text:
December 24, 2017
Today, it brings me both joy and sadness to announce that I am transferring from SE to CS. In this blog post, I want to share my reasons for switching and some key lessons learned in the past few years.

[Class picture]

_SE 2019 class picture. (Winter 2015)_
Four years ago, I was a clueless 17 year old kid spamming refresh on Waterloo’s admission status page. If you checked my browsing history, you’d find yconic.com and quest.uwaterloo.ca were my most frequently visited sites. I eagerly waited for an admission offer to Waterloo’s Software Engineering program. As you may know, Waterloo SE is one of Canada’s most competitive undergrad programs to get into, alongside McMaster Health Sciences, UofT Engineering Science, etc.

On February 20, 2014, I was admitted into SE. I felt amazing and immediately knew that Waterloo would be my home for the next _five_ years of my life. Although the offer deadline was in June, I literally accepted my offer the same night.

[aif cover]

_You can tell I was pretty excited..._
In this blog post, I will present the perceived reasons of why I chose SE and compare them to what I actually experienced in SE.

Disclaimer: these are my personal opinions – your mileage may vary.

TL;DR:

-   Four years ago, I chose SE over CS. Looking back, it was the optimal decision.
-   The cohort and community that SE offered was the highlight of my undergrad.
-   Many courses were interesting, but I disliked the engineering requirement courses.
-   After 3B, I transferred to CS for the flexibility.
-   Summary: The SE cohort made the entire program worth it, as I’ve built so many great relationships. The engineering courses in SE were not worth it for me.

Why I chose SE

1. Cohort.

All engineering programs at Waterloo are bunched into cohorts, so you share mostly the same schedule with your peers for 5 years. Cohort systems makes it very easy to make new friends, and develop a sense of community.

2. Co-op.

This is the #1 reason why engineering, math, and CS students choose Waterloo. I’m sure you’ve heard stories about students getting amazing jobs at Google, Apple, etc.

3. Prestige.

As mentioned earlier, SE is one of the most competitive programs in Canada. People naturally are attracted to this program, simply because it’s so hard to get into. As an individual raised in an Asian family, I’ve heard this same story way too many times: “My friend’s daughter/son is in X program, is doing very well, therefore you should also do X program.”

Or you might have also heard of this one as well: “OMG I have a 97% average, will I get into Waterloo SE?” To be totally honest with you, program prestige was one of the main reasons why I chose SE over other programs.

3b. Influence from parents.

My parents wanted the best for me, and they thought SE would be the best for my future. They were very well aware that SE is a prestigious program, and it would be amazing for their son to attend.

4. The tech industry presented great career opportunities.

The tech sector provides great opportunities and I would be guaranteed a well-paying career after graduation. As a 17 year old kid, it’s hard to know what you want to do for the rest of your life. For some students, software development might actually be their dream career, and that’s awesome for them. However, for the rest of the student population, the actual story is more like “Yeah, I think I would be OK with doing software development. It might not be my primary interest, but I find it interesting and it pays well.”

5. I was good in math, physics, and engineering courses in high school.

Like all SE/CS applicants, we were all very high achieving in academics back in high school. I received high marks in courses like advanced functions, calculus, physics, and chemistry. These high school courses were all relatively easy, as a result, I thought I was interested in these subjects. I thought to myself, “Math, physics, and engineering were interesting in high school, so they should also be OK in university.”

5b. You can become an accredited professional engineer and get an iron ring.

Back then, I was thinking “Woah, that’s cool. I can become a professional engineer as well, that’s like a two-in-one.”

These 5 reasons were what attracted me to SE, with strong emphasis on the first three points. I’d be willing to bet that at least 90% of SE students share most of these sentiments. One point that I didn’t mention was that SE students can easily transfer to CS, whereas the reverse is much more difficult.

Here’s a snippet of my essay response for the AIF.

  _I would greatly benefit from Software Engineering because it provides a cohort system that encourages teamwork and community. The hands-on training through 6 co-op terms would be an invaluable experience. These two aspects along with the world class education that starts right from day one will serve as stepping stones to my dream._

As you can tell, SE’s cohort was the major selling point for me.

[Software cover]

_SE 2019's first Facebook cover photo. (Summer 2014)_

My actual SE experience

1. Cohort.

As I described earlier, the cohort program was the main reason why I chose SE. Three years later, I can confidently say that the people of SE made everything worth it. If someone asked me, “Why SE?”, I would respond with, “the SE cohort.”

All 125 SE students have the exact same schedule for the 10.5 courses. SE cohorts also have a Facebook group, which is a great place to keep up with relevant academic and social events. We have Messenger group chats where we sometimes discuss serious topics, and occasionally post memes about shawarmas. YOU FEEL LIKE YOU’RE ACTUALLY PART OF A COMMUNITY IN SE.

On the other hand, I’ve noticed in non-cohort programs like CS or Math, it requires more effort to make friends. In CS/Math, there are several lecture sections for a course, so students will be scattered through many different combinations of schedules.

In addition, the cohort system can help SE students with respect to academics. SE students often study and work with other SE students. This could range from asking for help on a lecture concept or assignment question to crowdsourcing final exam solutions. For me personally, academics would definitely be even more of a struggle without my SE peers.

[Software study]

_Working hard or hardly working in the SE Lab? (Fall 2014)_
Another good and bad thing about SE cohorts is you’re surrounded by really smart, hardworking people. Everybody in your class was amongst the top students in their respective high schools. This is good because you can learn from very bright individuals and be motivated to work harder. For some students, this could also be negative. For example, in the SE 2021 cohort’s 1A term, the term average was 85.4%. A student could have an 80% term average (which is excellent), and be ranked in the bottom 20% of the class.

The cohort system creates a strong sense of community within SE. This past fall, I hosted a Software Engineering social for all SE cohorts on campus, which over 200 SE students attended! This is just one example of numerous opportunities where SE cohorts of different years can socialize and learn from each other.

[Software Social]

_Software Engineering social. (Fall 2017)_
I’ve personally learned how valuable having upper year SE mentors is: they have already experienced the things that I will experience, so they can always provide insightful advice. For example, my friends in SE 2018 have spent the last few months applying and interviewing for full time jobs. By observing what they did well and not so well, I can use their experiences to help me prepare. In addition, if there’s a SE upper year or alumni that works at a company I’m interested in, I can get a referral from them and improve my chances.

Finally, to close off the SE community point, the SE department staff are proactive, nice, and very helpful. If you’re ever struggling with something, you can always reach them by walking into the SE office or through email. The SE department’s service to students is second to none. Special shoutouts to Patrick Lam, our awesome SE director! As you can probably tell by now, the SE cohort and community is something that has really made my SE experience so amazing.

[2B Class picture]

_2B class picture. (Summer 2016)_
2. Co-op.

Waterloo is best known for its co-op program, and definitely does a great job in marketing it. What most high school students (and their parents) don’t realize is that the co-op program doesn’t guarantee you a job. You have to work hard to get a co-op job, and sometimes that depends on a little bit of luck. You’ll definitely hear about the Google/Apple/Facebook glamorous success stories, but you won’t hear about the nitty-gritty details of getting that co-op job.

SE and CS students typically end up in the same co-op positions. Two years ago, I compiled data of SE 1B vs. CS 1B co-op employment rates. The graph below shows that the SE employment rate was relatively higher than the CS employment rate (more graphs can be found here). Note that this comparison is not apples to apples because there are many more CS students than SE students.

[Co-op stats]

_Co-op stats, SE vs. CS. (Winter 2015)_
_Is being in SE better for co-op prospects than being in CS?_

My answer is PROBABLY TRUE for the first two co-op terms, and negligible in your upper years. You won’t have better chances just for being in SE, but you will reap some of the benefits listed below that will improve your overall chances.

The SE cohort system helps motivate SE students to work hard and be competitive for co-op applications. When your peers are going to a hackathon or working on a cool side project, you naturally feel pressured to do the same. Though this creates competition amongst students in the cohort, I’ve observed that it’s usually “friendly” competitiveness, rather than a “toxic, selfish” competitiveness. Thankfully, in our industry, there are more opportunities than candidates.

Every term, there is a SE resume critique event, where SE students can receive one on one feedback on their resumes from upper year students. There is usually a co-op panel where upper year SE students share their experiences relating to co-op applications. Crafting a great resume is probably around 50% of the effort in getting a co-op job. This collaborative, cross cohort event is extremely helpful for students seeking their first or second co-op job. In addition, there are events for coffee/lunch chats, which further provides opportunities for SE students to connect and receive mentorship.

