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Migrating Complex Networking ASIC Verification Environment to SystemC and SystemVerilog
by Bryon Moyer
As the computer hardware industry strives to obey Moore's Law, the telecommunication industry is following the even more rapid phenomena as described by Metcalfe's Law: the potential number of contacts between each end computer increases rapidly, the effort to reduce the congestion at the network layer is greatly contributing to today's system-on-chip (SoC) complexity. As more and more optimizations are added to the upper layer protocols, low layer complexity increases to facilitate overall system feasibility. Over the past decade, we have witnessed a dramatic increase in Gigabit Ethernet popularity. Today as we experience the deployment of 10Gig/Ethernet, the buzz indicates 100 Gig/Ethernet is likely in the near future.
Although technology has experienced steep growth, much of the success has resulted from too many short cuts. We now find ourselves working in a legacy verification environment that requires a severe makeover to make it applicable to the latest and greatest technology. As engineers witness rapid growth in both the computer and networking industries, we need to remind ourselves of the critical bottlenecks that will affect our future growth and make proper adjustments as a result. By following industry trends and adopting the latest advanced verification techniques, we will be able to make a positive impact on time to market. In this paper, we will explore how a legacy Vera-based ASIC environment evolved and re-invented itself – in the form of SystemC and SystemVerilog – in anticipation of future verification challenges.
The Legacy Code Phase-Out Process
It is important to note that migrating away from a legacy environment is not an overnight success. Often, the following questions keep legacy environments in existence:
Is it necessary to completely move away from the legacy testbench?
Why not keep the legacy environment and implement all future work with new methodologies?
Since a verification methodology closely resembles the software development process, in order to address the issues, it helps to understand Software Evolution's 5th law – Conservation of Familiarity – which states that in general the growth rate of a system tends to decline. The research studies behind this law show that the "most likely principle source of declining incremental growth rates observed is increasing complexity as the system ages" [3]. The cause of this declining growth can be attributed to "increasing internal interconnectivity and, hence, to deteriorating system structure, increasing disorder and complexity" [3]. Here we see that the Law of Conservation of Familiarity serves as a good rationale for migrating away from a legacy environment.
Given the fact that the majority of the verification infrastructure gets carried over from one project to the next project, it is often hard – if not impossible – to completely and immediately break away from a legacy environment. In our case, we took a well-planned approach, phasing out the legacy environment over two years. Figure 1 depicts our approach towards the legacy environment phase-out process. Throughout this process, the two key objectives were to mitigate risk due to legacy code conversion and to bring added value to the overall productivity of the business unit.
Figure 1 Legacy Environment phase out process
In order to mitigate risk and to quantify porting success, we relied heavily on functional coverage. A great deal of effort was put into ensuring that Vera functional coverage was strictly correlated to that of the converted code base. Section 6 of this article is devoted to this topic.
In terms of value creation, a cost-benefit analysis was conducted to gauge whether a mixed SystemC-SystemVerilog environment would out-perform the benefit of having a homogenous SystemVerilog verification environment. The key consideration for the mixed SystemC-SystemVerilog environment was to minimize the verification team's involvement with co-simulation. In an organizational structure where verification resources are far fewer as compared to its counterparts (i.e. the software team), it becomes highly evident that any effort to minimize the verification team's involvement in co-simulation would greatly promote the business unit's overall productivity. Ultimately this productivity gain matrix justified the additional complexity incurred due to mixed language debug.
In order to achieve co-simulation benefits in a shorter time frame, the decision was made to only convert the reference model into SystemC. An interim Vera-SystemC environment existed during the phase out period to verify the ported SystemC reference model's accuracy and the SystemVerilog convergence effort. A new SystemVerilog based testbench and additional test cases were written in parallel to ensure full functional coverage.
The remainder of this paper will detail our experience during reference-model conversion from Vera to SystemC. We will also talk about why SystemVerilog was chosen for the remaining verification infrastructure. However, since we did not perform Vera to SystemVerilog conversion, none of the porting challenges on that frontier will be discussed.
Evaluation and Measurement of Legacy Code Complexity
In projects, we often find that a complete, object-oriented, large-scale verification environment is maintained by many engineers with different coding styles and levels of expertise. Therefore, allocating sufficient time to do a proper, well planned legacy code-complexity assessment is the first critical step to conversion success. We have divided the legacy code assessments into two tasks:
Language complexity categorization and correlation with respect to the new language of choice
Data type/method access across the three major environment components (reference model, testbench and test cases.)
Language complexity categorization
During the language complexity classification stage of the code assessment, the use of various Vera language constructs were analyzed and categorized based on their level of difficulty. The assignment of difficulty level was based on whether a corresponding construct was supported in SystemC. Table 1 shows the mapping of various Vera constructs to SystemC. For Vera constructs that did not easily lend themselves to a trivial SystemC mapping, human judgment was required during conversion. Due to the fact that a script could not complete the conversion of these constructs, a high level of difficulty was assigned. Section 5 discusses various issues that may arise due to the use of human judgment and Section 6 discusses how functional coverage was used to verify porting success.
Data type/method access across the three major environment components
During the phase of complexity analysis, the focus was to identify data access across major environment components (reference model, testbench, and tests). For the purpose of porting, any cross-model access is marked and categorized as a red flag item. Two of the major porting issues found were:
Tests were written with hierarchical access into the reference model
Events were used to synchronize the test with respect to the reference model
Figure 2 Vera verification environment
Ultimately all data accesses across verification component boundaries were handled via Direct Programming Interface (DPI). For example, a test may use a set of DPI "import" functions to perform configuration and post-simulation statistics on the SystemC-based reference model.
Figure 3 SystemC & SystemVerilog based verification environment
New languages of choice: SystemC and SystemVerilog
Over the past few years, supporting software co-simulation was an enormous task with the Vera-based environment. A significant portion of co-simulation debug effort was focused on coaching a large number of software engineers on the intricate details of Vera constructs. As discussed in Section 2, based on value creation analysis, going forward the decision was made to choose a language that most software engineers are easily adaptable to. This gave rise to reference model implementation using SystemC. The goal is to integrate a SoC's reference models as the final co-simulation environment to hand over to software teams for co-simulation debug.
Using SystemC for reference-model implementation does have a few caveats. For hardware engineers with little or no C++ language experience, the learning curve may effect scheduling. However, we considered this a one-time imposition, determined the investment would be worth the co-simulation returns in the long run.
Although SystemC shares many of the features of other Object Oriented languages, the two genuine concerns that we face today are difficulty during debug and poor randomization.
(i) Debugging simulation core dumps can be a tedious and daunting task. Furthermore, developers need to avoid common C/C++ pitfalls such as pointer manipulation, dangling pointers, memory leaks, etc. during the implementation. Debugging solutions to these problems are not supported by all EDA vendors. However, open source software such as Valgrind and Purify do offer solutions in this area.
(ii) SystemC provides limited random constructs and may leave engineers with Vera/e backgrounds feeling handicapped.
In an era where random testing is a decisive factor for successful silicon validation, one may not simply learn to live with the limitations imposed by SystemC. To address this issue, our methodology employs SystemVerilog for the construction of the remaining verification components – testbench, stimulus library and testcases. Unlike SystemC, SystemVerilog is rich in terms of random constructs and has a lot in common with Vera constructs. Engineers with Vera/Verilog background find a SystemVerilog transition easy, and SystemVerilog's functional coverage is the pillar to our porting success. SystemVerilog's DPI enables it to "call" C/C++/SystemC functions, and vice versa, making SystemVerilog the language to enable efficient co-simulation of SystemVerilog and SystemC blocks. We made use of the DPI to extend SystemC's capability to perform functional coverage of SystemC reference models. For more information see Section 6.
In summary, the SystemC language is defined for verification from concept to implementation in both hardware and software. SystemVerilog is defined for hardware description and verification. Both SystemC and SystemVerilog are needed to verify a complex system due to coverage, randomization, and the ability to leverage existing C infrastructure.
Migration challenges
Migrating from Vera to SystemC
Given the similarities between Vera and SystemC, an obvious migration methodology is translation. Source-to-source translation might have some issues depending on how close the languages are in their syntax and semantics. The simplest discrepancies are keyword clashes, unsupported constructs and user comments. Source-to-source translator script requirements are somewhat stringent. The script is limited by the output language and is required to produce semantically equivalent constructs. Manually converting thousands of lines of Vera code to SystemC is time consuming so we decided to write scripts in Perl. We wrote a script to map Vera to SystemC constructs wherever it was possible. There are constructs for which it was not possible to write a script, e.g. converting Vera mailbox and fork-join constructs. When extracting these constructs, one needs to be extremely careful so we converted them manually.
Table 1 shows the mapping of Vera constructs to SystemC that can be converted using a script. Table 2 shows which constructs must be converted manually.
Table 1 – Mapping of Vera constructs to SystemC (conversion using scripts).
Table 2 – Mapping of Vera constructs to SystemC (manual conversion).
There is no equivalent construct for a Vera mailbox in SystemC. It cannot be mapped to sc_fifo because sc_fifo does not have copy_wait and copy_nowait methods. So we decided to create a mailbox in SystemC that could be used to convert a Vera mailbox to SystemC.
The following example shows the conversion of Vera fork–join all and fork join–any to SystemC. Join all is simple compared to join-any. Since there is no equivalent construct for join-any in SystemC , we had to make use of sc_events to notify the completion of a spawned process and wait for any of the events to occur before proceeding.
Minimizing post migration debug
Vera mailbox constructs do not easily map into SystemC constructs. Prior to creating our own mailbox in SystemC, our initial attempt was to port all mailboxes to sc_fifo. Our Vera mailboxes are unbound, so in porting to sc_fifo an estimated depth was assumed. In some instances, the depth assumptions were not accurate and created functional misbehavior. One way to avoid such failures is to use the sc_fifo's num_free() built-in function check prior to sc_fifo writes.
Unlike Vera, SystemC does not use the same semantics for bit access and bit-range access. Recall from Section 5 that SystemC uses the square bracket for bit access but for bit-range accesses SystemC uses parentheses. Our environment uses a large number of macro definitions to describe the bit and bit-range values. It is a tedious task to decide case-by-case whether the macro in question is describing a bit or a bit-field and then use either the square bracket or the parentheses. Improper usage may result in simulation core dump or worse yet, may result in incorrect behavior. In order to eliminate such issues, we incorporated the bit vs. bit-field bracket substitution as part of our porting script.
Porting Vera "case" statements to SystemC's "switch-case" must also be reviewed if case conditions contain non-integer values (such as a sc_lv, sc_bv or bit-field extraction from one of these). In such an event, use of to_uint() is required since switch statements take expressions of type integer.
Verify porting success via Functional Coverage
To ensure porting success, we decided to implement and measure functional coverage between the Vera and SystemC testbenches. This comparison was made to ensure that the testcases are testing the intended scenario. SystemC has limited functional coverage capability; it doesn't have in-built functional coverage constructs to directly measure the functional coverage of our SystemC reference model.
SystemVerilog's functional coverage extensions address these shortcomings by providing language constructs for easy specification of functional coverage models. SystemVerilog provides two unique constructs to answer the question of what is being tested: the first command group is coverage property and second is the covergroup. We made use of SystemVerilog's functional covergroup to capture points of interest in the SystemC reference model using DPI.
We started by defining coverage groups that contain cover points for the variables and expressions needing to be covered. The following example shows the definition of a SystemVerilog coverage group, used to cover the variable "enable". Since the clocking event is not specified in the coverage group, we will trigger coverage collection using the sample() method.
The SystemC reference model instantiates scsv_fcov, which defines DPI calls to trigger the SystemVerilog functional coverage group. As shown in the example below, fcov->sample is called from SystemC with the value of the variable to be sampled. This call to sample ENABLE_SIG in turn calls ENABLE_CGI.sample() in SystemVerilog. After simulation runs, we merged the simulation results to see the functional coverage achieved. We had some testcases that were doing functional coverage query during run time. We made use of SystemVerilog's get_coverage method to map coverage in those scenarios.
Challenges and unresolved issues
As discussed in Section 4, debugging the SystemC code base – especially in the event of a core dump – can be onerous. A SystemC and SystemVerilog mixed language environment further complicates the debug effort. In the past, VCS' Discovery Visualization Environment (DVE) suffered stability issues and developers resorted to the traditional C/C++ style of debugging. However, in more recent releases of DVE (VCS 2006.06-SP1), C-Bug shows better stability and we found DVE offered a viable solution for mixed language debug.
The verification engineers are moving towards SystemC and SystemVerilog as the languages of choice. Given the complexity of legacy verification environments, the process of creating a new yet comparable verification environment requires proper planning, code segregation and the use of appropriate languages. Converted code's credibility can only be assured if proper functional coverage metrics are implemented. Mixed language testbenches impose even more difficulty during debug and reliable EDA tools such as DVE are crucial for productivity. With all such factors considered, we have been highly successful in converting multiple Vera-based legacy environments into robust SystemC/SystemVerilog mixed-language environments.
We would like to thank Shankar Hemmady for his valuable feedback
Looking forward to 100G by William Jackson
Practical methods in coverage-oriented verification of the merom microprocessor by Alon Gluska
Rules and Tools for Software Evolution Planning and Management by MM Lehman
Verification IP reuse for complex networking ASICs using a hybrid SystemVerilog/SystemC environment by Benjamin Chen
Introducing Google Coral
Sponsored by Mouser Electronics and Google
AI inference at the edge is exploding right now. Numerous designs that can't use cloud processing for AI tasks need high-performance, low-power AI acceleration right in their embedded designs. Wouldn't it be cool if those designs could have their own little Google TPU? In this episode of Chalk Talk, Amelia Dalton chats with James McKurkin of Google about the Google Coral edge TPU.
More information about Coral System on Module

