text:
Hello all,

This is a short story I wrote way back in school for a piece of coursework, now lightly tweaked and finessed. Its the first time I've ever shared my writing, so I hope you enjoy it!
___________________________________________________________

The Rescue

  It was a rainy day in 1943. The ground was covered in standing water, and all operations at RAF Leuchars, a coastal Command base in Scotland, had been cancelled. All except one.

Somewhere over the North Sea at 22,000 feet, a lone DeHavilland Mosquito reconnaissance plane roared defiantly through the rain, homeward bound.

"Not a moment too soon", thought the Pilot, Squadron Leader George Smythe, as he tried unsuccessfully for the sixth time to make contact with the airfield over the wireless. His mission to photograph the German defences in a Norwegian Fjord had been a total washout, obscured by the low, thick cloud.

“Dash this weather,” he muttered to himself, knowing that the storm was disrupting his radio reception. Shivering, he huddled lower in his Irvin jacket and peered through the windscreen, straining to see though the driving rain that reduced visibility to virtually nothing, and constantly checking his compass to make sure he was on the right course.

Suddenly, the starboard Rolls Royce V-12 engine coughed and backfired.  With an ear-splitting bang, it finally seized and exploded, shredding a large portion of the wing. Smythe instinctively ducked as pieces of debris bounced off the cockpit and smashed the canopy, and fought in vain with controls as a severed aileron trailed uselessly in the slipstream. As an oil fire from the shattered fluid lines began to take hold in the remains of the wooden wing structure, the plane slowly rolled onto its back and went into a dive it would never come out of.

“Mayday, Mayday, this is Red One going down, repeat, I am going down,” Smythe frantically yelled into the radio before, struggling against dive-induced the g-forces, he heaved back the battered canopy and bailed out. To his relief his parachute opened with a mighty jerk, leaving him to watch as the stricken Mosquito plunged into the dark swirling sea with an almighty splash. He knew with a sickening feeling that he would be following it.

He knew it was going to be unpleasant, but nothing could have prepared him for the shock of just how cold the water was – indeed, it was like ‘being stabbed with a thousand knives’, to quote the phrase he had so often heard from fellow pilots who had ditched in the sea and survived. As he went under, he hastily unbuckled his parachute to prevent it enveloping and drowning him. Gasping at the sheer cold, he swam to distance himself from the jellyfish-like parachute, whilst struggling to remove the Irvin jacket that was now rapidly multiplying in weight.

For perhaps an hour, maybe two – he had no way of telling how long for his watch had stopped in the water – he floated in his Mae-West life vest, tossed about by the angry waves and aware that each further minute he spent in the frigid water significantly reduced his chances of survival. Surely he must succumb to hypothermia soon? He could no longer feel his hands or feet, and delirium began to set in as his body temperature dropped. Was he hearing things now, or was that a drone coming from up above? It was- it was an aircraft! A Short Sunderland search and rescue aircraft materialised out of the gloom, and he hurriedly fumbled with his frozen fingers to remove the maritime flare from his lifejacket pocket. He fired it just in time, and as the dull orange projectile streaked across the sky an inflatable lifeboat appeared from the back of the Sunderland. It descended towards him, landing with a loud slap on the water a few yards away - he was saved! Clambering aboard, he waved a grateful greeting as the huge search and rescue aircraft circled overhead, and watched as it turned and lumbered back to its port. He settled down in the lifeboat, safe in the knowledge that the crew would have passed on his position to the Navy.

Sure enough, a little over an hour later, a trail of smoke appeared, and slowly revealed itself to be a Royal Navy cruiser. As it drew nearer, he could see men running about on the decks with binoculars, and he could hear crisp commands echoing across the water. As the cruiser drew alongside and gradually slowed to a halt, a greeting rang out from the deck.

“Are you Smythe?” it asked.

 “That's me!,” he yelled back, “I say, how about getting me out of the drink?”

“Hold on, grab this,” the voice replied, as a youthful sailor ran across the deck, leaned over the railing and fastened some rigging to the rail. With a practiced heave, he threw the other end over the side. No sooner had the rigging tumbled into the water, unraveling as it went, Smythe grabbed hold of it for dear life before the waves could whip it away again. Tying a securing strap from the lifeboat to the end, he proceeded to haul himself towards the ship with some difficulty, hampered  by his saturated clothes and numb limbs. Reaching the railing, a waiting group of sailors grabbed his arms and helped pull him over, whereupon he flopped to the deck like a wet fish, exhausted by his exertion and the cold. Slowly dragging himself into a sitting position, he watched as the sailors proceeded to recover the rigging and attached lifeboat, manhandling it onto the deck.

“Gosh, thanks for all your effort chaps,” Smythe congratulated them through chattering teeth, “it was jolly cold out there! Now, I believe I have a date with a blanket and a rather large cup of tea ”…

title: [HF] The Rescue

question: Summarize the climatic event in the story.

answer: Squadron leader George Smythe was piloting the lone DeHavilland mosquito reconnaissance plane over the North Sea on his way home during stormy weather. He made several attempts to reach out to the airfield but to no avail due to the terrible weather. Suddenly, the plane's V-12 engine exploded, which affected a portion of the plane's wing, and began spiraling downwards into the sea. In a panic, Smythe called out for help through the wireless radio before diving out of the aircraft into the ice-cold sea. Unfortunately for Smythe, no one came to his rescue for about an hour or so and the ice-cold water began to slow his heart rate, his body temperature dropped, and delirium set in. Soon enough, a rescue team arrived and saved Smythe from the jaws of death, providing him a lifeboat while he awaited further rescue from the Navy.


split: train

text:
Pastor Gene Lingerfelt of the Faith Christian Center in Arlington, Texas, reportedly unloaded on men who play video games on Xbox during a sermon a couple of months ago.

The video to the sermon has recently been password protected on Vimeo, but the Friendly Atheist provided a transcript of Lingerfelt's scolding:

  "And don’t even get me started on the Xbox. And all of that. If you have calluses on your thumbs, you’re a loser. If you’re more than 18 years old and you’re still jackin’ around with that stuff...

  "I curse that spirit in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

  "There are young gals in this church. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful young gals, and you know why they can’t get a date? ‘Cause that retarded spirit got onto young men. Amen.

  "Some of you women, you have my permission -- blame me. He come home -- I’m talking about your husband come home, and that’s gone. And don’t just throw it in the trash -- he’ll go fish it out -- you gotta put in the bathtub full of water before you throw it in the trash. Now don’t do that while it’s plugged in…"

Lingerfelt supported a shutdown of the federal government in 2013 and made homophobic remarks about President Barack Obama in some tweets that were later deleted, noted the Dallas Observer:

  "The #shutdown is what America gets for TWICE electing a petulant child Marxist drama queen for Pres. (Yes, I used 'queen' on purpose.)"

  "With Federal Government shut down, does that mean that my tax dollars will stop being sent to the #Al-Qaeda #terrorists in #Syria?"

  "With Federal Government shut down, does that mean that my tax dollars will stop being sent to the #PlannedParenthood #terrorists?"

  "W/Fed Govt shut down, does that mean that #NASA will no longer be able to work at making Muslims feel better about their Stone Age culture?"

  "With Federal Government shut down, does that mean the Department of Education will have to STOP making homosexual porn flicks?"

  "Can we shut down the Federal Government until January 2017 when the petulant Marxist man-child has to stop taking Government-paid vacations?"

  "When you have a petulant teenage daughter--like Obozo--sometimes an adult just has to take away the car keys."

  "Democrats can't have rally. KKK rally at Gettysburg Military Park canceled due to gov't shutdown."

  "Liberals are SO stupid, they are now calling NOT spending money (via Govt shut down) 'terrorism.' But Muslim rape, murder & bombing isn't.."

  "Had some non-working Govt-dependent Millennial liberals drop me today & send nasty tweets. Oh well, when you make your own $ you don't care."

  "Pres O isn't a tough guy. He's the metrosexual who was harassed in school. Now he has power and wants payback."

The Faith Christian Center website sends a more contradictory message:

  "No matter what you are facing or going through, God has a wonderful plan for your life. We’ll help you discover that plan, and we’ll teach you how to apply God’s Word to your every day life. The Bible has THE ANSWER--Jesus Christ--to all of life’s challenges! We have unshakeable faith in an unchanging God, and we believe that with God all things are possible.

  "At Faith Christian Center, you will experience God's presence and you will hear life-changing messages. Click here to check out our services from last Sunday."

Sources: Friendly Atheist, Faith Christian Center, Dallas Observer / Photo credit: Faith Christian Center/Vimeo via Friendly Atheist

question: Where is this article published?

answer: Unclear - possibly the Dallas Observer but this isn't entirely clear (and the Observer is cited as a source)

question: Who is the intended audience?

answer: Likely individuals in Texas / in the area, and who have some interest in religious issues given the subject matter

question: What is the stance taken by the author?

answer: An explicit stance is not taken, but the author appears to want to show the pastor as ridiculous and hypocritical, particularly by citing the Faith Christian Center's website in contrast to the pastor's messaging.

question: Where do the events take place?

answer: Likely between 2013-16 and no later - some of Gene Lingerfelt's tweets that are cited refer to the Federal government shutdown, but the article is written with the presumption that Obama was still president

question: To what extent is politics relevant and how does it play out in the article?

answer: The article cites Gene Lingerfelt's tweets which show Lingerfelt's strongly right-wing views.

