text:
This was an exercise for a creative writing class I did a while back. We had to emulate a famous author/poet and describe how to make something. I won't say who I emulated, but I do hope it reads well.

Critique is also welcomed.

**Freezer Tray Popsicles**

* 1. Your favorite fruit juice
* 2. Freezer Tray
* 3. Freezer
* 4. Seran Wrap
* 5. Popsicle sticks/Toothpicks

**Preparation**

Take your favorite fruit juice and pour it into the tray. Tightly cover the top of the tray with seran wrap. After making sure the wrap is completely covering the freezer tray, insert toothpicks/Popsicle sticks into the center of each “cube.” Put in the freezer for an hour or two, and voila, you’ve got popsicles.

TRUE! Neverous, very, very horrifically nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad? This state had sharpened my senses, not erased nor dulled them. Above all was the sense of taste acute. I could taste all things in the heaven and in the earth. I’ve tasted many things in heaven, and even more in hell. How then am I mad? Hark, and observe how healthily, how calmly I can tell the whole story.

I know not why the idea entered my brain, but perhaps it was the dreadfully sweet and deathly chilling taste that haunted me for a fortnight. There was no passion nor was there reason for spite, but I think it was his charm. YES! It was this. Whenever I heard him speak the words,” OH YEA!” my blood ran cold, and so by degrees, I made up my mind to rid myself of the man, at least for a while.

This is my point. You fancy me mad. Mad thirsty men know nothing. But you should’ve seen how wisely I proceeded—with that caution—with what foresight, with what dissimulation, I went to work! I trekked out to the nearest shopkeep and bought my tools, one by one to avoid suspicion. Nightly, I’d peek my head into the refrigerator, making sure the poor fool was sleeping. Would a madman come during daylight, to be once again tortured by his cries of “OH YEA!”?

Upon the eighth and final night, I peeked in as I had always done, to see the man sleeping peacefully, knowing full good and well that he’d not cry a sound soon enough. I could scarcely contain my feelings of triumph; what with the plan I’d made, and I chuckled at the idea that I’d finally won. Perhaps he heard me, causing him to toss and turn in his sleep. Now, you may think that I turned back, but no, the insides were still pitch black as the switch had not been switched to shed light upon my devious mayhem. Suddenly an itch took hold, and whilst I went to silence the demon, the door had opened full swing, and the man sprang out of bed and cried, ”OH YEA!”

I’d enough of his dastardly cries, and rather than hide, I sprang into action. I grabbed my freezer tray and lay it on the counter, and with the speed of light flooding my hands, I grabbed him by the handle and hastily poured his sweet blood into the tray. He began to groan “Oh~!” but before he could, I sealed his doom with the see-through fate of Seran wrap. Muffled, I could hear him still; the sound haunted me, so I grabbed the nearest toothpicks and proceeded to bury them into the blood of the evil bastard. I had won.

My hands stained with his crimson blood, I stowed him away in the freezer, to let his blood chill. For a while, things were peaceful. I could sleep at night without a sound, and go throughout my day without the cursed words leaving his tongue. Yet if you still deem me mad, you will think so no longer, when I describe how the tale unfolds.

After a few hours, my flatmates returned and were looking to quench their thirst with a nice glass of Kool Aid. I smiled, for what had I to fear? The fiendish soul dwelled about no longer. They searched the refrigerator to no avail, and had politely asked where he might’ve gone. I bade them search the trash can and even the container he was stored in. Clean.

My manner had convinced them. I was at ease. Until I could hear his ghastly call once more. “OH YEA!” Rang throughout my mind, not my ears, and as each second grew, and as my flatmates decided to trek out to find one more, and as my heart began to pulsate with the ever chilling dread of the deed I’d committed, my mind just wanted them gone. Yet, they took their sweet time, and as I became white with dread, I could hear him crying out louder, Louder, LOUDER!—

“Villians!” I shrieked, “quest out no more! I admit the deed! Open that freezer!—here! Here!—it is the cry of Kool Aid popsicles!”

title: How to Make Freezer Popsicles

question: What recipe is described in the story?

answer: Freezer popsicles

question: What juice does the narrator choose to make her popsicles?

answer: Kool Aid

question: Who is the man that is referenced?

answer: The Kool-Aid Man

question: What genre is this story?

answer: Satirical horror

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: A recipe for freezer popsicles is given, suggesting the use of the juice of ones choice. A woman chooses to use Kool Aid, taking the blood of the Kool Aid Man to make the popsicles. She takes them out later for her friends to enjoy.


split: train

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

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

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

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

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

question: Why does the protagonist strive to keep such a regular schedule day to day and on Sundays?

answer: He strives to be "normal."


text:
Imagine a world, a world in the future. Not the near future like in back to the future. A future where humans are the underdog, not the likeable underdog as in david and goliath where he wins even through the odds are not in his favor. This is the near future where the humans are the slaves, the slaves to the dragons. Why not robots, you might ask. Well robots are always the slave masters that have taken over the world. Don't you think dragons should get their chance at having a fierce reign over the whole known world?

These dragons aren't just ordinary dragons, known from popular - well medieval - literature, no these fierce-full creatures, huge in their appearance, need us humans. I didn't get to describe the dragon yet, so don't panik just now. They usually don't hurt you. Look over there. See that majestic creature? His name is Draaga.

You see him, 10 meters tall, imagining him next to a typical one story house, he would be able to look over it without a problem.  Cars seem small next to him. His scales - every dragon has scales, where were you the last 100 years? - are shining in a matt metallic green. Can't imagine it? Fuck off, he's a dragon. He can look as impossible as he wants to.

Back to Draaga, why am I showing you him? He is special. He doesn't just enslave humans for his needs, no he has dragons under his rule. These dragons do menial work for him. Build him caves, find him mates, and they even bring him food. But he still is a healthy dragon. He isn't lazy like others might be in his position. He only does /fun/ things. That is where we humans come into play.

Dragons have kept good care of us humans. We might not be able to vote, or have our own property, but they need us. Specially they need the intelligent humans. You must know, dragons want to have fun. We can provide them with fun. Real fun.

Dragons have selectively breeded the most intelligent humans for the past 5 generations. For you math lazy people, that's more than 400 years. Only the most adapt, the most intelligent humans survived their selection. They built us - and helped us build - schools, universities, laboratories and more. These have only one function. To make us have the ability to produce psychedelic drugs. Acid in particular. That is their fun. That is our existence. Producing and refining Acid for the pleasure of dragons. Would you want to live in that future? FUCK YEAH DRAGONS!!!!

title: Future, Acid, Dragons. Tell me what you think.

question: Why do the dragons enslave humans?

answer: Dragons need humans to produce acid, which is their main source of fun.

question: How did dragons enslave humans?

answer: They put humans through a process where only the most intelligent humans survive selection.

question: Is there a main goal for the dragons' society?

answer: Dragons like to have fun.

question: Do dragons discipline humans if they aren't productive slaves?

answer: That information can't be found.

question: Who is Draaga?

answer: Draaga is a dragon who has both dragons and humans under his rule.

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: The author proposes a futuristic world where dragons enslave the most intelligent humans to produce and refine Acid for the dragons' enjoyment.


text:
[Linda Vero Ban in 2015] LINDA VERO BAN (; born 1976) is a Hungarian writer, rebbetzen,[1] and Jewish educator[2] who was born in Budapest,[3] where she still lives.

Early life and education

Ban was born in 1976 in Budapest, into a traditional Jewish family. She has been identified as “among the first ones who rebuilt the Jewish life in Budapest as a teenager after the Communist era,”[4] taking a very active part in its revival in Hungary in the 1990s. “You couldn't practice your religion under communism, so it wasn't until after the regime fell that people began trying to recover their identity,” she says. “They don't go to synagogue, but they still want to express their Jewish culture,” she explained to a journalist in 2013.[5]

Linda Ban graduated at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, in the Art History and General Human Studies Department.

Early career

She worked as a _shlicha_ (agent) of the Masorti Olami movement,[6] then spent a year in the scholarship program of the European Institute of Jewish Studies (Paideia)[7] in Stockholm, Sweden.

Family and further work

[Linda with her husband] In 2002 she married Rabbi Tamás Verő and since then she has been working in informal Jewish education and community building at the Frankel Synagogue in Budapest. There she runs the Sunday School and the Family Kabalat Shabat, and in September 2015 founded BBYO Hungary for young people between the ages of 12 and 16.[8][9]

Writing career

In the last decade Ban has written and published 13 books for young families about Jewish traditions and identity.[10] These are the first modern educational Jewish children books published in Hungarian since the Shoah. Some of her books have been translated into English and German,[11] Slovak, French, Russian and Croatian.[12]

Ban's “What Does It Mean To Be Jewish?” was singled out for praise as a Jewish book on the _Huffington Post_, indeed chosen by its blog writer as “Best Jewish Book of 2010.”[13]

Books available in English

-   _What Does It Mean To Be Jewish?_
-   _Hello God! – Interactive Jewish Prayer Book for Children_ [14][15]
-   _Becca's Family Photos – Jewish Life in Budapest_ Becca's Family Photos: Jewish Life in Budapest.

Isaac, Fred // AJL Reviews; May/June 2012, Vol. 2, Issue 2, p. 12

-   _Jewish Community Life in Budapest_ [16]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4] Bee Jewish Books, author page Retrieved 14 November 2017.

[5] “Ancient Fear Rises Anew” by Lisa Abend [www.fthswiki.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Ancient-Fear-Rises-Anew.docx Retrieved 14 November 2017.]

[6]

[7] For the Greek term, see paideia.

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[15] Hello, God: Interactive Jewish Prayer Book for Children. Stein, Marion M. // AJL Reviews; May/June 2013, Vol. 3 Issue 2, p. 8

[16]

title: Linda Vero Ban

question: Who is Linda Vero Ban?

answer: A Hungarian writer and Jewish educator.

question: What has Linda been identified as?

answer: Being amongst the first ones who rebuilt Jewish life in Budapest as a teenager after the communist era.

question: What is Linda Ban's education background?

answer: She graduated at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem in Art History and General Human Studies.

question: Summarize Linda Ban's writing carreer.

answer: Ban has written and published 13 books for young families about Jewish traditions and identity.

