text:
The WANG CHAU HOUSING CONTROVERSY comprises a series of events related to a housing project in Wang Chau. Initiated in 2012, the housing project aims to develop 17,000 public housing units in three phases.[1] Phase 1 refers to ongoing development of 4,000 units in a “green-belt” site; while phases 2 and 3 refer to the deferred plan to build the rest of the targeted units in the “brownfield” site.[2] The case came under media scrutiny after activist Eddie Chu Hoi-dick raised concerns about potential collusion between the Hong Kong government, businesses and rural landlords in his election campaign.[3]

Planning and engineering study

In July 2012, Hong Kong Housing Authority commissioned Ove Arup & Partners Hong Kong Limited (Arup) to conduct a study on the feasibility of the Wang Chau Public Housing Development.[4] The Study covered planning, engineering and environmental issues. Results indicated that it was technically feasible to develop 17 000 public housing flats in Wang Chau.[5]

Task force and consultation

Task force chaired by chief executive

The Chief Executive of Hong Kong, Leung Chun-ying set up a task force to discuss issues relating to public housing development at Queen's Hill and Wang Chau. The task force met once on 27 June 2013[6] to discuss about statutory procedure, consultation, brownfield and environmental protection.[7] The Financial Secretary John Tsang was absent from the meeting.[8]

Two rounds of informal consultation before downsizing the plan

On 16 July 2013 and 5 September 2013, representatives of the Housing Department and Home Affairs Department carried out two informal consultations with the following rural leaders:[9]

-   Chairman of Ping Shan Rural Committee: Tsang Shu-wo
-   First Vice-chairman of Ping Shan Rural Committee: Tang Tat-sin
-   Chairman of Yuen Long District Council: Leung Che-cheung
-   District Council Member of the concerned constituency: Tang Hing-Ip
-   Special Councillor of Heung Yee Kuk representing Ping Shan: Tang Chi-Keung

After being briefed on the proposed development plan of building 17, 000 public housing flats at Wang Chau,[10] the local representatives expressed concerns about the need for infrastructural support, impact on environment and brownfield issues.[11]

In early January 2014, the Housing Department proposed to the Secretary for Transport and Housing that the Wang Chau Housing Development be carried out in phases, firstly with Phase 1 (development in green-belt site) and leaving Phases 2 and 3 (development in brown-belt site) to later periods.[12] This proposal was approved by the Secretary, who then reported to the senior levels of the Government.[13]

Meeting between three secretaries

The Chief Executive chaired a meeting attended by the top government officials - Financial Secretary, Chief Secretary and Secretary for Justice on 27 January 2014. Leung decided to take the Housing Department's recommendation to defer the second and third phases.[14]

Consultation after downsizing the plan

Two rounds of informal consultation

Officials from the Housing Department held two rounds of informal consultations on 12 March 2014 and 17 March 2014 with Yuen Long rural leaders to explain the adjusted target.[15]

Secretary for Transport and Housing, Anthony Cheung said “no minutes were taken of the informal consultations and lobbying with local representatives”.[16]

Formal consultation

On 23 May 2014 and 24 June 2014,[17] the Housing Department, in two formal consultations, put forward the Wang Chau public housing development plan to the Ping Shan Rural Committee and the Yuen Long District Council respectively.[18] The proposal included the size of the site for development, number of targeted units, estimated population and other facilities to be constructed.[19]

Participants in the meeting on 24 June 2014 included:

-   District Council members and officials from the Yuen Long District Office
-   Engineering and Development Department
-   Education Bureau
-   Police Force
-   Planning Department
-   Welfare department
-   Lands Department
-   Transport Department
-   Housing Department[20]

However, the proposal only included the plan to build 4,000 public flats on the green belt site, with no reference to any planned development on the brown belt sites. The participants discussed about the infrastructural works required to meet the demands of the development project,[21] as well as technical amendments to the Ping Shan Outline Zoning Plan.[22] Some District Council members expressed concerns regarding:

1.  the potential violation of the principle of presumption against development in green-belt zones;
2.  the capacity of the West Rail Line in meeting the increased traffic demand;
3.  the “fung shui” of the villages in the vicinity; and
4.  the residents' living environment as a result of increased population density.[23]

Despite these concerns, some supported the project and opined that it could satisfy the strong housing demand of the public.[24]

Support from District Council

The Ping Shan Rural Committee members and Yuen Long District Council members agreed with the Wang Chau development plan.[25] Thereafter the District Council passed the development plan on the green belt site, but many councillors criticised the government for not informing them about the plan to develop the brown belt sites.[26]

Reluctance towards phases 2 and 3

An internal government document, leaked by Apple Daily, said the Housing Department was “unlikely to proceed” with phases 2 and 3 due to opposition.[27]

Eviction of non-indigenous villagers

Notice of eviction

In September 2015, Land Department issued eviction letters and resettlement booklets to 200 non-indigenous villagers residing in the three villages, Wing Ning Tsuen, Fung Chi Tsuen, and Yeung Uk Sun Tsuen, requiring them to move out before January 2018.[28] On 11 November 2016, a formal eviction notice was placed at the villages' entrances overnight.[29] Frustrated by the eviction notice, dozens of villagers staged a sit-in protest at the entrances to the villages in an attempt to block officials' access into the villages.[30]

District Council proceeded to the details of the Housing Department

On 21 May 2015, the Yuen Long District Council in a meeting discussed on the proposed infrastructural works from the Civil Engineering and Development Department on public access road for the Wang Chau project.[31] The Discussion Paper only referred to downsized target, the 4000 public housing units.[32]

Alleged collusion

Plan submitted to the Legislative Council

In March 2016, the Development Bureau and the Transport and Housing Bureau submitted the Latest Plan for Public Housing Development at Wang Chau to the LegCo Panel on Development.[33] According to the Plan, the P&E Study estimated that the development at Wang Chau “could produce a total of 17,000 public housing units”,[34] and stated that the Housing Authority planned to “first develop the southern portion of the site for about 4,000 public housing units” after considering “the overall development priority and the time required for the clearance of the existing squatters, temporary structures, brownfield operations, etc.”.[35]

Alleged collusion

In July and August 2016, Eddie Chu brought up the Wang Chau issue during his campaign for the LegCo Election 2016.[36] Chu doubted if there was collusion between the Government, landlords, businesses, and triads in the downsizing of the Wang Chau project.[37] Besides, Chu criticized the Government for carrying out informal discussions with rural leaders instead of conducting formal public consultation.[38]

Meeting with secretaries and press

Meeting between Chu and government officials

On 10 September 2016, Leung Chun-ying and Eddie Chu had a phone conversation.[39] According to Chu, he asked Leung to explain why the Government abandoned the public housing project at the brownfield site.[40] Leung replied that he would instruct Secretary for Development Paul Chan Mo-po to look into the case.[41]

On 15 September 2016, Paul Chan and Authority Cheung met with Eddie Chu and Edward Yiu Chung-yim, architectural sector lawmaker-elect to exchange views on the Wang Chau development project.[42][43]

Press conference

Chief Executive (Leung Chun-ying), Financial Secretary (John Tsang), Secretary for Transport and Housing Bureau (Anthony Cheung), Acting Secretary for Development, Permanent Secretary for Transport and Housing and Deputy Secretary for Development spoke on the Wang Chau housing project after leaked documents revealed the task force chaired by CE had engaged in informal consultations with rural leaders.[44]

Informal consultations with rural leader

Leung denied any trade-off with rural forces at all, citing parts of the internal document that the 4000 units have always been referred to as “phase one” of the Wang Chau project, out of the targeted 17,000 flats. He made clear that the government sought to tackle the “Easy first and then hard”, given that the P&E Study showed phases 2 and 3 required the government to deal with more complicated issues such as the (1) contamination and (2) the handling of brownfield operations.[45]

Task force and the “Three Secretaries Meeting”

In defence of the task force and “Three Secretaries Meeting”, Leung described the Wang Chau housing project as a “very rare opportunity for the government to be able to build large numbers of public housing units”, which justified him taking charge of the task force. He added that it was appropriate for him to assist in coordinating work since Financial Secretary was the head of the Steering Committee of Land Supply and oversaw the Development Bureau; while Chief Secretary oversaw the Transport and Housing Bureau.[46]

Tsang's involvement in the Wang Chau project

Tsang accepted that the Steering Committee had been told to carry out detailed discussions on Queen's Hill and Wang Chau, but denied responsibility for the decision to develop Wang Chau in phases.[47]

LegCo's special powers under the Power and Privileges Ordinance (Cap 382)

On 18 September 2016, 28 pan-democrats and localists lawmakers-elect signed an open letter addressed to Leung and the development and housing ministers.[48] The letter demanded explanations from the officials and urged them to carry out a public consultation on the Wang Chau project.[49]

On 22 September 2016, Eddie Chu suggested that the pan-democrats and localists should seek to invoke the LegCo's special powers under the Powers and Privileges Ordinance (Cap 382) to investigate the Government's decision-making process behind the Wang Chau housing plan.[50][51] Starry Lee Wai-king, said that she did not find it necessary to invoke the Ordinance, and she would liaise with the Secretary for Transport and Housing to release relevant documents.[52]

Government explaining Wang Chau Plan to LegCo

On 18 October 2016, the Government submitted a paper[53] to the LegCo Panel on Housing to “provide information on the background and the latest development of the Wang Chau Development, including the considerations and justifications for the Government's decision to take forward the Development in phases.”[54] The Government also made public the 2012 Planning and Engineering Study Report.[55]

Recent developments

LEGCO PASSED A NON-BINDING MOTION TO SUSPEND FUNDING FOR THE WANG CHAU PROJECT

On 22 November 2016, The Legislative Council Development Panel passed a non-binding motion (22-20) to separate the funding for the Wang Chau Development Project from that of other capital works in the HK$12.42-billion capital works reserve fund block allocations for fiscal year 2017-18.[56]

Societal views on government's practices

Chief executive as the chairman of task force

In early September 2016, Leung Chun-ying insisted that he only took a “mediating role”[57] as the chairman of the task force. However, Apple Daily reported that Leung requested the task force to be set up, and the role of the task force would be to “consider” and “iron out” details of the development blueprint, as opposed to Leung's claims that the task force served as a “coordinating body”.[58]

Edward Yiu Chung-yim, criticized that the functions of the task force overlapped with those of the steering committee of land supply, which made one doubt Leung's intention in manipulating the Wang Chau development project.[59] On the other hand, former Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands Michael Suen Ming-yeung commented that it was normal for the Chief Executive to set up an interdepartmental task force if he deemed necessary.[60]

“Soft lobbying”

According to the Anthony Cheung, contacting local representatives through informal channels was “part of the normal procedures in public housing development projects for which no large-scale consultation exercise are conducted”.[61] Executive Council member Cheung Chi-kong agreed that soft lobbying is a necessary part of politics,[62] and said that soft lobbying is “just an informal way to find out what can be negotiated”. Besides, Tsang Shu-wo said that he was thankful for the Housing Authority's effort in compromising with different stakeholders and taking into account results of consultations.[63]

Starry Lee Wai-king, member of the LegCo and chairwoman of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB), said that soft lobbying was necessary but should not replace formal consultations.[64]

On the other hand, former Chief Secretary Anson Chan commented, “it was a bit absurd to convince the public that the government should defer to a rural leader, who is occupying an illegal site where he runs a car park, and instead evict the residents of three villages in the greenbelt area.”[65] Similarly, Eddie Chu asserted that soft lobbying meant that villagers affected by the plans were never consulted[66] and that urban planning process needs to be democratised “especially towards the weak and the voiceless”.[67]

Retaining New World Development's land adjacent to the development area

The government was also criticised for colluding with business as Leung did not take back a nearby greenbelt site owned by New World Development (NWD) for the public housing project.[68] In response, Leung denied any transfer of benefits as he did not know NWD owned the adjacent site.[69]

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[18]  周芷欣 {{!}} 香港獨立媒體網|newspaper=香港獨立媒體網|access-date=24 December 2016}}

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[28]  獨媒報導 {{!}} 香港獨立媒體網|newspaper=香港獨立媒體網|access-date=24 December 2016}}

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[49]  獨媒轉載 {{!}} 香港獨立媒體網|newspaper=香港獨立媒體網|access-date=24 December 2016}}

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title: Wang Chau housing controversy

question: What is the Wang Chau Housing Controversy?

answer: It's a series of events related to a housing project in Wang Chau. It gained media attention when activist Eddie Chu Hoi-dick raised concerns about possible collusion between Hong Kong government and business and rural landlords involved in his election campaign.

question: What became of the task force investigation?

answer: After the proposed development of 17,000 public housing flats, local representatives became concerned about infrastructural support and environmental impact.

question: What did the District Council say?

answer: Ping Shan Rural Committee members and Yuen Long District Council members agreed with the development plan in Wang Chau. Local council members criticized the council for not informing them about the brown belt sites.

question: What was the alleged collusion?

answer: In March 2016 the proposed plan of 17,000 affordable housing units was downsized to 4,000. Eddie Chu doubted if there was collusion between the government, landlords, businesses, and triads, but did criticize the government for having closed doors discussions with rural leaders instead of formal public consultation.

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: The Wang Chau Housing Controversy started when Eddie Chu raised concerns of collusion between Hong Kong government and business and rural landlords. The District Council agreed with the initial plan, but concerns were raised when the 17,000 unit proposal was downsized to 4,000 units. Eddie Chu then began to raise questions about possible collusion, doubting it initially but criticizing the government for having closed doors discussions with rural leaders instead of formal public consultation.


split: train

text:
17 APRIL 2015 -

[“Burnout15]

Staff are experiencing emotional and physical exhaustion as they struggle to switch off from their jobs and spend quality time with friends and family

JERMAINE HAUGHTON

Employers must prioritise the workplace wellbeing of staff, as new research from Virgin reveals more than half of full-time workers in Britain suffer burnout or anxiety at work. The report found that 51% of employees feel overworked and that it has left them feeling emotionally or physically exhausted.

Ahead of a Virgin Disruptors event on April 23, which will debate the future of workplace wellbeing, the research shows that exhaustion or anxiety at work – both physical and emotional – is most common among workers aged between 25 and 34, with 57% of respondents claiming they agonise from the issues.

Amy Leaper, head of People Innovation at Virgin Management, says high stress levels can be triggered in numerous ways.

"The growing incidence of high stress levels and exhaustion at work is a real concern,” says Leaper. “The challenging economic environment has, in many cases, resulted in the pressure to do more with less, so employees experience burnout when the demands of work become too much. We are now living in a hyper-connected world, which also means that people really struggle to switch off and work frequently spills over into personal life."

Almost a quarter of adults working full-time said their job has a negative or very negative impact on their home life (24%), with people aged 55 and over feeling the impact most (29%). Clearly dissatisfied by their job, three-quarters (74%) of women and 59% of men admitted to moaning about their work to friends and family.

The report also identifies how work has become all-consuming in people’s lives. One quarter of full-time workers said they spend more time with colleagues than anyone else. Only 4% of respondents spend more time with their friends and a mere 13% are fortunate enough to spend more time with family than their colleagues.

High stress and anxiety put the mental and physical health of employees at risk. According to the Department of Work and Pensions, an estimated 130 million days are lost to sickness absence each year and working age ill-health costs the economy around £100bn a year.

"Employers need to recognise the importance of employee wellbeing, and our Virgin Disruptors debate will put this under the spotlight,” adds Leaper. “There are many ways, often at little expense, in which companies of any size can help to bring balance to workers' lives.

"We know that a happy and healthy workforce is a more creative and motivated workforce, which is ultimately better for business performance. The first steps are listening to your people about what would make the biggest difference and reviewing existing benefits to see how they can be flexed to give people options and best meet their needs."

Barbara Dewast, 32-year-old co-founder of Workout at Work – a health and wellbeing start-up, says her previous career as a city lawyer taught her that work-life balance is still a taboo subject among corporate firms.

Married with three young children, Dewast said: "Like most city workers, I would wake up early and be out of my front door to drop off my toddlers at nursery by 7.30am. From the time I arrived at work there would be no real break until early evening. I would force myself to leave the office to kiss my children goodnight and then log-on after dinner and work until late. After spending time with my family and trying to maintain a social life, there was no time left to exercise or take care of my body and mind.

"Employees are anxious about voicing concerns about their workload and stress levels so they just battle on alone which can result in burnout. Stress management techniques such as mindfulness or a regular pilates or yoga session should be a policy in every company to help employers maintain a healthy business."

_Image courtesy of Shutterstock_

Powered by Professional Manager

question: How does the US or other countries compare with regard to worker burnout?

answer: Presumably similarly, the UK work culture is similar.


text:
With a loud gasp, Charlie woke up from his slumber. His breaths were slow, and became calmer as the seconds past. With the nightmare over, it took him not long to gain his bearings. He was in his bed, not in the giant quicksand he saw in his dream. The window beside them was open, and a calm breeze came through. Beside Charlie was Sasha, fast asleep. He could not miss the drool by the side of her lips. It made him smile for the while. She was really beautiful and innocent at the moment, and it took Charlie’s breath away. Still feeling out of place from the dream, Charlie got from his bed, and walked to the bathroom.

With the door shut, Charlie gazed closely at his reflection. He felt repulsive. From his face, to his bare chest, to his boxers. He sighed softly to himself, and shook his head. Christ….

When Sasha woke up from a sudden noise, she saw Charlie all dressed as if he was going out. Although tired, Charlie could see her confusion. “Where you goin Charlie? Its late babe.” Charlie hesitated for a moment, then spoke out softly. “I’m gonna go for a walk. Clear my head. Would you like to join me?” Charlie hoped she’d say no, but he felt right to ask. Sasha mumbled and rested back in her comfy position. “No way. Nuh uh. Don’t be long kay?” Charlie smiled as he turned to make way down the stairs, but he heard Sasha call out to him. Charlie turned and saw her smiling in her bed. “Love you.” She said quietly. Charlie was silent, then smiled back his response.

The moonlight lit the streets well enough to entertain Charlie on his walk to nowhere. With lots of thoughts on his mind, he had no idea how to keep his sanity. He wished the wind blowing in his face would wash all his sorrows away, or the night sky swallow him whole. He saw a cat walk past a garbage can, a ribbon blow across the street, and a motorbike being parked by a house. There was so much to see now, but so little to take in. He was now beginning to wish he had brought his mp3 player with him. Before Charlie could process another thought he heard someone call his name.

“Charlie bro!”

Charlie turned and saw his friend Brophy coming towards him. Beside him was an asian girl. Charlie knew her, for he saw them together a couple of times already. It was enough to get him on edge. Charlie waved back and continued walking. He didn’t know what was going on behind him now.

A half hour later, Charlie was passing through some bushes that led him to a Cliffside. The moon was clear above him now, and the wind was forever stronger. It was perfect. Suicide Rock was its name, inspired from the many attempts and depressing thoughts Charlie had in the past. The last time he came here was when he was with….

“Bruh!”

Charlie turned and saw Brophy again. This time he was alone. “Where’s the broad?” Charlie asked in a sour tone.  Brophy punched Charlie lightly on the shoulder. “Hey, the broad has a name, and she went home. We were just doing a midnight walk.” Charlie nodded to himself and sat down on the hard ground. Brophy sat beside him taking out a beer for the each of them. Charlie was about to question Brophy for it, but Brophy didn’t want any of it.

The two friends sat together getting buzzed, and talked of life. It had been a while since Charlie and Brophy had been together, so they had a lot to share. Well, Brophy did anyways. “Charlie, seriously  bro you’ve been acting anti-social again. Depression on your tail again? We can take him!” Charlie shook his head, and put the bottle aside. Slowly but surely, without any warning, a tear fell his cheek. Brophy didn’t miss it, and deep down he became all the more curious. It was weird. One moment he was out of bed with the love of his life, and the next thing he knew he was outside about to cry. Brophy rested his arm on Charlie’s shoulder. “Life blues huh?” Charlie brushed his friends arm aside and drank another gulp. “I hate my life. I hate all these people around me, I hate worrying every day, and I hate…..I hate trying to trust people. I hate…..I hate being me….” Brophy laughed, but it didn’t bother Charlie. The booze was getting to him. “Charlie, you and me are soooooo much a like. I tell you this so many times. Bruh, we’re in this together right? I mean come on, we have our moments but we got to look on the brightside. We have Nujabes, we have music, we have sweet hunnies to inspire, and…..lots of other stuff. I know life is confusing, trust me mate, but we’re all not that bad as people. It’s just the crazy lot.” Charlie wiped a tear from his face and was quiet. He heard a faint rumble of thunder in the distance and figured a storm was coming. It excited him. “We just need to change somehow, bruh. If only it was that simple right?” Charlie nodded. “If only it was that simple Brohpy…..”

When the time was right to depart, Brophy and Charlie got up and took their bottles with them. Charlie took one last glimpse at the moon, and smiled to himself. If only my purpose was so simple and clear. He stood there for a moment hoping the moon or something or someone would reply, but nothing came his way. All he could think of now past the depressing struggles he had his head, was how Sasha looked in her bed fast asleep and how she was someone he could share his mind with. Someone that beautiful.

Charlie and Brophy waved their goodbyes, and Charlie headed home. To his beautiful love, or his fated oblivion. Another story for another time.

title: A Downcast Moment

question: What does the text say about Charlie's mental health?

answer: Charlie had endured so many depressing thoughts and suicide attempts that the cliffside was named "suicide rock". Charlie's friend, Brophy, intercepted him on his midnight walk at what seemed like perfect timing. Charlie expressed to Brophy how much he hated his life and all the people around him. He simply hates being himself.


text:
CFCO (630 AM and 92.9 FM) is a news, sports, and country music radio station located in Chatham–Kent, Ontario. The station, owned by London, Ontario-based Blackburn Radio, features a heavy local news commitment. The AM station broadcasts in C-QUAM AM Stereo. CFCO is one of the few dedicated country music stations on the AM dial in North America, as well as one of the few to do so in C-QUAM AM Stereo.

History

Classic Gold 630

The AM radio station has been on the air since 1926. CFCO, which stands for “Coming From Chatham Ontario”, featured middle of the road and adult contemporary formats through much of its history, moving to an oldies format around 1992, as CLASSIC GOLD 630.

The station made several upgrades during this period under the ownership of Bea-Ver Broadcasting, including an increase in nighttime power from 1,000 to 6,000 watts (the station broadcasts with 10,000 watts by day). The high quality of the AM stereo audio of CFCO was for a time even featured on a tuner manufacturer's website.

CFCO-1-FM

In 2000, the station added its FM signal at 92.9 (CFCO-1-FM) to improve reception of the station's programming in office buildings in Chatham. The FM simulcasts the AM 100% and initially broadcast with only 50 watts of power[1] (later quintupled to 250 watts).

Country 92.9 & AM 630

On March 3, 2008 at 9AM, after sixteen years as an oldies station, “Classic Gold 630” came to an end with the song “The Beat Goes On” by Sonny and Cher, after which CFCO signed on the new country format with “Play Something Country” by Brooks & Dunn. Opening the station was 32-year CFCO vet George Brooks. This is the first time Chatham-Kent has had its own country music station, although now-sister station CHYR-FM in nearby Leamington was a country station for most of the 1990s and sister station CJSP-FM, also in Leamington, debuted its own country format prior to CFCO's change. Besides CFCO and CJSP, other country stations owned by Blackburn Radio are CHOK in Sarnia-Lambton, CJWF-FM in Windsor, and CKNX in Wingham.

In March 2011 CFCO began referring the station as “Country 92-9 FM CFCO” with no mention of 630AM. By 2015, it would include 630 AM once more.

[1] * Decision CRTC 2000-253

title: CFCO

question: How many years was CFCO on the air before it switched to an oldies format?

answer: 66 years


text:
NOTE: I haven't been able to come up with a suitable name for the protagonist yet, as you can see. The ten dashes are where his name would appear.

“There were a million chandeliers above and below me.” These were the last words that ---------typed on his hazardously dusty typewriter just before scraping the butt of his cigarette out in the pulpit of his glass ashtray. Apparently he thought these were good words to end on. If I told you why he chose these last words out of all the others that sat so readily in his dictionary, then I may ruin your expectations of Mr. -----------, or maybe I don’t know myself. Perhaps it had something to do with the gleaming horizon that he woke to every morning as he rolled out of bed, peered out of his window, and watched the crystalline strands of orange light melt the cold smoke that pumped out of the cities veins.  Or maybe it had something to do with his neutrality concerning his current professional position at the Chicago tribune as staff journalist.  It was 1:00 a.m.  Around him sat seven glasses of water which had been each been sipped the same amount of times. John cascaded the wheels of his chair across the lumpy laminate wood as he sprawled his body back, staring at his typed words for a few moments thinking about the sporadic manner in which he typed them and what they meant at all. He gently pulled back the cardboard hinge on his pack of Marlboro 27’s, plucked a fresh cigarette out, and brought the Styrofoam stub to his lips. He allowed it to dangle there. ---------- alternated glances between his blotted typewriter paper and his small rectangular alarm clock which rested on a low and chipped maple dresser. After a few minutes had gone by, he put the dangling cigarette back in the box. He loosened the bright yellow tie that hung around his neck, and laid his sore body down on the slightly damp bed leaving a parade of dust in the sky from impact.  It was now 1:30 a.m in Chicago on a Wednesday.  ------- was in no rush.

Every Sunday, him, his six combined brothers and sisters, and his parents would cram into a tiny coastal Rhode Island church to hear about sin, which was a topic -------knew well.  Growing up on the coast of Rhode Island taught him two things: Don’t pray standing up and what the preacher says goes.  Of course, it is possible to pray standing up. It may even be more comfortable than kneeling.  To examine this problem would mean having to reveal a seemingly miniscule and innocuous moment in ---------’s adolescence. I would have to back-peddle through countless erased moments and drunken stupors which have been banned and exiled from ----------’s present psyche. I would have to go back past Charloette Stone’s beach-house, past the silver dollar moon, and, eventually, back to the last dance at ----------’s senior prom, and I simply will not trespass on that exiled box of memories at this current moment.  John lay on his damp bed, staring at the picture of his family sitting in front of a glowing lake, resting at the foothills of familiar mountains. It was the last time he was together with his entire family.  Next to the picture, was a pint of the cheapest whiskey sold in Chicago. He laid on his side for a few moments dissecting the picture waiting for some sort of strong emotional image to come to his mind. It never came.

---------- woke to a screeching noise. Face down on his pillow, he opened his eyes and gazed into the ash wall for a few moments before jumping out of bed and attacking the snooze button on his alarm clock.  After a few more than necessary slaps to the top of his alarm clock, ---------- peered outside of his window, which was the only thing that was clean in the entire apartment, although, most people wouldn’t sum up ---------- apartment with the word: entirely. The words half or almost would be more appropriate. Outside of his window, there were five taxi cabs parked on the street, a corner vendor that would sell hot dogs for less than the normal price to ---------- when he would drunkenly loiter around the corners before dusk and a large fenced park diagonally to his left. The grass in the park looked like somebody had poured mass amounts of yellow cabbage onto the ground. He turned around in disgust and hopped into his half-shower. It was 7:45 a.m on a Thursday.  Time. John Dinka’s alarm clock went off while he was in the shower, like it always does. A plethora of quite imaginative curse words screamed loud enough to wake the inhabitants of the neighboring apartment was usually the selected response from ----------, for now he had to put his shower on hold while he turned the alarm off, which would subtract one minute and thirty seconds from his morning schedule, (and not to mention juice up the heating bill) as he would have to spend an extra minute and thirty seconds washing the conditioner out of his static orange hair. It seemed that ---------- mornings were meticulously planned out, perhaps better than most sane people. ---------- was, of course, sane. His random outbursts of anger, obvious alcoholism, and sociopathic tendencies were just by-products of a world that moves in masses, always forgetting the people similar to him; or, that’s how he would come to see the world, anyways. He chocked all of it up to society like it was trendy.  As a matter of fact, ---------- may have been ahead of the curve because, for the journalist’ at the Chicago Tribune, there was nothing trendier than finding a valid excuse for blaming society. ---------- was completely sane by most people’s standards; he didn’t dare stand out.   ---------- finished tying his solid red tie over a creased burnt marshmallow dress shirt.  He grabbed his keys off the dresser, and walked casually out of his apartment door even though he knew he was a minute and thirty seconds behind schedule.  He led himself down the maroon carpeted stairs, through the bright lobby, and out to his shitty fucking car.

title: Started writing this a while ago. Just reviewed it and adjusted some material. Any criticism would be awesome!

question: Where does the protagonist work?

answer: He works at the Chicago Tribune as a journalist.

question: What would the protagonist do with his family every Sunday?

answer: Every Sunday they would go to church in Rhode Island.

question: Who does the protagonist work with?

answer: He works with John.

question: Why did the protagonist leave his family in Rhode Island?

answer: This is unclear, however it is implied that there is some emotional reason for it.

question: Write a ~5 sentence summary.

answer: The protagonist works a late night with John at the Chicago Tribune. At 1:30 am he leaves to go home. HE thinks about his family, and how they would go to church on Sundays. He shuts out any more thoughts about the past, getting rid of any emotional thoughts. He wakes up for work the next day in an agitated mood.


text:
OTAIKA () is a village 7 km to the south of Whangārei in Northland, New Zealand. The Otaika Stream runs from the north west, through the area, and into the Whangārei Harbour. State Highway 1 runs through the locality. The hill Tikorangi (with a summit 161 m above sea level) lies to the South. Tikorangi is a source of limestone for Portland Cement.[1][2][3]

The New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage gives a translation of “place of lying in a heap” for _Ōtāika_.[4]

History

In the 1830s, Okaika was a Māori village of Te Parawhau hapū. Tiakiriri was the chief.[5] The first Pakeha settlers were Frederick and George Taylor, who were living at Otaika by 1856.[6] More Pākehā settled further up the Okaika Valley around this time. George Edge's wandering geese were sometimes eaten by locals, leading to a nickname for the valley of “Kai-goose”.[7]

The local Toetoe Marae and Toetoe meeting house, located north of the village on the northern shores of the Otaika Stream, is a tribal meeting ground for the Ngāpuhi hapū of Te Parawhau and Te Uriroroi, and the Ngāti Whātua hapū of Te Uriroroi.[8][9]

Demographics

The statistical area of Otaika-Portland, which also includes Portland, had a population of 1,338 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 192 people (16.8%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 231 people (20.9%) since the 2006 census. There were 444 households. There were 687 males and 648 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.06 males per female. Of the total population, 270 people (20.2%) were aged up to 15 years, 228 (17.0%) were 15 to 29, 648 (48.4%) were 30 to 64, and 195 (14.6%) were 65 or older. Figures may not add up to the total due to rounding.

Ethnicities were 83.4% European/Pākehā, 30.5% Māori, 3.8% Pacific peoples, 2.0% Asian, and 1.6% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.

The percentage of people born overseas was 11.2, compared with 27.1% nationally.

Although some people objected to giving their religion, 58.1% had no religion, 27.4% were Christian, and 4.5% had other religions.

Of those at least 15 years old, 138 (12.9%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 234 (21.9%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $31,200. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 570 (53.4%) people were employed full-time, 159 (14.9%) were part-time, and 36 (3.4%) were unemployed.[10]

Education

Otaika Valley School is a coeducational contributing primary (years 1-6) school with a roll of students as of [11]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5] Pickmere, p 14

[6]

[7] Pickmere, pp 65-66

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[9]

[10]

[11]

title: Otaika

question: What does the text say about the broader topic of gentrification in Oceania?


text:
In a question-and-answer session in parliament on June 13, the U.K. Transport Secretary Chris Grayling batted away claims from the official opposition that climate change is an existential threat to our planet, and said that any attempt to row back on road building was tantamount to the Labour Party waging a “war with the motorist.”

Grayling claimed that the “more congested our roads are, the higher the emissions.” And he added:

  We cannot destroy our economy and get rid of our roads. We have to decarbonize road transport, but we also have to ensure that our roads flow smoothly. Those on the Labour benches do not get that. They want to scrap road improvements, and they want more traffic jams. Those traffic jams increase emissions.”

Labour’s Rachael Maskell had asked the secretary of state why he had “failed to undertake a full environmental audit of [the latest] road investment strategy—the most ecologically and environmentally damaging road building program for a generation?”

Responding, Grayling claimed that Labour was “anti-motorist” and “anti-road improvements.”

Last year, the government announced billions of pounds for the Strategic Road Network–which comprise freeways and major “A-roads”–and billed the cash injection as the “largest ever investment of this kind.”

A very similar pledge was made in 2013 by the so-called “greenest government ever.” The then Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander–part of the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government–promised the “greatest investment in our roads since the 1970s.”

This, it seemed, was ignorant of a similar 1989 pledge made by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. With the _Roads to Prosperity_ report, Thatcher promised her government’s road building program would be the “biggest since the Romans.”

Some of Thatcher’s roads got built–including the M25 freeway around London, which, at peak times, is now more of a car park than a fast motor road–but the program was halted when it came to be understood that building more roads leads to more congestion. This was a radical idea when floated by anti-roads campaigners, but it became an orthodox government position–briefly–following advice to government from the Standing Advisory Committee on Trunk Road Assessment (SACTRA) study of 1994.

The then Transport Secretary Dr. Brian Mawhinney–a Conservative–told parliament that the Department for Transport “recognized that, as economic growth over the last 15 years has greatly increased traffic levels, the number of congested areas has gone up and with them, the cases where a road scheme might bring costs as well as benefits.”

He admitted that “roads do, to some degree, increase traffic.”

This concept is known to transport wonks as “induced demand” and is often summarized with a quote usually attributed to the great American urbanist Lewis Mumford: “Building more roads to prevent congestion is like a fat man loosening his belt to prevent obesity.”

Transport academics tend to credit the discovery of induced demand in transport to J.J. Leeming, a British road-traffic engineer and county surveyor, writing in 1969. He observed that the more roads are built, the more traffic there is to fill these roads. The idea was conceived shortly after German mathematician Dietrich Braess released the Braess’s paradox which shows that “selfish” motorists can’t be relied upon to consider the optimal travel times for all rather than just themselves, leading to delays for all. These ideas were further expanded in the Lewis–Mogridge Position of 1990 and the Downs–Thomson paradox of 1992.

But the mechanics of induced demand was known about long before 1969. Writing in 1866, surveyor and engineer William J. Haywood, one of the builders of London’s Holborn Viaduct, said the new thoroughfare would attract more travelers: the “facility of locomotion stimulates traffic of itself.” His solution? Build more and more roads, of course. This was also the conclusion of Sir Charles Bressey’s Highway Development Survey for London, published in 1937. In his report–penned with the great architect, Sir Edward Lutyens–Bressey wrote:

  As a typical instance may be quoted the new Great West Road which parallels and relieves the old Brentford High Street route. According to the Ministry's traffic census extracts … the new route as soon as it was opened carried four and a half times more vehicles than the old route was carrying. No diminution, however, occurred in the flow of traffic along the old route and from that day to this the number of vehicles on both routes has steadily increased … These figures serve to exemplify the remarkable manner in which new roads create new traffic.”

Bressey’s solution? Same as Haywood’s. More roads.

Writing in 1932, the British town planner Thomas Sharp pointed out the futility of building more roads:

  A motorist is apt to complain of the overcrowded condition of the road if he finds he has not continually got a whole mile-long stretch of it to himself, but is one of a widely spaced and rapidly moving queue of half a dozen or so. He will declare there is no pleasure in motoring under such conditions. He will search his map for some alternative route by quiet lanes where he can speed along with the road to himself. And when others find that alternative route and all further alternatives are exhausted, he proceeds to demand a new road system so that his motoring may again become a pleasure.”

Despite knowing that building more roads would lead to more traffic, Sharp still advocated for road building.

Famously, Southern California built hundreds of miles of wide, expansive freeways, but soon after they were built they filled to capacity, as can be seen from this 1950s film of bumper to bumper queues:

Writing in _The New Yorker_ in 1955, Mumford suggested that “people … find it hard to believe that the cure for congestion is not more facilities for congestion.”

He added:

  Most of the fancy cures that the experts have offered for … congestion are based on the innocent notion that the problem can be solved by increasing the capacity of the existing traffic routes, multiplying the number of ways of getting in and out of town, or providing more parking space for cars that should not have been lured into the city in the first place. Like the tailor’s remedy for obesity–letting out the seams of the trousers and loosening the belt–this does nothing to curb the greedy appetite that [has] caused the fat to accumulate …”

And, as evidenced by the transport secretary on June 13, the planet can burn while the fat man–that’s us–loosens his belt in a futile attempt to prevent obesity.

question: What does the text say about induced demand?

answer: Induced demand is the term for the concept that building more roads creates additional traffic, rather than alleviating it. Lewis Mumford is often quoted as saying "building more roads to prevent congestion is like a fat man loosening his belt to prevent obesity." The discovery of the phenomenon is often attributed to J. J. Leeming, a British road-traffic engineer and county surveyor, who described it in 1969. However, the basic mechanics of induced demand were seen earlier by William J. Haywood, a surveyor and engineer, in 1866.

question: What does the text say about the current discussion over roads?

answer: The U.K. Transport Secretary, Chris Grayling, pushed for the construction of more roads in a question-and-answer session in parliament on June 13. Responding to Labour Party environmental concerns, he claimed that roadway congestion would lead to increased emissions, supporting the construction of new roads. Rachael Maskell of the Labour Party questioned why a full environmental audit of the road investment strategy was not carried out.

question: What does the text say about the author?


text:
UKRSOTSBANK (in 2013–2016 known as UNICREDIT BANK – UKRSOTSBANK) was a Ukrainian bank. It was a subsidiary of Alfa Group via a Luxembourg incorporated company АВН Holdings.[1][2] In October 2019 Ukrsotsbank was fully merged with Alfa Bank Ukraine.[3]

History

Bank Pekao – UniCredit

Ukrsotsbank

On 11 January 2016 UniCredit Group sold Ukrsotsbank to ABH Holdings, a subsidiary of Alfa Group. In exchange, UniCredit acquired 9.9% stake of ABH Holdings.[4] In October 2019 Ukrsotsbank was fully merged with Alfa Bank Ukraine, who became the “full successor of all rights and obligations of Ukrsotsbank with respect to its clients, partners and counterparties.”[5]

Gallery

File:LG USB bank.JPG|Office in Luhansk, 2005 File:Lviv - Mickewicz square - panorama - 02.jpg|Office in Lviv, 2008 File:Будинок Державного Банку (Кременчук) - 01.JPG|Office in Kremenchuk, 2011

[1]

[2] UniCredit Bank is returning to its historical name – Ukrsotsbank (UniCredit Bank повертається до історичної назви – Укрсоцбанк). Ukrsotsbank. 1 December 2016

[3] https://ukr.lb.ua/economics/2019/10/15/439844_alfabank_ostatochno_kupiv.html

[4]

[5] https://ukr.lb.ua/economics/2019/10/15/439844_alfabank_ostatochno_kupiv.html

title: Ukrsotsbank

question: UKRSOTSBANK is owned by which group?

answer: Unicredit Bank is a subsidiary of Alfa Group via ABH Holdings.

question: When did UKRSOTSBANK merge?

answer: The bank merged with Alfa Bank Ukraine in 2019.

question: Who sold Ukrsotsbank?

answer: UniCredit Group sold the bank to ABH Holdings.

question: How much stake did UniCredit acquire?

answer: UniCredit acquired a 9.9% stake in ABH Holdings.

question: Write a ~4 sentence summary.

answer:
Ukrsotsbank was a Ukrainian bank. The bank was a subsidiary of Alfa Group via ABH Holdings.

In January 2016, UniCredit Group sold Ukrsotsbank to ABH Holdings and in return, UniCredit acquired a 9.9% stake in ABH Holdings. In 2019, the bank was fully merged with Alfa Bank Ukraine.


text:
The official Cal Poly mobile app for students. The app includes quick access to the student center, campus directory, maps, and upcoming events.

Features:
• Student Center: Access your class schedule, personal information, class management & enrollment, student financials and more from PeopleSoft.
• Directory: Search for a professor or student on campus and look up a phone number, email address or office location. Save contact information to your phone for easy access.
• Maps: Find your way around campus with campus maps. Search buildings by name or building number and see the location on a map. Find a location and route using Google maps walking directions for the quickest route.
• Events: Cal Poly Calendar at your fingertips. Includes academic schedule, ASI events, community events, campus life and diversity events. Save an event directly to your calendar or share with a friend.
• Campus Safety: Quickly dial campus or city police without having to look up the number. Access to contact information for other important campus safety and wellness services when in need.

This release represents a complete replatforming of the app using the Modo Labs platform.

This release contains performance improvements and behind-the-scenes bug fixes.

Used for the map only

  I can’t even look at my class schedule or access poly learn which kinda defeats the purpose of having the app

Dining Hours

  Like most freshmen, I really only use this app for dining hours. Winter 2018 quarter many dining hours changed and the app has not been updated. It is extremely annoying and upsetting to walk 15-20 minutes from my dorm to get food based on the time in the app only to find that a restaurant closed at 10pm not 12am as stated, or opens at 8am instead of 6:30am as stated. Please fix this. It's unfair and ridiculous.

Update made the app pointless.

  The newest update buries anything useful, like your your class schedule, 5-6 clicks deep now. If this just had quick access to a READABLE class schedule and poly planner I’d actually use it instead of going directly to the portal in a browser. The app is now useless. I wish I didn’t update.

Information

Seller
    California Polytechnic State University

Size
    11.4 MB

Category
    Education

Compatibility

    Requires iOS 11.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.

Age Rating
    4+

Copyright
    © 2019 California Polytechnic State University

Price
    Free

-   App Support
-   Privacy Policy

-   App Support
-   Privacy Policy

Supports

-   []
    Family Sharing

    With Family Sharing set up, up to six family members can use this app.

[]

question: What is the Cal Poly mobile app?

answer: It is a mobile app for students from California Polytechnic State University.

question: Summarize everything related to campus safety?

answer: With the app, you can dial campus or city police without looking up the number. You also have contact information for other important campus safety and wellness services.

question: What is Cal Poly?

answer: California Polytechnic State University

question: What is one comment on the newest update of the app?

answer: One comment is that the update made the app pointless.

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: This document provides a description for California Polytechnic State University's app, Cal Poly mobile app. It's features are student center, directory, maps, events, and campus safety. This document also features some reviews of the app.


text:
WBEB (101.1 FM, “B101.1”) is a commercial FM radio station licensed to serve Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Owned by Entercom, the station broadcasts an adult contemporary format. The broadcast tower used by the station is in the Roxborough section of Philadelphia at (),[1] while its studios are co-located within Entercom's corporate headquarters in Center City, Philadelphia

In addition to a standard analog transmission, WBEB broadcasts over two HD Radio channels, and is available online via Radio.com.

Prior to 2018, WBEB was co-founded and owned by broadcaster Jerry Lee, and was recognized as one of the last independently owned and operated major market FM stations remaining in the United States.[2] WBEB has been a top-ranking station in the Philadelphia Nielsen Audio ratings since the early 1990s; this dominance has been further demonstrated during the holiday season, where WBEB has historically seen the largest ratings gains among U.S. radio stations that switch to Christmas music.[3][4]

History

On May 13, 1963, the station first signed on using the call sign WDVR, which stood for Delaware Valley Radio.[5] It was one of several Philadelphia stations airing a beautiful music format, including WPBS (98.9 FM) and WWSH (106.1 FM). In 1981, it switched call signs to WEAZ, which stood for easy listening.[6] It began using the slogan _EAZY 101_ with actor Patrick O'Neal and later with actor Robert Urich as its TV commercial spokesperson. By 1984, EAZY 101 had become the #1 rated station in Philadelphia.

The station was known for playing pop tunes reworked in the form of instrumentals. At first, it played two vocalists per hour, although over time, more vocals were added. The instrumental music was based on the works of such artists as Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Nat King Cole, Neil Diamond, The Carpenters as well as songs from movies and Broadway. By the 1980s, the station increased the number of vocals to four per hour, either from the middle of the road format or from the soft adult contemporary format.

In 1988, the station completed a transition from instrumental-based easy listening to an all-vocal soft adult contemporary format. This format change came after research showed listeners who grew up after the advent of rock and roll did not like instrumental music. With the format change, the station used a satellite-delivered music service, but by the next year, some of the air staff returned. By 1990, the station's name was shortened to “EZ 101”. The station would shift to a mainstream adult contemporary format in 1993, and its call sign and branding would change to WBEB, _B101.1_, on April 25 of that year. 7 years later, they would shorten their name to _B101_.

In December 2013, WBEB announced the station would rebrand as _More FM_ beginning December 26, with no change in format. The station argued that the _B101_ name was dated and did not reflect its current on-air content.[7]

On July 19, 2018, Entercom announced that it would acquire WBEB for $57.5 million. To comply with DOJ revenue limits, Entercom divested WXTU back to its previous owner Beasley Broadcast Group. WBEB was, at that time, one of the last major-market radio stations to be independently owned.[8][9] The sale closed September 28, 2018. With the sale's closure, former GM Blaise Howard returned to the station, this time as general sales manager.[10][11]

On November 8, 2018, WBEB returned to its previous “B” branding as _B101.1_.[12]

Signal note

WBEB is short-spaced to three other Class B stations:

WCBS-FM (licensed to serve New York City) and WWDC “DC101” (licensed to serve Washington, D.C.) also operate on 101.1 MHz. WBEB and WCBS-FM are 82 miles apart.[13] WBEB and WWDC are 120 miles apart.[14] The minimum distance between two Class B stations operating on the same channel according to current FCC rules is 150 miles.[15]

In addition, WBEB is short-spaced to WROZ _fun 101.3_ (licensed to serve Lancaster, Pennsylvania) as they operate on first adjacent channels (101.1 and 101.3) and the cities they are licensed to serve are only about 61 miles apart.[16] The minimum distance between two Class B stations operating on first adjacent channels according to current FCC rules is 105 miles.[17]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5] Broadcasting Yearbook 1977 page C-181

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title: WBEB

question: What kind of content is broadcasted on WBEB?

answer: From pop tunes to instrumentals, the WBEB broadcasted different genres of music over many years.


text:
[Martin H.M. Schreiber] MARTIN HUGO MAXIMILIAN SCHREIBER (born 14 June 1946) is a Czech-American photographer. He is best known for his photographs of women, particularly a nude shot of Madonna taken in 1979.[1]

Biography

Schreiber was born in Prague to Francis Robert Schreiber and Marta Olga Wallenfels Sebelikova. The family emigrated to the United States in 1952.

As a teenager, he won his first photo competition, a third prize in colour in The New York Telegram and Sun competition, with the photo of a rose taken with a Yashika Lynx 1000, a simple 35 mm range finder.

Schreiber attended one year of university at Iona College. He then enlisted in the army for photography and went to a photo lab school for 10 weeks and then was sent to Germany in an Intelligence Unit where he spent two years in Stuttgart. He did freelance work for _The New York Times_ and for _Woman Wear Daily_. He had his first exhibition in Stuttgart during this period. Upon his discharge in 1968, he then spent a semester at the School of Visual Arts in New York. He then became official photographer on an archaeological expedition in Knidos, Turkey. In 1971, he won an honorable mention, out of 40,000 entrants in the first Life Magazine photography contest. He started showing his work in galleries in 1976.

From 1977, he taught a course at the photography department of the New School Parsons on photographing the nude, which he did for the next 7–8 years. He also taught at the School of Visual Arts for two semesters, a course on basic photography and darkroom.

In 1989, Schreiber moved to Europe. He travels in Europe, the United States, South and Central America, The Caribbean, Russia, Australia and North Africa.

He has shot fashion, portraits, children, a good deal of reportages, travel and lifestyle photographs. He has had 100 exhibitions throughout the world either one man shows or group shows. He is also a sculptor and has appeared as an actor in films.

Photograph of Madonna

In 1985, Schreiber recognised Madonna on the cover of _Time Magazine_ and remembered that she had been one of his models in 1979. The photos he took of her were published in _Playboy_ for the September 1985 issue, and these photos have since been published worldwide and still are.[2]

Selected works

-   _Bodyscapes_ (1980)
-   _Last of a Breed_ (1982)
-   _The Majestic World of Arabian Horses_ (1986)
-   _I, Madonna_ (1988)
-   _Madonna Nudes 1979_ (1990)
-   _Cafe D'Artistes A Paris_ (1998)
-   _Chef Daniel Boulud, Cooking In New York City_ (2002)
-   _Madonna Nudes II_ (2015)
-   _Last Of A Breed II_ (2015)
-   _Retrospections_ (2015)
-   _The Rape of Prague_ (journal) (2015)

[1]

[2]

title: Martin H. M. Schreiber

question: Who is Martin H.M. Schreiber?

answer: He is a Czech-American photographer.

question: What work is Schreiber best known for?

answer: He is best known for his photographs of women, particularly a nude shot of Madonna taken in 1979.

question: When did Shreiber's family emigrate to the United States?

answer: They emigrated in 1952.

question: What did Shreiber shoot?

answer: He shot fashion, portraits, children, a good deal of reportages, travel and lifestyle photographs.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: This article describes the life events of Martin H.M. Schreiber, a Czech-American photographer and his works. He is well known for the nude photo of Madonna that he took.


text:
What would you do if you were an armed robber? That's something Jason had to ask himself weeks before his first armed robbery. It was executed brilliantly. He did it at a local convenience store he frequented quite often. He knew the hours--knew when the shift changes were--knew when it was least busy. Four in the morning, The night shift wasn't ready to end quite yet, but he was getting bored behind the counter, playing on his phone as always.

You see, Jason was a regular customer, sure. But, (and this is important) he remained virtually unnoticed by the staff. He'd come in often, during different shifts, and buy a different item each time. Maybe, he'd buy a Slim Jim one day and a soda the next, then a pack of gum, or some cigarettes (he didn't really smoke, but it might throw them off if they had recognized him).

He watched them, mostly. He'd be in and out really quick so they wouldn't catch on, but he'd sit in his car and watch them sometimes from across the street. He knew that at around four in the morning, anybody who did the late shift would be distracted.

He'd bought a gun; he didn't plan on actually shooting it, but he'd bought it because it was real. It was real and something he knew they'd be afraid of. He'd sat in his car for a good thirty minutes, telling himself how he needed the money. Medical bills don't pay themselves, you know, no matter how much you wish they would, they just don't. And food, he needed food, didn't he? He'd put the gun in his mouth for sure. As soon as he'd bought it and got home, it was the first thing he did.

He thought, "If I shoot my head off, my family won't be able to have an open casket funeral," so he aimed at his heart. He couldn't, though. He couldn't pull the trigger. So, here he was, gun pointed at the cashier, a man who works the late shift (and probably hates it), just so he can afford food. He might have a family, Jason didn't know. For all Jason knew, this man could be an alcoholic, but he always smiled at Jason when he checked his things out.

"Get the money and leave," it was the only thought in Jason's head when he held that gun, just "get the money and leave." He got the money, and he left. What was next? What was left after that? He had money, not enough, but enough. He couldn't pay off his bills, but he could stall for a little while. Where would he go next, though? He'd tried to avoid the question.

He couldn't get past what he'd done. That man had begged for his life. The fear in his eyes was enough to bring Jason to tears right there, but he didn't cry--not until he'd gotten home. "This is it," he'd thought to himself, "I've gone as low as any man can go. I've threatened to take someone's life for something so simple as money. I've nowhere left to go."

What would you do? He knew the answer before he'd even bought the gun--before he'd ever pulled the trigger. He knew how it would end.

title: What to Do

question: Who are the main characters of the story?

answer: Jason, the narrator

question: Why did Jason resort to armed robbery?

answer: He needed the money for food and medical bills.

question: How did Jason plan the robbery?

answer: He watched the convenience store from across the street and went in to buy random items at different times of the day.

question: Why did Jason buy a real gun when he had no plans of actually shooting it?

answer: He thought that people would fear a real gun. He also wanted to kill himself, but couldn't pull the trigger.

question: Write a ~5 sentence summary.

answer: Jason has a family and needs money to buy food and pay for medical bills. He stakes out a convenience store he often goes to and makes plans to rob it. He buys a gun because he knows it will scare people. He also wanted to kill himself, but couldn't pull the trigger. He pulls off his armed robbery perfectly but realizes that he has just crossed a threshold by threatening another person's life and now has nowhere left to go.


text:
VIRGINIA PENNY (January 18, 1826 – April 4, 1913) was a social reformer and an economist, being the first to study women's labor markets both in the U.S. and in Europe. Her books were an important resource for the members of the newly formed American Social Science Association.[1] She also served as an early leader of the American women's suffrage movement[2] before coming more involved in labor union organization and running her own employment agency for women.

Early life and publishing career

The eldest daughter of Rachel Ruble and William Penny of Louisville, Kentucky, Virginia Penny was born on January 18, 1826, into a slaveowning family. Her father served as a city councilman and also co-founded the Louisville Savings Bank.[3] At least three of her four brothers played a large role in her later life:

-   William - graduated from University of Louisville with a medical degree in 1872, died at home in Brooklyn, New York on January 21, 1914, at the age of 83[4]
-   Alexander - also a doctor, lived on a farm near Louisville with his mother after his father's death,[5] and died in December 1876[6]
-   Icilius - worked as a farmhand in Alton, Illinois, where he was abused and starved when his sister found him there in the 1880s[7]

After attending for two years, Penny graduated in 1845 from the Steubenville Female Seminary, run by the Presbyterians in Ohio. She taught there, in Illinois and Kentucky; and she served as the principal of the Female Department at Van Rensselaer Academy in Missouri.[8] By the late 1850s, she had traveled to several big cities in the U.S. to study women's jobs and she used libraries to find information about European women. She lived in New York City from 1859 to 1861 to finalize her research and to publish what became the first publication of what jobs were open to women and what wages they might earn. Penny used a systemmatic research method to interview thousands of employers and workers. She used in-person interviews as well as mail-in survey questionnaires, ending up with 533 listings in the first version of her book: _How women can make money married or single, in all branches of the arts and sciences, professions, trades, agricultural and mechanical pursuits_ (Philadelphia, 1862). Her unique book is the first of its kind to present not only the kinds of jobs in which women were employed then, but also those where, by reason of gender discrimination, they could have worked but were not employed in great numbers. Her thematic essays accompanying the lists of jobs included her analysis of the effects of the job on the health of its laborforce, the typical wages (and gender differentials), the length of the working day, as well as qualifications and length of training for a particular type of job. The book's intended audience, women seeking employment, was encouraged to explore ways by which to be job-ready and to not give up when first turned away because of gender discrimination.

Given the lack of advertisement of Penny's book (self-published using her inheritance), it was not widely distributed. The next year, she sold the printing plates and her rights to her book to a new publisher for $100.[9] Walker, Wise and Company in Boston republished it in 1863 under a new title: _The Employments of Women: A Cyclopaedia of Woman's Work_. This version of the book was widely distributed and reviewed in scholarly as well as general literary works (see for example the review by Burwell N. Carter of Williamstown, Kentucky in _The Land We Love_ (August, 1867)).[10] In her preface to her 1863 book, she writes:

  I desire to present to those interested a clear and succinct view of the conditions of business in the United States, the openings for entering into business, the vacancies women may fill and the crowded marts they may avoid, the qualifications needed for a selected pursuit, and the pursuits to which they are best adapted; also the probable result pecuniarily of each calling honorably pursued: in short it is intended as a business manual for women.[11]

Another reviewer in 1869 agreed that the book is a useful, practical tool for women: “Miss Penny has earned the sober gratitude of women, and men interested in the lot of women, by the labors of many years in the hardest and least remunerative fields of service. She is no orator, politician, or manager, but a delving, drudging worker ... Miss Penny's style is not especially brilliant or attractive, but is interesting; and better than all, her essays are sober, wise, and important.”[12] The book was republished many times over the years; and, in 1867, the book was adapted and translated into German.[13]

In May 1867, Penny attended the second convention of the American Equal Rights Association (AERA) where she was elected as the Kentucky representative among the Vice-Presidents. Her reputation for her work and ideas for women's rights had been firmly established by then and she joined a global network of activists working for women's suffrage as well as equal rights for all. She participated in union activities, including the Workingwoman's Association in New York and led protests for women's wages and living conditions. She opened an employment agency and gave public lectures to encourage women to explore the many different fields in which they could work and get paid. At one point she also worked for the U.S. Census Bureau.[14]

Penny's second book, _Think and Act: A Series of Articles Pertaining to Men and Women, Work and Wages_ was published in 1869. This was a compilation of her speeches and articles, giving a more in-depth economic analysis of the status of women laborers and here she laid out her solutions that place her firmly in the school of feminist economists and social theorists who follow in her footsteps many decades later. She advocated for married women's property rights and wrote of the use-value of women in the domestic sphere[15] in a time when most authors spoke primarily of the moral issues of domesticity. She sought to make her book useful for social reformers, including suffragists, lobbying their municipal, state and federal legislators: “If what is said be the means of making plan the path of duty, or assisting any one in the cause to which it is devoted, it will have accomplished its mission (5).”[16]

Penny was a founding member of the Kentucky Woman Suffrage Association when it was first formed in 1881 right after a convention of the American Woman Suffrage Association in Louisville, Kentucky.[17] This group was the first suffrage organization to represent a state in the South.[18]

At one point in her later life, Penny organized the funding for and managed an employment agency in the American Bible Society's Bible House located between Third and Fourth Avenues, at Ninth Street in New York City. She included as part of her services a lecture series on the jobs available to women in the city.[19]

