text:
How you approach your missions is always up to you. Whether you go in guns blazing or choose the silent path, you’ll have tools at your disposal to do it like a real Spec Ops.

STEALTH

You have access to several new features in Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint that will enhance your stealth approach.

Carry Body

You will now be able to pick up downed enemies. This allows you to take out enemies silently and move them to more hidden areas so you can continue your stealth run undetected.

You can also carry your downed friends and become the hero of the situation by getting them to safety and healing them before going back on the field.

[[GRB] [News] [May-10th] Breakpoint Highlights Asset 1]

Prone Camo

Prone camo allows you to blend with your environment to surprise your enemy. You have this skill from the beginning of the game, and you can use it on multiple types of terrain: mud, snow, leaves. You can cover yourself with the terrain material, which allows you to either escape from or surprise your enemies!

Breaching Kit

Chain fences will keep out Ghosts no longer! This new unlockable item grants you a Breaching Kit that allows you slip through certain fences unnoticed. Your co-op teammates will also be able to follow you through the fences you open with this item.

NEW ENEMIES

In Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint, you’ll be pitted against Walker and his Wolves, but they’re not the only threat. Working with the Wolves are Sentinel, a Private Military Contractor (PMC) that have been hired to take care of security throughout the island.

During the stream we showed three Sentinel archetypes, with more coming over the summer!

Rocket Gunner

The Rocket Gunner is a brand new enemy in Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint. Their role is to challenge the player at long distances, forcing the player to stay on the move with explosive attacks that can have a cascade effect. The rocket backpack is the weak point of the rocket launcher, something players need to keep in mind when trying to take it down.

Breacher

The Breacher challenges the players during close-distance engagements. It is vital to not let Breachers – who are equipped with blinding flash grenades and a shotgun that suppresses players – get close.

Heavy

The Heavy is an armored behemoth that all players will learn to fear on the ground. A high level of armor will require players to aim for his helmet and head, while the Heavy’s minigun will control the battlefield up until it heats up and needs to cool down. Both of these opportunities will be key to take this enemy down!

Heavy Hitters

The enemies may be the toughest you have yet to face, but Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint is a military shooter game. Unless the human enemy is wearing a helmet, like the Heavy archetype, headshots will be one-shot kills if you’re able to land the hit.

ENEMY AI

Enemies will work together better than ever before to take you down.

On top of the new enemy archetypes, enemy AI has evolved to provide a better stealth experience to all players. Now, if the enemy becomes suspicious, depending on the risk of the situation, they will choose to either stalk the player’s last-known position, or send out a radio call to either alert the camp or send over reinforcements.

The player’s last-known position will also be managed more realistically than before, with enemies needing to investigate before they can actually find you if you remain hidden.

WOUNDS

The Wolves and Sentinels won’t be your only threat on the island of Auroa. Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint will feature new mechanics that kick up the intensity of your military survival experience.

[GRBP MTDT SCRN 01 MilitarySurvival 1080 nl]

Damage Tiers

There are several tiers of damage that can occur depending on how you get injured.

In the first level of wounds, your Ghost will start to occasionally limp and will see their stamina reduced. In the second level of injury, the Ghost will limp heavily, start bleeding, and face difficulty aiming. In the third tier, the Ghost will be unable to run, stumbling and limping with only his handgun to protect him.

Healing

You will be able to use items to bring your Ghost back up to fighting shape. Bandages will help you gain back tiers of injury, while syringes will top your current level of injury’s health.

CQC FINISHERS

You might get hurt, but a Ghost can always fight back no matter the odds. We’ll have a whole new set of brutal CQC finishers to execute your enemies with ruthless efficiency.

Weapons

Players will have a slot where they can equip a melee weapon that dictates which set of lethal CQC finisher animations your Ghost has.

At launch you will have access to two different sets: one with knives, one with karambits. We’ll have different animation sets too, so if the enemy is isolated there is a longer animation to showcase your kill.

Animation Sets

There are different move sets that will trigger different animations. For example, if you are in stealth or active combat, or if you approach from the back or the front, it will look different.

Customization

We will have different skins for both sets of weapons, so you can find either a knife or a karambit that fits your Ghost’s look. You’ll be able to see your unique weapon skin during the animation sets.

TEAMMATES

Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint will be fully playable in co-op with up to four players, but we know there are some Ghosts who prefer to take on their missions solo. Ghosts will always have the choice to play how they want.

If you want to group up with your friends and take on the Wolves together, you can assemble your squad of badass Ghosts. If you want to experience being the solo operative fighting behind enemy lines, you can do that too.

AI Teammates

In order to really immerse yourself in the fantasy of being lost behind enemy lines, you will not have AI teammates while playing in solo. We wanted to offer our players more versatility in how they can approach the game.

This is also in line with the narrative. In the trailer, your teammates from Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands were part of the big helicopter crash that you survived.

You will still have access to the sync shot feature while playing solo, thanks to three mini-drones that can assist you in battle by taking down up to four enemies at once. However, you will need to find solutions to heal yourself, because if you get downed while playing solo, it’s game over.

CLASSES

A big part of the customized experience in Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint is the classes available across PvE and PvP modes. There will be four available at launch, two of which were revealed on the stream.

Panther

[GRBP MTDT SCRN 09 RPG-Elements 1080 nl]

The Panther class is for players who want to become masters of infiltration. Panthers quickly engage enemies at close range before retreating back into stealth. Their special skill allows them to create a cloud of smoke, making them invisible to the enemy for a few seconds and giving them the opportunity to counterattack or disappear.

While Panthers do not have access to loud or heavy weapons, they compensate for that by being harder to detect, quicker on the move, and facing no damage reduction when using suppressors.

Sharpshooter

For all the sniper players out there, the Sharpshooter is the class of choice. Skillful and deadly, Sharpshooters can load three special bullets in their rifles, dealing large amounts of damage to enemies.

Sharpshooters are also able to hold their breath longer than other players in order to stabilize their aim, and they reload long-range weapons faster too.

Remaining Classes for Launch

We’ll have our next reveal about classes at E3, so make sure you don’t miss the show!

BIVOUAC

[GRBP MTDT SCRN 010 Bivouac 1920 nl]

Change Classes

You won’t be locked into your class choice permanently. You and your squad can change your classes at a Bivouac. If you need more firepower, you can pick a class that emphasizes assault. If you want to try more stealth, you could switch to the Panther.

Mission Prep

Bivouacs are a safe place to rest and prepare for battle. You’ll find them in various spots spread across Auroa. You can heal yourself, change your class, and do a lot more! We’ll share more about the Bivouac soon.

Character and Outfit Customization

We will communicate more about how you can customize your Ghost later on, but if you liked what we had in Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands, you’ll like Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint even more.

And we made sure to include one of the biggest community requests, bloused boots!

Choose Your Intensity

Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint is for players of skill levels. Just like in Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands, we will have several difficulty settings from easy to hardcore.

No matter the difficulty setting, you will have tools to adapt to any situation early in the game. You can use prone camo to hide, carry bodies in stealth and carry your buddy to safety in combat. You can change your class and prep with your squad at the Bivoac.

As you progress, you will be able to unlock passive skills and equippable upgrades that make you a lot more durable in Auroan environments.

Later in the game, the focus will shift from surviving an unfamiliar world towards surviving what your enemies can throw at you by using the best gear, skills, and tactics you’ve mastered while playing.

Check out the biggest news from the Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint stream in our Announcement Highlights article.

For the latest news on Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint, make sure to follow us on Twitter @GhostRecon and join the discussion on the official Ubisoft Ghost Recon Forums.

question: Who is the target audience for this article?

answer: The audience for this ad is people who like to play the Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Breakpoint game.

question: What is the main topic of the article?

answer: The article details new features of the Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Breakpoint game.

question: What strategies are revealed in the article?

answer: Under "Breacher", the author suggests not letting the Breachers get too close. Under "Prone Camo", the player can cover themselves with terrain material. In "Rocket Gunner", the author warns that the rocket backpack is the weak point of the rocket launcher.

question: Can the game be played with others?

answer: Yes.

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: The article details new features of the Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Breakpoint game.


split: test

text:
The 2019 SOUTH AMERICAN U-15 CHAMPIONSHIP is an international football tournament that will be held in Paraguay from 23 November to 8 December 2019. The twelve national teams involved in the tournament (all 10 CONMEBOL member national teams and 2 invited UEFA teams) were required to register a squad of 22 players; only players in these squads are eligible to take part in the tournament.

All registered players had to have been born on or after 1 January 2004. The age listed for each player is on 23 November 2019, the first day of the tournament.

Group A

Bolivia

Head coach: Christian Ocampo

The 22-man squad was announced on 13 November 2019.[1]

Brazil

Head coach: Paulo Victor Gomes

The 22-man squad was announced on 18 October 2019.[2][3]

Colombia

Head coach: Jorge Serna

The 22-man squad was announced on 18 November 2019.[4]

Peru

Head coach: Édgar Teixeira

The 22-man squad was announced on 17 November 2019.[5][6]

Belgium

Head coach: Bob Browaeys

The 22-man squad was announced on 20 November 2019.[7]

Venezuela

Head coach: Frank Piedrahita

The 22-man squad was announced on 16 November 2019.[8]

Group B

Argentina

Head coach: Alejandro Saggese

The 22-man squad was announced on 13 November 2019.[9]

Uruguay

Head coach: Diego Demarco

The 22-man squad was announced on 29 October 2019.[10]

Chile

Head coach: Hugo Balladares

The 22-man squad was announced on 9 November 2019.[11]

Poland

Head coach: Dariusz Gęsior

The 22-man squad was announced on 4 November 2019.[12]

Paraguay

Head coach: Delio Toledo

The 22-man squad was announced on 2 November 2019.[13]

Ecuador

Head coach: Eduardo Moscoso

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

title: 2019 South American U-15 Championship squads

question: What was the 2019 South American U-15 Championship?

answer: The 2019 South American U-15 Championship is an international football tournament.

question: Where was it held?

answer: Paraguay.

question: How many teams were invited to play in it?

answer: Twelve.

question: What is the date on or after all players had to have been born?

answer: January 1, 2004.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: The 2019 South American U-15 Championship is an international football tournament  that was held in Paraguay from November 23 to December 8 2019. Twelve national teams were invited to partake.


text:
is the tenth game of the Touhou Project, according to the official numbering by its creator ZUN of Team Shanghai Alice. Like the majority of the _Touhou Project_ games, _Mountain of Faith_ is a doujin scrolling shooter, albeit with a major revamp from its predecessors. The game was released in the Comiket 72 in August 2007.

