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Modern Pop Art Love Rug by Robert Indiana 49562
Size: 2 ft 6 in x 2 ft 6 in (0.76 m x 0.76 m)
Style: Robert Indiana
Beautiful Modern Classic Love Rug by Robert Indiana, Country of Origin / Rug Type: India Rug, Circa Date: 2007 – Love is in the air with this carpet. The name Robert Indiana may not be a household name, but almost everyone has seen his work at some point in their life. This LOVE rug is one of his most iconic images and became a symbol for the hippie movement during the 1960's. Indiana claims that the word refers to the love of God and is about an earlier spiritual event in his life. None the less, this iconic figure became a symbol of the Summer of Love and all that it embodied.
The image for this rug was first produced for a Christmas card for the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1965. It was later featured on postage stamps in 1973. The image withing this beautiful Indian rug has also appeared as a free-form sculpture and in many other mediums.
The work of artist Robert Indiana often featured a single, short word, such as eat, hug, or love. In this piece, The V and E serve as a stable base for the L and O. The O is at an angle to the rest of the design, giving it interest. This magnificent pop art rug only uses three colors placed in a way that provides contrast and adds visual impact. This is typical of the work of the artist and reflects his signature style. The lettering style gives the piece a feeling of mass and weight.
This beautiful artist carpet not only features a bold and iconic graphic design, but it is also hand-tufted. The design is cut into the pile of the rug with only a pair of scissors, as indicated by a label on the back of the "Love Rug". The letters are cut lower than the surrounding background, giving it dimension and texture.
This vintage rug is an iconic symbol of the pop art movement and would make an excellent addition to a retro design, or any contemporary space. Regardless of where you decide to display it, it will undoubtedly bring a smile to everyone's face as soon as they see it. It is the perfect piece for adding a recognizable piece to the room and a tribute to the pop artists of the mid-20th century. To own this rug is to hold an iconic part of pop art history in the USA.
Modern Pop Art Robert Indiana Love Rug 49740
Modern Small Size Pop Art Love Rug by Robert Indiana 49739


hi we are planning for an upgrade from solaris 8 to 10.
want to know if CRN is compatible.
also pls let me know if there is any article related to this in the cognos website or KB .
I see Solaris 8 & 9 but not 10.
The Global Support Website for Cognos has a "Product Information" link where you can look up environments for each of the products.
> hi we are planning for an upgrade from solaris 8 to 10.
> want to know if CRN is compatible.
> website or KB .


The required format for statutory accounts for small companies has changed. We consider the reporting requirements and their impact. At Locke Williams Associates, we can provide guidance on the new reporting standards in the Birmingham area.
If you are in the Birmingham area please do contact us at Locke Williams Associates for guidance on the required format for small company accounts.


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"Hilarious . . . Readers with a finely tuned sense of the absurd are going to adore the Technicolor ride."
"Fantasy done to a clever, grotesque, nonsensical turn." —Chicago Sun-Times
"A work of mischievous imagination and outrageous invention." —Time Out Chicago
"An extraordinary and delightfully weird romp that's one part China Mieville, one part Lemony Snicket, with trace amounts of Madeline L'Engle and Roald Dahl . . . Kennedy has filled 400+ pages with a series of strange turn-ups and adventures that grow progressively more outlandish and funny, such that when you think he's surely run out of runway and must crash, he finds new, unsuspected weirdness to explore." —Cory Doctorow, author of Little Brother, For The Win, and co-editor of Boing Boing
Email: kennedyjames@gmail.com
The ROCHESTER, NY screening of the ninth annual 90-Second Newbery Film Festival! At the Eisenhart Auditorium of the Rochester Museum & Science Center (657 East Ave). Hosted by me and the legendary author Bruce Coville (My Teacher Is An Alien, Space Station Ice 3, and more). Made possible by our sponsors at Friends & Foundation of the Rochester Public Library, Rochester Community TV, Cheshire Audio Visual, and RIT MAGIC Spells Studios. Onsite book sales by Hipocampo Children's Books. 2 pm. Make your FREE reservation here.
The OAKLAND, CA screening of the ninth annual 90-Second Newbery Film Festival! At the Rockridge branch of the Oakland Public Library (5366 College Ave). Hosted by me and author Marcus Ewert (Mummy Cat, Mr. Pack Rat Really Wants That). 12 pm. Make your FREE reservation here.
The SAN FRANCISCO screening of the ninth annual 90-Second Newbery Film Festival! At the San Francisco Public Library (100 Larkin Street) in the Koret Auditorium. Hosted by me and author Marcus Ewert (Mummy Cat, Mr. Pack Rat Really Wants That). 2 pm. Make your FREE reservation here.
The SAN ANTONIO, TX screening of the ninth annual 90-Second Newbery Film Festival! At the Mays Family Center at the Witte Museum (3801 Broadway St., San Antonio, TX). Hosted by me and author Carolyn Flores (The Amazing Watercolor Fish, A Surprise for Teresita). Made possible by partners at Bexar County Digital Library Bibliotech and the Hidalgo Foundation through the generosity of H-E-B Texas Grocery. Onsite book sales by The Twig Book Shop. 2 pm. Make your FREE reservation here.
Special deadline for Minnesota and Colorado entries for the ninth annual 90-Second Newbery Film Festival.
The BROOKLYN PUBLIC LIBRARY screening of the ninth annual 90-Second Newbery Film Festival! At the Central Library (10 Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn, NY) in the Dweck Auditorium. Hosted by me and Newbery Honor winner Rita Williams-Garcia (One Crazy Summer). Onsite book sales by Stories Bookshop + Storytelling Lab. 1 pm. Make your FREE reservation here.
The TACOMA, WA screening of the ninth annual 90-Second Newbery Film Festival! At the Rialto Theatre (310 S 9th St., Tacoma, WA) Hosted by me and Tacoma's own Doug Mackey. Onsite book sales by King's Books.. 1-3 pm. Link to tickets available soon.
The SEATTLE screening of the ninth annual 90-Second Newbery Film Festival at the Children's Film Festival Seattle 2020 at the Northwest Film Forum (1515 12th Ave., between Pike and Pine). Hosted by me and author Sundee Frazier (the Cleo Edison Oliver series, The Other Half of My Heart, and more). Buy your tickets here. 5 pm.
The CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY screening of the ninth annual 90-Second Newbery Film Festival! At the Harold Washington Library Center (400 S. State Street) in the Pritzker Auditorium. Hosted by me and author Keir Graff (The Phantom Tower). Onsite book sales by the Madison Street Bookstore. 1:45 pm. Make your FREE reservation here.
The BOSTON screening of the ninth annual 90-Second Newbery Film Festival! At the Boston Public Library in Copley Square (700 Boylston St, Boston, MA). Hosted by me and M.T. Anderson (Feed, The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge). Onsite book sales by Trident Booksellers and Cafe. 2:30 pm. Make your FREE reservation here.
The SALT LAKE CITY screening of the ninth annual 90-Second Newbery Film Festival! At the Salt Lake City Public Library (210 East 400 South). Hosted by me and author Keir Graff (The Phantom Tower). Made possible by partners at Utah Humanities and the Salt Lake City Public Library. Onsite book sales by Weller Book Works. 1 pm. Make your FREE reservation here.
The OGDEN, UT screening of the ninth annual 90-Second Newbery Film Festival! At the Treehouse Museum (347 22nd Street, Ogden, UT). Hosted by me and author Keir Graff (The Phantom Tower). Made possible by partners at Utah Humanities and the Treehouse Museum. 6:30 pm. Make your FREE reservation here.
The BOULDER, CO screening of the ninth annual 90-Second Newbery Film Festival! At the Boulder Public Library (1001 Arapahoe Avenue). Hosted by me and author Lija Fisher (The Cryptid Catcher). Onsite book sales by the Boulder Book Store. 3:00-4:30 pm. Make your FREE reservation here.
The MINNEAPOLIS screening of the ninth annual 90-Second Newbery Film Festival! At the Minneapolis Central Library (300 Nicollet Mall) in Pohlad Hall. Hosted by me and Newbery Medal winner Kelly Barnhill (The Girl Who Drank the Moon). Onsite book sales by the Red Balloon Bookshop. 3 pm. Make your FREE reservation here.
I am interviewed by Betsy Bird for the School Library Journal's Fuse #8 blog. Check it out if you want to read about my opinions on Zork, my life in the convent, and why The Jeffersons is superior to Catcher in the Rye. Many in the comments section deem this the "Best. Interview. Ever." Dare you disagree?
I am interviewed by the lovely Senfaye on A Maze Of Books. Read it if you're curious as to why I chose to end the interview by saying "I hate you"—and why when Senfaye asked "What's your favorite food?" I replied "Your skull." It's scandalous!
I am interviewed by Amy Alessio for the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). Read about my experiences as a junior high school science teacher—in particular, of how the entire faculty was mysteriously menaced by a obscene note-writing student known only as "The Foggy Wiener." I also talk about my participation in Japan's violent "Naked Man" Festival, and how I discovered the President of the ALA is a whimsical hobo.
Order of Odd-Fish Week on Murphblog. Check out Paul Michael Murphy's monster five-part interview with me! Part One, the road to publication; Part Two, on writing; Part Three, I reveal the thing I will always find funny; Part Four, the "lightning round"; Part Five, a Create-Your-Own-Odd-Fish-Specialty contest (entries are in the comments section); and I judge the winner of the contest.
I am interviewed by Melissa at the Book Nut blog. I talk about the difficulties of getting The Order of Odd-Fish published, my high school friend who was the inspiration for Jo, the idea of an "urban Narnia," and the origin of the All-Devouring Mother character. Melissa also posted a glowing review here.
Read All Recent Press
The 90-Second Newbery Film Festival. I founded a film festival in which kid filmmakers create weird short movies that tell the entire stories of Newbery-winning books in about 90 seconds. Now in its 6th year, it screens annually in 14 cities: New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and many others! The movies the kids create are weird, funny, and impressive. Learn more about the film festival here.
The Classroom Guide to The Order of Odd-Fish. I've put together a 44-page Teacher's Guide / curriculum for Odd-Fish! It's a treasure trove of creative project ideas, discussion questions, chapter worksheets, and further resources. It also features fan art by enthusiastic teen readers of Odd-Fish. (This art was featured in a fan art gallery show in Chicago in April 2010.) You can download the teacher's guide for free here.
It's a mixtape for The Order of Odd-Fish. Listen to a stream of the songs I chose for an imaginary "movie soundtrack" for Odd-Fish, and read why I chose them. Lots of different stuff: French ye-ye, Kinshasa street bands, pseudo-classical, puzzling blippity-bloopity music, and more.
I used to be in a band called Brilliant Pebbles. The drummer Philip and I quit the band in September 2009, but Monika and Sam are continuing on. We had been variously described as "melodramatic video game music," "moon-man opera," and "gypsy sex metal." It's over now, but I loved being in this band. You can download our EP from Amazon here.
There's an audiobook of The Order of Odd-Fish. It's masterfully read by the Audie award-winning Jessica Almasy, whom I was lucky enough to interview here.
My feud with Neil Gaiman. It all started when I revealed Gaiman's dark secret: that he is 2 mm tall and all his books are written by bees. The feud escalated when I tackled his doppelganger at the American Library Association and won the Newbery from him, fair and square. It was resolved when I confronted the real Neil Gaiman in person before an audience of hundreds, revealed his true origin of his lustrous black hair, and serenaded him with Katy Perry's "Firework."
Email: kennedyjames [at] gmail [dot] com
Twitter: @iamjameskennedy
The Order of Odd-Fish on GoodReads
90-Second Newbery, Chicago Onslaught: An American Plague, Savvy, and Belling the Tiger
« 90-Second Newbery, New York edition: Because of Winn-Dixie, Summer of the Swans, and The Whipping Boy Holy Cats! The Chicago 90-Second Newbery is SOLD OUT! »
The Chicago screening of the 90-Second Newbery Film Festival is coming! Co-hosted by me and Blue Balliett (Chasing Vermeer)! It will be Sunday, February 10, from 2-3:30 pm at the Harold Washington Library in downtown Chicago. It's free, but you have to reserve your seat ahead of time. You can reserve your place here. Do it now—we already have so many reservations that it's clear this thing is going to sell out soon!
And so today, let's look at three great 90-Second Newbery videos I've received from right here in the Chicago area. The one up above is of 2004 Honor Book An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793 by Jim Murphy. This movie is by the talented and inventive crew at Chase Elementary in Humboldt Park, Chicago, led my Larissa Zageris (And hey! Humboldt Park! I used to live there!). It's all about when Yellow Fever struck Philadelphia. This one, I predict, is going to rock the house on February 10. Never has there been so much puking in a 90-Second Newbery! The music cues are very well done, and I particularly like the repeated soulful, slo-mo looks-over-the-shoulder of Dr. Benjamin Rush, and the immortal exchange: "People are dying all around us, they're turning yellow and they're puking blood!" "That's gross. I don't want to be around." Also a wonderful "NOOOOOOOO!" Top-notch, Chase Elementary! See you on the 10th!
The next video is of Ingrid Law's 2009 Honor Book Savvy—but with a reality-TV twist. Here it is: Savvy in the style of The Real World:
This is yet another video from the Aurora Library, Eola Road Branch headed up by Katie Stringwell, who last year did a fantastic silent-movie version of Avi's Crispin: The Cross of Lead. This great take on Savvy proves they haven't lost their touch! The girl playing Mibs is a natural. I love how the movie plays on all the reality TV tropes: Mibs' self-regarding declaration of "And I'm taking this chance," the way she touches her head when she says "negative negative negative," and how when the mean lady at the end is accused of not telling the truth ("You're lying!") she answers in what she imagines is an oh-so-withering way ("Am I? Am I really?") Bobbi's talking-head segment is pitch-perfect, too. Nice fake unibrow of the mean lady. I like how the Dad waking up is underplayed. Great job all the way around!
Finally, another movie made by the 90-Second Newbery veteran team of Chris Norborg/Alice Setrini and Domingo, Amalia, Graciela, and Sofia. They did last year's musical version of Wanda Gag's ABC Bunny and a great "The Dream" from Frog and Toad Together. This year the Norborgs are once again reaching far into the Newbery past—this time for 1961 Honor Book Belling The Tiger by Mary Stolz:
At 35.2 seconds, this is the fastest 90-Second Newbery ever! But it packs a punch, telling the story simply and elegantly. Great makeup work for the mice and the tiger, and the elephant costume is an unexpected elaborate treat! Extra points for the clever songs used: Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger" and ABBA's "Tiger." This is one of those 90-Second Newbery movies where the credits last longer than the movie itself.
See you all at the 90-Second Newbery Film Festival screening in Chicago on February 10!
©2008 James Kennedy, All Rights Reserved. jameskennedy.com is powered by WordPress