Decline in fortune and death

Penny was in Cincinnati in the 1870s, and she wrote: “my health bad, and my means limited.”[20] Her brothers' fight over their inheritance led to an inquest in 1874, during which—for unknown reasons—the judge committed her against her will to Anchorage Asylum, a psychiatric hospital near Louisville.[21] She became destitute by the 1880s, having lost her inheritance as well as her books' publishing rights, and regular calls for monetary support went out across the country as she traveled to different cities (see for example her 1885 broadside _To the Voters of Jefferson County_[22] while she was in Louisville and a report from the New York Times in 1902 when she was living in poverty in a tenement in New York City[23]). Meanwhile, her brother William, a doctor and professor in Galveston, Texas, had moved to New York and opened the Penny Dispensary on Long Island.[24] While William was living in Brooklyn, she was committed to the Manhattan State Hospital on Wards Island where she finally died nearly 20 years later.[25]

Works

-   How women can make money married or single, in all branches of the arts and sciences, professions, trades, agricultural and mechanical pursuits (Philadelphia, 1862); republished in 1863 in Boston by Walker, Wise & Company under the new title, The Employments of Women: A Cyclopaedia of Woman's Work.
-   Think and Act: A Series of Articles Pertaining to Men and Women, Work and Wages (Philadelphia, 1869).
-   _To the Voters of Jefferson County_ (Louisville, January 1885)

[1]

[2]

[3]

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[5]

[6]

[7]

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[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

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[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]

[18]

[19]

[20]

[21]

[22]

[23]

[24]

[25]

title: Virginia Penny

question: Who is Virginia Penny?

answer: She was a social reformer, economist, and the first to study women's labor markets both in the US and Europe. She wrote books that became important resources for the American Social Science Association members and served as an early leader of the American women's suffrage movement.

question: Summarize everything relating to Penny's brothers.

answer:
William graduated from the University of Louisville with a medical degree in 1972. He was a professor in Galveston, Texas, had moved to New York and opened the Penny Dispensary on Long Island. He died at home in Brooklyn, NY, on January 21, 1914.
Alexander was also a doctor and lived on a farm near Louisville with their mother after their father's death. Alexander died in December 1876.
Icilius worked as a farmhand in Alton, Illinois. He was abused and starved when Penny found him in the 1880s.
Some of her brothers (not mentioned) eventually fought over the family inheritance that led to an inquest in 1874, during which—for unknown reasons—the judge committed her against her will to Anchorage Asylum, a psychiatric hospital near Louisville.

question: What happened with Penny's first book?

answer: After self-publishing her first book failed, Penny sold the rights to a publisher, who changed the title and republished it in 1863 under a new title called 'The Employments of Women: A Cyclopaedia of Woman's Work.' The book's second publication was widely distributed and received.

question: What was the title of Penny's second book?

answer: Think and Act: A Series of Articles Pertaining to Men and Women, Work and Wages

question: Write a ~7 sentence summary.

answer: Virginia Penny was a social reformer, economist, and the first to study women's labor markets both in the US and Europe. She wrote books that became important resources for the American Social Science Association members and served as an early leader of the American women's suffrage movement. When her brothers fought over the family inheritance, an inquest was launched in 1874. Penny was committed to Anchorage Asylum for unknown reasons. By 1880, Penny lost her inheritance and all publishing rights to her books, becoming destitute. The New York Times reported that Penny was living in poverty in a tenement in New York City. Her brother, William was a doctor and had her committed to the Manhattan State Hospital on Wards Island where she died 20 years later.


text:
Souls Covering Up

He comes home.
Takes off his suit.
It’s much too big on him.
It’s all tarnished and dusty from the day.
What a mess.
Someone should clean it, no?
It’s a damn good suit anyway.
Fancy embroidery of golden strings, stylish accessories, and expensive decorations.
Everyone notices the suit.
No choice.
So bright.
Compliments.
Lots of compliments.
Lots of envy.
So much envy.
Envy.
They’re threatened.
Too bad.
This suit was hard earned.
It’s different.
Few have one like it.
He dusts it off.
Dust comes off easy.
There are creases.
The fabric is strained, resilient.
Been through a lot. Ready for more.
He lounges.
Gray couch, sleek apartment.

Damn, this house is quiet.
I’m small and insignificant.
Everyone is the same size.
I can see by the body parts not covered by their suits.
They are neither larger nor smaller.
That suit used to look larger on me than it does today.
I guess it feels larger than it is.
I wish I didn’t have to take it off though, it really is such a nice suit.
How do everyone else’s suits fit so well on them?
It’s ok, my suit’s appearance makes up for the ill fit, people don’t notice.
I’ll grow into it eventually.
I did just notice that it feels bigger than it actually is.
I’m already growing.
I do feel alone.
Where is everyone?
Six billion suits walking around this rock, and I’m alone?
How is this possible?
If i remember correctly, their suits weren’t that much smaller than mine.
I guess they just weren’t as adorned, that’s why they didn’t stick out just as much.
No, No; the suits were definitely as large as mine.
I do miss the rainbow.
I’m alone here, and six billion are all gray; there is but one that is colorful.
There are a few that are a brilliant white, and they beam light.
But they are not rainbow.
Ah, well...
I’ll just be alone here for now.
It’s difficult beyond belief to travel these days.

Suddenly, the man hears a knock at his door. He is very pleasantly surprised and drifts off of the gray couch and levitates toward the door. He seldom heard knocking anymore, as people generally used the portal that links the city’s points of interest to residential areas and allows for ease of travel. Within the city, of course. Travel out of the city was, unfortunately, impossible at the moment.
It was a great delight to get a knock on the door. It meant an unexpected visitor. It meant a familiar face or an unfamiliar stranger that would prove to be an interesting character. He loved people visiting.
With a jolt, the man realized that he was fluttering to the door all naked! He brings his clean suit back from the hanger in the closet. He notes how strange it is putting it on, as it feels much tighter than it did when he took it off. He glances in his mirror. In front of a backdrop of his sleek, stylized gray apartment stands a beaming man in a suit that fits perfectly. He looks over himself, admiring just how gorgeous the suit is.
Before answering the door, in light of the looming presence of the ever more excited knocking coming from the door, the man glances out of the window. He remarks to himself aloud just how strange it is. He swears that he remembered that the other people’s suits fit perfectly. What he saw outside were small people in large suits. He considered his own deeply held belief that all people are the same size. Strange, of course, that just minutes ago he remembered seeing others in suits that fit better.
Ah, well that is all irrelevant for him. He flutters to the door, having hastily punched in a few commands to the controls of his apartment to put on tea. He opens the door, and his suit splits at the seams and falls off. This all happens so fast that by the time the rainbow flies into his apartment, he is once again naked.
Feeling embarrassed, the man averts his gaze and glances into the mirror.

Two souls locked in an embrace.

An untrained eye would not spot that they were naked, and the man only knew because he felt his suit burst and fall off. To an unsuspecting eye, these were two fully clothed, larger than average people in a loving embrace.
Having seen how appearances can fool, the man has a realization. He sees that he and the rainbow appear fully dressed, just like their suits look on the outside but they are actually bare. Their unclothed appearance looks just as if they were wearing suits.
He feels no loneliness anymore.

I find this serenity odd.
No thoughts buzzing.
I feel a deep contentment.
That’s interesting, my apartment is not actually gray, it is colorful!
But it’s not the style!
It’s ok, I like this better!
The color is coming from us!
My gosh, how I do feel warm inside, even without a suit on.
It was too small, anyways.
And how realistic my outer appearance looks, just like the suit.
Just like that body.
How many other souls are naked out there?
How many other souls don’t wear suits?
I, a soul, look just like a suit, the body.
I look even more real, if possible.
My beautiful rainbow is here.
I cannot believe it!
At last!
I find this serenity blissful!

Outside.
Men and women outside.
Souls dressed in suits.
Suits much too big.
Everyone.
If only their suits fit.
Just souls donning suits.
Souls donning human bodies.
Souls covering up.

title: "Souls Covering Up"- rough draft

question: What is the story about?

answer: It tries to convey the idea that everyone hides behind an ill-fitting façade. The moral of the story is that people would've been happier if their demeanor ("suit") matched their nature ("soul") or if they didn't need the suits.

question: What does "suit" refer to in this story?

answer: It's a metaphor for the way people present themselves to the world. It can be the way they behave or try to look.

question: What does the line "How do everyone else’s suits fit so well on them?" mean?

answer: People are usually aware of how the way we try to seem isn't the way we really are. The story expresses this as the narrator thinking that their suit doesn't fit them. Since we don't know other people in their own heads, who think their own suits are ill-fitting, we assume that the way they seem is the way they are.

question: The narrator ends up being naked and content in the end. What does that mean?

answer: The moment of naked contentedness comes after the narrator meets someone, presumably someone with whom they don't feel a need to hide their souls.


text:
SAMUEL KEYS (1771–1850) was an English china painter.

Life

His family background is not known. Keys was one of the principal gilders and china-painters in the Derby china factory under William Duesbury the elder, to whom Keys was articled. He was highly regarded, and much of the success of the china, especially the figures in the Dresden style, was owing to his skill in decoration.[1]

On 3 August 1795, in Dronfield, Derbyshire, he married Hannah Grattan.[2]

Keys left Derby some years before the close of the factory, and worked under Minton in the Staffordshire Potteries district. He returned later to Derby, where he died in 1850, in his eightieth year. Keys preserved his delicacy of execution to the last. He collected materials for the history of the Derby china factory, which form the foundation of subsequent accounts.[3]

His sons

Keys left three sons, all apprenticed at the Derby factory. John Keys (bapt. 1797, died 1825) became a skilled flower-painter in water-colour, and teacher of that art.[4]

Edward Keys (bapt. 1795) left Derby about 1826, and went to work for Minton, Daniell, and others in the Staffordshire Potteries. He was known for his figurines.[5]

Samuel Keys the younger (bapt. 1804) was noted for his figurines of leading actors. He left Derby in 1830, and went to the Potteries, where he worked for several firms. He set up, with John Mountford, a firm producing Parian ware.[6]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

title: Samuel Keys

question: Who is Samuel Keys?

answer: He was an English china painter who lived from 1771 - 1850.

question: Where did Keys work?

answer: The Derby China Factory

question: What was Keys' reputation while working in the Derby China Factory?

answer: He was highly regarded. Much of the success of the (china) figures in the Dresden style, was owing to his skill in decoration.

question: Name all three of Keys' sons.

answer:
John Keys
Edward Keys
Samuel Keys the younger

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer:
Samuel Keys was an English china painter who lived from 1771 - 1850. He worked in the Derby China Factory and was highly regarded for his skill in decorating in the Dresden style. He had three sons, John Keys
Edward Keys, and Samuel Keys the younger, all apprenticed at the Derby factory.


text:
(This is part of my new found personal project of writing one half-assed short story a week, every week, forever and ever. Jon gave me the concept for this week's short story which was ' God gives you the option blind or deaf, you have to choose one. Go.' This is the roughest draft seen by man or beast but I just finished it in order to meet my deadline and its not even spell-checked. ENJOY)

In a far more reasonable world than this one, you get to choose your ailments and misfortunes. God, as one may choose to call it, only partially controls your fates. You are at least given a choice in the matter. Two options are placed in front of you and which one chosen is entirely up to you. It is in this Utopia of infinite forked roads that Jim, a 26 year old grad student from a fairly reputable university, treads down a cobblestone road made out of playground foam padding.

When you are given an 'option' as it is referred to by the populace of this universe, time stops and your options are politely placed in front of you. Though you have no clue the long-term results of your 'option' it is your choice to make, and everyone must suffer through choosing their misfortunes every now and again. There is no rush, no timer, no pressure. You have forever to decide and since deciding is inevitable given the fact that inaction is impossible over the course of all time, no one even knows that you are in an 'option'. Though everyone is keenly aware that they occur.

Some people spend the rest of their lives regretting decisions they made, wondering what would have occurred if they had truly given the option the weight it was due and not chosen randomly to get it over with. School girls gossip over possible options given them and how they would respond, preparing even at young ages for the inevitability of choice.

Jim was suddenly stuck full force with an 'option' as he passed a hot dog cart on 7th in the midst of noticing a woman in a yellow dress that may per chance be blown up by the wind at any moment.

It took a moment for Jim to recognize the scenario he was quite suddenly placed in. His surroundings had slightly faded and before him on the left in bold typeface was 'Blind' on the right in similar fashion was 'Deaf'.

"Fuck..." He muttered to himself. This was much heavier than other choices he had dealt with on previous occasions, for instance 'Hang-nail' or 'Stub-toe' or even 'appendicitis' or 'tonsillitis'. He sat down in that timeless space and began to consider his options.

Given what he was just moments from witnessing before this unfortunate event had interrupted him, losing his sight would 'really royally suck'. Then again not being able to hear the voice of any of his friends or join in conversation like he normally would would also be truly 'bite the big one'. He started the godly task of deciding his fate.

Colors, though muted, were still visible in the background of what was his leisurely stroll down the street. He could see frosted over blobs of green which were just a few moments ago vivid trees. He would lose this, his favorite color would become a void. He would fail to differentiate the space or shape of objects he was not actively touching. He would never again see the face of his friends, his colleagues. The internet would be almost be entirely useless to him sans some sort of text to speech technology and then all he would have would be an endless drone of speak-and-spell mechanical noises telling him the news of the day or creepily relaying to him jokes that would come out hollow and uninteresting. With the concept of that terrifying jolty computer voice constantly barking at him, he began to consider his other option.

Silence. Deep and unending. He was in an odd bout of this currently and so he stood for a moment and wondered what it would be like to have this for eternity. No more music. His favorite bands would be useless to list out with pride at parties. He would lose the ability to communicate effectively with the public. And in place of all those things would be this curse of silence. Not even white noise. He would still see everything, but interacting with other people would become a hassle. Everyone close to him would be burdened with a half-assed attempt to learn sign-language. He would have to carry a pen and paper with him at all times. He would lose the memory of his own speech.

He was suddenly struck with the overwhelming feeling of how fucked up his situation really was. It was basically choosing your own death sentence on a lesser scale. It was emotional torture. It was needlessly draconian. It was sick. And there was nothing he could do about it. At the end of this mental back and forth he was going to have one less of his senses. The path he chose now dictated the direction of the rest of his life, until some new and horrifying 'choice' manifested itself. He felt helpless. Alone. Abandoned.

After crying uselessly for an hour to no one at all, exhausted and defeated, he came to the conclusion that it didn't really matter which choice he made. They were both equally egregious attacks on his sense of self and his pride.  He might as well close his eyes, spin around and point. He would know the choice he'd made by whether or not his eyes ever opened again.

What was the point in giving one a choice in the first place? What did it mean when the odds were stacked against you in what was always an even trade? Everyone always lost. No matter what was chosen most people regretted whatever decision they had made assuming that the other option would have turned out better for them.

He wanted to opt out of the process. He wanted to choose NOT to choose. So he sat down. He sat down and  he waited, wondering if by some miracle waiting would make the hot-dog cart come back and the lady with the yellow dress slowly refocus. The noises of a busy street would once again fill his ears with what he now believed were the harps of angels; once car horns and yelling pedestrians.

But they didn't. Time passed and nothing happened. He took a nap and woke up to the same strange setting. BLIND and DEAF plastered in front of his face asking the same unformed question, 'which ailment do you want for the rest of your days'?

"I want neither..." he said under his breath. " I want neither!" he screamed to nothing. " I choose not to choose you fucking bastards! what kind of sick twisted shit is this!?". Nothing but grave silence greeted him back.

"Blind."

The world went dark.

title: Blind of Deaf

question: What is the theme of this story?

answer: Choices.

question: What does Jim have to choose between?

answer: Blindness and deafness.

question: What does Jim ultimately choose?

answer: To be blind.

question: How old is Jim?

answer: 26.

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: This is a story about a graduate student who is faced with an existential choice between blindness and deafness and chooses blindness.


text:
Dear Employer;

In the interview for this position I said I didn’t care about money.  Money is not as important as experience and growth.  Gainful employment is nowhere near meaningful employment.  It is with this that after a lot of deliberation, counseling, youthful abandon and reveries of adventure I’ve decided to give my formal notification that I am resigning from {Company X} as a Software Analyst.  I am willing to work two business weeks further to help make sure everything is in order before I go.

For {Company X} I was willing to drink the punch.  I was willing to make sacrifices for the company.  The tasteless metaphor for cultic suicide pushed on us by leadership was something I was willing to look past.  Ultimately though, when it came down to it, punch was not served and for some reason I was left disappointed.  This company has made promises but has not delivered.  We’ve been led along with a carrot on a stick.  Whether through indirect lies surrounding corporate bonuses, lottery sized stock options or fantastical tropical holiday packages.  This is a prevalent theme throughout my entire time with company and it speaks directly to poor leadership.  Offer something real, something tangible and then show it don’t just talk about it.

In terms of our day to day with clients we’ve been far too reactionary and not responsive.  We’re less about providing something meaningful, something with real value and more about satisfying the noise.  The whole industry seems more about “flashy marketing facades of perceived value” than real value.  It with this that I came to the conclusion that our product isn’t {business solutions}.  Our product is sales.  This isn’t something I can get behind.  This isn’t something I can believe in.

Despite corporate folly and the disillusioning mantras I love the people I work with.  Each and everyone here is awesome and I’m lucky to have had an opportunity to work here.  My favorite time of year is during peer reviews.  Being able to write extensively about the strengths and the actions people here have made on the periphery to make a difference.  That being said, it really bothered me to see people not being recognized for the work they’re doing.  At one point our most talented and innovative junior programmer was relegated to creative arrest by corporate policy.  “That isn’t your job” and “You’re not even a real programmer” could be heard ringing through the halls.  A lack of insight let him go and now we’re stuck with dead code.  Incredible potential products left to rot essentially.  All his close friends here were left damaged at his mistreatment.  This is just one example but there are lots of others.  Considering work is a place to spend a third of each weekday.  Hours afterwards musing over at home.  Something that permeates my hopes and dreams.  I’d rather be somewhere other than here.  Anywhere else in fact.

If I can suggest anything to help this company it would be that every leader here spend a day or two working with client services taking tech support calls from the elderly, doing chat support for a group of brides to be, testing a survey with over a dozen pre-launch revisions, or try managing a project with one of {Sales Person #3547}'s clients (that’s a joke.. her clients are mostly alright).  See what we’re really providing our clients.

I still believe this company is awesome and has potential to do very well in the market.  For me personally I need to move onto other opportunities and adventures.  Feeling depressed and trapped is not something I'd wish on my worst enemy so I don't know why I willed it onto myself for so long.  Thank you so much for everything.

title: My Resignation Letter

question: Summarize the things the author enjoyed about his job.

answer: The author was remunerated well, although he is disappointed in not receiving promised bonuses and other incentives. The author enjoyed working with his colleagues and especially enjoyed the peer review process where he had the opportunity to write about the strengths and actions of his team members.

question: Summarize the software products provided by {Company X}.

question: How did the company fail to live up to the expectations of the author?

answer: The company made promises and consistently fails to follow through by promising corporate bonuses, lottery sized stock options or fantastical tropical holiday packages, but none of it materialized. The company is very reactionary to clients and not proactive in addressing issues. The company does not recognize people for the work they do. The author also suggests that the leadership is not in touch with its clients and that it will be valuable to spend time working in client services.

question: Summarize the author's reasoning behind this resignation letter.

answer: After a lot of deliberation, counselling, youthful abandon and reveries of adventure, the author made the decision to move onto other opportunities and adventures. He felt trapped and depressed and wanted to change his situation. The author realized that the company's only business was sales, that they were not interested in their actual business solution they are developing. A person was let go without a real reason that had a big impact on the team.