A key consideration when training an LLM is whether the target language is more or less resourced, whether this is English compared to Welsh, or Python compared to Excel. Typical training data for programming languages consist of real program demonstrations coupled with human-written comments. Here we present novel approaches to the creation of such data for low resource programming languages. We generate fully-synthetic, textbook-quality demonstrations of common library functions in an example domain of Excel formulas, using a teacher model. We then finetune an underperforming student model, and show improvement on 2 question-answering datasets recast into the Excel domain. We show advantages of finetuning over standard, off-the-shelf RAG approaches, which can offer only modest improvement due to the unfamiliar target domain.

This study presents a novel application of Graph Neural Networks (GNNs) to optimize dealership network planning for a luxury car manufacturer in the U.S. By conducting a comprehensive literature review on dealership location determinants, the study identifies 65 county-level explanatory variables, augmented by two additional measures of regional interconnectedness derived from social and mobility data. An ablation study involving 34 variable combinations and ten state-of-the-art GNN operators reveals key insights into the predictive power of various variables, particularly highlighting the significance of competition, demographic factors, and mobility patterns in influencing dealership location decisions. The analysis pinpoints seven specific counties as promising targets for network expansion. This research not only illustrates the effectiveness of GNNs in solving complex geospatial decision-making problems but also provides actionable recommendations and valuable methodological insights for industry practitioners.

In his apartment on March 17, 1970, Shel Dorf displays some posters to be shown at a convention in the U.S. Grant Hotel. The first gathering -- called San Diego's Golden State Comic-Minicon -- was put together by a group of comics, movie and science fiction fans including Shel Dorf, Ken Krueger and Richard Alf. This one-day convention was staged to raise funds and interests for a larger convention. Author Ray Bradbury bought a few items from the dealers at the San Diego Golden State Comics Convention in the U.S. Grant Hotel on Aug. 1, 1970. "I got a few issues of Mad magazine," he said. Called San Diego's Golden State Comic-Con, this was the first full-fledged convention in San Diego with a focus on comic art, film and science fiction. The event included 25 booths and three speakers: comic artist Jack Kirby and authors Ray Bradbury and A.E. van Vogt. Kirk Alyn, left, who portrayed Superman in film serials, signs an autograph for Forrest J Ackerman, editor of Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine.