Podcasts about assuming

Members of congress make $174,000 a year. That's pretty good, right? Wait until you hear how much their stipend is for trips to the Capitol. It'll drive you to bring your state into the top 10 territories in the world for alcohol consumption. Assuming it isn't there already. Which it probably is.Topics:Jesse Jackson diesRobert Duvall diesAlcohol consumption per capitaJames Van Der Beek GoFundMe controversyCongressional salary/stipendSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

“As Samuel grew up, the Lord was with him, and everything Samuel said proved to be reliable.” (1 Samuel 3:19 NLT) First Samuel 3:19 contains two extraordinary accolades regarding the prophet Samuel: “The Lord was with him” and “Everything Samuel said proved to be reliable” (nlt). But those accolades raise some important questions: Why Samuel? Why did the Lord choose to be with him? Why did the Lord make sure that everything he said proved to be reliable? The Bible doesn’t answer those questions directly, but it does offer some clues. Earlier in the chapter, we learn that, as a boy, Samuel served the Lord by assisting the priest Eli in the tabernacle. One night, while Samuel was sleeping, he heard someone call his name. Assuming that it was Eli, Samuel rushed to the priest to see how he could be of service. But it wasn’t Eli who had called him. Three times Samuel heard the voice. And three times he rushed to Eli. The fourth time Samuel heard his name called, he simply and humbly said, “Speak, your servant is listening” (1 Samuel 3:10 NLT). Why did God use Samuel in such a powerful way? Probably because he was available—not just during business hours, but in the middle of the night, out of a dead slumber. He was eager to serve every time his name was called. Believers today can learn a lot from Samuel. We should always be available to be used by God. Our prayer should be, “Lord, You can use me anytime, anywhere, for any purpose—whether it’s my day off or not. I may be out surfing or on the golf course or out snowboarding, but I want You to call on me. I am always available to represent You. Please call on me.” Every Christian must be available and ready to echo the words of Samuel: “Speak, your servant is listening.” God is not looking for ability as much as He is looking for availability. You may think, “God only uses the really talented people. He will never use me. There’s not much I can offer Him.” But God is looking for someone simply to be available and to let Him be strong on their behalf. God isn’t looking for strong people. He is looking for weak people through whom He can be strong. That means every person is qualified to be used by God. That means God can use you. There is no telling how God will use you. But there are ways to make yourself available to Him. One is by putting yourself in the right place at the right time as much as possible. You can’t share your faith with others if you don’t interact or spend time with them. Another way to make yourself available to Him is to stay alert to the opportunities He sends your way. Are you available to be used by God? If not, why don’t you let the Lord know that you would like Him to call upon you? If Samuel’s story teaches us anything, it’s that God may call upon you before the night is over. Reflection question: How can you prepare yourself for when God’s plan puts you in the right place at the right time? Discuss Today's Devo in Harvest Discipleship! — The audio production of the podcast "Greg Laurie: Daily Devotions" utilizes Generative AI technology. This allows us to deliver consistent, high-quality content while preserving Harvest's mission to "know God and make Him known." All devotional content is written and owned by Pastor Greg Laurie. Listen to the Greg Laurie Podcast Become a Harvest PartnerSupport the show: https://harvest.org/supportSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Assume Bugs Abstract Enrico and Fred discuss the idea that no design or development project is perfect. Key Points Join Enrico and Fred as they discuss the need to have an approach and a positive mindset to identify and resolve defects and bugs. Topics include: Assuming the design is perfect is foolish Encourage a positive […]

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NO TAX ON TIPS IS NOT FREE MONEY FROM BALTIMORE WASHINGTON FINANCIAL ADVISORS Lawrence M. Post CPA, MST, CFP®, CIMA® Senior Tax & Planning Advisor Tessa Hall Media and Communications Specialist About This Episode Tessa speaks with Senior Tax & Planning Advisor, Larry Post, about recent headlines around “no tax on tips,” what the proposal actually means, and why many workers should be cautious about assumptions. To learn more about how we help clients navigate changing tax rules, visit BWFA's Tax Planning Services page. Read Full Description Recent headlines about eliminating taxes on tips have sparked confusion and strong reactions across the service industry. While the idea sounds simple, the reality is more complicated. Understanding what is being proposed, what already exists in the tax code, and what could realistically change is critical before drawing conclusions. In this episode of Healthy, Wealthy & Wise, Tessa speaks with a BWFA tax professional to break down what “no tax on tips” really means and how it could affect workers, employers, and overall tax planning. The conversation clarifies how tipped income is currently taxed, why reporting requirements exist, and where misinformation often spreads. The discussion also explores the potential unintended consequences of changing how tips are taxed. While eliminating taxes on tips may sound like a benefit, it could impact eligibility for benefits, retirement contributions, and long-term earnings records. These downstream effects are often overlooked in public conversations but can matter significantly over time. Listeners will also hear why tax proposals do not always become law as originally described. Legislative changes often involve limits, income thresholds, or partial implementation. Assuming a headline will translate directly into take-home pay can lead to planning mistakes. Throughout the episode, the focus remains on practical understanding rather than speculation. The goal is not to predict political outcomes, but to help listeners understand the current rules and why thoughtful tax planning still matters, even when changes are being discussed. Ultimately, this episode reinforces the importance of separating headlines from reality. Staying informed and working with a trusted advisor can help ensure financial decisions are based on facts, not assumptions.

#RingRust with my musicular #tnaNoSurrender, #aewGrandSlam & #ovwToughLove pre-per-views! #TagMeIn  ~ ~ ~ I'd like to hear from you! Please drop me a line @ ring-rust@hotmail.com {Subject Line: Ring Rust} & let me know what you like {or dislike} about my show! I'm always on the lookout for constructive criticism {if you want playlists again, start giving me feedback, people!}  ~ ~ ~ Check out my #Unboxing videos, all that snazzy anti-social media & support all my shows http://markjabroni.mysite.com/ ~ ~ ~ RECORDED LIVE @ the Holy Smackdown Hotel in Sunny St. John's NL!  & BROADCAST @ CHMR FM in sunny St. John's NL! Learn more @ https://www.chmr.ca/ If you want to contribute to Betty Cisneros' Stage 4 Cancer treatment, please donate @ https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-betty-battle-her-cancer-away & if you wanted to contribute to the surgeries of wrestling veteran Lufisto, you can check out her store @ http://www.lufisto.com/store-1/ SHOW NOTES... 0:06:13 Pre-Per-View: Total Nonstop Action Wrestling's No Surrender 1 0:07:34 Musicular Interlude 1 0:16:53 Pre-Per-View: Total Nonstop Action Wrestling's No Surrender 2 0:17:30 Musicular Interlude 2 0:25:49 Pre-Per-View: All Elite Wrestling's Grand Slam Australia 1 0:26:57 Musicular Interlude 3 0:39:21 Pre-Per-View: All Elite Wrestling's Grand Slam Australia 2 0:40:06 Musicular Interlude 4 0:51:24 Pre-Per-View: Ohio Valley Wrestling's Tough Love 1 0:52:22 Musicular Interlude 5 1:01:58 Assuming the Intermissionary Position -= EXPLICIT =- 1:03:18 This Week's Macho Fact 1:13:52 Wrestler Birthdays...  1:15:12 Musicular Interlude 6 1:26:05 This Week's 3-Way Dance-Off: Pau; Heyman's Astute Business Savvy! 1:40:39 Pre-Per-View: Ohio Valley Wrestling's Tough Love 2 1:41:20 Musicular Interlude 7 1:48:38 Battle Royale With Cheese: Cousin Wheeler! 1:50:20 Musicular Interlude 8

"My son's making so much cash in the t-shirt game that I don't have to work another day in my life! ...Assuming my health does not deteriorate as I age." - Homer Simpson When Bart's final baby tooth falls, he puts away his childish things and enters the burgeoning adult world of chestwear entrepreneurship. But when he's ripped off by an unscrupulous kook, Homer once again assumes his man of the house role by resolving things with the threat of nuclear annihilation. Our guest: Chris James from Guys: A Podcast About Guys and Not Even a Show Support this podcast and get over 200 ad-free bonus episodes by visiting Patreon.com/TalkingSimpsons and becoming a patron! And please follow the official Twitter, @TalkSimpsonsPod, not to mention Bluesky and Instagram!

Pete and Roger answer six listener questions covering Coast FIRE strategies with GIAs, US 401(k) tax implications in the UK, record keeping for IHT-exempt gifts, Australian pension taxation for UK residents, pension contributions to avoid the £100k tax trap, and managing a £2M portfolio as Power of Attorney. Shownotes: https://meaningfulmoney.tv/QA39    01:17  Question 1 Hi Pete and Roger, I'm 29 and working towards Coast FIRE within the next 2–3 years so I can begin a digital nomad lifestyle — working remotely while knowing my long-term retirement is taken care of. Right now, I've got: - £45k in a Stocks & Shares ISA - £25k in a workplace pension (via salary sacrifice) - A Lifetime ISA for a future house deposit (or later retirement) - A fully funded emergency fund I've already maxed out my ISA for this tax year and plan to continue doing that every year. But I have more money to invest now, and I know that to reach Coast FIRE on my timeline, I need to start using a General Investment Account (GIA). Here's where I'm stuck: I want to keep things simple and tax-efficient, but I feel a bit nervous about GIAs. I keep hearing about the "bed and ISA" strategy but don't really understand how it works in practice or how to implement it over time. Could you explain: - How best to use a GIA alongside an ISA when working towards FIRE? - How to manage capital gains and dividend tax efficiently? - And how the bed and ISA approach actually works — especially for someone trying to keep things simple? Thank you both so much — your podcast has been an incredible resource and a big part of why I've been able to take control of my finances. Warmly, Pauline 12:22  Question 2 Hello Pete & Roger I am very late convert to the podcast but have been ploughing through the Q&A for a few days now. I think I only have another 592 episodes to get through so should be up to date by the end of the week !! I am not sure whether this has been covered or not. I have a 401K plan that has been hibernating in the USA for 20 years. I have only recently started looking at it and now need to understand the tax implications. I have tried to read HMRC guidelines on tax treaties etc but get even more confused than before. My current belief is that the provider will pay this money out by means of US issued cheque (not a problem) but withhold 30% tax (a problem). How will HMRC treat this? The usual sources http://unbiased.co.uk for one run for the hills on finding information about this, is this an area you can provide guidance, but obviously not advice as I know you cannot through the podcast. Regards, Stephen 16:10  Question 3 Hi Pete & Roger, Like so many people I am really impressed, not just with your knowledge and great communication skills, but that you put out such life changing content. You're providing us with the means to help ourselves in this financial world as well as letting us know when to seek professional help. On to my question: we're (wife and I) retired (late-60s) and are lucky enough to have more than enough to comfortably live on, thanks to DB & state pensions, house price inflation etc. Not really through any financial planning but just having been born at the right time! So we do now have an IHT liability. We have a joint second death Whole Of Life policy (in trust) in place for potential IHT and have given help with house deposits for our children. We also are gifting to the kids out of our excess income and would like your thoughts on the type of record keeping needed for this. We have letters stating the intention to give the gifts, recording who to etc. We keep completed IHT403 forms which we update annually. We also have a monthly/annual spreadsheet of income/expenses which demonstrates our surplus and keep track of expenses with the MeMo transaction tracker (thanks for that). These are all in our 'WID' file (again thanks to you for that). What we're not sure about is any documentation that might be needed to evidence the figures. Income is straightforward with P60s, statements of interest/dividends. However, what is required for expenses? Can't really keep all supermarket receipts etc and even bank/credit card statements would be quite bulky over several years. Not sure if we're overthinking but don't want to leave a difficult task for our kids when we're gone. Thank you both again for all the good you are doing Simon 20:33 Question 4 Brian (in Australia) Thank you for all your podcasts and videos but I think I may have to sign up to the academy to fully get my head around all the UK rules. We are looking to move to the UK from Australia - we have no UK govt pension entitlements but are retired with personal Australian private superannuation account pensions. The pension income payments and withdrawals are all tax free in Australia but will the UK government apply a tax on these pension payments once we are UK residents?   Thanks again for all your useful information. Regards, Brian 22:55  Question 5 Hi Roger (and Pete), I had a question which is boiling my brain far more than it should and I was hoping you could include it in one of your Q&A episodes. I'm in the fortunate position of being caught by the £100k 'tax trap' due to being paid a bonus for the first time in a number of years. This particular first-world problem is being made all the worse because my daughter will start nursery next year so in addition to the 60% tax charge on my bonus, we would also lose the 30 free hours of childcare we currently have access to. I currently salary sacrifice roughly £5,000 of salary into my pension (which my employer matches) and this holds my income at £99,000. However there is no option for me to do any kind of 'bonus sacrifice'. My only choice is to receive the bonus payment net of tax & NI through PAYE and then make a payment into my personal pension (a Vanguard, low cost multi-asset fund, just like you taught us!). I think I'm right in saying my pension provider will claim back the basic rate tax automatically for me, and I can then claim back the other 20% via my tax return with HMRC paying this extra 20% back to me directly. So far so easy, but what I can't work out is just how much I have to pay in to my pension in order to take all of the bonus payment out of my taxable income. Presumably its not the net amount extra that gets paid into my bank account on the month my bonus is paid because this will also be net of NI, meaning I wouldn't have paid enough in to avoid the £100k trap. Assuming my bonus payment was £10,000 (I don't know the exact figure yet but its likely to be around this amount), could you talk through how to calculate the net payment I need to make into a personal pension to achieve the desired result? As a follow up to this, if HMRC send me a cheque (very 1990's) for say £2000 of refunded higher rate tax, do I need to pay this into my pension in the next tax year to avoid having it counted towards my taxable income in that financial year? Please keep up the great work that you both do, you've really helped me get my financial life in order after an extremely difficult period in my life. Thank you both! Jimmy 27:29  Question 6 Hi Pete and Rog, Firstly, a huge thank you for all the insight and support you continue to offer. The impact of the Meaningful Money Podcast is immense—I've personally benefited so much from your free content over the years. I'll keep this as brief as I can: My great aunt (now 84) has built a substantial portfolio over decades—about £2 million across ~60 individual company shares, with approx. £1.3 million in a GIA and the rest in S&S ISAs. She also holds £400k in fixed-term bonds, savings accounts, and premium bonds. Sadly, she was diagnosed last year with dementia and Alzheimer's and now resides in a care home. I am her Power of Attorney and want to act in her best interests—simplifying her affairs and ensuring tax efficiency, especially regarding her legacy. She has no spouse or children but wishes to leave money to nieces, nephews, and charities. Here's my working plan: - Offset gains in the GIA by selling loss-making investments (totalling £30k–£40k) alongside some of the profit making investments to reduce market exposure without incurring CGT costs.     - Liquidate all shares in her S&S ISAs and transfer funds into cash ISAs with decent interest rates - Leave most of the GIA portfolio untouched to benefit from the CGT uplift on death Am I broadly on the right track for tax efficiency and sensible financial planning? Should I seek formal advice to ensure I'm doing the best by her? Thanks again for all you do—it really matters. Best regards, Josh  

Watching Sunday’s NFL title game has become one of my least favorite major sports events of the year. You must credit the NFL for making fans wait for two full weeks for the season finale to be played.  This brilliant marketing move allows word-of-mouth to spread to the once-per-year viewers who just show-up to watch the commercials and enjoy a party. Those of us season-long football fans are ready to get this final game of the year over with.  The pro football season continues to be stretched out longer and longer.  Rest assured that football season will eventually shrink if demand falls. The Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots had exceptional regular seasons with identical 14-3 records.  Unfortunately for Patriots fans, their favorite team’s offense was as cold as the weather back east in Boston last weekend. Seattle toyed with New England throughout the first half like a kitten batting around a ball of yarn.  A 3-0 first quarter Seattle lead became an equally boring 9-0 halftime advantage for the Seahawks. Sunday’s third quarter likely put many to sleep.  Seattle’s kicker Jason Myers added his fourth field goal of the game. Wowee!   It was 12-0 heading into the final 15 minutes of the NFL season. At least New England punter Bryce Barringer had the chance to say “Hi, Mom!” as he punted an incredible eight times in the first three quarters.  This game was played in perfect weather conditions in Santa Clara, California. Yawn. Some of us tinfoil hat conspiracy theorists put forth that the NFL has exposed a rather interesting “fourth quarter” trend.  Nearly every playoff game played this season had an explosion of points coming in the fourth quarter of play. Why has that been happening? Sunday’s season finale was no exception. This game’s final quarter produced (gasp!) 30 points between these two sleepy combatants.  Seattle was never in jeopardy of losing the lead during the final quarter.  The Seahawks completed a touchdown pass to open-up a 19-0 lead on the hapless Patriots. New England’s passing game finally awakened long enough to produce two late touchdowns after this game was effectively over.  Final score:  Seattle 29, New England 13 Seattle’s “Dark Side Defense” deserved the MVP The Seahawks’ defense appeared to know New England’s offensive playbook as well as the Patriots did.  Blitz after blitz sacked New England’s 23-year old second year quarterback Drake Maye.  He was taken down six times, hurried on nearly every throw, had two interceptions, and lost a critical fumble. Seattle’s defense literally threw the kitchen sink at Drake Maye on Sunday.  They suffocated New England’s running game, too.  The team’s quarterback ran for his life for 37 yards to lead all New England rushers Sunday evening. Seahawks’ running back Kenneth Walker III had a tremendous game with 135 yards on the ground. His backfield dance moves should earn him an invitation to the next season of “Dancing with the Stars”. Walker’s running ability provided some of the only excitement during the first three quarters of this rather boring football game.  Walker received the game’s MVP award.  It’s a shame that the Seattle defense couldn’t receive this award as a group. New England Patriots – Were they simply lucky to have made it this far? Many are pointing out that New England’s 2025 regular season schedule was loaded with weaker teams.  The Patriots played 12 of their 17 regular season games against teams which would post a losing record in 2025. New England finished with a stellar 14-3 record after going 4-13 just a year ago.  The Patriots’ excellent defense carried this team into the NFL title game.  New England allowed just three points (at home vs. the Chargers), 16 points (home vs. the Texans) and only seven at Denver in three playoff games leading up to Sunday’s NFL title game. This year’s group of AFC playoff teams were, being generous, offensively-challenged.  Top-seeded Denver’s defense carried the Broncos all season long.  The Houston Texans had a terrific year – on defense.  Jacksonville’s surprising season was also led by a better-than-expected defense. It didn’t matter which team emerged from the AFC to face Seattle on Sunday.  The Seahawks had a defense capable of clobbering any AFC contender this year and just enough offense to win. That was Seattle’s simple recipe for victory all season long. Is Seattle a dynasty in the making or was this just one great season? Don’t forget that the Los Angeles Rams gave the Seattle Seahawks a run for the NFC West title all year long.  The banged-up San Francisco 49ers also gave the Seahawks and the Rams a run for the money.  All three NFC West competitors made it into the second round of the playoffs. Seattle finished 14-3 in the regular season.  They played just eight teams with losing records this year. The Seahawks’ defense was already considered top notch.  The offense, though, surprised many with an improved performance in 2025. Seattle scored less than 20 points in only three of 20 total games this season. The Seahawks’ eighth-ranked offense developed into a perfect complement to the NFL’s top-rated defense. A number of Seahawks players will want more money to stick around for next season. Assuming they will lose a few to players to free agency, the nucleus of this team is still young and talented. Coach Mike Macdonald’s magic with this team is much like college football’s Indiana Hoosiers under coach Curt Cignetti.  Macdonald’s Seattle Seahawks always seemed better prepared for games than their opponents. Yes, Seattle should be a force in the NFL again next season – assuming that they remain relatively injury free. Sunday’s commercials didn’t move my meter.  How about you? The commercials for Sunday’s game ran $8 million per 30-second ad.  I challenge you to point to one specific commercial which will move you to purchase that company’s product this week. A national newspaper just published its annual ranking of these expensive ads. The beer commercial featuring a horse saving a baby bird (which turned out to be an American eagle) flew into the top spot.  Will it sell any more beer this week or simply convince 100 million people that this particular beer maker is more patriotic than its competitors? A potato chip maker’s tearjerker ad showing an aging farmer handing over the keys of his farm equipment to his daughter captured second place.  It was a very nice spot, but I doubt millions will drop an extra bag of the company’s $5 potato chips into their grocery cart this week. The bronze medal winner featured an iconic polar bear (long representing the top cola maker) coming to grips that his major competitor’s new sugar-free cola actually tastes better.  Will millions now check-out the taste of the polar bear’s new favorite soft drink?  Doubtful. I wanted to like the Neil Diamond imitator singing a knock-off of “Sweet Caroline” as he sprayed mayo onto sandwiches inside of a cafe.  The commercial’s ending was just a bit weird. My “creepy-but-effective” commercials award went to an AI developer.  Their commercials all began with a person asking AI for advice.  A computer generated character then provided a cringy answer and suddenly morphed into an unexpected product sales pitch.  Effective, but who’s buying their product? My thoughts on the 30-minute halftime show?  I haven’t watched it in decades Did you know that the NFL’s “big game” primarily featured college marching bands beginning in 1967 for ten years until mid-1970’s?  A wholesome singing group known as “Up with People” was featured five times over the next ten years as the primary halftime entertainment. Even us younger viewers (at the time) cringed. The year 1991 brought “New Kids on the Block” as the first pop-oriented group performing at halftime.  Michael Jackson’s 1993 appearance officially solidified the change to one primary performer for future halftime shows.  Major popular artists like Diana Ross, Aerosmith, Paul McCartney, and the Rolling Stones would appear over the next ten years. The last 20 years has produced younger artists to help attract that demographic to the annual football extravaganza. This year’s halftime show featured a polarizing performer who became the first to sing a halftime show entirely in Spanish.  Many liked the show.  Some didn’t and changed the channel. I didn’t watch the halftime show (as usual) in order to grab a snack and check my email. Happy trails to you, football! Adios to college and pro football for another season.  The Indiana Hoosiers and Seattle Seahawks were deserving champions this year. Though some of us will be tempted to watch a game or two of spring football in a few months, America’s most popular sport needs to hibernate until next fall. Less truly is best. The post Super Bore 60 appeared first on SwampSwamiSports.com.

Your process for goal achievement is key. Because you’re doing a lot behind the scenes before anyone even knows that you’re alive. So we’re essentially moving from being invisible and working hard behind the scenes — to ideally, at some point, bursting on the scene and being recognized as a force in your marketplace. But none of that happens by accident and it doesn’t just come from setting goals. It requires having those processes in place. David: Hi, and welcome to the podcast. In today’s episode, co host Jay McFarland and I will be discussing your process for goal achievement. Welcome back, Jay. Jay: Hey, David. Thank you. It’s always a pleasure to be with you. I’m going to be brutally honest here. I’m really good at setting goals. But I’m not very good at mapping out how I’m going to accomplish those goals. I think it’s good that I’ve taken that first step. And I kind of have a mental idea, but I never really go back and say, “yeah, I accomplished that thing.” So I think I’m missing some of the motivation to set more goals. That’s one of the key things about goals. Once you’ve checked ’em off, you should feel good about yourself and then do more goals. And I don’t know if I ever reached that point. David: Interesting. And I think a lot of people feel the same way. I know I’ve certainly had that situation over the years and still do to some extent. We talked about goals several weeks ago. I really wanted to get to the idea that it’s great to have the goal. But it’s like looking at the top of a ladder and saying, okay, that’s where I want to go. Or it’s like looking at the sky, that’s where I want to go. But ultimately, the goal isn’t what’s going to get you there. The goal may motivate you, but the goal is not going to get you there. Ultimately, it’s the process that’s going to get you there. Assuming you have a process. So if the goal is to generate a certain amount of revenue in your business, or have a certain amount of money in your personal bank account, or start a business, whatever your goal is, the next step is to say, okay, what are the specific steps? What are the combinations of tasks and projects that are going to be necessary to help me achieve that goal? Because the tasks, the individual things I have to do, and the projects, essentially the things that are composed of a bunch of tasks, are what’s going to get us there. And the combination of these things is essentially the process. If my goal is to generate a certain amount of sales revenue, and I’m not there yet. I generally want to start with a process that says, Okay, let’s take a look at exactly how much your existing clients are worth to you. What did they spend with you last year? And then, do I think they’ll spend more, less, or about the same this year? And generally, you’ll have a reasonable idea of that. Whether it’s going to be about the same, maybe a little more, maybe a little less. You won’t know for sure, but it’s a great place to start. Then you say, “Okay, if I can count on my existing customers for this level of revenue, and I want to get to that level, how do I fill that gap? Because if this is the goal and this is where I am now, then we have to look at the process that will get us there. What’s the combination of tasks and projects that will allow us to reach that revenue goal? When we focus on that, everything we do during any given day now leads toward the goal. As opposed to just having scattered focus, just doing a bunch of different things. Just thinking about our goal, but not exactly sure how we’ll get there. But when you start to think of it in terms of tasks, projects, and ultimately your process, that’s what’s really going to make the biggest difference. Jay: Yeah, I think if you don’t do that, it can be really demotivating, right? I think I’ve told you in the past, when I was in the restaurant business just starting out, I would have an area manager come into the store and we would set goals, and the first one is always what you’re talking about. How are you going to increase sales? And he would just increase our sales on the goal by ten percent, right from the previous year and never tell me what I can do to, you know, I’m new, “okay, how am I going to do that? What are the steps?” And it was just this arbitrary number that he came up with and never trained me or told me how I could accomplish those things. So then the follow up is like, “oh, you didn’t achieve your goal.” And I’m like, “well, you never told me how to achieve my goal,” right? David: Yeah, the what is very often easy, it’s in the how that we get into all the details. And that’s what’s missing with a lot of people .And that’s why when we work with our clients in our Total Market Domination course, majority of it is the how, the specific steps that need to be taken in order to get to the desired goal. And when I say how, it doesn’t mean that you have to do it, either. It means somebody has to do it, right? So you can get into this idea of who versus how, which is a great book, by the way. Dan Sullivan and Dr. Ben Hardy wrote a book called Who Not How. Excellent book. But that concept still requires somebody to know how to do the things. So either you’re going to find somebody who has that skill and you’re going to get them to take those actions, or you’re going to have to know what to do, either do it yourself or train someone else to do it so that those things can be done. And then when you start focusing on that sort of approach, that becomes your process. You say, “okay, when I take this action, then I am likely to get this result.” And then you look at those results and you gauge it based on what you’re expecting. And then you tweak and adapt it as you go. But ultimately it’s all about the process and whether the process is figuring out what to do or knowing what to do and then taking the action to do it, or whether the process is identifying the right people that you need to bring into your organization to help you with it, it ultimately all boils right back down to the process. Jay: Yeah, I think it’s so important to say it’s not all on you, right? Identify those things that you need to do and put the other things on other people’s shoulders so that you can focus. I also love how you pointed out that as you’re assessing your goals, if you’re not getting there, you need to tweak and change. I think sometimes we just say, Oh, that was it. Didn’t work. So I guess that that goal wasn’t right and so again, you’ve demotivated yourself instead of kind of reworking that goal. David: Yeah, and so often we don’t even realize how close we are to something until it actually happens. And it reminds me of that analogy about how an airplane is off course for 90 percent of the flight. And so the pilot’s job is to make constant little tweaks to get you back on track toward wherever it is that you’re going. So you take off, you’re headed in a direction, and then there’s a little bit of wind and it sends you one way and then they have to compensate for it. So most of the little steering we do, even when we’re driving a car, your hands are moving slightly back and forth. And the reason it’s doing that is because you’re slightly off course most of the time. When you use an analogy like that, and when you recognize that it’s exactly the same in life, it’s exactly the same in business, you’re going to be off course, most of the time. And so you have to just keep adapting and keep making these tweaks to make sure that you’re back on track and following the path that you’ve set, which, of course, in what we’re talking about today is your process, the tasks, the specific things that have to be done, the projects, the longer term things that require multiple actions and the ultimate process that you’re using to get there. Jay: Yeah, absolutely. And I also think when you talk about, you know, find the who, I think that one of the biggest mistakes that I see people make is they don’t, and I really struggle with this, they don’t share their process with other people. They don’t seek mentorship. And so they’re reinventing the wheel. You know, a lot of these things have been tried and tested and you can skip a lot of pain and a lot of hassle if your who includes somebody else, just another ear call you, right? You know, bend people’s ear and see what they think. And like I said, I really struggle with this. I do everything quietly. And if it doesn’t work, then I’ll go, okay, I should do something else. Cause I don’t want somebody else to know that I failed. David: And of course you haven’t failed until you’ve decided that you failed until you give up on it, right? Because a lot of times we can be trying the same thing and it’s not working. It’s not working. It’s not working. And you keep doing it. And then eventually it works. So it’s like, okay, but if you quit before then, you may consider it a failure, but it might not have failed as long as you keep going. It’s also interesting when you talk about the idea that people tend to keep to themselves and they don’t share stuff. That’s really where we came up with our brand, TopSecrets.com, is the idea that not so much that these things are impossible to find out. It’s just that they’re not often shared. A lot of sales and marketing training boils down to essentially fortune cookie kind of stuff. Be good to your clients and they’ll be good to you. People do business with those they know, like, and trust. And these platitudes are maybe a little helpful, but until you know how to put them into action, until you know the specifics of, “okay, what do I do with that information? How do I get people to know, like, and trust me” if that’s the goal? And they’re three different things, right? First of all, do they know that I’m alive? You know, creating that initial awareness. And so in our program, we refer to it as First Contact. What is your First Contact with a new prospect or client going to be? Because that’s going to determine whether or not they even know you’re taking in air on the planet, which is a prerequisite to them either being able to like you or being able to trust you. It all starts with that. And so when you have specific processes in place for here’s what we do to get ideal prospects, not just anybody who can fog a mirror, but here’s what we do to get ideal prospects to know who we are. And then here’s what we do to get them to like us and trust us better. We don’t really use those terms specifically in our program, but what we do focus on is how do we create that level of awareness in the mind of the ideal client, so that they think of you as the obvious go to choice for them? Because if they don’t think of you that way, and they think of someone else that way, then it’s very likely that someone else is going to get the business. Jay: Yeah. , those are all really, really good points. And like you said it’s a process. You have to be meticulous about it. I think one of the things that is hard is that, you know, we compare ourselves to successful people in business and we know them as already successful. And so we don’t really understand that they went through these processes, right? They suffered. They struggled. And so the fact that you’re going through that, the fact that it’s hard and it doesn’t look hard to other people, it’s deceptive, right? We don’t see what they’ve had to go through. We don’t see that they took these steps. David: Right. And neither does the market. If the people that could buy from us don’t know we’re alive, they have no idea what we’re going through. They have no idea that we’re struggling because we haven’t figured out a way to introduce ourselves to them that is in any way compelling, right? It’s just like “overnight success” in any capacity usually doesn’t happen that way. There’s usually a lot of behind the scenes. One of the things that we also focus on in our training is the idea, since that theme is so common, we focus on the idea that a lot of what you do in the early stages is going to be invisible. And so, you’re doing a lot behind the scenes before anyone even knows that you’re alive. And so we’re essentially moving from that, being invisible and working hard behind the scenes, to ideally at some point bursting on the scene and being recognized as a force in your marketplace. But none of that happens by accident and it doesn’t just come from setting goals. It requires Having those processes in place. Jay: Yeah, I think that’s so important. Every once in a while, you see somebody who had an idea and it just explodes, right? And they fall into a pot of gold. But, you know, we tend to think that that’s how it’s going to happen for us. You know, I see these people who are like influencers on YouTube or whatever, and they have millions of views. I’ve looked at some of their stories. What you don’t see is that they publish videos without any success or following for an entire year before their channel blew up. They just kept pounding their head against a wall, but they had goals and they had plans and they worked towards it. And that’s the work sometimes that we’re just not seeing. David: Right, and clearly they resonated with other people because back to what we were talking about earlier You’re not going to generate that level of revenue unless you’re impacting enough people. So if your story is just that compelling and other people say “wow, this is really impressive,” then yeah, then you can really sort of attract that thing without a whole lot of effort. But for most people particularly if you’re going to do something as a business, it’s going to require a little more thought. Jay: Yeah, it’s going to be hard, right? But that effort is going to change you. It’s going to change your views. And I think you find out after the journey and after the pain that you’ve learned so much and now you’re better prepared to, you know, set your new goals and to work towards them. You build a strength, like you build muscle mass, right? So how can people find out more? David: You can go to TopSecrets.com, schedule a call with myself or my team. We’d love to have a conversation with you. If you know where you want to be in terms of your goals, and you’re not quite sure about the processes for getting you there, this is a great way to have a conversation. We can see if we think the same way, if our approach makes sense for you. If it does, great. Even if it doesn’t, we’ll have a great conversation. You’ll probably get a lot of good ideas from it. Jay: Yeah. And sometimes that conversation is enough to get you kind of moving in the right direction. David, as always, it’s great pleasure to talk to you. David: Thanks Jay. Are You Ready for the Processes that Will Get You To Your Goals? If so, check out the five primary ways we help promotional product distributors grow: Just Getting Started? If you (or someone on your team) is just getting started in promotional products sales, learn how we can help. Need Clients Now? If you're already grounded in the essentials of promotional product sales and just need to get clients now, click here. Want EQP/Preferential Pricing? Are you an established industry veteran doing a significant volume of sales? If so, click here to get End Quantity Pricing from many of the top supplier lines in the promo industry. Time to Hire Salespeople? If you want to hire others to grow your promo sales, click here. Ready to Dominate Your Market? If you're serious about creating top-of-mind-awareness with the very best prospects in your market, schedule a one-on-one Strategy Session here.

This show has been flagged as Clean by the host. Create a Linux kiosk at your library Start without a guest account The first few steps of this process don't actually require a guest user directory to exist, so do NOT create your guest user account yet. However, you do need to choose what your guest user account is going to be called. A reasonable account name for Don's purposes is libraryguest. On my personal computer I call my guest account guestaccount, and I've used kioskguest on some installations. I avoid just the name “guest” because in modern computing the term “guest” gets used in a few other ways (such as a “guest operating system” in a virtual environment), and it's just easier to find something unique in logs. Choose a unique name for you guest account, but don't create it yet. For this article, I'm using libraryguest. Create the PostSession script By default, GDM recognises several states: Init, PostLogin, PreSession, and PostSession. Each state has a directory located in /etc/gdm. When you place a shell script called Default in one of those directories, GDM runs the script when it reaches that state. To trigger actions to clean up a user's environment upon logout, create the file /etc/gdm/PostSession/Default. You can add whatever actions you want to run upon logout to the Default script. In the case of Don's library, we wanted to clear everything from the guest's home directory, including browser history, any LibreOffice files or GIMP files they may have created, and so on. It was important that we limited the very drastic action of removing all user data to just the guest user. We didn't want the admin's data to be erased upon logout, so whatever rule we added to /etc/gdm/PostSession/Default had to be limited to the guest user. Here's what we came up with: #!/usr/bin/sh echo "$USER logged out at `date`" >> /tmp/PostSession.log if [ "X$USER" = "Xlibraryguest" ]; then rm -rf "$HOME" fi exit 0 The first line is for logging purposes. The /tmp directory gets cleared out on most distributions automatically, so we weren't worried about creating a file that'll grow forever and eventually crash the computer. If your distribution of choice doesn't clean out /tmp automatically, create a cron job to do that for you. GDM knows what user triggered the logout process, so the if statement verifies that the user logging out is definitely the libraryguest user (that's the literal name of the user we created for library patrons).Note that the whitespace around the square brackets is important, so be precise when typing! As long as it is libraryguest, then the script removes the entire user directory ($HOME). That can be extremely dangerous if you make a mistake, so do thorough testing on a dummy system before implementing a script like this! If you get a condition wrong, you could erase your entire home directory upon logout. In this example, I've successfully limited the rm command to a logout action performed by user libraryguest. The entire /home/libraryguest directory is erased, and the computer returns to the GDM login screen. When a new user logs in, a fresh directory is created for the user. You can put any number of commands in your script, of course. You don't have to erase an entire directory. If all you really want to do is clear browser history and any stray data, then you can do that instead. If you need to copy specific configuration files into the environment, you can do that during the PreSession state. Just be sure to test thoroughly before committing your creation to your users! What happens when the guest doesn't log out At this point, the computer erases all of the user's data when the user logs out, but a reboot or a shutdown is different to a logout. GDM doesn't enter a PostSession state after a reboot signal has been received, even if the reboot occurs during an active GDM session. The easiest and safest way to erase an entire home directory when there's a cut to system power is to use a temporary RAM filesystem (tmpfs) to house the data in the first place. If the systems you're configuring have 8 GB or more, and the system is exclusively used as a guest computer, you can probably afford to use RAM as the guest's home directory. If your system doesn't have a lot of RAM, then you can use the systemd work-around in the next section. Assuming you have the RAM to spare, and that your systems are supported by a backup power supply, you can add a tmpfs entry in /etc/fstab. In this example, my tmpfs is mounted to /home/libraryguest and is just 2 GB: tmpfs /home/libraryguest tmpfs rw,nosuid,nodev,size=2G 0 0 That's plenty of space for some Internet browsing and even a few LibreOffice documents to be saved while a user works. Mount the new volume: $ sudo mount /home/libraryguest Next, you must create the libraryguest user manually in a terminal.The useradd command creates user profiles: $ sudo useradd --home-dir /home/libraryguest libraryguest useradd: warning: the home directory /home/libraryguest/ already exists. useradd: Not copying any file from skel directory into it. Because you've already created a location for the home directory, you do get a warning after creating the user. It's only a warning, not a fatal error, and the guest account is automatically populated later. Create a password for the new user: $ sudo passwd libraryguest That's it! You've created a guest account that refreshes with every logout and every reboot. You can skip over the next section of this article. Using systemd targets instead of a ramdisk Assuming you can't create a ramdisk for temporary user data, you can instead create a systemd service that runs a script when the reboot, poweroff, and multi-user targets are triggered: [Unit] Description=Kiosk cleanup [Service] Type=oneshot ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/kiosk-cleanup.sh [Install] WantedBy=poweroff.target reboot.target multi-user.target Save the file to /etc/systemd/system/kioskmode.service and then enable it: $ sudo systemctl enable --now kioskmode The script, like the GDM script, removes the libraryguest directory. Unlike GDM script, this one must also recreate an empty home directory and grant it user permissions: #!/usr/bin/bash rm -rf /home/libraryguest mkdir /home/libraryguest chown -R libraryguest:libraryguest /home/libraryguest Grant the script itself permission to run: $ sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/kiosk-cleanup.sh Now the libraryguest user data is erased after: Logout Reboot Shutdown Startup Essentially, no matter how the computer loses its session or its power, the libraryguest account starts fresh when a new session is started. Security and privacy Using systemd to erase data at shutdown and startup isn't strictly as secure as using a temporary ramdisk for all user data. Should the computer lose power suddenly, all saved user data in the libraryguest account is present during the next boot. Of course, it's erased as soon as multi-user.target is called by systemd, but it is technically possible to interrupt the boot process and mine for data. You must use full drive encryption to protect data from being discovered by an interrupted boot sequence. Why not just use xguest On many Linux distributions, the xguest package is designed to provide the Guest account, which resets after each logout. It was an extremely useful package that I installed on every machine I owned, because it's handy to be able to let friends use my computer without risking them making a mess of my home directory. Lately, it seems that xguest is failing to launch a desktop, however, presumably because it relies on X11. If xguest works for you in your tests, then you may want to use it instead of the solution I've presented here. My solution offers a lot of flexibility, thanks to GDM's autodetection of session states. Kiosks in libraries Privacy and personal information is more important than ever. Regardless of how you setup a kiosk for your library, you have an obligation to your users to keep them informed of how their data is being stored. This goes both ways. Users need to know that their data is destined to be erased as soon as they log out, and also they deserve to be assured that their data is not retained. However, it's also your responsibility to admit that glitches and exceptions could occur. Users need to understand that the computer they're using are public computers on a public network. Encryption is being used for traffic and for data storage, but you cannot guarantee absolute privacy. As long as everyone understands the arrangement, everyone can compute with confidence. Linux, GDM, and systemd are great tools to help libraries create a sustainable, robust, honest, and communal computing platform. Show notes taken from https://www.both.org/?p=13327

#RingRust with my musicular #BattleRiot & #RoyalRumble pay-per-review! #TagMeIn  ~ ~ ~ I'd like to hear from you! Please drop me a line @ ring-rust@hotmail.com {Subject Line: Ring Rust} & let me know what you like {or dislike} about my show! I'm always on the lookout for constructive criticism {if you want playlists again, start giving me feedback, people!}  ~ ~ ~ Check out my #Unboxing videos, all that snazzy anti-social media & support all my shows http://markjabroni.mysite.com/ ~ ~ ~ RECORDED LIVE @ the Holy Smackdown Hotel in Sunny St. John's NL!  & BROADCAST @ CHMR FM in sunny St. John's NL! Learn more @ https://www.chmr.ca/ If you want to contribute to Betty Cisneros' Stage 4 Cancer treatment, please donate @ https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-betty-battle-her-cancer-away & if you wanted to contribute to the surgeries of wrestling veteran Lufisto, you can check out her store @ http://www.lufisto.com/store-1/ SHOW NOTES... 0:05:15 Pay-Per-Review: Major League Wrestling's Battle Riot VIII 1 0:06:13 Musicular Interlude 1 0:14:48 Pay-Per-Review: Major League Wrestling's Battle Riot VIII 2 0:15:08 Musicular Interlude 2 0:24:27 Pay-Per-Review: WWE's Royal Rumble 1 0:26:24 Musicular Interlude 3 0:37:35 Pay-Per-Review: WWE's Royal Rumble 2 0:41:20 Musicular Interlude 4 0:51:34 Pay-Per-Review: WWE's Royal Rumble 3 0:53:15 Musicular Interlude 5 1:02:45 Assuming the Intermissionary Position -= EXPLICIT =- 1:04:09 This Week's Macho Fact 1:14:26 Wrestler Birthdays...  1:15:38 Musicular Interlude 6 1:25:52 This Week's 3-Way Dance-Off: the Killer Queen of ROH Hug Style! 1:36:32 Pay-Per-Review: WWE's Royal Rumble 4 1:38:26 Musicular Interlude 7 1:48:43 Pay-Per-Review: WWE's Royal Rumble 5 1:53:04 Musicular Interlude 8

Morten Handberg, Uptime’s blade whisperer, returns to the show to tackle leading edge erosion. He covers the fatigue physics behind rain erosion, why OEMs offer no warranty coverage for it, how operators should time repairs before costs multiply, and what LEP solutions are working in the field. Sign up now for Uptime Tech News, our weekly newsletter on all things wind technology. This episode is sponsored by Weather Guard Lightning Tech. Learn more about Weather Guard’s StrikeTape Wind Turbine LPS retrofit. Follow the show on YouTube, Linkedin and visit Weather Guard on the web. And subscribe to Rosemary’s “Engineering with Rosie” YouTube channel here. Have a question we can answer on the show? Email us! Welcome to Uptime Spotlight, shining Light on Wind. Energy’s brightest innovators. This is the Progress Powering Tomorrow. Allen Hall: Morten, welcome back to the program.  Morten Handberg: Thanks, Allen. It’s fantastic to be back on on, on the podcast. Really excited to, uh, record an episode on Erosion Today.  Allen Hall: Wow. Leading as erosion is such a huge worldwide issue and. Operators are having big problems with it right now. It does seem like there’s not a lot of information readily available to operators to understand the issue quite yet. Morten Handberg: Well, it, I mean, it’s something that we’ve been looking at for the, at least the past 10 years. We started looking at it when I was in in DONG or as it back in 2014. But we also saw it very early on because we were in offshore environment, much harsher. Uh, rain erosion conditions, and you were also starting to change the way that the, the, uh, the coatings [00:01:00]that were applied. So there was sort of a, there was several things at play that meant that we saw very early on, early on offshore.  Allen Hall: Well, let’s get to the basics of rain erosion and leading edge erosion. What is the physics behind it? What, what happens to the leading edges of these blades as rain? Impacts them.  Morten Handberg: Well, you should see it as um, millions of, of small fat, uh, small fatigue loads on the coating because each raindrop, it creates a small impact load on the blade. It creates a rail wave that sort of creates a. Uh, share, share loads out on, uh, into the coating that is then absorbed by the coating, by the filler and and so on. And the more absorbent that your substrate is, the longer survivability you, you’re leading into coating will have, uh, if you have manufacturing defects in the coating, that will accelerate the erosion. But it is a fatigue effect that is then accelerated or decelerate depending on, uh, local blade conditions.  Allen Hall: Yeah, what I’ve seen in the [00:02:00] field is the blades look great. Nothing. Nothing. You don’t see anything happening and then all of a sudden it’s like instantaneous, like a fatigue failure.  Morten Handberg: I mean, a lot of things is going on. Uh, actually you start out by, uh, by having it’s, they call, it’s called mass loss and it’s actually where the erosion is starting to change the material characteristics of the coating. And that is just the first step. So you don’t see that. You can measure it in a, um, in the laboratory setting, you can actually see that there is a changing in, in the coating condition. You just can’t see it yet. Then you start to get pitting, and that is these very, very, very small, almost microscopic chippings of the coating. They will then accelerate and then you start to actually see the first sign, which is like a slight, a braided surface. It’s like someone took a, a fine grain sandpaper across the surface of the plate, but you only see it on the leading edge. If it’s erosion, it’s only on the center of the leading edge. That’s very important. If you see it on the sides and further down, then it’s, it’s [00:03:00] something else. Uh, it’s not pure erosion, but then you see this fine grain. Then as that progresses, you see more and more and more chipping, more and more degradation across the, the leading edge of the blade. Worse in the tip of it, less so into the inner third of the blade, but it is a gradual process that you see over the leading edge. Finally, you’ll then start to see the, uh, the coating coming off and you’ll start to see exposed laminate. Um, and from there it can, it can accelerate or exposed filler or laminate. From there, it can accelerate because. Neither of those are actually designed to handle any kind of erosion.  Allen Hall: What are the critical variables in relation to leading edge erosion? Which variables seem to matter most? Is it raindrop size? Is it tip speed? What factors should we be looking for?  Morten Handberg: Tip speeds and rain intensity. Uh, obviously droplet size have an impact, but. But what is an operator you can actually see and monitor for is, well, you know, your tip speed of the blade that matters. Uh, but it is really the rain intensity. So if you have [00:04:00] sort of a, an average drizzle over the year, that’s a much better condition than if you have like, you know, showers in, in, in, in a, in a few hour sessions at certain points of time. Because then, then it becomes an aggressive erosion. It’s not, it’s, you don’t, you get much higher up on the. On the, on the fatigue curve, uh, then if it’s just an average baseline load over long periods of time,  Allen Hall: yeah, that fatigue curve really does matter. And today we’re looking at what generally is called VN curves, velocity versus number of impacts, and. The rain erosion facilities I’ve seen, I’ve been able to, to give some parameters to, uh, provide a baseline or a comparison between different kinds of coatings. Is is that the, the standard as everybody sees it today, the sort of the VN curve  Morten Handberg: that is what’s been developed by this scientific, uh, community, these VN curve, that that gives you some level of measure. I would still say, you know, from what we can do in a rain erosion tester to what is then actually going on [00:05:00] the field is still very two very, very, very different things you can say. If you can survive a thousand hours in a rain erosion tester, then it’s the similar in the field that doesn’t really work like that. But there are comparisons so you can do, you know, uh, a relationship study, uh, between them. And you can use the VN curves to determine the ERO erosion aggressiveness. Field. We did that in the bait defect forecasting that we did in wind pile up with DCU back in 2019, uh, where we actually looked at rain erosion across Europe. Uh, and then the, uh, the actual erosion propagation that we saw within these different sites, both for offshore and for onshore, where we actually mapped out, um, across Europe, you know, which areas will be the most erosion prone. And then utilize that to, to then mo then, then to determine what would be the red, the best maintenance strategy and also, uh, erosion, uh, LEP, uh, solution for that wind farm. Allen Hall: Oh, okay. Uh, is it raindrop size then, or just [00:06:00] quantity of raindrops? Obviously drizzle has smaller impact. There’s less mass there, but larger raindrops, more frequent rain.  Morten Handberg: If you have showers, it tends to be larger drops. Right. So, so they kind of follow each other. And if it’s more of a drizzle. It will be smaller raindrops. They typically follow each other. You know, if you’ve been outside in a rainstorm before we just showered, you would have sense that these are, these are much higher, you know, raindrop sizes. So, so there is typically an a relation between raindrop size and then showers versus a drizzle. It’s typically more fine, fine grain rain drops. Allen Hall: And what impact does dirt and debris mixed in with the rain, uh, affect leading edge erosion? I know a lot of, there’s a lot of concern. And farm fields and places where there’s a lot of plowing and turnover of the dirt that it, it, it does seem like there’s more leading edge erosion and I, I think there’s a little bit of an unknown about it, uh, just because they see leading edge [00:07:00]erosion close to these areas where there’s a lot of tilling going on. Is it just dirt impact worth a blade or is it a combination of dirt plus rain and, and those two come combining together to make a worse case. Uh, damage scenario.  Morten Handberg: Technically it would be slightly worse than if it were, if there is some soil or, or sand, or sand contamination in the raindrops. But I mean, logically rain typically, you know, comes down from the sky. It doesn’t, you know, it doesn’t mix in with the dirt then, you know, it would be more if you have dirt on the blades. It’s typically during a dry season where it would get mixed up and then blown onto the blades. Honestly, I don’t think that that is really what’s having an impact, because having contamination in the blade is not something that is, that would drive erosion. I think that that is, I think that is, that is a misunderstanding. We do see sand, sand erosion in some part of the world where you have massive, uh, sand, uh, how do you say, sandstorms [00:08:00] coming through and, and that actually creates an, an abrasive wear on the plate. It looks different from rain erosion because it’s two different mechanisms. Uh, where the sand is actually like a sandpaper just blowing across the surface, so you can see that. Whereas rain is more of this fatigue effect. So I think in the, theoretically if you had soil mixed in with rain, yes that could have an impact because you would have an a, a hardened particle. But I do, I don’t think it’s what’s driving erosion, to be honest. Allen Hall: Okay, so then there’s really two different kinds of failure modes. A particle erosion, which is more of an abrasive erosion, which I would assume be a maybe a little wider, spread along the leading edge of the blade versus a fatigue impact from a raindrop collision. They just look different, right?  Morten Handberg: Yeah, so, so sand erosion you could have spreading across a larger surface of the blade because it, because it doesn’t bounce off in the same way that a raindrop would, you know, because that’s more of an impact angle and the load that it’s applying. So if it comes in at a, at a st [00:09:00] at a, um, at the, at the, at a, at a steep angle, then it would just bounce off because the amount of load that it’s impacting on would be very limited. So that’s also why we don’t really see it on the, um, uh, outside of the leading edge. Whereas sand erosion would have a, would, would have a different effect because even at a steep angle, it would still, you know, create some kind of wear because of the hardened particle and the effect of that. Allen Hall: Okay. So let’s talk about incubation period, because I’ve seen a lot of literature. Talking about incubation period and, and what that means. What does incubation period mean on a leading edge coating?  Morten Handberg: So that is, that, that is from when you start having the first impacts until you get the, the, the change in structure. So when you get to the mass loss or first pitting, that would be your incubation period, because that is from when it starts until you can see the actual effects. Would say that, that that is what would be defined as the incubation period of leading into erosion.  Allen Hall: Okay. So you wanna then maximize the incubation period where the coating still looks mostly pristine [00:10:00] once incubation period is over and you get into the coating. Are there different rates at which the coatings will deteriorate, or are they all pretty much deteriorating at roughly the same rate?  Morten Handberg: I mean, for the really high durability. We don’t really have good enough data to say anything about whether the, um, the, the period after the incubation period, whether that would actually, how that would work in the field. We don’t really know that yet. I would say, because the, um, some of the, the shell solutions, some of the high end polyurethane coatings, if they fail, typically it’s because of workmanship. Or adhesion issues. It’s has so far not really been tied in directly in, into leading edge erosion. Uh, the ones that I’ve seen, so typically, and, and, you know, all of these high-end coatings, they’re just, they, they have shown, you know, some of them you couldn’t even wear down in a rain erosion tester. Um, so, so we don’t really know. Um, how, [00:11:00] how the, how the shells, they would, they, they, they, they, how they would react over the five, 10 year period because we haven’t seen that much yet. And what we have seen have been more of a mechanical failure in, in the bonding  Allen Hall: that, I guess that makes sense. Then operators are still buying wind turbine blades without any leading edge coating at all. It is basically a painted piece of fiberglass structure. Is that still advisable today or are there places where you could just get away with that? Or is that just not reality because of the tip speeds?  Morten Handberg: For the larger, I would say anything beyond two megawatt turbines, you should have leading edge protection because you’re at tip speeds where, you know, any kind of rain would create erosion within, um, within the lifetime of the late. That is just a fact. Um, so. I don’t, I don’t see any real areas of the world where that would not apply. And if it, if you are in a place where it’s really dry, then it would typically also mean that then you would have sand erosion. Is that, that, [00:12:00] that would, I would expect that it would be one of the two. You wouldn’t be in an area where it couldn’t get any kind of erosion to the blades. Um, so either you should have either a very tough gel code, um, coating, or you should have have an LEP per urethane based coating. On the blades,  Allen Hall: well do the manufacturers provide data on the leading edge offerings, on the coatings, or even the harder plastic shells or shields. Does, is there any information? If I’m an operator and I’m buying a a three megawatt turbine that comes along with the blade that says, this is the li, this is the estimated lifetime, is that a thing right now? Or is it just We’re putting on a coating and we are hoping for the best?  Morten Handberg: The OEMs, as far as I, I haven’t seen any. Any contract or agreement where today, where erosion is not considered a wear and tear issue, there is simply no, no coverage for it. So if you buy a turbine and there’s any kind of leading [00:13:00] edge erosion outside of the end of warranty period, it’s your your problem. There is no guarantee on that.  Allen Hall: So the operator is at risk,  Morten Handberg: well, they’re at risk and if they don’t take matters into their own hands and make decisions on their own. But they would still be locked in because within the warranty period, they will still be tied to the OEM and the decisions that they make. And if they have a service agreement with the OEM, then they would also be tied in with what the OEM provides.  Allen Hall: So that does place a lot of the burden on the owner operator to understand the effects of rate erosion, particularly at the at a new site if they don’t have any history on it at all. To then try to identify a, a coating or some sort of protecting device to prevent leading edge erosion. ’cause at the end of the day, it does sound like the operator owner is gonna be responsible for fixing it and keeping the blades, uh, in some aerodynamic shape. That that’s, that’s a big hurdle for a lot of operators. Morten Handberg: The problem is that if you have a service [00:14:00]contract, but you are depending on the OEM, providing that service. Then you have to be really certain that any leading edge erosion or anywhere on the leading edge is then covered by that contract. Otherwise, you’re in, you’re in a really bad, you’re in a really risky situation because you can’t do anything on your own. Because if you’re a service contract, but you’re beholden to whatever the, your service provider is, is, is agreeing to providing to you. So you might not get the best service.  Allen Hall: And what are the risks of this? Uh, obviously there can be some structural issues. Particularly around the tips of the blaze, but that’s also power loss. What are typical power loss numbers?  Morten Handberg: Well, there is a theoretically theoretical power loss to it, but for any modern turbine, the blade, the, the turbine would simply regulate itself out of any leading erosion loss. So, so the blades would just change their behavior that the turbine would just change, its its operation [00:15:00]conditions so that it would achieve the same lift to the blade. So. Uh, any study that we have done or been a part of, uh, even, you know, comparing blades that were repaired, blades that were cleaned, blades that were, uh, left eroded, and then operating the, uh, the deviation was within half, half percent and that was within the margin of error. We couldn’t read, we couldn’t see it even for really, you know, really er road blades. Of course there is different between turbines. Some turbines, they, they could show it, but I haven’t seen any data that suggests that erosion actually leads to a lot of power loss. There is a theoretical loss because there is a loss in aerodynamic performance, but because blades today they’re pitch controlled, then you can, you can regulate yourself out of that. Some of that, uh, power laws,  Allen Hall: so the control laws in the turbine. Would know what the wind speeds are and what their power output should be, and it’ll adjust the [00:16:00]pitch of each of the blades sort of independently to, to drive the power output.  Morten Handberg: Typically, erosion is a uniform issue, so what happens on one blade happens on three. So it’s rare to see that one blade is just completely erod in the two other they look fine. That’s really rare unless you start, you know, doing uh, abnormal repairs on them. Then you might get something. But even then, I mean, we’re not talking, you know, 10 per 10 degrees in, in variation. You know, it’s not, it’s not anything like that. It’s very small changes. And if they would do a lot of weird DA, you know, uh, different angles, you would get instant imbalance and then, you know, you would get scatter alarm. So, so you would see that quite fast.  Allen Hall: Well, let me, let me just understand this just a little bit. So what the control logs would do would increase the pitch angle of the blaze, be a little more aggressive. On power production to bring the power production up. If leading edge erosion was knocking it down a percentage point or two, does that have a consequence? Are like when you [00:17:00] start pitching the blades at slightly different angles, does that increase the area where rain erosion will occur? Is like, are you just. Keep chasing this dragon by doing that,  Morten Handberg: you could change the area a little bit, but it’s not, it’s not something that, that changes the erosion, uh, that the erosion zone, that that much. It’s very minimal. Um, and one, one of the, another, another reason why, why you might see it might, might not see it as much is because voltage generator panels is widely used in the industry today. And, and Vortex panel, they are. Uh, negating some of the negative effect from, uh, leading erosion. So that also adds to the effect that there, that the aerodynamic effect of leading erosion is limited, uh, compared to what we’ve seen in the past.  Allen Hall: Okay. So there’s a couple manufacturers that do use vortex generators around the tip, around the leading edge erosion areas right outta the factory, and then there’s other OEMs that don’t do that at all. Is, is there a benefit to [00:18:00] having the VGs. Right out of the factory. Is that, is that just to, uh, as you think about the power output of the generator over time, like, this is gonna gimme a longer time before I have to do anything. Is, is in terms of repair,  Morten Handberg: it does help you if you have contamination of the blade. It does help you if you have surface defects off the blade. That, that any, uh, any change to the air, to the aerodynamics is, is reduced and that’s really important if you have an optimized blade. Then the negative effect of leading erosion might get, uh, you know, might, might, might get, might get affected. But there are, there are still reasons why I do want to do leading erosion repairs. You should do that anyway, even if you can’t see it on your power curve or not, because if you wait too long, you’ll start to get structural damages to the blade. As we talked about last time. It’s not that leading edge erosion will turn into a critical damage right away, but if you need, if you go into structural erosion, then the, then the cost of damage. The cost of repairing the damage will multiply. Uh, [00:19:00] and at, at a certain point, you know, you will get a re structure. It might not make the blade, you know, uh, cost a, a condition where the blade could collapse or you’re at risk, but you do get a weakened blade that is then susceptible to damage from other sources. Like if you have a lighting strike damage or you have a heavy storm or something like that, then that can accelerate the damage, turning it into a critical damage. So you should still keep your leading edge in, in shape. If you want to do to, to minimize your cost, you should still repair it before it becomes structural. Allen Hall: Okay. So the blades I have seen where they actually have holes in the leading edge, that’s a big problem just because of contamination and water ingress and yeah, lightning obviously be another one. So that should be repaired immediately. Is is that the, do we treat it like a cat four or cat five when that happens? Or how, what? How are we thinking about that?  Morten Handberg: Maximum cat, cat four, even, even in those circumstances because it is a, it is a severe issue, but it’s not critical on, on its own. So I would not treat it as a cat five where you need to stop [00:20:00] the turbine, stuff like that. Of course, you do want, you don’t want to say, okay, let’s wait on, let’s wait for a year or so before we repair it. You know, do plan, you know, with some urgency to get it fixed, but it’s not something where you need to, you know, stubble works and then get that done. You know, the blade can survive it for, for a period of time, but you’re just. Susceptible to other risks, I would say.  Allen Hall: Alright. So in in today’s world, there’s a lot of options, uh, to select from in terms of leading edge protection. What are some of the leading candidates? What, what are some of the things that are actually working out in the field?  Morten Handberg: What we typically do, uh, when we’re looking at leading edge erosion, we’re looking at the, the raw data from the wind farm. Seeing how, how bad is it and how long have the wind farm been operated without being repaired? So we get a sense of the aggressiveness of the erosion and. Um, if we have reliable weather data, we can also do some modeling to see, okay, what is the, what is the, the, uh, environmental conditions? Also, just to get a sense, is this [00:21:00] material driven fatigue or is it actually rain erosion driven fatigue? Because if the, if the coating quality was not, was not very good, if the former lead leading edge, it was not applied very, very, very good, then, you know, you still get erosion really fast. You get surface defects that, uh, that trigger erosion. So that’s very important to, to, to have a look at. But then when we’ve established that, then we look at, okay, where do we have the, the, the, uh, the structural erosion zone? So that means in what, in what part of the BA would you be at risk of getting structural damage? That’s the part where that you want to protect at all costs. And in that, I would look at either shell solution or high duty, um, put urethane coating something that has a a long durability. But then you also need to look at, depending on whether you want to go for coating or shell, you need to look at what is your environmental condition, what is your, you know, yeah. Your environmental conditions, because you also wanna apply it without it falling off again. Uh, and if you have issues with [00:22:00] high humidity, high temperatures, uh, then a lot of the coatings will be really difficult to process or, you know, to, to. Uh, to handle in the field. And, you know, and if you don’t, if you don’t get that right, then you just might end up with a lot of peeling coating or uh, peeling shells. Um, so it’s very important to understand what is your environmental conditions that you’re trying to do repairs in. And that’s also why we try not to recommend, uh, these shell repairs over the entire, out a third of the blade. Because you’re, you’re just putting up a lot of risk for, for, uh, for detaching blades if you put on too high, um, uh, how do you say, high height, sea of solutions. Allen Hall: Yeah. So I, I guess it does matter how much of the blade you’re gonna cover. Is there a general rule of thumb? Like are we covering the outer 10%, outer 20%? What is the. What is that rule of thumb?  Morten Handberg: Typically, you know, you, you get a long way by somewhere between the outer four to six meters. Um, so that would [00:23:00]probably equivalate to the, out of the outer third. That would likely be something between the outer 10 to 15 to 20% at max. Um, but, but it is, I, I mean, instead of looking at a percentage, I usually look at, okay, what can we see from the data? What does that tell us? And we can see that from the progression of the erosion. Because you can clearly see if you have turbines that’s been operating, what part of the blade has already, you know, exposed laminate. And where do you only have a light abrasion where you only have a light abrasion, you can just continue with, and with the, with, with the general coating, you don’t need to go for any high tier solutions. And that’s also just to avoid applying, applying something that is difficult to process because it will just end up, that it falls off and then you’re worse off than, than before actually. Allen Hall: Right. It’s about mitigating risk at some level. On a repair,  Morten Handberg: reducing repair cost. Um, so, so if you, if you look at your, your conditions of your blades and then select a solution that is, that is right for that part of [00:24:00] the blade  Allen Hall: is the best way to repair a blade up tower or down tower is what is the easiest, I guess what’s easier, I know I’ve heard conflicting reports about it. A lot of people today, operators today are saying we can do it up tower. It’s, it’s pretty good that way. Then I hear other operators say, no, no, no, no, no. The quality is much better if the blade is down on the ground. What’s the recommendation there?  Morten Handberg: In general, it can be done up tower. Um, it is correct if you do a down tower, the quality is better, but that, that, that means you need to have a crane on standby to swap out blades. Uh, and you should have a spare set of blades that you can swap with. Maybe that can work. Um. But I would say in general, the, your, your, your, your cheaper solution and your more, you know, you know, uh, would be to do up tower. And if, and again, if you do your, your, your homework right and, and selecting the right, uh, products for, for your [00:25:00] local environments, then you can do up tower then leading it, erosion. Not something that you need to, you should not need to consider during a down tower. Unless you are offshore in an environment where you only have, uh, 10 repair days per year, then you might want to look at something else. But again, if we talk for offs for onshore, I would, I would always go for up, up tower. I, I don’t, I don’t really see the need for, for, for taking the blades down.  Allen Hall: So what is the optimum point in a blaze life where a leading edge coating should be applied? Like, do you let it get to the point where you’re doing structural repairs or. When you start to see that first little bit of chipping, do you start taking care of it then there I, there’s gotta be a sweet spot somewhere in the middle there. Where is that?  Morten Handberg: There is sweet spot. So the sweet spot is as soon as you have exposed laminate, because from exposed laminate, uh, the repair cost is exactly the same as if it was just, you know, uh, a light abrasion of the coating because the, the, the time to, to, um, prepare the [00:26:00] surface to apply the coating is exactly the same. From, you know, from, from, from light surface damage to exposed laminate. That is the same, that is the same repair cost. But as soon as you have a structural damage to your blade, then you have to do a structural repair first, and then you’re, you’re multiplying the repair time and your repair cost. So that is the right point in time. The way to, to determine when that is, is to do inspections, annual inspections, if you do 10% of your wind farm per year. Then you would know why, what, how the rest of your wind farm looks like because erosion is very uniform across the wind farm. Maybe there are some small deviations, but if you do a subset, uh, then, then you would have a good basic understanding about what erosion is. You don’t need to do a full sweep of the, of the wind farm to know, okay, now is my right time to do repairs.  Allen Hall: Okay, so you’re gonna have a, a couple years notice then if you’re doing drone inspections. Hopefully you put, as you put your blades up, doing a drone inspection maybe on the ground so you [00:27:00] have a idea of what you have, and then year one, year two, year three, you’re tracking that progression across at least a sampling of the wind farm. And then, then you can almost project out then like year five, I need to be doing something and I need to be putting it into my budget.  Morten Handberg: When you start to see the first minor areas of exposed laminate. Then the year after, typically then you would have a larger swat of, of laminated exposure, still not as structural. So when you start to see that, then I would say, okay, next year for next year’s budget, we should really do repairs. It’s difficult when you just direct the wind farm, maybe have the first year of inspection. It’s difficult to get any, any kind of, you know, real sense of what is the, you know, what is the where of scale that we have. You can be off by a factor of two or three if, you know, if, um, so I would, I would give it a few years and then, uh, then, then, then see how things progresses before starting to make, uh, plans for repairs. If you [00:28:00] don’t have any leading edge erosion protection installed from the start. I would say plan, at least for year, year five, you should expect that you need to go out, do and do a repair. Again, I don’t have a crystal ball for every, you know, that’s good enough to predict for every wind farm in the world, but that would be a good starting point. Maybe it’s year three, maybe it’s year seven, depending on your local conditions. That is, but then at least you know that you need to do something. Allen Hall: Well, there’s been a number of robotic, uh, applications of rain erosion coatings. Over the last two, three years. So now you see several different, uh, repair companies offering that. What does the robotic approach have to its advantage versus technicians on ropes?  Morten Handberg: Obviously robots, they don’t, they don’t, uh, get affected by how good the morning coffee was, what the latest conversation with the wife was, or how many hours of sleep it got. There is something to, with the grown operator, uh, you know how good they are. But it’s more about how well, uh, [00:29:00] adjusted the, the controls of the, of the, the robot or the drone is in its application. So in principle, the drone should be a lot better, uh, because you can, it will do it the right, the same way every single time. What it should at least. So in, so in principle, if you, you, you, when we get there, then the leading it then, then the robot should be, should outmatch any repair technician in, in the world. Because repair technician, they’re really good. They’re exceptionally good at what they do. The, the, the far majority of them, but they’re, they’re still people. So they, you know, anyone, you know, maybe standing is not a hundred percent each time, maybe mixing of. Um, of materials and they’re much better at it than I am. So no question there. But again, that’s just real reality. So I would say that the, the, the draw, the robots, they should, uh, they should get to a point at some, at some point to that they will, they will be the preferable choice, especially for this kind of, this kind of repair. Allen Hall: What should [00:30:00] operators be budgeting to apply a coating? Say they’re, you know, they got a new wind farm. It’s just getting started. They’re gonna be five years out before they’re gonna do something, but they, they probably need to start budgeting it now and, and have a scope on it. ’cause it’s gonna be a capital campaign probably. How much per turbine should they be setting aside?  Morten Handberg: I would just, as a baseline, at least set aside 20,000 per per blade  Allen Hall: dollars or a Corona  Morten Handberg: dollars.  Allen Hall: Really. Okay.  Morten Handberg: Assuming that you actually need to do a repair campaign, I would say you’re probably ending up in that region again. I can be wrong with by a factor of, you know, uh, by several factors. Uh, but, um, but I would say that as a starting point, we don’t know anything else. I would just say, okay, this should be the, the, the, the budget I would go for, maybe it’ll be only 10 because we have a lesser campaign. Maybe it will be twice because we have severe damages. So we need just to, to, to source a, um, a high end, uh, LEP solution. Um, so, so [00:31:00] again, that would just be my starting point, Alan. It’s not something that I can say with accuracy that will go for every single plate, but it would be a good starting point.  Allen Hall: Well, you need to have a number and you need to be, get in the budget ahead of time. And so it, it’s a lot easier to do upfront than waiting till the last minute always. Uh, and it is the future of leading edge erosion and protection products. Is it changing? Do you see, uh, the industry? Winning this battle against erosion.  Morten Handberg: I see it winning it because we do have the technology, we do have the solutions. So I would say it’s compared to when we started looking at it in 14, where, you know, we had a lot of erosion issues, it seems a lot more manageable. Now, of course, if you’re a, if you’re a new owner, you just bought a wind farm and you’re seeing this for this first time, it might not be as manageable. But as an, as an industry, I would say we’re quite far. In understanding erosion, what, how it develops and what kind of solutions that that can actually, uh, withstand it. We’re still not there in [00:32:00] terms of, uh, quality in, in repairs, but that’s, um, but, but, uh, I, I think technology wise, we are, we are in a really good, good place.  Allen Hall: All the work that has been done by DTU and RD test systems for creating a rain erosion test. Facility and there’s several of those, more than a dozen spread around the world at this point. Those are really making a huge impact on how quickly the problem is being solved. Right? Because you’re just bringing together the, the, the brain power of the industry to work on this problem.  Morten Handberg: They have the annual erosion Symposium and that has been really a driving force and also really put DTU on the map in terms of, uh, leading edge erosion, understanding that, and they’re also trying to tie, tie it in with lightning, uh, because, uh. If you have a ro, if you have erosion, that changes your aerodynamics. That in fact changes how your LPS system works. So, so there is also some, some risks in that, uh, that is worth considering when, when, when discussing [00:33:00]repairs. But I think these of you, they’ve done a tremendous amount of work and r and d system have done a lot of good work in terms of standardizing the way that we do rain erosion testing, whether or not we can then say with a hundred uncertainty that this, uh, this test will then match with. With, um, how say local environment conditions, that’s fine, but we can at least test a DP systems on, on the same scale and then use that to, to, to look at, well how, how good would they then ferry in in the, um, out out in the real world.  Allen Hall: Yeah, there’s a lot too leading edge erosion and there’s more to come and everybody needs to be paying attention to it. ’cause it, it is gonna be a cost during the lifetime of your wind turbines and you just need to be prepared for it. Mor how do people get ahold of you to learn more about leading edge erosion and, and some of the approaches to, to control it?  Morten Handberg: Well, you can always re reach me, uh, on my email, meh, at wind power.com or on my LinkedIn, uh, page and I would strongly advise, you know, reach out if you have any concerns regarding erosion or you need support with, um, [00:34:00] uh, with blade maintenance strategies, uh, we can definitely help you out with that. Or any blade related topic that you might be concerned about for your old local wind farm.  Allen Hall: Yes. If you have any blade questions or leading edge erosion questions, reach out to Morton. He’s easy to get ahold of. Thank you so much for being back on the podcast. We love having you. It  Morten Handberg: was fantastic being here. Cheers. A.

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#RingRust with my musicular newsicular musings! #TagMeIn  ~ ~ ~ I'd like to hear from you! Please drop me a line @ ring-rust@hotmail.com {Subject Line: Ring Rust} & let me know what you like {or dislike} about my show! I'm always on the lookout for constructive criticism {if you want playlists again, start giving me feedback, people!}  ~ ~ ~ Check out my #Unboxing videos, all that snazzy anti-social media & support all my shows http://markjabroni.mysite.com/ ~ ~ ~ RECORDED LIVE @ the Holy Smackdown Hotel in Sunny St. John's NL!  & BROADCAST @ CHMR FM in sunny St. John's NL! Learn more @ https://www.chmr.ca/ If you want to contribute to Betty Cisneros' Stage 4 Cancer treatment, please donate @ https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-betty-battle-her-cancer-away & if you wanted to contribute to the surgeries of wrestling veteran Lufisto, you can check out her store @ http://www.lufisto.com/store-1/ SHOW NOTES... 0:07:52 Wrestling News That's Right On the Mark: Phenomenal Farewell? 0:09:52 Musicular Interlude 1 0:18:00 Wrestling News That's Right On the Mark: Bayley Really Has Some Lodestones! 0:19:00 Musicular Interlude 2 0:26:49 Wrestling News That's Right On the Mark: the Brawling Birds of Jacksonville, Florida 0:28:08 Musicular Interlude 3 0:35:27 Wrestling News That's Right On the Mark: What's NeXT For the Street Profits? 0:38:02 Musicular Interlude 4 0:47:58 Wrestling News That's Right On the Mark: Will This Solo Rascal's Case Stay Brief? 0:48:29 Musicular Interlude 5 0:57:12 Assuming the Intermissionary Position -= EXPLICIT =- 0:59:52 This Week's Macho Fact 1:09:09 Wrestler Birthdays...  1:10:39 Musicular Interlude 6 1:21:51 This Week's 3-Way Dance-Off: Blown Away Bonus Tracks! 1:36:16 Wrestling News That's Right On the Mark: MLW x NJPW x CMLL! #YoureWelcome 1:37:56 Musicular Interlude 7 1:46:14 Wrestling News That's Right On the Mark: Billy Ass & His Ass Boy! 1:47:34 Musicular Interlude 8

Watch The X22 Report On Video No videos found (function(w,d,s,i){w.ldAdInit=w.ldAdInit||[];w.ldAdInit.push({slot:17532056201798502,size:[0, 0],id:"ld-9437-3289"});if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement(s),p=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];j.async=true;j.src="https://cdn2.decide.dev/_js/ajs.js";j.id=i;p.parentNode.insertBefore(j,p);}})(window,document,"script","ld-ajs");pt> Click On Picture To See Larger PictureTrump started to put all the pieces together starting back in 2017. He was setting the stage to remove NAFTA but he was not able to because congress put roadblocks into the legislation, so he transitioned it into the USMCA and now he has trapped Canada in it. Trade deals are power of the US, the US has the leverage and the [CB] knows it.  The [DS] along with Biden, Obama and Clinton are pushing the insurgency in this country. Walz believes he has the upper hand making a deal with Trump but this is going to backfire on him and Frey. The people in MN are already upset. The D’s believe they can shutdown the government and use the DHS funding to do it. But the OBBB is funding ICE so this is going to fail. Trump has the leverage and he weakening the [DS] every step of the way. The root cause is being exposed to the country.   Economy Big Picture: President Trump and Trade Using the Art of the Self-Fulfilling Prophecy Canada and the EU take trade and economic positions seemingly against U.S. interests. Simultaneously Mexico modifies all their trade positions to come into alignment with the USA. Yesterday, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced Mexico will no longer ship oil to Cuba.   When President Trump was asked about Prime Minister Mark Carney creating a new trade agreement with China, President Trump responded that he didn't care – it was irrelevant to him.  Yet, simultaneously inside the USMCA President Trump has the power to veto any trade agreement between Mexico or Canada and a non-member nation. So, why didn't President Trump care?  Easy, because in President Trump's mind there's not going to be a USMCA; so, he really doesn't care if Canada runs to violate it.  In real terms, Canada doing bilateral deals with other countries, especially deals potentially detrimental to the USA, only strengthens his position on dissolving the USMCA. If Canada violates the terms and spirit of the USMCA, it makes dispatch of the unliked trade agreement even easier.  Canada is helping President Trump remove the congressional justification they could use to block him.  If Canada is violating the USMCA (CUSMA), Congress is kneecapped from interference. Source: theconservativetreehouse.com (function(w,d,s,i){w.ldAdInit=w.ldAdInit||[];w.ldAdInit.push({slot:18510697282300316,size:[0, 0],id:"ld-8599-9832"});if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement(s),p=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];j.async=true;j.src="https://cdn2.decide.dev/_js/ajs.js";j.id=i;p.parentNode.insertBefore(j,p);}})(window,document,"script","ld-ajs"); https://twitter.com/Geiger_Capital/status/2015924180160594345?s=20 https://twitter.com/KobeissiLetter/status/2015949123648909631?s=20  more than officially reported. Furthermore, China officially bought an additional 0.9 tonnes in December, pushing the total gold reserves to a record 2,306 tonnes. This also marked the 14th consecutive monthly purchase. In 2025, China's total reported gold purchases reached +27 tonnes. Assuming official purchases were 10% of what China is actually buying, this suggests China acquired +270 tonnes of physical gold in 2025. China is stockpiling gold like we are in a major crisis.    2025. Why hasn’t the Korean Legislature approved it?   Because the Korean Legislature hasn’t enacted our Historic Trade Agreement, which is their prerogative, I am hereby increasing South Korean TARIFFS on Autos, Lumber, Pharma, and all other Reciprocal TARIFFS, from 15% to 25%. Thank you for your attention to this matter!   DONALD J. TRUMP PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Political/Rights DOGE https://twitter.com/alx/status/2015969948674203731?s=20 Geopolitical  War/Peace Medical/False Flags [DS] Agenda  https://twitter.com/VASenateGOP/status/2015208669336813823?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2015208669336813823%7Ctwgr%5E5081d9eb1b9220fa690d082571ec929c4f0248cc%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thegatewaypundit.com%2F2026%2F01%2Fvirginia-democrats-now-seeking-double-their-own-pay%2F   pocket to line their own. TOTAL CON JOB! True. The Department of Justice did withdraw its request for arrest warrants against Don Lemon and four other individuals involved in the disruption of a church service in St. Paul, Minnesota, following a federal magistrate judge’s refusal to approve the related criminal complaints and an appeals court’s rejection of the DOJ’s emergency bid to compel the warrants.  While prosecutors could potentially pursue charges through alternative means, such as a grand jury, the specific action of withdrawing the warrant request aligns with the reported events https://twitter.com/mrddmia/status/2016208255677067439?s=20 https://twitter.com/EricBrakey/status/2015578832070123856?s=20 https://twitter.com/JayTownAlabama/status/2015584436230717786?s=20 According to recent data from the Giffords Law Center, the following 16 jurisdictions (15 states plus the District of Columbia) have explicit prohibitions on carrying firearms at demonstrations, protests, or licensed public gatherings. These restrictions vary by state, with some banning both concealed and open carry, while others target only one or apply under specific conditions (e.g., only for participants or permitted events). Note that laws can change, and some states have exceptions like for enhanced permit holders. State/Jurisdiction Concealed Carry Prohibited? Open Carry Prohibited? Notes Alabama Yes Yes Arkansas Yes No Applies only to participants in permitted demonstrations; enhanced CCW permittees are allowed. California No Yes Open carry banned generally. Connecticut No Yes Open carry banned generally. District of Columbia Yes Yes Florida No Yes Open carry banned generally. Hawaii Yes Yes Illinois Yes Yes Louisiana Yes No Applies to permitted demonstrations or parades. Maryland Yes Yes Mississippi Yes No Applies to permitted demonstrations or parades. Nebraska Yes No Applies at “political rallies” and fundraisers. New Jersey Yes Yes New York Yes Yes North Carolina Yes Yes Washington No Yes   https://twitter.com/EndWokeness/status/2015928285436203305?s=20 https://twitter.com/GuntherEagleman/status/2016211395273011469?s=20  gets disarmed… then shot. DHS is already tracking violent agitators who assault or obstruct officers (you know, felonies). Tom Homan pushing to make these interferers “famous” via database – names, faces, employers notified. The same crowd screaming “police state” will ignore he already assaulted officers once and walked   https://twitter.com/MrAndyNgo/status/2016235731602067586?s=20 https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/2016177515845283911?s=20   nation that tramples the 4th Amendment and tolerates our neighbors being terrorized. The people of Minnesota have stood strong — helping community members in unimaginable circumstances, speaking out against injustice when they see it, and holding our government accountable to the people. Minnesotans have reminded us all what it is to be American, and they have suffered enough at the hands of this Administration. Violence and terror have no place in the United States of America, especially when it's our own government targeting American citizens. No single person can destroy what America stands for and believes in, not even a President, if we — all of America — stand up and speak out. We know who we are. It’s time to show the world. More importantly, it’s time to show ourselves. Now, justice requires full, fair, and transparent investigations into the deaths of the two Americans who lost their lives in the city they called home. Jill and I are sending strength to the families and communities who love Alex Pretti and Renee Good as we all mourn their senseless deaths.   https://twitter.com/RyanSaavedra/status/2015985227798139267?s=20 https://twitter.com/JDVance/status/2015918587609772148?s=20 https://twitter.com/EricLDaugh/status/2015971665906110549?s=20 https://twitter.com/BillMelugin_/status/2016220055973855403?s=20     https://twitter.com/Recon1_ZA/status/2015778411650732184?s=20   It’s a rapid, involuntary reaction mediated by the brainstem, involving muscle tension, elevated heart rate, and adrenaline release. That repetitive exposure from them fatigues neural pathways but sustains heightened arousal, diverting cognitive resources from higher-order tasks to basic threat monitoring. It is an acute stressor, activating the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and sympathetic nervous system, which releases cortisol and adrenaline. Long exposure to this stuff impairs prefrontal cortex function critical for decision making. Pair this with the sheer annoyance, these tactics are a low-tech escalation of protest disruption, rooted in documented physiological responses to noise. In layman’s terms, they’re putting these officers on edge and triggering them to act. Pretti and Good was exactly what they wanted. It’s usually someone else who ends up dying and not the instigator. This is a great example. Watch the guy at the rear strike an officer against the head with an object. These officers, already on edge, are very likely to react to something like that. When someone ends up getting hurt, they’re all innocent. These events aren’t random. These are organised tactics. 80% of the people protesting aren’t aware that they’re being used by their own team as cannon fodder to generate outrage. https://twitter.com/DataRepublican/status/2015620564787105892?s=20   Tending the Soil on Chuffed. More about Tending the Soil later. What to know: the campaign is hosted by Chuffed and the first donation came from Jonny Soppotiuk, a Canada-based community organizer who is part of Chuffed leadership and specializes in fundraising. He is most likely a central figure in raising money. So, yeah. Starting to look like foreigners are playing a key role in all of this. That’s not all. I’ve put together a spreadsheet of 4000+ donors and their possible identities. https://twitter.com/davidson_f14299/status/2015874164679442499?s=20  Machine that's been running this country for decades. She's tied into the donors, the nonprofits, the consultants, the media networks — all the gears that keep the Machine turning. And look at what she just did. She tweeted out that webpage directing people to donate through a foreign‑operated platform. That's not some innocent little share. That's the Machine signaling to its own network — money pipelines, global partners, and political messaging all moving in sync. She knows exactly what she's amplifying and who benefits from it. And this isn't new for her. Look back at Russiagate. Her campaign funded the Steele dossier — the spark that set off years of investigations, headlines, and division. Even after the whole thing fell apart under scrutiny, the chaos it created was already locked in. That's how the Machine works: it doesn't need accuracy, it just needs momentum. And she's been one of the people who knows how to generate that momentum better than anyone. So where does she sit in the Machine? Right in the core. Not elected. Not accountable. Still pulling levers through the same networks she helped build. She's not operating inside the Machine — she's one of the people who designed the damn thing. And that's why her name keeps showing up. Not because she holds office. But because the Machine still runs on the structures she put in place — and every time she boosts a link, a cause, or a narrative, you can see those old gears turning all over again.  https://twitter.com/julie_kelly2/status/2015963638096429102?s=20 https://twitter.com/WarClandestine/status/2015941282237972649?s=20     President Trump's Plan  And we back you WHOLEHEARTEDLY in making it happen https://twitter.com/TriciaOhio/status/2015939758858371393?s=20   https://twitter.com/EricLDaugh/status/2015858856430055491?s=20   professional. He will continue to lead Customs and Border Patrol throughout and across the country — Mr. Homan will be the main point of contact on the ground in Minneapolis.” Hakeem Jeffries Backs Impeachment Push Against Kristi Noem House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and his leadership team voiced support Tuesday for impeaching Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem. Nearly 150 House Democrats have sponsored articles of impeachment against Noem, first unveiled by Democratic Illinois Rep. Robin Kelly on Jan. 14, but Jeffries had not previously backed the impeachment push. Jeffries vowed Tuesday that House Democrats will launch impeachment proceedings against Noem if President Donald Trump does not fire her. Source: dailycaller.com https://twitter.com/disclosetv/status/2016203259900317988?s=20   https://twitter.com/amuse/status/2016218361844174956?s=20   Minnesota State Patrol has now been activated. They could have done this the whole time, but it wasn't until after the call between Walz and Trump, and the discovery of the Signal groups involving Minnesota government officials, that this happened.   https://twitter.com/CynicalPublius/status/2015868419187544417?s=20 https://twitter.com/derrickvanorden/status/2015808200495312963?s=20 Counterinsurgency may be defined as ‘comprehensive civilian and military efforts taken to simultaneously defeat and contain insurgency and address its root causes'. Defeat refers to actively dismantling the insurgent group’s capabilities—through kinetic operations (e.g., raids, airstrikes) to kill or capture leaders, disrupt supply lines, and degrade their fighting strength. Contain means preventing the insurgency from spreading or escalating. This could involve securing borders, isolating insurgent areas, or using psychological operations (psyops) to undermine their recruitment and propaganda. The “simultaneously” part stresses that these aren’t sequential steps; they happen in parallel. You can’t just “contain” without addressing threats, nor can you defeat an insurgency if it keeps regenerating in new areas. Key challenge: Insurgents often blend into the civilian population, making it hard to target them without collateral damage, which can create more enemies. 3. Address Its Root Causes Insurgencies don’t arise in a vacuum; they’re often driven by underlying issues like political exclusion, economic inequality, corruption, ethnic tensions, or lack of basic services. The definition insists that long-term success requires tackling these “root causes” to prevent resurgence. This might include reforms such as land redistribution, anti-corruption drives, inclusive governance, or economic development programs. Without this, military victories are temporary. For instance, historical cases like the Malayan Emergency (1948–1960) succeeded partly because British forces combined military action with resettlement programs and political concessions that addressed Malay grievances against colonial rule. Broader Context and Principles Population-Centric Approach: Modern COIN doctrine, influenced by thinkers like David Galula or modern adaptations, views the local population as the “center of gravity.” The goal is to protect civilians, gain their trust, and separate them from insurgents—often summarized as “clear, hold, build” (clear insurgents from an area, hold it securely, and build sustainable institutions). Challenges and Criticisms: COIN is resource-intensive, time-consuming, and politically fraught. It can lead to prolonged conflicts, human rights abuses, or mission creep. Critics argue it sometimes ignores cultural contexts or over-relies on foreign intervention, as seen in Vietnam or Iraq. Success Factors: Effective COIN requires unity of effort (coordination between allies), intelligence-driven operations, and adaptability. Metrics for success go beyond body counts to include governance improvements and reduced violence. In essence, this definition portrays counterinsurgency as a balanced, enduring campaign that blends force with reform to not just suppress rebellion but eliminate the conditions that sustain it.    https://twitter.com/EricLDaugh/status/2015886441063055779?s=20 patriots need all the support they can get!  Background on the “Big Beautiful Bill” and ICE Funding In 2025, Republicans passed the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (often referred to by President Trump as the “Big Beautiful Bill”), which allocated approximately $75 billion to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) over four years. This funding was separate from annual appropriations and effectively tripled ICE’s budget, providing a multi-year “slush fund” for immigration enforcement, including deportations.  This bill was part of Trump’s broader immigration agenda and bypassed traditional yearly funding processes, allowing ICE to operate independently of short-term congressional battles. Current Shutdown Threat and Democrats’ Strategy Democrats, led by figures like Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sens. Patty Murray, Chris Murphy, and others, have vowed to block the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding bill in the Senate. This bill includes $64.4 billion for DHS overall, with about $10 billion specifically for ICE in the current fiscal year.  Why the Shutdown Won’t Defund ICE Even prominent Democrats like Sen. Murray acknowledge that a shutdown or continuing resolution (short-term funding patch) won’t restrain ICE. The agency can draw from the $75 billion already secured via the Big Beautiful Bill, allowing operations to continue uninterrupted under Trump’s “law-and-order” immigration crackdown.  A shutdown would primarily affect non-ICE parts of DHS (e.g., TSA, FEMA, Coast Guard) and other bundled departments, forcing some federal workers to go without pay while ICE remains funded and operational.  Republican Position and “Upper Hand” The White House and GOP leaders like Speaker Mike Johnson are not yielding, insisting on passing the full package without decoupling DHS funding. They view Democratic threats as ineffective since ICE’s core operations are protected by the prior bill.  The House has already passed the DHS bill with some Democratic support, putting pressure on the Senate. Republicans are framing this as Democrats prioritizing protests over essential services, giving the GOP leverage in negotiations.    https://twitter.com/AwakenedOutlaw/status/2015946190219837842?s=20   themselves, and engage in thoughtful discourse and/or express outrage against the wholesale ridiculousness of not allowing the government to do its job and protect us…and they do so for months on matters that most would never have otherwise engaged in AND would otherwise slip out of the news cycle quickly.    The Supreme Court ends up taking the case and rules (correctly) in favor of his administration. Piece by piece through this process, legal precedence is secured. Which, as it turns out, was deemed necessary to help secure the future of our Republic writ large. Lather. Rinse. Repeat. This implies that we are directly involved in an educational process, if you will, as we all progress through the realignment. Advantage: America’s future https://twitter.com/AGPamBondi/status/2015932965528764622?s=20   violent agitators. The DOJ went to court. We got a temporary stay. NOW, the 8th Circuit has fully agreed that this reckless attempt to undermine law enforcement cannot stand. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals rules in favor of Trump admin allowing ICE agents to arrest, detain, pepper-spray or retaliate against violent anti-ICE rioters, in Minneapolis, without probable cause   (function(w,d,s,i){w.ldAdInit=w.ldAdInit||[];w.ldAdInit.push({slot:13499335648425062,size:[0, 0],id:"ld-7164-1323"});if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement(s),p=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];j.async=true;j.src="//cdn2.customads.co/_js/ajs.js";j.id=i;p.parentNode.insertBefore(j,p);}})(window,document,"script","ld-ajs");

Don't wanna be a NOOB? Then support the podcast on Patreon! Get every episode a week early plus other stuff we don't post anywhere else! https://patreon.com/372pages Ah, literature. Set your mind on higher things. Assuming that doo-doo and wee-wee are higher things. ‘Cause there's a lot of it in a scant few chapters. And speaking … Continue reading "372 Pages – Ep 201 – Mayor of Noobtown Ep 1 – Hope You Like Numbers 1 and 2!"

