by boost | May 15, 2019 | Boost News
With the appointment of one of the world's leading hoteliers, Boost is set to bring Horst Schulze's vision of service excellence to hotels around the world through mobile technology
SINGAPORE May 15, 2019 – Boost announces the appointment of Horst Schulze as Director and Board Member, effective immediately. Mr. Schulze is recognised as one or the world's leading hoteliers whose career spans over six decades including co-founding The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company and founding The Capella Hotel Group. Mr. Schulze will advise Boost on course content and curriculum and apply his own experience of service excellence to Boost's mobile training programmes.
"I believe that mobile training will become the tool of choice for General Managers looking to create a culture of excellence within their hotels" Says Horst Schulze, adding "The scalability of mobile training will allow us to train thousands of employees across multiple geographies to a superior level of service excellence. Better language abilities and service skills result in a more confident employee who is able to care for the guest, this is what mobile training does and why I believe in the Boost product. I am extremely excited to join this company and unlock the potential that mobile will bring for hospitality."
Backed by funding from a number of private investors including École hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL), over 20,000 hotel employees in 225 hotels in Asia currently learn service skills through Boost's mobile training solutions, including English and Mandarin languages, vocational training and upselling skills. By training employees through mobile technology, Boost brings a level of convenience, measurability and scalability far superior to traditional classroom-based learning and ideal for the young employee of today.
In his 65-year career, Mr. Schulze has seen guest expectations shift towards an emphasis on service and personalisation and he quickly realised that hotels who addressed guests' specific needs, desires and idiosyncrasies would rise to the top. This meant building a culture of service within the hotel and empowering employees to create excellence. Mobile training is perfectly suited to equipping the modern generation of hoteliers with the skills needed to provide such service, offering convenience, flexibility and scalability.
"The vision, experience and standards that Horst Schulze brings will be invaluable to Boost as we embark on our next stage of growth" says Allan Taylor, CEO of Boost, adding "Hotels are no longer defined purely by their facilities and amenities, they are defined by the quality of service they provide. This means everything from knowing the guest by name and favourite dishes to displaying a genuine desire to care for the guest and create exceptional experiences. Many of these service principles were pioneered by Mr. Schulze who over his career defined what excellent service is. By having him on our team, Boost will be able to make his unique service philosophy available to all hotels through our various mobile solutions, raising service standards and increasing guest satisfaction."
Mr. Schulze will advise Boost and work to further enhance its suite of mobile training solutions. These include department-specific English and / or Mandarin language training, vocational training for food and beverage service, housekeeping and upselling training among other skills. Launched in October 2018 and used by hundreds of hotels in Asia, Boost has already provided measurable results for hotels including greater upselling revenues and improved guest satisfaction.
Boost's suite of mobile solutions is available on Android and iOS mobile devices and available to hotels and resorts
About Horst Schulze
A legend and leader in the hotel world, Horst Schulze's teachings and vision have reshaped the concepts of service and hospitality across industries.
Mr. Schulze's professional life began more than 65 years ago as a server's assistant in a German resort town. Throughout the years he worked for both Hilton Hotels and Hyatt Hotels Corporation before becoming one of the founding members of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company in 1983. There Mr. Schulze created the operating and service standards that have become world famous.
During his tenure at The Ritz-Carlton, Mr. Schulze served as President and COO responsible for the $2 billion operations worldwide. It was under his leadership that The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company was awarded the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award – twice – making it the first and only hotel company to ever win even one.
In 1991, Mr. Schulze was recognized as "corporate hotelier of the world" by HOTELS Magazine. In 1995, he was awarded the Ishikawa Medal for his personal contributions to the quality movement. In 1999, Johnson & Wales University gave him an honorary Doctor of Business Administration degree in Hospitality Management. Most recently, Mr. Schulze has been honoured as a "Leader in Luxury" by Travel Agent Magazine and its sister publication Luxury Travel Advisor.
After leaving The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, Mr. Schulze went onto found The Capella Hotel Group. This luxury hotel company managed some of the most elite properties worldwide and gave Mr. Schulze the opportunity to further define the luxury hotel industry, receiving countless awards and recognitions.
Today, Mr. Schulze serves on various boards and acts as a consultant across industries. He has recently completed his book, Excellence Wins, where he shares his vision and principles developed over his 65-year career.
Boost is backed by funding from a number of private investors including École hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL) and is currently used by over 250 hotels throughout Asia, teaching over 22,000 hotel employees the skills needed to improve guest satisfaction and grow their careers. Boost is headquartered in Singapore, with offices in Indonesia, Japan, Thailand and China.
For more detailed information on Boost and its suite of applications, please click on a button below.
More confidence, better service

