text:
Blockchain technology, which is gaining traction across different industries, might provide a solution for making more economic and efficient use of all the computing power that is going to waste while our PCs, laptops and other mobile devices are standing idly.

So, how is it possible to build an Airbnb or Uber for computers, open for anyone willing to lend their device for computing resources and get paid for that?

Cointelegraph caught up with Sergey Ponomarev, CEO at SONM, working to build a supercomputer powered by Blockchain technology.

We need more power!

The demand for computing power from industries and scientific communities for processing enormous amounts of data and running large applications is huge and increasing exponentially, as well as the need to process operations at a faster pace than ever before.

As for the computing power market, it is largely centralized today with global giants like Amazon, Google, Microsoft and IBM holding significant market share. This, in turn, reduces the pricing efficiency of computing services and makes the computing market generally unstable and easy to control.

SONM has been working on the solution to allow millions of miners worldwide to start supplying computing resources through the SONM Application Pool.

It has been noted before that GPU mining is becoming less and less profitable due to the significant increase in mining difficulty. Besides, many cryptocurrencies are going to migrate to a proof-of-stake algorithm making mining equipment practically useless. But GPU mining farms are basically general-purpose computing systems with standard CPUs, sufficient amount of RAM memory and a hard drive. So these resources could potentially be opened up for an access to those demanding computing power.

For instance, according to publicly available data, Amazon EC2 C3 Instance Cluster computing power stands at 484 Flops = 0.0004842 EFlops, which is approximately 0.012 percent of the total computing power of all mining equipment (according to SONM calculations the total computing power of altcoin miners’ resources is as high as ~4EFlops). This is not taking into account idle computing power not used in mining, including PCs, mobile devices, game consoles, etc. Provided with a platform for efficient distribution, these computing resources could eventually prevail on the market.

Ponomarev, CEO and founder at SONM, has been working in the field of useful calculations since late 2013. He became obsessed with the idea of making use of Bitcoin mining capacities outside the cryptocurrency space. He was going through various fork options until he faced the key limitation - performing calculations directly on Blockchain is not rational, besides it was impossible to create the full P2P scheme. This is how he came up with the idea to create concentration hubs.

Ponomarev has successfully completed a study focusing on this issue and started looking for a developer with an already built platform. Through the Russian-speaking community of BOINC, Ponomarev met Andrey Voronkov, who had been conducting research on medicines in Norway.

At that time, Voronkov had been struggling with the inefficiency in computing power for biomedical resources. He founded a DrugDiscover@home project, a distributed computing project, which uses the power of different computing devices worldwide (PCs, GPUs, smartphones, clusters, etc.), provided by volunteers to contribute to the discovery of new drugs for cancer, age-related diseases, as well as the development of antibiotics and antivirals. Together with Ponomarev, they embarked on a journey to build a global supercomputer.

SONM attracts “neighboring” hubs and deploys unique PoE technology for undetermined computations (e.g. launch of applications, hosting, machine learning, etc.). The platform is built on Yandex.Cocaine which supports a variety of programming languages.

Ponomarev notes:

  “Alignment of programs represent an important concern. OS parameters of a customer’s device and the one of a developer can differ significantly, which might result in errors when launching an application. SONM managed to solve this problem by implementing Docker Container into the system.”

He notes that SONM architecture is an extension of many other existing projects, and migration to Yandex.Cocaine, an open source PaaS with a large Russian-speaking community, is one of the most important strategic decisions. As a result of this decision, founder of Cocaine Anton Tyurin joined the SONM team.

Compatibility is a challenge

Development of a supercomputer is certainly a very ambitious task and implies certain challenges. Geographical distances between suppliers of computing power and those in need for it, network congestions and signal collisions are some of the key challenges faced in the field of distributed computing. Besides, devices need to be able to communicate with each other to trade computational resources in real time, therefore they need to be compatible.

As noted by Ponomarev, building SONM architecture itself represented a challenge; an enormous amount of time and resources have been invested into combining platforms and systems that allowed for higher security and universality, particularly the integration of Yandex.Cocaine.

Ponomarev says:

  “PaaS technology with open source code, a wide variety of other platforms including BTSync, Whisper, ensures faster exchange of data and communication between nodes, as well as the implementation of Ethereum smart contracts.”

Besides that, SONM is challenged to ensure the highest level of security. At the moment, the team is testing a complex, multi-level, anti-fraud system, which is deploying both mechanical and reputational security tools.

Keeping up with the competition

For a long time, SONM has been considered as a key competitor of Golem. However, the CEO of SONM explains to Cointelegraph:

  “The project of Polish developers Golem is focused on the development of their own platform, and they moved away from deploying existing solutions in the field of computing, therefore risking getting stuck trying to invent a bicycle and find solutions that have already been found.”

Compared to Golem, SONM is making use of existing platforms. Initially, the platform was planned to be built on BOINC platform, however, the SONM team decided to change their strategy.

Ponomarev tells Cointelegraph:

  “Working with BOINC we have faced a few issues, particularly the fact that BOINC platform supports programming languages limited to C++, FORTRAN and Python, and is generally not that universal. Therefore, we have made a decision to migrate to Yandex. Cocaine, which is more flexible and convenient. The platform is the key to universal services and, generally, the implementation of fog computing.”

To beat global giants

At the moment, the SONM team is investing time, energy and resources into establishing a team of high-end developers, who could work and deliver results according to the SONM roadmap. Besides, SONM is getting ready to launch an alpha version and a user prototype.

The SONM team gave a little sneak peak into what is coming next. Once the alpha version is launched, they are planning to release a teaser presenting endless amounts of use-cases for the platform.

Ponomarev says:

  “We decided to make a teaser through a server of popular game Quake. With the unfolding of service locators, we expect companies of AAA class to start purchasing SONM services. We are planning to attract hosting services, which are now working with Amazon. End users and leasers will realize the benefits of hosting websites and applications on SONM platform, as decentralized computing will be much cheaper than those cloud services provided by industry giants.”

Step by step, SONM is planning to provide solutions for a wide range of issues. For example, it will be possible to use the platform for computing in science projects, hosting of applications and websites, game servers, neural networks, as well as CGI and video rendering.

Ponomarev noted that the project was met with enormous interest in the Blockchain community. The team has managed to collect $500,000 within 10 hours of pre-ICO.

There is a huge belief that distributed computing will be able to shake off cloud services from their pedestals. Ponomarev says that it is very important for them to see huge support from the community, as the next step they are planning is to test their platform with companies which are ready to replace AWS, an alike with the fog computing platform developed by SONM.

If you are interested in what SONM is working on, be sure to find them at Consensus in New York and at the Blockchain Expo in Berlin. They are open to starting discussions not only with experts from the Blockchain industry but also with those who are full of enthusiasm to work on use-cases for the SONM platform and test it once it is launched.

question: What are the challenges to distributed computing?

answer: Geographical distances between suppliers of computing power and those in need for it, network congestions and signal collisions. In addition to this, devices need to be able to communicate with each other to trade computational resources in real time, therefore they need to be compatible. Combining platforms and systems that allowed for higher security and universality.

question: What is the purpose of distributed computing?

answer: Provided with a platform for efficient distribution, these computing resources could eventually prevail on the market. The computing resources can be used for anything from medical research to cloud-based services.

question: Why did GPU mining become less profitable?

answer: It has become less and less profitable due to the significant increase in mining difficulty. In addition to this, many cryptocurrencies are going to migrate to a proof-of-stake algorithm making mining equipment practically useless. These mining farms are general-purpose computing resources that could be potentially opened up for an access to those demanding computing power.

question: Where is computer power located?

answer: Cluster, GPU's, PC's, mobile devices, game consoles etc.

question: Summarize all the information relating to Sergey Ponomarev.

answer: Ponomarev is the CEO of SONM, working to build a supercomputer powered by Blockchain technology. He became obsessed with the idea of making use of Bitcoin mining capacities outside the cryptocurrency space. He faced a key limitation and to address that came up with the idea to create concentration hubs. He looked for a development partner and found Andrey Voronkov.

question: Summarize all the information relating to Andrey Voronkov.

answer: Andrey Voronkov met Ponomarev through the Russian-speaking community of BOINC. He was struggling with the inefficiency in computing power for biomedical resources. He founded DrugDiscover@home project, a distributing computing project, which uses the power of different computing devices worldwide provided by volunteers. He embarked on a journey with Ponomarev to build a global supercomputer.

question: Why did SONM migrate to Yandex.Cocaine?

answer: Yandex.Cocaine supports a variety of programming languages. SONM architecture is an extension of many other existing projects, and migration to Yandex.Cocaine, and open source PaaS with a large Russian-speaking community, is one of the most important strategic decisions. As a result of this decision, founder of Cocaine Anton Tyurin joined the SONM team. Working with BOINC they faced the fact that BOINC platform supports programming languages limited to C++, FORTRAN and Python, and is generally not that universal. Therefore, we have made a decision to migrate to Yandex. Cocaine, which is more flexible and convenient.

question: How will SONM generate money?

answer: Computing power is centralized with giants holding the majority of market share. This reduces the pricing efficiency of computing services and makes the computing market generally unstable and easy to control. With the unfolding of service locators, SONM expect companies of AAA class to start purchasing SONM services. They are planning to attract hosting services, which are now working with Amazon. End users and leasers will realize the benefits of hosting websites and applications on SONM platform, as decentralized computing will be much cheaper than those cloud services provided by industry giants. Step by step, SONM is planning to provide solutions for a wide range of issues. For example, it will be possible to use the platform for computing in science projects, hosting of applications and websites, game servers, neural networks, as well as CGI and video rendering. There is also a huge belief that distributed computing will be able to shake off cloud services from their pedestals.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: SONM is developing distributed computing using blockchain to allow it to harvest cryptocurrency mining farms and other resources that may be sitting idle. There are challenges to overcome, but a definite business opportunity to be addressed as well.


split: train

text:
We were enjoying the cool night air. I lit a cigarette and took a quick harsh drag. My friend sat next me, quiet. He wouldn’t admit his thoughts, but I could see them on his face. I sat with the cigarette between fingers, slowly burning down, quickly giving me a buzz, relieving my stress. He was waiting for a text. I was waiting for anything. That night I wore shorts and a sweater: comfortably chilled. I can’t remember, but it is possible that we had been drinking.

