text:
It is minus 6C and the tea is laced with vodka. Handfuls of notes are being carefully counted and Piotr is leaving with 7,000 zloty – about £1,400 – for his old mare.

He is not alone. Everywhere on the frozen, snow-covered field, groups of men are looking at horses and haggling over their price.

Welcome to Skaryszew: the place where horses arrive from Polish farms and leave in lorries for fattening and slaughter.

Men have been selling horses here on the first Monday of Lent since 1432.

But now those horses could even end up in the British food chain, because Skaryszew, 75 miles from Warsaw, is the start of a long, and sometimes obscure chain that has been blamed for horse meat being found masquerading as beef in British shops and wholesalers.

(David\ Rose\ for\ the\ Telegraph)

From Skaryszew, the horses will travel as far afield as Italy to be slaughtered. Who profits from the trade, and what checks to ensure the horses are safe to eat are, at best, questionable.

For Piotr, however, it has been a good trip. The farmer has travelled two hours from his village, Cisów, to sell his mare, expecting to get 5,000 zloty for the animal – a large amount in a country where the average agricultural worker’s annual wage is just under £1,200 a year.

His entrance to the fair at 1am is hampered by a group of Polish animal rights protesters who jump in front of his truck, demanding that their vets examine his horses before he can continue.

Security staff also check that he has the correct paperwork, including passports, for both horses he is transporting.

“She can’t get pregnant so I want to get rid of her,” he says. He has other horses, he adds, enough that the mare does not have a name.

Speaking from the cab of his truck, which is littered with beer cans, he says that the other horse belongs to a friend who will be arriving later.

Although his documents are checked animal welfare campaigners, who are here to investigate the trade, say that the passport system – which exists to follow European law and is therefore almost the same as the one in Britain – is open to abuse.

Handfuls\ of\ notes\ are\ being\ carefully\ counted\ (David\ Rose\ for\ the\ Telegraph)

The passports say whether the horses are fit for human consumption and are issued by the Polish Horse Breeders Association at 18 regional offices, but there are concerns that the documents can be forged, or the details on genuine ones falsified by unscrupulous vets – concerns that have already been raised about the British scheme.

There are no government inspectors at Skaryszew, so when security staff check passports, it is no guarantee of their authenticity.

Piotr parks in a row of trucks, all with horses tethered to the back. This is where the deals are struck.

A black stallion rears up, to the excitement of the crowd and its boisterous – and drunk – owner, Zbyszek.

“It’s the best horse in the village,” he proclaims, pulling on its harness to bring it under control, but he does not care if it gets sold for meat or breeding. “I just want to get rid of it, I have too many horses,” he says.

Close by are six or seven men in leather jackets and black flat caps. This is how buyers and sellers meet, smoking cigarettes and drinking their vodka-laced tea.

One shines his torch on a horse, tethered to a truck, before slapping the hand of the seller to confirm the deal. All along the road, similar exchanges are taking place under the glare of lamps powered by noisy generators.

The meat trade is carried out at night and the sellers either know, or do not care, that their animals are going for slaughter. During the day, most horses are bought for farms or as pets. However, for now, in the darkness, the trade is in meat.

Further along the road a Lithuanian-registered lorry has parked. It has two trailers and, by the end of the night, they will be filled with 21 horses.

A\ sick\ horse,\ after\ a\ long\ journey,\ it's\ to\ weak\ to\ stand\ and\ will\ require\ vetenary\ treatment\ (David\ Rose\ for\ the\ Telegraph)

A group of men, some carrying thick wooden sticks, which are apparently rarely used, are gathered around it. Throughout the night they bring horses to the lorry and gradually it starts to fill up.

By 3am, it comes good for Piotr, when he sells his mare to the Lithuanian contingent for 2,000 zloty, about £400 more than he hoped, and he runs back to his truck, empty headcollar in hand, to fetch her passport.

“I’m happy, it’s more than I expected,” he says breathlessly, before running back to the Lithuanian lorry to collect his money.

The owner of the truck, who would give his name only as Algis, said that he would be taking the horses to Lithuania, almost 400 miles away.

“These horses will not be eaten because Lithuania is short of horses for work and for leisure,” he said.

However World Horse Welfare, a British charity which campaigns for greater regulation of the transportation of horses, and whose campaigns officers are at the fair, says that the truth is very different.

Successful\ deals\ made\ at\ the\ 400\ year\ old\ market\ (David\ Rose\ for\ the\ Telegraph)

This lorry load, and others from the fair’s late night deals, are heading for slaughter. The reticence to admit it is because the animal rights activists, as well as international campaigners, have stepped up their interest in the trade.

Poland is the biggest exporter of horses in the EU, accounting for 45 per cent of the 65,000 transported every year.

The sheer number reflects the country’s size and the abundance of horses on its farms, where modern methods are slowly arriving.

There are hundreds of fairs every month and most horses will end up in the Bari region of Italy, where horse meat is popular, unlike in Poland where, like Britain, it is barely eaten – at least knowingly.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the charity is most worried about the welfare of the animals, which it points out can lead to disease and leave meat unfit for human consumption, a concern which is likely to be heightened by the lack of inspectors checking the horses before they are driven from Skaryszew.

Hannah Westen, a campaigns officer for the charity who watched the sale, said: “Long-distance transportation across Europe for slaughter causes massive stress to the horses involved and leads to serious welfare problems such as exhaustion, dehydration, injury and disease.

“This suffering is utterly needless, horses could be slaughtered close to their point of origin and the meat transported instead.”

However, a more sinister set of suspicions hang over the whole horse trade in Poland: that it is a front for crime.

The\ Hungarian\ Border\ Freight\ Park\ on\ the\ Cech\ Border\ (David\ Rose\ for\ the\ Telegraph)

Piotr, like most of those who sold animals at last week’s fair, was paid almost £3.40 a kg for his horse, yet the most expensive horse meat, from foals, fetches only £2.40 a kg in Italy, where the animals will mostly be slaughtered.

On top of the payment to Piotr and the other sellers is the cost of a journey covering about 1,500 miles. The route the horses take goes through Poland, then into the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Slovenia before entering Italy.

At a cost of at least an extra 250 miles it avoids the direct route through Austria, where checks on welfare and, perhaps more importantly, paperwork are more rigorous, according to World Horse Welfare.

Additionally, some horses will be kept for as long as six months at stops along the way to be fattened up.

The charity, and the Polish authorities, suspect the answer is simple: that the horses are being used in a form of money laundering.

The suspicion is that the movement of horses creates a convenient paper trail for gangs to “clean up” dirty money.

By exaggerating the value and number of horses moved, they can explain the existence of large amounts of cash gained from less legitimate enterprises.

Paying farmers like Piotr slightly over the odds for their animals is, then, a small price compared with the potential profits.

There are darker suggestions too, that the lorries can sometimes be used to smuggle drugs or guns, relying on the presence of horses to create the impression of legitimacy.

If true, it would confirm the fears voiced by Owen Paterson, the Environment Secretary, that criminality is in part the cause of the horse contamination scandal.

And also, it would be little surprise that the horses might enter the food chain as beef – as they have been proved to in Poland and France – because their disposal is simply the final element in the chain.

Most\ of\ those\ who\ sold\ animals\ at\ last\ week’s\ fair\ were\ paid\ almost\ £3.40\ a\ kg\ for\ their\ horses\ (Reuters)

Their transporters will be little concerned with where exactly they end up, as long as they have made it to a slaughter house.

The first stop for the Lithuanian lorry with Piotr’s horse is at the Pol-Madi assembly centre in Chronowek, 20 miles away, where the transport firm checks on the horses and draws up paperwork for the lorry-load.

From there the long road to Bari begins, with the final stop before Italy usually at Rédics in Hungary, on its border with Slovenia, where there is a feeding station.

The caretaker is paid in cash, about £50, for food and drink for animals on a small truck, to £190 for 24 hours’ rest. Sometimes there is an extra charge of £86 to remove a dead animal.

The stop is owned by a Hungarian businessman who lives in Liechtenstein, through a company formally closed in October by the Hungarian courts for financial irregularities.

When asked if the lorry drivers carried anything other than livestock, the caretaker said: “This is something that is really hidden from my eyes. Now that the borders are open it is very much possible.

“I am sure there are people who are in the business for a reason, but I am not one of those.”

Whatever the truth of the finances behind the horse trade, Piotr’s mare is firmly on its way to Italy – a country which yesterday announced it too had found beef products contaminated with horse.

The discovery is likely to prompt Italian authorities to take an interest in the opaque trade which brings horses to their country, and quite possibly into Europe’s food chain in the form of fake beef.

question: What does the text say about what horses face in the trade?

answer: In Skaryszew, horses arrive from Polish farms and leave in trucks for fattening or slaughtering as far as Italy. Some horses will be kept as long as six months at stops along the way to be fattened up. Sometimes they even make there way into the British food chain where it's masqueraded as beef. Horses are usually tethered to the back of trucks in Skaryszew. Hannah Westen, a campaigns officer for World Horse Welfare, notes that long-distance travel causes massive stress to the horses involved. It leads to serious welfare problems such as exhaustion, dehydration, injury and disease.

question: What does the text say about animal rights activists?

answer: Animal rights activists have stepped up their interest in the horse trade in Skaryszew. World Horse Welfare, a British charity, campaigns for greater regulation of the transportation of horses. Their campaign officers go to the fair in Skaryszew. The charity is worried about the welfare of the animals, which can lead to disease and unfit meat for human consumption. One campaigns officer said that the long-distance transportation across Europe for slaughter causes needless stress to the horses and leads to serious welfare problems. Some animal rights activists actually go to the fair to protest and demand their vets examine horses before they continue.

question: Summarize the positive moments for Piotr.

answer: Piotr's trip to the Skaryszew fair ends up being a success. He travelled two hours from his village to sell his mare for 5,000 zloty for his old mare. However, he ends up getting 7,000 zloty for her. He sells another for 2,000 zloty which is more than he'd hoped for. He's pleased he's made more money than expected.

question: What does the text say about the horse trade and criminality?

answer: There is a suspicion that the movement of horses creates a convenient paper trail for gangs to "clean up" dirty money, especially if the value and number of horses moved is exaggerated. There are other theories that horse trucks can sometimes be used to smuggle drugs or guns. The criminality could also tie in with the horse contamination scandal if it's true.

question: What does the text say about Piotr's upbringing?


split: test

text:
JOHN KENNEDY (born 1 June 1965) is a British DJ and radio presenter and podcast host, best known for his longstanding role as the host of the music show _X-Posure_ on Radio X and for the music podcast _Tape Notes_.[1]

Kennedy is cited as being the first to give radio play to numerous artists including Adele, The xx, Razorlight, Kate Nash, The Ting Tings, The Futureheads, Dan le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip and Mumford & Sons.[2]

Career

Radio

Kennedy initially worked as a disc jockey regularly holding club nights while studying at University in Norwich. Following this, he undertook a media course run by Community Service Volunteers in South East London where he was given the opportunity to begin broadcasting a music show from Radio Thamesmead (now RTM.FM). His show ‘Sharp As A Needle’ was named after the Barmy Army track of the same name was broadcast weekly across London and Kent.[3]

In 1991, Kennedy met Sammy Jacobs, a former pirate broadcaster and radio controller at Reading and Leeds FestivalsReading Festival, who had just obtained a restricted service license to operate XFM radio station. After taking on a slot within the Reading Festival Radio Presenter Team, Kennedy was hired by Jacobs for his new channel, XFM (now Radio X).

Radio X gained its FM licence and became full time on 1 September 1997 with Kennedy's first broadcast following in 1999. Kennedy is the only member of the current presenting team who has been with the station continuously throughout its years and hosts its longest-running specialist show.

X-Posure

Kennedy is the presenter of the new music show _X-Posure_ on Radio X, currently broadcasting on Friday and Saturday nights from 11pm to 2pm.[4] The show introduces music from up-and-coming artists primarily, although not exclusively, from alternative and indie styles, and regularly includes live sessions and interviews.

Over the years the show has featured a huge range of artists and Kennedy has been credited with discovering countless musicians who have gone on to find success, including the likes of Adele, The xx, Razorlight, Kate Nash, The Ting Tings, The Futureheads, Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip and Mumford & Sons.[5] The _Independent_ described the show as one of the “most eclectic...on British radio”.[6]

Compere

As well as filling sixteen hours of airtime with new music each week, Kennedy supports new talent with regular X-Posure music nights across London, often taking place at Ben Lovett’s (Mumford and Sons) venue Omera. The nights showcase artists in the same vein as his radio show.

In 2016, Kennedy hosted and curated the X-Posure All Dayer, an eight-hour event featuring up to ten up and coming bands at The Camden Barfly in North West London.[7] To celebrate 20 years of _X-Posure_ Kennedy hosted another all-day gig, the X-Posure Summer Party. The event made use of Flat Iron Square’s three on-site venues, The Omera, The Outdoor Garden Stage and Apres, and featured artists including Mystery Jets, Temples, Babeheaven and APRE as well as DJ sets from Kennedy as well as fellow Radio X presenter Jack Wood.[8]

From 2009 to 2016 Kennedy compered the Quarry Stage and the Laurel Lounge at In The Woods Festival in Kent, a festival promoting the discovery of artists. Since 2017 Kennedy has hosted the latest output from In The Woods, the music production podcast Tape Notes.[9][10]

Podcasts

Kennedy is the host of the podcast Tape Notes, a music production podcast in which artists are reunited with producers to discuss their work together in the studio. Their conversations delve into every stage of the creative process, from the first spark of a song idea, through decisions on instrumentation and style, to finessing the final product. The conversations also feature early demo versions and stems from the original recording sessions.[11] The range of artists featured on Tape Notes includes the likes of Alt-J, The 1975, London Grammar and Kate Tempest as well as producers Dan Carey, Jim Abbiss, Simone Felice and Charlie Andrew.[12]

Among these, Kennedy has hosted two live episodes of Tape Notes, one at Latitude Festival with the alternative band Easy Life and producer Rob Milton, as well as an event at Miloco Studios with the duo Ibeyi and producer Richard Russell in celebration of National Album Day.[13]

Journalism

Towards the start of his career, Kennedy wrote a regular column for British magazine _Dazed & Confused_[14] (now _Dazed_)

Awards

Kennedy was awarded the _Time Out_ Live Award 2005/06 for his live DJ performances and gig curations as part of various X-Posure events.

In 2012, he was presented with the XFM Inspiration Award by Mumford & Sons as part of the radio station’s Winter Wonderland event. Before John was presented with the award video messages from artists including Elbow, Paul Weller and The Maccabees were shown.[15]

In 2016 Kennedy became the first-ever recipient of the Arqiva Commercial Radio Music Champion Award in recognition for his dedication to new and independent artists, dating back to the days of Radio X's predecessor XFM in the 1990s.[16]

Kennedy has been heavily involved with the Mercury Prize, the annual music prize awarded for the best album released in the United Kingdom, and has been a regular member of the judging panel since 2009.[17]

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title: John Kennedy (radio broadcaster)

question: What does the text say about John Kennedy's early radio career?

answer: It says that he initially worked as a DJ holding club nights @ University of Norwich. From there, he was given the opportunity to start broadcasting a music show from Radio Thames. His show there was called 'Sharp As A Needle' after the Barmy Army track. Afterwards, Kennedy met Sammy Jacobs, who hired him for a channel he'd just created named XFM (now Radio X). Kennedy is still with them now.

question: What happened in Kennedy's life between 2009-2016?

answer:
A few things:
1. He compered the Quarry Stage and the Laurel lounge at In The Woods Festival, a festival promoting the discovery of artists.
2. He hosted and curated the X-Posure All Dayer, and eight-hour event featuring up to ten up and coming bands.
3. He was presented with XFM Inspiration Award by Mumford & Sons.
4. He became the first ever recipient of the Arqiva Commericial Champion Award.

question: What kind of programming does Radio X focus on?

answer: They seem to focus

question: What does the text say about what John's passionate about?

answer: The text implies that he's a lover of music, specifically music that's not popular yet. He has various radio shows/podcasts, all of which were centered on music, and the awards he's received and worked on have all been music-focused as well.


text:
But city officials, hoping to erase bad memories, have closed King Arthur’s, seizing on the owners’ failure to pay $300,000 in taxes as a chance to revoke the club’s liquor, nude entertainment, and innholder licenses. The owners vow to fight, but city officials hope this is the end of a tawdry 37-year era.

RELATED: MEMORIES OF POLICE BRUTALITY STILL FRESH, 30 YEARS AFTER KING ARTHUR TRIALS

“I’m not sad to see King Arthur’s go, just the opposite. It’s another one of those ties to the past that we’re happy to have lifted off of our shoulders,” said City Manager Jay Ash, who is trying to promote a new Chelsea free of the corruption and sins of its past. “There’s a lot of good things going on in Chelsea; King Arthur’s was not one of them. Seeing them close is a good thing.”

Beverly Guttadauro, who took over the bar after the original King Arthur — her husband, Arthur — died in 2007, said she was disappointed with the licensing commission’s decision to revoke her licenses. She has appealed the liquor license ruling to the state’s Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission.

“I didn’t think it was fair,” said Guttadauro in a brief interview.

But Guttadauro and her son Stephen were on the verge of losing the club anyway after they fell behind on payments for an $865,000 mortgage from a company run by an associate of Charles Lightbody, the felon with a history of assaults at the center of controversy over Wynn’s proposed casino a mile away.

Clearhead Capital, run by Lightbody business partner Jamie Russo, had begun foreclosure against the Guttadauros. But some suspect Russo was trying to take over the strip club on behalf of Lightbody, who was looking for a new way to profit from an Everett casino after Wynn pressured him to sell his share of the land where Wynn plans to build.

Lightbody even boasted that he was acquiring the strip club in a conversation with an imprisoned mobster that was captured on tape.

“It’s the best thing you can have with a casino,” Lightbody told inmate Darin Bufalino, according to a transcript of the June 2013 conversation provided by gambling regulators. “There’s only two things, women and booze, right around the corner.”

But the connection to Lightbody, which surfaced in April, intensified Chelsea’s focus on King Arthur’s. Now, with the license revocations, Chelsea has put up an official roadblock that protects the city from a criminal-run strip club.

“It’s something Chelsea doesn’t need anymore. Chelsea has had enough negativity over the years and it’s crawled its way out of a big hole,” said James Dwyer, chairman of the Licensing Commission in an interview earlier this month.

Lightbody and Russo could not be reached for comment.

For many Chelsea old-timers, the ethos of King Arthur’s can be defined in just three words: drinking, drugs, and death.

[ ]

Located on a rutted road in the shadow of Everett’s liquefied natural gas tanks, King Arthur’s has been intimately connected to at least four deaths over the years: a man sleeping off a drunk in his motel bed was killed by an off-duty Everett cop wielding a baseball bat; a construction worker was killed by a man who emptied his gun into him during a strip show. And at least two people were killed by drivers who had been drinking at the bar before they hit the road.