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: Pastor Gene Lingerfelt from Arlington, Texas, has criticised men who play video games during a sermon. He also supported a shutdown of the federal government in 2013 and made homophobic remarks about then-President Obama, expressing strongly bigoted views on Twitter. His message contradicts what his church's website appears to espouse.


text:
[Doe Network]
[ALT TXT]
__

NAME: Joan Gay Croft
CASE CLASSIFICATION: Endangered Missing
MISSING SINCE: April 10, 1947
LOCATION LAST SEEN: Woodward, Woodward County, Oklahoma

Physical Description

DATE OF BIRTH: October 28, 1942
AGE: 4 years old
RACE: White
GENDER: Female
HEIGHT: 3'5"
WEIGHT: 42 lbs.
HAIR COLOR: Blond/Strawberry
EYE COLOR: Blue
NICKNAME/ALIAS: Joan Gay
DISTINGUISHING MARKS/FEATURES: chicken pox scar on forearms

Identifiers

DENTALS: Not Available
FINGERPRINTS: Not Available
DNA: Available

Clothing & Personal Items

CLOTHING: Pajamas
JEWELRY: Unknown
ADDITIONAL PERSONAL ITEMS: Unknown

Circumstances of Disappearance

On April 9, 1947 a giant tornado ripped through the town of Woodward. It traveled on the ground for 221 miles at a speed of 46 miles per hour, smashing everything in its path. It has been described as one of the 10 most destructive tornadoes of all time, killing 185 people and injuring 720.

Joan Gay's mother was killed by the giant storm, and her father, H.O. Croft, was critically injured. He was transferred to an Oklahoma City hospital. Joan Gay, with a splinter through her leg, and her sister, were found to have less life-threatening injuries than others seeking care, and were ushered to the hospital basement to wait as more critical injuries were treated.

Her sister, four years older, reported that two men dressed in khaki work clothes came into the basement and carried Joan Gay away. Apparently due to the turmoil of the night, no one paid any attention to the little girl's protests. For a time it was thought perhaps the child was taken elsewhere for medical treatment. But as days passed following the disaster and damage was assessed and residents accounted for, Joan Gay did not surface on hospital lists or with any family members.

The incident received nationwide attention, but Joan Gay never was found

Investigating Agency(s)

AGENCY NAME: Woodward Police Department
AGENCY CONTACT PERSON: Billy Parker
AGENCY PHONE NUMBER: (580)256-2280
AGENCY E-MAIL: N/A
AGENCY CASE NUMBER: 01819-16

AGENCY NAME: OSBI Northwest Regional Office
AGENCY CONTACT PERSON: ASAC David Sauls
AGENCY PHONE NUMBER: (580)256-1771
AGENCY E-MAIL: N/A
AGENCY CASE NUMBER: N/A

AGENCY NAME: Enid Police Department
AGENCY CONTACT PERSON: Sgt. Bryan Hart
AGENCY PHONE NUMBER: (580)242-7000
AGENCY E-MAIL: N/A
AGENCY CASE NUMBER: N/A

NCIC CASE NUMBER: Unknown
NAMUS CASE NUMBER: 32412

Information Source(s)

NamUs
KFOR
Enid News
The Daily Oklahoman
News OK

Admin Notes

_ADDED: 4/4/08; LAST UPDATED: 10/26/17_

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

QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? Please contact appropriate member of the Area Team

** LISTED INFORMATION IS FROM THE TIME OF DISAPPEARANCE.

RETURN HOME

question: What happened to Joan Gay?

answer: Joan Gay disappeared after a giant tornado on April 9, 1947.

question: What are the circumstances of the disappearance of Joan?

answer: Joan and her sister were ushered to the hospital basement to wait as more critical injuries were treated, and two men came there and carried Joan away.

question: What happened to Joan's parents?

answer: Joan's mother was killed, and her father was critically injured.

question: Was Joan injured?

answer: Joan had a splinter through her leg.

question: Write a ~6 sentence summary.

answer: On April 9, 1947, one of the 10 most destructive tornadoes ever killed 185 people and injured 720. Joan Gay was 4 years old girl whose mother was killed, and her father was critically injured. Joan and her 4 years older sister had less life-threatening injuries than others, so they were ushered to the hospital basement to wait as more critical injuries were treated. Her sister reported that two men carried Joan Gay away. For a time it was thought Joan Gay might be taken elsewhere for medical treatment, but it turned that she disappeared. She was never found.


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Poteet Architects in San Antonio, Texas recently constructed this shipping container house for a local client to use as a tiny guest house in her artist community. The plan is to also use it as a summer house, an art house and for entertaining. The owner enjoys the shipping container house for its uncluttered, sunlit appeal and the wonderful blue color.

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The shipping container was chosen specifically for its bright color. Shipping containers are a readily available resource for building because they are usually abandoned by shipping companies. The architects mounted the container on recycled telephone poles, and the floor and walls were covered with bamboo. Sliding doors, windows, heating, air conditioning and an 8 foot by 4 foot bathroom with a composting toilet and red sheet metal walls were also added. A garden storage room was also added at the end of the container, which retains its original access doors. A patio with a cantilevered overhang was added to the front of the house and a rooftop garden with a drip system was installed by Madrone Landscape Architecture.

Poteet Architects is a 12-year-old firm based in San Antonio, Texas. Jim Poteet opened the office with the hope that the firm could further the sustainable revitalization of downtown San Antonio. The firm’s portfolio of completed work includes residential, commercial and institutional projects, but is perhaps best known for the sensitive adaptive reuse of existing buildings and a fresh, rigorous approach to modern interior design. The Container Guest House won a 2010 Design Award from AIA San Antonio.

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_Photos courtesy of Poteet Architects, LP_

BY CHRISTINA NELLEMANN FOR THE [TINY HOUSE BLOG]

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Simply enter your name and email below to learn more about tiny houses and stay up to date with the movement.

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question: Who constructed the shipping container house?

answer: Poteet Architects constructed the shipping container home.

question: Why did the owner want a shipping container house?

answer: The owner wanted to use it as a summer house, an art house, and for entertaining.

question: How large is the shipping container home?

answer: Not answered

question: Who started Poteet Architects?

answer: Jim Poteet opened the office.

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: This article details a home made out of a shipping container that was built by Poteet Architects in San Antonio, Texas.


text:
SALCEDO is an unincorporated community in Scott County, in the U.S. state of Missouri.[1]

Salcedo was founded in the 1890s, and named after Juan Manuel de Salcedo, a Spanish colonial politician.[2]

[1]

[2]

title: Salcedo, Missouri

question: What is Salcedo?

answer: Salcedo is an unincorporated community in Scott County, in the U.S. state of Missouri.

question: When was Salcedo founded?

answer: Salcedo is founded in the 1890s.

question: Who is Salcedo named after?

answer: Salcedo was named after Juan Manuel de Salcedo.

question: Who was Juan Manuel de Salcedo?

answer: Juan Manuel de Salcedo was a Spanish colonial politician.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: Salcedo is an unincorporated community in Scott County, in the U.S. state of Missouri. It is founded in the 1890s.


text:
And the sky filled with the air of remorse, longing to be covered by the arms of the sun. Perhaps, one must enter from above, into the realm of possibilities. Where a single boom brings about the creation of the Earth, where an inventory of items can manifest themselves spontaneously with only a spark. But what is this I hear? Something that I believe to sound like language, filled with the illusion of structure and coherence. But I do not understand it. Deprived of sleep, I wade through the ocean of a desert, the sand filling my lungs with that of dread and decay.

*My heart aches, my mouth hungers, my eyes weep, my mind in ruins.
 I continue to wade through the thick gaze of the desert, like a child looking for his lost mother.
Again, I hear a voice.*

The last of my water is that of days. Yet the sun gives life to this world, its heat radiating from the skin of the Earth. Its life my demise, as it slowly boils me alive. As I feel the destruction of my body in this world, my mind searches for another place to call home.

*It cries in agony, my mind. As I search, this desert of lost time.
The grains of sand billowing away into that of circles and stars, of people’s faces that I yet to see.
Again, I hear a voice.*

It begins to dawn on me, that my life is slowly fading away. Like my footprints in the sand. I do not remember how my body found its way here, but now here is where I wander. Finding myself lost to what is mine, as the voices slowly begin to eat my mind. Where is there to look for the shade of a tree? When the only shade is that of the stars? It begins to get louder, and louder. I begin to grasp at the sound, my arms stretched towards the heavens, covering my body with its warmth. What are they saying, what should I know?

*My heart begins to pound against my chest, as it cries for attention.  But my body has forsaken me.
My heart, before full of warmth and life, now a reminder of a world I do not wish to wander.
Again, I hear a voice.*

What can you tell me? What is there to know? The voices, they search for me as I wander. As the sun leaves me, I now say my hello to that the moon. Its light bringing a way to search for home. The warmth soon begins to leave the grains underneath my feet. My body sighs in relief, my tears finally returning to my eyes. Now, as I gaze. I see that I am not alone, the sky a blanket in which I can huddle. The voices return now, as the gaze of the desert is unveiled.  The clap of thunder, unleashed, across the fabric of the sky, as the stallions of time come to me in my mind. My body goes to doze, and I begin to slowly drift into the heavens.

*Your heart aches, as your mind is lost. Lost in the skies for where you now look.
But I come to you here, as a messenger of the Gods in which you cry for.
If you wish to understand, all you have to do is spread the message of their words.*

The voices did not return. My body now a vessel to tell the Word of the Gods. I lay upon the foundation of their laws, surrounded by their divinity – their words turned to symbols, symbols that I do not control.

title: I’ll Come Running, In the Ocean of Time

question: What does the story say about desert survival?

question: What does the story say about the setting of the story?

answer: The story is set in the scorching desert of lost time. The desert is devoid of trees and the only shade is provided by the stars. There is no water, and the narrator knows they will die here.

question: What does the story say about the narrator?

answer: The narrator somehow ended up in the desert of lost time but doesn't know how they got there. Sleep-deprived, hungry, tired, lungs filled with sand and running out of water, the narrator knows they are dying. The narrator is probably delirious because they keep hearing voices they don't understand. Nearing death, the narrator finally understands the voices. They tell the narrator to spread the message of the Word of the Gods.


text:
“WHEN YOU'RE YOUNG AND IN LOVE” is a song composed by Van McCoy which first became a Top 40 hit single for the Marvelettes in 1967: a remake by the Flying Pickets would reach the UK Top Ten in 1984.

Original version: Ruby & the Romantics

Background

The first recording of the song was by RUBY & THE ROMANTICS; like all the group's singles on Kapp Records the track was produced by label a&r head Allen Stanton. Released in September 1964, “When You're Young...” reached the Top Five in Honolulu but otherwise failed to register strongly in any US market reaching #48 on the _Billboard_ Hot 100 in November 1964. Ruby & the Romantics would score one subsequent Hot 100 placing, with “Does He Really Care For Me” (#87). However, “When You're Young...” was a bigger hit in Canada, peaking at #25 on the RPM “Top Tracks”.

Personnel

-   Lead vocal by Ruby Nash
-   Background vocals by Ed Roberts, George Lee, Ronald Mosley, and Leroy Fann
-   Instrumentation by Unknown

The Marvelettes version

Background

The song was covered in 1967 by the Marvelettes with the track - produced by James Dean and William Weatherspoon - reaching #23 on the Hot 100 that June; its R&B peak was #9.[1] Although not one of the Marvelettes' very biggest US hits, “When You're Young and in Love” became the only record by the group to achieve hit status in the UK with a #13 peak in July 1967. The track is also one of the last Marvelettes' singles to feature Gladys Horton although the lead is by Wanda Young; Horton would only appear, and lead, on the following two B-Sides. Besides Horton and veteran Marvelette Katherine Anderson, Rogers' vocal backing on “When You're Young...” features Motown's premier session singers the Andantes while the original instrumental backing on the track by the Funk Brothers was augmented by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.

Personnel

-   Lead vocal by Wanda Young Rogers
-   Background vocals by Gladys Horton and Katherine Anderson and The Andantes: Marlene Barrow, Jackie Hicks and Louvain Demps
-   Instrumentation by The Funk Brothers and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra

Flying Pickets version

The song had its strongest chart impact via a 1984 cover version by the Flying Pickets, produced by John Sherry. It reached number 7 in the UK.[2]

Other versions

In the autumn of 1975 competing versions of “When You're Young and in Love” by Ralph Carter and the Choice Four charted R&B with the Carter version reaching #37 on the R&B charts where the Choice Four peaked at #45; both versions were also minor Hot 100 crossovers with respective peaks of #95 (Carter) and #91 (Choice Four). Ralph Carter would promote his version with a performance on the April 3, 1976 episode of his _Good Times_ sitcom; his recording was produced by Norman Bergen and Reid Whitelaw. The Choice Four version was produced by the song's composer Van McCoy.

A 1979 remake of “When You're Young and in Love” is notable as the debut single for Stacy Lattisaw and also for being produced by composer Van McCoy; however the McCoy produced album _Young and in Love_ proved neither a critical or commercial success upon release in July 1979 - the month of McCoy's death - with the “When You're Young...” single barely registering on the R&B charts at #91.

Gitte made a recording of “When You're Young and in Love” on 23 October 1964. The song has also been recorded by Donny and Marie - as “(When You're) Young and in Love” - and The Jets for their 1987 album _Magic_.

[1]

[2]

title: When You're Young and in Love

question: What genre of song is When You're Young and in Love?

answer: R&B

question: List the artists who recorded versions of When You're Young and in Love.

answer: Ruby & The Romantics, The Marvelettes, Flying Pickets, Ralph Carter and the Choice Four, Stacy Lattisaw, Gitte, Donny and Marie, and The Jets

question: Whose version of When You're Young and in Love was the highest charting?

answer: The remake by the Flying pickets was the most successful, reaching number 7 in the UK.

question: Who wrote When You're Young and in Love?

answer: Van McCoy

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: When You're Young and in Love is a song written by Van McCoy and first recorded by Ruby & The Romantics in 1964. It was covered by arists including the Marvelettes, with the highest charting version being the 1984 cover by the Flying Pickets.


text:
JERUSALEM — Israeli doctors were among the first to set up emergency hospitals in Haiti after its devastating 2010 earthquake. Israel also swiftly dispatched water-purification experts to Japan following the 2011 tsunami and trauma experts to Boston after the recent marathon bombings.

Yet despite such high-profile disaster assistance, Israel ranks near the bottom among leading free-market economies in providing foreign aid to developing nations.

Along with Mexico and Chile, Israel gives the least as a percentage of gross national income among members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Israel gives one-tenth of the U.N.'s target rate, lagging behind Turkey, Poland, Slovakia and even Greece during its debt crisis, according to OECD data.

On an individual basis, Israelis are also less likely to send donations abroad compared with citizens of most European countries and the U.S., according to a study by Hebrew University’s Center for the Study of Philanthropy in Israel. Over the last decade, 0.1% of individual charitable funds raised in Israel went to international relief, compared with 48% in Belgium, 13% in Italy and 5% in the U.S.

In an interview Wednesday in Jerusalem, Hillel Schmid, head of the center, told The Times that Israelis can and should give more if they want to be accepted as global citizens.

Q: Why don’t Israelis give more internationally?

A: Israelis in general are not so generous in giving, internationally and even inside Israel. People are suspicious about giving money. There’s an anti-philanthropist feeling. Even though Israel was built by philanthropists, today surveys show that Israelis think philanthropies are self-interested, political and wasteful.

And though Israelis see themselves as part of the larger world, they see themselves as beneficiaries, not contributors. Israelis are a little bit selfish in this way. We’ve been educated through the years to expect that money will be imported from the Jewry in the rest of the world, like New York and Los Angeles.

Q: Is it surprising that Israelis don’t give more considering the emphasis on charity in Judaism and Israel’s roots as a socialist state?

A: There’s a proverb, “The poor come first.” It means you should take care of your own people first before giving money to others and running overseas. It would be strange for an Israeli to send money to Africa when they feel there are still so many projects here.

Q: So do Israelis give a lot of money domestically?

A: No. Individual philanthropy inside Israel — for things like social programs, education, art, culture — is less than 0.7% of the GDP. In the U.S., it’s about 2.5%. Though Israel is not socialist anymore, people still think it’s the role of the government to provide these things, not philanthropy. They feel, “We pay taxes. We serve in the army. Why should we give more?”

Total philanthropy in Israel is $5.5 billion a year, but much of that money originates from (foreign sources). We are the biggest importer of philanthropy money in the world. Ten years ago, 72% of Israel’s philanthropy came from overseas. Today it’s about 62%.

Q: Is the problem that Israelis simply can’t afford it?

A: No. For several years the government has been declaring almost every day how strong the economy is. But the wealth of Israel is not reflected in the giving. They can afford to give much more. There was a recent report that there are 500 multimillionaires in Israel and several billionaires. Look at people like [American billionaires Bill] Gates and [Warren] Buffett and others who are giving their assets to generous foundations. You don’t find an Israeli who is giving away his capital like that to help a hospital in South Africa.

Q: Yet internationally, the Israeli government was more much aggressive about giving in past decades. When it was still a developing nation itself in the 1950s and 1960s, Israel’s track record for providing technical assistance and sending doctors or agriculture experts to Africa rivaled larger developed nations. What changed?

A: First, we don’t have political relations anymore with most of the countries in Africa.

Q: True. And it was their decision to take part in the Arab boycott, so you can’t blame Israel for that.

A: Right. But back then, aid was seen as a government interest. Not anymore. The government today has no policy about philanthropy. But I think it should because Israel is not in good shape in terms of legitimacy, the Palestinian territories and all this stuff. You’ve seen the polls that rank Israel fourth as the most-hated country after Iran, Pakistan and North Korea. Philanthropy abroad is not only for ideological and humanitarian reasons, but there is some self-interest as well.

Q: Does that really work? Israel showered Africa with assistance in the hopes that it could forge diplomatic relationships, yet those countries still boycotted Israel.

A: I think it does. We are isolated in the world. We can actually legitimize the state of Israel as a part of the world family by giving more to support other people. But we need to develop a culture of giving. Education should start in elementary school. The Israeli rate for volunteerism is not very high, except in wars and disasters. And the government needs to do more to encourage philanthropy, such as providing better tax benefits.

Q: Is there any sense of national shame that Israel ranks so low in this area?

A: We don’t want to be last in terms of poverty or education, or to rank lower than Turkey or Greece in those areas. But I don’t think if you ask someone on the street, that they would say it bothers them that we don’t give more.

