Podcasts about cumulatively

Last time we spoke about the breakthrough on Okinawa. Despite relentless attacks on critical positions like Sugar Loaf Hill and Wana Ridge, American Marines encountered heavy casualties. Yet, they persisted, inching forward against tenacious resistance. As mid-May approached, the situation for Japanese commanders deteriorated. Encircled and suffering significant losses, they began plotting a retreat to more defensible positions. On the ground, Marines battled through mud and enemy fire, showcasing incredible resolve amidst dire circumstances. Communication crumbled, supplies dwindled, and morale waned, yet the determination of both sides was undeniable. By late May, the tides shifted further in favor of the Allies, marking pivotal breakthroughs despite the challenges. Amidst ruin and chaos, the relentless struggle for control over Okinawa symbolized the brutal nature of war and the unwavering spirit of those fighting on both sides, setting the stage for an eventual Allied victory.  This episode is the Fall of Shuri Welcome to the Pacific War Podcast Week by Week, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about world war two? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on world war two and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel you can find a few videos all the way from the Opium Wars of the 1800's until the end of the Pacific War in 1945.  As we last left off, the battle for Okinawa was reaching a critical juncture. General Buckner's 10th Army had made significant gains, successfully breaking through the fortified Japanese defenses on both flanks. The 6th Marine Division, under General Shepherd, had effectively established control over the Naha area, while General Arnold's 7th Division achieved an impressive penetration at Yonabaru. However, despite these advancements, the remainder of the American forces faced formidable obstacles. They were grappling with relentless rain, fierce enemy resistance, and severe supply shortages, which left them effectively stalled in front of Shuri. In response to the encroaching American forces, General Ushijima had dispatched General Fujioka's 62nd Division to launch a counter-offensive aimed at driving the invaders out of Yonabaru. Meanwhile, Ushijima was preparing his 32nd Army for a strategic withdrawal south to the Kiyamu Peninsula. Fortunately for the Americans, they had caught wind of the defenders' intentions. Recognizing the urgency of the situation, on May 27, General Buckner ordered his troops to apply strong and unrelenting pressure on the enemy. The goal was clear: keep the Japanese forces off balance and prevent an easy transition to new defensive positions. Although the continuing downpour hindered the possibility of a large-scale, coordinated army-wide attack, it did not deter Buckner's strategy. Instead, he initiated a series of strong combat patrols along the front lines, which immediately encountered stiff resistance from Japanese troops that had not yet begun their withdrawal. On the west coast, as patrols from Colonel Roberts' 22nd Marines scouted the area, they discovered that the Japanese had largely abandoned Naha. This news spurred the 2nd Battalion into action. They crossed the Asato River, moved through the lines established by Shepherd's Reconnaissance Company, and pressed deeper into the western part of Naha. Simultaneously, Colonel Shapley's 4th Marines made their last desperate push to extend American control into eastern Naha, fighting valiantly against the entrenched enemy. Farther east, Colonel Finn's 32nd Regiment once again faced fierce resistance from the hastily committed 62nd Division, which staunchly defended its position. However, not all was lost; patrols from Colonel Green's 184th Regiment managed to reach Inasomi, meeting only scattered resistance. This breakthrough provided a crucial indication that the enemy had no intention of withdrawing into the Chinen Peninsula. As the clocks struck midnight, a significant yet largely unnoticed transition occurred in the waters off Okinawa: Admiral Halsey's 3rd Fleet relieved Admiral Spruance's 5th Fleet. For the troops ashore, this change in command went by without a hint of recognition. The same ships and task groups continued their crucial support for ground operations, now operating under new numerical designations and leadership. However, Halsey faced an immediate challenge as Admiral Ugaki launched an extensive Kikisui attack, a large-scale kamikaze assault involving 110 enemy aircraft. The day of May 27 proved costly, with three destroyers, one destroyer minesweeper, two transports, one subchaser, and two auxiliary ships all suffering damage. The following morning brought clear skies, which only heightened the danger for American naval forces. Several kamikaze aircraft succeeded in sinking the destroyer USS Drexler, while also inflicting damage on a transport ship, three freighters, and a landing craft throughout the day. Meanwhile, on land, Colonel Whaling's rehabilitated 29th Marines took over from the battered 4th Marines along the west coast. The 1st Battalion executed a concerted attack alongside the 22nd Marines, advancing successfully by 250 yards through the rubble-strewn city of Naha. In an impressive display of momentum, Roberts' men pushed forward unopposed toward the Kokuba estuary, eventually encountering resistance near Ono-Yama Island. To the east, the improvement in weather allowed Colonel Mason's 1st Marines to launch a coordinated offensive. The 2nd Battalion fought valiantly, climbing to the peak of 110 Meter Hill. The forward elements of Company E gained the hill crest but were forced to withdraw by vicious enemy fire which raked their positions. Lieutenant Colonel Magee felt that his depleted battalion, down to a total strength of 277 men in the rifle companies, might recapture the hill, but "it could not possibly hold it against a strong enemy counterattack." Although new replacements were available to regiments for training or other use, a division order prevented their being sent to front line units during a battle situation that called for the utmost in skill and knowledge of veterans. Throughout most of the morning and all of the afternoon, 2/1 concentrated the fire of its supporting weapons on the reverse slopes of 110 Meter Hill and engaged the Japanese in a fierce and continuous fire fight. Nightfall brought no cessation of enemy resistance, and many infiltrators were killed in the battalion's lines. In contrast, the 3rd Battalion experienced relatively little opposition, allowing some patrols to penetrate into Wana Draw. At the same time, Colonel Griebel's 3rd Battalion effectively moved its front line to the Asato River, while his 1st Battalion achieved a significant milestone by capturing Beehive Hill. However, despite the break in the rain, the conditions on the ground rendered large-scale movements impractical, stalling further advances across the battlefield. Despite Arnold's determined efforts to push west through Fujioka's blocking positions, progress was minimal. Nevertheless, he was able to consolidate his grip on the Ozato hill mass as Green's 2nd Battalion advanced to a position within 1,000 yards of Shinazato, strategically located at the neck of the Chinen Peninsula. The lack of success from the 62nd Division in driving back the breaching American forces reinforced General Ushijima's resolve to evacuate Shuri while the opportunity still existed. In light of this, he ordered the withdrawal to commence the following evening. On May 29, while the 7th Reconnaissance Troop managed to scout a significant portion of the Chinen Peninsula without incident, the 7th and 96th Divisions faced fierce resistance as they attacked toward the road network south of Shuri. The enemy's resolute defense resulted in only minimal gains for the American assault units. General Bruce's 77th Division, after what can be described as "a day almost entirely spent in hand-to-hand combat," found itself unable to penetrate the intense cordon of defensive fire that protected the Japanese positions. In stark contrast, to the west, Griebel's 1st Battalion made a rapid advance, quickly gaining the crest of Shuri Ridge. They launched a bold assault on Shuri Castle. On May 25, as part of the final stages of the Okinawa campaign, the American battleship USS Mississippi bombarded the castle for three days, and by May 27, it was engulfed in flames. That night, the Japanese forces retreated, abandoning Shuri while US troops pursued them southward. The 1st Battalion of the 5th Marines had started its attack on 29 May with Companies B and C in assault and Company A following in trace of Company C. The Marines quickly gained the crest of Shuri Ridge and Lieutenant Colonel Shelburne requested permission for one of his companies to storm Shuri Castle which commanded his position. Although the castle was in the zone of action of the 77th Infantry Division, General del Valle gave his assent to the request in view of the great danger of enemy action from the strong point. The 1st Marine Division commander felt that "at that time the position of the 77th Division was such that it would have taken several hard day's fighting through enemy resistance" before the castle could be taken. Company A drove east along the muddy ridge line, overwhelming the few Japanese in its path, and by 1015 the castle, core of the Shuri bastion, had been secured. The Marine unit entered Shuri through a gap in the covering forces caused by the withdrawal of the 3d Battalion, 15th Independent Mixed Regiment of the 44th Independent Mixed Brigade, in the course of the Japanese retreat from Shuri. This seems to have been the only notable instance of confusion and mistake in the Japanese withdrawal operation as a whole. Everywhere else around Shuri the Japanese still held their covering positions in the front lines. The 77th Division, which had scheduled air strikes and a heavy artillery bombardment on the castle heights for 29 May, received little prior warning of the Marines' assault and "was barely able to avert [its] called strikes in time." Without taking any credit away from Company A of the 5th Marines for its feat of capturing Shuri Castle, its success was clearly the result of the combined effort of all the assault and support troops of Tenth Army which had maintained relentless pressure on the enemy defenses and paved the way for the breakthrough.  Capitalizing on this momentum, General Del Valle swiftly reorganized his forces to bypass Wana Draw and consolidate these crucial gains. Meanwhile, Griebel's 3rd Battalion maneuvered down the division boundary, reaching a position just 2,000 yards from the village of Kokuba, prompting Whaling's 3rd Battalion to push their lines forward by approximately 600 yards. In a coordinated effort, the 29th Marines executed a wheeling assault on 29 May with 1/29 pivoting on 3/29 and attacking south and then east to bring the regiment on line with the 22d Marines. The ultimate objective of the 1st Battalion's attack was the high ground northwest of Shichina. The approach to the objective was over low and open terrain which drew the comment from regiment that it was "about as suitable to fighting as a billiard table." Fire from strong points in tombs and caves on the small hills and ridges to the front kept the advance to a slow pace, and the assault companies, A and C, dug in slightly to the left rear of the positions of the 22d Marines at nightfall. On another front, Roberts' 1st Battalion successfully crossed the Kokuba River and advanced toward Telegraph Hill in east Naha. However, despite their efforts, intense fighting erupted throughout the day without yielding any significant gains. Back at sea, the threat of kamikaze attacks returned with ferocity, yet this time, American defenses held strong, resulting in only a single destroyer and one transport sustaining damage. As night fell, the Japanese began their long-anticipated withdrawal. General Amamiya's 24th Division commenced disengagement, moving southward while leaving a small force, including the 22nd Independent Battalion, to cover their retreat at Shuri. Meanwhile, General Suzuki's 44th Independent Mixed Brigade held their defensive lines outside Naha, and the 62nd Division maintained its positions near Chan and Karadera. By dawn on May 30, the bulk of the 32nd Army had successfully evacuated the Shuri lines, slipping away from the flanking maneuvers of Buckner's 10th Army. Thanks to a continuous curtain of rain, General Ushijima executed a meticulously planned "properly deft withdrawal." His covering forces were strategically positioned to provide him with the necessary time to organize a defensive stance on the Kiyamu Peninsula. However, the Americans, ever vigilant, were quick to capitalize on the enemy's disarray, maintaining relentless pressure on the faltering Japanese front. On the west coast, Roberts' 2nd and 3rd Battalions crossed the canal, seamlessly moving through the 1st Battalion to take up the assault. They pushed forward tenaciously until they captured the entire area encompassing Telegraph Hill and Hill 27. A network of Japanese machine gun positions hidden in the clusters of tombs on the low hills to the Marines' front made progress slow and costly. Enemy machine guns emplaced in burial tombs on Hill 27 in east Naha temporarily checked the infantry. Heavy sniper fire whipped the lines and killed Lieutenant Colonel Woodhouse of 2/22 who was forward controlling his battalion's attack. Major John G. Johnson, the executive officer, took command immediately and continued a steady pressure. During most of the day tanks were unable to reach the position, but in the afternoon three worked their way along the road north of the hill, and their direct fire enabled the marines to seize it. The advance consisted of a series of local assaults and mop-up actions that brought the battalion to secure hill positions overlooking the Kokuba Estuary and the rail line leading to the north by nightfall. Lieutenant Colonel Shisler's 3d Battalion passed through 1/22 during the morning's attack and behind a screen of artillery, mortars, naval gunfire, and rockets drove onto the high ground at the eastern outskirts of Naha. By means of a series of holding attacks and flank assaults, Shisler was able to move his companies into the maze of enemy defenses where close quarter grenade and small-arms exchanges decided the issue. Once the dominating ground was won, the battalion was subjected to intense artillery and mortar fire. At the same time, Whaling's 1st Battalion joined the offensive, encountering fierce resistance as they pressed through 600 yards of enemy territory. To the east, the Marines under Del Valle shifted their focus to vigorous patrolling, as the supply situation gradually improved thanks to dedicated carrying parties and aerial air drops. Despite their efforts, the 306th Regiment's assault on 110 Meter Hill encountered heavy opposition once again. However, Colonel Hamilton's 307th Regiment finally achieved a breakthrough, seizing the strategic Three Sisters. Dorothy Hill, a fortress directly east of Shuri and a tower of strength in the enemy's inner line for the past two weeks, was attacked by the 3d Battalion, 307th Infantry, 77th Division. The first platoon to reach the base of the hill was pinned down by heavy fire, the platoon leader and all noncommissioned officers being wounded. Other platoons maneuvered into position and finally one squad reached the crest at the right end. This entering wedge enabled two companies to reach the top, from which they discovered three levels of caves on the reverse slope. They went to work methodically, moving from right to left along the top level, burning and blasting each cave and dugout, the flame-thrower and satchel-charge men covered by riflemen. When work on the top level was finished, the second level of caves and tunnels received similar treatment, and then the third and lowest level. That night fifteen Japanese who had survived the day's fighting crawled out of the blasted caves and were killed by Americans from their foxholes. A great amount of enemy equipment, including ten destroyed 150-mm- guns and twenty-five trucks, was found on the south (reverse) side of Dorothy Hill, testifying to the enemy fire power at this strong point. On 30 May, the 77th Division also took Jane Hill on its left flank and then almost unopposed took Tom Hill, the highest point of ground in the Shuri area, by 1700. This critical victory paved the way for Colonel Smith's forces to advance into the northern outskirts of Shuri through Ishimmi. In a remarkable display of coordination, Colonel Dill's 382nd Regiment finally secured the strategic Hen Hill and Oboe Hill areas, while also capturing Hector Hill on their left flank. For nine days elements of the 96th Division had been stalemated at the base of Hen Hill, just northeast of Shuri. On the 30th, Company F and one platoon of Company G, 382d Infantry, resumed the attack on Hen Hill. Pfc. Clarence B. Craft, a rifleman from Company G, was sent out ahead with five companions to test the Japanese positions. As he and his small group started up the slope, they were brought under heavy fire from Japanese just over the crest, and a shower of grenades fell on them. Three of the men were wounded and the other two were stopped. Craft, although a new replacement and in his first action, kept on going, tossing grenades at the crest. From just below the crest he threw two cases of grenades that were passed up to him from the bottom, those of the enemy going over his head or exploding near him. He then leaped to the crest and fired at point-blank range into the Japanese in a trench a few feet below him. Spurred by Craft's example, other men now came to his aid. Reloading, Craft pursued the Japanese down the trench, wiped out a machine gun nest, and satchel-charged the cave into which the remaining Japanese had retreated. Altogether, in the taking of Hen Hill as a result of Craft's action, about seventy Japanese were killed, at least twenty-five of whom were credited to Craft himself. This daring action won him the Congressional Medal of Honor. To the left (east), Company F at the same time engaged in a grenade battle for Hector Hill, using ten cases of grenades in the assault on the crest. It was finally won after a satchel charge was hurled over the top and lit in the enemy trench on the other side, parts of Japanese bodies and pieces of enemy equipment hurtling into the sky in the blast. Hen and Hector Hills had fallen by 1400. Southeast of their position, Colonel May's 2d Battalion, 383d Infantry, reached Love Hill and dug in, although scattered fire was still received from a machine gun in a nook of Charlie Hill and there were a few live Japanese on Love itself. In the afternoon the 3d Battalion, 383d Infantry, left its foxholes on Oboe, where it had experienced so great an ordeal, and proceeded down the reverse slope of the hill, finding only a few scattered Japanese. That night the 383d Infantry expressed a heartfelt sentiment when it reported "infinite relief to have Conical Hill behind us." Although there had been suicidal stands in a few places by the last of the holding force, the advances had been rapid. Simultaneously, Colonel Halloran's 381st Regiment effectively reduced the Conical Hill-Cutaway area and seized Roger Hill, both regiments then advancing toward the vital Naha-Yonabaru road. At the same time, the 32nd Regiment launched a coordinated offensive that allowed them to successfully capture Oak, Ella, and June Hills. This advance brought Finn's troops directly into confrontation with Mabel and Hetty Hills, facing the formidable defenses of Chan. Meanwhile, strong patrols from the 184th Regiment ventured into the Chinen Peninsula's strongholds, encountering only light enemy resistance, a turn of events that buoyed American morale. As night fell, the 44th Independent Mixed Brigade and the 24th Division began their long-anticipated evacuation from Shuri. They pulled back behind the second line of blocking positions north of Tsukasan, executing their withdrawal amidst a progressively decreasing barrage of artillery and mortar fire. Consequently, when Buckner's assault troops launched their offensive against the Shuri positions on the morning of May 31, they were met with an eerie silence, the stillness only interrupted by sporadic sniper fire and the distant crack of machine guns.The 77th Division swiftly took 110 Meter Hill and advanced into Shuri with little to no resistance. Concurrently, Mason's units surrounding Shuri Castle moved north unopposed, aiding in the occupation of the battered ruins and the troublesome Wana Draw.  Shuri, the second town of Okinawa, lay in utter ruin. There was no other city, town, or village in the Ryukyus that had been destroyed so completely. Naha too had been laid waste. Certain villages which had been strong points in the enemy's defense, such as Kakazu, Dakeshi, Kochi, Arakachi, and Kunishi, had been fought over and leveled to the ground. But none of these compared with the ancient capital of the Ryukyus. It was estimated that about 200000 rounds of artillery and naval gunfire had struck Shuri. Numerous air strikes had dropped 1000-pound bombs on it. Mortar shells by the thousands had arched their way into the town area. Only two structures, both of concrete, the big normal school at the southwestern corner and the little Methodist church, built in 1937, in the center of Shuri, had enough of their walls standing to form silhouettes on the skyline. The rest was flattened rubble. The narrow paved and dirt streets, churned by high explosives and pitted with shell craters, were impassable to any vehicle. The stone walls of the numerous little terraces were battered down. The rubble and broken red tile of the houses lay in heaps. The frame portion of buildings had been reduced to kindling wood. Tattered bits of Japanese military clothing, gas masks, and tropical helmets-the most frequently seen items-and the dark-colored Okinawan civilian dress lay about in wild confusion. Over all this crater of the moon landscape hung the unforgettable stench of rotting human flesh. To  the west, Griebel's 1st Battalion built upon Mason's gains, but it was the 3rd Battalion that led the main effort, successfully pushing to the hills just north of Shichina.Meanwhile, General Bradley's advancing battalions moved rapidly toward their assigned objectives, spending much of the day mopping up isolated enemy holdouts. This relentless advance effectively pinched off the 77th Division, further consolidating American control in the region. On the extreme left flank, Halloran's 1st Battalion faced enemy forces defending the Tsukasan line, marking the only area where the 96th Division failed to reach the corps boundary. However, the Shuri area had now been completely secured, and contact was made with Del Valle's Marines in the center. On the flanks, though, Buckner's units continued to encounter fierce resistance from the tenacious Japanese defenders. The 32nd Regiment, battling bravely through a series of heavily fortified strongpoints held stubbornly by Fujioka's troops, managed to seize Duck Hill, consolidate its positions on Turkey Hill, and capture the forward face of Mabel. Ultimately, they halted their advance just short of Chan. Meanwhile, on the west coast, Shepherd's Marines pushed forward with support from tanks and artillery, targeting the strategic high ground west of Shichina and Kokuba. However, their advance was stalled by intense enemy fire emanating from Hill 46. During the night, the battered 44th Independent Mixed Brigade executed a withdrawal southeast towards the Kiyamu Peninsula, covered by the 62nd Division, which quickly established a new defensive line along the Kokuba River and around Tsukasan. With the fall of Shuri and the withdrawal of Japanese forces, Buckner's troops had emerged victorious in one of the most difficult and bloody battles of the Pacific War. By the end of May, reports indicated that approximately 62,548 Japanese soldiers had been confirmed killed, with another estimated 9,529 thought to have perished, 64,000 of whom were believed to have fallen in the fierce fighting within the Shuri fortified zone alone. While these casualty figures may be somewhat exaggerated, there is little doubt that Japanese forces, especially their infantry combat units, had suffered severe depletion. In contrast, General Geiger's 3rd Amphibious Corps recorded significant losses of its own, with 1,718 killed, 8,852 wounded, and 101 missing during the fighting around Shuri. Additionally, the losses for General Hodge's 24th Corps over two months of combat totaled an alarming 26,044 casualties. On June 1, the American forces faced surprisingly little opposition from the enemy. A frustrated General Buckner, who had hoped to trap the defenders at Shuri, ordered his troops to advance rapidly in pursuit of the retreating Japanese units. With the 77th Division methodically mopping up remnants in the Shuri zone, General Hodge made a strategic decision. He shifted the 7th Division toward the east and ordered the 96th Division to move south to relieve the 32nd Regiment, taking up the western end of the Corps line. This strategic relief enabled Arnold to immediately push south with both the 17th and 184th Regiments in assault, managing to advance approximately 1,100 yards toward Okota and Batan despite increasingly stiff resistance from smaller enemy units. To the northwest, a coordinated attack by the Marine divisions successfully secured all high ground overlooking the primary east-west road in the Kokuba Valley. The 5th Marines anchored their position on the hills east of Shichina, while Shepherd's regiments seized the dominating heights north of Kokuba. Recognizing the strategic importance of the Oroku Peninsula, General Geiger planned a shore-to-shore landing there. To gather intelligence, Shepherd dispatched his Reconnaissance Company to conduct an amphibious reconnaissance of the peninsula that evening. Their findings confirmed that the peninsula was not fortified with significant enemy strength. The following day, Colonel Snedeker's 7th Marines advanced to relieve the 6th Marine Division on the west coast. The 2nd Battalion continued the momentum by crossing the Kokuba River, moving into the hills on the south bank. Meanwhile, to the east, the 5th Marines also crossed the upper branch of the river and pressed forward to secure the ridgeline that controlled the approaches to Tsukasan. This maneuver effectively placed the entire Naha-Yonabaru road firmly in American hands, further tightening their grip on the battlefield. That evening, Shepherd dispatched his Reconnaissance Company to conduct an amphibious reconnaissance of the Oroku Peninsula. Their mission revealed that the peninsula was not heavily defended, opening up opportunities for American forces. Further east, the 383rd Regiment successfully cleared out Chan and seized the high ground just north of Tera and Kamizato. Meanwhile, the 381st Regiment conducted repeated assaults on hill positions that impeded its advance, ultimately managing to penetrate to Karadera. The 7th Division maintained relentless pressure on the retreating garrison of the Chinen Peninsula, advancing its lines by 2,400 yards toward Itokazu and Kerabaru. Now, it's time to shift our focus away from Okinawa and examine the latest operations of General LeMay's 21st Bomber Command. Since the invasion of Okinawa, Admiral Nimitz had requested that the B-29 Superfortress heavy bombers assist his naval forces in countering the deadly kamikaze attacks. In response, LeMay dispatched 53 bombers to target airfields at Kanoya on April 8, although the city of Kagoshima ended up being bombed instead. On April 17, 134 B-29s were sent against Kyushu, successfully neutralizing enemy airfield operations for 18 hours. However, as we've observed, the Japanese continued to launch both scattered and mass kamikaze attacks. To address this ongoing threat, the 21st Bomber Command, bolstered by the arrival of Brigadier General Roger Ramey's 58th Bombardment Wing, dedicated 75% of its combat effort to providing direct tactical support for the Okinawa campaign up to May 11. During this period, they flew a total of 2,104 sorties against 17 airfields in Kyushu and Shikoku. Although they did not fully neutralize these targets, significant damage was inflicted on enemy storage, maintenance, and repair facilities. The bombers also served to keep the Japanese off balance, significantly disrupting their ability to plan and execute large, coordinated attacks. In total, 24 B-29s were destroyed and 233 damaged during these operations, while 134 enemy interceptors were shot down. Between the strikes on Kyushu, General LeMay managed to fit in several medium-strength precision attacks against the Japanese aircraft industry, along with two large-scale night incendiary missions in the Tokyo Bay area. The first of these missions took place on April 13, when 327 B-29s dropped an impressive 2,139 tons of ordnance on the arsenal district of Tokyo, located northwest of the Imperial Palace. The resulting fires consumed 11.4 square miles of this crucial industrial zone, destroying arsenal plants responsible for manufacturing and storing small arms, machine guns, artillery, bombs, gunpowder, and fire-control mechanisms. Just two nights later, on April 15, 303 bombers executed another incendiary attack, dropping 1,930 tons of explosives with equal success. This raid devastated 6 square miles in Tokyo, 3.6 square miles in Kawasaki, and 1.5 square miles in Yokohama, which suffered collateral damage from the fire spills. Cumulatively, these two raids resulted in the destruction of 217,130 buildings in Tokyo and Yokohama and 31,603 in Kawasaki. On April 24, 131 B-29s conducted a highly successful precision strike against the Tachikawa plant of the Hitachi Aircraft Corporation. Although the next planned attack was thwarted by inclement weather, 148 B-29s struck Kure on May 5, delivering devastating damage. After being relieved from support for the Okinawa operation on May 11, LeMay initiated a month of heavy fire raids to complete the campaign that had begun in March, while also addressing top-priority precision targets as opportunities arose. Accordingly, on May 14, 529 B-29s were dispatched to strike northern Nagoya, with 472 successfully dropping 2,515 tons of munitions, resulting in the burning of 3.15 square miles and inflicting significant damage to Mitsubishi's No. 10 engine works. Just two nights later, 522 bombers returned to Nagoya, with 457 of them effectively delivering 3,609 tons over the dock and industrial areas in the southern part of the city, burning 3.82 square miles and causing extensive damage to Mitsubishi's No. 5 aircraft works. These two incendiary attacks finished Nagoya as an objective for area attacks. Good targets remained in the city, and the command was to return six more times for precision attacks before V-J Day. But the industrial fabric of the city had been ruined in the earlier precision attacks and in the fire raids that had burned out twelve square miles of a total built-up urban area of about forty square miles. In all, 113460 buildings had been destroyed, 3866 persons had been killed and 472701 rendered homeless. The displacement of workers aggravated the difficulties caused by physical damage and had an important effect on civilian morale.  After a week of respite, temporarily interrupted by a 318-plane precision attack on the Tachikawa Aircraft Company, 562 B-29s were dispatched to strike Tokyo once more on May 23. Out of these, 520 bombers reached their target, dropping an impressive 3,646 tons of explosives over the district stretching southward from the Imperial Palace along the west side of Tokyo Harbor. Despite encountering strong opposition, this attack resulted in the destruction of 5.3 square miles of area. Two nights later, 502 B-29s returned to Tokyo, targeting the area just north of their previous hit. They faced heavy resistance again, dropping 3,262 tons of incendiaries on the city, which resulted in the destruction of 16.8 square miles, marking the largest area devastated in a single Tokyo raid. In light of the heavy casualties suffered during these last two strikes, General LeMay decided to assign P-51s from Iwo Jima to escort future attacks. As a result, on May 29, 517 B-29s were escorted by 101 P-51 fighters during an assault on Yokohama. These bombers successfully dropped 2,570 tons of munitions, burning out 6.9 square miles while the escorting fighters engaged in fierce battles against about 150 aggressive interceptors. Meanwhile, General Whitehead's 5th Air Force was conducting an extensive program of area bombing against Formosa, experimenting with various types of bombs and tactics in preparation for future attacks on the Japanese mainland. Taihoku, the capital and political and financial center of Taiwan, was subjected to constant aerial bombardment. The largest strike against modern-day Taipei, known as the Taihoku Air Raid, occurred on May 31, when units of the Fifth Air Force consisting of 117 Consolidated B-24 Liberator heavy bombers were sent to conduct the largest air raid ever on Taiwan. The bombing began from around ten o'clock in the morning and lasted until one o'clock in the afternoon, during which the attack was non-stop. The Americans met virtually no resistance from the Japanese, mainly due to the attrition the Japanese air forces had suffered in the Aerial Battle of Taiwan-Okinawa, which completely exhausted Japan's fighter units in Taiwan. They successfully dropped approximately 3,800 bombs targeting military units and governmental facilities. The Office of the Governor-General of Taiwan suffered a direct hit, in spite of the building being heavily camouflaged to avoid being targeted. The building suffered extensive damage from fire caused by the bombs and almost collapsed on itself; it was rendered unoccupiable and was not repaired until the Nationalist Chinese takeover. Other facilities hit during the bombing included the residence of the Assistant Governor-General, Taiwan Railway Hotel, Office of Governor-General Library, Army Headquarters, Taihoku Imperial University, Taihoku Station, Bank of Taiwan, Taihoku High Court, Taihoku New Park, and many other facilities. Many civilian installations were damaged, including Taihoku Prefectural Taihoku First Girls' High School, Huashan Catholic Church of Taihoku, and the famous Lungshan Temple of Manka, which was hit in the main building and the left corridor; many precious artifacts and art works in the temple were lost in the ensuing fire. As a result of the extensive bombing campaigns, more than 3,000 civilians lost their lives. Tens of thousands were displaced or left homeless, and countless buildings were destroyed, either directly by the attacks or by the fires they ignited. This devastation left a profound impact on the local population and infrastructure, marking yet another tragic chapter in the toll of the war. I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. In the midst of the brutal Battle of Okinawa, American Marines faced relentless resistance as they pushed towards Shuri. Despite heavy casualties and daunting conditions, the tide turned when General Buckner ordered aggressive assaults that outmaneuvered the encircled Japanese forces. After days of relentless combat, they captured the stronghold, leading to the collapse of Japanese defenses. As the dust settled, Shuri lay in ruins, marking a pivotal moment in the Pacific War and showcasing the indomitable spirit of both American and Japanese soldiers.