Locals first took notice of the bar after Arthur Guttadauro purchased the old rooming house in 1977, renamed it King Arthur’s, and began featuring nude dancing in Chelsea. By the late 1970s, the strip club was often packed by noontime with truckers, well-dressed businessmen, and small-time hustlers, according to Josh Resnek, a former editor of the Chelsea Record.

“This was a place where nothing good ever happened,” said Resnek, who said he witnessed everything from prostitution to drug dealing to beatings on the premises, and remembers when a bomb blew up the bar manager’s car, and shattered the front windows of the strip club in 1981.

King Arthur’s became a household name statewide in July 1982, when it was the scene of what Superior Court Judge Robert Barton would later call one of the seminal examples of police brutality in the 20th century, leading to murder convictions for two police officers.

The incident began after John McLeod, an off-duty Everett officer, got into a fight while drinking in the bar after hours. About 4 in the morning, he reported the dust-up to Everett police, and several Everett and Chelsea cops soon responded carrying guns, bats, clubs, and tire irons. By that time, a dozen people, including the bar manager and Beverly Guttadauro, had barricaded themselves in a tiny motel room above the bar.

“We are the police and we’re going to kill you,” police announced as they tried to break down the door, according to trial records.

Within minutes, the officers chopped the door down with an ax and several men were beaten with a bat and tire iron. Vincent Bordonaro, an Everett bar owner, who was sleeping on a bed in the room when attacked, died of his injuries a week later.

“It was just a nightmare, a slaughter,” victim Nicholas Medugno told the Globe in an interview last year.

RLEATED: IT WAS ‘A SLAUGHTERHOUSE,’ VICTIM NICHOLAS MEDUGNO SAYS

[Several of the suspects were arraigned on Aug. 25, 1982; from left, they are Charles Cella, Anthony Dimino, and Alfred Mattuchio.]
Several of the suspects were arraigned on Aug. 25, 1982; from left, they are Charles Cella, Anthony Dimino, and Alfred Mattuchio.file

McLeod and another Everett officer, Richard Aiello, eventually were found guilty of second-degree murder. It marked the first time in the Commonwealth’s history that an on-duty police officer — Aiello — had been found guilty of murder. Another Everett officer, John Macauda, was found guilty of manslaughter. Also, five Chelsea cops later admitted that they filed false police reports about the beatings, and entered into a plea agreement.

Chelsea city government didn’t change much in the years after the police brutality scandal, according to Resnek, and, in many ways, the city’s problems got worse. In 1991, the state appointed a receiver and abolished the mayor’s position after Chelsea couldn’t pay its bills.

Two years later, a federal corruption probe into a bribery scandal ensnared four former Chelsea mayors, two of whom — Thomas Nolan and James Mitchell — served time in jail. Three Chelsea cops including Leo “Buddy” McHatton, the captain of the vice squad for the Chelsea police, also served jail sentences.

Since then, Chelsea has worked to clear away its reputation for corruption. Over the last 17 years, Ash, the city manager, said almost $1 billion of new development had occurred in Chelsea, including new Wyndham and Marriott hotels and the construction of about 2,000 market-rate residential units. During that time, both of its shopping centers were revamped with chains like Home Depot, Market Basket, and even Starbucks setting up shops. In addition, the FBI is set to break ground on a new regional headquarters in Chelsea this summer.

Though Chelsea still has serious problems, including poverty, gang violence and drug dealing, city leaders today are protective of it’s progress.

“In the ‘Old Chelsea’ it was easy to bribe your way through the system. Now, it’s not part of the culture and it’s purposely been made almost impossible because government is more of a transparent process,” said City Council President Matt Frank.

Chelsea Police Lieutenant Edward Conley, who used to run undercover prostitution stings in the King Arthur’s parking lot, also believes the closing of the bar represents an end of era that many still call a stain on the city.

“It certainly is a metaphor for the ‘Old Chelsea’ and the way we used to do things at the police department,” said Conley.

Despite all the talk of King Arthur’s demise, Beverly Guttadauro wants to see the bar and strip club reopened by a new owner. But no sale appears imminent, as a power struggle over the future of the bar has shifted to the courts. Soon after Chelsea revoked the licenses, the city received a $300,000 bank check for the bar’s back taxes. City officials are unsure who paid the bill and John Martino, an attorney for King Arthur’s, said the money didn’t come from the Guttadauro family. Meanwhile, a foreclosure auction scheduled earlier this month was canceled after Russo’s company Clearhead learned that the bar had declared bankruptcy.

Guttadauro doesn’t know if the lights will ever go on again at King Arthur’s, but she is clear about the strip club’s epitaph.

When asked how she would remember King Arthur’s, she paused and said, “It has its own legacy, and that’s it.”

RELATED:

• Dirty Old Boston Facebook page shows the city as it really was

• Photos: Scenes from Boston’s past

• Editorial: The priceless past

[King Arthur’s Motel and Lounge was the scene of a beating death involving police in July 1982.]
King Arthur’s Motel and Lounge was the scene of a beating death involving police in July 1982.Zack Wittman for The Boston Globe/Globe Freelance

question: What does the text say about how King Arthur's became a household name?

answer: In July 1982, John McLeod, an off-duty Everett officer, got into a fight while drinking at a bar after hours. He reported the incident to Everett police, and later several Everett and Chelsea police officers arrived at the scene yielding guns, clubs, tire irons, and bats. At the time, several people, including the bar manager, secured themselves in a small motel room above the bar. The police announced their presence and threatened to kill the room's occupants. Within minutes, the officers broke down the door with an ax and beat up several men with a bat and tire iron. Vincent Bordonaro, a bar owner in Everett, was among those attacked. He died of his injuries a week later. Following this tragic incident, King Arthur's became a household name of police brutality in the 20th century, leading to murder convictions for the two police officers.


text:
The GARGANEY (_Spatula querquedula_) is a small dabbling duck. It breeds in much of Europe and across the Palearctic, but is strictly migratory, with the entire population moving to southern Africa, India (in particular Santragachi), Bangladesh (in the natural reservoirs of Sylhet district) and Australasia in winter,[1] where large flocks can occur. This species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of _Systema Naturae_. Like other small ducks such as the common teal, this species rises easily from the water with a fast twisting wader-like flight.

Their breeding habitat is grassland adjacent to shallow marshes and steppe lakes.

Taxonomy

The first formal description of the garganey was by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his _Systema Naturae_. He introduced the binomial name _Anas querquedula_.[2] A molecular phylogentic study comparing mitochondrial DNA sequences published in 2009 found that the genus _Anas_, as then defined, was non-monophyletic.[3] The genus was subsequently split into four monophyletic genera with ten species including the garganey moved into the resurrected genus _Spatula_.[4] This genus had been originally proposed by the German zoologist Friedrich Boie in 1822.[5][6] The name _Spatula_ is the Latin for a “spoon” or “spatula”. The specific epithet is derived from Latin _querquedula_, a word believed to represent to its call.[7]

The common English name dates from the 17th century and comes from Lombard language _gargenei_, the plural of _garganell_, which ultimately comes from the Late Latin _gargala_ “tracheal artery”.[8] The English usage owes its origins to Conrad Gesner who used the Italian name in the third volume of his _Historiae Animalium_ (History of Animals) of 1555.[9]

Description

[Females] [_Spatula querquedula_ - MHNT] The adult male is unmistakable, with its brown head and breast with a broad white crescent over the eye. The rest of the plumage is grey, with loose grey scapular feathers It has a grey bill and legs. In flight it shows a pale blue speculum with a white border. When swimming it will show prominent white edges on its tertials. His crown (anatomy) is dark and face is reddish brown.[10]

Some care is needed in separating the brown female from the similar common teal, but the stronger face markings and more frequent head-shaking when dabbling are good indicators. Confusion with the female of the blue-winged teal is also possible, but the head and bill shape is different, and the latter species has yellow legs. Pale eyebrow, dark eye line, pale lore spot bordered by a second dark line.[11]

MEASUREMENTS:[12]

-   SIZE: 41 cm
-   WINGSPAN: 58 - 69 cm.
-   WEIGHT: 300- 440 g

These birds feed mainly by skimming rather than upending.

The male has a distinctive crackling mating call; the female is rather silent for a female duck, but can manage a feeble _quack_.

Garganey are rare breeding birds in the British Isles, with most breeding in quiet marshes in Norfolk and Suffolk. In Ireland a few pairs breed in Wexford, with occasional breeding elsewhere.

