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I met a brother while fishing a while back, and when he found out that I'm a believer in Christ, he invited me to join him on Saturday mornings for a "men's fellowship" he goes to at a local church. He assured me that I would enjoy it and with my knowledge of the Bible would fit right in and be appreciated. He is still young in the Lord and has much to learn when it comes to following the Spirit vs. following men. After inviting me every time he sees me, I finally assured him that I would pray about his invitation and do what the Lord tells me to do and only that.
So, you might be asking what this has to do with the verses that I quoted in the beginning of this blog. This brother and I met on the bank of a lake where there is little sign of man and his doings. Compared to many fishing places, some would call this a wilderness. There are no docks to fish from, no toilet facilities, no picnic tables, no trash cans, and no benches to sit on. We were able to fellowship in the Spirit's leading without anyone supervising or interrupting our time together. He was amazed. God had prepared a "table" in the wilderness for us. It was totally outside a church setting and he was blessed, yet unwittingly in his immaturity, he wanted to pull what we shared into a place where he was used to getting his spiritual food under the control of a church official.
How many times have you heard church-minded people say that they go to a certain church because they are getting fed there or they are looking for another church to attend because they are not getting fed? As I grew in the Lord, I found myself in that mindset and became less and less content with the food that was provided by men in their religious institutions. The Spirit started leading me to go out into the wilderness to hear the words of my Lord. Because I grew to where I could hear His voice without all the intellects of men interfering, Church people would say, "What church do you attend?" "Did you go to Bible school somewhere?" Or like the disciples they were asking of Jesus, "Has any MAN brought him something to eat?" When the lame man at the pool was asked by Jesus if he would be made whole he replied, "I have no man…" We are all too focused on men for our provision and because of this we miss out on what God has for us.
Can you see it? Every person who was considered the world's authorities in their centers of civilization, the people "in the know" are mentioned here, even the temple high priests in Jerusalem, but the word of God came to John in the wilderness! As we mature in Christ, we will find ourselves being drawn more and more to Him that we might live by every word that proceeds out of His mouth. Our spiritual walk will become more and more isolated from those who "live by bread alone" as He fine-tunes us to hear and obey His voice. Just as John found more than enough "ministry" to do in the wilderness, so did Jesus as the crowds so often followed Him out into the wilderness to hear His words and be healed by Him. As we mature in Christ and obey His leading, we might often find ourselves alone, but God knows how to arrange for us to speak and to do His will when the time is right. Remember, God is more interested in what He wants to put into us than what He stands to get out of us.
Often we take our coming together as members of Christ's body for granted. Recently when I needed fellowship, the time was spent talking about the things of this world (weather calamities, mass murders, terrorism, politics, etc.) instead of lifting one another up in Christ. I have been as guilty of this as anyone else. I woke up to this fact when I saw the fruit of my words pulling another dear saint down. She was brave enough to tell me about the effect these words were having on her. As I prayed about this, I came across the following excerpt by T. Austin-Sparks, which I later shared with her and apologized.
Fellowship in Christ is necessary–even if it is just two or three gathered together in His name–if we are to grow and prosper in Him. Our times of fellowship should be sought out, nurtured and cherished. We should start out our days in prayer instead of being pulled down into the affairs of this world. Satan will do whatever he can to weaken us so that we are not effective to lift others up and encourage them in the Spirit, and we should not be ignorant of his devices.
I often find that the Spirit can use me to speak to others through a scripture He brings to my mind while we fellowship, but like Peter I can be speaking the very words of God and later in an unguarded moment be speaking for the devil (see Mark 8:27-33). James addressed this very thing.
If we have the Spirit of Christ abiding in us we should always be speaking word of life to one another. As for prayer and how necessary it is to get us on the right track in the Spirit, Sparks went on to explain.
Prayer, time spent meditating on the scriptures and fellowshipping in the Spirit is what made the early church such a powerful force in spreading the gospel and lifting each other up. Dear saints, may we all do the same.


Writing interview thank you letters is a professional courtesy and an important part of the interview process. And, as more than 95% of job candidates forget to send thank you letters after an interview, when you send one, you will stand out from your competitors for the job you want!
You've probably invested a lot of time and effort into looking for a new job, then preparing for and attending one or more interviews.
In today's economy, securing the job you want can be a real slog ... there's a lot of competition out there!
Some interviewers think less of candidates who fail to follow up after an interview with a thank you email or letter. Will you fall at the final hurdle by failing to send a thank you letter?
Make sure you stand out from the crowd!
The best way to create the right impression with your interviewer is to send a personal thank you note after your interview.
Your letter should be typed, signed in blue ink and mailed or delivered by hand for maximum impact. And, don't forget to use good quality, plain writing paper.
Send your thank you note within 24 hours of your interview. Every day you delay, your letter will lose impact! An interview follow up email is an acceptable alternative to a formal letter today.
Keep your letter brief and to the point. A maximum of 2 paragraphs!
Use good quality, neutral coloured stationary. Save your funky paper supplies for personal or social correspondence if you want to be seen as a professional.
Handwrite your name, even if you have typed the letter. Blue ink is the best choice!
Write the full name and title of the interviewer on the first line of the envelope, for example: Mrs. Anita Lamb, Project Director.
The second line of the address should be the company name, for example: XYZ Co Ltd.
Please feel free to review, copy and use the sample thank you letters on this site as a template, for your personal use.
And, if you're still at the earliest stage of your job search and want more pay, better benefits and a better standard of living, here's where you can learn how to excel at job interviews and land your dream job today!
Best of luck with your job search!!


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HomeLatestRecipesTVTaste TestFeaturesDrinkeryHot DogsVideo
So a leopard walks into a restaurant...
Allison Robicelli
Well hello there, handsome.
Photo: Mint Images/ Art Wolfe (Getty Images)
Whether they're big or small, cats DGAF about a single damn thing. They'll systematically break every glass in your house while looking you dead in the eye. They'll jump into your lap when you're on the toilet and take a thirty minute nap. They'll stick their paws in your mouth while you sleep, and the, once you've woken up, they'll completely ignore you for the next 12 hours. And, if they're hungry, they have no problem barging into a restaurant and strolling around. They know you'll move.
This video of a hungry leopard casually strolling around a South African hotel restaurant was taken by Erika Wiese, a guest at the luxurious Singita Ebony Lodge at Kruger National Park. She told the YouTube channel Kruger Sightings that shortly after enjoying a relaxing, predator-free breakfast, a nearby pack of vervet monkeys began shrieking something which, translated into English, meant "Hark! A leopard is afoot!" The famished feline showed no interest in the restaurant's freshly pressed juices or raw, sugar- and fat-free granola; rather, he was stalking a rather tasty looking bushback antelope.
"[The] staff is well-trained to deal with encounters of this kind and have strict safety protocols in place to ensure the safety of both staff and guests in these situations," said Wiese. "We were, therefore, able to remain calm, silent and in awe of the beautiful creature that was so close to us."
Wiese added that it seemed as if the leopard knew it was in human territory, which it more than likely did because if you've ever challenged a cat to a battle of wits, you know that they're way smarter than we are. You can say whatever you'd like about human intelligence, but at the end of the day, we choose to spend our time working and paying bills, while cats are strolling around butt-naked and taking 14 naps a day.
Allison Robicelli is The Takeout staff writer, a former professional chef, author of three books, and The People's Hot Pocket Princess. Questions about recipes/need cooking advice? Tweet @Robicellis.
moistened bint
Bartender says "haven't I spotted you in here before?"

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


After finishing the regular season in third place, the Palau Community College (PCC) Mesekiu Baseball Team fought their way into the 2014 Palau Major League (PML) Championship against the defending champions Airai Aces.
To reach the championship game, the young PCC Mesekiu Team easily disposed Ngebeches team by winning the first two games of a best-of-three play-off series. PCC then upset the pennant winners from Ngerbeched behind the striking pitch of David Salapwa and the impressive offensive run-production of Vincent Kulas, Ray Rumong, and veteran Kaleb Meltel. The win set up a best-of-five championship series with the defending champions Airai Aces.
On Wednesday, May 21, 2014 PCC suffered a lopsided loss to the Airai Aces. However, the team quickly regrouped and even the series at 1-1 on Saturday, May 24, 2014 with a come-from-behind win. In the bottom of the ninth-inning and the final inning, with a score of 9-4 in favor of Airai and one out, PCC mounted a rally and quickly loaded the bases. Costly defensive errors by Airai and timely hitting allowed PCC to score three runs cutting the lead to only two with two outs.
The two teams met again on Tuesday, May 27, 2014 and once again Airai's offense proved too much for the young PCC team. Airai Aces easily won by a score of 20-10.
The fourth game of the 2014 PML Championship was played on Thursday, May 28, 2014. PCC was in a do-or-die situation while Airai looked to retain the championship. Relying on their experience, Airai took on early 5-1 level in the opening inning. Their offensive attack forced PCC starting pitcher Daily Kinto out of the game. Ray Rumong then came in and managed to keep them off base. Then with a potential tying run at third and the winning run at second, Oreokl Daniel lined a walk-off single to score both the tying of winning runs for a final score of 11-10. In the top of the final inning PCC Mesekiu mounted a rally and managed to score three runs to cut the difficult for a final score of 12-7.
Team Airai retained the championship with PCC in runner-up position and Ngerbeched in third position.


S53 south from Manlius was fair/poor, with marginal snow and scratchy/rocky in 85% of the corn fields. Large tree was sticking into trail near the ditch by the old school bus. Trail C5E from Rt 80 south to the start of the power line towards Highland Forest was fair, scratchy and rocky in many areas. Other than a couple sharp ditches, power line was good and all through highland Forest was good. Old Trail can now be ridden, even though signs are still up directing you to the reroute. From Highland to Deruyter was good, with a couple scratchy fields . C5C from Deruyter down through the valley to S51D had good snow cover, but choppy and one rocky field. S51D up into Morgan Hill had good snow, but multiple large trees on trail. First one required a woods excursion to get around, second one was passable and third one was hanging, but will come down soon. Entered Lafayette Trail system at junction of C5D, about 3/4 of a mile north I came upon another large tree blocking 95% of the trail, a blinking light and a damsel in distress. Luckily, she had just tipped over on the knoll trying to go around the tree, but she couldn't right her sled. We got her sled upright and back on the trail, but I'm sure it was a tough hour she spent there alone waiting for someone to come by. Upon exiting Morgan Hill and taking S51C back to Fabius and C5E back to S53, the trails were again fair / poor as snow cover was minimal with many scratchy / rocky spots.
Please, with the marginal snow/spring like trail conditions we have had all year, be careful, slow down, ride right, ride safe and take care of the trails.
Don't be like the two sleds ahead of me, who made snow piles every time they slowed down, dug ditches down into the grass and left nothing but icy slopes on all the hills. Be conservationists of our trails.


