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export type useFragmentTestUserFragment$data = {|
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text:
var Post = require('../lib/mongo').Post;
var marked = require('marked');

var CommentModel = require('./comments');

// 给 post 添加留言数 commentsCount
Post.plugin('addCommentsCount', {
  afterFind: function (posts) {
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        post.commentsCount = commentsCount;
        return post;
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// 将 post 的 content 从 markdown 转换成 html
Post.plugin('contentToHtml', {
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var CommentModel = require('./comments');

module.exports = {
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                    return CommentModel.delCommentsByPostId(postId);
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            });
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};

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
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Home > Economic Research & Data > Statistical Releases and Historical Data
DDP Print
Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization - G.17
Monthly Supplement
Annual Revision
Technical Q&As
Addendum to the 2015 Annual Revision (127 KB PDF)
Kim Bayard, David Byrne, Charles Gilbert, and Justin Pierce, of the Board's Division of Research and Statistics, prepared this article.
On July 21, 2015, the Federal Reserve published revisions to its index of industrial production (IP) and the related measures of capacity utilization. The press release that accompanied the revised estimates described both the results and the technical aspects of the revision.[1] This addendum provides (1) additional information on the revised capacity utilization estimates for the printing and support industry, (2) an overview of the methodological changes to the IP estimates for selected high-technology industries, (3) a description of the change in source data for capacity for the fertilizer industry, (4) an elaboration on the conversion of the IP indexes to the 2012 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) and the effects of that conversion on the benchmarking process for some industries, and (5) a table of mappings between the pre-revision and post-revision IP and capacity indexes for those industries affected by the incorporation of the 2012 NAICS.
Revision to Capacity Utilization Rates for Printing and Support
The incorporation of newly available and revised source data into the IP and capacity indexes for the printing and support industry led to sizable downward revisions to utilization rates for recent years. For IP, the new information included measures of gross output from the Census Bureau's 2012 Census of Manufactures (COM) and its 2013 Annual Survey of Manufactures (ASM). The production index also incorporated revised data on production worker hours from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). For capacity, the Federal Reserve incorporated data on capacity utilization rates through the end of 2014 from the Census Bureau's Quarterly Survey of Plant Capacity (QSPC).
After incorporating the most recent data from these sources, the revisions to the IP index for printing and support were fairly small, but the revisions to capacity were much larger. With the most recent revision, capacity was estimated to have increased about 1/2 percent per year, on average, from 2011 through 2014; previously, capacity had been estimated to have fallen 2-3/4 percent per year, on average, over that period. As a result, the downward revisions to the rates of capacity utilization over that period cumulate to nearly 10 percentage points by the fourth quarter of 2014.[2] The revised utilization rates for the printing and support industry for the period from 2011 to 2014 are now closer to the levels published by the Census Bureau, which had been lower than those published by the Federal Reserve prior to the annual revision.[3]
Changes to IP Estimates for Selected High-Technology Industries
For the past several years, the price deflators used in the benchmark IP indexes for selected high-technology industries, including semiconductors and communications equipment, have been based on research by the staff of the Federal Reserve Board; these price deflators were updated in the most recent annual revision. In addition, the most recent revision incorporated a new price index for computer storage devices.
Update to annual benchmark index for microprocessor units
The 2013 annual revision to IP introduced an annual price index for microprocessor units (MPUs), which covered the period from 2007 through 2011 and was based on a hedonic regression of model-level list prices for MPUs on measures of their performance on benchmark tasks.[4] The price index was updated based on further research and was extended through 2013.[5]
Update to annual benchmarks and quarterly frequency price indexes for communications equipment
Annual benchmark price indexes for the communications equipment industry are based on data from an array of sources, including private consultancies, trade groups, and the BLS producer prices program. These sources and the methods used to construct product-level price indexes and to aggregate them to industry-level benchmarks are discussed in a recent research paper co-authored by Federal Reserve staff.[6] Quarterly frequency price indexes for four components of the communications equipment industry—wireless (cellular) networking equipment; data networking equipment; transmission, local loop, and legacy central office equipment; and enterprise and home voice equipment—have been updated and posted to the Federal Reserve Board's website.[7]
Changes to annual benchmark index for computer storage devices
For the 2002 through 2014 period, the annual benchmark price index for computer storage equipment is now based on quarterly data from IDC, a company specializing in information technology industries, for factory unit shipments and revenues for individual models. Shipments were further distinguished by customization to suit particular installation characteristics, such as whether the device is used for network-attached storage or for a storage area network. Prices per unit of capacity for each model-installation item were constructed by dividing total revenue by total terabytes shipped. Price changes were chain-weighted to create a quarterly frequency matched-model aggregate price index, the annual average of which was used for benchmarking. Data on small-scale systems (devices with fewer than three disks) were excluded to better match the composition of domestic production.[8] Additional detail is available in an article by Federal Reserve staff, and the price indexes for computer storage equipment are available on the Federal Reserve's website.[9]
Change in Source Data for Fertilizer Capacity
With the most recent annual revision, the capacity index for fertilizer (NAICS 32531) beginning in 1997 is derived from semiannual data on production (in short tons) and capacity utilization from The Fertilizer Institute (TFI). TFI publishes product-level data for anhydrous ammonia, ammonium nitrate, ammonium sulfate, nitrogen solutions, phosphoric acid, and urea.
Calculation of an end-of-year capacity measure for fertilizer proceeds in three steps. First, semiannual capacity for each of the products listed above is calculated as the ratio of production to capacity utilization. Second, end-of-year capacity for each product for a particular year is calculated as the average of second-half capacity for that year and first-half capacity for the following year. Third, total capacity for the industry is calculated as a weighted sum of the product-level end-of-year capacity figures, for which the weights for each product are the same as those used for aggregating the products in the monthly production index.
For the period prior to 1997, the capacity index is still based on fourth-quarter utilization rates from the Census Bureau's annual Survey of Plant Capacity, which was conducted for the fourth quarters of each year through 2006.
Conversion of the IP Indexes to the 2012 NAICS
Since 2002, the IP indexes have been structured to follow the NAICS for the period from 1972 forward. Previously, the indexes had been structured to follow the Standard Industrial Classification system for their entire history, and they still do for the period prior to 1972.
The first issuance of the IP indexes based on NAICS reflected the 1997 version of the codes, and as NAICS was updated in 2002, 2007, and 2012, the IP structure was updated to reflect the changes inherent in each new NAICS release. For the industrial sector, the changes in the 2002 and 2007 versions of NAICS only affected a few industries, whereas the changes to the 2012 NAICS were more extensive. In particular, within manufacturing, the 2007 NAICS delineated 472 six-digit industries, but the 2012 version reduced that count to only 364 by creating 66 new six-digit industries that combined anywhere from 2 to 8 six-digit industries as defined by the 2007 NAICS.
Because the most detailed IP indexes often group multiple six-digit industries, the effects on the IP structure were smaller than the changes to the NAICS structure (before the annual revision, the IP system was based on 312 individual indexes; the number is now 299). A significant number of the new 2012 NAICS industries resulted from merging multiple 2007 NAICS industries that were already entirely within a single IP index. The following table shows the detailed IP indexes that were modified with the revision. Many indexes have the same coverage as the previous versions, but the NAICS industry that contained them disappeared as a result of the conversion to the 2012 NAICS. The new indexes formed from multiple indexes typically used the same high-frequency indicator for each of the previously separate indexes, at least for recent years, so little high-frequency information was lost as a result of the revision.
The redefinition of the IP indexes to the 2012 NAICS did have one material effect on the index values. The production indexes are constructed so that their annual levels are equal to benchmark production indexes, which are defined for each six-digit NAICS industry as the deflated gross output of the industry. These six-digit benchmark production indexes are then aggregated to a higher level using value-added weights. The benchmark production index for a single 2012 NAICS industry that corresponds to multiple 2007 NAICS industries will not necessarily be identical to the value-added weighted aggregate of the indexes for the component 2007 NAICS industries. One instance where the benchmark for an industry revised notably was primary smelting and refining of nonferrous metals (NAICS 33141). Under the 2012 NAICS, a single six-digit industry (NAICS 331410) covers all nonferrous smelting and refining. Under the 2007 NAICS, however, copper smelting and refining was a separate six-digit industry (NAICS 331411) from other nonferrous smelting and refining (NAICS 331419). Using the gross output measure instead of aggregating the component gross-value-based indexes with value-added weights resulted in the new benchmark index for NAICS 33141 increasing more slowly, on balance, than the previous index over the period from the mid-1990s forward.
