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Who knows the meaning of the term “Business Continuity management” without looking it up? Our guest this week, Alex Fullick, is intimately familiar with the term and its ramifications. I first met Alex when we were connected as participants in a conference in London this past October sponsored by Business Continuity International. The people involved with “Business Continuity management” were described to me as the “what if people”. They are the people no one pays attention to, but who plan for emergency and unexpected situations and events that especially can cause interruptions with the flow or continuity of business. Of course, everyone wants the services of the business continuity experts once something unforeseen or horrific occurs. Alex was assigned to introduce me at the conference. Since the conference I have even had the pleasure to appear on his podcast and now, he agreed to reciprocate.   Our conversation covers many topics related to emergencies, business continuity and the mindsets people really have concerning business flow and even fear. Needless to say, this topic interests me since I directly participated in the greatest business interruption event we have faced in the world, the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.   Alex freely discusses fear, emergency planning and how we all can improve our chances of dealing with any kind of emergency, personal or business related, by developing the proper mindset. He points out how so often people may well plan for emergencies at work and sometimes they even take the step of developing their own business continuity mindset, but they rarely do the same for their personal lives.   Alex is the author of eight books on the subject and he now is working on book 9. You can learn more about them in our podcast show notes. I think you will gain a lot of insight from what Alex has to say and I hope his thoughts and comments will help you as you think more now about the whole idea of business continuity.       About the Guest:   Alex Fullick has been working in the Business Continuity Management, Disaster Recovery, and Operational Resilience industries as a consultant/contractor for just over 28 years. Alex is also the founder and Managing Director of StoneRoad, a consulting and training firm specializing in BCM and Resilience and is the author of eight books…and working on number nine.   He has numerous industry certifications and has presented at prestigious conferences around the globe including Manila, Seoul, Bucharest, Brisbane, Toronto, and London (to name a few). In July of 2017 he created the highly successful and top-rated podcast focusing on Business Continuity and Resilience ‘Preparing for the Unexpected'. The show aims to touch on any subject that directly or indirectly touches on the world of disasters, crises, well-being, continuity management, and resilience. The first of its kind in the BCM and Resilience world and is still going strong after thirty plus seasons, reaching an audience around the globe. Alex was born in England but now calls the city of Guelph, Ontario, Canada, his home. Ways to connect Alex:   www.linkedin.com/in/alex-fullick-826a694   About the Host:   Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog.   Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards.   https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/   accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/ https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/       Thanks for listening!   Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!   Subscribe to the podcast   If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can subscribe in your favorite podcast app. You can also support our podcast through our tip jar https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unstoppable-mindset .   Leave us an Apple Podcasts review   Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts.       Transcription Notes:   Michael Hingson ** 00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us.   Michael Hingson ** 01:21 Well, hello, everyone, wherever you happen to be, welcome to another episode of unstoppable mindset where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet and unexpected is anything that has nothing to do with inclusion or diversity. As I've said many times today, our guest is someone I got to meet last year, and we'll talk about that. His name is Alex Bullock, and Alex and I met because we both attended a conference in London in October about business continuity. And I'm going to let Alex define that and describe what that is all about. But Alex introduced me at the conference, and among other things, I convinced him that he had to come on unstoppable mindset. And so we get to do that today. He says he's nervous. So you know, all I gotta say is just keep staring at your screens and your speakers and and just keep him nervous. Keep him on edge. Alex, welcome to unstoppable mindset. We're really glad you're   Alex Fullick ** 02:19 here. Thanks, Michael. I really appreciate the invite, and I'm glad to be here today. And yeah, a little nervous, because usually it's me on the other side of the microphone interviewing people. So I don't fit in this chair too often   Michael Hingson ** 02:33 I've been there and done that as I recall, yes,   Alex Fullick ** 02:37 yes, you were a guest of mine. Oh, I guess when did we do that show? A month and a half, two months ago? Or something, at least,   Michael Hingson ** 02:45 I forget, yeah. And I said the only charge for me coming on your podcast was you had to come on this one. So there you go. Here I am. Yeah, several people ask me, Is there a charge for coming on your podcast? And I have just never done that. I've never felt that I should charge somebody to come on the podcast, other than we do have the one rule, which is, you gotta have fun. If you can't have fun, then there's no sense being on the podcast. So, you know, that works out. Well, tell us about the early Alex, growing up and, you know, all that sort of stuff, so that people get to know you a little bit.   Alex Fullick ** 03:16 Oh, the early Alex, sure. The early Alex, okay, well, a lot of people don't know I was actually born in England myself, uh, Farnam Surrey, southwest of London, so until I was about eight, and then we came to Canada. Grew up in Thunder Bay, Northwestern Ontario, and then moved to the Greater Toronto Area, and I've lived all around here, north of the city, right downtown in the city, and now I live an hour west of it, in a city called Guelph. So that's how I got here. Younger me was typical, I guess, nothing   Michael Hingson ** 03:56 special. Went to school, high school and all that sort of stuff. Yeah, yeah, no.   Alex Fullick ** 04:02 Brainiac. I was working my first job was in hospitality, and I thought that's where I was going to be for a long time, because I worked my way up to I did all the positions, kitchen manager, Assistant Manager, cooks, bartender, server, did everything in there was even a company trainer at one point for a restaurant chain, and then did some general managing. But I got to a point where computers were going to start coming in to the industry, and I thought, well, I guess I should learn how to use these things, shouldn't I? And I went to school, learned how to use them, basic using, I'm not talking about building computers and networks and things like that, just the user side of things. And that was, did that for six months, and then I thought I was going back into the industry. And no fate had. Something different for me. What happened? Well, my best friend, who is still my best friend, 30 years later, he was working for a large financial institution, and he said, Hey, we need some help on this big program to build some call trees. When you're finished, he goes, get your foot in the door, and you could find something else within the bank. So I went, Okay, fine. Well, they called the position business recovery planner, and I knew absolutely nothing about business recovery or business continuity. Not a single thing. I'd never even heard the term yeah and but for some reason, I just took to it. I don't know what it was at the time, but I just went, this is kind of neat. And I think it was the fact that I was learning something different, you know, I wasn't memorizing a recipe for Alfredo sauce or something like that, you know, it was completely different. And I was meeting and working with people at every level, sitting in meetings with senior vice presidents and CEOs and giving them updates, and, you know, a data analyst, data entry clerk, and just talking. And I went, This is so much fun, you know, and that's I've been doing that now for over 28 years.   Michael Hingson ** 06:14 Well, I I had not really heard much of the term business continuity, although I understand emergency preparedness and such things, because I did that, of course, going into the World Trade Center, and I did it for, well, partly to be prepared for an emergency, but also partly because I was a leader of an office, and I felt that I needed to know What to do if there were ever an emergency, and how to behave, because I couldn't necessarily rely on other people, and also, in reality, I might even be the only person in the office. So it was a survival issue to a degree, but I learned what to do. And of course, we know the history of September 11 and me and all that, but the reality is that what I realized many years later was that the knowledge that I learned and gained that helped me on September 11 really created a mindset that allowed me to be able to function and not be as I Put it to people blinded or paralyzed by fear, the fear was there. I would be dumb to say I wasn't concerned, but the fear helped me focus, as opposed to being something that overwhelmed and completely blocked me from being capable and being able to function. So I know what you're saying. Well, what exactly is business continuity?   Alex Fullick ** 07:44 You know, there are people who are going to watch this and listen and they're going to want me to give a really perfect definition, but depending on the organization, depending on leadership, depending on the guiding industry organization out there, business continuity, Institute, Disaster Recovery Institute, ISO NIST and so many other groups out there. I'm not going to quote any of them as a definition, because if I if I say one the others, are going to be mad at me, yell at you, yeah, yeah. Or if I quote it wrong, they'll get mad at me. So I'm going to explain it the way I usually do it to people when I'm talking in the dog park, yeah, when they ask what I'm doing, I'll say Business Continuity Management is, how do you keep your business going? What do you need? Who do you need the resources when you've been hit by an event and and with the least impact to your customers and your delivery of services, yeah, and it's simple, they all get it. They all understand it. So if anyone doesn't like that, please feel free send me an email. I can hit the delete key just as fast as you can write it. So you know, but that's what a lot of people understand, and that's really what business continuity management is, right from the very beginning when you identify something, all the way to why we made it through, we're done. The incident's over.   Michael Hingson ** 09:16 Both worked with at the Business Continuity international hybrid convention in October was Sergio Garcia, who kind of coordinated things. And I think it was he who I asked, what, what is it that you do? What's the purpose of all of the people getting together and having this conference? And he said, I think it was he who said it not you, that the the best way to think about it is that the people who go to this conference are the what if people, they're the ones who have to think about having an event, and what happens if there's an event, and how do you deal with it? But so the what if people, they're the people that nobody ever pays any attention to until such time as there is something that. Happens, and then they're in high demand.   Alex Fullick ** 10:03 Yeah, that that's especially that being ignored part until something happened. Yeah, yeah. Well, well, the nice thing, one of the things I love about this position, and I've been doing it like I said, for 28 years, written books, podcasts, you've been on my show, YouTube channel, etc, etc, is that I do get to learn and from so many people and show the value of what we do, and I'm in a position to reach out and talk to so many different people, like I mentioned earlier. You know, CEOs. I can sit in front of the CEO and tell them you're not ready. If something happens, you're not ready because you haven't attended any training, or your team hasn't attended training, or nobody's contributing to crisis management or the business continuity or whatever you want to talk about. And I find that empowering, and it's amazing to sit there and not tell a CEO to their face, you know you're screwed. Not. You know, you don't say those kinds of things. No, but being able to sit there and just have a moment with them to to say that, however you term it, you might have a good relationship with them where you can't say that for all I know, but it being able to sit in front of a CEO or a vice president and say, hey, you know, this is where things are. This is where I need your help. You know, I don't think a lot of people get that luxury to be able to do it. And I'm lucky enough that I've worked with a lot of clients where I can't. This is where I need your help. You know. What's your expectation? Let's make it happen, you know, and having that behind you is it's kind of empowering,   Michael Hingson ** 11:47 yeah, well, one of the things that I have start talking a little bit about with people when talk about emergency preparedness is, if you're really going to talk about being prepared for an emergency. One of the things that you need to do is recognize that probably the biggest part of emergency preparedness, or business continuity, however you want to term, it, isn't physical it's the mental preparation that you need to make that people generally don't make. You know, I've been watching for the last now, five or six weeks, all the flyers and things down here in California, which have been so horrible, and people talk about being prepared physically. You should have a go bag so that you can grab it and go. You should do this. You should do that. But the problem is nobody ever talks about or or helps people really deal with the mental preparation for something unexpected. And I'm going to, I'm going to put it that way, as opposed to saying something negative, because it could be a positive thing. But the bottom line is, we don't really learn to prepare ourselves for unexpected things that happen in our lives and how to react to them, and so especially when it's a negative thing, the fear just completely overwhelms us.   Alex Fullick ** 13:09 Yeah, I agree with you. You know, fear can be what's that to fight, flight or freeze? Yeah, and a lot of people don't know how to respond when an event happens. And I think I'm going to take a step back, and I think that goes back to when we're young as well, because we have our parents, our grandparents, our teachers, our principals. You know, you can go achieve your goals, like everything is positive. You can go do that. Go do that. They don't teach you that, yeah, to achieve those goals, you're going to hit some roadblocks, and you need to understand how to deal with that when things occur. And use your example with the fires in California. If you don't know how to prepare for some of those small things, then when a big fire like that occurs, you're even less prepared. I have no idea how to deal with that, and it is. It's a really change in mindset and understanding that not everything is rosy. And unfortunately, a lot of people get told, or they get told, Oh, don't worry about it. It'll never happen. So great when it does happen. Well, then was that advice?   Michael Hingson ** 14:25 Yeah, I remember after September 11, a couple of months after, I called somebody who had expressed an interest in purchasing some tape backup products for from us at Quantum. And I hadn't heard from them, and so I reached out, and I said, So what's going on? How would you guys like to proceed? And this was an IT guy, and he said, Oh, well, the president of the company said September 11 happened, and so since they did, we're not going to have to worry about that anymore. So we're not going to go forward. Or worth doing anything to back up our data, and I'm sitting there going, you missed the whole point of what backup is all about. I didn't dare say that to him, but it isn't just about an emergency, but it's also about, what if you accidentally delete a file? Do you have a way to go back and get it? I mean, there's so many other parts to it, but this guy's boss just basically said, Well, it happened, so it's not going to happen now we don't have to worry about it. Yeah,   Alex Fullick ** 15:27 like you hear on the news. Well, it feels like daily, oh, once in 100 year storm, once in 100 year event, once in 100 year this. Well, take a look at the news. It's happening weekly, daily, yeah, yeah. One in 100   Michael Hingson ** 15:44 years thing, yeah. Nowadays, absolutely, there's so many things that are happening. California is going through a couple of major atmospheric rivers right now, as they're now calling it. And so Southern California is getting a lot of rain because of of one of the rivers, and of course, it has all the burn areas from the fires. So I don't know what we'll see in the way of mudslides, but the rain is picking up. Even here, where I live, we're going to get an inch or more of rain, and usually we don't get the rain that a lot of other places get. The clouds have to go over a lot of mountains to get to us, and they lose their moisture before they do that. Yeah,   Alex Fullick ** 16:23 yeah. We just had a whole pile of snow here. So we had a snowstorm yesterday. So we've got about 20 centimeters of snow out there that hasn't been plowed yet. So bit of   Michael Hingson ** 16:36 a mess. There you go. Well, you know, go out and play on the snow. Well,   Alex Fullick ** 16:41 the dog loves it, that's for sure. Like troubling it, but, yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 16:46 I don't think my cat would like it, but the animal would like it. He'd go out and play in it. If it were here, we don't get much snow here, but Yeah, he'd play it. But, but it is. It is so interesting to really talk about this whole issue of of business continuity, emergency preparedness, whatever you want to consider it, because it's it's more than anything. It's a mindset, and it is something that people should learn to do in their lives in general, because it would help people be a lot more prepared. If people really created a mindset in themselves about dealing with unexpected things, probably they'd be a little bit more prepared physically for an emergency, but they would certainly be in a lot better shape to deal with something as like the fires are approaching, but they don't, but we don't do that. We don't teach that.   Alex Fullick ** 17:43 No, we it's interesting too, that a lot of those people, they'll work on projects in their organization, you know, and they will look at things well, what can go wrong, you know, and try to mitigate it and fix, you know, whatever issues are in the way or remove roadblocks. They're actually doing that as part of their project. But when it comes to themselves, and they have to think about fires or something like that, is now that won't happen, you know. And wait a minute, how come you've got the right mindset when it comes to your projects at work, but you don't have that same mindset when it comes to your own well being, or your families, or whatever the case may be. How come it's different? You go from one side to the other and it I've noticed that a few times with people and like, I don't get it. Why? Why are you so you have the right mindset under one circumstance and the other circumstance, you completely ignore it and don't have the mindset,   Michael Hingson ** 18:45 yeah, which, which makes you wonder, how much of a mindset Do you really have when it comes to work in all aspects of it? And so one of the things that I remember after September 11, people constantly asked me is, who helped you down the stairs, or was there somebody who was responsible for coming to get you, to take you downstairs and and the reality is, as I said, I was the leader. I was helping other people go downstairs. But by the same token, I'm of the opinion that in buildings like the World Trade Center towers, there is people talk about the buddy system. So if somebody is is in the building, you should have a buddy. And it doesn't even need to be necessarily, in the same office, but there should be an arrangement so that there is somebody looking out for each each other person. So everybody should have a buddy. I'm of the opinion it isn't a buddy. There should be two buddies, and at least one of them has to be outside of the office, so that you have three people who have to communicate and develop those lines of communications and work through it. And by that way, you you have a. Better chance of making sure that more people get whatever communications are necessary.   