text:
WITCH HAZEL is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. _Looney Tunes_ and _Merrie Melodies_ series of cartoons and TV shows. The name is a reference to the plant witch-hazel and folk remedies based on it.

Concept and creation

Different characters of the same name appeared in several studios' short films throughout the golden age of American animation: the first was in the Disney cartoon _Trick or Treat_ (1952), voiced by June Foray.[1] Inspired by this character, Chuck Jones created his own witch for Warner Bros., reusing the same pun.[2] Jones could do this because the name was already in use in commercial products;[3] Foray said that the characters were also not expected to have any longevity.[4] In her initial appearance, _Bewitched Bunny_ (1954), she is voiced by Bea Benaderet. Starting with _Broom-Stick Bunny_ (1956), Foray took over voicing the character.[5] To differentiate the characters, Foray said that she performed the Disney version with a British accent, but the Warner Bros. version was “all American”.[6]

Despite their common name, Jones' Witch Hazel is a much different witch from her Disney counterpart. The Looney Tunes character is a highly stylized villainess. Her rotund, green-skinned body is wrapped in a plain, blue dress and supported by twig-like legs. She has wild black hair from which hairpins fly and spin in midair whenever she zooms off on her broom or cackles in glee over her next evil scheme and she wears a crumpled black hat. Her nose and chin jut bulbously from her face and her mouth sports a single tooth.

Appearances

Golden age

[Transformed into a female rabbit, Witch Hazel gets Bugs Bunny's attention in _Bewitched Bunny_ (1954)] _Bewitched Bunny_ retells the fairy tale about _Hansel and Gretel_. Witch Hazel plays the witch who attempts to cook and eat the children. Bugs Bunny witnesses her coax the children inside and saves the youths from Witch Hazel's clutches because the Masked Avenger is not around. Once the witch realizes that Bugs is a rabbit, she chases him to put him into her witch's brew. Upon putting Bugs into a sleeping spell, he is awoken by a kiss from Prince Charming; Bugs then tells him that he is in the wrong story. Bugs eventually uses Hazel's own magic against her and transforms her into a sexy female rabbit, to whom he is instantly attracted. He walks away with her while he breaks the fourth wall and comments, “Ah sure, I know. But aren't they all witches inside?”

In _Broom-Stick Bunny_, Witch Hazel takes great pride in her status as the ugliest witch. While trick-or-treating on Halloween as a witch, Bugs Bunny visits Witch Hazel's house and she mistakes him for an actual witch. So does her magic mirror, which warns, “You're an ugly one, 'tis true; but _that_ creep is uglier far than you!” Jealous that this newcomer is uglier than herself, Hazel attempts to trick the “witch” into drinking a “Pretty Potion” disguised as tea. Bugs removes his mask to drink it and she becomes obsessed with using the rabbit in her witch's brew. Hazel captures him by tricking him with a carrot. Hazel is about to kill Bugs, but becomes distraught when his sad eyes remind her of Paul, her pet tarantula. Bugs calms her down with a beverage. Hazel unknowingly drinks the Pretty Potion, a fate worse than death for a woman who relishes her ugliness. Transformed into a young, beautiful woman, Hazel asks her magic mirror if she is still ugly. The genie in her mirror instantly falls in love with her. Hazel flies off into the night on her flying broomstick and the genie chases after her on his magic carpet. Bugs calls Air Raid headquarters about them.

Bugs Bunny was pitted against Witch Hazel for the last time in _A Witch's Tangled Hare_ (1959), a parody of _Macbeth_. This short was directed by Abe Levitow. Rabbit is once again the missing ingredient to Witch Hazel's brew and Bugs happens to be in the area. Meanwhile, a William Shakespeare look-alike observes the action in search of inspiration. Bugs finds out that the man is not William Shakespeare, but is actually a man named Sam Crubish. Witch Hazel hears this and it appears that the two know each other but have not seen each other in a while because Crubish had the wrong apartment number, “2B”. The poet and Witch Hazel leave talking about who made the mistake. Bugs Bunny quotes the famous line from _Hamlet_ – “To be, or not to be, that is the question.”

The Bugs Bunny short _Transylvania 6-5000_ (1963) features a brief, silent cameo appearance from Witch Hazel (or a character very similar to her) as Bugs briefly transforms Count Blood Count, the cartoon's vampire antagonist, into her through the use of a magic spell.

Once production shifted to DePatie–Freleng Enterprises, Witch Hazel appeared in the cartoon _A-Haunting We Will Go_ (1966), which also starred Daffy Duck and Speedy Gonzales.

After the golden age

Witch Hazel has appeared in cameos in various Warner Bros. productions, such as the movie _Space Jam_ (1996), the video games _The Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle 2_ (in which she is the primary antagonist), _Bugs Bunny: Lost in Time_ (in which she appears as a boss and also appears on the cover of the game) and _Looney Tunes Collector: Alert!_ (2000), and one episode each of _Animaniacs_ (in a Rita and Runt episode), _The Sylvester and Tweety Mysteries_, _Pinky and the Brain_, _Tiny Toon Adventures_ and _Duck Dodgers_ (which references _Broom-Stick Bunny_ and where June Foray returns to do her voice). She was also featured as the lead antagonist in DC Comics' three-issue _Bugs Bunny_ miniseries from 1990 (though at the ending of the storyline, her appearance there is actually revealed to be a disguised Wile E. Coyote). She was used as an enemy in Scott Lowenstein's _Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle 4_ and her silhouette can be seen on the cover of the game. Witch Hazel has a cameo in the video game adaptation of _Looney Tunes: Back in Action_ as a painting parodying the Mona Lisa in the Louvre Museum. Witch Hazel was also spotted in a _MetLife_ commercial in 2012. Witch Hazel makes a cameo appearance in the deleted scene “Pig Head” of the film _Who Framed Roger Rabbit._ She is seen flying around on Beelzebub before getting struck by lightning.

Witch Hazel also makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in the film _Looney Tunes: Rabbits Run_.

Witch Hazel also starred in the _New Looney Tunes_ segments “Finders Keepers, Losers Sweepers”, “Hiccups and Downs” and “It's Snout or Never”.

Witch Lezah

The 2011 animated series _The Looney Tunes Show_ introduces a similarly designed character to Witch Hazel named WITCH LEZAH.[7] Lezah (“Hazel” spelled backwards) is voiced by Roz Ryan, who gives the character a pronounced African American patois. In the series, she is Gossamer's mother. Unlike the other characters and her original character, she is always serious and gives advice that is not nonsensical and is more calm. She has a contradictory relationship with Daffy; she once threatened him into helping Gossamer make friends. Once Gossamer has friends she asks Daffy to stay away despite all his hard work. She has been a hypnotherapist by trade, as seen in “Point, Laser Point”, where she provided Sylvester with services when he was in denial about his relationship with his mother. In “It's a Handbag”, she helped Daffy recall who took his handbag. In “Best Friends Redux”, Witch Lezah has a time portal in her home, which Daffy uses to jealously ensure that Bugs Bunny and Rodney Rabbit never meet. When nobody knows Daffy, Witch Lezah, who is unaffected by the time change, sends Daffy back in time to correct it, as it's ultimately because of Rodney that Bugs and Daffy met and became friends. Daffy uses Witch Lezah's time portal again to make sure he and Porky Pig meet.

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title: Witch Hazel (Looney Tunes)

question: How many animation studios have used the name Wich Hazel as a name of a cartoon character?

answer: Two - Disney and Warner Bros.


split: train

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SHOKALSKY STRAIT () is a strait in Severnaya Zemlya, Russia.

Geography

The Shokalsky Strait is an up to a 50 km-wide strait that separates Bolshevik Island from October Revolution Island, connecting the Kara Sea in the west with the Laptev Sea in the east.[1] It is named after Russian oceanographer Yuly Shokalsky

Some fjords of Severnaya Zemlya have their mouths in the strait, such as Marat Fjord in October Revolution Island's eastern shore, as well as Partizan Fjord, Spartak Fjord and Thaelmann Fjord in Bolshevik Island northwestern coast.[2]

Cape Baranov[3] and its adjacent Prima Polar Station[4] are located in the northern part of Bolshevik Island facing the Shokalsky Strait.[5]

The Krasnoflotskiye Islands are located at the western end of the strait.[6] [1975 map showing Severnaya Zemlya and the Taymyr Peninsula]

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

[5] GoogleEarth

[6] GoogleEarth

title: Shokalsky Strait

question: What is the Shokalsky Strait?

answer: a strait in Severnaya Zemlya, Russia

question: Where does the Strait get its name from?

answer: It is named after Russian oceanographer Yuly Shokalsky

question: Where are the Krasnoflotskiye Islands?

answer: They are located at the western end of the strait

question: What does the Shokalsky Strait separate?

answer: It is a 50 km-wide strait separating Bolshevik Island from October Revolution Island

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: The Shokalsky Strait is located in Severnaya Zemlya, Russia and its 50 km width separates Bolshevik Island from October Revolution Island.


text:
Introduction: Sugar Glass

Sugar glass is, at its most basic, a molded lollipop. It is candy which has been molded to look like glass. It has been used in films, and theater for a very long time (in other words, I don't know exactly, but it's been a while). It is hard candy, but to get the right physical properties requires a little chemistry.

These days, fake break-away glass is now typically made from a clear resin, but for low-budget or home fun, you can make your own with just a few simple things.

Step 1: What You Need

Ingredients
- 1 C Water
- 1.75 C Sugar
- .5 C Corn Syrup - the clearer the better
- .25 t Cream of Tartar

Tools
- Sauce Pot
- Spoon or spatula (I recommend high temp silicone)
- Stove
- Candy or Deep Fry thermometer (needs to go up to 300 degrees accurately)
- Corn Starch

Step 2: Sugar

Common table sugar is also called sucrose. It is a disaccharide (two sugars) of glucose and fructose, with the molecular formula C12H22O11.

The glucose and fructose are connected by a single oxygen atom. By applying heat and an acid (cream of tartar), you can break the bond between the saccharides. More on that later.

Sugar is hygroscopic which means that it really likes water. If you've ever left hard candy out in the open on a humid day, you've probably returned to a sticky mess later. Therefore, any sugar glass that you make, you need to use quickly.

In theory, you can make sugar glass with just sugar, water and heat, but it will be very unstable as you make it, and very likely to burn or flash crystalize.