Along the way, the compass contributed to innovations in physics and electrical engineering. Far from the sight of land, the sea is a seemingly endless, undifferentiated expanse. For most of history, getting lost at sea was a very real danger, often with disastrous consequences.... A standard Brunton Geo, used commonly by geologists. A Brunton compass, properly known as the Brunton Pocket Transit, is a type of precision compass made by Brunton, Inc. of Riverton, Wyoming.
Bill S. Unless you are doing a professional level survey or you are a forward spotter calling in for your artillery unit, a good baseplate compass like this one is all you need for backcountry use.... A Brunton compass, properly known as the Brunton Pocket Transit, is a type of precision compass made by Brunton, Inc. of Riverton, Wyoming. The instrument was patented in 1894 by a Canadian-born Colorado geologist named David W. Brunton.
Brunton Compass Hiking Compass Brunton Compass Outdoor Brunton Compass Sports Older Brunton Compass Exact Age Unknown Black In Color With Clip On The Top To Hook On Belt Or Jeans Hard Plastic Approx 2" Long Simple Clasp Open Nice Gold Letters And Numbers Very Good Condition!
It�s extremely to use and offers quick release buckles for kayakers who use have multiple uses for this compass. The compass offers a large and easy to read design for beginner compass users. Weighing only 2 pounds and only being 7� long and 4� wide, it is easily portable for on the go campers.
The Brunton World�s Best Compass is a fine compass, but whether or not it really is the best in the world is up for debate. They�re certainly one of the best known names in the compass marketplace and that has a lot to do with the high degree of accuracy of their products.
Along the way, the compass contributed to innovations in physics and electrical engineering. Far from the sight of land, the sea is a seemingly endless, undifferentiated expanse. For most of history, getting lost at sea was a very real danger, often with disastrous consequences.
Getting Oriented: This is the first of four Brunton Axis instructional videos. In this orientation, we introduce the novel features of the Axis and some helpful terminology. Watching this video first will better help you understand the instructional videos that follow.


A round-up of weekend action for Southampton's loanees.
The Dons enter League Two's automatic promotion spots.
A comprehensive round-up of the weekend's action for Saints' loanees.
A round-up of how Southampton's loanees fared over the weekend.
Back-to-back wins for Southampton's loanee forward.
Young forward finds the net for a second time in four appearances.
Harrison Reed features for the full 90 as Rovers win at Millwall.
Reed's Blackburn force Newcastle into cup replay.
Alfie Jones stars as St Mirren secure crucial Scottish Premiership win.
Read up on the latest from Saints' loanees.
Young midfielder finds the net against Portsmouth.
Midfielder scores first goal since returning to former club.
Check up on the progress of Saints loanees.
Midfielder makes switch to Ewood Park for season.


How to gain work experience in ghana 2018. I have noticed from my days as a student in University Of Ghana up to date, most students think taking a break from school means you should head home, sleep and have fun all day. Believe me, these are not the only reasons. Taking a break from school should be the time to work and make money or gain experience. It is the time to acquire knowledge from potential people you wouldn't have gotten the chance to meet. Taking advantage of that is a plus to you.
Most job seekers in Ghana today write CVs and Cover letters with no experience and expect to land huge jobs with huge companies. You are not a magician!!!
An internship is an official program that is offered by an employer to potential employees. The modern concept of an internship has evolved from medieval apprenticeship, where a skilled laborer, often a craftsman, would take on and teach a young person their trade. In exchange for being taught a trade, the apprentice would agree to work for the craftsman for a specified length of time.
Today, an intern can work part time or full time at the company for a specified period of time. Typically, interns will work for a number of months. Internships are very popular with undergraduate or graduate students who need to gain valuable work or research experience.
Why you shouldn't confuse it with Apprenticeship?
The main difference between an apprenticeship and an internship is that internships are not usually as focused. An intern is not bound to work for the employer after the internship is over, though many do. An internship also offers students a chance to "try out" a job or industry to determine if it is the right choice for them. Apprentices know which field they want to go into, and work with a master in that field to learn it first-hand.
There are two main types of internship: ones that are paid and ones that are not. Most internships are unpaid. This is because the student is not there to earn money, but rather to earn valuable knowledge and experience.
The majority of internships in Ghana. are work experience internships. This means that they are essentially on-the-job training in a field that the student or young worker is interested in. However, there are also research internships, which are more common in scientific fields. With a research internship, a student will examine a particular topic on behalf of a business before producing a written study or presentation.
The hands-on work experience interns receive is invaluable and cannot be obtained in a classroom setting, making this one of the most important benefits of internships. Interns have the opportunity to apply acquired knowledge to real work experiences, witnessing firsthand the day-to-day job duties they can expect to encounter in their chosen field. In addition to learning the specialized skills of a particular field, transferable skills such as communication, teamwork, and computer proficiency are also obtained in an internship, fully preparing interns to enter the workforce upon graduation.
Exploring is an important part of the college experience, and internships are a great way for students to acquaint themselves with the field they are interested in. Some students begin college with a major or career path in mind, and end up changing their minds later on. Taking on an internship while in college allows students to work in their desired field, helping them decide if the field is right for them. By graduation, students who interned are more likely to feel confident they chose the right degree.
One of the most important internship benefits is that college graduates who already have some work experience in the form of an internship stand out to potential employers. Internship experience makes a college grad more marketable as they usually require less training and can handle more responsibilities. You may also receive a higher starting salary than those who do not have internship experience and are entering the workforce or starting a new career.
You can learn a lot about your strengths and weaknesses during an internship. Internships allow for feedback from supervisors and others who are established in the field, and offer a unique learning opportunity that you may not have again as a working adult. Embrace the mistakes you make as an intern and the many things that you won't know. Ask questions, observe, and take risks to get the most out of your internship training experience.
Many internships are paid which means you can gain valuable work experience and make money at the same time. A paid internship will provide money to fund your college tuition and expenses.
In the working world, it's all about who you know. As an intern, you will be surrounded by professionals in the industry. Internships are more than just about earning credit, getting a grade, or making money; internships provide an opportunity to learn from the people around you, ask questions, and impress. The professionals you encounter during an internship can be your future colleagues or the connection to your first job.
Internships allow you to test out specific techniques learned in the classroom before entering the working world. It's an opportunity to apply what you have learned in a safe environment where mistakes are expected – rather than learn the hard way in your first job out of college.
Many companies use internships as a way to enhance their recruitment efforts. In some cases, a company may decide to hire an intern at the end of the assignment. Even if a job offer doesn't happen right away, an intern who makes a favorable impression could receive an offer down the line when an opening occurs. It's a way for companies to test out an employee before committing to hiring them.
What should I do if I don't get these Internship Programs and I really need a job badly?
That is a nice question. You lack the experience and you can't seem to find a job you would gain experience from.There are so many ways to kill a cat. There are other ways to gain experience. Find out from the solution below.
Stop wasting time with friends during school breaks and sign up for Internships. If you are a job seeker, start joining Internship programs and stop concentrating on money. This is your chance to acquire more skills and improve on yourself. Starting at a junior position and working your way up the ladder is no shame. Bite what you can chew. Heed this advice and thank me later. Unemployment is real!!!
What's More Important To Employers In Ghana, Experience Or Qualification?


Veloce ® cycling and bike rental company : We have extended our business to Switzerland and France : experience of our customers.
We have extended our business to Switzerland and France : experience of our customers.
Italy, Switzerland and France by bike., un set su Flickr.
In this set album can be possible watch experience of our customers that have ridden with our standard bikes from Milan to Zurich, Switzerland to Lagrasse, France-more or less the Alps to the Pyrenees-1200 kilometers.


Excel allows us to build a hyperlink with a name, using the HYPERLINK and VLOOKUP functions. This step by step tutorial will assist all levels of Excel users in creating a hyperlink from name and URL.
range_lookup – default value 0. This means that we want to find an exact match for a lookup value.
table_array – a name for the hyperlink.
Let's look at the structure of the data we will use. In the range B2:C6 we have the table from which we want to pull data. Column B has "Link Name" and column C has "Link URL". In column F, we want to create a hyperlink with name, based on a name from the column E. Therefore, we first need to look up for the URL in the lookup table B2:C6.
In our example, we want to get get the Link URL from column C based on Link Name in E3 (Google). Based on that two values, we want to create a hyperlink with a name. The result is in the cell F3.
The lookup_value is the cell E3. The parameter table_array is the range $B$3:$C$6. The range must be fixed, as it is not changing when the formula is copied. Col_index_num has value 2, as we want to pull value from the second column of the range. Finally, range_lookup has value 0 by default, because we want to find an exact match of "Lookup column" values.
The result of the VLOOKUP function is the link_location parameter for the HYPERLINK function. The friendly_name parameter is the cell E3.
As a result, we will get the hyperlink for https://www.google.com with the name "Google" in the cell F3. We can see in the VLOOKUP table that this is the Link URL for the name Google from E3.
I'm trying to build a VLOOKUP from another sheet and it's not working.
How do I put a hyperlink into a cell with text? When added it won't become a hyperlink. Thank you.
I need to create a Vlookup to build a comparison tool.


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This Old Dragon: Issue #167
Moving ahead to one of the "newer" issues in my collection. This comes to us from the distant past of March 1991. I was a senior in college, but would take another year to finish up my honors courses, my minor and to take a few grad school classes before getting into grad school. I was not really playing much at this point, but still buying and reading a bunch of Ravenloft games and books.
I believe by this time I had printed out the first solid draft of my witch class for 2nd Ed and was revising it more. So without further ado here is March 1991 and this is issue #167 of This Old Dragon.
To the cover. Ok. Have I ever mentioned how much I hate faces on inanimate objects? Cars, trains, especially airplanes. But more than anything TREES! I think it some deep-seated childhood trauma related to both "Wizard of Oz" and "From Hell it Came". My family will taunt me with it by giving trees with faces on them for Halloween. Anyway. The girl on here looks she wandered off from a Clyde Caldwell cover and is slumming here. The artist is Fred Fields.
You can tell this is the 90s Dragon because of all the ads. Mind you I am not complaining; I like the ads. But there are more. More pages in general too.
Given this is the era near 2nd Edition the Dragons all have themes. This one is the Wilderness. I liked the themed issues, gave me something to look forward too.
The Editorial is an interesting one with addresses for you to send something to anyone serving in the US or British military. I guess this is the time of Operation Desert Storm.
Up first is ...holy shit! it's the OSR's very own +Joseph Bloch! (hmm auto-tagging is not working on this). He is up with an article right in his wheel-house, See the Pomarj - and Die! The three page article (four with cover image) is a bit of history on the Pomarj. It even has some details about the Slave Lords and plenty of old-school tables. This is some good stuff that I wish I had known about when running the A-series recently. Ah well.
David Howery is next with Back to the Age of Mammals, taking us back to when the dinosaurs did their disappearing act and the mammals took over. There are a ton of great, untapped and underused creatures. One of my favorites is even here, the Amphicyon. I used my own version for a primitive were-wolf/were-bear hybrid back when I ran Palace of the Silver Princess. This really makes this issue a stand out in my mind.
The Ecology of the Su-Monster would have been something I would have eaten up back in the day. Matthew Schutt gives us an updated version of these monsters and they work. I always liked these little monsters. I ran an adventure where the locals worshiped as a god.
Gregg Chamberlain is next with the Dragon's Bestiary with various plant-based monsters.
Curses are Divine* But their effects on your fantasy hero are horrible! by Mark Keavney which details major and minor divine curses. This is not the curses of the 3rd level spell, these are special and really powerful. Also detailed are the situation where someone can find themselves so cursed.
TSR Previews tells us what is hot for March 1991 and beyond. On the list is RA2 Ravenloft Ship of Horror, a favorite of mine. Though I would always call it "Ship of Fools" after the Robert Plant song.
Arcane Lore by Jeffrey Pettengill has some expansions to the 2nd Ed Necromancer specialty wizard and necromancy spells.
Bruce Heard is back with more Princess Ark. I am planning on collecting these and using some of it for my BECMI Magic School game.
Role of Computers covers the best of 1990. Again, it's hard to review a review of the "State of the Art" of 27 years ago.
Sage Advice covers some Monstrous Compendium Vol II questions and the perennial question of how do I find a gaming group.
Peter Trueman as what he calls "a more realistic approach to fantasy" in Just Give me Money! It's a long article that details maybe than you would want to know about coins. Or maybe it is sort of the detail you like. For me, it is more log-work than I like in my games. Once I ate this stuff up.
Marvel-Phile deals with some of Spider-man's foes from across the pond in England in The Lads from Liverpool. Spiders and Beatles. cute.
Nice big and water-damaged ad for Chill (2nd Edition).
(gotta be honest here. This issue is testing the mettle of my allergy drugs!)
Thomas Kane gives us some NPCs from historical references for an Oriental Adventures game in Lords of the Warring States. We are still in that odd overlap time of 1st and 2nd Editions.
Con Calendar is huge this month.
Ed is back. Am I at a point yet where I can say "Ed" and you all know I mean Ed Greenwood? Instead of his normal conversation with Elminster, he ends up talking to Laeral of Waterdeep. I do not begrudge Ed this, it is always entertaining and even when I didn't like the Realms I liked these articles. This time he is covering the Undermoutain - the King of All Dungeons. Ok. So. It's an ad for the new Undermountain boxed set. Yeah, I can't even be irritated by that.
Role of Books from John C. Bunnell has the best of late winter/early spring 1991 including one that is STILL on my TBR pile, Deryni Magic by Katherine Kurtz. Yeah, Grad School was not conducive to pleasure reading.
And just like that, we are at Dragonmirth. The big feature is The Twilight Realm, which is on part 11. I really know nothing about that strip, I should look into it more.
Ah, here are the small ads and classifieds.
Ok. Not a packed issue, but a lot of great bright spots like Joe's and Bruce's contributions.
I wonder what else I have from this time? Will be fun to see!
Posted by Timothy S. Brannan at 4:04 PM
Labels: greyhawk, Magic School, Oz, This Old Dragon
#musicmonday: King of Majesty | Hillsong - Okay, so this song came up, and I was like, "I didn't know people still sang it." And someone said, "Yea, all the kids think it's a new song. They don't k...
So Many Spells
Back after a bit
The Return of Nibiru
Mail Call: Star Frontiers
Tim Kask on Witches
Weekend Games: A Tale of Bards
The USS Protector game stats
Witch & Witchcraft Reading Challenge: Crash Overri...
Into the Borderlands
Areelu Vorlesh, Witch Queen of the Worldwound
Monstrous Mondays: AI Generated Monsters


February is Black History Month, and before the month comes to a close we have a crossword in celebration. Solve it and you could win a Visual Thesaurus T-shirt!
Hidden in this month's puzzle you will find a quotation from a noted African-American writer. Once you've solved the puzzle, submit the quotation and the writer's name by clicking here and you'll be entered to win a Visual Thesaurus T-shirt! In the body of the message, please include the quotation and writer's name, your mailing address, and your preferred T-shirt size. Ten winners will be selected at random. Deadline is March 21, 2014. Have fun and good luck!


Your career situation lies on one question: do you drink the Kool Aid or not?
There are two groups of people at every company: those who drink the Kool and those who don't.
Translation: you're either "sold out" (all-in) or not.
There are exceptions; those who may not fully engage in the vision, but are satisfied enough to take the good with the bad. To me, that sounds like complacency, but to everyone their own.
In order to stay at a company for a long period of time you have to believe in the mission. Purpose is still a magnetic trait that companies have. If you don't bleed for what a company stands for it's not a matter of if, but when you exit.
For those who reject the Kool Aid, it's revealed in the language they use.
Mainly "I" vs. "We." Subtle, but very powerful.
"I" statements separate from the greater whole, while "we" statements identify with the organization.
The determining factor is how much you buy-in. That doesn't mean you agree with every detail or decision made, but you're willing to associate with the team more than your opinion.
Some say entrepreneurs escape Corporate America for freedom, but most do it for a dream.
Business comes down to two types of dreams: yours and others.
Owning a business supports yours and working for a company supports theirs.
Your job is to choose whose dream you're on board with.
Millennials in particular live for making a greater impact. Job hopping is as much about identifying with a greater mission as it is about getting bored. Adding value is as much feeling valued as it is contributing to it.
In your current role, you will eventually have to make the same decision sooner or later: do you drink the Kool Aid or not?
It may not be as simple as "yes" and "no" when it becomes part of your financial livelihood, but the bigger question is how long can you deny it?
Life is too short to support a dream you're not in agreement with. Social impact draws new followers daily because of alignment of personal and corporate values.
If a company has a high turnover rate it's probably a Kool Aid issue.
So in your current position do you drink the Kool Aid or not?
The answer to that question shapes your career path.
Are Great Managers Truly Unicorns?
The number one reason why people leave their jobs is because they feel unappreciated or under-valued. Translation: lousy boss.
One of the main reasons I've left all my past jobs is a terrible boss (best boss I had was as an entrepreneur – he was great, but the pay was inconsistent).
As a technical worker you are paid to produce results quickly. Once you prove yourself you move up to leadership. The issue here is what made you a great technical worker won't help you be a good leader.
At the leadership (management) level your job is to bring out the best in your team. It doesn't matter how well you performed at your previous role because the job description is completely different.
This is rampant in Corporate America because seniority normally equates to promotion. But most managers don't know the first thing about motivating/treating people. Managers talk to their employees as if they're stupid or incompetent. The disrespect is tolerated at first, but over time disengagement and morale drops.
Productivity keeps a business running, but poor leadership can halt growth. Companies with high turnover are similar to below par rated restaurants on Yelp. Even if you have a great product, customer service is what you're ultimately judged on.
Most businesses believe treating the customer with the utmost respect is good enough, but when employees feel the cold shoulder of management internal strife starts to build. When the work environment becomes sheerly political the internal trust deteriorates and your best talent already has one foot out of the door.
I understand the argument from the company's perspective that hard, objective decisions need to be made in order to scale, but you can still treat people well and get great results. People filter their perception of leadership through interactions. Once you feel unsafe as a worker, it's time to start applying for jobs elsewhere.
That's why when you do find a manager who cares about you, brings out the best in you and ultimately looks at his position as service treasure him/her. I've been fortunate enough to experience it once in my career and during that tenure I felt I could do anything.
For some complete autonomy may feel like macro-management, so it's important to understand what type of boss you thrive under. Culture is viewed as the thermometer, but core behaviors are the true temperature.
These days companies can pay you lip service about their environment, but only the employee experience truly defines what the culture is.
So if you have a great manager think twice about the grass being greener on the other side. Like grass most of the time if you turn it over it's actually brown.
There's something missing in Corporate America, but it's not what you think.
Technology gives us the opportunity to work remotely and scale businesses.
Outsourcing labor multiplies growth while saving massive amounts of time.
Investors provide the resources to transform a hobby into an empire.
But the one thing that retains the top talent worldwide is: empathy.
In a broadcast-driven society, rarely do people put themselves in other's shoes.
Managing egos and customizing messaging is the difference between success and failure.
Even with the best technology you still need people to run it. Salaries are competitive, social impact is rampant and perks are plentiful. Therefore how you treat people defines their company loyalty.
Take for instance managers. The top reason most people leave their jobs is because they feel disrespected or undervalued. Simply viewing the impact of your decisions from the receiver's point of view makes all the difference in the world. Most managers are ill-equipped to lead others. Just because you're a great widget maker doesn't translate well to a manager of widget makers.
Empathy is a learned skill (although it can be argued some have a higher ceiling than others). Kids are taught at a young age to think about how their actions affect others. Somewhere between preschool and adulthood that lesson is forgotten. Money and power corrupt our ability to serve.
Personally I've witnessed many conflicts started because of a failure to empathize. The same reasons countries go into war on a macro-level happens to co-workers at a micro-level. Stress has a tremendous drain on productivity and the majority of it can be avoided by showing empathy.
The downgrade of soft skills will only continue to get worse and at the core of the deterioration is a lack of empathy.
Empathy is not something HR can teach or a motivational speaker can inspire you to do. It takes making a commitment to servant leadership. Stop thinking positional leadership puts you on top. Instead understand supporting others from beneath actually pushes them to reach their fullest potential.


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U.S. Tenth Circuit/
Colorado Marijuana Businesses Barred From Bankruptcy Court
By Casey C. Sullivan, Esq. on September 03, 2015 | Last updated on March 21, 2019
Marijuana-related businesses who go belly up shouldn't expect any relief from federal bankruptcy courts, a bankruptcy appellate panel in the Tenth Circuit announced late August. Marijuana businesses, even if they're allowed by state laws in Colorado, are still viewed as illegal in the federal government's eyes and can't get relief from the federal bankruptcy system, the panel ruled.
The marijuana industry has boomed in Colorado since the state legalized recreational weed in 2013. Recreational marijuana sales reached $700 million during the first full year of legalization. But should those budding businesses stumble, they'll be barred from bankruptcy court as a result of federal laws criminalizing marijuana.
No Chapter 13 for Marijuana Businesses
The Tenth's bankruptcy panel didn't hesitate in keeping weed businesses out of court. "Can a debtor in the marijuana business obtain relief in the federal bankruptcy court?" they asked. "No." Though Colorado has legalized weed, it still remains a felonies under federal law to grow, sell, and distribute marijuana.
The case involved licensed marijuana growers and dispensers who went bankrupt after losing a lawsuit against their tenants. Frank and Sarah Arenas owned a commercial building in Denver where they grew marijuana in unit and leased a space retail dispensary in the other. A failed eviction action left them buried in legal bills and the pair declared bankruptcy.
They originally filed a Chapter 7 petition, which would liquidate their property and distribute the proceeds to their creditors. They then petitioned the court to convert their bankruptcy to Chapter 13, which would establish a payment plan. The United States Trustee, however, objected to the conversion, asking the court to dismiss the case given the nature of the Arenas' business. The bankruptcy court and appellate panel both agreed, noting that the Arenas' reorganization would be "funded by profits of an ongoing criminal activity."
Besides the criminal nature of their business, the panel also noted the infeasibility of the Arenas' Chapter 13 plan. In their repayment plan, the Arenas would be paying off their debts with, at best, a surplus income of $8 a month.
A Common Problem for Marijuana Businesses
The Arenas' troubles aren't unique, nor does the appellate panel break new ground. Bankruptcy courts, though not at the appellate level, have repeatedly refused to offer relief to marijuana businesses. A California bankruptcy court dismissed a medical marijuana dispensary's Chapter 11 petition, the Street reports, for similar reasons. The Colorado bankruptcy court has even refused Chapter 11 to a keg store, after its creditors noted that it had rented space to marijuana businesses.
Bankruptcy, Tax Cases Break Against Marijuana Industry (Reuters)
Mr. Cush's Curtilage Not Violated by 'Knock and Sniff' (FindLaw's U.S. Tenth Circuit Blog)
Are Ponzi Scheme Proceeds Dischargeable in Bankruptcy? (FindLaw's U.S. Tenth Circuit Blog)
Federal Preemption: Colorado Can't Tell Army How to Do its Job (FindLaw's U.S. Tenth Circuit Blog)


70M with a history of dementia presenting with 3 days of fatigue. The patient was unable to provide detailed history, however family members reported worsening fatigue with the patient requiring assistance with ambulation for several days. The patient was referred from an outside clinic after point-of-care hemoglobin of 6.7. No reported history of anemia, and no history suggestive of obvious external bleeding.
Vital signs stable, tachycardia and tachypnea noted with minimal exertion but saturating well on ambient air and in no acute distress. Examination notable for conjunctival pallor without scleral icterus, systolic flow murmur, brown stool guaiac negative.
CBC with hemoglobin of 7.5 , MCV 80.3 , RDW 22.4 , no leukocytosis and normal platelets. Also noted was an alkaline phosphatase of 828 , normal total and direct bilirubin, and undetectable serum troponin. Chest x-ray showed a possible pleural-based mass.
The patient was transfused two units of PRBC's and admitted for further evaluation. CT chest/abdomen/pelvis revealed sternal and rib-based pleural soft-tissue mass, prostate mass, pelvic and retroperitoneal lymphadenopathy as well as extensive bony metastatic disease consistent with primary prostate cancer with diffused metastasis. Serum PSA was 2,087 . Iron studies suggested anemia of chronic disease. Reticulocytes were not obtained but may have suggested inadequate production index given extensive bony metastases and possible associated myelosuppression. The patient was symptomatically improved after transfusion and discharged with outpatient follow-up for discussions regarding possible biopsy and treatment.
Areas of pleural thickening. Possible pleural based mass in left mid lung.
Rib-based pleural soft tissue masses.
Large 5.6 x 4.4cm anterior sternal soft-tissue mass.
Prostate mass, large pelvic and retroperitoneal lymphadenopathy.
Consistent with primary prostate cancer with diffuse metastasis.
Zaiden R, Rana F. Evaluation of Anemia. BMJ Best Practice. Oct 2014. http://us.bestpractice.bmj.com/best-practice/monograph/93/overview.html. Last accessed 15 May 2015.
Janz, T. G., Johnson, R. L., & Rubenstein, S. D. (2013). Anemia in the emergency department: evaluation and treatment. Emergency medicine practice, 15(11), 1–15– quiz 15–6.


Alife's much-hyped Reebok, a literal tennis shoe, drops this Saturday 11 February at 11am. Available exclusively through Alife's stores in NYC and Vancouver, only 84 of the handmade pairs will be released of this Alife-designed Victory Pump, the first of three collabos planned with Reebok.
Also on Cool Hunting: Alife Pump Tennis, The Ball Out, Alife Pump Tennis: History Repeating, and The Ball Out.


Pleased to announce the release of the debut ablum from littlefoot! I recorded these 12 electronic instrumental tracks last year, and now they're available for streaming & download. I hope you'll listen, enjoy, and share!