The garganey is one of the species to which the _Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds_ (AEWA) applies. The status of the garganey on the IUCN Red List is least concern.[13]

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[3] {{ cite journal | last1=Gonzalez | first1=J. | last2=Düttmann | first2=H. | last3=Wink | first3=M. | year=2009 | title=Phylogenetic relationships based on two mitochondrial genes and hybridization patterns in Anatidae | journal=Journal of Zoology | volume=279 | issue=3 | pages=310–318 | doi=10.1111/j.1469-7998.2009.00622.x}}

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[5] {{ cite journal | last=Boie | first=Friedrich | author-link=Friedrich Boie | year=1822 | title=Generalübersicht | journal=Isis von Oken | at=Col 564| language=German |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/27515513}}

[6] {{ cite book | editor1-last=Mayr | editor1-first=Ernst | editor1-link=Ernst Mayr | editor2-last=Cottrell | editor2-first=G. William | year=1979 | title=Check-list of Birds of the World | volume=Volume 1 | edition=2nd | publisher=Museum of Comparative Zoology | place=Cambridge, Massachusetts | page=460 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/16109100}}

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title: Garganey

question: What does the text say about Daffy duck?

question: What does the text say about the Garganey?

answer: The Garganey is a small dabbling duck that breeds across the Palearctic and much of Europe. As rare breeding birds in the British Isles, most Garganey breed in quiet marshes in Suffolk and Norfolk. In Ireland, a few pairs breed in Wexford. Their breeding habitat is grassland adjacent to steppe lakes and shallow marshes. It is strictly migratory, with the entire population moving to Australia, Bangladesh (Sylhet district), India (Santragachi), and southern Africa in winter. The Garganey rises easily from the water using a fast, twisting, wader-like flight much like the common teal. The birds feed mainly by skimming rather than upending. The species was first described by Carl Linneaus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of "Systema Naturae". The status of the Garganey on the IUCN Red List is "least concern".

question: Summarize the taxonomy of the Garganey.

answer: Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus provided the first formal description of the Garganey in the 10th edition of his "Systema Naturae" published in 1758, introducing the binomial name "Anas querquedula". In 2009, a molecular phylogenetic study comparing mitochondrial DNA sequences found that the genus "Anas" was non-monophyletic. The genus was then split into four monophyletic genera with ten species including Garganey moved into the resurrected genus "Spatula", originally proposed in 1822 by German zoologist Friedrich Boie.

question: Summarize the history of the Garganey scientific name "Spatula querquedula".

answer: The Garganey is also known by its scientific name "Spatula querquedula". The name "Spatula" is Latin for "spoon" and the specific epithet is derived from Latin "querquedula", a word believed to represent its call. The common English name dates from the 17th century and comes from the Lombard language "garganei" the plural of "garganell" which comes from the Late Latin "gargala", meaning "tracheal artery". In 1555, Conrad Gesner used the Italian name in the third volume of his "Historiae Animalium" (History of Animals), and the English usage owes its origins to him.

question: What does the text say about the differences between the male and female Garganey and the common teal?

answer: The adult male Garganey is unmistakable, with a broad white crescent over the eye and its brown head and breast. The rest of the male's plumage is grey, with loose grey scapular feathers. It also has a grey bill and legs. In flight, a male Garganey shows a pale blue speculum with a white border. When swimming, it will show prominent white edges on its tertials. The male's crown is dark and his face is reddish-brown. Female Garganeys, on the other hand, are similar in appearance to the common teal, especially with the blue-winged teal. The only way to tell the difference is the female Garganey's stronger face markings - pale eyebrow, dark eye-line, pale lore spot bordered by a second dark line - and more frequent head-shaking when dabbling. The head and bill shape between the two species is also different, and the teal has yellow legs. The male Garganey has a distinctive crackling mating call, while the female is rather silent for a female duck, only managing a feeble quack.


text:
LANSING — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Thursday blasted auto insurance bills passed by the House and Senate as measures that "preserve a corrupt system," and offer "no guarantee of savings" on auto insurance rates.

Does that mean Whitmer is going to veto?  "I am only going to sign a bill that actually protects drivers and these bills do not do that," said Whitmer, a Democrat.

Whitmer, speaking at a Capitol bill signing a few feet away from House Speaker Lee Chatfield, R-Levering, called on GOP legislative leaders to negotiate and send her a bill with real savings and consumer protections.

"I'm done playing games," and "I'm not here to dress windows," Whitmer said.

[In this March 18, 2019, file photo, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer listens to Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., in Clawson, Mich.]
Minutes later, Chatfield told reporters he's prepared to negotiate and continue discussions, but he rejected Whitmer's characterization of legislation the House passed early Thursday morning.

"I'm disappointed to see opposition to the bill that we passed," Chatfield told reporters. "However, I'm optimistic that we're going to find consensus." He added that "we delivered real reform," and have given Democrats what they've asked for in terms of mandated rollbacks and restrictions on use of non-driving factors in setting rates.

Earlier Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, R-Clarklake, who passed a different version of auto reform legislation on Tuesday, said he, too, is open to discussions.

“We’re going to spend the weekend talking about the different solutions," Shirkey said.

"We need to understand, in detail, what the differences are. Their (the House) focus was our focus, driving down the cost of auto insurance. Anything that increases choices and reduces the cost of auto insurance for Michigan drivers -– everyone should be applauding that.”

Early Thursday morning, the state House approved massive changes to Michigan's auto insurance law that were introduced only late Wednesday. House Bill 4397 would replace Michigan's unlimited medical coverage for catastrophic injuries with a range of personal injury protection coverage options and mandate five years of reduced rates for that portion of a motorist's auto insurance bill. Three Democrats — two from Detroit — joined all Republicans to pass the measure 61-49.

MORE:Michigan House passes rate relief for no-fault auto insurance

MORE:Drastic change to Michigan no-fault auto insurance would reduce annual bill

The House action followed similar action Tuesday in the GOP-controlled Senate, where major auto insurance changes were introduced, rushed through committee, and approved in a 24-14 vote, with two Detroit Democrats voting yes with the Republicans. Senate Bill 1 would not mandate specific reductions in portions of the auto insurance premium, as the House bill would, but it, too, would give a range of coverage options and would phase out the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association. That piece of the package alone was expected to reduce the current catastrophic claims surcharge of $192 per vehicle to about $40.

Whitmer said Tuesday she would veto the Senate measure because it didn't guarantee reduced auto insurance premiums.

Both the House and Senate versions include limits on the use of non-driving factors such as ZIP  codes in setting auto insurance premiums, though many Democrats and other critics say those safeguards do not go far enough.

The House and Senate versions now must be reconciled, and it's during those discussions that Whitmer might be able to use her veto power to push for further changes.

The governor's press secretary Tiffany Brown said that Whitmer has "been very clear that passing a budget that fixes the damn roads is her first priority."

Another important player in the process is Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, who has supported similar legislation and lent election muscle to metro Detroit lawmakers who pledged to support legislation to reduce the city's crippling auto insurance costs.

While studies show Michigan's auto insurance premiums are, on average, the highest in the nation, nowhere are the average premiums higher than in the city of Detroit.

Democratic state Reps. Leslie Love and Karen Whitsett, of Detroit, plus Rep. Sara Cambensy of Marquette, voted with the Republicans on the auto insurance changes early Thursday.

In the earlier Senate vote, Detroit Democrats Sen. Adam Hollier and Sen. Sylvia Santana broke party ranks to support the measure.

_Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @paulegan4.  Read more on Michigan politics and sign up for our elections newsletter.  _

question: What was Governor Gretchen Wilmer's reaction to the House and Senate's auto insurance bills?

answer: Gretchen Whitmer, the Governor of Michigan, expressed her displeasure with the vehicle insurance legislation passed by the House and Senate, claiming that it preserves a corrupt system and provides no guarantee of lower auto insurance premiums. Wilmer is clearly opposed to the legislation because she declared that she would only sign legislation protecting the driver, which the House and Senate versions do not. Her resistance to the bill shocked House Speaker Lee Chatfield, who was first disappointed, but subsequently expressed optimism that they would be able to reach a compromise on the issue.


text:
It was initially a writing project for the final assessment of the last French course in Quebec cegep. It was initially written in French and translated afterwards, albeit an essential translation more than a direct, word-by-word one. I do not intend much with it, and such the critique is not to be with any specific aim other than quality. I have no intention of publishing for now, be it this story or another, but am still interested in improving. I will leave the untranslated preface, although I am not quite sure how relevant it is: I wrote it as asked by the initial guideline of the course, not because I felt it important. The references are important in an analytic sense, but one does not lose much of the story by not knowing. Easter eggs, if anything.

-----------------------------------------

Préface-Avertissement :

Cette création s’inspire de Comment faire l’amour avec un Nègre sans se fatiguer (1985) de Dany Laferrière par opposition thématique. Le Vieux de Laferrière recherche son émancipation : il adule et embrasse le rêve américain profondément narcissique, et se retrouve ainsi, par la suite, accepté par la société québécoise postmoderne. Joseph, au contraire, c’est le blanc dit émancipé, tristement individualisé qui ne se reconnaît pas, comme bien d’autres, dans ces traits conditionnés par la société macabre hypermoderne. Ce Joseph, dans son cheminement, déconstruira son narcissisme aux suites d’un premier contact interpersonnel signifiant, contact quasi-impossible dans notre monde contemporain. Ainsi, thématiquement – en présentant l’envers de la médaille d’un nègre du Québec d’autrefois – nous rejoignons le roman Frontières ou Tableaux d’Amérique (1995) de Noël Audet et son thème unifiant de déchéance du rêve américain, à travers ses personnages forcés à un individualisme qui ne leur sied guerre. Nous retrouverons aussi l’antithèse du Montréal du Vieux; la ville reste symbole de sa société contemporaine, mais ce temps n’est plus à l’espoir de débauche hédoniste, au contraire, mais bien un temps d’une société qui n’accepte pas la décadence des valeurs révolues d’Oncle Sam et de Marilyn Monroe. Y sera représentée Mary Wang, la huitième Marie, Miz Gin, l’alter-égo de Miz Littérature, qui n’est plus une WASP envahie qui se révolte contre sa culture, mais bien une immigrante chinoise – l’envahisseur – qui se révolte contre sa culture qui tend à reprendre l’erreur du capitalisme états-unien. Joseph, c’est Joseph Bélanger-Leblanc, le fermier noble. Il est rude et cru comme le Vieux, mais pourtant émotif et profond comme le personnage éponyme de Palomar (1997) d’Italo Calvino, car il n’y a pas d’aliénation sans opposition, et Joseph, c’est l’archétype de l’aliéné hypermoderne, dans toute sa complexité apparente.

