Authors note: This blog, for the most part, is focused on Healthcare and related topics. Perhaps I am stretching the concept of related topics a bit with this post because so much of the Silicon Valley startup industry has rapidly migrated to healthcare. I now get numerous calls, or Linked-In requests, every week to look at some healthcare or health-tech startup. I have been interested in writing a paper on the state of the startup industry for a long time and this has provided a good excuse to put my ideas down in pixels.
I have spent many years in the fabled Silicon Valley, working with startups and investors to develop new businesses in many different industries. Along the way I have seen a lot, some good and some not so good. I have seen good entrepreneurs and investors, and I have lived through a few really bad ones as well.
While much has changed, much has not. Some things have gotten better and others much worse. What has stayed the same is that it is still very difficult to conceptualize, finance and build a business to maturity in a way that is good for founders, employees and investors.
To a great extent I think that the system today is simply stacked against all of us.
I have come to the conclusion it could be much easier and much more effective if we simply did a few things a bit differently. This paper is a little of what I think! Click the graphic above to download your free copy.
America has long been a land of invention and innovation. Having lived through the entire PC revolution, I can see that we have been blessed with massive change to the U.S. and the world due to both technological innovation and a business climate that supported risk capital investment. For the past 30 years or so, this engine of change has been based on the startup business industry. In more recent history the engine has showed signs that it no longer may be what it seems. Some have said as early as 2012 that it is fundamentally and forever broken. Yet, from the pace of young entrepreneurs out trying to start businesses to again change the world, one would never know there is a problem. You'd never know, that is, unless you actually looked a little below the surface.
Entrepreneurs trying to raise money in order to start a business are faced with numerous pitfalls, posers, crooks, charlatans and RPRTrs (Right Place Right Timers) all scattered along what is, for many, little more than a boulevard of broken dreams. We have a cast of characters in both the good, and not so good meaning of the word. We have entrepreneurs, serial entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, angel investors, angel investment groups, super angels, crowd funding, facilitators, "consultants," deal syndicators, incubators, accelerators and many others. All of these entities want the entrepreneur, or the investor, to think they are "The Answer." Some of them may be — many more end up being their worst nightmare.
In this paper I try to give an overview of where these characters came from, what benefits they can bring and the kind of harm they can render if we are not careful. I also try to track come of the changes and show how they have built the current dynamic environment. I also ask some questions for you, the reader to think about.
In my opinion, from the entrepreneur's perspective, the access to smart money has never been easy. More importantly, from the investor's perspective, it has not been hard enough. We believe a lot of things about the value of the hi-tech, biotech and Internet industries. We also believe that startups are key to our economic future. I am not sure that all we believe is correct. I do think there are some fundamental questions we should answer.
First and foremost, if we are going to have a robust startup business industry, we need to understand not only why startups fail, but how to help them not fail and to bring them longer term viability. You will find, if you read this paper, that there are some things we can do to improve how we develop startup businesses that I thank can have significant long term effects and are relatively simple to do.
This paper reflects on my historical perspective working with startups and investors, what I have observed that worked, and what I have learned that does not. I have condensed a number of very good research papers as to both the evolution and current state of capital access from VCs, angel investors and other sources as well as some excellent reports on why startups succeed and why they fail.
Overall, my conclusion is there are a number of things we should do differently if we want to continue to have a robust startup industry in the years to come. I make a few suggestions at the end.
I hope you will either click the link above or the title and download your free copy. I only ask one thing! If you feel this has merit, forward to people you know and let them read it also. As I said this paper is free and I hope it will circulate and open up some needed discussions.
And as always, I appreciate you reading my blog and hope you find things of value here.
Facebook: the IPO of the century – Really!
What is the thing about Facebook that makes it worth $108 billion since it is entirely based on intangible values?
Well it looks like the jury is in and the answer is nothing. Sometime, relatively soon people will wake up and realize that the problem with the Dot-Com successes are that unless they can create a tangible and necessary value proposition in a down economic period, then the value of a company like Facebook is not just speculative; it is simply ludicrous.
Worse, I suspect there is hidden in the recesses of this offering the same attitude that was pervasive in the last Dot-Com bubble burst. The most important thing to the original investors, the Venture Capitalists that funded this company is not value it is simply liquidity. The good thing for these investors is, once again what is driving the public is perceived value not real value. In effect, what a lot of the "public" is willing to pay for does not have to equate to real value—ever.
This has been a carefully orchestrated dance with the devil ever since the first big money went in the door. Rumors of government intelligence connections have been rampant for years, mostly as water-cooler as excuses to try to justify the ever climbing stratospheric price, but the reality has been a very simple one. It is the same thing we who have lived in or near this tech-money world have seen for years. It is the siren song of untold riches, if you just buy a few of the baubles, these simple slips of paper, that will grow, that simply must grow don't you think. These that just can't fail because after all it is "Excite@Home (oops that's a bad one), or it is AOL (opps again) or it's Netscape (oops), I mean, you know what I mean, because, you know, they simply must grow to ever higher levels—its technology after all. If you get in now you too can be the next "Tim Drapers, or Brook Byers." Just buy a few, for a small investment, a pittance really, this dream can all be yours!
I live right in the promised land of private equity investors—Silicon Valley, CA. I have spent much of my career around VC's and Angel investors. Private Equity is a great thing. Without it much of the things we take for granted today would not even exist. It is the basis for the growth economy we have had for years. Along with Real Estate it has formed the basis of the so called FIRE economy that gave us the rapid rise in currency from a mere $500 billion in 1972 to over $16 trillion today. And while many of the dollars created went to real products, tangible products, things you could touch and feel in your hands, much recently has gone to companies based as much on perceived value as any tangible calculation. In this modern world there is no regulation that will protect people from the avarice of wall street, nor should there be. The onus is on all of us to keep both of our eyes open and both hands on our wallets.
Alas, now will come the predictable filing of lawsuits by those who will blame everyone for the unrequited love, the incredible get rich quick scheme that was the Facebook juggernaut. Here's a news flash, you have no one to blame but yourself. You should know that if it sounds too good to be true it is. Get a freak'n clue! This was a liquidity game, played by major league players from the get go and Mr. Barnum definitely ruled this day and many people will likely soon feel like they got caught at a church picnic with their pants down out behind the barn with Mary Sue.
Now, those who are watching this intangible value-based company decline by the day can pray that it pulls a trans-formative move and, like Amazon did years before, maybe become a true value supply chain player. Years ago there were those of us who saw the original Amazon business plan and just knew then that the original 'no brick and mortar warehouse, drop ship from publisher's model' was not going to work. All of us then learned a valuable lesson. The lesson we learned was that it was liquidity, not value, which was the play.
As my 13 year old son now says, "you all got schooled!" You know what? He's Right!


The link below will take you to the GovTrack website for the following bill.
To require escrows for certain mortgage loans, to improve mortgage servicing, to promote sustainable homeownership opportunities, to enhance appraisal quality and standards, to better appraisal oversight, to mitigate appraiser pressure, and for other purposes.
This bill is another one of those catch all reactions to the current mortgage crisis that may be well meaning, or just political grandstanding but has some dangerous components including language in Section 203k which could lead to all appraisers having to be MAI or SRA at some point. Granted MAI or SRA designation may be desirable, but the idea of possibly mandating such designation undermines the present federal and state regulation of appraisers.


text:
MT 152/83
Liverpool-Leeds-Hull Trunk Road: diversion at West Garforth and widening eastward to Peckfield Bar; drafting of side road orders under s 9(1) of Highways Act 1959 (2 parts)
Date range None listed
Location National Archives (see all files stored here)
Catalogue See entry
File base Series MT, subseries MT 152
A file relating to a never-built realignment of a trunk road around the town where this wiki's proprietor grew up, and which is therefore of mainly private interest to him and limited use to wider research. The aforementioned (handsome and intelligent) proprietor had thought this might be the often-discussed but little-seen proposals for an A63 Garforth Bypass, but was actually in for something of a surprise.
It turns out that in the late 1950s, as the Ministry of Transport was improving the A1 to dual carriageway standard, the way from Leeds to the north and south was increasingly becoming the A63, and improvement works on what was considered a narrow and, at one point, steeply sloping section of the road were in the offing. What this wiki's charming, self-effacing and witty proprietor was not expecting (aside from the early date of these proposals, given that the file itself is undated) was that the town had not, at this time, developed far enough south to trouble the A63 greatly, and so the improved line recommended in these papers actually runs through what is now the built up area of Garforth.
The road proposed by West Yorkshire's County Surveyor, S. Maynard Lovell (last seen discussing roads over railways), was a single carriageway with improved junctions and a gentler ascent up the hill known locally as Garforth Cliff.
The scheme appears to have been all but built, with papers from the early 1960s indicating that trunk road and side road orders were actually published by the Minister in order to enable the scheme, but the paper trail dries up before our intrepid, dashing and boyishly athletic proprietor can find out why it didn't happen. The most obvious explanation would be that, from the mid-1960s, the Ministry of Transport and West Yorkshire County Council were jointly pursuing the design of the M62 across the county (and in early stages, the M19) which would have rendered this improvement obsolete.
Intriguingly, the orders for this scheme seem to have been published under the Special Roads Act (1949), though no part of it seems to have been intended as motorway.
People with camera copies
Chris Marshall has a partial copy, and is modest, too.
Retrieved from "https://archive.roads.org.uk/index.php?title=MT_152/83&oldid=1655"
Subseries MT 152
Content is available under Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported unless otherwise noted.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Putin, Obama & The Banksters vs. All of Humanity
Dave Hodges
This is the second part in a series in which it will become clear that Putin, Obama and the banksters are the greatest threat to the welfare of mankind and the world is on a one-way trip to a planned Armageddon. Part one detailed how key Soviet defectors have repeatedly warned the United States about a multi-generational plot to destroy America. Before this series is concluded, Obama will be clearly implicated in this plot as well. However,the focus for Part Two of this series centers around Putin's role in destabilizing and destroying America.
Look, up in the sky, is it a bird, is it a plane, no, it's Super Putin. He is single handedly taking on the evil bankers and winning.
According to some, Putin will singlehandedly rescue the world from the clutches of the Rothschild/Rockefeller criminal banking cartel. Putin is the modern day version of George Washington who will lead the world to the promised land while crushing the New World Order. I wish this was true, but to believe so would be to engage in the fantasy thinking of a five year old. There are no good guys, there are no bad guys. There are the banksters. They own everything and they control everything. It may be true that Putin appears in control of the world's chessboard as evidenced by his repulsing of the planned American invasion of Syria and now he controls the high ground on regaining control of Crimea and ultimately Ukraine. Putin may presently control the chessboard, but who is in control of Putin?
Left vs. Right, Republican vs. Democrat, Putin vs. Obama
The illusion of choice is an interesting proposition. In the 2012 election, we saw Obama running for re-election against Obama 2.0. Both Romney and Obama were for "universal" healthcare. Both men were willing to trample on American civil liberties and move headlong into the New World Order. There was virtually no difference between the two.
In the recent 2014 midterm election, the Democrats officially became an endangered species. Some Americans actually believe that by turning the political coin over, that they have actually produced change with their Diebold voting machine controlled elections.
The third paradigm that ignorant Americans are falsely believing is that Vladamir Putin is a hero and Obama is the villain. All of a sudden, Putin is against homosexuality, is a professed Christian, denounces the New World Order , is devoutly anti-Sharia Law and rejects the Petrodollar. Obama is openly embracing the opposite of Putin's mainstream profession of family values. One look at Putin's life quickly reveals what a fraud this man is. He is no more of a Christian than Lucifer. Putin is part of a bankster PSYOPS to erode American confidence in their own leaders by being more like a traditional American than the American president.
The media likes to cast Putin in the role of saving the planet from WW III, while his American counterpart is recklessly plunging the World into the inevitable conflict. However, when one looks through Putin's persona through the lens of common sense, it is clear that the banksters, Putin and Obama are all on the same team. For those who believe this fiction, please take note of this former exchange between President Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev while they were taking part in a global nuclear security summit in South Korea in 2012. President Obama was caught on tape asking for "space." Obama went on to state the following:
"This is my last election. After my election I have more flexibility." Obama assured the departing Russian President he will have the "flexibility" required to deal with missile defense issues after the 2012 presidential election.
So much for the East-West paradigm which is "threatening" world peace, and we are supposed to believe this fiction that Putin is a noble man who is opposing the ruthless United States led by the war mongering Obama? The following tape demonstrates that the Russians, the Americans and the banksters are playing for the same team.
All Wars Are Controlled By the Bankers
World War I was waged by 27 nations. The number of participants totaled 66 million. There were 37 million casualties with seven million who were killed. Its direct costs are estimated at $210 trillion. The indirect costs of the war are estimated at $150 trillion dollars. And these figures do not include the additional billions in interest payments, veterans' care and pensions, and similar expenses…" In WWI, we see the Rothschild/Rockefeller banking interests prolonging the conflict by at least three years. The only way that this war continued beyond 1915 was because the Federal Reserve was created in 1913 and could make up money out of thin air. This is how the bankers do it. This is how they get endless war by supplying both sides with fiat currency and promoting wars by controlling both sides of the conflict.
Many experts credit Standard Oil with giving the allies the ability to win WWII against the Nazi's. Yet, The banksters also supported the Nazis in World War Two as Charles Higham documents in his classic book, Trading with the Enemy (1983). Higham clearly demonstrates that Rockefeller's Standard Oil supplied oil to the Nazis. George H. W. Bush's father, Prescott Bush was actually charged with violating the Trading with the Enemies Act in WWII, because the elder Bush was supplying aid and comfort to the Nazis. The charges were eventually dropped and the event was covered up because Bush was in charge of the USO and the damage to American morale could have been significant. Coke and IBM supplied both sides in WWII and the list goes on and on. And we are supposed to believe that Super Putin is above all of this control?
"Al Capone" Is the President of Russia
For those that think that Putin is a desirable alternative to the banksters should consider the following Putinisms which stand as a testament to his absolute moral depravity and thuggery. He is KGB, and then he morphed into a key member of the Russian Mafia along with like-minded thugs of that era. At one time after the fall of Russia, the Russian Mafia was the only viable business alternative (i.e. black market) and it was complete with protection rackets, the murdering of journalists who exposed their criminality and the assassination of politicians who opposed this group of which Putin was a prominent member. Businesses like Life Lock, the identity theft protection agency, owes its existence to Putin and the Russian Mafia. It is the Russian Mafia that has popularized the crime of computer hacking and identity theft. Putin has been a key player in the rise of the former KGB/Russian mafia as the ruling party in the Russian Federation.
Putinisms
New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft went public with claims that Russian President Vladimir Putin stole his 2004 Super Bowl ring during his visit to Russia in 2005. All of you naysayers, turn off your computers and save your printer ink, this is too well documented to not be true.
In 1991, Putin, then deputy mayor of St. Petersburg, organized a number of scams involving meat imports into the poor, starving city. This drive is believed by many to have enabled Putin to make himself incredibly wealthy with an amassed fortune of almost $70 billion.
Putin has even had his 9/11 false flag moment. While trying to drum up a reason to invade Chechnya, the FSB engineered a false flag event by blowing up Russian apartment buildings. Putin seized upon this false flag moment to develop a reputation as a get-tough guy on terrorism, when in fact, Putin is a mass murderer.
Of course there are those that would cast Putin, including himself as a Christian. If he's a Christian, I would have to denounce my religion. When Putin was a member of the KGB (i.e. the Russian Mafia), East German Intelligence described him as a philander and a wife beater! Some Christian! Understandably, Putin's wife divorced him. She is lucky to still be alive.
The above Putinisms are merely a small sample size of a consistent and much larger and verifiable set of concerning behaviors. As a former therapist, I would diagnose Putin as a man who has exceptionally poor impulse control, prone to knee-jerk reactions, one who dehumanizes and depersonalizes everyone he comes into contact with. Further, he lacks complete empathy for others. Putin is the marriage of what psychologists used to call a psychopath and a sociopath. Today, the clinical term is Anti-Social Personality Disorder. Charles Manson, Richard Speck, Stalin and Mao share the same diagnosis. Putin is extremely dangerous and very unpredictable.
Character counts and neither man is a desirable leader. The people of Ukraine are left with a lose-lose proposition as its people attempt to choose between East and West and, for that matter, so is the rest of the world.
Attention America, if it takes a war to hand off Ukraine to the banksters, whose kids do you suppose will be fighting to further the bankster goals? Who do you think will be paying for this coming calamity?
The days of Ukraine are numbered.With the CIA created ISIS, Syria's days are numbered as well. In short, humanity's days are also numbered as the battle lines have been draw. It is Putin, Obama and the Banksters vs. all of humanity.
In tomorrow's article, I will expose Obama's complicity in this plot to destroy America.
Dave Hodges is the Editor and Host of The Common Sense Show.
Previous articleDollar store sells "Evilstick" to kids with image of self-cutting she-demon
Next articleTop Hacker: Chicago Nuke Attack Planned for 2015


text:
Katherine M. Taylor
On May 18, 2017 Katherine M. Taylor (nee Ludtke) Dearest Wife of the late William C. Taylor Devoted Mother of Joseph V. Taylor, Sr., Michele L. Rolf and her Husband Gerald and the late Pamela J. Harvilicz. Loving Sister of Nick Ludtke and his Wife Carol, Butch Ludtke, Myrtle Sauble and her Husband Henry, Audrey Knofski and her Husband Fred and the late Palmer Ludtke. Beloved Grandmother of Jennifer Harvilicz, Danielle Smith, Rachel Harvilicz, David Smith, Joseph V. Taylor, Jr. and Alexis Taylor. Also survived by many other loving Great Grandchildren relatives and friends. Family invite friends to call at the Charles L. Stevens Funeral Home, Inc. 1501 E. Fort Avenue, Locust Point MD 21230 on Monday 3-5pm and 7-9pm. Funeral Services will be held at the Funeral Home on Tuesday at 11:30am. Interment in Glen Haven Cemetery.
On May 18, 2017 Katherine M. Taylor (nee Ludtke) Dearest Wife of the late William C. Taylor Devoted Mother of Joseph V. Taylor, Sr., Michele L. Rolf and her Husband Gerald and the late Pamela J. Harvilicz. Loving Sister of Nick Ludtke... View Obituary & Service Information
The family of Katherine M. Taylor created this Life Tributes page to make it easy to share your memories.
On May 18, 2017 Katherine M. Taylor (nee Ludtke) Dearest Wife...
Send flowers to the Taylor family.


text:
Q: clang/LLVM project level optimization So periodically I try LLVM as I have this theory it should outperform GNU.  And then it sadly doesn't.
Part of the theory has to do with its ability to link modules/objects together and THEN optimize, where normally optimization happens on a per file/object basis.
Instead of using a generic one, I see how to build for a specific default target
rm -rf llvm-project
git clone https://github.com/llvm/llvm-project.git
cd llvm-project
git checkout llvmorg-10.0.0
mkdir build
cd build
cmake -DLLVM_ENABLE_PROJECTS='clang;lld' -DCMAKE_CROSSCOMPILING=True -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=/opt/llvm/llvm10armv6m -DLLVM_DEFAULT_TARGET_TRIPLE=armv6m-none-eabi -DLLVM_TARGET_ARCH=ARM -DLLVM_TARGETS_TO_BUILD=ARM -G "Unix Makefiles" ../llvm
make -j 8
make -j 4
make
sudo make install