From the vantage point of my friend’s porch we could see them approach her building and stand just outside her door. She was anxious. He, as always, was calm and cool.

I turned to my friend, “Do you see this?” I took a drag, eager for what happened next.

They stood there. Talking. His jeans loose, hems on the concrete, striped hoody, and backwards flat-billed baseball cap, all synonymous with his profile. She wore a skirt, netted leggings underneath, large boots coming half way up her calf, a low cut shirt and a half buttoned up purple cardigan sweater, her sunset red hair kept neat under a black beret. These two friends stood talking in the dark of night; thinking that they were alone in this moment. That for a few minutes the world was theirs. I watched on, ignorant to my friend’s presence and text chimes. In my mind I saw and heard their conversation. She was thanking him for being a good guy to walk her home. He said it was nothing and that he was happy to do it; “No problem.” One of them checked their phone, probably he did. He motioned to go. She asked him to wait. She stepped in for a hug and embraced him. He wasn’t reluctant, he didn’t stop to think about the implications, and he did not consider his girlfriend hundreds of miles away. He didn’t think about how much his girlfriend meant to him, and he didn’t consider how much this girl holding him right now wanted to be more than friends. He held her tight in his arms. And he released first. She held a second longer, understanding that now, given the circumstances, and his obligations, that he could not be with her. She turned to unlock her door; she pulled it open and stood there, holding it. One hand on the door, the other hanging at her side. They said goodbye, he turned and walked away. But she didn’t turn in. She stood there.

I was fixated on her. I wanted to walk over to her and tell her I’m sorry it wouldn’t work out with him. I wanted to run after him and tell him what he’s doing to her. But I couldn’t. I watched her. This image is cast in my mind like stone. The yellow lights on the wall above her emitting their soft enveloping glow. The way she held most of her weight on one foot. Her head cocked slightly to one side and inclined towards his fleeting presence. And my friend reclined on next to me. Cigarette smoke drifting before my face in the breeze.

To me this moment only lasted about fifteen seconds. She watched after him. I saw in her body language how she registered the ramifications of their conversation and interactions. Her body slouched. Her hand fell off the door letting it swing in, stopping against her shoulder. She loosened her firm stance and stepped one foot back to turn, but she couldn’t yet. She had to watch him a few seconds longer; she had to hope that he’d changed; that maybe he did feel the same way for her. Hoped that maybe he’d turn back for her. I could only imagine how long this felt for her, the emotions she felt as he went farther away, without looking back: the impact of his words tonight, the realizations within that hug, the disappointment and despondency of that brief moment. She finally turned in—sad, lonely, defeated. I felt sorry for her. I felt guilty that I had intruded on this moment; that I watched something that was supposed to be private and within only her world.

I finished my cigarette, crushed the butt, and threw it away.

title: A Goodbye (ws please)

question: Who are the main characters in the story?

answer: The narrator and her guy friend who smokes. The girl across the street and the guy that took her home. All unnamed.

question: Describe the main characters' relationship with one another.

answer: The narrator and the smoking guy are friends, but they don't know the girl across the street and her date personally.

question: Where does the story take place?

answer: The porch of the narrator's friend.

question: Who were they watching from the porch?

question: Write a ~6 sentence summary.

answer: The narrator is hanging out on her friend's porch when they see a guy walking a girl home, which is a building across the street from their vantage point. The narrator is a spectator and is eager for what happens next. She's too far to hear what the girl and guy are talking about, but their body language says it all: the girl likes the guy, but he doesn't feel the same way. The guy leaves after the girl looks defeated, looking back several times hoping the guy would go back to her. It's painful to watch and the narrator feels bad for the girl. She also feels terrible for intruding on the girl's privacy.


text:
[A section of the hieroglyphic calendar at the Kom Ombo Temple, displaying the transition from Month XII to Month I without mention of the five epagomenal days.] [The sky goddess Nut and human figures representing stars and constellations from the star chart in the tomb of Ramses VI.] The ancient EGYPTIAN CALENDAR – a civil calendar – was a solar calendar with a 365-day year. The year consisted of three seasons of 120 days each, plus an intercalary month of five epagomenal days treated as outside of the year proper. Each season was divided into four months of 30 days. These twelve months were initially numbered within each season but came to also be known by the names of their principal festivals. Each month was divided into three 10-day periods known as decans or decades. It has been suggested that during the Nineteenth Dynasty and the Twentieth Dynasty the last two days of each decan were usually treated as a kind of weekend for the royal craftsmen, with royal artisans free from work.

Because this calendrical year was nearly a quarter of a day shorter than the solar year, the Egyptian calendar lost about one day every four years relative to the Gregorian calendar. It is therefore sometimes referred to as the (), as its months rotated about one day through the solar year every four years. 's Canopus Decree attempted to correct this through the introduction of a sixth epagomenal day every four years but the proposal was resisted by the Egyptian priests and people and abandoned until the establishment of the Alexandrian or Coptic calendar by Augustus. The introduction of a leap day to the Egyptian calendar made it equivalent to the reformed Julian calendar, although by extension it continues to diverge from the Gregorian calendar at the turn of most centuries.

This ran concurrently with an which was used for some religious rituals and festivals. Some Egyptologists have described it as lunisolar, with an intercalary month supposedly added every two or three years to maintain its consistency with the solar year, but no evidence of such intercalation before the has yet been discovered.

History

Prehistory

[The Nile flood at Cairo .] Current understanding of the earliest development of the Egyptian calendar remains speculative. A tablet from the reign of the First Dynasty pharaoh Djer () was once thought to indicate that the Egyptians had already established a link between the heliacal rising of Sirius ( or _Sopdet_, “Triangle”; , _Sôthis_) and the beginning of their year, but more recent analysis has questioned whether the tablet's picture refers to Sirius at all. Similarly, based on the Palermo Stone, Alexander Scharff proposed that the Old Kingdom observed a 320-day year, but his theory has not been widely accepted. Some evidence suggests the early civil calendar had 360 days,[1] although it might merely reflect the unusual status of the five epagomenal days as days “added on” to the proper year.

With its interior effectively rainless for thousands of years, ancient Egypt was “a gift of the river” Nile,[2] whose annual flooding organized the natural year into three broad natural seasons known to the Egyptians as:[3]

1.  Inundation or Flood (, sometimes anglicized as _Akhet_): roughly from September to January.
2.  Emergence or Winter (__, sometimes anglicized as _Peret_): roughly from January to May.
3.  Low Water or Harvest or Summer (__, sometimes anglicized as _Shemu_): roughly from May to September.[4]

As early as the reign of Djer (, Dynasty I), yearly records were being kept of the flood's high-water mark. Otto E. Neugebauer noted that a 365-day year can be established by averaging a few decades of accurate observations of the Nile flood without any need for astronomical observations, although the great irregularity of the flood from year to year and the difficulty of maintaining a sufficiently accurate Nilometer and record in prehistoric Egypt has caused other scholars to doubt that it formed the basis for the Egyptian calendar.[5][6]
Note that the names of the three natural seasons were incorporated into the Civil calendar year (see below), but as this calendar year is a , the seasons of this calendar slowly rotate through the natural solar year, meaning that Civil season Akhet/Inundation only occasionally coincided with the Nile inundation.

Lunar calendar

[A modern lunar calendar for 2017] The Egyptians appear to have used a purely lunar calendar prior to the establishment of the solar civil calendar in which each month began on the morning when the waning crescent moon could no longer be seen. Until the closing of Egypt's pagan temples under the Byzantines, the lunar calendar continued to be used as the liturgical year of various cults. The month may have been divided into four “weeks” of 7 or 8 days, reflecting each quarter of the lunar phases. Because the exact time of morning considered to begin the Egyptian day remains uncertain[7] and there is no evidence that any method other than observation was used to determine the beginnings of the lunar months prior to the there is no sure way to reconstruct exact dates in the lunar calendar from its known dates.[8] The difference between beginning the day at the first light of dawn or at sunrise accounts for an 11–14 year shift in dated observations of the lunar cycle. It remains unknown how the Egyptians dealt with obscurement by clouds when they occurred and the best current algorithms have been shown to differ from actual observation of the waning crescent moon in about one-in-five cases.[9]

Parker and others have argued for its development into an observational and then calculated lunisolar calendar which used a 30 day intercalary month every two to three years to accommodate the lunar year's loss of about 11 days a year relative to the solar year and to maintain the placement of the heliacal rising of Sirius within its twelfth month. No evidence for such a month, however, exists in the present historical record.

A second lunar calendar is attested by a demotic astronomical papyrus[10] dating to sometime after 144  which outlines a lunisolar calendar operating in accordance with the Egyptian civil calendar according to a 25 year cycle. The calendar seems to show its month beginning with the first visibility of the waxing crescent moon, but Parker displayed an error in the cycle of about a day in 500 years, using it to show the cycle was developed to correspond with the new moon around 357. This date places it prior to the Ptolemaic period and within the native Egyptian Dynasty XXX. Egypt's 1st Persian occupation, however, seems likely to have been its inspiration. This lunisolar calendar's calculations apparently continued to be used without correction into the Roman period, even when they no longer precisely matched the observable lunar phases.

The days of the lunar month — known to the Egyptians as a “temple month” — were individually named and celebrated as stages in the life of the moon god, variously Thoth in the Middle Kingdom or Khonsu in the Ptolemaic era: “He ... is conceived ... on _Psḏntyw_; he is born on _Ꜣbd_; he grows old after _Smdt_”.