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Guitar Episodes
John McCutcheon Talks "Bucket List"
Singer-Songwriter-Musician John McCutcheon joins me again in The Corners to talk about his latest album titled, "Bucket List." This is John's 41st album! Check out our talk about the making of "Bucket List" and the return to live performing!
Chatting With Bluhauz
Singer-Songwriter-Musician Bluhauz joins me to talk about his self-titled debut album which features the hard-driving "Purify My Soul" single as well as its follow-ups "Give It Back," and "Everyday." We have a great time talking about his journey from...
Guitarist-Singer-Songwriter Ricky Byrd
Ricky Byrd was Joan Jett's guitarist in The Blackhearts, helping to score huge hits like "I Love Rock 'N Roll." Byrd was with The Blackhearts for a full decade before he embarked on a dynamic solo career. In addition to …
Cody Bolden, Georgia Singer/Songwriter/Musician
Singer-Songwriter-Musician Cody Bolden never imagined many years ago that he would find success in music. He picked up the guitar in his early twenties, found a love for the craft and never looked back. Today, Cody is wowing crowds all …
Tarah Who?
Tarah Carpenter of the grunge punk duo, Tarah Who? speaks with me about her single, "Illusion of Freedom," creating dynamic videos, her story about coming to The States from France and much more!
MJ Songstress
Singer/Songwriter/Dancer/Model, she has done it all: the amazing MJ Songstress joins me in The Corners! MJ's new hot single, "Carousel" has been lighting up the Internet with its amazing sound and video. MJ also competed on season six of NBC …
Singer/Songwriter John McCutcheon
Folk musician John McCutcheon stops by The Corners to speak about his latest project, "Cabin Fever." John recorded these songs during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic while being holed up in a North Georgia cabin.


text:
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 * Copyright (C) 1998-2009 PacketVideo
 *
 * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
 * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
 * You may obtain a copy of the License at
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 * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
 * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either
 * express or implied.
 * See the License for the specific language governing permissions
 * and limitations under the License.
 * -------------------------------------------------------------------
 */
/*
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   PacketVideo Corp.
   MP3 Decoder Library

   Filename: pvmp3_mpeg2_get_scale_data.h

   Date: 09/21/2007

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 Description:

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 INCLUDE DESCRIPTION

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#ifndef PVMP3_MPEG2_GET_SCALE_DATA_H
#define PVMP3_MPEG2_GET_SCALE_DATA_H

/*----------------------------------------------------------------------------
; INCLUDES
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#include "pvmp3_dec_defs.h"
#include "pvmp3_audio_type_defs.h"
#include "s_mp3bits.h"

/*----------------------------------------------------------------------------
; MACROS
; Define module specific macros here
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/*----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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/*----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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/*----------------------------------------------------------------------------
; GLOBAL FUNCTION DEFINITIONS
; Function Prototype declaration
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#ifdef __cplusplus
extern "C"
{
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    void pvmp3_mpeg2_get_scale_data(mp3SideInfo  *si,
    int32         gr,
    int32         ch,
    mp3Header    *info,
    uint32       *scalefac_buffer,
    uint32       *scalefac_IIP_buffer,
    tmp3Bits     *pMainData);

#ifdef __cplusplus
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


There are times when I feel uncomfortable with the internet. I've never been afraid of technology and I don't believe in horror tales about all sorts of dangers. But I am beginning to get worried about some things.
Of course there are risks that we must learn to live with. If people (hackers or not) wanted to mess me up, I guess they could; but why should anyone bother to interfere with me? Occasionally I've been caught (by chance) in some form of mail bombing; but apart from the waste of time caused by a heavy download it isn't much trouble. A few idiots managed to get hold of my e-mail address and are spamming me with irrelevant offers; but canceling their mail without reading it is less trouble than being found on the phone by someone that wants to sell me an encyclopediaor some service I don't need. It's true, there are viruses... but if we are careful we can avoid infection, and if we have backup the damage is manageable. Yes, I answer almost every mail I receive, and that sometimes leads to boring correspondence; but it's heavily outweighed by unexpected messages that say something interesting, or are fun, or bring a touch of warmth and a smile.
Living in the net, as in any human community, has its price. But it's worth it. The things that bother me are of another sort... inhumanity and deceit.
Too many things (non only in the internet) are handled by automatic technologies that lack any human touch. Even on the telephone, answering devices can make our life difficult and boring. And even the simplest equipment can turn out to have too many unnecessary functions, that make it awfully complicated to use.
The big fashion on the net now is "portals". Large doorways tarted up to look inviting, and making big promises. They lead us into a sticky tunnel built like a roach trap, so they can get us stuck where whoever bribed the doorkeeper wants us to go. Another fashion isn't new, but it's getting worse all the time: cramming software with hidden functions that lurk in our computer and do things that inexperienced people don't know - and even experienced people have a hard time finding and uninstalling. The more these "fake friendly" devices multiply, the less comfortable I feel.
In 1982, John Naisbitt in Megatrends explained the concept of high tech - high touch, pointing to the fact that when a new technology is introduced it needs to be balanced by a human touch, or it will be rejected. The more we have high tech, the more we need high touch. It's no coincidence that seventeen years later John Naisbitt is writing a new book, called High tech - high touch: the co-evolution of technology and culture. It will be published in October, 1999.
Communication technology has developed far beyond anything that could be imagined in 1982. In all these years, that simple principle has been proven over and over again. But it seems to be forgotten a bit too often.
Look at any example of really good results on the net - you will always find a human touch.
If someone asked me so summarize in one, simple concept the most important principle for success in the internet, I would say: concentrate on people, on the warmth and attention needed to gain confidence and build relationships. Technologies have made extraordinary progress and will do things that nobody today can imagine. But they need to be managed to fit human needs. Above all, high touch.