-----------------------------------------

It is one of those mornings when we are alone of all our billions that the cold reminds us our solitude. The cold embraces us, isolates us from one another, filling every breach through which we might escape it. Then, it is the unsettling *angoisse de l’âme* that settles in, Charles’ *spleen* read aloud to a shaking rendition of Boulez’s Anthème below a crimson sky on the sea falling, a glass of gin clutched in the left hand, the other hand empty. It is but autumn arriving to this beautiful city of Montreal. Once the festivities are over and the forgotten joyfuls home, settles down the glacial air that separates us with its stinging weight. It is my city, a town ruined in pretending no warmth is lost. Yet it never fails freezing when the leaves leave us for southern reaches.

∙∙

“Oh mon Dieu!”

∙∙∙∙∙∙∙

Even inside the bus, coldness does not separate us any less. The teeming couples would not fathom rebelling against their thick furs, losing themselves in a frustrated silence which lovers attempt to bury under confining music, as if unknown to one another. It makes me feel sick, this anonymous freezing of our time taking roots.

∙

Marie cries out, as Joseph brutally penetrates her. She, tied to the four corners of the bed, at his mercy; the medieval torture has for only goal the liberation of the soul, so may it elevate itself to the high heavens of the divine kings, pursuing Marie’s wail.

∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙

“F=ma=-kx, solve for y. It is a quadri-dimensional progressive wave system.” [sic] I happened to have an optical thermo-directional mechanics course this morning. It doesn’t mean anything: I was not attentive, my eyes preferring listening to the clicking hand of the fleeting time, only in wait for the break to go fuck Miz Gin with proper normative étiquette: absent of love, eyes gazing – lifeless eyes – at some arbitrary speck of dust on the off-white wall. After, goodbye. Clean up, fare well until we meet again tomorrow. There is nothing better than making love at noon, ‘tis said.
∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙

His fist tightly shut, he hits her, pounding. Marie viciously finds herself in ecstasy, in front of this sought attention. Finally! liberation of her entwined phantasms.

∙

The teacher throws up his memories to a wall painted with students – may he feel comforted of speaking alone. “Did you enjoy the novel’s reading?” And a student, whispering under his unborn beard: “Some shit!” But we do not want to know, we do not want to learn, we do not want to understand, so we keep quiet. “So?” Yes, teacher, we know of the illustrious Narcissus Laferrière. Except – in personal accordance – I would gladly stuff that dreaming nigger like a turkey, with a side of cranberries, to accompany his beautiful American dream beginning with hole and ending in thanksgiving. But I am drifting from the point, please excuse me. Being granted a role in *les grands homes*, I may fathom compliance, but I wish nothing dooming me to the loneliness of a frozen mountain peak. Especially if we must be alone from the very start, less chance is not even.

∙

She orgasms, a laugh escaping through the breach of her torn lip. If her parents could see her – a shock it would drive home. She shivers at the innocuously comfortable thought; it is the love of pain that mends the pains of love.

∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙

Miz Gin, Marie Wang, guides me to the melancholy club. In it, hundreds, thousands, billions; an entire universe of lesser gods dance in the hall with mirror walls. And we too dance. Marie is breathtaking. She warms up like a professional; one would be tempted to forget the absence of pole. The others around, despite, do not appear to see her.  The poor blokes gaze in her general direction, but the stare passes directly through her. The photonic information is not recognized. Does not compute. The music is drowning the electromagnetic wave and – maybe for it – they resemble automata: incapable of meaningful communication, instinctive machines, unable to understand their given. Nor do they seem any troubled by the impossibility of knowledge. Were I a greater god, I would replace the minds of every partners and not an eyebrow would be raised in questioning. It gives me nausea, a dizziness of the soul deploring its sidereal distance from any sincere subject. They are, at this instant, but objects of my story, despite my crying invitation. And Miz Gin that is still dancing of all her person...

∙∙

 “Plus fort, my white nigger!”

He takes her from behind. They go on fucking, fucking away the remorse coating their guts.

∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙

The walls are made out of dead trees, and pieces – of art – occupy them, balancing the monotony of the uncultivated life with the perfect spirit of beauty, a beauty I will as overwhelming as exalting. A perfume penetrates and populates every point in the room, meticulously coating the skin, filling the lungs and calming the hearth of being. This odour capsizes me: my eyes are afire of an unalienable happiness. A beer lies on the table ahead of me, attached to the wall. A tall pitcher, filled to the half, but there is only a single bock for the whole of the table. It is in my hand that I shall carry it, the left, because there is no hand anymore at the end of my right arm: there is my – my – Miz Gin, my Marie. At the extremity of my arm, it is her body, albeit I do not know where it starts, where my previous person ends. Her body continues from mine: I would not know how to untangle it, as she goes on petting my right hand, in the middle of our new being, with hers.

∙∙∙∙

Their perversions vaporize on his American white pine, as she impales her sex – with gracious joy – up to the vice that grips her throat.

∙∙∙∙∙

And I am drunk of a comfort that pervades me. The sea is not tempest-ridden yet: she is still a maternal beating that kindly rocks a child. It is Freud’s intemporal return to the mother, the impossible reinsertion in the warm and humid placenta, which makes us see the feminine sex. The return that – although rejected by the common reason of contemporary science – pulls on the soul’s string with such agility that we cannot fail to vibrate in unison.

∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙

Blood spoils drop-by-drop the white residence bed, recalling into reality the metaphysical sex.
This blood is Marie’s promise.

–

Mademoiselle Wang tells me I fainted at the club. Maybe have I neglected breathing? I do not know. I foremost intended avoiding the heart’s demise, for getting back up from such a fall would not be a simple answer of summing electromagnetic and gravitational forces. She understood: we are now at the pub. She is quiet. She will remain quiet. There is nothing left to say. Her silence, it is more eloquence than past. I could have ripped my ears off of my body that I would not have spoken as much in my life, because the past’s word is empty, and Marie and I, Marie Wang and Joseph Bélanger-Leblanc, we have known each other – now – since the dawn of time and for immemorial eternity. Our souls tame one another, the first in decades.

∙∙∙∙

In unison: “Oh, yes!”

For better and worse; Joseph, elevated by this virginal oath, removes himself softly, squirming his hips as not to sever the link uniting them, that united them. A tear rushes at the sheets to dilute the blood. His.

∙∙∙∙∙

Man is a wave on the ocean. The image designates and defines humanity in all its insignificance. He is but a quantum wave sailing on the sea that is the universe, our mother. Yours and mine. And I am partly her, without distinction. I am but a wave, a negligible tremor of existence, but I am not alone for it.  I am not alone, because I am only a movement of the world and these movements imbricate together, are born and die of the same wind. It is the wind of the sea, under a sky of ink painted on rice paper, rocking us endlessly with its brush.

title: L'Assommoir (Late Cross-Post with /r/writing)

question: Is Joseph torturing Marie?

answer: They are engaging in consensual kinky sex.

question: What is the relationship between the two disparate story lines, the student in class and at a club, and the intense, violent sex between Marie and Joseph?

answer: According to the preface, the story is a juxtaposition between two characters - one a Black man trying to live the American dream in Quebec, and a hedonistic apparently liberated white Joseph.


text:
Alchemy: how a tradition spanning millennia became modern chemistry

_There are many chemical engineers, chemists and biochemists working with BioFuelNet on advanced biofuels using some of the most modern cutting-edge technologies. Personally, I’m particularly interested in ancient history and the history of science and knowledge, which is often left out of modern scientific training in university and grad school. This article explores the history behind modern chemistry and biochemistry, which is misunderstood but highly relevant to modern thought. This article has been reposted from my personal blog, The Spaced-Out Scientist._

Alchemy is generally seen as an archaic proto-science based on superstition that is of little interest to the modern chemist. In truth, chemistry owes much to alchemy, which covers philosophical traditions and chemical history spanning several millennia in the Middle East, China, India and Europe. Alchemy has played a significant role in the development of modern chemistry, medicine and psychology.

The etymology of the modern word, CHEMISTRY, comes from the Arabic _ALKĪMIYĀ_ (_al_ ‘the’ + _kīmiyā), _which comes from the ancient Greek word _CHĒMEÍA__, _meaning “_BLACK MAGIC_”. The Greek word is derived from the ancient Coptic word for “_EGYPT_”, “_KĒME_”, which means “_BLACK EARTH_”, a type of fertile soil that is left after the annual flooding of the Nile.

Alchemy can generally be defined as an ancient art form that seeks purification of the soul and immortality in parallel with the transmutation of chemical elements where gold symbolizes perfection. Alchemists made medicines and pharmaceuticals, and endeavoured to understand the material basis of the world. Although the alchemists practiced actual chemistry and medicine, turning lead into gold symbolized a spiritual transmutation equivalent to an awakened consciousness present in all forms and which created the universe.

[Mandala illustrating key alchemical concepts, symbols, and processes. 1615]
    Mandala illustrating key alchemical concepts, symbols, and processes. 1615 AD

In Western alchemy, perfection is achieved through the action of the PHILOSOPHERS STONE. Alchemists believed that it could turn any substance into gold, prolong life and cure illness. The Philosophers Stone is created from “_PRIMA MATERIA_”, which is the primitive formless base of all matter, similar to our modern concepts of dark matter or chaos.

WESTERN ALCHEMY: FROM ANCIENT EGYPT TO RENAISSANCE EUROPE

THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS were some of the first practitioners of alchemy around 2000 BC, and much of the early chemical knowledge in Egypt was linked to embalming the dead and religious ritual. The Ancient Greek king, ALEXANDER THE GREAT conquered Egypt and founded Alexandria in 331 BC, which became the intellectual and cultural center of the ancient world. Alexandria became a major hub for alchemy, bringing together Egyptian, Greek and Jewish knowledge and culture.