text:
Abraham (Hebrew Bible) | Article about Abraham (Hebrew Bible) by The Free Dictionary
https://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Abraham+(Hebrew+Bible)
(redirected from Abraham (Hebrew Bible))
[according to the Book of Genesis, Heb.,=father of many nations] or
(ā`brəm) [Heb.,=exalted father], in the Bible, progenitor of the Hebrews; in the Qur'an, ancestor of the Arabs. As the founder of JudaismJudaism
, the religious beliefs and practices and the way of life of the Jews. The term itself was first used by Hellenized Jews to describe their religious practice, but it is of predominantly modern usage; it is not used in the Bible or in Rabbinic literature and only rarely
..... Click the link for more information. , he is said to have instituted the rite of circumcision as a sign of the covenant between God and the Jews, who are descended from IsaacIsaac
[Heb.,=laughter], according to the patriarchal narratives of the Book of Genesis, Isaac was the only son of Abraham and Sara. He married Rebecca, and their sons were Esau and Jacob. Ishmael was his half-brother.
..... Click the link for more information. , son of Abraham's old age. Abraham also received the promise of Canaan for his people. In response to divine command, Abraham left Haran, taking his wife SaraSara
or Sarah,
in the Bible, wife of Abraham and mother of Isaac. With Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah, she was one of the four Hebrew matriarchs. Her name was originally Sarai [Heb.,=princess]. She was childless until, by divine favor, she gave birth to Isaac in her old age.
..... Click the link for more information. and his nephew LotLot,
in the Book of Genesis, the son of Abraham's brother Haran. Lot settled in Sodom and received a warning of its destruction. As he fled with his family, his wife, disobeying God's orders, looked back at the city and was turned into a pillar of salt.
..... Click the link for more information. to Canaan, where God promised him many descendants who would become a great nation. His devotion and trust in God and his promises are exemplified pre-eminently in Abraham's preparedness to sacrifice his son Isaac. The Book of Joshua confesses Abraham as a one-time worshiper of other gods before he entered Canaan.
Muslims believe that Arabs are descended from Abraham and Hagar through their son IshmaelIshmael
[Heb.,=God hears], in the Bible. 1 Son of Abraham and Hagar; ancestor of 12 tribes in N Arabia. Through Sara's jealousy he and his mother were sent into the desert, where the angel of the Lord encountered them at a spring.
..... Click the link for more information. . Abraham is further regarded as an ancestor of Muhammad. According to the Qur'an, Abraham and Ishmael built the KaabaKaaba
or Caaba
[Arab.,=cube], the central, cubic, stone structure, covered by a black cloth, within the Great Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The sacred nature of the site predates Islam: tradition says that the Kaaba was built by Adam and rebuilt by Abraham and the
..... Click the link for more information. in MeccaMecca
or Makkah
, city (1993 pop. 966,381), capital of the Hejaz, W Saudi Arabia. The birthplace c.A.D. 570 of Muhammad the Prophet, it is the holiest city of Islam, and the goal of the annual Muslim hajj. It is c.
..... Click the link for more information. and instituted pilgrimages there. The Qur'an depicts him destroying the idols of his father and of his clan; hence, Islam is the restoration of the religion of Abraham.
Other Abraham traditions are to be found in the Old Testament PseudepigraphaPseudepigrapha
[Gr.,=things falsely ascribed], a collection of early Jewish and some Jewish-Christian writings composed between c.200 B.C. and c.A.D. 200, not found in the Bible or rabbinic writings.
..... Click the link for more information. , especially in the Book of Jubilees. See also Josephus' Jewish Antiquities. Modern biblical scholarship has revealed anachronisms in Genesis that cloud attempts to place chronologically Abraham's historical existence.
See T. L. Thompson, The Historicity of the Patriarchal Narratives (1974); J. van Seters, Abraham in History and Tradition (1975); A. R. Millard and D. J. Wiseman, ed., Essays on the Patriarchal Narratives (1983); J. D. Levenson, Inheriting Abraham: The Legacy of the Patriarch in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam (2012).
Abraham offering his son Isaac as a sacrifice to God. Fortean Picture Library.
No colossus stands astride the monotheistic religious history of the world quite like Abraham. Three world religions—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—trace their ancestry back to him. He is considered to be the father of both Judaism and Islam, through his sons Isaac and Ishmael, respectively, and the spiritual father of Christianity, according to Paul's letter to the Romans, chapter 4, verse 1. Indeed, except for the name of Jesus, Abraham's name appears more times in the Christian New Testament than does any other.
Although scholars will probably always wonder whether he was an actual man or a composite of characters, his story, set in about 2000 BCE, is told in a straightforward, historical manner beginning in the book of Genesis, chapter 12.
He is first introduced as Abram (the name means "exalted father"), living in Ur of the Chaldees, in what is now Iraq. The ancient city of Ur, a Sumerian capital, has been excavated. As a result of archaeological work done there, many believe it has been demonstrated that a people called Hapiru, or Hebrew, lived in Ur until about the time of the biblical narrative. They apparently migrated to Haran, in northern Mesopotamia, and then, it is assumed, to Canaan, later called Palestine, now Israel. Critical scholarship, however, like all sciences, is continually in flux, and it must be noted that further research sheds doubt on the connection.
Abraham is presented as a man of great faith although, like most biblical heroes, his feet of clay make him disarmingly appealing. The religious "call" that begins his story occurs in Genesis 12:
Now the Lord said to Abram, "Go from your father's house to the land I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who curses you I will curse; and by you all the families of the earth shall bless themselves."
"So Abram departed," according to the Bible, without a single word of protest or explanation. This act of unquestioning faith became the foundation for three religions.
After demonstrating this faith, however, Abram does an unexpected thing. He goes to Canaan as instructed, but at the first sign of famine, he continues on to Egypt. While there he is so worried about the Egyptian response to the beauty of his wife, Sarai, that he passes her off as his half-sister so no one will kill him in the hopes of marrying his widow. His plot almost backfires, and Sarai barely escapes becoming a member of Pharaoh's harem.
When Abram does return to Canaan, his name is changed to Abraham, which means "father of a multitude." It is by this name, and his wife's new name of Sarah, that they are known by three world religions. Abraham promises to remain faithful to his covenant with God, and circumcision will be the physical sign of that covenant, so as to set apart his descendants forever (see Circumcision).
Abraham is told that he and his wife will have a son whose ancestors will grow to become a great nation. When the miracle of birth fails to materialize (the couple is, after all, more than ninety years old), Sarah decides Abraham should father a baby by her Egyptian servant, Hagar. This practice was apparently fairly common in those days. A woman incapable of bearing children would often adopt as her own the child of her husband and a household servant.
The baby boy born of this union was named Ishmael. It is from Ishmael, the firstborn, that Muslims believe the religion of Islam begins. Significantly, the Hebrew Bible inserts an editorial at this point. Ishmael is called "a wild ass of a man" whose "hand will be against every man and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell against all his kinsmen" (Genesis 16:12).
All was not happy in the tents of Abraham, however. Right after Ishmael was born, Sarah gave birth to her own son, naming him Isaac. This being a patriarchal social system, she believed Hagar, her servant, now felt superior to her, having given birth to Abraham's firstborn son. Casting Hagar and her son Ishmael out into the desert, Sarah began to raise Isaac, who was to become father to the Hebrew people.
Thus in these two sons is prophesied two great peoples who, it is said, will forevermore be in competition.
Abraham's complete story is recounted in the rest of the book of Genesis, but a few highlights are especially important.
In Genesis 14:17-24, the mysterious Melchizedek appears. Chedorlaoma, king of Elam, had captured Abraham's kinsman, Lot. Abraham and his family army attacked by night, effecting a rescue. Upon Abraham's return from the battle, Melchizedek, "king of Salem" and "priest of the most high God," appears on the scene, offering a blessing and a gift of bread and wine. Abraham promptly gives him a tithe, or one-tenth, of the spoils captured in battle. This action is never explained. Indeed, Melchizedek is never mentioned again in the Hebrew Bible, except for an enigmatic reference in Psalm 110. "The Lord says to my Lord... You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek." The Christian author of the book of Hebrews, however, uses this passage to form the basis for a central New Testament theology of "The Melchizedek Priesthood" of Christ. Jesus Christ, the "Prince of Peace," is described as both priest and king, gives his followers bread and wine, and is deserving of their tithes and offerings (Hebrews 7:1-4).
Also central to Abraham's story is the aborted sacrifice of Isaac, his son. In Genesis 22, God tells Abraham to offer a sacrifice in the hills of Moriah. Today many Jews believe this to be the place in Jerusalem where the important Muslim mosque called the Dome of the Rock now stands. Its familiar golden roof dominates pictures of the Jerusalem skyline.
Because child sacrifice was practiced in the Canaanite religion of those days, this story is not quite so outlandish as may appear to modern sensibilities. What may seem strange, however, was that Isaac was "the promised seed" who was to become the "father of a multitude." How was he to fulfill his destiny if he were killed? The question was answered when God provided a ram, caught in nearby bushes, that became Isaac's substitute.
The story is interpreted three different ways by three different religions. Besides being a test of faith, Jews see this as a foreshadowing of the sacrificial system later inaugurated by Moses and brought to its highest expression in the Temple of Solomon, built a thousand years later on this same spot of ground. Animal sacrifice as substitutionary atonement for sin here replaces human sacrifice, a step up on the religious evolutionary scale.
Christian theologians take the story further, saying that Jesus, the Son of God, himself became "the Lamb of God" that would replace the animal sacrifice. Because the crucifixion took place in the same geographical area, a progression is seen on this spot of ground that leads from human to animal to God becoming the substitute for the guilty sinner in need of atonement. In other words, Abraham's son could be spared; God's son could not.
Muslims have another version of the story. The events are the same but the place and people change. The name of Abraham's son and the place of the sacrifice are not mentioned in the Qur'an; it is usually understood that it was Ishmael, the firstborn, who was offered. And the place of sacrifice was not the scene of present-day Jerusalem, but rather south, in Mecca. According to Muslim belief, Abraham and Ishmael practiced true faith in God by "submitting." The word "Muslim" means "a submitter." Tradition states that Abraham brought Ishmael to Mecca when Sarah forced them to leave. Later, Ishmael and Abraham together rebuilt in Mecca the Kaaba
(shrine) that had been destroyed by Noah's flood. There they prayed that Allah would raise up from their descendants a messenger who would declare God's revelations and teach wisdom. This messenger, Muslims believe, was Muhammad.
Abraham, then, is the most revered patriarch of the major monotheistic religions. Although views about him differ widely depending on which religion's scriptures are consulted, his story, as interpreted by Jews, Christians, and Muslims, has undeniably affected the course of human history.
(also Abram). Mythological forefather of the Hebrews.
Biblical tradition (Genesis 11–25) gives Ur as Abraham's homeland and tells of his wanderings in Mesopotamia, Palestine, and Egypt. Abraham is credited with the victory over the Elamites and their ally the Babylonian king Hammurabi (Amraphel). The story of Abraham's unsuccessful attempt to kill his son Isaac as a sacrifice to the god Yahweh testifies to the incipient transition away from human sacrifice and is comparable to the ancient Greek myth about Iphigenia. In the Koran, Abraham (Ibrahim) is considered the forefather of both the Hebrews and the Arabs and one of the precursors of Muhammad. In the Mandaean sect Abraham is one of the false prophets.
An 1870 engraving by Gustave Dore depicts Abraham visited by three angels, one of whom tells him that the city of Sodom will be destroyed. Abraham also dreamed that God foretold that His people would be enslaved.
Like Jacob and Joseph, the patriarch Abraham, ancestor of the Hebrew nation, was one of the most prolific dreamers in the Hebrew Bible. The first dream reported in Genesis is a dream by Abraham:
When the sun was setting, a deep sleep overcame Abram…. Then the Lord said to him, "Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. You, however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a good old age. In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure." (Gen. 15:12–16)
Prior to this particular occasion, God had appeared several times to Abraham and spoken with him, but this is the only time God ever came to Abraham in a vision.
In the sleeplike condition that overcame his senses, Abraham was awake to spiritual impressions and was in a condition where God alone could be seen and heard—everything else was excluded. In this manner the establishing of the Hebrew covenant, as well as the prophecy for Abraham's descendants for the next several centuries, was deeply impressed upon his consciousness.
initiated rite in covenant with God. [O.T.: Genesis 17:11–14]
See: Circumcision
in obedience to God, would sacrifice his only son. [O.T.: Genesis 22:1–18]
See: Faithfulness
progenitor of a host of nations. [O.T.: Genesis 17:3–6]
See: Fatherhood
graciously receives and treats three wayfarers. [O.T.: Genesis 18:1–15]
See: Hospitality
promised countless descendants by God. [O.T.: Genesis 13:16]
See: Prolificness
See: Test
1. Old Testament the first of the patriarchs, the father of Isaac and the founder of the Hebrew people (Genesis 11--25)
2. Abraham's bosom the place where the just repose after death (Luke 16:22)
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Northwestern Basketball Season Previews 2012-2013
Sippin' on Purple
Northwestern Wildcats Basketball Season Previews: Nikola Cerina
A look at Nikola Cerina, a transfer from TCU who will begin his first season for Northwestern this fall. Can the 6-foot-9 forward from Serbia be an improvement on centers Luka Mirkovic and Davide Curletti for the Wildcats?
By Loretta8 Oct 15, 2012, 4:00pm CDT
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Rodger and Loretta8 love football, but they really really really love basketball. With about a month until Northwestern's season tips off, we're going to break down Northwestern's roster, schedule, and other stuff, because we want to share our disturbing obsession with the last major conference school to make the NCAA tournament with the world:
Nikola Cerina largely remains an unknown to Northwestern fans after transferring in from TCU last summer and sitting out last season. The 6'9", 245 pound center from Serbia, whose last name is apparently pronounced CHUR-nuh, may not be anywhere close to the player John Shurna was, but he does provide a few skills Northwestern is in desperate need of: namely, size, athleticism and rebounding.
During his two seasons at TCU, Cerina averaged about 5.5 points and 4 rebounds while playing 20 minutes per night, fairly modest numbers (especially considering those TCU teams finished at the bottom of the Mountain West). Where he excelled was on the defensive glass, grabbing a solid 18% of the available defensive rebounds according to KenPom.com. Since Northwestern was among the worst rebounding teams in the nation last season, any warm body even halfway decent at rebounding will surely get some minutes. Of course, that 18% total is right in line with Luka Mirkovic's career rate, but before you get too depressed, Cerina has been described as an excellent athlete by reporters like Teddy Greenstein who've seen him practice, so he should at least have a chance against other Big Ten big men.
That's the good news. The bad news is there are several red flags in Cerina's statistical profile, in particular on the offensive end. He isn't much of a threat from behind the arc, making just 7 of 24 threes in two years, and his career 50.6% 2-point shooting isn't a great total for a player of his size, especially considering his relatively low possession usage. Plus, his 58% career free throw percentage indicates he may not have much potential to improve as a shooter.
Another potential issue is Cerina's horrendous career assist to turnover ratio; in 2010-11 he had just 14 assists all year against 43 turnovers. As we've seen in Bill Carmody's Princeton offense, it's important for the center to be a good passer out of the high post, and Cerina doesn't seem to fit the profile.
YouTube scouting report: The only video evidence of Nikola Cerina being a real, live human being come from this three minute student-produced video from TCU. The majority of it is some probably-graduated-by-now Horned Frog student reporter narrating Nikola's story - he's from Serbia!
There are also three important highlights of him playing basketball against Utah, a trio of dominant plays that are repeated twice because they apparently have very little stock footage in Fort Worth. In those three plays, he a) hits a lefty baby hook b) drills a three c) dunks, relatively emphatically. I think this establishes a worst-case scenario of Ivan Peljusic.
The Texas Pan-American test: It's difficult to judge Nikola Cerina's skills considering he played against entirely different competition than Northwestern. Besides Jimmer Fredette, we don't know that much about the teams Cerina's TCU squads.
BUT WAIT: a mutual opponent appears! As we all know, nothing says "Northwestern basketball" like non-conference matchups with Texas-Pan American, a school none of us are still really sure exist? Who can forget when Northwestern won a tight 53-44 matchup back in 2010 thanks to 21 and 13 by John Shurna? Or when the Cats took a trip to the dreaded Broncs Zoo in JerShon Cobb's first collegiate game while a heavily accented announcer called Northwestern a Big Ten powerhouse? I know I will never forget these moments, so long as I live.
Cerina took on the Broncs once, on Jan. 20, 2010, about two weeks after they had played Northwestern. Here's his line:
17 minutes, 13 points, three rebounds, one assist, 6-for-6 shooting, 1-for-3 FTs, five personal fouls
Here are the lines Northwestern's big men put up in the matchup a few weeks earlier:
Luka Mirkovic: 23 minutes, 11 points, 11 rebounds (7 offensive), two assists, one block, three turnovers, 3-for-5 shooting, 5-for-9 FTs
Davide Curletti: 8 minutes, two points, one rebound, 1-for-1 shooting, three personal fouls
Kyle Rowley: 8 minutes, one point, 1-for-2 FTs, three rebounds, one block, assist, two personal foul
From this, we can learn oodles of information. For example: Cerina is the most efficient scorer of all time, but only 3/11ths as good at rebounding as Luka was. He is almost exactly as good at accumulating fouls as the combined forces of Davide Curletti and Kyle Rowley, which should frighten you and your children.
In other news, I'd like to announce my immediate resignation as SoP's lead writer to work full-time on my UT-Pan American website, The Broncs is Burning. With regards to Northwestern, good riddance: you guys are all jerks.
Cerina-bits: Nikola's high school was named after Nikola Tesla, one of the most important electrical inventors of all time, but obviously most famous to me for being a hard rock band, being played by David Bowie in The Prestige, and inventing lightning machines that can play the Super Mario theme song... I would point out how Nikola Cerina is the only "Nikola" I've ever encountered and its funny that his school was also Nikola-themed, but I suppose it's like being named "John" over there... Nikola's sister plays basketball at Oklahoma, so here's a video about her.
Rodger: A lot is made of the loss of John Shurna, but not many people are talking about the fact that both NU's centers from last season are gone. Mainly because neither was perceived as being any good. The bar is pretty low for Cerina to make a positive impact on NU. Both Curletti and Mirkovic had a few skills but mainly acted terrified whenever presented with the opportunity to do anything with the ball. If Cerina has a modicum of talent - and it seems he does - and manages not to be paralyzed by fear on offense, I think we'll like him. His tiny bit of shooting touch should help in the PO and he can dunk, which may or may not have been true of Mirkovic.
Last year, Northwestern played Reggie Hearn at power forward for large swaths of Big Ten play. Cerina might not be an all-conference performer - we don't know much about him at all, and he's NU's most experienced big man - but at least this team is gaining depth at the big man spots.
Loretta8: Despite his flaws, Cerina still could have a positive impact for Northwestern, depending on how much coaching he's received since coming to Evanston and whether he's willing to accept his role as the fifth offensive option. If Carmody has used Cerina's year off effectively, Cerina should be competent enough as a passer to at least not totally clog up the offense, and if he's able to make lay-ups with any regularity, he'll be a substantial improvement over NU's two centers from last year. His size and athleticism will certainly help NU defensively and on the glass as long as he can stay on the court; he committed more than 6 fouls per 40 minutes while at TCU, a number that needs to go down.