And the test files
test.c
unsigned int one ( void )
{
    return(1);
}
unsigned int two ( void );
unsigned int testone ( void )
{
    return(one());
}
unsigned int testtwo ( void )
{
    return(two());
}

two.c
unsigned int two ( void )
{
    return(2);
}

basic run
clang -O2 -fomit-frame-pointer -c test.c -o test.o
llvm-objdump -D test.o

00000000 one:
       0: 01 20                         movs    r0, #1
       2: 70 47                         bx  lr

00000004 testone:
       4: 01 20                         movs    r0, #1
       6: 70 47                         bx  lr

00000008 testtwo:
       8: 80 b5                         push    {r7, lr}
       a: ff f7 fe ff                   bl  #-4
       e: 80 bd                         pop {r7, pc}

as one would expect, one() has been inlined into testone().
The desire is to get testwo() inlined as well.
clang -fomit-frame-pointer -c -emit-llvm test.c -o test.bc
clang -fomit-frame-pointer -c -emit-llvm two.c -o two.bc
llvm-link test.bc two.bc -o both.bc
llc both.bc -o both.s
cat both.s
opt -O2 both.bc -o both.opt.bc
llc both.opt.bc -o both.opt.s
cat both.opt.s

gives
testone:
    .fnstart
@ %bb.0:                                @ %entry
    .save   {r7, lr}
    push    {r7, lr}
    bl  one
    pop {r7, pc}

testtwo:
    .fnstart
@ %bb.0:                                @ %entry
    .save   {r7, lr}
    push    {r7, lr}
    bl  two
    pop {r7, pc}

and
testone:
    .fnstart
@ %bb.0:                                @ %entry
    .save   {r7, lr}
    push    {r7, lr}
    bl  one
    pop {r7, pc}

testtwo:
    .fnstart
@ %bb.0:                                @ %entry
    .save   {r7, lr}
    push    {r7, lr}
    bl  two
    pop {r7, pc}

that is worse.
opt -std-link-opts both.bc -o both.opt.bc

same, no better
Now this works
clang -O2 -fomit-frame-pointer -c -emit-llvm test.c -o test.bc
clang -O2 -fomit-frame-pointer -c -emit-llvm two.c -o two.bc
llvm-link test.bc two.bc -o both.bc
opt -O2 both.bc -o both.opt.bc
llc both.opt.bc -o both.opt.s
cat both.opt.s

testone:
    .fnstart
@ %bb.0:                                @ %entry
    movs    r0, #1
    bx  lr

testtwo:
    .fnstart
@ %bb.0:                                @ %entry
    movs    r0, #2
    bx  lr

One would think that not optimizing the parts would give more meat for the optimization of the whole to chew on.  Yes?  Although this indicates otherwise.
clang -fomit-frame-pointer -c -emit-llvm test.c -o test.bc
clang -fomit-frame-pointer -c -emit-llvm two.c -o two.bc
llvm-link test.bc two.bc -o both.bc
opt -O3 both.bc -o both.opt.bc
llc both.opt.bc -o both.opt.s
cat both.opt.s

testone:
    .fnstart
@ %bb.0:                                @ %entry
    .save   {r7, lr}
    push    {r7, lr}
    bl  one
    movs    r0, #1
    pop {r7, pc}

testtwo:
    .fnstart
@ %bb.0:                                @ %entry
    .save   {r7, lr}
    push    {r7, lr}
    bl  two
    movs    r0, #2
    pop {r7, pc}

-O3 doesn't help either, and this output is as pretty bad it calls the function AND inlines it.  What is going on there?!
llvm-dis both.opt.bc
cat both.opt.ll

; ModuleID = 'both.opt.bc'
source_filename = "llvm-link"
target datalayout = "e-m:e-p:32:32-Fi8-i64:64-v128:64:128-a:0:32-n32-S64"
target triple = "thumbv6m-none-unknown-eabi"

; Function Attrs: noinline nounwind optnone
define dso_local i32 @one() local_unnamed_addr #0 {
entry:
  ret i32 1
}

; Function Attrs: noinline nounwind optnone
define dso_local i32 @testone() local_unnamed_addr #0 {
entry:
  %call = call i32 @one()
  ret i32 1
}

; Function Attrs: noinline nounwind optnone
define dso_local i32 @testtwo() local_unnamed_addr #0 {
entry:
  %call = call i32 @two()
  ret i32 2
}

; Function Attrs: noinline nounwind optnone
define dso_local i32 @two() local_unnamed_addr #0 {
entry:
  ret i32 2
}

How does one undo that?
clang -O2 -fomit-frame-pointer -c -emit-llvm test.c -o test.bc
clang -O2 -fomit-frame-pointer -c -emit-llvm two.c -o two.bc
llvm-link test.bc two.bc -o both.bc
llvm-dis both.bc
cat both.ll
opt -O3 both.bc -o both.opt.bc
llvm-dis both.opt.bc
cat both.opt.ll

gives
; Function Attrs: norecurse nounwind readnone
define dso_local i32 @one() local_unnamed_addr #0 {
entry:
  ret i32 1
}

; Function Attrs: norecurse nounwind readnone
define dso_local i32 @testone() local_unnamed_addr #0 {
entry:
  ret i32 1
}

; Function Attrs: nounwind
define dso_local i32 @testtwo() local_unnamed_addr #1 {
entry:
  %call = tail call i32 @two() #2
  ret i32 %call
}

; Function Attrs: norecurse nounwind readnone
define dso_local i32 @two() local_unnamed_addr #0 {
entry:
  ret i32 2
}

and
; Function Attrs: norecurse nounwind readnone
define dso_local i32 @one() local_unnamed_addr #0 {
entry:
  ret i32 1
}

; Function Attrs: norecurse nounwind readnone
define dso_local i32 @testone() local_unnamed_addr #0 {
entry:
  ret i32 1
}

; Function Attrs: norecurse nounwind readnone
define dso_local i32 @testtwo() local_unnamed_addr #0 {
entry:
  ret i32 2
}

; Function Attrs: norecurse nounwind readnone
define dso_local i32 @two() local_unnamed_addr #0 {
entry:
  ret i32 2
}

So is it correct that you have to apply the optimizations everywhere, at the file/object level in order to get the project level to optimize?
And then there is the question of tail call or leaf, etc optimization, if nothing else testtwo: even in the first case
clang -O2 -fomit-frame-pointer -c test.c -o test.o

could simply branch to two() and not setup a stack frame not do any of that.  Or is this a thumb thing? b cant reach?
one:
       0:   b8 01 00 00 00  movl    $1, %eax
       5:   c3  retq

testone:
      10:   b8 01 00 00 00  movl    $1, %eax
      15:   c3  retq

testtwo:
      20:   e9 00 00 00 00  jmp 0 <testtwo+5>

In gnu the linker patches up any branch reaching or mode issues with trampolines
arm-none-eabi-gcc -c -O2 -mcpu=cortex-m0 test.c -o test.o
arm-none-eabi-objdump -D test.o

00000000 <one>:
   0:   2001        movs    r0, #1
   2:   4770        bx  lr

00000004 <testone>:
   4:   2001        movs    r0, #1
   6:   4770        bx  lr

00000008 <testtwo>:
   8:   b510        push    {r4, lr}
   a:   f7ff fffe   bl  0 <two>
   e:   bd10        pop {r4, pc}

Okay I stand corrected...
clang --version
clang version 10.0.0 (https://github.com/llvm/llvm-project.git d32170dbd5b0d54436537b6b75beaf44324e0c28)
Target: armv6m-none-unknown-eabi
Thread model: posix
InstalledDir: /opt/llvm/llvm10armv6m/bin

arm-none-eabi-gcc --version
arm-none-eabi-gcc (GCC) 9.3.0
Copyright (C) 2019 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
This is free software; see the source for copying conditions.  There is NO
warranty; not even for MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

I guess the question is if one wants to do a project level optimization using llvm-link and opt, is optimization of each of the individual items required or is there a command line option I am missing.  Not interested in compiler specific attributes that go into the source code itself, want the code infected with neither gcc nor llvm specifics.
After gcc 5.x.x the code got more bloated was hoping that llvm would have a chance but whenever I try this (on projects not just 10 lines of code) gcc ends up with fewer executed instructions, and/or fewer memory accesses, etc, etc.  For simple demonstration functions like the ones above, with some exceptions they produce the same/equivalent output.
Is there something, another one of the tools, or command line options, that I am missing in order to get more out of clang/llvm?
Is it that this is too trivial of an example for the tool to shine?
EDIT based on answer
clang -c start.s -o start.o
clang -O2 -flto=thin -fomit-frame-pointer -c test.c
clang -O2 -flto=thin -fomit-frame-pointer -c two.c
ld.lld start.o test.o two.o -o test.elf
llvm-objdump -D test.elf

000110fc testtwo:
   110fc: 02 20                         movs    r0, #2
   110fe: 70 47                         bx  lr

00011100 two:
   11100: 02 20                         movs    r0, #2
   11102: 70 47                         bx  lr

so getting rid of the -emit-llvm and using lto basically gives the desired result.
Looking at the bc disassembly
clang -O2 -flto=thin -fomit-frame-pointer -c test.c
llvm-dis test.o
cat test.o.ll

; Function Attrs: norecurse nounwind readnone
define dso_local i32 @one() local_unnamed_addr #0 {
entry:
  ret i32 1
}

; Function Attrs: norecurse nounwind readnone
define dso_local i32 @testone() local_unnamed_addr #0 {
entry:
  ret i32 1
}

; Function Attrs: nounwind
define dso_local i32 @testtwo() local_unnamed_addr #1 {
entry:
  %call = tail call i32 @two() #3
  ret i32 %call
}

enables/adds the tail call.  I really dislike using the compiler/shell as a linker (for embedded projects that have their own bootstrap and linker script), llvm-ldd usage wasn't easy to figure out or basically couldn't figure out, but ld.lld also supports the tlo stuff, so that worked out.