See the following links on Sucrose for more information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sucrose
http://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/candy/sugar.html

Step 3: Cream of Tartar and Corn Syrup (Chemical Voodoo)

You can omit the cream of tartar, but it has magical properties (well, OK, not *magical*... but it does help out quite a bit). Cream of Tartar, or Tartaric Acid is a biproduct of the wine making industry. It is known chemically as potassium hydrogen tartrate, and has a chemical formula of: KC4H5O6. Tartaric acid is also a primary ingredient in baking powder. So, if you ever run out of baking powder, just use equal parts of baking soda (a base), and cream of tartar (an acid).

As for the "magical" properties... it is used to prevent the sugar from crystalizing. It does this by breaking down some of the sugar molecules at the single oxygen atom, creating single molecules of glucose and fructose.

The corn syrup is mostly glucose, and acts as a buffer between sucrose molecules preventing them from joining together in one giant mass and ruining your crystal clear confection. Since we are using corn syrup, you can omit the cream of tartar, but I like to hedge my bets, and I've found that I get a better result more consistently (less likely to flash crystalize when the heat is off) when I use the cream of tartar.

Step 4: Making Candy

In the sauce pot, combine the water, sugar, corn syrup, and cream of tartar. Stir to dissolve as best as you can. The heat will finish dissolving it. Turn the heat on high and let it come to a boil.

The process of making hard candy is really just dissolving the sugar crystals in a medium (water), and getting rid of the water. The sugar is then one big crystal. If allowed to cool properly, it will be a semi-clear solid mass.

When the mixture comes to a boil, it is time to put in the candy thermometer. You are going for a hard-crack. This is about 302 degrees Farenheit (150 degrees Celsius). If you have never made candy before, or are unfamiliar with the candy stages... Before there were neat candy thermometers, cooks used to keep a cup of cold water near the pot to test the doneness of the mixture. A small bit was taken out of the mixture and dropped into the water. Depending on the reaction, it told the doneness level of the candy.

- Thread Stage - 215 F or 108 C - The candy forms very soft threads. This is used for syrups.
- Soft Ball - 235 F or 118 C - The candy forms a soft maliable ball, but will flatten by itself. Fudge is a soft ball candy.
- Hard Ball - 250 F or 125 C - The candy forms a firm ball that will not flatten by itself, but will squish if pressed between the fingers. Caramels are a good example.
- Soft Crack - 270 F or 135 C - Candy dropped into the water will form pliable threads that will bend before they break. Taffy is a soft crack candy.
- Hard Crack - 300 F or 150 C - When dropped into the water, you will hear a noticable "crack" sound. Hard Candies, and sugar glass.

The temerature is a bit flexible, so you don't have to be that precise. I usually stop cooking a hard crack at 302 degrees, and it will get up to about 307 degrees with the carry over heat.

The temperature will rise slowly as the water boils out. As the mixture becomes more and more concentrated, it becomes less stable. Remember, the water is the only this that was keeping the sugar from recrystalizing. Be careful of the crystals on the side of the pot falling into the mixture. If the sugar gets a crystal in it, it will recrystalize in a flash, the only thing you can do at that point is add more water and start over. The corn syrup (pure fructose) and the cream of tartar (an acid to break down some of the sugar) will help you avoid that messy possibility, but it is still a possibility.

When the temp reaches 302 degrees F, remove it from the heat, and set it aside to cool a bit before working with it. This will also help get some of the air bubbles out. This is a good time to remove the candy thermometer.

Now, here is the most important warning: Professional chefs call this stuff culinary napalm! It is 300 degrees, and it sticks to everything. It is a very good way to get a very nasty burn. Please exercise caution when dealing with this stuff. I take no responsibility for your actions.

Step 5: Mold Prep

I won't go into making custom molds, I recommend the following instructable for that:

https://www.instructables.com/id/Two-Part-Silicone-Casting/

However, I do recommend using food grade silicone, as it can deal with the heat, and won't leave any nasty residue should you decide to eat your creation.

Coat the inside of the mold with either a light cooking spray (not recommended) or a light dusting of corn starch. The corn starch will also help keep the item dry longer.

Step 6: Making the <Insert Your Application Here>

Pour it into the mold. I made a bottle mold for mine, so I pour mine in and then keep rotating the mold until the sugar is set enough that I can put it down. Let the item cool completely, don't jostle it, don't get it wet, and don't unmold it before it's done!

Step 7: Other Applications

Spun sugar - When you get really good at it, you can drop the sugar into a work area and "catch" the threads as the mixture falls. This can be a very delicate and interesting garnish for desserts. I have seen chocolate bird eggs in a spun sugar nest as party favors.

Breaking stuff without the mess - I let my wife break a sugar glass bottle over my head. It was very theraputic for her.

2 People Made This Project!

Recommendations

question: What is sugar glass?

answer: Effectively, a molded lollipop used in films for a very long time to mimic physical properties of glass.

question: How can you break the bond between saccharides of sucrose?

answer: With heat and an acid

question: What effect does the acid, cream of tartar, have?

answer: It is used to prevent the sugar from crystalizing by breaking down some of the sugar molecules at the single oxygen atom, creating single molecules of glucose and fructose.

question: What other applications are there for this process?

answer: Making spun sugar

question: Write a ~8 sentence summary.

answer: With just a few ingredients you can make sugar glass quite easily. It is used for making faux glass, and literally countless hard candies. You need water, sugar, corn syrup, and cream of tartar. The cream of tartar acts like an acid which can be used to prevent the sugar from crystalizing. Chemistry is involved, but it is in effect quite simple a process. Using a candy or deep fry thermometer aids in the process to be able to accurately measure the different stages the mix is in during the chemical reaction. Different temperatures yield different characteristics. With practice, one can use this recipe for many different applications.


text:
PLAYED IN BRITAIN is a ten-year research project for English Heritage which seeks to record and celebrate Britain's sporting and recreational heritage, coinciding with the period from the staging of the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester to the 2012 Olympics. Much of the research has been made publicly available in a series of books, also called Played in Britain, featuring historic buildings (such as grandstands, pavilions, swimming pools and billiard halls) and sportscapes (such as golf courses, racecourses, rivers and lakes). The series also looks at sporting artefacts and archaeology.

The Played in Britain research project is led by author and architectural historian Simon Inglis, best known for his books on football grounds, stadiums and football history. Simon Inglis is also the series editor of the Played in Britain books.

Background

The Played in Britain series was launched in 2004, following a pilot study conducted in Manchester in 2002 as part of English Heritage’s contribution to the cultural programme of the 2002 Commonwealth Games. It frequently cites as its inspiration the words of Joseph Strutt, author of the seminal book _The Sports and Pastimes of the People of England_, first published in 1801. Strutt wrote, “In order to form a just estimation of the character of any particular people, it is absolutely necessary to investigate the sports and pastimes most generally prevalent among them.”

Sporting heritage in Britain is expected to gain increased attention as the 2012 Olympics approach, but such attention is often dismissed as tokenism. For example, as government and lottery money was lavished on a new swimming pool in Manchester for the 2002 Commonwealth Games, a few hundred yards away one of the most important historic swimming pools in Europe, the Victoria Baths (built 1903-06) lay empty and abandoned by its owners, Manchester City Council. Some of the other threatened Victorian and Edwardian baths around Britain are in Birmingham, Nottingham, Glasgow and most recently, Ripon. More historic sports venues in London are expected to suffer as funds are increasingly diverted towards projects for the 2012 Olympics.

Research so far

Played in Britain has published studies of the sporting heritage of Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool, Tyne and Wear, Glasgow (for Historic Scotland) and London.

The series has also featured seven thematic studies:

_Uppies and Downies_ by Hugh Hornby, on the so-called 'extraordinary football games of Britain' such as the Royal Shrovetide Football match at Ashbourne, the Kirkwall Ba Game at Christmas and New Year and the annual Haxey Hood game in Lincolnshire. Hornby is a former curator at the National Football Museum in Preston.

_Liquid Assets_ by Janet Smith, is a study of the lidos and open air swimming pools of Britain, of which there are approximately 100 left, down from a peak of around 300 in the early 1950s. The book’s foreword was written by artist Tracey Emin, herself a great fan of outdoor swimming from her youth in Margate.

_Engineering Archie_ by Simon Inglis, looks at the life and work of the Scottish football ground engineer Archibald Leitch.

_Great Lengths_ by Dr Ian Gordon and Simon Inglis, features detailed studies of 54 of Britain's historic indoor swimming pools and includes a comprehensive directory of extant baths-related buildings from 1800-1970. The foreword to _Great Lengths_ is written by double Olympic gold medallist, Rebecca Adlington.

_Played at the Pub_ by Arthur Taylor describes the wide range of pub games to be found in Britain, from darts to dwile flonking, and features long lost games such as knur and spell and nipsy.

_The British Olympics, Britain's Olympic heritage 1612-2012_ by Martin Polley, who details Britain's surprisingly long association with the Olympics.

_Bowled Over, the bowling greens of Britain_, by Hugh Hornby, on the rich history and heritage of bowling and the associated greens and pavilions of Britain.

The series has been regularly reviewed in the national press and media, but received its most surprising boost from the TV programme Richard & Judy, which featured a pocket book in the series, called _A Load of Old Balls_. Although apparently a flippant title, the book is actually about the design and manufacture of balls in sport, and the decline of the British ball manufacturing industry.

Another strand in the series is devoted to reproducing the archives of Charles Buchan’s Football Monthly, a pioneering magazine founded by Charles Buchan and first published in 1951. Five books from the archive have been published so far - _The Best of Charles Buchan's Football Monthly_, _Charles Buchan's Arsenal Gift Book_, _Charles Buchan's Manchester United Gift Book_, _Charles Buchan's Spurs Gift Book_ and _Charles Buchan's Liverpool Gift Book_.

Bibliography

-   _Played in Manchester_ by Simon Inglis
-   _Played in Birmingham_ by Steve Beauchampe and Simon Inglis
-   _Played in Liverpool_ by Ray Physick
-   _Played in Tyne and Wear_ by Lynn Pearson
-   _Played in Glasgow_ by Ged O'Brien
-   _Played in London_ by Simon Inglis
-   _A Load of Old Balls_ by Simon Inglis
-   _Uppies and Downies_ by Hugh Hornby
-   _Liquid Assets_ by Janet Smith
-   _Engineering Archie_ by Simon Inglis
-   _Great Lengths_ by Dr Ian Gordon and Simon Inglis
-   _Played at the Pub_ by Arthur Taylor
-   _The British Olympics_ by Martin Polley
-   _Bowled Over_ by Hugh Hornby
-   _The Best of Charles Buchan’s Football Monthly_
-   _Charles Buchan’s Manchester United Gift Book_
-   _Charles Buchan’s Arsenal Gift Book_
-   _Charles Buchan's Spurs Gift Book_
-   _Charles Buchan's Liverpool Gift Book_

title: Played in Britain

question: What does the text say about historical baths?

answer: Historical bath sites in Britain from the Victorian and Edwardian eras have been abandoned, while new sports facilities were being built by councils in preparation for the 2012 London Olympics. Neglected sites include those in Manchester, Birmingham, Nottingham, Glasgow, and Ripon.

question: What does the text say about historical plumbing?


text:
Feedback welcome! I really like the idea and want to do it well. Let me know if there are any grammatical errors I missed. thanks!