Although some aggregate benchmark indexes were changed as a result of the redefinition of NAICS industries, the annual benchmark information for the 2007 NAICS industries was not entirely discarded for those IP indexes that now cover only a portion of a 2012 NAICS industry. In these cases, the benchmark indexes under the 2007 NAICS were calculated through 2011, and, where possible, were extended through 2013 based on product shipments from the ASM. These 'sub-benchmark' indexes were then adjusted so that they aggregated to the higher-level benchmark indexes based on the 2012 NAICS. Each of the component indexes was then constructed so that its annual levels were equal to the sub-benchmark index over the history of the index. Consequently, the detailed indexes that are just portions of a 2012 NAICS industry better reflect the comprehensive annual data compiled using earlier versions of NAICS.
One example of an industry for which sub-benchmarks were used is tobacco products (NAICS 3122). Under the 2012 NAICS, all tobacco products are covered by a single NAICS six-digit industry (NAICS 312230). Thus, its benchmark index is computed as gross output for tobacco products divided by a deflator for industry shipments. Under the 2007 NAICS, separate six-digit industries existed for tobacco stemming and drying (NAICS 312210), cigarettes (NAICS 312221), and other tobacco products (NAICS 312229). Using data from the ASM and the COM, benchmark output indexes had been constructed through 2011 for each of the three six-digit industries under the 2007 NAICS. Data on product shipments for these three categories, which continued to be compiled by the ASM and COM even after they adopted the 2012 NAICS in 2012, were used to extend these sub-benchmark indexes (under the 2012 NAICS) through 2013.[10] An aggregate index for tobacco products was then computed from the sub-benchmark indexes for its components, and if the aggregate did not equal the benchmark index for overall tobacco products, the sub-benchmark indexes were adjusted so that it would. The component IP indexes were then constructed so that their annual averages equaled these sub-benchmark indexes.
2015 Annual Revision Industry Code Changes
Revised (2012 NAICS)
Publication code
Index description
N221112A4T8 Fossil fuel and other electric power generation NAICS=221112,4-8 N221112A9 Fossil fuel and other electric power generation NAICS=221112,9
Unpublished Soybean and other oilseed processing NAICS=311224 Unpublished Soybean and other oilseed processing NAICS=311222,3
Unpublished Chocolate and confectionery NAICS=31134,5 Unpublished Chocolate and confectionery NAICS=31132-4
Unpublished Cigarette NAICS=3122pt. Unpublished Cigarette NAICS=312221
Unpublished Cigars NAICS=3122pt. Unpublished Cigars NAICS=312229pt.
Unpublished Snuff and chewing tobacco NAICS=312230 Unpublished Snuff and chewing tobacco NAICS=312229pt.
Unpublished Tobacco stemming and redrying NAICS=3122pt. Unpublished Tobacco stemming and redrying NAICS=31221
G3149 Other textile product mills NAICS=3149 Unpublished Tire cord and tire fabric mills NAICS=314992
Unpublished Other textile products except tire cord and fabrics NAICS=31491,314991,9
Unpublished Women's, girls', infants', and other cut and sew apparel NAICS=31524,8 Unpublished Women's and girls' cut and sew apparel NAICS=31523
Unpublished Other cut and sew apparel NAICS=31529
Unpublished Coated and laminated paper and plastics film NAICS=32222pt. Unpublished Coated and laminated paper and plastics film NAICS=322221,2
Unpublished Paper bag and coated and treated paper NAICS=32222pt. Unpublished Plastics, foil, and paper bag, laminated aluminum foil, surface-coated paperboard NAICS=322223-6
N32518C Alkalies and chlorine NAICS=32518pt. N325181 Alkalies and chlorine NAICS=325181
Unpublished Nuclear materials NAICS=32518pt. Unpublished Nuclear materials NAICS=325188pt.
Unpublished Misc. other basic inorganic chemicals NAICS=32518pt. Unpublished Carbon black NAICS=325182
G325188A Acids, phosphates, and sulfates NAICS=325188pt.
G325188Z Other inorganic chemicals NAICS=325188pt.
G32551 Paint and coating NAICS=32551 Unpublished Construction paints NAICS=32551pt.
Unpublished Industrial paints NAICS=32551pt.
G32711 Pottery, ceramics, and plumbing fixture NAICS=32711 Unpublished Vitreous china plumbing fixture and china and earthenware bathroom accessories NAICS=327111
Unpublished Vitreous china, fine earthenware, and other pottery product NAICS=327112
Unpublished Porcelain electrical supply NAICS=327113
Unpublished Brick and structural clay tile NAICS=32712pt. Unpublished Brick and structural clay tile NAICS=327121
Unpublished Ceramic tile and refractory, and other structural clay product NAICS=32712pt. Unpublished Ceramic tile and refractory NAICS=327122,4,5
Unpublished Other structural clay product NAICS=327123
N331313P Primary aluminum production NAICS=331313pt. N331312 Primary aluminum production NAICS=331312
Unpublished Alumina refining NAICS=331313pt. Unpublished Alumina refining NAICS=331311
N331315A8M Misc. aluminum materials NAICS=331315,8pt. N331315A9 Misc. aluminum materials NAICS=331315,9
N331318E Aluminum extruded product NAICS=331318pt. N331316 Aluminum extruded product NAICS=331316
N33141N Primary smelting and refining of nonferrous metal (except copper and aluminum) NAICS=33141pt. N331419 Primary smelting and refining of nonferrous metal (except copper and aluminum) NAICS=331419
Unpublished Copper refining NAICS=33141pt. Unpublished Copper refining NAICS=331411pt.
Unpublished Copper smelting NAICS=33141pt. Unpublished Copper smelting NAICS=331411pt.
Unpublished Nonferrous metal foundries NAICS=33152 Unpublished Aluminum foundries NAICS=331521,4
Unpublished Nonferrous foundries except aluminum NAICS=331522,5,8
Unpublished Ammunition, small arms, ordnance, and ordnance accessories NAICS=332992-4 Unpublished Ordnance NAICS=332992-5
Unpublished Semiconductor machinery NAICS=333242 Unpublished Semiconductor machinery NAICS=333295
Unpublished Industrial machinery ex. semiconductor fabrication NAICS=333241,3-9 Unpublished Industrial machinery ex. semiconductor fabrication NAICS=33321,2,91-4,8
Unpublished Air purification equip., fans, and blowers NAICS=333413 Unpublished Air purification equip., fans, and blowers NAICS=333411,2
Unpublished Other metalworking machinery NAICS=333511-4,9 Unpublished Other metalworking machinery NAICS=333511,4-8
Unpublished Machine tools NAICS=333517 Unpublished Machine tools NAICS=333512,3
Unpublished Computer storage devices, business NAICS=334112pt. Unpublished Computer storage and terminals, business NAICS=334112,3pt.
Unpublished Computer storage devices, consumer NAICS=334112pt. Unpublished Computer storage and terminals, consumer NAICS=334112,3pt.
Unpublished Computer terminals and other peripheral equipment, business NAICS=334118pt. Unpublished Computer printers, business NAICS=334119pt.
Unpublished Computer terminals and other peripheral equipment, consumer NAICS=334118pt. Unpublished Computer printers, consumer NAICS=334119pt.
Unpublished Other electronic components NAICS=334416,7,9 Unpublished Electron tube NAICS=334411
Unpublished Other electronic components NAICS=334414-7,9
G33521 Small electrical appliance NAICS=33521 Unpublished Electric housewares and household fan NAICS=335211
Unpublished Household vacuum cleaner NAICS=335212
Unpublished Other motor vehicle parts, original equip. NAICS=33639pt. Unpublished Motor vehicle air-conditioning, original equip. NAICS=336391pt.
Unpublished All other motor vehicle parts, original equip. NAICS=336399pt.
Unpublished Other motor vehicle parts, repair NAICS=33639pt. Unpublished Motor vehicle air-conditioning, repair NAICS=336391pt.
Unpublished All other motor vehicle parts, repair NAICS=336399pt.
Note: The following abbreviations are used; pt. = part; misc. = miscellaneous.
[1] See Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (2015), ``Annual Revision,'' press release, July 21, www.federalreserve.gov/releases/g17/revisions/Current/DefaultRev.htm.
Return to text
[2] See table 6 of the annual revision press release, which is available on the Board's website at www.federalreserve.gov/releases/g17/revisions/Current/table6_rev.htm.
[3] The QSPC utilization rate data are publicly available on the Census Bureau's website: at www.census.gov/manufacturing/capacity/historical_data/index.html.
[4] More information on the price index is available on the Board's website at www.federalreserve.gov/releases/g17/MpuPriceIndex.htm.
[5] The updated price index and additional detail on the data sources and estimation methods are available on the Board's website at www.federalreserve.gov/releases/g17/download.htm#related_data.
[6] See David M. Byrne and Carol A. Corrado (2015), ``Prices for Communications Equipment: Rewriting the Record,'' Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2015–069 (Washington: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, September), http://dx.doi.org/10.17016/FEDS.2015.069.
[7] The price indexes are available on the Board's website at www.federalreserve.gov/releases/g17/commequip_price_indexes.htm.
[8] For further details, see David Byrne (2015), ``Prices for Data Storage Equipment and the State of IT Innovation,'' FEDS Notes (Washington: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, July 1), www.federalreserve.gov/econresdata/notes/feds-notes/2015/prices-for-data-storage-equipment-and-the-state-of-it-innovation-20150701.html; the data are available for download on the Board's website at www.federalreserve.gov/releases/g17/ComputerStoragePriceIndex.htm.
[9] For the article, see Byrne, ``Prices for Data Storage Equipment,'' in note 8; for the price indexes, see the previously cited information about their availability, also in note 8.
[10] Similarly, the value-added estimates for the three categories were extended through 2013 using the product shipments.
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Feature modeling is a common way to present and manage variability of software and systems. As a prerequisite for effective variability management is comprehensible representation, the main aim of this paper is to investigate difficulties in understanding feature models. In particular, we focus on the comprehensibility of feature models as expressed in Common Variability Language (CVL), which was recommended for adoption as a standard by the Architectural Board of the Object Management Group. Using an experimental approach with participants familiar and unfamiliar with feature modeling, we analyzed comprehensibility in terms of comprehension score, time spent to complete tasks, and perceived difficulty of different feature modeling constructs. The results showed that familiarity with feature modeling did not influence the comprehension of mandatory, optional, and alternative features, although unfamiliar modelers perceived these elements more difficult than familiar modelers. OR relations were perceived as difficult regardless of the familiarity level, while constraints were significantly better understood by familiar modelers. The time spent to complete tasks was higher for familiar modelers.