Alex Fullick ** 20:06 Yeah, you create your like a support network, absolutely,   Michael Hingson ** 20:10 and I think at least a triumvirate makes a lot more sense than just a buddy. Yeah,   Alex Fullick ** 20:14 you you might be freaked out, you know, nervous shaking, but with a couple of people standing there, you know, talking to you, you're going to come right back hopefully. You know, with that, the calmer, you know, stop shaking when a couple of people are there. Yeah, you a lot of times when you have the same one person doing it, usually, oh, you're just saying that because you have to. But when you two people doing it, it's like, okay, thank thanks team. You know, like you're really helping. You know, this is much better.   Michael Hingson ** 20:48 Yeah, I think it makes a lot more sense, and especially if one of them isn't necessarily a person who's normally in your work pattern that brings somebody in from someone with the outside who approaches things differently because they don't necessarily know you or as well or in the same way as your buddy who's maybe next door to you in the office, right across the hall or next door, or whatever. Yeah, yeah. I agree. I think it makes sense well, the conference that we were at a lot to well, to a large degree, and at least for my presentation, was all about resilience. What is resilience to you? How's that for a general question that   Alex Fullick ** 21:31 has become such a buzzword, I know it   Michael Hingson ** 21:35 really is, and it's unfortunate, because when, when we start hearing, you know, resilience, or I hear all the time amazing and so many times we get all these buzzwords, and they they really lose a lot of their value when that happens. But still, that's a fair question. I   Alex Fullick ** 21:53 do think the word resilience is overused, and it's losing its meaning. You know, dictionary meaning, because it's just used for everything these days. Yeah, you know, my neighbor left her keys. Sorry. Her daughter took her house keys this morning by accident. She couldn't get into her house when she got him back, and she had a comment where she said, you know, oh, well, I'm resilient, but really, you just went and got some Keith, how was that so? So I'm, I'm starting to get to the point now, when people ask me, you know, what's resilience to you? What's it mean to you? I just, I start to say, Now, does it matter? Yeah, my definition is fine for me, if you have a definition of it for yourself that you understand you you know what it means, or your organization has a definition, we'll take it and run. Yeah, you know what it means. You're all behind that. Meaning. We don't need a vendor or some other guiding industry organization to say this is, this must be your definition of resilience. It's like, well, no, you're just wordsmithing and making it sound fancy. You know, do it means what it means to you? You know, how, how do you define it? If that's how you define it, that's what it means, and that's all that matters. My definition doesn't matter. Nobody else's definition matters, you know, because, and it's become that way because the term used, you know, for everything these days. Yeah, I   Michael Hingson ** 23:30 think that there's a lot of value in if a person is, if we use the dictionary definition, resilient, they they Well, again, from my definition, it gets back to the mindset you establish. You establish a mindset where you can be flexible, where you can adapt, and where you can sometimes think outside the box that you would normally think out of, but you don't panic to do that. You've learned how to address different things and be able to focus, to develop what you need to do to accomplish, whatever you need to accomplish at any unexpected time.   Alex Fullick ** 24:06 Yeah, and you're calm, level headed, you know, you've got that right mindset. You don't freak out over the small things, you know, you see the bigger picture. You understand it. You know, I'm here. That's where I need to go, and that's where you focus and, you know, sweat all those little things, you know. And I think, I think it's, it's kind of reminds me that the definitions that are being thrown out there now reminds me of some of those mission and vision statements that leadership comes up with in their organizations, with all this, oh, that, you know, you read the sentence and it makes no sense whatsoever, yeah, you know, like, what?   Michael Hingson ** 24:45 What's so, what's the wackiest definition of resilience that you can think of that you've heard?   Alex Fullick ** 24:51 Um, I don't know if there's a wacky one or an unusual one. Um, oh, geez. I. I know I've heard definitions of bounce forward, bounce back, you know, agility, adaptability. Well, your   Michael Hingson ** 25:07 car keys, lady this morning, your house key, your house key, lady this morning, the same thing, yeah, yeah. I don't resilient just because she got her keys back. Yeah, really, yeah. Well,   Alex Fullick ** 25:17 that's kind of a wacky example. Yeah, of one, but I don't think there's, I've heard any weird definitions yet. I'm sure that's probably some out there coming. Yeah, we'll get to the point where, how the heck did are you defining resilience with that? Yeah? And if you're looking at from that way, then yeah, my neighbor with the keys that would fit in right there. That's not resilient. You just went and picked up some keys.   Michael Hingson ** 25:45 Yeah. Where's the resilience? How did you adapt? You the resilience might be if you didn't, the resilience might be if you didn't panic, although I'm sure that didn't happen. But that would, that would lean toward the concept of resilience. If you didn't panic and just went, Well, I I'll go get them. Everything will be fine, but that's not what people do,   Alex Fullick ** 26:08 yeah? Well, that that is what she did, actually. She just as I was shoveling snow this morning, she goes, Oh, well, I'll just go get her, get them, okay, yeah. Does that really mean resilience, or Does that just mean you went to pick up the keys that your daughter accidentally took   Michael Hingson ** 26:24 and and you stayed reasonably level headed about it,   Alex Fullick ** 26:28 you know, you know. So, you know, I don't know, yeah, if, if I would count that as a definition of resilience, but, or even I agree resilience, it's more of okay, yeah, yeah. If, if it's something like that, then that must mean I'm resilient when I forget to pull the laundry out after the buzzer. Oh yeah, I gotta pull the laundry out. Did that make me resilient? Yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 26:52 absolutely, once you pulled it out, you weren't resilient, not until then,   Alex Fullick ** 26:57 you know. So, so I guess it's you know, how people but then it comes down to how people want to define it too. Yeah, if they're happy with that definition, well, if it makes you happy, I'm not going to tell you to change   Michael Hingson ** 27:11 it. Yeah, has but, but I think ultimately there are some some basic standards that get back to what we talked about earlier, which is establishing a mindset and being able to deal with things that come out of the ordinary well, and you're in an industry that, by and large, is probably viewed as pretty negative, you're always anticipating the emergencies and and all the unexpected horrible things that can happen, the what if people again, but that's that's got to be, from a mindset standpoint, a little bit tough to deal with it. You're always dealing with this negative industry. How do you do that? You're resilient, I know. But anyway, yeah,   Alex Fullick ** 27:56 really, I just look at it from a risk perspective. Oh, could that happen to us? You know, no, it wouldn't, you know, we're we're in the middle of a Canadian Shield, or at least where I am. We're in the middle of Canadian Shield. There's not going to be two plates rubbing against each other and having an earthquake. So I just look at it from risk where we are, snowstorms, yep, that could hit us and has. What do we do? Okay, well, we close our facility, we have everyone work from home, you know, etc, etc. So I don't look at it from the perspective of doom and gloom. I look at it more of opportunity to make us better at what we do and how we prepare and how we respond and how we overcome, you know, situations that happen out there, and I don't look at it from the oh, here comes, you know, the disaster guy you know, always pointing out everything that's wrong. You know, I'd rather point out opportunities that we have to become as a team, organization or a person stronger. Yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 29:01 I guess it's not necessarily a disaster. And as I said earlier, it could very well be that some unexpected thing will happen that could be a very positive thing. But again, if we don't have the mindset to deal with that, then we don't and the reality is, the more that we work to develop a mindset to deal with unexpected things, the more quickly we can make a correct analysis of whatever is going on and move forward from it, as opposed to letting fear again overwhelm us, we can if we practice creating This mindset that says we really understand how to deal with unexpected situations, then we are in a position to be able to the more we practice it, deal with it, and move forward in a positive way. So it doesn't need to be a disaster. September 11 was a disaster by any standard, but as I tell people. People. While I am still convinced that no matter what anyone might think, we couldn't figure out that September 11 was going to happen, I'm not convinced that even if all the agencies communicated, they would have gotten it because and I talk about trust and teamwork a lot, as I point out, a team of 19 people kept their mouth shut, or a few more who were helping in the planning of it, and they pulled off something that basically brought the world to its knees. So I'm not convinced that we could have stopped September 11 from happening. At least I haven't heard something that convinces me of that yet. But what each of us has the ability to do is to determine how we deal with September 11. So we couldn't prevent it, but we can certainly all deal with or address the issue of, how do we deal with it going forward? Yeah,   Alex Fullick ** 30:52 I agree. I I was actually in a conversation with my niece a couple of months ago. We were up at the cottage, and she was talking about school, and, you know, some of the people that she goes to school with, and I said, Well, you're never going to be able to change other people. You know, what they think or what they do. I said, what you can control is your response. You know, if, if they're always picking on you, the reason they're picking on you is because they know they can get a rise out of you. They know they it. Whatever they're saying or doing is getting to you, so they're going to keep doing it because it's empowering for them. But you can take away that empowerment if you make the right choices on how you respond, if you just shrug and walk away. I'm simplifying it, of course, yeah, if you just shrug and walk away. Well, after a while, they're going to realize nothing I'm saying is getting through, and they'll move away from you. They'll they won't bug you anymore, because they can't get a rise out. They can't get a rise out of you. So the only thing you can control is how you respond, you know. And as you keep saying, it's the mindset. Change your mindset from response to, you know, I'm prepared for what this person's going to say, and I'm not going to let it bother me. Yeah?   Michael Hingson ** 32:08 Well, bullying is really all about that. Yeah, people can't bully if you don't let yourself be bullied. Yep, and whether it's social media and so many other things, you can't be bullied if you don't allow it and if you ignore it or move on or get help to deal with the issue if it gets serious enough, but you don't need to approach it from a shame or fear standpoint, or you or you shouldn't anyway, but that's unfortunately, again, all too often. What happens when we see a lot of teenage suicides and so on, because people are letting the bullies get a rise out of them, and the bullies win.   Alex Fullick ** 32:51 Yep, yep. And as I told her, I said, you just mentioned it too. If it gets out of hand or becomes physical, I said, then you have to take action. I don't mean turning around and swinging back. I said, No, step up. Go get someone who is has authority and can do something about it. Yeah, don't, don't run away. Just deal with it differently, you know. And don't, don't start the fight, because then you're just confirming that I'm the bully. I can do this again. Yeah, you're, you're giving them license to do what they want. Yeah, but stand up to them, or tell, depending on the situation, tell someone higher up in authority that can do something and make make a change, but you have to be calm when you do it.   Michael Hingson ** 33:39 I remember when I was at UC Irvine, when I was going to college, my had my first guide dog, Squire. He was a golden retriever, 64 pounds, the most gentle, wonderful dog you could ever imagine. And unfortunately, other students on campus would bring their dogs. It was a very big campus, pretty, in a sense, rural, and there were only about 2700 students. And a bunch of students would bring their dogs to school, and they would just turn the dogs loose, and they go off to class, and then they find their dogs at the end of the day. Unfortunately, some of the dogs developed into a pack, and one day, they decided they were going to come after my guide dog. I think I've told this story a couple times on on this podcast, but what happened was we were walking down a sidewalk, and the dogs were coming up from behind, and they were growling and so on. And squire, my guide dog, jerked away from me. I still held his leash, but he jerked out of his harness, out of my hand, and literally jumped up in the air, turned around and came down on all fours, hunkered down and growled at these dogs all in this the well, about a two second time frame, totally shocked the dogs. They just slunked away. Somebody was describing it to me later, and you know, the dog was very deliberate about what he did. Of course, after they left, he comes over and He's wagging his tail. Did I do good or what? But, but he was very deliberate, and it's a lesson to to deal with things. And he never attacked any of the dogs, but he wasn't going to let anything happen to him or me, and that's what loyalty is really all about. But if something had happened and that hadn't worked out the way expected, then I would have had to have gone off and and I, in fact, I did talk to school officials about the fact that these dogs were doing that. And I don't even remember whether anybody did anything, but I know I was also a day or so later going into one of the the buildings. Before he got inside, there was a guy I knew who was in a wheelchair, and another dog did come up and started to try to attack squire, this guy with in the wheelchair, pulled one of the arms off his chair and just lambasted the dog right across the head, made him back up. Yeah, you know. But it was that people shouldn't be doing what they allowed their dog. You know, shouldn't be doing that, but. But the bottom line is, it's still a lesson that you don't let yourself be bullied. Yeah, yep, and there's no need to do that, but it is a it's a pretty fascinating thing to to see and to deal with, but it's all about preparation. And again, if we teach ourselves to think strategically and develop that skill, it becomes just second nature to do it, which is, unfortunately, what we don't learn.   Alex Fullick ** 36:48 Yeah, I didn't know that as a kid, because when I was a little kid and first came to Canada, especially, I was bullied because, well, I had a funny voice.   Michael Hingson ** 36:57 You did? You don't have that anymore, by the way, no,   Alex Fullick ** 37:01 if I, if I'm with my mom or relatives, especially when I'm back in England, words will start coming back. Yeah, there are words that I do say differently, garage or garage, yeah. You know, I hate garage, but garage, yeah, I still say some words like that,   Michael Hingson ** 37:18 or process, as opposed to process.   Alex Fullick ** 37:21 Yeah, so, you know, there's something like that, but as a kid, I was bullied and I there was, was no talk of mindset or how to deal with it. It's either put up with it or, you know, you really couldn't turn to anybody back then, because nobody really knew themselves how to deal with it. Yeah, bullies had always been around. They were always in the playground. So the the mechanisms to deal with it weren't there either. It wasn't till much later that I'm able to to deal with that if someone said some of the things now, right away, I can turn around because I've trained myself to have a different mindset and say that, no, that's unacceptable. You can't talk to that person, or you can't talk to me that way. Yeah, you know, if you say it again, I will, you know, call the police or whatever. Never anything where I'm going to punch you in the chin, you know, or something like that. Never. That doesn't solve anything. No, stand up saying, you know, no, I'm not going to accept that. You know, which is easier now, and maybe that just comes with age or something, I don't know, but back then, no, it was, you know, that that kind of mechanism to deal with it, or finding that inner strength and mindset to do that wasn't there,   Michael Hingson ** 38:43 right? But when you started to work on developing that mindset, the more you worked on it, the easier it became to make it happen. Yep, agreed. And so now it's a way of life, and it's something that I think we all really could learn and should learn. And my book live like a guide dog is really all about that developing that mindset to control fear. And I just think it's so important that we really deal with it. And you know, in this country right now, we've got a government administration that's all about chaos and fear, and unfortunately, not nearly enough people have learned how to deal with that, which is too bad, yep, although,   Alex Fullick ** 39:30 go ahead, I was going to say it's a shame that, you know, some a lot of people haven't learned how to deal with that. Part of it, again, is we don't teach that as well. So sometimes the only thing some people know is fear and bullying, because that's all they've experienced, yeah, either as the bully or being bullied. So they they don't see anything different. So when it happens on a scale, what we see right now it. It's, well, that's normal, yeah, it's not normal, actually. You know, it's not something we should be doing. You know, you should be able to stand up to your bully, or stand up when you see something wrong, you know, and help because it's human nature to want to help other people. You know, there's been so many accidents people falling, or you'll need their snow removed, where I am, and people jump in and help, yeah? You know, without sometimes, a lot of times, they don't even ask. It's like, oh, let me give you a hand,   Michael Hingson ** 40:33 yeah. And we had that when we lived in New Jersey, like snow removal. We had a Boy Scout who started a business, and every year he'd come around and clear everybody's snow. He cleared our snow. He said, I am absolutely happy to do it. We we wanted to pay him for it, but he was, he was great, and we always had a nice, clean driveway. But you know, the other side of this whole issue with the mindset is if we take it in a more positive direction, look at people like Sully Sullenberger, the pilot and the airplane on the Hudson, how he stayed focused. He had developed the mindset and stayed focused so that he could deal with that airplane. That doesn't mean that he wasn't afraid and had concerns, but he was able to do something that was was definitely pretty fantastic, because he kept his cool, yeah,   Alex Fullick ** 41:23 I think he knew, and others in other situations know that if you're freaking out yourself, you're not going to fix the issue, you're going to make it worse. We see that in Hollywood tends to do that a lot. In their movies, there's always a character who's flipping out, you know, panicking, going crazy and making everything worse. Well, that does happen, you know, if you act that way, you're not going to resolve your situation, whatever you find yourself in, you know. And I tell people that in business continuity when we're having meetings, well, we'll figure it out when it happens. No, you don't know how you'll behave. You don't know how you'll respond when, oh, I don't know an active shooter or something. You have no idea when you hear that someone you know just got shot down in the lobby. Are you going to tell me you're going to be calm? You sorry? You know you're going to be calm and just okay, yeah, we can deal with it. No, you're going to get a wave of panic, yeah, or other emotions coming over you, you know. And you have to have that mindset. You can still be panicked and upset and freaked out, or however you want to describe that, but you know, I have to stay in control. I can't let that fear take over, or I'm going to get myself in that situation as well. Yeah, I have to be able to manage it. Okay, what do I have to do? I gotta go hide. You know, I'm not saying you're not sweating, you know, with nervousness like that, but you understand, gotta think beyond this if I want to get out of this situation. You know, I'm going to take these people that are sitting with me, we're going to go lock ourselves in the storage closet, or, you know, whatever, right? But have that wherewithal to be able to understand that and, you know, be be safe, you know, but freaking out, you're only contributing to the situation, and then you end up freaking out other people and getting them panicked. Course, you do. They're not, you know, they don't have the right mindset to deal with issues. And then you've got everyone going in every direction, nobody's helping each other. And then you're creating, you know, bigger issues, and   Michael Hingson ** 43:37 you lose more lives, and you create more catastrophes all the way around. I remember when I was going down the stairs at the World Trade Center, I kept telling Roselle what a good job she was doing, good girl. And I did that for a couple of reasons. The main reason was I wanted her to know that I was okay and I'm not going to be influenced by fear. But I wanted her to feel comfortable what what happened, though, as a result of that, and was a lesson for me. I got contacted several years later one time, specifically when I went to Kansas City to do a speech, and a woman said she wanted to come and hear me because she had come into the stairwell just after, or as we were passing her floor, which was, I think, the 54th floor. Then she said, I heard you just praising your dog and being very calm. And she said, I and other people just decided we're going to follow you down the stairs. And it was, it was a great lesson to understand that staying focused, no matter what the fear level was, really otherwise, staying focused and encouraging was a much more positive thing to do, and today, people still don't imagine how, in a sense, comet was going down the stairs, which doesn't mean that people weren't afraid. But several of us worked to really keep panic out of the stairwell as we were going down. My friend David did he panicked, but then he. He walked a floor below me and started shouting up to me whatever he saw on the stairwell, and that was really for his benefit. He said to have something to do other than thinking about what was going on, because he was getting pretty scared about it. But what David did by shouting up to me was he acted as a focal point for anyone on the stairs who could hear him, and they would hear him say things like, Hey, Mike, I'm at the 43rd floor. All's good here. Everyone who could hear him had someone on the stairs who was focused, sounded calm, and that they could listen to to know that everybody was okay, which was so cool, and   Alex Fullick ** 45:38 that that probably helped them realize, okay, we're in the right direction. We're going the right way. Someone is, you know, sending a positive comments. So if, if we've got, you know, three, if he's three floors below us, we know at least on the next three floors, everything is okay.   Michael Hingson ** 45:56 Well, even if they didn't know where he wasn't right, but even if he they didn't know where he was in relation to them, the fact is, they heard somebody on the stairs saying, I'm okay, yeah, whether he felt it, he did sound it all the way down the stairs. Yeah, and I know that he was panicking, because he did it originally, but he got over that. I snapped at him. I just said, Stop it, David, if Rosell and I can go down these stairs, so can you. And then he did. He focused, and I'm sure that he had to have helped 1000s of people going down the stairs, and helped with his words, keeping them calm.   Alex Fullick ** 46:32 Yeah, yeah. It makes a difference, you know. Like I said earlier, you doesn't mean you're still not afraid. Doesn't mean that, you know, you're not aware of the negative situation around you. It's and you can't change it, but you can change, like I said earlier, you can change how you respond to it. You can be in control that way, right? And that's eventually what, what he did, and you you were, you know, you were controlled going downstairs, you know, with with your guide dog, and with all these people following you, and because of the way you were, like, then they were following you, yeah, and they remained calm. It's like there's someone calling up from below who's safe. I can hear that. I'm listening to Michael. He'll tell his dog how well behaved they are. And he's going down calmly. Okay, you know, I can do this. And they start calming down,   Michael Hingson ** 47:28 yeah, what's the riskiest thing you've ever done? Oh, word. Must have taken a risk somewhere in the world, other than public speaking. Oh, yeah, public speaking.   Alex Fullick ** 47:40 I still get nervous the first minute. I'm still nervous when I go up, but you get used to it after a while. But that first minute, yeah, I'm nervous. Oh, that there's, I have a fear of heights and the so the the two, two things that still surprised me that I did is I climbed the Sydney bridge, Harbor Bridge, and, oh, there's another bridge. Where is it? Is it a Brisbane? They're both in Australia. Anyway. Climb them both and have a fear of heights. But I thought, no, I gotta, I gotta do this. You know, I can't be afraid of this my entire life. And I kept seeing all these people go up there in groups, you know, on tours. And so I said, Okay, I'm going to do this. And I was shaking nervous like crazy, and went, What if I fall off, you know, and there's so many different measures in place for to keep you safe. But that that was risky, you know, for me, it felt risky. I was exhilarated when I did it. Though, would you do it again? Oh, yeah, in a heartbeat. Now, there you go. I'm still afraid of heights, but I would do that again because I just felt fantastic. The other I guess going out and being self employed years ago was another risky thing. I had no idea, you know about incorporating myself, and, you know, submitting taxes, you know, business taxes, and, you know, government documents and all this and that, and invoicing and things like that. I had no idea about that. So that was kind of risky, because I had no idea how long I'd be doing it. Well, I started in what 2007, 2007, I think so, 18 years, yeah, so now it's like, I can't imagine myself not doing it, you know, so I'm but I'm always willing to try something new these days. You know, even starting the podcast seven and a half years ago was risky, right? I had no idea. Nobody was talking about my industry or resilience or business continuity or anything back then, I was the first one doing it, and I'm the longest one doing it. Um, I've outlived a lot of people who thought they could do it. I'm still going. So that started out risky, but now I. Imagine not doing it, yeah, you know. And you know, it's, you know, I guess it's, it's just fun to keep trying new things. You know, I keep growing and, you know, I've got other plans in the works. I can't give anything away, but, you know, I've got other plans to try. And they'll, they'll be risky as well. But it's like,   Michael Hingson ** 50:21 no, let's go for it. Have you ever done skydiving or anything like that? No, I haven't done that. I haven't either. I know some blind people who have, but I just, I've never done that. I wouldn't   Alex Fullick ** 50:32 mind it. It's that might be one of those lines where should I? I'm not sure about this one, you know, but it is something that I I think I wouldn't do it on my own. I think I would have to be one of those people who's connected with someone else, with someone   Michael Hingson ** 50:51 else, and that's usually the way blind people do it, needless to say, but, and that's fine, I just have never done it. I haven't ever had a need to do it, but I know I can sit here and say, I'm not afraid to do it. That is, I could do it if it came along, if there was a need to do it, but I don't. I don't have a great need to make that happen. But you know, I've had enough challenges in my life. As I tell people, I think I learned how to deal with surprises pretty early, because I've been to a lot of cities and like, like Boston used to have a rep of being a very accident prone city. Just the way people drive, I could start to cross the street and suddenly I hear a car coming around the corner, and I have to move one way or the other and draw a conclusion very quickly. Do I back up or do I go forward? Because the car is not doing what it's supposed to do, which is to stop, and I have to deal with that. So I think those kinds of experiences have helped me learn to deal with surprise a little bit too.   Alex Fullick ** 51:52 Yeah, well, with the skydiving, I don't think I'd go out of my way to do it, but exactly came along, I think I would, you know, just for the thrill of saying, I did it,   Michael Hingson ** 52:03 I did it, yeah, I went ice skating once, and I sprained my ankle as we were coming off the ice after being on the ice for three hours. And I haven't gone ice skating again since. I'm not really afraid to, but I don't need to do it. I've done it. I understand what it feels like. Yeah, yeah. So it's okay. Have you had any really significant aha moments in your life, things that just suddenly, something happened and went, Ah, that's that's what that is, or whatever.   Alex Fullick ** 52:30 Well, it does happen at work a lot, dealing with clients and people provide different perspectives, and you just, Oh, that's interesting, though, that happens all the time. Aha moments. Sometimes they're not always good. Aha moments, yeah, like the one I always remember that the most is when I wrote my first book, heads in the sand. I was so proud of it, and, you know, excited and sent off all these letters and marketing material to all the chambers of commerce across Canada, you know, thinking that, you know, everyone's going to want me to speak or present or buy my book. Well, ah, it doesn't happen that way. You know, I got no responses. But that didn't stop me from writing seven more books and working on nine. Now, there you go, but it was that was kind of a negative aha moment so, but I just learned, okay, that's not the way I should be doing that.   Michael Hingson ** 53:34 Put you in your place, but that's fair. I kind   Alex Fullick ** 53:37 of, I laugh at it now, a joke, but you know, aha, things you know, I You never know when they're going to happen.   Michael Hingson ** 53:47 No, that's why they're Aha, yeah.   Alex Fullick ** 53:51 And one of one, I guess another one would have been when I worked out first went out on my own. I had a manager who kept pushing me like, go, go work for yourself. You know this better than a lot of other people. Go, go do this. And I was too nervous. And then I got a phone call from a recruiting agency who was offering me a role to do where I wanted to take this company, but that I was working for full time for that weren't ready to go. They weren't ready yet. And it was kind of an aha moment of, do I stay where I am and maybe not be happy? Or have I just been given an opportunity to go forward? So when I looked at it that way, it did become an aha moment, like, Ah, here's my path forward. Yeah, so, you know. And that was way back in 2007 or or so somewhere around there, you know. So the aha moments can be good. They can be bad, and, you know, but as long as you learn from them, that's exactly   Michael Hingson ** 54:57 right. The that's the neat thing about. Aha moments. You don't expect them, but they're some of the best learning opportunities that you'll ever get.   Alex Fullick ** 55:06 Yeah, yeah, I agree completely, because you never know that. That's the nice thing, and I think that's also part of what I do when I'm working with so many different people of different levels is they all have different experiences. They all have different backgrounds. You they can all be CEOs, but they all come from a different direction and different backgrounds. So they're all going to be offering something new that's going to make you sit there and go, Oh, yeah. And thought of that before,   Michael Hingson ** 55:38 yeah. So that's, that's so cool, yeah,   Alex Fullick ** 55:42 but you have to, you know, be able to listen and pick up on those kind of things.   Michael Hingson ** 55:46 But you've been very successful. What are some of the secrets of success that that that you've discovered, or that you put to use?   Alex Fullick ** 55:55 For me, I'll put it bluntly, shut up and listen.   Michael Hingson ** 55:59 There you are. Yeah. Well, that is so true. That's true. Yeah.   Alex Fullick ** 56:03 I think I've learned more by just using my two ears rather than my one mouth, instead of telling people everything they you should be doing. And you know, this is what I think you should do. And like talking at people, it's so much better just talk with people, and then they'll, even if you're trying to, you know, really, really, really, get them to see your side, they will come onto your side easier and probably better if you let them realize it themselves. So you just listen, and you ask the odd probing question, and eventually comes around, goes, Oh, yeah, I get it. What you mean now by doing this and going, Yeah, that's where I was going. I guess I just wasn't saying it right, you know. And have being humble enough to, you know, even though I, I know I did say it right, maybe I just wasn't saying it right to that person, to that person, yeah, right way. So listening to them, and, you know, I think, is one of the big keys to success for me, it has, you know, and I've learned twice as much that way. And maybe that's why I enjoy answering people on the podcast, is because I ask a couple of questions and then just let people talk,   Michael Hingson ** 57:18 which is what makes it fun. Yeah,   Alex Fullick ** 57:21 yeah. It's sometimes it's fun to just sit there, not say anything, just let someone else do all the talking.   Michael Hingson ** 57:29 What you know your industry is, I would assume, evolved and changed over the years. What are some of the major changes, some of the ways that the industry has evolved. You've been in it a long time, and certainly, business continuity, disaster recovery, whatever you want to call it, has, in some sense, has become a little bit more of a visible thing, although I think people, as both said earlier, ignore it a lot. But how's the industry changed over time?   Alex Fullick ** 57:54 Well, when I started, it was before y 2k, yes, 96 and back then, when I first started, everything was it focused. If your mainframe went down, your computer broke. That's the direction everyone came from. And then it was you added business continuity on top of that. Okay, now, what do we do with our business operations. You know, other things we can do manually while they fix the computer or rebuild the mainframe. And then it went to, okay, well, let's bring in, you know, our help desk. You know, who people call I've got a problem with a computer, and here's our priority and severity. Okay, so we'll get, we'll respond to your query in 12 hours, because it's only one person, but if there's 10 people who have the issue, now it becomes six hours and bringing in those different aspects. So we went from it disaster recovery to business continuity to then bringing in other disciplines and linking to them, like emergency management, crisis management, business continuity, incident management, cyber, information security. Now we've got business continuity management, you know, bringing all these different teams together and now, or at least on some level, not really integrating very well with each other, but just having an awareness of each other, then we've moved to operational resilience, and again, that buzzword where all these teams do have to work together and understand what each other is delivering and the value of each of them. And so it just keeps growing in that direction where it started off with rebuild a mainframe to getting everybody working together to keep your operations going, to keep your partners happy, to keep your customers happy. You know, ensuring life safety is priority number one. When, when I started, life safety was, wasn't really thrown into the business continuity realm that much. It was always the focus on the business. So the these. The sky, the size and scope has gotten a lot bigger and more encompassing of other areas. And I wouldn't necessarily all call that business continuity, you know it, but it is. I see business continuity as a the hub and a wheel, rather than a spoke, to bring all the different teams together to help them understand, you know, hey, here's, here's how you've Incident Management, you know, help desk, service desk, here's how you help the Disaster Recovery Team. Here's how you can help the cyber team. Cyber, here's how you can actually help this team, you know, and being able to understand. And that's where the biggest change of things is going is now, more and more people are understanding how they really need to work together, rather than a silo, which you know, a lot of organizations still do, but it's those walls are starting to come down, because they can understand no One can do it alone. You have to work together with your internal departments, leadership, data analysts, who have to be able to figure out how to rebuild data, or your third parties. We need to talk with them. We have to have a relationship with them our supply chain, and understand where they're going, what they have in place, if we or they experience something. So it's definitely grown in size and scope   Michael Hingson ** 1:01:27 well, and we're seeing enough challenges that I think some people are catching on to the fact that they have to learn to work together, and they have to think in a broader base than they have in the past, and that's probably a good thing. Yeah, well, if, if you had the opportunity, what would you tell the younger Alex?   Alex Fullick ** 1:01:50 Run, run for the hills. Yeah, really, no, seriously, I kind of mentioned a couple of them already. Don't sweat the small things. You know, sometimes, yeah, and I think that comes down to our mindset thing as well. You know, understand your priorities and what's important. If it's not a priority or important, don't sweat it. Don't be afraid to take risks if you if you do your planning, whether it be jumping out of a plane or whatever, you know the first thing you want to do is what safety measures are in place to ensure that my jump will be successful. You know, those kind of things. Once you understand that, then you can make knowledgeable decisions. Don't be afraid to take those risks. And it's one of the big things. It's it's okay to fail, like I said about the book thing where you all those that marketing material I sent out, it's okay to fail. Learn from it. Move on. I can laugh at those kind of things now. You know, for years, I couldn't I was really like, oh my god, what I do wrong? It's like, No, I didn't do anything wrong. It just wasn't the right time. Didn't do it the right way. Okay, fine, move on. You know, you know, don't be afraid to fail. If, if you, if you fail and get up, well then is it really a failure? You learned, you got back up and you kept going. And that's the part of resilience too, right? Yeah, if you trip and fall, you get up and keep going. But if you trip and fall and stay down, well then maybe you are   Michael Hingson ** 1:03:30 failing. That's the failure. I mean, the reality is that it isn't failure if you learn from it and move on. It was something that set you back, but that's okay, yeah,   Alex Fullick ** 1:03:41 my my favorite band, Marillion, has a line in one of their songs rich. Failure isn't about falling down. Failure is staying down. Yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 1:03:50 I would agree with that. Completely agree   Alex Fullick ** 1:03:53 with it. He'll stand by it. W

Der Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) verpflichtet alle Unternehmen des Finanzsektors, ihre IKT-Systeme und -Prozesse regelmäßig zu überprüfen. Dazu soll ein risikobasiertes, proportionales Testprogramm etabliert werden. Worauf Sie dabei achten sollten, welche grundlegenden Tests dazugehören und wann sich die Unterstützung durch Externe anbietet, darüber sprechen wir mit Alexandros Manakos, Cyber Security-Experte und Geschäftsführer von Apollon Security. Wir unterhalten uns außerdem über die erweiterten „Thread-Led Penetration Tests“, mit denen reale Cyber-Angriffe simuliert werden.

INE y OXXO firman convenio para incentivar la participación ciudadana el 1 de junioDecisión administrativa y no una acusación, cancelación de visa de gobernadora de BCMás información en nuestro Podcast

Harry Anagnostaras-Adams of KEFI Gold & Copper talks us through the implications of the latest news regarding the equity portion of the financing for the Tulu Kapi gold project in Ethiopia. All the pieces of the puzzle are now in place, and although the financing has yet to close, it's pretty clear that this project is going ahead. Additionally, the new financing from contractor BCM means that KEFI will have a great deal more flexibility in regard to whether or not it chooses to retain its Saudi assets. Harry also talks about the gold price, and what the newsflow will look like over the next few months

Panelet oppsummerer helgen med både BCM og sykkelritt. Mathias må krype til korset og beklage for resten av panelet. Simen fra "Askøy På Langs" gir oss en race brief av kommende helgs 37 km lange løp i villmarken. Den nye spalten ryktebørsen byr også på et par godbiter.

KEFI Gold and Copper PLC (AIM:KEFI, OTC:KFFLF) executive chairman Harry Anagnostaras-Adams talked with Proactive's Stephen Gunnion about significant developments regarding the company's Tulu Kapi gold project in Ethiopia. Anagnostaras-Adams confirmed the addition of BCM Group as both a syndicate member and the preferred mining contractor for the project. He explained, "BCM was part of the spearhead to make West African mining happen," highlighting the company's strong background in mining across Africa. He noted that BCM's commitment includes a contribution of US$23 million in pre-production costs, meaning KEFI's project development budget is now fully covered. He emphasised, "In essence, we're done," although some final procedural steps remain, such as certifying resettlement costs and finalising formal documentation. Anagnostaras-Adams also addressed KEFI's strategic stance on its Saudi Arabian interests. With financial pressures alleviated by progress at Tulu Kapi, KEFI is no longer compelled to sell its Saudi assets and will focus on optimising its position in that market. Overall, the conversation highlighted that KEFI is transitioning from solving challenges to executing plans at Tulu Kapi, marking a critical inflection point for the company. Visit Proactive's YouTube channel for more interviews and updates. Don't forget to like the video, subscribe to the channel, and enable notifications to stay updated on future content. #KEFIGoldAndCopper #TuluKapi #GoldMining #MiningInvestment #EthiopiaMining #BCMGroup #MiningProjects #ResourceDevelopment #GoldExploration #ProactiveInvestors

Panelet er tilbake i studio og oppsummerer påsken. Drapet på Metkel Betew og siktelsen mot Stig Millehaugen blir et tema. Mathias forteller om et nytt Vo2 maks-eksperiment før BCM. Testing og nytteverdien av tester blir et hett tema. 

Bobby "Bodybags" Smith joins host Jake Murren on Episode 115 of Forged in Ohio. Bobby is a 4-1 amateur mixed martial artist who is set to fight for his first MMA championship.In this episode, Bobby talks about his competitive fire for combat sports, the fast start to his amateur career, challenging himself in his first title fight, and so much more. Bobby is one of the most relentless fighters in Ohio, and he's two months away from a highly-anticipated amateur featherweight title fight. Discover more about Bobby "Bodybags" Smith by listening to Forged in Ohio today!Check out Bobby on social media:Instagram: @bobbysmithmma Facebook: @i.am.wrestling Forged in Ohio:Instagram: @forgedinohioFacebook: @forgedinohioYouTube: @forgedinohioMerchandise: @forgedinohioMusic on Forged in Ohio is from FreeMusicArchive.org: Servants by Jahzzarhttps://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jahzzar/Servants/Servants

Maraton-mesteren Martin Karlsen er på besøk og gir en oppdatering på egen trening, samt gjennomgang av BCM-favorittene på maraton. Panelet tar en grundig gjennomgang av status for trening og livet rundt. Calle kjemper tappert i rennesteinen, Martin cruiser fint om dagen, mens "The Main Man" gjør seg klar til både kalkun og BCM på påskefjellet.    Magnus Erstad beretter grundig og ærlig om sin siste dans i Rotterdam. Kristian Ulriksen forteller om litt småvondter før London Marathon.

Florida Wins Title, Michael Malone Fired, and BCM's Christian Fowler on CBB and Memphis

Oriole Resources PLC (AIM:ORR) CEO Martin Rosser and CFO Bob Smeeton take Proactive's Stephen Gunnion through the company's latest full-year results and upcoming milestones across its key exploration projects. Rosser highlighted a pivotal year for the company's Bibemi and Mbe gold projects in Cameroon. At Bibemi, a recently completed phase five drilling campaign is feeding into a revised Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE), expected this quarter. “We believe there's very good potential to not just increase the amount of gold, but also improve the category of the resource,” said Rosser. The company is also advancing an exploitation license application for the project. At Mbe, maiden drilling continues, following trenching results that indicated strong mineralisation. “We think Mbe South has significant potential to host a substantial gold deposit,” Rosser added. Smeeton detailed a £2 million reduction in operating loss and financial support from BCM International. “Since year-end, BCM have given us $1.1 million, largely replenishing CapEx,” Smeeton noted. He also confirmed progress on a joint venture agreement with Managem at the Senala project in Senegal. Rosser pointed to potential sector-wide revaluations driven by high gold prices and possible M&A activity. “Oriole's shares are significantly undervalued,” he said. For more updates from Oriole Resources and other mining sector interviews, give this video a like, subscribe to Proactive's YouTube channel, and enable notifications so you don't miss future content. #OrioleResources #GoldExploration #CameroonMining #MbeProject #BibemiGold #JuniorMiners #MiningInvestment #MineralResourceEstimate #GoldPrice #MiningFinance #ProactiveInvestors #ManagemJV #SenalaProject #CameroonGold #ExplorationDrilling

Stell dir vor, ein plötzlicher Stromausfall, ein Cyberangriff oder der krankheitsbedingte Ausfall einer Schlüsselperson legt dein Unternehmen lahm – was dann? In dieser Folge von  "Own your Compliance"  sprechen Andrea und Lukas über die entscheidende Rolle von Business Continuity Management (BCM), wenn der Ernstfall eintritt. Du erfährst, wie du dein Unternehmen krisenfest machst, welche Normen und Begriffe du kennen solltest – und warum es nicht reicht, „irgendwie vorbereitet“ zu sein. Lukas erklärt praxisnah, wie ein BCM aufgebaut wird, welche Hürden es gibt und wie du Verantwortung im Team sinnvoll verteilst.   Zu Gast: Lukas Rademacher, Consultant Information Security bei Nextwork.    

Seg 1- BCM's Christian Fowler on Memphis Hoops, Penny, and Tournament Seg 2- The Blitz: Pastner to UNLV and Stanford Football Fires Coach

Seg 1- BCM's Christian Fowler on Memphis and the NCAA Tournament Seg 2- The Blitz: West Virginia Governor + Mavs Issues Continue

Steps continue to be taken toward a potential ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine this year, an outcome that J.P. Morgan Commodities Research has assumed will occur in 2025. Among all commodities under our coverage, natural gas is expected to be impacted the most. As ceasefire negotiations progress, we now incorporate a 15 Bcm/year return of Russian pipeline gas flows to Europe, starting from 2H25. Consequently, we have lowered our price forecast for 2H25, reducing it from 46 EUR/MWh to 40 EUR/MWh. Additionally, our 2026 price forecast has been revised down from 31 EUR/MWh to 25.5 EUR/MWh, with an average price projection for the second half of 2026 approaching 20 EUR/MWh.   Speakers: Natasha Kaneva, Head of Global Commodities Research  Otar Dgebuadze, European Natural Gas Research   This podcast was recorded on 14 March 2025. This communication is provided for information purposes only. Institutional clients can view the related report at https://www.jpmm.com/research/content/GPS-4892286-0 or more information; please visit www.jpmm.com/research/disclosures for important disclosures. © 2025 JPMorgan Chase & Co. All rights reserved. This material or any portion hereof may not be reprinted, sold or redistributed without the written consent of J.P. Morgan. It is strictly prohibited to use or share without prior written consent from J.P. Morgan any research material received from J.P. Morgan or an authorized third-party (“J.P. Morgan Data”) in any third-party artificial intelligence (“AI”) systems or models when such J.P. Morgan Data is accessible by a third-party. It is permissible to use J.P. Morgan Data for internal business purposes only in an AI system or model that protects the confidentiality of J.P. Morgan Data so as to prevent any and all access to or use of such J.P. Morgan Data by any third-party.    

Seit dem 17. Januar 2025 ist der Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) anzuwenden. Schonfrist gibt es keine. Doch wie ist der Umsetzungsstand im Finanzsektor und welche Herausforderungen gab und gibt es möglicherweise immer noch? Darüber sprechen wir mit Professor Dr. Patrik Buchmüller von der DHBW Villingen-Schwenningen und Johannes Haupt (DZ Bank AG). Unsere Gäste geben außerdem einen Ausblick, wie es im regulatorischen Umfeld von DORA in den nächsten Monaten weitergeht.

Kyle "Bam Bam" Barga joins host Jake Murren on Episode 112 of Forged in Ohio. Kyle is a 5-0 amateur mixed martial artist who recently won BCM Promotions bantamweight championship.In this episode, Kyle talks about his five-year journey in mixed martial arts, proving himself by becoming BCM's bantamweight champion, his goals for 2025, and so much more.  Kyle's driven to be the best fighter at 135 pounds, and he's even more motivated now that he has a target on his back. Discover more about Kyle "Bam Bam" Barga by listening to Forged in Ohio today!Check out Kyle on social media:Instagram: @kyle.barga Facebook: @kyle.barga.5Forged in Ohio:Instagram: @forgedinohioFacebook: @forgedinohioYouTube: @forgedinohioMerchandise: @forgedinohioMusic on Forged in Ohio is from FreeMusicArchive.org: Servants by Jahzzarhttps://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jahzzar/Servants/Servants

For most advisors, scaling a financial firm without sacrificing your personal life can feel completely out of reach—until you meet Triad Members, Brent & Kim Wells. As the husband-and-wife team behind Young Wealth Management, they had to figure out how to work together in the business Kim started, define their roles, and escape the overwhelm of rapid growth.When things started to break, they restructured their approach—leading to a jump from $31M to $49M in new assets in just one year. In this episode, they break down the key shifts that made it possible—from Kim stepping into the CEO seat, to hiring the right people, to creating a culture that fuels growth without the burnout. The best part? They only work 4-days per week! 4 of the biggest insights from Brent & Kim Wells …#1.) The Shift from Operators to Leaders—Brent & Kim realized that scaling their firm meant spending less time on daily tasks and into true leadership roles. By redefining their roles and playing to their strengths—Brent focusing on revenue and client relationships while Kim took on the CEO seat—they created the space to drive long-term growth and build a business that thrives without being in the weeds.#2.) The Power of Building the Right Team—How a standout service advisor evolved into a Director of Operations, bringing the leadership and structure their team needed to scale.#3.) How a 4-Day Work Week Fueled Their Firm's Growth – Brent & Kim structured their schedule to allow for focused, high-impact work while carving out dedicated time for family—proving that working less can actually lead to greater success.#4.) Building a Culture of Recognition—How the ‘Brag Box' and intentional gratitude transformed team morale, boosted engagement, and created a client experience that truly stands out.FREE GIFT + JOIN THE DBDL INSIDER CREWToday's Gift: 30 minute 1:1 coaching call with BradAre you a financial advisor who feels stuck, needs help, or simply wants to have a conversation with Brad? Text “Coaching” to 785-800-3235 to apply for a 30 minute Zoom coaching session and we'll send you a link to Apply. That will also make you a DBDL Insider with VIP access to future resources and exclusive content. *Message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP at any time to opt-out of receiving text messages.SHOW NOTEShttps://bradleyjohnson.com/104FOLLOW BRAD JOHNSON ON SOCIALTwitterInstagramLinkedInFOLLOW DBDL ON SOCIAL:YouTubeTwitterInstagramLinkedInFacebookDISCLOSURE DBDL podcast episode conversations are intended to provide financial advisors with ideas, strategies, concepts and tools that could be incorporated into their business and their life. Financial professionals are responsible for ensuring implementation of anything discussed related to business is done so in accordance with any and all regulatory, compliance responsibilities and obligations.The Triad member statements reflect their own experience which may not be representative of all Triad Member experiences, and their appearances were not paid for.Triad Wealth Partners, LLC is an SEC Registered Investment Adviser. Please visit Triadwealthpartners.com for more information. Triad Wealth Partners, LLC and Triad Partners, LLC are affiliated companies.Investment advisory services offered through Brookstone Capital Management, LLC (BCM), a registered investment advisor. BCM and Young Wealth Management are independent of each other. Insurance products and services are not offered through BCM but are offered and sold through individually licensed and appointed agents.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A tale of two halves. The Grizzlies really struggled to get going in the 1st half, but totally flipped the switch in the second. Daniel is joined by Drew Gann of the Two Bucks Sports Show live every Tues & Thurs at Noon here at BCM. The guys break dow the game and hit the second edition of "Where He Play?" Enjoy!

In this episode, Julia is joined by Anna & Ayesha to bring closure to the Women Leading Together series. Across the series, certain sub-themes had surfaced, and Julia sought to explore these with Anna and Ayesha, who have co-chaired the Committee on Global Mental Health and International Relations for nearly a decade. Together, they reflected on the foundations of their collaboration, the role of generational differences in leadership, and how they overcame challenges, including "bumpy times," to cultivate a resilient and inspiring partnership. “What came out of the bumpy times, probably because of the bumps, is a much stronger relationship,” reflected Anna. Listen to this finale to discover how shared values, mutual respect and navigating challenges can forge stronger bonds and redefine how women lead together. About the Guest: Anna E. Ordóñez, M.D., M.A.S., is the Director of the Office of Clinical Research (OCR) at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) in the United States. With over a decade of experience at NIMH, she has held key roles including Director and Deputy Director of OCR, as well as Medical Officer of the NIMH Intramural Child Psychiatry Branch. Previously, she was the Medical Director of the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at San Francisco General Hospital and Assistant Adjunct Professor at UCSF. Anna is trained as an Adult, Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists and holds a Master of Advanced Studies in Clinical Research with an emphasis on Implementation Science. She has dedicated her career to conducting and overseeing mental health clinical research studies, with a particular interest in global mental health and implementation of evidence based mental health interventions in limited resource settings. Dr Ayesha Mian is the founder and CEO of Synapse, Pakistan Neuroscience Institute. She is the immediate past Chair, Department of Psychiatry (2013-2020), Aga Khan University and the Founding Dean of Students of the Office of Student Experience (2017-2020), AKU. Dr Mian created the first child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship training program in Pakistan. She has been internationally recognised for her work; key awards include the Jeanna Spurlock Award for Diversity and Culture by AACAP, the Laughlin Fellowship by American College of Psychiatrist (ACP), Presidential Award and Outstanding Mentor by AACAP, Robert Fellowship for Inspirational Mentorship (AAP), Fulbright and Jaworski Awards in Educational Leadership by BCM and a Lifetime Achievement Award by the University of Missouri, Department of Psychiatry.

Join me, as I talk with long-time insurance control expert, Chris Snider. Insurance in the Resilience/BCM industry has been a topic I've wanted to cover for a long time and Chris does a great job of explaining how insurance really works, using understandable and relatable language. All corporate leaders, business continuity and resilience professionals need to understand how insurance policies and providers work with you, rather than assuming how they work or believing that by having a policy in place you're protected. During our chat, Chris touches on: 1. Myths of insurance, 2. Working through risk assessments, 3. Insurance Policies, 4. Asking 'What if..., 5. Insurance providers and risks, 6. Incorporating emergency risks, 7. Including insurance as a member of your BCM steering committee (and the benefits of doing that), 8. What organizations can do to keep premiums low, 9. Proactive vs reactive, 10. Bill S211 and the impact upon insurers and organizations, 11. Bill S211 and its relation to supply chain management...and more. A very insightful discussion where Chris clarifies how insurance providers can actually help you BCM and resilience programs. Don't miss what Chris has to say. Enjoy!

Guest Introduction In today's powerful episode, we're joined by Marisa Peters, founder of BCM and an advocate for colorectal cancer awareness, and David Thau, a dedicated fundraiser and speaker for young-onset cancer initiatives. Both Marisa and David are cancer survivors who are transforming their experiences into a mission for change, focusing on the importance of early detection, health conversations, and self-advocacy. They share insights on managing health risks, knowing the symptoms, and taking proactive steps to protect yourself and your loved ones. Episode Topic The Life-Saving Impact of Early Detection and Family Health Advocacy in Preventing Colorectal Cancer Top Three Takeaways Early detection through screening is essential; colonoscopy remains the gold standard. Knowing your family health history can help in taking preventive actions. Self-advocacy is vital—trust your symptoms and push for answers.     Main Topics with Timestamps & Explanations 1. The Importance of Early Detection and Screening (Timestamp: 10:20) Marisa and David stress that screening methods, especially colonoscopies, are crucial for catching colorectal cancer early. While there are several testing options, a colonoscopy provides the most comprehensive peace of mind, allowing for the removal of precancerous polyps. This proactive approach can prevent cancer from developing in the first place and significantly increases the chances of effective treatment if cancer is detected. Notable Quote: “The best test is the one you'll actually get, but the colonoscopy is the gold standard because it removes polyps and provides the ultimate peace of mind.” 2. Family Health History as a Guide to Preventive Care (Timestamp: 18:45) Marisa highlights the importance of knowing family health history, as it can indicate when to begin early screening. For families with a history of colorectal cancer, starting screenings before the typical age is essential. Family history isn't just informative—it's potentially life-saving, setting a health roadmap that can guide future generations toward prevention and proactive health decisions. Notable Quote: “Our family health history lays out a map, highlighting potential health risks we can address early on with the right screening.” 3. Self-Advocacy: Trusting Symptoms and Pushing for Proper Testing (Timestamp: 28:30) David shares his experience with symptoms that were initially overlooked and misdiagnosed. He emphasizes that recognizing persistent symptoms and advocating for oneself are critical steps in preventing late-stage diagnoses. Self-advocacy involves not dismissing symptoms and requesting specific tests, even when initial results are inconclusive. Knowing your body and speaking up can make all the difference in early diagnosis and successful treatment. Notable Quote: “If you know something isn't right, keep pushing until you get answers. Self-advocacy can be the difference between an early or a late-stage diagnosis.”  

BCM's Christian Fowler on the Cowboys Future and Memphis Tigers Basketball Impressive Start

Join me as I talk with Business Continuity specialist Gayle Anders and Technical Continuity specialist TJ Mead - both of Netflix. As 'departments-of-one' they've been able to transform their organization's thinking on Business Continuity and Technical Continuity and share many lessons on how they did it, and how they're keeping things moving forward. During our chat we touch on: 1. Terminology (a small change makes a big difference), 2. Challenges, 3. Cultural components, 4. Plan Ownership 5. Changing perspectives and making it personal, 6. Building relationships, 7. Successful programs (this might not be what you're used to), 8. Becoming a 'knowledge hub', 9. Sharing mistakes and lessons learned, 10. Understanding and keeping leadership support, 11. Staying current...and more! Gayle and TJ share some great insights on how they've been able to raise the bar with their programs and provide some valuable advice for industry professionals wanting to raise the bar in their own organizations. Don't miss what Gayle and TJ have to share. Enjoy!

Join me as I talk with respected globally recognized operational risk, business continuity, and risk expert, and chair of the BCI's Women in Resilience Interest Group, Ratna Pawan. During our discussion we touch on two topics: Operational Resilience and Women in Resilience. 1. Operational Resilience (OpR) a. Defining operational resilience, b. OpR is BCM done well (neither of us like this comment), c. Risk awareness, d. OpR ownership, e. Understanding the inter-relationships, f. BCM as an OpR professional, g. Why other areas need to pay attention to OpR...and more! 2. Women in Resilience (WiR) a. What WiR? b. WiR initiatives, c. The challenges being faced, d. Allies and equality, e. Contacting and being part of the WiR interest group...and more! Ratna share some great insights into Operational Resilience and talks candidly about the BCI's Women in Resilience group - the successes and the challenges. Don't miss what Ratna has to share. Enjoy!

BCM's Christian Fowler on Memphis Basketball's Win, Memphis Football's Loss, and NFL

In the third episode of Exploring Continues, Julia talks to Ayesha Mian. Ayesha reflects on her experience of leading a diverse group of women during the Pakistan expedition, how her leading has shaped over the last one year and how Body has emerged as part of her Essence recently. On Motherness, she provides us with an insight that might resonate with many (men and women alike) who are building their organisations and looking forward to making it independent of their presence, so that the organisation can thrive without being dependent on the founder. “That's the Motherness in my mind, how am I nurturing a little child that makes them have their own agency and independence, and then they can survive in this own world where I can become obsolete,” she notes. This episode is a deep dive into Ayesha's reflections on the first expedition, leading her own expedition and building her neuroscience institute in Pakistan. Listen to this one to understand how Essence shapes leading. About the Guest: Dr Ayesha Mian is the founder and CEO of Synapse, Pakistan Neuroscience Institute. She is the immediate past Chair, Department of Psychiatry (2013-2020), Aga Khan University and the Founding Dean of Students of the Office of Student Experience (2017-2020), AKU. Dr Mian created the first child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship training program in Pakistan. She has been internationally recognised for her work; key awards include the Jeanna Spurlock Award for Diversity and Culture by AACAP, the Laughlin Fellowship by American College of Psychiatrist (ACP), Presidential Award and Outstanding Mentor by AACAP, Robert Fellowship for Inspirational Mentorship (AAP), Fulbright and Jaworski Awards in Educational Leadership by BCM and a Lifetime Achievement Award by the University of Missouri, Department of Psychiatry.

Seg 1- Memphis Football loses again...What it means for the program + Silverfield Seg 2- Tyreek Smith No Longer a Memphis Tiger Seg 3- BCM's Lawrence Dockery on Memphis Soccer and 901FC

BCM's Christian Fowler on the Cowboys Issues + Memphis Hoops/Football

On Monday, Greg gave a message to college students at our church for a BCM event. He discussed from Daniel 1 how to live in a pagan culture, as Daniel and his three friends experienced in the Bablyonian exile.

Join me as I talk with globally recognized Crisis, Conflict, and Emergency Management (CCEM) expert, Kyle King, as we talk about a couple of important subjects. In segment 1 we talk about The Role of Business Continuity in International Security. 1. BCM and economic stability. 2. Geopolitical risks, 3. International security and BCM, 4. Public and Private partnerships, 5. Operational continuity, 6. The inward / outward view of Business Continuity, 7. Regulations...and much more! For the second segment we talk about Emergency Management or Crisis Management: Is it Time to Evolve? 1. More complexity in crisis, 2. Redefining incidents (small events growing to large-scale events), 3. Dealing with past Emergency Mgmt. and Crisis Mgmt. doctrine, 4. Catastrophes, 5. Communications, 6. Bringing BCM, Emergency Mgmt. and Crisis Mgmt. together, 7. Clarifying authorities (vs responsibilities), 8. A change in mindset...and much more! Kyle shares some great insights about BCM involvement in International Security and how the ERM and CM professions need - and must - evolve to address our changing times. Don't miss what Kyle has to share. Enjoy!

Seg 1- BCM's Christian Fowler on Hurricane Milton, Memphis Football, and NFL Seg 2- The Blitz: Saleh Fired, GM Survey, and Georgia Football Issues

David "The Hippie" Leasure joins host Jake Murren on Episode 97 of Forged in Ohio. David is a 3-2 amateur mixed martial artist who is fighting in the main event of BCM Promotions Fight Night 18 on October 19th.  In this episode, David talks about why he started fighting, staying calm inside the cage, fighting the #1 amateur bantamweight in Ohio, thriving in the underdog role, and so much more.David stepping up to fight Koby Carr-Pierce is what fighting is all about, and now the question is how he'll take advantage of the opportunity in his first amateur title fight. Discover more about David "The Hippie" Leasure by listening to Forged in Ohio today!Check out David on social media:Instagram: @davidthehippieleasureFacebook: @davidleasure Forged in Ohio:Instagram: @forgedinohioFacebook: @forgedinohioYouTube: @forgedinohioMusic on Forged in Ohio is from FreeMusicArchive.org: Servants by Jahzzarhttps://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jahzzar/Servants/Servants

Seg 1- BCM's Christian Fowler on the Memphis Pac 12 decision and Navy loss Seg 2- The Blitz: D Rose, Hugh Freeze, and the A's leaving Oakland

Hour 3- BCM's Christian Fowler on Pac-12, Memphis Beating FSU, and NFL

Seg 1- Hour 3- BCM's Christian Fowler on Penny Hardaway, Memphis/FSU, and NFL Seg 2- The Blitz: Jahvon Quinerly, Panthers in Trouble, and Deshaun Watson

This episode of the Real Science Exchange podcast was recorded during a webinar from Balchem's Real Science Lecture Series.Throughout the last 30 years, the dairy industry has moved to producing highly concentrated versions of milk proteins. In cows' milk, about 80% of the protein is casein and 20% is in the serum or whey phase. These ratios vary by species. There are three major caseins in cows' milk: alpha-S-casein, beta-casein, and kappa-casein. The first two are rich in phosphate for calcium binding. Kappa-casein is critical in a micellar structure that allows these structures to stay suspended in the milk. (1:21)Whey proteins also differ by species. In cows' milk, about 50% of the whey protein is beta-lactoglobulin. It's rich in branched-chain amino acids, and it is not present in human milk so it is a focus of allergy research. Alpha-lactalbumin is found in all mammals and is a cofactor for lactose production. (10:34)Caseins and whey proteins are different from one another and are in completely different classes of proteins. From structure, to size, to amino acid content, to solubility; these two types of proteins are yin and yang. (11:51)When fluid milk or whey is concentrated by removing water, some sugars and other materials dissolve via evaporation or membrane filtration. It results in dried powders, milk protein concentrate, milk protein isolate, whey protein concentrate and whey protein isolates. Concentrates contain 80-85% protein and isolates contain more than 90% protein.  (17:14)What's driving the current and probably future popularity of these dairy proteins? One, is their versatility in many food applications, and the other is the superior nutritional quality of the proteins. Nearly half of the milk protein concentrate use is for mainstream nutrition and sports beverages. Similar trends have been observed for whey protein isolates. (20:05)Dairy proteins are very rich in branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) like leucine. BCAAs help initiate protein synthesis, are important for muscle recovery, help with weight loss by maintaining blood glucose levels, are synergistic with exercise, and can promote healthy aging. Dr. Lucey gives several different examples of products utilizing dairy proteins. He predicts that the increased focus on nutrition products, interest in isolating individual proteins and improving export opportunities will continue to drive demand for dairy proteins in the future.  (27:21)All of the main milk proteins have genetic variants, which are minor amino acid differences in the same protein. Variants occur at different frequencies among breeds. Beta-casein has two variants, A1 and A2. There is one amino acid difference out of 209 total amino acids, located at position 67 where a histidine is found in variant A1 and a proline is found in variant A2. When histidine is present, the beta-casein is prone to cleavage at position 67, creating a fragment called beta-casomorphin-7 (BCM-7). When proline is present, it hinders the cleavage of casein at position 67. BCM-7 is an exogenous opioid peptide with the potential to elicit opioid activity on a range of tissues and organs. It's known as a “bioactive peptide” and some others from milk and cheese have been implicated as anti-hypertensive. (35:26)In the late 1990s, some researchers claimed that A1 milk was implicated in diabetes, coronary heart disease, autism, and schizophrenia. Subsequent reviews and investigations by significant international bodies found no evidence of these claims. (40:34)In closing, Dr. Lucey answers questions from the webinar audience. He talks about the potential of breeding cows customized for the production of minor milk components, milk components as renewable bio-plastics, and the superiority of milk proteins compared to plant proteins. Watch the full webinar at balchem.com/realscience. (47:41)Please subscribe and share with your industry friends to invite more people to join us at the Real Science Exchange virtual pub table.  If you want one of our Real Science Exchange t-shirts, screenshot your rating, review, or subscription, and email a picture to anh.marketing@balchem.com. Include your size and mailing address, and we'll mail you a shirt.

Seg 1- Memphis Tigers Win + CFB Week 2 Recap Seg 2- BCM's Roman Cleary on Memphis Football and Penny

Seg 1- The Good, Bad, and Ugly of Memphis Football + CFB Week 1 Recap Seg 2- BCM's Christian Fowler on Memphis, FSU, and CFB Week 1

Episode 349 of the John1911 Podcast is now live:   New microphone setup. Buying a Krag rifle. Setting up the Double Douche. I think I like 2011s that are in...45ACP.  Wilson True Zero RDS plates stand tall.  Mr. Gunsngear banned off Patreon.  IV8888 is selling all his guns?!?!   Marky John1911.com "Shooting Guns & Having Fun"

Today, Walt Robillard and I are giving you a sneak peek at a new project we've been working on. Give it a read (below), or a listen (Above), and check it out, and yeah, that's Walt's killer voice doing the narration.Hobo Recon:Hard Luck and TroublebyNick Cole and Walt RobillardChapter OneHobos in the Wind“This is why we can't have nice things, Troubs!” Hardy shouted across the cargo containers in the yard.            It'd been a while since he'd had to draw the heater, much less fire it. This wasn't the gun he'd normally shuck from beneath his worn patchwork “dirty” military jacket when things went south fast and desperate. The dialed-up M4.  This was definitely the shotty he used for tense negotiations with uncertain characters who harbored bad intentions.Bad intentions was everyday and everyone now days. In these times.He pulled that shotgun from under the coat where it dangled on a single point underarm sling as he ate up the miles and rode the rails. A model 870 SPS Marine Magnum he'd rattle-canned to look more used, weathered, subdued. On the road and the kinda gun a desperate man lookin' for work might use to protect himself in these lawless times. He'd save his sidearm for the real intense gunfights up close that needed more rounds on target. Less fiddling with the firearm when he wanted to put a hurt on someone. The double stack mag held enough, “go screw yerself,” forty-five caliber ACP. Usually good to get out of whatever scrape he and Trouble had gotten themselves into this time behind enemy lines and in service to SOCOM and the Heartland that was all that remained of the U.S.             Trouble—because it wasn't a middle name, it was really… who he was—Troubs had his head shoved into the open cargo container in the shipping yard, using his teeth to strip off the casing around a wire he was working. He had a multi-tool with wire strippers too. The ones all those old EOD guys carried back in the day on their rig and chest plate carriers in the wars in other places not the battleground they found themselves in now… America. Still America regardless of what all factions were involved and especially the ChiComs.The sudden appearance of a Chinese security agent had Trouble stripping wires with his teeth for expediency in order to, “get it done in one, son.”It didn't help that Hard Luck had been muttering that same phrase as he got ready to distribute some hate-spray from the barrel of the rattle-canned 870. Rattle-canned old BDU multicam because that was the way the world was now, and the lands they found themselves in, and was the camo of the day when they'd both started out as Eleven Bravo privates in the last days of the Old Cold War.Not the hot one now.            The unlucky and early security agent was currently dead behind where Trouble was kneeling, large caliber holes bleeding over his gray uniform and onto the wet pavement of the yard.            “Brah, that shot was like Mozart on a motorcycle. That's how we do it, my brother in combat arms!” Trouble quietly exclaimed as he twisted the end of the newly exposed wire, pumped his fist, and continued whatever Def Leppard song he was keeping time to, to get his EOD on like he'd always done. Then he pumped his fist again and bit his lip, hearing some searing unheard guitar solo from long ago. “Need me a little cover while I finish this last bit, Hardy.”            Hard Luck.            SFC James C. Hardy. SOCOM. Eighteen Bravo. Shoulda been a Master Sergeant before retirement. But he spent some unrated time doing dark stuff in uncertain places along the way for shadows that didn't want to come out into the light before America got sold out by those shadows and all that was left was SOCOM to defend the Heartland and give the Chinese and the rest a bad time. There was the 82nd too, even though they were stuck in the irradiated remains of Russian-occupied Poland and fighting for their lives living on dead horses and hate. The Marines held Sand Diego and were officially listed as insurrectionists and traitors, allies of Russia.            But that wasn't true. Not at all.            Eighteen Bravo.  The weapons sergeant within the Special Forces career field, employs conventional and unconventional warfare tactics and techniques in individual and small unit infantry operations. Employs individual domestic, foreign small arms, light and heavy crew-served weapons, anti-aircraft and anti-armor weapons. He is… a master of all weapons.            And don't ask about the Rangers and where they are in the mess we find ourselves in called America's Darkest Hours on a good day. All four Battalions were dead. As they say in SOCOM, “Ain't no Rangers here,” and then those that can, point to where they once rolled the scroll and wink. “They just on the fade.”               Hardy leaned into the shadows beside his own container he was covering from. No use standing in the same spot as his partner. The guy was either going to blow himself up or get trounced by the incoming security responding to the shots. Why risk both of them getting schwacked?            “You were supposed to wait,” Hardy muttered as he scanned the misty and wet dark.            “I was supposed to be a rock star,” Trouble responded, humming metal to himself as he cursed the wire he was working with. “Playing the axe at night; beach, beer, fish tacos by day. Maybe even charm my way to seeing a bikini hanging off the end of the bed post, ya know? Life comes at ya fast, Hardy, but don't worry… Trouble's my name and causin' it is my… game,” he whispered almost to himself as he continued to solve the problems in his hands.            SFC Stephen X. Bach. Eighteen Charlie.  SFC when he shoulda retired at least an E8 just a few years ago as things began to get truly weird and surreal and even the Army lost its mind and lowered standards, painted nails and even let some girls wear the Ranger Tab when no one who's actually earned one thinks they even got remotely close to meeting standard without a lotta help along the way.            Eighteen Charlie. Special Force engineer sergeants are specialists across a wide range of disciplines, from demolitions and constructions of field fortifications to topographic survey techniques.            Trouble was his tag with SOCOM, and it wasn't because he was cool. He caused it on mission more than effectively, on behalf of the teams, and didn't stop back behind the wire when it was generally not needed or in his own best interest.            So… Trouble had run his mouth about the general current state of affairs, and if he wasn't so highly decorated that some of his awards were redacted, and so competent at the delicate art of high explosives… then he might have found himself with an even lower rank and very little retirement in light of the various courts martial and articles of offense.            But he knew real bad guys in high places even there at the end of all things. And so, he'd gotten a chance to walk with some retirement and rank for the last six months of America.            “Then get it done, and don't be that guy,” Hardy growled. Trouble liked to talk it up when things were getting thick.And things were getting definitely thick.Like the song lyrics from long ago Trouble always had running… It was distracting. Not to mention, Trouble had a tendency to sip his own cool aid, or so Hardy thought. “Got more coming.”Matter of fact statement. No drama. It was about to be get-it-on-thirty in the midnight yard of bad decisions and insertion behind enemy lines with assets to deny and mayhem to be caused.            The sound of rushing boots thumping across the wet concrete was getting louder, as was the group barking loudly in Mandarin the way the Chinese do as they approached the x they had no idea they were walking onto. It was funny how the Chinese all ran the same way, or at least, that's how it sounded to Hardy. And it… bemused him. He was a thinker, and he'd never have used that ten-cent word on the teams. But in his mind, that and other words like it… they were there. He was a reader, and a thinker. And so, to Hard Luck all the Chinese seemed to have that same mincing pitter-patter run where they never really stepped it out like they were Usain Bolt intent on not just winning… but winning with icing. It was like watching that cartoon Martian run while trying to nab a, “P-32 ulidium space modulator!”            Or whatever it was.            Of course, the newer generation had no clue about good ol' Marvin, but that didn't mean it wasn't funny.            And…            “Sucks to be them,” exhaled Hard Luck and readied the shotty for sudden thunder.            The Chinese shouts changed to whispers as the pitter-patter running soldiers got to the container group close to the two operators. Hardy knew the trick. Direct the guys into the target, then shift to the radios to keep their opponents guessing as to what came next. Only, the two operators had seen this particular Chinese trick before, as this wasn't the first time he and Trouble had gone up against the Puffies.            Of course, their enemy didn't refer to themselves as Puffies because their units always went about with names to make them feel special. Hardy got the intel on these mooks a couple of weeks ago when Trouble blew up that cargo ship down in the gulf. They'd called themselves Thunder of the Gods and gay stuff like that. Because of course they did. And this was a reference to the People's Liberation Army Air Force's Airborne Brigade.            Which was who they were facing today. This was their operation area on the road to New Orleans.            Now, sounding all that out had been a mouthful for the various teams rolling out of the SRC, and instead of just shortening it to PLAAF, it came out like Puff. The few Puffies that Hardy's unit had managed to capture and talk to, got all sorts of mad about the slur. Which was great when they caught and released a few of them to spread the legend of the Special Reconnaissance Companies SOCOM had deployed into Occupied America. Get the rest of the Puffies all nervous about facing an invisible covert military force hiding in plain sight within the subjugated population.            Ghosts in the night in plain sight.            And deadly ghosts at that.            Some of the SRC teams had even conducted massacres that were simply bone-chilling so the Chinese could have their very own boogie men to be afraid of in the night.            What had Colonel Spear said when he created the Special Recon Teams for SOCOM as it waged its war out of what remained of North Carolina and the battle lines down in Georgia… "Now they will know why they are afraid of the dark. Now they learn why they fear the night."            One of the nerdy Green Berets, an 18 Delta, had told everyone that was a line from Conan the Barbarian. No one cared and all agreed it was as cool as it gets. And if there's anything Green Berets love… it's cool stuff that's super deadly. See the tats since ‘Nam for examples. Cobras, skulls, knives… women.            The Puffies had rightly guessed Trouble and Hardy would eventually come after this cargo depot along the gulf after they'd slagged that cargo ship. So, the Chinese high command out of New Orleans had deployed a company of PLAAF airborne forward in the hopes word would get out, and the “American GI special forces terrorists” prowling the Area of Operations North of New Orleans would come and enter the dragnet the PRC had thrown across much of the South and Southwest of what the maps once called the United States of America.They were anything but united.Most of the States that remained were fighting for themselves with what little was left of their veterans and National Guard. What was known as “Caliphistan” centered around the Midwest out of Michigan, was engaged in a brutal no-holds-barred plains war with the Chinese 3rd Army and being supplied and trained by SOCOM with what could be begged, borrowed, or stolen.California was behind enemy lines except for Marine-held San Diego and some warlord in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and parts of San Bernardino proclaiming an independent nation called Vanistan and being held by heavily armed and mobile militia.They had vans.            Hardy scanned the angles and shadows of the cargo containers past where Trouble was working.            Their night vision had been a step up from what he'd had when he'd been a regular grunt. The overhead lighting shining down on them from gantries and industrial light towers of the cargo yard situated around the cargo docks didn't even factor in to how these new NODs worked out in the dark. Running next gen night vision based on the ENVG-B—still in use—their gear just factored in the lighting and highlighted anything warmer than the surroundings. Complex motion tracking fed into augmented reality, highlighted potential targets and let the soldier see in complex low light conditions.            “Trubs,” Hardy said quietly into his throat mic. “Hooking out to get an angle on our new friends.”            “Gonna leave me here all by my lonesome,” Trouble joked. “You know… I'm afraid of the dark, right?”            “NODs and that red lens you're working ain't enough?” Hardy asked.            Trouble waved the flashlight in the direction of the incoming Puffies. “Seriously, come over here and hold my hand while I finish this. You know how I get.”            Hardy knew all too well, which is why he left his partner alone to finish his chore.            He slipped past several of the containers, then used a small stack of metal frames to vault himself to the top of the nearest CONEX. The cargo containers were the standard variety, so he had to move cautiously as he jumped, then crept across the top of the ribbed metal box. Walk too fast and he'd sound like he was pounding on a metal drum with each footstep. After jumping across several of the boxes, Hardy had a good line of sight to Trouble and several avenues of approach.            The operator leaned into the shadows against the cargo container stack, then removed his cell phone from the sleeve pocket of his patrol parka. Set to lowlight conditions, the EUD—End User Device—was loaded with the latest and greatest ATAK interface, allowing Hardy to act as a battlefield information hub. The screen was already pinging two angles of approach off the trip sensors Hardy had placed when they'd first snuck into the yard.            The fact they were coming at all worried the veteran operator. He scratched the few days' worth of stubble on his chin, trying to figure where they'd botched the insert and alerted this security detail tasked with holding the yards. The Chinese had their own version of EUDs, and if they ran something like the Android Team Awareness Kit, all it would've taken was for Hardy and Trouble to trip a sensor they'd missed, and the soldier responsible for the zone would have called it in.            Hardy shook his head, internally bashing himself for not being more careful. It's why they'd taken to calling him Hard Luck for his call-sign. Throughout his military career and now out in the Special Recon Companies, he'd never found a stretch of bad luck that didn't stick to him. And that included being partnered with Trouble.            That guy was bad luck personified.            Looking up from his EUD, Hardy saw the Chinese first fire team angling on the objective. A single soldier with three more behind him was trying to pie the corner as though this was the first time he'd done it for real. Hardy had to give the Asian kid credit though, he was sticking his QBZ-191 rifle around the corner, trusting the optic to broadcast whatever was past the CONEX to his night vision, so the soldier didn't have to stick his head in the open and get it blown off.            SOCOM's PsyOps guys had made sure all the illegal social media sites still operational were filled with GoPros of Chinese guys getting their heads blown off. Some of them were even real. AI made the rest.            Hard Luck, that internal monologue, that thinking machine he was, a thinking-killing machine who'd even had profound thoughts while running a belt fed two-forty in a hostile combat zone and laying some serious hate, that thinking machine he was always… wondered…            Warfare had gotten weird when advanced sighting devices operated on wireless link tech and rifles could see around corners.            It wasn't… fair. But when was war ever fair. He'd seen enough kids get talked into it only to end up lying in the tall grass by some road a few days later. Just where he'd left them.            No, there was nothing fair about war.            Now that it wasn't close quarters in the dark, he gently let the shotty slide back under his old “down and out in occupied America” hobo-coat and shucked the heater.            The heater.            It wasn't an issued weapon. There were very few issued-weapons for SOCOM, and all the kids and whoever would show up to get trained on them and sent out to die in any of the seven directions the heartland was being attacked from. Plus… shipping and transport weren't easy.            In the SRTs everything went on your back just like the old LRRP teams in Vietnam. And you looked like a hobo so you could pass with all the refugees, transients, and mad homeless displaced by the war, or just… whatever.            You looked like a hobo because you were… a hobo.            The heater was his own personal truck gun he'd dragged everywhere from Bragg to wherever he got stationed along the way.            Everything on it was his. Paid for by his salary. Just in case it hit the fan. Just in case he got invaded at home one night, wherever home happened to be between deployments. Honestly, he'd never thought he'd need it for what he was using it for now.            A domestic insurgency.            But he sure had built it to do the trick.            It was a Daniel Defense MK18 with a ten-inch threaded barrel he could go quiet with. He had jungle-mags ready to go and one stack in. Along the barrel he had illuminate and IR. He'd added a BCM foregrip and done some work with the internals to get it just where he wanted it to run. He had a match grade flat-trigger because that felt best for the tap. The optic was a basic Aimpoint T-1. It didn't look tactical-cool guy but if you knew you knew. The T1 was a great optic system if you needed to keep both eyes open and see everything while keeping the dot on target.            And in the SRTs, outnumbered, behind lines, running gun fights and using everything and being as aware as possible, wasn't just optimal or maximal… it was vital to continued birthday parties.            Hardy lined up his optic to target and let the heater bark. The first round caught the kid in the neck, splattering a good amount of the kid's blood across the CONEX's side panel. The assault took the trio behind the kid by surprise, forcing them to turn and instantly shoot in all directions except up because they weren't fighting Batman. Hardy covered behind the metal boxes, trusting their contents to bullet sponge enough of the bouncing rounds to keep him from getting accidentally blasted.            Then… leaning from cover, Hardy put a trio of shots that tore off the commie soldier's face, before transitioning to the third trooper in the stack. Then he sent more rounds sailing past the number three paratrooper's chin and behind the space at the top of his chest where the armor didn't cover.            And thinking-killing machine he was… he reflected that it was good “commie” was back in use as the dirty word it really was.            It was the truth.            And it was always good to stack them.                       The fourth Chinese paratrooper decided to run for it when he couldn't find the spot the shooting was coming from. In a show of solidarity, he grabbed the trooper who'd just soaked up rounds behind his chest plate, dragging the downed soldier to cover with him.            Probably thinking he was gonna get a medal someday for this.            Poor Schmoe, thought Hard Luck, guy didn't observe the first rule of combat first aid, and it was going to cost him. Now. Hardy lined up the optic dot to the soldier's hip, having already figured out the sight was probably off because he'd been shooting center mass but hitting high. The thinking but really killing machine part of his mind doing that math too… and then his suspicion got confirmed when the rounds punched into the spot on the Chinese soldier's back right behind and beneath his shoulder, once again where their PLA armor didn't cover.            The round tore into the kid's torso, punching him to the ground next to his friend he was gonna rescue and get a medal for, and twenty years after, they'd drink Tsing Taos and celebrate a ChiCom-dominated world they'd made happen, with their little part, and managed to survive as they watched their loud children shout, and their pretty wives dote over them.Now both PLA troopers gasped for air and coughed out blood-soaked ragged Chinese, definitely drawing all sorts of attention to the hate he'd laid on them.Now we wait, he thought.Killing Machine taking over in the night and the dark and the mist.            Hardy jumped across the space to the next set of containers, allowing him to get a better view of the opposite line of advance. “Trouble, how long, man?”            The radio broke squelch in the small earpiece he wore under his hood. “Hard Luck, this is Trouble, coming at you with all the classic rock your ears can swallow!”            Great, Hardy thought. Could this guy really not take anything seriously?            The operator pushed the toggle for his PTT and growled, “Trubs, how long?”            “Closing it up now,” Trouble said. “Moving to zone two, pushing out at the crane, toward the water.”            “Roger out,” Hardy said, cutting the comms.            They'd sand-tabled this. They'd done it many times without each other in other teams not this one and other days better than this. And together, lately, Hard Luck and Trouble were becoming known for this little act of behind the lines terrorism.            Miss USA on the Nightly Free America Broadcast has even noted them in the scramble codes sent to the military and operators as far behind lines as North Dakota and New Mexico where the Chinese ran their death camps night and day, and hope is just a voice in the night right now. Near the end of the broadcast. Her warm voice coming in clear.            “Chris… sleeps until dawn.”            “The number is forty-two.”            “And to all the patriots listening tonight out there in the dark… Our boys with the Raiders and the Packers thank two particular hobos for their roadside assistance at Route Twenty-Four with the Chinese Column moving in on Nashville that was causing many patriots in the area much Hard Luck and Trouble. The supplies are through, and the children have been evacuated back into the Homeland behind the Green Zone. Thank you, boys.”            Then…            “There's a match in Peterborough. No Slack in effect.”            And finally…            “That's the news for tonight, America. Stay in the fight. We aren't done yet. Good night. And now… The Star Spangled Banner. The lights are still on.”            Both men had listened in that night after a long and very hard day on the hump, sleeping in a wet ditch out near a county road. It was cold. They'd said nothing. In the dark a few minutes later, Trouble spoke. He was gonna take first watch as they faded off the hit, avoiding Chinese Air Cav Hunter killer teams that had been roaming the countryside in HINDs.“She sounds hot, Hardy. Like that girl on the White Snake video back in the day. Remember her?”“Yeah,” said Hard Luck with his poncho pulled over him and the shotty in one hand nearby on his pack. “I do.”Pause.Then…“Do you think she's hot? Miss USA.”Hard Luck was fading. Dreaming that dream he never told anyone about.But just before he'd fallen asleep, he said, “I think she's good, Trouble. And that's what makes her beautiful.”And then Trouble might have grunted or said, “Okay.” But Hard Luck had gone to that other world that didn't exist anymore. Yesterday, some call it.But that wasn't now. Now they were in the fight in the supply yard with the PLA airborne thinking they had them right where they wanted them, barking Mandarin radio chatter and thumping hard heavy too-short-step boots and even untargeted fire at ghosts and phantoms in the mist.They were conscripts after all. They were afraid. Afraid of the PRC. And now, down range and right near the boogie men… they were afraid of the hobos that had come for them.            Another fire team of Chinese paratroopers slowly advanced to the corner of the new row of containers Hardy now faced. They mimicked the first group of soldiers, sticking their rifles around the corner to let the optics assume the risk. When they dropped their field of view on the fire team dying across from them, they retreated from the corner and broke out in a heated conversation of harsh whispers.            Yeah, the operator could smell their fear.            Behind the dying paratroopers on the ground Hard Luck had put rounds on target into, a third fire team slowly advanced, careful not to get too close to the fatal CONEX corner. They fanned out, with the tail man in the stack launching a slick matte-black drone.            Hushing-hushing in the way of Chinese battle-speak.            That was smart of them, Hardy thought. Get some eyes in the air and cover the ground quickly to find their targets. What they didn't count on was Trouble sliding in behind them, running his knife out the front of the drone trooper's neck, starting from somewhere near his ear. The battlefield surgery was grizzly, wet work, but Trouble seemed to be totally cool with it, going so far as to gently lay the soldier down and relieve him of his drone controller even as his buddies, soon to be bodies, were eyes forward and fighting for the Fatherland or whatever the godless b******s believed in these days.            With a few deft taps on the screen, Trouble had a good grip on the flight mechanic and stepped back into the shadows, fading from the fire team of Chinese paratroopers. Hardy watched as his wingman sailed the drone across the cargo yard, dropping it in line with the enemy crew close to him. They froze in place, unsure of what to make of the machine hovering in front of them at eye level.            “Hard Luck, this is Trouble. If you wouldn't mind taking advantage of the little distraction I just created, I'd appreciate it.”            There were times when James “Hard Luck” Hardy really wanted to punch his partner straight up in the grill. They all paled in comparison to those times when Trouble just couldn't be serious about an operation. Times like now.            Hardy reached into his pack, pulling a grenade from where it was taped to the inside. He yanked the pin and let the spoon fly. After mentally ticking off a count of One Mississippi, the operator flicked the weapon over the CONEX boxes to land in the middle of the fire team.            The grenade rolled and then popped, its kinetic fury suddenly and obnoxiously ignoring the Chinese soldiers' armor and planting them onto the pavement in piles of ruined meat and shredded gear.To them it was sudden and brutal, and none of the Chinese propaganda about “a glorious war of liberation” matched their violent deaths. The close proximity to the cargo containers funneled some of the blast and over-pressure across the way, startling the final team of Chinese paratroopers on approach to where they thought their boogie men might be. This group stumbled backward behind the cover of the containers, suddenly shouting in their hushed and harsh speech pattern… only to come face to face with Trouble ready to take advantage of their surprise, as they'd retreated to where they thought they might be safe.Trouble's thoughts were synched to “Breakin' the Law” by Judas Priest as he assessed the funnel they'd been forced into. The funnel and area they'd chosen as… safe.“Ain't nowhere safe in America for you,” hissed the operator.            He muzzle-thumped the first man to see he was there, pushing the suppressed Berretta pistol into the soldier's throat. The paratrooper doubled over, coughing and holding his throat after the hit. Trouble lowered himself at the same time, using the stunned soldier as cover. Angling to the side, the predatory operator sent two rounds into the lower torso of the next guy in the stack, dropping him to the concrete. He lowered the pistol to the man recovering from the throat hit, sent a round through the top of the man's boot, then followed him through a series of pain-soaked hops as he tried to recover his balance.            This was a song.            Just like all the ones he'd learned on his guitar as a kid. And they were his sheet music as he moved them about in a fatal dance of lead and death at twenty-four hundred feet per second.            Seeing how quickly things had devolved into chaos, the last man ran into the intersection, probably hoping the smoke and noise of the grenade going off in the intersection would hide his escape. All it did was bring him into Hardy's sight picture, where the concealed operator put a single round into the soldier's leg, adjusting the aim on the scope he needed to re-zero next chance he got. The paratrooper tumbled into the stack of bodies from the first fire team to get murked, a bloody mess on the ground really, screaming as he pushed himself to his back and frantically whirled his rifle in any and all directions.            In a moment of clarity, the surviving para realized the nature of his injury. He expertly pulled a tourniquet from a pouch on his armor, then slid the contraption over his leg before tightening it down.            “Fàngxià nǐ de wǔqì!” Trouble hissed from around the corner. The man had hugged the shadows until he got in position, then slid from the dark holding a confiscated QBZ-191.            The Chinese soldier held his hands out wide at seeing his own style battle rifle pointed at him. He let the rifle slip from his fingers, while glaring daggers at Trouble coming in. As the dark and dirty man advanced, the paratrooper used his good leg to push himself against the other bodies and prop up to a sitting position.            Trouble looked the part of a hobo riding the rails. He had an old-style military trench coat over a hoodie covering his normally unkempt hair. His beard was wispy, with patches of hair not growing in for some reason or another. His dirty military-style civilian pants seemed to have as many stains as they did pockets, lending credence to looking like someone who slept among the garbage. Trouble advanced on a set of well-worn high-top sneakers, complete with the Velcro strap at the top, a look no kid on either side of the Chinese militarized zone would be caught dead wearing.            He got a few yards from the downed soldier, then repeated, “Move the weapon away,” in Chinese. He spoke with the inflection and tone of someone who knew the language intimately, although he'd never be truly taken as a native speaker.            Trouble hovered over the man, both staring at each other over the sound of the paratrooper breathing rapidly after being badly wounded. The man flinched, and Trouble sent a single round center mass of the downed soldier's face. He immediately brought the carbine in line with the hopping foot injury guy, finishing him off with a series of quick staccato shots administered with cold brutality and efficiency.            Weapon up.            Bang bang bang.            Weapon low and ready, scanning dark eyes for who else wants to die next.            “You good?” Hardy asked over the net in the silence that followed.            “Yeah. Guy on his butt was gonna try for the grenade he had on his kit. No sense in both of us dying.”            “Give me a minute to scoop up their EUDs. Maybe the I&R guys can pull something off them,” Hardy said.            “I'll scoop some of these rifles and this sweet, sweet ammo, my brother-man,” Trouble said, holding the Chinese carbine. “Might as well take their NODs too. Haul like this and we could be into some serious cash if we sell it all at the general store.”            “I'll help you take some of it,” Hardy said as they both fell into the work of battlefield scavenging and asset management. “But hey, I ain't carrying a backpack full of rifles looking like a walking Middle East bazaar.”            Trouble laughed and made a cat's low owwwwwwww like he was some rock singer hamming it up just before the bridge in some long-lost metal anthem.            “Recycled due to lack of motivation,” announced Trouble. Both had been graduates of the Darby Queen and Robert Rogers school for wayward boys.            Hardy had already grabbed several of the soldiers' battle boards when his own piped off from inside his jacket.Hardy checked the sitrep from the observers. Then… “Hey. More troops coming in. Gotta rabbit.”            “But, but, all the gear,” whined Trouble. “I can do some stuff with this, Brother.”            “Fine,” Hardy quipped. “You stay and get all the shwag. I'm avoiding the Chinese infantry platoon and jumping back into the water. Discuss division of assets with them and whatever indirect and air support that's all hot and bothered right now at oh-two hundred.”            Trouble scooped up a few more rifles, then fell in step with his partner, catching up swiftly, eyes roving across all sectors each knew was their own. In moments consumed by fog and shadows, just two down and out tramps on the hump to the next refugee camp, work-gang project, handout, UN FEMA camp for indoc and digital ID assignment.Just two shadows in the night.“Time to get wet,” muttered one. “Well, when you put it like that,” hissed the other, each laboring under a huge pack, stepping it out like they were late for a better tomorrow that might just happen. “I am a bit swampy after all that work we just did. Maybe the right thing here is a nice dip in the ocean to cool a man off. Even if it is late.”Sirens began to sound in the distance. Doomsday and mournful. The music of a fallen America.A gunship could be heard in the swamps to the west. Coming in fast. Its echo thundering and reverberating off the bayous and swampy hills.“Got some blood on my hands.”“Bummer, dude.”And then they were gone.For those that wanna buy us a coffee until the next chapter drops. Thank you.CTRL ALT Revolt! is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. We love the SOCOM M1 “The B*****d” because it sure shoots like one. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit nickcole.substack.com/subscribe

Seg 1- BCM's Christian Fowler on Dallas Cowboys, CFB, and more Seg 2- The Blitz: NBA In-Season Groups + Cowboys Worth

Seg 1-BCM's Christian Fowler on CFB, Memphis, and NFL Seg 2- The Blitz: FIBA vs NBA?

BCM's Christian Fowler on the NBA Draft, Grizzlies, NFL, Memphis Tigers, and more

Seg 1- Overreaction/Not an Overreaction: Grizzlies Draft Day+ Bridges to NYK Seg 2- BCM's Daniel Greer on NBA Draft

Seg 1- Overreaction/Not an Overreaction: KPs Injury in Finals + Duren to Grizz? Seg 2- BCM's Shawn Coleman on Grizzlies Offseason and Draft Targets

BCM's Christian Fowler on David Jones, Penny Hardaway, Cowboys, and More

BCM's Christian Fowler on Penny Hardaway, Memphis Hoops, and more with Gabe Kuhn

Seg 1- BCM's Christian Fowler on NBA Draft Lottery/Combine, Memphis Basketball, and Dallas Cowboys Seg 2- The Blitz: Bronny James and Blake Watson's Fit in Denver