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I stop to catch my breath on the 43rd floor. On especially foggy days you can't see the top of the Columbia tower from the ground below. Your imagination doesn't strain to picture it rising up forever. The fog could clear and you would see black windows stretch on for miles into the the sky until you lose sight of it in the distance. This illusion is not shattered from the inside of the building.

Once a year there is a fundraiser where firefighters climb all 69 flights of stairs with full gear on to raise money for leukemia. Even if the cure for cancer was on the line, I still would have stripped my backpack off 10 stories ago. climbing these steps Isn't as bad after shedding 50 pounds.

I haven't slept in two and a half weeks. I know because I keep a tally of the passing days. 20 parallel lines and four vertical slashes etched into the base of the clock tower in King Street Station are the only reason I know I haven't been here for years. That fucking tower. Home of the only working clock in the city. All the others are simply stopped. Digital clocks and watches are just a series of random numbers. a new sequence every few seconds. The result is a change in perspective, the center of the city seems to have shifted to the station. It is where I first woke up 24 days ago and it is where I always return. So much time spent sitting at the base of that tower listening to the tick tick tick of the second hand.

Still climbing. Out the window I see the city sprawl into the distance. Not a sign of life. Not a single living thing as far as I can see. I'm alone here. 56th floor now. Not far from the top.

I tried to leave at first. See if there was life elsewhere. Maybe I was unconscious through an evacuation. Maybe there were electrical issues that would explain the clocks. I found that that wasn't the case. Something bigger is happening. Since there are no cars that will start I packed some food and water and tried to leave the city on foot. The fog made it impossible to leave. I must have walked for a day through the thick consuming grey that was heavy as water around me, making it impossible to see more than a couple feet ahead. I tried to tell myself that I just got turned around when the fog cleared and I came out in exactly the same place I entered it.

Unwavering consciousness is maddening. After a week you would kill to sleep for even an hour. A couple days in I was in a panic, tearing through medicine cabinets in an empty apartment,  I took everything I found. A handful of Valium and Ambien and I just laid there for two hours staring at the ceiling, clear headed and wide awake. Eventually my gaze dropped to look at the pictures on the walls. I felt nauseous. Not from the pills but from seeing the photographs around me. on the walls, on the dressers and bed side table. there were no people in them. Baby pictures with no babies. Empty cribs. Cheap family photo backdrops with no family in front. Pictures taken of people minus the people. I stood up and walked back into the bathroom to confirm my fear. In my frenzy I hadn't even taken a second to look in the mirror. No reflection. I broke the mirror and walked back to the station.

68th floor now.

For a while I was in a haze. Almost catatonic. What could I do? For days I wandered aimlessly, my footsteps the only sound I could hear.

A  couple days ago I broke the window of a house in a more residential part of the city and climbed in. In the living room I sat cross legged in front of a crate of vinyl records. I am unable to see another person but maybe I can hear one. I pull Abby Road from the crate and feel the chills roll down my spine when I see the cover. For some reason the reality of all of this really set in when I saw the empty street. The Isolation and hopelessness of my situation somehow came over me full force while I stared at the sleeve. The familiar scene was all there, the yellow bug on the left, the trees over the peaceful street lined with cars stretching into the distance, but no one in the crosswalk. I knew it would be anything but reassuring at this point but I put the record in and dropped the needle down. There was music, but no vocals. I should have enjoyed it anyway but it was only unsettling. I decided to go with Beethoven while I sat and tried to figure out what to do next.

Here I am. Looking down on the city from the observation deck of it's tallest skyscraper. The view is incredible. A vast concrete landscape meets beautiful blue water encompassed be blanket of fog in all directions. Like living in a snow globe. I take a moment to really appreciate it before picking up one of the heavy wooden chairs on the far end of the room. Luckily the glass is single pane and after three or four tries I swing the chair as hard as possible against the window and it finally gives, shattering outward, sending a glistening cloud of glass to the streets below. Looking over the edge, the ground looks miles away. I start to feel a breeze. The air has been still as long as I can remember. In the wind I hear a sound. It sounds like voices. Whispering. incoherent but there is no mistaking it. I take a deep breath. Then, exhaling every ounce of fear in my body, I jump. The street comes rushing toward me a thousand miles an hour, then black.

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

My eyelids are heavy but I force them open. I'm blinded by fluorescent light. Plain white walls and sterile impersonal steel. Hospital. I feel the tubes all around me. The needles. Unnatural extensions of my body. Then a voice.

"Oh my god. Doctor! he's awake! Get in here now, he opened his eyes!"

A frenzy of motion all around me. Scuffling footsteps. A man in light blue scrubs is hovering over me, shining bright light into my eyes.

"Can you hear me? Blink if you can hear me. Are you able to speak?"

I understand but am unable to react. My body is not under my control. Dead weight.

"Keep your eyes open. Listen to my voice. stay with me!"

I can't. My vision begins to blur and sound begins to fade. The voices becoming unintelligible, far away.

"just stay with me."

Then black again.

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I wake up and feel cold concrete. I'm confused and all I see is grey. Straining my eyes to look upward I see that familiar tower. It's dead silent
except for a Tick Tick Tick from the clock above.

title: short story I wrote today

question: What made the narrator jump down from the top of the skyscraper?

answer:
The narrator wakes up to find the city empty. For days on end he treks the city hoping to find someone, anyone. Unfortunately, there was no one to be found. All he sees are empty stores, empty streets, empty homes with belongings still in them. He even tries to leave the town, but covering the edges of the town was a fog so thick that he could not get through. At last, the narrator decides to climb the tallest structure in the city - a tower with 69 flights of stairs. He gets to the top and them jumped down.

The narrator probably felt all alone and depressed. With no one around and no means to leave the city, he must have felt without hope.

question: What caused the city to be empty, without people?


text:
How had I never noticed how fresh the air here was? I took another deep breath, filling my lungs with crisp autumn. The voices of the tavern mixed pleasantly, a harmonious cacophony. Any other day so many people in my quiet seaside bar would greatly upset me, but this was a good day. I looked down at the stool next to me, where I’d sat my important package. Yes, today was the day I could feel it.

Other, more regular drinkers drained their lagers in flagons, but I was content with a simple pint. A nice frosty pint for me, thank you. The blonde serving the drinks had the most marvelous eyes, here blue or there green depending on which way they caught the light. Her hips were meant for children. She was an angel, even if she didn’t remember my name after a week straight of coming here. I saw her pleasant presence as a blessing, a sign that today was the day the seeds of my labors came to fruition.

I moved my hand to the next table and felt the brown paper wrapped around the package, the sculpted brass underneath, careful only to touch the edges, never disturbing the world I’d created within.

When my glass was near empty the lovely barmaid brought me another. A second time. A third time. A fourth. My head was swimming now, a pleasant buzz surrounded everything. Today was the day. One of the regular drinkers looked over to me and we locked eyes. I smiled. He raised his flagon. I raised my pint and we toasted silently. I’d like to think he wished me all the best in my endeavors. It made two of us.

I heard the door open and close and I looked up to see the most beautiful creature. She was from southern France, maybe Spain, judging by the dark tones of her skin. Her raven hair tumbled just to her shoulder blades and danced around her neck and back as she walked towards the bar. I wasn’t the only man in the room checking the placement of my jaw, I assure you.

But it was I, with the dumb smile on my face, who she came and sat down with. I won’t deny giving a smug look to the regular drinkers with their large flagons. Face to face she was almost too wonderful for words. She was brisk, plump, and jolly, and ever so slightly past her nineteenth birthday. She was open and honest to a complete stranger, a man she’d never even met. It was as if fate directed her to me, she said.

I was caught between wondering why such a beautiful girl would sit with me and amazement that she was speaking my language so fluently. She was a Spaniard, I noted from her accent.

Before I was even able to open my mouth to tell her my name (and I had to tell her more than once because she kept forgetting it), she was telling me of her grand plans. She had traveled this far alone after running away from her father. An alcoholic, prone to fits of anger, but he hadn’t always been that way. The death of her mother took a horrible toll on a previously gentle and loving family man, she’d said. She was going to continue north, keep seeing the world until she decided she was ready to settle down.

She didn’t know where or when or with whom, but she figured when the time was right, she’d be ready for anything.

“And how do you know the time is not now?” I asked her.

“Because I know.” She said, and she held my gaze for a long time.

“Then why are you here?”

“Because of all the men in this room, you are the only one with destiny about you.”

She could feel it too. The day itself was smiling on me, what could possibly go wrong?

“I’m glad to hear you say that,” I admitted to her. “Today I am delivering this important package.” I motioned to the seat next to me. “Once I have delivered this, my whole life will change. I will have fame and fortune and everything my heart desires.”

She smiled. I smiled. We smiled and laughed and drank. We toasted to destiny. And then she put her hand on my arm.

She sucked in air. Her eyes went white and wide and wild. When her pupils came back, she was breathing in ragged gasps, and her eyes darted around. She wouldn’t make eye contact with me.

“Are you okay?” I asked her, grabbing her lightly by the shoulders.

She shook me off violently and stood up. “You…what are you? What
darkness? What evil?” Tears were running down her cheeks. Her breaths came as sobs

“What in Hell are you talking about?” I demanded.

“Murderer!” She cried.

“I’ve never harmed anyone! Anything!”

“You will.” Her sobbing increased. The regular drinkers had first assumed I was harassing the poor girl, but they began to see the truth of her fit of insanity. “Oh God be good, you will.” And with that she ran out the door.

The room burst in to laughter. Everyone but me. I took a moment to collect my thoughts as I paid my tab and finished my last pint. I shook off the haunting feeling the young Spaniard had left me with. An anxiety. A pox on my perfect day. By sheer force of will I managed to convince myself to forget the whole thing. She was nothing more than a crazy girl. It might even have been her idea of a funny joke. Best not to dwell on such things.

Especially not on such an important day. I retrieved the package from the seat next to me. This thing was going to change my life. This was the one. No more failures. No more rejections. This was the best painting I’d ever done in my life.

It was mid-autumn in Vienna, eight years since the turn of the twentieth century, almost six months to the day ‘til my birthday. This was my day. Destiny awaited. And though I had spent my life thus far in obscurity, I knew that after today nothing would ever be the same.

No one would ever forget my name again.

title: The Important Package

question: Write a ~0 sentence summary.


text: This story began, as these stories always do, with an infected mushroom. When infected, effects occur within the hour, reaching its peak at the first hour, and slowly decreasing in effect until the seventh to ninth hour. As expected, colours began changing rapidly en noises started fading and/or increasing in volume. Never was I afraid, for I had a strange feeling of tranquillity. I was genuinely surprised by how good this stuff made me feel. I did not feel infected at all. I loved this new phenomena, for I had discovered a world completely new to me. Yet I did not know the name of this world, though I would discover soon enough. My name is not important, nor is my age, my country or the century I live in. You may now wonder why I chose not to tell you. Do not worry, these things will become clear to you as time progresses. For now, back to the basics. My room started to appear larger then it is in reality, and the sound of my own voice had a strange echo to it. The most amazing part, however, was the colours! Instead of the dull, mind numbing colours I was so used to see, I experienced an explosion of vivid colours, each forming a stunning fractal. It may also have been an implosion, since most of this has to do with my brain. Being intoxicated for the first time was indeed a strange and surreal feeling. The hunger that had drove me to eat this particular mushroom had disappeared, to be replaced by a rapidly beating heart and a slight nausea. I left my small room to begin a journey that has altered my view of the world forever. Within five minutes, I reached a portal in the shape of a laurel wreath. Tempted by this sight, I walked toward it so I could better distinguish it. For some odd reason, it appeared as a testimony to some creature, some life form I was not familiar with. I decided to wait no longer, and to continue further in my journey to witness all new sights. However, as I stepped into the wreath, I was transported into the world that was so far more interesting than my own. And so far more confusing…

title: Morbid Memories

question: How does the story begin?

answer: It begins with an infected mushroom.

question: How long do the mushroom's effects last?

answer: 7 - 9 hours.

question: What are the effects of the infected mushrooms?

answer: Rapidly changing colors, noises that fade or increasing in volume, peace, no fear, makes the user feel good, hallucinations.

question: What happens when the narrator steps on the laurel wreath?

answer: He gets transported into another world more interesting and confusing than his own.

question: Write a ~5 sentence summary.

answer: A man ingests an infected mushroom and begins to hallucinate. He is tranquil and feels no fear. When the effects of the mushroom start to wear out, he has heart palpitations and nausea, so he leaves his room. He sees a portal shaped like a laurel wreath and walks towards it. He gets transported into another world more interesting and confusing than his own.


text:
_DEFINITELY DEAD_ is the sixth book in Charlaine Harris's series _The Southern Vampire Mysteries_.

Plot summary

After surviving a Were attack while attending a play in Shreveport with her new boyfriend John Quinn, Sookie Stackhouse goes to New Orleans to sort out the affairs of her cousin Hadley, a vampire who was murdered. When she arrives, she finds Hadley's apartment under a stasis spell that was placed there by the talented and helpful young witch Amelia Broadway, Hadley's landlady. When the spell is removed, Sookie and Amelia are attacked by a newly turned vampire (later revealed to be a Were named Jake Purifoy) whose rising was delayed due to Amelia's stasis spell. Sookie and Amelia are taken to the emergency room after this attack and it is here that Bill, due to Eric interfering, tells Sookie the truth behind his move to Bon Temps.

The following night, Sookie calls on the Queen of Louisiana, Sophie-Anne Leclerq, and her new husband, the vampire king of Arkansas, Peter Threadgill. Their conversation eventually leads to the revelation that Amelia and some of her peers plan to magically reconstruct the events of the night of Jake Purifoy's turning. Sophie-Anne decides that this is something she would like to see, so she, her entourage, and Sookie go back to Hadley's together where they find the witches ready to perform the ectoplasmic reconstruction spell. Once the spell runs its course, Sophie-Anne, Andre, and Sookie go into Hadley's apartment for a private conversation where, among other things (such as Sookie being told that she has fairy blood and therefore attracts supernaturals), Sophie-Anne asks Sookie to look carefully through Hadley's things and locate a missing diamond bracelet that was given to the queen by Threadgill; the discovery that this bracelet is missing would mean political disaster for Sophie-Anne.

Quinn is also in New Orleans on business, and so the couple is together when a group of Weres break into Hadley's apartment to kidnap Sookie and transport her to the Pelt family. With cunning on their part, and help from Eric and the vampire Rasul, Sookie is able to resolve her differences with the Pelts.

Sookie and Quinn attend the party Sophie-Anne and Peter throw in celebration of their new union. The night ends in violence. Events that take place once the fighting breaks out directly influence the events of the seventh book, “All Together Dead.” Sookie and a wounded Quinn make it back to Hadley's apartment. The next day, Sookie, Amelia, Bob the cat, and Everett (the young man Mr. Cataliades sends to help Sookie with Hadley's apartment) make their way back to Bon Temps.

title: Definitely Dead

question: What series of books is Definitely Dead in?

answer: The Southern Vampire Mysteries.

question: Who wrote Definitely Dead?

answer: Charlaine Harris.

question: Where was Sookie Stackhouse attending a play at the beginning of the book "Definitely Dead"?

answer: Shreveport.

question: What number of book in the series The Southern Vampire Mysteries is Definitely Dead?

answer: 6th.

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: This article is about Definitely Dead, a novel in the Southern Vampire Mysteries series by Charlaine Harris.


text:
The JOINT DIRECT ATTACK MUNITION (JDAM) is a guidance kit that converts unguided bombs, or “dumb bombs”, into all-weather precision-guided munitions. JDAM-equipped bombs are guided by an integrated inertial guidance system coupled to a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver, giving them a published range of up to . JDAM-equipped bombs range from to .[1] The JDAM's guidance system was jointly developed by the United States Air Force and United States Navy, hence the “joint” in JDAM.[2] When installed on a bomb, the JDAM kit is given a GBU (Guided Bomb Unit) nomenclature, superseding the Mark 80 or BLU (Bomb, Live Unit) nomenclature of the bomb to which it is attached.

The JDAM is not a stand-alone weapon; rather it is a “bolt-on” guidance package that converts unguided gravity bombs into precision-guided munitions (PGMs). The key components of the system consist of a tail section with aerodynamic control surfaces, a (body) strake kit, and a combined inertial guidance system and GPS guidance control unit.

The JDAM was meant to improve upon laser-guided bomb and imaging infrared technology, which can be hindered by bad ground and weather conditions. Laser seekers are now being fitted to some JDAMs.[3]

From 1998 to November 2016, Boeing completed more than 300,000 JDAM guidance kits. In 2017, it built more than 130 kits per day.[4] As of February 2020, 430,000 kits had been produced.[5]

History

Development

[U.S. Navy sailors attach a JDAM kit aboard the , in March 2003.]

The U.S. Air Force's bombing campaign during the Persian Gulf War's Operation Desert Storm was less effective than initially reported, in part because it had no precision bombs that were accurate in all weather. Laser guidance packages on bombs proved exceptionally accurate in clear conditions, but amid airborne dust, smoke, fog, or cloud cover, they had difficulty maintaining “lock” on the laser designation. Research, development, testing and evaluation (RDT&E) of an “adverse weather precision guided munition” began in 1992. Several proposals were considered, including a radical concept that used GPS. At the time, there were few GPS satellites and the idea of using satellite navigation for real-time weapon guidance was untested and controversial. To identify the technical risk associated with an INS/GPS guided weapon, the Air Force created in early 1992 a rapid-response High Gear program called the “JDAM Operational Concept Demonstration” (OCD) at Eglin Air Force Base. Honeywell, Interstate Electronics Corporation, Sverdrup Technology, and McDonnell Douglas were hired to help the USAF 46th Test Wing demonstrate the feasibility of a GPS weapon within one year. The OCD program fitted a GBU-15 guided bomb with an INS/GPS guidance kit and on 10 February 1993, dropped the first INS/GPS weapon from an F-16 on a target downrange. Five more tests were run in various weather conditions, altitudes, and ranges.[6] The OCD program demonstrated an 11-meter Circular Error Probable (CEP).

[The first flight test of the first GPS-guided weapon resulted in a direct hit on a target at Eglin Air Force Base on 10 February 1993.]

The first JDAM kits were delivered in 1997, with operational testing conducted in 1998 and 1999. During testing, over 450 JDAMs were dropped achieving a system reliability in excess of 95% with a published accuracy under CEP.[7] In addition to controlled parameter drops, the testing and evaluation of the JDAM also included “operationally representative tests” consisting of drops through clouds, rain and snow with no decrease in accuracy from clear-weather tests. In addition, there have been tests involving multiple weapon drops with each weapon being individually targeted.[8]

[Ex-_Schenectady_ (LST-1185) lists after being struck by four 2,000-pound JDAMs on 23 November 2004.] JDAM and the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber made their combat debuts during Operation Allied Force. The B-2s, flying 30-hour, nonstop, round-trip flights from Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, delivered more than 650 JDAMs during Allied Force. An article published in the _Acquisition Review Journal_ in 2002 cites that “during Operation Allied Force ... B-2s launched 651 JDAMs with 96% reliability and hit 87% of intended targets...”[9] Due to the operational success of the original JDAM, the program expanded to the Mark 82 and Mark 83, beginning development in late 1999. As a result of lessons from Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, both the US Navy and US Air Force pursued improvements to the kits such as better GPS accuracy as well as a precision seeker for terminal guidance for use against moving targets.

JDAM bombs are inexpensive compared to alternatives such as cruise missiles. The original cost estimate was $40,000 each for the tail kits; however, after competitive bidding, contracts were signed with McDonnell Douglas (later Boeing) for delivery at $18,000 each. Unit costs, in current-year dollars, have since increased to $21,000 in 2004 and $27,000 by 2011.[10] To the cost of the tail kit should be added the costs of the Mk80-series iron bomb, the fuze and proximity sensor which bring the overall weapon cost to about $30,000. For comparison, the newest Tomahawk cruise missile, dubbed the Tactical Tomahawk, costs nearly $730,000.[11][12]

Operational use

[JDAMs loaded under the left wing of an F-16 Fighting Falcon with a LITENING II Targeting Pod visible beneath the fuselage]

Guidance is facilitated through a tail control system and a GPS-aided inertial navigation system (INS). The navigation system is initialized by transfer alignment from the aircraft that provides position and velocity vectors from the aircraft systems. Once released from the aircraft, the JDAM autonomously navigates to the designated target coordinates. Target coordinates can be loaded into the aircraft before takeoff, manually altered by the aircrew in flight prior to weapon release, or entered by a datalink from onboard targeting equipment, such as the LITENING II or “Sniper” targeting pods. In its most accurate mode, the JDAM system will provide a minimum weapon accuracy CEP of five meters or less when a GPS signal is available. If the GPS signal is jammed or lost, the JDAM can still achieve a 30-meter CEP or less for free flight times up to 100 seconds.[13]

The introduction of GPS guidance to weapons brought several improvements to air-to-ground warfare. The first is a real all-weather capability since GPS is not affected by rain, clouds, fog, smoke, or artificial obscurants. Previous precision guided weapons relied on seekers using infrared, visual light, or a reflected laser spot to “see” the ground target. These seekers were not effective when the target was obscured by fog and low altitude clouds and rain (as encountered in Kosovo), or by dust and smoke (as encountered in Desert Storm).