A: The answer is pretty easy actually: one should never want to use llc / opt / llvm-link for performing "end-user" project level kind of optimizations. These are developer-side tools with different defaults, thresholds, etc. Basically, they are just simple command-line frontends to various pieces of LLVM toolbox.
In order to perform the proper link-time-optimization you'd need to use the pipelines that were intended for such task. Basically, compiling everything using "clang -flto" and then linking everything again via "clang -flto" would work. Using LTO-aware linker like lld is a prerequisite as well.
Some further information about ThinLTO could also be found here: https://clang.llvm.org/docs/ThinLTO.html and http://blog.llvm.org/2016/06/thinlto-scalable-and-incremental-lto.html

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
View recent posts	| Search | Navigate: Re: Chinese People: 'The Communist Party Has Ruined China, Withdraw From It Immediately!'- General Forum- Language and cultural exchange- China News- Beijing 2008 - Olympic Games- Shanghai 2010 - World Expo- Learn English- Chinese language- Chinese culture- Chinese-English translation- Live in China- Work in China - Business- Study in China- Travel to China- Events announcements- Classifieds
Forums > General Forum > Re: Chinese People: 'The Communist Party Has Ruined China, Withdraw From It Immediately!'
Chinese People: 'The Communist Party Has Ruined China, Withdraw From It Immediately!'
Posted by: Truthfulness (IP Logged)
[url=http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/3939-chinese-people-the-communist-party-has-ruined-china-withdraw-from-it-immediately/][/url]
tuidang.epochtimes.com
Editor's note: The Epoch Times publishes here direct translations of statements made by Chinese people who have renounced the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its affiliate youth organizations. Statements such as these are submitted to the Chinese language Epoch Times, Dajiyuan. The movement to renounce, withdraw from, or quit the CCP, called "Tuidang" in Chinese, began in late 2004, soon after The Epoch Times published the "Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party," an editorial series that explores the nature and history of the CCP. These statements offer a rare and candid glimpse of history in the making. Chinese people are turning their backs on the Communist Party, choosing conscience over convenience, and peacefully ushering in a future China, free of Party rule.
The following is a selection of "Tuidang" (quitting the Party) statements made by Chinese nationals on Feb. 18-21, 2013.
I Withdraw From the Evil CCP and Its Organizations
I was a veteran member of the CCP. Seeing the Party's infighting, corruption, and brutal persecution of innocent people, I know it's inevitable that heaven will eliminate it. Withdrawing from it and making the right choice between good and evil is being responsible for oneself. Therefore I announce my withdrawal from the evil CCP and all its organizations to create a bright future for myself.
Fu Mingbai
We Were so Naïve to Believe in Their Lies
The CCP is such a devil. When we were little, everyone had to join the Party's Young Pioneers. I also believed that the "CCP represented justice." However, recently my uncle told me that the Party actually represents evil. Mao Zedong was the ringleader of this evil gang. We were so naïve to believe in their lies, thinking Mao and the CCP were good.
My uncle explained to me that when you join the Young Pioneers, then the CCP has something on you, and you become its hostage; even God couldn't save you. My uncle also told me about the Party's many evil deeds, and that Mao killed more than 80 million Chinese people. I think we were too naïve. I told my schoolmates about it, but they couldn't understand and said I was wrong, the CCP was right.
Now we are all contaminated by the evil Party. It deceives people with false information and propaganda. It will get what it deserves. When everybody knows the truth, it will be the end for the CCP. It's a pity that even kids are now misled by the Party. Fortunately I have such an uncle who told me all this, otherwise I'd be the same as my schoolmates who foolishly believe in the devil.
Shouldn't all Chinese people be united? Why are there still so many who don't understand? Even my mom and my dad don't know much about the evil CCP.
I hope people who see this post can discuss it with their families and tell them about this. It would even be better that they not only understand but also withdraw from CCP with us. I hope all the people who are still deceived by the CCP can wake up, and the evil Party will be disintegrated soon.
Lu Ying
Announcement of Withdrawal From the CCP
I joined the CCP after I got into college, hoping for a better future. However, the government illegally took my family's land away, and the judicial system couldn't help. We cannot get justice and are disillusioned by the CCP. Seeing the corrupt regional and higher governments doing nothing, I totally lost faith in the Party.
Jiao Shuoyang
Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province
The CCP Has Ruined China, Withdraw From It Immediately!
The CCP is the most evil organization in human history. No need to say more, I withdraw from it immediately!
Huang Junyong
Chengdu, Sichuan Province
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/30/2013 03:15PM by Truthfulness.
Re: Chinese People: 'The Communist Party Has Ruined China, Withdraw From It Immediately!'
Engels once said that freedom is the recognition of inevitability. Mao Zedong went on and added
"and the reformation of the world." This final touch fully brought to light the CCP's view of
nature, namely, to change nature. The "inevitability" as understood by the communists is the
matter out of their eyesight and the "pattern" whose origin is beyond their exposition. They
believe that nature and humanity can be "conquered" by mobilizing subjective human
consciousness to understand objective laws. The communists have made a mess of both Russia
and China, their two pilot fields, in their efforts to change nature.


It looks like we could be watching Nicole Scherzinger back on the X Factor this season.
She has ditched rehearsals for the up coming Broadway adaptation of 'Cats' apparently in favour of joining Cowell and co on the new series, pretty much leaving a shamazing hole in the new project and infuriating Andrew Lloyd Webber in the process, according to reports.
So with Nicole seemingly locked in with Simon.... will the return from Louis and Sharon be next on the cards?


YAESU – FT-8800R 144/430 MHz Dual Band FM Transceiver .If you're ready for the best in a Dual-Band FM Mobile Transceiver, the FT-8800R is ready for you! With easy operation, outstanding receiver performance, and crossband repeat capability, the FT-8800R is the new standard of comparison!! yess this transciver feasible in your car .sale as is IDR 2.700.000. thank for looking.


With the offense really struggling against a potent Boston defensive team, D'Angelo Russell was one of the few bright spots on that end. Here's a look at his performance.
My favourite play of his from the night, pickpockets Smart for the steal.
This play is just gorgeous all-round.


text:
Ruthless City put nine past Burton
Wed 9 Jan
Rob Pollard
@RobPollardMCFC
Wed 09 Jan 2019, 23:20
Two games in four days have yielded 16 Manchester City goals. After Rotherham's 7-0 thrashing in the FA Cup on Sunday, Burton Albion must have feared the worst. City in this mood are impossible to tam
Pep Guardiola's relentless squad have one foot in the Carabao Cup final after a remarkable 9-0 semi-final first-leg win. Gabriel Jesus, superb throughout, scored four, with Kevin De Bruyne, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Phil Foden, Kyle Walker and Riyad Mahrez adding to Burton's pain. City, surely, will contest the final at Wembley at the end of February after recording the largest ever margin of victory in the semi-finals of an English cup competition and our biggest win since 1987.
Of course, context is important. City have beaten two lower league sides in quick succession, with League One Burton currently 51 places below us in the English football pyramid. But, as the old adage goes, you can only beat what's put in front of you and City have done that emphatically over the past four days.
With Burton likely to put men behind the ball, an early goal was key, and De Bruyne provided it, heading home David Silva's pinpoint delivery into the area to give City the lead after just five minutes.
Mahrez volleyed into the top corner – a sublime piece of skill – but it was ruled out for offside, and Jesus curled one just wide of the upright as City looked to double the advantage.
The warning signs were there; City were in ruthless mood.
We didn't have to wait long for the second. Leroy Sane played a brilliant one-two with Ilkay Gundogan and looked likely to score but his effort was saved by Bradley Collins. Jesus, like all good strikers, was in the right place at the right time to nod the rebound into the empty net.
Jesus fired home his second moments later, finishing from close range after Silva broke the offside trap and rolled a first-time pass into his path. The referee consulted VAR – the first time the technology has been used in a City match – and correctly ruled that Silva had timed his run to perfection.
Zinchenko was next on the scoresheet, chipping Collins, who was fractionally off his line, from 30 yards - the Ukrainian's first City goal and one he'll never forget.
And the second-half saw much of the same, with City's passing and movement too quick for Burton to handle. Jesus completed his second hattrick of the season with an emphatic header from Mahrez's delicate, lofted cross, before Foden, on as a substitute, bagged his second goal in two games.
Jesus tapped home his fourth, before Walker got in the act, side-footing past Collins, who will want to put this experience behind him a quickly as possible.
7 - Manchester City are the first English league side to score at least seven goals in consecutive games in all competitions since Don Revie's Leeds United back in October 1967. Heaven. #CarabaoCup pic.twitter.com/vniTiD8jQm
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) January 9, 2019
Mahrez, who had looked lively all evening, made it nine, before City, willed on by the home fans, went in search of double figures. Burton managed to avoid that particular milestone, but they were well beaten by a mesmerising side.
Man of the Match: Jesus
Four goals for the Brazilian, who showed desire and hunger all evening. Could have had more, such was his devastating movement that continually bought him space inside the area.
One step away from Wembley
The result almost guarantees City another EFL Cup final.
Should we get the job done at Burton in a fortnight's time, we will find ourselves in our seventh final of all-time and our fourth in six seasons. It's a fine record.
Last season's success, which came after a brilliant performance in the 3-0 win over Arsenal in the final, was a significant boost for the players that helped power our record-breaking Premier League campaign.
Let's hope for more of the same this year.
Pep's reaction
"Big congratulations to Burton for what they have done, they have beaten teams from Premier League and Championship and deserved to be here.
"We scored quickly. The difference with Premier League teams is the rhythm, when you have high intensity. Physicality is higher.
"It was important to try take advantage. We didn't expect to score as many but it's great. Means a lot for us.
"We spoke at half-time about playing simple. To score is best way to respect competition and the opponents."
It's back to Premier League action for City when Wolves are the visitors to the Etihad Stadium on Monday evening. Kick off in that one is 8pm.
The Blues are currently four points behind Liverpool at the top of the table, with Jurgen Klopp's men taking on Brighton on Saturday at the Amex Stadium.
News about Man City v Burton
News Men's Team Match Report Burton Albion Carabao Cup Manchester City EFL Cup Etihad Stadium
Mahrez on Arsenal clash: We are going to go for it!
Guardiola: I am always picking up new ideas
Gallery: Fine tuning ahead of Arsenal FA Cup clash
City learn Conti Cup semi-final opponents
Guardiola provides Foden injury update ahead of Gunners clash