Roland Dintegrated printer/cutters print full-color labels and then cut them into decal shapes without stopping, and they do it with speed and precision. Switch from printing banners to printing and contour cutting labels or decals in minutes with versatile technology. If you're looking for effective and reliable label printing solutions, look no further than the TrueVIS VG series, the VersaUV LEC series and other similar devices for making labels, decals, membranes and more.
Roland DG users can add luxury and originality to their label printing with Metallic inks. A unique feature of selected Roland DG inkjet devices, Metallic inks can be printed as a spot colour for vibrant silver text and graphics or combined with CMYK to create an entire spectrum of gold, bronze and pearlescent hues. This ink technology helps produce premium labels, decals and packaging prototypes that look amazing and command higher prices. Selected Roland DG inkjets also offer White Ink for special finishes, clear ink labels and decal printing.


On a given highway, trucks arrive at the station according to a Poisson process with Lambda = 0.1/minute. This means that after a truck is just passed, the time for the next truck to arrive is an exponential random number with average arrival time of 10 minutes. Your car just broke on this highway, and you are waiting for the next truck for hitchhiking, what is your expected waiting time? On average how many minutes ago the last truck left?
It's not 5 minutes. Exponential distribution has memoryless property.
Using memoryless property of exponential distribution, the expected waiting time is 10 minutes. This also holds backwards, hence the expected time last truck passed is also 10 minutes. But this does not violate the total inter-arrival time of 10 minutes, because if your car breaks at a random time, you are more likely to be in long interval than a short one. I don't have time today, remind me to post a more mathematical explanation.
A very sharp, consistently skillful blind archer aimed for the center of a circular board and shot 2 arrows. He is expected to hit the aim, but doesn't hit it for sure. The archer is told that his first shot is better than second. He tried one more shot. What is the probability that this 3rd shot is the best shot among 3?
Enumeration; Symmetry between random variables.
Among these three, one is favorable. Hence The probability of last shot being best is 1/3.
Notice that if there were (N-1) arrows, with first being better than rest, and then he shoots Nth arrow. The probability that Nth shot is best is 1/N.
Given an array of n numbers. Finding minimum takes n-1 comparisons. Finding maximum takes n-1 comparisons. If you had to simultaneously find both minimum and maximum, can you do it in less than 2n-2 comparisons?
the answer is ~1.5n calculations. It uses a trick. When you compare two elements, one comparison is sufficient to find both min & max of those two elements.
Solution requires approximately 1.5n comparisons instead of 2n comparisons.
Break n numbers into pairs of 2.
So, that is n/2 pairs. Find maximum and minimum in each pair. Cost = n/2.
So, overall cost 3n/2 comparisons.
In the reference frame of minute hand, hour hand moves exactly (5+4) = 9 rounds anti-clockwise with varying speeds (by adding total angular distance covered). 'Cross' occurs just in between two consecutive rounds. Thus hour hand crosses minute hand exactly 9-1=8 times. Same answer in ref. plane of hour-hand.