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Search Results: 9 books from 1 publisher. Learn more ›
Joshua Wong: Student Activist for Democracy
Linda Barghoorn (author)
Publisher: Crabtree Publishing Company ISBN: 9781427121004
Joshua Wong was born in Hong Kong less than one year before China took back control of the city from the United Kingdom. While the handover was peaceful, Hong Kong's citizens lost their right to fully democratic elections. Joshua's leadership as an activist came to international attention in 2014, during pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong. The protest became known as the Umbrella Movement. Although Joshua and his student organization called Scholarism promoted peaceful protest, he was jailed for his participation. Undiscouraged, Joshua continues to advocate for full and free elections in Hong Kong. He has been the subject of a documentary called Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower, and has been recognized for his work with many awards including TIME magazine's 25 Most Influential Teens.
How does the Canadian government work?
Ellen Rodger (author)
The book provides an engaging introduction on how Canadas parliamentary system of government works. The distinctions between head of state and head of government are explained, while introducing readers to the roles of the monarch, the governor general, the prime minister, and the opposition parties. Parliamentary models of government at the provincial level, as well as in other countries, are also included.
Political Maps
Jessica Pegis (author)
Political maps are often the first kind of maps children learn about. These maps identify the boundaries of countries, states or provinces, and cities, as well as such physical features as lakes and oceans. Detailed, up-to-date maps and clearly written text help readers understand how to use political maps to solve problems.
Rachel Tisdale (author)
Police officers are the protective barrier standing between the public on one side and lawlessness on the other - the so-called "thin blue line." A high-stress job, officers face daily interactions in stressful situations where the element of risk is always lurking. An officer's main duty is to maintain law and order within a community, which means they are regularly face to face with citizens and out patrolling the streets. This book looks at the duties of police officers in crime prevention, the apprehension of offenders, and emergency situations.
Radical Republicans
John Perritano (author)
With malice toward none; and charity for all. Those were the words of reconciliation that Abraham Lincoln preached as he tried to reunite a nation at the end of the American Civil War. However, a group of Republicans, Radical Republicans as they were called, had anything but reconciliation on their minds. After Lincoln died, they tried to punish the South for rebelling against the Union. Radical Republicans is a graphic history that explains the high and low points after the war.
What Are Taxes?
Baron Bedesky (author)
This is a volume designed to inform children what taxes are and why they are needed. Emphasis is placed on how taxes provide the funds needed to keep governments running, from local to federal levels. Young readers will understand how taxes are used to dissuade people from buying some items, such as cigarettes and gas-guzzling vehicles. Attractive color images help de-mystify this fascinating and important aspect of government.
What is the executive branch?
James Bow (author)
The executive branch of the United States government is responsible for putting laws into action. This book carefully explains the workings of the executive branch, from its most visible figure, the President, through to the vice president, cabinet, and executive departments and agencies. Key roles such as the Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, and Attorney General are profiled. A comparison to other executive powers in state and local governments, as well as other countries, is also included.
What is the legislative branch?
The legislative branch of the United States government represents the people and makes the laws which they live by. This book introduces readers to the House of Representatives and Senate, and the main players in both. Whips, committees, and filibusters are also discussed. A comparison to other legislative bodies in state and local governments, as well as in other countries, is also included.
What is the judicial branch?
The judicial branch of government consists of the nations courts. This title explores the role of the United States Supreme Court and its role in interpreting the U.S. Constitution, as well as the role of Federal Courts. Justices and judges, and how they are selected for their jobs is also provided. A comparison to other judicial bodies in state governments, as well as in other countries, is also included.