There are plenty of options for sightseeing bus tours, but not all are created equal. The one that has gained my favor over the others is the Budapest Sightseeing Hop-on Hop-off Bus Tour (tel. 1/317-7767; wwwprogramcentral.hu). However, even this is not enough to distinguish it from some of the others who use the same hop-on hop-off information on the side of their buses. The one that I value the most runs 5,000 Ft per person, tickets are purchased on the bus and are good for 24 hours. What distinguishes this bus from the others, besides costing an extra 500 Ft to 1,000 Ft, is that you get two Danube riverboat rides. The boat-ride tickets are good until the end of the year in which you buy your bus ticket, so don't feel obligated to cruise the same night of your bus tour. The added bonus is a discount booklet for different things within the city. The office is located at the Meridien Hotel, Program Centrum Travel Agency Erzsébet Square 9-11. The first and earliest starting point is directly across the street.
Ibusz (tel. 06/40-428-794 (mobile phone only); www.ibusz.hu) has been around for a long time, but that does not always equal quality. They have 11 different boat and bus tours, ranging from basic city tours to special folklore-oriented tours. Unfortunately, the tours are pretty sterile and boring. Ibusz operates April to October 10:30am to 5:30 pm and November to March 10:30am to 1:30pm. All buses are airconditioned during the summer, and all guides speak English. Their Circle Sightseeing Tour includes a 1-hour Danube river cruise for 16€. This is not a hop-on, hop-off tour. Tours can be booked at any Ibusz office and at most major hotels, or by calling Ibusz directly at the toll-free number above. All major credit cards are accepted.
If you venture down to the river, you will find a number of companies hawking their river cruises. Almost all are created equal, the only difference will be how many bridges they happen to go under. Let your wallet be your guide for choosing.
Several companies offer walking tours of historic Budapest. Those in this section are the ones that I have personally experienced or have heard rave reviews about. For those of us who enjoy walking, but are not so enthralled with organized tours, turn to our walking tours.


It might be a video-card driver issue.
Sounds to me it (the card) remains stuck on disposing the assets. Hence the slow desktop return.
Does this occur after playing for a while, or even when you enter - exit quickly ?
Try to update the drivers, or wait for *insert manufacturer here* to release new drivers ; that might work better - on this OS.
But let's say that it started after some action was done : updating drivers mostly ; Try to revert your Win OS to a previous date - where them drivers weren't installed, might fix it.
Hope you get it done!


HJ Sims is pleased to take indications of interest for these tax-exempt municipal bonds for Menorah Park Obligated Group, an Ohio-based not-for-profit corporation providing a variety of programs geared toward the delivery of Assisted Living, Skilled Nursing, Independent Living, Memory Care and other health care services for the elderly living in the Campus or in their own homes. Menorah Park owns and operates a rental senior living community consisting of a skilled nursing facility (355 dually certified beds), two licensed residential care facilities comprised of Stone Gardens (118 units) and Wiggins Place (145 units), and a senior independent living facility known as R.H. Myers Apartments (193 units). Menorah Park also operates three home health care offices in Northeast Ohio, outpatient rehabilitation services including physical, speech, occupational and aquatic therapy, a clinical model adult daycare service, and other community services. Menorah Park is the Obligated Group Representative. Due to favorable interest rates, Menorah Park is refinancing its existing debt to position the Organization for long-term stability and future growth.
We are currently accepting indications of interest for these non-rated, tax-exempt healthcare revenue bonds with an expected pricing November 7, 2018 and anticipated settlement December 6, 2018. For more information including risks, please read the Preliminary Official Statement in its entirety. If you have interest in purchasing these Series 2018 bonds from this new issue, please contact your HJ Sims financial advisor as soon as possible or call 877.577.3365.
No dealer, broker, salesperson, or other person has been authorized to give any information or to make any representation other than those contained in the Preliminary Official Statement, and, if given or made, such other information or representation should not be relied upon as having been authorized by the Issuer, the Borrower, or the Underwriters. The information set forth herein has been obtained from the Issuer, Borrower, and other sources that are believed to be reliable, but is not guaranteed as to accuracy or completeness by, and is not construed as a representation of, the Underwriters. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. Under no circumstances shall this constitute an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. Any offering or solicitation will be made only to investors pursuant to the Preliminary Official Statement, which should be read in its entirety. Investments involve risk including the possible loss of principal. HJ Sims is a member of FINRA and SIPC and is not affiliated with Menorah Park.


text:
A young boy and his dog discover a magical story book and enter the enchanted Storyland, ruled by wicked Queen Evilia. They'll need a little help from his literary friends…
Genre: Adventure, Family
Phat Beach
A hefty homeboy borrows his dad's Mercedes and goes to the beach with his friends for wild sun & fun.
When the Bullet Hits the Bone
An emergency-room doctor declares war on street crime after linking drug traffic to the federal government.
Looking for Richard
Al Pacino's deeply-felt rumination on Shakespeare's significance and relevance to the modern world through interviews and an in-depth analysis of "Richard III."
Robo Warriors
The year is 2036 and Earth has been invaded: hope lies with the last Robo Warrior – a towering fighting machine.
Terminal Rush
A group of terrorists, led by a Brit and a psycho (in a great performance by "Rowdy" Roddy Piper) take control of the Hoover Dam and demand $25 million or…
An electrocuted killer returns from the dead to take revenge on the authorities who caught him.
Having survived the hatred and bigotry that was his Klansman grandfather's only legacy, young attorney Adam Hall seeks at the last minute to appeal the old man's death sentence for…
To get royal backing on a needed drainage project, a poor French lord must learn to play the delicate games of wit at court at Versailles.
Set in "Barrytown", a fictitious working-class quarter of Dublin. "Bimbo" Reeves gets laid off from his job. With his redundancy, he buys a van and sells fish and chips with…
Country: Ireland, UK, USA
Motivational Speaker Jack Corcoran is determined to get his career off the ground, but the biggest gigs he can get are the ones nobody wants. Then one day, he receives…
Bernie, a 30 years old orphan, decides to leave his orphanage and find his parents. After an investigation, he meets Marion, a young heroin addict and falls in love with…
The Twilight of the Golds
When Suzanne Stein has a genetic analysis done on her unborn child, she discovers that although she has a healthy baby, the child will most likely be born gay, like…
U.S. Marshall John Kruger erases the identities of people enrolled in the Witness Protection Program. His current assignment is to protect Lee Cullen, who's uncovered evidence that the weapons manufacturer…
Genre: Action, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
An elderly couple go about their routine of cleaning their gabbeh (a intricately-designed rug), while bickering gently with each other. Magically, a young woman appears, helping the two clean the…
Country: France, Iran
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Romance
Naked Souls
Edward is busy trying to unlock the secrets of reading and recording people's thoughts. He is very involved with his work leaving little room for girlfriend Britt. Longstreet comes along…
Richard Clark has just left the well-known Wellington Academy to teach at Marion Barry High School. Now, he will try to inspire the D-average students into making good grades and…
Extreme Measures
Thriller about Guy Luthan (Hugh Grant), a British doctor working at a hospital in New York who starts making unwanted enquiries when the body of a man who died in…
Space Truckers
John Canyon is one of the last independent space transport entrepreneurs. Rough times force him to carry suspicious cargo to Earth without questions being asked. During the flight the cargo…
Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Science Fiction, Thriller
Once an architect, Frank Bannister now passes himself off as an exorcist of evil spirits. To bolster his facade, he claims his "special" gift is the result of a car…
Country: New Zealand, USA
The Glimmer Man
A former government operative renowned for his stealth, Jack Cole is now a Los Angeles police detective. When a series of horrible murders occurs in the metro area, Cole is…
Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Crime, Drama, Thriller
A washed up golf pro working at a driving range tries to qualify for the US Open in order to win the heart of his succesful rival's girlfriend.
A young lawyer defends a black man accused of murdering two men who raped his 10-year-old daughter, sparking a rebirth of the KKK.
The Juror
With his gangster boss on trial for murder, a mob thug known as "the Teacher" tells Annie Laird she must talk her fellow jurors into a not-guilty verdict, implying that…
Michael Collins plays a crucial role in the establishment of the Irish Free State in the 1920s, but becomes vilified by those hoping to create a completely independent Irish republic.
An aspiring singer, Denise Waverly/Edna Buxton, sacrifices her own singing career to write hit songs that launch the careers of other singers. The film follows her life from her first…
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Music
When dignified Albert Donnelly runs for Governor, his team moves to keep his slow-witted and klutzy younger brother, Mike, out of the eye of the media. To baby-sit Mike, the…
The Long Kiss Goodnight
Samantha Caine, suburban homemaker, is the ideal mom to her 8 year old daughter Caitlin. She lives in Honesdale, PA, has a job teaching school and makes the best Rice…
When the secret notebook of a young girl who fancies herself a spy is found by her friends, her speculations make her very unpopular! Can she win her friends back?
Bastard Out of Carolina
Difficult tale of poor, struggling South Carolinian mother & daughter, who each face painful choices with their resolve and pride. Bone, the eldest daughter, and Anney her tired mother, grow…
John Smith is a mysterious stranger who is drawn into a vicious war between two Prohibition-era gangs. In a dangerous game, he switches allegiances from one to another, offering his…
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
The Spitfire Grill
Percy, upon being released from prison, goes to the small town of Gillead, to find a place where she can start over again. She is taken in by Hannah, to…
Spy Hard
The evil Gen. Rancor has his sights set on world domination, and only one man can stop him: Dick Steele, also known as Agent WD-40. Rancor needs to obtain a…
A US Army officer had made a "friendly fire" mistake that was covered up and he was reassigned to a desk job. Later he was tasked to investigate a female…
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller, War
Dangan Runner
An unemployed man trying to steal from a convenience store, and the store clerk catches him in the act… the thief runs away with the store-clerk right after him. All…
When Ethan Hunt, the leader of a crack espionage team whose perilous operation has gone awry with no explanation, discovers that a mole has penetrated the CIA, he's surprised to…
Hellraiser: Bloodline
In the 22nd century, a scientist attempts to right the wrong his ancestor created: the puzzle box that opens the gates of Hell and unleashes Pinhead and his Cenobite legions
Genre: Horror, Science Fiction, Thriller
The Land Before Time IV: Journey Through the Mists
Littlefoot and the gang meet a shy newcomer, Ali, but the pleasantries stop there. There's a dire environmental theme to this third sequel in the series, in which the world's…
'We come in peace' is not what those green men from Mars mean when they invade our planet, armed with irresistible weapons and a cruel sense of humor. This star…
Genre: Comedy, Fantasy, Science Fiction
White Squall
Teenage boys discover discipline and camaraderie on an ill-fated sailing voyage.