[Resume critique]

_My good friend Gary (SE 19) helping Yingning (SE 22) with her resume. (Fall 2017)_
When you combine the friendly competitiveness, support from upper years, and a strong work ethic, this usually yields great results for lower year SE students. I would say that being in SE does not make a significant difference for upper year co-op prospects, since CS and SE degrees are practically equivalent from an employer’s perspective. At that point, it really just depends on the individual’s skills and past co-op experiences. For full time job prospects, again, I believe SE and CS are equivalent.

3. Prestige.

I’ve come to a personal conclusion that prestige is a wrong reason to choose a program. Prestige might sound “sexy” when you initially accept the offer, but it really doesn’t matter once you arrive at university. Don’t accept an offer just because the program is very hard to get in to.

Being in SE doesn’t make you superior to a CS student, or vice versa. Being in SE won’t guarantee you success in co-op or life, you have to work hard just like everybody else and earn it. From all of the full time folks I’ve spoken to, there really is no difference in terms of prestige between a SE and CS degree.

If you come to Waterloo with the mindset that you’re a superior SE student, you’re not going to have a good time. You’ll only worsen the reputation of the SE program as a whole. Admittedly, there were a few cases of this “bragging show-off SE” personality back in the first two months of 1A. Fortunately, people quickly grew up and matured. For the most part, our cohort is quite humble with their accomplishments, and it’s a very good environment to be a part of.

4. The tech industry presented great opportunities.

In the four co-op terms I’ve completed so far, I’ve had a great time working in the tech industry. I’ve had opportunities to work in major tech hubs like Silicon Valley, New York City, and Seattle.

For the foreseeable future, I see myself immersed in the world of tech. Your mileage may vary on this one if tech doesn’t align with your personal interests. Reflecting back on my 17 old self’s aspirations, I’m very pleased with the experiences I’ve had so far.

[Friends in NYC]

_Friends visiting me during my NYC co-op term. (Fall 2016)_
One thing that I’ve discovered about myself is that software development is not the right career path for me. I much prefer the human and design aspect of tech over the nitty gritty technical aspects. Through completing co-ops in product/program management roles, I’m glad that I’ve found a career that genuinely makes me excited. Having a technical SE/CS background did help me land those opportunities, so choosing SE was a great choice for me. I’ve always wanted to go into the education industry, whether that’s a high school teacher or lecturer role. Who knows. Maybe in the future, I’ll give it a shot.

The point I’m trying to make is that everyone has different interests, and you should pursue the path that makes you happy. Software development and tech is not for everyone. If you can genuinely see yourself in the tech industry, SE or CS both would be excellent choices. If you’re not really interested in tech, I would stress you to really think about what you want: perhaps, SE or CS is not the right program for you.

5. I was good in math, physics, and engineering courses in high school.

This statement is true. I was indeed good in math, physics, and engineering courses in high school. Naturally, I _thought_ SE would offer the perfect combination of courses because I thought I was interested in those subjects. After experiencing courses like ECE 105, ECE 106, ECE 140, ECE 124, and SE 380, I realized that I have little to no interest in the hardware and engineering courses. Though some of these courses had amazing professors, it was the course content that I was not interested in.

[Great TA]

_An awesome TA that magically made circuits make sense. (Fall 2014)_
In addition, SE students are required to take courses like CHE 102, MSCI 261, SE 463, SE 464, SE 465, and CS 348. The 11 courses listed above are necessary to fulfill our degree requirements, or necessary for SE to become an accredited engineering program. While it’s understandable that CHE 102 is required for accreditation purposes, it has no relevance to us. To be fair, SE 463/464/465 are very relevant to SE students, but I would rather have flexibility to choose alternative courses than take these ones. I should also note that the SE department are actively trying to improve these 3 SE courses.

On the bright side, SE students get to take SE 212, ECE 222, SE 350, CS 247, instead of CS 245, CS 251, CS 350, CS 246, respectively. I’ve observed that these 4 SE course offerings are more interesting and better administered than their CS counterparts. SE 350 (operating systems) was the most interesting and important course I’ve taken in university.

SE students also have to work on a fourth year design project. The return on investment of doing the FYDP really depends on your personality and personal interests. I would consider this to be a neutral aspect of the SE program.

Overall, I had a negative experience with SE’s rigid academic program. If I had a choice, I would not have taken the 11 courses mentioned above. If you think about it, those 11 courses make up two whole academic terms worth of courses that made me unhappy. I would much rather have taken electives that I was actually interested in. It’s worth mentioning that two positive things did come out of those 11 courses. First, it taught me how to overcome adversity and deal with things that I don’t like. Second, the 11 courses built a stronger bond within our cohort.

I also want to comment that SE students typically have a high course workload, especially during 2B and 3B. I think it’s fair to say that the average workload in SE is higher than CS, due to having to take engineering requirement courses instead of electives. Though if you’re in CS, you could potentially have a heavier workload by choosing more difficult electives.

5b. You can become an accredited professional engineer and get an iron ring.

I realized that the utility of being an accredited professional engineer is not that beneficial for SE students. The majority of SE students never pursue this designation. Sure, there may be some SE students whose ambitions include being a professional engineer, but for myself, this wasn’t the case.

[Iron Ring Joke]

_I guess I'll never fulfill this comment._ 😢
6. Switching from SE to CS is easy, but the reverse is difficult.

At the time of writing this post, switching from SE to CS in Waterloo is easy. In my personal experience, it was a very simple process. I set up an appointment with a CS undergraduate advisor to discuss transferring to CS. The advisor looked through my courses and grades, and then determined a mapping to meet CS requirements.

I’ve provided an unofficial mapping of the SE -> CS courses here: Unofficial SE -> Credit Mapping – this spreadsheet does not include 4A or 4B SE courses. You can find the official CS requirement list here. For official inquiries, please contact a CS advisor.

If you’re stuck between choosing SE and CS, a recommendation would be to choose SE, as you can always transfer to CS. The reverse transfer process is very difficult, since SE has very limited space, and you would have to fulfill all the engineering requirements.

Overall reflection

With hindsight, I have no regrets choosing SE three years ago – it was definitely the correct choice for me. I met many great people through SE, some of whom are my best friends today. This was evident in one of my first blog posts about orientation week.

  “I went to the Software Engineering 101 event and then had a department lunch at Mongolian grill. The food was amazing. The people were even more incredible.”

My statement still stands true regarding the people, but I’ve since changed my mind about the food quality.

I have built incredible relationships with my SE cohort, individuals from other SE cohorts, the SE department, and SE alumni. The people of SE made everything worth it. These people have shaped me into the individual I am today. They’ve motivated me to work hard, stay accountable, and be humble.

I realized in my first term of SE that it wasn’t the right academic program for me. The program was filled with several courses that I didn’t enjoy. I’ve contemplated switching to CS pretty much every term, but I always stayed because I really liked my SE cohort. Over the terms, many of my SE 2019 friends have transferred to CS. Now, all of them seem very happy and fulfilled with their decisions. Note: the attrition rate in SE 2019 is significantly higher than SE 2017/18/20, so transferring to CS is fairly common in my cohort, but not as common in other SE cohorts.

Now that I’ve finished my 3B academic term, arguably the most difficult term in SE, I have decided to transfer to CS. This news might be shocking to some of you, as I’ve been a huge ambassador for the program over the past 3 years.

[3B Class picture]

_3B class picture. (Fall 2017)_

Why I transferred to CS

After looking through graduation requirements, I realized that if I transferred to CS, I would be able to graduate in 7 academic terms. This opportunity was possible because SE students overload their courses in 2A/2B/3B, and I had an extra French credit from the J’Explore program. As a result, I only needed to take 6 courses to graduate. I have to take STAT 230, an additional CS elective, and complete the depth elective requirement. My timeline in 2018 will be: winter co-op term, 4A school summer term, and convocation in October.

Opportunities

By transferring to CS, I can avoid taking mandatory SE courses that I am not interested in. These include SE 463, ECE 358, ECE ATEs, a societal impact course, and another science elective. Instead, I can take courses that I actually enjoy. Currently, I plan on taking CS 449 (Human-Computer Interaction), three BET (business, entrepreneurship, and technology) courses, and KOR 101 (intro to Korean).

I have a good feeling 4A will be my favourite term in university – it’s also during the summer, which is always nice! There’s a good chance that my schedule will have no classes on Mondays or Fridays. This means I can plan impromptu 4-day trips to places like Banff or Montreal!

In addition, I do not have to do the SE fourth year design project. I find this aspect to be a net positive because there haven’t been any ideas that currently aligned to my interests and goals. If I did want to work on a project, I can always do it by myself, and not have any course dependencies. In 2016-2017, I helped the InternCompass team, so I already have some exposure to the FYDP.

