Tai chi periodic table

Winning the Ekstraklasa after 7 seasons pt.1

2024.05.14 21:18 z3pp89 Winning the Ekstraklasa after 7 seasons pt.1

After playing FM2024 for few months I got bored with the save that I was playing at the time, and decided to do a new save. First time used "pick a team for me" and got TS Podbeskidzie Bielsko-Biała (TPS). Never heard of them, and in general I have a limited knowledge of Polish leagues.Transfers were not allowed, since idea was that every team starts with the real players and rosters. With that being said, I've used large and customised database to have more players loaded from certain countries and regions.
Few rules for transfers:

First transfer window is shut, all the teams start with their real life players/team
Since TPS doesn't have an extensive scouting range, in beginning I'm allowed to sign players from Polish divisions
No wonderkids from South America, until the scouting team has a good knowledge
After getting promoted scouting and recruitment is restricted to: Balkans, Eastern Europe, all Polish divisions, second and third divisions from top 10 European leagues.

This sorta made it more realistic and a bit difficult finding players that would improve the team, and help being competitive in Ekstraklasa. I have also used Director of football a lot, his suggestions helped to find good players, and if you are going to be doing save similar to this, I highly recommend using DoF.
Season 1:
Media prediction for TPS was mid-table finish. With the team that I inherited, there was a potential for finishing in top 3. A lot of staff was released and I've brought best coaches and scouts that were available at that moment.
Even though first transfer window was disabled, after it was done I managed to sign a left back on a free transfer (using DoF's suggestion).
Main problem for the first season was lack of quality in depth of the team. First 11 were good, but beside those players and maybe few others, team needed some additions. Results confirmed this as first part of the season team was inconsistent. Few wins then a loss and some draws. TPS were on 5th place at the time and desperately needed some extra quality.
Two players were brought in:
Dalibor Takac, (defensive midfielder) - €18,500 from Korona Kielce
Mateusz Lewandowski, (striker) - Loan from Wisla Plock
These two made the team quite solid, especially Takac, who bossed the midfield at this level. That reflected on team's results. Second part of the season TPS were undefeated (9 wins and 6 draws). This propelled the team to the first place and we were promoted.
Champions!
Best 11 from the first season:
B11-S1
Break between two seasons in Poland is quite short. Only 2 and half weeks, so a lot of focus was on recruiting. My DoF and I had a lot of work to do. From the best 11 of first season lot of players left, mainly because they were not a calibre of players for Ekstraklasa:
Piotr Tomasik, (left back) - retired
Lionel Abate, (striker) - loaned out
Haris Kadric, (striker) - free transfer
Antonio Perosevic, (left winger) - free transfer
Maksymilian Banaszewski, (right winger) - free transfer
Jan Hlavic, (centre defender) - free transfer
Jaka Kolenc, (defensive midfielder) - €40,000 to Ruch
Mateusz Stryjewski, (attacking midfielder) - €35,000 to Zaglebie Sosnowiec
These were just some of the key players from the promotion season, many more left on free transfer. After the promotion board gave me small transfer budget (€90,000) plus couple players that were sold for a fee. On the other hand the wage budget was quite significant, having in mind that lot of players were leaving on June 30th, there was a lot of flexibility to play around with budgets.
Notable transfers in from first season in Ekstraklasa:
Mykola Kvasny, (left back) - free transfer from Ahrobiznes
Jordan, (centre back) - free transfer from Zoria
Filipe Oliveira, (attacking midfielder) - €50,000 from Kotwice
Patrick Stanic, (centre back) - free transfer from Zrinjski Osijecko 1664
Samba Diallo, (left wing) - loan from Dynamo Kyev
Lamine Correa, (Striker) - €175,000 from FK Metta
Marcin Cebula, (attacking midfielder, right wing) - free
With few other free transfers and loans, I felt that team was good enough not just to avoid relegation but actually finish in mid-table. Season preview put TPS right above relegation zone.
To my surprise, momentum from league below was continued and first part of the season, team had fairly consistent performances (12 wins, 5 draws and 3 losses). This form put TPS in top 3 of Ekstraklasa.
One of the problems during first part of the season was inconsistency of defenders, with no budget left there weren't any additions in winter transfer period. That was the main reason that second part of the season was less successful (7 wins, 3 draws and 5 defeats) and TPS ended their campaign in 4th place. Overall it was super successful season, way better than I initially anticipated. Unfortunately, ending up as 4th wouldn't get TPS European football, since Jagiellonia won the Polish Cup.
First season in Ekstraklasa
Best 11 of season two:
B11-S2
That was it for the part one of this really fun save.

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2024.05.14 20:42 sheldon_y14 Tunes of Suriname: The iconic 2010's

For Surinamese millennials and/or early Gen-Zs the 2010-2017/18 era songs and musical styles played an important role in shaping them and are so called "core memories".
The music of this era doesn't have one particular genre. The styles are blends of styles that would be similar to RnB, Reggae, Zouk, Soca, Pop, Dance-pop, Alternative Hip Hop, Rap, Aleke (maroon genre), Baithak Gana/Chutney etc.
Remarkable of these songs is that Surinamese artists try experimenting more with Dutch in their songs. This is not common in Surinamese music, because we use more local languages in our songs.
It definitely was also an era music that also boosted a national pride with the youth. It was a time where Suriname was doing economically well after years of being on the poor side.
Each artist has their own style, so I'll try to list them per artist or group:

Damaru (pop, surinamese-pop and a bit of reggae); it started all with this guy and his famous single "mi rowsu":
1. Damaru - Mi Rowsu
  1. Worth mentioning is this version of the song that became popular in Suriname and the Netherlands: Damaru & Jan Smit - Mi Rowsu (Tuintje In Mijn Hart)
2. Damaru & Booster - Schatje Lief
Mighty Youth (RnB, pop, zouk, rap);
1. The Mighty Youth ft. Enver - Bomikie
2. The Mighty Youth - Vibes
Suri All Starz or one of their individual artists (pop, hip hop, Soca, Zouk):
1. SURINAME - Suri All Starz by I Love SU; this was an iconic one that is still played at big events
2. The Suri All Starzz - Zover; this one has some Zouk-pop elements and maybe a bit of a reggae guitar in it.
3. Su pon di wine, Danitsia Sahadewsing (Suri All Starzz); their soca-suriname brassband style song
Ztreetzoldierz (zouk, RnB, pop, soca, kaseko and maybe even a bit of chutney, rap and hip hop):
1. Snoepje - Ztreetzoldierz ft Mixey; BOP! Brings back fun memories of school and the schoolbus.
2. Ztreetzoldierz & Mixey - Na mi moni pai fing
3. Ztreetzoldierz Hinderdaad
Poppe, Colonel, Lodiliki, Enver, Donavey (reggae, pop, rap, rock, alternative hip hop); these songs usually have a hidden message:
1. Lodilikie ft. Enver - No onderschat mi [OFFICIAL VIDEO]; THIS A BOP! This was especially popular with boys. We all felt like tiny "gangsters" and also tried to see who could rap the "fastest" (in Dutch and Aukan) and if we also could sing the Aukan parts. Every radio station played this song. Play this song at a party nowadays and everyone might recite this song by heart.
2. Poppe x Damaru x Donavey - Hard om te zeggen; BOP!!! We used to sing this in harmony by heart in the school bus, especially the chorus.
3. Poppe x Fenomeen - Bla bla; A BOP! Poppe her songs always have a message.
4. Colonel - Grafsteen [OFFICIAL VIDEO]; this guy is quite famous in France nowadays. His songs also had messages
5. Luku fa yu dong- Enver; BOP! A rap/song about broken heart.
6. Colonel ft. Jayh - Gek op Jou (zouk, pop); BOP!!!!! They other guy Jayh is a Curaçaoan guy.
Kenny B (reggae, zouk); Kenny B is one of Suriname's iconic and greatest sons. Everyone loves him. He has a few great hits, but his most famous ones are:
1. KENNY B. & BENAISSA - Yu Faya; A BOP! We used to sing this in the school bus every day almost.
2. Kenny B & Jeffrey Spalburg - Paramaribo-o-o; BOP, BOP, BOP!!! HANDS DOWN! This song overall is popular with Surinamese of all ages.
3. Kenny B - Parijs
4. Kenny B and Tekisha - Tjaipi Lobi [official video]; BOP!
5. Kenny B ft Tequisha Abel - Nex ne tai
Scrappy W (rap, alternative hip hop); Scrappy W rapped and sang mostly about the things in our society that are seen slightly taboo and racist or discriminative, but in a comical way and showing that we should step away from those mindsets.
1. SCRAPPY W - DIKKE VROUWEN; the name of the song is "fat women"
2. Scrappy W - Super Saamaka; a song about his experiences as a Saramaccan Maroon and stereotypes in our society on maroons. He uses the term Dyuka a lot for example. A word other Surinamese use derogatory to refer to maroons.
3. Scrappy W - Yvette; about experiences of a young guy in school who wants to do his best in school and how a girl wants him, sexually harasses him and how the police reacts and how it feels as a teen to be in that position and have no one listen to you or to go to.
Others that had great and popular hits (some of you might even recognize certain beats):
1. HORI YU - KAYENTE FT. SPITSO STREZZ 2FAMOUSCRW (PROD.SLCTBTS) (zouk, dance-pop, Dutch dance-pop)
2. DJOEGOE DJOEGOE - Selecta Ft. Kayente (2FAMOUSCRW) (Surinamese style Chuntey, pop, zouk(?))
3. Kayente & Baby FT. T.I.K. - Tamara; My Latin friends in the sub will know this beat as there is a song with this exact beat. This one however has elements of Surinamese genres.
4. KAYENTE & KURUPA - KIRIKHAIBANA (Official Music Video) (kaseko, Amerindian genres)

As mentioned, this period brought back a feeling of national pride. Many songs were also a reason for this. The I Love SU brand also sponsored a few of these songs that were great hits.

The Suriname song by Suri All StarZ was one of them, and the Paramaribo song by Kenny B too.
Audrey Bakrude & Enver & Kolonel - I Love Su; BOP! This song has elements of house, dance and pop.
Damaru - Suriname; This song is so iconic and was such a great hit, that even foreign vloggers that visit use this in their videos.

Nowadays other songs dominate the stage. Most of these artists have other jobs too. Some became music producers, movie makers, one became a flight attendant, one a fireman etc. So, I hope you enjoy the styles of the iconic 2010's. Also, have you heard any of these songs before?

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2024.05.14 19:41 Financial-Ladder-915 Have I socially outcasted myself?

TL;DR Abused boy is outcasted in high school and is now questioning 10 years later if he was the cause, and how to fix it.
I was thinking about this today after a discussion with my wife that since I was an outcast in high school, I still am one today. I have the generic tragic backstory most do, mother and stepfather were drug addicts, abused physically and mentally. That was all when I was around 1-6. After my dad took me in, never talked about anything that happened though. In middle school I was really popular, I said anything on my mind so that was reinforced as being a good thing, that's when I started acting out, just trying to be funny. (One time I said I was gonna blow up the school and got suspended, I couldn't understand why, I said it as a joke, a bad joke yes, but a joke none the less. I was not allowed to watch tv nor did I have access to the internet at this time, so my thoughts were "How would a middle schooler even get a bomb? What are you adults stupid or something?")
I think I tried holding onto the same type of personality that people liked throughout middle school to high school. It is synonymous to how the manosphere men act today. I had connections from middle school and would often eat lunch with them. But when I hit my sophomore year, seats stopped becoming available, for me at the table. I knew and I had too much anxiety to sit with people I didn't know, so I skipped lunch and would try to find somewhere to just wait out the lunch period. After this point I would just ignore everyone and keep my headphones in throughout the day
I dropped out due to depression and maybe other things. I didn't talk much, I didn't go out much, so i started streaming while I played video games. People in my life saw it as a waste of time and pushed me to just work a factory job and hope to move up after years. (It was actually the leading cause for getting me kicked out of not 1 but 3 houses) I was always a nice guy but not a genuinely nice person, just a guy who would be nice to get what I wanted. I started getting followers, and felt accepted, made it to a good subscriber count. like 1.5k but then I quit. A few reasons but one of the main one was that no viewers would show up unless I played a specific game I was really good at. Not because of me, but my skill, or so was how I viewed it..
Until my early twenties, like 21-22. I'm 27 now :P. I was so sad an depressed about not making friends that I was making trying to force it with the first people interacting with me. Even with them though they had taken more of a liking to my wife then myself. I'm not sure what it is, but you know that feeling that you introduce people and they become better friends and eventually they hang out without you? That has been something I noticed happens to me for awhile. Throughout my life I've only ever been invited to things from people passing out fliers for events. When I say it I think people think I'm trying for pity or being facetious when I'm mainly just making an observation, that or the people who did invite me were people I didn't want to hang out with.
I thought I just had naturally low charisma but thanks to my dad I know the art of being charismatic. My dad is super charismatic and can make friends with anyone so I just mimicked him. While I could use the right tone my verbiage felt wrong I felt like everything I said or do would be wrong or misunderstood. So I made the realization it was how I viewed myself, so I worked on that a lot with the help of my wife (Who actually has been the only person to choose me) made it to the point where I love who I am. And I know the path of the person I want to become. But I still see myself as an outcast. I also don't see it as a bad thing, just something that is. But is that self destructive? Will I have to do away with that thinking so I can run my business? If you were an outcast, if you've never stopped being an outcast are you still one or am I just reinforcing because I want to be one?
As a kid I was obsessed with not wanting anyone to remember me. I begged teachers to remove my pictures, or any proof that I was there closer to graduation. I skipped the picture days so I wouldn't have a picture in the year book. If it's harmful how does one change that mindset, go out and try to make acquaintances?
Thanks for coming to my ted talk and opinions are greatly appreciated.

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2024.05.14 19:24 Individual-Manner-67 STA rewrite attempt

A couple of years ago I tried writing my own version of Stones Abbigale. I never got past the first couple scenes, but I'm considering returning to it. I wanted to basically rewrite and change up a lot of things, mainly focusing on Abbi and Davis and changing some elements. Let me know what you think!