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Document Summary: This document goes over static mesh collision.
Document Changelog: Created by Chris Linder (DemiurgeStudios?) on 10-28-03 for 2226 based builds.
An Important Note on "Collision" vs. "Blocking"
Collision is a very tricky thing in the Unreal Engine. It is fraught with many complexities and nuances and is the subject of lengthy documents already. This document narrows the scope of collision to focus primarily on static meshes with Physics set to PHYS_None or Movers. By "static mesh" I mean any object with DrawType set to DT_StaticMesh. This include static meshes you place in the world by right clicking and selecting Add Static Mesh: '....' as well as Actors from the Actor Browser that are drawn with static meshes. The physics of the static meshes is also important because static meshes collide best when they just sit there and other things bump into them or when they are Movers. Static meshes that move (but are not Movers) can also collide and this document can be helpful in these cases as well. For more details see the Moving Static Meshes section.
Even within the narrow scope described above there are many complexities. This document attempts to provide a thorough reference for how and what static meshes will collide with given their settings. The first important thing to realize about collision is that there are many-many collision variables to set and they all interrelate. There is no single field you can check to make something collide. Some checks for collision occur before other checks and therefore have priority. Due to the priority of certain collision checks, this document is organized as a step-by-step process to guide you through making your static mesh collide. At any step, you can make an object not collide. To ensure that an object does collide you must continue thought all the other steps.
If you have the actor collision properties (the "Collision" category in properties) set to not collide, no amount of changing the static mesh collision (the properties in the static mesh browser) will ever make it collide. The actor collision properties say if the actor should try to collide, and then the static mesh collision properties say if and how it should collide.
For example if you want a mesh to block a KActor but you have bBlockKarma set to FALSE, it will never collide. If you have bBlockKarma set to TRUE (and leave all the other collision properties at their default for a static mesh), it might collide. If you set UseSimpleKarmaCollision, UseSimpleBoxCollision, and UseSimpleLineCollision to FALSE and you set EnableCollision to TRUE for all the materials, it will definitely collide.
This section explains the actor collision variables for static meshes. What makes this tricky is that based on if bWorldGeometry is TRUE or FALSE, the collision variables behave differently. When you place a static mesh in the level in UnrealEd by right clicking and selecting Add Static Mesh: '....' this type of static has bWorldGeometry TRUE. Other types of Actors that have a DrawType of DT_StaticMesh might have bWorldGeometry FALSE. The value of bWorldGeometry cannot be changed or even viewed in UnrealEd; it can only be seen and changed in UnrealScript. In general if something is world geometry in that it doesn't ever move or change, it is probably bWorldGeometry TRUE. If an Actor which is drawn with a static mesh ever moves or changes, it is probably bWorldGeometry FALSE.
It is also worth noting that some actors change some of their collision variables in code overwriting that values specified in UnrealEd so watch out for that. This is the case with Triggers, Teleporters, and WarfareStationaryWeapons for example.
"Collision" (in the case of bCollideActors for example) is when the engine calculates weather two objects are touching. "Blocking" (in the case of bBlockKarma for example) is when one thing will stop another. Triggers, for example, collide but do not block. This is how the engine knows you are touching a trigger but you can still walk through the trigger.
Below are descriptions of the actor collision variables as they apply to those actors that have bWorldGeometry set to TRUE. This is the case with the StaticMeshActor class which is what is generated when you right click and select Add Static Mesh: '....'. The defaults provided at those of StaticMeshActor.
Below are additional descriptions of the actor collision variables as they apply to those actors that have bWorldGeometry set to FALSE. Static meshes of this type behave just like the static meshes described above except that they have an additional chance to not block things. First use the chart above to see if the static mesh in question would block things. If it will not, change those settings. If according to the descriptions above your static mesh will block, now you can apply the additional checks below to see if it will really block.
bCollideWorld This is not relevant for either static meshes with PHYS_None or for Movers. If your static meshes is moving, however, you most likely was to set this to TRUE.
bBlockActors Tries to blocks other nonplayer actors. Must have bBlockNonZeroExtentTraces set to TRUE to work. Whether or not the mesh will actually block is determined by cylinder collision if bUseCylinderCollision is TRUE, or if it is FALSE, the static mesh collision properties explained below.
bBlockPlayers Blocks other player actors. Must have bBlockNonZeroExtentTraces set to TRUE to work. Whether or not the mesh will actually block is determined by cylinder collision if bUseCylinderCollision is TRUE, or if it is FALSE, the static mesh collision properties explained below.
bProjTarget Blocks projectiles such as rockets and even instant hit bullets. Must have bBlockZeroExtentTraces set to TRUE to work. Whether or not the mesh will actually block is determined by cylinder collision if bUseCylinderCollision is TRUE, or if it is FALSE, the static mesh collision properties explained below.
The static mesh collision properties discussed in this section will not be used if the object is not set to collide based on the actor collision properties described in Step 1.
This section discussed some of the properties that are in the Static Mesh Browser window. It uses charts to illustrate the relation between collision models and the "UseSimple" properties in the Static Mesh Browser, which can be seen in the image below.
There is a different chart for each of the collision model types; None, Type 1, and Type 2. In each chart, all possible settings of UseSimpleKarmaCollision, UseSimpleBoxCollision, and UseSimpleLineCollision, are represented in the Karma, Box, and Line columns respectively.
The Karma Objects column indicates what the mesh will use to block Karma objects. The Non-Zero Extent Traces (ie Pawn Movement) column indicates what the mesh will use to block non-zero extent traces which are used by things such as pawn movement and cylinder collision. The Zero Extent Traces (ie Weapon Fire) column indicates what the mesh will use to block zero extent traces which are used by things like weapon fire.
This chart goes over how a static mesh will collide if it does not have a collision model.
This chart goes over how a static mesh will collide if it has a Type 1 collision model. A Type 1 collision model is created using Save Brush As Collision, or K-DOP. This type of collision also includes collision shapes created in a modeling program with the MCDCX tag.
This chart goes over how a static mesh will collide if it has a Type 2 collision model. Type 2 collision models are created with Fit Karma Primitive or collision shapes created in a modeling program with the MCDBX, MCDSP, or MCDCY tags.
Material collision is only used when no collision model is being used. See the above charts from Step 2 to determine if material collision is relevant to your static mesh.
Collision can be set per material in the Static Mesh Browser. Sometimes it is very useful to only make some of the materials in the mesh collide. Setting the material collision is done by expanding the Materials array and setting EnableCollision for each material as shown in the image below.
When EnableCollision is True for a material, all the triangles of the mesh that are textured with that material will be used for collision calculations. This means that the collision calculations will be based on exactly the triangles you see. This will sometimes be the same speed as but in most cases slower than using simplified collision models because there will be more triangles to calculate collision for.
Other than speed, there is a memory gain to be had by using collision models and not material collision. Even if the material collision is not being used, if EnableCollision is TRUE, collision data for the material is stored in the static mesh. With a large number of static meshes this can lead to a great deal of wasted memory. This Xbox memory optimization document talks about the memory savings associated with static mesh material collision. While the document focuses on Xbox, the memory savings are true for all platforms. In general, if you are using collision models for all types of collision (see Step 2 for more details), make sure you turn off material collision for all materials.
As mentioned above, this document does not really cover arbitrary movement physics for static meshes. This section will give a brief summary how movement affects static meshes and what you might want to do to get it to work correctly. First off, if you want a static mesh to move around, it should probably be either a Mover, a Karma object, or pawn which uses cylinder collision.
Interestingly enough, even if your static mesh is none of these things, it can still move and collide. The problem is that the contact between the static mesh and other moving objects is calculated when the other object moves. So if the static mesh moves into the other object, be it a player or a karma object, the static mesh will often pass right through the other object. But if players or karma objects move into the static mesh, they will be blocked. The other problem is that even if bUseCylinderCollision is FALSE for the static mesh, as it moves, the engine will use cylinder collision for the movement. For example, if you have a static mesh in PHYS_Falling, it will stop falling when the collision cylinder is obstructed but it will ignore all other parts of the mesh. Other moving objects will still collide with the mesh but with the problems of moving through described above.
Because Movers are designed to move, they do not have the problem of only calculating collision as other Actors move. Collision is always calculated and therefore movers work with all the charts in this document.
If you want your static mesh to collide and react in to the work in a realistic manner you should make it a Karma actor. The collision described in this document is not very relevant because Karma has its own collision calculations. See the documents below for more information on Karma.
If you are using a static mesh for a pawn it works best to use cylinder collision by setting bUseCylinderCollision to TRUE as described above. The static mesh will just be used for appearance and will not be involved with collision except for Karma. If the static mesh has been configured to collide with Karma based on all the settings described above, then the pawn will push Karma objects around as it moves.