[Roman floor mosaic of Alexander the Great, circa 100 BC; originally from the House of Faun in Pompeii.]
    Roman floor mosaic of Alexander the Great, originally from the House of Faun in Pompeii, 100 BC

Between 400-600 AD, most Alchemical texts were lost and the remainder shifted to the ISLAMIC WORLD due to the repeated destruction of the LIBRARY OF ALEXANDRIA and of non-Christian texts during the late Roman Empire. The Islamic world became a melting pot for alchemical knowledge.

The crusades, which began in 1096 AD, brought the West into contact with Islamic knowledge, which contributed to the re-emergence of alchemy in MEDIEVAL EUROPE. It re-gained popularity in RENAISSANCE Europe, and until as late as the 17th century, many notable modern scientists were also alchemists, including ISAAC NEWTON and ROBERT BOYLE, who is considered the father of chemistry.

[Alchemical apparatus. 1681 AD.]
    Alchemical apparatus. 1681 AD.

INDIAN ALCHEMY

Alexander the Great invaded India in 325 BC, which suggests that there may have been some influence between Indian and Greco-Egyptian alchemy. Indian alchemy or _RASAYANA_, which means the art of manipulating _Rasa_, meaning nectar, mercury or juice, was closely associated to the Dharmic faiths (Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism). Indian alchemy began in approximately 1200 BC and is an early from of Ayurvedic medicine focused on extending lifespan. Indian alchemists created medicines composed of various metals, including mercury and other substances that were combined with herbs.

CHINESE ALCHEMY

The beginnings of Chinese alchemy are unclear but probably emerged sometime between 400 BC – 100 AD. It is closely associated to Taoism and Chinese traditional medicine, Acupuncture, Tai Chi, Qigong and focuses on the purification of the body in spirit in the hopes of obtaining immortality. The Chinese alchemists concocted alchemical medicines or ELIXIRS, which were often composed of metals like gold and silver, and other compounds.

[Chinese woodcut: Daoist internal alchemy (3) Credit: Wellcome Library, London. Wellcome Images ]
    Chinese woodcut: Daoist internal alchemy. 1615 AD. Credit: Wellcome Library, London. Wellcome Images

Much of the central concepts between Chinese, Indian and Western alchemy are remarkably similar. It is unknown whether these forms of alchemy share common origins and whether they influenced each other. However, from 334-323 B.C., Alexander the Great conquered many parts of the East, which helped exchange knowledge between Eastern and Western cultures, so it is possible that influence occurred.

THE DECLINE OF ALCHEMY

How did such an important intellectual and philosophical tradition existing for several millennia suddenly disappear from Western thought?

Aspects of Indian and Chinese alchemy were absorbed by modern science and chemistry, and other aspects were preserved in other systems such as Hindu traditional medicine, Ayurveda,  as well as Chinese traditional medicine, Acupuncture and modern Tai Chi and Qigong.

In the 18th century, Western alchemy was in decline due to the birth of modern chemistry, which detached itself from religion and spirituality, and embraced a more precise and empirical framework based on the scientific method. Alchemy was then generally understood to mean “gold making”, which gave rise to the popular belief that alchemy is charlatanism and superstition. Poor translations of adulterated documents with esoteric and spiritualistic interpretations also contributed to alchemy’s decline.

Alchemy is still practiced today by a small number of practitioners who focused symbolic and spiritual aspects of alchemy, combined with a “New Age” approach. Some alchemical techniques are still actively practiced in traditional medicine, using a combination of pharmacological and spiritual techniques. Many secret societies, such as the Freemasons and Rosecrucians have also always been interested in alchemical symbolism.

ALCHEMY’S INFLUENCE ON MODERN SCIENCE

Alchemy made important contributions to metalworking, refining, production of gunpowder, ceramics, glass, ceramics, ink, dyes, paints, cosmetics, extracts, liquors etc. Alchemists conceptualized chemical elements into the first rudimentary periodic tables and introduced the process of distillation to Western Europe. They were also among the first to extract metals from ores and compose various inorganic acids and bases.

SOME EXAMPLES:

-   Sulfuric acid was first described (approx. 1300 AD) by the alchemist, Pseudo-Geber. Sulfuric acid is the most used substance in chemical industries today after water, air, coal and oil.
-   The alchemist Andreas Libavius (1555 – 1616 AD) was the first to describe the preparation of free hydrochloric acid, of tin tetrachloride, and of ammonium sulfate.
-   Libravius and Pseudo-Geber described the preparation of aqua regia (“royal water”), a mixture of nitric acid and hydrochloric acid, which can dissolve gold.
-   The alchemist Albertus Magnus (1193-1280 AD) is often credited for the discovery of arsenic, although it was probably known to earlier alchemists.
-   Chinese alchemists invented gunpowder or black powder  in the 9th century.
-   Indian alchemy made important contributions to metallurgy. High-quality, high carbon steel was already being produced in India between 300-200 BC, and was exported throughout Asia and Europe.

[A replica of Libavius' laboratory]
    A replica of Libavius’ laboratory

But there is much more than early chemistry to the story.

Alchemy was influential in the formulation of Isaac Newton’s theory of gravity. It is also central to Jung’s idea of the collective unconscious. Much of the vast array of symbols used in alchemy draws from the COLLECTIVE UNCONSCIOUS of the West. The history of alchemy is very complex, and it is impossible to even scratch the surface in this article.

_The author,  Annie Webb, writes the blog Spaced-Out Scientist._

All data and information provided on this blog is for informational purposes only. BioFuelNet Canada makes no representations as to accuracy, completeness, currentness, suitability, or validity of any information on this blog and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use. All information is provided on an as-is basis.

question: What does the text say about Greece?

answer: The word chemistry stems from the arabic work "alkimiya", which comes from the ancient Greek word "chemeia" (black magic) which stems from an ancient Coptic word. The Ancient Greek king Alexander the Great conquered Egypt and founded Alexandria in 331 BC. This became the intellectual and cultural center of the ancient world, and eventually became a major hub for alchemy. In Alexandria, Egyptian, Greek, and Jewish knowledge and culture were brought together. Alexander the Great also invaded India in 325 BC which suggests a possible influence between Indian and Greco-Egyptian alchemy.

question: What does the text say about Chinese alchemy?

answer: The beginnings of Chinese alchemy are believed to have possibly emerged sometime between 400 BC-100 A.D. and are closely associated to Taoism and Chinese traditional medicine, among other things. It focuses on the purification of the body in spirit in hopes of gaining mortality. The Chinese alchemists concocted alchemical medicines (elixirs). In the 9th century, Chinese alchemists invented gunpowder or black powder. Chinese alchemy is remarkably similar to Indian and Western alchemy. It's possible Alexander the Great's reach into parts of the East could have influenced the exchange of knowledge between Eastern and Western cultures.

question: Summarize the context of the decline of Western alchemy in the 18th century.

answer: In the 18th century, the birth of modern chemistry caused the decline of Western alchemy. Chemistry detached itself from religion and spirituality and was based on the scientific method. At that time, alchemy was understood to mean "gold making" which then caused people to believe it was charlatanism and superstition. Poor translations of altered documents with esoteric and spiritualist interpretations also added to the decline.

question: What does the text say about medication?


text:
[Behind the scenes of this morning’s 'behind-the-scenes' stories about Obama’s surge deliberations. | White House Photo]

President Barack Obama holds a meeting on Afghanistan in the Situation Room of the White House. | White House

A long reconstruction of President Barack Obama’s Afghanistan “surge” deliberations, splashed on the front page of Friday’s Los Angeles Times, featured the sort of journalistic candy that is the rarest treat on the White House beat: a behind-the-scenes anecdote (from the Situation Room, no less) – with an actual quote from the president.

“To emphasize his desire to speed up the deployment, the president held up a printout copy of the bell curve [a graph projecting a troop buildup over time] and pointed to its apex, indicating the peak of the flow,” the article says, then quotes “one official” as reporting that the president said: “I want to move this to the left. … We need more troops in sooner.”

The front page of Sunday’s New York Times features a much longer reconstruction of Obama’s Afghanistan deliberations, with the same Veterans Day scene and (nearly) the same quote: “‘I want this pushed to the left,’ he told advisers, pointing to the bell curve. In other words, the troops should be in sooner, then out sooner.”

The tidbit neatly serves both the press and the White House: The reporters appear to be getting a juicy scoop – the sort of take-you-there detail that might turn up in a Bob Woodward book years after the fact. And the president’s aides are dishing an irresistible illustration of a take-charge president’s proactive approach to his decision to commit 30,000 more troops to a war that has begun to look like a quagmire.

This type of story – known in the trade as a “tick-tock,” for its heavy reliance on chronology – has become de rigueur for the big papers in the days after a major Washington event. Sunday’s Washington Post also has an Afghanistan tick-tock that posted on the web Saturday afternoon, five minutes after The New York Times’ opus. The L.A. editors rushed the piece into type after a sit-down White House briefing on Thursday, knowing that competitors were working on their own versions.

The White House gets a “mission accomplished” grade for all three stories, each of which amplifies the West Wing’s desired storyline: A smart, probing president cuts through the fog of competing visions to come up with his own unique version of a surge — the in-and-out version that he announced at West Point on Tuesday night.

The implicit message of the material fed to the three papers: This was not just a Potemkin debate over a foregone conclusion. Unlike President George W. Bush, we took a long, hard look at the options and alternatives. And unlike the armchair warriors in the Bush administration, we didn’t let ideology drive strategy. This president knows the cost of war, and wasn’t taking the troop commitment lightly.

“Inside the Situation Room: How a War Plan Evolved” is the dramatic, two-column headline of Sunday’s New York Times, with the article spread over two ad-free pages inside.

