Podcasts about come rain

durée : 00:05:17 - C'est une chanson - par : Frédéric Pommier - Il sera en concert le 27 mars au Studio de l'Ermitage à Paris, pour la présentation de son album "Real Men Cry". Au micro de Frédéric Pommier, le chanteur de jazz belge David Linx évoque "Come Rain or Come Shine" par Ella Fitzgerald, qu'il a eu la chance de rencontrer quand il était adolescent.

Patrick Tully, Jenn's husband, joins Jenn on the show this week just ahead of Valentine's Day to talk about love songs and some secrets to a long lasting relationship.https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4VZkzZMHA581XoBIiuvfNU?si=b2c9095c7e7c43421. New Years Day by Taylor Swift2. Babylon Sisters by Steely Dan3. Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd4. Come Rain or Come Shiine by Ray Charles

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, three fourths of the world's flowering plants and about 35 percent of the world's food crops depend on pollinators to reproduce. We interviewed Melanie Kirby and Davon Collins to learn more about the beekeping program at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, NM.Relevant Links:IAIA's Beekeeping JourneyIf you're enjoying this podcast, please consider rating us and/or leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts, Podcast Addict, or Podchaser Thanks!Follow us on X @RainShinePodNever miss an episode! Sign up to get an email alert whenever a new episode publishes!Have a suggestion for a future episode? Please tell us!Come Rain or Shine affiliate links:DOI Southwest CASC: https://www.swcasc.arizona.edu/  USDA Southwest Climate Hub: https://www.climatehubs.usda.gov/hubs/southwest  Sustainable Southwest Beef Project (NIFA Grant #2019-69012-29853): https://southwestbeef.org/

This month we are celebrating major milestones and want to share those with you. The Climate Hub network just celebrated its 10 year anniversary. As part of that anniversary our partners recorded short stories about some of their favorite projects. We have compiled a selection of those for this episode to kick off the new year.Relevant links:USDA Climate Hubs: Stories from Our First 10 YearsUSDA Climate Hubs: Celebrating 10 Years!If you're enjoying this podcast, please consider rating us and/or leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts, Podcast Addict, or Podchaser Thanks!Follow us on X @RainShinePodNever miss an episode! Sign up to get an email alert whenever a new episode publishes!Have a suggestion for a future episode? Please tell us!Come Rain or Shine affiliate links:DOI Southwest CASC: https://www.swcasc.arizona.edu/  USDA Southwest Climate Hub: https://www.climatehubs.usda.gov/hubs/southwest  Sustainable Southwest Beef Project (NIFA Grant #2019-69012-29853): https://southwestbeef.org/ 

Dr. Elise Gornish discusses her research on restoration and weed management strategies to minimize the effects of changing climatic conditions - especially warming temperatures and decreasing precipitation. Her work focuses on designing realistic restoration strategies and solutions that are both financially and logistically feasible.Relevant links:The Gornish LabIf you're enjoying this podcast, please consider rating us and/or leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts, Podcast Addict, or Podchaser Thanks!Follow us on X @RainShinePodNever miss an episode! Sign up to get an email alert whenever a new episode publishes!Have a suggestion for a future episode? Please tell us!Come Rain or Shine affiliate links:DOI Southwest CASC: https://www.swcasc.arizona.edu/  USDA Southwest Climate Hub: https://www.climatehubs.usda.gov/hubs/southwest  Sustainable Southwest Beef Project (NIFA Grant #2019-69012-29853): https://southwestbeef.org/  

On tonight's show: Rex Stewart & His 52nd Street Stompers, Love In My Heart (a/k/a "Swing Baby Swing") Louis Armstrong and His All Stars, Muskrat Ramble (Live, 1947) Artie Shaw, Smooth 'n' Easy Ella Fitzgerald, Misty Roy Eldridge & Benny Carter, I Still Love Him So Betty Carter & Ray Bryant, Gone with the Wind Betty Carter, Let's Fall in Love The Chico Hamilton Trio (with Howard Roberts & Jim Hall), Blues on the Rocks Rosemary Clooney, Sophisticated Lady Wynton Kelly, Come Rain or Come Shine Johnny Hodges & Wild Bill Davis, Clementine Eddie Jefferson, I've Got the Blues (Lester Leaps In) Buddy Rich, Gee Baby, Ain't I Good to You Jimmy Scott, I'll Be Around Charlie Byrd, Favela

This is the last episode in our reforestation pipeline series. The success of a reforestation effort largely depends on proper post-planting care and monitoring. We spoke with Dr. Camille Stevens-Rumann, who studies wildfire and post-fire recovery, to learn more about what needs to happen after a tree is planted in a reforestation effort.Relevant links:Marshall, L.A., Fornwalt, P.J., Stevens-Rumann, C.S., Rodman, K.C., Rhoades, C.C., Zimlinghaus, K., Chapman, T.B. and Schloegel, C.A., 2023. Seedling and growing environment measurements from a tree planting unit in the 2016 Cold Springs Fire, Colorado, USA.If you're enjoying this podcast, please consider rating us and/or leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts, Podcast Addict, or Podchaser Thanks!Follow us on X @RainShinePodNever miss an episode! Sign up to get an email alert whenever a new episode publishes!Have a suggestion for a future episode? Please tell us!Come Rain or Shine affiliate links:DOI Southwest CASC: https://www.swcasc.arizona.edu/  USDA Southwest Climate Hub: https://www.climatehubs.usda.gov/hubs/southwest  Sustainable Southwest Beef Project (NIFA Grant #2019-69012-29853): https://southwestbeef.org/  

In this episode we continue our discussion of the reforestation pipeline. Last month, we discussed how reforestation efforts are critical after high severity wildfires, like the ones we have been witnessing across the Southwest. Now we sit down with two researchers who specialize in modeling to learn more about the science of choosing the right spot on the landscape for the best chances of planted seedling survival.If you're enjoying this podcast, please consider rating us and/or leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts, Podcast Addict, or Podchaser Thanks!Follow us on X @RainShinePodNever miss an episode! Sign up to get an email alert whenever a new episode publishes!Have a suggestion for a future episode? Please tell us!Come Rain or Shine affiliate links:DOI Southwest CASC: https://www.swcasc.arizona.edu/  USDA Southwest Climate Hub: https://www.climatehubs.usda.gov/hubs/southwest  Sustainable Southwest Beef Project (NIFA Grant #2019-69012-29853): https://southwestbeef.org/ 

This bonus episode is a re-release of our July 2023 episode highlighting the John T. Harrington Forestry Research Center in Mora, New Mexico, which aims to advance the understanding of restoration activities on forested areas in New Mexico. The Center also provides science-based solutions for private, tribal, state, and federal forest managers, who face the threat of catastrophic fires and the inability of forest ecosystems to naturally regenerate after fires. Related Links:John T. Harrington Forestry Research Center at MoraIf you're enjoying this podcast, please consider rating us and/or leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts, Podcast Addict, or Podchaser Thanks!Follow us on Twitter @RainShinePodNever miss an episode! Sign up to get an email alert whenever a new episode publishes!Have a suggestion for a future episode? Please tell us!Come Rain or Shine affiliate links:DOI Southwest CASC: https://www.swcasc.arizona.edu/   USDA Southwest Climate Hub: https://www.climatehubs.usda.gov/hubs/southwestSustainable Southwest Beef Project (NIFA Grant #2019-69012-29853): https://southwestbeef.org/ 

Welcome to "5 Lesson Friday," where we explore five essential English expressions and idioms that will help you enhance your fluency and communication skills. Head along to FLUESL.com and there you can take activities and quizzes for 5 Lesson Friday. https://fluesl.com/courses/5-lesson-friday This week's episode focuses on practical and commonly used idioms that will add depth and nuance to your everyday English, making your conversations sound more natural and engaging. Here's what's in store: In Hot Water – Learn how to describe being in trouble or facing difficult consequences with this idiom, perfect for both personal and professional situations. We'll show you how to use it in job interviews and IELTS exams for maximum impact. Come Rain or Shine – Express your unwavering determination with this idiom, which is ideal for discussing commitment and reliability, no matter the circumstances. Not My Cup of Tea – Discover how to politely express personal preferences and dislikes in a more idiomatic way, making your language softer yet more engaging. Hold Your Horses – Need to ask for patience or suggest someone wait before making a decision? This idiom is a friendly way to do so, perfect for conversations in both informal and formal settings. Keep Your Cool – Learn how to stay calm under pressure with this modern idiom. We'll explore how to use it when describing stress management or how to keep composed in difficult situations. Each of these expressions will give your English a boost in fluency, making you sound more confident and idiomatic in both casual conversations and formal situations like IELTS exams or job interviews. Tune in, and by the end of this episode, you'll have five new tools to help take your English to the next level!

Dr. Joshua Sloan and Rachael Foe discuss the process of conifer seed selection and harvest for reforestation efforts in the Southwest, from selecting the parent trees and scouting for good cone crops to climbing the trees and collecting cones. Did you know some forest stands only produce a viable seed crop once every decade? Learn how you could help scout for cones through a new app from the New Mexico Reforestation Center.Relevant links:Related podcast episode: After-Fire Reforestation: The John T. Harrington Forestry Research Center Cone Collector and Observations App and other resourcesSeedlot Selection ToolInfo about the New Mexico Reforestation CenterIf you're enjoying this podcast, please consider rating us and/or leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts, Podcast Addict, or Podchaser Thanks!Follow us on X @RainShinePodNever miss an episode! Sign up to get an email alert whenever a new episode publishes!Have a suggestion for a future episode? Please tell us!Come Rain or Shine affiliate links:DOI Southwest CASC: https://www.swcasc.arizona.edu/  USDA Southwest Climate Hub: https://www.climatehubs.usda.gov/hubs/southwest  Sustainable Southwest Beef Project (NIFA Grant #2019-69012-29853): https://southwestbeef.org/ 

Nature-based solutions - what are they exactly? Is there a standard definition? And even though the term is new to us, are the practices themselves actually something new? In this episode we speak with Dr. Laura Norman, a Research Physical Scientist with the U.S. Geological Survey, to answer these questions and more.Relevant links:IUCN Global Standard for Nature-based SolutionsOpportunities to Accelerate Nature-Based Solutions (2022)Nature-Based Solutions Resource Guide 2.0 (2023)The Science That Transformed A Dry Streambed Into An OasisIf you're enjoying this podcast, please consider rating us and/or leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts, Podcast Addict, or Podchaser Thanks!Follow us on X @RainShinePodNever miss an episode! Sign up to get an email alert whenever a new episode publishes!Have a suggestion for a future episode? Please tell us!Come Rain or Shine affiliate links:DOI Southwest CASC: https://www.swcasc.arizona.edu/  USDA Southwest Climate Hub: https://www.climatehubs.usda.gov/hubs/southwest  Sustainable Southwest Beef Project (NIFA Grant #2019-69012-29853): https://southwestbeef.org/ 

Got grubs? Who you gonna call?! Sab and Amber tackle grub invasions, neglected avocadoes and foliage for all seasons. 07:07 Help! My lawn is being devoured by lawn grubs.28:39 How to bring an ailing avocado back from the brink.37:05 What creeper grows well on a fence that's hot in summer, cold in winter? Listen to the program live on Saturdays at 9:00AM on ABC Radio Perth and ask your questions by calling in on 1300 222 720 or text 0437 922 720Subscribe to the podcast through the ABC Listen App, Apple Podcasts or wherever you like to listen.

We chat: - Cricket climate - The future of our younger players - Fixture fairness 

According to 2022 statistics published by the US EPA, enteric fermentation (a digestive pathway that produces gasses in the gut) by cattle accounted for around 3% of total US greenhouse gas emissions when converted to carbon dioxide equivalents. We spoke with Dr. Glenn Duff, from New Mexico State University to learn more about the research he and his team are conducting to measure gas fluxes and emissions from cattle in pursuit of improving efficiency and lowering emissions from this sector.Relevant Links:Greenhouse Gas Inventory Data Explorer from the US EPAClayton Livestock Research Center, New Mexico State UniversitySustainable Southwest Beef ProjectIf you're enjoying this podcast, please consider rating us and/or leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts, Podcast Addict, or Podchaser Thanks!Follow us on X @RainShinePodNever miss an episode! Sign up to get an email alert whenever a new episode publishes!Have a suggestion for a future episode? Please tell us!Come Rain or Shine affiliate links:DOI Southwest CASC: https://www.swcasc.arizona.edu/  USDA Southwest Climate Hub: https://www.climatehubs.usda.gov/hubs/southwest  Sustainable Southwest Beef Project (NIFA Grant #2019-69012-29853): https://southwestbeef.org/ 

Dr. Julian Reyes joins us to talk about climate services at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Julian shares how his work involves uplifting climate services across the entire federal family and finding synergies across federal agencies to maximize benefits to society. Note: at the time of this recording, Dr. Julian Reyes held the position of Assistant Director for Climate Services at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy; he has since moved on to a new position with a different employer.Relevant Links:Climate Mapping for Resilience and Adaptation portalIf you're enjoying this podcast, please consider rating us and/or leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts, Podcast Addict, or Podchaser Thanks!Follow us on X @RainShinePodNever miss an episode! Sign up to get an email alert whenever a new episode publishes!Have a suggestion for a future episode? Please tell us!Come Rain or Shine affiliate links:DOI Southwest CASC: https://www.swcasc.arizona.edu/  USDA Southwest Climate Hub: https://www.climatehubs.usda.gov/hubs/southwest  Sustainable Southwest Beef Project (NIFA Grant #2019-69012-29853): https://southwestbeef.org/ 

The presence of God is key for the Christian daily walk.

Agrivoltaics is the combination of agriculture and photovoltaics to create co-benefits across food, energy, and water systems. There is a lot of research being conducted around the benefits and best practices for implementation of agrivoltaics. We spoke with two experts, Dr. Greg Barron-Gafford from the University of Arizona, and Dr. Brandon Bestelmeyer, research leader at the Jornada Experimental Range, to learn more about this fairly new technology.Relevant links: Agrisolar ClearinghouseUniversity of Arizona Biosphere 2 - AgrivoltaicsJornada Experimental RangeIf you're enjoying this podcast, please consider rating us and/or leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts, Podcast Addict, or Podchaser Thanks!Follow us on Twitter @RainShinePodNever miss an episode! Sign up to get an email alert whenever a new episode publishes!Have a suggestion for a future episode? Please tell us!Come Rain or Shine affiliate links:DOI Southwest CASC: https://www.swcasc.arizona.edu/  USDA Southwest Climate Hub: https://www.climatehubs.usda.gov/hubs/southwest  Sustainable Southwest Beef Project (NIFA Grant #2019-69012-29853): https://southwestbeef.org/ 

"That's probably one of the things that really has helped me as I meet people. Being in that moment, asking really pointed personal questions to make people feel valued, to learn something new, and be curious." Key Moments 01:21 Ending the 'Come Rain or Shine' Podcast 04:11 Life Advice from Lee Cockerell 06:04 Magical Vacation Planner Conference 12:57 Podcasting Growth from Duo to Solo to Live Audience 21:14 The Next Professional Chapter 23:16 Impact of International Education 25:02 Navigating Career Transitions 28:26 The Power of Networking; Focusing on Client needs, Not our Credentials. 32:12 Adapting Business Strategies in Times of Crisis 36:46 Impact of Practicing Asking Intentional Questions 39:21 Reflecting on Collaborations on the Podcast and Beyond 47:02 Sign Up for Dan's Newsletter to Stay in touch Connect with Dan Sign Up for the Article of the Week aka Article of the Month dan@dancockerell.com Dan's Website Connect with Jody www.jodymaberry.com About Jody - https://jodymaberry.com/about-jody-maberry/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/sugarjmaberry LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jodymaberry/ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/sugarjmaberry/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/jodymaberry A Tribute to the Come Rain or Shine Podcast After five and a half years of laughter, lessons, and leadership insights, it became time to bid farewell to "Come Rain or Shine" with Dan Cockerell. It's only fitting to highlight some of the unforgettable moments and amusing anecdotes. This final episode reflects on some of our favorite memories, from some silly moments to key business lessons. Really none of it would have been possible without understanding the importance of consistency in business, the role of adaptability, and the impact of strong personal relationships. Adaptability has been a consistent theme throughout our time podcasting together. Dan's approach, especially during the challenges brought on by COVID-19, exemplifies the power of responsiveness to unforeseen circumstances. Launching a daily podcast "Lemons to Lemonade" and conducting a Mastermind call for three months to offer guidance during tough times are prime examples. Hearing him navigate these changes in real time showcased the the value of being flexible and open to change. It's the key to ensuring longevity and relevance in any industry. Dan shares six key lessons learned from running Cockrell Consulting, highlighting that genuine connections often result in personal value and referrals. These are great reminders for business professionals striving for sustainable growth and a trusted network. By prioritizing value creation and relationship-building, you can create a solid advantage in the competitive business landscape. While working on the podcast Dan and I had a number of moments that reminded us of the importance of engagement and effective communication. The more Dan dove into solo episodes, he found that interviewing podcast guests help refine his conversational skills. For leaders and entrepreneurs alike, the ability to ask the right questions and actively listen is incredibly valuable. It helps lead toward meaningful discussions while and nurturing collaborative partnerships. Make sure to listen to Dan and I reflect on our time recording "Come Rain or Shine" podcast. Stay connected to Dan by signing up for his monthly newsletter. Past episodes are still available so keep listening. I bet you discover something new each time. Here's to the future skies we'll navigate, come rain or shine!

Flows in the Rio Chama, a tributary of the Rio Grande in northern New Mexico,have dwindled from drought and rising temperatures as well as diversion for agricultural irrigation. These diminished flows threaten groundwater resources and habitat for endangered plants and animals. Paul Tashjian, Director of Freshwater Conservation with Audubon Southwest, tells us about solutions that have been implemented to alleviate pressures on the Rio Chama and other waterways, bringing back flows for the natural habitat.Relevant Links:Five-Year Lease of Water Rights for Environmental Flows Along the Rio ChamaIf you're enjoying this podcast, please consider rating us and/or leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts, Podcast Addict, or Podchaser Thanks!Follow us on X @RainShinePodNever miss an episode! Sign up to get an email alert whenever a new episode publishes!Have a suggestion for a future episode? Please tell us!Come Rain or Shine affiliate links:DOI Southwest CASC: https://www.swcasc.arizona.edu/  USDA Southwest Climate Hub: https://www.climatehubs.usda.gov/hubs/southwest  Sustainable Southwest Beef Project (NIFA Grant #2019-69012-29853): https://southwestbeef.org/ 

How is climate change affecting our coasts and ocean? What about aquaculture? Halley Froehlich, an expert in climate change impacts to coasts and oceans, with a strong focus on aquaculture, joins us to discuss this important topic as we wrap up our series highlighting Key Messages in the Southwest Chapter of the 5th National Climate Assessment.Relevant links:Read the 5th National Climate Assessment (NCA5)Webinars and podcasts on the NCA5NCA5 AtlasIf you're enjoying this podcast, please consider rating us and/or leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts, Podcast Addict, or Podchaser Thanks!Follow us on X @RainShinePodNever miss an episode! Sign up to get an email alert whenever a new episode publishes!Have a suggestion for a future episode? Please tell us!Come Rain or Shine affiliate links:DOI Southwest CASC: https://www.swcasc.arizona.edu/  USDA Southwest Climate Hub: https://www.climatehubs.usda.gov/hubs/southwest  Sustainable Southwest Beef Project (NIFA Grant #2019-69012-29853): https://southwestbeef.org/ 

Where we: Seek shelter from the rain whilst talking about last weeks games Look forward to a slate of interesting games Introduce our first weekly music recommendation… Linktree for all our socials, email & places to access the podcast: linktr.ee/footyfromthefoot Show Notes: This week's music recommendation is the new album by The Last Dinner Party, “Prelude to Ecstacy”. https://open.spotify.com/album/1ycq58KRtWt3wFtbuIkvLn?si=JdXwAHE9RDaaVKf3uCUssw California Trotters: calitrotters@gmail.com @calitrotters on IG, Twitter & Facebook

Finally Cliff and Kendall are counting down the songs we love- wet or not! They've got rain songs #AND dry songs! Also: don't miss unmissable segments like RU Talking 2 Me? and What the Kids R Saying! Trust us, you'll never get a chance like this again and download! 

We continue our discussion of the Southwest Chapter of the 5th National Climate Assessment (NCA5). Each Chapter of NCA5 is organized around Key Messages. This month we interviewed the lead authors of four Key Messages in the Southwest Chapter, covering human health, water, agriculture, and wildfire. Each author shares what they would like people to know and what they found hopeful or encouraging within their Key Message topic.Relevant links:Read the 5th National Climate Assessment (NCA5)Webinars and podcasts on the NCA5NCA5 AtlasIf you're enjoying this podcast, please consider rating us and/or leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts, Podcast Addict, or Podchaser Thanks!Follow us on X @RainShinePodNever miss an episode! Sign up to get an email alert whenever a new episode publishes!Have a suggestion for a future episode? Please tell us!Come Rain or Shine affiliate links:DOI Southwest CASC: https://www.swcasc.arizona.edu/  USDA Southwest Climate Hub: https://www.climatehubs.usda.gov/hubs/southwest  Sustainable Southwest Beef Project (NIFA Grant #2019-69012-29853): https://southwestbeef.org/

Drs. Emile Elias and Dave White discuss the Southwest chapter of the 5th National Climate Assessment (NCA5). They share what it was like to be lead authors of the Southwest chapter, what's new in this assessment, how it's being shared, some major findings, and other highlights. We wrap up this episode with what each of them found encouraging or hopeful from the assessment.Relevant links:Read the 5th National Climate Assessment (NCA5)Webinars and podcasts on the NCA5NCA5 Atlas“Startlement”, a poem by Poet Laureate Ada Limón for NCA5If you're enjoying this podcast, please consider rating us and/or leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts, Podcast Addict, or Podchaser Thanks!Follow us on X @RainShinePodNever miss an episode! Sign up to get an email alert whenever a new episode publishes!Have a suggestion for a future episode? Please tell us!Come Rain or Shine affiliate links:DOI Southwest CASC: https://www.swcasc.arizona.edu/  USDA Southwest Climate Hub: https://www.climatehubs.usda.gov/hubs/southwest  Sustainable Southwest Beef Project (NIFA Grant #2019-69012-29853): https://southwestbeef.org/  

"When you're appealing to everybody, you're appealing to nobody. You really have to know who you are and differentiate yourself. Home in on that thing that people are going to remember." Episode Highlights 00:00 Returned to business world after offering advice. 05:06 Importance of mentoring and paying it forward. 09:57 Focus on client needs, not credentials. 10:32 Enthusiasm attracts people. Focus on them and provide value. 15:46 Value in encouragement and diverse experiences. 17:44 Grateful for learning to ask questions, listen, and engage with others. 23:33 Appreciation for sponsorship and ongoing friendship. 26:13 Connect with Dan at dancockerell.com Connect with Dan: www.dancockerell.com About Dan - https://dancockerell.com/about/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/dancockerell/ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dancockerell/ Facebook - www.facebook.com/dancockerellspeaker The Final Episode "When you're appealing to everybody, you're appealing to nobody. You really have to know who you are and differentiate yourself. Home in on that thing that people are going to remember." After 5.5 years and 285 episodes, it's time to say goodbye to the Come Rain or Shine podcast. It's been an incredible ride, filled with valuable lessons and heartfelt connections. I want to express my deep gratitude for everyone who tuned in, engaged with the content, and contributed to the show's success. Thank you for being a part of this journey. Hosting this podcast has been an adventure that brought on many unanticipated lessons and new friendships. It would take too long to capture them all, so here are three big lessons can be applied to your own journey: Momentum and Differentiation: Starting something new, whether it's a business venture or a creative project, can be daunting. Building momentum and finding ways to differentiate yourself from others in your industry are essential steps for success. The Power of Enthusiasm and Providing Value: Enthusiasm is a powerful differentiator, and providing value before expecting something in return can help you build lasting relationships and drive business growth. Interviewing and Curiosity: Hosting the podcast taught me the importance of asking thoughtful questions, actively listening, and showing genuine curiosity in others' stories. These skills have translated into valuable personal and professional relationships. As I bid farewell to the podcast, I'm excited to announce that I will continue sharing insights and valuable content through a monthly article. You can sign up for this on my website. I'd love to stay connected with all of you. Thank you to Jamie and JJ Eubanks and the entire Magical Vacation Planner team for their incredible support. It's been an honor to work with them and showcase their exceptional service. It's been a privilege to share this leadership journey with all of you. The lessons and stories will stay with me as I transition to my new role at Torrens University in Australia. This chapter of life may have me heading in a new direction, but the impact and memories created with the Come Rain or Shine podcast will remain cherished and appreciated.

[Rebroadcast of one of Dan's favorite episodes.] “No matter what you've done in your life, career and what you've been involved with, you're going to have hard times. And moving on is really the only option you have. You get up and keep moving forward.” In this episode of Come Rain or Shine, special guests, Clint Hill, and Lisa McCubbin join the show to discuss the history of President John F. Kennedy and Former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy from their perspective. A former U.S. Secret Service agent who served under five presidents from Dwight D. Eisenhower to Gerald Ford, Clint is best known for courageously stepping into the presidential motorcade immediately following President Kennedy's assassination. Having retired from the U.S. Secret Service in 1975, Clint swore he would never write a book; however, after meeting Lisa decades later during her writing of The Kennedy Detail, he changed his mind.  Years later, Clint and Lisa have written three memories detailing a career like no other: Mrs. Kennedy and Me became a #1 New York Times bestseller, followed by Five Days in November and Five Presidents: My Extraordinary Journey with Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, and Ford.  Due to her books and connection with Clint, Lisa has interviewed hundreds of former and current agents. As noted in her writings, Lisa carries a deep respect for all who've sacrificed to protect the Office of the President. With no signs of stopping, Clint hopes to continue spreading the legacy of whom he served with Lisa helping pen his voice.  Resources:  Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Travels-Mrs-Kennedy-Clint-Hill/dp/1982181117  Website: Connect with Dan: www.dancockerell.com Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/dancockerell/ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dancockerell/ Facebook - www.facebook.com/dancockerellspeaker

We speak with the directors of two non-profit organizations who are turning problems into solutions by getting nutritious food that would normally go to waste back into our food system and into the hands of those who can use it - reducing waste, methane emissions, and fighting food insecurity all at the same time.  Cover Image credit: USDA Photo by Lance CheungRelevant links: Association of Gleaning OrganizationsFalling FruitNational Gleaning ProjectBill Emerson Good Samaritan ActIf you're enjoying this podcast, please consider rating us and/or leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts, Podcast Addict, or Podchaser Thanks!Follow us on Twitter @RainShinePodNever miss an episode! Sign up to get an email alert whenever a new episode publishes!Have a suggestion for a future episode? Please tell us!Come Rain or Shine affiliate links:DOI Southwest CASC: https://www.swcasc.arizona.edu/  USDA Southwest Climate Hub: https://www.climatehubs.usda.gov/hubs/southwest  Sustainable Southwest Beef Project (NIFA Grant #2019-69012-29853): https://southwestbeef.org/