In this episode of the Life and Listings Podcast, we're joined by Andrew Flachner, Co-Founder and President of RealScout. Andrew dives into the evolution of RealScout over the past year, highlighting how the platform keeps real estate agents at the center of the digital experience. We also discuss the recently released Teams Report, which provides valuable insights into lead generation, nurturing strategies, and the importance of building business through sphere of influence. Plus, Andrew shares an intriguing analogy about "sugar cookies" and how it applies to the real estate industry. Tune in to learn actionable strategies for staying top of mind and driving more transactions.   "If we're able to surface the right information at the right time, we can help agents nurture their database and generate more transactions effectively."   Five Key Takeaways Challenges with Traditional IDX Websites  Insights from the Teams Report  Lead Nurture and Customer Acquisition Strategies  Introduction of Search Links by Real Scout  Conclusion and Resources   About Andrew: Andrew Flachner has earned a reputation as one of the premier, up-and-coming entrepreneurs in the dynamic PropTech space. As a coveted industry commentator, thought provoking keynote speaker, and trusted advisor to brokerage executives and top real estate agents, he is among a handful of leaders who can make sense of the rapidly evolving intersection of technology and real estate — one of the most critical drivers in the economy today. Andrew is Co-Founder and President of RealScout, a high-growth real estate technology company. RealScout has equipped over 100,000 practitioners with an award-winning, integrated suite of marketing, collaboration and analytics tools. Cumulatively, these tools have helped real estate agents close billions of dollars in transactions. Andrew is consistently featured as one of the most influential real estate leaders (Swanepoel Power 200, Inman News, REALTrends Game Changers) and was recognized as Forbes 30 Under 30. He is a highly recognizable and sought-after speaker in the residential real estate conference scene, with keynote presentations given at leading conferences such as Inman Connect, T3 Summit, and Gathering of Eagles. In 2017, Andrew launched a popular long-form, live interview series (distributed by Inman News) which enabled brokerage executives to relay their questions directly to industry playmakers including Zillow Director and former COO Amy Bohutinsky, the CEOs of RE/MAX, Redfin, Opendoor, and the National Association of REALTORS®. For speaking inquiries, please connect with hello (at) realscout.com.   Connect with Andrew: Website: www.realscout.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewflachner/recent-activity/all/ Instagram: @aflachner Connect with Jennifer Staats: Website: staatssolutions.com Staats Solution Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/staatssolutions/ Jennifer Staats Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jennifertherealtor LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/staatssolutions/

We are now in the Advent season, the four weeks leading up to Christmas and the joy of Jesus' birth. Like Advent itself, the birth of the Savior has a lot of back story. Woven through the Bible's Old Testament are hundreds of prophecies that tell of a Messiah that will be born sometime in the future. Many of the prophecies, like those in Isaiah, are written centuries before the birth of Jesus. Cumulatively, they predict the conditions of the birth, the location of the birth, who he will be born to, what he is coming to do and so much more. Jesus fulfills every one of those prophecies. On this episode of Lighthouse Faith podcast, evangelist Anne Graham Lotz and investigative filmmaker Tim Mahoney delve into the prophecies of the Old Testament and the archeological evidence that shows that the core tenets of Christianity are grounded in the historical record. Mahoney's Patterns of Evidence production house has investigated the archeological evidence biblical prophecies and events from the Exodus to his most recent on Israel Dilemma that explores the Israel's covenant with God and the land. Lotz, well-known author and Christian speaker, is the daughter of the late evangelist Billy Graham. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you've listened to this podcast before, then you know the concept of the chosen family is very important to me personally.Some people in my chosen family play a variety of roles. Some play just one. Some are back-ups; others are back-ups for my back-ups. Cumulatively, it all adds up: today I feel more supported than I ever have in my life.I've talked about chosen families in other episodes – including Episode 16, about my friend Jeff's, and Episode 19, about my own – but I've never done one like today's, which delves deep into what a chosen family is; why it's important; and how to build one yourself.Chosen families are the people who catch you when you fall but also help springboard you to the next level. Even if you already have a strong familial support system, this matters: you could still be part of a chosen family for someone else. Whether you're building a chosen family out of necessity, like I did, or by choice, they matter. They make our lives richer, our support systems stronger, and our worlds a little bit better.In this episode you'll hear about:What a chosen family is: people who choose you through their words, intentions, and actions (with you choosing them back)The fallacy of the “all-or-nothing” mindset of the chosen family and the different roles chosen family members can play: big, small, medical, etc.My breast-cancer scare and how I leaned on my chosen family while I had to wait for the mammogram and ultrasoundCelebrating holidays, birthdays, vacations, and milestones with chosen family members and how to create traditions with themWays we can support our chosen families – plus, the power of specific support offers (helping with a new baby; driving someone to doctor appointments, etc.)Resources & LinksListen to other episodes about chosen families, including Episode 19, “The One for Little Alex,” and Episode 16. Also be sure to listen to Episode 12, about my Roots of Connection framework.Like what you hear? Visit my website, leave me a voicemail, and follow me on Instagram and TikTok!Want to take this conversation a step further? Send this episode to a friend. Tell them you found it interesting and use what we just talked about as a conversation starter the next time you and your friend hang out!

Welcome to this very special podcast episode where we discuss in-depth the recent Medical Journal of Australia supplement collection of five research articles highlighting the successes of the RVTS programme. I am joined by RVTS CEO Dr Pat Giddings and Assoc. Professor Belinda O'Sullivan from the University of Queensland who conducted the research that led to the publications.   This episode will be of interest to anyone concerned about General Practice rural workforce shortage, those wanting to know how to support GP registrars in rural and remote areas, the special ingredients required in a successful remote supervision model, the training and support of Overseas Trained doctors to gain GP fellowship and providing meaningful First Nations Cultural training and support for GP registrars.     This is a long episode, so grab your coffee or plug-in as you drive to and from work to hear the research findings detailing what has made RVTS so successful in achieving impressive workplace retention as well as fellowship success for the past, nearly 25 years.   Timestamps are noted below in case you want to fast forward to an area of special interest but I thoroughly recommend you taking the time to listen to the whole episode as there are many hidden gems.   Have a great day.  Dr Meryl Nicol    The link to the MJA supplement is here and a published editorial in Insight+ is here    Time  Notes  00.16  Introductions  1:41  How did the publication come about?  3:10  How is RVTS different as a GP training provider?  5:23  Location-based training - benefits to communities and participants  5:39  500 doctors to 350+ communities  6:02  Research results - reported benefits of communities and participants  7:38  Policy maker gains - Closing the Gap, Rural work force and Cruck review  8:52  Overseas trained doctors or IMG's and keys to success  11:03  Comfort  11:42  Confidence  12:15  Competence  13:21  Belonging and face to face workshops  14:01  Bonding  15:25  RVTS support, Overseas trained doctor satisfaction  20:57  RVTS supervision model  25.32  RVTS - how cost effective is it?  29.12  Retention years of return  30.14  Years of service in the community of RVTS registrars  34.08  Hidden costs of locums  36.15  70% of registrars are inland not coastal  37.53  Targeted recruitment model - rural workforce solutions for remote and very remote locations  46.56  Contribution to First Nations Health and Reconciliation Action Plan  49.48  RVTS Reconciliation Action Plan  52.21  Cultural mentor research findings  53.05  Surprises for the evaluator -multilayered support  55.22  Cumulatively, NOT a small programme  56.29  Scalability  57.41  Best practice model for supporting doctors especially IMG's in resource-poor environments,  58.26  Transferable model to other disciplines  58.47  Making a difference  59.25  Wonderful to work with the team at UQ  1.00.36  Final comments from Assoc Prof Belinda O'Sullivan  1.02.38  Final thanks       

Cumulatively, over the 3 stops of the 2024 World Cup circuit, Kate Douglass and Regan Smith broke 5 worlds records, 11 American records, and earned over $330,000. And they did it all for the plot. Even though the duo planned to attend the World Cup together months in advance, neither had many expectations going into the series after taking substantial time out of the pool following the Olympic Games in Paris. Both Smith and Douglass' number one priority was enjoying their time together and rolling with whatever was thrown their way, which ended up being quite a lot. However, the Olympic champions took what came to them in stride, improving at each of the three stops and ending the series as the top two performers and money earners.

Joe's Premium Subscription: www.standardgrain.comGrain Markets and Other Stuff Links-Apple PodcastsSpotifyTikTokYouTubeFutures and options trading involves risk of loss and is not suitable for everyone.0:00 Trump, Markets, Soybeans3:28 China and Other Commodities5:44 Farmer Sentiment7:27 ADM is in Trouble8:29 Who is Unknown?Here's the latest on the market and agricultural landscape following Donald Trump's election victory!

READ THE ARTICLE AT WWW.PETERNAVARRO.SUBSTACK.COM  Listen NOW to the Deep Dive Duo discuss the article.  It's a little woke but otherwise does a good job. Briefing Doc: Peter Navarro's Critique of the First Step Act Implementation This briefing doc analyzes Peter Navarro's Substack article detailing his experience in prison and subsequent investigation into the Bureau of Prisons' (BOP) implementation of the First Step Act (FSA). Main Themes: BOP Failure to Implement the FSA: Navarro argues that the BOP, under Democrat leadership, is deliberately obstructing the implementation of the FSA, a bipartisan criminal justice reform bill signed into law by President Trump in 2018. Taxpayer Waste and Human Misery: This obstruction, according to Navarro, results in unnecessary incarceration, costing taxpayers billions of dollars while causing immense suffering for inmates and their families. Prison Industrial Complex: Navarro blames the "Prison Industrial Complex," comprising BOP staff, private contractors, and the privatized prison system, for profiting from keeping prisons full and resisting FSA implementation. Call to Action for Congress and 2024 Election Implications: He urges Congress to intervene and force the BOP to implement the FSA fully. He also suggests this issue could sway voters in the 2024 presidential election, favoring Trump, who championed the FSA, and potentially hurting Kamala Harris, who, according to Navarro, made unfulfilled promises regarding the release of nonviolent offenders. Important Ideas and Facts: FSA Benefits: The FSA aims to reduce over-sentencing by offering earned good behavior and training credits. It also facilitates inmate transition back into society through halfway houses or home confinement. Scope of the Problem: Navarro estimates that over 60,000 FSA-eligible inmates are unjustly incarcerated, costing taxpayers up to $5 billion. He provides specific examples of individuals, like Del Gowing and Dr. Armand Abovyan, who remain imprisoned despite being eligible for release under the FSA. Proposed Solutions: Navarro proposes two solutions: Expand Home Confinement: Require the BOP to place inmates in home confinement if halfway house capacity is insufficient. He cites Judge Joseph LaPlante's ruling in Leavitt v. Warden (2024) as precedent. Accurate Release Date Calculation: Mandate the BOP to utilize the "maximum conditional FTC calculator" to ensure accurate release date forecasting. Quotes: "During my prison stay, I discovered that the Bureau of Prisons has steadfastly refused to enforce the 2018 First Step Act, which was passed through the leadership and 'smart on crime' vision of Donald Trump." "Cumulatively, the cost of such BOP malign neglect directly costs taxpayers up to $3 billion for the more than 60,000 FSA-eligible inmates." "This is a bipartisan issue that both sides of the aisle are failing on." "Tens of thousands of family members of inmates across the battleground states may well vote for Donald Trump because he led passage of the FSA." Conclusion: Navarro's article presents a scathing critique of the BOP's handling of the FSA, highlighting its human and economic costs. His call to action for Congress and his framing of the issue as a potential 2024 election decider underscores his belief in the urgency and political significance of this matter. It's crucial to note that Navarro's perspective is inherently biased due to his personal experience and political affiliations. Further investigation and analysis from diverse perspectives are needed to fully evaluate the extent and implications of the BOP's FSA implementation.

Welcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: Congressional Insider Trading, published by Maxwell Tabarrok on August 31, 2024 on LessWrong. You've probably seen the Nancy Pelosi Stock Tracker on X or else a collection of articles and books exposing the secret and lucrative world of congressional insider trading. The underlying claim behind these stories is intuitive and compelling. Regulations, taxes, and subsidies can make or break entire industries and congresspeople can get information on these rules before anyone else, so it wouldn't be surprising if they used this information to make profitable stock trades. But do congresspeople really have a consistent advantage over the market? Or is this narrative built on a cherrypicked selection of a few good years for a few lucky traders? Is Congressional Insider Trading Real There are several papers in economics and finance on this topic First is the 2004 paper: Abnormal Returns from the Common Stock Investments of the U.S. Senate by Ziobrowski et al. They look at Senator's stock transactions over 1993-1998 and construct a synthetic portfolio based on those transactions to measure their performance. This is the headline graph. The red line tracks the portfolio of stocks that Senators bought, and the blue line the portfolio that Senators sold. Each day, the performance of these portfolios is compared to the market index and the cumulative difference between them is plotted on the graph. The synthetic portfolios start at day -255, a year (of trading days) before any transactions happen. In the year leading up to day 0, the stocks that Senators will buy (red line) basically just tracks the market index. On some days, the daily return from the Senator's buy portfolio outperforms the index and the line moves up, on others it underperforms and the line moves down. Cumulatively over the whole year, you don't gain much over the index. The stocks that Senators will sell (blue line), on the other hand, rapidly and consistently outperform the market index in the year leading up to the Senator's transaction. After the Senator buys the red portfolio and sells the blue portfolio, the trends reverse. The Senator's transactions seem incredibly prescient. Right after they buy the red stocks, that portfolio goes on a tear, running up the index by 25% over the next year. They also pick the right time to sell the blue portfolio, as it barely gains over the index over the year after they sell. Ziobrowski finds that the buy portfolio of the average senator, weighted by their trading volume, earns a compounded annual rate of return of 31.1% compared to the market index which earns only 21.3% a year over this period 1993-1998. This definitely seems like evidence of incredibly well timed trades and above-market performance. There are a couple of caveats and details to keep in mind though. First, it's only a 5-year period. Additionally, any transactions from a senator in a given year a pretty rare: Only a minority of Senators buy individual common stocks, never more than 38% in any one year. So sample sizes are pretty low in the noisy and highly skewed distribution of stock market returns. Another problem, the data on transactions isn't that precise. Senators report the dollar volume of transactions only within broad ranges ($1,001 to $15,000, $15,001 to $50,000, $50,001 to $100,000, $100,001 to $250,000, $250,001 to $500,000, $500,001 to $1,000,000 and over $1,000,000) These ranges are wide and the largest trades are top-coded. Finally, there are some pieces of the story that don't neatly fit in to an insider trading narrative. For example: The common stock investments of Senators with the least seniority (serving less than seven years) outperform the investments of the most senior Senators (serving more than 16 years) by a statistically significant margin. Still though, several other paper...

Link to original articleWelcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: Congressional Insider Trading, published by Maxwell Tabarrok on August 31, 2024 on LessWrong. You've probably seen the Nancy Pelosi Stock Tracker on X or else a collection of articles and books exposing the secret and lucrative world of congressional insider trading. The underlying claim behind these stories is intuitive and compelling. Regulations, taxes, and subsidies can make or break entire industries and congresspeople can get information on these rules before anyone else, so it wouldn't be surprising if they used this information to make profitable stock trades. But do congresspeople really have a consistent advantage over the market? Or is this narrative built on a cherrypicked selection of a few good years for a few lucky traders? Is Congressional Insider Trading Real There are several papers in economics and finance on this topic First is the 2004 paper: Abnormal Returns from the Common Stock Investments of the U.S. Senate by Ziobrowski et al. They look at Senator's stock transactions over 1993-1998 and construct a synthetic portfolio based on those transactions to measure their performance. This is the headline graph. The red line tracks the portfolio of stocks that Senators bought, and the blue line the portfolio that Senators sold. Each day, the performance of these portfolios is compared to the market index and the cumulative difference between them is plotted on the graph. The synthetic portfolios start at day -255, a year (of trading days) before any transactions happen. In the year leading up to day 0, the stocks that Senators will buy (red line) basically just tracks the market index. On some days, the daily return from the Senator's buy portfolio outperforms the index and the line moves up, on others it underperforms and the line moves down. Cumulatively over the whole year, you don't gain much over the index. The stocks that Senators will sell (blue line), on the other hand, rapidly and consistently outperform the market index in the year leading up to the Senator's transaction. After the Senator buys the red portfolio and sells the blue portfolio, the trends reverse. The Senator's transactions seem incredibly prescient. Right after they buy the red stocks, that portfolio goes on a tear, running up the index by 25% over the next year. They also pick the right time to sell the blue portfolio, as it barely gains over the index over the year after they sell. Ziobrowski finds that the buy portfolio of the average senator, weighted by their trading volume, earns a compounded annual rate of return of 31.1% compared to the market index which earns only 21.3% a year over this period 1993-1998. This definitely seems like evidence of incredibly well timed trades and above-market performance. There are a couple of caveats and details to keep in mind though. First, it's only a 5-year period. Additionally, any transactions from a senator in a given year a pretty rare: Only a minority of Senators buy individual common stocks, never more than 38% in any one year. So sample sizes are pretty low in the noisy and highly skewed distribution of stock market returns. Another problem, the data on transactions isn't that precise. Senators report the dollar volume of transactions only within broad ranges ($1,001 to $15,000, $15,001 to $50,000, $50,001 to $100,000, $100,001 to $250,000, $250,001 to $500,000, $500,001 to $1,000,000 and over $1,000,000) These ranges are wide and the largest trades are top-coded. Finally, there are some pieces of the story that don't neatly fit in to an insider trading narrative. For example: The common stock investments of Senators with the least seniority (serving less than seven years) outperform the investments of the most senior Senators (serving more than 16 years) by a statistically significant margin. Still though, several other paper...

[…]

Our podcast is about learning life lessons through cars, so who better to have as our guest on this episode than Brian Paone, a man who makes a living writing stories as a successful, published author which he used to fund his dream car purchase.Brian comes from a family with deep automotive roots; growing up in Massachusetts he shares how his  father owned a successful automobile repair business and was able to use that for sponsorship in racing real dragsters on 1/4 mile speedways. And let's not forget the tale of the "Midnight Cowboy," his trusty blue 1989 Ford Tempo, whose custom decal and lady-charming prowess are just as unforgettable as the car itself. Every car tells a story, and every laugh shared is a reminder of the joy these metal beasts bring into our lives.------Brian Paone, a Massachusetts native displaced to Virginia, has been a published novelist since 2007 and has performed in bands since 1995. Cumulatively, Brian's novels and are primarily speculative fiction, ranging from thrillers to drama to horror to science-fiction to fantasy and romance. His bands cover a wide range of different metal and industrial genres and styles.To learn more about Brian and his novels, please visit:https://www.brianpaone.com/https://www.facebook.com/BrianPaonesNovelshttp://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbJkUkHDsDUcjmWufcH90kQhttp://tiktok.com/@brianpaone_authorhttps://www.instagram.com/brianpaone_author/https://twitter.com/PaoneBrianCall to Action: Share your thoughts on the podcast with Christian and Doug....

In the vast landscape of digital content creation, podcasters are constantly seeking innovative ways to expand their reach and engage with new audiences. One strategy that has gained significant traction is repurposing podcast content into short form videos for platforms like YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, and TikTok. While this effort may not immediately increase podcast downloads, there are numerous benefits to this approach that can elevate awareness and take your podcast to new heights.Broader Audience Engagement: Creating short form videos allows you to tap into different demographics and preferences. Some people prefer quick and visually engaging content over longer audio formats, so repurposing your podcast into bite-sized videos can attract a broader audience base.Increased Social Media Visibility: Social media algorithms favor video content, and platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok actively promote short form videos. By sharing your podcast highlights or interesting snippets on these platforms, you can leverage their algorithms to increase visibility and reach a larger audience.Viral Potential: Consistently publishing short form videos increases the chances of hitting content that resonates with a wider audience and goes viral. A single viral video can bring an influx of attention to your podcast, leading to increased brand recognition and potential listeners.Showcasing Personality and Expertise: Short form videos provide an excellent opportunity to showcase the personality behind the podcast and highlight your expertise on specific topics. This personal touch can create a stronger connection with your audience, making them more likely to explore and subscribe to your podcast for more in-depth content.Cross-Promotion Opportunities: Repurposing content for different platforms opens up opportunities for cross-promotion. You can encourage your podcast audience to follow you on social media for exclusive clips and updates, and vice versa. This interconnected approach helps in building a community around your podcast.MY RESULTSGrowing a podcast's downloads can feel like an uphill battle, given the fierce competition for attention. The power of short form videos lies in their potential to break through the noise. Virality is unpredictable, but by consistently sharing engaging snippets, you increase the likelihood of capturing the attention of a wider audience. Even if not every video goes viral, the cumulative effect can significantly elevate your podcast's overall visibility and attract new listeners.Over 90 days, I've posted a couple dozen short form videos on social media. Please don't laugh at my modest follower counts!In my experience, I've found that views are highly unpredictable. There's no way to predict which video will perform best on each platform. The same video will do well on TikTok and not do anything on IG. The next video will do well on YouTube but not TikTok.Cumulatively, the views add up.TikTok 10,632Instagram Reels 9,712YouTube Shorts. 5,269OPUS CLIP – AI VIDEO CLIPPING TOOLI recently discovered Opus Clip an AI tool that makes creating shorts that saves me a lot of time!Here's how it works.Drop a YouTube link (or Rumble link, Zoom link, Google Drive link, or select a file MP4, MOV, WEBM)It previously took me 30-60 minutes to create 1-3...

Union dispatch Atlas 3-2 in the CCL quarterfinals Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we are talking to Tony Guernsey, former national head of Wilmington Trust wealth management, a longtime senior banker at JP Morgan, founder of the UBS US private bank. Tony wrote an unpublished memoir called Divas, Icons, and Felons with his wisdom and great stories from his distinguished five decades managing money for many wealthy and famous clients such as Steve Jobs, Jay Chiat, and Christo. Tony was very generous to share some of them with me and it is a rare peek inside this often fascinating and eccentric world, but it also highlights the lack of education out there for those who have the responsibilities of wealth. I hope you enjoy my talk with Tony Guernsey as much as I did. BIOGRAPHY: Peter E. ”Tony” Guernsey Jr. was born and raised in Long Island, New York. He was educated at the Taft School in Watertown, CT, and Lake Forest College, in Lake Forest, Illinois. During the Vietnam War, he spent 30 months in the U.S Naval Reserve at Great Lakes Naval base in North Chicago, Illinois. Simultaneously he was an ice hockey referee and drove a taxi cab in Chicago. In 1972 Tony joined JP Morgan and over the next 43 years re-engineered or started 42 National Wealth Management offices around the U.S. for Morgan, UBS, and Wilmington Trust. Today he is a consultant and serves as an outside independent family trustee. Tony and his wife, Eve, share their lives between New York City, Bedford, New York, and Martha's Vineyard. Between the two of them, they have three children and four grandchildren. Cumulatively, the two of them worked at JP Morgan for 50 years. In 1972, Tony was a contributing author of the book, Skates, Sticks and Men, the story of American Hockey in the United States. Tony was voted All-American Division 3 in Ice Hockey in 1970 and in 2006 was awarded the esteemed Lifetime Achievement award by Private Asset Management. NOTE: This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Anything said by the guests or host should not be construed as legal or investment advice. Thanks for listening. Joe Reilly is a family office consultant, and the host of the Private Capital Podcast as well as the Inheritance Podcast. FOLLOW JOE: https://twitter.com/joereillyjr WEBSITE: https://www.circulus.co/ PRIVATE CAPITAL PODCAST: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/private-capital/id1644526501 Thanks for listening. If you like the podcast, please share it with your friends and take a minute to leave us a review on Apple Podcasts. We appreciate it.

Link to bioRxiv paper: http://biorxiv.org/cgi/content/short/2023.03.06.531258v1?rss=1 Authors: Shrouder, J. J., Filser, S., Varga, D. P., Mamrak, U., Besson-Girard, S., Bulut-Impraim, B., Seker, F. B., Gesierich, B., Laredo, F., Wehn, A. C., Khalin, I., Bayer, P., Liesz, A., Gokce, O., Plesnila, N. Abstract: Incomplete reperfusion of the microvasculature (no-reflow) after ischemic stroke damages salvageable brain tissue. Previous ex-vivo studies suggest pericytes are vulnerable to ischemia and may exacerbate no-reflow, but the viability of pericytes and their association with no-reflow remains underexplored in vivo. Using longitudinal in vivo 2-photon single-cell imaging over seven days we show 87% of pericytes constrict during cerebral ischemia, remain constricted post-reperfusion and 50% of the pericyte population are acutely damaged. Moreover, we reveal ischemic pericytes are fundamentally implicated in capillary no-reflow by limiting and arresting blood flow within the first 24 hours post-stroke. Despite sustaining acute membrane damage, we observe up to 80% of cortical pericytes survive ischemia, upregulate unique transcriptomic profiles and replicate. Finally, we demonstrate delayed recovery of capillary diameter by ischemic pericytes after reperfusion predicts vessel reconstriction in the sub-acute phase of stroke. Cumulatively, these findings demonstrate surviving cortical pericytes remain both viable and promising therapeutic targets to counteract no-reflow after ischemic stroke. Copy rights belong to original authors. Visit the link for more info Podcast created by Paper Player, LLC

What drove one of the most consistent careers in tennis history? Hall of Famer Ivan Lendl credits his success to consistently showing up, believing in himself and putting in the work. In Episode 3's conversation with Chris Bowers, Ivan opens up about how absorbing experiences on court – such as being a ball kid for his Czechoslovakian countryman Jan Kodeš – led to mastering the intricacies of the sport. Despite the slew of major titles to his name, Ivan considers his learning experiences and versatility to be his greatest achievements. Ivan Lendl is an eight-time Grand Slam champion in singles, former world No. 1 player and winner of 100 professional titles. Cumulatively, Lendl spent 270 weeks atop the mountain as the best player in the world during a championship-laden 13-year span. For eight straight years (1982-89), tennis fans couldn't tune into a US Open men's singles championship match without seeing Lendl as one of the two finalists. He reached 19 major singles finals (third best all-time), won eight of them, including three at the US Open, three at the French Open and two at the Australian Open. For more information on today's episode and the TennisWorthy podcast, visit tennisfame.com/ podcast.

Dynamics and Origins of the Near-Resonant Kepler Planets by Max Goldberg et al. on Wednesday 30 November Short-period super-Earths and mini-Neptunes encircle more than $sim50%$ of Sun-like stars and are relatively amenable to direct observational characterization. Despite this, environments in which these planets accrete are difficult to probe directly. Nevertheless, pairs of planets that are close to orbital resonances provide a unique window into the inner regions of protoplanetary disks, as they preserve the conditions of their formation, as well as the early evolution of their orbital architectures. In this work, we present a novel approach toward quantifying transit timing variations within multi-planetary systems and examine the near-resonant dynamics of over 100 planet pairs detected by Kepler. Using an integrable model for first-order resonances, we find a clear transition from libration to circulation of the resonant angle at a period ratio of $approx 0.6%$ wide of exact resonance. The orbital properties of these systems indicate that they systematically lie far away from the resonant forced equilibrium. Cumulatively, our modeling indicates that while orbital architectures shaped by strong disk damping, tidal dissipation, or planetesimal scattering are inconsistent with observations, a scenario where stochastic stirring by turbulent eddies augments the dissipative effects of protoplanetary disks reproduces several features of the data. arXiv: http://arxiv.org/abs/http://arxiv.org/abs/2211.16725v1

Dynamics and Origins of the Near-Resonant Kepler Planets by Max Goldberg et al. on Wednesday 30 November Short-period super-Earths and mini-Neptunes encircle more than $sim50%$ of Sun-like stars and are relatively amenable to direct observational characterization. Despite this, environments in which these planets accrete are difficult to probe directly. Nevertheless, pairs of planets that are close to orbital resonances provide a unique window into the inner regions of protoplanetary disks, as they preserve the conditions of their formation, as well as the early evolution of their orbital architectures. In this work, we present a novel approach toward quantifying transit timing variations within multi-planetary systems and examine the near-resonant dynamics of over 100 planet pairs detected by Kepler. Using an integrable model for first-order resonances, we find a clear transition from libration to circulation of the resonant angle at a period ratio of $approx 0.6%$ wide of exact resonance. The orbital properties of these systems indicate that they systematically lie far away from the resonant forced equilibrium. Cumulatively, our modeling indicates that while orbital architectures shaped by strong disk damping, tidal dissipation, or planetesimal scattering are inconsistent with observations, a scenario where stochastic stirring by turbulent eddies augments the dissipative effects of protoplanetary disks reproduces several features of the data. arXiv: http://arxiv.org/abs/http://arxiv.org/abs/2211.16725v1

Link to bioRxiv paper: http://biorxiv.org/cgi/content/short/2022.11.03.514996v1?rss=1 Authors: Seidlitz, J., Mallard, T. T., Vogel, J. W., Lee, Y. H., Warrier, V., Ball, G., Hansson, O., Hernandez, L. M., Mandal, A. S., Wagstyl, K., Lombardo, M. V., Courchesne, E., Glessner, J. T., Satterthwaite, T. D., Bethlehem, R. A. I., Lifespan Brain Chart Consortium,, Tasaki, S., Ng, B., Gaiteri, C., Smoller, J. W., Ge, T., Gandal, M. J., Alexander-Bloch, A. F. Abstract: Human brain size increases dynamically through early development, peaks in adolescence, and varies up to two-fold among adults. Although previous studies have elucidated changes in brain size across evolution, development, traits, and diseases, the molecular underpinnings of interindividual variation in brain size remain unknown. Here, we leverage postmortem brain RNA sequencing and estimates of brain weight (BW) in 2,531 individuals across three independent datasets, to identify 928 genes that show genome-wide significant associations with either higher or lower BW (BW+, BW-, respectively). These BW gene sets showed distinct neurodevelopmental trajectories and spatial patterns that mapped onto developmental, functional and cellular axes of brain organization. Expression differences among evolutionarily conserved BW genes were predictive of interspecies differences in brain size, and functional annotation of BW genes revealed enrichment for neurogenesis and cell-cell communication. Genome-wide, transcriptome-wide, and phenome-wide association analyses of in vivo neuroimaging phenotypes confirmed that the genetic regulation of BW- transcripts influences cortical surface area and volume, as well as behavioral traits related to brain function and disease. Cumulatively, our study represents a major step towards the goal of delineating the causal mechanisms of human brain size variation in health and disease. Copy rights belong to original authors. Visit the link for more info Podcast created by Paper Player, LLC

Congenital heart disease is the most common congenital disorder in newborns. The birth rate prevalence of congenital heart disease is understood to be approximately 8 – 10 cases per 1,000 live births. In Australia, there are approximately 300,000 registered births per year resulting in 2,400 – 3,000 babies born each year with a form of congenital heart disease. Cumulatively, taking into consideration newborns through to adults living with congenital heart disease, this number could conceivably represent well over 66,000 Australians. Although there is no indication that the incidence of congenital heart disease is increasing, as Australian birth rates increase and enhanced medical care and technology continue to improve survival rates following medical interventions, the prevalence is predicted to increase. There are an increasing number of adults with congenital heart disease who are not well served by the existing health care system. Gaining a better understanding of the entire spectrum of congenital heart disease, the number of people living with congenital heart disease, and the total burden of disease across the disease continuum is imperative to patients and those responsible for treating them, including health policy makers, ultimately delivering not just better, but sustainable care. HeartKids provides support and information for children, teens, and adults with congenital heart disease as well as those that have acquired a heart condition during childhood. We also advocate for their needs and fund life- saving research. Congenital heart disease incorporates a group of abnormalities of the heart and is a general name for any type of malformation of the heart, heart valves or major blood vessels which are present at birth. Defects can range from simple to complex and can occur alone or in groups, depending on how the heart has developed

Tanya Newbould is an expert in resilience from being adopted in the U.K., growing up with an alcoholic parent, surviving Postpartum Depression to go on to co-produce the award winning “When the Bough Breaks-a documentary about Postpartum Depression”. Cumulatively, Tanya's life experience of trauma to success has created her passion to help others and let you know “you are not alone”. A working actor at the time, Tanya was 30 when she met and married her soulmate. Her first foundation has always been her faith in God, but after having her beautiful daughter and suffering from horrific PPD, Tanya was determined to help others and had the forethought for a documentary about PPD. She partnered with two amazing women to co-produce “When the Bough Breaks-a documentary about Postpartum depression”, Executive Produced and narrated by Brooke Shields. Now available in 200 countries and six languages, this film has helped many women and families and saved lives. This launched her transformational speaking career and more recently Coaching as a motivational, trauma and spiritual life coach. Sometimes your mess is your message! The ability to share knowledge, help and let others know “you truly are not alone” is her passion.  Throughout her adult years, Tanya's form of enjoyment has always been creating and designing jewelry which led to Del Pozzo Jewelry. Her stunning pieces have been featured in such publications as “Vogue”, “Glamour”, “Variety”, “Conde Naste”, “Angelino” and many more around the world. This also led to the trademarked SOZO Heart. Owning several businesses has not only been a pleasure, she wouldn't have it any other way.  www.tanyanewbould.com www.delpozzojewelry.luxury www.whentheboughbreaksfilm.com @tanyanewbould @delpozzojewelry @spirituallyinspiredcoaching @whentheboughbreaksdoc FB @whentheboughbreaks-adocumentaryaboutpostpartumdepression Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

SBI, Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank, ICICI, HDFC, Axis Bank and several other lenders have hiked their deposit rates to attract funds. It comes at a time when growth in bank loans has surpassed deposits. SBI has launched a 75-day Utsav Deposit Scheme, which is offering 6.10 per cent for fixed deposits. Senior citizens will get an additional 0.50 per cent. The offer is available till 30th of October. Bank of Baroda has announced its ‘Baroda Tiranga Deposit Scheme'. Under it, deposits are available in two buckets. One offers 5.75 per cent per annum for 444 days and another offers 6 per cent for 555 days. The scheme is available till the 31st of December. It is for retail deposits below 2 crore rupees. Senior citizens will get an additional 0.5 per cent, non-callable deposits will get an additional 0.15 per cent. Canara Bank has also launched a 666-day deposit scheme offering 6 per cent. Recreate the chart from the below link, but to fit video screen size since many viewers consume the show on mobile. After the Reserve Bank of India's move to hike the repo rate by 50 basis points on the 5th of August, a number of lenders have raised fixed-deposit rates in various maturities. Experts had said that while FD rates had risen, the pace had been slow. Overall, the transmission of repo rate increase to FDs has been much slower than the transmission to lending rates. So, given the situation, will the rate increases be enough to benefit investors with FDs? Also, will the higher FD rates lure away equity market investors?  [Deepesh Raghaw on expectations and movement from equity market] The three consecutive rate hikes mean further momentum for rising fixed deposit interest rates. Clearly, the era of extremely low FD rates is over. Still, avoid excessive reliance on FDs. When one accounts for both inflation and tax, returns from bank FDs are negative. However, you can opt for FDs for short-term capital protection, for example, for parking emergency funds. The benchmark repo rate now stands at 5.4 per cent. Cumulatively, the central bank has hiked the repo rate by 140 bps in this cycle. Going ahead, most economists expect it to rise to 5.75-6 per cent by the end of this calendar year. So, how should fixed deposit investors calibrate their strategies? If you are starting with FDs now, you should opt for shorter tenures. Why? So that you can roll them over into higher-rate deposits when the former mature. According to experts, you should also avoid the auto-renewal facility. That will allow you to renew your FDs at the best rates after taking into consideration your investment horizon and the highest available slab rate. Experts also say that you should create a ladder of maturities. Basically, invest in FDs maturing at different times. Doing so will minimise the risk of reinvestment. Also, a laddering strategy will ensure cash flows at regular intervals. [Deepesh Raghaw on investment strategy] Remember, guessing the best time to opt for long-term FDs is a risky proposition. You might think that interest rates have peaked, but they could increase further.  

When most BDSM resources speak about Discipline they focus on punishments. Putting such a large emphasis on punishments instead of power exchange has caused a distortion. Discipline isn't a kink, it's the structure of power exchange relationships. Starting from the basic psychological and social building blocks of any society or culture our relationships include: Structure, Protocols/Rules, and Routines/Rituals. Cumulatively these three create the building blocks on which a system of Rewards/Benefits and Consequences/Punishments are derived. This is the what the "D" for Discipline within BDSM stands for. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/bdsmunited/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/bdsmunited/support

Jim Sheppard, CEO & Principal of Generis, and Bobby Albert discuss wrestling their egos to live out John 3:30 - God make me smaller so you can be bigger! Jim reminds us that as a Christian leader, you don't have to be the smartest person in the room; you don't even have to be right. What matters is the value you offer when you choose to speak. This episode is all about surrender and self-awareness that comes from getting closer to God's heart. Jim shares timeless and timely insights that encourage you to move out of fear-based decision-making and into choices built on trusting God because you can do it fast, or you can do it right, but you can't do both. Don't miss this wealth of insight - it's timeless and timely.    About the guest: Jim Sheppard is CEO & Principal of Generis, a consulting firm passionate about helping churches inspire and cultivate generosity through giving development, coaching, and strategy. After college, Jim passed the CPA exam and pursued a career as a financial executive. Though he grew up in the church, Jim was not a believer until he was 28. That part of his life intersected with his business life in 1991 when he thought he might be called to the pastorate. This came at a time when he was at a very high level in a major financial services company. After an intense spiritual period in his life, Jim realized that was not where God was calling him. Seven months later through a corporate buyout and a series of providentially inspired events, Jim moved from the corporate world to giving development for churches and ministry organizations. Jim is a student of generosity and is passionate about spreading it throughout the Church. For the last 27+ years, he has devoted his life to coaching pastors especially in navigating the resource limitations that restrict their ministry potential. Jim understands the financial challenges that churches face today; annual giving, debt, capital projects, and planned giving. He is a positive force in bridging these needs with the power of spiritually motivated stewardship. Cumulatively, Jim has partnered with his clients to raise over $1.7 billion for local church ministry. Jim is a frequent writer and speaker on generosity and ministry funding. He is co-author of Contagious Generosity: Creating A Culture Of Giving In Your Church. Jim and his wife, Nancy, live in the Atlanta, GA area and they have two married daughters. He is actively involved in his church where he serves as an elder and provides guidance to the Generosity Ministry Team.   Free Gift: www.generis.com/bobbyalbert   About the host: Following a successful career as CEO, Bobby sold his business to a publicly-traded company. In what he calls his "second half of life", Bobby seeks to pour Biblically-based principles into growth-minded business, church, and non-profit leaders.    Through Values-Driven Leadership, Bobby serves as an Executive Coach and Training Consultant for organizations. He shares many of his principles and practices through a weekly blog, the True North Leader podcast, and through three books he has authored: Principled Profits: Outward Success Is an Inside Job,  True North Business: A Leader's Guide to Extraordinary Growth and Impact, and The Freedom Paradox: Is Unbridled Freedom Dividing America?   Find out more at BobbyAlbert.com

Emotional Intelligence Ventures CEO and co-founder David Nikzad tells Proactive that the botanical psychedelics-focused company is close to closing out a second financing. After completing a very successful Reg A+ in March, Nikzad explained that a number of investors still wanted to continue to provide funding. Cumulatively, he said the company has attracted more than $25 million from investors. "We still are finalizing investments," Nikzad added. "We have a number of people who have come in to put some six figure cheques in."

     According to Scripture, all mankind is fallen, corrupted by sin, and our natural proclivity is to think and act in conformity with Satan's world-system, which is everywhere and always at odds with God and His plan.      The book of Genesis reveals that God created Adam perfect and assigned him to serve as His theocratic administrator over His creation. This meant Adam was to exercise responsible dominion over the creation (Gen 1:26-30; 2:7-8, 15-17), and Eve was created to help him, to stand with him to do God's will (Gen 2:18-25). But Satan, possessing a serpent—a subordinate creature that would have posed little threat to Adam and Eve—tempted them to act contrary to God and His commands. Henry Morris says, “Demonic spirits evidently have the ability, under certain conditions, to indwell or ‘possess' either human bodies or animal bodies (Luke 8:33); and Satan on this occasion chose the serpent as the one most suitable for his purposes.”[1] The serpent here is identified as “the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world” (Rev 12:9; cf. Rev 20:2).      Satan was shrewd and intentional in his attack as he approached the woman and questioned her understanding of God's command, asking, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden?'” (Gen 3:1). And Eve answered, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.'” (Gen 3:2-3). According to Allen Ross, “Eve disparaged the privileges, added to the prohibition, and weakened the penalty—all seen by contrasting her words (Gen. 3:3) with God's original commands (2:16-17).”[2]      When Satan heard Eve misrepresent God's instructions (Gen 2:16-17), he boldly advanced his argument, saying, “You surely will not die!” (Gen 3:4), calling God a liar, stating, “For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Gen 3:4-5). Satan's argument was that God was withholding divinity from Adam and Eve, and if they were willing to eat the fruit, they could be like God, which was the same mental attitude sin committed by Lucifer at his fall (Isa 14:12-14). Here, Eve was confronted with an antithetical claim to what the Lord had told her, but rather than seek the Lord about the matter, she let Satan convince her to abandon faith in God and operate independently of Him. The influence of Satan brought an epistemological shift in Eve's thinking, and rather than seeing the tree from the divine perspective as harmful, she saw it as attractive, that is “was good for food…a delight to the eyes…[and] desirable to make one wise” (Gen 3:6a). Being deceived by Satan's argument, “she took from its fruit and ate” (Gen 3:6b; 1 Tim 2:14). Eve then “gave also to her husband with her, and he ate” (Gen 3:6c), and Satan's strategy to advance his kingdom of darkness and take possession of the world and humanity was complete.      Adam and Eve became aware of their failure, as “the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings” (Gen 3:7). Remembering they were to “multiply and fill the earth” (Gen 1:28), According to Morris, Adam and Eve “realized that the very fountainhead of human life had now become corrupted by their disobedience and they became acutely aware of their nakedness. Their children would all be contaminated with the seed of rebellion, so that their feeling of guilt centered especially on their own procreative organs.”[3]      Spiritual death (i.e., separation from God) brought an irrational shift in their theology as well as their behavior as they sought to hide from the Lord (Gen 3:8-9), saying, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself” (Gen 3:10; cf. Jer 23:24).      When confronted about their sin (Gen 3:11), Adam blamed his wife as well as God, saying, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate” (Gen 3:12), and Eve blamed the creature, saying, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate” (Gen 3:13). Hiding from God and shifting blame for sin are common characteristics of mankind's fallenness.      The serpent was judged by God and physically changed to crawl on its belly as a perpetual reminder to mankind about the fall (Gen 3:14). Here, the curse was actually against Satan, who possessed the serpent, as the Lord declared, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel” (Gen 3:15). Having brought Adam and Eve under his control, it is possible Satan thought he would gain total control over all their children, but the Lord had other plans and made it known to Satan there would be “enmity” between him and the woman, as well as his “seed and her seed; [and] he shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel.” This verse is commonly referred to as the protoevangelium—the first gospel—because God promised there would come a “seed” from the woman's line who would defeat Satan and disrupt his kingdom.[4]      God pronounced judgment upon Adam, Eve and the creation. Eve's judgment was that she would have increased “pain in childbirth” and that her husband would “rule over her” (Gen 3:16), and the ground that Adam was to cultivate would be cursed, and “in toil you will eat of it all the days of your life” (Gen 3:17-19).      Though atheists and liberal theologians treat the first eleven chapters of Genesis as myth, the NT writers treat Adam and Eve as historical persons and the fall as literal. Luke traces Jesus' genealogy back to Adam (Luke 3:38), and Jesus based His argument on marriage on the first human couple (Matt 19:4-6). Paul also states, “I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ” (2 Cor 11:3). And Paul wrote, “it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression” (1 Tim 2:14). Paul argued that through Adam “sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned” (Rom 5:12; cf. 1 Cor 15:21). And all humanity is said either to be in Adam or in Christ, and this determines whether we are spiritually alive or dead, “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive” (1 Cor 15:22). Adam's sin brought corruption and decay into the whole universe, “For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now” (Rom 8:20-22). We now live in a very flawed world with sinful people and all sorts of problems. Henry Morris comments: "Things are not 'very good' in the world now! In the physical realm, everything tends to run down and wear out. In the living world, each animal is engaged in a perpetual struggle against other animals and against disease, as well as the universal process of aging and death. Culturally, one civilization after another seems to rise for a time, then decline and die. In the spiritual and moral realm, each individual invariably finds it easier to do wrong than right, easier to drift downward than to struggle upward. The world is full of hatred, crime, war, pollution, selfishness, corruption—evil of all kinds. Something has gone wrong with God's perfect creation."[5] The Effects of the Fall      The historic fall of Adam and Eve fundamentally changed the human race and the world, resulting in disease, decay and death among all living things, and that the tendency of humanity is to behave in a spiritually and morally corrupt manner, suppressing God's truth and rejecting His solutions to life's problems. Understanding this helps us make sense of the world in which we live and why people behave the way they do.      Sin is a dominant theme from Genesis chapter three to the end of the Bible, at which time God will do away with sin and its effects, creating a “new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells” (2 Pet 3:13; cf. Rev 21:1). The word sin is found throughout Scripture, and both the Hebrew and Greek share the same basic meaning. The Hebrew word חָטָא chata means “to miss the target, or to lose the way,”[6] and the Greek ἁμαρτάνω hamartano is defined as “miss the mark, err, or do wrong.”[7] Sin is when we transgress God's law and depart from His intended path.[8] The apostle John states, “Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness” (1 John 3:4). Merrill Unger writes, “The underlying idea of sin is that of law and of a lawgiver. The lawgiver is God. Hence sin is everything in the disposition and purpose and conduct of God's moral creatures that is contrary to the expressed will of God (Rom 3:20; 4:15; 7:7; Jam 4:12, 17).”[9]      Sin impacts all things including family life, nature, economics, society, law, politics, science, education, etc. All sin and evil exist in connection with the willful creatures who manufacture it, and its effects can be short or long-lasting. Even the creation is cursed because of Adam's sin, as the Lord told him, “Cursed is the ground because of you” (Gen 3:17), to which Paul added, “For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now” (Rom 8:20-22). Sin negatively impacts everyone and everything, and no one was impacted or hurt more by sin than God. On several occasions we read, “The LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart” (Gen 6:6), and though God loved Israel, their ongoing sin “grieved His Holy Spirit” (Isa 63:10). As Christians, we are commanded, “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption” (Eph 4:30). Sin ultimately cost God His Son, who came into the world and died on a cross in order to atone for it (Mark 10:45; John 3:16; 10:14-18; Rom 8:32; 1 John 4:10), and to set us free from spiritual slavery (Rom 6:6; Gal 5:1; Heb 2:14-15).      The Bible reveals we are sinners in Adam, sinners by nature, and sinners by choice. To be a sinner in Adam means we sinned when he sinned, that his fallen position is our fallen position, and his guilt is our guilt (Gen 2:16-17; 3:1-24; Rom 5:12; 1 Cor 15:21-22). This is commonly referred to as original sin. Since the fall of Adam, every person is born with a sin nature (except Jesus),[10] and it is this nature that internally motivates people to rebel against all legitimate forms of authority, both human and divine. More so, the sin nature is not eradicated from the believer during his time on earth, nor is it ever reformed, as though it can be made to love God. To be a sinner by nature means it's our innate tendency to sin (Jer 17:9; Matt 7:11; Rom 7:18-21; Eph 2:1-3). To be a sinner by choice means we personally choose to act contrary to God and His revealed will (1 Ki 8:46; Prov 20:9; Ecc 7:20; Isa 53:6; Rom 3:10-12; 1 John 1:10). Cumulatively these reveal that we are totally depraved, which means sin permeates and corrupts every aspect of our being, including our mind, will, sensibilities and flesh. Though we may be moral to the best of our ability and others may applaud us for our good deeds, our best efforts are tainted by sin and have no saving merit before God (Isa 64:6; Rom 4:1-5; 5:6-10; Gal 2:16; Eph 2:8-9; Tit 3:5).      One of the major areas where sin impacts us is in the mind, which theologians refer to as the noetic effects of sin. This means sin impacts our ability to think rationally, especially about God, who has made Himself known through general revelation (Psa 19:1-2; Rom 1:18-20) and special revelation (1 Cor 14:37; 1 Tim 5:18; 1 Th 2:13; 2 Tim 3:16-17). The majority of people throughout history think evil thoughts and are consumed with themselves and their own agendas rather than God's will. Of Noah's generation it is said, “The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Gen 6:5). Later, Solomon declared, “the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil and insanity is in their hearts throughout their lives” (Eccl 9:3). And Jeremiah wrote, “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jer 17:9). And Jesus Himself spoke of the human condition, saying, “for out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, [and] slanders” (Matt 15:19). One would think that when Jesus came into the world that mankind would rejoice in His light; however, Scripture provides a different picture, telling us, “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil” (John 3:19; cf. 1:4-5). When talking to religious Pharisees, Jesus declared, “Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word” (John 8:43). This is true of all unbelievers, for “the natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised” (1 Cor 2:14). Even something as simple as the Gospel message is “foolishness to those who are perishing” (1 Cor 1:18), in whose case “the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Cor 4:3-4). The tendency of fallen people who operate on negative volition is to “suppress the truth in unrighteousness” (Rom 1:18), and to operate by a worldly wisdom that is not “from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic” (Jam 3:15).      At the moment of salvation, God the Holy Spirit indwells us and gives us a new nature that, for the first time in our lives, has the desire and capacity to obey God; however, the sin nature is not removed, and so we experience ongoing internal conflict between these opposing natures (Gal 5:17; Rom 7:14-23). As Christians, we are directed to “lay aside the old self…and put on the new self which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth” (Eph 4:22, 24). Since we have been “born again” and given new life (1 Pet 1:3, 23), the sin nature no longer has domineering power over us, and we can choose a life of righteousness (Rom 6:5-13). As we grow spiritually, we will be transformed from the inside out and gradually become more and more righteous as we walk with God. Sinless perfection will not be attained until we leave this world, by death or by Rapture, and are “conformed to the image of His Son” (Rom 8:29), who will “transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory” (Phi 3:21). Until then, we are commanded to “put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts” (Rom 13:14). We do this by choosing to live according to the Spirit's guiding, and starving the monster that is our sin nature. To “make no provision for the flesh” means we stop exposing ourselves to the things of the world that excite the flesh and lead to sinful behavior. The positive action is to grow spiritually with biblical teaching (2 Tim 2:15; 3:16-17; 1 Pet 2:2; 2 Pet 3:18), Christian fellowship (Heb 10:23-25), selfless living (Phil 2:3-4), prayer (1 Th 5:17), worship (Heb 13:15), and doing good (Gal 6:10; Heb 13:16). It is only by spiritual growth and drawing closer to God that we learn to glorify the Lord and live in righteousness.   [1] Henry M. Morris, The Genesis Record: A Scientific and Devotional Commentary on the Book of Beginnings (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1976), 108. [2] Allen P. Ross, “Genesis,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 32. [3] Henry M. Morris, The Genesis Record, 115. [4] Of course, we know this to be Jesus, the Messiah (Luke 1:26-33), and His victory occurred at the cross, where “the ruler of this world has been judged” and defeated (John 16:11; cf. Col 2:15; Heb 2:14; 1 John 3:8). Satan and his angels will eventually be cast into the Lake of Fire (Matt 25:41; Rev 20:10). [5] Henry M. Morris, The Genesis Record, 105. [6] Ludwig Koehler et al., The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1994–2000), 305. [7] William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 49. [8] In Judges 20:16 the Hebrew word is used of skilled soldiers who do not miss their target, and in Proverbs 19:2 of a man who hurries and misses his way. [9] Merrill F. Unger and E. McChesney, “Sin,” ed. R.K. Harrison, The New Unger's Bible Dictionary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1988), 1198. [10] According to Scripture, Jesus “knew no sin” (2 Cor 5:21), was “without sin” (Heb 4:15), and “in Him there is no sin” (1 John 3:5). His sinless life qualified Him as a perfect sacrifice to go to the cross and die as a substitute for others (Rom 5:6-10; Heb 10:1-14; 1 Pet 3:18).

Jahn Karsybaev is a Technology Executive who has led IT teams for Fortune 500 companies. He is currently a Co-Founder and CIO at https://mybasepay.com/ (MyBasePay) and the host of the https://ivypodcast.com/ (Ivy Podcast). Jahn is an alumni of University of Montana, Nova Southeastern University and the Harvard Business School. Jahn has co-founded, launched, successfully sold as well as successfully failed several start-ups. He is an Angel Investor and sits on boards of several tech startups. He loves teaching angel investing, growth hacking & fundraising for startups.  Fund-raising is one of Jahn's strengths and passions. Cumulatively, he has successfully raised close to $70M for the startups he has launched or advised on. In this episode, we talk about how to build a legacy, why discomfort is ok and how companies need to radically change their hiring process or be left behind. Enjoy!  Show Notes  https://www.linkedin.com/in/jahnibek/ (Find Jahn on LinkedIn) https://ivypodcast.com/episode/clay-davis-vp-of-global-data-iot-solutions-at-tech-data/ (Listen to my episode with Jahn on the Ivy Podcast) https://www.bennewmancoaching.com/your-mental-toughness-playbook (Your Mental Toughness Playbook) https://gimletmedia.com/shows/startup (StartUp Podcast)

Hank Hanegraaff, president of the Christian Research Institute and host of the Bible Answer Man broadcast, weighs in on the leak of Justice Alito's draft opinion that would strike down Roe v Wade. As Chief Justice John Roberts wrote, the leak was a “singular and egregious breach of trust.” The leaker not only struck a blow against the rule of law but put pro-life advocates squarely in the crosshairs of pro-abortion extremists who not only promote abortion up until the moment of birth but push for legislation that would make allowances for infanticide. Candice Owens, now seven months pregnant, has commented on the genocide of black preborn babies in America, noting that Margaret Sanger—birthmother of Planned Parenthood—didn't want black people to populate. That if it wasn't for the abortion industry, the black population would be double what it is today. That some 18 to 19 million black babies have been aborted since Roe v. Wade in 1973. Cumulatively, American's have now sacrificed somewhere between 60 and 65 million children on the altar of abortion. For further study, see the article by Aaron Turner, “Black Lives Matter Inside the Womb and Out,” https://www.equip.org/article/black-lives-matter-inside-the-womb-and-out/

Show #1390 Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily, you trusted source of information. It's Tuesday 1st March, it's Martyn Lee here and I go through every EV story so you don't have to. Welcome to a new PATREON PRODUCER RICHARD GOLDSMITH. If you get any value from this podcast please consider supporting my work on Patreon. Plus all Patreon supporters get their own unique ad-free podcast feed. LUCID SLASHES 2022 VEHICLE PRODUCTION FORECAST - Lucid Group is cutting its car production forecast for this year by as much as 40%, sending shares of the electric vehicle start-up tumbling 14% during after hours trading. - The company on Monday cited supply chain constraints and parts quality issues for slashing production to between 12,000 and 14,000 vehicles, down from initial expectations of 20,000. - Rawlinson said Lucid also will delay its second vehicle, an electric SUV called Gravity, to the first half of 2024. It was initially expected in 2023. He said the delay is to refine the product and give more time to impose best practices from launching the Air. - Lucid said customer reservations now exceed 25,000 units, reflecting potential sales of more than $2.4 billion. That's up from 17,000 units in November. Original Source : https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/28/lucid-slashes-2022-vehicle-production-forecast.html KIA EV6 NAMED 2022 CAR OF THE YEAR - he all-new Kia EV6 has been named the 2022 Car of the Year in the prestigious Car of the Year (COTY) awards. - 59-strong jury consisting of highly respected motoring journalists from 22 European countries. - The Kia EV6 was initially listed for consideration for the top award alongside over sixty models that launched during 2021. In November, the COTY jury whittled this longlist down to a seven-strong shortlist, six of which were electric vehicles (EVs) - The Kia EV6 received a total of 279 points to claim victory and be crowned 2022 Car of the Year, followed by the Renault Mégane E-Tech (265 points), Hyundai IONIQ 5 (261 points), Peugeot 308 (191 points), Škoda Enyaq iV (185 points), Ford Mustang Mach-E (150 points) and Cupra Born (144 points). - The 2022 Car of the Year award is the latest in a growing number of globally renowned awards bestowed on the EV6 since its introduction last year. Other titles recently claimed include: 2022 Irish Car of the Year; 2022 What Car? ‘Car of the Year'; ‘Crossover of the Year' at the TopGear.com 2021 awards; ‘Premium' winner in the German Car of the Year 2022 awards; and joint winner of the inaugural ‘Best Cars of the Year' 2021/2022 awards. - The EV6 is the first of seven dedicated EV models Kia plans to launch by 2026. Original Source : https://press.kia.com/eu/en/home/media-resouces/press-releases/2022/Kia-EV6-named-2022-Car-of-the-Year.html - The EV6 was crowned this year's winner in a ceremony at the Palexpo exhibition centre in Geneva, Switzerland, which would typically now be hosting the Geneva International Motor Show but for its cancellation for the third year running. - The EV6 – the first Kia to win the award, and the third pure battery-electric car to do so – scored 279 points as it saw off challenges from six other shortlisted cars in a closely fought competition. - The EV6 follows the Nissan Leaf in 2011 and the Jaguar I-Pace in 2019 as winning BEVs - The Car of the Year is an independent organisation supported by nine automotive publications, including Autocar, from nine European countries. Original Source : https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/kia-ev6-named-car-year-2022 KIA EV6 WHOLESALE SHIPMENTS EXCEEDED 6,000 IN JANUARY 2022 - According to Kia, last month, EV6 wholesale sales (closely related to production) amounted to 6,378. Interestingly, only 115 units were sold in South Korea, while the rest were envisioned for export. - Cumulatively, the company produced over 35,000 EV6, out of which about 11,000 were sold in South Korea. For reference, the Hyundai Ioniq 5 wholesale sales amounted to 2,103 in January, which is far below the average from previous months. - Retail sales of the Soul EV and Niro EV outside of South Korea amounted to respectively 532 and 5,419 - Kia BEV sales in last month:  EV6: 3,407 (6,378 wholesale) incl. 115 (South Korea) and 3,276 (Europe) Niro EV: 5,419 (outside South Korea) Soul EV: 532 (outside South Korea) Total: at least 9,358 (up 114% year-over-year) or 4.4% of the total volume Original Source : https://insideevs.com/news/570499/kia-ev6-wholesale-january-2022 US: HYUNDAI IONIQ 5 SALES SURGES IN FEBRUARY - Hyundai Motor America reports record-breaking retail February 2022 sales in the US - the Hyundai Ioniq 5 noted 2,555 units in its second full month of customer deliveries, after 989 in January. That's a pretty strong number (4.9% of the total Hyundai volume), comparable to some of the Ford Mustang Mach-E monthly results in 2021. - So far this year, Hyundai sold over 3,500 Ioniq 5 and almost 3,700 cumulatively Original Source : https://insideevs.com/news/570720/us-hyundai-ioniq5-sales-february2022/ FELICITY ACE CARGO SHIP CARRYING PORSCHES, VWS, AND LAMBORGHINIS HAS SUNK - The Felicity Ace, the cargo ship that caught fire while carrying thousands of brand new Volkswagen, Porsche, and Lamborghini vehicles, sunk Tuesday morning, according to a press statement. - The Felicity Ace became submerged around 253 miles away from the Portuguese archipelago of Azores around 9 a.m. local time on Tuesday. - “The weather was pretty rough out there,” Pat Adamson, a spokesperson for the Felicity Ace's operator - Before Tuesday, the last update from the vessel's owners, Japan-based Mitsui O.S.K. Lines transportation company (MOL), came on February 25, saying the boat was stable and had been boarded by salvage crews. - The Felicity Ace's fire was reportedly complicated by a number of electric cars onboard Original Source : https://www.roadandtrack.com/news/a39278137/felicity-ace-cargo-ship-sinks/ ELECTRIC VEHICLES DOMINATE UK CAR OF THE YEAR AWARDS 2022 - The results from the first round of voting in the UK Car of the Year Awards 2022 sees eight manufacturers triumph in 10 categories. Doubling up on Awards were Skoda – winning with its Fabia and Enyaq models in the Best Supermini and Best Medium Crossover categories respectively – and Hyundai. The Korean manufacturer's IONIQ 5 topped the Best Family Car crown - Another manufacturer picking up its first UK Car of the Year Award was Fiat. The company's 500-e was deemed by the judges to be the Best City Car in this year's competition. - BMW's victory in the Best Large Crossover category – with the iX – ensured that the Germany manufacturer remained the most successful brand at the UK Car of the Year Awards. - this year sees another electric car voted best in its class as the Porsche Taycan was crowned Best Luxury Car. Original Source : https://electriccarsreport.com/2022/03/electric-vehicles-dominate-uk-car-of-the-year-awards-2022/ ATTO 3 FIXED PRICING CONFIRMED, AS BYD GEARS UP TO POWER 1 MILLION EVS A YEAR - EV Direct has confirmed there will be no hiking up of or bargaining on prices for the BYD Atto 3 electric crossover after the announcement it will sell through Eagers Automotive dealerships on Thursday. - Previously only available to order online through the EV Direct website, the Eagers deal includes a 49% stake in the BYD import group and along with a deal with mycar will see the fledgling import company secure exposure to some 80% of the Australian population, enabling regional test drives. - The BYD Atto 3 launched in late February with great fanfare, and with the announcement that the electric crossover from China EV giant BYD would become the most affordable EV on the market currently, priced from $44,900. Original Source : https://thedriven.io/2022/03/01/atto-3-fixed-pricing-confirmed-as-byd-gears-up-to-power-1-million-evs-a-year/ APPLE HAS WON AN ELECTRIC VEHICLE PATENT COVERING A NEXT-GEN LIQUID COOLING SYSTEM   Original Source : https://www.patentlyapple.com/2022/03/apple-has-won-an-electric-vehicle-patent-covering-a-next-gen-liquid-cooling-system.html COPENHAGEN AIRPORT TO INSTALL 1,350 CHARGING STATIONS Original Source : https://www.electrive.com/2022/02/28/copenhagen-airport-to-install-1350-charging-stations/ NORTHVOLT TO TRANSFORM A FORMER PAPER MILL IN SWEDEN INTO A EV BATTERY GIGAFACTORY - Original Source : https://www.futurecar.com/5234/With-Over-$50-Billion-in-Contracts-Northvolt-to-Transform-a-Former-Paper-Mill-in-Sweden-into-a-EV-Battery-Gigafactory ITALIAN UNION SEES DEAL ON TERMOLI BATTERY PLANT BY MARCH 10 Original Source : https://finance.yahoo.com/news/italian-union-sees-deal-termoli-130203880.html HERE ARE ALL THE EVS THAT COME WITH FREE CHARGING Original Source : https://www.edmunds.com/car-news/evs-with-free-charging.html CITY OF HOUSTON PURCHASES 100 ELECTRIC VEHICLES TO REPLACE AGING FLEET   Original Source : https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2022/02/28/new-fleet-of-97-electric-vehicles.html 5 WAYS US STATES CAN GET MORE ELECTRIC SCHOOL BUSES ON THE ROAD   Original Source : https://www.greenbiz.com/article/5-ways-us-states-can-get-more-electric-school-buses-road TRAINS WITH BATTERIES BIG ENOUGH TO POWER SMALL TOWNS Original Source : https://www.forbes.com/sites/alanohnsman/2022/03/01/the-new-frontier-in-electric-vehicles-trains-with-batteries-big-enough-to-power-small-towns/ NEW 2022 FISKER OCEAN SUV ON SALE IN THE UK FROM £34,990 Original Source : https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/fisker/ocean/106327/new-2022-fisker-ocean-suv-sale-uk-ps34990 QUESTION OF THE WEEK WITH EMOBILITYNORWAY.COM What's the best looking EV on the market right now? Email me any feedback to: hello@evnewsdaily.com It would mean a lot if you could take 2mins to leave a quick review on whichever platform you download the podcast. And  if you have an Amazon Echo, download our Alexa Skill, search for EV News Daily and add it as a flash briefing. Come and say hi on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter just search EV News Daily, have a wonderful day, I'll catch you tomorrow and remember…there's no such thing as a self-charging hybrid. PREMIUM PARTNERS PHIL ROBERTS / ELECTRIC FUTURE BRAD CROSBY PORSCHE OF THE VILLAGE CINCINNATI AUDI CINCINNATI EAST VOLVO CARS CINCINNATI EAST NATIONAL CAR CHARGING ON THE US MAINLAND AND ALOHA CHARGE IN HAWAII DEREK REILLY FROM THE EV REVIEW IRELAND YOUTUBE CHANNEL RICHARD AT RSEV.CO.UK – FOR BUYING AND SELLING EVS IN THE UK EMOBILITYNORWAY.COM/ 