1
It's almost four in the morning and Seth is threatening suicide again. Good. Fuck him. I hope he does it. I don't text him that because I read about this girl who told her boyfriend to kill himself. The irony was that when he actually did it she got charged with second degree murder. My life is fucked as it is I don't need to make it worse. It's almost two in the morning and I have to be up for school in a few hours. I’m shivering under my comforter because we’re halfway through November. I think about the turkey that won't get made this year and the family I won't see. I think that's swell. Seth is still texting.
Its like u dont even care after everything that happened and after everything we did together i saved ur life and i stayed with u when u cried and i hugged u and i did everything for u but that wasn't enough was it? i try so hard and all u ever are is a bitch to me that's not fair u want me to die and u hate me and u dont even care and im sick of it abbi why is is so hard for u to care about me?
I don't respond. I don't like how I feel about this. This should be easy. He won't actually do it. He won't. He’s too self involved to kill himself. I put my phone face down on my bed. The sheets shake around it as he sends message after message. I was sleeping on a ticking bomb so I got off of it. My feet stick to the floor, I struggle to step. I might as well have been standing barefoot on ice. I trudge to my window so I can see my street at night. Winter is really coming. You can't hear as many birds as you used to. They've all gone. They've all flown away. I can see three streetlights from where I’m standing. If you can from right to left you can see the concrete fracture into the sand. I open my window and brace for the chill. I stick my head outside. The ocean is not far away. I hear it hitting the shore over and over. Waves of water splashing incessantly, almost beating out my text notifications. The street lights flicker. I think of last summer. When Seth and I got really high after the news broke that my Mom was cheating on my Dad. I was making out with that bong. Emptying bowl after bowl, clanking the glass on the road to empty it out. Just thinking about it makes me feel the street pole against my back again. I was laughing and crying. Seth leaned in and hugged me. “I’m a sure thing,” he said. “I love you and I always will.” I caught my reflection in his sunglasses. I looked awful. I shiver at the memory. My phone is still buzzing. I try to catch my breath. I shut my window and start to walk back to my bed. A room always looks different in the dark. Maybe you think you know where you are, but there is always something that can jump out at you on the floor. Like a ghostly paper bag or a vengeful shoe. Objects that seem to move on their own with the sole drive of tripping you. I crawl back into bed. There's the phantom of Dad’s snoring . I know he's not sleeping in his room, he fell asleep on the couch after finishing his seventh fifth. Sometimes my brain fills in the gaps so I can hear it everywhere. Funnily, I haven't actually heard him snore since Mom left. That's the one thing I ever heard them fight about. Before she turned out to be a whore, I guess. BZZT.BZZT.BZZT. I can't bring myself to read any of his messages. They're coming so fast all the paragraphs are lost to motion blur. Seth’s arms wrap around me and I think about the beating of his heart and the warmth of his lips against my skin. I open up the texts, ready to respond.
I love you
I text this over and over until I fall asleep.
Davis was the only senior on the bus. Somehow, everyone else had a car or a ride. It’s all right, though. James would probably give him one if he had a car, but he skated to school every morning. That's why he barely ever rode the bus with him. The bus thumped along the under paved roads. Davis forgot his earbuds at home, so the only music that accompanied him was his racing thoughts. Two sophomore girls popped their heads over. “Ohmigod, Davis!” One of them shrieked.. “As I live and breathe,” he smiled. “Nice,” she said. “I’m so excited to see your finished painting.” Davis took the lower level art class for a requirement. Like most things, he's not taking it very seriously. For their pop art unit, he's painting a portrait of the art teacher with a warthog face. It's one of his funny disruptions. He knows Mrs. Stanley is going to have a real field day with it, but it doesn't matter. Artistic liberties, he’d profess. “She's such a bitch, isn't she?” The sophomore girl turns to her compatriot, who only nods in response. “She's just jealous,” Davis says. “It must be depressing to teach art and see the youth soar above her.” “For sure,” the girl doesn't get it. Class clown is a semi-heavy burden. Davis doesn't really feel like talking to these girls, but his position demands it. Comedy informs everything about him. To the giant thrift store jeans, to the loud Hawaiian shirt. He and James are the ultimate combination, at least he likes to think so. Quiet brooding begs for bright distraction. The girl is still trying to talk to him and Davis is saying his preprogrammed lines. The bus stops in front of James’s street. Surprisingly, James is standing there. “Like I’m this close to just filling my hydroflask with vodka, yaknow?” says the chick. Maybe she's just trying to get a rise out of him. “Better be prepared to give me more than a sip,” Davis is watching James grumble towards the bus. The sun is beating down on the forming ice puddles. James stomps through them with small shattering steps. James turns up the bus aisle and plops in the seat next to Davis. Davis’s smile is genuine now, but he fights it from getting too wide. “Crash your vehicle?” Davis asks. “Something like it,” there's something off with him. Davis doesn't want to push it. “Well damn, hope insurance covers it,” Davis wants James to break and laugh. Is it just another mood or did something actually happen this time? “It won't, I got bad credit,” James grins and it's like heaven. “What's the move for you today?” “Surviving art and physics for me,” says Davis. “Those bastards love to keep me down.” “Who doesn't,” James eyes the girls who have since returned to whatever they were doing before. It's the judgement stare, as Davis calls it. James likes to observe his peers like a zoo-goer. Breaking them down to taxonomic types. Davis likes to think that James doesn't do this to him, but he knows he probably does. “It sucks you decided to be bad at school and take baby art,” James is still dissecting the sophomore girls down to their tropes. “We could have done Art II together.” “I wouldn't want to get between you and Alex. I know how you love it when people piss in jars next to you.” “That's disgusting,” James breaks his glare at the girls. “It's performance art, it's beautiful,” Davis gets up out of his seat to yell. “Everyone witness the wonderful work of Alex Madov! Disengage yourself from the shackles of capitalism by shouting with me: Poopy, pee pee, poop!” Davis gets a few chuckles from the other kids on the bus. “Sit down, fatso,” mumbles the bus driver. “I will not be silenced! I’m a messenger of the good word, sir!” “More of this shit and I’m skipping your stop!” “Fine, but I will make Alex remember on the day of judgement,” Davis sits back down. James is full belly laughing. “You're so retarded,” James wheezes. Davis can't even come back with a response. He's high off of it.
The bus pulls into the school lot with a short stop. The mobs get up and begin to race out. Davis follows James down the line. “You know Abbi?” James asks. Davis feels a little pit form in his stomach, but he doesn't change his expression. “Vaguely, what about her?” “She's in my art class,” James begins. “And I think … well you know, I’m going to talk to her.” He walks down the steps and out the door. “Doesn't she have a boyfr-” before Davis can descend the driver's arm blocks him. “I’ve had enough of your shit, kid,” he says. “If you keep being obnoxious, I’m gonna find a way to make you pay for it.” James looks back, but he can't stay. Davis knows that he's gotta get to class. James does a little wave goodbye and Davis salutes him. “Are you even listening to me?” the bus driver seethes. “Yes, sir. Divine retribution, got it.” Davis ducks underneath his arm and exits the bus. James has already disappeared into the crowd.
I pass the bong to Ashley. She starts another bowl. She’s the transport and I provide the material. The little things that keep our friendship afloat. I look at the clock in her car. “It's 8:45,” I pick a piece of bagel out of my teeth. “So that's it, we officially missed first period,” Ashley tops it off. “They won't mark us, you know. It's a study.” “Yeah, but when's the last time we signed in? I heard they're changing the policy again. Do you still have the lighter?” I toss it to her. I don't get it. It's always her idea to pick me up so we can smoke before school, why now is she suddenly caring about attendance? “We're pretty girls, we can get out of it. I’m next,” I tap on the clock. “Are you sure it's not fast?” She shakes her head as she takes a snap. We're parked in the pond area a block or two from the school. It's our designated smoking spot. I like it, even at the end of fall it's pretty. I’m so engrossed that I don't realize her tip out the bowl and put it back in the cup holder. “I don't know if it's wise to keep up the activity, we should probably get going soon,” she starts up her car again. “Okay,” I say. She reverses and swings out of the lot. We lean into the silence and it's super weird. “Seth texted me last night,” I wait for her reaction. “Oh,” she grimaces. “What did you say?” “That I loved him.” Silence again. Ashley's trying to put together something well-meaning while understanding that I’ll probably ignore whatever she has to say. “Abbi, I’m not trying to tell you how to run your life, but …” Her expression is now quizzical. She's said what she is about to say a number of different ways all ready. She thinks and thinks and decides to say nothing. Good call, I would have screamed at her. Not because what she thinks about my situation isn't true, I’m just in a ‘screaming at people mood’ because of it. “I’m going to dye my hair again,” she changes the subject to avoid conflict. Classic Ash. “Oh yeah? What color this time?” “I don't know,” she checks her reflection in the rear view. “The red has faded out, maybe blue or pink this time.” “You should go with a softer pink,” I say. “Since you're a soft spring.” “Yeah, maybe.” We enter the school lot. “Listen, do you want to get together when I do it? Maybe you can dye your hair too.” “I don't know, I might be busy,” I say. “Seth might want to do something,” I pause for her to protest. “Okay,” she says. She parks and we get out.
I barrel into art class. I don't care if I reek, out of all the teachers I can tell Mrs. Stanley smokes the most. It would be hypocritical of her to care. It looks like I’m the first one. Weird. I check my phone. It's 8:45. Well, fuck. Looks like Ashley needs to fix her clock. Mrs. Stanley is at her desk. She looks at me knowingly. “Eager to create today, Abbi?” I just nod and sit at my desk. I’m really feeling it. I open up my precalc notebook and just start sketching. Birds, eyes, trees, whatever. Kids start coming in. Their chatter echoes around me, I try to focus on what I’m doing. Someone bumps into my table. I look up. It's this lanky blonde kid, I think his name is James. He presses his hands underneath the desk as he leans up to talk to me. “Eww!” He shouts. Some kids turn and laugh. I don't. I just stare at him. James goes red and sits next to the kid who pissed in a jar. Once an adequate amount of students are in the room, Mrs. Stanley starts her lesson slideshow. On the screen is a dirty urinal. “How many of you are familiar with this work by Marcel DuChamp?” she asks. At this point, Jason, the designated meathead jock, enters the room. “Sorry I’m late, Mrs. S,” he booms. He looks at the slide. “We building bathrooms today?” Mrs. Stanley glares at him. “Wouldn't you like that? Considering you spend all of your time in there.” “Whatever,” Jason brushes his mullet behind his ears. “No, not whatever. Would you like me to move you into the sophomore class with Davis? Believe it or not he's getting much better marks than you are getting in here.” Jason rolls his eyes and takes his place in the chair next to me. “Up to a little extra curricular activities before art, Abbi?” he motions a joint in his fingers. I scoff and go on my phone. There's another text from Seth.
sorry about last night
and
im reading it all right now that was fucked im sorry
I start to respond, but before I can Mrs. Stanley outstretches her hand. “Give me your phone, Miss Hagerty. I’m sick of giving you warnings.” I don't have the energy to fight, I just give it to her. “You can pick it up at the end of the day.” My jaw actually drops. Jason must have really set her off, she's not usually such a cunt to me. “Anyways, found art. What is it? Well, found art is the use of everyday objects to convey an altered meaning. It can be something you find on the street or something that once held value to you. For example, My Bed by Tracey Elim.” She pulls up a picture of a messy bed that looks suspiciously like my own. “So for your final unit of the semester, you will be making your own found art. I really want you to take this project a little more seriously than most of you have been taking this class. I’m giving you the privilege of picking your own partners, but I’d like to remind you to be thoughtful with your choice. This will be worth more for your grade.” I look around. I don't have any friends here. I toy around with the idea of asking Jason for convenience and he looks like he's about to pull that move. Behind me there's that James guy. He’s sheepishly looking at me. He seems kind of nice. Okay. I don't feel like getting up so I just turn around in my chair. “Hey James, wanna be partners?” He balks a bit and then smiles at me. “Yeah, totally,” He's beaming and it's somewhat endearing. Alex and I switch seats and now I’m next to him. “I’m gonna be real with you …” I begin. He stops and shifts a little. “I have no idea what we're supposed to be doing for this.” He regards me oddly. Like he's trying to piece me together. It doesn't bother me. “She said we have to bring in an object that's special to us and present it artistically basically,” he rubs his chin. Damn, I must be baked to hell. I didn't hear her saying that at all. “So got any stuffed animals we can cut up and make Lovecraftian monstrosities out of?” “I got a hamster cage, hold the hamster,” I say. It comes out kind of weird and I probably sound stupid, but he doesn't seem to care. “Let's make a fucking zoo.” “Perfect!” He’s kind of cute actually. In a way. Something about this feels fun. I realize the bell will ring soon. “So um,” I rip out a page of my precalc notebook, still fresh with my drawings. I scrawl out my number and push it to him. “Call me so we can figure out the project some more.” I pack up all my stuff and start to head out. I can feel him watching me and it's not that bad. “I sure will,” he says. Everything feels really groovy. There's a lightness now. I’m halfway out the door when I remember my phone. I can't believe that I just forgot about Seth. I think about begging for my phone, but I feel too above that. Still, something shakes the good feeling as the bell rings.

submitted by Individual-Manner-67 to Onision [link] [comments]

2024.05.14 19:19 GuiltyDescription641 Tìm hiểu về Tai Xiu online - Game chất lượng hàng đầu hiện nay

Tai Xiu online được xem là 1 trong những game phổ thông trên hầu như toàn bộ các sân chơi và được nhiều người đam mê. Bạn muốn biết chi tiết hơn về game tai xiu online, hãy đọc ngay bài viết nhé!

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Xem thêm: https://apptaixiuonline.pro/
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submitted by GuiltyDescription641 to Vietnamese [link] [comments]

2024.05.14 19:14 jwckauman Taking inventory of Private IP networks in use?

Anyone know a relatively quick and easy way to take inventory of all the private IP addresses that are being accessed by your Windows devices? Does Windows keep a log or system table somewhere? I'd like to use it as a way to make sure we've accounted for all the IP networks we've been using and/or have recently rolled out. We just did a massive 'lift and shift' of our data center to an off-site hosting facility and had to do some re-IP'ing of both the server network and our client network which is still at the office. Some of our old networks were decommissioned and new ones formed. I just want to do a sanity check and make sure that all the ones being actively used today are on the list of IP networks we intend to use going forward, and we a) didn't miss getting rid of anything, and b) didn't add something we didn't plan on adding?
FWIW, we use Active Directory, DNS, and DHCP (both at office and at new data center). We have Aruba switches, and a Palo Alto Firewall. We don't have any IPAM solutions in place. I do have an IP Scanner and we have Qualys and CrowdStrike for security purposes. Was thinking of cross-referencing all of those. Wasn't sure if there were some places within Windows OS we could query with PowerShell (e.g. ARP tables?) or could spin up a freeware solution to do some scanning across private IP ranges? And for this, would it be worth spinning up Windows Server IPAM solution for a period of time?

submitted by jwckauman to sysadmin [link] [comments]

2024.05.14 19:09 JohannGoethe Type: 𓍢 [V1]; thing: ram 🐏 (𓃝) head; EAN-phonetic: /r/; numeral: 100; meaning: sun 🌞 in ram constellation 🌌 at spring equinox, and or sun in most powerful state, i.e. Aug-Sep summer heat 🥵 period

Abstract
Short overview of 𓍢 [V1].
Overview
In A2 (1957), Gardner (pg. 521) wrote the following about 𓍢 [V1], namely that it was a “coil of rope”, specifically the front rope of a ship:
https://preview.redd.it/8c422ljdcf0d1.jpg?width=1825&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7a75e770f2b57397d8abf542d99ac789ca88ccbe
On 9 Mar A67 (2022), LibbThims discerned (see: letter R decoding history), while writing the “Egyptian mathematics” article, then posted: here out that the spiral character 𓍢 [V1], found as the 100-valued number tag 🏷️ of TombUJ (5300A/-3345):
https://preview.redd.it/2ucbfh7hcf0d1.jpg?width=1891&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0484da7e47fb2fa9c20b3aa2542f8f0ae14e274d
is the parent character of the Phoenician R and Greek R (rho), value: 100, namely: 𓏲 [Z7] or 𓍢 [V1] » 𐤓‎ » ρ » R in letter evolution; see also: “legged rho”, in Jeffery’s epigraphic table, and odd-looking Attica “red crown rho” (2680A/-725).
On 17 Aug A67 (2022), Thims figured out that 𓏲 = ram horn; (or Ram 🐏 head) prior to this the spiral ꩜ 100-value character 𓏲, from the TombUJ number tags, had been decode; in sum, the new view means Ra the sun ☀️ god in ram horn 𓏲 constellation, at spring equinox, in the 2,200-year period know presently as the age of Aries.
On 18 Aug (2022), Reddit user Skgody, working with Thims, determined that 𓏲 is the curl in the eye of Ra 𓂀 [D10] symbol.
On 19 Aug (2022), Thims figured out that curl in the red crown 𓋔 [S3] was a battering ram 🐏, a symbol of military power.
Letter R type evolution:

🐏 » 𓃝 » 💯 » ☀️+ 𓏲 [Z7] » 𓍢 [V1] » 𓋔 » 𓋖 » 𓂅 » 𓂇 » 𓂀 » 𓁛 » 𐤓 » Ρ, ρ » 𐡓 » 𐌓 » R » ר » र » ر

References

Gardiner, Alan. (A2/1957). Egyptian Grammar: Being an Introduction to the Study of Hieroglyphs (Arch) (pdf-file). Oxford.

submitted by JohannGoethe to HieroTypes [link] [comments]

2024.05.14 18:47 iBN3qk Bulk node creation or streamlined entry

I'm working on a site to track business expenses.
I have a content type Expense, with fields for the amount and date, with a document media reference.
Using Views Aggregator Plus, I can search for items in a period and see a table with the total amount.
I have Views Add Button to create a new expense at the top of the page. This navigates to the node add form, and saving it goes back to the table.
The scenario is I need to enter a bunch of expenses and want a streamlined way to do it.
If this was a spreadsheet, I would just hit tab and enter to navigate around quickly. I'm looking for a similarly streamlined editing experience.
One thing I'm picturing is that the add button would add a new row to the table, with input fields for the data, and a way to save it. I'd like to be able to add multiple at once. Being able to edit existing content this way would be awesome.
If that's too tricky, I'll try one of the modal modules to add the new item in a popup and refresh the results. This is a little nicer, but won't really make things faster.
I see modules that let you export content, make changes, and reimport. That might be necessary if there are no other solutions, but I'd prefer to avoid it.
Any other tips/ideas?

submitted by iBN3qk to drupal [link] [comments]

2024.05.14 18:36 Slow-Consequence-158 8 years old me when I can't find Wood on the periodic table!

submitted by Slow-Consequence-158 to chemistrymemes [link] [comments]

2024.05.14 18:16 Professional_Disk131 3 Small-cap Gold Juniors to Take Notice of $ELEM $GLDR $SOMA

(The information on the three gold companies in this report is not definitive. Instead, this information will drive you to do more due diligence and make an investment decision.)
A different way to invest in gold is to look for great properties. If you bundle the three companies/properties in this piece, you could own three great properties collectively for under CDN2.00 a share.

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GOLDEN RAPTURE MINING (GLDR: CSE) is a collection of premier Ontario mining properties in the Rainy River region that have done enough work to unveil potential, below but left a significant amount of gold with great g/t numbers. As of this morning, some numbers will indeed up its profile. Considering the stock has been listed for about two weeks, these results are excellent. Forgive the length of the table, but given the quality of the results, investors must get the whole picture.

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First, the newest, being listed in the last month, is Golden Rapture Gold. The Company intends to reactivate past mines in the Rainy River area of Ontario. The property is so new that management has only walked about 5% of it, but the numbers are already impressive over its two projects. The Company holds a 100% interest in the high-grade Phillips Township Gold Property, Rainy River District, NW Ontario. The land package totals 225 claim cells for approximately ten thousand acres located close to 4 mineral deposits. These assets include the New Gold Rainy River Mine (+8 million Oz.), the Cameron Lake Deposit (1.8 million Oz.), the Agnico Eagle-Hammond Reef deposit (3.3 million Oz.), the Tartisan Nickel, Copper, and Cobalt Deposit, and many others. Mature local infrastructure, workforce, heavy-duty equipment, hospitals, major highway systems, and local services are nearby.

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Mr. Richard Rivet, CEO of Golden Rapture, commented: “I am incredibly pleased that we have just made some essential and rapid steps toward identifying additional high-grade drill-ready targets. We were pleasantly surprised to discover many high-grade quartz veins on the surface, with the majority of them carrying gold. Unlike many exploration companies, we are not just chasing the typical geophysical anomaly but also many vast high-grade gold structures identified on the surface that can be drilled at any time.

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The Company holds a 100% interest in the high-grade Phillips Township Gold Property, Rainy River District, NW Ontario. The land package totals 225 claim cells for approximately ten thousand acres located close to 4 mineral deposits.
These assets include the New Gold Rainy River Mine (+8 million Oz.), the Cameron Lake Deposit (1.8 million Oz.), the Agnico Eagle-Hammond Reef deposit (3.3 million Oz.), the Tartisan Nickel, Copper, and Cobalt Deposit, and many others. Mature local infrastructure, workforce, heavy-duty equipment, hospitals, major highway systems, and local services are nearby.
Ryan Yanch CIM, a director of GLDR, states***, ‘One extremely important fact is that GLDR’s drilling cost is an industry-leading CDN140 a meter. It is not unusual for other gold comp[anbies to spend CDN200-400 or more a meter. One major contributor to this is that one significant cost is the location of the drilling company. 17 km away from the properties significantly lowers the capital cost and allows a more robust drilling program”.***
Given the uniqueness and exceptional quality of GLDR’s properties, there could be excellent investor support. Gold is rallying, and the prospect of further rises may portend in the shadow of interest rate cuts.
Previous work on the properties quickly removes the ubiquitous ‘drill’ on the property or other tropes. These are serious businessmen and women with decades of mining and entrepreneurial experience.
In the world of junior mining IPOs, there is a feeling that the stars must align to profit. Au contraire***. The keys to investing success are the right properties, management, and, in this case, a rallying gold price.***
Numero Deux

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Element79 Gold Corp (the “Company”) (CSE: ELEM) (OTC: ELMGF) is a fascinating gold company and the second in our gold triumvirate located primarily in Peru through its flagship Lucero, Peru, property.
(Full Disclosure: James Tworek, CEO of Element79, is an adviser to the GLDR Board. Your humble scribe owns a small position in each Company.)
The past-producing Lucero Mine (“Lucero”) is one of the highest-grade underground mines in Peru’s history, with grades averaging 19.0g/t Au Equivalent (“Au Eq”) (14.0 g/t gold and 373 g/t silver).

https://preview.redd.it/sup6un1t2f0d1.png?width=557&format=png&auto=webp&s=469ca6cf088e2f056daee8d1902b019225018184
In its past 5 years of production, ending in 2005, it produced an average of 40,000oz+/yr.
Assays from March 2023 yielded 21-ore-grade and high-yield up to 11.7 ounces per ton of gold and 247 ounces per ton of silver from underground workings, further validating the potential for a significant high-grade future operation.
Consolidating its focus in this region and its impressive geology, ELEM acquired the Roxana Vein and surrounding 1200ha property, Lucero del Sur 28, via auction held on May 17, 2023. The property is located strategically just east of the high-grade Lucero gold-silver project.
Instead of going into much history, let’s look at the Press release ELEM put out on April 23. New assays were released, and CEO James Tworek stated, “The data obtained is not just promising; it’s the cornerstone upon which our future endeavours will be built,” said James Tworek, CEO of Element 79. “These recent results, coupled with historical data, represent the bedrock upon which we are advancing our Lucero project.”
Corporate Presentation.

https://preview.redd.it/wv5ia7eu2f0d1.jpg?width=800&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=829738e21e9e823740f4ab0b85c5d0dc99b1a8bc
From the PR: A total of 97 samples were sent for assays, 56 of which returned greater than 0.1 g/t gold (up to 8.55 g/t gold and 523 g/t silver. Several samples also were rich in base metals (up to 23.7% lead and 9.9% zinc), all of which underscores the richness of our project, further supporting the Company’s belief a robust resource base can be delineated. (Actual assay numbers are shown in the PR)
James C Tworek further states, “Element79 Gold has transformed from an asset amalgamator and seller to a near-term production story, responding to Peru’s government push for formalizing artisanal mining operations. We at Element79 Gold are thrilled to share our unwavering dedication to bringing our Lucero gold project in Peru into production. This past-producing, high-grade gold and silver mine holds immense potential to revitalize our Company and foster economic growth and prosperity in the region. “
The other ELEM property brings us back to North America. Nevada, to be precise. Reason to pay attention?

https://preview.redd.it/sytjacqv2f0d1.png?width=504&format=png&auto=webp&s=cc792daa3f078abb6ded4c6cfe32fe868b83b1d1
Maverick Springs is adjacent to the Carlin Trend. For the uninitiated, the area contains several of the largest gold mines on Earth. The area includes a number of the largest gold mines on Earth. Maverick Springs is a blind deposit comprising a 30-120 metre thick, flat-lying zone centred on an anticlinal structure with oxidation pervasive to 120 metres and intermittent to 270 metres. (5)
West Whistler property is in the same area as Maverick, closer to the Battle Mountain Trend, alongside Carlin: Near several gold deposits, including the Cortez Mine, North America’s third largest gold mine with 2021 gold production of 828,000 ounces.
Finally, the Clover Property, 16 km west of the massive Hecla Mine in the Northern Nevada Rift. The property sits at the top and centre of the Carlin and Battle Mountain Trends.
Nevada Gold’s active Turquoise Ridge Mine, the third largest gold mine in the United States with 537,000 ounces of gold production reported in 2020, as well as the Twin Creeks open pit mines and the dormant Pinson and Getchell mines.
Element 79 has drilling programs announced for the 2023/24 years and a more vigorous program for 2024/25.

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As (GoldSilver.com) an aside, the gold price—and silver—have softened after particularly gold had a decent run. The first two in our group have slid a bit but seem to be holding in nicely.
If one follows gold forecasts, the pundits call for USD 2500-3000 over the next few years. The strategy is simple: A move to USD 3,000 represents a 50% appreciation. However, that also comes with physical and liquidity issues should you want to sell.
And the Gold price?
On December 30, 2022, gold closed the year at $1,819.70 per ounce. Flash forward to one year later, and gold closed 2023 at $2,062.40. That’s a gain of 13.3% in a single year.
With gold pushing to new record highs, it’s a fascinating time for gold investors.
Predicting the future of gold prices is never easy, but to offer some insights into what 2024 might hold, we’ve (compiled an array of gold price forecasts, outlooks, and predictions from renowned banks, industry experts, and financial analysts.
Let’s take a look.

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Numero Three

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Off we go to South America. This time, Columbia with SOMA Gold. (TSXV: SOMA) (WKN: A2P4DU) (OTC: SMAGF) (the “Company” or “Soma“) recently announced that gold production for Q1 2024 was 7,335 AuEq ounces, an increase of 8% over the same period in 2023.
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

https://preview.redd.it/q3y8ka6z2f0d1.png?width=625&format=png&auto=webp&s=8ad400a478bab2ceba4cb0fd65124463df8a3271
The Company owns two adjacent mining properties in Antioquia, Colombia, with a combined milling capacity of 675 tpd. (Permitted for 1,400 tpd). The El Bagre Mill is currently operating and producing. Internally generated funds are being used to finance a regional exploration program.

https://preview.redd.it/kf3xbizz2f0d1.png?width=872&format=png&auto=webp&s=89c6aaf1a82a53690f4519f4f900b3fa14855271
Soma is further ahead than our previous companies, which doesn’t make it better; it is just a different stage of development.
Corporate Presentation, 2023 results, Tech Report.

https://preview.redd.it/eknc0no03f0d1.png?width=729&format=png&auto=webp&s=2d5dbb35427371ba7b8b1d5f17c8ea0de0dd836a
Properties
Cardero Mine

The 84 thousand tonnes (kt) production rate in 2022 will ramp up to a peak mining production rate of 248 kt (680 tpd) in 2024. Achieving the planned peak production rate of 248 kt per annum would allow the Company to restart its previously operating El Limon Mill, with feed from Cordero in late 2023.
El Bagre Gold Mining Complex is located approximately 167 km northeast of Medellín in the Department of Antioquia, Colombia. Soma produced 23,115 ounces of gold at its El Bagre Mill in 2022, an increase of 30% from the previous year. Soma’s production forecast for 2023 is for a further 50% increase to 35,500 ounces of gold produced.
In addition to its operating El Bagre Mill, Soma owns the 225 tpd Limon Mill, which is located 47 km south of the El Bagre Mill. The Limon Mill has been on care and maintenance since 2020 but will be restarted when production from the Cordero Mine exceeds the capacity of the El Bagre Mill.
The Limon Mill operates similarly to the El Bagre Mill with two-stage crushing, ball milling, gravity concentration, flotation, cyanidation, Merrill Crowe precipitation, and smelting to produce doré. The mill was upgraded in 2017 to a capacity of 225 tpd and is permitted for up to 400 tpd.

As mentioned, these three companies are similar in that they have what appear to be skookum properties. They are also all great gold proxies, and they all trade for under CDN1.00. Cheekily, I may have said that investors can own all three companies for under CDN 2.00 a share.
While I like the companies, I would buy them for their land positions. All have land that isn’t some dust pit but has either historical or proven assays. And most are near large producers. Element79; Nevada.Carlin Trend? Seriously?

submitted by Professional_Disk131 to trakstocks [link] [comments]