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Shamrock Diaries è il settimo album in studio del musicista britannico Chris Rea, pubblicato nel 1985.

Tracce

Collegamenti esterni

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Increase Your Home's Organization with Garage Storage Cabinets!
Enhance your garage space by installing a workbench, storage cabinets and shelving. Storage baskets for athletic equipment keep it organized!


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<title>IsNode</title>

IsNode()

Syntax

Result = IsNode(#Node)

Description

Tests if the given node is valid and correctly initialized.

Parameters

#Node

The node to test.

Return value

Nonzero if the node is valid, zero otherwise.

Remarks

This function is bulletproof and may be used with any value. This is the correct way to ensure a node is ready to use.

See Also

CreateNode()

Supported OS
All

<- FreeNode() - Node Index - MoveNode() ->

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


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Q: What does the get() function do in cheerio? What is the difference between
$("h1")

and
$("h1").get()

The first one returns some sort of object and the second one an array (with the same elements), but what exactly does it do?
The documentation only mentions "Retrieve the DOM elements matched by the Cheerio object. If an index is specified, retrieve one of the elements matched by the Cheerio object", but it still isn't very clear to me...

A: $("h1") results in a Cheerio object, on which Cheerio methods can be used (such as .get(), .text(), .prop(), and so on). Using .get() on a Cheerio object returns an array of underlying elements (not a Cheerio object), on which only methods that that element supports can be used - for example, instead of .text(), you would use .textContent, instead of .prop() you would use plain dot notation (eg instead of $('h1').prop('foo', 'bar'), $('h1').get()[0].foo = 'bar'). It's the same as jQuery's .get().
Cheerio objects are not DOM elements - .get() extracts an array of the latter from the former.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


YMCA Norfolk hosted a Charity Quiz Night on Thursday 28th March to raise funds for the young people and families within the charity's services.
Hosted at Wensum Valley Hotel and Golf Club, a total of sixteen teams competed to win the title of Quiz Champions, raising a fantastic sum of over £600.
"Another successful quiz night held at Wensum Valley Hotel and Golf Club raised £675, thanks to Ken and Maggie who set the questions and ran the evening.
"Huge thanks to the teams who joined in the fun; it was a great chance to meet the fantastic individuals and companies who support YMCA Norfolk. Congratulations to Gill Duffy and her winning team. Keep a watch for the date of the next one," said Event Organiser, Judy Bailey.
YMCA Norfolk would like to thank all those who came along to support us. Please keep an eye on our events page for further information on upcoming events, or contact Judy on judy.bailey@ymcanorfolk.org.


How much did Oprah Winfrey's endorsement help Barack Obama? Quite a lot, a new study concludes. Economists at the University of Maryland find that Oprah's endorsement brought Obama 1,015,559 votes. The researchers linked subscriptions to Oprah's magazine and participation in her book club to increased voter participation.
The results of this study suggest that Oprah Winfrey's endorsement of Barack Obama during the 2008 Democratic Presidential Primary had statistically and politically significant effects on Obama's political outcomes. Winfrey's involvement increased the share of the vote and the campaign contributions received by Obama, as well as the overall level of voter participation.