Show #133 If you get any value from this podcast please consider supporting my work on Patreon. Plus all Patreon supporters get their own unique ad-free podcast feed. Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Wednesday 12th January. It's Martyn Lee here and I go through every EV story so you don't have to. Thank you to MYEV.com for helping make this show, they've built the first marketplace specifically for Electric Vehicles. It's a totally free marketplace that simplifies the buying and selling process, and help you learn about EVs along the way too. Welcome to a new Patreon ProducerJONATHAN AYRES MERCEDES PLANS TO BUILD NEXT-GEN EV POWERTRAINS IN-HOUSE - Mercedes-Benz plans to build the complete powertrain for its new MMA and MB.EA electric architectures entirely in-house starting in 2024, a top executive said. - Markus Schaefer, head of development at Mercedes parent Daimler, told Automotive News Europe sibling publication Automobilwoche. “To do this, we are significantly increasing the depth of added value and are also switching from third-party sourcing to in-house production. Until now, the electric powertrains have come from external partners. We want to control the overall system of electric motor, battery and power electronics as much as possible, similar to what is the case with the combustion engine" - This also includes the inverter, which transfers the energy from the battery to the engine. - Among them are ZF Friedrichshafen, which supplies powertrain modules for the EQC midsize SUV, and Valeo Siemens eAutomotive, which supplies motors for the EQS, Mercedes' luxury EV flagship. Mercedes has announced that it will build high-performance axial-flux electric motors developed with the British startup Yasa – which Daimler acquired -- in Berlin, and Schäfer said a second "kit," with radial electric motors for smaller vehicles will be built in Mercedes' Untertürkheim plant. In addition, battery cells developed in-house will soon be ready for use in Mercedes vehicles. Original Source: https://europe.autonews.com/automakers/mercedes-plans-build-next-gen-ev-powertrains-house TESLA'S SHANGHAI GIGAFACTORY DELIVERS OVER 480,000 VEHICLES IN 2021 - Deliveries at the Shanghai Gigafactory stood at 484,130 vehicles last year, an increase of 235 percent from 2020.Last year, over 160,000 of Tesla's made-in-China cars were exported to over 10 countries and regions in Europe and Asia. - The localization rate of spares reached 90 percent Original Source : http://www.china.org.cn/business/2022-01/12/content_77984467.htm KIA EV6 WHOLESALE SHIPMENTS ABOVE 5,600 IN DECEMBER 2021 - The most important new Kia model from the perspective of electrification - the Kia EV6 - continues its ramp-up at a rate of several thousand per month. In December, Kia reports 5,605 wholesale sales (closely related to production), which includes 1,495 units sold in South Korea, and 4,110 exported. - Cumulatively, the company produced almost 30,000 EV6, out of which about a third were sold in South Korea, and two-thirds were exported (mostly to Europe). - In 2021, the company sold over 87,000 electric cars:  EV6: 19,052 - 11,023 (South Korea) and 8,029 (outside South Korea/Europe) Niro EV: 59,396 (outside South Korea) (up 69% year-over-year) Soul EV: 9,412 (outside South Korea) (up 69% year-over-year) Original Source : https://insideevs.com/news/560120/kia-ev6-wholesale-december-2021/ POLESTAR HITS 2021 EV TARGETS - The company delivered on its global sales target of 29,000 vehicles in 2021, representing year-on-year growth exceeding 185%. - Polestar increased its global presence from 10 to 19 markets in 2021, with growth in Europe and Asia Pacific. In the first half of 2022, Polestar plans to add Spain, Portugal and Ireland to its European market footprint, and enter the Middle East with presence in the UAE, Kuwait and Israel. By the end of 2023, Polestar aims to be operating in at least 30 global markets. - Polestar's retail footprint more than doubled in 2021 to 100 locations globally and the company aims to have 150 in operation by the end of 2022. In addition to the openings of inner-city Polestar Spaces, the company debuted its new, larger, out-of-town Polestar Destinations. The first permanent Polestar Destination opened in December 2021, outside Gothenburg, Sweden. - Polestar also announced its plans to launch three new cars in the coming three years. Polestar 3, a premium electric performance SUV, is set to launch in 2022 and will be the first Polestar to be built in the US. Polestar 3 will benefit from advanced technologies from Luminar, Nvidia and Zenseact that will provide cutting-edge unsupervised autonomous driving functionality. · Original Source : https://media.polestar.com/global/en/media/pressreleases/644082 VOLKSWAGEN AIMS TO DOUBLE ELECTRIC CAR SALES IN CHINA THIS YEAR AFTER MISSING TARGETS - Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE) said it would likely double sales of its ID battery electric vehicles in China this year and aims to do even better but the automaker could be hamstrung by a shortage of semiconductors. - The German automaker sold 70,625 of its ID electric vehicles in China last year, missing its goal of selling 80,000 to 100,000 cars - While China's EV market is seeing very strong growth, most foreign automakers have lagged their Chinese counterparts in designing smart cars that appeal. Original Source : https://www.reuters.com/technology/volkswagen-says-it-sold-70625-id-electric-cars-china-2021-2022-01-11/ WHY RIVIAN'S COO DEPARTED DURING CRUCIAL LAUNCH PERIOD - Rivian Automotive Inc.'s COO stepped down last month while the EV maker was in the midst of its inaugural production rampup. - Rod Copes left the company after he had held the title since March 2020, according to his LinkedIn profile. - The fast-growing truckmaker, which in November completed the year's biggest initial public offering, has hit a rough stretch recently, saying in December that it would fall “a few hundred vehicles short” of its goal to build 1,200 units for the year - it produced 1,015 vehicles last year and delivered 920. Original Source : https://www.autonews.com/executives/why-rivians-coo-departed-during-crucial-launch-period PORSCHE EV MAKES WORLD RECORD CLIMB UP PIKES PEAK - The feat, documented in a video released by Porsche on January 11, covers the entire five-state, 1,400-mile journey into the record books for the greatest altitude change ever achieved by an electric car. - The driving team began its journey at the bottom of the Eagle Nickel and Copper Mine in Michigan, the lowest driveable point in the United States, and trekked across five states, ascending 15,889 feet and ending at the summit of Pikes Peak in Colorado's Rocky Mountains. - In total, it took 33 hours and 48 minutes - Dai Yoshihara, who was a 2020 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb class winner, managed to get the Taycan Cross Turismo across the line for the record. Original Source : https://interestingengineering.com/porsche-ev-breaks-world-record-for-three-mile-climb-up-pikes-peak MONTPELLIER FOREGOES HYDROGEN PROJECT FOR BATTERY-ELECTRIC BUSES, FOR NOW Original Source : https://www.electrive.com/2022/01/11/montpellier-foregoes-hydrogen-project-for-battery-electric-buses-for-now/ STELLANTIS SAYS "BYE" TO DIESEL AS CITROËN, PEUGEOT, OPEL VANS GO EV-ONLY Original Source : https://electrek.co/2022/01/10/stellantis-says-goodbye-to-ice-as-citroen-berlingo-peugeot-rifter-and-opel-combo-go-ev-only/ NEW ENTRY-LEVEL CITROEN E-C4 SENSE LAUNCHED PRICED FROM £28,495 Original Source : https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/citroen/c4/357061/new-entry-level-citroen-e-c4-sense-launched-priced-ps28495 2022 VW ID.4 EV PRICE AND RANGE CHANGES ARE COMING TO THE US Original Source : https://www.slashgear.com/2022-vw-id-4-ev-price-and-range-changes-are-coming-to-the-us-11706623/ RECURRENT SHOWS EV PRICES SOARED IN 2021, BENEFITTING TESLA Original Source : https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2022/01/10/2364211/0/en/Recurrent-Shows-EV-Prices-Soared-in-2021-Benefitting-Tesla-the-Most.html DAKAR | AUDI'S ALL-ELECTRIC RS Q E-TRON FIRES INTO FIRST Original Source : https://www.news24.com/wheels/motorsport/dakar/dakar-audis-all-electric-rs-q-e-tron-fires-into-first-second-and-fourth-place-in-stage-8-20220110 FRANCE PLANS $1.1 BILLION TO SAFEGUARD METALS FOR EV BATTERIES Original Source : https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/france-plans-1-1-billion-to-safeguard-metals-for-ev-batteries-1.1705466 CALIFORNIA PROPOSES $6.1 BILLION ON ELECTRIC VEHICLE INITIATIVES Original Source : https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/10/california-proposes-6point1-billion-in-new-incentives-for-electric-vehicles-.html OREGON DOUBLES ELECTRIC VEHICLE REBATES FOR LOWER-INCOME FAMILIES Original Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2022/01/10/oregon-doubles-electric-vehicle-rebates-for-lower-income-families/ QUESTION OF THE WEEK WITH EMOBILITYNORWAY.COM The 4th anniversary of this podcast is next week on Tuesday 18th January. So this week it's a self-indulgent question, and I'll hope you forgive me for that. What would you like to see and hear from this show in 2022. What would you keep, and what would you change. What would you like to see new? Email me your answer now: hello@evnewsdaily.com It would mean a lot if you could take 2mins to leave a quick review on whichever platform you download the podcast. And  if you have an Amazon Echo, download our Alexa Skill, search for EV News Daily and add it as a flash briefing. Come and say hi on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter just search EV News Daily, have a wonderful day, I'll catch you tomorrow and remember…there's no such thing as a self-charging hybrid. PREMIUM PARTNERS PHIL ROBERTS / ELECTRIC FUTURE BRAD CROSBY PORSCHE OF THE VILLAGE CINCINNATI AUDI CINCINNATI EAST VOLVO CARS CINCINNATI EAST NATIONAL CAR CHARGING ON THE US MAINLAND AND ALOHA CHARGE IN HAWAII DEREK REILLY FROM THE EV REVIEW IRELAND YOUTUBE CHANNEL RICHARD AT RSEV.CO.UK – FOR BUYING AND SELLING EVS IN THE UK EMOBILITYNORWAY.COM/

1. Starting 1/19, Facebook Will Be Removing Some Detailed Targeting Options - Starting January 19, 2022, Facebook will be removing some Detailed Targeting options because they relate to topics people may perceive as sensitive. Although the options mentioned below are going away on January 19, 2022, campaigns will continue to deliver for about eight weeks after that, until March 17, 2022, which should give advertisers some time to test out alternatives. The company provided the following examples of targeting options that will be removed: Health causes (e.g., "Lung cancer awareness," "World Diabetes Day," "Chemotherapy"). Sexual orientation (e.g., "same-sex marriage" and "LGBT culture"). Religious practices and groups (e.g., "Catholic Church" and "Jewish holidays").  Political beliefs, social issues, causes, organizations, and figures. The company will also remove targeting options that haven't been widely adopted, citing that they may be redundant with other options or be too granular, although it did not specify which options.2. TikTok Partners Up With Atmosphere To Provide More Exposure To Creators - In yet another sign of TikTok's ever-increasing presence and popularity, the platform has announced a new deal with video content provider Atmosphere which will see curated TikTok content appear on TVs in restaurants, bars, gyms, and more, providing new exposure potential for TikTok creators.Atmosphere provides licensed and curated video content for commercial venues, with clients including Westin, Taco Bell, and Burger King. As per the above example clip, Atmosphere repurposes video content from a range of platforms, which also includes YouTube, then adds its own audio soundtrack, essentially creating a stream of music video content that points back to the originating platform. And now, TikTok clips will be part of that offering.Given TikTok's rising popularity, the partnership makes sense, and it'll be interesting to see how many waiting rooms and venues take on this new TikTok channel as a means of keeping their customers entertained. Atmosphere reports that it doubled its business footprint over the last year, with its content now being shown in over 19,000 venues worldwide. Cumulatively, Atmosphere claims to reach more than 20 million unique visitors per month, which could provide another boost for TikTok, and prompt more users to log into the app and become regular users.3. Twitter Adds Spaces Replay Stats for Recorded Broadcasts - In the details for recorded Spaces chats, hosts will now be able to see how many listeners tuned into the stream live, and how many replays the session has garnered. This will add more context to your Spaces analytics, and help you better plan your strategy, by giving you more info on how your audience is tuning in after the fact.4. Clubhouse Adds New Way to Share Rooms, Additional Analytics and Access Options - Clubhouse has added a new way to improve Room discovery, with a new re-share option that will enable users to highlight interesting sessions that they're into other users. The process is essentially Clubhouse's version of re-tweeting, in order to help amplify great discussions. To be clear, Clubhouse has had the share via social network and share via messaging app options for some time, it's only the new, internal sharing function that's been added.5. LinkedIn Launches Audio Rooms - First off LinkedIn's launching an initial test of its own, Clubhouse-like audio events platform, which will enable users to tune into live discussions in the app, and participate by raising their virtual hand to join as a speaker, or posting likes in response to the chat. The format looks very much like Clubhouse and Twitter Spaces, with separate panels for those ‘on stage' and speaking, and those tuning in below.6. Google: Keyword Density Still Not An SEO Search Ranking Factor - So it is now 2022 and some folks are asking if keyword density is an SEO Google search ranking factor. The answer is still no, according to John Mueller, a Search Advocate at Google.Keyword density as an SEO topic is older than Google and it is one of those topics that will likely never die. According to Wikipedia, "Keyword density is the percentage of times a keyword or phrase appears on a web page compared to the total number of words on the page. In the context of search engine optimization, keyword density can be used to determine whether a web page is relevant to a specified keyword or keyword phrase."7. IndexNow WordPress Plugin Released By Microsoft Bing - Microsoft Bing has published a new WordPress plugin that makes it easy to integrate your WordPress blog and site with the IndexNow protocol. The plugin was released over the holidays and is available over here in the WordPress plugin directory. Currently, both Microsoft Bing and Yandex have adopted the protocol, and Google is supposedly testing it out as well. The WordPress IndexNow plugin enables automated submission of URLs from WordPress sites to multiple search engines without the need to register and verify your site with them. Once installed, the plugin will automatically generate and host the API key on your site. It detects page creation/update/ deletion in WordPress and automatically submits the URLs in the background. This ensures that search engines will always have the latest updates about your site.What is IndexNow? IndexNow provides a method for websites owners to instantly inform search engines about the latest content changes on their website. IndexNow is a simple ping protocol so that search engines know that a URL and its content has been added, updated, or deleted, allowing search engines to quickly reflect this change in their search results.Instant indexing is an SEO's dream when it comes to giving search engines the most updated content on a site. The protocol is very simple and it requires very little developer effort to add this to your site, so it makes sense to implement this if you care about speedy indexing. Plus if you use Cloudflare, it can be turned on with the flip of a switch. In Episode#47 of TWIMshow, we covered the release of “Bing URL submission API”. Index Now is somewhat duplicative to that, however, Bing's URL Submission API only works with Bing's index. So there is a benefit to switching to IndexNow.8. Google Launches' Shops' Section In Mobile Search Results - Google has launched a “Shops” section in the mobile search results. The Shops section shows three retailers (but can be expanded to show up to ten) based on their organic search rankings and is available on mobile devices for select shopping-related queries in the U.S.The Shops section is another area in the search results where retailers might potentially appear, which can increase awareness for their brands and drive traffic. However, since the Shops section is based on the organic search ranking, retailers who don't already rank well may not be able to reap its benefits.

Today we want to be encouraged and enlighten by listening in to a special interview. Jim Sheppard is CEO & Principal of Generis, a consulting firm passionate about helping churches inspire and cultivate generosity through giving development, coaching, and strategy.After college, Jim passed the CPA exam and pursued a career as a financial executive. Though he grew up in the church, Jim was not a believer until he was 28. That part of his life intersected with his business life in 1991 when he thought he might be called to the pastorate. This came at a time when he was at a very high level in a major financial services company. After an intense spiritual period in his life, Jim realized that was not where God was calling him. Seven months later through a corporate buyout and a series of providentially inspired events, Jim moved from the corporate world to giving development for churches and ministry organizations.Jim is a student of generosity and is passionate about spreading it throughout the Church. For the last 27+ years, he has devoted his life to coaching pastors especially in navigating the resource limitations that restrict their ministry potential. Jim understands the financial challenges that churches face today; annual giving, debt, capital projects, and planned giving. He is a positive force in bridging these needs with the power of spiritually motivated stewardship. Cumulatively, Jim has partnered with his clients to raise over $1.7 billion for local church ministry. Jim is a frequent writer and speaker on generosity and ministry funding. He is co-author of Contagious Generosity: Creating A Culture Of Giving In Your Church.Jim and his wife, Nancy, live in the Atlanta, GA area and they have two married daughters. He is actively involved in his church where he serves as an elder and provides guidance to the Generosity Ministry Team"This is HIS story Podcast" focuses on ministry backstories of a people God is using for his Kingdom work and those pouring out God's grace to hurting people around the globe. From Bible teachers to counselors to those that feed the hungry, pull people from dark places, and missionaries… we look into to the events, personalities, callings, and circumstances of those God is using as His hands and feet.Listen to the stories of the men and women God is using for his Kingdom work and those pouring out God's grace to hurting people around the globe. From Bible teachers to counselors to those that feed the hungry, pull people from dark places, and missionaries… we look into to the events, personalities, callings, and circumstances of those God is using as His hands and feet.

This is the 4th and final episode in our rod series with @michaelknappfishing. Blake and Michael talk rods, of course, as well as Michael's 1st iCast experience (which is now on my TO DO list!!), social media and more!! REMINDER: To take part in the OLD 18 ROD GIVEAWAY you must listen to all 4 episodes and provide the exact number of times the words “OLD 18” are mentioned CUMULATIVELY. Then email either Blake at infinitybiz1@protonmail.com OR michaelknappfishing@gmail.com with the number you counted. CORRECT answers will have their email put into a random drawing for an Old 18 Hollowpoint rod of their choice!! Thank you for your patience in this series. We covered A LOT, and I hope you found value!! Thank you for your attention! Be sure to subscribe on your favorite podcast platform!! Also, please take a minute to leave a review. All constructive criticisms are accepted! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/blake-r-johnson/support

Ever wish you had more energy? Or wonder why you're so tired? In this episode Sean Hall introduces us to seven ‘energy crisis indicators' or ECIs, that are likely to be depleting your energy. Cumulatively, these surprisingly everyday indicators have resulted in a human ‘energy crisis' of epidemic proportions. Our health, happiness, and the economy are suffering, and it's impacting our ability to drive social change. After researching the root cause, Sean created the skill of ‘energy intelligence' or ‘ExIQ'. In this talk he shows how this can help us, practically and immediately, find more energy for what matters.To watch the full video go to https://www.ted.com/talks/sean_hall_how_to_have_more_energy_jan_2017 #Shimmyaday

Welcome to our fourth podcast episode, with none other than Mr. Kishi Bashi! Kishi was one of the first collaborators at Nu Deco who saw us for WHO we really were. He helped us unlock our potential, guided us, and elevated the orchestra with his world-class musicianship. He is also a producer on our debut studio album and taught us how to embrace our most authentic musical selves.From performing for two people in Toledo to touring the world with the Regina Spektor, while finding his own unique voice along the way, Kishi Bashi shows us that if you are prepared, while 100% dedicated to your craft, you can seize opportunities when they arrive for you. Staying consistent with your output, and simply not giving up, are his recipes to create your personal success.In this episode, we discuss how idleness allows for creativity and that when you deprive your brain of stimulus it seeks to play and invent. We also talk about Kishi's Japanese American roots, as well as his astonishingly beautiful and haunting work Executive Order 9066, which was inspired by the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. We also talk about his parents as mentors, and how he learned the ropes of being successful artist AND business entity. And, finally, you are going to hear some amazing, never-before-played music. This is a deep dive into all things Kishi Bashi, a self-described avant-garde orchestral pop artist. He is also a great personal friend and someone I admire tremendously, and is forever a part of Nu Deco's DNA. We hope you enjoy listening to this conversation and learning more about Kishi and his creative and fascinating world. 

This episode is an interview with Rev. Craig B. Mousin, founder and former Executive Director of the Midwest Immigrant Rights Center which later became the National Immigrant Justice Center (www.immigrantjustice.org), and an Adjunct Faculty member at DePaul University's College of Law and The Grace School of Applied Diplomacy. He responds to the federal government's proposed regulations that would limit the discretion of Immigration Judges and change the procedure for appeals to the Board of Immigration Appeals. These proposed rules will hinder the ability of individuals to pursue cases without lawyers and increase the difficulty of pro bono representation by volunteer lawyers. Cumulatively, if implemented, they will harm our communities and undermine our system of justice. We encourage you to file your own comments opposing part or all of the proposed procedures and asking the government to withdraw the entire proposed rule. To assist you in obtaining a link to the proposed procedures or in filing your comment, you may incorporate your remarks into one of the templates provided by the following:Our colleagues at the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. have provided sample comments and a link to file comments at: cliniclegal.org/resources/federal…oir-proposed-ruleYou may also find the American Immigration Lawyers Association's template at:www.aila.org/takeaction#/88Both websites provide additional information on how the proposed regulations restrict access to the courts and prevent bona fide applicants from litigating and their cases. To be accepted by the government, please ensure your comments are filed on or before 11:59 p.m. EDT, Friday, September 25, 2020.The critical point remains that you choose at least one element of the proposed rules that you believe is incompatible with our nation's commitment to fair process to achieve justice and make your voice heard.Justice Ginsburg's law review article, “In Pursuit of the Public Good: Access to Justice in the United States,” 7 Washington University Journal of Law & Policy 1, 8 (2001) can be found at: openscholarship.wustl.edu/cgi/viewcont…l_law_policyThe Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals case can be found at page 8 of Meza Morales v. Barr, 2020 WL 5268986, (7th Cir.).The TRAC Immigration report from Syracuse University on “The Life and Death of Administrative Closure” can be found at: trac.syr.edu/immigration/reports/623/ (September 10, 2020).Please share this podcast and links with members of your community or faith organizations, family members and friends. Encourage them to file comments to help ensure that our nation continues its commitment to a fair process and access to justice. Thank you for your consideration of this request.

Wanna split £100? You get £50 free AND save money on 100% green electricity by moving to Octopus Energy. Plus I get £50 to support this podcast but ONLY if you do it by using my unique referral code. I moved to Octopus recently and had been putting it off for ages,  but I kicked myself for not doing it sooner, as it’s literally a 5 minute job to give them your details.   Click here: https://share.octopus.energy/free-puma-452   On today’s podcast: VW Group Highlights Success Of EV Models VW Brand Grows EV Sales 200% Audi e-tron Sells Almost 50,000 in 2020 Taycan Delivers 20,000 in 2020 BMW Group sold 192,646 electrified vehicles in 2020 Jaguar I-PACE Sales Hit New Record High In Q4 2020 General Motors joins the race to electrify package delivery Sony Vision-S Electric Car Is Alive And Well Uber's EV ride service comes to 1,400 more North American cities Huge order for Lion Electric trucks from Amazon Latest Tesla Model Y Nets 5-Star Score In NHTSA Crash Tests Heated steering wheel now included on Tesla Model Y     Show #961   Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Wednesday 13th January. It’s Martyn Lee here and I go through every EV story so you don't have to.   Thank you to MYEV.com for helping make this show, they’ve built the first marketplace specifically for Electric Vehicles. It’s a totally free marketplace that simplifies the buying and selling process, and help you learn about EVs along the way too.     VW GROUP HIGHLIGHTS SUCCESS OF EV MODELS 231,600 all-electric vehicles handed over to customers, more than three times the 2019 figure; also 190,500 plug-in hybrids (+175 percent).  In Western Europe, the share of electric vehicles therefore surged to 10.5 percent of overall deliveries (2019: 1.9 percent).   The Volkswagen Group handed over 9,305,400 vehicles to customers worldwide in 2020, a decrease of 15.2 percent year-on-year due to Covid-19.   Top 5 all-electric models: – Volkswagen ID.3 56,500 units – Audi e-tron 47,300 units – Volkswagen e-Golf 41,300 units – Volkswagen e-up! 22,200 units – Porsche Taycan 20,000 units   Top 5 plug-in hybrid models: – Volkswagen Passat 27,200 units – Audi Q5 23,500 units – Porsche Cayenne 21,500 units – ŠKODA Superb 16,400 units – Volkswagen Golf 15,200 units   https://www.volkswagenag.com/en/news/2021/01/VWGroup_strenghtens_market_position.html   VW BRAND GROWS EV SALES 200% As for the VW brand: "Last year, the brand delivered more electric vehicles worldwide than ever before, handing over more than 212,000 electric cars in total (+158 percent versus 2019), including nearly 134,000 battery electric vehicles (+197 percent versus 2019)   Volkswagen Passenger Cars launched nine new electric and plug-in hybrid models in 2020. This brought the share of BEV and hybrid vehicles in Europe up to 12.4 percent of the brand’s total deliveries – after 2.3 percent in 2019. The most popular model was the ID.3 with 56,500 units sold – even though this only came on the market in September.   ID.3 was the most frequently delivered BEV in Finland, Slovenia and Norway in December. In Sweden, the ID.3 was actually the top-selling car in December 2020 in absolute numbers – regardless of the type of drive. In the Netherlands and Germany, Volkswagen Passenger Cars managed to leap to the number one spot in all-electric vehicles over the full-year 2020 – with a share of 23.8 percent in Germany in the BEV market and 23 percent in the Netherlands.   Following closely on the heels of the ID.3, Volkswagen’s second all-electric model, the ID.4 is being successively launched. It is the brand’s first all-electric world car and as an SUV is also right in line with customer trends: the share of SUVs of Volkswagen’s total deliveries worldwide rose from 29.8 percent in 2019 to 34.8 percent in 2020.   https://www.volkswagenag.com/en/news/2021/01/Volkswagen-brand-triples-deliveries-of-all-electric-vehicles-in-2020.html   AUDI E-TRON SELLS ALMOST 50,000 IN 2020 79.5% growth in e-tron deliveries to 47,324 units last year.   AUDI AG is continuing its transformation into a provider of sustainable premium mobility and is by some distance the biggest maker of electric vehicles among the three German premium brands. The successful Audi e-tron model (including the Audi e-tron Sportback) registered a significant increase in demand last year, with growth of 79.5 percent (47,324 cars) compared with the previous year. The Audi e-tron is the global top seller among electric vehicles made by German premium manufacturers. In Norway it is even the best-selling of all models. In Germany the Audi e-tron (including the Audi e-tron Sportback) was able to more than double its sales volume in the final quarter in comparison with the previous year.   Although Audi Europe was down 19%, the e-tron and e-tron Sportback was up 80%.   Next up the cheaper Q4 e-tron, and the Taycan rivalling e-tron GT   Here's a thought. In 2020 Tesla make 55,000 of the Model S and Model X combined.     TAYCAN DELIVERS 20,000 IN 2020 Taycan deliveries totaled 20,015 in 2020, despite a six-week pause in production just as the new model was ramping up, and despite many markets planning spring premieres.     BMW GROUP SOLD 192,646 ELECTRIFIED VEHICLES IN 2020 The BMW Group sold a total of 192,646 electrified BMW and MINI vehicles worldwide last year – an increase of a third (+31.8%) over 2019. This means that electromobility is also a significant growth driver for the company in absolute terms. Sales of fully electric vehicles rose by 13 percent, while plug-in hybrid sales climbed by almost 40 percent. In Europe, electrified vehicles already accounted for 15 percent of total sales.   The BMW Group has now increased the number of electrified vehicles (pure electric and plug-in hybrid) in its line-up to 13 models, which are available in 74 markets around the globe. By 2023, the BMW Group plans to almost double its line-up to 25 electrified vehicles, of which more than half will be fully electric.   The introduction of the pure-electric MINI Cooper SE, with 17,580 vehicles sold in 2020, and BMW iX3 last year will be followed in 2021 by the start of production for the fully electric BMW iX in Dingolfing and the BMW i4 in Munich     JAGUAR I-PACE SALES HIT NEW RECORD HIGH IN Q4 2020 "After several weaker quarters, Jaguar has finally announced really positive news that the Jaguar I-PACE significantly expanded in the fourth quarter of 2020 to an all-time quarterly record of 7,807 units globally." reports InsideEVs: "The year-over-year growth stands at 69%, and the I-PACE share out of the overall Jaguar volume surged to an unprecedented 27.8%! Despite the outstanding Q4, previous quarters weighed heavily on the I-PACE results in 2020 and the overall sales of 16,457 have turned out to be 5.2% lower than in 2019. The average I-PACE share out of Jaguar's volume increased to 16.1%. Cumulatively, Jaguar sold over 40,700 I-PACE since Q2 2018."   GENERAL MOTORS JOINS THE RACE TO ELECTRIFY PACKAGE DELIVERY "General Motors is launching a new business unit devoted to electrifying the goods delivery market and says package giant FedEx will be the first customer" according to Axios: "GM's new BrightDrop unit provides an "ecosystem of electric first-to-last-mile products, software and services" for delivery and logistics companies, the company said. A key piece is a new electric delivery vehicle arriving late this year that GM says will have a range of 250 miles per charge."   Deliveries are hotting up with Amazon/Rivian van, e-Transit, Arrival, Workhorse, Iveco, LDV and lots from PSA Group.   https://www.axios.com/general-motors-fedex-electrify-package-food-delivery-5d87c6cc-25d5-4ec2-9be3-bce811380874.html   SONY VISION-S ELECTRIC CAR IS ALIVE AND WELL "A year after the debut of the Sony Unexpectedly Unveils Vision-S Concept Car At CES 2020, the Japanese tech giant is showing off the latest development of the technological testbed. It's now capable of functioning on public roads, even snowy passes in Europe. This isn't the end of the project, either, because Sony intends to conduct more driving tests in other regions in the future." says Motor1: "To keep people secure, the Vision-S has what Sony refers to as the "Safety Cocoon" that comprises dozens of sensors to monitor in 360 degrees around the vehicle. Currently, the company says the adaptive cruise control, self-parking system, and automatic lane changing comprises Level 2+ driving assistance. In the future, the brand wants it to reach Level 4 ability, which means full self-driving ability but with a steering wheel for a human to take control."   https://www.motor1.com/news/465761/sony-vision-s-public-testing/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=RSS-all-news   UBER'S EV RIDE SERVICE COMES TO 1,400 MORE NORTH AMERICAN CITIES "Uber is responsible for a large number of cars on the road, and studies suggest that ride-share services account for large shares of CO2 emissions as well. To reduce that impact, the company recently introduced Uber Green, an option that lets you pay a bit more to get an electric or hybrid car." says Engadget: "Uber Green has been available in around 50 cities, but Uber has announced that it’s greatly expanding it to 1,400 new North American cities and towns, including Calgary, New York City, Miami and Houston. To get an EV or hybrid, you just select a ride and a card will pop up asking if you want a green vehicle. If you choose the option, you’ll be charged an extra $1, with half of that going to the driver"   Read more: https://www.engadget.com/uber-green-ev-ride-service-1400-north-american-cities-140006204.html   HUGE ORDER FOR LION ELECTRIC TRUCKS FROM AMAZON "Amazon plans to procure up to 2,500 all-electric Lion 6 and Lion 8 trucks from Canadian manufacturer Lion Electric by 2025. The framework agreement already concluded with Amazon in July 2020 was revealed hidden in a long stock exchange notice." repotrs electrive: "Lion Electric – previously best known for its electric school buses – unveiled the Lion8 in spring 2018. It is a US Class 8 e-truck, which is equivalent to local trucks over 15 tons. The 350 kW Lion8 offers up to 480 kWh of battery capacity for up to 400 km of range, using NMC cells from LG Chem"   https://www.electrive.com/2021/01/11/huge-order-for-lion-electric-trucks-from-amazon/   LATEST TESLA MODEL Y NETS 5-STAR SCORE IN NHTSA CRASH TESTS "The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) awarded the Tesla Model Y with a five-star safety score, which is the best possible score." says TFLcar.com: "In the 35-mph front barrier test, the Tesla Model Y earned a 5-star rating for both the driver and front passenger.5-stars were earned for the front-seat and rear-seat occupants in the 38.5-mph side-barrier test and the side-pole impact test."   https://tflcar.com/2021/01/tesla-model-y-safety-nhtsa-crash-tests/   HEATED STEERING WHEEL NOW INCLUDED ON TESLA MODEL Y "After a long wait, Tesla has finally answered the prayers of thousands of fans by adding a heated steering to the Model Y. The heated steering has been rumoured to be coming to the electric SUV for several months. Hacker greentheonly first found reference to it in the source code of a software update." says DriveTeslaCanada: "Tesla still does not list the feature on the Design Studio. Since deliveries are expected to start in 2-5 weeks, we expect it to be updated soon. The heated steering wheel should also be coming to the Model 3 in the near future, as the same hints found in the source code by green referenced the electric sedan."   https://driveteslacanada.ca/model-y/heated-steering-wheel-tesla-model-y-including-new-standard-range-variant/   QUESTION OF THE WEEK What your favourite charging network, and why?   Send me your answer: hello@evnewsdaily.com     You can listen to all 959 previous episodes of this this for free, where you get your podcasts from, plus the blog https://www.evnewsdaily.com/ – remember to subscribe, which means you don’t have to think about downloading the show each day, plus you get it first and free and automatically.   It would mean a lot if you could take 2mins to leave a quick review on whichever platform you download the podcast.   And  if you have an Amazon Echo, download our Alexa Skill, search for EV News Daily and add it as a flash briefing.   Come and say hi on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter just search EV News Daily, have a wonderful day, I’ll catch you tomorrow and remember…there’s no such thing as a self-charging hybrid.     PHIL ROBERTS / ELECTRIC FUTURE (PREMIUM PARTNER) BRAD CROSBY (PREMIUM PARTNER) AVID TECHNOLOGY (PREMIUM PARTNER) PORSCHE OF THE VILLAGE CINCINNATI (PREMIUM PARTNER) AUDI CINCINNATI EAST (PREMIUM PARTNER) VOLVO CARS CINCINNATI EAST (PREMIUM PARTNER) NATIONALCARCHARGING.COM and ALOHACHARGE.COM  (PREMIUM PARTNER) DEREK REILLY FROM THE EV REVIEW IRELAND YOUTUBE CHANNEL (PREMIUM PARTNER) RICHARD AT RSEV.CO.UK – FOR BUYING AND SELLING EVS IN THE UK (PREMIUM PARTNER)   DAVID AND LISA ALLEN (PARTNER) GARETH HAMER eMOBILITY NORWAY HTTPS://WWW.EMOBILITYNORWAY.COM/  (PARTNER) BOB BOOTHBY – MILLBROOK COTTAGES AND ELOPEMENT WEDDING VENUE (PARTNER) DARIN MCLESKEY FROM DENOVO REAL ESTATE (PARTNER) JUKKA KUKONEN FROM WWW.SHIFT2ELECTRIC.COM RAJEEV NARAYAN (PARTNER) IAN SEAR (PARTNER)   ALAN ROBSON (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) ALAN SHEDD (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) ALEX BANAHENE (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) ALEXANDER FRANK @ https://www.youtube.com/c/alexsuniverse42 ANDERS HOVE (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) ANDREA JEFFERSON (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) ANDREW GREEN (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) ASEER KHALID (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) ASHLEY HILL (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) BÅRD FJUKSTAD (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) BRIAN THOMPSON (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) BRUCE BOHANNAN (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) CHARLES HALL (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) CHRIS HOPKINS (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) CHRISTOPHER BARTH (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) COLIN HENNESSY AND CAMBSEV (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) CRAIG COLES (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) CRAIG ROGERS (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) DAMIEN DAVIS (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) DAVE DEWSON (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) DAVID FINCH (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) DAVID MOORE (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) DAVID PARTINGTON (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) DAVID PRESCOTT (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) DON MCALLISTER / SCREENCASTSONLINE.COM (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) ERU KYEYUNE-NYOMBI (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) FREDRIK ROVIK (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) GENE RUBIN (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) GILBERTO ROSADO (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) GEOFF LOWE (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) HEDLEY WRIGHT (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) HEINRICH LIESNER (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) IAN GRIFFITHS (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) IAN (WATTIE) WATKINS (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) JACK OAKLEY (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) JAMES STORR (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) JIM MORRIS (EXECUTIVE PRODICERS) JON AKA BEARDY MCBEARDFACE FROM KENT EVS (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) JON MANCHAK (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) JUAN GONZALEZ (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) KEN MORRIS (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) KEVIN MEYERSON (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) KYLE MAHAN (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) LARS DAHLAGER (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) LAURENCE D ALLEN (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) LEE BROWN (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) LUKE CULLEY (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) MARCEL WARD (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) MARK BOSSERT (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) MARTY YOUNG  (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) MATT PISCIONE (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) MIA OPPELSTRUP (PARTNER) MICHAEL PASTRONE (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) MIKE WINTER (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) NATHAN GORE-BROWN (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) NEIL E ROBERTS FROM SUSSEX EVS (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) NICHOLAS MILLER (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) NIGEL MILES (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) OHAD ASTON (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) PAUL RIDINGS (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) PAUL STEPHENSON (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) PETE GLASS (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) PETE GORTON (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) PETER & DEE ROBERTS FROM OXON EVS (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) PHIL MOUCHET (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) PHILIP TRAUTMAN (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) RAJ BADWAL (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) RENE KEEMIK (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) RENÉ SCHNEIDER (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) RICHARD LUPINSKY (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) ROB HERMANS (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) ROB FROM THE RSTHINKS EV CHANNEL ON YOUTUBE (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) ROBERT GRACE (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) RUPERT MITCHELL (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) SEIKI PAYNE (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) STEPHEN PENN (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) STEVE JOHN (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) THOMAS J. THIAS  (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) TODD OAKES (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) THE PLUGSEEKER – EV YOUTUBE CHANNEL (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) TIM GUTTERIDGE (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER) WILLIAM LANGHORNE (EXECUTIVE PRODUCER)     CONNECT WITH ME! EVne.ws/itu nes EVne.ws/tunein EVne.ws/googleplay EVne.ws/stitcher EVne.ws/youtube EVne.ws/iheart EVne.ws/blog EVne.ws/patreon   Check out MYEV.com for more details: https://www.myev.com

Matt Plooster is co-founder, President and CEO of Bridgepoint Investment Banking, a market-leading boutique investment bank that serves clients over their corporate lifecycles by providing capital raising and M&A advisory solutions. He has over 16 years of investment banking experience, including 6 years of experience in private equity fund management. Matt is an alumnus of the Columbia Business School in New York and possesses FINRA Series 7, 63, and 79 licenses. Cumulatively, he has completed more than $41 billion worth of transaction origination and execution (with $17 billion in M&A and $23 billion in capital raising).  In this interview, Matt shares golden nuggets from his many years of experience in Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A),  investment banking, and private equity. He talks about what he learned from his first mentor and how it affects how he runs his business today. He explains why doing exit interviews after completing a deal is so important. He tells why doing more deals is not always better. He talks about The DAD factor and its importance. He tells how a business can achieve liquidity without selling.  He elaborates on the 5 business sectors his firm focuses on and what they avoid.  He talks about his deal makers and deal breakers. This is a great interview and a must-see! What you'll learn from this episode: What Matt learned from his first mentor How to Achieve Liquidity Without Selling Your Business Matt's Red Flags and Deal Breakers Why the Dad Factor is So Important The 5 Business Sectors that Matt Focuses On Why More Deals are Not Always Better And Much More!  Connect with Matt: LinkedIn Watch the video: Youtube

Libby Cooper is the Co-Founder and CEO of Space Coyote. In this episode, hear from Libby’s perspective what it’s like to be a woman in the cannabis space. Libby also gives us a behind the scenes look at what it was like for her to start Space Coyote. [00:01 – 12:55] Libby’s Background and the Story of their Brand’s Name, Space Coyote[12:56 – 23:18] Launching a Cannabis Brand as a Creative Person[23:19 – 30:57] “I Love Cannabis.” Caring and Advocating for the Plant[30:58 – 37:37] Creating Great Partnerships[37:38 – 46:28] Space Coyote’s Future Plans and Navigating Through Different Markets[46:29 – 50:56] Final Thoughts and Call to ActionLibby Cooper is CEO and Co-founder of Space Coyote. An artist and established contributor / advocate in the cannabis industry, Libby is the creative genius behind Space Coyote, crafting a brand that stands out from the noise and pulls people in. In less than 18 months, Libby has led Space Coyote to be a top 20 preroll brand in California. Space Coyote is now one of the fastest growing woman owned / operated cannabis companies, and is sold in over 250 dispensaries. Before founding Space Coyote, Libby was the Creative Director at Eaze, California’s largest cannabis retail platform. While at Eaze, Libby built and launched multiple cannabis brands, including STATE cartridges (2016 launch), Tiger Mint Extracts (2017 launch), Ritual Drops (2017 launch – Cannabis Cup Winner), and more. Cumulatively, these brands sold over $5M in revenue in their first year of operation. Libby truly believes in smokable, potent products, affirming that women can be stoners and being a stoner is celebratory. Follow Space Coyote on Instagram @spacecoyoteShayda Torabi has been called one of the most influential Women in WordPress and now she’s one of the women leading the cannabis reformation conversation building one of Texas’ premier CBD brands. She's currently the CEO and Co-Founder of RESTART CBD, a female-run education first CBD wellness brand. And has formerly held marketing positions at WP Engine and WebDevStudios. Shayda is the host of a podcast for cannabis marketers called To Be Blunt, where she interviews top cannabis brands on their most successful marketing initiatives. When Shayda's not building her cannabiz in Texas, you can find her on the road exploring the best hikes and spots for vegan ice cream. Follow Shayda at @theshaydatorabiTweetable Quotes:“What we’re doing with Space Coyote is the exploration of the psychedelic side of weed.” – Libby Cooper“You have to really just believe that your product is good and you convince the buyer or that dispensary.” – Libby CooperResources Mentioned:SPARCSPONSORSHIP is brought to you by Restart CBD. Check them out for your CBD needs!LEAVE A REVIEW + help someone who wants to join me for episodes featuring some serious cannabis industry by sharing this episode or click here to listen to our previous episodes. You can listen to my podcast on Spotify, Stitcher,

We have Dhimant Parekh on the show to talk about building an Audience First D2C Brand with The Better Home.  In the episode today, We discuss the journey of building TBI, how they were able to leverage the community to build out their D2C business and what it's like to work with your significant other as a co-founder. Let's jump in. Links: The Better India Website The Better Home Products Audience First Products Newsletter For our next edition of Trends, we are covering a new way of building consumer brands: by going Direct to consumer or often referred to as D2C. Direct to Consumer is a business model wherein you cut out all the middlemen that exist in the traditional supply chain - your wholesaler & retailer primarily. You leverage the internet and build your presence online to directly sell to the consumer. You save up on the margin that would've to be distributed across the supply chain and can utilize that to build your brand and generate traffic on your website. Pure D2C is hard to find in India. Most D2C brands leverage online marketplaces to reach their customers because building traffic for your own website can be extremely challenging. You need to pour in a lot of marketing dollars to make that happen and that often eats up all the margins you saved by going Direct to Consumer and ruins the unit economics. Which is where the guest we have today on the podcast has an interesting point of view to share when it comes to building their D2C brand. We have Dhimant Parekh, Co-founder of The Better India and the better home. The better India is a content production house that focuses on positive happy stories. They feature stories on topics such as Agriculture, Education, Health, Environment from across the country. And the concept of Positive Journalism is very fascinatng for me personally because I actively avoid reading newspapers and following current affairs. I feel like most of it so negative that it hurts you more than it helps you. That's where something like TBI has been a go-to source for me to read feel good stories from the across the country. Dhimant and Anuradha, co-founders of TBI are also married to each other. TBI started out as a Blog in 2008. In 2011, Anuradha quit her job to focus on this full-time and in 2013, Dhimant followed suit. They have had an interesting journey of building out the content business focused on Positive journalism and are present across different social media channels along with their own website. Cumulatively, they clock-in close 50 million views in a month for the content they produce. Now, you must be thinking, how is this a D2C play. Well, enter The Better Home, the D2C arm of TBI. Over the years, TBI has been able to build a community of like-minded individuals. This community cares about the good that's happening in society. The community also believes in sustainability and that's where Dhimant and Anuradha got the idea for The Better Home. The Better Home sells Eco-Friendly Home Cleaner subscription service. It has 4 products, Dishwashing liquid, toilet cleaner, laundry cleaner and floor cleaner. I'm not going to kill the suspense of how they came up with this idea, but I do want to share how this D2C line has scaled. So in 4 months of starting post the lockdown, The better home products achieved a monthly revenue of Rs. 1 Crore in 4 months! Now that's some quick scaling up.  A big reason for this was the community that they had built over the years. A classic case study of building an audience first and then subsequently building a product or service to meet the need of the audience, in this case, it was  D2C Home Cleaner product line. 

Link to bioRxiv paper: http://biorxiv.org/cgi/content/short/2020.11.12.380584v1?rss=1 Authors: Hatstat, A. K., Pupi, M. D., McCafferty, D. G. Abstract: The Nedd4 family contains several structurally related but functionally distinct HECT-type ubiquitin ligases. The members of the Nedd4 family are known to recognize substrates through their multiple WW domains, which recognize PY motifs (PPxY, LPxY) or phospho-threonine or phospho-serine residues. To better understand substrate specificity across the Nedd4 family, we report the development and implementation of a python-based tool, PxYFinder, to identify PY motifs in the primary sequences of previously identified interactors of Nedd4 and related ligases. Using PxYFinder, we find that, on average, half of Nedd4 family interactions are PY-motif mediated. Further, we find that PPxY motifs are more prevalent than LPxY motifs and are more likely to occur in proline-rich regions. Further, PPxY regions are more disordered on average relative to LPxY-containing regions. Informed by consensus sequences for PY motifs across the Nedd4 interactome, we rationally designed a peptide library and employed a computational screen, revealing sequence- and biomolecular interaction-dependent determinants of WW-domain/PY-motif interactions. Cumulatively, our efforts provide a new bioinformatic tool and expand our understanding of sequence and structural factors that contribute to PY-motif mediated substrate recognition across the Nedd4 family. Copy rights belong to original authors. Visit the link for more info

Brant’s 3 Things, Thanksgiving Day Joke, Shock Jock, Self-Compassion, Learned Contempt, Early 2020 Early, God And Your Will, Judge A House, Hope In Election, Call Out To God, Social Tip, Love, God As Friends, Adult Advice, Coffee Study; Quotes: “You can’t change anyone.” “The best way to honor your parents may be to live a totally different life than they have.” “God reveals Himself to people who seek Him.” “People who follow Jesus should be really, really hopeful.”

Hello everyone!  We're going to hang around south of the border for just a while longer.  Episode Twenty Two was recorded in September in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, at the tail-end of a two week visit to Baja Sur.  Tim, Bryan, Matt, Mack, Andy, John, Pat, Shaun, Brandon and Jeni agreed to hang around the hotel for an hour or so, with the notion of having a round table discussion about herping in Mexico.  Cumulatively, this bunch has spent hundreds of days in Mexico, across many regions, and I thought it was an appropriate group to cover the subject.  Thanks to the media's focus on drug cartels, Mexico can seem like a scary place, and my goal with this round-table was to get folks more comfortable with the idea of visiting and herping there.  I can't wait until I get to go back! We may have talked at lot about tacos, but hey, they are pretty terrific in Baja California.  Thanks to the whole gang for sitting down and making it a fun conversation!  I needed two photos to get everyone included in the round-table (pay no attention to those Little Caesar's pizza boxes). FUTURE SHOW NOTE:   My request for herp jargon is coming to an end - the window closes in two weeks!  I’ve got a neat little pile, but I need more!  Get those pithy phrases and clever words to me via the show email below, and we’ll get a future episode together from the results! And as always, please keep the comments and suggestions coming!  The show email is somuchpingle@gmail.com, and there’s also a So Much Pingle group on Facebook, for discussion, comments, feedback, suggestions, herp confessions. shrimp taco recipes, tips for herping better, etc. Stay tuned for more episodes! And don’t forget to herp better! -Mike

Becoming a Certified Financial Planner is no easy task. The requirements for CFP certification are arduous and take years for financial planners to meet. In this video, we'll be breaking down exactly what goes into becoming a CFP and how to meet the requirements for certification. Add me on Instagram - AppleCriderOfficial A CFP or Certified Financial Planner is the premier designation for financial planners. Working with a certified financial planner assures you that the person sitting across from you is competent and is bound by a stricter ethics standard than your standard financial advisor. In order to become a CFP, there are 4 requirements that all CFP candidates need to fulfill. These are the education requirement, the exam requirement, the experience requirement, and the ethics requirement. While there is not a strict order that they need to be fulfilled in, typically the education requirement comes first and is followed by the exam and experience requirements that are sometimes completed simultaneously. The ethics requirement is an ongoing commitment to a high ethical standard that always needs to be maintained. In order to meet the CFP education requirement, you'll need to go through a CFP Board registered program that covers the core topic areas of financial planning. Many colleges now offer CFP Board certified degrees that allow students to have completed the education requirement upon graduation. Personally, that's what I was able to do at UW Madison so that immediately upon graduation OI was ready to sit for the exam. The CFP Exam was hands-down the hardest exam I have ever taken. Cumulatively, I spent over 500 hours studying for this exam (which probably adds up to more time than I spent on studying all throughout college). The exam is 6 hours long and contains 170 questions ranging from taxes, to ethics, to investments, to estate planning, and a whole lot of other financial topics. After passing the exam, you'll need to start racking up experience in the field before you can start calling yourself a CFP. Meeting the CFP Experience Requirement consists of accumulating over 6,000 hours of work in the field. This equates to about 3 years working full-time. If it weren't for this pesky requirement, I'd already be able to call myself a CFP, but because I haven't accumulated enough hours yet, I can't use the marks yet. Last is the ethics requirement. Being a CFP, you are held to a higher ethical standard than other financial professionals. As a CFP, you are required to put the best interests of your clients above your own. While some would argue this is just common sense (myself included), just because someone holds themselves out as a "financial advisor" doesn't mean they have to only think about what is best for you. They might be swayed to make recommendations based on which products make them the most commissions. Not great. Once you have met all 4 of these requirements (and paid some money to the CFP Board), you can now legally hold yourself out as a CFP, add the letters to the end of your LinkedIn profile, and get to work! I hope you found this video helpful and if you are considering going down the path of becoming a certified financial planner, I am wishing you all the best! TIMESTAMPS 0:00 – Intro 2:10 – How To Become A CFP 2:20 - Education Requirement 4:22 – Exam Requirement 6:57 – Experience Requirement 10:06 – Ethics Requirement

In this episode we explore a man and his journey with an octopus and how that relates to us in our connection to Nature. We also talked about small things that any of us can do to make a positive impact on the world around us. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/joseph-guzman-ma/support

This episode is an interview with Rev. Craig B. Mousin, founder and former Executive Director of the Midwest Immigrant Rights Center which later became the National Immigrant Justice Center (www.immigrantjustice.org), and an Adjunct Faculty member at DePaul University’s College of Law and The Grace School of Applied Diplomacy. He responds to the federal government’s proposed regulations that would limit the discretion of Immigration Judges and change the procedure for appeals to the Board of Immigration Appeals. These proposed rules will hinder the ability of individuals to pursue cases without lawyers and increase the difficulty of pro bono representation by volunteer lawyers. Cumulatively, if implemented, they will harm our communities and undermine our system of justice. We encourage you to file your own comments opposing part or all of the proposed procedures and asking the government to withdraw the entire proposed rule. To assist you in obtaining a link to the proposed procedures or in filing your comment, you may incorporate your remarks into one of the templates provided by the following: Our colleagues at the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. have provided sample comments and a link to file comments at: https://cliniclegal.org/resources/federal-administrative-advocacy/clinic-template-comment-eoir-proposed-rule You may also find the American Immigration Lawyers Association’s template at: https://www.aila.org/takeaction#/88 Both websites provide additional information on how the proposed regulations restrict access to the courts and prevent bona fide applicants from litigating and their cases. To be accepted by the government, please ensure your comments are filed on or before 11:59 p.m. EDT, Friday, September 25, 2020. The critical point remains that you choose at least one element of the proposed rules that you believe is incompatible with our nation’s commitment to fair process to achieve justice and make your voice heard. Justice Ginsburg’s law review article, “In Pursuit of the Public Good: Access to Justice in the United States,” 7 Washington University Journal of Law & Policy 1, 8 (2001) can be found at: https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1534&context=law_journal_law_policy The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals case can be found at page 8 of Meza Morales v. Barr, 2020 WL 5268986, (7th Cir.). The TRAC Immigration report from Syracuse University on “The Life and Death of Administrative Closure” can be found at: https://trac.syr.edu/immigration/reports/623/ (September 10, 2020). Please share this podcast and links with members of your community or faith organizations, family members and friends. Encourage them to file comments to help ensure that our nation continues its commitment to a fair process and access to justice. Thank you for your consideration of this request.

Link to bioRxiv paper: http://biorxiv.org/cgi/content/short/2020.09.01.277863v1?rss=1 Authors: Weerasinghe, N. W., Habibi, Y., Uggowitzer, K. A., Thibodeaux, C. Abstract: Lanthipeptides are ribosomally-synthesized and post-translationally modified peptide (RiPP) natural products that are biosynthesized in a multistep maturation process by enzymes (lanthipeptide synthetases) that possess relaxed substrate specificity. Recent evidence has suggested that some lanthipeptide synthetases are structurally dynamic enzymes that are allosterically activated by precursor peptide binding, and that conformational sampling of the enzyme-peptide complex may play an important role in defining the efficiency and sequence of biosynthetic events. These biophysical processes, while critical for defining the activity and function of the synthetase, remain very challenging to study with existing methodologies. Herein, we show that native nanoelectrospray ionization coupled to ion mobility mass spectrometry (nanoESI-IM-MS) provides a powerful and sensitive means for investigating the conformational landscapes and intermolecular interactions of lanthipeptide synthetases. Namely, we demonstrate that the class II lanthipeptide synthetase (HalM2) and its non-covalent complex with the cognate HalA2 precursor peptide can be delivered into the gas phase in a manner that preserves native structures and intermolecular enzyme-peptide contacts. Moreover, gas phase ion mobility studies of the natively-folded ions demonstrate that peptide binding and mutations to dynamic structural elements of HalM2 alter the conformational landscape of the enzyme, and that the precursor peptide itself exhibits higher order structure in the mass spectrometer. Cumulatively, these data support previous claims that lanthipeptide synthetases are structurally dynamic enzymes that undergo functionally relevant conformational changes in response to precursor peptide binding. This work establishes nanoESI-IM-MS as a versatile approach for unraveling the relationships between protein structure and biochemical function in RiPP biosynthetic systems. Copy rights belong to original authors. Visit the link for more info

     The purpose of this lesson is to show how the historic fall of Adam and Eve fundamentally changed the human race and the world, resulting in disease, decay and death among all living things, and that the tendency of humanity is to behave in a spiritually and morally corrupt manner, suppressing God’s truth and rejecting His solutions to life’s problems.      Sin is a dominant theme from Genesis chapter three to the end of the Bible, at which time God will do away with sin and its effects, creating a “new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells” (2 Pet 3:13; cf. Rev 21:1). The word sin is found throughout Scripture, and both the Hebrew and Greek share the same basic meaning. The Hebrew word חָטָא chata means “to miss the target, or to lose the way,”[1] and the Greek ἁμαρτάνω hamartano is defined as “miss the mark, err, or do wrong.”[2] Sin is when we transgress God’s law and depart from His intended path.[3] The apostle John states, “Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness” (1 John 3:4). “The underlying idea of sin is that of law and of a lawgiver. The lawgiver is God. Hence sin is everything in the disposition and purpose and conduct of God’s moral creatures that is contrary to the expressed will of God (Rom 3:20; 4:15; 7:7; Jam 4:12, 17).”[4]      Sin impacts all things including family life, nature, economics, society, law, politics, science, education, etc. All sin and evil exist in connection with the willful creatures who manufacture it, and its effects can be short or long-lasting. Even the creation is cursed because of Adam’s sin, as the Lord told him, “Cursed is the ground because of you” (Gen 3:17), to which Paul added, “For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now” (Rom 8:20-22). Sin negatively impacts everyone and everything, and no one was impacted or hurt more by sin than God. On several occasions we read, “The LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart” (Gen 6:6), and though God loved Israel, their ongoing sin “grieved His Holy Spirit” (Isa 63:10). As Christians, we are commanded, “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption” (Eph 4:30). Sin ultimately cost God His Son, who came into the world and died on a cross in order to atone for it (Mark 10:45; John 3:16; 10:14-18; Rom 8:32; 1 John 4:10), and to set us free from spiritual slavery (Rom 6:6; Gal 5:1; Heb 2:14-15).      The Bible reveals we are sinners in Adam, sinners by nature, and sinners by choice. To be a sinner in Adam means we sinned when he sinned, that his fallen position is our fallen position, and his guilt is our guilt (Gen 2:16-17; 3:1-24; Rom 5:12; 1 Cor 15:21-22). This is commonly referred to as original sin. Since the fall of Adam, every person is born with a sin nature (except Jesus),[5] and it is this nature that internally motivates people to rebel against all legitimate forms of authority, both human and divine. More so, the sin nature is not eradicated from the believer during his time on earth, nor is it ever reformed, as though it can be made to love God. To be a sinner by nature means it’s our innate tendency to sin (Jer 17:9; Matt 7:11; Rom 7:18-21; Eph 2:1-3). To be a sinner by choice means we personally choose to act contrary to God and His revealed will (1 Ki 8:46; Prov 20:9; Ecc 7:20; Isa 53:6; Rom 3:10-12; 1 John 1:10). Cumulatively these reveal that we are totally depraved, which means sin permeates and corrupts every aspect of our being, including our mind, will, sensibilities and flesh. Though we may be moral to the best of our ability and others may applaud us for our good deeds, our best efforts are tainted by sin and have no saving merit before God (Isa 64:6; Rom 4:1-5; 5:6-10; Gal 2:16; Eph 2:8-9; Tit 3:5).      One of the major areas sin impacts us is in the mind, which theologians refer to as the noetic effects of sin. This means sin impacts our ability to think rationally, especially about God, who has made Himself known through general revelation (Psa 19:1-2; Rom 1:18-20) and special revelation (1 Cor 14:37; 1 Tim 5:18; 1 Thess 2:13; 2 Tim 3:16-17). The majority of people throughout history think evil thoughts and are consumed with themselves and their own agendas rather than God’s will. Of Noah’s generation it is said, “The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Gen 6:5). Later, Solomon declared, “the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil and insanity is in their hearts throughout their lives” (Eccl 9:3). And Jeremiah wrote, “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jer 17:9). And Jesus Himself spoke of the human condition, saying, “for out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, [and] slanders” (Matt 15:19). One would think that when Jesus came into the world that mankind would rejoice in His light; however, Scripture provides a different picture, telling us, “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil” (John 3:19; cf. 1:4-5). When talking to religious Pharisees, Jesus declared, “Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word” (John 8:43). This is true of all unbelievers, for “the natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised” (1 Cor 2:14). Even something as simple as the Gospel message is “foolishness to those who are perishing” (1 Cor 1:18), in whose case “the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Cor 4:3-4). The tendency of fallen people who operate on negative volition is to “suppress the truth in unrighteousness” (Rom 1:18), and to operate by a worldly wisdom that is not “from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic” (Jam 3:15).      At the moment of salvation, God the Holy Spirit indwells us and gives us a new nature that, for the first time in our lives, has the desire and capacity to obey God; however, the sin nature is not removed, and so we experience ongoing internal conflict between these opposing natures (Gal 5:17; Rom 7:14-23). As Christians, we are directed to “lay aside the old self…and put on the new self which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth” (Eph 4:22, 24). Since we have been “born again” and given new life (1 Pet 1:3, 23), the sin nature no longer has domineering power over us, and we can choose a life of righteousness (Rom 6:5-13). As we grow spiritually, we will be transformed from the inside out and gradually become more and more righteous as we walk with God. Sinless perfection will not be attained until we leave this world, by death or by Rapture, and are “conformed to the image of His Son” (Rom 8:29), who will “transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory” (Phi 3:21). Until then, we are commanded to “put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts” (Rom 13:14). We do this by choosing to live according to the Spirit’s guiding, and starving the monster that is our sin nature. To “make no provision for the flesh” means we stop exposing ourselves to the things of the world that excite the flesh and lead to sinful behavior. The positive action is to grow spiritually with biblical teaching (2 Tim 2:15; 3:16-17; 1 Pet 2:2; 2 Pet 3:18), Christian fellowship (Heb 10:23-25), selfless living (Phil 2:3-4), prayer (1 Thess 5:17), worship (Heb 13:15), and doing good (Gal 6:10; Heb 13:16). It is only by spiritual growth and drawing closer to God that we learn to glorify the Lord and live in righteousness.   [1] Ludwig Koehler et al., The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1994–2000), 305. [2] William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 49. [3] In Judges 20:16 the Hebrew word is used of skilled soldiers who do not miss their target, and in Proverbs 19:2 of a man who hurries and misses his way. [4] Merrill F. Unger and E. McChesney, “Sin,” ed. R.K. Harrison, The New Unger’s Bible Dictionary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1988), 1198. [5] According to Scripture, Jesus “knew no sin” (2 Cor 5:21), was “without sin” (Heb 4:15), and “in Him there is no sin” (1 John 3:5). His sinless life qualified Him as a perfect sacrifice to go to the cross and die as a substitute for others (Rom 5:6-10; Heb 10:1-14; 1 Pet 3:18).

Be sure to check out the video of this podcast at https://youtu.be/rBzCQHhn860 In Episode 17, K Bo, Amy, and Duke take advantage of a special opportunity to sit down with three of the hottest in-demand drummers in the business; Todd Sucherman (Styx), Van Romaine (Enrique Iglesias), and, Mark Schulman (Pink). Cumulatively, these three household names have performed in many of the world's largest arenas, recorded on hundreds of records, and, worked with many international acts. Additionally, the members of this special trio have been the recipients of many awards for achievement and recognition in their trade. Admittedly, getting three artists of this magnitude together in one session would ordinarily be very difficult, however, the unusual circumstances surrounding the music business (and society in general) made this sit down possible and, very unique. So join us as we explore a different (and more casual) side to these iconic timekeepers. We also delve into some other projects that Messrs. Sucherman, Romaine, Schulman are venturing into away from the drum kit. The trio gets to share some laughs and reflect on some of the things that have occurred throughout their time on the road as well as the highly unusual, extended time away from touring.

In this episode, the second of a multi-part miniseries on FinTech, I have an illuminating discussion with two of the leading FinTech thought leaders, practitioners & connectors in the US today. Joining us are David Jegen, Managing Partner of F-Prime Capital and Sarah Biller, Managing Partner of VantageVentures. David is an active early stage investor in Fintech. Sarah, formerly Chief Innovation Officer at State Street, is a serial FinTech entrepreneur.   Both David and Sarah are also co-founders and board members of the FinTech Sandbox. The FinTech Sandbox is a Boston-based nonprofit that is the place for all things data. They started the group after recognizing that the high cost and/or inaccessibility of data posed a consistent challenge to FinTech startups. Backed by some of the world’s leading financial institutions, data providers and venture capitalists, the Sandbox is united in its goal to help FinTech entrepreneurs build great products.   Sponsors include Fidelity Investments, Franklin Templeton, State Street, Ernst and Young, AWS & F-Prime.   Accelerator partners include Techstars, 500 Startups, IDEO Co-Lab, MassChallenge startupbootcamp, and the Fintech Innovation Lab.   The Fintech Sandbox offers financial data feeds and APIs for development purposes. They provide a robust set of market, banking, investment and corporate fundamentals data.   The Sandbox has assembled an impressive array of data partners. These include Dow Jones, Dun & Bradstreet, Experian, FACTSET, Moody’s, Morningstar, S&P and Transunion.  Their Data Partners have accelerated approval for FinTech Sandbox program participants, allowing for a fast and streamlined licensing process.   As a result, the Sandbox has grown from an idea to a robust & engaged community of 4500+ FinTech professionals under their leadership.   Venture Capitalists continue to invest heavily in FinTech startups. Cumulatively, they invested $24B USD in the first three quarters of 2019. Globally, there were 60 FinTech funding rounds above $100M. The FinTech Revolution is already having a huge impact on our daily personal and professional lives. The FinTech Sandbox is here to help the next wave of startups succeed.          

My first podcast episode ever, Fear is Not the Frequency came together as I sat with a variety of thoughts and feelings in light of the new reality that we're in right now. I created some expansive space for myself to sit in long meditation and listen for guidance. I captured what came through in the recording that is this episode. The episode has four main sections: 1) why and how I'm embracing quarantine as a nourishing hermitage, 2) the astrology of 2020 as it relates to COVID-19, 3) wisdom to help us that I just learned from a past life regression, and 4) some rich tarot medicine to guide us. Cumulatively, what I offer here is ultimately about calling in our most wise inner elder. I hope you will find this of service to you. I hope it will be a balm. I hope it will help you center and hear your own inner guidance as well. Take care of yourself.

In this episode, the first of a multi-part miniseries on FinTech, I have an illuminating discussion with two of the leading FinTech thought leaders, practitioners & connectors in the US today. Joining us are David Jegen, Managing Partner of F-Prime Capital and Sarah Biller, Managing Partner of VantageVentures. David is an active early stage investor in Fintech. Sarah, formerly Chief Innovation officer at State Street, is a serial FinTech entrepreneur. Both David and Sarah are also co-founders and board members of the FinTech Sandbox. The Sandbox grew from an idea to a robust & engaged community of 4500+ FinTech professionals under their leadership.   Venture Capitalists continue to invest heavily in FinTech startups. Cumulatively, they invested $24B USD in the first three quarters of 2019. Globally, there were 60 FinTech funding rounds above $100M. As David and Sarah are quick to point out, they take a far more expansive view of how FinTech is defined and believe the numbers grossly underestimate how big this market really is. Listen to the podcast to get their fascinating perspective.     Working with more a traditional definition of Fintech, Revolut, the rapidly growing British financial payments upstarts, announced 24 February, raised $500M at a $5.5B USD valuation. They provide app -based currency accounts, currency exchange services and money transfers and have ambitions to build a global bank. Over the past year, they’ve doubled their number of customers to 10M. They will soon launch in the US.   In China, AntFinancial has achieved 50% of the  market valuation of Citgroup in just 5 short years. Apps like WeChat and Alipay have totally disrupted Chinese mobile commerce, making the country  an almost entirely cash free society.   The FinTech Revolution is already having a huge impact on our daily personal and professional lives in the US. Some examples:   Apps like Venmo, Square’s Cash App, Zelle, and Transferwise are enabling far easier cash transfers with no fees.   Affirm, led by Paypal Co-Founder Max Levchin, provides millions of shoppers alternatives to credit cards at the point of sale, enabling simple monthly payments.   Trading apps like Robinhood are being used by countless millennials to trade stocks in ways not previously imaginable.   The Brex card has transformed startups financial, expense  & credit management.   Not to be left out, major financial service industry players are very much in the game, Plaid offers the ability to consolidate banking data, making it far easier for Fintech and Banking Industry application developers to delivers a digitally enabled financial system. Plaid was recently acquired by Visa for $5.3B Marcus, from Goldman Sachs, offers fixed rate no fee personal loans   Next week- we’ll do a deep dive on the FinTech Sandbox.

You find me today tired and wondering what on earth I've done.I'm moving on Thursday.  We sold the big old family pile late last year and we're downsizing into an apartment on Thursday. So we're feverishly editing the 15 years of accumulation of stuff that happens.  It's exhausting and emotional and worst of all its hot.  So we're sweating like pigs as we work day and night.Here's what I've learnt.The bigger the house the bigger the clutter.  We realise a lot of stuff has sneaked into our house and hidden itself because there's space to hide.  It's been an archaeological dig. Opening cupboards and seeing stuff you haven't seen for years.There's an emotional heft to finding this long hidden stuff.  Paintings done by five year old boys who are now 20. My Joe 90 and Captain Scarlet Matchbox toys that I had when I was five.  Yesterday I found a plastic lunchbox full of rose heads and their petals.  21 of them.  They're the 21 roses I gave Helen when she turned 21.  We kept them to make confetti for when we got married, which we never quite got round to doing.  34 years later we finally threw them out and had a hug.Cumulatively all this history flooding back is almost stifling.  I've lost count of the number of times I've ended out sitting in the middle of the floor surrounded by family stuff and crying.That said, most of the stuff that clogs your life is stuff you didn't even buy and now realise you didn't even want.  Promo stuff.  Bags and booklets and presents. Free gifts like picnic blankets and vacuum flasks that all seem to have some value so you keep them, store them, forget them, never use them and eventually you throw them away.An apartment we realise that has little storage for big stuff.  No attic. No under the house.  No garden shed.  No big dry space for little used big stuff.  Like camping gear.  We've got twp tents.  A 2 bedroomer and a 1 bedroomer and all the associated gear like kitchen tables, pantries, cutlery and cookers.  So it begs the question, is this the end of our camping days? It also explains why the storage industry is booming as the apartment sector grows.So the upshot of this has been the Dickens family filling two 12 metre jumbo bins to the brim and then the truck coming and taking all this unwanted stuff away.Which brings me to a broader point.  My weekday producer Andrew heard my story the other day and said to me, “You know there's no such thing as away or out”.What he means is that while I may have thrown this stuff out and someone has taken it away, it does not mean the stuff does not exist.  My two jumbo bins of crap is now on its way to a landfill.To look at the sheer volume of my crap.  Add that to our weekly volume of crap we throw out.  Add that to the number of New Zealanders all doing the same.  Add that to the volume of commercial junk we throw out. It all adds up and you realise the horror of the waste mountain we create as a species it immense.Which is why Auckland's dumps are full.  Which is why a new dump in the Dome Valley is mooted.  Which is why 300 trucks a day from Day One will be on State Highway 1 full of crap on Day 1.  Which is why in a few short years the number of those trucks will be in the thousands. Which will create its own problems.We have a stuff problem.  We make and use too much of it. It can't last. 

From the Simplr studios in San Francisco, this is your daily briefing.  IntroductionThis is Today in Five, for today, Thursday, December 26th, here are today’s headlines in digital disruption.Over the summer, Target announced it was opening mini Disney theme shops within some of its stores, as well as a Disney digital experience in the Target app. With movie-based toys increasing in popularity, this is a winning partnership for the two companies.First, here’s what’s making headlines.  E-Commerce Traffic Rose Significantly the Weekend Before ChristmasAccording to the Verizon Holiday Retail Index, e-commerce traffic rose by double digits the weekend before Christmas. Compared to last year, traffic rose 21 percent on Friday the 20th, 21 percent on Saturday the 21st, and 14 percent on Sunday the 22nd. The analysis from Verizon indicates that the combination of promotions and shipping deadlines drove solid results for the weekend.Super Saturday Breaks Sales RecordsNot only did e-commerce traffic rise, but the last Saturday before Christmas, known as Super Saturday, broke sales records. According to figures from retail consulting and research firm, CGP, Super Saturday sales on the 21st reached a record $34.4 billion dollars, marking the largest single-day in U.S. history. The sales day was 10 percent above Black Friday’s $31.2 billion dollar total this year. Cumulatively, digital sales have comprised 58 percent of the year-over-year growth in holiday retail spending in 2019.  E-Commerce Returns Could Be Nearly $42 Billion for Holiday SeasonThe total value of e-commerce returns over the holiday season could reach $41.6 billion dollars. The overall return rate is growing about 10 percent annually, straining storage space as the reverse logistics process can require 15 to 20 percent more space than outbound logistics. A well-run reverse logistics operation will become increasingly important as retailers continue to strive for sustainability goals that include waste components. The returns process results in about 5 billion pounds of waste and 15 million metric tons of carbon emissions from transportation every year, according to a CBRE report.        Disney and Target Join Forces In A Winning PartnershipOver the summer, Target announced it was opening mini Disney theme shops within some of its stores, as well as a Disney digital experience in the Target app. With movie-based toys increasing in popularity, this is a winning partnership for the two companies. Target has always sold Disney-licensed products, but the new arrangement ups the count and gives the retailer exclusive products that are otherwise sold only at Disney stores.Beyond that, the store is creating an "experience," the new way to the customer's heart. This features a lounge area in which movie clips are played on a large screen surrounded by Disney merchandise, music, interactive displays, movie-based games, and props for photo ops. The shops are only available at 25 Target stores, but the company is planning for at least 40 in total.  Target couldn’t have timed the shops more perfectly, coinciding with both the holiday season and the release of two anticipated Disney hits. Disney is already benefiting from the movie hype. CEO Bob Iger said that during the fourth quarter of 2019,  "Consumer products operating income was up 36 percent due to growth in merchandise licensing, as a result of strong revenue growth from sales of Frozen and Toy Story merchandise,”. Target also saw a sales boost during the fourth quarter, part of which was fueled by toys.With its huge reach, including all 50 states, strong customer satisfaction, and well-organized fulfillment options, Target is a natural ally for Disney.  ClosingFind out how Simplr can cut your customer service response time through cutting-edge technology and on-demand talent at simplr.ai. That’s S-I-M-P-L-R.ai.  Thanks for listening to this latest episode of Today In Five. We’ll see you tomorrow. 

Angela Zeigerbacher has always been interested in the personal finance realm, from hoarding cash in her sock drawer as a kid to paying off her student loan debt in one year after college. After countless conversations with friends, she realized not everyone had the same level of personal finance education, which prompted her to launch the Money in the Bank podcast, a personal finance podcast for the average Joe or Jane. On top of this, Angela has taught personal finance to teenagers in high school as well as hosted “lunch and learn” at several companies. She recently started a food channel on YouTube, Foogality, where she cooks and bakes frugal type of meals.   “Things can always break when you buy a house. So going in without a maintenance fund is a really bad idea.” Angela Zeigerbacher   Worst investment ever Young, debt-free and proud Angela finished paying off her student loan in just a year after college. She was on top of the world. At 22 and having paid off her student loan debt that fast, she felt she was doing a lot of things right. So what's next? Interestingly, nobody talks about what you should do once you pay off your debt, especially to young people. So after working so hard to pay off her debt, she didn’t know what to do now that she was debt-free. All her friends advised her to treat herself, go on nice vacations, and buy things she wanted. Angela had never really been a spendthrift. So she didn't take the advice completely to heart, but she started thinking about it. Desire to live the American dream Everyone kept telling her to buy a house, so she figured the American dream sounded good. It would be nice to have a house and have a boyfriend, two cars in the garage, and a white picket fence. Her American dream started with a new car. She didn’t put much thought behind it. She just went to the dealership and picked a car that she thought was good for her; a brand new Ford Escape for $35,000. Let’s buy a home Next on her American dream list was a house. After buying the car, her lease came up for renewal. At the time, she was living with her boyfriend and they decided that renting was just throwing away money, especially now that the lease was going to increase by $250 a month. So they decided that buying a house was the right thing to do. Again no thought was given to this decision as she was just too excited to get something she wanted and could afford. Oh, damn the closing costs! Even though they went for a house, they could easily pay for, one huge factor, prompted by the hasty decision making, was ignored. They never factored in the closing costs which was about 3% of the buying price. Now they were draining their emergency funds and savings accounts scraping this money together to fulfill their dream of buying a home. Now we hate the house The couple bought a house that they could afford, but they didn't spend enough time looking and ended up just quick buying the first house they saw. After living there for just a year, they hated it. There was no insulation in the bedroom, so it was freezing in the winter. Their bills were super high. They went from paying about $50 a month in an apartment for heating and cooling to about $200 a month. Don’t forget the taxes Another thing that they forgot to factor in was property taxes, and they can be quite expensive. They were paying about $350 a month in property taxes, as well as a Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) of about $100 per month as well. In hindsight, even though Angela thought renting was throwing all this money out the window, they could have rented a two-bedroom, which would have been more than enough for their needs at the time, for probably about $875 a month. Poor investment choice Buying a house ended up being Angela’s worst investment ever. Even though she made about $19,000 worth of principal, it still cost her in total $30,000 because closing costs on both ends were high. She also had to sell her car as she had moved closer to work. Cumulatively, her American dream cost her about $50,000. Lessons learned Ignore what society thinks Never listen to what others or society think that your life should look like. Having that car and having that house makes you look very successful when you're 22 years old. But ultimately, from an investment perspective, that isn’t what’s best for you. You are better off using that money to invest in other things that have a return on investment. Buying a house is not necessarily a good investment When it comes to buying rental property versus buying a home, one is an investment, and one is not. Most first time homebuyers tend to think that buying a home is an investment but it's not. Some people have had major luck with the buy and hold model on their homes, but that is like winning the lottery. Think of your house as a home, your place to live in. A house has no liquidity like a savings account. That's why you accept a lower return on a savings account as your money is very liquid, you can get your hands on it if you need to, but you can't with home equity. Andrew’s takeaways Always do your research Before you put the down payment on a house, do your research. Find a comparable house that's for sale, and try to compare the two. By doing so, you force yourself to ask all the questions necessary to make the right decision. Your parents know all about buying a house, hear them out Listen to your parents when it comes to buying a house. They’re likely to know all the expenses and all the trouble that comes with the purchase. Keeping up with the Joneses You don’t need to chase the American dream just because everyone else is doing so. Don’t follow other people’s dreams. Just because others are doing something, it doesn’t mean they are making the right decisions. Be brave, be willing to stand on your own. Actionable advice Don’t rush big financial decisions. Take your time, think about it, do your research, do your homework, and make sure you’re excited about what you’re doing. Ask for more opinions from people around you. No. 1 goal for the next 12 months Angela’s goal for the next 12 months is to focus on her YouTube channel and pick up some more editing skills, so her videos get better. She also wants to work on releasing a frugally minded cookbook and the next year. Parting words   “Don’t let sunk cost fallacy keep you in a bad situation. It was hard to sell my car after so much depreciation but it was far much better than holding onto a mistake.” Angela Zeigerbacher   Andrew’s books How to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock Market My Worst Investment Ever 9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid Them Transform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 Points Andrew’s online programs Valuation Master Class Women Building Wealth The Build Your Wealth Membership Group Become a Great Presenter and Increase Your Influence Transform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 Points Connect with Angela Zeigerbacher Facebook YouTube Website Connect with Andrew Stotz astotz.com LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube My Worst Investment Ever Podcast  

Join us this week as What’s Next series host Dave Travis sits down with Generis Principal and CEO Jim Sheppard. Jim is a student of generosity and is passionate about spreading it throughout the Church. For the last 27+ years, he has devoted his life to coaching pastors and understands the financial challenges that churches face today-annual giving, debt, capital projects, and planned giving-and is a positive force in bridging these needs with the power of spiritually motivated stewardship. Cumulatively, Jim has partnered with his clients to raise over $1.7 billion for local church ministry. Listen as they dive into what church leaders need to be talking about right now when it comes to Generosity in their church.

The City of Des Moines, Iowa and the tree planting and forestry advocacy non-profit Trees Forever represented by their member Kerri Sorrell recently partnered with ARTi for a biochar and tree planting project right in the middle of urban Des Moines. When passing through the cities or suburbs, whether by foot or bicycle along those long and often empty sidewalks most of us take little notice of the small plots of earth where one tree is planted apiece. Cumulatively, the effect is a good one. The avenues all lined with trees and when they grow a bit larger the positive difference does become apparent. However, what if these small plots of urban soil and the associated saplings could become part of the carbon sequestration effort? Furthermore, what if the trees themselves could become much more robust and healthier due to such an effort?

The world is facing a water crisis. If that sounds alarmist, consider a few statistics. The global per capita water supply has fallen by 56% since 1962, with 57% of aquifers having passed the tipping point. By 2025, 1.8 billion people are expected to be living in regions with absolute water scarcity and two-thirds of the world’s population will be living under water-stress conditions.   Population growth is obviously a factor in this, but water shortages are also being aggravated by many other forces, from climate change to urbanisation. And even where there is plentiful water, it is becoming increasingly polluted. Cumulatively, this is forecast to lead to a deficit of at least 40% between the availability of and demand for fresh water in the next 10 years.   Yet, as Aanand Venkatramanan explains in this episode, we need not despair if we act now. Clean water is one of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, and should attract investment of up to $23 trillion over the next 10-20 years. Aanand describes some of the most promising technologies that will help us meet this challenge, and sets out the opportunities they create for investors.   For more insights into the investment opportunities in the market for clean water, visit: http://www2.landginvestments.com/l/26932/2019-07-10/6x5n3d/26932/108837/LGIM_ETF_CLEAN_WATER_BROCHURE.pdf (https://protect-eu.mimecast.com/s/-mhyCAP2LsoMYJsGfWwZ?domain=www2.landginvestments.com)     •             Aanand Venkatramanan, Head of ETF Investment Strategies •             Robert StGeorge, Content Manager   We want to hear from you! Email us at mark.chappel@lgim.com (mailto:mark.chappel@lgim.com) with your thoughts on the podcast and any suggestions of the guests or types of content you’d like to see covered.   This podcast is intended for investment professionals, and shouldn’t be shared with a non-professional audience. This podcast should not be taken as an invitation to deal in Legal & General investments. Any views expressed during this recording belong to the individuals and are based on market conditions at the time of recording, and do not reflect the views of Legal & General Investment Management. Legal & General Investment Management is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Legal & General Investment Management, One Coleman Street, London, EC2R 5AA. Register in England no. 2091894. All rights reserved. No part of this audio may be reproduced in whole or in part without the prior written consent of Legal & General Investment Management.

If you're following the companies I'm talking with, then you're seeing a trail success being blazed right before your eyes. In this podcast episode, I recap companies I've featured previously including Reonomy, Remarkably, and of course Avail. Of the companies I've featured, they've gone on to raise over $200M since they were featured on Tech Nest. I also put my guest list I'd like to make happen in 2020 including guests from Compass, NFX, VTS, Inc., Hello Alfred, and Clutter.Not finished recording new episodes for 2019 yet, but getting amped up for the interviews I can hopefully bring y'all in 2020! BTW, if you're not yet on our Insiders email list, you can join, visit http://technest.io to find the link.

We sit down with the Glitch Gurls Gaming Podcast ladies to talk Death Stranding, Stadia, and the Destiny 2 Leviathan Raid. Follow them with the links at the bottom! 1:26 - Read the Glitch Gurls Gaming Instruction Manual 17:34 - Play Time: Outer Worlds, Destiny 2 Raid, Death Stranding 32:35 - Fetch Quests 34:58 - Quest Log - Third Party: New Mass Effect Hope 37:36 - Quest Log - Google: Stadia Launch Line-up 45:44 - Quest Log - Sony: Executive Shifts (Shuhei Yoshida, Gio Corsi, Hermen Hurst), Jim Ryan Explains Global Efforts 54:54 - Main Quest: Death Stranding Impressions 1:20:22 - We Are So Fucking Humble 1:26:08 - Ryan's Subscriber Interrogatives: The Space Ghost @MattfromRI, Darby Hallman @DarbyHallman1 1:38:54 - Game On Game Show If you’d like to ask us a question and/or share your thoughts please contact us @RespawnAimFire or email us at RespawnAimFire@gmail.com. Glitch Gurls Gaming Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/glitch-gurls-gaming/id1473865028 twitter.com/podcastggg Instagram.com/podcastggg

Jinny Oh from WANDR shares why she’s passionate about the remote work revolution, what she’ll be covering as an expert on the Remote Business Summit, and her courage story.WANDR is a Product Strategy and UX Design Firm. They work with SaaS companies on product strategy from start to scale. Cumulatively, they have helped startup founders raise over $100 Million.Having lived in 6 different countries has shaped Jinny’s ability to connect with new people and ideas. As a result, WANDR boasts employees from around the world. Their diverse and multidisciplinary team is the basis of their success.Catch Jinny Oh and 25 other #remotework experts on the Remote Business Summit Nov 18 - 22, 2019.Want to learn how to launch, grow and scale your remote company? Grab your free ticket or All-AccessPass at http://www.RemoteBusinessSummit.comConnect with Jinny Oh athttp://www.wandr.studioShow notes are at http://foundersconnect.co/podcast

Cumulatively we Americans are in a MOUNTAIN of credit card debt! As a nation thick with consumerism we've all got 'em, and we all use 'em! Because we've all gotta have things we can't afford and want them now! Even if that APR is 30% or more! We take a moment to step back and ask how all this came to be. How did they ever convince us this was an okay way to live and why have we accepted it as a normality? And how did they figure out ways to punish us for not having credit cards?! All that and more in this episodes discussion!

The Achieve Wealth Podcast Host: James Guest: Ben Label Title : Underwriting Phoenix with Ben Leybovich   James:  Hey, welcome audience to Achieve Wealth Podcast. This is where we look at operators around the countries and learn from them. And I really appreciate you being here just because you have thousand and one things to do somewhere else. But listening to us or listening to me on this podcast gives me great pleasure to be with you all. So today I have a very nice guest and I would say a well-known guest in the bigger pockets and outside of bigger pockets community as well. Today we have Ben Label, which is from Phoenix; hey, Ben, thanks for coming.   Ben: How are you? It's a pleasure to be with you. I do a lot of these podcasts, but I have fun every time.   James: Yeah, that's awesome. Yeah, we want to go a bit more into detail, so I'm sure you've gone into a great line in other podcasts as well, but there are a few things that we look for. I mean, I'm an operator. We would like to go into a lot more details, into the numbers and the strategies and all that just because we want to learn and my audience want to learn and we listen to podcasts to learn, right? Because everybody's spending the time to listen to each one of those podcasts and there are thousands of those out there but I think it's important that we learn from each other. Right? So, Ben has been almost investing in multifamily residential real estate for over a decade and he has been on numerous times featured in Bigger Pockets Podcast. I've been following him since the very early days when I started in single family and I've learned a lot of things from Bigger Pockets.   He has been featured on like three different episodes in Bigger Pockets, he is also the creator of Cashflow of Freedom University and author of House Hacking. He and his partner, Sam Grooms, has been a buying deals in Phoenix market. I think they close on 98 units and recently you close on 130 units, is that right? Ben: 117, it's 117, last week we purchased.   James: 117. Okay. So why don't you tell us about yourself to our audience on aspects that I've missed out about introducing you?   Ben: Well, thank you again for inviting me, I appreciate it; I like doing these things. Who doesn't like to talk about themselves, especially when you were so good-looking like me and I guess most often do, it's fantastic, right? Sam is like, not showing up for this, he knows how it's going to go. I don't know, my story has been very kind of public, through Bigger Pockets and elsewhere. Folks, you know, my website, justaskBenwhy.com, my stories are all over that website.   I basically was informed that I have a medical condition called multiple sclerosis when I was in college. I'm a professional fiddle player, but I wasn't able to do that because it's kind of hard to do that when your hands don't work like they're supposed to. So it was a kind of a long path toward discovering some way of making money that wasn't reliant upon my physiology to the extent that music would have been. And I kind of,  through zigging and zagging through this rationale, I ended up eventually in real estate. I bought a few single families first, figured out that I didn't like it, went onto small multifamily, syndicate larger apartments today, with my partner Sam Grooms in Phoenix. And that's kind of my story.   James: Yeah. Hey, thanks Ben. So I remember you, were in Ohio and you moved to Phoenix, what is the reason for that transition?   Ben: Well, there are many reasons. Like everything in life, I think there are synergies that need to take place in order for things to really work and gel and work properly. For one thing, I'm 43 years old, I was 40 years old at the time we relocated. My mentor, who is no longer with me, once upon a time told me, whatever you're going to do, do it by the age of 40. If you don't do it by the age of 40, you're not going to do it in your life. It's a lot easier to keep the ball rolling that's already going than it is to start the ball rolling at the age of 40, midlife basically.   So that was one kind of driving force is that I felt like Ohio wasn't the place where I want it to be but you know, the driving force for that timing happening the way that it did was really, I was cognizant of my age and I just wanted to offer myself and my family a good opportunity, [05:42inaudible] start in a better world. That's one thing.   The second thing is I wanted better weather, I wanted blue skies, palm trees; I wanted low property taxes, I wanted a good business environment, I wanted a lot of growth. If I never see snow in my life is going to be too soon, I'm completely done with snow. I wanted educational opportunities for my children that I simply wasn't able to attain where we were in Ohio. All of those things, just kind of synergize together and we moved so far, everything's working out absolutely beautifully. My kids are having fabulous educational opportunities and my wife has been a very successful Real estate agent; she makes a lot of money. I am syndicating buildings that it's not something I could do in Ohio just because I wouldn't allow myself when we talk about the underwriting, we can touch on why I wouldn't do it in Ohio or Midwest in general. And then, my job as a function of sitting down by my pool and working my way through some spreadsheets and making some offers and my life is a beautiful thing right now. So that's how and why we ended up in Phoenix.   James: Yeah. Let's talk about markets in a short while. So once you moved to Phoenix, I think you met Sam here and you guys started a partnership, right? So my first question is, why do you want to partner up? And second is, how did you choose the partner or how did you choose Sam and what are the skills that you guys see that was complimenting?   Ben: Sure. Well, first of all, the reason I wanted to be in Phoenix is because I want to be in a growth market. We buy only in Phoenix because it is a very, very serious growth market and I happen to be very bullish on it and see quite a bit of runway still. Now, for instance, we took a look at Texas because Texas, everybody likes Texas, but Texas was a market that started recovering like 12 years ago so it is a very seasoned recovery at this point. There are other places, Phoenix among them that is a younger cycle still. So I feel because of that and a lot of other, be it income growth, rent growth, occupancies, a lot of other metrics are just looking better to me in Phoenix than in a lot of other markets so that's why in Phoenix.   The way we met is I was putting a deal together that didn't materialize, it fell apart, but Sam was going to be one of the investors as a limited partner in that deal. It was also a red D and after the fact, after the thing fell apart. Well, actually before the thing fell apart, he called my attention to the fact that I had a mistake in my underwriting. It wasn't a very serious mistake, but it was an oversight on my part and like nobody finds mistakes in my underwriting. So I'm like, who the hell is this guy and how is it that you know? So I started looking into him and the thing about him was he took the offering memorandum and he milked the spreadsheets to reverse engineer my offering memorandum and he found an inconsistency that I had missed. And I was just like, wow! So we had lunch and when that deal didn't materialize, the two of us just kind of got together.   He's a CPA with SCC reporting background, so he obviously has a lot of strengths that are complementary and scalable, complementary to mine. He didn't have operational experience, but he had a lot of bookkeeping and accounting and paperwork wise, corporate level, institutional level experience. And he's obviously a very strong underwriter because spreadsheets are like his bloodline. So that worked and that's why it worked. And the main reason that works, because I like him a lot and I trust him. I don't have to worry about him stabbing you in the back. I would be amazed that ever happened and I don't believe it, he's just a good person. So that's how that worked and that's why we're in Phoenix, kind of the high level, tips of the trees; we like the market and that's why we're together because we have a very complimentary skill set. James: Good. Good. So let's go down into a little more details into the deals that you guys do. So you have told me why Phoenix. So at a high level, Phoenix did go through a huge upswing and the downswing when on the previous market cycle of market correction in 2008, so aren't you worried about that? [10:41inaudible] I think you froze.   Ben: Yeah, we froze up a little.   James: Okay, go ahead. Yeah, I can edit that out. So did you hear my question?   Ben:  You're freezing up again. Yeah.   James: Okay. So nothing now it's good. So my question is, Phoenix did go through a huge downturn, it was a huge swing in 2008 so aren't you worried about Phoenix going through that again?   Ben: You're freezing up, James. Breaking up real bad.   James:  I'm not sure what's happening. Is it good?   Ben: It's good now.   James: Okay. Let's see.   Ben: No, freezing up again.  Wow!   James: Really?   Ben: Okay, you're back now.  Okay, let's try it again.   James: So let's go into the details of the market. Phoenix went through a huge downturn during the last 2008 crash, the real estate and the economy crashed so aren't you worried about that?   Ben: No because Phoenix today is a different market from Phoenix 10 years ago. So Phoenix 10 years ago was very heavily reliant on construction. A lot of the GDP in the state and Phoenix, in particular, was all about construction. Construction is like 10% of our economy today. We have a very diversified economy, meaning; tech, banking, health-care are the three kinds of big industries, they're very well diversified. So additionally, the population growth that we experienced in Phoenix prior to the last cycle was all driven by a snowbird housing. There was a lot of housing being built for people from the Midwest, from Canada. Well, what happens when the economy crashes is these people lose nothing but just dropping the bag and making themselves scarce so we had a lot of foreclosures because of that. The dynamics are completely different now because of the population growth, while we still have people coming in, snowbirds, but we have a lot more true retirement. So this isn't a second home, it's actually the first home for a lot of people that are relocating here. We also still have snowbirds, but by and large, our population growth is driven by economic growth. We're located in a place where you have California over here, Texas over there and Mexico over here, top 20 economies in the world and we're within a day's drive so it's a good place to be in terms of commerce and trade and all of that. And then there are little things like, listen, 20 years ago the HVAC units couldn't even keep up with 115-degree weather and today it's just really a non-issue at all can so life in Phoenix has become more comfortable.   The infrastructure is very new because the whole place is new. The property taxes are extremely low as compared to the Midwest or Texas. The regulatory environment is very friendly to business and as California experiences what it experiences, we are certainly benefiting with x coming out of California and we are one of the places that they're going, Seattle being another one, Texas being another one, but they're definitely coming here. So the economy is very much more diversified than it was prior to the last crash. So that's kind of the big picture view of why would answer no, I'm not, I mean, I'm always concerned. People ask me, what are you afraid of? I'm afraid of everything but you have to be logical about how you kind of respond to things and look at facts. And the facts are that nationwide, last I read, average apartment rent stands at $1,470 per month; in Phoenix, we're at 1070. Maricopa county, which encompasses all of Phoenix and surrounding MSA is the number one growth county in the entire country.   Phoenix is the number two growth city in the entire country. We now have a population of 5 million so we're number five largest city in the country. And with the proper regulatory environment, the low taxes on property, all of those things, insurance costs are lower because we don't have hurricanes, we don't have fires, we don't have all the nonsense right? We don't have the freezing pipes in the middle of the winter, we don't have any of that stuff so there's a lot of positives. So the question people are asking is, hey, here's this growth market. Our rent growth in 2018 clipped at 8.2 %.   James: Wow! That's huge.   Ben: Well that's because we're 1070 and nationwide, you're at 1470. There's a 25% delta in the highest growth market in the country so you are asking yourself, why? Basically, you're saying, why would an average rent in like Cincinnati, Ohio cost more than it does in Phoenix, which has the good weather, all the growth and all of the income growth and all of the job growth and everything and the population growth? So that's why the investors are asking themselves, can Phoenix organically catch up to the national averages? Like forget surpassing the average, can we catch up to the national?   And if you say yes, it's because you see what's happening economically. If you say yes, then if you deploy your capital at five cap and you just sit on it until that process kind of happens on your basis, you're at six and a half gap three or four years later without having to do any value-ads. So this is why the cap rates are so compressed in Phoenix is because people are just making a play on the fact that Phoenix has undervalued. For the type of economic prowess that is currently taking place in Phoenix, it's just undervalued; rents are undervalued, property is expensive relative to the rents. But if you consider the prospects of rents going up, if you look at Marcus and Millichap, they're predicting this year at 6.2%; if you look at Colliers, they are over 7% so again, depending on who you look at. I think we're going to be closer to 7% just because we have such delta and because of what I am personally experiencing in this environment.   We just have a lot of upside, the ceiling is very high. Juxtapose this against Austin, which is stalling out at this point, it is a very seasoned market. The rent growth is stalling out, the vacancies are taking up, so now it's Texas, so can it continue being Texas for the next five years? For all I know, yes, but given the choice to be in a younger cycle such as Phoenix or to be in a seasoned cycle, but in a very strong location, historically that's proven itself, I don't know, that's where people kind of make their bed, I guess and make their beds. I like Phoenix, I'm bullish on Phoenix and I'm not even looking to any place else because if you can be in Phoenix, why would you look at anything else?   James: Yeah, that's exactly my point as well. I'm in Texas and I'd rather invest in my backyard even though it's competitive over here. But in your backyard, you have a lot of control. You can go and drive by and see it compared to somewhere else. I mean, real estate is so localized, it's important for you to know your own back yard. So coming back to the sub-market, how do you choose the sub-market, is there a specific preferring for sub-market compared to the deals itself?   Ben: I don't really worry about sub-markets because I don't buy buildings, I buy stories. So if there's a good story for a specific building, because all it is is that you are looking for a delta, the money is always in the delta. So if you can purchase the building here, but the story suggests that the building,  the future valuation is going to be recognized here, then that's the delta I am paying for, that's what I'm buying. I'm not actually buying the cash flow, I'm not a cash flow investor when I syndicate these things. Cash-flow is there as a pathway to generating wealth and generating equity but that's it. There are not cash flow investments because you can't drive the IRR on cash flow, it's discounted too much over time and you need the appreciation. The appreciation is in Delta and the delta is in the story.   So we bought a Kenyan 35 and that's half a mile away from a university, a Grand Canyon University that grew from 2000 students to 20,000 students in 10 years. Received public status Accreditation, is investing $1 billion into their campus, gentrifying everything around them, of course, as usually happens with the universities when they grow and they're going to be at 30,000 students within next five years. So I'm buying a building half a mile away, that's my story there. I buy another one over here that is in the middle of a huge redevelopment and rejuvenation by the city. The city is deploying a lot of capital. There's a lot of class A infrastructure coming in, both in terms of retail and office space and everything else. So I buy this class C building, it's surrounded by all this class A stuff. It's uniquely positioned to be able to compete with class A on finishing textures when I'm done remodeling, but at a much lower basis. So my rents don't have to be anywhere near where the class A rents are and so, it's a story, it's always a story.   What is happening economically that is going to give my building desirability that is uncommon at the basis that I will be at. So the sub-market itself doesn't really, I mean, yeah, I guess there are places you wouldn't want to go, but we wouldn't look in those places because nothing is happening in those places. The whole point of where we want to buy buildings is because things, good things are happening in that location, that's why we want to buy a building there, especially in this season cycle.   James: Yeah. So what you're saying is there are places that you wouldn't even look at it, right? It's basically a sniff test. Yeah, this area, I'm not looking at it.   Ben: Well, there's area and there's a building. I mean, I get these emails, 100 a week and the vast majority of them go into the trash before they're even opened. And of those open, vast majority go into the trash and that's got to do with age, quality, construction features because you can put lipstick on a pig, it's still a pig. You can put a gold plated toilette in a pig, it's still a pig. Because of what it is, where it is, it's gonna attract the audience that it's going to attract, there's nothing you can do with it and I don't want those buildings like that.   I want the building, which inherently the bones of it are just something that's not coming through in a recognizable way, shape, and form for the marketplace. But if I put some money and energy into this asset, I can bring back what it already is. I'm not trying to take a pig and make it into a unicorn. I'm trying to make a unicorn that's been completely messed up and it looks like a pig, but it's a unicorn, it's not a pig. I just have to re-sculpt it, redo it, I have to clean it up, improve and then the market will see it for what it is, which is a unicorn. That's what I want and that's a function of both location and the asset itself.   James: Yeah, I mean, so I think what you're describing is what I would describe as building upside. So I look for deals where I know today I can go and just improve on it; either by capital or reducing expenses and just realize that upside that has been hidden inside that building and that's a lot of it in multifamily, right? And it just you're to find that kind of deals. It's hard to find that kind of deal, but that is the real deal, right? Compared to buy [24:23inaudible]    Ben: Right. Then it's a needle in a haystack. In fact, I mean, if you are not doubling, almost practically doubling your NOI in the first three years, you are not buying the right kind of building because that's what it takes in my experience is almost doubling the NOI in three years.   James: Yup. So let's go to underwriting. So where are you getting your deals, are you getting from brokers?   Ben: Brokers; they're off-market but they're brought to me by brokers. James:  So why do they come to you?   Ben: Because I close.   James:  Okay. No, there must be, I mean brokers do a lot of off-market but they look for qualified buyers, right? So especially people who have done deals with them so maybe...   Ben: Right, so that's why, and I mean, even if I didn't do a deal with this broker---I don't know, I don't want to drop names because I don't want to but the national brokers, one of them reached out to me yesterday because even before we closed last week on the last one, somehow everybody already knows that we're going to close on it. And so these guys started coming out of the woodwork. Well, this schmuck emails me, he calls me twice in a row, he says, Oh yeah, I got an off-market property for you. I said, okay, go ahead and email me the nondisclosure agreement, I will sign it and email me the stuff. Well, he emails this property to me; well another broker already showed it to me two months ago, not requiring any kind of nondisclosure.   It was a pig; it was the very thing that we're describing, the 'don't do'. It's the wrong shape, it's the wrong footprint, it's the wrong mechanical layout, it's the wrong age, it's the wrong location; It's the wrong everything. And these guys call you and they say, well, you know, you can get it for 75 per door. While I'm like, I would rather pay a hundred a door but get quality, that's going to be worth 180 when I'm done with it, rather than paying 75 per door because whatever money I put into it, it's still going to be worth 75,000 per door when I'm done because the market has decided this is a pig. It's worth 75 per door, that's it. There's nothing you're going to do to move that hurdle and so you get a lot of that.   But you also get some serious brokers. Like the biggest brokers in Phoenix is not national brokers, they are local, but they're the biggest by volume. They do the most deals in the apartment space and those guys bring me deals, they're deals, and they're not the only ones, other people do as well. We've tried to go after some deals with other brokers, we came really close. We weren't able to, for one reason or another, to execute those deals, somebody else got it or whatever. But sometimes brokers have deals and they're off-market deals. The question of, what's it gonna take to get those deals? I just don't have an answer. It's all about relationships and I'm going to have to convince somebody that you are worth having a conversation with and that you have a good chance of executing. Obviously, it gets easier immediately after the first deal closes, immediately.   James:  Just because of the credibility.  Let's say today a broker sends you an OM, right? So some random broker and he said it's a deal and you know it's not a pick, right? So, you know there's something more I need to do my secondary inspection here or my secondary underwriting here, right? So how would you go about underwriting the deal? Ben: Well, the first and most important thing in the underwriting process is to place after renovated rents because if you mess that up, everything else just doesn't matter. Where most of the money is, is knowing down to the dollar and the cents where those rents are going to be after you are done fixing the community and fixing the unit. So that's the first thing I do is like if it's well located, it's the correct year, it's the correct HVAC, it's the correct roof, it's the correct XYZ, which I can tell just by looking at this thing, it's in the correct sub-market, where I know I would want to be, the next step in the process is just to put it through the underwriting that begins with placing rent, understanding what the rents are going to be.   James: So how do you place rents? I mean, how do you do the rent comps?   Ben: So, for me, if a broker is sending me something like this, what is accompanying it is some kind of Yardi report or metrics or something; some kind of report on the sub-market, which is going to give me the comps. Now those reports aren't correct, they're probably within 20% margin correct. We are looking in the market that's trending seven, 8% per year, obviously, those metrics will be off. First of all, I know what the rents are in Phoenix, MSA for the class of asset I want to buy in, in the kind of location I want to buy in. To validate myself, I then look at that report. Now, the underwriting, for the most part, is an automated process because we kind of know what the OPEX is. There's really very little magic to how much it costs to run these buildings.   There are a lot of reports that study and track by the state, by the locality, by the city, what the operating costs are running and so we underwrite to the averages and we have our own trailing numbers, which we use in the underwriting. So we do massage those for every deal, depending on the size and the complexity of the mechanical and things like that. The R&M is going to vary and certain services are going to be required here they're not required there, contract services, things like that. But by and large, I know that on the operating side, I'm going to be somewhere between $4,200 per door and $4,600 per door. $4,600 per door is on a smaller asset, maybe 100, maybe 95; $4,200 per door is 120, 140 is going to tick up because now I need more payroll. And so you know what those dynamics look like. We can kind of, we're both, Sam and I, are starting with numbers filled in because we know where those ranges are and this is just for the first path, right? First time through. Now, if the first time through, I mean, like it takes me about...   James: Let me quickly interrupt you. So how many percents of operational income is that? [32:06 crosstalk] do you look at percentages as well?   Ben: Yeah, that's the beauty of Phoenix. You're talking about being under 40% on a stabilized basis.   James: Under 40? That's really good.   Ben: Between 35 and 40%. Well, this is the thing about Phoenix. I have to tell you; like I studied the operating costs all over the nation, I will tell you that in Texas it's over $6,000 per door because the property taxes are so high. In Cincinnati, Ohio, it's over $6,000 per door. Over there, it's for a different reason; it's all hilly, the buildings are all older, there are boilers involved, there are flat roofs involved, pipes freeze all the time and building sit at the bottom of where water flows and you just got RNM and contract nightmare.   In Phoenix, because property taxes are so low because the insurance is so low and because frankly a lot of things are easier in Phoenix because of the weather, it never snows, such things, the operating costs, If you look at the national reports that indicate per city, you will see that Phoenix is in the mid $4,000 per door. Now, as a relationship to the rent though, that's very low because even though Phoenix is lower than the national average, still when you're running at $4,500 plus or minus like we just purchased last week. So my underwriting for that asset is right around 45 $4,600 per door on the OPEX. But dude, we're running, let me calculate, we're running, which is 98 units at about $34,000 per month.   James: That's awesome.   Ben: $4,000 per month divided by 98 times 12. Yeah, 4163, under $4,200 per door, that's OPEX. Now obviously you're going to have cap acts that you are exchanging blinds fixed. It's not part of the scope is just part of the turn on each unit. But with my underwriting, 4,600, I really don't think we're going to need it. In fact, we can run a 117 unit on the same payroll that we run 98 unit. So theoretically that OPEX number, it should be closer to 4,000. So in terms of relationship to the top line, you've got very, very pleasant circumstance in Phoenix that you can't achieve in a lot of other places.   James: Yeah, I think your rent is high compared to the Texas market. I mean, forget about Austin, Austin is a different market, right? But if I look at my San Antonio deals, usually my expenses are 4,500 4,600 but my rents are also lower so I end up my expense ratios like almost 50%. But what you're describing to me in Phoenix, looks like mobile home parks expense ratio because I know there are mobile home parks expense ratios like around 35 to 40%. So if you can run at 40% that's a really good market because your income is high and your expenses are low.   Ben: I'm going to look at it right now.   James: Okay. That's really good numbers in terms of percentage relationship.   Ben: Yeah. So in the first year, I'm projecting 49%; second year, 39%; in the third year, 35%; and then it ticks up a little bit because I'm using a little more O&M as my remodel gets seasoned and it gets older, a little more money for turns, a little more money for O&M and those kinds of things. So, but yeah, we're staying underneath 40%.   James: That's very interesting. So is that what you're consistently seeing even on the broker O&Ms? Ben: The broker O&Ms are going to be even lower. The broker O&Ms on deals like this, come with like $3,900 of operating costs; 38, 39, which is unrealistic. If you go to the bank, trying to get financing on that, it's not possible. So for the bankers, you have to show underwriting in the mid four thousand, you just do. But I have to say that in Texas if you are showing 45, $4,600 per door, that's really good. [36:47inaudible] a lot higher than that.   James: Yeah. We have our own operation, we want to be integrated so we are able to run it much leaner.  And the question I have for you on the property taxes, how do you [37:05inaudible] property taxes in Phoenix? I mean do you have the same or do you increase a bait? Because I know in Texas   Ben: In Phoenix, there are regulations in place that were passed about three, four years ago. Whereby the municipality is not allowed to raise property taxes any more than 5% per year, this applies to the assessed value and the actual tax bill so it's regulation on the books. So the tax on the writing and Phoenix is the simplest thing ever because you don't have to guess, you don't have to take a basket of properties, you have to do nothing. You know you're not going to go up any more than 5% so in my underwriting I use 5% a year, which is the worst case scenario done. Now there are caveats if you are going to put another building on the property and trigger reassessment, that triggers all kinds of circus; we don't do that. I won't buy anything that requires me to move exterior walls, to do that kind of stuff.   James: So what are you saying is even though the property has changed, hand the maximum they can do is 5%, wow! It's awesome.   Ben: And this is what I'm telling you about the regulatory environment being conducive to doing business. They don't change the chase sales. And everybody says in Texas, oh, just buy the LLC, they will never know what you pay. They're not stupid, they're going to look at the loan. They're going to apply the LTV in reverse, they're gonna get what you paid and they're going to assess your taxes up to Wazoo. I mean, the glutens up there, it's laughable, it's hilarious. And Texas has always scared me because of that because I can't underwrite taxes. The same is true in the Midwest, the Indianapolis. I remember I'd paid an attorney, we were looking at a deal in Indianapolis. Well listen, it has in place property taxes of about $60,000 but if I were to follow the letter of the law, I was getting three times that much. Which obviously is going to penalize the building and obviously the broker wasn't showing that much increase.   So I paid an attorney to speak to an attorney. Even they can't tell you because yeah, they're not chasing sales, but they are going to take a basket of properties, like properties and like location, they're going to kind of synergize all of that data and they're going to increase everybody by the same amount. But who knows what kind of basket of properties it is, which properties make it into the basket, when were they sold? So the only thing you can do there is looking at trailing billings and back into the probable increases. But it's not scientific, over here, no more than 5%, boom. And so far that's exactly what has been 5% per year. James: That's awesome. I mean in Texas is just so crazy in terms of property taxes. You do not know what to underwrite. So I always underwrite to a hundred percent increase, just to be safe in terms of underwriting but it's also a problem because you can buy a deal, which is like 24 years, not changed hand and now you're at a hundred percent, which can be huge. And it's mismanaged expectations between buyer and seller because the seller is going to say, hey, this is what I'm running and buyer's going to say I've done completely different and it's just hard to do business, but that's very interesting on how they do it in Phoenix. So how do you underwrite like miscellaneous income in terms of after you take over?   Ben:  Well, the next step in the process. So once we put it through the underwriting and it looks good, Sam and I drive out to the property. We'll look at the property, we like it, we go home, we really dial in our underwriting; what do we think the rents are going to be? What do we think the expenses are going to be? If it still looks like it's a deal, the next thing that happens is we send it over to our property management company with 20,000 units under management and obviously all kinds of access to all kinds of trailing data that we don't have. So the ultimate decision on where the rents are going to be, where the OPEX is going to be, all old form of it that ultimately is all approved or okayed by them or adjusted whichever way they see fit.   The rubs, the utility income is a very simple proposition. I mean, I underwrite 90% recovery and sometimes we can do better, but I underwrite 90% recovery. Whether you do it, whatever methodology you use, a third-party or Rubs or whatever, RPM likes to use third party, but because of legal absolve, so to speak, they like to offset the risk in that way. And as of late, past few years, regulatorily, it has become more and more difficult but I shoot for 90% recovery of the properties, utility bills, and other income is just purely specific to the property. What I'll tell you on the other income is that when we're taking, I have to back into that conversation a little bit.   What different about Phoenix than it is about most other places including Texas, value-add means something very different here. Usually, when we do value-add, we're looking for a mismanaged department [quote-unquote]. Well, mismanaged usually manifest itself in vacancy. So a big part of our value-add is to put proper management infrastructure in place and to capitalize on that vacancy and to bring it from 12% 14% to 6% which is, according to the market, that's where you supposed to be, right? So you do what you gotta do to fill those units. The issue with Phoenix is that they can see, pretty well doesn't exist. It's such a high growth market and there's such a lack of demand of 800 to $1,000 units; there's just such a lag because you can't afford to build it. So there's such a lack of that demand that that asset class is basically full. Even like the most poorly run properties are operating at full occupancy.   James: So you're saying lack of supply, not lack of demand.   Ben: Yes, lack of supply, I'm sorry. There's a lack of demand and there's a lack of population growth, but there's a lack of supply. Specifically in that price 800 to 1200, because the basis of building it, will fall at $200-225 a square foot, you got to get higher rents than that. And so, for the huge section of the population that needs those 800 to 1200 rents, there is a lack of supply on that. So what is value-add? Well, value-add is $300 per door in this case. Well, let me walk you backward; we just closed on 117 units. The physical vacancy on an annualized basis in that sub-market is 2.6%. Now, can I underwrite that? No, I have to underwrite 6% plus economic vacancy.   But just speaking about the physical vacancy, I have to underwrite 6%. I am penalizing my underwrite because the seller is operating at 2.4. When we took over, there was zero vacancy. There's one down unit and zero vacancy.   James: What about the economy occupancy, how much do you underwrite that?   Ben:  I underwrite economic occupancy, 9%. Somewhere between nine and 10 but on this deal, I did 9% and so five to six of it is physical vacancy and three to four of it is, the rest of the economic vacancy. But what I'm saying is that if the building is operating at zero vacancy and the sub-market is operating a 2.6% vacancy and I am underwriting 6% vacancy, I am penalizing my underwriting 3.4% so I need the first amount of value-add just to compensate that so I can break even. And then I need a whole bunch more value-add so I can actually create the delta so we can create enough profit margin for the IRR to work. So what this ends up looking like as value-add in Phoenix is $300 per door.   James: How did you come up with $300 a door?   Ben: It's just what it takes, in order for me to back into the IRR to the partners that is going to be attractive for people to invest. What it seems to me, I need, and it seems to be across the board for every deal that we do, what it's requiring is $300 per door value-add. So we're buying these deals that have, talk about a unicorn, $300 per door on value-add; only because we don't have a vacancy.   In most places, like if you have physical vacancy of 10% that you can fill, then maybe you just throw some lipstick on the pig and make another $75 a door, paint the cabinets, do some resurface countertops, do something like that, get another $75 of value-add and you are good; your IRR works because there was vacancy in place that you are able to fill. We don't have any vacancy so we actually have to do the heavy lifting to recapture the loss to lease and to get the renovation bump and cumulatively what it's taking us is $300 per door. Anything less than that and we can't get the margins that we need.   James: So my understanding when you talk about $300 a door, I mean when I underwrite my deals, the $300 a door is basically just the rent but you are saying the $300...?   Ben: No, it's cumulative between LTL so about 175 of it. The reason the occupancies are zero is that obviously, the rents are too low.   James: Okay, got it.   Ben: You should never have zero occupancy. If you are staying with the market and you're pushing your rent, you should never have zero occupancy. So the fact that the occupancy is zero is because the rents are too low so on day one, we're walking in and we're raising rents at 150 to $175 on the renewals and the rest of it is a bump due to the renovation so cumulatively.   James: Okay, got it.   Ben: So you have their stated rent, then you have their actual rent roll, which there's a bunch of loss to lease between the rent roll that they're actually getting and their stated rent. Now we're coming in, we're saying no, no, our classic rent is going to be this right here. So now we're going from their LTL all the way to our classic brand. And then on top of it, we're saying, but after we remodel, there is another piece of it that gets tacked onto the end. Cumulatively, that entire process in Phoenix, MSA in Class C value-add property, in my experience, $300 per door plus or minus is what's required.   James: That's awesome. And what is the total IRR that you look at for?   Ben: I look to deliver to partners, something in the mid 14 to 15 if I hit 14% IRR on a 10 year hold and I always underwrite 10-year hold, I don't want to sit there for 10 years but especially because we're late in the cycle, I underwrite a 10 year hold. So on a five-year hold, it ends up somewhere around 17, 17 plus. And of course, if we can exit sooner, then those numbers get [49:52crosstalk]   James: So let's talk about once you close on the property, right? So yeah, you underwrite everything on the paper and it all looks good so now you close on the property, right? So now you have a task of pushing up that rent. So how do you go about pushing up that rent?   Ben: So I don't do it, my PM does it.   James: But you're going to hold the strategy to it, right? I mean, are you going to tell them how to write it?   Ben: Correct. So we had a meeting on the day after we closed at the property. We had a meeting, the meeting was the property manager that's on site, the regional and Sam and myself. And what we discussed is that because, in the next three months, there are only about three or four leases coming up for renewal each month on 117 unit property. Right now we don't have a classic rent. As leases come up, you can either stay in the unit as is and pay us our renovated pricing, but you're welcome to leave. And then we'll renovate the unit and somebody else will move in and pay the renovated pricing because the business plan calls for rent, so much renovated pricing to be entering to payroll each and every month. So because we don't have enough vacancy coming up, we're basically not renewing leases and we're not putting any in place. I mean, it's unreasonable to ask people to pay the rent as if the apartment has stainless steel and granite but I don't care if they leave, they're entitled to leave and they should leave. The fact of it is, is that they're probably not gonna find anything better to go anyhow. At the end of the day, as long as I'm getting the rent, I don't care if I remodeled it or not because as long as I'm getting my rent projections, I'm in good shape. But I am prepared for a certain number of people to be, I don't want to say forced out, but they're welcome to stay as long as they pay our rent.   James: Yeah. So you're renting is like 300 so there are two components to it. One is just a loss to lease even without renovation. And on top of it, there's a renovated you need so you can do two ways, right? One is you can just not renovate and just go halfway up there. But I think what you're saying is you write a business plan calling it.   Ben: We don't want to do that for one very specific reason. This has been the model over the past five years. The model is $4,500 of renovation buys you painted cabinets, refaced cabinets, resurface countertops, maybe upgraded appliances, not stainless steel, maybe black, some fixtures, some flooring, and some paint. That's what $4,500 buys you. We're spending $7,500 per door and that gets us, granite, it gets us 100 hung sinks, It gets us stainless steel appliances, it gets us nicer flooring, paint all the rest of that. So the reason we're doing that is not so much that we couldn't make our numbers work, it's driven by the cycle. We are late in the cycle and when the cycle changes, I want to have the best product in the sub-market at that price point.   When everybody starts taking on 'loss to lease' when everybody starts taking on concessions when everybody starts the race to the bottom, my thing is I'm paying for my staying power at that point, but I'm paying for it now, I'm doing the Rehab now. So we're accomplishing two things with that; number one obviously we're repositioning the property, we're repositioning the tenant base, we're creating a more manageable situation. And number two, the product that we ended up with three years down the road has a lot more staying power then another kind of product that wasn't as renovated.   James: Especially if you're going to fork out that much of money right now and make the deal work, you can always invest in that product right now as well.   Ben:  So these are syndicated deals so we collect the money up front. There's nothing worse than coming to your partners and saying, hey, we need $1,000 more. So we collect all the money up front and we deploy it right away and we re-positioned the property right away and 18 months down the road, we arrive at a situation where we start having an exit. Now our buyer may look very different 18 months down the road from the buyer three years from the buyer five years from the buyer seven years down the road. But we have a compelling story to tell at that point in time. We start working on that story right away, on day one. But yes, our renovations are good renovations; we replaced the cabinets, they're getting new kitchens, they're getting new bathrooms. These are seriously upgraded units when we're done with them. The pricing is phenomenal; we're getting stuff done for 7,500, $8,000 on the interior that other people are complaining costing them $13,000 to do and they're not wrong. It's one of the benefits of having a PM with 20,000 units on her mat and there's a pricing power that comes with that both in terms of subcontracting and in terms of materials, how they source their materials. We could work our IRR having deployed half the funds, just get lower rents but for less money, we could work it.  Then there's just the other piece of it, which is that three years from now when the market does cycle, potentially, what do I want to own at that point?   James:  You want to one of the best product   Ben: I want to own the best quality that people can buy for that amount of money.   James: Got It. Got It. So what do you do, I mean, we have a few more minutes to go, very quickly; what do you do in terms of asset management? Are there any systems that you put in to manage the assets?   Ben: Yes, we use IMS.   James: The IMS is on the investor side, I'm talking more about the property side. I'm looking at property performance.   Ben: They use Yardi. The PM uses Yardi and then we get reporting weekly from on site in terms of, it'll have things like to date collections, it'll have vacancies, it'll have remodeling information, like how many units were remodeled, how many units of pre-leased, how many units are leased, all that stuff. Vacancy; it'll have delinquency, it'll have a promise to pay all of that stuff. So it's a one-page report that kind of gives us a bird's eye view in the whole thing. And then once a month, at the end of the month, we get a packet this thick. I mean, I've never tried to print it off, but I'm sure it'd be this thick, from the PM and that includes everything; everything, trailing, everything.   James: Yeah. So one question that I ask all of my podcast guests is, what is the most valuable value-add that you see in your experience?   Ben: I think the finishing textures inside of the units. I think that people are willing to forgive you. And you know, we do things like upgrade laundry, little rooms we build out. We don't build a separate building, but like if our laundry room is this big and it only needs to be this big, we're going to put a wall here and make a gym over here and add and the laundry room over here, things like that we do. But people are willing to forgive you so much if you create an interior that looks good and functions well. I mean, I don't care what you do on the exterior, if the inside of the unit is not great, it's just going to be difficult to drive rents. Now, once the inside of the unit is great, there's a bunch of other things you need; you can't have an ugly looking laundry room, you can't have no amenities, you can't have a shitty looking office, it's a complete packaging thing.   But I don't know, I mean, I guess my perspective is different on it. I don't nickel and dime my renovations because I'll never get the rents because of what we talked about. I don't want a hodgepodge unit, like painted cabinets that are 30 years old and resurface countertops. I just don't want to be left standing holding that bag if I have to be in this property for another five or seven years, for example, I don't want to be holding that bag for that long. So I've never really gone through and said, okay, how much is the countertop worth? How much are new cabinets worth? Because we're doing all of it. I have my scope, I know what's included. And at this point is just the easiest thing because we dialed it in, we know where everything is coming from. The PM just orders everything, we know how much it costs. If this kitchen is a little bit bigger, it's got one more extra cabinet, well, pricing goes up by $135. It's not difficult at this point to know what the remodel is going to cost.   James: Yeah. So you primarily focus on all of it inside the interiors?   Ben: Yeah.   James: So a lot of people are trying to start in multifamily nowadays. I mean, multifamily is a buzzword right now, right? I mean, the economy is doing very well, everything is so good. What would you advise to a Newbie who's trying to get started in multifamily? That's a long sigh.   Ben: I don't know because the economy's doing really well, that means the competition is very stiff. The thing is, you really got to know what you're doing it, this isn't a good time for newbies because the economy is doing very well and it'll probably continue doing well at some point and they'll go down and it won't do so well. And the decisions you make today could hurt you tomorrow and if you are just starting out and you are a Newbie and you're looking at, I can't imagine how you do large multifamily and you haven't bought some four-plexes before and some six-plexes, having to internalized all that stuff, you're better off just investing money in somebody else's deal, honestly, I feel at this point, because the stakes are too high. I am buying at four and a half gap, you can't make money at four and a half cap, you can only lose money at four and a half cap, which is why I buy a needle in a haystack; a very specific asset. If you are a Newbie, what the hell do you know to be able to do anything of what I do?   James: Correct. Right. That's so many details in renovation, finding deals, underwriting deals so many skills involved, right? It's not like anybody can jump in and do it right now.   Ben: Which is why we have this conversation, which it should be attractive to more seasoned people, to people like us, people that already have that ball rolling and they're maybe trying to break out to the next level. So if you're talking to me about newbies, this isn't a conversation they should even listen to because half of it they will not understand.   James: They wouldn't understand. You have to do it to really appreciate it. At least you should have flipped one property. [1:02:17 crosstalk]   Ben: Listen, underwriting is expressing with numbers, a behavior of people and the interaction of people and property, that's all it is. If you've never dealt with a tenant once in your life, how do you know what those dynamics even look like?   James:  Correct. I've seen a lot of newbies right now immediately, they're buying 100 units, 200 units. I mean, yeah, the market is so good right now, you're relying on property management, there's a lot of wind on your back. Right? The appreciation itself carries you up, but that's not going to be happening all the time. Everybody is a champion of bull market. So yeah, we started in the single-family, we did so many single families. We learned through the hard way when contractor management, it's a skill by itself, right? The whole timeline management. So that's really good advice, Ben. And is there any other things that you want to share to our audience that you have never shared in any other podcasts?   Ben: Yes, I think I shared everything about me in every other podcast, I want my own podcast to share the rest of it. And I'm not sure what the hell I'm going to talk about on my podcast because I already said everything on everybody else's podcast.   James:  Yeah. We already listened to Ben in something else.   Ben: But it's going to be very, very high level and like, I'm not going to make those excuses. I'm like if you're a Newbie, you probably shouldn't listen to this because we're going to be talking about stuff that you have no idea about. A friend of mine who's no longer with me has always said to me, 'stumbling blocks and stepping stones look a lot alike from a distance'. So if you are a Newbie, what I am telling you is be really sure that you know the difference between a stumbling block and a stepping stone before you step. So many of you guys are stepping first and then figuring out if it was a stumbling block or a stepping stone and that could be a very painful process. So I don't know, education.   James: Education Yeah. Go through the hard work of going with smaller deals first, that's what I would say. Just learn the ropes, learned the whole thing, make sure that you can do it. Syndication, turning around properties is not for everybody, that's how I would say. I mean, there are a lot of people who can do it but start small and grow and learn the skills.   Ben: Yeah. I very much disagree with the gurus who say, hey, it's just as easy to buy a 100 as it is to buy 10. This is true; it is just as easy to buy 100 when you know what you are doing. But the way you get to know what you're doing is by having bought the fourplex and the six-plex and the 10 unit. I disagree; I think it's criminal advice to send people directly into large multifamily. Have this be your goal, be excited about it, be whatever. But you need to internalize the dynamics of the game. People act in ways that are going to shock you and the numbers reflect that, don't be stupid. Don't be going and saying things like, ah, okay, here's the income. Let's just use 10% from property management and 10% for vacancy. Those things,  get a little intelligent about what you're doing.   For instance, the conversation I have with people all the time, listen, in a $500 rental, if you have to replace a furnace, it costs you $2,500; in a $1,200 rental, if you have to replace the furnace, it also costs you $1,200 or a $2,400. As a percentage of the top line, you see how that's a totally different figure. That's because all of the expenses in real estate are dollars, they're not percentages. We back into percentages. So James and I know what our percentages are because we've studied the dollars and we backed into the percentages. So if we ever use a percentage, it represents a dollar. What you guys, newbies, do a lot is you take this rent and then you divvy it up percentage wise to this, this, this, this, this. That's just not how real estate works and that's how you get hurt.   James: Correct.   Ben: Simple things like that that amaze me, that people don't think about and don't know and they jump into this stuff because Marcus and Millichap says on the proforma, this is how much percentage you need to allocate to XYZ, that's just nuts.   James: Absolutely. Absolutely. So Ben, thanks for being here. Do you want to tell our audience how to reach you?   Ben: Yeah. You're not getting my personal phone number. You're not getting that, James can have it, but you can't. But you can email me at Ben@justaskBenwhy.com or you can just go to, justaskBenwhy.com and we'll look over my website. You can email me through the website as well if you'd like. But yeah, I have a couple of different email accounts for like serious people and then people like you, I'm not giving up those.   James: All right, thanks Ben for being..   Ben: To all the people that I offend, you know, I get on a podcast with one goal in mind; offend as many people as you can, Ben because like if this is your brand is what you do, so go for it. I think I offended a few people, didn't I?   James:  No, I think I like the real numbers, the real details because sometimes some gurus out there makes real estate and multifamily so easy. I mean people don't realize it, people are selling education as far right. So it's not that easy, there is a lot of science behind multifamily, there's a lot of hard work behind it. It takes a lot of experience looking at hundreds of underwriting numbers and trying to figure out, and of course, there's also another aspect of, now I already buy it, now I'm going through the whole real asset management stuff and they realize, oh, whatever and the road was completely different from what I'm doing asset management, right? So realizing that it takes a lot of experience as well. So it's a learnable trick, but there's also a lot of hard work involved in growing and doing the real stuff, that's what I see. So that's really good advice, Ben. So thanks for being on the show for my audience. Thanks for being here. As I said, you have a lot of things to do outside of listening to this podcast and I really appreciate you guys being here. We hope we really delivered value to you guys. That's the reason I'm doing this podcast, to give true value to listeners and learn as much as possible before dabbling into real estate and multifamily commercial real estate. Thanks. And I'll talk to you all soon.   Ben: Thank you.  

A super educational interview with renowned Syria and Middle East expert, Professor Joshua Landis, the University of Oklahoma’s Director of Middle East Studies. Tune in to The Stock Podcast to hear Dr. Landis discuss the Trump Administration’s decision to renew sanctions against Iran, the Syrian Civil War, and the Kurdish problem in the Middle East. And, most relevant to some listeners, listen to Dr. Landis discuss the geopolitics of oil. A great podcast for anyone who would like to learn more about what’s going on in the Middle East, and some of the implications for energy markets and the geopolitics of energy. Check out Josh’s blog, Syria Comment, to learn more about what’s going on in the region. Professor Joshua Landis is one of the most well-respected and knowledgeable Middle East experts around. Cumulatively, he’s spent years in the Middle East, in Syria and Lebanon in particular. Dr. Landis’ blog, Syria Comment, is one of the most widely read blogs on the Syrian Civil War and the Middle East as a whole. Full disclosure, Dr. Landis was a former professor of mine, so it’s a particular pleasure to have him on the program to talk about some of the most interesting developments in the Middle East, and how those developments are affecting the geopolitics of oil. The post Josh Landis – Director of Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma – The Stock Podcast, Ep.5 appeared first on The Stock Podcast | CEO & CFO Interviews.

"It was the worst decision I made, but the best thing that's ever happened to me." Jason Williams is a former basketball player for the Duke University Blue Devils and Chicago Bulls. After tragically crashing his motorcycle, effectively ending his playing career, Williams transformed his life and is positioned to positively impact sports, business, and social issues more than ever.  While at Duke, Williams was a two-time college basketball Player of the Year, National Champion, and three-year graduate. Moreover, on senior day of his graduating junior year, Duke University retired his jersey. After being drafted to the Chicago Bulls with the second overall pick, things went downhill. Williams was in a devastating motorcycle accident, which led to him spending the next year on a hospital bed. Shortly thereafter, he began his battle with depression, which was compounded by the loss of his grandmother, dog, and a health scare from his mother - Jay's caretaker at the time. Cumulatively, this kicked Williams into an upswing, taking care of those who looked after him, getting his life back on track, and striving for greatness.  I’m your host Paul Rabil and welcome to Suiting Up Podcast. On this show I delve into the stories of some of today’s leading athletes, entrepreneurs, and entertainers, interviewing them and unpacking the psychology of their success. 

In this episode, James Jordan continues his "How to Read the Bible" series with an example of how to read the bible cumulatively and particularly. For more on this topic, check out his book titled "Through New Eyes" https://www.amazon.com/Through-New-Eyes-Developing-Biblical/dp/157910259X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1489781057&sr=8-1&keywords=through+new+eyes Theopolis Website: https://theopolisinstitute.com/ Twitter: @_theopolis Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theopolisinstitute/

Here’s some of what you will learn: KaiZen – Change Is Good. Commit to constant and never ending improvement – CANI. What minor improvements can you make in different areas of your life? It’s not difficult to make micro-improvements to different areas of your life. There’s nothing overwhelming about making small movements towards your goals. These small improvements towards your goals make them more manageable and will give you momentum, satisfaction, and fulfillment and give you a greater chance of success. Success is a journey not a destination. Cumulatively, when taken out over time, small improvements can make a massive positive impact on your life. What you focus on becomes your reality. Consider having an open idea session with your team to brainstorm ideas to improve the different aspects of your business. Always ask yourself – How can I make things better? Commit to becoming better and better every week and the results will be astounding. Connect with me on Facebook, LinkedIn Twitter, or Instagram at: Rod Khleif Text ROD to 41411 for a FREE copy of my upcoming book. I hope you will join me next week for Your Driving Force Success Tip! Want to build Lifetime Cash Flow from Multifamily Properties? If you’re committed to creating the life you deserve, we've created the best multifamily training and coaching program on the market. I personally coach you on your path to create the life of your dreams. I will help you CRUSH it in this business!  - if you'd like to receive information about our program, text CRUSH to 41411 now.

This is the question I want asked by all those suffering in pain to all those who are treating them and unable to reduce their pain or return them to a normal functional lifestyle? People continue to suffer with no sight of ending their pain or getting their lives back. They put time, effort and money toward this effort and nothing gets done, in fact it continues to get worse. I talk to people daily who think they are alone in this situation. They must be told that they are not alone; they are in fact part of the majority. Cumulatively, people must ask the medical establishment why is nobody getting better and what should be done to end this nightmare. The very sad answer is that most people are getting misdiagnosed simply by entering the medical establishment. As soon as you enter the system, you are asked to get an MRI and told that what ever is found on the MRI is the cause of your symptoms and requires treatment. This is the greatest fallacy every perpetuated on people in the area of medicine. You get treated in most cases with surgery and your symptoms remain or get worse. You ask why and are told nobody knows because the surgery was a roaring success. You need to acknowledge that the system as performed is broken and will not succeed in helping you. The Yass method sits outside the medical establishment and focuses on the interpretation of the symptoms the body presents to identify the tissue eliciting the symptoms. Listen and find out more! (www.mitchellyass.com)

In this episode of China Money Podcast, guest Andrew Teoh, founding partner of Ameba Capital, spoke to our host Nina Xiang. Teoh shared his views on potential mergers among Chinese tech companies that could take place in 2016, what start-ups China's BAT (Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent) are looking to acquire right now, and if Chinese venture capital investments will cool further next year. Don't forget to subscribe to China Money Podcast for free in the iTunes store, or subscribe to China Money Network weekly newsletters. You can also subscribe to China Money Podcast’s Youtube channel or Youku channel. Q: Give us a brief introduction of Ameba Capital? A: We were founded in 2011 by three partners, former Kingsoft chief financial officer Kevin Wang, Koubei.com's founder Frank Lee, and myself. We focus on making early-stage investments in the technology sector in China, and have invested in numerous companies. Some of our more well known portfolio companies include Kuaidi, or now Didi Kuaidi, Mogujie, and the merged Meituan Dianping. Q: That's three unicorns right there, but we will talk about that later. You also had an interesting career before co-founding Ameba. Can you tell us a bit more? A: I was born and grew up in Malaysia, but also worked and lived in Australia, Hong Kong and Beijing. I joined Alibaba in 2005, when the company had slightly over 1,000 employees. By the time I left, Alibaba had over 20,000 employees. I was involved in Yahoo's investment in Alibaba, Alibaba.com's Hong Kong initial public offering in 2007, and Alipay's restructuring, during a period of the company's rapid growth. Q: What did that experience teach you about investing as a venture investor? A: I realized that a company is very much like any other living form. It grows and changes. I was dealing with issues and transactions signifying the stage of growth the company was in. Now as an investor in small start-ups, I'm dealing with early-stage growth similar to a child's growth. I was able to use my experience at Alibaba to help start-ups enter their next phase of expansion, and help them solve the challenges in that process. Q: Ameba Capital closed a second fund, bringing total asset-under-management to RMB1 billion (US$160 million). How was the fundraising process? A: It didn't take that long. The fund was filled up just from commitments from existing investors to our first fund. My partners and I are still the single largest group of investors in the fund. Q: Would you consider raising a U.S. dollar fund? A: I will never rule that out, but the capital markets in China have changed a lot during the past year. RMB as a form of investment currency will become more important, especially in the tech world. When I started Ameba, it was rare to see RMB-denominated institutions investing in technologies because a lot of capital was from U.S. dollar funds, and exits were all overseas. But that is changing rapidly. There are more exits domestically, also more M&A happening among domestic firms. Q: So you see more RMB funds to be raised, more domestic listings and deals happening in the future? A: Yes, we will see that both in early-stage and late-stage investments. I think that's very healthy, and it shows that our format has worked. Q: How much do you invest per deal, and how many companies have you invested in total? A: For our second fund, we invest in pre-A and series A rounds, so from a few million RMB to tens of millions RMB. Cumulatively, we have backed around 60 companies. Q: In terms of strategy, will there be any changes from your previous focus on e-commerce, corporate services, advertising, etc.? A: We will continue our strategy to focus on the data aspect of e-commerce, a very niche market of advertising. We also like a few verticals such as healthcare and education. Our sector focus hasn't really changed, but the companies operating in these areas have changed...

There are a lot of stories on residential rooftop solar but few if any on what cities are doing to make themselves energy self-reliant by using their own buildings and lands to generate power. In Public Rooftop Revolution, ILSR estimates that mid-sized cities could install as much as 5,000 megawatts of solar—as much as one-quarter of all solar installed in the U.S. to date—on municipal property, with little to no upfront cash. It would allow cities to redirect millions in saved energy costs to other public purposes. This report is being released in serial format, beginning Monday, June 1 through Thursday, June 4. CHECK BACK TOMORROW FOR UPDATES. Read the Executive Summary Read Part 1 of the report Read Part 2 of the report Listen to our podcast conversations with a few of our Featured Five municipal solar cities: Lancaster, CA city manager Jason Caudle, listen to the podcast, read the interview summary. Raleigh, NC renewable energy coordinator Robert Hinson, listen to the podcast, read the interview summary. Kansas City, MO project manager Charles Harris, listen to the podcast, read the interview summary.   The Third Party Trump Card Although cities face a number of challenges, economic and otherwise, to installing solar, the third party ownership option—if available—ought to trump most of them. For suitable sites that won't need a near-term roof replacement, third party ownership removes virtually all of the financial barriers to solar, and covers maintenance and operations. While some barriers (like lack of aggregate or virtual net metering) remain, most cities have a substantial solar opportunity. ILSR estimates that over 5,000 MW of solar could be inexpensively installed almost immediately on municipal property in states with laws allowing third party ownership. This amount is more than a quarter of the nationwide total solar capacity through September 2014, and it only includes the municipal buildings of the approximately 200 cities with 100,000 or greater population. We arrive at this number by estimating the solar potential for cities in states where third party ownership is allowed, based on the following four estimates of rooftop solar potential ILSR obtained. The estimates are shown in the table below. Although there's an impressive range of potential from this small sample, ILSR estimates that each city can, on average, install 25 MW of municipal solar. For comparison, the city with the most municipal solar Watts per capita, New Bedford, MA, has 16 MW, but is also smaller than 100,000. The result is an impressive array of municipal solar potential in 23 states (plus DC) with third party ownership and 201 cities larger than 100,000. Cumulatively, these cities could have third parties install over 5,000 MW of solar on municipal buildings, as shown in the map below. Note that two states allowing third party ownership have no cities larger than 100,000 population, Vermont and Delaware. Though the map says it powerfully, it's worth repeating that there's an enormous solar opportunity waiting for cities to seize it. As a word of warning, this estimate may not account for the wide variation in solar net metering laws. While solar-leader New Bedford can obtain over a third of its solar for municipal use off-site (using virtual net metering) and apply solar produ...

This show we are joined by special guest, Ingo, to explore the topic of how psychedelics can change one's personality. Ingo explains how in traditional psychology, one's personality typically doesn't change after the age of 30 years. And yet in his experience, he has grown more as a person since he began using psychedelics than ever before. How does a psychedelic experience change one's personality? In the peak entheogenic experience? During the afterglow? Cumulatively over the years? Ingo reminds us of the Roland Griffiths we study discussed in Entheogen 008: The Trip Treatment. How psychedelics reintroduce us to the joy, wonder, and awe of a child's perspective. Check out Entheogen Show on Facebook!

Guest Donald Shoup nearly titled his book “Aparkalypse Now” instead of “The High Cost of Free Parking.”  Cumulatively, people consume a massive amount of oil (not to mention time) circling for parking.  Isn't there a better way?  Tune in to learn about the theory and practice of designing parking policies to protect the environment.  Guests: Donald Shoup, Distinguished Professor of Urban Planning and Director Emeritus of the Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California at Los Angeles, Jason Henderson, Associate Professor in the Department of Geography and Environment at San Francisco State University and the author of Street Fight:  The Politics of Mobility in San Francisco, and Willa Ng, goBerkeley Project Manager with the City of Berkeley; Host:  Adrienne Fitch-Frankel The post Terra Verde – Will We Have an “Aparkalypse”? Or Can Better Parking Policies Help Save the World? appeared first on KPFA.

We're back! Late... but back. This week we catch-up on all the Apple news and ponder whether their recent maps problems show the 'perfect' image is beginning to slip. Back in season 2 we'd asked if Apple was the new Nokia... Not because they are suffering the same OS problems, but because eventually firm's past decisions begin to catch-up with them. Was the rushed tie-up with Google Maps before the original iPhone launch now hiding some unexpected down-sides? Cumulatively are the issues for consumers reaching the levels it will deter some buyers? If not now, how soon? As ever, we'd love your views...

The aim of this study is to obtain a better understanding of the hydrological and geochemical contexts of the heavy metal transport in watersaturated porous aquifer sediments, where both copper (Cu) and antimony (Sb) are the main focus. The background of investigation is based on questions within the scope of the redevelopement of past industrial waste deposits areas and groundwater protection. The functional and experimental part of this study was initially comprised of planning, conception and set-up of a column arrangement which served as a model of the sediment-/groundwater system as well as the development of appropriate preparation and sampling techniques. The experimental set-up run was suitable for simulation of groundwater flow with velocities between centimetre and metre per day. In order to differentiate results concerning the migration behaviour of the heavy metals copper and antimony, laboratory experiments were conduced in three water aquifer systems Quaternary Gravel, Tertiary Sand and Dogger-Sand of southern Germany. Between the systems carbonate, clay, or iron contents vary. Quartz-Sand was served as the reference material. Copper was injected as the cationic form of copper nitrate (Cu(NO3)2) and antimony as anionic potassium antimonat (K[Sb(OH)6]). The investigations included short-term (Dirac-impulse) and long-term (Pulse-injection) experiments. A calcareous water served as an eluent for sediments with high buffer capacity and a rainwater-mimic modelwater as an eluent for the sediment with lower buffer capacity. Determination of distribution coefficients (batch-experiments) and thermodynamic modelling of solubility in different experimental waters led to maximum values in the calcareous water for copper as well as antimony, where the solubility of copper was 30 % lower than for antimony. Due to the additional complexes found in the DOC-water of the Dachauer Moos copper has a significantly higher mobility. The effect is even more significant by applying EDTA-water. Mass balance of the column experiments show that copper is fundamentally less mobile (recovery 0-18 %) in contrast to antimony (recovery 85-99 %). Differences in the sorption behaviour were reflected in the retardation values, which subsequently distinguished almost three orders for both elements. Cumulatively, these results show that the sorption capacities for copper can not be achieved even after a total input of 201 mg Cu (Quaternary Gravel) by injection pulses over two years. However, sorption capacities can be attained with antimony after only 10.4 days (Tertiary Sand), after 11.4 days (Dogger-Sand) and after 1.5 years (Quaternary Gravel), respectively. Qualitatively, the results of copper can be described with a fast irreversible sorption kinetic, and antimony with a slow reversible one. Three mathematical models were applied to simulate the experimental data set. The observed Sb-breakthrough curves modelled quite well with the one-dimensional linear reaction model of CAMERON & KLUTE (1977) and the determination of corresponding dynamic reaction parameters. However, a satisfying fit could not be found for copper with this model in a buffered system for the two following reasons: 1.) The precipitation processes and 2.) the complex surface-active processes which were assumed next to the predominant sorption reactions. Therefore non-linear model approaches were employed for the fit. Initially, the observed Sb-curves were fitted using two-site Langmuir-isotherm first order kinetics, allowing for quantification of sorption capacities, -affinities and –rates. Applying three-site Langmuir-isotherm first order kinetics also includes precipitation processes. With all models, a satisfying fit of the desorption processes in the declining curve part emerged. However the sorption processes could still not be satisfactorily described. Experiments investigating the influence of both complexing agents, DOC and EDTA, on the migration behaviour of copper showed more or less a stoichiometric complexation of the heavy metal copper. With the stronger complexing agent EDTA at least twice as high remobilisation as with DOC could be achieved. The strongest EDTA-mediated remobilisation could be observed in the unbuffered sediments (49-50%), significantly lower values were attained in the buffered sediments with 17-26 %. Of the injected copper mass in unbuffered sediment 82 % could be recovered from Dogger-Sand, and 83 % from Quartz-Sand. A maximum of 55 % could be recovered from the buffered sediments. In order to support mobility data of copper and antimony sequential extractions of column beds were performed after the column experiments. As an essential result, it emerged that copper is accumulated increasingly in areas near the surface, while antimony is distributed in the whole profile. Therefore, copper in contrast to antimony is stable bound at neutral pH and is not transferred. As a consequence, a different behaviour of availability of both elements can be observed. The results of the column experiments indicate that copper is preferentially occluded at organic matter binding fractions as well as in the immobile aqua regia fraction. Antimony is mainly bound in the mobile and easy exchangeable fraction and in both the iron and manganese fraction. As this result allows immediate conclusions on the availability and transfer potential of heavy metals, it also permits estimations of the ecotoxicological efficacy of copper and antimony and the assessment of the endangering risk potential of the contaminated sediments.