2024.05.14 18:08 Mophandel Archaeotherium, the King of the White River Badlands

Art by Bob Nicholls
Nowadays, when we envision the words “prey,” among modern mammalian fauna, few taxa come to mind as quickly as the hoofed mammals, better known as the ungulates. Indeed, for the better part of their entire evolutionary history, the ungulates have become entirely indistinguishable from the term “prey.” Across their two major modern branches, the artiodactyls (the “even-toed ungulates,” such as bovids, pigs, deer, hippos and giraffes) and the perissodactyls (the “odd-toed ungulates,” including horses, rhinos and tapir), the ungulates too have created an empire spanning nearly every continent, establishing themselves as the the dominant herbivores throughout their entire range. However, as a price for such success, their lot as herbivores have forced them into an unenviable position: being the food for the predators. Indeed, throughout the diets of most modern predators, ungulates make up the majority, if not the entirety, of their diet, becoming their counterparts in this evolutionary dance of theirs. They have become the lamb to their wolf, the zebra to their lion, the stag to their tiger. If there is a predator in need of lunch, chances are that there is an ungulate there to provide it. Of course, such a dynamic is not necessarily a recent innovation. For the last 15-20 million years, across much of the world, both new and old, the ungulates have served as prey for these predators through it all. Over the course of whole epochs, these two groups have played into these roles for millions of years, coevolving with each other in an eons-long game of cat-and-mouse. The shoes they fill are not new, but have existed for ages, and within their niches they have cultivated their roles to perfection. Indeed, with such a tenured history, it seems hardly surprising the ungulates are wholly inseparable from the terms “prey,” itself.
However, while this is the case now, as it has been for the last 15-20 million years, go back far enough, and we see that this dynamic is not as set in stone as we would think. Indeed, back during the Eocene and Oligocene, during the very earliest days of age of mammals, things were very different for the ungulates. While today they are considered little more than food for modern predators, during these olden days, the ungulates weren’t quite so benign. In fact, far from being fodder for top predators, the ungulates had turned the tables, instead becoming top predators themselves. Indeed, though nearly unheard of today, throughout much of the Eocene and Oligocene, carnivorous ungulates thrived in abundance, developing specializations for catching large prey and establishing themselves as top predators that competed alongside the more traditional carnivores, and even dominating them in some instances. Given such success, it’s no wonder that multiple such clades had arisen during this time. Such predators included the arctocyonids, a lineage of (ironically) hoof-less ungulates with large jaws and sharp teeth for capturing large prey. There were also the mesonychians, a lineage of dog-like ungulates with massive skulls and jaws that allowed them to reign as the top predator across much of the Eocene.
However, among these various lineages, one stands stands out among the rest, by far. Arising during the Eocene, this lineage, though superficially resembling modern pigs, hailed from one an ancient lineage of artiodactyls far removed from swine or most other ungulates in general, with few close relatives alive today. Through perhaps not the most predatory of the bunch, it was among the most formidable, as their superficially pig-like appearance came with giant predatory jaws and teeth unlike anything from the modern era. And of course, as if all of that wasn’t enough, this lineage also went on to earn arguably one of the most badass nicknames of any lineage of mammals, period. These predators, of course, were the entelodonts, a.k.a the “hell-pigs.” More so than any other predatory ungulate lineage, these formidable ungulates were the ones to turn the current paradigm upside down, becoming some of the largest and most dominant carnivores in their landscape, even with (and often in spite of) the presence of more traditional predators. Through impressive size, fearsome teeth and sheer tenacity, these animals became the top dogs of their time, ruling as behemoth-kings of their Paleogene kingdoms, domineering all comers, and throughout the ranks, one entelodont in particular demonstrated such dominance the best. Though not the largest or most powerful of their kind, it is one of the most iconic, being among the most well-known members of its lineage to date. Moreover, this enteledont also has some of the most complete life histories ever seen out of this clade, with its brutality and predatory prowess being displayed in the fossil record in a way seen in no other member of its kind. More than anything else, however, it was this predator that best turned the notion of “ungulates being prey” on its head, living in an environment that bore some of the largest carnivoran hypercarnivores to date and still reigning as the undisputed top predator of its domain. This fearsome beast was none other than Archaeotherium, icon of the entelodonts, terror of the Oligocene American west and undisputed king of the White River badlands.
The rise of Archaeotherium (and of entelodonts in general) is closely tied to the ascendancy of carnivorous ungulates as a whole, one of the earliest evolutionary success stories of the entire Cenozoic. Having become their own derived clade since the late Cretaceous, the ungulates were remarkably successful during the early Paleogene, as they were among the first mammalian clades to reach large sizes during those early days after the non-avian dinosaurs had gone extinct. As such, it was with incredible swiftness that, as the Paleogene progressed, the ungulates swooped upon the various niches left empty by the K-Pg mass extinction that killed the dinosaurs. This of course included the herbivorous niches we would know them for today, but this also included other, much more carnivore roles. Indeed, early on during the Paleogene, it was the ungulates that first seized the roles of large mammalian predators, becoming some the earliest large mammalian carnivores to ever live, well before even the carnivorans. Such predators included the arctocyonids, a lineage of vaguely dog-like, hoof-less ungulates with robust jaws and sharpened teeth that acted as some of earliest large carnivores of the Paleocene, with genera such as Arctocyon mumak getting up to the size of big cats. Even more prolific were the mesonychids. More so than what pretty much any other lineage of predator, it was the mesonychids that would stand out as the earliest dominant predators of the early Cenozoic. Growing up to the size of bears and with enormous, bone-crushing jaws, the mesonychids were among the most powerful and successful predators on the market at that time, with a near-global range and being capable of subjugating just about any other predator in their environments. Indeed, they, along with other carnivorous ungulates (as well as ungulates in general), were experiencing a golden age during this time, easily being the most prolific predators of the age. Given such prevalence, it should be no surprise that there would be yet another lineage of predatory ungulates would throw their hat into the ring, and by early Eocene, that contender would none other than the entelodonts.
The very first entelodonts had arisen from artiodactyl ancestors during the Eocene epoch, at a time when artiodactyls were far more diverse and bizarre than they are now. Through today known from their modern herbivorous representatives such as bovines, deer, and antelope, during the Paleocene and Eocene, the artiodacyls, as with most ungulates of that time, were stronger and far more predaceous, particularly when it came to one such clade of artiodactyls, the cetacodontamorphs. Only known today from hippos and another group of artiodactyls (one which will become relevant later), the cetacodantomorphs emerged out of Asia around 55 million years ago, at around the same time that artiodactyls themselves had made their debut. These animals included the first truly predatory artiodactyls, with many of them possessing large skulls with powerful jaws and sharp, predatory teeth. Among their ranks included animals as puny as Indohyus, a piscivorous artiodactyl the size of a cat, to as formidable as Andrewsarchus, a giant, bison-sized predator often touted as one of the largest predatory mammals to ever live. Given such a predatory disposition, it wouldn’t be long until this clade produced a lineage of truly diverse, truly successful predators, and by around 40 million years ago, that is exactly what they did, as it was at that time that the entelodonts themselves first emerged. From their Asian homeland, the entelodonts spread across the world, spreading through not only most of Eurasia but also colonizing North America as well, with genera such as Brachyhyops being found across both continents. Here, in this North American frontier, the entelodonts began to diversify further, turning into their most successful and formidable forms yet, and it was around the late Eocene and early Oligocene that Archaeotherium itself had entered the scene.
Just from a passing glance at Archaeotherium, it is clear how exactly it (as well as the other entelodonts) earned the nickname of “hell-pigs.” It was a bruiser for starters; its body bore a robust, pig-like physique, with prominent neural spines and their associated musculature forming a hump around the shoulder region, similar to the hump of a bison. With such a bulky physique came with it impressive size; the average A. mortoni had a head-body length of roughly 1.6-2.0 m (5.3-6.6 ft), a shoulder height of 1.2 m (4 ft) and a body mass of around 180 kg (396 lb) in weight (Boardman & Secord, 2013; Joeckel, 1990). At such sizes, an adult Archaeotherium the size of a large male black bear. However, they had the potential to get even bigger. While most Archaeotherium specimens were around the size described above, a select few specimens, labeled under the synonymous genus “Megachoerus,” are found to be much larger, with skulls getting up to 66% longer than average A. mortoni specimens (Foss, 2001; Joeckel, 1990). At such sizes and using isometric scaling, such massive Archaeotherium specimens would attained body lengths over 2.5 m (8.2 ft) and would have reached weighs well over 500 kg (1100 lb), or as big as a mature male polar bear. Indeed, at such sizes, it is already abundantly evident that Archaeotherium is a force to be recorded with.
However, there was more to these formidable animals than sheer size alone. Behind all that bulk was an astoundingly swift and graceful predator, especially in terms of locomotion. Indeed, the hoofed feet of Archaeotherium, along with other entelodonts, sported several adaptations that gave it incredible locomotive efficiency, essentially turning it into a speed demon of the badlands. Such adaptations include longer distal leg elements (e.g. the radius and tibia) than their proximal counterparts (e.g. the humerus and femur), fusion of the radius and ulna for increased running efficiency, the loss of the clavicle (collar-bone) to allow for greater leg length, the loss of the acromion to enhance leg movement along the fore-and-aft plane, the loss of digits to reduce the mass of the forelimb, the fusion of the ectocuneiform and the mesocuneiform wrist-bones, among many other such traits (Theodore, 1996) . Perhaps most significant of these adaptations is the evolution of the “double-pulley astragalus (ankle-bone),” a specialized modification of the ankle that, while restricting rotation and side-to-side movement at the ankle-joint, allows for greater rotation in the fore-and-aft direction, thus allowing for more more powerful propulsion from the limbs, faster extension and retraction of the limbs and overall greater locomotive efficiency (Foss, 2001). Of course, such a trait was not only found in entelodonts but in artiodactyls as a whole, likely being a response to predatory pressures from incumbent predatory clades arising at the same time as the artiodactyls (Foss, 2001). However, in the case of the entelodonts, such adaptations were not used for merely escaping predators. Rather, they were used to for another, much more lethal effect…
Such notions are further reinforced by the entelodonts most formidable aspect, none either than their fearsome jaws, and in this respect, Archaeotherium excelled. Both for its size and in general, the head of Archaeotherium was massive, measuring 40-50 cm (1.3-1.6 ft) in length among average A. mortoni specimens, to up to 78 cm (~2.6 ft) in the larger “Megachoerus” specimens (Joeckel, 1990). Such massive skulls were supported and supplemented by equally massive neck muscles and ligaments, which attached to massive neural spines on the anterior thoracic vertebrae akin to a bisons hump as well as to the sternum, allowing Archaeotherium to keep its head aloft despite the skulls massive size (Effinger, 1998). Of course, with such a massive skull, it should come as no surprise that such skulls housed exceptionally formidable jaws as well, and indeed, the bite of Archaeotherium was an especially deadly one. Its zygomatic arches (cheek-bones) and its temporal fossa were enlarged and expanded, indicative of massive temporalis muscles that afforded Archaeotherium astoundingly powerful bites (Joeckel, 1990). This is further augmented by Archaeotherium’s massive jugal flanges (bony projections of the cheek), which supported powerful masseter muscles which enhanced chewing and mastication, as well as an enlarged postorbital bar that reinforced the skull against torsional stresses (Foss, 2001). Last but not least, powerful jaws are supplemented by an enlarged gape, facilitated by a low coronoid process and enlarged posterior mandibular tubercles (bony projections originating from the lower jaw), which provided an insertion site for sternum-to-mandible jaw abduction muscles, allowing for a more forceful opening of the jaw (Foss, 2001). All together, such traits suggest a massive and incredibly fearsome bite, perhaps the most formidable of any animal in its environment.
Of course, none of such traits are especially indicative of a predatory lifestyle. Indeed, many modern non-predatory ungulates, like hippos, pigs and peccaries, also possess large, formidable skulls and jaws. However, in peeling back the layers, it is found there was more to the skull of Archaeotherium that lies in store. Indeed, when inspecting the animal closely, a unique mosaic of features is revealed; traits that make it out to be much more lethal than the average artiodactyl. On one hand, Archaeotherium possessed many traits similar to those of herbivores animals, as is expected of ungulates. For instance, its jaw musculature that allowed the lower jaw of Archaeotherium a full side-to-side chewing motion as in herbivores (whereas most carnivores can only move their lower jaw up and down)(Effinger, 1998). On the other hand, Archaeotherium wielded many other traits far more lethal in their morphology, less akin to a herbivore and far more akin to a bonafide predator. For instance, the aforementioned enlarged gape of Archaeotherium is a bizarre trait on a supposed herbivore, as such animals do not need large gapes to eat vegetation and thus have smaller, more restricted gapes. Conversely, many predatory lineages have comparatively large gapes, as larger gapes allow for the the jaws to grab on to more effectively larger objects, namely large prey animals (Joeckel, 1990).
Such a juxtaposition, however, is most evident when discussing the real killing instruments of Archaeotherium — the teeth. More so than any facet of this animal, the teeth of Archaeotherium are the real stars of the show, showing both how alike it was compared to its herbivores counterparts and more importantly, how it couldn’t be more different. For instance, the molars of Archaeotherium were quite similar to modern herbivores ungulates, in that they were robust, bunodont, and were designed for crushing and grinding, similar in form and function to modern ungulates like peccaries (Joeckel, 1990). However, while the molars give the impression that Archaeotherium was a herbivore, the other teeth tell a very different story. The incisors, for example, were enlarged, sharpened, and fully interlocked (as opposed to the flat-topped incisors seen in herbivores ungulates), creating an incisor array that was seemingly ill-suited for cropping vegetation and much more adept at for gripping, puncturing and cutting (Joeckel, 1990). Even more formidable were the canines. Like the modern pigs from which entelodonts derived their nicknames, the canines of Archaeotherium were sharp and enlarged to form prominent tusk-like teeth, but unlike pigs, they were rounded in cross-section (similar to modern carnivores like big cats, indicating more durable canines that can absorb and resist torsional forces, such as those from struggling prey) and were serrated to form a distinct cutting edge (Effinger, 1998; Joeckel, 1990; Ruff & Van Valkenburgh, 1987). These canines, along with the incisors, interlock to stabilize the jaws while biting and dismantling in a carnivore-like fashion. More strikingly, the canines also seem to act as “occlusal guides,” wherein the canines help align the movement and position of the rear teeth as they come together, allowing for a more efficient shearing action by the rear teeth. This function is seen most prevalently modern carnivorous mammals, and is evidenced by the canine tooth-wear, which is also analogous to modern predators like bears and canids (Joeckel, 1990). Indeed, going off such teeth alone, it is clear that Archaeotherium is far more predatory than expected of an ungulate. However, the real stars of the show, the teeth that truly betray the predatory nature of these ungulates, are the premolars. Perhaps the most carnivore-like teeth in the entelodont’s entire tooth row, the premolars of Archaeotherium, particularly the anterior premolars, are laterally compressed, somewhat conical in shape, and are weakly serrated to bear a cutting edge, giving them a somewhat carnivorous form and function of shearing and slicing (Effinger, 1998). Most strikingly of all, the premolars of Archaeotherium bear unique features similar not to modern herbivores, but to durophagous carnivores like hyenas, particularly apical wear patterns, highly thickened enamel, “zigzag-shaped” enamel prism layers (Hunter-Schraeger bands) on the premolars which is also seen in osteophagous animals like hyenas, and an interlocking premolar interface wherein linear objects (such as bones) inserted into jaws from the side would be pinned between the premolars and crushed (Foss, 2001). Taken together, these features do not suggest a diet of grass or vegetation like other ungulates. Rather, they suggest a far more violent diet, one including flesh as well as hard, durable foods, particularly bone. All in all, the evidence is clear. Archaeotherium and other entelodonts, unlike the rest of their artiodactyl kin, were not the passive herbivores as we envision ungulates today. Rather, they were willing, unrepentant meat-eaters that had a taste for flesh as well as foliage.
Of course, even with such lines of evidence, its hard to conclude that Archaeotherium was a true predator. After all, its wide gape and durophagous teeth could have just as easily been used for scavenging or even to eat tough plant matter such as seeds or nuts, as in peccaries and pigs, which themselves share many of the same adaptations as Archaeotherium, include the more carnivorous ones (e.g. the wide gape, using the canines as an occlusal guide, etc.). How exactly do we know that these things were veritable predators and not pretenders to the title. To this end, there is yet one last piece of evidence, one that puts on full display the predatory prowess of Archaeotherium —evidence of a kill itself. Found within oligocene-aged sediment in what is now Wyoming, a collection of various fossil remains was found, each belonging to the ancient sheep-sized camel Poebrotherium, with many of the skeletal remains being disarticulated and even missing whole hindlimbs or even entire rear halves of their body. Tellingly, many of the remains bear extensive bite marks and puncture wounds across their surface. Upon close examination, the spacing and size of the punctures leave only one culprit: Archaeotherium. Of course, such an event could still have been scavenging; the entelodonts were consuming the remains of already dead, decomposed camels, explaining the bite marks. What was far more telling, however, was where the bite marks were found. In addition bite marks being found on the torso and lumbar regions of the camels, various puncture wounds were found on the skull and neck, which were otherwise uneaten. Scavengers rarely feast on the head to begin with; there is very little worthwhile meat on it besides the brain, cheek-muscles and eyes, and even if they did feed on the skull and neck, they would still eat it wholesale, not merely bite it and then leave it otherwise untouched. Indeed, it was clear that this was no mere scavenging event. Rather than merely consuming these camels, Archaeotherium was actively preying upon and killing them, dispatching them via a crushing bite to the skull or neck before dismembering and even bisecting the hapless camels with their powerful jaws to preferentially feast on their hindquarters (likely by swallowing the hindquarters whole, as the pelvis of Poebrotherium was coincidentally the perfect width for Archaeotherium to devour whole), eventually discarding the leftovers in meat caches for later consumption (Sundell, 1999). With this finding, such a feat of brutality leaves no doubt in ones mind as to what the true nature of Archaeotherium was. This was no herbivore, nor was it a simple scavenger. This was an active, rapacious predator, the most powerful in its entire ecosystem.
Indeed, with such brutal evidence of predation frozen in time, combined with various dental, cranial, and post cranial adaptations of this formidable animal, it’s possible to paint a picture of how this formidable creature lived. Though an omnivore by trade, willing and able to feast on plant matter such as grass, roots and tubers, Archaeotherium was also a wanton predator that took just about any prey it wanted. Upon detecting its prey, it approached its vicim from ambush before launching itself at blazing speed. From there, its cursorial, hoofed legs, used by other ungulates for escape predation, were here employed to capture prey, carrying it at great speeds as it caught up to its quarry. Having closed the distance with its target, it was then that the entelodont brought its jaws to bear, grabbing hold of the victim with powerful jaws and gripping teeth to bring it to a screeching halt. If the victim is lucky, Archaeotherium will then kill it quickly with a crushing bite to the skull or neck, puncturing the brain or spinal cord and killing its target instantly. If not, the victim is eaten alive, torn apart while it’s still kicking, as modern boars will do today. In any case, incapacitated prey are subsequently dismantled, with the entelodont using its entire head and heavily-muscled necks to bite into and pull apart its victim in devastating “puncture-and pull’ bites (Foss, 2001). Prey would then finally be consumed starting at the hindquarters, with not even the bones of its prey being spared. Such brutality, though far from clean, drove home a singular truth: that during this time, ungulates were not just prey, that they were not the mere “predator-fodder” we know them as today. rather, they themselves were the predators themselves, dominating as superb hunters within their domain and even suppressing clades we know as predators today, least of all the carnivorans. Indeed, during this point in time, the age of the carnivorous ungulates had hit their stride, and more specifically, the age of entelodonts had begun.
Of course, more so than any other entelodont, Archaeotherium took to this new age with gusto. Archaeotherium lived from 35-28 million years ago during the late Eocene and early Oligocene in a locality known today as the White River Badlands, a fossil locality nestled along the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains. Though a chalky, barren landscape today, during the time of Archaeotherium, the White River Badlands was a swamp-like floodplain crisscrossed with rivers and interspersed with by a mosaic of forests concentrated around waterways, open woodlands and open plains. As with most ecosystems with such a lush disposition, this locale teemed with life, with ancient hornless rhinos, small horse-like hyracodonts and early camels roaming the open habitats while giant brontotheres, small early horses and strange, sheep-like ungulates called merycoidodonts (also known as “oreodonts”) dwelled within the dense forests. Within this locale, Archaeotherium stalked the open woodlands and riparian forests of its domain. Here, it acted as a dominant predator and scavenger across is territory, filling a niche similar to modern grizzly bears but far more predatory. Among its preferred food items would be plant matter such as roots, foliage and nuts, but also meat in the form of carrion or freshly caught prey. In this respect, smaller ungulates such as the fleet-footed camel Poebrotherium, a known prey item of Archaeotherium, would have made a for choice prey, as its small size would make it easy for Archaeotherium to dispatch with its powerful jaws, while the entelodonts swift legs gave it the speed necessary to keep pace with its agile prey.
However, the entelodont didn’t have such a feast all to itself. Just as the badlands teemed with herbivores, so too did it teem with rival predators. Among their ranks included fearsome predators such as Hyaenodon, a powerful, vaguely dog-like predator up to the size of wolves (as in H. horridus) or even lions (as in the Eocene-aged H. megaloides, which was replaced by H. horridus during the Oligocene). Armed with a massive head, fierce jaws and a set of knife-like teeth that could cut down even large prey in seconds, these were some of the most formidable predators on the landscape. There were also the nimravids, cat-like carnivorans that bore saber-teeth to kill large prey in seconds, and included the likes of the lynx-sized Dinictis, the leopard-sized Hoplophoneus and even the jaguar-sized Eusmilus. Furthermore, there were amphicyonids, better known as the bear-dogs. Though known from much larger forms later on in their existence, during the late Eocene and Oligocene, they were much smaller and acted as the “canid-analogues” of the ecosystem, filling a role similar to wolves or coyotes. Last but not least, there were the bathornithid birds, huge cariamiform birds related to modern seriemas but much larger, which filled a niche similar to modern seriemas or secretary birds, albeit on a much larger scale. Given such competition, it would seem that Archaeotherium would have its hands full. However, things are not as they appear. For starters, habitat differences would mitigate high amounts of competition, as both Hyaenodon and the various nimravids occupy more specialized ecological roles (being a plains-specialist and forest-specialist, respectively) than did Archaeotherium, providing a buffer to stave off competition: More importantly, however, none of the aforementioned predators were simply big enough to take Archaeotherium on. During the roughly 7 million years existence of Archaeotherium, the only carnivore that matched it in size was H. megaloides, and even that would have an only applied to average A. mortoni individuals, not to the much larger, bison-sized “Megachoerus” individuals. The next largest predator at that point would be the jaguars-sized Eusmilus (specifically E. adelos) which would have only been a bit more than half the size of even an average A. mortoni. Besides that, virtually every other predator on the landscape was simply outclassed by the much larger entelodont in terms of size and brute strength. As such, within its domain, Archaeotherium had total, unquestioned authority, dominating the other predators in the landscape and likely stealing their kills as well. In fact, just about the only threat Archaeotherium had was other Archaeotherium, as fossil bite marks suggest that this animal regularly and fraglantly engaged in intraspecific combat, usually through face-biting and possibly even jaw-wrestling (Effinger, 1998; Tanke & Currie, 1998). Nevertheless, it was clear that Archaeotherium was the undisputed king of the badlands; in a landscape of hyaenodonts and carnivorans galore, it was a hoofed ungulate that reigned supreme.
However, such a reign would not last. As the Eocene transitioned into the Eocene, the planet underwent an abrupt cooling and drying phase known as Eocene-Oligocene Transition or more simply the Grande Coupure. This change in climate would eliminate the sprawling wetlands and river systems that Archaeotherium had been depending on, gradually replacing it with drier and more open habitats. To its credit, Archaeotherium did manage to hang on, persisting well after the Grand-Coupure had taken place, but in the end the damage had been done; Archaeotherium was a dead-man-walking. Eventually, by around 28 million years ago, Archaeotherium would go extinct, perishing due to this change in global climate (Gillham, 2019). Entelodonts as a whole would persist into the Miocene, producing some of their largest forms ever known in the form of the bison-sized Daeodon (which was itself even more carnivorous than Archaeotherium), however they too would meet the same fate as their earlier cousins. By around 15-20 million years ago, entelodonts as a whole would go extinct. However, while the entelodonts may have perished, this was not the end of carnivorous ungulates as a whole. Recall that the cetacodontamorphs, the lineage of artiodactyls that produced the entelodonts, left behind two living descendants. The first among them were the hippos, themselves fairly frequent herbivores. The second of such lineage, however, was a different story. Emerging out of South Asia, this lineage of piscivorous cetacodontamorphs, in a an attempt to further specialize for the fish-hunting lifestyle, began to delve further and further into the water, becoming more and more aquatic and the millennia passed by. At a certain point, these carnivorous artiodactlys had become something completely unrecognizable from their original hoofed forms. Their skin became hairless and their bodies became streamlined for life in water. Their hoofed limbs grew into giant flippers for steering in the water and their previously tiny tails became massive and sported giant tail flukes for aquatic propulsion. Their noses even moved to the tip of their head, becoming a blowhole that would be signature to this clade as a whole. Indeed, this clade was none other than the modern whales, themselves derived, carnivorous ungulates that had specialized for a life in the water, and in doing so, became the some of the most dominant aquatic predators across the globe for millions of years. Indeed, though long gone, the legacy of the entelodonts and of predatory ungulates as a whole, a legacy Archaeotherium itself had helped foster, lives on in these paragons of predatory prowess, showing that the ungulates are more than just the mere “prey” that they are often made out to be. Moreover, given the success that carnivorous ungulates had enjoyed in the past and given how modern omnivorous ungulates like boar dabble in predation themselves, perhaps, in the distant future, this planet may see the rise of carnivorous ungulates once again, following in the footsteps left behind by Archaeotherium and the other predatory ungulates all those millions of years ago.

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2024.05.14 17:58 Professional_Disk131 3 Small-cap Gold Juniors to Take Notice of $ELEM $GLDR $SOMA

(The information on the three gold companies in this report is not definitive. Instead, this information will drive you to do more due diligence and make an investment decision.)
A different way to invest in gold is to look for great properties. If you bundle the three companies/properties in this piece, you could own three great properties collectively for under CDN2.00 a share.

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GOLDEN RAPTURE MINING (GLDR: CSE) is a collection of premier Ontario mining properties in the Rainy River region that have done enough work to unveil potential, below but left a significant amount of gold with great g/t numbers. As of this morning, some numbers will indeed up its profile. Considering the stock has been listed for about two weeks, these results are excellent. Forgive the length of the table, but given the quality of the results, investors must get the whole picture.

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First, the newest, being listed in the last month, is Golden Rapture Gold. The Company intends to reactivate past mines in the Rainy River area of Ontario. The property is so new that management has only walked about 5% of it, but the numbers are already impressive over its two projects. The Company holds a 100% interest in the high-grade Phillips Township Gold Property, Rainy River District, NW Ontario. The land package totals 225 claim cells for approximately ten thousand acres located close to 4 mineral deposits. These assets include the New Gold Rainy River Mine (+8 million Oz.), the Cameron Lake Deposit (1.8 million Oz.), the Agnico Eagle-Hammond Reef deposit (3.3 million Oz.), the Tartisan Nickel, Copper, and Cobalt Deposit, and many others. Mature local infrastructure, workforce, heavy-duty equipment, hospitals, major highway systems, and local services are nearby.

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Mr. Richard Rivet, CEO of Golden Rapture, commented: “I am incredibly pleased that we have just made some essential and rapid steps toward identifying additional high-grade drill-ready targets. We were pleasantly surprised to discover many high-grade quartz veins on the surface, with the majority of them carrying gold. Unlike many exploration companies, we are not just chasing the typical geophysical anomaly but also many vast high-grade gold structures identified on the surface that can be drilled at any time.

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The Company holds a 100% interest in the high-grade Phillips Township Gold Property, Rainy River District, NW Ontario. The land package totals 225 claim cells for approximately ten thousand acres located close to 4 mineral deposits.
These assets include the New Gold Rainy River Mine (+8 million Oz.), the Cameron Lake Deposit (1.8 million Oz.), the Agnico Eagle-Hammond Reef deposit (3.3 million Oz.), the Tartisan Nickel, Copper, and Cobalt Deposit, and many others. Mature local infrastructure, workforce, heavy-duty equipment, hospitals, major highway systems, and local services are nearby.
Ryan Yanch CIM, a director of GLDR, states***, ‘One extremely important fact is that GLDR’s drilling cost is an industry-leading CDN140 a meter. It is not unusual for other gold comp[anbies to spend CDN200-400 or more a meter. One major contributor to this is that one significant cost is the location of the drilling company. 17 km away from the properties significantly lowers the capital cost and allows a more robust drilling program”.***
Given the uniqueness and exceptional quality of GLDR’s properties, there could be excellent investor support. Gold is rallying, and the prospect of further rises may portend in the shadow of interest rate cuts.
Previous work on the properties quickly removes the ubiquitous ‘drill’ on the property or other tropes. These are serious businessmen and women with decades of mining and entrepreneurial experience.
In the world of junior mining IPOs, there is a feeling that the stars must align to profit. Au contraire***. The keys to investing success are the right properties, management, and, in this case, a rallying gold price.***
Numero Deux

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Element79 Gold Corp (the “Company”) (CSE: ELEM) (OTC: ELMGF) is a fascinating gold company and the second in our gold triumvirate located primarily in Peru through its flagship Lucero, Peru, property.
(Full Disclosure: James Tworek, CEO of Element79, is an adviser to the GLDR Board. Your humble scribe owns a small position in each Company.)
The past-producing Lucero Mine (“Lucero”) is one of the highest-grade underground mines in Peru’s history, with grades averaging 19.0g/t Au Equivalent (“Au Eq”) (14.0 g/t gold and 373 g/t silver).

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In its past 5 years of production, ending in 2005, it produced an average of 40,000oz+/yr.
Assays from March 2023 yielded 21-ore-grade and high-yield up to 11.7 ounces per ton of gold and 247 ounces per ton of silver from underground workings, further validating the potential for a significant high-grade future operation.
Consolidating its focus in this region and its impressive geology, ELEM acquired the Roxana Vein and surrounding 1200ha property, Lucero del Sur 28, via auction held on May 17, 2023. The property is located strategically just east of the high-grade Lucero gold-silver project.
Instead of going into much history, let’s look at the Press release ELEM put out on April 23. New assays were released, and CEO James Tworek stated, “The data obtained is not just promising; it’s the cornerstone upon which our future endeavours will be built,” said James Tworek, CEO of Element 79. “These recent results, coupled with historical data, represent the bedrock upon which we are advancing our Lucero project.”
Corporate Presentation.

https://preview.redd.it/1fie5r3lze0d1.jpg?width=800&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d4d9d6866fa8604a4c9a7f5222b9f9cf78a8477a
From the PR: A total of 97 samples were sent for assays, 56 of which returned greater than 0.1 g/t gold (up to 8.55 g/t gold and 523 g/t silver. Several samples also were rich in base metals (up to 23.7% lead and 9.9% zinc), all of which underscores the richness of our project, further supporting the Company’s belief a robust resource base can be delineated. (Actual assay numbers are shown in the PR)
James C Tworek further states, “Element79 Gold has transformed from an asset amalgamator and seller to a near-term production story, responding to Peru’s government push for formalizing artisanal mining operations. We at Element79 Gold are thrilled to share our unwavering dedication to bringing our Lucero gold project in Peru into production. This past-producing, high-grade gold and silver mine holds immense potential to revitalize our Company and foster economic growth and prosperity in the region. “
The other ELEM property brings us back to North America. Nevada, to be precise. Reason to pay attention?

https://preview.redd.it/t8eqvgkmze0d1.png?width=504&format=png&auto=webp&s=31c32ab30f57f5b358d90d4d297b10ea5b5f8b0c
Maverick Springs is adjacent to the Carlin Trend. For the uninitiated, the area contains several of the largest gold mines on Earth. The area includes a number of the largest gold mines on Earth. Maverick Springs is a blind deposit comprising a 30-120 metre thick, flat-lying zone centred on an anticlinal structure with oxidation pervasive to 120 metres and intermittent to 270 metres. (5)
West Whistler property is in the same area as Maverick, closer to the Battle Mountain Trend, alongside Carlin: Near several gold deposits, including the Cortez Mine, North America’s third largest gold mine with 2021 gold production of 828,000 ounces.
Finally, the Clover Property, 16 km west of the massive Hecla Mine in the Northern Nevada Rift. The property sits at the top and centre of the Carlin and Battle Mountain Trends.
Nevada Gold’s active Turquoise Ridge Mine, the third largest gold mine in the United States with 537,000 ounces of gold production reported in 2020, as well as the Twin Creeks open pit mines and the dormant Pinson and Getchell mines.
Element 79 has drilling programs announced for the 2023/24 years and a more vigorous program for 2024/25.

https://preview.redd.it/sygrwmvnze0d1.png?width=943&format=png&auto=webp&s=3ea8466be303764106972e78b2ccb91b73e0b93b
As (GoldSilver.com) an aside, the gold price—and silver—have softened after particularly gold had a decent run. The first two in our group have slid a bit but seem to be holding in nicely.
If one follows gold forecasts, the pundits call for USD 2500-3000 over the next few years. The strategy is simple: A move to USD 3,000 represents a 50% appreciation. However, that also comes with physical and liquidity issues should you want to sell.
And the Gold price?
On December 30, 2022, gold closed the year at $1,819.70 per ounce. Flash forward to one year later, and gold closed 2023 at $2,062.40. That’s a gain of 13.3% in a single year.
With gold pushing to new record highs, it’s a fascinating time for gold investors.
Predicting the future of gold prices is never easy, but to offer some insights into what 2024 might hold, we’ve (compiled an array of gold price forecasts, outlooks, and predictions from renowned banks, industry experts, and financial analysts.
Let’s take a look.

https://preview.redd.it/ng2bazooze0d1.png?width=1385&format=png&auto=webp&s=a6f9ff3fc37927301a808af98644e37492df7f66
Numero Three

https://preview.redd.it/hhgi21dpze0d1.png?width=368&format=png&auto=webp&s=e4b3df4b73d08a321524eb0f73384d4a50989fba
Off we go to South America. This time, Columbia with SOMA Gold. (TSXV: SOMA) (WKN: A2P4DU) (OTC: SMAGF) (the “Company” or “Soma“) recently announced that gold production for Q1 2024 was 7,335 AuEq ounces, an increase of 8% over the same period in 2023.
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

https://preview.redd.it/13kyk50rze0d1.png?width=625&format=png&auto=webp&s=4f04b9ff2345127540e817ef916f7f3b7a3f5f31
The Company owns two adjacent mining properties in Antioquia, Colombia, with a combined milling capacity of 675 tpd. (Permitted for 1,400 tpd). The El Bagre Mill is currently operating and producing. Internally generated funds are being used to finance a regional exploration program.

https://preview.redd.it/jgx3wevrze0d1.png?width=872&format=png&auto=webp&s=2d1fe91fb4c700b4c86ea2c25e267d2fe993a435
Soma is further ahead than our previous companies, which doesn’t make it better; it is just a different stage of development.
Corporate Presentation, 2023 results, Tech Report.

https://preview.redd.it/9kd65uwsze0d1.png?width=729&format=png&auto=webp&s=d148888b24ecb81b6032443eead0d78f569daced
Properties
Cardero Mine

The 84 thousand tonnes (kt) production rate in 2022 will ramp up to a peak mining production rate of 248 kt (680 tpd) in 2024. Achieving the planned peak production rate of 248 kt per annum would allow the Company to restart its previously operating El Limon Mill, with feed from Cordero in late 2023.
El Bagre Gold Mining Complex is located approximately 167 km northeast of Medellín in the Department of Antioquia, Colombia. Soma produced 23,115 ounces of gold at its El Bagre Mill in 2022, an increase of 30% from the previous year. Soma’s production forecast for 2023 is for a further 50% increase to 35,500 ounces of gold produced.
In addition to its operating El Bagre Mill, Soma owns the 225 tpd Limon Mill, which is located 47 km south of the El Bagre Mill. The Limon Mill has been on care and maintenance since 2020 but will be restarted when production from the Cordero Mine exceeds the capacity of the El Bagre Mill.
The Limon Mill operates similarly to the El Bagre Mill with two-stage crushing, ball milling, gravity concentration, flotation, cyanidation, Merrill Crowe precipitation, and smelting to produce doré. The mill was upgraded in 2017 to a capacity of 225 tpd and is permitted for up to 400 tpd.

submitted by Professional_Disk131 to PennyStocksCanada [link] [comments]

2024.05.14 17:34 Professional_Disk131 3 Small-cap Gold Juniors to Take Notice of $ELEM $GLDR $SOMA

(The information on the three gold companies in this report is not definitive. Instead, this information will drive you to do more due diligence and make an investment decision.)
A different way to invest in gold is to look for great properties. If you bundle the three companies/properties in this piece, you could own three great properties collectively for under CDN2.00 a share.

https://preview.redd.it/2a5jjgtnue0d1.jpg?width=1500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0b3e8b9fcfaec48738da64373c6f8f249e19adf3
GOLDEN RAPTURE MINING (GLDR: CSE) is a collection of premier Ontario mining properties in the Rainy River region that have done enough work to unveil potential, below but left a significant amount of gold with great g/t numbers. As of this morning, some numbers will indeed up its profile. Considering the stock has been listed for about two weeks, these results are excellent. Forgive the length of the table, but given the quality of the results, investors must get the whole picture.

https://preview.redd.it/dx4gw4rxue0d1.png?width=833&format=png&auto=webp&s=78494f84852748f11fc863182e2394854238467c
First, the newest, being listed in the last month, is Golden Rapture Gold. The Company intends to reactivate past mines in the Rainy River area of Ontario. The property is so new that management has only walked about 5% of it, but the numbers are already impressive over its two projects. The Company holds a 100% interest in the high-grade Phillips Township Gold Property, Rainy River District, NW Ontario. The land package totals 225 claim cells for approximately ten thousand acres located close to 4 mineral deposits. These assets include the New Gold Rainy River Mine (+8 million Oz.), the Cameron Lake Deposit (1.8 million Oz.), the Agnico Eagle-Hammond Reef deposit (3.3 million Oz.), the Tartisan Nickel, Copper, and Cobalt Deposit, and many others. Mature local infrastructure, workforce, heavy-duty equipment, hospitals, major highway systems, and local services are nearby.

https://preview.redd.it/r8vp08xyue0d1.png?width=1135&format=png&auto=webp&s=5e86a9c6bf8b28f14ac73d53fb316cd8403093bc
Mr. Richard Rivet, CEO of Golden Rapture, commented: “I am incredibly pleased that we have just made some essential and rapid steps toward identifying additional high-grade drill-ready targets. We were pleasantly surprised to discover many high-grade quartz veins on the surface, with the majority of them carrying gold. Unlike many exploration companies, we are not just chasing the typical geophysical anomaly but also many vast high-grade gold structures identified on the surface that can be drilled at any time.

https://preview.redd.it/m5bzqc30ve0d1.jpg?width=1804&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1330fb14e92c8a55dcd3437f998209d3fc97eaeb
https://preview.redd.it/nwmp4e30ve0d1.jpg?width=1732&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2fa11958d6804e1b7e1347317413903ec3161e33
The Company holds a 100% interest in the high-grade Phillips Township Gold Property, Rainy River District, NW Ontario. The land package totals 225 claim cells for approximately ten thousand acres located close to 4 mineral deposits.
These assets include the New Gold Rainy River Mine (+8 million Oz.), the Cameron Lake Deposit (1.8 million Oz.), the Agnico Eagle-Hammond Reef deposit (3.3 million Oz.), the Tartisan Nickel, Copper, and Cobalt Deposit, and many others. Mature local infrastructure, workforce, heavy-duty equipment, hospitals, major highway systems, and local services are nearby.
Ryan Yanch CIM, a director of GLDR, states***, ‘One extremely important fact is that GLDR’s drilling cost is an industry-leading CDN140 a meter. It is not unusual for other gold comp[anbies to spend CDN200-400 or more a meter. One major contributor to this is that one significant cost is the location of the drilling company. 17 km away from the properties significantly lowers the capital cost and allows a more robust drilling program”.***
Given the uniqueness and exceptional quality of GLDR’s properties, there could be excellent investor support. Gold is rallying, and the prospect of further rises may portend in the shadow of interest rate cuts.
Previous work on the properties quickly removes the ubiquitous ‘drill’ on the property or other tropes. These are serious businessmen and women with decades of mining and entrepreneurial experience.
In the world of junior mining IPOs, there is a feeling that the stars must align to profit. Au contraire***. The keys to investing success are the right properties, management, and, in this case, a rallying gold price.***
Numero Deux

https://preview.redd.it/0jl49k71ve0d1.png?width=461&format=png&auto=webp&s=317b5b03c6bb0f579266a8d38f99042f0cef8e1b
Element79 Gold Corp (the “Company”) (CSE: ELEM) (OTC: ELMGF) is a fascinating gold company and the second in our gold triumvirate located primarily in Peru through its flagship Lucero, Peru, property.
(Full Disclosure: James Tworek, CEO of Element79, is an adviser to the GLDR Board. Your humble scribe owns a small position in each Company.)
The past-producing Lucero Mine (“Lucero”) is one of the highest-grade underground mines in Peru’s history, with grades averaging 19.0g/t Au Equivalent (“Au Eq”) (14.0 g/t gold and 373 g/t silver).

https://preview.redd.it/wacgvbu2ve0d1.png?width=557&format=png&auto=webp&s=af5e28a9d2941bf72eebecabb824716062a64c58
In its past 5 years of production, ending in 2005, it produced an average of 40,000oz+/yr.
Assays from March 2023 yielded 21-ore-grade and high-yield up to 11.7 ounces per ton of gold and 247 ounces per ton of silver from underground workings, further validating the potential for a significant high-grade future operation.
Consolidating its focus in this region and its impressive geology, ELEM acquired the Roxana Vein and surrounding 1200ha property, Lucero del Sur 28, via auction held on May 17, 2023. The property is located strategically just east of the high-grade Lucero gold-silver project.
Instead of going into much history, let’s look at the Press release ELEM put out on April 23. New assays were released, and CEO James Tworek stated, “The data obtained is not just promising; it’s the cornerstone upon which our future endeavours will be built,” said James Tworek, CEO of Element 79. “These recent results, coupled with historical data, represent the bedrock upon which we are advancing our Lucero project.”
Corporate Presentation.

https://preview.redd.it/757zd444ve0d1.jpg?width=800&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4b9b6543b7475c955bee27ce693350c718e6983c
From the PR: A total of 97 samples were sent for assays, 56 of which returned greater than 0.1 g/t gold (up to 8.55 g/t gold and 523 g/t silver. Several samples also were rich in base metals (up to 23.7% lead and 9.9% zinc), all of which underscores the richness of our project, further supporting the Company’s belief a robust resource base can be delineated. (Actual assay numbers are shown in the PR)
James C Tworek further states, “Element79 Gold has transformed from an asset amalgamator and seller to a near-term production story, responding to Peru’s government push for formalizing artisanal mining operations. We at Element79 Gold are thrilled to share our unwavering dedication to bringing our Lucero gold project in Peru into production. This past-producing, high-grade gold and silver mine holds immense potential to revitalize our Company and foster economic growth and prosperity in the region. “
The other ELEM property brings us back to North America. Nevada, to be precise. Reason to pay attention?

https://preview.redd.it/yhcb5f95ve0d1.png?width=504&format=png&auto=webp&s=bfe06f46ebed40c20c58b486adb9d2ef29905928
Maverick Springs is adjacent to the Carlin Trend. For the uninitiated, the area contains several of the largest gold mines on Earth. The area includes a number of the largest gold mines on Earth. Maverick Springs is a blind deposit comprising a 30-120 metre thick, flat-lying zone centred on an anticlinal structure with oxidation pervasive to 120 metres and intermittent to 270 metres. (5)
West Whistler property is in the same area as Maverick, closer to the Battle Mountain Trend, alongside Carlin: Near several gold deposits, including the Cortez Mine, North America’s third largest gold mine with 2021 gold production of 828,000 ounces.
Finally, the Clover Property, 16 km west of the massive Hecla Mine in the Northern Nevada Rift. The property sits at the top and centre of the Carlin and Battle Mountain Trends.
Nevada Gold’s active Turquoise Ridge Mine, the third largest gold mine in the United States with 537,000 ounces of gold production reported in 2020, as well as the Twin Creeks open pit mines and the dormant Pinson and Getchell mines.
Element 79 has drilling programs announced for the 2023/24 years and a more vigorous program for 2024/25.

https://preview.redd.it/c30916h6ve0d1.png?width=943&format=png&auto=webp&s=06c02fc942928e97ddaa5a38c0725175e5573ac7
As (GoldSilver.com) an aside, the gold price—and silver—have softened after particularly gold had a decent run. The first two in our group have slid a bit but seem to be holding in nicely.
If one follows gold forecasts, the pundits call for USD 2500-3000 over the next few years. The strategy is simple: A move to USD 3,000 represents a 50% appreciation. However, that also comes with physical and liquidity issues should you want to sell.
And the Gold price?
On December 30, 2022, gold closed the year at $1,819.70 per ounce. Flash forward to one year later, and gold closed 2023 at $2,062.40. That’s a gain of 13.3% in a single year.
With gold pushing to new record highs, it’s a fascinating time for gold investors.
Predicting the future of gold prices is never easy, but to offer some insights into what 2024 might hold, we’ve (compiled an array of gold price forecasts, outlooks, and predictions from renowned banks, industry experts, and financial analysts.
Let’s take a look.

https://preview.redd.it/2o1f4i67ve0d1.png?width=1385&format=png&auto=webp&s=973e0778e971a7ab93672aa3ac10c4b11ea6a7b3
Numero Three

https://preview.redd.it/l0fdxn3eve0d1.png?width=368&format=png&auto=webp&s=9cc5f9ec8672a68c10d2fbbde546f8b5e121122d
Off we go to South America. This time, Columbia with SOMA Gold. (TSXV: SOMA) (WKN: A2P4DU) (OTC: SMAGF) (the “Company” or “Soma“) recently announced that gold production for Q1 2024 was 7,335 AuEq ounces, an increase of 8% over the same period in 2023.
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

https://preview.redd.it/9soyq36fve0d1.png?width=625&format=png&auto=webp&s=00d351e23310ea8e9d2b607b5a012c302687f038
The Company owns two adjacent mining properties in Antioquia, Colombia, with a combined milling capacity of 675 tpd. (Permitted for 1,400 tpd). The El Bagre Mill is currently operating and producing. Internally generated funds are being used to finance a regional exploration program.

https://preview.redd.it/55x97d2gve0d1.png?width=872&format=png&auto=webp&s=fa38819b9e52fd10910434894d64e823f2447798
Soma is further ahead than our previous companies, which doesn’t make it better; it is just a different stage of development.
Corporate Presentation, 2023 results, Tech Report.

https://preview.redd.it/wjhvosugve0d1.png?width=729&format=png&auto=webp&s=cbc332e83495ff1ac9e40b33f30609a7b02533ab
Properties
Cardero Mine

The 84 thousand tonnes (kt) production rate in 2022 will ramp up to a peak mining production rate of 248 kt (680 tpd) in 2024. Achieving the planned peak production rate of 248 kt per annum would allow the Company to restart its previously operating El Limon Mill, with feed from Cordero in late 2023.
El Bagre Gold Mining Complex is located approximately 167 km northeast of Medellín in the Department of Antioquia, Colombia. Soma produced 23,115 ounces of gold at its El Bagre Mill in 2022, an increase of 30% from the previous year. Soma’s production forecast for 2023 is for a further 50% increase to 35,500 ounces of gold produced.
In addition to its operating El Bagre Mill, Soma owns the 225 tpd Limon Mill, which is located 47 km south of the El Bagre Mill. The Limon Mill has been on care and maintenance since 2020 but will be restarted when production from the Cordero Mine exceeds the capacity of the El Bagre Mill.
The Limon Mill operates similarly to the El Bagre Mill with two-stage crushing, ball milling, gravity concentration, flotation, cyanidation, Merrill Crowe precipitation, and smelting to produce doré. The mill was upgraded in 2017 to a capacity of 225 tpd and is permitted for up to 400 tpd.

submitted by Professional_Disk131 to PennyQueen [link] [comments]

2024.05.14 17:00 MR_everyone13 Neospin Casino - FAQ for Redditors

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submitted by MR_everyone13 to Neospin [link] [comments]

2024.05.14 16:39 Anitaruihi19 AITAH for apologizing all the time?

Maybe it's a teenage rage bait, or because of my period, but I'm really not feeling well rn.
I've had this habit for a long time, but it has gotten worse in my preteens, when I started developing an ED (First Anorexia Nervosa and now Bulimia). I've had big fluctuations in my weight for the past 3 years ( to severely underweight to having around 20 pounds of overweight). I don't like to show it or say it, but I'm really depressed. I've being diagnosed with GAD (I'm not sure if that's the exact diagnose, but I've definitely been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder) and that really hasn't help at all.
I've always gotten good grades, being top of my class, tried to be polite, tried to be helpful, responsabile, kind, caring... Cuz I know that that's somehow easier than solving my real problems.
I know my family ( I'm not including friends because I don't have like a friend close enough to trust) are fed up of my situation, and I dont want them to hate me.
Every time I make a mistake, I can't help but to say sorry, even if they're stupid. Like forgetting picking up my clothes, not helping to set up the table, not being/being hungry, talking when I shouldn't, distracting people, saying jokes when I shouldn't, etc.
I'm not a saint, I don't always obey, I lie, steel food, shout, scream, cry a lot and responding badly.
Imy burnt out. Everyone is. And I don't want my own family to hate me.
I want to be healthy. I want to love myself. I want to be happy. I want people to like me. Not because I'm family but because I'm me.

submitted by Anitaruihi19 to AITAH [link] [comments]

2024.05.14 16:25 Mophandel Archaeotherium, the King of the White River Badlands

Art by Bob Nicholls
Nowadays, when we envision the words “prey,” among modern mammalian fauna, few taxa come to mind as quickly as the hoofed mammals, better known as the ungulates. Indeed, for the better part of their entire evolutionary history, the ungulates have become entirely indistinguishable from the term “prey.” Across their two major modern branches, the artiodactyls (the “even-toed ungulates,” such as bovids, pigs, deer, hippos and giraffes) and the perissodactyls (the “odd-toed ungulates,” including horses, rhinos and tapir), the ungulates too have created an empire spanning nearly every continent, establishing themselves as the the dominant herbivores throughout their entire range. However, as a price for such success, their lot as herbivores have forced them into an unenviable position: being the food for the predators. Indeed, throughout the diets of most modern predators, ungulates make up the majority, if not the entirety, of their diet, becoming their counterparts in this evolutionary dance of theirs. They have become the lamb to their wolf, the zebra to their lion, the stag to their tiger. If there is a predator in need of lunch, chances are that there is an ungulate there to provide it. Of course, such a dynamic is not necessarily a recent innovation. For the last 15-20 million years, across much of the world, both new and old, the ungulates have served as prey for these predators through it all. Over the course of whole epochs, these two groups have played into these roles for millions of years, coevolving with each other in an eons-long game of cat-and-mouse. The shoes they fill are not new, but have existed for ages, and within their niches they have cultivated their roles to perfection. Indeed, with such a tenured history, it seems hardly surprising the ungulates are wholly inseparable from the terms “prey,” itself.
However, while this is the case now, as it has been for the last 15-20 million years, go back far enough, and we see that this dynamic is not as set in stone as we would think. Indeed, back during the Eocene and Oligocene, during the very earliest days of age of mammals, things were very different for the ungulates. While today they are considered little more than food for modern predators, during these olden days, the ungulates weren’t quite so benign. In fact, far from being fodder for top predators, the ungulates had turned the tables, instead becoming top predators themselves. Indeed, though nearly unheard of today, throughout much of the Eocene and Oligocene, carnivorous ungulates thrived in abundance, developing specializations for catching large prey and establishing themselves as top predators that competed alongside the more traditional carnivores, and even dominating them in some instances. Given such success, it’s no wonder that multiple such clades had arisen during this time. Such predators included the arctocyonids, a lineage of (ironically) hoof-less ungulates with large jaws and sharp teeth for capturing large prey. There were also the mesonychians, a lineage of dog-like ungulates with massive skulls and jaws that allowed them to reign as the top predator across much of the Eocene.
However, among these various lineages, one stands stands out among the rest, by far. Arising during the Eocene, this lineage, though superficially resembling modern pigs, hailed from one an ancient lineage of artiodactyls far removed from swine or most other ungulates in general, with few close relatives alive today. Through perhaps not the most predatory of the bunch, it was among the most formidable, as their superficially pig-like appearance came with giant predatory jaws and teeth unlike anything from the modern era. And of course, as if all of that wasn’t enough, this lineage also went on to earn arguably one of the most badass nicknames of any lineage of mammals, period. These predators, of course, were the entelodonts, a.k.a the “hell-pigs.” More so than any other predatory ungulate lineage, these formidable ungulates were the ones to turn the current paradigm upside down, becoming some of the largest and most dominant carnivores in their landscape, even with (and often in spite of) the presence of more traditional predators. Through impressive size, fearsome teeth and sheer tenacity, these animals became the top dogs of their time, ruling as behemoth-kings of their Paleogene kingdoms, domineering all comers, and throughout the ranks, one entelodont in particular demonstrated such dominance the best. Though not the largest or most powerful of their kind, it is one of the most iconic, being among the most well-known members of its lineage to date. Moreover, this enteledont also has some of the most complete life histories ever seen out of this clade, with its brutality and predatory prowess being displayed in the fossil record in a way seen in no other member of its kind. More than anything else, however, it was this predator that best turned the notion of “ungulates being prey” on its head, living in an environment that bore some of the largest carnivoran hypercarnivores to date and still reigning as the undisputed top predator of its domain. This fearsome beast was none other than Archaeotherium, icon of the entelodonts, terror of the Oligocene American west and undisputed king of the White River badlands.
The rise of Archaeotherium (and of entelodonts in general) is closely tied to the ascendancy of carnivorous ungulates as a whole, one of the earliest evolutionary success stories of the entire Cenozoic. Having become their own derived clade since the late Cretaceous, the ungulates were remarkably successful during the early Paleogene, as they were among the first mammalian clades to reach large sizes during those early days after the non-avian dinosaurs had gone extinct. As such, it was with incredible swiftness that, as the Paleogene progressed, the ungulates swooped upon the various niches left empty by the K-Pg mass extinction that killed the dinosaurs. This of course included the herbivorous niches we would know them for today, but this also included other, much more carnivore roles. Indeed, early on during the Paleogene, it was the ungulates that first seized the roles of large mammalian predators, becoming some the earliest large mammalian carnivores to ever live, well before even the carnivorans. Such predators included the arctocyonids, a lineage of vaguely dog-like, hoof-less ungulates with robust jaws and sharpened teeth that acted as some of earliest large carnivores of the Paleocene, with genera such as Arctocyon mumak getting up to the size of big cats. Even more prolific were the mesonychids. More so than what pretty much any other lineage of predator, it was the mesonychids that would stand out as the earliest dominant predators of the early Cenozoic. Growing up to the size of bears and with enormous, bone-crushing jaws, the mesonychids were among the most powerful and successful predators on the market at that time, with a near-global range and being capable of subjugating just about any other predator in their environments. Indeed, they, along with other carnivorous ungulates (as well as ungulates in general), were experiencing a golden age during this time, easily being the most prolific predators of the age. Given such prevalence, it should be no surprise that there would be yet another lineage of predatory ungulates would throw their hat into the ring, and by early Eocene, that contender would none other than the entelodonts.
The very first entelodonts had arisen from artiodactyl ancestors during the Eocene epoch, at a time when artiodactyls were far more diverse and bizarre than they are now. Through today known from their modern herbivorous representatives such as bovines, deer, and antelope, during the Paleocene and Eocene, the artiodacyls, as with most ungulates of that time, were stronger and far more predaceous, particularly when it came to one such clade of artiodactyls, the cetacodontamorphs. Only known today from hippos and another group of artiodactyls (one which will become relevant later), the cetacodantomorphs emerged out of Asia around 55 million years ago, at around the same time that artiodactyls themselves had made their debut. These animals included the first truly predatory artiodactyls, with many of them possessing large skulls with powerful jaws and sharp, predatory teeth. Among their ranks included animals as puny as Indohyus, a piscivorous artiodactyl the size of a cat, to as formidable as Andrewsarchus, a giant, bison-sized predator often touted as one of the largest predatory mammals to ever live. Given such a predatory disposition, it wouldn’t be long until this clade produced a lineage of truly diverse, truly successful predators, and by around 40 million years ago, that is exactly what they did, as it was at that time that the entelodonts themselves first emerged. From their Asian homeland, the entelodonts spread across the world, spreading through not only most of Eurasia but also colonizing North America as well, with genera such as Brachyhyops being found across both continents. Here, in this North American frontier, the entelodonts began to diversify further, turning into their most successful and formidable forms yet, and it was around the late Eocene and early Oligocene that Archaeotherium itself had entered the scene.
Just from a passing glance at Archaeotherium, it is clear how exactly it (as well as the other entelodonts) earned the nickname of “hell-pigs.” It was a bruiser for starters; its body bore a robust, pig-like physique, with prominent neural spines and their associated musculature forming a hump around the shoulder region, similar to the hump of a bison. With such a bulky physique came with it impressive size; the average A. mortoni had a head-body length of roughly 1.6-2.0 m (5.3-6.6 ft), a shoulder height of 1.2 m (4 ft) and a body mass of around 180 kg (396 lb) in weight (Boardman & Secord, 2013; Joeckel, 1990). At such sizes, an adult Archaeotherium the size of a large male black bear. However, they had the potential to get even bigger. While most Archaeotherium specimens were around the size described above, a select few specimens, labeled under the synonymous genus “Megachoerus,” are found to be much larger, with skulls getting up to 66% longer than average A. mortoni specimens (Foss, 2001; Joeckel, 1990). At such sizes and using isometric scaling, such massive Archaeotherium specimens would attained body lengths over 2.5 m (8.2 ft) and would have reached weighs well over 500 kg (1100 lb), or as big as a mature male polar bear. Indeed, at such sizes, it is already abundantly evident that Archaeotherium is a force to be recorded with.
However, there was more to these formidable animals than sheer size alone. Behind all that bulk was an astoundingly swift and graceful predator, especially in terms of locomotion. Indeed, the hoofed feet of Archaeotherium, along with other entelodonts, sported several adaptations that gave it incredible locomotive efficiency, essentially turning it into a speed demon of the badlands. Such adaptations include longer distal leg elements (e.g. the radius and tibia) than their proximal counterparts (e.g. the humerus and femur), fusion of the radius and ulna for increased running efficiency, the loss of the clavicle (collar-bone) to allow for greater leg length, the loss of the acromion to enhance leg movement along the fore-and-aft plane, the loss of digits to reduce the mass of the forelimb, the fusion of the ectocuneiform and the mesocuneiform wrist-bones, among many other such traits (Theodore, 1996) . Perhaps most significant of these adaptations is the evolution of the “double-pulley astragalus (ankle-bone),” a specialized modification of the ankle that, while restricting rotation and side-to-side movement at the ankle-joint, allows for greater rotation in the fore-and-aft direction, thus allowing for more more powerful propulsion from the limbs, faster extension and retraction of the limbs and overall greater locomotive efficiency (Foss, 2001). Of course, such a trait was not only found in entelodonts but in artiodactyls as a whole, likely being a response to predatory pressures from incumbent predatory clades arising at the same time as the artiodactyls (Foss, 2001). However, in the case of the entelodonts, such adaptations were not used for merely escaping predators. Rather, they were used to for another, much more lethal effect…
Such notions are further reinforced by the entelodonts most formidable aspect, none either than their fearsome jaws, and in this respect, Archaeotherium excelled. Both for its size and in general, the head of Archaeotherium was massive, measuring 40-50 cm (1.3-1.6 ft) in length among average A. mortoni specimens, to up to 78 cm (~2.6 ft) in the larger “Megachoerus” specimens (Joeckel, 1990). Such massive skulls were supported and supplemented by equally massive neck muscles and ligaments, which attached to massive neural spines on the anterior thoracic vertebrae akin to a bisons hump as well as to the sternum, allowing Archaeotherium to keep its head aloft despite the skulls massive size (Effinger, 1998). Of course, with such a massive skull, it should come as no surprise that such skulls housed exceptionally formidable jaws as well, and indeed, the bite of Archaeotherium was an especially deadly one. Its zygomatic arches (cheek-bones) and its temporal fossa were enlarged and expanded, indicative of massive temporalis muscles that afforded Archaeotherium astoundingly powerful bites (Joeckel, 1990). This is further augmented by Archaeotherium’s massive jugal flanges (bony projections of the cheek), which supported powerful masseter muscles which enhanced chewing and mastication, as well as an enlarged postorbital bar that reinforced the skull against torsional stresses (Foss, 2001). Last but not least, powerful jaws are supplemented by an enlarged gape, facilitated by a low coronoid process and enlarged posterior mandibular tubercles (bony projections originating from the lower jaw), which provided an insertion site for sternum-to-mandible jaw abduction muscles, allowing for a more forceful opening of the jaw (Foss, 2001). All together, such traits suggest a massive and incredibly fearsome bite, perhaps the most formidable of any animal in its environment.
Of course, none of such traits are especially indicative of a predatory lifestyle. Indeed, many modern non-predatory ungulates, like hippos, pigs and peccaries, also possess large, formidable skulls and jaws. However, in peeling back the layers, it is found there was more to the skull of Archaeotherium that lies in store. Indeed, when inspecting the animal closely, a unique mosaic of features is revealed; traits that make it out to be much more lethal than the average artiodactyl. On one hand, Archaeotherium possessed many traits similar to those of herbivores animals, as is expected of ungulates. For instance, its jaw musculature that allowed the lower jaw of Archaeotherium a full side-to-side chewing motion as in herbivores (whereas most carnivores can only move their lower jaw up and down)(Effinger, 1998). On the other hand, Archaeotherium wielded many other traits far more lethal in their morphology, less akin to a herbivore and far more akin to a bonafide predator. For instance, the aforementioned enlarged gape of Archaeotherium is a bizarre trait on a supposed herbivore, as such animals do not need large gapes to eat vegetation and thus have smaller, more restricted gapes. Conversely, many predatory lineages have comparatively large gapes, as larger gapes allow for the the jaws to grab on to more effectively larger objects, namely large prey animals (Joeckel, 1990).
Such a juxtaposition, however, is most evident when discussing the real killing instruments of Archaeotherium — the teeth. More so than any facet of this animal, the teeth of Archaeotherium are the real stars of the show, showing both how alike it was compared to its herbivores counterparts and more importantly, how it couldn’t be more different. For instance, the molars of Archaeotherium were quite similar to modern herbivores ungulates, in that they were robust, bunodont, and were designed for crushing and grinding, similar in form and function to modern ungulates like peccaries (Joeckel, 1990). However, while the molars give the impression that Archaeotherium was a herbivore, the other teeth tell a very different story. The incisors, for example, were enlarged, sharpened, and fully interlocked (as opposed to the flat-topped incisors seen in herbivores ungulates), creating an incisor array that was seemingly ill-suited for cropping vegetation and much more adept at for gripping, puncturing and cutting (Joeckel, 1990). Even more formidable were the canines. Like the modern pigs from which entelodonts derived their nicknames, the canines of Archaeotherium were sharp and enlarged to form prominent tusk-like teeth, but unlike pigs, they were rounded in cross-section (similar to modern carnivores like big cats, indicating more durable canines that can absorb and resist torsional forces, such as those from struggling prey) and were serrated to form a distinct cutting edge (Effinger, 1998; Joeckel, 1990; Ruff & Van Valkenburgh, 1987). These canines, along with the incisors, interlock to stabilize the jaws while biting and dismantling in a carnivore-like fashion. More strikingly, the canines also seem to act as “occlusal guides,” wherein the canines help align the movement and position of the rear teeth as they come together, allowing for a more efficient shearing action by the rear teeth. This function is seen most prevalently modern carnivores mammals, and is evidenced by the canine tooth-wear, which is also analogous to modern predators like bears and canids (Joeckel, 1990). Indeed, going off such teeth alone, it is clear that Archaeotherium is far more predatory than expected of an ungulate. However, the real stars of the show, the teeth that truly betray the predatory nature of these ungulates, are the premolars. Perhaps the most carnivore-like teeth in the entelodont’s entire tooth row, the premolars of Archaeotherium, particularly the anterior premolars, are laterally compressed, somewhat conical in shape, and are weakly serrated to bear a cutting edge, giving them a somewhat carnivorous form and function of shearing and slicing (Effinger, 1998). Most strikingly of all, the premolars of Archaeotherium bear unique features similar not to modern herbivores, but to durophagous carnivores like hyenas, particularly apical wear patterns, highly thickened enamel, “zigzag-shaped” enamel prism layers (Hunter-Schraeger bands) on the premolars which is also seen in osteophagous animals like hyenas, and an interlocking premolar interface wherein linear objects (such as bones) inserted into jaws from the side would be pinned between the premolars and crushed (Foss, 2001). Taken together, these features do not suggest a diet of grass or vegetation like other ungulates. Rather, they suggest a far more violent diet, one including flesh as well as hard, durable foods, particularly bone. All in all, the evidence is clear. Archaeotherium and other entelodonts, unlike the rest of their artiodactyl kin, were not the passive herbivores as we envision ungulates today. Rather, they were willing, unrepentant meat-eaters that had a taste for flesh as well as foliage.
Of course, even with such lines of evidence, its hard to conclude that Archaeotherium was a true predator. After all, its wide gape and durophagous teeth could have just as easily been used for scavenging or even to eat tough plant matter such as seeds or nuts, as in peccaries and pigs, which themselves share many of the same adaptations as Archaeotherium, include the more carnivorous ones (e.g. the wide gape, using the canines as an occlusal guide, etc.). How exactly do we know that these things were veritable predators and not pretenders to the title. To this end, there is yet one last piece of evidence, one that puts on full display the predatory prowess of Archaeotherium —evidence of a kill itself. Found within oligocene-aged sediment in what is now Wyoming, a collection of various fossil remains was found, each belonging to the ancient sheep-sized camel Poebrotherium, with many of the skeletal remains being disarticulated and even missing whole hindlimbs or even entire rear halves of their body. Tellingly, many of the remains bear extensive bite marks and puncture wounds across their surface. Upon close examination, the spacing and size of the punctures leave only one culprit: Archaeotherium. Of course, such an event could still have been scavenging; the entelodonts were consuming the remains of already dead, decomposed camels, explaining the bite marks. What was far more telling, however, was where the bite marks were found. In addition bite marks being found on the torso and lumbar regions of the camels, various puncture wounds were found on the skull and neck, which were otherwise uneaten. Scavengers rarely feast on the head to begin with; there is very little worthwhile meat on it besides the brain, cheek-muscles and eyes, and even if they did feed on the skull and neck, they would still eat it wholesale, not merely bite it and then leave it otherwise untouched. Indeed, it was clear that this was no mere scavenging event. Rather than merely consuming these camels, Archaeotherium was actively preying upon and killing them, dispatching them via a crushing bite to the skull or neck before dismembering and even bisecting the hapless camels with their powerful jaws to preferentially feast on their hindquarters (likely by swallowing the hindquarters whole, as the pelvis of Poebrotherium was coincidentally the perfect width for Archaeotherium to devour whole), eventually discarding the leftovers in meat caches for later consumption (Sundell, 1999). With this finding, such a feat of brutality leaves no doubt in ones mind as to what the true nature of Archaeotherium was. This was no herbivore, nor was it a simple scavenger. This was an active, rapacious predator, the most powerful in its entire ecosystem.
Indeed, with such brutal evidence of predation frozen in time, combined with various dental, cranial, and post cranial adaptations of this formidable animal, it’s possible to paint a picture of how this formidable creature lived. Though an omnivore by trade, willing and able to feast on plant matter such as grass, roots and tubers, Archaeotherium was also a wanton predator that took just about any prey it wanted. Upon detecting its prey, it approached its vicim from ambush before launching itself at blazing speed. From there, its cursorial, hoofed legs, used by other ungulates for escape predation, were here employed to capture prey, carrying it at great speeds as it caught up to its quarry. Having closed the distance with its target, it was then that the entelodont brought its jaws to bear, grabbing hold of the victim with powerful jaws and gripping teeth to bring it to a screeching halt. If the victim is lucky, Archaeotherium will then kill it quickly with a crushing bite to the skull or neck, puncturing the brain or spinal cord and killing its target instantly. If not, the victim is eaten alive, torn apart while it’s still kicking, as modern boars will do today. In any case, incapacitated prey are subsequently dismantled, with the entelodont using its entire head and heavily-muscled necks to bite into and pull apart its victim in devastating “puncture-and pull’ bites (Foss, 2001). Prey would then finally be consumed starting at the hindquarters, with not even the bones of its prey being spared. Such brutality, though far from clean, drove home a singular truth: that during this time, ungulates were not just prey, that they were not the mere “predator-fodder” we know them as today. rather, they themselves were the predators themselves, dominating as superb hunters within their domain and even suppressing clades we know as predators today, least of all the carnivorans. Indeed, during this point in time, the age of the carnivorous ungulates had hit their stride, and more specifically, the age of entelodonts had begun.
Of course, more so than any other ettelodont, Archaeotherium took to this new age with gusto. Archaeotherium lived from 35-28 million years ago during the late Eocene and early Oligocene in a locality known today as the White River Badlands, a fossil locality nestled along the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains. Though a chalky, barren landscape today, during the time of Archaeotherium, the White River Badlands was a swamp-like floodplain crisscrossed with rivers and interspersed with by a mosaic of forests concentrated around waterways, open woodlands and open plains. As with most ecosystems with such a lush disposition, this locale teemed with life, with ancient hornless rhinos, small horse-like hyracodonts and early camels roaming the open habitats while giant brontotheres, small early horses and strange, sheep-like ungulates called merycoidodonts (also known as “oreodonts”) dwelled within the dense forests. Within this locale, Archaeotherium stalked the open woodlands and riparian forests of its domain. Here, it acted as a dominant predator and scavenger across is territory, filling a niche similar to modern grizzly bears but far more predatory. Among its preferred food items would be plant matter such as roots, foliage and nuts, but also meat in the form of carrion or freshly caught prey. In this respect, smaller ungulates such as the fleet-footed camel Poebrotherium, a known prey item of Archaeotherium, would have made a for choice prey, as its small size would make it easy for Archaeotherium to dispatch with its powerful jaws, while the entelodonts swift legs gave it the speed necessary to keep pace with its agile prey.
However, the entelodont didn’t have such a feast all to itself. Just as the badlands teemed with herbivores, so too did it teem with rival predators. Among their ranks included fearsome predators such as Hyaenodon, a powerful, vaguely dog-like predator up to the size of wolves (as in H. horridus) or even lions (as in the Eocene-aged H. megaloides, which was replaced by H. horridus during the Oligocene). Armed with a massive head, fierce jaws and a set of knife-like teeth that could cut down even large prey in seconds, these were some of the most formidable predators on the landscape. There were also the nimravids, cat-like carnivorans that bore saber-teeth to kill large prey in seconds, and included the likes of the lynx-sized Dinictis, the leopard-sized Hoplophoneus and even the jaguar-sized Eusmilus. Furthermore, there were amphicyonids, better known as the bear-dogs. Though known from much larger forms later on in their existence, during the late Eocene and Oligocene, they were much smaller and acted as the “canid-analogues” of the ecosystem, filling a role similar to wolves or coyotes. Last but not least, there were the bathornithid birds, huge cariamiform birds related to modern seriemas but much larger, which filled a niche similar to modern seriemas or secretary birds, albeit on a much larger scale. Given such competition, it would seem that Archaeotherium would have its hands full. However, things are not as they appear. For starters, habitat differences would mitigate high amounts of competition, as both Hyaenodon and the various nimravids occupy more specialized ecological roles (being a plains-specialist and forest-specialist, respectively) than did Archaeotherium, providing a buffer to stave off competition: More importantly, however, none of the aforementioned predators were simply big enough to take Archaeotherium on. During the roughly 7 million years existence of Archaeotherium, the only carnivore that matched it in size was H. megaloides, and even that would have an only applied to average A. mortoni individuals, not to the much larger, bison-sized “Megachoerus” individuals. The next largest predator at that point would be the jaguars-sized Eusmilus (specifically E. adelos) which would have only been a bit more than half the size of even an average A. mortoni. Besides that, virtually every other predator on the landscape was simply outclassed by the much larger entelodont in terms of size and brute strength. As such, within its domain, Archaeotherium had total, unquestioned authority, dominating the other predators in the landscape and likely stealing their kills as well. In fact, just about the only threat Archaeotherium had was other Archaeotherium, as fossil bite marks suggest that this animal regularly and fraglantly engaged in intraspecific combat, usually through face-biting and possibly even jaw-wrestling (Effinger, 1998; Tanke & Currie, 1998). Nevertheless, it was clear that Archaeotherium was the undisputed king of the badlands; in a landscape of hyaenodonts and carnivorans galore, it was a hoofed ungulate that reigned supreme.
However, such a reign would not last. As the Eocene transitioned into the Eocene, the planet underwent an abrupt cooling and drying phase known as Eocene-Oligocene Transition or more simply the Grande Coupure. This change in climate would eliminate the sprawling wetlands and river systems that Archaeotherium had been depending on, gradually replacing it with drier and more open habitats. To its credit, Archaeotherium did manage to hang on, persisting well after the Grand-Coupure had taken place, but in the end the damage had been done; Archaeotherium was a dead-man-walking. Eventually, by around 28 million years ago, Archaeotherium would go extinct, perishing due to this change in global climate (Gillham, 2019). Entelodonts as a whole would persist into the Miocene, producing some of their largest forms ever known in the form of the bison-sized Daeodon (which was itself even more carnivorous than Archaeotherium), however they too would meet the same fate as their earlier cousins. By around 15-20 million years ago, entelodonts as a whole would go extinct. However, while the entelodonts may have perished, this was not the end of carnivorous ungulates as a whole. Recall that the cetacodontamorphs, the lineage of artiodactyls that produced the entelodonts, left behind two living descendants. The first among them were the hippos, themselves fairly frequent herbivores. The second of such lineage, however, was a different story. Emerging out of South Asia, this lineage of piscivorous cetacodontamorphs, in a an attempt to further specialize for the fish-hunting lifestyle, began to delve further and further into the water, becoming more and more aquatic and the millennia passed by. At a certain point, these carnivorous artiodactlys had become something completely unrecognizable from their original hoofed forms. Their skin became hairless and their bodies became streamlined for life in water. Their hoofed limbs grew into giant flippers for steering in the water and their previously tiny tails became massive and sported giant tail flukes for aquatic propulsion. Their noses even moved to the tip of their head, becoming a blowhole that would be signature to this clade as a whole. Indeed, this clade was none other than the modern whales, themselves derived, carnivorous ungulates that had specialized for a life in the water, and in doing so, became the some of the most dominant aquatic predators across the globe for millions of years. Indeed, though long gone, the legacy of the entelodonts and of predatory ungulates as a whole, a legacy Archaeotherium itself had helped foster, lives on in these paragons of predatory prowess, showing that the ungulates are more than just the mere “prey” that they are often made out to be. Moreover, given the success that carnivorous ungulates had enjoyed in the past and given how modern omnivorous ungulates like boar dabble in predation themselves, perhaps, in the distant future, this planet may see the rise of carnivorous ungulates once again, following in the footsteps left behind by Archaeotherium and the other predatory ungulates all those millions of years ago.