Why are home services so important?
Power Washing vs. Pressure Washing: Same Thing?
Though power washing and pressure washing have similar results, there are some distinct differences. Power washing uses hot water to remove the buildup of contaminants. Whereas, pressure washing uses a high-velocity water spray using a regular water temperature. Power washing uses hot water that has been heated to a high temperature which effectively removes sticky residue, gum, dirt, and mold. It is considered to be more effective than using normal water temperature from a garden hose. High-pressure sprays as used with pressure washers does remove contaminants but with regular temperature water. Pressure washers use a pump that is 100 times more powerful than using a garden hose. Pressure washers do not have a heating unit that is used with power washers. Using hot water with a power washer, the heated water can effectively remove contaminants even without using harsh chemical cleaners. Power washers are good for killing weeds, moss, mildew, mold, and other contaminants.
Either method will effectively spray clean the exterior of a residential or business establishment. The difference is that pressure washers are suited for cleaning certain objects and surfaces over a power washer and the same may be said for a power washer. Before purchasing your spray cleaning equipment, decide what you want to clean and the best method to use. Pressure washers are good for cleaning masonry, brick, and concrete. If there is no mold or contaminants present, a pressure washer will suffice for quickly removing dirt from most surfaces. To avoid damaging exterior surfaces, reiterating, be mindful of the high-velocity sprays used with pressure washers. Some people choose to do power washing or pressure washing as a DIY (do-it-yourself) project. Better results can be achieved by using a professional service company. However, if you choose to rent the equipment as a DIY project, be safety conscious and follow the helpful tips mentioned below.
Thoroughly inspect the equipment for damage and make sure it is in good working order.
Check the power or pressure washer for cracks, rust, or broken seals.
Don't use malfunctioning equipment. You could injure yourself.
Before you use the machine, make sure you know how to use it and carefully read the operating instructions.
Inspect the electrical and water connections before you begin using the equipment. Ensure the connections are secure.
To avoid injury, don't spray water on electrical outlets. To protect your eyes, use goggles or protective eyewear. Wear a mask, old clothes, and waterproof boots or shoes.
Remember those pressure washers use a high-velocity spray which can cause debris to fly up when spraying a building's exterior.
Avoid injury caused by standing too close to the building or object being sprayed. Pressure washing can be physically demanding and tiring work. Before spraying any surface, test the water pressure. Start by using a low-pressure level to avoid breaking windows and damaging your property. Test the sprayer using various nozzles to find the correct nozzle to use for your spray cleaning project. Select the correct settings for each object being spray cleaned.
the photo eye, aka the electronic eye or safety sensor, can become misaligned causing the garage door to jam.
electrical system. Check to see if the garage door opener motor has burned out.
Choosing a reputable pest control company takes time and research to find the right company. To aid your search effort, perform online research and check out online reviews. The steps below will help with selecting a reputable pest control company. Don't sign a contract unless the company has achieved a good reputation by completing several contracts with many satisfied customers.
Step 1: Research via the internet or visit one or two companies. Learn information about their process and what is involved with hiring them to service your home. Don't hire a company or sign a contract without performing a thorough check on their reputation and references. Check with the Better Business Bureau (BBB).
Step 2: Identify the pest and perform online research to determine the best course of action to eradicate it.
Step 3: Ask for recommendations of trusted pest control companies by checking with family and friends.
Step 4: Before they step onto your property, check for their exterminator license, their business license, insurance, and accreditation credentials.
Step 5: Contact reputable companies and ask for an estimate and ask about their process steps. Check with your state about their exterminator license number to ensure it is valid.
Step 6: A very important step, follow up and make calls to validate their exterminator license and references.
Step 7: Review their solutions and make sure you agree with them.
Step 8: Before they visit, make sure you perform a thorough check on them. Don't sign any documents until you determine they are the company you want to use as a pest control service. Make sure that they are licensed professional exterminators who explain the process and chemicals used in your home and yard. Obtain a written estimate and a written contract.
Step 9: Before you sign the contract, review the contract, including the fine print, contained in the contract.
Step 10: After you are sure that you have selected a reputable company, schedule a one-time pest control visit.
Step 11: Before scheduling more exterminator visits, complete the first visit and obtain satisfactory results.
Step 12: Obtain written receipts for all payments made on a written exterminator contract.
Within the USA, all states require pest control exterminators to be licensed. Conditions and terms vary by each state. States require that exterminators comply with licensing requirements by taking and passing courses.
To obtain a license, most states require at least 20 hours or more of job training as well as passing required tests. However, the number of required hours for on-the-job training and coursework varies by each state. Some exterminator companies provide one-time visits or monthly, semi-monthly, and annual treatment plans. Angie's List data mentions that the national average price for termite treatment is about $1,535. A national average cost for interior and exterior pest control treatment is $145 and $214 dollars per visit. Monthly pest control treatment will cost approximately $40 to $45 per visit. Semi-monthly treatments will cost approximately $50 to $60 per application visit. Again, prices vary by region and state.
The home care industry is progressing with the passage of time just like other industries and there are obvious reasons behind it. Homeowners are becoming more aware regarding the important home care in this day and age and how it benefits us.
Studies have proven that houses which are cleaner tend to experience less diseases. The residents of that house are protected from all the potential diseases. Getting access to home services mean you can potentially get rid of a number of diseases. This can be especially important for houses where there are more children and infants. Since they are prone to diseases, it is imperative to keep the house clean all the times.
There would possibly be no one who doesn't like to keep their house in the right order. It is important from an aesthetic point of view to keep the house clean and tidy all times. It doesn't only impact you mentally in a positive manner but it can help homeowners to impress the guests and visitors. There are many home services that will ensure that house remains aesthetically appealing and approving.
The clear reason why homeowners are not compelled to hire commercial home services is that they want to do the entire task on their own. Even though this can save you some amount of money, the work professionals are able to execute cannot be done by lay people. The main reason behind it is the equipment they use. There is no doubt to the fact that they have better expertise but the equipment being used is of a better quality. This allows them to work in a better and more organized matter which gives better results.
Homeowner spending all the time on cleaning their houses can waste a lot of time. This time can be saved by hiring commercial companies who can carry out the entire task with much more efficiency. It is important to avail such commercial companies in order to spend that time in a productive activity. Home services will also carry out the task in a more systematic way. They perform the tasks in a more managed way.
Cleaning services are here for a long time. Commercial companies have been servicing the house. However, it is imperative to choose the right company in order to get better results. Hiring a home service that does not have enough experience or expertise in the field means you are giving your house in bad hands. Ensure that the staff is qualified enough to carry out the task in a professional manner. You should also go through the reviews of different services.
Posted in My BlogTagged home, home services, home services important, services, Why are home services so important?
A nice looking fence can improve your curb appeal rating. Depending upon the type of fence installed, the budget can run from low to medium to high priced. Choose a fence material that fits your budget as well as your property. Remember to think about the weather pattern that affects your area. Certain types of fence materials hold up better to harsh inclement weather better than others.
The most popular fence types are aluminum, wood, PVC, wrought iron, vinyl, chain link, electric, bamboo, and farm. Aluminum is a basic, yet attractive, fence material. There is some maintenance involved to keep it sturdy and attractive. After a few years, it will need to be repainted and periodically checked for loose posts or hardware. Across the USA, wood fences are the most popular type of fence installed. Compared to other types of fence material, wood is relatively budget friendly and durable material. It doesn't break your pocketbook like other types of fences. However, the height and length of the fence will affect the overall price of the fence system.
PVC, Wrought Iron, Vinyl, Chain Link, and Electric are other types of widely sold fence materials. Bamboo fence material is gaining in popularity because it is environmentally-friendly, attractive, and known as a "green" choice fence material. Bamboo fence material, though somewhat expensive, includes three styles, i.e., live bamboo, bamboo cane, and rolled bamboo. Bamboo cane and rolled bamboo both use poles linked together and they are considered to be slightly sturdier than live bamboo. Live bamboo grows up to a foot per year; however, it is not recommended to use live bamboo style fence material in areas that receive cold weather. Farm fencing can be comprised of several types of fence material such as wood, electric, barbed wire, woven or high tensile. The budget amount for farm fences tends to run high due to the fact that there is a lot of property to cover which requires a large amount of sturdy fence material. Installing farm fences also requires a lot of experienced labor to install the fence system.
With all of the fence material options available on the market, there is no need to forgo a nice fence design for security which is the main reason that people install fences. Everyone wants privacy, and that is the other primary reason that homeowners and business owners install fences on their property. Whatever your reason for installing a fence, if you are not a skilled DIY (do-it-yourself) enthusiast, go with a professional and hire a reputable fence contractor to properly install your new fence system. Fences should last a long time and they can be a big financial investment and you want the best ROI, or Return on Investment, for your home or business property. Protect your investment by doing research about the best fence material to use and also for finding a reputable fence installation company. Avoid extra costs or fees that deplete your project budget. Your research should include investigating Homeowner Association (HOA) rules and check with the local building and zoning codes to ensure your fence meets the correct height specifications.


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Win a copy of Arsene Wenger: Invincible on DVD
To celebrate the release of Arsene Wenger: Invincible on DVD, Blu-ray and Digital we have two copies of the DVD to give away!
The definitive portrait of one of the greatest football managers of all time ARSÈNE WENGER: INVINCIBLE features remarkable access and previously unseen archive footage.
Directors Gabriel Clarke (Bobby Robson: More Than A Manager, Finding Jack Charlton) and Christian Jeanpierre draw back the veil on a truly enigmatic figure who discusses, for the first time, the football 'addiction' that was both his driving force and his 'fatal flaw'.
Shot on location in England, France and Arsène's home village of Duttlenheim, ARSÈNE WENGER: INVINCIBLE is a compelling, intimate insight into a football figure like no other.
Framed against the backdrop of Arsenal's historic "Invincible" season of 2003-04, the first and only occasion a team has gone an entire Premier League campaign without defeat, the film sees Wenger reflect candidly on his revolutionary era at Arsenal and the emotional and personal turmoil that surrounded his controversial exit after 22 years.
Gravitas and heavyweight authority is added by an A-list supporting cast, led by Wenger's greatest rival from the time Sir Alex Ferguson and star players whose careers were impacted by the French coach, including Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira, Dennis Bergkamp, Ian Wright, Emmanuel Petit and Robert Pires.
To celebrate the film's release, we're giving away two copies of it on DVD! For your chance to win, simply fill out your details below and answer the following question...
When did Arsenal's historic "Invincible" season take place?
A. 2001-2002
tagged in Arsene Wenger
Liam Gallagher: Nightingale hospital should open for homeless over Christmas


text:
Create Mac Games
Mac OS Games Developers News
Available Games on Mac
Post author By Andrew SG
No Comments on Available Games on Mac
PC games and Apple laptops have arguably never "got along." Many believe that a good PC gaming experience can only be obtained from Windows-based machines. This argument usually arises because Macs don't have a strong GPU and a large amount of RAM for playing heavy games. Macbook has always been synonymous with work and style when hanging out in a cafe.
Relax first! Now, there are so many game developers who develop their work to be played on Apple laptop users. Some old games that used to only be played on Windows now have Mac versions. Even cooler, there are many free games that can be played on Mac.
Don't believe it? Check out the five best free game recommendations for Macbook below!
There are many good MMO F2P genre games that will make you confused to play for the first time. So, if you feel like you are in that condition, why don't you try starting an adventure in a fantasy world (not the one in Ancol) a la Lord of the Rings Online (LotRO)?
This game developed by Turbine takes stories from books and films that have already been broadcast, and provides free access to almost all the games on offer. Some of the differences with the paid version are only two character slots and the lack of "destiny points" in the game.
LotRO games are perfect for those of you who like classic MMO games like World of Warcraft, but don't want to spend money playing the game. Even though it's free, this game will still give you lots of interesting things to make it worthy of being called one of the free Mac games you can play.
Most of us would agree that the FPS genre never dies. The excitement and excitement you get while playing are some of the reasons why games like this are still the prima donna until now. Well, from several existing FPS genre games, Counter Strike: Global Offensive (CS: GO) is one that you can play on your favorite Macbook.
Interestingly, to play this game you don't need a god-specifying computer. Just armed with a Macbook with 2GB RAM, MacOS X 10.7 or later, and 15GB of storage space, you can play this game in peace.
You can get this game for free or free on Steam. Even though it's free, you can still experience some of its interesting features, such as Danger Zone to new battle modes.
If you are bored with FPS games that are too real like Counter Strike or Point Blank, that means you should try Team Fortress 2. For those who don't know, this legendary team-based FPS was developed by Valve.
In this game, players are required to choose a character from several available classes. You don't just carry a gun or shotgun, but you are adapted to the role you choose, namely spies, bombers, or medical personnel. After that, you must join one of two teams and fight in various game modes.
In Team Fortress 2 you also don't need to buy weapons, but just wait for the weapon drop schedule which will go straight to your inventory to be used. One more interesting thing about this game is, you can 'tease' the enemy with various moves or dances that have been provided.
You have to pay attention to your surroundings before making fun of the enemy who has just been killed. You see, if you're not careful, you could be teased back for getting your 'buttocks'.
The next game recommendation goes to Paladins. This game allows players to choose from four categories, namely Front Line, Damage, Support, and Flank. Feel familiar? Yes, this game is said to be inspired by the Fortress 2 Team, not even a few call it an Overwatch clone.
There are lots of fun things Paladins has to offer, including various game modes to try, such as team deathmatch, survival, and co-op. Just like some of the games that have been previously mentioned, you can download Paladins for free on Steam. However, if you want access to all the Champions available in this game, you still have to pay.
Basically, Smite has a concept that is not much different from MOBAs in general, which offer 5v5 battles. Here, you will play the characters of various gods from world mythology, such as Greek, Nordic, Egyptian, and Roman.
That means you can find a battle between Zeus and Ares or Anubis and Athena. Not only that, the thing that distinguishes this game from other MOBAs is its appearance which takes a third person or third person perspective. Because of this, Smite feels more like an action game.
In addition, this game is also played with an Action-RPG-style system that uses the WASD button to move the character, and clicks to make the character swing or fire his weapon. You can actually download Smite for free. However, to be able to get all the features and heroes, you still have to pay.
Some of the titles above can be alternatives for those of you who want to have the same excitement as Windows users. Yep, at least you won't be dumbfounded that your friends are busy talking about contemporary games because Mac users also have some exciting game recommendations that can be played together.
Tags csgo, lotr
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The goal of CreateMacGames.org is to provide support and inspiration to Mac game developers. We are a forward thinking site and as such concentrate only on Mac OS X and beyond.
If just one single person visits the site, gets the developer bug and then goes on to write a game that gives theme enjoyment, then we will have succeeded.
© 2021	CreateMacGames.org