text:
A Song of Ice and Fire: The Novels
Heresy 222 vindication
By Black Crow, May 21 in A Dance with Dragons
Feather Crystal
Location:The House of Black and White
5 minutes ago, Direwolf Blitzer said:
Clegane is not a knight, though. It's a big part of his character. Even upon elevation to the Kingsguard he refuses knighthood. I think Clegane represents your position, in fact; he sees the hypocrisy of the system, and to the degree he can resist being a part of it, he does. (Still murdered a kid, but hey)
This doesn't wash. GRRM is pretty even with his religions; there are good and bad elements to all of them. There are drunken, greedy septons, sure. There's also Meribald and the men of the Quiet Isle. And by the time Dance rolls around, the faith is undergoing a sort of internal reformation and seeing the emergence of pious orders dedicated to serving the poor, etc.
Beyond that, "the Faith" is too abstract for this particular vision. As has been said elsewhere, the things Bran sees in this vision are happening, as Keifer Sutherland would say, in real time.
I had updated my post while you were commenting and inserted that the armor symbolized "knighthood" and the black blood was the Faith. This was very true for the Catholic church which was the driving force behind the Crusades. Killing in the name of "faith" is not an abstract concept. It's very true to life.
I would add that Bran is seeing all this in real time, and while I believe the giant armor encompasses more than one knight, it's moreso King Robert than anyone else. Everyone thinks he was Ned's closest and dearest friend, but I have a strong feeling that we'll find out that he was part of a huge betrayal. His guilt was hidden under the guise of "knighthood" and all the chivalry and honor people believe knights have, but they are simply brutal soldiers carrying out the dirty deeds under somebody else's orders.
To expand on the giant armor and black blood - this is all is a lead in to my central theory that encompasses the main plot of ASOIAF.
I believe Robert Baratheon was complicit in Lyanna's abduction and that is was a repeat of the ancient story of Durran Godsgrief and Elenei. Lyanna was the magic moon maiden (Elenei) and Robert was the Lord of Storm's End. Robert was part of Tywin's backup plan to create a group disguised as Rhaegar and his men. Prior to this, Tywin's first group disguised themselves as the outlaws named the Kingswood Brotherhood with the purpose of taking out Elia.
Tywin wanted Elia dead to make way for Rhaegar to marry Cersei. Unbeknownst to Rhaegar, his wife's survival doomed his own, because Tywin was forced to come up with his backup plan. Hightower was meant to die as well, because he was so faithful to King Aerys and couldn't be bought. Ser Arthur Dayne may have been more complicit, unless he actually tried to help Lyanna get away and failed, but since I believe he was in Kings Landing protecting Elia and the children during the Sack, he must have survived the takedown of the Brotherhood Without Banners. I posit that they rounded up a bunch of commoners to take the fall so that Arthur and/or King Aerys would believe they got the outlaws. Ulmer is the only character that might be able to confirm this theory, and he's an old man currently living at the Wall. Of course, there's always Lem Lemoncloak, if he's either Gerold Hightower or Arthur Dayne. His physical description fits Gerold, but being friends with the commoners and having a soiled cloak fits Arthur. Of course he may be neither and simply meant to be a parallel of these two men.
It would be easy for Tywin to order a suit of armor that looked just like Rhaegar's to undermine his cause to overthrow his father. Robert was his willing patsy. He may not have known exactly what happened to Lyanna, but he certainly knew Tywin was on his side during the Rebellion. Gregor Clegane carried out the actual kidnapping, raping, and injuries that Lyanna died from, but Robert was complicit in Tywin's plans to spark the Rebellion, and likely knew a whole lot more than we could ever suspect. IMO the imagery surrounding his death with his bloody red teeth is meant to connect him to the Smiling Knight, and I feel quite confident that we will learn of his betrayal in the future books.
The Faith and the Citadel are the black armor with the black blood. The Faith encouraged the Storm God disguised as The Smiling Knight to kidnap the Moonmaid in order to prevent ice magic from returning to power. Is it possible the Faith knew the seasonal cycles were hinting at a return to ice magic? In any case, Robert's actions led to the near extinction of House Stark. This is why Bran sees a gathering storm surrounding Robert near the Trident.
The in-world mythology of Durran Godsgrief and Elenei has replayed as Robert and Lyanna. Perhaps Robert's motivation was that he held a grudge against the old gods for killing his parents? The Faith took the Iron Throne from the Targaryens using an Andal King, but for me the bigger story, if true, is the deceit of Robert Baratheon. Imagine the ramifications if it comes to light that Robert conspired with both the Faith and Tywin Lannister to kidnap and kill Lyanna just to rid the realm of Aerys and Rhaegar. This is an example of how the victors get to write history.
1 hour ago, St Daga said:
Okay. I see what you are saying. So, the sacrifice takes all the heat from a living Nissa Nissa and leaves her only a cold version of the Night's Queen. Do you have a link to this specific theory?