_edmund.sanders@latimes.com_

question: Where was there an earthquake in 2010?

answer: Haiti

question: What did Israeli doctors do in response?

answer: They set up hospitals.

question: What percentage of the gross national income does Israel give to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development?

answer: One-tenth of the U.N.'s target rate.

question: What percentage of individual charitable funds went to international relief over the past decade?

answer: 0.1%

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: This is an interview with Hillel Schmid, head of Hebrew University’s Center for the Study of Philanthropy in Israel. Schmid discusses the possible reasons why Israelis give less-both personally and as a nation-on an international scale. Some reasons include a weak economy and contentious political relations with countries that were formerly allies.


text:
HEALTH . TECH . CONNECT

Adapting new Digital Technology Solutions
to Deliver Smart Healthcare,
ubiquitous Mobile Connectivity,
enhanced patient-user experience
AND Community Wellness

Following the success of last year’s inaugural Halton FUTURES Innovation Summit & Awards, this year’s 2nd annual Innovation Summit event will shed light on how smart, innovative  technology solutions are transforming the delivery of healthcare services from the hospital ER to the clinic, and addressing the key challenges in our healthcare system so as to enhance the patient experience and wellness outcomes.

The future of socially driven innovation in healthcare is here, enabled by several advanced technologies such as mobile devices, cloud-based data analytics, internet-of-things (IoT), augmented and virtual reality imaging (AR/VR), 3D modeling and printing, and the emerging use of artificial intelligence (AI). These and other technologies are being leveraged at a remarkable pace to deliver smart, data-integrated solutions for enhanced patient-centered healthcare. Halton’s regional healthcare providers and physicians are seeking to deploy these solutions to patients and family members using mobile devices and real-time connectivity platforms such as telemedicine, with the goal of delivering exemplary patient care services in Halton Region, always.

SUMMIT SPEAKERS

Hear from top healthcare innovators, physician-entrepreneurs, academic researchers and technology business leaders from our local region who are collaborating, innovating and transforming digital healthcare as we know it, here in Ontario and globally.

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| [Picture]                         |                                   |
|                                 |                                   |
| DR. SANDEEP (SONNY) KOHLI MD      |                                   |
| FRCPC,                            |                                   |
| Co-Founder and Chief Medical      |                                   |
| Officer at Cloud Dx;              |                                   |
| Physician, Internal Medicine,    |                                   |
| Halton Healthcare                 |                                   |
|                                   |                                   |
| --------------------------------- |                                   |
| --------------------------------- |                                   |
| ------                            |                                   |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+

+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| [Picture]                         | [Picture]                         |
|                                 | ANDRE LEIDENHEIMER RUIZ SOLER    |
| NATHALIE LE PROHON                | Head of Enterprise Services       |
| Vice President, Healthcare       | Solution Strategy,                |
| Industry,                         | Microsoft Canada                 |
| IBM Canada                       |                                   |
|                                   | --------------------------------- |
| --------------------------------- | --------------------------------- |
| --------------------------------- | ------                            |
| ------                            |                                   |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+

INVITED SESSION SPEAKERS

+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| [Picture]                         | [Picture]                         |
| MARK WALTON                      | DR. SHARIQ KHOJA                  |
| Vice President Strategy,          | CEO,                              |
| Partnerships and Performance,     | Tech4Life Enterprises             |
| Halton Healthcare                 |                                   |
|                                   | --------------------------------- |
| --------------------------------- | --------------------------------- |
| --------------------------------- | ------                            |
| ------                            |                                   |
|                                   | [Picture]                         |
| [Picture]                         | DR. EDWARD SYKES                |
| JOHN BROWN                        | Director, Centre for Mobile       |
| Director, Additive Manufacturing  | Innovation                        |
| & 3D Printing                    | Sheridan College                  |
| Javelin Technologies             |                                   |
|                                   | --------------------------------- |
| --------------------------------- | --------------------------------- |
| --------------------------------- | ------                            |
| ------                            |                                   |
|                                   | [Picture]                         |
| [Picture]                         | DR. GILLIAN MULVALE               |
| PATRICIA SPADAFORA                | Director - Health Services        |
| Director of the Centre for Elder  | Management MBA Program            |
| Research                          | McMaster University - DeGroote   |
| Sheridan College                  | School of Business                |
|                                   |                                   |
| --------------------------------- | --------------------------------- |
| --------------------------------- | --------------------------------- |
| ------                            | ------                            |
|                                   |                                   |
| [Picture]                         | [Picture]                         |
| DR. FAHAD ALAM                   | DR. CLYDE MATAVA                |
| University of Toronto -Faculty of | University of Toronto – Faculty   |
| Medicine,                         | of Medicine,                      |
| Sunnybrook Health Sciences       | The Hospital for Sick Children   |
| Centre                            |                                   |
|                                   | --------------------------------- |
| --------------------------------- | --------------------------------- |
| --------------------------------- | ------                            |
| ------                            |                                   |
|                                   |                                   |
| [Picture]                         |                                   |
| KAREN BOZYNSKI                    |                                   |
| Director of Business Development, |                                   |
| Urtech Manufacturing             |                                   |
|                                   |                                   |
| --------------------------------- |                                   |
| --------------------------------- |                                   |
| ------                            |                                   |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+

HEALTH LEADERSHIP PANEL

+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| [Picture]                         | [Picture]                         |
| MARK CASSELMAN                    | MARK WALTON                      |
| CEO,                              | Vice President Strategy,          |
| COACH - Canada's Health          | Partnerships and Performance,     |
| Informatics Association           | Halton Healthcare                 |
|                                   |                                   |
| --------------------------------- | --------------------------------- |
| --------------------------------- | --------------------------------- |
| ------                            | ------                            |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+

[Picture]

KATIE PORTER
Director of Research Administration,
Hamilton Health Sciences Corp.

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

STARTUP SPOTLIGHT PRESENTERS

+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| [Picture]                         | [Picture]                         |
| BRUNO MARUZZO                     | JAMES BATEMAN                    |
| CEO,                              | CEO,                              |
| Digital Medical Experts          | MedChart                         |
|                                   |                                   |
| --------------------------------- | --------------------------------- |
| --------------------------------- | --------------------------------- |
| ------                            | ------                            |
|                                   |                                   |
| [Picture]                         | [Picture]                         |
| ADAM CEGIELSKI                    | RICK MENASSA                     |
| Founder & CEO,                    | CEO,                              |
| Eyecarrot Innovations            | iCare Home Health                |
|                                   |                                   |
| --------------------------------- | --------------------------------- |
| --------------------------------- | --------------------------------- |
| ------                            | ------                            |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+

WANT TO be a SPONSOR or EXHIBITOR ?

Don’t miss the opportunity to enhance your company’s visibility at
this unique conference. Several sponsor packages are available to choose.

2017 SUMMIT EXHIBITORS

+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| [Picture]             | [Picture]             | [Picture]             |
| 3Open Labs            | Eyecarrot Innovations | Kitali Human Capital  |
|                       |                       | Solutions Inc.        |
| --------------------- | --------------------- |                       |
| --------------------- | --------------------- | --------------------- |
| --------------------- | --------------------- | --------------------- |
| ---------             | ---------             | --------------------- |
|                       |                       | ---------             |
| [Picture]             | [Picture]             |                       |
| Aird & McBurney LP    | Fujitsu Canada        | [Picture]             |
|                       |                       | Lippes Mathias Wexler |
| --------------------- | --------------------- | Friedman LLP          |
| --------------------- | --------------------- |                       |
| --------------------- | --------------------- | --------------------- |
| ---------             | ---------             | --------------------- |
|                       |                       | --------------------- |
| [Picture]             | [Picture]             | ---------             |
| Business Development  | GEOTAB                |                       |
| Bank of Canada (BDC)  |                       | [Picture]             |
|                       | --------------------- | Measure Marketing     |
| --------------------- | --------------------- |                       |
| --------------------- | --------------------- | --------------------- |
| --------------------- | ---------             | --------------------- |
| ---------             |                       | --------------------- |
|                       | [Picture]             | ---------             |
| [Picture]             | Haltech               |                       |
| Burlington Economic   |                       | [Picture]             |
| Development           | --------------------- | Milton Education      |
| Corporation           | --------------------- | Village (MEV)         |
| (BEDC)/TechPlace      | --------------------- | Innovation Centre     |
|                       | ---------             |                       |
| --------------------- |                       | --------------------- |
| --------------------- | [Picture]             | --------------------- |
| --------------------- | Halton Region         | --------------------- |
| ---------             |                       | ---------             |
|                       | --------------------- |                       |
| [Picture]             | --------------------- | [Picture]             |
| CLOUD Dx              | --------------------- | One Motion            |
|                       | ---------             | Technologies          |
| --------------------- |                       |                       |
| --------------------- | [Picture]             | --------------------- |
| --------------------- | iCare Home Health     | --------------------- |
| ---------             |                       | --------------------- |
|                       | --------------------- | ---------             |
| [Picture]             | --------------------- |                       |
| COGECO                | --------------------- | [Picture]             |
|                       | ---------             | Ridout & Maybee LLP   |
| --------------------- |                       |                       |
| --------------------- | [Picture]             | --------------------- |
| --------------------- | International         | --------------------- |
| ---------             | Institute of Business | --------------------- |
|                       | Analysis (IIBA)       | ---------             |
| [Picture]             |                       |                       |
| DataLatch             | --------------------- | [Picture]             |
|                       | --------------------- | SB Partners           |
| --------------------- | --------------------- |                       |
| --------------------- | ---------             | --------------------- |
| --------------------- |                       | --------------------- |
| ---------             | [Picture]             | --------------------- |
|                       | Javelin Technologies  | ---------             |
|                       |                       |                       |
|                       | --------------------- | [Picture]             |
|                       | --------------------- | Sheridan College      |
|                       | --------------------- |                       |
|                       | ---------             | --------------------- |
|                       |                       | --------------------- |
|                       |                       | --------------------- |
|                       |                       | ---------             |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+