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Polyorchard
Sextet | Quintet
(Out and Gone Music - USA)
Quintet and sextet recordings from the Polyorchard group of Jeb Bishop on trombone, Chris Eubank on cello, Bill McConaghy on trumpet, David Menestres on double bass, David Morris on tuba, Dan Ruccia on viola, Jeb Bishop on trombone, and Jacob Wick on trumpet, recording at "The Store" in Raleigh, NC, for sublime and complex and collective free improvisation.
Label: Out and Gone Music
Catalog ID: OG006
Quintet recorded live at The Store on April 5th, 2015, and Sextet recorded liev at The Store in Raleigh, NC on February 28th, 2015, by Dan Lilley.
Jeb Bishop-trombone
Chris Eubank-cello
Bill McConaghy-trumpet
David Menestres-double bass
David Morris-tuba
Dan Ruccia-viola
Jacob Wick-trumpet
• Show Bio for Jeb Bishop
"Jeb Bishop was born in Raleigh, North Carolina during the Cuban missile crisis. He began playing the trombone at the age of 10, under the tutelage of Cora Grasser. Other influential teachers during junior high and high school included Jeanne Nelson, Eric Carlson, Richard Fecteau, Greg Cox, and James Cozart.
He majored in classical trombone performance at Northwestern University from 1980-82, studying with Frank Crisafulli. Deciding he did not want to pursue a career as an orchestral musician, he returned to Raleigh in 1982 and took up engineering studies at NC State University. Raleigh's developing underground rock scene attracted him, and from 1982-84 he played bass guitar in rock bands in the Raleigh area.
At the same time, he developed an interest in philosophy, eventually majoring in the subject, and spent 1984-85 studying philosophy at the Higher Institute of Philosophy of the Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium.
Returing to Raleigh in 1985, he spent the next few years working at menial jobs and playing guitar, bass, cheap keyboards, drums, etc., in rock bands including and/or, the Angels of Epistemology, Egg, and Metal Pitcher.
In 1989 he left Raleigh to pursue graduate studies in philosophy, first at the University of Arizona, then at Loyola University of Chicago (where he was awarded the Crown Fellowship in the Humanities). During 1991-92 he returned to Europe, spending the summer of 1991 studying German at the Goethe-Institut Iserlohn (now closed), and then pursuing independent studies in philosophy at the French-language division of the University of Louvain.
Returning to Chicago in 1992, he completed his M.A. at Loyola in 1993. By this time he had already begun to make connections with improvising musicians in Chicago, having joined the Flying Luttenbachers as bassist (later adding trombone) in late 1992, and playing guitar occasionally in a quartet with Weasel Walter, Ken Vandermark, and Kevin Drumm. Other bands during this period included the Unheard Music Quartet (with Vandermark, Mike Hagedorn on trombone, and Otto Huber on drums) and the Rev Trio (with Walter and saxophonist Joe Vajarsky). Bishop played electric bass in both these bands.
In late 1995, Bishop joined the Vandermark 5 as one of its founding members, and remained with the band through the end of 2004. During this period he also became associated with many other groups, including the Peter Brötzmann Chicago Tentet, School Days, Ken Vandermark's Territory Band, and his own Jeb Bishop Trio, and became a very frequent participant in ad hoc and free-improvised concerts in Chicago. Bishop performed in the inaugural concerts of two of the longest-running free-music concert series in Chicago: the Myopic Books weekly concerts (originally at Czar Bar; with Rev Trio) and the Empty Bottle Wednesday night concert series (with a quartet of Terri Kapsalis, Kevin Drumm, and Jim O'Rourke). He curated the monthly Chicago Improvisers Group concerts at the Green Mill from 1999-2002, and co-curated the weekly Eight Million Heroes concert series at Sylvie's in 2005-6.
Bishop has made dozens of recordings with many different groups, has toured North America and Europe many times, and maintains a busy performing schedule."
-Jeb Bishop Website (http://www.jebbishop.com/jebbio.html)
^ Hide Bio for Jeb Bishop
• Show Bio for Chris Eubank
"Chris Eubank has been an underrated presence on the North Carolina music scene for more than a decade. While classically trained and blessed with good bloodlines (his father is a music professor, and his mother taught piano lessons on the side), Eubank has spent most of his time playing in rock bands. Since moving up from Orlando, Fla. to Durham to attend Duke in 1982, Eubank has made his presence felt by playing in a dizzying array of bands, including the Ugly Americans, Blue Chair, Skeletal Remains, the Mind Sirens, Bicentennial Quarters, Polycarp, Repetophile and Shark Quest. His active status as the cellist/bassist in Spatula keeps us keenly interested in his well-being, but as you'll see, his membership in that band is just one aspect of his character."
-Squealer Music (https://www.squealermusic.com/fantastic/spring99/eubank.html)
^ Hide Bio for Chris Eubank
• Show Bio for David Menestres
"David Menestres is a bassist, composer, and writer currently living in the Piedmont region of North Carolina. David is the founder/leader of the Polyorchard ensemble and is the host and producer of Tone Science, a weekly two-hour radio show on taintradio.org since 2010."
-David Menestres Website (http://davidmenestres.com/bio/)
^ Hide Bio for David Menestres
• Show Bio for Dan Ruccia
"Dan Ruccia (b. 1982) is a Durham, NC, based composer. He writes music that exists at the intersection of different styles, forms, and genres, particularly free jazz and punk in all of its manifestations. His music has been performed across the United States and Europe by Eighth Blackbird, The Bad Plus, Wet Ink, the Juventas New Music Ensemble, Ensemble Soli Fan Tutti, the Wavensemble, and [dnme]. He recently completed his Ph.D. at Duke University where he studied with Stephen Jaffe, Scott Lindroth, and Allen Anderson (University of North Carolina). Dan also has a B.A. in music from Princeton University, having worked with Dan Trueman, Dmitri Tymoczko, and Steven Mackey.
Additionally, Dan is a violist and improviser, playing with [dnme] (which he directed in 2009 and 2010), Microcephalic Superintendent, and other groups around the Triangle. He also is a DJ at WXDU, playing a freeform mix of rock, jazz, classical, and everything else, and writes album reviews for Dusted Magazine. He is also on Twitter."
-Dan Ruccia Website (http://www.danruccia.com/about.html)
^ Hide Bio for Dan Ruccia
• Show Bio for Jacob Wick
Jacob Wick is a free improvising trumpeter, born in Glencoe, Illinois and currently living in Mexico City, MX. He was educated at State University of New York at Purchase and California College of the Arts. He lived in NYC for a number of years, working with Prom Night Records and performing. He has been a member of Hungry Cowboy, Kenosha Kid, Kimmel, Moré, Wick Trio, The HighLife, Tres Hongos, Trumpet Trumpet Synthesizer, Ajemian & the HighLife, Jason, and his own solo work. He has albums on Creative Sources, Prom Night, Lengua De Lava, Palliative, Astral Spirits, Hard Angle, Marginal Frequency, Impakt, and Thin Wrist. Much of his solo work is in the lowercase or minimal approaches to the trumpet, in performance deconstructing the trumpet and using extended techniques to draw unusual textures and tones from the instrument.
-Squidco 1/23/2020
^ Hide Bio for Jacob Wick
1. 1118 11:19
3. 0733 7:34
"I love the electrical infrastructure that crisscrosses the landscape. The substations, the power lines, the pylons, the cooling towers from a nuclear plant peaking above the horizon. The way birds and animals interact with the wires and fences, not giving a damn about our arbitrary borders, shitting on whatever they want. This is all visual pollution, tons and tons of unnecessary equipment infesting the planet, metallic cankers standing as monuments to our stupidity and shortsightedness.
If we'd listened to Nikola Tesla, we'd have wireless transmission of free electricity for all. Instead, we're tied to monopolistic utility companies, our landscape is blighted by the substations, the power lines, the pylons. Our world is polluted nearly beyond repair from coal ash and radioactive waste that will be problematic for hundreds of thousands of years to come. Instead of passing on a dream, we will leave an endless nightmare of corruption and filth to every generation that comes after us. There are moments in life when one can manage the wireless transmission of electricity, when one can illuminate the darkness through sheer force of will, if only for a few moments.
At our best, this is what Polyorchard is, a power station generating electrical thought patterns transmitted outwards, from musician to musician, to the microphones, to the audience, and into the endless aether."-David Menestres
Chicago Jazz & Improvisation
Sextet Recordings
Quintet Recordings
JeJaWeDa (Bishop / Blonk / Walter / Smith)
Pioneer Works Vol. 1 [CD + BOOKLET]
(Balance Point Acoustics)
Judge Schreber's Avian Choir
Bleed [VINYL]
(Cort)
Bishop, Jeb / Matthias Muche
Rosaly, Frank (w/ Blonk / Boye / Farha / Pfiffner / Bishop / Broste / McBride / Diaz / Fernandez / Guerra / Rodriguez)
Todos de Pie!
(Kontrans)
Bishop, Jeb Flex Quartet
Re-Collect
Bishop, Jeb / Alex Ward / Weasel Walter
Flayed
(ugEXPLODE)
Eisenstadt, Harris (Malaby / Roebke / Bishop)
Old Growth Forest II [CD]
Old Growth Forest II [CASSETTE with DOWNLOAD]
Wick, Jacob / Phil Sudderberg
Combinatory Pleasures [CASSETTE w/ DOWNLOAD]
Polyorchard (Estoppey / Jackson / Menestres / Ruccia)
(Out & Gone Records)
Polyorchard (Pence / Jackson / Menestres / Ruccia / Phaneuf)
Sommian
Wick, Jacob
Feel [VINYL]
(Thin Wrist)
Parker / Bishop / Karayorgis / McBride / Gray
The Diagonal Filter
Chicago Edge Ensemble (Phillips / Drake / Williams / Bishop / Pablan)
Insidious Anthem
Color Theory in Black and White
(Not On Label)
Red October [CASSETTE w/DOWNLOAD]
(Out and Gone Music)
Bishop, Jeb / Dan Ruccia
Scratch Slice Jag
Roebke, Jason Octet
Cinema Spiral
Audio One (Vandermark/Adasiewicz/Berman/Bishop/Rempis/Williams/Mazzarrella/Daisy/Macri/Paulson)
The Midwest School [VINYL]
(Audiographic Records)
An International Report [VINYL]
Eisenstadt, Harris (Bishop / Malaby / Roebke / Eisenstadt)
Old Growth Forest
Bruckmann's, Kyle Wrack
...Awaits Silent Tristero's Empire
(Singlespeed Music)
Gregorio, Guillermo
Vandermark / Gregorio / Bishop / Morris / &c
Whammies, The (Dijkstra / Oliver / Karayorgis / Roebke / Bishop / Bennink)
Play The Music Of Steve Lacy: Vol. #2
(Driff Records)
Whammies, The (Djikstra / Karayorgis / Bishop / Oliver / McBride / Bennink)
Play The Music of Steve Lacy
(Allos Musica)
Anastasoff / Morgan / Ali / Stewart-Robertson / Henkel / Wick
Obscure Directions
(Prom Night Records)
Jackson, Keefe Quartet
Seeing You See
Dijkstra, Jorrit
Pillow Circles
Lucky 7's
Pluto Junkyard
Bruckmann, Kyle
(Red Toucan)
Flatlands Collective, The
Wick / Greenwald
Cardew, Cornelius
D'Agaro, Daniele
Chicago Overtones
Atomic / School Days
Nuclear Assembly Hall
(Okka)
Other Recommended Releases:
Search for other titles on the Out and Gone Music label.