The second advantage is an expanded launch acceptance region (LAR). The LAR defines the region that the aircraft must be within to launch the weapon and hit the target. Non-GPS based precision guided weapons using seekers to guide to the target have significant restrictions on the launch envelope due to the seeker field of view. Some of these systems (such as the Paveway I, II, and III) must be launched so that the target remains in the seeker field of view throughout the weapon trajectory (or for lock-on-after-launch engagements, the weapon must be launched so that the target is in the field of view during the terminal flight). This requires the aircraft to fly generally straight at the target when launching the weapon. This restriction is eased in some other systems (such as the GBU-15 and the AGM-130) through the ability of a Weapon System Operator (WSO) in the aircraft to manually steer the weapon to the target. Using a WSO requires a data link between the weapon and the controlling aircraft and requires the controlling aircraft to remain in the area (and possibly vulnerable to defensive fire) as long as the weapon is under manual control. Since GPS-based flight control systems know the weapon's current location and the target location, these weapons can autonomously adjust the trajectory to hit the target. This allows the launch aircraft to release the weapon at very large off-axis angles including releasing weapons to attack targets behind the aircraft.

[JDAMs prior to being loaded for operations over Iraq, 2003]

The third advantage is a true “fire-and-forget” capability in which the weapon does not require any support after being launched. This allows the launching aircraft to leave the target area and proceed to its next mission immediately after launching the GPS guided weapon.

Another important capability provided by GPS-based guidance is the ability to completely tailor a flight trajectory to meet criteria other than simply hitting a target. Weapon trajectories can be controlled so that a target can be impacted at precise headings and vertical angles. This provides the ability to impact perpendicular to a target surface and minimize the angle of attack (maximizing penetration), detonate the warhead at the optimum angle to maximize the warhead effectiveness, or have the weapon fly into the target area from a different heading than the launch aircraft (decreasing the risk of detection of the aircraft). GPS also provides an accurate time source common to all systems; this allows multiple weapons to loiter and impact targets at preplanned times and intervals.

In recognition of these advantages, most weapons including the Paveway, GBU-15, and the AGM-130 have been upgraded with a GPS capability. This enhancement combines the flexibility of GPS with the superior accuracy of seeker guidance.

[GBU-38 explosions in Iraq in 2008.]

Despite their precision, JDAM employment has risks. On 5 December 2001, a JDAM dropped by a B-52 in Afghanistan nearly killed Hamid Karzai, while he was leading anti-Taliban forces near Sayd Alim Kalay alongside a US Army Special Forces (SF) team. A large force of Taliban soldiers had engaged the combined force of Karzai's men and their American SF counterparts, nearly overwhelming them. The SF commander requested Close Air Support (CAS) to strike the Taliban positions in an effort to stop their advance. A JDAM was subsequently dropped, but instead of striking the Taliban positions, it struck the Afghan/American position, killing three and injuring 20. An investigation of the incident determined that the U.S. Air Force Tactical Control Party (TACP) attached to the Special Forces team had changed the battery in the GPS receiver at some point during the battle, thereby causing the device to return to “default” and “display its own coordinates.” Not realizing that this had occurred, the TACP relayed his own coordinates to the delivery aircraft.[14][15]

Upgrades

[DSU-33 Airburst sensor (right)]

Experience during Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom led US air power planners to seek additional capabilities in one package, resulting in ongoing program upgrades to place a precision terminal guidance seeker in the JDAM kit.[16] The Laser JDAM (LJDAM), as this upgrade is known, adds a laser seeker to the nose of a JDAM-equipped bomb, giving the ability to engage moving targets to the JDAM. The Laser Seeker is a cooperative development between Boeing's Defense, Space and Security unit and Israel's Elbit Systems.[17] It is called Precision Laser Guidance Set (PLGS) by Boeing and consists of the Laser Seeker itself, now known as DSU-38/B, and a wire harness fixed under the bomb body to connect the DSU-38/B with the tail kit. During FY2004, Boeing and the U.S. Air Force began testing of the laser guidance capability for JDAM, with these tests demonstrating that the system is capable of targeting and destroying moving targets.[18] This dual guidance system retains the ability to operate on GPS/INS alone, if laser guidance is unavailable, with the same accuracy of the earlier JDAM.

[GBU-54 laser seeker.]

On June 11, 2007, Boeing announced that it had been awarded a $28 million contract by the U.S. Air Force to deliver 600 laser seekers (400 to the Air Force and 200 to the Navy) by June 2009.[19] According to the Boeing Corporation, in tests at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcons and F-15E Strike Eagles dropped twelve LJDAMs that successfully struck high-speed moving targets. Using onboard targeting equipment, the launch aircraft self-designated, and self-guided their bombs to impact on the targets. In addition to the LJDAM kits, Boeing is also testing under a Navy development contract, an anti-jamming system for the JDAM, with development expected to be completed during 2007, with deliveries to commence in 2008.[20] The system is known as the Integrated GPS Anti-Jam System (IGAS).

Boeing announced on September 15, 2008 that it had conducted demonstration flights with the LJDAM loaded aboard a B-52H.[21]

The GBU-54 LJDAM made its combat debut on August 12, 2008 in Iraq when an F-16 from the 77th Fighter Squadron engaged a moving vehicle in Diyala province.[22] Furthermore, the GBU-54 LJDAM made its combat debut in the Afghan theater by the 510th Fighter Squadron in October 2010.[23]

In September 2012, Boeing began full-rate production of Laser JDAM for US Navy and received a contract for more than 2,300 bomb kits.[24]

On July 24, 2008 Germany signed a contract with Boeing to become the first international customer of LJDAM. Deliveries for the German Air Force began in mid-2009. The order also includes the option for further kits in 2009.[25]

In November 2014, the U.S. Air Force began development of a version of the GBU-31 JDAM intended to track and attack sources of electronic warfare jamming directed to disrupt the munitions' guidance. The Home-on-Jam seeker works similar to the AGM-88 HARM to follow the source of a radio-frequency jammer to destroy it.[26]

JDAM Extended Range

In 2006, the Australian Defence Science and Technology Organisation in conjunction with Boeing Australia successfully tested extended range JDAM variants at Woomera Test Range.[27]

In 2009, Boeing announced that it will jointly develop the Joint Direct Attack Munition Extended Range (JDAM-ER) with South Korea.[28] The guidance kit will triple the range of JDAM to 80 km for the same accuracy, and will cost $10,000 per unit.[29] The first prototypes are to be completed in 2010 or 2011.

The wing kits of Australia's JDAM-ER weapons will be built by Ferra Engineering. First tests are to be conducted in 2013 with production orders in 2015.[30]

In 2010 Boeing proposed adding a jet engine tailkit to the JDAM-ER for 10 times greater range.[31][32] The U.S. Air Force initially didn't show interest in the concept, but by 2020 Boeing believed the service had regained interest in acquiring low-cost cruise missiles. The Powered JDAM has the range of more sophisticated missiles through a low-cost engine while being cheaper through not have a stealthy shape or the ability to conduct low-altitude flights. Though less survivable, Powered JDAMs could be networked to provide a cheap standoff weapon to overwhelm air defense systems.[33][34]

Precision aerial minelaying

On 23 September 2014, the U.S. Air Force performed the first-ever drop of a precision-guided aerial mine, consisting of a Quickstrike mine equipped with a JDAM kit. The Quickstrike is a Mark 80-series general-purpose bomb with the fuze replaced with a target detection device (TDD) to detonate it when a ship passes within lethal range, a safe/arm device in the nose, and a parachute-retarder tailkit in the back. Dropping of naval mines has historically been challenging, as the delivery aircraft has to fly low and slow, at , making it vulnerable to hostile fire; the first aerial mining mission of Operation Desert Storm resulted in the loss of an aircraft, and the U.S. has not flown any combat aerial minings since. The Quickstrike-J is a JDAM-equipped 1,000 lb or 2,000 lb version, and the GBU-62B(V-1)/B Quickstrike-ER is a 500 lb or 2,000 lb gliding version based on the JDAM-ER, which has a range of when launched from . Precision airdropping of naval mines is the first advance in aerial mine delivery techniques since World War II and can increase the survivability of delivery aircraft, since instead of making multiple slow passes at low altitude directly over the area an aircraft can release all of their mines in a single pass from a standoff distance and altitude, and increase the mines' effectiveness, since instead of laying a random pattern of mines in a loosely defined area they can be laid directly into harbor mouths, shipping channels, canals, rivers, and inland waterways, reducing the number of mines required and enhancing the possibility of blocking ship transit corridors. Enemy naval ports can also be blockaded, and a defensive minefield quickly planted to protect areas threatened by amphibious assault.[35][36][37]

Integration

[JDAMs loaded onto a Heavy Stores Adaptor Beam (HSAB) under the wing of a B-52H Stratofortress] [2,000lb GBU-31s ripple drop in Afghanistan by two F-15Es, 2009.]

Current

JDAM is currently compatible with:

-   A-4 Skyhawk
-   AV-8B Harrier II
-   A-10 Thunderbolt II
-   AMX International AMX
-   B-1B Lancer
-   B-2A Spirit
-   B-52H Stratofortress
-   F-15E Strike Eagle
-   F-16AM/BM/C/D Fighting Falcon
-   CF-18 Hornet
-   F/A-18A+/A++/C/D Hornet
-   F/A-18E/F Super Hornet
-   F-22 Raptor
-   F-35 Lightning II
-   MQ-9 Reaper
-   Mitsubishi F-2
-   Panavia Tornado
-   Mirage F-1
-   Saab JAS 39 Gripen
-   A-29 Super Tucano[38]
-   KAI FA-50

Past

JDAM was compatible with the following aircraft:

-   F-14B/D Tomcat – retired
-   F-117 Nighthawk – retired
-   S-3 Viking – retired

Operators

[Map with JDAM operators in blue] Apart from being used by its main user—the United States military—the U.S. government has also approved the JDAM for export sale under the Arms Export Control Act, though in limited numbers to only a few countries.