text:
Q: Identify if a website uses Elasticsearch As part of a school research, I would like to know if certain websites uses Elasticsearch as their search engine. Is there any way of doing so ?
Thanks !

A: There's no way to know what search engine is being used internally in a website unless they tell you.
But there are many use cases written in the official Elastic page. Writing the companies/services that use your product in your official page is a common practice.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Tag Archives: Chile
Former FSO/Obama Foundation's Bernadette M. Meehan to be Ambassador to Chile
July 22, 2021 By domani spero in Nominations, Officially In, U.S. Missions Tags: Bernadette M. Meehan, Biden Nominations, Chile, Obama Foundation
We are grateful for your continued support and well wishes. We did not quite make it to our funding goal but raising funds for a blog that is already open and free for all to read has often been challenging.
Thank you to over 500 tireless champions and guardian angels who made this blog's continued existence possible. You are a lifesaver. 💗 DS
President Biden announced his intent to nominate Obama Foundation EVP and former FSO Bernadette Meehan to be the next Ambassador to Chile. The WH released the following brief bio:
Bernadette M. Meehan, Nominee for Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Chile
Bernadette Meehan currently serves as the Executive Vice President of Global Programs for the Obama Foundation, where she served previously as Chief International Officer and Executive Director of International Programs. Prior to joining the Obama Foundation, Ms. Meehan was a career Foreign Service Officer for over a decade. During her time with the State Department, she was detailed to work in multiple positions at the National Security Council, including as a Senior Advisor, as Special Assistant to the President and National Security Council Spokesperson, and earlier, as Director for Strategic Communications. Among her other assignments, Ms. Meehan served as Special Assistant to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton; Dean and Virginia Rusk Fellow at Georgetown University's Institute for the Study of Diplomacy; Special Assistant in the State Department's Executive Secretariat; Public Affairs Officer at the U.S. Consulate General Dubai, United Arab Emirates; both Consular Officer and Special Assistant to the Ambassador at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq; and Consular Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Bogota, Colombia.
Ms. Meehan earned her B.A. from Boston College. Her civic leadership includes service on the Board of Advisors at Georgetown University's Institute for the Study of Diplomacy and the Advisory Council of Hostage US. She speaks Spanish and Arabic.
If confirmed, Ms. Meehan would succeed DGHR/Acting M Carol Z. Perez who served as Ambassador to Santiago from 2016-2019. According to congress.gov, Andrew M. Gellert was nominated to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary on January 8, 2018 but the nomination was withdrawn on August 16, 2018.
It's Friday, so time to share another video from our #DiverseDiplomacy speaker series. This week, it's Bernadette Meehan @MeehanBM, chief international officer @ObamaFoundation, and former FSO: https://t.co/a7OjZUixLz
— Institute for the Study of Diplomacy (@GUDiplomacy) August 14, 2020
Great conversation with European members of the Transatlantic Minority Political Leadership Conference at the @ObamaFoundation today about how emerging leaders can help strengthen communities and make them more inclusive. #LeadersEurope pic.twitter.com/njJPjapJFC
— Bernadette Meehan (@MeehanBM) September 13, 2019
Among the others President Biden is nominating for an ambassadorship is Bernadette Meehan, who besides having a distinguished career as a diplomat and NSC official, also survived a kidnapping and physical assault by armed men while she served in Bogota in April 2006. pic.twitter.com/iYPISlp3Pq
— Vivian Salama (@vmsalama) July 9, 2021
Kushner-Connected Businessman Andrew Gellert to be U.S. Ambassador to Chile
January 8, 2018 By domani spero in Nominations, Officially In, Political Appointees, Trump Tags: Andrew Gellert, Chile, Gellert Global Group, Jared Kushner, Trump Nominations
Posted: 1:41 am ET
Follow @Diplopundit
On January 4, the White House announced the President's intent to nominate prominent American businessman Andrew Gellert to be the next U.S. Ambassador to Chile. The WH released the following brief bio:
Andrew Gellert of New Jersey, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Chile. Mr. Gellert, President of Gellert Global Group in Elizabeth, New Jersey, is a prominent American businessman. He leads an enterprise consisting of many North American food importing companies, including Atalanta Corporation, the largest privately held food importer in the United States. He has served as Chairman of the Association of Food Industries (AFI), which is part of a coalition of food importing associations pursuing the mutual trade interests of overseas suppliers and United States importers before the FDA, and within the food legislation arena. In addition, he is a member of the Young Presidents Organization and a Board member of the Elizabeth Development Corporation. Mr. Gellert earned a B.S. from Cornell University.
A quick search of the Federal Election Commission database indicates modest contributions mostly to Democratic candidates in years past including to Al Gore, Chuck Schumer, Bob Menendez, even Hillary Clinton in 2003.
Andrew Gellert is listed on his company's website as: "President of the Gellert Global Group joined Atalanta a year after graduation from Cornell in 1989 and currently serves as Treasurer of Atalanta Corporation and Senior Vice President of Camerican International, where he developed the Company's successful juice division" (also see Atalanta Corp.: Around the World in 70 Years).
According to its website, the Gellert Global Group is partners in numerous real estate ventures with The Kushner Companies. According to Bloomberg, the Gellert family, headed by patriarch George Gellert, is also a close friend of Charles Kushner and that Gellert is "a co-guarantor of the Kushners' debts at 666 Fifth Avenue, loan documents show." (See Kushners' New York City Buildings Are Mostly Owned By Others).
So it looks like the WH must have now accepted the traditional resignation submitted by our Ambassador to Chile on January 20, 2017 and now wants a non-career appointee to be its top representative in the country.
If confirmed, Mr. Gellert would succeed career diplomat Carol Perez who was confirmed as U.S. Ambassador to Chile in July 2016. Tenures for career diplomats on chief of mission positions (with few exceptions) are typically for three years. Of course, it should be noted that appointees also serve at the pleasure of the president, and can be replaced at any time during their tenure.
''Mis más sinceras felicitaciones a Andrew Gellert @ag5567 quien @POTUS nominará para ser el próximo embajador de Estados Unidos en Chile'', #EmbCarol 🇺🇸🇨🇱
— Embajada EEUU Chile (@EmbajadaEEUUcl) January 5, 2018
New: Trump names Andy Gellert, scion of the New Jersey food importing Gellert family, as US Ambassador to Chile. Gellert also has business interests in the country. pic.twitter.com/9SzsS0Yo3k
— Christina Wilkie (@christinawilkie) January 5, 2018
Carol Perez, career ambassador appointed by Obama and 1st female amb to Chile, has only been there since late 2016. Why is she being forced out for a political hack? https://t.co/VHO4JkZ5Ks
— Philip Arsenault (@PhilipArsenault) January 5, 2018
Chairman & CEO of Gellert Global Group, George Gellert '60, #CornellMBA '62, JD '63, shares leadership lessons. https://t.co/knzuD7nOsC
— Johnson at Cornell (@CornellMBA) July 8, 2017
Senate Confirmations: Hall, Silverman, Perez, Pyatt, Silliman, Yovanovitch
July 15, 2016 By domani spero in Ambassadors, Confirmations, Congress, Foreign Service, FSOs, Senators, State Department, U.S. Missions Tags: Anne Hall, Carol Z. Perez, Chile, Douglas Alan Silliman, Geoffrey R. Pyatt, Greece, Iraq, Kuwait, Lawrence Robert Silverman, Lithuania, Marie L. Yovanovitch, Senate Confirmations, Ukraine
On July 14, the U.S. Senate confirmed the following executive nominations
2016-07-14 PN1264 Lithuania | Anne Hall, of Maine, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Lithuania.
2016-07-14 PN1374 Kuwait | Lawrence Robert Silverman, of Massachusetts, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the State of Kuwait.
2016-07-14 PN1423 Chile | Carol Z. Perez, of Virginia, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Chile.
2016-07-14 PN1491 Greece | Geoffrey R. Pyatt, of California, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to Greece.
2016-07-14 PN1492 Iraq | Douglas Alan Silliman, of Texas, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Iraq.
2016-07-14 PN1493 Ukraine | Marie L. Yovanovitch, of Connecticut, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to Ukraine.
#Senate stands adjourned. Next votes Tuesday, September 6, 2016 at 5:30PM. Details: https://t.co/tIRUfcAyVU
— Senate Periodicals (@SenatePPG) July 15, 2016
The following nominees remain pending on the Senate's Executive Calendar:
Amos J. Hochstein, of the District of Columbia, to be an Assistant Secretary of State (Energy Resources), vice John Stern Wolf. Mar 10, 2016 Reported by Mr. Corker, Committee on Foreign Relations, without printed report.