23 AWG solid bare copper wire insulated with HDPE, Two insulated conductors twisted together to form a pair and four pais laid up to form the basic unit. The cable is shielded with an overall polyestor/aluminum foil with a 26 AWG stranded tinned copper drain wire and jacketed with in industrial PVC.
Bend Radius: > 1.26 inch TIA 568-C.0 25 lbs.


College can be a scary time for students... Literally. There are thousands of places considered to be haunted in the world, and colleges are no exception. Maybe you're even going to one of these colleges next year, so choose carefully. If you do go to one of these colleges, you are a braver person than I.
The sororities of this campus are believed to be haunted, with the Phi Mu house actually communicating to ghosts via Ouija board. One ghost in particular, Anna Hamilton, haunts the house where her murdered boyfriend was buried under. Her cries can still be heard in the house. Another sorority house is home to Susie, the daughter of the founding family of the sorority house, who hung herself after being stood up on her wedding day. People report they can still see her looking on from the attic windows.


text:
require "test/unit"
require "ikra"
require_relative "codegen/mandelbrot"
require_relative "codegen/square"
require_relative "codegen/gradient_benchmark"
require_relative "codegen/matrix_matrix_multiply"
require_relative "codegen/host_section"

class CodegenTest < Test::Unit::TestCase
    def setup
        Ikra::Configuration.reset_state

        test_name = self.class.to_s + "\#" + method_name
        file_name = Ikra::Configuration.log_file_name_for(test_name)
        File.delete(file_name) if File.exist?(file_name)
        Ikra::Log.reopen(file_name)
    end

    def test_mandelbrot
        Ikra::Configuration.codegen_expect_file_name = "mandelbrot"
        run_mandel
    end

    def test_square
        Ikra::Configuration.codegen_expect_file_name = "square"
        run_square
    end

    def test_union_singleton_benchmark
        Ikra::Configuration.codegen_expect_file_name = "union_type_float_int_benchmark"
        run_gradient_benchmark
    end

    def test_matrix_matrix_multiply
        matrix_sanity_check_cpu

        Ikra::Configuration.codegen_expect_file_name = "matrix_matrix_multiply_identity"
        matrix_sanity_check_gpu

        Ikra::Configuration.codegen_expect_file_name = "matrix_matrix_multiply"
        matrix_gpu
    end

    def test_host_section
        Ikra::Configuration.codegen_expect_file_name = "host_section_iterative_map"
        test_host_section_iterative_map
    end
end


Only a few hours after the release of the Raazi trailer, social media was buzzing with praises for Alia Bhatt. Sehmat, Alia Bhatt's character in Raazi is a simple Indian girl who gets married to a Pakistani police officer to work as a spy for India. The trailer explores the aspects of her character as a daughter, a wife and a spy and every shot in the film proves that no one but Alia Bhatt could have played the character.
Raazi is directed by Meghna Gulzar and stars Vicky Kaushal opposite Alia in the film. When asked about the cast of the film, Meghna said, "Even before Bhavani Iyer (who wrote the screenplay with Meghna) and I had put a word on paper, I knew that a performance was needed to take Sehmat's journey forward on screen. Also, the way I see her, she doesn't suddenly turn into this indestructible superhero on a mission. There's vulnerability inherent in her character which she retains till the end and I've noticed that no matter how hard-hitting the characters she plays, there is certain softness to Alia, physically and emotionally, and that I was looking for."
Alia Bhatt's hard work for Raazi is quite evident in the film and Meghna recalls how Alia got into the skin of the character to perfection, "Once she connected with the character, she was consumed by her. Alia worked really hard on her prep — she took language sessions, learnt the Morse code and other training. By the time we sat for the readings, she knew all her lines and was even asking what I meant by underlined script cues like 'gives a knowing look', wanting me to explain what I meant by the 'knowing look'."
Alia Bhatt just wrapped up Zoya Akhtar's Gully Boys and is now promoting Raazi which is set to release on 11th May this year.


The Finglas Centre's Community Support Service provides a variety of supports to the people of Finglas and the surrounding area. Many of these services are free of charge. Our services are provided on a one-to-one basis by our dedicated, friendly staff. Private meeting rooms are available if required.
Our Employment Support service can help you write the perfect CV and cover letter. We offer a variety of CV templates, so you can choose the one that best suits your needs. We can also assist you in accessing job websites and sending e-mails to employers.
CVs are kept in our database for your convenience, and we can quickly and easily add new information to them for you in the future.
Our CV service is free of charge.
The Fingal Centre has several staff members trained in providing you with information on your welfare rights and entitlements, back to work schemes, education and training courses, as well as general advice and information. We also keep a variety of common application forms and papers on file and can help you fill these out.
The Finglas Centre is one of a variety of community organisations providing services and support to people returning to employment, training and education.


text:
While my work on the Square and American Civil has naturally focused on Confederate links so far, I'm wondering in the interests of balance if I should do a little more on the pro Northern and pro- neutral occupants. There was still a lot of trade with the North, and some figures who lived next door to the pro-South lobby, like the McIvers and George Melly, dealt more with the Union than the rebels. Worth mentioning at least.
There's also the history of James Spence himself, who may have worked for the South, but whose history was very connected to trade with the North. His views on race are quite shocking today, but his disapproval of the slave trade while still seeing Africans as an 'inferior race' is probably quite representative of many of the middle classes or the time. The arguments Spence puts forward in his books have a very strange kind of twisted logic, but it was popular enough for numerous reprints. One of his arguments was that slavery was abhorrent to white Europeans, who were moral and good, hence it should be outlawed, though 'of course' the institution was not only natural, but also loved by the slaves himself, who couldn't be expected to know any better!


Looking through one of the books in our new office library "Patterns in Design, Art and Architecture" I came across a beautiful and very unusual wedding chapel.
The Leaf Chapel iin kobuchizwa in Japan floats on the grounds of Risonare hotel resort in Kobuchizawa, a beautiful green setting with views of southern Japanese Alps, Yatsugatuke peaks and Mt. Fuji.
The chapel is formed by two leaves, one glass and one steel. The steel leaf is timed to lift at the moment when the groom lifts the bride's veil. This exaggerated sentimental gesture is balanced by the breathtaking details of the leaves themselves. The steel leaf, weighing 11 tons, lifts silently in one motion and reveals the natural backdrop. The steel leaf, perforated with 4,700 holes in a floral pattern, creates beautiful natural lighting inside and also glows elegantly at night.
Stunning. Pity it's a little far for me. but you never know...Maybe a little trip to Japan?


text:
Leucophora jankowski är en tvåvingeart som först beskrevs av Johann Andreas Schnabl 1911.  Leucophora jankowski ingår i släktet Leucophora och familjen blomsterflugor. Inga underarter finns listade i Catalogue of Life.