I have limited knowledge of databases, which will be clear if it isn't already.
I am trying to guage the viability of this option before investing the time. Please tell me if you think this is a viable solution, or impossible (or somewhere in between).
I want to start with all of the listings generated by a google map search for a keyword within a given area. Since google will be always revising and undating this data, my solution will have to always begin with the current verison of the google map.
In addition to this base data I want to be able to add my own map markers/links to some of the locations that google maps has listed. These links will open a profile page containing additional information on that location.
These profile pages will be user generated content, likely to be managed by a database.
Google maps does allow you to create your own map, but it does not seem like you can base your map on a keyword search.
Is there a way to "dynamically(?)" import this base data to my own google map?


text:
Q: Openssl command line troubles Edit:  Haven't solved my problems, but I've moved on to new and more exciting problems.
Leaving this here in case anyone has and insightful that'll help someone who stumbles on to this question in the future.
Hi,
   I'm attempting to send an encrypted email from php to outlook.  As such, I need to generate a certificate to import into outlook.  I had no problem generating a set of keys using openssl and the CA.pl script that comes with it, but when I try to run the command to generate the PKCS12 file to import into outlook it complains about a missing "demoCA" directory.  It appears this directory is a part of openssl, and is referenced in the openssl config... but i have no idea where it is.  I've searched the drive in many ways from grep to spotlight (on os x, though i really wasn't expecting spotlight to find anything), and can't come up with anything.
The command I was trying to run is:
$ openssl ca -cert newcert.pem -ss_cert newcert.pem
Using configuration from /sw/etc/ssl/openssl.cnf
./demoCA/private/cakey.pem: No such file or directory trying to load CA private key
19918:error:02001002:system library:fopen:No such file or directory:bss_file.c:245:fopen('./demoCA/private/cakey.pem','r')
19918:error:20074002:BIO routines:FILE_CTRL:system lib:bss_file.c:247:

I am a bit of a noob when it comes to encryption / SSL, so I might be missing something stupid (I'm sure if it, haha).

A: You should create a new CA by means of the script provided, which is easier than just handle all the openssl options. You can do this be means of openssl bundled with Cygwin inside Windows itself or use your favourite Unix distro. I will show you how to do it with bash scripts (but perl scripts should be the same).
$ ./CA.sh -newca

This creates demoCA directory with the CA certificate inside it. As you invoke above command you will be prompt about the fields of the CA certificate (CN, OU, etc.) and CA private key passphrase.
Now you can create certificate requests or certificates from certificate requestes.
$ ./CA.sh -newreq

This prompts for a new certificate request fields and the passphrase to encrypt the private key generated. By default the request is left in the same directory as CA.sh (newreq.pem). It is important that you use as CN (Common Name) the email address you have.
Now you only need to sign it and you have a full blown certificate.
$ ./CA.sh -sign

This will generate newcert.pem which is the signed certificate request. You have your certificate, you only need to pack the certificate and the private key inside a PFX or P12 file, that Microsoft CSP recognizes.
Then copy the contents of newreq.pem and newcert.pem into a file.
$ cat newreq.pem > keypair.pem
$ cat newcert.pem >> keypair.pem

And now generate P12 file by means of openssl shell (this time we don't have the help of any script). It will prompt you for the passphrase you used when request was generated and then the export password (to encrypt private key inside p12 file).
$ openssl pkcs12 -export -in keypair.pem  -out mykeypair.p12
Enter pass phrase for keypair.pem:
Enter Export Password:
Verifying - Enter Export Password:

Et voilà. You have a PKCS#12 file that you can double click in Windows and import it to your keystore and use it as a mail signing certificate (I don't remember if default options are enough or you need to specify some additional attributes when creating the certificate so Outlook recognizes as a e-mail signing certificate). You will also need to import CA certificate as a trusted CA (copy cacert.pem to cacert.cer that is inside demoCA directory and double click it to import).