What implications could this have for someone to play the role of Nissa Nissa in our current story? Dany is associated with fire and heat, and also Sansa, with that warm Tully hair that glows like copper in the fire light. If you take all the heat out of a Stark maid, are you left with only ice and cold? Melisandre also has fiery "copper" hair and a burning heat within her. But part of me feels she is already dead, so I am not sure if she could work for this.
I wish I did. It wasn't on here...it was some article that appeared when I was reading prediction articles for Season 8 before it was out. It caught me so off guard, though, that I went and reread those passages in the text. Symeon Star Eyes was involved in it, too, with the "star eyes" being a reference to the Others, but I can't remember exactly how he factored in. Wish I was more helpful, but you can get the gist of what was going on. The idea of the Others being destroyed yet simultaneously recreated was intriguing to me.
Now, I have been searching for a particular quote that I have been unable to find (which leaves me starting to worry if I dreamt it) that said that Azor Ahai had 12 companions. Thus, he could be the 13th. This is interesting because the Night's King was the 13th Lord Commander of the Night's Watch. I am wondering if AA and the Night's King are the same person. It would be interesting take to the "everyone's corruptible" or the Batman quote "you either die a hero or live long enough to become the villain". Falling in love with his Nissa Nissa again, who is now a female Other and then having to be defeated himself.
Jova Snow
@St Daga amazing ideas dear! Both the rivers connection to Trios and turtles hiding themselves inside their kabuk* House Estermont has a turtle sigil and they could have a hidden Baratheon bastard, also current lord is married to Arianne's friend Sylva who might know who told Doran about her Quernmaker plans. Now speaking of rivers Bloodraven says time is a river, Haldon says rivers flow to one direction so when Shy Maid ends up at the same point with different results we are to witness a breaking point in our story where events will repeat themselves with different results.
Feather Crystal reacted to this
Black Crow
Location:Scotland/North England
1 hour ago, Lady Rhodes said:
It was the last hero who had 12 companions making a company of 13
4 hours ago, St Daga said:
But saved in what way? Like a metaphysical existence after death? Or a rebirth for Shireen after death? Because Selyse would be loosing her heir to the throne, and that feels lacking foresight to me from Selyse's perspective. However, I suppose it could be said that if Mel also promises Selyse that she and Stannis would have another heir together, this might work. Even if Selyse is bat shit crazy, she still seems connected enough to the throne not to let that go so easily. I could be very wrong about her, though. She has certainly embraced R'Hllor in a way Stannis has not seemed to.
I was thinking in terms of their immortal souls, and cleansing them of their corrupt corporeal bodies
22 minutes ago, Black Crow said:
Ah, thank you. Please correct me if I am wrong, but it can be presumed that the last hero is the same person as Azor Ahai.
St Daga
34 minutes ago, Jova Snow said:
Thanks. Now that you mention the apparent time loop for the Shy Maid on the Rhoyne, this does make me feel strongly that the middle head of Trios is the decision maker, and in the case of the Shy Maid, they were given more than one chance through the middle head. So, can you go through again and again until your fate is correct? But that means that the stoneman fate was intended for JonCon? And how does that affect Tyrion, who swallowed the grey scale water?
Also interesting that prior to this foggy time loop, in the previous chapter, they see a giant turtle and Ysilla cries from joy and says they are blessed. In this case, was that part of the decision of their fate? Seeing the giant turtle, then the time loop...
I do wonder about House Estermont. Robert was said to have had an affair with an Estermont cousin after his wedding to Cersei, and I speculate this is not the first affair with this cousin. My tinfoil is that Renly is Robert's bastard by an Estermont, and the girls high birth and connection to Robert's mother, caused Steffan and Cassana to claim this child as their third son. Of course, Renly is dead, but I think it's possible there is another bastard from this Robert/Estermont cousin, a child around Joffrey's age. Hidden inside the turtle is a really great deduction!
7 minutes ago, St Daga said:
I was going to bring up Renly too but I have limited amount of tinfoil tonight, I always thought Edric Storm could end up at the hands of Illyrio due to his rivalry with Sallador Saan but Sylva may provide us with a Baratheon bastard too maybe showing their loyalty to new Targaryen king? Knowing Gendry ended up being a legimate lord in the show there is a great chance for Aegon to do same, Storm lords will love their miniature Robert.
I wonder what triggered Shrouded Lord at that time to send his minions, aka turtles, most say it was because Aegon's identity was revealed but what if it was another event that happened at the same time in a different place?
Maybe I can do some searching and see if I can find it. If not, I do get the gist of the idea. I think the star eye connection to the Other's is also made to The Stranger is made when Cat visit's the sept near Storm's End.