+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| Day                               | Name                              |
+===================================+===================================+
| Egyptian                          | Meaning (if known)                |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| 1                                 | N10-G4-W3                         |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| 2                                 | D1-N11:N14                        |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| 3                                 | F31-Q3:D21-W3                     |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| 4                                 | O1:D21-X1-S29-G17-W3              |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| 5                                 | Aa1:X1-D2:Z1-R2-W3                |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| 6                                 | S29-T22-N35:X1-Z2:Z2-W3           |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| 7                                 | D46:N35-M17-X1-W3                 |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| 8                                 | D1*D12:W3                         |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| 9                                 | F19-Q3:W3                         |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| 10                                | S29-M17-I9:D52-W3                 |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| 11                                | F29-N8-Z2:W3                      |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| 12                                | N31:D53-N31:D53-W3                |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| 13                                | D12-D12-U1-A59-W3                 |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| 14                                | S32-G1-Z7-W3                      |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| 15                                | D1-N13                            |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| 16                                | F31-Q3:D21-Z1*Z1:W24-W3           |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| 17                                | S32-G1-Z7-W3                      |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| 18                                | M17-V28-N12-W3                    |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| 19                                | F21-S43-S43-S43-I9:W3             |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| 20                                | U21:Q3-W3                         |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| 21                                | Aa20-D21:G43-W3                   |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| 22                                | F22-M44-X1:W3                     |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| 23                                | D46:N35-M17-X1-W3                 |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| 24                                | V31:N35-V28-G43-N2-W3             |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| 25                                | F29-N8-Z2:W3                      |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| 26                                | O1:D21-X1:W3                      |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| 27                                | G43-N37-D58-W3                    |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| 28                                | O23-W24*X1:N1-W3                  |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| 29                                | P6-A47-W3                         |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| 30                                | O1:D21-X1:D54-O34:R12:X1*Z4-W3    |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
|  |
+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+

: DAYS OF THE LUNAR MONTH

Civil calendar

[Sirius (_bottom_) and Orion (_right_), seen from the Hubble Telescope. Together, the three brightest stars of the northern winter sky—Sirius, Betelgeuse (_top right_), and Procyon (_top left_)—can also be understood as forming the Winter Triangle.] [A Middle Kingdom star chart] [A hieroglyphic calendar at Elephantine.] The civil calendar was established at some early date in or before the Old Kingdom, with probable evidence of its use early in the reign of Shepseskaf (, Dynasty IV) and certain attestation during the reign of Neferirkare (mid-25th century, Dynasty V). It was probably based upon astronomical observations of Sirius whose reappearance in the sky closely corresponded to the average onset of the Nile flood through the 5th and A recent development is the discovery that the 30-day month of the Mesopotamian calendar dates as late as the Jemdet Nasr Period (late 4th-millennium),[11] a time Egyptian culture was borrowing various objects and cultural features from the Fertile Crescent, leaving open the possibility that the main features of the calendar were borrowed in one direction or the other as well.

The civil year comprised exactly 365 days, divided into 12 months of 30 days each and an intercalary month of five days, were celebrated as the birthdays of the gods Osiris, Horus, Set, Isis, and Nephthys. The regular months were grouped into Egypt's three seasons, which gave them their original names, and divided into three 10-day periods known as decans or decades. In later sources, these were distinguished as “first”, “middle”, and “last”. It has been suggested that during the Nineteenth Dynasty and the Twentieth Dynasty the last two days of each decan were usually treated as a kind of weekend for the royal craftsmen, with royal artisans free from work. Dates were typically expressed in a YMD format, with a pharaoh's regnal year followed by the month followed by the day of the month.[12] For example, the New Year occurred on

The importance of the calendar to Egyptian religion is reflected in the use of the title “Lord of Years” (__)[13] for its various creator gods.[14] Time was also considered an integral aspect of Maat,[15] the cosmic order which opposed chaos, lies, and violence.

The civil calendar was apparently established in a year when Sirius rose on its New Year but, because of its lack of leap years, it began to slowly cycle backwards through the solar year. Sirius itself, about 40° below the ecliptic, follows a Sothic year almost exactly matching that of the Sun, with its reappearance now occurring at the latitude of Cairo (ancient Heliopolis and Memphis) on 19July (Julian), only two or three days later than its occurrence in early antiquity.[16]

Following Censorinus and Meyer, the standard understanding was that, four years from the calendar's inception, Sirius would have no longer reappeared on the Egyptian New Year but on the next day ; four years later, it would have reappeared on the day after that; and so on through the entire calendar until its rise finally returned to 1460 years after the calendar's inception, an event known as “apocatastasis”.[17] Owing to the event's extreme regularity, Egyptian recordings of the calendrical date of the rise of Sirius have been used by Egyptologists to fix its calendar and other events dated to it, at least to the level of the four-Egyptian-year periods which share the same date for Sirius's return, known as “tetraëterides” or “quadrennia”.[18] For example, an account that Sothis rose on —the 181st day of the year—should show that somewhere 720, 721, 722, or 723 years have passed since the last apocatastasis. Following such a scheme, the record of Sirius rising on in 239 implies apocatastases on 1319 and 2779 ±3 years. Censorinus's placement of an apocatastasis on 21July 139 permitted the calculation of its predecessors to 1322, 2782, and 4242.[19] The last is sometimes described as “the first exactly dated year in history”[20] but, since the calendar is attested before Dynasty XVIII and the last date is now known to far predate early Egyptian civilization, it is typically credited to Dynasty II around the middle date.[21]

  Year           Date
  -------------- -------------- --------------- ---------
  Egyptian[22]   Julian
  3500
  3000
  2500           III Akhet 8
  2000           III Peret 14
  1500           III Shemu 19
  1000           III Akhet 19
    500          III Peret 25
  1              III Shemu 30
  500            IV Akhet 2

  : HELIACAL RISING OF SIRIUS AT HELIOPOLIS

The classic understanding of the Sothic cycle relies, however, on several potentially erroneous assumptions. Following Scaliger,[24] Censorinus's date is usually emended to 20July but ancient authorities give a variety of 'fixed' dates for the rise of Sirius. His use of the year 139 seems questionable, as 136 seems to have been the start of the tetraëteris and the later date chosen to flatter the birthday of Censorinus's patron. Perfect observation of Sirius's actual behavior during the cycle—including its minor shift relative to the solar year—would produce a period of 1457 years; observational difficulties produce a further margin of error of about two decades.[25] Although it is certain the Egyptian day began in the morning, another four years are shifted depending on whether the precise start occurred at the first light of dawn or at sunrise. It has been noted that there is no recognition in surviving records that Sirius's minor irregularities sometimes produce a triëteris or penteteris (three- or five-year periods of agreement with an Egyptian date) rather than the usual four-year periods and, given that the expected discrepancy is no more than 8 years in 1460, the cycle may have been applied schematically[26] according to the civil years by Egyptians and the Julian year by the Greeks and Romans. The occurrence of the apocatastasis in the so close to the great political and sun-based religious reforms of /Akhenaton also leaves open the possibility that the cycle's strict application was occasionally subject to political interference. The record and celebration of Sirius's rising would also vary by several days (equating to decades of the cycle) in eras when the official site of observation was moved from near Cairo. The return of Sirius to the night sky varies by about a day per degree of latitude, causing it to be seen 8–10 days earlier at Aswan than at Alexandria, a difference which causes Rolf Krauss to propose dating much of Egyptian history decades later than the present consensus.

Ptolemaic calendar

Following Alexander the Great's conquest of the Persian Empire, the Macedonian Ptolemaic Dynasty came to power in Egypt, continuing to use its native calendars with Hellenized names. In 238 , Ptolemy III's Canopus Decree ordered that every 4th year should incorporate a sixth day in its intercalary month,[27] honoring him and his wife as gods equivalent to the children of Nut. The reform was resisted by the Egyptian priests and people and was abandoned.

Roman calendar

Egyptian scholars were involved with the establishment of Julius Caesar's reform of the Roman calendar, although the Roman priests initially misapplied its formula and—by counting inclusively—added leap days every three years instead of every four. The mistake was corrected by Augustus through omitting leap years for a number of cycles until 4. As the personal ruler of Egypt, he also imposed a reform of its calendar in 26 or 25, possibly to correspond with the beginning of a new Callipic cycle, with the first leap day occurring on 6 Epag. in the year 22. This “Alexandrian calendar” corresponds almost exactly to the Julian, causing 1Thoth to remain at 29August except during the year before a Julian leap year, when it occurs on 30August instead. The calendars then resume their correspondence after 4Phamenoth/ 29February of the next year.[28]

Months

For much of Egyptian history, the months were not referred to by individual names, but were rather numbered within the three seasons. As early as the Middle Kingdom, however, each month had its own name. These finally evolved into the New Kingdom months, which in turn gave rise to the Hellenized names that were used for chronology by Ptolemy in his Almagest and by others. Copernicus constructed his tables for the motion of the planets based on the Egyptian year because of its mathematical regularity. A convention of modern Egyptologists is to number the months consecutively using Roman numerals.

A persistent problem of Egyptology has been that the festivals which give their names to the months occur in the next month. Gardiner proposed that an original calendar governed by the priests of Ra was supplanted by an improvement developed by the partisans of Thoth. Parker connected the discrepancy to his theories concerning the lunar calendar. Sethe, Weill, and Clagett proposed that the names expressed the idea that each month culminated in the festival beginning the next.

+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+
| Egyptologic | English[29] | Egyptian    | Greek[30]   | Coptic      |
| al          |             |             |             |             |
+=============+=============+=============+=============+=============+
| Seasonal[31 | Middle      | New Kingdom |
| ]           | Kingdom     |             |
+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+
| I           | I Akhet     | 1st Month   | Tḫy         | Ḏḥwtyt      |
|             | Thoth       | of Flood    |             |             |
|             |             | 1 _Ꜣḫt_     |             |             |
+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+
| II          | II Akhet    | 2nd Month   | Mnht        | PꜢ n-ip.t   |
|             | Phaophi     | of Flood    |             |             |
|             |             | 2 _Ꜣḫt_     |             |             |
+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+
| III         | III Akhet   | 3rd Month   | Ḥwt-ḥwr     | Ḥwt-ḥwr     |
|             | Athyr       | of Flood    |             |             |
|             |             | 3 _Ꜣḫt_     |             |             |
+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+
| IV          | IV Akhet    | 4th Month   | KꜢ-ḥr-KꜢ    | KꜢ-ḥr-KꜢ    |
|             | Choiak      | of Flood    |             |             |
|             |             | 4 _Ꜣḫt_     |             |             |
+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+
| V           | I Peret     | 1st Month   | Sf-Bdt      | TꜢ-ꜥb       |
|             | Tybi        | of Growth   |             |             |
|             |             | 1 _Prt_     |             |             |
+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+
| VI          | II Peret    | 2nd Month   | Rḫ Wr       | Mḫyr        |
|             | Mechir      | of Growth   |             |             |
|             |             | 2 _Prt_     |             |             |
+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+
| VII         | III Peret   | 3rd Month   | Rḫ Nds      | PꜢ          |
|             | Phamenoth   | of Growth   |             | n-imn-ḥtp.w |
|             |             | 3 _Prt_     |             |             |
+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+
| VIII        | IV Peret    | 4th Month   | Rnwt        | PꜢ n-rnn.t  |
|             | Pharmuthi   | of Growth   |             |             |
|             |             | 4 _Prt_     |             |             |
+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+
| IX          | I Shemu     | 1 _Šmw_     | Ḫnsw        | PꜢ n-ḫns.w  |
|             | Pachons     |             |             |             |
+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+
| X           | II Shemu    | 2 _Šmw_     | Hnt-htj     | PꜢ n-in.t   |
|             | Payni       |             |             |             |
+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+
| XI          | III Shemu   | 3rd Month   | Ipt-hmt     | Ipip        |
|             | Epiphi      | of Low      |             |             |
|             |             | Water       |             |             |
|             |             | 3 _Šmw_     |             |             |
+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+
| XII         | IV Shemu    | 4th Month   | _Wp Rnpt_   | Birth of    |
|             | Mesore      | of Low      |             | the Sun     |
|             |             | Water       |             | _Mswt Rꜥ_   |
|             |             | 4 _Šmw_     |             |             |
+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+
| —           | Intercalary | —           |             | _Hryw Rnpt_ |
|             | Month       |             |             |             |
|             | EpagomenalD |             |             |             |
|             | ays         |             |             |             |
+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+
|  |
+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+

: Months

Legacy

[An 11th-century Coptic calendrical icon displaying two months of saints] The reformed Egyptian calendar continues to be used in Egypt as the Coptic calendar of the Egyptian Church and by the Egyptian populace at large, particularly the fellah, to calculate the agricultural seasons. It differs only in its era, which is dated from the ascension of the Roman emperor Diocletian. Contemporary Egyptian farmers, like their ancient predecessors, divide the year into three seasons: winter, summer, and inundation. It is also associated with local festivals such as the annual Flooding of the Nile and the ancient Spring festival _Sham el-Nessim_.

The Ethiopian calendar is based on this reformed calendar but uses Amharic names for its months and uses a different era. The French Republican Calendar was similar, but began its year at the autumnal equinox. British orrery maker John Gleave represented the Egyptian calendar in a reconstruction of the Antikythera mechanism.

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[26]

[27] A Chronological Survey of Precisely Dated Demotic and Abnormal Hieratic Sources

[28] Alexandrian reform of the Egyptian calendar

[29]

[30] .

[31]

title: Egyptian calendar

question: Why was the Egyptian calendar created?

answer: A reason is not explicitly stated, but calendars are useful tools for keeping track of records in any society, particularly in terms of annual harvests.

question: Why did the system change from lunar to solar?

answer: No clear answer is available in the text, but the description of the lunar calendar, with all its flaws and imprecision, indicates the change may have occurred to add consistency to time-keeping and records.

question: Why were five epagomenal days separate from the year?

answer: They existed outside the calendar months by necessity, to keep the months aligned with the seasons they were based on.

question: Why were there three seasons?

answer: The three seasons were supposed to reflect the cycle of climate changes throughout the land, most significantly the water level of the Nile. Hence, the flood season, the emergence season, and the low water season. This did not necessarily always coincide the environmental reality, but it seems the names became arbitrary as the system developed.


text:
I just wrote this after randomly remembering that camp song about squishing bumblebees and my proud mother.  Its my very first short story and I just wanted to put it out there, see what everything thinks.  Thanks for reading and letting me know what you think!

"I'm picking up my baby bumblebee.  Won't my mommy be so proud of me!"

I frantically bombard the walls that have become my prison.  Panic sets in as tiny fragments of light stream in.  Is it just me or are these walls sweating?  It’s as if the walls are alive, breathing, perspiring, anticipating.

Moments ago my antennae was deep inside a particularly fragrant and productive pollen mine.  Pink with streaks of white, this mine smelled sweet like home.  Home.  Will I ever see home again?  The perfect geometrical patterns of the combs, sticky with the luscious elixir of life.

There is a high pitched noise that I have suddenly become aware of.  An indecipherable amalgamation of sounds, I have a suspicion that the sound is a voice, communicating to me.  I have heard stories of this phenomenon.  Singing, they call it.

I must escape!  Using the only tool available to me I unleash my weapon stabbing the walls in a desperate attempt to break through the impenetrable fortress.  Once.  Twice.  This is fruitless.

“Owww!  He stung me!”

I’m free!  I’ve been released!  With that combination of sounds my captor has been persuaded to set me free!  Free to feel the open air, free to mine for the queen, free to fulfill my duty to society!

 “I’m squishing up my baby bumblebee, won’t my mommy be so proud of me!”

The impact comes before I can register the danger I am in.  A rush of air denies me my initial path out the front of my cell while I feel the shadows of my walls enclosing me again.  This time the walls do not stop at cell like proportions; they suffocate me with their closeness.
Now the walls are moving, gyrating against themselves.  I realize now that I am the reason.  The songs, the cell, the temporary release.  All of it was done as a lead up to this moment.  I can hear the voice repeating those fateful words.

“Won’t my mommy be so proud of me”.

I feel myself expanding, flattening into a paste.  As the walls continue their deliberate torture I am struck by the suddenness of it all.  You never truly embrace things until they’re gone.  My queen, the sweet elixir of life, the fresh air.  All of it, lost to the whims of this creature.  Will your mommy be so proud of you?  She better be.

title: Baby Bumblebee

question: Who is the narrator?

answer: A bumblebee.

question: What is the main conflict of the story?

answer: The bumblebee is caught by a human child.

question: What does the narrator want?

answer: To be free to return home and fulfil their duty to society by mining for the queen.

question: What does the antagonist want?

answer: To fulfil the words of the rhyme they're singing, and catch then crush a baby bumblebee.

question: Who is the antagonist?

answer: A human child.

question: Write a ~4 sentence summary.

answer: While a child is singing a song about picking up a baby bumblebee so their mommy will be proud, a bumblebee panics as it is captured by clammy hands. The bumblebee is determined to escape to get back to its work mining pollen for the queen and so stings the hand twice, causing the child to cry out in pain. This brings the second part of the song to fruition: "I'm squishing up my baby bumblebee, won't my mommy be so proud of me!" In the moments it's being flattened, the bumblebee reflects on losing its life to the whims of this creature.


text:
CAPE BARANOV (; _Mys Baranova_)[1] is a headland in Severnaya Zemlya, Russia.

History

The Laptev Sea shore of present-day Severnaya Zemlya was discovered by Boris Vilkitsky in 1913 during the Arctic Ocean Hydrographic Expedition on behalf of the Russian Hydrographic Service, but he was unaware that there was a strait west of the cape between what is now Bolshevik Island and the islands further north, for the straits are frozen most of the year, forming a compact whole.[2][3]

This cape was named during the 1930–1932 expedition to the archipelago led by Georgy Ushakov and Nikolay Urvantsev after Soviet scientist Fedor Baranov (1886–1965).[4]

Located near Cape Baranov, roughly to the SSE of the cape,[5] the Prima Polar Station of the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute closed down in 1996 and reopened in June 2013 as a private venture.[6] This is currently the only Arctic research facility operating in Severnaya Zemlya.[7][8]

Geography

Cape Baranov is located in the northern part of Bolshevik Island facing the Shokalsky Strait.[9] This headland stretches out northwards in an unglaciated lowland area west of the mouth of Mikoyan Bay.[10]

  -------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------
  [1975 map showing Severnaya Zemlya and the Taymyr Peninsula]   [Landsat 7 image of Bolshevik Island]
  -------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------

[1]

[2] {{ cite journal|author=Barr, William |year=1975|title=Severnaya Zemlya: the last major discovery |journal=Geographical Journal|volume=141|number=1|pages=59–71|doi=10.2307/1796946}}

[3] [http://encycl.yandex.ru/art.xml?art=geography/geo/geo2/geo-3432.htm&encpage=geography&mrkp=http://hghltd.yandex.com/yandbtm%3Furl%3Dhttp://encycl.yandex.ru/texts/geography/geo/geo2/geo-3432.htm%26text%3D%CE%F1%F2%F0%EE%E2%2B%CE%EA%F2%FF%E1%F0%FC%F1%EA%EE%E9%2B%D0%E5%E2%EE%EB%FE%F6%E8%E8%26reqtext%3D%28%CE%F1%F2%F0%EE%E2::18819%2B%26%2B%CE%EA%F2%FF%E1%F0%FC%F1%EA%EE%E9::86870%2B%26/%28-2%2B4%29%2B%D0%E5%E2%EE%EB%FE%F6%E8%E8::197748%29//6%26%26isu%3D2 “Октябрьской Революции Остров”] _Great Soviet Encyclopedia_

[4] Архипелаг Северная Земля — один из наиболее крупных районов оледенения на территории России

[5] Информационное сообщение об открытии «Ледовой базы «Мыс Баранова» для выполнения научных работ ААНИИ в 2013–2014 г.г.

[6] Фотогалерея: 2004 - “Полярное Кольцо” - Местонахождение: 17 мая, Северная Земля, о.Большевик, м.Баранова, п/ст Примах

[7] Bird Observations in Severnaya Zemlya, Siberia

[8] База Баранова, прием!

[9] GoogleEarth

[10]

title: Cape Baranov

question: What is Cape Baranov?

answer: It is a headland in Severnaya Zemlya, Russia.

question: Who is Boris Vilkitsky?

answer: He discovered the Laptev Seashore of present-day Severnaya Zemlya in 1913 during the Arctic Ocean Hydrographic Expedition on behalf of the Russian Hydrographic Service.

question: Who is Fedor Baranov?

answer: He is a Soviet scientist and the cape was named after him during the 1930-1932 expedition to the archipelago led by Georgy Ushakov and Nikolay Urvantsev.

question: What is the only Arctic research facility currently operating in Severnaya Zemlya?

answer: The Prima Polar Station of the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: Cape Baranov is a headland in Severnaya Zemlya, Russia, located in the northern part of Bolshevik Island facing the Shokalsky Strait and stretching northwards in an unglaciated lowland area west of the mouth of Mikoyan Bay. Cape Baranov was named after Soviet scientist Fedor Baranov during the 1930-1932 expedition to the archipelago led by Georgy Ushakov and Nikolay Urvantsev.


text:
image copyrightUniversal Pictures

image captionPitch Perfect 2 reunites the original cast, along with newcomer Hailee Steinfeld (fourth from left)

MUSICAL COMEDY PITCH PERFECT 2 HAS TOPPED THE UK BOX OFFICE IN ITS OPENING WEEKEND, BEATING MAD MAX: FURY ROAD INTO SECOND PLACE.

The new Pitch Perfect film, which again stars Anna Kendrick and Rebel Wilson, took £5m - more than five times the original film's cinema debut in 2012.

Mad Max: Fury Road, starring Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron, took £4.5m.

The Avengers: Age of Ultron slipped into third after three weeks at number one, with £1.66m.

The original Pitch Perfect, about a fictional a capella singing group called the Barden Bellas, became a sleeper hit following its release.

The sequel also topped the US and Canada box office over the weekend, taking an impressive $70.3m (£44.7m) - more than the first film took during its entire US run in cinemas.

Directed by Elizabeth Banks, the story sees the Bellas travel to the world championships to defend their honour against German aca-champions Das Sound Machine.

image copyrightFilm company

image captionTom Hardy takes on Mel Gibson's former role in the new film

The new Mad Max film, a reboot of the original starring Mel Gibson, premiered at Cannes Film Festival last week where it received favourable reviews.

Most reviewers awarded the action-packed epic four or five stars, with The Daily Telegraph describing it as a "Krakatoan eruption of craziness".

TV spin-off Spooks: The Greater Good and Carey Mulligan costume drama Far From the Madding Crowd, based on Thomas Hardy's novel, completed the weekend's top five.

-   Film

-   -   -   -

question: What is a sleeper hit?

answer: The film isn't a hit initially, but later becomes a hit thereby gaining media attention.

question: Which movies were the top three at the UK box office at the time of writing this article and how much money did they make?

answer:
1. Pitch perfect 2 - £5m
2. Mad Max: Fury Road - £4.5m
3. The Avengers: Age of Ultron - £1.66m

question: Was Pitch Perfect 2 more or less successful than the first movie?

answer: More successful, earning $70.3m more than the first film during its entire US run.

question: What is the plot of Pitch Perfect 2?

answer: The story sees the Bellas travel to the world championships to defend their honor against German aca-champions Das Sound Machine.

question: How many stars did most reviewers give the new Mad Max film?

answer: Most reviewers awarded the action-packed epic four or five stars.

question: Write a ~4 sentence summary.

answer: Pitch perfect 2 outperformed Mad Max: Fury Road at the UK box office. It also surpassed the earnings of the first film in the Canadian and US box office on its first weekend. Mad Max: Fury Road received favorable reviews at the Cannes film festival. The Avengers: Age of Ultron was relegated to third spot.


text:
CAROLYN B. SHELTON (; October 1876 – July 26, 1936) was the long-serving private secretary of Governor of Oregon and United States Senator George Earle Chamberlain. From February 27 to March 1, 1909, she acted as governor in Chamberlain's absence, making her the first woman to serve as acting governor of a U.S. state.[1][2] She performed only routine duties during that time. She and Chamberlain married in 1926, after the death of his first wife, but he died two years later.

Early life

CAROLYN B. SKIFF was born in October 1876 to parents Willis S. and Mary C. Skiff in Oregon.[3] When Carolyn was nine years old, her father mysteriously disappeared while waiting for a midnight train home. Although the Pinkerton Detective Agency took on the case, he was never found. Her mother died just two years later. Skiff and her siblings, Nolan and Mabel, were placed in the care of her older brother Orrin and his wife, Elizabeth. A year later, local attorney John W. Shelton became the guardian of the children after unsuccessfully prosecuting her father's murder.[4][5] At sixteen years old, Skiff married Shelton on October 27, 1892, in Weiser, Idaho.[6] John died two years later.[7]

Career

A widow still in her teens, Carolyn Shelton became a stenographer at a law firm, Starr, Thomas and Chamberlain.[8][9] Shelton excelled in the office, so much so that she was entrusted with drawing up legal documents, a task often assigned to young lawyers. She impressed George Earle Chamberlain, an attorney at the firm, and when he was elected district attorney for Multnomah County, he took Shelton with him as his private secretary.[10] When Chamberlain was elected Governor of Oregon in 1902, Shelton again went to work for him as his private secretary.[11][12]

Acting Governor of Oregon

Shelton briefly served as acting governor of Oregon in 1909, making her the first woman to serve as governor in the United States.[13] Shelton was still serving as Chamberlain's private secretary when he was elected to the United States Senate in 1908. He was to be sworn in as Senator on March 4, 1909 in Washington, D.C. Chamberlain left Oregon on February 27 even though his term was not slated to end until March 1, so that he could make the cross-country trip to Washington, D.C. and arrive on time to be sworn in with the rest of the incoming class of Senators. The governor-designate, Secretary of State Frank W. Benson, was sick in bed and unable to assume the office early, so Chamberlain left Shelton, his private secretary, to serve as governor over the weekend. It had been customary for governors to leave their private secretaries in charge when out of state for travel or otherwise unable to perform their duties, although prior to Shelton private secretaries to the governor had been men.[14]

Shelton performed the routine duties of the governor, including requisitions and extradition matters.[15] Shelton resolved not to grant any pardons because of her view that pardons should rarely be granted.[16] No major activities were recorded during her short tenure as acting governor. She held this distinction three years before women in Oregon were given the right to vote.[17] Some Oregonians referred to her as “Madam Governor” even after her brief tenure in office ended.[18][19]

Work in Washington, D.C.

Shelton followed Chamberlain to Washington D.C. where she once again worked as his secretary.[20] Chamberlain's job as a Senator led to Shelton holding the position of clerk to the Military Affairs Committee of the Senate, a committee Chamberlain chaired.[21] The _Morning Oregonian_ reported Shelton was on the official roles as clerk to the Committee, drawing a salary of $2,500.00, even though she did not actually handle the Committee's business.[22]

Later life and death

On July 12, 1926 Shelton married Chamberlain in Norfolk, Virginia, one year after the passing of Chamberlain's first wife.[23][24] George Chamberlain died two years later from effects of an earlier stroke. Following his death, Shelton returned to Union, Oregon. She died on July 26, 1936. She is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.[25]

[1]  More Oregon Women Firsts|last=|first=|date=|website=www.pdx.edu|publisher=|access-date=December 24, 2016}}

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]

[18]

[19]

[20]

[21]

[22]

[23]

[24]

[25]

title: Carolyn B. Shelton

question: Who was Carolyn B. Shelton?

answer: The long-serving private secretary of Governor of Oregon and United States Senator George Earle Chamberlain.

question: What else did she do?

answer: She acted as governor in Chamberlain's absence, making her the first woman to serve as acting governor of a U.S.state.

question: How long were she and Chamberlain married?

answer: Two years.

question: At what stage in her life did Shelton first become a widower?

answer: Her teens.

question: Write a ~11 sentence summary.

answer: Carolyn B. Shelton, nee Carloyn B. Shiff, was born in 1876. She was orphaned at a young age, and married the prosecuting attorney on the case of her father's disappearance in 1892. The man-John W. Shelton-died two years after their wedding. A teenage widow, Carolyn Shelton joined a law firm first as a stenographer and then took on my responsibilities as her talent became clear. She worked for attorney George Earle Chamberlain, who was so impressed he took her on to continue being his secretary when he became Governor of Oregon in 1902. At one point, Chamberlain was required to travel for business, so Shelton acted as governor in Chamberlain's absence, making her the first woman to serve as acting governor of a U.S.state. She was still serving as Chamberlain's private secretary when he was elected to the United States Senate in 1908. Shelton followed him to D.C.. In 1926, the two married in Virginia, but Chamberlain would die two years after their wedding. Carolyn Shelton returned to Oregon after his death, where she passed away on July 26, 1936. She was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.


text:
-   Table of Contents

-   _1_ Introduction
-   _2_ How to use Malwarebytes Anti-Malware
-   _3_ Troubleshoot Malwarebytes Anti-Malware

Introduction

As you may have noticed, MalwareBytes or MBAM, is used in a lot of our removal guides. We do this for no reason other than the fact that the program simply works well and that we can count on it to remove what it says it can. It is updated constantly throughout the day and has excellent protection on all the new malware that comes out. With that said, we feel that MalwareBytes is an important tool to have as part of your computer's security arsenal. One of the program's nicest features is that it is free and easy to use. For those, who may want more advanced features you can purchase the commercial full version to get real-time protection that will protect you from being infected in the first place. Please note that if you use the link to purchase the program, BleepingComputer.com will generate a commission from the sale.

The guide below will walk you through installing, configuring, and scanning your computer with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware.

How to use Malwarebytes Anti-Malware

1

Print out these instructions as we will need to close every window that is open later in the fix.

2

At this point you should download Malwarebytes Anti-Malware, or MBAM, to scan your computer for any infections, adware, or potentially unwanted programs that may be present. Please download Malwarebytes from the following location and save it to your desktop:

3

Once downloaded, close all programs and Windows on your computer, including this one.

4

Double-click on the icon on your desktop named MB3-SETUP-1878.1878-3.3.1.2183.EXE. This will start the installation of MBAM onto your computer.

5

When the installation begins, keep following the prompts in order to continue with the installation process. Do not make any changes to default settings and when the program has finished installing, make sure you leave LAUNCH MALWAREBYTES ANTI-MALWARE checked. Then click on the FINISH button. If MalwareBytes prompts you to reboot, please do not do so.

6

MBAM will now start and you will be at the main screen as shown below.

[Malwarebytes Anti-Malware]

We now need to enable rootkit scanning to detect the largest amount of malware and unwanted programs that is possible with MalwareBytes. To do this, click on the SETTINGS button on the left side of the screen and you will be brought to the general settings section.

Now click on the PROTECTION tab at the top of the screen. You will now be shown the settings MalwareBytes will use when scanning your computer.

[Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Detection and Protection Settings Page]

At this screen, please enable the SCAN FOR ROOTKITS setting by clicking on the toggle switch so it turns green.

7

Now that you have enabled rootkit scanning, click on the SCAN button to go to the scan screen.

[Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Scan Screen]

Make sure THREAT SCAN is selected and then click on the START SCAN button. If there is an update available for Malwarebytes it will automatically download and install it before performing the scan.

8

MBAM will now start scanning your computer for malware. This process can take quite a while, so we suggest you do something else and periodically check on the status of the scan to see when it is finished.

[Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Scanning]

9

When MBAM is finished scanning it will display a screen that displays any malware, adware, or potentially unwanted programs that it has detected. Please note that the items found may be different than what is shown in the image below due to the guide being updated for newer versions of MBAM.

[MalwareBytes Scan Results]

You should now click on the REMOVE SELECTED button to remove all the selected items. MBAM will now delete all of the files and registry keys and add them to the programs quarantine. When removing the files, MBAM may require a reboot in order to remove some of them. If it displays a message stating that it needs to reboot, please allow it to do so. Once your computer has rebooted, and you are logged in, please continue with the rest of the steps.

10

You can now exit the MBAM program.

Hopefully your computer should now be clean of any infections that may have been present. If your current anti-virus solution let this infection through, you may want to consider purchasing the PRO version of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware to protect against these types of threats in the future. In full disclosure, though we make a commission if you purchase the product through the previous link, we still strongly recommend it as its a great program.

Troubleshoot Malwarebytes Anti-Malware

Below are some common errors you may run into when attempting to use Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware.

MALWAREBYTES' SETUP PROGRAM CLOSES WHEN YOU ATTEMPT TO INSTALL IT.

If you attempt to install Malwarebytes' and the setup program automatically closes then there is a good chance that you have an infection that is trying to stop the program from installing. To get around this, try renaming mbam-setup.exe to other names like:

-   mbam-setup.com
-   iexplore.exe
-   explorer.exe
-   userinit.exe
-   winlogon.exe

After each rename, try and run the program again. If that does not work, then you may want to download and run RKILL to terminate the malware processes that are stopping you.

MALWAREBYTES WONT START

If you attempt to run Malwarebytes' and it does not start then there is a good chance that you have an infection that is trying to stop the program from running. To get around this, try renaming C:\PROGRAM FILES\MALWAREBYTES ANTI-MALWARE\MBAM.EXE to other names like:

-   mbam.com
-   iexplore.exe
-   explorer.exe
-   userinit.exe
-   winlogon.exe

After each rename, try and run mbam.exe again. If that does not work, then you may to download and run Rkill to terminate the malware processes that are stopping you.

ERROR 732 WHEN TRYING TO UPDATE MALWAREBYTES' ANTI-MALWARE

If you receive an Error 732 when trying to update MBAM it could be because you do not currently have an Internet connection or a malware has changed your connection settings so that you are using a proxy server. To make sure your connection has not been set to use a proxy server, please do the following steps:

1.  Please start Internet Explorer, and when the program is open, click on the TOOLS menu and then select INTERNET OPTIONS as shown in the image below.

    [Internet Explorer Tools Menu]

2.  You should now be in the Internet Options screen as shown in the image below.

    [Internet Options screen]

    Now click on the CONNECTIONS tab as designated by the blue arrow above.

3.  You will now be at the Connections tab as shown by the image below.

    [Internet Options connections tab]

    Now click on the LAN SETTINGS button as designated by the blue arrow above.

4.  You will now be at the Local Area Network (LAN) settings screen as shown by the image below.

    [Proxy Settings screen]

    Under the Proxy Server section, please uncheck the checkbox labeled USE A PROXY SERVER FOR YOUR LAN. Then press the OK button to close this screen. Then press the OK button to close the Internet Options screen. Now that you have disabled the proxy server you will be able to browse the web again with Internet Explorer.

Now try and update MBAM again.

HOW TO MANUALLY UPDATE MALWAREBYTES' MALWARE DEFINITIONS

Malware may sometimes block Malwarebytes from updating its definitions in order to protect itself. If you are having issues updating and have already tried disabling any proxy servers, you can instead update the definitions manually. To do this simply copy the following files onto a USB key from a working computer that has MBAM installed and transfer them to the infected one.

  WINDOWS XP AND 2000:

  C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Malwarebytes\Malwarebytes Anti-Malware\rules.ref
  C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Malwarebytes\Malwarebytes Anti-Malware\actions.ref
  C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Malwarebytes\Malwarebytes Anti-Malware\swissarmy.ref
  C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Malwarebytes\Malwarebytes Anti-Malware\Configuration\database.conf

  WINDOWS VISTA AND WINDOWS 7:

  C:\ProgramData\Malwarebytes\Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware\rules.ref
  C:\ProgramData\Malwarebytes\Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware\actions.ref
  C:\ProgramData\Malwarebytes\Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware\swissarmy.ref
  C:\ProgramData\Malwarebytes\Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware\Configuration\database.conf

Once the above files are copied onto a USB key, please copy them to the same folders on the infected computer.

If you do not have another computer available, then you can download a self-installing rules file from the following URL. Please note that this method will install definitions that are older than the latest ones:

  http://downloads.malwarebytes.org/file/mbam_rules

USING RKILL TO TERMINATE INFECTION PROCESSES THAT MAY BE STOPPING MBAM FROM RUNNING

If all of these steps do not work, then you can download, or copy from a clean computer, the Rkill program and run it on the infected computer. Rkill will then try and terminate the infections that may be stopping you from installing MalwareBytes'. You can download Rkill and renamed versions from the following download link:

  https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/rkill/

When downloading Rkill, I suggest you download and try the iExplore.exe version first. Once Rkill runs, it will create a log of what applications were terminated. You can then attempt to start the installation of MalwareBytes or start the program again.

For more detailed troubleshooting information, please see this topic at the Malwarebytes' site.

question: What is the purpose of the article?

answer: The article explains how to use Malwarebytes Anti-Malware. The guide walks through installing, configuring, and scanning a computer with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware.

question: Who/what site recommends using Malwarebytes Anti-Malware?

answer: BleepingComputer.com

question: Why do they recommend using the Malware?

answer: BleepingComputer.com recommends using Malwarebytes Anti-Malware because ist works well and it removes what it says it can, it's constantly updated throughout the day, and it's free and easy to use.

question: Is this article unbaised?

answer: No. It notifies the reader that it will generate a commission from the sale.

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: The article explains how to use Malwarebytes Anti-Malware. The guide walks through installing, configuring, and scanning a computer with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware. BleepingComputer.com recommends using Malwarebytes Anti-Malware because ist works well and it removes what it says it can, it's constantly updated throughout the day, and it's free and easy to use.


text:
By Michael O’Neill

On December 5, the Bank of Canada (BoC) high-stepped to the tune of “Canadian rates are marching nowhere” as it left its benchmark overnight rate unchanged at 1.75%. That was widely expected. What wasn’t expected was the dovish policy statement, which contrasted sharply with what they said on October 24.

You will recall that in October, the BoC described the global economic outlook as solid and noted that the US economy was especially robust.  They sounded relieved about the US Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA) on trade and suggested it would reduce investment uncertainty.They raised interest rates by 0.25% at that meeting, despite noting risks from the China/US trade conflict, and rising financial market volatility.

A mere forty-three days later, they pulled a U-turn. They said the moderation in global expansion was expected but then tacitly admitted they got the US/China trade dispute wrong.They said: “Recent encouraging developments at the G-20 meetings are a reminder that there are upside as well as downside risks around trade policy.”  They are the central bank of Canada, and they shouldn’t need a reminder about downside risks to trade policy.

They patted themselves on the back for predicting third-quarter growth but then acknowledged momentum was slowing.  hey pointed out oil prices were sharply lower than they were at the October 24 meeting but seemed to “gloss” over the negative impact of falling prices on Canada GDP.

Western Canada Select, (WCS) Alberta’s benchmark crude export is trading at a Canadian dollar discount of $31.83/barrel from West Texas Intermediate, (WTI) the North American benchmark. The discount would have been worse if Alberta didn’t curtail production by 325,000 barrels/day.

The BoC based its economic forecasts in the October Monetary Policy report using oil prices of $70/barrel for WTI and $35.00/b for WCS.  WCS is over $5.00/b below the October forecast. That discount could get worse if Saudi Arabia is unable to coerce other Opec members and Russia to agree to added production cuts.  Even then, the cuts may not be enough.  Iran said it wouldn’t consider any production adjustments while it was under sanctions and Qatar is quitting the cartel in January. Arguably, the BoC may have understated the risks to the domestic economy from weak oil prices.

Oil prices are under threat from concerns about a global economic slowdown due to the ongoing US/China trade war.  President Trump and President Jinping left their Argentina dinner with what appears to be different conclusions. The American president is notorious for citing facts that he seems to pull from an alternative universe.  His tweet that China was cutting tariffs on US cars hasn’t been confirmed or acknowledged by China.  Trump appointed Robert Lighthizer as the chief trade negotiator for the Americans.  Some analysts believe the move signals the US will take a hard line in the talks.  Fears of failure or protracted negotiations will likely continue to weigh on global growth.

The Canadian dollar was hammered following the release of the BoC statement.  Traders were caught off-guard by the dovish tone.  The tone forced some economists to trim their rate hike forecasts for 2019, from four increases, to as low as two.  The statement downgraded January rate hike expectations as well.

Regardless of the latest reaction, the outlook for the Canadian dollar is fluid.  The BoC may be an important factor in price direction, but it is not everything.  The currency is also influenced by broad US dollar movements against the G-10 major currencies, and the Fed is a major influence of those moves.

The US dollar has been on a roller-coaster ride for the past month.  Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell was believed to have taken a dovish turn last week when he described US interest rates as “just below” the subjective “neutral level.” Two months earlier, he described those same rates as an “a long way from neutral.  That sparked a bond market sell-off, a stock market rally and a sharply weaker US dollar.  Since then, renewed China/US trade concerns, and falling oil prices triggered a shift to “safe-haven” assets and the greenback recouped its losses.   The Canadian dollar wasn’t considered a safe-haven, and it sank.

Ongoing European Union issues and the UK Brexit debate add to market fickleness.  Another consideration for outsized FX moves is poor liquidity.  The latest round of volatility occurred during the run-up to the American Thanksgiving holidays.  The National Day of Mourning for the late George H. W. Bush on December 5 created another void.

If you believe in Santa Claus, it is safe to take the latest FX moves and the BoC statement at face value.  If not, you should regard them with a jaundiced eye.  On December 6, BoC Governor Stephen Poloz addresses CFA Society Toronto, at 5:50 am PST.  His speech is titled “Economic Progress Report and financial stability.” A press conference follows.   Traders will try to discover if the BoC has shifted policy or merely miscommunicated it.  Mr Poloz is the bandmaster and markets will march to the beat of his drum.

question: What are some of the implications of the stagnation of the Canadian dollar?

answer: It could affect oil prices, as Western Canada Select is an important crude export trading on the Canadian dollar. This has a ripple effect in Saudi Arabia and even Russia. Production cuts are necessary in different areas of the oil trade but Saudi Arabia may prove unsuccessful at suggesting them.

question: What is (former) President Trump's plan for dealing an impending oil crisis, and how is it related to the Canadian dollar?

answer: He claimed that he has the intel on China and they were cutting tariffs on US cars, a bit that was never even acknowledged by China. Oil prices are in danger of mercurial swings because of this persisting trade war, so it does not bode well that the POTUS does not have accurate information-it doesn't speak to having formulated a plan to regulate. He did not seem to have any plan, or any understanding of what was at stake and how the Canadian dollar was affected, or how it affected any other major player in the oil trade.

question: Summarize the connection between the Canadian dollar and the oil trade.

answer: The US interest rates fell. Then, there was a bond-market sell-off, which weakened the US dollar. Now there are US-China trade concerns in conjunction with the falling oil prices. This induced a switch to "safe haven" assets-and the Canadian dollar isn't considered to fall under the umbrella of "safe haven".

question: What are the implications of the meek wording of Canada's statements regarding their weakening dollar?


text:
Good morning beautiful, what a wonderful day outside its been. Oh how the trees sway and the children play. To feel the wind upon my face, instead of this warm embrace. Life is so wonderful here with you, to show its true, I keep staring deep into those eyes I get lost in the mask you see. If it wasn't such an imposition maybe we could host an intervention for this hour glass is slipping...

"No one ever tells you that forever looks like home inside your head"

The paintings on the walls are nice, they hide the fist shape holes inside. I erect a statue, a Picasso of sorts to express all that I am. Even Hellen Keller could tell its not quite right but you love it anyway the same way you do when the kids bring a drawing home for the fridge.  So we put on the mantle next to the urn, proudly for all to witness. Such a life so great as this only comes once in awhile. Our song fills this place, the echoing grows louder throughout this house even from the floorboards. As the breeze starts to grow and the house goes the way of Jericho.

The green grass rolls on for miles wind in my face now longing for her embrace.  Isn't it a good morning, beautiful?

title: Good Morning Beautiful

question: What does the narrator embrace about this life?

answer: He embraces how the trees were swaying little kids to play outside and how the wind felt on his face.

question: Who is the narrator remembering?

answer: It may be implied that the narrator is remembering an old lover.

question: Who has painted the paintings on the wall?

answer: It may be implied that the narrator's lover painted those paintings.

question: Does the lady leave?

answer: Yes, the lady leaves as the narrator longs for her sweet embrace.

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: A short story about a man embracing the beauty of life and a woman.


text:
[]
AFP / Getty
A thin Indian man with not much hair sits alone on a bare floor, wearing nothing but a loincloth and a pair of cheap spectacles, studying the clutch of handwritten notes in his hand. The black-and-white photograph takes up a full page in the newspaper. In the top left-hand corner of the page, in full color, is a small rainbow-striped apple. Below this, there's a slangily American injunction to "Think Different." Such is the present-day power of international Big Business. Even the greatest of the dead may summarily be drafted into its image ad campaigns. Once, a half-century ago, this bony man shaped a nation's struggle for freedom. But that, as they say, is history. Now Gandhi is modeling for Apple. His thoughts don't really count in this new incarnation. What counts is that he is considered to be "on message," in line with the corporate philosophy of Apple.

The advertisement is odd enough to be worth dissecting a little. Obviously it is rich in unintentional comedy. M.K. Gandhi, as the photograph itself demonstrates, was a passionate opponent of modernity and technology, preferring the pencil to the typewriter, the loincloth to the business suit, the plowed field to the belching manufactory. Had the word processor been invented in his lifetime, he would almost certainly have found it abhorrent. The very term word processor, with its overly technological ring, is unlikely to have found favor.

"Think Different." Gandhi, in his younger days a sophisticated and Westernized lawyer, did indeed change his thinking more radically than most people do. Ghanshyam Das Birla, one of the merchant princes who backed him, once said, "He was more modern than I. But he made a conscious decision to go back to the Middle Ages." This is not, presumably, the revolutionary new direction in thought that the good folks at Apple are seeking to encourage.

Gandhi today is up for grabs. He has become abstract, ahistorical, postmodern, no longer a man in and of his time but a freeloading concept, a part of the available stock of cultural symbols, an image that can be borrowed, used, distorted, reinvented to fit many different purposes, and to the devil with historicity or truth.

Richard Attenborough's much-Oscared movie Gandhi struck me, when it was first released, as an example of this type of unhistorical Western saintmaking. Here was Gandhi-as-guru, purveying that fashionable product, the Wisdom of the East; and Gandhi-as-Christ, dying (and, before that, frequently going on hunger strike) so that others might live. His philosophy of nonviolence seemed to work by embarrassing the British into leaving; freedom could be won, the film appeared to suggest, by being more moral than your oppressor, whose moral code could then oblige him to withdraw.

But such is the efficacy of this symbolic Gandhi that the film, for all its simplifications and Hollywoodizations, had a powerful and positive effect on many contemporary freedom struggles. South African antiapartheid campaigners and democratic voices all over South America have enthused to me about the film's galvanizing effects. This posthumous, exalted "international Gandhi" has apparently become a totem of real inspirational force.

The trouble with the idealized Gandhi is that he's so darned dull, little more than a dispenser of homilies and nostrums ("An eye for an eye will make the whole world go blind") with just the odd flash of wit (asked what he thought of Western civilization, he gave the celebrated reply, "I think it would be a great idea"). The real man, if it is still possible to use such a term after the generations of hagiography and reinvention, was infinitely more interesting, one of the most complex and contradictory personalities of the century. His full name, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, was memorably—and literally—translated into English by the novelist G.V. Desani as "Action-Slave Fascination-Moon Grocer," and he was as rich and devious a figure as that glorious name suggests.

Entirely unafraid of the British, he was nevertheless afraid of the dark, and always slept with a light burning by his bedside. He believed passionately in the unity of all the peoples of India, yet his failure to keep the Muslim leader Mohammed Ali Jinnah within the Indian National Congress's fold led to the partition of the country. (For all his vaunted selflessness and modesty, he made no move to object when Jinnah was attacked during a Congress session for calling him "Mr. Gandhi" instead of "Mahatma," and booed off the stage by Gandhi's supporters. Later, his withdrawal, under pressure from Jawaharlal Nehru and Vallabhbhai Patel, of a last-ditch offer to Jinnah of the prime ministership itself, ended the last faint chance of avoiding partition.)

He was determined to live his life as an ascetic, but, as the poet Sarojini Naidu joked, it cost the nation a fortune to keep Gandhi living in poverty. His entire philosophy privileged the village way over that of the city, yet he was always financially dependent on the support of industrial billionaires like Birla. His hunger strikes could stop riots and massacres, but he also once went on a hunger strike to force one of his capitalist patrons' employees to break their strike against the harsh conditions of employment.

He sought to improve the conditions of the untouchables, yet in today's India, these peoples, now calling themselves Dalits and forming an increasingly well-organized and effective political grouping, have rallied around the memory of their own leader, Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, an old rival of Gandhi's. As Ambedkar's star has risen among the Dalits, so Gandhi's stature has been reduced.

The creator of the political philosophies of passive resistance and constructive nonviolence, he spent much of his life far from the political arena, refining his more eccentric theories of vegetarianism, bowel movements and the beneficial properties of human excrement.

Forever scarred by the knowledge that, as a 16-year-old youth, he'd been making love to his wife Kasturba at the moment of his father's death, Gandhi later forswore sexual relations but went on into his old age with what he called his "brahmacharya experiments," during which naked young women would be asked to lie with him all night so that he could prove that he had mastered his physical urges. (He believed that total control over his "vital fluids" would enhance his spiritual powers.)

He, and he alone, was responsible for the transformation of the demand for independence into a nationwide mass movement that mobilized every class of society against the imperialist, yet the free India that came into being, divided and committed to a program of modernization and industrialization, was not the India of his dreams. His sometime disciple, Nehru, was the archproponent of modernization, and it was Nehru's vision, not Gandhi's, that was eventually—and perhaps inevitably—preferred.

Gandhi began by believing that the politics of passive resistance and nonviolence should be effective in any situation, at any time, even against a force as malign as Nazi Germany. Later, he was obliged to revise his opinion, and concluded that while the British had responded to such techniques because of their own nature, other oppressors might not.

Gandhian nonviolence is widely believed to be the method by which India gained independence. (The view is assiduously fostered inside India as well as outside it.) Yet the Indian revolution did indeed become violent, and this violence so disappointed Gandhi that he stayed away from the independence celebrations in protest. Moreover, the ruinous economic impact of World War II on Britain, and—as British writer Patrick French says in his book Liberty or Death: India's Journey to Independence and Division—the gradual collapse of the Raj's bureaucratic hold over India from the mid-'30s onward did as much to bring about freedom as any action of Gandhi's. It is probable, in fact, that Gandhian techniques were not the key determinants of India's arrival at freedom. They gave independence its outward character and were its apparent cause, but darker and deeper historical forces produced the desired effect.

These days, few people pause to consider the complex character of Gandhi's personality, the ambiguous nature of his achievement and legacy, or even the real causes of Indian independence. These are hurried, sloganizing times, and we don't have the time or, worse, the inclination to assimilate many-sided truths. The harshest truth of all is that Gandhi is increasingly irrelevant in the country whose "little father"—Bapu—he was. As the analyst Sunil Khilnani has pointed out, India came into being as a secularized state, but Gandhi's vision was essentially religious. However, he "recoiled" from Hindu nationalism. His solution was to forge an Indian identity out of the shared body of ancient narratives. "He turned to the legends and stories from India's popular religious traditions, preferring their lessons to the supposed ones of history."

It didn't work. In today's India, Hindu nationalism is rampant in the form of Bharatiya Janata Party. During the recent elections, Gandhi and his ideas have scarcely been mentioned.

Twenty-one years ago, the writer Ved Mehta spoke to one of Gandhi's leading political associates, a former Governor-General of independent India, C. Rajagopalachari. His verdict on Gandhi's legacy is disenchanted, but in today's India, on the fast track to free-market capitalism, it still rings true: "The glamour of modern technology, money and power is so seductive that no one—I mean no one—can resist it. The handful of Gandhians who still believe in his philosophy of a simple life in a simple society are mostly cranks."

What, then, is greatness? In what does it reside? If a man's project fails, or survives only in irredeemably tarnished form, can the force of his example still merit the extreme accolade? For Jawaharlal Nehru, the defining image of Gandhi was "as I saw him marching, staff in hand, to Dandi on the Salt March in 1930. Here was the pilgrim on his quest of Truth, quiet, peaceful, determined and fearless, who would continue that quest and pilgrimage, regardless of consequences." Nehru's daughter Indira Gandhi later said, "More than his words, his life was his message." These days, that message is better heeded outside India. Albert Einstein was one of many to praise Gandhi's achievement; Martin Luther King Jr., the Dalai Lama and all the world's peace movements have followed in his footsteps. Gandhi, who gave up cosmopolitanism to gain a country, has become, in his strange afterlife, a citizen of the world: his spirit may yet prove resilient, smart, tough, sneaky and, yes, ethical enough to avoid assimilation by global McCulture (and Mac culture too). Against this new empire, Gandhian intelligence is a better weapon than Gandhian piety. And passive resistance? We'll see.

_Salman Rushdie, born in Bombay, India, is the author of The Moor's Last Sigh_

question: Why did the writer find it funny that Gandhi was used for an Apple slogan?

answer: Because although Gandhi thinks differently than most, he made the conscious decision to step back from modern culture, which is ironic for a tech company to use as a slogan.

question: Why does the narrator think that Gandhi is misrepresented?

answer: He is portrayed to be dull in the Western world when in reality he was a very complex person.

question: Why does India barely recognize Gandhi now?

answer: Information can't be found.

question: What does Gandhi's full name mean when translated?

answer: His full name, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, was literally translated into English by the novelist G.V. Desani as "Action-Slave Fascination-Moon Grocer," and he was as rich and devious a figure as that glorious name suggests.

question: Write a ~4 sentence summary.

answer: The narrator talks about how Gandhi is grossly misrepresented in Western media. In India, his work is scarcely mentioned and his achievements are only well heeded outside of India.  He was a much more complex character than the media has portrayed him to be. Although, he believes the Hollywoodization of Gandhi has had a powerful and positive effect on many contemporary freedom struggles.


text:
July 24, 2014 / 11:45 AM / CBS/AP

A nine-day quarantine imposed on parts of a northern Chinese city where a man died of bubonic plague has been lifted, China's official news agency reported Thursday.

A total of 151 people were under observation in the city of Yumen in Gansu province after authorities determined they had come in contact with a man who died of the plague July 16, the Xinhua News Agency reported. It said none of them had reported symptoms of the disease.

Investigators believe the 38-year-old man contracted the bacterial infection after contact with a marmot, Xinhua said. During the quarantine, authorities in the city of about 180,000 carried out disinfection and rat extermination, according to Xinhua.

Bubonic plague killed millions of people in Europe in the 14th century and tens of thousands in China in the 19th century. It remains endemic in northwest China and is spread largely through flea bites. The bacteria can cause gangrene, seizures and fever.

Plague is very rare in the United States, though a small number of cases still occur. Last year, a 7-year-old girl in Colorado contracted the disease -- and survived -- after she came in contact with a dead squirrel while camping in southwest Colorado. A similar infection, pneumonic plague, was reported in a patient in Colorado earlier this month.

question: What is the date this article was posted?

answer: July 24, 2014

question: What plague caused the quarantine mentioned?

answer: Bubonic.

question: What is the primary way that Bubonic plaque spreads?

answer: Through flea bites.

question: How common is Bubonic plague in the United States?

answer: It's very rare.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: This article reports the lifting of a 9-day quarantine in part of China after a man died from the Bubonic plague. It then offers a brief history of the Bubonic plague and the state of its presence in China and the United States.


text:
There has been a lot of speculation about how (and even if) _ANT-MAN AND THE WASP_ will affect the wider Marvel Cinematic Universe moving forward, considering it will further explore the Quantum Realm as our heroes venture inward to save Janet van Dyne, played by MICHELLE PFEIFFER, who has been trapped there for decades. As Slash Film was speaking to the director, PEYTON REED, during the set visit, someone asked what the primary mission of this movie was for these characters and got a rather ominous answer.

  WELL, I’LL ANSWER THAT IN TWO PARTS,” he said. “THE BIG MISSION IS TO FIND JANET. WHAT THAT MEANS ULTIMATELY FOR OUR CHARACTERS ON A PERSONAL LEVEL IS ONE THING, AND WHAT IT MEANS FOR THE LARGER WORLD IS ANOTHER THING, AND ALL THE OTHER THINGS ARE REALLY STUMBLING BLOCKS ON THE PATH.

What seems to be implied here is that their mission in saving Janet _will_ have a great personal effect on Hank, Hope, and Scott in this movie, but that it could definitely have larger ramifications for the wider MCU moving forward.

It’s likely that Scott and Hope discover _something_ about the Quantum Realm as they’re saving Janet that could be used in _AVENGERS 4_ to stop Thanos and help save everyone who was snapped away at the end of _AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR_ or Janet _herself_ discovered something while trapped in the Quantum Realm and relays her discovery to Hank, Hope, and Scott when they save her.

Source: Slash Film

question: What future ramifications can the movie have?

answer: It can contain a discovery that helps reverse Thanos' actions in Avengers: Infinity War.

question: What's the gist of the movie's plot?

answer: Our heroes explore the Quantum Realm to save Janet Van Dyke, who was trapped there for decades.

question: What is the gist of the official response from Peyton Reed?

answer: The exploration of the Quantum Realm will have a personal effect on the heroes, and it may also affect the wider universe.

question: How can the Quantum Realm affect past events caused by Thanos?

answer: It's not mentioned in the article.

question: Write a ~4 sentence summary.

answer: There's a lot of speculation about whether Ant-Man and the Wasp will affect the wider Marvel Cinematic Universe. Our heroes will explore the Quantum Realm to save Janet Van Dyne, who's trapped there for decades. The movie's director Peyton Reed stated that the exploration will mean one thing for the heroes, another for the wider universe. The vague answer might hint at some discovery in the Quantum Realm that can help reverse Thanos' actions in Avengers: Infinity War.