Gameplay

_Mountain of Faith_ plays like a fairly typical vertically scrolling shooter, in which the player's character is always facing towards the top of the screen, shooting at anything that moves, avoiding and weaving between enemy bullets, and confronting a difficult boss at the end of each stage.

Unlike previous Touhou games, there is no separate bomb counter. Instead, there's a relationship between the power gauge, bombs, and options. Options are the small “satellites” that stick around the player's character and shoot shots. The more power items collected, the higher the power gauge rises. The power gauge takes on values from 0 to 5, and decimal numbers in between. The number of options the player has corresponds to the integer part of the power gauge – e.g., if the player has a power level of 2.75, he would have two options. When a bomb is used, an option is discarded. Hence using bombs would lower the power levels, though that can be replenished with items.

The defining feature of _Mountain of Faith_'s scoring mechanics is the Faith Point system. A “faith counter” at the lower-left corner of the screen determines how many points items and spell card bonuses are worth. The counter will decrease as time progresses, though the decrease can be halted temporarily by defeating enemies and collecting items. The counter can be replenished by collecting green stars and orbs, known as Faith Point items.

_Mountain of Faith_ comes with a unique feature that allows players to show customized text overlaid on the playing area. The feature can be set to auto, where the game automatically alerts places where the player had died before with a “Caution!” note. The player can also edit the hint file to show personalized notes at certain places and times, making it possible for simple play-along strategy guides to be made and distributed with “Nico Nico Douga-like interactivity”.[1] There are two playable characters, each with three weapon types, but no personalized Spell Card bombs like previous games.

Plot

Autumn has come to the secluded land of Gensokyo, and to its only shrine, the Hakurei Shrine, a common meeting place for its youkai that was seldom visited by its humans. As a result, faith in the Hakurei Shrine's deity began to fall like the leaves from the trees. It's in such a season that Reimu Hakurei, the shrine maiden of the Hakurei shrine, is visited by a mysterious stranger who claims to represent a god of mountains and orders her to shut the shrine's doors for good. Reimu is deeply troubled by this state of affairs, as she knows the shrine can't be allowed to close down due to the role it plays in watching over the Great Hakurei Border that separates Gensokyo from the outside world. Marisa Kirisame, her magician friend, is suspicious and also suitably bored. The girls decide to ascend the Youkai Mountain to confront the mysterious deity behind the threats.

Ignoring the lesser gods and the kappa's advice to turn back, Reimu and Marisa climb the Youkai Mountain to find that the tengu society fretting over the presence of a new shrine on the mountain. Turning their attention to the new shrine, the Moriya Shrine on the mountain, the girls find Sanae Kotiya, the messenger who ordered them to shut down the Hakurei Shrine. Sanae is the priestess serving the god Kanako Yasaka, who plots to gather the faith of all of Gensokyo's denizens in order to prevent the declining level of faith in Gensokyo to reach the point where its gods lose their power. Reimu, objecting the plan on the basis that it will render her shrine obsolete, battle the occupants of the new shrine. After a protracted battle, Kanako is convinced to make peace with the tengu and kappa, who are also convinced to accept her as the goddess of the Youkai Mountain.

In the Extra Mode, Reimu and Marisa hear of a rumor that another god lives in the Moriya Shrine, and so set out for the mountain again. There they meet the true god of the Moriya Shrine, Suwako Moriya, who demands the girls to play with her.

ZUN stated in an interview that the plot of _Mountain of Faith_ was never resolved in itself. This was so that future instalments, like _Subterranean Animism_, can base their stories on the loose ends of _Mountain of Faith_.[2]

Characters

[Top row: Shizuha, Minoriko, Hina
Middle row: Nitori, Momizi, Aya
Bottom row: Sanae, Kanako, Suwako]

Playable characters:

-   Reimu Hakurei (博麗 霊夢) - The miko of the Hakurei Shrine, she set out for the mountain to find out why she was ordered to close down her shrine. Her three attacks modes are homing amulets, persuasion needles, and spread amulets
-   Marisa Kirisame (霧雨 魔理沙) - An ordinary magician. Since Reimu told her of her plight, she became interested in the mountain. Her attacks are trace and hold star fire, magical lasers and cold inferno vents.

Boss characters:

-   Shizuha Aki (秋 静葉) - Stage one midboss, her attacks are themed on autumn leaves. Together with her sister Minoriko, they control the season of autumn.
-   Minoriko Aki (秋 穣子) - Stage one boss and a harvest goddess, Minoriko's attacks have a harvest theme.
-   Hina Kagiyama (鍵山 雛) - Stage two boss, the leader of the dolls that are sent down rivers to take away bad luck. Thus Hina herself is surrounded by bad luck, which shows in the theme of her spell cards.
-   Nitori Kawashiro (河城 にとり) - Stage three boss, Nitori is a kappa engineer, and her spell cards reflect either the aquatic nature of kappa or their supposed inventions. She believes the kappa and the humans were ancient allies, but she herself is shy, concealing herself with optical camouflage upon encountering humans.
-   Momizi Inubashiri (犬走 椛) - Stage four midboss, a watchdog of the tengu society, has no spell cards.
-   Aya Syameimaru (射命丸 文) - Stage four boss, the tengu that is most familiar with the humans of Gensokyo due to her job as a newspaper reporter (_Bohemian Archive of Japanese Red_ and _Phantasmagoria of Flower View_). She was sent by the tengu society to negotiate with the trespassing humans, Reimu and Marisa. Her attacks are tengu themed.
-   Sanae Kotiya (東風谷 早苗) - Stage five boss, a human who originally was revered as a living god outside Gensokyo. She is the wind priestess of the Moriya Shrine, and her attacks are modelled after miracles and winds.
-   Kanako Yasaka (八坂 神奈子) - Final stage boss and extra stage midboss, the god of the Moriya Shrine, based on the Japanese goddess Yasakatome, spouse of Takeminakata. Her attacks has to do with the rituals of the Suwa region, such as the shimenawa and onbashira. She planned to move the Moriya Shrine from the outside world into Gensokyo to draw on its spiritual power.
-   Suwako Moriya (洩矢 諏訪子) - Extra boss and the other, hidden, god of the Moriya Shrine. Based on Mishaguji, the native god of the Suwa region, her spell cards have to do with frogs and Suwa mythology.

Development

With the end of _Imperishable Night_, ZUN, the sole creator of the _Touhou Project_, achieved his original goal of making three Touhou games for Windows. Although he had thoughts to make the next game return to the simplicity of _The Embodiment of Scarlet Devil_, he shelved the idea to work on excursions from the main series.[3] After making _Phantasmagoria of Flower View_, ZUN decided to wait one year before making another game to see if the Touhou fandom would die down. Conversely, the Touhou fandom continued to grow, and ZUN decided to make the next game.[4]

ZUN had wanted to make the tenth game of the _Touhou Project_ to be nostalgic to him, so he based _Mountain of Faith_ on the Suwa myths he heard in his youth.[5] Since Suwa mythology had largely faded from public consciousness, ZUN thought it would be interesting to provide his own spin on Suwa mythology;[6] to do this, he went on a trip to research the gods of the Suwa region.[7]

One of the main point for _Mountain of Faith_, in ZUN's mind, is to go back to the basics. For this reason, _Mountain of Faith_ did not inherit the Spell Practice mode from _Imperishable Night_ nor the unique character bombs from previous games.[8] Using _Shoot the Bullet_ as prototype, ZUN extended the spinoff game into _Mountain of Faith_, thus starting off from scratch instead of using the models of his well-established games.[9] ZUN has stated that being able to revamp the game system and remove existing features freely is one of the advantages of doujin production.[10]

Reception

[An image of the Akimiya Kaguraden in the Suwa Taisha was used as the background image during Kanako Yasaka's spell cards]

The game has been lauded for its difficulty, as with other Touhou games. However, Yukikuni Sasayami of 4Gamer.net noted that although the bullet patterns have become more difficult than past Touhou games, the durations of the patterns have become shorter, making it easier for players to outlast the patterns.[11] The game has also been described by Sasayama as “spellcard-centric”, where the game encourages bombing until the specialized bullet patterns known as “spell cards”. Hence _Mountain of Faith_ lets the players experience the rhythmic onslaught of spell cards, which may be the reason why _Mountain of Faith_ did not inherit the Spell Practice mode from _Imperishable Night_, since it fragments the spell cards.[12]

The popularity of _Touhou Project_ brought many fans outside the Nagano Prefecture to the shrines of Suwa, from where _Mountain of Faith_ draws its inspiration. Prayer plaques with manga drawings starting to appear in the Suwa Taisha since July 2008 as a result of these “holy sites pilgrimages”. The Moriya Priests Museum of Documents (神長官守矢史料館) in Chino, Nagano reports that the number of visitors in 2008 rivals that of 2007, when tourists were likewise drawn to Suwa because of the Taiga drama _Fūrin Kazan_. Some locals hoped that recent developments would lead to new ways to attract tourists, as was the case of Washimiya, Saitama.[13]

[1] Yaegaki, Nachi. “Playthrough of the 10th Touhou Project - Mountain of Faith demo” (東方Project第10弾「東方風神録」の体験版を遊んでみた). 4Gamer.net. 2007-05-25.