Källor

Blomsterflugor
jankowski

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


But this article was different: the population bomb hasn't exploded in a wave of humanity drowning us all and the Earth. Instead, the population has imploded and the world has the opposite problem, a declining population and economic collapse. The article notes that half the world's nations have fertility rates below the replacement level of 2.1 children per woman. Europe and East Asian nations are in a particularly bad situation, Japan is already in population decline while Germany and Italy could, if present trends continue, see their populations halve in 60 years.
"The world has hit peak child, says Hans Rosling at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. Peak person cannot be far behind."
"The world's population is accelerating towards collapse, but few seem to notice or care".
Aside from being perhaps a symptom of a deeper, underlying cultural malaise the problem that is most prominent with a declining population is economic.
"If countries don't have enough babies, they won't produce a strong enough labour force to match the economic output of the older generations. And in the most extreme cases, low fertility rates create a vicious cycle of low spending and low reproduction. People who can't afford to have kids don't bolster the economy, which leads people to have even fewer children."
But is Musk right to worry? According to the UN, the world's population is heading upwards for the rest of the century and is expected to hit 11.2 billion by 2100. By that time however, the UN is predicting that the global fertility rate will have declined to no more than the replacement level. Much of the growth in the world's population between then and now is expected to come from Africa where fertility rates in most countries are still high.
Whether the world's population collapses within 50 years might come down to the rate at which the fertility rates of high-fertility countries declines. Will countries follow the United Kingdom's example in the 19th century and take 95 years to drop from over six children per woman to under three children per woman? Or will China's experience in the 11 years from 1967 be replicated when its fertility rate dropped by the same amount? If it is the latter, then Musk is right to worry, we might indeed be heading for a population "implosion" in 60 years.


text:
'They've Created Perceived Value Out of Thin Air': The Whole Bored Ape Yacht Club Phenomenon, Explained
Crypto journalist Amy Castor joins executive editor Julia Halperin to discuss the wild story of the company behind the Bored Ape Yacht Club.
Artnet News, April 8, 2022
Yuga Labs LLC, 101 Bored Ape Yacht Club (est. 2021). Courtesy of Sotheby's.
Welcome to the Art Angle, a podcast from Artnet News that delves into the places where the art world meets the real world, bringing each week's biggest story down to earth. Join us every week for an in-depth look at what matters most in museums, the art market, and much more, with input from our own writers and editors, as well as artists, curators, and other top experts in the field.
Around one year ago, two literary bros from Miami decided to launch a business venture.
It was a couple weeks after Beeple's Everydays sold for $69 million at Christie's and NFTs were taking the art world by storm. Still, few could have guessed at the time that their little company, Yuga Labs, would produce a series of cartoon apes that would become some of the most successful—and divisive—characters in the NFT universe.
"It's hard to justify that a Bored Ape NFT is worth $300,000 based on the art. They're cartoon apes," crypto journalist Amy Castor said. "They're cute, you know, but is it worth that kind of money?"
For many people, including lots of celebrities, the answer is yes.
Today, Yuga Labs has more than 60 employees and more than $2 billion in total sales. Over the past few weeks, it has gone on a tear announcing new initiatives, from the acquisition of CryptoPunks and Meebits, arguably the two other most popular NFT series, to the launch of Apecoin, its own cryptocurrency. Larva Labs now hopes to create what is essentially a Marvel universe from all this intellectual property—and make a lot of money along the way.
But Castor thinks that Yuga Labs's recent acquisitions are antithetical to the core tenets that NFT evangelists tout.
"The whole idea about NFTs is that they're supposed to be decentralized. It's not supposed to be one outfit having control of the top three most expensive NFT projects," she said. "They've created a perceived value out of thin air so that they can then monetize that brand."
Its strategy suggests what the future of the NFT space might look like. But it remains unclear whether this future will benefit everyday NFT collectors and enthusiasts as much as the big investors and founders of companies like Yuga Labs.
To unpack the wild and winding story of Yuga Labs and the Bored Ape Yacht Club, executive editor Julia Halperin spoke with Amy Castor, who recently chronicled the rise of this phenomenon for Artnet News.
Listen to other episodes:
'You Can Absorb the Traumas of the Time, But Also Open Up to the Future': Cecilia Alemani on Curating Her Venice Biennale For an Anxious Era
'Assimilating Is Very Dehumanizing': How Afghanistan's Artists Are Making Their Way in Exile
'Visibility Means Survival': How the Art World in Ukraine's Besieged Capital Is Fighting Back
'You Tell Me Your First Five Exhibits, I Can Tell You 20 Years Into the Future How Much Your Work Will Be Selling': How To Become a Successful NFT Artist
The Art Angle Podcast: Marina Abramović on How Her Artistic Method Can Change Your Life
The Art Angle Podcast: Jennie C. Jones on Why You Should Listen to Her Paintings
The Art Angle Podcast: The Black Art Visionary Who Secretly Built the Morgan Library
The Art Angle Podcast: How Lucy Lippard and a Band of Artists Fought U.S. Imperialism
The Art Angle Podcast: Art, Lies, and Instagram: How Catfishing 'Collectors' Duped the Art World
In a Sign of Peak… Something, a 2017 Bottle of Champagne That Came With a Bored Ape NFT Just Sold for $2.5 Million
By Caroline Goldstein , Jul 13, 2022
Hackers Broke Into Bored Ape Yacht Club's Official Instagram and Made Off With Nearly $3 Million Worth of Stolen NFTs
By Eileen Kinsella , Apr 26, 2022
Art Industry News: Can You Heist Street Art? Yes You Can, and Right Now There's a Massive Global Crime Spree Going On + Other Stories
By Artnet News , Apr 8, 2022
How a Theater Company Dramatized the Life of Andy Warhol for a Bold New Production Playing Out on the Streets of New York
By Sarah Cascone , Apr 8, 2022


Could public banks make a comeback in Spain?
Could Spain's public banks make a comeback?
This is not the time for Spanish company owners to kid themselves. The country is sunk in a long and painful deleveraging process, its financial system needs a bailout and the public deficit is well above 7 percent. Access to credit will not improve in the short term unless the government finally, officially, asks for a rescue and the risk premium drops.
The debate about how to provide financing to firms will become again a main subject in 2013. According to most international observers, the economy will worsen, more companies will be closing and unemployment will increase. As no elections loom in the near future in Spain, this would be the right moment for political parties to focus and find new projects that give Spaniards hope. One such idea the parties of the left seem to be caressing is to re-float public banks.
But this proposal would crash against at least three difficulties. First, the drama of the public savings banks remains in everybody's retina: these entities under political control were behind the extraordinary credit expansion occurred in Spain before the crisis. Their management was poor, they assumed far too many risks and taxpayers have been the victims in many ways.
After plenty scandals, frauds, privileged financing of ruinous enterprises and plain corruption it would take a huge effort to convince the public opinion that a similarly public model of banking must be reinstated.
Secondly, we have enough academic research to understand that it isn't a good option. The lack of definition of property rights has negative effects, without shareholders politicians end up governing the entity following their political agenda–at best–instead of social needs.
A paper by LaPorta, López de Silanes and Shleifer, published in 2002 in the Journal of Finance, shows that countries with major presence of public banking have lower income per capita and a less developed finance industry. Microdata reports also confirm that banks subject to politicians control tend to increase lending in election time, and the returns are mostly losses.
And finally, there is the question of how public banks would achieve financial viability. They would need sufficient strength to make a difference to small and medium-size companies–take the Banco de Valencia, for instance; it had €20 billion in assets at the time when it propped up Valencia's industry. Would the markets trust them? Or would the general budget carry the new burden?
Yet, the truth is that the restructuring of the banking sector in Spain has rapidly cut the number of branches and the gap between companies and banks is expanding. Investment decisions are being made far away from those entrepreneurs than need the support.
Particularly small companies have been left behind. They cannot afford detailed audits and, even though most have an impeccable credit history, finance is denied to them because banks must now explain their every operation. Technological innovation is severely depressed, too, and only public cash injections appear to be available for its continuity.
Nevertheless, all this does not mean public banking should be rejected for ever more. We must learn from past mistakes. Public entities are convenient at some times, when credit is unavailable, but they cannot turn once more into financial institutions separated from economics logic or into rogue organisations. We in Europe need pragmatism, dissect the errors and come up with efficient solutions to the current scarcity of credit that is strangling our productive economy.
Be the first to comment on "Could Spain's public banks make a comeback?"