The hamlet of Greencastle, nestling at the foot of the Mourne Mountains, lies along the northern shores of Carlingford Lough in a corner of County Down. It is a place of rare beauty and charm, lay claim to a rich and unique natural heritage as well as a vibrant history whose legacy can be witnessed in the ruins of its medieval fortifications, listed buildings and historical structures.
All ages are represented among the residents of Greencastle, including married couples with young children, single, middle-aged, retired, people with disabilities, and families from both the main traditions of Northern Ireland as well as further afield. Several families have lived in the hamlet for decades while others are more recent settlers in the area. Apart from the many historic buildings, development within Greencastle is entirely residential with the exception of the Carlingford Lough Commissioners building at the end of the Pier Road, farm outhouses and a until recently, a shop and post office located approximately two miles away and which serves a number of the local townlands.
Many of the homes in Greencastle are sited for the picturesque views of Carlingford Lough or the Mourne Mountains. It is this scenic beauty which makes the hamlet a popular destination for many day trippers and cyclists coming from nearby Cranfield as well as visitors from further afield. Its peaceful, sandy beach is an added attraction while many visitors also travel to view the impressive Norman castle.
A narrow hedge-lined road, the 1.7 miles long Pier Road, is the only access route leading to and from the hamlet, ending in a cul-de-sac beside Greencastle Point. Along its length are homes, farms and farmland.
And, typical for a rural area, dairy herds from the local farms can regularly be witnessed moving along the road to reach their grazing. Farming is the principal industry in Greencastle. Dairy farming is predominant, with some livestock farming also taking place. There are also local horse owners and breeders. Fishing is another important occupation for many of the local residents. This includes the commercial fishing of lobster and crab, oyster and mussels.
The hamlet's Built Heritage includes most prominently the Green Castle itself, thought to have been built by Hugh de Lacy sometime in the 1230s, and which gives the surrounding townland its modem name. (The castle was known as Viride Castrum in early Latin documents, perhaps because of the appearance of the surrounding countryside). There is also an earlier Anglo-Norman Motte, the ruins of a noteworthy medieval church, the former Lighthouse Keepers' dwellings built over 150 years ago and which are now listed, a boat-house and walls, dating to a similar period and which are also listed. The old wooden pier (dating c. 1880) is also listed.
Off shore is the famous 135 ft. Haulbowline Lighthouse erected in 1823 and the Block House island, where the ruins of an Elizabethan fort built in 1602 are still visible. Local legend has it that the island, a limestone outcrop, was linked to the castle by a tunnel running under the Lough. Not surprisingly, it has never been located!
According to an old tale of the Carlingford Lough area, Greencastle was once the capital of the Mourne kingdom, while its fairs were the most famous in Ulster. All that remains now of this ancient prominence are the historical ruins while the name of a narrow local road leading to the shore, the Fair Loanan, is the only physical reminder of Greencastle's once thriving twice yearly fairs which ended before the last decade of the nineteenth century.
Greencastle had become important because of the area's Norman links which they established here because of the strategic position occupied by Mill Bay on the shores of Carlingford Lough, effectively guarding the entrance by sea into Ulster.
Across the Lough, Carlingford town served a similar purpose. The Green Castle itself dates to the mid thirteenth century, slightly later than the presumed Anglo-Norman mote located nearby.
By Tudor times the castle had survived three centuries of attack and occupation, including briefly that of Edward Bruce. In 1552 it was granted to Sir Nicholas Bagnall, Knight Marshall of Ireland, as part of the lordships of Newry and Mourne, The Bagnalls were resident in the castle for at least three generations but by the time the Earls of Kilmorey became principal landowners in Mourne, the castle was uninhabitable and the townland itself had been outstripped as a place of importance by the steady growth of Kilkeel town nearby.
Despite some optimism that railway facilities would be extended to Greencastle in the 1880s, they were never constructed. This failure, alongside the demise of the Fair shortly afterwards and the inability to sustain the paddle steamer service to Greenore ensured that Greencastle retained an essentially rural, hamlet character into the twentieth century. And this is still the case to the present day.
But Greencastle's history has many other fascinating chapters. The area's location on Carlingford Lough meant it became a renowned haven for smugglers over the centuries, bringing spirits, tobacco and other goods into Ireland. Indeed in the mid-eighteenth century it was said that "one Hughes, the greatest smuggler in the Kingdom" was born in Greencastle and had all his relations and connections there. The authorities were forced to try to police the narrow creek with a row boat. Despite their efforts, smuggling into Greencastle was still apparent in the 20th century.
Carlingford Lough has also brought tragedy to Greencastle with the loss of many lives just beyond its shore. The worst shipping disaster in the area's history was the collision between the passenger ferry, the 'Connemara' and the Newry steam collier, the `Retriever', on November 4th 1916. Ninety-four people lost their lives and there was just one survivor. A farm shed in the area was used as a temporary mortuary as local people helped in the grim recovery of bodies.
An interesting footnote to the history of Greencastle is the honorary title connected to the area and which is still in existence.
The title of Baron of Greencastle was put up for sale at a London auction house in 1996 by the former NIO Minister Richard Needham who had inherited the honorific when he became the 6th Earl of Kilmorey. Even before bidding was opened a mystery buyer paid out over £20,000 for the title, which brings no land or possessions.
A legacy of the old landlord system which can still be found in modem day Greencastle is the right of local people to the 'wrack harvest'.
The wrack rights along the Carlingford Lough shore were inherited and claimed by the Kilmorey Estate and, when that was broken up among different landowners and farmers in the last years of the nineteenth century, the rights were passed on in many instances. Some local people in Greencastle still exercise their wrack rights and can gather wrack from high to low water mark.
To the visitor Greencastle appears to have changed very little in the past century, and indeed with the exception of several new dwellings the townland has remained unspoilt.
The inhabitants of the hamlet have a diversity of occupations, from farming, inshore and deep-sea fishing, manufacturing, civil service, nursing, teaching, Carlingford Lough pilot, harbourmaster, clerical & consultant professionals.
It is encouraging to note that many of the younger generation choose to stay and make their home in Greencastle, even though this inevitably means travelling to work, and this in turn bodes well for future generations when Greencastle will continue to be a diverse and vibrant community.


Respects the natural hormone balance of your body.
Does not influence body composition in any way.
Fertility returns immediately after removal.
5 years, fit and forget.
Small and flexible frameless design offer high user comfort.
Natural libido level due to non-hormonal nature of GyneFix.
This page contains the most frequently asked questions about GyneFix.
Looking for a doctor with GyneFix experience? This map displays all trained GyneFix doctors for Belgium and Luxemburg. This way you can easily find a doctor familiar with GyneFix in your neighbourhood.


The city of Larned and Pawnee County, like many small communities, has experienced a decline in population as industries have changed and younger generations have opted for the bright lights of larger cities. Unlike many small towns, Larned was not content to sit idly and accept the changes that were affecting their livelihood. The community opted for a full rebrand and aggressive campaign to showcase the wonderful quality of life and employment opportunities in order to attract a new audience.
Through our meetings, research, and visits to Larned, we fell for the community and its people. Every community member we met is a brand champion, on fire for the city and the great things it has provided them. Distilling their enthusiasm into a simple message was important because it gave the community members a rallying point.
To make the story of Larned easily understood, we began by categorizing the things that make the community great and unique.
The arrowhead was chosen as the primary mark for the city because of its ability to tie Larned's history to its future. Arrowheads symbolize alertness and direction, as well as power and protection. The arrowhead is also a symbol of innovation. Its creation dramatically impacted early civilization and changed their ability to survive and prosper. In its orientation, the mark is intentionally pointed up to signify the trajectory of Larned and Pawnee County.
The color palette for the brand was intentionally chosen to feel familiar to the audience but incorporate the larger story. The three colors, Harvest, Brave, and Denim compliment each other nicely and individually tell a piece of the Larned story. In color theory, oranges denote friendliness and cheerful confidence. Yellows evoke feelings of optimism while the navy elicits trust, dependability, and strength.
We are in the heart of flyover country. When viewed from a plane, the fields and open land of Kansas create beauty and awe that we want to celebrate. To incorporate this part of the story, we developed patterns from the familiar sight of tended fields. The crops are familiar to all of Kansas, the presentation is uniquely Larned.
Connection to the soil is important. The roots of Larned's economy are planted in agriculture and this firm foundation provides an opportunity for anyone with an entrepreneurial spirit and strong work ethic. This is how Larned Grows.
The heart of the people of Larned and Pawnee County is their defining characteristic. The heart of the community is shown through 100 years of exceptional care through the state hospital and through a new state-of-the-art medical facility. It is shown every day through the citizens and their actions. Larned thrives because Larned Cares.
The area is rich in history and presents great opportunity to seek adventure. Traveling the Santa Fe Trail, or exploring Fort Larned provide one-of-a-kind experiences. The outdoors provides entertainment options for all. Hunting, fishing, boating, hiking, racing, running, golfing; these are just a few of the many ways Larned Explores.
Opportunities to grow, care, and explore are key components of the Larned experience. Larned celebrates its history and uses it to shape the future. When someone needs help, Larned helps. When someone has a big idea, Larned shows them how to act on it. The people make the community special. But it is the thoughtful leadership of the community that allows these wonderful things to happen. Larned Connects its people to their potential.
Our community is rooted in service and pride. Through service to our fellow citizens, we grow. Though you may not see the roots because they are buried, the bloom that shows is more beautiful because they are planted in purpose.
We are often defined by what we have and what we do. This is the appeal of a larger city. It is full of opportunity and options. The options of life are important and they come at a price. Not just monetary, they also cost us our freedom. The city life is about assimilation; blend in so you don't stand out. HOAs and city ordinances demand conformity and offer little chance to be included in the feedback loop. When we seek more, we ask less. What does this cost me? Is this who I am?
Larned redefines quality of life. They understand better than any that life offers little fulfillment and meaning if it is not lived.
Larned State Hospital is Pawnee County's largest employer. The state hospital has been a central fixture in the community for more than 100 years. Recruiting qualified candidates can be challenging, compounded by the location of the hospital and the unfavorable stigma of work in the mental health field. Our campaign seeks to break the stigma of mental health by being candid about its prevalence and inviting the audience to be part of the solution.
Through video, we were able to show the infectious heart and passion of the Larned State Hospital staff.
Larned and Pawnee County's new brand rejuvenated their community. The excitement extended beyond the city limits as former residents began sharing the new brand and celebrating their home town. In its first month, LarnedCares.com received nearly 1,000 page views generated from a single Facebook announcement.
With foundational branding and messaging in place, the leadership at Larned is prepared to begin initiating campaigns and advertising to share their new brand with the world. The best is yet to come for Larned and Pawnee County!