Catelyn studied the faces. The Father was bearded, as ever. The Mother smiled, loving and protective. The Warrior had his sword sketched in beneath his face, the Smith his hammer. The Maid was beautiful, the Crone wizened and wise.
And the seventh face . . . the Stranger was neither male nor female, yet both, ever the outcast, the wanderer from far places, less and more than human, unknown and unknowable. Here the face was a black oval, a shadow with stars for eyes. It made Catelyn uneasy. ACOK-Catelyn IV
I would say the Stranger/Other connection is also made to skin changers, since several images of the Stranger are noted to have animal like features or be half-human. And perhaps the Other's can never truly be destroyed, as there is always a cycle in play.
I have never seen this idea on Azor Ahai having companions but I think it's speculated that Azor Ahai and the Last Hero are the same person, so perhaps that is where you are making that connection?
Matthew.
Yes, this appears to be a R'hllorist premise, and Martin had intended to depict it visually in his original draft for S4's "The Lion and the Rose," which became publicly available last year at the WGA Library.
This was Martin's original vision for a burning Melisandre was to oversee:
The flames CHANGE COLOR: one burns purple, one green, one silver-white. Then a GASP rises from the onlookers, for above the fires, just for an instant, we SEE the three victims rising from their pyres, made young and strong and beautiful again, smiling as they ascend to the sky.
Presumably, this was to be a glamour cast by Mel, but it is still suggestive as to what Red Priests preach about the fate of the burned.
22 minutes ago, Lady Rhodes said:
No, it can not. There is certainly a popular fan theory that they are one and the same, but I would dispute that vigorously. If there is a connection it is more likely to lie in the mirroring of east and west suggested by Feather
Poor Shireen, if this is the case. That her mother and Mel think she needs to be cleansed in such as way as fire, no matter the eventual spiritual outcome. The other people we have seen burned by Mel or her followers so far have been burned as a form of punishment, even if she says this is the purest form of death. But what you are saying does fit what Ser Godry seems to be stating in The Sacrifice chapter. A death by fire that leads to a pure ascension to the light!
Very interesting! I have wondered if the Others were somehow connected with "death" as described by the Faceless Men, but this is an interesting take on that.
2 minutes ago, Black Crow said:
Ah, yes, I think I am conflating the two. From the text, I have always taken them all to be the same thing, a different telling of the same tale.
Its something the Holy Inquisition was prone to do.
7 minutes ago, Jova Snow said:
It makes more sense to me that it was something else. Even if Tyrion figured out or thinks he figured out Aegon's identity, that doesn't really change anything with Aegon/Young Griff. The turtle/Shrouded Lord would always have known, or that's how it seems to me. So, what other event might have happened? And could it be on a river in Westeros, to serve as a type of inverted parallel of a river in Essos?
2 minutes ago, Lady Rhodes said:
10 minutes ago, St Daga said:
It makes sense to me that the Other's connect to The Stranger and that the Stranger is connected to the House of Black and White and the Faceless men. We also have the idea that the Faceless men have sought out Arya of House Stark, and we have hints within the story of the Stark's having face changing ability. Even if it's just in expression, in Bran's very first POV, he talks about Ned having "father's face" and wearing "Lord Starks face".
Bran's father sat solemnly on his horse, long brown hair stirring in the wind. His closely trimmed beard was shot with white, making him look older than his thirty-five years. He had a grim cast to his grey eyes this day, and he seemed not at all the man who would sit before the fire in the evening and talk softly of the age of heroes and the children of the forest. He had taken off Father's face, Bran thought, and donned the face of Lord Stark of Winterfell. AGOT-Bran I
And later in the same chapter, we get:
Bran saw his father's face change, saw the other men exchange glances. AGOT-Bran I
There are allusions in the story to Robb and Jon doing this as well, the face changing/role changing thing. I think it's linked to the Stark's underlying warg/skinchanger gene, and we know that all the Stark children are wargs, therefore have that gene. Ned obviously displays this odd wording tied to possible ability several times in the text.
We will also hear about Pyat Pree's face changing in an odd manner, so I also speculate about the Warlock's of Qarth. I am not sure if it's the same thing or just something similar, since the Warlock's are associated with the Shade of the Evening, which seems to be an inversion of the Weirwood, which seems to be connected to the Westerosi skinchangers and the Starks.
Yes! That is exactly what it sounds like!
Mimessa
Location:Stuck in a tree
On 5/23/2019 at 11:57 AM, St Daga said:
Where does Selyse's belief in resurrection come from? It's not something the Melisandre seems to promote. However, there have been some interesting thoughts on Shireen's death leading to Jon's rebirth. Also, something about Shireen's greyscale is important, however, and it might play out if she is burned!
Shireen releases greyscale spores and contaminates everyone downwind of the pyre.
Go To Topic Listing A Dance with Dragons