Al and Jonnie talk about Spirittea Timings 00:00:00: Theme Tune 00:00:30: Intro 00:02:00: What Have We Been Up To 00:12:14: News 00:36:07: Spirittea 01:09:46: Outro Links Littlelands Publisher Lily Leapers Speedrun Slime Rancher 2 Update One Lonely Outpost Update Moonstone Island Update Spirittea Future Updates Coral Island PS5 Keys Delay Loddlenaut Charity Donations Above Snakes on GoG Little Known Galaxy Contact Al on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheScotBot Al on Mastodon: https://mastodon.scot/@TheScotBot Email Us: https://harvestseason.club/contact/ Transcript (0:00:30) Al: Hello farmers and welcome to another episode of the harvest season. My name is Al And we are here today to talk about cottagecore games Welcome Johnny, how you doing? (0:00:44) Jonnie: Whoo! (0:00:46) Jonnie: I am tired. I have been moving countries, and it’s a lot. I would not recommend doing it that frequently. (0:00:57) Jonnie: I mean, depends which country you’re currently in. (0:00:58) Al: or ever really. That’s true, that’s very true. (0:01:10) Al: Cool. We, so I get the transcripts are available in the show notes on the website as usual. (0:01:18) Al: We in this episode, we’re going to talk about Spirit Tea, a new game that has just come out spirit tea spirit tea who knows (0:01:28) Al: we may we may yet find out we have concluded that we’re probably going to call it spirit tea even though both of us in our heads have called it spirit tea (0:01:40) Jonnie: I mean, Spirit Tea just rolls off the tongue better, but Spirit Tea is, I guess, what the game is? (0:01:46) Al: Yeah. (0:01:46) Al: Well, yeah, yeah, we’ll get to that. (0:01:53) Al: We’ll get to that. (0:01:54) Al: So we’re going to talk about spiritity. (0:01:56) Al: Obviously, we’ve got some news. (0:01:58) Al: We’ve got lots of exciting news. (0:02:00) Al: But first of all, Johnny, what have you been up to? (0:02:04) Jonnie: What have I been up to? Well, I haven’t had a ton of time to game because moving countries takes a lot of time and gaming is a thing that’s very easy to to give up when you’ve got priorities like finding a home. But there was the Nindies showcase last week and there was a few games that kind of came out off the back of that. There’s been some really good indie games that have been released recently and so I’ve kind of been trying a few. I tried Backpack Hero. (0:02:10) Al: Shocking. (0:02:11) Al: Hmm. (0:02:34) Jonnie: Which is okay. Don’t love it yet. I feel like the onboarding experience has not been great. And so I bounced off that quickly because I just don’t have brain space to kind of figure stuff out that’s not obvious. It could be really good. I like the system. The system feels very similar to Slay the Spire. (0:03:01) Jonnie: But instead of a deck of cards… (0:03:04) Jonnie: …to a building a backpack of stuff and the location of stuff in the backpack matters. (0:03:08) Jonnie: Which is cool. (0:03:10) Al: yeah to me it just looked like an organizational game and I wasn’t I wasn’t really like oh yeah this this really grabs me but I can you know I guess each to their own (0:03:10) Jonnie: Umm… (0:03:20) Jonnie: Yeah, I would say if anyone out there enjoyed Slay the Spire, then I think this is worth looking at, because the combat is very… (0:03:28) Jonnie: I mean, they basically just copy and pasted Slay the Spire combat, so… (0:03:32) Jonnie: Yeah, people who know that will be into it, but the thing that I have been playing that has grabbed me is Cacun. (0:03:42) Jonnie: So Cacun is like an indie puzzle game, I guess I would describe it as. (0:03:51) Jonnie: For me, the most amazing thing about this game is you just start playing, there is no, like, (0:03:57) Jonnie: thing that appears on the screen that says “Press this button to do this thing”, so there’s no tutorial, (0:04:03) Jonnie: there’s no onboarding experience. The onboarding is that the game is really, really, really well designed, (0:04:08) Jonnie: and it’s just super intuitive what to do at any point in time, even though some of the stuff that you do is pretty brain-breaking. It’s amazing. It’s like, the first… (0:04:21) Jonnie: you know, like, maybe half an hour of it, and it has been an incredible half hour of gameplay. (0:04:27) Al: interesting I haven’t haven’t played I haven’t really seen any footage of it either but I did see that it’s up for a game award um so I guess it can’t be can’t be too bad (0:04:37) Jonnie: It is not too bad. In fact, I would hesitate to say it is very very good. (0:04:41) Jonnie: And I think even if it’s not the sort of thing that you know you’re super interested in, (0:04:49) Jonnie: I think there’s something in the way this game starts and onboards you that more games, (0:04:57) Jonnie: maybe even one that we’re going to talk about later today, really need to take a lesson from. (0:05:04) Al: That’s the thing we keep harping on on this podcast is you’re onboarding, your tutorial really matters and you can do good ones, you can do bad ones. I think it’s very hard to do a really well-designed game so you don’t have to explain anything to people, but I do think that sometimes people over it. (0:05:20) Jonnie: I totally agree, right? Because to me, this is a relatively simple game in terms of how you play it. (0:05:27) Jonnie: You know, in terms of the buttons you need to press on those sorts of things. (0:05:30) Jonnie: So they could get very clean with their onboarding experience. (0:05:36) Jonnie: But this is the sort of thing that should be held out there. (0:05:38) Jonnie: It’s like every game is aspiring to onboard its players in a way that’s as seamless as Cocoon. (0:05:44) Jonnie: And it’s kind of one of those ambitions that most games won’t be able to achieve, (0:05:49) Jonnie: but should still be holding out there of the sun. (0:05:50) Jonnie: This is what best looks like. (0:05:54) Al: I can’t tell you how many games I’ve fallen off of within the first half an hour, because it’s just so hard to get into games sometimes, and you just end up going like, “I just can’t be bothered learning something new. Let me go play Stardew again.” (0:06:08) Jonnie: Yep. I bet that’s the thing, right? That first half hour of your game is the most important. (0:06:13) Jonnie: Because that’s when people decide if they want to keep playing it or not. (0:06:16) Jonnie: And it’s it’s weird. Like you’ve got to make sure it’s the most fun. (0:06:19) Jonnie: And it’s it’s the biggest downfall when you play a game and you’re like, (0:06:21) Jonnie: “I’m sure there’s something fun here, but I just can’t be bothered finding it.” (0:06:25) Al: Yeah, and I guess the thing about not to go down too much a deep rabbit hole, but thinking back to Stardew. Stardew didn’t go like, “Oh, grab this tool and hit this button.” No, it says, (0:06:39) Al: “Grow some turnips,” and you have to figure out what that means. It says, “Meet some villagers,” (0:06:43) Al: and you have to figure out what that means. There’s little bits and pieces, but there’s not that kind of, “Oh, as you say, this button does that, this button does that,” right? You just (0:06:53) Jonnie: You figure it out, yeah. (0:06:55) Jonnie: So other than that, I’ve still been snapping up a storm. (0:06:58) Jonnie: Continuing to hit Infinite every season. (0:07:01) Jonnie: Did another Infinite Conquest, so I now have the Rock Avatar with the Cool Border. (0:07:08) Jonnie: And I still really, really like that game. It’s really good. (0:07:11) Jonnie: Have you been snapping at all, Al? (0:07:13) Al: I picked the game back up again yesterday, after probably like a month and a half. I’m really bad at like, you know, I struggle to kind of just go through periods of time to actually do it every day. Because I guess the thing about Snap is that it’s hard to do just like, “Oh, I’ll just play for half an hour here and then do it again in two weeks,” (0:07:34) Al: right? Because you’ve got to keep up. You don’t, like, it’s not like it’s not fun, but if you want to actually do stuff, you’ve got to keep up to date with things. (0:07:43) Al: Especially if you want to do any of the season passes, right? You’ve got to say, “Right, (0:07:46) Al: I’m going to play this month.” You know, not necessarily every day, not necessarily all the time, but I’m going to be playing at least every couple of days for this month (0:07:56) Jonnie: yeah absolutely that’s what I’ve been up to what have you been up to (0:08:01) Al: So I go back into Fall Guys again. I was always enjoying that game, especially because Craig likes to watch me play it, so that’s good fun. I go back into Coral Island just as Spirit Tea was coming out, Coral Island decided to release their 1.0 and what can I say, I really like Coral Island. I feel like Coral Island has hit that point where, for me, it’s just (0:08:31) Al: me. It is at least as good as Stardew Valley, if not better. Obviously, it’s trying to be that. It’s trying to do all of the things in the same way that Stardew was trying to be Harvest Moon, but it’s trying to do it in different ways as well. I think it’s got to the point where it’s doing enough different things that you feel like you’re not just playing just Stardew with a different skin. It also just happens to look really nice as well. (0:08:58) Jonnie: That sounds kind of amazing. I feel like Coral Island is creeping further and further up my list of games I need to try. (0:09:05) Al: Yeah, definitely. I think if people like farming sims and you want to try - if you like Stardew Valley but you’re like “maybe let’s try something different” it is a really good one to try. (0:09:20) Al: It does things really well. Everything is nice. The characters - it’s the first one a long time that I felt like I actually care about some of the characters and I’m trying to figure out which one I want to romance because there’s so many good ones and that sort of stuff and like there’s a mystery in the game that (0:09:35) Al: actually feels like it makes sense and you want to learn more about it rather than just like, “Oh, there’s a dark secret.” No, that’s, you know, it’s trying to be interesting and it’s succeeding and there’s extra bits and pieces as well on top of your standard farming sim, right? So it’s not just Stardew Valley with a different skin. I’m really enjoying it. And I started playing Sonic Frontiers and I’m probably going to stop playing for of Sonic Frontiers. (0:10:02) Al: I’d like okay (0:10:05) Al: I know you don’t like Sonic games, that’s fine, no one’s gonna try and make you, but my prob- (0:10:06) Jonnie: What? That’s never an opinion I’ve expressed. (0:10:11) Al: Not at all, never, definitely not. The problem is, right, I really, really like 2D Sonic games, (0:10:24) Al: right? I really enjoy them, but I’ve never enjoyed a 3D Sonic game. Well, I guess at an exception of generations which married. (0:10:35) Al: So I just really, I just really struggle with every single one. So it’s like, I mean, there are some things that it does really well. (0:11:05) Al: I like how it looks and I like a lot of the ideas that they’ve done. (0:11:09) Al: But my word, just the momentum is terrible and the controls are not great, just it’s not I’m not enjoying. (0:11:16) Jonnie: Yeah, it’s a shame when games have like sort of that thing that they do really well and then they keep trying to make You know, it’s kind of like they keep trying to make a fetch happen, right? (0:11:27) Jonnie: And it’s just like maybe Sonic’s are just stick to what it knows which is apparently 2d side-scrolling games like those are the ones that people seem to generally like a lot more And I don’t know why they keep trying to make three games happen (0:11:40) Al: Yeah, yeah, it’s a difficult one. I mean I guess some people must like (0:11:48) Jonnie: Uh, no, Sonic fans are just like beaten down and they keep buying it in the hopes that it will be good. (0:11:53) Al: Yeah, yeah. You’re getting at me here. Yeah, I don’t know. I don’t know, man. Should we go get some news? Little Lands finally has a publisher and is apparently coming (0:11:56) Jonnie: And it never is, but equally they never learn the lesson. (0:12:23) Al: mid 2024. I guess you would describe this as like a farming sim with the aesthetics of Zelda, what’s it called? Sleepy game, game where he’s asleep. Zelda, the dream of a fish. (0:12:32) Jonnie: I’ve been trying to think of the name for like the last… yeah um… Link’s Awakening, there we go. (0:12:38) Jonnie: Spoilers for a 30-year-old game. (0:12:39) Al: Link’s Awakening, that’s it. Zelda’s in the dreams of the fish. It’s funny. Look, I’m sorry. If you’ve not played that game, it’s not that big a spoiler. (0:12:54) Jonnie: I mean, the title almost gives away that ending. (0:12:58) Al: Yeah. So that’s how I would describe this game. Is that fair? Cool. (0:13:04) Jonnie: Yep. I mean, it has that aesthetic, like it looks like a fun world to run around and explore, (0:13:13) Jonnie: but I don’t get a strong sense of like, does this game actually look fun to play or not? (0:13:20) Jonnie: I don’t know, I just don’t know that I have seen enough of the gameplay to really get a strong sense of is there anything beyond just looking like Link’s Awakening? (0:13:27) Al: Yeah, that’s fair. Yeah, that’s fair. It does look a lot more kind of explorationy than I had initially thought when they, you know, because I’ve been following this since they first posted screenshots. And back then it was very much like, “Oh, this is like a life sim.” And now it’s very much like, explore a world brimming with secrets. Like it’s more than a life sim. (0:13:54) Jonnie: Yeah, from this trailer that they’ve put out, like 90% of it seems to be focused on exploration, rather than life sim. (0:14:07) Jonnie: I do not get strong life sim vibes from what they’re currently showing. (0:14:10) Al: No. It’ll be interesting to see what it actually ends up like, but I guess games can change quite a bit as you go through them, so we’ll keep an eye on it. (0:14:22) Jonnie: Yeah, I love the aesthetic. I was a big fan of how Link’s Awakening looked and had a really good time playing that, so it’s at least interesting to me. (0:14:32) Al: Yeah, I really, just as a side note, I really like what they did with the remake of Link’s Awakening. I think it was such a good balance of being the same but also being different that a lot of remakes miss, I thought. (0:14:46) Jonnie: Yeah, me too. I think anytime when you see a remake and they put the faithful remake label around it, you’re just like, “I don’t know that that’s going to be good.” (0:14:56) Jonnie: I want to see a remake that takes some lessons from how game development has matured, and I feel like Link’s Awakening is a perfect example of doing exactly that. (0:15:09) Jonnie: Also, if you want to see some wild stuff, watch Link’s Awakening speedruns. (0:15:16) Jonnie: do some crazy things in that game. (0:15:16) Al: Oh no. Speedruns just in general just stress me out with the crazy things that people do. (0:15:23) Al: Like have you seen Fall Guy speedruns? (0:15:27) Al: Oh my words. Oh my word. You need to go and Google the Lily Leapers speedrun. I’ll think a link in the show notes but there’s a Lily Leapers speedrun is absolutely insane. (0:15:28) Jonnie: No, but now I really want to do that, because I bet those are amazing. I think… yeah, the- (0:15:45) Al: like I don’t know how. (0:15:46) Al: They manage to do what they do. (0:15:49) Al: It’s just wild like this thing that normally takes like a minute and a half to do. (0:15:54) Al: They did in like 18 seconds. (0:15:56) Jonnie: incredible. is there a speedrun of the what’s the level that I hated or when it first when the game first came out there’s like that mountain that you’re running up and there’s the the goo that’s rising with you fall mountain yeah oh yeah slime climb slime climb that song yeah I want to see someone do that in a way that’s super broken so bet they can just like bounce off all the obstacles (0:16:06) Al: Oh yeah, Fall Mountain. (0:16:08) Al: Oh, Slame Claim is the one where the goo comes out. (0:16:20) Al: 26 seconds. They’re like, you know, jumping on. I do, there’s a few things. Oh, they’ve got, (0:16:28) Al: it’s a specific slime climb with like, specific obstacles that allow you to like, jump on things. (0:16:36) Al: Oh, that’s wild. And then they hit themselves over with the big yetis. Oh, that’s crazy. (0:16:41) Jonnie: I love the big eaters. (0:16:41) Al: Everything has to go, I know, everything has to go right for this exact speed run. (0:16:43) Jonnie: Those are the best speedruns where there’s that little bit of like, you know, there’s the skill and there’s that little bit of RNG and built into it as well. (0:16:56) Al: I got I’ve got to the point now where I can do slime climb every time. I never die on it now, (0:17:01) Al: but I’m not like, you know, 26 seconds fast. (0:17:05) Al: Speaking of slime, slime rancher 2, the rain or slime update 0.3 is out now. Can I just, I just, (0:17:17) Al: this I know I harp on about version numbers, right? But it’s slime rancher 2 version 0.3. (0:17:24) Al: Why are we doing this? (0:17:26) Al: Why, why, why? Just why, why? (0:17:30) Jonnie: No, I’m with you, like, it’s silly. (0:17:34) Jonnie: We need some standardisation. (0:17:37) Jonnie: One, one, I think this is why this looks right, where it’s like, (0:17:41) Jonnie: just make things clearer, right? If all games did things the same way, (0:17:45) Jonnie: what they’re trying to communicate would actually be clear. (0:17:48) Jonnie: But because everyone’s just made up random numbers, it’s not clear what this means. (0:17:53) Jonnie: So don’t even put the numbers with it, just say we are still in beta and we don’t have like interior patch notes. (0:18:00) Al: Well, this is a thing because everybody seems to name their updates as well. (0:18:03) Al: This is the “Come Rain or Slime” update. (0:18:05) Al: You don’t need to give it a number as well. (0:18:07) Jonnie: Yes, exactly, exactly. (0:18:08) Al: Like, obviously, behind the scenes, (0:18:10) Jonnie: I’m with you on this one now. (0:18:11) Al: it needs to have a number because of all the updates, blah, blah, blah, blah. (0:18:14) Al: I don’t care. That’s fine. (0:18:15) Al: Put it in, but you don’t have to call it that, right? (0:18:18) Al: Like, it literally at the top says “Come Rain or Slime, patch 0.3.0 notes.” (0:18:24) Al: You don’t need to do that. (0:18:25) Al: Just go with it. (0:18:28) Al: Also, right, minor. (0:18:30) Al: Minor major gripe, so they call this a major update, right? (0:18:35) Al: In my world, a three digit version number, a major update is the first version. (0:18:41) Al: The first number, not the second of the second number is minor. (0:18:43) Al: And the third number is patch, right? (0:18:45) Al: Get with it. We have a standard for this already. (0:18:48) Al: Semantic versioning. (0:18:49) Al: Game designers need to get back on semantic versioning. (0:18:51) Al: It is good. It works. Go with it. (0:18:54) Jonnie: I co-slime this rant. (0:18:56) Jonnie: What is the “Come Rain” or slime update actually about? (0:19:00) Jonnie: I feel like Slime Rancher is one of those things that I am. (0:19:02) Al: Oh, I don’t know. There’s weather. There’s weather in it. (0:19:06) Al: I just… (0:19:08) Jonnie: So I’m gathering that neither of us are at least Slime Rancher people, and there’s an update, and there’s stuff in it, and maybe if you like Slime Rancher you probably know, and if you don’t, it’s still not 1.0, so maybe just chill. (0:19:09) Al: So there’s new slimes and there’s a new weather system, (0:19:22) Al: and that’s about it. But also when I say new slimes, what I mean is new slimes that were in in the first game. (0:19:30) Jonnie: Oh great, so we’re back to- okay. I feel like the more I hear the less I’m interested in Slime Ranch and I was already not in a great place to be interested in Slime Ranch. (0:19:34) Al: I just… (0:19:38) Al: I have the first version of Slime Rancher on my Switch, but I haven’t played it yet. (0:19:44) Al: I like the look of the game. It looks nice, and I love all the slimes with their derpy faces on them. (0:19:52) Al: But it’s a lot to make. (0:19:57) Jonnie: Yep, yep, there’s just a lot of good that’s out there, right, and this is this is just one that for whatever reason for us is clearly not hitting. (0:20:06) Al: we go next? One lonely outpost. They have a new update. It’s not a massive update, so I don’t normally talk about small updates like this, but they have included one feature that every game needs to have. You need to have this. They have toggled running, so you don’t have to hold down the run button. You press the run button and now you’re running, and then you press it to stop running. Every game needs to have this. Please and thank you. (0:20:28) Jonnie: I thought you were talking about the fact that Roast Carrot no longer has a special effect. (0:20:32) Jonnie: But no, you’re right. The… (0:20:36) Al: What does that mean? (0:20:38) Jonnie: You just got like… (0:20:38) Al: What is the special effect that it no longer has? (0:20:42) Al: Ugh. (0:20:44) Jonnie: You’re totally right. The run being an option, or like a toggleable thing… toggleable? (0:20:54) Jonnie: Rather than holding down a button is nice. (0:20:56) Al: a toggle because I mean we’ll get on to we’ll get on to yeah the the the art style does seem still really weird compared to the initial ones they did but anyway that’s beside the point I was especially we’ll get back we’ll get on to spirit tea later but I was especially annoyed and having to hold down one button and spirit tea because it’s like such a slow movement anyway and it’s I’m so fed up. (0:21:00) Jonnie: But this game still weirds me out. I don’t know. (0:21:26) Al: Why do we have running and walking? Just give me the fastest speed that you’re willing to give me, just give me that. I don’t need anything else. I don’t need to go slow. Nobody cares. Make me go fast. (0:21:36) Jonnie: I totally agree. It feels like one of those things that’s built-in as an option, but the option doesn’t mean anything because, like, is there a benefit to walking? (0:21:46) Jonnie: No. Okay, so I will just run all of the time, which means I just have to hold down this button all of the time, which is stupid. (0:21:51) Jonnie: So like, the one thing one lonely-out-personnel needs to do is remove walking. Because why would you walk? (0:21:56) Al: Yeah, yeah. There’s a lot of other updates in this as well. We’re not going to go through them. We’ll have the link in the show notes if you want to see all those updates. Moonstone Island is coming to Switch in Spring 2024. This was one of the things that was announced in the Nindies update. (0:22:18) Jonnie: Yeah, cool. (0:22:20) Jonnie: I feel like I’ve forgotten which one Moonstone Island is in this slew of absurd games that are coming out. (0:22:27) Al: Yeah, so this one is the Creature Collection one on our series of floating sky islands. (0:22:36) Jonnie: that’s right and this is the one where that has like quite strong RPG elements from the looks of it and it just feels like every time I see this one they’ve got another thing that’s kind of like in at the moment because it’s got the card based combat now and it kind of feels like word salad of like all of the pop (0:22:52) Al: It’s like they got a tom bowler full of different things that you can describe your game as and they pulled out 10 of them. (0:23:04) Jonnie: yep yep I mean cool that it’s coming to switch I don’t know this one’s particularly high on my you know anticipation bliss (0:23:13) Al: I really like the look of it, and I think I do want to play it at some point, but yeah, (0:23:17) Al: I don’t know when. Because the problem is, right, with every game you’ve got to play, (0:23:21) Al: you’ve got to demote a different game. Like, you can’t play every game. So, it’s like, (0:23:26) Al: which game is this going to take the place of? I don’t know. Just now, I’m just going to play (0:23:32) Jonnie: That sounds amazing. I’m not mad about that. (0:23:36) Jonnie: They also have a patch for Moonstar Island. (0:23:40) Jonnie: I don’t know if there’s anything exciting in the patch notes, but they have… (0:23:42) Al: Oh yeah. There’s one thing exciting, and that’s… no. No, that wasn’t what I was going to say. (0:23:47) Jonnie: Is that they have difficulty for fishing? (0:23:51) Jonnie: I just like the idea that fishing is often… (0:23:59) Jonnie: you know, as fishing month that we did sort of show. (0:24:02) Jonnie: It’s quite divisive in terms of what people like or don’t like, or you know, the stardew valley fishing, right? (0:24:07) Jonnie: Some people really like the challenge, some people really hate it. (0:24:10) Jonnie: And so I think having the ability to scale your difficulty for that one in particular because it’s often one of the few more dexterity or skill-based things in cottagecore games I think is a really good accessibility. (0:24:24) Al: Yeah, yeah, I don’t I don’t disagree. (0:24:26) Al: That’s a good a good point. (0:24:28) Al: Now, the thing that I was really excited about is they’ve added a new gardening tool, the Boomerang. (0:24:35) Al: Who expected the Boomerang to be a gardening tool? (0:24:37) Jonnie: So wait, how do you farm using a boomerang, Al? (0:24:41) Jonnie: I really want to hate that, but I actually think that’s kind of amazing. (0:24:42) Al: So it’s for it’s for cutting down crops. (0:24:49) Jonnie: As a way of doing the, you know, “Hey, your scythe or whatever can extend in a distance.” (0:24:55) Jonnie: Actually just throw a boomerang and it will just cut them all down. (0:24:59) Jonnie: That’s a cool idea. (0:24:59) Al: Yeah. It’s great, isn’t it? I feel like maybe I feel like I need to make a joke about you being in Australia now and now liking a boomerang thing. That’s about as far as I’ve gotten with that. (0:25:09) Jonnie: Yes, I feel like you do. Go. (0:25:12) Jonnie: Listeners, make up your own joke and then present our set-up. (0:25:20) Al: My problem is that I quite often have like good ideas for jokes, but I’ve never good on the execution of them, so I just like bring up the idea I have, and then sometimes people chuckle at it and I go “Comedy!” (0:25:36) Jonnie: I mean, look, if you get a laugh, right, that’s all you need. (0:25:43) Al: It’s deconstruction of jokes, right? (0:25:45) Al: That’s what it is. (0:25:46) Jonnie: Yep, I’m just serving you the idea of a joke, not the actual joke itself. (0:25:53) Al: Still better than a lot of comedians. (0:25:57) Jonnie: I’m now just imagining a comedy club where it’s just people talking about their ideas for jokes, and like, no actual jokes. (0:26:02) Al: It’s like a, well, I’m thinking of more like an AA meeting for people who like just can’t stop thinking about ideas for jokes, but they can’t actually make them into jokes. (0:26:03) Jonnie: Like, I feel like it’s maybe just an improv workshop. (0:26:23) Al: This morning I had three ideas for jokes, but I couldn’t fully farm them. (0:26:24) Jonnie: Who’s yours? (0:26:32) Al: Oh, I mean, isn’t that basically just sketch shows, right? (0:26:34) Jonnie: No, I think sketch shows are ideas for jokes that are then badly executed. (0:26:35) Al: Sketch shows are just ideas for jokes. (0:26:44) Al: This is a boomerang. So, Spirit Tea have detailed their upcoming stuff. It’s not really a roadmap. (0:26:50) Jonnie: Alright-ish. (0:27:03) Al: It’s not as fully functioning and concrete as that, but there’s a list of things that want to change, including some bugs and stuff. (0:27:14) Al: So I’ve got a list of that in the show notes. (0:27:17) Al: There’s nothing particularly I think we need to bring up, (0:27:22) Jonnie: No, it’s all relatively… It’s very bug focused, I would say. (0:27:22) Al: but good that they’re looking into it. (0:27:25) Al: Yes, yeah, yeah. (0:27:30) Al: What’s next? Sorry, half asleep. (0:27:32) Jonnie: What or not? (0:27:32) Al: Coral Island. (0:27:34) Jonnie: What? (0:27:34) Al: No, Coral Island. (0:27:36) Jonnie: Oh yeah, we have a Carlisle other one. Sorry, I skipped that. I skipped that. (0:27:38) Al: I missed one. Come on. (0:27:41) Al: Carl Island. There are PS5 keys. (0:27:44) Al: Apparently, there was an issue getting the PS5 keys for backers on Kickstarter, so too bad. I guess you’ll get it, son. I guess we’re in the quick fire around here, so we’ve got Laudenot as well. They’ve said they’re going to donate to charity for each sale. So that’s good. Yes. And above (0:28:04) Jonnie: That’s great, and I love saying “lot or not”. “Lot or not”. It’s a very fun mouthfeel. (0:28:14) Al: snakes are now available on GOG. So if you wanted that. Now you might say, “Oh, just another sale.” Well, the good thing about GOG compared to other games shops is that they are DRM free. So you can now get the game without (0:28:35) Jonnie: And it’s always weird to see a Steam store page about advertising that you’re available for sale on another platform. (0:28:40) Al: That’s a good point, I hadn’t even noticed that. (0:28:47) Al: And finally there’s a new game that’s been announced called Little Known Galaxy. I’ll just read out the little blurb for this one. Join Space Alliance as a new captain in training and work with your crew to solve the mysteries of an ancient relic found on the grey planet. (0:29:05) Al: Little Known Galaxy is a cosy single player RPG space adventure full of friendly characters exploration, crafting, and farming. (0:29:14) Jonnie: So, this one confused me because it had similar vibes to another game that we’ve talked about on the show that I can’t remember the name of, where I think you’re like a delivery person in space. (0:29:26) Al: Oh yes, Starstruck Vagabond. (0:29:26) Jonnie: That’s the one. Yes, I couldn’t think of the name of it. (0:29:34) Jonnie: So it just feels like space is now the new thing for Cozy Games. (0:29:40) Jonnie: also it is the final frontier (0:29:40) Al: is the final frontier. There’s some stuff that takes away the fumes and deals with it. (0:29:44) Jonnie: also this person is building a fireplace in their spaceship and I don’t know how I feel about that (0:29:55) Al: Magic. Wow. Science. I think the thing about space games is that I suspect they’re really hard to do well, but there’s also a lot of potential in them if you… (0:29:56) Jonnie: okay uh… I mean it looks cool (0:30:11) Jonnie: Yeah, I mean like one of the things I am liking from what I’m seeing in the trailer for Little Known Galaxy is like rather than having seasons you just have different planets is the impression that the game is giving off, right? (0:30:25) Jonnie: Because presumably you won’t have seasons on your spaceship because you can entirely regulate the temperature and everything in there but then if you go to, you know, an ice planet or whatever you could get more varied sort of places. (0:30:41) Jonnie: where you’re doing stuff which seems kind of… (0:30:44) Al: Yeah. I feel like I suspect… I wonder whether… I mean, I’m just watching this trailer for the first time, but I wonder whether you make your ship bigger or whether it’s always the same size and you just kind of get new things to fill it with. Because there are different bits that look smaller and bigger, but maybe they’re just different parts. (0:31:06) Jonnie: Yeah, it’s kind of hard to tell. It seemed like there was sort of one main zone that they showed in the trailer where all of your automation and buildings and stuff are going, so I could see that being a space that you expand over time. (0:31:21) Jonnie: You know, it’s one of the cool things about spaceships is you can presumably just add more to it, add more space, so… (0:31:30) Al: I like the look of this. I think I like the art. (0:31:32) Jonnie: I also really like to look at this. (0:31:36) Jonnie: When I saw that it was a new game, I was a little bit like, “Really? Do we need another thing that’s doing this thing?” (0:31:43) Jonnie: And then watching the trailer, I was like, “Actually, I think I’m kind of into this. The art style’s really… it’s good without being too much the same as a Stardew Valley. (0:31:54) Jonnie: It’s definitely inspired by, but it does have its own distinct visual style. (0:31:59) Jonnie: And I think the trailer does a really good job of showing off the sorts of different places that you’ll be going in the course of this game. (0:32:06) Jonnie: And it’s very vibrant, right? It looks quite good. (0:32:10) Jonnie: And the shot that they show of the main zone looks kind of like a lot of automation-y sort of stuff, which is appealing. (0:32:18) Al: think what I really like about the art style is it feels like it’s in this sort of same style as Asnes or a Game Boy or Game Boy Advance game and that sort of thing but it doesn’t feel dated like it feels like the graphics are like if we were doing that now right like they feel a lot you know they’re higher fidelity sprites and stuff like that so it feels like I mean I still like Stardew and I I still like what it does, but… (0:32:48) Al: The sprites sometimes feel a little bit dated in them, which I know is kind of the point, (0:32:55) Al: but I like how this is doing the same feeling of that, but with modern sprites, if that makes sense. (0:33:02) Jonnie: It totally does. I think that’s a really good description of what it is. It feels like, you know, this is inspired by that statue art style, but it’s kept up with modern times where Star Trek is a little bit more of a callback to the past and it’s been replicated so many times now, it like feels tired, right? (0:33:20) Jonnie: If you see that exact style replicated in another game, you kind of just, ugh, like, it’s fine, but it’s not like a great art style that absolutely needs to be copied 100%. (0:33:31) Jonnie: like this feels like it’s (0:33:32) Jonnie: doing a modern take on that which you know also makes sense because it’s a space game so you know a more up-to-date art style definitely makes sense. (0:33:46) Al: I think it’s going to be interesting to see what they do because I suspect travel will take time and that’s why there’s lots of things to do on the ship and that’s where, you know, (0:33:55) Al: between travelling, between planets to do your RPG part of it is where you do your farming and your crafting and kind of keeping up with things and that gives you stuff to do while still having that sort of vaguely realistic travel aspect of things. (0:34:12) Jonnie: Yeah, I suspect you’re right and one of the things that I’ve seen in the in a trailer that kind of is appealing is In the center of what looks like some of the crops is a fan rather than a sprinkler and The reason that makes me excited is they just haven’t said like okay So just grow crops on your ship and it’s just traditional farming mechanics in space like no idea what the fan is doing or what purpose it serves but it just at least to me is saying hey we are we have (0:34:42) Jonnie: about what it is that we are doing in our own location and it’s not just a direct copy and paste of the mechanics you’ve seen in every other game but space I have no idea but that’s just yeah (0:34:52) Al: What are those doing? That’s interesting. Yeah, there’s lots of other bits and pieces like there’s clearly a bit that is where you’re generating water. There’s some different looking trees. You’ve got a little robot that’s been going around. There’s some interesting looking chests. There’s greenhouses within this area as well, which presumably means that you can set greenhouses to like specific temperates stuff like that (0:35:22) Jonnie: Yeah, the whole thing just looks really well thought out, so I’m excited to learn more about this. (0:35:28) Al: Yeah, yeah, it definitely doesn’t feel like farming is kind of bolted on. It feels like they’ve thought a lot about that, so I’m looking forward to seeing how that goes. (0:35:35) Al: All right. (0:35:35) Jonnie: And they don’t have anything in terms of release date do they? Sorry, just… (0:35:37) Al: Uh, that’s a good question. They’ve said coming soon. (0:35:39) Jonnie: I haven’t s- (0:35:44) Jonnie: So, coming soon, so stay tuned to future episodes for more updates, ‘cause I will have them when they come. (0:35:52) Al: Yep. And they’ve said they’re coming on Windows and Mac. So Cody will be happy. Just check their website to see if there’s anything. They don’t have a website. Right. Moving on then. That’s the news. (0:36:04) Jonnie: Woo-hoo! (0:36:05) Al: So we’re going to talk about Spirit Tea. So I guess quick intro. So this is a game. (0:36:17) Al: They describe it as stardew crossed with spirited away. And. (0:36:22) Al: The the overall idea is you are you’ve moved into a town as you do. You’re always moving somewhere and you have you drink some special tea called the spirit tea. And this allows you to see spirits that are caught in your world and the spirits basically tell you that you have to run the bathhouse, the old bathhouse, which is a spirit bathhouse, which for some reason you can see the the spirits in the bathhouse but we’ll get to that. (0:36:52) Al: So that’s the game, you’re running this bathhouse, the spirits come in and you make sure that they’re happy in the bathhouse. (0:37:00) Al: And that’s how you make the money. (0:37:02) Al: And there’s lots of other things around expanding things and blah blah blah blah blah. (0:37:07) Al: But that’s kind of like the main, it’s not farming game, it is our bathhouse running. (0:37:15) Jonnie: I was wondering, because this was announced a long time ago I feel, right? (0:37:20) Jonnie: Was this one of the first games that was sort of like talked about from a news perspective on the harvest season? Because it’s one of the first ones I sort of was- when I went to play it I was like “Man, I remember this being announced years ago!” So I was just curious if this was- if you remember if this was one of the first games that was sort of talked about from a news perspective. (0:37:42) Al: I do not remember, but I am currently searching because I have everything so I can search. (0:37:48) Al: The first time we talked about it was in June 2022. (0:37:54) Jonnie: What? My timeline is totally messed up, then. (0:37:56) Al: Covid broke us all. (0:37:58) Jonnie: Right. (0:38:00) Al: Sorry. (0:38:02) Al: Sorry. (0:38:02) Jonnie: Anyway, now that I’ve taken this totally off track… (0:38:06) Jonnie: Before we talk too much about the detail of the game, where are you at? (0:38:14) Jonnie: Are you thumbs up, thumbs in the middle, thumbs to be determined? (0:38:19) Al: So, I think this is a really - so there are some issues with this game, obviously, every game has some bugs and some issues, blah, blah, blah - but I think overall, I think this is a really nice game if it catches you. (0:38:35) Al: Now, I don’t think it’s the sort of thing that’s going to grab me, like Stardew Valley did, like Coral Island did, like Summer in Mara did, like some other games have. (0:38:49) Al: But I don’t think that’s a - I mean, ignoring, like we’ll talk about the onboarding because obviously we have some stuff to talk about that. (0:38:58) Al: But I think other than that, I don’t think there’s like a fundamental “this is why I’m not jiving with this game as much as I normally would.” (0:39:07) Al: I don’t know whether it’s, you know, maybe I’m being unfair to it because I’m playing Coral Island just now as well and that’s kind of where I’m, you know, my brain is wanting me to go so maybe that’s part of it. (0:39:19) Al: And I’m just going, “Oh, I just want to be playing ‘Coddle Island’ just now.” (0:39:21) Al: But, yeah, there’s something about the gameplay loop of the bathhouse that I’m not finding hugely satisfying. (0:39:30) Al: But I wouldn’t be surprised if that was our personal preference thing rather than a game design issue. (0:39:38) Jonnie: Yeah it does because I think I feel fairly similarly to you, but not in a- sometimes you play a game and you’re really just ready to go like thumbs down. I don’t think there’s much, (0:39:49) Jonnie: you know, good about this game and I wouldn’t recommend it, but that’s not where I’m at with Spirity. I just don’t feel like it’s a game for me, but I can totally see there being people that are like “no this is absolutely the game for me” and I really enjoy it, so I think I’m right there (0:40:06) Al: Yeah, I think because it has that repetitive nature, which is enjoyable for these games, (0:40:16) Al: but it also has it where you’ve got your upgrades for your bathhouse, so you’re slowly expanding things, so it still manages to have that lit that a lot of farming games have that’s quite satisfying. (0:40:27) Al: It also has a slight exploration thing in that you are constantly having to find new spirits, (0:40:34) Al: and there’s it’s (0:40:36) Al: kind of puzzle-y but not really difficult puzzles right but you get like a little bit like oh here’s a thing here’s a hint towards how you do and then you go to a place that the hint tells you to basically and then you find a spirit and and that that kind of is another different aspect to it that I think could lead to slightly longer term i’m enjoying this because i’m you know slowly building up the list of spirits that i’ve found that also then adds more complexity to the bath path hosted in and of itself. (0:41:05) Jonnie: Yeah, and one of the things I wonder is the nature of the game and being, you know, running a bathhouse and running the bathhouse requires effort and consistent effort, I guess at least in the early game. (0:41:21) Jonnie: I wonder if part of the reason it’s not grabbing me is because it didn’t feel like there’s a lot of choice, you know. (0:41:28) Jonnie: Where you talked about Stardew fairly earlier, where they, you know, you don’t have to do anything but ostensibly you’re picked up the game. (0:41:35) Jonnie: Because you want to run a farm. And the thing is to grow some parsnips, right? And that doesn’t take your full day to do, you just plant them and water them and then you can work out what else you want to do with the day. (0:41:49) Jonnie: But it felt like I was very locked into, right, spend my full day at the bathhouse, running the bathhouse. (0:41:56) Al: Yeah, that’s that’s very fair. Yeah, because that’s that’s one of the things that as you say, certainly many of us on this podcast have really loved about games like Stardew. And I think Coral Island is the same where there’s so much variation in different things you can do. And there’s very little you need to do. And I really like that. But yeah, what is this is like, you have to run the bathrooms, like that’s the game. It’s a it’s a one. It’s a one, you know, I wrote down on the I always on the show notes, I always write down the list of mechanics that we’re going to talk about. And there’s there’s three things there. One of which is the bathhouse. One of which is spirit view, which we’ll talk about later, because that’s that’s that’s where you’re finding the other spirits, right? So it’s like a different thing to the bathhouse. And then I put lol fishing, because for some reason, this game has fishing and I’ve not even tried it because I’m not I’m not doing that. I don’t I don’t want to play fishing, please. And thank you. And I think that’s basically it, right? (0:42:56) Al: - There isn’t another mechanic. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing, like simple games can work really well. And I know a lot of people’s problems with Stardew Valley is I don’t know what to do this too much. And this doesn’t have that issue. It is here is the thing, go and do this thing. But certainly that’s we are not those people, we love Stardew and other games like it because of the choice (0:43:22) Jonnie: Yeah, because I think my sort of takeaway with the bathhouse is like, “Oh, this is cool,” and maybe we should talk a little more in detail about sort of what the bathhouse is, but my feeling was probably more that, like, in a game with more optionality, I would have gone away and found some other way to make money so I could skip through a few of the things that I didn’t love about how I thought the bathhouse was set up, right? So I could buy some of those early upgrades through another means, but that doesn’t really (0:43:50) Al: Yeah, yeah, yeah, I think that’s totally fair. (0:43:54) Al: Yeah, let’s talk about the bathhouse mechanics then. (0:43:56) Al: So the idea is you have these spirits, (0:44:01) Al: and they come in various different forms, (0:44:05) Al: and you start off with two of them, (0:44:07) Al: and then you add them on, and blah, blah, blah. (0:44:09) Al: The idea is you have, (0:44:11) Al: so there’s a few different things you need to do in the bathhouse. (0:44:13) Al: First of all is you need to have towels. (0:44:15) Al: So you need to get clean towels, clean and dry towels, (0:44:18) Al: and then you put them at the front. (0:44:20) Al: The spirit will then grab a towel, (0:44:21) Al: and you can then take that spirit to a place in the bathhouse. (0:44:25) Al: And you have, you start out with one bath, (0:44:27) Al: and you can slowly add more baths. (0:44:29) Al: And your job is to decide on places for the spirits to go where they have preferences on who they’re sitting next to, (0:44:39) Al: and you have to make sure that you can lay it out in an efficient way to have the most number of spirits in there as possible, therefore making the most money. (0:44:50) Al: On top of that, you have to then obviously keep washing and drying the towels, (0:44:54) Al: and you have to keep the fire in the basement lit for both heating the water and drying the towels. (0:45:02) Al: Is that a fair description of the mechanics of this? (0:45:04) Jonnie: Yeah, I think so. There’s not too much to be like, so when you’re chopping the log to fuel the fire or washing the towels, it’s usually just like a, you know, hold A to complete the activity sort of minigames, there’s nothing particularly, you know, there’s no additional aspect to those, you’re kind of just completing the task. (0:45:29) Al: Yes, the challenge in the Bathhouse is not any of the minigames it’s in. It’s an organisational game. (0:45:38) Al: You have to figure out the way to be most efficient to make the most money and to not make your spirits upset. (0:45:46) Jonnie: Yes, and one of the things they do tell you very early on is that it will require trial and error to work out what your spirits do and don’t like, and they kind of guide you that the two spirits you start with don’t like to sit next to each other, which I think is kind of handy because you kind of know to start separating them. (0:46:08) Jonnie: And then one of the things I think I found is that, because I was just lining up, you red spirits on the left and blue spirits on the right, or… I think they’re red. (0:46:16) Jonnie: red and blue. And then I think I got too many red spirits all in a line and the ones in the middle started to get less happy. (0:46:23) Jonnie: So there was clearly some like, you know, it’s not just who do you like sitting next to games, but there’s some bigger context clues going on. (0:46:30) Jonnie: Bye. (0:46:32) Al: Yeah. Yeah. So I think that’s probably the main thrust of why I’m not a huge fan is like in my repetitive mechanical nature of a cottagecore game, I’m personally not looking for puzzles. (0:46:59) Al: Right? (0:47:00) Al: Like, I don’t… (0:47:02) Al: This is why I like farming so much. It’s like, this is what you do and if you do the same thing every time it will work the same way and you don’t have to like, you know, (0:47:11) Al: your seed tells you when it likes to be and you know that it needs water. Right? These things are very clear. I like to know how this works. I like to have the clear rules and I’m not a huge fan of kind of trying to figure these things out. That’s definitely a me thing. I can imagine, like, lots of people love puzzle games so I suspect if you love (0:47:32) Al: puzzle games and you love puzzle games, that might be where this game is leading to. That might be the kind of person that’s looking to this game. (0:47:40) Jonnie: Yeah, that makes a lot of sense and I think I’m probably more similar to you, because one of the things I was kind of looking for was like which of these spirits should I prioritize, right? (0:47:52) Jonnie: Like red spirits may be easier to keep happy but provide this money and blue spirits are, you know, more valuable but maybe they’re harder to keep happy or, you know, what’s the balance so I can make a choice, right? (0:48:06) Jonnie: I want the puzzle when I play a life-some game. I want the puzzle to be in (0:48:10) Jonnie: making the choice. Do I want to buy the crop that grows in four days and is less profitable, (0:48:15) Jonnie: or do I want the one that grows in 20 days but has a much wider profit margin, (0:48:20) Jonnie: or do I want the thing that recurs over the course of the month? Those sorts of decisions are easier because the outcome is deterministic and the pace that these games move at, (0:48:31) Jonnie: you kind of need that, right? Because if you got to the end of summer and you found that you’ve made all of the wrong choices based on what you want to do and now you have to wait, you know, (0:48:40) Jonnie: time before you get back to summer to be able to do those things again, that would be very frustrating. And that’s where I think some of my lack of enjoyment came from when I was playing, (0:48:50) Jonnie: is just the outcomes of what I was doing wasn’t particular. (0:48:56) Al: Um, Johnny, are you racially profiling the spirits? (0:49:00) Al: I mean, it is an interesting thing, right? Because one of the things that they tell you, (0:49:00) Jonnie: Ah, yes. (0:49:06) Jonnie: And this will be my last episode on THS. (0:49:08) Jonnie: I look forward to being cancelled. (0:49:15) Al: your lovely floating cat on a donut, I think, whatever, one of the things he tells you is that (0:49:25) Al: You don’t have to ex– (0:49:26) Al: Except any of the spirits, right? If a spirit comes in and grabs a towel, you can take the towel and put it back at the door and the spirit will go away. Which, I mean, is obviously an important part of the puzzle aspect of things, otherwise you’re like, you could get in a situation where you can’t solve anything, and sometimes the solution is telling this one to go away. (0:49:46) Al: But just when you make them, like, essentially dead people, it becomes a little bit awkward in terms of like, I’m just gonna tell you to- (0:49:56) Al: go away now please, don’t come. I don’t want you. Because it’s like, especially one of the things that he says about turning them away is like, he says something along the lines of, if you think they’ll like, you know, cause problems or there’s some- like, I can’t remember the exact word, but like basically have a negative effect on your bath house. (0:50:14) Al: So it’s like you’re being a bouncer in the bath house, right? Which just seems a little bit- I don’t know. (0:50:21) Jonnie: Yeah, it feels very uncomfortable, and this one seems like, “I would never want to do that.” (0:50:27) Jonnie: The whole point of the game of running a bathhouse is meant to be like, (0:50:30) Jonnie: “I want the spirits to come and use my bathhouse,” and I get the puzzle aspect of being like, (0:50:35) Jonnie: “Oh, you might want to turn this one away, because you’ve got nowhere for them to go,” (0:50:38) Jonnie: but that’s just not a feel-good moment, right? (0:50:41) Jonnie: It’s… (0:50:42) Al: social anxiety the game but I mean this is the thing we just we keep that all the points that we’re bringing up are very much like yeah this is not for me but I can absolutely see why people would like that right like what makes any particular aspect of life more or less real you know something that is legitimate for a game and just you know just because we are not a huge fan of that doesn’t mean that someone else will- (0:50:43) Jonnie: Right? (0:51:12) Jonnie: Yeah, and just on the bathhouse and sort of I think what I Wasn’t grabbed by immediately is the was when you take over the bathhouse It’s obviously very run down you’ve only got one pool as I’ll mentioned and it’s kind of dirty or Sort of cluttered everywhere and it’s yeah seems clearly designed to that’s what you’re supposed to level up and make the bathhouse look nice and there was something that sort of was (0:51:42) Jonnie: Kind of like of my brain that was kind of like but this is where I want to just kind of come in Having earned a bit of money doing something else and just get a few upgrades. So at least it looks Visually appealing because the starting bathhouse does not grab me Which I had a real problem with (0:51:54) Al: Yeah. (0:51:56) Al: There’s like tree roots everywhere. (0:52:00) Al: There’s dirt and dust and I just want to clean it up. (0:52:04) Al: Let me do that. Yeah. (0:52:06) Jonnie: Yeah, even if it was like, you know, it started a little bit worse than what they presented and one of the things you do at the start is just like, tidy it a little bit. (0:52:14) Jonnie: I think that would have helped me cross a hurdle, but it just looked so messy and I was like, no no, my character would just tidy this place up for like, a week before we even let anybody out. (0:52:23) Al: Yeah, because you don’t - this is the th

“Sometimes I look around and say, why am I in this situation? It makes me take a step back to say, “ What did you do to get yourself in this situation? What could you have done to not be in this situation?” Episode Highlights [00:03:58] Take responsibility for hiring, then address issues or remove employees.. [00:10:54] Ownership mindset leads to remarkable acts of responsibility and trust-building.. [00:14:44]  Leaders encourage employees to take risks and assume responsibility for the guest experience [00:16:47] Take initiative to improve customer experience. [00:19:13] Embrace the things that make you unique and stand out confidently. Connect with Dan: www.dancockerell.com About Dan - https://dancockerell.com/about/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/dancockerell/ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dancockerell/ Facebook - www.facebook.com/dancockerellspeaker Take Responsibility Taking responsibility is the key to success, both in business and in life. Every outcome can be traced back to one's decisions, and it's crucial to own up to it, no matter how tough it may be. Organizations with top-notch service and ownership, like Disney and Marriott, can transform ordinary experiences into extraordinary ones Creating a culture where people take responsibility impacts much more than just the guest experience. It's about teamwork and how employees can elevate the customer experience by going the extra mile and owning up to the company's standard. Leaders can foster a culture of ownership and empower their team to take responsibility. It's all about inspiring and guiding others to make decisions that align with the organization's values and goals. A fantastic book full of wisdom on ownership and leadership is "Extreme Ownership" by Jocko Wieneck. There is no doubt that it will ignite your passion for unlocking your full potential as a leader. Make sure to listen to this episode of "Come Rain or Shine" to discover the magic of extreme ownership and its potential to transform your business. It's not just a podcast; it's a blueprint for success. 

Al and Micah talk about Harvest Moon: The Winds of Anthos. Timings 00:00:00: Theme Tune 00:00:30: Intro 00:02:58: What Have We Been Up To 00:32:53: News 01:12:15: Harvest Moon: The Winds Of Anthos 01:50:34: Outro Links Disney Dreamlight Valley Upcoming Releases Disney Dreamlight Valley Apple Arcade Edition Roots of Pacha 1.1 Update and Console Release Ooblets 1.4 Update Everdream Valley 1.6 Update Slime Rancher 2 Update Echoes of the Plum Grove Kickstarter Snacko Early Access My Time At Portia Optimisation Concerned Ape Cool Fruit Contact Al on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheScotBot Al on Mastodon: https://mastodon.scot/@TheScotBot Email Us: https://harvestseason.club/contact/ Transcript (0:00:30) Al: Hello farmers and welcome to another episode of the harvest season. (0:00:35) Al: My name is Al and we’re here today to talk about Cottagecore games. (0:00:37) Micah: And I’m Micah! (0:00:44) Al: And you totally didn’t forget and suddenly remember that you had to say your own name there, did you? (0:00:49) Micah: I just, I never know when to like, you know, it’s, I’ve got the brain of a five year old. (0:00:56) Micah: So I need someone to say, and now’s the time that you say your name. (0:01:00) Al: Well, the problem is, right, that you’re on like two episodes a year, right? (0:01:01) Micah: Yeah. (0:01:06) Al: It’s not like, you know, the others are on like, you know, once a month or something. (0:01:09) Al: It’s much easier to remember how it goes that way. (0:01:11) Micah: I feel like I’ve gotten better about the outro, (0:01:14) Micah: but yes, you’re totally right. (0:01:17) Micah: It’s not, you know, it comes to me again as we’re doing. (0:01:23) Al: Yeah, that’s the thing I could hear when you said, and I’m like, I could hear, you were like, “Oh yes, no, I need to say it now.” Welcome. Anyway, welcome. It’s been a while. (0:01:28) Micah: You can hear the gears turning You can hear the cogs clanking around in there Yeah, thanks. Thanks for having me. It’s always fun to be on Talk about some of my favorite genre my favorite genre of games (0:01:39) Al: Welcome back. It’s good to have you on. I notice how you said ‘favourite genre games, (0:01:49) Al: favourite games because well, we’ll see. (0:01:52) Micah: Not all of them, you know [laughs] (0:01:53) Al: Let’s not conclude on the game yet before we even said what it is. (0:01:59) Al: So, first of all, transcripts for the podcast are available in the show notes and on the website if you need them, although they’re whether you need them or not, but now you know where to go if you need them. (0:02:10) Al: We’re going to talk. (0:02:12) Al: You know what it’s going to be because we got Micah on. (0:02:15) Al: You know it’s going to be either Harvest Moon or Story Seasons. (0:02:17) Al: We’ve got a Harvest Moon, the Winds of Anthos. (0:02:21) Micah: We sure do. (0:02:22) Al: So we’re going to. (0:02:23) Al: We’re going to talk about that just as a preamble to that. (0:02:28) Al: I will not be playing the game during the episode because I’ve already sold it so that probably explains my feelings in summary, but we’ll get to that when we get to it. (0:02:38) Al: But, yeah, no, I. (0:02:39) Micah: Well I’ve got a digital so it’s not even an option for me, so… (0:02:41) Al: I know better than to buy a Harvest Moon game digitally. (0:02:45) Al: Come on. (0:02:46) Micah: I actually told you about this, but I’ll save it for when we get there, I guess. (0:02:47) Al: Yeah, yeah, we’ll go. (0:02:50) Al: We can leave that for the yeah, yeah, people can hear. (0:02:53) Al: The fun story. (0:02:54) Al: We’ve got a bunch of news, a bunch of exciting news to talk about. (0:02:58) Al: But first of all, Makar, what have you been up to? (0:03:01) Micah: Uh, I just recently got back from Japan and My partner and I went for about two Three weeks something like that something we’ve been planning since originally planned on going in spring of 2020 World event Happened and I don’t know. I just everything feels weird after (0:03:19) Al: Classic. (0:03:21) Al: Yeah, what happened in spring 2020? Nothing. Nothing happened. That’s the point. (0:03:30) Al: I know. (0:03:31) Micah: 2020 and I don’t know what it was. (0:03:33) Micah: I Yes, it was a great time. It was something that we’ve been looking forward to it for a long time. I put a lot of time and effort into the planning the itinerary and Making sure that we had a full schedule, but also a flexible schedule, you know, I for a bit there It was getting to the point where I like I’ve got you know (0:03:53) Al: Don’t do the minute. (0:04:01) Micah: some levels of ADHD and OCD that I have been formally diagnosed with that manifest itself in things like that where I’ll just lock in on an Idea and then I’ll just run with it and then I’ll just keep going and then I’ll get deeper and deeper And it was pretty much to the point where I was like Google mapping If I took the train from this location at this time of day in Japan (0:04:29) Micah: what train would I take and… (0:04:31) Micah: where would I transfer and how much would it cost and then like figuring out travel costs down to like you know the individual train ride and things like that. (0:04:42) Al: Oh, you’ve got to know the best way to pay for it, right? Do I get a travel card or am I buying individual tickets? You know, that’s important. (0:04:43) Micah: That originally was the plan but then you know it just got to the point where it was it was like things that you especially knowing now you would not be able to like (0:05:02) Micah: plan for really given like you know how travel works like mass transit travel works there but which beautiful by the way beautiful transit system could not say anything bad about that transit system and then we came back here where it’s just cars. (0:05:22) Al: Well, you presumably weren’t traveling in peak hour, peak time, you’re commuting hour. (0:05:28) Micah: Uh, there was a lot of it where we were, which was a little, you know, that was a little challenging being absolutely crammed into trains, like, just packed with people. (0:05:29) Al: Oh, OK. (0:05:46) Micah: It was an experience that I’m not used to, but yeah, it was an experience. (0:05:52) Micah: I did a lot of looking at retro games and stuff like that. (0:05:55) Micah: We did a lot of, you know, we did some– (0:05:59) Micah: theme cafes and things like that, Dragon Quest Cafe. (0:06:02) Micah: Went to the Dragon Quest Island. (0:06:04) Micah: Dragon Quest Island was a bucket list item. (0:06:06) Micah: And I was very excited to do that. (0:06:06) Al: Of course. (0:06:10) Micah: Very awesome, just like a real life JRPG. (0:06:15) Micah: You just like walk around a town and get quests and then go fight stuff and then come back. (0:06:21) Micah: And it’s a lot of, you know, like, (0:06:24) Micah: what do you call it, fetch quests, (0:06:25) Micah: but it still was a very cool experience. (0:06:28) Micah: And while I was there, they were promoting and releasing Mario Wonder. (0:06:35) Micah: So I picked that up while I was there because the exchange rate was absolutely in our favor. (0:06:43) Micah: So a brand new Switch game wound up being like $36 or something like that. (0:06:48) Micah: USD once you convert it. (0:06:52) Micah: And I’ve been playing that. (0:06:55) Micah: I picked up the metal gear. (0:06:59) Micah: Collection was there too, because it came out around the same time and I played a little bit of that. (0:07:05) Micah: But mostly it’s been I’ve been playing Super Mario Wonder and trying to get through the Pokemon DLC. (0:07:14) Micah: And I’ve picked up Disney Speedstorm and I’ve been playing a lot of Disney Speedstorm, which is their cart racer. (0:07:19) Al: Is it any good? (0:07:21) Micah: It is actually incredible. (0:07:24) Micah: It is remarkably good. (0:07:28) Micah: There is two mechanics that I think separate it quite a bit from being just like Mario Kart. (0:07:37) Micah: It does feel just like Mario Kart but with Disney characters. (0:07:41) Micah: But one of the mechanics is that you instead of having like just this selection of power, like item block, (0:07:53) Micah: you get the item block and there’s like a selection of items that you can get out of that. (0:07:57) Micah: I (0:07:58) Micah: And everybody gets the same thing. There is one item that is like your ultimate move For whatever your racer is and all the racers have different ultimate moves and Even beyond that there is a basic ultimate move and there is a charged ultimate move where if you charge you hold the button And charge it up then it’ll do something different So as an example, I’ve been playing a lot of Donald Duck and Donald Duck’s (0:08:05) Al: Right. Okay. (0:08:27) Micah: basic move. (0:08:28) Micah: The ultimate move is that he puts a shield around himself, and if that shield gets broken, then he has these energy fists that punch all the other racers around him. (0:08:42) Micah: But if you charge it, then it immediately does the fists, and it also boosts you. (0:08:50) Micah: So there’s different ways that your ultimates can come through. (0:08:55) Micah: The big thing for me I think is that there is (0:08:58) Micah: a combat mechanic to it where you can slam into other cars and push them into an obstacle or whatever and a lot of the power-ups and stuff like that or a lot of the items can be translated directly into combat So it really there’s a there’s a really (0:09:28) Micah: Powerful feeling of getting into a race and immediately shoving everybody around you into the wall as Donald Duck and then just like blasting your way through the finish line. There’s something so Kind of yeah, yeah, it does have it the especially in in the single-player because if there’s not, you know, if there’s (0:09:43) Al: So it’s basically it’s Mario Kart crossed with Barnett. (0:09:56) Micah: There’s opportunity. (0:09:58) Micah: There’s time for that. It slows down a little bit and shows the cart that you hit spinning out or whatever. (0:10:03) Al: Yeah, classic. Yeah, yeah, sure. (0:10:05) Micah: Obviously, you can’t do that in multiplayer, but that definitely makes it feel more like burnout in that way. (0:10:13) Micah: When you’re hitting something and it’s spinning out and you’re watching it in slow motion. (0:10:18) Micah: Yeah. It was good. (0:10:18) Al: Burnout was always my favourite racing game when I was younger, just because of that. (0:10:22) Al: I was never a huge fan of the realistic races, because it just isn’t fun. But Burnout was like, “Yeah, I can drive and smash people into walls.” Amazing. (0:10:26) Micah: Yeah. (0:10:28) Micah: Yeah. (0:10:31) Micah: It’s great and it’s yeah, that’s like the big difference for between it and Mario Kart like there’s obviously there’s combat Kart combat quote-unquote with the items that you get and things like that in Mario Kart, but this is like physical combat. It’s like It’s much more cutthroat it feels it is a really satisfying game and it’s doing the whole you know Like they’re they’re doing seasons and they have a battle pass and you can buy like a premium battle pass that gives you you know more or whatever. (0:11:01) Micah: It is not bad. A lot of it is very cosmetic focused because there’s outfits for racers. There’s different like paint jobs for racers and things like that. They have things like victory poses that you can get. There are some bundles where it’s like you can buy these upgrade packs for like the specific items that you need to upgrade your racers and stuff like that. (0:11:02) Al: So that’s my next question, how bad is that? Because obviously it’s free to play game. (0:11:31) Micah: There’s a lot of content to it. There’s like for the single player portion of it. There’s there’s seasons and every season has like a single player chunk where it’s all of these like kind of it. It’s like chapters and each chapter has, I don’t know, 8 to 10 races in it and the races will unlock it. (0:11:38) Al: Is that something you can get for free if you work hard enough? Or is that? (0:11:41) Al: Right, okay. See, that’s the key for me. (0:11:59) Micah: and the races will unlock. (0:12:01) Micah: You can unlock chests that have the upgrades and stuff like that in it. (0:12:05) Micah: But there’s like, I don’t even… (0:12:09) Micah: 10 chapters or something like that for each season. (0:12:11) Micah: So right now the season is highlighting Aladdin. (0:12:15) Micah: And you can select the battle pass. (0:12:19) Micah: Through the battle pass you can unlock Jasmine. (0:12:22) Micah: And you can unlock Genie as racers. (0:12:26) Micah: And you unlock them really early in the battle pass. (0:12:31) Micah: And you can get them early even without the premium battle pass. (0:12:38) Micah: But then all the way at the end of the battle pass you get special outfits and special car colors and whatever. (0:12:45) Micah: Like paint jobs and stuff like that. (0:12:47) Micah: But the single player portion of the season is all Aladdin based story content. (0:12:55) Micah: Where it’s like races that you have to do with specific conditions. (0:13:02) Micah: And there’s so much content for it. (0:13:04) Micah: There’s like an unbelievable amount of content that’s just like free content. (0:13:09) Micah: So there is a lot of opportunity to get that stuff yourself without paying anything for it. (0:13:17) Micah: It’s good though. It’s a really really good racer. (0:13:18) Al: OK, that’s good. That’s good. (0:13:22) Al: I’ll need to try it because I’ve tried a number of different car racers and most of them, I’ve just not enjoyed the controls. (0:13:31) Al: Like, they’ve just never felt like they’ve worked as well as Mario Kart. (0:13:34) Al: So I’ll need to try this one and see how that goes for me. (0:13:35) Micah: This definitely is the most Mario Kart similar I think Right Yes, I do too (0:13:38) Al: It doesn’t need to be the exact same. (0:13:41) Al: I just use that as an example because like I like the controls in Mario Kart. (0:13:46) Al: it’s very smooth and it’s very controllable. (0:13:48) Al: Every single version of it, whereas like, you know, if you take like crash team racing or sonic racing or whatever, I hate, I just, I know I don’t enjoy how they control. (0:13:56) Micah: Yeah, we’re in the exact same boat. (0:13:59) Al: I always feel like I’m just not in as, as control as, as I am with Mario Kart. (0:14:03) Micah: Yeah, given that and how similar I think our feelings are on that, I feel like you’ll probably like it because I’m very much the same way. (0:14:13) Micah: I did not, was not a fan of Crash Team Racing and Sonic Racing and how that felt. (0:14:19) Micah: It does. (0:14:20) Micah: Um, I think probably just because of history with it, I’m most attuned to- (0:14:26) Micah: to like Mario Kart controls and things like that. (0:14:31) Micah: And it feels the most like that. (0:14:32) Micah: Like, you know, there’s- you go off a jump and you can hit a button to do like a flare or whatever to like give yourself a little bit of boost. (0:14:39) Micah: And the drift feels like Mario Kart and there’s like drift chaining and stuff that- (0:14:45) Al: I have actually downloaded it on my switch. I’ve just not opened it yet because it’s like free to play game that I know I’m going to play at some point. Of course, I’m going to download it, right? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It came out of early access a few months ago, I think. So yeah. Oh, interesting. (0:14:48) Micah: Yeah, and it’s also, I think it’s on every platform now, but you can chain your account. (0:15:00) Micah: It’s like super easy to link your account between platforms, so that’s also really nice. (0:15:05) Micah: Oh, you know what it is. (0:15:07) Micah: It’s coming to mobile soon is what I remember. (0:15:10) Micah: So if, yeah, we’ll see how the game changes at that point, but you know. (0:15:16) Al: - Yeah, I don’t, having said I liked all the Mario Kart, (0:15:18) Al: I don’t like live, I don’t like Mario Kart live, (0:15:19) Micah: No, I don’t. (0:15:20) Al: I don’t like how, I just, no. (0:15:21) Micah: Not a fan. (0:15:22) Al: I want something like that, I want the new, (0:15:27) Al: I like everything that it does in terms of the live service stuff, (0:15:31) Al: I just want that on a switch with controls rather than the, no, I don’t like the, anyway, whatever. (0:15:36) Micah: Yeah. (0:15:37) Micah: Yep, no, I feel you. (0:15:42) Al: So I too have been playing Mario Wonder. (0:15:45) Al: No finished it, I think in the last episode I said I was nearly done and I just had one level to go. (0:15:51) Al: I have no finished that one. (0:15:54) Micah: Dang, I have not finished it. (0:15:56) Micah: I’m very excited to see that. (0:15:57) Micah: What are your thoughts now that you’ve finished it? (0:15:58) Al: I really love it. I think it is one of the best 2D Mario games they’ve done. I think it’s really good. I think what I think is amazing is see if we had this game and one in every four levels had a wonderful hour. We’d think that was a really cool idea and it was really interesting that they did that. The fact that they’ve done this in every single level and every single level has a different thing that the wonderful (0:15:59) Micah: It’s so good, isn’t it? (0:16:28) Al: flower does. Every single level is incredible. Yeah, I love it. I love it. I also feel like unlike most Marios, I feel like I could figure out most of the secrets myself. So there’s a few that I just didn’t quite get and I had to Google. But with most other (0:16:29) Micah: it’s insane. Yeah, it’s insane. And there’s like multiple methods through the levels to like, it’s just it’s crazy how much detail and love (0:16:58) Al: Mario’s, I’ve been like, I have absolutely no idea how to deal with this here. I don’t know where to go here. And maybe that’s just me getting better at figuring out their secrets. (0:17:07) Al: That’s a possibility. But I’ve just felt like, yeah, it just, and I feel like when I got to the end of the game, I wasn’t hugely far off 100% because it just felt like everything was really fun to continue doing. I like got close to 100% in each world that I did up to like four, and then five and six, I just was like, I just want to finish this now. So I did what I needed to, but I think, yeah, no, I think it was, and I think there are quite a few levels at the end that are like really difficult. And they’re not like, you know, Mario, Mario maker difficult, right? Like they’re not like insane. You have to have like split second reflexes to ever do this, but especially the very last level, (0:17:53) Al: which you know, when you get to it, that one in particular was so frustrating. (0:17:55) Micah: I had… (0:17:58) Al: I, I’m not joking when I say I, it took me 60 lives to get through that game, that level. (0:18:05) Micah: Holy smokes, I had actually read someone had had said that they felt like it was the closest to Mario. (0:18:16) Micah: An official Mario game has come to feeling like a Kaizo Mario game, which if you don’t know, Kaizo Mario games you like, they call them like Iron Man Mario games. (0:18:28) Micah: Like insanely impossible, like super, you know, reflex. (0:18:35) Micah: Heavy like you have to jump with a shell at the right time and then kick off of that shell at the right time so that it hits a wall at the right time and then jump off of that shell after the fact, you know, all of these like really precise movements and things like that. (0:18:51) Micah: And they said, well, it’s not a Kaizo Mario level. (0:18:51) Al: Yeah, there definitely are a few levels like that. I understand there are people who are like, “I want more like that,” and that’s fair. But yeah, I certainly think there are some levels in this that are some of the hardest that have ever been in a Mario game. So yeah, (0:18:54) Micah: It is the closest that a core Mario game has come to feeling like a Kaizo game. (0:19:09) Micah: Yeah. It’s really fun. (0:19:12) Al: I really, really enjoyed it. I think it was fantastic. Yeah. (0:19:15) Micah: It’s such a I was and I was really kind of like on the fence about the the the theme or like the aesthetic of it being like, you know, I don’t know, LSD induced, whatever is happening, whatever. Yeah, whatever hallucinogenic effects these. (0:19:30) Al: Yeah, I was thinking more magic mushrooms, but yeah, sure. (0:19:39) Micah: Wonder flowers have on these wonder seeds have on everybody. (0:19:43) Micah: I was a little bit on the fence of like, OK, I don’t know if I’m, you know, elephant Mario and whatever. And it just felt a little too wacky, maybe to when I first saw the like trailer for it and stuff. Obviously, it still looked good. (0:19:59) Micah: I was still interested in it. I’m happy that didn’t like deter me from it at all because it’s it’s awesome. It’s such a good Mario game. (0:20:07) Micah: and that like aesthetic is… (0:20:09) Micah: It’s really well done throughout the game without feeling overly wacky or whatever. (0:20:13) Al: Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, it’s been a really good year for games because I also have been playing Spider-Man 2 and I’ve been loving that. It’s a great game. I feel like I think I’m like 80% through the main story, but there’s still quite a lot of side stuff that I need to do. But I’m at the point where I’m like, I just need to like finish, I need to main line the story, finish that before I tidy everything up. (0:20:17) Micah: They’re killing it with Mario lately, huh? (0:20:28) Micah: Yeah? (0:20:46) Micah: I don’t know too much about what’s going on in Spider-Man 2, but from what I understand it’s both Peter Parker and Miles Morales and… (0:20:56) Micah: Okay. (0:20:56) Micah: Are you like swapping between them? (0:20:56) Al: So the first game was… Yeah, so the first game was Peter Parker and then there was a Miles Morales game where Peter goes on holiday, and that’s the explanation as to why you’re just Miles. Okay, fine, sure, whatever. So what you can do is there are specific things that need to be done by one Spider-Man. So obviously, the storyline with Miles’ mum has to happen with Miles, right? (0:20:59) Micah: Right. And then there was a Miles Morales game, right? (0:21:04) Micah: Okay. (0:21:08) Micah: Got it. (0:21:10) Micah: He needs a break. (0:21:24) Al: It doesn’t make any sense for it to be Peter. (0:21:25) Micah: Right. Right. (0:21:26) Al: And the stuff with Mary Jane has to be done with Peter, it can’t be done with Miles. (0:21:30) Al: And there’s like a few kind of like side stuff, like there’s one of the like collectibles thing is to do with Peter’s job, and one of them is to do with Miles’ uncle, (0:21:43) Al: and so those obviously need to be done with that Spider-Man. But other than that… (0:21:46) Micah: can’t be with Peter’s uncle but is that am I allowed to say that I don’t know I’m allowed to say (0:21:55) Al: Wow. (0:21:56) Al: Oh, my, but other than that, you can just freely switch between the Spider-Man. (0:22:06) Al: So you’re just floating around and you can just pause the game and press square and switch to the other one and they’ll pop in and you can do whatever you want. (0:22:14) Al: So I have generally just been going through the game because obviously the story switches you between them for different parts of the story. (0:22:21) Al: So I’ve just kind of continued with whatever (0:22:23) Al: and they’ve dropped me in on until they then switch me. (0:22:26) Al: Just because I felt like that’s the way that kind of felt most natural to me. (0:22:30) Al: But it’s been quite enjoyable doing that. (0:22:34) Al: Obviously, they have different powers. (0:22:36) Al: They’re not exactly the same. (0:22:38) Al: And they do some things that I’m not going to spoil to kind of level Peter up. (0:22:43) Al: Because obviously, Miles has his electricity powers, (0:22:47) Al: which makes him objectively better than Peter. (0:22:51) Micah: Oh, I didn’t even know that was a thing. (0:22:52) Al: Oh, do you not know this? (0:22:53) Al: this. Yeah, so miles can go invisible, first of all. (0:22:54) Micah: What? (0:22:56) Al: You don’t know this! Yeah, oh my word. There’s so much Spider-Man lore you don’t know. So miles can go invisible, but he also has electricity powers, so he can zap people and stuff like that, which Peter obviously doesn’t have. But those powers, one from a different reality. (0:22:58) Micah: I didn’t know this. (0:22:59) Micah: No. (0:23:10) Micah: What kind of spider did that come from? Sorry, never. (0:23:13) Micah: Oh, okay, well. (0:23:16) Al: No, I’m not even joking. That’s serious. Anyway, not important. How far deep do we need to (0:23:19) Micah: Yeah, I can see that. (0:23:26) Al: go with this? But that makes him objectively better to play as than Peter Parker. So they have had to do something to level up Peter Parker. And I’m not gonna say what that is, (0:23:39) Al: but they do it, and it feels great. Like, you don’t feel like you need to be miles. (0:23:44) Al: It doesn’t feel like he’s automatically better than miles. I think they’ve balanced it really well. So you feel like you can be either of them. And it will be interesting to see whether (0:23:57) Al: those powers continue on to the next game. I’ll be interested to see what they do then, (0:24:02) Al: but it’s been good fun. (0:24:02) Micah: I maybe this is what I thought I don’t know how I would know this is a spoiler but I thought I had seen me and maybe I’m like crossing the wires between other something else Spider-Man but this does Peter is like the was it the symbiote or whatever not in the that yeah like Venom’s like doesn’t just does Peter get because there’s like a symbiote suit for (0:24:23) Al: Venom. (0:24:25) Al: Venom is in this game. (0:24:32) Micah: isn’t there like in in Spider-Man lore I don’t know I don’t know is it I thought I like I thought this was in the trailer but also I don’t know for sure okay because that’s a thing that’s existed in Spider-Man lore for like a while right is that at some point Spider-Man has like a symbiote like suit right I don’t know okay all right we can cut all this out (0:24:34) Al: All right, so we’re just fully smiling this, then, are we? (0:24:42) Al: I mean, well, Venom is in the trailer, sure, (0:24:46) Al: but it doesn’t really talk about what that means. (0:24:56) Al: Yeah, I don’t want to say too much. I don’t want to say too much. I mean, people who know a lot of Spider-Man lore are going to be able to predict a lot of this story, right? Like, (0:25:03) Micah: I don’t know how to spoil anything but okay sure yeah (0:25:08) Al: it’s not fresh and new, but it’s still fun to do. And, you know, I think a lot of people don’t aren’t that deep into Spider-Man lore. What I will say is one really annoying thing. (0:25:19) Al: So yeah, Venom’s in this game. Do you know what Miles’ electricity powers are called? (0:25:22) Micah: electricity powers? (0:25:23) Al: No, they’re called venom. (0:25:24) Micah: Wait, what? (0:25:27) Al: He calls them venom! His venom powers! I don’t know why! (0:25:28) Micah: I’m confused. Wait, why does he… (0:25:31) Micah: Oh, that’s weird. (0:25:34) Al: So there’s two venoms in this game and it’s driving me insane. (0:25:36) Micah: What a weird decision. (0:25:39) Al: Also, my other annoyance with this game, right? I love the game, but my other annoyance is they just refer to each other as Spider-Man. (0:25:50) Al: So you’ll be like “Oh, hey Spider-Man, oh hey Spider-Man!” So they’re constantly just referring to Spider-Man when they’re talking. (0:25:56) Al: It’s worse because the subtitles will say “Spider-Man is saying this” so it’ll say “Spider-Man colon” and then what he says. (0:26:00) Micah: No way! (0:26:02) Al: But you’re like “Which one?” But they try and deal with that by having a little face, right? So there’s two little faces, right? (0:26:02) Micah: Oh, I see. (0:26:08) Al: But it’s of the mask. But the problem is, do you know what the masks are? The masks are red and black or black and red. (0:26:09) Micah: They’re both wearing a mask. (0:26:12) Micah: Okay. (0:26:15) Al: And these are teeny tiny little images on a 40-inch screen 12 feet away from me. (0:26:23) Al: I can’t figure out which one it is, it’s dre- (0:26:25) Micah: Yeah, this seems like an oversight a little bit (0:26:26) Al: It’s real bad! And I’ve turned the subtitle size up to max, because I like reading subtitles. (0:26:37) Al: It helps me understand what’s- But the picture’s still tiny! Why is the picture so tiny? And also, (0:26:40) Micah: ID too, same boat (0:26:44) Al: you change their suits, right? Nobody stays in the default suits in this game. That’s part of the fun of it, is changing your suits. So I needed to- Part of my problem is that I always- I have a very (0:26:56) Al: specific aesthetic of Spider-Man suit that I like, but I can’t put them both in the same aesthetic, (0:27:01) Al: because then I can’t figure out whose is who. So I’ve had to do like- So I have to decide that this is the colour for Peter, and this is the colour for Miles, and I’ve had to kind of stick with that, (0:27:11) Al: so that I can tell them apart on screen. I know, I know. But it’s- But it is really fun. It’s a really fun game. It has done the same thing, in my opinion, for Spider-Man. (0:27:13) Micah: What a nightmare. (0:27:26) Al: Spider-Man games, that Tears of the Kingdom did for Zelda games. I think it’s done- It has taken a game and done what you think is basically the same thing, but then layered so much more on top of it that it feels so good. (0:27:41) Micah: Yeah, huh It looks really good. I didn’t it seems like the reaction to it has been very good. I just saw today I saw it tick-tock that was somebody saying like I Don’t care what you say Miles and Morales and Peter Parker are my friends. They’re real people. They’re my friends They’re we’re we’re best friends. They’re the boys like And I think you know just saying that like the characters are done so well that it feels like they’re you know (0:28:11) Micah: um but I Not knowing really much about spider-man There is a part of me that wants to play it purely out of like seeing how much Like open world traversal there is for like I’m a big sucker for when there’s like true to life in-game recreations of like real locations So like being able to traverse New York City, I feel like would be (0:28:42) Micah: very fun, even if it’s just I Have not no I Uh Not no, not really that I can remember I mean I do I’ve seen people play them and I’ve seen like, you know, there’s a Again on tick-tock. There’s like occasionally I’ll see a tick-tock live of somebody. That’s just like No camera or anything. It’s just their their gameplay of them Swinging as spider-man and I’m assuming the like previous one but it. (0:28:43) Al: So if you don’t play any Spider-Man game, even like the early 2000s ones or anything, (0:28:50) Al: the Tobey Maguire tie-in film ones, no, that’s fine. (0:29:06) Al: Yeah. It’s absolutely incredible. It’s absolutely incredible, Michael. There’s no traversal in another game that is as fun as this, and they added extra stuff on to what the games had before to make it even more… You have a wingsuit now, so you can fly. So you can swing and swing and go high, and then you fly in your wingsuit, and you can… You’re gliding, right? You’re not flying, (0:29:36) Al: ages. And there’s slip streams around the city, so you can go so fast through the city if you catch the right slip stream, and they’ve added in a bunch of stuff. You can surf on the water for a short period of time and then jump back up and stuff like that. There’s so much in… It’s so fun. (0:30:00) Al: It’s just incredible. And there’s also stuff like you might have seen… Have you you haven’t seen any of the NPC conversations. (0:30:06) Al: There’s like full-on full-on 10, 15, 20 minute conversations that these NPCs have. (0:30:07) Micah: I don’t think so. I don’t think I’ve seen any of the NPC stuff or like (0:30:17) Micah: Oh, like, not like cutscenes, it’s just like listening to people. (0:30:18) Al: If you like just drop down onto the street, no, if you just drop down and there’s two people talking, they will have a full-on conversation for 15 minutes about the most random stuff. (0:30:29) Al: But it makes sense. (0:30:30) Al: It’s incredible. (0:30:31) Al: Like there was there’s ones that I’ve seen which is like, you know, people who were on a work site and they were complaining about their boss. (0:30:36) Al: And then there were people who were talking about like their children and then there’s just so many and it’s wild. (0:30:43) Al: I cannot imagine like it just feels like they’ve gotten in some voice actors and said riff on this and they’ve just spent 20 minutes talking about it. (0:30:50) Micah: Yeah, I can imagine that would be the best way to do that too is to just have people like That’s awesome Who’s the is it rocksteady as a developer Oh insomniac, okay (0:30:51) Al: But it’s incredible. (0:30:52) Al: Yeah. (0:30:54) Al: But they’re everywhere. (0:30:57) Al: I don’t understand how they’ve done it. (0:30:59) Al: It’s like so much. (0:31:01) Al: It’s not. (0:31:02) Al: It’s Insomniac. (0:31:06) Al: It’s incredible. (0:31:07) Al: And it’s also they’re doing a Wolverine game as well coming out in a we don’t know when but presumably like five years or something like that. (0:31:10) Micah: Oh, okay, cool. (0:31:12) Micah: Yeah. (0:31:13) Al: Who knows. (0:31:14) Al: It’s made me really excited for that because like I’m just yeah. (0:31:17) Al: Well I say so yeah having so much fun. (0:31:19) Al: And we probably don’t need to get into a huge conversation about this but also been playing the watermelon games. (0:31:26) Al: It’s a week out game or whatever they call it. (0:31:26) Micah: Yep. I think everybody at least has touched it at some point or see. (0:31:28) Al: It’s been good. (0:31:32) Al: If you haven’t played it. (0:31:33) Al: If you haven’t seen it go play it. (0:31:34) Al: Go watch a video of it. (0:31:36) Micah: And it’s like, what’d you say? $2? (0:31:37) Al: Yeah. (0:31:38) Al: Something like that. (0:31:38) Micah: I bought it when I was on the Japanese eShop. (0:31:39) Al: A thousand yen or something. (0:31:40) Micah: So it was like, I don’t know. (0:31:43) Micah: Yeah, it was like 200 yen or something. (0:31:43) Al: I do even know is what that means. (0:31:45) Al: Yep. (0:31:46) Micah: Yeah. (0:31:47) Micah: It was– yeah, it’s very cheap. (0:31:48) Al: Yeah it’s very cheap and loads of fun. (0:31:50) Micah: It’s like $2 on the– (0:31:54) Al: I like I play a couple of times a day. (0:31:56) Al: It’s good fun. (0:31:58) Al: Oh this is. (0:31:58) Micah: very good. Yeah, we there’s not a whole lot to say about watermelon. You drop you drop fruits into a bucket and they combine if you match them and just don’t overflow the bucket and that’s it. Yeah. It reminds me of there’s some like old arcade game I can’t remember what it was where you’d like shoot balls at each other and if you hit the same color balls then they would combine into like. (0:32:01) Al: We talk a little. (0:32:07) Al: Yeah. (0:32:10) Al: It’s like physics version of Candy Crush or whatever. (0:32:15) Al: Or marriage was the marriage marriage games. (0:32:27) Al: Yeah, I think there’s a few, yeah, there’s a few different games that have done this similar sort of thing. (0:32:28) Micah: a different color and it was like that same. (0:32:31) Micah: Yeah. (0:32:34) Al: This just does it really nicely and the physics aspect of it changes the game entirely because like you drop one and it bounces off stuff and you don’t know for certain where it’s going to go. (0:32:45) Al: So it adds a little bit of, you know, just randomness to that as well, which is fun. (0:32:49) Al: Oh my God, this isn’t going to be a short episode, is it? (0:32:51) Micah: No, I guess not. (0:32:52) Al: We’re going to talk about some news after half an hour. (0:32:56) Al: Um (0:32:57) Al: So, first of all we get Disney Dreamlight Valley. Um, so before we get into the brand new news about this, I just need to talk to you Micah. So, had you seen that the game’s no longer going to be free to play? (0:33:08) Micah: I did. You are actually not the only person to have reached out to me after the news dropped to ask me how I felt about it. Well, I mean, I feel like, you know, if I had to pay for it, (0:33:09) Al: How do you feel? (0:33:25) Micah: then everybody else should. I’m just kidding. It’s kind of a weird move to like start something and say like it’s free to play because usually it’s the other it’s the other way around right like something is paid for it’s like a paid experience and then eventually when it’s not performing the way that they want it to anymore then they move it to free to play like that’s usually the way it goes not the other way around where it starts free to play and they’re like actually you know what we’re gonna charge money for this kind of a weird thing but (0:33:30) Al: Justice! (0:33:30) Al: Or it’s going to be free to play, yeah. (0:33:55) Al: Yeah. Well, it’s also a bit weird because it never was and isn’t going to be now free to play. The weird thing is it’s not gone free to play too paid. It’s gone from paid but we’ll be free to play to actually, no, we’re not going to be free to play. (0:34:13) Micah: Yeah, yes, like free to play, but you have to pay for, like, (0:34:17) Micah: stuff to get access to it anyways, like. (0:34:22) Al: It’s wild, it’s weird, it’s weird, but anyway. (0:34:22) Micah: Yeah, it is a weird thing. (0:34:25) Micah: I don’t I don’t really know how I feel. (0:34:30) Micah: Other than that, like it’s it seems like a weird choice for them. (0:34:34) Micah: I now my concern is, are they going to charge me (0:34:34) Al: I mean you must be less frustrated about buying it now. So they’re not. So I guess what I should say, just a quick summary for people who haven’t listened. So the game is going to come out of Early Access on the 5th of December. There will be a new update at that point. We got more details about that. (0:34:42) Micah: again for the actual (0:34:43) Micah: game since everything that I bought was like basically cosmetic stuff and currency will there be an actual okay, all right good (0:35:04) Al: last week, so I’ll detail. We’ll go over that in a minute. But your early access will continue on. And in fact, you will get extra stuff because you were early access. So you will you get like there’s a few extra cosmetics, including you get capybara. So, you know, (0:35:16) Micah: Oh. Okay. (0:35:24) Micah: Oh Now I’m not upset at all I was a little bit upset but now I’m not Yeah I’m not like opposed to that, but I’m curious to see the I know we have a roadmap that we’re gonna look at But I’m curious to see how frequent paid is gonna come into play because that can kind of (0:35:27) Al: here we go. But, but, but. (0:35:34) Al: they are doing paid DLCs, which will (0:35:46) Al: Yeah. Yeah. Yes. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. So a couple small things first. So first of all, the soundtrack for Disney Dreaming Valley is out. You can go get, go stream it or buy it now. So that’s, that’s a thing. I feel like it’s a pretty standard thing for games now. Except Pokemon games. (0:36:03) Micah: That’s also interesting thing, because I don’t know. (0:36:07) Micah: That’s not like, you know. (0:36:10) Micah: Yeah, I suppose so. (0:36:12) Micah: I feel like the standard thing is like, they’re available, (0:36:16) Micah: or like you get the soundtrack with the game or something and not, you know, like, the soundtrack’s out and you can buy it if you want. (0:36:23) Micah: I don’t know, maybe that’s. (0:36:25) Micah: And I don’t know that there was anything really like distinct about the Dreamlight Valley soundtrack that had me like, (0:36:30) Al: No, no, it’s no, it’s no Stardew Valley soundtrack. (0:36:31) Micah: Oh, I got to get this. (0:36:33) Micah: But I don’t know, yeah, that on the other hand outpaid over and over for that. (0:36:36) Al: So the 5th of December update, the 1.0 update, if you will, has been detailed a little bit. (0:36:48) Al: So Jack Skellington will be coming. (0:36:49) Al: Weird that this is coming. (0:36:51) Al: I mean, I guess maybe it makes sense it’s coming between Halloween and Christmas, but I feel like why isn’t this out just before Halloween? (0:36:57) Al: I don’t know. (0:36:58) Micah: You know, I just had this conversation about Nightmare Before Christmas with someone that I work with who said that Nightmare Before Christmas is a Christmas movie and not a Halloween movie and I argued that it’s both. (0:37:12) Al: It’s both. It’s, of course, it’s both, right? (0:37:14) Micah: But then there were other people that agreed with them that said, yeah, it’s more of a Christmas movie than it is a Halloween movie, which like, it’s actually both. (0:37:15) Al: And it… (0:37:16) Al: No. (0:37:18) Al: It’s literally both. (0:37:22) Al: It’s literally both. (0:37:24) Al: This is not a diehard thing, and I’m not going to have that argument, (0:37:27) Al: because my argument about a diehard is, “I don’t care, shut up.” Right? (0:37:31) Al: But, like, this is not… This is literally half Halloween, half Christmas. (0:37:32) Micah: No, this is explicitly bold. (0:37:35) Micah: Yes. (0:37:37) Al: It’s about both holidays. (0:37:40) Al: It just seems like people… (0:37:40) Micah: Thank you, I feel vindicated. (0:37:42) Al: People feel this need to categorise things so that they feel they can watch it at Christmas, right? (0:37:48) Al: And it’s like, you can watch it at Christmas, you can watch it at Halloween. (0:37:53) Al: It’s both. I mean, you can watch it whenever you want, but like, no one’s going to look at it… (0:37:53) Micah: You can watch it whenever you want. Yeah. (0:37:59) Al: I watched it on… I hadn’t watched Nightmare before Christmas, before this year. (0:38:04) Micah: Oh, really? (0:38:05) Micah: Thoughts? (0:38:05) Al: Just hadn’t got around to it, so I watched it a few days before Halloween. Really liked it. (0:38:09) Al: liked it. It was good fun. Good say. I mean, (0:38:12) Al: some of the songs are incredible. It starts out particularly well. Like it’s like comes out of the gate crashing. Like I’m a, it’s really good. Very weird. I enjoyed it. Anyway. (0:38:25) Al: Uh, yeah. So Jax Galton coming to Disney Dreamlight Valley and also multiplayer. So if you really want multiplayer, I’m not going to play multiplayer. Don’t make me play multiplayer. But if you (0:38:36) Micah: I can’t imagine the multiplayer being super smooth based on the gameplay, but I don’t know, maybe. (0:38:45) Al: I feel like it’s going to be basically Animal Crossing multiplayer, like it’s not going to be like Stardew Valley multiplayer or anything like that, it’s going to be visiting someone’s village to see what they’ve done. (0:38:47) Micah: I don’t know. (0:38:49) Micah: Yeah, yeah, that probably. (0:38:54) Micah: Well, because there’s, I mean, they say in the, what’s the wording for that? (0:39:04) Al: enter the valley verse with your friends. Maybe that’s a special place then. (0:39:07) Micah: » See, when I had originally read it, I thought maybe that it was like interacting with Jack Skellington in the Valleyverse with your friends, (0:39:18) Micah: as if you can do whatever that story content is with them, but maybe I just read that (0:39:27) Al: So this update also introduces the highly anticipated multiplayer mode, allowing you and up to three friends to visit each other’s valleys. (0:39:34) Al: Oh, there you go, visit each other’s valleys. (0:39:36) Micah: Okay, yeah. (0:39:36) Al: From showing off your eye for design to checking ScroogeMcDuck’s stock in another v- It’s Animal Crossing. (0:39:38) Micah: Next. (0:39:39) Micah: Yep. (0:39:43) Micah: Okay. (0:39:45) Micah: That I can see a little bit more than like, (0:39:47) Micah: ‘cause when I’d read it, I thought it was, you know, (0:39:50) Micah: you could do story content with your friends, (0:39:52) Micah: and that to me felt like that would be a very not smooth experience. (0:39:56) Al: Yeah, that, yeah. (0:39:57) Micah: But if it’s just like, come check out my valley, (0:39:58) Al: Perhaps more exciting is the fact that the multiplayer mode would continue to evolve over time as new ways to interact with your friends are added in future updates. (0:40:08) Al: Okay, well we’ll deal with them when they come, but yeah, basically the launch version is basically what Animal Crossing does. (0:40:09) Micah: Hmm Yeah when they’re on a When they’re on a content roadmap, then we’ll look at it (0:40:15) Al: Yeah, yeah, yeah, give us the give us the details. (0:40:22) Al: So then we’ve had more information about the paid DLC so (0:40:26) Al: we’ve got a content roadmap with a lot of stuff in this. I’ll link this in the show notes so you can go have a look at it but we have detailed five free updates and three I’m pretty sure three of the same paid DLC updates so this is I think one pack that you pay for and you get these three updates I don’t think these are three separate paid things because it’s all part of one One story, basically. (0:40:50) Micah: Hmm, okay Oh sure (0:40:57) Al: So this paid expansion, which is called a Rift in Time, you visit a place called Eternity Isle, (0:41:05) Al: and you meet Rapunzel, Gaston, and Eve, and go through some adventures with them. And then the spring 2024 says, explore ancient’s landing to uncover more of its secrets and befriend a very lucky villager and you also see (0:41:26) Al: in that picture Gaston, Eve and Rapunzel and then it says some (0:41:29) Micah: Mm-hmm Who do you think the very lucky villagers I? (0:41:34) Micah: Couldn’t figure out from that. I don’t have enough Disney knowledge to based on whatever that door is to maybe look (0:41:41) Al: I don’t know and then summer 2024 it says foil Jafar’s schemes and fix the rift in time so that feels to me like three parts of this one paid day. (0:41:54) Micah: Yeah, that makes complete sense, I think. (0:41:58) Micah: I think that you’re totally right. (0:42:00) Al: Yes, yes, so Jafar being very clearly, he’s the big baddie of this DLC, and that’s interesting. (0:42:00) Micah: And obviously, introduction of Aladdin characters (0:42:13) Al: Interesting that Jafar is the first Aladdin (0:42:15) Micah: And also that it’s not like sticking to one series, like one movie. (0:42:22) Al: Yeah, yeah, yeah. (0:42:24) Micah: It’s like Rapunzel, Gaston, Eve versus Jafar. (0:42:28) Micah: It’s not like. (0:42:29) Al: And one other character, one other person that we don’t know who yet, like wild. (0:42:30) Micah: And yeah, a mystery character. (0:42:37) Al: Oh, yeah, actually, it does say so in these mysterious lands, you will embark on a new main story involving Jafar and the very fabric of time itself taking place across three acts all included in the expansion purchase. (0:42:49) Al: confirmation that those three updates between. (0:42:52) Al: December and summer will be the one purchase, which is thirty dollars, I think. (0:42:57) Micah: It’s not too bad if it’s like a yearly thing, like a yearly expansion purchase or like even, (0:42:59) Al: It’s not it does seem yeah. (0:43:06) Micah: you know, half a year or whatever, which it seems like that probably they’re doing here December 5th to summer 2024. (0:43:15) Micah: It’s like a six month, six months of content for like 30 bucks. (0:43:20) Micah: I guess that’s not too bad. (0:43:22) Al: It’s not terrible. It’s not terrible. We’ll see how it… And I think on top of that they are then obviously doing these other free updates. So obviously we’ve got the the 1.0 release in December which gives you Jack Skellington and the multiplayer and then late winter. It says 2024. It’s a very confusing saying winter 2024. What it means is January or February, right? (0:43:39) Micah: which yeah of 2024 yet. (0:43:46) Al: Yeah, it was just like don’t word it like that. Like this is just whatever. (0:43:52) Al: That is obviously some monster ink related stuff. We’ve got Mike Wazowski and it says scream with excitement as a new realm door opens. And then we’ve got early spring 2024, (0:44:04) Al: a vibrant new villager moves to the valley. I have no idea who… (0:44:07) Micah: Don’t either I was trying to figure that out, but it there’s like there’s like a daisy duck on the front on the like Mast of that ship and I don’t know what that I don’t know if this is like a again, not sure I have the Disney knowledge to know what that’s from but I’m sure it’s from some specific Mickey Mouse movie or you know (0:44:15) Al: Oh yeah, interesting. (0:44:32) Micah: episode or whatever something I’m sure it’s from something really (0:44:32) Al: They’re getting very vague at this point, realistically, right? Because then we’ve got late spring 2024 and it just says, “You don’t find a realm like this every dynasty.” And you’re like, “Oh, for goodness sake, where are we going with this? My word.” Like, someone will know this because there’s some insane fan who knows everything based on… I don’t I don’t know. (0:44:44) Micah: Which like, (0:44:46) Micah: I feel like that’s Mulan. (0:44:53) Micah: Is that not based on the word dynasty? (0:44:57) Micah: I don’t know. (0:45:02) Micah: I feel like that that’s probably Mulan, (0:45:02) Al: Do the flowers relate to that? Like, there’s flowers coming out the door? (0:45:05) Micah: but they’re just doing like, they’re, (0:45:11) Al: I feel like a Taylor Swift fan right now. And then we’ve got… (0:45:18) Micah: ‘Cause the Mulan is set in the northern Wei Dynasty. (0:45:19) Al: Yeah. (0:45:24) Micah: So I don’t know. I don’t know. (0:45:28) Al: And then we’ve got summer 2024, which that’s the princess and the frog. (0:45:32) Al: Right. That picture is the, I can’t remember her name. (0:45:33) Micah: yes. Uh, shoot. I forgot. Tiana. I think maybe, I don’t know what those are, maybe Benet’s, (0:45:35) Al: I’ve never seen it. (0:45:36) Al: Who’s the princess name from Princess and the Frog? (0:45:39) Al: Ba ba ba ba. Tiana. (0:45:42) Al: Good timing there. (0:45:44) Al: Both Googling at the same time. (0:45:51) Micah: which I like the, um, that like French. (0:45:55) Al: the French pastry thing. I think a lot of French stuff is pastry. (0:45:59) Micah: But it’s also like, it’s like a fritter, but it’s like a (0:46:12) Al: So that’s five updates, five free updates in the same time that we’re getting the three parts of the one paid DLC. (0:46:21) Al: So what I do have one small issue still that with this not free to play thing and and having paid DLC is that they’re still going to have their in game currency that you have to pay for as well, which just like you can buy the game, you can buy the DLC and you can also by around the world. (0:46:42) Al: And it just feels like they’re, you know, double dipping there. (0:46:52) Micah: Yeah, I don’t know. I I guess it my first thought was that it feels similar to like I don’t know like destiny or something where it’s like you have a Like expansion that you pay for and then they do like Event stuff throughout that like season quote-unquote like expansion season or it’s free stuff And you have to like still buy the main game and then the expansions (0:47:22) Micah: So like there is precedent for it It just is a really weird move to go from like it’s gonna be free to play - (0:47:30) Micah: It’s not free to play also We’re gonna charge you for it But also there’s gonna be paid expansions for it - like it’s like doubling down on charging for it like Interesting choice, but Especially interesting considering that I don’t feel like it’s a very like widely talked about game I feel like the fan base is… (0:47:52) Micah: …not massive for Dreamlight Valley. (0:47:53) Al: Yeah, I mean, let’s see, like, a lot of that may well be due to being early access, right? (0:47:54) Micah: So it seems like a weird move to like… (0:48:02) Al: And let’s see what happens over the next couple of months, right? Like, there might be a massive push for it, like, you never know what. (0:48:08) Micah: Yeah, I didn’t realize that Gameloft was the developer for it, they are also the developer for Speedstorm, so they must, I don’t know, maybe Disney is just buying them out or something. (0:48:23) Al: Well yeah, I think they’re still doing a lot of other stuff. But it’s interesting that they kept free to play with Speedstorm, and they’ve not done it with this. Well yeah, but it’s out of early access, and it is free to play. Disney Dreamlight Valley has not been, and

Where Do You Find Notes?I was looking back at our catalog of content and realized that I haven't shared the top ways that we find note deals in some time. So I pulled out my presentation from the 20-Day Note Challenge we hosted two years ago and updated it for 2023!That's right! I'm going to share the Top 20 Ways To Find Notes on Monday night! Some sources will sound familiar and some will definitely be new for a lot of people (especially if you don't market on a regular basis). We'll share a few platforms, some outside-the-box ways, and our tried and true proven ways we've harvested note deals for over 16 years, come rain or shine!There are other ways to find notes, but I wanted to make sure and share the best ways that we and our students have been harvesting performing, reperforming, and nonperforming notes since I started back in 2007 (and no, we don't spend time on costly and low-converting direct mail leads). Tune in now to discover the multiple paths toward these note deals!Want to talk to Scott? Book a call with him HERE. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share!Here's How »Join Note Night in America community today:WeCloseNotes.comScott Carson FacebookScott Carson TwitterScott Carson LinkedInNote Night in America YouTubeNote Night in America VimeoScott Carson InstagramWe Close Notes Pinterest

Luke 12:27-28  “Look at the lilies and how they grow. They don't work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?” It takes sunlight and rain fall for any flower to blossom

The essence of truth is not what someone says, it's what they do. Behavior never lies. Every day, prepare yourself to be the person that someone else may need. - Richard Flint Richard Flint, the CEO of Richard Flint International, joins to share his extraordinary life story. Our conversation dives deep into Richard's personal turning points, the importance of confronting challenges, and the power of personal growth. His journey has been one of incredible highs and lows, from  challenges he faced from even the earliest years of his upbringing to the success of becoming a renowned public speaker Richard's story begins with a difficult childhood. He was born to a mother who didn't want him, then was adopted by a mother who also didn't fully accept him. Growing up, Richard faced constant criticism and was told he would never amount to anything. At 16, he was abruptly kicked out of his home by his adoptive mother, leading him to contemplate suicide. However, Richard found the strength to persevere, refusing to let his circumstances define him. One of the key turning points in Richard's life occurred when he realized that he didn't need to prove himself to his mother. Her abandonment freed him from the chains of seeking validation from others. Richard discovered the importance of self-belief, learning that he was capable of creating the life he desired. This experience fueled Richard's passion to help others recognize their potential and embrace their brilliance. Richard's journey also provides valuable insights into effective leadership. He emphasizes the importance of communication and confrontation in a leadership role. True leaders, he asserts, do not shy away from difficult conversations but rather address them head-on. It is through these confrontations that growth and progress are achieved, both individually and within an organization. For the past 35 years, Richard has dedicated his life to sharing his research and insights with people all around the world. Through his work, he aims to inspire individuals to strive for exceptionalism beyond average or greatness. Richard encourages others to embrace belief, trust, and faith in oneself, propelling them towards a life that is better, smarter, and more purposeful. Richard Flint's story is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the power of personal growth. From a troubled upbringing to becoming a renowned speaker, his journey is filled with valuable lessons for everyone seeking to overcome adversity. This episode of  "Come Rain or Shine" is an inspiring reminder that even in the darkest moments, we have the capacity to rise above and create the life we desire. Connect with Richard: https://www.richardflint.com/ Richard on LinkedIn Richard on YouTube Richard on Twitter Connect with Dan: www.dancockerell.com About Dan - https://dancockerell.com/about/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/dancockerell/ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dancockerell/ Facebook - www.facebook.com/dancockerellspeaker Episode Highlights 00:01:16 - Richard's Background 00:05:47 - Finding Freedom 00:06:38 - Richard's Mission 00:09:05 - The Importance of Honesty 00:12:45 - Balancing Commitment and Conviction 00:15:10 - Types of Workers: Sponges, Spectators, and Camels 00:18:00 - Challenges of Spectators and Camels 00:20:36 - Lack of Leadership and Respect

"What can I do today that my future self will thank me for 20 years from now?"— Ray Edwards In this episode of "Come Rain or Shine," I have an incredible conversation with Ray Edwards, a renowned copywriter and author. Ray opens up about his journey that has been filled with both success and setbacks. His resilience in the face of adversity is truly inspiring. Throughout our conversation, Ray shares about his career successes, lifechanging medical news, his latest book, and the valuable lessons he has learned along the way. Ray's passion for radio broadcasting began at a young age and ultimately led him to a successful career spanning over 30 years. However, he made a pivotal decision to transition into the world of copywriting online. With the ability to harness the power of words and persuasion, Ray became highly sought after and worked with influential figures like Tony Robbins and Jack Canfield. In 2011, Ray received a life-altering diagnosis of Parkinson's disease. Initially keeping it hidden, he eventually had to face the reality and challenges it presented. As his health declined rapidly during the pandemic, Ray found himself in a dark place, questioning his beliefs and struggling to find solace in the methods that had once motivated him. It was during this low point that Ray made a profound decision to change his perspective and take ownership of his circumstances. He realized that reality couldn't be altered, but his response to it could. Drawing on his expertise as a copywriter, he wrote a sales letter to himself titled, "Read this or die a failure." This powerful letter became a catalyst for Ray's personal transformation. Throughout our conversation, Ray emphasized the importance of reevaluating our beliefs and finding better ones when faced with adversity. He challenged the conventional sources of motivation that had failed him and encouraged listeners to seek meaningful change within themselves. Ray notes that true transformation occurs when we change our response to circumstances rather than trying to change the circumstances themselves. Ray Edward's story is one of resilience, introspection, and personal growth. His ability to turn his darkest moments into opportunities for self-reflection and change is truly remarkable. His latest book, "Read this or Die," encapsulates his journey and serves as an inspiring call-to-action for those facing their own trials. If you're in need of a fresh perspective, this episode with Ray is a must-listen. Connect with Ray Edwards Order the Book Read This or Die Ray Edwards Website Connect with Dan: www.dancockerell.com About Dan - https://dancockerell.com/about/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/dancockerell/ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dancockerell/ Facebook - www.facebook.com/dancockerellspeaker Episode Highlights [00:02:09] Radio career, Parkinson's diagnosis, mental struggle, transformation [00:10:58] Humans tend to get caught up in the current of life. Remember to take action [00:12:43] Doing things now that future you appreciates. [00:17:54] Using empathy to help with the pain, pressure, and comments. [00:19:33] Open-mindedness and listening bring peace to disagreements [00:23:30] useful beliefs and appreciate life.

As a leader of any organization, it's really important that we work every day to become unnecessary. - Chris Meroff Chris Meroff's journey is what has shaped him into a strategic leader that helps others recognize the value of prioritizing employee fulfillment. His story is both inspiring and enlightening. As a college dropout with no clear path in life, Chris found himself working in his parents' consulting business for K-12 education, despite having no prior knowledge of the field. After 15 grueling years, Chris decided to branch off and launch a similar venture in Texas, one of the largest markets in the country. Despite facing multiple setbacks, his relentless determination led to the flourishing of a successful business with 75 employees within four years. However, Chris realized that his achievement did not bring him the fulfillment he expected. His belief that leadership required him to exude confidence and strength left him feeling isolated and emotionally drained when an invaluable employee resigned. That moment shaped Chris' view on the importance of empathy and vulnerability in leadership. The next thing he knew he has to do was a transform his approach to employee fulfillment. Make sure to share this episode of Come Rain or Shine with your colleagues and friends who need to hear this message about the impact of leadership on employee fulfillment. Connect with Chris Meroff Chris Meroff's Website: https://chrismeroff.com/ Order the Book: Align: Four Simple Steps for Leaders to Create Employee Fulfillment Chris on LinkedIn Chris on Instagram Chris on Facebook Connect with Dan: www.dancockerell.com About Dan - https://dancockerell.com/about/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/dancockerell/ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dancockerell/ Facebook - www.facebook.com/dancockerellspeaker Episode Highlights 00:01:37 - Chris's Background 00:06:17 - The Need for Empathy and Vulnerability 00:08:25 - Becoming Unnecessary as a Leader 00:09:25 - Step 1: Focus on Culture 00:13:33 - Defining Culture and Guiding Principles 00:14:35 - Prioritizing Time and Resources 00:16:14 - Aligning Talent with Tasks 00:17:24 - Creating a Success Plan 00:19:24 - The Value of Investing in Employees

"Sustainability can drive so much across your business if you truly integrate it and support it in a proper way." Have you heard the myths that sustainability only focuses on the environmental? Or that society does not need to be considered when discussing sustainability and that governance does not matter? It can be difficult to define sustainability across these three facets, but Bridgette McAdoo is here to set the record straight and debunk these myths. In an insightful episode of the Come Rain or Shine podcast, Dan Cockerell interviews Bridgette McAdoo, a renowned specialist in sustainability and social impact. Bridgette is the VP and Chief Sustainability Officer of Genesys Corporation, where she focuses on environmental, societal, and governance aspects of sustainability. She is a dedicated sustainability leader with an impressive background working with organizations including the World Wildlife Fund, Yum Brands, Pizza Hut, and KFC. Bridgette started her career as a contractor to NASA, working on a space shuttle and the space station. While pursuing her MBA, she discovered her passion for sustainability and its potential for making a positive impact on the world. Some of the ways your organization can make an impact: Develop an understanding of sustainability throughout environmental, societal, and governance factors. Incorporate sustainable practices into your company's culture and strategic approaches. Drive employee engagement in sustainable initiatives fostering meaningful organizational change. Evaluate the interplay between influencer roles, stakeholder identification, and targeted communication tactics. Direct customers toward cloud-based platforms to minimize carbon footprint and manage energy consumption. This conversation really highlights ways that professionals can improve their organization's commitment to sustainability. Throughout her work on sustainability projects, Bridgette has made sure to emphasize the importance of an approach that encompasses environmental, societal, and governance factors. Teamwork plays is a vital role in achieving sustainability goals. There is also something to be said about its impact on retaining employees. Bridgette does a fantastic job of laying out ways that people can drive meaningful change within their companies. "Sustainability is a team sport, it's not just my job as the Chief Sustainability officer. It the job of every single person to get us to where we want to go." Connect with Bridgette McAdoo About Genesys About Bridgette McAdoo Linkedin - linkedin.com/Bridgette-bell-mcadoo Connect with Dan: www.dancockerell.com About Dan - https://dancockerell.com/about/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/dancockerell/ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dancockerell/ Facebook - www.facebook.com/dancockerellspeaker   Episode Highlights 00:06:34 – organizational sustainability should be connected across various facets of the organization, including environmental, societal, and governance perspectives.  00:12:42 - sustainability is a team effort and a holistic approach to driving change in a responsible and sustainable way.  00:13:27 - efficiency and partnership in achieving sustainability. For example, her company has obtained lead certification for two main offices, partnered with AWS for renewable energy, and focused on upcycling and recycling assets. Volunteerism and education are also key components.   00:15:00 - sustainability issues are interconnected, including diversity, equity, supplier procurement, and compliance initiatives. By looking at them holistically, businesses can add more value to their operations.   00:17:24 - the CEO needs to be a big advocate of sustainability, but the CFO and finance team also play a huge role. It's important to get leadership involved early and set clear expectations, including financial disclosures for sustainability initiatives.   00:19:43 - regulations around sustainable reporting are coming down the pipeline and businesses need to be prepared. Transparency and financial disclosures will be key, and finance and sustainability need to work closely together.   00:25:18 – there is a need for a business case for sustainability initiatives, as they can impact financials, client relationships, employee retention, and values. Companies need to match the values of their employees and customers to remain competitive in the market.  00:27:16 - sustainability helps to avoid or improve qualitative and reputational risk, which is just as important as financial benefits. Millennials and Gen Z value a company's reputation and sustainability commitments when considering employment.   00:32:42 - sustainability is about telling the same story ten different ways, tailored to the audience's needs. Bridget emphasizes the importance of making people feel like they can be a part of the change and not overwhelmed by the urgency of the situation.  

In this episode of Come Rain or Shine, Dave Benson shares about the power of connections and how that has impacted his work as an entrepreneur and software developer. Throughout his professional career, whether it was in a corporate environment at IBM, the sports media industry, or while working at Disneyland Paris, he recognized the impact of meaningful connections. He found that it is possible to deliver a memorable and genuine connection between fans and heroes in just a minute. Dave went on to use that knowledge to create his business, Super Quick Question, a one-on-one video chat platform with a 60 second time limit. Dave has found success in the sports space, partnering with teams like the Cleveland Browns and Mike Tyson's company. In this episode, you will learn about: the power of connections to build a successful business: Dave Benson's story of how his connections led to the development of his business in France. the importance of brevity in business: Dave Benson's insights on how to make the most out of conversations, such as preparing beforehand and staying on topic. using technology to create meaningful connections: The value proposition of Super Quick Question, a one on one video chat platform with a 60 second time limit, for fans to connect with athletes and celebrities. As Dave shares with us, brevity is key. People appreciate the genuine connections they can have in a short amount of time, just like when that young child gets to meet Cinderella. Dave Benson had unlocked the power of efficiency in networking and communication. Quotes: "Honesty and delivering on your promise results in a much shorter conversation and can save you time, money, and build genuine connections with your heroes." “There's always something better to do with the time.” Resources https://www.superquickquestion.com/ Connect with Dan: www.dancockerell.com About Dan - https://dancockerell.com/about/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/dancockerell/ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dancockerell/ Facebook - www.facebook.com/dancockerellspeaker   Episode Highlights: [00:01:35] Super Quick Question is a one-on-one video chat platform with a 60 second time limit. The original idea behind it was for business efficiency, to help people connect better and faster in businesses. The company is now getting a lot of traction in the sports space. [00:11:47] Tell me what you need to know, and I'll give you an answer. Give me the highlights. Give me the best part. And that's kind of what we're doing. We like to get to the meat and potatoes of things. [00:12:39] A little bit of preparation results in a much shorter conversation. Staying on topic and realizing what the purpose of your meeting is allows you to address things promptly. Then you can do the other stuff.

"The very act of shining the light of your attention on something causes it to shift and change. So if somebody's coming in with a mindset that they've inherited and partly that they've kind of constructed out of trial and error over the years, it's probably never had the light of attention shone upon it." In this episode of Come Rain or Shine, Myles Downey shares about his work helping others realize their unique genius and true potential, despite the resistance and interference of a world stuck in a command-and-control mentality. His expertise in coaching led him to create the School of Coaching. His coaching knowledge runs far and wide, having studied with Timothy Galway, worked with McKinsey, the England rugby team and New Zealand elite rugby coaches.  In his book 'Enabling Genius', he helps people identify their unique potential and express it.  Myles was born in Dublin, Ireland, and now lives in the UK. He grew up toeing the line and was a compliant student. He had studied architecture, but with time started to realize it was not for him. His life changed when he read a book by Timothy Galway 'The Inner Game of Tennis.' This book inspired him to learn the craft of coaching and apply it in the world of work. With the help of McKinsey, Myles Downey was able to help people achieve business results through the art of coaching.  In this episode, you will learn about: developing the skill of coaching as a craft enabling genius and how to help people express their own potential the concept of flow and how it can help people manage themselves and their teams more effectively Through his work, Myles Downey encourages people to look at their mindset and create experiments to help them grow and become better leaders. He inspires countless people to be more aware of themselves and the world around them.  Episode Highlights [00:04:16] The point of doing things differently is actually to drive the business forward. Sometimes we get lost and don't realize that not all those activities are value add. [00:05:26] People need help identifying what their unique genius is. The world is rife with things that get in the way, interference, and the degree to which you can remove the interference.  [00:13:52] Talking about experiments takes the pressure off the thought that I have to change and be different. See what works better, then make a choice of that concept. If the experiment works, fantastic. If it works but needs to be tweaked, tweak it. [00:14:26] A lot of times we tell the group it's not your fault that they had a problem. But if you don't make a change, it's going to continue to be your problem. [00:16:41] What you need to do is train people so that they can make their own decisions. Leaders do not want to let go of their perceived control in the business world. [00:25:31] People who excel have something in common. It comes down to identity. Mindset, which is the mindset for success.  [00:27:44] You need a sense of confidence that you can do it. A work ethic that you know nothing comes natural. It is yourself awareness and knowing what you're capable of and not capable of. If you can put those together, you really can tackle anything. But it takes practice like everything else. Connect with Myles https://mylesdowney.com/ Connect with Dan: www.dancockerell.com About Dan - https://dancockerell.com/about/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/dancockerell/ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dancockerell/ Facebook - www.facebook.com/dancockerellspeaker  

In this episode of Come Rain or Shine, guest, Chris Kneeland, joins the show to discuss how a leader can build a passionate brand base. The CEO of Cult Collective, Chris is driven to help professionals accelerate brand growth. As one who is skilled in the art of helping people know why they want what they want, his ideas on customer engagement and internal teaming have proven effective for several big-name companies around the world. Throughout his career, Chris has empowered many clients to help their customers buy more by buying in. Per the principles he covers in this episode, no question, you'll discover the keys to improved marketing efficiency and “cult-like” brand-building. More for information about Chris' resources and public-speaking engagements, check out his website below. Resources: Website: https://cultideas.com/believe/chris-kneeland  Connect with Dan: www.dancockerell.com Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/dancockerell/ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dancockerell/ Facebook - www.facebook.com/dancockerellspeaker Quotes: “When you're creating a new experience… add to the brand, not the expense of it.”

In this episode of Come Rain or Shine, guest, Angel Henry, joins the show to discuss her story and the power of empathy and inclusivity. Coined a “ceiling breaker” with decades of pharmaceutical and healthcare experience, Angel is more than the sum of her marketplace history. As a black woman refined in homogenous environments, her skills go beyond project management but into arenas of inclusivity, diversity awareness, even human resources and technology. A jack of all trades, Arena is passionate about giving minorities a voice and stirring the pot to ensure lower-targeted demographics are given fair consideration in decision-making, promotional, and hiring processes. To learn more about Angel's resources, check out her website below Connect with Angel: Website: https://www.angel-henry.com/ Book: https://angelsspeaking.lpages.co/book-landing-page/ Connect with Dan: www.dancockerell.com Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/dancockerell/ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dancockerell/ Facebook - www.facebook.com/dancockerellspeaker Quote: "If you want to be intentional about shaking it up and doing it different and being diverse, then you're going to have to think outside the box.”  

In this episode of Come Rain or Shine, guest, Domenic Moore, joins the show to discuss his story and the value of expanding your comfort zones. An Events Director at Melbourne Connect and adventurist at heart, Domenic talks about his decision to walk from Melbourne to Brisbane barefoot over 75 days to raise awareness for the Indigenous Marathon Foundation.  As one who embraces change and challenges, Domenic unpacks the ways he sustained motivation during trying times and how kept putting one foot in front of the other. With his perspective forever changed by the experience, Domenic hopes his testimony and the kindness he experienced from strangers will inspire others to live in contrast and pursue the mountains in their own life with vigor. To follow Domenic's explorations, click the link below and subscribe to his YouTube channel for updates. Connect with Domenic: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@domenicmoore4683 Connect with Dan: www.dancockerell.com Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/dancockerell/ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dancockerell/ Facebook - www.facebook.com/dancockerellspeaker Quotes: "Contract is the only way we really experience this world.”

In this episode of Come Rain or Shine, guest, Darja Gutnick, Co-Founder of Bunch, joins the show to discuss her story and the purpose of Bunch. Started in 2016, Bunch initially launched to help startup organizations but has since evolved as a technology company staffed with psychologists, data scientists, and engineers. As a remote team spanning multiple countries, the trademark of Bunch can be seen through its primary tag: To enable managers and aspiring leaders to learn and grow in 2-minutes a day using a unique blend of scientific data and psychology. As an entrepreneur and podcast host at Teams at Work, Darja hopes her team and the resources they produce will help make marketplace inspiration more memorable and empower leaders to embrace the challenges they face. Resources: Check out Bunch, the AI leadership coach for free LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darjagutnick/?originalSubdomain=de Website: https://www.bunch.ai/team Connect with Dan: www.dancockerell.com Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/dancockerell/ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dancockerell/ Facebook - www.facebook.com/dancockerellspeaker Quotes: “Managing is what to do and leadership is how to be.”

In this episode of Come Rain or Shine, guest, Rani Puranik, Co-Owner, Executive Vice President, and Global CFO of Worldwide Oilfield Machine, joins the show to discuss her background, women in leadership, and her new book, 7 Letters to My Daughter. Her experience serves as a great reminder that there is always a way.  A woman of versatile skill, Rani's pathway has spanned multiple spectrums. Having taken scenic routes to her current roles, Rani explains how each occupational checkpoint contributed to her present-day business acumen. As an entrepreneur and philanthropist keen on empowering other people's energies, Rani's “always a way” mentality is part of her strategy to inspire others towards legacy and success. With the recent launch of her memoir, 7 Letters to My Daughters: Light Lessons of Love, Leadership and Legacy, Rani hopes the unpacking of these critical phases will encourage her readers to passionately pursue their goals. A voice laden with fresh perspective and antidotes, no question, Rani's journey will resonate with most who aspire towards new endeavors in 2023. For more information about Rani's new book, check out the resources below. Resources: Website: https://www.ranipuranik.com/ Book: https://www.ranipuranik.com/seven-letters-to-my-daughters-book/ Connect with Dan: www.dancockerell.com About Dan - https://dancockerell.com/about/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/dancockerell/ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dancockerell/ Facebook - www.facebook.com/dancockerellspeaker Quotes: “Legacy is the ability to impact someone else's life. It's empowering them so they can empower their…next generations.”

In this episode of Come Rain or Shine, guest co-host, Jody Maberry, joins the show to discuss accountability through the lens of clarity. As the marketplace becomes more remote, setting clear expectations is becoming more critical. While setting parameters and protocols are essential, to facilitate accountability, one must follow up to ensure they're being adhered to. Think about it: What good does it do to create goal without assessing them at key checkpoints? Either way, the best gameplans are ones with check-ins. If you're a supervisor, break down what you delegate and support your team by initiating periodic conversations. If you're a subordinate, ask for feedback and touch points to discuss project progress. From there, the table is set to set clear expectations. Connect with Dan: www.dancockerell.com Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/dancockerell/ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dancockerell/ Facebook - www.facebook.com/dancockerellspeaker Quotes: “It's not just about results but about how you get those results.”

In this episode of Come Rain or Shine, Steven Howard, Creator of Humony Leadership and Caliente Leadership, joins the show to discuss modern trends in corporate leadership. An award-winning author of 22 books on leadership and management, Steven specializes in facilitating tailored leadership development programs for leaders and supervisors around the world. For almost a quarter century, he has mentored and trained thousands of leaders through a unique blend of perspective and experience. During our conversation, Steven contrasts the employee market of today with the employer market of prior decades. While bosses of old preached trust as having to be earned, in a post-pandemic world, the reverse is taking shape. Specifically, organizations looking to stay competitive are not only having to respect responsibilities outside work, but also having to inspire trust upfront and mature their talent pool through remote means. As final charge, Steven encourages today's supervisors and leaders to focus on skill management over people management. While subtle, this shift can have profound impacts on team morale will executed correctly. Resources: Website: https://calienteleadership.com/ E-mail: steven@calienteleadership.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevenbhoward/ Connect with Dan: www.dancockerell.com Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/dancockerell/ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dancockerell/ Facebook - www.facebook.com/dancockerellspeaker Quotes: “Managing people is a 1980's construct…it's not relevant in today's world.”

In this episode of Come Rain or Shine, Nathan Thomas, former Australia water polo player who competed in the 2000 and 2004 Summer Olympics, joins the show to discuss leadership lessons learned from playing the sport. He shares his experience behind the idea that teamwork makes the dream work. As captain of the 2004 Australian water polo team in Athens, Nathan knows a thing or two about what it takes to win and inspire a unit. While a qualifying medal eluded him, the silver linings of his experiences proved to be paramount. For instance, though the Olympic moments were memorable, it was the teamwork and connectivity that inspired him from pool to marketplace. Now, as a chief operating officer of a large Australian IT company, Nathan hopes to lead the next generation by example and by letting them be themselves. In a charge to current leaders, be clear about expectations and let subordinates be part of the plan. Don't just work the structure but allow all employees to have a voice into that structure. As long as you encourage innovation, you'll trigger inspiration. Connect with Dan: www.dancockerell.com About - https://dancockerell.com/about/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/dancockerell/ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dancockerell/ Facebook - www.facebook.com/dancockerellspeaker Quotes: “Authorship breeds ownership.”

In this episode of Come Rain or Shine, Alex Kopacz, Canadian bobsledder and the reigning Olympic co-champion in the twoman bobsleigh event, joins the show to discuss his legendary athletic career. As a gold medalist and fierce competitor, Alex brings a level head to this interview brimming with marketplace application. Having matured from university shot putter to an international winter game icon, Alex's message is simple yet inspiring: Manage what you can control. While chance and luck have their place, what ultimately drives success comes down to effort, commitment, and attitude. Whether your skills are group oriented or individual in nature, accomplishment often starts with composure and focus. You may be fearless, but this should never be an excuse for pride and over-extending yourself. Alex also talks about constantly learning, new pursuits as a keynote speaker and mechanical engineer, and life after the Olympics. Resources: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexanderkopacz/?hl=en Connect with Dan: www.dancockerell.com Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/dancockerell/ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dancockerell/ Facebook - www.facebook.com/dancockerellspeaker Quotes: “Are you playing to win or playing not to lose?”

In this episode of Come Rain or Shine, Theron Skees, Veteran Imagineering Creative Executive & Owner of The Designer's Creative Studio, joins the show to his career journey and lesson learned from Disney. As a creative executive and veteran of Walt Disney Imagineering, Theron has a knack for fusing strategy with construction and consultation projects. An executive coach and public speaker, Theron's story-based approach to marketing brands for high-level attractions has made him a sought-after commodity. While his specialty is helping clients grow their brand, Theron is also skilled in promoting emotional connections through ‘why' stories. Per his experiences, rising professionals should engage their brand at every single touch point to unify mission and motive. By employing empathy and relability, consumer buy-in can have a foundation to work from.  To learn more about Theron's premier services, visit Theron's websites below. Resources: Website: https://www.designerscreativestudio.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/theronskees/ Connect with Dan: www.dancockerell.com Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/dancockerell/ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dancockerell/ Facebook - www.facebook.com/dancockerellspeaker Quotes: “The common ground is telling the brand story.”  

In this episode of Come Rain or Shine, Adam Mastroianni, a postdoctoral research scholar at Columbia Business School, joins the show to discuss the relationship between intelligence and happiness.  In the past hundred years, there have been many efforts to measure intelligence. More recently, new tests have discerned the multiple types of intelligence including the performance tendencies of subject matter experts. However, as Adam explains, there's also a general intelligible that can capture a person's ability to define and solve problems. While a one-size, fit-all metric is hard to quantify, what is clear is the correlation difference between problem and dilemma with intelligence and happiness. As Adam notes, problems involve optimal solutions, but dilemmas often lack a clear right or wrong, a principle evident in the contrast of emotional and intellectual responses. Although the psychological drivers of happiness are highly variable, the empirical data behind general intelligence is more concrete. Therefore, one can never assume a more successful person on paper is automatically happier. Resources: Website: https://www.adammastroianni.com/ Connect with Dan: www.dancockerell.com Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/dancockerell/ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dancockerell/ Facebook - www.facebook.com/dancockerellspeaker Quotes: “Life ain't chess. Nobody agrees on the rules. The pieces do whatever they want and the board covers the whole globe as well as the inside of your hear and possibly several metaphysical planes as well..”