I'm linking to a post by my friend, blogger Ktismatics. He recently posted on speculation about finding the neurons that trigger the experience of knowing or believing in God.
I left a few comments about John Calvin's theology of the <i>sensus divinitatis</i>. This is the sense that we human beings (and nonhumans also, perhaps?) have of God or of something divine in the world. Calvin and others look to Romans chapter 1, which seems to indicate that God can be known "from what has been made." The contemporary Christian philosopher Alvin Plantinga has developed an extensive epistemology built around the idea that God created human beings so that under certain circumstances they would just know that God exists or simply feel the presence of God.
In the comments section of Ktismatics's post, we also discussed the idea that meditation and contemplative practices can deepen one's awareness of reality. Take a deep human experience as a starting point: the birth of a child, standing at the rim of the Grand Canyon, falling in love, or being with a loved one who is dying. There is something about these deeply meaningful experiences that triggers a sense of the profound mystery of the universe. There is a sense that we are a part of something bigger than ourselves, in some cases, even a sense that all things have a profound interconnection.
Mystics and contemplatives generally believe that this deepened sense of awareness can be a part or ordinary life. That the most seemingly mundane of tasks can be experienced with a profound awareness–washing the dishes, taking out the trash, making coffee, walking to work, or waiting in a line. The intuition of the mystics is that all of life is holy and sacred, and that things like taking a simple walk can have the same meaning as the first time you stand at the rim of the Grand Canyon, or that changing a diaper can generate the same gratitude and wonder as holding a newborn.
Thanks for the link. Like the contemplatives, artists and scientists also often devote considerable attention to the ordinary thing. They frame the ordinary thing in ways that make it seem extraordinary, largely through giving it concentrated attention. This attention makes the ordinary thing pop out from the context in which it's embedded, bestowing on it a kind of holiness. I gotta admit that changing a diaper never seemed much like an encounter with the mystical oneness of the universe. I'm sure though that one could cultivate the contemplative attitude toward even that mundane activity.
And thank you for the thoughtful and creative post, which is of course par for the course.


This Native American turquoise and coral cluster stamped sterling silver ring was hand made by Navajo artist Darryl Becenti. The ring is set with 10 Sleeping Beauty turquoise teardrop shaped cabs surrounding an oval cab of Mediterranen coral. The turquoise is perfectly sky-blue in color with very little matrix. Then the wide band is completely covered with deep stamp-work, silver bead work and scalloped edges.
The ring measures a bit over 1-inch wide at the front and narrows to 3/16-inch wide at the back. The ring weighs 15 grams and is a very comfortable ring to wear. Because of the wide band, the ring stays put on your finger (no twisting or turning). Size 7.


text:
Are your employees learning the ropes as they work? Do you consider them an apprentice?
Charles Pallot
All workers are entitled to the national minimum wage, but different rates apply depending on the age of the worker and whether they are an apprentice.
It is important to pay the minimum wage at the right level, otherwise you risk having an employment tribunal claim brought against you, or being served with a notice from HMRC requiring arrears to be paid and imposing financial penalty at 100% of the underpayment (up to a maximum of £20,000.)
A recent case from the Employment Appeal Tribunal ("EAT") has given fresh guidance on what constitutes an "apprentice" for the purpose of the national minimum wage.
In The Commissioners for HM Revenue and Customs v Jones and others (trading as Holmescales Riding Centre), the EAT held that livery stables trainees were employed under contracts of service and were therefore entitled to be paid the full rate of minimum wage.
Holmescales employed a number of workers at their riding centre. The workers were referred to in various contractual documents as "Trainees/Employees", "Equestrian Trainees" and "a training position working towards BHS qualifications". They were provided with training and funding towards recognised professional qualifications, with Holmescales receiving the livery fees and tuition fees, and in return the workers performed various duties around the livery yard, including teaching riding lessons and general yard and horse maintenance.
There were no vacancies for a high level instructor at Holmescales and the workers would usually leave Holmescales after they had attained BHS Stage 3 (meaning they were now competent and able to look after up to four horses in stables and at grass).
Decision of the EAT
The EAT overturned the decision of the Employment Tribunal and held that the workers were not apprentices but employees working under a contract of service, and that Holmescales were therefore required to pay them the higher rate of minimum wage.
The EAT explained that the defining characteristic and essential purpose of a contract of apprenticeship is training, and that the execution of work for the employer must be secondary. In this case, the EAT considered that the contracts were very much for the benefit of the employer, and that the training aspect was merely incidental and subsidiary.
Although the workers obtained a BHS Stage 3 qualification they did not undertake a prescribed course of qualification, and there was no fixed contractual term in which the workers were to train and qualify. This, combined with the fact the contract included notice provisions and the power to dismiss for gross misconduct (both of which were inconsistent with a contract of apprenticeship), led the EAT to hold that the workers were employees and not apprentices, and were therefore entitled to be paid the national minimum wage standard employee (rather than apprenticeship) rates.
Thoughts for employers
The EAT has provided useful guidance on what is relevant when deciding whether an individual is an apprentice for the purposes of the national minimum wage, and this case serves as a reminder to not lose sight of the primary purpose of a contract of apprenticeship, which is training.
Employers need to consider all terms of engagement with individuals carefully, including the termination provisions. Apprentices are entitled to enhanced rights of termination and can only be terminated following a repudiatory act that has the effect of fundamentally undermining the ability to teach them - this is a much narrower test than merely establishing gross misconduct.
event 20/01/2021
Profit extraction strategies – legal and tax issues for Directors
Ashfords LLP and Thomas Westcott are pleased to invite you to their joint webinar on issues surrounding the ways in which directors can take profit out of their companies.
UPDATED - Legal issues and questions emerging from the official Guidance on the Furlough Scheme...
HMRC updated ten Guidance documents relating to the Furlough Scheme on 10 November 2020, to cover the extension to the Scheme.
Age discrimination, justification and the "costs-plus" rule
In the case of Heskett v Secretary of State for Justice, the Court of Appeal considered the long held view that costs alone could not justify something which would otherwise amount to indirect discrimination on the grounds of age.
View all events View all articles


text:
Home » Politics » 5 things we learned from Piers Morgan's Trump interview – and 5 things we didn't
5 things we learned from Piers Morgan's Trump interview – and 5 things we didn't
It truly was the Frost/Nixon of our age.
Piers Morgan was granted an exclusive interview with Donald Trump aboard Air Force One – a chance to quiz one of the West's most divisive leaders.
We did find out some important things from their cosy chat on ITV's Good Morning Britain, from Trump's approach to a Brexit trade deal to his views on abortion.
But we also found out he thinks Air Force One is "cool", the Queen is a "beautiful person inside and out" and the Royal family have "good energy".
We've picked out five things we learned from the interview – and five things we didn't.
5 things we learned
1. He wants a 'carve out' on Brexit trade
The President flip-flopped on the prospect of a Brexit trade deal during his UK visit.
First he said Theresa May's Brexit plan would "kill" a US-UK trade deal, then he backtracked and said it would be possible.
But in the interview it became clear he's insisting the US will need a "carve out" – special treatment – in order to strike a trade deal with the UK.
He said: "I said (to Theresa May), 'Make sure you have a carve out, you have to have a carve out' – where no matter what happens they have the right to make a deal with the United States.
"I think no matter what happens, they're going to have carve outs and they're going to make a deal with us."
He added: "We're going to argue, we're going to fight, and we're going to end up making a deal."
2. He wants to run in 2020
Donald Trump said he intends to run for re-election in 2020 – and doesn't think anyone can beat him.
When asked by Piers Morgan whether he was going to run, the US President said: "Well I fully intend to. It seems like everybody wants me to."
Trump said he did not see any Democrat who could beat him.
"I don't see anybody. I know them all and I don't see anybody."
3. He looks open to banning abortion
The spectre of an abortion ban is looming over the US after Trump nominated conservative Brett Kavanaugh as the next Justice of the Supreme Court.
His appointment, if confirmed, could tip the court in a more conservative direction. Pro-choice activists fear it could overturn Roe v Wade, the 1973 case that is the foundation of the current law.
Trump falsely claimed it was a "50/50 question" (we've debunked this here) adding: "Someday in the distant future there could be a vote.
"There's also a very good chance there won't be a vote. We'll have to see what happens.
"A case has to get up there. It could be a long time before a case ever gets up there."
4. He gave a glimpse of the Queen's thoughts – or claimed to
The Queen's private conversations are meant to be sacred – especially when it comes to politics.
But the President claimed to reveal the monarch's thoughts on Brexit, before suddenly clamming up and not offering any more.
He said: "She said it's a very – and she's right – it's a very complex problem, I think nobody had any idea how complex that was going to be.
"Everyone thought it was going to be 'Oh it's simple, we join or don't join, or let's see what happens'".
5. He's happy to deal with ruthless dictators
Trump gave a revealing answer when asked why he was holding high-profile meetings with brutal, pariah leaders – North Korea's Kim Jong Un and Russia's Vladimir Putin .
Told Putin was a "ruthless dictator", Trump said: "Sure he is, he's ruthless, but so are others.
"I mean, I could name plenty of others that we deal with that you don't say the same thing about. I mean plenty of the people that I deal with are pretty ruthless people."
The answer almost sounds more like a businessman dealing with sharp practice than a world leader dealing with mass abuse of human rights.
5 things we didn't learn
1. About Russian hacking
At the very moment Trump was meeting the Queen, an indictment was issued for 12 alleged Russian spies in the long-running 2016 election hacking probe.
More revealingly, special counsel Robert Mueller's indictment claims hackers tried "for the first time" to hack an e-mail server used by Hillary Clinton's personal office on 27 July 2016.
Earlier that same day, Trump said: "Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 e-mails that are missing.
"I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press."
Mueller did not allege any link. But why not ask Trump about it? He is, after all, meeting the President of Russia on Monday morning.
2. About Stormy Daniels
Trump has been embroiled in a long-running row with the porn star Stormy Daniels, who claims she had sex with Trump in 2006.
The adult actress has been fighting a 2016 nondisclosure agreement arranged by Trump's lawyer, Michael Cohen, in which she was paid $130,000 to keep silent.
Trump's lawyers were seeking at least $20 million in damages from Daniels for violations of the nondisclosure agreement.
In April, Daniels released a sketch of a man she claims threatened her in a car park in 2011.
It's a row with many unanswered questions. No more seem answered for now.
3. About 'influence' from UK Brexiteers
Presenting the interview, Piers Morgan told viewers about claims Nigel Farage "fired up" Donald Trump to claim Theresa May's Brexit plan would "kill" a US trade deal.
The President later backtracked on his claims, but the exact reason for his original outburst remains a mystery.
That mystery, as of Monday morning, remains unsolved.
4. About his allies' ties to Tommy Robinson
Marchers for the far-right EDL founder combined with a rally that was being held to welcome Trump to London on the weekend.
And yesterday ex-Trump advisor Steve Bannon praised jailed Tommy Robinson and called for his release.
Mr Bannon said: "He and I disagree about the religion of Islam, okay?
"But I don't think Tommy's a bad guy, I think he's a solid guy, and I think he's got to be released from prison."
It feeds into the debate about whether Trump is providing an outlet for the 'alt' or far right. That debate remains as open as ever today.
5. And finally… about why he holds Theresa May's hand
The big mystery of Donald Trump's UK visit was why he kept holding Theresa May's hand.
Is Donald Trump afraid of stairs? Is it a clever power play? Or is he just getting unsteady in his 73rd year?
The Prime Minister tried to brush it off yesterday, saying: "I think what you notice is whenever he takes me down a slope or stairs, and he did it up the steps at Blenheim Palace, he takes my hand to help in going up the steps."
But it'd be great to hear it one day from the horse's mouth.
« ZTE stock surges as U.S. supplier ban lifted though outlook remains…
Moment Trump prevents aides from stopping interview with 'nervous' Piers Morgan »