text:
Rediff.com » Movies » 'Modiji is the biggest hero in the world'
'Modiji is the biggest hero in the world'
'I have just made a creative film. It has nothing to do with propaganda.'
IMAGE: Omung Kumar with Vivek Oberoi on the sets of PM Narendra Modi. Photograph: Kind courtesy Omung Kumar/Instagram
Omung Kumar claims he's not a Modi bhakt; he is just a filmmaker who has made a movie on India's prime minister.
PM Narendra Modi was originally scheduled to release on April 12, a day after the first phase of the 2019 general election. But it became mired in controversy as soon as the trailer released on March 21.
The release date was contested by non-BJP parties and their supporters, who called it propaganist fare that would impact a free and fair election process. The Election Commission asked the makers to release the film after the voting process was complete.
Kumar and the film's lead actor, Vivek Oberoi, were unhappy with the decision; they claim the film is an inspirational tale of how a chaiwala rose to the most powerful post in the country.
"Modi is a bigger hero than any of our stars. Forget Bollywood, he's the biggest person even in Hollywood," Omung tells Patcy N/ Rediff.com.
PM Narendra Modi was scheduled to release before the elections. Vivek Oberoi had then said the timing made perfect sense since the elections would generate interest in the film. Do you feel the change in the release date will affect the film's ability to make money?
Time will tell.
But this is also a good time because on, May 23 (this interview was conducted on May 22), the results of the election will be announced.
Even earlier, this film was targeted at the political environment. It is still relevant.
Nobody can predict the (box office) numbers but it helps if the time is right.
Photograph: Kind courtesy Omung Kumar/Instagram
There have been accusations that the film is unofficial propaganda for the prime minister. How would you react to such statements?
I have just made a creative film. It has nothing to do with propaganda.
It's a simple, inspiring story that I wanted to tell and that is what I have done.
A chaiwala has become a PM. Usse bada inspiring story kya ho sakta hai (what can be more inspiring than that)?
It's unheard of. It's never happened in the whole world!
Nobody has told us to make this film.
There were producers who have put in the money and this has been going on for three years. It's just that everything is falling into place now.
I was judging a show with Vivek (called India's Best Dramebaaz).
Sandip (Ssingh, the film's producer) had this idea for three years and he approached Vivek, who immediately said yes.
Then, they told me, 'Why are you not doing (directing it)?'
I said okay because I wanted to tell an inspiring story.
I am not good at politics, so I didn't want to make a political film.
I wanted to make a inspirational story like all my other films. And that is what I have done.
But now, ghoom phir ke, everybody's point of view is that yeh propaganda hai.
Honestly, it's not.
Since this film is about the prime minister of the country, you must have needed permission. How did you go about getting it?
You can make a movie on anybody because it is out on the public platform.
Don't you need permission to make a film on a person who is alive?
No. If it is in the public domain, it is not required.
Basically, you have to do research and find out about the person -- where he stayed, how he looked, how he spoke...
What research did you undertake?
I have spoken to people. I met his old friends, political people.
I read a lot of books on him. He is an open book, everybody knows about him.
Whatever I didn't know, I spoken to people around him and learnt.
I went to Vadnagar (in Gujarat) and visited his house. It's not his house anymore.
I spoke to his neighbours.
IMAGE: Chai time on the sets of PM Narendra Modi. Photograph: Kind courtesy Omung Kumar/Instagram
You said you did not want to make a political film. Why did you agree to do this one?
It's the biggest inspirational potboiler. It's a full Hindi film!
If anybody had said, 60 years ago, that yahan ek ladka aanewala hai, use dhyaan se dekhna (a boy will come here, look at him carefully). Sixty plus years later, this guy will be the prime minister. You would say, what bullshit, it's impossible.
But now, see.
That intrigued me and that is what I wanted to show.
Politics toh uske surrounding main hai (it's set amid politics) lekin, for me, the human behind the political persona was more interesting.
How long did it take for you to make this film, right from the inception of the idea?
The inception was done three years ago by Sandeep.
He has been planning since then.
For me, it started last June, when I was judging (the show) with Vivek.
The inspirational quality of the film is what drives me.
I want zero to hero stories, and that's what this story is all about.
If you see any superhero, they are all zero to hero. That's what this is.
He's a bigger hero than any of our stars. Forget Bollywood, he's the biggest person even in Hollywood.
He's the biggest person known around the world.
IMAGE: Vivek Oberoi's various looks in PM Narendra Modi. Photograph: Kind courtesy Omung Kumar/Instagram
The trailer paints Modi as a super-good, super-intelligent, super-patriotic, super-human. Is it an authentic account of his life? How much is cinematic licence and how much is true in the film?
Kaise?
How did you figure from the trailer that I have made him super-human?
You just called him a superhero. I said 'super-human' in my question.
I am saying superhero stories mujhe achche lagtey hai, zero to superhero (I like zero to superhero stories)...
He is the biggest hero in the world.
And for me, ek inspiring story hoti hai, toh woh maine bola hai and uske life main yeh sab hua hai (it's an inspiring story, and I have said what happened in his life).
When you put it in a larger-than-life scale, cinematic visual aa jaate hai, sky background aa jata hai, the flag is flying and all that looks dynamic... but woh sab uske (Narendra Modi's) life mein hai.
There are downfalls also.
If there are no downfalls, the uprising will not happen.
That would be a flat film for me, like I am making a documentary.
It's a film and this is how I portrayed it.
Agar Milkha bhaag raha hai, toh last mein slow motion toh bhaagenge hi, tape kaatne ke liye. Mary Kom maar rahi hai toh last scene slow motion main girtey jaa rahi, girtey jaa rahi hai... Real main toh dhaad karke giri hogi (If Milkha Singh is running, the end will be in slow motion when he reaches the finishing line. If Mary Kom is boxing, in the last scene her opponent will be shown falling in slow motion. In real life, she must have fallen with a thud).
So you have to do that.
Music aa ta hai, background score aataa hai... that makes it bigger and larger than life.
That is what cinema is about.
IMAGE: Omung Kumar works on his film. Photograph: Kind courtesy Omung Kumar/Instagram
Have you met the PM?
Are you happy with the script and screenplay? Is there anything about the film you are not satisfied with?
Oh, I love it!
It's a roller coaster ride.
It's a huge responsibility and I love every aspect of what I have done.
It has superseded the way the person (Narendra Modi) is.
It had to justify the worth of the person.
Are you a Modi bhakt?
I am zero in politics.
I don't follow politics.
What about the controversies surrounding him -- like the 2002 Gujarat riots? Do they find a part in your film?
Yes, yes, everything is there.
Uske bina downfall aur uprising nahi hota (without it, his downfall and upswing will not happen).
I have shown everything that people are expecting to see.
When he was chief minister, post the Godhra riots, over 1,000 people died on his watch. Did that not bother you?
Everything is there in the film.
The SIT (Special Investigation Team) ne clean chit diya hai (gave him a clean chit).
I have not created anything. Whatever was in the newspapers, I have shown it.
IMAGE: Omung Kumar with producer Sandip Ssingh and Vivek Oberoi. Photograph: Kind courtesy Omung Kumar/Instagram
In the trailer, it appears that you are showing Indira Gandhi as a tyrant and Modi as a hero.
Trailer main jo hain wohi film main hai (whatever was in the trailer is in the film).
It is not like we are putting someone down, it is not like that.
One of the scenes -- where leaflets are flung into the assembly and a bomb is exploded -- looks like it has been inspired from Bhagat Singh's life. Could you explain this scene?
You are putting two and two together.
Trailer main chottey chottey cuts hote hai (there are small cuts in the trailer).
It's not a blast.
Did you show the film to the BJP high command? What was their reaction?
The producers have shown the film and everybody loves it.
We didn't ask for any approvals.
We just showed the film.
Were the BJP or any of the Sangh Parivar outfits present on the sets during the shooting?
No. I have not done a film for anyone.
There was a public showing. People have come and seen the film and liked it.
Why did you not explore Narendra Modi after 2014, when he became the prime minister, particularly since your film is called PM Narendra Modi?
My story is only till he becomes the prime minister.
I have said things that people don't know about him.
How would you rate Modi's performance as prime minister on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being excellent?
I am not politically inclined, so I cannot rate anyone.
IMAGE: Omung Kumar shoots PM Narendra Modi. Photograph: Kind courtesy Omung Kumar/Instagram
Why did you choose an actor like Vivek Oberoi, who is struggling to find success, to play the most popular politician of our time?
Doing well is not a question.
Meri bhi pichli picture Bhoomi flop hui thi (my previous film was a flop). It's not about doing well or not.
He is a fantastic actor. He has not been utilised properly until now.
This is his ticket.
Everybody will start working with him again.
He is doing fantastically down south.
Did Vivek do a screen test?
In fact, while doing the prosthetic, we were wondering how he would look like Modiji.
Even if I had taken another actor, I would do a look test, not a screen test.
Vivek Oberoi is disappointed with the industry's reaction to the film. Why are your colleagues not encouraging your work?
People don't want to be associated with certain things at times.
They are very strong-minded.
'Controversy toh nahi hai na? Hamare apne hi controversy chal rahe hai (Is it controversial? We have our own controversies going why), why should we put our hand in this?'
That's what the people whom we approached were saying.
They have nothing against us. Nothing against Vivek or the film.
But when there's a political angle, people get scared. They should have stood by us, jo hua woh wrong hua (what happened was wrong).
We stand for other films too.
But, all said and done, sometimes some people don't want to come out because they may get trolled.
Vivek has stepped into controversy after tweeting an Aishwarya Rai meme. Are you worried the negative publicity might impact your film?
The tweet has been deleted.
It was an error that happened and he has apologised online.
So there is nothing much.
He thought it was funny but it was not. That's what happened.
PATCY N / Rediff.com
Related News: Narendra Modi, Omung Kumar, Vivek Oberoi, Instagram, IMAGE
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Whether you're a tourist or traveling on business, B My Guesthouse is a great choice for accommodation when visiting Seoul. Only 0.33 Km from the city center, the hotel's strategic location ensures that guests can quickly and easily reach many local points of interest. Also within easy reach are Namsan Park, Seoul Animation Center, Shinsegae Department Store.
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text:
Nothingface – album thrash metalowego zespołu Voivod wydany w 1989.

Lista utworów
Źródło.
 Unknown Knows (5:01)
 Nothingface (4:13)
 Astronomy Domine (5:31)
 Missing Sequences (5:47)
 X-Ray Mirror (4:29)
 Inner Combustion (3:47)
 Pre-Ignition (5:12)
 Into My Hypercube (5:04)
 Sub-Effect (4:30)

Twórcy
 Denis Bélanger – śpiew
 Denis D'Amour – gitara
 Michel Langevin – perkusja
 Jean-Yves Thériault – gitara basowa

Przypisy

Albumy Voivod
Albumy muzyczne wydane w roku 1989
Albumy MCA Records
Albumy Noise Records


text:
Short Literary Works
Nathalie Des Rosiers
Irwin Law Inc.
ISBN: 9781552212141-11
Categories: Administrative Law & Regulatory Practice, Constitutional, Legal History
Le poids de l'histoire
From: Public Law at the McLachlin Court
The thesis defended here is that during the McLachlin years, the Supreme Court has conceptualized freedom of religion very much as its predecessors did—that is, an idea shaped by its history. In the first part of the paper, the author describes our complex history: its measure of aspirations for religious toleration confronted by the reality of religious discrimination; its stated hope for the neutrality of the state marked by a certain hypocrisy; and its general support and acceptance of religious life, spirituality, and religious communities destabilized by the recognition of abuse of power and inequality within religion itself. In the second part of the paper, the author argues that, like its predecessors, the McLachlin Court has articulated the concept of freedom of religion with strong anti-discrimination concerns. The Court is concerned with monitoring majority/minority conflicts, views suspiciously (although recently less so) the majority rationales, and attempts to empower the minority, while becoming more and more cognizant of the reality of inequality and the potential for abuse of power within religious communities.
Nathalie Des Rosiers is general counsel of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association and executive director of the Canadian Civil Liberties Education Trust.
This project is funded in part by the Government of Canada.
Ce projet est financé en partie par le gouvernement du Canada.
© 2021 Canadian Course Readings. Site by Barking Dog Studios
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text:
Chatham County Resources chevron_right
Chatham Extension Center
Chatham County Farms
Buy Local Guide
Pollinators chevron_right
Pollinator Paradise Garden
Pastured Poultry
Tweets from @GrowSmallFarms
Chatham Community Food Council Accepting Applications for New Members
— Written By Debbie Roos en Español
The Chatham Community Food Council is looking for new members to fill its open seats. The council, founded in 2014, is a volunteer-based body of community members who meet monthly to create and implement strategies for improving Chatham's food system. A food system refers to all aspects of buying, selling, and eating food, including production, processing, distribution, consumption, and waste.
In the last five years, at least 24 counties in North Carolina have formed food councils, which are partnership organizations aimed at bringing together key people involved in local food economies to improve community and regional food systems. Local food systems include an array of important components, such as community gardens, farmers' markets, produce stands, restaurants, grocery stores, farm-school partnerships, transportation, and affordability of foods.
The Chatham Community Food Council's work centers around improving health and food access, strengthening the economy, supporting farmers, and creating a thriving and environmentally sustainable community. In a series of strategic planning meetings that began in April of this year, the food council identified three priorities that the current members would like to focus on in the next two years. These priorities include:
Increasing the percentage of farms moving towards financial viability by recommending policies, programs, and resources based on farmers' identified needs.
Increasing the percentage of municipalities with supportive food and farm policies by being involved in the planning process.
Engaging with diverse communities in Chatham County, focusing on creating a council that accurately and equitably represents the demographics of the community.
Potential new members should apply online or can email the food council to request a hard copy of the application. Print copies are also available at Country Farm and Home at 101 S. Small St. in Pittsboro. Members are expected to serve a two-year term and to attend monthly meetings.
Apply on-line.
Council members currently representing organic farming, Chatham County Government, Cooperative Extension, small businesses, and nonprofits all work to make the food system more fair, efficient, sustainable, and local. However, the council desires to represent all who are impacted by the food system, including consumers, restaurant owners, distributors, waste management, conventional farmers, and more. The council also recognizes that not all areas of the county are represented by its current members and wants to fill these gaps. Community members from western Chatham are especially encouraged to apply.
Other opportunities to be involved are available through participation on committees of the Food Council. For more information about committees, email the council at the email address below.
The council seeks to have a diversity of voices at the table and encourages community members of all genders, racial backgrounds, economic statuses, religious backgrounds, sexual orientations, educational backgrounds, and ages to apply.
Applications are due by August 22nd, 2017.
Email the council at chathamfoodcouncilnc@gmail.com or visit the website at https://chathamfoodcouncil.wordpress.com.
Debbie RoosExtension Agent, Agriculture - Sustainable / Organic Production Call Debbie Email Debbie N.C. Cooperative Extension, Chatham County Center
• What's the Good News?
• Now Accepting Applications for the 2017 Extension Master Gardener Volunteer Program
• The 4-H International Exchange Program Is Now Accepting Applications to Host Students From Japan Late July - Mid August.
• Wake County Food Security VISTA Program Now Accepting Applications!
Wake County Center
• Now Accepting Applications for a Summer Intern in Burke!
• Wake County VISTA Positions Accepting Applications!
Debbie RoosExtension Agent, Agriculture - Sustainable / Organic Production
Growing Small Farms is the program of Debbie Roos, Agriculture Agent for the Chatham County Center of North Carolina Cooperative Extension.
From Bear Creek to Bynum, Silk Hope to Moncure, the Chatham County landscape is dotted with small farms. Farmers throughout the county are known for growing a great diversity of agricultural products, including vegetables, fruits, cut flowers, herbs, poultry, beef, pork, dairy products, and other goods. As one of the few counties in the state to actually experience an increase in the number of farms in the past decade, Chatham is also "growing small farms."
Many of Chatham's newer farms are owned by first-generation farmers attracted to the challenges and rewards of making a living from the land. Chatham has a large concentration of farms practicing organic and sustainable agriculture that strive to be environmentally responsible, economically viable, and socially just. In a time when the trend in conventional agriculture is towards fewer and larger farms and many of North Carolina's "conventional" farmers are struggling, the sustainable and diverse agriculture practiced by Chatham's small farms provides the best hope for keeping agriculture a viable part of the community.
Chatham's proximity to upscale Triangle-area markets ensures a steady demand for the organic and sustainably-grown crops produced by area farmers. Four farmers' markets in the county provide residents with ample opportunities to shop and interact with local growers throughout the long growing season. Many area farms offer opportunities for on-farm visits where visitors get the chance to make the connection between food and agriculture.
Small farms also provide many indirect benefits. They help maintain open space valued by people and wildlife. Visitors flock to Chatham for the beauty of its rural landscape. The challenge is to preserve this rural landscape in the face of development pressures from Raleigh and Chapel Hill. One way to preserve the rural landscape is to help keep farms in the county.
The Chatham County Center of North Carolina Cooperative Extension has long recognized the value and importance of the sustainable agriculture practiced by small farms in the area. In 1994, the Chatham County Center created a new county agent position to support the unique needs of these small farmers. Today, this position is fully funded by the Chatham County government, which recognizes the value of sustainable agriculture to the county. Chatham County Agricultural Extension Agent Debbie Roos works with farmers to promote increased awareness, understanding, and practice of sustainable agriculture through monthly educational workshops, a website, on-farm visits, and other consultation.
Roos developed the Growing Small Farms website in 2002 after a survey revealed that approximately 95% of local farmers regularly used the Internet. The site has since grown to over 500 pages and receives over 25,000 visitors each month. Growing Small Farms is also on Twitter and Facebook.
Farms don't exist without consumers, so please take the time to get to know the farmers in your community and support their efforts to keep Chatham County green! Visit our farmers' markets to purchase the freshest vegetables, fruits, meats, baked goods, and other products, all grown or made locally by the person selling it to you. The Buy Local Guide lists community supported agriculture farms, on-farm stands, pick-your-own farms, wineries, and more. Check out the local farm profiles and farm photos on this website for a glimpse of the diversity that allows Chatham's farms to prosper.
Learn more about Extension Agent Debbie Roos.
(919) 515-2813 growingsmallfarms.ces.ncsu.edu


The FBI along with the Chicago Police Dept. are conducting a criminal investigation in the alleged attack on Empire actor Jussie Smollett and images of the potential persons of interests have been released.
Howard states that the cast learned about what happened on set, saying that their jaws dropped when they heard the news.
Guglielmi said there are still many more videos for investigators to collect and go through as they try to get a complete picture of Smollett's walk home.
Smollett has been cooperating with local authorities to find the men he says allegedly attacked him and shouted racial and homophobic slurs, police said. "They have to be forgiven because it was done out of ignorance".
Guglielmi said because of the financial relationship between the two men, they are trying to verify the call took place and have requested phone records or the physical phones used for the call. The rope was still around Smollett's neck when police spoke to him, officials said.
"While video [footage] does not capture an encounter, detectives are taking this development seriously and wish to question individuals as more cameras are being reviewed", he added.
"Our family thanks everyone for their prayers and the huge amount of love he has received".
Trump on Thursday condemned the alleged attack on Smollett. "Jussie is a warrior whose light can not be dimmed". "We send our love to Jussie, who is resilient and strong, and we will work with law enforcement to bring these perpetrators to justice". He is said to be in good condition.
"We are deeply saddened and outraged to learn that a member of our Empire family, Jussie Smollett, was viciously attacked last night", a statement from 20th Century Fox Television and Fox Entertainment read.
"That I can tell you is awful".
Guglielmi said piecing together the private and public surveillance video is tedious work that is made more hard by the fact that the time stamps on various cameras may not be in sync, meaning detectives have to figure out the exact times of events. They proceeded to assault Smollett and "poured an unknown chemical substance" on him.
Representatives from Empire, the show Smollett is now on, were quick to share their condolences.
A spokesperson for the Chicago Police Department told ET earlier this week that Smollett told detectives late Tuesday afternoon in a follow-up interview that his two attackers yelled, "MAGA country" to him during the attack, referring to Trump's "Make America Great Again" campaign slogan.
As soon as the officers announced themselves and breached the door of the home, they were met by gunfire from one to two suspects. The five were shot and wounded during an encounter with a suspect Monday afternoon in a southeast Houston neighborhood.
Klopp said delivering a Premier League title is massively important to the Liverpool squad because of how much it would mean to the club's loyal fan base.
Nasr and his team finished second, while Alexander Rossi's team in the No. 7 Acura DPi finished third. Taylor enjoyed his USA sons each making the podium, Jordan for the winners and Ricky in third.
He was convicted of fraud and drug-related offences in March 2017 , and was deported from Singapore after completing his sentence. Ler was charged in court in June 2016 for offences under the Penal Code and the Official Secrets Act (OSA).
The sanctions bar state-owned oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA from collecting proceeds from crude sales to USA refineries. Asked to explain the words, the White House said in an email that: "As the President has said, all options are on the table".
By the afternoon, there will be a low-pressure system moving along the English Channel and, wrapped around that, an area of rain. Snow has already begun to fall in the highest parts of Devon with wintry showers across the Princetown area since midnight.
In comments to journalists on January 28 in Florida ahead of his arraignment, Stone accused Mueller of "a raw abuse of power". He was arrested in connection with the probe against President Donald Trump and was released on a $250,000 bond.
Lynch and Rousey have been feuding for months, so it's certainly not a surprise that the big payoff will come at Wrestlemania . Lynch was greeted by raucous applause to her entrance, and then she chose to address Ronda Rousey .


text:
\section{Introduction}

Incremental learning is a common scenario for practical applications of deep language models. In such applications, training data is expected to arrive in batches rather than all at once, and so incremental perturbations to the model are preferred over retraining the model from scratch every time new training data becomes available for efficiency of time and computational resources. When multilingual models are deployed in applications, they are expected to deliver good performance over data across multiple languages and domains. This is why it is desirable that the model keeps acquiring new knowledge from incoming training data in different languages, while preserving its ability on languages that were trained in the past. The model should ideally keep improving over time, or at the very least not deteriorate its performance on certain languages through the incremental learning lifecycle.

It is known that incremental fine-tuning with data in different languages leads to catastrophic forgetting \cite{french-catastrophic, mccloskey:catastrophic} of languages that were fine-tuned in the past \cite{liu_preserving_2021, vu-overcoming-catastrophic}. This means that the performance on previously fine-tuned tasks or languages decreases after training on a new task or language. Multiple strategies have been proposed to mitigate catastrophic forgetting. Data-focused strategies such as augmentation and episodic memories \cite{hayes-aug-strategy-example-1, arslan-tiny-episodic, lopez-paz_gradient_2017}, entail maintaining a cache of a subset of examples from previous training data, which are mixed with new examples from the current training data. The network is subsequently fine-tuned over this mixture as a whole, in order to help the model "refresh" its "memory" of prior information so that it can leverage previous experience to transfer knowledge to future tasks.

\begin{figure}[t!]
  \centering
\includegraphics[width=\columnwidth, scale=1.5]{figures/fig_1.pdf}
  \caption{Translation augmented sequential fine-tuning approach with LLRD-enabled training. We begin with a pre-trained multilingual model $\mathcal{M}_{0}$ and fine-tune it over multiple stages to obtain ($\mathcal{M}_{i}$ where $i$ = 0...$N$). At each fine-tuning stage, we train the model $\mathcal{M}_{i}$ over examples from the training set  that is available at that stage ($\mathcal{D}_{i}$) which is in language $\mathcal{L}_{j}$. At each step, we sample a small random subset from $\mathcal{D}_{i}$ and translate that sample into languages ($\mathcal{L}$ $\backslash$ $\mathcal{L}_{j}$) to create a set of translated examples $\mathcal{T}_{i}$. Each step of training includes LLRD as a hyperparameter.}
  \label{fig:1}
\end{figure}

Closely related to our current work is the work by  \citet{mhamdi_cross-lingual_2022, ozler-2020} of understanding the effect of incrementally fine-tuning models with multi-lingual data. They suggest that joint fine-tuning is the best way to mitigate the tendency of cross-lingual language models to erase previously acquired knowledge. In other words, their results show that joint fine-tuning should be used instead of incremental fine-tuning, if possible.

Optimization focused strategies such as \citet{training-regime-mirzadeh-2020, kirkpatrick_overcoming_2017} focus on the training regime, and show that techniques such as dropout, large learning rates with decay and shrinking the batch size can create training regimes that result in more stable models.

Translation augmentation has been shown to be an effective technique for improving performance as well. \citet{neubig-translation, Fadaee_2017-trans-aug, liu-etal-trans-aug} and \citet{xia-etal-2019-trans-aug} use various types of translation augmentation strategies and show substantial improvements in performance. Encouraged by these gains, we incorporate translation as our data augmentation strategy.

In our analysis, we consider an additional constraint that affects our choice of data augmentation strategies. This constraint is that the data that has already been used for training cannot be accessed again in a future time step. We know that privacy is an important consideration for continuously deployed models in corporate applications and similar scenarios and privacy protocols often limit access of each tranche of additional fine-tuning data only to the current training time step. Under such constraints, joint fine-tuning or maintaining a cache like \citet{chaudhry_tiny_2019, lopez-paz_gradient_2017} is infeasible. Thus, we use translation augmentation as a way to improve cross-lingual generalization over a large number of fine-tuning steps without storing previous data.