text:
Tesco Mission and Vision Statements Analysis
Tesco mission statement is "We make what matters better, together." The statement makes it clear that everyone is part and parcel of the success of this company. As a result, it creates an environment where everyone can achieve their potentials to contribute to the continued growth of this corporation. The statement has the following key parts:
Improving health. The reputation behind Tesco within and beyond the UK lies squarely on its uncompromising attitude when it comes to the health of its customers as shown by this component. Today, this supermarket is perhaps the best in the region, stocking straight-from the farm groceries and going an extra mile to keep the hygiene within all its outlets at the highest level.
Distinguished quality. As Tesco celebrates over 100 years of great value to its customers, it echoes its unwavering passion in serving its customers better every time. The company does this by going beyond the bare minimum of supplying its shoppers with products to choose from – it creates a bond of friendship to help them make even better choices.
Improving lives. There is much more to Tesco than shopping experiences. The company acknowledges the difference that even the smallest help does to the lives of those in need. Through its heart of the Little Helps Plan, Tesco has been reaching out to communities and colleagues in different capacities. In fact, this plan is led by three pillars which comprise the products, people and places. Tesco is committed to making the world a better place through these pillars by being part of efforts that trigger positive changes.
Tesco is a UK based retailer that has come through some of the toughest economic backgrounds and rising from a market stall to a mega supermarket in the nation. The mission and vision statements of this corporation have been crucial for its success ever since its foundation in 1919. Its gradual growth, while constantly keeping the customer at the core of everything it does is an indication of a company with a clear mission and vision.
A corporate vision statement is an important business tool that establishes a growth target for a company. A corporate mission statement is similarly invaluable. It identifies the strategic formulation that agrees with the business model of a firm and guarantees potential success. The two statements, aided by the core values influence the growth of this company towards its position as a leading retailer in general merchandise and groceries in the UK.
Particularly, its vision statement seeks to align its business with the expectations of its customers making it the most reputable enterprise. On the other hand, its mission statement emphasizes on ensuring that everything works as planned to meet the needs of its clients. Tesco implements its core values alongside the mission and vision statement, and this has given the company an advantage in the achievement of all its objectives.
Tesco vision statement is "to be the most highly valued business by: the customers we serve, the communities in which we operate, our loyal and committed colleagues and of course, our shareholders." The statement shows that satisfaction of all the stakeholders is a crucial aspect for the measurement of vision and the progress of this company towards it. The statement comprises of these main components:
Most highly valued enterprise. This component demonstrates how effective the vision statement is in making clarifying the ideal future position of Tesco. The fact that the company strives to be highly valued shows that it remains committed to meet the needs of all its players in various ways to ascertain their loyalty. The annual reports of Tesco show that it is already making impressive milestones towards this accomplishment.
Flexible for all. To ensure that it is a favorable brand for all, Tesco has designed itself in such a way that it can serve everyone, including online shoppers. The company prides in having over 450, 000 members of staff from 11 markets, all serving its client base in the UK. With such an adequate workforce, no customer is left out – everyone gets services whenever needed.
Tesco core values comprise "customer-focused, caring for all, and little help make a difference." For over a century, these are the main principles that have come to define Tesco as a corporation. They have created a strong internal culture within Tesco making it a reliable brand due to how it values its customers.
Tesco specifically considers customers the most important part of its business. That is why its culture inclines on providing them with the most modern and conducive shopping environment. To ensure seamlessness and corporation with everyone, this company has strategies in place to promote the growth and motivation of its employees. In addition, Tesco demonstrates its reputation by contributing to other social and economic developments of the people it serves.
Awadari, A. C., & Kanwal, S. (2019). Employee participation in organizational change: A case of Tesco PLC. International Journal of Financial, Accounting, and Management, 1(2), 23-31.
Cueva, S. (2019). Inspiring Others with a Vision, Mission, and Values. International Bulletin of Mission Research, 2396939319837840.
Dermol, V., & Širca, N. T. (2018). Communication, company mission, organizational values, and company performance. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 238, 542-551.
Dumitraşcu, M., & Feleagă, L. (2019). Mission, Vision, and Values of Organizations, the Catalysts of Corporate Social Responsibility. Audit financiar, 17(1).
Hofstrand, D. (2016). Vision and Mission Statements–a Roadmap of Where You Want to Go and How to Get There. Ag Decision Maker.
Kreutzer, R. T. (2019). Vision, Mission and Goals. In Toolbox for Marketing and Management (pp. 33-48). Springer, Cham.
Moye, J. N., & Moye, J. N. (2019). Creating Shared Mission, Vision, and Values'. A Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence Approach to Institutional Effectiveness in Higher Education. Emerald Publishing Limited, 15-29.
Slater, R. E., & Mizon, J. (2018). In Search of Organisational Values: a collaborative action research study to find values to underpin the organisational vision and mission. eO and P, 25(4), 32-42.
Tesco – Home.


text:
Hello, How Are You, Are You Well?
Written by Barbara Maes
"Kaibae" means "Hello, how are you, are you well?" It is a common greeting in Kusaal, the language spoken in the communities where we harvest Baobab. We chose "Kaibae" because it reminds us of the first time we drove to meet with community members in the remote region of Northern Ghana. People were lined up chanting, "KAIBAE! KAIBAE!". We wanted to capture the joy and energy of that day in our branding.
So, we approached Clive Percy, former creative director of Roxy, and his team at Air Conditioned Media (A/C) to ask:
"Can you create branding that sings & dances
just like our community partners in Africa?"
A/C did exactly that and masterfully created a modern, bold, energetic design for KAIBAE. Clive Piercy was a legend, and sadly, he passed away a couple of summers ago. We are so honored to have worked with Clive and his team and are especially proud that the "pure potent wild" in our logo is his own handwriting. KAIBAE's branding is extra special and we are so happy to share it with you!
Is Baobab Fruit Powder The Super Food of the Future?
Baobab an Ancient Wild Plant Holds the Key to a Healthy Urban Life
KAIBAE Impact Report: Making an Impact Beyond Our Wildest Dreams


The Decatur/Forsyth area offers a wonderful cultural tourism experience as well: quaint shops in a charming historic downtown business district, galleries exhibiting all media of art, and a wide variety of unique, quality restaurants. Several events and festivals take place in our area each year encompassing arts, crafts, music, dance, fun fairs, sports, and just about anything else you can imagine!
Centrally located between Chicago and St Louis. Our location is near many of Decatur's beautiful parks and recreation areas, plus access to Millikin University's athletic facilities.
Residence hall rooms & apartments available June - August. Many small and large venue options available; auditoriums, theaters, meeting rooms and meals available year-round.
Basic and advanced audio-visual equipment available, video and teleconferencing capabilities, FREE guest wifi, sound systems, etc.
An extensive array of food options abound from small plate hors d'oeuvres to fine dining.


text:
Q: Define global variable rails Right now in my view I have this:
@categories.each do |category|

And I need to define @categories in each method in controller duplicating the code.
def home
  @categories = Category.where(:parent_id => '').order("id").each
end

def contacts
  @categories = Category.where(:parent_id => '').order("id").each
end

How do I get rid of repetition?

A: There is no need to define class or global variables since results might be changed between queries.
I suppose add some memoization and extract duplicate into separate method:
def home
  categories
end

def contacts
  categories
end

def categories
  @categories ||= Category.where(:parent_id => '').order("id").each
end

And better to define scope in model:
class Category < ActiveRecord::Base
  scope :categories_without_parent, -> { where(:parent_id => '') }
end

In controller method categories will look like:
def categories
  @categories ||= Category.categories_without_parent
end


Johanna Adorján is the author of several dramatic works, including a screenplay filmed by Ed Herzog. Currently, she is an editor of the culture section of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and lives in Berlin. An Exclusive Love is her first book.