Peter Michael McKinley, of Virginia, a Career Member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister-Counselor, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Federative Republic of Brazil. Jul 14, 2016 Reported by Mr. Corker, Committee on Foreign Relations, without printed report.
OVERSEAS PRIVATE INVESTMENT CORPORATION
Nelson Reyneri, of Washington, to be a Member of the Board of Directors of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation for a term expiring December 17, 2018, vice Matthew Maxwell Taylor Kennedy, term expired. Jun 23, 2016 Placed on the Calendar pursuant to S.Res. 116, 112th Congress.
UNITED STATES ADVISORY COMMISSION ON PUBLIC DIPLOMACY
Douglas Barry Wilson, of Delaware, to be a Member of the United States Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy for a term expiring July 1, 2017, vice Elizabeth F. Bagley, term expired. Jun 10, 2016 Placed on the Calendar pursuant to S.Res. 116, 112th Congress.
EUROPEAN BANK FOR RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT
Catherine Ann Novelli, of Virginia, to be United States Alternate Governor of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vice Robert D. Hormats, resigned. Mar 10, 2016 Reported by Mr. Corker, Committee on Foreign Relations, without printed report.
Janet L. Yellen, of California, to be United States Alternate Governor of the International Monetary Fund for a term of five years, vice Ben S. Bernanke, term expired. Jun 25, 2015 Reported by Mr. Corker, Committee on Foreign Relations, without printed report.
Pro-ISIS Hackers Post Alleged "Kill" List With 43 Names Including @StateDept Names
April 26, 2016 By domani spero in Foreign Service, FSOs, Realities of the FS, Security, Social Media, State Department, Technology and Work, Trends, U.S. Missions Tags: Chile, cyber targets, cybersecurity awareness, hackers, hit list, ISIS, Nepal, pro ISIS group, Troy Hunt, United Cyber Caliphate, US Embassy Kathmandu, US Embassy Santiago
Updated: 2:58 am ET
In August last year, we blogged about the Purported ISIS 'Hit List' With 1,482 Targets including State Department names. Now, according to Vocativ, hackers with a pro-ISIS group calling themselves the United Cyber Caliphate have distributed a "kill" list on Monday that appears to include dozens of U.S. government personnel.
The list features 43 names of people linked to the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security and the departments of defense, energy, commerce and health and services. It also identifies the U.S. embassies in Santiago and Kathmandu—as well as the Department of the Navy in Gulfport, Mississippi—as targets.
The purported "hit list" last year reportedly included personnel data of more than 1,482 members of the U.S. military, NASA, the FBI, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and the State Department. Technology security expert, Troy Hunt, wrote at that time that "nothing makes headlines like a combination of ISIS / hackers / terrorism!" and had taken a closer look with an analysis here. How many of these names are from "pastes" that have been reproduced or recycled or new? Whatever the answer, this is a trend that will probably continue into the foreseeable future. Reports like this should be a periodic reminder to review your/your family members privacy settings and digital footprint regularly.
The pro-#ISIS United Cyber Caliphate #UCC claimed hacking U.S. State Dept and posted alleged info on 50 employees pic.twitter.com/CJMSvnPizo
— SITE Cyber Security (@SITE_CYBER) April 24, 2016
Pro-ISIS hackers, calling themselves the United Cyber Caliphate, distributed a "kill" list pic.twitter.com/QZdLVc6zgc https://t.co/NFxuSf4Xsu
— Vocativ (@vocativ) April 25, 2016
Pro-ISIS Hackers Post "Kill" List Of State Department Employees pic.twitter.com/2ylMYHpdit @gilshil @vocativ https://t.co/FYn8C4lEOi
— Shane D. Kavanaugh (@shanedkavanaugh) April 25, 2016
Introducing Mike Hammer — No, Not Mickey Spillane's, Esto Se Habla Español
March 24, 2014 By domani spero in Ambassadors, Foreign Service, FSOs, Public Diplomacy, U.S. Missions Tags: ambassador introduction, Chile, Joe Biden, Mike Hammer, State/IIP, US Embassy Santiago, White House
Via State/IIP
"Este vídeo ha sido producido por la Oficina de Programas de Información Internacional del Departamento de Estado de Estados Unidos en marzo de 2014. En él se presenta el embajador de Estados Unidos en Chile, Mike Hammer."
Ambassador Hammer is a career member of the U.S. Senior Foreign Service and entered the diplomatic corps in 1988. He has served abroad in Bolivia, Norway, Iceland and Denmark. In the Department he is known as "Mike" and has served in the Operations Center and as special assistant to the Under Secretary for Political Affairs. He has received several awards in his career, including the Department's Edward R. Murrow Award for Excellence in Public Diplomacy. He is fluent in Spanish and speaks French and Icelandic.
He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in early March just in time to be at post during Vice President Biden's official visit to Chile.
Pulp Fiction's Bad Boy Mike Hammer Returns In 'Complex 90' (npr.org)
Magnitude 6.2 Quake Strikes Northern Chile (voanews.com)
Strong quake strikes off Chile (channelnewsasia.com)
Snapshot: Visa Waiver Program Countries as of February 2014
March 17, 2014 By domani spero in Consular Work, Govt Documents, Snapshots, State Department, Visas Tags: Chile, DHS, Electronic System for Travel Authorization, ESTA, Jeh Johnson, Snapshot, Visa Waiver Program, VWP
Under the visa waiver program (VWP), the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of State, may waive the "B" nonimmigrant visa requirement for aliens traveling from certain countries as temporary visitors for business or pleasure (tourists). Nationals from participating countries must use the web-based Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) to get an approved electronic travel authorization before embarking to the United States, and are admitted into the United States for up to 90 days. The VWP constitutes one of a few exceptions under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) in which foreign nationals are admitted into the United States without a valid visa. As of January 2014, 37 countries participate in the VWP.
Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Monaco, Malta, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom.
CRS: Visa Waiver Program, February 12, 2014
Now includes 38 countries. On February 28, 2014, Secretary Jeh Johnson announced the designation of Chile into the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). Starting May 1, 2014, eligible Chilean passport holders with both an approved Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) and an e-passport will be able to visit the United States without nonimmigrant visitor visas.
Chile Gets the Visa Waiver Program, but What About Poland? (heritage.org)
Bulgaria Has Formally Completed US Conditions For Visa Removal (novinite.com)
USA forward entry Chile visa waiver program: Vice President Biden (acercandonaciones.com)
Senate Confirmations: Rose Gottemoeller to State/T; Michael Hammer to Chile
March 7, 2014 By domani spero in Ambassadors, Confirmations, Congress, Functional Bureaus, State Department, U.S. Missions Tags: Chile, Michael Hammer, Rose Gottemoeller, Senate Confirmations, State/T, Under Secretary, US Embassy Santiago
On March 6, the U.S. Senate confirmed a couple of executive nominations for the State Department:
Rose Eilene Gottemoeller of Virginia, to be Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security; Confirmed: 58-42
Secretary Clinton announced on February 7, 2012 that President Obama has designated Rose Gottemoeller as the Acting Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security (T). As Acting Under Secretary she also remained in her role as Assistant Secretary for Arms Control, Verification and Compliance (AVC). She was sworn in as the Assistant Secretary of State for State/AVC on April 6, 2009. She was the chief U.S. negotiator of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) with the Russian Federation, which entered into force on February 5, 2011. Ms. Gottemoeller received a B.S. from Georgetown University, and a M.A. from George Washington University. She is fluent in Russian.
Photo via @Gottemoeller
Michael A. Hammer, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Chile; Confirmed by voice vote.
Ambassador Hammer is a career member of the United States Senior Foreign Service. He previously served as the Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs from March 2012 to August 2013. He also served as Acting Assistant Secretary and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs. Ambassador Hammer grew up in Latin America, living in Honduras, El Salvador, Colombia, Venezuela, and Brazil. He is fluent in Spanish and speaks French and Icelandic. Ambassador Hammer and his wife Margret Bjorgulfsdottir have three children.
Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Mike Hammer dons
a funny hat and hams it up with students after taking their questions
during the "Mock Reporter" activity.
Photo by Bill Palmer | State Department
(State Magazine, June 2013)
Today at the SFRC: AM – Gottemoeller, Rose, Scheinman; PM – Broas, Lu, Sherman (diplopundit.net)
Russia Negotiator To Get Promoted (thedailybeast.com)
Senate confirms seven Obama nominees (washingtonpost.com)
Cruz: On the nomination of Rose Gottemoeller to be Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security ()
Senate "Nuclear" Fallout Snares State Department Nominees (diplopundit.net)