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FAMA Secretary General Visits Chinese Taipei
NewsFAMA Secretary General Visits Chinese Taipei
The FAMA Secretary General was invited to Chinese Taipei to meet the Chinese Taipei Muaythai Federation under President En-Huang Chang to provide updates on the many activities and updates of IFMA's One Standard Muaythai Policy. The President welcomed the FAMA Secretary General as Chinese Taipei has become one of Asia's most active federations.
Through his 3 day visit, Mr. Tan was also invited to the National Olympic Committee and the Sports Ministry to discuss the many events in 2023 including the 2023 Senior World Championships, the Youth World Championships, the Asian Indoor Games and World Combat Games.
Congratulations to Chinese Taipei Muaythai!
Tagged Chinese TaipeiFAMAMervyn Tan


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The madness and method of Supercell's M&A philosophy
A double-edged sword
Frogmind Games
Redemption Games
Shipyard Games
Space Ape Games
Trailmix
Ilkka Paananen CEO Supercell
Johannes Vuorinen Frogmind Games
Game Programmer & Designer / Co-founder of Frogmind developing BADLAND. Lead Programmer of Trials Evolution editor.
John Earner CEO Space Ape Games
Michael Witz CEO Redemption Games
June 14th, 2018 - 10:00am
By Jon Jordan, Contributing Editor
Although recent updates to Brawl Stars may be knocking some of the shine off its reputation, there's no doubt Supercell remains the industry's most admired mobile games developer both in terms of its financial success and company culture.
Small wonder that its decision in 2016 to start investing into other mobile games developers gained so much attention.
Since then though - in typical Supercell-style - the company's M&A activity has been low key, even off-beat in terms of deal selection.
And there's both method and unintended madness in its approach.
Starting close to home
In retrospect, Supercell's first deal was an obvious one: it was small scale and highlighted strong local and cultural similarities.
In September 2016, Supercell spent around $8 million acquiring a 51 per cent stake in fellow Finnish indie Frogmind.
Frogmind had come to prominence with its artful, noir platformer Badland, a paid mobile game that gained an Apple Design Award and an Apple Game of the Year award back in 2013.
And despite some hesitation prior to the acquisition it had started work on free-to-play games, two of which - Badlands Brawl and Rumble Stars Soccer - are currently in soft launch.
On that basis, the investment enabled Frogmind to scale up its teams, gaining support and expertise from Supercell while keeping its independence as a studio.
However, without the investment, it's likely one of those soft launched games would already have been released. Indeed, in a post-deal interview Frogmind CEO Johannes Vuorinen suggested one of its games could potentially be out in 2017, something which clearly didn't happen.
In that sense, Supercell has perhaps acted like a comfort blanket; its cash and confidence enabling Frogmind to spend too long on games that should have already gone live or been canned.
Still, given Badlands Brawl - a super polished, physics-heavy PVP tower defence game - has only been in soft launch for six months, maybe this remains a borderline call.
Supercell's second deal was again local and small, but this time early stage: $2.9 million into location-based games start-up Shipyard. Its debut title is about to enter closed beta testing with a release planned later in 2018. One for future discussion.
But Supercell's third deal remains the defining part of its M&A strategy.
Elevating Space Ape
London-based Space Ape was founded in 2012, mainly by staff and executives from EA's Playfish studio, and it hit the ground running with VC funding and a strong idea of what it wanted to do.
Supercell's future well-being isn't dependent on any of its companies generating returns.
Ironically, in the case of its first game that plan was to get a Clash of Clans-style strategy game released for Android devices before Supercell got around to porting the iOS version of Clash of Clans. Space Ape succeeded in its aim with Samurai Siege being the number two top grossing strategy game on Google Play behind IGG's Castle Clash.
And it quickly built momentum with its follow-up, the fantasy-themed strategy title Rivals Kingdoms. As often happens it was a better game of the two but not as commercially successful, something Space Ape put down to the fantasy setting being less appealing to the mass market.
Indeed, it was around this time Space Ape started to give conference talks revealing the sort of operational figures most other companies keep locked away.
Combined with this openness was the feeling something needed to change.
Space Ape was well established, growing and profitable but had to get off the strategy game roundabout - its third game Transformers: Earth Wars was a disappointment - and attempt something new.
Something's got to give
The decision to rethink its plan, and the creativity unleashed proved to be the making of Space Ape, at least in terms of Supercell's investment: a 62 per cent stake costing $56 million announced in May 2017.
Getting acquired by the industry's most admired mobile game developer brings a new set of responsibilities.
Significantly, in another post-deal interview, Space Ape CEO John Earner revealed Space Ape had been in talks with Supercell in 2016, and its subsequence change of direction in terms of the games it chose to make and company structure was a direct result of these.
Closing the circle, Supercell's investment was a direct result of this change of direction.
Yet, as with Frogmind, in the 12 months since Supercell's investment, from the outside it's not clear what the impact has been on Space Ape. Partly this is because you can't make mobile games in 12 months anymore, also because getting acquired by the industry's most admired mobile games developer brings a new set of responsibilities.
As Earner noted at the time, Space Ape's status as a 'Supercell company' means any game it now releases will face widespread scrutiny and sky high expectations both externally and internally.
"I don't think we would want to launch a game ever again that didn't have a very real shot of defining and owning a category on mobile," he commented on the changed perspective on success.
Given the vanishing small number of developers which have managed to 'define and/or own' a mobile game category, however inspiring the new vision, it must be a burden too, especially in a mobile ecosystem now dominated by existing hits, high profile console franchises and games that appeal to middle-aged women.
Supercell has spent $80 million, anointing five companies with its seal of approval.
This is particularly an issue for Frogmind and Space Ape, established studios that have up-to-this-point created games for core gamers, but perhaps also sheds some light on Supercell's two most recent, smaller deals.
Experienced teams, fresh ideas
Early February 2018 saw Supercell invest in its second start-up: $4.2 million into Trailmix, which was co-founded by leads from the London studio of Activision Blizzard's mobile arm King.
At King, they'd created and launched the very mass market Farm Heroes Saga, and Trailmix's aim is to make mobile games for people who don't consider themselves gamers, or who don't even yet play mobile games.
The situation is similar in terms of $5 million Supercell recently invested into US studio Redemption Games.
Founded in 2015 by creatives who worked on Jam City's match-3 hit Cookie Jam, its first project was a match-three game set in the Temple Run universe.
Ultimately, however, Temple Run: Treasure Hunters, a joint project with publisher Scopely and licence holder Imangi, was killed in soft launch. Redemption doesn't have any other publicly announced games so it's impossible to judge what caught Supercell's attention other than the people and culture.
As for Supercell's CEO Ilkka Paananen, his explanation of Supercell's M&A activity remains as hands-off as his management style.
"It's all about independence, trust and encouraging risk-taking and long-term thinking," he said, following the Redemption deal.
"So that will be the case with Redemption, just like it is with Frogmind, Space Ape, Shipyard and Trailmix. Of course, we'll always be here for advice and support if they need us, but it's up to them."
Should you trust a wizard?
Akin to those free-range parents who encourage independence in their offspring, the additional fact that unlike all other investors, Supercell's future well-being isn't dependent on any of its companies generating returns makes for a curious situation.
Having an investment from Supercell is like meeting Gandalf in the dark woods and having him agree to join your quest.
Michael Witz
After long scrutiny and over three years, it's spent $80 million on a handful of deals, anointing those companies with the Supercell seal of approval and raising the standards to which they now aspire.
Yet without the need for the typical financial outcome demanded by normal investors, one of the key traditional feedback loops of such activity is weakened. Maybe the entire process could be filed under 'Be Careful What You Wish For?'
Hence it's interesting to consider what Redemption CEO Michael Witz said about the deal.
"The mobile games industry is extremely challenging and the odds of survival are low," he said. "Having an investment from Supercell is like meeting Gandalf in the dark woods and having him agree to join your quest.
"The odds are still against you, but it's sure great to have some magic on your side."
No doubt, it's reading too much into the comment to point out Gandalf wasn't the most reliable of guides in The Lord of the Rings. As with a Supercell currently struggling with its own creativity, Gandalf had his own battles to fight.
Of course, the counter-argument is Gandalf ultimately did enough to inspire his charges to complete their mission and save the world.
So despite the hands-off philosophy and the added pressures for its new studios, Supercell's unique approach may still be enough for some of them to beat even those odds.
Jon Jordan
A Pocket Gamer co-founder, Jon is Contributing Editor at PG.biz which means he acts like a slightly confused uncle who's forgotten where he's left his glasses. As well as letters and cameras, he likes imaginary numbers and legumes.
Interview Jun 7th, 2018
Supercell invests $5 million in US mobile developer Redemption Games
News Sep 21st, 2016
Supercell acquires 51% of Badland developer Frogmind as the two studios enter a long-term partnership
News Nov 22nd, 2021
Frogmind rebrands to HypeHype, Supercell invests $15 million
Interview Jun 30th, 2017
"I've always struggled to imagine ourselves anywhere else": Space Ape CEO on Supercell deal
News May 23rd, 2017
Supercell acquires 62% stake in UK mobile games studio Space Ape for $55.8 million