The White House Press Office (sorry, no Deep Throat) coordinated a series of tick-tock briefings for individual reporters with top players late last week, explaining the similarity in themes and color among the pieces.

Obama aides pushed — “shopped,” as reporters cynically put it — to multiple reporters a description of a chastened president returning to his deliberations after a visit to Arlington National Cemetery. One reporter, who had resisted the description as too pat, was amused to find it as the lead of The New York Times account.

White House officials were most delighted by The New York Times story, both because it emphasized their desired themes and “moments,” and because it was the most thorough. The Times story was written by Peter Baker, with feeds from 10 other well-sourced reporters in the paper’s Washington Bureau.

The Washington Post had three bylines (Anne E. Kornblut, Scott Wilson and Karen DeYoung and credited two other reporters and a researcher. The L.A. Times version is the most spare -- 1,600 words, compared with 4,500 for The New York Times and 3,330 for The Post -- and carried two bylines (Christi Parsons and Julian E. Barnes), with a credit for one other journalist.

The Post lacks visibility into the thinking of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, an essential player in the deliberations. The New York Times, which Obama reads, got by far the most access. One official who gave tick-tock briefings said he took The Times the most seriously, and was pleased with the result. “It’s the one to stick in the time capsule,” the official said.

A former New York Times editor who helped pioneer the format recalled in an e-mail how the tick-tock became so popular with the paper’s brass: “We realized forcefully that on Sundays we could cream the newsweeklies' inevitable Monday cover stories, and we delighted in doing it. In general terms, the form developed as an antidote to the hyping of minor spot developments to look like big news, and thereby fill out the front page on mostly news-free Sundays.”

White Houses quickly learn to exploit this hunger, and serve up details that bolster the message they’re trying to send. In Bush’s first term, both The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post became suspicious of his aides’ string of accounts of how detail-oriented and take-charge Bush was behind the scenes, and pulled back from writing tick-tocks that relied too heavily on White House anecdotes that could not be verified.

None of the Obama accounts is hostile – all of them hew, more or less, to the line that Obama took his time to make a difficult decision that reflected his priorities and a rigorous internal debate. The Los Angeles Times story reflects that favorable narrative most exactly.

The New York Times and Post are slightly more critical, for different reasons. Baker makes it implicitly clear just how divided the Team of Rivals was. But he closes by emphasizing consensus and the president's serenity in his decision. In the Post's narrative – which starts with an annoyed POTUS telling his advisers he feels less-than-usually “sedate” about the need to speed up the war plan -- Obama comes off as a more impatient leader, and his lack of enthusiasm for a no-holds-barred war plan seems to receive greater attention.

The Post and, to a lesser extent, The New York Times indicate that the administration had to navigate serious civilian-military tensions as Obama shaped his strategy. In Baker's narrative, the leaks of Gen. Stanley McChrystal's initial report on troops and Ambassador Karl Eikenberry's memo recommending against a surge represented the most explosive conflicts between uniformed and civilian staff. But in The Post's telling, there are hints of a more basic level of misunderstanding between an administration that didn't quite grasp how to talk to military leaders

Only the Los Angeles Times hints at the political considerations that were on the minds of some advisers. And none of the stories discerns what sort of internal disagreement about the war may persist.

Each of the three Obama tick-tocks contains buzzy morsels. Here are some key passages:

--N.Y. Times: Vice President Joe Biden “quickly became the most outspoken critic of the expected McChrystal troop request, arguing that Pakistan was the bigger priority, since that is where Al Qaeda is mainly based. ‘He was the bull in the china shop,’ said one admiring administration official. But others were nodding their heads at some of what he was saying, too, including General Jones and Rahm Emanuel, the White House chief of staff.”

--N.Y. Times: “Mr. Obama had read ‘Lessons in Disaster,’ Gordon M. Goldstein’s book on the Vietnam War. The book had become a must read in the West Wing after Mr. Emanuel had dinner over the summer at the house of another deputy national security adviser, Thomas E. Donilon, and wandered into his library to ask what he should be reading. Among the conclusions that Mr. Donilon and the White House team drew from the book was that both President John F. Kennedy and President Lyndon B. Johnson failed to question the underlying assumption about monolithic Communism and the domino theory — clearly driving the Obama advisers to rethink the nature of Al Qaeda and the Taliban.”

--N.Y. Times: “After a meeting where the Pentagon made a presentation with impressive color-coded maps, Mrs. Clinton returned to the State Department and told her aides, ‘We need maps,’ as one recalled. She was overseas during the next meeting on Oct. 14, when aides used her new maps to show civilian efforts but she participated with headphones on from her government plane flying back from Russia.”

--N.Y. Times: Defense Secretary Robert “Gates’s low-wattage exterior masks a wily inside player, and he knew enough to keep his counsel early in the process to let it play out more first.”

--Washington Post: “‘What was interesting was the metamorphosis,’ said national security adviser James L. Jones, the only senior official who agreed to discuss the deliberations on the record. ‘I dare say that none of us ended up where we started.’”

--L.A. Times: “The president wanted to know when the effects of the new strategy would become apparent, based on an ongoing Pentagon analysis of its own plans. ‘When will we know that our concept is working?’ Obama asked, recalled one official who was present. ‘Our best sense,’ replied Gates, ‘will be in late 2010 and into mid-2011.’”

_Mr. Allen and Mr. Burns reported from Arlington, Va., with kibitzing by John F. Harris in Alexandria, Va., Jim VandeHei in Falls Church, Va., Ben Smith in Brooklyn, N.Y., and Jonathan Martin in Omaha, Neb., and with assistance from several senior administration officials who demanded anonymity in order to discuss the reporters and institutions who will be covering their boss for the next three to seven years._

question: What does the article say about previous administrations prior to Obama?

answer: The author believes President George W. Bush did not take a hard look at the options and alternatives. They call the members of the Bush administration "armchair warriors". In Bush's first term, the Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post were suspicious of his aides' string of accounts of how detail-oriented and take-charge he was behind the scenes. The article also mentions that both President John F. Kennedy and President Lyndon B. Johnson faled to question the assumption about monolithic Communism and the domino theory.

question: What does this article say about President Trump's stance?

question: What does the article say about tick tock stories?

answer: Tick tocks are stories that heavily rely on cronology. They are de rigueur for the big papers in the days after a major Washington event. Sunday's New York Times features such an article concerning Obama's Afghanistan deliberations. Sunday's Washington Post also has an Afghanistan tick-tock.


text:
[EuroFighter decal sheet]This is the decal sheet from a 1/72nd scale Eurofighter.  There are many decals, but since the model has four possible paint schemes only a fraction of these will be used.

Introduction

This article gives general information about waterslide decals and a step-by-step guide showing how they should be applied.

Background

Waterslide decals are by far the most popular way of applying unit markings and other graphics to scale models.  This is partly because most model kits are supplied with appropriate waterslide decals, but also because they generally work very well in most situations and it is relatively easy to get a good result.

Waterslide decals can vary considerably in quality.  Sometimes they are too thick and will stick out on the surface of the model and will not lie flat over surface details.  At other times, they may be too thin and might disintegrate during the application process.  If the printing is not sufficiently opaque the underlying colour of the model will show through.  Occasionally, they may be printed out of register where the different colours are not printed over each other in the right place.  However, standards have been continually increased over the years and the vast majority of decals are now very good quality.

Decals that are applied well will greatly enhance a model, but when they are applied badly they will ruin a model that otherwise would have been excellent.  Providing a few basic rules are followed, it is quite easy to get good results.

Description of Water Slide Decals

[Panther G decals]Decals for armoured vehicles are often restrained.  Some AFVs have few markings.

Water slide decals or transfers consist of several layers.  There is always a sheet of backing paper to which everything else is attached.  On top of the paper is a layer of water soluable glue.  The actual markings are printed on the glue film and on top of that is a carrier film.

When placed in water for a few seconds the glue will become slippery and allow the decal to literally slide off the backing paper and on to the model.  A single spot of dishwashing liquid dissolved in the water will help the decals to slide of the backing paper and on to the model.  Hopefully there will still be sufficient adhesive on the back of the decal to stick to the model.

Surface preparation

It is vitally important to have a gloss or semi-gloss surface to apply the decals.  If the model is painted with matt/flat paints, then the surface needs to have a couple of thin coats of gloss varnish, or Klear/Future to give it some shine.

Matt/flat paints leave a surface that is microscopically rough.  If a decal is applied to such a surface then it will only make contact with the high points on the surface of the paint.  When dry there will be thousands of microscopic air pockets under the decal which will appear as ‘silvering’ and will look terrible.

Some modellers will only varnish those parts of the model where decals are to be placed, but there is a danger of producing a ridge at the edge of the varnish.  Most modellers will varnish the entire model because this is not only needed for decal application, but also makes it easier to apply filters and washes to the model.

The model can always be returned to a matt or semi-gloss finish after decal application with another coat of appropriate varnish.

Decal Solutions

[Decal solutions]Decal solutions from Humbrol and Microscale.

Although waterslide decals are intended to stick well to the model, in practice they only do this in ideal circumstances, such as when there is a perfectly flat surface.  If the surface undulates or has texture, of if the decals need to fit over or around surface projections, then they need a little help.

Many companies produce two part decal solutions to help with the application of waterslide decals.  The first part is painted on to the surface of the model.  This makes it easier to slide the decal into the correct position and improves the adhesion of the decal.  The second part is painted on top of the decal.  This softens the decal and helps to make it conform to any irregularities in the surface.  This second solution can be reapplied if the decal has not fitted well around any surface projections.