[2]

[3] “Shanghai Alice Correspondence Vol. 4”. _Imperishable Night_ Afterword. 2004-8-15

[4] “Notes on ZUN’s Genyou Denshou Lecture”, Gensokyo.org, 09-11-2007

[5] “Mountain of Faith: A Special Afterword”. 2007-8-17.

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9] Ichijinsha, p.106

[10]

[11] Sasayama, Yukikuni. “Mountain of Faith: 24 screenshots and an analysis on where it stands as a game” (「東方風神録」のSS 24点とゲームの立ち位置に関する一考察), 4Gamer.net, 2007-09-13

[12]

[13]

title: Mountain of Faith

question: Describe the gameplay of Mountain of Faith.

answer: Mountain of Faith is a vertically scrolling shooter, where the player's character is always facing towards the top of the screen. The character shooting at anything that moves, avoiding and weaving between enemy bullets, and confronting a difficult boss at the end of each stage. The game has a "faith counter" at the lower-left corner of the screen determines how many points, items, and spell card bonuses are worth. The counter decreases as time progresses, though the decrease can be halted temporarily by defeating enemies and collecting items.

question: Who are the playable characters in the game?

answer: The playable characters include Reimu Hakurei, the miko of the Hakurei Shrine, and Marisa Kirisame, an ordinary magician.

question: Summarize the development of the game.

answer: ZUN, the sole creator of the series, wanted to make the tenth game of the "Touhou Project" to be nostalgic to him, so he based the game on the Suwa myths from his youth. He decided to put his own spin on the mythology.

question: How many units did Mountain of Faith sell in the first week?

question: What was the public's reception to the game?

answer: The game has been praised for its difficulty. Although the bullet patterns have become more difficult than past Touhou games, the durations of the patterns have become shorter, making it easier for players to outlast the patterns.


text:
You are less than the wind. You are not the air, but those things carried on it. You are gentle words and the fragrance of honeysuckle. You are not that quiet breeze, but those light bits of hair that it ruffles at its passing and those gentle chills that it carries in the ripeness of fall. You are those things carried amongst the bitten mountains worn down by your medium over the passage of years and years and years and years. You are the stillness of the water in this quiet lake and the hymns of the procession slowly approaching the lake over those worn mountain paths. They sing and you follow.

They are a group of not more than twenty large. They are a mix of men and women where the mix tends to fare the fairer sex and those masculine do walk emasculated with trodding steps and uncertain footing. You are the dust kicked up by the feet of these hollow men, a minority amongst those surefooted ewes. You are also the delicate steps of the child, alone amongst adults. You are also the breeze amongst his light hair and the silence at his lips. You are not the shallowness of his gaze or the timidity of his posture. You do know, though, that this one has not had enough years to be weathered as his companions are, their souls as worn as the mountains they cross.

You are the bellows of the man-mountain leading them. You are the difference in the weight of his garments compared to the others. You are not the yellow dye that provides this greater weight, but the wind that gently whips it as they approach the water. You are his words and the songs he leads his congregation in. You are not his smile or its crude comparison with the vacant expressions of his masculine peers, the gentle effeminacy of the women, or the indifference of that golden child. You are his words when he says,

“This is truly a glorious day!”

You are his words when he says,

“Today we truly bask in the radiance of the Lord!”

You are the gentle decline in pitch as footsteps amongst leaves change to those in sand and gravel. You are the difference when the sound of movement changes to sounds of silence save the proselytizing of that mountain of a man. You are his lungs and those ragged chords when he speaks,

“Come my child and let you join the kingdom of the lord!”

You are not the silence in the child’s footsteps, but you are the dissonance between the child’s graceful procession into the water and the preacher’s entrance, more akin to a battleship being put to port than a man of god sloshing to a small sandbank less than fifteen feet from the water’s edge. You are the hymns sung by the procession as the man and child walk out, but you are not the grating words and eldritch vocabulary they use. You are just the words, not their purpose or their strange vocalizations.

You are his words when the priest lays his hand on the child’s head and the mid of his back and calls out,

“Do you wish to see the promise land?”

You are not the child’s response even though it is pronounced and articulated with a certainty greater than the child’s years. You don’t even wish to carry those weary words of disagreement. You are not the unfocused gaze as the priest ignores those words you never carried. You are the sounds of submersion. You are never that gasp of air upon rising from those cold depths. You are simply the solitude of this terrible scene; the quiet, the thrashing at the waters edge, and a wind that roars through the trees like a cry of injustice and pain amongst the leaves. You are less than the wind.

edit: formatting cleanup

meta-edit: apparently I use the word "amongst" too much

title: You are Less than the Wind [MF]

question: Who is the passage talking about?

answer: That information can’t be found, but perhaps it's directed at the reader.

question: Where does this speech take place?

answer: That information can’t be found, but perhaps in a book.

question: What do the metaphors mean?

answer: That information can’t be found, but it may be about a baptism.

question: Who is the speaker?

answer: That information can’t be found.

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: The narrator is speaking to someone (perhaps the reader directly), using many metaphors and imagery from religion and nature. It's unclear why the speaker is doing this, or what the purpose of such a speech is. The speaker makes references to the "Lord" and the "promise land" [sic].


text:
CHRISTOPHER LAWSON (born November 6, 1985) is an American professional stock car racing crew chief who currently is an employee of DGR-Crosley who works for Front Row Motorsports as the crew chief for Todd Gilliland's No. 38 Ford F-150 in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series. Prior to joining DGR in 2018, Lawson worked with Gilliland when he drove in the NASCAR West Series for Bill McAnally Racing. The duo won two consecutive championships in 2016 and 2017 and twelve races together. Prior to becoming a crew chief, Lawson was a driver for underfunded, start and park teams in NASCAR and ARCA until 2011.

Racing career

Driving career

Lawson gained notoriety in 2011 as the driver who replaced Jennifer Jo Cobb at Bristol Motor Speedway in the 2nd Chance Motorsports No. 79 entry after Cobb left the team on the day of the race after a dispute with team owner Rick Russell on being told to start and park in that race.[1] Rookie of the year contender Charles Lewandoski was initially set to be the team's substitute driver, but was unable to get prepared in the car in time for the start of the race, so Russell then got Lawson to jump in Cobb's car and start and park it.[2] Lawson had failed to qualify for the Bristol race in another start and park entry, the No. 03 for R3 Motorsports. He was the only DNQ for the race, and was still at the track when it was about to start. This race would end up being Lawson's last as a driver.

Crew chiefing career

In 2019, Lawson served as Tanner Gray's crew chief in the ARCA Menards Series for DGR-Crosley.[3]

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(key) (BOLD – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. _Italics_ – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Nationwide Series

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| NASCAR Nationwide Series results                                      |
+=======================================================================+
| Year                                                                  |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| 2007                                                                  |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| 2009                                                                  |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| 2010                                                                  |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Chevy                                                                 |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| 2011                                                                  |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| 2nd Chance Motorsports                                                |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

Camping World Truck Series

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| NASCAR Camping World Truck Series results                             |
+=======================================================================+
| Year                                                                  |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| 2009                                                                  |
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ARCA Racing Series

(key) (BOLD – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. _Italics_ – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

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| ARCA Racing Series results                                            |
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| Year                                                                  |
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| 2011                                                                  |
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title: Chris Lawson (racing driver)

question: Summarize Lawson's driving career.

answer: Christopher Lawson gained notoriety as the driver who replaced Jennifer Cobb after a dispute with the team owner at the Bristol Motor Speedway. Apparently, Charles Lewandoski was to be the substitute driver but couldn't be prepared in time for the race to start, and hence Lawson was told to jump in. He had failed to qualify for the Bristol race in another start and park entry.

question: Summarize Christopher's personal life.

question: What did Lawson do prior to joining DGR?

answer: Christopher was previously a driver for underfunded, start and park teams in NASCAR and ARCA. After this, he started working with Gilliland when he drove for Bill McAnally Racing.


text:
CANONBURY is a residential area of Islington in the London Borough of Islington, North London. It is roughly in the area between Essex Road, Upper Street and Cross Street and either side of St Paul's Road.

In 1253 land in the area was granted to the Canons of St Bartholomew's Priory, Smithfield, and became known as Canonbury. The area continued predominantly as open land until it was developed as a suburb in the early nineteenth century.[1]

In common with similar inner London areas, it suffered decline when the construction of railways in the 1860s enabled commuting into the city from further afield. The gentrification of the area from the 1950s included new developments to replace war-damaged properties in Canonbury Park North and South as well as restoration of older buildings.

Geography

Canonbury is traditionally an area of Islington, and has never been an administrative unit in its own right. For this reason it has never had formally defined boundaries, but approximates to the area between Essex Road, Upper Street and Cross Street and either side of St Paul's Road. The Canonbury electoral ward within the London Borough of Islington extends as far east as Southgate Road.

East Canonbury is the south-eastern corner of the district, bordering on the Regents Canal. Parts of this area were transferred to the district from the London Borough of Hackney in a boundary adjustment (along the line of the northern towpath of the canal), in 1993.[2]

In the east is the Marquess Estate, a 1,200 dwelling council estate, completed in 1976 on , and designed by Darbourne & Darke.[3] A dark red brick, traffic free estate, it was praised as an example of municipal architecture, but acquired a bad reputation and has since been extensively redeveloped to improve security for residents.