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: Linda Ban is a Hungarian writer and Jewish educator. As a teenager in Budapest she has been identified as being one of the first to rebuilt Jewish life after the Communist era. In the last decade, Ban has written and published 13 books for young families about Jewish traditions and identity.


text:
_ACANTHOTEUTHIS_ is a belemnite genus, a squid-like cephalopod with an internal shell from the Late Jurassic Epoch, related to modern coleoids.

_Acanthoteuthis_ belongs to the belemnoid family Belemnotheutidae in which the pointed rostrum at the back of the phragmocone is lacking.

Taxonomy

The genus _Acanthoteuthis_ was founded by R. Wagner and G. Munster for belemnoids, found in the Solnhofen limestone of Bavaria, which have small hooklets on their arms, sometimes associated with more or less complete remains of the animal.[1] The hooklets are typically compressed and may be beveled on either or both margins on one side.

Munster characterized three species, _A. speciosa_, _A. ferussacii_, and _A. lichtensteinii_, chiefly upon the forms of these hooklets. In _A lichtensteinii_ they are smaller than in _A speciosa_ and more circular in transverse section. D'Orbigny united the three under the name _A. ferussacii_ while Wagner regarded _A. speciosa_ as a valid species but saw no essential difference between Munster's _A. ferussacii_ and _A. lichtensteinii_ so united the two under the name _A. ferussacii_.[2]

Characteristics

[_Acanthoteuthis speciosa_] C. G. Crick (1898)[3] described an _Acanthoteuthis_, _A ferussachi_ with four pairs of arms, all eight of which have two rows of hooklets. The arms are of unequal length, the longest pair being almost 85 mm long, probably with 14 or 15 hooklets per row. The shortest arms are 32 mm long with another pair with a length of 38 mm, all four having 9 or 10 hooklets per row. The fourth pair are about 55 mm long with 12 or 13 hooklets per row. The pairs are in no particular physiological order other than that they are assumed to be bilaterally symmetrical. Other references, e.g. Catalogue of the Mollusca in the collection of the British museum, describe _Acanthoteuthis_ as having ten, rather unequal arms, with two rows of hooks. The fifth pair seem to be auxiliary and are comparatively short.

_Acanthoteuthis_ has a distinctive V-shaped ridge on the dorsal side at the back of its internal shell[4] which seems to be analogous to the median keel in the posterior part of the gladius in most recent squids to which the fins are attached. This indicates that Acanthoteuthis also had fins with similar attachment at the posterior end of the animal, and which may have been broadly oval or rhombohedral. The proostracum in front is flat, of considerable width and not likely to have been covered by muscular mantle,[5] which was probably attached to the lateral edges as in recent _Vampyroteuthis_.

Paleoecology and lifestyle

The absence of a counterbalancing rostrum indicates that _Acanthoteuthis_ lived head down in a vertical orientation, like _Spirula_ and _Mastigoteuthis_.[6] and the presence of an ink sac indicates it inhabited the upper 200 m of oceanic waters.

_Acanthoteuthis_ and other belemnotheutids were thought to have been planktonic forms that inhabited the epipelagic and possibly upper mesopelagic zones over the continental shelves and slopes of Mesozoic continental seas.[7]

[1] G.C.Crick et al.On an Example of Acanthoteuthis ferussaci, Munst. from the Lithographic stone of Solenhofen, Bavaria,... Proceedings of the Malacological Socieity,Vol III Part 1,April,1898

[2]

[3]

[4] Rogov M and Bizikov V; New data on Middle Jurassic -Lower Cretaceous Belemnotheutidae of Russia. Their habit and possible mode of life; short papers from International Symposium “Coleoid Cephalopods Through Time” Prague, Sept 2005

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title: Acanthoteuthis

question: What type of species is Acanthoteuthis?

answer: A squid-like cephalopod

question: When was Acanthoteuthis first described?

answer: Possibly 1898, although this is not stated explicitly.

question: Describe the physical appearance of Acanthoteuthis.

answer: It has four pairs of arms, each of which have two rows of hooklets. It also has a V-shaped ridge on the dorsal side at the back of its internal shell, which suggests that it had fins. The proostracum in front is flat.

question: What sort of habitats do Acanthoteuthis live in?

answer: They are thought to have lived in epipelagic and possibly upper mesopelagic zones over the continental shelves and slopes of Mesozoic continental seas.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: Acanthoteuthis is a species of squid-like cephalopod that existed during the Late Jurassic Epoch. It is believed to have been a planktonic form that lived in epipelagic and upper mesopelagic zones over the continental shelves and slopes of Mesozoic continental seas.


text:
The SHERIFF OF STIRLING was historically the office responsible for enforcing law and order in Stirling, Scotland and bringing criminals to justice. Prior to 1748 most sheriffdoms were held on a hereditary basis. From that date, following the Jacobite uprising of 1745, the hereditary sheriffs were replaced by salaried sheriff-deputes, qualified advocates who were members of the Scottish Bar.

Following mergers of the Scottish sheriffdoms the office became the SHERIFF OF STIRLING & DUMBARTON in 1871 [1] and the SHERIFF OF STIRLING, DUMBARTON & CLACKMANNAN in 1881.

The sheriffdom was dissolved in 1975 when the current sheriffdoms of North Strathclyde and Tayside, Central and Fife were created.

Sheriffs of Stirling

-   William Fitz Thorald (c.1130)
-   Dufoter (1153)
-   Gilbert de Stirling (1170)
-   Alexander de Stirling (1189, 1195–1198, 1219)
-   Muireadhach II, Earl of Menteith (1226)
-   John de Stirling (1230)
-   Bernard Fraser (1226-1233)
-   Alexander de Stirling (1235)
-   John de Stirling (1241)
-   Gilbert Fraser (1258)
-   John Lamberton (1265-1266)
-   Patrick de Graham (1288-1289)
-   Andrew Fraser (1291-1293)
-   David Grant (1295-1296)
-   Richard Waldgrave (1296)
-   Alexander Livingstone (1304)
-   William Bisset (1304-1305)
-   Alexander Fraser (1328)
    -   Richard Lachlan - 1328 - Deputy
-   Richard Lachlan (1329)
-   Robert Erskine (1360)
-   Andrew Murray (1367)
-   Thomas Erskine (1367)
-   Walter Oliphant (1368)
-   Thomas, Earl of Mar (1368)
-   Robert de Normanville (1373)
-   John Stewart (1407)
-   John Seton, 2nd Lord Seton (1436)
-   Malcolm Fleming (1470)
    -   Alexander Bruce - 1470 - Deputy
-   Janes Schaw of Sanchie (1473)
-   Alexander Seton (1488)

Sheriffs-Depute of Stirling and Clackmannan (1748)

-   David Walker, 1748–1761 [2]
-   Robert Bruce, 1761–1764 [3]
-   George Cockburn (later Haldane), 1764–1770 [4]
-   Alexander Abercromby, Lord Abercromby, 1770–1780 [5]
-   John Pringle, 1780–1790 [6]
-   William Tait, 1790–1797 [7]
-   David Williamson, 1797–1807

Sheriffs-Depute of Stirling (1807)

-   _1807 - Stirling separated from Clackmannan_
-   David Williamson, 1807–1811 [8]
-   Ranald Macdonald of Staffa, 1811–1838
-   John Shaw Stewart, 1839–1840[9]
-   Robert Handyside, 1840–1853 [10]
-   Charles Baillie, 1853–1858
-   George Moir, 1858–1868 [11]
-   Robert Bogle Blackburn, 1868–1871

Sheriffs of Stirling and Dumbarton (1871)

-   Robert Bogle Blackburn, 1871–1875

Sheriffs of Stirling, Dumbarton and Clackmannan (1881)

-   James Muirhead, 1885–1889[12]
-   Alexander Blair, 1889–1891 [13]
-   John Mckie Lees, 1891–1917 [14][15]
-   James Robert Nicolson Macphail, 1917–1933 [16][17]
-   Sir Archibald Campbell Black, 1933–1937[18] [19] (Sheriff of Lanark, 1937)
-   John Charles Fenton, 1937–1942 [20][21] (Sheriff of the Lothians and Peebles, 1942)
-   Sir Robert Henry Maconochie, 1942–1961 [22][23]
-   Francis Clifford Watt, QC, 1961–1971 [24] [25]
-   Robert Richardson Taylor, 1971–1975 [26][27] (Sheriff Principal of Tayside, Central and Fife, 1975)

-   _In 1975 the sheriffdom was largely merged into the current sheriffdom of Tayside, Central and Fife_.

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title: Sheriff of Stirling

question: What happened between 1745 and 1748?

answer: Following the Jacobite uprising, hereditary sheriffs were replaced by salaried sheriff-deputes, who were members of the Scottish Bar

question: When was the sheriffdom dissolved?

answer: 1975

question: Who was the first recorded Sheriff of Stirling?

answer: William Fitz Thorald

question: Who was the last Sheriff of Stirling?

answer: Robert Richardson Taylor

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: The Sheriff of Stirling was, prior to 1975, the office responsible for enforcing law and order in Stirling, Scotland. It was dissolved when the sheriffdoms of North Strathclyde and Tayside, Central and Fife were created. Prior to 1748, the sheriffdom was a hereditary office, but following the Jacobite uprising, hereditary sheriffs were replaced with salaried sheriff-deputes.


text:
DIOSDADO GONZÁLEZ MARRERO is a Cuban dissident.

He was a member of the _Peace, Democracy and Liberty Party_.[1] He was imprisoned during the Black Spring crackdown on dissidents in 2003,[2][3] and named a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International.[4]

González Marrero's wife Alejandrina García de la Riva reports that she been harassed:[5]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

title: Diosdado González Marrero

question: Where is Diosdado Gonzalez Marrero from?

answer: Cuba.

question: When was he imprisoned?

answer: 2003.

question: What did Amnesty International name him?

answer: A prisoner of conscience.

question: What is his wife's name?

answer: Alejandrina García de la Riva.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: Diosdado González Marrerois a Cuban dissident who was a member of the Peace, Democracy and Liberty Party. He was imprisoned during the Black Spring crackdown on dissidents in 2003 and named a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International.


text:
UPPER NENE VALLEY GRAVEL PITS is a 1,382.4 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in a chain of flooded gravel pits along 35 kilometres of the valley of the River Nene between Northampton and Thorpe Waterville (east of Kettering) in Northamptonshire.[1][2][3] It is a Ramsar wetland site of international importance,[4] a Special Protection Area under the European Communities Birds Directive[5] and part of the Nene Valley Nature Improvement Area. It is also part of the River Nene Regional Park.[6] Two areas are managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire, Summer Leys and Titchmarsh Nature Reserve.[7][8]

This site is described by Natural England as “a nationally important site for its breeding bird assemblage of lowland open waters and their margins, wintering waterbird species, an assemblage of over 20,000 waterbirds in the non-breeding season and a rare example of wet floodplain woodland.” The diverse habitats include, marsh, reedswamp, rough grassland, scrub, wet ditches, woodland and rush pasture. There are at least 21 breeding bird species, including mute swans, tufted ducks, little grebes, great crested grebes, little ringed plovers and redshanks.[9]

There is access to some parts of the site such as Summer Leys.

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title: Upper Nene Valley Gravel Pits

question: Where is Nene Valley located?

answer: Between Northampton and Thorpe Waterville in Northamptonshire

question: What caused the formation of the Upper Nene Valley Gravel Pits?

answer: That information can't be found.

question: Why is the site considered important?

answer: It is important for its breeding bird assemblage of lowland open waters and their margins, wintering waterbird species, an assemblage of over 20,000 waterbirds in the non-breeding season and a rare example of wet floodplain woodland.

question: List the various habitats of the Upper Nene Valley Gravel Pits.

answer: The habitats include: marsh, reedswamp, rough grassland, scrub, wet ditches, woodland, and rush pasture.

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: Upper Nene Valley Gravel Pits is a chain of flooded gravel pits in Northamptonshire. The site contains a variety of habitats and is notable for its breeding bird assemblage; it is home to at least 21 breeding bird species. It is a Site of Special Scientific Interest.


text:
it means you have all low a's.

Answer

You may have equal proportion of A's and B's. 3.5 is considered to be good.

3.5 is a great GPA that means you have all a's and b's

In other words, it's a A- or B+. That makes more sense to me.

Answer

If you do not count honors, 3.5 is either A- or B+. Some schools specify what a 3.5 is. In terms of grade, 3.5 is a great GPA.

question: What is a great GPA?

answer: 3.5 GPA

question: What does a 3.5 GPA mean?

answer: means you have all a's and b's

question: If you do not count honors, what is a 3.5?

answer: Either A- or B+

question: What do some schools specify?

answer: They specify what a 3.5 is

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: An explanation to what a 3.5 GPA is.


text:
     It's that time again. It's 6:45 pm on a Tuesday evening. Late September. The most beautiful of the months. It's fascinating how the death of leaves, slowly being
 discolored then dwindling helplessly onto the fine edges of the branches, could be such a remarkable view. Every leaf is unique in its own manner, just as every human being is.
     I approach the two-story brick building from the street in front of it where I parked my car. Although this building has two-stories, it comes no more than 9 feet above the sidewalk. The entrance was followed by a set of seven steps declining to the basement door, the main entrance. The third step from the top has a crack just off to the right of the center, parting the step into two uneven slabs of concrete. I counted them when I came down the stairs for the first time, the second time, and every time following that.
     I proceed down the hall about fifteen feet and enter the door on my left. There, a room with twelve chairs are placed, facing inwards to form a circle. The walls were all white, with only two windows, which didn't allow much sunlight to come in, especially due to the time the sun disappears for the day here in Maryland.
     When I enter the circle, a wave of tension crashes over me. I know nobody in the room personally, only from seeing them in their same spots in this circle previously.
     "Good evening," peeps a woman's voice, "and welcome to our Tuesday night meeting! All familiar faces I see. Thomas, Andrew, Jared. But, I would like to start off with a name that has yet to truly open up to us."
     Shit. That's me. Right? No. We haven't heard from Derrick yet. Please Derrick. Stand up for me.
     "Gregory, would you like to start off our gathering this evening?"
     No. I come here to feel like I have something in common with everyone else. I do now. That's it. Goodbye. But I can't just walk away...
     Against every willing muscle, I rise.
     "Hello, everybody..." I said as relaxed as possible, but still nowhere near the definition of "relaxed".
     "Good evening, Greg," says the room, as well as the woman in the burgundy cardigan, sitting with ideal posture in the chair three seats to my right out of twelve chairs. That cardigan draped just past her hips when she stood, but halfway down the legs of the chair when she sat. A peaceful woman, only in her late 20's, continues with, "would you like to start by letting everyone know your name?"
     Maybe it isn't burgundy. Possibly a maroon. It's dark enough to remind me of autumn and the colors of the oak leaves that fell in my front lawn, but not too dark. Most of the leaves weren't quite as deep of a red as she wore.
     I'm getting very off topic here.
     "Gregory." I finally respond after a mere two seconds of a pause between her question and my answer. But a pause that ling in a room this quiet and empty feels like you could watch Titanic once or twice. I don't like the name Gregory, but that was the first thing to explode from my mouth since entering the circles of chairs on the open room I sat in. I spoke curtly, but nervously, as if embarassed to answer incorrectly.
     "My name", gulp, "is Greg Timsworth," I added to my too short of an answer, saying Greg so people don't assume I prefer "Gregory". Another pause followed my extended response before the woman spoke her couple of sentences.
     "Well, it's great to see you here tonight, Greg. Would you like to tell us why you're here?" she asked me enthusiastically and with a caring tone. She was soft-spoken, but it was as if she were in the wrong meeting. Of course she knew. How didn't she? Everybody in this room was here for one reason.
     Weakly and defeated, I opened up. Finally. I can speak of myself. What dilemma I had to overcome every day of my life. Every aspect of living was different than everyone else except for the ten others in this room that underwent the same treatments as I have. All of the doctors and hospitals and medication and tests and surgeries. I have been attending this meeting for 7 sessions, just sitting idly, listening and observing all other answers that other deform-ees gave the woman in the cardigan. They knew my name because of the nametag I wore. Everything else about me was only assumed. I was nobody. Now I'm somebody. I'm Greg Timsworth, owner of a 1991 Ford Probe that runs not as well as I had originally hoped it would've when I bought it for $3,000 on craigslist. I'm the guy that owns a home with a cat that just gave birth to a litter of 4 other kittens. I am Greg Timsworth,  and now I am a somebody.
     I looked the woman with the cardigan in her eyes. Only her. Only her soft brown eyes to match her soft, long brown hair. I stood. With my heart beating faster, I can almost feel the release of all of my pented up emotions. Everything from work, from school, from life as a while. Finally. I scream, louder than ever before, almost in tears.
     "I am Greg Timsworth, and I have no penis!"
     "This is Alcoholics Anonymous..."

title: [RF] - The Rise and Fall of Gregory Timsworth - Part One

question: Summarize the twist ending.

answer: Greg believes that he is at a support group for people with deformities. He announces that his name is Greg Timsworth and he has no penis. The woman in the cardigan then informs him that this is Alcoholic Anonymous.

question: Summarize everything relating to autumn.

answer: The story takes place during late September, which Greg calls the most beautiful of the months. He is fascinated by the death of the leaves, which are slowly discolored and dwindling on the fine edges of the branches. At the AA meeting, the woman's cardigan reminds Greg of the colors of the oak leaves the fell on his front lawn.

question: What does the story say about Greg's career?


text:
BRUCE EDWARD DAVIS, II (born September 2, 1985) is a former American football linebacker and defensive end. He played college football at UCLA And was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the third round (88th overall) of the 2008 NFL Draft. In his rookie season, he helped the Steelers defeat the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII.

Davis was also a member of the Oakland Raiders, and is the son of former NFL offensive tackle Bruce Davis, Sr.

Early years

Davis attended Clear Creek High School in League City, Texas. As a junior, he made 32 tackles, including eight sacks. He earned All-Greater Houston area and All-League honors after he recorded 65 tackles (50 solo), 12 quarterback sacks and 17 tackles for loss as a senior.

College career

At the University of California, Los Angeles, Davis played defensive end. He redshirted his freshman year in 2003. In 2004, he played in all 12 games, starting the first two contests, at defensive end. He had 17 tackles and 2.5 sacks. In 2005 Davis moved to outside linebacker from defensive end during the spring and played both positions early in the season before moving back to end due to injuries on the team. He appeared in all 12 games and his 28 tackles for the season and was tied for third on the team with two sacks and was sixth with six tackles for losses. As a junior in 2006, he was named first-team All-American by CollegeFootballNews.com and SI.com and he was selected second team All-Pacific-10 Conference. On the year, Davis made 47 tackles, with 12.5 sacks and 17.5 tackles for loss. In 2007, he was a Second-team All-American choice by The NFL Draft Report and the Walter Camp Foundation and was first-team All-Pac-10 Conference. He was a semifinalist for the Bednarik Award and was on the watch lists for the Lott, Nagurski, Lombardi and Hendriks Awards. He started all 13 games at right defensive end, ranking tied for ninth in the nation and tied for first in the league with 12 sacks. He ranked sixth in the Pac-10 with 15.5 stops for losses. On the year he recorded 45 tackles (32 solos) caused two fumbles and recovered another and deflected nine passes and defensed 3 others.

Davis ranks second in school history with 29 quarterback sacks, topped only by Dave Ball’s 30.5 (2000–03). His 42.5 stops for losses rank third in school annals behind Ball (43.5) and Carnell Lake (45.5, 1985–88).

Professional career

Pre-draft

Pittsburgh Steelers

Davis was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the third round (88th overall) of the 2008 NFL Draft.[1] After being drafted by the Steelers, he was converted to outside linebacker in the Steelers' 3-4 defense, though faced difficulty in the transition, as he was inactive for most of his rookie season. He was waived on September 4, 2009.[2]

New England Patriots

Davis was signed to the New England Patriots practice squad on October 7, 2009.[3] After spending the remainder of the season on the practice squad, he was re-signed to a future contract on January 13, 2010.[4] The Patriots waived Davis on May 27, 2010.[5]

Denver Broncos

Davis was claimed off waivers by the Denver Broncos on June 1, 2010.[6] He was waived on July 27.[7]

San Francisco 49ers

Davis was signed by the San Francisco 49ers on August 10, 2010.[8] On September 3, 2010, Davis was cut from the 53-player roster that would go on to play regular season games.[9] The 49ers then re-signed him to their practice squad on September 5, 2010;[10] he was released from his contract nine days later.[11] He was re-signed to the practice squad on September 22.

Oakland Raiders

On October 5, 2010, the Oakland Raiders signed Davis to their active roster to help bolster the team's injury-depleted linebacker corps.[12] He was waived a year later on October 13, 2011.[13]

Cincinnati Bengals

On November 23, 2011 the Cincinnati Bengals signed Davis to their practice squad.[14]

Second Stint With the 49ers

On January 3, 2012, the San Francisco 49ers signed Davis to their practice squad.[15]

Hamilton Tiger-Cats

On August 4, 2012, Davis was signed by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and assigned to their practice squad.[16] On August 16, he was promoted to the active roster and started his first career game vs. Winnipeg.

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title: Bruce Davis (linebacker)

question: Describe some interesting facts about Davis's playing career in college.

answer: Davis started out by playing the defensive end at University of California, Los Angeles. In his second year there, he played in all 12 games. When he was a junior, he was named first-team All American by CollegeFootballNews.com and SI.com. Davis became a semifinalist for the Bednarik Award and was put on the watchlists for the Lott, Nagurski, Lombardi and Hendriks Awards.

question: Describe Davis's professional career.

answer: Davis was initially drafted by the Pittsburg Steelers. He was converted to the outside linebacker in the Steelers" 3-4 defense. Davis was then signed to the New England Patriots. Once waived from the Patriots, Davis went to the Denver Broncos, then to the Oakland Raiders, then to the Cincinnati Bengals, to the 49ers, and finally ended with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

question: Which professional football team did Davis enjoy playing for the most in his career?


text:
JOHN HENRY CONNELL (24 May 1860–9 December 1952) was an Australian hotelier and patron of the arts.[1]

Connell was born in East Collingwood, Melbourne, son of William Henry Connell of Dublin, and Mary Connell (née Ingall) of London. As a young man, he worked at the Prince’s Bridge Hotel, owned by Henry Figsby Young and Thomas Joshua Jackson (Jackson was married to Connell's aunt, Sarah, widow of Michael Cavanagh). The hotel was widely known as 'Young and Jackson's'[2] and was famous for its collection of Victorian paintings and South Sea Island weapons lined the walls of the Prince’s Bridge Hotel. In 1900, he took over the lease of the Railway Hotel in Elizabeth Street.

In 1888 he married Emily Baker (1866–1913), who has been given credit for cultivating his taste in art.[3] In September 1913, after Emily’s death, he married Ellen (‘Nellie’) Harris (1870–1950), the widow of his cousin, James Cavanagh.

He was a major benefactor to the National Gallery of Victoria, donating a major collection of furniture, decorative arts, and pictures in 1914, described as having 'helped educate and form the taste of a whole generation of Melburnians'.[4] Connell Place in the Canberra suburb of Conder is named in his honour. [5]

His sister Winifred Herbert was the mother of the botanist Desmond Herbert.

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title: John Henry Connell

question: Who was John Henry Connell?

answer: John Henry Connell was an Australian hotelier and patron of the arts.

question: Who did cultivate Connell's taste in art?

answer: Connell's first wife Emily Baker cultivated his taste in art.

question: What did Connel donate to the National Gallery of Victoria?

answer: Connel donated to the National Gallery of Victoria a major collection of furniture, decorative arts, and pictures.

question: Who was Connel's sister?

answer: Connel's sister was the mother of the botanist Desmond Herbert.

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: John Henry Connell, an Australian hotelier and patron of the arts from Melburn, donated a major collection of furniture, decorative arts, and pictures to the National Gallery of Victoria. He helped educate and form the taste of a whole generation of Melburnians.


text:
The VELA SUPERCLUSTER[1] (VELA SCL, VSCL) is a massive galactic supercluster about 265.5 megaparsecs (870 million light-years)[2] away within the vicinity of the Zone of Avoidance, centered on the constellation Vela. It is one of the largest structures found in the universe; covering about 25 × 20 degrees of the sky. It consists of two walls: a broad main wall and a secondary merging wall. The combined dimensions of the walls are 115 km/s Mpc on the major dimensions and 90 km/s Mpc on the minor ones, which corresponds to about 385 million and 300 million light years, respectively. It is about 1,000 times the mass of the Milky Way galaxy, which corresponds to a mass of . About 20 initial galaxy clusters have been identified spectroscopically.[3]

Supercluster

The supercluster's discovery has been reported late December 2016 by Kraan-Korteweg _et al._ through an analysis of the redshifts of 4 500 galaxies from the combined data of the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey which uses the AAOmega fiber optics from the Anglo-Australian Observatory (AAO), and the South African Large Telescope (SALT).[4]

The supercluster is located in a region obstructed by the view of the Milky Way's disc due to our position inside the disc. This region is known colloquially as the “Zone of Avoidance”. Hence, the supercluster can only be studied at longer wavelengths (infrared, microwave, radio) which can pass through the gases and dust of the Milky Way disc.

The supercluster is close to the location where the Milky Way, and hence the Solar System, is currently moving with respect to the cosmic microwave background, a phenomenon known as the dark flow. This movement was found to be significant relative to the normal Hubble flow of the galaxies caused by the metric expansion of space. Although the Planck spacecraft showed no evidence for this flow, propositions to explain this bulk movement includes the influence of the nearby Shapley Supercluster and the Great Attractor at the center of the Laniakea Supercluster. Vela Supercluster is estimated to contribute at least 50 km/s (180 000 km/hr) of this bulk movement.[5]

The paper reporting the discovery describes the supercluster as "_Terra Incognita_ (Latin “unknown land”), an unknown great continent in the nearby Universe whose outline we are only beginning to discern."[6] More comprehensive surveys in the future (i.e. the Taipan Galaxy Survey) are expected to provide additional data about the supercluster.

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title: Vela Supercluster

question: What is the Vela Supercluster?

answer: A massive galactic supercluster.

question: Where is the Vela Supercluster?

answer: About 265.5 megaparsecs away within the Zone of Avoidance, centered on the constellation Vela.

question: When was the Vela Supercluster discovered?

answer: December 2016.

question: Who reported its discovery?

answer: Kraan-Korteweg et al.

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: This article is about the Vela Supercluster, a galactic supercluster near the constellation Vela.


text:
 A bird’s eye view of gentrification and resilience in Saint-Henri, Montreal. NOW STREAMING ON CBC GEM
[]
Trouble viewing outside of Canada? See YouTube link below.
Watch _Algo, Polly & Turcot_ on YouTube.

_Two resilient peregrine falcons make their home amidst the chaos of urban development and gentrification in Saint-Henri, a Montreal borough in the midst of massive change._

_Algo, Polly & Turcot_ is a fable about two peregrine falcons.

Algo and Polly have lived in Saint-Henri, a borough of Montreal, for five years. They live beneath the Turcot interchange, a massive highway structure that stands in the heart of Saint-Henri.

But the Turcot is set to be demolished, then reconstructed. The steamroller of urban development will inevitably squeeze the two peregrines out of Saint-Henri — and they’re not the only ones.

Algo and Polly’s story echoes the tale of some of the featherless residents of St. Henri. In the past, this was a buzzing, working-class neighbourhood, home to factory workers and their large families.

“When I started working, somebody said, ‘Oh you're from Saint-Henri. That's the slums,’” remembers one resident. Legendary comedian Yvon Deschamps, also originally from the neighbourhood, remarks, "We were poor in Saint-Henri, but we didn't know it."

Today, the neighbourhood of Deschamps’ youth is almost unrecognizable. “I don't have any friends that went to school with me that are still in the area. No, nobody,” says another resident.

Those who did stay are now surrounded by a new urban landscape: trendy barber shops and wine bars, cold pressed juice shops and luxury apartments. _Algo, Polly & Turcot_ documents the rapid transformation of this working-class enclave into what it is today — an overpriced, posh hub for a new class of hipsters and urban professionals.

Flying above this changing cityscape are Algo and Polly, who are in just-as-precarious a position as these older human residents. As the Turcot interchange is torn down, piece by piece, their unavoidable fate closes in on them. On multiple occasions, the Ministry of Transportation has installed nesting boxes for the falcons in other locations, but Algo and Polly refuse to move. They’re making do with what’s left, moving into the last little hole that construction workers haven’t yet covered.

“I can’t do anything about it. Unless I move out,” a long-time Saint-Henri resident says. But Algo and Polly haven’t left. Against the cacophony of construction, against their forced expropriation, against all odds — Algo and Polly have remained.  Soaring above decaying buildings and luxury condos alike, they are the witnesses — and the symbols — of a city in flux.

question: When was the article written?

answer: That information can't be found

question: Describe Saint-Henri.

answer: It is a borough in Montreal, Canada which is currently undergoing gentrification. Years ago, it was a working-class neighborhood, which some people called the slums.

question: Who are Algo and Polly?

answer: A pair of peregrine falcons who live in Saint-Henri beneath the Turcot interchange

question: What is the Turcot interchange?

answer: A massive (apparently-elevated) highway structure in the center of Saint-Henri

question: Write a ~2 sentence summary.

answer: The Montreal borough of Saint-Henri is currently undergoing large-scale gentrification which has pushed many residents out. Among those who have not yet left is a pair of peregrine falcons, Algo and Polly, who live beneath the Turcot interchange, which is in the process of being demolished.


text:
MARC MAURICE ENFROY (born 1965) is an American composer, songwriter and producer who describes his music as “cinematic piano” due to its score-like, piano-driven nature.[1] Born into a musical family, he is the grandson of radio entertainer and Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee Bradley Kincaid, a.k.a. “The Kentucky Mountain Boy.” Enfroy has released several studio albums[2] and is best known for his fifth album, “Crossroads”, which peaked at number 2 on the _Billboard_ New Age Albums Chart in August 2016 [3] and was the fourth best-selling iTunes album in Metro Detroit for the week of August 4, 2016[4].

His debut release, _Unbounded_, earned the Zone Music Reporter Lifestyle Music Award for Best Neo-Classical Album of the Year in 2008.[5]

Discography

Studio albums

-   2008 – “Unbounded”
-   2009 – “Awakening” (also released as “Arising” on MG Music label)
-   2011 – “Unconditional”
-   2012 - “Dreams of the Forest”
-   2016 - “Crossroads”
-   2019 - “Surrounded”

Singles

-   2010 – “Acceptance”
-   2016 - “Your Silence is a Razor (feat. Aili Laine)”
-   2016 - “Fading White (feat. Lila Ives)”
-   2016 - “Shed my Skin (feat. Lila Ives)”
-   2019 - “Aotearoa”
-   2019 - “Land of Fire and Ice”
-   2019 - “Kilkenny Rain”
-   2019 - “Flight of the Monarch”
-   2019 - “Lavande de Provence”
-   2020 - “Taken Away (Reprise)”
-   2020 - “Moonlit Dreams Reprise”

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title: Marc Enfroy

question: Who is Marc Enfroy?

answer: Marc Maurice Engroy is an American composer, songwriter, and producer who has released works from 2008 to 2020. One of his songs has made to number 2 on the Billboard and he has also won the Zone Music Reporter Lifestyle Music Award for Best Neo-Classical Album of the Year in 2008.

question: How active was Enfroy in the music industry?

answer: His discorgraphy shows that the released several works from 2008 to 2012, then stopped for a while before releasing a new work in 2016, and lastly, he released new content in 2019 and 2020.

question: What kind of music does Enfroy create?

answer: His music is described as 'cinematic piano' for being score-like, piano-driven pieces.

question: How did Enfroy get started with music?

answer: He was born into a family who loved music -his grandfather is a songwriter, Bradley Kincaid.

question: Write a ~0 sentence summary.


text:
Click, clack. Click, clack. The sounds of metal against metal reverberated through the entire ship as the captain walked towards the guard rail on the starboard side. Every other step the captains prosthetic leg stuck the ships metal surface and rang out. From just below the knee a metal contraption attached to his leg. Hinges and blots dotted the device and ever few steps a release valve opened and steam hissed out. The device was solid bronze and extremely heavy and as such, it required a lot of strength to take a single step, much less walk across the ship.

He continued his difficult trek until he reached the railing. Leaning against it he looked over to his right and saw one of his passengers staring out across the night sky. She stood there silent, not even noticing the captains presence, completely enthralled by the view in front of her.

“Its beautiful isn’t it?” the captain said, breaking the silence. The female passenger could only manage a nod and did so without breaking eye contact with the view.

The captain gave a small chuckle.

 “I used to be just like you, the first time I saw all of this” he motioned with his arm, swinging it about.

Hundreds of feet below them the giant city spread out in every direction, seemingly never ending. The snow capped mountains that sat in the center of the city shined as the sun just barely peaked over the tip of the highest peak. The setting sun cast enough light to see the city as it feel asleep. And just enough darkness to see the stars coming to life. Their light brightening the night sky.

“When I first saw it I knew that I would never be able to go back. And I haven’t, I have called this ship home ever since.” the captain said after a few moments of silence.

The female passenger pointed down to the ships running through the rivers that cut through the city. and spoke for the first time

“They don’t even know what they are missing.” she said almost in shock.

“And that is the way of things, you never really know what you are missing until you have held it in your hands and you wonder were has it been your entire life.” The captain sighed.

“I have meet so many river boat captains who say that airship travel is impractical and unorthodox and unsafe. They neglected to mention it is beautiful.”

“The airship is a relatively new invention, compared to boats. New is scary, and new is confusing. They say that only the foolish mess with the scary and confusing.” he gave a quick laugh “And as such, I am a fool among fools.”

The passenger looked at the captain and asked him.

“How did you first come to fly on this ship?” she asked.

“Ah.” he sighed “Now there is a story. Have you ever heard of Jeremiah the Mad?” the captain say the lack of recognition on the passengers face and continued. “I assumed as much, he was way before your time. Anyways, Jeremiah was a captain like I am myself on board a very similar vessel such as this one. Only he was not a captain of a passenger vessel, he was a thief and a murder and was greatly feared through out the water district.” the captain paused for a moment and took a deep breath.

“I suppose you can see were this story is going, my family owned a shipping company. The Eastern Trading Company as it was called back then. My family has just commissioned the build of a new line of passenger ships and the first one was ready for its maiden voyage.” the captain stopped once again and leaned against the railing, his mechanic leg hissing.

“My father thought is was a good idea if my family and I were on board the ship for its voyage. The first night of the voyage the ship was attacked and boarded by Jeremiah the Mad and his crew. We fought back and they killed my family. I lost my leg.” He raised his mechanic leg as he said this, then continued his story.

“I was twelve years old.” he said quietly. The passenger next to him stood staring with her eyes wide open.

“Oh my god I am so sorry!” she exclaimed. The captain gave a small smile.

“The past is the past, no use feeling sorry for what already happened” he said. The passenger stood silent, not
saying a word. The captain then turned and started to limp away. Click, clack. Click,  clack. As he walked away the passenger realized he never answered her question.

“wait!” she yelled “you never answered, how did you come to fly on this ship?”

The captain stopped and turned around to face her.

“But I did tell you, you are standing on the ship that used to belong to Jeremiah the Mad.” he said.

“What?” she said in shock. “how did you get his ship?”

“That is a story for another time.” he answered. He turned and continued to walk away, leaving her in absolute shock. As he walked away he spoke over his shoulder.

“Best be getting under shelter, a storm is picking up” he said as he disappeared under the deck.

The passenger just stood in shock watching the captain disappear. She turned and faced the guard rail and ran her hand over it, whipping dust off it. Something caught her eye. Looking down she could faintly see a symbol scathed into the railing. It read.

J

title: The Airship (first story)

question: What did catch the eye of the passenger?

answer: The view of the city from above.

question: What was the captain's story about?

answer: It was about the time when he was aboard an airship that got raided by Jeremiah the Mad who killed his parents as a twelve-year-old, and he lost his leg.

question: Why is the passenger on the airship?

answer: An explicit reason isn't mentioned. She's just going from A to B.

question: Are there other passengers on the ship?

answer: Yes, they are briefly mentioned.

question: Write a ~6 sentence summary.

answer: A passenger aboard the airship is fascinated by the view from above. Seeing her gaze, the captain relates, saying after the first time he saw that sight he didn't want to land again and didn't. She asks how she came to fly the airship. He then tells her about the time when he was twelve and the pirate Jeremiah the Mad boarded their airship, killing his parents and costing him a leg. He leaves her perplexed, mentioning the ship is Jeremiah's, but not answering her question of how he got it. He warns her about an approaching storm before disappearing.


text:
First things first- I've never seen The Birds. This story is influenced solely by the final scenes within Stephen King's *The Dark Half*. If you have read it, I hope you appreciate my take/twist on it. If you haven't, enjoy anyway.

...

The crows outside his window grew in number every night. He first noticed them with the arrival of what they called the “storm of the century.” Exaggeration or not, it certainly was a powerful storm by anyone’s standards. He, as he always was during these kinds of events, was sitting by his window watching the lightning dance and leap across the glowing sky. Storms had caught his love early in life. He had regularly stood by his front door with his father searching for signs of trouble in the sky while the rest of his family sought shelter in the closet. That’s what confused him most: The skies themselves took the opportunity to communicate with the ground below; why ignore them? They were destructive, yes, but they were beautiful.

This destructive beauty was all around him: The winds swept up a miniature twister of dead leaves, whipped the rain to nearly horizontal angles, shook the trees until they cried out in protest, and then shook them some more. He thought he even heard Ms. Lear’s old oak succumb to the stress, though he couldn’t be sure over the explosions of thunder.

The intensity of the storm almost made it seem calmer than it actually was. The glimpses of the outside world illuminated by the flashes of lightning were more frequent than not; it was almost as if it was midday and there were flashes of nighttime instead.

Caught in this light was a gnarled dead tree. Its bark was long gone; its leaves he’d never seen. He almost imagined that, with them, its branches had been like ragged hands, grasping at whatever ventured near them, waving to people in the breeze. Perhaps it used to walk the Earth, finally settling down here to wither away and die. That tree always bothered him; he didn’t exactly know why. It wasn’t like he’d ever had reason to distrust it, that is, if one could call what he felt toward it distrust. All that it’d ever really done was stand there, gently swaying, branches slowly tracing their fingers through the air. Nevertheless, he’d done his best to avoid going near it whenever possible.

The lightning seemed to have begun to die down. The lapses into darkness between the strikes became longer, but, as if to reaffirm its might, a bolt with the brightness of a star’s filament of flame suddenly lit up the sky. He slammed his eyelids shut yet the light burned through. He summoned the strength to open them no more than a hair’s breadth and, his face contorted in the light’s overwhelming intensity, collapsed to the floor with his face buried between his knees when the blast of thunder came. His house shook from the force: photos crashed off their spots on the wall and his collection of odds and ends he’d picked up over the years jumped off its resting place on his desk onto the floor as if in search of shelter. He feared his roof would collapse: luckily, it held. Whoever said that it was the lightning to fear, not the thunder, obviously never experienced such an explosion. Instinctive fear and deep respect reverberated through him.

After the last echoes passed, he slowly raised his head and focused his eyes back out the window onto the grey tree. What he saw there on one of the spindly branches stunned him more than the storm did. A lone crow sat there, its eyes met with his. Its gaze never wavered; it seemed completely oblivious to the tempest around it even as the branch it was perched on shook violently. He sat there staring for what felt like eons. He felt powerless to break his gaze until, without warning, the bird opened its beak (he didn’t know whether or not it cawed; he could hardly hear anything but the sound of the deluge bombarding the ground) and, with a sudden leap, took flight and disappeared in another flash of lightning. Equally without warning, a wave of lightheadedness overcame him and he toppled over.

---

The rain had yet to drain out of the yard by the next evening. Leaves and other debris floated lifelessly on the unnaturally still water, giving them the appearance of resting upon giant mirrors. The sky was a dead grey and still; the winds had ceased completely. A dense fog carpeted the ground: He could hardly see beyond what he guessed to be thirty feet. The dead tree was just within the reach of this fog; it was the only thing assuring him that the ground still existed below the mist.

He was leaned back in his recliner, *The Dark Half* in hand. Thad Beaumont and Alexis Machine were about to face off; the battle between good and evil was nigh. Shame I don’t have any sparrows on hand, he thought with a slight chuckle. He was about to flip pages when the sound of rustling feathers broke the silence. A feeling not unlike a trickle of cold water inched its way up his spine as he slowly closed his book. Setting it down, he rose, head slightly cocked, and approached his window. Outside, sitting in the tree’s open hands, were crows. Nineteen crows, all perched on the dead tree’s limbs, all facing directly at him. They shuffled their feet, their wings, but not an eye moved from him. He knew not the purpose of their gathering and was highly unnerved; he dared not move but, betraying his will, blinked once. As if the spell was broken, one of the birds on the tree’s left let out a cry. The rest of the group silently took flight and disappeared into the low clouds. He watched them quickly disappear into the fog. It was as if they vanished: One second they were churning up the air, the next it was as if they were never there.

He hoped never to see them again, that this was their last visit to him.

---

It wasn't.

---

title: The Murder - First shot at creative writing (Little longer, split it up)

question: What happens with the arrival of the crows?

answer: The crows begin appearing the night of the "storm of the century."

question: Describe the main character?

answer: He is unnamed. He has always loved storms; they are destructive, but beautiful.

question: Describe the importance of the dead tree.

answer: During the storm the dead tree catches his attention. The tree always bothered him; he distrusts it, and avoids it. During the storm, a crow appears on one of its branches. The crow stares at him, seemingly unaware of the storm thundering around it. The man feels powerless to break the stare. The crow opens its beak and then takes flight disappearing. Then, the man feels lightheaded and falls over.

question: What are the emotions of the main character?

answer: He is excited by the storm, but he is unnerved by the appearance of the crows.

question: Write a ~13 sentence summary.

answer: The crows begin appearing the night of the "storm of the century." The main character has always loved storms; they are destructive, but beautiful. He sits by the window watching the lightning, rain, and wind. The dead tree, outside of his window, catches his attention. The tree has always bothered him; he distrusts it, and avoids it. He sees a crow sitting on one of its branches. The crow stares at him, seemingly unaware of the storm thundering around it. The man feels powerless to break the stare. The crow opens its beak and then takes flight disappearing. Then, the man feels lightheaded and falls over. The next morning after the storm, the yard is covered in water and a dense fog. Nineteen crows sit in the dead tree watching him; it unnerved him. One bird lets out a cry and all of the birds leave, but they will return.


text:
Nellis Air Force Bombing and Gunnery Range|the 1956–70 radar site|Las Vegas Air Force Station}} NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE (“NELLIS” colloq.) is a United States Air Force installation in southern Nevada with military schools and more squadrons than any other USAF base. Nellis hosts air combat exercises such as Exercise Red Flag and close air support exercises such as Green Flag-West flown in “Military Operations Area (MOA) airspace”, associated with the nearby Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR). The base also has the Combined Air and Space Operations Center-Nellis.

History

1st Lt William Nellis}} After World War I, Nevada and other western inland states were surveyed by Capt. Lowell H. Smith and Sgt. William B. Whitefield for landing sites, and by “mid-1925 the Air Service possessed information on nearly thirty-five hundred landing places, including more than twenty-eight hundred emergency landing areas, in the United States.”[1] The 1929 airfield (dirt runway, water well, and small operations shack) north of Las Vegas—operated by the 1925 Western Air Express for Contract Air Mail (CAM) Route #4, LA-to-SLC—was used by the Army Air Corps in the 1930s for training flights (the 'WA' aircraft tailcodes reflect Western Air Express). After the Invasion of Poland in 1939, the “western site board” had located a southern Nevada area “near Tonopah, Nev” by April 1940 for a military range, and in October 1940, Air Corps Major David Schlatter surveyed the southwest United States for a military airfield. “The 60 × 90 mile area at Tonopah was transferred to the War Department on 29 October 1940” by Executive Order 8578.[2]

McCarran Field

the 1942 “Alamo Airport” south of Las Vegas and named for Senator McCarran in 1948}} Renamed to MCCARRAN FIELD in the mid-1930s, there were “difficulties in securing the use” of the airfield north of Las Vegas for a Nevada World War II Army Airfield.[3] McCarran Field was bought on 2 January 1941 by the City of Las Vegas, was leased to the Army on 5 January, and was “signed over” to the Quartermaster Corps on 25 January—Army construction began in March 1941. The city's Federal Building became the May 1941 location of the 79th Air Base Group detachment (5 staff officers commanded by Lt. Col. Martinus Stenseth), and a month later 5 administrative NCOs plus other support personnel arrived.[4] WPA barracks in Las Vegas were used for enlisted men, and the motor pool with 6 vintage trucks and a semi-trailer was next to the WPA barracks. Vehicle parts were from local service stations and gasoline and oil from the Civilian Conservation Corps (the Block 16 brothels in Las Vegas were closed.)[5] Permanent construction for barracks to house 3,000 people began in mid-1941, and by 7 December, 10 AT-6 Texan advanced flight trainers and 17 Martin B-10 bombers were at the airfield.

Las Vegas Army Airfield

[The Las Vegas Army Airfield had 3 runways in 1942, the year Tonopah Army Airfield opened in August (the Tonopah Bombing Range had been divided in 1941 into the Tonopah and Las Vegas General Ranges.) ]LAS VEGAS ARMY AIRFIELD was both activated and began flying training on 20 December 1941. Gunnery training began in January 1942, with guntruck platforms being used in January and February..[6] Many pieces of the destroyed aerial drone targets litter the hillside north of the gunnery range, and can be seen in town when the sun reflects off of them.

The first B-17 Flying Fortresses arrived in 1942 and allowed training of 600 gunnery students and 215 co-pilots from the field every five weeks at the height of the war. More than 45,000 B-17 gunners were trained; the USAAF training movie _The Rear Gunner_ was filmed at the airfield in 1943.[7] The 82d Flying Training Wing (Flexible Gunnery) was activated at the base as one of ten Army Air Forces Flying Training Command wings on 23 August 1943. By 1944, gunnery students utilized B-17, B-24 Liberator and B-40 Flying Fortress gunship aircraft (for example by firing at aircraft-towed targets).

In March 1945, the base switched to B-29 gunnery training which included the manipulation trainer on the ground with camera guns. The subsequent population peaked with nearly 11,000 officers and enlisted personnel including more than 4,700 students. Flexible gunnery training ended in September 1945, and the base became a demobilization center for soldiers' separation physicals and final pay. A course of navigator, bombardier, and radar operator training planned for LVAAF was instead begun at Mather Army Airfield in June 1946. AAF Training Command closed LVAAF which went on caretaker status 28 August 1946 (“officially deactivated in January 1947”). During the planning for a separate air force, the Las Vegas AAF was reactivated “30 Aug 47 as a subinstallation of Mather”, and it transferred to the USAF after the branch was created in September.

[3595th PTW F-51D at a Nellis hangar|alt=|left]

Las Vegas Air Force Base

Renamed LAS VEGAS AIR FORCE BASE on 13 January 1948 and assigned as a subinstallation of Williams AFB on 1 April, the 3595th Pilot Training Wing (Advanced Single-Engine) was established on 22 December 1948. Training began at Las Vegas AFB on 1 March 1949 with 5 squadrons using P-51 Mustangs for a 6-month course (3,000 USAF pilots needed trained by 1950). The 3525th Aircraft Gunnery Squadron activated on 11 February 1949, the base hosted the 1st USAF Gunnery Meet on 2 May, and ATC opened its LVAFB Aircraft Gunnery School on 15 May 1949.

Nellis AFB

[Fighter Weapons School F-80As in front of Frenchman Mountain which is east of the valley.]NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE was named on 30 April 1950, and the 20 May 1950 dedication was attended by Lieutenant Nellis' family. By 1 July the Air Force had directed ATC to accelerate Korean War training for a new 95-wing Air Force. The first school opened at Nellis, and ATC redesignated the 3595th Pilot Training Wing (Advanced Single-Engine) as the 3595th Training Wing (Combat Crew). On 17 July 1950, Nellis began a replacement pilot training program to provide 115 FEAF F-51 Mustang pilots and 92 combat-ready F-80 Shooting Star pilots. Nellis' advanced single-engine pilot training transferred to Alabama on 1 September 1950. Nellis assumed fighter-bomber training, and ATC established its USAF Air Crew School (Fighter) on 14 November 1950, equipped with F-80s and early-model F-84C Thunderjets. On 1 October, Nellis AFB base management functions transferred from Williams AFB. In early 1951, ATC assigned recently graduated airplane and engine mechanics to Nellis to learn jet aircraft maintenance. The airfield was expanded 1951–1954 with longer jet-capable runways, reconfigured taxiways and a larger aircraft parking ramp; and World War II wooden structures were replaced with concrete and steel structures (e.g., barracks and base housing for married personnel). The first Wherry houses were completed in 1954, with updated Capehart houses being completed in February 1960.

USAF Fighter Weapons School

The USAF Fighter Weapons School was designated on 1 January 1954 from the squadron when the Air Crew School graduated its last Combat Crew Training Class (the primary Weapons School mission was gunnery instructor training.) In the mid-1950s for Operation Teapot nuclear testing, 1 of the 12 Zone Commanders was based at Nellis AFB for community liaison/public relations[8] (weapons for other atomic tests were stored at Nellis). Air Training Command suspended training at the Nellis fighter weapons school in late 1956 because of the almost total failure of the F-86 Sabre aircraft used at Nellis, and during 1958 ATC discontinued its Flying Training and Technical Training.

Tactical Air Command

Nellis AFB transferred to Tactical Air Command on 1 February 1958, and the Nellis mission transitioned from initial aircraft qualification and gunnery training to advanced, graduate-level weapons training. Soon after the transfer to TAC, the F-100C and F-100D entered the school inventory. The 3595th wing assets were redesignated as the 4520th Combat Crew Training Group by TAC on 1 July 1958.

4520th Combat Crew Training Wing

[The Nellis control tower behind a 4536th F-100D (“WB” tail code). In July 1968 the first tail codes appeared on Nellis-based aircraft:[9] “WC” (4537th F-105), “WD” (4538th F-4C), & “WF” (4539th F-111). |alt=|left] The 4520th Combat Crew Training Wing was designated from the 4520th CCTG on 1 May 1961, and the Combat Crew training squadrons were renumbered. The 4537th Fighter Weapons Squadron had been assigned F-105D Thunderchiefs in March 1961, and the wing taught veteran pilots in all phases of fighter weapon employment: air-to-air gunnery, rocketry, conventional and nuclear bombing, aerial refueling, and combat navigation. The F-4 Phantom II Instructor Course began in mid-1965 and during the Vietnam War, experienced combat pilots were used as Fighter Weapons instructors at Nellis. On 1 January 1966 the USAF Fighter Weapons School was activated at Nellis with F-100, F-4, and F-105 divisions and on 1 September 1966, Fighter Weapons School elements and the 4520th CCTW merged to activate the 4525th Fighter Weapons Wing.

USAF Tactical Fighter Weapons Center

The USAF Tactical Fighter Weapons Center activated at Nellis AFB on 1 January 1966 (USAF Warfare Center after 15 November 2005) is the USAF authority for employment of tactical fighter weapons.[10] The center has developed, refined, coordinated, validated and tested fighter concepts, doctrine, tactics, and procedures. The FWC also performed operational test and evaluation and prepared or monitored Air Force publications on employment tactics, aircrew training, and aircrew weapons delivery. It has supervised courses of the US Air Force Fighter Weapons School, adversary tactics training, and Wild Weasel training, and other combat and tactical schools.[11]

The FWC supervised Red Flag operational training and other continuing air exercises, such as Green Flag and Silver Flag Alpha. The center also directed operations of the US Air Force Bomber and Tanker, Employment School since 1992 and the Air Rescue Center since 1993.[12] The USAF Air Demonstration Squadron with the United States Air Force Thunderbirds moved from Arizona to Nellis AFB in June 1956.[13]

474th Tactical Fighter Wing

The 474th Tactical Fighter Wing was reassigned from New Mexico to Nellis AFB on 20 January 1968 and was the first USAF operational wing equipped with the General Dynamics F-111[14]—6 of the F-111As departed Nellis for Vietnam on 15 March 1968 (Combat Lancer). Nellis provided replacements for 2 lost F-111s, and the F-111s returned to the USA in November 1968.[15] The wing's 428th Tactical Fighter Squadron reached IOC in spring 1968 with F-111s, and the TFW was fully operational in July 1971.[16] The Lake Mead Base, a 1953–6 United States Navy's weapons storage area of , became Area II of the Nellis AFB complex in September 1969.

The 430th TFS returned to the 474th TFW Nellis on 22 March 1973 assuming a replacement training unit mission, while the 428th and 429th were transferred to Mountain Home AFB on 30 July 1973. Post-war the 474th's mission was to train combat-ready force of aircrews and maintained a rapid-reaction capability to execute fighter attacks against enemy forces and facilities in time of crisis.[17] In 1975, the 428th and 429th Tactical Fighter Squadrons were reassigned to the wing with F-111As (transferred to Mountain Home AFB, Idaho, in August 1977)[18] and the 474th Wing absorbed the F-4D Phantom II aircraft, crews, and resources of the inactivating provisional 4474th Tactical Fighter Wing at Nellis in April 1977. The wing was inactivated in September 1989, and its F-16As transferred to Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve squadrons.

57th Fighter Weapons Wing

[The United States Air Force Thunderbirds] The 57th Fighter Weapons Wing was activated at Nellis on 15 October 1969 to replace the 4525th FWW (its Fighter Weapons Squadrons transferred to the 57th). The USAF Air Demonstration Squadron (the “Thunderbirds”) was assigned to the 57th in February 1974, and the wing incorporated intelligence training after March 1980. Redesignated the 57th Tactical Training Wing in 1977, the wing trained tactical fighter aircrews, conducted operational tests and evaluations, demonstrated tactical fighter weapon systems, and developed fighter tactics. The 57th's 4440th Tactical Fighter Training Group (Red Flag) assumed operational control of Red Flag exercises in October 1979; and the 57th developing realistic combat training operations featuring adversary tactics, dissimilar air combat training, and electronic warfare.

Nellis' 4477th Tactical Evaluation Flight (“Red Eagles”) operated MiG-17s, MiG-21s and MiG-23s at the Tonopah Test Range Airport (late 1960s-) to simulate combat against U.S. combat aircraft.[19] Named Constant Peg in 1980, the operation assessed the Soviet technology and developed adversary tactics for dissimilar air combat training. After completion of training, the Aggressor pilots were assigned to the DACT squadrons, one of which was assigned to Nellis.[20] During the 1970s, a site northwest of Nellis evaluated a Soviet “Barlock” search radar to develop techniques for countering Soviet air defense systems.[21]

[The Las Vegas Range of mountains is visible beyond a 66th FWS F-4E on the Nellis tarmac.|alt=|left]The USAF Fighter Weapons School reactivated 30 December 1981 in the 57th wing and the 66th, 414th and 433d Fighter Weapons Squadrons became its “A-10”, “F-4E” and “F-15A” divisions (the 414th was the “Red Flag Training Squadron” in 1996). The 422d FWS aircraft and personnel became the “F-16 Division” and the squadron heraldry transferred to the 422d Test and Evaluation Squadron. The FWS mission expanded on 15 June 1993 to include all Air Combat Command weapons (B-52 & B-1 Divisions) and in 1995, rescue helicopters (HH-60 Division). RC-135 Rivet Joint and EC-130 Compass Call courses were also added to the CCO Division in 1995, as well as a Space Division in 1996 (UAVs in 2008).[22]

In 1981, the Gunsmoke gunnery meet was first held and the 57th Fighter Weapons Wing was reorganized as part of the establishment of the Fighter Weapons School, e.g., the 422d Test and Evaluation Squadron for aircraft modifications was established on 30 December 1981 from the 422d Fighter Weapons Squadron. In 1990, the 64th and 65th Tactical Fighter Training Aggressor Squadrons and the 4440th TFTG were inactivated in 1990 at the end of the Cold War. In November 1991, the 57th implemented the USAF Objective Wing organization which was the most comprehensive USAF reorganization plan since 1947,[23] activating the 57th Operations Group for Nellis airfield operations and establishing the 57th Test Group.[24]

Air Combat Command

[64th Aggressor Squadron F-16 takes off from Nellis AFB during Red Flag 14-1] Nellis transferred to Air Combat Command on 1 June 1992, at the end of the Cold War when Tactical Air Command was inactivated. The 57th Wing was designated on 15 June 1993 from the 57th Operations Group in conjunction with the introduction of the RQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). The USAF Combat Rescue School was also established in 1993 for HH-60 Pave Hawk instructional flying.[25] “In 1996, AETC moved the PJ Advanced Weapons Course from Nellis AFB to Kirtland AFB”. The 98th Range Wing was activated at Nellis on 29 October 2001 for Nellis Air Force Range control (previous range control was by the FWC.) After Detachment 13, 372d Training Squadron opened its F/A-22 maintenance training facility on 29 November 2001, on 14 January 2003 Nellis received the first production F-22A Raptor for the F-22 Force Development Evaluation program and Weapons School (12 Raptors had been assigned to the 422d Test and Evaluation Squadron by July 2008.)[26]

“Aggressor” training was reactivated under the 57th Operations Group in 2003[27] and in 2006 Nellis had the Air Ground Operations School. On 1 May 2007, the UAV reconnaissance elements assigned to the 57th Operations Group transferred to the 432nd Wing.[28] Detachment 1 of the Space Warfare Center was established at Nellis in 1996 after the “Nellis Combined Air Operations Center”,[29] the Warfare Center transferred Nellis Air Force Range control to the 98th Range Wing in 2001,[30] and the annual Aviation Nation airshow began at Nellis in 2002. The Nellis Solar Power Plant constructed 23 April–December 2007 on Nellis' west side was visited by president Barack Obama on 27 May 2009. In 2010, the 505th Operations Squadron operated the Combined Air and Space Operations Center-Nellis.[31]

The 57th Adversary Tactics Group merged into the 57th Operations Group on 31 March 2020.[32] On 1 June 2020 the 800th Rapid Engineer Deployable, Heavy Operational Repair Squadron, Engineer (RED HORSE) Group activated at Nellis, with the 820th Red Horse Squadron as a subordinate unit.[33]

Major commands to which assigned

-   West Coast Air Corps Training Center, April 1941
-   Air Corps Flying Training Command, 23 January 1942 and various subsequent designations through Air Training Command, 1 July – 31 December 1946, 30 August 1947
-   Tactical Air Command, 1 July 1958
-   Air Combat Command, 1 June 1992 – present

Major units assigned

-   79th Air Base Group, 7 July 1941

    70th Base HQ and Air Base Squadron, c. 14 August 1942
    82d Flying Training Wing (Flexible Gunnery) 8 January 1943 – 16 June 1946

-   3595th Pilot Training Wing, 1 April 1948 – 1 July 1958
-   4520th Combat Crew Training Wing, 1 July 1958 – 1 September 1966
-   4525th Fighter Weapons Wing, 1 September 1966 – 15 October 1969
-   474th Tactical Fighter Wing, 20 January 1968 – 15 October 1989
-   57th Wing (Various Designations), 22 August 1969 – present
-   554th Operations Support Wing, 1 March 1980 – 1 November 1995
-   USAF Fighter Weapons School, 1 January-1 September 1966; 30 December 1981 (USAF Weapons School on 15 June 1993)
-   4477th Tactical Evaluation Flight (“Red Eagles”), 1 April 1975 – 1990
-   USAF Tactical Fighter Weapons Center, 1 September 1966[34] (USAF Warfare Center on 15 November 2005)

Role and operations

Nellis Air Force Base is known by the USAF as the “Home of the Fighter Pilot” and is the Air Force's focus for advanced combat training. The main unit at Nellis is the USAF Warfare Center, which coordinates training for composite strike forces involving aircraft types from across the USAF inventory, accompanied by air and ground units of the US Army, US Navy, US Marines, and aircraft from other NATO and allied nations. Training is delivered through a series of exercises which typically take place at the Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR), the primary examples being Exercise Red Flag and Exercise Green Flag (West).[35]

As of October 2019, Nellis employed 9,500 military and civilian personnel. The total military population is more than 40,000, including family members and retired military personnel in the area.[36]

The base also supports operations at nearby Creech Air Force Base, Tonopah Test Range, and the Nevada National Security Site. Nellis ground systems for range operations (e.g., by callsign “Nellis Control”) include the Computer and Computed Subsystem used to receive microwave signals from the NTTR Ground-Based per Station the Tracking and Communications Subsystem (TCS) for presentation on Nellis' Display and Debrief SubSystem (DDS).[37]

Nellis Area I has the airfield (2 runways and ramp space for up to 300 aircraft), recreation and shopping facilities, dormitories/temporary lodging, some family housing, “and most of the command and support structures”, e.g., Suter Hall for Red Flag. Nellis Area II northeast of the main base “at the foot of Sunrise Mountain”[38] (formerly the U.S. Navy's Lake Mead Base) has Nellis Gun Club[39] and the 820th Red Horse Squadron. Nellis Area III is west of the main base with family housing, administration and industrial areas, and the Mike O'Callaghan Federal Hospital. Area III also includes a munitions response area (MRA XU741) which had World War II storage for small arms ammunition, pyrotechnics, and chemical bombs and that now includes 2 remaining World War II buildings (numbers 1039 & 1047), 5 modern igloos, and RV storage.

Based units

Flying and notable non-flying units based at Nellis Air Force Base.[40][41][42]

Units marked GSU are Geographically Separate Units, which although based at Nellis, are subordinate to a parent unit based at another location.

United States Air Force

AIR COMBAT COMMAND

-   US Air Force Warfare Center
    -   99th Air Base Wing (Host wing)
        -   99th Comptroller Squadron
        -   99th Mission Support Group
            -   99th Civil Engineer Squadron
            -   99th Communications Squadron
            -   99th Contracting Squadron
            -   99th Logistics Readiness Squadron
            -   99th Force Support Squadron
            -   99th Security Forces Squadron
        -   99th Medical Group
            -   99th Aerospace Medical Squadron
            -   99th Dental Squadron
            -   99th Medical Operations Squadron
            -   99th Medical Support Squadron
    -   53rd Wing
        -   53rd Test and Evaluation Group (GSU)
            -   88th Test and Evaluation Squadron – HC-130J Combat King II and HH-60G Pave Hawk
            -   422nd Test and Evaluation Squadron – A-10C Thunderbolt II, F-15C/D Eagle, F-15E Strike Eagle, F-16C/D Fighting Falcon, F-22A Raptor, F-35A Lightning II
            -   Combat Search and Rescue Combined Test Force
            -   Detachment 3
        -   53rd Test Management Group (GSU)
            -   59th Test and Evaluation Squadron
    -   57th Wing
        -   561st Joint Tactics Squadron
        -   US Air Force Weapons School
            -   6th Weapons Squadron – F-35A Lightning II
            -   8th Weapons Squadron
            -   16th Weapons Squadron – F-16C/D Fighting Falcon
            -   17th Weapons Squadron – F-15E Strike Eagle
            -   19th Weapons Squadron
            -   26th Weapons Squadron – MQ-9A Reaper
            -   32nd Weapons Squadron
            -   34th Weapons Squadron – HC-130J Combat King II and HH-60G Pave Hawk
            -   57th Weapons Support Squadron
            -   66th Weapons Squadron – A-10C Thunderbolt II
            -   315th Weapons Squadron – LGM-30 Minuteman III
            -   328th Weapons Squadron
            -   433rd Weapons Squadron – F-15C/D Eagle and F-22A Raptor
        -   57th Operations Group
            -   6th Combat Training Squadron
            -   24th Tactical Air Support Squadron – F-16C/D Fighting Falcon and F-35A Lightning II
            -   57th Adversary Tactics Support Squadron
            -   57th Information Aggressor Squadron
            -   57th Operations Support Squadron
            -   64th Aggressor Squadron – F-16C/D Fighting Falcon
            -   65th Aggressor Squadron – F-35A Lightning II
            -   414th Combat Training Squadron
            -   507th Air Defense Aggressor Squadron
            -   547th Intelligence Squadron
            -   549th Combat Training Squadron
        -   57th Maintenance Group
            -   57th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron
            -   57th Munitions Squadron
            -   757th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron
        -   US Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron (Thunderbirds) – F-16C/D Fighting Falcon
        -   US Air Force Advanced Maintenance and Munitions Operations School
    -   505th Command and Control Wing
        -   505th Test and Evaluation Group (GSU)
            -   505th Test Squadron
            -   Combined Air Operations Center - Nellis
    -   Nevada Test and Training Range

-   Fifteenth Air Force
    -   355th Wing
        -   Detachment 1 (GSU)
        -   563rd Rescue Group (Operating Location-Alpha (OL-A)) (GSU)
            -   58th Rescue Squadron
            -   66th Rescue Squadron – HH-60G Pave Hawk
            -   855th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron
    -   800th RED HORSE Group
        -   820th RED HORSE Squadron

-   Sixteenth Air Force
    -   363rd Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Wing
        -   365th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Group (GSU)
            -   526th Intelligence Squadron
            -   547th Intelligence Squadron

AIR FORCE MATERIEL COMMAND (AFMC)

-   Air Force Test Center
    -   96th Test Wing
        -   96th Operations Group
            -   413th Flight Test Squadron
                -   Detachment 1 (GSU) – HH-60G Pave Hawk

AIR FORCE RESERVE COMMAND (AFRC)

-   Tenth Air Force
    -   926th Wing
        -   926th Operation Group
            -   706th Fighter Squadron – A-10C Thunderbolt II, F-15C/D Eagle, F-15E Strike Eagle, F-16C/D Fighting Falcon, F-22A Raptor, F-35A Lightning II
            -   926th Aerospace Medicine Squadron
            -   926th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron
            -   926th Force Support Squadron
            -   926th Security Forces Squadron

Department of Defense

UNITED STATES STRATEGIC COMMAND

-   Global Operations (J3) Directorate
    -   Joint Electromagnetic Preparedness for Advanced Combat

Geography

Nellis AFB covers about in the northeast corner of the Las Vegas Valley, an alluvial basin in the Basin and Range Province.[43] Since World War II, Nellis has had areas added, such as Area II in 1969, but still has about of undeveloped space. One World War II runway has been removed. The base has 3 areas (I, II, III). The United States Geological Survey names five different locations for the base: “Nellis Air Force Base”, the airfield, the post office, a Community College of Southern Nevada campus, and the census-designated place (CDP).[44]

Census-designated place

The Nellis Air Force Base CDP is an region defined by the United States Census Bureau as of the 2010 United States Census. The CDP area includes military family housing (e.g., in Nellis Areas I & III), dormitories, and lodging as for aircrew temporary quarters during Red Flag exercises.

Nellis AFB complex

“NELLIS AFB COMPLEX” refers to a group of southern Nevada military areas that are predominantly USAF and Bureau of Land Management areas outside of the base (e.g., controlled by military units at Nellis). The complex's land areas include Nellis AFB, the USAF Nevada Test and Training Range, the active portion of the Small Arms Range Annex north of the base, the annex's Formerly Used Defense Site of (cleared in March 1972, returned to the DoI), 13 BLM areas of each leased for Patriot Radar/Communications Exercises, and other BLM sites “under Military Operations Area (MOA) airspace”.[45] Nellis AFB also leases space at the former Las Vegas AFS, and environmental sites of the Tonopah Bombing Range (FUDS) are monitored by the EPA. Additional Formerly Used Defense Sites associated with the area's military operations are the Nye County Areas A, G, H, & I; the “Delamar Dry Lake Test Annex”[46] and the “Sunrise Mountain Machine Gun Range”.[47]

In popular culture

-   A scaled-down version of Nellis Air Force Base appears in the 2010 video game _Fallout: New Vegas_. The base's inhabitants were killed by nuclear radiation during the Great War of 2077. In the game's starting year of 2281, it is occupied by a militaristic, xenophobic tribe of survivors from Vault 34, calling themselves “Boomers”.
-   The base is briefly mentioned at the end of _Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines_. The base is said to be under attack from the machines.

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[6]

[7]

[8] Operation Teapot report

[9] Martin, Patrick (1994). _Tail Code: The Complete History of USAF Tactical Aircraft Tail Code Markings_. Schiffer Military Aviation History. .

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14] Thornborough, Tony (1993), Osprey Aerospace, 1993. F-111 Aardvark—USAF's Ultimate Strike Aircraft

[15]

[16]

[17]

[18]

[19]

[20]

[21]

[22]

[23] Rogers, Brian (2005). _United States Air Force Unit Designations Since 1978_. Hinkley, England: Midland Publications. .

[24]

[25]

[26]

[27]

[28]

[29]

[30]

[31]

[32]

[33]

[34]

[35]

[36]

[37]

[38]

[39]

[40]

[41]

[42]

[43]

[44] : [http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=gnispq:3:::NO::P3_FID:2443876 Nellis AFB “Airport” (2443876, 361408N 1150224W)],
[http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=gnispq:3:::NO::P3_FID:2408911 Nellis AFB CDP (2408911, 361448N 1150326W)],
[http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=gnispq:3:::NO::P3_FID:2511960 Nellis Air Force Base (2511960, 361457N 1145946W)],
[http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=gnispq:3:::NO::P3_FID:865017 Nellis AFB Post Office (865017, 361432N 1150244W, 01-MAY-1992)],
[http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=gnispq:3:::NO::P3_FID:2087468 Community College of Southern Nevada Nellis Air Force Base Center (2087468 )]

[45]

[46]

[47] Table C-3 Status of Installations With Response Completed

title: Nellis Air Force Base

question: What did The 1929 airfield look like?

answer: It had dirty runways and small operations shack.

question: How big is the War department in Toponah?

answer: It is 60 × 90 miles.

question: Which were finished first, Wherry houses or Capehart houses?

answer: Wherry houses were finished first.

question: When did B-17 gunners training start?

answer: In 1942, when the first B-17 Flying Fortresses arrived in the base.