Support the show:https://www.paypal.me/Truelifepodcast?locale.x=en_USOne on One Video Call W/George https://tidycal.com/georgepmonty/60-minute-meeting# Episode 1: “You Are Living in Flatland (And You Don't Even Know It)”-----**Welcome to the dimensional war. You just don't know you're fighting it yet.**In 1884, Edwin Abbott wrote *Flatland* - a mathematical romance about a two-dimensional world where beings live as shapes on a plane, unable to perceive the third dimension of depth. He thought he was writing social satire.**He was actually writing a transmission about 2026.**About YOU.Living in a reality you think is solid, complete, “realistic” - while being completely blind to dimensions you can't perceive.**Your worth measured in 2D metrics:** Credentials. Salary. Followers. Job titles.**Your identity flattened to geometry:** How many “sides” you've accumulated in the game of status.**Your future planned on a horizontal plane:** Assuming linear time, guaranteed tomorrows, safe predictability.**You are A Square. And you don't even know you're trapped.**-----## What if I told you there's a vertical dimension hiding in plain sight?**Not “up” in some abstract spiritual sense.**But **UP** as in: *What becomes visible when death shatters your 2D certainty?*When you're fired after 26 years and your identity evaporates.When someone you love faces mortality and all your careful plans dissolve.When you turn fifty and realize you don't fit in the traditional game anymore.**These aren't tragedies. These are dimensional initiations.**Moments when the **Sphere** - a being from a higher dimension - enters your flat world and shows you: *Everything you thought was solid is just a cross-section.*-----## This episode activates your Reticular Activating System.That part of your brain that filters reality - deciding what you notice and what you ignore.**After this episode, your RAS will be tuned to see Flatland everywhere:**- In conversations where people brag about credentials- In systems designed to keep you flat and measurable- In your own thoughts when you catch yourself playing the 2D game- **In the moments when death whispers: “None of this is real”****Once activated, you can't deactivate it.**You'll start seeing the prison bars. The dimensional limitations. The game beneath the game.**And you won't be able to unsee it.**-----## This isn't a book review. This is an initiation.I've been lifted out of Flatland three times:- **Fired after 26 years** (identity death - the 2D game of job = worth revealed as illusion)- **Wife fighting cancer** (mortality confrontation - the future I was planning for might not exist)- **Turning fifty** (threshold moment - realizing I don't fit in the traditional workforce anymore)**These were my Sphere moments.** When death entered my flat world and showed me dimensions I couldn't perceive before.Now I'm back in Flatland. But I'm… changed.I can't play the game anymore. Can't pretend credentials matter. Can't believe in “realistic” thinking.**Because I've seen the vertical dimension.**And once you've been there - once you've been initiated by death, loss, shattering - **you can never fully believe in Flatland again.**-----## What you'll discover in this episode:**The architecture of Flatland** - How 2D thinking imprisons you without you realizing it**Death as the third dimension** - The vertical axis that breaks the flat plane of “normal life”**Your initiations** - Recognizing the moments when the Sphere appeared in YOUR life (and you might have missed it)**The RAS activation** - How this episode will permanently change what you perceive in your reality**The elder's burden** - What to do when you've been lifted out but dropped back into a world that thinks you're crazy-----## WARNING: This is not safe content.This episode is designed to make you **dangerously curious** and **a little uncomfortable.**Not reassured. Not inspired in the Instagram quote way.**Initiated.**By the end, you'll question:- Whether your job defines you (it doesn't - that's Flatland)- Whether your plans are guaranteed (they're not - that's 2D thinking)- Whether “being realistic” is wisdom (it's not - it's prison maintenance)- **Whether consensus reality is actually real (it's not - it's Flatland)**You'll start seeing patterns you can't unsee.Noticing dimensional breaks you used to ignore.Recognizing when death is trying to teach you something.**And there's no going back.**-----## This is Part 1 of a 6-episode series exploring:**Episode 1:** You Are Living in Flatland (And You Don't Even Know It) ← *You are here***Episode 2:** The Sphere Has Already Appeared. You Just Don't Remember Yet.**Episode 3:** Being Lifted Out - What You See From the Vertical Dimension**Episode 4:** Dropped Back In - When You Can't Fit in Flatland Anymore**Episode 5:** The Prison of Consensus Reality - Why They'll Call You Crazy**Episode 6:** Living Between Dimensions - The Work of the Initiated-----## Required reading (but read it AFTER this episode):***Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions*** by Edwin Abbott Abbott (1884)- Free online, any edition- ~100 pages- **Warning:** After this podcast series, you won't read it as fiction-----## The quote that changes everything:*“You are not crazy for seeing dimensions others can't perceive. You've just been initiated by death. And prisoners who see the bars become insurgents.”*-----**Your RAS is now activated.****You can't unknow this.****Welcome to the vertical dimension.****Welcome to the resistance.**-----*Initiated by death. Returned to Flatland. Speaking from the vertical dimension.**This is the Flatland series. This is the dimensional war.**And you just enlisted.*-----**[CONTENT WARNING: Discusses death, mortality, job loss, cancer, identity dissolution, dimensional initiation, reality destabilization, and the systematic dismantling of consensus thinking. Not recommended for those committed to remaining comfortably two-dimensional.]**-----## About this series:Following the 5-episode *Don Quixote* initiation series (where we explored tilting at windmills, vision vs delusion, defeat at fifty, and coming home), the *Flatland* series takes you deeper into dimensional knowing.**This is live philosophy.** Real-time transformation documented through literature.Not memoir. Not self-help.**Transmission from someone who's been lifted out and dropped back.**Consider this your field manual for the dimensional war.-----*Listen with headphones. Take notes. Your future self will thank you.* One on One Video call W/George https://tidycal.com/georgepmonty/60-minute-meetingSupport the show:https://www.paypal.me/Truelifepodcast?locale.x=en_US

In Episode 3, the gang has to deal with the HUGE danger they and the entire household faces now! And even with Billy the Bug gone, the stink bug device still needs to be dealt with! Assuming they don't get themselves killed doing that, our heroes have to figure out how to take down two god-sized behemoths! What aid will they seek? And will it be enough? The Cast: - Slone as Phil: https://www.tiktok.com/@slonerunning - Blackwell as Brabrex: https://linktr.ee/EveryMan95 - Spencer as Ekxander: https://linktr.ee/spenceydm - Taylor as Carl/Cam: https://linktr.ee/soyouwannabeadm Music is provided by Epidemic Sound Use our link for a 30-day Free Trial! https://share.epidemicsound.com/spf7rg/?playlist=pqqzqnqauplu95iie858kw85v7xnqexx Content Warnings: Violence, Bodily harm, Explicit Language, Drug and Alcohol use, Harm to animals (but 95% of animals are fully sentient people in this world), Claustrophobia, Bugs, Spiders. If we've missed anything, please let us know so that we can update our list. And remember to give us 5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ AND a positive review! This helps us so much, so tell your friends!  We have VIDEO now! Subscribe to our YouTube to see the podcast! And other content! --------------------------- And CLICK HERE to find links to our Patreon, Discord, YouTube, Twitch, TikTok, Instagram, and more! Email us at Soyouwannabeadm@gmail.com WE HAVE MERCH! Click the link above!

Well Sh*t. It really is that simple - Episode 191 - "How assuming compromises needs" is now LIVE!Full Show notes: https://bit.ly/WellShitEpisodeGuideThey say assuming makes an ass out of you and me. What most people don't know is it compromises the needs of you and me as well. We live in a culture of making snap judgments and just assuming we know someone or a situation however, these assumptions often have us losing sight of our humanity and the humanity of others. This week we're talking about assumptions, the impact making assumptions has on everyone's needs and how to cultivate deeper, stronger and more fulfilling relationships through curiosity.In this episode we cover:When Claire got caught "drinking" on the jobThe real issue with assumingHow our needs are compromised when assumptions are madeThe difference curiosity can makeThe assumption most people make about Claire and SerenaWhat's not nice about "must be nice"Social media and the effect assumption can have on our humanityWhat we mean when we talk about curiosityBuilding trust and connection through curiosityThe question to ask yourself when you're curiousRemoving the middle man from our connectionsAssuming you know the people you knowEpisode References:Dark Side of Questions episode: Episode 172 - The darker side of questionsPodcast Episode guide and full show notes: https://bit.ly/WellShitEpisodeGuideFind our website and connect with us on Social Media: https://linktr.ee/theuniversalneeds Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emotions are not simple cause-and-effect reactions to events, but responses filtered through the stories your mind tells. Your thoughts act as a middleperson between what happens and how you feel, which means distorted thinking can create distorted emotions that don't actually match reality.   Emotions involve your nervous system, body sensations, thoughts, and sometimes outward behavior; they are adaptive signals, not “good” or “bad.” The intensity, duration, and context of an emotion matter: how long it lasts, how strong it is, and how meaningful the situation is all shape whether your reaction fits the moment.   Cognitive psychologists like Aaron Beck and Albert Ellis showed that emotions are driven by interpretations of events, not the events themselves, which means your feelings often reflect your thoughts about reality more than reality itself. When those interpretations are biased or extreme, your emotions become “amplified,” turning manageable concern into overwhelming dread and often driving unhelpful behaviors at work and in relationships.   The seven emotional amplifiers   All‑or‑nothing thinking: Only total success “counts,” so anything less feels like failure. Overgeneralization: One bad outcome becomes “this always happens to me.” Magnification/catastrophizing: Low‑probability worst‑case scenarios feel like near‑certainties. Jumping to conclusions: Neutral events (a missed call, a short email) get a negative meaning without evidence. Mind reading: Assuming you know what others think about you—usually something critical—without checking. “Should” statements: Rigid rules about how you, others, or the world must behave that fuel anger, resentment, and shame. Personalization: Taking responsibility for outcomes shaped by many factors, leading to excessive guilt.   Thanks for Listening!

Carl and Mike open up the show with Carl discussing how frustrating he got as he dealt with traffic on Juniper street following construction taking away lanes on the major street. They then get into Falcons talk as they discuss the team beginning their interviews for a new general manager, which Carl believes the team will likely not announce a hiring for the role until later next week or possibly later.

I stumbled into this camp idea, and I'm going to give it to you today! How I discovered it, what I've done that's worked, and how you can adapt it for your context. This is a great Winter Retreat, Summer Camp or D-Now game concept that runs in the background of your student ministry event! My Game Cheat Sheet: https://www.patreon.com/posts/object-hunt-146629811?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link SHOW NOTES Shownotes & Transcripts https://www.hybridministry.xyz/185 ❄️ WINTER SOCIAL MEDIA PACK https://www.patreon.com/posts/winter-seasonal-144943791?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link HYBRID HERO MEMBERS GET IT FREE! https://www.patreon.com/hybridministry DONUT BRACKET VIDEO: https://youtu.be/5ryhkIRyDb4?si=HGPeqL4k03WGceod

#RingRust with my musicular #tnaGenesis, #BattleRiot & #RoyalRumble natterings! #TagMeIn  ~ ~ ~ I'd like to hear from you! Please drop me a line @ ring-rust@hotmail.com {Subject Line: Ring Rust} & let me know what you like {or dislike} about my show! I'm always on the lookout for constructive criticism {if you want playlists again, start giving me feedback, people!}  ~ ~ ~ Check out my #Unboxing videos, all that snazzy anti-social media & support all my shows http://markjabroni.mysite.com/ ~ ~ ~ RECORDED LIVE @ the Holy Smackdown Hotel in Sunny St. John's NL!  ORIGINALLY BROADCAST @ CHMR FM in sunny St. John's NL! Learn more @ https://www.chmr.ca/ If you want to contribute to Betty Cisneros' Stage 4 Cancer treatment, please donate @ https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-betty-battle-her-cancer-away & if you wanted to contribute to the surgeries of wrestling veteran Lufisto, you can check out her store @ http://www.lufisto.com/store-1/ SHOW NOTES... 0:04:274 Pre-Per-View: Total Nonstop Action Wrestling's Genesis 1 0:05:35 Musicular Interlude 1 0:13:13 Pre-Per-View: Total Nonstop Action Wrestling's Genesis 2 0:13:46 Musicular Interlude 2 0:24:05 Pre-Per-View: Total Nonstop Action Wrestling's Genesis 3 0:25:06 Musicular Interlude 3 0:33:28 Pre-Per-View: Total Nonstop Action Wrestling's Genesis 4 0:34:51 Musicular Interlude 4 0:43:41 Battle Royale With Cheese: Feel Bryan Clark! 0:45:07 Musicular Interlude 5 0:54:32 Assuming the Intermissionary Position -= EXPLICIT =- 0:56:17 This Week's Macho Fact 1:03:24 Wrestler Birthdays...  1:05:08 Musicular Interlude 6 1:13:06 This Week's 3-Way Dance-Off: Rap & Wrestling! 1:27:57 Pre-Per-View: Major League Wrestling's Battle Riot! 1:30:01 Musicular Interlude 7 1:39:26 Pre-Per-View: WWE's Royal Rumble 1:41:19 Musicular Interlude 8 1:47:22 Podcast Extra 

Go to www.LearningLeader.com for more This is brought to you by Insight Global. If you need to hire one person, hire a team of people, or transform your business through Talent or Technical Services, Insight Global's team of 30,000 people around the world has the hustle and grit to deliver. www.InsightGlobal.com/LearningLeader Jimmy Wales is the founder of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit. After his daughter Kira's birth faced medical challenges and he couldn't find reliable information online, Jimmy launched Wikipedia in January 2001. In this conversation, Jimmy shares why extending trust before it's earned creates better outcomes, how to deal with bad actors, and the seven rules for building things that last. Notes: Key Learnings (in Jimmy's words) Wikipedia launched 20 days after my daughter was born. When Kira was born, I realized that when you go on the internet, and you've got a question like, "what is this condition my daughter has?"  It just wasn't there. There were either random blogs or academic journal articles that were way above my head. Kira was born on December 26th, and I opened Wikipedia on January 15th.  Nupedia failed because of the seven-stage review process. Before Wikipedia, we worked on Nupedia. We recruited academics to write articles. You had to send in your CV showing you were qualified before you could write anything. We had very slow progress. I was on the verge of giving up. This top-down approach with a seven-stage review process before you publish anything that's no fun, and nobody's doing it. We let anyone edit and figured we'd add structure later. We thought we'd have to figure out who the editor-in-chief of the chemistry section is. You're gonna have to have some kind of authority and hierarchy. But I thought, let's just not have too much structure for as long as possible.  "It's fun. You could be the first person to create a page." There was a point in time when you could write, "Paris is the capital of France". That's amazing. It's not much of an encyclopedia article, but it was fun. It's like, oh, we can just start documenting whatever we know. People started just doing all kinds of stuff. The magic is when you come back and see others improving your work. You could just write a few facts down and hit save, and it's not very good yet. But you'd go back a few days later and see somebody dug in, and they added more information. That element has always been really important. Is it fun? Do you enjoy the activity? Do you meet interesting people? You spend one afternoon, you add a few facts, and then you think, you know what? The world's just ever so slightly better. Trust is conditional, not naive. Out of every thousand people, probably a small handful are gonna be really annoying. But it's really rare to have somebody who's actually malicious. The idea of assuming good faith, as we call it in Wikipedia, is extending trust first before it's been earned. It's conditional. You extend that friendly hand of trust. And if the person proves themselves to be super problematic, then you have to deal with it. To get trust, give trust.  Most people are decent. It also creates an environment where trustworthy behavior is rewarded. As a boss, wouldn't it be fantastic if you said, I'm going to go off and do this other thing, but I just trust my people are so good, they're gonna crack on with the work? Sometimes they'll make a call I would've made differently. That's okay. They're smart. Sometimes they're going to get it better than I did. "You haven't earned my trust." When somebody looks you dead in the eye and says, "You haven't earned my trust," that's destruction. It's the opposite of building a culture where people can thrive.  Extending trust works in parenting, too. When teenagers say, "Well, it doesn't matter what I do, they're going to think the worst anyway, so I might as well do the bad thing." That's really unfortunate. As opposed to saying to your teenager, "Yeah, you want to go out and stay a little later than before. I want you to do that. I trust you, but you gotta do it the right way." You give that trust and believe me, they come home right on time because this is my chance to actually nail this. Give your children an opportunity to live up to building trust.  When trust is broken, you can rebuild it faster than you think. Frances Fry is a Harvard professor who had a huge job at Uber when they had an enormous crisis of trust. People say once you've broken trust, that's it, you can never get it back. But is it really true? No, it's actually not true. She thinks companies can rebuild trust faster than you think. A teenager who's broken a rule can rebuild trust pretty quickly. And our job is to let them rebuild that trust.  The eighth rule is walk the walk. The rules of trust aren't just a lot of good words. You actually have to walk the walk. If you say "I screwed up" and you own that, but then you go back to being the same as you were before, you're not going to rebuild trust. But if you walk the walk, people will see that.  Airbnb rebuilt trust by walking the walk. Really early in Airbnb's history, someone rented out their apartment and came home and it was absolutely trashed. Airbnb handled it very badly. They were stonewalling. In this era, that's often the wrong advice. Not saying anything just means it goes viral. So they ripped off the band-aid. They said, Look, we screwed this up. They started requiring ID's for people renting apartments out, ID's from customers, and substantial insurance for owners. They walked the walk. Transparency doesn't mean sharing everything; it means sharing the process. If people can see your workings, they can see what you're doing and how it works, it gives them assurance in the process. It's about judgment calls. What would be helpful for us to share so people can trust the whole process?  If you think people are fundamentally rotten, you can't work with them. It's very easy when we look at the state of the world to be downtrodden, cynical, and don't trust anybody. If you think people on the other side of you politically or people at your workplace are fundamentally just rotten people, then you're going to have a hard time listening to them. You're going to have a hard time understanding where they're coming from. You're not going to do the right things that make sense to people. Which hurts all of society.  When you've been beaten up by life, change the channel. If you work somewhere where your boss doesn't trust you and your coworkers are all backstabbing freaks, it's time to change the channel. Every night, you should be trying to find a better position. Your number one criteria in looking for that next position is finding somebody who you think is a proper person to be your manager. Think of it as you're interviewing the company just as much as they're interviewing you. When you give trust, you attract trustworthy people. When you become known as a person who gives trust before it's earned, you magically attract trustworthy people. It's kind of cool how it works. Will you get burned every once in a while? Maybe. But you attract the type of people that you wanna be around. Curiosity is the ultimate love language. Get out there in the world and be curious. Asking people questions and being genuinely curious about their stories and learning about them and asking follow-up questions is a great way to show love and to connect with people. When you find yourself in a curiosity conversation where everyone's asking and learning, and they're head nodding and into it, there's nothing better. That's human nature connecting. We are born to connect and collaborate with others. It's quite easy and natural for people to fit into whatever culture is around them. We naturally like to work together to build something good. We're social, and we like to be social. We collaborate to build experiences together. A party with only yourself is not a party. Do what you love, even if it takes time to get there. One of the things that I think is really important is do what you love, do something that you really care about. Oftentimes for young people, there's this struggle between here's the thing that I really want to be doing, and here's the thing that's going to make me some money. Work really hard to find a way to put those together.  Reflection Questions Jimmy says extending trust before it's earned creates better outcomes, but it requires not being naive when someone proves untrustworthy. Think of a situation where you're withholding trust. Is it because of actual evidence that this person is untrustworthy, or are you bringing baggage from past experiences with different people? What would it look like to extend conditional trust in this situation? If you're in a leadership position, honestly assess: are there team members who feel you don't trust? What specific actions could you take this week to demonstrate trust before they've "earned" it in the traditional sense? More Learning #605 - Seth Godin: The Power of Remarkable Ideas #598 - Sam Parr: Bold, Fast, Fun (Founder of The Hustle) #645 - Ryan Petersen: Take Action - From Crisis to Solution Audio Pod Timestamps 02:07 Jimmy Wales' Early Fascination with Encyclopedias 04:28 The Birth of Wikipedia 07:35 The Trust Factor in Wikipedia 12:04 Managing Bad Actors on Wikipedia 15:28 Personal Reflections on Trust 27:05 Setting Reasonable Boundaries for Teens 28:18 Rebuilding Trust After It's Broken 32:37 The Importance of Transparency in Leadership 36:50 The Power of Positive Purpose 39:06 Practical Advice for the Trust-Broken 43:01 Connecting and Collaborating with Others 45:17 Career Advice for Young Professionals 49:41 EOPC

Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://theultimatepartner.com/ebook-subscribe/ Check Out UPX: https://theultimatepartner.com/experience/ In this high-impact podcast episode to kick off 2026, Vince Menzione sits down with Jay McBain (Canalys/Informa) to decode the tectonic shifts reshaping the technology ecosystem. Jay reveals why the tech economy is forecasting double-digit growth while the broader economy lags, introducing a “Tale of Two Cities” where direct infrastructure sales are booming but partner influence is more critical than ever. He explains the drop in channel transact share to 66.7% and why the “96% Partner Assist” is the new metric for success. Jay also details the shift away from traditional “Gold/Silver/Bronze” programs toward point systems that recognize partners at every one of the “28 moments” in the customer journey, from influence to long-term retention. Key Takeaways The tech industry is forecast to grow 10.2% in 2026, outpacing the global economy’s 2.7% growth. Channel transact share has dropped from 75% to a forecast of 66.7% as infrastructure deals go direct. Nvidia and the “Magnificent Seven” are driving a massive direct infrastructure build-out for the next era. Microsoft measures a 96% “Partner Assist” rate, with up to seven partners involved in every deal. 80% of customers now prioritize partner certifications and competencies over relationships when choosing partners. The number one request from partners is to be recognized for value across all 28 moments, not just the point of sale. If you're ready to lead through change, elevate your business, and achieve extraordinary outcomes through the power of partnership—this is your community. At Ultimate Partner® we want leaders like you to join us in the Ultimate Partner Experience – where transformation begins. Key Tags: Jay McBain, Canalys, Informa Tech, Partner Assist, 28 Moments, Tech Growth 2026, Channel Strategy, Nvidia, Infrastructure Buildout, Partner Economics, Microsoft Ecosystem, AWS, Direct Sales, Indirect Sales, Partner Influence, Multiplier Effect, Customer Journey, Partner Programs, Tech Economy, Ecosystem Orchestration. https://youtu.be/ntogEr6mjKg?si=_AaBPBfv9KcMRA9D Transcript: [00:00:00] Jay McBain: By the way, marketplaces, the massive growth in marketplaces for everyone that doesn’t own the marketplace is also an indirect sale. It should be helping these numbers. Yeah, so, but there’s one company that’s driving and happens to be the most valuable company in the world right now. [00:00:15] Vince Menzione: Let’s start off with the first, my burning question I have first, let’s cover it first. [00:00:21] Vince Menzione: If you had a sum up 2026 for partners in one sentence. What is it and what are people still underestimating? [00:00:29] Jay McBain: Yeah, it’s one, one word is probably opportunity. Opportunity. Um, so we look around the world, uh, the world economy without technology in it is gonna grow at 2.7%. That’s about $120 trillion with technology in it, technology industry, we’re forecasting to grow by double digits. [00:00:47] Jay McBain: Amazing. You know, in a world that’s growing at two, uh, we’re expecting 10.2%. Growth. And this industry, as you know, is surrounded by partners. Yes. And there are opportunities in hardware, in software, in services, in telco, all the different parts of the customer’s budget. And to look through the double digits though, I mean the, the extension of the sentence is, it’s a tale of two cities. [00:01:11] Jay McBain: Yeah. I was gonna ask you about this. Police do. There isn’t an opportunity in every slice. You know, some of the slices are shrinking by single digits. Some of them are growing by low single digits, but some of them are in the 20, 30, 40% growth range. And this is what partners are starting to think, these tectonic shifts that are happening, the ultimate partnerships that are happening are in very specific places that you kicked off this session talking about. [00:01:35] Vince Menzione: Yeah. So I would love to di dive in here because we have your, we have your slide up behind us. In fact, in talking about this $6.1 trillion economy around te uh, tech and telco and this opportunity. So, you know, we’re, there are gonna be winners and losers right in, in terms of these, uh, these segments or slices of the economy. [00:01:55] Vince Menzione: We can talk about that now. I, I think maybe it would be a good idea to talk about both the channel and, and why the par the channel plays such a big role in this growth. And then talk about what the winners and losers are gonna be. [00:02:07] Jay McBain: Yeah, I mean, broader. Um, actually if we go to the next, uh, slide, there is, um, a declining number and in the world economy that 120 trillion, 75% of it. [00:02:20] Jay McBain: Uh, moves indirectly. You bought your last car from a dealer. Yeah. You bought your last, uh, TV from a retailer, you know, peanut butter from a grocer, that type of thing. But the agencies, the brokers, the resellers, the retailers, the franchisees, the gas stations, pharmacies, grocery, all the different parts of the 27 industries, you know, play an incredible role. [00:02:40] Jay McBain: Our industry was at 75, not just three years ago. Wow. It dropped to 73.2. Two years ago, down to 70.1 last year, and this year’s forecast to be 66.7, so it’s dropping by about 3% each year and it’s this how money changes hands. Yeah. By the way, marketplaces, the massive growth in marketplaces for everyone that doesn’t own the marketplace is also an indirect sale. [00:03:05] Jay McBain: It should be helping these numbers. Yeah, so, but there’s one company that’s driving and happens to be the most valuable company in the world right now, Nvidia. Yeah. And the broader data center buildup mostly on consumer side, but this infrastructure data center build out globally happening right now is mostly happening direct. [00:03:22] Jay McBain: Yeah. There are the magnificent seven who are spending hundreds of billions of dollars each. On these chips and on this, uh, capability and capacity for this next 20 year era. And this is not a resell gain. They’re not buying through distribution and not buying through a reseller. And that’s where you talk about haves and have nots. [00:03:40] Jay McBain: You talk about this economy that, you know, Nvidia for example, was growing at triple digits, quarter in, quarter out, you know, becoming the most valuable company. And it’s not. A traditional technology opportunity, right? There isn’t managed service providers inside these data centers. There isn’t technology folks like VARs and system integrators in plugging in the equipment. [00:04:02] Jay McBain: Yeah. So we gotta watch and, and look at where this next shift takes us and where this multiplier opportunity wraps around it. So that’s the second number here. 96%. Which hasn’t changed. This is a number by the way, that Microsoft measures Yes. Understand. And, and Microsoft looks at it and, you know, second most valuable company in the world measures every deal they’re in and then have been for decades. [00:04:26] Jay McBain: And they measure this 96% of partner assist upwards of seven partners in every one of their deals. And looking at this partner assist number is what drives them. And in Microsoft’s case. You know, perhaps without a better product price or uh, promotion than their lead competitor. AWS, they’ve outgrown them for 26 straight quarters. [00:04:45] Jay McBain: Yes. And they point to place as the reason why that two, three, maybe even four of those seven partners may be leading with Microsoft in critical moments. And so every company, large, medium, and small, look at this partner assist number. And this is where we take that ecosystem conversation. [00:05:02] Vince Menzione: So with 96% partner assist, why do partners touch, touching, everything still feel invisible in many cases. [00:05:11] Vince Menzione: And what’s the one move that they, they make? Or need to make to make them undeniable to [00:05:15] Jay McBain: vendors in 2026? Yeah, I mean, this is a long legacy. There’s 44 years of legacy of being measured at the point of sale where programs were built and paid at the point of sale. Yeah. Assuming you did a bunch of stuff like consulting and design and advisory before the point of sale, assuming you’re gonna stay after the sale and get the renewal and get the upsell, cross sell, and enrichment, there was this assumption, but you were really recognized only at one moment. [00:05:41] Jay McBain: And when we did the survey last year across, you know, 20,000 partners around the world, the number one thing they’re asking vendors for now. Is to recognize, measure monitor me at every moment. Mm-hmm. 28 of them before the sale every 30 days. Forever after the sale. Yep. At the point of sale, the provisioning, the procurement, all the pieces of where we add value. [00:06:02] Jay McBain: And now Microsoft was one of the leaders that came out with a point system over three years ago to say, we’re gonna start measuring and, you know, spreading the program dollars around a little bit like peanut butter. There’s over 400 companies now who have followed suit. You know, Cisco goes live in two weeks, so we’re in this mode now where the world is changing of economics, of partnering. [00:06:23] Jay McBain: It’s changing how recognition happens and it’s the number one thing partners want. [00:06:27] Vince Menzione: Yeah, we’re moving away from the gold, silver, bronze, uh, days of the past and, and tying ’em to these moments. In particular, the Ultimate Partner Winter retreat is gonna be here in the Boca Studio. This is the third year. [00:06:41] Vince Menzione: That we’re gonna be here in Boca. This is always a favorite of our community members, our executive members, our sponsors and speakers. We’ll all be here in the studio, which is a really intimate setting. We can see it upwards of 40, 50 people. We’ll be hosting an incredible dinner at the Boca Resort overlooking the golf course. [00:07:01] Vince Menzione: That’s an incredible property and uh, we’d love to have you join us. Thank you for being part of the ultimate Partner community, and I hope to see you this year at one of our events. Thank you.

There's a lot of martial arts content online that looks impressive—but taken out of context, it can confuse people fast.In this episode of The John Hallett Podcast, we break down one of the biggest misconceptions in self-defense training: the belief that any system—Krav Maga included—can magically neutralize a highly trained fighter.That's not reality.If someone has years of boxing, wrestling, or BJJ experience, and you've been training for six months, you're already behind. Anyone telling you otherwise is selling fantasy.What Krav Maga is designed to do is far more honest—and far more useful.It focuses on teaching the 20% of skills that solve about 80% of real-world problems:Awareness De-escalationGross-motor, high-percentage movementsDecision-making under stressThat matters because most real-world attacks aren't clean, technical, or fair. They're chaotic. Emotional. Close. And often involve people with little to no formal training—not elite competitors.We also talk about how social media creates false comparisons:Competition techniques shown as “self-defense”Advanced movements taught to beginnersVideos designed to “debunk” other systems by changing the contextThat's not education. That's confusion.Self-defense isn't about winning exchanges or proving superiority. It's about using the right tool for the right moment—or better yet, avoiding the fight entirely when possible.One example we discuss: a training scenario where de-escalation was the correct answer—but a student defaulted to striking simply because they were “in range.” That choice escalated a situation that didn't need to become violent.That's a training failure—not a technique failure.The takeaway is simple:Context mattersProbability mattersPrinciples matter more than flashy techniquesAnd most of all, how you train is how you default under stress.If your training ignores awareness, escalation control, and decision-making, no amount of technique will save you.

#RingRust with my musicular #NightmareRumble pay-per-review! #TagMeIn  ~ ~ ~ I'd like to hear from you! Please drop me a line @ ring-rust@hotmail.com {Subject Line: Ring Rust} & let me know what you like {or dislike} about my show! I'm always on the lookout for constructive criticism {if you want playlists again, start giving me feedback, people!}  ~ ~ ~ Check out my #Unboxing videos, all that snazzy anti-social media & support all my shows http://markjabroni.mysite.com/ ~ ~ ~ RECORDED LIVE @ the Holy Smackdown Hotel in Sunny St. John's NL!  & BROADCAST LIVE @ CHMR FM in sunny St. John's NL! Learn more @ https://www.chmr.ca/ If you want to contribute to Betty Cisneros' Stage 4 Cancer treatment, please donate @ https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-betty-battle-her-cancer-away & if you wanted to contribute to the surgeries of wrestling veteran Lufisto, you can check out her store @ http://www.lufisto.com/store-1/ SHOW NOTES... 0:04:34 Pay-Per-Review: Ohio Valley Wrestling's Nightmare Rumble 1 0:05:40 Musicular Interlude 1 0:12:49 Pay-Per-Review: Ohio Valley Wrestling's Nightmare Rumble 2 0:14:06 Musicular Interlude 2 0:25:47 Pay-Per-Review: Ohio Valley Wrestling's Nightmare Rumble 3 0:27:13 Musicular Interlude 3 0:39:30 News That's Right On the Mark: EC3's Time in the NWA's Over... Man! 0:41:40 Musicular Interlude 4 0:49:19 News That's Right On the Mark: New NXT Champion Incoming! 0:50:21 Musicular Interlude 5 0:58:43 Assuming the Intermissionary Position -= EXPLICIT =- 1:00:21 This Week's Macho Fact 1:10:19 Wrestler Birthdays...  1:11:52 Musicular Interlude 6 1:19:29 This Week's 3-Way Dance-Off: Reach For the Angels, Boy! 1:32:56 News That's Right On the Mark: Total Nonstop Jerichlean Action! 1:35:34 Musicular Interlude 7 1:41:26 News That's Right On the Mark: ! 1:42:08 Musicular Interlude 8 1:51:38 Podcast Extra 

Welcome to the very first episode of the TELL ME IT WILL BE OK podcast, which used to be the Child Anxiety FAQ Podcast. In this episode, we explain the shift in focus from a Q&A format to a more flexible, topic-driven approach to address specific aspects of child anxiety. We delve into the cognitive distortion of catastrophizing and its impact on anxiety, discussing how to recognize these negative thought patterns and practical strategies to manage them. The episode also highlights the role of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in addressing these issues and the importance of aligning actions with personal values. Tune in to learn how to navigate the complexities of anxiety and support your anxious child in an ever-demanding world.00:00 Welcome to the New Podcast Format00:15 Why the Change?00:45 Introducing the New Focus02:11 The Role of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy06:08 Understanding Catastrophizing07:22 Real-Life Examples and Coping Strategies14:13 Parental Catastrophizing and Child Anxiety18:37 Planning for Catastrophes25:03 Final Thoughts and Future Topics

Often, when a small Minyan is praying, one or several of the men in attendance take longer than the others to complete the Amida. The question then arises as to whether or not the Hazzan must wait for ten men to finish before proceeding to Kaddish – in the case of Arbit – or to the Hazara (repetition of the Amida), in the case of Shaharit, Minha or Musaf. And, if the Hazzan does not need to wait for ten men, what is the minimum number of men that must have completed the Amida before the Hazan may begin? The Poskim discuss this question at length, in light of seemingly contradictory rulings of the Shulhan Aruch. In one context (Orah Haim 55:6), the Shulhan Aruch writes that a person who is still reciting the Amida, or even sleeping, may be counted toward the Minyan. Elsewhere (Orah Haim 124:4), however, the Shulhan Aruch warns that at least nine men must be listening attentively to the Hazan's repetition of the Amida and answering Amen, and if not, the Hazan's blessings might be considered Berachot Le'batala (blessings recited in vain). Rav Zalman of Liadi (founding Rebbe of Lubavitch, 1745-1812) reconciles these rulings by drawing a distinction between Arbit and the other prayers. During Arbit, the Hazan does not repeat the Amida, and the issue is thus only the recitation of Kaddish. The Shulhan Aruch allows reciting Kaddish if ten men are present even if one of them is still reciting the Amida, and so at Arbit, the Hazzan may proceed to Kaddish once eight men – besides him – have completed the Amida. During the other prayers, however, the Hazzan repeats the Amida, and this requires at least nine men who are listening and responding "Amen" to the blessings. Therefore, during Shaharit, Musaf and Minha, the Hazzan may not begin the Hazara until nine other men have completed the silent Amida and are able to answer "Amen." This approach is taken also by the Ben Ish Hai (Rav Yosef Haim of Baghdad, 1833-1909) and the Kaf Ha'haim (Rav Yaakob Haim Sofer, Baghdad-Jerusalem, 1870-1939). Hacham Ovadia Yosef, however, disagreed. From the comments of Maran (author of the Shulhan Aruch) in the Bet Yosef, Hacham Ovadia noted, it emerges that in his view, a person who is reciting the Amida may be included in the Minyan even for the Hazan's repetition of the Amida. As for the Shulhan Aruch's remark that nine men must be listening attentively to the Hazara, Hacham Ovadia cited the Derisha as clarifying that the Shulhan Aruch does not actually require nine men to be listening and responding to the Hazara. Indeed, the Shulhan Aruch wrote not that the Hazan's blessings are in vain if nine men are not listening and responding, but rather that they are "close to being recited in vain." The Derisha draws further proof from the Halacha allowing the Hazan to continue the repetition of the Amida if some of the ten men left the synagogue. As long as nine other men were present when he began the Hazara, he may continue and complete the Hazara after the Minyan was lost (as long as at least six remain). This compellingly proves that it is not necessary for nine men to be listening to the Hazan's repetition of the Amida. Hacham Ovadia likewise cited Hacham Yishak Attia (Aleppo, Syria, 1755-1830) as explaining that the Shulhan Aruch warned that people who do not listen and respond to the Hazan's repetition are denigrating the blessings he recites, as though they recite blessings in vain. He did not mean that the Hazan cannot recite the Hazara with fewer than nine people listening and responding. Accordingly, Hacham Ovadia concluded that even during Shaharit, Minha or Musaf, the Hazzan does not need to wait for nine men (besides him) to complete the Amida before beginning the repetition. Even if only eight have completed the Amida, the Hazan may proceed to the Hazara. Of course, it is preferable to wait for everyone to finish – both in the interest of satisfying the stringent opinion, and to give everyone the opportunity to recite Nakdishach. But if the ninth man is taking a long time to finish the Amida, the Hazzan is not required to wait for him. Interestingly enough, although – as we saw – the Ben Ish Hai rules stringently with regard to the repetition of the Amida, he seems to have changed his mind in a later work – Mi'kabse'el. There he writes that in a situation of necessity, where the tenth man recites an excessively long Amida, and the others cannot wait, there is room to allow the Hazzan to begin the Hazara with only eight men listening and responding. This resembles Hacham Ovadia's ruling, though Hacham Ovadia allowed the Hazzan to begin with only eight men listening even when this is not a dire necessity. By contrast, the Hida (Rav Haim Yosef David Azula, 1724-1806) maintained that the Shulhan Aruch cites two different opinions, which are disagreement with one another. The Hida concluded that we may follow the lenient position, and allow the Hazzan to begin even if one of the ten men is still praying the Amida, both at Arbit and when the Amida is repeated. In the opposite direction, Hacham Bension Abba Shaul (Jerusalem, 1924-1998) asserted that the Shulhan Aruch changed his view on the matter, and he followed the stringent view. According to Hacham Bension, then, the Hazzan must wait for nine other men to finish the Amida not only during Shaharit, Minha and Musaf, but even during Arbit, when there is no repetition of the Amida. Since Halacha follows the view that a person reciting the Amida does not count toward a Minyan at all, the Hazzan may not even recite Kaddish if one of the ten men in the synagogue has yet to complete the Amida. Another issue addressed by the Poskim is the minimum required number of men who have completed the Amida. Assuming that a person who is still reciting the Amida may be counted (whether it's only in Arbit, or in any prayer, depending on the different views cited above), does this apply only if the ninth man (besides the Hazzan) is still reciting the Amida? Or can we allow the Hazzan to begin even if several men are still reciting the Amida? Rav Levi Ibn Habib (Jerusalem, c. 1480-c. 1545) maintained that Halacha draws no distinction between a situation where one person has yet to complete the Amida, and a case of several people who are still reciting the Amida. As long as at least five men in addition to the Hazzan have completed the Amida, the Hazzan may proceed. By contrast, the Magen Abraham (Rav Abraham Gombiner, Poland, 1635-1682) was of the opinion that this discussion pertains only to the case where eight men, not including the Hazzan, have completed the Amida, but the tenth man has not. According to the Magen Abraham, this Halacha cannot be extended to a case where fewer than eight men (besides the Hazzan) have completed the Amida. Hacham Ovadia's view on this matter is not entirely clear. With regard to Arbit, he writes that as long as five men besides the Hazzan have completed the Amida, the Hazzan may begin Kaddish, since a majority of a Minyan – six men – have finished. In discussing the case of the other prayers, however, he speaks only of a situation where eight men besides the Hazzan have completed the Amida, but the tenth has yet to finish. The implication of his wording is that when it comes to the repetition of the Amida, Hacham Ovadia did not go so far as to allow the Hazzan to begin when fewer than eight other men have completed the Amida. However, Hacham David Yosef, in Halacha Berura, asserted that in Hacham Ovadia's view, there is no distinction between Kaddish and the Hazara in this regard, and therefore, even if only five men besides the Hazzan have completed the Amida, the Hazzan may begin the Hazara, just as with regard to Kaddish at Arbit. Rav Yisrael Bitan cites the work Netivot Ha'haim as claiming that he heard Hacham Ovadia issue this ruling verbally. In conclusion, Rav Bitan concludes that there is certainly room to permit the Hazan to begin the Hazara if only five men besides him have finished the Amida. (We might add that often, those who have yet to complete the Amida have already reached the end, where additional personal prayers are recited, at which point they may respond to Nakdishach. This gives us an additional basis for leniency.) However, Rav Bitan added, this leniency should be relied upon only when absolutely necessary. Otherwise, the Hazan should not begin the repetition until at least eight other men have completed the Amida. Summary: If there are only ten men in a Minyan for Arbit, the Hazzan may begin the Kaddish after the silent Amida as long as at least five other men – besides him – have completed the Amida. At all other prayers, when the Hazzan repeats the Amida, he should not begin the repetition until at least eight men – besides him – have completed the Amida. In situations of great need, he may begin the repetition even if at least five men – besides him – have completed the Amida. Of course, it always preferable to wait to allow the others to respond to Kaddish or to the repetition.

Often, when a small Minyan is praying, one or several of the men in attendance take longer than the others to complete the Amida. The question then arises as to whether or not the Hazzan must wait for ten men to finish before proceeding to Kaddish – in the case of Arbit – or to the Hazara (repetition of the Amida), in the case of Shaharit, Minha or Musaf. And, if the Hazzan does not need to wait for ten men, what is the minimum number of men that must have completed the Amida before the Hazan may begin? The Poskim discuss this question at length, in light of seemingly contradictory rulings of the Shulhan Aruch. In one context (Orah Haim 55:6), the Shulhan Aruch writes that a person who is still reciting the Amida, or even sleeping, may be counted toward the Minyan. Elsewhere (Orah Haim 124:4), however, the Shulhan Aruch warns that at least nine men must be listening attentively to the Hazan's repetition of the Amida and answering Amen, and if not, the Hazan's blessings might be considered Berachot Le'batala (blessings recited in vain). Rav Zalman of Liadi (founding Rebbe of Lubavitch, 1745-1812) reconciles these rulings by drawing a distinction between Arbit and the other prayers. During Arbit, the Hazan does not repeat the Amida, and the issue is thus only the recitation of Kaddish. The Shulhan Aruch allows reciting Kaddish if ten men are present even if one of them is still reciting the Amida, and so at Arbit, the Hazzan may proceed to Kaddish once eight men – besides him – have completed the Amida. During the other prayers, however, the Hazzan repeats the Amida, and this requires at least nine men who are listening and responding "Amen" to the blessings. Therefore, during Shaharit, Musaf and Minha, the Hazzan may not begin the Hazara until nine other men have completed the silent Amida and are able to answer "Amen." This approach is taken also by the Ben Ish Hai (Rav Yosef Haim of Baghdad, 1833-1909) and the Kaf Ha'haim (Rav Yaakob Haim Sofer, Baghdad-Jerusalem, 1870-1939). Hacham Ovadia Yosef, however, disagreed. From the comments of Maran (author of the Shulhan Aruch) in the Bet Yosef, Hacham Ovadia noted, it emerges that in his view, a person who is reciting the Amida may be included in the Minyan even for the Hazan's repetition of the Amida. As for the Shulhan Aruch's remark that nine men must be listening attentively to the Hazara, Hacham Ovadia cited the Derisha as clarifying that the Shulhan Aruch does not actually require nine men to be listening and responding to the Hazara. Indeed, the Shulhan Aruch wrote not that the Hazan's blessings are in vain if nine men are not listening and responding, but rather that they are "close to being recited in vain." The Derisha draws further proof from the Halacha allowing the Hazan to continue the repetition of the Amida if some of the ten men left the synagogue. As long as nine other men were present when he began the Hazara, he may continue and complete the Hazara after the Minyan was lost (as long as at least six remain). This compellingly proves that it is not necessary for nine men to be listening to the Hazan's repetition of the Amida. Hacham Ovadia likewise cited Hacham Yishak Attia (Aleppo, Syria, 1755-1830) as explaining that the Shulhan Aruch warned that people who do not listen and respond to the Hazan's repetition are denigrating the blessings he recites, as though they recite blessings in vain. He did not mean that the Hazan cannot recite the Hazara with fewer than nine people listening and responding. Accordingly, Hacham Ovadia concluded that even during Shaharit, Minha or Musaf, the Hazzan does not need to wait for nine men (besides him) to complete the Amida before beginning the repetition. Even if only eight have completed the Amida, the Hazan may proceed to the Hazara. Of course, it is preferable to wait for everyone to finish – both in the interest of satisfying the stringent opinion, and to give everyone the opportunity to recite Nakdishach. But if the ninth man is taking a long time to finish the Amida, the Hazzan is not required to wait for him. Interestingly enough, although – as we saw – the Ben Ish Hai rules stringently with regard to the repetition of the Amida, he seems to have changed his mind in a later work – Mi'kabse'el. There he writes that in a situation of necessity, where the tenth man recites an excessively long Amida, and the others cannot wait, there is room to allow the Hazzan to begin the Hazara with only eight men listening and responding. This resembles Hacham Ovadia's ruling, though Hacham Ovadia allowed the Hazzan to begin with only eight men listening even when this is not a dire necessity. By contrast, the Hida (Rav Haim Yosef David Azula, 1724-1806) maintained that the Shulhan Aruch cites two different opinions, which are disagreement with one another. The Hida concluded that we may follow the lenient position, and allow the Hazzan to begin even if one of the ten men is still praying the Amida, both at Arbit and when the Amida is repeated. In the opposite direction, Hacham Bension Abba Shaul (Jerusalem, 1924-1998) asserted that the Shulhan Aruch changed his view on the matter, and he followed the stringent view. According to Hacham Bension, then, the Hazzan must wait for nine other men to finish the Amida not only during Shaharit, Minha and Musaf, but even during Arbit, when there is no repetition of the Amida. Since Halacha follows the view that a person reciting the Amida does not count toward a Minyan at all, the Hazzan may not even recite Kaddish if one of the ten men in the synagogue has yet to complete the Amida. Another issue addressed by the Poskim is the minimum required number of men who have completed the Amida. Assuming that a person who is still reciting the Amida may be counted (whether it's only in Arbit, or in any prayer, depending on the different views cited above), does this apply only if the ninth man (besides the Hazzan) is still reciting the Amida? Or can we allow the Hazzan to begin even if several men are still reciting the Amida? Rav Levi Ibn Habib (Jerusalem, c. 1480-c. 1545) maintained that Halacha draws no distinction between a situation where one person has yet to complete the Amida, and a case of several people who are still reciting the Amida. As long as at least five men in addition to the Hazzan have completed the Amida, the Hazzan may proceed. By contrast, the Magen Abraham (Rav Abraham Gombiner, Poland, 1635-1682) was of the opinion that this discussion pertains only to the case where eight men, not including the Hazzan, have completed the Amida, but the tenth man has not. According to the Magen Abraham, this Halacha cannot be extended to a case where fewer than eight men (besides the Hazzan) have completed the Amida. Hacham Ovadia's view on this matter is not entirely clear. With regard to Arbit, he writes that as long as five men besides the Hazzan have completed the Amida, the Hazzan may begin Kaddish, since a majority of a Minyan – six men – have finished. In discussing the case of the other prayers, however, he speaks only of a situation where eight men besides the Hazzan have completed the Amida, but the tenth has yet to finish. The implication of his wording is that when it comes to the repetition of the Amida, Hacham Ovadia did not go so far as to allow the Hazzan to begin when fewer than eight other men have completed the Amida. However, Hacham David Yosef, in Halacha Berura, asserted that in Hacham Ovadia's view, there is no distinction between Kaddish and the Hazara in this regard, and therefore, even if only five men besides the Hazzan have completed the Amida, the Hazzan may begin the Hazara, just as with regard to Kaddish at Arbit. Rav Yisrael Bitan cites the work Netivot Ha'haim as claiming that he heard Hacham Ovadia issue this ruling verbally. In conclusion, Rav Bitan concludes that there is certainly room to permit the Hazan to begin the Hazara if only five men besides him have finished the Amida. (We might add that often, those who have yet to complete the Amida have already reached the end, where additional personal prayers are recited, at which point they may respond to Nakdishach. This gives us an additional basis for leniency.) However, Rav Bitan added, this leniency should be relied upon only when absolutely necessary. Otherwise, the Hazan should not begin the repetition until at least eight other men have completed the Amida. Summary: If there are only ten men in a Minyan for Arbit, the Hazzan may begin the Kaddish after the silent Amida as long as at least five other men – besides him – have completed the Amida. At all other prayers, when the Hazzan repeats the Amida, he should not begin the repetition until at least eight men – besides him – have completed the Amida. In situations of great need, he may begin the repetition even if at least five men – besides him – have completed the Amida. Of course, it always preferable to wait to allow the others to respond to Kaddish or to the repetition.

＜目次＞(0:30) About Ramp and Diego Zaks(3:27) Time = Money(5:47) Measuring and reducing time spent(8:00) Assuming good intent(8:58) Disappearing interfaces and chat UI(12:58) Does AI effect Ramp's design philosophy?(14:41) Diego's reason for joining Ramp(15:52) Building velocity at Ramp(19:36) Finding alignment and fuzzy metrics(21:22) Ramp's pod team structure(22:31) Being right 52% of the time failing cheaply(26:01) Quick decision making culture(28:31) Internal transformation with AI(30:25) Designers and Product Managers(32:37) Evolution of Diego's role(34:01) Creative works Diego keeps coming back to(35:46) Counting days at Ramp(36:56) How Diego describes RampRamp | All-in-one financial operations platform designed to save businesses time and money.https://ramp.com/Diego Zaks (@diegozaks)https://x.com/diegozaks＜About Off Topic＞Podcast:Apple - https://apple.co/2UZCQwzSpotify - https://spoti.fi/2JakzKmOff Topic Clubhttps://note.com/offtopic/membershipX - https://twitter.com/OffTopicJP草野ミキ:https://twitter.com/mikikusanohttps://www.instagram.com/mikikusano宮武テツロー: https://twitter.com/tmiyatake1

Conflict shows up in every relationship, but most of us were never taught how to handle it well. In this message, Jesus offers a practical and challenging way to deal with conflict without destroying relationships. Instead of avoidance, gossip, or escalation, He calls us toward honesty, accountability, and grace. The message also confronts a hard truth: refusing to give grace after receiving it leads to bitterness and broken connection. This talk offers wisdom for healing relationships and moving forward with clarity and hope.--Support content like this and the vision of Sandals Church at http://sandalschurch.com/support/Join our email list for content updates: http://sandalschurch.com/subscribeDownload the Sandals Church App: http://sandalschurch.com/app/If you have questions, need prayer or want to get connected, please email us anytime at online@sandalschurch.com!

Assuming you know what motivates people is often what disconnects you from them. In this episode of CTO Confessions, Ravi Soni, VP of Engineering at Curative, shares why strong leadership starts with curiosity — not conclusions — especially in complex, high-stakes environments like healthcare. Ravi brings a calm, practical perspective shaped by years of scaling SaaS platforms, modernizing legacy systems, and leading teams through real change. From staying close to the technical craft as a leader, to rethinking motivation, to why healthcare still needs urgent digitization, this conversation is a thoughtful reminder that the best leaders ask more than they assume — and listen more than they speak.

#RingRust with my musicular newsicular musings! #TagMeIn  ~ ~ ~ I'd like to hear from you! Please drop me a line @ ring-rust@hotmail.com {Subject Line: Ring Rust} & let me know what you like {or dislike} about my show! I'm always on the lookout for constructive criticism {if you want playlists again, start giving me feedback, people!}  ~ ~ ~ Check out my #Unboxing videos, all that snazzy anti-social media & support all my shows http://markjabroni.mysite.com/ ~ ~ ~ RECORDED LIVE @ the Holy Smackdown Hotel in Sunny St. John's NL!  RECORDED LIVE @ CHMR FM in sunny St. John's NL! Learn more @ https://www.chmr.ca/ If you want to contribute to Betty Cisneros' Stage 4 Cancer treatment, please donate @ https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-betty-battle-her-cancer-away & if you wanted to contribute to the surgeries of wrestling veteran Lufisto, you can check out her store @ http://www.lufisto.com/store-1/ SHOW NOTES... 0:03:36 News That's Right On the Mark: AEW's a No Mercedeses Club... They Can Have 1 Though! {Hyuck!} 0:04:29 Musicular Interlude 1 0:14:10 News That's Right On the Mark: Concussion PROOOOOOOOOOTOCOLLLLLLLLLLLS! 0:15:05 Musicular Interlude 2 0:24:02 News That's Right On the Mark: Future Tag Team Champions in Life! 0:27:29 Musicular Interlude 3 0:40:07 News That's Right On the Mark: Is Chelsea Glad Matt's Her Co-Worker? Woo Woo Woo! 0:41:35 Musicular Interlude 4 0:49:31 Assuming the Intermissionary Position -= EXPLICIT =- 0:51:58 This Week's Macho Fact 1:02:20 Wrestler Birthdays...  1:03:53 Musicular Interlude 5 1:16:35 This Week's 3-Way Dance-Off: It's Weird This Happened 3 Times! 1:26:46 News That's Right On the Mark: MLW Sells Out Chicago... Again! 1:28:27 Musicular Interlude 6 1:38:39 News That's Right On the Mark: We Won't See the Doctor Now! 1:40:39 Musicular Interlude 7 1:49:20 Podcast Extra 

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In this episode, we're talking about one of the most common (and sneakiest) patterns in parenting: assuming the worst. I see it all the time. And yes—I do it too. It shows up in the little moments. Like when your teen doesn't answer your text for an hour and your brain instantly goes to: They're ignoring me. They're mad at me. They've been kidnapped. (Meanwhile, their phone is dead and they're happily eating nachos with friends.) Or when they sigh at something you said and suddenly you're spiraling into, They don't respect me. They hate living here. This entire family is falling apart. …all because your kid was annoyed that the Wi-Fi glitched for three seconds. We assume the worst because we care deeply—and because our brains are wired for threat detection, not nuance. But when we let that pattern run unchecked, it blows up in our face. It turns small moments into big conflicts. It makes us withdraw, overreact, lecture, or resent. And it teaches our teens that we see them as a problem instead of a person. In this episode, we'll talk about: A better understanding (and more grace) for when and why we—and our teens—jump to worst-case assumptions. How this plays out in real time inside family relationships, so you can spot the pattern before it becomes a full emotional landslide. What to do instead—the exact strategies that strengthen trust and connection rather than eroding it. If you've ever gotten mad at your teen for something that was only happening inside your own imagination… this episode will help. Want support applying these tools in your own home? Book a free Peaceful Parenting Strategy Call HERE and let's talk about what's happening with your teen and how to shift the dynamic for good. xoxo

If you've ever dreamed of launching a physical product—turning an idea into something tangible—you've probably noticed how overwhelming the process can feel. Manufacturing, sourcing, quality control, logistics, global suppliers…every step has layers most founders never see until they're already in trouble. In a world where disruptions happen daily and the global economy shifts without warning, the founders who succeed aren't just innovative—they're prepared. Today's guest, Kerim Kfuri, brings more than two decades of global supply chain expertise spanning technology, retail, spirits, sports equipment, and beyond. As Founder & CEO of The Atlas Network, he and his team help companies navigate the often-chaotic process of bringing products to market—handling everything from factory selection to QC, logistics, and end-to-end production. Kerim is also the author of Supply Chain Ups and Downs, creator of The Supply & Demand Show, and the first U.S.-based verified supplier and ambassador for Alibaba—giving him a uniquely global, modern perspective on how products really get made. In this episode, Kerim breaks down the mindset, knowledge, and strategies every founder needs before they ever produce a thing. The Hidden Challenges New Founders Overlook Kerim's path into supply chain didn't start in manufacturing—it began with years spent in finance, regulation, consulting, and entrepreneurship. But everything changed the first time he stepped into a factory in China and saw ideas becoming reality on the production line. From that point forward, one truth has shaped his entire philosophy: Most founders fail not because the idea is bad, but because they don't know what they don't know. The wrong supplier. No quality control. Assuming timelines will hold. Not understanding cultural expectations. Failing to anticipate disruptions. Kerim explains how founders can dramatically reduce risk by choosing vetted suppliers, putting "eyes and ears" on the ground, and building processes that protect them from expensive mistakes. Even seasoned brands struggle when entering new categories—so first-time founders need even more support. Successful product creation starts with education, clarity, and the right partners. AI, Disruption, and the Future of Product Development Global supply chain challenges aren't rare—they're constant. Weather, politics, tariffs, port closures, labor strikes, pandemics…founders can't avoid disruptions, but they can prepare for them. Kerim believes these moments of chaos often spark innovation. When materials change, or routes shift, companies are forced to rethink how products are made—and sometimes what emerges is stronger, smarter, or more profitable than before. He also shares how AI is reshaping the entire supply chain ecosystem: AI-powered sourcing tools that match founders to the right factory instantly Autonomous warehousing, trucking, and drone delivery Emissions-optimized shipping routes Instant business plans and market analyses generated from a single idea But with innovation comes caution. Kerim emphasizes that AI must be a tool—not a substitute for human wisdom, experience, and guardrails. At the center of it all is the mindset he teaches clients: a limitless mindset—one that looks for possibility, not restriction. Enjoy this episode with Kerim Kfuri… Soundbytes 08:18 – 08:26  "Sometimes it's in the face of chaos that we have true opportunity. It all comes from having the right mentality as you come into global supply chain." 14:37 – 14:49 "You have to be the cheerleader. You go to bed with your successes and your failures, and then get up the next day and do it again." Quotes "These disruptions aren't doomsday situations—you have to see the opportunity inside them." "You can't build a supply chain by guessing. Passion is great, but knowledge is what protects your business." "Entrepreneurship isn't for the faint of heart. You have to get up every day ready to fight for your idea." "If you scale too quickly, you risk diluting your service. Growth only works when it's intentional." Links mentioned in this episode: From Our Guest Website: https://kerimkfuri.com/ LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kerimkfuri/ Connect with brandiD Find out how top leaders are increasing their authority, impact, and income online. Listen to our private podcast, The Professional Presence Podcast: https://thebrandid.com/professional-presence-podcast Ready to elevate your digital presence with a powerful brand or website? Contact us here: https://thebrandid.com/contact-form/

1)      How did Noach bring his Korbanos from Mount Ararat toYerusholayim?[1]2)      Before going to sleep I switch my daytime Tallis-Koton for a night-time one. How do I prevent this garment from becoming a night-garment - which is exempt of Tzitzis?[2] 3)      I'm at a farbrengen on Shabbos afternoon, and my child – who's already the age of Chinuch – says that he can't eat because he hasn't yet heard kiddush. May I make Kiddush for him now?[3]4)      Someone placed pizza into my pop-up toaster. Assuming the toaster cannot be koshered, may I use it for at all (since we're not allowed to bake milchig bread)?[4]5)      When washing for bread, should we rub our hands together whilst reciting the brocho?[5]6)      Based upon the recent discussion why Chabad don't do Hoisofois, because really the brochos are said for the Baal Korei – should I, as a Baal Korei, refrain from answering ברוך הוא ובורך שמו to the brochos of those called to the Torah?[6]7)      In Tehillim #66 we have הריעו לאלקים כל הארץ,in #100: הריעו לה' כל הארץ. Why the difference?[7] 8)      I daven Shacharis at a 6:30 minyan. What if I'm the 10th man and I must leave by 7:15, but the minyan still isn't done with the Kaddeishim after שיר של יום, קוה and עלינו?[8]9)      Should one put coins in Tzedoko before Maariv?[9]10)  כלו תפלות דוד בן ישי = בגימטרי' בשכמל"ו. לעת"ל יתוסף אות: "וברוך שכמל"ו". אגרא דפרקא קיב. To sponsor a Shiur – to honour a special occasion -contact: dayan@lubavitchuk.com[1] שהמזבח של נח הי' בהר המורי' – תיב"ע בראשיתח, כ; רמב"ם ביהב"ח רפ"ב. לא ידענו על מסע בעגלות כי אם כששלחןפרעה. [ברד"ק: עגלה, בגלל שהיו עגולים. ותמוה שלא קישר עם הגלגלים]. אליעזרנסע עם גמלים, וכן יעקב, ובני יעקב נסעו עם חמורים. בצאת נח מן התיבה חיפש ארץנושבת, לכן נסע לא"י – שלא הושחת במבול. אלא שלפי זה, בניית המזבח לא היתהתיכף ליציאתם מן התיבה. ברד"ק הביא שתי הסברות.[2] בפסקידינים של הצמח צדק (ג, ב) מצריך בגד שהוא מיוחד ליום ולילה. ובפסקי תשובות (סי'כא:ה) מביא שיש מקילים בזה. עוד שם, ששימוש לפרקים ביום, די בזה.[3] בס' שמירת שבת כהלכתה(ח"ב סי' נ ס"ו) מתיר הדבר. [4] הדין – ביו"ד סי' צזס"א. נראה ששתי פרוסות לחם הוי דבר מועט לענין זה, שנאכלים בסעודה אחת.[5] כך הבאנו בקצור שו"ע סי' מט בהע' ב,ע"פ לקוטי דבורים ח"ג ע' 896. וראה דברינו ב'סדור רבנו הזקן' בדיניפדיון הבן הע' 26.[6] כך.[7] ראה מבוא לס' ישמיע כלתהלתו, מאמר א'..[8] איסור יציאה באמצע, ברמ"א סי' נה ס"ב;שוע"ר שם. והיינו באמצע יחידה שעלי' נאמר "יצאו מקצתן . . גומר".אבל לא ל'יחידות' נוספות. כמ"ש במשנ"ב (שם ס"ק יב) שהמצטרף ל'ברכו'אינו מחוייב לישאר לחזרת הש"ץ. שו"ת שבט הלוי (ח"ד סי' ז)ס"ל שנשארת השראת השכינה גם כשיצאו מקצתן, ולכך גומרין. ואיסור עזיבה הואבגלל המשך התפלה. [וזה דלא כהמשנ"ב הנ"ל]. ואילו מהנו"ב(שהביא שם) משמע שזה שיצאו מקצתן גומר היינו לפי שאין החסרון עשרה מונעת השראתהשכינה. [נפק"מ בהתחילו בפחות מי']. [9] ראה ההערה בלקו"שחי"ד ע' 282; ס' בחדרי תורתך ח"ג ע' 114 ואילך; שלחן מנחם ח"ה ע'קכ ואילך.​

One of the fastest ways intimacy erodes in marriage is through assumption.We assume our spouse knows what we need.We assume they understand how we feel.We assume love means they should just “get it.”But marriage doesn't work on mind-reading as we have talked about before, it works on communication.When we assume things, we stop asking questions. And when we stop asking questions, we stop truly knowing our spouse. Over time, those assumptions turn into unmet expectations, and unmet expectations almost always lead to frustration, resentment, or emotional distance.Dr. John Gottman, one of the leading marriage researchers, talks about “bids for connection” the small moments where one spouse reaches out for attention, affection, or understanding. When those bids are ignored, often because of assumptions, couples slowly drift apart. Assumptions also damage sexual intimacy. When one spouse assumes rejection, disinterest, or “now's not a good time,” desire goes unspoken. Silence replaces vulnerability. And eventually, intimacy feels awkward or distant, not because love is gone, but because communication is.In this episode, Nick and Amy talk about how making assumptions or assuming things in marriage can crate a lot of disconnect and conflict.Healthy marriages don't assume. They ask.They clarify.They check in.They choose conversation over silence.Because love isn't proven by how well you guess, it's proven by how well you listen.If you haven't already, go check out the Ultimate Intimacy App in the app stores, or at ultimateintimacy.com to find "Ultimate Intimacy" in your marriage. It's FREE to download and so much fun! Find out why close to 1M people have downloaded the app and give it such high ratings and reviews!Check out the new UandI App we just released after a year in development.WANT AMAZING PRODUCTS TO SPICE THINGS UP? YES PLEASE... CLICK HEREFollow us on Instagram @ultimateintimacyapp for app updates, polls, giveaways, daily marriage quotes and more.If you have any feedback, comments or topics you would like to hear on future episodes, reach out to us at amy@ultimateintimacy.com and let us know! We greatly appreciate your feedback and please leave us a review.*This episode was recorded and published a few years ago and we released it again.Enjoy the podcast or have some feedback for us? Shoot us a message!

1. Week 17 Takeaways-DKrom: Voters face an EXTREMELY difficult decision on 2025 Coach of the Year honors-Hal: Teams that had nothing to play for played HARD (e.g.: Browns, Colts, Bengals, Falcons)2. Week 17 Honors-GOAT of the Week (DKrom: Derrick Henry, Hal: Drake Maye)-Dunce of the Week (DKrom: Mike Tomlin, Hal: Arthur Smith)3. Rating the Playoff Teams (One-And-Done, Dancers, Championship Caliber)-Packers-Texans 4. On a scale of 1-10 (1 being not likely at all, 10 being all but guaranteed), how possible is it that Maxx Crosby has played his final down as a Raider? 5. Truth or Exaggeration -The Saints have a HC/QB combo that they can rely on for the next five seasons or more-On Sunday night, John Harbaugh and Mike Tomlin will be coaching for job security beyond 2026 -Assuming the current draft order holds (and both Fernando Mendoza and Dante Moore declare), the Giants will trade the #2 overall pick to another QB-needy team -The Titans must hire another Vrabel-type program builder as head coach (Jesse Minter, Jeff Hafley) as long as they bring in a proven OC (Brian Daboll, Kevin Stefanski)-Bears DB's coach Al Harris will be the hottest DC candidate this cycle-The Bills will not win another AFC East title with Josh Allen unless they fire both Sean McDermott and Brandon Beane-Michael Penix, Jr. will permanently lose the Falcons starting QB job at some point next season -Malik Willis will be the starting QB for either the Steelers, Cardinals or Dolphins in 20266. Week 18 Game Picks-Lock of the Week (DKrom: Panthers over Bucs, Hal: Broncos over Chargers)-Upset Special (DKrom: Chargers over Broncos, Hal: Steelers over Ravens)-Seahawks at 49ers -Colts at Texans -Cowboys at Giants -Browns at Bengals -Saints at Falcons -Packers at Vikings -Titans at Jaguars -Cardinals at Rams -Chiefs at Raiders -Dolphins at Patriots -Commanders at Eagles -Lions at Bears-Jets at Bills7. Week 18 Bold Predictions-DKrom: Lions lay another 50-burger on the Bears as Jared Goff sets the single game record with 8 TD passes in a 56-35 win-Hal: Ravens score go-ahead TD on 4th down with just over a minute remaining in the game to take 20-19 lead...but on the two-point conversion, Lamar fumbles and Jalen Ramsey scoops it up and returns it 90-yards for two points and the Steelers win 21-20 8. Challenge Flags-DKrom: Bucs…win or lose this weekend, do NOT extend Baker Mayfield this offseason and make him earn it next year -Hal: All playoff teams...the field is wide open like never before...y'all have a shot, so make the most of this chance!