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Mehul Buch
Born: India
Making his acting debut in 2002 with the drama Filhaal..., Mehul Buch is an Indian actor, who works in the Hindi film industry. In 2002 he acted in the Yash Raj films venture, Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai, directed by Sanjay Gadhvi. He went on to act in forgettable movies like Maan Gaye Mughall-E-Azam (2008), Ashok Chakra: Tribute to Real Heroes (2010) and Kuch Kuch Locha Hai (2015). Mehul was also a part of TV shows like The Command Force (2011-2014), Pyaar Ka Dard Hai Meetha Meetha Pyaara Pyaara (2012-2013) and Khidki: Humari Funny Kahani (2016). In 2018 Mehul acted in director Sanjay Patel`s crime-drama, Union Leader. The movie has Rahul Bhat, Tillotama Shome and Samvedna Suwalka in pivotal roles. His other releases includes Suryansh (2018) and Teacher of the Year (2019).
Family Circus
Suryansh
Union Leader
A Daughter`s Tale Pankh
Tushar Dalvi
Manish Wadhwan


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text:
Sudan- India
The First Conference of the African National Authorities of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) States Parties Held in Khartoum, Sudan, 27-29 August 2003
1. The first regional conference of the African national authorities of CWC States parties was organized in Khartoum, Sudan, from 27th to 29th August 2003 in coordination between the Government of the Sudan and the Organization for the prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).
2. The following thirty three States Parties/ organization participated in the conference:
Algeria - Nigeria
Benin – Sao Tonie Principe
Bulkina Faso – Senegal
Burundi – S. Africa
Cameroon – Sudan
Chad – Togo
Cote d'lvoire – Tunisia
Ethiopia – Uganda
Gabon – Zambia
Gambia – Zimbabwe
Ghana – D.R. of Congo
Kenya – Libya
K. of Lesotho – France
Malawi – Romania
Mauritius – United States of America
Morocco – International Committee of the Red Cross
The United States of America, the Government of Romania, France, and the International Committee of the Red Cross participated in the Conference as observers.
3. His Excellency the Foreign Minister of the Republic of the Sudan, Dr Mustafa Osman Ismaiel delivered a welcoming statement at the Inaugural session in which he welcomed the Director General of the OPCW, the Heads of diplomatic missions accredited to Sudan, and the delegations participating in the conference, he also reiterated the commitment of the Sudan to join the efforts of the international community for combating all kinds of the weapons of mass destruction including the chemical weapons, and to achieve the universality of the convention.
4. His Excellency the Director General of the Organization Mr. Rogelio Plirter in his statement in the inaugural session emphasized the necessity of achieving the universality of the Convention. He also highlighted the necessity of the establishment of a regional network to promote the object and purpose of the Convention in Africa.
5. The Director General has expressed appreciation and gratitude for the Sudanese Government for hosting the conference and for the generous hospitality. He also commended the role that Sudan has played for the advocacy of the objectives and purposes of the CWC.
6. The conference elected the following bureau, president sudan. Cameroon Nigeria, Algeria, Kenya, Zambia as vice president and South Africa as rapporteur.
7. During the three days National Authorities Conference, various OPCW staff members made presentations on a variety of subjects. These included the status and universality of the CWC, an overview of the CWC, the role of the National Authorities in implementing the CWC, declaration requirements, transfers of the scheduled chemicals, practical implementation of the CWC under Article 6, national implementing legislation, privileges and immunities agreement, assistance and protection, international co-operation.
8. the representatives of all the participating National Authorities as well as the representatives of the two States not yet party to the convention (Chad and Sao tome et Principe), as well as France, Romania and the United States of America (which are Parties from other regions) gave an account of the activities of their National Authorities. All the representatives expressed their thanks and gratitude to the Republic of Sudan for its hospitality and warm welcome.
9. A number of States Parties have requested more technical support from the OPCW for advocacy and implementation activities and capacity building.
10. The delegation of the United States has expressed its readiness to extend technical support for African National Authorities.
11. The conference reiterated the importance of the establishment of a regional network in Africa to promote the purposes and object of the CWC.
12. The conference reiterated the previous Khartoum recommendation to make Africa a chemical weapons free zone.
13. The conference called upon the African countries not party to the CWC to accede to the Convention.
14. The conference called on other States Parties to assist the African countries in the field of peaceful uses of chemistry.
15. The conference reiterated the importance of the provisions of the Convention on providing assistance and protection against the usage or the threat of usage of chemical weapons.
16. All the representatives agreed that the first conference of the African National Authorities was very helpful and successful, and expressed their thanks and gratitude to the OPCW for the support and assistance extended to the African National Authorities.
17. All the representatives reiterated the need for a egal support from the OPCW to develop enforceable regulations and code of practices governing peaceful uses of chemistry.
Participations from African National Authorities agreed to meet on annual bass and to consult among themselves to identity the date and venue of the meeting of 2004. They also requested Sudan to present this summary to the fifth annual National Authorities in The Hague between 17th and 19th October 2003.
©Copyright 2002-2007 Embassy of the Republic of the Sudan , New Delhi, India. Contact Us
Designed and Developed by IANS Solutions


Keeping track of competitors' prices can be a time consuming process, typically changing faster than you can keep track of them. That's where Magpie fits in. Using our unique data collecting and analysis algorithms, Magpie collects hundreds of thousands of prices every single day, analyses them and alerts you to price changes from your competition.
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For the first time ever, a boxing equipment company has taken the time to perfect an important, yet often neglected tool in a cutman and trainers repertoire.
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As much as the new technologies have helped us in many ways in our professional and private lives, probably all of us share at least a few experiences when we wanted to kill our computers. We've become so accustomed to having tech tools finish a lot of our daily tasks, that it is now very frustrating when something that should be done quickly and smoothly starts creating problems and wasting our time.
One of the examples that many people can relate to is the problem of editing PDFs. They are excellent for sending and sharing, but they are famous for their rigid format that is difficult to tamper with.
To continue the trend of using technology to boost our productivity, and not hinder it, people should be informed about what tools are available to them for every problematic situation. So, if a user needs to work with data locked in PDF, the best way to do that is to convert PDF data into some editable format, which is a very quick process with appropriate tools. One good example of a powerful converter is Able2Extract, especially for users who want to convert from PDF to Excel, because this is the tool's most advanced feature.
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Users who like what they've seen can download Able2Extract from below given link and use it for seven days free of charge to test every conversion feature and maybe discover some other options that haven't been revealed here.