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2024.05.14 16:20 PetrZitskiy Navigating Online Casino Bonuses and Offers

[ Navigating Online Casino Bonuses and Offers ]
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2024.05.14 16:11 Anitaruihi19 I can't stop apologizing and I think my family hates me for that

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2024.05.14 16:10 Kaleikitty Modifying/cancelling LWIA

I'm considering a position in another department, but already have a LWIA approved. The averaging period will start before the move and the leave itself is just after the move. I'd like to avoid having my onboarding interrupted by several weeks of leave. Secondment and deployment are both on the table.
Can I delay the leave as long as it stays within the averaging year that's already been approved? Can I cancel the leave altogether? If the internet can't answer, who should I call?
I don't have any particular plans for the leave; it was meant as burnout relief and if I change jobs I expect some relief.

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2024.05.14 16:04 DarkBehindTheStars The Chains' Metal

Curious if the chains (as well as other implements) the Cenobites employ are composed of unique metals and alloys only found in their realm? Makes sense that the metal used in their chains would be a unique, special metal only ever found in their realm and not of Earthly origin. Kind of a trivial thing to ponder but curious nonetheless. It'd be something for a piece of chain found left behind from the scene of one of their sessions being examined under a microscope and it turns out the metal the chain is composed of doesn't correspond to any known Earth metals (like the scene in Predator 2 where the recovered spear tip doesn't match with anything on the periodic table). I wouldn't be surprised if the Cenobites in their realm have unique materials used in the construction of their items not found anywhere else.

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2024.05.14 15:42 JudgementReporter AITA for moving other people’s stuff at school?

I 17M attend a sixth form (school for 16-18) in the U.K. Sixth form is Year 12 and Year 13, I don’t know what that will translate to in the US or other places.
Normally, Year 13s are allowed access to the Year Group Common Room and Silent Study Room during their Studies. Year 12s however are only allowed in Silent Study Rooms. Because Year 13s are doing exams at the moment, their regular timetables have been suspended. I am in Year 12 so I have been mostly unaffected by this but the normal Silent Study Room has been converted into the examination room so spare classrooms are now used as substitute for what would be ‘Silent Study’.
Today, I had no lessons so I went to ‘Silent Study’ and we were told that one supervisor wasn’t in and they couldn’t find a sub so we’d have to work without supervision. A while later, a person who I’ve had issues with (we’ll call him Bob) came in with friends and sat behind me. Bob and his friends are Year 13. They said they’re ‘revising’ but were making noise by laughing, slamming tables and at one point, flung Bob’s pencil case into my back.
There was also another group who was making noise. These boys are in my year and they’ve always been loud. In the past when we had classes, I remember them making noise and no matter how many talkings to they get, they don’t listen. Because I knew they wouldn’t listen, I left the room to get our head of year and asked them to deal with them.
When I got back, I asked Bob and his friends to be quieter but they only got louder and louder and they tried to deflect attention to the other group.
Break time came. As they got their lunch, I moved their things to a table on the other side of the room.
When they came back, they began to shout at me saying that I singled them out because I don’t like Bob and it was never about the noise. One person in the group (we’ll call her Kayla) said sorry for making noise and then went on to ask me to apologise for moving their stuff to a new area. Another person (we’ll call her Sarah) said that she didn’t feel comfortable moving her things. I said to her I didn’t feel comfortable being hit by a pencil case.
Bob then began getting into my space and kept touching my shoulder while stood over me and started saying to me that I had every opportunity to move myself but I didn’t. I may have begrudgingly done but during the Study Period, there were no seats available and while they did come free during break, giving me a chance to move and I am a firm believer that I shouldn’t have to move my work around to convenience the ones causing a disruption.
They then turned to me again and asked why I didn’t do anything about the other group. Like I said before, I had actually informed a member of staff but to be honest, how I deal with other people was not their business so I made up some fake excuse as to why I ‘didn’t’.
I can’t help but feel like I went about this the wrong way? Maybe I did let my past bad experiences with Bob affect my decision making.
AITA?

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2024.05.14 15:34 iron_caleb Looking for input on Health Benefits (New to HDHP and HSA)

Hello! I've recently started a new job, and am in the process of enrolling in Health Benefits.
I will be covering my family (spouse and child), as my spouse does not receive benefits via employer.
As I mentioned in the title, I'm new to HDHP and HSAs in general, and am looking for some input on the below options.

placeholder	Basic	Low	High
Per pay period (2x/mo)	$133.15	$207.85	$318.75
Annual deductible	$12,000 Family	$4,400 Family	$3,200 Family
Responsible for after deductible	0%	30%	20%
Out-of-pocket max	$12,000	$9,500	$6,700

My company does contribute to the HSA, but the amount isn't listed, and is dependent on my participation in a mobile app.
We currently have no debt aside from a mortgage, and I'd like to become more aware of my financials as I will be making significantly more than my previous job.
If there's any additional information I can provide, I'd be happy to.
Edit: table broke

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