Current operators

-   [39]

-   -

        The Royal Canadian Air Force used their first JDAM during Operation Mobile in 2011.[40]

-   -   -   -   GBU-31V1[41][42]

-

        first international customer of JDAM

-   -   102 kits delivered as of 2020.

-   [43]

-

        [44] Between 900 and 1,000 GBU-31s and GBU-32s were produced in Italy for the Aeronautica Militare by Oto Melara

-

        + LJDAM[45]

-   -   [46]

-   [47]

-   [48]

-   [49]

-   -   [50]

-   [51]

-   -   -   [52]

-   -   -

        [53] Spanish Naval Air Arm EAV-8B+ (only GBU-38)

-   -   -   -   -   [54]

Former Operators

-   (Only GBU-16)

General characteristics

-   Primary function: Guided air-to-surface weapon
-   Contractor: Boeing
-   Length: (JDAM and warhead) GBU-31 (v) 1/B: ; GBU-31 (v) 3/B: ; GBU-32 (v) 1/B: ; GBU-38 (v) /B: 2.35 m (92.64 inches)
-   Launch weight: (JDAM and warhead) GBU-31 (v) 1/B: ; GBU-31 (v) 3/B: ; GBU-32 (v) 1/B: ; GBU-38 (v) /B:
-   Wingspan: GBU-31: ; GBU-32:
-   Range: Up to
-   Ceiling:
-   Guidance system: GPS/INS
-   Unit cost: Approximately $22,000 per tailkit (FY 07 dollars)[55]
-   Date deployed: 1999
-   Inventory: The tailkit is in full-rate production. Projected inventory is approximately 240,000 total, 158,000 for the US Air Force and 82,000 for the US Navy. (As of October 2005)

Variants

[USAF artist rendering of JDAM kits fitted to Mk 84, BLU-109, Mk 83, and Mk 82 unguided bombs.]

-   2,000 lb (900 kg) nominal weight
    -   GBU-31(V)1/B (USAF) Mk-84
    -   GBU-31(V)2/B (USN/USMC) Mk-84
    -   GBU-31(V)3/B (USAF) BLU-109
    -   GBU-31(V)4/B (USN/USMC) BLU-109
    -   GBU-31(V)5/B (USAF) BLU-119/B
    -   GBU-31v11: Guided BLU-136 cluster bomb replacement[56]
-   1,000 lb (450 kg) nominal weight
    -   GBU-32(V)1/B (USAF) Mk-83
    -   GBU-32(V)2/B (USN/USMC) Mk-83
    -   GBU-35(V)1/B (USN/USMC) BLU-110
-   500 lb (225 kg) nominal weight
    -   GBU-38(V)1/B (USAF) Mk-82 and BLU-111
    -   GBU-38(V)2/B (USN/USMC) Mk-82 and BLU-111
    -   GBU-38(V)3/B (USAF) BLU-126/B
    -   GBU-38(V)4/B (USN/USMC) BLU-126/B
    -   GBU-38(V)5/B (USAF) BLU-129/B
    -   GBU-54/B Laser JDAM (Mk-82)

Similar systems

-   Paveway IV built by Raytheon UK and used by the Royal Air Force. A dual-mode laser-guided/GPS-guided munition.
-   HGK (bomb) designed and developed by Turkish Defence Institute TUBITAK-SAGE[57][58]
-   Spice (bomb) – guidance kit developed by Rafael for the Israeli Air Force
-   SMKB – Brazilian guidance kit developed by Mectron and Britanite
-   AASM – French guidance kit with metric precision developed by Safran.
-   B61 Mod 12 (also called a B61-12) – United States nuclear freefall bomb with a JDAM type guidance kit added. The higher accuracy allows a hardened target to be destroyed with a smaller nuclear weapon in terms of yield.
-   FT PGB - A similar Chinese system.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4] Boeing boosts production of precision-guided bomb kits made in St. Charles to fight ongoing wars by air - STLToday.com, 27 January 2017

[5] Powered JDAM: Boeing’s New Alternative to Cruise Missiles. _Air Force Magazine_. 28 February 2020.

[6] INS/GPS Operational Concept Demonstration (OCD) High Gear Program, IEEE Aerospace and Electronic Systems Magazine, 8 August 1994.

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11] “The JDAM Revolution” article by Peter Grier in _Air Force Online_, the journal of the Air Force Association, September, 2006.

[12] (p 52)

[13]

[14]

[15] uni-bielefeld.de Why–because analysis (p. 9).

[16]

[17] U.S. Backs Israeli Munitions Upgrades, _Defence News_, May 3 2010.

[18]

[19]

[20]

[21] Boeing Press Release, 15 September 2008 .

[22]

[23]

[24] Boeing Begins Full-Rate Production of Laser JDAM for US Navy - Defense-Aerospace.com, September 25, 2012

[25] Germany becomes the first international customer of LDJAM , Boeing.com

[26] Air Force to enable smart weapons to track and kill sources of electronic warfare (EW) jamming - Militaryaerospace.com, 13 November 2014

[27] TESTS OF EXTENDED RANGE ‘SMART’ BOMBS - Australian Department of Defence, 12 September 2009

[28] Boeing Partners with Times Aerospace Korea to Develop Smart Bomb. Aerospace-Technology.com

[29]

[30]

[31]

[32]

[33]

[34] Boeing resurrects effort to turn JDAM bomb into cheap cruise missile. _Flight International_. 2 March 2020.

[35] Col. Michael W. Pietrula, “New Wrinkles in Maritime Warfare”, _The Diplomat_, 3 December 2015.

[36] Get Ready, China and Iran: American Naval Super Mines Are Coming - Nationalinterest.org, 19 October 2015

[37] Twenty-First-Century Aerial Mining

[38] “Bringing Back Counter-Insurgency: AT-6B vs. A-29B” _Defence Talk_, 10 September 2011. Retrieved: 15 January 2012.

[39]

[40]

[41]

[42]

[43]

[44]

[45] 航空ファン 2008-12 P118

[46]

[47]

[48]

[49]

[50] http://www.pafwallpapers.com/gallery_F-16-bk52/F-16-bk52_jdam.jpg

[51]

[52]

[53]

[54] |Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States (TECRO) – F-16C/D Block 70 Aircraft and Related Equipment and Support August 20, 2019

[55]

[56] Air Force Tests New Bomb That Could Replace Controversial Cluster Munitions. _Military.com_. 2 September 2020.

[57]

[58]

title: Joint Direct Attack Munition

question: What makes JDAM-equipped bombs better than regular bombs?

answer: JDAM bombs are inexpensive as well as converts non-guidance bombs into more accurate precision-guided munitions.


text:
[]

-   Issue: *
-   -

Year: 1985
Duration: 01:24:50
Directed by: Mardi Rustam
Actors: Aldo Ray, Neville Brand and Tina Louise
Language: English
Country: USA

Also known as: Demon’s Night

Description: Several teenagers were abducted and placed in a hospital, in which three of the aliens are operating using the blood of the earth patients in prolonging their own lives. Starring Aldo Ray, who also played in SWEET SAVAGE and SWIFT JUSTICE

This uproariously bad sci-fi horror oddity plays like a contemporary form of a cheesy ’50s alien invasion flick, only not as clever. The filmmakers deserve some credit for throwing everything but the kitchen area sink into the plot (and perhaps also the sink’s in there somewhere), which involves the diabolical plans of three silver-suited aliens, played by — prepared with this? — John Carradine, Julie Newmar (TV’s Catwoman), and Tina Louise (Ginger from Gilligan’s Island), who employ a couple of drunken wrench jockeys (Neville Brand and Aldo Ray) to assist them abduct a lot of lame-brained teenage campers for usage in the manufacturing of a youth-restoring serum. This allows for endless riffing on the Friday the 13th situation, as over-sexed teenagers are stalked by ski-masked Brand and Ray.

My 10/10 rating of course only applies to the sorts of people who’ve decided that they like this movie even before they watch it (like me); for anyone else, this movie is a total zero. “Evils of the Night” has some aliens seeking human blood as the key to eternal life. And what luck! There’s a bunch of horny teenagers camping out near a lake! When I saw the box in Movie Madness, it mainly caught my eye due to the casting of Tina Louise; after all, what man wouldn’t want to be stranded on an island with Ginger Grant? Anyway, here she plays one of the aliens, and Julie “Catwoman” Newmar plays another. As for the horny teens, they’re the kind of characters who horny teens are supposed to be in horror flicks: the boys are a bunch of sex-starved goof-offs, and the girls all have giant breasts. Will your sex drive get going while watching “Evils of the Night”? Let me put it this way: aside from making one think about Ginger Grant, probably a quarter to a third of the movie shows people having sex. And those girls were hot! Hubba hubba…

Some people may think that these kinds of movies are completely worthless, but I must disagree. “Worthless” in my opinion means that it pretends to be important but doesn’t actually amount to anything. This movie doesn’t pretend to be anything but nice, silly fun. Cool.

-   (S)Exploitation
-   Grindhouse & Cult

Extremities (1986) watch online thriller

If you don't like ads you can go SleazeMovies.com and Subscribe at USD 5,00/month by Clicking Here ! You can find all movies + Early Access Shows in there without ads or any limitations ! Report Video Issue Issue: * Broken Video Subtitle Issue Copyright Infringement Invalid Contents Submit Report […]

[]

question: When was the movie made?

answer: 1985.

question: Who directed the movie?

answer: Mardi Rustam.

question: What language was the movie in?

answer: English.

question: How long was the movie?

answer: 01:24:50.

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: The article is a summary of a pulpy horror movie about aliens from 1985. The author says that most people would not like the movie, but if you like bad movies it is fantastic. The movie also has a lot of sex in it.


text:
“There are times, as an educator, when you can look into a student’s eyes and see their energy, their passion for learning, and you glow - knowing that you have helped foster their love of knowledge and understanding of the world around them. This was not one of those times,” Alex began softly, his eyes vacant as he tried to count the number of dots in the fiberboard ceiling tiles.

“In fact, as I lowered my gaze across the sprawling red-oak conference table I found my eyes resting upon a slack-jawed tenth grader who has developed a habit of making his instructors cry – precisely the last problem I needed to deal with this Friday,” he paused for effect, but Dean Fisher would deny him the satisfaction of acknowledgement while he scribbled in his notes.

“We sat in silence for what seemed like hours before I could reconcile what had to be done. Alex Decker would have to be put to death-“

“Thank you, Mr. Decker, but I have my own inner monologue to narrate, and it does not need any coercion into murdering a student of Williamson High School.”