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Home > Blog Posts > For Investment Committees Considering ESG Integration, Investment Grade Fixed Income May Be the Logical First Step
For Investment Committees Considering ESG Integration, Investment Grade Fixed Income May Be the Logical First Step
By Tim Coffin January 12, 2021 May 11th, 2021 Blog Post
Over the last decade the merits of sustainable investing strategies have moved quickly to the mainstream, as investors increasingly consider both the positive and negative impact of their investment portfolios. Still, for boards and investment committees, the move to adopt investment strategies that integrate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors can be a polarizing conversation. To help surmount this challenge, investment grade fixed income may be the logical first step in your discussions.
ESG Adds Rigor to Your Investment Research
ESG investing prompts investors to take a more holistic view of risks and opportunities, particularly those that reflect a company's sustainable business practices. We believe risk analysis is more rigorous when it is forward looking, which can add resilience to a bond portfolio. For endowments that, during market volatility, count on the predictable cash flows of investment grade fixed income, an ESG component can add to that reliability. Because ESG analysis adds risk considerations, such as climate or strength of governance, that traditional research alone may not consider, investors may gain a more complete view of the likelihood that an issuer will reliably meet principal and interest obligations to bond holders. As such, for investment committees considering where to start with ESG, investment grade fixed income could be a worthwhile first step.
Comparing Capital Assets and Financial Assets
It stands to reason that there should really be no disconnect between the way a university invests its financial assets and its capital assets. Is there a board today that would approve updates to a campus master plan that do not consider sustainability? Likely not. Energy efficiency, waste management, stakeholder engagement, and customer demand all speak to the valuable role that sustainability plays now and for the future of university capital assets. Clearly managing financial assets demands the same forward-looking perspective.
ESG Is Not a Product
Start with the understanding that ESG is not a product. It is an investment philosophy. If ESG is material to the long-term returns for socially responsible investors, there is no reason to believe why it would be any less material for all investors. As such, financial service firms that offer ESG strategies should extend that philosophy to their full investment lineups. Indeed, the impact of ESG is its scalability. Additionally, like the sustainability connection between financial and capital assets ESG can be a valuable management tool and should be reflected in the business practices of the investment firms that espouse it.
Aligning Investments with Mission
The universe of stakeholders in higher education is broad and diverse: students, faculty, alumni, local community. The list goes on. Unlike an environmental foundation, for example, with a more focused group of stakeholders, it may be more of a challenge to tailor a university endowment that reflects the sometimes-disparate concerns across many levels of stakeholder engagement. With that said, ESG integration may provide a resolution by recognizing and evaluating the materiality of concerns from any variety of honest voices. Indeed, through an ESG lens, the very issues being raised by those voices may well be relevant to the performance of long-term investment returns. Through their reflections in the ESG investment approach, investment committees can more easily bridge varied interests across divides than blunt approaches, such as divestment, can create for investment committees.
Do Not Stop There
A conversation about ESG investing may lead to a discussion of impact investing. Impact matters. Soon enough, investors may be tracking more than just quarterly returns, more carefully measuring the benefits and costs financial assets have for society at large.
Measurement of and reporting on impact will likely be key to both the stewards of endowment assets and the financial firms that service them. ESG investing incorporates documentation and materiality of impact in its approach through both reporting frameworks that are already well developed to help standardize reporting and through direct engagement with leadership. Companies, industry organizations, rating agencies, and government sponsored entities are responding quickly with transparency and compliance.
Foundation boards may enjoy the additional advantage of ESG and impact reporting from the organizations in which they invest. The added information and data provided by these groups may help further inform and enrich discussions with donors and other stakeholders.
Separate Accounts Offer Key Benefits
For mission-driven investors, impact may also mean avoiding conflict between how financial assets earn their returns and the ethos of the foundation and the university it supports. Understandably, impact can be in the eye of the beholder. What is impactful for a faith-based institution may be very different from what is considered impactful for a university with an environmental priority.
For investors determined to tailor their investments to align with their values, customization is essential, thus making separate accounts more practical than mutual funds. As well as providing a workable solution for amplifying impact, separate accounts deliver the strategic advantage of owning fixed income securities and the cash flows they generate directly.
A portfolio of investment grade bonds owned directly through a separate account can offer a haven from market distress. If the portfolio is managed well enough to avoid defaults, an investor who stays the course can continue to earn a steady and reliable cash flow of both income (coupons) and capital (principal) independent of the market. That independence is important to how an investment grade fixed income allocation helps an investor cope with market dislocation. Essentially, bond portfolios can be self-liquidating, so direct bond investors are inherently less beholden to the market and better able to look beyond periods of market distress.
Investment committees looking to take a first step should consider starting with investment grade fixed income where rigorous investment research is paramount to risk mitigation and sustainability is intrinsic to investment outcomes. ESG integration is an investment approach, not a product, and how financial firms integrate sustainability can more broadly validate their ESG philosophy. There need not be a disconnect between how boards steward capital and financial assets. Just as universities integrate sustainability in capital spending plans, so too can investment policy statements elevate the role of sustainability in asset selection. Sustainable investing can help boards engage with donors and stakeholders. Separate accounts are a viable solution for investors looking to customize their investments.
Endowments have long-term financial goals, but most investors can be short-term evaluators. In fixed income, ESG integration and measuring impact introduces a discipline that inspires investors to raise their sightlines on the horizon, facilitating a sustainable flow of capital as a long-term investor to responsible corporate and government borrowers. In doing so, foundation boards and investment committees can more intentionally align their investments with the long-term financial commitments of the foundation.
References and Resources:
ESG: A Natural Couse for Bonds
Why ESG Integration Matters
Q1 2021 Corporate Bond Market Outlook
The opinions and views expressed are those of Breckinridge Capital Advisors, Inc. They are current as of December 31, 2020 but are subject to change without notice.
Nothing contained herein should be construed or relied upon as financial, legal or tax advice. All investments involve risks, including the loss of principal. While Breckinridge believes the assessment of ESG criteria can improve overall credit risk analysis, there is no guarantee that integrating ESG analysis will provide improved risk-adjusted returns over any specific time period. Investors should consult with their financial professional before making any investment decisions.
With Thanks to AGB Sponsor: Breckinridge
Tim Coffin
SVP and Director of Sustainability
Breckinridge Capital Advisors
tcoffin@breckinridge.com
Tim Coffin is the senior vice president and director of sustainability for Breckinridge Capital Advisors.
Opinions expressed in AGB blogs are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the institutions that employ them or of AGB.
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Gouvia, a former Venetian naval base is nowadays one of the most beautiful seaside resorts of Corfu boasting a large marina. Just 150 m from the beach, restaurants, clubs and shopping centres, this hotel is situated in the heart of Gouvia, perfectly combines traditional and cosmopolitan atmosphere. Corfu Town with its harbour is about 6 km away, easily reachable by public transport. The international airport is at a distance of 7 km.


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Q: How to calculate gradients of tensors in tensorflow eager execution I hope to calculate the gradients of tensors in the tensorflow eager execution mode but the gradients are always None.
For example, in the following code, I hope to calcuate the gradients dX.
from __future__ import absolute_import, division, print_function
import tensorflow as tf

tf.enable_eager_execution()
tfe = tf.contrib.eager

import os
os.environ["CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES"]="6"
import warnings
warnings.filterwarnings('ignore')

NUM_EXAMPLES = 1000
training_inputs = tf.random_normal([NUM_EXAMPLES])
noise = tf.random_normal([NUM_EXAMPLES])
training_outputs = training_inputs * 3 + 2 + noise

def loss(weights, biases):
  error = training_inputs * weights + biases - training_outputs
  return tf.reduce_mean(tf.square(error))

train_steps = 200
learning_rate = 0.01
W = tfe.Variable(5.)
B = tfe.Variable(10.)

print("Initial loss: {:.3f}".format(loss(W, B)))

for i in range(train_steps):
  dW, dB = 0, 0

  with tf.GradientTape() as tape:
    loss_value = loss(W, B)
    x = loss_value * 2
  dW, dB, dX = tape.gradient(loss_value, [W, B, x])

  W.assign_sub(dW * learning_rate)
  B.assign_sub(dB * learning_rate)
  if i % 20 == 0:
    print("dX:", dX)

Here are the results. dX is None.
Initial loss: 68.959
dX:None, dW:tf.Tensor(3.6713886, shape=(), dtype=float32), dB:tf.Tensor(16.035084, shape=(), dtype=float32)
dX:None, dW:tf.Tensor(2.528957, shape=(), dtype=float32), dB:tf.Tensor(10.7087, shape=(), dtype=float32)
dX:None, dW:tf.Tensor(1.7416952, shape=(), dtype=float32), dB:tf.Tensor(7.151658, shape=(), dtype=float32)
dX:None, dW:tf.Tensor(1.1992912, shape=(), dtype=float32), dB:tf.Tensor(4.776187, shape=(), dtype=float32)
dX:None, dW:tf.Tensor(0.82566154, shape=(), dtype=float32), dB:tf.Tensor(3.1897786, shape=(), dtype=float32)
dX:None, dW:tf.Tensor(0.5683386, shape=(), dtype=float32), dB:tf.Tensor(2.1303184, shape=(), dtype=float32)
dX:None, dW:tf.Tensor(0.39114872, shape=(), dtype=float32), dB:tf.Tensor(1.4227662, shape=(), dtype=float32)
dX:None, dW:tf.Tensor(0.26915967, shape=(), dtype=float32), dB:tf.Tensor(0.9502286, shape=(), dtype=float32)
dX:None, dW:tf.Tensor(0.18518688, shape=(), dtype=float32), dB:tf.Tensor(0.63464075, shape=(), dtype=float32)
dX:None, dW:tf.Tensor(0.12739493, shape=(), dtype=float32), dB:tf.Tensor(0.42386985, shape=(), dtype=float32)

A: Just realized that loss_value does not rely on x and hence dX is None.

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