"Our cancellation window … was 6 p.m. the night of your stay, which just actually means you can cancel until the absolute last minute," Marriott CEO Arne Sorenson said during an April earnings call. "In a high-occu-pancy market, that created greater risk of overbooking. [It's] harder to predict, harder to revenue manage the hotels." Other revenue management strategies include overbooking, segmenting inventory to limit discounted business, implementing minimum-stay restrictions and reducing the volume of discounted business in favor of higher-rated retail business.
One reason hotels have gotten more sophisticated about revenue management is that it took the industry much longer to increase rates during this cycle than in previous up cycles.
"Coming out of the recession, the expectation, like in most periods of recovery, was that the discounted business was going to recede much more quickly than it did," Bosworth said.
STR, PKF Hospitality Research, and PricewaterhouseCoopers all predict occupancy and ADR's up cycles will persist for another few years, which means hotels will continue to hold the cards.
But while hoteliers look to raise revenue, there are some things corporate travel buyers can do to meet the challenge, and even fight back, as they begin the hotel request-for-proposals and contracting season.
"A lot of these things can be addressed in the RFP," said Travel and Transport general manager of partner solutions Donna Brokowski. She recommends buyers push for last room availability, though properties that have been amenable to it in the past may not negotiate it with occupancies as high as they are.
She also insists buyers negotiate for 70 percent to 80 percent of total inventory at a property and, if possible, conduct monthly audits to make sure the negotiated rates are available.
"This year, we're making it a standard practice to conduct monthly audits," Brokowski said. "We're catching hotels on a monthly basis. What we thought we'd find is certain brands that do it more or regions.
and termination clause into an RFP.
canceling any room or meeting space.
specifically guarantee that you would never be walked and that they'll always have a room available for you," he said.
Hunt plans to add cancellation terms to her hotel RFP for 2016. After her experiences this spring, she has opened the lines of communication with hotels by ensuring contact information is available, as well as with her travelers and TMC to prevent future headaches.


In a large bowl, whisk together vinegar and sugar until dissolved. Slowly whisk in oil, celery seed, salt and pepper to taste. Toss in cabbage, carrots, red onion and raisins �... Cut the head into quarters, remove the core and slice for the slaw by stacking the rinsed leaves, rolling them into a tight tube and making closely spaced cuts with a kitchen knife. Toss the shredded cabbage with other vegetables, such as shredded carrots and bell pepper, and mix in a dressing of choice.
Red Cabbage Slaw To The Rescue! I make detox salads whenever I feel a little bloated or commit to eat less carbs for a few days. Since summer is barbecue season, I thought a detox red cabbage slaw would be a good dish to serve alongside meats.
This Spiced Red Cabbage Slaw recipe is different; it�s crunchy, flavoursome and light � the perfect vegan accompaniment to delights like falafel, or chickpea burgers. Slaw ought always to be simple, crunchy and full of a variety of textures.
Cut tempeh into bite-sized chunks, place in a bowl and mix with the red curry paste. Shred cabbage, peel and dice the avocado then drizzle it with 1 teaspoon apple cider to prevent it from going brown.
The red cabbage slaw works perfectly with the crispy fish for a meal that's a must make on any night of the week! These Fish Tacos are so delicious & easy to make! Red cabbage slaw works perfectly with crispy fish for a meal that's a must make on any night of the week!


antimicrobial resistance and methods for susceptibility testing.
testing antimicrobial susceptibility in bacteria.
And as mentioned on the title slide this is about agar dilution.
dilution methods as part of agar dilution is of course the dilution methods.
overview of the process of the testing.
the preparation steps and actual procedure with inocullum, incubation, and reading.
the quality is good and how do we act if something goes not so well.
in another lecture of the overview of the quantitative methods.
We are here in the quantitative methods for testing antimicrobial susceptibility.
in this presentation we are to focus on the solid media on the agar.
and we are going to talk about this of course in the lecture ahead.
We are going to focus mostly on this dilution method that is the agar dilution.
we want to have separate concentrations to test.
the agar with the separate concentrations.
It is not a continuous gradient and that's something we have to make sure.
We cannot do all the concentration that could exist in the world.
that we can see where they are susceptible or resistance.
to use too high which would be not growing or growing too much.
we are going to check the MIC.
don't grow on 16 which and they do grow on the 8 concentration.
Somewhere in between is where the bacteria are not able to resist anymore, so it is.
we know that that is the limitation of our method.
more dilutions than the two fold ones.
this graph we show Antimicrobial X.
we have a certain strain, just one strain and we tested a number of times.
the same strain, we will not obtain 16 all the time.
there is some insecurity about uncertainty about which value we get.
And that's part of the method.
that we are in the range of the true MIC which would be somewhere in this range.
This of course is a limitation of the method but we have to live with it.
The issue is sometimes that this lies on the breakpoint.
But then we have to classify the strain as good as we can.
that we want to test and we have to choose which concentration we want to test.
We normally choose for a particular antimicrobial agent.
and also the range that are expected for this bacterial population.
not in others for example, or in some plates or not in others.
And but that the range covers both.
that it's wide enough to get so that you can see the difference.
Also, we want to interpret the results, so we want to have the breakpoints in here.
if we are following wild tap and non wild tap.
We will want it to be somewhere in the middle of the range if possible.
In some very reduced testing ranges, we only test one above, one below.
But that's really a reduction of the process.
That's called the cutoff or the breakpoint method.
And that's really to save space and money and reagents that you only do two.
depending on the decision that you want to make.
If you are doing agar dilution you are preparing the concentrations yourself.
the amount of material that, that takes.
you are a bit stuck to what the commercially available plates have.
Or you might want to design them yourself.
this range that you test, but also the quality control strains.
and does not grow in the higher ones.
or if there's any mistake in it.
this process and you want to make your plates and prepare the test.
So the first thing to arrange is to get the antimicrobial drug.
And you need to get it as pure as possible.
you have to get it from the provider of the drug.
Sometimes there's even only one provider for the whole world for that.
You need to get the drug as pure as possible.
Then you prepare solutions and you will incorporate this into the agar medium.
then you will incorporate it your agar, your antimicrobial agent.
different concentrations where you have a number of plates for each concentration.
where the whole range is representative.
because you need growth controls.
antimicrobial, and when you can see that nothing went wrong with the growth.
It only, with the actual antimicrobial effect.
And then you want to apply your inoculum to apply your bacteria on it.
and I will show this a little bit ahead.
that you have the same bacteria on each plate in the same way.
this kind of replicators that put your bacteria on every plate in the same way.
Some replicators allow you to have a number of bacterial strains on each plate.
Which is good, because then you can use the same agar plate for many bacteria.
you're actually doing a golden standard method that should give you good results.
preparing everything is quite a large work.
if you want to test them at the same time almost.
these antimicrobials to make them, put them into the agar.
You want to prepare the agar in a melted fashion.
that it doesn't degrade the antimicrobial drug, but is melted.
of antimicrobials to get the final concentration right in the agar.
with the right depth, so that you don't have too much agar, too little.
That is very standardized as well.
having any problems like bubbles or something that fell into the petri dishes.
Many things can happen here.
So you want to have smooth, nice plates with the different concentrations.
And you'll leave then to solidify and and you'll keep them for some time.
before you use them with your strains.
And you will also run the quality control strains together with your test.
together with your control strains and the test strains that you want to test.
So that you make sure that the results are valid when you read them.
the CLSI that is an example of how you make these plates.
And it is quite confusing sometimes because first you have your antimicrobial.
It's in powder and it has a certain purity.
You need to calculate and you go down here?
making a certain concentration of the drug as a stock solution.
that is something that is given to you by the provider of the antimicrobial drug.
That will tell you how pure the compound is.
And once you have a stock solution and you have a range that you have decided.
You have decided to test from 0.03 to 32.
That's what you want to have in the final in the plates.
volume do you need to prepare?
How much agar and how much of the solutions?
And you'll prepare for that.
you use about 10% of the solution with the antimicrobial.
in the ingredients and the nutrients in the agar are still okay.
So but this might be a little confusing.
We can just check that this is, if we start with this concentration.
about how much we want to have in your agar.
now we want to have 32 in the end plate.
So if we want to use 10%, we want to have it ten times concentrated.
We would do first a solution from the stock solution that is, at this 320.
kind of, and then we will use.
Well if we use, sorry.
Yeah, you make it a certain volume and you have the 32 that you want.
So you use 90 of the media and 10 of your solution.
So from the 320 you get to 32.
And then you go down, because you start with the highest concentration.
you actually mix this solution half of your solution with water.
And go on and prepare your plate, so they are half concentrated.
so you only have a quarter of the solution.
So that you get down to here.
But you don't follow this way all the time, because it might cause many errors.
And CLSI had described that you actually should do it step by step.
you could run into some mistakes.
So actually, they have decided that you do it three by three.
So for the next three, you take this one as a stock for the next ones.
So it is a kind of a three step approach.
but it will be when you try to do it in your lab, you try to calculate this.
that we get towards the right concentrations in the end.
all the concentrations at ten times.
So that we dilute them one to ten in the ends to get them on the plates right.
the antimicrobial stock solution, and you start doing these dilutions.
then the plates with the ten times less, with the 10% dilution.
that here we are not using just a normal media.
in the end is actually added with some blood.
this Agar that we are using here.
because there is a large number of concentrations always involved.
we want to prepare the bases Agar in a large amount.
And in this case for Campylobacter would be this Agar supplemented with the blood.
And then we have glassware for all the concentrations separately.
We might need magnets for the agitation of the Agar separately sterilized.
the steps, each portion of the Agar in one of these.
where the melted Agar is going to be mixed with the stock solutions.
less uniform, so that everything doesn't get stiff so easily.
And that the Agar is still melted when you are pouring down the plates.
So there is a big apparatus to this.
to have somebody to help with all these process.
Because you have to pipette, prepare solutions, mix to Agar.
And Agar is melted and will get solidified quite quickly.
So there is a number of procedures that are necessary to have with help.
But once you do this, you have the plates.
So you can keep them for some time.
which antimicrobial you are diluting on the plates.
there some are very sensitive to oxygen.
So you might not be able to keep these plates for a very long time.
But some others are fine, and you can keep them for a longer time.
That you need to validate for your own lab how it works.
and you can start your tests.
that you have fresh plates.
and that's the first step where the bacteria come in.
you make some suspension with the 0.5 McFarland density.
Where you use the same equipment that I show you before in another lecture.
Measuring the density and checking with the measurement with the standard.
the desired concentration that you want to put on the spot.
which inoculum system that you have for these spots.
spot this solution on the Agar in a certain way.
You need to recognize where your spots are.
are following the right isolates in the right way.
where you can follow which is your number one to three etc strain.
You will need to organize also the plates according to the concentrations.
You should inoculate always the lowest.
then the lowest concentrations and then up to the highest.
not taken from the replicator to the other plates.
that you're sure which isolate is which.
then you also need to know where is what.
Then you will incubate these plates.
to let them dry a little bit before you get into the incubator.
So that these drops are not spreading around.
check them the next day after the incubation time has gone.
When you read them you will want to look at growth or no growth.
You will determine these endpoints.
then you have the next concentration where it's higher and you don't see growth.
that there's no growth on the plate with four micrograms per millilitre.
This is your endpoint and four micrograms, in this case, would be your MIC.
you might have to disregard this little bit, with others that's not the case.
lab we have a replicator that makes this spot with this design.
know that this number one up to 18 here, and then it goes around so that we have.
the growth control and for the quality control of the ranges.
so they have different expected results.
But we should follow that in the assay.
kind of a plastic material that looks just like that and has wells just like that.
that you're preparing this on older plates exactly in the same way.
After you do this you will incubate your plates.
organisms that don't require oxygen but require another mixture of gases.
That's also very important to check.
And we will read the plates.
And now we are into reading.
the identification of the strains, and now we try to read them.
but we are mostly looking at these red, green, and blue strains for the result.
This is the controls, so there's no antimicrobial here.
Here we have 0.25 milligrams per liter.
And if we look between here and there, we can see the blue spot is gone.
this strain that we put here, cannot tolerate the 0.25.
The MIC is either at 0.25 or lower.
The MIC here, it's equal or less than 0.25.
For the others, there's still growth so we have to look further.
Now the green one is gone and here we have 0.5 milligrams per liter.
because we have tested the lower one, and that there was growth.
And here, we don't have growth.
we have no concentration of one which would be the next one.
we don't know how much higher.
do the dots disappear or not disappear or are there's growth or no growth.
Here just an overview again.
nephelometer, measure it, all these replicator.
we have the circular one that I just show you.
then we try to look where the dots are or not.
if I was in the classroom I would ask my students where did the dots disappear?
we cannot do that but you see the dots still here, most of them.
Most of the strains that were tested here, they're still growing here.
They're growing is less than here on the 2, but they are still there.
Most of them disappeared when we went up to 8.
most strains, the MIC is this 8.
In regards to make determination, as I've showed you you have these values.
example, obtained this result, that was an 8 milligrams per liter.
in terms of is the antimicrobial working or not?
Because for that species of bacteria and that drug, eight is an abstract number.
It needs to be compared with some tables, to make sure that you can interpret it.
susceptible if you're using the clinical grade points.
Sometimes the intermediate doesn't exist.
from the non wild type to resistance one.
be qualitatively if you would use the antimicrobial.
But you still have quantitative result and that would give you good information.
the quantitative result to reevaluate your results.
the pH is wrong or there's some inhibitors or the salt content.
with the preparation of the inoculum putting too much or too little.
too dry or too wet, which can also happens.
strains where you verify that the results you have are good.
bad if it is a resistant strength and you still have the quantitative results.
where you're following the bacteria on those sub strengths.
is the resistance in the same level and so on.
patterns that show you, well, probably there is a specific resistance here.
check also which plasmas are transporting it, how has it disseminated.
How did it travel from one country to another, there's a lot to do there.
it's not just because a mistake that everything was followed up.
Okay. This was for the agar dilution.
then we have some other lectures on another module.