Places of interest

-   Canonbury Tower - The manor house of Canonbury was constructed by William Bolton of St Bartholomew's Priory between 1509 and 1532. At the dissolution it was granted to Thomas Cromwell. In the 1590s the manor house was rebuilt by Sir John Spencer, Lord Mayor of the City of London, including the construction of its tower. The tower has been occupied by many historical figures, including Francis Bacon and Oliver Goldsmith. The Tower Theatre Company was based here from 1953 to 2003. It is currently used as a Masonic research centre.
-   Canonbury Square - developed between 1805 and 1830, it includes a variety of distinct styles. In 1812, when few properties had been built, the New North Road turnpike, now known as Canonbury Road, was constructed and bisects the square. Many significant figures from the arts and literary worlds have lived on the square, including George Orwell, Evelyn Waugh and Samuel Phelps.
-   The Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art is in Canonbury Square.
-   John Spencer Square - A residential garden square named after Sir John Spencer, Lord Mayor of the City of London, former residents include Barbara Castle, Labour politician and former Secretary of State, English constitutional historian David Starkey.
-   New River Walk - The New River, an aqueduct built by Sir Hugh Myddelton to supply fresh water to London, was completed in 1613. The walk is in two parts, with a break at Willowbridge. The southern section received an early National Lottery grant, and has a back-pumping scheme which simulates the water flow of the original aqueduct.
-   Arlington Square - voted one of the UK's best garden squares.[4]

Literary and artistic connections

[Canonbury Square] George Orwell moved to 27b Canonbury Square in the autumn of 1944 – he and his wife having been bombed out of their previous flat, in Mortimer Crescent, on 28 June 1944.[5] Evelyn Waugh lived at 17a Canonbury Square from 1928 to 1930.[6] Charles Dickens wrote a Christmas story about a lamplighter in Canonbury, which features the Tower.[7] Leslie Forbes, the travel and detective story writer, and amateur historian Gavin Menzies both live in the area.

Churches

[St Paul's Church, now a school]

-   St Paul's, at the junction of Essex Road and Balls Pond Road, was designed in 1826-28 by Charles Barry for the Church of England.[8] Its parish was merged with St Jude, Mildmay and since 1997 the building has been used as a Steiner school.[9][10]
-   St Stephen's Church, Church of England, is on Canonbury Road and was built in 1839.[11][12]

Groups in Canonbury

[Gardens of Canonbury Square]

-   Greenpeace UK - offices based at Canonbury Villas.
-   The Canonbury Society Canonbury Society Islington aims to conserve the special character of Canonbury by monitoring development
-   Islington & Stoke Newington (T.S Quail) Sea Cadet Unit
-   The Islington Society The Islington Society was founded in 1960 to safeguard and improve the quality of life in Islington. It focuses on the built environment and public transport, but also takes a special interest in public services and open spaces.

Politics

-   Canonbury forms part of the Islington South and Finsbury parliamentary constituency. The constituency's MP is Labour politician Emily Thornberry. The Islington councillors representing Canonbury are Alex Diner, Clare Jeapes and Nick Wayne (Labour).

Demography

The 2011 census showed that the population of Canonbury ward was 72% white (53% British, 15% Other, 4% Irish), and 6% Black African.[13]

Transport and locale

[A map showing the Canonbury ward of Islington Metropolitan Borough as it appeared in 1916.]

Nearest stations

-   Angel
-   Essex Road
-   Canonbury
-   Highbury & Islington

Buses

London Buses routes 4, 19, 30, 38, 56, 73, 236, 263, 341, 393 and 476 serve Canonbury.[14]

Education

[Compton Road]

Canonbury Road School, now Canonbury Primary School, opened in 1877.[15] It is a Community primary school taking boys and girls from 3 to 11 years of age. In 2010, the school was placed in special measures.[16] By 2013, when Ofsted inspected Canonbury Primary School it was rated as a GOOD school.[17] In 2013, there were 460 pupils on the school roll.[18]

Founded as a charity school in 1710, St Mary's Church of England Primary School has, since 1967, been situated on Fowler Road in Canonbury.[19] When Ofsted inspected the school in 2012 it was rated as a GOOD school and there were 178 pupils on the school roll.[20]

The North Bridge House Senior School & Sixth Form is located in Canonbury.[21]

Notable residents

[Canonbury Tower]

-   Thomas Cromwell, Lord Privy Seal, lived in Canonbury Tower from 1533 until his execution in 1540 by order of King Henry VIII
-   Sir Francis Bacon, King James I's Lord Chancellor, lived in Canonbury Tower, 1616-1626
-   William Babell, musician, died here in 1723
-   Ephraim Chambers, encyclopaedist, lodged at Canonbury Tower
-   George Grossmith and Weedon Grossmith, actors and writers, lived at 5 Canonbury Place
-   John Newbery, publisher of children's literature, lived in Canonbury House
-   Francis Ronalds, inventor of the electric telegraph, lived at 11 Canonbury Place as a child[22]
-   Edmund Ronalds, chemist, was born at 48 Canonbury Square and later lived at the east end of Canonbury Place[23]
-   Thomas Field Gibson, Royal Commissioner for the Great Exhibition of 1851, was born at 2 Canonbury Place[24]
-   Molly Hughes, educator and author, chronicled her childhood in Canonbury in _A London Child of the 1870s_ growing up in a house that “stood at the corner of two roads” with a view down the length of Grange Grove
-   George Orwell, writer, lived at 27b Canonbury Square
-   Evelyn Waugh, writer, lived at 17a Canonbury Square
-   Duncan Grant and Vanessa Bell, painters and designers, lived at 26a Canonbury Square
-   Professor Sir Basil Spence, architect, lived and worked at 1 Canonbury Place from 1956 until his death in 1976. He is commemorated with a blue plaque[25][26]
-   Dame Flora Robson, actress, lived in Alwyn Villas
-   Louis Macneice, poet, lived at 52 Canonbury Park South from 1947 to 1952 and is commemorated with a blue plaque
-   Barbara Castle, politician, and Ted Castle, journalist, lived in John Spencer Square
-   Alan Davies, actor/comedian
-   Spider Stacy, founding member of the Pogues
-   Harry Randall, music hall and pantomime comedian lived at 4 Canonbury Grove and 2 Alwyne Place
-   Cate Blanchett, actress lived at 7 Canonbury Grove
-   Chester P, UK hip-hop artist, member of Task Force and M.U.D. Family
-   Dame Stella Rimington, head of MI5, lived at 7 Canonbury Grove, in Alwyne Road and in Alwyne Place
-   Sir John Mummery PC, DL, a Lord Justice of Appeal
-   Sir Nicholas Barrington, ex UK High Commissioner to Pakistan
-   William Greaves, co-founder of Capital Kids' Cricket lived at 13 Canonbury Grove
-   Charlie Weaver, member and front man of Lonsdale Boys Club
-   Sir John Tusa, broadcaster and arts administrator[27]
-   Kenneth Griffith, actor, producer, presenter and historian, lived at 8 Alwyne Place, which he named Spion Kop
-   Dido (singer) used to live at 1, Willow Bridge Road.
-   Keira Knightley and her husband James Righton moved into Canonbury in 2014[28]
-   Kit Harington, actor moved into Canonbury in 2015.
-   James Bay (singer), moved to Canonbury in 2016.
-   Gareth Morris, principal flute, Philharmonia and New Philharmonia Orchestras (1948-1972) also principal flute professor of Royal Academy of Music (1945-1985), resident of 4, Alwyne Place from 1945 to 1987

[1] 'Islington: Growth: Canonbury', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 8: Islington and Stoke Newington parishes (1985), pp. 19-20 accessed: 3 May 2007

[2] Statutory Instrument 1993 No. 1417 accessed 3 May 2007

[3]

[4]

[5] Orwell, Collected Works, I Have Tried to Tell the Truth, p.283

[6] Eric A Willats, Streets with a Story

[7] _The Lamplighter_ Charles Dickens (Public Domain) accessed 29 September 2009

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[21] “Contact Us .” North Bridge House School. Retrieved on 26 March 2015. “North Bridge House Senior School & Sixth Form - Canonbury[...]6-9 Canonbury Place London N1 2NQ”

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title: Canonbury

question: Where is Canonbury located?

answer: Canonbury is a residential area of Islington in North London. It is roughly in the area between Essex Road, Upper Street, Cross Street, and either Side of St. Paul's Road.

question: What are some places of interest in Canonbury?

answer: Teh Canonbury Tower is a manor house that was constructed by William Bolton of St. Bartholomew's Priory between 1509 and 1532. Canonbury Square was developed between 1805 and 1830 and includes a variety of distinct styles. The Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art is in Canonbury Square. John Spencer Square is a residential garden square named after Sir John Spencer.

question: What are the demographics of Canonbury?

answer: The 2011 census showed that the population of Canonbury was 72% and 6% Black African.


text:
When they came north out of Chihuahua he was not yet born and the militia marching the fugitive families had orders to kill anyone that refused to return to Cebolleta. The place brought with it death and hardship. But now it was their home again, by decree.

Before the Bacas could bury Guerrer, his body lying lifeless at the mercy of Navajos, they fled the fifteen miles south to Laguna. Where the Puebloans and their Kivas helped them survive. Where thirty Chacon soldiers eventually found them and marched them back to Cebolleta for good.

He was not quite fifteen and the Bacas had long since adapted to the violence, the soldiers long gone, the bones of the brother he’d never met serene beneath the earth. He wore a set of dusty cotton trousers and shirt to match. His hair remained black and straight while the same old pine pail he’d hauled back and forth since morning jounced in his hand. His feet stole down a path soft-footed monks had abandoned fifty years ago. His homemade boots kicked up considerable dust. The ground scuffed and scraped in his ear. The sheer yellow dust rose behind him. The abandoned Mission still stood, its fourteen niches still filled, the ornamented stations intact.

