text:
Nine women attempting to stage a 'burkini party' have been arrested in Cannes, days after a decree was issued banning public demonstrations during the city's film festival.

The women, who planned to swim in the sea as part of their protest, never actually made it to the beach on Friday afternoon. Instead, they were arrested in front of the Martinez hotel, AFP reported.

_"It was observed this afternoon in Cannes a beginning of a gathering,"_ local authorities said in a Friday statement, adding, that they _"put an end"_ to the event and questioned those who _"formed this illicit assembly."_

Read more

[Algerian tycoon plans burkini party during Cannes Film Festival, sends one to Le Pen]

The women, some of them minors, had come from Paris by train. They were taken to the police station and released at around 5pm local time.

They are reportedly friends of millionaire Rachid Nekkaz, an Algerian businessman and political activist who has become well-known for his campaign against the burkini ban on the French Riviera. He has paid out numerous fines issued to burkini-clad women who refused to obey the ban.

After spending time at the police station, Nekkaz went to the Cannes Film Festival to explain to the media that he had been warned by authorities that he would face a _"fine of 7,500 euros and six months in jail for an unauthorized demonstration"_ if he continues to organize such events.

The millionaire announced Friday's scheduled 'burkini party' in advance, telling The Local and other media that he would accompany dozens of women wearing burkinis in the colors of the French flag as they strolled down the city's promenade and to the beach.

_“The Cannes Film Festival is all about liberty and tolerance,”_ Nekkaz told The Local on Monday. _“It‘s the perfect place to celebrate this ‘newfound freedom” in the city that was the first to ban the burkini.”_

An invitation posted on Nekkaz's Facebook page earlier this month showed two white women clad in blue, red, and white burkinis.

However, the local government banned all demonstrations during the film festival on Wednesday – a move which prompted Nakkez to instead call it a _"simple bathing with friends and family,"_ according to Le Figaro.

Cannes banned burkinis in August 2016, prompting the majority of other French resorts to follow suit.

question: What is a burkini?

answer: That information can’t be found.

question: Why were the women arrested in Cannes?

answer: The women were attempting to stage a 'burkini party,' to protest the burkini ban in Cannes. However, due to a recently issued decree, all public demonstrations during the city's film festival were banned.

question: Who is Rachid Nekkaz?

answer: He is an Algerian businessman and political activist who has become well-known for his campaign against the burkini ban on the French Riviera.

question: Why did Nekkaz and the demonstrators against the burkini ban choose the Cannes Film Festival for their protest?

answer: Nekkaz says the Cannes Film Festival is all about liberty and tolerance, which is the perfect place to celebrate 'newfound freedom' in the city that was first to ban the burkini. Cannes banned burkinis in August 2016, prompting the majority of other French resorts to follow suit.

question: Write a ~4 sentence summary.

answer: Algerian businessman and political activist, Rachid Nekkaz, organized an illegal 'burkini party' to protest the burkini ban in Cannes during the city's film festival. Due to a recent decree banning public demonstrations during the city's film festival, nine women attempting to stage the burkini party were arrested. The women are reportedly friends of Nekkaz, some of which were minors who came from Paris by train. Nekkaz says the Cannes Film Festival is all about liberty and tolerance, which is the perfect place to celebrate wearing a burkini.


split: train

text:
"You fell in love with another bimbo, didn't you?" I stopped hugging him.

Becky was far from a bimbo though I'm sure her ability to keep my boyfriend up until dawn trying to understand the fourth dimension was hampered by whatever she was on half the time. Still, here we were again.

"She was... unexpectedly inspiring," he told me. I wondered how much the writer in him worked on that stupid euphemism because it wasn't enough.

He couldn't lie to me. I saw the spark of another she in his eyes. Her taste wasn't on his lips, and not just because he used mouthwash. Her scent wasn't in my favorite spot on his chest on that shirt he wore too much. Her fingerprints weren't on the belt buckle he never cleaned. But Becky was inside him.

"I'm not in love," he whispered.

I tilted my head toward him and started with wide, unconvinced eyes.

"Love's not a binary thing," he said. "I'm not sure what it is exactly, or how I feel now but this is something new, something unexpected."

"I don't care how you define or rationalize it inside yourself, the point is you're not completely mine again!"

"Oh, I didn't realize you owned me."

"You know what I mean!" He didn't. He never knew what it was like to be fully in love. Or emotionally faithful.

His words were Becky's words. There was the meaning of things, then the attempts at better definitions, followed by logical pandering. I never understood how she could major in philosophy or how they accomplished anything when they talked. Our conversations were mental sprints and I was cramping up.

I met him in the middle of a three-year-stretch of getting over his first love. Or was it his first girlfriend? His first "true" inspiration? Whatever. They're all romantic semantics that mean the same thing to me: there's rarely one person in his heart.

"Why does this keep happening, just tell me, why?" I said.

"I... I don't know."

"What part of me is not enough?"

Nothing.

"Is it that I keep forgiving you?"

Nothing.

"Is it that I'm not inspiring enough?"

Nothing.

"Am I not blonde enough? Are my boobs the wrong size? Am I so far from your dream girl that you have to keep looking for her regardless of how much faith I blindly invest in you?"

He shook his head but wouldn't look up.

My temples throbbed at a thousand beats per minute. The same thousand beats that I wanted to pound into his chest just to stop that wandering heart. But no, that'd be too easy. He hadn't earned that kind of peace.

"There's nothing I'd change about you. You're... perfect," he mumbled.

"If I'm so damn perfect, then tell me why this keeps happening! Why do you keep searching for someone else?"

"I'm not searching. I'm really not." He sat down on my briefcase and covered his face. He said something I couldn't make out.

"Stop mumbling!" I said.

"I don't want this to happen. I hate it when it happens. I hate feeling torn."

"You're torn? Oh you poor baby! You're torn between every smart, pretty semi-blonde that jiggles her intellectual hips before fading through your life. Torn between all of them and me. Me. Me! The one girl who stays with you despite all of this. And do you know why, stupid?"

"...because you love me," he answered.

"That's right! That's..." I tried to picture him with Becky but I couldn't. It didn't happen. It was all in his head or his heart or wherever it comes from. Could I really be this hurt by his thoughts? "Maybe I shouldn't judge you or call you stupid. I'm the one too dumb to just end it."

"You're not du--"

"No! No. Why am I even beginning to doubt myself? You're the one who goes around continuously falling for girls other than me and I shouldn't judge you? Ha!"

"I'm not proud of it."

"Is that supposed to make it better?" I said.

"Of course not. I just..."

"What?"

His eyes were fixated on the ground, like he was trying to make sense of the scuffmarks in the pavement.

"What?" I repeated.

Nothing.

"Don't stop being honest now. You just what?"

"I just don't," he started, "I just don't understand. They tell you to follow your heart, right? They say it'll never lead you wrong. That's all I ever do. I follow my heart but I feel like the world keeps punishing me for it."

"They? Who are they? Your muses? Your single friends? Your family that couldn't keep a single relationship from failing?"

"You know what I mean." I didn't.

I'm sure Becky did. Becky or Sarah. Or Lindsey. Or Isabel. The philosophy major or the physics one. The first love or the one he wrote the most about. The one who left for New York years ago. Or someone he didn't even bother telling me about. Maybe they all knew. Maybe that's what separated us.

"You follow your heart too." He looked up at me. "And you're punished for it too."

He was right, for once. I loved him and that never changed. It didn't fluctuate with my moods or based on inspiration. It wasn't subject to a quarter-life crisis or nostalgia from seeing where I grew up. It was honest and constant and raw and kept me by his side. But he was right.

He broke the silence: "I'm sorry this keeps happening. I'm sorry I keep hurting you."

"I've always followed my heart and I always will," I said.

I noticed the car was still running, trunk still open. One suitcase was already inside while he sat on the other. I turned my back to him and stepped off the curb, past the other cars. I didn't even have to raise my hand. One of the cab drivers made eye contact and pulled over.

"What are you doing?" he asked as he finally got off the suitcase.

I walked over to the trunk and yanked my things out.

"Wait." He touched my shoulder in the humble way he used to.

The cab driver followed my finger to the suitcase he sat on. Soon both were in the new trunk. His hand was still on my shoulder.

"You follow your heart, I'll follow mine," I said.

For the first time since our first kiss on that cold night four and a half years ago, his touch wasn't enough to hold me. We followed our hearts but kept coming back to this honest place neither of us could understand.

He came to pick me up but I wouldn't leave with him.

I'd see him at home within the hour.

The cab door slammed shut.

I left the airport that day a beautiful hypocrite.

title: Beautiful Hypocrite

question: Does the narrator think that her boyfriend is cheating on her?

answer: She thinks he is not emotionally faithful to her.

question: How does the narrator's boyfriend feel about the narrator's accusation?

answer: He is sorry he is hurting her and feels thorn.

question: List the women the narrator is jealous of?

answer: Becky, Sarah, Lindsey, and Isabel.

question: What is the dominant emotion in the story?

answer: Jealousy.

question: Write a ~6 sentence summary.

answer: The narrator accuses her boyfriend of being emotionally unfaithful because she feels he likes another woman again. She asks him why it is happening again and what part of her is not enough. He replies that she is perfect and that he is sorry he is hurting her. He hates when it happens and feels torn. The narrator takes a taxi and leaves. He is trying to stop her, but his touch is not enough to hold her for the first time.


text:
| Section3 = | Section4 = | Section5 = | Section7 = | Section9 = }} SAMARIUM(II) BROMIDE is a crystalline compound with the chemical formula .[1] Samarium(II) bromide is a brown crystal at room temperature.[2]

History

Samarium(II) bromide was first synthesized in 1934 by P. W. Selwood, when he reduced samarium tribromide (SmBr₃) with hydrogen (H₂). Kagan also synthesized it by converting samarium(III) oxide (Sm₂O₃) to SmBr₃ and then reducing with a lithium dispersion in THF. Robert A. Flowers synthesized it by adding two equivalent of lithium bromide (LiBr) to samarium diiodide (SmI₂) in tetrahydrofuran. Namy managed to synthesize it by mixing tetrabromoethane (C₂H₂Br₄) with samarium metal, and Hilmerson found that heating the tetrabromoethane or samarium greatly improved the production of samarium(II) bromide.[3]

Usage

Samarium(II) bromide is used as a reductant, although it is not used as commonly as samarium diiodide.[4] This is likely due to it being soluble in fewer organic liquids, however, it is an effective reagent for pinacol homocouplings of aldehydes, ketones, and cross-coupling carbonyl compounds. Reports have shown that samarium(II) bromide is capable of selectively reducing ketones if it is in the presence of an alkyl halide.[5]

If hexamethylphosphoramide is added to samarium(II) bromide, it will strengthen it enough that it can reduce imines to amines and alkyl chlorides to hydrocarbons.[6] However, the addition of hexamethylphosphoramide to samarium(II) bromide that is in tetrahydrofuran will strengthen it enough that it can reduce cyclohexyl chloride to cyclohexane, at room temperature, within two hours.[7]

Samarium(II) bromide will reduce ketones in tetrahydrofuran if an activator is absent.[8]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

title: Samarium(II) bromide

question: What is Samarium(II)bromide?

answer: It is a crystalline compound with the chemical formula and is a brown crystal at room temperature.

question: When was Samarium (II) bromide created?

answer: It was first made in 1934 by P.W. Selwood.

question: How is Samarium (II) bromide used?

answer: It's used as a reductant.

question: What happens if an activator is absent?

answer: Samarium (II) bromide will reduce ketones in tetrahydrofuran.

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: This article discusses the history and usage of the crystalline compound Samarium (II) bromide.


text:
[] SHRI RAM MURTI SMARAK COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING, TECHNOLOGY AND RESEARCH (SRMSCETR) which is also known as COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING, TECHNOLOGY & RESEARCH BAREILLY is a self-financed engineering college managed by SRMS Trust. It was founded in 2008 in the memory of Shri Ram Murti Ji.[1] The college is affiliated to Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Technical University, and situated at Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, India at Ram Murti Puram, Prahladpur, Bareilly-Nainital highway Bareilly.

History

The college was started in the year 2008 under the aegis of the SRMS with the name Shri Ram Murti Smarak Women's College of Engineering & Technology Bareilly. From 2016-17 academic session the college was converted to a Co-Educational Engineering College with new name Shri Ram Murti Smarak College of Engineering, Technology & Research (SRMSCETR).

Departments

The academics of this college are managed by following departments

-   Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering
-   Department of Computer Science and Engineering
-   Department of Basic Engineering Sciences and Humanities

Admissions

Admissions for various courses are done according to the guidelines of AICTE and Affiliating University. Admissions are done through State Entrance Examinations of Uttar Pradesh (SEE-UPTU). However, admissions for management quota seats are done by the college according to the norms and guidelines of Affiliating University. Applications for admissions are invited from February/March every year and candidates are required to appear in the admission test.

Eligibility

Candidate must have passed 10+2 level Examination from recognized board with 60% marks aggregate in Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics. Further, candidate must have passed each subject of 10+2 examination without grace.
Candidates who have passed three years Diploma from a recognized Technical Education Board with 60% marks are eligible for admissions in Second year of the courses under Lateral Entry Scheme. For details of admissions visit the college website.[2]

Activities

College organises Extra and Co-Curricular activities through active participation from the students. Verve is a students' club which organises such activities under the supervision of faculty members. Some activities which are organised throughout the year are as follow:

-   College Annual function :SPANDAN[3]
-   College Technical Event :CODESENSE[4]
-   College Technical Event : Spark-the-Brain
-   SRMS Trust Sports Event : AAMOD
-   SRMS Trust Technical Event : TECHVYOM
-   SRMS Trust Cultural Event: ZEST

Gallery

Entrance of SRMS College of Engineering, Technology & Research (SRMSCETR).jpeg|Reception Entrance of SRMSCETR RC Trainer Aircraft Designing Workshop.jpeg|Workshop at SRMSCETR Cafeteria_of_SRMS_CETR.jpeg|Rejoice Cafe at SRMSCETR Campus_Entrance_SRMSCETR.jpeg|Main Entrance of SRMSCETR SRMSCETR_Activity.jpeg|Students Activity at SRMSCETR Conference_SRMSCETR.jpeg|Conference at SRMSCETR Robo_workshop_SRMSCETR.jpeg|Project Works at SRMSCETR

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

question: Where is the college?

answer: At Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, India

question: When was the college founded?

answer: 2008

question: Who is the college named for?

answer: Shri Ram Murti Ji

question: When did the college become co-ed?

answer: The 2016-17 academic session

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: The Shri Ram Murti Smarak College of Engineering, Technology & Research is a self-financed engineering college located in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was founded in 2008 in the memory of Shri Ram Murti Ji and became co-ed in the 2016-17 academic session.


text:
This diabetes questionnaire is designed and provided by the Public Health Agency of Canada. Please reach out to them if you are having trouble using or accessing this tool.

What are your chances of getting type 2 diabetes or prediabetes? Find out by taking the CANRISK diabetes test, developed by the Public Health Agency of Canada.

All you need to do is answer 11 simple questions in the CANRISK questionnaire about risk factors such as your age, weight, family history, level of physical activity and diet.

Sample questions:

-   How old are you?
-   What’s your waist circumference?
-   How much exercise do you get?

When you’re done, you will get a score that indicates your level of risk for developing the disease: high, moderate or low.

Helpful diabetes prevention tips are also scattered throughout the questionnaire, such as recommendations to aim to walk for an average of 30 minutes per day and to eat seven to 10 servings of fruits and vegetables daily. These tips will help you understand the various risk factors and to counteract some of the ones you have control over, such as diet and exercise habits.

If you’re between 40 and 74, the diabetes risk questionnaire is meant for you, although if you’re younger but have risk factors such as being overweight or having a strong family history of the disease, you may also find it useful.

While your score is not a substitute for a clinical diagnosis, if it indicates you’re at risk, you should consider discussing your results with your doctor or nurse practitioner.

Find out how Sun Life Financial is teaming up to beat diabetes.

question: What is the purpose of the post?

answer: The post is a diabetes questionnaire for people ages 40-74 and for people younger than 40 who have risk factors such as being overweight or having a strong family history of the disease.

question: Which organization provided the questionnaire?

answer: The Public Health Agency of Canada.

question: How long is the questionnaire?

answer: The questionnaire includes 11 questions.

question: What else is included in the questionnaire?

answer: Helpful hints are included: recommendations to aim to walk for an average of 30 minutes per day and eat seven to ten servings of fruits and vegetables daily.

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: The post is a diabetes questionnaire for people ages 40-74 and for people younger than 40 who have risk factors such as being overweight or having a strong family history of the disease.


text:
------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Valldemossa

[Valldemossa – picturesque mountain village with Carthusian monastery]

Valldemossa – picturesque mountain village with Carthusian monastery

Valldemossa is a mountain village in the Serra de Tramuntana. With its narrow streets it is one of the most charming sights in Mallorca.

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Sport Climbing in Mallorca

[Sport Climbing in Mallorca]

Sport Climbing in Mallorca

With a very diverse landscape and excellent infrastructure, Mallorca is also a paradise for climbers.

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Snorkelling in Mallorca

[Snorkelling in Mallorca]

Snorkelling in Mallorca

Snorkellers can get up close and personal with groupers, sea anemones and cuttlefish in Mallorca’s perfect waters. The numerous rocky bays and headlands are the optimal conditions for marvelling at the underwater bio-diversity that Mallorca is famous for.

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Windsurfing in Mallorca

[Windsurfing in Mallorca]

Windsurfing in Mallorca

Windsurfing in Mallorca is one of the most popular leisure activities for active holidaymakers and the island has some first-class surfing spots to offer.

Read more »

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

Mallorca - paradise in the middle of the turquoise blue sea

Sun-drenched, golden beaches, spectacular mountain formations and extravagant night life - Mallorca will not leave any visitor disappointed. Each coastal region has its own charm and the interior of the island is home to ancient monasteries, unspoilt villages and historic vineyards and vintners.

The coast of Mallorca is dominated by beautiful beaches and heavenly bays and towering cliffs. While the miles and miles of sandy beaches of S'Arenal and Cala Ratjada are alive and kicking in the summer, you’ll always be able to find a spot to relax in the seven-mile dunes between Campos and Sa Rapita.

The small bay of Cala Moro is surrounded by steep white cliffs in the south of Mallorca. On the rugged, wild north coast of the island is Cala de Sant Vincenc, Cala Pi de la Posada and Cala Murta – the three extremely picturesque bays.

Attractions and places in Mallorca

Simply click on the red dots to discover more about some of the most breathtaking and charming sights in Majorca...

Being at one with nature in the UNESCO World Natural Heritage site

[Holiday in Mallorca]

The Serra de Tramuntana is a spectacular mountain range in the north west of the island, which was included by UNESCO in the World Heritage List. The rocky peaks reach an altitude of 1,436 m. The mountainsides are full of terraces of vines, lemon groves and olive groves.

Surrounded by holm-oak forests, Lluc, a medieval monastery is located at an altitude of 500 m in the middle of the mountain range. At the northernmost point of the island, the Serra de Tramuntana drops steeply into the sea and the wind-capped Cap de Formentor gives you fantastic views of the glittering water surface.

Lively resorts and picturesque coastal villages

Mallorca for holiday makers is about lively resorts for some or discovering picturesque coastal villages or stunning scenery for others. Cala Millor and Cala Ratjada are the main tourist destinations on the north west coast. Further north is the coastal town of Alcúdia with its medieval old town and bay.

On the west coast lies the town of Sóller surrounded by subtropical vegetation and in the midst of the mountains the idyllic monastery village of Valdemossa is a hidden gem. Music, sangria and dancing await you in the tourist hubs of S'Arenal and Magaluf in the south of Mallorca which never seem to sleep.

question: What do all the regions in Mallorca have in common when it comes to tourist attractions?

answer: Mallorca is full of golden beaches, mountains, and lively night bars. Its coast is dominated by beautiful beaches, cliffs, and spots for relaxation away from the hot sun. There are places like the bay of Cala Moro, the sandy beaches of S'Arena, and the mountainous range of Serra de Tramuntana that capture the imagination of visitors. For all the diversity in attractions, most regions in Mallorca have something in common - ancient buildings and historic vineyards. Most villages in Mallorca are picturesque, spotting miles of vineyards, and medieval structures.


text:
WR 140 is a visually moderately bright Wolf-Rayet star placed within the spectroscopic binary star, SBC9 1232,[1] whose primary star is an evolved spectral class O4-5 star.[2] It is located in the constellation of Cygnus, lying in the sky at the centre of the triangle formed by Deneb, γ Cygni and δ Cygni.