How do we really know when improvement has happened inside a school or organization? In this episode, John Dues and Andrew Stotz unpack a clear, three-part definition of improvement and show why evidence, method, and sustained results matter far more than year-to-year comparisons. Their discussion offers a practical lens for leaders who want to distinguish true progress from noise and build changes that last. TRANSCRIPT 0:00:02.4 Andrew Stotz: My name is Andrew Stotz and I'll be your host as we dive deeper into the teachings of Dr. W. Edwards Deming. Today I'm continuing my discussion with John Dues, who is part of the new generation of educators striving to apply Dr. Deming's principles to unleash student joy in learning. The topic for today is, How To Define Improvement. John, take it away.   0:00:23.3 John Dues: Hey, Andrew. It's good to be back. Yeah, I think this is really interesting. Apologies on the front end. I'm a little bit under the weather, so I may sound a little raspy today. But you know, one of the things that's really interesting is there's lots of claims of improvement. In my world, there's lots of claims of school im- improvement. I would even go as far as to say that those claims are like a dime a dozen, something like that. And the reason I say that is not to be mean or anything, but you know, I think that a lot of these claims, they're not grounded any kind of reasonable evidence. And I think sort of even beyond that, that claims are often made without a logical definition of improvement. So I thought in this episode we could talk about a three-part definition that makes it really easy to tell when improvement has occurred and just as importantly, when it hasn't.   0:01:21.9 Andrew Stotz: Exciting.   0:01:23.2 John Dues: Yeah. When I talk about this, I always like to start with a challenge. So, you know, if I'm in a workshop, I'll say, you know, get out a piece of paper and a pen so the listeners could do this as well and think about, you know, the successful improvement efforts that you've led throughout your career. So in my world, maybe it's increase in state test scores or maybe you improved student enrollment in your school. Maybe you did a better job at retaining the teachers in your school. It could be any number of things. Maybe it's decreasing student office referrals or decreasing chronic absenteeism rates in your school or your school system, which are two things on everybody's mind coming out of the pandemic especially. And I tell people, just create a list of those instances. And I give them a few minutes usually. And typically, people come up with eight, nine, 10 or so instances of improvement, whether that's teacher in their own classroom or principal in their school, or a superintendent thinking about the whole system. Then I say to them, now what I want you to do is pause and think, what does it mean to improve?   0:02:46.7 John Dues: What do you mean by that? And that really brings us to this important question. What is improvement? You know, and this was... Full disclosure, when I started thinking about this, I stumbled across the definition in a book I'll show you here in a second. But when I stumbled across this, you know, there was some conviction. And I think that probably a lot of educational leaders or just, you know, leaders in general would say, actually, I never really thought about that. I don't have an answer for this seemingly simple question. And like I said, I didn't have an answer to that question when I really thought about it, when I stumbled across the definition, probably for the majority of my career, maybe the first 20 years or so, if I'm at year 25. So, yeah, the first two decades, I would not have had a clear answer for that simple question. Now, I turn to this seminal work in the field of improvement science called The Improvement Guide. I'm sure a lot of people are familiar with this. And I'll share my screen so people can see the book and kind of share an interesting story about the book. And, you know, when you're... Can you see my screen all right now?   0:04:06.9 Andrew Stotz: Yep.   0:04:08.1 John Dues: So you can see, if you're just listening, you can see the covers of two books. So on the left, a lot of people will recognize The Improvement Guide. But there's an arrow up there. It says, second edition. And a lot of people will recognize that book. Probably less people. Maybe some people that have been doing improvement work for maybe three decades will know this other book, the first edition of The Improvement Guide. It's this purple book on the right, if you're watching. But there's this interesting anecdote that I actually think I might have heard maybe on your podcast when some of the authors were on. And almost as soon as they wrote this first edition, this purple edition, they got this note from this professor in Brazil, and it said, I know you guys are really big into improvement, and you're really big on operational definitions, but you've written this whole book on improvement, and nowhere in the book have you defined what you mean by improvement. So, you know, talk about a swing and a miss.   0:05:15.0 Andrew Stotz: Yeah. And just for listeners out there, you can go to the podcast.deming.org and you can search for quality as an organizational strategy with Cliff Norman and Dave Williams. We didn't talk about The Improvement Guide specifically, but definitely it's worth listening to those two.   0:05:33.3 John Dues: Yeah, and I think... So any of us that feel bad when we come to realize, like, how obvious that question is when we've made claims of improvement and don't have a definition. So even these guys that were writing a whole guide about how to do improvement missed as well. You know, and it's pretty obvious when you think about it that The Improvement Guide, that a book like that should have a clear definition for the central concept. That's right in the title. But it should be just as obvious to leaders that they also need a definition of improvement. And that definition should really precede any improvement claims then. So I thought it'd be interesting to take a look at the definition that the authors came up with in their improved second edition.   0:06:20.9 Andrew Stotz: Improvement in their improvement.   0:06:24.4 John Dues: Improvement in their improvement guide. Right. And the definition is really easy to follow. It's got three parts, and now I've adopted it into my own improvement work. But what they've said is improvement is "a change that alters how work is done or the makeup of a tool that produces visible positive differences relative to historical norms and relevant measures and it's sustained into the future." So we can kind of break that three parts of the definition down now. So in part one of the definition, what you have to be able to do is point to a change that was made that led to better results. You know, that could be a new tool you're using, a new approach, a new framework, maybe it's a new staff role, but something has to change, a new method, something has to change in what you're doing. So that's sort of part one of the definition. Part two is performance improved after the change compared to past results. So that also should be fairly obvious. So you did something different. You noted when you started this new thing, and at some point in relative proximity to when you tried that new thing, the data improved.   0:07:54.2 John Dues: You know, it went up. If that's the direction of good or, you know, if it's like chronic absenteeism or office referrals, you want it to go down. But you see that in the data after you've made this change, that's part two. And then part three is that improvement after the change was sustained into the future. So it wasn't just a temporary thing because you were paying a lot of attention to it, but you made the change. The data improved over time after you did this new thing, and then it kept going into the future.   0:08:27.9 Andrew Stotz: Which is the hardest part, by the way.   0:08:30.1 John Dues: The hardest part, I'd say too. Assuming you could bring about improvement, then sustaining it into the future, especially as you maybe take your eye off it a little bit, and then work on something else, that's very, very difficult.   0:08:43.1 Andrew Stotz: Yeah, the initial seizure that you get into of making change can be really powerful compared to the energy, you know, devoted to sustaining it.   0:08:55.9 John Dues: Yeah.   0:08:56.3 Andrew Stotz: And you could also argue, if something's not easily sustained, was it really an improvement?   0:09:02.8 John Dues: Right. I think that's just right. And, you know, what I do in the workshop then is then after I go over the definition, I ask people, now, think back to your list of successful improvement projects. You know, and for the listeners, if you pause, then you created your own list and then you heard that definition. Then I just asked the participants, would you revise your answer after reading this definition of improvement? And ask people, okay, now how many things, how many items are on that list? And a lot of people, if they're being honest, are left with none, actually. You know, because this definition sets a really high bar. But I think it is the right bar if you're actually interested in improving outcomes in your school, in my case, or in your organization. And I think what you often run up against is, this is kind of a simplified version of most improvement claims. But in my world, you hear claims, something like, you know, our state test scores improved. Right. The translation is, this school's or this year scores are higher than last year's scores.   0:10:25.8 John Dues: But that claim falls really short of that definition. Well, okay, the scores are better than last year. Well, what did you do to make them better? Also, a single data point is probably not enough to back that claim up. Let's instead turn to an example that meets the definition, and it'll help you understand how powerful this can be in practice. So, you know, let's suppose that you've been working to increase some student outcome measure. Let's say we gather it on a monthly basis, whatever this thing is. So now I'm going to show you a visual that has some data plotted over time. And the three parts of the definition of improvement have been labeled right on that chart. And having this visual is very, very powerful. This is when this definition really clicked. So I'll go ahead and share my screen again with you. All right. Can you see that chart?   0:11:35.9 Andrew Stotz: Yep.   0:11:36.9 John Dues: Okay, great. So first off, if you're watching that, you can just see very quickly that the claim of improvement has been substantiated with evidence. So for the people that are just listening, we have some data plotted over time for the first 15 months and it's kind of traveling along around an 80% average. And then all of a sudden that data shifts up substantially to now it's humming along at about a 91, 92% average. And it's much harder to sort of internalize this without being able to see it. But I'll do my best to explain it. So the first thing was, part one. There's a clear point in time where a change was introduced. So that's labeled as part one. Right in between month 15 and 16, there's an arrow there on the chart where some change was made. If this is a teacher's data, maybe they made some type of change to how they were instructing the class.   0:12:55.3 Andrew Stotz: In research, sometimes we'll call that time zero.   0:13:00.6 John Dues: Time zero, absolutely. And then second again, there's this clear difference in results after the change was introduced as compared to historical results. So that's part two. So there's this positive, visible difference relative to historical norms. Now, you know, this is an example for illustration purposes and I wanted to make it very clear, like this delineation, this definition. But in reality, you know, if you're a teacher trying this new method, for example, it might be that even if the method is successful, you're not maybe going to see the results immediately. Right. But this illustrates, what you're hoping to see. And it makes it very clear. And then part three on here, that improvement was sustained in the future. So you see the bump in scores in this, whatever this outcome is in this hypothetical in month 16. But it wasn't just months 16 and 17, it carried forth for another 15 months at this much higher level. So you can very quickly start to see there's this profound difference between most improvement claims and one supported by this three part definition. It makes it very simple. When do we introduce something new? And then what does the data look like over time after an initial baseline period?   0:14:36.9 Andrew Stotz: It reminds me of something I often say to people, which is, do you ever make the same mistake twice in your business? And of course, everybody says yes. And I ask them, imagine if you never made the same mistake twice, how would that change the outcome of your business? And then we have a discussion about that. But the point is that most people just live in a world where they never are able to really sustain improved performance. They just fall back to the same things. And this chart is a good way of understanding, have we truly sustained improved performance?   0:15:24.4 John Dues: Yeah, yeah. And you have to have a method. You know, that's why Deming would frequently say, you can't just have a goal. You have to be able to answer the question by what method? So that's why part one of this definition was calling out whatever change was introduced. Because in this system, in that baseline period from month one through 15, while there are some ups and downs in that data, it's really just bouncing around that 80% average. And if you don't change something in that system, then you're very likely just to keep getting those same results over time. Some fundamental change has to be introduced so you have a stable system, but it's not satisfactory. So you got to change something. And then you're going to keep gathering the data to see if that change had an impact. So again, it's not rocket science. And it was pretty intuitive to see that definition in that improvement guide. And then actually this sort of chart I'm showing you with a three part definition combined with a control chart or a process behavior chart, I saw this in their latest book called Quality as an Organizational Strategy.   0:16:42.0 John Dues: And when I saw the visualization of the improvement definition, which was only in like text form in The Improvement Guide, then it all just clicked. Oh, this is so obvious what this definition actually means and how you could tell if something has improved or not. So I think anybody that's doing improvement work, you know, whether you're in schools or some other type of organization, and whether you're the superintendent of the entire system, the principal of the building or the teacher in a classroom, all of you can use this. A student could use this, an athlete could use this. This definition, it doesn't really matter. It's sector agnostic and can be applied, you know, pretty widely against different contexts. But it makes it very clear how to tell when things are getting better, how to tell if, you know, maybe things are going the other direction or if they're just staying the same. Makes it very, very clear.   0:17:36.8 Andrew Stotz: Yeah, I mean, it's a great thought exercise that you started with that, you know, got me thinking and I'm sure for the listeners and the viewers got them thinking, like, what changed? Where have we really improved? And one of the hard things in business, and I'm sure it's the same in teaching, is that ultimately personalities and ultimately it's about the people, whether that's business or teaching. And one of the things that you can say about people that's commonly said, whether it's true or not, I'll leave you to think about that. And that is people don't change.   0:18:19.8 John Dues: People don't like to change.   0:18:21.1 Andrew Stotz: They don't like to change. And I would argue that they rarely change.   0:18:25.9 John Dues: Yeah, yeah, no, I would agree with that.   0:18:28.5 Andrew Stotz: I mean, the whole mission of life is to get to a point where you don't have to change. That is the human body, the human mind is just like trying to get to that point.   0:18:42.6 John Dues: Yeah. Unfortunately, it doesn't work.   0:18:45.6 Andrew Stotz: Yeah. And then you die.   0:18:50.1 John Dues: Yeah.   0:18:51.3 Andrew Stotz: But it just gets me thinking too, about... And for everybody, here we are at the... We're discussing this on the 9th of December. So we're getting near the end of the year, thinking about what we're trying to do next year and all that. And in my coffee business, as an example, we've had our shares of ups and downs, but we've tried to right the ship as far as making sure that we've got the right balance of profitability, the right number of staff, cash flow and a buildup of cash so that we have the resources to go after markets. And the question is, that I always have in my mind is, how do we prevent ourselves from slipping back into some old habits of maybe spending on marketing and sales and then not getting the delivery of that, and therefore the costs go up, but the revenues don't follow? How do we ensure that the improvements that we're making right now aren't just lost six months from now? And this starts to give me some ideas that I'm thinking about.   0:20:00.5 John Dues: Yeah. I mean, and once you get that improvement, like, how do you sustain it? How do you have the discipline to do that?   0:20:09.1 Andrew Stotz: Well, I think the first thing that this raises is, are we clearly measuring, first, whether the improvement happened?   0:20:19.3 John Dues: Yeah.   0:20:19.7 Andrew Stotz: And second, whether it was sustained?   0:20:22.8 John Dues: Yeah. And even before that, you know, just having a baseline. Most people have the data somewhere, but they haven't plotted it like this so it's clear what the typical performance is currently, a lot of people don't even take that step. You know, it's just last year, this year. Last month. This month.   0:20:39.8 Andrew Stotz: Yeah, that's good point. That's a good point. That's something you pointed out to me a long time ago about looking at, you know, my enrollments in Valuation Masterclass Boot Camp and saying, well, you need to understand, you know, what's the system you're operating in, and therefore, you've got to understand what that system can produce before you start thinking about, you know, what's your next steps.   0:21:01.6 John Dues: Yeah, yeah. And like I said in the middle of this episode, you know, this is a very high bar. This is not easy to accomplish. It takes discipline. It takes continual improvement. Dr. Deming talked about he liked using continual versus continuous because a lot of this would be discontinuous. You know, you have a focus, you may be improving an area, then you have to change your focus. But you can't keep your eye totally off this other thing. Like you were just saying, you have to kind of keep your eye on multiple things to keep an organization going. And that's part of the challenge of running an organization for sure. Be it a coffee business or a school.   0:21:39.9 Andrew Stotz: Yeah. It's interesting that we're talking about the definition of improvement long after we talked about the method of improvement, like PDSA.   0:21:50.5 John Dues: Yeah, yeah. And that's probably the best method I've come across. So, you know, in this visual that we're looking at, for people that can see it, you know, part one, a change was introduced. The most powerful tool that I found thus far is the PDSA cycle. That's where you would document the change. And again, this is for illustrative purposes, but in reality you probably have to run multiple cycles and kind of learn your way to a better system rather than you're probably not going to see this. Now, there are some things where you may see this start improvement between month 15 and month 16, but the reality is, in most situations that's going to take multiple rounds of PSAs and where there's sort of a gradual improvement over time. Again, you know, there are some things where you could see an improvement like this, but most stuff, it just takes sustained effort over time and continual learning and continual improvement type stuff.   0:22:51.4 Andrew Stotz: Yeah, I mean, this really helps me, and I'm sure for the listeners and the viewers to put PDSA in a very clear spot, which is, it's the tool for sustained improvement. Because you could imagine that in this chart where we have time zero and we have the past, let's say that's our starting point. We don't have any future data, but let's imagine that according to PDSA, we decided that we would try out and test out one particular method. And we find after testing it, no improvement, no change. Okay, that wasn't what we expected. Now we got to go back and adjust and then run the PDSA again. And then let's say we do that again and we find very little improvement. Okay, that wasn't what we expected. And our goal is to really try to get to a higher level of improvement. And let's say the third round, we get to a point where we get, oh, now this has sustained, you know this has produced improvement way beyond the others. The question is, can it be sustained? And that also has to do with the constraints of the system.   0:24:01.0 Andrew Stotz: Because if you don't have the proper, let's say, electricity, steady electricity supply, or you have problems with employees coming and going, bad training or whatever, you may find that you did make an initial improvement, but you weren't able to sustain it, so you couldn't really call it an improvement, it was more like a test.   0:24:24.0 John Dues: Yeah, yeah. These are all things that make improvement work so challenging, especially in a complex organization. Very, very challenging. No doubt. But I think this is probably a good place to wrap up and summarize. But I think just having this clear definition for the concept of improvement, I think there's sort of these three big ideas that I think from this episode that can put you on the right track. I think one is just recognizing now kind of being listening for this in your organization that most improvement claims lack evidence. So when you hear somebody in your organization make a claim, this went up, or this got better, or that got better, you know, ask for some evidence. How do you know? Let me see. Show me what you're seeing. How do you know this is improvement? So I'd call that sort of big idea one is, this idea that you need evidence.   0:25:27.7 Andrew Stotz: Yeah. The other thing I would take away from it, too, is actually in the process, you end up narrowing in on one thing. That chart is about one specific outcome.   0:25:42.6 John Dues: Yeah.   0:25:43.6 Andrew Stotz: And once you get so narrow to one specific outcome and you're tracking it and following it, it gets you more focused. And I think that to really get sustained improvement, you have to focus. And it's so easy to be distracted by the 15 things that need to be improved that you see as you walk down the hall in a school every day or as you... But in the end, true improvement is really hard. You can't improve 15 things. You can probably only improve one right now.   0:26:13.2 John Dues: Yeah, you gotta have a focus area for sure. What's the most important thing or the most important few things? Yeah. So the big idea one is, you know, from what I've seen, most of these improvement claims lack evidence. You need evidence. The second big idea is very simple. You know, you have to have this definition, and it's got to precede any improvement claims. Whatever your definition is, that this is the one I would use, this is the one I do use. But you know, before you can make a claim, you have to have a definition that clearly outlines when the thing has happened and when it hasn't. And in my mind, big idea three, is use this three part definition because it makes it so easy to tell when things have improved again and when things haven't. Yeah, after you apply these three big ideas, you know, I think you'll be able to answer the question, have we improved with conviction. You know, it makes it very, very straightforward. I like very straightforward things. And this is very straightforward.   0:27:14.8 Andrew Stotz: Yep. Most improvement claims lack evidence. John, on behalf of everyone at the Deming Institute, I want to thank you again for this discussion. And for listeners, remember to go to deming.org to continue your journey. You can find John's book, Win-Win W. Edwards Deming; the System of Profound Knowledge and the Science of Improving Schools on Amazon.com. This is your host, Andrew Stotz, and I'll leave you with my favorite quote from Dr. Deming, and that is that people are entitled to joy in work.

After nearly 200,000 cold calls and a million auto-dialer calls, Stephen Oommen discovered something shocking: 98% of his revenue came from warm referrals. Today, he breaks down how sellers can turn relationships into predictable growth. In this episode, host Lyndsay Dowd sits down with Stephen Oommen, a 25-year go-to-market veteran, speaker, and author of the upcoming book The Referral Effect. Stephen shares why nearly 98% of his business revenue came from warm referrals, despite making hundreds of thousands of cold calls throughout his career. Stephen opens up about growing up as the child of immigrants in Oklahoma, navigating an identity crisis that ultimately became his superpower—the Chameleon Effect—his ability to adapt, connect, and create trust across any environment. That skill later became the foundation for his referral-based sales methodology. You'll learn: - Why executives don't respond to cold outreach—and what they do respond to - How to close the trust gap by scaling warm referrals - The "Magic Networking Question" that instantly upgrades your network - The 99 and 1 Principle for managing energy in sales and relationships - How leaders can balance intensity, kindness, and long-term legacy If you're a B2B seller, founder, GTM leader, or executive tired of low-yield outreach, this conversation will challenge how you think about networking, sales culture, and growth.

    Timestamps
 00:00 – Introduction: Stephen Oommen, the Truth Teller.
 02:22 – Stephen's Origin Story: From Bankruptcy to Corporate Success.
 04:48 – The Chameleon Effect: Turning Identity Crisis into a Superpower.
 10:39 – Cold Calls vs. Warm Referrals: The Efficiency vs. Effectiveness Debate.
16:54 – How to Start Networking: Nurturing and Activating Relationships.
 19:16 – The Live Exercise: Asking the Right Questions to Build a Network.
 22:50 – Using Qualifiers: Geography, Industry, and Title.
 26:08 – The 99 and 1 Principle: Managing Energy in Sales.
 30:04 – What Inspires Stephen: Growth, Contribution, and Laughter.
 32:38 – Legacy: Kindness Character vs. Intense Personality.
 35:00 – What's Next: Speaking Tours and The Referral Effect.

    About the Guest Stephen Oommen is a 25-year go-to-market veteran with experience spanning frontline sales to executive leadership. He has worked with startups and global enterprises including Microsoft, ADP, and Citibank. Stephen is the only speaker and trainer dedicated to helping B2B sellers solve the biggest challenge in modern sales: lack of access to decision makers. His work focuses on closing the trust gap by scaling the most successful method known—warm referrals. A successful entrepreneur and W2 employee ("entreployee"), Stephen has retired from corporate twice, paid off hundreds of thousands in non-mortgage debt, and is currently writing his book The Referral Effect. He believes legacy is built at the intersection of kindness, generosity, and laughter.  Connect with Stephen LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephenoommen/

    About the Host – Lyndsay Dowd is a Speaker, Founder, Author, Coach, Podcast Host—and unapologetic Disruptor. With 30 years of leadership experience, including 23 at IBM, she's built and led high-performing teams that consistently delivered results. She also served as a Guest Lecturer at Harvard University, sharing her insights on modern leadership and culture transformation. 

 As the founder of Heartbeat for Hire, Lyndsay helps companies ditch toxic leadership and build irresistible cultures that drive performance, retention, and impact. She's been featured in Fortune Magazine, HR.com, ABC, NBC, FOX, CBS, and over 100 podcasts. 

   Lyndsay is a two-time best selling author of Top Down Culture and Voices of Women, and the host of the globally ranked and 2X awarded Heartbeat for Hire podcast—sitting in the top 2.5% worldwide. She is also the host of a weekly live show called THE LEADERSHIP LOUNGE. Lyndsay is a frequent speaker, moderator, and guest, known for her candor, humor, and ability to spark action.
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 If you are looking for an amazing gift or a way to treat yourself, Go to https://cozyearth.com/ and use the code LEADWITHHEART and get 41% off. It's the deepest discount you will find anywhere and I get commission too! This brand has been on Oprah's Favorite Things 9 times!! Happy Shopping! 
   
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   #B2BSales #SalesStrategy #WarmReferrals #ColdCalling #SalesLeadership #GTM #Networking #RelationshipSelling #SalesPodcast #TheReferralEffect

Worst-case thinking feels like self-protection, but most of the time it's just keeping us anxious, guarded, and stuck. In this episode, I talk about why our minds default to imagining everything going wrong, how this habit shapes the way we show up in life, and what shifts when you start allowing room for things to go right. This isn't about toxic positivity, it's about loosening the grip fear has on your decisions and learning to move through life with more trust and openness.WORK WITH ME: https://stan.store/respectfullygabbyFollow for more on social media: www.instagram.com/respectfullygabbywww.tiktok.com/@respectfullygabby Grab a copy of my book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FBN2NS9P

Merry Christmas! Normal shenanigans, Trav is sick. Assuming it is STD related. 

In hour 3 Andy and Randy get back in to Falcons vs Cardinals, and Audacy NFL insider Mark Schlereth stops by.

Assuming everything goes well, sometime in late 2026, NASA's next major space observatory will launch: The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. Assuming the launch and deployment go well, it will map large areas of the universe to understand why cosmic expansion is accelerating and how galaxies and dark matter evolved.  It will also survey stars to discover thousands of planets, including cold and free-floating worlds, while testing technology for the direct imaging of planets around other stars.  Learn more about the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope and how it could revolutionize astronomy on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Sponsors Quince Go to quince.com/daily for 365-day returns, plus free shipping on your order! Mint Mobile Get your 3-month Unlimited wireless plan for just 15 bucks a month at mintmobile.com/eed Chubbies Get 20% off your purchase at Chubbies with the promo code DAILY at checkout! Aura Frames Exclusive $35 off Carver Mat at https://on.auraframes.com/DAILY. Promo Code DAILY DripDrop Go to dripdrop.com and use promo code EVERYTHING for 20% off your first order. Uncommon Goods Go to uncommongoods.com/DAILY for 15% off! Subscribe to the podcast!  https://everything-everywhere.com/everything-everywhere-daily-podcast/ -------------------------------- Executive Producer: Charles Daniel Associate Producers: Austin Oetken & Cameron Kieffer   Become a supporter on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/everythingeverywhere Discord Server: https://discord.gg/UkRUJFh Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everythingeverywhere/ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/everythingeverywheredaily Twitter: https://twitter.com/everywheretrip Website: https://everything-everywhere.com/  Disce aliquid novi cotidie Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Assuming most of them return (and it should happen), new offensive coordinator Kendal Briles inherits a lot of potential across the board player-wise at South Carolina. What is the outlook for each specific position as things stand today in the Briles system? To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Discover all of the podcasts in our network, search for specific episodes, get the Optimal Living Daily workbook, and learn more at: OLDPodcast.com. Episode 3373: Fritz Gilbert challenges the conventional 4% safe withdrawal rule, arguing that its simplicity may be dangerously outdated given today's market conditions. He outlines key concerns about relying on historical data, inflated equity valuations, and rising interest rates, and hints at three practical adjustments he personally uses to reduce risk in retirement spending. Read along with the original article(s) here: https://www.theretirementmanifesto.com/rethinking-the-4-safe-withdrawal-rule/ Quotes to ponder: "Bond prices are inversely related to interest rates, so as rates go up, bond prices go down." "Assuming a minimum requirement of 30 years of portfolio longevity, a first-year withdrawal of 4 percent, followed by inflation-adjusted withdrawals in subsequent years, should be safe." "If you're holding 60% stocks and 40% bonds, it's possible that you could see decreases in both asset classes." Episode references: GMO Forecast via Wealth of Common Sense: https://awealthofcommonsense.com/2021/10/the-worst-stock-and-bond-returns-ever/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices