Smart Production Systems by Semyon Meerkov This book is intended to offer a solution to this problem by making production systems smart—i.e., capable of self-diagnosis and autonomous design of continuous improvement projects—leading to the desired and rigorously...
Water is filling my ears.
“Useless beast. I should cut . . . tail. Drowning’s too good . . . you . . .”
Egyptians revere cats, but there are exceptions.
A week ago the brute snatched me from the streets, put me in a sack, and brought me on board to protect the load of grain he’s taking down the Nile to Waset.
Cats hunt rats, but there are exceptions.
Which the brute realized this morning. He picked me up by the scruff of my neck and threw me over the side.
If I never see a boat again it will be too soon . . .
I swim toward the river bank. Exhausted, I lie on the shore and let my fur dry in the warmth of the sun. Now that I’m free, I intend to resume roaming from village to village, seeing new things, meeting new cats, tasting new foods. But first I’ll eat the perch I caught during my swim.
I’m licking the smell of fish off my paws and face when I spot a pyramid in the far distance. I’ve heard a lot about them, but I’ve never seen one before.
I can’t take my eyes off it. It seems to be beckoning me.
It’s my destiny to go there!
Tail on high and a heart full of expectation, I begin walking.
Summer, 1277, deep in the rain forest of the Chivit Continent
It wasn’t my best day.
I tore through the curtain of cobwebs like they weren’t even there, then bolted for the doorway. The doors were still open, but the wood I had jammed between them and their doorframe wasn’t going to last long. A pathetic groan echoed through the ante-chamber around me, followed by the staccato sound of wood splintering.
Correction, those wooden braces weren’t going to last another few seconds. I ran faster.
Stone dust was like a fogbank. My clothes and hair were stiff with it and seeing past it felt like a bad joke. Specifically, on me. Gulping down air, I lengthened my stride, sprinting like a madwoman for the only way I knew out.
Then I was through. Past the stone dust, thick cobwebs, and pale-skinned, giggling, scrambling nightmares with too many arms. Little things that were all too eager for me to sit and stay awhile. I threw myself forward into the wall of heat and humidity that was part and parcel of Anestri’for, the ‘Great Jungle’ on Chivit.
Landing on my hands and knees, I drank in the smell of wet grass and foliage. The feel of damp earth was a delight. Best of all? The sound of the stone doors slamming shut on the writhing mass of bodies with too many arms trying to follow me. They weren’t giggling as the doors shut in their face, but snarling.
I hauled my aching body into a sitting position, then placed a dust-covered satchel in front of me. Thunder rolled around in the clouds overhead. I glanced up.
“Hourly thunderstorm. Right on time. At least it’s not a magic storm.”
“Good job, Tela.” I congratulated myself. “Alive, limbs in one piece, and you found it.”
Shaking my head, I reached for the flap on the bag to check the condition of my find. The last thing I needed was to get it back to Ishnanor in a thousand pieces. I didn’t manage to open the bag. A yell to my right gave me better things to think about.
A man dressed in mercenary leathers, and a belted tunic had shoved his way out of the underbrush. Dirty, mud-stained, he leered at me like a prize or fresh caught prey. I shot daggers back at him with a glare. Sad to say, he didn’t seem impressed.
“Here!” he bellowed. “She’s here! Tell Vargas! I’ve found the Windtracer! She’s got the relic!”
“Hells!”
I was on my feet and past a stand of briza-taeda ferns to my right before the mercenary took another step. Shouts filled the Anestri’for jungle air behind me. I ran faster.
Everyday Leadership for People-Pleasing Introverts by Melissa Jenner The Introverted Leader’s Guide to People-Pleasing is a powerful playbook for anyone who leads with empathy but struggles with burnout, overcommitment, and self-doubt. Designed especially for...
Lifestyle Lawyer Revolution: Live a Life You Love (Without Leaving the Law) by Laura Cowan Lifestyle Lawyer Revolution is a call to arms for attorneys ready to redefine success, reclaim their time, and build a thriving practice without sacrificing their lives. Burned...
It’s summer, and I’m stretched out on a windowsill in my bedroom with the sunlight warming the fur on my back. It’s quiet except for the drone of traffic on the Henry Hudson Parkway and the occasional whir of a helicopter flying along the river.
I once shared this bedroom with my friend Gato-Hamen, the High Priest of Amun-Ra. He and I had fled ancient Egypt on his magic boat. It was only supposed to carry us to a foreign land, but it took us through time as well as space here to Elena’s house in twenty-first century New York City.
Elena’s late father had been a renowned Egyptologist, and she immediately recognized us as ancient Egyptians. She was surprised we were speaking English. We explained that the prayer which had launched the magic boat also gave us the power to speak the language wherever we arrived.
She was also surprised that I, a cat, could talk and walk like a man. That would be explained later. Overjoyed at the prospect of excitement in her life, she invited us to stay with her.
Now the High Priest shares her bedroom, and I share this one with their child, who’s the reincarnation of the Pharaoh I loved thousands of years ago. He’s on the floor, playing contentedly with his building blocks. It’s hard to believe he’s already a year old.
Elena is reading and keeping an eye on him. “Wrappa-Hamen, are you recharging?” she asks, as she always does when she sees me basking in the sun. “You lazy old cat!”
“Lazy, yes. Old, not yet,” I reply, too drowsy to say more.
When I first met the Pharaoh, he was sixteen, and I was a stray tomcat. I’d wandered into in a looted tomb and was kicked by the Vizier, his uncle. I spat a cat amulet at him, hitting him on the forehead. He accused me of trying to kill him. The High Priest arrived and tried to reason with him.
Then it happened. I suddenly had human powers! I stood upright, walked over to the Vizier, and debated with him. The Pharaoh entered the tomb to hear me wise-cracking and laughed for the first time since his parents’ death. He took me to live with him at court, and we became inseparable.
A year later the Vizier poisoned him and accused me of the murder. He was going to put me to death when the High Priest rescued me. We fled Egypt on the magic boat and ended up in Elena’s living room . . .
About Featured Book: Sexting the Boss by Liz Archer It started with one drunk sext… And ended with my boss’s baby in my belly. I should’ve never sexted him. It was an accident. A mistake. I thought I was sexting a random number. But by the time I realized it was him…...
MY FATAL FIRST DATE by Christopher Smith Fatal First Date is the harrowing yet inspiring true story of Chris Smith, a rural Illinois contractor who was shot in the head on a first date gone tragically wrong. His date was murdered by her stalking ex-boyfriend—Chris...
The cosmic threads, or perhaps a touch of serendipity, wove a
tale that ensured the very first feline I stumbled upon online bore
an uncanny resemblance to the cat of my dreams: a tabby, known
as the European Cat or Soriano in Italian. Her entrancing stares
locked onto mine through the screen, casting an almost hypnotic
spell. In the sole online snapshot, she perched atop a shelf, striking
a pose that would be her signature style.
Ever since the inexplicable vanishing of Sisi, that untamed
marvel of a cat in South Africa, I had yearned for a kindred creature
like her. In this new feline–also female–I glimpsed a rekindling of
my wild Sisi’s soul.
“If you don’t define yourself, someone else will. One of the best and most important ways to manage or resolve conflicts within is by firt knowing who you are, where you stand, and to whom you belong. I call this self-identification… Ask yourself, What wreckage in my life must be cleared? Is it the bitterness of my divorce or the death of my soulmate? Is my debris covered with wrong decisions that led to unintended outcomes? Could my refusal to forgive have done more damage to me than to the person I resent and refuse to set free? Am I still holding on to past betrayals that hinder my ability to express and receive love? In every new relationship, do I bring with me unhealthy emotional baggage and wounds from my past? If your wreckage continues to define you, your desire to create and maintain a healthy atmosphere for productive change will be hindered, producing more unanswered questions. Questions like: Why can’t I reorganize my life and move beyond the devastation of my divorce? Why can’t I shift power struggles to cooperative problem-solving? If your questions are not understood, confronted, properly managed, or resolved, your past will continue to dictate your present and fill your future with many more questions and uncertainties. Instead of managing or mastering conflict, the conflict will manage or master you.”
After a thirty-two year career as an independent financial adviser and Certified Financial Planner™, Craig sold his practice and focuses his business interest, experiences, and efforts toward alerting savers of the large tax obligations that are built into their retirement accounts.
This has birthed two Amazon #1 Best Selling books, Paying the Piper, and Roth Conversion Secrets. The tax issues are very real and a very large concern for many savers.
Rothology™ combines the art and science of financial planning to transition American families toward the goal of a tax-free future without buying financial products or changing advisors.
On a personal note, Craig and his wife travel and live full-time in their motorcoach to experience the great places and people across America.
About Featured Book: Surprise Baby for the Don by Ivy Lux I made one mistake: I fell for a man who could destroy me. Let’s get one thing straight—I don’t belong in the world of mob bosses. I’m the girl who follows the rules, clocks in on time, and spends her nights...
About Featured Book: Locust Hill: A Romantic Family Saga by Carl Parsons City girl falls in love with country boy in the family saga LOCUST HILL. Published serially by Spillwords Press, LOCUST HILL details the struggles of an independent, small acreage farm family in...
Deann Hampton was a full-time mother to twins, a part-time accounting specialist, and a vocalist in her dad’s band in her previous life. She has been married to “Travis” for 36 years, and they are now grandparents to a very special young man, the family’s pride and joy. After some harrowing experiences with various systems while dealing with almost half a century of “mystery illnesses,” Deann’s dream is to help create new paradigms to replace the old, outmoded ones that have never truly served the autism communities. She hopes to change the way people think about Autism Spectrum Disorder, as well as the root causes and triggers associated with it.
About Featured Book: Boss Daddy by K.C. Crowne I may be rich but none of that fu@king matters if I'm dead inside. Losing my wife broke me. Left a crater in my chest impossible to fill. Until her. Erin walked into my club like a goddamn storm. Sharp. Untouchable. The...
Kori McClurg hails from Colorado, where she lives with her fun-loving, supportive, and successful husband, Barry Sherman, and her furry kids, Maddie, Sabrina, and Nate. She is a pilot, avid runner, hiker, and generally up for anything outside. She has a BS in Math and an MBA. She is a veteran of the United States Air Force. Throughout her professional life, she has had successful careers as a flight test engineer, software development project manager, real estate developer, investment manager, and entrepreneur. She has certificates in personal training, plant-based nutrition, and Affective Liminal Phycology.
I am a visual artist spanning five decades. Influenced by travel to Iceland, Hawaii and life experiences; Malama Island is my first written endeavor creating a story born out of fantastical images of reality, both experienced and imagined.
My pieces are influenced by my education in both art and zoology and have evolved from my early days of creating illustrations and assigned pieces promoting licensed movie models, posters for the home market and working as a professional artist for Sea World to creating pieces that represent me and my connection with the natural world.
I’ve lived in California, Illinois, Oregon and Arkansas.
About Featured Book: Master Adulting by Paul Neumann Master Adulting is your roadmap to becoming the functional, fulfilled adult you aspire to be. Whether you’re struggling with the challenges of adulthood, eager to grow into a more capable and confident version of...
About Featured Book: Transforming Tiny Traumas by PJ Victor Discover the Profound Impact of Tiny Moments In a world where giant traumas often overshadow the subtle, profound experiences that shape us, Ripple Effects: Transforming Tiny Traumas invites you on a journey...
Dr. Abraham Ariyo is an Interventional Cardiologist and Director of HeartMasters Cardiology. He trained at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Harvard University, and the University of California. He specializes in coronary, renal, carotid, and endovascular interventions, as well as pacemaker and defibrillator implants. He has contributed to cardiovascular research, including a landmark study on Lipoprotein in The New England Journal of Medicine.