In this paper we present a novel translation-augmented sequential fine-tuning approach that mixes in translated data at each step of sequential fine-tuning and makes use of a special training regime. Our approach shows minimization of the effects of catastrophic forgetting, and the interference between languages. The results show that for incremental learning over dozens of training steps, the baseline approaches result in catastrophic forgetting. We see that it may take multiple steps to reach this point, but the performance eventually collapses.

The main contribution of our work is combining data augmentation with adjustments in training regime and evaluating this approach over a sequence of 50 incremental fine-tuning steps. The training regime makes sure that incremental fine-tuning of models using translation augmentation is robust without the access to previous data. We show that our model delivers a good performance as it surpasses the baseline across multiple evaluation metrics. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work to provide a multi-stage cross-lingual analysis of incremental learning over a large number of fine-tuning steps with recurrence of languages.

\section{Related Work}

Current work fits into the area of incremental learning in cross-lingual settings. \citet{mhamdi_cross-lingual_2022} is the closest work to our research. The authors compare several cross-lingual incremental learning methods and provide evaluation measures for model quality after each sequential fine-tuning step. They show that combining the data from all languages and fine-tuning the model jointly is more beneficial than sequential fine-tuning on each language individually. We use some of their evaluation protocols but we have different constraints: we do not keep the data from previous sequential fine-tuning steps and we do not control the sequence of languages. In addition, they considered only six hops of incremental fine-tuning whereas we are interested in dozens of steps. \citet{ozler-2020} do not perform a cross-lingual analysis, but study a scenario closely related to our work. Their findings fall in line with those of \citet{mhamdi_cross-lingual_2022} as they show that combining data from different domains into one training set for fine-tuning performs better than fine-tuning each domain separately. However, this type of joint fine-tuning is ruled out for our scenario where we assume that access to previous training data is not available, and so we focus on sequential fine-tuning exclusively.

\citet{training-regime-mirzadeh-2020} study the impact of various training regimes on forgetting mitigation. Their study focuses on learning rates, batch size, regularization method. This work, like ours, shows that applying a learning rate decay plays a significant role in reducing catastrophic forgetting. However, it is important to point out that our type of decay is different from theirs. \citet{training-regime-mirzadeh-2020} start with a high initial learning rate for the first task to obtain a wide and stable minima. Then, for each subsequent task, slightly decrease the learning rate, while simultaneously reducing the batch size, as recommended by \citet{dont-decay-lr-inc-batch-size}. On the other hand, we apply our decay rate across the transformer model's layer stack so that the deviations from the current optimum get progressively smaller as one moves down the layers and we do this at each step of incremental fine-tuning.

 Memory-based approaches such as \citet{arslan-tiny-episodic, lopez-paz_gradient_2017} have been explored to mitigate forgetting. Such methods make use of an \textit{episodic memory} or a cache which stores a subset of data from previous tasks. These examples are then used for training along with the current examples in the current optimization step. Similarly, \citet{xu-etal-2021-gradual} suggest a gradual fine-tuning approach, wherein models are eased towards the target domain by increasing the concentration of in-domain data at every fine-tuning stage. This work builds on the findings from \citet{bengio-curriculum}, who show that a multi-stage curriculum strategy of learning easier examples first, and gradually increasing the difficulty level leads to better generalization and faster convergence.  While we cannot maintain a cache of this sort because of our constraints, we take inspiration from this line of research and generate ``easier examples'' using translation in languages that are expected to appear in our data.

 Sequential fine-tuning of languages has not been extensively studied for long sequences. \citet{liu_preserving_2021} and \citet{garcia_towards_2021} go up to two stages, whereas \citet{mhamdi_cross-lingual_2022} go upto six stages. We provide an analysis of a much longer fine-tuning sequence with fifty stages. We are also the first to present an analysis of sequences with repetition of languages.

\section{Method}

We propose a translation augmented sequential fine-tuning approach for incremental learning in a cross-lingual setting. Our approach addresses the scenario in which a pre-trained model is incrementally fine-tuned over dozens of steps without access to previously seen training data. There is a set of languages $\mathcal{L} = \mathcal{L}_{0}$, ..., $\mathcal{L}_{K}$ that can appear during the incremental fine-tuning steps and we assume that in each step the data comes from only one language. We exploit the benefits of data augmentation, as well as specialized optimization techniques.

We begin with a pre-trained multilingual model $\mathcal{M}_{0}$ which will be fine-tuned over multiple stages to create incremental versions $\mathcal{M}_{i}$ where $i$ = 0...$N$. The training data in each incremental fine-tuning step is $\mathcal{D}_{i}$ and is in a randomly selected language $\mathcal{L}_{j}$, where $ 0 \leq j \leq K$. At each step, we sample a small random subset  $\mathcal{T}_{i}$ from $\mathcal{D}_{i}$ and translate that subset to all languages from $\mathcal{L}$ except $\mathcal{L}_{j}$, to create multiple additional subsets of training data $\mathcal{T}_{i}$.
We denote the augmented training set as $\mathcal{D}_{i}^{\mathcal{T}}$, where $$\mathcal{D}_{i}^{\mathcal{T}} = \mathcal{D}_{i} + \mathcal{T}_{i}$$

Figure \ref{fig:1} provides a graphical representation of our approach.

\subsection{Fine-tuning regime with LLRD}
Motivated by \citet{yosinski_how_2014}, we apply a layer-wise learning rate decay (or LLRD, denoted by $\zeta$) to the model parameters depending on their position in the layer stack of the model, based on the discriminative fine-tuning method proposed by \citet{howard-ruder-2018}.
Layer-wise Learning Rate Decay (LLRD) is a method that applies higher learning rates for top layers and lower learning rates for bottom layers. The goal is to modify the lower layers that encode more general information less than the top layers that are more specific to the pre-training task. This is accomplished by setting the learning rate of the top layer and using a multiplicative decay rate to decrease the learning rate layer-by-layer from top to bottom. We split the parameters $\theta$ into $\left\{\theta^1, \cdots, \theta^L\right\}$ where $\theta^l$ contains the parameters of the $l^{th}$ layer of the pre-trained model. The parameters are updated as follows:
$$\theta_t^l=\theta_{t-1}^l-\eta^l \cdot \nabla_\theta J(\theta)$$
where $\eta^l$ represents the learning rate of the $l^{th}$ layer. We set the learning rate of the top layer to $\eta^l$ and use
$$\eta^{k-1}=\zeta \cdot \eta^k$$
\section{Experiments}

\subsection{Data}
We use the Multilingual Amazon Reviews corpus (MARC) \cite{keung-etal-2020-multilingual}. This dataset is a large-scale collection of product reviews from 6 different languages and from 31 different categories. We construct our training sets by extracting reviews for ten common categories: \textit{apparel, automotive, beauty, drugstore, grocery, home, kitchen, musical instruments, sports, wireless}.
The number of reviews for each language-category combination are not equal, but to ensure consistency of training examples at each training step, we create two unique training sets of size 100 and 150 for each language-category combination.
For our experiments, we use reviews from all 6 languages provided in the dataset (Chinese, English, French, German, Japanese and Spanish). We drop the 3-star reviews and bifurcate the rest into two class labels: positive (4-star and 5-star) and negative (1-star and 2-star) sentiment.\footnote{We ensure that both final labels contain an equal number of examples of their constituent star-ratings. E.g., the negative sentiment class will contain an equal number of reviews from 1- and 2-star reviews.}

Each incremental training set $\mathcal{D}_{i}$ contains 100 reviews from a particular language-category combination, for example, \textit{de-grocery}. To ensure class balancing, we sample an equal number of positive and negative records for each training set.

We use the original test-splits for each of the 60 language-category combinations of the MARC data as our test set.

\subsection{Translation augmentation}
The translations were generated  using the Google Translate API. In the current work we sample a fraction of 0.1 of the training examples. For example, if the training data is $\mathcal{D}_{i}$ has 100 records, the translation augmented data $\mathcal{D}_{i}^{\mathcal{T}}$ will have 150 records.

\subsection{Constructing the sequence}
We tested our approach on a large number of incremental fine-tuning steps using data from various language-category combinations. To do that we created 3 random sequences $\mathcal{S}_{1}$, $\mathcal{S}_{2}$, $\mathcal{S}_{3}$ with 50 training sets $\mathcal{D}_{1}$-$\mathcal{D}_{50}$ each. We term each incremental fine-tuning step as a \textit{hop}.  Multiple hops comprise a \textit{sequence}.

Each training set $\mathcal{D}_{i}$ contains data from a particular language-category combination. To construct these 3 randomized sequences we used the following approach. We first generated all possible language-category combinations, and then sampled one combination at a time for each hop. The only constraint placed on the sampling is that it cannot choose a combination that has already appeared in the sequence. However, the same language with a different category and the same category with a different language still can occur. E.g., if \textit{de-grocery} features once in the sequence, it cannot be repeated, even though \textit{de-sports} or \textit{en-grocery} are possible options. The plots in Fig. \ref{fig:2} and \ref{fig:3} show the language-category combination for each $\mathcal{D}_{i}$ in all three sequences.

\subsection{Model and training}
We use multilingual BERT (cased) as our base model. We run a hyperparameter optimization over a relatively small search space containing values that were most effective in our preliminary experiments.
Two types of settings were used for training:
\begin{itemize}
    \item Default settings:
        \begin{itemize}
            \item Epochs: 5
            \item Learning rate: $2e-5$
            \item LLRD: 1.0
        \end{itemize}
        \item LLRD-enabled settings:
        \begin{itemize}
            \item Epochs: 5
            \item Learning rate: $2e-5$
            \item LLRD: 0.75, 0.85 \footnote{Our preliminary experiments showed that LLRD values of $\zeta=0.75$ and $\zeta=0.85$  are the most suitable candidates for our scenario. We show in brief the results of other values for comparison in Table \ref{tab:1}. The models are trained over the \textit{sports} datasets of all six languages and compare the scores averaged over the 60 evaluation sets. $\zeta=0.75$ and $\zeta=0.85$ deliver the most consistent performance.}
        \end{itemize}
\end{itemize}

The best checkpoint from any given stage is chosen for subsequent fine-tuning over the next language dataset. At the first stage, we use the pre-trained mBERT checkpoints released by \cite{devlin-bert}.\footnote{\url{github.com/google-research/bert/blob/master/multilingual.md}}
All experiments have been run on a single machine with a 6-core NVIDIA Tesla K80 GPU.

\begin{table}[ht!]
  \centering
  \scalebox{0.97}{
  \input{tables/LLRD}}
  \caption{
  Comparison of different LLRD settings ($\zeta$). We observe that $\zeta=0.75$ and $\zeta=0.85$ deliver the most consistent performance.
  }\label{tab:1}
  \vspace{-1mm}
\end{table}

\subsection{Experimental setup}
We show the results with the following four variations. We start with the default incremental fine-tuning approach and add modifications such as translation augmentation, LLRD and the combination of translation and LLRD.
\begin{itemize}
\setlength\itemsep{0.5em}
\item \textit{Sequential fine-tuning (\textsc{SeqFT})}: Data is $\mathcal{D}_{i}$, default training settings.
\item \textit{Sequential fine-tuning with LLRD (\textsc{SeqFT-Llrd})}: Data is $\mathcal{D}_{i}$, Trained with LLRD-enabled settings.
\item \textit{Translation augmented sequential fine-tuning (\textsc{SeqFT-Trans})}: Data is $\mathcal{D}_{i}^{\mathcal{T}}$, default training settings.
\item \textit{Translation augmented sequential fine-tuning using LLRD (\textsc{SeqFT-Trans-Llrd})}: This is our approach. Data is $\mathcal{D}_{i}^{\mathcal{T}}$, Trained with LLRD-enabled settings.

