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Episode Summary: Emotional Exhaustion and holiday burnout are very real experiences. Today we’re going to be talking about the post-holiday aftermath that many of us feel for a myriad of reasons. We are going to cover expectations—unmet and unspoken; the subsequent disappointment which follows and the straight up exhaustion of making Christmas happen for our loved ones. If we don’t pause for a moment following the holidays, we rush headlong into the long winter months with unresolved sadness, which impacts our mental and emotional well-being, making those January blues stronger. Our goal today is to equip you with space to process what happened or didn’t happen, reminders that you are not alone, and practical hope-filled tools to apply to the post-holiday aftermath you may be experiencing. Quotables from the episode: The living room is scattered with wrapping paper, ornaments are askew on the tree, and a fine layer of dust covers everything. Family has wandered off to pursue individual pursuits and you’re sitting alone. You did it. You curated gifts based on personal interests and desires. You planned special meals and made the once-a-year Christmas treats. But now the exhaustion sets in. You wonder if your family appreciates your effort, and you question whether it’s worth it. Crawling into bed and skipping the big family get together later that day sounds great. Instead, you pull yourself up and put another foot in front of the other. “Do the next thing,” you whisper, but wonder if you actually can. Today we are talking about How to Heal from Emotional Burnout and Holiday Exhaustion. Emotional burnout and holiday exhaustion is a real experience that many of us deal with. It can start as early as October or November and lingers into January. I love the reminders in Psalm 46 to be still, but it can be so hard to do. But when I keep reading, I see that knowing God and bringing him glory helps me frame being still inside the comforting knowledge that God is with me through it all. It’s the “all” that trips us up during the holidays. How do we determine how much or how little to do? How do we manage our expectations within the framework of stillness wrapped in God’s presence? One of the contributing factors in emotional exhaustion and holiday burnout comes from a motive to serve others and to create a special experience for them. It’s a good and noble desire to do this. The gift of hospitality, even to our own families, is a special way to show them God’s love. That’s where my desire comes from: I want to show my family love by doing for them. But when we neglect the best thing, we find ourselves running through the holidays in our own strength, which creates emotional burnout and holiday exhaustion. I love the sisters, Mary and Martha, found in Luke 10:38-42. These two women show us how to both serve and be still. I’ve never liked how Martha is shown as wrong and Mary as right. If we take the time to read what Jesus said, we learn there is a good way and a better way. Martha had good motives in serving Jesus and the other guests. In the context of healing from holiday exhaustion and emotional burnout, the desire to create a beautiful holiday experience is a good desire. Martha’s mistake was her unspoken expectation that her sister should be helping her create this amazing experience for the Lord. However, Mary spent her time listening at the feet of Jesus. While it looked like she was doing nothing, she shows us how being still is an active response. Spending time with Jesus is a better desire. It changes us from the inside out. Let’s explore how to hold both the good and the better in the same space and time. I’ve always had mixed feelings when it comes to the account of Mary and Martha. I want to be a Mary, but I definitely relate to Martha’s personally as a get-it-done kind of person. I can’t tell you how often I hear “I don’t know how you do all you do!” And in transparency, for many years, I wore that as a badge of honor, until doing became my downfall. One thing that has always stood out to me in the account of these two sisters is when Scripture says But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. It’s not that what Martha was doing was bad…it just wasn’t the best thing. It’s so easy to set aside our private, personal time with Jesus during the crazy, busy holiday season, and embarrassingly, I have succumbed to that at times. But what you’re saying is that healing from emotional burnout and holiday exhaustion starts with being still with Jesus. It’s within the stillness with Jesus where we can be refreshed and guided for our next thing. We can ask the Holy Spirit to show us where we may have expectations that could lead to disappointment. I must continually remind myself that life is not a movie script, with perfectly plotted responses. There is no call for “Cut!” or “Go again.” Our family members deal with their own internal angsts, expectations, and disappointments, which clash with ours. If we start the day with Jesus and invite him into every part of our day, we can hold the good with the better and reveal both a Martha and a Mary side to our families and ourselves. Unmet expectations (of others and ourselves) can contribute to emotional exhaustion and holiday burnout. The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior, so we have to be intentional when we want to change course. Addressing expectations by making time with Jesus a priority during the holiday season is vital, but let’s turn our attention to some practical steps. One step we can do post-holiday is to ask our families what traditions or activities are important to them. We may be doing all the things, but maybe we don’t need too. Taking the time to talk about expectations, and adjusting them going forward both helps to heal, and create self-guards going forward. A second aspect that crucial for our healing from emotional exhaustion and holiday burnout is to Create space in your life to rest and recover. There’s no universal required day to take down the decorations and return the gift bags to their storage space. Lay on the couch post-Christmas and New Years. Turn off the lamps and turn on the Christmas lights. Take time to rejoice in Jesus coming to earth for you. Contemplate God with us. Be still and know he is God. Depending on how depleted, fatigued, or burned out you may feel, I would add to that to create a “recovery zone”. Pick a short window every day, even if only 10-20 minutes, where you intentionally do nothing that requires output. Instead, sit with a cozy drink, listen to calm music, step outside for a breath of fresh air. This sends your nervous system the message: “I am safe. I can rest.” The fourth suggestion we have for how to heal from emotional exhaustion and holiday burnout is where we can learn from Mary. I’d suggest a brief post-holiday evaluation can be very helpful by answering two questions. First, What wore you out? Second, What gave you life? Taking the time for a post-holiday evaluation helps heal from emotional burnout and holiday exhaustion because self-reflection helps our brain release what is internally keeping our mind in a state of stress, and is a way to prepare and protect your mental and emotional strength for the next year. This is where we realize where we may have lost sight of “God with us.” It’s easy to keep saying yes and to add more. Some years we have the capacity for a lot and other years we need to scale back. Three of my kids have birthdays in November, January, and February. Reserving energy for their births changed how I did Christmas, from the décor to the gifts to the food. And I discovered an important truth—it’s not so much what we do that makes Christmas special but the who. Who we are with and who we focus on. A fifth tip, which is really important, is to Replenish What Was Depleted. To do this, I would add a third question to the self-evaluation, and that is to ask yourself What did the holidays season drain the most? If it was sleep, commit to earlier nights for a week or two. If it was social energy, block out quiet evenings. If it was finances, enact a low-spend month or two. If it was emotions, journal what you carried and release it to God. We know that the level of emotional exhaustion or holiday burnout is different for everyone, and some years are worse than others, but with a shift in our perspective, a bit of self-reflection, communicating with our family, creating space to rest and recover, and intentionally replenishing what was depleted, we can experience healing from emotional burnout and holiday exhaustion. Scripture References: Psalm 46:11-12 “He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.” Luke 10:38-42 “As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” Recommended Resources: Reframing Rejection: How Looking Through a Different Lens Changes Everything By Jessica Van Roekel Sacred Scars: Resting in God’s Promise That Your Past Is Not Wasted by Dr. Michelle Bengtson The Hem of His Garment: Reaching Out To God When Pain Overwhelms by Dr. Michelle Bengtson, winner AWSA 2024 Golden Scroll Christian Living Book of the Year and the 2024 Christian Literary Awards Reader’s Choice Award in the Christian Living and Non-Fiction categories YouVersion 5-Day Devotional Reaching Out To God When Pain Overwhelms Today is Going to be a Good Day: 90 Promises from God to Start Your Day Off Right by Dr. Michelle Bengtson, AWSA Member of the Year, winner of the AWSA 2023 Inspirational Gift Book of the Year Award, the 2024 Christian Literary Awards Reader’s Choice Award in the Devotional category, the 2023 Christian Literary Awards Reader’s Choice Award in four categories, and the Christian Literary Awards Henri Award for Devotionals YouVersion Devotional, Today is Going to be a Good Day version 1 YouVersion Devotional, Today is Going to be a Good Day version 2 Revive & Thrive Women’s Online Conference Revive & Thrive Summit 2 Trusting God through Cancer Summit 1 Trusting God through Cancer Summit 2 Breaking Anxiety’s Grip: How to Reclaim the Peace God Promises by Dr. Michelle Bengtson, winner of the AWSA 2020 Best Christian Living Book First Place, the first place winner for the Best Christian Living Book, the 2020 Carolina Christian Writer’s Conference Contest winner for nonfiction, and winner of the 2021 Christian Literary Award’s Reader’s Choice Award in all four categories for which it was nominated (Non-Fiction Victorious Living, Christian Living Day By Day, Inspirational Breaking Free and Testimonial Justified by Grace categories.) YouVersion Bible Reading Plan for Breaking Anxiety’s Grip Breaking Anxiety’s Grip Free Study Guide Free PDF Resource: How to Fight Fearful/Anxious Thoughts and Win Hope Prevails: Insights from a Doctor’s Personal Journey Through Depression by Dr. Michelle Bengtson, winner of the Christian Literary Award Henri and Reader’s Choice Award Hope Prevails Bible Study by Dr. Michelle Bengtson, winner of the Christian Literary Award Reader’s Choice Award Free Webinar: Help for When You’re Feeling Blue Social Media Links for Host and Guest: Connect with Jessica Van Roekel: Website / Instagram / Facebook For more hope, stay connected with Dr. Bengtson at: Order Book Sacred Scars / Order Book The Hem of His Garment / Order Book Today is Going to be a Good Day / Order Book Breaking Anxiety’s Grip / Order Book Hope Prevails / Website / Blog / Facebook / Twitter (@DrMBengtson) / LinkedIn / Instagram / Pinterest / YouTube / Podcast on Apple Co-Host: Jessica Van Roekel is a worship leader, speaker, and writer who believes that through Jesus, personal histories don’t need to define the present or determine the future. She inspires, encourages, and equips others to look at life through the lenses of hope, trust, and God’s transforming grace. Jessica lives in rural Iowa surrounded by wide open spaces which remind her of God’s expansive love. She loves fun earrings, good coffee, and connecting with others. Hosted By: Dr. Michelle Bengtson Audio Technical Support: Bryce Bengtson Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

According to the Oregon Health Authority, nearly 35,000 Oregonians visited emergency rooms in 2023 for issues related to a brain injury. These injuries can result in a range of symptoms, from confusion and short-term memory loss to depression, anger issues and lack of impulse control. Depending on the severity of the injury, survivors may need access to resources such as employment and housing assistance in addition to medical and mental health services. Oregon launched a program last year to help brain injury survivors access those services. A team of trained navigators is available at 833-685-0848 to help people understand and connect with resources in their community. Nakeshia Knight-Coyle is the director of ODHS’s Office of Aging and People with Disabilities. Claire Madhavan is a navigator for the Oregon Brain Injury program. They both join us to talk about how the program is going.

The planet Venus is switching sides today – sides of the Sun. It’s crossing behind the Sun as seen from Earth, so it’s moving from the morning sky to the evening sky. But we won’t be able to see it for several weeks. Venus is the second planet from the Sun, while Earth is third. So Venus crosses both behind the Sun and between Earth and the Sun. It switches between Morning Star and Evening Star appearances each time. Each of these crossings happens every 584 days – about 19 and a half months. The planet spends about eight months in both the morning and evening sky, and disappears from view during the crossings. When Venus passes between Earth and the Sun, it’s closest to us, so it moves across the sky quickly – it’s hidden in the Sun’s glare for only a few days. When it’s behind the Sun, it’s farthest – about 160 million miles. Because of the relative motions of Earth and Venus, it moves across the sky quite slowly. So it remains hidden in the light for three months or so. Depending on your location, Venus could emerge as the Evening Star as early as mid- to late February. It’ll be quite low in the twilight, so it won’t be easy to find. The planet will climb into better view in early March. Venus will reign over the evening sky until October, when it will vanish in the sunlight as it once again switches sides. Tomorrow: slowing down the stellar birth rate. Script by Damond Benningfield

Akira Kurosawa's Ran  Happy New Year WatchThis Fans. Depending on Your Perspective, 2025 was a horrible year or the beginning of a grand awakening, returning America to its rightful place as Leader and Benefactor of the Unwashed Ignorant Masses. There are many ideas of what 2026 can and will be. We here at WatchThis W/RickRamos believe that Akira Kurosawa's 1985 masterpiece, Ran, is a film that offers powerful warnings on the dangers of conflict, paranoia, greed, but most importantly, pride. Adapted from Japanese history and Shakespeare's King Lear, Kurosawa explores the fragilty of government . . .  royalty . . . leadership, as pride disintegrates the perspective of leadership. One of the greatest films in the History of Cinema, Mr. Chavez & I are thrilled to be opening 2026 with Akira Kurosawa's Late Period Masterpiece. Take a listen and let us know what you think. As always, we can be reached at gondoramos@yahoo.com - Our Continued Thanks.  For those of you who would like to donate to this undying labor of love, you can do so with a contribution at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/watchrickramos - Anything and Everything is appreciated, You Cheap Bastards.

Depending on Jesus: When God Says No | John 1:10-18 | 010426 by Corey

Discover all of the podcasts in our network, search for specific episodes, get the Optimal Living Daily workbook, and learn more at: OLDPodcast.com. Episode 3246: Greg Audino challenges the tendency to judge others based on their visible circumstances, using therapy animals as a lens to explore how struggle is deeply personal and context-dependent. He argues that meaningful progress often stems from action itself, not just outcomes, and that understanding others requires humility, not comparison. Read along with the original article(s) here: https://medium.com/invisible-illness/the-metric-of-struggle-5705ef229228 Quotes to ponder: "We need progress to feel happy, and progress is birthed by action, whether or not that action accomplishes what it initially set out to." "Nearly all judgement and assessment towards others is derived from how we perceive their outer circumstances." "Depending on where you get your information from, you'll hear different sides of the story." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Discover all of the podcasts in our network, search for specific episodes, get the Optimal Living Daily workbook, and learn more at: OLDPodcast.com. Episode 3246: Greg Audino challenges the tendency to judge others based on their visible circumstances, using therapy animals as a lens to explore how struggle is deeply personal and context-dependent. He argues that meaningful progress often stems from action itself, not just outcomes, and that understanding others requires humility, not comparison. Read along with the original article(s) here: https://medium.com/invisible-illness/the-metric-of-struggle-5705ef229228 Quotes to ponder: "We need progress to feel happy, and progress is birthed by action, whether or not that action accomplishes what it initially set out to." "Nearly all judgement and assessment towards others is derived from how we perceive their outer circumstances." "Depending on where you get your information from, you'll hear different sides of the story." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Depending upon the narrative, American Indians were either noble creatures who were victims of a genocide by rapacious European settlers or were bloodthirsty savages. The truth is more nuanced.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/american-indians-separating-truth-fiction

Depending upon the narrative, American Indians were either noble creatures who were victims of a genocide by rapacious European settlers or were bloodthirsty savages. The truth is more nuanced.Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/american-indians-separating-truth-fiction

Avoiding weight gain is just so difficult sometimes, isn't it? It's not enough to eat only healthy foods, you also have to combine those healthy foods in the right way.  That's because when we eat different types of foods together, they interact with each other in our digestive system. Depending on their characteristics, some foods get digested faster than others. What can happen to our bodies if we combine the 'wrong' foods? And which are the worst combinations? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions! To listen to the last episodes, you can click here: ⁠Why are some people constantly sexually aroused ?⁠ ⁠Why are we afraid of the dark?⁠ ⁠Why do people consider the number seven lucky?⁠ A podcast written and realised by Joseph Chance. First broadcast: 25/9/2023 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

515-New Years Resolutions with Hope Happy New Year! If you're reading this a couple days into 2026—welcome. And if you're reading this in the middle of 2037, it still applies. Because God is still on the throne. He is still a good Father. And He is still interested in crafting and molding your heart—especially in the middle of real life… including the hard parts. Put Your Growth Mindset On (Yes, Literally) If you've been in our Delight Your Marriage sphere for any length of time, you know I'm a little obsessed with growth. So, the New Year is one of the things I look forward to the most. I want to share something that we do in coaching calls. It can honestly look silly… but it works. We put our hands over our heads like a hat and we say: "Put your growth mindset on." Why?  Because the posture matters. A growth mindset says: "God can change me." "I'm not finished yet." "This isn't the end of my story." "My marriage isn't stuck forever." A fixed mindset says: "This is just how I am." "Take it or leave it." "This is all there is." For us as believers, a growth mindset is a reflection of our faith.  Our hope is rooted in a God who raises the dead (Romans 8:11), who changes hearts of stone into hearts of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26), and who redeems the years the locusts have stolen (Joel 2:25).  Having a growth mindset is a reflection of the hope we have in Jesus. A New Year Reflection That Actually Changes You Here's what I like to do around the New Year (and yes, if you haven't done it yet, you still have time). I go month by month through the previous year and write down what I remember—hard things, good things, major moments, heartache, breakthroughs. Then, I pray: "God, what do You want me to learn from this year?" Because honestly… if He doesn't bring it to mind, maybe it isn't the thing He wants me to carry forward. Then after I list the moments, I write two categories: Wins Learnings Not because I'm trying to build a scrapbook of accomplishments or places I fell short, but because I'm trying to build wisdom. When You've Been Crushed… God Is Doing Something There's a passage in 2 Corinthians 1 where Paul describes being: utterly weighed down crushed despairing of life itself And then he says this: 7 And our hope for you [our confident expectation of good for you] is firmly grounded [assured and unshaken], since we know that just as you share as partners in our sufferings, so also you share as partners in our comfort. 8 For we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about our trouble in [the west coast province of] Asia, how we were utterly burdened beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life [itself]. 9 Indeed, we felt within ourselves that we had received the sentence of death and were convinced that we would die, but this happened so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead. 10 He has rescued us from so great a danger of death, and will rescue us; on Him we have set our hope [and confident expectation] that He will continue to rescue us. -2 Corinthians 1:7–10 (AMP) That suffering was to keep them from trusting in themselves… and to depend on God who raises the dead. Friend… what if that pain you walked through wasn't proof God forgot you? What if it was proof He was calling you deeper? Not into self-reliance. Not into "I'll just manage." But into dependence. And yes, dependence feels vulnerable. But it's also where hope is born. And we have a God that we CAN depend on. So wherever you relied on yourself this past year… know you can rely on God. The Subtle Trap: Distracting Yourself Instead of Depending on God Sometimes sneaks in during suffering: Distraction. When we hurt, we're tempted to numb. A screen. A scroll. A snack. A show. A YouTube rabbit hole. A constant something to get us away from feelings that are uncomfortable. And the question becomes: What am I trusting to comfort me? Is it God? Or is it a coping mechanism—even a "normal" one—that quietly replaces Him? If we want to be dependent on God, it must be for our comfort too. You Can Do "Christian Things" and Still Miss Love In thinking of resolutions for the new year, we need to also think about the heart behind it.  I want you to take into consideration 1 Corinthians 13. It is not just a wedding reading. It's a mirror. You can do all sorts of impressive things: serve teach sacrifice prophesy lead build give generously …and Scripture says: if it isn't done in love, it amounts to nothing. So here's a New Year question that matters more than "Did I hit my goals?" Did I love? Conviction Is Kindness (And Shame Is Not From God) In thinking about growth for the new year, consider Hebrews 12. It says 'God disciplines those He loves.' So, conviction is not God crushing you. Conviction is God reminding you of truth. The world doesn't know what to do with guilt and shame—so they do mental gymnastics, or distract, or blame, or numb. But we know what to do. We run to Jesus. Because the gospel is not "try harder." The gospel is: Jesus lived the life we couldn't live, died the death we deserved, and made a way for us to walk in freedom. So whatever is being brought up as you look through your past year that you feel convicted of… good. That means you're alive.  Now bring it to Him. Don't Forget to Thank God for the Ways He Changed You In all of this, in looking back at your past year and all the things you "checked off", don't forget to also say thank you. One of the most humbling moments in Scripture is when Jesus heals ten lepers… and only one comes back to thank Him. How many times have we prayed: "God, change me." …and then He does… …and we move on like it was our willpower? When God grows you—thank Him. Because He is good. Because He is faithful. Because your testimony becomes someone else's hope. Your Identity Isn't What People Say—It's What God Says Another thing to take into this year is that people may misunderstand you. They may assume motives, they may hold your past over your head, even after you've repented. And you know what? Jesus was falsely accused too. So yes, sometimes we process feedback and ask God: "Is there something I need to learn here?" But other times? You release it. Because your identity is: Beloved daughter.  Beloved son. He created you. He delights over you. And He is not done with you. Do not let the misunderstandings of this past year stop you from stepping into who God wants you to be in this new year. Jesus Has a Yoke for You—and It's Lighter Than What You're Carrying Jesus says: "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."  -Matthew 11:28-30 So ask yourself: What have I been carrying that Jesus didn't ask me to carry? What do I need to leave behind in this past year? Social expectations? Other people's opinions? Constant stimulation? Endless noise? And then ask: What does it look like for me to come to Jesus? For me, it can look like: journaling on the couch with coffee and water worship on a walk playing the piano and singing to Him getting on my knees on the carpet and saying, "Lord, I need You." What about you? Because loving God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength is not just good in theory. It is meant to be a lived practice. Who Are You Assigned to Love This Year? Finally, this is about WHO your assignment is this year. In most seasons, your assignments go like this: your spouse your children (if you have them) the people God places in front of you And yes—when someone is suffering, priorities shift. We don't walk by wounded people like the Pharisee. But we also don't try to become the Holy Spirit for everyone. So here's a New Year question: Who is God calling me to love well—consistently—this year? Final Thoughts Maybe as you read this you're realizing: "I'm not patient or kind… not at home." "I don't know how to love my spouse well." "My spouse was so mean last year." "I was misunderstood by my friends and family." "I'm exhausted and numb and discouraged." We are here for you. And here's what I know after years of seeing real transformation: When God changes a man or a woman from the inside out… the marriage changes too. Not by manipulation or control. But by genuine love. We believe that this new year can be a year of incredible personal growth as well as beautiful transformation in your marriage. Don't let another year go by. We are here for you and we are rooting for you. Welcome to 2026!   With love,   The Delight Your Marriage Team   PS - If you want help taking real action—especially in your marriage—your next step is to Schedule a free Clarity Call. It's a conversation to help you get clarity on where you are, what's happening, and what support would actually help. You can find it at: delightyourmarriage.com/cc PPS - Here is a quote from a recent Coaching graduate: "My biggest struggle was frustration that while my wife and I were both committed to the LORD and faithful in personal prayer and devotions, as well as church attendance and fellowship with other mature Christians, we did not feel like our relationship was thriving… I felt alone and abandoned, didn't realize I craved respect, and rarely ever felt it. Intimacy was fairly regular, but very regimented…[Now,] I have the tools…I already see a lot of personal change in so many specific ways in which I interact with my wife, how I focus on her…we've just enjoyed being together more, with mini dates to delight her, and so many little practices I'm implementing to revive her spirit"

“But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too.” (Mark 11:25 NLT) Every so often in the news cycle, we get stories of huge problems that can be traced back to small, seemingly minor causes. For example, a computer glitch that delays flights at a single airport can lead to a national travel emergency. In Mark 11:25, Jesus traces a significant spiritual issue—unanswered prayer—back to a seemingly unrelated problem. “But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too” (NLT). If you sense that your prayers are not being answered, it may be due to a spirit of unforgiveness in your heart. The Bible makes it clear that unresolved conflict with others can get in the way of our relationship with God. In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “So if you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God” (Matthew 5:23–24 NLT). Unresolved conflict gets in the way of prayer—and the blessings that come from it— because it reveals a heart that isn’t aligned with God’s. The apostle Paul wrote, “Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you” (Ephesians 4:31–32 NLT). God has forgiven Christians an incredible debt. He has wiped all our sins away. For us to harbor unforgiveness toward someone else is an offense against Him. Because we understand just how much forgiveness we’ve received, we should be the most forgiving people on the face of the earth. Instead, many of us actively look for things to be offended by. Things to hold grudges for. We need an “other.” Someone to blame. Someone to look down on. Someone to judge. Someone to hold responsible for our unhappiness. Is there someone you hate right now? Is there someone you’re bitter toward? Is there someone who causes you to seethe every time you see them? Is there someone you can’t stand to be around? Is there someone you’ve been plotting revenge against? Is there someone you gossip about? If so, now is the time to deal with your spirit of unforgiveness. Depending on the circumstances, that might involve apologizing to someone you wronged—or someone who thinks you wronged them. It might mean reaching out to someone you’ve drifted apart from. It might mean starting a difficult but healing conversation with a friend or loved one. The more sincerely you reconcile with the estranged, angry, and hurting people in your life, the more effective your prayers will become. Reflection question: What would an attitude of forgiveness and reconciliation look like in your life? Discuss Today's Devo in Harvest Discipleship! — The audio production of the podcast "Greg Laurie: Daily Devotions" utilizes Generative AI technology. This allows us to deliver consistent, high-quality content while preserving Harvest's mission to "know God and make Him known." All devotional content is written and owned by Pastor Greg Laurie. Listen to the Greg Laurie Podcast Become a Harvest PartnerSupport the show: https://harvest.org/supportSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There is a huge difference between computers and the human brain. While the computer transmits information using electricity, the brain communicates its information using powerful chemicals. Let's say that you accidentally touch a hot pan on the stove. In less than two tenths of a second, millions of reactions take place while your brain performs a huge number of operations. As a result, you pull your hand away from the hot pan—very quickly!Depending on the need, your brain uses many different chemicals for communication within itself and with the nerves that connect your brain to the rest of your body. Over 50 such chemicals have so far been identified. And it has been learned that many of these chemicals work in combination with each other so that over 800 different messages are possible.Nor does the brain have set paths for messages, like a computer. In fact, it has been compared to a chemical soup rather than the circuits of a computer. In addition, the information paths in your brain change based on experience. If we can use computer language for a moment, the brain writes its own programs, doing many complicated tasks of which you and I are never aware.We know that the computer is the product of careful design, but to argue that the much more complex human brain is an accident of nature makes very little sense!Psalms 119:100“I understand more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts.”Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus Christ; More than any other thing which science can study, the human brain speaks most clearly of creation. Cause those who see this to desire to know more about You, and use me to help them find out about the saving gospel. Amen.REF.: Hammer, Signe. How does it work? Science Digest. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1232/29?v=20251111

by Elder Chris McCool, Pastor (preached on December 14, 2025) In our study of the Book of Nehemiah, we have seen how the leadership of just one man can make such a difference in the Kingdom of God! In the final sermon of our exposition of this book, we will review the leadership of Nehemiah....