2017 SUMMIT sponsors

+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
|                       |  Hosted               |                       |
|                       | & Co-Presented By    |                       |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+

[Picture]

News & HIGHLIGHTS

+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
|                                   |                                   |
| 2017 SUMMIT NEWS                  | HIGHLIGHTS FROM 2016 SUMMIT       |
|                                   |                                   |
| The summit will feature over 15   | You might have never thought to   |
| speakers including three keynote  | ask yourself, “What do sports and |
| talks who are leaders in the      | business have in common?” The     |
| healthcare technology industry. A | truth is, they share the same     |
| highlight keynote talk will be    | values and hard work required to  |
| presented by Dr. Sandeep (Sonny)  | succeed. Legendary professional   |
| Kohli, who is the co-founder and  | baseball player Babe Ruth once    |
| Chief Medical Officer at Cloud    | said, “never let the fear of      |
| Dx, and a physician of internal   | striking out keep you from        |
| medicine at Halton Healthcare.    | playing the game.” Easily, this   |
| Cloud Dx was recognized as a top  | holds true to many aspects of     |
| 20 finalist for the 2017 Canadian | life including                    |
| Innovation Exchange (CIX)         | entrepreneurship, Read More »    |
| awards. Read More »              |                                   |
|                                   | VIDEO RE-CAP:                     |
| HALTECH REGIONAL INNOVATION       | 1ST HALTON FUTURES INNOVATION    |
| CENTRE is proud to announce the   | SUMMIT 2016                       |
| 2017 HALTON FUTURES INNOVATION    |                                   |
| SUMMIT which will be held on      | [Picture]                         |
| October 17, 2017 at the Oakville  |                                   |
| Conference Centre in Oakville,    |                                   |
| Ontario. The summit is            |                                   |
| co-presented by Haltech and       |                                   |
| HALTON REGION ECONOMIC            |                                   |
| DEVELOPMENT, and will bring       |                                   |
| together more than 200 attendees  |                                   |
| that include technology           |                                   |
| developers, healthcare            |                                   |
| innovators, business leaders and  |                                   |
| investors to discuss technology   |                                   |
| innovation trends and             |                                   |
| opportunities that will advance   |                                   |
| the delivery of smart healthcare  |                                   |
| and connected communities in      |                                   |
| Halton region. Read More »       |                                   |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+

question: Where will the 2nd annual innovation summit event take place?

answer: It might be implied it would take place in Ontario.

question: What is the name of the healthcare service provider?

answer: Halton Futures.

question: How well-known is Halton Futures digital technology healthcare solutions?

answer: That information is not known.

question: Where is Halton Futures located?

answer: Halton Region, in Canada.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: At the Halton Futures 2nd annual summit and awards, keynote speakers would illuminate the usefulness and importance of technology-driven healthcare solutions servicing hospital ERs to the clinics. Furthermore, they would address the critical challenges in the healthcare system and how the technology solutions they offer would improve patient experience and overall wellness.


text:
Greetings All –

Let me recognize my fears so that I may see the truth beyond them. Step 51 (MP3) [Open in Drive or copy to your Drive – Download folder or play from Drive – Step PDF also.]

  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
  []
  Let me recognize my fears so that I may see the truth beyond them. Step 51
  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

YOUR OBSTACLES MUST BE RECOGNIZED in order for you to see beyond them. If they are ignored or denied, if they are protected or called by other names, you will not realize the nature of your restraint. You will not understand that which oppresses you. Your life is not born of fear. Your Source is not born of fear. To be able to recognize your fear means that you must realize that you are part of something greater. Realizing this you can learn to become objective about your life and to understand your present circumstances without self-condemnation, for it is within these circumstances that you must cultivate yourself. You must start from where you are. To do this you must take inventory of your strengths and weaknesses.

IN YOUR TWO PRACTICE PERIODS TODAY, evaluate the existence of your fears and remind yourself that your reality is beyond them, but that you must recognize them to understand their damaging presence in your life. Close your eyes and repeat the idea for today; then consider each fear that arises in your mind. Remind yourself that the truth is beyond that specific fear. Allow all fears to arise and be evaluated in this way.

TO BE WITHOUT FEAR, YOU MUST UNDERSTAND FEAR—its mechanism, its influence on people and its result in the world. You must recognize this without deception and without preference. You are a great being working in a limited context, in a limited environment. Understand the limitations of your environment and understand the limitations of your vehicle, and you will no longer hate yourself for being limited.

PRACTICE 51: Two 30-minute practice periods.

Picture:  Pécs, Hungary - Old wall supported by beams, once for defense against fearful attack.

If this is your first time seeing one of the “Steps to Knowledge”, then welcome. There are 365 Steps, daily spiritual practices if one seeks to complete them in a year, but that is not necessary. They can be used by people of any religious tradition or no religious tradition. They will help one to become mindful in the world.

The Step today is from the book: _Steps to Knowledge: The Book of Inner Knowing._ The practices were brought to the world through Marshall Vian Summers, The Messenger for The New Message From God. Important background for the Steps is in: “G_reater Community Spirituality_” and the “_Wisdom Books - I and II”_. Hard copies are available from the New Knowledge Library Store. The Society for the New Message from God also has a Free Book Project. If you need the books now, PDF files can be found here: http://goo.gl/RJuuGP

Keeping a journal is recommended. If you have a Steps book, write your reactions and comments, highlight or underline points that strike you, and date the note. In this way, your Steps book can be a partial journal.

Using the PDF, you can print out pages as you need them, or use the software to maintain a digital copy where you can enter notes and highlight text that stands out.

Other modern methods of keeping a journal include having a document on your PC or phone to keep notes. You could send yourself an email or use the voice recorder function. It is important to capture insights and reactions because it is by this means that you can understand change. Sometimes it may just be a word or short phrase, an image or a scene.

To end this post I again offer the blessing: "May the presence of the Teachers be with you." In the invocative language of Knowledge this blessing is: "Nasi Novare Coram" (pronounced NAH-see no-VAHR-ay co-RAHM)

The short form of Nasi Novare Coram used by students is NNC.

NNC

[]

P.S. Often it takes 18 months to get through the Steps once. For this blog, the pace is one-a-day, but it really makes no difference how fast you do it, only that you begin, persist and repeat. Posts linked below provide a trail that may let you have a virtual companion when and if you want one. One may have to study alone, as I did in the beginning. There are other Steps students blogging their experience and you might find a person more like you as a companion, or use a number of such Steps journeys.

Doing Steps with only the texts, messages and your life experience, including what you may have studied and practiced is your journey. I’m showing Step comments after the Step, so as not to influence anyone in advance. It is a wilderness trek to be left to your own wits, but then you can also listen more closely for guides, angels and teachers, always first saying: “I surround and protect myself with the Love and the Grace of God.” Thankfully, I was taught this practice in 1989.

question: What does the text say about fears?

answer: The author of this post suggests evaluating and considering the existence of your fears and reminding yourself that your reality is beyond them. Recognizing your fear, which oppresses you, can help you realize you're part of something greater. Your life and source aren't born of fear. If you protect your fears and choose to not name them, you will not realize the nature of your restraints.

question: Summarize what the author is offering the reader.

answer: The author is offering 365 steps, which are daily spiritual practices. In this post, the author is offering one of the "Steps to Knowledge". They are offering advice on fears.

question: What does the text say about your environment?

answer: The author notes that we are working in a limited environment. Understanding the limitations within your environment and in your vehicle can help you be without fear. If you recognize your environment's limits, you can see beyond them.

question: What does the text say about yoga?


text:
“Where am I? Who are these people around me?” I thought to myself when I first woke up. I slowly lifted myself up and rubbed my eyes thoroughly as if there was something in them, but nothing was. I looked over; a lady kindly greeted me and handed me a folder. As soon as the folder was within my possession I knew what must be done; it was pure instinct. I immediately opened it up and read all of the information.
I remembered that my name was Bob Lamron. I am 23 years old, have neither children nor a wife; they were only given to you if you had proven yourself faithful and intelligent enough. I asked the women who handed me the folder where I was and what events had occurred that left me in this situation. She just looked at me and smiled.
Two rather large males, who appeared to be body guards disguised as physicians, led me out the front door. As soon as I walked out, a car appeared out of nowhere. From the car came a robotic voice; it addressed me by name and commanded me to enter the automobile. As I got in the car, the voice spoke again. It asked me what my home address was. I had no clue; I could not even remember if I had children 10 minutes ago. How was I supposed to answer the voice with details of my forget life? The women who had presented me with the folder, a nurse, that I had woken up next to, ran out of the building and handed me the same folder that I had left behind in the room. I opened it up and aloud, “2534 Egareva Rd.” As soon as the words had left my mouth, the taxi immediately sped off, presumably to the address.
As I saw the things I passed by I started to remember details, like I had never forgotten them at all. Trees, Birds, people, restaurants, fountains, everything! It was all flooding in as if there was a dam in my brain and it had just been ruptured without notice. We arrived at my house and I opened the front door. I walked into my room and sat down. I could not recall the events that had occurred before I woke up. It was like the dam of knowledge in my mind had been concealed. My mind had locked away any memories of the events and I could not do anything about it. The more I thought, the more my head hurt.
It felt like one of those moments when you are mid conversation with someone and another person, uninvolved in the conversation, calls your name. You stop talking in order to address the interjection of your name, but when you try to come back into the original conversation, you can’t remember what you were talking about no matter how hard you try. I sat there on my couch and tried as hard as I could to recall what had happened.
I then positioned myself so that I could see out of the window. I saw a grey, bleak world. Everything was so average, so normal. The only color people were given permission to wear were different shades of grey. The lighter your color, the higher up your social class was. I was just an average grey.
As I was thinking through all of this, my eyes were fixed upon a section of peeling paint in the right corner of my peripheral vision. For some reason I knew I was supposed to go over to it; it was like I had some kind of cosmic urge. My hand lifted from my side and I started to peel the paint. It came off fairly easily, far too easier than any paint should have, for that matter. Suddenly, I saw something concealed under the peeling paint. I knew I had to uncover it. As I tore the paint off a fit overcame me. Next thing I knew, I was tearing, ripping, and enjoying this more than anything I had enjoyed before. I was ripping everything in sight off the wall.
I stepped back and looked at my wall and there was writing everywhere. The memories started flooding back into my head of what had happened. I had uncovered something big. The government had been spiking everyone. Now they wouldn’t just bug a room, or a camera in a park to see what was going on, they were putting microphones in you. They had put chips in your brain so that they could see, think, hear, and smell everything you have ever come in contact with. Knowing I had just remembered this I knew they would be after me. I shut the blinds and closed the door in my room.
I lightly lifted a blind cover and looked out the window. I saw a slim, black, shiny car pulled up to the front of my building. The same two men who had accompanied me out of the hospital got out of the black car. I sat there shaking, wondering what I could do. The second I saw them barge in through the front door, I jumped out of my second story bedroom and landed on the pavement. My ankle buckled and I felt a sharp pain but I knew I had to get out of here and tell someone what is going on. I screamed names but no one would listen to me. I was living in a selfish world where people only cared about themselves. I gave up. I fell to the floor, my ankle throbbing, and looked at the door to my building, expecting the two men to walk through. I was doomed.
The two men eventually came out of my building and grabbed me. They didn’t say a word; all they would do is stare straight forward. Then they put me in the back of the car and drove off. It was the exact same route that led back to my house. I had only been out for an hour, at most and here I was, being dragged back.
When I got there the female nurse was sitting there with a needle filled with what appeared to be a sedative. As she inserted it in my vein, two doctors walked into the room. The first said, “Okay, begin sedation and we’ll get ready for the micro-chip reset.”
The other doctor responded, “Looks like this one didn’t turn out to well again like the last time.”
	As they finished their sentences I realized something. They have been resetting everyone until they get every single one of us to be perfect for their society. They don’t want people to have character or personality; they are just looking to create the most generic human being, like emotionless robots. As I thought this, I started to black out.
“Where am I? Who are these people around me?” I thought to myself when I first woke up. I slowly lifted myself up and rubbed my eyes thoroughly as if there was something in them, but nothing was. I looked over; a lady kindly greeted me and handed me a folder.

Criticism is why I'm here. Wrote for a creative writing class and would love some help.

title: Deja Vu

question: Who handed Bob Lamron the envelope?

answer: A lady who would not speak to him, only smile.

question: Who is allowed to have a wife and children?

answer: Men who have proven themselves faithful and intelligent enough.

question: What are the people outside wearing?

answer: Only different shades of grey.

question: What does Bob find under the peeling paint?

answer: There was writing all over the wall which refreshed Bob's memory.

question: Write a ~5 sentence summary.

answer: Bob Lamron is a 23 year old man who wakes up in some sort of facility with no memory of who he is or how he came to be there. He is handed an envelope from a nurse with his name, age, and address. He is driven to the address in a taxi, where he finds peeling paint on the walls inside. Beneath the peeling paint is writing which refreshes his memory, and he realizes the government has been spiking people are erasing their memories. He is taken back to the facility by two large men to be reset, without memory or self awareness.


text:
[How to Design Better eLearning]

If I asked you what makes an eLearning course effective, how would you answer? Would you say instructional design? I’m sure you would—that’s what everyone says! But, think for a minute about all of the other components that go into creating an eLearning course. It’s not just instructional design—it’s graphic design, user interface design, and visual communications!

Once you recognize that instructional design is just one piece of a larger medium for communicating learning content, you’ll learn that instructional design alone can’t make an eLearning course effective. It’s the combination of graphic design, user interface design, and visual communications that work together to help elevate the effectiveness of your instructional design.

Here are three tips that will help you design better eLearning.

DESIGN BETTER ELEARNING BY CREATING BEAUTIFUL SLIDES

Here’s some truth for you: humans are visual creatures! We “eat” with our eyes first, we fall in love with our eyes first, and we learn with our eyes first. It’s because of this that graphic design in eLearning matters! When I first started in eLearning, I put all my efforts into instructional design. Although I wanted my courses to look better, I really only worried about graphic design if I had the extra time at the end of a project.

[How to Design Better eLearning]

Design better eLearning by using basic graphic design techniques: learn what colors and fonts work well together and how to create a clean and balanced layout. Practicing good graphic design techniques doesn’t mean learning how to create custom graphics. Sometimes it’s just a matter of moving things around on the screen until they look good.

Here are some resources that will help you with graphic design for eLearning:

-   3 Ways to Develop Your eLearning Graphic Design Skills
-   Graphic Design for Non-Graphic Designers
-   6 Ways to Use PowerPoint for Graphic Design

DESIGN BETTER ELEARNING BY MAKING YOUR COURSES EASY TO USE

When designing an eLearning course, how often do you think about the learner’s experience? And, when I say “learner’s experience,” I’m not referring to the learning content! I’m talking about the literal experience your learners have while using your course. Besides the development of learning content, think about all the other elements you have to develop to make your course functional and interactive. As an eLearning designer, your job also includes user interface design!

[How to Design Better eLearning]

Design better eLearning by making your eLearning courses easy to use! When an eLearning course is difficult to use, or lacks intuitiveness, it becomes a barrier to your learner! Is there a clear path forward? Do buttons look like buttons? Is the navigation consistent from one slide to the next? Making your course easy to use and navigate lets the learner focus on learning!

Here are some resources that will help you with user interface design for eLearning:

-   4 Tips for Effective User Interface Design for eLearning
-   User Interface Design for eLearning

DESIGN BETTER ELEARNING BY VISUALLY COMMUNICATING YOUR IDEAS

Do you know the difference between graphic design and visual communications? If not, you might be missing a huge opportunity to enhance the presentation of your learning content! Graphic design relates to the way your course looks and feels. This is how your fonts, colors, images, graphics, layouts, and effects work together to create a cohesive design. Visual communications, on the other hand, relates to how you communicate ideas, processes, or procedures visually on the screen.

[How to Design Better eLearning]

Design better eLearning by visually communicating your ideas. Carefully selecting a collection of images to represent an idea, creating a series of animations to explain a process, or designing a diagram to show the relationship between different concepts are all visual communications. When storyboarding your learning content, you must always consider how you plan to visually communicate it on the screen. When you start with bullet points in your storyboard, you’ll end up with bullet points on your slides. It’s the simple truth!

Here are some resources that will help you with visual communications for eLearning:

-   Graphic Design vs. Visual Communications for eLearning
-   3 Ways to Transform Bullet Points in eLearning
-   3 Practical Tips for Using Animation in eLearning

What other tips do you have that can help others design better eLearning courses? Share them by commenting below!

question: Other than instructional design, what are the three other components that go into creating an effective eLearning course?

answer: Graphic design, user interface design, and visual communications

question: What is the difference between graphic design and visual communications?

answer: Graphic design relates to the way a course looks and feels. This is how fonts, colors, images, graphics, layouts, and effects work together to create a cohesive design. Visual communications, on the other hand, relates to how ideas, processes, or procedures are communicated visually on the screen.

question: What is the first step to designing a better eLearning course?

answer: By practicing good graphic design techniques, such as knowing what colors and fonts work together or how to create a clean and balanced layout.

question: Define "learner's experience"

answer: The literal experience learners have while using an eLearning course. Not to be mistaken for learning content.

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: According to the author of the article, four components are needed to create an effective eLearning course: instructional design, graphic design, user interface design, and visual communications. These components must all work together to benefit the learner. The eLearning course must look good, be easy to use, communicate ideas effectively, and provide valuable learner's experience.


text:
Donald Trump repeatedly lashed out at the media, conservative opponents and Republican foes in a testy news conference Tuesday that he had called to answer criticism over his contributions to veterans’ charities.

Trump reeled off a list of charities that he said had received a total of $5.6 million he had raised. The list came after weeks of questions from reporters and remained short of the $6 million he had promised during a veterans event in January on the eve of the Iowa caucuses.

But the attempt to protect the reputation of his charitable efforts was at least partially eclipsed by his extensive airing of personal grievances, during which he called one reporter “a sleaze” and labeled a prominent conservative pundit “a loser.”

Trump’s advisors have been saying for weeks that he would begin to act more “presidential” and above the fray as he attempts to unite the Republican Party and broaden his appeal for the general election. But he clearly has other ideas.

“You think I’m going to change? I’m not changing,” Trump said during the 45-minute news conference at Trump Tower.

That was mere seconds after calling Mitt Romney “a fool” and renewing his complaints that New Mexico’s Republican governor, Susana Martinez, was “not nice” in her comments about him.

The message: Those who criticize or scrutinize Trump — including reporters and fellow Republicans — will be hit back hard.

The formula worked well for Trump during the primaries. Many of his core supporters have long been suspicious, even contemptuous, of the media and the GOP establishment and have enjoyed watching Trump take them on. But like every aspect of Trump’s campaign and persona, his grievance-fed approach has not yet been tested among general-election voters.

  You think I’m going to change? I’m not changing.

Donald Trump

Tuesday’s fiery exchanges also served as a preview of what a Trump administration media briefing might look like.

“Yeah, it is going to be like this,” Trump said in response to a question from a reporter who called Tuesday’s news conference “a new bar for contentiousness with the press corps.”

The attention Trump gave to calling out enemies, large and small, and the related questions he received from reporters, left little time for other issues that might typically emerge during a presidential campaign.

Trump, for example, gave a lengthy response to a question about William Kristol, the conservative magazine editor and former White House official who is trying to recruit a third-party candidate to run in the general election.

Trump warned that the balance of the U.S. Supreme Court is at stake in the election, but also called Kristol a “loser” and took a shot at his “failing” magazine, the Weekly Standard.

He interrupted a question from CNN’s Jim Acosta to lob a sarcastic remark at the reporter: “Excuse me, excuse me. I’ve watched you on television, you’re a real beauty.”

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The news conference came amid pressure on Trump to explain contradictions in the statements that he and his campaign aides have made about the money he has claimed to have raised for veterans.

The promised donations had either yet to materialize, were smaller than expected or came only after prodding from journalists.

On Tuesday, Trump said he was disbursing less than originally promised, while insisting more money may come. He blamed the delays on the need to vet more than two dozen charities receiving the money.

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“The press should be ashamed of themselves,” Trump said. “I have never received such bad publicity for doing such a good job.”

Trump, who has repeatedly boasted of his donations to charity, insisted several times that he was trying to keep a low profile.

“I didn’t want the credit for it,” he said repeatedly. “I don’t want the credit for it, but I shouldn’t be lambasted.”

The controversy over the donations has been one of the few during the past year that has kept Trump on the defense. Trump’s difficulties with it have reinforced Democrats’ hopes of portraying him as more bluster than follow-through.

The questions about the donations fit a narrative, like Trump’s failure to release his taxes, that has allowed opponents to question whether his claims about his money hold up to scrutiny.

“I like scrutiny, but you know what,” Trump said. “When I raise money for the veterans, and it’s a massive amount of money. Find out how much Hillary Clinton’s given to the veterans — nothing.”

Clinton’s campaign did not respond to emailed questions about her charitable giving.

Trump held his veterans event Jan. 28 in Iowa after he backed out of a Fox News debate. During the event, Trump said he raised $6 million for veterans groups, including a personal donation of $1 million.

But when reporters from the Washington Post, CNN and other organizations recently contacted veterans organizations that Trump’s campaign said had received the money, they could not account for all of it, including the money Trump pledged.

A CNN report last month, for example, found $2.9 million disbursed to 27 veterans organizations. The Washington Post found $3.1 million had been given out as of last week, not including Trump’s $1-million pledge.

Earlier this month, Trump’s campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, told the Post the campaign had actually raised $4.5 million. A week later, Trump told the paper the sum was $5.5 million, while disputing that he had ever promised $6 million.

After a Post reporter began posting questions on Twitter about Trump’s personal pledge, the candidate promised last week to give the entire $1 million to a single organization.

Clinton and veterans groups supporting her campaign were eager to pounce, blasting out a statement before Trump’s news conference began that contrasted her record on veterans with his.

There is a “difference between what Donald Trump says and what Donald Trump does,” Clinton said during a call to CNN later in the day.

“It took a reporter to shame him into actually making this contribution and giving the money to veterans,” she added. “I don’t know he should get much credit for that.”

Other veterans groups also weighed in Tuesday.

“Donald Trump is a walking, talking fraud,” Jon Soltz, an Iraq War veteran and chairman of VoteVets.org, a liberal group, said in a statement.

But Trump, who claimed that protesting veterans outside his news conference were Clinton plants, has his own supporters.

Gina Franano, executive director of Connected Warriors, said in a phone interview that she appreciated the $75,000 her group got from Trump and the attention he has given to veterans.

Al Baldasaro, a New Hampshire state representative and Trump backer who heads one of the charities receiving some of the donations, stood next to Trump during Tuesday’s news conference and at one point approached the lectern to denounce the “liberal media.”

“Get your head out of your butt,” Baldasaro said. “Focus on the real issues.”

TIMES STAFF WRITERS CHRIS MEGERIAN AND JILL ORNITZ CONTRIBUTED TO THIS ARTICLE.

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

UPDATES:

2:37 P.M.: This article was updated with additional background on Trump’s statements, a response from Hillary Clinton and comment from veterans groups.

_This article was originally published at 9:28 a.m._

question: Why is Trump's lack of transparency regarding donations troubling?

answer: If Trump cannot follow through on a handful of donations, then how is he supposed to follow through on major decisions if made president?


text:
The world is made of edges, you said and I, thinking of razors and cliffs and the black terminator rushing towards us past the resolute meridians of our days, looked up at you, and you smiled and said no.

 You drew a map on a white napkin and told me how there are always more feet than will go into a mile, more inches than will make a foot, about every edge. Achilles was in it and some slow thing, a turtle perhaps, or a snail.
 But these were only masks for numbers, and I grew tired of Achilles and his logarithms, and we went to the beach.

 The dew was on the rocks and the tide was out and there were soft things quaking in the horrible light. There is so much death at the edges, I said.

 Everything lives at the edges. You frowned at me like a stormcloud. You spoke of ecotones and cusps and crises. I saw your fingers rubbing chalkdust, shedding the imagined detritus of a hundred dusty lectures.

 I listened while the sun sneaked through your curls and warmed my arms like your hands on a cold morning. I rubbed my board with the pale bitter wax that smells like violins and tobacco and burns if you get it in your eyes.

 Then I painted you with coconut oil and lemon where we hid behind the big red parasol, and your breasts rose and fell like the pears on the windrow by the seawall, your fingers espaliered a small blossom.

 I left you there on the green striped towel with your books and sunglasses, your tea and the basket of boiled eggs and sandwiches and the last of the fig newtons. And I went to the ocean.

 (I dreamt out there, did I tell you?)

 The place where the sea and the earth and the air touch, I touched too, making a moist track, and we were like sisters meeting or like four old lovers, sleeping side by side in a tent with the moon watching, or like both of those things loving each other and jealous at the same time.

 I have heard of the surf marching forward, of the waves battering the earth and retreating, sending forays against the sand and being hurled back.
 This is a man thing, I thought.

 We who have lain at the point where the dry becomes the wet know that these are kisses and caresses, and the thrusts and tumblings have no martial intent. All living things are born from this meeting, into the bright air. We gasp, we burn, we die and return, whether to earth or sea.

 (Your thoughts were not lost out there, you see?)

 I hold them in my head when I let the dreams take me, and we do not disagree.

 The thing about edges, I liked. Everything that really lives, lives at the edge of something, you said, and I saw a bead rolling between two widening wires, always about to fall, and somehow never doing it. Always moving forward, and rising and declining imperceptibly, as the world carries it onward.

 Benoit, you said, and ecotone. I liked the words, but you never told me what they mean, unless I was listening to the gulls or the surf or the soft murmur of your pulse beneath my hand.

The wind shook your blue hat, and I got you a green lounge from the old man who made the umbrellas for the wind to break and drag across the foreshore like tattered dreamthings.

 Like the birds of wakening, that watched us from the long rusted rails above the seawall and there was a tall girl at the bar who said that the sun was in your hair and I hated her for seeing it and for seeing you smile, and loved her for knowing the same things that I knew.

The heartbeat of the world you called it, the surf you meant, and the tall girl brought us crab legs and you talked a while about the things that come out of the sea.

 The hermit crabs and the robbers, the tiny sidling fingernail crabs that run away from motion like a child who fears strangers, straggling behind the skirts of the seawrack peeping bashfully out.

 And the great ghost crabs; the grey and shining grandmothers twitching their long braches like blind man’s sticks through the pebbles toward the tidepools, with the moon in their eyes.

 They love the sun, but the moon is their mistress - you told me this, and asked me:

 "Have I told you that the sea is made of blood? It's true; but the blood is stronger now that it was when we left."

 I knew you did not mean ourselves, but some lost frightened fossil, living again for a moment in the tide behind your eyes.

 We swam then, and you moved back and forth through the break like an otter, and then the boarders came down the long stair and waited till we came out before charging like whooping soldiers into that great onslaught that neither marked them nor wavered.

 Under the rusting nod of the lotus pod spigot you turned and turned and lost the scent of our mother the ocean, and smelled like you and the sun and the cocoa butter sunscreen I had bought from the old man with the red hat.

 Blind, you said, but he saw you, as the earth and the ocean and the sky see you now. As the fire saw you then, lapping lights across your sand dusted hip, limning out our vagrant silhouettes upon the moist earth.

 (I thought I held you that night in the tent, but it was not you, was it?)

 Beneath their lids your eyes were watching the pale circles of the gulls, reaching with their wings for the earth as the sky drew them back in the direction of the invisible stars.

 The next day I rode to the top of the break and found a wave waiting; a terrible thing as green and clear and bubbled as the bottom of an antique bottle.

 And I was up and I was in it and the board was a tongue in the mouth of the ocean, and I was for a while that thing which you were always:

 Caught between the air and the sky, driving forward into time, unmoving, until the ocean cast me out and dropped me at your feet, and we showered and you combed out my hair and we had breakfast.

 (These are the things I remember, in this dim place beneath the trees, where the ocean has not been these million lifetimes.)

 (Still), within your eyes, i think I am there, that I will always live there, on the edge between memory and dream, with the bright birds and the grey skies, turning, rising like the wave, and hanging in that place within your mind, where standing still we rise, and rising, turn, and fall, and are falling, now. Forever.

title: Creatures of the Swash Zone

question: Who is "You" in relation to the narrator?

answer: The text doesn't say - possibly a lover.

question: Where is this story taking place?

answer: It's not totally clear. Somewhere near a place called "the edges" which may mean the beach (where land and water collide).

question: Is the ocean mentioned in the text a real or fictional one?

answer: Can't say for sure. May be real since the narrator seems to be recalling memories.

question: Why is the narrator relating these memories?

answer: The manner of writing implies affection for "you" in the story might have inspired the narrator to share these thoughts.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: This is a somewhat impressionistic recounting of the narrator's memories with someone special by an ocean. It's not certain from the text whether this is fiction or non-fiction.


text:
My grandfather was born in England in 1926. In 1939, World War II broke out. Like many English children of his generation, he was sent by his parents to live in Canada to escape the Blitz. When he returned to his home country he barely recognized it. England had been ravaged by the war and he felt as though there was nothing for him there, so he left. He went back across the Atlantic, but this time to Philadelphia. It was there that he met my grandmother.

Before she met my grandfather, my grandmother had been previously married to a US Air Force bomber pilot who was stationed in England during the war. While in England, he began an affair with another woman that caused the disintegration of his marriage to my grandmother. She eventually met my grandfather, they got married, and they gave birth to my mother who eventually met my father and gave birth to me.

I use to joke to people that if it weren’t for Hitler starting the war then I would never have been born. The other day, I told this to a friend who told me that if it weren’t for every single event in the history of the universe, from the Big Bang till the precise moment when a single sperm from my father entered a single egg from my mother, then I would never have been born.

It’s comforting to know that I no longer have to exclusively thank Hitler for my existence.

title: Hitler and the Big Bang

question: When was the author's grandfather born?

answer: 1926

question: Why was the author's grandfather sent to Canada?

answer: To escape the Blitz.

question: Why was the author's grandmother in England after the war?

answer: She had been married to a US Air Force bomber pilot who had been stationed in England.

question: Why did the author's grandmother leave her first husband?

answer: He had an affair.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: The author discusses how their existence came to be by way of the Blitz in England during the second World War. They used to attribute their existence to Hitler, in a roundabout way, but then their friend informed them that deep down, it is the Big Bang Theory that is responsible for the author's,and for everyone's, existence.


text:
 By Luis Sanchez - 03/17/18 12:17 PM EDT

Rep. Beto O'Rourke[]Beto O'RourkeMexican president breaks with other world leaders, refusing to acknowledge Biden win until election is finalized Mexico emerging as foreign policy challenge for Biden Beyoncé sports pro-Biden mask on Instagram MORE (D-Texas) — who is challenging Sen. Ted Cruz[]Rafael (Ted) Edward CruzOVERNIGHT ENERGY: Trump administration proceeds with rollback of bird protections despite objections | Trump banking proposal on fossil fuels sparks backlash from libertarians | EU 2019 greenhouse gas emissions down 24 percent Trump's NATO ambassador pledges 'seamless' transition to Biden administration Potential 2024 Republicans flock to Georgia amid Senate runoffs MORE (R-Texas) for his Senate seat this year — agreed with late-night host Bill Maher, who called Cruz an "asshole."

“Well, don’t forget he’s a giant asshole,” the “Real Time with Bill Maher” host said Friday night.

“That’s true,” O’Rourke replied.

During his interview with Maher, O’Rourke made his case for why he can land a Senate seat in a state that hasn’t elected a Democrat to statewide office since the 1990s.

O’Rourke, who outraised Cruz in the first months of 2018, said his campaign isn’t accepting money from PACs and touted his strategy to visit all of the state’s counties.

“Folks, though, will never have to wonder who it is I represent or who I’m voting for,” O’Rourke said. “It’s going to be the people of Texas, every single time.”

After the Texas primary elections earlier this month, Cruz put out a radio ad hitting O’Rourke for his liberal policy stances and for going by “Beto,” a nickname given to people named "Robert" or "Roberto" by Spanish speakers.

O’Rourke said he doesn’t want to focus on mudslinging and would rather focus on policy issues. He also released a picture of himself as a child wearing a shirt with “Beto” printed on it.

He said that the people of Texas right now are “fired up” and added that he has faith in the grass-roots style of his campaign. O’Rourke also criticized Cruz for spending much of his first term as senator running for president.

O’Rourke raised $2.3 million in the first six weeks of 2018 while Cruz raised $800,000 in the same period. Cruz still has an overall cash advantage on his challenger.

[TheHill.com]

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The contents of this site are ©2020 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.

question: Who authored this article?

answer: Luis Sanchez.

question: What is Bill Maher's job?

answer: He is the host of the television show Real Time with Bill Maher.

question: Explain where the nickname Beto comes from.

answer: Beto is a nickname given to people named Robert or Roberto by Spanish speakers.

question: Who owns the copyrights for the content of this article?

answer: Capitol Hill Publishing Corp.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: This article reports on some details about Beto O'Rourke's 2018 senate run against Senator Ted Cruz in TX. In it, O'Rourke is quoted from an interview with Bill Maher in which O'Rourke challenges some decisions of Sen. Cruz and shares why he believes he has a good chance of winning the TX senate seat.


text:
It was a small boring house in Los Angeles, California that suprisingly no one ever noticed, and has been abandon for probably thirty years now, which is pretty strange why that house hasn't been taken down yet. It was.... how do I put this...... it was creepy, in a really interesting, nostalgic, and somber way, maybe because it reminded of my simple, small appeal childhood in Moscow, Pennsylvania.
           I recently discovered the last family that moved into that house either disappeared or died. Fifth-teen feet away from that house, I saw a boy that was probably about thirteen, all alone sitting on a tree stump and looked down at the grass depressed. I then realized, that kid looked exactly like me when i was his thirteen.
                        I then said to him, "Why are you sitting alone depressed?" the boy looked at me like I had nine arms and said "Could you see me? I was the soul of the kid that lived in that house!" At first I thought he was just being an asshole to get me away, then he yelled, "I'm serious! PLEASE, just maybe I could prove it!"
            The way he yelled made me shocked no one noticed that. It was so loud, but I didn't let it get to me. I said to him "Okay, try to 'prove' it then." suddenly the boy walked through me, "Do you believe me now!?" I was astonished "How did you do that?!" I said "I've been deceased for five years now..." "Whats your name?" I asked him. "My name is Mills"
               Words cannot describe how much that astounded me. My name is also Mills. I soon realized he had the same cloths I wore when I was his age. he had sagging jeans and my old gym t-shirt that said Trojans on it. I also realized the house he was sitting by looked exactly like my old house in Moscow, Pennsylvania. The only difference    between me and that kid was that lived in Pennsylvania my whole childhood.
              To be continued........

title: The ghost from the house. Part 1

question: How was Mills able to see his thirteen-year-old self?

answer: It appears he was a ghost.

question: Was the house Mills saw in Los Angeles the exact house he lived in Pennsylvania?

answer: Yes.

question: Was the house haunted?

answer: It is not certain.

question: If Mills died at the age of thirteen, how old was he when he saw his ghost at the time of the story?

question: If Mills' childhood home was the same as the one he saw in Los Angeles, how is it possible that the same house appeared in two different places?

answer: That information is not known.

question: What really happened to Mills' family?

answer: It is not certain if they died or disappeared suddenly.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: Mills came across a house in Los Angeles that looked exactly like his childhood home in Pennsylvania and noticed a small boy seated on a tree trunk near the house. It turned out the boy was himself when he was thirteen years old, the age he died, and the house he saw in Los Angeles was actually his childhood home in Pennsylvania, where he had lived all his life until his death.


text:
LOWER METTUR HYDROELECTRIC PROJECT is a hydropower generation project in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is a 120MW power generation project constructed across the Kaveri River. The project area is in the downstream of Mettur Dam, hence it derives the name. This project consists of four power plants which are located between Mettur in Salem district and Bhavani, Erode. This power generation project is owned by Government of Tamil Nadu and operated by TANGEDCO.[1]

Power Plants

This project involves a series of power plants each with Barrage type Dam, constructed across the River Kaveri to divert the stream to where the power house is located. It consists of four Barrages each of which receives water current in a serial manner.[2]

-   POWER PLANT-I : Named as Chekkanur Barrage with Hydroelectric power generation capacity of 30MW. This Barrage has one powerhouse and two turbine units, each of 15MW production capacity.
-   POWER PLANT-II : Named as Nerinjipettai Barrage with Hydroelectric power generation capacity of 30MW. This Barrage has one powerhouse on the western banks of the river and two turbines, each of 15MW Capacity.
-   POWER PLANT-III : Named as Kuthiraikkalmedu Barrage with Hydroelectric power generation capacity of 30MW. This Barrage has one powerhouse on the western banks of the river and two turbines, each of 15MW Capacity.
-   POWER PLANT-IV : Named as Urachikottai Barrage with Hydroelectric power generation capacity of 30MW. This Barrage has one powerhouse on the western banks of the river and two turbines, each of 15MW Capacity.

[1]

[2]

title: Lower Mettur Hydroelectric Project

question: Where is the project?

answer: In the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu

question: What is the power generation capacity of the project?

answer: 120MW

question: How many power plants does the project consist of?

answer: 4

question: Who owns the project?

answer: The Government of Tamil Nadu

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: The Lower Mettur Hydroelectric Project is a hydropower generation project in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It has a power generation capacity of 120MW and consists of 4 power plants. The project is owned by the Government of Tamil Nadu and operated by TANGEDCO.