The room was still. Dean Fisher was not a man who physically commanded respect, but he had a gift for declaring things with authority. The room remained still until Dean Fisher removed his reading glasses and put down his crossword puzzle.

Alex raised an eyebrow.

“Mr. Decker,” Dean Fisher let the name roll off his tongue as if he were trying it out for the first time, “Why are you making my employees cry?”

Alex resumed counting fiberboard dots.

“Mrs. Clemens won’t actually tell me what you said or did to her...”

Twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty, thirty-one…

“…this makes it hard for me to administer discipline.”

Thirty-one…wait, shit.

“But of course you know that. But what you didn’t know is that Daphne Clemens took her own life thirty minutes ago at her home in Clarksville.”

Alex felt the words hit him at once, sending his stomach plummeting to the center of the universe.

“She…what?” His lips were numb as he formed the words.

“She offed herself! No note, no nothing. Nobody knows what to make of it.”

“I…I don’t even know what to-“

“Okay, I’m fucking with you, Alex.  But for the love of god you have to stop calling your instructors fat.”

The relief rolled over Alex’s body in waves and he sunk into the leather armchair feeling both emancipated and savagely exploited.

“I didn’t call her fat; I didn’t call her anything.”

“You replaced her birthday cake in the faculty lounge with a replica that read “Congratulations on your thirty-five year pregnancy.”

“I want my lawyer.”

“You’re fifteen.”

“Touche,” Alex shrugged and sunk back into the armchair.

Dean Fisher studied the boy carefully.

“Dean Fisher studied the boy carefully. He definitely had to be assassinated-“

“Get out of my office, Alex.”

Alex stood, gathering his books and slinging his book bag over one shoulder lazily. At the door he spun on his heels, nonchalantly tossing a polished, delicious red apple towards his administrator.

It nonchalantly collided with Dean Fisher’s left eye with a sickening thwap. The swelling began immediately.

title: Alex Decker to the Front Office [~500 words]

question: Why is Alex called to the office?

answer: Alex has been called to the office for mocking one of his teachers for her weight.

question: Describe the Dean's office.

answer: The office has a sprawling red-oak conference table and fiberboard ceiling tiles.

question: Describe the relationship between Alex and Daphne.

answer: Daphne is one of Alex's teachers.

question: What sort of punishment does Alex receive?

answer: The Dean doesn't administer a punshiment; he just tells Alex to leave his office.

question: How old is Alex?

answer: Alex is fifteen years old.

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: Alex is called to the office after making fun of Daphne Clemens, one of his teachers, for being fat. The Dean tells Alex that Daphne killed herself but then reveals he is only messing with him. The Dean dismisses Alex, and Alex throws an apple at him.


text:
Once upon a time there was a beautiful oak tree full with small and big acorns, All the birds and squirrels visit the tree to have parties and eat the acorns but as the tree got older it became very, very sick.

All the acorns fell of the tree except one acorn. The acorn that was left, was very lonely. As all his friends left. He cried himself to sleep every night.

One day a bird flew past the tree. The bird was very tired and sad as he lost his family on his way to the sun. He saw the sick oak tree and landed on a branch to sleep. The acorn saw the bird and said: Oh bird, Hello? But the bird did not hear him as he was so tired.

The acorn stayed up all night so he would not miss the bird. He was so happy, finally he would have a friend and would be able to leave the tree.

When the bird woke up, he was very hungry. He finally saw the acorn and flew over to the acorn.

Hello mister bird said the acorn. Oh hello acorn, I am very hungry said the bird.

The acorn was very happy and said to the bird: I would like to come with you. I want too become an oak tree myself.

The bird said: Okay, Let’s go on an adventure together.

The bird flew away once he was finished eating the acorn and went looking for his family. He flew and flew and when he finally found the land of the sun he found his family again.

A few days later the acorn fell out of the bird into the grass below. The acorn found a nice spot to sleep. The rain came and years past. The bird always came back to the acorn each year. Until the bird was old and grey and the acorn was a beautiful and big oak tree full with acorns which the bird would eat.

The end.

title: The acorn and the bird. (Short child story)

question: What happens to the acorn at the end of the story?

answer: The acorn is excreted by the bird and lands in the grass, eventually growing into an oak tree.

question: What is the main conflict of the story?

answer: The acorn is lonely and the bird is hungry.

question: Describe the adventure the bird and the acorn go on.

answer: The bird eats the acorn and goes looking for his family.

question: Why did the acorn feel lonely?

answer: All of the acorns fell from the tree except for him.

question: Write a ~5 sentence summary.

answer: An oak tree gets sick and all of the acorns fall except one. The last remaining acorn is lonely. A hungry bird lands on the tree and the acorn agrees to go on an adventure with the bird. The bird eats the acorn and sets off in search of his family. The acorn is then excreted by the bird and lands in the grass, where he eventually grows into an oak tree.


text:
DAVIDSON COUNTY COURTHOUSE, also known as METROPOLITAN COURTHOUSE, is an Art Deco building built during 1936–37 in Nashville, Tennessee. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.[1]

It is an eight-story steelframe building sheathed with light beige Indiana limestone and gray-green granite as trim at entrances. It was designed by Nashville architect Emmons H. Woolwine and Hirons and Dennison of New York, who won a design competition for the project. It was the first building with central air conditioning in Davidson County.[2]

The building is also Nashville's City Hall and houses the offices of the Mayor of Nashville and the Nashville City Council, therein.[3]

On May 30, 2020 the building was affected by fire started by rioters.[4] Despite damage, the courthouse still reopened on June 1, 2020,[5] with at least one suspected arsonist arrested.[6]

[1]

[2]  with

[3] https://www.nashvilledowntown.com/go/public-square-and-davidson-county-courthouse

[4] https://eu.tennessean.com/story/news/crime/2020/05/31/nashville-police-arrest-courthouse-fire-wesley-somers/5304025002/

[5] https://www.newschannel5.com/news/nashville-courthouse-to-reopen-monday-after-destructive-protests

[6] https://www.ajc.com/news/breaking-nashville-city-hall-set-ablaze-amid-george-floyd-protest/tK8HBHVjukQBhSfsGiw2fJ/

title: Davidson County Courthouse - Nashville City Hall

question: The Davidson County Courthouse (Nashville City Hall) was built using what style?

answer: Art Deco

question: Describe the Davidson County Courthouse.

answer: It is an eight-story, Art Deco steel frame building sheathed with light beige Indiana limestone and gray-green granite as trim at entrances. Built from 1936 -1937, it was the first building with central air conditioning in Davidson County. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.

question: What are the other functions of the Davidson County Courthouse?

answer: The building is also Nashville's City Hall and houses the offices of the Mayor of Nashville and the Nashville City Council.

question: What happened to the Davidson County Courthouse on May 30, 2020?

answer: The building was affected by a fire started by rioters. Despite damage, the courthouse still reopened on June 1, 2020, with at least one suspected arsonist arrested.

question: Write a ~4 sentence summary.

answer: The Davidson County Courthouse aka Metropolitan Courthouse is an eight-story, Art Deco steel frame building sheathed with light beige Indiana limestone and gray-green granite as trim at entrances. Built from 1936 -1937, it was the first building with central air conditioning in Davidson County. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987. The building is Nashville's City Hall and houses the offices of the Mayor of Nashville and the Nashville City Council.


text:
JOHN FREEMAN “JACK” HASEY (3 November 1916 – 9 May 2005) was an American captain in the French Foreign Legion during World War II and a senior operations officer with the CIA afterwards. Hasey was one of only four Americans, including Dwight D. Eisenhower, to have been named a Companion of the Ordre de la Libération, France's highest World War II honor.

History

Birth

Hasey was born in Brockton, Massachusetts in 1916. In 1936, leaving Columbia University after only one year, Hasey headed to France, telling his parents that he intended to study at the Sorbonne. At the height of the depression, Hasey struggled to find work, but eventually landed a position as a salesman for the French jeweler Cartier.

Military career

When the Winter War between The Soviet Union and Finland broke out in 1939, Hasey, along with other Americans, formed an ambulance unit, the Iroquois Ambulance Corps, and headed to the war front to help aid the Finns. Later, some time in the 1950s, Finland awarded him the Liberty Cross. After the war, and having recovered from a wound to his arm, Hasey planned to return to his work at Cartier.

With the German invasion of Western Europe, Hasey promptly volunteered to join the Free French Forces led by General Charles de Gaulle. During fighting around Damascus, Syria on June 20, 1941, Hasey's right jaw and larynx were shot away by enemy machine gun fire. He was decorated by de Gaulle as “the first American to shed blood for the liberation of France.” After his recovery, Hasey became a liaison between de Gaulle and Eisenhower. During 1942, he co-wrote a book, _Yankee Fighter: The Story of an American in the Free French Foreign Legion_ with Joseph F Dinneen. In August 1943, he became an aide-de-camp on the staff of General Marie Pierre Koenig, and remained with Koenig during his term as military Governor of Paris, August 1944.

Post-War

In 1950, he joined the CIA and worked in 17 countries until his retirement in 1974.

In 1996, French President Jacques Chirac named Hasey an officer in the Légion d'honneur.

On May 9, 2005, Hasey died at age 88 from complications after a stroke.

Honors

-   Compagnon de la Libération
-   Officer of the Légion d'honneur
-   Croix de guerre 39-45 with four citations
-   Combatant's Cross
-   Insignia for the Military Wounded
-   Order of the Cross of Liberty
-   Colonial Medal with “Free French Africa” clasp
-   1939–1945 Commemorative war medal (France)

title: John F. "Jack" Hasey

question: Why did Hasey feels compelled to fight for the French?

answer: Unknown. It might be because he lived there at the time and enjoyed living there. Or it might be that he wanted to serve but going back to America to enlist was impossible.


text:
Religious ministers will face criminal charges if they fail to report child abuse, including when disclosed during confession, the Victorian government has pledged.

Under current laws, priests and religious leaders are exempt from mandatory reporting, however the state government on Friday said if re-elected in November it would overturn this.

From next month, mandatory reporting laws will also be expanded to include registered psychologists, school counsellors, youth justice workers, early childhood and out-of-home carers.

"There is no excuse for anyone who works with kids to not report abuse," Minister for Families and Children Jenny Mikakos said.

The government's promise to amend the Children, Youth and Families Act comes in the wake of recommendations from the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sex Abuse, that laws concerning mandatory reporting to child protection authorities be expanded.

