Elite 8

This is not as much of an update as it is an apology - in advance!!

We leave for Yosemite for Spring Break tomorrow morning and I do not have a way to update the standings until next FRIDAY!!

You can take a look at player scenarios in the meantime and pretty much know your situation if you are at the top of the standings.

Sorry for this - it has not been a great Hopski by the standard that has been set - what can I say other than #FreeHopski, #GetHopskiLifeBack

Sweet 16 Update II (mail chimp is fixed!)

OK - I think I have mailchimp fixed - sorry for the poor update earlier this week (old GLO request) - things seem to be working aside from #freehopski!

Here is a re-send of Sunday night's (yes - i tried to get a timely update out!) update:

My heart was racing today and it was not the only one as Central Florida seems to have Duke on the ropes and ready for the knockout punch.  Unfortunately, so many little things turned against them in the final minutes and seconds, leaving everyone's "FAVORITE" team still standing..... arghhhhhhh!!!!  Those March Madness Karma-Gods were at it again......in favor of Duke......

WAS IT JUST TOO MUCH TO ASK THAT THIS ONE DROP??!!

I AM STILL UPSET ABOUT THIS ONE, BUT GRANTED, IT WAS A BIT LONGER!

Yes - I STILL want to live in THAT alternative universe where Heyward's shot went in and Butler won the 2010 Championship!!

Alas - we are now left with a Sweet 16 field of favorites - unless you want to call a Duck Cinderella........  that shoe does not really fit to me.........

After a 1st round with many upsets of the 5 - 8 seeds, the Sweet 16 stands as a tribute to the NCAA March Madness Selection Committee with just 2 non-#1 - #4 seeds crashing next weekend's dance, Oregon (#12) and Auburn (#5).  Two of the hotter teams in the tournament after winning their conference tournaments unexpectedly last week - so hard to fault the committee for them as they took out some teams that were not exactly rolling!

Due to this roll of the favorites and karma yet again smiling on Duke - EVERY entry in this year's Hopski STILL has their champion playing heading into the Sweet 16 weekend.  THAT has NEVER happened before....... ON TO THE STANDINGS!!

I WANT THE PODIUM - ALL OF IT!!!

Has this guy cracked the code to Hopski Success??!!  Peter Pell (a Richmond Spider alum and an MD for the CSM Capital Corporation) seems to have those algorithms running sharp this year!!  Zach Norvell Redenbacher and Diakite Runner are running #1 and #2 in the Hopski right now with 48 and 45 underdog points!!!  Peter's 3rd entry, Zionists, is sitting at #10 - giving him a whopping 3 Top Ten entries in the standings!!  This would be a 1st - but given 3 different champions are picked, only 1 will likely remain in this fair air of the top 10 - certainly though Peter will likely be in the running for a Hopski Title the final weekend!!

Not to be overlooked is the picking accuracy to date of 4th place March Sadness (Stan Kwitnieski, ex-Warsaw alum now residing in Virginia and my very own Natasza & Mama Hopski entry of Carpe Karma!!!  Certainly you have all heard of the law of diffusion - what can I say - they have drained me of any Hopski success I feel!!!!  Each of these entries have managed to miss just 6 out of the 48 games that were played the past 4 days - an 88% clip - to lead the field in accuracy!!!

At the other end of the spectrum - the Hopski Toilet Bowl has very quickly turned into a 2 horse race between Hey Man, What's the Deal (Wes Maciejewski of Chicago Suburbs - a long-time Hopski friend from 1992 Warsaw days) and Brackexit (Ricardo Yunis of NYC - a Wharton finance wiz who needs to adjust his Hopski algorithms a bit!!!).  Ricardo is sitting in last with just 36 points (a full 8 back of Wes and with the lowest potential score of the field at 121 points and only 2 underdog points!!).  Wes took a different route to Toilet Bowl contention, picking just 40% of the games correctly.  Wes might be in a far worse position too if I had not talked him out of picking Seton Hall to win it all......just sayin'!!!!  It is at least comforting to know that I will not repeat as Toilet Bowl champion this year!!!

We've raised over $3,000 for Burundi and Great Lakes Outreach so far ..........  there are also 28 entries still not having paid.  Would be great to see all 28 of you self-impose penalties and make the $50 or more donation to GLO to get your Hopski entry paid.  Take heed.......GET THOSE PAYMENTS IN!!  You are anonymous just for a few more days!!!

Now - for those of you feeling left out of contention (this year that is far less than normal) and for those of you that want to win it all maybe...... do not overlook entry this week into the Hopski International Second Chance Dance Pool.  YOUR CHANCE to take all of your 1st weekend March Madness Education and parlay that into a 2nd Chance Dance title worth 5% of our prize pool (about $180!).  You may enter once per entry from the main pool - no cost to do so!!

Go to the pool website and click on 2nd Chance Dance to enter.  You can even come up with a new entry name that will be eligible for "HOPSKI BEST ENTRY NAME"...........ON THAT NOTE - EMAIL ME WITH YOUR VOTES FOR BEST ENTRY NAME THIS YEAR!! (YOU CANNOT VOTE FOR YOUR OWN ENTRY!!)

ADIOS-

THE COMMISH

Sweet 16 is Set!

OK - I think I have mailchimp fixed - sorry for the poor update earlier this week (old GLO request) - things seem to be working aside from #freehopski!

Here is a re-send of Sunday night's (yes - i tried to get a timely update out!) update:

My heart was racing today and it was not the only one as Central Florida seems to have Duke on the ropes and ready for the knockout punch.  Unfortunately, so many little things turned against them in the final minutes and seconds, leaving everyone's "FAVORITE" team still standing..... arghhhhhhh!!!!  Those March Madness Karma-Gods were at it again......in favor of Duke......

WAS IT JUST TOO MUCH TO ASK THAT THIS ONE DROP??!!

I AM STILL UPSET ABOUT THIS ONE, BUT GRANTED, IT WAS A BIT LONGER!

Yes - I STILL want to live in THAT alternative universe where Heyward's shot went in and Butler won the 2010 Championship!!

Alas - we are now left with a Sweet 16 field of favorites - unless you want to call a Duck Cinderella........  that shoe does not really fit to me.........

After a 1st round with many upsets of the 5 - 8 seeds, the Sweet 16 stands as a tribute to the NCAA March Madness Selection Committee with just 2 non-#1 - #4 seeds crashing next weekend's dance, Oregon (#12) and Auburn (#5).  Two of the hotter teams in the tournament after winning their conference tournaments unexpectedly last week - so hard to fault the committee for them as they took out some teams that were not exactly rolling!

Due to this roll of the favorites and karma yet again smiling on Duke - EVERY entry in this year's Hopski STILL has their champion playing heading into the Sweet 16 weekend.  THAT has NEVER happened before....... ON TO THE STANDINGS!!

I WANT THE PODIUM - ALL OF IT!!!

Has this guy cracked the code to Hopski Success??!!  Peter Pell (a Richmond Spider alum and an MD for the CSM Capital Corporation) seems to have those algorithms running sharp this year!!  Zach Norvell Redenbacher and Diakite Runner are running #1 and #2 in the Hopski right now with 48 and 45 underdog points!!!  Peter's 3rd entry, Zionists, is sitting at #10 - giving him a whopping 3 Top Ten entries in the standings!!  This would be a 1st - but given 3 different champions are picked, only 1 will likely remain in this fair air of the top 10 - certainly though Peter will likely be in the running for a Hopski Title the final weekend!!

Not to be overlooked is the picking accuracy to date of 4th place March Sadness (Stan Kwitnieski, ex-Warsaw alum now residing in Virginia and my very own Natasza & Mama Hopski entry of Carpe Karma!!!  Certainly you have all heard of the law of diffusion - what can I say - they have drained me of any Hopski success I feel!!!!  Each of these entries have managed to miss just 6 out of the 48 games that were played the past 4 days - an 88% clip - to lead the field in accuracy!!!

At the other end of the spectrum - the Hopski Toilet Bowl has very quickly turned into a 2 horse race between Hey Man, What's the Deal (Wes Maciejewski of Chicago Suburbs - a long-time Hopski friend from 1992 Warsaw days) and Brackexit (Ricardo Yunis of NYC - a Wharton finance wiz who needs to adjust his Hopski algorithms a bit!!!).  Ricardo is sitting in last with just 36 points (a full 8 back of Wes and with the lowest potential score of the field at 121 points and only 2 underdog points!!).  Wes took a different route to Toilet Bowl contention, picking just 40% of the games correctly.  Wes might be in a far worse position too if I had not talked him out of picking Seton Hall to win it all......just sayin'!!!!  It is at least comforting to know that I will not repeat as Toilet Bowl champion this year!!!

We've raised over $3,000 for Burundi and Great Lakes Outreach so far ..........  there are also 28 entries still not having paid.  Would be great to see all 28 of you self-impose penalties and make the $50 or more donation to GLO to get your Hopski entry paid.  Take heed.......GET THOSE PAYMENTS IN!!  You are anonymous just for a few more days!!!

Now - for those of you feeling left out of contention (this year that is far less than normal) and for those of you that want to win it all maybe...... do not overlook entry this week into the Hopski International Second Chance Dance Pool.  YOUR CHANCE to take all of your 1st weekend March Madness Education and parlay that into a 2nd Chance Dance title worth 5% of our prize pool (about $180!).  You may enter once per entry from the main pool - no cost to do so!!

Go to the pool website and click on 2nd Chance Dance to enter.  You can even come up with a new entry name that will be eligible for "HOPSKI BEST ENTRY NAME"...........ON THAT NOTE - EMAIL ME WITH YOUR VOTES FOR BEST ENTRY NAME THIS YEAR!! (YOU CANNOT VOTE FOR YOUR OWN ENTRY!!)

ADIOS-

THE COMMISH

2019 Hopski Is Up & Running, Day 1 Complete

Ja Morant - yes - the now household name led the Murray State Racers to a Trumpian HUGE victory over Marquette today - delivering a triple double in the box score and a healthy 8 points to the 97 entries picking this upset!!

Next up for the Racers.......the Florida State Seminoles on Saturday!!  Only 20 entries stuck with Murray State to get that upset while 95 have FSU moving to the Sweet 16!

Yes you too can see these types of stats by clicking on the Reports tab and then clicking on Tournament Summary report.  There you can see by round how many entries have picked each team!

Day 1 is in the books and please do not get used to updates :)  It did not take long to blemish the entire Hopski field as the best picking today was 15 for 16 from TEAM MO (Mike Modena - EY NYC Partner and Fairfield U alum - not a lot of March Madness there over the years) and MARCH SADNESS (Stan Kwitnieski, ex-Warsaw expat now chaperoning - aka stalking - his daughters' dates in Washington).  

These are our leaders - but special kudos as well to the WAVERLY STREET GATOR entry (Jacob Kivett - a Gator now living in Palo Alto and working with me at Cognicor!!  Shhh - don't spread the word but we did have a meeting today at a bar with lots of tvs!!) which also went 15 for 16 today!

In closing - get those payments in as there is a new COLLECTIONS SHERIFF in town - Jack Bell (Noble Rot owner and long-time mustard mock turtle neck wearing friend from Budapest days of '90s, wayyyyyyyy to many bruising battles on the court and at Oktoberfest bumper cars).  He WILL NOT be so tolerant as the Commish.  

A HUGE thank you to Jack and on that note - take note of a charity which he devotes a LOT of his time - NOURISH NOW at https://nourishnow.org/  Nourish Now strives to serve diverse populations through our Food For Families and Nonprofit Network programs in Montgomery County, Maryland, providing food assistance for people of all ages and living situations.

GLO Update - Milk for Transformation (pre-Hopski fodder - literally!)

About 27 hours remain to get your 2019 Hopski Pool Picks in:  ENTER YOUR PICKS

More importantly, before the Madness commences, let me give you a quick update to one of my favorite GLO projects - Milk for Transformation!   (this links to a 2:40 video that is worth a watch!)

MFT's concept is simple - switch out negative impact long-horned steers for Tunesian milk cows in order to 1) supply more than enough milk for a family and 2) create a business for the family for the excess milk.  This is simple, effective and a game changer in Burundi.  

Through both (possibly) of my Burundi cycling fundraisers and/or the Hopski - some of your donated funds to GLO have gone to extending MFT's reach and to keep it going through the past few lean years in Burundi.  

Here's an brief update from December on the MFT program:

I trust that this report finds you and your loved ones well. 

I’m writing to update you on the Milk for Transformation project so you can see the very real difference your gift has made. Thank you for partnering with us on this journey. Since you supported us the team has been able to continue this brilliant initiative and also to grow it! Milk for Transformation has now expanded to operate in two areas – Ryarusera and Gihanga. Recently we gave cows to 14 families in Gihanga and the team is beginning to see some of those families reap the benefits. They are now collecting over 100l of milk every day from these families to be processed and sold in town. Those who purchase the milk are really enjoying it and Milk for Transformation has become their preferred milk supplier.

John Irakoze, who now runs Milk for Transformation says “We are teaching farmers to farm using Foundations for Farming principles, formally known as Farming God’s Way. This is a method of farming based on biblical principles which implements conservation agriculture. With this method, farmers can harvest more than 10 times the amount they would harvest from traditional farming.  Farmers can use organic fertilizer from their cows to fertilize their land and grow food to feed their families and even sell to the market to increase their revenue and be lifted out of poverty completely. We would also like to extend Foundations for Farming to other communities, especially Ryarusera and Gihanga, so that our friends can be empowered to grow food to feed their families and share with the rest of Burundi. We are very expectant of new grounds of huge advance this coming year.

HERE IS THE FULL UPDATE FROM Q4 2018 - DETAILED, BUT INFORMATIVE!

BURUNDI BIO AGRICULTURAL COMMUNITY

                                                            B P 2957 BUJUMBURA

                                                            Commune Ntahangwa, Zone Ngagara

                                                            Qr. Industriel, Chaussée d’Uvira, 3

Tel: 68 041 455, 72 364 496

What have been the highlights of the last two months?

We gave cows to 14 families in Gihanga in November 2017, despite the challenging journey, we are beginning to see some of those families reap the benefits. We are now collecting over 100l of milk every day from these families to be processed and sold in town. Our clients are enjoying it and we have become their preferred milk supplier.

We organized to supply feed supplements to the farmers with cows which are currently giving milk, in order to increase the quantity of milk. This was well received and yielded positive results. We now have an excellent relationship with the families as they truly see that we are after their best interest. Our aim is that we would collect more milk and process over 1000l of milk in total per day from our two communities of Ryarusera and Gihanga.

One of the challenges that was crippling us was the lack of freezers to store pasteurized milk, and Hope for Tomorrow Global was able help us out by buying 4 new large freezers. This will increase our capacity to receive more milk from our suppliers and sell more.

We are teaching farmers to farm using Foundations for Farming principles, formally known as Farming God’s Way. This is a method of farming based on biblical principles which implements conservation agriculture. With this method, farmers can harvest more than 10 times the amount they would harvest from traditional farming.  Farmers can use organic fertilizer from their cows to fertilize their land and grow food to feed their families and even sell to the market to increase their revenue and be lifted out of poverty completely.

Challenges

We recently lost a pregnant cow in Gihanga unexpectedly. This was very sad for the family as this cow was also giving milk. Even though the vet was prompt at the earliest sign of it being unwell, there was little he could do as the cow passed way during the night on the same day.

The lack of freezers in September and October meant we did not operate to our capacity. And we had to scale back with quantity of milk from our suppliers in order to avoid losses. Power cuts didn’t help the situation which means we rely on the generator in an area where fuel is so unpredictable.

Stories

In the village of Ryarusera there is a lady called Media, a pygmy from a very poor family. Evariste gave her a job at his house to work for him back in 2007.  She was given a Friesian cow but later got sick and died. In the meantime, she worked there diligently and saved all she could. From her savings she bought young goats which she looked after well. As soon as they were prime for market she sold them and bought a young bull which she raised.

At her home they are poor, she used her money from the bull to build and renovate her father’s house, which brought dignity back into her family. She also bought another young cow which she raised up.

Annick, Evariste’s wife gave her start-up capital to open a boutique selling things like, rice, maize flour, soaps etc. and cow feed supplements which is a necessity there. At the time it was the only boutique for miles. With her hard work and faithfulness, she now has bought piece land where now she is building her own house where she and her two children will live. As her children are in school and have a safe home for them to come to, she is full of joy and hope for a brighter future.

Budendegeri Mathias in Gihanga, who received one of our cows, says “I am retired, but with this cow, I have a reason to wake up every morning in my old age.”

Needs

-        We plan to start 6 new milk distribution centres this coming year progressively in town and other nearby regions. It will cost 2,000,000 Fbu per centre to fully equip it.  This will boost the revenue. 

-        Order a spare set of water heater coil for the batch pasteurizer for emergency use which costs about 750,000 Fbu

-         At the moment, we have a dilemma. At one hand, it looks like a good idea to buy cows locally to avoid more transportation challenges. The risk of changing their habitat subsequently resulted in the death of a few cows because of stress of transportation and changing feeds. But on the other hand, if you buy the cow from the same place where you expect yield of milk, there is no increase of the number of cows: “It is undress saint Paul to Dress saint Paul” So the preference is to continue to import the cows, to increase the number of cows in the region, and let the people trade between themselves when it comes to buying locally. It is one visible impact that people have changed their mindset for the better.

-        The unstable political situation makes it difficult to plan for the long term. If we received funds for building our own premises this would avoid moving the equipment every time a lease ends. This would prevent lots of challenges. We would like to start building our own premises on our land in Gihanga. This would also enable us to expand and use our continuous flow pasteurizer.

-       Budget ( $1 is equivalent to about 2,600 BIF)

-        We would also like to extend Foundations for Farming to other communities, especially Ryarusera and Gihanga, so that our friends can be empowered to grow food to feed their families and share with the rest of Burundi.

Items	Amount (BIF)	Amount (us $)
Six milk distribution points	6,000,000	2,300
Spare parts for batch pasteurizer	800,000	300
15 more cows for Gihanga		8,600
Total		11,200

           

Prayer requests

We have been told that we might need to move out of the current premises next year in July as the owners seem to have a family conflict.  Moving premises again is not simple as it involves moving all the equipment as safely as possible. It also destabilises the day to day operations and results in loss of clients. Please may you pray that any conflicts between owners gets resolved quickly.

We are longing for us to operate in from our own base. We have a piece of land in Gihanga we aim to build our own premises there where we can operate without such hastles, please stand with us in prayer for God to open doors for to build and move there permanently.

We are also in the middle restructuring BBAC and we ask that you would pray for us that God may lead us to make the right decisions and to show us the best way forward. We believe God has promised us transformation of people, hearts and minds in the communities and we want nothing less than to see this vision come into being.

Please also stand with us in prayer as we continue to lift the nation of Burundi before God for the healing of people’s hearts and for the restoration of peace.