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NIC Assam State Centre organized a one-day Conference on Implementation of key e-Governance projects in Assam on 29th July, 2010 at the Assam Administrative Staff College, Guwahati. The conference was attended by senior bureaucrats of Assam Government, senior-level NIC officials from New Delhi and Assam. Director General of NIC addressed the gathering through video conferencing from New Delhi. Sectoral presentations on important projects were given through video conferencing from New Delhi, Pune, Gandhinagar and Chennai, besides presentations at the conference venue.
As part of the publicity campaign for the upcoming Commonwealth Games, Indian Railways started a train 'Commonwealth Express' to showcase the areas of progress in India. Information Technology was a major part of the exhibition in which NIC showcased the IT sector. The train went trough Assam with two major stops at Kamakhya in Guwahati on 19th and 20th July, 2010 and at Mariani in Jorhat on 22nd July, 2010. The NIC stalls were visited by over 12,000 visitors during the period.
NIC Official of Assam took charge of the NIC exhibition during this period and showcased the major projects taken up in Assam. A large number of vistors visited the NIC stalls and appreciated the exhibition. Students participated in the IT Quiz and were awarded certificates to the winners. Video Conferencing was a major attraction in the exhibition.


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Opening the door for candidacy for the post of President of the Republic
yota691 posted a topic in Iraq & Dinar Related News
Opening the door for candidacy for the post of President of the Republic Monday 10 January 2022 333 Baghdad: Muhammad Al-Ansari The elected Speaker of Parliament, in its fifth session, Muhammad al-Halbousi, announced the opening of the door for candidacy for the position of President of the Republic and to vote on it within 15 days. Al-Halbousi officially assumed his duties in a new term to head parliament after his election in the first session on Sunday. His first deputies, Hakim Al-Zamili, and the second, Shakhwan Abdullah, were also elected. Yesterday evening, Sunday, the Parliament's media department stated that 228 deputies voted to choose the Speaker of Parliament, with Al-Halbousi receiving 200 votes, and his rival Mahmoud Al-Mashhadani with 14, while 14 ballot papers were counted as invalid. The House of Representatives elected Hakim al-Zamili to the position of the first deputy speaker of parliament in its fifth legislative session, as he obtained 182 votes, while his rival, Representative Hamid al-Shiblawi, won 34 votes, while 11 ballot papers were considered invalid. Shakhwan Abdullah also won the position of second deputy speaker of Parliament, after MP Sarwa Abdel Wahed competed with him. Abdullah received 180 votes, while Abdul Wahed received 33 votes, and 13 ballot papers were considered invalid. At the end of yesterday's session late, the "Sadr Bloc" submitted to Al-Halbousi the names and signatures of the most numerous parliamentary bloc. The first session was held yesterday afternoon in the presence of 325 deputies, headed by the president of the constitutional age, Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, and the deputies took the constitutional oath. After that, Representative Ahmed al-Asadi from the "Coordination Framework" submitted a book to the president of the age, including the signatures and names of 88 deputies, as they are the most numerous bloc. As a result of Mr. Al-Mashhadani's apology due to a health condition, MP Khaled Al-Daraji chaired the session because he was an old reserve after the apology of MP Amer Al-Fayez. The Coordination Framework Bloc rejected the outcomes of yesterday's session, which ended with the selection of the parliament's presidency, and confirmed in a statement after its deputies and other deputies left the session, that it provided the President of the Age with the names and signatures of the largest bloc, and confirmed that the bloc would resort to the constitutional, legal and judicial context. In addition, the President of the Republic, Barham Salih, and Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi, congratulated the elected Speaker of Parliament, Muhammad Al-Halbousi, and his two deputies, Hakim Al-Zamili and Shakhwan Abdullah. capable of serving the aspirations of our Iraqi people." Al-Halbousi also received cables of congratulations on the occasion of his election from the Speaker of the Arab Parliament, Adel bin Abdul Rahman Al-Asumi, and the Speaker of the Kuwaiti National Assembly Marzouq Al-Ghanim. In turn, the leader of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, made a phone call to Parliament Speaker Muhammad al-Halbousi and his two deputies, as well as President Khaled al-Daraji, in which he congratulated the brothers on their victory and the success of the parliament session, urging them to make double efforts to assume the responsibility placed upon them. And tireless work for the interests of Iraq and its people. Al-Sadr had said yesterday evening in a tweet: "The selection of the Speaker and his two deputies is the first indication of the government of the national majority."


The Chrysler Building is an Art Deco skyscraper in New York City, located on the east side of Manhattan in the Turtle Bay area at the intersection of 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue. Standing at 319 metres (1,047 ft), it was the world's tallest building for 11 months before it was surpassed by the Empire State Building in 1931. After the destruction of the World Trade Center, it was again the second-tallest building in New York City until December 2007, when the spire was raised on the 365.8-metre (1,200 ft) Bank of America Tower, pushing the Chrysler Building into third position. In addition, The New York Times Building which opened in 2007, is exactly level with the Chrysler Building in height. The Chrysler Building is a classic example of Art Deco architecture and considered by many contemporary architects to be one of the finest buildings in New York City. In 2007, it was ranked ninth on the List of America's Favorite Architecture by the American Institute of Architects.


Her mind pondered on gravely and intently, thinking to herself, "Well -- there you are again, you curious creature!" It was indeed a fierce mania of Mary's to stare into her own eyes at the looking-glass. She did it as a rule more angrily than with any other feeling; and, when she did it, she always thought of the self that looked back at her there as something quite different from the self she was conscious of really being. Her real self didn't seem to have eyes or nose, or mouth! Her real self seemed compounded out of pure ether and totally independent of bodily form. John Cowper Powys, "A Glastonbury Romance"
One our retreat participants once joked in a morning session: "I looked in the mirror and didn't recognize the face, but I shaved it anyway." He didn't recognize his own face because the stories associated with his face, his this-is-who-I-am habits, were simply not there. Since childhood I have had similar experiences with the face in the mirror. I remember passing mirrors as a young girl and stopping, suddenly stunned and curious about the creature whose reflection I saw there. I would look at the image with intense but impersonal interest as though I had rounded a corner and come face to face with my clone. I recall in those memories not only the the sense of "What is that?" but, as the awareness bolted from its usual confines, the larger sense of "What is all of this?" From Passionate Presence by Catherine Ingram.


When a new account is transferred to us here at Personal Capital, the first thing we do is analyze its current holdings in order to build out the client's chosen strategy. We look at cost basis, tax sensitivity and any securities we'd like to hold onto. And we look just for curiosity. It's always fascinating to see what's inside. I'm able to tell a lot about a client just by looking at his or her investment mix. Their general risk tolerance, which sectors they favor, their outlook on the market, and possibly even their occupation or gender.
And, unfortunately, I can also tell which brokerage or fund advisor they've been using for portfolio advice.
American Funds. Merrill Lynch. Fidelity. The list goes on. Each company has their own specific product mix that they funnel into client accounts. It's as unique as a crime scene fingerprint. These financial products are sometimes mutual funds owned by the firm or funds through which the firm has a marketing relationship. There may also be a mix of closed end funds, investment trusts and private REITs. Each has its own specific sales pitch and fee schedule. These products are almost always actively managed, and many are startlingly expensive.
The average mutual fund expense ratio is 1.15%, according to research by Vanguard and Lipper. For active funds, that average is even higher. Worse, in addition to the internal expense ratio these products often have front or back-end loads, which are fees you pay for the right to buy or sell the funds. These are split between the firm and the advisors that place them with clients. Want to know why it was necessary to pay 5.75% up front to buy an "A" share branded fund? So would I.
Maybe there are plausible reasons a firm might favor their own brand of products over everything else. Perhaps these funds are simply better performers than the competition. After all, you can make up fees with performance, right? And in fact your advisor will often recommend funds with good or great short-term track records. But don't trust it.
A more likely explanation for that recent outperformance is luck and large numbers. A major fund company can own 30 or 40 different mutual funds, and many of them have overlapping mandates. At any given time when one fund is lagging, it's a good bet that some other fund in the stable is having a wonderful 3-year run. That fund can be marketed to clients as suitable while the lagging fund is set aside to rebuild. If it recovers, it will be sold in the future. If it cannot, its assets (your retirement funds!) are simply rolled into a better performing fund. This is not a rare occurrence.
A study by Dimensional Advisors found that the 5 and 10 year survival rates for equity mutual funds were 71% and 57% respectively. Sometimes the losing manager leaves the company, but more often he moves to a different team and a new product is born.
And notice that I said the fund sold by the advisor is considered "suitable." That is THE magic word which makes branded product placement possible. A broker dealer is considered a financial intermediary by FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority), and is held to a standard requiring them only to make suitable recommendations to clients. And that is about it.
Note: A Registered Investment Advisor like Personal Capital DOES have a fiduciary duty towards its clients, and must act in a client's best interest always. And we sell no financial products. Coincidence? Unlikely.
If you ever want to have an uncomfortable phone call with your broker/dealer advisor, ask them why they choose their own firm-branded funds for you over all others. Are those funds the absolute best choice out there, taking fees into account? Finally, why don't they have a fiduciary duty to clients? After all, aren't you the one paying them a management fee? Let me know how it goes.
You might happily pay more for a designer clothing brand, to show off your sense of quality and style. I've done the same thing. But a designer mutual fund? When is the last time you showed off your shiny new Merrill Lynch mutual fund portfolio with all the A shares to your friends? Or bragged about the annuity you were just locked into, paying 3% up front and 2.5%+ per year for the foreseeable future?
You probably never have. But do you know who is justifiably proud of a portfolio like that? Your broker.
Just say "no" to an expensive branded portfolio.
Interesting how you can tell where client's come from by portfolio makeup.
I'm going to try telling my date next time about my Fidelity rollover IRA and see if she is impressed!


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A Passage Through Ice
Feb 19, 2013 | Featured Stories, Iridium 9555, Social Responsibility, Success Stories | 0 comments
In the summer of 2012, the "A Passage Through Ice" expedition went on a four-month, 10,000-nautical mile Arctic journey aboard a 31-foot fiberglass sailboat. The purpose of the voyage was to track the Polar Ice Cap and highlight the impact of climate change in the Arctic. In the process of doing that, the international crew of three also accomplished the most northerly Northwest Passage ever and became the first sailboat ever to transit the M'Clure Strait.
Most importantly to the team, the trip garnered extensive media attention — which alerted tens of millions of people globally about the scope of the polar ice cap depletion. And Iridium® had a big part to play in all of it!
Here's how the icy escapade unfolded, as told by Edvin Buregren (Sweden), Nicolas Peissel (Canada) and Morgan Peissel (USA).
We recognized at an early stage in the planning that reliable satellite communications would be paramount to the success of our endeavor. Not only would it allow us to stay in touch, but it would also give us the ability to download daily ice maps and information from the Canadian Ice Services as we navigated through some of the most dangerous waters in the world.
We had used Iridium products during other adventures, but never for anything as "high stakes" as this. Iridium's superior network coverage and our familiarity with Iridium equipment made it an easy decision given the pivotal role the phone would play. With support from Xsat Global, we assembled a robust communication system, consisting of the Iridium 9555 handset, the Iridium AxcessPoint for Wi-Fi transfers and an external antenna.
After a few months of testing and preparation, we left Newfoundland, Canada in early June 2012 to sail along the remote coast of Greenland. Our goal was to reach the most Northern outpost of Thule, at N 77° 30". Stopped by the polar ice, we headed west into the Canadian Arctic towards the objective of our mission — the Perry channel and M'Clure Strait
This stretch of water and ice has blocked many expeditions before us, and is historically known to be very unpredictable. After several failed attempts, communication with our ground support team ultimately allowed us to find a lead through the ice to reach M'Clure Strait.
The polar ice cap is constantly being pushed against the shores of the strait, and when we arrived only a narrow passage was formed between the land and the ice. We traveled through the channel at full speed over 36 critical hours in order to make it out before the ice moved back in. During that time, our boat was transformed into a floating information center, sending and receiving reports by the hour via our Iridium set-up. The system worked flawlessly throughout the passage and made it possible to make safe and informed decisions.
On August 29th, we finally cleared the ice and were proud to announce the success of our expedition to the world. Interestingly, we once again relied on our Iridium equipment to tell our story. We even gave several interviews over the phone and by email and managed our website — all from the never-before-sailed icy waters of the Arctic!
Iridium is proud to help people stay connected from pole to pole, providing critical connections wherever your journey may take you. As the only truly global satellite communications network, we are ideally suited for extreme expeditions and are happy to have been a part of this incredible journey!


text:
package com.microsoft.azure.management.logic.v2016_06_01;

import com.fasterxml.jackson.annotation.JsonProperty;

/**
 * The workflow trigger recurrence.
 */
public class WorkflowTriggerRecurrence {
    /**
     * The frequency. Possible values include: 'NotSpecified', 'Second',
     * 'Minute', 'Hour', 'Day', 'Week', 'Month', 'Year'.
     */
    @JsonProperty(value = "frequency")
    private RecurrenceFrequency frequency;

    /**
     * The interval.
     */
    @JsonProperty(value = "interval")
    private Integer interval;

    /**
     * The start time.
     */
    @JsonProperty(value = "startTime")
    private String startTime;

    /**
     * The end time.
     */
    @JsonProperty(value = "endTime")
    private String endTime;

    /**
     * The time zone.
     */
    @JsonProperty(value = "timeZone")
    private String timeZone;

    /**
     * The recurrence schedule.
     */
    @JsonProperty(value = "schedule")
    private RecurrenceSchedule schedule;

    /**
     * Get the frequency. Possible values include: 'NotSpecified', 'Second', 'Minute', 'Hour', 'Day', 'Week', 'Month', 'Year'.
     *
     * @return the frequency value
     */
    public RecurrenceFrequency frequency() {
        return this.frequency;
    }

    /**
     * Set the frequency. Possible values include: 'NotSpecified', 'Second', 'Minute', 'Hour', 'Day', 'Week', 'Month', 'Year'.
     *
     * @param frequency the frequency value to set
     * @return the WorkflowTriggerRecurrence object itself.
     */
    public WorkflowTriggerRecurrence withFrequency(RecurrenceFrequency frequency) {
        this.frequency = frequency;
        return this;
    }

    /**
     * Get the interval.
     *
     * @return the interval value
     */
    public Integer interval() {
        return this.interval;
    }

    /**
     * Set the interval.
     *
     * @param interval the interval value to set
     * @return the WorkflowTriggerRecurrence object itself.
     */
    public WorkflowTriggerRecurrence withInterval(Integer interval) {
        this.interval = interval;
        return this;
    }

    /**
     * Get the start time.
     *
     * @return the startTime value
     */
    public String startTime() {
        return this.startTime;
    }

    /**
     * Set the start time.
     *
     * @param startTime the startTime value to set
     * @return the WorkflowTriggerRecurrence object itself.
     */
    public WorkflowTriggerRecurrence withStartTime(String startTime) {
        this.startTime = startTime;
        return this;
    }

    /**
     * Get the end time.
     *
     * @return the endTime value
     */
    public String endTime() {
        return this.endTime;
    }

    /**
     * Set the end time.
     *
     * @param endTime the endTime value to set
     * @return the WorkflowTriggerRecurrence object itself.
     */
    public WorkflowTriggerRecurrence withEndTime(String endTime) {
        this.endTime = endTime;
        return this;
    }

    /**
     * Get the time zone.
     *
     * @return the timeZone value
     */
    public String timeZone() {
        return this.timeZone;
    }

    /**
     * Set the time zone.
     *
     * @param timeZone the timeZone value to set
     * @return the WorkflowTriggerRecurrence object itself.
     */
    public WorkflowTriggerRecurrence withTimeZone(String timeZone) {
        this.timeZone = timeZone;
        return this;
    }

    /**
     * Get the recurrence schedule.
     *
     * @return the schedule value
     */
    public RecurrenceSchedule schedule() {
        return this.schedule;
    }

    /**
     * Set the recurrence schedule.
     *
     * @param schedule the schedule value to set
     * @return the WorkflowTriggerRecurrence object itself.
     */
    public WorkflowTriggerRecurrence withSchedule(RecurrenceSchedule schedule) {
        this.schedule = schedule;
        return this;
    }

}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


The term fund accounting could refer to the method of accounting used by some not-for-profit organisations such as churches, charities, universities. If you're interested in that, go somewhere else. That's not what we're about here.
The net asset valuation is just like a statement of assets and liabilities. If the fund is unitised, that is, it issues units or shares to investors, then a NAV per share is calculated as well as the total NAV.
Here is a summary sheet outlining a NAV calculation for a mutual fund.
If the fund is a partnership, no shares or units are issued and the NAV consists of an allocation of fund gains/losses across the partnership capital accounts.
If you'd like to learn more about fund accounting, watch the fund accounting tutorial 7-minute video here.


XENIA, Ohio (AP) — The Agriculture Department says Bob Evans Farms is recalling nearly 47,000 pounds of pork sausage links because it might contain pieces of plastic.
The items have establishment number "EST 6785" and were sold in Indiana, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin.
The 12-ounce (340 gram) trays are labeled Bob Evans Maple Pork Sausage Links, Brown Sugar and Honey, Fresh from Meijer Maple Flavored Sausage Links or Giant Eagle Maple Pork Breakfast Sausage Links Caramel Color Added. All have a lot code of 8213.
The sausage should be thrown out or returned to place of purchase.


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Westmoreland Affirms 2014 Guidance; Updates Third Quarter EBITDA
Englewood, CO – September 26, 2014 – Westmoreland Coal Company (NasdaqGM:WLB) today affirmed its guidance for full year 2014, which was $172 to $190 million. Westmoreland also updated its guidance for third quarter 2014 EBITDA to a range of $40 to $45 million, compared to its previously issued third quarter guidance of $55 to $60 million.
"We continue to make great progress on the transition of the Canadian business," said Keith E. Alessi, Westmoreland's Chief Executive Officer. "The third quarter decrease has been driven by severe weather that temporarily impacted our ROVA power plants and North Dakota operations. The third quarter was also impacted by timing differences between quarters. We are still comfortable reaffirming our full year guidance."
Westmoreland Coal Company is the oldest independent coal company in the United States. Our coal operations include sub-bituminous and lignite coal mining in the Western United States and Canada. Its power operations include ownership of the two-unit ROVA coal-fired power plant in North Carolina.


At the recent two-day 21st National Specialty Gas Annual Meeting organised by Zhonghao Guangming Chemical Research Institute and the National Specialty Gas Information Centre, Mr. SUN Funan, Chief Engineer of the former, began by imparting to the almost 380 delegates from the domestic specialty gas industry that the industry experienced 'phenomenal' development in 2017.
This, he explained, was due to government policy to promote the integrated circuit (IC) industry and an influx of capital investment.
He also gave the recent situation of several electronic gases such as silane, nitrous oxide, ammonia, hydrogen chloride, dichlorosilane, trichlorosilane, and carbon monoxide, before LI Chunying from the National Institute of Metrology took the stage to explain in great length the 'Establishment and Evaluation of National Metrological Standard Device for Gas Chromatographs'.
Several other companies also gave reports and demonstrated their latest in-house development and capabilities. Henan Xinlianxin Shenleng Energy Co. Ltd, for example, introduced its development of high purity carbon monoxide (CO) production, while Alex REN of AGC Instruments described some precautions when analysing specialty gases using the DID chromatography analyser of AGC. An introduction to the R&D and applications of the domestic plasma emission detector by FANG Hua of Huaai Chromatography Analysers concluded the morning session before delegates retired for lunch.
QU Qing of Dalian Date Gases Co. Ltd kicked off the afternoon session and described research into the production of standard gases containing trace quantities of hydrogen fluoride. Afterwards, ZHANG Jirui of Beijing Huayu Tongfang explained the company's technology of industrial tail gas recovery and separation. The last presentation on day one was given by ZHANG Jinke of the Zhejiang Chemical Research Institute, who introduced a study on the adsorption purification and application of electronic grade hexafluoroethane.
Day two was started by ZENG Xianchen of ABB China, who introduced to delegates the applications of gas analysis of FTIR. This was followed by the introduction of several companies such as Nanjing Engma Instrument Technology, Harbin Liming Gases Grou, Quzhou Hangyang Gases, and Beijing Yuji Technology Development. The conference was closed by SUN, who thanked presenters and delegates alike for all their support.
The conference was held from 16th to 17th November in Xi'an of Shaanxi province, well-known for the Terra-cotta soldiers and also the capital of 13 ancient dynasties, as well as the starting point of the Silk Road in the east.
More than 600 delegates from different sectors of the China industrial gas industry and from different regions of China gathered in Nanjing of Jiangsu province on 28th October to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the founding of the China Industrial Gas Industry Association (CIGIA).
Chinese air separation unit (ASU) manufacturer Hangzhou Hangyang Group has signed a contract for three sets of 100,000 Nm3/h ASUs with Shenhua Yulin Energy and Petrochemicals Limited and Shenhua Resources Group Company.


Thinking is one subject I'm really interested in. Our ability to think abstractly is one of the key traits that define what a human is. Yet we seem to have little clue how we do it, or how we might do it better. Our future depends, of course, on what choices we arrive at, individually and collectively. And yet, most of us don't have any better strategy than picking the strongest thought that appears in our head, or our stomach, or wherever it appears, and assuming that this is our answer. Without examining where it came from, and without having the faintest clue as to HOW to think.
"Maybe we have neglected thinking. Maybe we have taken it for granted. Maybe we have believed, and still believe, that there is nothing more that can be done about thinking. We have an excellent 'thinking system' and nothing more needs to be done.
That is where I disagree. We do have an excellent thinking system - but it is inadequate. Our thinking system is all directed at the past. We recognize standard situations and provide standard answers. We have never developed the creative thinking needed to design the way forward. Our thinking is excellent for technology and almost useless in human affairs."
"The majority of mistakes in ordinary thinking (outside technical matters) are mistakes in perception. Our traditional emphasis on logic does little for perception. If the perception is inadequate no amount of excellence in logic will make up for that deficiency.
Perception is a matter of directing attention. If you are not looking in the right direction it does not matter how clever you are, you will not see what you need to see."
Right on. It doesn't matter if you eloquently and 'logically' can deduct yourself from one point to the next, if you didn't perceive what really is there, or you were looking at only a small part of it, or you were looking at the wrong thing. Most people have a certain innate sense of logic, but if the input is faulty, so is the result.
Andrius Kulikauskas called me from Lithuania yesterday and we had a good long discussion about him getting involved in Xpertweb, and just brainstorming on things. We already know each other, but after he talked with Mitch and with Britt, it seems that some expanded collaboration is a good idea.
Andrius is a champion of working openly. He's been inquiring into economies that will support that. He is quite a magnetizing force for people who're working on tools for capturing structured thought. We believe in many of the same things. At the same time he draws on mysteriously different sources, and is quite likely to bring up issues that otherwise wouldn't be touched, and that is a good thing.
Look at some of Andrius's thoughts and ideas concerning Xpertweb.
"It is a special kind of enlightenment to have this feeling that the usual, the way things normally are, is odd--uncanny and highly improbable. G. K. Chesterton once said that it is one thing to be amazed at a gorgon or a griffin, creatures which do not exist; but it is quite another and much higher thing to be amazed at a rhinoceros or a giraffe, creatures which do exist and look as if they don't. This feeling of universal oddity includes a basic and intense wondering about the sense of things. Why, of all possible worlds, this colossal and apparently unnecessary multitude of galaxies in a mysteriously curved space-time continuum, these myriads of differing tube-species playing frantic games of one-upmanship, these numberless ways of "doing it" from the elegant architecture of the snow crystal or the diatom to the startling magnificence of the lyrebird or the peacock?
Ludwig Wittgenstein and other modern "logical" philosophers have tried to suppress this question by saying that it has no meaning and ought not to be asked. Most philosophical problems are to be solved by getting rid of them, by coming to the point where you see that such questions as "Why this universe?" are a kind of intellectual neurosis, a misuse of words in that the question sounds sensible but is actually as meaningless as asking "Where is this universe?" when the only things that are anywhere must be somewhere inside the universe. The task of philosophy is to cure people of such nonsense, Wittgenstein, as we shall see, had a point there. Nevertheless wonder is not a disease. Wonder, and its expression in poetry and the arts, are among the most important things which seem to distinguish men from other animals and intelligent and sensitive people from morons.
Is there, then, some kind of a lowdown on this astounding scheme of things, something that never really gets out through the usual channels for the Answer--the historic religions and philosophies? There is. It has been said again and again, but in such a fashion that we, today, in this particular civilization do not hear it. We do not realize that it is utterly subversive, not so much in the political and moral sense, as in that it turns our ordinary view of things, our common sense, inside out and upside down. It may of course have political and moral consequences, but as yet we have no clear idea of what they may be. Hitherto this inner revolution of the mind has been confined to rather isolated individuals; it has never, to my knowledge, been widely characteristic of communities or societies. It has often been thought too dangerous for that. Hence the taboo."
Well, really Alan Watts is best to listen to, rather than read. There are many tapes of his talks, from the 60s. But in that book he presents a remarkably lucid explanation of what you are. Another way of putting it is that he takes apart the poorly founded illusion that you are a separate ego, isolated from and in conflict with the rest of the world. What is cool about it is that it is not in the form of mystical beliefs, but in the form of logical deduction, which you'd have a hard time arguing against. Thus it might be a way for compartmentalized western minds to come to terms with something bigger, without having to give up a belief in science and logic. There just really is no proof for the irrational belief that you're separate from the rest of the world. And if you accept the inevitable conclusion, everything is different.
"Both laboratory and field data suggest that people punish noncooperators even in one-shot interactions. Although such "altruistic punishment" may explain the high levels of cooperation in human societies, it creates an evolutionary puzzle: existing models suggest that altruistic cooperation among nonrelatives is evolutionarily stable only in small groups. Thus, applying such models to the evolution of altruistic punishment leads to the prediction that people will not incur costs to punish others to provide benefits to large groups of nonrelatives. However, here we show that an important asymmetry between altruistic cooperation and altruistic punishment allows altruistic punishment to evolve in populations engaged in one-time, anonymous interactions. This process allows both altruistic punishment and altruistic cooperation to be maintained even when groups are large and other parameter values approximate conditions that characterize cultural evolution in the small-scale societies in which humans lived for most of our prehistory."
Hm, so if I understand it right, most people will punish non-cooperative anti-social behavior when they have the chance, even if they have nothing directly to gain from it, and even if it doesn't produce visible increases in cooperation. And that people mostly have succeeded in collaborating in small groups, but not so much in large groups. Well, what I get out of that is that people are looking for widespread cooperation, and they're making choices to support it, but the right tools for crystalizing it haven't quite appeared yet.


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Home Entertainment Netflix and Spotify Agree: Music of Popular TV Series Now Officially On...
Netflix and Spotify Agree: Music of Popular TV Series Now Officially On Spotify
Spotify and Netflix have officially announced their new partnership, which they call Netflix Hub. Netflix Hub contains a lot of content, from the soundtrack of popular Netflix content to podcasts related to the platform. Netflix, one of the most popular content platforms of recent years, manages to attract attention with almost every content it adds to its platform. The content that the platform offers to its users is generally very popular on the internet and is used in many areas from memes to Instagram filters.
In addition to the fact that TV series and movies have become a popular 'icon' on the Internet, the music of these contents also attracts a lot of attention. Many users on Spotify are trying to make a playlist by searching for the music in series such as The Witcher and La Casa De Papel one by one. However, it seems that thanks to the new partnership of Spotify and Netflix, you will now be able to easily access the music of your favorite TV shows and movies.
Netflix Hub is now on Spotify
According to the statement made on Spotify's official site, a special page for Netflix content has been created on the platform. This page, called the Netflix Hub, contains playlists of TV shows and movies such as La Casa De Papel, Red Notice and Cowboy Bebop. Thanks to these playlists, users will be able to easily access the songs in the content they watch and easily find the 'that' song that is engraved in their minds.
Of course, Netflix Hub doesn't just offer users songs. From podcasts about Netflix and its contents to behind-the-scenes footage of how music is made, content will also be available on the Netflix Hub.
BTS and Lee Min Ho, Everything The Stars Have in Common
It Takes Two Named Game Of The Year At TGA 2021


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Q: Why is my ASPX page so slow to load after a compile? I have a .Net solution with 2 websites in it (one customer facing, one admin). They both share a Code Library that acts as a data/business layer.
When I make changes to my site(s) and recompile the code library, then browse to a page, it takes ages to load; like several minutes.
I understand it might take a bit longer to load up changed code into memory, but this is far too long.
Anyone got any ideas on how I can work out what's going wrong?
I'm thinking there might be some dodgey settings in my project files? Or maybe something dumb in IIS (which happens to be IIS6).
I'm keen for any reading on this topic if anyone would like to point me to some!
Thanks in advance.
-Ev

A: May be it's because of how you're deploying the site.
Try this: in Visual Studio, go to Build Site and then Publish Site in a directory on your local hard drive. On the server (not on the production server for your first try!), remove every file you have. Backup the database(s) to .bak files and reattach the backup files to the SQL server. FTP the files from your local hard drive to the site.
This way of doing the deployment ensures that you're only working with fully compiled aspx files and that all your AppCode is in .dll format.
If this doesn't change the speed at which the site loads, then you know it's an IIS problem.


Be sure to check out Calgary Home & Design Show this weekend for fresh renovation and design ideas!
Jonathan and Drew Scott, headline the celebrity guests. The Canadian twins, Stars of W Network's Property Brothers, have numerous other projects on the go including brand new series Brother vs. Brother. The Scott brothers are hot ticket items on the real estate and interior design market alike.
This show is sure to provide homeowners thinking of updating their homes some fresh ideas! Enjoy the show, and be sure to share your finds with us.
Visit the Home and Design Show from tonight through Sunday!


"Who wants to pray?," my mom proclaims as the five of us scurry to the dinner table. Usually that question was answered with averting eyes and silent hopes that she wouldn't call on any of us to bless the food before us on the table. The uncomfortable silence was often broken by Heath's inner duty, as the oldest Carter child, to take the burden for us, even though we all knew he really loved doing it. After the prayer, you couldn't blink without missing the food being devoured before your eyes.
I blame this Carter habit on my inability to actually chew my food. With two older brothers, it was eat fast or don't eat at all. So this survival technique has followed me into my adult years. Throughout the constant food-shoveling, we would often go around the table and talk about the highs and lows of our days in an attempt to have everyone's voice be heard. This tradition, though, would often devolve into a argument about how long everyone got to explain all the details of their day, thanks to Ashley's tendency to dominant the conversation with every minute detail, and whether "the end of this dinner" could count as one of our highs.
My family table. This is where I spent 18 years of my daily life and this is the place that continues to always offer me an open seat no matter where life leads. The Carter table never promised to be peaceful or quiet or even enjoyable, but we were always promised a seat. Often the table is where we would hash out the latest sibling argument or more likely sat in an unbearable silence as we all shot death glares at each other across the table. No words were necessary because everyone knew what we were thinking.
Our table was the center of our holidays and our celebrations. And even as my brothers left our house for college, it remained the central meeting point, the war room, the game center, and the reminder that no matter where everyone's life took them, we could all return to this table. While it would be nice to be able to say that I learned the best manners, the most mature ways of dealing with conflict, and the best practices in handling a board game defeat, that would definitely be distorting the truth.
It was common for table conversation to be interrupted by a thunderous sound, which we soon deduce had come from the behind of one of the Carter men. This deduction would then lead to complaints and proclamations that the offender must spend five or ten minutes in the bathroom for his crime and in hopes to prevent a future offense from occurring in the general vicinity. Family game time would begin with Ashley's typical speech about abhorring games and leaving the area in order to avoid being forced to join in on a round of Taboo or Scategories. I'm convinced, though, that it all stems from an embarrassing round of Scategories when he proudly announced his answer for "A Four Letter Word" and it happened to be one letter too many. Then, of course, family game time would necessarily end in tears, shouts, and accusations of cheating. Yet somehow we continued to gather around and play together.
My family's table taught me that I can be myself, no matter what that looks like at the moment. I'm still accepted if I'm playing the role of the bratty youngest sibling tattling on my older brothers, if I'm mad about my assigned weekly chores, or if I spend the whole time gloating about my recent victory in Taboo or a good report card from school. I am always welcome at the table.
My family's table was the picture of dysfunction and brokenness, but we always found a way to celebrate. We were able to bring our genuine, authentic selves into communion with one another with the reassuring knowledge that, in the end, we are family so we have to deal with each other. This table was the one place that we could all take off the roles that we often portrayed to the outside world and be our ugly, manipulative but extremely awesome selves. The end result was we all knew we were pretty messed up but we accepted each other and worked to love each other in the best ways we could each day. There was no fear of rejection, no pretense of perfection and no desire for winning the other over, because we were family.
I learned to embrace the mess that I often rejected in the rest of my life. I learned the practice of constant forgiveness and reconciliation. And I learned that even if we are angry, hurt or depressed we can still come to the table, shovel food into our mouths for nourishment and know that we can be exactly the messed up and disappointing people we often are.


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Donate to WAVE Radio
The Light – Downloads Page
Mix-Remix CDs
WAVE RADIO
DJ/ Remixer / Billboard Reporter
Billboard Magazine reporter from 1990 to Present.
Resident DJ at Numbers Nightclub in Houston, TX since 1986
"Numbers has seen it all. One of Houston's oldest nightclubs, the venerable Lower Westheimer establishment begins its fourth decade with retrospective videos, exciting giveaways and various DJs — Numbers chieftain Wes Wallace and special guests spinning the club's signature blend of synth-pop, electro, glam, goth, dance, retro and whatever else they haul out of the crates — to tickle your fancy — or something else, if you're not careful (it is Numbers, after all). How the club has survived 30 years of crime, yuppie uprisings and the obligatory sex, drugs and rock and roll is no surprise: It's been a haven for not only artists, from The Cure to Grandmaster Flash to Death Cab for Cutie, but also to generations of Houstonians who just want to dress up (or down) and have fun. When you're old and gray, listening to that classic Blur CD (Blur played the club in 1997, btw), underage teens in heavy makeup will still be trying to sneak in with fake IDs. Numbers is a rite of passage for countless Houston youths ..."
Houston Press
"Dj Wes Wallace - named "Best Dance Club DJ" by this publication more than ten times"
Houston Press 6/15/12
"Best Dance Club DJ - More than 10 years"
Houston Press07/04
"Numbers is best-known, of course, for "Classic Numbers," DJ Wes Wallace's Friday-night institution of all things '80s and alternative. Open since the late '70s, as seemingly eternal (or is that undead?) as Dracula himself, Numbers also hosts local necromancers Underworld's monthly bash, and live music from synth-pop to rap several times a month. (Depeche Mode and Erasure co-founder Vince Clarke was a recent visitor.)"
Houston Press - Best of Houston Edition
"There aren't many places inside the Houston city limits where you can see a guy dressed up like a goth George Washington nursing a dirt cheap Long Island Iced Tea and shadow-dancing, but such is the reality at "Classic Numbers" every Friday at well, Numbers off Westheimer. The hallowed dance floor seems to be catnip for the drunken and lusty minions among us who just have to cut a metaphorical rug each time we hear The Normal's stunner "Warm Leatherette". We're pretty sure if we heard that track during daylight hours, our heads would explode. DJ Wes Wallace can play the crowd like a fiddle, dishing out crucial Joy Division and The Cure cuts, while keeping an eye on modern fare ..."
Craig Hlavaty
Facebook Soundcloud Youtube Twitch
wes@numbersnightclub.com
Site Design:
Rebele93


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Watch Panic! At The Disco Perform '(F*ck A) Silver Lining' Live For The First Time
James Wilson-Taylor 23 March 2018 at 10.28
Brendon Urie gave the track from upcoming album 'Pray For The Wicked' it's debut performance at a show in New Jersey last night (March 22nd).
Panic! At The Disco have performed new song '(Fuck A) Silver Lining' live for the very first time.
The band performed the latest in their run of surprise pop up shows at New Jersey's Asbury Park venue last night (March 22nd) after having to reschedule it from the previous evening due to inclement weather.
Fan footage captured the energetic run through of the track last night, with the band's new lineup including bassist Nicole Row and a blistering brass section.
'(Fuck A) Silver Lining' in Asbury Park! #PrayfortheWicked
��: krystina_ciesielski pic.twitter.com/PDkNR7UhEj
— Panic! Updating (@panicupdating) March 23, 2018
The setlist also featured Panic! classics including 'Victorious', 'Miss Jackson' and 'Girls/Girls/Boys' as well as the current single 'Say Amen (Saturday Night)'.
Say Amen (Saturday Night) in Asbury Park!
��: eh.rica#PrayForTheWicked pic.twitter.com/h4Vkr2Q1nO
Panic! also performed the track on NBC's Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon earlier this week. They will perform their next pop-up show in Nashville on March 24th at a mystery location.
The album 'Pray For The Wicked' will be released on June 22nd. The band will also embark on a US arena tour this summer before returning to the UK to headline Reading and Leeds festivals this August.
James Wilson-Taylor


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BONAVENTURE of THORNTON is seeking a Driver, who is committed to easing the burden and worries of our resident passengers! We are an assisted living community, Retirement, Memory Care in City, looking for someone who loves people, will offer a comforting smile, a helping hand, and a genuine commitment to the transportation needs of our residents.
• Willingness to go beyond the basic job description, by providing our residence with the confidence that they will get to and from their scheduled destinations on time and safely.
• The ability to make every passenger feel welcome and comfortable, while exercising proper safety protocols for walkers, scooters, and wheelchairs.
• The ability to drive in a variety of weather and traffic conditions (at times we are the SOLE transportation option for our residents).
• Demonstrated compassion and respect for residents, colleagues and the community by proudly executing all of the drivers' responsibilities.
• Must have a genuine concern for, and the ability to work with, the elderly.
• Ability to relate to residents in a courteous, understanding, and cooperative manner.
• Ability to pass CPR and First-Aid courses.
Please submit your resume to be considered to this position.