Current laws require teachers, school principals, doctors, nurses and police officers who believe a child is being abused to report or face criminal charges.

question: Approximately when was the article written?

answer: That information can't be found

question: Who is the author?

answer: That information can't be found

question: Where does the article apply to?

answer: Somewhere named Victoria, but there are many cities/provinces with that name

question: Who is currently required to report if they believe a child is being abused?

answer: Teachers, school principals, doctors, nurses, and police officers

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: The government of Victoria pledges to make it illegal for religious ministers to fail to report child abuse.


text:
DANIEL GOWLAND (1798–1883) was a British merchant and banker,[1] who served as member of the board of directors of the Argentine Western Railway.[2] He had an active participation in the commerce of Buenos Aires, toward 1856 he introduced from England La Porteña, the first locomotive train of the Argentina.[3]

Biography

He was born in Camberwell (London), son of Thomas Gowland and Sarah Philips, belonging to a high class family. He had arrived at the port of Buenos Aires with his parents and brothers in 1812.[4] In 1826, Gowland was married in the Anglican Cathedral of St. John the Baptist of Buenos Aires to María del Rosario Rubio de Velasco, daughter of José Rubio de Velasco, born in Cádiz, and Juana María Ribero Kelly, a Creole lady, belonging to a family of Irish roots.[5]

Established in Buenos Aires, he had founded the family business Gowland & Co.[6] A large exporting and importing company, integrated among other by his brother Thomas Gowland Phillips.[7] He was closely associated with the first railroad constructions in Argentina, being vice-president of Argentine Great Western Railway.[8] He was appointed president of the Commission of British Merchants in Buenos Aires in 1853,[9] and also served as commercial agent of the government of the Argentine Confederation in Buenos Aires.[10]

He also had an active participation in the banking institutions of Argentina, serving as executive director of the Bank of the Province of Buenos Aires between 1833 and 1834.[11]

His granddaughter, Sara Gowland Freyer, was married to Juan Alberto Lacroze Cernadas,[12] relative of Federico Lacroze, owner of Buenos Aires Central Railway.[13]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

title: Daniel Gowland

question: When was Gowland born?

answer: 1798

question: What organization was Gowland on the board of directors of?

answer: The Argentine Western Railway

question: Where most of Gowland's business ventures?

answer: Buenos Aires, Argentina

question: Who did Gowland marry?

answer: Maria del Rosario Rubio de Velasco

question: Write a ~4 sentence summary.

answer: Daniel Gowland was a British merchant and banker. He was born in 1798 in London, but his family moved to Buenos Aires in 1812. He later founded Gowland & Co., an importing and exporting company, became vice-president of Argentine Great Western Railway, and was active in Argentina's banking institutions. He died in 1883.


text:
MICHEL ROLLE (21 April 1652 – 8 November 1719) was a French mathematician. He is best known for Rolle's theorem (1691). He is also the co-inventor in Europe of Gaussian elimination (1690).

Life

Rolle was born in Ambert, Basse-Auvergne. Rolle, the son of a shopkeeper, received only an elementary education. He married early and as a young man struggled to support his family on the meager wages of a transcriber for notaries and attorney. In spite of his financial problems and minimal education, Rolle studied algebra and Diophantine analysis (a branch of number theory) on his own. He moved from Ambert to Paris in 1675.

Rolle's fortune changed dramatically in 1682 when he published an elegant solution of a difficult, unsolved problem in Diophantine analysis. The public recognition of his achievement led to a patronage under minister Louvois, a job as an elementary mathematics teacher, and eventually to a short-termed administrative post in the Ministry of War. In 1685 he joined the Académie des Sciences in a very low-level position for which he received no regular salary until 1699. Rolle was promoted to a salaried position in the Academy, a _pensionnaire géometre,_. This was a distinguished post because of the 70 members of the Academy, only 20 were paid.[1] He had then already been given a pension by Jean-Baptiste Colbert after he solved one of Jacques Ozanam's problems. He remained there until he died of apoplexy in 1719.

While Rolle's forte was always Diophantine analysis, his most important work was a book on the algebra of equations, called _Traité d'algèbre_, published in 1690. In that book Rolle firmly established the notation for the _n_th root of a real number, and proved a polynomial version of the theorem that today bears his name. (Rolle's theorem was named by Giusto Bellavitis in 1846.)

Rolle was one of the most vocal early antagonists of calculus – ironically so, because Rolle's theorem is essential for basic proofs in calculus. He strove intently to demonstrate that it gave erroneous results and was based on unsound reasoning. He quarreled so vehemently on the subject that the Académie des Sciences was forced to intervene on several occasions.

Among his several achievements, Rolle helped advance the currently accepted size order for negative numbers. Descartes, for example, viewed –2 as smaller than –5. Rolle preceded most of his contemporaries by adopting the current convention in 1691.

Rolle died in Paris. No contemporary portrait of him is known.

Work

Rolle was an early critic of infinitesimal calculus, arguing that it was inaccurate, based upon unsound reasoning, and was a collection of ingenious fallacies,[2] but later changed his opinion.[3]

[Michel Rolle, _Traité d'algèbre_ (1690).] In 1690, Rolle published _Traité d'Algebre._ It contains the first _published_ description in Europe of the Gaussian elimination algorithm, which Rolle called the method of substitution.[4] Some examples of the method had previously appeared in algebra books, and Isaac Newton had previously described the method in his lecture notes, but Newton's lesson was not published until 1707. Rolle's statement of the method seems not to have been noticed insofar as the lesson for Gaussian elimination that was taught in 18th- and 19th-century algebra textbooks owes more to Newton than to Rolle.

Rolle is best known for Rolle's theorem in differential calculus. Rolle had used the result in 1690, and he proved it (by the standards of the time) in 1691. Given his animosity to infinitesimals it is fitting that the result was couched in terms of algebra rather than analysis.[5] Only in the 18th century was the theorem interpreted as a fundamental result in differential calculus. Indeed, it is needed to prove both the mean value theorem and the existence of Taylor series. As the importance of the theorem grew, so did the interest in identifying the origin, and it was finally named _Rolle's theorem_ in the 19th century. Barrow-Green remarks that the theorem might well have been named for someone else had not a few copies of Rolle's 1691 publication survived.

Critique of infinitesimal calculus

In a criticism of infinitesimal calculus that predated George Berkeley's, Rolle presented a series of papers at the French academy, alleging that the use of the methods of infinitesimal calculus leads to errors. Specifically, he presented an explicit algebraic curve, and alleged that some of its local minima are missed when one applies the methods of infinitesimal calculus. Pierre Varignon responded by pointing out that Rolle had misrepresented the curve, and that the alleged local minima are in fact singular points with a vertical tangent.[6]

[1] , p. 739.

[2] http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Biographies/Rolle.html

[3] http://www.bookrags.com/biography/michel-rolle-wom/

[4] , §2.2.

[5] , p. 739.

[6] .

title: Michel Rolle

question: What is Michel Rolle known for?

answer: Rolle is best known for Rolle's theorem and was co-inventor of Gaussian elimination.

question: Why did Rolle criticize infinitesimal calculus initially?

answer: Because he argued it was inaccurate, based on unsound reasoning, and was a collection of ingenious fallacies.


text:
Owner's Insurance Claim Investigation Blames Columns

  ---------------------------------------------------------
  []
   illustrations from Silverstein's insurance claim study
  ---------------------------------------------------------

Silverstein Properties Inc. acquired control of the entire World Trade Center complex, and an insurance policy to cover it, in the summer of 2001. As part of its insurance claim, it commissioned a study by Weidlinger Associates Inc. ¹ �

The Weidlinger study contrasts with the truss failure theory popularized by _NOVA_ and the _Discovery Channel_ by blaming fireproofing of columns instead of the floor trusses. By exonerating the flooring system, Silverstein's study avoids charges that faulty construction played a role in the collapses.

Because of the role of the Weidlinger study in Silverstein's insurance litigation, details of the study's findings remain hidden from the public. ² �

Weidlinger Associates

The name Weidlinger Associates popped up in the immediate aftermath of the attack, since Weidlinger's Tod Rittenhouse gave an interview to _CNN.com_ about the collapses of the Twin Towers that was the subject of a September 13, 2001 article. ³ � The article contains this description of Rittenhouse:

Tod Rittenhouse is an expert in blast engineering from the international consulting engineering firm Weidlinger Associates and has been the blast engineer for a number of embassies and government buildings. He has been called to discuss such problems as the Oklahoma City bombing and the previous World Trade Center calamity.

In January of 2006, Dr. Jeremy Isenberg was succeeded by Dr. Raymond Daddazio as Chief Executive Officer of Weidlinger Associates, Inc. A _WAI.com_ press release described Daddazio as follows:

Since 1996, Daddazio has been director of the Applied Science Division at Weidlinger, responsible for significant contracts with the Department of Defense in the areas of shock and vibration, extreme loadings on structures and risk assessment.

Daddazio is Weidlinger's principal liaison with the U.S. government's Technical Support Working Group's Physical Security Program, which identifies, prioritizes, and coordinates interagency and international research and development requirements for combating terrorism. Nationally, he is working with the Department of Defense to develop and test new strategies for protection of military and civilian facilities. ⁴ �

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

References

 1. Study Absolves Twin Tower Trusses, Fireproofing, 11/04/02 [cached]
2. Vast Detail on Towers' Collapse May Be Sealed, _New York Times_, 9/30/02 [cached]
3. Tod Rittenhouse: Why the World Trade Center collapsed, 9/13/01 [cached]
4. In The News at WAI, _wai.com_, [cached]

question: Why did Silverstein Properties Inc. hire Weidlinger Associates Inc. to do a study on the World Trade Center collapse?

answer: Because Silverstein Properties owns the entire World Trade Center complex, they had an insurance policy to cover it. Part of their insurance claim was to prove that faulty construction did not play a role in the collapse of the towers, and Weidlinger's study proved it.

question: Why did Silverstein choose Weidlinger to conduct the study?

answer: Probably because Weidlinger had expert engineers like Tod Rittenhouse, who is an expert in blast engineering.


text:
[Mashable]

[Mashable]

is a global, multi-platform media and entertainment company. Powered by its own proprietary technology, Mashable is the go-to source for tech, digital culture and entertainment content for its dedicated and influential audience around the globe.

©2020 Mashable, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Mashable, MashBash and Mashable House are among the federally registered trademarks of Ziff Davis, LLC and may not be used by third parties without explicit permission.

question: Is the description clear?

answer: The description is direct but doesnät really indicate what kind of content it creates or how it differs from other platforms like YouTube.

question: What is an influential audience?

answer: Though not made clear by the description, it could potentially mean that the company's target audience are influencers.

question: Why is Mashable the go to source for tech, digital culture and entertainment content?

answer: It is unclear.

question: Write a ~1 sentence summary.

answer: A short description of Mashable, a media and entertainment company.