WR 140 has been described as the brightest Wolf Rayet star in the northern hemisphere, although WR 133 also in Cygnus is comparably bright.[3] The Wolf-Rayet component is identified as the secondary star, being less massive, less luminous, and probably less visually bright than its primary even though it dominates the spectrum with its broad emission lines.[4] The primary star is an O4-5 star,[5] most likely a giant or supergiant.[6][7] Its current accepted spectroscopic orbit is highly eccentric and has an orbital period of 7.9 ± 0.2 years, which has been determined from the velocity variations observed with the component's spectral lines, mostly from the Balmer absorption lines of the O4-5 primary and C IV emission lines at 465.0 nm. for WR 140.[8] Separation between these two stars varies from 1.3 AU at periastron to 23.9 AU at apastron.[9]

WR 140 is listed as a Wolf-Rayet variable star, and has been given the variable star designation V1687 CYG in the General Catalogue of Variable Stars, whose visual brightness varies only very slightly.[10] Interest with this WR 140 system is principally observing the infrared light fluctuations during the component's orbit, being extensively studied because of its episodic dust formation.[11] It is now regarded as the prototype colliding-wind binary.[12] Shortly after periastron passage every eight years, the infrared brightness increases dramatically and then slowly drops again over a period of months.[13] Here stellar winds collide with the dust formation created by the stars.[14]

[1]

[2]

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[8]

[9]

[10]

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title: WR 140

question: What is WR 140?

answer: WR 140 is a visually moderately bright Wolf-Rayet star located in the constellation Cygnus.

question: In the northern hemisphere, WR 140 is described how?

answer: It's described as the brightest Wolf-Rayet star.

question: What does WR designate?

answer: Wolf-Rayet

question: What is a Wolf-Rayet star?

answer: The answer isn't given within the text.

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: WR 140 is a visually moderately bright Wolf-Rayet star located in the constellation Cygnus.


text:
I’m nervous. My hands are autonomously fidgeting with my dress, my heart is all but beating through my exposed chest and my stomach is twisting and turning with the opposition of the decision to even be here. The only decision I am thrilled with is my blatant refusal of lunch. Between the unyielding force of the corset beneath my gown and the virtually absurd anxiety, the food would have been gone long before my grand entrance.  I am, at the very least, relieved to know that the other guests cannot see the blushing and self-conscious little girl beneath the solid coat of white makeup and the glittery feathered mask. The person I was previous to this evening is not remotely comparable to who I appear to be. So, why am I so afraid? There is not a soul here who could know who I am. To them, I am the Queen of Hearts.
“Are you ready?”
I turn, startled by a voice that was unexpectedly coming from outside my own mind. My sister is standing in the doorway, flashing impatient blue eyes in my direction. She is ravishing, as always, dressed in same ensemble as I, only in opposite colors. I am white with red hearts, where she is red with white hearts. I don’t envy her appearance, though I know others do. There are girls who make an effort to hurt her with malicious words as a consequence of their own jealousy and self repugnance, but I would never. I do, however, envy her extraordinary self-confidence.
“Are you ready?”
No. “Yes. Let’s get this over with”, I reply. I know she is beyond ready just as well as she knows I will never be.
“You’re beautiful, little sister”, she says. I peek at her through my mask with the same expression I always offer when she compliments me. I think she knows I don’t believe her. “Just remember who you are and you’ll be fine.” She smiles. I attempt to do the same.
Remember who I am?
Tonight, I am the Queen of Hearts. I am the Queen of Hearts.
I am.

title: The Queen

question: Why is the narrator nervous?

answer: Probably because of her low self-confidence.

question: Can the other guests realize how the narrator feels?

answer: No, because she is wearing a mask.

question: Which of the sisters is younger?

answer: The narrator is younger.

question: Which of the sisters is more beautiful?

answer: The narrator's sister is more beautiful.

question: Is the narrator beautiful?

answer: It is not clear. Her sister tells her she is, but the narrator doesn't believe her.

question: Write a ~4 sentence summary.

answer: At the ball, the narrator wears a costume and masquerade as the Queen of Hearts. She is nervous and self-conscious. Her ravishing sister tells her she is beautiful, but the narrator doesn't believe her. The narrator envies her sister's extraordinary self-confidence.


text:
A novel government programme that uses basic psychology to help people get back into work has improved the job prospects of the unemployed by nearly 20 per cent, it was claimed today.

During trials in Essex more than 2,000 job seekers were divided into two groups with one being given traditional support from Job Centre staff and the other working from a new programme designed to increase incentives to find work.

Under the new scheme Job Centre staff get claimants to identify and write down what they are going to do to find work in the next two weeks as well as how and when they are going to do it.

At the end of the trial those taking part in the new programme were 15-20 per cent more likely to be in work within 13 weeks from signing on.

The scheme, designed by the Government’s behavioural insights team, has now been rolled out across Essex. If it achieves similar results it is likely to be adopted across the country.

question: How does the new program work?

answer: By harnessing behavioral habits.

question: Who developed the program?

answer: the government's behavioural insights team.

question: Where does the story take place?

answer: Essex, UK.

question: How effective is the new program?

answer: 15-20 percent effective.

question: Write a ~4 sentence summary.

answer: A new government program using basic psychology to help people get back into work has improved the prospects of the unemployed by nearly 20%. In Essex, 2,000 job seekers were divided into two groups, one receiving support from this new program that had people identify and write down what they're doing to find work and when they are going to do it. The program was 20% more effective. It has now been rolled out across Essex.


text:
[Bikar Atoll - ISS Image, 2002] BIKAR ATOLL (Marshallese: , [1]) is an uninhabited atoll in the Ratak Chain of the Marshall Islands. It is one of the smallest atolls in the Marshalls. Due to its relative isolation from the main islands in the group, Bikar's flora and fauna has been able to exist in a relatively pristine condition.

Geography

It is located north of Majuro Atoll, the capital of the Marshall Islands, South-southeast of Bokak, and north of Utirik, the nearest inhabited atoll. The land area is , surrounding a lagoon. It consists of 6 islets.[2]

Physical features

The approximately diamond-shaped atoll measures up to 13 km north to south and up to 8 km across. Its six islets have a combined land area of less than and enclose a shallow lagoon of . The surrounding reef is continuous except for one narrow pass located on the western side. The major islets are Bikar, Jabwelo, Almani and Jaboero. Bikar, the largest, reaches a height of 6 meters above sea level.[3]

Based on the results of drilling operations on Enewetak (Eniwetok) Atoll, in the nearby Ralik Chain of the Marshall Islands, Bikar may include as much as 4600 feet of reef material atop a basalt rock base. As most local coral growth stops at about 150 feet below the ocean surface, such a massive stony coral base suggests a gradual isostatic subsidence of the underlying extinct volcano,[4] which itself rises 10,000 feet from the surrounding ocean floor. Shallow water fossils taken from just above Enewetak's basalt base are dated to about 55 mya.[5]

Low rainfall and high temperatures lead to arid conditions in which a freshwater Ghyben-Herzberg lens cannot form. The water at Bikar island is not as brackish as similarly arid Taongi Atoll, allowing coconuts planted by visiting islanders from Utirik Atoll to survive.

Like Taongi Atoll, the combination of an almost completely enclosed lagoon and waves driven over the reef by the prevailing northeastern trade winds results in the water level being perched some 0.5 m above the mean tide level.[6]

Climate

Bikar is one of the driest of the Marshall Islands atolls, having a semi-arid character. Mean annual temperature is approximately . Mean annual rainfall is less than , and falls primarily during the July through October rainy season. Prevailing winds are north to north-easterlies.

Vegetation

Plant species of atoll forest include _Pandanus tectorius_, _Lepturus repens_, _Cocos nucifera_, _Boerhavia repens_, _Pisonia grandis_, _Portulaca lutea_, _Triumfetta procumbens_,[7] _Tournefortia argentea_ and _Scaevola sericea_, as well as areas of atoll scrub and vines.[8] Much of the _Pisonia_ forest noted in earlier surveys was devastated by a cyclone, perhaps Typhoon Mary in 1977.[9] This is likely a naturally recurring event.[10][11] A small number of coconut palms planted by visiting islanders survive. A 1952 survey found that they produced small nuts containing bitter milk.[12]

Fauna

Bikar's status as a major seabird nesting site was affected by a cyclone and the introduction of more aggressive rat species.[13]

Twenty-three species of birds were found in a 1969 survey, of which 19 were observed during a follow-up count in 1988. Species breeding in larger numbers that year included the great frigatebird and red-footed booby. Their numbers appear reduced due to the destruction of the _Pisonia_ forests. Other breeding species include the red-tailed tropicbird, white-tailed tropicbird, the masked booby, brown booby, white tern, brown noddy, and sooty tern.

Migrant birds include small numbers of the ruddy turnstone, wandering tattler, bristle-thighed curlew, lesser golden plover, and Pacific reef heron.[14]

Bikar is also a major nesting site for the endangered green turtle, over 250 nesting sites having been observed in 1988.[15]

The Polynesian rat is common on Bikar and Jabwelo.[16] By 1993, a “population explosion” of non-Polynesian rats had been noted on the atoll, most likely introduced by Asian fishing trawlers operating illegally in the vicinity of Bikar. This raised concerns for the important sea turtle and bird nesting sites.[17]

The coral fauna lacks diversity and shows signs of frequent storm damage. The corals include several genera not seen at Taongi Atoll, and the diversity of fish is much greater, including the two-spot red snapper, humpback red snapper, leopard grouper, and humphead parrot fish.

Shellfish include the black-lipped pearl oyster, bear paw clam, maxima clam, and the _Trochus_ sea snail. No marine mammals have been seen in the lagoon.[18]

History

Prehistory

Although humans migrated to the Marshall Islands about 2000 years ago,[19] and Bikar was occasionally visited by the Marshallese, there is no evidence that there has ever been a resident human population. The lack of water and the susceptibility of the atoll to cyclone and storm disturbance indicate that it will probably remain uninhabited. The atoll has traditionally been used for hunting and gathering, particularly seabirds and turtles, by inhabitants of other atolls in the northern Ratak chain.[20] Along with the other uninhabited northern Ratak atolls of Bokak (Taongi) and Toke, Bikar was traditionally the hereditary property of the Ratak atoll chain Iroji Lablab. The exploitation of abundant sea turtles, birds, and eggs was regulated by custom, and overseen by the Iroji.[21]

19th century

The Russian brig _Rurik_, with Captain Otto von Kotzebue, visited in summer 1817 during a search for a north passage between western Russia and its North American territories.[22]

The French corvette _Danaide_, Capt J. de Rosamel, visited the atoll in August 1840 during a hydrographical survey of islands in the Pacific.[23][24]

[The _Manchester_] During the late 1800s, Bikar was the subject of a number of commercial transactions related to the increasing German presence in the Marshall Islands. On January 12, 1880, Bikar was sold by Iroojs Jurtaka and Takular of Maloelap, and on June 19, sold by Irooj Lajikit and Tannara of Utirik to Adolph Capelle & Co. On December 18, 1883, the Atoll was sold to Deutsche Handels und Plantagengesellschaft. Spain transferred sovereignty to the Empire of Germany in 1885, and in December 1887 property rights were transferred to the Jaluit Gesellschaft.[25]

In 1900, the _Manchester_, a four-masted steel-hulled cargo ship of 2851 tons with a load of kerosene, went missing at sea between New York City and Yokohama. Wreckage and signs of habitation were discovered on Bikar in 1901, suggesting that the ship had come to grief there and that the survivors had pushed off in lifeboats shortly before the discovery. No sign of the crew or passengers has since been found.[26]

20th century to present

In 1914, the Empire of Japan occupied the Marshall Islands, and transferred German government properties to their own, including Bikar. Like the Germans before them, the Japanese colonial administration (the South Pacific Mandate) did not attempt to exploit the atoll, and the Northern Radak Marshallese continued to hunt and fish unmolested.[27] Following the end of World War II, the island came under the control of the United States as part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. In 1951, the U.S. Geological Survey and the Army Corps of Engineers sponsored an expedition to Bikar and Taongi Atolls, to characterize their primeval environment.[28]

While en route from the US to Asia in April 1953, LST 1138, later commissioned as , dropped anchor at Bikar to search for rumored Japanese stragglers. The landing party found no signs of any current occupants.[29] [US Navy landing party on Bikar Island, 1953.]

In 1954, the fallout plume from the Castle Bravo nuclear test passed over Bikar about 20 hours after the shot. Based on ash from plant samples taken on March 9, the atoll was contaminated by about 1,400,000 d/m/gm of radioactive material, compared with 35,000,000 d/m/gm from the most contaminated soil samples at Rongelap Atoll, and 950 d/m/gm at Majuro Atoll, several hundred miles south of the fallout pattern. This experience led to a pre-planned aerial survey of atolls adjacent to the subsequent March 27 Castle Romeo test, timed at one and four hours after the shot. The aircraft were equipped with gamma radiation detectors designed to measure ground contamination from altitudes of 200 to 500 feet. An overflight of Bikar Island measured 0.1 mrem/hr (1 μGy) an hour after the shot, rising to 15 mrem/hr (150 μGy) three hours later.[30] [The Castle Bravo fallout pattern.]

In 1962, 19 Japanese fishermen from the fishing boat _Daitei Maru No. 15_ were marooned on Bikar Atoll for several days before being rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard.[31]

A 1981 study of fish and invertebrates within the lagoon found that the level of radio-nucleotides in muscle tissue was within the range found in fish products imported to the US and Japanese markets. The worldwide source of seafood-borne radio-nucleotides is a result of atmospheric nuclear testing since 1945, and therefore any residual activity from the 1950s Castle series of tests contributes only a small fraction of the contamination within the lagoon's sea life.[32]

Currently, no archaeological remains of Polynesian habitation have been identified. The almost completed corroded wreck of a Japanese fishing boat lies in the north fork of the reef passage.[33]

[1] Marshallese-English Dictionary - Place Name Index

[2] Marshall Islands Atoll Information

[3] United Nations Environment Programme

[4] Geoscience Research Institute

[5] Atoll Research Bulletin No. 260

[6]

[7] USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service

[8] The Island Encyclopedia

[9] (See Typhoon Mary (1977))

[10]

[11] Spennemann, Marschner

[12] Vegetation of the Tropical Pacific Islands

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17] Earthweek

[18]

[19] University of California, Berkeley

[20] UNEP

[21] Atoll Research Bulletin No. 11

[22] The Romanzov Exploring Expedition

[23] Ships visiting the Marshall Islands (until 1885)

[24] Voyage De Circumnavigation De La Danaïde

[25] Foreign Land holdings in the German Marshall Islands

[26] Grim Signs Of Shipwreck

[27] Atoll Research Bulletin 11

[28] Expedition Will Explore 'Robinson Crusoe' Islands

[29] C.D. Pardee

[30] Department of Health, Safety, and Security, DOE

[31] Boat Missing

[32] Department of Health, Safety, and Security, DOE

[33]

title: Bikar Atoll

question: What might happen if the Polynesian rat population is not gotten under control?

answer: The nesting sites for sea turtles and birds might be wiped out. The green turtle might go extinct.

question: What would have to change for Bikar to become a habitable location?

answer: There would need to be more water and less cyclones and storms.

question: How would the bird population have been affected if the Pisonia forests hadn't been destroyed?

answer: Their population would not have been reduced.

question: Is it possible for humans to survive on the atoll for more than a day?

answer: Yes--in fact, they can survive up to several days.


text:
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the evidence for and against the effectiveness of homeopathy.

DATA SOURCES: The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (generally considered to be the most reliable source of evidence) was searched in January 2010.

STUDY SELECTION: Cochrane reviews with the term "homeopathy" in the title, abstract or keywords were considered. Protocols of reviews were excluded. Six articles met the inclusion criteria.

DATA EXTRACTION: Each of the six reviews was examined for specific subject matter; number of clinical trials reviewed; total number of patients involved; and authors' conclusions. The reviews covered the following conditions: cancer, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, asthma, dementia, influenza and induction of labour.

DATA SYNTHESIS: The findings of the reviews were discussed narratively (the reviews' clinical and statistical heterogeneity precluded meta-analysis).

CONCLUSIONS: The findings of currently available Cochrane reviews of studies of homeopathy do not show that homeopathic medicines have effects beyond placebo.

question: What is the objective of this study?

answer: To evaluate the evidence for and against the effectiveness of homeopathy.

question: What are the data sources?

answer: The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews in January 2010

question: How many reviews were examined?

answer: Six.

question: What were the findings?

answer: Homeopathy is as effective as a placebo.

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: A study has shown that homeopathic remedies might have the same effect as placebos, and none beyond that.


text:
[Grateful Dead Road Trips 2.3 album cover artwork]

The Race Is On is always a fun song in my opinion. It was played a total of 56 times by the band (the bulk of which were in 1973 and 1974 with 26 and 8 occurrences, respectively. The song re-appeared in 1980 for another eleven versions, nine of which were during the October residencies in NYC and San Francisco. All told 4 versions have seen the light of day, two from 1973 and one each from 1974 and 1980. This version is obviously the 1974 edition and appeared on Road Trips, Vol. 2, No. 3., which featured recordings from the Wall of Sound in Des Moines, Iowa (6/16) and Louisville, Kentucky (6/18). I’m surprised that The Race Is On got a workout in Des Moines and not Louisville. It seems that Kentucky’s horse racing tradition, what with the Kentucky Derby and all, would be more fitting, but never try to outsmart a prankster, I guess!

[]
[]

This one cooks right out of the gate. A jaunty country rock romp with Keith pounding out the main progression in a flurry of 8th note block chords. Bobby and Donna blend nicely here, and Jerry takes a quick stroll through the backwoods via his guitar, inflecting this country blues number with equal parts country and blues. Keith and Phil both add a run or two of their own during the chorus sections. The second solo section sounds like it might actually have been Weir. I’m not entirely sure because it sounds to me like Jerry might have given Bobby the nod and Bobby wasn’t expecting it. Keith vamps through the changes, leading the band back into another chorus, adding some boogie woogie type piano. The final chorus repeats the last “the race is on and it looks like heartache” line before drawing to a close. All in all a fun, quick romp through this little ditty.

Complete Setlist 6/16/74

[AMAZONPRODUCTS asin=”B00HBHKHKS” features=”0″ locale=”com” listprice=”0″]

question: What is the post about?

answer: The post is about the Grateful Dead's song, The Race Is On.

question: How many time was the song played by the band?

answer: It was played 56 times.

question: Who is the target audience for the post?

answer: The post is targeted at Grateful Dead fans.

question: How does the author describe the song?

answer: The author describes the song as "a jaunty country rock romp".

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: The post is about the Grateful Dead's song, The Race Is On. The author describes the song as "a jaunty country rock romp".


text:
One night I found I couldn't sleep. I tried every tried and true home remedy, every tired old method. I still couldn't fall asleep. Every light in the home was switched off and the only illumination was that of the eerie street light, penetrating the thick curtains and giving off a tempestuously calm gleam. The silence screamed at me as I laid motionless in my bed. No mouse was scurrying, no roach was crawling. All was dead. Just at the instant I began to doze off I heard a loud crash outside my door. My heavy eyelids speedily unlatched open. My heart beat like a war drum. I convinced myself to remove myself from the bed. I tied the blanket around my nude body and slowly approached the front door. I gripped the knob and hesitatingly turned. When I opened the door, I was blinded by a hot blaze. I heard the crackle of flame. I could barely make out the visage of two automobiles. I approached the burning cars, to see if there were any survivors. I saw blood in the snow. I smelled alcohol resonating from the blood. I looked down and saw the quivering face of my own brother. He was sent to the hospital where it was determined that he needed a liver and kidney transplant. Absolutely no one in the entire city, dead or alive, could donate their organs. My brother died 12 days after the crash.
     That was in 2001. The year is now 2017 and I've been working with a group of underground scientists to prevent any victim from having to go without organs. We've starting cloning humans without brains for the purpose of harvesting organs from them. No man except the workers, cloners, researchers, me, and the many people with organs know about this.

title: The Clones. Part one

question: What was the narrator's issue at first?

answer: They couldn't fall asleep

question: What was the loud crash that the narrator heard?

answer: A fatal car crash that included their brother

question: How long has passed since the crash happened?

answer: 16 years

question: Where does this story take place?

answer: At the narrator's home

question: Write a ~5 sentence summary.

answer: The narrator is struggling to fall asleep in their home. As they are falling asleep, they hear a crash outside. They go outside to a massive blaze and find their brother lying injured. Their brother passes away 12 days later. The narrator now works with scientists to create organs for people by cloning people.


text:
MILTON D. RUBIN (1914–1996) was an American systems engineer and inventor, who was president of the Society for General Systems Research in 1968.[1]

Biography

In 1914 Milton Rubin was born in Boston and attended Boston Latin School. He received his formal education at Harvard University in communications engineering and applied mathematics, and graduated from Harvard College with a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering.[2][3] His son, Mark Jonathon Rubin, was born in 1947. His daughter, Lise Diane Rubin, was born in 1950.

Over the next 50 years, he worked for numerous engineering firms, where he served as manager of system engineering and consulting scientist. His career further included research into materials and components, and specialized in radar. In the 1940s he worked at the Raytheon Co. where he headed the Equipment Division. In 1954 he became consulting scientist, the highest professional level one can attain in the company.[4] Later in the 1950s Rubin became Research Director at GA Philbrick Researches Inc. in Boston. From the 1960s until the 1980s he worked at the Mitre Corporation in Bedford, Massachusetts.

Rubin was organizationally active in the Society for General Systems Research. For years he has been Secretary Treasurer and has been the Editor of the “General Systems Newsletter, quarterly”, and in 1968 he was president of the Society for General Systems Research. In 1981 he received the IEEE-USA Award by the IEEE.[5]

Milton D. Rubin of Newton died Saturday July 6, 1996 at Clark House in Westwood. He was survived by his wife, Tillie Rubin, daughter, Lise Diane Rubin, grandson, Joel Benjamin, and granddaughter, Eva Weinstein.

Work

General Systems

One of the main lines of thought in General Systems according to Rubin in 1966 [6] is the transfer of system concepts from one field to another. There has been fruitful application of such theoretical concepts from engineering to other fields such as biology.

In his 1966 paper “General Systems and Systems Engineering” Rubin attempted “to apply concepts from biology to the practice of systems engineering. The relation of systems engineering to other fields is discussed, utilizing an intellectual framework based on the concepts of speciation and competition between species. The internal social structure of the profession and of individual organizations is considered, using the concept of competition within a species. Examples are drawn from biology to illustrate the points at issue”.[7]

Publications

Rubin has written and edited several books and articles. A selection:

-   1968, _Positive Feedback; a General Systems Approach to Positive/negative Feedback and Mutual Causality_. Edited with J. H. Milsum. Oxford : Pergamon Press.
-   1970, _Man in Systems_ (ed.) New York: Gordon and Breach Science.

Articles

-   1954. “Renal Functions in the Course of the Nephrotic Syndrome in Children” with Erika Bruck, Anatol Rapoport, and I. Mitchell. In: _J Clin Invest._ 1954 Apr; 33 (4 Suppl):699–723.
-   1965, “Society for General Systems Research” . in: _Science_ 19 February 1965: 926-927.
-   1966, “General Systems and Systems Engineering”, in: _IEEE Transactions on Systems Science and Cybernetics_, Vol 2, Iss 1, Aug. 66 Pages:3-7.
-   1966, “Free fro all”. With Clifford G. Bigelow. In: _Management Science_. Vol 13, Issue 2.

[1] General Systems Bulletin Vol XXXII, 2003, retrieved 25 April 2008.

[2] “Milton D. Rubin, 82 Was systems engineer, inventor.” In: The Boston Globe, July 8th, 1996.

[3] J. H. Milsum (1968), _Positive Feedback; a General Systems Approach to Positive/negative Feedback and Mutual Causality_. Oxford : Pergamon Press. P.165.

[4] ProQuest Information and Learning Company (1954). “Control engineering: : Covering Control, Instrumentation, and Automation”. LexisNexis (Firm, Gale Group, EBSCO Publishing (Firm, H.W. Wilson Company. Page 172.

[5] IEEE-USA Award, retrieved 25 April 2008.

[6] Milton D. Rubin (1966), “General Systems and Systems Engineering”, in: _IEEE Transactions on Systems Science and Cybernetics_, Vol 2, Iss 1, Aug. 66 Pages:3-7.

[7]

title: Milton Rubin

question: What can be considered Milton Rubin's main contribution to the engineering world?

answer: Milton Rubin was a systems engineer and inventor. He attended Harvard College and was the president of the Society for General Systems Research in 1968. He also worked at companies like Raytheon Co. and Mitre Corporation in Massachusetts. Though Rubin worked in systems engineering, his work and research pushed him into materials, components, and radar. This diverse background led to his theory about the transfer of system concepts from one field to the other. Rubin proposed that it is possible to apply theoretical theory from other fields like biology to engineering.


text:
Well, this is probably horrible. I wrote two or three starts to novellas a year ago but never finished. I had a free night so I just sat down and wrote the first thing that came to mind. Hope its bearable.

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

Joshua trees lined one side of a desert path, on the other sat a large sandstone mountain which the path curved around its sheer face. On this path stood still an  old man of ordinary but tattered clothing, whose mind began to wander. It wandered in a haphazard sort of way at first, reaching carefully into the pathways of his memory to try to gain some bearing. When it could find none, his mind began to paw and then claw more desperately into its deeper recesses, yet nothing was to be found. Wilder and more frantic his mind searched, knocking over the emptiness which it contained as his consciousness shot at light speed down the dark empty tunnels of his mind.

If he had no memories, did he know language? He seemed to be thinking in language internally but wanted to be certain of it. Aloud he said the first word that came to  mind. Meekly he cried for "Help". It did little to still him. As the comfort that naturally comes with certainty fell away, in its place was filling with panic. He  was able to ward it off at first, boarding up his mind with reassurance. Yet the panic slipped in through the cracks of his self affirmations, slowly at first, but as the fear gripped him his resolve weakened and his ability to reason went with it. Total fear encompassed him causing his strength fail. Reaching out on instinct, he put his hand and weight onto the mountain. Crudely carved into the face of the mountain, quite deeply, was written "This time remember to be", abruptly ending mid sentence. His legs only became weaker, and he knew he would faint. Looking straight up he saw an otherworldly sun. Red and an order of several magnitudes too large it covered a third of the sky. His body spun and fell backwards into the mountain, and his mind fell into a gray void.

He awoke in a shadow of a Joshua tree, of which the sun on the horizon was now hidden behind, apparently back to reasonable size. As the gray lifted from his mind and sight, a vague notion entered his thoughts. "Walk. Continue walking and you will remember." He was tired. Perhaps more tired than any old man had ever been. So he thought to weigh his options, and upon realizing there was no option but one he pulled himself up and began to walk.

As he walked the sun finally set, the edge of the mountain changed shape, and the Joshua Trees ended. Darkness fell and he continued to walk using only the touch of his hand on the mountain to guide him. After some time a beautiful dim blue light gradually crept over the mountain, so slowly in fact that he hardly noticed until he took his hand off the rock as he could now see clearly. The desert sand shimmered blue from he to the horizon. He looked up, to an otherworldly moon. It did not frighten him though, as the sun had. In fact it was the single most beautiful thing he had ever seen, though he did not know it.

After looking into the moon for what seemed to him an age, he began to walk again, still remembering nothing. Until he saw a star that  burned through the black without warning. It was the brightest star, the North star. He looked into it and remembered her. He saw her crying and bleeding on a bathroom floor, and for the first time that he could remember he saw how much she truly loved him. He averted his eyes and the memory quickly faded as if it never happened. He walked along the path for some time more, refusing to look up, unsure of what he was afraid to see. Looking down his eyes traced the path's sand, following its strange rhythmic pattern. It had some order to it, though he couldn't immediately discern what that pattern was. He knelt down for a better inspection and saw that this particular spot had a slight change in the pattern, as if someone had run their finger through the sand. He placed his finger into the anomaly and traced along it. It weaved and curved around the borders of the shapes imprinted into the earth, until it led back to his sandal. As his finger touched his sandal he continued to trace. He realized they were merely footprints, but there were so many overlapping one another, perhaps tens or hundreds of thousands, it created a beautiful mosaic. He moved his sandal into another partial footprint, and it fit perfectly. Another and another, they all fit.

Unsure what to think of this he looked up and began down the path again. What he saw startled him. The sky shone with a million stars now, inside each their own memory. He looked into one and saw his younger brother, Jeffrey, doing chores for their mother around the house all summer to earn enough money to buy a toy for him for Christmas. He not only saw him, but he could feel as he felt. He felt how proud Jeffery was as he swept the floors and dusted the knick knacks all with a silly grin, and how he imagined seeing his older brother's face when he gave him his present. Next to that star was another star with its own memory of that year's Christmas, and how when he opened his little brother's gift he told him he hated it. He felt not only his brother's sadness, but also his mother's anger. He looked away in shame to another, another and  thousands more. In one he saw himself in his college dorm room, on top of a young blonde girl who was his best friend's love. She was more drunk than he, and he thrust into her mechanically and selfishly. Though his friend never knew, the old man was shown the domino effect this caused in their relationship, and felt all the same sadness his friend had known. The old man had never felt this sadness before and began to wonder why until he was distracted by a breathtaking constellation.

In each star of this constellation was a memory of his wife Paige, from when he met her at age twenty-six at a car wash until the day she was crying and bleeding on the bathroom floor, he in the doorway yelling. He felt the selfless love she had felt for him finally extinguish and fade away. With it his eyes refocused and the stars around began to fade as well, with them the memories. Behind him the sun began to rise unusually fast. He ran along the curve of the mountain from it, forcing himself to remember who he was. Hanging on to the memories with all of his strength, the stars came back in full force and shone through the gaining brightness of day. He ran further, looking down he saw the mosaic changed slightly, as if the other footprints ran through here as well. Curious, he contemplated why the others had run here too, but the stars began to fade from this distraction, and he thought no more of it.

He ran until the sun was above him and he could run no more. In fact he could hardly think. He felt his memories fading quickly. Reaching into his pocket he looked desperately for a pen, finding nothing he frantically scanned the area. Joshua trees lined the left side of the path, and on the other sat a small sandstone mountain which the path curved around its sheer face, next to it in the sand were several rocks. He grabbed one and without thought quickly began to write so he wouldn't forget this time. In his haste he hadn't noticed he had been tracing over words that were already on the mountain until the fifth word. He backed away and unable to focus from the shock of the words he read, the stars faded from the sky. He stood in the center of the path for some time, with a peculiar and lost look on his face. Eventually he pathetically said "Help" aloud. Soon after his face contorted in growing fear, as if some terror had struck him.

He fell into the mountain,  into a void where he made all of the same mistakes again, and awoke in the shadow of a Joshua tree.

title: The Joshua Tree and The Mountain (literally the first short story I've ever finished)

question: What does the man see in the sky?

answer: He sees memories of his entire life. He sees memories of his childhood. He sees memories of his wife. Especially he sees memories of his mistakes.

question: Where is the man?

answer: Because he is viewing memories of his entire life, it could be concluded the man is in purgatory of some kind. He is probably between life and death, learning lessons that are valuable. He is about to move on.


text:
RICHARD WILLIAM PEARSE (3 December 187729 July 1953) was a New Zealand farmer and inventor who performed pioneering aviation experiments. Witnesses interviewed many years afterward claimed that Pearse flew and landed a powered heavier-than-air machine on 31 March 1903, nine months before the Wright brothers flew.[1] Documentary evidence for these claims remains open to interpretation and dispute, and Pearse himself never made such claims. In a newspaper interview in 1909, he said he did not “attempt anything practical ... until 1904”.[2]

Biographer Gordon Ogilvie credits Pearse with “several far-sighted concepts: a monoplane configuration, wing flaps and rear elevator, tricycle undercarriage with steerable nosewheel, and a propeller with variable-pitch blades.” [3]

Pearse ended his flying experiments about 1911, but continued aviation work, attempting to develop a vertical takeoff and landing aircraft and rotorcraft.[4][5] Late in life he became bitter and paranoid and was admitted to a mental hospital in 1951, where he remained until his death.

Career

Early engineering work

[A representation of Pearse's early monoplane originally built for the 1977 New Zealand International Trade Fair, Auckland,[6] on display at South Canterbury Museum, Timaru] A possible hint of Pearse's earliest flying machine work at Waitohi, South Canterbury, came from Jean Currie.[7]. When interviewed by researchers Tom Bradley and Geoff Rodliffe she recalled that quite some time before her family moved from Waitohi Flat to Morven in 1899, her father, Thomas Currie, farmer, and uncle, Alexander McClintock, blacksmith, had walked up to Pearse's workshop one Sunday only to return soon after, saying: “If he gets that contraption in the air he will fall out and kill himself.”[8] Witness accounts indicate that Pearse may have been working on a flying machine before 1904, although he stated that he began in February–March 1904.[9][10]

In 1902, at Waitohi, Pearse invented a novel bell-crank pedal-lever type bicycle with self-inflating tyres. Messrs Martin and Co. of Christchurch, built the bicycle, and Pearse made key components himself.[11] Travelling up to Christchurch, he filed a patent application for the invention, via his newly appointed patent agent Henry Hughes,[12] with the Christchurch Patent Office on 8 February 1902 (New Zealand Patent no. 14507)[13]—his first patent. Coincidentally, on the day the Patent Office issued Letters Patent, Pearse's bicycle drew public attention when he rode it in to Temuka on Sale Day, Tuesday, 19 May 1903,[14] and Timaru on Wednesday, 20 May 1903.[15]

It appears that at that time he was also building the light horizontally opposed double-acting two-cylinder “oil engine” described in the provisional specification of his 19 July 1906 patent, _An Improved Aerial or Flying Machine_ (New Zealand Patent no. 21476), indicated in Figure 1 of the complete specification and recovered in part as two relic cylinders in 1971. As no light suitably powered engines could be purchased at that time, many pioneering inventors made their own. Cecil Wood, who had established the Tourist Cycle Works at Timaru in 1896, built gunpowder and gasoline engines since 1895, constructed New Zealand's earliest motorcar with first road test in 1897 and motor-bicycles from December 1901,[16][17] told George Bolt and Harold Cederman that he had instructed Pearse on making engines in 1901 and 1902. He recalled showing Pearse how to make spark plugs with a central electrode wrapped in mica and helping with surface carburetor design.[18][19] Crudely built, this engine appears to be Pearse’s earliest, preceding his light 25 hp (18.64 kW) horizontal double opposed single-acting four-cylinder engine, which, Pearse informed the Minister of Defence in May 1945, he'd started to work on from about February 1904, a few months after Samuel Langley's aeroplane failed to fly. He referred to the 25 hp motor as an “aeroplane motor”, his “first motor” and the “first single-acting 4 cylinder motor”.[20]

At some point Pearse mounted the engine within the flying machine—a tricycle undercarriage surmounted by a fabric-covered bamboo wing structure. In general layout the machine resembled modern aircraft design: monoplane rather than biplane; tractor rather than pusher propeller. Witnesses tended to agree that the flying machine had no tail section.

Flights

[Richard Pearse's 25 hp (18.64 kW) water-cooled four-cylinder aero engine on display at MOTAT] [Richard Pearse Memorial, Waitohi, South Canterbury ()] [A silver medal struck by the New Zealand Mint for the New Zealand Museum of Transport and Technology in 1982 to commemorate the _“80th Anniversary of World 1st Powered Flight”_ by Pearse. MOTAT's website gives 1903 as the year of his first flight, not 1902 as indicated on the medal.] In August 1901 _Scientific American_ asked what the aeroplane men were doing, as they were quiet, presumably discouraged by risk. Lawrence Hargrave, an Australian engineer who'd been working on flight since 1884,[21] replied regarding “The Aeroplane Problem” in September, with words that could have been typical of the inventors:

  I for one am doing my best, absolutely unnoticed, and with the courage derived from the knowledge that if I steadily persevere for a little while longer I shall make some sort of flight with the minimum of danger.

  To amplify my remarks: Like other flying machine men, I think I could do strokes with ample means; such not being available, I pile every spare minute and scrap of ingenuity into the construction of the smallest apparatus that is capable of carrying me for ten minutes.[22]

Researchers had located some 55 surviving witnesses by the 1980s. In assigning a principal category to each witness at that time, though some may cross categories, 20 had seen a flight or more, 9 had seen a plane on a hedge or in the workshop awaiting repairs, 2 had heard the plane in flight but did not see it, 7 had a second hand account of seeing flight, 10 knew of flights and 7 had seen or knew of the flying machine under construction.[23]

Some witness accounts suggest Pearse flew in 1902; others indicate a series of flights in 1903, ending in winter that year. Some dateable events recalled as occurring about the time of the flights were: immediately after excessive flooding of the Opihi River on 23–24 March 1902; on 31 March, preceding April Fools' Day; within a year of the end of the Second Boer War and following the disbanding of the 9th Contingent, New Zealand Mounted Rifles, South Island Regiment, in New Zealand on 21 August 1902; about the time of Eugen Sandow's visit to Timaru, 26–29 December 1902;[24] during Honora Crowley's last teaching year at Upper Waitohi School to September 1903; and before the Big Snow snowstorm from 11 July 1903. Following decades of research to establish dates, 31 March 1903 is noted by historians as the day when Pearse may have achieved some sort of witnessed flight.

1903 MARCH 31, TUESDAY
Eyewitnesses describe Pearse crashing into a hedge during 1903.[25][26] His monoplane may have risen to a height of at least 12 feet (3.66 metres) on each occasion.[27] Evidence exists that on 31 March 1903 Pearse achieved a powered, though poorly controlled, flight of several hundred metres.[28]

1903. MULTI-LAP PADDOCK FLIGHT, RICHARD PEARSE'S FARM, WAITOHI
John William Casey, born 1896, seven years old in 1903, recalled that soon after Pearse's first takeoff the news spread “that there was to be another free show”, and on that day a crowd, he guesstimated to number about 30 people, gathered near Pearse's farm, the edge of which was only about 0.28 mile (450 metres) from the school. Casey recalled that Miss Crowley let her students out of school to watch the event. According to Casey's account and estimations, after a short run of about 3 chains (about 60.35 metres) Pearse's flying machine lifted off from an elevated part of the paddock, rose to about 60 feet (about 18.3 metres) and, after flying two and a half circuits of the field, perhaps 1.5 miles (perhaps 2.4 km), landed on the gorse hedge separating the corner paddock from his workshop paddock. He thought the event lasted about ten minutes.[29] In a letter to Geoff Rodliffe, Casey described the flying machine as having a tricycle undercarriage supporting a wing about 5–6 feet (about 1.5–1.8 metres) above ground and provided an accurate drawing showing the points of takeoff and landing.[30]

The flight occurred before Miss Crowley left the district in September of 1903.[31] John Casey moved with his parents William and Margaret to the new Chamberlain settlement near Albury, some 25 miles (40 km) from Waitohi,[32] in June 1904.[33]

Casey believed that Pearse's brother, Warne, spun the propellor, however, Warne and others apparently never referred to such an impressive flight. Warne, though, had pulled the propellor to start the engine on the previous flight run from the Upper Waitohi School. Casey also named five other people who may have witnessed the flight. Though several independently recalled Miss Crowley as their teacher at that time, four described other flight attempts and the fifth died before he could be interviewed.[34][35]

If Casey's observations could be verified, this would be the first controlled flight in the world by a powered aeroplane.[36]

1903 APRIL 11, HOLY SATURDAY, EASTER. THE TERRACE FLIGHT, OPIHI RIVER, WAITOHI
Robert Mitchell Gibson's accounts of a flight [37][38][39] were considered by researchers to be amongst the most credible. Born 2 December 1895,[40][41] he was 8 years old when his older brother Ramsay, age 13 years, took him on another cycle excursion, this time with a number of youths to help Pearse prove his flying machine.

Gibson recalled that Pearse had transported his flying machine with a dray and couple of horses from his shed to a terrace field above the Opihi River. On the first run, the flying machine headed down the hill and into a clump of gorse. After the boys had pulled the machine out and up the top to the dray, they and Pearse inspected the ground for half an hour in preparation for another run. The boys then headed Pearse and his flying machine on toward the cliff but after about a chain (20 metres) they were left behind as the flying machine gathered speed by its own thrust. As the flying machine went over the cliff and into the air, the boys watched it turn and fly up the river up to half a mile (800 metres) gradually going downwards. They ran diagonally across the paddock to find a wet Pearse scrambling up the riverbank. [42]

Gibson was certain the flight took place in the Easter school holidays before Easter, or Easter Saturday (11 April), 1903. He dates the flight as having occurred shortly before the severe snowstorm of 1903—the Big Snow. This was the only snow to fall from 1902 to 1905. Gibson also dates the flight as occurring shortly after his brother Ramsey turned 14 in 1903. After his birthday, Ramsey immediately moved away from Waitohi to work. Ramsey never returned to Waitohi and died in 1908.[43]

Gibson also served during the Great War,[44] and recalled that he had been involved in a fight as a result of claiming that he'd seen a New Zealander fly before the Wright Brothers.[45][46] The Royal Navy consistently recorded Gibson's character as “VG”.

Gibson's later attempts to identify the other youths present at the Opihi River terrace flight were not successful.

The descending upstream flight, as recalled, may be best described as a powered glide,[47] though an engineer's calculation of the Opihi River site in the 1970s, based on local government survey data, plotted it as an “almost level flight” of just 3,300 feet (1,005.84 metres) in length, from a terrace about 30 feet (9.14 metres) above the riverbed, descending about 24.57 feet (7.49 metres) to the river—an approximate grade of 1 in 134.[48]

Arthur Tozer, who was about 17 years old at the time, recalled an event similar enough to be the same; that whilst driving a horse-drawn carriage through the Opihi riverbed he saw Pearse fly overhead but thought he'd flown on to land on the terrace. Multiple independent hearsay accounts unrelated to Gibson's flight were made by several sources. Because of the multiple witness and hearsay accounts, it is considered hard to doubt that Pearse at some time made an attempt to fly off the Opihi River terrace.[49]

1903 MAY 2, SATURDAY. PADDOCK FLIGHT, RICHARD PEARSE'S FARM, WAITOHI
Alexander Amos Martin, born 1887,[50] was sure in his accounts of the flight he'd seen.[51] He recalled that he was about 16.5 years old when he saw one of Pearse's flight. Martin and his father had finished chaff cutting a stack of sheaves on Dick Connell's farm about 2:00 pm. From Upper Waitohi's main road he could see an odd contraption in Pearse's paddock. Pearse had pushed his bamboo plane out of his shed and after altering the steering, started the engine and taxied for about 50 yards (about 46 metres). The plane then rose up into the air about 10 to 15 feet (3.0–4.6 metres) above ground, flew for about 50 yards (about 46 metres) and crashed into a big gorse fence. “He could not go any higher because he had no more Power the engine was all out and the under carriage and wheels caught in the gorse fence.”[52] Martin took off on his bicycle and rode on after his father's chaff cutting plant.[53]

Amos Martin stated that, “The time Pearse flew was on May 2nd 1903 at between half past two in the afternoon and four o'clock.”[54] “It was the year of the Big Snow.”[55] Writing to Joseph Coll on 23 May 1967, Martin said “I say this that it was Pay-day and Pay-day was the first Saturday of the month.”[56] He left Temuka for the coalmine at Nightcaps, Southland, in August 1903.[57]

1903. PADDOCK FLIGHT, RICHARD PEARSE'S FARM, WAITOHI
Daisy Moore Crawford (later Mrs McLean), born 1892, recalled that she saw Pearse's flying machine in the air. She was with her father, William, who was a close friend of Pearse, on the hillside at the back of Pearse's farm. When interviewed by Anna Cotterill and filmed by Hutton for TV One News in 1976, she said: “I can remember it lifting up and coming down, and veering towards the road where there was a gorse fence, and landed on the gorse fence. And that gorse fence and the plane stuck in my mind, always!” Daisy didn't think he'd hurt himself but had landed with the cushion effect of the gorse hedge. When asked if there were a lot of people watching him, Daisy replied: “There was no one watching him! Well there was those girls up at the hill like, but, down, when you come down near the homestead, his own little cottage, on the right hand side, over, there was just himself and his plane. But I can remember there might have been somebody on the road, but I never saw anyone [watching him].”[58] In a letter to Geoff Rodliffe dated 5 September 1976, Clifford Crawford, Daisy's brother, said Daisy was certain the event occurred on Tuesday, 31 March 1903.[59]

1903 APRIL–MAY
Frank James Biggs of Taiko, born 28 September 1890, was educated at Fairview School, Fairview, Timaru, some 21 miles (about 34 km) from Waitohi, after the family moved there in 1898.[60][61] He recalled his teacher at Fairview, Mrs Christian Ritchie,[62] telling the children that Pearse had flown. Writing to Joseph Coll on 25 May 1967, Frank Biggs said,“Now regarding the flight, I can remember it pretty clearly it would be late April or early May. Spud digging time. I think Mr Martin as he witnessed the flight would be correct with his statement.”[63][64] Biggs thought the year to be between 1902 and 1904.[65][66] Mrs Ritchie, head teacher at Fairview School since 1894, retired from teaching in April 1906, and presented with gifts from her many friends and well wishers, left the settlement.[67][68]

1903
Sisters, Annie Fraser (later Mrs Casey) and Margaret Fraser (later Mrs Esler), recalled that they were on a hill filling sacks of potatoes dug by David Stumbles, when they heard Pearse's flying machine in the distance. They piled up potatoes and threatened that if Pearse flew in their direction they’d pelt him with spuds.[69][70]

Pearse designed his first oil engine as a horizontally opposed two-cylinder four-chamber four-stroke type with pistons connected by a single piston rod with crank-arm and crank mechanism at the centre. Researchers recovered components of his engine (including cylinders made from cast-iron drainpipes) from a farm rubbish dump in 1971. Replicas of the 1903 engine suggest that it could produce about . With a engine, Pearse's design had an adequate power-to-weight ratio to become airborne (even without an aerofoil). He continued to develop the ability to achieve fully controlled flight. Pearse incorporated small “ailerons”. Diagrams and eyewitness recollections agree that Pearse placed controls for pitch and yaw at the trailing edge of the low-aspect-ratio kite-type permanently stalled wing. This control placement (located in turbulent air-flow, and close to the centre of gravity) would have had minimal, possibly inadequate, turning moment to control the pitch or yaw of the aircraft. The Wright brothers, in comparison, successfully applied the principles of airfoil wing-profile and three-axis control to produce fully controlled flight.

1909
Pearse reappeared in the newspapers in late 1909 with his latest huge 700-900 sq ft flying machine powered by a 24-horsepower motor.

The _Otago Witness_, 1 December 1909, also observed that “Mr Pearse has always been of an inventive turn of mind, as a visit to his workshop will show. Just lately the Scientific American printed an idea of his for an improved sparking plug for either high or low tension.” Though fruitless searches for the article over decades had left researchers with doubts about its existence, it finally came to light during a search of Auckland Libraries’ bound volumes in 1999. R W Pearse's 'The Handy Man's Spark Plug' was published in the 4 September 1909 issue of _Scientific American_,[71] and again in Alexander Russell Bond's _Handy Man’s Workshop and Laboratory_, a Scientific American Series publication, in 1910.[72] Pearse's handy man's spark plug, having a wire within a central tube, utilised the pressure of the engine's compression stroke to operate a valve, to vibrate the connected terminal wire into contact the central tube's terminal, to produce multiple sparks.

Pearse's work remained poorly reported at the time, and no contemporary newspaper accounts appear to exist of his early 1900s efforts. Some later photographic records survived, but they are undated with some images difficult to interpret. Pearse's own statements, interpreted though modern day lenses, have bamboozled many researchers, writers and critics. For many years such led the few who knew of his feats to accept 1904 as the date of flying. Unconcerned about posterity and in remote New Zealand, he received no public credit for his work during his lifetime. Pearse patented his design, but his innovations—such as ailerons and the lightweight air-cooled engine—did not succeed in influencing others.

Later activities

Pearse moved to Milton in Otago in about 1911 and discontinued his flying experiments due to the hillier country there. Much of his experimental equipment got dumped in a farm rubbish-pit. However, he continued experimenting and produced a number of inventions. He subsequently moved to Christchurch in the 1920s, where he built three houses and lived off the rentals.

Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, Pearse continued to work on constructing a tilt-rotor flying-machine for personal use – sometimes described as a cross between a windmill and a rubbish-cart. His design resembled an autogyro or helicopter, but involved a tilting propeller/rotor and monoplane wings, which, along with the tail, could fold to allow storage in a conventional garage. He intended the vehicle for driving on the road (like a car) as well for flying.

However, he became reclusive and paranoid that foreign spies would discover his work. Admitted to Sunnyside Hospital in Christchurch in 1951, Pearse died there two years later. Researchers believe that many of his papers were destroyed at that time.

Claims

The Public Trustee administered Pearse's estate following his death in 1953. The trust officer was instructed to place the properties and saleable articles up for auction and dump Pearse's patented convertiplane invention. Setting in motion a serendipitous train of events, the auctioneer George Anderson offered the convertiplane to the Canterbury Aero Club. Following inspection by the clubs's chief flying instructor, engineer and captain, their captain, Harry Walker, purchased it himself for £5 in June 1954 to save it from the scrap heap. They transported it to the club's hangar at Harewood, along with Pearse's powercycle as part of the lot. Intrigued by the shed find, Walker also rescued, examined and sorted what was left of Pearse's papers and patents from the trustee's rubbish heap and the yard.[73][74] Sometime later, during a stopover at Christchurch Airport, Captain John Malcolm, NAC, caught sight of Pearse's dismantled convertiplane in the hangar, and reported the find to aviation pioneer George Bolt in Auckland.[75]. As a result, Bolt went to see Pearse's last flying machine during his next visit to Christchurch in March 1956. It is at this point that the tide turned for Richard William Pearse and his lifetime pursuit of aviation invention, from certain obliteration to recognition.[76]

In 1958, Bolt excavated the South Canterbury dump site and discovered some components, including a propeller. His research in the 1960s produced evidence for flight in 1903: people who had left the district by 1904 remembered the events, and recalled a particularly harsh winter with heavy snow.

During filming of a television documentary in the 1970s, the crew attached a replica of Pearse's 1902 machine by a rope to a team of horses. When the horses bolted, the machine took to the air and flew, prompting Pearse enthusiasts to assert that the design was flyable. The event was not filmed, because the crew had packed away their cameras at the end of the day's shooting. [A replica aeroplane on display at the South Canterbury Museum in Timaru]

Debunking the myth

In a 1909 newspaper interview, Pearse said “From the time I was quite a little chap I had a great fancy for engineering, and when I was still quite a young man I conceived the idea of inventing a flying machine. I did not attempt anything practical with the idea until, in 1904, the St Louis Exposition authorities offered a prize of £20,000 to the man who invented and flew a flying machine over a specified course. I did not, as you know, succeed in winning the prize, neither did anybody else.”[77][78] He also wrote two letters to local newspapers in 1915 and 1928. In his letter 'Who Invented the Aeroplane?' to the _Evening Star_, Dunedin, 10 May 1915 he stated: “The question is Who invented it first? I thought of it long before I took out a patent...” Also, “The honor of inventing the aeroplane [...] is the product of many minds [but] pre-eminence will undoubtedly be given to the Wright brothers [...] as they were actually the first to make successful flights with a motor-driven aeroplane”.[79][80] The Wright brothers made successful controlled flights at Huffman Prairie, Ohio, in late 1904, and with their first practical aeroplane, _Flyer III_, in 1905.[81] In the 1928 letter to _The Star_, Pearse recounted what happened during his early attempts: “At the trials it would start to rise off the ground when a speed of twenty miles an hour was attained. This speed was not sufficient to work the rudders, so, on account of its huge size and low speed, it was uncontrollable, and would spin round broadside directly after it left the ground. So I never flew with my first experimental plane, but no-one else did with their first for that matter”.[82]

Aviation executive Evan Gardiner defended the legacy of his great uncle, Richard Pearse. In a newspaper article he emphasized that biographer Gordon Ogilvie had found 48 eyewitness accounts of aircraft work by Pearse and his attempted flights between 1902 and 1904. Gardiner wrote, “48 is too high a number for all to be misled, misinformed, over-imaginative, senile, lying or stupid.”[83]

Legacy

At the dawn of the 20th century, a number of enthusiasts in several countries advanced towards powered heavier-than-air flight. Pearse, as one of several designers contemporary with the Wrights, advanced some distance towards controlled flight. However, Pearse's designs and achievements remained virtually unknown beyond the few who witnessed them and they had no impact on his contemporary aviation designers.

Museum of Transport and Technology (MOTAT) in Auckland holds Pearse's last aeroplane, a tilt-rotor convertiplane, his 25 hp four-cyclinder engine and metal propeller from the later first flying machine, his powercycle and other original artefacts. The collection includes the flying machine created for the 1975 television docudrama “Richard Pearse”, based on Pearse's patent, witness descriptions and early 1900s technology.

South Canterbury Museum in Timaru displays material relating to Pearse and to his contribution to early aviation.

Pleasant Point Museum and Railway in Pleasant Point displays original Pearse engine artefacts and other items.

South Canterbury Aviation Heritage Centre in Timaru displays material relating to Pearse. The collection includes interpretations of Pearse's earliest flying machine constructed for the Richard Pearse Centenary of Flight 1903-2003 (MOTAT and South Canterbury Aviation Heritage Centre), for experiment and public display, along with several experimental two-cylinder engine reconstructions based on the remnants and descriptions of Richard Pearse's original engines.

A memorial to Pearse's attempts at powered flight stands at () near Pleasant Point in South Canterbury.

The South Island lakeside town of Wanaka has a line of tiles mounted on the sidewalk by the lake listing important world and New Zealand historic events. The 1903 tile says that the first powered flight in history occurred in Timaru, and at the bottom of the tile for 1903 the Wright Brothers were listed as having also flown that year.

Popular culture

The arts have commemorated Richard Pearse's remarkable achievements over the years.
POETRY

-   _Solo Flight_ (1982) by William (Bill) Sewell. A series of meditations about the South Canterbury aviator Richard Pearse. .

PLAYS

-   _The Pain and the Passion_ (2000) by Sherry Ede. Performed at the Rose Centre Theatre, Belmont, Auckland, by Company Theatre, 10–24 June 2000;[84] MOTAT, Auckland, for the Richard Pearse Centenary of Flight 1903–2003, 2003. Director: Sherry Ede; and Canterbury Repertory Theatre, Christchurch, for the Richard Pearse Centenary of Flight 1903–2003, 2003. Director: Penny Giddens .[85]
-   _Too High the Son_ (1996) by Stephen Bain and France Hervé. Performed at City Gallery, Wellington; Downstage Theatre, Wellington; Maidment Theatre, Auckland.
-   _Jean and Richard_ (1990) by Mervyn Thompson. A fantasy in which Jean Batten and Richard Pearse meet in the afterlife. Performed by the Court Theatre, Christchurch, 1990.
-   _Pearse_ (1981) by John Leask. Performed by the Little Theatre Section, South Canterbury Drama League,[86] 1981. Director: Dawn Somerville;[87] and by the Little Theatre Section, Timaru, for the Richard Pearse Centenary of Flight 1903–2003, 2003.

FILM AND TELEVISION

-   _A Century of Flight: A Tribute to Richard William Pearse_ (2003). Documentary by Bob Jessopp, Horizon Video Communications. MOTAT, Auckland. An overview of the Richard Pearse Centenary of Flight 1903–2003.
-   _Forgotten Silver_ (1995). Mockumentary by filmmakers Costa Botes and Peter Jackson. Purports to uncover a long-lost segment of motion picture film that, with digital enhancement of a newspaper seen in one shot, “proves” that Pearse successfully flew in March 1903, predating the Wrights' achievement by several months. IMDb
-   _The New Adventures of Black Beauty: The Birdman_ (1990). Isambard Productions' continuation of the 1970s UK television series. A young inventor attempts to fly in a Richard Pearse-like contraption. IMDb
-   _Off the Ground – 1: The First to Fly_ (1982). Documentary by the National Film Unit. Richard Pearse leads off a three-part series on the history of aviation in New Zealand.
-   _Richard Pearse_ (1975). Docudrama, New Zealand Television One (NZBC). Set during his first flying machine efforts, the film focuses on Pearse's reclusive manner and local perceptions of his eccentric activities. IMDb

NOVEL, NOVELLA AND SHORT STORY

-   _Oh, for the Wings of a Moth_ (1999) by Helene Moore and Geoff Rodliffe. An historical novel woven around the life of Richard Pearse.
-   _The Red Menace_. An eight-part _Doctor Who/The War Of The Worlds_ crossover fan fiction novella by Jeff Stone published in the New Zealand Doctor Who fanzine _Telos_ during the 1990s extensively features Pearse as the co-creator of flying machines used to battle the returning Martian invaders. The unpublished extended version features material outlining Pearse's lonely journey to Britain to try to interest businessmen in his “aero-nautical device” designs.

MUSIC

-   _To the Sky_ composed by Dwayne Bloomfield—Assistant Bandmaster, New Zealand Army Band, and Musical Director, Timaru Municipal Band.[88] Performed by massed bands directed by Dwayne Bloomfield at the Richard Pearse Centenary Concert, Theatre Royal, Timaru, 29 March 2003.
-   _I Can Fly in the Dark_ composed by Natasha Murphy. Performed at the Richard Pearse Centenary Concert, Theatre Royal, Timaru, 29 March 2003.
-   _He Flys_ composed by Dave Denize. A ballad performed by Dave Denize at the Richard Pearse Centenary Concert, Theatre Royal, Timaru, 29 March 2003.

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[79] Duffy, Jonathan. Flights of fancy?", bbc.co.uk, 12 December 2003.

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title: Richard Pearse

question: How old was Pearse when he died?

answer: 76 years old

question: Why do many believe Pearse was the first inventor to successfully fly, nine months before the Wright brothers?

answer: There were several eyewitness accounts that say Pearse successfully flew his air machine on March 31, 1903.


text:
I have this...problem.

I can't sleep.

It's not that kind of insomnia where you drank too much caffeine or you watched some shitty horror movie and you can't fall asleep. This is the kind of insomnia where you are terrified to fall asleep. Where you're scared shitless that in your sleep, someone is going to creep up on you and drive a knife through your heart. It's been like this for a few year now, ever since I first saw it. But I'm getting ahead of myself, let me start from the very beginning.

My parents separated when I was quite young so the majority of my early childhood was spent with my mom and twin brother. My father lived about 3 hours away from us so to make it easier on me and my brother, my dad moved to be closer to us. I was still pretty young when he moved his apartment so most of my memories are blurs, but what I do remember is being terrified of sleeping alone. The first night sleeping there, my brother and I slept on mattresses on the floor. My brother slept soundly but I didn't, I just felt very...uneasy. With the way the room was set up, my bed was facing the living room and my brother's bed facing my dad's room. I remember having the covers pulled up to my nose and staring into the deep, blackness of the living room. This wasn't just darkness, this was total blackness like...like there wasn't even anything there! Scared out of my mind I pulled the covers over my head, in fear that some sort of Bogeyman would appear from the blackness and pull me in.

After an hour or so of just laying in bed, I slowly began to drift off to sleep. My eyes grew heavier and as hard as I tried to stay awake I just couldn't. As I was just easing into almost total unconsciousness I suddenly felt that uneasiness again. I somehow managed to fight off sleep long enough to see a shadow walk by through the cover of my bedsheet. I froze, wide awake now. The shadow walked by again, like it had come from the living room then walked back. I knew it wasn't my brother because I would have heard and felt him get out of bed, plus the shadow made absolutely no sound when it walked. No footsteps, no breathing. Just complete and total...silence. It did this for hours, just walking from the living room, past my bed, to my brother's bed, hesitating then walking back to the living room before repeating. A sort of lather, rinse, repeat kind of thing. I guess at some point I had nodded off to sleep, probably realizing that this...thing thought I was sleeping too. I never slept with the living room door open ever again.

Now that I think about it, that door leading into the living room was very odd. It was made of glass, like one you'd have as your back door or something, it also had blinds and a latch already built into it that only locked from my side. Every night I would lock that door, I never slept with that door open, even as I progressed into my teen years. Every night to the night before we moved out I slept with that door closed, and every night at around 2 or 3 am I would hear the doorknob turn. It would turn slowly and then try to open, but the latch would catch and prevent the door from opening. There would be a hesitation and then the door would be pushed back into place. I've been afraid ever since. You probably think it's stupid and not scary but it was! I'm 15 years old now and I still have to sleep with a nightlight and the television turned on. That thing isn't Casper the Friendly fucking Ghost! This is something that...was never even alive in the first damn place! And it's going to get me...it knows I've seen it. And it's going to get me.

We live in a different house now, but it's the same thing. At night I'm left staring into the darkness of our dining room, that same hopeless blackness at before. I sleep with my door closed but this door doesn't have a lock.

I just heard the door open. It's watching me...and this time it knows I'm awake.

title: Insomnia

question: Why is the narrator scared to sleep?

answer: They believe there is something that has snuck into their house trying to get them.

question: What is the figure that the narrator saw?

answer: It is unclear what the figure is exactly.

question: When did the narrator first see this figure?

answer: At their father's house when they were younger.

question: Why is this figure after the narrator?

answer: It is unclear why they are after the narrator.

question: Write a ~5 sentence summary.

answer: The narrator is terrified of falling asleep. They have had this problem since they were younger, when they were trying to fall asleep in their father's house. There, they saw a figure pacing back in forth in the room. Since then, they have heard their door unlock when they have tried to sleep. The narrator now fears that the figure is currently watching them, as they just heard the door open.