\end{itemize}

\subsection{Evaluation Metrics}

We evaluate our proposed approach against the baseline models on overall $F_{1}$ scores over the following metrics:
\begin{itemize}
    \item \textbf{Average hop-wise $F_{1}$}: The $F_{1}$ scores over each of the 60 test sets are averaged for every single fine-tuning hop.
    \item \textbf{Overall $F_{1}$}: The averages of hop-wise $F_{1}$ scores for all stages are averaged  to give the overall performance.
    \item \textbf{Forgetting (F)}: The average forgetting across languages at the end of sequential fine-tuning. This evaluation metric measures the decrease in performance on each of the languages between the peak $F_{1}$ score and the $F_{1}$ score after final training step of the sequence. We evaluate forgetting by language (F-lang) as well as by category (F-categ).
    \item \textbf{In-language, in-domain performance (IL/ID)}: These are the average scores on all the test sets corresponding to the last fine-tuned language-category combination. For example, if the current stage of fine-tuning uses Chinese \textit{zh-grocery} data, then the in-language performance is the $F_{1}$ over the \textit{zh-grocery} test set.
    \item \textbf{Out-of-language, in-domain performance (OL/ID)}: These are the average scores on all the test sets corresponding to languages that were \textit{not} seen in the previous stage of fine-tuning but are of the same domain. For example, if the current stage of fine-tuning uses \textit{zh-grocery} data, the test sets used to calculate OL/ID performance are English (\textit{en-grocery}), French (\textit{fr-grocery}), German (\textit{de-grocery}), Japanese (\textit{jp-grocery}) and Spanish (\textit{es-grocery}).
    \item \textbf{In-language, out-of-domain performance (IL/OD)}: The average scores on test sets of the same language as training but corresponding to the domains that were \textit{not} used during training.  For example, if the current stage of fine-tuning uses \textit{zh-grocery} data, the performance on the Chinese test sets of all domains other than \textit{grocery} are averaged at each fine-tuning stage.
    \item \textbf{Out-of-language, out-of-domain performance (OL/OD)}: The average scores on the test sets corresponding to all language-category combinations except the one that was used during training.
\end{itemize}

\section{Results}
\label{sec:results}

\input{tables/main_table}%

We present below a comparison of our approach \textsc{SeqFT-Trans-Llrd} with different variations of sequential fine-tuning in our results.

\begin{figure*}[htp!]\centering
\clearpage
\includegraphics[scale=0.3]{figures/S_vs_STL_seq1.png}

\includegraphics[scale=0.3]{figures/S_vs_STL_seq2.png}

\includegraphics[scale=0.3]{figures/S_vs_STL_seq3.png}

\caption{ \textsc{SeqFT} vs \textsc{SeqFT-Trans-Llrd}: We show the plots of hop-wise $F_{1}$ scores for each randomized sequence of 50 hops each. Each plot has the details for one sequence. We show the $F_{1}$ for each language separately in color-coded lines. The translucent  lines show the results for our baseline of no data augmentation and default fine-tuning settings. The regular lines show the results of our approach. The x-axis shows the language-category combination in each training set $D_{i}$.}
\label{fig:2}
\end{figure*}

\begin{figure*}[htp!]\centering
\clearpage
\includegraphics[scale=0.3]{figures/ST_S1.png}
\includegraphics[scale=0.3]{figures/ST_S2.png}
\includegraphics[scale=0.3]{figures/ST_S3.png}

\caption{ \textsc{SeqFT-Trans}: We show the plots of hop-wise $F_{1}$ scores for each randomized sequence of 50 hops each. Each plot has the details for one sequence. We show the $F_{1}$ for each language separately in color-coded lines. The x-axis shows the language-category combination in each training set $D_{i}$.}
\label{fig:3}
\end{figure*}

\subsection{ \textsc{SeqFT} \normalfont{(baseline)}} \label{subsec:seqFT}

Our proposed approach \textsc{SeqFT-Trans-Llrd} outperforms \textsc{SeqFT} decisively. We see that it is able to dramatically improve the overall $F_{1}$ performance and reduce forgetting on both forgetting metrics by one order of magnitude. This is evident from Fig. \ref{fig:2} and Table \ref{tab:2}. We see in the plots for average $F_{1}$ (Fig. \ref{fig:2}) that for each of the three sequences, the default approach \textsc{SeqFT} results in catastrophic forgetting. It can happen at different hops. In sequence 1, at the 2nd hop, in sequence 2, at the 17th hop and in sequence 3, at the 23rd hop. But eventually, the $F_{1}$ drops and never recovers. This highlights the importance of studying sequential fine-tuning over a large number of steps to be able to observe these effects. After the model performance collapses, we observed that the model classifies almost every example as negative. It is not clear from our results in these three different sequences if a particular language or category or combination triggers this collapse in performance. This is something we intend to explore in future work. Even in the initial hops before the collapse in performance, \textsc{SeqFT} under-performs our approach. From Table \ref{tab:2}, we see that our approach outperforms this baseline on all metrics. There is at least a 36 point improvement on the overall $F_{1}$ score between \textsc{SeqFT} and our approach.

In subsections \ref{subsec:seqFT-trans} and \ref{subsec:seqFT-LLRD}, we study the effects of the translation augmentation and specialized training regime separately to understand their contributions in isolation.

\subsection{\textsc{SeqFT-Trans} \normalfont{(baseline)}} \label{subsec:seqFT-trans}

We observe that translation augmentation on its own performs very similarly to the baseline \textsc{SeqFT}. It outperforms the baseline only on one sequence in terms of overall $F_{1}$. The overall $F_{1}$ for \textsc{SeqFT-Trans} is significantly lower compared to our approach. The plots look similar to \textsc{SeqFT}, but we still provide them in Fig. \ref{fig:3}. Augmentation seems to delay catastrophic forgetting until 6, 15 and 22 hops. However, both approaches eventually result in catastrophic forgetting. Thus, the performance at the end of the sequence is extremely low. This is reflected in the high values of the F-lang and F-categ metrics in Table \ref{tab:2}.

\subsection{ \textsc{SeqFT-Llrd}} \label{subsec:seqFT-LLRD}

In contrast to \textsc{SeqFT-Trans}, using only the specialized training regime \textsc{SeqFT-Llrd} shows a strong performance. In fact, it appears that the main advantage of our approach stems from the optimized training regime with LLRD since \textsc{SeqFT-Llrd} and \textsc{SeqFT-Trans-Llrd} have comparable performance on many evaluation metrics. For sequence 3, our full approach \textsc{SeqFT-Trans-Llrd} shows a slightly higher overall $F_{1}$ performance as compared to \textsc{SeqFT-Llrd}. But on the other two sequences \textsc{SeqFT-Llrd} has a higher $F_{1}$ score. However, in terms of the forgetting metrics, our approaches outperforms \textsc{SeqFT-Llrd} on two out of three sequences. Also, for sequence 3, the out-of-domain performance with our full approach is higher.

In summary, our approach outperforms the baseline (\textsc{SeqFT}) by a wide margin. Since we use multiple language and category combinations, we show results on metrics based on similarity of the train and test data with respect to language and category. Our observations are consistent across all evaluation metrics. The main performance boost for our approach comes from including LLRD in the training regime. However, our combination of LLRD and translation augmentation slightly outperforms \textsc{SeqFT-Llrd} in terms of both forgetting metrics.

\section{Conclusion}
We introduce a sequential fine-tuning approach wherein the language data for fine-tuning is augmented by a subset of translated examples. Our augmentation strategy emulates episodic memory and decreases the reliance on a cache of stored examples from previous stages. We also advocate the use of layer-wise learning rate decay and illustrate its effectiveness in mitigating forgetting. With our results, we show that the proposed approach can outperform joint fine-tuning based methods, in spite of not having access to the complete set of examples from all languages. Crucially, it achieves robust and consistent performance over multiple cross-lingual fine-tuning stages. The trajectories of performances over different languages suggest that the model can continue learning over new data (or languages) for even more stages in the sequence without undergoing a significant reduction in performance. Furthermore, our approach surpasses all baselines when evaluated on in-domain, out-of-domain, in-language and out-of-language performance, showing that the model has a strong generalization ability. All-in-all, we hope our work provides encourament to the community to pursue similar recipes that facilitate long-term continual learning.

\section{Limitations}

One of the primary limitations of our work is that the analysis has only been provided for a single random sequence with only six languages. Diversification of this study with more languages, more random sequences and an even higher number of fine-tuning stages is a strong avenue for future work that we intend to pursue. Additionally, we would also like to extend this study to other cross-lingual tasks to see if the findings are similar.

Another limitation is a lack of experimentation with adapter-based methods. In the future, we would also like to experiment with varying proportions of translated examples with respect to the original training size.

We would also like to extend our work to include a more in-depth study of the underlying linguistic factors that underpin cross-lingual transfer or forgetting. A study of this kind would ideally include, but not be limited to, analyses based on word order, scripts, morphology and syntax.

\section*{Acknowledgements}
The authors of this work would like to express their gratitude to Dinesh Karamchandani, for help with setting up the experimentation framework, and Dan Roth for feedback on our approach.

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