Once the second solution has been applied, the decal may appear to wrinkle and may look dreadful.  However, DO NOT TOUCH IT at this stage because it will be extremely elastic and fragile.  As it dries the wrinkles should disappear and the decal will shrink back on to the surface and cling fast to any surface details.

These decal solutions vary in strength between different manufacturers.  It is advisable to experiment a little when you use these solutions for the first time, or change brands.

When To Apply Decals

This will vary from model to model and it may be advisable to apply some decals at a different time to others.  Normally, the best time to apply them is just before weathering, so that they look like they have been weathered with the rest of the vehicle.

Step By Step Guide

The following shows the application of a decal to Tamiya’s 1/35th M113 armoured personnel carrier.  The first stage is to prepare your work area and make sure you have everything to hand:

-   [Decal work area]Model
-   Decal sheet
-   Saucer of water + a drop of dishwashing liquid
-   Tweezers
-   Decal solutions
-   Small brushes (one for each decal solution)
-   Small scissors
-   Paper towel

+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| [M113 decal sheet]                | [Trimming decals]                 |
| This is the M113 decal sheet.  It | Cut out the decal to be applied.  |
| looks complex, but the model has  | It is best to leave the carrier   |
| the option to choose one of four  | film intact if possible, but      |
| different colour schemes so only  | where this will make the decal    |
| a quarter of these decals will be | too big for the area where it is  |
| needed.                           | applied, or where there is an     |
|                                   | irregular surface it may be best  |
|                                   | to cut right up to the printed    |
|                                   | decal area.                       |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+

+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| [Decal soaking 1]                 | [Decal soaking 2]                 |
| Place the decal on the surface of | The decal may float or sink and   |
| the water and leave it for 20 or  | it may curl up, none of this      |
| 30 seconds.                       | matters.                          |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+

+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| [Decal on paper towel]            | [Decals applying solution]        |
| Remove the decal from the water   | Paint a layer of decal solution 1 |
| and place it on paper towel to    | on the model where the decal is   |
| remove any excess water.          | to be placed.                     |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+

+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| [Decal application 1]             | [Decal application 2]             |
| Slide the decal off the backing   | Use the brush to position the     |
| paper on to the model.  Using a   | decal.  When you are satisfied    |
| paint brush is a good way to do   | with the position press paper     |
| this without damaging the decal.  | towel on top of the decal to      |
| Try to move the decal as little   | absorb excess water.  It is       |
| as possible pulling the backing   | normally possible to reposition   |
| sheet away from it.               | the decal by dampening it with    |
|                                   | more solution and sliding the     |
|                                   | brush underneath it. If           |
|                                   | necessary, brush a layer of       |
|                                   | setting solution 2 on to the      |
|                                   | decal then LEAVE IT ALONE to dry  |
|                                   | thoroughly.                       |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+

+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| [Decals finished 1]               | [Decals finished 2]               |
| When the decal is completely dry  | When applied correctly, the       |
| it is normal to seal it with a    | decals should look like they have |
| coat of varnish or Klear/Future.  | been painted on.                  |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+

Further Hints

1.  If the decal is thin and the paint underneath shows through (often the case with white decals) then try painting over the decals with thinned paint using them as a template.
2.  If the decals have to fit around surface projections, then cut them into small pieces and apply them separately.
3.  If there are air bubble under a decal when it has dried then prick it with a pin a few times, paint decal solution on it and press down on it with a damp paper towel.

question: Describe water slide decals.

answer: The water slide decals comprise several layers. It always has a sheet of backing paper that has everything else attached. The paper has a layer of water-soluble glue atop it, and the markings are printed on the glue film alongside a carrier film. Once in contact with water or a dishwashing liquid dissolved in water, the glue becomes slippery, allowing the decal to slide off the backing paper and onto the model. Although, there may still be enough adhesive on the decal's back to help it stick to the model.

question: According to the text, how is the surface of the decals prepared?

answer: The surface material to apply the decals has to be gloss or semi-gloss. However, if the model is painted with matt/flat paints, the surface must have a couple of thin coats of gloss varnish or Klear/Future to shine. Matt/flat paints give a microscopically rough surface, and if a decal is applied to it, it will only make contact with the high points on the surface of the paint. When it dries, there will be microscopic air pockets under the decal, giving it a terrible "silvering" appearance. The model can always be returned to a matt or semi-gloss finish after decal application with another coat of appropriate varnish.

question: What does the text say about the disadvantages of gloss finishing on decals?


text:
HEINZ-WERNER MEYER (24 August 1932 – 9 May 1994) was a German trade union leader and politician.

Born in the Harburg area of Hamburg, Meyer became a coal miner, while attending night school. He joined the Union of Mining and Energy (IG BE), and also the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). From 1955, he studied economics at the Academy of Economics and Politics, then in 1957 he became the IG BE's full-time youth secretary.[1]

Meyer's rise in the union continued, as in 1964 he was appointed as head of its organisation department, and in 1969 he won election to its executive. From 1975 to 1985, he also served in the Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia. In 1984 he became vice president of IG BE, and then in 1985 the president of the union. In 1987, he was elected to serve in the Bundestag, standing down in 1990, when he was elected as president of the German Trade Union Confederation. He remained in post until his death, in 1994.[2]

[1]

[2]

title: Heinz-Werner Meyer

question: Who is Heinz-Werner Meyer?

answer: He was a German trade union leader and politician.

question: What was Meyer's job while attending night school?

answer: He worked as a coal miner.

question: Where did Meyer study economics?

answer: The Academy of Economics and Politics

question: What position did Meyer hold until his death in 1994?

answer: President of the German Trade Union Confederation

question: Write a ~4 sentence summary.

answer: Heinz-Werner Meyer was a German trade union leader and politician who served in the Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia from 1975 to 1985. In 1984 he became vice president of IG BE, and then in 1985 the president of the union. In 1987, he was elected to serve in the Bundestag, standing down in 1990. He was elected as President of the German Trade Union Confederation and held the position until his death in 1994.


text:
The ENDEAVOUR 40 is an American sailboat that was designed by Bob Johnson as a cruiser and first built in 1981.[1][2][3]

Production

The design was built by the Endeavour Yacht Corporation in the United States. The company built about 185 examples between 1981 and 1985, but it is now out of production.[4][5][6]

Design

The Endeavour 40 was intended for both the private owner's market and yacht charter operators and was intended to compete directly with boats built by Gulfstar Yachts, as both company principals, John Books and Rob Valdes has previously worked for Gulfstar.[7]

The Endeavour 40 is a recreational keelboat, built predominantly of polyester resin and fiberglass woven roving and multi-directional chopped strand fiber, with teak wood trim. It has a center cockpit, masthead sloop rig or optional ketch rig, with aluminum spars, a raked stem, a reverse transom, a skeg-mounted rudder controlled by a wheel and a fixed fin keel. It displaces and carries of structural lead ballast.[8][9][10][11]

The boat has a draft of with the standard keel fitted.[12]

The boat is fitted with a British Perkins Engines 4-108 diesel engine of for docking and maneuvering. The fuel tank holds and the fresh water tank has a capacity of .[13]

The design has sleeping accommodation for six people, with a double “V”-berth in the bow cabin, two straight settees in the main cabin and an aft cabin with a double berth. The main cabin features a folding dining table with two drop-leaves. The galley is located on the port side just aft of the companionway ladder. The galley is “L”-shaped and is equipped with a three-burner alcohol-fired stove and a double sink with hot and cold pressurized water and a fresh water pump, plus a refrigerator. A navigation station is opposite the galley, on the starboard side. There are two heads, one just aft of the bow cabin on the starboard side that includes a shower and one on the port side in the aft cabin. The engine room is located centrally, under the companionway ladder. The cabin is trimmed in teak.[14]

Ventilation is provided by 16 ports that open and four hatches.[15]

For sailing the mainsail has a mainsheet traveler at the aft of the center cockpit, two winches for the genoa sheets and one for the mainsheet, plus two winches for the main and genoa halyards. The boat is equipped with a topping lift and slab reefing.[16]

The design has a PHRF racing average handicap of 126.[17]

Operational history

In a 1994 review Richard Sherwood wrote that the Endeavour 40 “is a big, comfortable cruiser intended for extended trips. Note that both fuel and water capacity are high. Ballast/displacement ratio is 36 percent. The cockpit, like most center cockpits, is high and therefore dry.”[18]

Steve Knauth wrote a review for _Soundings Magazine_ in 2008 and stated, “the 1980s hull design features a modified fin keel with a skeg-protected rudder. The forefoot is slightly flatter than a traditional wineglass hull, and the 13-foot beam is carried well aft for form stability and interior volume. Sail area is 743 square feet, with a 338-square-foot main and 405-square-foot foretriangle. The center cockpit is farther aft than some designs, and it’s high and dry.”[19]

[1]

[2]

[3] Sherwood, Richard M.: _A Field Guide to Sailboats of North America, Second Edition_, pages 346-347. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1994.

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]

[18]

[19]

title: Endeavour 40

question: What does the article say about the design of the Endeavour 40?

answer: It's a yacht intended for both private use and charter operations. It's mostly polyester resin and fiberglass. Its cockpit is in the center, and it has a masthead sloop rig or optional ketch rig with options. It uses a British Perkins Engines 4-108 diesel engine. The boat can accommodate six people, has hot and cold pressurized water, a fresh water pump, and a refrigerator. On the starboard side opposite the galley is the navigation station. There are 16 ports and 4 hatches to provide ventilation. The mainsail has a mainsheet traveler, two winches for the genoa sheets and one for the mainsheet in addition to two winches for the main and genoa halyards.

question: What does the article say about how to sail a sailboat?