Outside-in innovation can bring fresh thinking to Visa and its clients.
More than 500 startup submissions drove Visa's second-annual The Everywhere Initiative, a competition that poses Visa Inc. business challenges to the startup community in order to drive commerce forward. This week it came down to fifteen finalists competing for the final prize, up to $50,000 in pilot money as well as a year-long mentorship from Visa's innovation, product, marketing and technology teams to help bring the solutions to market.
The finalists gathered at Visa's San Francisco Innovation Center headquarters to pitch their ideas to a judging panel of Visa partners and Visa business and technology leaders, including Vijay Sondhi, SVP Innovation & Strategic Partnerships, Mark Jamison, SVP of Global New Products, Lara Balazs, SVP North America Marketing, and Shiv Singh, SVP Global Head of Digital and Marketing Transformation. Each finalist pitched a solution that would move the Visa business forward (you can view all of the finalists here).
The Everywhere Initiative launched in the U.S.last year and this year it was extended to China, where it addressed local business objectives. Later this summer, the program will launch in Australia and other key markets in the near future. For more about The Everywhere Initiative event, check out this PYMNTS.com feature.
Check out the Everywhere Initiative challenges and winners.


How come whenever "IBSS" or "ad-hoc" is in the message subject,  no one responds?
I can't believe it's because no one here ever uses wpa_supplicant in ad-hoc environments.
Hong,  we might as well look elsewhere for satisfactory information.


It's official: January is the best month to buy a wedding dress and where better than at my studio in Kew! You'll not only find the dress of your dreams at an amazing price, but also have a wonderful experience choosing with expert advice on hand to make the whole process enjoyable and memorable.
Doors open at 10.00 am and no appointment is needed! Prices between £750 and £1750, sizes 8, 10 and 12.
The sale is at my studio at 6 Mortlake Road, Kew, Richmond, TW9 3JA. There is limited parking in the drive and unrestricted parking in neighbouring streets. Nearest tube is Kew Gardens; nearest main line station is Kew Bridge.
Please note: there is a strict no returns or exchange policy.
Perfect day – coffee at Sift, my new cafe, which has opened opposite my studio, come to my sale which opens at 11.00 am and try on lots of dreamy dresses at half the bespoke price, buy dreamy dress, visit the new Temperate House in Kew Gardens in the afternoon, not forgetting to collect dreamy dress on the way home. Saturday June 30th is the date for this perfect day, don't miss it!
Hot off the dress; sample sale Saturday January 27th!
6 Mortlake Road, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 3JA.
The autumn is upon us and our thoughts turn to evenings by the fire and the return of some classic favourites, such as 'Strictly Come Dancing'.
So if you're planning to shimmer and shimmy down the aisle, why not waltz along to my sample sale on Saturday September 30th at 10.00 am.
Choose from a wonderful selection of my signature bohemian Chantilly lace dresses and grecian style crepe gowns with draping or classic zibeline columns. I'll be on hand to offer expert advice on how to pull together the whole all-singing, all-dancing look, with stunning accessories to choose from including frothy veils, lace boleros and satin jackets trimmed with fur.
Ready to be swept off your feet? I look forward to seeing you on the day!
There is limited parking in the drive but unrestricted parking in the side streets. Nearest stations are Kew Gardens tube or Kew Bridge main line.
Autumn Sample Sale Date announced!
Louise's eagerly awaited sample sale date for autumn 2017 has been announced! The sale will be held on Saturday 30 September at her studio at 6 Mortlake Road, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 3JA. So, if you got engaged during the summer months and have started to look for "the" dress, put it in your diaries, or better still, book one of the half hour "slots" starting at 10.00 am and finishing at 3.30 pm. Email louise@louiseselby.com to make a reservation.
There is limited parking in the drive and unrestricted parking in the streets off the other side of the Mortlake Road. Nearest tube is Kew Gardens and the nearest main line station is Kew Bridge.
There is a strict no returns or exchange policy.
Rock my Wedding features Charley in Foxglove gown!
Charley the Bride: I haven't always dreamt of getting married so I didn't really know where to start with dresses. I imagined going to dress fittings being like in the films with lots of squealing girls and champagne, but Louise Selby was a calm, down-to-earth and very welcome opposite. I tried on around 6 of her dresses and felt like a celebrity with the triple full-length mirrors and someone tying me in! Her dresses are all so beautiful, but the one we chose was a winner – particularly with that back. I wanted to have bare feet but was advised against it so wore some cheap and cheerful sandals instead. The earrings were something old, blue and borrowed from my Mum.
Fifth January sample sale on the 28th!
The sale is at the studio at 6 Mortlake Road, Kew, Richmond, TW9 3JA. There is limited parking in the drive and unrestricted parking in the streets off the other side of the Mortlake Road. Nearest tube is Kew Gardens and the nearest main line station is Kew Bridge.
Remember, remember the fifth of November, sparkling sample sale!
If you are looking for "the one", come to my sample sale on Saturday November 5th, 10.00 am to 3.00 pm, at 6 Mortlake Road, Kew, Richmond Surrey, TW9 3JA.
Choose from a wonderful selection of my signature bohemian chantilly lace dresses, grecian style crepe gowns with draping or classic zibeline columns. Expert advice on how to put together "the whole look" with stunning accessories; frothy tulle veils, lace boleros, satin jackets trimmed with fur.
All the gowns in the sample sale are new, in perfect condition and can be altered to fit you. Note there is a strict no returns or exchange policy. Prices from £750 to £1750. Sample sizes 8-12.
The bridal gowns are all from my 2016 collection, reduced down to between £750 and £1750. Choose from a wonderful selection of striking silk zibeline columns, exquisite lace gowns and stunning duchess satin wedding dresses, plus many more.
I look forward to seeing you on the day in my studio. With a Louise Selby dress, the course of true love always runs smooth….
Louise Selby Wins National Wedding Dressmaker/Designer of The Year!
Leicester Square, London at 7.30pm on Thursday 14 January. The red carpet is out…. a growing buzz of excitement in the air….people are dressed in their A-lister finery and wrapped up against the bitter night air….their VIP tickets are at the ready….which potential award winner is due to arrive?
No, I'm not talking about Leonardo DiCaprio at the UK premiere of The Revenant….I'm talking about The 2016 Wedding Industry Awards held at the glittering and glamorous Café de Paris!
Having won Regional Finalist Wedding Dressmaker/Designer of The Year – London and the South-East – back in November, I'd made it through to the wedding industry award of all awards: the Finals. And what a night it was.
I couldn't have achieved this without the wonderful support and testimonials received from all my lovely brides. A massive, ginormous thank you to everyone who voted for me, making my year!
A trip to Harvey Nichols had nailed my outfit (the dress code on the invite stated 'Awards Chic': a gorgeously twinkling black and gold top by xxxxx over a swishy black net skirt by xxxxx. Once again, I'd invited my lovely marketing consultant, Caroline Gibson (an award-winning copywriter herself!) as my guest.
The build up began with getting hair done then a visit to Space NK in Richmond for make up (if only the lovely girls at ID lived close by!). Thank goodness for Uber – however, not so ideal when you find yourself caught in a 20 minute traffic jam in Knightsbridge (maybe because of the Lumiere London festival starting?) but thankfully our Oyster cards were at the ready so we jumped ship and made the last leg of the journey by tube.
Leicester Square 's Café de Paris is a stunning venue that dates back to 1924. The rope barrier was lifted for us by the doormen on guard and in we swept. Once again, the lovely Beetle Juice guys were on hand with their delicious cocktails as we arrived. The venue was already filled with chatter and laughter, and we luckily spotted two available chairs upstairs with perfect views of the stage.
The evening kicked off with some breathtaking acrobatics by and then it was time for founder Damien Bailey to announce the 26 category winners, aided by Sky News presenter, Isabel Webster. Thousands had entered, hundreds of hours had been spent in judging, and now was the moment for the big reveal.
When my category for Wedding Dressmaker/Designer of The Year was announced and the shortlist displayed on screen, it felt like a decade had passed before the winner was announced – me! Being upstairs meant I had to make my way down the sweeping staircase (as if on a Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire film set!). Cameras flashed, music played…it was an unforgettable moment. Proudly clutching my award, I then had to go backstage for a video interview followed by more photos.
Huge congratulations to all the other winners and, indeed, all the regional finalists. It was a a night in a million and simply wonderful to meeting so many talented people in the wedding industry that help make a wedding day so, so special, from florists to photographers to transport providers to venue stylists to my favourite named category – special touches.
How did the evening end? Well, there was music, there was dancing, there was champagne….but there wasn't any sign of Leo. Apparently, he went post-premiere to The Groucho Club in London with a mystery brunette dressed in black. Which wasn't me! I was still at the awards event having a great time. His loss, not mine!