* [Epic MegaGrants](http://lists.libre-riscv.org/pipermail/libre-riscv-dev/2020-March/005262.html)
reached out (hello!) to say they're still considering our
request.
-* A marathon 3-hour session with [NLNet](http://nlnet.nl) resulted
+* A marathon 3-hour session with [NLnet](http://nlnet.nl) resulted
in the completion of the
[Milestone tasks list(s)](http://bugs.libre-riscv.org/buglist.cgi?component=Milestones&list_id=567&resolution=---)
and a
Well dang, as you can see, suddenly it just went ballistic. There's
almost certainly things left off the list. For such a small team there's
a heck of a lot going on. We have an awful lot to do, in a short amount
-of time: the 180nm tape-out is in October 2020 - only 7 months away.
+of time: the 180nm tape-out is in October 2020.
With this update we're doing something slightly different: a request
has gone out [to the other team members](http://lists.libre-riscv.org/pipermail/libre-riscv-dev/2020-March/005428.html)
to say a little bit about what each of them is doing. This also helps me
because these updates do take quite a bit of time to write.
-# NLNet Funding announcement
+# NLnet Funding announcement
An announcement went out
[last year](https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/libreplanet-discuss/2019-09/msg00170.html)
This was the short version, with a much more
[detailed insight](http://lists.libre-riscv.org/pipermail/libre-riscv-dev/2020-March/005478.html)
listed here which would do well as a bugreport. However the time it would
-take is quite significant. We do have funding available from NLNet,
+take is quite significant. We do have funding available from NLnet,
so if there is anyone that would like to take this on, under the supervision
of Jean-Paul at LIP6.fr, we can look at facilitating that.
[learn and adapt coriolis2](http://bugs.libre-riscv.org/show_bug.cgi?id=178)
which was needed to find out how much work would be involved, as much as
anything else, in order to be able to accurately assign the fixed budgets
-to the NLNet milestones. Following on from that, when Jock joined,
+to the NLnet milestones. Following on from that, when Jock joined,
we needed to work out a compact way to express the
[layout of blocks](http://bugs.libre-riscv.org/show_bug.cgi?id=217#c44)
and he's well on the way to achieving that.
c++ code into shape extremely rapidly, and this alone has opened up an
*entire new avenue* of potential for coriolis2 to be used in industry
for doing much larger ASICs. Which is precisely the kind of thing that
-our NLNet sponsors (and the EU, from the Horizon 2020 Grant) love. hooray.
+our NLnet sponsors (and the EU, from the Horizon 2020 Grant) love. hooray.
Now if only we could actually go to a conference and talk about it.
# POWER ISA decoder and Simulator
(and also like the [IEEE754 FPU](https://git.libre-riscv.org/?p=ieee754fpu.git))
they're intended for *general-purpose* use by other projects. These are
exactly the kinds of side-benefits for the wider Libre community that
-sponsorship, from individuals, Foundations (such as NLNet) and Companies
+sponsorship, from individuals, Foundations (such as NLnet) and Companies
(such as Purism and Raptor CS) brings.
# Kazan Getting a New Shader Compiler IR
quad-core ASIC that we have on the roadmap for the second chip. USD
$1m pays for 28nm masks (and so on, in an exponential ramp-up). No, we
don't want to do that straight away: yes we do want to go through a first
-proving test ASIC in 180nm, which, thanks to NLNet, is already funded.
+proving test ASIC in 180nm, which, thanks to NLnet, is already funded.
This is just good sane sensible use of funds.
Even USD $25,000 helps us to cover things such as administration of the
website (which is taking up a *lot* of time) and little things that we
-didn't quite foresee when putting in the NLNet Grant Applications.
+didn't quite foresee when putting in the NLnet Grant Applications.
Lastly, one of the conditions as I understood it from the Megagrants
process is that the funds are paid in "stages". This is exactly
-what NLNet does for (and with) us, right now. If you wanted to save
+what NLnet does for (and with) us, right now. If you wanted to save
administrative costs, there may be some benefit to having a conversation
with the [30-year-old](https://nlnet.nl/foundation/history/)
-NLNet Charitable Foundation. Something to think about?
+NLnet Charitable Foundation. Something to think about?
-# NLNet Milestone tasks
+# NLnet Milestone tasks
-Part of applying for NLNet's Grants is a requirement to create a list
+Part of applying for NLnet's Grants is a requirement to create a list
of tasks, each of which is assigned a budget. On 100% completion of the task,
donations can be sent out. With *six* new proposals accepted, each of which
required between five (minimum) and *ninteen* separate and distinct tasks,
[important advice](http://lists.libre-riscv.org/pipermail/libre-riscv-dev/2020-March/005354.html)
from both Mitch Alsup and Staf Verhaegen.
-(Staf is also [sponsored by NLNet](https://nlnet.nl/project/Chips4Makers/)
+(Staf is also [sponsored by NLnet](https://nlnet.nl/project/Chips4Makers/)
to create Libre-licensed Cell Libraries, busting through one of the -
many - layers of NDAs and reducing NREs and unnecessary and artificial
barriers for ASIC development: I helped him put in the submission, and
local community roots.
However what I definitely wasn't expecting was a United States President
-to be voted in who was eager and, frankly, stupid enough, to start *and
-escalate* a Trade war with China. The impact on the U.S economy alone, and the
-reputation of the whole country, has been detrimental in the extreme.
+to be voted in who was eager and willing to start *and escalate* a Trade
+war with China, even during the current world climate where both local
+and global collaboration, **not** competition, is more important than
+ever before. The impact of his decisions on the U.S economy alone, and
+the reputation of the whole country, has been detrimental in the extreme.
This combination leaves us - world-wide - with the strong possibility that
seemed so "preposterous" that I could in no way discuss it widely, let alone