When he reach the opening in the willows, the stream flowed beside him, advancing in clear rippled streaks, the sound somnolent, sporadic. The sweet yet acrid scent of streamside willows pierced the air. He filled the pail and set it on the bank and crouched beneath the outstretched branches of a large cottonwood. He scanned the mesa-tops through its sagging branches and could see the places his father had taught him to look for Navajo raiders. He stood and turned his face toward western face of Cerro Bonito. The cinder cone stood as an elder, a remnant of the past still holding influence on the land.

After some time he picked up the pail and scanned the mesa-tops again. He lifted his feet and the thin homemade boots, his feet returning to the path.

Epaphrodito!...

His mind knew voice before his conscious breath could speak it. His head tilted in that instinctive pause of knowing, but not realizing, what was said. His heart reacted before he could consciously raise the pace of his gate.

Venga!... Andale!..

The voice sprang again from an almost-inebriated virulence. It was distant yet potent. It carried with it the years of punishment and discipline and harsh, stark boldness, the years of blank burnished calamity. It ran through Epa’s spine in a tremulous blind state, the sheer yellow dust now thick, turbulent; Epa ran with the pine pail now trouncing; the clear, rippled streaks now sloshing from the pail turning the water onto his pale-blue cotton trousers.

It was his father. The man that endured the harsh, grimaced faces of prehistoric vicissitudes the Anasazi knew first, the men that barked and clipped at the heels of civilized endurance. The men that tore the fabric of foreign life in a stank cordiality of uniformed diligence, leaving a pure remnant to foster a future plunder.

The best goats and lambs and children survived. They lived and produced the fodder of the raiders. The raiders fostered the future. They lived to live another day in their regimented discipline the Anasazi first observed.

This is why he ran, why he shuddered before the virulent voice. The man would not accept weakness, the man would not accept a petulant child in the midst of such formidable foes.

Epa, his face dripping, stood in sodden trousers before the man. The man sat a stool and leaned against an adobe wall, the pine-hewn legs creaking atop crosscut cedar planks, the man holding an empty gourd in one hand and a corn-shuck cigaro in the other, drops of pulgue running from the corners of his mouth.

title: [HF] Read it , Don't Weep - Cebolleta

question: What made the protagonist run?

answer: The protagonist ran because his father was calling him. His father was a harsh disciplinarian who would not accept weakness. He could not accept a petulant child in the midst of a formidable enemy.


text:
        It was 3:05 pm in Portland, Oregon. Evan Greene walked through the doors of his high school, down the walkway where the other kids' parents were already waiting for them. His hair was long and a mess. His clothing looked as grungy and defiant as he felt. His eyes moved along the row of cars in a lost kind of way. He saw what they had, and he used to want that for himself, but today, as every other, no one was waiting for him. His shoulders sagged as he thought about his family. Mommy. Daddy. Son. Family. They were words that had lost any meaning some time ago, and he knew those words were a lie. He was alone. In his head, in his heart, and in his very deepest depths.
Evan's favorite band was, to him, the ultimate expression of everything he would scream if anyone were listening, and the way Kurt bellowed and belted his pain and tension out into the world, like a giant "Fuck All Of You!," cradled Evan with empathetic arms and he could sleep at night knowing that someone besides him hated the world.
	Evan's home life was tragic. His mother was finding herself, so to speak, sleeping around town in some vain attempt at quelling the decades of regret and repression left deep in her soul by an abusive and distantly unappreciative husband. If one wanted to search her out, they need look no further than the nearest bar, likely five drinks deep by the time Evan got out of school, her arm wrapped around some married day drinking business clone. She was lost and scared and angry, and she dealt with it all by drinking and sleeping her way through the true hate she felt for her life.
	Evan's father worked long hours, wading through shit at a dead end job that he genuinely despised as much as he did his family. The guilt and shame weren't for concern of his son or his meandering wife, because truthfully, he never wanted any of it. The family, the job, the responsibility, the same festering wounds reopened each day the moment his alarm clock rang out. In his mind his son was just another regret. Fuck the wife. Fuck the job. Fuck the kid. He was already dead. Their house was perpetually filled with the wafting smoke and stench of two packs a day and some molding spilled beer, hibernating under some piece of garbage that seemed the only indicator that someone living had once been present. He had no control of his boiling rage, and the slightest argument sent him reeling into an atomic rampage, each incident an epoch for the ages.
	Evan left the school to make the trek down to the bus home. The walk, for a teenager, was a perilous one, and his greasy flowing locks, torn jeans, and sullen posture made him a frequent target for bullies. It was drizzling but the sun was out, and a familiar scent permeated the air. That smell that comes when rain hits grass in the spring. It reminded Evan of sitting with his grandmother on her porch, listening to a million tiny drops of water hit the pavement, watching the dry cement become consumed, drop by drop with tiny splashes until the splashes converged and the sidewalk became glistening and covered. His grandmothers wrinkled fingers ran through his hair and she showed him great tenderness.
     With a loud crack, Evan was stolen from this serene and comforting moment. A short and obviously angry boy, no older than him had thrown a rock at Evan's head, knocking him to the ground, and the harsh transition from the his grandmother's grace to a throbbing and painful state left him on his back, staring right through the sky above. As he began to roll over to right himself, he saw the boy walk up to him, shouting obscenities about his "faggoty hair" and his "pussy band" shirt, which was now torn from the fall and stained with his blood. His entire life, every bit of anger, every unkind word his father ever spoke and hatred boiled inside his veins. His heart pounded, and each increasingly rapid beat drew him to a crescendo that took from him his better judgement. Just for a moment it all went black. Seconds later, his haze began to clear as he realized he sat firmly atop the bully, knees to his shoulders, pinning down his arms, and mid punch he snapped back to reality and caught his breath long enough to know that he had lost control. He left his antagonist bleeding on the gravel, regained his composure and continued on his way home.
	As his adrenaline began to dissipate, his head started to throb, and he stopped, put his hand over the right side near his temple, closed his eyes, and massaged the spot where he'd been hit. As he drew his hand back, he saw blood on his fingers, which made him dizzy and even a little angry. He opened up his backpack and pulled out a small package. He unwrapped the two cigarettes he'd stolen from his father the night before, taking one in between his fingers and re-wrapping the other. He lit it, closed his eyes tight and took a long and deep drag, trying his best to let go of his frustration as he exhaled. No luck, and his head continued to throb. He took another drag and went on his way. A block before his first bus, he passed by a row of houses. He saw a young man sitting on a rocking chair, his hands covering his bowed head. A cigarette in his hand burned to ash as he sat, unaware, but he was obviously crying. Not like when you're physically hurt, but the kind of shaking with heart break weeping that only happens when something truly awful has happened and you can only sit in disbelief. Evan stopped and asked the young man if he was okay, but after three ignored attempts, the man got up, screamed at Evan to "Fuck Off!!," and went inside, slamming the door behind him. He always felt compelled to comfort others even tho no one ever returned the favor.
	He made it to the bus stop just as it arrived. He entered, payed his dollar and went straight to the back. He took his Disc-man out of his backpack. He put on his headphones and pressed play. Nirvana's "Nevermind" was the drug of choice and he immediately went to "Lithium." This song sounded the way he often felt, so it assured him that at least one other person felt as shitty and worthless as him. He closed his eyes and by the time he opened them again, four tracks had passed and he was at his stop. His heart sank and he imagined the horrors to come. How many drinks had dad had? Who's bed had mom been in? Would they fight with each other or would they turn on him as was usually the case?
	Evan's bus arrived at the stop next to his house and he exited, again, as slow as humanly possible, only delaying the inevitable, but those few precious seconds belonged to him and him alone. As he approached the paint chipped house with it's unkempt and weed riddled front yard, he heard glass shatter. That was followed by the  sound of his mother screaming at the top of her lungs. He shuddered as he crept up the front steps and slowly opened the door, wanting nothing but to make it to his room without either of the two noticing. As he took his first step onto the staircase, he tried to avoid the loose nails in the boards that might give his presence away. Four steps were silent, but on the fifth, he lost his balance and his blood stained shoe pressed down on the loudest spot there was. A rather emphatic squeak was produced beneath his foot and he stopped cold. He shut his eyes tight and prayed they hadn't heard his misstep. Once he thought himself in the clear he took the next step, but before his foot could land, he felt a hand on his back. It was his father, drunk as ever, and upset that Evan hadn't greeted him with the respect he felt he deserved. His father grabbed his t-shirt from behind and pulled Evan back down the stairs, tripping him and causing him to land at the base of the steps and on his back for the second time that day.
	As his father pulled him up by his shirt, which was now torn so badly it was unwearable, he screamed in Evan's face. His eyes were bloodshot and his breath wreaked of whiskey and cigarettes. He dragged his son into the living room and threw him loose onto the couch. "Get the fuck up!!," he yelled. "You ungrateful little shit! Who the fuck do you think you are coming into MY house and not giving me the respect I deserve!!"? Evan replied, "I didn't mean anything, dad. I just heard you and mom yelling at each other and I wanted to stay out of it. I didn't think you'd even want to see me." "Well, you got that right, you little faggot, but respect is respect!," his father insisted with a petty smirk on his face. His mother came sprinting into the living room shouting, "What the fuck did you do this time, you goddamn brat!?" Evan, his rage boiling, yelled back at her, "Fuck you, you drunk slut! You're supposed to be my mother! You hate him as much as I do and he treats you like shit too. What the fuck is wrong with you two!? Why won't you both just fucking leave me alone!? I didn't even do..." Before he could finish his sentence, he felt wind across his face just before his father's fist connected to the side of his face. The force of the hit knocked him several feet across the living room and face first onto the carpet in front of the television.
	The tv was on and turned up loud, which Evan hadn't noticed until he was laying on the floor bleeding in front of it. Still in a haze, he stared blankly at the screen, which showed a picture of his hero, Kurt Cobain. He was confused by what he saw. He had no context for why his favorite musician was on the local news, but as the ringing in his ears slowly subsided, he saw a set of numbers flash on the screen. They read 1967-1994. He was still in shock, and seeing this nearly caused him to pass out. His heart pounded intensely. He heard the words come from the tv speakers, still loudly. "Kurt Cobain, dead at the age of 27 from an apparently self inflicted gunshot wound. He is survived by wife, Courtney Love, and daughter, Francis Bean Cobain." Evan didn't even notice his swelling face or the blood dripping from his ear and nose. His heart was torn and beaten, and he couldn't breathe. He gasped for air as the quickly mounting anxiety constricted the muscles in his chest. He could hear his own heart bellowing like the deepest tribal bass drum. His vision went in and out with the beat of his pulse, and as he pushed himself up to get off the ground, everything was slow motion. He wiped the tears from his eyes, which he noticed were mixed with a fair amount of his own blood. He turned slowly toward his parents. His father was to his left and his mother to his right. There were a few feet of space between them, and as they continued to shout, he stumbled in between them and then past them.
	As he reached the foot of the stairs, he began to run, struggling with all his might to find the strength to make each successive step. He forced his way through the door of his parents' bedroom and headed straight for the night stand. He knew his father had a pistol there because on many a drunken occasion, he would pull it out. If Evan ever challenged his father on the wrong night, the gun came out and Evan had seen down it's barrel plenty of times. He opened the drawer and palmed the gun. He adjusted his grip until it was firm and secure. He pulled back the slide to make sure it was loaded and he floated back down the stairs in what seemed to be more moments of slow motion, his heart beat increasing even further until it was all he could hear in his head. He entered the living room once more and saw his parents with their backs facing him. Evan screamed, echoing through the room. "Hey, Dad!!!"
	His father, surprised, quickly turned around to find his son holding a gun at his side with the look of desperation reading loud and clear across his tear soaked face. His mother turned a moment after his father and when she saw Evan standing there, gun in hand, she let out a scream that could have shattered glass. His father, trying to seem in control, began to slowly creep toward his son, his hand outstretched toward Evan as he commanded him to give up the gun. His father said, with some satisfaction, "I always knew you were a fucking psycho. Just look at you. Crying like a woman and bleeding because you aren't man enough to stop me from making you bleed. This is all your fault, you know." Evan's eyes filled with tears and the lump in his throat made it hard for him to speak. " I'm not the freak! I'm not the fucking psycho! Dad, your whole life is a disaster and you can only blame me! Mom, you let this piece of shit bloody me and put a gun in my face! You are the psychos! You are the fucking freaks!" His father continued his slow approach, hand still out, and as he reached the couch a few feet from where his son was standing, he began to taunt him, but Evan couldn't bear to hear another word from someone he hated so thoroughly, and before his father could finish his slander, Evan raised his arm and he squeezed the trigger. His eyes blinked as the shot rang out in the small room and it forced the welling tears from his eyes down his cheeks.
	His mother screamed bloody murder, as she rushed to her husband's side. She looked at her son, shaking and crying, and in shock, still holding the gun, arm still raised. "What have you done!?," she wallowed. "Call an ambulance!" Evan's compassion was long gone. His life had been a cruel joke and the only person he loved had taken himself away from him. In that moment, his mind became more clear than ever. He aimed the gun at his mother and dispatched three shots into her head. She was lucky. She died quickly. Her husband, though, was still choking on his own blood. Evan's father had a look of rage in his eyes. The last words he ever spoke were unkind. Without hesitation, he put three bullets in his father's head. BANG! BANG! BANG! A his feet, his parents lay motionless in pools of blood. He walked over to the couch next to the television and he sat.
      He felt no guilt or regret. No sympathy. Evan stared at the blank tv screen. Looking back at him was something familiar. That same look that Kurt had in every photo. He was tired, so he closed his eyes, and never opened them again.

title: Together in the End (Evan Greene) [RF]

question: What were the triggers that set Evan off to murder his parents?

answer: Evan has a tragic background. His father is abusive and his mother spends the day in pubs and other people's beds. Evan is bullied at school. On the day that Evan kills his parents, he is assaulted on the way home from school. When he gets home, his father assaults him. As he is lying on his back bleeding he sees that his hero, Curt Cobain has died. He is devastated.

question: Why has Evan's father hit him?

answer: As Evan approaches his house he hears glass breaking and his mother screaming. His parents are fighting so he tries to sneak into the house without them noticing. His father sees him and accuses him of disrespect. He expects Evan to greet him when he enters the home. Actually, the father is just a big bully looking for a punchbag.


text:
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Asymmetrical Operation : Early Stage

Finding niches

After a quiet Eid holiday in Indonesia, Singapore-based social e-commerce platform Rate rolled out RateS in the country. The idea is to tap into Indonesia’s relatively high rate of smartphone utilization for online retail, as well as country’s sizable digital economy within the region. RateS will allow micro-entrepreneuers, specifically dropshippers, to list merchandise in ten product categories that are meant for housewives, homeowners, like maternal items, toys, children’s clothing, and Muslim couture. Already, RateS has 5,000 users on the waitlist, and the app will eventually expand its coverage beyond major cities in Indonesia
_
“Early Stage” is a series where the writers of KrASIA highlight startups that caught our eye for the week, whether they achieved an important milestone, rolled out an innovative product, or became embroiled in controversy._

[]

Newest social e-commerce application for entrepreneurs

Rabu, 12 Juni 2019 11:11 WIB

[]

JAKARTA (ANTARA) -
Rate, Singapore-based social e-commerce, is launching their latest mobile application, RateS. This social commerce-based application provides an opportunity for users to start their online business and sell various goods without requiring initial capital.

[]

question: What is a drop-shipper?

answer: It is not stated in the article. From the text it can be inferred that they are online suppliers of products, but not the designer or manufacturer. This will move accountability from the drop-shipper to the manufacturer.

question: Why are the users on a waitlist?

answer: It is unclear from the article. It can be that the users (micro-entrepreneurs) are vetted before being allowed access to the RateS application.

question: Summarize all the information relating to RateS.

answer: Singapore-based social e-commerce platform Rate rolled out RateS to tap into Indonesia's relatively high rate of smartphone utilization for online retail, as well as the country's sizable digital economy within the region. RateS allows micro-entrepreneurs to list merchandise for sale. RateS has 500 users on the waitlist. The app will expand its coverage beyond major cities in Indonesia.

question: For what feature did KrASIA identify RateS?

answer: Finding niches.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: KrASIA identified the RateS application for finding a niche in the Singapore online retail market. Singapore already has a high rate of smartphone utilization as well as the country's sizable digital economy.


text:
-   [Home]
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1.

     02-27-2016, 03:41 PM #1

    [snowdaze is offline]

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    [Default] Proma THC Works in Test Mode, Not While Cutting. (videos included)

      Hi,

      This forum is really great and I am finding answers all over, so thank you. []

      I have seen this problem a few times and have not found an answer online.

      My machine is cutting OK, but I can't get the Proma THC to adjust the Z axis _while cutting_.

      I ran the test cycle for the proma unit, and seems like I have my wiring correct.

      1.  The physical torch Z moves up and down
      2.   Z DRO rises and falls (mach3)
      3.  The LED lights in the diagnostics page blink on and off. (mach3) torch up, torch dn, torch ok

      My settings are:

      THC voltage 130V (50:1 divider)
      hypertherm85, 65 amps
      air pressure 105psi, lots of drying and filtering
      mach3
      sheetcam
      autocad

      I go through all my menus in Mach in the videos, so if you could please watch and look for a mistake, I would be very grateful.

      It could be something easy and obvious, I am not an expert and still learning the functions of mach3 and the CNC world.

      Thank you.

      VIDEOSShowing THC Test Cycle:

      Showing Failed Cut & settings (start to finish):

      Similar Threads:

      -   NEED HELP!- Mach3 VB script that works with THC proma
      -   PROBLEM- Why SteelTailor portable CNC cutting machine has to run the test mode?
      -   Proma THC & Hypertherm Powermax 45, faults in test mode. Bad power supply?
      -   NEED HELP!- Proma THC works in test mode only
      -   Single line mode works well, Auto is not soo good??

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2.  3.

     02-27-2016, 04:06 PM #2

    [snowdaze is offline]

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    [Default] Re: Proma THC Works in Test Mode, Not While Cutting. (videos included)

      The video is blurry in some spots here are pictures of the settings:

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4.

     02-27-2016, 04:09 PM #3

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    [Default] Re: Proma THC Works in Test Mode, Not While Cutting. (videos included)

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5.

     02-27-2016, 11:35 PM #4

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    [Default] Re: Proma THC Works in Test Mode, Not While Cutting. (videos included)

      I discovered I had the wires on the THC unit for THC GND, THC UP, THC DN mixed up. (bad wiring diagram for break out board)

      It is working now, but I am experiencing another weird thing.

      The Hypertherm manual suggests 129-130 volts for quality cuts. I have to set the THC at ~90 volts to work and maintain a good work height. Any idea as to why the voltage is way off?

      Also when its cutting the inclined piece, the Z axis sort of steps up a staircase, its not a smooth motion. wondering how I can dial that in better.

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6.

     02-28-2016, 12:06 AM #5

    [Default] Re: Proma THC Works in Test Mode, Not While Cutting. (videos included)

      The stepping I believe can be tuned using the Hysteresis. I think you can dial it down until it moves smooth. A slow accel tuning on your Z axis motor setting will also cause this.

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7.

     02-28-2016, 06:55 PM #6

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    [Default] Re: Proma THC Works in Test Mode, Not While Cutting. (videos included)

      What consumables are you using ? It sounds like you have fine cut. 90V (approx) is what I use for fine cut. Regular consumables run at what the manual suggests (approx 125-130V). Jim Colt published a new set of cut voltages and speeds for fine cut a while back.I don't have access to them right now so maybe he could list them again.

      Willy

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8.

     02-28-2016, 07:05 PM #7

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    [Default] Re: Proma THC Works in Test Mode, Not While Cutting. (videos included)

      Can you tell the difference by looking at them? They are the ones that came with the machine. I assumed they were standard cut

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9.

     02-28-2016, 07:31 PM #8

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    [Default] Re: Proma THC Works in Test Mode, Not While Cutting. (videos included)

      The nozzles say "finecut". Regular nozzles list the amperage (45A, 65A, etc.).

      I found a link to the slow speed (<150 IPM) fine cut charts.

      http://theharmonfam.com/download/tor...Speed03_12.pdf

      Willy

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10.

     07-06-2016, 08:25 PM #9

    [mikescncplasma is offline]

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    [Default] Re: Proma THC Works in Test Mode, Not While Cutting. (videos included)

      Can you tell me what Breakout board your using? Seems like all your ports and pins are the same as mine and I'm having the same problem. Just wondering if your using a robotics 3 board.
      Thanks
      Mike

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11.

     08-12-2016, 01:47 PM #10

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    [Default] Re: Proma THC Works in Test Mode, Not While Cutting. (videos included)

      did you figure it out? I think mine was just a Chinese no name, I suspect they are all the same

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12.

     01-16-2017, 04:20 PM #11

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    [Default]

      [Quote] Originally Posted by SNOWDAZE [View Post]

      did you figure it out? I think mine was just a Chinese no name, I suspect they are all the same

      You guys find anything new outbto getting your proma 150 THC to work?
      I can't get it to work in tst test mode, I question if its the break out board or if it's just a setting not click on in mach3 ??
      What bob are y'all using?

      Chris

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13.

     01-16-2017, 05:57 PM #12

    [Default] Re: Proma THC Works in Test Mode, Not While Cutting. (videos included)

      [Quote] Originally Posted by CHRIS37 [View Post]

      You guys find anything new outbto getting your proma 150 THC to work?
      I can't get it to work in tst test mode, I question if its the break out board or if it's just a setting not click on in mach3 ??
      What bob are y'all using?

      Chris

      Are you at least getting the LEDs going up and down on the THC when in Test mode? If you are, Try toggling the active low to a check or X on the THC up & down make sure you have the correct port# and the correct Pin # on the input signal

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14.

     01-16-2017, 07:12 PM #13

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    [Default]

      [Quote] Originally Posted by PIMPBIKE [View Post]

      Are you at least getting the LEDs going up and down on the THC when in Test mode? If you are, Try toggling the active low to a check or X on the THC up & down make sure you have the correct port# and the correct Pin # on the input signal

      I have light on proma going up/down on lights and they match to Mach 3 diagnostics and still nothing. I have tried checking and uncheck ing in ports and pins on THC up down and nothing. I think I have the ports and pins set right, I don't have limit switches so I have wires going to ports where limit switches are.

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15.

     01-16-2017, 07:45 PM #14

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    [Default] Re: Proma THC Works in Test Mode, Not While Cutting. (videos included)

      Ok I have made a video and have pictures but not sure
      It will allow me to upload it here or to YouTube

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16.

     01-17-2017, 06:08 PM #15

    [Default] Re: Proma THC Works in Test Mode, Not While Cutting. (videos included)

      Yes you're allowed to post your video and pics. Upload the video to youtube and post the link. What break out board are you using? Pin numbers may vary depending on your board. Proma-Elektronika - Produkty

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17.

     01-19-2017, 07:40 PM #16

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    [Default] Re: Proma THC Works in Test Mode, Not While Cutting. (videos included)

      Do you have a licensed copy of MACH3? THC logic in MACh does not work in DEMO mode. If you get the UP down signals at the THC UP and THC Down pins (inputs) then its inside MACH.

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18.

     01-19-2017, 08:48 PM #17

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    [Default] Re: Proma THC Works in Test Mode, Not While Cutting. (videos included)

      yes i have the license and yes i get lights on thc matching lints in mach3 diagnostics they match, just don't know wheres the problem in mach. This is the bob i am using 5 Axis CNC Breakout Board Interface For Stepper Motor Driver ST-V2

      thanks
      Chris

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19.

     01-23-2017, 10:36 PM #18

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    [Default] Re: Proma THC Works in Test Mode, Not While Cutting. (videos included)

      pictures from my phone ay there to big to upload can i email them to you to show if i have settings in mach3 correct??

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20.

     01-24-2017, 08:57 PM #19

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    [Default] Re: Proma THC Works in Test Mode, Not While Cutting. (videos included)

      []

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21.

     01-28-2017, 05:37 PM #20

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    [Default] Re: Proma THC Works in Test Mode, Not While Cutting. (videos included)

      Any solution to this? I believe I am running the same 5 axis ST-V2 board with Proma 150 but cannot get it to even respond in Mach3 diagnostics when running the test on Proma. Any tips on wiring to get the LEDs in Mach3 to light up? Thanks!

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question: What issues does the forum address?

answer: The forum addresses issues related to the functions of mach3 and the CNC world.

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answer: The writer's machine is working fine but their Proma THC does not adjust the Z-axis while cutting.


text:
[David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, presided over the second annual presentation ceremony of the Governor-General’s Innovation Awards on Tuesday, May 23, 2017, at Rideau Hall.]

David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, presided over the second annual presentation ceremony of the Governor-General’s Innovation Awards on Tuesday, May 23, 2017, at Rideau Hall.

The Governor-General's Innovation Awards are a celebration of Canadian creators who have reshaped lives nationally and abroad. In the ceremony's second year, awards were handed out for a breakthrough in mental-health-service accessibility, a new approach to treating hearing deficits in the poorest parts of the globe, the development of plastics that are less likely to cause blood clots, technology that identifies disease-resistant cattle in the dairy industry, the removal of allergens from a key medical material and the digital preservation of Indigenous languages

MCPL VINCENT CARBONNEAU

[]

NAME: David Brown

LOCATION: Fredericton

INNOVATION: Using fungus to make chitosan, a medically useful material

When David Brown was still an undergraduate at the University of Alberta, he took a course in industrial microbiology that changed his perspective on what he could do with his science degree.

"It was the first course that looked at the industrial applications of bioscience … that was something I'd never really considered before," said Mr. Brown, 27, who is the youngest winner to date of the Governor-General's Innovation Award.

It was a lesson he took to heart. Since he graduated five years ago, Mr. Brown has founded two biotech companies based on an idea he developed for manufacturing chitosan, a versatile plastic-like substance that is in demand for a range of medical and other applications.

Derived from chitin – the durable material that makes up the protective outer covering of shrimp and other crustaceans – chitosan has several useful properties, including as a clotting agent. But because the traditional source of chitosan is shellfish, it comes with a risk of triggering allergies.

"I realized there was a real problem there," said Mr. Brown, who worked on a fermentation process that yields pure chitosan from fungus rather than shellfish. "Our work was to discover which species of fungus produces the most of it so that we could build a feasible business around that fungus."

The process has the additional advantage of requiring relatively little energy and few chemical ingredients, making it more environmentally friendly than other methods.

But it was not an easy start. When he graduated, Mr. Brown returned to his native New Brunswick and was hampered without startup funding or a facility to work in. With early support from the organization Futurpreneur, Mr. Brown rented lab space in Grand Falls, a small community in the northern part of the province, where he could test his concept.

"I wanted to stretch every penny, so I spent the summer living in a campground," he said.

Once he had his system working, Mr. Brown founded Mycodev, which supplies chitosan for medical products. He is also co-founder and COO of Chinova Bioworks Inc., which is exploiting chitosan's antimicrobial properties for use as a natural preservative.

Mr. Brown said one of the biggest challenges he and other biotech entrepreneurs face in Canada is finding investors who are willing to look beyond a two-year horizon for generating returns.

"It does take time," he said.
_–Ivan Semeniuk_

[]NAME: Marie-Odile Junker

NAME: Marie-Odile Junker

LOCATION: Ottawa

INNOVATION: Digital resources designed to preserve endangered Indigenous languages

In the late 1980s, a few years after a young Marie-Odile Junker first arrived in Canada from France, she saw a large statue of French explorer Samuel de Champlain, considered the founder of Quebec, outside a major art gallery. In front of him was a much tinier statue of his Indigenous scout. As an outsider, this helped Ms. Junker understand how invisible First Nations communities were to much of the rest of Canada.

While languages from all around the world could be studied in universities across the country, Indigenous languages such as Cree or Dene weren't offered. Ms. Junker, a linguist, realized that without outside intervention, many of these languages, like other elements of Indigenous cultures, faced the threat of extinction.

In the past 17 years, Ms. Junker, who now teaches at Carleton University, has done her part to change that. With a background in computer science, she's built resources to preserve languages in the Algonquian family (Cree, Innu and Atikamekw), including a linguistic atlas. And by using the style of "participatory action" used in the fields of international development and psychology, she's elevated the individuals she works with from mere data sources into project partners who directly benefit from the tools she develops.

She has heard from people in communities all over Quebec and Ontario about the practical uses they've had for the tools she's developed: everyone from educators in First Nations communities who are teaching Algonquian languages to their students to Indigenous inmates at prisons relearning a language lost in adolescence. From January to June, 2016, users of the online Innu dictionary she developed looked up more than 75,000 words.

"It's not the same as immigrant languages," Ms. Junker explains. "These are the languages from this land. These are the languages that were here before. People have nowhere to go to relearn that."

Recently, she heard from a woman in a small Cree community in Chisasibi, Que., along the eastern shore of James Bay. Her 16-year-old son had made a trip to Ottawa to attend an intensive hockey camp and was deeply homesick, having been plucked from the only home he knew and the language he was most comfortable with.

Later, he discovered the only thing that soothed him before bed was listening to the Cree instruction on a conversation app Ms. Junker's team had developed to help teach the language.
_–Dakshana Bascaramurty_

[]NAME: Bonnie Mallard

NAME: Bonnie Mallard

LOCATION: Guelph, Ont.

INNOVATION: High Immune Response technology

Canada's dairy industry is big business: Across the country, more than 11,000 farms generate more than $6-billion in sales every year. With stakes that high, no small detail is left up to chance.

From breeding for specific cattle traits to the use of automatic milking robots – every step is carefully managed to ensure maximum production.

But until recently, one important piece of the puzzle remained largely unpredictable: disease-resistance.

Enter Bonnie Mallard. This week, Dr. Mallard, a Professor of Immunogenetics at the University of Guelph, was a recipient of the Governor-General's Innovation Award for her invention of High Immune Response (HIR) technology, which helps to manage animal health on dairy farms.

HIR technology allows farmers and breeders to identify animals with the best immune systems, who are naturally the most disease-resistant. Cows identified as "high immune responders" experience roughly 50-per-cent fewer disease occurrences than their herd mates, according to Dr. Mallard. That means fewer instances of illness like mastitis and pneumonia, which cost farmers billions of dollars annually in veterinary costs and lost milk production.

"That's what this is about – identifying those individuals, and then breeding those together to pass those genes on to the offspring," she said. "Through that, you can make generations of healthier offspring."

Dr. Mallard's HIR technology, licensed to Canadian livestock genetic company Semex, is being used in some form at most dairy farms across Canada. Farmers can purchase bull semen that comes from "high immune responders" directly from Semex, for use in inseminating the cattle on their own farms.

Healthier cows also means reducing the use of antibiotics and other treatments – something that has become increasingly important to consumers.

"It's not about treating sick animals. This is about making sure animals don't get sick in the first place," she said.

So far, Dr. Mallard's technology has been focused mainly on the dairy industry. But she plans to expand to other animals, including beef cattle, horses and pigs.
– _Ann Hui_

[]NAME: Paul Santerre

NAME: Paul Santerre

LOCATION: Toronto

INNOVATION: Making plastic medical devices the body won't reject

Trained as a chemical engineer, Paul Santerre found his true calling in the mid-1980s when he went to McMaster University to work on a PhD and became fascinated with how plastics interact with blood.

At the time, the potential for working with synthetic materials that could function with and within the body had become an exciting new frontier, a development made dramatically clear when a Seattle dentist named Barney Clark became the first recipient of an artificial heart.

"I thought that was quite riveting," said Dr. Santerre. "I just jumped at it and haven't looked back since then."

In 1990, Dr. Santerre went on to become a materials expert with Canada's first artificial-heart program at the Ottawa Heart Institute, a collaboration that brought together industry with university and clinical researchers – a rare combination at the time.

The work included quarterly design and development milestones that served to accelerate new technology and its translation into the clinic. It was a sensibility that Dr. Santerre took with him a few years later to the University of Toronto, where he embarked on a research program to develop plastic surfaces that don't cause blood to clot.

It's a daunting challenge. Millions of years of evolution have equipped humans with an immune system that is quick to recognize and reject any foreign substance. A typical plastic item found around the house may seem inert when handled, but the same material in the bloodstream quickly attracts proteins that bind to its surface and begin to form clots.

Dr. Santerre's key innovation was to add ingredients during the manufacturing of plastic to make it less likely to generate an immune response.

"If you design the material to fool the body into thinking it belongs, then the proteins and cells just keep doing what they were naturally designed to do," he said.

The practical result has led to more than 60 patents and devices, such as catheters that can be inserted into a blood vessel – for example to deliver a cancer therapy – and kept in place for a year or more without causing harm.

In 2001, Dr. Santerre founded Interface Biologics Inc., which manufactures the devices, and now directs U of T's efforts to help spinoff companies in the health-care sector, where he continues to teach what he learned about building companies.
– _Ivan Semeniuk_

[]

NAME: Audra Renyi

LOCATION: Montreal

INNOVATION: Helping the poor to hear

As a child, Audra Renyi always thought the ailment that afflicted her father, Pierre, was something of a fluke.

He and his sister, Ms. Renyi's Aunt Katy, both wore hearing aids to correct the profound hearing loss they suffered as children in their native Romania, where they could not get the antibiotics they needed to treat their ear infections. "I always thought it was just something in my family that had happened to us, that it was an isolated case," Ms. Renyi said.

When she learned as an adult that more than a billion people around the world have some degree of hearing loss, Ms. Renyi decided to draw on her experience as a Wall Street investment banker and international aid worker to co-found World Wide Hearing, a Montreal-based non-profit organization dedicated to correcting hearing deficits in some of the poorest parts of the globe.

Ms. Renyi, now 35, and a recipient of the Governor-General's Innovation Award, wasn't keen on the old charitable model of handing out used hearing aids and moving on. Her innovation was to persuade companies to drastically cut the price of new digital hearing aids, while at the same time training local women to test for hearing loss and to fit the devices in patients' ears on the spot. Sympathetic hearing-aid makers gained access to rural markets in the developing world; deaf and partly deaf children, some of whom had been kept hidden by their families, gained access to devices that changed their lives.

World Wide Hearing launched its first project in the Jordanian town of Salt in 2012. The non-profit, which has so far screened about 20,000 people and distributed 2,000 hearing aids, has since expanded to run programs in Guatemala, Peru, Vietnam and the Philippines. Now it's moving into Canada's North, where more than one-third of school-age Inuit children have some form of hearing loss.

Although Ms. Renyi is a fan of high-tech solutions for hearing loss – her organization won funding from Google to try out inexpensive options for hearing-loss screening with smartphones and to develop a cloud computing solution to aggregate that data – she is also open to fixes that are decidedly low-tech, such as offering children special stickers to decorate their hearing aids.

"Sometimes that 25-cent sticker makes the difference between a child wanting to wear their hearing aid or not," Ms. Renyi said.
– _Kelly Grant_

[David Johnston giving the Governor-General’s Innovation Award to Patricia Lingley-Pottie and Michael McGrath, who accepted the prize on behalf of his brother, Patrick McGrath. ]

David Johnston giving the Governor-General’s Innovation Award to Patricia Lingley-Pottie and Michael McGrath, who accepted the prize on behalf of his brother, Patrick McGrath.

NAMES: Patricia Lingley-Pottie and Patrick McGrath of the Strongest Families Institute

LOCATION: Halifax

INNOVATION: Distance-based mental-health services that reduce wait times and improve access

The barriers to access for mental-health care can pile up fast. Time, geography, cost, and stigma all still hold many people back from seeking treatment. Nova Scotia's Strongest Families Institute builds evidence-based distance-education programs to clear the path through all of that for children and families.

The not-for-profit runs bilingual programs for children and teens between the ages of 3 and 17 to help them overcome struggles such as anxiety and behavioural difficulties, using a mix of video, manuals and regular telephone-support coaching sessions. From the Halifax area, the institute's team of 50 provides support to about 4,000 families a year in a growing number of jurisdictions, including most Atlantic provinces and Alberta.

In broadening access to mental-health services, they can drastically reduce wait times: In Nova Scotia alone, the Institute boasts that it helped get a 400-person wait list into its programs in 3 1/2 months. "We wanted to build something designed to meet the needs of families, but also the system itself," says Dr. Patricia Lingley-Pottie, its president and chief executive.

That's on top of giving families a comfortable and private way to seek help without having to skip work, school or other routines, and opening up treatment opportunities in remote corners of Canada.

The Ernest C. Manning Awards Foundation nominated the Institute for the Governor-General's Innovation Awards.

[Patrick McGrath, chair of the Strongest Families Institute.]

Patrick McGrath, chair of the Strongest Families Institute.

COURTESY OF THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL’S OFFICE

The Institute found a niche, its founders say, by simply using old methods in new ways. "We're not radically original, but we're quite innovative," its chair, Patrick McGrath, says.

The team refers to its therapists as coaches in order to get clients in the mindset that they're building strengths to get healthier. "There's no shame in learning new skills," Dr. McGrath says. "You might do it for your golf game, or get a fitness coach."

As a not-for-profit, the Strongest Families Institute depends on funding from provinces and the likes of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and Bell Let's Talk in order to expand its programs and service regions. It will launch in New Brunswick soon, and hopes to expand coverage to Ontario and Quebec, and is connecting with global partners. And it plans to broaden its services, including post-traumatic-stress-disorder programs to help military veterans and Syrian refugees.
– _Josh O'Kane_

question: Summarize the challenges David Brown had to go through to perfect his chitosan product.

answer:
Chitosan is a plastic-like substance that is used for different medical applications. Because it is traditionally derived from chitin, a material sourced from shrimps and other crustaceans, it does trigger allergies in some people. Brown had to innovate to get around this problem by working on a fermentation process that yields chitin from fungus instead of crustaceans. He also had to discover the right kind of fungus to use as well as develop a feasible business model around it.
Brown had a difficult start as he had little funds and no office space to work from. Luckily, he had early support from Futurpreneur and was able to rent lab space in a small community. Furthermore, Brown faced problems finding investors that will be willing to invest long-term.

question: What is the cash prize for the Governor-General's Innovation Award?