I will be officially transferring to a non-coop Honours Computer Science degree. This means I will skip my last co-op term, which would have been in Fall 2018. I feel like after doing 5 co-op terms, I already have a good idea of what I like, what I don’t like, and where I want to spend the first two years after graduation.

I will likely begin a full-time job immediately after graduation, beginning October 2018. This gives me a 8 month head start in my professional career, and will continue help me out figure out what I like and don’t like. For example, suppose I start working in NYC, and then after 8 months I realize I don’t like the city. I can consider transferring to California, where many of my peers will be when they graduate. I feel like I learn more at work than in school, and I can also make a bigger impact when I’m at work.

Another advantage is having the opportunity to take time off and travel. To be honest, 7 academic terms with 5 co-op terms in between, with no time off is quite an exhausting experience. I haven’t been to China in over 8 years, so I look forward to visiting my family.

My gut feeling tells me to transfer to CS and graduate early. It’s difficult to explain how my mind works, but I feel like this is the right decision for me. I trust my gut feeling in this situation, and I’m confident this is a decision I won’t regret.

Risks

While the opportunities listed above sound great, there are some tradeoffs that I’ve deeply considered.

The first risk is missing the social experience of my 4B school term. Many claim that school is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and rushing it would be a waste. I can definitely see where this perspective is coming from, but I feel like I would be more happier working than doing my 4B school term. Some 4B students have commented that they experienced “senioritis”, where they just wanted to get out of school and move on with their lives.

I know that I will be missing some of the social experience, but I will also craft new social experiences in my next adventure. I will mitigate some of the missed out 4B social experience by flying back to Waterloo for 1 or 2 major events like GradBall, and my friends’ convocation in June 2019. It definitely won’t be the same experience, but I’ve already accepted that I’m OK with it.

The second risk is having to find and secure a full-time job in the next few months. Some new grad roles have closed their applications already, so the pool of opportunities may be reduced. I can mitigate this risk by performing well during my fifth co-op term at LinkedIn, and potentially getting a full-time return offer.

Final Thoughts

In writing this blog post, I wanted to provide my personal detailed insights on SE vs. CS. I explained why choosing SE was the right choice for me three years ago, and why transferring to CS is the right choice for me now. I’m not advising you to choose SE or CS, but rather to really think deeply about what you want to get out of a university program. For me personally, it was the people, and not so much the courses.

It’s bittersweet to be leaving SE, but I’m thankful for all of the people I’ve met and the experiences I’ve gained. To close off this post, I’ll leave a quote from Peter Drucker, an influential figure discussed in our SE 390 class. I’m grateful to have the opportunity to shape my future – I’m definitely very bullish about the next chapter of my life.

[Drucker quote]

_Credit: BrainyQuote_
Photo credits in this post: Tammy Liu

question: Why did the blog post's author initially choose SE over CS?

answer: Cohort made him feel part of a community, co-op, prestige of going to a competitive program

question: What do SE and CS mean?

answer: SE: Software Engineering CS: Computer Science

question: Why did he transfer to CS?

answer: So he can finish university earlier and take time off for travel.

question: Where did he study?

answer: University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

question: Write a ~6 sentence summary.

answer: At the time of the blog post, the author really wanted to get into one of Canada's most prestigious and competitive undergrad programs at the University of Waterloo, Ontario. He gets admitted into Waterloo's Software Engineering program and loves it because of the prestige it brings and the SE cohort that made him feel part of a community. He lists several other reasons for choosing SE over CS (computer science) over the course of the post. After a few years, the author decides to switch from SE to CS because he realized he didn't much care for some of the subjects and the grueling schedule. Transferring to CS will allow him to graduate earlier and have a little time off for travel. He doesn't regret his decision to choose SE first and has many fond memories of the relationships he forged there.


split: train

text:
[The Texas Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) has endorsed a high-speed rail project that it said will create jobs.]

The Texas Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) has endorsed a high-speed rail project that it said will create jobs.

The Texas Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) has endorsed a high-speed rail project that it said will create jobs, generate development and help sustain Texas's “quality of life and economic vitality.”

The group, which represents more than 9,000 engineers in 15 regional branches, unanimously passed a resolution last month that said it “strongly supports” the North Texas-to-Houston passenger line being privately developed by Texas Central.

The vote from one of the ASCE's largest and most active sections is the latest sign of the growing momentum for the project.

“ASCE is the latest organization formally supporting the high-speed rail project,” said Tim Keith, CEO of Texas Central. “Texans want a choice in how they travel and ASCE's membership is uniquely qualified to support this project that will provide widespread economic benefits and make a significant difference in reducing traffic congestion.”

The project already has more than 100 engineers working on what will be the country's first high-speed rail system.

“To ensure Texas remains an economic and technological powerhouse well into the 21st Century, we need to lead the nation with transformational projects like high-speed rail. We are excited about the possibilities that high-speed rail will bring to our state and look forward to supporting this privately developed project through its 2 completion,” said Audra N. Morse, president of the ASCE Texas section.

The ASCE Texas Section noted that the Texas project will not take public money for its operations. And, the resolution said, it is expected to create 10,000 full-time construction jobs each year during the anticipated four-year construction period, and 1,000 full-time jobs after the system goes into full service.

Also, taxing entities along the route would receive an estimated $2.5 billion in property taxes over 25 years from Texas Central because of the new infrastructure along the 240-mi. (386 km) route.

The ASCE group, which promotes civil engineering excellence, recognized Texas's history as a leader in transportation and saluted the Texas rail's technology, based on the Central Japan Railway Co.'s “Shinkansen” system. This technology has been refined over more than 50 years of operation into the most reliable, comfortable and safe high-speed rail system in the world.

The train will allow commuters to travel between North Texas and Houston in 90 minutes. Today it can take more than four hours and with the growth in the state expected to double by 2035, that time is projected to grow to 6.5 hours.

question: Who has endorsed a high-speed rail project?

answer: The Texas Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)

question: How many engineers are working on this project?

answer: More than 100 engineers

question: Who is the president of the ASCE Texas section?

answer: Audra N. Morse

question: How many jobs is the high-speed rail project expected to create?

answer: It is expected to create 10,000 full-time construction jobs each year

question: How long will it take commuters to travel between North Texas and Houston with the train?

answer: 90 minutes

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: A high-speed rail project being created by ASCE Texas is being described and how it will help create 10,000 full-time jobs each year. This project will allow commuters to travel a great length and provide a great example of transformational projects.


text:
CLYDE VANEL is the Assembly member for the 33rd District of the New York State Assembly. He is a Democrat. He is the Chair of the Subcommittee on Internet & New Technologies. The district includes Cambria Heights, St. Albans, Hollis, Queens Village, Bellerose and parts of Floral Park in Queens.

Life and career

Vanel was born in Queens and raised in Cambria Heights, Queens along with nine siblings. He attended Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University where he became a member of Kappa Alpha Psi. He went on to earn an Associates in Aerospace Technology and a bachelor's degree in Aviation Administration from Farmingdale State College. He served as the student government President at Farmingdale State College. He later earned his law degree from Boston University where he served as the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Science & Technology Law.

Vanel subsequently worked as an intellectual property attorney for the-then largest intellectual property law firm in the country, Fish & Neave, which was acquired by Ropes & Gray, LLP. He currently practices business law, intellectual property and trademark law at The Vanel Law Firm.

Vanel is also an entrepreneur and small business owner. Vanel was the owner of Vanel's on First, a restaurant and bar in Lower Manhattan from 2005 to 2011. Vanel is an inventor business owner. He founded a company that manufactures and sells Clean Bee shirt collar protectors online and on Amazon. He is also a technology and internet entrepreneur; he owns and operates the trademark service website- TrademarkReady.com.

Vanel was featured in Money Magazine,[1] Black Enterprise Magazine[2] and New York Times.[3]

He is an aircraft owner, private pilot and the founder of the New York Metro chapter of the Black Pilots of America.

Prior to running for office himself, Vanel served as the Chief of Staff for New York State Senator James Sanders Jr.

New York State Assembly

[Clyde Vanel on NYS Assembly Floor in Albany.] Vanel's first run for public office was in 2009, when he ran for the New York City Council against incumbent Councilmember Leroy Comrie in the Democratic primary. He would lose, 62% to 38%.

He then ran for New York State Assembly twice. He ran for the New York Assembly in 2010 against Barbara M. Clark, again in the Democratic primary. He again lost, 63% to 37%. He lost to Clark again in 2012, 64% to 36%. In 2013, he again ran for the City Council, this time in an open seat to succeed Comrie. He lost the Democratic primary to Daneek Miller, coming in a close second in a six-way race.[4]

In 2016, incumbent Assemblywoman Barbara M. Clark died. Vanel entered the race to succeed her and won a five-way Democratic primary with 32% of the vote, and would easily go on to win the general election.[5] He was seated to finish the remainder of Clark's term on December 8, 2016.

Vanel is the Chair of the Subcommittee on Internet & New Technology. He introduced and sponsored a number of bills and laws relating to blockchain technology, cryptocurrency, Internet sales tax, online data,[6] artificial intelligence,[7] space exploration,[8] sports betting,[9] online poker[10] and aviation.

Assemblymember Vanel serves on the following committees: Banking; Children and Families; Economic Development, Job Creation, Commerce and Industry; Corporations and Authorities; Racing and Wagering and Small Business.

Clyde's Corner YouTube Series

Vanel produces a YouTube video series Clyde's Corner that highlights policy, business, technology and other matters- Buying Pizza with Bitcoin, Bitcoin ATM in the Neighborhood, Where the Cashiers At, The Blind Working Manufacturing Jobs], Use Ideas to Build Wealth, Floyd Mayweather on Business, Artificial Intelligence Regulation, Blockchain Technology Explained Through Game of Thrones and Political Titans.

[1] 30 Days As Told by Ellen McGirt, Money Magazine, April 1, 2004.

[2] Invest In Yourself, By Nicole Lewis, Black Enterprise Magazine, August 1, 2005.

[3] Running on Obama Fuel, Upstart Takes On Old Guard in Queens, By Anne Barnard, New York Times, September 11, 2009.

[4]

[5]

[6] Vanel Introduces Data Disclosure Bill, By Annie McDonough, City and State, May 20, 2019.

[7] Artificial Intelligence Panel Proposed to Oversee NY's High Tech Future, by Michael Gormley, New York Newsday, May 30, 2019.

[8] Legislator Sees Stars and Planets in State's Future, by Bill Mahoney, Politico, February 16, 2018.

[9] New York Assembly Member On Sports Betting: We Won't Be Left Out, by Brett Smiley, Sports Handle, April 16, 2018.

[10] Can NY Finally Thread the Needle on Online Poker, By Matthew Kredell, Online Poker Report, April 10, 2018.

title: Clyde Vanel

question: What is Vanel the chair of?

answer: The Subcommittee on Internet & New Technologies in the New York State Assembly

question: What places are included in the district Vanel represents?

answer: Cambria Heights, St. Albans, Hollis, Queens Village, Bellerose, and parts of Floral Park in Queens

question: Where did Vanel earn his law degree?

answer: Boston University

question: What is the name of Vanel's YouTube series?

answer: Clyde's Corner

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: Clyde Vanel is a member of the New York State Assembly, representing the 33rd District. He is the Chair of the Subcommittee on Internet & New Technologies. He has a law degree from Boston University, practices business law, intellectual property and trademark law at The Vanel Law Firm, and he is an entrepreneur and small business owner.


text:
Last month, we asked folks to share their views about Java 8 and received more than 2,800 responses from developers around the world. The findings offer really fascinating insight into the community’s plans for the upcoming release. Today we published a short report, and we're excited to share the findings with our readers.

Some interesting data points from the survey...

-   Immediate Java 8 Migration Plans: 65% of Java developers have plans to upgrade to Java 8 within the next 24 months.
-   Overwhelming Appetite for Lambdas: Survey respondents were asked which Java 8 features they were most excited about. 83% selected lambda expressions and virtual extension methods.
-   Oracle Making Progress With Java Security: Focusing on better securing the Java platform was the main reason cited for last year's decision to delay shipment of Java 8.  We asked respondents whether they believe that Oracle has since done a good job of getting Java security on the right path, and 59% believe they have.

Other key areas addressed in the report include:

-   Upgrade plans for Java 6 vs. Java 7 users
-   Java 8 as a JRE and compilation target
-   Most anticipated new features of Java 8 (full list)
-   Lambdas and Scala -- friend or foe
-   App Server, JVM, JRE ordered popularity by Java developers

A huge thanks to all who completed the survey! We look forward to hearing how your adoption plans progress down the road. You can download the full report here, and we also encourage you to register for the upcoming webinar on March 26th: Going Reactive with Java 8. The webinar will explore how Java 8's lambdas make building Reactive applications a whole lot easier and cleaner. Through code examples, Typesafe tech leads will show you how to build event-driven, scalable, resilient, and responsive applications with Java 8, Play Framework and Akka. On the web side, you will learn about using lambdas for async & non-blocking requests & WebSockets. You will also learn how the actor model in Akka pairs well with lambdas to create an event-driven foundation that provides concurrency, clustering and fault-tolerance.

Happy reading and hope to see you on March 26th!

Share

Filter by Tag

question: What is the report about?

answer: The report is about the findings from the insights provided by developers around the world.

question: What are some of the areas the report address?

answer:
-Upgrading plans for Java 6 vs. Java 7 users
-Anticipated new features
-Lambdas and Scala -- friend or foe

question: How many developers have plans to upgrade to Java 8?

answer: About 65% of Java developers.

question: What is the webinar about?

answer: The webinar explores how Java 8's lambdas make building Reactive applications a lot easier.

question: Write a ~6 sentence summary.

answer:
Developers from around the world have shared their views about Java 8. The findings are really fascinating. About 65% of Java developers have plans of upgrading to Java 8. 83% of the respondents said they excited about lambda expressions and virtual extensions.

A few other areas addressed in the report include upgrading plans for Java 6 vs. Java 7 users, Lambdas and Scala, Java 8 as a JRE and compilation target, and a few more.

The company has also come up with a webinar that will talk about exploring how Java 8's lambdas will make Reactive applications a lot easier and cleaner.


text:
_RUGRATS: SEARCH FOR REPTAR_ is a platform video game that was released in 1998 for PlayStation in North America and in the PAL region by THQ. The game is based on the popular Nickelodeon cartoon _Rugrats_ which aired from 1991 until 2004. This is the first Rugrats game to be available exclusively on a PlayStation console. The game follows the main character of the cartoon, Tommy Pickles, who has lost his Reptar puzzle. It features stages that are typically based on episodes from the television show. Its rival game, SpongeBob SquarePants: SuperSponge, has the same genres on the same platform. It was followed up by Rugrats: Studio Tour, released for 1999 on the same platform.

It was developed with the intent of appealing to ages seven through twelve. A marketing campaign, which was the second-biggest of 1998, was formed in conjunction between Sony Computer Entertainment America and THQ for its North American release, in order to bolster the children's market on the PlayStation.

The game has been met with mixed reviews from critics, though it has regularly been noted that children will enjoy it. It was criticized for its camera and gameplay by publications such as IGN and GameSpot but was given a positive reception for its presentation and was well-received commercially, being the third-best-selling game in the first two weeks of its release. It was incorporated into the Greatest Hits brand and sold nearly 1.5 million copies, becoming one of the best-selling games on the PlayStation.[1]

Gameplay and premise

[In-game screenshot. Tommy Pickles and Chuckie Finster stand by a bench near hedges in front of a swan, while a bottle of milk depicts Tommy's health.] The game follows the main character of the cartoon _Rugrats_, Tommy Pickles, who has lost eleven pieces of a twelve-piece jigsaw puzzle featuring the cartoon dinosaur Reptar. It is a 3D platform game which requires players to control several of the main characters in order to accomplish the goals.[2][3] The game has fourteen levels that are accessed by players picking up certain objects and also has bonus levels with Reptar bars. Players can play the levels in any order, but the more difficult levels have to be unlocked to be playable.[4]

The levels that players explore are mostly based on episodes from the cartoon, such as “Chuckie's Glasses”, and contain various pieces of the Reptar puzzle. The game also has a training and activities mode, as well as multiplayer mode. The game makes use of several of the voice actors from the cartoon to reprise their roles,[5] including Elizabeth Daily, Kath Soucie, Christine Cavanaugh, and Cheryl Chase.[6]

Development and release

In 1997, THQ signed an agreement with Nickelodeon to develop and publish video games using the _Rugrats_ license through December 2002. The deal gave THQ exclusive rights to _Rugrats_ for all current and future game systems from Nintendo, Sony and Sega.[7] Among the first projects announced as resulting from this deal was a PlayStation game set to be developed by n-Space and released in 1998.[8]

_Rugrats: Search for Reptar_ was developed with the intent of appealing to children ages seven to twelve.[9] THQ started a multimillion-dollar marketing campaign for _Search for Reptar_, the second-biggest campaign of 1998, after _The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time_{{'}}s campaign for the Nintendo 64. Marketing included television and print advertisements, promotional tie-ins, and online advertisements; demos were distributed among kiosks, hardware pack-ins, and on _PlayStation: The Official Magazine_ demo discs; and images of the game were shown on Rugrats Fruit Snacks' boxes. The campaign took about one year to formulate, and was a collaboration between Sony Computer Entertainment America and THQ to expand the younger children's market on the PlayStation. It was one of only two THQ games to have television advertisements at the time, the other being _WCW/nWo Thunder_.[10]

The game was released in North America on October 31, 1998, and in PAL regions less than a month after.[11]

Voice cast

-   E.G. Daily as Tommy Pickles
-   Christine Cavanaugh as Chuckie Finster
-   Kath Soucie as Phil DeVille and Lil DeVille
-   Cheryl Chase as Angelica Pickles
-   Jack Riley as Stu Pickles
-   Melanie Chartoff as Didi Pickles
-   Joe Alaskey as Grandpa Lou Pickles

Reception

_Rugrats: Search for Reptar_ has received generally mixed to positive reviews. It holds an aggregate score of 68.75% at GameRankings based on four reviews.[12]

An editor for Electric Playground gave it an 8 out of 10 score, while an editor for _Electronic Gaming Monthly_ gave it a 6.5 out of 10;[13] an editor for the National Academy of Video Game Testers and Reviewers criticized the controls and difficulty, though commented that it was still a great game for children.[14] In his preview, IGN's Doug Perry wrote that hardcore gamers looking for an easy game would enjoy the humour and “silly kiddie havoc”, while fans of the series may also enjoy it.[15] He praised the presentation, yet criticized the poor camera control and collision detection; in spite of the recommendation in the preview, he felt that the premise would appeal to fans of the cartoon, but that the game may not.[16] An editor for IGN said that it would be likely to appeal to both young and female gamers, due to its less challenging gameplay and “adorable” characters.[17] GameSpot's Joe Fielder felt that it was a quality title for children, yet criticized it for its camera.[18]

_Search for Reptar_ was the third best-selling game in the first two weeks from its release in North America.[19] _Search for Reptar_ was a consistent chart topper and was described as a “breakout PlayStation hit” by THQ's senior vice president of sales, Alison Locke,[20] who attributed the success of the children's market on the PlayStation to _Search for Reptar_.[21] On June 7, 2003, it was reported that over 1.5 million copies of the game had been sold.[22]

Sequel

_Search for Reptar_ was re-released as a Greatest Hits title, and was followed by a sequel titled _Rugrats: Studio Tour_.[23][24]

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title: Rugrats: Search for Reptar

question: Summarize everything related to the promotion of the game.

answer: THQ ran a multimillion-dollar marketing campaign for the game. The campaign included TV and print ads, promotional tie-ins, and online ads as well as the distribution of demos. The compaign was a collaboration between Sony Computer Entertainment America and THQ.

question: Summarize the flaws of the game.

answer: The grame has been criticized for its camera and for its gameplay. It has also been criticized for its controls and difficulty. Doug Perry criticized the collision detection and felt the game wouldn't appeal to fans of the cartoon.

question: What does the article say about the difficulties faced during development?

question: What does the article say about the game's references to the show?

answer: The game follows Tommy Pickles, who is also the main character of the show. Its stages are based on episodes from the show. One stage, for example, is based on the episode "Chuckie's Glasses". Several of the voice actors from the show reprise their roles for the game.


text:
                                          Me

	Before we get into the depths of this story, I assume you are going to want to know about me. Who am I? Where did I come from? All that basic shit. And the truth is, who I am isn’t all the different from who the girl next door to you is. My situations have made me unique and the fact that I observe has made me different.

	At this point in time, I am 19 years old. I am slightly overweight, but you wouldn’t notice from looking at me. I have hips that one day will make giving birth easy but for now just make black guys go dammmmmnnnn girrllll. I have shoulder length hair that is some weird boxed shade of red that I dyed it out of anger. The cut was out of anger too. I’m 5’3.5 and yes that half an inch does matter. I wear a dress almost every day, not because I’m particularly girly anymore, but because it’s really all I have from my last relationship which was particularly controlling. I have two tattoos. One of an owl rests on my left ankle and the kittens from the aristocats parade around my right ribcage. Appearances make a person. This is why I am going so in depth so you can know me. My eyes, well they aren’t important. I want you too see my situations through your eyes. So take your eyes, put them on me, and there we go.

	As someone told me, my personality is weird. I took compliments when I was called quirky. Eccentric even was nice. Now I have just gone off the deep end, into plain weird. But, as you will learn, I was not always this way. I once had it together and knew how to control the weirdness. Now it just kinda spews out like some verbal garbage. It’s gross. But if people can laugh at me and their day is brightened, then awesome. I am someone what a perfectionist. Okay, complete lie there. I am a total perfectionist. I have a little motto in my head that say I must be “prim and proper and polite” at all times. I am working on this. As we all know, this is impossible. I did not know this until recently. The fact that I thought I could be perfect has led me to many a mental illness which we will get into latter. That is not important when trying to learn about the essence of me. And I think the essence of me which you need to know is that I am quirky, caring, and I can see into your soul weather you want me too our not.

	That last part is a little creepy, but that is besides the point. I will know when you want help or need help, regardless if you think you do. And that freaks most people out. I’ve had this super lame “gift” since I can remember. It’s more of a hassle than anything and leaves me stressed out. At any given moment I am flipping through my phone seeing if  I have someone’s number to see if they are ok. I can usually tell you exactly what’s wrong with them, and that’s kinda sucky too. People think this is total BS until I call them at 10pm at night and tell them that no, they should not go spend their last $20 on a little bit of weed. That they should take some advil and a bath and go to sleep and they will be just fine. Just wait till I do it to you. You will be scared. The knowing what’s up with everyone has gotten my head into a tizzy more often than once. I don’t stop to smell the roses or you know think about myself and eat sometimes, because I get so worked up about everyone else. Maybe that shows a great thing about my character. Maybe not.

	I think the most important thing that you know about me is, I did lose me for awhile. For a good chunk of 2 year I would say. I think I was brain washed. I really don’t know. But when you fall under the spell of a sociopath’s love, you do what they want. Not to say I never loved him, because I did, and still do, and probably always will, but he screwed me up. When you are 16 and 17 and 18 you should be finding who you are. Not being pushed into some mold. And if you get anything out of what I write it is that. Because here I am at 19, trying to make up for lost time and it sucks. But like everything else, we will get back to that lost time, we will get back to the sociopath I love(d). Because, while love is insignificant, it is important. Expecially when you can say it helped create the monster the in your head.

	There are other little things about me that aren’t important. Hobbies, jobs held, heck even friends. These will fall into place when they need to. Setting of my life is a small town in California. Just think of where you live, it’s much like that. A suburban town with nothing to do, no where to go. Tons of time to get trapped in your head. I want you to step into my shoes, but don’t lose who you are. We are one on this journey. And you are in for a ride.

title: The beginning of my short life story

question: Why might the author narrator feel awkward about themselves?

answer: She seems to have a gift-or curse-that allows her to tell if something is wrong with someone, and what is wrong. One could ascertain that this ability leads to her being privy to a bevy of information that she was not meant to know, as it could be private. Without knowing more about the limitations of her "gift", it's hard to say whether or not she can, for example, read thoughts and/or intentions. It's possible that because she knows much more about a person than they know she knows, the situation can be quite awkward and at times, intense. That said, it seems her power might be simply dispensing good and rational advice instead of being a supernatural ability.


text:
A Short Story I had the urge to write, This particular story took about 15 minutes

I awaken in a daze, search around the room, it is dark, but a small amount of light is streaking through the window, and I can see enough to make out that it is indeed my room. I slowly stand up and realize i cannot feel my legs, they are completely numb. My head is pounding, and i cannot remember anything. There is a creak at my door, and suddenly it slams open. There is a silhouette of a man standing in the doorway. I ask who he is, yet It continues to stand there breathing heavily. I ask again, who are you. It begins towards me. I don't know what to do so i did the only thing that came to mind, the window. I clumsily leap out of it. A short fall, that was brutally painful. i begin to turn my head and It is standing outside of my window, staring at me. It slowly walks towards me as I turn and clamor for the woodline. I Run slowly and almost trip multiple times. It is walking slow, but still managing to close in on me, and just before he catches me a surge of pain bolts through my leg as i step on something sharp, without time to look to see what it was, i realize i can again feel my legs, the grass and dirt beneath my feet. No time to stop and admire the scenery. I begin to run much faster and dash into the woods. It is very far behind so i turn, hoping to lose It, and I spot a large tree, and since i doubt i can take a single step more, I get behind it, and hope he doesn't find me. I turn to look around the tree, and it is nowhere to be found. With a sigh of relief i turn back. It is standing there, staring at me, with something in its hand. It lifts the object up high above his head. With no time to run I Move my arms above my head, close my eyes, and hold my breath. I have a moment to think, This is the end. An incredible pain rushes through my entire body, but I am still here, I am still alive. A few seconds passed, and no more, I am still alive. I open my eyes and look around. As my eyes adjust to the darkness, I see that I am in my room. It was just a nightmare. I let the embrace of safety grab hold of me, and with a sigh of relief drop back onto my bed, and hear a creak at the door.

title: Eternal Nightmare

question: What is the twist at the end of the story?

answer: The nightmare seems to be repeating itself.


text:
SENEGALESE SOLIDARITY PARTY (in French: _Parti de la Solidarité Sénégalaise_) was a political party in Senegal. PSS was created in January 1959. It was led by Ibrahima Seydou Ndaw, Cheikh Tidiane Sy and Oumar Diop.

PSS was dissolved after the elections same year, in which it failed to make any impact.

Sources

1.  Zuccarelli, François. _La vie politique sénégalaise (1940-1988)_. Paris: CHEAM, 1988.

Category:Political parties established in 1959 Category:Political parties in Senegal

title: Senegalese Solidarity Party

question: What is the Senegalese Solidarity Party in French?

answer: Parti de la Solidarité Sénégalaise

question: What year was it created?

answer: 1959

question: Why did the PSS dissolve?

answer: They didn't have much political impact.

question: Who led the PSS?

answer: It was led by Ibrahima Seydou Ndaw, Cheikh Tidiane Sy and Oumar Diop.


text:
The apartment complex had seen better times.  I surveyed the crumbling and stained brick around the edges of the building and sighed as I entered in the code to unlock the door. The bag in my hand rustled slightly in the breeze and I prayed that the door would open sooner rather than later. It was crisp out, just cold enough to be bitingly-chilly when the wind blew.  Clouds had begun to sneak into the sky, obscuring the fading sun and casting shadows on the pavement.  I walked through the rickety doorway into an even more rickety building.  Water damage had evidently taken its toll on some of the plaster and a few buckets were scattered on the ground collecting the raindrops.  I walked over down a hallway perpendicular to the entrance and entered through another door.  The handle stuck, and a little more force than usual was required to open the door.

I wasn’t even paying attention, my attention was focused on one singular thing.  I walked mechanically up two flights of stairs and down the end of another hallway.  It took everything I had not to walk faster the closer I got to my destination.  Casually, I sauntered down the hallway, trying so badly not to run the last few steps.  I slowed down and turned my body to face room 311, a place that I had been able to call home for just about two weeks now.  I stuck my key in the lock and damn near kicked down the door trying to get inside.  Finally, I jerked the door open and stepped inside my apartment.

My apartment consisted of three and half rooms, a bedroom, a kitchen, a living room-esque room, and a bathroom.  I consider my bathroom a half-room because the stupid room only has a shower.  When a man needs to take a bath, a shower is truly not an appropriate substitute. I walked over to my kitchen and opened the fridge.  Our fridge looked like it had once been stocked with a plethora of food, but then an angry dinosaur had come through and taken chomps out of everything.  Empty cold-cut bags were littered carelessly through the drawers; containers of juice were either bone-dry or extremely close to desiccation.

“Hi darling.”

I turned towards my bedroom and there you were, leaning on the doorway.  My heart skipped a beat, I’m pretty sure it does that every time I see you.  You were standing there in one of my flannels and a pair of my boxers. Your beautiful hair was messily draped around your shoulders as you stood there. The corners of your mouth quirked up into a soft smile and I felt warmth flow through my entire body. I came over and you kissed me, softly yet passionately.  I wrapped one arm around your back and with the other I caressed your face, kissing your lips back with equal intensity.

You grabbed my hand and took me into our bed.  I divested myself of my jacket, shirt, and pants and got under the covers with you.  I wrapped my arms around you and you laid your head on my chest, exhaling a little bit.  I traced the outline of your back with my spare arm and you writhed up next to me, kissing my collar bone.

“Baby, it’s Saturday, why did you get out of bed so early?” you asked me

I replied, “Baby, we needed milk. We were going to get hungry, and all we have is cereal. But I drank all the milk when I was high last night, so I went out and got more milk this morning.”

You giggled a little bit and kissed me on the lips.

“I love you,” you said smiling and nuzzling up closer to me.

“I love you too,” I said back.

We closed our eyes and just laid with each other, lost in our embrace.

---

this was a story I wrote a while ago but I just found it again and I thought the writing was decent, give me some feedback.  It's pretty gushy I know, but we can all use some sweetness in our lives

title: How I Imagined the Future

question: What city is this taking place in?

answer: That information can't be found

question: What is in the bag that the narrator is holding?

answer: Milk (and possibly other groceries)

question: What is the narrator's name?

answer: That information can't be found

question: Where is the narrator coming from?

answer: It is implied that the narrator is coming from a grocery store

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: The narrator returns to his apartment on a Saturday morning after picking up groceries. His romantic partner greets him and they lie in bed together. They say that they love each other.


text:
So I really love to write short stories, but I never feel confident enough to share them so comment and give me advice!

Beep Beep! I groggily rubbed my eyes and checked the time, 8:13, way too early for a Saturday. Oh well, I won't be able to fall back asleep now that the rays of the early mourning sun trickled into my bedroom. I picked up my phone, I had gotten a text from an unknown number it read:

C u soon my little angel- Dad

Must be a wrong number, I thought, my dad died when I was little. I don't remember him and I live alone with my mom. I just shrugged it off and got ready for the day.

I was still brushing my long brown hair as I walked down the stairs to the kitchen. "Mmmm Mom, that bacon smells delicious, is there some for me?" I entered the kitchen to the aroma of a homemade breakfast.

"Of corse Amber, I also made pancakes! Come sit down at the table with me." I helped her bring the food to the table and we both sat down to eat.

"This food is delicious Mom, what made you want to make such a big breakfast?"

She looked around nervously, "Can't I make a breakfast without you thinking there's some ulterior motive?!" She laughed and I smiled, I still had a feeling something was up.

I was right.

"Okay Amber you got me, I do have news and you're not going to like it." I raised and eyebrow as if to say 'okay what is it?' "We're moving away, again."

"WHAT?" I shouted as I stood up, "I thought you said we were going to finally settle down!"

Mom sighed, "I know what I said but I found a job in New York that I can't deny."

"So we're moving across the country for a job again? Why can't we just live in one place for over a year? I'm in High-school  now, it's already hard enough for me to make friends without being the new kid all the time." I stormed out of the kitchen up into my room slamming the door behind me.

***********************************************************

That night I had a very strange dream, I was in a bedroom that was on fire. I was a baby in a crib and I couldn't get out. Suddenly a man entered the room and came over to pick me up. He looked into my eyes and said with a frown, "You should have never been born, now the witches are angry and you must die," he began to pick me up but was struck from behind, he got up and turned around to see my mother. She took a burning piece of wood and struck him across the face with it. When she was sure he was dead she picked me up and ran out the door.

***********************************************************

I woke up sweating, it was 1:32 in the mourning and was still dark. My mom burst in the room, "I heard you scream," she panted, "are you okay?"

I burst out crying as I told her about my dream, she just sighed and sat on my bed. "I guess it's time I told you the story of your father. So about 20 years ago your father, Andrew was a part of some sort of group. The men of the group served these witches who provided them with wealth and safety, but they were to be married to one of the witches. Andrew didn't want to marry them so he left. We met a few years later, got married and had you. When you were still young something happened to Andrew, he started to act strange saying, the witches are angry the girl must die. I got scared when he tried to kill you with a steak knife so I took you and ran. I stayed with a friend for a while until Andrew found us and set the house on fire. Your dream was a memory of him trying to kill you. I've been on the run from him ever since."

I was silent for a few minutes, this was a lot to soak in at once, "I'm going to go take a walk." Mom nodded and I got up and left.

It was still dark out as I walked down the street, None of the steetlights were on and no one was around. My head was spinning with so many questions, where is he now? Will he hurt my friends? Then it hit me, the text was from my dad, he's here! I turned and started to run back to the house to tell mom but I ran into a man. As I got back on my feet and rubbed my head I started to apologize, "I'm so sorry sir, I-" I looked up at his face and gasped, "Dad?"

Well that's part 1, please tell me what you think. I'll have Part 2 up soon!

title: The Man With The Scar Part 1

question: Summarize Andrew's role in the story.

answer: Andrew is the Amber's father. He was part of a group that served witches but left instead of marrying one of the witches, as he was supposed to. He began acting strangely one day and tried to kill Amber. He tracked Amber and her mother down when they fled and set the house on fire. He sends Amber a letter promising to see her soon. Amber runs into him when she is out for a walk.

question: Summarize Amber's dream.

answer: In her dream, she is in a bedroom that's on fire. She is a baby in a crib. Her dad comes into the room and tries to kill her. Her mother strikes him with a piece of burning wood and then runs away with Amber.

question: Summarize Amber's feelings about her father.

question: Summarize the main source of tension in the story.

answer: Amber's father is trying to track Amber down and kill her. Though her mother has kept them on the run, he has managed to find them again.


text:
**BACKSTORY**

Thousands of years in the future, genetic engineering has advanced to the point where the upper-echelons of society can afford both immortality and perfect genetics. Bionic joints/muscles and steel bones give these super-rich ultra-strength, and even their children are astoundingly muscular and easily 100 times stronger than a child from today's standards. Societies of these bio-engineered humans become increasingly violent and elitist, and eventually leave Earth to inhabit another planet (presumably Mars) after developing an apocalyptic obsession with Greek and Roman culture/mythology. These people truly believe that they are Gods and “chosen ones”.

Our story revolves around a young man from this “New Planet” named Heracles. This man’s father (a super-child and 'Chosen One' living on Mars) had fallen in love with a girl named Sadie at a young age. Sadie was a “normal” human and outcast who, through a medical anomaly, was not born with these new freak-genetics and instead is similar to the people of the “Old World”, Earth. She is quite literally the most physically-weak person on the planet, although she is extremely intelligent.
After a secret relationship involving Heracles father that lasted many years, Sadie became pregnant with Heracles and eventually gives birth. Heracles resembles his mother, and is the smallest boy to be born on this new planet. Although he lacks physical strength, however, Heracles possesses an intelligence that far surpasses anyone else in the New World. Heracles later finds out that he received this gift of intelligence from his mother.
My story will pull many parallels to the story of Hercules, a man born of a God (Zeus) and a mortal (Alcmene).

***Virtus***

*Some have the strength to push a rock,*

*but the strongest of men have the strength to pull away*

*from someone they have loved for days.*

As the sun ascended atop the barren valley, I was awoken by the faint growling of a Jeep in the dusty, unreachable distance. My malnourished body shivered as I stared at the stone ceiling, hanging cold and bleak above my head. It took all of my strength to roll over and view the meager remains of the fire I had constructed the night before in an attempt to give warmth to my make-shift desert shelter. I sat up gingerly and paid thought to the acts Prometheus, a God that was revered and worshiped with an outright obsession in my culture. Most people on the New Planet viewed the gift of fire as an absolute wonder and marvel of unrivaled glory. I, however, viewed the guns and swords of man in bitterness. It seemed to me that these fire-forged weapons were borne into the world with the sole intention to destroy and conquer.  My humble residence was devoid of all luxuries save a Colt x87 Plasma Pistol and a weathered diary belonging to my father. Besides daily hunting and foraging, my days were mostly spent divulged in the delicate pages of the old book attempting to piece together the dusty and confusing events that had placed me in my current disposition. I clicked on the flashlight that laid patiently besides my bed and began to make out the fading letters my father had penned so many years ago:

**September 23, 2877**

Where I come from, everyone is strong. I can starkly remember the frigid air piercing my nostrils as I competed in the annual *Elit Virtus* competition at the tender age of eight years old. What a spectacle it was to witness boys of such youth achieving physical feats of Olympic grandeur. I was a marvel when it came to the Rolling Rock Event, handling a two-ton piece of stone as one would choose a rock to skip across still and patient waters. In the midst of the competition I recalled flipping the pages of my history book merely hours prior, reading of the children of the Old Planet. I felt nothing but pity for my cousins of a lost day; their strongest of my age were mortally brittle and utterly incomparable to the physical wonders my peers. Even the girls were stout, muscular, and offensively vascular in physical appearance. Truly I say every one of us were genetic marvels of *The Great Re-Engineering*.

Amidst the cascades of perspiration my concentration was pulverized by a pair of pretty, piercing eyes belonging to a girl named Sadie. She was astoundingly petite in contrast to the other girls, an anomaly that branded her as an outcast in a global village of physical behemoths. The Elders looking down upon Sadie with a shame so venomous that even the most casual of her acquaintances were questioned in confusion and disgust for their intentions to interact with the girl. There was not a soul at the school that would call themselves a friend of Sadie, and for this reason our veiled intimacy was kept all-the-more under wraps. To me, Sadie was different. She was most intelligent girl I had ever met. If I had known at the time the inevitable turmoil that would precipitate from the storm of our love, truly I tell you I would have walked away. Unfortunately, it wasn’t that easy.

title: The beginning of a short story I'm beginning to write, 'Virtus'.

question: In what time period does the story take place?

answer: Thousands of years in the future approximately in the year 2877

question: What is unique about the place from where the narrator comes from?

answer: The men are very strong who have strength competitions

question: Who did the narrator find beautiful with piercing eyes?

answer: The narrator concentrated on a girl named Sadie

question: Who is the main character?

answer: This information is not found. However it is the narrator.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: The author provides a backstory to their short story, "Virtus". The setting is thousands of years into the future where advanced genetic engineering provides immortality and perfect genetics.


text:
I am stuck forever between two duelists. I look to my left and I am staring down potentially no-longer-cold steel. To my right is the same except slightly different (which if I may interject puts the man to my right at a slight disadvantage) and slightly less dreadful as my right side is my dominant side. If I look forward or towards where my dorsal fin would sprout if I were born a dolphin it would appear that I am safe, perhaps on a walk –

“Now where am I walking?” I ask myself. Perhaps to fetch a glass of milk from the drug store although I reassure myself that that simply is not possible. I stopped purchasing from that drug store years ago as once they made a snide comment on the apparent matchiness of my scarf and shoe choices. Damn those Shandletons, haven’t they heard of accent colors?! After calming myself down, I entertain the idea that I was walking to the slightly-farther-but-in-the-opposite-direction drug store. The scenery did seem somehow familiar and made it feel like it was a Thursday. Truly a beautiful day for a Thursday. But after walking for a few minutes I come to the conclusion that there is no situation in which I would be walking to the place I previously surmised because I had not yet passed the eldery Wehldün couple. They always are meandering in the opposite direction when I make my visits to the drug store Thursday evenings. Maybe I had run out of milk or limes earlier than I had expected, as I had invited guests over earlier that week. Now that I am busy thinking about other things, I can’t recall if I actually did have guests or if I just dreamt that. Oh, don’t I sound like a lonely bag, dreaming about a party. But it is true, I haven’t had a guest beside family in months. Ah! that’s it! I must be headed to the slightly-farther-but-in-the-opposite-direction drug store to purchase extra milk and limes so I would have enough for the guests I’m going to invite to my house for a party! Brilliant. Truly a brilliant man.

Although I suppose the same would happen if I were to look left or right and simply shut my eyes or cover them with my mittened hands (which I would never do, the feeling of that shaggy wool on my bare, shivering skin upsets me far greater than the fear of death!) however, I know this to be a fact: Whether I am on a pleasant walk, or born a dolphin, or saying No! rapidly with my eyes shut like a vault when a communist asks for a loan I am still afraid. There is still the memory of those two bitter guns to my perimeters. There is still the chance that one of the duelists will finally build the courage not to shoot the other for victory but simply to rest his arm for a while until his next duel.

It must be tiring, you know. Holding that pose for 32 years now. Aiming precariously at my respective temples. And not even muttering a single word of banter! Applaudable, really. I could almost feel bad for the two of them. Then I stop and remember that the two of them are humans and, by the looks of it being about as old as I am, have probably done some nasty things.

For instance, I know for certain that the one to my left is an adulterous wolf. She nearly brags about it every day I see her (I say nearly because she finds ways to make it sound like she is talking about something else and if you weren’t listening with the keenest ears it would slip right over your skull) and she has no intentions of stopping. The husband knows by now I’m sure and probably considers himself too old to find another wife. The man to my right was a gambler and an alcoholic and I think I remember reading in the papers  that he once dabbled in organized crime. Also, he was adulterous. Also, he once hit a baby with his bare fist, although he claims he was falling and reached for something to stop his fall. That poor baby, having to be punched by such an ugly fist… Luckily, that was his left fist and he holds his guns with the right. I would end it myself if I had to stare at that ugly fist all my life. They once knew each other. I once knew both of them.

In a world with milk and limes and parties and drug stores and slightly-farther-but-in-the-opposite-direction drug stores I knew both of them. In that world I was a man of peace and ponderance. I had respect from people I knew, sometimes in strange forms. The passing smiles of the Wehldüns. The inadvertent concern of the Shandletons. My loving mother and my stern father, may he rest in peace. My youthful co-workers. In that world, I was happy. But in that world I was always afraid. I am stuck forever between two duelists.

Now where am I walking?

title: [RF] I am stuck forever between two duelists

question: What makes being stuck between two duelists such a big deal for the narrator?

answer: The narrator is on his way to a drug store to purchase a glass of milk, though he hasn't purchased anything at that store for years. He makes an observation about being stuck between two duelists who are, according to him, of dubious character. He claims the one to his left is an adulterous wolf while the one on his right is not just an adulterer but a drunk as well as a criminal. Ultimately, the narrator seems concerned about what being stuck between these two people would do to his reputation as a peace-loving and ponderous man.


text:
The 2010 CHATTANOOGA MOCS FOOTBALL TEAM represented the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga as a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon) in the 2010 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Mocs were led by second-year head coach Russ Huesman and played their home games at Finley Stadium. They finished the season 6–5 overall and 5–3 in SoCon play to tie for third place.

Schedule

[1]

[1]

title: 2010 Chattanooga Mocs football team

question: What was the 2010 Chattanooga Mocs football team?

answer: The 2010 Chattanooga Mocs football team was a football team representing the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga as a member of the Southern Conference in the 2010 NCAA Division football season.

question: Who coaches the 2010 Chattanooga Mocs?

answer: Russ Huesman

question: Where did the 2010 Chattanooga Mocs play home games?

answer: Finley Stadium

question: What is the Southern Conference?

answer: this article does not answer that question

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: The 2010 Chattanooga Mocs represented the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga as a member of the Southern Conference in the 2010 NCAA Division football season.


text:
SAMEH YOUSSEF (; born 1 February 1978), is a former Egyptian professional footballer. He played for Mokaweloon and Zamalek as a Centre Forward.[1]

Honours

ZAMALEK

-   EGYPTIAN PREMIER LEAGUE:

        2003-04

-   ARAB CHAMPIONS CUP:

        2003

-   SAUDI-EGYPTIAN SUPER CUP:

        2003

[1]

title: Sameh Youssef

question: Who is Sameh Youssef?

answer: a former Egyptian professional footballer

question: Who did Sameh Youssef play for?

answer: Mokaweloon and Zamalek

question: What position did Sameh Youssef play?

answer: Centre Forward

question: When was Sameh Youssef born?

answer: 1 February 1978

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: Sameh Youssef is a former Egyptian professional footballer. He played for Mokaweloon and Zamalek as a Centre Forward.


text: The man, who was known as Jim, woke up. He had a terrible headache. He tried to bring his hand to his forehead. Stuck. He tried again but nothing happened, as if he were tied up. He groaned and tried to focus on the situation. Damn, his head hurt. He looked at his body in shock, he was strapped in, lying on his back in a slightly tilted angle on the back seat of a car. Of course, he had been sent out to follow three apparent mafiosi but he'd somehow managed to get strapped shut back here, by probably one of them, with simple seat belts. Where was that bastard? He moved his head around in the small angle that he was able to. He was gone, they had crashed. He couldn't look outside from here. He tried to move, but the crash had only strapped him in tighter, the seat belts wouldn't stretch anymore. Had they just forgot about him? He tried to move more. A sudden pinch in his left hand. He swore. Painfully tilting his head, he looked at it. A small shard of glass stuck out. He looked around a little better. All the windows were broken and a long stick of hard metal stuck out between the two front seats. Also, there were many tiny holes in the back seat, what a waste of a car. He moved, more vigorously, not minding the pain the various glass shards cost him. “Hey!” He shouted. “Help!” But no response, instead a smell of fire. Jim's eyes widened and he looked at the front of the car. The car was tilted so that he could see it. The hood was gone and the engine was wrecked. He knew how they were supposed to work and this one was missing a lot of pieces, yet it was still running with an annoying slap slap slap sound. Worse, what was left of the turbine was on fire. Right next to the gas tank and spreading. This is bad, Jim thought, terrible. He twisted and turned as far as he could, panicking. His life depended on it, the glass sticking out of his legs and torso were suddenly insignificant. Finally, the seat belt closest to his head snapped. New hope arose, he could now move his arms again. If he got out, he could tell Mr. Y what had happened. He sat upright and brought his hands to the seat belt around his waist. He swore again. It wouldn't come loose. He was already crying from the smoke in the cabin. He poked his head as far through the window behind him as he could. “Help! Anybody!” He yelled, but there was nothing. Nothing but fire and car wrecks along the long way to Turin. He heard a hissing noise, like a serpent, and he looked back at the engine. His pupils dilated.

title: Imagine this happens on a long, empty road in Turin. (feedback would be appreciated)

question: Was the main character in a car crash?

answer: Yes.

question: Were there more people in the car with him?

answer: It is implied that there were at some point.

question: Is the car going to catch on fire?

answer: it is implied that it will catch fire.

question: Will he make it out alive?

answer: It is implied that he dies.

question: Where was he going?

answer: Information not found.

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: The main character was sent to follow three mafiosos and woke up strapped in a crashed car. He was injured but trying to escape as he saw the fire approaching. While he was frantically trying to get out he heard a hissing sound and his pupils dilated.


text:
PETITIONING INSTRUCTIONS

Petition download at bottom of page.

PLEASE READ CAREFULLY & ENTIRELY BEFORE YOU START PETITIONING

Thank you for doing whatever you can do to help the Libertarian Party of Illinois (LPIL) candidates achieve ballot access for the November 2020 General Election. Your volunteer signatures mean more this year than ever before.

Although the petition drive legally starts on Tuesday, March 24, please do NOT petition in public for as long as the Shelter in Place directive is in place.

However, please gather signatures of Illinois registered voters in private—from friends, family members, etc.—from whomever you can safely gather signatures.

While that alone probably won’t be enough signatures to meet current statutory ballot access requirements, it will be important to show that LPIL members made a serious effort to gather what signatures we could, if we have to file a lawsuit to gain access to the November 2020 ballot.

A copy of the LPIL 2020 petition for our statewide candidates ONLY is Here. The petition must be printed on white letter size (8.5” x 11”) paper. (We have other, non-statewide candidates who are trying to get on the ballot, but those candidates, unfortunately, have separate petitions that will be on lpillinois.org as soon as possible.)

Please ask everyone you can to sign the petition, but please ask if they are a registered voter first. A signer should sign their signatures, NEATLY print their name, write their residence street address or Rural Route Number at which they are registered to vote (IMPORTANT: the address needs to match their residential address in the State Board of Elections database), their City, Town or Village and their County. All five data items must be included on the petition.

You can sign a petition for which you are the circulator.

When you are done gathering signatures on a petition sheet(s), you must have your petition sheet notarized by an Illinois Notary Public. At the bottom of each sheet, while you can fill out your name, street or RR address, city, county and state information ahead of time, you MUST sign your name on the Circulator’s Signature line ONLY when in front of the Notary Public. All petition sheets must be signed by the petition circulator for that sheet and be notarized.

VERY IMPORTANT: Please report to Bill Redpath at bill.redpath@lp.org on regular basis the number of signatures that you possess. It is important for us to know how many signatures are out there.

Also, please don’t let your signatures pile up in your possession. Please mail them frequently to Bill at 1303 Westley Lane, West Dundee, IL 60118-3545. Please email Bill or call him at 703-864-2132 with any questions or concerns. Thank you for helping make this petition drive a success this year.

Download 2020 Statewide Petition (.pdf)

Easiest way to help

If 2,000 Libertarians across the state just got one petition sheet filled out we would complete the petition drive quickly and it would be free.

-   STEP 1: Download the 2020 Petition sheet.
-   STEP 2: Collect 15 signatures including yours (from registered voters in IL).
-   STEP 3: Get your petition sheet(s) notarized at your local bank for free.
-   STEP 4: Mail your completed and notarized sheet to:
    Ballot Access
    Libertarian Party of Illinois
    1303 Westley Lane
    West Dundee, IL 60118-3545

question: What is the petition for?

answer: The petition is to achieve ballot access for the November 2020 General Election.

question: Who is the petition by?

answer: The petition is by the Libertarian Party of Illinois.

question: What is needed along with signing the petition?

answer: Along with the signatures, it will also have to be shown that the LPIL members made serious efforts in gathering the signatures.

question: How can you sign the petition?

answer: The signer has to be a registered voter first. They can then sign the petition with their name printed along with their residential street address at which they are registered to vote.

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer:
The Libertarian Party of Illinois (LPIL) has started a petition to gain access to achieve ballot access for the November 2020 General Election.

In order to sign the petition, you would have to be a registered voter. The signer has to sign the petition along with their name and residence address printed and then get it notarized by an Illinois Notary Public.