Quaranteam - Dave In Dallas: Part 11 Cleanup: The Air Force arrives with a mop. Based on a post by RonanJWilkerson, in 12 parts. Listen to the Podcast at Explicit Novels. Dave's second quandary was his position, nearly on the middle of the pad, left him seriously exposed. Applying the aggressiveness taught by Carter, he knew Liv had him protected to the right, so he closed with the occupied building, moving to the far corner. A quick look showed him there were again two doors, like the other building. And two men emerging from the far door. Turning their backs to him as they followed a third man who was just rounding the opposite corner. That put him out of Dave's sight, but into Liv's. As the men receded, Dave fired into their backs. Neither was at a sprint, so they fell forward without the dramatic tumbling of the earlier target. A simultaneous rifle crack announced the death of the lead in that trio. He paused. Dave couldn't hear any sounds coming from the building. He remained wary, uneasy. How many more will it take? He waited. An eternity later, the door on one of the smaller buildings slowly opened. Two hands held high and outward came into view, followed by the woman they were attached to. She moved slowly. She was too far away for Dave to read her facial expression but she was giving all the big outward signs of surrender. Two more women exited another of the smaller buildings. One was an average build, the other rotund. The latter's feet seemed reluctant to move. Great. Don't know if there's anyone left in the big building, and now I have unknowns coming in from the houses. Other women began issuing from what must be the dwellings. Eight in all. As they neared, most had curious, guarded expressions on their faces. The big one had a look like she rarely smiled, ever. "Alright, that's close enough! Just stop where you are. Pick a leader and send her forward." There was a brief discussion which resulted in a medium height brunette walking towards him. The third woman out glared daggers into the back of the brunette's skull. The angry one argued hard with all of them, but none seemed interested in anything she had to say. Dave waited until the brunette reached easy speaking distance. "Stop right there. What's your name?" "Sandy." "How many of you are there?" "I don't rightly know." She looked thoughtful. "All the men were in the community building. Us women and our kids were in our homes. Jeb, the man that bound me to him, came in awhile ago with a new woman. She was out, like from the shot he gave me before." That confirms they're using the QT serum . "If he bound you to him with that shot, why are you awake?" "Oh, that was a few weeks back for me. I knew him a little bit before lockdowns started. Then he just shows up and says he has this safe place to stay and we can both be safe from the virus runnin' round, but I have to take this shot and sleep with him. He's been an okay guy, and I ain't had no boyfriend in several months anyway. 'Sides, he didn't tell me that I couldn't be with anybody else after that. Which sucks, but mostly he's been okay. Only been an asshole a few times, but that's pretty fair for most guys I've met. No offense." Dave smirked. "Sandy, how many men are there in your community?" She stopped, looking off to the side, thinking. "Well, there was the ten that left saying' they's gonna raid a rich man's house for somethin', never told us what. Now we know why. They were out collectin' poon like we's just a bunch a deer and no tag limit." Sandy paused. "Is that why you're here? You come to scoop us up and make us your whores?" "No, ma'am." We killed more than ten, so that can't be all . "If you ladies were bound to these men, we'll need to take you to the people that hand out the vaccine to see what they can do for you. But ma'am, please, how many men total are there?" The far door of the community building opened slowly, and a woman stepped out. It was the one Dave had seen inject one of the women right before she got raped. "Get over with the others. Is anyone else inside?" The woman shook her head no and moved swiftly to join the pack. "Oh, right. Well, after the ten left, all six of the others took off saying' they could do just as good somewhere else. But only three of them came back, including Jeb. As soon as they's back they took the nurse, that's the woman that just came out, well they took her and the two women bound to two of the guys that didn't come back and a bit later those women are out cold again. I thought the whole shot thing was permanent, but maybe not if the guy's dead? I hope so, 'cuz we're about to be in a bad way aren't we?" Thirteen. Thirteen men here. Dave counted off in his head. He thought they'd taken out thirteen, but he wasn't going to make assumptions. Especially when one part of his brain was parodying an old farcical movie about how many bullets had been fired from a gun. An 80's flick set in the 50's. "Alright Sandy, is there anyone else left in the houses?" "Just the kids, and some unconscious women. The men said they'd gotten them; reassigned?" She looked frustrated. "Guess I still wasn't good enough to keep that asshole by m'self." Dave deliberately gave Sandy an appraising look. "I think that has more to do with his greed than your looks or personality." "Well ain't you sweet?" Sandy licked her lips and looked Dave up and down. "Easy, I meant every word I said, but I already have several partners. Those six that left attacked my house." Sandy's face dropped. "I don't know if I should hate your guts for killing Jeb, or thank you, for the same thing." After a pause she spoke again. "You should be careful of Debbie. Her husband brought her here for some kinda rebel nation shit. She's already pissed he came back with some hot blonde from a rich man's house. But not so mad at him she's just gonna let you killin' him slide." "Is she the rather large woman that looks like she sucked on an entire lemon tree?" "That's the one." "How 'bout we settle on neutrality for now? Look, let's get all of you back in your homes and warm. I'll need to call the authorities to make sure you all get taken care of before that serum starts doing ugly things." Sandy walked back to the assembled throng. Another debate broke out. Debbie leading a third of the group in angry objections. Then she turned to face Dave. "Where's our men? What gives you the right to come bargin' in here?" She headed for the far end of the building. Several others followed, more than just the ones that had agreed with her. Dave knew things would turn ugly as soon as these women saw the dead bodies. His fastest route into the open yard space was behind him. He sprinted the way he'd come, entering the yard through the gap just as the women began kneeling near selected bodies. By the women's placement, some of the men must have sprinted from the building's edge. Instead of a clump near the corner, there was a line of a few reaching towards the tree line. Dave felt a cold turn inside. Rationally, he could see the line ended well before the trees, suggesting Liv had taken all of them down before they got close. But could one have gotten through? That thought was interrupted by Debbie leaving the line of dead, beginning to search the yard and moving as quickly as her thick legs would carry her. Dave moved to get clear of the gap and the bodies just beyond it. Several of the other women left the line of dead as well. They slowly swarmed about the open space while Debbie made a beeline for the gap. Then she noticed a body in the grass. Fury returned to her face after a brief look of relief. Then she paused. Her chest was already heaving from exertion. When she faced Dave, the anguish was obvious. "You fucking coward! You shot 'em in the back! You shot my husband!" She began a slow charge at him. Dave sorted through his options. The only sure way he had of stopping this woman was his weapon, but he had no desire to shoot an unarmed woman grieving her husband. He could outrun her easily, but he needed to stay in the area. For a moment, Dave's brain played an image of him making short sprints and the woman chasing after him like some schoolyard game. Not helping dammit . Dave took a few steps backwards, bringing him near the back wall of the community building. He noticed the dryer vent again, which meant the pile of pipes wasn't far. He'd have to be careful if he backpedaled any more. Falling on his ass would not engender obedience or respect. Debbie's tirade ended in a screech as she reached into her pocket. Her hand came back out with a small revolver. Shit. Shit. Shit. Dave brought his weapon up faster than her and pulled his trigger. Click . No round fired. The weapon jammed. Shit . Dave dove sideways and backwards just as Debbie fired. He felt a smack on his shoulder as he fell. His hand landed on the pipe pile. He grabbed and rolled away from the wall as another shot spanged off the brick. As he rolled, he swung one arm, releasing one of the two rods he'd snagged. He threw one leg out and came up from his roll, facing Debbie as she recovered from the rod that hit her. Her motion and his brought them in close proximity. On instinct, Dave snapped out with the remaining rod, striking Debbie's wrist. She shrieked in pain as she dropped the pistol. Dave followed up with two strikes to her knee before stepping back into a ready stance. Debbie cried out, but still managed one step forward before the side of her head exploded. Dave turned from Debbie's corpse to scan the area. All of the other women were on the ground. Clearly, they'd done the math in their head and figured out he had a partner in the trees. "Don't make us shoot anyone else. We only came here because we were attacked. The people that attacked us and another house are now all dead. We've done what we came for. We are not leaving you hanging. We know you've been given Quaranteam doses so your lives are bound to these men. There is a way to free you from that bond." Dave decided a bit of vague spitballing could be useful here and played it fast and loose based on what he'd learned in the past 24 hours. "Well, not exactly free you, but transfer that bond to someone else. This time, you will have a choice in that bonding. But, I will not countenance any threat to myself or my partner. And as you can see, she is very protective of me as well. You can also see she is a damn good shot. I want all of you to gather over here, in the lee of this building, while I get someone here to help." The women got up, moving slowly so as not to provoke Dave or his hidden partner. Once they were all clumped together, he pulled out his cell phone. Time to call Detective Verratti. Chapter 13; Cleanup. October 29, 2020 8:20am "Wait, wait, wait. What do you mean you and Olivia are at the compound? Didn't you say you and your special forces friend; Carter? That the two of you were heading to the compound?" On another call, Dave would have switched ears by now. The burning in his left shoulder threatened to make that shift a very painful decision. "No, detective, I simply said we." "Dammit, professor, why the hell wouldn't you take the trained spec-ops guy on something; oh, fuck." "Exactly. Carter and his wife have been dead for two months now. Carter was the security expert in our prepper community. He ran us through many drills on how to protect ourselves and those around us. Olivia is an excellent long-range shot. She proved it again today. Took out half the compound with her sniping. Shot one that was coming at me with a.38, when my gun jammed." "Okay, okay. Damn. Look, I contacted the Air Force when you sent me the text saying you were there. As soon as the liaison red off the coordinates, whoever was on the other end of the phone got pissed. If I overheard correctly, they gathered a small force and headed that way by chopper. I think they lifted off about twenty minutes ago. Expect them in less than an hour. If they arrive in the same mood their boss was in, keep your head down. I know I'm already in deep shit. After getting shouted at over the phone, the Air Force liaison went into my boss' office and shouted for ten minutes straight. Professor; I'm sorry I got you into this." Dave signed off that call, then texted Liv. -Sling your rifle, come into the glade with pistol drawn. He stuffed his phone back in his pocket and waited. Half his energy was devoted to ignoring the pain in his arm. The adrenaline and other wonderful bio-chemicals the body produces during high stress situations all drained out in the past ten minutes so nothing got in the way of his arm screaming at his head for doing damn fool things. On the plus side, the bleeding had stopped. Mostly. As long as he didn't move it. The blood that had come out was enough to stain most of his sleeve, but not significantly impair his thinking from blood loss. Liv emerged from the tree line with all the charisma of a warrior queen. As Dave requested, her rifle was slung cross body, and her 10mm pistol was in her hands, held low, as her eyes scanned her surroundings. She took a bit of extra 'dwell time' when her eyes passed over the assembled women. Liv strode purposefully across the ground, halting at a position within easy talking range, yet too far to make them both a single target. Dave looked her over, examining her face and posture. Concern for the psychological impact of this on Olivia was uppermost in his mind. Great time to be worried about that, huh? After all the fighting is done. Genius . He snapped himself back to reality. There would be time later for self-recrimination. Liv's visual scanning kept lingering on Dave's left shoulder. "We need to treat that. It'll be tricky to do while maintaining security." "There's an Air Force team on their way. Detective Verratti said they may be unhappy, but I'm sure they'll have a medic. Or at least a first aid bag." "How long?" "Less than an hour. Sounds like forty minutes, most likely." "That arm shouldn't wait that long. You need stitches." "Got any in your back pocket, Liv?" Dave hadn't meant to get testy, but the pain was eroding his 'nice function' and the conversation felt like it was spiraling already. The flat look from Olivia carried a tinge of hurt, and forgiveness, and her own self-restraint. "Sorry, Olivia." She nodded in response, her eyes once again on their charges. One of them stood and moved slowly towards Dave. Livy squared her shoulders to the woman, but made no other change in her focus. When the woman was halfway to him, Dave recognized her as the lady that came out of the building as he spoke with Sandy. The one Sandy identified as a nurse. "Sir, would you let me look at your wound? I'm a nurse." Liv looked at him cautiously, then gave him one slow blink. Dave restrained himself from chuckling. From her, the slow blink meant anything from 'sure' to 'don't make me say I told you so'. Dave nodded at the woman. She approached slowly, then cautiously brought one hand up to examine his wound. She pulled back on the shirt to ascertain the extent of the injury. "I can treat it temporarily for now. You need stitches; which we don't have. And a painkiller. All they have here for that is alcohol, marijuana and meth. None of which I would recommend." Dave chuckled. With her finger so close, his shaking caused her to jab the side of the open gash. Dave flinched and gritted his teeth. "Oh, I'm so sorry." The nurse jumped back, pulling her hand back to her chest. Her other hand clasped the offending one closely, like she was putting it in time out. "It's okay, ma'am. I'm the one that moved suddenly." "Parker. My name is Parker." "Dave." "Well, Dave, you've got a decent flesh wound that will make a good reminder scar once it heals. You need to get stitches as soon as possible. Like today. Wait too long and it won't do any good. In the meantime, I can bandage it up. I'll need to go inside to get some clean cloth, though." Her eyes held the obvious question of whether he would let her. "How did you wind up here?" "I was on a transport from the vaccine center on my way to my Oracle designated partner when the bus got hijacked. Fifteen of us were diverted from someone we'd chosen to these guys that made their choices just by looking at us. They went in order, so whoever had priority got first pick, and so on." That matched what Verratti told Dave. More importantly, she didn't hesitate and there was no sign of falsehood in her eyes or face. Carter taught him to be careful who you trust, but you have to trust someone. There was a haunted look in her eyes, but no deception. "Liv, can you escort this nurse inside so she can get something to bandage me with?" The young brunette that had known him longer than anyone left alive gave him a funny look. "Or maybe you escort her, so you can sit down and put your arm on a table while she does her work. Should be easier for both of you that way." The nurse's face immediately took on a restrained, but amused look. "Don't say it, let's go," said Dave with a sigh. He followed her back around to the front of the building. She entered through the first door. It opened into the kitchen area. In short order, she scooped up the first aid kit and led Dave into the dining space. The room still smelled of the recent nonconsensual ruttings. Parker visibly flinched when the smell hit her. She came to a dead stop when she saw the body lying against the wall. The look on her face suggested her desire to not be here, and not be reminded of the events of this morning and her part in them, was warring with her professional instincts. Dave watched as she composed herself and ushered him to take a seat with just a hand gesture. Dave sat so Parker's back would be towards the body. As she tended his wound, he searched for visual clues. The man was older, at least fifty, likely over sixty, judging by the condition of his skin. Prominent wrinkles and liver spots, and a leathery look of someone that spent much of his life with a heavy tan. A distinctly aquiline nose and patrician features shouted 'man of money' even more so than his silk pajamas. Necessarily, Parker - more specifically her face - lay in Dave's line of sight as he looked about. Underneath the mien of professional concentration lay clear signs that removing the visual cue of the dead body was barely tamping down her anxiety. When she reached into the kit to find the scissors; so she could trim the excess off the bandage; her fingers first brought out the razor. The way she stared at it was unsettling. She paused to wipe away newly forming tears before finishing with Dave's gauze. As she neatly placed each piece of unused equipment in the kit, he gently took her chin in his right hand, turning her head to look directly at him. "Parker, you've had to make some tough choices here. You did the best you could with what you had. You're an ER nurse, right?" He recalled that tidbit from the detective's discussion. Parker nodded in affirmation. "Okay, so your training and experience is to do everything you can to get your patient that next heartbeat, to take the next breath, and another, and another. Just keep them going, and let someone else do the fancy work once you're sure the patient is alive right?" Her face contorted further as she nodded. "But I didn't. I didn't keep her alive. They took her outside ;” Parker's voice trailed off as she wept, her chest heaving. "An older blonde woman, probably in her mid-forties right?" She nodded, still weeping, not looking at him. "Her name is Natasha, and she's alive." Parker's head snapped up. Her eyes were wide in astonishment and hope. "But; how?" "I killed those men with a silenced pistol. She's hiding in my truck. Actually, I need to check on her. My partner had some spare clothes in there. Hopefully she found them." "Can I see her? Please? I just ;” The wild, desperate look in her eyes was impossible to deny. Dave gave his arm a few careful motions, testing out the pain level for various directions and ranges. It gave him an excuse to delay answering and drew her attention back to occupational concerns. "Yeah, we can do that. First, I need to touch base with my partner though." Gesturing he said, "Let's go." Parker quickly rose, snatching up the first aid kit. She deposited it back in its secure place in the kitchen before exiting, with Dave right behind her. She glanced over her shoulder several times to check that Dave was still with her as she walked around the building and straight towards Olivia. Over the last few steps, she veered off, giving Dave and Liv enough space to talk privately while she remained close by. Dave filled Livy in on what was happening. "Maybe you should escort her though, in case Natasha has not found your clothes. Besides, it would give you a chance to move about instead of standing here, getting cold." "Are you sure she saw me well enough to be comfortable when I approach? You, she got a good look at. And vice versa." Liv added a wink. Dave looked at her, his face flat and unimpressed. "Oh come on, David, you have nine women at home, came out here to dispense some justice on the assholes that attacked us, and picked up a groupie." "For crying out loud, Liv. She's not; Okay, fine, I'll escort the nurse. That woman's been through enough trauma without being exposed to your humor." Liv gave him an enigmatic smile as he walked away with Parker. Dave pointed to the gap in the trees he'd used for entry and exit previously. Once inside, the nurse stopped him. "David, I; I'm not sure if anything can be done for her." "What do you mean? "I mean, I; um, I'm not sure how much I can say. She needs something that I'm not sure is possible anymore." "You mean you couldn't extract any more semen from the dead guy's balls?" "How the hell did you know that?! That's confidential information! No one's supposed to know!" "Parker, these guys attacked my house. We killed three of them. The bodies were on my back deck and driveway with their balls cut off. Later, we get here and I see you jab the old guy in the balls with a syringe and the shot changes color. You're reassigning these women from the dead guy to the attackers using the dead man's cum, right?" She hung her head. "It was the only way to keep them alive." "And as long as they're alive, there's hope. There's a chance to fight another day, right?" She raised her head again, eyes watery, looking as if she really wanted to believe in the thin reed he offered her. "But, what about her? She's bound to that guy, and I couldn't get any more cum out. Depending on when she last slept with him, she's got a week or two before this stuff eats her up from the inside. It'll be like what they wanted to do to her, but in slow motion." Her voice cracked as she spoke. "Parker, I want you to consider something, and this is not a knock on you, but the conditions. You are an ER nurse, working under field conditions. If we take his body back to a hospital, or the vaccine center, do you think maybe a lab tech with precision equipment and ideal conditions could manage to eke out enough semen to let her switch partners?" She smiled again, taking a shaky breath. The suggestion relaxed her enough to acquiesce when he motioned her down the trail. "I don't know. I don't know, but it's worth a try. We have to move fast though. There's a time limit on how long we have to get it done." "Then we'll make sure when the Air Force gets here with their chopper, Natasha and the dead body are on the first bird out." Parker said no more as they walked. Dave only spoke to guide her on the path. When they got into visual range of the truck, Parker's steps took on an extra urgency, like she wanted to run, but held herself back. Dave signaled for her to fall in trail behind him and wait when they neared the truck. "Natasha? Natasha, it's David. I'm here with the nurse. The compound is secure now. The Air Force is on its way. We came to check on you. Did you find the clothes in the truck?" A blonde head slowly peeked over the dashboard, only one eye visible. That one eye held enough wariness for a dozen faces. The head scanned about carefully, never spending much time away from Dave and Parker. "All of the attackers are dead, Natasha. They can't hurt you." Her head cleared the dashboard and moved towards the passenger door, the same side Dave and Parker stood several feet away from. The door opened at a glacial pace. Then two legs clad in grey sweatpants stepped down. Natasha stepped clear of the door, wearing a thin white shirt, grey sweatpants that threatened to fall off, and a look of nervous hope and apprehension. Dave tried to ignore what the cold was doing to her nipples. Rigidly holding his eye contact on her face, he said, "Parker here is an ER nurse. How about letting her examine you? And then join the rest of the women. The ladies abducted with you are all; asleep, but there are women that were captured previously, like Parker here." Natasha glanced quickly at Parker. "They captured you too?" "Nearly two months ago. Our transport was hijacked after we'd already had our injections. We were on our way to our Oracle match partners when the attack happened." Natasha's wariness fell in the face of shared trauma; and the knowledge of traumas she'd been spared. She closed the distance and hugged Parker. The nurse initially stood shocked, unresponsive, her arms limp at her sides. Slowly, her hands rose, clasping onto Natasha's shoulder blades before she began shaking with sobs of relief. Reluctantly, Dave stepped in. When he spoke, he used the softest tone he was capable of. "Ladies, we need to get back. I'd rather not walk back into the clearing after the Air Force folks arrive, armed. That tends to make them nervous." He pitched his words softly, but firmly. Parker nodded in acknowledgement. The two shared a look that communicated; something. Then Dave noticed the older blonde still had nothing on her feet. "No socks in the bag?" he asked. Natasha shook her head no. Dave sighed, walked in front of her, turned his back to her and crouched. "Come on." He lowered his weapon to dangle from its sling. "What?" "Get on my back, I'll carry you." "Uh, are you sure about this? With your arm like it is?" Parker queried. "My back can carry the burden without straining my arm muscles." After a brief pause, he heard her moving hesitantly before her weight rested on his back. Her arms came around his neck. Then he hooked his hands under her knees and stood carefully. With Parker following behind, Dave navigated the path quickly. He maintained a slightly stooped posture that Carter had taught as the best way to carry a ruck. It worked quite well for carrying a person, too. The trio made good time through the woods and emerged from the tree line very deliberately, so as not to startle Liv, who was still on guard. The smile on the brunette's face when Dave emerged with Natasha on his back was unmistakable. Dave studiously ignored it. Once they were over soft grass, he lowered Natasha to the ground. He was uncomfortable sending these two to huddle with the rest of the women, but he wasn't sure what else to do. Until the moment he was ready to open his mouth. "Liv, take Parker and inspect the houses. Check on the women that got imprinted. Keep an eye out for kids or other adults. If it's just kids, reassure them the best you can. Keep them where they are if possible." Parker spoke up. "What if we bring; Natasha?; with us. I think my spare shoes would fit her. I can get her a jacket too." Dave looked at Liv, questioningly. She gave a short nod in response. Dave shrugged his agreement. After a long backwards look at Dave, Natasha followed the other two, leaving Dave on guard over the women huddled against the building. Most of them wore some manner of jacket and long pants. A few were in pajama pants and thick housecoats. All remained quiet, barely even talking amongst themselves. One brunette, a bit older, kept glancing at Dave. After several minutes, she rose and slowly approached him. As she got closer, Dave had a strange sense of recognition. Like he should know who she was, but couldn't place her. "Hi, um, I just wanted to say thank you. I've been stuck here for over a month. Several of us have, including the nurse that was with you earlier." Her dark eyes gleamed as she continued. "Listen, I know we'll need new partners soon. I think you should know that a few of the girls are already discussing the possibility of getting paired with you." Dave stiffened. His spine, not his cock. "Well, that's very flattering, but I didn't come here for that. Hell, I already have nine partners. My house is getting kinda full. I know the CDC guy that showed up a month and a half ago said I could wind up with twelve or more, but, uh, I could be just fine with stopping where I am. So, thank you, but no thank you. I mean, unless you specially match to me and don't have anyone else nearly as good a match." Her eyes widened. "Oh, no. No, I wasn't speaking personally. I mean, I appreciate what you've done, but not that far. The others just asked me to come over, sort of as a spokesperson. You know, use my fame in the hope that would help get your approval." It was the mild gravelly tone in her voice that finally did it. "Oh. Oh, shit. Aurora Hensley?" Dave shook his head. "Sorry, I knew I recognized you, but my brain just didn't place you until after you spoke for a bit. How the hell did a star like you wind up here?" Miss Henley tried to grin to cover up her grimace, but it didn't work. "Please, call me Rory. Lockdown stopped production on my show. You may have noticed we don't have a new season out." Dave nodded. "Yes, a few of my partners grumbled about it." "Ah, but not you, huh?" she said with a real grin this time. "Oh, I've watched some re-runs with them a few times. It's just that cop shows are only a fifty-fifty interest for me. Mostly, the ones I like get into the crime lab stuff, and yours didn't have that. No offense." Dave shrugged with the last statement. She examined him coyly. "Ah, so the fact that the two leads were women has nothing to do with it?" The words were accusatory, but something about her tone suggested she was playing with him. "Naw, not particularly. The story is well executed I think. It's just a type that only sometimes grabs my interest. I did appreciate that the show featured two female leads, without pounding the fact in the viewer's face. It stood on the writing and acting, and didn't beat some political drum." "Well, thank you. I think." She smirked at him. "Sorry for dodging, it's just; it hurts you know?" A shadow passed over her features, causing Dave to place a hand on her shoulder. He also forced himself to scan the group again, making sure no one was using his distraction to do something. He kicked himself for his obliviousness and made sure he kept his focus where it needed to be, without sacrificing the conversation. "Look, I know this is all still fresh, so if you don't want to talk about what these guys did to you here, you don't have to. I'm sure they'll have profess--" "Oh no, not that. I mean, I might, but honestly, you wiping them out is already a big help. That's why I came up to thank you." Then Rory grinned slyly again. "It's also why some of them want to thank you." "Well, with the vaccine, that's a rather permanent thing. They need to take some time to think it over first, and use the matching system, um, Oracle." "True, very true. You know, it's tempting to come at you like a rescued princess, just like the others. But in truth, I have a friend I was on my way to meet when our transport was hijacked. He's been a good friend for years, but we never dated or anything. He showed up as a reasonable match, so I was supposed to be with him. I'm going to call him as soon as I can to see if he's still interested." "More than likely, he'll be thrilled to hear you're alright." "Yes, probably. He's a good man. The girls like him." As soon as the words came out of her mouth, Rory grimaced like she'd been stabbed and the wielder was twisting the knife in her guts. Dave got a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I, uh, I have to go." She turned away briefly, then turned back. "No, wait." She took a few deep breaths before continuing. "The reason I came over in the first place." She paused for a hiccupping sob. "Um, look, I can never express how much I appreciate what you've done for me here. If you need anything. Anything at all. I know people. People in entertainment, and in politics. Just call me. I'd be glad to help." With tears in her eyes, she turned back towards the wall and walked swiftly, managing not to run. Rory's rushed return and obvious emotional turmoil was greeted by consternation among the small crowd of women. Two took the time to stare at him, worry clear on their faces. Quiet conversations started up and rapidly turned internal. The women clustered around Rory, wrapping her in hugs. When they finally parted, they began speaking again, in low tones, and long periods in which all were silent. It was quite some time before Liv, Parker, and Natasha came around the right side of the building. All appeared in good spirits. Natasha now sported a denim jacket over her white T-shirt and a pair of tennis shoes on her feet. As they approached, Dave noted that Natasha was no longer grabbing at the waist band of the sweatpants to keep them up, so some solution had been found. The jacket was of sufficient length to conceal whatever that had been. Likewise, it was likely she had socks to go with the shoes, but there was no visible gap between pants and shoes to confirm that deduction. The relaxed look on her face would have to do. Parker spoke first when they came within a reasonable speaking distance. "Sixteen women are in imprinting sleep in the houses. I checked their vitals, and nothing appears amiss. Except that they're all blondes." "I told the others while we were out, Drew, the man we were paired to, only had blondes in his; team." Natasha spoke slowly, not quite reluctantly. "It was a fetish of his. Though there was variety, of a sort. Cheerleader, businesswoman, that sort of thing. I was the 'older woman' blonde. One is a teenager, just barely survived to get injected. I; I knew him before this, or at least, I thought I knew him. We went to many of the same charity dinners and such. He was so cordial in public." Parker hugged Natasha around the shoulders, a supportive measure to remind her that problem was in her past. Then Olivia spoke. "A few houses had kids. They are awake and hungry. A little worried, but not frantic. I was thinking we could get a meal going in the main cafeteria instead of separate little meals in each house." "Sure," Dave replied. "That's a good plan. First, we'll need to get the body out of there." "Body?" Liv asked. "Drew, the man all those women are partnered to. These guys were re-imprinting the women to themselves in the cafeteria space." Dave kept his voice carefully neutral. "How the hell does that work?" "We're not supposed to know, but what I saw here and at our house, I made some good guesses that Parker confirmed. You and I are probably going to spend a lot of time explaining ourselves, so the less I share the better." Liv's nodding reply carried an undertone of expectation that, once all this blew over, Dave had better spill what he knows. A small traitorous part of Dave's heart took that as a possible indication that Liv wanted to know a way out of the bonding effects of the serum. Dave's brain was pretty convinced that was B S, though he would certainly ask if she wanted out later. The idea of keeping any woman bound to him against her will made him physically nauseous. Doing that to his Livy Bean was unacceptable in the extreme. "Tell you what," Dave continued, "You stay here for a few minutes. I'll haul the body out of the cafeteria and around to this side of the building. Then, Liv, supervise getting breakfast going in the cafeteria; and I mean supervise, you maintain control and security, someone else cooks. Parker, you can escort the kids from the houses to the cafeteria." Still facing the nurse, he asked, "Who would you recommend do the cooking?" "Sandy and Rory are pretty good. Together they should be able to handle breakfast for all the kids." "OK, sounds good. Wait 'til I get the body moved around to this area before you get moving." All three women nodded. Dave immediately stalked off, eager to get things in motion before the military arrived and brought everything to a halt while they took their time coming to the same conclusions Dave had already arrived at. The kids needed to be fed. He went around the right side of the building for once, since it provided the shortest route to his destination. As soon as he stepped inside, he was greeted by the older man's corpse lying flat on the floor, up against the wall, his silk pajama pants still pulled down to his knees. That was the first thing to fix. Doing his best to avoid touching the corpse (or another man's naked body), Dave took hold of the waistband near each knee and pulled them up and over the man's hips. That done, he stopped to consider the best way to get the body moved. Rigor. Rigor mortis had set in. None of the man' joints would move. And he'd been left on the floor, jammed into the corner between wall and floor for hours. There were two options Dave could see: grab and lift by the man's shoulders and drag him with his heels on the ground. A little awkward, but doable. The downside there was the chance his pajama pants cuffs could snag on something and come all the way off. Hell, even part way was undesirable. The second option was to get this guy onto Dave's shoulder like a two by four. A one hundred and fifty pound two by four. Sure, no problem. Mentally retracting all the curses he'd flung at Carter during upper body workouts, Dave went to work. First, he knelt beside the corpse. Then he lifted the torso so it lay on his shoulder. The next part was tricky. Silk didn't give a lot of traction to grab with. Neither did flesh. It took three tries that quickly returned to the floor-kneeling position when the body began to slip before Dave managed to successfully gain his feet on the fourth attempt, the body securely balanced on his left shoulder. And every single time he used his left arm for anything, a serenade of pain accompanied the act. He'd had experience getting through doorways with lumber or pipes on his shoulder, so while it was cumbersome, Dave managed the maneuver just fine. Though he had to use his left arm to operate the door. He couldn't avoid whimpering as he forced the injured limb to comply. Once outside, it was quite easy to make the brief trek around the building and dump the body in the grass a reasonable distance from the line of dead pointing towards the trees. He also picked up the staccato sounds of a chopper, low, and building quickly. Parker was halfway to the houses and Liv had disappeared into the cafeteria building with Rory and Sandy when their heads turned, picking up the sound. Figuring it was the safest course of action, Dave walked to the middle of the open space he'd fought in, away from others, his hands away from his body and his weapons slung on his back or holstered. He knew Olivia had the presence of mind to do the same. One Blackhawk landed to Dave's left, on the other side of the unused building. A second landed beyond the community building, presumably beyond the first house and to the left of the others. The third Blackhawk landed to Dave's right, well clear of the community building. The rotor blast was strong, but not overwhelming. The moisture in the air guaranteed no dust blown around, and the cold snap was too recent to kill off any grass, so at least there was no debris kicked up by the artificial cyclone. Troops began to disgorge from the chopper the moment the wheels touched grass, running straight out, hunched over, weapons in hand. Dave slowly turned to face them, his hands clearly away from his body. "You David Belsus?" The voice was pissed, loud, and behind him. Oops. Of course the team leader was on the first chopper that landed. Hadn't Carter harped something about leading from the front? "That's me." A short, strongly muscled man stepped around into Dave's field of view. "You blew my fucking op, dammit. Hunting these boys down was my job." "Considering the number of women enslaved to these fucking animals you clearly aren't doing your fucking job!" "Don't piss me off asshole. I'm willing to consider you're one of the good guys, for now. Fuck with me and I'll throw you in a hole so deep, you'll water the rice paddies in China when you pee." Dave wisely shut the fuck up. Carter had told him there were two very important times to know in the military; when to shut up, and when to shut the fuck up . This seemed like the latter. "You got the wanna bees at your house. A few real troops here. You got lucky, Boy Scout. Stand down and let us do our jobs." Before the short, powerfully built man turned away, Dave noted the nametape on the man's uniform; Barnett. The two chevrons upside down on the top of his rank insignia meant he was a Technical Sergeant; an E-6, a middle level NCO. "Sergeant Barnett?" Dave called to get his attention. The little bantam turned, one eyebrow cocked. "The kids in this place haven't been fed breakfast yet. My partner is inside the community building with a few women who've been stuck here for over a month. They're getting something cooked up while the nurse moves the kids. You think you can let that plan roll forward? Otherwise, you'll have some cranky kids to deal with soon. "Is she armed?" "My partner?" Dave got a nod in response. "Yes, she has a slung rifle and a holstered pistol. If you go in cautious, and announce yourself, there shouldn't be a problem. Or you can send me in ahead of you." "Sure, fine. Just know if you try anything stupid, my two partners behind you will drop you in a heartbeat." "I think we understand each other." Dave stepped off deliberately, at a steady pace, getting around the corner of the building with Sgt Barnett two arm's lengths to his right. He could hear the soft footsteps in the grass of two more people behind him. Barnett wasn't bluffing. Dave reached the door of the cafeteria space. He knocked twice, then slowly opened it. "Hey, Liv? It's me, I'm coming in. There's some Air Force folks with me. Keep your weapons holstered and your hands visible. These folks seem a mite twitchy." Olivia stood in the Archway between the dining side and the kitchen side. The sounds of pans and utensils and sizzling meat were quickly joined by the aroma of bacon. Dave's stomach grumbled. Two voices behind him tittered. Seems his guards and executioners heard him. They guffawed when Barnett's stomach responded. "Should we let you two get a plate boss?" The laughing voice behind Dave almost had a Tinkerbell fairy quality to it. Great. My erstwhile executioner leaves pixie dust in her wake. Liv kept quiet. Verbally that is. Her eyes were laughing though. Laughing loud enough to make up for the silence of her lips. "No, they're cooking for a bunch of hungry kids. Leave 'em alone." Barnett paused, looking between Liv and Dave, and sizing them up. "You two, one at a time, very carefully, place your weapons on that back counter. You're closer, young lady, so you go first." Liv sighed, staying stony faced. Dave widened his eyes and nodded his head, with a slight tilt towards the counter. With an exasperated exhale, she unslung her rifle, touching only the sling, and only with her thumb, laying it on the counter. In doing so, she now had her back to the archway leading to the kitchen. She deliberately used her left hand to remove her pistol. Liv then placed it beside the rifle. Her combat knife came next. Placing it with her firearms, she stepped away from the counter and faced the others. "Boot knife." Barnett said flatly. "Excuse me?" Liv asked blankly. "Remove the knife from your boot and place it on the table." Liv pursed her lips, rolled her eyes, and then complied. Tinkerbell tittered. "Step over there." Dave waved his arm towards the opposite corner from where Liv had been, along the wall separating the kitchen space and the dining space. Olivia moved as indicated, her eyes locked on the two behind Dave. "Okay, now you." Dave walked to the counter. He unslung his SMG, again, using only his thumb, and placed it beside Liv's rifle. With open, deliberate motions, his pistol quickly followed. "Don't make me say it again." "I don't have any knives. Never been any good with 'em." Liv snorted. "You shittin me? You came in here with no knife? Better a weapon you're only mediocre with than no weapon at all." Dave just shrugged. "You're doing a great job of convincing me you merely got lucky; twice; rather than win by skill and teamwork." Dave elected not to rise to barb. "Stand over there with your girlfriend." Dave turned and walked along the wall. He took the opportunity to look at the two guards. One was a wasp waisted, svelte brunette with her hair back in a bun. The other; fucking well looked like Tinkerbelle. Pale skin, silky blonde hair in a braid that wrapped around her head like a home-grown crown. Give her a pair of wings and no one would even blink if she claimed to be the fictional character. Well, Tinkerbelle never carried an M4 with a daylight scope. Sure as shit would have given that saucy wink though. Once Dave was beside Livy, Barnett spoke to the two of them. "You will both get a full debriefing at headquarters. For now, let's start with the disposition of the corpse of one Andrew Bilk. He was a very rich man, and someone wants an accounting of his death. Starting with where his body is." "Out in the grass. The goons in this camp had his body on the floor, up against the wall there" Dave pointed, "since we had kids coming in soon, I thought it best to get him out of here, so I carried him out into the grass near the other bodies. He's the one in the silk pajamas." "Silk pajamas? That should be easy to distinguish." "Oh, uh Sergeant Barnett? There is a time critical element here. The blonde lady we rescued first, Natasha, she was bound to the rich guy; Bilk you said? Anyway, she needs to be re-partnered. I don't know the exact timeline, but he died around or just after midnight. Problem is, the nurse around here couldn't get any more semen out of the rich guy's nuts, so her only shot is if a lab geek can eke out enough for her. She and the body need to get back to Dallas fast." "Right. Okay, Silvia?" The brunette focused on Barnett. "Yes, sergeant?" "Find this Natasha woman, get her and the silk clad corpse on a chopper and send them back now." "Yes, sergeant." She slipped out the door like vanishing smoke. "Also," Dave interjected, "in the houses are several women that the nurse, Parker, was forced to re-pair from the rich guy to one of these clowns. That was this morning, so they're all in imprinting sleep at the moment. The ones that imprinted later might be able to recognize which redneck imprinted which blonde." Barnett raised an eyebrow. "Apparently, the rich guy had a fixation with blondes." Tinkerbelle ran a hand down her side, giving her body a little wriggle as she did so. "Alright, I'll let lab techs and medicos sort that mess out. We've got a convoy of trucks enroute to haul these folks back to Dallas." As Barnett spoke, the sound of rotors could be heard. As the sound built, the door opened and five kids went straight to the nearest table. Parker followed in after them. "Oh, hey Dave. Listen, some Air Force woman pulled Natasha away. I think they just left on a chopper." Dave nodded. "Are you the nurse that used the Dead Man's Switch on these women?" Barnett asked. Parker stiffened. "Yes, I am. It was either that or let them die." "Relax, I'm not your judge or your jury. I'm just trying to establish a few facts and identities. Do you think you can remember which woman paired with which man?" "Not all of them, but some. The first was the one with the enormous" she suddenly remembered there were kids in the room, "uh, assets. The boss man took her for himself." "Okay, that's fine. Uh, Jessie, think you can find a notepad for ;” "Parker." "Parker here to write down what she remembers on the pairings this morning. The ones from before should be able to tell us themselves." The short blonde exited with haste. Parker checked in with the kids before approaching the sergeant. "Can I check in with the kitchen, to see when their breakfast is ready?" "No need," said Rory, passing through the arch with a plate in each hand, "breakfast is served." Sandy was right behind her, carrying three plates, one in her left hand, and two more up her left arm. The kids cheered. Sandy also had silverware in her right hand. She set that down first. Unburdened, Rory came across the room to Dave. "Listen, Parker mentioned being paired increases a man's metabolism. We made some extra. Would you like something?" "What if the kids want seconds?" "We made enough in case the older two ask for seconds, and still serve a couple of adults." "Like me and the sergeant here?" Rory grinned, "Correct. Why don't you two sit, and I'll bring out two more plates." "I appreciate that, Rory, but Liv hasn't eaten either. Neither has Parker, or you, or ;” "I know, I know, I've got five more servings in here. Sandy and I can make more shortly." "You don't ha--" "Hush. I want to." She leaned in close. "It helps keep my mind off other things." Immediately, Rory exited to the kitchen. Sandy followed after. As they passed through the arch, Jessie, the little blonde Air Force attack pixie came back bearing a portfolio containing a yellow legal pad and a pen. She handed that off to Parker and found herself an out of the way spot along the wall. Dave watched as Parker took a seat several spaces down from the children. After staring blankly at the page for almost a minute, she began writing at a steady pace. Absorbed in watching her, Dave was surprised when Sandy brought him a plate and silverware. Bacon, scrambled eggs, and toast. A perfectly worthy American breakfast. As he ate, Dave noted his companion / captor's face. The man's fair skin was as unpale as possible without adding descriptors like 'sun-kissed'. His jet-black hair strongly suggested an eastern or southern European heritage. That presumption was supported by the darkening along his jawline. Clearly a man that had to shave twice a day to remain within military regs. Unless of course, he went undercover, in which case he could grow a partial disguise in short order. Liv caught his eye as she returned from the kitchen. She took a seat next to Dave, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek before digging into the scrambled eggs on the plate of food she'd carried in. She giggled at his pro forma protest when she stole a piece of bacon off his plate. Liv, on one side of Dave, missed the small grin on Barnett's face over the exchange. Her partner saw it though. Another enlisted woman came through the door carrying a sizable hardcase, the kind that usually has thick foam padding inside. She proceeded directly to the counter and swiftly stowed the weapons in the case. Then she carried the case back outside. "We're going to cycle the civilians through here for some breakfast before we entrain for Dallas," Barnett said. "When you're through here, meet me out on the lawn space where we started. Both of you." "You got it." Barnett took his plate and silverware through the kitchen archway. Shortly after, Dave heard the outer door to the kitchen open and close. Dave took a few more minutes to finish his meal. Liv spoke as he arranged his silverware on his plate. "Before you go, you should talk with Aurora. I think you two have something to share." Dave looked at her flatly. "She'd bonded, Liv." The young woman's smile broadened. "Not quite what I meant." Then she grew serious. "Just talk to her. Really, I think it could be good for both of you." She smirked when Dave walked away, fixing her with a wary eye. He found the sink, with a dishwasher beside it. Quickly, he rinsed his plate, placing it in the dishwasher. Rory and Sandy both objected, but he waved them off. Dave went ahead and rinsed the plate and silverware in the sink as well, along with a few cooking utensils. After drying his hands, he approached Rory. "Olivia said we should talk. She didn't say what about. Is this just her idea, or something you want to discuss?" Rory looked downward and swallowed. She looked back up. The haunted look in her eyes tugged at Dave's heart. Sandy noted their faces and suggested they step outside for a private conversation. Rory took his hand and led Dave out of the kitchen's heat and into the cool damp outside. Following her example, he leaned one shoulder against the wall, facing her. He waited for her to speak. "When we were surveying the houses; checking on the women and kids; Liv was asking me how I got here, what I dealt with getting here and being here. Honestly, she was just trying to make conversation. She didn't know what that would lead to." Dave waited again as Rory screwed up her resolve. Hopefully, his eyes were communicating support and patience. He could try speaking words of comfort or support, but the moment seemed too fragile to withstand him saying anything. "One of her questions was why didn't I try to escape after we were captured, before we were imprinted. Or why didn't we try signaling for help once we were stuck here. I can't speak for the others, but; I was not in a good place mentally when I was captured." She paused again, but not as long this time. Her shoulders came inward though, like she was trying to shrink; or hide. "Casey, the man I was supposed to partner with after getting my vaccine shot, is a good friend. He; spent time, when he could, talking to me by Zoom after; after ;” Rory shook with silent sobs. In Dave's heart, he knew what was coming next. The cold hand that gripped him, sapped the joy out of moments with his new family. His brain kept trying to reject the knowledge. Finally, she looked him directly in the eyes. Her composure shattered. "I had two daughters. They were both teenagers." As her tears poured out, Dave stepped in closer, wrapping his arms around her, his own visage twisted with the shared pain. He said nothing, merely held her for several minutes. When her shaking subsided, he waited a bit more. Finally, he took a deep breath and brought his mouth near her ear. With a shaky voice, he said, "My son's name was Eddie. He was twenty-three years old." Her arms around him tightened. Neither spoke. Several minutes later, Rory pulled her head back, an empathetic look on her face. She kissed Dave on the cheek and went back inside. Dave took a few minutes to collect himself. Feeling reasonably steady, he walked around the building. Liv and Barnett were there, waiting. "Okay, so here's what's happening. Most of these people are going back by truck. The convoy is nearly here. You two have a date with Air Force Intel, DPD, and possibly the FBI. You're going back in a chopper, now." Barnett paused, giving Dave a moment to process what he'd said. "Is that white pickup about three hundred meters back along the entry road yours?" "Yes." "Keys." "Excuse me?" "Gimme your keys. I'll have one of my people drive it with the convoy. We'll have it waiting for you when the intel boys and detectives decide to loosen the thumbscrews." Dave pulled his keys out and tossed them to the sergeant. "What about our weapons?" "They'll be in your vehicle." Dave nodded in acknowledgment. Jessie, the little pixie blonde, motioned for Dave and Liv to follow her. She led them to the nearby chopper and walked them through the seat harness mechanism. Two other Air Force personnel took seats on either side of the pair. Jessie returned to Barnett as the rotors began to move. Two minutes later, Dave watched the ground recede. Air Force personnel were scattered all over the compound. As of yet none of the kids had been in the big grassy area where the bodies lay. Just as the nose dipped and turned, Dave caught sight of military trucks edging down the dirt road into the camp. To be continued in part 12, Based on a post by RonanJWilkerson, in 12 parts, for Literotica.

Max talks with host Scott Hamilton of WBT, Charlotte's News Talk radio, about the Statesville, North Carolina Citation 550 crash that killed NASCAR driver Greg Biffle and six others, then expands the conversation with a fresh technical finding and a practical training takeaway for pilots. While preparing for the short radio interview, Max revisited the ADS-B track and noticed something he hadn't seen anyone else write about: the altitude anomaly isn't merely a "jump," it's an impossible spike. The key number is stark. The ADS-B data shows a reported climb of 1,374 feet in 1.64 seconds, which implies a climb rate of almost 50,000 feet per minute—a rate that doesn't make sense for a Citation. Max's point is that this isn't a real aircraft maneuver; it's a data or sensor-path artifact. What makes it more compelling is what happens immediately beforehand: for 34 seconds, there were 14 ADS-B transmissions in a row with the exact same reported altitude. That kind of perfectly flat series is abnormal even if an aircraft is "steady," because pressure altitude reporting typically wiggles at least a little from sample to sample. Max lays out a simple, pilot-intuitive interpretation: the aircraft was likely climbing normally, but the altitude value feeding ADS-B froze for about 34 seconds and then unfroze, "catching up" in one big correction. If you treat that 1,374-foot change as occurring across the 34-second freeze rather than across 1.64 seconds, you get a climb rate around 2,200 fpm—entirely plausible for a departing Citation. About 20 seconds after the correction, the aircraft turned back toward the airport. Max also notes there is audio where a pilot announces on CTAF they are returning because they were "having issues," and he believes those "issues" were likely altimeter/altitude-related rather than a direct cause of the crash. From there, he turns the discussion into something useful for any pilot: how altitude gets measured, encoded, and transmitted—and what kinds of failures can create misleading outputs. In the Citation 550, there are multiple static ports feeding pilot-side and copilot-side instruments, plus potentially additional static sources feeding backups. Depending on the configuration, ADS-B altitude can be sourced through a blind encoder tied to the static system, an air data computer, or an encoding ("coding") altimeter common in older round-gauge aircraft. The operational point: pilots might see one thing on their instruments while the transmitted pressure altitude shows something else—or the opposite—depending on where the fault lives. Max then shifts to the accident sequence on return. Regardless of what prompted the turnback, he argues the crash itself likely occurred on short final for a different reason: visual illusions in rain and degraded visibility. The aircraft struck the approach lighting system short of the runway threshold, which is exactly the kind of outcome that can happen when pilots subtly, unknowingly fly a shallow or low path while "going visual." He emphasizes that we don't yet know the cause with certainty, but absent evidence of an engine failure on short final, illusions are a credible explanatory bucket—and one pilots can learn from immediately. The primary illusion he highlights is water refraction. Rain on the windshield can make the horizon appear lower than it is, which creates the sensation of being higher than you really are—leading to an unconscious nose-down correction and a lower-than-intended glidepath. He also cites guidance that rain, mist, and limited slant visibility reduce and distort visual cues during the instrument-to-visual transition, exactly when pilots are most vulnerable to subtle errors. These effects are also documented in Flight Safety Foundation's ALAR "Visual Illusions" briefing note, which specifically calls out rain-on-windshield refraction and the way rain can change the apparent intensity/brilliance of approach lighting. Max closes with a concrete "do this next time" list. First, if you accept a visual in marginal conditions, load the ILS and use it to back up the visual—it would have shown a low path before contact with approach lights. Second, he discusses a tech-forward defense: using Garmin visual approaches (the NTSB recovered a Garmin GTN 750 from the wreckage) and tools like Pathways in synthetic vision to help maintain a stable vertical picture. But he adds a blunt warning that pilots routinely get wrong: Garmin visual approaches do not guarantee terrain clearance, and in hilly terrain or limited visibility they can route you into terrain unless you've validated them in good conditions. The takeaway is simple: when your eyes can lie, disciplined cross-checking—and knowing the limitations of your tools—is what keeps you off the lights and on a safe path to the runway. If you're getting value from this show, please support the show via PayPal, Venmo, Zelle or Patreon. Support the Show by buying a Lightspeed ANR Headsets Max has been using only Lightspeed headsets for nearly 25 years! I love their tradeup program that let's you trade in an older Lightspeed headset for a newer model. Start with one of the links below, and Lightspeed will pay a referral fee to support Aviation News Talk. Lightspeed Delta Zulu Headset $1199 HOLIDAY SPECIALNEW – Lightspeed Zulu 4 Headset $1099 Lightspeed Zulu 3 Headset $849 HOLIDAY SPECIALLightspeed Sierra Headset $749 My Review on the Lightspeed Delta Zulu Send us your feedback or comments via email If you have a question you'd like answered on the show, let listeners hear you ask the question, by recording your listener question using your phone. Mentioned on the ShowFlight Safety Visual Illusions Briefing Note 5.3 Buy Max Trescott's G3000 Book Call 800-247-6553 Aviation News Talk Network podcasts NTSB News Talk podcast UAV News Talk podcast Rotary Wing Show podcast Free Index to the first 282 episodes of Aviation New Talk So You Want To Learn to Fly or Buy a Cirrus seminars Online Version of the Seminar Coming Soon – Register for Notification Check out our recommended ADS-B receivers, and order one for yourself. Yes, we'll make a couple of dollars if you do.  

The story from this week looks at a massive seizure of heroin and cocaine from a gang based in the north-west of England and rural north Wales. But what hit me is there is none of the drama we see in crime programmes on the television - it is a story of four men quietly going about their business under the radar, making money for themselves and causing untold misery in the communities where we all live. Depending on your view of the failure - or otherwise - of the so-called 'War on Drugs' then this story is either of real significance, or it doesn't really matter.... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We often see people described by a pair of words. Depending on which word we focus on the meaning can change. Look at people as people and people with a past as having a future.Life lived is life learned. Every experience has facts, concepts and applications.  These arestories from the eclectic life of Lonnie Jones, Licensed ProfessionalCounselor, Minister, SWAT Team Chaplain, Outdoor Enthusiast, Quixotic Jedi andholder of an honorary doctorate from the University of Adversity.  To Support this podcast projectplease send gifts via Venmo @Lonnie-Jones-19 or use Cash App$Lonniejones3006.    Please follow us and share. Want lonnie to speak at yourevent?  Contact:  lonjones@bellsouth.net Check out YouTube for thelive eye view while the episode was being recorded.  Also look for archived lessons, Skits, and videosshowing/explaining some of the rope stuff we talk about.  YouTube.com/@LonnieJones Visit www.lonniejones.org  to find links tooriginal art, swag, 550guys and the following books:"Cognitive SpiritualDevelopment: A Christ Centered Approach to Spiritual Self Esteem";"Grappling With Life. Controlling Your Inside Space";"Pedagogue" The Youth Ministry Book by Lonnie Jones; "If I Werea Mouse" a children's story written and illustrated by Lonnie Jones;"The Selfish Rill, a story about a decision" A fantasy parableby Lonnie Jones.   T-shirts, stickers, prints and other art at www.teespring.com/stores/lonnie-jones-art https://lonnie-jones-art.creator-spring.com/listing/buy-podcast-swag?products=46  #www.worldchristian.org#tkminc2001@twlakes.net #www.hcu.edu #hpcitizensfoundation.orgFaulkner.edu/kgst  graduateenrollment@faulkner.edu    

Depending on Jesus: Where We Are Weak, God is Strong | 2 Corinthians 12:6-10 | 122825 by Corey

Plan your year in sync with astrology at MindfulNewYear.comIn this episode of the Quietmind Astrology Podcast, we explore the unique energy of the final week of December 2025 - that awkward in-between time where one year ends and the next begins. With a powerful Stellium in Sagittarius (Sun, Mercury, Venus, Mars), the cosmos is inviting us to explore, learn, and expand our horizons before the practical energy of Capricorn sets in mid-January.We also dive into the upcoming Full Moon in Ardra Nakshatra on January 3rd, a time ripe for emotional catharsis, "stormy" transformative energy, and intellectual breakthroughs. Learn why New Year's resolutions often fail, how to use the "GPS Method" for spiritual manifestation, and how to navigate information overload in the modern age.Key Takeaways & Timestamps00:00 – The "In-Between" Week & The 2026 FrequencyWe start by acknowledging the awkward limbo between Christmas and New Year's, a time often marked by confusion on where to focus. However, energetically, we are already shifting from the 2025 frequency of endings and completion into the 2026 frequency of possibility, expansion, and new creation (a 1 year in vedic numerology). 01:08 – Sagittarius Stellium: A Time for ExplorationA major Stellium is occurring in Sagittarius involving Mercury, Venus, the Sun, and Mars. This alignment emphasizes exploration, learning, and growth, making it an excellent week for working with mentors, studying philosophy, or traveling to new places, even if just exploring a new part of your local town. 02:04 – Reviewing the Year with MercuryWith Mercury (the intellect) in Sagittarius, now is the ideal time to review the past year: what went well, what didn't, and what lessons were learned. Depending on your rising sign, this energy highlights different areas of life, such as relationships (7th House) or creativity and children (5th House). 04:34 – Why New Year's Resolutions FailResolutions often fade by February because we set them during the fun, expansive energy of Sagittarius, but fail to maintain them when the sun moves into the practical, work-oriented energy of Capricorn in mid-January. To make goals stick, we must be prepared to transition from "dreaming big" to "doing the work." 06:54 – The GPS Method for ManifestationRather than viewing goals as a linear struggle, think of them like a GPS: identify Point A (current reality) and Point B (desired outcome). Spiritually, the shortest distance isn't a line but a single point; by embodying the frequency of your goal now (happiness, excitement), you attract that reality faster and with less resistance. 13:51 – Full Moon in Ardra (January 3rd)We transition into the New Year with a Full Moon in Ardra Nakshatra (Gemini). Ruled by Rudra, the storm god, this energy brings emotional storms and tears that cleanse and purify, much like rain after a drought. Expect opportunities for deep emotional catharsis, truth-telling, and intellectual breakthroughs. 16:12 – Managing Nervous Energy & Information OverloadThe combination of Gemini and Mercury can lead to nervous system agitation and information overload - a common challenge in the AI age. If you feel triggered or overwhelmed, prioritize nervous system regulation (yoga, meditation) and focus only on information relevant to your current life stage or Dasha (e.g., service during a Saturn period). Free Weekly Horoscopes & Exclusive offers: https://www.quietmindastrology.com/freehoroscopesFree Vedic Birth Chart & Training:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://www.quietmindastrology.com/freebirthchartInstagram:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://www.instagram.com/quietmindastrologyDecode Your Birth Chart: https://www.quietmindastrology.com/1011:1 Reading: https://www.quietmindastrology.com/readingMentorship: https://www.quietmindastrology.com/mentorshipQuietmind Yoga: https://www.quietmind.yoga

Depending on whom you ask, there are between 900 and 1,000 different names for God in the Bible. In this series, we're just beginning to scratch the surface, but there is great value in studying and understanding the character traits they represent. Join Julie Harwick in this episode as she examines the names Jehovah Rah, Jehovah Nissi, and Jehovah Shalom.

The Year 2025 has been a fairly impressive one in Americana and Roots Music and Roots Music Rambler fans have been there for it. On our year-ender episode, Frank and Falls not only recap their favorite new artists, albums and songs, but recall their favorite concerts and events of the year. And, as a bonus, Falls caught up with Ashton Bowling and Allen Hacker from The Creekers backstage at their recent holiday tour stop in Louisville, Ky. The short green room interview is an added bonus to an episode that celebrates the year we had. What's your pick for Americana Album of the Year? The year 2025 had too many to choose from. Molly Tuttle, I'm With Her, Tyler Childers, Hayes Carll, Nicholas Jamerson, Patterson Hood, Jason Isbell and many, many more all produced great albums this year. And songs? From Kashsus Culpepper's Believe to Molly Tuttle's That's Gonna Leave A Mark and Tyler Childers' Bitin' List to I'm With Her's Ancient Light, there's an entire playlist full of potential best songs of the year to choose from. Frank and Falls also talk about the best new artist for 2025. Depending on your definition of new artist, some names we had on our list include Jesse Wells, Cait Justice, Del Roscoe, Ramona & The Holy Smokes, and even our bonus guests, The Creekers could all be up for that honor.  And in true Roots Music Rambler fashion, Frank and Falls look back on the best live shows they saw in 2025. Their top choices may surprise you. And, if you're interested, Falls actually did a Top Songs countdown on our companion radio show, Appalachian Echoes. You can see his countdown, which includes a heavy bias toward Appalachian artists, on the Appalachian Echoes website.   Watch the Episode on YouTube Download the episode and subscribe at rootsmusicrambler.com, watch the full episode on YouTube, or download wherever you get your podcasts.  Also be sure to help spread the love of the show with Roots Music Rambler's new merch, now available at rootsmusicrambler.com/store. Authentic t-shirts, hats and stickers are now available.  Buckle up for The Hoe-Down and the Throw-Down! It's a new episode of Roots Music Rambler. Notes and links:  The Creekers online The Creekers on Spotify   Manchester Music Fest Unbroken Circle Music Festival American Music Festival Evanston Folk Festival Crossroads Acoustic Fest The Roots Music Rambler Store Roots Music Rambler on YouTube Roots Music Rambler on Instagram Roots Music Rambler on TikTok Roots Music Rambler on Facebook Jason Falls on Instagram Jason Falls on TikTok Francesca Folinazzo on Instagram Subscribe to Roots Music Rambler on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, GoodPods or wherever you get your podcasts. Theme Music: Sheepskin & Beeswax by Genticorum; Copyright 2025 - Falls+Partners. All music on the program is licensed by ASCAP, BMI and SESAC. Roots Music Rambler is a member of the Americana Music Association. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Randy and Mike Johnson get in to the CFB Playoff, and the chances that the underdogs have

What does science tell us about gluten sensitivity? Depending on whom you ask, it's either a heal scare advanced by social media grifters or a legitimate medical condition that afflicts many people. Let's take a closer look to separate fact from myth.

In this milestone 100th episode of the Common Sense Financial Podcast, host Brian Skrobonja delves into the critical topic of managing taxes in retirement. The episode focuses on strategies for minimizing tax liabilities, especially for retirees with tax-deferred accounts facing potential hefty tax bills. Brian emphasizes the importance of sustainable income creation during retirement and the role of tax optimization in this process. Most people envision their retirement to be built from predominantly tax-free income, but after many years of deferring taxes, retirees are facing a sizable tax bill on distributions taken from their retirement accounts that could be a third or more of what has been accumulated. When you're saving for retirement, growth of your assets is the priority. But many people don't realize that once they retire that's no longer true. The priority is actually creating sustainable income to support you through retirement while minimizing taxes. A common issue I've seen is future retirees knowing they will owe taxes on their deferred accounts, but not realizing the extent of the problem since the rules change once they retire. Many retirees we work with tend to have the same income goals in retirement, yet with fewer deductions. They no longer have children or mortgage interest to help them offset their tax burdens, which makes the situation more complex. Delaying distributions isn't an option either. Required Minimum Distributions will eventually force your hand. There are two tax problems facing retirees: taxes you will have to contend with today, and taxes that you will have to contend with in the future. With the national deficit continuing to rise, do you expect tax rates to go down in the future or go up? The most likely answer is that tax rates are on the rise, so we should be planning accordingly. There are two possibilities to help minimize the level at which you participate in paying your fair share towards the government's future revenue increases. You can either complete a Roth conversion or through tax deferred withdrawals contribute to an overfunded permanent life insurance policy. Making the decision of which strategy to implement is the easy part. The trick really is completing this process with minimal tax liabilities, which requires specialized knowledge. The progressive nature of the code makes understanding your tax burden complicated and miscalculating this could result in having a larger tax liability than anticipated. Depending on your income level, a taxable distribution can subject your Social Security to additional taxes. This is a separate calculation from the income tax brackets and uses a two step process to determine how much of your social security will be subject to taxation. This is important to know because a taxable distribution may not only push you into a higher income tax bracket, but it could trigger additional taxes on your social security, which could result in a higher effective rate. You should also be aware of the impact a taxable distribution can have on Medicare premiums. The impact of any possible premium increase is typically delayed by two years. This is one of those things that often comes as a surprise when people make decisions about distributions. The antidote to taxable income is deductions, credits and losses which can help reduce the net income subject to tax. There are a few options that can help offset the burden of taxes and make the transition from tax-deferred to tax-free easier, but they don't work for everyone, which is why we recommend working with a professional. The first thing is a donor advised fund or DAF. This allows you to contribute future charitable donations into a fund that you control when distributions are made that can also receive the tax benefit of the donation in the year you make the contribution into the fund. By making multiple years of donations in a single year into that fund, you have the potential of helping offset a taxable distribution from your retirement account in that year. The second is a Charitable Remainder Trust (CRT), where you can contribute future charitable donations into the trust and receive the tax benefit of the donation in the year you make the contribution. You can also receive income from the trust while you're living within IRS limits. A CRT is a more complex arrangement than a DAF with many options and requires an attorney to draft the trust. The third is a qualified charitable donation or QCD, which allows for anyone over the age of 70 and a half to make a direct donation from a qualified account to a charity. The fourth is something known as IDCs, or intangible drilling costs, which allows accredited investors to participate in the drilling expenses of an oil and gas company that could provide reportable tax losses that can help offset all forms of income, as well as the potential for cash flow back to the investor once the wells are operational.     Mentioned in this episode: BrianSkrobonja.com SkrobonjaFinancial.com Common Sense Financial Podcast on YouTube  Common Sense Financial Podcast on Spotify Brian's article - From Tax-Deferred to Tax-Free: Navigating Taxes in Retirement   References for this episode: https://www.usdebtclock.org/ https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-provides-tax-inflation-adjustments-for-tax-year-2024 https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-provides-tax-inflation-adjustments-for-tax-year-2024 https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/planner/taxes.html https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/medicare/medicare-premiums.html#anchor5 https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/charitable-organizations/charitable-contribution-deductions https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/charitable-remainder-trusts https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/qualified-charitable-distributions-allow-eligible-ira-owners-up-to-100000-in-tax-free-gifts-to-charity https://www.investopedia.com/terms/i/intangible-drilling-costs.asp https://www.crfb.org/blogs/tax-break-down-intangible-drilling-costs     Securities offered only by duly registered individuals through Madison Avenue Securities, LLC. (MAS), Member FINRA &SIPC. Advisory services offered only by duly registered individuals through Skrobonja Wealth Management (SWM), a registered investment advisor. Tax services offered only through Skrobonja Tax Consulting. MAS does not offer Build Banking or tax advice. Skrobonja Financial Group, LLC, Skrobonja Wealth Management, LLC, Skrobonja Insurance Services, LLC, Skrobonja Tax Consulting, and Build Banking are not affiliated with MAS. Skrobonja Wealth Management, LLC is a registered investment adviser. Advisory services are only offered to clients or prospective clients where Skrobonja Wealth Management, LLC and its representatives are properly licensed or exempt from licensure. The firm is a registered investment adviser with the state of Missouri, and may only transact business with residents of those states, or residents of other states where otherwise legally permitted subject to exemption or exclusion from registration requirements. Registration with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission or any state securities authority does not imply a certain level of skill or training. Investing involves risk, including the potential loss of principal. This is intended for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be used as the sole basis for financial decisions, nor should it be construed as advice designed to meet the particular needs of an individual's situation. A ROTH Conversion is a taxable event. Consult your tax advisor regarding your situation. Investments in securities are subject to investment risk, including possible loss of principal. Prices of securities may fluctuate from time to time and may even become valueless. Gas and oil investments are speculative in nature and are sold by Private Placement Memorandum (PPM). Carefully read the PPM before investing. Certain accreditation requirements may apply. Donor Advised Funds represent an irrevocable gift of assets from the donor to the fund. Contributions made to the fund are irrevocable and cannot be returned or used for any other individual or used for any purpose other than grant making to charities. The gift is not an investment or a security. When evaluating a contribution to the fund, carefully consider the terms and conditions, limitations, charges, and expenses. Depending on the tax filing status, DAF contributions may or may not be tax deductible.

Now THIS is going to be a podcast you DO NOT want to miss!    It's time for another episode of our HUGELY popular SIX ROUNDS VIP Guest podcast!   In this episode, 3 times Board Level Entrepreneur of the Year, Financially Independent at age 33, the Ultimate FD himself Josh Keegan and Daniel Hill go behind the scenes with six surprise topics which neither have any idea of!    In this Six Rounds, at 10 minutes apiece, Dan and Josh covered the below HIGHLY PERSONAL questions and in many cases VERY PRIVATE topics which are now yours to enjoy!    Round One: Parenthood Round Two: Building Businesses That Don't Make Money Round Three: Brutal Truths Round Four: Money Mindsets Round Five: Health & Fitness Round Six: Set & Forget Tips & Hacks    Depending how well you know Dan or Josh, these may or may not seem like the six round topics you would expect to see from two high performing, award winning Property Entrepreneurs at the top of their game but that is the beauty of dropping the ego, opening up and going six rounds on The Blueprint Podcast.    Success and Failure are both very Predictable    LET THE GAMES BEGIN!!!!!   We hope you enjoy....!   Want to learn more?  

Kevan Chandler is an author, speaker, and the voice behind We Carry Kevan and The Hospitality of Need. Kevan lives with muscular atrophy, a rare neuromuscular disease. Through his writing and storytelling he invites people into a countercultural way of seeing need, dependence, and community, not as weakness, but as gift. Kevan shares his story of growing up with muscular atrophy and how, over time, he's learned that serving others and being served are not opposites—they're intertwined. We talk about how our needs can become doorways into deeper relationships, the difference between simply asking for help and intentionally inviting people into our need, and how it's possible to give and receive at the same time. This conversation is thoughtful, challenging, and a reminder that vulnerability around our needs can lead to deeper connection with others. The Hospitality of Need  We Carry Kevan (Book) We Carry Kevan Organization Follow Kevan on Social → @wecarrykevan & @vanchandler  Follow SWE on Instagram → @so.what.else  Follow Kaitlin on Instagram → @kaitlingraceelliott https://www.kaitlinelliott.com/

Who is Roland Butcher? Depending on your connection to the game - that question has different answers for different people. Roland the first black man to play cricket for England? Roland the Middlesex Legend? Roland the Bajan trailblazer? Roland the football coach? Roland the West Indies selector? There is so much more to Roland Butcher than meets the eye. With his new book out, Roland sat down with Machel to look at all things cricket and the stories behind his story. You can keep abreast of all things book release by following Roland on X - @butcher_roland or by going to his website www.rolandbutcher.co.uk to get your copy of the book. As ever please leave a rating, review, comment and subscribe to the Caribbean Cricket Podcast. No other channel keeps it as real as we do on the Caribbean Cricket Podcast. If you'd like to support the Caribbean Cricket Podcast you can become a patron for as little as £1/$1 a month here - patreon.com/Caribcricket If you would like to read some high quality articles on West Indies cricket - please subscribe to our brand new site - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Caribbean Cricket News on CounterPress • West Indies Cricket independent news⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mind Pump Fit Tip: Lift and gain an inch around your butt in 60 days! (2:09) The scary rise of Sextortion. (18:35) Disgraced OnlyFans star. (23:38) The increased awareness around pornography. (25:59) Food engineering. (29:40) The dark side of cannabis. (37:00) Manuka honey to cure wounds and take on inflammation in the body. (42:51) Helpful tips for current and inspiring personal trainers. (44:40) The Mind Pump Butcher Box and what makes heritage pork so good? (53:07) #Quah question #1 – My 10-year-old daughter struggles with the mechanics of a barbell row. What could I replace it with for now? (58:38) #Quah question #2 – Once you've chased strength, focused on how you feel, sleep, libido, and all that's good....but aesthetic has not caught up. What's next? (1:01:38) #Quah question #3 – It's been a while since you spoke about the benefits of full-spectrum CBD. Do you still find benefits based on emerging research, or has it become overhyped? (1:03:18) #Quah question #4 – Is it ok to bounce around programs? Depending on circumstances, I bounce around Muscle Mommy 15, Suspension or Anabolic. (1:04:55) Related Links/Products Mentioned Visit Manukora for the exclusive offer for Mind Pump listeners! ** Use code MINDPUMP and save up to 31% plus $25 worth of free gifts with the Starter Kit, which comes with an MGO 850+ Manuka Honey jar, 5 honey travel sticks, a wooden spoon, and a guidebook! ** Visit Butcher Box for this month's exclusive Mind Pump offer!  ** New users receive their choice of NY Strip, Ribeye, or Filet Mignon in every box for a year. ** MAPS 15 FORTY PLUS 50% half from Dec. 14-20th. Code DECEMBER50 at checkout. Mind Pump Store Mind Pump #2463: Sometimes to Get Leaner You've Got to Eat More (Listener Coaching) Mind Pump #1785: Why Most Women Fail at Developing Their Butt Mind Pump #2155: The Art & Science of Building Perfect Butts With Bret Contreras What is Sextortion? - Children and Screens Adult content creator Bonnie Blue to be deported from Bali The Genius Life Podcast: Why You Overeat, Gain Fat, and Lose Muscle (and How to Fix It!) - Sal Di Stefano The Real Story of How Cotton Candy Grapes Are Made What is 'scromiting'? New medical slang divides health experts, cannabis advocates Antibacterial activity of Manuka honey and its components: An overview Visit Troscriptions for the exclusive offer for Mind Pump listeners! **Promo code MINDPUMP for 10% off your first order. ** The #1 Setup Cue For The Barbell And Dumbbell Row Exercise Mind Pump Podcast – YouTube Mind Pump Free Resources People Mentioned Dani Demeter (@mindpumpdani) Instagram Max Lugavere (@maxlugavere) Instagram Ben Greenfield (@bengreenfieldfitness) Instagram  

Jeremy Keil explains the top 3 tax efficient strategies for charitable giving in 2025. Most people give to charity because it's meaningful to them — not because of the tax break. And that's the right mindset. But if you're already giving, it makes sense to be intentional and structure that giving in a way that helps you keep more of your hard-earned money. In this episode of Retire Today, I walk through the top three charitable giving strategies for 2025, especially in light of new tax rules taking effect in 2026 and important changes already happening this year. With only a limited window left before year-end, now is the time to understand your options. The key is planning — not reacting in April. Why 2025 Is a Unique Giving Year Late in the year, you usually have a clear picture of your income and tax bracket. That makes it the perfect time to decide when and how to give. With upcoming changes like: A new 0.5% AGI floor on charitable deductions starting in 2026 A cap on the value of deductions for high earners A higher SALT deduction limit already in effect 2025 offers an opportunity to be proactive instead of passive. Depending on your income, it may make sense to pull future giving forward — or delay certain gifts until next year. But that decision should be made intentionally, not by default. Strategy #1: Bunch Your Charitable Deductions Bunching means combining multiple years of charitable giving into a single tax year to exceed the standard deduction and unlock itemized deductions. For example, if you normally give $10,000 per year to charity but don't itemize, you may get no tax benefit at all. But by contributing two to four years of giving in one year, you may be able to itemize and deduct the full amount. The most effective way to do this is through a donor-advised fund (DAF). A DAF lets you: Take the tax deduction now Give to charities later, on your preferred schedule Keep your giving consistent for the organizations you support This separates the timing of your tax deduction from the timing of your charitable gifts — a powerful planning tool when income fluctuates. Strategy #2: Donate Appreciated Investments Instead of Cash One of the most tax-efficient ways to give is donating long-term appreciated investments from a taxable brokerage account. When you sell an investment that has gone up in value, you owe capital gains tax. When you donate that same investment directly to charity (or to a donor-advised fund), you: Avoid paying capital gains tax Receive a charitable deduction for the full market value Remove a concentrated position from your portfolio This strategy is especially effective after strong market years like 2023, 2024, and 2025, when many investors are sitting on significant unrealized gains. To qualify, the investment must be held for more than one year (long-term capital gain). Many custodians automatically select the most tax-efficient shares when processing these donations, making the strategy easier to implement than most people expect. Strategy #3: Use Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) For those age 70½ or older, Qualified Charitable Distributions are often the most powerful giving strategy available. A QCD allows you to send money directly from your traditional IRA to a qualified charity. That money: Never shows up as taxable income Can satisfy Required Minimum Distributions (once applicable) Reduces future RMDs by shrinking your IRA balance Many retirees make the mistake of taking IRA withdrawals, depositing the money into checking, and then writing checks to charity. That approach often increases taxable income, affects Social Security taxation, and can raise Medicare premiums — even if a charitable deduction is available. QCDs avoid those issues entirely by keeping the income off your tax return in the first place. Even if you're not yet subject to RMDs, starting QCDs early can still make sense if part of your regular spending includes charitable giving. Putting It All Together These three strategies often work best in combination: Use donor-advised funds to bunch deductions Fund those DAFs with appreciated investments Use QCDs once you reach age 70½ But none of this should be done blindly. The right approach depends on: Your income this year and next Whether you itemize or take the standard deduction Your charitable goals Your long-term retirement and tax plan The most important step is projecting your tax situation before the year ends and making decisions on purpose — not by default. Don't forget to leave a rating for the “Retire Today” podcast if you've been enjoying these episodes! Subscribe to Retire Today to get new episodes every Wednesday. Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/retire-today/id1488769337 Spotify Podcasts: https://bit.ly/RetireTodaySpotify About the Author: Jeremy Keil, CFP®, CFA® is a financial advisor in Milwaukee, WI, author of the bestseller Retire Today: Create Your Retirement Master Plan in 5 Simple Steps and host of both the Retire Today Podcast and Mr. Retirement YouTube channel Additional Links: Buy Jeremy's book – Retire Today: Create Your Retirement Master Plan in 5 Simple Steps “Trump's Big Beautiful Bill Could Change Retirement FOREVER!” – Mr. Retirement YouTube Channel “Maximize your Tax Benefits by BUNCHING Charitable Donations!” – Mr. Retirement YouTube Channel “How the SALT Deduction Cap Works If You Make Over $500,000 (2025 Tax Update)” – Mr. Retirement YouTube Channel “QCDs: The Tax-Smart Way to Give in Retirement (2025 Qualified Charitable Distributions Guide)” – Mr. Retirement YouTube Channel “What is the 2025 QCD Limit? (Qualified Charitable Distributions” – Mr. Retirement YouTube Channel Connect With Jeremy Keil: Keil Financial Partners LinkedIn: Jeremy Keil Facebook: Jeremy Keil LinkedIn: Keil Financial Partners YouTube: Mr. Retirement Book an Intro Call with Jeremy's Team Media Disclosures: Disclosures This media is provided for informational and educational purposes only and does not consider the investment objectives, financial situation, or particular needs of any consumer. Nothing in this program should be construed as investment, legal, or tax advice, nor as a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security or to adopt any investment strategy. The views and opinions expressed are those of the host and any guest, current as of the date of recording, and may change without notice as market, political or economic conditions evolve. All investments involve risk, including the possible loss of principal. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Legal & Tax Disclosure Consumers should consult their own qualified attorney, CPA, or other professional advisor regarding their specific legal and tax situations. Advisor Disclosures Alongside, LLC, doing business as Keil Financial Partners, is an SEC-registered investment adviser. Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or expertise. Advisory services are delivered through the Alongside, LLC platform. Keil Financial Partners is independent, not owned or operated by Alongside, LLC. Additional information about Alongside, LLC – including its services, fees and any material conflicts of interest – can be found at https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/333587 or by requesting Form ADV Part 2A. The content of this media should not be reproduced or redistributed without the firm’s written consent. Any trademarks or service marks mentioned belong to their respective owners and are used for identification purposes only. Additional Important Disclosures

How would you feel if everything you knew about the various popular holidays throughout the year were lies manufactured to divert your attention from their very real and sacred meaning? Depending on who you are, that knowledge could be revelatory or very disturbing and controversial…Lara Day explores the not-so-great truth behind the various popular holidays many of us celebrate, how they evolved into opportunities to control you and what you can do to reclaim those sacred practices this week on Spirit Gym.Learn more about Lara's work and classes at her website and on social media via Facebook, TikTok and Instagram.For Spirit Gym listeners: Save $100 on a Neurogenic Qigong session with Lara (her unique blend of qigong healing and tension and trauma releasing neurogenic tremor work) by letting her know you listened to this podcast! (Special offers from Spirit Gym guests are time-sensitive and at their discretion to redeem after 30 days.)Timestamps3:27 A new publisher and important additions to Lara's 13 Sacred Nights Oracle deck.8:10 “Maybe it's time to consciously choose how we celebrate our holidays.”11:17 The four-layer cake of bad changes to our holidays.23:52 Why do many people get so defensive about their manufactured holiday traditions?31:18 The trick or treat origins of Halloween.40:54 Lara and her daughter have created their own Halloween ritual: An altar for celebrating dead relatives and loved ones.49:11 The origins of Thanksgiving in America, thanks to Sarah Josepha Hale.56:50 Open your heart with this very simple practice from Paul.1:02:43 Cooking.1:10:36 Why was Christmas once outlawed in the 17th century?1:19:53 “We were worried that if we told them we knew, maybe they'd think there's no point in having Christmas anymore.”1:24:45 You can reset the Christmas season for your family and celebrate it your way.Resources13 Sacred Nights Oracle: A Yearly Solstice Tradition by Lara DayAdyashantiFind more resources for this episode on our website.Music Credit: Meet Your Heroes (444Hz), Composed, mixed, mastered and produced by Michael RB Schwartz of Brave Bear MusicThanks to our awesome sponsors:PaleovalleyBIOptimizers US and BIOptimizers UK PAUL15Organifi CHEK20Wild PasturesKorrect SPIRITGYMPique LifeCHEK Institute We may earn commissions from qualifying purchases using affiliate links.

//The Wire//1500Z December 14, 2025////PRIORITY////BLUF: TERROR ATTACK STRIKES AUSTRALIA AS 12X KILLED IN BONDI BEACH MASS SHOOTING. VEHICLE RAMMING ATTACK FOILED IN GERMANY. MASS SHOOTING REPORTED AT BROWN UNIVERSITY IN PROVIDENCE.// -----BEGIN TEARLINE----- -International Events-Australia: A few hours ago, a complex terror attack took place at a Hanukkah event in Bondi Beach. Multiple gunmen approached a gathering of people at a picnic area on the east side of the park, and began engaging those taking part in holiday celebrations. At least two gunmen took up a tactical position on the pedestrian bridge at grid coordinate: 56H LH 40786 48784 // 61.2 ft MSL. From there, the gunmen began firing at event participants in the park below. After a few minutes, these two shooters were eventually neutralized by armed police on this bridge.At least one other gunman was present at the shooting, but was disarmed by a bystander who attacked the shooter with his bare hands and took the weapon from him. This disarmed-shooter was later detained by police on the pedestrian bridge with the others.Analyst Comment: Concerning casualties, right now the number stands at 10x killed during the attack, with a few dozen wounded. At least two of the attackers were wounded/killed by armed police, however their status is not known. The total number of shooters involved in this attack is also not known, but right now the count stands at 3x shooters taking part in the attack. At least one shooter did survive, as indicated by the videos of the incident taken by observers. Regarding the identities of the attackers, official confirmation of their name and status will take some time. However, photos of some of the shooter's drivers licenses have circulated social media in the hours after the attack. At least one of the attackers appears to be Naveed Akram, who had a NSW driver license.Germany: Yesterday a vehicle ramming attack was foiled by police, which involved a local terror cell in lower Bavaria. Local authorities state that 5x suspects have been arrested after they planned to carry out a vehicle ramming attack at a Christmas Market in the Dingolfing-Landau area.Analyst Comment: The suspects have not been identified by name, however their nationalities are: 1x Egyptian, 3x Moroccans, and 1x Syrian. All are currently being held in pre-trial detention, and more documents are expected to be released regarding how this plot was alleged to have been planned. -HomeFront-Rhode Island: Yesterday evening a mass shooting was reported at Brown University after a shooter opened fire during final exams near the Barus and Holley Engineering building on campus. 2x people were killed and 9x were wounded during the attack.Analyst Comment: The assailant egressed from the area after the shooting, which triggered a manhunt for several hours and prevented the scene from being secured for medical personnel to provide aid to the wounded. As of this morning, police state that they have one "person of interest" in custody regarding the case, however they stopped short of calling this person a suspect. Officially, the shooter has not been captured yet. No weapon was recovered from the scene, and the assailant was wearing a mask during the attack.-----END TEARLINE-----Analyst Comments: In Germany, it must be noted that if this terror cell was rolled up by police, there are probably others which have not yet been detected. Five terrorists is NOT a lone-wolf-style attack, and heavily indicates a more hierarchical organization structure. Depending on how well this cell was organized and commanded, this could mean that other terrorists that haven't been detected yet might be motivated to accelerate their attack planning. Considering the success of the horrific attack in Australia, it's possible that other attacks are coming down the pipeline. As such, inc

Allen, Joel, and Yolanda recap the UK Offshore Wind Supply Chain Spotlight in Edinburgh and Great British Energy’s £1 billion manufacturing push. Plus Ørsted’s European onshore wind sale, Xocean’s unmanned survey tech at Moray West, and why small suppliers must scale or risk being left behind. Sign up now for Uptime Tech News, our weekly email update on all things wind technology. This episode is sponsored by Weather Guard Lightning Tech. Learn more about Weather Guard’s StrikeTape Wind Turbine LPS retrofit. Follow the show on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Linkedin and visit Weather Guard on the web. And subscribe to Rosemary Barnes’ YouTube channel here. Have a question we can answer on the show? Email us! You are listening to the Uptime Wind Energy Podcast brought to you by build turbines.com. Learn, train, and be a part of the Clean Energy Revolution. Visit build turbines.com today. Now, here’s your host. Allen Hall, Joel Saxon, Phil Totaro, and Rosemary Barnes. Allen Hall: Welcome to the Uptime Wind Energy Podcast. I’m your host Allen Hall in Charlotte, North Carolina, the Queen City. I have Yolanda Pone and Joel Saxon back in Austin, Texas. Rosemary Barnes is taking the week off. We just got back from Scotland, Joel and I did, and we had a really great experience at the UK offshore wind supply chain spotlight 2025 in Edinburgh, where we met with a number of wind energy suppliers and technology advocates. A Joel Saxum: lot going on there, Joel. Yeah. One of the really cool things I enjoyed about that, um, get together the innovation spotlight. [00:01:00] One, the way they had it set up kind of an exhibition space, but not really an exhibition. It was like just a place to gather and everybody kind of had their own stand, but it was more how can we facilitate this conversation And then in the same spot, kind of like we’ve seen in other conferences, the speaking slots. So you could be kind of one in ear, oh one in year here, listening to all the great things that they’re doing. But having those technical conversations. And I guess the second thing I wanted to share was. Thank you to all of the, the UK companies, right? So the, all the Scottish people that we met over there, all the people from, from England and, and around, uh, the whole island there, everybody was very, very open and wanting to have conversations and wanting to share their technology, their solutions. Um, how they’re helping the industry or, or what other people can do to collaborate with them to help the industry. That’s what a lot of this, uh, spotlight was about. So from our, our seat, um, that’s something that we, you know, of course with the podcast, we’re always trying to share collaboration, kind of breed success for everybody. So kudos to the ORE [00:02:00] Catapult for putting that event on. Allen Hall: Yeah, a big thing. So, or Catapult, it was a great event. I’ve met a lot of people that I’ve only known through LinkedIn, so it’s good to see them face to face and. Something that we’ve had on the podcast. So we did a number of podcast recordings while we’re there. They’ll be coming out over the next several weeks, so stay tuned for it. You know, one of the main topics at that event in Edinburg was the great British Energy announcement. This is huge, Joel. Uh, so, you know, you know, the United Kingdoms has been really pushing offshore wind ambitions for years, but they don’t have a lot of manufacturing in country. Well, that’s all about the change. Uh, great British energy. Which is a government backed energy company just unveiled a 1 billion pound program called Energy Engineered in the uk, and their mission is pretty straightforward. Build it in the uk, employ people in the uk, and keep the economic benefits of the clean energy transition on British soil. 300 million pounds of that is really [00:03:00] going to be focused on supply chain immediately. That can happen in Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and England. It’s a big promotion for the UK on the wind energy side. I see good things coming out of this. What were your thoughts when you heard that Joel Saxum: announcement, Joel? The offshore wind play. Right. It’s like something like this doesn’t happen to economies very often. Right. It’s not very often that we have like this just new industry that pops outta nowhere. Right. We’re, we’re not making, you know, it’s like when, when. Automotive industry popped up in the, you know, the early 19 hundreds. Like that was this crazy new thing. It’s an industrial revolution. It’s all this new opportunity. So offshore wind in, in my idea, same kind of play, right? It’s this new thing or newer thing. Um, and as a government, um, coming together to say, Hey, this is happening. We have the resources here. We’re gonna be deploying these things here. Why would we not take advantage of building this here? I mean. Any politician that says I’m bringing jobs or I’m bringing in, you [00:04:00] know, um, bringing in funds to be able to prop up an industry or to, uh, you know, start a manufacturing facility here or support an engineering department here, um, to be able to take advantage of something like this. Absolutely right. Why offshore this stuff when you can do it Here, you’ve got the people, you have the engineering expertise. It’s your coastline. You’ve operated offshore. You know how to build them, operate ’em, all of these different things. Keep as much of that in-house as you can. I, I mean, we’ve, we’ve watched it in the US over the last few years. Kind of try to prop up a supply chain here as well. But, you know, with regulations and everything changing, it’s too risky to invest. What the, it looks like what the UK has seen over there is, well, we might as well invest here. We’ll throw the money at it. Let’s, let’s make it happen on our shores. The Allen Hall: comparison’s obvious to the IRA Bill Yolanda and the IRA bill came out, what, A little over two years ago, three years ago, roughly. We didn’t see a lot of activity [00:05:00] on the manufacturing side of building new factories to do wind. In fact, there was a lot of talk about it initially and then it. It really died down within probably a year or so. Uh, you know, obviously it’s not a universal statement. There were some industries model piles and some steelworks and that kind of thing that would would happen. But sometimes these exercises are a little treacherous and hard to walk down. What’s your thoughts on the UK government stepping in and really. Putting their money where the mouth is. Yolanda Padron: I think it’s, I mean, it’s, it’s great, right? It’s great for the industry. It’ll, it’ll be a great case, I think, for us to look at just moving forward and to, like you said, government’s putting their money where their mouth is and what exactly that means. You know, not something where it’s a short term promise and then things get stalled, or corporations start looking [00:06:00] elsewhere. If every player works the way that they’re, it’s looking like they’re going to play right now, then it, it could be a really good thing for the industry. Allen Hall: Well, the, the United States always did it in a complicated way through tax policy, which means it runs through the IRS. So any bill that passes Congress and gets signed by the president, they like to run through the IRS, and then they make the tax regulations, which takes six months to 12 months, and then when they come out, need a tax attorney to tell you what is actually written and what it means. Joel, when we went through the IRA bill, we went through it a couple of times actually, and we were looking for those great investments in new technology companies. I just remember seeing it. That isn’t part of the issue, the complexity, and maybe that’s where GB Energy is trying to do something different where there’s trying to simplify the process. Joel Saxum: Yeah. The complexity of the problem over here is like that. With any. Business type stuff, right? Even when you get to the stage of, um, oh, this is a write off, this is this [00:07:00] for small businesses and those things, so it’s like a delayed benefit. You gotta plan for this thing. Or there’s a tax credit here, there. Even when we had the, um, the electric vehicle tax credits for, uh, individuals, right? That wasn’t not something you got right away. It was something you had to apply for and that was like later on and like could be. 15 months from now before you see anything of it. And so it’s all kind of like a difficult muddy water thing in the i a bill. You’re a hundred percent correct. Right. Then we passed that thing. We didn’t have the, the rules locked down for like two years. Right. And I remember we had, we had a couple experts on the podcast talking about that, and it was like, oh, the 45 x and the 45 y and the, the C this and the be that, and it was like. You needed to have a degree in this thing to figure it out, whereas the, what it sounds like to me, right, and I’m not on the inside of this policy, I dunno exactly how it’s getting executed. What it sounds like to me is this is more grant based or, and or loan program based. So it’s kinda like, hey, apply and we’ll give you the money, or we’ll fund a loan that supports some money of with low interest, zero [00:08:00] interest, whatever that may be. Um, that seems like a more direct way, one to measure ROI. Right, and or to get things done. Just just to get things done. Right. If someone said, Hey, hey, weather guard, lightning Tech. We have a grant here. We’d like to give you a hundred grand to do this. Or it was like, yeah, if you put this much effort in and then next year tax season you might see this and this and this. It’s like, I don’t have time to deal with that. Yolanda Padron: Yeah. We might also just change the rules on you a little bit, and then maybe down the line we’ll see where we go. Yeah. It does seem like they’re, they’re setting up the dominoes to fall in place a bit better. This way. Yeah, absolutely. Joel Saxum: That’s a, that’s a great way to put it, Yolanda. Let’s setting up the dominoes to fall in place. So it’s kinda like, Hey. These are the things we want to get done. This is what we wanna do as an industry. Here’s a pool of money for it, and here’s how you get access to it. Allen Hall: A lot’s gonna change. I remember, was it a couple of months ago, maybe, maybe a year ago, time flies guys. Uh, we were just talking about. That on the way home from [00:09:00]Scotland, like how many people have had in the podcast? It’s a lot over 60 have been on the podcast as guests. Uh, one of the people we want to have on is, uh, Dan McGrail, who’s the CEO of Great British Energy because, uh, we had talked about with Rosemary the possibility of building turbines all in. The uk, they have blade factories. All this stuff is doable, right? They have technology. This is not complicated work. It just needs to be set up and run. And maybe this is the goal is to just run, it may maybe not be OEM focused. I I, that’s what I’m trying to sort through right now as, is it vestas focused? Is it GE focused? Is it Siemens Keesa focused? Is there a focus or will these turbines have GB energy? Stamped on the side of them. I would Joel Saxum: see love to see support for sub-component suppliers. Yeah, I would too. Yeah. The reason being is, is like that’s, that’s more near and dear to my heart. That’s what [00:10:00] I’ve done in my career, is been a part of a lot of different, smaller businesses that are really making a difference by putting in, you know, great engineering comes from small businesses. That’s one of my, my things that I’ve always seen. It seems to be easier to get things done. In a different way with a small business than it does to engineering by committee with 50 people on a team faster, sometimes better. Uh, that’s just my experience, right? So I would like to see these smaller businesses propped up, because again, we need the OEMs. Yes, absolutely. But also spread it around, right? Spread the wealth a little bit. Uh, you know, a, a factory here, a factory there, a engineering facility here. The, uh, you know, an execution plant here. Some things like that. I would love to see more of these kind of, uh, spread around like the, like GB energy’s money spreads around, like fairy dust. Just kind of plant a little here, plant a little in this city, make a little here, instead of just lumping it to one or lumping it into one big, um, OEM. And that doesn’t necessarily [00:11:00] have to be an OEM, right? It could be a blade manufacturer that I’m talking about, or. Or a big, big gearbox thing or something like that. We need those things, and I, I’m all for support for them, but I just don’t think that all of its support should go to them. Speaker 7: Australia’s wind farms are growing fast, but are your operations keeping up? Join us February 17th and 18th at Melbourne’s Poolman on the park for Wind Energy o and M Australia 2026, where you’ll connect with the experts solving real problems in maintenance asset management. And OEM relations. Walk away with practical strategies to cut costs and boost uptime that you can use the moment you’re back on site. Register now at W OM a 2020 six.com. Wind Energy o and m Australia is created by Wind Professionals for wind professionals because this industry needs solutions, not speeches. Allen Hall: If you haven’t booked your tickets to Wind Energy o and m Australia 2026, you need to be doing [00:12:00] that. Today, uh, the event is on February 17th and 18th in Melbourne, Australia. Uh, we’ll have experts from around the world talking everything o and m, and there’s so many good people are gonna be on the agenda, Joel, and a lot of big companies sponsoring this Joel Saxum: year. Allen Hall: You want to give us a highlight? Joel Saxum: Yeah, so like you said, Alan, we have a ton of sponsors going to be there and, and I’d like to say the sponsors. Thank you ahead of time. Of course. Right. We’re, we’re, we’re super excited for them to get involved because as we’ve put this event together. We’re trying to do this no sales pitches, right? So we wanna do this, not pay to play. We want people here that are going to actually share and learn from each other. And the sponsors have been kind enough to get on board with that message and follow through with it. So, like our lead industry sponsor Tilt, uh, Brandon, the team over there, fantastic. Um, they have, they’re, they’re the, their key sponsor here and they’re supporting a lot of this. So the money’s going to applying in experts from all over the [00:13:00] world, putting this thing together. Uh, so we have an, uh. A forum to be able to talk at, uh, C-I-C-N-D-T. From here in the States, uh, we’ve got Palisades, who’s another operator in the, uh, Australian market, uh, rig com. ISP over there doing blade work and it just keeps rolling down. We’ve got squadron on board, squadron’s gonna do one of the coffee carts. Um, so I know that we’ve got a limited bit of tickets left. I think we are 250 in the venue and that’s what the plan is. I think we’re sitting at about half of that leftover. Allen Hall: Yeah, it’s getting close to running out. And I know in Australia everybody likes to purchase their tickets at the last minute. That’s great. And but you don’t wanna miss out because there is limited seating to this event. And you wanna go to WMA w om a 2020 six.com. Look at all the activities. Book some tickets. Plan to book your travel if you’re traveling from the United States or elsewhere. You need a couple of weeks [00:14:00]hopefully to do that ’cause that’s when the airline prices are lower. If you can book a a couple of weeks ahead of time. So now’s the time to go on Woma 2020 six.com. Check out the conference, get your tickets purchased, start buying your airline tickets, and get in your hotel arranged. Now’s the time to do that. Well, as you know, war has been selling off pieces of itself after setbacks in the America market. Uh, sounds like two heavyweight bidders are looking for one of those pieces. Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and ENG G are allegedly competing for Seds European. Onshore Wind business, a portfolio valued at roughly 1 billion euros. Supposedly the bids are gonna be due this week, although nothing is certain in a billion dollar deals. This is a little bit odd. I understand why Stead is doing it, because they’re, they’re trying to fundraise, but if they do this. They will be essentially European offshore wind only [00:15:00] with some American onshore and a little bit American offshore. Not much. Uh, that will be their future. Are they gonna stay with America one onshore or, and American offshore? Is that a thing? Or they just could, could be all European offshore wind. Is that where Osted is headed? It’s a complicated mix because, you know, they’re, they’re, they’ve negotiated a couple of other deals. Most recently to raise cash. They’re supposedly selling, uh, another set of wind farms. I dunno how official that is, but it’s, it seems like there’s some news stories percolating up out there trying to raise more cash by selling large percentages of offshore wind farms. Where does Joel Saxum: this all end? I don’t know. The interesting thing is like if you looked at Ted, uh, man, two years ago, like if you Googled anything or used a jet, GPT or whatever it was like, gimme the. Three largest wind operators in the world. They were the top three all the time. Right. And, and most valuable. At one point in time, they were worth like, [00:16:00] uh, I don’t wanna say the wrong number, but I, I thought, I thought 25 billion or something like that. They were worth. ATS at one point in time. Market share. Allen Hall: Yeah, Joel Saxum: I think that seems right. So like they, they were huge and it just seems like, yeah, they’re trying to survive, but in survival mode, they’ve just kind, they’re just dwindling themselves down to being just o just a small offshore company. And, or not small, but a small, just a, just a siloed offshore company. A large offshore company. Yeah. Yeah. But I mean, like, even just, there was, there’s another article, um. Today we’re, we’re talking here, CIP and Engie looking to buy their European onshore business. They’ve also are putting up like, uh, was it greater Ang of four in Taiwan for, for sale as well. So, I mean, like you said, where does it stop? I don’t know. Um, CIP is an interesting play. Uh, an Eng, CIP and Engie kind of battling this one out ’cause the CIP management team is a bunch of ex or said people, so they know that play very well. Um, ENGIE of course, being a big French [00:17:00] utility. So that one will sell, right? They’re, their European offshore or onshore assets will be gone shortly. Uh, they’ll be sitting with a bunch of offshore assets that they own and partially own around the world. Uh, and of course their, their, I think their US onshore fleet is about a gigawatt, maybe a and a half. Um, that could be the next domino to fall. You don’t, I, sorry, Yolanda, I used your, your, your, uh, euphemism from before, but, um. That they’re actively parting ways with some stuff. I don’t know when it stops. Allen Hall: It is odd, right? EOR has basically stopped a lot of renewables. Stat Craft has pulled back quite a bit. Another Norwegian company. A lot of the nor Northern European companies are slowing down in wind altogether, trying to stick to onshore for the most part. Offshore will still be developed, but just not at the pace that it needed to be developed. There is a lot of money moving around. Billions [00:18:00] and billions of, of euros and dollars moving. And I guess my, my thought is, I’m not sure from a market standpoint where Orid is headed, or even Ecuador for that matter, besides maybe moving back into oil and gas. They never really left it. The direction of the company is a little unknown because these, uh, news articles about sales. Are not really prefaced, right? It’s just like, all right, Taiwan, we’re selling more than 50% of the projects in Taiwan. We’re out, we’re selling European onshore pow, which there’d been some rumors about that, that I had heard, but nothing was really locked in, obviously, until you really start seeing some reliable news sources. Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners is an interesting play just because it kind of keeps it. Up in Denmark and not in France with Engie. That’s what I’m, in my [00:19:00] head. I’m thinking Sted is not likely to sell it to Engie just because they’re French. This is a national, uh, security issue for Denmark Sted. Is it, I I how Engie is involved in this maybe to help set a, a baseline of what the valuation is so that CIP can then purchase it. Do you see CIP losing this, Joel? Joel Saxum: No, I don’t think so. I think, yeah, I think CCIP has to land with this one and, and CI P’s been building a portfolio quietly, building a, not, I guess not quietly, they’ve been building a portfolio for the last few years. It’s pretty stout, uh, pretty fairly sizable. Right? And it, it’s an interesting play watching this for me because you, you see all these people kind of rotating out. And it, and it has to do with the, the, in my opinion, it has to do with the macroeconomics of things, right? Once, when you develop something and you get through, like in, into the teething pain cycle and all that kind of stuff. [00:20:00] The asset is not designed to have a 50, 70%, you know, margin, right? That’s not how wind works. Wind, wind operates of small margins and a lot of times in the early, a early stages of a project, you end up running into issues that eat those margins away. So when you’re talking about small margins, they’re six to 10% is what you kind of see. Um, and it’s pretty easy to eat away a 6% or a 10% margin. If you have some kind of serial defect you have to deal with, uh, or that, that the OEM’s fighting you on and, and you know, whether or not they take responsibility for it or you have to pay for it. A lot of times those processes can drag out for 12, 24, 36 months until you get made whole. So the early state, the first, you know, five years of a lot of these projects, five to eight years, are very expensive. And then once you get through kind of those things and the thing starts just chugging. Then you actually are starting to make money, and that’s where CIP P’S buying these assets is in that years after it’s gone through its teething pains and the company that developed it is like, man, [00:21:00] we need to get outta this thing. We’ve just been burning through cash. Then CI P’s kinda swooping in and grabbing ’em. And I think that this is another one of those plays. Allen Hall: So they’re gonna live with a smaller margin or they’re gonna operate the assets differently. Joel Saxum: The assets may be being operated better now than they were when they started, just in that, in, they exist, the starting company simply because the, some of the issues have been solved. They’ve been sorted through the things where you have early, early failures of bearings or some stuff like the early fairings of gearboxes. Those things have been sorted out, so then CIP swoops in and grabs them after the, the teething issues that have been gone. Allen Hall: Does evaluation change greatly because of the way horse did, manages their assets? Up or down? Joel Saxum: I would say generally it would go up. Yeah. I don’t necessarily think it’s dependent on o and m right now. I think it’s just a, it’s a time to buy cheap assets, right? Like you see, you see over here in the States, you see a lot of acquisitions going on. People divesting, they’re not divesting because they’re like, oh, we’re gonna make a ton of money off this. They may need the cash. They’re [00:22:00] divesting in, in, um, what’s the term, like under duress? A lot of them, it may not look like it from the outside in a big way, but that’s kind of what’s happening. Yolanda Padron: Yeah, I think it’ll be really interesting to see, uh, you know, there were a lot of layoffs in Ted and Europe as well, so seeing if maybe some of the people who can make those assets perform better. Come back just with a different t-shirt on. Allen Hall: As wind energy professionals staying informed is crucial, and let’s face it difficult. That’s why the Uptime podcast recommends PES Wind Magazine. PES Wind offers a diverse range of in-depth articles and expert insights that dive into the most pressing issues facing our energy future. Whether you’re an industry veteran or new to wind, PES wind has the high quality content you need. Don’t miss out. Visit PES wind.com today in this quarter’s, PES Wind Magazine, which you can download a copy at PES [00:23:00] wind.com. There’s an article by Xan and they were, uh, contracted by Ocean Winds to evaluate the sea floor from. The sea floor at Moray West, which is way, way, way up north on the northern end of Scotland. A pretty rough area, Joel. And, but what ex Ocean did was they used unmanned survey equipment to monitor the ocean floor where the mono piles were gonna replace for the Moey West Wind Farm. That is a really difficult area to operate any sort of boat, but. Uh, the reason we’re doing this remotely unmanned was that it, it gave them sort of a, a less costly way to get high resolution images of the sea bottom. This is interesting because ocean wind was developing more a West apparently hadn’t used anything like this before, but the results, at [00:24:00] least from what I can see in PS win, look Joel Saxum: great. Yeah. This is a technology that’s been, um. Man, it’s been under development by a lot of companies in the last six, eight years. And now it’s starting to get to the point where it is, I mean, we’re, we’re TRL nine plus, right? There’s a lot of these solutions out there that are commercially ready. Xans been a top of this list since, man, since I was playing in that oil and gas world, to be honest with you. Like 20 18, 20 17, uh, really cool looking boats. That’s besides the point. Uh, but when they show up at trade shows and stuff with ’em, you’re like, ah, oh, that thing’s neat looking. Um, but it, it, it, it solves all kinds of problems, right? So when you go offshore and you’re just gonna do, say you’re just gonna go out there and do multibeam, so you’re just gonna do echo sound where you’re just looking to see depths and what’s on the sea floor. The minimum kind of vessel you need for that is 10 to 15 meters long. You need probably two to six people on that vessel. And that’s just, if you’re going out doing shift work, if you’re staying out there [00:25:00] and working 24 7, that vessel grows to. 30 meters instantly, right? So now you’re burning thousands and thousands of dollars in fuel. You’ve got food on board. You got all, it’s just a pain to put this vessel out there. You take all of those people out of harm’s way. You take all the costs away and they, and you put two of them, or one or two of them on shore in a facility, and then you put this three meter vessel out there that’s fully autonomous. No people, but collects the same style of data. I mean, it’s a no brainer, right? So you’re getting the same style of data and if, and the thing’s working 24 7, there is no need to have someone sleep. There’s a not a technician issue. There’s not, none of this is, is a problem anymore. Nobody’s getting seasick, right? So you’re sitting, you’re, you’re sitting back on shore, uh, going to work, uh, with no PPE on, um, having a, having a coffee from Starbucks down the street. And you’re running this thing 24 7, you’re collecting all [00:26:00] that fantastic data. Uh, it is just, like I said, it’s a no brainer. Now, now they’re getting to the stage where they’re putting ’em out as swarms, so you can cover whole fields. You’re doing live cable inspections. It’s, it’s pretty fantastic. So Exo ocean’s really making the next generation of robotics o offshore. Allen Hall: Yeah. And that’s gonna drive down the cost of energy. These kind of developments make huge strides in lowering costs, and this is why you need to read PES Win Magazine. So there’s a. Great articles all throughout the magazine. This quarter’s issue is, is Heavy with articles. Get your free copy@pswin.com today. As you know, in the wind industry, survival has always belonged to those who can keep up, uh, and Sorn freeze. Nuon knows better than most with his decades of experience at LM Wind Power and Uzon. He now chairs two Danish subcontractors, Polytech and Jupiter. Bach. Uh, his message to smaller suppliers in, in a recent article is. Pretty blunt. It [00:27:00]says the manufacturers, big OEMs want fewer partners and larger partners who can take on more responsibility. And if you cannot invest and grow with those manufacturers, you’ll be left behind the winners. It says it will be those who stay close to the turbine makers and adapt as the industry evolves. Joel, this is a really interesting discussion that, uh, Soren put out there. Obviously he’s invested in Polytech and Jupiter, Bach, uh, to great suppliers obviously, but small businesses are where a lot of the key technologies have been driven over the last five, six years. In wind, or more broadly the last 20 years in wind, a lot of great technology has come out of places that you wouldn’t have thought of. The OEMs have not been the bastion of innovation. I would say it [00:28:00] is necessary. You have both, wouldn’t you think? You have to have the small business innovation to prove out ideas and to show that they work, but you also have to have the large manufacturers to implement those ideas more broadly without either one of them, nobody wins. Joel Saxum: I fully agree and I think that one of the things that’s a little bit, uh, more of a granular comment there is. I think sometimes you need the OEMs and the other suppliers within the supply chain to open their doors a little bit, right? So this is, this is me wearing my, my small business, small innovative business, uh, in the wind industry cap. And that is, man, sometimes it is hard to get a conversation with a large subsupplier or with an OEM when you have something that can help them. And they just don’t want to communicate, don’t want to help. It’s just our way or the highway kind of thing. And if you watch, like we, so the podcast gives us an kind of, or not [00:29:00] gives us, it forces us to have kind of an op, an opportunity to look at, you know, what are the, what are the financial statements of some of these OEMs? What are the financial statements of some of their large sub-suppliers? You know? ’cause if they’re located in countries where that stuff is public knowledge, you can see how and what they’re doing. And if you, if you look at business in a general way where you rely on one customer or two customers to, for your whole business, you’re gonna be hurting. Um, especially in the way we look at things or what we’re seeing in the wind industry right now is if you’re, if you are a large company to say you do a hundred million in revenue and your customers are ge Vestas. Depending on what happens regulatory wise, in some random country somewhere your a hundred million dollars could shrink to 50 real quick. Um, so I don’t think that that’s a great way to do business. I think, you know, having a bit of diversification probably helps you a little bit. The OEMs Allen Hall: have a particular job to do. They need to deliver turbines onsite on time and create power for their customer. That’s our main [00:30:00] focus. They are a generator. Driven company, they make generators on steel towers with a propeller system basically. Right. Just simplify it way, way down. There’s not a lot of technology in that itself. Obviously there’s control systems, obviously there’s electronics involved, but the concept from this basic fundamentals is not difficult to to grasp. The difficulty is in execution. Showing that that product can last for 20 years, and that product can last in different environments. Australia, United States, up in Scandinavia, Canada, way down south and Brazil. There’s some really rough environments there and the OEMs are relying upon in industry, uh, guidance from like the IECs and then the dvs, uh, uls Tube. Nord. Uh. Bvs where they’re trying to make these turbines comply to a [00:31:00] set of essentially regulations, which just simplify it. You can do that. But as we have seen historically in the wind industry, if you make a turbine that just meets those requirements, you do not necessarily have a successful product. You have a product that is marginal, and as Yolanda has pointed out to me numerous times, there’s a lot of real issues in wind turbines. That probably could have been solved five years ago by small mobile companies with outside of the box ideas that could have given the OEMs a huge advantage, especially in blades. Yolanda Padron: Yeah, and I think a lot of these companies are, they’re looking at things from a different point of view, right? They’re smaller companies. You have people who could know the product, they know the real issue that’s going on on the ground. They know. Kind of what they need to do, what the next step is to move forward in their solution.[00:32:00] Right? But it’s not like it’s a, a company where you need 30 people to sign off before you can go onto the next stage, and then you need 30 more people to sign off before you can get funding to do something else. And so yes, the OEMs are doing a good job in their scope. If they’re meeting their scope, they are doing a good job. You know, if I, if I take like bread and cheese, then yes, I have a sandwich, right? Like, it might not be the best sandwich in the world, but I have a sandwich. So like, they’re making the sandwich and that’s great. But if you want something to, to actually work and to last and to, to give everybody else the, the idea that. You know, wind is profitable and we can all benefit from it. You have to get all those different layers in there, right? You have to make [00:33:00] sure that you know, if you have a big lightning issue, then you get the right people in the room to get that retrofit in there to solve your lightning issue. If you have a big leading edge erosion issue, then you get those right people in the room to solve everything, and it’s not always going to be a one size fits all. Right, but you do need those smaller companies to, to be in the room with you. Joel Saxum: I’m a hundred percent agreeing with you, Yolanda, and I think that this is the issue here is that at some level then an OEM, an OEM engineering head would have to admit that they’re not the end all be all, and that they may have got a couple of things wrong. And what, what I would love to see and who, and maybe maybe ask you this question, who of the major four Western OEMs. Do you think would be open to like an industry advisory board? Nordex, you think it’s Nordex? I think Yolanda Padron: that’s the closest one so far that we’ve seen. Right? Joel Saxum: Yeah. I, I, I agree with you, and I’m saying that because I don’t think any of the other ones would ever admit that they have an [00:34:00] issue, right? They have attorneys and they have problems, Allen Hall: so they really can’t, but I, I think internally they know that they haven’t optimized their production, they haven’t optimized their performance out in the field. They’re trying to improve availability, that’s for sure. Estes has spent a great deal of time over the last year or two improving availability so that the money is being spent. The question is, do they have all the right answers or the overspending to get to the availability that they want to deliver to their customers? That’s a great question because I do think that we we’re just in Scotland and there’s a number of technology companies in the UK that I think, wow, they should be implementing some of these. Ideas and these products that have been proven, especially the ones that have been out for a couple of years, they should be implemented tomorrow, but they’re not yet because they can’t get through the door of an OEM because the OEM doesn’t want to hear it. Joel Saxum: Yeah, agreed. Agreed. Right. Well, well, like I, the, the, the example that keeps popping into my mind is Pete Andrews and the team over [00:35:00] at Echo Bolt, simply because they have a solution that works. It’s simple. They’ve done the legwork to make sure that this thing can be optimized and utilized by technicians in the field around the world. But they, it just like, they haven’t gotten the buy-in from, from whoever, uh, that it seems to be, you know, there’s a hurdle here. Uh, and that hurdle may be the Atlantic Ocean. I don’t know. Uh, but I would love to see, I would love to see their, uh, solution for bolted connections, uh, and monitoring bolted connections kicked around the world because I think you could save. Uh, the wind industry a ton, a ton, a ton of money. And that is an example of a small business full of subject matter experts that made a solution that can solve a problem, whether you’re an OEM or you’re an operator or whatever. There’s there that’s there, utilize them, right? Those are the kind of things that we need in this industry. Yolanda Padron: And it’s also those smaller companies too that will look at your feedback and then they’ll say, oh. Okay, do I need to adjust here? [00:36:00] Did I not focus on this one parameter that your specific site has? Right. And you don’t see that from the OEMs ’cause they have so, uh, they have so many problems that they’re trying to tackle at once that it gets really difficult to, not just to hone in on one, but to, to tell everybody, oh, I, I have this perfect solution for everything. Here you go. Allen Hall: Right. I think there’s an internal conflict in the engineering departments and manufacturing departments of any OEM, regardless if it’s in wind or in any other industry, is that they have a system to make this product and they’re pretty confident in it, otherwise they wouldn’t be doing it. They don’t want to hear outside noise is I, I would describe it as noise. Like, uh, if you have a great solution that would help out their manufacturing process. But I work here, I know how, I know the ins and outs that that new idea by a small company won’t work here. Those [00:37:00] barriers have to be knocked down internally in the OEMs. The OEM management should be going through and saying, Hey, look, if I find me the manager of this operation, if I find a company that could help us and save us money, and you’re being a roadblock, guess what? See ya. Hit the road because there is no way you can let those opportunities pass you by. In today’s marketplace, you need to be grabbing hold of every opportunity to lower your cost, to improve your product availability, to improve your relationship with your customers. How do you do that? Quickly, you look at the companies that are providing solutions and you grab them, grab them, and hold on for your life and listen to what they have to say because they have probably done more research into your product than your people have. That wraps up another episode of the Uptime Wind Energy Podcast. If today’s discussion sparked any questions or ideas, we’d love to hear from you. Reach out to us on LinkedIn and don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode. If you [00:38:00] found value in today’s discussion, please leave us a review. It really helps other wind energy professionals discover the show and we’ll catch you here next week on the Uptime Wind Energy Podcast.

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How much money has water damage cost your owners? How much time and money could you save if you were able to detect issues within a property before they became a larger problem?  In this episode of the #DoorGrowShow, property management growth expert Jason Hull sits down with Nadav Schnall to explore how innovative water and gas leak detection systems are transforming residential property management and to share how these technologies can prevent costly damage, protect tenants, and streamline maintenance operations for property managers. You'll Learn [1:14] Nadav Schnall's Background in Property Management [05:06] Innovative Solutions for Leak Detection [11:07] Understanding the Technology Behind Pro Sentry [17:25] Implementing Smart Detection Systems Quotables "If something goes unchecked, somebody's out of town, there's a water leak, I mean, it can just do massive damage." "The responsibility of a property manager is to make sure the building is operating properly, to make sure it's operating efficiently, to mitigate damages, to mitigate risks." "Time is of the essence when something like this happens." Resources DoorGrow and Scale Mastermind DoorGrow Academy DoorGrow on YouTube DoorGrowClub DoorGrowLive Transcript Nadav Schnall (00:00) No need for displacement, no need to wake up in the middle of the night, come back to a flooded home. So we can solve all that   Jason Hull (00:05) All right. Welcome everybody. I am Jason Hull, the founder and CEO of DoorGrow, the world's leading and most comprehensive coaching and consulting firm for long-term residential property management entrepreneurs. For over a decade and a half, we have brought innovative strategies and optimization to the property management industry. We have spoken to thousands of property management business owners, coached, consulted, and cleaned up hundreds of businesses.   helping them add doors, improve pricing, increase profits, simplify operations. And we run the leading property management mastermind with more video testimonials and reviews than any other coach or consultant in the industry. At DoorGrow, we believe that good property managers can change the world and that property management is the ultimate high trust gateway to real estate deals, relationships, and residual income. We are on a mission to transform property management business owners and their businesses. We want to transform the industry.   eliminate the BS, build awareness, change perception, expand the market, and help the best property management entrepreneurs win. Now, let's get into the show. Today, my guest is Nadav Schnall. Welcome, Nadav   Nadav Schnall (01:14) Thank you for having me, Jason.   Jason Hull (01:15) All right, so your company is called ProSentry. We're going to be getting into that. But before we chat about our topic today, which is protect, prevent, perform smart leak detection for modern property managers, tell us a little bit about your background, how you got into entrepreneurism and what finally led you.   Nadav Schnall (01:33) Sure, happy to provide some background. So my background is actually in property management. I was a property manager for about a decade for First Service Residential in New York City. I had their kind of luxury.   group or luxury division. So I did a lot of consulting for developers and lot of property management, opening buildings, know, placing staff, making sure buildings kind of transition from construction to operation. So that was really the lion's share of my background as it relates to property management. Then I went into and opened another company that had to do with the service industry, kind of fire suppression systems, mechanicals, kind of the   the heart of a building, so to speak. And that led me to connect with my co-founder and business partner, John Russ, who is a builder in New York City. I've known him for probably about 15 years. And we came together to do this idea. So really very much so kind of experiencing firsthand.   what we are trying to solve and that's kind how I got into the world of entrepreneurship and into the world of ProSentry   Jason Hull (02:35) Got it. All right. Thanks for the background. So you're an expert. This is your bio, an expert in smart building monitoring. We're going to chat about exploring how innovative water and gas leak detection systems are transforming residential property management and maybe share how these technologies can prevent costly damage, protect tenants, streamline maintenance operations for property managers from boosting safety to increasing operational efficiency.   And in today's episode, you'll get to learn how smart monitoring is reshaping the way you care for your properties and your bottom line. So cool. I'm excited to get into this. So, so now, Nadav, where, where do we start?   Nadav Schnall (03:15) Well, we can probably start in property management. And I can tell you how many times I would wake up in the morning and I'd be checking my phone and then find that I have emails from last night that there was a leak in the building or my super calling me at two o'clock in the morning saying, hey, we had a flood or someone, there was a construction going on and someone left a window open and some pipe froze.   Jason Hull (03:19) Okay.   Nadav Schnall (03:42) And so that's kind of where it started for me, kind of really looking into these operational issues, which in today's day and age with technology, you are able to solve. And so that's where the journey started for me is really trying to look at properties and saying, how can we help common day-to-day occurrences? More so you look at the insurance industries and that's one of the...   biggest pluses that we try to bring to the table is trying to helping buildings with insurance. Water leaks are non-weather related water leaks are typically the top three causes for insurance claims.   And many times it's the number one reason for insurance claims. And so you look at these things and you're saying, there is technology out there. There is ways to substantially reduce that. How do we do that, improve the day-to-day work of property managers?   reduce insurance claims for buildings, reduce insurance rates and premiums, and also improve the life of the residents and tenants that live within. No need for displacement, no need to wake up in the middle of the night, come back to a flooded home. So we can solve all that and we focus in the multifamily. That's kind of our main focus.   Jason Hull (04:53) Yeah, Yeah, I mean, if something goes unchecked, somebody's out of town, there's a water leak, I mean, it can just do massive damage. Yeah, so how do we mitigate that?   Nadav Schnall (05:04) Yeah, so I can tell you a little bit about the technology and what we do and how we do it. first of all, traditional systems that existed so far were really based on Wi-Fi, which is a big difference. And they were more geared towards maybe something that you would do for your house or maybe something you would do for your apartment.   But how do you resolve that in a multifamily world, right? Where even if I am the most responsible resident in the building and I put water leak detection and temperature and humidity and maybe gas, you put all detection technologies in your apartment, you can still get leaked on from your apartment above. Something can still happen. And you just said it, right? A resident that may be away. And we have this actually. is an actual...   know, claim that we were able to avoid. In a building, someone, you know, it was a vacant apartment, a realtor came in to show the apartment, walked out to the terrace. It was a classic wintery day. Didn't close the door all the way.   Realtor left, came in, blew the apartment door open and the temperatures started going down and going down and going down. Luckily that building had ProSentry and that building was notified when the temperatures hit about 50 degrees and the resident manager of that building got the notification today that doesn't sound right. Of course, checked the records, found out there was a vacant apartment, ran upstairs, saw that the door was open, was able to close the door, turn on the heat before frozen pipes. But otherwise you would have had frozen pipe and that could have easily knocked out 10 apartments   insurance claims and so on and so forth. So I think that's kind of one of the biggest areas where we can save. And the nice part about that is insurance carriers are starting to recognize us and starting to recognize that we are actually reducing claims inside buildings. We're doing that across the board. We recently did a study across 18 months. We took a bunch of properties and we wanted to see what happened in those properties across an 18 month period.   we alerted those properties to over 6,000 different types of water events, right? Whether it's water or, you know, could be some, some of it can be just be drizzling. Some of could be, you know, a condensate drain and an HVAC unit overflowing, right? So different types of leaks. And then we followed up with the properties. Not one of those buildings and any of those water events resulted in an insured claim.   And so we were able to actually prove to the insurance world that this is a risk mitigative tool and actually the service that we provide, we like to call it risk mitigation as a service. ⁓ And by doing that, we've been able to help several buildings either move from kind of E &S, Excessive Surplus insurance policies over to admitted carriers, which of course are substantially cheaper.   Jason Hull (07:27) Yeah.   Nadav Schnall (07:41) or just simply being able to reduce insurance rates, right? You presented a certain risk before, now you present this risk. And so it can help properties both on the operation side, the maintenance side, but also on the insurance side. And I know I said a lot.   Jason Hull (07:53) Yeah.   No, that's, no, that sounds very fascinating. So I can see how this would be very important. So if the insurance companies are not having to do anything on these claims, then you would think they would be very incentivized to get people to implement this.   Nadav Schnall (08:10) That's 100%. So in New York State, for example, where we have a lot of presidents, especially in New York City, we work with a number of carriers that provide anywhere from, this is on the homeowner side, but anywhere from 3 % up all the way up to 12 % premium reductions.   year over year on your homeowners insurance policy. So if you have a building and let's say there's 100 apartments, if you happen to be insured with one of these insurance carriers, you will receive a discount on your premium year over year. their ROI is right there. And then of course we can help on the underlying building insurance policy as well.   Jason Hull (08:50) Got it, okay. So what are the benefits for the, that's obviously a benefit for the property owner, right? What are the benefits for the property manager?   Nadav Schnall (09:00) So, I mean, the obvious would be peace of mind, right? Because at the end of the day, the responsibility of a property manager is to make sure the building is operating properly, to make sure it's operating efficiently, to mitigate damages, to mitigate risks.   And so the advantages of property managerial, first of all, you're able to see what happens in your entire building. So you'll have a dashboard. You'll be able to see each one of our sensing technologies. And I think we've heavily focused so far on water leak detection and maybe temperature detection, which is really, you know, these are one of our biggest sellers, but we do anything from water to gas to oil leaks, to mechanical malfunctions, environmental issues, even rodents. So we have a lot.   know, thermostat. So we have different types of technologies all surrounded under our platform. And so the property manager will be able to see all these sensing, all these sensors across this entire building on one, on one dashboard. It will substantially reduce damages, right? So from a...   to do share responsibility to the building. is very important, but more so it also gives peace of mind, right? That you know that this apartment or this building or this area, because a lot of our installations are mechanical equipment, right? We have a building that had a couple of leaks coming from the mechanical systems. Every time there was a leak there, it leaked into the elevators. The elevators went out, had to call the elevator company out, had to file another insurance claim. And every time that's there, the amount of time the property managers have to spend   to deal with an incident like this, right? It doesn't only start with mitigating the damage itself. You gotta mitigate the damage, you gotta communicate with all the apartment owners, you gotta let them know what's going on. Then they have repairs, they have to coordinate with contractors, they have to file insurance claims, they have to file reports, they have to talk to their boards or their building owners. So there's a lot there. By installing a system like this, it gives you lot of peace of mind and saves you a lot of time.   Jason Hull (10:46) So less damage, less work for the property manager, less stress in having to deal with frustrated owners, frustrated tenants. Yeah, so win-win all the way around. So you had mentioned a few things that this equipment can send for.   So could you go over all those for us?   Nadav Schnall (11:04) Yeah, sure. It's 100%.   So we have, you maybe I started off a little bit in the beginning, we talked about Wi-Fi, but I really complete that thought. So I can start high level. So.   First of all, what we use is use a technology called LoRaWAN. LoRaWAN stands for long range wide area network. So it's very similar to Wi-Fi in the sense that it is a wireless technology that we can communicate over this wireless network that it creates. But indifferent than Wi-Fi, has a couple of major differences, which is huge for buildings, huge for properties, right? Especially existing buildings where you're trying to retrofit a system, which of course you're very sensitive to, right? Because if you're...   You know, if you're doing property management in a multifamily residential building and you have to access every single apartment, no one wants to like start running electricity or opening walls. It has to be really easy to deploy. You come in and come out under 10 minutes. That's what you're looking to do. So this technology, LoRaWAN, what it does is it is a very strong frequency. So the advantage is it can penetrate brick, mortar, you know.   concrete, steel, whatever, whatever inside a building. And you can use one of these gateways. Gateways are similar to what we would call in the Wi-Fi world as like a router. So you would install one of those every maybe three to six floors, I would say, as opposed to a traditional router where you put it in an apartment, you have one for the entire apartment. The downside to it is that you can stream a lot of data on it.   So it's great for the world of IoT and the world of sensors because you don't have to put on that. You just need to say, what is the temperature? I having a leak? Do I have this or do I have something else? So that is a very, very important advantage that this technology has over traditional systems, which rely on Wi-Fi. The other big thing it has is that it's extremely energy efficient. So each one of our sensors will last for about 10 years on battery life. Whereas traditional Wi-Fi systems, probably have to replace the battery once a year, once every two years, depending on the system.   As far as our offering, so we have different liquid sensing technology, so oil and water. We also have gas detection. And for example, in New York City, they passed a law which was now tabled again, but they passed a law called Local Law 157. Every, you know,   apartment or building in New York City that had gas, had to have gas detection. So we were able to help those buildings as well. And so buildings that already had our system had to now comply with a new law, easily just put it on the system, no problem. Temperature humidity, we spoke about. We have rodents. We have different types of sensing. For example, if you want to see the levels of different tanks. So for example, you have a big water storage tank or you want to know what the capacity is of trash or different. So we have devices that can sense distance.   different sensors for different types of mechanical equipment to see where they go, what the status is, are they operating, are they not, are they in movement? Steam traps, we can tell you if a stream trap open. So there's a lot of stuff there. And I think one of the unique parts about ProSentry is that both me and my business partner, John, really come from the world.   And so we meet with supers, we meet with property managers and they say, hey, you know, I really want to understand how I can better see this or how I can do that. And that's what we developed. And so we go out and we figure out what sensing to cloud booth exists for the world and we customize them for the buildings themselves.   Jason Hull (14:15) Got it. Is this system also tie into some of the other sort of catastrophes besides water, like fire, smoke? ⁓   Nadav Schnall (14:23) So   we have a smoke and vape detector, but it is not what you would call your traditional carbon-fiber monoxide type of sensor. And that is because, first of all, it's a very saturated market. There's a lot of companies out there that provide. We have the ability to interface into it. It was just a conscious choice not to get into that yet.   Jason Hull (14:38) Yeah.   Nadav Schnall (14:47) Just because you know, it's more of a niche market and that's more of a very wide market. There's also a lot of regular   Jason Hull (14:52) Figure out smoking and   vaping is another thing. Like, maybe four terms, stuff like this.   Nadav Schnall (14:55) Yeah.   So that we do have on the property, on the platform. that is a great sensing technology, especially for like rental buildings or buildings that have passed no smoking laws in the building. So it can do vaping, it could do marijuana, it could do cigarette smoke. And so we've had that. actually, one of the reasons we developed it, again, speaking to property managers and building owners,   This is a West Coast property owner. he said, you know, one of my main reasons for non renewing leases in my building is because people smoke and people don't want to renew. And so that was one of the reasons we went out. came out with this, with a sensing technology and it can, you know, it kind of tattles on the smokers, but it works with that kind of building. Right. So if you sign into a building, which is a non-smoking building, you should have that same with hotels, et cetera, et cetera.   Jason Hull (15:45) Cool. So I'm going to read a word from our sponsor and then I some more questions we'll get into. So this episode is sponsored by Vendoroo So many of you tell me that maintenance is probably the least enjoyable part of the property manager and definitely the most time consuming. But what if you could cut that workload by up to 85 %? That's exactly what Vendoroo has achieved. They've leveraged cutting edge AI technology to handle nearly all your maintenance tasks from initiating work orders and troubleshooting to coordinating with vendors and reporting.   This AI doesn't just automate, it becomes your ideal employee, learning your preferences and executing tasks flawlessly, never needing a day off and never quitting. This frees up you to focus on the critical tasks that really move the needle for you and your business, whether that's refining operations, expanding your portfolio, or even just taking a well-deserved break. So over half the room at last year's DoorGrow Live.   conference signed up with Vendoroo right then and there after hearing about it. A year later, they're not just satisfied. They're raving about how Vendoroo has transformed their business. Don't let maintenance drag you down. Step up your property management game with Vendoroo Visit vendero.ai. That's V-E-N-D-O-R-O-O.ai slash door grow today and make this the last maintenance hire you'll ever need. All right, cool. So back to...   Back to what you were talking about, Nadeav. I'm curious, this sounds like a no-brainer. Is this expensive to get set up? Can this be turned into a profit center for property managers in some way? How does this typically work for property managers?   Nadav Schnall (17:20) Yeah, sure.   So, excellent questions. As far as the cost goes, it is very competitive in the marketplace. Sensors start at about $70 a sensor, depending on what it is. There is a cost for the network, but again, it is not a significant cost. The costs kind of vary based on the size of the building, and obviously there's volume discounts. But, you know, I think it, you know, from a   Profit center, it's an interesting question, right? Because I don't know if you're actively going to make money from the building, from activating the system. However, you will get a return on your investment because again, you're able to, first of all, reduce repair costs. There's no question about that, right? we have...   Examples examples examples of buildings that have installed our system and have caught dozens of water leaks some of which may have turned into Small things or maybe you and an overflowing club, but you caught that and you mopped that up But others are like these slow leaks behind walls and all kinds of areas like that that you otherwise would have not noticed and before it became mold and stuff so hundred percent you save money on that from a repair across perspective and   Jason Hull (18:09) Yeah.   Nadav Schnall (18:24) on insurance front, is really one of our biggest areas that we're focused on is trying to help buildings reduce insurance costs. And so in that sense, it does turn into a profit center, maybe not the traditional profit center as a fee for it, but you do save on other repairs on insurance costs. So in that sense, yes, you do make money on that.   Jason Hull (18:42) So, Nadav, a question. So you've mentioned multifamily. There are a lot of people that listen to this podcast that also do single-family residential, or maybe they do individual condos, or they do short-term rentals or Airbnbs. Do you find that this makes sense for those scenarios as well?   Nadav Schnall (19:03) 100 % it does. We focus...   only on multi-dwelling, in other words, we're a B2B company in that sense, unless maybe there's a situation where there's someone who manages multiple individual condos, let's say, right? Or multiple Airbnbs and they want everything on kind of a dashboard and maybe that would make sense. There are solutions out there that focus on the single-family world, that are Wi-Fi based and they're meant for that. We are really more of a commercial grade.   solution, right? And that's kind of how we set ourselves up. And that is really the big differentiator with us is that we're really focused on whole building solutions. We have automatic border shutoff valves, for example, which I haven't even mentioned before. But for example, we have a commercial building.   where the building owners have no one at the building over the weekend and actually no one in the building after I think it's 7 or 8 p.m. till they come back at like 6 or 7 in the morning. So they proactively shut the water to the building when they leave and no one's there. So they don't even want to take the risk. Of course all of our sensors can connect to the automatic shutoff app and say hey if there is a leak we'll shut that off, we'll shut the water off. They just want to they just put it on a schedule and proactively shut it. So in that sense if you   have single family or Airbnb managers, cetera, et cetera, you can all control it even from the app. You don't even have to be at the property. And you can just shut the valve off and shut the property. So if you're going to go away and let's say you want to winterize the property and shut the water off for a prolonged amount of time because you're not going to be there going on vacation. So you can do that with the system quite easily.   Jason Hull (20:35) Interesting. for somebody that's like an Airbnb and they wanted to get this set up, and they wanted like maybe water, auto water shut off, some gas detection, you know, a couple of the most obvious important ones, what would it roughly cost for them to get that property outfit?   Nadav Schnall (20:53) I mean, if it's a, if let's say we're talking about a single apartment, maybe like a one or two bedroom, you're probably talking about a one time cost of anywhere between 300 to $500. If you're in, if you're in that kind of situation, if it's slightly bigger, it all depends on the number of sensors. But again, if it's about $70 a sensor, how many points of water do you have in your, in your apartment? And then that's how you do the math.   Jason Hull (21:18) Got it. So typically sensor per maybe bathroom or water.   Nadav Schnall (21:22) Yeah, you'd put   one to two per bathroom, right? Depending on how many, if you have a tub or a shower, we typically catch that with another sensor that would be placed nearby, maybe behind a toilet. Sensors are very sleek, non-invasive. They don't actually, many of them, this is actually a sensor. They don't even look that way. So it's good. They're discreet. They go behind toilets, under sinks and so on and so forth. And so it's very easy to deploy them as well.   Jason Hull (21:48) Got it. And these don't have cameras on them, right?   Nadav Schnall (21:51) No   cameras. And as I mentioned, because we use LoRaWAN and it is unable to communicate or transmit large packets of data, it is impossible for me to record someone because the data packets are so small. The amount of data that would need to be transmitted just to record a sentence would take days and days and days. So it is impossible for us to do that.   Jason Hull (22:04) Hmm.   Got it.   Got it. Okay, very cool. Well, what else should people know about this solution or whatever questions that people ask, maybe about ProSentry and then how can people get in touch with you?   Nadav Schnall (22:29) So first of all, think the most important thing is, you know, we were built by real estate professionals. And so we really understand the industry and we're happy to consult.   and speak to anyone who has any questions. There's no strings of ties. There's no cost for that. We're happy to give proposals. And every building is unique and every building has their unique set of challenges. And so I think it's important for your listeners to know that that's the world that we come from and we actually enjoy having conversations with real estate professionals. And so if anyone has any questions or wants to discuss, just feel free to reach out. Our website, which is www.prosentry.com.   prosentry.com. Contact us or request a proposal. Very easy to get in touch with us. Or also info at prosentry.com.   Jason Hull (23:14) Very cool. So one last question. If somebody goes to your website, they decide they want to get some of this stuff set up for the property, who actually comes out and gets all this stuff set up and installed? Do they have to get a contractor to do it? How does that work?   Nadav Schnall (23:27) No, so it is extremely, extremely simple. So we have designed the system so that it is easy to be deployed by the building itself. And while we can provide recommendations for installers, 100%, I think there's one, I wouldn't say 100, I think 99%, I think it's one property that actually hired someone to do that. All of our properties, and I'm talking about hundreds of buildings, have installed the system by themselves. It is extremely easy. The system comes pre-configured.   So the gateways are the only component that gets plugged in. Those are the routers, right? So you start by plugging those into the wall into regular outlet. They turn on in about a minute or so and start communicating. They automatically connect to cellular antennas. They automatically...   create this internal private network only to that building. So there's no configuration, nothing else to do. And then you take the devices, the sensors themselves, you download our app, you scan a QR code on the device and all you do is you have a drop down menu and you say, I am in apartment 22B, it's already pre-configured, we'll configure the apartment, everything will be there. And you'll say, I'm placing it by the kitchen sink. That's it. That's all you gotta do. It automatically connects, the sensors automatically connect. And so,   We do speak to some buildings and they're like, yeah, we don't want to take on. so I call it deployment because it's not even installation. It's not invasive. There's no drilling. There's nothing to do there. So we say, OK, we can give you a proposal for installation or connect you with someone who can do it for you. But then once they understand how they get a little bit of a demo and see how it's done, go, oh, this is it. It's very, very easy to install.   one of the features that I neglected to, to, to, to mention, I think is important is we offer, live operator calls to buildings. And so a lot of providers out there will send you like an app notification or maybe an email or a text message, right. say, Hey, but again, property managers, right. We realize that at two o'clock in the morning, no one's looking at their phone to see if you got a text message. So we use an underwriter, laboratory certified call center with live people, not some robo call.   Jason Hull (25:19) and   Nadav Schnall (25:33) and they will actually call you and say, Jason, you have a leak in apartment 22 B in the kitchen.   under the dishwasher, right? And if you happen not to be answering, we will call the next person online. We can have multiple people. And so we'll call the front desk. Front desk doesn't answer. Maybe the handyman, handyman doesn't answer. The resident manager, the property manager, the hotline, the board president, whoever you need. We can put that all under the platform. So that is an important feature and a differentiator, by the way, because there are not many companies that do that. But we do recognize that because time is of the essence when something like this happens, you need to make sure you can get in touch with   Jason Hull (26:01) Mm.   Nadav Schnall (26:09) someone before damage becomes something very small into something really big. ⁓   Jason Hull (26:13) Yeah,   well, it sounds like a no brainer. Sounds very cool. And yeah, I recommend everybody check it out at prosentry.com. cool. Well, Nadav, thanks for coming and hanging out with us here on the DoorGrow show. Yeah, I appreciate it. So for those of you that maybe felt stuck or stagnant in your property management business, you want to take it to the next level, reach out to us at doorgrow.com. We can help.   Nadav Schnall (26:27) Thanks for having me, Jason. This was fun.   Jason Hull (26:40) And for a free training on how to get unlimited leads for free for your property management business, text the word leads to 512-648-4608. That's the word leads to 512-648-4608. Also be sure to join our free Facebook community just for property management business owners at doorgrowclub.com. And if you would like to get the best ideas in property management, you can join our newsletter.   at doorgrow.com slash subscribe. And if you found this episode even a little bit helpful, don't forget to subscribe and leave us a review on whatever platform you saw this on. We'd really appreciate it. And until next time, remember the slowest path to growth is to do it alone. So let's grow together. Bye everyone.  

Instacart is under fire for changing prices on their groceries at random as part of an "ongoing experiment." The experiment is, of course, whether or not you will pay the maximum price for food. Is Dynamic Pricing the new normal, or will consumers revolt? And are chains like Walmart next? Then we also talk about a McDonalds that it completely automated with robots!Watch this podcast episode on YouTube and all major podcast hosts including Spotify.CLOWNFISH TV is an independent, opinionated news and commentary podcast that covers Entertainment and Tech from a consumer's point of view. We talk about Gaming, Comics, Anime, TV, Movies, Animation and more. Hosted by Kneon and Geeky Sparkles.D/REZZED News covers Pixels, Pop Culture, and the Paranormal! We're an independent, opinionated entertainment news blog covering Video Games, Tech, Comics, Movies, Anime, High Strangeness, and more. As part of Clownfish TV, we strive to be balanced, based, and apolitical. Get more news, views and reviews on Clownfish TV News - https://more.clownfishtv.com/On YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/ClownfishTVOn Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/4Tu83D1NcCmh7K1zHIedvgOn Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/clownfish-tv-audio-edition/id1726838629

How are you supposed to respond when an employee comes to you with a concern? In this episode, Mike and Ethan explain that It all comes down to how you answer these two questions: Does this issue impact the employee's ability to do their job? Does this issue impact the organization?  Depending on how you answer these, managers have five options for how to address the concern. Tune in to learn more! Note: in this episode, we mentioned this blog post. Text the word "LEADING" to 66866 to be added to Nash Consulting's monthly newsletter. Just practical management skills and tips. And just once a month. Pinky swear.

This is the podcast for alpaca people!Welcome to all of you, wherever you are listening, but especially my listeners from Brazil. Thank you. I appreciate it.Alpacas are curious and usually offer us a welcome as we approach. Depending on what we do next, the welcome remains, or our attention becomes unwelcome. Even too much staring at them and paying too much attention can cause them to retreat or at least change their body language. It is good to observe them and get to know each one individually.At this time in the UK it is good to check body condition scores - see the video below for detailshttps://youtu.be/xZSlhQaqGEk?si=TOJhjuEEqexcGDm3You might also want to check feet and eyes too. If you can, spend some time with your alpacas, someone else's alpacas, or come spend time with my alpacas and me. You are welcome.Thanks for listening, and I hope you enjoyed it.You can contact me by email - steve@alpacatribe.com - or leave me a voicemail from your browser.Alpaca Tribe is hosted and produced by Steve Heatherington of Waterside Voices. This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy

One of the most shocking pieces of information I've seen in the last year is how high the average age of all homebuyers has become. Depending on the source, I've seen between 59 and 62 years old. This is the *average* age. We've never seen a housing market quite like this, so I turned to Charlie Bilello, the Chief Market Strategist for the firm Creative Planning to help me understand it better. While I talk at length about the regulatory, design and policy aspects of housing on the podcast, Charlie is an expert in the financial side.We trace a bit of the history of how we changed the idea of housing from shelter to a financial product, and then hit on how those policy changes have created the mess we are in today. Charlie has a wealth of ideas that are admittedly unpopular, but could go to great lengths to fix the housing market over the short and long term.Along the way, we talk about fifty year mortgages, the impact of this issue on everyone under forty years old, the concentration of wealth with Baby Boomers, and why it's so hard to make changes.If you want more from Charlie, check out his excellent YouTube channel.Find more content on The Messy City on Kevin's Substack page.Music notes: all songs by low standards, ca. 2010. Videos here. If you'd like a CD for low standards, message me and you can have one for only $5.Intro: “Why Be Friends”Outro: “Fairweather Friend” Get full access to The Messy City at kevinklinkenberg.substack.com/subscribe

Now THIS is going to be a podcast you DO NOT want to miss!    It's time for another episode of our HUGELY popular SIX ROUNDS VIP Guest podcast!   In this episode, award winning body transformation expert with over 4,500 life changing success stories under his belt, the best selling author and founder of RNT Fitness Akash Vaghela joins Daniel Hill to go behind the scenes with six surprise topics which neither have any idea of!    In this Six Rounds all health and fitness special, at 10 minutes apiece, Dan and Akash covered the below HIGHLY PERSONAL questions and in many cases VERY PRIVATE topics which are now yours to enjoy!    Round One: Vices Round Two: The Journey of How Health Develops Round Three: Age Round Four: High Performance Habits Round Five: Anxiety Round Six: Top Tips   Depending how well you know Dan or Akash, these may or may not seem like the six round topics you would expect to see from two award winning high performance Entrepreneurs at the top of their game but that is the beauty of dropping the ego, opening up and going six rounds on The Blueprint Podcast.    Success and Failure are both very Predictable    LET THE GAMES BEGIN!!!!!   We hope you enjoy....! If improving your health is a priority for 2026, don't leave your results to chance — partner with RNT Fitness. Find out more about Akash's exclusive 2026 offer here:     Want to learn more?  

Winter Boater Safety Inspection Event Dec. 27th in AstoriaIf you have a trailerable recreational boat registered in Oregon, consider bringing your boat down to the Clatsop County Sheriff's Office Marine Patrol Winter Boater Safety Inspection Station event later this month. If you have the right gear, you can get a 2026 Oregon Boater Safety Inspection sticker.It's happening Saturday, December 27 from 10 to 2, right across from Englund Marine at the Port of AstoriaYou'll need an up to date registration and some safety gear to qualify. It's not only the law, it's good safety stewardship for your vessel, the people you take on board, and any rescue personnel who might have to assist you in an emergency.Per the sheriff's office - To get your sticker, please bring the following six items:1. Current proof of registration for your boat2. Current registration year sticker posted next to your OR numbers3. Boater safety education course card or equivalent4. Non-expired, good-condition fire extinguisher5. Proper life jackets6. A throwable cushion or ring Depending on your vessel, you may also need a carburetor spark arrestor and a bilge fume blower.If you have questions, give the Clatsop County Sheriff's Marine Patrol office a call at 971-704-4465.

Monday, 8 December 2025   And when the men of that place recognized Him, they sent out into all that surrounding region, brought to Him all who were sick, Matthew 14:35  “And, having known Him, the men of that place, they sent to all that surrounding, and they brought to Him all those having sickly” (CG).   In the previous verse, Matthew noted that when Jesus and the disciples had crossed over the sea, they came to the land of Gennesaret. He next records, “And, having known Him, the men of that place.”   Jesus would have been known in the area because of previous visits. But more, John 6 notes –   “On the following day, when the people who were standing on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other boat there, except that one which His disciples had entered, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with His disciples, but His disciples had gone away alone— 23 however, other boats came from Tiberias, near the place where they ate bread after the Lord had given thanks— 24 when the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they also got into boats and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus. 25 And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, ‘Rabbi, when did You come here?'” John 6:22-25   Jesus would have been known by those He first encountered, but more who had been on the other side of the Sea of Galilee with Him the day before, which had included some of those who had already returned, would have come to meet up with Him again.   In their excitement at having Jesus there, it next says, “they sent to all that surrounding.”   The word went out all around the area of Gennesaret, telling the residents that Jesus was again in the area, probably telling about what had happened the day before with the feeding of the five thousand, along with the healings that were performed, and so Matthew notes of these residents, “and they brought to Him all those having sickly.”   In the small nation of Israel, the ministry of Jesus was filled with a constant stream of needs. It was a continuous rush of people desiring the healing touch of the Master.   Life application: Considering the small size of Israel at the time of Jesus' ministry, both in land size and population, imagine the amount of physical suffering that is experienced around the world at any given time.   And when things are physically wrong with us, it is hard to focus on other things. Depending on the type of sickness and the level of pain, things can be so debilitating that there is nothing else we can think about. We may even take drugs to ease the pain, but they deaden our senses to the world around us.   God is not unaware of, nor uncaring about, these things. However, we are the ones who turned away from Him. For most of the world, we still do not regard Him as He expects, meaning through the offering of His Son.   And yet, because of the physical pains, wars, crime, and other suffering we see around us, we blame God and say we want nothing to do with Him. The fickle nature of this thinking is hard to imagine once we understand who God is and what He has done for us in giving Jesus to bring us back to Himself.   But even believers, at times, show a disdain for what God has done, blaming Him for our troubles and trials, as if He owes us. Jesus and the apostles' words are clear, however. There will be suffering, pain, loss, wars, and natural disasters until the time when God renews all things.   We cannot expect to be isolated from such calamities. This is why it is important to read the Bible and understand what it tells us. When we know that this world will continue to be out of whack and that we can expect to be included in the things that happen, we can then focus on what lies ahead.   Even with the troubles of this life, we have a hope that transcends it. Let us remember this and hold fast to our confession of faith.   Lord God, despite the trials and woes of this life, we thank You for the promises that are sure to come. We have the certain hope of an eternity of joy and blessing far above anything we can imagine at this time. Thank You that we have this hope. If this life were all there was, it would be a futile, vain existence indeed. Thank You for Jesus and all that comes through knowing Him! Amen.

The Traditional first week of November rut was foreign to me until I actually hunted the Midwest. As a resident Mississippian, that hallowed week looks a lot like the month of October. Unless we get a cold front, temps might even reach the mid-80s. For me and my southern counterparts, New Year's Day typically aligns with peak rut activity. Of course, the South is a weird place, and that includes deer hunting. Depending on where you're at, you...

First off, we're plugging.The second No Tags book is here – and it looks great. ‘Conversations on underground music culture, Volume 2' compiles the best interviews and conversations we've had on the second year of No Tags, plus five exclusive pieces with Emma Garland, Shaad D'Souza, Mattie Colquhoun, Nono Gigsta and Yu Su. You can order it here, and it will ship from the 10th December.Speaking of plugging, No Tags live at the ICA on 11th December is almost sold out! There are around 25 tickets left. As well as live conversations with Djrum and Anjali Prashar-Savoie and a DJ set from Finn, we'll have copies of the book on sale – plus some predictably stupid stickers. Keep honking!From plugging to yapping, there's a pod this week. We compile some of our listeners' best war stories from Bloc 2012 (who'd have thought so many future Taganistas were in attendance?), before getting into some big questions: is it too far for artists to market themselves via Black Friday sales? And has graffiti run its course?We also dig into the strange story of ‘I Run', the dance mega-hit of the moment that has been accused of using AI to plagiarise Jorja Smith. Depending on what happens now, this could represent a line-in-the-sand moment for AI and copyright, so we get into the background of the track, where the case currently stands and what might happen from here.Also: what are your top five dancefloor bangers of the 21st century? Chal submitted hers to this rundown for The Quietus, but we'd like to know what our listeners would pick. Tell us in the comments! Get full access to No Tags at notagspodcast.substack.com/subscribe

On today's Disney Podcast, we are talking through all of the Walt Disney World resorts and the reasons why we would stay at or avoid each of them. Depending on what your budget allows and the priorities for your family during your vacation, there are reasons to book each of these resorts…and reasons to stay away from them. These are all of our reasons for staying and avoiding each resort, whether they are Value, Moderate, Deluxe, or Good Neighbor. Enjoy!  This episode is sponsored by Fantastical Vacations. For free concierge vacation planning, specializing in Disney and Universal Vacations, visit https://www.fantasticalvacations.com We would love you to join us on Patreon! Thanks so much for supporting the show. We also have Addicted to the Mouse Merchandise! You can check it out at https://addictedtothemerch.com Thanks so much for listening! If you like what you hear, please subscribe and catch us every Sunday for the podcast. Join us every Sunday and Wednesday evening as we take you to Walt Disney World, Disneyland, on Disney Cruise Line, Universal Studios and everywhere in between! We can be found at www.addictedtothemouse.com and be reached at danandleslie@addictedtothemouse.com Please also connect with us here: Patreon – https://www.patreon.com/addictedtothemouse Youtube – https://www.youtube.com/@AddictedtotheMouse Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/AddictedtotheMouse/ Instagram – https://instagram.com/addictedtothemouse/ The post Pros and Cons for Staying at Every Disney World Resort appeared first on Addicted to the Mouse.

Keith discusses seven ways to get a lower mortgage rate, emphasizing the historical impact of the 1940s GI Bill on homeownership and wealth creation.  Caeli Ridge, founder of Ridge Lending Group, digs into smart tactics like adjustable rate mortgages, DSCR loans, and down payment options, plus insider tips on boosting your creditworthiness, timing your rate lock, and planning ahead so you can maximize your returns.  They also explore trends like 50-year mortgages and portable mortgages, and the benefits of FHA and VA loans for first-time buyers.  Resources: Want expert guidance on your next real estate investment or mortgage? Reach out to Ridge Lending Group for personalized support and a full range of loan options—whether you're a first-time buyer or seasoned investor. Visit ridgelendinggroup.com or call 855-74-RIDGE to take your next step! Episode Page: GetRichEducation.com/582 For access to properties or free help with a GRE Investment Coach, start here: GREmarketplace.com GRE Free Investment Coaching: GREinvestmentcoach.com Get mortgage loans for investment property: RidgeLendingGroup.com or call 855-74-RIDGE  or e-mail: info@RidgeLendingGroup.com Invest with Freedom Family Investments.  For predictable 10-12% quarterly returns, visit FreedomFamilyInvestments.com/GRE or text  1-937-795-8989 to speak with a freedom coach Will you please leave a review for the show? I'd be grateful. Search "how to leave an Apple Podcasts review"  For advertising inquiries, visit: GetRichEducation.com/ad Best Financial Education: GetRichEducation.com Get our wealth-building newsletter free— GREletter.com or text 'GRE' to 66866 Our YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/c/GetRichEducation Follow us on Instagram: @getricheducation Complete episode transcript:   Keith Weinhold  0:01   Welcome to GRE. I'm your host. Keith Weinhold, seven ways you can get a lower mortgage interest rate. We'll break them down loan types available to you that you never heard of, and learn how the 1940s GI Bill shaped the mortgage that you get today on get rich education   Speaker 1  0:22   Since 2014 the powerful get rich education podcast has created more passive income for people than nearly any other show in the world. This show teaches you how to earn strong returns from passive real estate investing in the best markets without losing your time being a flipper or landlord. Show Host Keith Weinhold writes for both Forbes and Rich Dad advisors, and delivers a new show every week since 2014 there's been millions of listener downloads of 188 world nations. He has a list show guests include top selling personal finance author Robert Kiyosaki. Get rich education can be heard on every podcast platform, plus it has its own dedicated Apple and Android listener phone apps build wealth on the go with the get rich education podcast. Sign up now for the get rich education podcast, or visit get rich education.com   Corey Coates  1:07   You're listening to the show that has created more financial freedom than nearly any show in the world. This is get rich education. You Keith,   Keith Weinhold  1:23   welcome to GRE from the Romanian Black Sea to the Egyptian Red Sea and across 188 nations worldwide. I'm Keith Weinhold, and this is the indefatigable get rich education before we discuss the seven ways that you can get a lower mortgage rate and more in the 1940s before my dad was born, the GI Bill gave veterans returning from World War Two access to cheap home loans, and that single policy decision might have done more to shape the modern American Housing landscape than Anything else in the last 100 years. Think about it, millions of young men, almost kids, really had just spent the better part of their early adulthood in Europe or the Pacific. They came home, married their sweethearts, started families, and suddenly America had this booming demand for housing, but demand alone doesn't build homes. You also need money. You need access to credit, and that's where the GI Bill stepped in. It didn't just thank returning service members for their sacrifice. It handed them something way more powerful, the ability to buy a home with little money down a low interest rate and underwriting standards that would frankly look like a fantasy today, that access to credit sparked one of the biggest housing booms in American history. You had these entire suburbs that sprang up overnight, Levittown in New York, Lakewood in California. These were master planned communities, and they really became a blueprint for Post War America. We had the booming 50s, and this had a lot to do with it. Here's the part that most people don't understand. This wasn't just about housing. This was about wealth creation, because for better or worse, home ownership has been the primary wealth building vehicle for the American middle class these past 100 years, when you give millions of people a subsidized path into property ownership, you're not just giving them a roof. You're giving them equity appreciation, leverage, tax benefits. You're giving them the engine, this flywheel that spins up generational wealth in a lot of ways. The GI Bill is the earliest institutional example of what I at least tell you here on the show, real estate pays five ways. Now they didn't call it that in 1947 but that's exactly what it was. Veterans earned appreciation as suburbs grew. They had amortization working for them, they collected tax advantages. Inflation slowly eroded their fixed rate mortgage balances too. And here's the thing, these weren't even speculative investments. They were homes that they lived in. Now, of course, the GI bill wasn't perfect. It expanded opportunity for millions of people, but it excluded a lot of people too. Lenders and local governments often blocked black veterans and other minorities from accessing the same benefits. That's a whole story unto itself, but the takeaway for today is, when you combine demographic momentum with favorable financing, you can remake a nation, and that's why housing policy still matters today, which we'll get. Two shortly, when you change access to credit or just tweak it, you change the trajectory of families and markets for generations, and the GI Bill proved that. So when we talk about interest rates, affordability, supply shortages, or any of the high frequency housing data that we cover here, remember that the stories aren't just about numbers. They really are about people. They're about giving ordinary Americans the chance to build wealth the same way that those World War Two veterans did through ownership, stability and the quiet compound leverage, not compound interest. Compound leverage that real estate delivers over time.    Keith Weinhold  5:49   I'm bringing you today's show from, I suppose, a somewhat exotic location. I am inside Caesar's Palace, which is right near the very middle of the famed Las Vegas Strip, that's where I'm at. The hotel staff is always accommodative of the show setup. This might seem a little strange to you, because I'm not a gambler. The reason I'm here is that my brother lives 25 minutes away, and I've been with him during Thanksgiving. Next week, I'll bring you the show from Buffalo, New York, and then two weeks from now, I have something heart warming to tell you about that, and it is a real estate story. I'll be broadcasting the show from upstate Pennsylvania. I'll be there to visit my parents. My brother's also coming in from Nevada to be there. That's where the four of us, mom, dad, my brother and I will sit around the same dining room table in the same kitchen of the same home that my parents have lived in since the 1970s nothing has changed, and all four of us know our spots at the table. And actually, it's not even called the dining room table. It is the supper table, as my parents call it so, from flashy Caesar's Palace today to Buffalo and then to Appalachian simplicity in Pennsylvania, the stability and continuity of my parents living in the same home and four wine holds sitting around the table during the holidays, it is so rare. I imagine less than one or 2% of people can do this. I'm just profoundly grateful and proud of Kurt and Penny Weinhold for being the best, most stable parents I could have asked for. It's almost too much to ask, and if you don't have that in your life. Ah, you can do something about that. You can provide the same decency and stability for your children.    Keith Weinhold  7:50   Let's talk about seven proven ways you can get a lower mortgage rate with this week's terrific guest. Though, we'll focus on investment properties. A lot of this applies to primary residences as well.   Keith Weinhold  8:07   We are joined by the founder of the lender that's created more financial freedom for real estate investors than any other mortgage originator in the nation, the eponymous Ridge lending group. And though that sounds impressive, my gosh, she didn't even need that introduction for you the listener, because she's one of the most recurrent guests in show history. Welcome back to GRE Caeli Ridge,   Caeli Ridge  8:30   I am delighted to be here as always, Keith, thank you for your support and acknowledgement. I love what you do, and I'm hoping that I can bring more value today to your listeners in what it is that we do, educating the masses, right?   Keith Weinhold  8:42   You've been doing that here for about 10 years. And yes, we're talking about a woman with a reputation for writing emails in all caps, yet still maintains a great relationship with everybody. I mean, congrats, shaile. I couldn't possibly pull that off myself.   Caeli Ridge  8:58   Thank you, Keith. And you know, I'm going to stay by my all caps, man, it's a speed thing. It all boils down to the number of seconds in the day that I can just move quickly through an email. Yeah, I love my all caps.   Keith Weinhold  9:09   Apparently recipients are still replying, well, you can get a lower mortgage rate in at least seven ways. You can get an adjustable rate mortgage, do a midweek lock in, negotiate seller credits. Have a high credit score. Do a two one buy now, which is kind of old school, but some home builders are using it boost your DTI or buy now, not later. Those are some of the strategies for lowering your mortgage rate. What are your thoughts with regard to that?   Caeli Ridge  9:39   I think all of those are viable. I would just say on the adjust for a mortgage. The pushback I would give there is, is that for residential property, specifically, single family, up to four units, we are not finding that spread between the arm and a 30 year fix. We've been the industry as a whole, secondary specifically been on the inverted yield. Now this gets a little tough. Nickel, and I won't go down that rabbit hole, but 08, 09, the housing and lending crash created an environment within secondary markets where an inverted yield has made a 30 year fixed mortgage more favorable in the rate department. Now that's not always going to be the case. I am a huge fan of the adjustable, but what would work right now is an adjustable with the all in one not to take too much time on that topic, but that would be an adjust rate mortgage that I think would save interest or reduce the rate of which interest is accruing,   Keith Weinhold  10:30   the all in one loan, which we discussed extensively back at the beginning of this year here on the show. Long term, though, I have seen adjustable rate mortgages work for a lot of people, because really, the compelling proposition of the arm is that it guarantees that you get a lower rate in the near term, and yet there's only a chance that you're going to have a higher rate in the long term   Caeli Ridge  10:53   and further. Let's I mean, let's dissect that a little bit. I am a huge proponent. I love an adjustable rate mortgage when the arm is pricing a half or a full percentage point plus over a fixed especially for non owner occupied and the reason for that is, and this is statistically speaking, feel free to look this up, guys, the average shelf life of a mortgage for an investment property is about five years. Great point, right? And we know that if that's the case, right, we're refinancing to harvest equity. We're refinancing maybe to reduce an interest rate from where the market was before, et cetera, et cetera. So that would be the first thing I would say. And then also remember, you guys the first 10 years of an amortized mortgage, 30 year fixed, amortized mortgage, how much of that payment is going to the principal? Because people will often push back by saying, well, either an interest only, or an adjustable and what happens if it changes or it goes up? Most of your payment is going to the interest anyway, and that reset to harvest equity. Borrowed funds are non taxable. We always say that, right? I think it's fully justified. So I love an arm, I just don't know, in comparison to a 30 year fixed today, like a five year ARM versus a 30 year fixed we are in a place that it makes sense, but normally, to your point, absolutely. Fan   Keith Weinhold  12:06   that spread needs to widen for the arm to make more sense. What about doing a mid week rate lock in? Is that a thing?    Caeli Ridge  12:13   Yeah. And you know, I don't have any empirical evidence here. Okay, I don't have any data points that actually prove this, except for 25 years in the business and locking loans every day of my life. There's something about a Monday and a Friday. And I have some conspiracy theories. I don't know that. I it's necessary to share them here, but midweek locks tend to be more favorable in both points and interest rate than you'll find on a Friday and a Monday. I think largely it has to do with, you know, the stock exchanges shutting down for the weekend, right? You got a Friday, you got two days in between. You got foreign markets, and all the things that can explode and happen during that amount of time. So I think they hedge a little bit. So on Friday, going into the weekend, I think that there's something about that and why interest rates are a little less favorable. And then Monday, of course, coming off the weekend, similarly, maybe there's some truth to that too.   Keith Weinhold  13:02   Now, negotiating seller credits has really been a trend to help with affordability. Tell us about specifically what you're seeing there, what's common.   Caeli Ridge  13:11   So we're talking to investors. I can tell you that the loan products you guys are going to have access to are going to cap you, okay, you're going to cap at, per guideline, 2% of the purchase price. Okay, remember that your points that you're paying when you get into locking an interest rate are going to be calculated on the loan size, all right. So the first thing to know is seller paid closing costs, maximum is going to be 2% per underwriting guidelines. That 2% is based on your purchase price. Anything that you're paying points for is going to be on the loan balance, the loan size, so there's going to be a little extra there for you that can contribute or can pay for some other closing costs, right, depending on the numbers. Now, if you're smart enough, or lucky enough, or whatever, the market is viable enough that you can negotiate more than 2% from the seller to pay towards closing costs, you're going to be limited on what you can do on the loan side. But let's say that you go and you've negotiated 4% seller will pay 4% towards your closing costs. Then in that case, you can reduce, you got the two points that you're allowed per guideline. And then you can reduce the purchase price by the difference you don't want to leave that money on the table.   Keith Weinhold  14:15   That's how it's done. And then there's just simply having a higher credit score. What's the highest credit score that really helps you get the lowest mortgage rate for both primary residences and non owner occupied properties. Loan product   Caeli Ridge  14:29   type dependent. But I would say overall, 760 and above is kind of that threshold. There are products that go 780 maybe even on the rare occasion, 800 and above. If I had to pick a number as the absolute pinnacle, I'm going to go 780    Keith Weinhold  14:41   All right, so having a credit score above those thresholds really doesn't help get you a lower interest rate. It's really just a little flex that you've got an 811, credit score, or whatever it is. Now the two, one buy down. That's something that we used to see long ago. A few home builders are bringing it back. And what that does it allow? Homebuyers to pay a lower interest rate for the first two years with the seller covering the difference, and that allows the seller to get their price. They don't have to lower the price of the home at all. But the two one buy down, and you see that written, two, one that has been employed more recently. Tell us about that.    Caeli Ridge  15:18   Well, the builders are struggling in some cases, right? The affordability buzzword is all over the place. So they've had to get creative and find ways in which they can move their inventory. So I think they've done a good job at kind of shaving off some of their margins to satisfy or improve the terms for the consumer. So I like the two. One, if you can get it   Keith Weinhold  15:37   now, one can boost their DTI as well their debt to income ratio and Taylor. When we've talked about that before, we've usually talked about reducing your debts in order to improve your DTI. However, a lot of people don't think about the fact that, oh, well, you can increase your income that lowers your DTI to help you qualify. So tell us what is the max DTI that you can have   Caeli Ridge  16:00   maximum debt to income ratio, in most cases on a full dock loan is going to be 50% now, depending on the type of income that you earn or that you've demonstrated, how you calculate that can get a little bit tricky. But if you're just a straight w2 wage earner, we don't have, you know, commissions or bonuses or anything that we consider variable income, then you just take your gross income times 50% whatever that number is, all of your liabilities on the credit report, we do not count ordinary living expenses like food and gas and utilities and cell phone bills. It's the minimum payments on the credit report. As long as whatever that add up is fits within that 50% you're good to go.    Keith Weinhold  16:37   Now, when it comes to improving our DTI to get a lower mortgage rate, I tend to think it's easier to knock out some debts to improve your DTI. But what about the other side of it? What about increasing your income to improve your DTI, lower your mortgage rate and qualify? Can you talk about some of the strategies for increasing your income with respect to DTI?    Caeli Ridge  17:02   Absolutely. And the biggest one, I think that we probably want to focus on most is going to be on a schedule E, right? That's the one that you're going to have more control over. So when we talk about rental income and how we might be able to boost that first, it might be important to share that there are two ways in underwriting that we will calculate or quantify rental income. The first way is called the acquisition year formula. I'll give you that in just a second. It's very easy, but the way I think we focus on here, because acquisition year is going to be what it is, you're going to have very little ability to manipulate or change that once our rental properties fall on our tax return, specifically the Schedule E of a federal tax return, you as the taxpayer or the borrower are going to have some access to maximize or increase the income, or, let's actually get a little bit more granular there to maximize the gain or minimize the loss, by means of depreciation, maybe a cost seg, maybe we make sure that one time, extraordinary expenses are demonstrated on the tax return in the appropriate way so that underwriting can add those things back. So I know that this sounds technical, but the scheduling is the way that I would say is the easiest for an investor to maximize income, reduce debt to income ratio. And I will close by saying that ridge lending, I think one of our most valued value adds is the ability to help our clients look at their draft tax returns on an annual basis and present them with, Hey, listen, Mr. Jones, if you file this way, this draft tax return, if it files this way, this is what it means to your debt to income ratio. Here's my advice, right? We go into a lot of depth there with our clients.   Keith Weinhold  18:39   That is a smart, long term planning piece that most mortgage companies are not going to give you. They're not going to be forward looking, looking out for your next three years of growing your income property portfolio. And shortly, we'll talk about a way for you to qualify loans where you don't have to show tax returns or W twos or pay stubs. But while we're talking about how to get a lower mortgage rate and some creative ways to do that, I brought up, buy now, not later. And what do I mean by that? What I mean is say, properties appreciate even 3% over time. Buying now, I mean that is going to net you more equity if you buy now rather than waiting, than it would in the savings from a rate drop, when you look at the appreciation run up, however, if rates go up, then you get both the lower price and the lower rate by buying now, not later.   Caeli Ridge  19:32   And I would add to that, we have to remember that in addition to a very modest 3% in the home appreciation, we should be appreciating our rents at even a modest 2% a year, right? Depending on where you are, et cetera. I know that there's exceptions to the rule. And then finally, we got to add in that tax benefit, what you're going to get in your deductions, et cetera, et cetera.   Keith Weinhold  19:51   Yeah, great point. Well, I brought up seven ways that you can get a lower mortgage rate. Can you share a few more with us? Some common ones? Because I know. That almost everyone that calls in there wants to inquire about mortgage rate as well.    Caeli Ridge  20:03   Everybody wants, yep, everybody wants to talk about the rate, despite my vervet opposition to say, do the math. Do the math. Do the math. You know, the easiest one there would be buying down the rate. I'm going to try and formulate an example. Let's say you've got a really high wage earner and in the thick of their earning years, and they're trying to prepare for retirement down the road. It's a longer term burn. They desperately need tax deductions, and the deal that they're looking at, yeah, it's okay, but they want some extra expenses on the Schedule E, maybe they buy the rate down by three even 4% because points on an investment loan transaction are tax deductible, so that might be something, and they obviously benefit from the lower interest rate. Now I may push back on this, and I think again, I know I sound like a broken record here, but we really need to do the math. What are we getting versus what are we giving up to get a 6% or five and a half percent interest rate? What does that mean in real, tangible cost, and what's that? Break even? It's actually a fairly simple calculation. When you just divide the difference in what you're getting versus what you're paying for, and that'll give you the number of months that it takes to recapture the incentive versus the expense. But that would be the easiest one. Keith, I would say buying down points, using paying additional points to get that lower interest rate,   Keith Weinhold  21:20   buying down your rate. It could feel good in the short term, but it's often not the best long term or even intermediate term move when you do the math, as you always like to say, well, you the listener here, you know that you can qualify for mortgage loans, for rental properties without needing a w2 without needing a pay stub and without even needing to show tax returns, because you need all those things for a conventional loan, but for a DSCR loan, debt service coverage ratio, you don't. So talk to us about the pros and cons of a DSCR loan versus a conventional   Caeli Ridge  21:53   loan. Okay? And I've got a hook here too, because I think the listeners are gonna be very, very pleased to hear at the end of this statement, what's happening with DSCR in conjunction or comparison, rather to the conventional so DSCR everybody means debt service, coverage ratio. It's a very simple formula. We are going to take the gross rents and divide it by the principal and interest and taxes and insurance and association. If it applies, that's it.   Keith Weinhold  22:18   $1,000 in gross rents, $800 in p i, t i, that yields a DSCR of 1.25 Correct?   Caeli Ridge  22:25   Yes, you're absolutely right. The one that I use as I, just to keep it simple, is 1000 rents, 1000 piti. That's a 1.0 right? As long as the gross rents are equal or greater than the p i, t i, you're going to be in a position to get the more favorable rates. Now that's not to say that we can't go below a 1.0 ratio. You can actually have a property, we have products that will allow the DSCR to be a point seven five. That would mean, in this scenario, if you had rents, gross rents of 750, and the piti was 1000 you can actually get that loan done. That is allowed. The rate gets a little bit hairy. So more often than not, we're at the 1.0 and above. So this is just a really great way for investors who are either recently self employed, maybe they're adjusted gross, they just write everything off for reasons that you can imagine. Why? Right? They don't want to pay the taxes. It could be 100 different reasons. The DSCR option is such a great solution to provide a 30 year fixed mortgage same same similar leverage, if not sometimes even better than a Fannie Freddie, than a conventional loan, you can usually leverage a little bit more, in some cases, on a DSCR like a two to four, for example, two to four unit residential property, Fannie Freddie, they kind of cut those loan to values a little bit, and the DSCR loans don't care about that. So you can get the same leverage as a single family would in a DSCR. The only other primary difference is these DSCR loans are going to come with prepayment penalties. Typically, the standard is about three years, but we're usually not refinancing in the first 36 months. Anyway, if you know that that's applicable to you, then you'd have to buy the prepay down or out, which you can do otherwise. DSCR is amazing. Oh, and I'll give you the little hook here. So something I have observed this is maybe very recent 4550 ish days, the margin for interest rate difference between conventional and DSCR is really starting to narrow. DSCR products are really performing well, and that interest rate improvements that we've been seeing for those products is not far off from what the Fannie Freddie's are, and I've even seen examples where DSCR beats a 30 year fixed Fannie Freddie rate. Now those are for the higher loan amounts. I can explain if you want, but otherwise, that's good news.   Keith Weinhold  24:36   Okay, this is really good news. It's a time in the cycle where dscrs could very well make sense for you without that huge documentation Shakedown that you need with W twos and pay stubs and everything else. There are a lot of nascent trends in the mortgage industry, and we're trying to separate some of them from being rumors, from being something that can truly happen. We're talking about 50 year mortgages and poor. Affordable mortgages. More on that. When we come back, you're listening to get rich education. Our guest is Ridge lending Group President, Chaley Ridge   Keith Weinhold  25:07   You know, most people think they're playing it safe with their liquid money, but they're actually losing savings accounts and bonds don't keep up when true inflation eats six or 7% of your wealth. Every single year, I invest my liquidity with FFI freedom family investments in their flagship program. Why fixed 10 to 12% returns have been predictable and paid quarterly. There's real world security backed by needs based real estate like affordable housing, Senior Living and health care. Ask about the freedom flagship program. When you speak to a freedom coach there, and that's just one part of their family of products, they've got workshops, webinars and seminars designed to educate you before you invest, start with as little as 25k and finally, get your money working as hard as you do. Get started at Freedom family investments.com/gre, or send a text now it's 1-937-795-8989, yep, text their freedom. Coach, directly, again. 1-937-795-8989,   Keith Weinhold  26:18   The same place where I get my own mortgage loans is where you can get yours. Ridge lending group and MLS, 42056, they provided our listeners with more loans than anyone because they specialize in income properties. They help you build a long term plan for growing your real estate empire with leverage, start your pre qual and even chat with President Chaley Ridge personally, while it's on your mind, start at Ridge lending group.com, that's Ridge lending group.com   Dana Dunford  26:50   this is hemlanes co founder, Dana Dunford. Listen to get rich education with Keith Weinhold, and don't quit your Daydream.    Keith Weinhold  26:58   welcome back to get rich education. We're talking with Ridge lending Group President and Founder, Chaley Ridge about how you can get lower mortgage rates, and also about some trends in the industry, separating what's really a rumor in what could really happen squaring on 50 year mortgages and portable mortgages, those are both things only being discussed by the administration to help with affordability. FHFA Director Bill Pulte created some jarring news recently when he publicized this. What are your thoughts on the 50 year mortgage?    Caeli Ridge  27:39   You know, on a primary residence basis, I'm not so sure I need to maybe put some more thought into that. But for an investment property, I love it. Man, anything to keep that payment down so that, because, remember, we talked about earlier in the show here the percentage of mortgages, let's just use our 30 year fixed for a second that for a rental property that start on day one and then stroke a check 360 times later to pay that to zero. Is a fraction of a percent right? We are refinancing these things. We are selling them and doing 1031 exchanges. So anything that can keep my cash flow higher and my payment lower, I am all for it. Now, the people that push back and say, Well, I want to pay off my mortgage in 15 years. I don't want to pay extra interest, you are welcome to do that. So there's a second piece to this that I think is equally as important as maximizing cash flow, and that is your qualification. All right, if this comes to pass, and right now, it could just be noise, okay, and I'm speaking specifically for investment property, but if this is available to us, the debt to income ratio component, because think about it like this. So I'm going to keep using my 15 year and my 30 year, because that's kind of what we understand. The payment difference between a 30 year 360 month and a 15 year 180 month can be substantial depending on the loan size. I mean, it can be hundreds and hundreds of dollars for the individual that is dead set and say, I don't want to pay the higher interest. I want to pay these things off. We may have arguments about that whole strategy to begin with, but overall, if they still want to do that and that's their decision, Fine, take the 30 year fixed payment. Take the 30 year fixed mortgage. Apply the difference. You can figure out that payment difference very easily. Apply it religiously. Every month. You will cross the finish line in about 15.4 years. Download an amortization calculator online. You can find them everywhere. Plug in your numbers, and you'll see what I'm talking about. If you were to do this, let's say the difference is 200 bucks a month, and you send it in every month with your 30 year fixed mortgage payment, you will cross the finish line to pay that thing off in about 15.4 years. So yes, you'll pay a few extra months of interest. But what have you done to your qualifications, right, your payment now on your debt to income ratio, when we're looking at this thing for a future optimization, never take the shorter term amortization, ever, ever, ever, you won't pay the higher interest that the 30 year or the 50 Year will probably come with because you've accelerated the payoff so long, if that's your choice. Now for everybody else that really wants. To maximize that cash flow. And they get that, they're going to be refinancing this every five, six, whatever it is, years take it, man, I am all for the longer term amortization on a rental.   Keith Weinhold  30:10   I agree with you. I even like the 50 year on a primary residence, but yeah, Chaley, right here on the show, several weeks before Bill Pulte made the announcement, I actually talked about the 50 year mortgage and compared it to the 30 and the reasons that I like it because I knew there was a chance it could be coming, since this administration is trying to do so much to help out with affordability, people buy based on a payment, not a price that lowers the payment. A 50 year mortgage helps you benefit from inflation, and there are a lot of other advantages that have to do with that, although you probably are going to pay a higher interest rate on a 50 than you would a 30. And you know, Chaley, when the 30 year mortgage had its Advent just after World War Two, I'm going to guess 75 years ago, people were having this same conversation like, oh, 30 years, my gosh, you're never going to pay off the home. And really, that's not what it's about.    Caeli Ridge  31:01   Not at all, not at all. And remember, you guys, I would encourage everybody listening to this to actually go get that amortization table and see how much interest is baked in and how it is applied and paid. It is the back end of any of these amortized mortgages where the principal actually starts to get applied in a meaningful way. The 50 year mortgage, or the longer term amortization is a huge advantage. I'm speaking for investors. Mostly. I love it.   Keith Weinhold  31:26   Some people say, are you nuts? Look at how much more interest you're paying over the life of the loan on a 50 year mortgage versus a 30 year mortgage. We already touched on that you're not going to keep that loan for the life of it, and if you just take the difference from the lower payment that a 50 Year gives you, and invest that in 8% return, you are going to crush 2x to 3x oftentimes, what the paltry interest savings are over several decades,    Caeli Ridge  31:26   and somebody else is making that payment right. We have tenants that are responsible   Keith Weinhold  31:47    100% and then there's something that I don't know if portable mortgages would fly. And what this means is that when borrowers move, they could keep the rate, keep their term and keep their lender, presumably for the new home you might have seen it in the news. You the listener that Fannie May remove the minimum credit score requirements from desktop underwriting. And Chaley, I think you let me know elsewhere that those changes don't affect non owner occupied, but of course, it could affect the broader housing market in pricing. What are your thoughts about lowering the credit score requirement   Caeli Ridge  32:28   so similar to the portable stuff, until it really reaches mainstream and it affects the non owner occupied I'm not deep diving into those things. The basis of it, though, is, is that, yeah, they're removing that minimum credit score requirement from a du underwrite that stands for desktop underwriter, as you said, that is Fannie Mae's sophisticated, automated underwriting system, and I think it's just going to give more eligibility to lower income households and people trying to become homeowners that have found the barrier for entry very restrictive because They have credit issues.    Keith Weinhold  33:00   Well, let's talk about FHA and VA loans, something that we have rarely, if ever touched on. Our listeners know that I started out making my first ever property of any kind, an FHA loan with three and a half percent down on a fourplex, living in one unit, renting out the other three. Tell us about some trends there in FHA and VA loans   Caeli Ridge  33:21   we actually just did house hack campaign. We did a webinar on it, co living, all those different ways in which, you know, the younger generation, especially, and this is true for anyone. I don't want to pigeonhole it, can get themselves into home ownership and propel them into the real estate investing as an asset class. I am such a big fan of this model, in this strategy, for anybody that's interested and willing to kind of coal mingle or habitat, like you did a four Plex at three and a half percent down, you've got three tenants that are making your mortgage payment. VA, likewise, any of the Gubby loans, which include VA, FHA, USDA, you can get high, high leverage and up to four units. So I'm a huge fan of that. And then the CO living is another thing that I think is not quite mainstream, but I think it's gaining steam    Keith Weinhold  34:09   for those that don't know what we're talking about, you can use an FHA loan with a three and a half percent down payment, as long as you live in one of the units, your credit score can even be pretty low, and you can do that with a single family home, duplex, triplex or fourplex. You can get those same benefits with a VA loan and zero down   Caeli Ridge  34:29   USDA also zero down if you're in the right zip code. How does one qualify for a USDA loan? You know, there's a website I would have you check out. We don't do a ton of those. We have the ability, of course, but there's income restrictions and all of this. They've got, actually, a pretty slick website where you can go online, type in the zip code, make sure it's in a rural area, what your income is. There's all these inputs, and it'll tell you if you'd be a candidate for it. But yeah, it's good. Rates zero down. I like the product.   Keith Weinhold  34:56   Well, there have been a lot of newsy items when it comes. Comes to mortgages. Caeli and I think we should drop back before we're done here and talk about the basics. Just basically, what does it take to get a non owner occupied loan for residential income property?   Caeli Ridge  35:12   You know, there's so many options for investors today that I would say that if you have access to and even with what we just said, house hack. I mean, listen, if you've got 3% down, three and a half percent down, you can probably assure yourself you can get into a property. And if you can't qualify from a income debt to income ratio perspective, you've got three or four other models, which include DSCR, bank statement loans, asset depletion loans, overall, I would say that this is an individual conversation. Chances are you could probably qualify today, and if you can't, one of the things that I love about Ridge lending is, is that we're going to help you plant the seeds and show you how to qualify. If it takes you three months or six months or a year, that's what we do.   Keith Weinhold  35:56   Yeah, we've definitely noticed the difference here and that you do help that investor with long term planning? I do my own loans at ridge, and my assistant here at GRE she recently got the ball rolling with you in there at Ridge as well.   Caeli Ridge  36:11   Brenda, yes, yes, that was fantastic. We are very looking forward to helping her.   Keith Weinhold  36:16   Well, you know, chili, I've come here with a lot of questions that I had. What's the question No one's asking you, but you wish that they would.   Caeli Ridge  36:25   I think it probably would be for me, planning. You know, we get a lot of questions about interest rates. That's kind of top of mind for everybody. More about planning, having people that are interested in real estate as an asset class and an investment have the conversations to say, this is where I'm at today. This is where I'd like to be in five years. Tell me how to get there, and we can have those high level conversations that really sort of reverse engineer it and say, Okay, this is where you stand today from an underwriting perspective. This is where you need to be, and here's how we're going to get you there. It's always about planting seeds and creating those roadmaps, as I like to say so I would say that that would be top of my list.   Keith Weinhold  37:02   That's exactly what you do in there, and that's really what sets you apart. Well, remind our audience how they can get a hold of ridge.   Caeli Ridge  37:11   Yes, there's a couple ways. Of course, our website, Ridge lending group.com Please email us info at Ridge lending group.com and then call us toll free. 855-747-4343, 855-74-RIDGE  is an easy way to remember.   Keith Weinhold  37:25   It's really been valuable this time. Chaley, thanks so much for coming back onto the show.   Caeli Ridge  37:29    Appreciate you. Keith.   Keith Weinhold  37:36   Oh yeah, good pointed info from Chaley over at Ridge, I think that the important things for you to remember from our conversation is that, gosh, isn't it so glaring like in your face that you have options. All these options when you engage with a lender, you're going to learn that there are probably loan programs that you've never even heard of, some that you might fit into and even if you aren't adding more property, if you're not in that phase, there are ways that you can take your existing loans and consolidate them or refinance them, or use them to produce a tax free windfall for yourself and the US is often the envy of other world nations with the flexibility that we have here in our mortgage market. I've never known anyone that does this better than Chaley and her team. I mean, they are real difference makers. If you learn something on today's show, hey, Don't hoard the good stuff. Engage in the nicest kind of wealth redistribution. Tap the Share button right now and share this on social, or text this episode to one friend who'd appreciate it. That would mean the world to me. I'm your host. Keith Weinhold, don't quit your Daydream.   Speaker 2  38:57   Nothing on this show should be considered specific personal or professional advice, please consult an appropriate tax, legal, real estate, financial or business professional for individualized advice. Opinions of guests are their own. Information is not guaranteed. All investment strategies have the potential for profit or loss. The host is operating on behalf of get rich Education LLC, exclusively   Keith Weinhold  39:25   The preceding program was brought to you by your home for wealth building, getricheducation.com  

Flipping houses isn't the real challenge—building a business that creates long-term wealth is.Brandon Rickman is a veteran real estate investor, licensed general contractor, and co-founder of Simply Sold Atlanta. With 20+ years in the business and over 500 flips completed, he's mastered the art of finding deals, funding projects, and scaling a profitable investment operation.In this episode, you'll discover the real skills required to build a successful flipping business—from finding quality deals to raising capital and building a trustworthy team. Brandon breaks down the realities of scaling from your first flip to running a high-volume operation and why long-term assets like self-storage are the path to true legacy building. You'll walk away with practical, repeatable steps to grow sustainably, even in a competitive market.Key Takeaways0:03 — Why finding money is easier today Brandon explains why raising capital has changed—and why funding is no longer the biggest obstacle for new investors.0:08 — Why finding good properties is more challenging Depending on your market, inventory and competition shape how difficult it is to uncover profitable deals.03:30 — Brandon's background: 500+ flips & a lifetime in constructionFrom growing up learning how to build houses by hand to teaching others how to find, fund, and flip.06:05 — The “Find” phase: where deals really come fromBrandon breaks down what new investors should focus on first, starting with building relationships with agents.07:19 — Their first flip: a DIY story with lessons learnedHow he and his wife bought their first deal from a neighbor, renovated it nights and weekends, and sold it for a profit.08:27 — Should you invest locally or expand?Why Brandon recommends flipping in your own market—especially when school districts can drastically change property values.09:07 — The first step to consistent deal flowCall five agents a day for four weeks—Brandon's simple but powerful method to get deals coming to you.10:05 — Real estate investing is WORKBrandon and Corwyn debunk the myth that flipping is easy money—entrepreneurship takes commitment.10:53 — Doing one flip a year vs. building a real businessWhy Brandon encourages investors to start small but build toward independence, freedom, and long-term stability.11:46 — Moving from flipping to true wealth-buildingThe conversation transitions into funding strategies and how investors can secure capital for their deals.“It's not about the flip—it's about the foundation you're laying for the generation coming after you.”Connect with Brandon:Website: simplysoldatlanta.comLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandon-rickman-9885a22/Email: brandon@simplysoldatlanta.comConnect with Corwyn:Contact Number: 843-619-3005Instagram:⁠ https://www.instagram.com/exitstrategiesradioshow/⁠FB Page:⁠ https://www.facebook.com/exitstrategiessc/⁠Youtube:⁠ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxoSuynJd5c4qQ_eDXLJaZA⁠Website:⁠ https://www.exitstrategiesradioshow.com⁠Linkedin:⁠ https://www.linkedin.com/in/cmelette/⁠Shoutout to our Sponsor: Country Boy HomesDo you remember your grandma's front porch? You know that spot where stories were told, kisses were stolen, and sweet tea was always being sipped. Now imagine giving your family a place to make those same memories, but in a brand new, energy-efficient, and home that was built just for you. At Country Boy Homes, we help folks just like you find that forever feeling.Whether it's your first home, your next home, or your, we're done with rent forever, like,  seriously home, we specialize in affordable, durable, manufactured, and modular homes, the kind that make room for muddy boots, big dreams, and second helpings. Come see what coming home really feels like. Call 843-574-8979 today.Country Boy Homes, Built to Last, Priced for You.

How do you talk about kindness? Depending on the context, the Greek word can be translated as fitting, pleasing, honest, or compassionate. How do you talk about a word with that kind of lexical range? The answer is you can't do it abstractly. You have to look at a kind of relationship that combines all those traits. The kind of relationship that combines them is friendship. And nothing is more humanizing and life-changing than friendship.  John 15 is a unique passage about friendship. It tells us 1) the character or nature of friendship, 2) how you forge friendship, and 3) where you get the power for friendship. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on May 9, 2010. Series: The Real Signs of the Spirit. Scripture: John 15:6-15. Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.