text:
Newsletters DRAFT
Bixel Exchange Tech Ed Partnerships Update - Feb. 17
Dear Chamber staff,
This month, we're giving students the opportunity to flex their creative skills through several opportunities (tech internships, hacking sessions and digital media competition) we've secured with our partners!
Paid summer internship opportunities
There's still time for students to apply! Learn more below.
Bixel Exchange has partnered with The Los Angeles Fund for Public Education's The Intern Project (TIP) to bring opportunities to LA HI-TECH students.
About the Organization:
TIP provides deserving Los Angeles high school juniors the chance to work in dynamic career areas through paid internships of four or more weeks during their summer break. Through TIP, students have worked in fields like digital media, entertainment, technology, healthcare and design. These experiences can level the playing field for many students in L.A. by empowering student success, thus changing the trajectory of their careers. Also, throughout these internships, TIP students document their experiences through videos and blogs.
TIP will accept applications for their summer cohort through Saturday, Feb. 20! Applyhere. Please ensure that your student selects "LA HI-TECH" when prompted to answer "Where did you hear about TIP?" in the application.
Keeping educators in the know of industry needs
Educators from several high schools and community colleges explored labor trends at a Jan. 15 professional development workshop hosted by LA HI-TECH at Santa Monica College. Participants worked in groups to examine data as it applies to their discipline and explore whether their classroom curriculum and certificates align with industry need. The program also featured an industry panel that included insight from our partners at General Assembly.
Hack for a better L.A.
Thursdays 6-8pm, Feb. 4–May 19
Help challenge the minds of youth interested in STEM careers! Civic Hack Hours -- a program run by Hacker Fund and Hack for LA -- is offering 16 free weekly hacking sessions to students of downtown Los Angeles area high schools. The afterschool program is dedicated to teaching students the technical skills needed to solve some of the city's biggest issues using city data. Focus areas include an introduction to GitHub, open data APIs and open source projects. Each session, held at downtown L.A.'s Rhubarb Studios, will accommodate 20 students. Visit their website for tickets or more information.
Hall of Fame Films competition
Registration: Feb. 1-26; Competition: March 1-15; Screening: March 31
B~STEM Project and Women in Technology International are calling on all aspiring and professional female content creators age 14 and older to produce and submit a short film that, if chosen, could get its own red carpet reception and screening, with big industry professionals from NBCUniversal, BET Networks, Maker Studios, ESPN Films in attendance! Contestants will create a story piece that highlights leading women in technology, whether it be a commercial, music video or any other creative medium. Five finalists will be selected to attend the big screening event March 31 at YouTube Space L.A., hosted by YouTube stars Shira Lazar and Eva Gutowski (aka MyLifeAsEva). If you or someone you know is ready to take on a challenge (and connect with established leaders in the industry along the way), get started now!
TECH FOR THOUGHT
Next generation skills needed
Find out what former Google, Facebook and Uber employees and other industry leaders predict software engineers will need in their skill set in the next 5-10 years.
Would it be machine learning, computer languages or cloud computing?, Slate.com, 1.22.16
President expands computer science access nationwide
On Jan. 29, President Obama unveiled his plan to give students across the country the opportunity to learn computer science in school through the Computer Science for All Initiative, which provides states with $4 billion in funding and school districts with $100 million in his upcoming budget, and, beginning this year, invests more than $135 million to support and train computer science teachers through the National Science Foundation and the Corporation for National and Community Service.
Computer science for all, WhiteHouse.gov, 1.30.16
Until we sync again,
Bixel Exchange
Bixel Exchange · 350 S Bixel St, Los Angeles, CA 90017, United States
This email was sent to svan@lachamber.com. To stop receiving emails, click here.
You can also keep up with Bixel Exchange on Twitter or Facebook.
bixelexchange.com
350 S. Bixel St., Los Angeles, CA 90017


Sexual selection drives the evolution of exaggerated male ornaments (traits showing little function outside social interactions) in many animal species. Female ornamentation is now acknowledged also to be common but is generally less well understood. One example is the recently documented red female throat coloration in some threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) populations. Although female sticklebacks often exhibit a preference for red male throat coloration, the possibility of sexual selection on females has been little studied. Moreover, in those species in which female ornaments have been examined, research has often been limited to a single trait. Ornamented female threespine sticklebacks provide an excellent opportunity to examine male preference on multiple traits and the correlations between those traits. Using a combination of sequential and simultaneous mate choice trials, male-mating preferences for female throat color (as well as other traits) is examined using wild-captured male and female threespine sticklebacks from the Little Campbell River, British Columbia. In sequential and simultaneous choice tests, males do not exhibit a preference for female throat and pelvic spine color. Surprisingly, males also lack a preference for female standard length. Using mixed modeling, males were tested for differences in the slopes of their preferences for female traits and their mean responsiveness. Results showed that males did not differ in their preference slopes but differed significantly in their mean responsiveness to females. Additionally, when presented with a conspecific male in sequential choice tests, males responded differently than to females and male response decreased as conspecific male body size and throat coloration increased, showing that males can discriminate conspecific traits in the experimental setting. Mean response rates of experimental males toward females had significant, positive correlations with individual throat and pelvic spine coloration, as well as overall male condition. Male condition, however, lacks any correlation with throat or spine coloration. The results presented here are the first to explicitly address male preference for female throat color as well as documenting the relationship between male pelvic spine color and responsiveness.
Wright, Daniel Shane. Conspicuous female ornamentation and male mate preference of Threespine Sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus). Master's Thesis. East Carolina University, January 2012. The Scholarship. http://hdl.handle.net/10342/3961. April 20, 2019.
Wright, Daniel Shane, "Conspicuous female ornamentation and male mate preference of Threespine Sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus)" (Master's Thesis., East Carolina University, January 2012).
Wright, Daniel Shane. Conspicuous female ornamentation and male mate preference of Threespine Sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus) [Master's Thesis]. Greenville, NC: East Carolina University; January 2012.